Yes!! I'm finally caught up!! But, you know, CC, I've a really *great* excuse for being behind... really. /me whistles innocently and puts this
link in...
"Ok," was all he said, but he moved towards her and pulled her into a loose, friendly embrace. And, rather than feeling suffocated, as she would with anyone else, or feeling as if she needed to claw her way free to keep up her momentum, keep herself from sinking onto the stoop next to Silas and letting the tide of despair catch up to her; she sank into his arms, burrowing her face into the side of his neck, breathing deeply. She went limp against him and his hold tightened easily. "I've got you." His breath warmed her ear and came dangerously close to pushing her off balance, pitching her towards tears.
"I'm not going to cry," she said, lifting her chin. Just in case he thought she might.
"That makes one of us, then," he returned softly.
OH!! How sad is that!!!
"What if I just warned you about attending a certain function? Just that. Just told you not to go. Told you to talk Lois out of going-"
/me sniffs... wipes a few stray tears from her eyes... I... I... can't talk...
"What do you mean?" Silas was clearly intrigued. "To just do what?"
"Be Superman. Or be the Superman everyone seems convinced I am."
Very smart of you, Clark.
"Obligation?" Silas guessed, and something in his tone, something in the question, caught Clark's attention. He stopped worrying he was ruining the hero for him.
That's a relief... and... just really so great for Silas to hear all this. He *needs* to hear this, not just because it's great for him to hear family history straight from the source, but he needs to hear the driving force behind the original Superman because he needs that same drive. He needs not to brush aside his powers and abilities as almost a burden.
Sorry... reading on now...
Silas nodded. "Right. No one. It was just you. No kids to help you, yet. No one to eventually take over when you're ready to share the burden. Not for a long time."
The heaviness in Clark's heart lifted at once. "My kids... help me?"
Silas froze. "Oops."
AWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!! I now know the literal definition of all choked up...
Silas smiled. "You aren't alone, you know. Not ever again. Not after Lois. I think I can tell you that much."
Clark turned away, blinking back the sudden tears in his eyes, too moved and too full to speak.
Oh god, same here! *huge snuffle*
Clark chose his words carefully. He needed to get this right. "After college I traveled the world a few times over. Is that known?"
“Sure, you were looking for a big enough city to operate unnoticed in."
Wow! This just blows me away that the image of their founder and hero is so changed. Makes you wonder *why* it was changed. (Still snuffling, btw). Personally, I think the true story would be better, more fairy tale like... picture perfect. But then again... looking from the family pov now (and through the generations), they'd need something to convince all the superpowered kids that it was their responsibility to help. Their legacy.
"No. I was looking for a place, Silas. Some place, any place... where I fit. Before Metropolis I found temporary places, but I was always searching for something I couldn’t even name, really."
*sigh* and *snuffle*
“You grew into being Superman.” It wasn’t a question and he could tell by Silas’s face it was something of a revelation. “You weren't always.”
“Not always, Silas,” he said firmly. “And not yet. I’m no saint. I’m no... icon. I’m just... me.”
That right there... Silas's revelation... is just great! And Clark's response... it's one of those gems, CC.
“I had to pick Lois up and move close to superspeed to catch up with you.”
Silas stilled. “You... did?”
Ha! Knew it! Knew he hadn't realized his full potential. Now... is it because he dreads just being a "hero" by name since there's really not much to do in the way of saving? Or is it because of the changes to the time stream going on?
No.” Silas shook his head vehemently, obviously glad to be asked a question he could answer easily. “I can’t.”
“Have you tried?”
“What? No! There are no flyers left. None.
OH. MY. GOD. OMGOMGOMG. This... this means something. Big. And... I can't wrapped my damned head around it!! Like he's... Well, there was all that talk of soulmates and stuff... and... erm... maybe I should read ahead for that "throwback" explanation before I go on.
“A throwback is a member of the family who has... has... oh... God.”
“All of my abilities,” Clark guessed, and he knew by Silas’s expression he had gotten it right. “You’ve mentioned how my powers were diluted over the generations. But the throwback has them? All of them?”
“And no one knows why,” Silas said slowly. “STAR labs did endless genetic studies trying to see if they could predict who would be next, if there would even be another, and what the variable was.”
“And?”
“And it’s still a mystery.”
OH. MY. GOD. OMIGOD. OMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH GOD! Sorry... ahem... OH GOD... I need to calm down, seriously. But... this is HUGE. Way huge! OMG! It's the soulmate, the throw back is! Duh, that's obvious, Sara, but... OMG! Silas is THE guy and... who's his Lois I wonder. Okay... stopping now before I embarrass myself further...
He watched the words sink in, watched as their meaning found their way into Silas’s eyes and moved across his face as dawning comprehension. “But... if I can fly...”
“...you’re the new Superman.”
Sara (still not breathing right... but at least that crying has stopped...)
