Chaos In The Flesh

Chapter 16

Saturday, October 8, 4:19am

"You're angry with me."

Jonathan sneered. "Angry doesn't even begin to describe the amount of pure undiluted rage coursing through my veins right now."

Jor-El sighed and began to pace. He looked more tired than usual, like dealing with Jonathan was taking a toll on his own mental health. If Jor-El weren't his grandfather, he would have told him he deserved it. But because he was, Jonathan just thought it.

Jonathan rubbed his eyes and looked away from his pacing grandfather. The Fortress of Solitude looked different. Some icicles were missing, the snow seemed to have melted a bit, and the entire feel of the place was off.

Jor-El paused his pacing and looked up at his grandson. Jonathan merely stood in his boxers and t-shirt, unbothered by the cold. Jor-El pursed his lips and ran a diagnostics test.

"What?" Jonathan asked as a hologram of his body popped up in front of him.

"Are you constantly irritated?"

Jonathan bristled. "Yes."

"Have you been feeling a little too warm a little too often?"

Jonathan looked down at his outfit. He threw a sarcastic look back up at his grandfather. "What gave it away?"

"Were you recently in contact with what you believe was waking your powers?"

"Considering I still have yet to find the source, I would say no. But since my strength and agility have been increasing at an abnormally quick pace, the answer is going to be yes."

Jor-El nodded absentmindedly. He studied the hologram with such focus, Jonathan was sure that the old man would pop a blood vessel.

"I have a theory," He proclaimed. "You're sensitive."

"Excuse me?"

"Look at Jordan, for instance." Jor-El continued, obviously following a point. "Jordan has struggled his entire life with his social anxiety and there have been more than a few occasions when he had lashed out or had gotten physically aggressive.

"I believe that those reactions were due to his pent up powers. He did not understand what was going on in his body. What he was feeling was uncomfortable, and because he did not understand it, he proceeded to develop mental illnesses. However, now that he understands what is happening to him and is able to channel his powers into a healthier release system, his anxieties and aggression have decreased tremendously."

"So What you're saying is that I should just beat the crap out of stuff until I feel better?" Jonathan snapped back.

Jor-El frowned. "I suggest you find a teacher willing to help you train and control this sudden influx of power and energy."

"Oh yeah, cause goodie-goodie guru of a dad would be willing to train me." Jonathan laughed mercilessly. "Did you know that he won't even look me in the eyes anymore, not after the last time we were here?"

"Haven't there been reports of a Wonder Girl flying in the atmosphere of Kansas?" Jor-El countered. "Oh don't give me that look, my technology is advanced enough to notice when your flimsy and pathetically small atmosphere has unidentified flying people in the air."

Jonathan rolled his eyes but didn't look back at his grandfather. "The last time I saw her, I kind of made a mess of things."

"Well, it's a good thing you feel sorry about it." Jor-El said, rearranging a few pieces of the hologram.

Silence followed. Jor-El paused his work and turned back to face Jonathan. But instead of facing his angry, hormonal teenage grandson, he found a scared stranger. Jonathan no longer radiated his rageful existence. He merely looked straight ahead, zoned out wherever his mind had taken him.