Lois tried to not let her frustration be visible when she drove over the gravel driveway of the farm and parked her car right next to Jonathan's and Clark's.
All in all, she could say that it was a waste of time, meeting this woman in a highway-restaurant just outside of Metropolis. Lois hoped to get more information about Luthor from that woman, who was actually the CEO of a small company in Lex Luthor's wide company network. Her company produces perfumes. Instead of getting some information, Lois only got a desperate woman, who wanted to be independent from Luthorcorp again and a free sample of her latest perfume.
Lois had to admit that she liked that perfume. It was decent and not too strong. Living with a man who had supersmell and a teenager who was most likely getting it, too forced her to waive certain perfumes or strong-smelling deodorants, soaps, shampoos, or anything like that. But this stuff was nice. Maybe Clark can live with that?
But getting a free sample of a new perfume that was not released yet, didn't change the fact that Lois was worried. About her family, about her father, about the people of Smallville, their friends, and her own life…
Lex Luthor was without doubt the greatest thread ever for her family. Bigger than all their previous enemies. More ruthless and dangerous than anyone could imagine. The time in prison didn't change Luthor. He was still the ruthless criminal; he always has been. It was a shame, that Luthor was so easily able to fake that he was not responsible for the mutated 'Doomsday-monster' as the press called it, for burning down their barn and for some other things, Lois convinced that they were just to hurt them.
Clark was gone for days before he was able to defeat his mutated inverse. A hard time for her and the boys. But after that, things didn't calm down. Their planned trip to Italy was cancelled and postponed. The barn will probably never get rebuild. The farm itself looked worse than ever before. And to make things worse, their own financial status got worse.
For some reasons the Gazette got in financial struggles. And since Clark doesn't really farm the land, to provide any other income for the family, it was only a matter of time before they couldn't pay the mortgage anymore. Was is a coincidence that the bank demands higher monthly payments lately? Or that the Gazette suddenly seem to have less readers? Getting bankrupt now was the last thing they needed.
Lois turned off the radio long ago. Luthor's big and complex media campaign against Superman, her, aliens in general, and everything they worked so hard for in the past years had a huge impact. It was hard to hear all the bias and the prejudice and the lies.
Lois entered the house and was greeted by the smell of dinner from the kitchen. Lois went over there and saw that the table was set for four and Jonathan was standing in the kitchen. In the oven was some convenience food and Jonathan cut some tomatoes for a salad. The boy was still wearing his working clothes from the fire station.
"Hi!" he said when he spotted her.
"Hi!? I thought you wanted to eat with the other firefighters today?" Lois asked surprised while putting off her coat in the corridor.
"Cancelled!" Jonathan said. In his voice, Lois could hear some frustration.
"Why?"
"Who knows?"
Jonathan seemed to hide something. He didn't look up to her. He just threw the cut tomatoes into the bowl and then went to the oven to check the food in it.
Lois put her new perfume out of her purse and walked into the kitchen to see her son preparing dinner.
"Jonathan is everything okay?" Lois asked while placing the perfume bottle on the kitchen-island.
"Yeah, sure!"
"Really?"
"Yes! Why you ask?"
"I see that something is going on! And where are your father and your brother?" Lois asked, suddenly remembering that Clark actually planned to cook tonight.
"Who knows? Doing their thing maybe?" Jonathan said. That was the moment, Lois could see that the boy blushed. She wondered why he was so moody tonight.
"Okay?" Lois said before she took her perfume again to take a little bit on her left ankle to test it.
Maybe Jonathan was just frustrated that his father let him cook alone? Or he was worried? The ongoing crisis with Luthor was probably not easy for him, too? Anyway, Lois was not happy about the fact that Jonathan was alone at home, without someone to look after him. With Luthor out there, she and Clark agreed to that.
"I don't like it that you are alone! Your brother should be always with you!"
"Yeah, Superboy needs to show how weak I am compared to him!" Jonathan moaned. His cheeks blushing even more.
"Jonathan?! What is that supposed to mean?" Lois asked shocked.
She knew Jonathan had it not easy since his brother got his powers. He had trouble adapting to Smallville, then the X-K, Jordan's powers, his inverse doppelganger… Lois had a suspicion that Jonathan was actually not taking it as easy as he always shows. As they knew, he always kept his true emotions hidden for his brother's and for the family's sake. Before Jonathan could say anything suddenly the front door opened, and Clark and Jordan came in.
"Lois, Jonathan, we're back!" Clark said happily and went to his wife to give her a kiss. That was the moment, the liquid in the bottle start to glow…
Meanwhile in Metropolis…
Lex Luthor stood in his penthouse in the top floor of the Luthorcorp building and looked down on the lights of Metropolis. The Luthorcorp tower was taller than most surrounding buildings so Lex had perfect view on all the 'smaller ones' out there.
The door behind him opened and his henchman Otis entered the dark room.
"Mr. Luthor… a message for you from Ms. Teschmacher!"
"Yes!"
"Operation Red is running well!" Otis said.
"Thank you, Otis! Tell Ms. Teschmacher to come in as soon as she is back!" Luthor said and Otis left.
A vicious smile appearing on Luthor's face.
In Smallville…
"Where have you two been?" Lois asked.
"Oh, I took Jordan on a trip to Metropolis!" Clark said proudly.
"While I am here and cook for you?" Jonathan said shocked.
"Jon, you can't fly! You would only be a distraction!" Jordan suddenly blurted out.
"WHAT?" now Jonathan was upset.
"Jordan, that was not nice!" Lois interfered shocked. "I thought we talked about this?"
Jordan's arrogant behavior in the past few months made her pensive. It let her think, if they were not a bit too lenient with Jordan just because he has powers. She looked back and forth between Jordan, who seemed to blush, too and Jonathan who turned away and got the food out of the oven. Jonathan was visibly trying to not to say something.
"Jordan, I want you to say sorry to your brother. After all, he made dinner for all of us!"
"I am Kryptonian, I won't need food anymore soon!" Jordan said with a selfish voice.
"You think you are better than us humans? What else to expect from your kind!" Jonathan hissed offended without turning around.
"Jonathan, I told you, you are Kryptonian, too! But your brother has powers and you not! That's why it is easier for me to bond with him instead of you!" Clark said not even looking on Jonathan.
Lois couldn't believe what she had to hear. After everything this family went through. What is going on here? Clark left Jonathan alone today to have fun with Jordan instead! Again! Before she could say anything, she heard the bang of the baking tray, Jonathan let drop on the top of the stove and clenched his fists. The boy was hurt. Lois only saw his back, but she saw that he was clenching his fists and that he was trembling. Lois felt bad for him.
"Clark, you apologize now and… AGHHHH… "
Lois let out a horrified scream when she saw Clark's eyes…
In Metropolis…
Luthor didn't turn around when the door opened again, and a woman entered his penthouse. He only continued glaring on the full moon.
"You wanted to see me, Lex?"
"Yes, Ms. Teschmacher! Otis told me you had success."
"Yes, Lex! Lois Lane believed me! And she took the sample of my… ehm… well… Mrs. Pritchet's new perfume… She liked it! And I can guess she tried it already."
In Smallville…
"CLARK, YOUR FACE! THERE IS RED KRYPTONITE!" Lois yelled panicked.
Clark, still in a good mood, turned around to look into the mirror to see the prove for Lois' panic…
The whites of his eyes were red, his face was blushed. He had purple bags under his eyes and small red streaks that were slowly spreading. Clark's eyes widened in shock when he realized that he only had a few amounts of time left with a clear mind and his own will…
"AGHHH…"
"AGHHH…"
"Why you guys scream? Our stupid damsel over there is not in peril!" Jordan moaned, offending Jonathan terribly again, and turned around to reveal that he had signs of Red-Kryptonite-poisoning, too. "I hope you cooked well, while I watched a football-match with dad in the stadium…"
"AGHHH… Jordan, it's affecting you, too! Where have you gotten in touch with that stuff?" Lois asked before she suddenly realized that the liquid in the little perfume bottle seemed to glow. "AWW… IT'S IN THE PERFUME… CLARK, JORDAN LEAVE!"
Knowing he had not much time left before he loses his mind, Clark grabbed Jordan, who was just about to get closer to Jonathan, to lift him from the ground and demonstrate how much stronger he was, and vanished with him out of the house in a blur. Not even closing the front door behind him. All while Lois threw the closed perfume bottle into the living-room where it slipped over the carpet under the couch, and she ran over to the kitchen-sink to wash the little bit that she had on her ankle away. Jonathan remained standing at the stove. Not moving and not responding…
"OH MY GOD… THIS IS ALL MY FAULT!" Lois cried while she scrubbed her hands and her arms with cold water and dish soap to remove every little remain of the dangerous mineral.
She knew it was dangerous. She knew that Clark could become dangerous and unpredictable when he gets exposed to red Kryptonite. And who knows how Jordan would have reacted if he was closer. At least she knew that the fortress and Lara were able to help them and prevent them from losing their mind. Without the fortress, it would take days for the effect to waive off. If they are lucky, the fortress will only need a few minutes and they can all still eat together…
"I should have known it! The only person in Luthor's wide company-network, who is willing to talk to me, uses me as a carrier for red Kryptonite. How could I be such a fool… Oh, Jonathan… we are so lucky that we… AGGHHH…"
Lois suddenly got a hard punch with a hard object on her back of head and fell on the ground with a loud groan…
"Agghh… What… Jonathan?" Lois, still a bit dazed and with a terrible headache looked up to see Jonathan standing over her. A shattered plate in his hand and his face full of red streaks…
"You have any idea how long I spend in this darn kitchen to cook for these ungrateful suckers?" Jonathan said with a threatening voice.
Lois eyes widened in horror. Jonathan, their human son, their son they hoped would get spared from the Kryptonian weirdness, whom they knew that he was unaffected by green Kryptonite… he was affected by the red-Kryptonite, too…
"OH NO! Jonathan… stay calm! Stay calm that is from the Kryptonite! You… aghhh…"
Lois had to shy away when Jonathan suddenly tried to punch her with his fist into the face but she was barely able to dodge the attack, causing Jonathan to hit with his fist on the floor instead.
"KRYPTONITE DOES NOT AFFECT ME TO YOU STUPID BITCH! I AM HUMAN!"
"JONATHAN, CALM DOWN!" Lois yelled scared and tried to flee.
Her body, still weakened from months of chemo, cancer medication and the mastectomy, was suddenly full of adrenaline when her son, that was usually always so kind, helpful and good, was turned into a beast by a mineral they all believed that all of it was destroyed.
"Jonathan, calm down… Lois yelled and lift from the ground to face her son. …There is no need to… AUGHHH…"
It happened! He hit her! Jonathan slapped her right across the face. So hard that she stumbled again and fell on the ground again. Lois couldn't believe it… this was not her Jon anymore…
"I came to this awful town, moved into this hovel, gave up everything…" Jonathan growled before he tried to hit his mother again, but Lois was able to dodge that attack. "…I believed every crap you guys told me just to get rid of me and tell me to stay out of your business. So, you can be special. WHILE I AM SUPPOSED TO BE YOUR HOUSEKEEPER?!"
Angrily and full of fury, Jonathan took the hot baking tray from the stove to throw it after Lois who barely escaped it and stormed into the corridor to get to her purse with the ELT…
Knowing that Clark had to come back as quickly as possible. But was he even able to…
Clark speed with a defensive Jordan to the family-fortress in the Pacific Ocean. Jordan tried to escape his grip. But Clark was stronger and still a bit more by mind than Jordan. It was a turbulent flight with two almost crashes into a mountain and into the ocean and a near collision with a Canadian passenger plane. But eventually Clark managed to get them into the fortress, where Lara reacted quickly and flooded the room with red-solar-light to prevent them from escaping while starting to treat them…
None of them was aware that Jonathan, the other human-Kryptonian-hybrid, (even if he denied that) was affected by the red-Kryptonite, too…
Lois was able to grab the ELT and pressed the button.
"CLARK, CLARK, CLARK… JONATHAN IS…" Lois yelled into the ringing ELT, unaware that Clark is getting a high dose of red-solar-energy, before Jonathan grabbed her, pushed her on the ground and took the ELT to shatter it on the ground.
"A DAMSEL! YOU TOLD ME YOU WANT TO SHOW ME HOW TO BE AN EXTRAORDINARY HUMAN! BUT EVERYTHING YOU TAUGHT ME IS HOW TO BE A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS AND HOW TO HIDE BEHIND MY BROTHER!"
"JONATHAN, PLEASE… AGHHHH…"
Jonathan grabbed Lois violently by her hair and pulled her up from the floor…
"I HATE IT! THIS FEELING OF BEEING USELESS! UNWANTED!" Jonathan screamed and slapped Lois violently into the face again.
Lois stumbled on the ground again and looked up in fear on her son, who had now clearly visible red streaks around his red eyes…
How could she be so stupid? How she couldn't realize that the red-Kryptonite could affect Jonathan, too. He was standing there the whole time. He was exposed to it longer than Clark and Jordan! So even with fewer Kryptonian-traits, Jonathan got a higher dose than them. Suddenly Lois realized that the bottle with the perfume was still in the living-room.
Did it open and its content spilled over the rug? Is the whole house now contaminated? From past experience she knew that it would be enough if Jonathan gets some distance to it. Maybe she could get him out of the house long enough for the effect to stop until he gets back to normal. With Clark it was the same? But how long? With Clark it took hours? How long will it take for Jonathan?
"Jonathan, please… This is not you! That comes from the red Kryptonite! Leave the house and stay away as long as I…"
Lois couldn't finish as Jonathan suddenly grabbed her by her throat to lift her from the ground.
"Kryptonite does not affect me! I am human!" Jonathan ranted angrily.
"Jonathan… you're Kryptonian, too! Powers or not… listen it is affecting you… you have to leave…"
"Kryptonians are selfish, arrogant tyrants with superpowers, that they use to show everyone how superior they are compared to us ordinary humans. AND YOU DARE TO CALL ME SUCH A BULLSHIT?!" Jonathan yelled angrily, grabbed his mother by her hair again and pulled her violently to the little broom closet below the stairs.
Lois whole body was already aching, so she didn't feel any more pain when Jonathan pushed her into the little room where she hit with her head against the wall. This was enough to let her get slightly dazed, but not enough to knock her out completely. So, she could see how her normally so selfless and kind son, smashed the door close violently to lock her up in the tiny dark chamber…
In Metropolis…
"Lex, I know you will scold me for asking this dumb question. But what are we waiting for?"
"Patience, Ms. Teschmacher! Patience!" Lex said, looking on his wristwatch.
In the fortress…
Lara worked eagerly to decrypt the substance that poisoned her son and her grandson. Both lost consciousness while laying on the floor of the fortress under the red solar light. Full of worry, Lara looked over to them and hoped that nobody else got in touch with it. Including Jonathan…
In Smallville…
Lois was dazed but full of adrenaline while she could hear the sound of shattering glass, breaking wood and other noise that clearly indicated that Jonathan was running havoc in the house.
"JONATHAN… JONATHAN… STAY AWAY FROM THE PERFUME!" Lois yelled.
"I AM NOT A KRYPTONIAN! I AM NOT AFFECTED BY KRYPTONITE! KRYPTONIANS ARE MONSTERS!" Jonathan yelled hammering with his fist from outside against the jammed door.
Lois burst out in tears. The red Kryptonite seemed to let his suppressed frustration of the past years come forward.
"I HATE SMALLVILLE! I HATE JORDAN'S POWERS! I HATE SUPERMAN! I HATE KRYPTON!" Jonathan continued jelling while Lois could hear even more noise, that made it evident that Jonathan was demolishing their furniture.
Desperately Lois start to scream again…
"CLAAAAARK… CLAAAAARK… "
But Clark couldn't hear her…
In Metropolis…
Lex checked the time on his wristwatch once more, guessing that enough time has passed for Lois to get home, have dinner with her family and then leaving again…
"Ms. Teschmacher, we start with phase two!" Lex said.
The woman nodded and left the room to tell it to the others. Lex turned to a tablet, that was laying on the table next to him and pushed some buttons…
An animated map of the United States appeared on his screen with a blurred green spot, spreading around Metropolis and several other major cities in a hundreds of miles wide radius…
"It's time… Superman!" Lex said with a vicious smile.
In Smallville…
Jonathan was only a second away from using a butcher knife to cut of his own hand in the already destroyed living-room when he suddenly stopped…
He stopped screaming, he stopped ranting, he stopped destroying the house… he was just silent… suddenly feeling that urge to leave…
"JONATHAN? JONATHAN?" Lois yelled from her prison.
This silence was scaring her. Why is Jonathan suddenly so quiet? She knew he was still in the house. Still near that bottle with the red-Kryptonite-perfume! But why he was so quiet…
Jonathan walked calmly through the room. With the knife in his hand he went to the corridor, grabbled the keys for his car, his phone, and a little package with matches before he left the house…
Leaving his trapped, injured and crying mother alone…