Hey, guys!

Happy October! I hope you all have a great month!

Chapter Nine

At first, Jon-El ran as fast as he could through the green Kansas grass.

The fall air stung his cheeks as he ran away from the farmhouse. It didn't feel like flying though, nothing in the world felt like flying.

After a few minutes though, he slowed down. The sky was beginning to darken overhead, the yellow sun turning an almost familiar red as it lowered.

When Jon-El's pace was no faster than a walk, his mind caught up with him. Did he even know where he was going? What if the geography was different here?

He stalled, then looked up at the sky. The closer it got to nightfall, the redder the sky became. At this point, it almost felt like the world itself was mocking Jon-El with how similar it looked to his home world.

Home…

What made that other world his home? The fact that he was born there? That his family lived there? That he had powers there?

Maybe it was home because familiar things were the way they had always been? Broken door frames, shattered glass, screaming…

Was that what made it home?

Jon-El shuddered, then pulled his jacket tighter around him. As the sun went down, it was getting way colder than he had expected.

But he wasn't ready to turn back.

He didn't care about how late it was getting, he was definitely going to be punished either way.

Would they send him back to the cell? Or would they choose a different punishment?

Jon-El wasn't quite ready to find out, especially if it involved being struck.

Neither Clark or Lois had promised not to hurt him.

And it wasn't like anyone would be able to do anything about it if they decided to.

Jon-El took a deep breath, then pushed forward as he shoved the thought out of his mind.

Finally, he reached what he had been looking for.

It was a small bridge, no wider than the dirt road Jon-El was standing on, and it wasn't special in any sort of way. Well, at least to a normal person.

To Jon-El though, it was the bridge that he would race his twin to, then they would take turns pushing each other into the water below. And sometimes when Jordan-El couldn't come play, Jon-El would walk down to it anyway and watch the water flow beneath him.

Those had been the days when everything had been easier. When Jon-El had felt free.

He sighed as he looked down into the water below. With the red sunset, it looked almost like it had back on his earth, but it wasn't the same.

Around him, he could hear the sounds of crickets and birds chirping. He could also hear the water in the creek rushing below. They were so loud, much louder than they had ever been back on his earth.

Jon-El walked back to the dirt road, then began his way down the steep bank to the water.

He wanted to see it up close. He wanted to know if it really looked like it did back on his earth.

About halfway down though, Jon-El's stomach twisted and it took everything in him not to fall to his hands and knees. The pain blinded him, and he couldn't help the gasp of pain that escaped him as he grabbed at his stomach.

He wiped at his sweaty forehead, suddenly feeling hotter than he ever had in his life.

What was going on? This had never happened before.

Jon-El tried to climb back up, but couldn't make it more than a couple of steps before stumbling and falling to the ground. A cry escaped him as his knees hit the ground.

His head felt like it was going to explode, his lungs were on fire, every inch of his skin burned.

He looked at the ground around him, and only then did he see it.

A glowing orange crystal.

Jon-El had seen this before, but rarely up close. It was his father's only weakness, and before he had come to this stupid earth, it was Jon-El's only weakness too.

It could kill him so easily, just like it had killed his father.

The longer he stayed around it, the weaker he felt. His hands shook, his heart beat faster, he felt like he could hardly breathe…

How long would it be before he was gone?

He laid his head on the damp dirt, too exhausted and weak to hold it up.

Faintly, he felt a burst of cold air, but he couldn't lift his head to see what caused it.

"Jonathan!" Clark exclaimed.

Jon-El tried again to raise his head, but was only able to raise it an inch or two off the ground before his body gave up again.

"X-Kryptonite…" he gasped out. If he could get Clark to understand, then he would hopefully get him away from it.

Suddenly, he felt Clark's strong arms around him as he was lifted off of the ground. Before he could say or think anything else though, they were already at the edge of the farm.

Clark helped Jon-El stand, then looked him over. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Jon-El hesitated. Already he could breathe better and he didn't feel as hot or dizzy as he had before. He was still nowhere close to being normal or okay though. "Yeah."

What looked like a wave of relief washed over Clark, and Jon-El watched as he visibly relaxed. "Can you walk?"

Jon-El nodded. "I think so."

Clark placed his hand on Jon-El's upper back. "We should go inside then."

Jon-El swallowed, then followed Clark inside. He didn't want to, he had no idea what would be waiting for him inside.

Would he be punished for leaving the farm?

The inside of the house was as warm and welcoming as it had been since the moment Jon-El woke up in it. Faintly, he could smell the food that had been cooked for dinner, but Jon-El suspected it had long since been put away.

As soon as Clark shut the door, Lois walked in from the kitchen. She was drying her hands on a hand towel, but lowered it as soon as she saw them.

"Jonathan-El, where were you?" she demanded as she placed her hands on her hips.

Jon-El tried not to flinch at his full name. They hadn't ever called him by his full name before, even when they were laying down all of the rules.

"Lois, give us a second," Clark said, then guided Jon-El into the kitchen. "Sit."

He nodded, then sat down at the kitchen table. He was in so much trouble…

Clark walked over to one of the cabinets and pulled out a glass, then filled it with water. After that he brought it over to Jon-El and set it on the table in front of him.

"He got exposed to X-K," Clark told Lois, then looked over at Jon-El.

Jon-El squirmed under Clark's gaze. It was stern, angry, disappointed… Jon-El had seen that look way too many times. He knew what came with that look. The yelling, the fighting…

"Drink that," Clark said. "It'll help you feel better."

Jon-El swallowed as he looked down at the cup of water. He was pretty sure he would throw up if he drank anything right now, and it wasn't just because of the X-Kryptonite.

Not wanting to make them any angrier though, Jon-El brought the cup up to his lips and took the smallest sip he could.

"So, where were you?" Lois asked.

"I just walked down to the bridge," Jon-El answered. "I left a little after you two came inside."

"And there was X-K down there?" she asked.

"Yeah."

Lois sighed, then looked over at Clark. The two of them held their gaze for a moment before looking back over at Jon-El.

"Am I in trouble?" Jon-El asked, though he could hardly hear himself over how loud his heart was beating in his ears.

"You broke one of the rules, Jonathan," Clark said as he crossed his arms. "You left the farm."

"We didn't put that rule in place to trap you here for fun," Lois told him. "We put it there because the world is a dangerous place for you right now. Ally is out there somewhere, there are people out there who want to hurt you, and there is a lot of X-K around here."

Jon-El nodded, his eyes burning with tears. They weren't supposed to care about whether or not he got hurt. If they cared about that, then what else would they care about too?

"Do you understand why you're not supposed to leave?" Clark asked. "We don't want you to get hurt."

Jon-El nodded, but he couldn't seem to get the words out. This all felt so wrong…

Jon-El watched as Lois and Clark looked at each other again. He hated this. He hated the silence when there should have been yelling. Why weren't they yelling at him? Hadn't he broken one of their rules?

Suddenly, Clark looked at him and tilted his head.

"How did you get out?" Clark asked. "I didn't see you come downstairs, and I definitely didn't hear you."

Jon-El looked down at his hands. "The window in my room…"

"Jonathan!" Lois scolded. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?"

Jon-El hesitated, then nodded. His head was beginning to pound, and his stomach ache was getting worse. He just wanted to go to bed, but he had the feeling that this conversation was nowhere close to over. It wouldn't be over until they had yelled at him.

"You don't have powers anymore," Clark said. "You could have fallen and gotten seriously hurt."

"I-I know…"

"Then why did you do it?" Lois asked.

Jon-El shrugged. "I just… After that fight with Jordan," he began, then sighed. "I needed to get away from everything. I just needed a break."

Something in Lois's eyes changed at his words. Originally, she had seemed angry and disappointed, but now there was something new in her eyes. Sympathy? Understanding? It definitely wasn't a look that Jon-El had seen often on his own mother's face.

She reached over and placed her hand on his. "I know that this whole situation has been hard for you and that you might have to get away from everything to take a break, but you have to tell us," she told him. "You really scared us tonight."

Jon-El swallowed as he tried his hardest not to pull his hand away. He had scared them? Really? He hadn't wanted that to happen. He just needed to get away for a bit…

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to scare you…"

"We know, but this can't happen again, Jonathan," Clark told him. His voice was full of authority, strength, power… It was nothing like the gentle tone that Lois had adopted.

"So… What's my punishment?" Jon-El asked and tried to take a steadying breath. Maybe if he prepared himself for it, the punishment wouldn't be as bad. Maybe they would go easy on him now that he was powerless…

Lois looked up at Clark, then back at Jon-El. "There isn't one," she said.

"What?" Jon-El asked as his head shot up. The room spun from the movement and the headache began to pulsate behind his eyes as his vision filled with a sparkly aura. "You're not going to punish me?"

Lois shook her head. "Not this time. We hope that the X-K exposure will be enough to keep you from running off all by yourself again," she said. "But trust me, if you ever do this again, the consequences will be severe. This is your one free pass, Jonathan. Do you understand?"

Jon-El nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."

Clark sighed, then gently placed his hand on Jon-El's shoulder. "Let's get you to bed," he said.

Jon-El stood up slowly, then looked over at Lois. She looked so tired… Had he done that to her? "Goodnight, Lois."

Lois smiled at him. It was a warm smile, a sweet smile, a smile that Jon-El hadn't seen on his own mother's face in so long… "Goodnight, Jon-El."

Jon-El allowed Clark to guide him up the stairs and into his room. Once he was in his room though, he laid down on the bed, only taking off his leather jacket. He was too exhausted and felt too sick to change into pajamas.

As he laid his cheek against the cold pillow, he took stock of what all hurt. Admittedly, it was everything. It felt like even his hair hurt… How long was this going to last?

"Try to get some rest," Clark said. "You should feel better in the morning."

Jon-El nodded against the pillow, but didn't open his eyes or even answer. If he opened his eyes, his brain was going to split in two. If he opened his mouth, he was going to throw up.

Clark stayed in there for a few more minutes, then walked over to the lamp and shut it off before leaving the room. At the last second though, he stopped. "Goodnight, Jonathan."

But Jon-El barely heard it as he fell into a deep sleep.

I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!