Air and Water
Disclaimer: DC owns the characters within, not I.
Arthur sat down on a rock and leaned back on his hands. He closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them and glancing to his left and to his right. He glanced beneath him to see the long drop into the choppy blue depths. He smiled at the sight of them and prepared to push himself off of the edge of the cliff he had perched on to dive into the deep.
"Arthur?" A familiar voice from behind him prompted him to stop and plant himself back on the rock seconds before it would have been too late to do so. Arthur turned behind him to see the silhouette of Superman floating in the sky.
"Hey... Superman... or can I call you Clark?" Arthur greeted him and turned to face him more fully.
"Clark is fine," Clark responded as his feet touched the ground and he walked over to stand on the ledge next to Arthur. Clark eyed him for a moment before he gazed out over the ocean. "What are you doing up here?"
"Heard some rumblings coming from this direction, I thought I'd come check them out," Arthur answered. He glanced behind him at the grassy area where it appeared a battle had taken place recently. Arthur pointed to where he was looking. "Appears some sort of fight took place here recently."
"Well... actually..." Clark began as he turned to see the evidence. "It wasn't actually a fight per say."
"Really, what do you know about it?" Arthur asked, intrigued. Clark let out a grin as he turned back to Arthur.
"Diana and I came here to train," Clark replied with a gesture behind him. "Figured it was secluded enough and we would not have to hold back."
"Train... really?" Arthur asked with a chuckle.
"Yes," Clark replied with a shrug.
"You did that with just training?" Arthur questioned. Clark nodded. Arthur shrugged. "I guess that makes sense, with what you can both do."
"Yeah, Diana did most of it," Clark joked with a laugh as he walked closer to the ledge to peer over it. He turned back to Arthur. "How did hear about it?"
"Like I said, some rumblings... made some waves... it got back to me," Arthur replied. Clark nodded and glanced back down to the water.
"Didn't mean to disturb anyone or anything," Clark stated.
"Hey no harm was done," Arthur responded. "I figured it'd be best if I checked it out, just in case."
"Yeah, smart," Clark agreed. He crossed his arms and focused on a cruise ship going by in the distance. Arthur watched him for awhile before he spoke.
"It's nice to actually talk to you, meet you properly and all that," Arthur stated as he crossed his legs and arms. Clark turned back to him. "First time I saw you... well I didn't get a chance to speak to you."
"First time?" Clark questioned.
"Out there," Arthur reacted with a point to the north. Clark gave him a quizzical look. "It's been a few years ago... the oil rig."
"Oh..." Clark suddenly recalled the incident. "Wait... you were there?"
"I was," Arthur answered. "I showed up too late to help, it was all coming down."
"I never saw you," Clark said.
"No, I don't suppose you did," Arthur stated. "When I saw you, you were sinking... I sent some friends to revive you."
"You did that..." Clark recalled as he spoke.
"Yeah..." Arthur answered. "I didn't want to do it myself... I knew there was obviously something special about you... guess it kind of spooked me to reveal myself to you."
"I had no idea... I owe you a 'thank you' then," Clark stated. Arthur shook his head.
"Nah, not necessary," Arthur responded. "I mean... I figure you'd have come out of it eventually even without my help."
"Just the same, I appreciate what you did," Clark replied with a smile. Arthur matched it with one of his own and nodded in appreciation.
"What were you even doing out there, did you get a distress signal or what?" Arthur asked.
"No... oddly enough I was working on the rig," Clark answered.
"Really...hmm," Arthur digested that information.
"Yeah, at the time, I was..." Clark paused. "Searching for an identity... I just wanted to get away from everything and be normal."
Clark walked over to a nearby rock and leaned back against it. Arthur grabbed a pebble and flung it off the cliff. He took a deep breath and turned back to Clark.
"I get that," Arthur said. "Wanting to be normal."
"You do?" Clark asked.
"Sure... I used to always fight who I am... maybe a part of me still does," Arthur replied with a shrug. Clark nodded. "Although I guess these days I'm learning to accept who I am."
"It's all we can do... we won't have peace until we do," Clark mused.
"I guess you are right," Arthur said as he stood up and walked out onto the grass behind them. He stretched a little and cracked a few joints. Clark watched him before a loud crack of thunder was heard overhead startling them both.
"Looks like a storm is rolling in," Clark stated. Arthur glanced up.
"Looks it," Arthur agreed. Clark walked over to stand next to Arthur who was still glancing up at the sky overhead. "It must be... pretty amazing."
"What's that?" Clark asked.
"Flying," Arthur answered.
"I think so," Clark stated. Arthur turned to him. "I'd think it's not much different than being able to swim to the depths of the sea."
"You think so?" Arthur questioned.
"I am not as versed in swimming as you are, but from what I've done of it there are definitely parallels," Clark responded. Arthur nodded.
"Probably," Arthur said with a grin. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," Clark replied.
"Why do you do it?" Arthur inquired.
"It?" Clark asked for clarification.
"What I mean is... why are you... you?" Arthur asked. Clark shook his head still unclear of the question. "You could be a god up here."
"I'm no god," Clark quickly dismissed the notion.
"You could be," Arthur replied. "Or at least a king or a... something."
"I don't want to be any of those things, I haven't done anything to deserve them," Clark replied.
"Admirable," Arthur commented. "A lot of people wouldn't think like that."
"You would," Clark replied. Arthur chuckled.
"I don't know..." Arthur responded.
"I know it... with your power, you use it to bring food to people who need it... you are a good man Arthur," Clark stated.
"Good is probably a bit of a stretch, but I appreciate the sentiment," Arthur replied.
"Nah... I think all of the team are good, I'm very proud to fight alongside each of you," Clark said.
"Feeling is mutual," Arthur said as he turned to walk back to the edge of the cliff. Clark followed suit. Another loud clap of thunder sounded directly behind them, followed by a lightning flash. "Speaking of the team, any word on when we will have to get back together?"
"Nothing as of yet," Clark replied. "The mother boxes are staying mostly silent according to Victor, and Bruce still hasn't been able to locate Luthor."
"It's a matter of time," Arthur stated. "I think we both know that someone out there is going to want to get their hands on those boxes."
"Yeah, unfortunately, I agree," Clark said.
"Luthor... we'll find him," Arthur said. "I've been hearing some things that make me think he has taken to the sea... his luck will run out eventually."
"I hope we get to him before he has too much time," Clark stated.
"Time?" Arthur asked.
"To plan, to cook up awful things, it's what he's good at," Clark replied. Arthur nodded.
"Well... it's what we are here for to stop stuff like that right?" Arthur asked.
"Right," Clark agreed.
"Well, I best be heading back under, before the seas get too choppy," Arthur said with a nod to the sea in front of them.
"Okay," Clark responded. "Hey..."
"Yeah?" Arthur responded.
"It was good talking to you," Clark said.
"Same," Arthur replied before he fell back off the cliff and disappeared beneath the sea. Clark smiled as he spotted him swimming away. Clark admired the view for a moment before he took to the skies and flew off in the opposite direction that Arthur had swum in.