Jenni, this is awesome. Take the revelation scene:
Jor-El slid inside and, for the first time, saw the older man without a thick coating of dirt. Letour was wearing a robe, with a towel slung around his neck, as if he'd been drying his hair. His frame was wiry rather than thin, and fresh purple bruises could be seen on his skin where the robe parted, but it was Letour's face which attracted Matt's attention - a face lined with past suffering, yet somehow familiar.
Matt's heart raced unexpectedly.
"My God! It's impossible," he gasped, staring at the man before him, while his thoughts spun wildly out of control.
Letour's eyebrows rose in question and he glanced down at himself deprecatingly. "I know I've picked up a few cuts and bruises, but nothing serious." He rubbed at his chin. Mac had given him an electric razor, which he'd learned to use, but he hadn't shaved since... oh, Friday morning, and he knew he didn't look good with a twelve o'clock shadow. "I'm tired and achy, but apart from that, there's no need for you to worry." Letour finished off with a reassuring grin.
Anywhere in the world, Matt would recognize that grin. It didn't matter that the man's hair was now streaked with gray, that there were dark hollows beneath his eyes, not that he had lost some weight... Matt knew that smile. He had grown up in the sunshine of that smile, and basked in the love that had prompted it.
This is completely wonderful. The fact that Matt would recognize his father's smile, when he wouldn't really recognize anything else about him. Because he had "grown up in the sunshine of that smile, and basked in the love that had prompted it".
There was a short passage in your text that so clearly showed us Clark's natural thoughtfulness and caring, even when he didn't know that the young superhero was his son:
Jor-El and Letour were the last of the original rescuers to leave. Indeed, the superhero had first ignored the order, decreeing that being invincible meant that he should stick around to assist the new squads. But, this time, Jor-El had been given an ultimatum by Letour, who'd stated he would only go if they left together.
It hadn't taken much insight on Letour's part to realize that the hero was dreading the thought of digging out the bodies. A young man, whether he was Kryptonian or not, shouldn't have to witness such horrifying scenes.
As I said, I love Clark's caring and thoughtfulness here. It was a natural thing, perhaps, but can we really be so sure that everyone would have reasoned like this?
And speaking about general caring and compassion, you made me love Marje in this chapter, Jenni. Like in this paragraph:
Now she'd seen Jor-El up close, she knew, without a shadow of doubt, that he was just a teenager, and as she'd moved outside to sit and watch for their return, she wondered where Jor-El lived on Earth. Superman, his father might be gone, but did he have a mother somewhere who fretted about his wellbeing while he was off doing superthings?
I love the wonderful maternal side of Marje here, Jenni. And you showed us a lot more of this aspect of Marje in the rest of this chapter, too!
You write so painfully about Matt's sense of guilt at not being able to do enough to help:
"You do what you can, Matt, and that's enough!"
He could hear his mother's voice inside his head, but somehow, right at this moment, he didn't believe her mantra to be true, though he had to admit that many of those who hadn't survived were probably dead by the time he reached China... had indeed died minutes after being swamped by the landslide. He had done as much as was possible... yet knowing that didn't help assuage his guilty hurt.
With the arrogance of youth he'd believed he could make a difference... now he'd learned that sometimes his efforts were little more than futile, and that knowledge threatened to overwhelm him.
Jenni, I can totally sympathize with Matt's agonized guilt here, but at the same time, I want to shake him and cuddle him simultaneously, telling him that he did absolutely
great, and that he was so unselfish and beautifully heroic in the very, very best sense of the word. No, Superman can't do everything, and the same goes for Superman's son. But he can do
something, and that in itself is great!!!
There are other things in this chapter that I love - the Oolong tea that Marje makes because it is one of Letour's favorites
- and then, of course, Matt's shock and horror at seeing that his father doesn't recognize him, that he appears to be sick, and that somebody must have done something terrible to him. And the way Matt naturally suspects Marje and Mac of having harmed his father, though fortunately I think he realizes they are not the villains here. I loved this:
"Superman did go missing in North Korea, which isn't so far from here I guess," Matt admitted and decided to take a quick sip of his tea. All he could taste was the clear tang of Oolong, and he didn't suddenly curl up in excruciating pain from a dose of kryptonite. It seemed his first instincts about the MacDonnells might be correct and they hadn't hurt Superman but had instead been taking care of him.
And then, in his youthful distress, Matt gives away his, and Clark's, identity - which is probably a good thing, though, seeing that Marje and Mac are the ones who are in the know!
It's really great that Matt is going back to the United States to get Lois. On the other hand, Clark isn't able to deal with the truth about his past, what with those terrible migraine attacks he suffers whenever he learns something significant about himself. I'm hopeful that you will put Adrienne to good use in the next chapter, Jenni. If anyone knows what has been done to Clark to cause these terrible headaches, it's her and Stephan. I hope you'll let them do something to undo, or at least counteract, whatever has been done to Clark's brain.
Wonderful chapter, Jenni, I'm so looking forward to more!!!
Ann
