In Ketchikan and in all surrounding communities the chaos broke out…
After the shot down of the governor's plane and the 'firework' on Pennock Island, everyone who wasn't hiding home was rushing to the police-station, the town halls and community centers to seek shelter, get input, or to ask more questions, nobody had an answer for…
Janet's reporter friend Stacey stood on the parking-lot of the ferry-terminal while in the background the two prepared cranes were visible but didn't move, since everything got evacuated…
"…that the new explosions let more and more people believe that the plane-crash of yesterday was a terroristic act to lure Jonathan Kent out of his hideout, more and more people start to believe is here in Ketchikan or in it's surrounding…"
In the community-center, Connor would be usually in now in his office, the people start to get louder. Some were worried while others felt flattered that Jonathan Kent chose their town for his post-Smallville-recovery.
The governor of Alaska got loaded into an ambulance to get brought to the hospital. But before, he called in Washington to inform the federal government about the current situation. Army and Navy were informed. The airspace got closed, cruise-ships that were about to dock, turned and got away as quick as possible, disappointing thousands of tourists who hoped to get a glimpse on the 'Jon-Kent-Boeing', too.
Connor's heart was beating inhumanly fast while the sweat ran down his body… unable to believe what he just did, while he was sitting on the mountain-top over Ketchikan. He was sitting with his face towards south. When he looked right, he saw Ketchikan and Saxman, with the smoke rising up from Pennock Island and the destroyed plane. When he looked left, he saw the uninhabited valley with the Upper and the Lower Ketchikan Lakes, where he once wanted to bury the crystals with Lara and the one for the new fortress he got from her, too. To get rid of them. Instead, he accidentally created a new fortress, that luckily got hidden under a landslide. And thanks to the earthquake that happened during the creation of the fortress, nobody got suspicious…
But soon the people will find it! Know that he is a liar! A fake like his father! An alien! A goddammed alien from a planet, that destroyed itself with its own arrogance and excessiveness! They put him back to the lab… they put Joel in the lab… they cut open Janet to put Martha into the lab, too… they lock up Janet in prison… they put everyone he loves in prison… and Gaines? Gaines will get away, just as usual…
Connor's body cramped up and the tears flew down his face…
"CONNOR, WHERE ARE YOU?" Janet yelled under the sound of her ELT-watch. In her voice, he could hear that she was scared, too.
"Daddy?"
Connor stopped freaking out immediately the moment he heard Joel's sweet little voice. He had to be strong! He is not an alien; he is an earthling! He was born in Metropolis, not on Krypton! He couldn't risk freaking out now! His son… no his whole family needs him! He handles their uninvited guests later. For now, he should go back to his son!
With his hearing, Connor checked everyone…
Janet and Joel were in the fortress. His father-in-law went back to the town-hall. His mother-in-law was on the way there, too. And Tim was in town again with his fiancé Kate to convince her to go to his parents and wait there. His 'so-called' family, was in the basement of his house and wouldn't get out there for a while. He had a lightbulb for red sunlight installed there years ago, in case his powers get too much for him. Also, he jammed the door…
In his house, the former Kents and Ironses realized that, too…
Everyone yelled when they spotted each other…
Everyone was mad on each other for even being here…
Everyone stopped screaming when they realized that they were trapped…
Connor's brother-in-law Tim jumped out of the Taxi and went to the house to clap loudly with his hands on the locked door. After checking that his fiancé was okay, he returned to look if there was anything he could do.
"JAN! SIS, ARE YOU THERE?" Tim yelled. "CONNOR!?"
Nobody responded! He could only hear Ace barking loudly. But luckily Tim knew about the spare key that was hidden in a fake stone in-between he fronts yard's flowers. After unlocking the door, he was shocked about the chaos. The dog was in the kitchen, barking loudly on the refrigerator that was placed in front of the door that led to the stairs to basement. And it was obvious that someone was down there.
"What the hell is going on here?" Tim asked and went to the fridge to push it aside to look who was down there.
But then suddenly in a blur his brother-in-law appeared, yelled that they have to go to the fortress, grabbed him and the animals and left the house in a blur again…
At the DOK, Anderson realized that he was not in control of the situation anymore…
The tracking signal and the audio connection to Superman got lost somewhere over the Tongass Narrow between Ketchikan and Pennock Island. Jordan Kent was obviously kidnapped by Smallvillains, who shot with grenades on planes and to make everything worse, President Biden himself called him to scold him…
"…no Mr. President, we don't know how they were able to get their hands on weapons… No, Mr. President, we are not going to invade Ketchikan… Yes, Mr. President… Yes, this is a pure anti-terrorist raid there…" Anderson claimed.
Anderson realized that he was in trouble. Especially when everyone figures out that he is not so innocent in all of this…
"General Anderson… I think I found something!" suddenly one of the soldiers said.
"Mr. President, I call you back…" Anderson said and ignored President Bidens angry demand to stay on the phone before leaning to his man. "What?"
"We identified the voice. It was without doubt Harold Gaines! He is the head of this cell!"
"What are they planning?"
"We don't know yet! But there is even more! Before Superman's signal vanished completely, there was a short glimpse of the signal at this location…" the man told and pointed with his finger on a satellite picture of Ketchikan. Directly on Connor's and Janet's house…
"That's a private house! Who is living there?" Anderson asked.
The man made some entries on his keyboard to open a database to see the names of the house owners.
"A young family! Connor and Janet Johnson!" the soldier said before opening a file with their photos from the DMV.
Anderson looked on the couple's photos and their personal data closely. Janet had another haircut on the photo but according to height and weight, both could match to the people, the drones detected floating over Etolin Island. Then he took a closer look at Connor's picture…
"Compare the man with Jonathan Kent!" Anderson ordered.
The soldier opened another file with a photo of Jonathan Kent shortly before he was freed by the Clark from the other Earth. They had some similarities, but the eye color was without doubt the same Kryptonian-blue, the hair-color was the same, and the head form and some basics…
"His name is Connor Johnson! Nee Reynolds! 33 years old, social worker!"
"Social worker?!" Anderson asked curious. "And nee Reynolds? He took over his wife's name after marrying her?"
"Yes, sir! He is very popular in that community! He has just found his own foundation that supports juvenile crime-victims and drug-addicts on recovery." the soldier continued. "Jonathan Kent would fit into his list of protégés."
"He would so fit to be him, with this hero-complex he has inherited from his father! Anything else about him?" Anderson asked.
"Not much… There is almost nothing about him in any database before he came to Ketchikan… almost…"
"Almost what?"
"Almost… as if he never existed before he moved to Ketchikan! No school-records, no social-media… and… the social security number is from a… oh…"
"What?"
"Connor Johnson… Or under his birth name Connor Reynolds born 1991, died 1992 at age of 10 months in Chicago… his identity is a fake!" the soldier told before suddenly new information popped up on his screen. "Oh… and the woman is pregnant! We found social-media accounts of her. She is pregnant in ninth month!"
"Looks like we have finally found Jonathan Kent again!" Anderson said.
"Yes… and the Smallvillains, too!"
"Don't share this information! Absolute news-ban! I go to that town by myself!
In Ketchikan…
Jordan stormed up the stairs of the basement after Natalie untied him, to get away from his parents…
"Jordan, please…" Lois begged.
"SHUT UP! I am not talking with you anymore!" Jordan yelled before he realized that the door was jammed.
"Jordan, I have nothing to do with…" Clark said but Lois cut him off.
"Clark, shut up!" Lois yelled, looking around in the basement that was full of shelves with all kinds of stuff and goods to see if there was anything useful.
"Lois, I swear I have nothing to do with it…"
"Our son believes, I am the woman who placed the bomb aboard his brother-in-law's plane!" Lois ranted back. "How do you explain that?"
"LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT!" Jordan yelled while jamming with his fists against the door, trying to push it open.
"The Smallvillains placed the bomb!"
"His brother-in-law was aboard the plane? No surprise he saved it!"
"Gaines is here?!"
"SILENCE!" Natalie yelled.
Suddenly it really became silent in the basement and all eyes were fixed on Natalie, who was not tied up, not gagged and who looked as if she wants to kill everyone…
"YELLING IS NOT A SOLUTION!" Natalie yelled before taking a deep breath. A tear ran down her face. "Yes… you made all mistakes! And yes, you are mad on each other! But hell… Jon is freaking out and he is so close from getting exposed! And you guys have nothing better to do than continue what you led to fall apart in the first place!"
"Gosh… you are right…" Clark murmured. "We have to stop Gaines!"
"What is he planning anyway? Here?" Lois asked. "And what has it to do with the strange woman?"
"Woman?" Clark asked.
"SHUT UP… We shouldn't be here anyway! I shouldn't be here!" Jordan wailed. "I didn't do anything to support Jon after I got my powers. Instead, I turned into Mr. Arrogant, while you punished him for something, I would have done much earlier, if I would have been the one you treated like crap!"
"Jordan, I am so sorry… we made a lot of mistakes. With both of you! But…" Lois wailed but Jordan didn't listen.
With a loud scream, Jordan stormed upstairs again to smash with his left shoulder against the jammed door… The impact was so hard, that the door and the fridge that jammed it got pushed away a few inches. With a loud roar, Jordan could feel something in his body breaking while he slipped, and his head got pushed into the narrow opening that was created. Jamming his own head in between the doorframe and the door when the fridge slipped back and blocked the way again.
"AGHHH…"
Jordan's pain-filled roar alarmed everyone downstairs. In shock, they saw that Jordan's head was struck and that the weight of the fridge pressed on his throat. Threatening to strangle him…
"Oh my god… JORDAN!" Clark yelled shocked and ran upstairs to help him.
Suddenly everyone forgot it, since they saw that Jordan was about to get strangled by the door. Together everyone pressed against the door that, under the help of three adult humans and an adult weakened Kryptonian slipped open, and the fridge tipped over to crash with a loud thud on the tilted floor of the kitchen. At least Jordan's head got freed, and he was able to breath again…
"Aghh… aww… cough… awww…" Jordan wailed and held his hurting throat. Blood was tripping out of a wound on his head and his shoulder was definitely broken. "Aghhh… that hurts…"
"Jordan are you okay?" his mother wailed and looked on the bleeding wounds.
Clark used his quickly returning x-ray-vision to check Jordan. His left scapula was fractured. And he had some bruises all over…
"We need to get you to a hospital!" Clark said.
"Aghh… we have broken Jon's fridge!" Jordan wailed.
"We buy him a new one! But please… a doctor needs to look on your shoulder!" Clark wailed desperately.
"Don't touch me!" Jordan wailed and lifted to run away…
Natalie and John-Henry grabbed Lois to carry her out, but Lois tore herself free to look around in the house while Clark recovered in the incoming sunlight at the kitchen-window from the red sunlight in the basement and from the Kryptonite he was exposed to.
Jordan meanwhile ran down the hill to get away from his brother's house before anyone recognizes him or before he lures anyone near that place when he suddenly stumbled and roared in pain again due to his broken shoulder.
Jordan's painful roar cached the attention of a man who was in his open garage to get some wood for his chimney and who was shocked to find the severely injured Jordan on the road.
"Sir… what happened?"
"Sma… Smallvillains… They… they are here…" Jordan wailed before he lost his consciousness…
"CINDY, CALL 9-1-1!" the man began to yell towards the house to get his wife's attention…
Unaware of the drama, Lois walked with tear-filled eyes through the house to see how her son lives in freedom… So nice, so clean, so spacious…
Clark found the damaged leftovers of the microphone on his uniform. So, nobody could see or hear anything at the DOK. Maybe he had a chance to get out of this without luring them here! But for that he had to keep sure that nobody sees him. He looked around and saw now too how his son was living today… free, carefree, as a part of a family…
Clark spotted pictures of 'Connor' during various activities; he should have made with his sons instead of focusing on Jordan's training all the time… for that Janet's family had everything good about Jon now. They were profiting from his presence. Clark looked around to see his son's style in the house, mixed with the Alaska-charm of his wife. And he saw the toys spread all over from Joel. And he became moody, knowing that he was not a part of this life and will never be…
Clark couldn't resist and went upstairs to see the rest of the house. His son's bedroom he shared with his wife, Joel's room and a third bedroom that was already prepared for a baby-girl… and her name was supposed to be Martha…
A cold shiver ran down Clark's back when he spotted the name Martha in big letters on the pink painted wall over the prepared baby-bed. Everything was ready for baby Martha… Martha! Just thinking about that name, Clark had to think about his own mother…
He could feel her looking on him now. Shaking her head in disappointment again. Scolding him for all his mistakes. She would have prevented it. She would have forced him to take both boys to the fortress, treat both equally, be there for them equally… if she had been there, everything bad that would have happened would have been prevented. Jon loved her and looked up to her. And knowing that, it was no surprise that he names his daughter after this great woman.
Tears shot in Clark's eyes when he looked around. Lois was kneeling next to the empty baby-bed. Thinking about her own pregnancy and the daughter she once lost when the boys were little. Knowing in what fear her daughter-in-law must be now. The guilt and the regret got even worse…
"What have we done, Clark?" Lois cried up.
"Too much of the wrong!" Clark confessed and kneeled next to her to comfort her, while in the distance, both could hear an ambulance approaching…
Connor meanwhile rushed back into town to get some things from his office and to lock away some important documents before he wanted to rush back to the fortress to be with his wife and his child again. He was so upset; he almost didn't notice Stacey entering his office.
"Connor?!"
"AGHH…" Connor yelled in shock and dropped some documents he wanted to store away. "WHAT?"
"Oh sorry! I didn't want to scare you!" Stacey apologized. "Do you have a minute?"
"It's not a good moment right now!" Connor wailed while collecting the spilled documents from the floor.
"Sorry, but I am reporting about everything what is going on here right now! Jonathan Kent has created a hype…"
"I have nothing to do with Jonathan Kent!" Connor wailed while locking the filing cabinet and the desk drawlers.
"I know… I just hoped that you, as the manager of this community center, and…"
"Stacey, I am not going to talk about this, and I have no time right now!"
"But…"
"Janet is in labor!" it blurted out of Connor.
"WHAT?"
Connor became pale. That lie went too far and it would just let people get more focused on them.
"I mean… ehm… she was in pain today." Connor improvised and turned pale. "It could have been birth pangs! But we are not sure, yet!"
"Oh, I am so excited for you!" Stacey raved.
"Please, we are not sure yet! It could be false alarm! Maybe due to all this stress that is currently going on! When we are sure that it is labor we will tell everyone." Connor wailed and stormed out of the office. "Excuse me…"
"Connor?!"
Connor shuddered at the sound of another voice. One of his colleagues here…
"There you are. The whole place is full of people asking for you! The people are scared…"
"Jan is in labor; I have no time!" Connor lied again and start to rush out before anyone could congratulate him again for something he just made up…
In the meantime, Sam managed to break out of the suite and ran down into the lobby, where he shocked the present employees with his sudden ability to walk…
In the fortress…
Janet could indeed feel their daughter kicking upset in her belly. And a painful itch in her abdomen that felt a bit like a contraction. As someone who had already given birth to a child, she knew how they felt. But she hoped that she wouldn't be given birth now. Not today! Not when their whole world was about to fall apart.
"UNCLE TIM!" Joel exclaimed happily when Janet's brother suddenly came into the fortress.
"Hey, big boy!" Tim said, trying to not to show his shock and his fear openly.
The dog and the cat came in, too and start to run around to get rid of the shock of the superspeed journey through the forest with their owner. The animals knew this place already. And for Joel it was already the fifth visit here. Even if he couldn't remember the first ones. Janet was glad to see her brother who could distract the boy while she figures out what is going on.
"Sis, are you okay?" Tim asked worried when he saw his sister sweating as if she just came out of a sauna.
"Yeah… I am just scared!" Janet told and lift from the ground to get to the big room where she would consult Lara. "Tim… Please, look after Joel! Keep an eye on him! I need to call someone…"
Connor's fortress, that was an accident, was so perfect hidden in the landscape, not even hikers that came to this place could recognize it as a real 'Kryptonian' fortress from outside. Since it was made with a lot of Earth materials, it was the perfect mix of Connor's (unaccepted) alien-heritage and his Earth-home. A wooden door, Connor build with his father-in-law once for another project secured the fortress. From his mother-in-law came some decorations in the corridor that led to the big main-room with the control-podium and Lara's crystal. While Tim stayed with Joel in the corridor, Janet went to the main room.
Janet passed a lot of shelves and workbenches with all kinds of technical equipment, Connor developed over the years. In a filing cabinet were a lot of blueprints and sketches with notes for more projects. Connor was a genius with a lot of potential. It was a shame that he couldn't show it openly. Full of worry, Janet looked on the locked filing cabinet. Knowing that Connor had his most important project locked in there. Fearing he might never finish it. Even if he could really save the world with it…
But Janet had to be strong now. For Joel and for Connor, too. And so, she took Lara's crystal with her sweaty hands and inserted it in the podium to get Lara's holographic image alive…
"Janet, my dear granddaughter-in-law, it is nice to see you again! What brings you to me?" Lara asked as friendly as usual.
"Lara… it is about your grandson…" Janet told, ignoring the pain in her body and start to tell her husband's grandmother what just happened.
In town meanwhile…
Connor rushed across the street to get to his car, to get it out of sight and avoid people thinking that he is at work. In the distance he could hear the sirens of police boats and gunshots…
Hearing the shots, Connor focused with his supervision on the south of Pennock Island, where he could see the police trying to arrest the Smallvillains, that obviously were not only well equipped but also well armed. But as much as Connor would love to see them in prison, he couldn't risk exposing himself. Connor got into his car to drive across the abandoned streets back to his house. On his way there an ambulance passed him with howling sirens. He could also hear the people gossiping about the possibility that 'Alaskaman' is really a local…
Bad memories woke up in Connor again…
In the meantime, Gaines and the other Smallvillains shot back, all while Gaines sneaked away to get into a hidden, lead-lined tunnel that led directly into a hidden cave with a small mini-submarine…
"Coach… where are you going?" one of his henchmen yelled scared.
"Me? I AM GOING TO DO WHAT'S RIGHT AND GIVE QB2 WHAT HE DESERVED!" Gaines ranted and pulled a lever to power up everything…
Connor meanwhile wondered why he didn't notice before that Smallvillains were here. And worst of all Gaines! The man who the whole world hated and who only managed to get away because he got help from Lex Luthor! The man who swore to destroy him for destroying his life…
Connor knew it was useless to try to make peace with Gaines. The man was for him what Lex Luthor was for his mother. And he made it clear that he will never give up destroying him. And for what? For something he was not even fully responsible alone. And only for being a moved in big city boy. For excising! And for being powerless back then…
Connor parked his car in front of his house again and looked around to keep sure nobody saw him. The car, John-Henry and Natalie came with was still there. Remembering him that he had to deal with them, too…
Inside the house, nobody noticed that Jordan got brought away in an ambulance. Clark was too scared to get outside since people would see and recognize him. And so, he just stood in the room where his granddaughter was supposed to live in as soon as she is born. Once again, tears shot in his eyes when he thought about the fact that he couldn't be a part of her life. Just like he can't be a part of his son's and his grandson's life…
"HEY… Get out of there!" Natalie ranted harshly when she stood suddenly in the open door.
Lois just burst out in tears again and turned away to use both hands to hold on the baby-bed. Clark put his hands behind his back in surrender and lowered his head. Knowing he had no other choice he followed Natalie out, while John-Henry took Lois by her shoulders to get her out of baby Martha's bedroom.
The house was deadly silent now. Connor, his family, and the pets were gone. Clark's hearing was still impaired, so he couldn't hear where they were now. But he hoped that they have a place where they can hide for a while until everything has calmed down…
What he definitely didn't expect was that suddenly the door opened, and 'Connor' came in again…
Suddenly everything went silent again. It seemed to get darker. And everyone was suddenly scared…
Connor turned pale…
He was here! In his house! This was his save heaven! His home! The home of his family! But his father, the man who made it clear that he does not love or accept him, the man who made his life first difficult and then pure hell, the man he once adored and who he so desperately wanted to be proud on him… he stood in front of him after all these years, looking like a small heap of misery. With bags under his eyes, aged ten years (which was uncommon for a Kryptonian) and as if he was about to cry…
Clark could feel the tension and the fear in his son. Now that he saw his son and his new face for the first time directly, he had so many questions. But he feared to speak, too. Lois burst out in tears again. John-Henry placed himself behind Clark and Natalie behind Lois. John-Henry had Kryptonite-handcuffs with him…
"We leave!" Natalie said. "Mr… ehm… Mister, we are so so sorry for bothering you and for… scaring you!"
Connor remained silent…
"We take sure that nobody will bother you and your family ever again!" John-Henry added.
Once again, Connor remained silent…
"We better leave now! We need to get… Jordan, too!" Natalie said, unaware that Jordan collapsed a block away and got already brought away by an ambulance.
Suddenly Connor raised his hand to show that they should stay…
"Before you leave… What are you doing here?" Connor asked, trying to sound as calm as possible.
Lois lowered her head in shame and start to tell what happened and why she came here. Only the part with her cancer she left out…
What none of them noticed was how the police raided the shack on Pennock Island and not only hurt two Smallvillains but also were able to secure some weapons. But the big boss, Harold Gaines managed to get away in a mini submarine. Another present from Luthor…
Angrily Gaines looked on a screen in the narrow vessel to watch the news. Janet's friend Stacey was on air again…
"…that many people here in town believe now that the attacks were on purpose to lure Jonathan Kent out of his hideout. Many people I have talked to have told me that they would be willing to protect Jonathan Kent's identity if they know it…"
"Idiots! You have no clue what you are up to!" Gaines ranted and turned around to pull a lever to let the submarine climb up to the surface again. "Let's see what you think about him after the little surprise I have for you!"