…I know, I know. I, MugiwaraWannabe, Marvel fan (because the Avengers are so hot), writing a DC fanfic. Don't get me wrong, it's just that I watched Superman last Friday and even though the special effects were terrible, the fight scenes were boring and Clark Kent was, well, not so hot, I just had to write a fanfiction about him.

And shouldn't I be writing my other stories, you ask? Currently, I have four other stories in mind to update/publish: 1) Beyond the Veil Ch. 3, 2) A Harry Potter One-shot, 3) a new series about the Avengers called A.V.E.N.G.E., 4) (surprise, surprise) The Pirate Princess Ch. 3. (Even though I'd said it was continued, the Pirate Princess is back up and swinging. Details later) And even if you're a DC fan bored out of your mind and clicking on a random Superman fanfic, you're always welcome to visit my profile!

Thanks to HRH Roze Himesama; the cute little dwarf Kobito Dukan; the footballers SoraSymphony and ZakuraSymphony.

Superman does not belong to me. It belongs to DC Comics.

Clark did not understand.

He could see them in front of him now: 18 kids and a driver, drowning slowly as the schoolbus sunk to the bottom of the lake. Their hands pressed against the windows, unable to get out, mouthing cries for help that no one would ever hear.

Sure, they had bullied him, tried to hurt him, but they were humans. He couldn't have just dumped the schoolbus in the lake and gotten away safely himself.

Unfortunately, that was exactly what his father thought he should do.

"Didn't you see how scared Pete's mother was?" Jonathan cornered him as he sat on the swing.

Clark gripped the swing. "You really think I should have let them die? You try standing there, watching 19 people die slowly and painfully, knowing that you can save their lives, every last one of them, and the only thing that holds you back from doing that is 'Oh no, they might be scared that I saved their asses. Better to let them die.'"

Jonathan let out a long sigh. "That's not what I meant, Clark."

His fingers dug into the swing even more. "That's exactly what I meant! I'm not a cold-blooded creature who lets people die in front of his eyes!"

"I know, Clark, but the thing is, you're different from other people. And that makes them scared of you. You have to keep a low profile if you're going to go around saving people."

Jonathan trudged back towards the house.

Clark heard a CRACK. He looked down to see a piece of the swing in his hand.

He sighed, cradling the broken piece of swing. Maybe his father was right. He was different, and people didn't like different. He'd watched E.T. He knew what they did to outsiders.

So he tried to keep a low profile. He refrained from using his powers, and even when he was bullied by the other kids who thought they were the strongest, he'd do nothing.

But it didn't matter anyway. One day, General Zod would appear on earth.

One day, the need would arise to save the earth.

One day, he would be Superman.

I have received a few corrections on my crappy writing. Thanks to jakefan and TheLastRider, especially jakefan. That last bit was kind of embarassing, so thanks anyway.

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