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I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter Three

Clark watched as the twins walked into the house. There was no way to describe the nerves that filled him as their footsteps thudded against the hardwood floor.

They were laughing and talking amongst themselves, but the conversation died out as soon as they saw their parents.

"What's going on?" Jordan asked.

Clark gestured to the other chairs at the table. "Come sit down," he told them.

Jon placed his hands in his pockets and looked over at his twin, then the two of them walked over to the table and sat down.

"Did something bad happen?" Jon asked, his big blue eyes wide with concern.

Clark hesitated, then shook his head. "No, nothing bad happened," he said. "But we need to talk to the two of you."

"Is it about Ally?" Jordan said.

Clark sighed. He needed to just tell them, but he was scared of how they would react. He didn't want anyone to fight or yell. He wasn't sure that he could avoid that though.

He looked over at Lois, and she nodded supportively.

"I was called to the DoD prison building earlier today… by Jon-El," Clark began.

As soon as Clark said his name, Jon paled and Jordan scowled. He continued though.

"He had been attacked by Ally and had almost all of his energy drained out of him. If it hadn't been for your grandmother, he would probably be dead," he told them.

"Why are you telling us this?" Jon asked. Clark could tell he was trying to keep up a calm act, but he could hear the anxious waver in his son's voice.

"Because he's currently recovering in our guest room," Clark said.

Jordan stood up and glared at his parents. "Dad!" he exclaimed, and for a second his eyes flashed red. "Did you forget what he did to Jon a few days ago? What he did to you and Mrs. Cushing?"

"I remember." Clark had to stay calm.

"He's Ally's second-in-command! How do you know that this isn't some sort of huge scheme to kill all of us!"

"I don't," Clark said. "But Jordan, I do know that he is a misguided kid who's hurt. He needs our help."

"Our help?" Jon asked, joining in on his brother's protests. Clark could hear how quickly his heart was beating. Jon was scared. "Dad, he tried to merge with me… What if he tries that again?"

"He won't," Lois told them. "Because when he wakes up he isn't going to be allowed around the two of you without either me or Clark around."

Lois looked over at Clark and her eyes pierced him. "And if he even tries to do anything to the two of you, he goes back to the cell at the DoD."

Clark nodded. "Yeah," he agreed, although it hurt for some reason. "We won't let Jon-El mess with either of you."

The twins looked at each other, then Jordan nodded. "Okay."

Clark let out a sigh of relief. Now to tell Jon-El.

When Jon-El finally came to, his head was pounding. It felt like he had been run over by a truck…

He groaned, then opened his eyes. Everything was so bright, so… yellow.

But the room was familiar. He knew this room. He knew this house.

Jon-El tried to sit up. He couldn't be home, could he? How had he made it back through that portal?

"Easy, kiddo. You've been through a lot."

Jon-El looked over to where the voice had come from. There was no way. It wasn't possible.

For a second, his voice caught in his throat. "Dad?"

The man winced, then shook his head. "No, Jon-El," he said.

Jon-El took a closer look at the man. He looked so much like his father, but now Jon-El could see the differences. The glasses, the plaid instead of the crest, the warmth in his eyes…

This wasn't his father.

Jon-El swallowed back tears. His father was dead. He had been dead for a while now. There was no reason to cry. Crying was for the weak.

"What happened?" Jon-El asked as he tried to redirect the conversation to something that wouldn't make him cry like a little girl.

"Ally attacked you while you were in your cell," Clark Kent said. "She would have killed you if you hadn't called out for me."

Jon-El leaned back against the pillows, already too exhausted to stay upright without support. He knew what Clark was telling him was true, but he didn't want to believe it.

"I… She…" he tried, but he couldn't get the right words to form.

"I know it's hard, kiddo," Clark said softly. He sounded too much like Jon-El's father… "Just try to get some more sleep. We can talk more later."

Jon-El nodded. The bed was so soft. It was so much better than the one he had been forced to sleep on in that cage.

"Can I be alone?" Jon-El asked.

Clark nodded, then reached over and gave Jon-El's leg a gentle squeeze. "Of course," he said. "Call me if you need anything."

"I will," Jon-El replied, but he already knew that he wouldn't. He would be fine without their help.

Clark left the room and Jon-El laid awake for a long time. His head swirled with thoughts about anything and everything.

Ally had betrayed him. She had tried to kill him. Now he was stuck on this world with the Kents.

And Clark Kent was his father's doppelganger.

That hurt the worst. It had been so long since he had last seen his father, and he knew he would never actually see him again. But this guy… He looked so much like him.

He didn't really act like him though. If Jon-El was being honest, his father's doppelganger had seemed kinda nice, and definitely caring. It had to be some kind of act…

He sighed, then looked up at the ceiling. It matched the one at his childhood home, but he knew it wasn't.

He was stuck here, and he was going to have to make the best of it.

When he woke up a few hours later, Jon-El was feeling significantly better.

It wasn't perfect, his muscles still ached and his head still had a dull throb, but he didn't feel like he had narrowly avoided death anymore. Even if that was exactly what had happened.

He pulled himself up and out of the bed. He looked over at the old wooden mirror that was propped against the wall. If he was being honest, he looked like hell…

Jon-El let out a sigh, then grabbed his leather jacket. It was a bit too warm for it, but it was one of the few things he had from his home world. For some reason, he wanted to cling to those memories. Even if most of them weren't good…

After he put it on, he looked in the mirror one last time and ran his fingers through his hair. He couldn't do anything to help the faded and smeared eyeliner, but he could fix his hair.

Jon-El opened the door, then his eyes widened as he was hit with the scent of food. Iit had been so long that he had been fed something that smelled good.

The idea of eating whatever was downstairs cooking made his mouth water.

Slowly and carefully, he made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen. Before he reached the doorway though, Clark turned around and smiled.

"Hey," he greeted as he placed a lid on one of the pots. "How are you feeling?"

Jon-El shrugged. "Better, I guess…" he said.

"That's good," Clark told him. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. I'm about to call the boys down to set the table."

Jon-El nodded, but the idea of eating with Clark's family sent a flutter of nerves through his stomach. He had done so much to hurt the twins. This couldn't go well…

But the food smelled so good. "Sounds great," he finally said.

Clark smiled. "Go wash up," he told him. "Then come back here and you can help me finish with the broccoli."

Jon-El almost asked for directions, but then he realized he didn't have to. Instead, he made his way to the overly bright bathroom and washed his hands.

When he looked at his face in the mirror, he winced. He looked even worse than he had originally thought. There was nothing he could do for it now, but maybe he could ask Clark if he could have a shower after dinner.

After he washed his hands, he made his way back into the kitchen. The twins were in there now, along with this world's Lois Lane.

She looked so much like his mom had, but also not like her at all. It made him want to reach out and hug her and apologize for everything he had done wrong.

But it would all be for nothing. This Lois hated him. This Lois wasn't his mom.

Jon-El hesitated by the doorway for a moment, but once again Clark noticed him before he even made a sound.

Clark waved Jon-El over and smiled at him. After a second though, he turned to Jordan. "Hey, set out another place at the table."

Jon-El watched as Jordan muttered something under his breath, but Clark didn't seem to catch it. Or maybe he was ignoring it.

"I finished the broccoli while you were in the bathroom," Clark told Jon-El. "Why don't you go sit down while we finish up in here?"

Jon-El nodded, then silently walked towards the table. Part of the way there though, he bumped into Jordan.

Jon-El opened his mouth to apologize. He hadn't seen Jordan as he passed through the doorway. He definitely hadn't meant to run into him. After all, Jordan had kicked his ass before and now Jon-El was powerless.

His breath caught in his throat when he saw Jordan's eyes though.

They glowed a bright, dangerous red. They looked more fiery than the red sun back home, and Jon-El knew what they meant.

"Watch where you're going," Jordan hissed.

Jon-El nodded as he tried to calm down his speeding heart. He couldn't even manage to squeak out an apology.

Jon-El's heart was still beating too quickly by the time all of the food was on the table and everyone had sat down. It was still beating too quickly after Clark had said grace and everyone began to eat.

"How was your first day back at school, Jon?" Clark asked.

Jon-El watched as his doppelganger looked up from where he was pushing his broccoli around his plate and shrugged.

"It was fine. The classes were all pretty normal," Jon said, then added. "Candice wasn't there though."

If Jon-El was being honest, he didn't know who this Candice girl was and he didn't care. So he focused on the plate of baked salmon that had been placed in front of him.

It was just as good, if not better, than it had smelled. Back on his home world Jon-El hadn't been much of a fan of fish, but this was so good. He tried not to seem too desperate as he dug into it.

His last meal had been some sort of freeze-dried crap that was supposedly some sort of food. He tried not to think about it too hard.

Lois and Clark asked Jon and Jordan more questions throughout the meal. They seemed to be avoiding talking to Jon-El for the most part, but he found himself almost grateful for that. He wasn't really sure he was in the mood for dinnertime small talk.

"What was the cell like?" Jordan asked. The question was obviously aimed at Jon-El and the tone of voice showed very little curiosity.

Jon-El's head snapped up at this question and he found himself making direct eye contact with Jordan. Unsurprisingly, Jordan was glaring at him.

He must have looked like a deer in the headlights though, because Clark sighed.

"Jordan," he scolded. "Leave him alone."

Jordan huffed as he put his fork down. "I was just asking a question."

"I said leave him alone," Clark told him.

Jon-El ducked his head and tried to focus on the last of his rice, but his mind wandered back to the cell he had been stuck in. If he was being honest, he sort of wished that someone would ask him a dumb question to get his mind off of it.

The rest of dinner was quiet and awkward. A few small conversations with stunted replies left the room feeling too uncomfortable to really say anything important.

"Can I be excused?" Jon finally asked. "I have this huge test that I need to study for…"

Lois nodded. "Of course," she said, then turned to Jordan. "It's your night for dinner cleanup."

Jordan sighed, then nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

Just when Jon-El thought that it was going to be safe for him to escape, Clark cleared his throat. "Jon-El, Lois and I would like to speak with you in the office."

Jon-El nodded, but his stomach lurched. "Yes, sir," he said. If he was being honest though, the last thing he wanted to do was have a private conversation with Lois and Clark.

But he did as he was told, and stood up and followed them towards the office.

So, there's chapter three! I hope you enjoyed!

Thanks for reading!