The Chlark Chronicles: Hero

Chapter 1: Hope

AN: So, I thought I'd kind of explore a new side of the story and go with the whole Clark Kent becoming Superman storyline. I've wanted to do one like this, but I wanted Chloe to be there and I feel like I've sort of set it up with the previous two stories in this series. Clark Kent is now a journalist at the planet, working alongside Chloe. I didn't really explain how they got into those positions. So, just remember that the characters haven't changed over the time period between the two stories, but their lives have. Hopefully, you'll get where I'm going with everything.

Chloe Kent stood out on the balcony of their apartment. Even if this crime infested city had not a single drawing feature during the day, she could never argue that it was a beautiful place at night. Of course, the serenity of the beautiful city lights was endlessly interrupted by a siren or alarm going off somewhere in the city. But every time she heard those sounds she was reminded of one person, the one who was out there doing everything in his power to help protect the city.

She looked down at the ring on her finger and smiled as it glistened in the moonlight. No matter what happened, she was always going to be the one at home waiting for him every night. She rubbed her arms, trying to remove the chill that the midnight breeze had carried in. She felt the cold front that the weather man had been babbling about moments before as she was waiting to see what amazing miracle or amazing feat had just ensued on the dark streets of Metropolis. It felt good to know that she was the only one who really knew who was performing all these amazing feats. But even that feeling didn't give her worried mind relief. She couldn't help but worry about him while he was gone. After all, every night she had to deal with the fact that she might not see him again when he kissed her and reminded her that he loved her more than anyone. She knew that he would only be lecturing her if he knew how much she worried about him, but it was something that she couldn't help but do. She cared about him too much to ever think of living her life without him.

The cold air was becoming unbearable through her thin shirt and pajama pants and she decided it would be best to go in and warm up. After all, he wasn't going to come back any faster just because she was standing out there. She slid the door closed until it locked with a click. She reopened it slightly, just enough so that he could get in without having to bang on the window in case she fell asleep. She went back to the couch and decided to rest her eyes for a few minutes as she covered up with a blanket and laid against the arm rest.

He carefully landed on the balcony, a technique he had mastered not long ago and still felt very proud of when he actually did it correctly. This flying thing was turning out to be very helpful, but it still wasn't perfect. Flying wasn't the problem, it was the landing part. In the beginning, he had landed wrong and went straight into the window a few times. Other times, he missed the balcony and had to catch himself midair, thankful for his quick reaction time. Even if he couldn't get hurt falling all that way, it would just be embarrassing. And people might get a little suspicious at the invincible man that just got up, brushed himself off, and walked away after falling 40 feet.

He landed gently and looked in, seeing Chloe asleep on the couch. He noticed the sliding door slightly nudged open and figured that she had been out here waiting for him earlier that evening. He knew that she understood that he had to do this, but it didn't make him feel any better about leaving her every night. He quietly opened the door and shut it behind him. Her lack of movement led him to assume that she must have been exhausted. It seemed that she had been falling asleep waiting for him a lot lately. Sadly, he had no idea if she was just tired from her day at work or tired of waiting for him. He chose to believe the former.

He walked over and picked her up slowly. She moved slightly and wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head against his chest instinctively. He smiled at her gesture and kissed her softly on the forehead as he made his way back to the bedroom. He set her down gently on the mattress and she released her arms from his neck, allowing him to go and shower before he got in bed. He took a speed shower, trying to make as little noise as possible while doing so. If she had been awake, he knew she would be lecturing him about using his powers for silly things like speed showering. He smiled at the thought as he dried his hair with a towel and threw on a pair of pajama pants before getting in the bed. Within a few minutes, like a magnetic attraction, she would end up in his arms before he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, she awoke to the heat of his body around her. The slight change in her breathing pattern caused him to open his eyes and look down at her.

"Morning sleepyhead," Clark said quietly as he kissed her.

"Morning," she replied with a smile, "Did everything go ok last night?"

"Yeah, it went fine. Nothing to worry about." He knew how much she worried about him no matter how many times he told her not to. She smiled at his comment. He knew her all too well.

"So you say." She ran her fingers gently through his hair and pulled him closer to her. He gave in and kissed her.

"I missed you," he said quietly between kisses.

"I missed you too Clark."

Later that day, at the Planet, they were busily working on an article of a recent bank heist that had happened a few days before. They were the best people for the job of course, because Clark had been the one who had stopped the thieves from getting away with the money about a block down. So many incidents were beginning to show up everywhere, all because of Clark. These were the stories that were popular and they were assigned and had to go out and interview everyone involved, even if they already knew what was happening. That's when the theories began being formulated. The Kents were making the headlines with their suggestions of a hero of sorts. Why couldn't Metropolis have a hero? Gotham City had their Batman. At one time, Metropolis had Oliver Queen or The Green Arrow. These were the things that Chloe and Clark were bringing to the table and that was why the newspapers were flying off the press. It made them both feel good to know that they were giving people hope that there really was someone out there watching over them and trying to protect them.

"Kent!" Perry White called from his office in his normal scruffy tone which sounded somewhere in between yelling and extreme excitement. The new editor in chief was a veteran at his job, but the Planet and Metropolis were entirely new territory for him. Chloe and Clark both wondered how someone that was so new could make them feel like they were the ones who were the Rookies at this paper, even if they had been working there for at least 3 years. Yet everyday, Perry White did exactly that.

"He's calling you Clark," Chloe replied with a smirk.

"No, I think he wants you," Clark argued.

"You know, you would think that someone like you wouldn't be afraid of anyone or anything," Chloe said quietly so only Clark heard.

"Yeah well, even Achilles has his heel," Clark replied as he looked over towards Perry's office.

"Don't keep me waiting! I have a paper to run here!" Perry said again from the door of his office and shut it with a slam behind him.

"And Clark Kent has Perry White," Chloe replied with a laugh as she nudged him playfully and Clark walked carefully towards the door. He opened it and shut it softly behind him. He had decided when he started working at the pPanet that he should probably wear glasses full time to make it look less suspicious if anyone saw him perform the mystery tasks that he performed every evening and frequently during the day.

"Good morning Chief," Clark said cheerfully.

"Wipe that sorry smile off your face and listen up Kent," Perry said as he looked at him angrily and then suddenly broke into a smile after seeing Clark's reaction, "I'm just kidding. Have a seat Clark."

Clark tried to hide the 50 shades of red he was turning as he sat in the seat in front of Perry's desk. As he looked over to Chloe who was desperately trying to refrain from falling on the floor laughing at Clark's reaction.

"You too Chloe," Perry said as he gave her a wink and motioned for her to sit. It was quite funny how he always treated Chloe like his daughter, yet he treated Clark like he was walking into a General's office and made him feel jumpy and nervous with every word.

"Well, I just want to say that I am very proud of the both of you. Our sales have been higher than ever since the two of you have brought up this theory of us having a rising hero on our hands. But we need more. This theory is only going to get us so far. If we don't start getting our hands on some evidence that this hero exists then, well, I don't even like to think about what might happen," Perry said as he looked over his glasses at the both of them. Chloe exchanged a quick glance at Clark who was listening intently to Perry's words as if the wheels in his mind were turning with every syllable.

"So, you want hard evidence? Well, leave it to the Kents to get you hard evidence," Chloe said matter-of-factly.

"Alright then. That's the attitude I like to hear. I'm sure Clark feels that way too," Perry said as he looked at Clark who was trying his best to fake a reassuring smile.

"Yes sir."

"Okay, well go out and get me proof you two. If anyone can do it, it's the two of you. Have fun!"

"We will," Chloe replied with a smile and Clark nodded as they walked out the door and over to their desks.

"Let's go. We need to talk," Clark said as he took her arm and pulled her towards the elevator. She grabbed her stuff off her desk on the way and the elevator doors shut.

"Chloe, are you crazy? How can we get proof? Mystery man is supposed to stay that way, a mystery," Clark said quietly trying to keep anyone from hearing. She smiled at his sudden excitement on the matter.

"Why are you smiling?" He asked as he began to catch her cheeriness.

"You. You are getting way too excited Clark. This could work. Think about it. You wouldn't have to be doing all of this stuff in hiding. You would have a way to be both a hero and an ordinary guy."

"Chloe, I'm never going to be an ordinary guy."

"Clark, you know what I mean." The elevator dinged and they exited, making their way towards the coffee shop next door to formulate a game plan.

"So what do you propose?" he asked as they continued walking down the sidewalk.

"I have two words for you. Green Arrow."

They turned the corner and entered the coffee shop. After grabbing a cup to go they went upstairs to their apartment to finish the conversation. As soon as the door was shut he started the conversation again.

"What do you mean by Green Arrow?"

"The costume, the alternate identity, the whole façade," Chloe replied, proud of herself for coming up with the idea.

"Are you kidding? I don't want to live my whole life living a lie, trying to be two separate people." The look on Chloe's face made him realize what he had just said. They went over to the couch and sat down.

"Clark, I know that I could never understand what it's like for you to have to hide this everyday. But if you think about it, it would be like you were letting out this secret in exchange for being able to live your life as two separate people. Look at Gotham Clark. The town has embraced this weird creepy bat creature that runs around the city at night stopping crime. If a city like Gotham can do that, why wouldn't Metropolis be able to embrace someone who is doing things that Batman could never dream of doing?" Chloe explained as she took his hand in hers. He looked at her, trying to find an answer in her eyes, but he knew that he never would. Only he could decide what needed to be done.

"But Batman can't fly Chlo. He falls with style. Batman can't lift an entire building on his head or shoot heat lasers from his eyes. Face it Chlo. I'll be thought of as a freak and they probably would put me away forever if they ever found out my weakness." He was just being practical. He knew that everything she said was true but there was still that part of him that wanted to avoid all of this. He wanted to keep doing things the way he had been, not make things more complicated. But there was that part that knew that the people of Metropolis needed him. He knew that Chloe was saying exactly what his father would be saying. This very well could be a part of his destiny. Chloe knew that the thoughts were running through his head and she changed her voice back from her excited reporter voice to a softer, more comforting tone and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Yes, all that might happen, but then again, they might embrace you and look up to you, knowing that you aren't there to hurt them, but to help them and to be their hero. Clark, you always told me you saw something more for yourself than just helping people on a small town level. Right now, that's all you're doing. If you do this, you might get the chance to help people on a nationwide level or even a planet wide level. You're right, Batman can't do the things you can. But that is what makes you so special. The people of Metropolis are ready for a hero, Clark. You already have my vote. The only question is, are you ready to be that hero?"