Yay, another part!
both men reminded her of Kal-El now more than ever. Every fiber of her being was poised to flee. Her breathing had become labored as she fought to restrain the impending encroachment of panic.
No doubt she has the worst PTSD in the universe. In two universes.
“You’ll have to test your efforts, you know,” she retorted. “You can’t just rely on those who know him - you’ll have to- some of his former victims will have to assess how believable you are.”
That will be hard for both Kent and Clark. They'll definitely have to think of this as an acting job, one where they "get in character" to play the evil Clone-El. I hope they can think of it that way, and not as something that is inherent in them because of their Kryptonian-ness or their Clarkness. (if you know what I mean.)
“This mission is truly life or death - you know this world's Lois will insist on seeing you – perform.”
Yep, it's going to have to be an acting job. But hey, Kent plays two different roles every day - Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter, and Superman, powerful but benignant space alien. So playing the role of Clone-El could be just another job for him. Maybe that's how he should look at it.
Clark, of course, having been "outed" as Superman by Tempus, doesn't have that daily acting experience any more. And he wasn't Superman for very long before his disguise was tattered. So I'm a little worried that he might not have the acting chops to play this role. OTOH, he has the most at stake in this fight - it's his Lois who was most affected.
“The idea that you both are witnessing his abuse of other women makes me feel violated as though you're seeing what he did to me. Logically I know I've got no reason to be ashamed, but I am ashamed... and I'm so scared that someone will slip in a memory of my abuse. I'm sure Zara is one of the people sharing her memories – and she saw a lot of what I went through.”
A very important paragraph. It's so true. Abuse victims often blame themselves. Lois knows intellectually that she shouldn't, but deep down, she's still not sure that somehow she herself wasn't to blame somehow. Her thinking is still messed up, despite therapy and being married to alt-Clark.
Both men flinched at her use of the word ‘them’ - they were ‘them’ when it came right down to it. Aliens. Off-worlders. Interlopers. Invaders.
And of course this pushes both Clarks' buttons.
