When Jonathan began to run, he was totally aimless…
He shuddered at the thought of getting brought to his father's fortress. Even if he had wanted to see it in the past, he knew now that its only purpose was to fool him that he is actually a part of the family. That he only does that because he said that he never got taken there.
And why his mother should want him to be taken to a motel? Which motel? He didn't understand it! After the very first flight of his life with John-Henry, whom he once hoped he could learn from something about the cool stuff he is inventing, but instead got pushed aside, too, Jonathan's mind went black. After he sent John-Henry away to get him something to drink, he used the opportunity and start to run.
And so, despite the pain in his feet and actually his whole body, Jonathan starts to run. He was near Metropolis, that's what he knew. Crystal Lake, he heard John-Henry saying. From the countless of times, he spent on Google Maps while waiting for his grandfather to invite him to another fishing-trip, he knew the surroundings of every lake in the region. Knowing now that his grandfather only took him for fishing-trips because he thought that he might have powers, he still knew that the highway … was nearby.
Totally wet, and still with the injury on his foot, Jonathan limped through the thick forest and reached the highway faster than expected. He climbed over the crash barrier and stepped on the driveway that led to Metropolis… forcing the driver of a station-wagon to break hardly.
The woman let out a horrified scream when suddenly this dirty and injured teenager appeared in front of her on the driveway. Her husband next to her start to scream too while the woman pushed the brake pedal with all her power. With squeaking tires the Volvo slipped over the street directly on Jonathan, who was too exhausted, too tired and too desperate to even think about jumping out of the way.
When the car hit him, it was already too slow to really hurt him. He got tackled worse in football-matches. But it was still enough to pull him off his feet and smash him on the engine cowling where he instinctively used both of his hands to hold on to not to slip down on the road again.
The driver and her husband both screamed even louder in shock. Ignoring the honking and the squeaking tires of the other cars that had to break and to sheer out to avoid crashing into them.
"OH MY GOD!" the woman yelled.
"HELP ME!" Jonathan cried desperately. "PLEASE, HELP ME!"
Seeing Jonathan crying the couple in the car immediately start to think the worst. The woman turned on the hazard lights and both jumped out of the car to look after Jonathan…
"Hey, boy… what happened with you? Are you okay?"
"Please… Help me! They are after me!" Jonathan cried before suddenly a police-siren sound up.
A police-car, that was driving a bit behind the station-wagon noticed the sudden stop and the traffic-jam it caused for other vehicles to pass the blocked lane. So, they decided to stop and look what happened! Hearing the police-siren, Jonathan got scared again. Thinking they will hand him over to the DOD again.
With a loud shriek, Jonathan shied away and sat down on the asphalt in a fetal position. He wanted to run, but his body wasn't obeying him anymore. He was petrified.
"What is going on here?" one of the police-officers asked when he and his colleague left their car.
"Officer… this boy ran in front of our car!" the woman told.
Seeing the injured child, both officers got worried and looked for Jonathan immediately. They didn't need long to see his injuries, his terrible condition and the obvious signs of abuse and if someone examined him…
"Hey, young man… what's your name?"
Jonathan didn't respond. Instead, he breathed harder and harder.
"He has a panic attack!" the woman who hit Jonathan with his car realized immediately. She knew very well how to handle this situation. "Hey… don't worry… breath… in… and out… in… and out…"
As a guidance counsellor in a middle-school, she was trained to handle kids and teens. A child with a panic attack was what she was trained for. And indeed, she was able to calm Jonathan down.
"Everything will be okay! Nobody is going to hurt you!" the woman told calmly. "What is your name?"
Jon was still visibly scared. He feared to tell his name, since he thought that they would only get him back to the DOD… Jon breathed harder again, and the woman noticed that.
"What happened with you?"
"I want to get home!" Jon cried.
"You look like you need a doctor!" one of the officers said. "Shouldn't we rather get you to the hospital!"
"NO! NO HOSPITAL! HOME! I WANT TO GO HOME!"
"It's okay… we get you home!" the officer suggested.
In truth, the officers wanted to get Jonathan to the next hospital first…
John-Henry, who wanted to help Jonathan at any cost, could only watch how Jonathan got escorted into the police-car. After what happened in front of the Tanner's house, John-Henry knew he couldn't just go there, grab him and take him away. He was not Jon's father, and he couldn't explain the situation without revealing that he is Steel. He also couldn't go there as Steel, take the boy and fly with him away. They will all think that he kidnaps him on the order of Lois Lane again, like they believed it with the DOD at the hospital. Lois Lane knows Superman, who knows Steel! He would only worse everything when he goes there now.
And so, John-Henry was forced to watch Jonathan gotten taken by the police. The main thing was that he was unhurt (at least not more than he already was) and that he was safe and that he could tell this to his parents…
On the rear seat of the police-car, Jonathan was still unable to relax… he was scared! Scared that everything will get worse again…
"Where are you from?" one of the officer's asked.
"Metropolis!" Jonathan told.
"Where exactly? So, we know where to bring you!" the other officer added.
"1938 Sullivan Place!" Jonathan blurted out his old address in Metropolis. "New Troy!"
"New Troy? Nice neighborhood!"
"Yes!" Jonathan murmured and thought about it. "Yes, it is!"
In the meantime, Jonathan's father Clark was floating high over the state to use his weakened hearing (he spent too much time in the red sunlight) to localize Jonathan…
Lois yelled ever and ever again on the driver of the van, she and Chrissy were sitting in to get them faster back to Metropolis. She had a suspicion where Jonathan might be…
Jordan meanwhile used his superspeed to get away from Sam and leave the DOD-facility to get back to Smallville. Thinking that John-Henry brought Jon to his place to hide him there. His parents wondered if it was not a bad idea to leave Jordan back with Sam. After everything they figured out today about Sam's true intentions. But for once, Jordan should take care of himself. Jordan had powers, so he could get away. Even if Jordan didn't dare to fly now.
Clark looked around and tried to handle all the unclear sounds of foreigners and from people he didn't need to hear… suddenly John-Henry appeared in front of him, to tell him that Jonathan ran away again and is now with the police…
Lois meanwhile continued yelling on the driver to get them to New Troy…
Jordan arrived at John-Henry's place, broke the door while entering and rushed around to search for his brother. When Natalie arrived, she scolded him for the damages and informed him that Jonathan was in Metropolis. At the same time, both learned that the town was about to expect a lot of trouble because the X-K…
Jonathan meanwhile watched the buildings pass the police-car. He was really back in Metropolis. For real this time! Not in Siegelberg, which he never really counted as a part of Metropolis, but in Metropolis. Then he spotted the typical brownstones and townhouses of New Troy. His old neighborhood. Indeed, he felt better…
He had no clue that both officers discreetly checked the address he told them. And that both got a message on their computer in the front that the father of the family, who lives at that address, is a consultant for the police. And that he and his whole family, are currently on a wedding in Dallas. And the colleague in the central dispatch knew that, because she brought them to the airport the day before and the boy who was sitting with them in the police-car was not the 12-year-old son who lives at the house.
Both officers realized that the boy told them a wrong address… maybe out of fear, but maybe he had other intentions…
"What is your name?" the officer at the wheel asked again.
Jonathan remained silent.
"Did someone hurt you?"
Once again Jonathan didn't dare to open his mouth.
"Hey… if someone is after you, we can help you!" the other officer told calmly. "Just tell us what happened!"
It was obvious that Jonathan was hurt. Maybe he was a kidnapping victim? Or he was an abused child that ran away from home? But what about the address he told them…
Suddenly there was a new message on the computer with new information…
After checking who lived at that address before the current residents, they knew the Kent's lived there. And Jonathan Kent was reported as kidnapped… a photo of Jonathan was attached, and the officers knew immediately that it was the boy who was with them.
"You are Jonathan Kent, are you?"
"Ehm… where…" Jonathan was shocked.
"Everyone is looking for you and everyone is worried about you! After you vanished out of the hospital!"
"Don't get me back… they bring me back to that cell!" Jonathan said scared.
"Cell?! Did they held you hostage?" the officer asked shocked.
Jonathan didn't respond to this. He just burst out in tears again.
"I want to go home! Just get me home!" Jonathan cried and looked up again.
He was back in his neighborhood. He was where he wanted to be… but what are they going to do with him now? Both police officers knew that they couldn't bring him back to his 'current' home in Smallville, since the CPS was in charge now and Smallville was dangerous for him…
"Hey… Jonathan… you are safe! Don't worry! Mrs. Parker and Detective Parker are…"
"LET ME OUT!" Jonathan yelled loudly and jumped out of the car, when it stopped at a red traffic-light…
"HEY! WAIT…" the officer said shocked when they realized that Jonathan was able to open the rear door on his own.
Since Jonathan was not under arrest and just 'a scarred teen in need' they let the rear doors unlocked. Jonathan used this an jumped out of the car. The officers tried to follow him, but Jonathan knew this neighborhood to well to know where to hide and get lost again…
In Smallville…
Through the window, Jordan could see press-vehicles, FBI-vehicles, and even army-vehicles arriving in town. In the distance he spotted the cranky mother from the election-night again, who attacked Jon with Gaines in front of everyone… other parents and some elder people stood around her to accuse her of being Gaines' accomplice. With his superhearing Jordan could hear them…
"…you must have known that!" a man yelled.
"NO! Gaines told me that Jonathan Kent was responsible alone!"
"Your son and everyone else in the team knew that the X-K came from the Pergrandes! Even Gaines knew it! And you? What did he give you in exchange for that scene at the election-rally? Money? The promise to let your son play again?"
"He lied to me, too! What was I supposed to do?" the woman yelled.
"Maybe thinking that the grandson of Martha Kent, the woman who supported you and your son after the divorce from your abusive husband, who helped you to get your son back after the CPS took him into custody, would never sell drugs! We all could see that Gaines wanted to evict the boy from the team from the first day!"
"The boy is not Martha Kent's grandson! His father was adopted!" the woman defended herself.
That sentence let Jordan become disgusted. Of course, Martha was their grandmother. She always made that clear that no matter that their father was adopted, that Jon and he were her grandsons. Even if she would be very mad on him, too now for everything what happened to Jon because of the powers. She would demand him to give up his powers, too.
"Where should I have known that Gaines is a liar?" the woman yelled now.
"What about your son? Wasn't he one of those who bought that stuff, too? You're a liar, too!"
"Aghh…" the woman starts to run away. Followed by angry rants of the other people.
For some reason, Jordan felt a sick feeling of joy over the woman's pain… maybe because he knew how much she hurt Jon and now got what she deserved for believing this liar. Jordan looked around again and saw people talking. He noticed two teens sitting on a bench and listened to them…
"You think they will figure out about me, too?"
"How much did you buy from Candice?"
"More than Kent!"
"Fuck! Candice is going to tell them everything! As soon as they offer her a chance, she is telling her father to them!"
"Well… Emmit Pergrande would deserve it! Some other guys in the trailer-park say that they once caught him stealing a car…"
"Whatever happens, it is over! No X-Kryptonite anymore, no powers… Jonathan Kent will tell the police everything, now that he gets taken out of here! I mean, I would do the same!"
"Me, too!"
Jordan fell on his knees and start to cry, hiding below the window and listening to more proves that the people in this town had obviously not a pinch of respect for his brother, for him, or even for Martha… Slowly he felt that urge to move back to Metropolis, too…
Clark followed John-Henry to Metropolis, where they tried to find Jonathan in the police-stations. Clark had to change back into Clark before. He feared to make everything worse if he goes out there as Superman, asking for the son of Lois Lane and making a scene. He didn't need to spread more rumors. It was worse enough what he got to hear from Smallville…
At the local police-station in New Troy (their old neighborhood), Clark could hear several officers talking about 'a missed teenager' who 'ran away' in New Troy and could be still in that district. Clark suddenly realized directly, where Jonathan was… because there was only one place in New Troy, Jonathan would want to go more than anything…
Lois knew that, too… and Jonathan went there indeed…
When Jonathan arrived, he felt for the first time in years that he was home…
There didn't change really much! Mrs. Smith has different flowers in her flower-baskets. Mr. Johnson seemed to have bought a new car. And in the house of the Harrisons, he could see new curtains in the windows. Anything else was like it was before they suddenly left and moved to Smallville.
These sounds, the smells, the atmosphere… it was like before he left. For some reason, Jonathan felt as if the street was welcoming him back. And there it was…
1938 Sullivan Place, New Troy, Metropolis. The brownstone he used to grow up in! His home!
With tears in his eyes, Jonathan walked up the stairs and put his hands on the locked door. All lights were off. Through the narrow window next to the door, he could see in the darkness inside that the walls were painted in a different color. It looked like the people who live here now are not at home. But Jonathan, in all his desire to see his house again, pressed the button for the doorbell.
The more modern sound of the new doorbell… this cared feeling it caused when he was hearing it… it remembered him the better times. Before Superman, before Jordan's powers, before his whole world got turned upside down… when he could only be himself! When he had a good life! When he had friends, he could rely on! When he knew that he gets rewarded for his hard work!
Jonathan rang the doorbell again! Inside the house nothing moved! No lights went on, no person got waken up, nobody was home! Jonathan's eyes wandered over to the little metal-plate over the doorbell. KENT was once engraved in it. But now it was a different plate with the name HALE on it.
Jonathan didn't know very much about the people who bought their house. After their move, his parents rented it out for a while to those people before they sold it to them. Jonathan once asked his mother what kind of people live in their house now. She told him she tells him later, but forgot it, since suddenly Natalie popped up and she had to deal with her own feelings. Jonathan understood that. He knew he couldn't demand from Superman to stop helping those who need help and whom he could help. He knew his mother had problems, too! He knew his brother had problems, too!
Jonathan rang the doorbell again. Only to hear it. Since nobody was moving inside, he knew now that the people who live here now, were not at home. But Jonathan didn't care… he pressed the button for the doorbell again, just to hear it again…
Clark could hear their old doorbell, too when he landed on a safe spot and knew that he was right…
Lois meanwhile could feel that she was right when she ordered the driver harshly to stop two blocks away from their old house to jump out and order the driver to get Chrissy back to her car at the motel. And to forget that he ever was in this neighborhood. And so, she ran to their house…
Lois and Clark both spotted their son sitting on the stairs in front of their former house. Jonathan already sank on his knees and was sitting on the cold concrete with his head leaned on the locked door. Both start to run to get closer. Seeing each other only in the last moment.
"Jonathan!" both said, ignoring the presence of each other.
Jonathan looked up and saw his parents arriving. His father from the left, his mother from the right side. Both obviously arrived from different directions. And his father was back in civilian clothes with his glasses, to be Clark again.
"Oh, thanks god, you are safe!" Lois said.
Jonathan didn't respond. He just turned his head away and cramped up again. His parents were shocked to see that their son still had these visible injuries all over and that the borrowed clothes from the Tanners were so dirty. But Clark knew already from John-Henry that it was because Jon jumped into a dirty lake to wash away X-K.
"Leave me alone!" the boy wailed.
"No… Jonathan, please!" Clark said with tears in his eyes when he and Lois got closer to look on Jon. "Oh… I am so sorry! I am so so sorry! You shouldn't have never gone through what you experienced today!"
"Jonathan, you are not going to get locked up there ever again! The DOD is not going to hurt you…" Lois added.
Jonathan turned his head away again.
"And what now?" the boy asked. "How long I will be grounded?"
"Grounded? What for?" Lois asked shocked.
"For getting caught and revealing your secret to the DOD!"
"That was not your fault…" Clark exclaimed shocked. "…It was my fault! I shouldn't have left with Jordan! I should have come back to the farm with him immediately…"
"No! No, you only say this to let me think that you care!" Jonathan said.
"That is not true! We love you and we are worried about you!" Clark cried.
"Since when? Since my blood is Kryptonian?" Jonathan cried.
"No… Jonathan, you have always been Kryptonian. Just like your brother! And I can't tell you how sorry I am for letting you feel left out!"
Jonathan turned now to his father and looked on him with a glare that could kill him, if he could…
"You don't get it!"
"Jonathan, I…"
"My whole life, I am doing everything to get your attention. My whole life I asked me day by day why you seem to care more about your job than about me. All these times you two…" Jonathan pointed with his finger now on Lois, too. "…didn't make it to anything. All these times I asked myself if you two ever wanted me…"
Hearing that sentence let Lois tremble hardly. A tear flow down her face.
"…but I understood it! I knew, your jobs are important! I knew that it was what gives us a roof over our heads or food on the table. And after you turned out to be an alien…" Jonathan ranted and pointed on Clark again. "…everything made sense. I mean… I know an earthquake, a crashing plane, or a big natural disaster is more important… and when you… you said that you want to be more around… I wanted to give it a chance! I was willing to give Smallville a chance! Because I knew, how much you like it and because I knew grandma would have been happy!"
A tear flow down Jonathan's face again… everyone understood it…
"I was willing to wait… because Jordan's powers were unstable, and he was a danger for others… and because he was in pain and he was suffering enough. You only heard it, but I witnessed how much he was bullied and some of it was more than mean. But the more time passed and the more… you start to enjoy his powers… the more I realized that it was not because of me… you only wanted children with powers!"
"This is not true! I never wanted any of you to have powers!" Clark cried.
"So why you show me ever and ever again that Jordan is better than me? That you are superior to me? Or that I need powers to get your attention and your approval?" Jonathan cried. "After our move, you didn't want me to meet Jor-El! Telling directly that he is only Jordan's grandfather. Not mine! When you trained football with Jordan, you used your superspeed to snatch the ball out of my hands to show me that you are better than me!"
"That was not okay from me! No, it was extremely shabby of me! And I am…" Clark began but Jonathan was not done.
"Whenever I needed you… whenever I begged for your attention, you changed the topic on how to be a better father to Jordan and help him to deal with his powers! But I…? You don't know what to do with me, because you have no clue what it means to have powers! This is everything what matters! For you, for grandpa… for your Kryptonian-parents… for everyone… Do you have any idea how it is to get bullied for not having superpowers? How it was for me when I realized that Coach Gaines prefers those who cheat, like Jordan?"
"Gaines will pay for it! I promise…" Clark said.
"Your promises are worthless! You are not here because you really care about me! You only want to safe your own ass!" Jonathan yelled. "Or do you really want me to believe that fuss that Lara is suddenly interested in me, or that she really wants to take Jordan's powers?"
"Because it is true!" Clark yelled now louder, too. He held his mouth in shock and took a deep breath before continuing. "Your brother went really to her! He told her what you said! And she really wants to take his powers away! Calling me a shame for every real Kryptonian, who never had powers! Nobody on Krypton had powers! And not taking you to the fortress is reason enough for her to disown me and Jordan. And your grandmother Martha would have done the same!"
Suddenly Clark could feel his adoptive mother's disappointment and her embarrassment over his mistakes. And he could feel her watching him right now from heaven and shaking her head.
"If she would have been present yesterday, she would have kicked me and Jordan out of the house! I… I think she really wanted to sell the place!"
"What about the money she gave to Coach Gaines?" Jonathan asked.
Lois was surprised to hear that. "Which money?"
"I found her notes a while ago!" Jonathan told. "Grandma gave Gaines 1.500 Dollar at some point! And she gave money to Barb Dodge! That was the cranky woman who attacked me in front of everyone one and who you agreed to!"
"Aww… Jonathan, I know I should have punched her into her face for what she did! And the next time I see her I will do it!" Lois cried. "But…"
"But you are not better!" Jonathan yelled, which hurt Lois. "Whenever I needed you, too you brushed me off to go and get yourself in danger! To run after a story! And when I tried to explain you why I took the X-K, you didn't want to give me a chance to explain myself. I was ashamed. I knew it was the biggest mistake of my life. But everyone tells me that I am not more than a drug addict loser. Ever since we moved to Smallville, everyone tells me that I am worthless… and I? Nobody wants to give me a chance! Nobody wants to listen to me! And what for? Just because of some fucking powers, you keep telling me that they make you better than me!"
"Jonathan, please…" Clark cried… "…I know that what I have done is unforgivable…"
"No! What I have done is unforgivable!" Jonathan said. "I was the one who ruined the football-season. I am responsible for Gaines' and Candice's arrest. Nothing else matters… everyone is going to blame me! So, stop pretending… I know you only care about Jordan's well-being… and the worst is: I would have forgiven you for yesterday, if there was a real emergency! But you only did that because you only wanted powered children! I give up…"
Suddenly a police-siren sound up and a police-car stopped in front of the house. Lois and Clark were so distracted by their son's sorrow, that both didn't notice the police car until it stopped in front of their house…
"Jonathan…" suddenly Mary Parker, the social worker from the CPS, yelled when she left the rear seat of the police car and spotted the boy.
Jonathan suddenly lifts from his spot, tottered down the stairs and fell into Mrs. Parker's arms where he burst out in tears.
"Don't get me back to Smallville… I hate it! I hate Smallville so much!" Jonathan cried.
"Shhh… there there… you are safe!" she said.
In shock… both Lois and Clark could only watch Jonathan running away from them again. Trusting this foreigner more than them… there it was no big surprise, that both quickly got arrested again. This time for kidnapping…