Silvia's stomach churned before she even had the chance to set foot into the building. She was already aware of the sympathy she'd be getting from everyone inside, and it's not something that she wanted. She didn't want their pity, or their memorials, she just wanted Clark back.

Powergirl and Supergirl entered the giant tower before her, the doors swinging so that Silvia could see a glimmer of the inside before they completely pulled themselves closed. There weren't many people from what she had seen and that knowledge granted her at least a little comfort.

Serpents felt like they had been nesting in her chest for weeks now, and it were as if those creatures were the only thing forcing her into that room - the hope that their painful venom may be dulled by saying a final goodbye.

The atmosphere was much more relaxed than Silvia had been expecting. The moment she entered she could hear the faint chatting and laughing of familiar voices.

"So then Clark dropped his glass, filled to the brim with wine, and while he was down picking up the pieces he pretended to cut his finger!" Hal's loud voice boomed with amusement.

"Surely they saw that he wasn't bleeding." Diana said skeptically.

"That's the thing! While they were distracted he had dipped his finger into the tub of ketchup that came with our fries! They were none the wiser, never accused him of being Superman again!"

There was a roar of laughter from the group just as Silvia turned the corner. Barry smirked. "Guess that clumsy act was more convincing than we thought."

Silvia couldn't exactly disagree. She was fool enough to believe that he was just some fumbling reporter. He was actually a pretty good actor to convince so many people that he was the biggest loser on the planet... then again, without the powers he was the biggest loser on the planet.

Hal was the first to notice her in the doorway, arms crossed and eyes focused on the floor as if she had suddenly taken up an interest in carpets. "Silvia..." he had said just loud enough to grab her attention. She glanced up and provided them with the weakest smile he'd ever seen.

"It is good that you came." Diana quickly added. "For a while we weren't sure if you would."

Silvia took several breaths in order to muster up a shrug. "Figured I'd bless you with my presence at least once more."

"Once more?" Richard jumped to his feet and took a less ethical approach, grabbing a bottle of beer from the cooler and chucking it in her direction. She caught it, but not as easily as usual. Her mind was elsewhere. Richard directed towards the spare seat next to him. "Are you going somewhere we don't know about?"

"She's going to Smallville, apparently." Powergirl answered for her. "To see Martha."

Silence filled the room as deadly as any toxin. What was once a group of friends reminiscing was now as still as a graveyard. They all exchanged sorrowful looks, unsure whether to speak on the matter or not. Hal decided to break the awkward atmosphere by asking "So... How's Martha holding up?" but he regretted it as soon as the words had left his mouth.

"She lost her husband a while ago, now she's lost her son... Her only son. She's doing as well as you could expect." Silvia replied rather darkly.

The room fell still again, Hal instantly sealing his lips shut and leaning back against the couch. Silvia let out a huff. She knew she'd end up ruining it somehow... Clark wouldn't have wanted the night to end like this. He wouldn't want them to be sitting in solemn sadness.

For the sake of Clark's memory, Silvia managed to bite back her grief for long enough to speak. "So... what were you talking about before?"

"Oh, just the time a few detectives discovered that Clark was Superman." Hal jumped at the opportunity to end the awkward exchanges. "He was younger, a little less cautious. Apparently he had landed in an alley as Superman and walked out as Clark. When they didn't see Superman follow they came to the conclusion that they must be the same person. The speculation didn't last long, not after he put on the dorky act."

Somehow, the reminder of Clark's clumsy persona brought a genuine smile to Silvia's face. It was sad, and trembled when it reached too far, but it was still the first real relief she'd had from her pain. "Yeah... He was always good at that."

"Good enough to fool you." Hal grinned.

"Speaking of which, Clark never told us about how you found out he was Superman." Aquaman started, voice as clear as you'd expect from a ruler. "Must be a good story."

"Not really..." Silvia answered stubbornly, tightening her grip on the beer bottle and taking a large gulp.

"Aww come on." Supergirl begged cutely. "I've always wanted to know!"

Silvia gave the Kryptonian a blank stare. She didn't want to tell them, her selfish nature had taken hold. That was her memory... One of the last remnants of Clark that she had left. It was a flawed and embarrassing moment in their lives, but it was still theirs. Silvia didn't want to share it with anybody else. When she sensed the anticipation hanging in the air, however, she decided that they needed to hear it - to bring them peace for at least a few more minutes.

"I... don't know where to start." She sighed, slouching in the seat and taking another swig of alcohol.

"Well, when did he tell you?" Diana assisted. "You can start there."

"He didn't tell me. A wall fell on us and he caught it. His glasses came off." Silvia stated a little blandly. She had never been talented in story telling, whether it was retelling real events or fabricating fiction.

"Really?" Powergirl shuffled forward on the opposite couch. "I thought for sure he would have told you before it came to that."

"What did you do?" Barry asked curiously.

"I... shot him." Silvia replied and the whole room fell into murmurs. Most of them looked surprised at first, but Hal and Richard smirked as if they had expected this answer.

"Trust you of all people to shoot a bulletproof man." Hal laughed.

"It was those fucking glasses, I swear." Silvia huffed. "I couldn't believe that he'd fooled me with a pair of stupid lenses."

"Yeah, welcome to the club." Barry chuckled, wiping biscuit crumbs off his lap. "So he saved your life, and you shot him?"

"I knew it wouldn't hurt him." Silvia shrugged. "And he broke my favourite gun the first time we met, so I'd say that evened the score."

"Glad it wasn't me." Richard teased. "I would've shot you back."

"And you would've missed." Silvia tried to say playfully, but it only came out with indifference. She was hurting too much for any of her words to have true emotion in them.

Unfortunately for her, Richard noticed. In fact, they all noticed. None of them mentioned it though. It was like they were taking pity on her and instead decided to engage in a completely different conversation.

Silvia collapsed even further into her seat and chugged down the rest of her beer. She slammed the bottle against the table and wiped her mouth against her sleeve. To any outsider she looked like an empty shell of what she once was, and of the person Clark had made her.

As the rest of the team continued talking, Martian Manhunter noticed her troubled look. He had been sitting on the sidelines, silent as the grave, and clutching a plate of Oreos to his chest. He looked down at his favourite food, then back up at Silvia to speak in a very reluctant voice. "Would you like a confectionery treat?"

The blonde girl glanced up at him, raising an eyebrow at his choice of words. J'onn looked exactly like he sounded - odd. Silvia shuffled forward and took an Oreo from the platter with a nod of gratitude, certain in the knowledge that this was his way of trying to cheer her up.

This one biscuit lasted longer than any other edible substance in the room. Barry's fast metabolism ensured that anything everyone else didn't eat, he did. Silvia, on the other hand, spent the rest of her time staring at that Oreo. She followed every line, every crack, memorised its surface. When she finally pulled to her feet she tucked the Oreo into her pocket, having no intention of actually eating it. Most of her appetite had vanished anyway...

"I'd better get going." Silvia said after a long while of sitting in silence. "The last bus to Smallville leaves soon."

The talking stopped all at once and they all spared a second to look at her. They didn't seem sure of what to say. Diana, however, commented anyway. "Come back and visit us when you can."

Silvia didn't have an answer. This was Clark's city... She didn't know if she could bare coming back. It just felt hollow without him. "Goodbye." was all Silvia could say,she wasn't going to make promises she couldn't keep. "Thanks for the drink."

The air trickled a chill down her spine as Silvia turned to leave, but every day was cold to her now. The sun could have been shining its brightest outside, scorching peoples skin red in mere moments and reducing them to nothing but piles of sweat, and Silvia still wouldn't feel it.

"Silvia." Someone called out before she could make it to the exit... A voice that hadn't spoken at all that night.

The blonde turned, but with much hesitation. "What do you want, Bruce?"

"I know what you're doing." He said sternly. "And you need to stop."

Silvia's eyebrows furrowed together. "It would help if I knew what the fuck you were talking about."

"You're closing yourself off from everyone." Bruce stated, but in his monotone voice it really didn't sound like he was too concerned about her... More about what she might start doing again. "I know because I do the same thing. Clark wouldn't want you to reverse all the progress you made."

"Look, I won't start killing again, if that's what you mean."

Bruce crossed his arms, and now Silvia realised that he was a lot taller than she thought. "I'm just saying that you've gained more friends than just Clark over the years, and I may not be one of them but they care about you, remember that."

"And maybe you should take your own advice." Silvia replied bitterly.

"Maybe." Bruce answered, face darkening. "I didn't come out here to talk to you for my own enjoyment. I'm doing it because it's what Clark would want."

Silvia felt pang of guilt ache in her abdomen as Bruce turned to walk away. She had no idea how to make things less aggressive between them, and though he had tried she was the one making it worse. She bit her lip and called out "I'd thank you for inviting me... but I'd never live it down if I did."

Perhaps this wasn't the best way to apologise for her stubbornness, but Bruce seemed to understand what she meant. He did raise Richard after all. The dark-haired man smirked and retaliated with "Niether would I"

As Bruce made his way back to the group, Barry took his place. He looked even more uncomfortable there than Silvia did, if that was at all possible. "Hey."

"Uh... hi?"

Barry shifted on the spot, hands constantly clutching into fists nervously. "There's no real easy way to say this." He started, rolling his shoulders, and biting his lip, and doing almost anything he could to distract himself. "But I just wanted to tell you that I know how you feel, and I'm sorry."

Silvia's expression contorted in uncertainty. "You do?" She said, obviously unconvinced that he had any idea of her heartbreak.

"Yeah, I do." Barry replied and all other movement from him stopped. "I lost someone I loved as well."

"I know about your mother, and as horrible as that is I don't think it's the same as-"

"I'm not talking about her." He raised his voice a little and Silvia instantly regretted ever mentioning it. "I lost someone else. Someone I wanted to spend my life with."

Silvia gulped down the bad taste that had arisen in her mouth. She really was a bigger jerk than she realised sometimes. "What happened?"

"I can't tell you much, but let's just say that we were from completely different worlds...Different times. She died ages ago." Barry inhaled shakily. "People tell you that it gets easier, but it never does. You just learn to live with the pain. You adapt to it by instinct because the agony's too much for anyone to live with. I wanted to be honest with you... So I won't lie about how losing Clark will eventually not affect you, because it always will. I just want you to know that I'm here if the burden ever weighs you down."

Silvia forced down the lump that formed in her throat, the one that threatened to break her down. He sounded sincere, and it was the first completely truthful thing anyone had said to her since it had happened. "Thank you."

Barry nodded but his expression had twisted in sorrow the moment he had mentioned this mystery woman. It stayed that way the entirety of the walk back to his friends.

The flutter of conversation filled the room again but a voice was missing. Supergirl had wandered out onto the balcony, having spotted Billy over there. She looked back at Silvia with her hand on the boy's back then waved her over.

The ex-vigilante groaned. She didn't want to engage in any more social interaction. She just wanted to leave. Supergirl was persistent, however, and Silvia eventually marched over to the two figures with a look of pure irritation.

When she got there Supergirl left with nothing but a hushed whisper of "Talk to him."

Now Silvia was fuming. Not only had she been coxed into another awkward exchange, but Kara had just left her there for no good reason. She had just started to feel the tension seep into her skin when she heard a small sniffle coming from Billy's direction.

This instantly wiped any anger from her face, and instead, replaced it with concern. "H-Hey... Are you alright, kid?"

Billy's spine stiffened but his arms still trembled with grief. He brought his palms up to wipe any tears off his face but the trails they had left on his cheeks were still visible. "Yeah, I'm f-fine."

Silvia's lips tightened into a grimace. "I may not have 'the Wisdom of Solomon', or whatever it is, but I can tell when someone's lying to me."

Billy bit his quivering lip. "Everyone's really happy talking about Clark... I don't want to upset them, especially not you."

Silvia approached the railing, wrapping her hands around its cold surface and looking out over the view of Gotham. It was just a never ending labyrinth of back allies and narrow sidewalks. "The only way you can upset me is by not telling me what's bothering you."

"I just..." Billy's voice was barely audible and choked back with sobs. Silvia was reminded of just how young he was. He may have been smart enough to understand what happened, but that didn't mean that he was old enough to deal with it. "Superman was suspicious of me at first, ya know? And when he found out that I was a kid he was dead against me being involved in catching criminals."

"Of course he was, no one wants to see a kid fighting a war that isn't theirs."

Billy shrugged. He wasn't an adult, and so he didn't see the harm in it. "When I told him that I wasn't ever going to stop defending Earth he accepted my choice. He always kept a close eye on me after that though... He was like the father I always wanted."

The blonde placed a a hand on the boy's shoulder comfortingly. "He probably saw himself in you."

"I... I hope so." Billy tried to blink away the tears that started to reform but it only made it worse. "I wanted to be like just him... I s-still do."

"I think we all do. He's a better person than any of us could ever hope to be." Silvia mumbled and Billy nodded. Still, these words didn't seem to comfort him in the least. Silvia took a deep breath and continued. "But if anyone can do it, you can."

The boy finally gazed up at her, eyes glossy and nose running. "Really?" He said in a shaky voice.

"Clark certainly thought so." Silvia smiled.

Billy's expression softened but that only made it easier for his grief to break the surface. "I-I... miss him."

"I know, I do too." Silvia knelt down to eye level with him, left hand placed on his shoulder and right wiping away the tears trailing down his cheek. "But as long as we remember what he stood for Clark's influence will stay with us, whether it be from what he taught us in the past or the decisions we make in the future. If we keep him in our hearts he will never disappear entirely."

This was the kind of speech that usually made Silvia herself inwardly cringe, and it still did, but it was apparent that the kid needed it. She was fairly sure it sounded like any other cliche 'his spirit lives on' lecture, the ones from corny dramas, but it needed to be said for Billy's sake.

The boy nodded, stifled a sob, then finally leaned in to hug Silvia. She froze at the gesture, brain unable to process how she was suppose to respond. Ultimately she settled for patting him on the head... very awkwardly.

"H-Hey." She forced her voice back out into the open, pulling him back and digging a hand in her pocket when his attention was directed elsewhere. "Want a cookie?"

Billy stared at her, then to the Oreo, in confusion. Her offer felt so out of place in their conversation that it sent him back peddling.

"Uh... sure. Thanks." He answered, taking the biscuit but not completely computing what she had just said. His eyes scanned the treat, narrowing when they came across a chunk of black lint. "Has this been in your pocket?"

Silvia rubbed her neck nervously. "Wh-What? Of course not, that'd be gross... I got it from J'onn, and he was holding them pretty tightly to his costume, so it must be from him."

Billy's brow furrowed and his lips poured childishly. "But J'onn doesn't wear black..."

"He doesn't?" Silvia laughed anxiously and quickly stepped away. "Well, that's weird. I'd best be going, my bus leaves soon, catch ya later."

She had changed the topic so swiftly that Billy barely had time to disprove her argument, and by the time he'd finally registered that she was trying to escape the situation, she was already running out the door. The small boy huffed, picking the strands of fabric off his biscuit. "Bye, Sil..."

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Author's Note: Still a bit more to go... This story is longer than I intended 😂 Anyway, encase you're interested in what Flash said, it is related to the story I've started for him (Escape Velocity). 😜