“Hell Hath No Fury”

I didn’t know if it was being in her presence or if I was just starting to lose control of my powers. Either way, something must be done soon or I will have to hang up my new cape. Maybe this “costumed crime fighter” idea wasn’t so good after all. I wish I could turn back the clock, operate in secret and allow people to continue believing that things were being fixed miraculously. Of course, “fixing” isn’t what I have been doing lately. The public has been tolerant of the damages I’ve caused so far, but when the novelty of having a flying man around wears off and taxes have to be raised to pay for my carelessness … I can’t count on their good will to hold out.

I had Jimmy attend a ceremony where I was being honored hoping she would show up. I described the woman and asked him to photograph her. She showed up all right. The photos Jimmy took of the key to the city melting in my hand and the shocked look of the Mayor came out great, but the photos of the mystery woman were hopelessly blurred. Jimmy must have been shaking like a leaf when he photographed her. I don’t blame him. I have diverted a river without a noticeable change in my pulse, but when I got my first good look at her, I thought my heart was going to thump its way out of my chest. And I didn’t take just one look either. I couldn’t help myself. It took every ounce of self-restraint I had not to look at her in other ways available to me. I don’t know if I saw her after I tripped or saw her and tripped because of it. I hit something hard – it’s difficult for me to imagine what that could have been, and went down as if a small bomb had gone off. I was lying there in the wreckage of the 3 SUVs that I had just totaled and she was standing over me offering me a hand up. I often think I should have accepted just for the chance to have touched her. I don’t know how much of my reaction was due to her presence and how much was due to the overwhelming embarrassment of the moment. Clark Kent had fallen before, Superman hadn’t. The heat from my blush could have melted a lamp post. Maybe it did. I was too busy taking in the view to notice much else. The way she held herself and moved were magical – almost inhumanly perfect. Yet, I could swear she reminded me of someone I had known all my life. Somehow I got the strange feeling that this woman was made for me. As I looked into her eyes, I couldn’t tell if the light I saw sparkling there was out of an attraction to me or if she was laughing inside about what had just happened. I couldn’t bring myself to speak to her. I tend to pull back when it comes to women due to some experiences I had in Smallville – which have been re-enforced to a degree since working with a certain Ms. Lane at the Planet.

Somehow I knew I would see this woman again. One day I was asked to open a jammed vault door at the Metropolis Savings and Loan. I used my heat vision to cut the latch rods on the door only to have the entire contents of the vault burst into flame when the door was open. When I turned around me, there she was, my mysterious red-head, waiting in line for a teller. A few days later, a tenement caught fire. I used my super-breathe to blow it out, only to have a newly built, unoccupied building next door fall down. I turned to the crowd and there she was. She blew me a kiss. My heart leapt a little then I wondered if there was a hidden message there. Then there was the last time I saw her. This time I heard her speak. Her voice thrilled me so that it took me a moment to put meaning to the words. I had carried a broken down semi-trailer down the street and into a parking lot so downtown traffic could resume. After putting it down, I turned to find her behind me. She said, “My, what big feet you have!” I looked down, and the pavement had collapsed in pockets where I had walked while carrying the semi. I normally use my flight power to a degree to make sure I don’t cause stresses when I carry a heavy load. How could I have been unaware of the pavement breaking below my feet? This is serious. Soon, Superman may have to go away for good. But all I can think about, is finding a moment when I am not making a total fool of myself to sit down with this woman and have a long conversation.

THE END

[In response to a question about who the red head is, I explained:  Da Fetus with an attitude all grown up. Stand behind Superman. A little puff of air over his shoulder as he blows out a fire. A little heat vision into the vault after he opens it. A little gentle heat vision to melt the key to the city. A quick kick to his leg to trip him. crushing the pavement behind him so he will think he did it. Mind games on a super level.]