EmbraceSummary: Sequel to 'Come Home'. Rewrite of episodes 1x02-03. The ripple effect continues, but instead of rocking familial foundations, they strengthen them. But that doesn't mean life is easy. Liberties taken with canon timeline.
A/N: A special thanks to Beth4LC who acted as a soundboard ^_^. And thanks to those on House of Kent's Discord group who helped stir up ideas.
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Chapter 1: RecognizeThe days following his recovery had been busy.
They had contacted a realtor and would officially be out of Metropolis by the end of the month. They registered Jon and Jordan at Smallville High School and had started moving to the farm.
Over a week had passed since he had been saved by Tal and he unfortunately had not seen him since. He had hoped Tal would come to him or stop by the Fortress, but there had been nothing.
He supposed it was just as well. The world was still reeling from what had happened and, admittedly, so was his family.
Calls for answers were being bellowed from around the world, wanting to learn who had stabbed Superman and why. Of course, there was also curiosity and concern about the new Kryptonian who had appeared.
Clark himself was eagerly waiting to hear back from Sam, hoping he'd have answers on what had happened to his brother and who exactly had kept him captive all those years before. One thing was for sure, that group better not exist anymore.
"The boys are packing their rooms now," Lois said, coming into the living room and looking around.
Clark had just finished packing the room, and it had taken him less than thirty seconds.
Lois smiled and wrapped her arms around him from behind.
"I think this is going to be the easiest move ever with the boys," she said, pleased.
Clark laughed. "Yeah, having them know is really nice."
He turned around and hugged her as he took in their soon to be empty brownstone.
"Doing okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm just . . . I'm wondering if I, I mean, should Superman give an interview?" he asked.
"Hmm. It would put some minds at ease," Lois admitted. "And as much as I'm loath to admit it, getting an interview would help me keep my position at the Planet."
Clark nodded, looking at her apologetically. "That was my thought as well."
"I'll drop some hints at the office that I'm working on a Superman interview," Lois decided as they went into the kitchen.
The kitchen had yet to be packed, but there were stacks of papers and documents being organized as they cleared other rooms. Most involved old newspapers, awards, photographs and the like, including a photo of the first board meeting with the new owner of the Daily Planet, Morgan Edge, taken a few months before.
"Oh! This reminds me, when I went in this morning, I learned Edge canceled all his engagements this week and the next, and no one really knows why. The only reason given is for 'personal reasons'. Weird, huh?" Lois commented, picking up the image and wrinkling her nose at the sight of the man grinning as the board members congratulated him in the frozen shot.
"Yeah, tha–" Clark began to agree as his eyes focused on the paper in Lois' hand. He gasped, his eyes snapping wide.
"What?!" Lois asked, concerned.
Clark continued to stare at Morgan Edge, the man who had brought about the layoffs at the Planet, including his own.
"Clark, say something. What is it?!" Lois asked.
"Morgan Edge! He's–!" Clark managed, trying to calm himself as he pointed frantically. "Lois! He's my brother!"
"What?!"
"It's him. I can't believe I didn't notice before! Tal! He's Edge!"
"How can your brother be Morgan Edge? He's a public figure!" Lois countered.
"I don't know, but that's him. It's
definitely him!" Clark said emphatically.
"Okay. Okay. So if he is Morgan Edge, why is he trying to buy up land here? And. . . ." Lois' eyes widened. "Does he know who you are?"
"I . . . I don't know. I mean . . . but why fire me?! Whoa! My brother fired me! Why did he do that?!" Clark asked, astonished and sounding a little hurt.
"Wait, stop. Let's calm down. Let's just step back and think," Lois said, standing up and pacing.
"Maybe he wanted to make me move back here. Maybe he is planning on moving here himself, and he's expanding his business at the same time. But how would he know we'd move here after being fired?" Clark mused.
Lois shook her head. "Clark, he abandoned those other towns, left all those people in a mess. There's got to be more going on."
Clark frowned. "Lois, he . . . I can't explain it. He
wants family. And he was concerned about me. There's got to be a reason why he'd fire me."
Lois took a deep breath. "Assuming he knows who you are. . . . Okay, I guess the only thing we can do is continue what we're doing and wait for him to reach out to you. If he doesn't know the truth, we can't tip our own hand, which . . . did he act as if he expected you to know him?" she asked.
Clark paused and slowly shook his head. "No. I don't think so. When I asked him what he did for a living, he didn't act surprised that I didn't know, which means, if he did know who I am, I'd expect him to think I'd recognize him." Clark shook his head again and groaned. "I can't believe I just now realized. . . ."
"Don't beat yourself up too much. Like you've said before, people see what they expect to see. Also, it's not like you were really thinking clearly at the time. You had almost died and then learned you had a long lost brother. You were sort of distracted," Lois assured, however amused, patting his arm.
"I suppose," Clark agreed, shaking his head. "I really hope he comes to me soon. And I suppose the excuse of 'personal reasons' you heard at work makes sense. I think something my father said shook him."
"I'll be honest, Clark, I don't know what to think. I don't like or trust Morgan Edge, but the fact Tal saved your life. . . . I must say, that's probably the only way to get back into my good graces after firing you and disrupting those other towns," Lois stated.
"I don't know what to think either. When I was with him though . . . I've never known how it feels to be with, well, blood relatives beyond children. But being with him . . . it felt really . . . nice. I can't describe it but it was even better than I had imagined it might be," Clark said, his voice soft.
Lois smiled gently and squeezed his arm. "We'll give him the benefit of a doubt then. Just know I'm going to be extra cautious."
Clark chuckled. "I'd expect nothing else."
O o O o O
Jon knew life was going to be different in Smallville. And actually, he knew life was going to be different the moment his dad had told them he was Superman, but he had never imagined how different that first week of school would be from his life in Metropolis.
His football coach was an absolute ass. There really wasn't another word for his behavior – or rather, none more concise.
Unfortunately, it wasn't just the coach. It was a sizable portion of the team.
He hadn't even finished his first week of high school and he wanted it to be over.
"I'm Superman’s son and I'm being bullied. How does that make sense?!" Jon complained to Jordan as he grabbed juice from the fridge.
"Well, I AM Superman and I was relentlessly bullied in high school," Clark stated, walking in. "Now, what's going on?"
Jon sighed, closing the refrigerator. "It started with my playbook."
Clark frowned. "So it not showing up last week wasn't an accident?"
"Definitely not. I learned Monday I didn't get it because someone from the team prevented it from getting to me, so I ended up looking like an idiot in front of Coach Gaines, who then lambasted me for not knowing plays I should have started learning if I wanted to 'contribute to the team'. I tried to tell him I hadn't gotten the playbook so hadn't gotten a chance to review any plays but would begin doing so now that I had it, but he didn't listen to me. He just spoke over me, telling me he wouldn't listen to any excuses," Jon explained, quite frustrated.
"What else is happening?" Clark asked with a frown.
He knew Gaines, and, unfortunately, he wasn't all that surprised. Some people never grew up.
"A lot of stupid stuff to be honest," Jon huffed. "During practice, they're all excessively rougher and do everything possible to hijack me to make me look dumb or weak. I thought it'd end there, you know, breaking in the new kid or whatever, but I swear Gaines is actually encouraging it because my playbook has disappeared again and he smirked at me last practice as if he knows it's gone and that I'm not about to tell him I can't find it. Thankfully, a guy named Tag is helping me out, letting me see his book before practice."
"This has been going on all week?" Clark asked, appalled.
"Well, yeah. . . . Look, I didn't want to make a big deal about it," Jon said, now at a loss. "I'm still hoping it'll go away. It hasn't even been a full week yet."
"How physical has it gotten?" Clark asked pointedly.
"Just roughhousing really. No outright punches or anything," Jon admitted.
"Just overly aggressive tackles, verbal abuse, and theft? And degrading shoulder slams into lockers, too, I imagine, right? Have they messed with your schoolwork as well?" Clark asked, anger clearly boiling beneath.
"I don't think so," Jon said hesitantly, not refuting the shoulder slams.
Jordan stared.
"I'll have a talk with Gaines," Clark stated.
"No, wait, Dad, it's not that bad! It's just newbie hazing. It'll probably be over in a week or two, as soon as I prove myself," Jon tried. "If you go to Gaines, it'll look like I went crying home to you. This'll all blow over soon. I was just blowing off some steam when I was talking to Jordan."
Clark hesitated. "This isn't proper behavior for a coach, or anyone for that matter," Clark pointed out.
Jon looked at him earnestly.
"I'll talk to your mom," Clark compromised.
That didn't relax Jon much, but he knew there was no use trying to change his mind, especially since he had relented and hadn't immediately stormed off to the school.
"Okay," Jon said.
Clark sighed. "Gaines wasn't that great as a teenager, and I'm afraid he might be allowing some of this because you're my son."
"What?" Jon asked, taken aback. "Did he bully you in high-school or something then?"
"He wasn't the worst, but he certainly laughed at my expense and took opportunities." Clark shook his head before looking at the time. "Okay, come on, Jordan. We need to get you to your first riding lesson. Jon, we'll talk more about this later."
"Okay, Dad," he said, not sure how to feel.
While he didn't want his dad to get involved, another part of him was, well, really touched. He knew his dad would do anything for him, but to see it. . . . And it was nice that he heard him out and didn't immediately go to Gaines.
Jordan glanced back at Jon as he followed Clark out, looking just as intrigued.
O o O o O
Clark stopped the truck at the edge of the Darren Farm and got out, grinning as he took in the property he had often visited as a child.
"This place is wonderful, Jordan. I would visit the Darrens a lot during the summers when I was growing up. Of course, back then they had kids about my age, but The Stables have been here since even before my mom was born," he said, getting out of the truck.
'The Stables' was the Darrens' family business. They trained horses and taught people how to ride and care for them. They also provided therapy services to special needs families and programs.
Jordan looked around, intrigued but still reserved and a little nervous as he came to his dad's side.
"And remember, if you end up not liking this, you can try something else," Clark said as they made their way up to the property.
"Okay," Jordan said, a bit more relaxed.
"Hey, Clark!" William Darren greeted. He was a middle-aged man with a black vest and dark cowboy hat. "And Jordan, right?"
"That's right," Clark returned cheerfully. "Ready for riding lessons."
"Excellent!" he said, holding out his hand. Jordan tentatively shook it. "I'm William Darren. You can call me Will, or, if you prefer, Mr. D. My brother will sometimes be with us, and you can call him Doc or Dr. Darren. He's a veterinarian."
"Okay, thanks, uh, Mr. D," Jordan said.
"Well, unless you have any questions, we'll get right to it. We'll be done at 7:00," Will said, looking at Clark.
"Okay. I'll be back then. Call me if you need me sooner for any reason," Clark said.
"Alright, will do. Later, Clark," Will said, before motioning Jordan to walk beside him.
"Bye, Dad," Jordan said, a bit surprised he was being handed over so swiftly, but instead of feeling rejected or cast aside, he felt . . . oddly reassured.
Normally, his parents would stay for the first ten or so minutes to make sure he had settled and that no issues with his anxiety cropped up, but here. . . .
His dad was confident in this place and confident in him to figure out on his own whether or not he really wanted to commit to this potential hobby.
"Bye, Jordan. I'm sure you'll have fun, but if you find you need to come home sooner or whatever, call me," Clark said, his eyes telling him there was a double meaning to his words.
Oh. Wow. Yeah. His superhearing.
Hmm.
He really needed to talk to him about that. While he was pretty sure he didn't spy on them or whatever, how did he pick up cries for help? Differentiate between people talking about Superman and those really calling for him?
"Okay," Jordan said, before Clark turned and began walking back to the truck.
"So, Jordan, I understand you've ridden a horse before but it was a while back and very controlled?" Will asked.
"Uh, yeah. It was a few years ago at a Fair," Jordan said. "Are we . . . are we going to be able to ride today?"
"If you're up to it. I'll introduce you to our horses, and you can decide if you're ready after I walk you through a few things," he said, unbothered by Jordan's hesitancy.
Will had a good feeling about Clark’s kid and already he was certain this was the start of something Jordan would latch onto.
He was right.
O o O o O
Lois looked up from the porch as Clark and Jordan returned home.
"How was the lesson?" she asked, reassured by Jordan's beaming smile.
"Good," Jordan answered genuinely.
Lois looked at Clark to get a bit more information.
"Will was impressed with him," Clark happily answered as they came onto the porch.
"That's great! I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, Jordan," she said.
"Yeah. I liked Blackberry the most," he said shyly. "Will said I could feed him next week."
She smiled, but knowing she wasn't going to get much else from him, dismissed him. "Well, Jon's inside playing video games. You two have an hour before bedtime."
Jordan nodded and hurried inside.
Lois and Clark looked at each other, pleased, before looking across the farm from the porch.
Clark gave a soft, relaxed sigh.
"Moving was the right answer," he whispered.
Lois smiled in agreement.
"You should have seen Jordan with the horses. He was completely relaxed and was really good with them," Clark said, sitting down in the rocking chair nearest him.
"I'm glad," she said, joining him.
"Which reminds me, did Jonathan talk to you about anything when you got home?" Clark asked.
"Uh, no. Why?" Lois asked.
Clark grimaced and told her about Couch Gaines and what had been happening.
Lois sighed. "I had wondered if something was going on."
"You did?" Clark asked.
"Yeah, but I had figured it was just him getting used to things here," she said, frowning. "So his playbook is gone again?"
"Yeah," Clark said, not quite sure what she was thinking.
"Do me a favor, fly up above Gaines' office and x-ray it. See if the playbook is there. If it is, he had better give it to Jon tomorrow. If he doesn't, well. . . ."
"Okay. One moment," Clark said, standing up before disappearing.
He reappeared seconds later, looking annoyed.
"It's there, sitting on his desk," he stated. "Jonathan's name is written on the inside of the cover."
Lois shook her head. "He better return it to him tomorrow or one of us will be paying him a visit," she said with narrowed eyes.
"I hope for Gaines' sake that won't be necessary," Clark said.
Lois hummed, though Clark couldn't tell if it was in agreement or not.
O o O o O
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