Okay, first of all, I'm so, so, so extremely sorry I haven't written anything in like .. uh .. almost three months? I had a severe case of writer's block where I couldn't write anything. I literally couldn't write shit. Anyway, hopefully, I'm back now, largely thanks to one Mellia Bee, who somehow shook me out of it. Thank you:)
Disclaimer: I don't own Superman. I'd be much richer.
Chapter 41 - We Don't Give Up
To say that Clark was nervous would be an understatement of the highest caliber. In less than four hours, he will already be on his way to stop the asteroid threatening to destroy the planet he has come to call his home. Clark was currently standing on the porch of the Kent house, leaning on the porch fence, and enjoying the last rays of sun this day had to offer with his eyes closed. To a stranger, it would seem that he was just relaxing and enjoying the lovely evening.
He heard the front door open and the footsteps accompanying it, but didn't turn around, nor did he open his eyes.
„Are you okay?" asked Jonathan.
Clark shut his eyes tighter and with a quiet sigh, he turned around and forced a smile at the man who raised him. „I don't know," he answered, before turning back to look at the cornfield. He felt his father shift beside him.
„You can do it," he said quietly. Clark didn't say anything, and Jonathan continued. „You can, you know? Not just because of your strength or the fact that you can fly or anything like that."
At this, Clark looked at him with a puzzled look. Jonathan chuckled, „You can do it because you're a Kent. And Kents can do anything as long as they want to do it. Kents don't give up."
Clark smiled, genuinely this time, while Jonathan clapped him on his shoulder and gave him a look, the look he craved so much when he was younger, a look he still craved today, though to a much lesser extent. The look of pride.
„We all believe in you. Your Ma, me, Lana, Chloe, Pete, Sarah," he said, „and we know that you can do it."
And before Jonathan had the chance to say anything else, Clark had enveloped him a bone-crushing hug, and while Jonathan appreciated the sentiment, and loved his son more than anything, bruised ribs were not something he really appreciated.
„Son," he wheezed, „ribs."
Clark immediately let go and winced. „Sorry, Pa," he said sheepishly, his hand at the back of his neck. Once Jonathan regained his breath, he laughed.
„" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „"
„Remind me again why are we giving a seventeen year old boy the responsibility of saving the whole world?" asked Aquaman, the doubt in his voice impossible to miss.
There was a sigh in the Monitor Womb. „Because," said Batman, „that seventeen-year-old boy, as you said, is the most powerful being in the whole god damn world, and the only one who can survive in space for prolonged periods of time. Even the Green Lanterns wouldn't be able to stop the asteroid. Not the human ones, at least."
„The Green what now?" asked Zatanna, who was, as she beautifully described, chillaxing on the Watchtower. Bruce ignored her.
„He is our only shot, Arthur."
„" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „"
To be completely honest, Clark was fucking terrified. Not for himself, no. He was terrified of failure, and what it would mean for his adopted homeworld. He was terrified of what would happen to his friends, his family, the people he doesn't even know. The fathers and mothers, the old and young, the children and the adults alike. It was all upon him – the fate of the world.
The last hope.
And he was not going to let them down. He'd rather be torn to shreds than fail. And he'd do it, if that's what it was going to take.
Taking a deep breath, Clark looked up in the sky, and not even a second later, he felt his body gently lift itself from the ground, slowly gaining speed as he soared upwards to the one place he had to go first. He heard his phone buzz in his pocket, and not for the first time, he wondered how the hell this piece of tech even managed to work after being in the vacuum of space.
Once he was aboard the Watchtower, he and the League went through the plan one more time. He'd fly at the speed of eighty five thousand miles per hour, and then, as gently as he would be able to, slowly change the course of the asteroid so that it would miss Earth and its moon. He would have a comm in his ear, which would also calculate his speed and alert him were he flying too slowly.
„Are you ready?" asked Diana gently, her hand resting on his shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze.
Clark took a deep breath. „As ready as I'll ever be."
Ten minutes later, the whole League stood in front of him in front of the hatch from which he would fly off. Some were looking grim, some were brooding (Batman), and some were looking plainly terrified, not unlike Clark himself was feeling at the moment.
Clark scanned each of their faces, each of their expressions, each or their worry lines. They trusted him. And he would make damn sure he would not fail that trust.
„The asteroid is 4 hours away from Earth," informed the Oracle. „Superman, it's time."
Clark nodded, and with the last look at his colleagues, his friends, he opened the hatch with the most determined look he's ever worn.
Time to stop an asteroid.
„" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „" „"
Clark let himself float in the vast deepness of space, letting the unfiltered sunlight reach his body and charge his cells as much as he could.
„Go."
Clar—Superman's eyes snapped open, and a few miliseconds later, he was rocketing off to the big chunk of rock that was threatening all life on Earth. He was gaining speed extremely fast, he was sure he's never flown this fast before. It'd most likely destroy Earth's atmosphere if he had. Not that it matters if he fails.
„Current speed is Mach 50," said Cyborg. Good. Approximately 65 Machs to go.
„Mach 75."
„Mach 90."
„Mach 100. 15 Machs to go, Superman. You can do it."
Superman was sure he could. He felt his body buzz with power and adrenaline, making it easier for him to go faster.
„Mach 115, required speed obtained. You are ten thousand miles away from the target. ETA – 2 minutes. Good luck, Superman."
If he could talk, he'd sure thank him. Superman could already see the asteroid in front of him, not even 10 000 miles away. Scanning the giant piece of rock, he estimated the best position to place himself in to successfully change the course with the least amount of resistance. Now, those things worked good in theory. The question was whether it would work as well in reality as on the figuritive paper.
30 seconds left. Superman adjusted himself.
10 seconds left. Superman realized much too late that the asteroid is not made of rock at all, but of a metal much denser, and therefore, much heavier than anticipated.
5 seconds left. Cyborg was screaming at him to abort.
2 seconds left. Superman did not have the time to abort. The Kents never give up.
1 second left. Superman braced himself for impact.
Superman, the most powerful being on Earth, and one of the most powerful being in the entire universe, almost broke his nose upon the impact.
(Side note: Do not let Sarah find out about this. She'd laugh her ass off.)
Clark knew that it'd take much more force to redirect the asteroid than anticipated, but that did not mean he would give up. He remembered his father's words. In any other situation, he'd laugh at the idea of his father being a Gryffindor. Now, as he put all his might into stopping the giant piece of ro—metal, ignoring his muscles screaming from the strain (which, really?), he thought about all the people he cared about
His family, worried and scared, yet brave.
His friends and teammates, determined and willing.
His girlfriend, the person he loves more than almost anything in the world, watching from her bedroom window, believing in him.
He tried to ignore the yells of his teammates through the comm.
Supe-Clark would scream if he could. Instead, when he opened his mouth, no words came out. That's what the vacuum of space does to you. He might be Superman when in the suit on patrol, but right now, he's just Clark Kent, a seventeen-year-old Kryptonian with the power to make worlds tremble, yet powerless without those closest to him.
„The asteroid's speed is slowly decreasing. He's doing it!" Cyborg yelled over the comm, and he was pretty sure he wasn't talking to him.
„Come on, Clark. Come on, man. You can do this. You're stronger than you think you are, and we all know you know you're extremely strong."
Okay, now he was sure they were talking to him. And they were right. He could do this. Angling himself only so that his palms were touching the asteroid, he willed himself to try and fly the opposite direction. He pushed with all he had, determined to stop that giant piece of shit even if it was the last thing he ever did.
„Clark, you only need to redirect it, not stop it," growled Bruce, and Clark, despite focusing solely on the task at hand, still heard the very subtle undertone of concern.
And ever so slowly, Clark, realizing that while he could stop it, there was no need to, gently pushed to his left instead of forward, slowly but surely changing the course of the asteroid. Were he to turn around, he'd see the Watchtower not even a thousand miles away from him.
He sent it somewhere he knew it would not do anything. He sent it to one place he knew would destroy it. The one place that gave life, and the one place that gave him his gifts.
He sent it to the sun.
And while the island of metal was gently floating to the star, Clark decided to give himself a treat and flew right behind it, letting the healing rays hit him in their fullest. He smiled at the cheers of his comrades in arms, letting their happiness course through his ways the exact ways he let the sunlight do.
And when all was said and done, the first thing he did was not enter the Watchtower, oh, no. The first thing he did was to fly to a small town in Kansas, where three people were already waiting for him, their grins matching his own.
And when Sarah saw him, his frame slowly descending from the sky, the sun behind him, she could see why so many people thought him a god. And yet, it was her dork of a boyfriend, who just saved the world.
No one knew who hugged who first, or how they found themselves on the ground, but Clark felt the warmth of the group hug, of his parents, of his girlfriend, somewhere deep in his chest, gently blooming through his entire body.
That was a feeling no sun would be able to give him.
Mach 112 - about 85 000 mph / 137 000 kmh
See ya around:)
