Confessions of a Superman
By Jeune Ecrivain
Rating: G, maybe PG
Genre: futurefic, drama, romance
Summary: When Superman comes up in conversation, 25-year-old Lana Lang gets the biggest clue of her life.
PART III
"Hey, Clark!" Lana jumped up with the force of a sudden idea.
"What?" Clark grinned, now downright happy that there were no more secrets between him and Lana.
"Show me."
"Show you what?" Clark asked.
She gave him a look.
Clark grinned again, this time knowingly. Moving at super-speed, he brushed his thick hair back and took off his khakis, socks, cardigan, and underlying shirt.
Lana watched in awe at Clark's blurred, lightning-quick movements. She watched as the tan and white of Clark's outfit blended into and then gave way to blue, yellow, and red. In a matter of seconds, the bookish journalist was gone, and in his place stood a man in a blue leotard with bright red boots, a red pelvic region, a yellow belt, a red cape, and his trademark 'S' emblem displayed proudly on his chest. Lana stared in glee, marveling at how the same man could switch back and forth from being so mild-mannered to having such a commanding presence.
"So this is Superman," she said contentedly.
"This is Superman," Pete confirmed.
Clark opened his mouth to respond, but once again a knock at the door cut him short. Clark turned his gaze to the door and focused his eyes on it. The door became transparent, and there stood a colorfully dressed young woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and wide blue eyes.
"It's Chloe."
"Show-off," Lana teased.
"You know what." Clark half-smiled. I must be drunk with relief that Lana knows my secret, Clark thought to himself, marveling at the boldness of the idea that had suddenly struck him. Still, he mused, if done cautiously, it could very well be worth it. He x-rayed the door once more, as well as the surrounding wall, to make sure Chloe was the only one within eyeshot. Then, before anyone could say anything, he moved for the door, turned the knob, and opened it.
Lana gasped, and Pete was stunned.
Chloe had an entire strategy planned out. She was going to greet him as she usually would, converse lightly for a while, find some way to bring up Superman, and then gradually bring about the moment of truth. Her confidence in this plan put a smug smile on her face right up until the Man of Steel himself opened the door.
Moving with almost cat-like swiftness, Clark pulled Chloe in to his apartment and closed the door.
"You think anybody saw us?" Clark asked, momentarily serious. His careful eye had detected no one, but he wanted to be sure.
"No," Pete said. "I watched. No one was out there." He then caught sight of Chloe's face and snickered.
Clark took one look at Chloe's stunned face and chuckled heartily. "You know." he began, "I never would've thought that Lana Lang would beat Chloe 'Wall-of-Weird' Sullivan to figuring out who I was," he mused.
Chloe didn't respond. She was taken aback by Superman's total lack of pretense. She had expected to end up prying the truth out of a bookish reporter. What was supposed to have been a one-on-one confrontation with her at the conversational steering wheel had become a small class reunion in which she was the one caught off guard.
"Chloe," Clark began with a gentle Kent smile on his face, "I'm not going to try to deny what you've apparently found out."
Chloe swallowed and gave a small smile in return. "Oh," she said, not knowing what else to say. "So, it is you, Clark."
Clark nodded.
Then her eyes fell on Pete and narrowed in suspicion. "You. You gave him the heads up on what I was up to, didn't you?"
"Well, yeah," Clark said, "but it was really Lana who convinced me to be honest with you."
"Lana," Chloe said as if noticing her for the first time. "You.know?" She looked around as she said this. All three of her companions nodded. "Yeah," Lana confirmed. She then turned to Clark. "Uh, Clark, joke's over. You can change back now." Despite what she had said, she was obviously still amused. "Not that I mind Superman," she added quickly.
"Oh, right," Clark nodded and, in a few seconds, stood before them in his khakis and cardigan once more, which seemed to help Chloe's confidence immensely.
"So, this is the mystery that Clark Kent carried with him all these years," the ditzy blonde said. "I knew it!"
Clark nodded. "Listen, Chloe, I trust you. I don't think I need to impress upon you how important it is that this stays between us," he said, doing a circular motion with his finger to indicate all those in the room.
Chloe grew serious. "No. I understand. My lips are sealed."
Clark nodded appreciatively. "Thank you."
Chloe smiled again. "It's just that.I'm kinda relieved. This explains so much."
"Relief. That seems to be the order of the day," Lana quipped.
Clark chuckled softly. "My dad is probably going to have a cow when he hears about this," he realized. "If there was ever one person who was more scared than I was about people finding out my secret, it's him."
"Yeah. I remember how he was when I found out," Pete added.
"Well, I hope he knows I would never tell anyone." Chloe began.
Clark cut her off. "I don't think trust is the big issue," he said. "The main thing I'm concerned about - and I think this is Dad's main concern, too - is that you must not only pretend that you don't know that I'm Superman, you must also pretend that there's nothing special TO know about Clark Kent. Because if some enemy of mine gets it in his head that you know who Superman is, it would be all too easy for him to put a gun to your head or something and demand that you tell him. Also, even if he didn't need one of you and just figured out my identity on his own, he may still target one of the many people I care for just because it's the only way he can hurt me."
Chloe and Lana both nodded in understanding, both gaining new insight into why Clark had always been so secretive.
Clark, who had been serious but far from morbid, suddenly grew grim. "And while we're on the subject, let's get one thing straight here and now: all three of you, if that does happen; if someone does threaten your life or even anything close to that if you don't reveal who I am, I want you all to promise me that you will tell whoever it is the truth." His eyes moved from Chloe to Pete to Lana, making sure they understood. "You tell them, and let me deal with them. Do not put your lives on the line. Keeping the secret is important, but it's not worth any single one of you." He stared into each pair of eyes, impressing upon them how serious he was. "Promise me."
Lana swallowed. She didn't want to be a liability to Clark's secret. He never stops playing the hero, she mused sardonically in her mind. Her eyes met his, and his plead to hers.
"Promise me, Lana."
She swallowed again. "I promise," she said heavily.
Clark gave her a small appreciative smile, then turned to Chloe. "Chloe?"
"Clark, are you sure?" Chloe asked. "If some villain knows who you are -"
Clark cut her off. "I'll deal with them. I had to deal with two people who discovered my secret back in Smallville, and I can do it again. Please, Chloe. I need to feel that you're all as safe as you can be with this knowledge."
It was Chloe's turn to swallow. "I promise," she finally uttered.
"Pete?"
Pete looked skeptical, but nodded in resignation. "Yeah," he conceded, knowing Clark wouldn't take no for an answer. "I promise."
"Good," Clark sighed. He then felt the need to lighten the mood. "So, enough about that stuff. Chloe, my natural-born journalist, tell me what I'm sure will be the interesting tale of how you solved the mystery of me," he grinned lopsidedly.
Chloe grinned back and assumed the stance of the storyteller. Like children waiting to hear a bedtime story, the others gathered around her.
By Jeune Ecrivain
Rating: G, maybe PG
Genre: futurefic, drama, romance
Summary: When Superman comes up in conversation, 25-year-old Lana Lang gets the biggest clue of her life.
PART III
"Hey, Clark!" Lana jumped up with the force of a sudden idea.
"What?" Clark grinned, now downright happy that there were no more secrets between him and Lana.
"Show me."
"Show you what?" Clark asked.
She gave him a look.
Clark grinned again, this time knowingly. Moving at super-speed, he brushed his thick hair back and took off his khakis, socks, cardigan, and underlying shirt.
Lana watched in awe at Clark's blurred, lightning-quick movements. She watched as the tan and white of Clark's outfit blended into and then gave way to blue, yellow, and red. In a matter of seconds, the bookish journalist was gone, and in his place stood a man in a blue leotard with bright red boots, a red pelvic region, a yellow belt, a red cape, and his trademark 'S' emblem displayed proudly on his chest. Lana stared in glee, marveling at how the same man could switch back and forth from being so mild-mannered to having such a commanding presence.
"So this is Superman," she said contentedly.
"This is Superman," Pete confirmed.
Clark opened his mouth to respond, but once again a knock at the door cut him short. Clark turned his gaze to the door and focused his eyes on it. The door became transparent, and there stood a colorfully dressed young woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and wide blue eyes.
"It's Chloe."
"Show-off," Lana teased.
"You know what." Clark half-smiled. I must be drunk with relief that Lana knows my secret, Clark thought to himself, marveling at the boldness of the idea that had suddenly struck him. Still, he mused, if done cautiously, it could very well be worth it. He x-rayed the door once more, as well as the surrounding wall, to make sure Chloe was the only one within eyeshot. Then, before anyone could say anything, he moved for the door, turned the knob, and opened it.
Lana gasped, and Pete was stunned.
Chloe had an entire strategy planned out. She was going to greet him as she usually would, converse lightly for a while, find some way to bring up Superman, and then gradually bring about the moment of truth. Her confidence in this plan put a smug smile on her face right up until the Man of Steel himself opened the door.
Moving with almost cat-like swiftness, Clark pulled Chloe in to his apartment and closed the door.
"You think anybody saw us?" Clark asked, momentarily serious. His careful eye had detected no one, but he wanted to be sure.
"No," Pete said. "I watched. No one was out there." He then caught sight of Chloe's face and snickered.
Clark took one look at Chloe's stunned face and chuckled heartily. "You know." he began, "I never would've thought that Lana Lang would beat Chloe 'Wall-of-Weird' Sullivan to figuring out who I was," he mused.
Chloe didn't respond. She was taken aback by Superman's total lack of pretense. She had expected to end up prying the truth out of a bookish reporter. What was supposed to have been a one-on-one confrontation with her at the conversational steering wheel had become a small class reunion in which she was the one caught off guard.
"Chloe," Clark began with a gentle Kent smile on his face, "I'm not going to try to deny what you've apparently found out."
Chloe swallowed and gave a small smile in return. "Oh," she said, not knowing what else to say. "So, it is you, Clark."
Clark nodded.
Then her eyes fell on Pete and narrowed in suspicion. "You. You gave him the heads up on what I was up to, didn't you?"
"Well, yeah," Clark said, "but it was really Lana who convinced me to be honest with you."
"Lana," Chloe said as if noticing her for the first time. "You.know?" She looked around as she said this. All three of her companions nodded. "Yeah," Lana confirmed. She then turned to Clark. "Uh, Clark, joke's over. You can change back now." Despite what she had said, she was obviously still amused. "Not that I mind Superman," she added quickly.
"Oh, right," Clark nodded and, in a few seconds, stood before them in his khakis and cardigan once more, which seemed to help Chloe's confidence immensely.
"So, this is the mystery that Clark Kent carried with him all these years," the ditzy blonde said. "I knew it!"
Clark nodded. "Listen, Chloe, I trust you. I don't think I need to impress upon you how important it is that this stays between us," he said, doing a circular motion with his finger to indicate all those in the room.
Chloe grew serious. "No. I understand. My lips are sealed."
Clark nodded appreciatively. "Thank you."
Chloe smiled again. "It's just that.I'm kinda relieved. This explains so much."
"Relief. That seems to be the order of the day," Lana quipped.
Clark chuckled softly. "My dad is probably going to have a cow when he hears about this," he realized. "If there was ever one person who was more scared than I was about people finding out my secret, it's him."
"Yeah. I remember how he was when I found out," Pete added.
"Well, I hope he knows I would never tell anyone." Chloe began.
Clark cut her off. "I don't think trust is the big issue," he said. "The main thing I'm concerned about - and I think this is Dad's main concern, too - is that you must not only pretend that you don't know that I'm Superman, you must also pretend that there's nothing special TO know about Clark Kent. Because if some enemy of mine gets it in his head that you know who Superman is, it would be all too easy for him to put a gun to your head or something and demand that you tell him. Also, even if he didn't need one of you and just figured out my identity on his own, he may still target one of the many people I care for just because it's the only way he can hurt me."
Chloe and Lana both nodded in understanding, both gaining new insight into why Clark had always been so secretive.
Clark, who had been serious but far from morbid, suddenly grew grim. "And while we're on the subject, let's get one thing straight here and now: all three of you, if that does happen; if someone does threaten your life or even anything close to that if you don't reveal who I am, I want you all to promise me that you will tell whoever it is the truth." His eyes moved from Chloe to Pete to Lana, making sure they understood. "You tell them, and let me deal with them. Do not put your lives on the line. Keeping the secret is important, but it's not worth any single one of you." He stared into each pair of eyes, impressing upon them how serious he was. "Promise me."
Lana swallowed. She didn't want to be a liability to Clark's secret. He never stops playing the hero, she mused sardonically in her mind. Her eyes met his, and his plead to hers.
"Promise me, Lana."
She swallowed again. "I promise," she said heavily.
Clark gave her a small appreciative smile, then turned to Chloe. "Chloe?"
"Clark, are you sure?" Chloe asked. "If some villain knows who you are -"
Clark cut her off. "I'll deal with them. I had to deal with two people who discovered my secret back in Smallville, and I can do it again. Please, Chloe. I need to feel that you're all as safe as you can be with this knowledge."
It was Chloe's turn to swallow. "I promise," she finally uttered.
"Pete?"
Pete looked skeptical, but nodded in resignation. "Yeah," he conceded, knowing Clark wouldn't take no for an answer. "I promise."
"Good," Clark sighed. He then felt the need to lighten the mood. "So, enough about that stuff. Chloe, my natural-born journalist, tell me what I'm sure will be the interesting tale of how you solved the mystery of me," he grinned lopsidedly.
Chloe grinned back and assumed the stance of the storyteller. Like children waiting to hear a bedtime story, the others gathered around her.