Intro: Hey everyone welcome back. Some quick news I'll be departing on a trip to Mexico tomorrow and I'll be gone for a week, so I might miss next week's update. I'll try my best to get some writing done, but I can't promise anything. If I miss next Friday be assured I'll be back on schedule the following week.

Thanks: I'd like to thank all those who read and/or favorite this story. An extra special thanks goes out to unoaranya30, whatweareafraidof, Wondiebuff, ben10987654321 and Hellacre13 for taking time to write reviews.

ben10987654321: Lex is always scheming something…and it's rarely anything good.

Wondiebuff & Hellacre13: I think after five chapters I've built up the story enough to introduce the other main character of this story. Hope you both enjoy chapter 6.

Disclaimer: The characters and the franchise all belong to D.C/Warner Bros, no infringement is implied.

"I agree with him one hundred percent Clark. Heroes are meant to inspire people, and you can't do that when no one can see you."

It was a little over a week later, Clark and his mother were seated at the kitchen table in the Kent Farm and just like she had his entire life whenever he needed it, she was giving him some practical advice. The Senate wasn't in session and she had come home for the weekend to check in and see how Clark was doing. He had told her about the formation of the Justice League and how Oliver had told him that he needed to become a more public figure and to his surprise she agreed with him.

"If your father were here he'd say the same thing, he always said how you were destined for great things, how you were meant to help people and I know he'd want you to embrace your potential and achieve everything your capable of."

"Mom I do want to help people, I'm just not sure how I can help people as a hero and live a normal life as Clark Kent. I can't see myself putting on a mask and going out to save lives, if I'm doing that I might as well be rescuing people from the shadows."

"Then maybe you shouldn't wear a mask honey."

Clark sighed. "That puts me right back where I started from, how am I supposed to separate the hero from the man?

Martha thought hard for a few minutes before it came to her. "If you can't use a mask as the hero then the solution should be using the man as the mask."

Clark looked at her bewildered, but she was on a roll now and she got up and rummaged through a drawer for a moment before retrieving a pair of glasses. "These belonged to your grandfather, try them on."

Clark hesitated but humored his mother and slipped the glasses on, his mother observed him for a moment. "Hmm not quite, come here." She reached up and pushed his hair back. "We're getting closer but…something's missing. Take a look at yourself in the mirror honey and let me think for a moment."

Clark walked over to the mirror and was shocked, the glasses muted the deep blues of his eyes to a near grey and his hair looked at least ten years out of date. Clark wasn't a trendy person but at that moment he felt like such a…dork. He slouched over and turned around to see his mother looking at him oddly.

"What?"

"That's it, that's what's missing. Clark, hunch your shoulders like you were a second ago."

He tried to do it again without success; Martha walked over and after messing with his posture for a few minutes pronounced that she was satisfied.

"You look so meek Clark; I don't think you have to worry too much about someone thinking you're a superhero."

Clark had to admit she had a point; he looked more like someone who was liable to be mugged as opposed to someone who could lift a city bus with one hand.

"Now as for a costume, ever since I saw Green Arrow on television last year I've had a costume design in my mind if you're okay with it I'd like to start working on it."

"You've thought about this before, how did you know that I'd want to do this?"

She smiled. "It's a mother's job to know her children Clark. I think I can have it ready for you in a couple of weeks, in the meantime I think you should start going out dressed like that, try and draw attention away from yourself and get people used to seeing you like that."

"How do I explain the glasses?"

"You could say you've been wearing contacts your whole life but got tired of the hassle or something."

Clark hugged his mother. "Thanks Mom, I know you're busy with your work at the Senate and I really appreciate you helping me out."

She returned his hug with interest. "Oh Clark I'll never be too busy to help out my son. Now what would you like for lunch?"

Lois was at her desk attempting to proofread and put the finishing touches on an article and cursing under her breath because the spellcheck wasn't working properly. Lois was in a foul mood, after the incident with the Black Canary she and Oliver had only spoken once; he had called to check if she was alright and to apologize for putting her in danger.

That had been over a week ago.

Lois didn't know where they stood at the moment and while she desperately wanted to clear the air with Ollie, she'd be damned if she went to him first. As far as she was concerned he had been in the wrong.

"If you hit those keys any harder cuz, you might end up breaking a finger."

"What's up Chloe?" Lois asked wearily, although a moment ago she had been all keyed up it seemed all the energy drained out of her.

"Well I know you've been kind of bummed out about Ollie and everything so I was thinking maybe we can-

"Sullivan, my office now!" Perry roared over the din of the news room.

"Whoops looks like duty calls, but I was gonna say maybe we can meet up for lunch later and just have some girl time?"

"I'll think about it." Lois deflected.

Chloe smiled assuredly and walked over to Perry's office and Lois got back to her story, but before she could get back into the groove…

"Excuse me miss, but are you Lois Lane?"

Lois looked up irritably and turned around, a tall smartly dressed bespectacled man stood nervously at her desk.

Lois tried to bite down her rude reaction to being interrupted. "Yes I am; can I help you?"

"You don't recognize me?"

Lois sized him up. "No, should I?"

He reached up and removed his glasses and seemed to stand taller. "How about now?" he asked with a grin and a noticeably deeper voice.

Instantly she knew who it was and her early ire evaporated. "Smallville- how the hell…"

For the first time since he had met her, Lois was at a loss for words.

"Pretty good huh?" he asked replacing the glasses and assuming his former demeanor.

"I'll say, why are you dressed up like something out of Geek Weekly?"

"It's part of- oh hold on a second; here comes Chloe…act natural."

As Chloe walked over Lois let out a fake laugh, like she had heard the punch line to an amusing joke.

"What's so funny Lois?" Chloe asked casting a curious glance over her cousin and the tall stranger standing next to her desk.

Lois grinned at Chloe. "I just heard a funny joke from Mister…what was your name again?"

"Kent, Clark Kent."

Chloe did a double take. "Clark?"

"Yep it's me Chloe, what do you think?"

"I didn't recognize you at all…how did you do that?" Now that she knew it was Clark she could see subtle signs of her friend but there was no denying he had caught her completely off guard. She was having a hard time equating the Clark she had grown up alongside with the individual standing before her.

He told them about his discussion with his mother and her suggestion to use Clark Kent as his mask.

Chloe shook her head in disbelief. "Your mom was right, I've known you most of my life and I didn't recognize you."

"That's an understatement; unless super-hypnotism is one of your abilities Smallville."

Clark looked disbelieving. "Super hypnotism, really?"

Chloe choked back a snicker. "Well other than proving you're a master of disguise, what're you doing here Clark?"

He shrugged and pushed the glasses up his nose with his index finger, a gesture that looked so natural one would assume he had been doing it all his life. "Well, I figured if I can fool the two people closest to me, the disguise is pretty good… that and I have an interview with Mr. White."

Chloe grinned smugly. "You decided to take my advice huh?"

He shrugged sheepishly; again the gesture fit his current appearance to a tee. "I'm kind of running out of options at this point. I've tried the Star, Inquisitor, Gazette and Metro Times. It seems no one is looking to hire."

Lois patted his arm reassuringly. "Don't worry Clark, I'm sure you'll get on, Perry's fair. If you have any talent, he'll give you a chance to prove yourself. He hired me and up to that point I'd built my career on reporting for rags."

"Thanks guys I'd better go and check in with the secretary, I'll see you later." He walked off and stumbled into a chair knocking it over; he picked it up and apologized sheepishly. He sat and waited, nearly twenty minutes later Perry stuck his head out and beckoned Clark over to his office.

Clark walked in and was immediately assaulted by a thick cloud of cigar smoke. Of course the smoke didn't bother him, but for appearances sake he faked a coughing fit.

"Pardon me." He walked over and opened a window. "Nasty habit, I haven't managed to kick it after fifteen years of trying. Never start smoking Kent."

"No sir."

Perry shot an odd look at him. "Did you always have those glasses?"

"Err… They're fairly recent; I got tired of hassling with contacts, sir."

Perry didn't seem to be listening and sat down. "Now I've been going over your resume Kent and I've seen some of your work from back when you were in high school. You're a good writer, but I interview dozens of good writers every week, what makes you different? Why should I hire you?"

Clark paused and gave the question serious thought before deciding to answer truthfully (mostly). "Well sir, I believe wholeheartedly in the power to inspire people, to affect positive change in people. It's no secret that the Daily Planet is one of the largest and most trusted publications in Metropolis and the ability to reach so many people means that this publication has the power to affect people's lives by bringing attention to issues and ideas people would not be normally aware of. That's what I want to do and that's why you should hire me, I want to help people be aware of the world around them and that they have the ability to positively change it just as much as Green Arrow or The Red-Blue Blur."

Perry stared at Clark hard for a moment before relenting and nodding his head. "You remind me of a young me Kent; wide-eyed and determined to help save the world. I'll tell you what, I'll give you a week to bring me an article that shows me the type of man you are; the type of reporter you want to be. If you impress me, you get the job…sound fair?"

"Very fair sir."

They stood and shook hands and Perry dismissed him shortly thereafter.

Lois was still messing with her article by the time Clark got back, Chloe had disappeared for a lunch date with Jimmy (it seemed their relationship was on the rebound) after Lois had declined to go with her. "How'd it go Smallville?"

He filled her in on what had gone on.

"See? I knew you'd do great. Any Idea what you're gonna write about?"

"Something about Human Interest, I'm thinking of trying the local soup kitchens."

Human interest was a little out of Lois' particular field of expertise but it sounded like a solid plan and told him so.

After pointing out a few spelling errors on her paper he got up and walked to the elevators disappearing into a crowd of people.

She watched him, somehow knowing that he was going to come back with something golden; it was just how Clark worked.

"Give 'em hell Smallville." She muttered before belatedly realizing that he could probably hear her. Flushing deeply she went back to her article.

A Real Life Hero; Bibbo Bibbowski

By: Clark Kent

You won't turn on the news and find stories of Mr. Bibbowski saving Metropolis from bank robbers or nuclear meltdowns. But in his own way Mr. Bibbowski is just as much a hero as the brightly colored mystery men and women who've appeared in our fair city as of late.

Bibbowski(52)a lifetime resident of Hob's Bay (more popularly known as Suicide Slum) was the recent recipient of a lottery ticket worth ten million dollars. Unlike many people who would see such a windfall as a ticket to escape the depressed area of Hob's Bay, Mr. Bibbowski has used his winnings to give back to the area he had grown up in.

"The way I figure it, if I didn't have a few good breaks in life I'd have ended up dead a long time ago. What kind of guy would I be if I didn't help others now that I've got the chance?"

Bibbowski has thus far saved an Orphanage from closing due to budget cuts, restored a local tavern and hired over a dozen homeless men and women and donated ten thousand dollar' to the local mission.

(Continued on page 15)

It was three days later and Clark had come through with flying color's landing a spot on page six and more importantly a job at the Planet.

Jimmy, Chloe Lois and Clark were out celebrating at a local watering hole. Jimmy who had recently become less cold to Clark was trying to get his friend to loosen up and have a drink.

"Come on CK, don't be such a stiff. Have one beer."

Clark who was resisting for appearances sake (alcohol didn't affect him) rolled his eyes and accepted the beverage.

"Thata boy, I propose a toast…to Clark Kent, one helluva guy!"

Lois and Jimmy who were both quite tipsy from the evening clinked bottles together sloppily. Chloe on the other hand who had only enjoyed a single Cosmopolitan rolled her eyes at Clark who smiled back at her.

The mellow mood was broken by a subtle vibration inside Clark and Chloe's ears; their Justice League communicators. True to Oliver's suggestion they had both kept the earpieces on them at all times, fortunately up until this point they hadn't had to use them; it had been a quiet few weeks in the city.

It seemed the respite was over.

Quickly shooting glances at each other they made excuses (mainly for Jimmy's sake) and quietly slipped out the back entrance of the establishment.

Almost in sync they reached up and gently tapped their earpieces. J'onn's voice issued in clearly.

"Clark, Chloe we have a situation, I received a report that a subway has de-railed downtown, I need you two to get down there and see what you can do."

"We're on it J'onn."

Clark looked over at Chloe in time to see her shimmying out of her cargo pants and pulling a hooded cowl over the top half of her face.

Clark looked at his longtime friend in surprise. Underneath her street clothes it seemed Chloe was wearing her uniform; It was a modified white bodysuit with red inlays that ran the length of her arms and down the sides of the suit, a small black belt adorned her waist, over her left breast was a stylized E. "What do you think?" she asked nervously.

"Wow." He said truthfully. She looked every part the superhero "What's the E stand for?"

"Empath…as in Empathic healer, I know its lame but Zatanna thought it fit and I couldn't think of anything better." She finished with a shrug. "What about you, I can't wait to see what you've got."

He avoided her eyes. "I've got nothing…uhh…my uniform isn't ready yet."

Chloe shook her head. "Well that's just perfect, what're you going to do? You can't reveal yourself in public."

Oliver's question about him using his speed as a means of concealment taunted him from the back of his mind.

Knowing that lives were at stake Clark quickly removed his glasses jacket and tie, hating that he had to Clark tore his tie down the middle and his jacket in fourths. He then made a sort of turban and used half his tie to secure it to his head, with another part of jacket made a bandana. He looked at Chloe for approval and saw that she seemed to be trying not to laugh. "Well I can honestly say no one will recognize you. Let's get going."

He wrapped an arm around Chloe's waist and launched himself skyward, less than two minutes later they were downtown. Fire and rescue crews were still blocks away but a crowd of late night commuters had gathered and were taking pictures with their cellphone cameras.

Feeling fortunate it was an open air platform Clark landed with Chloe, instantly dozens of people attention was rooted on them.

Feeling suddenly self-conscious Chloe began speaking in a loud clear voice. "Folk's I'm gonna need you all to step back, I'm Empath and this is… uh Bandana Boy, we're here to help but we need space, paramedics and firefighters will be here soon, so give us some space to work."

The crowd which had sniggered at Chloe's impromptu name for Clark also stepped back when instructed to do so; it seemed she was a natural at this sort of thing.

Thanks to the lateness of the hour the train was only three cars and wasn't filled to capacity as was normal during peak hours.

Bandanna Boy and Empath wasted no time, Bandanna Boy used his strength to open the trains door's and the two of them had proceeded to help the shaken but mostly uninjured passengers and conductor's from the train. They worked quickly and with the ease of two people who had known and trusted each other for most of their lives. Empath took care of keeping people calm and Bandanna Boy preformed the heavy lifting. By the time the rescue crews arrived the train had been evacuated and replaced on the track's and the two mysterious hero's had disappeared.

Thus that night the legend of Empath and Bandanna Boy was born.

"Bandanna Boy, honestly Clark what were you thinking?" Martha asked putting the finishing touches on his costume.

Clark sighed, he had already had to deal with this from the entire league and Lois, and now it seemed his mom was joining in on it too. "It was in the heat of the moment Mom; I made the best of what I had available and if you'll remember I never actually called myself that, Chloe did."

Martha had seen the video which was making its round on the internet and after recovering from the shock of seeing Clark caught on tape, she had found the whole thing rather amusing.

"Here you go sweetie, try it on."

Clark took the uniform and disappeared for a few moments before returning and looked himself over in the mirror, he turned around and smiled.

The uniform consisted of a long sleeved dark blue shirt with a large yellow pentagonal shield with the red crest for the family El on it. She had decided on that to emphasize Clark's alien heritage to the public and to further distance's himself from his alter ego. Next was a pair of red trunks that were worn over a pair of dark blue pants, a yellow belt with a miniature family crest as the buckle held them up. The pants tucked into a pair of calf high thick soled red boots. The ensemble was complete with a long flowing scarlet cape, on which another crest of the family El adorned, this one was pure gold.

"I made it extra snug, because it'll show off your muscles and I noticed that when you were younger and used to wear tighter clothes they never seemed to tear or get dirty, although I'm a little worried about the cape tearing."

He strode over to her and gave her a hug, and even though she knew it was Clark, he seemed so much more bold and regal in his uniform; he seemed like a whole different person. "I'll be extra careful with it mom, It's absolutely perfect." A shadow fell across his face. "I just wish dad was here to see this."

Martha's eyes shone brightly with unshed tears. "Clark, never doubt that you father would be proud of the man you've become. And if he we're here he'd tell you that himself."

As he lay awake that night Martha's words echoed in his head, knowing that there was only one way he'd be getting peace that night he slipped on his costume and after checking that the coast was clear flew out of his bedroom window and to the Smallville Cemetery.

Silent as a ghost he landed in front of his father's tombstone. For so long he had blamed himself for his father's death but over the last year he had found a measure of peace. In a struggle involved trying to save Lana's life Clark had injected himself with a dangerous drug; it had stopped his heart and he had crossed over to the other side and met his father who had told him how proud he was of him.

"You are going to touch the lives of so many people. Not just as a man, but as a symbol. You're a symbol of peace. You're a symbol of justice. I'm proud of you son."

Whether it had actually happened or was just a hallucination of the drug, he didn't know but it had helped him make peace with some of his demons.

"Dad…I used to hear you say how I was destined for great things and I didn't get it." He chuckled. "I didn't want to do great things….I wanted to be normal. But I'm not normal, I can do so many amazing things and I believe you were right dad; one man can make a difference. For so long I fought what I was… who I was, but you saw it didn't you? Well I'm not running and I'm not fighting it anymore I've accepted myself and I want you to know I'm going to do my best…give it my all and try and become the man you knew I could be. I'm going to try and make you proud dad."

He bowed his head and gently touched the tombstone one last time before he lifted up into the air and was swallowed up by the inky black night.

A/N: Clark's article looked a lot better on but FF messed with my fonts & spacing so apologies that it came out messy.