Earlier
Jimmy was still strung up like a scarecrow as he tried to focus. General Zod had kidnapped him to use a pawn to lower Superman's defenses, knowing of their friendship.
"I can't let Zod kill Superman, not after all the times he's saved me," Jimmy said as he heard a sound from coming from all around him. "Hello? Who's there?"
Seconds later, Jimmy didn't know whether to be afraid or relieved. "It's you..."
A creature that looked like a smaller version of Doomsday appeared, wearing the lower half of Superboy's costume as it approached Jimmy. Around its neck was a necklace of red kryptonite.
"Superboy?" Jimmy asked. "It's me, Jimmy. We've met a few times, remember? I'm friends with your dad. And right now he's in trouble. I want to help him, but you need to get me off of this."
Doomsday let out a low growl as it got closer to Jimmy, its mind highly confused right now..
"Red kryptonite? If I remember right, that stuff messes with Kryptonian DNA," Jimmy told him. "You're still in there, Superboy. I know you want to save your dad. Please, let me help you. I'm not your enemy, Superboy, trust me."
Doomsday punched the pole Jimmy was tied to, causing it break and fall to the ground, freeing Jimmy in the process. He carefully approached and put his hand on Doomsday's head. "It's okay, kid, I'm a friend. I'm just going to take this necklace off of you and we can go help your dad."
Jimmy slowly removed the necklace and tossed it into the cornfield as far as he could throw it. "Okay, now we just have to wait for the effects to wear off. Unless you're thinking what I'm thinking."
Moments later, Jimmy was riding on Superboy's back as the creature bounded several miles at a time.
"It's weird, usually I'm the one who gets turned into the weird creatures!" Jimmy shouted as he held on tight.
# # # # #
Now
"Wait, that's Superboy?" Lois asked as she looked at the smaller version of Doomsday. She couldn't call him 'son' in front of Jimmy.
"Zod used red kryptonite on him," Superman said as he held out a hand toward his son while removing the radiation suit so his son could see him. "Son, it's me. It's your father. We'll find a way to return you to your normal self, I promise. I just need you to stay calm."
"Destroy him!" Zod shouted. "Harness your destructive rage! I created you, you will obey Zod!"
"Don't listen to him," Superman said calmly as he got closer. "I know you're scared right now, but we're all here, and we want to help you. You have to remember who your family is."
"Kill them all!" Zod ordered. "Crush them for General Zod! I command this!"
Doomsday stared between his father and Zod before finally ramming Zod, breaking through the bedroom wall, causing them fall to the ground outside.
"Jimmy, are you okay?" Lois asked.
"Yeah," Jimmy said. "Anyone got a spare shirt I could borrow?"
Outside, Doomsday and Zod were trading punches as Superman and Chris flew outside, followed by Ursa and Non, who tackled the Man of Steel and his adopted son to the ground. Zod punched Doomsday, causing a glass shattering vibration. Superman had to catch Chris before he fell to the ground after tossing Non off of him.
"Alright, Zod, it's over," Superman said as he pulled out the lead-lined box with the gold kryptonite inside. "I have the gold kryptonite."
"And you're really willing risk both your powers, and those of these children?" Zod asked.
"It'll be worth it to remove you as a threat," Superman told him. "We'll both be normal, Zod. Human."
"You would give up what makes you a God to these creatures? Give up the gifts that your father sent you here with? And all for these... insects?"
"You know that I would," Superman said. "I would die for any one of them."
"Then, by all means, DO," Zod said as he aimed the ring for a large rock nearby. Doomsday grabbed Zod's hand and bit his ring finger off in its sharpened teeth, causing Zod to scream in pain. Non rushed Doomsday, sending him crashing into a barn and he picked Zod up.
"Non, come!" Ursa shouted as the two took to the air. "This isn't over, son of Jor-El!"
Superman was about to take off when Chris grabbed his cape.
"*No, they lost the ring," Chris told him. "It's over for now, father."
*Translated from Kryptonian
"No," Superman told him as he stared at the barn, then up to the trio, who were disappearing quickly into the sky. "It's not."
The Man of Steel flew to the large open hole, looking inside. Where Doomsday had landed was now a small boy, huddled in the fetal position and whimpering in fear. Superman took off his cape and carefully wrapped it around Jon's half-naked boy, picking him up to comfort him.
"It's okay, Jon, it's over for now," Superman whispered softly as he rubbed his son's back. "You're safe now, I promise."
# # # # #
"What happened to you?" Jimmy asked as he saw Connor on the couch, with a bandage over his chest where he'd been impaled during Zod's attack.
"What hasn't happened to me?" Connor asked as he stared away as Superman walked in, holding Jon his arms. "Thank you, Jimmy. You brought my boy back to me."
"Is he going to be okay?" Jimmy asked. "And why did they attack Clark Kent's house? Is Clark okay? What about his son?"
"They're on a fishing trip, they're perfectly safe," Superman told him. "And Superboy just needs a little time to recover, and he'll be as good as new. I'll put him down upstairs and fly you back to Metropolis."
"You're... Connor, right?" Jimmy asked as he looked at the other boy. "I thought you were seeing the world."
"I did," Connor said as he looked out the window. "Maybe I should have stayed out there."
# # # # #
After taking Jimmy back to the city, Superman was flying out of Metropolis as Lois talked into his earpiece.
"There's no sign of the ring," Lois told him over the phone as she swept up the debris in Chris's room. "Jon must have... swallowed it."
"I'll examine him with my x-ray vision when I get home," Superman told her. "If he did swallow it, then all we can do is... wait for it to pass. At least for now the ring is out of Zod's hands. Is he still asleep?"
"He's having nightmares," Lois said as she looked into Jon's room, where Martha was sitting at his bedside. "Poor little guy is tossing and turning. I don't know what to do."
"He's been through a traumatic experience, we'll have to help him through it as much as we can, but this is ultimately Jon's journey," Superman said. "The League is on red alert for Zod right now. I'm going to scour the globe a few times, I may be late getting home."
"Let it go, just for tonight," Lois said. "Zod can't hurt us anymore, not right now at least. Our boys need us."
There was a brief pause on the other end as the Man of Steel weighed the options of who needed him more in this moment.
"You're right, I'm on my way now," Superman told her as he headed home.
# # # # #
"I don't speak Kryptonian," Connor said as he looked at Chris, who'd taken a seat on the couch and tried to communicate with him. "I guess this makes me the odd man out, now. Everyone has powers in this family except me."
Chris just put a hand on his shoulder, giving him a sympathetic look.
"Don't look at me like that," Connor told him. "I'm not falling for the puppy dog eyes. It doesn't work with Jon, and it won't work with you."
Chris was about to get up when Connor grabbed his arm.
"Jon, he's really impressionable," Connor said. "He's going to look up to you, make you into some of kind of idol. Don't hurt him, and don't let him down, because that's my kid brother up there in that bed, and if you do something that breaks his confidence in the 'S' shield, then powers or not, I will end you."
# # # # #
Elsewhere on Earth
Zod's ring finger had been cauterized to prevent any more bleeding as he stared at his hand. He was now a finger short, and he had been humiliated by the child of his sworn enemy.
"This insult will not stand," Zod said bitterly. "I will topple the House of El, and then Kal-El and his heirs will all kneel before me. And our son will be forced to watch before I break his neck."
"We will have our vengeance," Ursa told him. "But first we have bigger things to look forward to."
Ursa took Zod's hand and put it on her stomach. "Soon we will have another heir to the House of Zod. A proper heir."
"Of course, my dear, how selfish of me," Zod smiled. "It is this child's right to destroy its treacherous older sibling and take their rightful place at our side. Lor-Zod will regret the day he betrayed us. Our family will destroy theirs. But the son of Kal-El will suffer a worse fate for what he's done. I will rip him apart while his father watches."
"You should gather your strength first, my love," Ursa said.
"Yes, we will rest and plan our vengeance," Zod told her. "In the meantime, let the threat of our existence haunt their dreams."
SUPERMAN FAMILY ALBUM
Clark was bringing flowers to Lana Lang's house, not for any particular reason, but just because he wanted to do something nice for her now that they were dating. As he rang the doorbell, he waited patiently, then as the door opened he was met with the six foot form of an older boy with buzz cut reddish blonde hair. He was overly muscular with a very tight t-shirt that showed off his physique.
"Is Lana home?" Clark asked.
"Who wants to know?"
"Her boyfrie--"
"Alvin!" Lana shouted as he pushed the older boy aside. "You'll have to forgive my brother. Alvin, this is Clark, I told you we were dating now."
The older boy just growled at Clark.
"You didn't mention your brother was back in town," Clark said under his breath.
"Brothers, plural," Lana said as two other identical boys joined Alvin. Alvin was by the far the biggest and more muscular of the triplets; Larry was somewhat less muscular, with glasses and neatly trimmed red hair; and Ronald was the thinnest of the trio, with shaggy reddish blonde hair and a look that said he didn't care what was going on.
The triplets had graduated high school a year before, having gone their separate ways in the world. Larry had gone off to college; Alvin had joined the military, and Ronald was just breezing through life however he could, not caring where he ended up.
"This is the little shrimp that's dating our sister?" Alvin asked. "I think we need to have a talk, farmboy."
"No!" Lana said as she got between them. "You will not scare this one away. I really like Clark."
"Lana, nothing's going to scare me away," Clark promised her. "I've cared about Lana since the first day I saw her. You three are just going to have to accept that we're dating."
"Are we now?" Alvin asked as he picked Clark up by the collar of his shirt. Clark could easily wipe the floor with this guy, but he knew that using his powers in that way would be wrong. He cared about Lana way too much to humiliate her brothers like that.
A minute later, Clark was upside down in a trash can on the curb sans pants, trying to get out as he heard the muffled sounds of Lana arguing with her brothers inside the house. The can finally tipped over as Clark fell out, trying to wipe the soiled garbage off of his remaining clothes.
The young Mr. Kent calmly marched back up to the door and pounded on it, being careful not to break the whole thing down. Alvin answered it once again and smirked, seeing Clark standing there in a long-sleeved blue shirt and red boxer shorts.
"Maybe I'll just have to drive you to the dump myself, farmboy."
"Do whatever you want to me, but I'm going to keep coming back," Clark told him. "I really like your sister, and no one is going to tell me I can't see her. So, you want to bully me? Fine. I can take it, big boy, because Lana's worth it. So, do whatever you have to do so you'll realize that I'm not going anywhere."
"Might I propose a suggestion?" Larry asked. "Something that will satisfy all parties involved? A triathlon of sorts. The three of us each propose a challenge for you to pass. And if you pass all three, you'll have our blessing to date our little sister. But if you lose, you have to leave our family alone."
"No!" Lana shouted. "This is unfair! There's no way for Clark to--"
"Deal," Clark said. "I accept your challenge. I'll fight for Lana's honor."
"Who said anything about fighting?" Larry asked as he started laughing evilly, as his two brothers joined in. Clark started laughing as well as Alvin looked at him.
"Hey, stop laughing! This is our thing!"
TO BE CONTINUED....
Jimmy was still strung up like a scarecrow as he tried to focus. General Zod had kidnapped him to use a pawn to lower Superman's defenses, knowing of their friendship.
"I can't let Zod kill Superman, not after all the times he's saved me," Jimmy said as he heard a sound from coming from all around him. "Hello? Who's there?"
Seconds later, Jimmy didn't know whether to be afraid or relieved. "It's you..."
A creature that looked like a smaller version of Doomsday appeared, wearing the lower half of Superboy's costume as it approached Jimmy. Around its neck was a necklace of red kryptonite.
"Superboy?" Jimmy asked. "It's me, Jimmy. We've met a few times, remember? I'm friends with your dad. And right now he's in trouble. I want to help him, but you need to get me off of this."
Doomsday let out a low growl as it got closer to Jimmy, its mind highly confused right now..
"Red kryptonite? If I remember right, that stuff messes with Kryptonian DNA," Jimmy told him. "You're still in there, Superboy. I know you want to save your dad. Please, let me help you. I'm not your enemy, Superboy, trust me."
Doomsday punched the pole Jimmy was tied to, causing it break and fall to the ground, freeing Jimmy in the process. He carefully approached and put his hand on Doomsday's head. "It's okay, kid, I'm a friend. I'm just going to take this necklace off of you and we can go help your dad."
Jimmy slowly removed the necklace and tossed it into the cornfield as far as he could throw it. "Okay, now we just have to wait for the effects to wear off. Unless you're thinking what I'm thinking."
Moments later, Jimmy was riding on Superboy's back as the creature bounded several miles at a time.
"It's weird, usually I'm the one who gets turned into the weird creatures!" Jimmy shouted as he held on tight.
# # # # #
Now
"Wait, that's Superboy?" Lois asked as she looked at the smaller version of Doomsday. She couldn't call him 'son' in front of Jimmy.
"Zod used red kryptonite on him," Superman said as he held out a hand toward his son while removing the radiation suit so his son could see him. "Son, it's me. It's your father. We'll find a way to return you to your normal self, I promise. I just need you to stay calm."
"Destroy him!" Zod shouted. "Harness your destructive rage! I created you, you will obey Zod!"
"Don't listen to him," Superman said calmly as he got closer. "I know you're scared right now, but we're all here, and we want to help you. You have to remember who your family is."
"Kill them all!" Zod ordered. "Crush them for General Zod! I command this!"
Doomsday stared between his father and Zod before finally ramming Zod, breaking through the bedroom wall, causing them fall to the ground outside.
"Jimmy, are you okay?" Lois asked.
"Yeah," Jimmy said. "Anyone got a spare shirt I could borrow?"
Outside, Doomsday and Zod were trading punches as Superman and Chris flew outside, followed by Ursa and Non, who tackled the Man of Steel and his adopted son to the ground. Zod punched Doomsday, causing a glass shattering vibration. Superman had to catch Chris before he fell to the ground after tossing Non off of him.
"Alright, Zod, it's over," Superman said as he pulled out the lead-lined box with the gold kryptonite inside. "I have the gold kryptonite."
"And you're really willing risk both your powers, and those of these children?" Zod asked.
"It'll be worth it to remove you as a threat," Superman told him. "We'll both be normal, Zod. Human."
"You would give up what makes you a God to these creatures? Give up the gifts that your father sent you here with? And all for these... insects?"
"You know that I would," Superman said. "I would die for any one of them."
"Then, by all means, DO," Zod said as he aimed the ring for a large rock nearby. Doomsday grabbed Zod's hand and bit his ring finger off in its sharpened teeth, causing Zod to scream in pain. Non rushed Doomsday, sending him crashing into a barn and he picked Zod up.
"Non, come!" Ursa shouted as the two took to the air. "This isn't over, son of Jor-El!"
Superman was about to take off when Chris grabbed his cape.
"*No, they lost the ring," Chris told him. "It's over for now, father."
*Translated from Kryptonian
"No," Superman told him as he stared at the barn, then up to the trio, who were disappearing quickly into the sky. "It's not."
The Man of Steel flew to the large open hole, looking inside. Where Doomsday had landed was now a small boy, huddled in the fetal position and whimpering in fear. Superman took off his cape and carefully wrapped it around Jon's half-naked boy, picking him up to comfort him.
"It's okay, Jon, it's over for now," Superman whispered softly as he rubbed his son's back. "You're safe now, I promise."
# # # # #
"What happened to you?" Jimmy asked as he saw Connor on the couch, with a bandage over his chest where he'd been impaled during Zod's attack.
"What hasn't happened to me?" Connor asked as he stared away as Superman walked in, holding Jon his arms. "Thank you, Jimmy. You brought my boy back to me."
"Is he going to be okay?" Jimmy asked. "And why did they attack Clark Kent's house? Is Clark okay? What about his son?"
"They're on a fishing trip, they're perfectly safe," Superman told him. "And Superboy just needs a little time to recover, and he'll be as good as new. I'll put him down upstairs and fly you back to Metropolis."
"You're... Connor, right?" Jimmy asked as he looked at the other boy. "I thought you were seeing the world."
"I did," Connor said as he looked out the window. "Maybe I should have stayed out there."
# # # # #
After taking Jimmy back to the city, Superman was flying out of Metropolis as Lois talked into his earpiece.
"There's no sign of the ring," Lois told him over the phone as she swept up the debris in Chris's room. "Jon must have... swallowed it."
"I'll examine him with my x-ray vision when I get home," Superman told her. "If he did swallow it, then all we can do is... wait for it to pass. At least for now the ring is out of Zod's hands. Is he still asleep?"
"He's having nightmares," Lois said as she looked into Jon's room, where Martha was sitting at his bedside. "Poor little guy is tossing and turning. I don't know what to do."
"He's been through a traumatic experience, we'll have to help him through it as much as we can, but this is ultimately Jon's journey," Superman said. "The League is on red alert for Zod right now. I'm going to scour the globe a few times, I may be late getting home."
"Let it go, just for tonight," Lois said. "Zod can't hurt us anymore, not right now at least. Our boys need us."
There was a brief pause on the other end as the Man of Steel weighed the options of who needed him more in this moment.
"You're right, I'm on my way now," Superman told her as he headed home.
# # # # #
"I don't speak Kryptonian," Connor said as he looked at Chris, who'd taken a seat on the couch and tried to communicate with him. "I guess this makes me the odd man out, now. Everyone has powers in this family except me."
Chris just put a hand on his shoulder, giving him a sympathetic look.
"Don't look at me like that," Connor told him. "I'm not falling for the puppy dog eyes. It doesn't work with Jon, and it won't work with you."
Chris was about to get up when Connor grabbed his arm.
"Jon, he's really impressionable," Connor said. "He's going to look up to you, make you into some of kind of idol. Don't hurt him, and don't let him down, because that's my kid brother up there in that bed, and if you do something that breaks his confidence in the 'S' shield, then powers or not, I will end you."
# # # # #
Elsewhere on Earth
Zod's ring finger had been cauterized to prevent any more bleeding as he stared at his hand. He was now a finger short, and he had been humiliated by the child of his sworn enemy.
"This insult will not stand," Zod said bitterly. "I will topple the House of El, and then Kal-El and his heirs will all kneel before me. And our son will be forced to watch before I break his neck."
"We will have our vengeance," Ursa told him. "But first we have bigger things to look forward to."
Ursa took Zod's hand and put it on her stomach. "Soon we will have another heir to the House of Zod. A proper heir."
"Of course, my dear, how selfish of me," Zod smiled. "It is this child's right to destroy its treacherous older sibling and take their rightful place at our side. Lor-Zod will regret the day he betrayed us. Our family will destroy theirs. But the son of Kal-El will suffer a worse fate for what he's done. I will rip him apart while his father watches."
"You should gather your strength first, my love," Ursa said.
"Yes, we will rest and plan our vengeance," Zod told her. "In the meantime, let the threat of our existence haunt their dreams."
SUPERMAN FAMILY ALBUM
Clark was bringing flowers to Lana Lang's house, not for any particular reason, but just because he wanted to do something nice for her now that they were dating. As he rang the doorbell, he waited patiently, then as the door opened he was met with the six foot form of an older boy with buzz cut reddish blonde hair. He was overly muscular with a very tight t-shirt that showed off his physique.
"Is Lana home?" Clark asked.
"Who wants to know?"
"Her boyfrie--"
"Alvin!" Lana shouted as he pushed the older boy aside. "You'll have to forgive my brother. Alvin, this is Clark, I told you we were dating now."
The older boy just growled at Clark.
"You didn't mention your brother was back in town," Clark said under his breath.
"Brothers, plural," Lana said as two other identical boys joined Alvin. Alvin was by the far the biggest and more muscular of the triplets; Larry was somewhat less muscular, with glasses and neatly trimmed red hair; and Ronald was the thinnest of the trio, with shaggy reddish blonde hair and a look that said he didn't care what was going on.
The triplets had graduated high school a year before, having gone their separate ways in the world. Larry had gone off to college; Alvin had joined the military, and Ronald was just breezing through life however he could, not caring where he ended up.
"This is the little shrimp that's dating our sister?" Alvin asked. "I think we need to have a talk, farmboy."
"No!" Lana said as she got between them. "You will not scare this one away. I really like Clark."
"Lana, nothing's going to scare me away," Clark promised her. "I've cared about Lana since the first day I saw her. You three are just going to have to accept that we're dating."
"Are we now?" Alvin asked as he picked Clark up by the collar of his shirt. Clark could easily wipe the floor with this guy, but he knew that using his powers in that way would be wrong. He cared about Lana way too much to humiliate her brothers like that.
A minute later, Clark was upside down in a trash can on the curb sans pants, trying to get out as he heard the muffled sounds of Lana arguing with her brothers inside the house. The can finally tipped over as Clark fell out, trying to wipe the soiled garbage off of his remaining clothes.
The young Mr. Kent calmly marched back up to the door and pounded on it, being careful not to break the whole thing down. Alvin answered it once again and smirked, seeing Clark standing there in a long-sleeved blue shirt and red boxer shorts.
"Maybe I'll just have to drive you to the dump myself, farmboy."
"Do whatever you want to me, but I'm going to keep coming back," Clark told him. "I really like your sister, and no one is going to tell me I can't see her. So, you want to bully me? Fine. I can take it, big boy, because Lana's worth it. So, do whatever you have to do so you'll realize that I'm not going anywhere."
"Might I propose a suggestion?" Larry asked. "Something that will satisfy all parties involved? A triathlon of sorts. The three of us each propose a challenge for you to pass. And if you pass all three, you'll have our blessing to date our little sister. But if you lose, you have to leave our family alone."
"No!" Lana shouted. "This is unfair! There's no way for Clark to--"
"Deal," Clark said. "I accept your challenge. I'll fight for Lana's honor."
"Who said anything about fighting?" Larry asked as he started laughing evilly, as his two brothers joined in. Clark started laughing as well as Alvin looked at him.
"Hey, stop laughing! This is our thing!"
TO BE CONTINUED....