Smallville, Kansas
Martha Kent was sitting on the porch, enjoying a glass of ice cold lemonade on a beautiful day. She enjoyed the peace of living out in the country, although she would have gladly traded it all just to hear her deceased husband's voice cursing at the broken down tractor one more time. While she loved the silence, she was hoping that her grandson would come spend the weekend with her soon. She loved watching Jon play in the field; he reminded her of Clark when he was a boy.
As she sipped her lemonade, a crackling sound filled the air over the old Kent farm. A small vortex opened as something shot out, crashing in the field not too far away. Grabbing her shotgun, Martha headed out into the field, not knowing what it could be. As she got closer, she saw that whatever had crashed had made a small crater. She held her gun close as she looked into the crater, seeing a teenage boy in a tattered black costume with blonde hair staring up her. He appeared to be about sixteen, much older than the last time she had seen him, but Martha recognized the boy immediately.
"Chris?" Martha asked.
The boy opened his mouth to speak, his words coming out in the Kryptonian language before he lost consciousness. Martha headed back to the porch to grab a blanket and her cell phone. She needed to reach her son, and quickly.
Martha Kent was sitting on the porch, enjoying a glass of ice cold lemonade on a beautiful day. She enjoyed the peace of living out in the country, although she would have gladly traded it all just to hear her deceased husband's voice cursing at the broken down tractor one more time. While she loved the silence, she was hoping that her grandson would come spend the weekend with her soon. She loved watching Jon play in the field; he reminded her of Clark when he was a boy.
As she sipped her lemonade, a crackling sound filled the air over the old Kent farm. A small vortex opened as something shot out, crashing in the field not too far away. Grabbing her shotgun, Martha headed out into the field, not knowing what it could be. As she got closer, she saw that whatever had crashed had made a small crater. She held her gun close as she looked into the crater, seeing a teenage boy in a tattered black costume with blonde hair staring up her. He appeared to be about sixteen, much older than the last time she had seen him, but Martha recognized the boy immediately.
"Chris?" Martha asked.
The boy opened his mouth to speak, his words coming out in the Kryptonian language before he lost consciousness. Martha headed back to the porch to grab a blanket and her cell phone. She needed to reach her son, and quickly.
"Cat's in the Cradle"
It was three days after the encounter with Brainiac at the Kent farm, as Connor Kent was standing in the bathroom early that morning. He had one leg up on the toilet while the young man pulled a bandage off, hoping that it would have healed by now. There was still a gash there that was slowly healing, but in human time. Ever since Superman had rescued Connor and Jon from Brainiac, Connor had felt weak and powerless. Jon, however, was back to full strength, so Connor feigned being back to normal to not arouse suspicion until his powers came back.
"What is wrong with me?" Connor asked himself as a knock came at the door. Connor quickly rolled his pant leg down.
"Connor, I really gotta pee!" Jon said from outside.
"I'll be just a second," Connor said as he flushed his old bandage down the toilet before opening the door and seeing the current holder of the Superboy mantle standing in the hallway, his legs crossed awkwardly as he ran past the older boy.
"Well, close the door, I'm not putting on a show here!" Jon shouted.
# # # # # # # # # #
After getting dressed, Connor headed out to the barn to do his chores. It was going to be a hot day out as the young man stared up into the sky, where the sun was already shining. The sun's solar energy should have recharged his Kryptonian DNA long before now, so why was he still feeling so weak?
"Connor, let's go flying!" Jon shouted as he flew overhead.
"We got chores, remember?"
"I already did mine! Come on, hurry up, it's a beautiful day!"
Connor just closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He headed over to a bale of hay and made the attempt to lift it like he would usually, hurting his back in the process.
"Are you okay, Connor?" Lois asked as she came out to get the mail.
"Yeah, fine," Connor squeaked out. He couldn't let her know he was in pain, she'd just tell Clark that something was wrong. He had to figure out what was happening to his body on his own.
# # # # # # # # # #
"Thanks for coming so quickly, Clark," Martha said as she opened the door for her son. "You're the only one I could call with something like this."
"You didn't say what the emergency was, but you sounded like you needed help, I rushed right out," Clark said. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, but... something opened up over the field. Someone fell out and crashed, I brought him in to try to make him comfortable,"
"Ma, that could be dangerous, what if this person was hostile?"
Martha led Clark to the upstairs bedroom, where the son of General Zod and adopted child of Clark and Lois, was laying unconscious in Clark's old bed.
"He's been unconscious since I found him," Martha said. "He was speaking Kryptonian so I couldn't understand him."
"Chris?" Clark asked as he sat down next to the bed, taking the boy's hand. "Son, can you hear me? It's Clark."
Chris' eye's remained closed as he began muttering in Kryptonian.
"What's he saying?" Martha asked.
"He saying he's sorry over and over," Clark said. "He said he tried to stop him, but he failed."
"Stop who?"
"Zod,"
# # # # # # # # # #
It took six hours to do what a fully powered Superboy could have done in twenty minutes. By the time Connor got back into the house, he was dirty and sweaty, having ditched his T-shirt fifteen minutes into his chores due to the heat.
Jon walked into the kitchen with some blue and pink swirled cotton candy, the substance all around his lips.
"Where did you get that?"
"There's a carnival in town, I wanted you to come, but you said you had to finish your chores," Jon said as he offered Connor the rest of it. Connor just shook his head 'no', being too weak to even raise his arm at this point. "What's that wet stuff all over you?"
"Sweat,"
"Wow," Jon said as he looked at it, having heard the tale, but never witnessing it for himself. "I've never seen sweat before. Do you want to go back to the carnival?"
"No, I’m too ti-- I'm not in the mood, kid," Connor said as he watched Jon head into the living room.
After having used the entire tube of Icy Hot on his aching body, Connor fell back onto his bed, staring at the ceiling.
"How did I end up here?" Connor thought to himself. "I could be anywhere in the world right now, but I decided to come back to this life...."
# # # # # # # # # #
I used to be a big deal. I was SUPERBOY, the ultra-cool teenage clone of Superman. I had the powers, I had the attitude, and I had the looks. Heroes respected me, villains feared me, and women (and some of the guys) adored me. I was on top of the world with my best buds, Robin and Impulse, and my girlfriend Cassie, but you knew her as Wonder Girl.
I helped found the original Young Justice; I kicked ass as a Teen Titan. I was a part of the Superman legacy. Since I had Superman's DNA running through my veins, that meant that I was going to be the next in line to take over for the Man of Steel if anything ever happened to him. I had my friends, my girl, my family, and a future to look forward to.
Then it was ripped from me before I could blink. Cassie broke up with me so she could pursue her Amazon training; Bart died and was absorbed into the speed force, and Tim just... vanished without a trace. All I had left was my family and my legacy, but then...
"I'm pregnant," Lois said while at a family dinner with Clark, Connor, and Martha.
"What? How?" Clark asked, not sure how to handle the news.
"Remember when Luthor put a red filter over the sun to weaken you in your fight against Metallo?" Lois asked. "You still managed to beat him, and while the League was taking out the filter from space, you came home and we..."
"You're going to have a super baby?" Connor asked with a smirk. "A little super tot crawling all over the ceiling."
"I was hoping you two would give me a little Supergirl or Superboy someday," Martha said as Connor nearly choked on his drink.
A little Superboy? But-- but I was Superboy. This kid wouldn't be here for eight more months, and he was already trying to steal my future. No, that wouldn't happen. The kid could end up being a full human, or he could be a girl, or he might not even want to be a superhero. I had nothing to worry about.
# # # # # # # # # #
"How's the red sun filter?" Clark asked as he finished installing the filters in the apartment with Connor's help a few days later.
"I don't feel the baby kicking me as hard now," Lois said. "I just hope the belt holds up outside the apartment."
"Batman himself designed it, it'll keep the baby in check as long as you keep it on," Clark told her.
"So, you still don't know what it's going to be?" Connor asked.
"We'll find out soon enough," Clark promised as he put a hand on Lois's stomach. "But whether it's a boy or girl, we're going to love it with everything we have."
# # # # # # # # # #
Jonathan Samuel Kent was born three months early. The red solar energy that tempered his powers left him with a weak immune system, but he still managed to survive. The kid was a fighter, and thanks to Clark sneaking in a solar energy generator, Jon soon started growing and healing. But that didn't change how I felt about him.
"I know what you're thinking, and forget it," Connor said as he looked through the window into the hospital nursery, where a prematurely born Jonathan Kent was in an incubator. "You're not stealing my legacy, kid. You're not so special, I'll bet you won't even be able to lift a car by the time you're five."
# # # # # # # # # #
Jon lifted his first car when he was 3. By the time he was 8, he'd already developed his full power set except for flight, which came when he turned 10, where it had taken me years to finally get my heat vision. Then the biggest kick to the balls came. When he was six he started wearing a costume and saying he was going to be Superboy someday.. I needed time away, so I just took off one night without saying a word. I needed to clear my head for a while.
I ended up traveling the world, learning ways to keep myself calm. I traveled from Europe to Africa to South America to try to find my place in the world, helping whoever might need me along the way. I was saving lives and helping people, but... there was still something missing, and I didn't know what.
Connor was laying in his motel bed while staying in London, watching t.v. late one night. As he flipped through the channels, he saw the news report on Superboy and how he'd helped Superman stop a terrorist attack.
Clark was finally letting Jon go out with him and be Superboy alongside him. They looked so happy together, and Clark looked so proud to have Jon with him. Clark never in a million years looked at me the way he does when he's with Jon. Was I only just a clone to Clark? Someone who fought the bad guys alongside him and didn't need a family to feel good? Or did he just pretend to like me, then just forget all about me when his biological son came along? This kid had stolen everything that was rightfully mine. Maybe it was time to go back and show this punk who the real Superboy was.
# # # # # # # # # #
Connor had flown all the way back to Metropolis, planning on pushing Jon back out of his spotlight when he saw Jon saving a school bus full of kids from drowning all by himself. He was using all of his strength to keep the bus from going over the edge of a bridge, one hand hanging onto the bus and the other hanging onto the bridge. It looked like he was straining, but he wasn't about to let go.
"He's too small, there's no way he can hold it much longer," Connor said to himself. Even with ll of super-strength, he might end up pulling his arm out of his socket if he didn't intervene. "He looks like he's in pain, I'd better--"
Superboy let out an ear-piercing scream as he lifted the bus back over the edge of the bridge, using the last of his strength to do so, but the lift had weakened him as he started falling toward the water. Before Connor could fly to him, Superman caught the boy just inches before he hit the water below. Connor secretly followed them as Superman held his son tightly.
"Did I do good?" Jon asked with his eyes closed.
"You did great," Superman said. "I have never been prouder to call you my son."
"Don't tell Mom, but I think I might have peed my pants doing that," Jon whispered as Superman laughed.
"It's alright, son, we won't tell her," Superman said as he hugged Jon. "Let's get you home."
Jon was willing to die to save those kids. He was in pain and he-- and he still wouldn't let go. He didn't even have tactile telekinesis and still managed to pull that bus back up.
Maybe he was the better Superboy. I followed Superman and Superboy around for a few days before I let them know I was back, and in that time I saw why Clark was so proud of his son. Maybe I had the kid all wrong.
# # # # # # # # # #
Connor's body was still sore as he opened his eyes and saw Jon bringing in a tray of food.
"What the hell is this?"
"You've been sleeping for hours, so I made you dinner so you wouldn't get hungry since Mom's in Metropolis and Dad's seeing Gran'ma," Jon told him as he set the tray down. "You gotta keep up your strength."
Connor just smiled and mussed Jon's hair playfully. "You're a good kid, Jon. Don't ever change."
I hadn't seen it before, but now I knew what I'd been missing in my life. My little brother. He actually looked up to me for some reason. That's why I have to get my powers back, so I can be the big brother he deserves.
# # # # # # # # # #
"I don't know how Chris ended up back here on Earth, but one thing's for sure," Clark said as he looked at his mother. "Zod won't be too far behind. I'd better take both of you back with me to the farm for safekeeping until I know what's going on. Plus it'll be good for you to spend some time with Jon, he really misses you."
"I really miss him, too," Martha said. "But if Zod has returned, how are you going to beat him this time?"
"Zod usually does the same schtick, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out his game plan," Clark told her. "We have nothing to fear from Zod."
# # # # # # # # # #
On the other side of the world, Zod, Non, and Ursa had emerged from another portal in the Australian Outback.
"Freedom, finally," Ursa said as she stretched her arms and took in the sun's rays. "I can't wait to destroy Kal-El and take this world as our own."
"All in good time, my dear," Zod said as he looked around. "For right now, we will keep our return secret. We will not reveal our true motives until it is time."
"But why? We can easily take control of this world," Ursa told him. "We can take Kal-El now, and his allies."
"True, but a direct approach always draws Kal-El's attention, gives him time to plan and coordinate a counter-strike," Zod said. "This time we must use stealth to achieve our goals. This time, we will destroy our enemy using our minds instead of our fists. And our first target," Zod said as he grabbed a newspaper with Superboy on it. "Will be the son of Kal-El. He stole our son from us, so we will gladly return the favor... by killing him."
TO BE CONTINUED...
SUPERMAN FAMILY ALBUM
12-year-old Clark Kent opened his eyes and looked outside. It was the first day of spring and that meant a full day of fishing down by the lake. Pete and Whitney were going to meet him there for a full day of fishing, hiking, and swimming, just the three of them.
Clark quickly got dressed and shoved everything he needed for the day into his backpack before heading downstairs, where his parents were waiting for him.
"What's going on?" Clark asked. "I already made sure all my chores were done and you said I could go to the--"
"This isn't about your fishing trip, son," Jonathan told him. "We just got a phone call with some very good news. You know we love you, son, and we wouldn't trade you for the world. But for so long we've been wanting to add to our family, and now...a baby's come up for adoption and we're going to try to bring him into our home."
"A baby?" Clark asked. "But why? I thought I was the only kid you needed."
"Oh, Clark, baby, it's not like that, we love you, but we have so much more love to give," Martha told him. "And this baby needs a good home."
"I-- I gotta go," Clark said nervously as he backed toward the door, trying not to show that his voice was about crack with sadness. "The guys are waiting for me."
# # # # # # # # # #
"A baby?" Whitney asked after Clark had met up with his friends at the cafe in town. "Seems like bad news, bro."
"I don't know, a little brother or sister could be fun," Pete told them. "I'd love to be a big brother."
"This is going to change everything," Clark said. "What if they start spending all their time with this new baby and forget about me?"
"What if they give this kid your room and make you live out in the barn?" Whitney asked. "This kid could make your life a living hell."
"Oh, no," Pete said as he looked through his backpack. "I forgot my bait."
"There's a bait shop up the street," Whitney told him. "We'll go get you some and meet up with Clark back here in five minutes."
Clark watched them go as he looked out the window, just as his super hearing picked up something from not too far away. The brakes on a car had gone out and was in danger of crashing. Clark quickly rushed toward the scene and found a car had crashed into a gas tanker, which was in danger of exploding.
Clark ripped open the door and found the people inside were unconscious, with a sleeping baby in the backseat. Quickly pulling them out, Clark went back for the baby, holding him in his arms as he saw he had no time left to use. Using his super freeze breath, Clark froze the gas tanker before it exploded, staring down at the baby in his arms. "Guess we got lucky today, huh, kid?"
# # # # # # # # # #
"Thank you for saving our lives," the woman said as she saw Clark still holding the baby. "Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't come along?"
"It was nothing," Clark blushed.
"We were just headed toward the orphanage to finalize an adoption when our brakes just went out," the man said to the officer. "And this brave young man risked his life to save us."
"Orphanage, then that means that this is...," Clark looked down at the baby. "Hey, kid, I think I'm your new big brother. What a way to meet, huh?"
# # # # # # # # # #
After a full day of fishing with his friends, Clark returned home and saw his parents looking sad.
"I'm sorry I got upset," Clark said. "I'm actually looking forward to being a big brother now."
"The adoption didn't happen," Jonathan told him. "Apparently a more qualified couple was found who could offer the baby a better life than we could."
"What? Who's more qualified than you two?" Clark asked with tears in his eyes. "You're the most loving parents on the planet. They'd have to be crazy to not let you take that kid in. I-- I want my baby brother."
The three of them hugged and held onto each other for a while until Clark finally headed upstairs to bed. As he sat next to the windowsill, Clark looked up at the night sky.
"You're always going to my kid brother," Clark said to himself. "And I know that someday we're going to meet again, and I'll be able to be the big brother you never had."
# # # # # # # # # #
Just outside of Smallville, Jake and Sarah were headed home to Metropolis with their newly adopted baby. Sarah looked back at the sleeping infant and smiled.
"Look at him, he's so precious," Sarah said. "I hope we can give him a good life in Metropolis."
"I know we will," Jake said as he looked in the rearview mirror at the child. "Welcome to our family, James Bartholomew Olsen."
"What is wrong with me?" Connor asked himself as a knock came at the door. Connor quickly rolled his pant leg down.
"Connor, I really gotta pee!" Jon said from outside.
"I'll be just a second," Connor said as he flushed his old bandage down the toilet before opening the door and seeing the current holder of the Superboy mantle standing in the hallway, his legs crossed awkwardly as he ran past the older boy.
"Well, close the door, I'm not putting on a show here!" Jon shouted.
# # # # # # # # # #
After getting dressed, Connor headed out to the barn to do his chores. It was going to be a hot day out as the young man stared up into the sky, where the sun was already shining. The sun's solar energy should have recharged his Kryptonian DNA long before now, so why was he still feeling so weak?
"Connor, let's go flying!" Jon shouted as he flew overhead.
"We got chores, remember?"
"I already did mine! Come on, hurry up, it's a beautiful day!"
Connor just closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He headed over to a bale of hay and made the attempt to lift it like he would usually, hurting his back in the process.
"Are you okay, Connor?" Lois asked as she came out to get the mail.
"Yeah, fine," Connor squeaked out. He couldn't let her know he was in pain, she'd just tell Clark that something was wrong. He had to figure out what was happening to his body on his own.
# # # # # # # # # #
"Thanks for coming so quickly, Clark," Martha said as she opened the door for her son. "You're the only one I could call with something like this."
"You didn't say what the emergency was, but you sounded like you needed help, I rushed right out," Clark said. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, but... something opened up over the field. Someone fell out and crashed, I brought him in to try to make him comfortable,"
"Ma, that could be dangerous, what if this person was hostile?"
Martha led Clark to the upstairs bedroom, where the son of General Zod and adopted child of Clark and Lois, was laying unconscious in Clark's old bed.
"He's been unconscious since I found him," Martha said. "He was speaking Kryptonian so I couldn't understand him."
"Chris?" Clark asked as he sat down next to the bed, taking the boy's hand. "Son, can you hear me? It's Clark."
Chris' eye's remained closed as he began muttering in Kryptonian.
"What's he saying?" Martha asked.
"He saying he's sorry over and over," Clark said. "He said he tried to stop him, but he failed."
"Stop who?"
"Zod,"
# # # # # # # # # #
It took six hours to do what a fully powered Superboy could have done in twenty minutes. By the time Connor got back into the house, he was dirty and sweaty, having ditched his T-shirt fifteen minutes into his chores due to the heat.
Jon walked into the kitchen with some blue and pink swirled cotton candy, the substance all around his lips.
"Where did you get that?"
"There's a carnival in town, I wanted you to come, but you said you had to finish your chores," Jon said as he offered Connor the rest of it. Connor just shook his head 'no', being too weak to even raise his arm at this point. "What's that wet stuff all over you?"
"Sweat,"
"Wow," Jon said as he looked at it, having heard the tale, but never witnessing it for himself. "I've never seen sweat before. Do you want to go back to the carnival?"
"No, I’m too ti-- I'm not in the mood, kid," Connor said as he watched Jon head into the living room.
After having used the entire tube of Icy Hot on his aching body, Connor fell back onto his bed, staring at the ceiling.
"How did I end up here?" Connor thought to himself. "I could be anywhere in the world right now, but I decided to come back to this life...."
# # # # # # # # # #
I used to be a big deal. I was SUPERBOY, the ultra-cool teenage clone of Superman. I had the powers, I had the attitude, and I had the looks. Heroes respected me, villains feared me, and women (and some of the guys) adored me. I was on top of the world with my best buds, Robin and Impulse, and my girlfriend Cassie, but you knew her as Wonder Girl.
I helped found the original Young Justice; I kicked ass as a Teen Titan. I was a part of the Superman legacy. Since I had Superman's DNA running through my veins, that meant that I was going to be the next in line to take over for the Man of Steel if anything ever happened to him. I had my friends, my girl, my family, and a future to look forward to.
Then it was ripped from me before I could blink. Cassie broke up with me so she could pursue her Amazon training; Bart died and was absorbed into the speed force, and Tim just... vanished without a trace. All I had left was my family and my legacy, but then...
"I'm pregnant," Lois said while at a family dinner with Clark, Connor, and Martha.
"What? How?" Clark asked, not sure how to handle the news.
"Remember when Luthor put a red filter over the sun to weaken you in your fight against Metallo?" Lois asked. "You still managed to beat him, and while the League was taking out the filter from space, you came home and we..."
"You're going to have a super baby?" Connor asked with a smirk. "A little super tot crawling all over the ceiling."
"I was hoping you two would give me a little Supergirl or Superboy someday," Martha said as Connor nearly choked on his drink.
A little Superboy? But-- but I was Superboy. This kid wouldn't be here for eight more months, and he was already trying to steal my future. No, that wouldn't happen. The kid could end up being a full human, or he could be a girl, or he might not even want to be a superhero. I had nothing to worry about.
# # # # # # # # # #
"How's the red sun filter?" Clark asked as he finished installing the filters in the apartment with Connor's help a few days later.
"I don't feel the baby kicking me as hard now," Lois said. "I just hope the belt holds up outside the apartment."
"Batman himself designed it, it'll keep the baby in check as long as you keep it on," Clark told her.
"So, you still don't know what it's going to be?" Connor asked.
"We'll find out soon enough," Clark promised as he put a hand on Lois's stomach. "But whether it's a boy or girl, we're going to love it with everything we have."
# # # # # # # # # #
Jonathan Samuel Kent was born three months early. The red solar energy that tempered his powers left him with a weak immune system, but he still managed to survive. The kid was a fighter, and thanks to Clark sneaking in a solar energy generator, Jon soon started growing and healing. But that didn't change how I felt about him.
"I know what you're thinking, and forget it," Connor said as he looked through the window into the hospital nursery, where a prematurely born Jonathan Kent was in an incubator. "You're not stealing my legacy, kid. You're not so special, I'll bet you won't even be able to lift a car by the time you're five."
# # # # # # # # # #
Jon lifted his first car when he was 3. By the time he was 8, he'd already developed his full power set except for flight, which came when he turned 10, where it had taken me years to finally get my heat vision. Then the biggest kick to the balls came. When he was six he started wearing a costume and saying he was going to be Superboy someday.. I needed time away, so I just took off one night without saying a word. I needed to clear my head for a while.
I ended up traveling the world, learning ways to keep myself calm. I traveled from Europe to Africa to South America to try to find my place in the world, helping whoever might need me along the way. I was saving lives and helping people, but... there was still something missing, and I didn't know what.
Connor was laying in his motel bed while staying in London, watching t.v. late one night. As he flipped through the channels, he saw the news report on Superboy and how he'd helped Superman stop a terrorist attack.
Clark was finally letting Jon go out with him and be Superboy alongside him. They looked so happy together, and Clark looked so proud to have Jon with him. Clark never in a million years looked at me the way he does when he's with Jon. Was I only just a clone to Clark? Someone who fought the bad guys alongside him and didn't need a family to feel good? Or did he just pretend to like me, then just forget all about me when his biological son came along? This kid had stolen everything that was rightfully mine. Maybe it was time to go back and show this punk who the real Superboy was.
# # # # # # # # # #
Connor had flown all the way back to Metropolis, planning on pushing Jon back out of his spotlight when he saw Jon saving a school bus full of kids from drowning all by himself. He was using all of his strength to keep the bus from going over the edge of a bridge, one hand hanging onto the bus and the other hanging onto the bridge. It looked like he was straining, but he wasn't about to let go.
"He's too small, there's no way he can hold it much longer," Connor said to himself. Even with ll of super-strength, he might end up pulling his arm out of his socket if he didn't intervene. "He looks like he's in pain, I'd better--"
Superboy let out an ear-piercing scream as he lifted the bus back over the edge of the bridge, using the last of his strength to do so, but the lift had weakened him as he started falling toward the water. Before Connor could fly to him, Superman caught the boy just inches before he hit the water below. Connor secretly followed them as Superman held his son tightly.
"Did I do good?" Jon asked with his eyes closed.
"You did great," Superman said. "I have never been prouder to call you my son."
"Don't tell Mom, but I think I might have peed my pants doing that," Jon whispered as Superman laughed.
"It's alright, son, we won't tell her," Superman said as he hugged Jon. "Let's get you home."
Jon was willing to die to save those kids. He was in pain and he-- and he still wouldn't let go. He didn't even have tactile telekinesis and still managed to pull that bus back up.
Maybe he was the better Superboy. I followed Superman and Superboy around for a few days before I let them know I was back, and in that time I saw why Clark was so proud of his son. Maybe I had the kid all wrong.
# # # # # # # # # #
Connor's body was still sore as he opened his eyes and saw Jon bringing in a tray of food.
"What the hell is this?"
"You've been sleeping for hours, so I made you dinner so you wouldn't get hungry since Mom's in Metropolis and Dad's seeing Gran'ma," Jon told him as he set the tray down. "You gotta keep up your strength."
Connor just smiled and mussed Jon's hair playfully. "You're a good kid, Jon. Don't ever change."
I hadn't seen it before, but now I knew what I'd been missing in my life. My little brother. He actually looked up to me for some reason. That's why I have to get my powers back, so I can be the big brother he deserves.
# # # # # # # # # #
"I don't know how Chris ended up back here on Earth, but one thing's for sure," Clark said as he looked at his mother. "Zod won't be too far behind. I'd better take both of you back with me to the farm for safekeeping until I know what's going on. Plus it'll be good for you to spend some time with Jon, he really misses you."
"I really miss him, too," Martha said. "But if Zod has returned, how are you going to beat him this time?"
"Zod usually does the same schtick, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out his game plan," Clark told her. "We have nothing to fear from Zod."
# # # # # # # # # #
On the other side of the world, Zod, Non, and Ursa had emerged from another portal in the Australian Outback.
"Freedom, finally," Ursa said as she stretched her arms and took in the sun's rays. "I can't wait to destroy Kal-El and take this world as our own."
"All in good time, my dear," Zod said as he looked around. "For right now, we will keep our return secret. We will not reveal our true motives until it is time."
"But why? We can easily take control of this world," Ursa told him. "We can take Kal-El now, and his allies."
"True, but a direct approach always draws Kal-El's attention, gives him time to plan and coordinate a counter-strike," Zod said. "This time we must use stealth to achieve our goals. This time, we will destroy our enemy using our minds instead of our fists. And our first target," Zod said as he grabbed a newspaper with Superboy on it. "Will be the son of Kal-El. He stole our son from us, so we will gladly return the favor... by killing him."
TO BE CONTINUED...
SUPERMAN FAMILY ALBUM
12-year-old Clark Kent opened his eyes and looked outside. It was the first day of spring and that meant a full day of fishing down by the lake. Pete and Whitney were going to meet him there for a full day of fishing, hiking, and swimming, just the three of them.
Clark quickly got dressed and shoved everything he needed for the day into his backpack before heading downstairs, where his parents were waiting for him.
"What's going on?" Clark asked. "I already made sure all my chores were done and you said I could go to the--"
"This isn't about your fishing trip, son," Jonathan told him. "We just got a phone call with some very good news. You know we love you, son, and we wouldn't trade you for the world. But for so long we've been wanting to add to our family, and now...a baby's come up for adoption and we're going to try to bring him into our home."
"A baby?" Clark asked. "But why? I thought I was the only kid you needed."
"Oh, Clark, baby, it's not like that, we love you, but we have so much more love to give," Martha told him. "And this baby needs a good home."
"I-- I gotta go," Clark said nervously as he backed toward the door, trying not to show that his voice was about crack with sadness. "The guys are waiting for me."
# # # # # # # # # #
"A baby?" Whitney asked after Clark had met up with his friends at the cafe in town. "Seems like bad news, bro."
"I don't know, a little brother or sister could be fun," Pete told them. "I'd love to be a big brother."
"This is going to change everything," Clark said. "What if they start spending all their time with this new baby and forget about me?"
"What if they give this kid your room and make you live out in the barn?" Whitney asked. "This kid could make your life a living hell."
"Oh, no," Pete said as he looked through his backpack. "I forgot my bait."
"There's a bait shop up the street," Whitney told him. "We'll go get you some and meet up with Clark back here in five minutes."
Clark watched them go as he looked out the window, just as his super hearing picked up something from not too far away. The brakes on a car had gone out and was in danger of crashing. Clark quickly rushed toward the scene and found a car had crashed into a gas tanker, which was in danger of exploding.
Clark ripped open the door and found the people inside were unconscious, with a sleeping baby in the backseat. Quickly pulling them out, Clark went back for the baby, holding him in his arms as he saw he had no time left to use. Using his super freeze breath, Clark froze the gas tanker before it exploded, staring down at the baby in his arms. "Guess we got lucky today, huh, kid?"
# # # # # # # # # #
"Thank you for saving our lives," the woman said as she saw Clark still holding the baby. "Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't come along?"
"It was nothing," Clark blushed.
"We were just headed toward the orphanage to finalize an adoption when our brakes just went out," the man said to the officer. "And this brave young man risked his life to save us."
"Orphanage, then that means that this is...," Clark looked down at the baby. "Hey, kid, I think I'm your new big brother. What a way to meet, huh?"
# # # # # # # # # #
After a full day of fishing with his friends, Clark returned home and saw his parents looking sad.
"I'm sorry I got upset," Clark said. "I'm actually looking forward to being a big brother now."
"The adoption didn't happen," Jonathan told him. "Apparently a more qualified couple was found who could offer the baby a better life than we could."
"What? Who's more qualified than you two?" Clark asked with tears in his eyes. "You're the most loving parents on the planet. They'd have to be crazy to not let you take that kid in. I-- I want my baby brother."
The three of them hugged and held onto each other for a while until Clark finally headed upstairs to bed. As he sat next to the windowsill, Clark looked up at the night sky.
"You're always going to my kid brother," Clark said to himself. "And I know that someday we're going to meet again, and I'll be able to be the big brother you never had."
# # # # # # # # # #
Just outside of Smallville, Jake and Sarah were headed home to Metropolis with their newly adopted baby. Sarah looked back at the sleeping infant and smiled.
"Look at him, he's so precious," Sarah said. "I hope we can give him a good life in Metropolis."
"I know we will," Jake said as he looked in the rearview mirror at the child. "Welcome to our family, James Bartholomew Olsen."