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Alien

Chapter 4: Alien, chapter 4

Notes:

Thanks so much for reading!!!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Alien, chapter 4

 

 

Jordan knew it was going to be big. There was really no other alternative.

Not after he had already figured out the horrible, unsettling truth—

That he was actually an alien.

An ALIEN.

That word sounded so uncomfortable, so biting, so sharp— and yet he couldn’t get it to stop running through his mind…

This whole situation was crazy. Absolutely, batshit crazy.

And then his realization that Dad was lying to them about something, on top of everything else…

And for some reason he had a nagging suspicion that whatever it was would end up being just as huge…

When he finally came downstairs, he found Dad standing at the bottom of the staircase, bracing against it feverishly as if he were using it as a crutch, as if he would just collapse right onto the floor otherwise…

But then Dad trudged down the dark hall and towards the brightly lit kitchen, where Jordan could hear Mom and Jonathan exchanging some muffled words. He followed Dad tentatively, almost afraid of what was going to happen next…

But that was ridiculous. He already knew far more than Dad could probably even anticipate, since Dad probably didn’t even know about Jordan’s parentage at all—

Nor did he know that he probably wasn’t actually Jordan’s Dad at all…

When they emerged in the kitchen, they found Jonathan deep in his search for his REAL father, who he was convinced was someone the entire world knew far too well. He was clearly convinced he would find him lurking in a corner of a photo, or hiding in the background, or even hovering in the sky above.

But he was being ridiculous. Even if Jonathan was right, and their Dad wasn’t actually their Dad, it would never be that obvious. Jordan and Jonathan had remained in the dark about all of this for a reason. And their parents had been lying.

Now he was starting to be convinced that they were BOTH lying, and that they lied to them every single day. He even said as much— and yet, after Dad suddenly collapsed and they helped him up onto the couch, then leading Mom to say that shocking word— somehow Jordan hadn’t seen it coming. At all.

“By morning the sun will come up, and he’ll be back to normal. That’s just how it goes with kryptonite.”

Kryptonite. She said the word… kryptonite.

It was like the world had come to a complete stop, and had suddenly stopped spinning on its axis.

Jonathan seemed just as shocked as Jordan, but somehow he managed to utter some kind of a response.

But Jordan could barely think. He could barely even breathe.

Until, finally, the images of those strange cells started floating through his brain— and Jordan suddenly realized the horrible truth—

Jonathan was wrong. Their Dad really was their Dad, after all.

Because Jordan and Jonathan weren’t the only aliens living under this roof.

“But humans don’t react to kryptonite,” Jordan somehow spit out.

“No,” Mom replied. “Humans don’t.”

Jordan’s eyes widened. “But Dad did.”

Dad finally lifted his head off of the back of the couch, opening his eyes. “Lois…”

But Mom sat down next to him, giving his arm a squeeze—

And then Dad squeezed her arm back. Dad was on board. Whatever it was, whatever secret he had— it was all about to be revealed.

Jordan felt his stomach swimming anxiously, his heart beating faster and faster by the second.

“You’re going to tell us the truth? Finally?” Jordan asked.

“Yes,” Dad replied simply, “we are.”

Jordan pressed on. He had to know. “So what is it? I’m ready. We’re ready. Lay it on us.”

But Jordan already knew what he was going to say. Dad didn’t have a secret family. Dad was just their Dad, just as Jordan had always known, just as had always been blatantly apparent by Jordan’s uncanny resemblance— but he was their Dad, who also happened to not be human.

It was simple, really. And it all finally made sense. Jordan had alien cells simply because his father did.

But there was a piece of this that was still missing— none of this explained Dad’s weird absences…

Kryptonite. He had reacted to… kryptonite…

And then his head started spinning, completely blown away, as it suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks—

Just as Dad reached up to the arm of his glasses, peeling them right off of his face.

And then Superman’s unmistakable bright, blue eyes shined right into his.

“Holy shit,” Jonathan muttered under his breath.

“You’re… Superman,” Jordan said. It wasn’t a question. Dad blinked, staring directly into his eyes.

“I was born on Krypton,” Dad said. “When my parents discovered the planet was dying they sent me here—“

“I know that story,” Jordan interrupted. “The whole world knows that story. That’s Superman’s story…”

And apparently, it was also their Dad’s.

Dad nodded, and then he continued. “When I got here your grandparents were the ones who found me— I crashed right in the middle of their cornfields—“

“Wait,” Jonathan said, “your spaceship or whatever— it crashed right smack in the middle of Grandma and Grandpa’s yard. That’s what you’re saying.”

Dad nodded again, slowly and tentatively.

“But I don’t get it,” Jonathan continued. “So you like— pretended to be normal. You pretended to be human. All this time. To everyone around you. And even— even to us…”

“You’ve been lying to us,” Jordan added. “All this time— you’ve been lying. Over and over and over again—“

Mom sighed. “Jordan…”

“Why would you do this?” Jonathan asked. “You didn’t think we should maybe know this information? And what was your plan, anyway— did you EVER plan to tell us? Or were you just going to lie, and keep lying…”

Dad flinched and pinched the bridge of his nose. Mom noticed immediately, draping her hand around to his back and stroking it in gentle, comforting circles.

“Dad just wanted to give you a chance at a normal life,” she said. “That’s all he ever dreamed for you— for both of you. Trust me, I’ve brought it up now and then throughout the years, especially lately as the two of you started getting a little older, and that was always his response—“

“Wait— you actually wanted to tell us?” Jonathan replied. “But Dad was the one who said no?? Why would he do that? Why didn’t you PUSH him??”

“Oh Jon, it wasn’t my call. It wasn’t my secret to tell—“

“But it involves your kids,” Jonathan argued. “So yeah, it is your call. Just as much as it’s Dad’s.”

“Look,” Dad finally said. He opened his eyes, looking straight at Jonathan and Jordan. “My powers started coming in when I was four years old…” Jordan raised his eyebrows at that. “So anyway— a normal life… that’s something I could only dream of. But that’s never how it was with the two of you. For the two of you— a normal life was within your reach. So how could I deny that for you? How could I ruin any chance of that with all of this?”

Jordan stared at Dad for a moment— but then he just sighed, shaking his head. “Dad— that was just never going to happen. I mean— we have alien cells—“

Mom’s eyes shot open wide. “You have WHAT??”

“Yeah— you can imagine how it felt to discover that one,” Jordan elaborated. “I mean, how was I even supposed to see that coming?? A little heads up would have been more than appreciated, trust me, you don’t even want to know what a panicked mess I was—“

“I can vouch for that,” Jonathan interjected.

“What are you talking about??” Mom asked.

“We’re learning about cells in school,” Jordan replied. “It was nothing— just a cheek swab, a stupid experiment where we were supposed to look at our cells under a microscope. So you can imagine my surprise when mine looked absolutely nothing like Joe Shuster’s… but I guess you would know all about all of that, wouldn’t you…”

But Mom’s eyes continued to be just as wide. “No, we wouldn’t,” she said.

Jonathan’s forehead scrunched in confusion. “What do you mean, you wouldn’t?”

“Oh, Jon, you know we have no way of getting a cheek swab from your father…”

Dad pinched the bridge of his nose again.

Honestly, the thought hadn’t even occurred to Jordan— but at this point, by accidentally making that slide in biology class, he probably knew more about Kryptonian biology than his father could even dream of…

And that knowledge was horribly unsettling.

“Shit,” Jonathan said. “That’s insane.”

“You can’t get a cheek swab,” Jordan said. “You mean— because you’re invincible. Because— you really are Superman.” He swallowed heavily. “Seriously— I can’t believe this, any of this— this is so unreal…”

“So you like— have like— powers,” Jonathan said, stating the obvious.

“You’re such a dumbass, Jon, of course he has powers…”

“Can you like— show us or whatever?” Jonathan asked. His eyes were wide in anticipation…

But meanwhile, in contrast, Jordan’s stomach started swimming anxiously…

Mom was still stroking Dad’s back. “I'm sure he will be happy to tomorrow— he’s just been through a lot today, he needs to recover a bit…”

Right. The kryptonite.

Jordan’s heart fell as he thought about that, and as he started picturing that famous, green meteorite.

He knew all about kryptonite, of course— everyone did. Everyone knew that it was the only thing in the entire world that could hurt Superman— and he had seen YouTube clips of it doing that very thing. Hurting Superman… hurting his Dad…

“I’ll be fine,” Dad said again.

“He will be,” Mom reiterated. “And trust me, I’m not one to take these kinds of things lightly—“

Dad scoffed. “No, you’re definitely not.”

“But the sun will be up in no time. And trust me, the effect that it has on Dad is pretty instantaneous.”

Jordan knew all about that, too. He actually knew quite a bit about Superman, since he had gone through a bit of an obsessive Superman phase when he was younger.

Of course, he had no idea how relevant that would end up being…

The clock over the mantle continued to tick, time gradually marching on as the late night slowly shifted into the early morning, but still they continued sitting together in the living room, just talking through all of this as ideas and questions popped into Jordan and Jonathan’s minds.

Before long Jordan could see a faint yellow light shining through the window, emerging from behind the tall buildings of the Metropolis skyline.

And Dad clearly noticed it as well; his eyes drifted towards the window, watching as the dim light slowly brightened, and the dark silhouettes of the buildings became more defined, the details of the sharp corners and edges becoming more and more distinct.

And then Jordan noticed Mom give Dad’s arm a slight squeeze.

“Babe… just go ahead,” Mom whispered.

“It’s ok, the boys still have questions,” he said. “It’s fine— I can wait—“

“No, Dad, it’s ok,” Jordan said. “Go. You need it. And besides— we’ll still be here when you get back…”

“Yeah, go soak up the sun in a way only an alien can,” Jonathan said.

“It’s not just aliens, bro, plants do it too—“

“Ok, Jordan, on what planet do you think your geeking out will do anything to make any of this less weird?”

“Um, ok, just because I’m using my brain for like a second and not acting like a complete dumbass like some people in this family…”

And then he trailed off as they watched Dad push himself to his feet. He traipsed across the room slowly, almost as if the light streaming in from the window was drawing him towards it…

And then the sun peeked around the edge of the nearby building, suddenly streaking right onto Dad’s face…

And Dad shivered in response. Jordan drew in a sudden breath, shocked to see how Dad’s skin almost seemed to glisten in response, as Dad suddenly squeezed his hands into tight fists—

And then Jordan noticed his posture straighten, his strength returning quite ostensibly, as if he were being hoisted up by an invisible hook.

Dad opened his eyes, and when the sun shined right into them they looked brighter than Jordan had ever seen. They were such a bright blue that they almost didn’t look real—

But as the sun continued to cast its light across the room, now hitting Jonathan, who was standing solemnly at Jordan’s side, Jordan suddenly realized that Jonathan’s eyes were the exact same shade, so bright they almost seemed otherworldly…

Or even alien.

Dad finally turned back towards them, peering into their eyes. A small smile crept onto his face, the corners of his eyes wrinkling in the process—

And then, although he still wasn’t wearing his glasses, suddenly it couldn’t be more clear—

He was completely and wholeheartedly Dad.

He was Dad, through and through. The same Dad who made them breakfast every morning, the same Dad who spouted boring history lessons when no one wanted to hear it, the same Dad who made sure they had the exact amount of protein they needed.

He was Dad— even if he was an alien, too.

And Jordan realized then that whatever resulted from their weird, shared background— they would work through it together—

And maybe even cherish it…

One day.

Dad continued to watch them quietly, his smile widening, even as they just stared at him in response.

And then he spoke.

“I know you both probably still have a lot of questions,” Dad said.

“Dozens,” Jordan replied.

Jonathan huffed. “How about hundreds. Or even thousands. I mean— we just found out our Dad is freaking SUPERMAN—“

Dad nodded in response. “And I promise, I’ll get to all of them. But is it ok if I ask the two of you a question first?”

Jordan’s attention piqued as Jonathan raised his eyebrows. “Um…” Jonathan said.

“You asked if you could see my powers. So how about— would the two of you like to go for a short flight?” Jordan and Jonathan didn’t respond, both taken by surprise by this request. “I mean, it wouldn’t be anything major, just a short thing above the skyline, maybe a few minutes or so…”

He trailed off, clearly feeling awkward and uncomfortable as he was met with silence. The silence was palpable and thick— and Jordan felt his jaw fall open in shock.

“I mean— it’s ok if you don’t want to, obviously. I know you’re probably completely overwhelmed right now about all of this, and I’m sure you need time to digest it all. You know what, forget I said anything—“

“Wait a minute,” Jonathan interrupted. “Dad, are you kidding right now? Because if this is a joke it’s not very funny—“

“What Jonathan is trying and failing miserably to say,” Jordan said, “is— Dad, are you kidding?” Dad clearly didn’t know how to interpret Jordan’s response at first, his wrinkled brow displaying his obvious confusion. But then Jordan quickly added, “let’s get the hell out of here.”

Dad stared at him in response, blinking several times—

And then his face spread into the widest grin that Jordan had ever seen.

It was almost as if Dad had been waiting his entire life for this moment—

Which, Jordan supposed, in a way he really had.

Dad had spent his entire life alone, an alien from another planet living among a world of humans. He had been hiding, he had been pretending— and although he had Grandma and Grandpa, and he had Mom, all of whom never let him wallow in his loneliness, all of whom did everything they could to make him feel like he belonged— in the end the reality didn’t change—

He was still the only one. The only one like himself, the only alien in an entire planet of over seven billion human beings…

That is— until now.

And then Jordan knew that somehow, despite the shocking revelation about himself and about his family, everything would be all right.

Because Jordan wasn’t alone— and never would be.

Dad held his arms out wide, reaching for his sons—

And then, with one shared glance, they sidled right up to him.

He wrapped his arms around them, holding them close against his body. Jordan could feel Dad’s heart beating under his ribs, and then Dad’s arm tightened around him, bringing him in even more securely.

“Um, Dad, don’t you have to, like, change?” Jonathan asked as he peered down at Dad’s flannel shirt.

“There will be plenty of time for that,” Dad replied. “An entire lifetime, really. Today I just want to be myself. I want to be Clark— your Dad.”

“Who just so happens to fly,” Jonathan added.

And then Jordan felt a small laugh bubbling from inside his lips. He felt a laugh threatening to come out, despite everything—

So he decided to let it.

Dad cocked an eyebrow in response, not saying a word.

“Should we get going?” Jordan asked. “You know, some of us have actual places to be today. Like… school.”

“See, I told you you’re a geek—“

“Oh shut up, Jon—“

And then, still holding them close, Dad started floating above the floor. Though Jordan knew it was coming it was still a shocking feeling, as his toes left the Earth and gravity seemed to completely cease to exist—

But that was nothing compared to what was to come…

Dad shot through the front door of their brownstone like a cannon—

And suddenly they were in the sky.

They were flying through the air, straight through the fluffy white clouds, high above the tall, familiar buildings of Metropolis. They were familiar but they also weren’t— it almost felt like another world from up here—

Another world, that could really only be their world…

And then, as Jordan felt the air rush past his face, blowing his dark curls back and flattening his hoodie against his body, he suddenly felt— free.

He felt more free than he had ever felt in his entire life. He felt like he was born for this— like this was his home, far more familiar than anything terrestrian he had ever encountered before.

His place was in the sky, his place was in the clouds—

Because he really was an alien.

And maybe, that wasn’t such a bad thing.

And then he felt a laugh bubbling under his skin yet again. But this time it was real, it was earnest, and it was genuine—

And when he let it out, loud and real and completely carefree…

He realized that he finally knew who he really was…

And that with these people, snuggled against him as they flew together through the sky, he would never wonder about his place ever again…

Notes:

While I was writing this story I spent a bunch of time perusing the Ellis Island website. I actually found ship manifests from when my grandparents came over to the US from Europe— and on the manifests they are listed as “aliens.” It is pretty shocking to see that word used like that, but it made me think about what the word “alien” means. It means a lot more than from another planet, and certainly more than anything relating to powers. It refers to an otherness that only “aliens” can really understand (both otherworldly types and immigrants)… It was interesting to explore this concept in this context— and also to understand that the Superman story is partially based on the immigrant experience. I actually also found Jerry Siegel’s father’s ship’s manifest, where he, too is listed as an alien…

Anyway, thanks again for reading! And for putting up with my musings, too 😆.