Between Two Worlds TOCReminder: For the purposes of this story, Kryptonian dialogue will be noted by <>. Telepathic communication will be noted with []. Hopefully, this will be easy enough to follow.
Chapter 9Jor-El stared, unseeing, across the endless corn fields on the Kent farm. His thoughts were lightyears away, reliving memories of his final days on Krypton.
The revelation of his parents’ deception had been so confusing. His beloved Uncle Ching was, in actuality, his father. And his father, the great First Lord of their world, the man who had led them through a terrible war, the person he admired and sought to emulate was… no one to him at all.
His father… Kal-El… had been absent for much of his life. His presence had been constantly required to direct matters of the war. This had never bothered Jor. Even when he was very young, his mother and Uncle Ching had explained how important his father’s work was. But he had longed to better know the man in whose footsteps he was meant to follow. Their meetings were few and far between and scarcely long enough to form more than the vaguest impressions of the man.
When his father had been injured and was bed-ridden for some time, Jor had taken the opportunity to bridge the gap between them.
He had been surprised. Lord Kal-El was not the stern military general he had come to expect. Rather, he was kind and gentle and… almost sad in a way Jor had not really understood. He had told stories of a world the boy could scarcely begin to fathom – so unlike anything on New Krypton – and he wore his emotions more openly than any other adult Jor had ever met. But he was intriguing and Jor had been drawn to his father’s bedside as often as his studies had allowed.
He had wanted to learn more about the strange world his father spoke of – a people and culture so different from their own. There was so much he did not understand, so many contradictions to the things he was being taught. And yet, Jor could not say with any certainty which way was better or which way was right.
Jor’s mother and Uncle Ching always held Lord Kal-El in the highest regard and spoke well of him. However, Jor was not so oblivious as to not notice that many of New Krypton’s people did think so highly of their leader. He had heard the whispers and the rumors. He knew that many thought Lord Kal-El to be strange and his manners unfit for the First Lord.
Jor knew, also, that the hope for the future of New Krypton rested on his own shoulders. He took his studies seriously, learning as much as he could. One day, they would all turn to him.
His accident on the cliffs that day had been foolishness on his part. He had allowed himself to become distracted by the thought of seeing an irahshakh wedhin nest. His father had encouraged his curiosity in the animals but had, perhaps, not expected Jor to be so daring. He had warned him away from the edge of the cliff.
In a moment of childish folly, or perhaps it was arrogance, Jor had insisted he could make the climb. He was strong and fit – taking his physical training as seriously as the rest of his studies.
He could not recall how he fell, only waking up sometime later in the Medical Plaza. And then everything he knew began to fall apart.
They had not tried to hide the truth from him once it became public. They had attempted to explain. But Jor could not wrap his mind around it. They were the sovereigns of New Krypton. Their duty to the state came before any personal feelings… did it not? At least that was what he had been taught. His father’s stories had painted a different picture but that was another world. That was not the Kryptonian way.
Except… his mother and Ching had chosen this as well. They had been taught the same teachings he was studying. Had their brief time on that other world affected them so? Or perhaps it was his… Kal-El’s influence? Or… perhaps the perfect duty to State which was expected of them was an ideal too high for anyone to actually grasp?
Before he could come to terms with any of it, the people had risen against them. This was also beyond the young man’s understanding. He realized that there was unrest on the planet. They had spent the last ten years at war, after all, and were still recovering from that. He understood, too, that the council and the people were upset to learn that he was not, in fact, the son of Lord Kal-El… not truly the promised heir.
But to be driven out of their home… forced to flee all that he had ever known…
To watch Uncle Ching… his true father… and his mother die at the hands of the people he had been taught to lead and serve…
How could any of that have happened?
Standing here, on this Kansas farm, in the unfamiliar light of a yellow sun, surrounded by the strange sounds of trees rustling in the wind and birds singing sweetly from their boughs… it all seemed like something from a strange dream.
It could not be real.
Surely, any moment now his mother would wake him from this slumber to join her and Uncle Ching for breakfast. Then he would return to his studies as always and this world of grandparents and brothers and Mario karts and delicious food and trees and birds would fade into the far reaches of his mind with the other imaginings of his sleep.
Surely…
<“There you are.”>
Jor was startled from his thoughts by his father’s… by Kal-El’s voice as he leaned against the railing of the porch beside which Jor stood. He seemed so relaxed here, so… casual. He had never been so on New Krypton. It was almost as though he had been pretending to be something he was not. But here, on Earth, he could finally be himself. This was the real Kal-El… or Clark, he supposed. Everyone here called him Clark.
Except Jon.
Jon called him dad.
Jor was not sure how he felt about that. He had not known what the word meant when he first heard it. He only knew that the sound of this one, simple word caused Kal-El’s… Clark’s… his father’s face to brighten in a most peculiar way. His father had never looked at him that way. But then… perhaps that was because he was not truly his son… not as Jon was.
As for Jon himself… Jor found him intriguing. He had spent little time around children his own age. Most of his studies were conducted by private tutors. He had never played as many children do – at least not since he was very young and he could not remember those times well.
But Jon seemed to spend most of his time at play. Certainly, he had risen early that morning to help with “chores.” Jor had quickly deduced that these chores mainly involved the care of livestock. Once they were complete, however, Jon had occupied himself with no less than six seemingly pointless endeavors such as tossing a ball against the side of the barn and attempting, fruitlessly, to entice a fish from the pond onto a hook on a string and pole. He seemed to always be smiling or laughing and was ever eager to help out or sit and talk to whomever was about.
Despite his initial misgivings about meeting his father’s true son, Jor found himself drawn to the other boy’s warm and open manner. And the “video game” they had played the night before was both challenging and enjoyable.
< “How are you doing?”> his father asked, stirring him from his thoughts once more.
< “I am well.”> Jor replied.
His father was quiet for a moment. Then he sighed. < “We have not spoken about what happened on New Krypton.”>
Jor frowned briefly, feeling the gentle prod of his father’s mind against his own. He quickly blocked out the feeling as he had been trained. His thoughts and emotions were too chaotic at the moment to risk sharing. It would not do for anyone to realize that he lacked emotional control and was unable to organize his thoughts completely. He knew what was expected of him but, although he had practiced extensively, he still had not mastered the mental skills he ought to have. He had, however, become quite adept at faking it.
< “There is nothing to discuss.”> he answered, at length. < “You explained your reasonings and, although I do fully understand them, I do accept that you are not my father. Ching was.”>
Kal-El… Clark blinked as though surprised. Then he sighed again. < “Yes. Ching was your father. And he loved you dearly, as did you mother. But that does not mean that I consider you any less my son. And I also love you.”>
Jor nodded. This wasn’t the first time he had heard those words. They did little to help him make sense of it all.
< “That is not what I wanted to talk to you about.”> Clark continued when Jor did not reply. < “I meant… our escape… Your mother…. Ching…”> He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. < “Jor, how are you really doing?”>
Jor stared out over the fields and shook his head slightly. He wasn’t sure what his father was asking. < “I am well.”>
Clark let out a groan of frustration. < “Jor, you lost your mother… and your father… and your home. It has been more than a month and you have not talked about it at all. How are you feeling?”>
Jor watched a bird soar over the barn and land in a nearby tree. < “They are dead… and I am not. I am here with you.”> Another bird joined the first and they seemed to argue for a moment, twittering loudly.
< “Do you miss them?”> Clark prodded with a gentle tone.
Miss them?
His mother’s voice. Her warm embrace. Her calming presence.
Uncle Ching’s firm encouragement. The pride in his voice when Jor succeeded. His unwavering strength.
The sound of energy weapons firing. Shouts of attackers. His mother urging him on.
< “I am so proud of you, Jor. My sweet boy.”> Jor shut his eyes against the flood of memories.
Surely, it was all a dream.
Surely, he would wake up soon.
Opening his eyes, he stepped away from the railing. < “I am well,”> he repeated. Then he turned to go inside, leaving his father on the porch.
