Jonathan was so relieved about Timmy Tanner's generous help. He simply had no clue where to go else. He couldn't face his parents after that scene, and he couldn't look Jordan into the eyes anymore. And he knew very well that the General would be only mad on him again.
Jonathan knew Timmy since young age. They used to live next door to each other until they were eight. Then Timmy moved with his parents to Germany, since his father was a journalist, too and became head correspondent for Central Europe. Even after that they kept in touch. Shortly before Jon moved with his family to Smallville, the Tanners returned to Metropolis. But lived in another neighborhood now. They didn't even get a chance to meet back then.
Jon tried everyone he knew. But since most of his old friends from the football-team quit their friendship after his move and he barely had more friends, it was hard to find someone who was willing to accommodate him. Especially on that short notice. Smallville was no option. If the people there would know what happened today, they would see it as a permission to be even meaner to him.
One woman from Smallville used her phone to film Jon when he left the bus to be prepared to have evidence when he buys X-K. She was surprised when she instead saw Jonathan bursting out in tears and hugging that other teenager. She couldn't hear what they said, but slowly even she began to believe that this was not an X-K-purchase-trip…
"Get me away from here!" Jon wailed. "Please!"
"Come… My parents wait at the car!" Timmy told calmly and put his arm around his friends' shoulders and led him away from the platforms and to the parking-lot.
Seeing Jonathan's trembling and panicked face, even let the Smallville-woman wonder if it was not wrong to post this…
In Smallville, Clark was floating high over the land to listen to Jonathan. But his hearing was impaired. Anyway, he felt still weak and tired from his recent fight with Ally. It was even difficult to keep up in the air. But the worry for Jonathan was bigger than the pain in his limbs.
What happened? Why did he leave Jonathan alone? Why didn't he stay after their return? Clark thought Jonathan would understand it, like he always does! But what about the fact that he ditched him before? And where could he be? His doppelganger was in custody!
Down on the ground his panicked family called everyone they knew to ask if Jonathan was with them. Jordan reached out his own hearing to localize his brother's voice. Being ashamed for not noticing how his brother left. He suddenly heard him crying…
"I HEAR HIM! DAD!" Jordan yelled up towards the sky, hoping his father could hear him.
At the same time Lois had luck when she called Brit and Dunn's! The store where Jon was working.
"Yes, I saw him!" Denise Olowe, who was at the store for her shift, said. "When I was coming to the store, I saw him at the bus-station!"
"At the bus-station?!" Lois asked shocked. "Did he drive away?"
"MOM!" Jordan yelled. "I hear him."
"WHAT?" Lois yelled and hung off without saying goodbye to Denise.
"He is… oh… Mrs. Tanner!" Jordan recognized a female voice greeting Jonathan warmly. "Mom, he is with the Tanners!"
"The Tanners?"
"Yes, mom! Timmy Tanner's parents! Who used to live next to us!"
"How did he get to Germany?" Lois asked shocked.
"NO, MOM! Timmy and his parents moved back to Metropolis last year!" Jordan explained. Remembering how sad he was that he got no chance to reconnect. Timmy was one of the few friends he had who never made fun of his attics.
"Do you have their address?" Lois asked.
Jonathan would have a lot to explain to them. How he dared to scare them so bad or to run away when there was a doppelganger with the purpose to merge with him out there? But for now, Lois was at least relieved to know where Jon was and that he was with friends. Lois grabbed her ELT again and pressed the button to get Clark back on the ground.
"CLARK! Jordan has found Jonathan! Come down here and fly us over there!"
In Metropolis, Jonathan was still not able to relax. He was still scared and the Tanner's noticed that! He purposefully didn't speak! He didn't want his father or his brother to localize him. At least not until he was safe, and he knew how to face them. Still having this stupid and gleeful smiles of his brother and his father in his mind when they returned from their fun-trip.
The Tanners knew from their past experience with the Kents, that Lois and Clark were that type of parents that care more about their jobs then about their kids. When their son told them about Jon's desperate call and his obvious fear of something, all alarms rang in their heads. So, they immediately agreed that Jon could stay overnight in their guestroom…
"Would you like to talk?" Randy Tanner, Timmy's father, asked politely.
Jon shook his head.
"Not here…!" he whispered and looked out of the window again.
It was late, but still not that dark outside. And he cold see that they were in a neighborhood in the outskirts of Metropolis. He liked the Tanners: The total opposite of his own parents. Unlike his parents, who were an intrepid and 'extraordinary' reporter and a superhero who hides his muscular body under oversized clothes, the Tanners were an ordinary airline-service clerk and an ordinary man who hid his man-boobs under a compression shirt…
His parents meanwhile were worried. But also mad…
Lois and Clark both knew that they couldn't just land in front of the Tanner's car, grab Jon and fly him back to Smallville. The Tanners would call the police and the press immediately. And the last thing Superman needs was a news report about him kidnapping a teenager who was 'visiting a friend'. Not only they would need a plausible story for the Tanners to explain how they got here so quickly, but they would also maybe need to explain why Jon was so upset. At least that was what Jordan could hear.
The Tanners parked their car in front of their house, which was in a quite dead-end road…
"Siegelberg!" Jon wailed when he left the car.
It was that kind of suburb, his father always said he would like to live in. Neat, detached houses with gardens that had more small-town-feeling than big-city-vibes. For Jon it was just bourgeois! This was not Metropolis in his eyes. But… it was near Metropolis and most importantly: It was not Smallville! The people here don't know him, and he could walk around without receiving rants and insults.
"I know it is not like our old neighborhood in the city, but it's quite nice!" Timmy told before he suddenly spotted Jon's parents walking around the corner. "Ehm… Jon… aren't that your parents?"
Jon turned around to see indeed his parents walking towards him. They ran faster but at human pace to get to him. Jon turned pale.
"JONATHAN!" Clark exclaimed. As much as Clark wanted to scold Jon for running away and scaring them so much, he was just glad that he was okay. "Here you are."
"JONATHAN! We were worried!" Lois added.
"Leave me alone! I have nothing to say to you anymore!" Jonathan said and turned around offended. He could already think how they found him. And that made him even more upset.
"Jonathan, please…" Clark said, grabbing his son by his arm.
Jonathan shrieked like a scared little child and pulled his arm away. Looking on his father with fear and disgust. Clark immediately shied back again. Especially when he saw the shocked expression of the Tanners, who immediately start to believe the worst.
"Sorry!" Clark said, also wondering why Jonathan reacts as if he wanted to pull off his arm. "Jonathan, I understand that you are mad on me. But was it really necessary to lash out on your brother?"
"Jordan humiliated me! He made fun of me doing chores while he got a fun day!" Jonathan yelled.
"That's not true! Your brother was sad, and I needed to cheer him up!" Clark said.
"NO! I was sad, too! I asked you for help and you just showed me how useless and inferior I am because I am…" Jonathan yelled before he bit on his tongue and looked behind him to see the Tanner's still standing there. "…not like you!"
As much as he wanted to yell, he couldn't since they didn't know about the secret. One more thing that bothered Jon. Clark realized this and saw that the Tanners got even more suspicious. Jonathan turned around again to face them.
"Could you give us a minute?" Jon asked.
"Sure?" Timmy asked.
"Timmy, please! Mr. and Mrs. Tanner, it's okay! I call you when I need something!" Jonathan said as calm as possible. But the Tanners didn't buy it.
As soon as Jonathan turned to his parents again, Timmy's mom made an unambiguous gesture to show Lois and Clark 'I-Watch-you'! Timmy pulled out his phone to show that he was willing to make a call to the police if necessary. Timmy's dad just looked at them with this disappointed look. Making it evident that he was keeping an eye on them, too.
Lois and Clark knew the Tanners from the time the boys were little. Before they moved to Europe. And Lois was grateful for the countless of occasions when Timmy's mom stepped in as babysitter, or when the boys could spend the night with them if she or Clark were busy. The Tanners went into their house and Clark could hear them whispering…
"I don't like this!"
"Stay at the windows!"
"I call Mary, she should know about this!"
Clark looked on his son again, who looked on him with disgust and anger…
"Jonathan, I understand that you are frustrated…"
"No! You don't understand anything! Because nothing I do, and nothing I say does matter!" Jonathan ranted. "Ever since we moved to Smallville, you don't care about anything I say or how I feel! Today, I asked you for help! No, I literally begged for help! And you brush me off and screw away with Jordan to have fun with him, while I am brooding all day how to tell you guys what I want to tell you for months now. So, I know now what your plan is to help me: Running your farm while you train your heir!"
"Jonathan, are you mad that your brother can fly?" Clark asked shocked.
"No! I am mad, because Jordan's fucking powers are everything you care about! Jordan's powers have ruined my life! I don't know what to do with my future! And no matter what I do, everyone keeps telling and showing me how useless I am because I have no powers! Powers I always thought, you didn't want us to have. But today, you have proved me that it was all a lie!"
Jonathan fought to not to yell all these things out loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear. Both Lois and Clark could hear in Jon's voice that he was struggling to not to scream.
"Wait, do you really think that we don't love you?" Lois asked shocked now.
"For Jordan you do absolutely everything! Even breaking the law! For me you have done nothing! I have done everything you wanted but that was not enough! I am never good enough for you! So, leave me alone and go to my bizarro-self! He can fly! He fits into your perfect family! He fulfills your wishes! I give up trying! Because nothing else matters! And because it makes no sense to try!" Jonathan ranted and turned away from them again. "I need some time to think now how to get my life back in track on my own!"
"Please, Jonathan…" Lois said and tried to put her hand on her son's shoulder, but Jonathan used his left hand to slap his mother's hand away. Shocking his mother.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!"
"Jonathan, calm down!" Clark ordered harshly. "Watch your language! You want to talk, fine! We talk! But not here! We go home and then we talk about it!"
Clark didn't want to have this discussion here. In Siegelberg! A neighborhood that had the reputation to be safe and clean, but also noisy, bourgeois and chatty!
"I tried! I really tried to! I tried to be patient and give Smallville and you a chance! But it doesn't make any sense! It's useless!" Jonathan yelled, a tear running down his face. "You made that clear today. Just leave me alone! I am sick and tired of running after you!"
"And what do you want to do now?" Clark asked. "Move in with the Tanners, or what?"
"I don't know! But at first, I want to take a shower and don't want to think about how you and Jordan sneered me today." Jonathan wailed and turned around again and smelled on his clothes.
He was still wearing the clothes; he was wearing while doing all the chores. He could imagine that he was smelling like the barn. One more reason why he couldn't wait to take a shower. This was now the moment he realized that he didn't even have clothes to change with him. He came to Metropolis with nothing expect what he was wearing.
"Jonathan, what happened in the barn?" Lois asked and tried to put her hand on her son's shoulder but once again he slapped it away.
"I SAID DON'T TOUCH ME!" Jonathan screamed now.
"JONATHAN…" Clark yelled now louder, too.
"CLARK, BACK OFF!" Lois screamed now the loudest and throw herself in-between her son and her husband before she whispered: "The Tanners watch!"
Clark's eyes wandered to the Tanner's house again. With his super-vision he could see Mr. Tanner standing in the den, watching them with his phone in the hand. Timmy stood in the corridor behind the closed front-door and filmed them with his own phone through the narrow window next to the door. And Mrs. Tanner stood in the living-room window. Clearly visible with the landline phone in her hand, talking to another woman.
"…yes, Mary! Do you see them? Keep your eyes open, that might be a case for you…" Clark heard her whispering.
Suddenly a cold shiver ran down Clark's back when he could suddenly feel another pair of eyes looking on him piercingly as if he was a monster. It got worse, when Lois suddenly put her hand on his chest and looked on him accusingly.
"Clark, go… and wait in the car!" Lois said with a raised eyebrow.
Go and wait in the car, was usually their code word for 'go and change into your alter-ego'! But this time it was meant for the Tanners to calm down. And for Lois to be a moment alone with Jon. Guessing he was willing to talk to her more than with Clark. Clark just nodded silently and walked away, thinking that Jonathan might be more open with Lois alone.
Lois waited for a minute for Clark to leave out of 'human-ear range' before she looked on her son again.
"Jonathan, please tell me what happened!"
"You really want to know that? The last time you didn't want to listen!"
"And that was a mistake!" Lois said, guessing that Jon was talking about that day when they figured out about the X-K. "Please… you shouldn't be here! What if your doppelganger shows up here? He could hurt the Tanners!"
"I was alone on the farm all day! You think that it makes a difference if I am here alone or there alone?"
"You didn't know that your father takes Jordan for a flying-lesson?"
"No! I was left behind after I told him that everyone hates me! He openly showed me today, that my only purpose in life is to be a farmworker. That nothing I ever achieved matters and that there is nothing I can do to get his pride! That I am useless and unimportant!"
"That was not okay from him!" Lois said. "But I don't think your father did that on purpose. I am so sorry, if I had known that…"
"You would have just praised Jordan for his flying!"
"No! Now that you tell me that, I am really mad on your brother!"
"And what he gets from you? Ice-cream, like when he broke my arm or after he cheated his way into the team?"
"No… please… just… aghh…"
Lois was not sure what to say now. She wanted to take Jonathan back home. But now she began to realize that something terrible must have happened today before Clark took Jordan flying. She might be still a bit mad on Jonathan for the X-K, but that didn't change the fact that he might have got hurt today. And now that Ally was out of action for now and she had a quite moment to think about other things again, Lois realized that she should have taken a closer look on Jonathan's X-K-motives. Maybe things wouldn't have developed like they did. She looked over to the Tanner's house again. Wondering again if it was safe enough. She knew, Jonathan's doppelganger was still here on their Earth. But he was locked up for now. The Tanners would be not in danger. At least as long as they know where Jon's doppelganger is.
"You know what: I understand why Aunt Lucy so urgently wants to merge! Because this is the only way to get your attention. And I think I know why my doppelganger wants to merge! I think his parents don't listen to him either! Maybe I should do it! Merge with my inverse! Because then you guys will listen to me!"
"NO!" Lois cried up loudly and burst out in tears after hearing that. "Please…"
"You think I am a disappointment because I am human! But I got disappointed much more. I can't go on anymore with this fuss! I can't go on pretending that I am fine with everything!"
"Jonathan, please! We will find a solution!"
"Your husband told me the same before he screwed off and left me alone with my worries!"
Jonathan was about to turn around again when Lois took him by his hand again. This time, Jonathan didn't slap it away immediately.
"Please, Jonathan! I know you are mad and disappointed! You…" Lois eyes wandered to the Tanner's house again. She had no clue what to do to calm down Jonathan, so she decided to let him stay. "…you can stay here for tonight! I know you are too mad to listen to any of us right now! And I admit that I need some time to figure out what is going on here, too! Just please… take this!"
Lois grabbed into her pocket to give her ELT to Jonathan.
"What am I supposed to do with that?"
"Call your father if you have a vision or if there is trouble!" Lois said.
"I was waiting for an ELT for months! And now after I leave, you give me one? I don't want to have anything to do with this Superhero-bullshit anymore!" Jonathan ranted before he looked on the ELT in his hand again. "But if you really insist on it… I keep it!"
"Please… You can stay with the Tanners tonight! But tomorrow I come back, and we talk about everything. Just me, okay!" Lois offered, which seemed to find Jon's approval. "First, I need to scold your father and your brother for today. We love you, Jonathan! Please don't doubt that!"
Jonathan didn't respond to the last sentence. He turned around and went into the house. Leaving his crying mother behind when he closed the door after him. Bursting out in tears again.
Lois began to cry, too. Because she realized that Jon might have been offended terribly today: First Clark makes a promise to him, but then decided to spend the day with Jordan only. Jonathan was always reliable and patient. But maybe they took advantage of that too much? The whole X-K-disaster came so surprisingly and so suddenly, both she and Clark were not able to get smart out of it. Maybe, now that Ally was dealt with (at least temporarily) it was time to focus on that issue instead.
"CLARK!" Lois yelled loudly and turned around again. Hoping that the Tanner's could hear her. Clark was standing at the crossroad and probably heard everything they said. "GET ME HOME! WE HAVE TO TALK!"
Jonathan meanwhile stood behind the closed door of the Tanner's house and the tears start to flow down his face again. Timmy approached him. Even if his friend tried to hide it, Jon knew that he watched and probably heard some of what he said outside.
"Hey… are you okay?"
"I don't know!" Jon confessed.
"Would you like to talk about it?" his friend offered.
"May we do that not here?" Jon asked, looking over to Mrs. Tanner who was still talking on the phone with someone while watching Lois leaving outside upset and Mr. Tanner to do the same on the other window.
"Let's go upstairs!" Timmy offered.
In Smallville, Jordan was sitting in the living-room and felt much better than before.
After his parents left, his grandfather took him aside and praised him for his progress he made today. Just a little bit later John-Henry and Natalie arrived to fill them in with the latest developments, too. They also congratulated Jordan for his flying. Unaware of the drama…
The one who was most happy (and maybe most concerned, too) for Jordan was his grandfather Sam, who congratulated him, but also remembered him to be careful and to not to fly too deep and to close to possible witnesses. They don't need people to talk about a second person flying around.
"I think it is time for you to get an own suit!" Sam suggested. "Something to hide your identity. Flying might be awesome in your eyes, but it is the easiest way to get caught…"
"But it also feels so incredibly awesome! It's so cool!" Jordan raved again. "Too bad Jon is not happy for me!"
"Your brother will calm down! Your parents bring him over and the first thing he will do is better apologizing to you!" Sam told, ignoring the fact that his other grandson might be offended.
Sam barely finished the sentence when Jordan turned his head around, after hearing his father approaching…
"They are coming!"
Just a second later there was the sound of a landing and Lois stormed into the house through the rear door. Totally upset and on the verge of crying.
"…I swear that it was an accident!" Clark wailed after following her inside.
"And why it feels like it has been on purpose?" Lois asked upset, before turning around. "JORDAN!"
"Yes?" Jordan, who was still sitting on the couch, asked a bit worried after hearing his mother yelling. Lois turned around to face her son and got closer.
"You are grounded!"
"Grounded? What for?" Jordan asked shocked. "I thought you are proud on me?"
"That was before I figured out that your father only took you flying to show your brother that he is less worth than you!" Lois cried out and a tear ran down her face. Shocking Jordan…
"Lois, this is not true! That was not what I wanted, when I took Jordan to the fortress today!" Clark defended himself.
"And if Jonathan would have sat on the bench in town? Would you have taken him to the fortress instead?" Lois asked.
Clark became pale. He wouldn't have taken Jonathan to the fortress; he would have brought him back to the farm to do the chores and given him some extra work for going away.
"Dammit, Clark! If you only want children with powers, I am sorry that I gave birth to one without!" Lois yelled into Clark's face and turned back to Jordan. "And you, go up to your room and don't dare to use any powers when you do your brother's chores tomorrow. I need to think about everything…"
After the last sentence, Lois stormed away, hid in her office and smashed the doors close to cry and to hide her shame for lashing out on everyone, too…
Suddenly, Jordan realized that today was not a day to celebrate…
In Metropolis…
The Tanner's house was a typical suburban home in this quiet and bourgeois suburb. A detached house with garage, garden, basement, three bedrooms and two and a half-bathroom. Unlike the farm, it has a more modern style, and it was evident that most things were new. That was not a big surprise, since the Tanner's returned to the United States just 15 months ago after spending almost 7 years in Germany…
When Jonathan followed his friend upstairs to the guestroom, where he was supposed to spend the night, he watched various photos of the Tanner's at various places in Europe hanging on the walls. One more thing that made Jon's move to Smallville worse: He was trapped there, while his friend's move opened him the world…
"It's not like in New Troy, but it is nice! The subway-station is nearby and the ride to the city is relatively short!" Timmy told, referring to their old neighborhood. "We liked it in Germany, and we thought about staying there. But we decided to return, because my grandparents are both old and sick. So, we are closer to them!"
Jon became pensive. One of the reasons he moved to Smallville, was also because he wanted to feel closer to Martha…
"This is where you can sleep!" Timmy said and opened the door to a small bedroom, that was a bit bigger than Jon's at the farm. It had a bed, a dresser, a chair, a mirror and was clean and neat. "My room is right next door, and the bathroom is over there!"
"Thank you!" Jon murmured abashed.
Timmy noticed that Jon was still upset.
"Jon… ehm… listen, I know you are that kind of person who keeps your feelings for you all the time and put others first! But if you need something… or if you want to talk…?"
"Thank you, Timmy!" Jon said and looked on his friend. "I… could you give me five minutes, please!"
"Of course!" Timmy said and left the room. "I'll be in my room if you need something!"
As soon as Jon was alone, he took a deep breath. He still couldn't believe how he lashed out on his mother just minutes ago. He looked down on the ELT he just got from her. He had the terrible feeling that he was going to bleed for coming here…