My Brother's Keeper (a Superman story)

Chapter 35: Familiar Signal

"How're you feeling?"

"Better, for sure" he coughed a bit, noticing some blood in the palm of his hand.

For a nanosecond I freaked out, wondering why he was still coughing out blood.

"Is that blood?"

"It is but don't worry baby brother, it's passing" Clark assured.

"How long do you think it'll be before your powers come back?"

"In a couple of days. But the solar reserves I lent you, will eventually fade and you'll go back to normal."

"I sure hope so, but I suppose my body will absorb more of the sun's energy and at some point I'll have some of these powers."

"In time, as your body is still maturing. Eventually, you'll harness your powers."

"I'm sure I will, though having powers was never part of my life's plan."

"I know it's a bit overwhelming but you're strong, and I know you'll get through all of these changes."

"I guess I'll have to" I sighed.

My brother was pensive and could tell it bothered him I did not want these powers. It was hard for me because while I knew who Superman was, unbeknownst it had been my brother all along, it had all been a secret that my parents and Clark had kept from me.

He and I had made our peace about this matter but it still left a mark. I was still struggling to accept this was our new normal, much how things were now post the pandemic. But I had a bigger worry now, a fear that was growing within me, that was harder to deal with. It was something I had not told him and something I probably never would tell him.

I was afraid of losing him and for some gut-wrenching reason, I had this feeling that something or someone, was going to separate us, again.

In Spanish, the word for such a feeling of something one felt would happen, was Presentimiento, which simply meant Feeling but had a different meaning to a simple feeling. It was like knowing or having a strong feeling that something was, or would happen.

And this was exactly how I felt.

"What happened when you went to Coryana?"

"Weird things...the queen of the island, Safiyah Sohail, was quite intense but was surprisingly willingly gave me the flower."

"The Desert Rose?"

"Yes. She told me a story, of how a group of women traveled to the island in an attempt to escape from their abusive husbands. Only, they would eventually find them, and a bloody battle ensued between them. The spilled blood of the women who fell, caused the birth of the Desert Rose."

"Their blood coming into contact with the soil. I know, and I am also certain she revealed that we know each other and also knows my civilian identity."

"Yes, and she told me that you used the rose on me when I was a kid, when we were bonded."

"I did."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Because you were having a hard time adjusting to being not only a meta-human but also a Kryptonian."

"I still am" I reminded.

"But you're less feisty than you were when I first came back home" he grinned