As Jor-El studied the group, his gaze settled on Axel.
His eyes gradually softened with unmistakable warmth and affection.
This was his son...
Then something felt wrong.
The longer he looked, the stranger it seemed.
Axel's build was comparable to Bruce's and Clark's. Among the four men, only Lex was noticeably slimmer. All three possessed exceptional looks, with Axel standing out slightly more than the others.
Even so, appearance wasn't what troubled Jor-El.
No matter how handsome Axel was, he bore no resemblance to the House of El.
Not to Jor-El.
Not to Lara.
Not to anyone in his family.
Jor-El drew a quiet breath.
Could it be because of the Codex?
Across different realities, the Codex had not always been entrusted to Kal-El. In some timelines, it had been carried by Kara instead. But in this universe, Jor-El himself had placed the Codex within his infant son.
Looking at Axel's unfamiliar features, Jor-El reached an unfortunate conclusion.
Perhaps the Codex had influenced his son's appearance more than expected.
Even if that were true, it changed nothing.
He was still his son.
Jor-El smiled gently and stepped toward Axel.
"You've grown into an outstanding man, my son, and you've surrounded yourself with remarkable friends.
I couldn't be happier.
I am Jor-El, leader of Krypton's Science Council, a member of the House of El, and your father."
He stopped in front of Axel.
"Your name is Kal-El, heir to the House of El and Krypton's last hope.
You've grown into adulthood, and I regret that I wasn't there to watch it happen.
I'm sorry, my son."
His voice grew emotional as he opened his arms to embrace Axel.
Clark watched with moist eyes.
Then he realized...
Jor-El was hugging Axel.
Axel himself had been watching the spectacle in amusement until Jor-El reached for him.
Bruce and Lex froze.
"That's impossible!"
Lex blurted out.
"How could Axel be Kryptonian?"
He had already analyzed both men's DNA.
Clark's genetic structure was unmistakably alien.
Axel's biology, on the other hand, was overwhelmingly human.
Clark nodded immediately.
Exactly.
There was no way Axel was connected to this ship.
Everything had been uncovered beneath Clark's family farm.
Axel glared at Jor-El.
"What nonsense are you talking about?
Who did you just call your son?
The hell with that.
Was dying once not enough? Do you want me to drag you back and kill you again?
You're trying to take advantage of me.
Clark, mind if I punch your dad?"
Before anyone could react, Axel rolled up his sleeves.
His chainmail shirt slid neatly to his forearms.
Then he reached forward and grabbed Jor-El by the throat.
Jor-El froze.
Wait...
Something was very wrong.
He wasn't alive.
He was nothing more than a holographic projection supported by stored data.
So how could someone grab his neck?
Before he could process it, Axel slammed him into the floor.
Bang!
Although Jor-El no longer possessed a physical body, Axel somehow seized the remnants of his existence and drove him into the deck with overwhelming force.
Clark's eyes nearly popped out.
"Wait, Axel! Stop! That's my dad!"
He rushed forward and grabbed Axel's arm.
Bruce immediately joined him.
Together they restrained Axel's raised fist.
"Axel," Bruce urged, "he made a mistake. He wasn't trying to insult you."
At the same time, Lex stepped toward Jor-El and reached out to help him.
His hand passed straight through the hologram.
He frowned.
Then he tried again.
And again.
Each attempt went straight through Jor-El's body.
Lex slowly turned toward Axel's hand, which had somehow been gripping Jor-El's throat only moments earlier.
He swallowed.
"Mr. Jor-El..."
He hesitated.
"Are you actually just a hologram?"
Jor-El looked even more bewildered than Lex.
"In theory... yes.
Although after what just happened, I'm no longer entirely certain."
The answer made everyone stop moving.
After a long silence, Clark tightened his grip on Axel's wrist.
"Axel, he's only a hologram.
You don't need to be this angry.
I'll apologize on his behalf."
Bruce nodded quickly.
"Let him go.
He's not even physically here.
If you ever meet the real Jor-El, then you can settle things with him."
With both of them holding him back, Axel finally released Jor-El.
Jor-El immediately retreated.
To reassure himself, he walked directly through a nearby wall.
His body phased through effortlessly.
Then he walked back through it.
Everything behaved exactly as it should.
Which only made what had happened moments earlier even more incomprehensible.
He had been dead for years.
How had he still managed to get beaten?
His gaze toward Axel filled with unmistakable fear.
Axel shook off Bruce and Clark.
"For their sake, I'm letting this go.
And while we're at it, open your eyes.
You couldn't even recognize your own son, yet you led Krypton's Science Council?
No wonder Krypton was doomed.
Look carefully.
I'm Axel.
Your son is Clark."
He shoved Clark forward.
Clark stumbled a couple of steps before stopping in front of Jor-El.
Looking at Clark, then remembering Axel's words, Jor-El found himself speechless.
He had poured all of his emotions into the wrong person.
Even worse, according to his expectations, Kal-El should have become almost godlike on Earth.
Yet this supposed Earthling had just pushed him around effortlessly.
Could Axel really not be his son?
He glanced cautiously at Axel.
Axel's expression remained unfriendly.
Jor-El instinctively rubbed his neck.
He slowly raised his hands toward Clark.
"You...
Ahem...
I am your father, Jor-El.
You are Kal-El.
Before Krypton's destruction, I sent you to Earth as our world's final hope."
As he spoke, he glanced toward the control console.
The key rested securely in its slot.
There was no mistake this time.
He embraced Clark.
Although Clark couldn't truly feel the embrace, he accepted it as best he could.
After a few moments, Jor-El stepped back.
He quietly observed everyone.
No one reacted.
Good.
He hadn't hugged the wrong person again.
Relieved, he turned back toward Axel.
"I'm grateful that you've stood beside my son.
With friends like you, he has grown into an admirable man.
However..."
His expression became intensely curious.
"I still don't understand something.
How were you able to touch me?
My physical body died long ago.
What remains here is nothing more than a holographic projection created from stored memories.
Strictly speaking, I'm even less than an artificial intelligence.
I only repeat the thoughts preserved within this system.
I shouldn't truly exist.
So how could someone who doesn't exist be physically harmed?
Your name is Axel, correct?
Would you tell me how you accomplished that?"
Jor-El stared at him with undisguised curiosity.
Standing nearby, Clark couldn't help feeling conflicted.
He had dreamed of meeting his biological father.
Now that it had finally happened, the excitement had faded.
Jonathan Kent had loved him unconditionally.
Jor-El, on the other hand, seemed more interested in understanding Axel than reconnecting with his own son.
Clark quietly pursed his lips.
Still...
He wanted to know the answer too.
Bruce and Lex watched Axel just as intently.
Axel shrugged.
"I don't know how I do it.
I just know that if I wanted to, I could drag you out of the afterlife and beat you up all over again.
Being able to grab what's left of your existence is ridiculous.
But compared to everything else I can do, it's nothing special.
You're Kryptonian, Jor-El.
You're powerful.
But you're nowhere close to God.
As for me..."
He smirked.
"I'm a lot closer."
He waved dismissively.
Jor-El stood speechless before taking a slow breath.
"Incredible..."
His eyes shone with wonder.
He turned toward Clark.
"Kal-El, my son.
When I chose Earth, I had no idea beings like Axel existed here.
According to Kryptonian records, Earth was simply a suitable world where you could survive.
It seems fate had far greater plans than I imagined."
"Hold on."
Lex interrupted him.
His expression hardened.
"Mr. Jor-El, you're fully aware of what Kryptonians become under Earth's yellow sun.
Clark, your son, possesses power that could make him a god among humanity.
When you decided to send someone like him to what you believed was an ordinary planet...
What exactly were your intentions?
Was your only goal really to let him live in peace?"
A trace of suspicion appeared in Lex's eyes.
Clark immediately understood what Lex was implying.
He looked toward Jor-El with a searching gaze.
Bruce's expression also darkened.
From Earth's perspective, Jor-El had released an unimaginably powerful alien into a world with no natural defense against him.
Had Clark not been raised by the Kent family...
Had Earth truly been an ordinary world...
Had no one else possessed the power to oppose him...
Then Clark could have become Earth's unquestioned god.
Whether Jor-El admitted it or not, the implication was impossible to ignore.
He hadn't merely sent a refugee to Earth.
He had sent a god.
===
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