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He Ain't Heavy

Summary:

Part I -After watching the new fortress being created, Clark ignores his son Jonathan's concerns. The only way to survive emotionally is to get away from the father who he thinks sees him as a second-class member of the El family. However, Jordan can't accept that. Furthermore, Jordan wants Jon to have powers for a specific reason. He wants his brother next to him when he flies.

Part II - Jon does not feel the same way about his powers that his brother does, and he still has some challenges he has to overcome. Being strong in spirit will be just as important as being physically strong. Are we ever going to see the old happy/good guy Jonathan again?

Part III - Jon's relationship with his father has to be resolved long-term and Jon has to choose happiness for himself if he is ever going to get himself back. But people like Jon are never alone as he is finding out. He will also find that he has been right about people underestimating his brother Jordan.

Part IV - Jon finally finds a long-term resolution to his relationship with his father. It's not ideal, but it will be better than what they have had.

Chapter 1: He's My Brother

Chapter Text

Clark had promised his son Jonathan that his grandmother, more specifically his AI Kryptonian grandmother, was eager to meet him. Even better, he promised that she had some Kryptonian technology he might be interested in. The problem was the fortress where the Lara AI was held is in the middle of the ocean. Maybe it was the sting of what Jon and Jordan now referred to as “The Barn Scene” that left Jon so open to being hurt. Jordan had seen the pain his father had caused for Jonathan by totally forgetting that he left him to do chores with family members who ran off to play. Returning from an exhilarating day where he first started to really master flying, Jordan was abruptly brought back down to earth when he realized what had happened and it was hardly the first time Clark had done something like that. Jonathan used to joke that the empty box he received as a gift from his father, when Jordan had received the bracelet, had been a not-so-subtle message to Jon about empty words and empty promises from his father. Clark had earnestly promised Jon he would teach him how to drive the truck but Jon was still waiting for that to happen. Actually, he wasn’t still waiting. He had given up.

Clark’s hand-wave of Jonathan’s concern that the new fortress was really only for the Kents that could fly had caused Jon to withdraw from his relationship with his father. Clark, as had become usual lately, never answered Jon’s concern about the new fortress except to repeat that “it was for the entire family”. Jon played along but Jordan knew his twin brother. That was Clark’s last chance and he had blown it. Jon was done trying. The only unanswered questions were when was Jon leaving and where was he heading? Jon probably wasn’t sure yet exactly when he was leaving but Jordan could guess where he was going. The General was just the person he would turn to for help. The problem, for Jordan, was that Jon would be moving to Metropolis. Jordan had worried that his powers might cause a rift between him and his brother, but that had not materialized. Both boys tried hard not to let that happen and, aside from a bump in the road here and there, their relationship was as strong as ever. Now Jordan’s father was causing the boys to be separated. Jordan would have to either go to Metropolis with his brother and abandon his training with his father, or he would have to find some way to give Jon the emotional lift he so badly needed so that staying in Smallville was a viable option for him.

To Jordan the only problem with Jon not having powers was that he wanted Jon alongside him while he explored his new abilities. Mostly, he wanted Jonathan flying next to him. Jon had been his wingman for Jordan’s entire life. Every time his anxiety overcame him all he had to do was turn around and his twin was there to help him calm down. Every time some bully had tried to hurt him, Jon was there to stop it. Most importantly, Jon understood him and believed in him. Jordan’s powers had mostly reduced his social anxiety and his panic attacks to an easily manageable level, but without the base of emotional support Jon had always given him, the powers would not have helped him. When Jon suffered, he now felt his pain.

The adult to whom Jon would turn was most likely the General. A great choice for an ally. But Jordan had another option with their other grandparent. He could get to Grandma Lara at the fortress easily and he already had multiple encounters with her. As soon as he could unobtrusively disappear for a while, he took off for the new fortress. It was not a long flight at hypersonic speed, and he longed to have his brother flying beside him. At the fortress he took the AI crystal and put into its place in the podium. Lara came to life.

Lara listened to her grandson beg her to figure out why his brother had not manifested powers. He explained why Jon needed powers and why he needed Jon to get them. Lara was pleased with her grandson. Family was important to her and the young grandson standing before her clearly had a strong bond with his brother. When Jordan was done speaking, she had one question for him. “Why has your father not yet brought your brother to see me?

Jordan did not want to make any more problems in the family than there already were and replied evasively. Lara was not unaware that Jordan had not directly answered her question, but she understood Jordan’s position and was impressed with his loyalty to his father. Nonetheless, she wanted to meet her other grandson and it was apparent her other grandson needed her.

What Lara told him made his anxiety rise. “YOU will have to bring your brother here to meet me.”

Jordan did not want to contradict his grandmother, but this did not seem like a good idea to him. “Grandmother, my father does not allow me to do that, and I don’t know that I am ready to do it either. I can’t take any chances with Jonathan.”

Lara was regally unconcerned about Clark. Clearly, she was already not happy with him for not bringing Jonathan to her sooner. Jordan could understand. Jonathan was her grandson and over the long period of time that Lara was available to Clark, he had not had her meet his brother.

“I understand your concerns and they are valid. However, I will instruct you in how to safely fly your brother to this fortress. I am fully aware of what precautions need to be taken. I will tell you exactly how to safely do it.”

When Jordan left the fortress, his anxiety was bubbling up inside him. Lara had given him detailed instructions, provided him with a sort of plastic carrier for his brother and told Jordan where to get the rest of the equipment he needed. His grandmother saw Clark’s edicts from a different point of view than Jordan did. To Jordan they came from his father and his father had far more experience carrying non-powered people than Jordan had. To Lara it was just some foolishness from her wayward son. Jordan arranged with his grandfather to get the rest of the equipment he needed and headed home to store it in the barn, away from prying eyes.

Jordan had decided that he had to leave it up to Jonathan whether or not he would fly with his brother. This had to come completely from Jon. As soon as the boys were alone Jordan related his story to his brother. The flight was appealing to him, and it was the kind of adventure Jon liked. It was an adventure with his brother, and he would get to meet his grandmother without any help from his father. Jon hated that Jordan had to carry him, but he had missed Martha Kent since she had died. If he was going to meet his other grandmother on his own terms, this was his only way to do it. Even more, both boys wanted to know whether there was any chance Jon could develop superpowers like his brother. Lara had been the foremost biologist and geneticist on the planet Krypton. She was the person most likely to know the answer and she was right there in the new fortress.