Author: Juniper11

Series: Blue

Story setting: This occurs between AMIG & AWW

Story title: Just a Man

A/N: I don't really like this story but since the Superman movie is coming out in a week or so I thought I'd post it. I'm so excited about this movie. I hope it'll be better than the last...

Clark disappeared.

It was a rainy day in April when he left. She didn't realize what happened on the first day. She just thought that he went to work a little early because he had something important to do. However, when she made it to the Planet he wasn't there. That didn't mean much because he could have been out covering a story.

She didn't ask anyone questions because she figured that when she got home, she'd find a note that she overlooked. That wasn't the case. She came back home to a strangely quiet apartment. It was around then that she started to worry. She was all alone in a strange world – and that was scary enough. When the one person she was starting to trust disappeared...

The one person she was learning that the world counted on was gone made her uneasy.

She didn't have a way to contact anyone she knew in the Justice League. She wasn't a member...even if she was beginning to think that soon she'd be an honorary one. Regardless that wasn't the case yet so all she could do was sit alone and worry.

She watched CNN for news of Superman. Maybe there was a mudslide in Malaysia or an earthquake in California that would explain his sudden disappearance.

There was no news of Superman.

When she went to work the next day she asked Jimmy discreetly if Clark would be in today because she had a 'question' that she wanted to ask him. So when Jimmy told her he had taken a leave of absence, she had been stunned. She was thankful that no one in the Planet knew that they were living together. Clark hadn't wanted any unsavory rumors spread about her or at least that's what he claimed. She realized then that it had been a good idea because she should have been the first person to know that he was taking a leave of absence. While it was technically true that he didn't owe her anything she was still staying with him until Diana returned for her. The least he could do was let her know...

Almost a month had passed and she still hadn't heard any news. She was about to move into full-fledged panic mode when Diana finally showed up.

"I need your help."

Sakura yelped and jumped to her feet. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't heard her come in.

"Diana you're back!"

It was then that Sakura noticed the pinched look on Diana's face. Dread formed in the pit of her stomach. She had seen that look before. She had been awakened in the middle of many nights to learn her teammates were in the hospital hanging on by a skin of their teeth. A cold sweat broke out on Sakura's forehead. Somehow she knew automatically that it had something to do with Clark.

"What happened?" Sakura immediately began moving to her room to get her medic bag knowing that Diana would follow. She began firing questions over her shoulder. "Where is he? How bad is he hurt? What condition was he in when you left?" A hand on her shoulder stopped her briefly from grabbing things, but she pushed it off her with mounting irritation. She didn't need anything to slow her down from getting to Clark. He needed her.

"Sakura! Listen!" Sakura paused briefly and looked at Diana. "He's not injured physically."

The words filtered through Sakura's brain alleviating some of the panic within her. He was fine. He was alive. She could put away the jaws of life. Sakura took a calming breath. "Oh. Then what did you need my help with?"

"Sakura...has anyone told you about Lois?"

"Only that she was a reporter at the Daily Planet. A good one from what I hear."

"Sakura, Lois was the love of Clark's life. They were the best news team the Planet ever had. Only...she didn't love him. She loved Superman."

Sakura blinked slowly trying to process that information, but it didn't quite compute. "That makes no sense. Clark is Superman. You can't love one without loving the other unless...wait. You mean she didn't know?" Diana shook her head. "How could she not have known? Don't tell me she was fooled by his stupid glasses? That is the worst disguise ever—and believe me, I've seen some terrible ones."

"Sakura, that's neither here nor there. The point is Lois died about three years ago. The anniversary of her death was three weeks ago. She was killed by one of Superman's enemies."

Sakura was stunned into silence. It explained a few things. The weeks before his disappearance Clark had become short tempered and irritable which was odd considering she was learning that he was a very patient man. He lost the love of his life. She had a little experience in that arena so she supposed she could guess how he was feeling at the moment.

"Okay, so what do you want me to do about it?"

"We believe he's holed up in his fortress in Antarctica. I want you to come with us and try to lure him out."

Sakura had no idea what they would do once they lured him out. He was Superman after all. What could they do to him? He'd hear them coming from a mile away.

"What do you want me to do?"

"I saw Tsunade use a technique once called gen..."

"Genjutsu."

"Yes, she used it to get in and out of places that she never should have been in the first place."

Sakura chuckled. That was her master. She sobered quickly since she really didn't have a choice. They really had no understanding of ninja techniques. She couldn't use genjutsu to sneak up on Clark. She had to be close to him physically in order to use the technique, but he'd hear her heartbeat before she had the chance to and it was likely that he wouldn't allow her to do anything to harm him. He was Superman. Still, she didn't have the heart to break it to Diana that her plan was dumb. She would have told Clark, though, because it would have annoyed him and he would have tried to pretend that it didn't.

"And what are you going to do once I've lured him out?"

"I want to convince him to come home. The world needs Superman."

Sakura didn't say that Superman needed time to grieve and the world needed to respect that, but she thought it.

"Okay, I'll come."

"Thank you. I thought I was going to have to send Batman in after him and that wouldn't have been pretty."

"What can Batman do to Superman?" Sakura asked curiously, noting Diana's lips flattened into a thin line. She knew then that there was something that she wasn't being told probably because she was an outsider. "He can do enough." Sakura would have questioned that, but Diana interrupted her with a, "dress warmly."

It was cold. Sakura had experienced extreme cold before in Snow Country but this place was completely different. Different as in a million times worse. A cold breeze blew into Sakura's face, making her miserable.

"How much further?" Sakura asked Diana as they trekked forward. She didn't think they had even been walking five minutes yet, but the question came out of her mouth unbidden like some annoying little kid.

"It's not far. Batman brought us as close as possible."

She opened her mouth to ask her to fly them the rest of the way, but she supposed she had her reasons for not doing that in the first place. Or at least she hoped she had her reasons because otherwise she was going to be pissed.

"Look, it's there!" Sakura blinked, trying to focus on where Diana was pointing. When her eyes finally adjusted to the snow blowing in her face a gasp escaped her lips.

It was amazing.

She had never seen anything so grand—not even when she visited Snow Country. Not to mention it was huge. It was a fortress larger than what an army would need and yet there it was in the middle of nowhere. A crystal palace. One foot moved before the other until Sakura finally realized she was running towards it.

"He calls it the Fortress of Solitude." Sakura blinked and realized that she had spoken out loud at some point. "It's where he comes when he needs to be alone."

"Then why are we here?" Sakura asked, but she moved onward before Diana could answer. They reached the door and it was too much to ask that it simply be left ajar. The door was huge—and that was an understatement. And the key that sat right beside the door was just as large. In fact, Sakura wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

"I'll get the door, Sakura. You go in." Sakura nodded and did as Diana asked.

However, as soon as she walked in she put her own plan into action. There was no jutsu involved. Well, that wasn't exactly true. She used genjutsu on Diana because she didn't want her to know what she was going to do. Regarding Superman, Sakura didn't even bother to hide her presence. She simply began walking until she found the man she was looking for. She just hoped that he didn't try to kill her first, then ask questions later.

It was silent inside, eerily so, which was made much worse by the caged creatures that she passed by while looking for Superman. She had never seen any animals like them before. She hoped they were secure and moved faster. She would never admit it out loud, but she was afraid and she knew her heart had to be racing a mile a minute. That alone made her wonder why Superman hadn't come for her yet—at the very least to throw her out. She took a moment to calm herself and then expanded her senses in an effort to discern his location but to no avail.

She was beginning to wonder whether or not he was there at all when she saw a shadow move and turn a corner. "Clark!" She called out and ran towards it. She expected him to play a game of hide and seek with her, but when she rounded the corner she ran straight into his back.

"Oops." She muttered and took a few steps back. "Sorry." He didn't say anything in reply. He didn't even bother to turn around. Instead, he just kept walking. Sakura stared at his form for a moment before following him since the last thing she wanted was to be alone in the strange place. It seemed like they walked forever, but Sakura was certain it was the silence that made it feel that way.

When he finally stopped, he sat down on the ground cross legged and closed his eyes and began to meditate. Sakura looked at his still form briefly noting he looked like he had lost a little weight. He also had grown a beard that didn't look bad on him if she did say so herself.

She opted not to bother him, but instead sat down as well and did some meditating of her own.

Hours had passed before he verbally acknowledged her presence.

"Why are you here?"

"Why are you?" Sakura countered knowing that he didn't want to answer her question any more than she wanted to answer his. Especially since she didn't know what she was doing there. He didn't need her around. He didn't want her around either, so why was she making him suffer her presence when he obviously needed time alone to grieve the loss of the one he loved so dearly?

Sakura sighed as she watched his face slowly begin to close off and knew she was going to have to say something.

"They tell me the world needs Superman. After watching your television programs on things that happen around the world when you're not there I would have to concur. However," Sakura paused noting that she had his full attention with just that one word. "I would say that the world needs to know that even though Superman is super he is still just a man. So why am I here?" Sakura shrugged. "I suppose so that you know that you're not alone and that if you need someone I'm willing to be that person."

The cold look in his eyes dissipated and he stared at her wondering whether or not she was serious. She didn't smile at him. She didn't think that would go over well. Instead, she did something basic. She opened her arms to him. He only hesitated a moment before entering her embrace. Sakura said nothing as he cried in her arms.

There was something special about the moment. She knew it had something to do with the fact that no one had probably ever seen him cry before. She didn't think he was the type of man to allow himself such weaknesses. So she held him tightly in her arms and ran her fingers through his hair, and murmured nonsensical words until he stopped.

Once he composed himself, he asked quietly, "May I lay my head in your lap?" Sakura nodded and situated herself comfortably so that he could do so. Once his head lay in her lap, she continued running her fingers through his hair and began to softly hum a song.

Later, Sakura went and found Diana and released her of the genjutsu. She glanced at Batman and saw that he stood nearby and had draped her in blankets.

It was obvious he knew what she had done, but Sakura regretted nothing. It wasn't like the genjutsu she had placed upon her had been overly dangerous.

"I'll bring Superman home. You two can go."

Batman didn't move. And Diana slowly realized that she had been hoodwinked.

"You!"

Sakura sighed. "Your plan wasn't feasible, Diana. Ninja techniques rely on the element of surprise. Superman knew I was here before I did. I had to deal with the situation another way."

"And how did you deal with the situation?" The hairs on the back of Sakura's neck raised at his simply phrased question. Her senses were telling her that she needed to tread carefully because she was currently in danger. She shifted her stance slightly just in case she needed to fight and decided that she would not take her eyes off Batman.

"I told him the truth." Batman waited silently and Sakura knew that full disclosure was necessary. "I told him that he is a man and he is entitled to grieve just like anyone else. And if he needed me to stay with him, then I would stay with him."

"The two of you are staying?" Diana asked strategically placing herself between Sakura and Batman because even she knew that the Dark Knight wasn't happy with this turn of events.

"Yes, but don't worry. I'll bring him home soon."

Sakura said nothing more while Batman glared at her and Diana pondered the situation. She still kept her eye on Batman just in case...

"Okay, we'll try it your way Sakura." Diana turned and looked at Batman. A silent exchange occurred between the two which ended with Diana's eye twitching. Sakura was curious about it, but not enough to ask. Batman made some nonsensical noise and turned and walked back to the Bat Jet. "Just...don't take too long. Things typically go bad when Superman disappears." Sakura nodded her head.

"Can you please call the Planet and-"

"Not a problem. I'll take care of it." Sakura nodded.

When Diana left Superman came and stood by her side and watched them fly away. "They weren't happy." Sakura murmured.

"Batman's never happy and Diana..."

"Only wants to help." He didn't reply, but Sakura didn't really expect him to. So she changed the subject. "So what's with the odd animals? They don't have them in my world."

"Ah, you don't know do you?" Superman stared at her for a moment as if weighing his decision to tell her or not.

"Don't know what?"

"I'm not from this planet."

Sakura fell silent and stared at him incredulously before saying, "I never had you pegged as a liar." Superman's eyes narrowed.