Here I am with another quote from this Kerth nominee story:
"Clark --" she unconsciously shifted a few inches closer to
him. "Clark, he obviously doesn't know about you. Maybe you
*can* stop him somehow."
"Lois, thank you for the vote of confidence, but I don't think
so."
"Why not?" she demanded. "You have the abilities. You just
never put on a red cape."
"Let's not forget the blue tights," Clark said dryly. "Or the
red underwear, for that matter."
"But Clark, don't you *see*? If you *do* become Superman, you
can stop this!"
His expression showed his exasperation. "Lois, how exactly can
I stop him, just by putting on that awful suit?"
"It's not awful! It's -- eye-catching, that's all!" She nodded
emphatically. "Besides, it's so much more than that. It's the
idea behind it, Clark. It's a symbol. You're making yourself
into a beacon!"
He looked at her for a long moment, as if not quite sure she
was actually finished. "Are you always like this?"
She flushed, suddenly realizing that she'd gotten a little
carried away. "I'm sorry. I'm a little high-strung sometimes, I
think."
"A little?" He laughed. "Lois, you're a Stradivarius!" He
sobered and shook his head. "Besides, I am most definitely not
putting on that suit."
"Why not?"
He took a deep breath. "Look. You seem to have this incredibly
relaxed attitude towards my abilities, but not everyone is
going to look at it that way. I've always made sure to hide
what I can do."
Lois winced. "So you never have a chance to be yourself?"
Simona
