Death found Kal-El on Earth, in a city called Metropolis, coincidentally close to the city in which Death found Dick.

Kal-El was working on an article for a newspaper called, the Daily Planet. A bit of an odd choice for an alien trying so desperate to blend in with the rest of humanity.

But Death did not judge. He was not the one who decided a soul's worth. He only regulated when someone was done using Life's gift, regardless of whether they believed so or not.

Death watched Kal-El. He went by the name Clark, it seemed. He was not the teenager that saved his classmates, and he definitely was not the crying baby shot off of his home planet.

In fact, he was the opposite of how Death expected such a person to turn out.

He seemed shy, blushing easily from his co-workers' teasing antics. He wore thick glasses, though Death knew he did not require them. How the humans did not see through his disguise, Death could not fathom.

Death watched, invisible to the eyes of the humans, as Clark chatted quietly with a lady, Lois Lane, her name was.

"-last night!" Lois hissed, glancing over her shoulder. "Where the hell were you, Kent?"

Clark swallowed and looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, Lo," he said quietly. "I was busy. Forgot."

"Forgot?! You always forget! It's a miracle you're not fired yet!"

Clark grinned sheepishly. "I know, I'm sorry."

Lois rolled her eyes. "You made me look like a fool. I promised to show my friends my giant teddy bear of a friend."

Clark blushed red. "Sorry."

Lois smiled a little. "You're such a pushover. Grow a pair, Clark. Stop apologizing for everything."

Clark opened his mouth to apologize again, but was shut up by a sharp glare from Lois. He looked away quickly, but his lips quirked up in a small smile as well.

Death was getting bored. Humans bored him easily. They had such mundane lives. Not even Clark, reporter and journalist extraordinaire, Kal-El, one who escapes Death twice, and Superman, savior and hero of Earth, could interest him.

Death got ready to leave. Suddenly, Clark stood. He looked out the window, his eyes narrowing the slightest bit, so miniscule, no one else would catch it, but Death did. His interest aroused the slightest bit.

"What's wrong?" Lois asked. "What is it?"

Clark shook his head. "Nothing. I just remember… I left my stovetop on."

Lois glared at him. "Seriously? You're so forgetful!" She rolled her eyes. "Ugh, hurry up. I'll cover for you. But you owe me lunch now!"

Clark ran out, thanking her and promising to bring her lunch when he comes back. Death saw right through his lie. And as Clark ran up to the roof, quickly undoing his work clothes and stuffed them into a trashcan that had been strategically placed there.

Then, he dropped his glasses on top, redid his hair in a flash and flew off. Death watched the entire time. He was mildly surprised. Maybe this one was really different. He followed Clark, now Superman, to the other side of the city, where a bank robbery was taking place.

Death watched from the sidelines as Clark easily incapacitated the criminals and delivered them to the police within five minutes. It was rather impressive, compared to the humans level of competency that is.

The humans that crowded around to watch cheered when Clark emerged. He waved politely and respectfully apologized to the reporters before flying off. Death followed.

Clark stopped at his apartment, quickly cleaning himself up and making himself look more presentable, before flying to a sandwich shop where the owners gave him a free sandwich, despite his attempts to pay them. Then, he flew back to the Daily Planet. There, he got dressed in his work clothes, redid his hair, and walked calmly back into the office. The entire ordeal took fifteen minutes.

Death was thoroughly impressed. No wonder no one suspected anything of Clark Kent. He was good.

Clark went back to work, and while Death was bored out of his mind, he decided to stay around, just in case anything else happened. Death studied Clark and his co-workers as he watched.

From what he could tell, Clark had no illnesses or symptoms of any. He seemed to be in perfect health, and the bulletproof chest seemed rather impenetrable to him. So how will this man die? Death was more and more interested now, and he vowed to stick around and find out.

Usually, Death does not care for any creatures on any planet. They all meant nothing to him. Their lives insignificant and over in a flash. He does not pick favorites, nor does he hold grudges.

But Lois Lane was getting on his nerves a bit.

Death wanted to shut her up, maybe immobilize her vocal chords for a while, but he was bound by rules not to use his powers for evil. Death needed to stay neutral, like all other primordial beings.

Finally, Clark gathered his things up, made a few promises to finish the article that night, and headed home.

Death followed once again.

Death floated, invisible, behind Clark as he walked up the dark stairway to his apartment, then fumbled for the key. He nudged the door open, dropping his coat and laptop bag onto the couch before stretching and yawning.

He headed to the kitchen, washed his hands and opened the fridge. He stared into the fridge for a few moments before closing it.

Then, he turned and looked around the kitchen.

"I don't know what you are," he started. "But I know you're there. You've been following me all day. It's making me uneasy, so if you don't mind, show yourself."

Death wondered for a moment if Clark was speaking to him. Then he realized, of course he was speaking to him. Death would have noticed if another being had been following Clark around all day.

Death was surprised however. In the few trips away from his palace, no one had ever noticed his presence until it came for them to die. Sure, some people felt slightly uneasy, but it was usually because Death appeared only a few moments before the person's time was up.

He had never bothered following someone around before.

Death took a moment to figure out how to show himself. If he showed himself in his true form, Clark may attack him. While he could not exactly hurt Death, Death was not fond of being hit.

So he picked a human form.

Death slowly materialized, as a human with a similar height and build as Clark. He wore a black suit, a black shirt, and a black tie. His skin was pale, and his eyes a dark midnight blue. His hair was also black, and he wore a blank expression on his face.

Clark did not seem all that surprised to find someone materializing in his kitchen.

He looked Death up and down.

"Who are you? Or, what are you, if that's not too rude? I mean, you've been following me around all day, and I did not feel very threatened, so I'm assuming you're not here to kill me?" Clark asked.

Death found his words tinged slightly with irony. He opened his mouth to speak. It felt odd to use a mouth to speak. "I am not here to kill you," he started. "And I do not wish to tell you who I am. But I mean you no harm."

Clark looked a bit dubious, but he nodded slowly. "Okay, but I am assuming you know who I am?"

Death nodded. "You are Kal-El of Krypton. Known on Earth as Clark Kent and Superman. Yes, I know who you are."

"Then do you have a name? You know my name, so it's only fair I know yours, right?" Clark said.

Death paused. "I do not have a human name. I do not wish to reveal my true name either."

Clark pursed his lips. "Well, you know my true name, so I don't see why I can't know yours. But okay, um, what do I call you then?"

Death shrugged. "Whatever you want, I suppose. No one has ever 'named' me before."

Clark laughed, but Death did not. He did not know what was funny.

"Okay," Clark said. "I'll name you after an old friend of mine. You both have the same blank expression. His name was Bruce. And now, so are you."

"Was?"

"Ah, he, ah, died a couple years back," Clark said, looking more uncomfortable now.

"Ah. My condolences."

"So is it okay if I call you Bruce? I don't- I don't want you to think you're a replacement for him or anything. No one can replace him. Not that you're not a great person, er, whatever you are, either. Um, sorry," Clark shut up and twisted his hands behind his back.

Death stared at Clark for a moment, trying to decipher him. But the only human Death has really had interactions with is Dick. And even Dick was missing part of his soul. He was not completely human anymore, though Death never really found anything wrong with him.

"I suppose so. I certainly do not mind." Death, or as his newly christened human name, Bruce, said slowly. "But I sense distraught coming from you. You are afraid of something."

Clark's eyes widened. "No! No, no, I'm not afraid. Heh, no."

Bruce's eyes narrowed slightly and he tilted his head to the side the slightest bit, like Dick does when he is confused. "I apologize. I am not exactly proficient in reading human emotions. Tell me, what is this emotional anguish of yours?"

Clark blushed. "Just… I'm just a bit nervous. It's nothing." He quickly changed the subject. "You speak of humans like you are not from Earth? Are you from another planet?"

Bruce nodded. "Yes, I am not of Earth."

"That's cool. Me neither, but you already know that," Clark said. "There are actually quite a few outer worldly people here-" he stopped. Then Clark took a deep breath. "Sorry, I ramble a lot."

Again, Bruce felt confused. "No, you do not," he said. "When you talk with your friend Lois Lane, you speak little."

Clark blushed again. "It's… different."

Realization seemed to dawn upon Bruce. "Oh, I see. Are you attempting to court her? I understand. I suppose it is a better tactic than the one my protégé uses."

Clark opened his mouth then closed it again. His face turned red. He quickly cleared his throat. "So why have you been following me around?"

Bruce contemplated how to answer. "You caught my interest." He decided to go with. Stay close to the truth, but do not tell the whole truth. "I was passing by, and you fascinated me, so I decided to stay and watch a while. I did not mean to be intrusive."

Clark shook his head. "No, it's fine. Again, I don't feel threatened by you, and I can read a person's intent pretty well."

Bruce nodded. "Thank you for your time. I shall by taking my leave now. It has been nice to meet you, Clark."

Clark nodded and smiled briefly. Just then, he blurted out, "Do you care to stay for dinner? Or do you eat at all? I don't know, sorry…" he trailed off.

Bruce was surprised yet again. Bruce did not need to eat, no, but he had never tried human food either. Clark looked slightly hopeful, and Bruce decided maybe it would be a good opportunity to learn more about Clark. After all, he had surprised Bruce a handful of times already.

Bruce nodded sharply. "I believe I can stay a while longer. However, I have never tried human food. What do you enjoy to consume?"

Clark beamed. "Well, we can either eat a restaurant, or we can order in."

"Which is more convenient?"

Clark bit his lip. "Ordering in, I guess."

"Then, I presume that will be the better choice."

Clark smiled shyly. "Okay. I'll just… order some of everything and we can see what you like?"

Bruce nodded. "Whatever you wish."

Clark went into the other room. He dialed a number on his phone and named several things Bruce had never heard of. A couple minutes later, he came back into the kitchen.

"They'll be here in twenty minutes," he said. "Until then, um, we can just talk. Do you want anything to drink? I'm sorry, I forgot my manners."

Bruce shook his head. "I am fine, thank you."

Clark chuckled. "Why do you speak so formally? You sound like you stepped out of one of Shakespeare's plays, without the 'thee's' and 'thou's'."

Bruce's eyebrows furrowed. "William Shakespeare died over four hundred fifty years ago."

Clark gave him a strange look. "You are very interesting. Now, if you're planning on staying on Earth for a while, you'll need to learn to fit in. Sorry, but you can't go around and follow everyone while invisible. Some people don't take it as well as I do."

Bruce knew that much was true. He nodded. "I see. How should I speak then?"

Clark looked him up and down. "Well, you sound a bit… hm, posh. Use some contractions, you can slur your words a bit more, no need to make them so exact."

Bruce thought about it for a moment. Then he tried again. "Is this more acceptable?"

Clark nodded. "It still sounds a little forced. Try relaxing. And don't bother with the big words. Conversationally, keep things short and simple, I believe is best."

"Okay…" Bruce thought about each sentence before he spoke. "Is this… better? I feel like…" His mouth quirked up in half a smile. "my… child? But he is not- isn't my child. My charge, I sup- guess. He is human, and he speaks like you do."

"You have a human child with you?" Clark asked, eyebrows shooting up.

Bruce shook his head. "Not with me. He is back… on my planet. I rescued him a while back, and took him in as my protégé."

"That's nice of you," Clark said. He stared at Bruce with an odd expression on his face. Bruce could no categorize it. It was not an expression Clark had used with any of his co-workers today.

Before Bruce could ask, the doorbell rang, and Clark jumped up to answer it. He spoke with the person at the door, paid them, and brought back three bags of food.

Bruce eyed the bags. "Is that not too much food for the two of us?"

Clark shrugged. "I can always use leftovers. And I can eat a lot, so no worries."

He set the food out onto two plates, giving Bruce a little bit of everything, then handing him a fork.

Bruce hesitantly speared a chunk of meat of some sort and brought it to his lips. He closed his mouth around the food and chewed slowly. Clark watched him the entire time.

"What do you think?" Clark asked excitedly.

Bruce swallowed. "It is certainly interesting. But I don't hate it," he said, fixing his vernacular halfway through. He felt oddly proud of himself. "An acquired taste."

Clark laughed and dug in himself. "Never heard of anyone saying food is an acquired taste, but I suppose it is, I suppose it is."


A/N ~ I really do not like the entire system this site has for publishing. It's a hassle, haha. But anyway, here's the second chapter! Third chapter is written, but I have yet to publish it.

Let me know what you think! 3