the black bruise adorning--scarring--his sharp wrist. Like pieces of darkness torn from our cell to rest beneath his flesh with the appearance of inescapable manacles
and
And I wondered if the darkness of that cell was actually encased in my heart even more so than in Clark's flesh.
Poetic and horrifying all at once.
"It must be the sunlight," I said with a puzzled frown. "You'd almost think it had healing powers the way you sit in it all the time."
Another clue, Lois. You seem to be collecting the whole set, yet missing their import. (Of course, having seen Clark and 'Superman' side by side would make it a lot harder to conclude that they are the same person, at least until she first figures out that the red-caped dude is an imposter.)
"So much admiration," Clark murmured, almost as if he spoke only to himself. His eyes roved over the multitude of items left behind by well-wishers from all over the world. "So much acceptance...not alienation. Not fear. Not distrust. And yet...what good is it now? He's stolen it from me."
Ouch.
"I would ask him...is he happy?"
"What?" I blinked, caught off-guard.
"I'd ask him if he's happy being Superman. If being rescuer, savior, and world icon is enough for him. I would ask him if a...a half life...is enough to sustain him. Because I think that's something he needs to know. Something *I* need to know, now more than ever."
Intriguing. I don't know what question I would have thought Clark would ask, but I do know it wouldn't have been that one.
"I wasn't as bad off as you seem to think."
That he can put such a positive spin on his captivity, if only for Lois' benefit, shows a lesser-known of his abilities: super-resilience.
"After all, Lois, it's impossible to be depressed while thinking about you."
I'm a goo-puddle now.
It's nice to see them starting, if ever so gradually, to come back into the light.
Joy,
Lynn
p.s., Virginia, don't forget another really major mistake Clark made -- his starting to say that he was poisoned by Kryptonite.
I am more convinced than ever now that Clark wants to tell Lois who he is, and is even eager to do so now, but that he can't for fear of reprisal. That one of the conditions for their freedom and safety was that he keep his mouth shut on the topic.
