Disclaimer: All recognisable characters, plotlines etc. are the property of DC Comics, Warner Bros and December 3rd Productions. I own nothing.
Author's note: This is set during Madame Ex, before they discover Ariana is behind everything.
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Lois calls me naive sometimes. Maybe I am.
I really thought it was over.
I thought that the stories we've written exposing Luthor's criminal misdeeds would make people realise what he was.
Instead I'm being vilified. I'm being branded a murderer.
...
I can understand the anger of some people. After all, Lexcorp employed a lot of people. Ordinary, regular people who had no idea of the criminal leanings of their CEO. People that were just doing their jobs, living their normal lives and trying to make ends meet. It's not their fault that Lex Luthor was scum.
Now their livelihoods are gone, and a story in a newspaper is just an abstract when you're struggling to put food on the table.
I wish I could say that it was just the former employees of Lexcorp, but it's not. Twenty percent of Metropolis is suddenly anti-Superman, and that twenty percent is composed of some of the most surprising people.
Even Jimmy. A man that, a few weeks ago, I would have sworn was Superman's friend. A man that did his best to prove Superman's innocence- my innocence- during the heatwave.
I guess Luthor's death changed a lot of things.
And to top it off, Superman hasn't even explained why he didn't save Luthor.
I want to.
I want to be able to defend myself. I'm not convinced it'll do any good. But I am convinced that it will do harm.
Defending myself means admitting the existence of Kryptonite.
Last year, I managed to make it seem like the delusion of a paranoid xenophobe.
Admitting its existence now means disclosing that it can hurt me.
The criminal element will seize on that.
My life will be in danger.
And it also brings Lois' integrity into doubt- not to me, but to everyone else. It'll look like I asked her to bury the Kryptonite story.
At this point, even if I did try to defend myself I'm not sure it'll be believed. I don't have any evidence. The cage is gone- Henderson took care of that before my powers even returned.
It'll seem like I'm just trying to make excuses.
One of the few bright spots right now is Lois. Of all the people in Metropolis, she is the one person who has the most reason to hate Superman. I was cold, insensitive and cruel before her engagement, and then I failed to save her fiancé.
But she doesn't.
Despite everything, she's still sticking up for Superman.
I guess some things never change.
