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3 DECADES AGO, an insignificant child was born to a less then loving family.
3 YEARS AGO, the child now grown was discharged by the Army due to cutbacks.
3 MONTHS AGO, the homeless veteran was recruited by LEX LUTHOR to serve as one of his RAPTORS.
3 DAYS AGO, the Superman was exposed by LEX LUTHOR as an earth conquering tyrant.
3 HOURS AGO, the RAPTORS were ordered by LEX LUTHOR to kill the Superman.
3 SECONDS AGO, the Raptor Sergeant was struck by the Superman’s heat vision causing his jets to fail.
Which brings me to right now. They say before you die, you see all your loved ones flash before your eyes. Well that’s a load of crap. As my body falls back down to earth, I see nothing. I close my eyes as my armour strikes the ground followed swiftly by my fellow Raptors. Somehow I'm able to stand up, open my eyes and look down at the others. By some miracle everyone is still alive! According to Luthor, the Raptor’s Titanium-Steel suit could protect the soldier from a drop of 3000 feet (not that we had any faith in that claim).
Above me, I hear the Superman fly towards LuthorCorp. All the Raptors begin looking at each other. Our suits are still 83% functional, but none of us has the heart to go after the alien. Instead we fly above Metropolis to avoid the rift, and I keep my eyes to the ground to make sure no one is left behind.
Luthor was thrown in jail and all of his assets were liquidated. This meant everyone was out of a job and unfortunately his name was like poison for my resume.
3 weeks later I get kicked out of my apartment for not being able to pay rent. And because my apartment was near the center of Metropolis, I had lost most of my possessions to the rift. I start walking towards the homeless shelter with nothing but a large rucksack and the clothes on my back. I keep my head down as as I hear the rumble of thunder in the dark clouds above. I don't have an umbrella so I try to cover my face with an old baseball cap.
Unfortunately I wasn’t looking where I was going and I accidently bump into a guy who shouts “HEY!” I mutter out an apology before trying to move past the guy. He grabs my shoulder and before I know it, I’m surrounded by his friends.
“You got a lot of nerve wearing that hat here. I lost a lot of merch in the mess that guy made.” My hat? What's wrong with my hat? It was just something they gave me when I joined LuthorCo-Oh crap.
“Look man I-I don’t want trouble.” I splutter out before I feel a punch to the back of my head! I give a quick kick to a pair of legs behind me and by some miracle, I manage to escape the angry punks. I run down an alleyway where I'm met with a brick wall. I try scaling it but I’m quickly brought down to earth. As my face hits the dirt, I huddle up into a foetal position and try to protect my head as best as I can. Then the beating stopped as quickly as it began. I hear the punks run away as I feel myself being helped up. I still keep my gaze low and I see a familiar set of red boots.
“Hey there friend. Sorry I’m late.” My savior says as he hands me my torn up hat.
Oh crap. It's the Superman! I put on my LuthorCorp cap before immediately taking it off!
"Are you okay?" He asks me. I don’t answer out of shock so he continues with "I’m Superman, what’s your name?” I still can't form any words but luckily my loud empty stomach does the talking for me. I hear him chuckle as he says “Sounds like you can do with a good hot meal. Wanna grab some dinner? There’s this super café I like to visit with a friend. They do this fantastic four-cheese pizza!"
I have no idea why this god amongst men wants to have dinner with me. If I was in his shoes, I'd probably be the last person I'd want to help. But as my eating options were fairly limited, I took him up on that offer.
As soon as the pizza and fries hit the table, I wolfed it down like I was a starving child all over again. I look across the table expecting judgement, but instead he asks if I want more food to which I quickly agreed. He flags the waitress down and orders a cheeseburger and salad for me. For himself he wanted a blueberry milkshake?
I watch in fascination as he drinks the milkshake. A bit of it from the straw drops on his suit before he grabs a napkin to clean it up. After all the news and speculation and stories that Luthor had told us, I can’t believe that this man we believed was our tyrant was so…human!
I was planning on staying silent but now I just feel guilty. After all the kindness he's shown me, he's entitled to know the truth. “Listen uh… Mr Superman sir.”
“Just ‘Superman’ is fine. I never caught your name by the way.”
I start to feel my cheeks burn with shame. “Look… you should know. I… I used to be a Raptor. I joined Mr Luthor mainly because I needed a way to pay my medical bills.” I look down at my body broken from years of warfare. “But that doesn't excuse my actions especially..."
The words begin to die in my mouth, but he has to know the truth. "I ended up genuinely believing in Luthor’s cause." I finally confess as I hear my voice break. I keep my head down as I feel what I think are judgmental eyes on me. "and I’ve said and done so many terrible things to you. And-”
“I’m gonna stop you right there. I already knew you were a Raptor Sergeant.” I look over at Superman and see no judgement or anger in his gaze.
“Wait what? How did you know? And why are you having dinner with me?”
“I have X-ray vision and an eidetic memory. After our battle above metropolis, I made sure that everyone was alive and still able to fly away. And to answer your other question, you looked like you needed a hot meal."
The café seems to spin around me as I realise how wrong I've been. The other Raptors and I all believed the reason we survived our encounter with Superman was by sheer luck. In reality it was no accident, he wanted to preserve our lives even when we were trying to take his. "I...I-I didn't think I had a particularly recognisable face." I mumble out, not knowing what to say.
"...actually I recognise you from your stainless steel implants. Sorry." Superman says with a sheepish smile.
“I should be apologising to you!” I cry out of frustration.
“There's no need, really. Luthor tricked a lot of people into doing his dirty work. I don’t blame people for believing his lies. I just hope they end up listening to the truth. But if it means anything, then I forgive you.”
I feel myself let out a breathe of relief, then embarrassingly I start crying out of pure catharsis. Superman comes around and hands me a napkin before putting his warm arm around my shoulder. Eventually I manage to compose myself and I dry my eyes as he takes care of the bill.
I can't help but laugh to myself as the waitress and owner start arguing with Superman, insisting that he doesn't have to pay. In the end Superman ended up paying and even leaving a 40% tip!
Finally we walked to the homeless shelter and he handed me a business card to Holt Holdings Inc. “This company is very sympathetic to people who used to work for Luthor and other convicted criminals. I’m sure your extensive military experience will be very useful for them. I can put a good word for you if you want?” I say nothing. I’ve been let down by people and their false hope before. Superman cocks his ear before telling me “I gotta get to work, but I’ll see you every few weeks to grab a bite and catch up.”
“You don’t have to do that.” I mutter as I start to enter the homeless shelter, my eyes averting his gaze.
“Why not? I do with all the others.”
My eyes widen in shock as I look back. Call me naive, but I actually believe him. I look back and see Superman begin to rise off the ground.
“John!” I say out loud before I can stop myself. I stand at attention and salute him proudly. “My name is Sergeant John Henry Irons… But you can call me John.”
Superman gives me a wide friendly smile and I actually find myself smiling back. He takes off to protect the city, standing out like a beacon of hope and rising higher and higher into the night sky.
And for once in my life, I start to look up.