Chaos In The Flesh

Chapter 12 (Part 1)

Beep. Beep. Beep. Anomaly detected. Out of sector: Space Satellite Phobos 1311819.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Anomaly detected. Out of sector: Space Satellite Phobos 1311819.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Anomaly detected. Out of sector: Space Satellite Phobos 1311819.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Anomaly detected. Out of sector: Space Satellite Phobos 1311819.

******

Wednesday, October 5th (4:09am)

"Absolutely fascinating."

Jonathan murmured something about it being too early and tried to roll over in his bed only to kiss a pile of snow he was laying in. Snapping immediately awake, Jonathan scrambled onto his feet and looked around. He was in the Fortress of Solitude again. It had been a few days since he last saw the place.

These dreams were becoming a normal part of Jonathan's routine at this point. His powers were growing at an impressively scary rate. So he wasn't surprised that he was here yet again. Though he was surprised that he wasn't alone with his grandfather.

His father stood next to the hologram of his grandfather. He wore the jeans he had worn the day before with his "Go Crows" t-shirt and blue flannel. The old boots he wore when working in the barn were still on his feet and it looked like he had tracked mud into the fortress.

"Jon, how are you–" Clark began, looking in between his father and his son. His confusion only grew when he turned to the hologram and saw his father smiling at him. "Dad—"

"Dad." Jonathan walked towards him, his feet crunching the snow beneath him. "Dad, hold on."

"This is a dreamscape, Kal-El." Jor-El explained. "Jon has been able, multiple times, to contact me through his sleep. It seems that you have found the ability to do so as well."

"How does this make sense?" Clark asked, looking between his son and his father. "Why has this never happened before? How can I actually feel the cold? How?"

Jonathan took another few steps forward. "I've learned to stop asking questions a long time ago and just let it happen."

Clark looked at his son and flinched. Jonathan, his son and pride, looked so much like him. Obviously he was a younger version with blonde hair, but still. Clark saw Jonathon's blue eyes flash with a silent sort of pride, that he was more prepared than his father in a situation for once.

As father and son watched each other, trying to figure out what the other was thinking, several holograms in threes popped up around the fortress, making the room brighten significantly.

"Considering you both are here," Jor-El began. "I should warn you both of...err, a few challenges."

Jonathan and Clark faced Jor-El as he continued, pointing to several holograms. "Can either of you point out which one is Jordan's, Jonathan's, or Clark's bone structures, nerve strands, blood flow, etc."

Joanthan and Clark skeptically looked at each other but played his game. They took their time, shifting the holograms into three separate categories. By the time they had finished, Jonathan knew that they had gotten them all wrong. All the holograms looked so similar, it was too close to say whose body it was.

"Most of the body systems you labeled under Clark were correct." Jor-El said, nodding. He raised his hands and began shifting the holograms under the correct names. "However, you both completely messed up Jordan and Jonathan's holograms."

Clark crossed his arms as he watched everything fly around. He glared up at his father. "Why is this important?"

Jonathan watched as his bodily holograms secured themselves into their category. His grandfather watched him and said, "Because it means that your hypothesis, Kal-El, of your son is completely wrong. It seems that Jonathan's kryptonian DNA is no longer dormant."

"Meaning that?" Clark asked.

"My powers are no longer dormant as well." Jonathan said, looking back at his father. "But you knew that, didn't you?"

Clark didn't look at his son. Instead, he continued observing the holograms like they were the Northern lights.

Jonathan fumed. Anger swirled in the bottom of his gut as he went up to his father and pushed him. Clark went careening into a stalagmite and hit the snow with a softened thud. Jonathan's eyes turned a bright neon blue as he sneered and walked towards his groaning father.

Clark groaned and held his head. His vision swam and when he finally opened his eyes, he saw three versions of Jonathan, each one with shining eyes and...was that smoke coming out of his mouth?

"YOU KNEW!" Jonathan screeched, throwing a punch in Clark's direction. Clark scrambled and barely missed his son's attempt at murder. Jonathan's fist obliterated the stalagmite that had almost broken Clark's back.

"YOU KNEW AND DIDN'T TELL ME!" Jonathan threw another punch which Clark deflected. "YOU KNEW THIS MAY HAPPEN AND YOU DIDN'T TRY TO HELP ME!"

Clark caught Jonathan's fist in his left hand and used the heel of his right hand to jab the center of Jonathan's chest. Jonathan stumbled back and groaned. Clark watched as his son glared up at him and opened his mouth. But instead of what Clark would assume would have been ice breath, a powerful surge of heat knocked him over and burned through the sleeves of his flannel shirt.

Clark barely had time to register the act before his son jumped at him again. Each punch was stronger than the last, but nothing hurt more than the knowledge that this was his son, who had always loved and been proud of him, who was beating the crap out of him.

"ENOUGH!" Clark bellowed, grabbing his son by the neck of his shirt. He flew up 20 feet and then slammed Jonathan into the ground on his back.

As Clark let go, Jonathan rolled to his side, wheezing and gasping, trying to get the air back into his lungs. The neon lights had left his eyes and the smoke was starting to slowly disappear from the air.

As Jonathan blinked his way back to reality, Clark walked over to his father's hologram and pointed at Jonathan. "What the hell was that?! Where did he get those powers from?"

Jor-El looked absently in Jonathan's direction, rolling his eyes at the pathetic half-kryptonian. "That was a pathetic fight that you almost lost. As to where he got his powers, I do not know. But obviously the miscommunication between your family members has created an enormous amount of tension, so I suggest you begin talking to each other to understand the situation."

Everything began turning hazy, like the world was melting away, as Jor-El finished, "I'll do my own research as well, but until then..."

"Clark! Clark, wake up!"

He did, but not in the position he thought he was going to. He had fallen asleep on the couch in the living room in his work clothes from the day. But last he checked, he had fallen asleep on his back. Currently, he was standing on the coffee table facing the outside window. One of the single chairs was smashed against the floor and several pillows had been thrown around the room.

Clark blinked rapidly and stepped down from the table. Lois was standing at the entrance of the staircase with her robe wrapped tightly against her body. She looked horrified.

Clark swallowed and cleared his throat, "Lois–"

"Clark, the boys are gone!"

He felt his blood freeze, but he couldn't seem to comprehend the thought. "What?"

"I heard you smashing things down here, so I went to check on the boys first." Lois's white face paled even further. "They're not in their rooms. They're gone, Clark. Gone."