Hey, it's me again! Oh, don't pout, you! :D Anyway, sorry it took me this long to write a new chapter. I just got into a new TV show (well, new.. Teen Wolf), and it's amazing and I just kind of.. turned off everything else. And I'm sorry for that. Anyway, this is a chapter I've been planing to write for a long time and I hope you'll like it:)

Disclaimer: I, sadly, do not own the cinnamon roll and pure being that is Clark Joseph Kent.

Chapter 36 - Safe

On the insistence of both the Guardians of the Universe and the rest of the Green Lanterns, they stayed for another three days – just in time for Clark to heal completely from his wounds under the artificial lamps after his battle with Doomsday.

Clark and Sarah arrived home almost two days ago, and Clark decided it was time for him to join the land of the living again, figuratively speaking. And so, that's how he found himself in Metropolis again, in front of the Daily Planet building, wearing a loose-fitting flannel shirt, per Sarah's insistence, a pair or chinos and his leather jacket, accompanied by his glasses made out of Kryptonian metal and lenses, capable of changing his eye color from inhumane blue to classic cerulean.

He took a deep breath and entered the building.

When the elevator door opened, Clark was assaulted by the familiar buzz and chaos most people would expect in a place like this.

„CK, is that you?"

Clark turned around and grinned when he turned around at the sound of the familiar nickname, and hugged Jimmy Olsen.

„Hey, man, how are you?" asked Clark after they pulled away.

„Oh, same old, same old. Perry's blood pressure is as high as always, and Lois is as sharp as ever. We kind of missed you, though. You've been gone for almost two weeks. To be honest, I thought you were dead for a second," he answered, with a little laugh at the end. He gripped Clark's elbow in his hand and started pulling him to the desk of one and only, Lois Lane.

„Hey, Lois. I brought you a stray," he said teasingly, „might know him. Intern. 6'5. 17 years old. Black hair. Blue eyes. Glasses..."

Lois turned around immediately after the heard Jimmy say Clark's age, and grinned widely and genuinely – a grin people do not see on Lois Lane's face that often. She stood up and hugged Clark – again, something people do not see with Lois Lane, as she is not much of a fan of physical contact with co-workers – the exception being Clark and Jimmy, of course. And sometimes Jenny.

„Been a long time, Smallville," she whispered.

Clark chuckled and hugged her back. „I've been gone for two weeks, Lois."

She shrugged. „Yeah. Two weeks too long," she teased, „I had to go for my coffee to the break room myself."

„Uh, not to ruin the moment, Ms. Lane," interrupted Jimmy, „but the summer is ending in like a week."

„So?" she asked, confused, after the hug ended.

„So," added Clark, „my internship ends with it. Lois, I've still got school."

„Oh, right," she said. She shrugged, and Clark laughed. „Gonna enjoy the coffee for as long as I can. Which reminds me, Smallville... hang your jacket here," she motioned to the chair right next to her desk, usually occupied by Clark during his breaks, or by Jimmy, „and bring me my coffee."

„Sure thing, Lois."

It was good to be back again.

Clark has just finished his shift in the Daily Planet and was preparing for his usual patrol when his Justice League comm-link buzzed.

„Superman, come in."

Clark touched the ear-piece and answered, „Superman here."

„Good to have you back, big blue," came the voice of Wally West, and Clark smiled. „Have any plans for tonight?"

„It's 6 PM, Small Red," teased Clark. If Wally can call him Big Blue, well, Clark figured he can give him his own nickname. He heard Wally groan and he laughed.

„Answer the question."

Clark sighed. „Yes and no. My girlfriend is spending some time with her family, and my parents have gone to some farming convention in Central City." He swore he could hear Wally say sweet after he said the city his parents went to, „Anyway. I wanted to fly home, eat something and then do a full-night patrol in Metropolis. Why?"

„Well, I, unlike you, have a monitor duty tonight. I thought we could order some pizza and... okay, I'm lonely and I want someone to talk to. You don't have to cut your whole patrol.. just for like.. two hours? If something big happens, I'll at least have help. What do you say?"

Clark thought about it. Truth be told, he didn't spend any time with his other friends lately, excluding Sarah, and he would probably enjoy talking to Wally. From the whole League, he, Wally and Vic somehow get along the best. Maybe it's because of their similar age – Clark is seventeen, Cyborg is nineteen and Wally is twenty-two. They are basically the youngest members of the League, with Clark being the absolute youngest.

„Alright. Under two conditions," said Clark eventually.

„Shoot."

Clark smiled at the memory of telling a cop the entire same thing almost two months ago. He accompanied the word with not me.

„One. You order the pizzas and somehow get them to the tower. I have to fly up there, and I have a feeling the pizzas wouldn't handle the vacuum very well," Wally agreed, „and two – I don't like mushrooms."

„Huh?" asked Wally, confused.

„On the pizza, Wally," clarified Clark. „See you in a few."

„So," said Wally after taking the third bite of his prosciutto pizza – he decided to order six boxes, because of his and Clark's metabolisms, „what are you planning to do after high school?"

They were both maskless, as everyone in the League knew each other's identity.

This question caught Clark off-guard, and he choked on his slice. Wally giggled – giggled – and patted him on the back. Not that it helped.

Eventually, Clark managed to answer. „What do you mean?"

Wally rolled his eyes. „Clark, you are seventeen. You'll be starting your senior year in a week. You must have a plan of some sorts."

Clark would've made a sarcastic comment about pointing out the obvious, but he bit his tongue. His Ma raised him better than that. „Actually, I could've graduated in my junior year. My GPA was good enough, and I had a lot of credits. And I don't know why I just told you that."

Wally smiled and encouraged him to keep going. To be honest, Clark felt like a mystery to not only Wally, but most of the League. Sure, he was the newest member, along with some others, but he was by far the most powerful. And the youngest. An alien. The last survivor of his spieces – of his planet. Of his kind. A teenager with the power to cripple mountains, and perhaps even entire worlds. And yet, he lives a normal teenage life, with a girlfriend, friends, and school. They know little about him.

Some members of the League, such as Diana, Victor and Wally decided to try to include Clark as much as they could, and be friends with him outside of the League. Not just colleagues, or fellow heroes. Friends.

„That's alright. I am actually interested. Keep going," he encouraged.

So, Clark continued, „I have my father's intellect, basically. Everything, and I mean literally everything, on Earth, is simple for me. Nuclear Astrophysics? Easy. Sports? Don't even get me started. I can remember every moment of my life – every second of every minute of every hour of every day. That includes theory. Everything just comes too..."

„Easy?" added Wally helpfully. Clark nodded.

„Yeah. I can learn a full language in an hour – vocabulary, accent, grammar. Everything. The only thing that doesn't come easy for me is.. writing. Telling people's stories. Formulating words. Sentences. Paragraphs. Stories. And I guess.. I guess that's what I want to do. To tell people's stories – to help spread the word," he said, while looking down at the floor, his hands on his knees.

Wally was impressed. Here before him sat a kid. Just a kid, seventeen years old, who's been through so much in a few short months he's been acting as the blue clad hero. He's seen death, and rape, and slavery. He's seen the darkness of this world, and yet he still remains hopeful, and kind, and strong.

Wally's never been good with deep conversations. Usually, he is just the comic relief, full of sarcasm and inappropriate jokes while fighting crime, annoying the hell out of other villains. So, he decided to take a route similar to that.

„Then do it," he said easily.

Clark looked at him, impossibly blue eyes staring into his green ones. „Yeah, do it. It's your life, Clark. Sure, you have responsibility as Superman. You are a hero. But Clark, you don't have to be what you don't want to be. Don't want to be a scientist? Don't want to be a sportsman? Then don't be. Clark, you have so much potential... you can be whatever you want. So be it."

He smiled. „Thanks, Wally."

Wally smiled in return and patted his shoulder. „Now, let's talk about something else. How about your favorite TV show? Or a book?"

Clark's grin grew impossibly wide, and Wally knew he hit the right note. Wally is a nerd, and by the looks of it, the Kryptonian hero is one, too.

They spent almost two hours talking about their favorite TV shows – Clark's favorites included Breaking Bad, Teen Wolf, The Walking Dead and Chuck.

„I really didn't like the end of Chuck, to be honest," admitted Wally. Clark nodded in agreement.

„Yeah. I didn't like it much, either, to be honest. I mean.. such an open ending? The writers knew all too well that the fifth season was going to be the last, and they did it anyway."

Wally did a double-take. Did Superman just pout? Yeah, he did. He immediately took his phone and snapped a picture before Clark had the chance to do anything, which is sad, considering he has superspeed, too.

„What the—?" asked Clark, though he was trying not to laugh.

„Never going to let you live this down, Kent. Never," said Wally.

They both laughed, and Clark looked at the clock. 9:30 PM. He stood up.

„I should probably go. Gotta start my patrol. You free tomorrow?"

„Yeah, why?" asked Wally.

Clark grinned. „Because tomorrow, I have monitor duty. You can bring Vic along."

Wally shrugged and nodded in agreement. Clark seemed to like Vic – they talked about the newest technology a lot. And football, which Clark apparently really liked. „Alright. Good luck, and break a neck."

„I'd rather not," he said. Wally rolled his eyes and fist-bumped Clark.

„Just go."

The night was admittedly pretty quiet, which is saying something in Metropolis. In one hour, Clark managed to stop two muggings, one robbery, during which the thieves tried to run away. They found themselves in the back of a police car not five minutes later.

Now, Clark was flying over the suburban area of Metropolis – the one where families lived in houses with white fences and swings. Clark couldn't help but hope that he would have something like that in the future – a family of his own. He knew it wasn't possible – he knew he couldn't have kids. At least not with a human.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when his extrasensitive hearing picked up the sound of a breaking glass and a yelp of pain, accompanied by a woman's scream. Clark immediately changed his direction and flew to the source of the sound – a little suburban house at the end of the street.

Clark was pretty high up, probably over 200 feet, but with his telescopic and x-ray vision, he could see inside the house, and the sight made his blood boil and his eyes glow the deepest shade of red.

He immediately ascended, almost breaking the sound barrier by the sheer speed of his landing alone. The pavement cracked, but Clark didn't care. His fists were clenched so hard he was afraid he would draw blood even with his invulnerability.

With his x-ray vision still activated, he saw a drunk man, holding a broken bottle of beer in his hand, and two people cowering away from him, one – the bigger one – trying to shield the other. The man was yelling, and Clark was sure that he would be able to hear it even without his sensitive hearing.

The man raised the hand with the bottle in it, and prepared to strike the woman.

Clark didn't even bother stopping to kick down the door, he just walked straight through it. It was late at night, and the house was pretty dark – only two lamps in the corners of the room were alight. His eyes were literally steaming red smoke, but he didn't notice.

The man, however, did, and it seemed that he didn't care, either. He just looked angrier.

„Wha' you doin'?!" he yelled, „do y'have any idea how ex..," he stuttered a little and hiccuped, „expensive the door were?"

Clark stopped and looked at the two figures – only now did he realize that it was, most likely, his wife and his daughter. They were still cowering, but the woman had a look of determination in her eyes. She looked at Clark, and he nodded at her and motioned with his hand to the phone, silently telling her to call the police. She seemed to convey the message and nodded.

Unfortunately, that left her daughter unprotected.

The man seemed to forget about Clark being in the room, because the moment he noticed his daughter, unshielded by her mother, he took a few sloppy steps toward her.

„So.. babygirl," he said with a drunken, yet cruel smile. The child cowered away from him, making Clark rigid. „Ready f'r your birthday present?"

It was the little girl's birthday. And the abusive excuse for a man decided to beat her. Her and her mother. His own wife.

The time seemed to slow down and Clark saw the man's raised bottle hand, preparing to strike his daughter in the face. Clark supersped in front of the girl, effectively shielding her and catching the man's hand, before gently squeezing. Hearing the soft pop of the man's bone and his scream of pain, he gently punched the man in the gut, resulting in him toppling over and coughing up a little bit of blood.

Clark caught the man by the collar of his shirt and when the mean looked into his eyes with slightly unaware, but fearful ones, he decided to end his misery, and flicked his fingers on his forehead, effectively knocking him out cold.

Clark looked at the woman – she looked to be in her late twenties, and even with the bruise on her cheek and her swollen eye, he could tell that she was really beautiful. She looked at him and nodded.

„I called the police," she said. She then looked at her daughter and then back at Clark. „She loves you, you know?"

Clark tore his gaze away from the mother and looked at her daughter. She looked around five years old, a little bit underweight for her height, that much he could tell even from the position she was still in, with her knees up to her chest, head on her knees and dark brown hair covering her face.

The scene somehow reminded him of Sarah, who, Clark realized, must've looked liked this really often when she was a child. Sarah, his strong, beautiful Sarah, regularly abused by her own father as a child. Sarah, whose mother and brother were killed by the hands of her own father. Sarah, the strongest person he's ever known in his fairly short life.

Clark shook his head and with that, he shook himself out of his thoughts. He carefully approached the little girl, and while he knew that he looked fairly intimidating in his suit, he also knew that somehow, this little girl would not be scared of him.

He knelt down in front of her and gently touched her shoulder, and his heart squeezed when she flinched from his touch. He decided to take a different approach.

„Hey," he said as gently and quietly as he could, while making sure she still heard him. „You're okay. He's not going to hurt you. Ever again. I promise," he said, while he looked at the man passed out on the floor. He will make sure to keep that promise he just gave to the little girl.

He looked back at the little girl, who now lifted her head up, and he saw a pair of curious, wide green eyes looking up at him. She didn't say anything, and neither did he, but when she slowly reached her little hand out to him, he didn't make a move to stop her. And when her small hand touched the symbol of his chest, he covered it with his own, while smiling gently.

„Do you know what that symbol means?" he asked softly. She shook her head, her gaze fixed on him. „Would you like to know?"

She nodded at him. „It is my family's coat of arms," he said, and smiled at her bewildered expression. „It also means hope. Even in the darkest of times. It means that even if you think there is nothing you can do, and that nothing gets better, there is always hope. It gives me the strength to never give up. And I hope it will give you the strength to never give up, too."

The girl looked at him, while stroking the S on his chest with her thumb. „Malia," she whispered.

Clark smiled. „I hope this symbol will give you the strength to never give up, Malia. Because believe it or not, your darkest times are finally over," he said, this time, a little louder, so that her mother could hear, too, but his voice remained soft and gentle nonetheless. „And if you need me, just call for me. Call for Kal. And I'll know that you need help. Even if it's just to talk. Promise?"

Malia smiled at him. „Promise, Kal."

Clark smiled. This little girl, while surviving so much, still managed to smile at him. She let go of the symbol and outstretched her arms. Clark smiled gently and enveloped her in his arms. He sat down, leaned on the awll and put the little girl on his lap and let her snuggle into his chest.

A few minutes later, he heard her breathing even out, and he smiled. Malia was safe in his arms. He looked up and saw the mother looking at both of them with a small smile on her own. She sat down next to him.

„Malia is a strong girl," whispered Clark eventually while drawing small circles on the sleeping girl's back with her thumb. „She reminds me of a girl I know. Strong as hell, and even fiercer, yet so gentle and caring."

Her mother looked at him and gave him a knowing smile. „Thank you."

„For what?"

„For saving us. Jack's been like this since he lost his job. I tried to get him out of this. Even Malia tried to get him out of this, though she didn't know what was happening. You see those bags?" she whispered as she motioned to a pair of bags Clark didn't notice the first time he scanned the house.

„You were trying to move away," whispered Clark. It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

She only nodded. „Yeah. Came home with Malia from work today and he was already drunk. I should've tried to sneak away or something, but I just couldn't resist the temptation to.."

„You don't need to say anything, ma'am," assured Clark. „You are safe now," he looked down at the sleeping form of Malia, „as is she. And my promise extends to you, too. If you need help, just call for me. For Kal, not Superman."

She smiled at him. „My name's Elena – if I can call you Kal, you call me Elena."

„Pleasure to meet you, Elena."

Elena looked at Malia and gave the sleeping girl and affectionate smile. „She hasn't slept this peacefully in a long time."

„Nightmares?" Clark guessed, his voice sad.

Elena nodded.

Clark suddenly heard the police sirens outside. „The police are here."

She sighed and stood up, but he caught her wrist gently. „I can deal with that, if you'd like."

Elena sighed again and looked at her sleeping daughter. „No, let her sleep. God knows she deserves it after the hell she's been through."

Clark resisted the urge to say that she's been through the same thing. He just nodded and let her go outside.

To say that the policeman was surprised when he saw Superman himself sitting on the floor with a sleeping girl in his arms would be an understatement.

Officer Calleigh was ready to ask Superman what he was doing here, but he held up a hand before he could even open his arms and motioned to the sleeping girl, while also putting his finger on his lips. Calleigh took the hint.

He pulled out his walkie-talkie and whispered, „Ramirez, get your ass in here. We've got a drunk male to lift up and a sleeping girl in Superman's arms, so we have to be quiet. Don't answer me, it will probably wake her up. Over."

Ten seconds later, a huge latino officer entered the house quietly. He took one look at Superman, smiled at him, gave him a thumbs up and made his way over to the man lying on the ground. With the help of officer Calleigh, he lifted up the man and carried him outside, leaving Superman and the girl alone in the house.

Clark gently stroked Malia's hair while looking at her through his x-ray vision, scanning for any possible internal injury she could have acquired during the time of her father's abuse. He was glad he found none. What disturbed him was the scarred tissue on her abdomen and her back. She's been through a lot. He also scanned Elena for any internal injuries, and also found none. He didn't look for any scars, and that would be an invasion of her privacy, for he would be looking at her bare form.

He checked outside through the walls and discovered a few news vans with reporters and cameramen waiting outside. He hoped none of them would come inside, which they probably won't. Or they'd have to deal with him.

Clark felt his phone vibrate. He gently unwrapped one arm from Malia's form and took the phone out of his cape. He saw one text message from Sarah. He opened it and smiled at the text.

Saw the news. I'm proud of you. Love you. -S

He looked down at Malia, sleeping peacefully, and promised himself that he would be here all night, in the same position, if that's what it took for the girl to have a good night's sleep.

So, that's it for this chapter. I hope you liked it:) Please, feel free to leave a review with your thoughts:)