One of my many attempts at angst. BTW, I know Clark and J'onn are mortal.... they just live long- and long periods of time can sometimes feel like forever. Has anyone ever told you that forever feels like, oh, sitting all alone inside your mind? Basically the idea I'm going for. Anyone know what that song is? Forget the title...got it stuck in my head, though.

Please review!

Gifted To Live Forever

It took a long time to deal with the fact that people on Earth had a lower life expectancy. Clark Kent, now a healthy 90, stared out the window at the dismal sky. Of course, Diana, in her prime as she would be for all eternity, stood beside him, also staring out the window. And finally, J'onn stood, stoic, beside them. They all stared at the gray, threatening sky, that matched perfectly with all three of their feelings. Diana, of course, had taken it hardest, followed by Clark, and followed in his usual manner of calm, J'onn. They had all three been uninformed until Clark read the article in the Daily Planet, written by the reporter who had replaced Lois Lane's replacement five years earlier. Lois was, of course, also under their gazes as they stared outside.

Clark fidgeted with his glasses, wondering slightly why he bothered. If no one questioned why a man that looked as he had fifty years earlier, except with a few gray strands, then why should they question why he took off the glasses? He looked as though he was in his mid-forties, and no one he had known was often around. Those that were were in homes, like Jimmy Olsen, who had figured it out after a few years. Clark visited him occasionally. He pulled on his tight jacket. Perhaps he should visit him again soon. Sure, he was only in his early seventies, but you never know what could happen to people who don't have a lot of money. Clark didn't have much to give. It was difficult to write an resume when you looked young, yet your parents were dust long ago, and your age presents the idea that wrinkles should be bubbling from your skin, and your eyes should be dull, listless, and impatient for the end.

Diana took a sharp, quick breath, pulling on the strands of dark, black hair that fell gracefully onto her smooth, tanned shoulders. She wondered vaguely whether it would rain soon, or whether the sky would hold it's tears for a little while longer. Her mind tried to conjure an image of herself and the original league, when all of them had been fast, ready, and had morals that they thought couldn't be broken. Morals that, with government and complications, began to loosen. Of course, they still had morals; they still stood for Justice; equality; a utopia of both freedom and peace. But now, they all understood such a utopia could not exist. Even Themiscayra had it's wars and troubles, and Man's world was so much larger, and held so many more problems. Her eyes traced the landscape outside as she rubbed her arm wearily, feeling a surge of desperation and loss of place she hadn't felt since before she fled her original home. A feeling of pain, and sorrow. A feeling of loss.

J'onn held his face unreadable as the winds outside the building twisted faster, and the foundation trembled beneath the strain as the rain began to pound heavily. He allowed his mind to skim over Clark's and Diana's, to make sure that neither of them were too depressed- too full of pain. Both had thoughts of loss, and sorrow, but they did not compare to what had been felt years before, when Wally had been lost in battle. It had been heroic, of course, and perhaps that is what changes things. When people pass in ways of adventure, and terror, the pain one feels for them is so much worse, as they are plagued with 'What if?'s. Of course, this time, there were not many 'What if?'s, because it had been nearly fifty years, and even with all the money in the world, no one but those gifted live forever. J'onn's eyes unconsciously found the stone on the hill. It was not larger then the one beside it, despite the differences in pay. They had been different, surely, but both were the same in principle. Two more stones stood nearby, glistening, covered in the shining water. J'onn held in a sigh, and kept his face stoic. He wondered how much longer it would rain.

FIN

Is this story shorter then the one I bragged as the 'Shortest Story I've Written So Far?' I can't recall...