Fluorescent lights flickered overhead.
Ethan blinked against the glare, his vision adjusting to the white walls and beige curtains that marked this place as a hospital. The smell of antiseptic and cleaning solution clung to the air. A heart monitor ticked off his vitals.
Hospital.
He was in a hospital.
Memories of the crash site, the Kent farmhouse, and the confrontation with the family that didn't know him followed. Then the Sefirah. Twenty-two Ethen Kents. Main Body's ultimatum.
Sequence 2 or death.
Three figures sat in the chairs beside his bed.
Martha and Jonathan Kent, not his Martha and Jonathan but close enough to be heart-wrenching, occupied two of them. The third held Clark. Not in his Superman cape, but in a flannel shirt and worried expression, the same man who'd spent the night on a hospital stretcher.
Clark was the first to notice that he was awake, of course.
"Hey," Clark said, his tone cautious but not unpleasant. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I was hit by a truck," Ethan winced. "Sorry. That's actually what happened, so it's probably not the best time for jokes."
"Do you remember the accident?"
"Most of it," Ethan said, pushing himself up against the pillows. He winced as his muscles protested the movement. "I remember the crash. I don't remember... much after that."
"You came to our house," Martha supplied gently. "You were hurt, and you said some rather... confusing things."
"Things like claiming to be your son?" Ethan supplied darkly. "That Clark was my brother? That you should know who I am?"
"Yes," Jonathan said, his tone as rough as ever. "Want to explain that?"
Ethan exhaled slowly.
He could lie. Spin them some elaborate tale about amnesia or hallucination or even a prank gone wrong. He could keep the secret that had defined his previous life, that had gotten him to this point.
But what would be the point? He was in an unfamiliar universe, and if he wanted to live long enough to reach Sequence 2, he was going to need allies and resources. This was a good start, but not nearly enough.
"I'm afraid I'm going to tell you something you're not going to believe," he said.
"We can handle it," Clark said. "Try us."
"I'm from another universe," Ethan said. "A parallel One where everything is the same, except... I exist. In my world, Martha and Jonathan Kent have a biological son. Me. Nine years after adopting Clark, they had me. I grew up on this farm, in this house, with these people as my family. After a violent accident my body got transported here I'm this universe where I don't exist."
There was a long pause. The three Kents stared at him, their expressions ranging from bewilderment to concern to thinly-veiled suspicion.
"The multiverse," Clark said slowly. "You're talking about the multiverse."
"Yes."
"And you're saying that you're from one where we're your family?"
"Yes."
Clark turned to his parents. They shared a look that said more than words. Finally, Clark turned back to Ethan.
"Judging from his expression," Clark said. "He is telling the truth." [A/N: He just read his heat beat but still doesn't believe Ethan so he isn't going to give it away that he is Superman just yet]
Ethan blinked. He had almost forgotten that Clark's enhanced hearing could detect lies through the simple expedient of a human heartbeat.
*Though why did he lie right now? Oh! He doesn't still believe this and thinks I don't know him being Superman*
"That doesn't mean it's the truth," Jonathan said. "Many people believe things that aren't so."
"I can prove it to you," Ethan said, locking eyes with Clark. "In my world, you were found in 1989. Your spaceship landed in Miller's field, two miles east of the main house. Pa used the old Fordson to tow the ship back, since the ground was too muddy for the truck after the rain the night before. Ma wanted to call the authorities, but Pa convinced her to wait until the next day. Just to see what you were, first."
Clark's expression didn't change but his parents definitely did
"They found you in the ship, wrapped in red cloth. Ma held you, and you grabbed her finger, and that was when she knew she couldn't give you up. Pa said you looked at him with eyes too old for an infant, and that's when he knew you were special."
Martha covered her mouth with her hand.
"That's... that's not public information," Clark said carefully. "Not any of that. How would you know about it?"
"Because they told me," Ethan said, gesturing to Martha and Jonathan. "They told me the story of finding you dozens of times. It was my favorite bedtime story when I was little. The tale of the baby who fell from the stars."
There was another long pause. Finally, Clark spoke.
"Some of that information is wrong," he said carefully. "Small details. The tractor, the field."
"Multiverse differences," Ethan said. "The broad strokes are the same, but the details are different in every world. Parallel worlds, after all."
More silence. More calculating stares.
"We should do a DNA test," Clark said finally. "Blood work. A full medical examination. Make sure you're human, that you're healthy, that you are who you say you are."
"I'd expect nothing less."
Jonathan's jaw was tight, but some of the tension had left his frame. Martha looked as if she wanted to reach out and touch him, to make sure he was real, but she restrained herself.
"I'll make some calls," Clark said. "Arrange the testing. It shouldn't take more than a day or two."
"And in the meantime?"
"In the meantime," Clark said, sharing a look with his parents. "You stay here. At the farm. Where we can keep an eye on you."
It wasn't much, but it was a start.
"Thank you," Ethan said quietly. "You have no reason to believe me, no reason to help me. But you are doing it right now and for that I am greatful"
"You showed up on our doorstep, injured and alone," Martha said, her voice thick with emotion. "In this family, that means something."
Ethan's throat tightened. He blinked rapidly, willing the sting from his eyes away.
"Yeah," he said. "In this family, too."
Jonathan stood suddenly. He cleared his throat.
"I'll get the truck," he said. "Bring it around to the hospital entrance." He paused at the door, casting a look over his shoulder at Ethan. "Don't make us regret this, son."
With that, he left. Martha followed a moment later, giving Ethan's hand a brief squeeze before leaving. That left Clark.
Superman stood at the foot of the bed, arms crossed over his chest. He regarded Ethan with an intensity that was almost comical, if the situation hadn't been so dire. It was the look his Clark always gave him when he was trying to decide whether or not to trust him.
"There's more to this story," Clark said.
"Yes."
"The accident. Whatever brought you here. It wasn't just a car crash."
"No."
"Are you going to tell me about it?"
Ethan studied Clark's face carefully.
Sequence 2 or death. That was his goal, the reason he had survived this long. Everything else was secondary, including explaining his strange powers to the Kents. He would tell them what he had to, no more, no less.
"Eventually," he said. "When I understand it myself. I have more questions than answers. Though I think you should already have an idea as to who would come after Superman's brother if his identify got leaked and if he existed, no?" [A/N: He is blaming Luthor for no reason despite knowing it ain't him besides love the game and also trying to make him vigilant which is the main reason]
"I do. Get some rest," Clark said. "When you're discharged, we'll take you to the farm. Figure things out from there."
"Right," Ethan said. He lay back against the pillows.
Clark started for the door, then paused. He turned back to Ethan, his expression unreadable.
"For what it's worth," Clark said, not turning around. "I want to believe you. The things you said, the details, they match up too well to be coincidence. Your heartbeat hasn't lied to me, either and I already set up devices to stop any mind readers on my-our family so you being a mind reader who reader our minds to get this information is close to none"
"That's because I'm telling the truth."
"Maybe." Clark turned around, meeting Ethan's eyes. "But you and I both know this is a little too hard to believe. No normal human should be able to survive whatever happened to you nor survive a multiversal travel like the one you're describing"
And with that, he left Ethan alone in the hospital.
Another universe. Another family that didn't know him. Twenty-one other Ethen Kents scattered across realities. A death wish if he didn't achieve impossible things.
Sequence 2 or death.
Ethan closed his eyes.
Tomorrow, he would start figuring things out.
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Question: What kind of Multiverse travel do you think Clark is thinking happened to Ethan?
Your Answer: