"What do the rest call you?"
He didn't want to tell her, but Clark had learnt a long time ago that if his mom really wanted to know something, resistance was useless. "Rubber," he said quietly.
And why do they call him Rubber? My guess is that he strikes them as so well-groomed and meticulous that he might as well be a rubber doll.
![[Linked Image]](http://sedgehammer.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/ken-doll.jpg)
Clark Kent?
"Perry knows things have been strained between Mayson and me recently, but I don't think he knows that Mayson's continual attacks on Superman land so close to home."
Gaaahh! Clark, you sure needed to get away from Metropolis if you found yourself in such bad company there!
"You're not thinking of moving to Australia, are you? Permanently?"
Clark's pause was infinitesimal but he knew it was long enough to spark his mother's suspicions.
"You *are* thinking of staying there?" she pressed.
"No," he said. "If I stayed there, I'd still be Clark Kent, formerly of Metropolis. If I move, I need to go some place where there is no link to the past."
Yeeech! Clark Kent as a fugitive, hiding behind his third identity!
"I'm not making any decisions yet, Mom," Clark said. "I want to help people, I want to use what I've been given to make a positive contribution to the world that has been my home for all these years ... but I just don't have what it takes to be a big celebrity. I hate it when they gawk at me. Superman's not even real - he's just a front, yet people can't accept that. They either idolise me like some sort of god - you've seen all the merchandise - or they are terrified that I am going to hurt them. The only way I can live my life is to be Clark Kent, regular guy. But every single time I use my powers, I put that in jeopardy."
Well put. I so love that Clark Kent, awesome superpowered guy, is so modest.
"She'll have to be someone very special," Martha said. "Someone trustworthy, someone loyal, someone who can overlook a few unusual circumstances and appreciate the heart of a truly special man."
And I love how Martha put that! And we know that Lois is definitely up to the job!
You described another love in this chapter, the love that footy fans in Victoria feel for their clubs:
"I don't know what it's like your country, but here - in Victoria - footy is everything. Many, many people - people whose lives are hard, people who have very little - find their greatest joy in their footy team. They identify with it, love it, consider it a part of their family, talk about it, mourn the lost games, gloat over the victories, and cry over the memories - both good and bad. It is something that binds us all together. It is said that if you can talk footy, you can talk to anyone in Melbourne and find common ground."
When you said this, I thought of what you said in your comment to my FDK for part 3 of your fic:
Interesting that American football is about to hit Sweden.
Well, no. American isn't "about to hit Sweden". Because there won't be much of an impact.
American football is already played in Sweden. We have a team in my hometown of Malmö, called the Limhamn Griffins. They play their matches at the Hästhagens IP, close to where I live:
Hästhagens IP I cycle past this playing field every day on my way to work. Occasionally there is a game of American football going on. As you can see, there isn't room for a lot of spectators.
Sweden has a national team, too. Here they are playing against the Danish national team. As you can see, the Swedish players don't even wear the same style helmets. I believe the match was played at Hästhagens IP. Who won? I think Sweden did, but really, since so few people care the result probably made page seven in the sports section.
American football. Sweden vs. Denmark Why are some sports so incredibly popular in some countries and regions, and so forgotten and ignored in other countries and regions? I think it is all a question about local traditions. Do you see this sport a lot on TV where you live? Do the newspapers write a lot about it? Are you expected to know the names of the best players? Will little kiddies wear kiddie versions of the best player's jerseys (or shirts, or whatever they are called)? Are people encouraged to consider their support of a certain team an important part of their identity? Will "ladies' magazines" write about the best players' marriages and love affairs? If the answers are yes, yes, yes, yes and yes, then the sport will be extremely well-loved in the part of the world where it gets this much attention.
In Sweden people tend to be passionate about soccer, if they are passionate about a sport at all. These are the entusiastic fans of the soccer team of Malmö, MFF:
![[Linked Image]](http://almostanything.betsafe.com/blog-se/files/2010/03/Tifo_mff.jpg)
It's strange that people can feel so much for a team, or maybe it isn't strange at all.
And Lois's team is in danger of being relocated and "lost". Something tells me that Lois will help save her team. And maybe she will save Clark from Mayson, too?
Ann
