Superman Movieverse Forum

A/N: This isn't my favourite chapter and not as exciting as one I'd want to give you after such a break but I promise you it's necessary. I hope you like it.

Chapter Twenty-Two: For Better Or Worse

--

Evelyn Jones didn't know exactly how much sleep Kryptonians- or their hybrid children- needed, but she'd be willing to bet it was more than Jason had gotten in the past week.

Her fiancée was sprawled across the bed, his hair mussed up and his eyes firmly closed. He'd come home exhausted and barely had time to take off his shirt and shoes before he'd collapsed beside his fiancée. Evelyn had woken when he'd flung an arm across her and allowed him to pull her close.

"Bad night?" she'd asked, concerned.

Jason had opened one eye and muttered, "I was too late," and she hadn't asked anything else, just kissing his forehead lightly and letting him sleep.

She'd been certain she was going to wake him when she'd gotten up but, even though he'd had both arms around her, he hadn't stirred as she'd pulled free and headed to the bathroom to complete her morning routine.

He was usually up with the sun, even though he had to be at work almost a full hour later than her. She took a moment to take in the rare sight of him sleeping while she was awake for a little longer before pulling the curtains tighter to keep out the light and going to appease her rumbling stomach.

Evelyn was a morning person, she had been from the time she was a toddler which had frustrated her parents to no end. She turned the TV on but kept it down low, the news channel they had been watching the night before with Richard and Eric came on. Thankfully they weren't discussing the Kents, although Evelyn knew it was only a matter of time before it came back on.

She felt like a big breakfast today, for the first time in a week, so she was disappointed to open the fridge and find they were out of almost everything.

She made a mental note to go shopping today after work, preferably while Jason was still at work and she could get some alone time. She understood his protectiveness, especially after the last week. But she was starting to crave her own space, even just for a little while.

Yes, she was in danger, but she'd been watching the news stations all week and their were surprisingly few recent pictures of her out there. Her sister's friend had agreed to give her a new haircut on Tuesday as well, and she had invested in a good pair of sunglasses.

"- the latest Superman news now," the voice for the TV announced and Evelyn turned from staring longing into the empty fridge back the screen.

"The Man of Steel's biggest fansite, krypton.com, has posted a message of support for their favorite hero, saying 'Whatever your name is, Mr. Kent, no one here has forgotten all the good you've done for the world'."

She smiled at that, hoping Mr. Kent had seen the message himself. It was good to know some people in the world was overcoming its initial shock and remembering why they'd loved the man in the cape in the first place.

The video played again. The man with the rocket launcher, Mr. Kent jumping in front of it. Evelyn had seen it a million times, she turned back to her search for food. Cereal, they had to have cereal.

"Thank god," she sighed when she opened the top cupboard to find some Fruit Loops they'd bought for Eric. Generally Evelyn tried to eat healthy but she was hungry, there was almost nothing else and Fruit Loops were a good treat for what was bound to be a long day.

She retrieved some long-life milk from the pantry where they kept it for cases just like this- well maybe not quite like this but close enough- and sat down at the table to watch the news.

The show that had been on when she'd gotten up was just finishing but Evelyn knew she'd probably see the same thing on the next show and her suspicions were confirmed.

"We're just about to head to The Morning Show," the reporter announced, "where they'll be discussing, well, what else?" he asked with a laugh, "Superman's secret identity is all that's on anyone's lips right now. See what the team thinks of all the new information we've received over the weekend in just a moment."

She had to get back up to get another bowl, finding the remains of last night's spaghetti cooked onto the rim and when she returned the conversation on the TV was already in full swing.

"Think about it like this though," one of the reporters, called Glen according to the words on-screen, was asking, "Superman has a boss. That boss works for the Daily Planet. Now, what happens if the Daily Planet decides a plane crash will make a better story than a Superman-saving-a-plane one?"

"You can't honestly be suggesting he'd listen though?" The reporter in the red tie, Alan if Evelyn recalled correctly from the last time she'd seen him, asked, looking shocked.

"Well, why not?" Glen retorted, "Let's not forget he's got six kids to support- a difficult task by anyone's standards. Could he really afford to lose his job?"

"He's Superman, for goodness sake," Alan replied, "He could get any job he likes now. And the way the Planet's been selling since this secret was revealed, it's highly unlikely they'd fire him."

"I have to agree with Alan here, Glen," The woman sitting between them, whose name was Jen according to the text that appeared below her face, spoke up for the first time, "Could you imagine the ramifications on the Daily Planet themselves if they did allow someone to get hurt for a story?"

"Well let's not forget the Inquisitor nearly burnt down an apartment block to get this story," Glen informed them, as if it proved his point.

"Those were freelance journalists and the Inquisitor didn't tell them to do that."

"I don't think someone can be entirely someone he's not for over thirty years," Jen spoke again, this time her voice was firm with conviction and Evelyn decided she liked her, "Superman was not a complete act, Clark Kent is a good person and I, personally, have no doubt he will continue to do what he's been doing for the last thirty years regardless of job security."

"Exactly," Alan agreed, "He even says as much in the interview he gave for the Daily Planet." He held up a copy of the already legendary 'Special Edition' of the Planet. "Here he says: 'Clark Kent is who I am, Superman is what I do. I am Clark Kent, that's who I was raised, but that's not to say I'm not Superman either, but when I'm in the cape I'm just allowing a different side of me to come out.'"

The quote made Evelyn smile as she poured herself another bowl. She'd had a very long conversation with Jason about who his father really was after he'd told he the family secret and, although Jason had tried to explain that really, he was both Superman and Clark Kent, and he even had a third name, Kal-El, which he wasn't that fond of, it was Clark Kent he kept coming back to.

"That's who he was raised as by Grandma Martha and Grandpa Jonathan," Jason had told her, "and that's who he is when you get right down to it."

Jen was talking again and she tuned back into the show. "Besides, three of his kids are grown or self-sufficient anyway and goodness knows Lois earns enough to support them all. Remember, they lived on her salary when he was a stay-at-home Dad for two years to his son Dean and the twins, Lucy and Eleanor."

"Making up for the time he lost with the eldest, Jason, perhaps?" Glen asked, raising an eyebrow, his tone clear he was looking for any angle to make Clark look bad.

Evelyn sighed as the three then proceeded to pretend they were experts on the relationship between Jason and his three parents. A sound from the bedroom made her pick up the remote and mute the TV. Jason had enough to worry about today with his return to work, he didn't need to hear again what the world thought of his father's failed trip to find his home.

"Evie?" Her boyfriend called as leaned out of the bedroom. "Were you done with the shower?"

She frowned at him, ignoring his question. "Jason, are you sure you shouldn't stay in bed a bit longer?" she asked, "You don't need to be at work for a while."

"I can't really sleep anyway, now the sun's up," he told her, "I was just going to have a shower."

Evelyn sighed but knew there was no way to convince him to go back to bed now. "I'm done," she told him. "What did you want for breakfast?"

Jason shrugged, "Whatever you're having is cool."

"Cereal it is," Evelyn muttered as Jason ducked into the bathroom.

She had just poured herself yet another bowl and grabbed the newspaper when there was a knock on the door. She ignored it, the police had cleared the press from outside the building and the landlord, who was now back on their side, had threatened to evict anyone that let them into the building.

The sound of a key being put into the lock startled her but she barely had time to be worried before the door opened and her future sister-in-law entered, shutting it firmly behind her.

"Sorry," Sophie apologised, noting her startled look and still dressed in her pyjamas, holding a towel and a bag of clothes, "I thought the door was more polite than the window but then I thought you guys might not be letting people who knocked in either."

Evelyn sighed and allowed herself to relax. "No, we had a few journalists try and bribe their way into the building last week," she explained.

"You too?" Sophie sighed. "I hope your landlord is more forgiving than ours, he's threatened to get me and Dani evicted if they break another window."

"Is that Sophie?" Jason's voice asked, the man himself emerging from the bedroom a moment later, dressed only in trousers and towelling his hair cry.

"Wow, hey! You know what Sophie think is great in the morning?" his sister asked, covering her eyes, "Everyone wearing clothes, especially my brother."

"Yeah?" Jason replied, raising his eyebrows and not making any move to put a top on, "You know what Jason thinks is great?" he asked her, "Having his own apartment where he can wear as much or as little as he wants."

"Doesn't Evelyn live here as well?"

"No complaints from me," Evelyn chimed in, smiling at Jason.

"Fine," Sophie sighed, "I'm having a shower," she told them, heading to the bathroom.

"What's wrong with yours?" Jason yelled after her.

"What'd she say?" Evelyn asked, hearing a muffled reply but unable to make out the words.

Jason sighed, "Dani used all their hot water."

Evelyn laughed. "Nice to have a normal problem, I suppose."

"She's always got an excuse. Doesn't explain the seven other times she comes over every month," Jason grumbled, kissing her lightly before moving into the kitchen.

"At least she said hello this time," Evelyn commented, trying to find something that wasn't about her fiancée's father to read in the paper.

"Well, now she knows you know she doesn't have to hide does she?" Jason called, disappearing back into the bedroom and reappearing a moment later, pulling a T-shirt over his head- to Evelyn's mild disappointment, it wasn't like she had x-ray vision..

"When were you going to tell them I knew?" Evelyn asked curiously, putting the paper aside for a moment. The question had been on her mind ever since Jason had proposed, a week to the day ago.

As much as she had understood his parent's reasoning behind not wanting their son to divulge the family secret, she had also worried he was never going to tell them she knew. It bothered her slightly that she still didn't really know her boyfriend's side of the family, having only seen them on odd occasions like holidays and Jason's birthday. It was even more annoying when she knew it was no trouble at all to go from one city to the next but they weren't allowed to because Jason didn't want to upset his parents.

"Probably at our wedding," Jason replied, shrugging as if it was no big deal. "I mean, they might have figured it out after I told them we were engaged though, they know me well enough to know I'd never ask you to spend the rest of your life with me without telling you everything."

Evelyn nodded slowly, twirling her engagement ring around her finger as several other questions bubbling to the top of her mind. Jason looked at her oddly and she smiled, trying to put him at ease. "We'll never know now will we?" she asked.

"I guess not," Jason sighed. "Evie, I know this isn't easy, and I know it's not going to be easy but-"

"Why did you never save anyone before?" she asked, interrupting him, the question bursting out before she could stop it.

"Pardon?" Jason seemed thrown by her sudden change in topic.

"They-" she held up the newspaper "-have been keeping a tally. 'Jason Kent has saved over a hundred and thirty-two lives since his father was revealed to be Superman and allowed his children, including his eldest son came out of hiding'," she read from the page, "that's in one week," she reminded him.

"Evie..." Jason looked confused. "I've told you before-"

"I know." Evelyn nodded, folding the newspaper and looking up at him. "But I didn't really think about it before. A hundred and thirty-two lives," she repeated. "I just want to know if all those people would really be dead if your father's secret hadn't been blown. I mean, the only reason you, Sophie and Dean are doing the hero-stuff now is because the secret's already out, isn't it? What would have happened to these people if last Monday had just been another day?"

"It's complicated, Evie," Jason replied, pouring himself some cereal. "I mean, Dad was out of action last week anyway so I don't know if those people would have died."

"I suppose, but-"

"All done," Sophie announced, appearing from the bathroom fully dressed.

"What?" Jason asked, looking shocked, "You were in there for like a minute."

She shrugged, "Super-speed comes in handy times like these, especially seen-as I didn't even need to wash my hair." She frowned at them as she sat down. "Did I interrupt something?"

Jason just shook his head and looked at his fiancée. "No, nothing," Evelyn lied, she wanted to discuss it more but she didn't want to do it now and certainly not in front of Sophie. "We'll talk more tonight," she told Jason softly, kissing him to show him she wasn't mad at him, just confused.

"Hello?" Sophie interrupted them, "I'm eating here."

"Hello?" Jason replied in the same tone, "Our apartment, remember?"

Evelyn couldn't help laughing at the two of them. Sometimes she was glad her brothers and sisters couldn't drop by randomly for meals. She got along okay with them but she hardly wanted to see them as much as Jason did his family.

"So, did you hear?" Jason asked conversationally, "Mom thinks she has a lead on who was talking to the press about us."

Sophie frowned. "You know," she started, "I wish no one had tried to kill Ella as much as anyone, but don't you think they're taking this mole thing a little too seriously? How do we even know there is one?"

"I think the information the Inquisitor had is too accurate to ignore," Jason told her.

"Is it?" Sophie asked, and continued as Jason and Evelyn looked at her. "I mean, doesn't it stand to reason that Chris is the youngest so he'd probably have the least powers?"

"How do you explain them knowing that Lucy and Ella had all of Dad's abilities except flying then?" Jason asked her.

"No, think about it," Sophie insisted, "If you read all the interviews Dad's done over the years, and I bet now the secret's out that's exactly what they're doing, he mentions more than once that when he came to Earth his powers happened over time and that flight was the last. Doesn't it kind of make sense that that would be the last to develop?"

"The Inquisitor seemed pretty sure of themselves," Jason replied, clearing in disagreement with his sister.

"Oh, come on, Jase," Sophie sighed, rolling her eyes, "It's the Inquisitor not the Planet. Of course they present it as hard fact. They don't give a crap if it's true or not so long as their crappy paper sells."

Evelyn didn't comment, she knew enough from experience not to get involved in family arguments. The Inquisitor was one of the papers Sophie had bought with her and Evelyn decided to see what was in it today. So far, over the past week, aside from their 'which kids have which powers' article, they had been just been following all the other major news outlets with whatever new information about the Kent family popped up.

But as she pulled it out from under the Metropolis Star, which once again had the iconic picture of Clark Kent's brown suit blown off revealing his blue one, she felt her heart jump to her throat.

Sophie clearly hadn't even glanced at the papers she'd carried over because if she had she probably would be arguing so vehemently against the idea of someone leaking information.

"Jason, did you tell anyone about how only New Kryptonite affects you guys?" she asked slowly.

Jason gave her an odd look, breaking off his argument with Sophie for a moment. "No, I avoided it with the Planet and they didn't print anything."

"I'm pretty certain Dad didn't mention the kryptonite used on Ella was special to anyone else either," Sophie chimed in, "Why?"

Evelyn sighed and turned the paper around to show them the glaring headline in huge letters across the front page of the Inquisitor:

Only New Kryptonite Harmful To Kent Children

Sophie swore loudly as she leaned forward to read the text underneath the picture of New Krypton, the island that had almost killed her father. Evelyn skimmed it quickly, but she already new most of the information. It explained in detail that New Kryptonite was a slightly different form of kryptonite created using kryptonite and stolen Kryptonian technology merged with the sea floor off the coast of Metropolis. It held slightly different qualities to regular, pure kryptonite but until today those qualities had been of interest only to scientists.

"Do you think Mom and Dad have seen this?" Sophie asked after a moment, once she'd finished reading.

"Definitely," Jason said, nodding. "This is really not good."

"You think?" Sophie sighed, "Now anyone who wants to take another stab at one of us has far less chance of getting it wrong."

"Well now do you agree that someone close to us is selling stuff to the media?" Jason asked, raising his eyebrows.

"It's looking more like that," she relented, scanning the article again. "Especially this-" she pointed and read a part aloud- "where it says, 'a source close to the family', in the one about our powers they never said where the info came from."

Evelyn bit her lip, not sure if she should comment but when the question remained unasked she decided to get it out. "Do you have any idea who it could be?"

"Probably none of my or Jason's friends," Sophie stated confidently.

Evelyn and Jason shared a glance. "Soph, I know why don't want to think anyone we know would do that-"

"No, I accept people I thought were friends could do that," Sophie interrupted him, "just look at what Natalie did when she found out. My roommate who stole my stuff and sold it to CNN," she added, when Jason and Evelyn looked blankly at her.

"Oh, right," Evelyn nodded as she recalled the home movies of Sophie that had been broadcast across the world last week. It seemed like a lot had happened since then.

"It's okay, the cops are looking for her," Sophie assured them. "But I was saying-"

"The cops?" Jason asked, looking surprised.

Evelyn's arms started to hurt a little so she folded the paper and put it down on the table as Sophie explained to her brother, "She was living with us but she did go through my personal belongings and stole several of them. We lawyers call that theft."

"Student lawyer," Jason corrected her almost automatically. Evelyn's mouth twitched upwards at the exchange. Jason often told her about how he was worried Sophie was always getting ahead of herself. "But why can't it be someone we know?" he continued, frowning at her.

Sophie shrugged, her breakfast all but forgotten on the table in front of her. "It just seems like it's someone in Metropolis. The Inquisitor's based there, as is the Daily Planet which also got that information, presumably from the same source. I don't know about you but I haven't told any of my friends in Metropolis about any of this stuff. Have you?"

"No," Jason admitted, "but Metropolis is also where Dad lives. Even before people knew Clark Kent's home address everyone knew Superman lived there."

"True," Sophie replied, "but that's why I said likely. Besides, don't you think it's more probable it's one of the twins' friends trying to make a quick buck than one of ours?"

"Everyone loves money," Jason told her. Evelyn was starting to wonder if they hadn't forgotten she was there, they were focused so intently on each other.

"You're a TV star," Sophie reminded her brother, "so are most of the friends you have now. I go to Harvard, and so do most of the people I know, that's hardly cheap. Not many of the people we associate with are short on money. I'm not saying it's not possible. Just that people we know have less motive."

"Spoken like a true lawyer," Evelyn muttered, momentarily forgetting that they could both hear her no matter how low her voice was.

"Thank you," Sophie said with a smile. "Do you think we should go help out?" she asked, glancing again at the Inquisitor's front page.

"Mom and Dad will sort it out, we're talking about the two reporters who bought down Intergang, they'll find this person," Jason said with confidence. "And if they do need us I'm sure they'll call."

"I suppose," Sophie agreed.

There was a lull in the conversation and it seemed like a good a time as any for Evelyn to go. She was getting a tad on the late side anyway. "I think that's me," she announced, clearing up her dishes. "I've got a long day dealing with Mr. Loren ahead of me and that's never fun."

"Is he the one you were telling me about last month?" Jason asked, "The client for the apartment building downtown who can't say your name right?"

"That's him," Evelyn confirmed, "I've got a whole fun day of being called 'Ev-lyn' among other things."

"Oh," Sophie laughed, "I get that as well- in one of my study groups there's this Greek guy who insists on calling me 'Sophia', no matter how many times I tell him there's no 'a' in my name."

"It's annoying isn't it?" Evelyn shrugged on her jacket and grabbed her purse, preparing to leave.

"I'll see you off outside," Jason said, getting up, "that way I can say goodbye without offending my sister's delicate sensibilities."

Sophie gave him a look that said he wasn't fooling anyone and called after them, "I won't listen, I swear."

Jason closed the door behind them and Evelyn frowned at it, wishing she could see through it. "Is she listening?" she asked. She liked Sophie well enough but she didn't want her listening in on private conversations between here and her fiancée.

"She's not," Jason assured her, glancing at, and likely through, the door. "Sophie's generally good with that. It's Lucy you gotta watch," he said.

Evelyn smiled slightly but it vanished quickly as she started. "Jason, I'm sorry about springing all that stuff about 'how-many-people-haven't-you saved'-"

"No," he interrupted her, "you were fine. I wouldn't want you to keep something like that to yourself," he told her, "things are changing so fast and if you have questions you need to ask them."

"I know." Evelyn nodded, "but I was stupid to bring that up," she told him, "You were right, if no one had found out about your Dad then Ella wouldn't have been attacked and he wouldn't have been tied up at the hospital and he would have saved those people instead of you, right?" she explained. "I just..." she shrugged, "it's been a weird week, you know?"

"Yeah," Jason sighed, relaxing a bit, seemingly satisfied with her explanation. "It has."

"Okay." Evelyn nodded, shrugging on her jacket. "Have a good day at work."

"You too... are you sure-"

"Jason," Evelyn sighed, "I'll be fine. I'm at the office the whole day today and I've already talked to my boss about security and the press and all that."

"I still want to take you," he insisted.

"And I still want to go by myself," Evelyn told him, standing on her toes to place another reassuring kiss on his lips. "I'm a big girl, Jason, I can take care of myself. I've got that super-high-tech watch as well."

"I know," Jason sighed, placing his hands on her waist and pulling her close, "but after what happened to Ella... people are out to get us and the people we care about," he reminded her, "and there's no one I care about more than you."

"Don't get too sappy now, dear," Evelyn laughed, trying to lighten the mood, even as she returned the hug. "It's not my photo on the TV and the front page of the papers either," she told him. "I'll be fine- you can't be with me every second of every day and as much as I love you I think I'd go mad if you were."

Jason sighed, accepting he'd lost. "Just promise me you'll stay safe."

"Because being an architect is so dangerous," Evelyn joked, sighing when Jason didn't even smile. "Seriously Jason, I'll be fine." She pulled out of his arms before he could argue again and headed to the lift.

"Love you," Jason called after her.

"Love you to," she called over her shoulder, relieved he wasn't trying to follow. She understood his need to protect her, especially after the attack on Ella made it clear people were willing to hurt the Kents and those close to them. But she didn't know how much more of his incessant hovering over her she could take. She loved Jason but she needed space to breath every now and then.

She also needed time to think. She frowned as she exited the lift on the bottom floor, hoping Jason wasn't still watching her. She had lied before, something she hated doing to him but she hadn't known what else to say and he had enough stress today without worrying about that all day.

A hundred and thirty-two people. One or two she maybe could have accepted, but to know her fiancée could make such a huge difference and had chosen not too?

No, Evelyn decided, that conversation was very much not over.

--

It took all the self-control Jason possessed not to run after Evie and drag her back to the apartment where she'd be safe. She'd been fine going back to work last week but she'd allowed Jason to fly her there and back. He didn't like the idea of her starting up walking to work again.

Evelyn had been more than persistent in getting him to agree, and Jason hated arguing with her.

Taking his own advice from earlier though, he put it out of his mind, still tuned in on Evelyn's heartbeat and alert for her watch signal, but consciously trying to push the worry out of his mind.

"She'll be fine, Jase," Sophie assured him, reading his face. "Right now at least, people are more focused on Dad, Evelyn's less of a target than us or someone in Metropolis."

Usually he enjoyed breakfasts with his sister, particularly if Dean joined them as well, although he did prefer it when she showed up after Evelyn had left and didn't make him act as immature as siblings can be in front of his fiancée. Right now though, all he wanted was to finish his breakfast in silence, do a fly-by check of Evelyn and then get back to his day job.

Thankfully, Sophie either picked up on his unwillingness to make small talk or felt the same way and they finished the rest of their breakfasts in a comfortable silence. Jason enjoyed the peace, aside from Evie, he kept his hearing inside the apartment. He could almost imagine that it was just another day, a normal Monday and he was getting ready to go to work. Monday shows were always good, like Kate always said, kids needed the Monday show to get them through the week.
Kate... he frowned, remembering the less-than-friendly reception he'd got from her on his last visit to set. Tristan had promised to talk to her, he hoped it would help.

"Something on your mind?" his sister asked and he realized his face must have betrayed his thoughts.
He briefly considered grinning and shrugging it off but Sophie wouldn't have been fooled. She was training to be a lawyer after all.

Instead he just shrugged and settled for the truth. "I'm not really looking forward to going back to work."

Sophie looked surprised. "You love your work," she said, "and they're certainly not going to fire you. You said they were even giving you a raise."

"Yeah," Jason sighed, pushing away his unfinished toast. "But... they want me to start using my powers and all that... I just don't think it's going to be like it used to."

Sophie didn't say anything. She glanced towards the muted TV, watching with mild disinterest as the almost over-played video of their father rushing in front of the rocket launcher was shown again.

"It's not like I want to quit," Jason continued, watching the screen with her as a scene of BreakOut was shown- again. "I do love my job, really. I'm just worried it's..."

"Not going to be the same?" Sophie asked, turning her attention back to him. "Jason, nothing's going to be the same. Ever. And some people really need to realise that."

Jason gave her a strange look, prompting her to elaborate. "Haven't you noticed how everyone, Mom, Dad, Uncle Richard even," she continued, "has been trying to forcibly act normal. I mean, since you guys talked at the hospital, Uncle Richard has just been acting like this is any other time he and Eric come to visit you. Like you're not getting stalked by paparazzi every time they step out."

"Have you even been out on foot yet?" Jason challenged her. From what he'd seen on TV, he'd been the only one of his siblings to go out in public over the weekend. Dean said he had as well, but the desert Outback in Australia seemed much better place to avoid press than the streets of New York.

"I've been out," Sophie told him, a tad defensively.

"I said 'on foot'," Jason reminded her. "Meaning covering for Dad doesn't count."

"No," his sister admitted, "but that's exactly why I don't want to. I don't want random people taking photos of me when I'm just out trying to do grocery shopping."

"Sounds like you need to start taking your own advice," Jason told her, getting up and starting to clear the table. "If everything's changed and there's nothing we can do about it, shouldn't we be getting used to it?"

"I don't want too," Sophie said, sounding a lot more like the little sister Jason remembered from primary school than the sophisticated, Ivy League student she tried to be most of the time.

"Soph, you just said a second ago things aren't going to change back so-"

"I know, I'm sorry," Sophie apologised. "I just..." she trailed of and sighed, resting her face in her hands for a moment before looking up. "We talked about this before didn't we? About what would happen if Dad's secret ever was blown?"

"We always knew it could happen," Jason said, nodding as he recalled the few times they had considered this situation could actually eventuate.

"Not like this though." Sophie shook her head and looked again at the Inquisitor headline, proudly presenting a how-to guide for criminals to hurt their family. "Ella getting in hospital, our friends selling us out, me almost killing someone, Dad narrowly avoiding having a mental breakdown."

"We'll get through it," Jason tried to assure her, "even if it's hard right to see the end of it. You know as well as I do that the media lose interest in even the biggest news stories eventually. We just need to hold on."

"I gotta get back to the apartment," Sophie said, abruptly changing the subject. "I've got a meeting with the dean at Harvard soon. See you, Sorry for coming over unannounced," she added as she picked up her pyjamas and towel, her tone indicating she was aware Jason would have rather been alone that morning.

He winced, immediately regretting the thought- now she was actually leaving he realised he had liked having someone else there after Evelyn left. "You're always welcome, Soph," he told her truthfully, "even if you do make me act like a ten year old again."

"What are baby sisters for?" she asked, grinning at him. "Oh, come here," she muttered, dropping her bag and moving forward to hug him tightly.

He returned it gladly, pleased they weren't going to part on bad terms.

Once she was gone he did all the normal things he did before leaving for work, check the doors were locked, secure the windows, turn the appliances off. It was almost relaxing to do something so familiar.

Then, with nothing else to do to put it off, he glanced at his watch and headed to work.

--

"So... you're cool now, right?" Tristan asked with some apprehension.

Kate shrugged. "I guess," she sighed, "I mean, after what happened to Ella, I'd probably look like a total ***** if I was still angry wouldn't I?"

Tristan wasn't sure if he was supposed to reply to that statement or not. He choose not.

"I'm still hurt," Kate warned, shooting him an angry look, "but-" she sighed again, her face relaxing, "you probably know him better than I do, even if his Dad is from another planet, he's still a guy, isn't he?"

Tristan wasn't exactly sure what that meant and he was afraid if he said the wrong thing now, Kate's tentative resolve to make up with Jason would break.

"Okay, you win," Kate announced finally, "I'll talk to him and try to understand," she promised. "Tell Jason he owes you whatever he promised to get you to barge into my dressing room and change my mind."

"Will do." Tristan grinned, happy that they might be able to get through the day with minimal tension on set. He'd had the awkward experience of hosting the happy, upbeat TV show while trying to ignore inter-cast tensions before and he wasn't keen on repeating it.
He looked into Jason's dressing room as he passed but he still wasn't in. He wasn't yet late, but he usually got in early anyway. Then again, Tristan supposed today was hardly a usual day for Jason.

"Tristan?" Speak of the devil...

"Jason," Tristan grinned as he greeted his friend coming down the hall. "I was just looking for you. Kate wants to talk."

"Good or bad?" Jason asked, picking up an envelope that had been left on his table.

"Good," Tristan told him as he followed him into the room. "I spoke to her and she's agreed you had some reasons for not telling her who your Dad was and you owe me some Kryptonian language lessons."

Jason didn't appear to be listening, he was frowning as he read the piece of paper he'd taken from the envelope.

"Jason?" Tristan asked, confused. Jason had seemed upset about Kate's action towards him before but now he didn't seem interested.

"Good," he muttered distractedly, "I gotta go," he turned and walked straight back out of the room.

"What? Jason, wait up," Tristan called, hurrying after, "Holy crap, you are strong," he exclaimed as Jason ignored his attempts to pull him backwards. It was one thing to watch your friend bench press a car on TV but it was another thing entirely to experience the effortless strength and power the twenty-six year old possessed.

"Tristan, I need to talk to the producers," Jason sighed, stopping only once the other man released him. "Have you seen this?" he asked, holding up the piece of paper which Tristan recognised as a copy of the same memo he'd found on his dressing room table that morning.

"Yeah." He shrugged. "We got a few more sponsors, so?" he asked.

"So," Jason said, his tone indicating he knew Tristan understood exactly why he was annoyed, "I told them I wanted to keep my job, I didn't tell them I wanted to do adds for-" he flipped the paper over and frowned, "- Bacon and... milk, really?" He shook his head. "I loved this job," he sighed.

Tristan was startled. "Loved, as in the past tense?" he asked, "Jason, I know it's been kinda hectic-"

"You have no idea!" Jason exclaimed suddenly, "No one here does. They just think, 'oh, great, Jason's Dad is Superman, now he's even more famous as well and look, he can also fly, quick, let's call every advertiser ever and sell him out'."

"They're not selling you out," Tristan told him, wincing when Jason raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "Okay, maybe they're trying to... a little. But they can't if you don't let them. I mean, do you know how famous you are right now? We're all getting pay-rises thanks to you and I'm pretty sure you'll be able to put whatever the hell you like in your contract."

"I just..." Jason stopped abruptly and Tristan narrowly avoided walking into him, which from what he'd seen Jason do on TV, probably would have hurt. "I want this job but... I don't want people to think I'm using my powers to make money or something."

"Who cares what other people think?" Tristan asked with a laugh. "Right, you do," he muttered as Jason gave him an annoyed look. "Look, everyone uses their talents to get ahead in life, in their job."

"Not everyone has my... talents," Jason said, looking down at the memo again.

"You're right," Tristan agreed, nodding, "not everyone can relate to kids as well as you do, not everyone has what it takes to host a live television show in front of an audience five days a week."
Jason just raised an eyebrow.

Tristan sighed, "And, of course, not everyone's Dad's from a different planet and not everyone can fly and juggle cars but you got this job long before anyone knew that and long before they tried to get you to use your secret super-powers to draw in ratings."

Jason nodded slowly and turned to go back to the dressing room. Tristan took this as a good sign. "Anyway, this is the first day you've been back since everyone found out about your Dad," Tristan reminded him, "you don't even know what it's going to be like."

"I guess," Jason sighed, sitting back down in his chair. "Sorry," he muttered, running his fingers through his hair, "you're right, I'll give it a go before I decide anything. I just had a strange morning and Evie's by herself at work all day..."

"I know, well, no I don't- not really- but... You know, I'm here for you, man," Tristan muttered, a bit awkwardly but truthfully.

Jason didn't reply.

"I'm going to hair and makeup," Tristan said after a while, "I'll see you there," he said, trying not to leave an doubt in his voice.

"See you," Jason called as he walked out the door.

Tristan was well along the hallway when he started grinning. He was on a roll today.

--

"Good morning, sir."

The man known only as Smith nodded his acknowledgement of the greeting. "How are we doing?" he asked, not bothering with formalities.

"All set up," the man who'd greeted him replied, swinging the screen of the computer he was working at around so that Smith could see the live feed from the cameras. "Four cameras, poorly hidden and marked just like you asked."

"Good." Smith nodded and was about to make another enquiry but the man, who'd only ever given his name as Harris, had been hired for a reason and supplied the information without being prompted.

"The Pearson brothers accepted the contract. Miss Muldoon will see the cameras and hopefully guess we're watching, but she won't see the real watchers. Should keep her in line but Joe's agreed to take her daughter for a ride around the block after school if she shows any signs of talking to the cops."

"Excellent," Smith said, pleased with the work Harris had accomplished in the time he'd being having lunch with Tracey.

Harris continued to tap away at his computer as Smith went over to the large table that occupied the majority of the space in the small living room. Various newspapers were spread out on top of it. All from the past week and all relating to specific information about the Man of Steel. Namely, his children.

Smith frowned as his eyes rested on two separate articles in the Inquisitor. "How far are we on confirming the claims in the Inquisitor?" he asked. So far they had been the only paper to have any of the sort of information he needed in it, if it was true. The Daily Planet had the most exclusive and reliable information of course, but they seemed to be remaining loyal to their employee and not publishing anything that could be used against Mr. Kent or his family. Which was precisely the sort of information Smith needed.

The tapping stopped as Harris replied to his question, "I enquired about the article regarding their powers and they stonewalled me, after the claim about the types of kryptonite though I sent Black to the office."

"Has he returned?" Smith asked, trailing his hand over the bold face font of the words 'Only New Kryptonite Harmful To Kent Children'.

"Not yet, if their source is reputable we don't want to scare them so he's taking a subtler approach than usual. Hopefully if this is true, we can set up someone inside the paper to get the information we need from them."

"Good idea." Smith nodded, once again impressed at Harris' initiative. If he wasn't so vital to their current operation he would have hired someone to remove him so he wouldn't be a threat. He made a mental note to look into that after the operation was complete. "Anything new with Mike Baker?"

"He's recovering from his injuries," Harries said, bringing up a patient chart on one of his computer screens. "He's also talking to the police- a lot. He's openly admitted to attempting to kill Eleanor Kent, which puts her sister on firm legal ground. She may have even been within her rights to kill him. MPD has dropped all charges against her."

"Has he given the name of the supplier?"

Harris shook his head. "He doesn't even know himself. Black says it was his friend Logger, and you know how careful he is with names."

Smith nodded. "Isn't everyone? Does he have any more?"

Harris shook his head. "Not sure- got in touch with him and he wouldn't admit to anything. Although, he did say that it would be hard to tell between the normal stuff and the New K without actually being the one who went into the harbor to get it."

Smith's face never betrayed his emotions, but inside he was frowning. His plan was dependent on a fool-proof way to keep the half-alien children of Superman and Lois Lane subdued for a significant period of time. If the information in the Inquisitor was solid, and the current evidence seemed to say that it was, then New Kryptonite was the best choice and the normal stuff would be usless. However, any form of the glowing, green rock was reasonably hard to get hold of unless, like Mike Baker, you just got lucky.

Smith didn't like relying on luck.

"Can you track down the stuff the military collected from the harbor?" he asked after a while, remembering the massive operation the Navy had pulled after criminals began hiring diving equipment to get the precious mineral left behind by Luthor's continent.

"I'll try," Harris promised, making a note of it.

"Don't try, do it," Smith ordered him. "And don't forget to book the Thomas family into the Hilton next week."

"Of course." Harris nodded obediently. "Susan, Bernard and their son... Hayden," he recited, glancing at the fake birth certificates on the table. "Will any of their cousins be joining them?"

Smith considered for a moment. If they couldn't secure the kryptonite needed then too many false identities would increase their chances of getting caught, but if they did, then he wanted to keep his options open. "Just seventeen year old, Jamie," he decided. If Harris was really as good as he claimed though, there would be no investigation into the Thomas family at all and Robert would remain completely outside suspicion.

Smith didn't like relying on other people.

--