etrayalogs | (open) i know the sun will shine tomorrow

Isn't that enough?

[Clark knows she she's getting at and he cannot believe she's doing this now, without giving him a word of warning, a small heads-up. He's worked through what happened with his parents' video and the betrayal that came with it, or at least likes to think he has, but that's a long way from explaining it to a child, their child, before he's even had time to think about how he'd want to do it.]

Luthor's deranged and obsessed. He won't need a genetic test to spot the connection and act on it. Everything else is just details.

[That's not true and he knows it, but recognition of this fact is coming in third behind being hurt and kind of pissed off that she's springing this on him.]

( It's not a fair way to bring this conversation up, and she's not sure she would have been more fair about it with further thought. Probably she should have been, and that's a stumbling block she... needs more time to do something about, only she's not sure if she does know how to work with that. Navigating interpersonal relationships is a work in progress, and it has unfortunate effects while she's in that process.

But she decided to try, dammit, so the least she can do is try. Which in this case, means pausing, shifting herself to not quite square off with him. Drop the line of her shoulders, let her arms hang at her sides. Relax. He knows she's not a threat, but she wants him reminded he isn't to her either. He never has been. )

I'm sorry that I didn't bring this up with you before. ( Again, in ways. ) That's on me. And we can talk about in depth later — no, not can. We need to talk about it later.

( Which is a confrontation that needs working through, because he should be angry over her pushing the line without attempting to reach out first. Yes, she's more prone to butting heads over most things, or just forging ahead because it seems so logical to her that this is what needs to happen, but pushback is... somewhat galling to realize it might be something she needs. She isn't good at this kind of self reflection, and it isn't the particular moment for it. Her insecurities can shove off to the side for now. Quietly: )

For this, is everything else just details?

[Clark stays as he is for a long moment, shoulders stiff and unyielding like bricks. It's not okay that Lois jumped on this like she would a promising lead. He's her boyfriend, not her next big story, and this is way too close to how it felt when he was watching his parents' video on a borrowed cell phone in front of hundreds of people, even if the magnitude of the feeling is exponentially smaller and he knows Lois would never seek to hurt him like that.

But that is the sticking point, isn't it. She wouldn't hurt him purposefully. She didn't. And just a couple of words — I'm sorry — do a lot, if not everything. Clark forces his shoulders to relax, or at least be less tense.]

No.

[It wasn't when he said it, it isn't now. Clark closes his eyes for a long moment, breathing deep and steadily, before opening them to look back at Lois, and then Jon.]

We should probably sit down for this.

( so... he doesn't really know what is going on here, but. it's obvious that something has upset his father in the words his mother said to him and he's just... standing there, very much just a ten year old kid, watching the two of them skate around the possibility of an argument about to erupt.

he knows his mom's tone — knows the way his dad can get when he's trying to keep his cool. he just... doesn't usually see it all that much. especially not with younger and different?? versions of his parents.

so he stands there. quiet. snack and video having been abandoned as his dad turns his attention to him then and he blinks. uncertain. )

What's going on? What are you guys getting upset about?

( There's a hint of a sigh in her exhalation, aimed at herself if anyone. )

Thank you.

( Is what she says to Clark, before she's resting a hand on his arm and letting that be a lead as she walks toward Jon, likewise resting a hand on his shoulder, directing them both toward the couch. Lois perches herself on the coffee table opposite, at least to start, transferring her hands to rest lightly on knees of vastly different sizes after.

She's a bit aware she's salting not even scabbed over wounds, so past that, is letting Clark figure out what or how he's approaching the issue of parental complications. )

[At least they can be comfortable as they do this. Clark is very sure it's going to be the only comfortable aspect of this conversation.

He takes a minute to think about how to go about this before saying anything. The silence stretching out probably doesn't help Jon feel more certain about what's going on, but it's better than blundering into a really terrible explanation. Ultimately, it makes more sense to start at the beginning.]

Jon, how much do you know about Krypton? The planet I came from.

( this is about krypton? blue eyes blink a few times as he gives the question a think. )

Um... that it's where you came from. Same with Kara. Why?

[Jon knows Kara, too? Well...good to know she doesn't spend all her time partying in the future.]

I didn't know much about it growing up. My parents...my birth parents sent a message on the ship with me, a video to say goodbye and tell me their hopes for me, if I survived the trip. It was why I became Superman in the first place.

[It sounds so sweet and poignant this way, but the words taste like ashes in his mouth.]

( Aside from an eyebrow raise, Lois holds her silence. Kara is one more name to slot into the back of her mind for later. Right now, she gives Clark's knee a squeeze: it's because this had been so important to him that it'd gutted him having the second half of that message retrieved and revealed for what it was. )

( at that, he nods, kicking his feet a little. )

Yeah. Good people get involved. That's what my dad always tells me.

( it's why he wants to help, too. )

That's right.

[It's as simple as that, and it's not.]

There was a second half of the message that was damaged in transit, so I never saw it. Not until about a week before we all showed up in San Francisco. Luthor and his people broke into the fortress and found the video, recovered the damage portion and translated it. And showed it to the world.

[We love you more than heaven, our son.

Rule without mercy.]

The gist of it is that instead of helping people, my parents' dying wish was for me to conquer Earth, rule over it and make it into something like a second Krypton with my descendants.

[His voice only catches a little on that last word.

(He is not going to touch on the harem thing. This is heavy enough as it is, and Jon is only ten. Clark doesn't even know if he's had The Talk yet.)]

( that... isn't what he thought this chat about krypton was going to be about. jon's quiet as he stares to this younger version of his father — as he glances over to the younger version of his mother — then settles his gaze down in thought for a moment. when they'd first met in san fran on that other earth... the way he'd reacted and how he hadn't gone after him when he'd fled... he looks up then to his father. )

That's why you looked at me like that.

( he swallows. )

You thought I was... you don't think that's what I am, do you?

No.

[This is exactly what he was afraid of. Exactly the reason he didn't want to have this conversation with Jon, even if he can admit now that it was inevitable. Clark forces himself to keep meeting Jon's eyes and not look at Lois. If Jon thinks he needs her for an excuse, comfort, whatever, he's never going to believe what Clark says next.]

I know you're not. Even before I got to know you at all, just in those first few minutes, it wasn't about you

[He swallows hard, trying for the right words. Not even the best ones, but the best he can manage in the moment.]

I used to think it wasn't possible for me to have kids. When I found out that wasn't true, my fears had to do with me, what it would mean for me to live anything like the legacy they wanted. So when I realized who you were, I froze. But it never, ever had anything to do with the person you are.

( it's the resounding no his father gives... he knows he means it — that he believes it with all his heart and needs, so very much, for this unexpected child of his who's been dropped into his life to know the sincerity behind it. behind his words.

he meets his father's gaze — hands curling under the cushion of the couch he sits on, and he only drops their shared gaze for a moment to process everything before he's looking back up to him, compassion there in those bright blue eyes of his. )

That's not who you are. That's not who Superman is.

( at that, he stands in front of his father, small hands placing themselves on clark's shoulders. )

I know because you taught me. To stand up to bullies and to help people when they need it even if the acts are small and not so super. I know because good people get involved and you've always been involved, dad. With protecting the Earth and keeping people safe. Even when it feels really hard to and we feel alone because of who we are. You're hope for Earth, dad. Because you're a good person and so is Superman.

[There's not much Clark can say to that. Nothing at all, it turns out; he's used up all the right-enough words.

Instead, all he can do is reach out and pull Jon into a fierce hug.]

( Lois wrestles with a sense of pride she's again not sure she's supposed to feel, either for Clark or for Jon. One is her boyfriend that she had, frankly, sprung this on, and pride there feels like it might be masquerading as something weird. Then there's Jon, who she doesn't doubt is her son from at least one universe, but that just means she's borrowing him from herself. So maybe she is allowed to be proud of the kid he is, even if it's still twisty in her head and heart how any of this works.

Adult problems. Right now, with the both of them hugging each other, Lois swallows down the frog that appears to have leapt into her throat. Stop considering the words to describe anything she's feeling. Feel it, and wonder at herself a little later, but for now? Lois allows herself to move forward and wrap her arms around both of them, pressing a kiss to Jon's head. That she rests her forehead against Clark's head after is a different kind of support.

The moment either of them start moving to let go, Lois releases them first. She turns her head away and furrows her brow as she makes a pass over the corner of her eyes with the back of her wrist. Even when it feels really hard to and we feel alone because of who we are. )

( the moment he feels his mom there with them, he finds himself smiling. this feels... like home and he's so grateful to have this feeling here in this place he doesn't know anything about. these may not be his parents from home and damian may not remember him with being smaller and younger, but he has them there with him. he's not alone and he doesn't intend for any of them to be either.

he gives his dad another squeeze — makes it a little more of a super squeeze before he's pulling back and smiling to him with that bright compassion on his face before he's looking over to his mom and giving it to her, too. )

If you're worried Luthor will try and use that against me, you don't have to worry. I know you better than he ever could.

It's not that.

[Clark feels a lot shakier now, like a lot of the tension has drained away and left him off-balance, but somehow more solid, too. He'd dreaded the idea of sharing this knowledge with Jon, been determined not to do it, and even if it nearly went as bad as he'd feared — but not quite there, not with Jon still here and not flying away with a broken heart for the second time — they've still come through it.]

Not just that, anyway. Luthor's not going to care that you're from a different point in time. He's only going to see you as validation that he was right about me doing exactly what my birth parents wanted me to do. And you're ten, so he's going to think it's been going on for a while.

[Which is really gross to think about, truly. If his and Jon's timelines had aligned, his son would have been born before Clark could legally drink. Hardly a time in his life when he was capable of pursuing a harem, much less willing to do so.]

( he wants to say that it doesn't matter what lex luthor thinks, but. he hates the idea of his father being thought of poorly, especially if luthor might try and spread false information or beliefs to the people of etraya here or even to aurora and echo. he wants to say it doesn't matter, but it does. at least to his father here. at least in the sense of it being something he's still trying to wrangle with on the inside, judging from what he's told him of recent events for him and his mom prior to showing up here.

that's when he gently starts to slot various pieces together — how any of this might link up to what damian's father told him — and he looks to his mom before he looks back to his dad there. )

Are you saying you want me to not be Superboy?

( it's more noticeable, he gets it, but. he'd hated the thought of having to hide away who he was and what he could do. if he has to go back to that, outside of missions maybe, well. he can't say he likes the idea. especially when he'd arrived here and on that other earth as superboy. )

Edited 2025-09-01 23:34 (UTC)

( Lois is shaking her head, slow and firm, even as the question's being asked. )

I want you to be you. Which includes Superboy. I also wanted you to know why Batman's advice to only be Superboy was shortsighted, and what you're probably going to hear from Luthor once he sees you around here. So you wouldn't be caught off guard, and so if things are different from what you know, it's not as confusing.

( She's not touching on the differences in ages. Jon at ten means Lois is not his mother, whatever Luthor would want to assume: she's been in Metropolis and was in university making her own interesting choices, but Clark Kent was certainly not one of them. Even if they'd been attending the same university at the same-ish time, and that's an if.

It's just getting ahead of Luthor's nonsense, so that Jon and Clark aren't caught flat-footed by it. Lois is pretty damn sure it wouldn't occur to Luthor that Jon could ever be hers. Based on Superman's 'arrival' in Metropolis alone. She looks to Clark then, offer a crooked smile. )

Thankfully I don't think Luthor has any idea how much of that bothered you, only the part about the dog. And repeatedly calling you inhuman.

Everything she said. Same here.

[Clark's already told Jon that he supports him being Superboy, but a bit of positive reinforcement can only help, especially after the rest of this conversation.

He rests his hand over Lois' for a moment, giving her a crooked smile.]

Good for me that Luthor doesn't have a lot of emotional intelligence.

[Just the arrogant, irresponsible scientist kind. Clark's brow furrows then, as something else occurs to him.]

Hey, Lois. When you asked about what the so-called points system can get, did Aurora say if it includes living creatures?

( so they don’t want him to solely focus on being ONE version of himself — one identity where the possibility of losing the other is more likely. he gets it. sometimes damian’s dad seems to only ever be in one persona. it makes sense they wouldn’t want that to happen to him. so, at that, he nods. )

Ok. I can do that.

( he’d prefer to, actually. not be only one version of himself or hide away who he is from everyone else. it’s lonely and he’s already dealt with those emotions.

his dad’s inquiry though, gets him to look over with curiosity to his father. )

Like an animal?

... Oh, no. Really? The foster dog?

( Lois ends up laughing a little in spite of herself, chin dipping down so she's staring up at Clark for a moment, sussing him out. The thing is she does think he's serious. There are advantages, including the fact basically nothing stopped that dog from doing what he wanted, and he had enough self-regulation to safely interact with her (and Luthor, since Luthor didn't die) and other normal, not invulnerable people. There are also disadvantages. Not even Clark has tried to pretend he's a good dog, and that's saying something.

Lois lifts her eyes to the ceiling for a moment, even as she sighs, a helpless pull at her lips. Come on. Barely dating and they already have a kid, and now he's asking about a dog? Maybe she's the one who'll need a secret base on one of the islands to do whatever you do when you're in secret bases. Listen to punk rock. Eat cup noodles. Plot the downfall of interdimensional abducting multi-verse destroying forces. Host coffee bar mornings. )

As long as we're avoiding any white picket fences, yes, you can ask for living creatures of a certain level of sapience to be brought in. I don't have a point count for that. ( She drops her gaze back down to his face, then looks over at Jon. ) Do you like dogs, kiddo?

( Clark their apartments aren't going to survive that dog she knows it. )

( wait. are they going to get a pet? it’s just like home! jon beams as he’s asked on his opinion about dogs and he nods enthusiastically. )

Yeah! Back home, we have Krypto with us. That’s actually where I got my cape from. I borrowed it from him.

( yes, he took the dog’s cape. krypto was fine with it, ok. )

[Clark grimaces and tries to turn it into a grin. (It might fool Jon, but he knows Lois will know better.) Really, is he going to have Krypto full-time in the future? Gosh, he hopes not. Jon's potentiality is not at all something he'd take steps to avoid, but Krypto? Yeaaaaaaah.]

He must like you a lot, to let you.

[Not surprising that beings of all kinds like Jon. Very surprising that Krypto would give up the cape.]

Where we came from, he's Kara's dog, but I was looking after him. He needs training [and boundaries] but he's very protective of his people.

[Guard dog for Jon? Guard dog for Jon.]

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