Weeks of dating slowly moved into months, and that one kiss turned into many. They always had a lasting effect on Silvia, who could swear she still felt the warmth they left on her lips hours afterwards. Her relationship with Clark had left her vulnerable, some may even say weak, but she had never been happier... This terrified her. She figured it wouldn't last, nothing ever did.

Still, this didn't drive her away from him. It only brought her closer. She tried to appreciate that small ray of hope before it was snuffed out.

Silvia was just about to meet Clark at the ice cream parlour when she got a text message. Apparently Perry was making him work overtime and he simply couldn't make it. Of course Silvia was a little disappointed, but she decided to visit him at the Daily Planet instead. She had already left the house anyway.

The way there was the same as always; a broken down walkway that suddenly turned into a sparkling new one as she entered central Metropolis. School holidays were in effect so the streets were a little more crowded than usual. This meant that the lines were also much longer.

Silvia had waited at least half an hour at the bakery, and about an hour at the cafe. It was even a struggle finding her way to the Daily Planet building. There were so many people it was like being stuck in traffic... but without a car.

When she finally arrived at the building the afternoon was almost over, though Clark said he was working until dinner so he was likely to still be there... or so she thought. When she arrived there the usually packed interior was near empty. Lois was typing at her keyboard though much slower than usual, and Jimmy was flipping through photographs. The only other people there were already packing up to leave. Clark wasn't among them.

Silvia raised an eyebrow at the scene, eyes still scanning for any sign of him. When she found no trace she was forced to rely on the help of others. She shuttered at the thought. Asking people for assistance wasn't her strong suit...

She immediately crossed Lois off her list. Silvia was fairly certain the reporter wanted nothing more to do with her, and she honestly couldn't blame her.

Instead Silvia opted for asking Jimmy who at least didn't roll his eyes at the sight of her. In fact, a large grin stretched across his face that he tried desperately to hide from Lois.

"Afternoon, Silvia." He said in his usual cheer. "Did you need something?"

"I was just looking for Clark. Any idea where he's gone?"

Jimmy's smile seemed to extend when she mentioned his co-workers name. He apparently knew what was going on between the two of them. This expression quickly fell after a quick glance over his shoulder. "He was here not long ago..." He mumbled to himself.

Before Silvia could ponder where he could have possibly gone the television placed deliberately in the corner was suddenly turned up. The voice over a female news caster blared through the room and both of them were quick to turn around. Lois stood cross-armed in front of it, watching the images flash across the screen intensely.

"We're live from downtown Metropolis where chaos erupted just moments ago when Superman himself suddenly began attacking the city in fits of uncontrollable rage." Behind the news anchor were a flood of people running in the opposite direction. There was visible destruction in the distance; buildings rendered to rubble and smoke whirling from unseeable fires.

Jimmy audibly gasped and rushed closer to the television. "No way..."

"It can't be him." Lois said though her voice shook.

Silvia tried to convince herself otherwise, but she ended up joining them in watching the news and saying simply "It's not."

They both glanced over at her, surprised at how certain she sounded, especially after hearing her insult him during their trip together. Silvia shrugged, choosing to not elaborate on her response. She doubted Superman could sway a bug away without feeling guilty, let alone fly into 'fits of uncontrollable rage' around innocents.

For a while there seemed to be no sight of the person responsible for the damage and despite the terror of those around her the woman still refused to move. This was only confirmation to Silvia that reporters, whether it be for a news station or a paper, were all equally insane.

Finally the camera started zooming in on someone. They looked like Superman... or a zombie-like version of him. He had chalky skin, messy black hair and tired blue eyes. Even his costume looked duller than usual.

"That's not Superman! The colours are all wrong!" Jimmy yelled at the screen, pointing at the 'S' symbol that Silvia now noticed had a purplish tinge to it instead of red.

"That's what convinces you? He could
have gotten a new costume, ya know..." Silvia said with a silent scoff. She knew it wasn't Superman because he was a damn goody-goody, but it took a costume reveal to reassure Jimmy. It was just weird to her.

"He's got grey skin!" Jimmy replied, voice not lowering.

Confirmation came only seconds later when an almost identical figure flew into the... 'not-Superman', and sent him too far into the sky for the camera to capture.

"It's Bizarro." Lois said with a sigh, arms falling to her side and eyes still focused on the screen. "News stations always call him Superman so that they can make eye catching titles like 'Superman destroys city'... It's all to make a quick buck."

"Who's Bizarro?" Silvia asked, face wrinkled in confusion. "That sounds like a stupid buzz word you'd make up and slap on a headline."

Jimmy chuckled and nudged Lois' arm. "Yeah pretty much."

Lois rolled her eyes. "Bizarro is a doppelgänger of Superman, or a clone in simpler terms. I have a feeling I'm going to need to revert to simpler wording if I'm explaining it to you."

It was probably expected that Silvia feel insulted by Lois' smart-ass comment. She didn't. Actually, it surfaced at least some degree of respect for the reporter. There was a big difference in Silvia's eyes between a jerk and a witty jerk. She was glad to find Lois was the latter. Regardless, Silvia was never the type to deny the truth. She grew up in Southside, stupidity came with the territory. Street smarts, however, that was something that she learnt very early on.

Silvia placed down the coffee cup and paper bag she was still carrying and shrugged. "Yeah, so keep it short."

"In the words of Superman 'Bizarro was born from hatred and greed, but he wants nothing more than to help. His warped understanding of our world means that he'll bring destruction, thinking that he's doing us good.' In other words, he does the complete opposite of what he's suppose to do and especially what Superman does. He's a clone, but does everything backwards."

Silvia blinked only once during the reporters explanation. The rest of the time she spent staring at the woman stunned. Finally, she glanced over at Jimmy who was trying to hold in his laughter. "Oh... right. I forgot I was standing next to a Superman encyclopaedia." Silvia sighed to herself before responding. "Wouldn't being the opposite of Superman defeat the whole purpose of a 'clone'?"

"It seems like whoever created him only wanted to duplicate his powers, not his personality or morals." Lois tapped her thin index finger against a nearby desk. "Still a clone, technically, but a bad one."

The blonde looked back over at the television where Superman appeared once again without Bizarro. She couldn't help but feel a little bad for the clone, even if he brought nothing but destruction, all he wanted was to help. It sounded a little too familiar.

The woman on the news station finally got sight of Superman standing behind her. She quickly tucked a stray strand of her short brown hair behind her ear and turned several shades darker. "S-Superman!" She squeaked, immediately followed by an embarrassed cough as she tried to lower her voice to a more attractive tone. "Metropolis would like to know what happened to the culprit. Do you have anything to say?"

Superman's bright blue eyes were so prominent that even the camera didn't do them justice, but still they reached through the screen to calm the terrors of all that watched the event transpire. He smiled charmingly and waved. "There is no longer any need for fear. Bizarro has been put back behind bars and there were no casualties. As many of you know, Bizarro's intentions are pure but as long as he remains a threat I will be here to stop him."

The woman attempted to hide her face behind her bronzed fingers, her cheeks became a color to rival the hue of her nail polish, and shone through the gaps. She wasn't looking at the camera anymore, only at Superman who was likely too kind to point out how ridiculous she looked fawning over him.

Silvia could pretty much feel the heat radiating off of Lois in fury. She wasn't over him yet, and it was doubtful that she would ever be. Silvia tried to concentrate on how irritated Lois looked to ignore how she herself felt about it. Usually she thought it was absolutely revolting, and that hadn't really changed, but something twisted in her stomach at the sight of that reporter flirting with him. She didn't know what it was but suddenly she wanted to throw her off of a building... A very tall building.

Lois was quick to turn the television off after Superman had left and Silvia was more than happy to forget anything she had felt in that short moment. She slammed into one of the many chairs that littered the room and rested her head in her hands, waiting for Clark to return. She didn't have to wait long.

Only minutes after she had sat down the door opened and he came sauntering in. Clark didn't look like he was expecting anyone to notice that he was gone and when they did he suddenly appeared slightly nervous. "Sorry, I forgot some notes back home. I had to run and get them to finish the-" he cut himself off, gaze finally falling onto Silvia.

"She came to see you, C.K." Jimmy smiled knowingly. "I gotta get myself a girlfriend that will visit me at work too!"

"Good luck." Lois said, dismissing the idea altogether as if it were impossible. She didn't appear anymore excited to see Clark than she usually was. She gave him a nod but that was the extent of her greeting before she returned to her desk.

Silvia grabbed her things off of the desk and Clark in the middle of the room. His grin was immediate. At least someone looked happy to see her...

"I'm sorry I had to cancel our date, Sil. I promise I'll make it up to you." Clark said sincerely. "What are you doing here though?"

Silvia extended her right arm and motioned for him to take the cup she was clutching on to. "Thought you could use a little energy."

Clark had been constantly surprised at how kind Silvia had become towards him, even now he was always forgetting that she was really Reaper. The woman that he was dating, the one that he grew closer to every day, was nothing like her other persona. She was thoughtful, even vulnerable at times.

Noticing that Silvia was beginning to look concerned that he hadn't replied, Clark retrieved the cup from her and took a small sip. Sugar rushed through his system instead of the caffeine that he was expecting. His blue eyes darted over to her and Silvia smiled lightly at him.

"I know that you're not the biggest fan of coffee so I got you a mocha instead with extra chocolate, and five spoonfuls of sugar... and whipped cream." Silvia giggled lowly, hoping that the other two people in the room hadn't heard it. "So, you feeling a little more awake now, Dorothy?"

A chuckle sounded in Clark's throat and reverberated in his chest. "I'll be up all night." His gaze softened at her. It was an expression much gentler than Silvia received from anyone else. Above all the different ways he looked at her, this was her favourite. "Thanks, Sil. I'll have to remember to get this again next time."

"If you want cavities then go ahead." She replied with a laugh before passing him the paper bag as well. "I got you something to eat too. There's enough in there to share with Jimmy and Lois... Just don't tell them it was me."

Clark smiled at her in awe despite the joking tone he gave. "I'd never dream of it."

They were lost in their small moment together, smiling at each other affectionately. Silvia could see Jimmy watching from around the corner and shifted uncomfortably on the spot. "W-Well, I guess I better let you get back to work."

Clark looked a little disappointed that she was leaving so soon but nodded regardless. "I'll take you out on the weekend, I promise."

Silvia shook her head at the seriousness in his voice. "I believe you... but it really doesn't bother me. I can just visit you again if you're busy."

"It bothers me though." Clark sighed. "Don't make any plans, alright?"

Silvia agreed but did it a lot less sternly than Clark. He was always adamant about making things up to her, a lot of it having to do with his frequent disappearances. She had no idea where exactly he was always running off to, but Silvia always figured he had a good reason... She just wished she knew what it was.

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