Chapter Text
Jonathan polished the tractor for the second time in a row. He had finished the chores by himself an hour ago. It had been surprisingly easy and he didn’t feel physically tired. He now sat by the tractor hoping that him and his Dad might talk more about figuring things out for him. He felt optimistic. For the first time in a long time he felt that his Dad had actually listened to him. That they were finally ready to work past the X-K incident. Sure, Dad may have turned the issue to Jordan but Jonathan figured that his Dad wanted to talk to them both at the same time. Still though, he had been gone a long time and Jonathan wasn’t comfortable being on his own especially since his Bizarro doppelganger was out there somewhere waiting for another opportunity to merge and he had yet to receive an ELT.
He was just about to start retightening the bolts when he heard a familiar boom signalling his Dad’s return. Curiously there was a second smaller boom accompanying it. He emerged from the barn just to see his father land with his brother face planting beside him. A feeling of dread overtook Jonathan as Clark told Jordan his landing was better.
“Where were you guys?” Jonathan asked, even though deep down he knew the answer. “I took your brother to the Fortress for quick training session” Clark answered with a stupid smile on his face. “Yeah, we practised flying” Jordan piped up, grinning with his father. A feeling of intense anger and bitterness overtook Jonathan. “While I was here?” Jonathan asked sarcastically. Clark, at the very least, had the decency to look slightly ashamed while Jordan looked at the ground awkwardly. “Yeah, well, don’t worry, I got the chores all done by myself, so...” Jonathan said, walking off towards the house. “Jonathan...” Clarke said exasperatedly, but Jordan just waved him off saying he needed a shower.
Jonathan needed to getaway from the both of them before he said something he may or may not regret. He heard Clark say, that he was going to talk to him, but in the same sentence also told Jordan he was proud of him, something which burned Jonathan immensely because he knew that if he skived off chores, Clark or Lois wouldn’t be as lenient. Clark went to follow his son and explain how he forgot the chores as he tried to make Jordan feel better but Jonathan slammed the front door in his face which irritated him. He was about to tell Jonathan that he shouldn’t slam doors in the house when he caught sight of the clock which made him winch as he realized that they’d been gone for hours.
“Jonathan wait, let me explain...” Clark said to Jonathan who was heading towards the stairs now. Jonathan turned around to face him fury lining his face. “What Clark?, are going to pull another fancy speech out of your ass and then return to precious Jordan again, after all we have to make sure your proud Kryptonian son isn’t in distress right?” Jonathan said, sarcasm lacing his tone. This made Clark angry. “Hey, I know your upset but you do not talk to me like that and you address me as your father young man”.
Jonathan let out a mirthless laugh. “Father, is that what you call yourself Clark? Do we need to call your cheerleader Lois, here to pat you on the back and tell you that you’re doing a good job when we both know you’ve done jack” he spat at Clark. Clark got angrier now, especially since he believed Jonathan was disrespecting his mother.
“This is between us Jonathan, don’t you dare disrespect your mother like that,” Clark said stepping closer to Jonathan who wasn’t backing down. Jonathan snorted and replied “Disrespect? Respect is earned not given and neither one of you two have done much to garner that in my eyes”. Jonathan stepped closer to his father and said “And who the hell do you think you are talking to me about disrespect, You were a deadbeat absent father for fourteen years and the only time you decide to actually act like one, you only made time for one son and that was your Kryptonian one, I guess what Jordan said was true; you weren’t put on this planet to be a father at least not to a human child, I’m sure you were just delighted when you got your perfect Kryptonian package in Jordan, That’s why you dragged us out to this hellhole isn’t it”.
Jonathan couldn’t stop himself as the words kept spilling out of mouth “Never once have you ever asked me what the hell I have gone through since we got here, getting treated like an outcast from day one, being ignored constantly by my own family, half the town and school hating me for existing, getting nearly killed multiple times by your psychotic brother, your perfect son breaking my arm and getting zero consequences, but obviously if your Kryptonian you can get away with anything, including being a useless father, a super powered teenage brat, and a psychotic, genocidal, mass murdering dictator, I mean as long as you say sorry right?”.
“THAT IS NOT TRUE!” Clark shouted, his famous patience rapidly slipping away the more he and Jonathan fought. “You, Lois and Jordan are always my first priority” he argued. “ttt, when it suits you and Lois, you mean” Jonathan snidely said.
Clark control snapped and he grabbed Jonathan by the wrist pulling him close so that they were face to face. “I’M A SUPERHERO JONATHAN, I HAVE RESPONSIBILITIES, I THOUGHT YOU UNDERSTOOD THAT, THINGS MAY HAVE BEEN DIFFICULT, THAT I ALWAYS HAVEN’T BEEN AROUND, THAT YOU’VE BEEN HAVING A HARD TIME LATELY BUT LOIS AND I ARE YOUR PARENTS AND YOU WILL TREAT US WITH RESPECT” he roared. Jonathan didn’t know what possessed him to do what he did next.
Maybe it was the resentment that had been building the past year because of family’s lack of regard, mixed together with years’ worth of repressed anger. Jonathan reared back and spat in Clark’s face. “SCREW YOU, SCREW THIS FAMILY, SCREW KRYPTON, SCREW SMALLVILLE, SCREW SUPERMAN” Jonathan shouted.
For just a second it appeared that Clark was frozen as the small gob of spit hung from underneath his eye and trailed down his cheek. Then like a bomb going off, he exploded. “WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? I CAN TELL YOU RIGHT NOW THAT NO SON OF MINE WILL BEHAVE THIS WAY, YOU KEEP THIS UP AND I’LL SHIP YOU TO YOUR GRANDFATHER AND HE’LL SHOW YOU THE MEANING OF DISCIPLINE”.
“THAT’S RIGHT, I’M NOT YOUR SON ACCORDING TO YOU, I’M JUST HERE TO BE JORDAN’S EMOTIONAL SUPPORT DOG, THATS WHY YOU NEVER TOOK ME TO SEE JOR-EL, THATS WHY YOU’RE ONLY HERE FOR JORDAN, THAT’S WHY YOU BOTH LEFT ME HERE TO PICK UP YOUR SLACK, THAT’S WHY YOU LET YOUR HOMICIDAL BROTHER GO FREE, BECAUSE ALL YOU KRYPTONIANS LOOK DOWN ON HUMANS IGNORING THE FACT THAT YOUR OWN STUPIDITY DECIMATED YOUR ENTIRE RACE, THAT’S WHY YOU CONSTANTLY ENDANGER MY LIFE” Jonathan shouted back. Jordan had walked in at this point and he stood to the side, shocked and hurt at how this conversation had gone. All good feelings he had about flying were gone. He knew that Jonathan had been having issues lately, but he never knew it was this bad.
“Maybe I didn’t want my father to see what an ungrateful brat I raised” Clark growled, a reddish tinge behind his eyes now. His hand tightening ever so slightly on Jonathan’s wrist. Jonathan leaned in towards Clark “Or maybe you realized what a useless father you are, that this whole saving people thing is just a means to justify your own pathetic existence, that deep down you’re just as big a human bigot as your people, that you regard Lois as a cute pet to stroke your ego when someone calls you out on your bullshit” Jonathan said is voice low and patronizing.
SNAP! Jonathan roared in pain as his father’s hand tightened and the bone in his wrist shattered. Clark let go of Jonathan and stepped back as if he’d been burned, looking at Jonathan’s wrist which was bent awkwardly; in horror. “Dad, what the hell?” Jordan shouted coming to Jonathan side only for Jonathan to recoil from him in disgust. “Don’t touch me, Don’t you dare touch me” Jonathan said, his eyes tearing up in pain, his wrist cradled to his hand.
Clark looked down at his hand in horror. He had done it. He had actually done it. He’d used his powers on his son, and injured him severely; his human son. Not just any arm though, but the same arm had already been broken twice over, both times by Kryptonians. He and Lois, had often discussed that when it came to disciplining the boys, they would never use corporal punishment but now he had broken that promise and now his son was suffering for it.
Clark tried to walk over towards Jonathan, but Jonathan stepped back. “Get away from me, Get the hell away from me, both of you. I’m not gonna let you break another part me” Jonathan whimpered, looking at his father as though he was Lex Luthor. “Jonathan, please, I’m sorry, but we have to get you to the hospital” Clark pleaded. “You try and drag me anywhere Clark Kent, and I swear to God I will tell them exactly who did this to me, and considering I’ve already been in the hospital three times this year, and I’ve also been expelled for selling drugs, I’m sure that would raise a lot of questions that you don’t want to answer, then again maybe the world should know that Superman is the type of person who hits his kids” Jonathan threatened, no hint of a bluff in his voice.
Clark was shocked that Jonathan had threatened him that way. Had the relationship between them really gotten that bad? Clark tried to convince Jonathan once more, but just then he heard Sam’s ELT go off. Clark wanted to stay and try and fix things with Jonathan, but it could be a serious emergency. He turned to Jordan. “Jordan, I need you to take your brother to the hospital. Try and be as gentle as you can” he said to him.
Jordan look shocked. “Dad, you’re seriously not going, are you? What about Jonathan?” He asked. “I will talk to Jonathan later, hopefully we can sort this mess out, but right now, I need to get to your grandfather” Clark said before speeding out of the house and shooting into the sky. Jordan sighed before looking at Jonathan who was wincing in pain and trying to not cry. “Jonathan come on, the sooner we get you to the hospital, the sooner we can get your arm fixed up” Jordan told him.
Jonathan looked at his brother with hate in his eyes. “Three times, three times my arm has been broken by a goddamn alien, What Jordan, do you want to go for a fourth time? I mean you seem to get a prize for every time you screw up, or did breaking my arm the first time not satisfy you?” Jonathan snarled. “Dude, you know that was just an accident, right?” Jordan said, trying to defend himself.
“Yeah, Jordan, it was an accident because if I hadn’t stepped in, you would have killed that other kid. Do you ever think about that, or is that too much for your alien mind to comprehend? Or did your Kryptonian father never once explained to you that actions have consequences” Jonathan sniped.
“I would never... It was just an accident” Jordan said, trying to come up with a reasonable excuse, but Jonathan just kept going. “Yeah, I’m sure, Lois will probably just say it could have been worse and I need to understand and coddle you to the best of my ability like I’ve always been forced to our entire lives” Jonathan said, ignoring the pain in his wrist which starting to lessen. Jonathan walked up to Jordan. “Ever since we were born and ever since we got here, it’s always been about you; We’ve always had to worry about you, whether you are going to have a tantrum or whether you were just being a moody asshole or if your powers were going to go out of control”.
Jonathan stepped closer, getting in Jordan’s face now. “ We’ve always had to pander to you; Whenever you screwed up, all you got was a little talking to and a pat on the shoulder, when I screw up, I’m suddenly the biggest criminal on Earth, because of you, I’ve always had to be perfect, had to be the good son, the only reason we moved out this hellhole was because of you, because we’ve always had to drop everything because of you, never once do you or your parents think about me and what I’m going through, what I’ve sacrificed for this family, you’re having a bad day, you get taken to the Fortress, I have a bad day I get a few fancy words and immediately get asked about how Jordan is doing, you disrespect your mother and nothing happens, I utter a word and I get criticized for even thinking negatively about any of you, you’re invulnerable and able to defend yourself, yet I’m the one who gets left behind all day to do chores with no ELT with a psychotic doppelganger who wants to merge with me but maybe that was intentional, maybe Clark wants to stop pretending to be a father to a human kid, this way he can get his two for the price of one” Jonathan ranted.
Jordan tried to ignore what Jonathan was saying but with super hearing it was impossible and so he was struggling not to cry as Jonathan hurled abuse at him. He knew that his issues were a burden on the family but he never had it stated so plainly to him before. The fact that it was coming from Jonathan made it ten times worse. Jonathan noticed and smirked condescendingly at Jordan. “That’s it Jordan cry, I’m sure Mommy and Daddy will come rushing in any minute with your pacifier, maybe that’ll shut you up for a bit”. Jordan wiped his tears and said “Jonathan stop it”. “Or what Superboy, you going to follow in Daddy’s footsteps and break my bones, like father, like son” Jonathan taunted.
Jordan grew frustrated and said “Stop calling them that, they’re your parents too”. Jonathan snorted and replied “I don’t have parents, lately all I’ve had is three people I unfortunately happen to be related to, and that’s being generous”.
Jonathan sighed “Look, I suppose it’s not your fault, but I’ve spent my entire life being your caretaker, not your brother, because it was expected of me, Not asked, expected, Even when you’ve let me down, I’ve always been by your side and had your back but you never once asked me if I’d like to go to the Fortress or if I needed training, Instead, you have the nerve to criticize me for taking X-K, when you have been secretly training with General Lane every chance you get”.
“Well, then what? What do you want me to do, Jonathan?” Jordan asked desperately. He sensed what the last few threads that connected him to his brother were disintegrating and fast. Jonathan almost felt bad when he saw the desperate look on his brother’s face. Despite what he said, he hated seeing Jordan upset. But then he remembered that stupid smile on his father and brother’s faces when they landed after screwing off for the whole day and his resolve became harder than steel.
“As of right now, I quit, I don’t want to hear about your powers, I don’t want to hear about Sarah, I don’t want to be your shoulder to cry on, I don’t want to hear about your Superboy training, my days of being your therapist are over, handle your own shit for once” Jonathan told Jordan. With that said, Jonathan turned around and went upstairs, closing his door with an audible thud leaving Jordan crying below. Jordan took off out of the house a minute later to clear his head. Jonathan lent his hands on the door, breathing heavily.
A part of him felt bad for what he said but a much larger part of him felt a sick sense of satisfaction at seeing Jordan squirm. He went over to his dresser and looked in one of he drawers. Unbeknownst to his family, this particular drawer had a false bottom, one containing a lead lined box which Jonathan placed his most of the cash he’d collected from working at the store. He grabbed a large duffel bag and shoved some clothes along with his toiletries. He then went across the hall into his parent’s bedroom and hunted around until he found some more cash. He went downstairs and packed some food. He dug around in one of the drawers until he found what he was looking for “Smallville Bus Station Schedule”. So caught up in his packing Jonathan never realized that his wrist was no longer broken.