DISCLAIMER: All characters appearing in and/or relating to Superman (c)
Belong to those that own them. No infringement of copyrights or trademarks is intended.
Written by Christ Klien cck1115 FEB 2005
Dedicated to my hero, Christopher Reeve.
Email me cck1115pd.jaring.my
Comments and feedback are highly appreciated.
SUPERMAN : THE FEAR
The morning sunlight seeps into the living room from the slit between the heavy curtains at the sliding door. The room was usually neat, clean and organised, but not today. The morning newspapers are scattered on a table and some are flown to the ground by the gentle breeze. The master of the apartment, clad in tight blue and red boots and cape, is pacing back and forth in the room, seems in troubled. He backs to the table and snatches the newspapers, reading it seriously. The headline reads, "Superman fled, bank robber ran away with two millions." The words 'superman fled' in bold and oversize hurt him. He grimaces and recalls the event of yesterday…
There was a bank robbery down town. He arrived on time as usual to stop the robber from running away in a car. He was holding the car in the rear bumper, immobilizing it, despite that the robber had hit the oil vigorously. The robber had no choice but to give up and escaped from the car. He banged into somebody and fell hard to the floor. Superman gave a big smile to him and warned him not to try another futile attempt to escape. However the clumsy robber got his gun from his jacket instead and fired at him anyway. Bullets rebounded from his broad chest as they are supposed to be. The robber emptied the gun and tossed it away in despair. He grunted and sat on the floor insubordinately "what the hell are you? Anything that can stop you?"
Superman grinned broadly. "Well, hardly. And now you should be packed. Ready?"
Superman grabbed him at the collar and raised him up effortlessly. A paper bag dropped from his jacket and the insides scattered on the ground. Looking at the 'things', Superman stumbled awkwardly. He dropped the robber and retreated uneasily. The puzzled robber scratched his head in confused. He grabbed one of the 'things' and extended it to in front of Superman. Superman was freaked out and then flew away immediately, leaving the robber un-strapped.
The chubby robber looked at the tiny spot of Superman in the sky and then to the brownish oval snack on his hand in disbelief.
He muttered 'chocolate?'
Superman crumples the newspapers nervously; thinking of chocolate is making him real sick. He is getting intense, pearls of sweats begin to shred down on his forehead while recalling his childhood's nightmarish experience…
He was in his five years olds. He remembered he was so happy to see his dad came home as he had gone to town for business for the whole week. His dad cradled him and brought him to the mid-air right away, seeing his son was the greatest joy in his life. It made him feel refreshed and forget about the whole wearisome trip.
Jonathan, rubbing his nose on his lovely son's cheerfully, "Do you miss, do you? My lovely prince charming." Clark giggled happily, "Yes. I do. Where is my present? You promised me you brought me present." Jonathan put down his kid and shook his head inadvertently, "So you want only present. Don't want daddy." Clark grabbed his trousers immediately, "I want daddy. But I want my present too." Jonathan chuckled. He took out a golden box from his briefcase and extended it in front of Clark. He opened it up, "This is your present." Clark was bewildered; looking at the box of small shining brownish ovals, "What's it?" Jonathan picked one up and put it into his mouth swiftly, "it's called the food of haven; chocolate." Clark got the first taste on chocolate and he just loved it. It was so awesomely yummy that made him feel so great and contented.
Clark chewing the chocolate excitingly, "I want more. I want more!" Jonathan sealed the box with the cover, "No. You can only have one piece a day, after the dinner." Clark protested, "No! I want more!" Jonathan tried to reason with him. "it's bad to your teeth if you consume all." Clark started whining as his father walked to the kitchen. "I want, I want, I want!" Jonathan turned around and looked at him in a stern face making him stop crying. Clark remembered his mom said once that it was his harsh appearance that made his dad look so charming. But for him, it was frightening. Clark had no choice but to see his flavor food kept in fridge and could only have one a day after the dinner.
There was one morning, Clark woke up and found his parents had gone. He had searched the whole house and called out loud but without reply. He sat on the front porch blandly, wondering where his parents had gone to. Suddenly his face was lightened up. He remembered his flavor food kept in the fridge. He dashed into the kitchen and took out the box of chocolate from the fridge right away. Afraid that his dad would be back in no time, he threw in all the chocolates into his mouth and gulped them hurriedly. He was so excited; the taste was so great and wonderful. All of a sudden, the phone rang piercingly that had caught him in the middle, startled and choked. He was getting suffocated and running out of air. He coughed forcefully, trying to withdraw the foods but they were just blocked in his throat and couldn't come out. He couldn't breathe or cry out a sound! He was in great suffering and pain. He was scratching his neck, banging his head on the walls, ruining the kitchen before falling to the ground and rolling on the floor in torment. He was like a dying fish out of the water lying on the solid concrete floor, gulping heavily, begging for air…
At that moment, he was really scared. He thought he would be dead if his parents didn't come home soon enough to save him, even though he by now realizes that he can actually stop to breathe for easily two hours.
The fierce rings of doorbell awake him.
"Clark, are you there? Clark, open the door." Lois Lane is knocking and shouting outside.
Clark sweeps away the sweats on his forehead. He grabs the glasses on the table and puts them on before going to open the door. Lois walks in straight away as the door opened. "This is nonsense! This is purely bullshit! Where is the logic? What was this white head thinking or can he really think now?" Lois is grumbling as she walks to the living. She is as always, pretty, poise and authoritative and Superman is in his Clark Kent's proper attire now, tailing behind her to the living.
She sees the scattered newspapers on the table and floor. "This is ridiculous, right? Superman fled. How could Mr. White disregard my story I'd worked for two weeks and put up such a lame and untrue headline, how could he!"
Clark mutters sadly. "It's true… Lois." She turns and stares at him. "It's impossible!"
"A lot of people saw it. He flew away and let the robber ran free." Clark utters glumly. Lois drops to the sofa. "Caesar's ghost! This is making no sense at all!"
She is quiet for a while before she jumps up and exclaims, "Eureka! The story of the year!"
Clark is confused. " Lois, are you alright?" Lois is getting excited. " Don't slouch, Clark. We are having the story here. Superman fled. That's must be a reason and we must find out." She takes out her newspapers from her handbag briefly and seeks between the pages eagerly. She points at one of the articles. "Here it is. The witness said that she saw Superman flying away when the robber picked up the chocolate and showed it to him." Clark buries his face with both of his hands, feels really embarrassed.
"Chocolate? Superman's scared of chocolate? This is getting weirder and weirder." Lois begins her analytical skill. "Is he having the chocolate phobia?" Lois suddenly brought up a box of chocolate from her bag that makes Clark jumpy.
"Is it chocolate?" Clark is getting nervous.
Lois studies on the box of chocolate, preoccupied with her thought. "This is insane. No one will afraid of the food of haven."
"You're right, Lois. How could the greatest hero be afraid of the chocolate? He must have an emergency or something important to work on that he must leave immediately." Clark sneaks away from the box tentatively.
Lois, "But there weren't any catastrophes around the world?"
"Maybe this wasn't about the world… maybe something personal…" He has kept a clear distance from the box.
Lois shakes her head gently "'you're right. Clark. What am I thinking? I'm not like those lame brains that will believe the stupid story. He must be in an emergency or something important. That's right."
She notices that Clark has walked away. "What're you doing?" Clark goes and pulls the curtain to one side, letting the sunlight penetrate in wholly. "Hmmm… Getting some fresh air and sunlight…"
She goes and stands right in front of Clark. "Clark…"
He is getting uneasy. "Huh?"
Lois looks into his steely blue eyes. "If he even drops by to meet you, tell him that no matter what gonna happen, I'll be with him and if he want to talk with somebody about his personal stuffs… I'll be right there for him." She turns around and walks to the main entrance.
Clark points at the box of chocolate on the table. "Lois, you've forgotten your chocolate…"
"I'm on diet. You're lucky. You can have it and see you tomorrow in the office." Lois walks away.
"Why bought it if you're not gonna eat it?" Clark asks. "It looks delicious." Lois replied simply. She sees the puzzled look on his face. "You don't understand the girl stuff, smallville." She gives him a sugary smile before shutting the door closed…
Clark watches the box of chocolate intently. He can feel that his heart is pounding fast and erratically.
Clark takes in a few deep breaths. "Calm down, Clark Kent. It's only a box of chocolates, you're not scare of it." He musters enough courage to walk back to the table.
"You're Superman. You can handle the world vicious criminals. You can do it. You can overcome your fear." He steadily extends his hand into the box and picks up a piece of chocolate. "Yes, you can! Yes, you can. You're Superman!"
Once he has seen the chocolate out from the box, he instinctively withdraws his hand and let the chocolate drops to the floor. "Ghost Ceasers, this is disgusting!" the chocolate has melted and the chocolate stains are on his thumb and index finger. He unthinkingly cleans his fingers on his shirt and he taints it. "Oh, My God! What've I just done!" He takes a glare on the chocolate on the floor. "I'll not forgive you."
He unleashes two beams of heat vision onto the chocolate and it bursts right away. Clark drops his jaw to see his whole shirt and trousers are now blemished by the chocolate stains. He dashes into the washroom in no second.
He nervously takes off the shirt and the trousers and put them into the basin. He opens the tap awkwardly and the water gushes out. "Oh, man, this is my favorite shirt and pants." He washes his cloths tensely.
The water begins to turn chocolate and getting murkier. All of a sudden, the water runs up his hands mystically. Superman immediately withdraws himself. The water overflows from the basin and creeps towards him eerily. Superman retreats and stumbles from the washroom to the living room frightfully. He can see the water is after him.
He tries to get to the sliding door in the living room, but the chocolate box on the table has stopped him in the middle. He stares at the box uneasily as if the box is some kinds of monster. The box trips inexplicably. The chocolates roll out from it, drop to the floor and roll toward him. Superman is terrified and in panic.
Nevertheless, Superman manages to react accordingly. His crystal blue irises turn red. He unleashes two beams of heat vision to blast off all the rolling chocolates on the floor into powder. As Superman sighs a breath of relief, the chocolate powder liquefies and flows together strangely, and the water from the washroom has come. Both of them arch up amazingly and leap over to ambush him. Superman immediately takes a deep breath and exhales a cold breeze to freeze them. Everything seems settles and in silence now…
However Superman picks up an inaudible sound by his super hearing. He looks at the chocolate ice anxiously. The ice begins to crack and flows out a bead of chocolate liquid. It begins to expand and flow towards him. Superman stands stone against the wall. He can't move himself; he is now totally freaked out!
The liquid has come to his red boots and slowly crawled up. Superman shivers fearfully as the liquid has encased his whole lower body. It is still moving up. Gradually, the 'S' insignia on his square is blanketed. The chocolate liquid has snaked up to his neck and is going to creep into his mouth!!!
Superman is shuddering and sweating heavily. Flows of chocolate liquid are continuously channeled through his mouth and getting into him. He is getting suffocated and he cannot breathe. He is in great suffering. His head are turning red and his veins are bulging and visible…
"I… can't give up… I must… overcome… it… I must consume… all of them…" Superman trembles badly as the chocolate keeps crawling into his mouth. "I can… I can…" He is still holding on…
Finally, Superman has drunk in all the chocolate. He cannot hold any longer. He drops to the floor out cold.
Superman's eyes flutter. He slowly pulls himself to the sofa for a rest. He pants heavily as he regains his conscious and remembers what was just happened. He sees a reflection of him in the mirror on the front wall. His jaw and his mouth are messed with chocolate like a toddler after meal.
Superman runs his tongue around his lips. He gets a taste of the chocolate. "Hmmm… yummy!" Looking into the mirror, he gives himself a bright smile.
Superman lands gracefully on the pavement. The bank siren is still blaring noisily but the robber is surprisingly calm and isn't in a rash to runaway. He is kind of posing in front of his car like a supermodel and waiting for someone.
Superman walks toward him calmly. "Two millions for two weeks? How luxurious the life?" the robber is the guy superman let go two weeks ago.
The Robber greets Superman boldly. "I've been waiting for you, big blue. Why take so long this time?"
Superman places his hand on his shoulder. "To get a neat cell for you. Are you ready?" The robber swiftly takes out a brown bag from his coat and reveals the content.
"It's chocolate!!!" He smiles mischievously. Superman releases his grip. The robber grins broader. "scare? I can't believe it! This is just freaking hilarious! The greatest superhero is scare of chocolate!!! Ha… ha…."
Superman puts his hand into the bag and pick up a chocolate instead. He puts it into his mouth and chews it.
"Hmmm… delicious! Can I have one more?" Superman gives a naïve smile to the Robber. The Robber halves his laughter. He drops his jaw. His face is very pale.
"HELPPP!!!" the Robber screams to death. Superman is carrying him, soaring in the sky toward a polis station.
Clark Kent comes into the hectic room of Daily Planet. The workers are mostly pre-occupied and scurry about the place erratically. Clark Kent, as usual, is chipper and light and he greets to all the workers along his way, though being ignored most of the time. He is holding his brief case in one hand and having a bar of chocolate in another hand. He bites the chocolate gleefully and walks toward Lois's station.
"See! I didn't tell lie." Jimmy Olsen is with Lois Lane at her workplace.
"I can't believe it! What is happening to Superman?" Lois puts the photos on the table in dismay after having a good study on them.
"Good morning, miss Lane. Good morning, Jimmy. Something interesting?" Clark has come to them. Jimmy takes the photos and passes them to Clark. "Take a look." Clark arches his brows and studies their gloomy looks, while taking over the photos. They are a few snapshots of Superman in action, shot by Jimmy supposedly. "what's wrong of these? Superman looks as great."
"He is out of shape." Lois snaps.
Clark studies the photos again. The belly of superman is visible. It's pushing against the waist belt tightly.
"What is going on? What can we do, Clark? How can we help Superman?" Lois concerns.
"What the heck, Clark! You are having a tummy too!" Lois is taken aback to see the lump at the abdomen of Clark.
Clark looks at his belly in shock as if he is having it overnight.
"Clark, You are having too many chocolate!" Lois points to his chocolate. Clark looks at the chocolate in his hand and then his belly and back to the chocolate blandly.
"Dad was right." He throws the chocolate into the trashcan.
Clark grunts irritably "CHO-CO-LATE!!!"
The end…