Clark was weary. It had been a year since he'd led the Justice League into a lost cause. Those who hadn't died on Apokolips had been taken over in slavery of the worst kind, mind control. The members who had made it back to Earth in possession of their lives and bodies were largely blaming him. It was fine by him, most days he blamed himself. Darkseid now had control of Earth, mining the planet's core for his selfish gain. Time was running out slowly but surely.

Today, he was particularly down. He was exhausted emotionally and physically from trying to find a way to stop it even though he was powerless. The green kryptonite tattoo Darkseid had left on his chest burned into the shape of his emblem pained him. It pained him every day, but it hurt the worst when it was cloudy, and he didn't have the sun mitigating it.

He smiled when he saw his wife. Lois had papers scattered around their room, and she sat in the middle of the bed puzzling over them as she held her pen against the corner of her mouth in thought. It reminded him of when they'd worked at the Planet, and he'd watched her work. He couldn't take his eyes off her then, and he couldn't take his eyes off her now.

She finally saw him standing there. "Clark! Why didn't you say something?" She immediately took to clearing off the bed. "Did you make any progress?"

"No." That's what had him the weariest. He could feel the tiredness down to his very soul. He took a seat on the blue comforter, too exhausted to even pull it down. "Did you?"

"I think Constantine may be somewhere in Europe. There's definitely been some strange occurrences there that could be tied to him. I printed off every article I could find that had even something slightly strange. Do you want to read them?"

He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to ward off the pain and get a little focus back. "Not tonight, honey."

If they could find Constantine, then they could find Damien, and they'd be a step closer to freeing Batman. They would need everyone left if they could even hope to attempt to make a final stand.

She realized then just how bad he was feeling, and she helped him out by unbuttoning his shirt. "Oh, sweetheart, I wish there was something I could do for you."

He paused her unbuttoning to interlace his fingers with hers. "You already do help me."

She smiled at him, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. He wanted them to, needed them to, so he teased, "You could bring me breakfast in bed tomorrow, make me some eggs and bacon."

That got a laugh out of her, short as it was. "If I bring you breakfast made with these two hands, it'll finish you off."

She went back to her task at hand and slid his shirt off as as gently as she could as if she were afraid he was made of glass.

"You could bring me some dessert right now," he said suddenly not as tired as he once was with her so close.

She regarded him warily as if there was some imaginary barometer she could read on his person that would let her know just how much pain he was in. "I think the only thing you need is a good night's rest," she said in her militant voice.

She was so cute when she played nurse, and a piece of her hair slid out from her messy updo that undid him. He tugged her closer using the belt of her short white housecoat. "I can think of no better prescription for restful sleep than a little exertion beforehand."

He could tell she was still on the fence, so he cut off her protest with a kiss, which she became as lost in as him. Feeling her caresses and the warmth of her closeness had the power to take him higher than his flight ever had, and in these moments, the world and the constant pain faded away if only for a little bit.

sss

Afterwards, they lay together and she traced the glowing green symbol of hope with her feather-light touch. It didn't just mean hope on Krypton, it had come to mean hope on Earth as well, which was ironic when one considered it may have been slowly killing him. He sighed. "It might as well mean disbelief, faithlessness, distrust."

She turned his face to hers. "You can't give up. We can't give up. Hope isn't gone; it's still alive, and we have to continue the fight."

"You're right. Together we are strong, and we can do anything."

Satisfied, she nestled back into the crook of his arm.

In truth, he didn't know what tomorrow held. No one did, not even supermen, but he did know he could face anything with Lois by his side believing in him for even in a dark, apocalyptic world, she remained his bright spot.