The Suit and The Cape

His whole body tensed up, and even his toes curled unconsciously.

His heart was pounding so loudly that it felt like a drum beating in his ears.

Before Clark could say anything, Soren suddenly blurted out, "You... you haven't even told me how you can fly, or why there's this huge base in the Arctic. And what's Krypton? Are you an alien, Clark?"

Clark blinked, looking momentarily stunned.

A flicker of surprise crossed his face, "Oh... I guess I never told you—sorry, I almost forgot about that. I should've told you earlier."

He smiled slightly, putting the restoration device down and walking over to Soren.

Gently, he took Soren's wrist, "I thought you already knew. You're so smart, and you were so calm earlier, I assumed you'd figured it out."

It seemed like... he had dodged a bullet.

Soren secretly let out a sigh of relief, glad he'd avoided getting caught.

He pretended to be clueless and shook his head, "What should I know?"

Clark lowered his head, his deep Kryptonian blue eyes gazing into Soren's, and said seriously, "I'll tell you everything, Soren."

Clark led Soren out of the medical room and across a crystal bridge suspended in the air.

As they walked, Clark slowly shared his story: how he had been sent to Earth as a baby in a spaceship from Krypton, how the Kents found him in a cornfield, how he discovered he was different, and how he came to inherit the last remnants of Krypton.

Soren walked quietly behind him, listening to Clark's memories without saying a word, but his heart kept pounding in his chest.

Clark then stopped in front of a row of battle suits on display.

Various colors and designs of suits and capes floated in front of them: black, white, deep blue... Each suit had a hexagonal diamond symbol on the chest, with an "S"-shaped pattern in the center.

"These are Kryptonian outfits," Clark explained to Soren, "Kryptonians wear these suits in battle. The suits can withstand impacts and damage at a planetary level scale. My father, Jor-El, left all these suits inside the ship."

Soren looked up at the row of clothes, his feelings rising like a tide.

He found himself drawn to a blue battle suit.

Standing in front of it, he stared at the yellow-and-red "S" symbol on the chest, his eyes shining brightly.

This was the same suit that Superman wore in the comics he had seen.

The soft, red cape draped gracefully over the blue suit, with a pair of red boots placed underneath.

The suit's material had a unique texture—smooth yet with a fine, orderly pattern visible from the side.

In the comics, Superman wore this suit to travel across the universe, using all his strength to rescue an ordinary little girl.

At the end of the comic, under the sunset, the little girl sits in Superman's arms and tells him, "I know why you traveled the universe and gave up everything to save me..."

The little girl hugged him gently, saying, "Because you're Superman."

Because he was Superman, he did everything he could to save everyone.

He didn't care about the cost or the dangers.

He just did what he believed was right and saved everyone he saw.

To him, everyone was equally loved and protected by the cape's caring eyes.

Back then, Soren dreamed every day that the red cape would come to rescue him.

That splash of red was his only hope in a difficult childhood.

A year, two years, three years, ten years, twenty years...

He waited so many years for the red cape to arrive, and finally, through the cracks of the universe, his Superman came.

His eyes longed for the suit.

Clark quietly approached him, asking, "Soren? What are you looking at?"

Soren was startled by Clark's voice.

He slightly flinched, lowering his gaze.

His long lashes fluttered like delicate butterfly wings.

He softly said, "I, I was looking at this suit..."

Clark followed his gaze and looked at the suit.

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and said, "Do you like this suit? Do you think I should wear it under my coat? That might be a good idea. Then I wouldn't have to rush back to change clothes later."

Soren quickly nodded, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Clark's handsome face, "I think that's a great idea! If you wear it all the time, you can rescue people anytime, anywhere! And, if you wear different clothes, people won't confuse you with the reporter, Clark Kent!"

Clark laughed, "You make a good point, Soren. I'll give it a try."

He took off his jacket and pants and changed into the Kryptonian suit.

Soren stood behind him, smoothing out the wrinkles in the cape and gently holding up a corner of the red fabric.

He ran his fingers over the unique material of the cape: it felt like velvet but was surprisingly soft, almost like holding a pliable crystal mud.

—It was so much fun!

Clark looked down at the suit, adjusting the belt awkwardly.

The suit fit him tightly, showing off his well-defined muscles, and he felt a bit silly.

"Do I look too silly?" Clark asked Soren, unsure.

Soren's ears turned red as he glanced over Clark's strong chest and patted his arm, "Not at all! You look great, really—better than Luke Skywalker!"

Clark smiled.

Knowing Soren's long-time obsession with Luke Skywalker from >, he understood how high of a compliment that was.

Feeling a bit shy, Clark turned around, and the red cape slid smoothly out of Soren's hands, "I'm glad you like it."

"How could I not like it?" Soren whispered.

He looked up, admiring Clark's handsome face, with features like a Greek statue, his dark, slightly curly hair, and bright Kryptonian blue eyes.

This was the person he had been waiting for since childhood.

He had finally arrived.

...

In the Arctic, it was the final stretch of polar day in spring.

The sky was gray, and though it was night, there was still some dim sunlight.