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Jon did not know what to expect when becoming an official Corps Academy cadet. He knew it would be challenging, just like any other school, and had known training would be hard on his body. How hard was the first thing that hit him when Jon began learning the basic training. By the end of them, his arms, legs, chest and... well, everywhere felt sore. His roommate was not helping either.
"How was Drill?" He heard his roommate Cadet Cory Ronald: blond hair, hazel eyes and surprisingly taller than Jon for being the same age and having noticeable freckles. Jon groaned, hearing his roommate laugh. "Welcome to Military School, FNG." Jon moaned again, then barely turned his head.
"What's that?" Jon asked.
" Fucking new guy ," Cory teased before Jon groaned again.
It was a good thing Jon had hung around with Damian for a long time. He was now beginning to understand the meaning of swearing like a sailor . It was practically its own language here, which is ironic since he was sure that was against guidelines. Then again, that was only for cadets in uniform, and no one swore in front of other commanding officers. Among other cadets, however, swearing was used sparingly. Among the higher rankings, if no cadets were assumed to be listening, everyone cussed as often as or more than Damian.
Cory handed Jon a bottle of cold water, which he gladly gulped down. He had his bottles of water he'd refill from a nearby lake but didn't object to any other bottled water when he was hot and tired. Jon knew he'd eventually have to attend breakfast soon.
"Thanks," Jon said.
"You're taking it better than when I was a FNG. After Drill, I took off my uniform and had to quickly put it back on before breakfast . I also made the mistake of choosing the top bunk on my first day. Almost landed on the floor when trying to climb up after training," Cory complimented as Jon laughed, imagining him slipping off the ladder due to the sore muscles. He felt disappointed he only got the bottom, but now he was thankful.
"How long have you been here?" Jon asked.
"About a year. You'll get used to the drills like riding a bike. It's hard, but it's worth it."
"Sounds about right. Grandpa told me I'd get used to this soon. Maybe working at the farm will pay off."
"You worked on the farm? I thought you were from Metropolis."
"I am, but I've only lived there for a little over a year. I've lived in Hamilton for practically all of my life."
"That's amazing! Did you milk cows and ride horses?"
"Yeah, but my parents never owned either. We knew a rancher that owned Bessie. She always gives us the best milk. He also owned some horses."
"Man, I'm jealous," Cory said just before the boys heard a knock, the door opening to reveal General Sam Lane in his military uniform, now in charge of training the cadets in Corp Academy.
"Cadets, it is now breakfast!" Sam commanded as Cory exited, and Jon got up despite the soreness. Though, it never went unnoticed. "Get a move on, it will get better once you get food in your stomach."
"Yes sir," Jon replied, making his way to breakfast.
Ever since Sam's road trip discovery that his grandson was Superboy and his son-in-law was Superman, the elder didn't know what to expect from his grandson in military school. There were some anxieties about whether Jon's powers could activate randomly or anyone could discover his powers. Admittedly, he had been a little worried if his super strength would outshine the abilities of most new cadets when performing drills and training. While Jon did fantastic in drills, the training portion took a toll on his muscles, especially when running across the field and back twenty times. At the very least, he didn't vomit like most cadets on their first day.
Thankfully, the soreness in Jon's muscles mostly went away and became tolerable. After breakfast, Jon continued attending his classes, and then signed up for the Corps Baseball Team. Later that day, he went through some more basic training. While Jon did well with running, climbing the rope and learning to crawl under wires, the repetitiveness often exhausted him and his muscles. He did better than most kids on their first day.
Close to the end of the day, Jon was supposed to have free time before curfew. Military training isn't the only training Jon is expecting to do, and a part of Sam was thankful that he didn't have to make many arrangements. Jon went to a secluded area away from security cameras or watchers to dress in his Superboy uniform. Superman appeared to meet with his son to train him in using his Kryptonian abilities. Whether Sam liked it or not, Jon did need to learn how to control his alien abilities.
"How's your first day? I was watching," Superman asked, hugging his son.
"Hard. I was hurting everywhere!" Jon cried as his father laughed.
"I'd imagine so. I never went to Military School, but Batman's given me some military-based training before. I couldn't get up after all of that," Superman replied as Jon laughed.
Sam didn't comment, but it was a surprise that Superman had any military training, let alone struggled to perform it. Then again, he was still new to understanding these alien abilities . It wasn't like the general had a book on Kryptonian history or biology. He cleared his throat.
"I expect my grandson to be back by nine on the dot. I'm not covering for him if he's late!" Sam stated firmly.
"Yes, Grandpa!" Jon said.
"Understood, Dad," Superman replied, then took off to the sky with his son.
Clark would lie to say the fear and anxiety of his father-in-law finding out about his and Jon's Kryptonian heritage never existed when Jon left. He was constantly trying to find ways for Jon to learn to use his powers while attending military school. The military sounded like something in which Jon would excel. Yet, many military soldiers may view him as a threat when they discover his heritage. Clark had experienced that in more ways than one.
When he heard a rock slide and Jon crying, Clark feared the worst: Sam had discovered Jon's powers. Many fears arose from experimentation, including the possibility of sending Jon back home as the best-case scenario. To his surprise, however, Sam had done everything he could to comfort Jon and let him know that being Kryptonian didn't change how much he loved him. Clark watched the entire scene play out just in case Jon needed him, but he didn't, and Sam continued driving him to Corp Academy.
Upon arrival, Clark and Sam negotiated times for Jon to train with him in space and his diet. Thankfully, the Academy allowed Jon to buy and make his food and gave him free time. Clark would pick up Jon to take him to other planets so he'd learn to use his powers and build up the muscle mass needed for his body. Not that Corp Academy didn't do some work on his muscles. Just because gravity worked differently for Clark and Jon, that didn't mean they never experienced sore muscles if they stretched or used in ways their bodies weren't used to.
"How was school?" Clark asked once he and Jon reached Mercury.
"It was great, though I'm still a bit sore," Jon replied, climbing some high rocks on the planet and then sitting on top of it to look at the stars.
"Yes, that is expected. I hear most kids your age get sick on their first day of training."
"Yeah, that's what I hear from other cadets. It's all the farm work at Hamilton, probably."
"Probably," Clark agreed, looking out at Earth, which looked like a spec where they were and perhaps a star from human eyes. "Is your grandpa treating you well?"
"I think he gets confused at times, but yeah. I once heard him say that he couldn't believe you and Superman were the same person and is kinda relieved to know Superman wasn't trying to flirt with a married woman ."
Superman sighed in relief, then chuckled, "Actually, your grandmother once thought your mother was cheating on me ."
"Seriously!? But, Mom wouldn't...!" Jon exclaimed as Clark laughed.
"Of course not, but Ellen had cheated on your grandpa a couple of times and... I guess she suspected your mother was doing the same. I'm surprised that Mr. White and Jimmy don't suspect that she is cheating on me with Superman . I remember them teasing her about her crush on Superman . Then again, Jimmy once asked me why I never dated Wonder Woman."
"Why would Mr. Jim ask you that? That's... kinda weird," Jon grimaced.
"You'd be surprised about the imagination of civilians, especially when you're living the life of a superhero. It makes me glad my name wasn't as well known when I was with the Legion of Superheroes."
"What's the Legion of Superheroes?" Jon asked, crossing his legs with enthusiasm.
"They were a team of superheroes I met in my youth from the 31st century. To this day, I consider them some of my closest friends. I don't know where I'd be if it had not been for them. Growing up, I never had anyone my age that I wasn't afraid of breaking. Would've been nice if Batman was there at the time," Clark explained, throwing in a joke in the last sentence, which made Jon smile. "I'd have my adventures with the Legion after school. You could say they were to me like how the Super Sons, Young Justice and the Titans are to you and Conner. I was always afraid of being around anyone at my school in Smallville. Then, the Legion came and I no longer felt afraid of being myself, even experiencing love."
"Okay, TMI," Jon cringed as Clark laughed.
"No worries, Jonno, I never went further then a few dates and kisses. I was still a kid back then."
"Still gross."
"And what? You don't think you'll experience it?" Clark teased as Jon sighed, rolling his eyes.
"Dad, is it normal for someone to not be attracted to anyone?" Jon asked, looking out where Earth was.
"Why do you ask?" Clark asked with raised eyebrows.
"I don't know. I've just... never felt attracted to anyone. I don't even want to marry anyone really. I have my friends Kathy, Damian, Maya and Colin, but outside of you, Mom, Grandpa and Kon, I don't have anyone I'm in love with."
Clark chuckled, giving his son a hug with one arm, before replying, "You're a bit young to be worrying about that, Jonno." Jon gazed his eyes away, sighing. "But also, everyone finds love differently and in different ways. It's never a one-size-fits-all. Even Damian hasn't found anyone he loves yet and is about to turn fourteen soon. You might have a crush one day, or you may not find anyone until you're an adult. I'm sure you'll figure it out sooner or later."
"Maybe you're right," Jon smiled a bit, looking up at the stars.
Clark returned Jon to the barracks, where he could secretly change into his uniform, and return to his room without anyone noticing. Sam waited, as expected, watching his grandson return to his room once he changed into his uniform. Clark could see that the general's face filled with questions. He stayed a while to wait for those questions. He knew it wasn't easy for Sam to admit when he didn't know something and had to ask. It was likely about Jon or anything about his relationship with Lois and how it worked.
"Your parents," Sam started, those two words that made Clark raise his eyebrows. "How did they... raise you?"
"Raise me? I suppose like any other parent. I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean," Clark replied, cocking his eyebrows.
"I mean... you're strong, super strong. You can carry the Empire State Building half across the world , you can fly, you can jump over tall buildings in a single bound. How the holy hell could any parent raise... that!?" Sam asked, throwing his hands in the air and then pointing to Superman, who couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh... that... sorry," Clark chuckled, covering his mouth. "As I said, like any other parent. For one, my powers did not come all at once growing up. It was the same with Jon. He didn't learn to fly, or gain his ice breath, or shoot beams out of his eyes until he was ten. I also am not super strong... in a sense. Gravity works differently for me, always has. It's like... It's like if you were to live your entire life underwater or on the moon. Things you can't lift over your head here, you likely will under those conditions."
Sam blinked a couple of times, and then his eyebrows formed an even line as if he didn't believe it. He asked, "And what do you call those muscles ?"
"Farmer's working arms? To be fair, I do train with the Justice League, but beyond that ... mostly farm work. Even though I live in Metropolis, I do help Ma and Pa around the farm. I also train in Jupiter, whose gravity is about-"
"I know, 2.4 times that of Earth. I know my Astronomy, Superman. So, if all that strength is just the difference in gravity and farm work , how strong are you human-wise?" Sam asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
"You wanna know? There is a way you can test my true strength without any difference of gravity deterring it," Clark said as Sam furrowed his eyebrows skeptically. He watched his son-in-law float in front of him, lying against the ground on his stomach with his arms side by side and legs separated. "I think you should know how to lock me to the ground. If I was super strong, it should be easy to get you off me."
"Indeed," Sam agreed, grabbing a hold of Clark's wrists with both hands, then his knees to his calves. This should lock any person in place. However, if someone were super strong, they'd easily fling him off. Just then, he felt Clark struggle to pull his arms and legs off the ground. Sam could feel Superman's raw strength, and... Sam was strong enough to hold Superman down... more robust. Clark was powerful but not strong enough not to be held down by a military general trained for over fifty years. The shock was enough for Sam to scramble off him. "Holy hell."
"See. Pa often had to hold me down like that when he gave me a spanking," Clark said, chuckling, rubbing the back of his neck with a grin after sitting up. Sam was still recovering from the shock of finding out Superman was never as strong as he thought.
"You got spankings too ?" Sam asked. Not that he was against spankings, but the idea of Superman getting spanked as a child did not fit the super-powerful alien that couldn't be taken down by mankind .
"Like any kid with good parents. Of course, they had to use the old lead pipe that got bent into different shapes, but that was because I broke all of Ma's paddles and Pa broke his finger once I turned twelve. Admittedly, puberty brought out the worst in me."
Allowing this new information to sink in made Sam realize that if Superman were to abuse his powers, there would be many different ways to take him down. He could even be locked in an insane asylum without Kryptonite. It made the veteran wonder how many times he had attacked Superman and been genuinely hurt.
"Just to be clear, you and your men often attacked me with bullets. Those can't hurt me. They bounce off me like basketballs. I was more concerned with those same bullets hurting them," Clark clarified, having read Sam's expressions. He showed a slight frown. "Not physically , anyway."
"Physically?"
"Words can hurt. So do actions with the intent of attacking for being different. Even if it doesn't hurt physically, it still hurts," Clark clarified. This resulted in Sam clearing his throat and being reminded of his hunting down Superman for being a Kryptonian threat. He remembered his grandson's words that this man, Superman, had been raised his entire life on Earth.
"Has Jon ever... faced that with anyone?" Sam asked, his expression making it very clear he was referring to anyone else besides himself unintentionally.
"Yes. From both sides. I am Kryptonian and will always love my people, but... they're... purest," Clark explained.
"They don't support your marriage with my daughter?" Sam asked as Clark bit his lip, showing some sadness.
"It's complicated. They excuse it as me having lived and been influenced by Earthling Culture and... Supergirl arriving much later than I," Clark replied, his eyes gazing away.
"Isn't she your...?" Sam asked, as the look on Superman's face told him everything he needed to know. "Right. Right. Purest."
"My parents expected her to raise me since I was taken in as an infant and she as an older teenager. Jor-El was not as purest as most of his people before... you know," Clark said as Sam nodded his head. He frowned slightly. "I did have my adventures with some friends from the future who were Kryptonian, but... I realized my attraction was never for anyone as strong or from Krypton. It's not where I grew up. I love my people and learning about them, but... they're not me . They've never been me . I can never agree with any of their culture or beliefs. Not most of them, anyway."
"Did my daughter know you were Superman when you both were dating?" Sam asked.
"She knew, but I'd often deny it. She's a very smart woman," Clark replied, smiling happily.
"Indeed. It always bugged me she'd trust an alien that would swift her to Timbucktu in seconds," Sam stated, Clark knowing what it meant.
"She was very skeptical of Superman when we first met. I think it was her interview of me that opened her up to trusting me. Though, Lo has told me that she suspected I was Superman the moment her pursuer tried to squeeze my hand too tightly from his strength in the military, only for it to not hurt me. I didn't even know that's what he was trying to do. I also hung around with Jimmy and Lo a lot as Superman, because I was looking for some friends."
"Friends?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows.
"For Superman. He... I wasn't used to so much distrust. Before Metropolis, I used to work around Smallville as Superboy. Everyone was my friend. It felt lonely to be Superman in a city where everyone is skeptical of you," Clark admitted, shrugging.
"And, Clark Kent?" Sam asked.
"He didn't have a lot of friends from his side either... not even now."
"And the Justice League?"
"They're all my friends, but not at first. Batman was one of the first and closest friends I've come to know. We had a lot in common, including not having many friends then, losing family and being judged by others for trying to help. He dresses as a bat, but otherwise, he's the kindest man I've known."
"Could've fooled me by the amount of times I've seen him talk with people and especially the villains he locks away before they break out," Sam said, crossing his arms.
"He's had a hard life. He lost his parents as a child and has never found any closure. He doesn't want anyone to go through the suffering he went through."
"Is that why he recruits children and dresses them like bats or something out of a circus?"
"AThat's exactly why. I'm guessing by a circus , you're meaning Robin. The first one he took was a child acrobat raised in a circus who lost his parents in the hands of mobsters. Had Batman not involved himself, that kid would've been assassinated, and the police paid off to keep their trap shut," Clark explained so calmly that Sam blinked in surprise that his son-in-law wasn't mad when coming to his friend's defense. "The second Robin lived on the streets and would have found himself in Joker's minion group had Batman not taken him in. The third volunteered as Robin to save Batman. After losing his second Robin, he was grieving hard and kept hurting himself so often that I'm sure he'd have died if I never got involved at all. The kid was a trained latchkey kid who knew how to take care of himself and took care of Batman. Bat hates to have to depend on him, but the third Robin agreed to his training to keep him safe. The fourth... was his son he didn't know he had. His... first wife hid her pregnancy from... lied to him actually, then raised their child to become a murderer. Batman tried to raise him to be a normal child, but he kept running off, and his first Robin was the only one who understood this Robin needed an outlet. He gave his Robin mantle to him to help him learn to use all of his anger and former training for good. The current Robin is Jon's best friend and has been the most encouraging."
Hearing this, Sam raised his eyebrows at the notion that Jon's best friend was the current Robin. He remembered seeing a dark young boy, who he recognized as a trained child soldier. Hearing Clark's story of the child, it all began clicking, and the horror of this not being Batman's fault but the fault of the mother made him turn pale.
"I was unaware. The current Robin did come off like the child soldiers I've met in Iraq. The way he acts and moves. You say he was kept from his father?"
"Ten years," Clark nodded. "He's difficult, but... he's a good kid. I admit that I misjudged him too harshly when I first learned about him, especially after he kidnapped Jon. But he's given Jon a friend he can have sleepovers with, confide in and play with without worrying about hurting him. I know I always worried about hurting my friends at his age, and Robin... he knows how to handle a Kryptonian."
"I suppose that's expected," Sam said, smiling slightly. Then, he sighed. "I'll admit, I... might have judged you a little too harshly."
A little too harshly was the biggest understatement, but Clark had learned to take any apology, no matter how small. He smiled, replying, "All of us are guilty of ignorance and misjudging. I suppose I could have been more self-aware of how I'd come across saving Lois as Superman."
"You don't say," Sam replied, lacing with sarcasm.
"I'm... very sorry about the misunderstanding and for being a cause to any tension between you and Lo. I swear that was never my intention."
Sam sighed, "I know. That was my fault more than anything. As a father, it's my duty to protect my family. Failure to do so makes me a failure to my country."
"I understand that. Even now, I worry every moment of those hearts stopping and not knowing how or where. You're not wrong to be skeptical of me being powerful enough to put the world under my thumb. I've... seen a world where I've done that. It still terrifies me to know that side of me exists," Superman admitted, showing bare vulnerability that Sam had never seen in the man of steel.
Had anyone told General Sam Lane that he'd find something in common with Superman, let alone as a soldier, he'd think that person was insane. Yet, they found so much more in common than the veteran ever thought was possible. In the end, Superman is a soldier who has a duty to protect his country, world and family. It might be from a different army under a different commander, but all were soldiers going off to war.
Sam touched Superman's shoulder, saying, "You're doing good, Son." The last word turned Clark's eyes into saucers. Sam smirked as he continued, "I expect you to do your duty: protect this world and family. I don't expect any less."
Superman smiled brightly, hugging his father-in-law with a "Thank you, Dad."
The hug wasn't something Sam was used to, but he returned it despite himself. He did leave out a, "If you ever need any help, I'm just a call or... a fly away. Just don't make a scene."
"Will do," Superman replied, floating up in the air before speeding away in the air. He watched his son sleeping, his heartbeat steady and calm. There was no doubt in his mind that his sleeping son may change Sam Lane, the once unmovable soldier set in his ways. Sam and Lois could finally be father and daughter again.