Clark, as Superman right now, of course, quickly stopped the giant boulder from falling onto the beach below it. He was in a remote corner of the beach off the coast of Metropolis. It was summer, and a popular vacation spot for those who wanted to escape the city heat without going far. Just, the earthquake that morning had plans to interrupt a quiet day at the beach by causing giant rocks to fall. He slowly settled the boulder on the sand, dozens of people watching him, clapping, several bikini clad teenage girls grinning at him like idiots, trying to get his attention.

"Everyone alright?" He asked with a smile. The smiling and cheering faces around him nodded in thanks. He gave a smile, waved, and then flew up into the sky. He was starting to gain altitude, when he noticed something below. It was the area of earth where the boulder had once been. He quickly landed on the ground, looking, looking around. There was a reddish glow emanating from the area, as though the rocks themselves had a red core. There were shards of glowing red fragments littering the ground, having broken off during the earthquake. He knelt to study them. As he reached his hand down, the pieces glowed brighter. He frowned at this, and quickly moved his hand away. There were something entirely too familiar about this…eerily familiar. He reached down, picking up a small piece, inspecting it. Then it hit him.

"Kryptonite?" It looked exactly like the crystallized rocks from Krypton. "That's red?" His thoughts suddenly disappeared, when the Kryptonite in his hands started to. But, it wasn't disappearing just anywhere – it seemed to be melting and absorbing into his hand. He stood up quickly in surprise, shock registering on his face, dropping the piece that was in his hand.

It was too late, though. Most of it was already going into his blood stream. His heart started to race, he felt a searing heat coursing through him. It was almost painful. He staggered, breathing deeply.

"Wha - ?" He felt like he was being twisted from the inside out, then, like he was flying high in the sky. He looked at the ground quickly, just to make sure. He was still standing on terra firma. Dizziness swept through him, the blood rushed into his head. His eyes rolled, he quickly closed them, and staggered. Then, just as suddenly as that all happened, he felt perfectly fine. Better than fine: he felt…fantastic! He grinned to himself. He didn't think he had ever felt this good, this…elated. He opened his eyes, and they, without his knowing, glowed a brilliant red for a second, before returning to their brilliant blue.

"This is better than the sun!" He said, laughing aloud. He then bent his knees, shooting up into the air, faster than he ever had before. He quickly stopped, already in space. He looked down at the earth in shock. "I've never flown that fast." He said, his face and voice filled with wonder. He grinned, and then took off to flying around the world.

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He zoomed his way into his apartment, nearly crashing. He looked around, wild-eyed.

"Gotta be careful, Kent. Your powers aren't exactly acting normal." He went to get dressed for work. Upon opening his closet doors, he stared at all of his work suits. He cringed, shaking his head in disgust.

"Why do I wear these all the time? No wonder Lois never notices me!" He took a step back, trying to remember what he owned. Upon doing this, he noticed himself in the mirror. He looked at his super suit, before sighing and rolling his eyes.

"That's why you were those business suits…to hide this ridiculous costume." He shook his head, quickly unzipping it and stepping out of it. "Why did I ever let my mother convince me to wear tights?"

He turned to his dresser, opening it quickly. He noticed something he could wear, and smiled.

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Two muggers had a woman cornered in an alley, holding a knife up to her.

"Come on, just make this easy lady. Just give us your cash." One of them noticed her engagement ring. "And that lovely ring while we're at it."

Another man walked by the alley just then. He was tall, very strong, with dark hair and piercing blue eyes. He had a smile that could melt someone from the inside out, with a face to match. He wore jeans, a black leather jacket, a white buttoned-down collared shirt, his hair slightly falling onto his face, and, to top it off, a pair of thickly rimmed glasses. He noticed the scene going on as he passed the alley, though the people in it didn't see him. He was going to continue, when the woman gave a shriek as the knife came in closer.

Clark stopped upon hearing the shriek. He rolled his eyes, looking up at the sky. 'Fine' he mouthed, as though something up there was telling him to help. He turned and walked into the alley.

"Hey, guys, lay off, k?"

Both of the muggers turned to look at him, neither liking what they say. A rather bored, tall, strong, tough looking man was looking at them. Clark knew he wasn't wearing his super suit, but he liked the way these guys were looking at him. They were scared. One of them decided to put on a show of bravado.

"Who do you think you are, Superman?" Clark walked up to him, standing not even two feet away.

Clark laughed. "Uh, yeah, actually." He then punched the man in the face, sending him careening, unconscious, 10 feet into the brick wall. The other guy looked completely shocked. Clark, looking thoroughly bored, sighed, and took the knife out of his hand with ease, grinding the knife into powder on his hand, before dropping the handle. The mugger watched him do this, before collapsing onto the ground in a dead faint. Clark was amused. "You'd think they'd never seen that happen before."

He heard a whimper, suddenly remembering the woman the men had tried to mug. He looked at her, and she at him. For a split second, she looked scared out of her wits, before, looking at his face, where her eyes suddenly lit up. She shakily stood up from where she had crouched down to watch him take out the muggers.

"You alright?" He asked. He almost chuckled to himself, old habits diehard.

She nodded, a dazzled look on her face, a smile forming. She couldn't believe her luck! Not only was she saved, but; the man who saved her was gorgeous! He had said yes when the muggers asked if he was Superman, and she had seen Superman fly around town a few times…but this guys wasn't dressed like him, and he, in her opinion, was better looking! His jeans fit him perfectly, the leather jacket looked sexy on him, and the white shirt was the perfect match for his dark hair and blue eyes.

"Good." He said, flashing her a slightly disinterested grin. He knew exactly what his presence was doing to her. "I gotta get to work."

"I'm fine." She managed to get out. He gave a small chuckle, before raising his eyebrows quickly, giving her a flirty look, and then walking out of the alley. She still stood there, completely mesmerized.

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He walked through the giant corridor of The Daily Planet, reveling in the attention he was receiving. The men were looking at him in shock, and the women…well, they were trying to figure out how they never noticed a man who looked that good before! A smirk crossed his face. He was even carrying himself differently. He had confidence, pinache, a certain savvy about him.

Lois, Jimmy, Richard, and Perry were all standing just outside Richard's office, arguing about which of three stories should be the main headline.

"No, Uncle Perry, I think – " When Richard completely stopped. His jaw hung open, he looked towards the elevators. Perry, Jimmy, and Lois all turned to see what he was watching. The same thing everyone else was watching: Clark. He strutted confidently into the room, walking over to his desk, and sitting down. He leaned back in his chair, looking completely relaxed. None of them had ever seen him this way, and all were in complete shellshock.

"Is that, Clark Kent?" Perry asked in amazement.

Jimmy was surprised and rather hurt. "It is, Chief."

Perry didn't even bother to yell at him for calling him chief. Richard was just stunned. Lois, as she looked at Clark, was forgetting all about Richard. But, even more surprised – she was forgetting about Superman.