Fic: Growing Up Familiar (Smalllville) 1/1

[seagull2eagle.livejournal.com]

Title: Growing up Familiar
Author: tallihensia
Fandom: Smallville - Pairing: none. Characters: Superman, Other, Lex Luthor
Rating: PG - Size: 3,045
Type: Angst, Drama
Warnings: Um, could be read as a death-fic. Kind of?
Spoilers: general SV
Summary: Superman befriends a child and watches him grow through the years. But all is not as it seems.


Awesome cover by DanceswithGary! Thank you! Click for full size.


Feedback: Comments, critiques, suggestions, etc, all welcome.
Disclaimer: Only mine in my dreams. ;-) This story was written for free entertainment purposes only and may not be reproduced for profit or altered without permission.

Notes:
For the Twisting the Twilight 2010 challenge. Episode 4.1 - In His Image. A young man grapples with an urge to kill and confusion about his origins.
Beta by Ronda - thank you! :)
Also posted at Archive of Our Own and cross-posted to enter_tzone

---

Growing up Familiar

The first time Joey met Superman, he was five.  He'd been up on top of the roof, looking at everything below, knowing if he just stepped off, he could fly.  So he did. 

He didn't fly, he fell.  The ground was rushing up towards him, and he knew a sense of betrayal for it so sharp and deep he almost didn't notice when he was plucked out of the sky and then set safety down.

"I couldn't fly," Joey said, looking at the blue-clad hero.

"No, you can't," Superman replied gently, his voice full of understanding.

Then his mother came out of the house and caught him up in a strong hug.  His other mother came out as well, scolding him in her worry.  When he came out of their grasp, Superman was gone.

... ... ...

 

He wouldn't have called himself a reckless child, but somehow Joe ended up meeting Superman quite a few times.  His school bus was caught in a battle between metas, and it was Superman who came and swooped them out of the way.  He was in the science museum the day that Praxita came to Earth and was one of the people Superman saved.  And other things.  Sometimes Superman stopped to talk to Joe, just like he had when he'd been young.  They talked about comic books, they talked about science, they talked about what it was like to fly.

Joe knew that Superman saved everybody, but inside, he knew he was special, that Superman was there to save him.

... ... ...

 

"So, you know Superman."  Mark made it sound like a challenge.

Joe leaned on the railing on the junior high school roof and took a drag from his cigarette.  He looked around at the skeptical faces and smiled a thin line.  "Yep."

Julia put her hands on her hips and snorted.  "Prove it."

With a shrug, Joe dropped and crushed his cigarette.  He drew a breath in, thinking about how the rejection of his friends would feel, thinking of how far above the ground he was now, of anything that would scare him.  And he called out for Superman.

Less than a second after he screamed, Superman appeared, the wind rushing along with him and passing through, flapping clothes and hair. 

Superman hovered there for a moment, his gaze meeting Joe's and then flicking around looking for the danger.  Joe could see it in the blue eyes when Superman realized there wasn't any.  The worry changed to anger, and in the next moment, Superman was gone.

Not letting it show how rattled he was, Joe leaned back on the railing again.  "See?"

 

After school got out, Joe walked out with his friends.  He paused, aware that something was wrong, but not knowing what.  As he stood there, Superman flew down and picked Joe up.  "You're going with me on a field trip," Superman said.  "I've already cleared it with your moms."

"Where are we going?" Joe said, excited, but trying not to show it.  He craned his head, looking eagerly down as they flew over the land, Superman's cape waving in the air over them.

Superman didn't say, but a few minutes later they set down at a hospital. 

Joe looked at Superman curiously. 

Superman's face was set in grim lines.  "Earlier today, there was an explosion in a factory.  I was bringing people out and trying to contain the flames when you called."  He looked at the hospital.  "Because I left to come to you, three people died and dozens more are in there.  That minute away was too long."

With a gesture, Superman indicated that Joe should proceed him.  Stunned, Joe did. 

They walked inside the hospital, seeing the people in bandages and casts, those on gurneys waiting for surgery, and the families huddled in the corners.  People kept stopping to express their gratitude to Superman, calling to him, thanking him for saving their lives.  A few of the family members turned away, tears in their eyes. 

Eventually they made their way outside again.  Joe wiped his face.  "Why?"

Superman stood silently next to him.

"Why did you come to me?  All those people who needed you.  Why?  Why did you come to me when I called?"

With a sigh, Superman put his hands on Joe's shoulders.  "Joe, I will always come when you call.  If you need me, I promise I will be there." 

"But..."  Joe's mind was spinning, he couldn't figure it out.

Superman quirked a little sad smile.  "But if you need me for something other than imminent rescue, say that too.  I'll come by when I can, but you won't have to worry about pulling me away from an emergency."

"But why would you come in the first place?  All those people, every one of them calling you... why me?"

There was a long pause as Superman looked away, though he left his hands on Joe's shoulders.  Finally, he said somewhat evasively, "I knew your father."

Joe took a startled breath.  He was adopted as a baby and never gave much thought to his natural parents.  Sometimes he wondered.  "You knew my dad?  Really?"

Superman smiled sadly.  "Yes, but don't ask me anything, I'm not going to tell you.  It was a condition of your adoption.  You have a wonderful pair of mothers, and they love you."

"Yeah, but you knew my dad!" 

With a laugh, Superman stepped back.  "Are you ready to fly home?"

"You're really not going to tell me."

"No."

"But I can still ask you about other stuff."

"Yes," the grin was evident in Superman's voice as well as on his face.

"Cool." 

... ... ...

 

After that, Superman stopped by regularly.  They talked about all the sorts of things he couldn't ask his moms, and Superman told him about his adventures.  True to his word, Superman never told him about his birth parents, but Joe was sure that his dad had been a fellow superhero.  That, or a sidekick.  Somebody that Superman had honored and respected and swore upon Joe's dad's dying breath that he would watch over his son.  It made him feel special and proud.

That lasted until Joe was 17.

... ... ...

 

"Warrior Angel," Joe insisted, his face red.

"No, man, I swear, look in a mirror -- Lex Luthor!"  Troy was just as adamant.

"You just think anybody who has shaved their head looks like Luthor!  There's other bald people out there.  Picard!"

Sasha shoved a photograph into his hands.  "Seriously.  Look -- with your head shaved, you're a young Lex Luthor." 

Joe stared at the photo for a long time.  Then he ran.

He ran as far as he could until his breath ran up and the stitch in his side was too much for him.  He grabbed a tree to stay upright.  "Superman.  Superman...  when you can..."

It was only a few minutes later when the familiar red and blue came down from the sky.

When Superman landed, he turned to Joe, and then startled back.  He took two steps backwards, and his body was defensive, ready for battle.

Joe watched him bitterly.  "So it's true.  My dad is Lex Luthor."

Superman swallowed and he forced himself to come forward.  "No. Joe, it's not..."

Joe thrust the picture out.  "I look just like him!  Tell me that's coincidence!"  He swung away.  "My dad was supposed to be your friend!  Another superhero!  Somebody you respected!  Not your enemy."

With a sigh, Superman placed a hand on Joe's shoulder.  A familiar gesture of comfort that Joe tried to shrug off. 

"I swear, your father isn't Lex Luthor."  It sounded like truth.

Joe held out the photo wordlessly.

Superman glanced at it and grimaced.  "You..."  He trailed off.

Stubbornly, Joe glared.

"You share some genes with Luthor," Superman finally said.  "But that doesn't matter.  What matters is who you are, how you were raised, what you choose to be."

Joe snorted.  "Yeah, right."  Lex Luthor.  God.  This was a nightmare.  His dad was supposed to be a hero.  What was 'shared some genes' supposed to mean?  Joe sank down and put his head in his hands.

Superman sat down next to him.  "My birth father wanted me to conquer Earth."

Joe raised his head and stared at Earth's greatest hero.  "You're shitting me."

"Not at all."  Superman shook his head with a faint smile.  "When I was sixteen, my spaceship came out with this message from him, 'you will be a God among them, rule them with strength.' "

"What'd you do?" Joe asked, fascinated.  This part had never made it into the Superman bios.

"I blew up the spaceship."  Superman grimaced.  "That didn't have the best of results.  But I wanted to be free of his influence.  I was raised human, and my adoptive parents whom I'd grown up with told me I had free will and could choose.  I chose to be something other than what my genetics said I should be."

Joe narrowed his eyes.  "Did that really happen or did you just make it up to give me a moral lesson here?"

"It's true." Superman raised his hand.  "Scout's honor.  Well, not that I was a scout back then, but I've been named an honorary one as Superman."

"You were adopted.  You have parents?"  Joe was starting to feel a bit better.  If it could happen to Superman...

"They both passed away some time ago.  I have friends and the secret identity still, but it's not the same thing as going home to your parents."  Superman looked out over the land.  "I miss them."

Joe felt a pang for his mothers, raising a surly adopted child.  Recently, he'd been so focused on what his birth parents could be, puffing himself up thinking his dad was a hero, that he ignored their very real love and support throughout all the years.  He didn't ever want his moms to die.  "Yeah. Sorry."

"It's okay.  Would you like to visit the Fortress?"  Superman stood up and held a hand out.

"Really?  Cool."  Joe might have lost an imaginary dad, but having Superman for a pseudo-godfather was pretty darned awesome in itself.  He might share some genes with a villain, but Joe vowed that he'd make Superman proud of him.

... ... ...

 

The sound of sobbing came to him.  Slowly, sight returned.  His hands were streaked with red.  Joe raised his head and looked over at the bed.  "Sherri?"

"You fucking bastard!" she hissed through the  sobs.  She had a hand up to her bloody nose which was still dripping.  There was a broad red mark across her cheek.

Joe was relieved that seemed to be the extent of the damage.  He didn't remember what had happened.  They had been arguing over the paper they were writing for Psych class, and then a red wave had gone over his vision.  "Sherri?  I'm sorry..."  Joe started to stand but at the way Sherri shrank back, he quickly sat down again.  "I'm sorry."

"I was right," she spat out, "You are a freakin' psycho!"

What had Joe said?  He remembered them arguing, he remembered them trading barbs, like they always did.  Joe edged around on the wall, until he was well out of the way of the door.  "Tell Palo."  Palo was the dorm RA.  He'd know what to do.  Joe buried his head in his hands.

 

They were yelling at him again.  Somebody trying to tell him what to do.  Nobody told him what to do.  He looked up, ready to kill them all.

 

"Superman," Joe whispered.  The night air was clear and crisp.  Joe's head was a muddle. 

Colors swirled.  A strong solid figure landed.

"Joe?"  Superman knelt down and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I wanted to kill them."  Joe's voice was hollow.

Superman blinked.  "Did you?" he asked cautiously.

"No."

With a sigh, Superman pulled his cape around and then sat down next to Joe.  "With my strength, I always had to be careful.  I couldn't play sports, I couldn't get angry.... it didn't stop me from getting angry.  I just had to be more careful.

"When I was fifteen, a man threatened my parents to get my secrets." Superman paused for a long time.

"You killed him?"

"It was close," Superman admitted.  "I always feel like it was a hair's worth away from being the other choice."

"I didn't choose." It would have been better, somehow, if Joe had felt like he'd made a choice.

"Tell me."  Superman leaned in closer, comforting by his very unbreakable presence.

So Joe told him.

Superman looked up at the stars.  "I had a friend..." He sounded hesitant, unsure of himself -- or unsure of what he was saying.

Joe waited.

"He was my best friend.  And he had a temper like no other."  Superman's mouth quirked up.  "Once, he smashed a metermaid's car window with a golf club."

"Okay, everybody thinks about doing that, but nobody actually does!"  Joe sputtered, half with laughter and outrage.

"I know." Superman laughed too.  "I thought it was the funniest thing... He got sent to anger management school."

"How'd that work out?" Joe was skeptical.

Superman shrugged.  "It wasn't the school.  He worked at it.  Because of his friends and what he wanted to be, he worked at it, and he got it under control.  His girlfriend was threatened by an old stalker and my friend almost killed that guy.  But he didn't.  He didn't because he didn't want to be that person.  I know that for him, it was even closer of a choice than it had been for me, because for him, the temper was always there.  However, he wouldn't let it control him."

Something in the tale rang true.  Yet it still felt wrong.  "What happened to him, to your friend?"

Superman clenched his jaw, his face tightening with pain.  "He was betrayed.  By those who should have loved him and protected him, he was betrayed."

That didn't answer the question, but Joe could sense it was all he was going to get.  He sighed and got up, resting a hand on the tree trunk.  "I should get back to the dorms."  Nobody in the college trusted him anymore.  They all looked at him warily, afraid and angry.

Still on the ground, Superman looked up.  "Joe, I believe in you."

Joe laughed bitterly.  "That's because I can't hurt you."

"Yes, you can."  Superman shook his head.  "I know you, Joe.  I've watched you grow from a baby to a young man, and I believe in that person you are.  You're a good man.  You are natural at being good, and you try to be good.  The anger might be there, but it's not what you are.  What you are, is a young man who will do the right thing.  That, I believe."

Joe turned and looked at Superman, studying him, evaluating his words.  Superman had been there all his life.  "Thanks," he said quietly.  Then he walked back to the dorms with a light step; Superman believed in him.

 

Sitting underneath the tree, Superman watched the young man as he walked away.  And he let his breath out.  "I believe," he whispered, even as he bowed his head.

... ... ...

 

Screams filled the air.

Superman swooped down.  "Joe!"

Joe was curled up on the ground, clutching his head.  He was yelling, incoherent with pain.

Then the screaming stopped.

"Joe? Are you okay?" Superman approached carefully.

There was a low laugh as Joe uncurled and shook out his hands. 

Superman stepped back.  "Joe?"  This time, his voice was more cautious than concerned.

Joe sat up, running his fingers through his hair.  He grinned at Superman, a loose, easy grin that Joe had never worn in his life.  So much malice behind it. "I'm sorry, but Joey doesn't live here anymore."

"No."  Superman closed his eyes as his breath caught.  In a strained voice, he asked, "What did you do with Joe?" 

"Did you think the construct was a real person?  You did, didn't you?" The person who looked like Joe laughed again.  "I knew, when you found my body de-aged down to a baby, that you would be a good person and not kill me.  I knew you would do the honorable thing, get me adopted into a nice family.  I knew you would keep an eye on me.  I never dreamed you would go so far as to be my Godfather and my friend."  He stood up, awkward for a brief moment before he settled into his body.  A casual stance with sex and power in every line.  "Because that worked out so well the last time," he mocked.

"No.  I don't believe... I have been watching and you were never there!  Joe is a real person, a kind person, a man with dreams and ambitions. What did you do?" Superman's hands tightened into fists.

"Bided my time.  I didn't feel like living through childhood again.  Or high school.  God, I had enough of reliving it with you in my office every other day through your high school."  He looked around.  "Second year of college seemed about right for coming back.  Time enough to form a path, learn what the world has done in the years."

"I should just take you in right now!"

"For what?"

Superman glared.

"I'm serious - what has Joseph Alexander done that deserves jail?"  He smiled, "Pure as driven snow."

Looking away, Superman didn't pursue that.  "What about Joe?  What happened to him?"

"Are you still on that?  I haven't even gotten a 'welcome back' from you yet!"  He dropped the grin.  "I'm serious, that was only a persona construct.  It's gone.  I'm here.  Now say my name!"

With a swallow, Superman obeyed.  "Lex Luthor."  He spoke as if he was pronouncing the doom of the world.

Lex laughed.  "It's good to see you too, Clark."  With another mocking grin, Lex turned back to the dorms. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a History final to study for."

 

Superman stood silently as he watched Lex walk away.  When Lex was out of sight, he sighed.  "I'm sorry, Joe.  I couldn't save you either.  I thought... I thought this time, there was a chance." 

 

---

End

Comments

[sue-dreams.livejournal.com]

I object. I'd like to enter exhibit A into the record: Sitting underneath the tree, Superman watched the young man as he walked away. And he let his breath out. "I believe," he whispered, even as he bowed his head.

I believe, too! ^__^ *sniffs* Which means there is only one conclusion: you're sitting on a happy-making sequel that doesn't make me want to cry and glomp Clark and Joe.

But if I'm wrong, and I won't wait to find out, I'll say that this was very well done. The dark moments, the Lex-isms that snuck in and through... Bravo, hon.

[ctbn60.livejournal.com]

Wow what amazing twists and turns! This was wonderful!!!

[maigie2010.livejournal.com]

Yowza!!! I never saw that coming. Interesting story with that unexpected twist.

[danceswithgary]

Shiver down my back. Check.
Sniffle. Check.
Bookmark. Check.

I'm going to have fun making the cover for this one. :-D

[firefox1490.livejournal.com]

*insert giggle here* I knew it! I love being validated! The end result was suspiring though. Oh poor Clark, he tries so hard.

[jlvsclrk.livejournal.com]

So very sad. Is there no hope at all? *sniffle*

[eternal-moonie.livejournal.com]

AWESOME story!

[danceswithgary]

And I finally finished your cover! :-D

It's at: http://danceswithgary.livejournal.com/398135.html.

Thanks again for participating in the challenge!

[oliver95.livejournal.com]

It's beautifully written but I wish I hadn't read it. Lex says, before he destroys the fortress, that he loves Clark. That for me is the SV lex and that is the one I prefer above all the rest. Sorry about that but it's just me!