A week after her clients meeting and Silvia's change in career path was off to a good start. She planned on turning in criminals to the authorities and receiving the rewards from it instead of killing them for a much larger sum, but not every villain was worth a decent amount of money. This meant she needed something else and she thought that detective work might be enough to get her through.

Her first client had a rather boring problem, one that took Silvia no longer than ten minutes to solve. Thankfully Silvia was well compensated for finding the woman's lost cat and could forget about the whole incident easily. The second she had only finished the day before. Someone had hired her to find their son, turns out there was a reason he was so hard to find... She had to dive to the bottom of a murky lake to retrieve his body.

She hadn't had much opportunity to see Clark whilst on that case but today she planned on spending as much time as possible with him. She had already headed out to central Metropolis by 10 a.m on Sunday, Clark's only day off from work.

The streets were the same as usual; packed with people and buildings too tall for her liking. There was only one major difference, and it was something that she almost missed. There was a crowd gathered around one of the nearby apartment lots, gasping and screaming like a bunch of monkeys at an overpopulated zoo.

Silvia grimaced at the sight. She thought they might be watching a fight in the street or one of those magicians that con you out of your money. That changed when another sound pierced her ears. A heart beat, one much more rapid than the rest and breathing so laboured that it could rival a dying man. Actually, that's what it sounded like. Someone inches from death.

Her gaze turned upwards and her enhanced sight zoomed into the distant stretch of architecture. Outside one of the top windows was a boy. He was standing on the ledge with tears glistening in his eyes. He didn't look any older than twenty... and no one was moving to help.

Without a second to think, Silvia dashed through the crowd. She pushed onlookers aside and squeezed through small gaps between them then bolted for the apartment complex. She pushed the button for the elevator restlessly. One second passed and she pressed it again. A mixture of panic and impatience flooded her system, forcing her toward the stairs instead when it took too long.

The staircase was winding and narrow. She climbed it with every ounce of speed and strength that she could muster, tripping over a few times in her rush to reach the top. She got there faster than any normal person could hope for... but the door was locked.

There was no way around it. Opening it would be too loud to go unnoticed by the man on the ledge but it looked like she was all out of options. Silvia stepped back, rolled her hands into fists at her side and kicked down the door. It flew off of its hinges with a loud 'bang' and Silvia rushed inside.

Her timing was awful. The man already had one foot hanging off of the ledge and was midway through jumping. She sprinted to the him, hands out to grab hold of his shirt but when she reached the window she only found air. She had missed him by mere inches.

Silvia leaned over the window instinctually, looking for any sign of him. Her eyes widened and she stepped back into the apartment just as Superman came into view. He had caught the man before he hit the ground and he was now staring up at the hero trying to process how he was still alive.

"Please don't tell me he was running away from you." Superman said with a slight smile in Silvia's direction.

"If I was after him he wouldn't have had to jump." Silvia tried to joke back despite her worry for the man.

Superman flew closer to the window and offered his free hand. "Need help getting down?"

Silvia instantly jumped back, head shaking profusely. "No chance in hell. I'll take the elevator, thanks."

Superman may have tried to tease her about that any other day, but today was intense. It was a moment to be serious. The hero glanced at the man beginning to struggle against his grip and nodded in Silvia's direction. "See you on the ground."

The blonde watched as Superman floated back down, placing the man securely and safely on the concrete. She sighed, hand reaching up to rub her temple as she exited the apartment. Villains and monsters were one thing, but mental illness and depression were completely different demons to face.

The elevator didn't seem to take nearly as long without someone's life on the line and the ride down didn't either. Classical music played for only moments before the doors opened to the bottom floor. Silvia stepped outside to the sight of people fawning over Superman, reporters crowding around him and the suicidal man being seen to by medical professionals.

"Could we get a statement from you Superman?" A worker for The Daily Star asked, pushing back Lois Lane who had almost gotten to him first.

"I'm sorry, but the well-being of the citizen that jumped is my top priority at the moment." He gently nudged through the people surrounding him. "I must see to him first."

Silvia was practically invisible when she made her way over to the back of the ambulance where the boy sat perched on the end. She leaned against the vehicle as Superman arrived there as well.

He gave a very long (and in Silvia's opinion sappy) speech about the value of life and that things would get better. The girl probably rolled her eyes about five times during the whole thing. She didn't know why she was still there. It might have been because she had been in the same state of mind that boy was in... maybe worse.

The medical team returned to take him to hospital. He had no injuries but they wanted to keep a close watch on him.

As the van disappeared into the background Silvia gave a heavy sigh. "You'd better keep an eye on him."

Superman echoed the large exhale. "I will. I just wish he knew that it gets better."

"Look, your little speech was inspiring and all but he doesn't want to know that it gets better, he just doesn't want it to get worse." Silvia crossed her arms, completely avoiding the heroes gaze. "And that's something no one can promise him, not even you."

Superman shifted, eyes never leaving the girl's uncomfortable figure. "I'm sure we can arrange to get him help if it's financial."

"That's not the problem." The girl glanced over to the group of people waiting for Superman to return, Lois among them staring at Silvia skeptically. Superman was an inspiring person, but no one can understand that mindset unless they'd been there themselves. Silvia struggled to find a way to get him to understand, skull pounding with the threat of a headache. "His life could be perfect and he still might have jumped."

Superman's forehead crinkled. "Explain."

"Umm... well, I'm not as good with words as you are but... you know how your brain controls everything, right? Your emotions, movement, information processing, bodily functions, personality... absolutely everything. Well, imagine feeling like your mind, that is suppose to keep you safe and alive, has turned against you. One morning you'll wake up and for no reason at all your mind insists that the worlds burning around you." The girls hands curled against the fabric of her shirt. "At first you're bothered by it but eventually you just stop caring. Someone could drop dead right in front of you and where other people feel sympathy or sorrow, you'll feel jealousy or indifference."

"If we get him help that could change."

"Maybe..." Silvia shrugged. "Maybe not."

"You don't think it's at least worth trying?" Superman sounded a little outraged now.

"I never said that." Silvia finally met his gaze and found a mixture of emotions whirling in his incredibly blue eyes. "For him it could very well be something financial or personal, I'm just saying to not expect it to get better for him just because you say it will. Sometimes there's nothing you can do."

"I won't accept that. There's always something we can do."

With that Superman left her, not even bothering with the reporters waiting eagerly for interviews. He did manage to give them a charming wave though before disappearing into the sky. Silvia sighed. She couldn't exactly hate him for not listening, of more Superheroes cared like he did maybe she wouldn't have been so against them in her younger years. Who was to say that she was right on this anyway? Every mind worked differently so she could only ever speak for herself and the people she'd met.

Silvia checked the time on her phone, seeing now that it was almost 5 p.m. There wasn't a moments hesitation before she set off running again in the direction of Clark's apartment only two blocks away. She wasn't going to miss anymore time.

Silvia's legs were like jelly after the intensity they felt earlier but she ran up to his door regardless. Her fist wrapped on the wooden surface and it was instantly pulled open... but not by Clark.

In his apartment stood two elderly people, one woman and one man. Their hair was an identical shade of grey, and the woman wore glasses just like Clark. The man had a pair hanging from his pocket but they were likely only used for reading.

"Can we help you?" The man said in a kind tone.

"Umm... I'm actually looking for Clark, is he home?" Silvia said a little bewildered.

"Sil, that you?" Came a voice from inside the apartment and Clark suddenly appeared behind the couple.

The old man's expression fell and instantly he was looking at Silvia with eyes of judgement, like he could see right through to her every dark secret. "Ah, so this is the one?" He said in a voice that had lost all its previous pleasantries and resorted straight to hostility.

"E-Excuse me?" Silvia stuttered, taken back by how harsh he sounded towards someone he didn't know.

The man looked like he wanted to say something, to get in her face and tell her off for something she had no idea she had done but his wife placed a hand on his shoulder with a quiet "Jonathan..." and he stepped away.

The woman then looked up at Silvia and forced a smile onto her face. "It's good to finally meet you, I'm Martha and this is Jonathan. I'm sorry he's not in the best of moods today."

"Ahh... That's alright?" Silvia was still confused, partly because she wasn't expecting anyone else to be there.

Clark looked a little nervous but once his father had silenced his shoulders relaxed. "Sil, these are my parents. They came over to visit just a few days ago."

"O-Oh!" Silvia gulped, nerves instantly rushing through her body. This wasn't how she was expecting to meet the 'in-laws'... "I-Its nice to meet you, U-Umm... Sorry, I should have brought lunch for all of us or... something."

God, this was embarrassing. She had no idea how to act around people's parents.

"No, that's alright we were just leaving anyway." Martha was trying hard to be civil, but Silvia could tell that she too was cautious of her.

Both of Clark's parents said their goodbyes to him, Martha giving him a kiss on the cheek and Jonathan a handshake before they left. They walked right passed Silvia with a suitcase dragging behind them. Jonathan didn't say a word but Martha managed a wave.

"Something tells me that your parents aren't all that fond of me..." Silvia muttered a little disheartened.

"Don't worry about them, they'll come around." Clark tried to lighten her mood, taking her by the hand and leading her inside. Her expression didn't change though and Clark grimaced. "Are you alright?"

Silvia nodded unconvincingly. Clark couldn't blame her for feeling down. After everything that happened that morning and now to be treated so oddly by his father... She was probably confused. Clark tried to think of a way to cheer her up but could only come up with one, something that she had been asking for and he had been avoiding.

"You wanted to stay over sometime soon, right?" Clark spoke in an anxious tone and instantly grabbed Silvia's attention. She nodded a little more surely this time. "Well, I'm not doing anything tomorrow. You can stay tonight."

Silvia's eyes widened. "B-But I didn't bring a change of clothes."

"You can borrow some of mine." Clark smiled at how fast Silvia seemed to get distracted by the prospect of sleeping there. "Go get into something more comfortable and we can order some take-out."

The girl leaped at the opportunity and within seconds she had dashed into Clark's room. It had certainly taken her mind off of his father's disapproval, but she knew that was the reason he had done it. Knowing that he cared enough to try and cheer her up with something he had been so hesitant about made one thing clear. She was falling for him... harder and faster than she thought possible.

With this realisation came the knowledge that it was time to tell him. He needed to know who she really was. Though she knew he was likely to leave her and tell the whole world about it, she cherished him enough to try. Someday soon she'd explain everything to him, but not tonight. She wanted a little more time with him as a regular person... No past and no future. Just the present.

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Author's Note: I know anyone that has only watched Man of Steel will be a little confused as to why Jonathan's alive, and trust me I had to give this decision a lot of thought. As much of this story is based more on the comics I decided to do the same with his parents (Jonathan doesn't die until much later and it's not by a tornado in the comics). I thought this could help develop their relationship in the future but I won't say anything more about it 😜

I hope you guys are okay with this choice, and if not, just think of it as an alternate timeline 😂❤ Thanks for all of the support guys!