[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/M3SfSt4.png[/img][/center] [i][b]Kent Farm Smallville, Kansas, Ten Years Ago[/b][/i] [color=RoyalBlue]"I....I don't understand...."[/color] I stammer, suddenly finding it hard to stay on my feet. [color=RoyalBlue]"I c-...I can't be a....an...."[/color] [color=CadetBlue]"You're our son,"[/color] says Pa, putting a hand on my shoulder to steady me. [color=CadetBlue]"You're the brightest boy in your class, you're the first to volunteer when someone in town needs a hand, and you're always there for Pete and Lana when you need them. You're everything your mother and I could have ever hoped you'd be. None of that's changed, Clark."[/color] [color=RoyalBlue]"[i]All[/i] of it's changed!"[/color] I blurt out, on the verge of tears. [color=RoyalBlue]"I--I know I've always been different, but.....now you're telling me I'm not even [i]human[/i]? I'm not even from this planet?!"[/color] [color=CadetBlue]"It doesn't [i]matter[/i] where you're from, son,"[/color] he insists. [color=RoyalBlue]"I'm not your son!"[/color] Pa is stunned for a second, actually takes a step back, then furrows his brow and steps forward to hug me. [color=CadetBlue]"Yes you are,"[/color] he says. [color=CadetBlue]"I don't give a damn if you're from the other side of the universe, or a million years in the future, or the seventh circle of Hell itself. That's not what makes who [i]who[/i] you are. I've watched you grow up from before you could even speak. I've watched you struggle with the things you can do. And I've seen you [i]choose[/i] to do right, again and again. That's what matters, Clark. You are who you [i]choose[/i] to be. And since the day me and Martha found you in that pod, we chose to be your Ma and Pa. And we're never gonna choose otherwise."[/color] I feel my chest start to heave, my eyes stinging with tears. [color=RoyalBlue]"...what am I gonna do?"[/color] I say between sobs. [color=RoyalBlue]"I...I can't just go to school and get a job and....and spend the whole time knowing I'm not like them.....it's driving me crazy.....and now.....now I know I'm not.....Dad....what am I gonna do?"[/color] He ruffles my hair and hugs me harder. [color=CadetBlue]"I know it's something every parent tells their kid,"[/color] he says with a weak chuckle, [color=CadetBlue]"that they can do anything, but hell, I think you actually [i]can[/i]. I've never been the kind to believe in things like fate, or destiny, or providence. I think it's up to us to make our [i]destiny[/i]. But that just makes it matter that much more. I've known you since before you even knew yourself. And I know you're going to choose to do right whenever it matters. Because that's the kind of man I've seen you choose to be."[/color] I sniffle, and turn away to look out at the night sky. The sky over Kansas at night is that deep dark blue, with the occasional vein of purple, that you only see when there's no city lights for miles on all sides. Thousands of stars, some barely visible glints, others bright and powerful fixed points in the heavens, look down on us, casting their light from unfathomable distances away. [color=RoyalBlue]"So....somewhere out there,"[/color] I say, drying my eyes, [color=RoyalBlue]"there's other people.....other people like me?"[/color] Pa smiles. [color=CadetBlue]"Clark, if I know one thing, it's that there's [i]nobody[/i] like you,"[/color] he says. [color=CadetBlue]"But you're right. You even being here means something incredible, something special. It means we're not alone. But you know what else it means?"[/color] [color=RoyalBlue]"What's that?"[/color] [color=CadetBlue]"It means [i]you're[/i] not alone, either,"[/color] he answers. [color=CadetBlue]"And you never will be."[/color] [hr] [b][i]Altitude 30,000 Feet 10 Miles from Gotham City (and closing) Now[/i][/b] [color=RoyalBlue][b]"Come on, [i]*rgh!*[/i]"[/b][/color] I grunt as my arms and back begin to ache, trying to push against a missile going nearly the speed of sound. The fuselage itself isn't much compared to some of the things I've moved in the past, but its velocity is great enough that I can barely make it budge. I don't dare just blast the missile apart, for fear of setting off the warhead over one of Gotham's suburbs. But that second wind I got from Lois seems to finally be wearing off. I've only got one real chance left to change this thing's course, or millions of people are going to die, including Lois....including Batman.....and very likely including myself. It'd be so easy now to just let go. To fly away, to tell myself that I did all I could do, that I've been running on empty for what feels like ages, and I just didn't have it left in me to stop this thing. To live another day. Instead, I make the choice I always do. The same stupid, reckless, bull-headed choice that gets me into trouble just as often as it gets other people [i]out[/i] of trouble. I grit my teeth, and I really put my muscles to work. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/9HAdcvZ.png?2[/img][/center] [color=RoyalBlue][b]"GYYAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!"[/b][/color] With a determined, primal shout, I push as hard as I can, feeling metal creak and bend in my hands. Smoke, and steam, and radioactive fallout wash over me, but I feel the missile starting to change course. A few seconds later, we're not over Gotham anymore. We're over the ocean, getting further out. The missile keeps trying to correct course, but I keep pushing it back away. Somewhere in the back of my head, I realize I'm not going to be able to get away from this thing in time. Even if I let go right now, I'll still get caught in the blast. In the moment, I'm okay with it. This is what I choose to do. And if this is really it, that's fine. Because in this moment, I'm not alone. Pa's here with me, assuring me as always. Ma's with me, too. And Lana, and Pete, and the whole town of Smallville. And Jimmy, and Perry, and everyone else at the [i]Planet.[/i] Hell, even Batman's here with me. And Lois. Oh God, Lois. If there's one regret I have about this, it's that there wasn't enough time for us. Still, at this moment, you're here in my heart. It's okay. [color=RoyalBlue][b]"I lo--"[/b][/color] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/adMUPUO.png[/img][/center]