Clark Kent is never going to die.
No matter how much he fights it. No matter how hard he tries to change it. Clark Kent's destiny is to be alone.
Completely and utterly alone.
It was a destiny he couldn't change. No matter how hard he wanted to. No matter how hard he tried. His one and only destiny is to be completely and utterly alone.
"But, Clark, just because she saw it, doesn't make it true." His father once tried to tell him.
But it is true.
Cassandra saw his future, there was nobody with him except graves upon graves, as far as the eyes could see. His family. His friends. Even people he hadn't met yet.
Jordan had also seen it. He didn't have a death day. He was endless. He was forever.
He will be alone.
He already was alone.
The last survivor of a dead planet. How much more alone could you get?
He will never know what his people were like. What their customs were, what their traditions were. Did they have holidays like Christmas? Did they have movie nights? Would they curl up around a campfire or were they private and isolated? He doesn't know and he will never know. His people don't exist anymore and they never will. Kal-El of Krypton. The last Kryptonian. His race lives on through him.
His father used to talk to him about his destiny often, more often than Clark liked but he always appreciated it in the end. But right now, as the memories play in his head, as his father's words ring through his ears, he didn't. He'd give anything to stop hearing them.
"You can control your own destiny, Clark. The future is whatever you're willing to make of it."
Except the exact opposite was true. Clark was going to live forever. Whether he wanted to or not.
"You're destined to do a lot more than farming, Clark, however it's up to you to decide how you're going to do that. Your destiny is yours and yours alone. And you'll have mine and your mother's support with you every step of the way."
Except he doesn't and he didn't. His parents were mortal, there support wasn't going to last forever, there was a time limit on their lives but not his.
When he was just six months old, baby Kal-El was placed in a pod and sent travelling across the stars as his planet died, making him the only survivor. The last Kryptonian. Making him an endangered species. When he was three, or as close to three as they could guess, he met his new parents. Jonathan and Martha Kent. When he was eighteen, his father suffered a fatal heart attack leaving him with just a mother. When he was 21, his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, when he was 22 she succumbed to it, leaving him an orphan twice.
When he was four he met Pete Ross. They became the best friends, as close to brothers as they possibly could without being related, and after 13 years of friendship Pete moved away and contact faded between them. No more movie nights, no more sleepovers or camping, no more boyish pranks When he was 24, Pete died in a freak accident at work, there was no way to predict it and no way to stop it from happening.
When he was 12 he met Chloe Sullivan, their friendship was strained due to her crush on him but they made it work, eventually they became so close that people thought they were married. But when he was 23, Chloe left to find herself and start a new life. To be the person she was meant to be without the threat of the government looming over her every second. At first contact between them was gone, then it returned, it was nice and refreshing but it didn't last. One day, Chloe missed his call and wouldn't return them. The last he heard of her was that she was starting a new job in London, maybe she enjoyed it and made new friends.
When he was 14 he met Lex Luthor, they became fast friends and soon best friends. They spent many nights awake in the mansion, playing pool and watching movies. Stuff of the legends Lex once said. But that ended and soon they were enemies, then arch nemesis, and then they were against each other longer than they were ever friends. Something they will never be again. It hurt his heart whenever he saw Lex, remembering what they had, what they used to be.
After years of being the girl next door, he and Lana became friends, soon they were a couple. He and Lana shared a bond different to the ones he had with his other friends, they were both orphans. Neither of them had biological parents. So they bonded in the loneliness, the endless questions, the nights spent awake wishing for their biological family, wishing they could learn where they come from, who they could have been, and who they were meant to be. But he could never be truly honest with her, he could never be his true self around her, and soon they broke up. They could barely stand to be around each other, and so they went from strangers to friends to lovers to acquaintances, now back to strangers. He doesn't know where she went, he doesn't care either, as long as she's happy and living a full life. The life she deserves.
In his final year of high school, he met Lois. She was bossy, loud, rude, she drove him crazy, yet he enjoyed her company and he found himself missing her when she was gone. They became close and after much denial they got together, after some time they got married. And after two decades of feeling complete, whole, happy, it ended with a crash. All those head injuries caught up with Lois and there were gaps in her memory, she couldn't remember things she was just told, she couldn't remember the important details like they're anniversary, how he takes his coffee, the woman they worked with. He would write things down on sticky notes and leave them around their flat, but it was never enough. Soon her co-ordination was affected, she started dropping things more and tripping over more, it got so bad that she wasn't allowed to drive herself anymore, he started to worry about her more and more. Lois had to quit her job and she was never the same. She slowly lost her independence, she slowly lost herself. Before they knew it, it had gotten worse. He returned home after a rescue and found Lois on the floor unconscious, she was soon diagnosed with epilepsy. They powered through it, medication to get the seizures at bay, notebooks to keep track of triggers and times. But of course it wasn't enough. It was never enough. Lois eventually needed around the clock care, Clark had to hire a nurse to take care of her when he couldn't. It ended with Lois being placed in a care home, by that point she was a shell of her former self. She was so young, she wasn't even 50.
Once again, Clark was alone. He came home every day to an empty flat. He woke up every day to an empty bed. He'd pull out two mugs for coffee before remembering and solemnly placing one back. Without Lois the flat was empty and lifeless.
When he joined the Justice League, he met so many other superheroes. He made so many friends. But their line of work was dangerous and his co-workers weren't invulnerable like he was, and one by one they all left him. First it was Hal, next it was Oliver, then Barry and J'onn together. Eventually the rest of the Justice League followed. Bruce managed to stay the longest, stubborn as he was, but he left as well.
And once again, Clark was alone at Watchtower, staring at the dusty tables, the cobwebs in the corner. Everything was grey, nothing had any life to it, kind of like Clark. He was a shell of his former self. The upbeat, innocent farm boy who was full of hope no longer existed, he'd stopped existing a long time ago.
And now he was floating above the clouds and staring at the stars. He didn't belong anywhere else, he gave up having a human identity long ago. Having to relocate every 20-30 years got tiresome, eventually it took more energy than he wanted to use. He outlived everyone he ever cared about, it always hurt watching them grow old and fragile, he didn't want to be hurt anymore.
He was never going to die.
For as long as he was powered by the yellow sun, as long as his cells kept absorbing the energy, as long as his drive to help people outweighed his need to be selfish. He was never going to die.
He was Kal-El of Krypton. The last Kryptonian.
He was Clark Kent of Earth. The outcast farmboy who never fully opened up to anyone.
He was Superman. Humanity's one and only hope.
He was born alone. He lived most of his adult life alone. His destiny is to be alone. And after 300 years of existence, nothing will ever change that. Not even Clark himself.
Clark Kent will never die.
Clark Kent will always be alone.
The Last Survivor. Humanity's Last Hope.
Alone.
Alone for all eternity.