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Chapter Text

Jonathan tossed two Tylenol pills into his mouth, chasing them down with a swallow of water before putting the bottle back in the cabinet.

“Another headache?”

He winced as he turned to face his wife. “Yeah.” After over twenty years together, there was no point in hiding that kind of thing.

The frown grew on Denise’s face as she crossed the kitchen. “Babe, I’m getting worried. You’ve had a lot of those lately. What would you say if this was one of your patients?”

It was a really good point, but Jon wasn’t willing to let Denise win that easily.

“It’s not serious enough for an ER visit. And you know that it’s different for me, anyway.”

She sighed, reaching up to brush her finger across his temple. “Fine. But that just means you need to go see your grandmother.”

“Not right now. I told you I was going to get the kids ready for the trip today and I meant it. You can take a break.”

It was the best thing that Jon could think of to do for Denise. Her father’s health had been fading for a while now, but his death had been difficult for her nonetheless. With the funeral tomorrow, she didn’t need to be worrying about anything else even if she wanted to.

“Okay, fine,” she relented. “But promise me you’ll get checked out soon.”

“As soon as we’re back in Metropolis,” he said, pulling her into his embrace. “I’ll head to the fortress then, I promise.”

“What’s this about a fortress visit? Can I come too?”

It was Sam, of course, and Jon bit back a sigh as he turned to face his oldest daughter. He was thrilled that she had embraced the Kryptonian part of her identity, but he didn’t want to worry her over some meaningless headaches.

Then Joey skidded into the kitchen, his narrow shoulders stiffening in indignation. “Wait, me too! It’s no fair if I have to stay home. Sammy’s got to go way more than me!”

“That’s because I’m the oldest, fishbreath. And I knew about Dad way before you.”

The smug declaration only made Joey vibrate all the more, and Jon hastily stepped in.

“We’ll all go,” he found himself promising. “When we get back after the funeral.”

Sam nodded, brown eyes falling somberly. She was close to both sets of her grandparents, and at thirteen, this was the first time she had had to deal with a loss like this.

“After the funeral will be good,” she agreed. “It’s been a while since we’ve gone.”

“Yeah, it has. It’ll be good to be there again.”

“And we totally don’t get to do enough cool stuff, Dad,” Joey added. “Like, why are we driving to Smallville and not flying?”

Jonathan drew in a breath to respond but before he could, a familiar excited voice piped up from the hallway.

“Flying? On a plane?”

Wincing, he watched as Claire skipped into the room.

“We’ve never been on a plane before!”

“And we’re not going to this time, either,” Denise said. “We’ll be in the van together with Dad behind the steering wheel like any other time.” She ran her hand through Claire’s curls. “You ready to do your reading practice for today?

“Can’t Dad do it?”

She put on a look of fake offense. “What, you don’t trust your mom to help you with your homework?”

“It’s because I do better character voices,” Jonathan joked. “Claire, if you get all your stuffed animals picked up in ten minutes I’ll come up and read with you, okay?”

She shot upstairs quickly, leaving Joey with a guilty look on his face.

“Sorry, I didn’t know she was there.”

“It’s okay, bud. We all just need to make sure we’re being a little more careful.”

“Or sit her down and tell her the truth,” Denise suggested, shooting Jon a familiar look.

“What?! That’s totally not fair!” Sam complained. “Me and Joey had to wait until we were ten before you told us!”

Denise shrugged. “Sorry, sweetie, that’s the reality of a family with a younger sibling. Does it make you feel better to know that your baby book is absolutely amazing?”

Huffing, Sam flipped her braids behind her shoulder and rolled her eyes.

“We’re not deciding anything yet,” Jonathan reminded her.

It had been a subject of constant discussion between him and Denise, and he wasn’t even sure where he stood on it right now. Claire was only six, and it felt so young for such a big secret. At the same time, it was uncomfortable for everyone in the house to be keeping this secret from her, and with two older siblings, it was probably only a matter of time before she overheard something she wasn’t meant to.

But it wasn’t urgent. What was more important was getting his family to Smallville with minimal chaos.

“Sam, did you check your blood sugar yet?”

The pout on her face grew even deeper. “Yeah. It’s fine, Dad.”

“Just remember that it can be hard to tell you’re feeling low once we’re in the van–”

“Dad! I can handle it! I’ve been diabetic half my life, I’m pretty sure I’ve got it figured out by now.”

Jon took a breath to keep his temper steady. In some ways, things had been easier when Sam was younger. It seemed like as soon as she had turned thirteen, she had become more and more resistant to Jon helping her with things. But although he wanted to give her more independence, his own medical experience made it impossible for him to shut off his anxieties about it.

“We’re just checking in,” Denise assured their daughter calmly. “I’m sure you’ve got it handled. Are you two all packed?”

Sam deflated. “Not yet.”

“Okay, well you better get on it. We’re out of here in one hour, remember?”

That was enough to send Sam up to her room, but Joey stayed back, eyes straying up to Jonathan.

“Dad, can we still do some drills for tryouts this weekend? Even if we’re at the farm?”

“Yeah, bud, of course. Just remember to pack the soccer ball, okay? I don’t think there’s a good one out there right now.”

“Kay!” He eagerly bounded out to the back entrance to grab the ball.

Denise gave Jon a wry smile. “So: homework for Claire, blood sugar for Sam, and coaching for Joey, huh? You really are super-dad, aren’t you?”

Huffing a laugh, Jon gave his wife a quick kiss. It was no secret to anyone how much he loved his kids, and it was one of the reasons why he was happy to have skipped inheriting the Kryptonian powers. He had seen his dad’s struggles with balancing Superman and real life, and although Jordan was doing better with it, it still came between him and his own wife and kids more often than he would like.

The hospital kept Jon busy, sure, but the hours were mostly predictable, and he could manage a decent work/life balance with his family in mind. Sure, it meant that sometimes the Kryptonian side of him got shuffled off to the side, but it was still a part of who he was, and both Sam and Joey had latched onto it with interest. They really should get out to the fortress together more often.

Well, they would. Soon. They just needed to get through this week first.

“Dad, Claire’s looking at me!”

Jonathan felt a pulse of pressure in his forehead as he eyed Joey through the rearview mirror. Had he ever been this irritating with Jordan? Maybe he owed his parents another bottle of wine sometime soon.

“Just don’t look back at her, bud. We’re almost at the farm.”

A belaboured sigh sounded from the middle seat of the van, but Joey obediently turned his head to the window as silence settled into the vehicle again. It had been a difficult day for everyone. The kids were all out of sorts handling the grief of saying goodbye to their kakan, Denise had been stressed trying to keep her mom from overworking, and Jonathan was still fighting with the persistent headache that had only gotten worse as the day went on. Maybe he needed to make that fortress trip sooner rather than later.

It would have to wait just a bit longer, though. He needed to drop the kids off with his parents, head back into town, and help with all the clean-up that still needed to happen. Maybe he could grab a bit of time later tonight?

“Dad, I feel low.” Sam slumped in the passenger seat, forehead rested against the window despite the bumpy gravel road.

“How low?” Jon asked as he turned onto the drive leading up to the farmhouse. “There’s a juice box in the back if you need it. Where’s your kit at?”

“Uh…” She winced. “I think I left it at Kakar’s house.”

“What?” Jon’s headache surged harder. “Sam, you said you wanted to be responsible for handling your diabetes–”

“I do! Dad, it’s one stupid mistake; just chill out! We can go back, can’t we?”

Wrenching the steering wheel, Jon brought the van to a harsh stop. “Forgetting it shouldn’t even be a question. And now you’re making a busy day even more difficult–”

“I mean, Grandpa can get in, like, two seconds.”

“Samantha!” Jon glanced back at Claire worriedly, but she was thankfully preoccupied with unbuckling her seatbelt. “You’re not going to pass this responsibility off to anyone else. We’re going to drop off your siblings and then you’re coming with me all the way back into town to get your stuff.”

“Dad–”

Feeling too frustrated to reply, Jonathan climbed out the vehicle, pivoting around quickly to yank the passenger door open–

It ripped right off of its tracks, letting out a horrendous screech as the entire door fell to the ground. Jon froze, gaping at a very shocked Claire. His heart pounded in his ears.

How the hell had that happened?

“Daddy?” Claire’s tentative voice sent a zing of guilt through him, but that was soon completely overpowered by the tsunami of sound that crashed into him.

Instantly, he was lost among the tangle of sounds that flooded his head. He could hear wind blowing through the trees, car engines grumbling, the persistent call of a nearby bird, the clunk of the van door as Sam climbed out of the passenger seat. It all surged together and made the pressure in his head build until a curtain of red fell over his vision. He gasped, stumbling backwards.

No way. After all these years, it was impossible, right? He didn’t have powers. He couldn’t tear through metal like it was made of paper or hear the sounds of his childrens’ climbing heart rates or create an explosion of energy from his eyes…

The pressure was building, though, and he could feel where it was all moving towards. With everything else going on, it was hard to make out what his kids were saying, but he could sense the fear in their voices.

“Just stay back!” he shouted, hunching down into the grass and squeezing his eyes tight. He felt totally out of control and the thought of someone getting hurt…

A door slammed from the house and the sound pushed him over the edge. With a sickening surge, molten energy spilled out of his eyes and poured onto the grass. Claire’s scream stabbed into his ears, and just before the world went black, he felt familiar strong arms pick him up and take him into the air.

Jon’s eyes flew open, and he sucked in a desperate gasp. Strange tubes dragged across his body as he flailed, pushing himself up into a sitting position despite the wave of dizziness that crashed over him.

“Jonathan! Take a breath. You’re safe, okay?”

“The kids,” he gasped.

“They’re fine. I promise. But you have to take a moment here. You’ve been out of it for a while.”

It was his dad’s voice, but it was hard for Jonathan to concentrate on it. A tangled snarl of sounds wove through his head even though it wasn’t as overwhelming as before. But he still remembered what had happened.

“How’s Claire?”

There was a pause before he got an answer. “She was a bit shaken up at first, but she’s adjusting pretty quick. Jordan’s flying her around pretty much wherever she wants and that’s going a long way.”

Jonathan gave a hollow chuckle. This was the exact opposite way he had wanted her to find out the truth, but it seemed like all the debating he and Denise had done was in vain. And then something his dad said struck him.

“How many flights are we talking? How long have I been…” He was in the fortress, he could tell. The crystal walls were unmistakable, and the sharp smell of saltwater felt even more overpowering than normal. He had been stretched out on a low, long pedestal. The tubes connected to him via suction cup led to a glowing console off to his left.

“You’ve been unconscious for three days,” his dad answered.

That was way longer than Jonathan expected. Chest tightening, he scrubbed a hand across his face, feeling rough stubble scrape against his palm. There was something else he was feeling, too. He had a messy jangle of energy twisting inside of him that was making it hard to stay still.

“What happened?” he finally asked.

There was a tense silence. Well, not really silence. Waves crashed in the distance, his clothing scraped together, and there were two rhythmic beats…

Finally, his dad spoke. “You had a power surge. Our best guess is that sensory overload and stress combined to create an ocular release of energy.”

It all made sense, and Jonathan was familiar enough with Kryptonian biology to understand it, but the idea that this could be about him was absolutely absurd.

“I don’t have powers.” His voice echoed oddly off the walls and somehow it felt like a lie as soon as he said it.

His dad sighed. “You didn’t. But somehow– I don’t know when it started to change for you. Your grandmother said a few weeks at least.”

“But– Why?” It was all he could manage to say. Everything else was rushing in on top of him. The distracting sounds tangled in his mind. Not just sounds, but superhearing. And there was more, he could tell. The uncomfortable, uncontrolled worm of energy writhed within him.

His head was starting to hurt again. Shit. He knew what that meant now, but what the hell was he supposed to do to prevent it? As his fingers clawed into his scalp, the pressure increased and then a haze of red started to collect in front of his eyes.

He choked out a gasp.

“It’s okay, Jonathan. Just let it out. It’s safe here.”

Somehow, his dad’s voice cut through the din, even if it didn’t actually help. Safety was the farthest thing from his worries. He didn’t want to be this… this person.

“Jon, holding it in is just going to make it worse.”

He couldn’t have lasted longer even if he wanted to. With an instinct he didn’t even know he possessed, he unleashed a matching set of deadly red beams towards the wall. It sizzled as is hit, and he could feel the intense energy behind it. Strangely, though, there was no pain this time. It was simply release.

When he finally tapered off, he slumped forward, blinking the last bit of prickles from his eyes. It had felt oddly natural, but he couldn’t bring himself to believe it. There was no way this could be who he was.

“Your grandmother doesn’t know why this happened now,” his dad confessed, voice carefully soft. “I guess the potential always was in your cells but it’s anyone’s guess what the catalyst was for activating it. I’m sure she can explain it to you in more detail when you’re ready.”

He certainly wasn’t ready right now. The why behind it barely mattered when there was still so much to grapple with. He had exploded in a horrific display of uncontrolled powers: burning a chunk of the lawn to ash and ripping the family minivan apart. Glancing down at his hands, he flexed them experimentally. They didn’t feel all that different… Then he realized something.

“I can still see normally.”

“Yeah.” His dad cleared his throat. “We sort of expected that. As far as your grandmother could tell, not all of your powers have set in yet. But they will eventually.”

Already, Jonathan had images of Jordan floating through his mind: of their chaotic freshman year when his powers blasted in uncontrollably and unexpectedly, derailing a myriad of commitments and relationships.

Was Jonathan now in store for a similar process? Except he wasn’t a teenager living at home. He was a grown-ass adult with a job and a family. He couldn’t just take a day off to deal with ice breath at a moment’s notice. Although he had apparently just taken three days recovering from his very first power surge…

What were his kids thinking right now? Had he managed to completely terrify them back there? And how was Denise? He had wanted to be her strong support throughout this week and instead he had ended up exploding on the lawn and then getting whisked off to an isolated Kryptonian hideout for days. It wasn’t over yet, either. He could feel something bubbling within him still.

Was there any chance he could function normally if he went back home now? How long would it take him to adjust? And when was his next… The very thought of him commanding superpowers sparked another sickening wave of dizziness, and he hunched over on the platform.

His dad’s hand settled onto his shoulder. Did it feel different now that Jonathan had some of that same incredible strength? He couldn’t tell for sure.

“Just take some deep breaths, Jonathan,” his dad coached softly. “I know it’s a lot to process.”

It was a lot, and the overwhelmed feeling bubbled up inside of Jonathan until it finally spilled out of him in the form of words.

“I don’t know how to be this. I’m– I’m not like you and Jordan. I don’t–” He hadn’t built his life around this or made any contingencies or even thought–

“I know. And I can’t imagine how hard it would be to handle now. But I’m going to help you through this, okay? We all will.”

It was a pitifully small thing to cling to, and yet that was all that Jonathan had. Somehow, he had to figure this all out and get back to his normal life.

Chapter Text

He didn’t talk for a while. Instead, he took a moment to center himself. Everything had changed so suddenly, and he needed a moment. His dad seemed to understand, keeping that supportive hand on him but not pushing for anything else.

Jon wished there was silence in the fortress, but that was apparently something he’d never experience again. Now, he’d have to work to constantly keep the sounds from all around the world at bay. That wasn’t the only thing that had changed, either. Jon could feel the simmering strength within him and the heavy pressure in his head from suppressed heat vision. Something about him had been changed completely.

Finally, he was ready for more information.

“What’s all the hardware for?” He lifted his arm as he eyed the dangling tubes connected to him.

“It was to help equalize your energy levels while your cells adjusted,” his dad answered. “Now that you’re awake, we can take them off.”

It was easy enough to pull off the weird suction cups that were attached to his skin, and it was a relief once he was standing under his own power and facing the hologram of his grandmother, waiting for more answers.

I’m glad to see you conscious, Jonathan,” she smiled. “It seems that the solar activity in your cells has stabilized for now.”

He nodded vaguely. It still felt completely strange to think about any kind of solar activity in his body, let alone the kind that required him to be put under for days.

“Can you tell what, uh, what powers I have right now?” He could barely get the sentence out, every instinct within him screaming that it wasn’t possible, not after all these years.

A bright light beamed down, and Lara smiled serenely. “It’s exactly what I predicted. You’re storing enough energy to produce an ocular release on command, and your enhanced hearing is settling in. I estimate your strength levels to be around equal with your brother and your father.”

That came as a solid surprise.

“It took Jordan years to get that strong,” he pointed out. “And he got a bunch of other powers in the meantime.”

Lara, unfortunately, didn’t have an easy answer for him. “Your cellular makeup is different from your brother’s and different still from your father’s. The development of powers is never going to be the same for each person. But I am sure that you will eventually have all the abilities of the House of El.”

She had meant it as a reassurance, but Jon couldn’t take it that way. Even just managing the limited powers he did have was already overwhelming. How long would it take for him to get to something approaching normal? What would happen when more powers kicked in? This wasn’t what he wanted to be spending his time doing.

“Is there a way to reverse it? Or stop it from progressing?” His voice echoed oddly off the hard walls, and he kept his eyes away from his dad. It wasn’t like he was ashamed of anything he had inherited as an El. This just wasn’t part of his plan.

His grandma cocked her head to the side. “There is nothing you could do that wouldn’t have severe consequences for your health in other ways. And I’m unsure why you would want to. The powers were unfamiliar to us on Krypton, but they are a gift to the people here on Earth.”

They were a gift because of what Jon’s family decided to do with those powers. Was that something that he was going to start doing? His imaginations of one day suiting up with his dad had died in his teenage years when it became clear he was never going to get the powers. But now that he had them, how could he say no to people in need? He couldn’t, could he? Give it a little time and he’d be always on call, always wondering what emergency would keep him from his kids or his wife. Juggling two different personas and lying to absolutely everyone he met in a whole new way…

His chest was starting to feel tight, and before Jon realized it, a red haze had slipped over his vision. The pressure in his head was building and he dropped his eyes just in time before he hit his grandmother’s console with a blast of energy. As it was, he carved a divot into the ground in front of his feet, and it was a solid five seconds before he finally felt the energy start to abate.

A cool breeze ruffled his hair. “Hey, that was a pretty good one.”

Blinking and trying to squint away the last of the fogginess, he lifted his eyes to catch sight of his brother standing in front of him.

“Sorry I wasn’t here earlier. The twins are down with the flu and it’s gnarly.”

Jonathan gaped, mental cogs jamming as he tried to reconcile the very normal ‘kid talk’ he got up to with his brother with the intense blast of superpowers he had just unleashed. Thinking about his life with his family felt impossible now that he was faced with gaining the full slate of superpowers. How was he supposed to be a dad when he couldn’t go two minutes without exploding?

Jordan seemed unaware of his turmoil. “So, how long have you been up? You given any of your powers a test drive yet?”

“Uh…” Jon swallowed. “Not exactly. I’m just kind of…” Panicking? Stewing? He couldn’t put it into words.

“Oh.” Jordan frowned. “Wait, are you… Are you okay?”

Jon took in a shaky breath. “Not really.”

“Well, I know it’s gotta be kind of rough right now. The powers are a lot to grapple with. But you’re gonna nail everything soon and then–”

The pressure within him boiled over. “And then what? I throw on a costume and join you and Dad in the sky? Run out on my family or a patient the second I hear a call for help? That’s not who I am, Jordan! And I can’t just–” He could feel that awful power building up within him again and he dropped his eyes hastily.

A supportive hand landed on his back. “Take a deep breath. It helps, I promise.”

Jon obeyed. What other choice did he have? Thankfully, the red started to fade almost immediately, and he was soon able to lift his head again. At least now he was one for three.

“You know, it’s called a suit, not a costume.”

A smile quirked on Jon’s lips despite himself. “Whatever you say, dude.”

Rolling his eyes, Jordan gave him a shove. Jon barely felt it, though, and his eyes narrowed in thought. Was that the strength that Jordan usually used against him? How much had he been holding back? And how much could Jon withstand now?

But before he could build up the courage to ask, his grandmother spoke up. “I would be happy to design you a suit, Jonathan, as soon as you’ve trained enough. There is certainly more than enough need on Earth for the three remaining members of the House of–”

Her voice cut out abruptly as Jonathan’s dad removed the crystal from its place. Swallowing heavily, he nodded his thanks. He genuinely liked working and talking with his grandmother, but she didn’t always see things the same as any other person. Maybe it was the AI technology or maybe that’s just what it was like on Krypton. Either way, he couldn’t handle any pressure of expectations about this whole thing.

“You know you don’t have to do any of that,” his dad said gently.

“Dad–”

“No, seriously, Jon. I’ve been Superman for years, and I’ve learned that it’s not the kind of thing you can do just because you have powers, or you think you have to.”

“He’s right,” Jordan chimed in. “Dad and I have handled things okay up until now.”

“But if I have powers…”

Jordan shrugged. “Then you have powers. Doesn’t mean anything else.”

“It means I’d hear everything.” Already, the stuff he could hear just in this chamber was crazy distracting. What would it be like once he made his way back into the real world?

“Yeah, you would,” Jordan acknowledged. “But look, I know this goes against every instinct within you, but maybe you can take a pause on who you think you should be with all of this and just… figure out who you are.”

Jon huffed a wry laugh. His brother’s advice had nailed him in a way that only a few people could. The urge to exceed people’s expectations in everything he did was a trap he still fell into from time to time, although he hadn’t expected to be this unmoored in his identity this late in life.

“You know, I wish I could have had a normal mid-life crisis,” he mused. “Bought a sports car or something.”

Jordan clapped a hand on his back. “Well, looks like you got Kryptonian power instead of horsepower. You ready to give it a go?”

Even if he wasn’t going to use his powers much, he still needed to figure them out. Then he could get everything back to normal.

Dutifully, Jon listened to the experienced advice of his dad and brother and worked at wrangling his incredible abilities. He lifted, squeezed, and bent; he listened near and far; he blasted away at ice and melted metal with his eyes.

It all felt incredibly surreal, as if he had been dropped into a body that wasn’t his own. Staying within the crystal walls of the fortress added to the sensation and he wanted nothing more than to be back in civilization. And he desperately needed to check in with his family.

“I can pick up Denise and the kids and bring them out here,” Jordan volunteered. “The hearing’s gonna be hard if you try to head back too soon.”

“I can handle it,” Jon insisted. As far as he was concerned, staying here for much longer wasn’t an option. And he definitely didn’t want his kids to see him struggling with unstable powers yet another time. He’d just have to muscle through it.

And anyway, he wanted to be back at the farm and with people like Denise and his mom. He had needed his dad and Jordan here, but he also needed to know that his life wasn’t completely changed. There could still be normalcy in it. Right?

It was early evening when they finally went back.

They landed on the front lawn, and Jon took a step away, nodding his thanks to his dad as he surveyed the space. There was a black, ashy patch of grass just off to the left where his heat vision had gone off. He knew from experience that it would take years before the ground recovered. Every time he came out here, he’d be reminded of that horrible explosion…

He shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to be dwelling on that. He needed to be moving forward. Reaching up to his ears, he traced his fingers over the headphones he had worn for the flight out here. Although he hadn’t been ready to handle his hearing during a super-sonic flight, he had no intention of using them as a crutch while he was out in the relative quiet of the farm. He’d have to get used to this sooner or later.

The avalanche of noise sent him staggering back as soon as it hit him. There was wind, voices, machinery, birds… It was even worse than it had been when it first happened and the only thing keeping him grounded was his dad’s grip on his shoulder. Everything was way too jumbled for him to be able to hear his dad’s voice, but he could see the hand gesturing to the headphones still slung around his neck.

But he wasn’t ready to give up yet. Clenching his jaw, he pushed through the din, searching for something he could latch onto. He watched his dad’s lips move, and then eventually, thankfully, picked out a matching sound.

“I think I got it,” he breathed.

“Yeah? That’s great, Jon. Just don’t be afraid to take a break if you need to. It takes a while to build stamina.”

Dazedly, Jon nodded. Things may be sort of in focus, but it was still a lot. Whispering sounds from the world trailed past him, and the house in front of them was filled with unexpected noise. Pipes groaned, wood creaked, wires buzzed. There were two heartbeats inside… One of which was stepping out onto the porch.

He winced as the springs of the screen door squealed, and then his chest tightened as he caught sight of Denise. She was wrapped in a heavy knit cardigan, expression warring between a frown of concern and a smile of relief.

His dad was watching it all with understanding. “We’ll give you guys some time to talk,” he said. “Just know that I’m only a second away, okay?”

It was a relief for Jon, but as his dad and Jordan went into the house, he found himself still frozen on the lawn. What could he even say to her right now?

“I really missed you.” Her voice whispered softly over the distance.

He swallowed heavily. “I’m so sorry, Denise. I left you to deal with the kids and the post-funeral and–”

“Jon, it’s fine. This was kind of a big deal. And your family helped out a ton while you were gone.”

“Okay. Good. Uh, yeah. Good.” He was giving his best impression of a bobblehead, and he forced himself to still. The soup of noises still wafted distractingly between them.

Denise wrapped the ends of her cardigan tightly around her and walked down the steps of the porch, stopping just shy of touching Jonathan. “Your, uh, your dad said that your strength still needs to settle in. Is that…?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry.” He wanted nothing more than to reach out and pull her into a hug that would comfort them both, but he knew he didn’t have nearly enough control to be able to handle that yet. “Look, Denise, I’m going to figure this out soon, I promise. Just give me a few days and I’ll have a handle on it.”

She nodded seriously. “Okay. But you do know that if it takes you longer, that’s okay.”

“Huh?”

“Jon.” A wry smile lifted on her face. She reached her hand out and then dropped it awkwardly. “I know you. You’re going to try to throw this on top of all the other plates you’re already spinning and you’re going to push through no matter what. I’m just saying that I love you and that I won’t stop loving you even if you need to spend the next month at the fortress figuring everything out.”

Her chin tilted up towards him in stubborn determination, and Jon felt a knot of tension ease within him.

“Kind of puts a damper on a marriage if I have to spend weeks in Kryptonian boot camp.”

She grinned. “I’ll make Jordan be our messenger pigeon.”

He huffed a laugh. “Well, hopefully it won’t come to that. Jordan and my dad managed to handle everything here, so I should be able to do the same.”

“Here. On the farm?”

“Yeah.” He winced. “I’m going to try to get to the point where I can be in Metropolis as soon as possible, but right now–”

“No, Jon, that’s not what I was getting at. I’m just trying to figure this out, okay? I don’t really know a ton about this side of things.”

“Oh.” That made sense. Denise had known about his family for years, but she hadn’t been involved directly in anything related to superpowers. And now she was married to a guy with an unstable, growing host of them. If she had known this was what she was getting into…

“The kids say hi.”

Jon blinked abruptly. “What? Oh. Uh, that’s good. How are… how are they really?”

She tilted her head. “They’re okay. They miss you, and they’re still sad about my dad. We’re all out of routine. Nat took them to the coast today to make things easier.’

“Right, because a day at the beach is all that it takes to get over seeing your dad explode in front of you.”

“Jon–”

He took a step back from her. The memory from that awful moment surged back into his mind and it was enough to make his concentration slip. Sound hammered into his skull. The pain surged up within him, and he started to feel a familiar pressure build…

He caught sight of Denise’s hand reaching out through the red haze. “Stay back!” With a gasp, he forced air deep into his lungs. At least he didn’t have the ice breath (yet). Eventually, he managed to get things wrangled under control. It took him a moment longer to get the courage to meet his wife’s eyes.

They were calm and patient. Somehow, he hadn’t managed to terrify her completely.

“You have to keep your distance when that happens,” he insisted, voice shaking. “I’m not good enough yet to… The heat vision is still really unstable, okay?” The Olowes were almost as stubborn as the Kents, and he gave her an unashamedly desperate look as he spoke. He couldn’t handle it if he hurt her somehow.

Thankfully, she nodded in understanding. “Okay. Whatever you need. And you know, the kids really will be fine. Yeah, it was a shock, but they’ve had time to adjust.”

He scoffed. “I actually know what it’s like to see your dad lose control like that. Only I was fifteen when it happened and had a whole year to adjust to the possibility.”

“Sam and Joey have known about your family for years.”

Jon opened his mouth to counter, but he stopped when he saw Denise give a small shiver. “You’re cold?”

“Yeah, I should have grabbed a jacket before I came out here, but I heard you guys touch down and I couldn’t wait.” She said it so casually, but for the first time Jon noticed the stiff fall breeze that was circling around the yard. He was in the white t-shirt he had worn underneath his funeral dress shirt but he hadn’t noticed the chill at all.

Because he was immune to it now. He remembered all too well the various spats Jordan and his dad had gotten into over the years when Jordan’s sensitivity to temperature had waned and for the first time he finally understood his brother’s weird stubbornness about the whole thing.

It was unsettling to realize he was missing out on a basic sensation that almost everyone else in the world experienced. Worse still, it put him on opposite ends with the woman he had promised to spend his life with. What other differences were there now? And how would it inevitably change things between them?

She was talking to him again. He could tell from the way her lips were moving, but the sound of it got lost within the rest of the din. Concentrating, he focused towards her, only to hear the steady, solid beating of her heart. Dammit, how could he lose it so quickly?

He shook his head in frustration, still trying to sift through the tangle of sounds. Nothing seemed to work, and things were only becoming more and more intense. With a heavy sigh, he grabbed the headphones and slipped them back into place. The silence immediately helped calm him. It wasn’t what he wanted right now, not by a long shot, but it was the only thing he could handle.

Denise was waving her hand to get his attention and he gave her an uncomfortable shrug. There was still so much for them to talk about but apparently this was all he could do for now. She didn’t look upset, though. Instead, after a thoughtful pause, she lifted her hands in front of her chest, curving them together until they made the outline of a heart.

He huffed a laugh. The hand action had been a big trend with other couples during their senior year at Smallville High, but Jon and Denise had always shrugged it off, both of them deciding that the move was too cheesy for them. Apparently, it was going to come in handy now. He moved his hands in place to mirror her position, and she gave him a brilliant smile in response. Then she tilted her head towards the house.

He eyed it in trepidation. Was he ready to go inside a fragile, human building like this? If the hearing and heat vision were anything to go off of, he was in for a lot of mishaps once he was penned in. But although he could handle staying out here indefinitely, he knew Denise couldn’t. And through everything else that was happening right now, he knew he wanted to be by her side.

Squaring his shoulders and taking a deep breath, he marched towards the house.

Chapter Text

Jon had never been a clumsy person. That had always been firmly in Jordan’s territory up until the powers kicked into overdrive and he dedicated himself to training them. Although Jon had experienced a few awkward stages growing up, he never lost his athletic ability. He had always been able to handle himself in whatever situation he needed to. That was all completely out the window now.

After only an hour of being inside the house, he had managed to break two glasses, punch a hole in the drywall, and crack the backrest of one of the kitchen chairs. And it wasn’t like he wasn’t trying. He just seemed to have completely lost track of what ‘human’ limits even were.

“It has to be hard with all the strength coming at once,” his dad sympathized. “Jordan and I didn’t have to deal with that.”

“Yeah, it’s not great,” he muttered, shifting carefully in his seat to avoid breaking yet another piece of furniture.

“I’m sure you’ll get it soon,” his mom encouraged.

All he could manage was a weak smile in return. Truthfully, all of the attention was becoming stifling. He was partly tempted to slip on the headphones again, but he had managed to keep his hearing in check for a solid twenty minutes now, and he didn’t want to break his streak.

“When did Nat say she was going to bring the kids here?”

“Pretty soon,” his mom answered. “I’ll send her a text to check in.”

Jon swallowed as he watched her pull out her phone and shoot off a quick message. There was no way in hell that he would be able to handle something like that right now without smashing his device to bits. What was he even thinking facing his kids like this?

“They’ve really missed you, Jon.” Denise was watching him with a knowing expression. She always had an uncanny ability to know what he was thinking, and it would have been totally unfair if Jon couldn’t do the same for her.

Her words bolstered him regardless. His kids needed a dad who was present for them; he’d figure out the rest of it soon.

It didn’t take long before he heard the familiar sound of a high-speed landing from outside. Voices chattered excitedly, and Jonathan steeled himself for the next stage.

“Dad!” The door burst open and Joey came thundering in. “You’re back!”

The shrill, excited, eleven-year-old voice sent a painful stab into his sensitive ears, but Jon pulled a smile onto his face regardless. “Yeah, I am. I missed you guys so much.”

“How could you miss us? Grandpa said you were unconscious the whole time.” Sam rested her weight onto her hip, somehow giving Jon flashes of what his mother might have looked like at that age.

“I just did. It’s a Dad thing.”

“So, what kind of powers do you have now, Dad? Can you do the laser eyes whenever you want?”

“Uh… Yeah, pretty much.” Jon blinked as he took in Joey’s ‘bouncing on his toes’ energy. Surprisingly, it seemed like his two older kids were handling things just fine. But there was still the question of Claire…

She had hung back, watching every movement with her wide brown eyes as she stayed close to Nat’s side.

Jonathan knelt down, careful to watch his impact on the floorboards. “Hey, Claire. Did you have fun at the beach today with Auntie Nat?”

She nodded silently.

Chest tightening, he echoed the nod and gave her an encouraging smile. He had never needed to coax a response from her before, but it made sense given everything she had seen.

“Look, I’m really sorry that I scared you a few days ago. I wish that hadn’t happened.”

She lifted one shoulder in a shrug.

At a loss, Jon finally decided to attack the problem square on. “Do you want to talk about it at all?”

She opened her mouth, paused, and then spoke in a whisper. “Uncle Jordan says we have to be quiet because your ears hurt.”

Jon huffed out a laugh, rocking back on his heels. “Yeah, they still hurt a little. But you can talk, honey. Just no screaming, okay?”

“Okay.” She smiled and then stretched her arms out towards him.

He winced. “You’re going to have to give all your hugs for me to Mom for now.”

“Oh.”

“It’s because you’re super strong now, right, Dad?” Joey’s voice piped up eagerly. “Can you lift up the truck like Grandpa and Uncle Jordan?”

Jon scratched the back of his neck. “Uh, yeah, probably. I think I’m going to have to practice a little more before I try any of that stuff.” It was still wild to think about. The image of his dad lifting up the truck all those years ago was as clear in his mind now as it had been the day it happened. But Jon wasn’t Superman. He was a guy who had lived most of his life as more-or-less human and now needed to figure out how to somehow be completely different.

Although maybe he didn’t have to be completely different.

“How’s the soccer coming, Joey? Did you get some good practice in when I was gone?”

“Oh! Yeah, totally! Wanna see?”

Willingly, Jonathan followed Joey outside. Sam was decently athletic and even Claire was showing some beginning skills, but Joey was far and away his most ‘jocklike’ kid. He had bounced around to as many peewee teams he could get on, but soccer was where he had been settling recently. Even though the sport was different, the obsession reminded Jon a lot about his own childhood interests. The powers threw all of that into question, though.

They had never actually tested his kids for the possibility of powers. It was extremely unlikely when Jon didn’t have his own, and it seemed like an unnecessary inconvenience when there couldn’t be a clear answer anyway. But obviously, the capability was within Jonathan, and he very well could have passed it onto his kids.

Was Joey doomed to a similar fate with his sports career? Would it be better to try to find as much of an answer for him as possible before he put any more time and energy into this?

“Dad, heads up!”

Barely pulling himself together in time, Jonathan skipped out of the way of the incoming soccer ball. It bounced on the grass and rolled towards the house.

“Sorry, bud, I can’t play with you yet. Remember how my strength isn’t settled?”

Joey slumped. “Oh. Well, when do you think you can?”

“Really soon. I’m working really hard on it.” The strength might be soon, but what would happen when his speed eventually kicked in? Or flight? “Look, why don’t you show me some of your dribbling?”

It wasn’t exactly what he had wanted, but it was mostly okay. Joey had certainly been working hard and Jon was pretty sure he had a good chance at making the U13 team this season. After a half hour or so of showing off, Joey decided to wander into the kitchen in search of a snack.

Yet again, it was something that Jon couldn’t help with. Small accidents were apparently inevitable right now, but he wasn’t going to set himself up to break even more of his parents’ belongings. His dad would be happy to stuff food into Joey, so Jon went to go find Sam, determined to reconnect with everyone.

She was tucked away in the living room, earbuds shoved into place as she scrolled through her phone. Jon smiled as he watched her. The technology had changed over the years, but he always got a kick out of seeing his kids doing the very things he had done when he was growing up here. As Sam got older, the similarities became even more obvious.

He waved to get her attention. “You listening to anything good?”

She wrinkled her nose as she pulled an earbud out. “You probably haven’t heard of them.”

“Well, no, probably not. But tell me about it anyway?”

Rolling her eyes, she pushed herself more upright on the sofa. “It’s a band. They’re called Seven Wednesdays. They’re kind of this techno-punk crossover. You remember Carrie from volleyball? She sent me their stuff.”

“Well, that’s great!” Jon lowered himself carefully in the armchair next to her. “Can I listen?”

She shrugged, and then held the earbud out to him.

Could he handle it without breaking it? His track record wasn’t great, but it was a simple, light thing. Holding his breath, he plucked it out of her hand and settled it inside his ear. So far so good. Maybe he’d get this thing nailed sooner rather than later.

His relief was short-lived, however. An angry bassline surged through the tiny speaker and the stress made his eyes flash red before he could even stop it.

Sam stared at him with wide eyes as she hit pause on her phone. “Sorry. Was the volume too loud or something?”

“I think so.” He grimaced as he rubbed his eyes. She shouldn’t be the one apologizing to him. Unfortunately, the pain had knocked him off his focus, and now he was faced with sifting his way back through everything to be able to focus on just the things in the room.

Sam was saying something. He could see her lips moving, but the sound of her voice was buried under the noise of a dog barking, a baby crying, some unidentifiable beep…

He barely remembered to hold back on his grip as he reached for the headphones around his neck and slammed them on. Relief was instant, but it came with a surge of disappointment. He had all these powers, yet he was more limited than ever in what he could actually do.

“I’m sorry,” he said, voice echoing oddly in his head as he spoke.

Sam shrugged again, eyes still watching him carefully.

Blowing out a sigh, Jonathan kneaded the last bit of a headache out of his forehead. So far, things hadn’t been a complete disaster, but it was still far from ideal. And this was just hanging around the farm and not doing much of anything. How long would it take for him to be able to live in the city again? The kids couldn’t stay out of school indefinitely, and there was only so much time he could take off of work…

He needed to get things figured out as soon as possible. With that goal in mind, he set off for another practice session with his dad.

Buckling down and getting to work was something he was good at, whether it was football skills, hospital residency, or apparently superpowers. With grim determination, he pushed through every drill his dad set up, no matter how weird or uncomfortable they made him feel.

The unspoken tension between the two of them was obvious, too. And, yeah, Jon had a pretty good feeling for why his dad might be feeling guilty, but he also knew that he wasn’t ready to go digging into everything unspoken between them. For now, he just needed to get this figured out.

It was late by the time he got back to the house, but surprisingly Denise was still there.

“Jordan took the kids back to my mom’s for me,” she filled in. “I wanted to check in with you before I went over there.” A bottle of wine was in her hand, and she hovered it over an empty glass, the unspoken question clear to Jonathan.

Could he handle it without breaking it? The practicing had helped him work out a few more jitters, and so he cautiously nodded.

He could smell the bouquet more clearly than ever before, and he made a mental note to ask Jordan for tips on how to handle supersmell around kids as he lifted up the glass. So far so good.

“How was it with your dad?” Denise leaned back in her wicker chair.

“Useful. Necessary.” He sighed, and then took a cautious sip. “Look, can we talk about something else for a bit? I’ve done nothing but obsess over my powers this whole time. How are you doing? Is your mom okay? Did you figure out the books for the store?”

A frown appeared on Denise’s face. “Yeah, I did.”

“And?”

She sighed. “It’s not good. They’re three months behind on lease payments and that was before my mom closed up shop for the week my dad was in the hospital.”

“What?” Jon stiffened, remembering his wine glass just in time to save it. Carefully, he placed it on the side table and stretched out his insanely powerful hands. “They never mentioned things getting that bad.”

“I know! And if they hadn’t been so stupidly proud, we would have helped them! Instead, between my dad being sick and my mom’s arthritis, they cut down hours to the point that the store was barely open. I tried to nail her on it yesterday and she totally shut down.” Tipping her glass back, Denise swallowed the last of her wine before slumping down in her chair.

“So what should we do about it? Hire someone to manage the store so your mom can finally retire?”

She shrugged. “You know my mom. She’ll probably drive anyone decent away with her constant hovering. But I still don’t want to sell out to 7-11 or something.”

It wasn’t often that Jon saw his wife at a loss like this. She usually had a clear-cut path to success with any situation thrown at her. Family dynamics always made things harder, though. He was uncomfortably reminded of the stuff he eventually had to dig into with his dad. But even if there were no easy answers, Jon was going to be by her side through it.

Holding his breath, he reached out and placed his hand gently on top of hers. He paid attention to the nuance in his muscles, concentrating on all the pointers his dad had given him. There was something of an instinct growing within him of how to do this safely.

Denise’s eyes flew open, and a smile grew on her face. “Look at you. Welcome back, babe.” She flipped her hand around and gripped tightly onto his.

It felt strange, much lighter in touch than he was used to from her. There was no way she could come close to his strength now, of course. But her presence was still familiar in a lot of ways.

“We’re going to figure it out,” he promised. “With the two of us, there’s nothing we can’t handle.”

She shifted in her seat, getting close enough to put her head on his shoulder. “You’re right. Everything’s going to be okay.”

Chapter Text

Jon barely slept that night. Why, he wasn’t completely sure about. Maybe it was because he didn’t need to sleep all that much anymore, or maybe it was because he had so much to think about. Regardless, the next day, he felt completely out of sorts. Not tired, exactly, but totally uncomfortable and out of place.

A small bright spot was when Denise brought the kids over for breakfast. It was weird not staying under one roof. Denise understandably didn’t want to leave her mom right now, though, and there was no way that Jon could handle being in the Olowe house and not raising suspicion. It was hard enough just being here.

The kids filled the kitchen with their rambunctious voices and energy like they always did. Normally, it was something that Jon loved to hear, but right now it meant that he had to use a lot of mental energy to keep his hearing in check. And that was to say nothing about watching every little move he made.

“Daddy, can you cut my pancakes?” Claire pushed her plate towards him as she rose to her knees in the chair.

Jon took a deep breath. “Sure, honey.” He gripped the knife and fork gingerly, keeping his eyes glued on his task.

Oblivious to his struggles, she took a gulp of her juice. “Grandpa, can we go flying again today?”

Clark chuckled. “Sure, Claire. You pick a place, and we can head out after breakfast.”

“It’s not fair unless I get to come with you!” Joey complained. “And Claire picked last time.”

“Yeah, but you’ve been flying with Grandpa way before me!”

Her shrill objection made Jon wince. “Both of you need to have a better attitude about it or Grandpa’s not going to take either of you.” He was pretty sure his dad wouldn’t end up enforcing that consequence, though, so he searched for a way to move past the topic for now. “Babe, when are you heading to the store?”

“In a couple hours?” Denise glanced at the clock. “Do you think you’d be ready to come with me? If Clark’s taking the younger kids?”

“Uh, yeah, I think so. If you want me there.” It felt like she needed support, and Jon was going to do everything he could to provide that for her. But before he could try to dig deeper, he caught sight of the glass of juice in Sam’s hand.

“Sam, what was your blood sugar before breakfast? Remember that orange juice is–”

“Dad! I know! Jeez, I got it!” She glared at him from across the table.

A stress-related twinge throbbed in his forehead, and he dropped his eyes hastily. The heat vision wasn’t bubbling beneath the surface as much as it had been yesterday, but Sam had a way of working his last nerve with this kind of thing…

He had twisted his fork. As he opened his hand, he saw the mangled handle and winced. There had been no shortage of warped cutlery in their house as Jordan got a handle on his strength, and it was odd to think about it happening again now. At least he had managed to get Claire’s food cut up before he wrecked things. With a sigh, he passed her plate back to her and then stood up to get himself a replacement fork.

His mom had noticed, and reached out to give his arm a supportive squeeze. “You’re doing great, sweetie.”

He shook his head wryly, laying his mangled fork on the counter. “Let’s see how many of these I destroy before you decide on that.”

“I know it can’t be easy. And parenthood is a lot to handle on top of that.” She held out the coffee pot in invitation, and he gratefully accepted a cup.

“Yeah, it can be a lot.” His eyes drifted back to the table as he watched Sam tease at Claire’s hair. “At least that part of it’s worth it.”

“I was thinking I’d take Sam with me to New Carthage today. She liked that boba shop there last time and it might be nice for her to get out of town for a bit.”

Jon nodded his thanks. “That’d be great. With everything happening, I don’t know if she’s got as much attention as–”

Something hit against his side. It wasn’t until he heard the thud of Joey falling to the floor that he realized who it was. Groaning, Joey rolled over and held the back of his head.

“Bud, are you okay?” Jon crouched down instantly, but didn’t trust himself to reach out. His chest squeezed tightly as he thought through all the things that could have happened.

“Dad, you’re like a mountain now!”

“Look at my eyes.” Already, his mind was running through concussion protocol; checking for alertness, pupil size–

“Babe, he’s fine.” Denise pulled Joey off the floor and brushed him off. “But this is why we’re always on you to stop running around indoors, Joey. You’re actually lucky you can’t knock over your dad anymore because you might have gotten a hot cup of coffee spilled on you.”

“I know. Sorry.” Joey brushed it off easily enough, returning to the table and shoveling sliced peaches into his mouth. It wasn’t as easy for Jon to get over, though.

There seemed to be a constant stream of differences he was still getting used to with all of this. Despite all of this practicing, he still felt like he was in a completely different body, one that was markedly different from almost everyone else on the planet. And even the few people who shared his experience now had been different for so long that it felt like second nature to them. The malaise stuck with him throughout breakfast and he couldn’t manage to pull himself out of it even when Jordan dropped by for a visit.

“Seems like you’ve got the powers pretty much figured out,” Jordan commented as he watched Jon finish up sending a controlled blast of heat vision towards a warped metal barrel.

“I guess.” The metal was still red hot, but Jon had learned that didn’t matter for him anymore. He lifted the barrel effortlessly and tucked it away in the corner of the cellar. Ready for the next generation of Kent kids, maybe?

Jordan was nodding cautiously. “Look, I know the hearing especially sucks in the city, but I really don’t think you’re that far off of getting back to normal.”

Scoffing, Jon felt his shoulders hunch. “Until the next thing kicks in. And none of this is normal. I’m a completely different person now! I’m not– I…”

How could he even put it into words? The way he interacted with the world had changed on every level without any warning. Even just standing there in the cellar, he could pick out all kinds of unsettling differences in his senses. Sure, he had accepted being part Kryptonian a long time ago, but now there was a concrete, sharp divide between him and anyone who was human including members of his own family.

“Oh.” Jordan gave him a look of startling empathy. “I remember that.”

“What? You… you do?”

“Yeah. The whole ‘feeling like an outsider’ wherever you go? I literally had to go through a ‘how to act human’ bootcamp with Dad which is probably the most ironic thing ever.”

Frozen, Jonathan stared at his brother. “You never told me about that.”

“I was kind of embarrassed, I think. And it was weird. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of not being able to tell if soup was too hot or something.”

“Right.” It hadn’t been something that Jon could have related to at all back then. But for right now it felt good to have someone who actually understood it, even if the memories were distant. “Joey ran into me this morning and I barely noticed. It was like I was a brick wall or something.”

Jordan snorted. “Well, he’ll learn not to sneak attack people, at least. And over time you get better at letting yourself get pushed around. The superspeed helps, actually. Gives you more reaction time.”

“Oh. Huh.” Then he felt a flick across his forehead. “What the hell, dude?”

Smirking, Jordan took a shuffling step away from Jon. “That’s your standard, human, eleven-year-old strength level. Just for future reference.”

“Gee, thanks, bro. What would I do without you?”

“I dunno, plough over your own kid?”

A flare of annoyance rose up within him, and before he could stop himself he gave into temptation. Reaching out, he shoved Jordan as hard as he could. He hadn’t expected anything. Jordan still had the speed on him, of course, plus decades of experience. But to his surprise, Jordan moved with the force, landing on the ground with a rumbling thump that left a divot in the floor.

Jon stared. “Uh… I didn’t mean to–”

“That was epic!” Jordan beamed.

“Dude, what are you, twelve?”

“No, but I’m been waiting for forever to be able to do something like that.” With a flash of speed, Jordan zipped closer to Jon for a brief second to return the push.

It made Jon stumble backwards, and even though he could tell that his brother wasn’t using his full strength, it was still way more force than Jonathan had ever experienced before. His eyes widened and some long-forgotten instinct stirred within him.

“Wait, wait!” Jordan skipped backwards. “I’m definitely down for this, but there’s no way we can do it here. Doesn’t matter how old we are, Dad’s gonna kill us if we make an earthquake under the farm.”

“Oh. Yeah. So, you got an idea of where to go?”

Jordan’s eyes lit up. “Yeah, definitely. Hang on and I’ll get us there.”

Jonathan eyed the dingy, cramped shelves at Brit and Dunn’s as he stood carefully still on the spot. His control was decent, but there really wasn’t a ton of room to maneuver in here. And something else felt off about the space, too. When Jon had worked here in high school, Rahim Olowe had been strict about keeping the store in top condition at all times. Floors were always being mopped, windows were being washed, and shelves were always being dusted. There was a sense of pride that was evident any time you walked inside.

That was all but gone now. The glass windows were murky and the corners had dust collecting in them. Stock seemed to be a lot more limited than what Jon had remembered, and even then he had already clocked a few expired products. Denise was looking at it all with a frown as well.

“They should have told me they were struggling! We could have… I don’t know, come down for a weekend or two and cleaned things up.”

“I wish they had. It’s not like we don’t know how to do the job.”

“Yeah.” A smile grew on Denise’s face despite the situation. “Although this time they couldn’t get mad at us for making out in the stockroom.”

“Ha. As long as you’re the one who does all the explaining to your dad.” He realized his slip of the tongue as soon as he said it, and a bittersweet air filled the room. With caution, he reached out and put his arm around Denise. He didn’t know what it was like to lose a parent, but he wanted to be there for her however she needed.

“Tighter,” she murmured, leaning in closer to him.

It took a bit of courage, but he managed it. Weirdly enough, his juvenile tussle with Jordan had helped to get things settled in even more, and he was feeling pretty decent about his control right now. They stayed together for a moment longer before turning back to the task at hand.

“So, what do you want to tackle first?” he asked.

“I want you to lift that pallet of cans all at once and take it into the back.”

“What?” He stilled beside her, staring at the large pallet of goods she was referencing. He had no idea what it weighed in total, but even just moving it case by case would have been an arduous job for either of them before. Of course it wouldn’t be that way for him now…

“C’mon, I know you can handle it,” Denise cajoled. “And I really need your help with this.”

Well, there was no way he could say no to that. He took in a deep breath, steeling himself for the task. Then he realized something.

“Are you just doing this because you want to help me with, uh, you know, the powers?”

The corner of her mouth lifted. “Okay, you caught me. I know you, Jon. The best way you’re going to figure out these powers is to see how you can use them to help people.”

He scoffed. “Did you forget that I have a shining pair of beacons as examples of that?”

“No, this is about more than just your brother and your dad. It’s about you and your life. Whatever you decide to do with the ‘super’ side of things, I know you’re going to be happiest when you’re using your powers to help. Even if it’s hauling expired product out back.”

She hopped up on the counter, watching expectantly, and suddenly Jon was transported years back. With an ease he hadn’t experienced in days, he cupped the back of her head and drew her in for a kiss.

It was still different from before. The sound of her heartbeat mixed in everything else as her breath caught. He was still hyper aware of every movement he was making and the way her fingers dug into his shoulders didn’t have as much force as he was used to. But it was still much-needed after all this time apart, and the same deep connection they had was there like always. He drew closer to her, leaning her backwards against the countertop as–

She pulled away from him. “You’re not getting away with distracting me, Kent. You have a job to do.”

“Wha– Oh.” He turned back towards the tower of cans. “Yeah, okay. On it.”

It was still weird to be able to lift something like this without even breaking a sweat. He could tell how heavy it was, but the newfound power in his muscles handled it all without any struggle. Keeping the tower of cans balanced was easy, and he even managed to hold it with one hand as he pushed open the door to the back room.

There was going to be a lot of stuff heading back here, he predicted. Maybe he needed to borrow the truck one day to load everything out at once. How his dad managed to keep that thing in working condition still…

He walked out to the front again, greeted by Denise’s warm smile. “You know that’s pretty hot.”

Surprisingly, he felt his cheeks warm in response. So much was new for him right now, and apparently that extended to his marriage. It was reassuring to be accepted, though. Not only accepted, but loved. And now that he thought about it, there could be all kinds of ways he could use his newfound powers to change up even a nearly thirty year relationship.

With growing confidence, he cut across the floor. “You think that’s hot? Wait til you–” Something lurched within him and he froze, head spinning.

“Jon? Are you okay?”

He could hear Denise’s voice, but as far as what he could see… Colours blurred chaotically in front of him and he couldn’t seem to keep things still… Her fingers brushed against his, and he gripped onto her hand. At least he had one tiny anchor of stability in the midst of all this. It was like everything he had ever learned about using his eyes didn’t apply anymore. Somehow, everything had–

Oh. Shit.

He sighed. “You gotta be fucking kidding me.”

Chapter Text

Yet another wave of nausea swept over Jonathan, and he felt the wooden armrest crack under his grip as he tried to anchor himself. He blew out a sigh and eased back on his strength. It had been an incredibly frustrating evening. The arrival of his enhanced sight was almost as chaotic as everything else, and even though Jon had pushed to tackle it with the same energy he had with his other powers, it didn’t seem to be settling as quickly. Maybe it was because he didn’t have the benefit of three solid days of rest in the fortress?

Well, there was no way he was going to do that again, so he resigned himself to muscling through it, even if he could barely manage to navigate himself around and even if he discovered that he was now completely immune to stuff like Gravol. All he had to help him with the motion sickness was getting some fresh air when it became too overwhelming.

“Hey, Dad.”

Jon snapped his head to the side, grimacing when everything fell out of focus once again. He recognized Sam’s voice, though, and did his best to pull himself together.

“Hey, honey. You doing okay?” All the kids were over at the farmhouse while Denise was going through some of her dad’s things with her mom. Jon had wanted to be a lot more present to them, but the latest wave of vision troubles had sent him seeking some fresh air to try to settle his stomach.

Her shuffling steps carried towards him, and then he heard the squeak of the wicker chair as she sat down. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just wanted to, like, uh, see how you were doing, I guess.”

The uncertain words were out of character for Sam, and they smothered the frustration Jon felt at yet another person feeling the need to watch out for him.

“I’m okay, Sam. I promise. You don’t need to be worrying about me.”

She huffed out a soft laugh. “Well, now you know what it feels like to have people obsessing over you all the time.”

The parallels were painfully obvious, and Jon squinted his eyes to be able to see the smug smile on his daughter’s face.

“Why did we let you get this smart?”

“Pfft. You couldn’t hold me back if you tried.”

“No, you’re right.” He turned his face out towards the fields, trying to keep his vision steady for just a while longer.

“Hey, Dad?”

“Yeah?”

“Does this mean I’m gonna get powers, too? Like, eventually?”

Dang it. He had kind of hoped he’d have a little more time before one of his kids pieced that together.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “We can take you to the fortress for some scans, but nothing’s for sure. I wish I had a better answer for you.”

She shrugged, pulling her legs up into the chair and resting her chin on her knees. There was a lot at stake with Sam in particular. If she ever got powers, it meant that her diabetes would be a complete non-issue. But it also meant that she wouldn’t be able to live a normal life in so many other ways.

“Well, if I get powers, I just hope it’s not when I’m super old or something. Uh, no offense.”

“Ouch.” He chuckled. “Okay, look, I have no idea what’s going to happen with you and the powers. But I do know that I’m going to be with you through it all, okay? No matter what happens or when.”

She picked at the polish on her nails, a faint smile on her face. “Okay. Yeah, thanks, Dad.” Then she lifted her head, eyes focused firmly on him. “So are you gonna do the whole hero thing with Grandpa and Uncle Jordan?”

“Uh, maybe. I haven’t decided yet.” It was the most truthful answer he had, even if he could sense a decision slowly solidifying in him for when he was ready to tackle it. “What, uh, what would you think if I did?”

There was silence from Sam and suddenly Jon needed to know her thoughts all the more.

“I’m serious, honey. You can tell me whatever you’re thinking. If I do decide to…you know, it’s something that’d affect us all.”

She drew in a breath, paused, and then finally spoke. “Okay, that’d be kind of cool if you did all that, but… does your outfit have to be as tight as Grandpa and Uncle Jordan’s?”

Jon barked out a laugh, tension whooshing out of him. “I honestly don’t know. Your uncle’s always going on about wind resistance, but–”

“But why does that matter when you have freaking superpowers?”

“Yeah, exactly. Tell you what: you can be my official fashion consultant, okay? Make sure I look good out there.”

“Kay.”

“Dad!” The screen door slammed and Joey came stomping out onto the porch with his little sister hot on his heels. “Claire’s bugging me again!”

“It’s cuz Joey won’t play with me! Dad, can you read to me?” She held the battered family copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory out to him. They had been working through the story back before everything had happened. It had been days since their nightly ritual and Jon knew he’d have to put it off for yet another time.

“I’m really sorry, Claire. My eyes are still adjusting. Maybe tomorrow, okay?”

Then Sam gave a small huff, and shifted forward in her seat. “I’ll read for tonight.”

“Really?!” Claire shoved the book over to her sister. “We’re just at the part where Charlie meets Mr Wonka!”

“Yeah, I remember that chapter.” Sam thumbed through to find the bookmark.

Jon couldn’t read to his kid right now, but he did want to do something. After an internal pep talk, he reached out his arms and drew Claire in. She happily hopped up onto his lap. It wouldn’t be that much longer before she’d stop wanting to do that, and he took a moment to soak all of it in.

Joey was still standing there, hovering in that space between child and teen that he was inhabiting more and more these days. Finally, he dropped down to the floor, scooting in close to Jon’s knees.

“It’s a good part of the story,” he muttered.

“Yeah, bud. It is.” Jon brushed his hand over his son’s head, and then leaned back in the chair; Claire on his lap and Sam’s voice reading beside him.

It was pretty much perfect.

With his eyes squinting, Jon focused his attention through the wall of the kitchen and into his mom’s office.

“It’s… a six of hearts?”

“That’s it! I think you got it nailed, honey.” His mom beamed as she stuck the cards back into the drawer and stepped into the kitchen.

“That’s probably a new family record,” his dad said. “When my vision kicked in, it took me a week before I could see straight.”

“Well, I have a good coach.” Jon flashed his dad a smile. “And I’m pretty motivated to get this figured out before something else shows up.”

He hadn’t meant it as a bitter statement, but he could feel the change in atmosphere as soon as he said it. His dad nodded, dropping his eyes and taking a step back. Then he seemed to make a decision about something.

“Look, Jon, I’m sorry this has been hard for you. I’ve experienced firsthand how difficult the powers can be, and that’s not even taking into account all of the other responsibilities you have in your life. I wish–”

“No, Dad, stop.” Jonathan didn’t really know where his dad was going to take things, but he didn’t want to hear anything else. “Yeah, it’s been tough, but it’s not your fault. I’m just glad I have you to help me through it.”

“Of course.” Reaching out a hand, he gripped Jon’s shoulder. There was far more power in it than Jon would have been able to handle before all of this, but he was starting to get used to it now.

“We’re both here for you,” his mom assured him. “No matter what.”

“Yeah. Thanks, Mom.” He needed her, too. She was still his connection to his humanity, and no matter how old he got, she was always one of the first people he thought of when he needed help with something.

“So, when are you heading back to Metropolis?” she asked. “Denise knows we’re happy to help with her mom whenever she needs, right?”

Jon reached up to scratch at the back of his neck. “Actually, we’re not sure yet. For one thing, there’s still a lot that needs to be done at the store. And I’m stuck in this weird limbo where I don’t know when the next superpower’s going to hit. Metropolis isn’t feeling like the greatest fit for us right now.”

A light sparked in his dad’s eyes. “So you’re saying…”

“Well, we need to talk it over with the kids still. And think about letting Denise’s mom in on the secret?” His eyes drifted across his parents’ faces. “It didn’t feel necessary before, but now…”

“We’d be open to it,” his mom answered. “And I’m sure Jordan would, too.”

Jon was pretty sure about that, too. The last few days had been totally chaotic, but the solid support of his family had seen him through it, and he knew that it was going to continue to be there no matter what else happened.

With that security in mind, it was a lot easier to face his kids with Denise at his side, starting a conversation with them in the very kitchen that he had experienced it himself decades ago.

“Move to Smallville?” Joey’s head tilted. “Where would we live?”

Jon put his arm around Denise. “Probably at Kakar’s house. She could use the extra help and we can renovate the downstairs to make an extra bedroom for you, Sam.”

That seemed to spark her interest, but she still had questions. “So you’d leave the hospital, Dad?”

“Yeah. I think it's best for me to take a break from the ER anyway, and I could work at the urgent care center here, or maybe do some family medicine. Plus, I’d probably be busy working for your mom at the store.”

Claire perked up at that. “If you’re running the store, Mom, does that mean we get free treats?”

“We’ll talk about it,” Denise grinned.

“What about soccer?” Joey wondered.

With that, Jon felt a guilty jolt in his chest. He knew all too well what it was like to have your sports career disrupted with a family move. And although he was sure that Claire would adjust quickly, it was going to be hard on Sam to leave her Metropolis friends behind. Jon’s own experience had ultimately been for the best, but that didn’t mean he had forgotten how tough it was for him for years.

Then Denise gave his hand a squeeze. “There’s a local league, Joey,” she answered. “And I’m sure you’d all make friends here pretty quick. You’re Olowe-Kents; everyone’s going to love you.”

Claire beamed at the reassurance, and even though Sam and Joey didn’t buy it as easily, Jon could tell that they were cautiously accepting.

“We don’t have to decide right away,” Jon told them all. “But we want you guys to think about it for a bit and we can talk about it again. I think it would be a good move for all of us.”

The kids shared a look between them, and then shrugged amicably.

“Maybe,” Sam cautiously agreed. “But for now can we just do something fun? You’ve been promising to show us your powers for forever now and we still haven’t seen anything actually good!”

“Yeah, we just found out our dad has superpowers,” Joey chimed in. “We wanna see it! And you were gonna lift up the truck, remember?”

Jonathan raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know if I actually said I would, Joey.” But as his gaze looked over three matching pairs of eyes that reminded him so much of his wife, he felt himself caving. “Alright, let’s go out front. I’ll show you what I’ve been practicing.”

“Yes!! And, Dad, you’re gonna melt stuff, too, right?”

“Yeah, duh, Joey, it’s the only other cool thing dad can do yet.”

“When are you gonna learn to fly, Daddy?”

The sounds of his kids’ voices blended together, and Jonathan felt a smile grow on his face as they walked outside together.

There was a lot unknown about the future still, but he could tell that they were at the start of something great.