Superman Chapter: Indecisivenes

It was raining. He could have left his apartment and flown to some place dry and sunny but it wouldn't have mattered. The darkness outside and the rain hitting the window reflected the mood that he was in at this exact moment. Things weren't as perfect as they seemed on the outside. It had been weeks since he talked to Lois and his last conversation with her was pure lies, and she knew it. Was it worth not having her for the sake of protecting her? If she knew, what dangers could this secret hold? When would they speak again? His thoughts then changed to his purpose in Metropolis. At one time this city looked at him like a god, but he knew there was only one perfect soul to walk this earth and it surely wasn't him. Metropolis needed a true hero. Not some blur who stayed in the shadows. He needed a serious change but his indecisiveness held him back.

He then decided to take off his glasses and rest on the couch. It had been a while since he actually had time to analyze his life and get his priorities together. He had spent so much time dedicated to saving lives and stopping criminals that there were seldom moments for self-actualization. He flipped through the channels on his tube television, each one fascinating him. Some with happy people, some reality shows- which he disliked, some news, some comedy, but as he watched he was reminded that these were his people. Their contentedness made him content and their laughter made him laugh. These people molded him into the man he is today. His hopes, dreams, and cares all lied with this planet, with these people, and unto them he would mold his purpose in life.

He turned off the television, picked up his glasses, and walked into his room. It was plain. The bedroom of his apartment had a bed spread from his former house in Smallville, a lamp his mother gave him for Christmas, a desk that had been seldom used, and a framed Bible verse on the wall that his father had given to him before his death. He sat on the bed and looked into his closet knowing what was inside. He opened up his closet. Unlike his bedroom, his closet was filled with wonders. Next to his business suits was a black suit with a white S symbol on the chest. He looked down at his dress shoes and saw the slick black boots that went with his black "alien-like" suit. He knelt down and opened a chest that he and his father had built in high school. Inside it was a familiar high school year book, an octagonal disk with Kryptonion symbols on it, a wrinkled, decayed rose that he wore on his tux to his Senior Prom with Lana Lang, and a glass box containing a red blanket that wrapped him in his ship on the way to earth 31 years ago. In the bottom there was something he didn't like, something he feared, his weakness. The small lead box was the only thing that could contain this sin of creation. Though he knew what was inside, he would never open it. He set the led box back in the chest and closed the lid hard enough that no human would be able to open it. He backed away from his closet, shut the door and laid on his bed.

The next morning he rose and put on his clothes for work. It had been a long weekend and he was looking forward to work at the Daily Planet. He had a pretty good routine of getting to work that worked well most of the time. He would always run in super speed to an alley about three blocks from the Daily Planet on the corner of 5th and Capital Street. From there he would walk the rest of the way. This particular morning he watched the people frozen in time as he sped past them. Their expressions all displayed different emotions. Most of these people were on their way to work just like him. He noticed one woman falling down with her papers thrown into the air. He paused for a moment and wanted to help her but knew that it would be obvious that he appeared out of nowhere to catch her. He decided to speed to a nearby mattress store and lay a mattress on the area which she would fall. By the time he returned, she had fallen a few inches but there was plenty of time. He decided to collect her papers from the air and neatly stack them next to the mattress and he continued on his way. Once he made it to his usual slow-down point, he would usually stop and pick up a newspaper from the Inquisitor News Stand. This was the competing news paper of Metropolis and he would have to be on his toes when writing for the Daily Planet. Though he could pick up and read the paper in just a few seconds, he thought it looked better to carry it with him to work. Hopefully Chief Perry White would see him with it and give him the promotion he had been hoping for.

When he entered the Daily Planet the usual smells of coffee and paper filled the air. He made his way up the stairs towards his desk on the first floor. His fellow employees greeted him as always and he called them all by name. Their faces always lit up when he greeted them by their first name and he enjoyed this feeling. As soon as he made it to his desk he sat down and heard a very familiar voice. "Clark Kent," she said with an obviously irritated tone. "How was your weekend?" Well Lois I.. He turned around slowly and paused for a brief moment to quickly think of something that he possibly could have done this weekend. "I went to the Horticulture Exhibit down on Jones Street." Lois looked surprised. "I never knew you were very into horticulture Clark," she stated. "Well there are a quite a few things you don't know about me Lois," he said. "I guess you're right," she said. She made her way back to her desk and he watched her every step. Everything about her infatuated him, her scent, her eyes, her determined attitude, and the way she fixed her hair from time to time when she thought no one was looking. He had saved her more times than she knew but she accredited it to "The Blur" or as she sometimes called him "Superman". He loved her and she loved him, yet they both knew there was something between them that needed to be fixed. The problem was the secret, if only he didn't have to lie to protect her things would be perfect between them, or so he