Superman

@supesclark

Clark lifted his head from the menu when he heard someone speak. She was standing beside the table, glancing down at him from where she stood. Specifically staring at him and calling him the wrong name. "Oh, actually it's-" He tried to get a word in to correct her but the girl just kept going and he took that time to curiously look her over. She looked like she could be related to Lois. He knew Lois's features well. She slid in across from him describing how it was her favourite coffee shop and finally she mentioned her sister. He couldn't help but smile at the mention of Lois. "You must be Lucy." Clark said, "Um, sure. Okay, but don't you want to see your sister?"

Jon would have lost his head if it wasn't attached to his shoulders. During a fight with a few goons he had misplaced his cape and felt naked without it. His mom would be furious with him if he returned to his timeline without it, especially after she patched it up for him for the umpteenth time. "Uh, hi." Jon floats to a nearby passerby, offering them a wave and a crooked little grin as a greeting. "Y'don't know me but I'm lookin' for my cape." He speaks in a warm southern drawl as he looks around, trying his best to spot his lost garment. "It's red, sorta looks like a curtain. Ring any bells?"

Was he dreaming? Or was someone else wearing the S? He was floating right in front of him. Looking as real as ever. His first thought was that it was a copy cat... just some kid with powers who looked up to him. It wouldn't be the first time it happened. The only trouble was that he approached Clark Kent on the street. So either he knew he was Superman or this was a very strange coincidence. "Um, no. I haven't seen it... but I can help you look." He decided. Lowering his glasses to subtly use his X-Ray vision and have a look around. "Aren't you a little young to be a superhero, Son?"

"That's nice, darling." Silver nearly sighed with defeat. She bartered in secrets and connections and Clark seemed to have nothing to offer her... nothing but genuine friendship. The idea tugged at something deep inside, something that she had killed and buried long ago--the need to be close to another person. She pushed the need back down and told it to stay down there. It was a distraction, a weakness. Being heartless is what saved her from herself. She didn't need a real friend, she needed more power. "Is it? Good thing I don't know what I'm missing out on."

Clark tucked away his small notebook he had and focused his attention on her after she mentioned that she didn't know what she was missing out on. How could that be true? It felt so deeply sad to hear her openly admit it and he knew that a lack of a support system could lead someone down a dark path. "Yeah, it is." He told her, "You really don't have any friends?" He asked her quietly. Keeping his voice down like it was a shameful secret. "Do you want to talk about it... or? I mean- you must be lonely?" Nothing was coming out right. All Clark could be was dumbfounded.

Koriand'r made her way around the crowd, wandering aimlessly as she searched for-- well, she was not sure what she was searching for. A friend to speak with, perhaps? Or maybe she was watching for trouble. She approached a server and took the fruitiest drink on the tray. The glass was tall and filled with a pink liquid. Strawberries and raspberries floated among the ice cubes. Koriand'r took a sip and grinned at the sweet taste with the hint of heat that followed. The girl moved to go through the crowd again but she tripped over the unusually long train of someone's gown and spilled her drink all over the person in front of her. "X'Hal's light, I apologize profusely, I am not usually so careless."

Clark could see it coming from the corner of his eye, but a little too late. Even though he could move out of the way with his super-speed... he knew better to risk it. So, he braced himself for the spill. Flinching at the liquid against his only dress shirt and his best tie. The girl in front of him bumbled out an apology and he held out his hands. "It's alright," He assured her. "You don't have to apologize profusely. It was just an accident." Clark told her, glancing down at the pink stain on his shirt and brushing off a raspberry. "Are you okay? You didn't sprain an ankle, right?" He moved his glasses to quickly check her foot with his x-ray vision. Glancing up her only to note that she didn't really seem all that human internally. His heart pounded from the idea that she could be an alien like him and he blinked away his x-ray vision. He didn't have a lot of people he could talk about it... but what if he was wrong? He couldn't just ask: Hey, are you an alien? That was weird!

Lois looked at him for a moment, before taking a step back and pulling her phone out. “Smile,” she ordered him, softening the command with a smile of her own. She took a couple of pictures and promptly texted them to Clark. “There, you can send those to Ma Kent,” she said, smiling at him again. She had never met the woman, but Clark talked about her all the time -- she pictured a cute little grandma type, someone who barely came up to Clark’s elbow. Of course, everyone seemed diminutive next to Clark, even someone like her. She hadn’t ever been seen as delicate in her life, but standing next to Clark, she looked like a kitten next to a lion. It was funny, considering Clark was the gentlest, kindest person she had ever met, that he just happened to be built like a Greek god. She’d also never met anyone who was so utterly unaware of the fact that they were absurdly gorgeous. She had lost count of the times she’d had to tell Clark that a barista or a server had been flirting with him. 

She pulled out her phone and pointed it towards him, ordering that he smile. Clark gave her a confused grin, only understanding when she mentioned Ma Kent. "Of course." He said with a chuckle. "She'll appreciate it." He didn't really have the heart to tell her that Martha Kent wasn't really all that good with a cellphone yet. He tried explaining texting to her but she always told him that she preferred it when he called the landline. Mentioning that she missed hearing him talk, and how could he turn her down? He visited her often in Smallville. More so now that Pa was gone but he'd send her the pictures anyway. It was kind of Lois to think of her. Even though they'd never actually met. He wanted them to meet. Which he knew was a strange thing to want when you weren't even dating someone. He just knew that Ma would like Lois. She had a spark to her that just about everyone he knew found intoxicating. A kind of burning passion that he'd never seen in anyone else before. She cared about her job, sure, but Lois Lane cared about a lot more than that and she cared about things in such a spirited way.

"I don't take anything personally, Clark." Silver said quietly and then shook her head. That was the wrong headspace to enter into right now. She laughed at the young man's request. Everyone wanted to be her friend--for her connections and nothing else. Clark might have a heart, but he was still press. "My friendship is a prize to be earned. Or bartered. Do you have anything to offer?" Silver asked and gave the reporter a wicked smile.

"Anything to offer?" Clark repeated, "People do tell me I have a great personality. I'm a good listener..." He said offering a smile, "And if you're ever sick, I have Ma's recipe for chicken noodle soup. It's very good. Why do I feel like this is an audition right now?" He had never walked in her world before but he was aware enough to know what she meant. Of course, he had to wonder how genuine any of her friendships were or if they were all based on what she could get out of them. "It's nice to have a real friend, you know?"

There was something about the Journalist's choice of words: 'regular old Gothamites', that didn't settle well in her mind. Not after learning what she had about her so-called 'rehabilitated' father and certainly not after the time and pain she had put into creating her own vigilante persona. Nothing about her felt regular since learning of his plan to continue committing crimes without his calling card. She was someone new; Stephanie Brown, daughter of Cluemaster, but also Spoiler, vigilante novice. "Uh, yeah, I guess." The blonde nodded. "Nice to meet you, Clark from the Gotham Gazette. I'm Steph." She offered, holding onto hope that he wouldn't request her full name for the interview. "Do you have specific questions or do you just want to know vaguely what people think? Because I have to know what you hear at the end of the night if you're asking vaguely."

"Nice to meet you too. Just Steph?" Clark asked, "Would you like me to leave out your last name for the interview? I don't mind doing that for you." He told her. He really didn't mind, especially if she wasn't comfortable. He was all too aware that some people just didn't want their name out there in the paper. He actually found it was more common here in Gotham. There was a darkness to this city that he just wasn't used to yet. It's innocent people suffocated in it. His heart bled for them. Even knowing this city had Batman, it didn't feel like enough. He was more like a legend. People whispered about Batman like he was a frightening ghoul. It didn't feel at all like the way the citizens of Metropolis spoke of Superman. "I have a couple of questions." Clark stated before flipping a page back in his notebook. "But if you have opinions outside of the questions that you'd like to express; I'm all ears! So... Were you old enough to have voted for Aubrey James when he was running?"

Silver smiled. She loved to make people squirm at the thought of getting on her bad side. She thrived on the power that she held in this city. If you pissed off Silver St. Cloud, you could expect to be blacklisted from every event in the city worth going to. "Calm down, Mr. Kent," she said and patted his chest condescendingly. She released his hand (which was not as strong as it looked... had he been holding back?) and took half a step back. "Are we on a first name basis now, Clark?" She asked.

He couldn't really afford messing up his relationship with Silver St. Cloud, but it wasn't just that. He whole heartedly didn't want to offend the woman. There was no worse feeling than unintentionally hurting someone. He gave her a lopsided smile as she patted him and told him to calm down. Confirming that he at the very least, he didn't upset her. "I'm glad you didn't take it too personally." Clark said, letting go of her hand when she did. She asked him if they were on a first name basis and he shrugged. "Only if you're alright with it. I would like to be your friend... especially given how often I might have to come to you in the future."

Silver St. Cloud turned at the familiar voice of the man. He was attractive, in an obvious Kansas farm boy way, but Silver didn’t fraternize with the Clark Kents of the world. She frowned at Clark’s words. He had interviewed her before, on several occasions, as she was an incredibly important figure in Gotham’s elite. “Regular? Oh, darling, you know I am anything but regular.” Silver said, her nose wrinkling in disgust. She looked at his hand for a moment and then decided to shake it; she was wearing gloves, after all. “When it comes to the mayor, I couldn’t be happier. He keeps me quite busy with all of these parties, both as an event planner and an honoured guest.”

"Oh, Miss St. Cloud! I came up from behind, so I didn't realize... Please don't take that as an insult. I promise, I didn't mean it as one." He tried to assure her. Noting how her face scrunched up with distaste. A socialite like her would have worked all of her life to stand out. She wasn't anything like him. She didn't spend her time purposely trying to blend in. He slouched to make himself appear a little smaller, he wore glasses because it made him appear more human. And wasn't that everything Clark ever wanted to be? Human? But not everyone wanted to blend in like he did. "I really am sorry." He told her as she took his hand. Hers were so delicate in his own and he made sure to be gentle with it as they shook hands again. Only his concern about insulting her did cause him to shake it a little too fast and heat rushed to his cheeks. "Wonderful. Thank you, Silver. I really appreciate it."

It was not often Dick encountered Clark outside of his Superman-esque. Living in different cities tended to help with that, also the secret identity thing. Yet-- there was a moment he wanted to drop the formalities, call out an Uncle Clark even if the man wasn't really his Uncle. Years knowing eachother didn't make you family. "This is so weird." Dick couldn't help but comment. Superman and Clark Kent, ultimately, were not one in the same. There was a reason his identity worked so well. "I mean--- I'm Dick." He faux introduced, a grin offered.

"What's weird, son?" Clark asked him with a gentle smile. He didn't quite recognize him. He was young but clearly an adult. His face shape and voice were familiar but Clark couldn't seem to place it. Besides, he'd only been in Gotham a month or two. When he mentioned his name, he finally realized in part who he was. "Bruce Wayne's ward? You must get bothered by reporters all the time. You're welcome to make a comment in the paper if you want to but if you don't, I won't hold it against you." He took his hand back, figuring the boy wouldn't want to shake it. He was probably sick of being hounded by reporters.

Fish turned around slowly, making sure to blink her mismatched eyes very pointedly. "And what part of me makes you think I'm regular?" she asked. But there was a bemused smile on her face, sharp at the edges but not enough to draw blood. Not yet. "But still, if you want a moment of my time, I'd be happy to talk. Can't promise I'll mind my manners about the mayor, but you won't mind. Will you?" She stretched out her hand and grasped his. All she had to do was make a command, let the power pulse from her and into his skin -- but she didn't. No need to play with her food, this poor boy was no threat to her. Now he was the very definition of regular. "Pleasure's all mine, Clark. I'm Fish Mooney. That's M-o-o-n-e-y. Don't forget that e now, I won't want to look silly in the paper."

There was an oddness to her that he couldn't place... but Clark didn't like to judge people. Besides, Gotham was a little edgier then Metropolis. Maybe it was the staggering crime rate or the gothic architecture, but this city had the most unusual of folks. Which was why someone with her punk style really did seem like a regular Gothamite to him. "I didn't mean it as an insult, ma'am. I assure you that." Clark promised her earnestly and then nodded her head when she said she wouldn't mind her manners about the mayor. "That's alright, your point of view is still valid." Clark told her. Smiling with she took his hand and told him her name. Fish? It was unusual but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable, so he didn't comment. He'd been working on his handshake for years now. Firm but gentle. He used to be so scared of crushing other people's hands by mistake.

Lois grinned again as she saw the color spread across Clark’s cheeks. She had never met anyone who blushed as easily as Clark Kent -- and, not that she would admit it readily, but she found it incredibly endearing. Forget the readiness to blush, she didn’t think she’d ever met another living soul who was so…sweet. So genuinely and effortlessly sweet. She laughed as he trailed off, the smile staying on her lips. As it always tended to do around Clark. She raised her eyebrows as he went on, inadvertently implying that she didn’t always look nice. Although she knew that wasn’t what he meant, and in any case, she definitely didn’t dress up like this all the time. You couldn’t go traipsing after a story in cocktail attire, after all. “Thank you,” she said, smiling up at him again. “So do you.” She reached up and straightened the knot of his tie. “No!” she protested, whining a little bit, as she stretched up -- pointlessly -- on her tiptoes to try and grab it. “Clark, come on!” She huffed and looked up at him. “Fine,” she said, thrusting her hand out mulishly for him to take. “Let’s dance.”

Lois Lane's smile was something he could never get used to, no matter how many times she tossed it his way. He knew they were only friends, but that smile made him flustered. The problem worsened with all of her teasing and her sassy spirit. She was looking at him with raised brows, trying to make him nervous as he sputtered out the words about how she looked nice today. When she thanked him those prickling nerves still didn't melt away. "Thank you." He only really had the one suit. Clark always rented them when he needed them. For prom, for dances, for graduation, for events early on in his career... he only ever ended up buying one when Lois and Jimmy encouraged him to do so. Jimmy said something along the lines of 'not being in Smallville anymore'. Which wasn't completely true. His heart was still in Smallville. Beating with all of the polite lessons he was taught on the farm. She reached up and fixed his tie for him. Which he didn't realize wasn't done up all the way. "Oh, and thanks again."

Lois couldn’t help but grin as Clark spoke, tilting her head back to look at him. “Oh, so you think I’m regular, huh?” she said, her smile widening as she teased him. He towered above her, but that never stopped her from -- gently -- poking fun at him. It wasn’t her fault that it was so damn adorable when he blushed. She wasn’t expected to just ignore that, was she? “I know who you are, Smallville, we share a cubicle wall,” she said. She smiled at him again. “How’s it going?” she asked him, trying to sneak a peek at his reporter’s notebook. “Got anything juicy?” She wiggled her eyebrows in a pantomime of suggestiveness.

"Oh!" He'd come up from behind her to ask her, not immediately recognizing her like he probably should have. Now that he was paying attention, he could hear the distinct beating of her heart and each soft breath that she exhaled. He knew her. All too well, he knew her. So, when she turned and gave him that teasing look, his cheeks instantly flushed red. "You? Regular?" He let out a near nervous laugh, "No. You're um..." Extraordinary. He thought the part he couldn't seem to find it in him to say so he let the words trail off into an abyss. She reminded him that she knew who he was and he reached up to run a hand through his dark hair. "Yeah, I know. I just didn't recognize you. You look nice." He paused, "You always look nice... just... I mean you're all dressed up." Clark pointed out, only for Lois to try and sneak a peak at his notes. Swiftly, Clark shut it and held it up over her head so she couldn't reach. "I'm sorry, Miss Lane but if you want a peak; You're going to have to dance with me."