Chapter Fourteen: So, what else can you do?
Clark quickly managed to wrap his arms around Lana's waist and pull her back to him, before she got into a wrestling match with a Marine.
"Lana!" He said, chuckling, arms still firmly in place around her waist.
Lana looked over her shoulder at him, before pouting, "What? He shouldn't have pushed. There's enough food for everyone!" She stated grumpily, before turning back to face the queue.
"That's not the point. He could probably rip a limb off." He told her quietly, eyes moving over the large Marine that was standing with his back to them.
"Would you really have let a big burly Marine rip one of my limbs off?" She asked him sweetly, her hands coming to toy with his, which were on her stomach.
Clark chuckled again, shaking his head, before laying it on top of hers. "Of course not, but that's not the point!" He told her, "I won't let anyone hurt you." He added as an afterthought.
Lana smiled, before slowly inching them further up in the queue, as she was securely wrapped in Clark's embrace.
They made their way up the queue in a comfortable silence, and Clark only pried his arms away from Lana to grab both his and her food.
"Lead the way." He told her, when he'd finally gotten as much food on his plate as he possibly could.
She smiled again, and began weaving her way through the crowd, while Clark merely walked in a straight line, and due to his massive and intimidating frame, cleared a path easily.
They quickly sat opposite each other at a table that had just been vacated, and immediately dug into their dinner.
After a few minutes of quenching their hunger, Lana finally slowed down to point her fork at Clark's already half empty plate of food. "You're fast, and can eat like a horse; So, what else can you do?" She asked curiously, before stabbing at some pasta.
Clark slowed is eating too, before laying his knife and fork down onto his plate. He sighed, wiping his mouth on a napkin, "I can lift...a lot of weight." He told her, not knowing what his exact limitations were.
"How much weight?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm not entirely sure." He told her, before glancing around, thinking of something heavy he could lift. "If Atlantis was made of Earth Metal; I'd be able to lift it." He settled on saying, after he'd visualised how big the city was.
Lana's mouth fell open in surprise. "Wow." She repeated for the third time that day. "That's...a lot."
Clark nodded with a smile. "I have, what I like to call, Super-Hearing...If I wanted, I could listen to everything that was going on in Atlantis at once; or just one single conversation."
Lana, who still hadn't gotten over his strength, continued to open and close her mouth, trying to think of something to say.
"Erm, what else is there..." He asked himself, trying to get everything out of the way at once. "X-Ray vision. If I wanted, I could see through anything..."
"Anything?" Lana asked, her arms flinching involuntarily, in want of wrapping them around herself.
Clark chuckled slightly. "Yeah; anything. Don't worry," He said, shaking his head, "I'm not like that..."
Lana instantly nodded, trying to reassure him, "I know, I know...it's just...anything...it might creep some people out..."
"Does it creep you out?" Clark asked her, eyes drawn to her face.
Lana shook her head again, leaning forward to lay a hand on his. "No. I trust you." She explained simply.
Clark smiled, and nodded his head in acceptance.
"Anything else, while we're at it?" Lana asked hesitantly.
"Heat-Vision." He said instantly, "Invulnerability...or at least, I use to have the last one." He said, making a face. "As you saw last night, I heal quickly. I can fly, and...I may never die. How's that for a line up of abilities?" He asked bitterly.
Lana stared at him, still not sure what to say, as the list of abilities kept on coming.
"Don't look at me like that..." Clark said after a moment of silence, pulling his hand away from underneath hers.
"Like what?" She asked, moving her tray aside.
"Like I'm some sort of...freak." He huffed out, beginning to rise from his chair.
Lana shot up, grabbing his arm and tugging it down. "I'm not! I could never think that you're a freak! I just think that you have so many...powers, some may say too many. I'm not saying you can't control them, I'm saying it's unfair of you to have to control them; especially growing up on earth. It's hard enough without abilities." She told him, trying to explain.
Clark sighed, and silently sat back down.
"Hey! How's everything going?" A loud voice rang out from behind him, and so he turned to find Chloe walking up to their table.
"Fine." Lana replied with a smile, pulling her tray back to her to free up some room for Chloe on her side of the table, who gladly accepted the seat.
Lana quickly finished eating, before glancing down at her watch. "I best go and check-in with Carson. Meet me in an hour in the gate room?" She asked Clark quietly.
Clark nodded his head. "Sure." He said, finishing off his own food. "I'm staying in here for a little bit; have a few drinks. Get to know my team. They'll probably be in, in a bit anyway."
Lana nodded with a smile. She stood up and then frowned, "Shouldn't you be with them now?" She asked.
He shrugged. "If they needed me, they'd have radioed me."
Lana nodded again, "Alright. One hour, in the gate room?" She said to confirm.
"One hour, in the gate room."