Description: Jonathan Kent II, Lois and Clark's son, relives moments of his life during a near-death experience
Rating: PG most likely
Comments: Most of the story consists of Jonathan's flashbacks, so the choice of pronouns is different than most fics. Also, the tone might be kind of weird because of Jonathan's age at the time of each flashback.
Well, this is the first Fanfic I've written for anything. Turned out to be quite a lot longer than I thought it would be. Probably not all that good though
Jonathan Kent II groaned as his body protested under the impact of the bullets. As he fell to the ground, he wondered if he had made the right decision. However, the thought lingered only momentarily before he quashed it. <No secret is worth a human life>, Dad had once said. Still, he couldn't help but feel a deep sense of guilt. <Mom, Dad - I'm sorry> was his last conscious thought before scenes from his life started rushing into his mind.
****
"Please!? All of my friends are getting one, too!" he pleaded with his dad. Six year old Jonathan had never felt the need to own a Superman action figure before, but Tommy and Greg and Kevin and all of the other elementary school kids had them, and he just *knew* that now he needed to have one too.
Dad squirmed uncomfortably. "Are you really sure it has to be Superman, Jonathan? Maybe a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle would work! Or how about this one? Nenenene Nenenene BATMAN!" Dad excitedly waved the caped crusader in front of his eyes.
"I'm sure! Dad, everybody knows that Superman is the best. And Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are for little kids!" Jonathan couldn't believe that his dad thought that Donatello or Batman could compare to Superman. Adults were supposed to know everything!
Batman became still in Dad's hands as they stopped moving. "So...you're really sure?" he asked, his face seeming to pray that Jonathan would suddenly change his mind.
"Yes!" Jonathan replied somewhat indignantly. It was so obvious!
Just then Mom appeared with the shopping cart full of groceries. Mom! She would understand! "Mom? Can I get this Superman toy? Everyone else has one!" he begged.
"Of course, Jonathan. All of the other kids seem to carry one around. *Normally*, that is." Mom said as she shot a pointed stare at Dad. With a defeated sigh, Dad slumped his shoulders and mumbled something that vaguely sounded like "Oh, all right..." while avoiding eye contact with Mom.
Jonathan broke into a huge, openmouthed smile. Really, dads could be so dumb sometimes.
****
Furrows appeared on Jonathan's forehead as he contemplated the animated Disney film that had just finished playing on the living room TV. Dad got up from the sofa, where Jonathan and his parents were sitting, to grab the remote control that would turn off the television.
"Jonathan, you seem to have something on your mind. Do you have a question about the movie?" Mom asked, an earnest expression on her face.
"Why did Ariel turn into a human to marry Eric? Won't she miss being a mermaid?" Jonathan asked.
"Well, she really loved Eric and so she really, really wanted to marry him." Mom answered, apparently surprised that her nine year old son still found the concept of romantic love so foreign.
"Yeah, I got that part. But wouldn't it be hard for Ariel to learn how to be a human after being a mermaid her whole life? I mean, wouldn't it have been easier for her to marry a boy mermaid instead?" Jonathan asked, still unsatisfied.
"Well...I'm sure Ariel was a fast learner-" Mom began, before Jonathan suddenly bolted up to the edge of the sofa and interrupted her with his sudden revelation.
"Oh wait, I know! It was because she was too ugly so none of the boy mermaids liked her!" Jonathan exclaimed, pleased with himself for having figured out the answer all by himself.
He turned to face his mother proudly, only to see her eyes wide and mouth hanging open, and looking...sad? But before he could wonder why Mom looked sad, Dad quickly sat back down onto the couch behind Mom, wrapped his arms around her waist, and laughed over her shoulder, "Oh no, Jonathan - didn't you notice that there weren't any human women around in the movie? In fact, Ariel did Eric a *huge* favor by marrying him. I mean, if she hadn't, he would have been sad and lonely his whole life." Dad said, smiling at Mom, who stopped looking sad and turned her head around to smile back at Dad.
"Oh. Well, that's not very realistic." Jonathan said. For some reason his parents seemed to find that funny.
****
"...I'm Superman."
Time seemed to freeze during the moments that his father's words took to register in his mind. No, today is not April Fool's Day...it was his birthday in fact, his 11th. Oh my god, Mom isn't laughing either. Then the penny dropped. Of course. His mouth dropped open and his eyes widened as he put all of the pieces together.
All of those unexplainable sounds around the house. His parents' totally irrational fear that the city parking meters would try to cheat them. Those times that his father went to the bathroom twice in a span of less than 2 minutes. Superman seemingly at their beck and call every time they took a vacation beyond driving distance. Dad's ridiculous idea that he shouldn't be seen doing the dishes, yet always claiming the task as his.
Jonathan Kent II stared slack jawed at his father, Clark Kent, the man he admired most in the world, now knowing that he was also Superman, the man who, well, everyone else admired most in the world.
His father had continued speaking, and although he could hear what was being said, he wasn't really *listening* - his profound sense of amazement and awe relegated everything else to the background. "because you were too young...locked up in a lab and dissected like a frog...don't want you to start wondering if your mom had an affair with Superman...*really* don't want you accidentally seeing or hearing an "affair" either, boy would that be embarrassing..."
Jonathan suddenly snapped back to reality and interrupted his father's explanation. "Whoa, wait a second, there's just one thing that I *really* have to ask you *right now*."
"Oh, is it about how your powers will develop? I mean, I know it'll be really scary at first, but I'll be there for you all the wa-" Superman, or was it Dad?, began.
"No no, now that you mention it, I do have a lot of questions about that, but I was thinking of something else." Jonathan started while he hardened his face and mustered the courage to ask his question.
"Why tights? Why a cape? You're a grown man - don't you feel ridiculous?"
****
Jonathan sighed. Well, there was no more putting off the Social Studies homework - not if he wanted to have time for both Chess Club and Math Club tomorrow, anyways. With resignation, he dug the paper out of his backpack and looked at the questions he was required to answer.
Wait a minute - this homework is a piece of cake! He'd be done in no time. Heck, if all of the homework was going to be like this, maybe New Troy High wouldn't be so tough after all!
1. What is Superman's real name?
<Clark Kent> He wrote down "Kal-El."
2. Who is considered to be Superman's best friend?
<Well, if you don't count mom, then probably Jimmy Olsen> He wrote down "Clark Kent".
3. According to the speculation of most contemporary scholars, is Superman attracted to human females?
<Well, if he isn't, I sure feel sorry for Dad> "No."
4. What is Superman's father's name?
<Jonathan Kent - the first one.> "Jor-El".
5. What does Superman stand for?
<Hey, the answer they want is actually true this time. Well, depending on how you define the word "truth", anyways...> "Truth and Justice."
He turned the page to the next set of questions. Ok, so maybe this wasn't going to be so easy after all. He might actually have to break out the textbook, unless...
"Hey Dad, what was the date when you lifted the Prometheus shuttle into space?" Jonathan shouted to his Dad in the next room. No need to make him use his super hearing.
His dad shouted back the date, with an added, "why do you ask?"
"Oh, just wondering. By the way, what year did you save the world from the Nightfall asteroid?" Jonathan asked as he wrote down the information he had just been given.
"The same year, 1993. Why the sudden interest in dates? Hey, what's that you're writing?" Uh oh, the last question had a bit of a suspicious tone to it. By the time Jonathan looked up, his Dad was standing right next to him.
"Hey, what's this?" his dad asked curiously as he took the papers from a sheepish looking Jonathan. "What the-? THIS is what they're teaching you in school? What happened to all of the stuff about the Constitution and the Founding Fathers?" his dad half questioned, half yelled as he looked aghast at the questions.
"Uh-" Jonathan started to explain, but his father was already storming off in the direction of his mother.
"LO-IS! Look at what they're teaching at Jonathan's school! When Mr. Trzynadlowski asked us during the PTA meeting how we felt about more progressive education, I had no idea that this was what he meant! Did you *know* about this!?"
****
Lois Lane watched as her partner and husband, Clark Kent, answered his phone at the Daily Planet building. Somehow, she had the feeling that this was no ordinary phone call - she told herself that that was stupid and that she shouldn't be worried, but the deep seated feeling of dread refused to leave her as she sat listening, riveted to Clark's phone conversation.
"Clark Kent of the Daily Planet" he answered in his usual cheerful voice. He listened to what the caller had to say. In an instant his smile disappeared, and his face became a mask of horror. Oh no, something really was wrong. Terribly wrong.
"Yes, I understand." he said in what could only be described as a monotone whisper as he slowly put the phone back down on the receiver.
Clark's face rose up to meet her eyes. He then got up, and began to slowly walk over to her desk. With each step closer that he took, the sense of dread that Lois felt continued to grow until it felt as if it was going to overwhelm her senses.
When he reached her, he spoke softly, barely managing to keep the quavering out of his voice. "Lois, that was Metropolis General. Jonathan's been shot."
to be continued I guess in <insert title here>
