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Ich fange gleich mal an.
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Durch meine Leserei von Star-Trek-Fics in letzter Zeit bin ich über die Autorin Michelle Perry gestolpert, die auch Superman-Fanfic schreibt, vorwiegend Superman Returns.
Drei ihrer Geschichten haben mich besonders berührt.
Die erste Geschichte 'Father' fokussiert auf Jason und sein Verhältnis zu Superman und zu Richard White:
You will make my strength your own. You will see my life through your eyes, as your life will be seen through mine. The son becomes the father, and the father becomes the son.
Jason stirred. When he opened his eyes, the speaker was already gone. He hurried to the window and smiled at Superman's retreating form. "Good night!" he called. Superman turned back, smiling at him. He exchanged words with Jason's mother, smiled again at Jason and flew away.
Jason smiled. That will be me one day.
________________________________________________________________
Jason couldn't help the feelings of confusion and guilt when he sat down to breakfast with his father the next morning. He loved his father. This was the man who tucked him in at night, read stories with him, helped him work puzzles, took him to the park. But...
"What's the matter, kiddo?"
Jason looked up. "Huh?"
"What's wrong?" Richard asked, scruffing his hair. "Why all the long looks?"
Jason tried to smile. "Nothing," he said.
"Something, I think. Rather not talk about it?" Jason shook his head. "Okay. But when you're ready, you can talk to me. You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"
Jason nodded. "Where's Mommy?" he asked.
"She's working today," Richard said. Jason thought he was trying not to sound sad. "But that's okay, right? It's you and me. Wanna go to the park today?"
"No. Can we go to the library instead?"
"Sure, we can go wherever you want."
Jason didn't have much trouble getting away from his father in the library. Richard always liked to look at the latest pilot and home improvement magazines, and he usually let Jason hang out in the kid's section on his own. Jason spent the next couple of hours reading as many short books as he could find on step-parents, blended families and adoption. None of them described his exact situation, but he found enough similarities in the various stories to make himself feel a little better about loving two dads.
Jason heard his father's footsteps long before he saw him. He shoved the books into a corner and browsed for a safer subject. The books certainly hadn't talked about any families where one daddy didn't know the child in question was not his own. Jason knew that Richard would be upset if he learned that Superman was his "real" father.
In a few minutes, Richard came into the children's section, holding a few magazines and a woodworking book. "Haven't picked anything?" he asked, surprised.
"I read what I wanted," Jason said.
"Well, I found something I think you're going to like," he said with a sly smile. He flipped to a page in the woodworking book and showed it to Jason.
Jason's eyes widened, and he smiled broadly. "Are you really going to make that?"
"Nope. We're going to make it. Come on, we've got some planning to do."
...
Die zweite Geschichte 'Rebound' ist eine Begleit-Geschichte zur ersten:
Clark Kent bekommt die Fotografin Clara King (die in 'Father' ein 'Cameo' hat) als Unterstützung und 'CK Squared' bekommt eine neue Bedeutung.
Clara turned a corner and slammed right into the chest of a tall man in a brown suit. She fell backwards, and all of her papers scattered across the marbled floor. The man's briefcase burst open and his papers all showerd down on top of hers.
"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry!" they said in unison. Clara looked up and smiled. "Oh, hi, Mr. Kent," she said.
"Hi, Miss King," he said, his cheeks turning bright red as he spoke.
"You know, we really have to stop meeting this way," she said, sitting up and checking her camera. When she was satisfied that it was undamaged, she started to pull the papers back into order. Clark knelt down and began to help. They bumped heads a couple of times, and they reached for the same piece of paper more than once. Passers-by shook their heads, and a few of the people who worked on their floor muttered, "C.K. squared are at it again."
As soon as they entered the bustling, humming office floor, they waved and parted ways. Clara looked back and watched Clark stumble to his desk before heading to her own area. "Hey Clara!"
"Hey, Jimmy," Clara said, dropping her papers onto the desk. "How's it going?"
"Great!" Jimmy said. "I'm on assignment with Lois again. This time we're headed down to-"
"You ready, Jimmy? Oh, hi Clara."
"Hi, Miss Lane."
"Jimmy, come on, we gotta get going if we're going to beat traffic."
"I'm right behind you Lois. See you, Clara, I'll tell you all about it!"
"Bye," Clara said. She sighed wistfully, wishing that she could go on a field assignment with a reporter, instead of just shooting pictures and hoping someone would want them, or taking random requests. She sat down and got ready to load her latest pictures onto her computer.
"KENT!!!" came the familiar, bellowing voice of the Editor in Chief. "In my office!"
"Yes, Mr. White." Clara peered above the stacks of files and papers to see Clark heading for the Chief's office. He closed the door behind him and Clara looked back down at her computer. She had just managed to get the sim card out of her camera when the chief's door opened again. "KING!!!"
Clara hopped out of her seat. "Be right there, Chief!" She stuck the memory card back into the camera and rushed into the Chief's office, narrowly escaping falling flat on her face a couple of times when some coworker or other's chair moved into her way at just the wrong moment.
Clara entered the Chief's office and glanced at Clark before looking up at her boss. "You wanted to see me, sir?"
"Yes! I want you with Clark today."
"Really??"
"Well that's what I said, isn't it?!"
"Well, ye-"
"It's time for you to get out there and make a mark! Bring back something award-winning, King! Understand?"
"Ye-"
"Clark will guide you. He'll tell you everything you need to know, right Kent?"
"Yes, Chi-"
"He's almost as shy as you are, so you guys should get along great together. Now get out there, you two, and bring me back some fire!" He paused, and Clara and Clark both waited, wanting to be sure the Chief was really finished. "Well, what are you still doing here! Go! Good luck on your first field assignment, King."
"Thank you, Chief," Clara said. Clark held the door open for her and she stepped outside, trying to calm the breathless, hyper feeling she always had after leaving the Chief's office. It was particularly difficult to quell this time, because she had suddenly been thrust into a dream. Not only was she going to work her first field assignment with a reporter, but the reporter was Clark Kent! She couldn't stop smiling.
"Well, Miss King, it looks like we'll be working together for the first time," Clark said.
Clara nodded. "Looks that way. You can call me Clara," she said. "Since we are going to be bringing back fire together." Clark chuckled. "So, where are we headed?"
"Mr. White wants me to cover a story on the slums downtown. Well, one in particular. It's a terrible situation. Leaky pipes, bad railings, faulty locks. None of the tenants feel safe."
"Wow," Clara said. "Heavy piece. I'm sure that crazy earthquake Lex Luthor caused didn't help anything."
"Exactly! And the landlord hasn't even bothered to put plastic in the broken windows."
Clara shook her head. "Say, speaking of apartments, have you found a place to stay yet? I heard you were having some trouble."
"Yeah, I still haven't found anything. You know, all the bustle after Luthor's last attack..."
Clara nodded. "Well... if..." She blushed and studied her camera.
...
Die dritte Geschichte, die ich euch empfehlen möchte 'The Lex Luthor Myth', hat mir eine Gänsehaut über den Rücken gejagt:
Bei der Präsentation ihrer Master-Arbeit entdeckt Mikayla einen Mann im Publikum, der ganz besonders aufmerksam zuhört.
...
Mikayla made it outside at last, surprised that The Judge hadn’t stayed behind for the reception. She wanted to hear his opinions on the thesis very much. She looked back through the room, just to be sure she hadn’t missed him, though she was fairly certain she would have recognized him right away. She shrugged, mildly disappointed, and turned back toward the street. She took two steps toward the parking lot when a tall figure loomed suddenly out of the shadows beside the reception hall.
Mikayla jumped slightly, relaxing only fractionally when she recognized the facial features of her most attentive listener. “Sorry to startle you,” he said, stepping out fully into the light of a street lamp. He had soft looking brown hair, cut just below the ear, and (surprisingly) side burns of a length that were just on the safe side of tasteful vs. early 70’s flower child. He wore a navy blue pin-striped suit, double breasted, with a black, knee-length coat and a navy scarf. The suit was well-made, expensive without being gaudy. But it wasn’t the suit that struck Mikayla the most. Except for the sideburns, the man looked extraordinarily like Lex Luthor. The features seemed to match the many newspaper clippings she had seen, and he even looked to be about the same age. She glanced sideways, not wanting to seem silly, but noticing with alarm that there was no one else on the street.
“I apologize, Miss Stephens,” he said smoothly. Was there a hint of familiarity to the voice, too? “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Not at all,” she said with a smile, hoping her voice didn’t sound nervous.
“I would have spoken to you earlier, but,” he looked toward the hall with distaste, “I dislike crowds.”
“I know how you feel,” Mikayla said, relaxing slightly. It was a reasonable explanation.
“Come. I’ll walk you to your car,” the man said.
“Um…” she glanced toward the door again. “Sure, Mr…?” She lifted her eyebrows inquisitively.
“Alexander. Adam Alexander.” He extended a gloved hand.
Mikayla shook hands, noting the firm, businesslike grip. “You know…” She let out a nervous chuckle. “Maybe you hear this all the time, but, do people tell you you look like-”
“Lex Luthor?” The smile was friendly. “I get it all the time.” The smile quirked even more. “I’ve been told I should go into the impersonating business.”
Mikayla chuckled gleefully at the small joke. Adam offered her his arm, like an old-style gentleman. She took it, smiling brightly, and let him escort her to her car. She was set at ease by his friendly demeanor, and by the time they reached her car, her head was full of his lucid, intelligent, complimentary discussion of her thesis. When he asked for her phone number after helping her into her car, she was only too happy to oblige.
Adam called her the very next day, and three days later, they had their first date. Mikayla was treated to the finest dining, and the most gentlemanly behavior. They were subject to a few odd glances. Mikayla was never sure whether it was because of their obvious age difference (she could certainly have been mistaken for Adam’s daughter), or because of Adam’s resemblance to the modern terror of the world.
...
Viel Spaß beim Lesen!
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Ich freue mich schon auf eure Empfehlungen!
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