Whoa. A-K, you still rock!
I'm blown away by your ability and facility with the present tense in this story. I wasn't sure that anyone could maintain the tension throughout the entire tale with all the points of view you were using, but you're doing it masterfully. And your thought bunnies are still on point and still move the dramatic story forward, even when you show the characters being pulled out of focus by them.
For example, this:
“Who do you want to be?” James asks, for the third time, as if the question is simple and the answer clear.
tells us what James' mindset is while showing us Clark's whirl of confusion about himself. And the discussion between Superman and Lois on the roof of the Planet was, without a doubt, one of the most painful things anyone has ever inflicted on her. But it was, for this tale, totally and completely necessary to vocalize her pain and explain it to Clark's satisfaction. She
had to get it out of her head so he could help her carry the weight of her guilt and so he could show her how to lay it aside once and for all. After all, it's no less than she's done for him. Wonderfully presented, wonderfully handled.
I'm sorry that we're so close to the end, because reading this story has been a highlight for me each week. Yet I'm glad, too, because these two people need to be released to be themselves again. Lois must be the Planet's top investigative reporter. Clark must be her companion and best friend and protector. Superman must have a place to go and a person to be while he's not saving the world, and he's finally figuring out that he can't be Superman 24/7/365 without paying a terrible price, one that would eventually bankrupt and then destroy him.
They're so close, yet so far away! Look how far they've come, separately and together, yet look at how much farther they must go! You've opened their minds and hearts to us, A-K, and you've done it so well that we don't realize it unless we lift the hood and trace the circuitry down to the power source. This is a beautiful tale, beautifully told, and I can't wait to see it win a Kerth in the spring.
