Chapter 2: Need to Know

Janet was ecstatic. Lois had done it again. Superman was in front of their cameras.

He really was impressive. She didn't understand how Lois could be so at ease around him. He was just so. . . .

She realized she was staring and turned her eyes to Lois as the interview continued.

“Well, it's a relief to know the one responsible for hurting you is in custody, no matter where he came from,” Lois said.

“I couldn't agree more,” Superman said.

“Enough about ‘the Stranger’. I believe the world is far more interested in hearing about the other stranger, the individual who, as I was told, saved your life,” she said.

Janet silently nodded, glad they were moving the discussion away from talk about parallel universes. Just thinking about parallel worlds left her head spinning. She didn't want to hear about it more than absolutely necessary – especially when there were tangible and far more interesting things to cover. Not to mention less depressing.

“He did,” Superman confirmed, not surprised by the redirection.

“Please, don’t keep us in suspense,” Lois said teasingly.

Superman laughed and clasped his hands together in a sudden and surprising display of nervousness.

“Well, the assumption of him being Kryptonian is correct, but it’s more unbelievable than that.” He took a deep breath, and Janet was struck by the emotion that shined in his eyes as he continued. “Two months ago, I firmly believed I was the only survivor of Krypton, that I was the last Kryptonian. But then he came. And after he . . . burned out the kryptonite and took me,” Superman said, skimming over his brush with death with remarkable fortitude. “I learned that he wasn’t just another survivor like me – which would have been amazing enough. He’s my brother. Well, half-brother, technically. His name is Tal-Rho. We have the same mother.”

Janet gaped, and the camera crew she could see were just as stunned.

“That’s . . . remarkable,” Lois said calmly but empathetically, once again proving why she was such a good journalist and interviewer.

“I didn’t even know my mother had been married before my father, so I learned a great deal about my family history,” Superman admitted.

“I can imagine. So what can you tell us? Has your brother been here all this time?” Lois asked.

Superman grimaced and looked away for a split second before looking back. He looked resigned. “He got here before I did, but he wasn’t embraced and cared for like I was. It’s been resolved now, but the first half of his life here . . . it was not good.”

“I’m . . . sorry to hear he was so mistreated,” Lois said solemnly.

Superman nodded his thanks. “Thank you. But we will focus on the future–”

“Right you are, Brother,” a man said, abruptly appearing in the middle of the room between Lois and Superman.

A hooded, black-silver trenchcoat covered him fully, including a facemask that left only his eyes and the bridge of his nose exposed. There was a skewed form of an ‘S’ on his back and shrouded on his chest, clearly different from the Man of Steel's emblem. The studio crew froze, astonished.

Superman immediately stood, and no one knew if he was more surprised or happy. He was certainly both.

“Tal! You said you couldn't come!” Superman said as they took hold of each other's forearms in greeting.

“My schedule changed,” Tal said, pleased by his brother's reaction before turning to Lois and ignoring everyone else in the room. He bowed respectfully to her. “You have my gratitude, Ms. Lane. You likely saved the world from my wrath by helping Earth accept my brother all those years ago. Had your words not been embraced, and any notable hostility had risen against Kal-El, well, the present would be very different.”

Janet tried not to gulp as a few people around her looked at each other nervously.

Lois stood up and offered her hand. “I’m especially glad things turned out the way they did then,” she said as he took it amicably. “And I sincerely thank you for saving Kal-El. I know he is your brother, but I still thank you.”

“Yes, yes. I understand. After all, my brother is Superman, Earth’s greatest hero,” the taller Kryptonian said proudly and teasingly, shocking those watching as he playfully slugged Superman on the shoulder.

Superman rubbed his arm, briefly looking sheepish before he adjusted his stance. “I’m sure Ms. Lane would be happy to give you a nickname too,” Superman returned, his voice serious though he was grinning.

Tal quickly waved away the suggestion. “No-no. Tal-Rho is fine or Mr. Rho if people must. I’m not going to be as visible as often as you are anyway, Brother, so what good will a nickname be?”

“I suppose you’re right,” Superman relented, though he didn’t sound convinced.

“Well, Ms. Lane, resume your questioning. Now that you have two interviewees I say you should now get twice the number of interesting answers,” Tal said, motioning as he stepped closer to Superman.

They sat without much preamble, though Lois motioned for a stagehand to bring up another mic for Tal. Tal took mercy on the tech and attached the mic himself without issue as the flustered tech hurried away.

With everyone watching attempting but failing to not appear frazzled, Lois looked at Superman and Tal after Janet signaled that, yes, the cameras were still rolling.

“So Tal-Rho, half-brother of Superman, or, as you prefer to call him, Kal-El,” Lois began, “What would you like the world to know about you?”

Tal straightened and considered his response.

“Well, I suppose, most importantly, like my brother, I just want to continue living here on Earth in peace. Which, I'll add, I've pretty much already been doing in secret for over thirty years.”

Lois nodded and waited for him to continue as it was clear he was still gathering his thoughts.

“I know there is . . . curiosity about my person, some fear and suspicion. Which is fair. I think it would be foolish not to have some reservations. After all, I have the same abilities as my brother and I'm covering my face. But I want the world to know, I have my own reservations – about Humanity. I know what some of you are capable of, because I experienced it on my person for years – when I was held captive as a child,” he said.

Superman clasped Tal's shoulder in silent support. Tal nodded his thanks and continued.

“I'll be blunt, I'll probably never love Humanity as my brother does, but as long as the world continues to love and respect my brother, Earth has nothing to fear from me. And so, as my brother does what he can to protect and serve all of you, I will protect my little brother.”

Lois nodded her understanding. “Were your . . . reservations why you remained hidden for so long, even from your brother?” she gently asked.

“Admittedly, only partially. The primary reason had been due to my father. You see, my father was not like Kal-El's father. He was malicious and frankly our mother left him for substantially good reasons. Despite our mother's efforts, I was raised by the vindictive monster for the first seven or so years of my life before he sent me to Earth after our mother managed to inform him what was going to happen to Krypton. Long story short, Krypton's ruling class ignored the warnings of Kal-El's father and, by the time they realized their idiocy, it was too late. But in that time, my father had taken . . . precautions.”

“Tal?” Superman asked questioningly, sounding confused, which was frankly baffling to Janet and, she was certain, to everyone watching.

Superman had never sounded unsure before. Tal glanced at his brother.

“Kal, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you this before, but–” He turned his eyes back to Lois. “– I was my father's last ditch effort to save himself and the people of Krypton.”

Superman frowned. Janet made sure the cameras were capturing everything. They were.

“I was sent here to sacrifice myself. Ordered by my father, Zeta-Rho. There was a device, which I destroyed just a few weeks ago. The device held thousands of Kryptonian minds that, with my life force as fuel, would have been instantaneously transposed into thousands of humans, supplanting their minds. In essence, this device could have brought about the return of the Kryptonian High Council, my father, and the core of Kryptonian society. Or an echo of them anyway. My father's plan from there had been to take over Earth from within.”

“What?! Zeta-Rho–he–?! ” Superman shouted, horrified, before his eyes widened further. His voice then softened and he looked sick. “You were being completely literal when you had said, ‘my father sent me here with one purpose: To bring back Krypton.’”

“Yes,” Tal confirmed, taking a deep breath as their eyes met. Superman brought his hand up and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Why– “ Lois tentatively interjected, shaken herself, “Why did you destroy that device when you did?”

“Because I realized the truth,” Tal stated plainly, refocusing on her. “Even though I had defied my father years ago and turned from him, I had been too . . . timid to fully rebel, and admittedly, after being hurt by humans for so long, having that object as a bizarre fall-back made sense at the time. Ironically, I have the man who almost killed my brother to thank for bringing about my full reckoning.”

“How so?” Lois asked.

“Other than forcing me to reveal my existence to my brother, it led me to events that made me seek things I had been too afraid to find, but when I found them the answer was clear. If I wanted to have the relationship I had always wished for with my brother, nothing of my father’s could remain. So I destroyed it all,” Tal said.

Superman lowered his hand from his face, his eyes blinking back tears as he suddenly chuckled.

“Superman?” Lois asked, shifting the studio's attention to the Man of Steel.

“Yes?” he asked, looking up at her. Tal looked at him in concern.

“What is it?” Lois asked him.

“Oh, nothing really. I just realized I might be grateful for being stabbed,” he said.

Tal laughed before grabbing Superman’s shoulder and giving him a shake and saying something in a clearly foreign tongue. It was like no other language Janet had ever heard. Superman grinned and pulled Tal into a half hug and uttered a response in the same language.

It was so surreal, and Janet was grateful they were capturing it all.

Superman really had a brother. Sure, Tal-Rho was dark and sort of broody, especially when compared to Superman, but the familial affection between them was blatant. It reminded Janet of Superman's first televised interview, where she had seen the irrefutable glimpse of his humanity when he had overheard Lois confess she was in love, but now the depth of Superman's humanity was visible for ALL to see. And it was amazing.

O o O o O

Clark couldn't believe his eyes.

He looked up from the bank statement to Lana as Lois took the paper and read it herself.

“The house has been paid in full?” he asked in disbelief.

“Yes. I know. I had the same reaction, but this is legit. Apparently, there was a huge internal audit done by order of the bank's new owner and every bank loan given in the past twenty years was reviewed. Inconsistencies were discovered and their legal team proposed an . . . astounding solution,” Lana said, unable to believe it herself.

“What, forgive all the loans?!” Clark asked, flabbergasted.

“Not exactly. For mortgages with inconsistencies, a . . . reevaluation of the balance owed was ordered. It's why the bank called you this morning. We were instructed to inform everyone affected, update them on their loan's standing - with the corrected values - and, for those still owing money, we were told to offer to review the terms, including those of reverse mortgages,” Lana explained.

“What caused these ‘inconsistencies’?” Lois asked, already mentally working on an article for this obvious story.

“We were told a computer glitch was involved with most of them, but I get the feeling someone was caught mismanaging accounts or something and that's why they're being so thorough and fast with this. I imagine the legal team went ballistic when they considered the ramifications if this issue was caught by someone outside the bank,” Lana said.

“So what should we do?” Clark asked.

“There's not much you need or really should want to do, amazingly enough. When I learned what had supposedly happened, I looked at your mom's past bank statements and everything. You all have been made whole and then some,” she said, pulling out another sheet from a completely different folder and running her finger down the column of numbers. “I gathered information on the loans of your mother's neighbors who I know your mother helped pay – which literally allowed them to keep their homes – and it looks like the bank provided you all a flat interest rate for those instances.”

“What?” Lois asked, astonished. “We were paid interest on the loans his mom helped cover?!”

“Yes. And while not anything outrageous, it's a nice amount, as you can see,” she said, showing them yet another bank statement that was their main savings account.

Clark's eyes widened and looked at Lois, both of them thinking the same thing.

Tal was responsible for this.

“And all of this came about because of an audit?” Lois asked.

Lana nodded. “We, well, me and my boss anyway, think it was done because Edge Enercorp had been planning on investing in Smallville. They still might be. So something must have happened on their end, legality wise, that initiated this. Like someone getting caught doing something they shouldn't have been, so now they're cleaning up the mess as quickly as they can so it doesn't mess up any proposals they might make in the future, not to mention bring about bad publicity.”

Lois slowly nodded with a glance at Clark. “Makes sense. I've heard noises that Enercorp has been changing priorities and cleaning house, so I think you're right.”

“It's been a pleasant surprise, I'll admit. When you had first expressed reservations about Morgan Edge investing in Smallville, I looked into him, and you were right. Other towns have been burned by Enercorp, but recently, they've actually returned to those towns and have begun reevaluating the bank loans they can there, since apparently the ‘issue’ had occurred there too.”

“Wow,” Clark said.

“Yeah. I also just heard that they've arranged new investments in those towns. Nothing extravagant, but programs with long term plans. Things that might eventually revitalize things there,” Lana explained.

“That's good,” Clark said, proud of what his brother was doing, even though he didn't know what to think about their new financial situation.

Tal was keeping his word to correct past wrongs.

O o O o O

Sam leaned up against the post on the front porch as Clark looked out toward the barn that evening.

“The RV will be moved here once the higher ups give us the go, which I suspect will be later this month. It seems that Lois has voice clearance with Irons’ security system, so I proposed we take advantage of that,” Sam said.

“Makes sense,” Clark said, though he sounded a little distracted. Or perhaps he wasn’t sure how to view it all.

“I imagine all of this is . . . hard to process,” Sam probbed. “It is for me. The man treats me like an old war-time buddy.”

“I can't believe my alternate self became the monster he described to you. The monster he showed you in the videos,” Clark said. “It makes me want to get Lois a stash of kryptonite, just in case. After all, John Irons got here. Who's to say my alternate self can't pull it off as well?”

“Fortunately, that seems unlikely, but, if it'll reassure you – and considering recent events I was told to tell you anyway – the DoD has a supply,” Sam admitted with a moment of hesitation.

Clark glanced over at him, resigned. “I'm not surprised. How much?”

Sam pursed his lips and made a decision. “More than anyone else. It's why the world is in short supply. I began gathering it the first chance I got. At first, it was because we didn't know whether or not you were a threat. Now, it's to prevent anyone else from getting their hands on it and using it against you. Of course, that now applies to your brother as well. Which . . . I haven't wanted to inquire before, but . . . the boys are not . . . susceptible are they?”

Clark swallowed and faced him. “I don't know, but there's something we've been meaning to bring you up to speed on but haven't gotten the chance with everything that's been going on.”

“Oh?” Sam asked, intrigued as well as a smidge worried.

“The boys know I'm Superman. I don't know if you heard about the accident after my mother's funeral, but because of that, we felt it best they knew,” Clark said. “Which I'm really glad we did due to what had happened not long after.”

Sam had to agree. Leaving Lois to explain where Clark was in the midst of Superman being stabbed would have been horrific – for all involved.

“Wait, I didn't hear about the accident. What happened? Was that why you all moved here?” Sam asked, suddenly processing Clark’s earlier words.

“Not really. We still would have moved regardless. As for the accident, they were in the barn. Jordan climbed up to the router and somehow fell before the poles I had stored there fell on him and Jon.”

“What?!” Sam breathed.

“They walked away with mild concussions,” Clark finished.

“So then they're, what, becoming like you?” Sam asked, trying to stay level headed.

“I took them to my father and he hasn't detected any changes with them. We're going to scan them again in the near future. My father has been wrong before, and . . . I don't know.”

Sam nodded, not sure what else to say as he decided to change the subject. He’d talk to Lois about the boys later. There was something else he and Clark needed to discuss.

“The higher-ups want to transfer high-risk inmates out of Metropolis Penitentiary,” he said.

Clark frowned. “Why?”

“Nobody’s seen you in the skies lately in Metropolis,” Sam pointed out. “And without Superman around, they feel the site is vulnerable to attack.”

Clark blinked.

“I’ve allowed the DoD to believe your routine has changed because of what’s happened. You’re getting to know your brother and reevaluating your life – which I guess isn’t a lie. I advised them to give you time, which, as I said before, they already wanted to do.”

“I, uh, I didn't realize my reduced activity had caused such . . . a stir,” Clark said. “But thank you, Sam.”

Sam waved away his thanks, though he did appreciate it. “It's my job to mediate things between Superman and the DoD, but you do need to understand, the governments of the world are terrified of you, especially because of what’s come out. Your and Tal-Rho’s interview. . . .”

“I really hadn’t expected him to show up. He told me he couldn’t come,” Clark defended.

Sam raised his hands. “I’m not attacking you for it. In actuality, I think it helped more than hurt. Your brother spelled things out. Drew a line in the sand. And bringing it out in the open to the public means accountability on both sides. Public opinion matters. But back to the inmates. They’re moving Thaddeus Killgrave. Today actually. You know, the psycho genius who went off the deep end hating you.”

Clark sighed. “Why are there so many nutjobs?”

Sam pressed on. “Anyway, if you wanted to escort the transfer as a show of good faith, that would appease some wor–”

Clark suddenly turned his head, as he often did, his eyes abruptly elsewhere.

“Sorry, sinking cruise liner,” Clark said, before he shot off.

Sam exhaled and went to the porch's nearest rocking chair. He sat down, partially relieved to have a moment to himself, even though he would have preferred to finish the conversation with Clark. He didn’t fault him for it though, of course.

A lot had changed since the Stranger and the reveal of Superman's brother. While before he would have been upset with Clark for telling the boys about his side activities, now. . . . Now there was value in the boys knowing, and if they were showing signs that they possibly might be like him, all the more reason to begin teaching them what was possibly in store for the future.

And while he was slightly annoyed he had not been informed of it all sooner (it had been about two months after all!), he knew everyone had been preoccupied of late. Even Superman couldn't juggle everything.

Which was another thing.

He would never ever admit it to anyone, but Clark had scared him. Clark nearly dying had scared him.

He had never truly contemplated what the world would be like without Superman, but those days, with Superman in intensive care, his superiors were asking questions, discussing contingencies, and posing scenarios he hadn't ever fully and completely envisioned. Sure, he had run grave what-ifs before, but those had felt distant and intangible, even impossible.

They didn't feel impossible anymore. And that had made him realize a few things, even before considering what they had learned about Irons’ world and Clark’s half-brother – the recent interview notwithstanding.

Lois’ early handling of Superman, before she had even known the truth, had set the world on a brighter path.

All those months – years – of butting heads with her, questioning her actions and even suggesting she was putting people in danger. . . .

She had likely saved the world ten times over.

What was more, he couldn't help but be grateful that Clark had been raised as he had been and – dare he even think it? – had married his daughter.

Things could have been frighteningly different.

So Sam was privately eating crow. A whole murder of them.

O o O o O

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