Yay! You're posting, Sara!!
I think I already told you that this is even better than Wherever You Will Go, but I'm going to tell you again now. This is so well written - I'm envious!!
And I know other people have quoted this passage, but I have to refer to it as well:
He was nothing more than a novelty, a side show act. That was who Clark Kent had become.
He'd lost his identity. He'd lost who he was. Superman was a chore, and Clark Kent was a joke.
He bit his lower lip to keep it from trembling. He stared at the ceiling for a minute, asking it to care, wanting *someone* to care. Clark Kent hadn't always been a joke.
Exactly. Yet more damage done to alt-Clark! Okay, it was mostly Tempus's fault, but still. If Wells hadn't encouraged Lois to create Superman in that other universe, Clark would still have had a life. Now all he has is the superhero role, and he's alone. What kind of existence is that?
And now, added to that, he knows what his life could have been like - and (he thinks) will never be like. Who could blame him for being so depressed that he wants to die?
The Smallville scene is so poignant: Clark running his hands over the wood, his memories of happier times with his parents, the aching loneliness seeping through his soul.
Make him happy,
please, Sara!!
Wendy
