Wonderful imagery and excellent metaphors:
I liked the play of shadow on clone-Superman--he's a fake, so he's less vibrant, less vivid (hmmm... seen the pics of the new Superman? I think I feel the same way about the new suit...
) And you did a clever thing, having Lois think he was concerned about his connection to Clark, when in actuality, he's worried about how to handle Luthor.
"I don't want a shooting star," I said gently, seizing the opportunity before the moment passed. I wished, longingly, selfishly, impossibly, that Clark was standing beside me, lending me a measure of his strength and courage. "They look and sound magical, but they're only there for an instant, appearing and disappearing far too quickly."
Besides, I thought with yet another glance in Clark's general direction, who would want the stars--cold, impersonal, and distant--when a blazing sun waited with open arms outstretched?
Superman flinched, as if I had struck him. His hooded eyes sought the stars. "Barely alive before fading away," he murmured despondently. "Dying alone in the dark."
I like the contrast of Clark as the sun, and the impostor as a distant and lonely star--the light that is not really real, as it is seen from earth often after its light has gone out... You could pull it apart technically since our sun is a star--but the metaphor holds up, because the sun is a
living star, while the distant ones are in effect, impostors, since most of them no longer exist.
For once, *I* wanted to be the one that brought light into *his* life. And I wanted him to bask in the warmth of the sun as I told him, wanted to enjoy the look of his skin in the golden beams, wanted to delight in the laughter I was sure he would grace me with. Besides, we had a lifetime--a lifetime for me to show him just how much I loved him.
Awww....
Well done! And, no, of course I don't mind if there's an epilogue!! I also hope that Clark gets his powers back, and returns to being the real Superman... just sayin'.
Love your story!
