[Third Person Pov]
Clark held the golden-haired assassin firmly by the head, his grip steady as her body went completely limp in his grasp. Her arms hung loosely at her sides, and her eyes rolled back until only the whites were visible. Faint, crackling arcs of energy continued to snap and flicker between his fingers and her scalp, lingering remnants of the force he had used to clear the external influence from her body.
"...She's not dead, is she?" Clark asked cautiously, his voice low as he glanced at her unmoving face.
"No, she is very much alive," Sol reassured him, a hint of amusement in his tone. "To put it in simpler terms, her neural pathways have been severely overworked, and her brain is currently in the process of rebooting. I estimate she should regain consciousness within an hour or two, possibly sooner depending on her physiology."
Clark let out a quiet breath at that, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. "I'll need a place to hold her in the meantime," he said as he shifted her weight and hoisted her over his shoulders with ease. Without wasting another second, he bent his knees slightly before launching himself upward, bursting into the sky at incredible speed.
The empty, distorted space around him seemed to dissolve almost instantly, peeling away like a curtain being drawn back. In its place, the familiar sounds of the city rushed in all at once—distant chatter, car horns, the hum of everyday life continuing uninterrupted. Any trace of the battle that had just taken place was completely gone, as if it had never happened at all, leaving the civilians below none the wiser.
"You could use the holding cells Lala constructed within the Fortress," Sol suggested. "They should be more than sufficient to contain her for the time being while you tend to your personal affairs."
"I was thinking the same thing," Clark replied with a small sigh as his cape streamed behind him, snapping in the wind from the sheer speed of his flight. "I'll have to thank her for her foresight when I get the chance."
Keeping a secure hold on the unconscious girl, Clark accelerated even further, his form becoming little more than a streak cutting across the sky. He crossed vast distances in moments, the landscape below blurring together as he made his way toward the Fortress of Solitude.
When he finally arrived, the icy structure stood as imposing and silent as ever, its crystalline surfaces reflecting the pale light around it. Clark descended smoothly, touching down before immediately calling out to one of the Superman Robots that were maintaining the Fortress.
"Here," Clark said as he carefully handed the girl over to the robot. "Make sure to place her in one of the holding cells we have. And if she wakes up before I return, see to it that her basic needs are taken care of."
The robot gave a silent acknowledgment before turning and carrying the girl deeper into the Fortress. Clark watched them go for a moment, making sure everything was handled, before running a hand through his hair with a tired sigh. As expected, the single curl at the front fell right back into place the moment he let go.
"Like a band-aid, Kal-El," Sol remarked, easily picking up on the exasperation in Clark's breathing and tone.
"I know, I know…" Clark exhaled, his shoulders rising and falling as he steadied himself. "Where is she right now?"
"She is arriving at her stop," Sol informed him.
Clark gave a small nod, his expression tightening with resolve. In the next instant, his figure blurred as he moved at super speed, vanishing from where he stood. When he exited the Fortress, the force of his sudden takeoff kicked up a wide spray of snow behind him, leaving a long, carved trail in his wake.
…
Komi stood rooted near the train doors, her body stiff and unmoving as she stared down at her phone with wide, unfocused eyes. The screen glowed faintly in her hands, but she barely registered it. Her mind was elsewhere, struggling to process everything she had just seen.
The image refused to leave her thoughts. A figure wrapped in a swirling storm of red sand, its movements almost unreal, with only the intense glow of piercing blue eyes visible through the chaos. That image had burned itself into her memory, replaying over and over again no matter how hard she tried to think of anything else.
That was Clark.
The same Clark she saw every day. The boy with the constant scowl, the sharp glare, and the snarky attitude that often made him seem unapproachable. The one she had come to know since the start of school. The first person who had reached out to her, who had spoken to her without hesitation, who had made the effort to understand her even when she struggled to communicate.
The same person who went out of his way to support her, to stand beside her, to quietly look after her without ever making a big deal out of it.
He was Superman.
The thought alone felt impossible, like her mind refused to accept it even as the evidence replayed itself in front of her eyes. The two images didn't seem like they could belong to the same person. They were too different, too far apart to reconcile easily.
And yet… at the same time, it made a strange kind of sense.
Komi knew, better than most, what kind of person Clark truly was beneath that rough exterior. She had seen his kindness in small, quiet moments that no one else seemed to notice. He was, without a doubt, one of the kindest people she had ever met.
So she could understand how someone like Clark could be Superman.
But that understanding didn't make it any less overwhelming.
'Clark is Superman…'
Even just thinking the words caused her thoughts to spiral again, tangling over themselves as she tried to grasp the reality of it. Her grip on her phone tightened slightly, her breathing shallow as she stood there, completely lost in her own head.
Her mind was, quite literally, blown.
She almost missed her stop entirely, so lost in her daze that the world around her blurred into background noise. It was only at the very last second, when the train doors chimed and began to slide open, that she snapped back to reality. With a small gasp, she hurried forward and managed to step out just in time, her feet landing unsteadily on the platform.
Komi paused as soon as she cleared the doors, her body going still when she noticed a figure standing a short distance in front of her. He stood straight, waiting, wearing a simple blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Thin-framed glasses rested neatly on his nose, and his hair was its usual scruffy mess, strands falling over his forehead in a way that looked completely unbothered.
"Yo…" Clark raised a hand in greeting, offering a stiff grin that didn't quite hide the tension underneath.
"C-Clark…" Komi stammered, her voice barely above a whisper as she stared at him. "You're… You're…"
Clark quickly lifted a finger to his lips, gently shushing her before she could continue. "Let's not talk about it here," he said quietly, glancing around the platform. "We should go somewhere more private."
Komi nodded without hesitation, still too overwhelmed to argue, and followed as Clark turned and began leading the way out of the subway station. They walked side by side toward a nearby park, one that happened to be empty at this hour.
The silence between them stretched the entire way.
Neither of them spoke, but the tension was thick, filled with everything left unsaid. Clark rubbed the back of his neck, clearly feeling Komi's gaze fixed on him, intense and unrelenting. She didn't even try to hide it, her eyes glued to him as if looking away might make him disappear.
When they finally reached the park, Clark slowed to a stop and motioned toward the swings. Komi hesitated for a brief moment before sitting down, her hands resting uncertainly at her sides. Clark remained standing in front of her for a second, then gave a small, almost awkward smile.
"Go on," he said, gesturing lightly. "Say it. Get it out of your system."
Komi's fingers tightened around the cold metal chains of the swing, her grip firm as if grounding herself. Then, without holding back, she blurted out the only thing her mind could focus on.
"You're Superman…"
Clark spread his arms slightly, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "The one and only…"
Komi opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. She closed it again, then opened it once more, completely at a loss. After a second, she brought both hands up to the top of her head and leaned forward, trying to process everything at once.
"How…" was all she managed to ask, her voice small and strained.
Clark snickered, unable to help himself. "Well, you see, when a Kryptonian mom and dad love each other very much—"
Komi immediately began waving her hands at him in a flustered panic, cutting him off before he could continue. Her cheeks flushed a deep shade of pink as she shook her head quickly. "I didn't mean that… I… I don't know what I meant…"
She pressed a hand to her forehead, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. "This is just too much… I think I'm getting lightheaded…"
Clark's expression softened, his teasing fading as he let out a small chuckle. He looked down at her apologetically. "Yeah, don't worry. I get it. This is a lot to take in," he said, his tone more gentle now. "Take your time."
He moved over and sat down on the swing beside her, pushing off the ground slightly so that he began to sway back and forth in a slow, relaxed motion. He gave her space, letting her work through her thoughts without rushing her.
After a few moments, Komi's breathing steadied, and she lowered her hands. Once she felt even a little more grounded, the first question that came to her slipped out.
"What happened… back on the train?"
"Ah, that…" Clark leaned back slightly on the swing, rocking lazily. "I had to reveal myself to you. Otherwise, the train would've gone off the tracks over the broken overpass and… well, you all would've died."
He said it so casually it almost didn't register at first.
"W-What?" Komi turned toward him sharply, her eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights.
"Yeah," Clark continued in the same offhand tone, as if he were talking about something completely ordinary. "Turns out the whole thing was orchestrated by an intergalactic assassin. She was after me and figured wrecking the train would get my attention."
Komi slowly stood up from the swing, her legs moving on their own as she stared at him in complete disbelief. Her mouth hung open slightly, her eyes widening further with every word he said.
Clark glanced away for a second, trying and failing to hide a snicker at her reaction. When he looked back at her, he raised a thumb with a confident grin.
"Don't worry," he said. "I obviously won. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here talking to you right now."
Komi didn't respond. She just kept staring at him as if he had suddenly grown a second head. At this point, though, she wasn't entirely sure that would even surprise her anymore, not after everything she had just learned about him.
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