A/N: Hey there true believers, here with another update. Just gonna take a minute to shout out a few folks. First, a big thanks to MajorBrony95 for beta reading and giving me a hand. Also, while all reviews are greatly appreciated, I did want to take a minute to give a shoutout to MetalBatt for being so invested and giving such an encouraging review. At any rate let me know what you think, and I hope you all enjoy the newest chapter of "It's Superman!"

"Come on, Jaune. You have to keep your hands up," Clark said as his gloved fist made contact with the other young man's jaw. It was a very light blow, but it was enough to make him get discomforted.

"I'm TRYING!" he snapped back as he raised his hands to try and block some of Clark's jabs. He managed to block a few before punching back, leaving himself open again and Clark easily exploited it.

"Look, you gotta keep your hands up or you're gonna get popped," Clark responded as he lightly bopped Jaune on the nose. "Ya see that? Pop, pop!" Clark punctuated each "pop" with another light bop; not enough to hurt, but enough to aggravate Jaune.

The pair was lightly sparring under the supervision of Pyrrha. Jaune had barely improved at all in combat since the start of the semester and the discrepancy between him and his classmates was only becoming more and more pronounced. Eventually, after yet another disastrous sparring bout with Cardin, he had finally broken down and asked for help and Pyrrha had made the decision to rebuild him from the ground up.

She had told Jaune he needed to train without a weapon before he tried to become proficient in armed combat. He had protested at first, but after she explained that no one started with a weapon and unarmed combat helped to build battlefield awareness and help you learn the proper attack angles, he had accepted her approach. So she had set him up with a pair of boxing gloves, a face shield, and some rib padding before having him square up against Clark.

When he asked in a clearly uneasy voice, "Why Clark, exactly?" Pyrrha had explained it rather plainly.

Clark was the closest to him in size, build, and combat style. They didn't fight the same, but both did rely solely on melee attacks as opposed to Ren, Nora, and herself. Jaune seemed nervous but he couldn't argue with the assessment, so for the last three days they had been sparring, trying to get Jaune to improve. Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly going all that well. He was improving, but he was also starting to get quite flustered.

"It's not fair! He doesn't get tired!" Jaune shouted over his shoulder at Pyrrha just as Clark caught him with another light jab.

"We're not here to train Clark, remember? It doesn't matter if he gets tried or not," Pryhha called back and Jaune let an unaimed punch fly, after which Clark managed to catch him with yet another light jab.

"Quite it!" Jaune shouted in frustration and let loose a flurry of messy blows, each of which Clark was able to slip past easily.

"Okay, okay. I think that's enough. Take ten, Jaune. Get some water," Pyrrha shouted and Jaune dropped his hands and seemed to relax as he let out a loud sigh of relief before he staggered over to Ren and Nora, the latter of whom was shouting at Jaune like one of those tiny angry cornermen Clark had seen in boxing matches on television with his father.

"YOU GOT THIS, JAUNE! YER A WRECKIN' MACHINE," she screamed before laughing at her own antics. Ren simply rolled his eyes but smirked all the same. He raised the water bottle and squirted some water into Jaune's mouth so he wouldn't need to take his gloves off. Clark was watching this small exchange when he heard Pyrhha speak up, her voice almost a whisper.

"Clark, can I speak with you for a moment?" she asked, trying to be discrete.

"Yeah, sure," Clark said, a little bit confused, but willing to talk all the same. The pair walked a ways away from the rest so as not to be overheard.

"Clark, can I ask you to do something for me?" Pyrrha asked, sounding almost trepidatious.

"Um, sure, what do you need?" Clark asked, not quite sure where this was going. She seemed a little flustered and almost unsure of herself before she spoke.

"Next time Jaune drops his guard...I need you to ring his bell," she said in a surprisingly stern voice.

"WHAT!" Clark exclaimed, his voice barely managing to remain restrained to whisper. He knew what the term meant, but he couldn't quite understand why she was asking. "Why in the world would you ask me to do THAT!?"

"If he drops his guard again, you need to lay him out. It's the only way he'll learn," she said sternly and Clark felt nervous.

"I'm not so sure," Clark muttered more to himself as he looked away. Pyrrha gripped his shoulder and gave him a steely look. But beneath the cool temper, he could see her compassion shine through.

"Clark, I don't like it any more than you do, but for some people, it's the only way they learn. Better you do it now than some Grimm do it in the field," she explained evenly and Clark understood.

"Okay. If he does it again...I'll do it," Clark said dejectedly and Pryhha nodded.

"Okay, Jaune! Breaks over! Let's get back to it!" Pyrrha called out, Jaune stood up, took one last swig of water and headed back over. He put his hands up and gave Clark a look of mild trepidation.

"You ready?" Clark asked, almost as nervous, but Jaune nodded and Clark moved to engage.

He threw a few light jabs, which Jaune managed to block before throwing a few of his own strikes back. Clark blocked them without an issue and slipped a few and tossed a slow haymaker which Jaune also managed to block before firing back with one of his own. It was wide and pretty sloppy, but functional. Clark leaned back and dodged. As Jaune pulled his hands back, Clark noticed a large opening in his guard but he let it slide.

The exchange continued, however, Clark began to notice an almost withering gaze from Pyrrha. She had noticed that Clark was not doing as she asked him, and Clark was feeling a little conflicted. He knew Pyrrha was right, but he didn't really want to hit Jaune THAT hard. But it seemed that Pyrrha had lost her patience and she shouted his name.

"Clark!" she yelled and Jaune dropped his guard again. In an instant, Clark acted.

Things seemed to slow down for the certainly less than one second over which everything took place. Clark planted his feet and drove his back foot into the ground. He turned his body and threw a left hook. His fist met the jaw of an unexpecting Jaune. Clark could see the shock in Jaune's eyes and he could feel his jaw move and, for a moment, Clark was afraid he had broken it. But he didn't feel or hear anything crack or snap so that didn't concern him as much as the fact Jaune was thrown about 40 feet by his blow before he fell to the ground and didn't move.

Clark's heart seemed to stop for a moment. Had he hit him too hard? He had been certain he'd only tapped him, but his fears were relieved when he saw Jaune stir before pulling himself into a sitting position. He seemed sluggish at first, but then he seemed to come violently to life and tore his gloves off before ripping off his headgear.

"What the HELL, Clark! I thought we were just sparring!" he shouted as he jumped to his feet, threw his headgear carelessly aside and began to march towards the abashed and nervous-looking Clark who opened his mouth to speak, but nothing seemed to be coming out. Thankfully Pyrrha stepped in before things escalated.

"Don't get mad at him Jaune! I TOLD him to do it!" she said sternly and cooly as she walked over. Jaune turned to her looking shocked and hurt.

"Wait...you did? But why?" he asked. The confusion was evident in his voice.

"You keep dropping your guard. You've been getting away with it up until now because of your shield. But if you do that against a Grimm or someone looking to kill you, that's it. Game over," she said, sounding both frustrated and worried.

"Then why not let me train with a sword!?" Jaune asked for what was not the first time, his exasperation becoming clear. "Why keep having me box Clark!? I'm not GETTING anywhere! It's like trying to box a freakin' MOUNTAIN! I can't do ANYTHING!" His voice was starting to become more and more aggressive.

At that, Pyrrha put a hand to her forehead and sighed. "We've been over this, Jaune; we need to rebuild your foundation. No one- not Clark, not Nora, not Ren, heck, not even ME- started training with weapons immediately. You NEED these basics, Jaune. Otherwise, as I said, against someone or something out to really get you, you'll get a lot worse than a sore jaw and a bruised ego," she said sternly, though not unkindly.

Jaune seemed to be silenced by this response. He seemed agitated and ashamed at the same time. He then let out a huff of irritation before taking off his gloves and tossing them to the side like the headgear and storming off.

Clark felt completely awful. He hadn't meant to cause his friend so much distress. He made to follow him and apologize but Pryhha cast a quick look in his direction and he stopped, seeming to understand what she wanted. Clark nodded and she followed after Jaune.

There was an awkward silence between the three that remained. Clark wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure what. He didn't know if Nora and Ren sided with Jaune and were mad at him, or if they agreed with Pyrrha and thought he did the right thing. He didn't think he could take the silence any longer when Nora finally broke the silence.

"Sooooo...that was awkward," she said in a cheery voice that did nothing to convey that she felt awkward in any way.

"Maybe I hit him too hard," was all Clark could think to say.

"Maybe, but that's not what's wrong. Pyrrha was right; better he takes a hit here than out in the field. But I don't think that's what is bothering him. There's something else going on and it happened to boil over here," Ren said evenly.

"I should go apologize," Clark said as he made to leave but Ren placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait, Clark. Let Pryhha talk to him and let him cool off first," Ren told him calmly.

"Yeah, Jaune's been a bit off lately. Not sure why, but I'm sure he'll get over it," Nora told him, though the concern in her voice seemed to show through her usual cheery tone.

Clark looked in the direction Jaune and Pryhha had left, concern still etched on his face. Clark may not have always had a ton of friends but he too had noticed the change in Jaune's demeanor as of late. He'd become quicker to anger and seemingly much moodier in the past week. To be honest, the whole team had noticed but no one had been able to figure out exactly what had changed. If Clark had wanted to, he probably could have been able to find out easily, but he refused to violate Jaune's privacy like that. When he was ready, Clark knew he'd talk. Still, that didn't stop him from voicing his thoughts out loud.

"I wonder what's wrong?" Clark said more to himself than to either Ren or Nora, but the two exchanged a quick look that Clark didn't fail to notice. "What?" he asked, turning to face the pair.

"Welllll, ya see…" Nora drawled out awkwardly, putting her hands behind her head and scuffing her shoes on the floor of the training area. She refused to meet Clark's eyes, so Clark moved them onto the unflinching Ren.

"We think it's you," he said plainly and bluntly, Clark was taken aback.

"ME!? What did I do?" Clark exclaimed, truly shocked.

"Don't worry. You didn't do anything, and he's not mad at you. Well, not exactly," Ren offered, but Clark was still confused.

"I'm not quite sure I follow," he responded.

"Well, think about it. A few weeks ago, you were both at the bottom of Combat and then suddenly…" Ren started but Nora cut him off.

"Then you started kickin' ass and takin' names!" she added happily.

"Yes, Nora, thank you," Ren added his voice holding a slight edge of irritation.

"No prob," Nora chirped, oblivious.

"So now Jaune feels alone…" Clark said, the guilt evident in his voice.

"Clark, this isn't your fault," Ren offered kindly.

"Yeah! After all, you didn't just DECIDE to evolve, am I right?" Nora added with an overly large smile.

Clark appreciated what they were trying to do. He really did. But what they didn't know; what they couldn't know, was that this WAS his fault and their words only served to make him feel worse. If only he hadn't been so worried about classes at first and not held back. Then maybe Jaune wouldn't be feeling such extreme and sudden isolation. Sure he'd still be at the bottom of the class, but having someone there with him and then suddenly being alone was assuredly worse. Clark was an expert on being alone; even here, among friends, he was still alone.

"Come on. Let's head back to the dorms. We have homework to get done," Ren said to break this new silence. Nora smiled at Clark and he placed his practiced false smile on his face as the trio retrieved their equipment and left.

Before heading back to the dorms though, Clark decided, against the advice of Ren and Nora and look for Jaune. He realized Jaune would need some time to cool off, but he also knew to let anger fester would simply make it worse. So now he found himself making his way towards the roof of the dormitories. It was easy enough to find Jaune. Clark had memorized every one of Team JNPR's heartbeats, just as he had for RWBY. It wasn't a conscious thing he did; it just sort of... happened.

So Clark now found himself climbing the stairs at a much slower pace than what he was capable of, thinking of what to say. How could he apologize for just being, and he hated himself for thinking it, better than Jaune?

No, that wasn't right. He wasn't better than Jaune. He did better than Jaune in class, but that didn't make him better. Still, he couldn't exactly apologize and tell the truth here. He'd just talk and see how things went.

As Clark walked out onto the roof, he caught sight of Jaune sitting on the edge, his legs dangling over the edge. Clark approached with a level of caution. Jaune could be prone to accidents and he didn't want to be responsible for him falling off the dormitory roof.

"Hey Jaune," Clark said quietly. Even so, Jaune did jump a little, but not to the level where he was in any danger.

"Oh, hey Clark. What's up?" he said in what Clark considered an oddly cheery tone, considering what had transpired not that long ago.

"Ummm, are you okay?" he asked, not quite sure what to make of this current disposition, and this seemed to cause the cheerful expression on his face to flicker before it faded.

"Yeah, yeah. Listen, I'm, I'm sorry about what happened. It's just…" he trailed off and Clark sat down next to him.

"You wanna talk about it?" Clark offered and felt Jaune's heartbeat change for an instant, he was nervous about something.

"Hehe, not really, but thanks," he said with a little melancholy now leaking in his voice. Both were silent for a while before Clark broke it.

"Well, at any rate, I'm sorry," Clark said without offering anything specific and Jaune looked over at him.

"Yeah, thanks, but don't worry. I'm not mad about that," Jaune offered as he rubbed his jaw where Clark had hit him and Clark could tell by his heartbeat, he was telling the truth.

"Well, I still shouldn't have hit you that hard," Clark responded regardless.

"Yeah, I can at least agree with you on that," Jaune said with a chuckle, to which Clark joined in. "But, I'm the one who should apologize to you. I shouldn't have reacted like that. You guys are just trying to help me and I totally blew up," he offered in an ashamed tone.

"Don't worry about it. Everyone gets angry sometimes," Clark said in an understanding tone.

"Yeah, but you guys still don't deserve that. I'm supposed to be the leader of this team and I need to be better than that. Pyrrha told me why she asked you to hit me and it makes perfect sense, but I completely flipped out…" Jaune once again trailed off, his voice becoming more dejected. Clark gave him a sympathetic look before reaching over and placing his hand on Jaune's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"No one's perfect, Jaune. Don't let this get to you so much," Clark told him kindly and Juane let out a mirthful laugh.

"Says 'Mister Perfect' himself," he said through a smiling chuckle before giving Clark a light punch on the shoulder.

"What!? I'm not perfect!" Clark argued back, sounding almost offended and Jaune only laughed louder.

"Get real, man. You're one of the top students in class and in combat, your Semblance basically makes you unstoppable, AND you evolved your Semblance before anyone else. Plus, half the girls in the school have their eyes on you; definitely more than I'VE ever had, that's for sure," he said grinning.

"Knock it off, that's not true," Clark mumbled, sounding abashed.

Some of what Jaune said was, in fact, true, however. Clark knew his grades were, in fact, perfect and he had recently become one of the top-ranked combatants, second only to Pyrrha. But all that about his Semblance was fabricated, a lie, and that made Clark feel a bit ashamed. That whole part of him just simply wasn't true. And that thing about the girls? What was that about? He was a socially awkward mess around most girls, and his teammates didn't count.

"Whatever you say," Jaune said with a small chuckle as he stood up. "Come on, we should probably get some of that school work done before it gets too late." He said that last part sounding much cheerier than he had been earlier.

'At least he feels a little better,' Clark thought to himself as he made to follow, although he now felt a little worse.

It was now well after sundown as Clark wandered the campus, a habit he'd formed long ago on his family's farm. Wandering outside at night allowed him to center himself when his thoughts and worries began to become too existential. Cool air and the smell of nature on the wind always seemed to ground him.

Jaune's comments on his Semblance and abilities had caused him to focus inward on himself again. His utter singularity in the world and the web of lies that he had been forced to weave his whole life. He'd hoped these feelings would lessen the more time he spent at Beacon and they did in one respect. Here, he was able to forget himself more than he could at home. He could be more relaxed. But at the same time, whenever he had reminders of what he was, what he really was, it hit him harder than it ever had at home, and they seemed to be happening more and more often. It seemed that even among the extraordinary, Clark Kent was an exception.

"Maybe I should have just stayed in Smallville," he mumbled to himself. He was so far into his own head he never noticed someone was coming up behind him.

"Yo, Smallville! What's up?" a familiar voice called out.

Clark knew it was Yang before he even turned around. After all, she was the only person who called him "Smallville." He turned to face her as she jogged up to him. Her hair was tied up and she was wearing her gym clothes. Her skin was flushed and covered in a sheen of sweat and Clark didn't need super senses to know her heart rate was up.

"Hey Yang, going for an evening run?" he said with a small smirk. He had almost told her a lady shouldn't be out alone this late, but he thought better of it. She'd probably bite his head off for saying such a thing. For that matter, he'd actually be more worried about any person who might try something.

"No, I'm out here pickin' turnips," she responded sarcastically through heavy pants as she caught her breath, adding a smirk of her own.

Clark chuckled at the statement. "Fair enough. So, how'd it go?" he asked.

"Pretty good. Believe it or not, I just did your fifteen mile run. Pretty impressive, eh? I mean, I can't sprint it like you can, but my time's improving," she said, her smirk turning into a full grin. Clark felt another small pang of guilt; was she really trying to do what he claimed he could? He'd never wanted to to have others try and chase after him; to try and catch up to him.

"Yang…" he started, but she cut him off by holding up a finger in front of his face and waving it at him.

"Bup, bup, bup! Zip it, Smallville. Don't you start. I know what you're gonna say and I understand now that I'm more than likely never gonna be able to do what you do. You're just built to handle things others can't. But still, it's a goal to aim for. Even if I never reach it, it makes me do better," she said passionately and with a fire in her eyes that almost dared him to disagree. He didn't dare to.

"Well...okay then," Clark, caught a little off guard. He hadn't ever really thought about it in that manner before.

"Good," Yang said, flashing him a smile. "Now come on. Walk me back. After all, it's rude to let a lady walk alone at night," she added in a playful tone.

"Oh, of course, of course. So, tell me... have you seen any ladies out tonight?" Clark said back with a grin, earning him a hard smack on the arm from Yang, but she still laughed and so did he.

He fell into step beside her as they returned to the droms. As they walked, Yang playfully linked her arms around Clark's. He stiffened a tad as she leaned a bit into his side and he heard her try not very hard to stifle a small giggle. He then smiled at her and shook his head. She certainly loved to push his buttons. But all the same, Clark now found himself glad in the here and now that he had come to Beacon Academy.