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“Pleaseeee, can I go out on patrol tonight!” Jon pleaded to his mother, who craned her neck away from her computer screen.
“Absolutely not, young man. You’re still in trouble after your little escapade with Damian a few weeks ago. Besides, it’s a school night.”
“Yeah, but I’ve been very good lately! I helped around the farm all the time, got home from school on time, and kept up my grades!” Jon puckered his lips and widened his eyes while staring at his mother, who scowled at him.
“Put those eyes away, young man; I know all your tricks.”
“Dang…” Jon snapped his fingers. “It was worth a shot.”
Jon slumped on his chair and began fiddling with one of the empty glasses. Rolling it around his fingers before letting it fall onto the table. “Why can’t I go out on patrol today?”
“I can think of a few reasons…namely, you’re still young, and your father and I would hate to see you hurt, or worse.”
‘Why does that matter; I’m a super,’ He whispered…
“What was that?”
“Nothin’” Jon quickly bit his tongue as Lois glared at him. The boy didn’t even need his X-ray vision to tell that Lois’ gaze was piercing right at him. He crossed his arms and frowned. “Batman, let’s Damian go out on patrol on school nights.”
“Oh, really now? Last I heard from Alfred, Damian is under house arrest, which you could be if you keep pressing this, Jonathan.” Lois’ voice grew increasingly irritated, causing the young boy to touch his fingertips together and laugh.
“Uhhh, sorry, Mom, I’ll stop!”
“Smart decision; now run along and let me finish my thesis.”
Jon sighed and walked toward his room. He opened the door, flipped on the lights, and gazed around the starry-night wallpaper that adorned the walls. Strewn around his room were what you’d typically find in a ten-year-old’s room. Laundry on the floor in a “neat” pile and a desk with homework that had yet to be completed. Looking around his room, he glossed over the telescope his grandpa gave him for his eighth birthday, as well as a skateboard that was still in its packaging.
“I really should learn how to skate, to be honest. Eh, that’s a later me thing.” He set it aside, climbed the ladder that connected the desk to his bed, and laid on the comfy sheets. He stared at the ceiling and spotted the glow-in-the-dark stars that adorned them, noting that some began to look rather faded and worn compared to a few months ago.
“Should really replace them, but again, a later me thing…I mean, it’s not like I’m busy or anything.” He grumbled, “I’ll just write myself a note, and I’ll get to it tomorrow.” He sat up, opened a hidden drawer along his bedframe, and pulled out a sticky note. He carefully wrote ‘Replace stars on the ceiling’ and nodded as he stuck it to a nearby corkboard. He then felt a lump on the board and stared at the clump of sticky notes left by him from the many times he tried to leave notes for himself. “Oh, uh…I’ll remember for next time!” He stared at all the sticky notes and frowned as he turned to his side.
‘I have other things to worry about anyway…’
Jon thought back to his patrol with Damian a few weeks ago and recalled how much fun he had with him. Whether it was saving animals, beating up bad guys, or even helping old ladies cross the street, Jon enjoyed every bit of it. The feeling of validation from strangers; made him feel important. It made him feel like a real hero, just like Superman! He rolled to the other side and sat up from his bed while flailing his arms and legs. “ARRGHHH, THIS SUCKS!”
He wanted to be out there and help people, but how could he do that if he was stuck inside the house like the good boy he was? Sure, Jon can leave, but that would cause more problems for all involved. The last time he snuck out, he got an earful from his mom…and a week's worth of chores with no powers! The worst thing ever about the punishment was that Jon got the “I’m not mad, just disappointed” from his dad, and that was something he never wants to see again. If he left again…not even Superman could save him from his mother’s wrath.
Jon shuddered at the mere thought of his mom’s fury and fell back on his pillow, grumbling to himself. A few moments later, he turned his head and spotted his jacket hanging on the closet door. Despite it being near sunset, the sun shined brightly at the “S” mark on the piece of clothing. The symbol of Hope, as his dad calls it. But to Kon, his brother, it meant freedom. Jon found it funny how both his dad and brother described it differently. But what about him? Everyone always tells him what it means, and he usually never argues against it. Yet, he wondered what the “S” meant to him. What was his calling? Can he be a great hero like his family to find out someday? The boy sat up from the bed and stared into space as his thoughts wandered aimlessly.
“Gee, I wish I could find out! But I can’t do that if I’m stuck in my room! Heroes shouldn’t be locked away doing nothing…it’s not fair.” He hugged his legs and slumped to his knees. “I should be out there like Dad, Aunt Kara, and even K-”
Suddenly he heard a knock on his window close to his bed. He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes while slowly creeping closer to the frame. He pressed his face against the glass but frowned as he didn’t see anything.
“That’s strange, I thought-” Suddenly, a figure with sunglasses appeared on the other side of the window.
“JONNO!”
Jon yelped, fell off his bed, and crashed onto the floor as Konner greeted him.
“Jon!” Kon opened the window and flew inside as Jon rubbed his lower back. “You okay, little man?”
“Yeah, no thanks to you, Kon!” Jon stood up from the hardwood floor and crossed his arms. “WHY THE WINDOW? Ever heard of using the front door?”
“Define front door.” Kon laughed while curling his fingers, forming air quotes.
Jon walked over to the wooden door and gestured at it, causing Konner to smirk.
“Why are you home so late, anyway.” Jon slowly climbed up the ladder and opened a random comic book he picked up as his older brother leaned against the wall.
“Sorry, I got caught up with school stuff.”
“You and school stuff? I find that hard to believe, coming from you.” Jon rolled his eyes and stared at his comic as Konner cleared his throat.
“And a little hero work!”
“Ohhh!” Jon immediately perked up from his book, causing Kon to smirk while adjusting his leather jacket and sunglasses.
“You wanna hear more, yeah?” Kon knew how much Jon loved hearing his hero stories, even if they were minor things; Jon was his hype man, and the teenage super enjoyed every bit of it, even though they got to his big head a lot.
“Duh! Tell me, tell me!” Jon’s eyes sparkled as Kon propped himself near his brother’s bed. The young boy flipped to his stomach, propped up his chin, and eagerly waited for Kon to tell his tale.
“Well, let’s see, there was this giant robot that appeared in the city!”
“Oh, yeah! I heard about that while I was at school! I wanted to come see for myself, but I had to take a stupid math test. What was it like? How big was it? Was it shiny? Who made it?”
“Whoa, slow down, little man! You’re speaking faster than Impulse on a sugar high!”
“Sorry, sorry, it’s just…giant robots are soooo cool! Did you know that The first-ever robot was a flying bird manufactured back in around 400 BC? Archytas was a renowned Greek scientist of ancient times who contributed to the research and development of mathematics, philosophy, and astronomy. Moreover, the flying bird he invented had a wooden body and used steam energy for flying!”
“Wow, what kind of stuff are they teaching ten-year-olds nowadays?” Kon laughed, as Jon blushed.
“Actually, I was just reading about it on my off time. Robots and space stuff are just so cool, Kon!”
“You’ll have to tell me more later, Baby Blue…now to continue my story. The giant thing was stomping everywhere, smashing buildings and throwing debris! It was honestly scary.”
“Yeah, but not for you, though! You were pretty brave, right?”
“Uh, yeah, sure.” Kon chuckled while he scratched the back of his head. Pushing away the memory of him screaming at the top of his lungs while climbing said robot. “Yep, brave ol’me.”
“Then what happened?”
“Well, there I was, saving the civies from getting crushed by the falling buildings. Man, there was this one dog who would not want to move, and I just went up and picked it up before it got stepped on. Poor thing didn’t even have a clue what was going on. It was honestly kind of funny…” Kon stopped as he spotted Jon frowning at him. “What?”
“Skip to the part where you fought the robot, Kon!” The young super shouted.
“But I thought you wanted to hear the entire story?”
“Yeah, but I wanna hear about the part where you kicked the robot’s butt!”
“Uh, okay, that’s perfectly fine.” Kon froze for a second and nodded. “Okay, so, I was climbing the robot, right.”
“Why were you climbing it if you can fly, Kon?”
“Who’s telling the story here?” Kon wagged his finger as Jon rolled his eyes.
“You are…”
“That’s right! Now, don’t interrupt the storyteller.”
“So sorry, forgive my rudeness, oh grand storyteller, please do continue,” Jon said sarcastically, offering a little bow with his head.
“Someone’s being a little punk. Come’re!” Kon lunged at his brother and ruffled his hair. “Who told you can be sarcastic towards your big bro? That deserves punishment!”
“Kon, wait, stop!! Ahahahaha…that tickles!” Jon couldn’t help but laugh as his older brother fluffed his head. Jon flailed about as tears appeared in his eyes. “I’ll stop! I’m sorry!”
“That’s more like it! Now-” Kon patted Jon’s head as the ten-year-old fixed his shirt. “I was climbing the robot’s arm, trying very hard not to fall; then again, I really can’t fall, thanks to my TTK.”
“Wish it could help you get to the good part of the story.” Jon teased.
“Everyone’s a critic…anyway, I reached the top of the robot’s head and found a weak point in its neck! And I bet you can guess what I did next!”
“You used your laser vision!” Jon exclaimed, “Wait, whoops, I forgot, you don’t have that…” The boy pushed his fingertips together and stuck his tongue out. “My bad, Kon, I didn’t mean-”
Kon sighed and shook his head, “It’s okay, Jon. I’m fine, really.” Konner looked at his gloved palms and clenched them tightly. Of course, he doesn’t share the same powers as his brother and father. He was a clone, after all; a clone…a copy, a fake. It didn’t matter how much he tried to forget his origins, his past always manages to find him. That crushing feeling of realization made him feel trapped and alone, just like when he first came out of that lab from Lex Corp. That feeling was all too familiar to Konner. The tubes, the test, the fluids…the darkness-
“Hey, Kon?” Jon reached over and touched the top of his brother’s head, causing Kon to snap back into reality.
“Huh?”
“I’m sorry, Kon…” Jon jumped down from his bed and gave the teen super a big hug. “I didn’t mean to say that, it was an accident!”
Kon felt Jon’s warm embrace and relaxed his posture, and slowly returned the embrace, “Hey, it’s okay Jon, really.”
“No, it’s not okay!” Jon shouted while stomping his foot. “I can see it on your face! You were thinking about how you feel like you don’t belong here! Well, you’re wrong!” Jon punched his brother’s arm and hugged him tightly. “You’re my big brother, you’re my family…you’re a Kent!”
“Jon…” Kon was about to protest, but Jon immediately slapped his cheeks and glared at him. “What are you.”
“Say it, Kon!”
“Say what?”
“Say, ‘I am a Kent.’”
“I’m a Kent.”
“Again!”
“I’m a Kent!”
“Again, with feeling!”
Kon sighed and glared back at Jon. “Fine, I’m Konner Kent!”
“There we go! That’s more like it!” Jon nodded as he released his grip on Kon. “Never forget that!”
Kon rubbed his face and laughed as Jon crossed his arms. For a young kid, he sure knew how to speak his mind. Konner sat down on a nearby chair and sighed. Jon looked back at his brother and kicked the ground.
“Well, robots and craziness aside, whatcha doing in here cooped up in your room? Thought you said you’d be on patrol tonight?”
Jon sat on the hardwood floor and groaned. “Member when I got caught sneaking out that one time with Damian.”
“Oh, yeah…I’ve never seen Mom so angry before.”
“Yep, I’m still under house arrest.”
“Still? After all these weeks?? Did you do the pleading eyes?”
Jon nodded, “I did but it didn’t work, it doesn’t work on her.”
“Dang, it works for me all the time.”
“That’s because you’re not as smart as Mom, Kon…no offense! I mean you’re plenty smart it’s just-” Jon corrected.
“Uh huh,” Kon glared at his brother and scratched his chin. “Did you show her your report card?”
“Didn’t get a chance to…Man!” Jon fell back onto the floor and covered his face with his arm. “Heroes shouldn’t be cooped up at home like this! She just doesn’t get it, I have powers like you and Dad! I should be out there being a hero! It’s not fair.”
“Well, I mean I can’t really blame her.” Kon sat next to his brother and sighed, “You did give me a big scare when I found out you ran off and went up against Lex of all people.”
“Yeah, but I had Damian with me- kind of…things were okay! I’m here now, right?”
“That’s not the-” Kon stopped himself and shook his head. “Nevermind, it doesn’t matter.”
“Kon?” Jon looked at his brother and sat up. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, Jon.”
There was a brief silence between the two, Jon knew something was bothering his brother, but didn’t want to press the issue further with him. Jon then leaned on his brother’s side and stared up at the stars on the ceiling.
“Kon…”
“Yeah?”
“Are you mad at me?”
“Far from it.”
“Okay, just making sure. Listen, if I made you upset, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, Jon. Just a lot is happening right now, just need some time to think.”
“Okay…are you sure? You can tell me what’s going on if you wanna.” Jon was met with a silent stare as Konner stared at the ground.
After a few moments of silence, Kon took a deep breath and slapped his cheeks. “Come on, Jon, let’s go on patrol.”
“Wait really?” Jon fell forward, eyes raised in confusion. “But Mom said I couldn’t cause it’s a school night.”
“It’s fine, you’re with me, I’ll make sure you’re home before anything happens, besides, just blame me if we get caught.”
“Are you sure?”
“Sure as ever, are you with me or do I have to go by myself?”
Jon stared at his brother and turned his gaze back at the door before eyeing his hero uniform. The chance to go on patrol with his brother is a once-in-a-blue-moon kind of opportunity. But it was a huge risk to disobey their mother…then again, Lois always said in order to get what you want in life, you have to take risks. Jon wanted every chance to be a hero. He jumped up from the floor and grabbed his uniform. Smiling wide as he put it on.
“Okay, let’s go!”
Jon spread out his hands as the cool air flew through his fingers. He ran his hands through the clouds, causing them to disperse, giggling while shaking the water from his palms. Kon was right; soaring around in the air was a blast! No wonder Kon feels so free when he flies. Jon himself hobbled back and forth at the mere excitement that he will one day fly like the other. Suddenly he felt the weight of gravity push him slightly as he stumbled on Kon’s back.
“Careful, Jon.” Kon laughed as he flew towards the city of Metropolis. “Wouldn’t want you to fall off.”
“What?” Jon shouted, clearly not hearing anything with the wind blowing against his eardrums. The boy’s excitement was getting to him, but he didn’t care, he felt happy.
“I said I don’t want you to fall off!” Kon shouted, a bit louder.
“What was that, Kon?”
“I SAID!” Kon halted his flight, causing Jon to rock back and lose his grip on his big brother, sending him flying toward the ground. “JON!” Kon rocketed toward his falling brother and reached out. Jon was falling a lot further than Konner could fly.
Jon looked up as he tried reaching back at his brother’s hands. The roaring winds caused his body to spin in a spiral. Jon flapped around his arms and legs in a desperate attempt to orient himself.
‘Come on, fly! Fly!’ He thought as he stared at Kon.
‘Come on, Superboy!’ He thought as he focused on his brother’s flailing body. ‘Be faster! Don’t lose him again!’ Kon took a deep breath and remembered what Tim told him when diving in the air. ‘Make yourself thinner…’ Within seconds Kon was able to reach Jon and hugged him in his arms. Saving his brother from a brutal fall.
“Jon!” Konner held Jon in front of him and looked up and down, examining the younger super for any injuries. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“That was AWESOME!” Jon exclaimed, “Who knew freefalling was so exciting? Nice catch by the way! The way you-”
“I’m so sorry, Jon!” Kon hugged the young super causing him to tense up in surprise. “I should’ve been more careful.”
“Kon, it’s okay; I’m fine now. You don’t have to worry about me. I have invulnerability! It’s okay!”
“Ah, yeah, right…” Kon took a few moments to catch his breath and gestured at his back. “Shall we continue onward?”
“Yeah.” Jon hopped onto Kon’s back and clung to his neck. “Hey, Konner?”
“Yo?”
“Nevermind, it’s nothing.”
The sun disappeared as the brothers flew over the city of Metropolis. Day or night the city was full of life and wonder. Whether it be people leaving for work, or friends wanting to hang out. Someone was out there doing something in the city. Even criminals aren’t excluded from the nightlife.
Sirens blared throughout the streets as a pair of unnamed robbers raced the police. One looked back and open fired at the police, missing a few shots, but it was enough to get the police cars to slow down. The driver laughed and looked in the rearview mirror and smirked at the little blonde-haired girl, who was tied up in the backseat.
“You are going to fetch a nice ransom little miss, your father is a very important businessman and would pay handsomely for your safe return.”
“Looks like we lost them!” The passenger shouted as they closed the window. They turned around and laughed. “Oh, don’t ya cry! We promise to bring you safely home. As long as your pops pays us! Right? Partner?”
“Huh? Yeah, sure sure! Scouts honor.”
The kidnappers slowed their car to a screeching halt and got out of the car. The driver pulled out his phone and dialed the number.
“Hey, Mister CEO…we have your daughter right here…don’t believe me?” The driver opened the doors, pulled down the cloth, and held the phone up to the little girl.
“DADDY!” The girl shouted, “Please don’t let them hurt me!”
“Okay, that’s enough of that.” The driver took the phone away and walked towards the front of the car.
The little girl sighed and froze as she spotted the passenger, brandishing a knife at her.
“The money’s been settled, little miss. But now it’s time to cover our tracks.”
“NO!” The little girl yelled as the knife came closer to her.
Suddenly, a huge dent appeared on the roof of the car, causing the person to hit their head against it.
“What the?” The person walked out and stared at his partner, who pointed at the roof of the car.
“Hiya!” Jon waved at the kidnappers and stood up, his cape flowing in the breeze. “I’m sorry, but you need to let that girl go!”
The two kidnappers looked at each other and began to laugh. “Oh, that’s cute. What, you wanna go out and play pretend there squirt?”
“Oh, this isn’t pretend! I’m here to stop you two!”
“Oh really?” The person with the knife shook their head and pointed it at Jon. “And what are you going to do about it?”
“This…” Jon’s eyes shined a bright red as he shot his laser vision at the handle of the knife. Heating it to the point it burned the kidnapper's palm. The kidnapper howled in pain as they dropped the burning knife.
“What the? Oh shit the kid’s a super!” The other kidnapper pulled out his gun and froze as something landed behind him.
“Pulling a gun on a kid?” Konner shook his head. “For shame! But hey, wanna see a cool magic trick? I’m gonna make your gun disappear.” Kon grabbed the gun and crushed it between his palms. He dusted off the parts and grinned. “See?” He then hit the kidnapper in the back of the neck, knocking him out.
The second kidnapper then pulled out their gun and pointed it at Kon, who raised a brow at them.
“Really? You think that’s going to work?”
“No, but it might against him.” The kidnapper pointed the gun at Jon.
“Superkid!” Kon called out.
“Don’t worry!” Jon smirked. “I’ll be okay!” Jon puffed out his chest, ready to take the bullet. “I’m invulner-” Jon froze as the gun went off and touched his chest, but he didn’t feel anything on his jacket. He looked at the kidnapper, whose arm was bent backward by Kon. “Oh…”
Jon watched as Kon crushed the person’s gun and wrist and hit them on the head with an open palm knocking them out cold. A blank expression appeared on Kon’s face, causing a chill to run up Jon’s spine. He immediately shook his head, jumped from the car, and opened the doors. There he united the little girl and helped her get to her feet.
Without warning, the little girl hugged Jon tightly and cried. “Thank you so much.”
“Uh, no problem!” Jon blushed at the hug but quickly turned to his brother, who laughed. “Superboy, help!”
Kon dragged the two kidnappers aside, grabbed a piece of metal, and bent it with his strength. He then wrapped the pair in an iron binding and tossed them aside.
Just then, the sounds of police cars appeared from behind them, causing Jon to push the girl away. “Sorry, this is where we have to go now. Come on, Superboy, let’s go.”
“Oh, okay, thank you again, Superkid!” She gave him a big smile as Superboy grabbed his brother’s cape.
“Let’s go before the police show up.”
“Right! Bye!”
The little girl waved at the brothers as they disappeared from view. Jon jumped from building to building, quietly following Konner with each step. “That was so cool that you broke the person’s wrist, Kon!”
“Yeah…”
“I mean, I was sure they were going to shoot me, but man-” Jon suddenly ran into the teen super’s back and froze as he looked up at him. “Kon?”
“WHAT WERE YOU DOING BEING SO RECKLESS BACK THERE?” Kon yelled.
“I, what?” Jon froze as Konner never showed much anger towards him.
“You could’ve been shot and hurt! Do you know how dangerous that was? It was so stupid!”
“But didn’t I tell you that I was-”
“That you’re invulnerable?! That excuse the fact of how you acted when fighting Lex!”
“Lex?”
Kon stopped himself and took a deep breath. “I mean, those kidnappers…just forget it.” Konner flew to the edge of the tall building and sat down while resting his chin on his knee. Jon played with the zipper of his jacket and stared at his chest. There were no scratches on it sure, but it dawned on the ten-year-old. He hopped over to Konner and stood behind him.
“Kon…can I sit next to you?” Konner shifted a bit, prompting Jon to sit next to him. There was a painful silence in the air, save for the police sirens and the sounds of the citizens walking about. But to Jon all he could hear was his own heartbeat hitting his eardrums. “Kon, I.”
“Mom and Dad weren’t the only ones who were worried about you, you know.”
“Huh?”
Konner took off his sunglasses and wiped his eyes. His breathing became irregular but managed to calm down when he took a few deep breaths. He spotted a few families hanging out and looked up at the starry sky.
“When I heard that you were on a dangerous mission with Damian, I got so worried because I was far from home at the time. I heard that you faced Lex and I just assumed the worse.”
“But I was okay in the end!”
“Yeah, but I wasn’t, Jon! Mom wasn’t okay! She frantically called me and Pops, asking where you were. If it weren’t for Alfred, we wouldn’t have known where you ran off to.” Kon stared at his brother with tears in his eyes. The world suddenly halted in front of the young super, seeing his big brother cry. Jon clutched his jacket and hung his head low. Maybe that’s why their Mom kept him home. She was just as terrified of what could’ve happened to him. He was lucky that he was even able to come home. He was a super, but he’s still a kid.
“I’m sorry, Kon…” Jon rested his head on Kon’s shoulder and hugged his arm. “I was being selfish…it’s just, I wanted to be a great hero like you and Dad. I just wanted to be out there fighting crime and being awesome! Instead, I turned into a buttface.”
Kon let out a light laugh and rested his head on his younger brother. “It’s okay; I mean, I can be a buttface too, sometimes.”
“You mean all the time.”
“Hey, that hurts, Jon.” Kon ruffled Jon’s hair and stared up at the stars. “We should head home before Mom notices that you’re gone.”
“Yeah, can we stop by ice cream on the way back?”
“Fudgesicles?”
“You know me well, Kon!” Jon stood up and dusted himself off. “Oh, Kon, one last thing.”
“Yeah-” Kon froze as Jon gave him a big hug.
“Thanks for being my big brother and my hero!”
“Jon…that won’t get me to buy you a double!”
“Ah, man!” Jon snapped his fingers and stuck his tongue out. “Thought that’d work.”
“Oh, it worked alright! Come here!”
“Uh oh!” Jon leaped from the building and laughed as Konner chased after him. It didn’t matter what kind of hero Jon was; he didn’t care. What he cared about was his family. And that was far greater than any symbol on a suit.