Wow, Dandello! That's some story. Of course you have to wonder how Martha and Jonathan were ever allowed to adopt Clark the way they did. Wasn't their cover story too simple? Wasn't anyone interested in tracking the child? Wasn't there a lot of red tape involved?
I think you gave us a great explanation. I particularly like the idea that Martha and Jonathan were considered "radicals" because of their convictions:
The Kent family was well known in the area for its steadfast belief in equality and fair play.
And because of their beliefs, they had suffered convictions in the other sense of the word:
Only three years earlier, Martha and Jonathan Kent had been arrested for getting involved in a civil rights protest that had gone wrong. They had both served their sixty days in jail and only came home to take care of the farm after of the death of Jonathan's father, Eben. They had missed the funeral because they had chosen to stay in jail with the others who had been sentenced with them.
They had gone to jail because of their involvement in a civil rights protest that had gone wrong. Wow. And they had missed Jonathan's father's funeral.
Most people in Smallville didn't understand. Watkins did more than most and she was sure Eben had understood. He was a Kent, after all. His father had helped escaped slaves get to freedom.
I believe there was a comic like that some years ago. I may have bought it, but I barely read it, because Lois wasn't in it. (I'm hopeless that way.) But I remember the concept that Jonathan is descended from a line of freedom fighters and civil rights advocates. And how perfect it is that the people who would take care of a little space foundling would believe so firmly in the equal rights and worth of everyone. And what perfect ideals to instil in the little boy who would grow up to be faster than a speeding bullet, stronger than a locomotive and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.
The ending confused me a little, even though I could see that Clark and, perhaps, also Lois had travelled back in time to watch Clark's arrival on Earth. Is that scene from another of your stories? I have to confess that I have stayed away from many of your stories, ever since you replaced Lois with a Kryptonian girl who was raised to be Lois. That ruined Lois for me, and if Lois is ruined, then so is the story. You noticed what I said about the comic book I had bought but never really read, because Lois wasn't in it.
Anyway. This was a most fascinating vignette. I loved your portrayals of Judge Amelia Watkins and Sheriff Will Beatty, too. If I got your story correctly, these two bent the law as far as it would bend without breaking to make sure that Martha and Jonathan would be allowed to adopt their little angel.
Beautiful, Dandello.
Ann
