4 Explaining the Situation and a 'Small' Misunderstanding

Superman, hearing what I said, gave me a glare before turning to Kara who was fidgeting with a slightly red face. He frowned before speaking in a reprimanding tone, "I send you to check on the moon and instead I find you with some random boy on a Florida beach? Would you care to explain yourself, young lady?" he said, glowering over at Kara.

"In her defense," his eyes shot over to me, but mainly unperturbed I pointed to myself, "I was the one on the moon. She was just questioning me," I shamelessly said before realizing that he'd literally just caught us making out.

Gripping the bridge of my nose, I shook my head before flashing away and collecting my clothes. Putting them on I saw Superman's neutral face and had to resist a shiver that wanted to travel up my spine:

I had the distinct impression that I wasn't quick in his eyes at all. Something tells me that he followed each and everyone of my movements, and if I tried to escape...he'd take me down.

My body just told me that. It was indisputable.

"What were you doing on the moon then, Mr...?" he asked, his voice still stern and strict but significantly less hostile than before. Must have had time to get his overprotectiveness under control.

"Fletcher. Jacob Fletcher," I answered with my name first, stepping forward for a handshake but thinking otherwise of it at the last second, "I was up there...to think. My senses make it pretty hard to get a thought in edge-wise when I'm in my neighborhood, so I went up to the moon," I said looking up at the white globe I'd just been on a while ago.

"...And you couldn't just fine a nearby desert or mountain?" Superman asked, though with an understandable amount of sympathy to his voice, "Why the moon?"

Shrugging I gave as best an answer as I could, "Because...I guess I feel comfortable up there. I can relax without having to worry about breaking something or hurting someone, and with what I had to think about, I really didn't want any distractions," I said with a helpless smirk and from his own helplessness in his eyes, I could tell that he knew how it felt.

"If you don't mind me asking, what would force you to go up to the moon to think?" he curiously asked, taking a step closer.

Hearing this question I sighed before I answered, "The thing is, even if you didn't ask, I'd tell you; We have a big problem. My father's race are on the way," I said with what I felt was a suitable amount of dread and anxiety. But Kara just raised an eyebrow at me and Superman gestured for me to continue, so I did, "Remember when...what was his name again...? General Zod, was it?" I asked and despite looking confused, Superman nodded, "Well, do you remember when General Zod came to Earth with a few other Kryptonians? Well...that's happening, but with my father's race instead of Kryptonians. 50 to 60 of them are coming and they don't have good intentions for Earth and humanity..." I trailed off but also instantly felt a weight off my shoulders when I told Superman. Even with my powers, it was nice to be able to rely on someone.

I am still just a 19-year-old, after all, superpowers or not.

Instantly, at the mention of the number of aliens coming and how I compared it to General Zod, Superman's face went serious as he floated off the ground and motioned for me and Kara to follow his example, "Your father's race? Who are they? If you tell me I can search up who they are in the Kryptonian data base."

Hearing the question, I decided that it was innocent enough so I floated off the ground as I gave an answer, "Oh, they're called the Viltrumites, you might have heard--!" before I could finished my sentence, I suddenly found myself pushed into the ground with my arms behind my back. Once my thoughts came back to me, I instantly flexed and tried to get out of the hold but Superman, the person holding me...well, his hands were immovable

"Kal!" I heard Kara shout before she rushed to pull Superman, or Kal as she called him, off of me. But he turned his torso in her direction and she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Stay out of this Kara. You...you don't know what kind of vile race he belongs to. I'm surprised he hasn't already tried to destroy the Earth," he spat out with such...disgust. But there was an equal amount of pain in his tone.

Oh. Oh no.

"Viltrumite," Kal said, his voice spitting the word out like it tasted terrible on his tongue, "Were you sent as the vanguard? Are you planning to be a mole so the rest of your race can take us by surprise?!" he shouted, pushing me harder into the ground while pushing my arm up, and for the first time in my entire life...I felt pain.

"Argh!" I gave a shout before turning my head to look back at Kal's steely blue eyes that looked coldly down at me, my own eyes narrowing venomously as I replied, "I was born on Earth you dick! I don't have any connections to the Viltrumites! Otherwise I wouldn't have told you about them coming to attack, would I?!" I shouted as I did my best to free myself. When I decided that I couldn't push him off I raised my free arm and flexed my hand into the hardest fist I could.

Then I punched down, and through the ground.

As I did that, I span my body with the swing and I got out of the arm lock. But I didn't stop and carried on swinging, and finally, my fist hit Kal's face.

A thundering boom came from the connection, this punch being the hardest punch I'd ever thrown. As my fist hit Kal's cheek, the force created a shockwave that completely destroyed the beach we were on and as he flew through the air, the air around us whipped around like a hurricane and as he went over the water, breaking the sound barrier, the water was pushed aside from the speed of his body rocketing away.

But at the same time...something was happening to my body as well.

As the equal force of the punch was redirected back up my arm, I felt my body learning from the attack. Getting stronger and harder, more efficient with it's energy and movement...it was like my cells were built to learn during a fight. Which, I guess, they are. But I felt my entire body get stronger through one hit than that hour of training I did on the moon.

As I stood, or rather, floated up because of the lack of beach to stand on, I went to rush Kal but Kara got in my way, "Stop! Please, Jacob!" she said her arms spread out as a gesture to block my path, "I'll talk to him, okay?! Just don't fight with him!" she said pleadingly but I had to disappoint her.

"I'm sorry, Kara, but he's the one who judged me based on my race. I'm only continuing what he started," I said before I went to rush him but he suddenly appeared in front of me and before I could even react his hand clamped around my neck.

But what I could do in time was take a very quick but deep breath.

"Kal, stop it!" Kara screamed as she tried to pry his fingers away from my throat but all he did was ignore her as her attempts gave no returns.

"Why are you here?" he asked and I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes.

"I live on Earth you fucking idiot!" I shouted hoarsely due to be choked but still clearly enough to be understood. But he did seem to believe me as his hand tightened around my neck. Seeing the resolve in his eyes, I dug deep and grabbed his hand and fingers with my hands and tried to pry them away from my throat.

He budged ever so slightly which seemed to surprise even him but what he realized too soon was that it was a diversion as I sent a kick up to his temple.

Though to my shock and horror...he didn't even move a step. The ground cracked and the air boomed like an explosion had just gone off but his head on moved slightly to the left, tilting a little.

"All the information was right it seems...Viltrumites, beings of raw physicality. Sadly, they're also beings of war and genocide. Your people have killed more than most races put together," Kal said, his disgust evident, and his words even seemed to shut Kara up, who just looked at me with complicated eyes. All of this made me feel something build up inside of me.

Indignation. Anger. Annoyance.

All of it began to brew until it reached a boiling point...and exploded.

"I'M NOT ONE OF THEM!" I roared as I planted a fist on Superman's face. Then another. And another. I kept punching, and punching, and punching. I kept punching even when I felt my entire arms shake from the pain of hitting someone with such a hard body. I kept punching even when I felt miniature cracks running through my bones and small tears were scattered over my muscles. The only thing that stopped me from punching...was a noise.

The same noise that came from the hologram disk before it started playing the hologram.

"ARGH!" I gave a shout of pain as I quickly stopped punching, just so I could cover my ears from the sound. The sound was a sort of high-pitched pulsating sound which messed with the insides of my ears.

For a human, it would just feel uncomfortable but for a Viltrumite like me...it felt like hell. Like someone had shoved a white hot poker down my ear canal and were poking straight at the pain centers in my brain. It felt like I was having thousands of people screaming right next to my ear. It was debilitating.

The sound only stopped when I heard Kara screaming for Kal to stop, which he did.

I could feel the blood pouring from my ears and I could barely hear anything. I instinctively knew I wouldn't be able to fly for a while - my special inner ear is what allows me and the rest of Viltrumites to fly. Don't ask me how - it's really complicated.

"You shouldn't pity him, Kara," Kal said before dropping me to the ground, knowing that all I could do right now was be a completely shook mess, "Not when his people are one of the causes for Krypton's destruction," his voice was filled with such a ruthless cold that I instantly realized why he was so indifferent and down-right horrible to me:

His people had had run-ins with Viltrumites before, and from the sounds of it...they didn't go very well.

I turned to see Kara who's face was going through all sorts of emotions. But I focused on the ones that came out the most to me.

Shock. Disbelief.

...Disgust.

...Regret.

Those last two had a particular sting to them. I wouldn't say I loved Kara or anything naively stupid like that. But I'd be lying if I didn't feel something for her. An attraction or an innate connection--I don't know what it is. But I do know that her feeling disgust to me, and regret for kissing me...I know that that hurts.

...Today's a real first time, huh? Really, getting hurt sucks ass.

"We'll clean up the Viltrumite's who come, Mr Fletcher. But if I find out you're a part of them, I will find you and put you in a prison you'll never escape," he said before he blasted off. Unsteadily I stood up and turned to Kara. Though before I could say anything or even walk toward her, she blasted off, following Superman.

When I tried to fly, just to test it, my ears popped and I grabbed my ears in pain before grunting and jumping away from where I was.

This day just seems to be taking a massive fucking dump on me, doesn't it? And it gets even worse when I think about how I have to go home and talk to mom after all of this because of what I said before I left.

Because fuck me, right?

Shaking my head as I continued to jump away, I tried to keep a smile on my face as I thought about the good things that happened today: kissed a girl (even if she probably hates me now), punched a guy so hard he broke the sound barrier (even if he's Superman and a well-known hero, which makes me the bad guy), and I learnt martial arts (even if they are martial arts from a genocidal, warmongering race of killers).

What a weird fucking day.