Title: Truth and Justice
Prompt:
writerverse challenge #09 quick fic #3 (‘shapes in the clouds’ & “I have a theory that selflessness and bravery aren’t that different” (Veronica Roth) )
Bonus: fantasy genre
Word Count: 322
Rating: G
Original/Fandom: Superman (any ‘verse)
Summary: “How do I know I’m brave enough, Ma?”
Note(s): originally posted to the
writerverse wv_library Truth and Justice
Clark lay back in the grass, watching the clouds drift by overhead.
Tomorrow, he would be leaving, to start his first job as a (very junior) reporter at the Daily Planet. It was a fantastic opportunity and he was excited, of course he was, but… the farm was his home, and he was sad to leave.
The clouds seemed to be on the same page- one looked like a carrot, another somewhat like a haystack, and if Clark squinted, that one looked a bit like a harvester combine. He was so distracted by the shapes in the clouds that he didn’t hear someone approaching until a shadow hit his face.
“Ma,” he said, sitting up in surprise.
Mrs. Kent smiled, and sat beside her son in the grass. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked, knowingly.
“No,” said Clark, then paused. “Yes.”
“Are you worried about tomorrow? Because I happen to know for a fact that you’re going to be a great reporter.”
“Ma…” he laughed, then his smile faded. “I’m not really worried about that, actually. I’m worried about… about…”
“Saving people?” his mother supplied.
“What if I can’t do it?” Clark blurted. “What if Metropolis doesn’t need me to save anyone? What if I’m just a weird guy in long underwear who can fly?”
“Is that what you think will happen?”
Clark sighed. “How do I know I’m brave enough, Ma? I feel like I could take on the world in that suit you made for me, but what if, when I try, I can’t do it?”
“Well,” said Mrs. Kent, slowly. “Do you want to help people, Clark?”
“Of course I do!” he said, immediately.
“And do you think that if you heard someone calling for help, you would be able to ignore them?”
“Of course not!”
His mother smiled. “Then you will be brave enough, Clark. Because you’ll have to be.”
He smiled back. “Thanks, Ma.”
THE END
Current Mood:
cold