Superman Movieverse Forum

Chapter Ten: The Same, But Different

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"And remember, if anything happens, I'll be listening okay? So just call," Dean instructed his younger brother.

Chris glanced up at his sisters in the corner of the office, looking at him worriedly and then to his principal Mr. Randall who gave him an encouraging smile.

"Okay," he said, turning back to Dean and smiling somewhat nervously. He had woken up this morning feeling like any other morning, despite the big news yesterday, but now the way his usually quiet and calm big brother was acting was making him almost scared.

"Don't worry Mr. Kent," the principal assured him, "I've called in extra security to keep the cameras away and all the teachers have been told to contact police if they think any of the kids are in danger."

"Thank you," Dean nodded to Mr. Randall. "And you just try and have a good day," he told Chris, ruffling his hair, before leaving with Lucy and Ella.

"Well, off to class then, Christopher," Mr. Randall said as if it was any other morning and they hadn't just been discussing how to stop paparazzi from getting into the school.

Chris wasn't about to argue- he just wanted to see his friends and get back to normal. "Bye, Mr. Randall."

He hurried to class, even though Mr. Randall had given him a note, Miss Dally always glared when someone was tardy. He slipped in just as the bell rang and hurried over to table 4, noticing a few more empty seats than normal.

"Where's Jane?" he asked as he realized one of the vacant seats was at his table.

Tommy shrugged. "She's probably sick."

"No she's not," LaTanya whispered, leaning over the table conspiringly. Her friends leaned closer to hear as Miss Dally began the roll-call. "Her Mom called mine last night and asked if I was coming today. Jane had to stay home because her Mom doesn't want her coming with all the cameras."

“Yeah but Chris came and they’re here because of him,” Tommy pointed out.

“Yeah,” LaTanya nodded and Chris started to feel uncomfortable as they both turned to look at him. “Because everyone thinks your Dad’s Superman.”

"Is he?" Tommy asked excitedly.

But before Chris could say anything Miss Dally interrupted, "Table 4, do you have something to share with the class?"

"No, Miss Dally," LaTanya and Chris chorused but Tommy wasn't about to let his question go unanswered.

"I was asking Chris if his Dad really was Superman in glasses," he explained.

"My Mom thinks it's just a hoax," LaTanya spoke up.

"What's a hoax?" someone from table 1 asked.

"That Chris's Dad is really Superman," another voice called back.

"No, what does 'hoax' mean?" the other voice called back. Miss Dally frowned but suddenly the questions were coming think and fast.

"Chris, can you fly?"

"Can you do that thing with your eyes?"

"Do you have your own cape?"

"Did your Mom know your Dad was Superman?"

"Quiet," Miss Dally's voice cut sharply though onslaught and silenced the curious seven year olds immediately. Miss Dally hardly ever raised her voice but when she did the children knew it was serious.

The young teacher returned to the front of the class and sighed. "I know you're all excited about all the cameras outside and that Chris's Dad was on the news last night but that is no excuse to forget our manners." She swept her eyes across the room and several of the kids looked away in shame.

"Good." She nodded when no one said anything. "Now, there may be cameras outside but today is a school day and, like any other school day, we have schoolwork to do. Now everyone get out your books, please."

The class groaned as they pulled out their pencils and exercise books but Chris could still feel them looking at him. He wished he had his Dad's hearing so he knew what they were all muttering about.

Miss Dally was wrong, Chris knew that today definitely wasn't like any other day. Things might still be the same but in an odd way they were very different.

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Lucy couldn't help feeling a thrill as they flew high over the school gates and she saw the flashing cameras and media gathered outside. And all because of her- well, her and Ella, but looking at her sister's expression Lucy could tell she was the only one excited about it.

She frowned at her sister as Dean took them down. Her expression wasn't just upset or annoyed it was something else that Lucy couldn't make out. She shook her head as they landed, Ella had always acted odd about their Dad's 'secret identity' thing but Lucy never really paid it much attention- maybe she should have. It might explain why her sister was being so mean to everyone all of a sudden.

"Well, I'd better be going," she chirped brightly when it became evident they weren't going to get the same welcoming party of the principal and security guards that Chris had. "Have a good day," she said , kissing Dean on the cheek, "Thanks for the lift." She turned and ran into the buildings, using only a slight burst of super-speed to get her to class quicker, trying to get away from Dean and Ella quickly.

Lucy may have been Ella's twin- but if anyone was capable of finding out what was eating her sister- it was Dean. She only hoped he realized that himself.

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Lucy didn't need to worry.

"Do you want to talk?" Dean asked Ella when she made no move to follow her sister.

"No," she snapped, "I don’t want to talk, I just want to go to class," she said firmly but a moment later she found herself standing in the same spot.

"C'mon," Dean sighed, grabbing her around the waist and shooting up into the branches of a tall tree at the other end of the field. He set them down in the top branches, hidden from the ground and prying eyes. Ella had had her speed from the time she was eleven so saw clearly what was happening rather than an incomprehensible blur, however it still took her by surprise.

"Dean!" She shrieked, pushing herself away from him and clinging to a branch behind her. "What are you doing?"

"Taking us somewhere you can talk," her brother explained simply, leaning casually against the trunk.

"I said I don’t want to talk." Ella glared at him. "Take me back now," she ordered, but even to her the words sounded weak.

"Ella, there's nothing stopping you," Dean pointed out.

"I can't fly yet, remember?" Ella rolled her eyes.

"Nothing's going to hurt you if you jump," Dean said gently, "you could even just climb down at super-speed If you really wanted to leave you would have already." Ella put her arms around herself an refused to look at him. "Ellie," Dean sighed, "I don’t like seeing you unhappy, please tell me what's wrong."

Ella looked at him for a long moment, she hated it when he was right. Finally she sighed. "Every time I think I know you…" she muttered, shaking her head, "You know, talking about feelings and crap like that is something I'd expect from Jason, not you," she said, making Dean laugh.

"I think Jase has his own problems to deal with at the moment," he told her, "and clearly you're dealing with something as well."

Ella sighed and stared at the ground, she half-hoped that if she closed her eyes tight enough when she opened them the world would be back to normal. Normal she thought as tears sprang into her eyes now there’s a joke. She looked back up at Dean who was still standing across from her with that ridiculously patient expression on his face.

"Ella?" Dean asked when he saw she was crying, he actually sounded concerned. Ella couldn't really blame him- the last time she'd let anyone see her cry had been at her fifth birthday when Lucy had blown out all the candles by herself- they'd had separate parties ever since. "Are you okay?"

"No," Ella sobbed, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. "Why would I be okay?" she asked, her voice rising in tone, "Why in the hell would I be okay after a day like yesterday?" she yelled at him, feeling all the stress of yesterday bursting out towards her brother. "Do you know, I looked up the internet last night and I already have my own Wikipedia page, and you know what it says?"

Dean remained silent as she continued. "It said: 'Eleanor Kent is the youngest daughter of Clark and Lois Kent and the fifth possible Kryptonian-human child' then at the top it's got one of those 'this is a developing story' things.

"Don't you see what this means?" she asked, glaring at him when he remained silent. She loved Dean, she really did but sometimes he could be so dense.

Ella continued to glare at him through her tears, she was so upset she could barely talk, she tried to get herself under control as Dean frowned in confusion over the sudden outburst.

"Is it because they only said possible Kryptonian-human?" he asked, "El, it doesn't matter what the internet says. I think the fact that you got run over by a tractor when you were eleven and came out unharmed is proof enough you're Superman's daughter. And you know as well as I do Mom would never cheat on Dad so -"

"It's not that," Ella cried, stamping her foot so hard she felt the branch crack below her. She adjusted her weight as she continued, "It's nothing to do with that- except kinda-" she corrected herself, stumbling over her words. "But I don't want to tell you," she said, wiping her tears, "you wouldn't understand." None of her siblings would understand, she realized suddenly. And she certainly couldn't risk what she had to say getting back to her father, it would hurt him too much and, contrary to her behavior last night and that morning, that was the last thing Ella wanted.

"I can listen," he offered, clearly not dissuaded. If her sudden interruption and babbling about what she'd read on the internet had confused him he didn’t show it, "I'm a good listener."

"I'm going to be late to class," Ella said, changing the subject suddenly. The sick feeling in her stomach that had persisted since her Dad had picked her and Lucy up from school was still there and growing tighter but the last people she wanted to tell were her brothers and sisters.

It wasn't that she didn't like talking to them, she was always shocked when her friends said they hated their siblings. Sure her family fought, all families did, but they would always stick together when times got tough. And Dean was a really good listener. She looked towards the school gates, still packed with cameras and lights and realized times probably wouldn't get much worse than this.

She sighed. "Dean?" she said softly, feeling strangely calm now even though her cheeks were still stained with her tears. "If I tell you something, will you promise not to tell Mom or Dad. Especially not Dad," she warned.

"I promise," Dean replied without hesitation. Ella had no doubt he meant it, Dean, like all men, had his flaws, but breaking a promise was not one of them. Especially not to a family member.

Ella nodded. "Good," she said quietly. She took a few shaky breaths and looked behind her, narrowing her eyes slightly until the walls of the school dissolved and she could see right into her first class. Kim was looking from Lucy to Ella's empty chair and back, clearly wondering where her friend was.

Lucy seemed to be holding court in the classroom, with most of the students ignoring the lesson, which had started a while ago, and instead focusing on her sister. Ella withdrew her vision and looked back at her brother. "Do you know what Lucy said just before Jason came to get us?" she asked, "she said she was happy everyone knew because now she'd get to be famous."

Dean smiled but didn't comment, Ella rolled her eyes, Lucy had been making herself the center of attention from the moment she was born. Her reaction hadn't really come as too much of a shock. "But you know what else this means? It means everyone knows we're not human. Everyone knows I'm a half-breed," she muttered bitterly.

“Pardon?” Dean asked, looking shocked. Ella felt a brief, somewhat inappropriate flare of triumph- not many things could surprise her brother.

But the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach quickly returned as she tried to explain. “I'm sorry," she said, almost wishing she could take back the words, "but I never felt like I could say anything- I mean you guys are the same and if I told you…" she trailed off as Dean frowned at her.

"What are you telling me?" he asked, still looking rather thrown by her statement. "That you're ashamed of being Kryptonian or something?" he asked with a slight laugh, as if it was ridiculous to even contemplate.

"Don't laugh at me," Ella snapped, glaring at him and trying to fight back more tears.

"I'm not…" Dean trailed off before taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry, but what are you saying?"

Ella looked away, the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach growing, she hoped she didn't throw up. "I just…" she sighed, trying to find the right words, "The thing is, Mom's fully human, like 6 billion others on the planet, and Dad's fully Kryptonian. But we're not either of those- we're just stupid half-breeds."

"Half-breeds? Ella, no one has ever called us that," he assured her.

"We'll thanks to Dad's stupidity they will now, won't they?" She continued to glare at him, daring him to disagree.

Dean frowned, he wasn't naive enough to think everyone would just accept them as hybrids of two species. "Well…" he said slowly, "I guess I can see how you could feel that way about what you- we- are. Wait-" he looked up suddenly "-is that why you’re always so reluctant to use your powers?” Dean’s eyes widened in realization and Ella shrugged.

“Kinda,” she admitted, wishing he would stop staring so intently at her. “Stop looking at me like that,” she snapped, getting annoyed with him now.

“Like what?”

“Like-“ Ella shook her head, trying to pin-point exactly what was bugging her- “Like I’m a stranger. Like I’ve just told you I was adopted or something. Like you don’t even know me.”

“Well I almost feel like I don’t,” Dean said, turning away to look towards the school, “how long have you felt like this?”

Ella shrugged, trying to remember the first time she’d known she wasn’t the same as her friends. “A while.”

“A while?" Dean turned back to gape at her again and Ella was staring to feel uneasy. She had been hoping Dean would handle this with the same calm and understanding way he handled everything in life but apparently she was mistaken. "I've never- Why didn’t you tell anyone before?” Dean asked.

Ella shifted uncomfortably. "How was I supposed to tell you I'm ashamed of what I am when you're the same?" she asked quietly, "how was I supposed to tell Dad that I didn't like him being a part of me?"

"You're ashamed of him?" Dean asked quietly, looking at her like she was crazy. "Ellie-"

"No!" Ella protested, "I love Dad, I don’t care where he comes from," she told him, trying desperately to make him understand. "But even he walked around for years pretending to be a human- to be normal. What was I supposed to think? And I'll- we'll- never be normal," she explained, "we're not human and we're not Kryptonian either, we don't fit anywhere and now, thanks to him, we can't even pretend."

"Ella I don’t understand." Dean looked at a complete loss, his normally stoic demeanor had completely dropped, replaced with an expression of utter disbelief.

"I know," she muttered bitterly, "that's why I didn't want to say anything." She shook her head and tried once more to explain. "Dean, don't you get it? Dad doesn't think it's normal either, why else would he have a secret identity? He wants to be human." Even as Ella said the words she knew deep down they weren't entirely true. But she could help it, she had to explain why she felt this way, she had to stop Dean from looking at her like she was a stranger.

"But…" Dean shook his head as he gaped at her. "That's not… that's not why he wanted to keep it a secret at all, Ella-"

"I knew I shouldn't have told you," she interrupted. "I told you I didn't want to talk, you should have just let me go to class." Dean didn't try and stop her as she leapt out of the tree, falling gracefully to the ground and landing with a small thud. She looked up to where she could see her shocked brother leaning against the trunk. "You promised," she reminded him before sprinting across the field so fast she was almost invisible to the onlookers and the few that did notice something amiss shrugged it off as a trick of the light.

Dean remained in the tree a moment longer, before shooting into the sky and heading toward the Daily Planet. He'd promised not to mention anything to their father but Ella hadn't said anything about the others, and Dean knew he'd need all the help he could get if he was going to make his sister see how wrong she was.

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