Chapter Text
“Dr. Faraday was a genius,” Mayson said. “His experiments were funded by a wealthy eye doctor, named Harold P. Leit.”
“What were they working on?” Jonathan asked, taking a sip of his coffee. Mayson briefly met Superman’s eyes. He was holding it together by a thread, centimeters from shattering. If only Clark cared for Mayson as much as Superman did for Lois.
“Dr. Faraday developed a device, that can carry knowledge on a beam of light through the eye directly to the brain,” she continued, trying to ignore the knots forming in her belly. She was crossing a line, even if it was for a good cause.
“Oh, my!” Martha explained. “A terrible thing in the wrong hands.”
“I’m positive we can assume Dr. Leit’s hands are definitely the wrong hands,” she said, the knots slowly untangling in her belly. She might not like Lois – couldn’t stand her on a good day – but she didn’t want her to die.
“This device,” Superman piped up timidly, sounding almost like Clark. “What does it look like?”
“It looks like a silver ballpoint pen.” He grimaced, his blue eyes darkening. “You know where it is, don’t you?” Mayson realized.
“Yes,” Superman admitted begrudgingly. Groggily he jumped to his feet. Martha tried to pull him back but the little woman was no match for the Man of Steel.
“Good, let’s call the police,” Mayson said, sliding before Superman. She swallowed her fears and rested a hand on his chest. “You can’t do this alone.”
“They’ve probably made Lois tell them where it is,” Superman said. He was surprisingly familiar with the apartment. He sidestepped a plant by the TV and briefly leaned against a fish tank. He felt his way to the window.
“Is this the bad window?”
“Get back here this instant, Kal-El!” Martha thundered, sounding every bit like a mother scolding her child.
“You’re incapacitated!” Mayson said in the same breath. She rushed to his side and grabbed his arm. “You jump and you’ll hurt innocents below. I know you don’t want to do that.”
His shoulders sagged. “I don’t plan on landing . . .”
“Terrific,” Mayson said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “You plan on bulldozing your way through Metropolis. I don’t think so,” she said. “I’m driving.”
“A car is too slow.”
“Actually, it’s a lot faster than a blind man,” Jonathan quipped. “We don’t want you getting lost again.” Superman glared in Jonathan’s general direction. “You’re too grown up to be pouting. You’ve got a beautiful, smart lady here willing to help you. Swallow your pride and say, thank you.”
“Thank you,” Superman said dutifully. An amused smile teased at Mayson’s mouth. It was impressive how this old couple had control over the most powerful man on the planet.
Mayson looped a trembling arm through Superman’s. He looked pleadingly to his left where he thought the Kents were. He jumped as Martha gave him a side hug from the other side. Mayson guided him to the door.
“You two kids have fun,” Martha waved goodbye.
“Don’t do anything I won’t do!” Jonathan said.
“I’ll have pie ready when you get home.” She fussed over Superman’s wrinkled cape. “Be careful.” She cupped his face affectionately, but Mayson saw it in her eyes – she was dying to hug him.
The trek to the garage was awkward and clumsy. A couple of neighbors poked their heads out of their doors to ogle the alien. They didn’t seem surprised to see Superman on this floor but were baffled by the company he kept. More than once she heard them whisper Lois’ name. She was relieved when they were finally secure in her car and out of sight.
“I’m sorry,” Superman said. “I know this is uncomfortable for you.”
She didn’t bother denying it this time. He could hear the truth in her racing heart. “It’s safer for everyone this way.” She pulled out of the parking lot. She never thought in a million years she’d have Superman in the passenger seat of her Mercedes. He looked as uncomfortable as she felt.
“So, where are we going, Superman?”
“Daily Planet,” Superman said.
“Figures,” Mayson grumbled. The Daily Planet was the epicenter of the storm. Always. She was hoping not to have to go back any time soon. The pain was still too raw. What if Clark was pulling an all-nighter? He chose the Daily Planet over a weekend with her. It sickened her. She had this weekend planned down to each second. And maybe that was the problem?
Clark was a go-where-the-wind-takes-you type of guy. Her need to control every part of her life was a turn-off. She scared him away before he even got a chance to know the real Mayson Drake.
“You don’t have to go in with me,” Superman said. “I know The Daily Planet better than my own apartment.”
Mayson whirled on him, disbelief etched across her face. “You have an apartment?” She had so many questions. Superman flinched, seeming to realize his blunder too late. “How do you pay for it?” She imagined being a hero didn’t provide much of an income. Or did it? “Did you steal the money?”
Superman bites his lower lip and shakes his head, hurt flashing in his pearly blues. “You’re just like Lois,” he said. That did not sound like a compliment. “She thinks the worst of humanity, you think the worst of aliens.”
“You're an undocumented immigrant,” Mayson said. “A very powerful immigrant who could destroy us if you wanted to. Can you blame me for asking questions?”
“I’m not asking you to not ask questions,” Superman replied, his voice low. “I’m asking you to believe I’m not the enemy just because I’m different.”
Mayson tightened her grip on the wheel, her eyes fixed ahead. “That’s easy for you to say. You don’t live in fear of someone like you.”
“I live in fear because I’m someone like me,” he said, gently but firmly. “Every time I save someone, I risk holding them too tight. Every time I speak, I have to remind myself to stay calm lest I inadvertently scare somebody. Do you think the cape protects me? It doesn’t. It makes me a target.”
Mayson exhaled through her nose. “Then why wear it?”
“Same reason you’re the D.A. I want to help people and leave the world in better shape than it was before,” he said. “The suit isn’t for my protection,” he brushed a hand over the odd ‘S.’
“It protects those closest to me,” he answered, almost to himself. “And allows me to have some privacy, a semblance of a normal life.”
Mayson mulled his words over. It protects those closest to me .
When she thought of Superman, she imagined him soaring above the rest of humanity, isolated and judging us little guys from his high pulpit. He was unattached and with no family to speak of. She thought back to the Kents and how familiar they seemed with Superman.
Could she be so drastically wrong? She never imagined he’d live in an apartment or have some semblance of friends and family. A brother, who hid in plain sight and used his pen to serve justice. The implication scared her. There was only one way they could be related . . . If both Clark and Superman were from the same planet.
An apartment suggested a steady income. A steady income suggested a day job. Who was Superman when he wasn’t wearing the cape? Superman certainly couldn’t be seen shopping at the grocery store. It was laughable. His having a day job seemed even more laughable than a dorky twin brother.
What had Lois said in her article? Superman was the first natural birth on Krypton in centuries. What did that make Clark?
A long silence followed. Mayson merged onto the freeway, the gilded gold city flying past. The lights turned Superman’s eyes green. It highlighted his alienness. No human could ever have such vibrant eyes. Eyes that were now rendered useless.
She felt a twang of sympathy for the alien. If he weren’t an alien they might have been friends. She might have found him attractive.
“I didn’t mean what I said earlier,” she said quietly. “About stealing. That was below the belt.”
“I know,” he said, not unkindly. He looked forward, unseeing but seeing everything. “It’s okay, you don’t trust me.”
Mayson nodded. “You’re right. I don’t.” She glanced at him. “Yet, you trust me, why?”
“I’m a good judge of character,” he said. “You’re a good person and any problems you have with me, you’ll set aside to help save an innocent life.”
She almost didn’t. She wanted to let Lois die and rid herself of the competition. Though, Superman was right. She couldn’t live with herself if she knew someone was in danger and she could have helped.
“So, you and Lois? That’s a strange pair.”
He visibly tensed. “Why? Because I’m an alien?”
Mayson shrugged in agreement and then remembered he couldn’t see her. “You’re not human. She is.”
“I don’t think Lois has fully realized that yet,” he said, sounding dejected. “When she does . . . she’d leave. Everybody always leaves.”
It suddenly hit her, like a slap to the gut. He was the last of his people. The last of an extinct race. When he died – heaven forbid–there would be no one to remember Krypton.
Strangely, she understood. Mayson and her brother were the last of the Drakes. But at least they still had each other — and Jack had a baby on the way. There was still hope for the Drakes. Even if it didn’t work out with Superman and Lois, the chance of him having descendants was slim to none.
“You’re wrong,” Mayson said. “Lois loves you.” Just like Mayson loved Clark.
“I just hope I’m not too late,” he said. “She’s... she’s everything,” he whispered. “If they hurt her—”
“They won’t,” Mayson said quickly, more out of hope than certainty. “We won’t let them.”
He nodded. “Thank you for coming with me.”
“I’m not doing it for you,” she said. “I’m doing it for Clark. He would never forgive me if I let his best friend die.”
The color drained from his face, a muscle jumping in his cheek. “You’re a great friend to Clark,” Superman said. “He appreciates you and holds you in the highest regard.”
Mayson’s throat grew raw with grief. “But he doesn’t like me?” She dared ask. “That’s why he stood me up.”
“I know if Clark could be here with you, he would. He’s not the type to hurt a beautiful woman.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Mayson protested. “Feed me lies to make me feel better.”
“I’m not lying,” Superman said. “You’re beautiful inside and out,” he said sincerely, trying and failing to meet her eyes. “But there are things about Clark that you will never understand. Things that will make you hate him,” he said. Superman had never been this vocal with her before. It was almost as if his blindness gave him the strength to say the next words. “Clark has already dated someone who hated him. He can’t go through that again.”
“I don’t hate Clark,” Mayson said. “I love him with all my heart.”
She wanted to marry him. He was the first thing she thought of when she woke and the last thing on her mind before she closed her eyes. Why had she admitted that to Superman? He was easy to talk to, maybe there was some Kryptonian chemical hormones that sucked the truth out of her.
“You think you do,” Superman said in a reserved, quiet tone. “Trust me, you don’t really know him,” Superman said. “You’re better off without Clark in your life.”
“How can you say that?” Mayson snapped. “He’s your best friend! You make him sound like a crazed supervillain.”
“I’m only looking out for you . . . for both of you,” Superman said. “This will only end in heartbreak.”
“I don’t want to hurt Clark,” Mayson protested, grip on the steering wheel tightening.
“And Clark doesn’t want to hurt you,” Superman said. “You’re both better off as just friends.”
“I can’t accept that,” Mayson said. “Whatever he’s hiding we can figure it out together. I can handle the truth.”
“Could you ever love me?”
“That’s beside the point,” Mayson said. “Clark is not you.”
“Humor me,” Superman said.
“No,” Mayson said honestly. “I’m sorry, Superman, I could never love you.”
He closed his eyes and leaned back in the seat as if in physical pain. “Thank you for your honesty.”
Mayson felt like she had half a step in the grave. She owed him an apology but any words would be empty. She didn’t think Superman was a bad person . . . alien . . . he was just misguided and delusional. She didn’t agree with his methods.
They drove the rest of the way in uncomfortable silence. She wondered how much of their conversation he would share with his brother . . . If that even was true. The more she thought about it the more stupid it seemed. Somebody would have noticed two Kryptonians flying around. Unless Clark didn’t have any powers. Clark would never stand on the sidelines if somebody needed help.
She was relieved when finally she cruised to a stop by the Daily Planet. The building was pitch black, save for the gentle glow of the globe, which cast ominous shadows on the sidewalk.
“Thank you for the ride,” Superman said, offering her a wad of cash.
Mayson sputtered in shock. “What are you doing?”
“I thought it was obvious,” he said. “It’s the same I would have given the taxi driver.”
Mayson stared at the crumpled bills in his shaking hand like they were radioactive. Did he think so little of her?
“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” she said. “I’m not a cabby driver.”
“I wanted to pay you for your trouble,” he said tightly. “I didn’t want to assume . . .”
“Friends help each other out,” Mayson said.
“We’re friends now?”
Slowly getting there. He was somewhere between acquaintance and colleague. Someday they could be friends, but nothing more. “Yes,” Mayson said, forcing her voice to stay strong. “Save your money for coffee, you look like you need it.”
He pocketed the money inside a hidden pocket. “Thank you Ms. Drake for the ride . . . and your honesty,” he said, faltering slightly. “If you ever need me you know how to find me.”
“I’ll wait in the car for you,” Mayson promised.
“There’s no need,” Superman said. “I’ll figure something out with Lois.”
She doesn’t mind my company , hung unspoken between them.
Mayson looked at him again, really looked. His face was etched with something far deeper than frustration—something like grief. He was looking at her like his best friend had died and all hope had died with them.
“All the same, I’ll wait,” Mayson reiterated. “I don’t want to leave a blind man stranded with no way home,” she said. “Besides, I need Faraday’s device for evidence.”
“Alright,” Superman agreed. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Before she could say another word, a breeze pushed back her hair and Superman vanished. She held her breath, waiting for the building to collapse. But nothing. He must have been telling the truth when he said he knew the Daily Planet better than his own apartment.
She couldn’t wrap her head around Superman living like a human. Lois mentioned in one of her articles, Superman had a place up North. Could that be what he meant? What had she called it? The Fortress of Solitude. That must be the apartment he spoke of. Superman was a large guy, there was no place in Metropolis big enough for him.
Clark was also a tall man, but he was calmer and more levelheaded than Superman. She silently swore. What was wrong with her? She couldn’t go five minutes without Clark gracing her thoughts. The conversation with Superman haunted her. Surely the secret keeping them apart wasn’t as bad as Superman suggested. Clark was a gentleman through and through. He was the type to open doors for ladies and surprise you with impromptu flowers. Had she put the man on a pedestal? It won’t be the first time.
What did Clark see in Lois? She was about as subtle as a bomb and had a voice like shattered glass. Lois Lane was as lawless as the criminals she put away. She treated Clark like an intern, not an equal. Lois had no kind words for Clark, only ultimatums and criticism. He didn’t need that kind of negativity in his life. Mayson was the superior choice in every sense of the word. Why couldn’t he see that?
‘Clark doesn’t want to hurt you.’
She was slowly drowning with no chance of breaking the surface. Each time Clark glanced at Lois it was glaciers to her heart. She couldn’t breathe when around them.
He said he didn’t want to hurt her — but every time he smiled at Lois, it cut deeper. And Lois didn’t even notice. Or worse, maybe she did and just didn’t care. Maybe that was the cruelest part.
Mayson gripped the steering wheel tighter. She told herself she was being rational. Clark needed someone steady. Someone who believed in the system, not someone who ran off chasing danger in high heels and a press badge. He needed safety. Stability. Not fireworks and fallout.
But there was no stability in the way he looked at Lois.
She was losing him. Or maybe she never had him. That was the unbearable truth that pressed against her chest — that all her kindness, her patience, her loyalty — none of it mattered. Not when he looked at Lois like that.
And what did Lois even do to earn that kind of devotion? Roll her eyes at him? Constantly challenge him? Act like he was beneath her until she needed something?
It wasn’t fair.
The sound of distant sirens pulled her out of her spiral. She blinked, realizing she’d been gripping the wheel so hard her fingers ached. She released it slowly, her breaths coming shallow.
Maybe it was time she stopped waiting in the wings. Time to stop being the safe option, the afterthought.
Because if Lois was willing to throw herself headfirst into chaos, maybe Mayson needed to do the same — not to impress anyone, but to matter.
Her gaze drifted up to the Daily Planet, looming like a question mark over her life. She reached for the door handle.
Whatever happened next, she was done watching from the sidelines.