Kent – The Super Man
Lois Lane, some years ago, once wrote that he has a hero complex and when he thinks back at all his little adventures he supposes it is true. He started saving little animals as far back as he can remember, his mother was always exasperated when he showed up with yet another little thing tenderly tucked into his jacket or shirt while his father just smiled patiently and helped him care for the little beasts. Most, he was proud to say, survived but there was always the occasional little animal that didn't make it and his mom would spend the night soothing away his tears.
It is perhaps then not odd that he remembers his childhood rescues now when he is standing in the middle of a forest with a poacher's weapon twisted in mangled piece of useless scrap at his feet. He only glances at the poachers, tied up and left to sit under a tree, before picking up his large backpack and putting it over his shoulders. They shout and curse at him as he walks away, another begs not to leave them out there, but he can already here the park rangers approaching, and he isn't very much in the mood to explain how he managed to overpower four armed men by himself.
Despite having super speed at his disposal he likes to wander at a pace that allows him to see and admire the world around him, and it has been many years since he set foot on his childhood country's soil. So he leaves the cursing, begging and shouting men under the tree and disappears deeper into the forest where he treads softly on the soil as not to disturb too many creatures. He is, after all, only a visitor in their home.
When he finds free WiFi or a mobile signal that is stable enough he checks his email on his small tablet. He is in a small coffee shop in Seattle after he made his way slowly down from Greenland into Canada and then into the States. There are several from his mother, a few notifications from his blog (probably comments on his latest post), one from his sponsor, and one from Lois Lane. Pursing his lips he opens it and scans over her short message. She sees he is back in the States again (she started following his blog after she discovered who he is) and wants to meet up with him. He politely declines her request, again.
The woman has been writing about The Super Man's heroic deeds for years, following him across counties, states, countries, and continents. She caught up with him around seven years ago and demanded to know who he is. He said he would tell her, only if she promised to take his secret to the grave. He doesn't want fame or fortune, and he definitely doesn't want to put a big red target over his family. She was a force, but in the end he won and she listened as he explained that he is not from Earth but he has no idea where is from or what he even is. He looks human, he has all the human functions other humans have, he even ages at a human rate, but he is stronger and faster than the average human male. Several times over.
They reached a compromise that day. She can write about his little exploits when she hears of them but she will never reveal his identity and will never reveal him as one of her sources. She reluctantly agreed and paid him back by giving him the ridicules nickname – The Super Man.
He will need to charge his tablet and camera. Luckily, they are planning on staying in a motel in Twin Falls soon. It is on their route and the truck driver says it is a semi-decent joint, which in his experience translates into that it is clean but don't expect much more.
The truck driver, Dave, took pity on him somewhere around Boise and offered him a lift. Never to look a gifted horse in the mouth he accepted the ride and found the driver a pleasant fellow with a broad general knowledge. He has a wife and kid who just turned sixteen. Dave works hard so his kid will have a better life than his old man. What did he say he does again? He is a travel blogger. Is there money in it? If you manage to find the right sponsor, some. Where is he heading to now? Home to Kansas, it is long overdue for him to visit his parents again. It is nice of him to visit his parents; some sons don't do that.
He remembers when some of his powers started manifesting themselves. It is around the time puberty hit him hard and suddenly the world became incredibly noisy and scarily see through (along with his body growing hair in private places and his voice cracking at the most inconvenient times). He has always been stronger than most and his strength is something he could always control, but x-ray vision and super hearing was not something he expected.
It was his mother that coaxed him out of his room after he ran (much too fast to be normal) home from school and calmed him down. It was his father who took him to the barn and revealed the truth to him. He is not their biological son, he isn't even from Earth. But they took him in and cared for him regardless of not knowing what or who he is, or what he might become. They loved him as their own. And when he finished school and told them that he wanted to try and find out where he came from they bought him all the supplies they thought he might need on such a journey, put money in his pocket and wished him a good trip.
The motel is indeed clean and basic, and he struggles to close his super hearing to the sounds of the local women providing personalised services to local and visiting men. He has to resort to watching old reruns with the sound on loud on the television to drown out some of the fake enthusiastic grunts and whimpers of the woman at the end of the hallway.
A school bus in Salt Lake City filled with boisterous children laughing and talking drives past him as he walks down the road looking for a place to eat. The one girl looks at him and he has to do a double take when her face looks so much alike to Lana who used to go to school with him. Kind hearted Lana who always stood up for him when he couldn't use his strength to better the bullies.
He can still hear the tire burst and feel the bus swerve before it hit the bridge wall and plunges into the cold river water. The smell still sits in his nose and the screams of his classmates sometimes still echoes in his ears at night or when he lingers on certain thoughts too long. That was the first time he saved humans, his classmates. He made the decision in a split second to force open the backdoor and to push the bus up onto the riverbank. He didn't even take a moment to consider the possible implications of his actions beyond saving his classmates.
Lana remained kind to him after the accident, most avoided him, but there were a few hot heads who tried to coax him into using his physical strength against them. His father always told him it took real strength not to retaliate physically. It only took Hank breaking his hand against his jaw when they were seventeen before they left him alone, at that stage the end of high school was in sight and he was already planning his future away from Kansas.
Lois Lane emails him again and he doesn't respond. He simply stares at her office signature always present at the bottom of her emails. Lois Lane, Senior Correspondent for the Daily Planet. An idea starts to form in his mind, an idea that grows even as he walks through the familiar fields of corn towards his parents' home.
His father is outside tinkering with the tractor and is the first to see him. He calls for his wife who comes out the door wondering what is wrong. When she sees him she runs to him and he gives his mother a warm hug when they meet. His father wraps his arms around them, like he used to do when he was a child, and gives his son and wife a squeeze.
Is he well? Yes, he is quite well, thank you. Is he hungry? He will never say no to his mother's delicious cooking. Has he found the answers he was looking for? He pauses and looks at his parents for some time before a small smile slips onto his lips. Yes and no. He didn't find out where he came from or what he is, but he did learn a bit more about himself as a person. He decided what he wants to do as a profession. It is not farming is it? No, it isn't. Good, he is meant for bigger things. What do you want to do then? Become a reporter. What an excellent idea, he is already an established writer with a popular blog behind his name. Does he know where he wants to apply for a job? The Daily Planet is looking for a travel correspondent. They will be stupid not to hire him.
The bustle around him is comforting in a way as he nervously adjusts his watch around his wrist that suddenly feels too tight. Perry, the editor-in-chief, takes him around and introduces him to everyone. He shows him where he sits and gestures to his neighbour and colleague. "And this is Lois Lane, don't let her boss you around."
Lois turns to look up at them and grins as she rises from her seat. "I'll be damned, Clark Kent."
"Do you know each other?"
"No, but I follow his blog."