The night was cold for Metropolis. It leaked into even the thick walls of Clark's apartment and shivered up Silvia's spine. She spent most of the night huddled close to her boyfriend, eating dinner and watching movies. Silvia herself loved old action films, where as Clark seemed to have a soft spot for romances. There was no way he was ever going to get Silvia to watch one of those...

Only when it was two in the morning did they plan on going to bed. Clark had insisted he take the couch but Silvia had reached up and pulled herself towards him, and the rest of his words were lost against her mouth. He kissed her gently, carefully, but it wasn't gentleness she wanted, not now, not after all this time, and she knotted her fists in his shirt, pulling him harder against her.

He groaned softly, low in his throat, but it didn't change. He remained careful and precise, his muscles tensing against every movement. Silvia pouted against his lips but his control only made her more determined to break it.

Silvia tugged his shirt over his head. Clark's glasses became crooked in the process but he was quick to straighten them again, not that it mattered because Silvia was too surprised by the amount of muscle he was hiding to notice.

Her fingertips grazed across his defined abs then up to his broad shoulders. She knew he was big but she thought most of that had to do with his height. Clark regularly wore loose clothing and large coats that did well in masking his figure.

Clark's eyes followed her hands as if it was the only of his four senses that he had left. He shivered when he saw that her hands were touching him, not when he felt it. Silvia gaped at the man in front of her before leaning back in to kiss him. Nothing had changed. He was still holding back.

Silvia growled impatiently and opted for kissing down his neck. Still his hands stayed gentle against her skin, hovering so lightly that he was barely touching her at all. She pushed away from him, eyebrows furrowing. He had a lot more restraint than anyone she'd ever been with...

Silvia had always been a little anxious about her body, but her stubbornness quickly outweighed that. Nine months was a long time for her to be in a relationship and not make it physical.

Her fingers were trembling as she gripped the bottom of her shirt. She swallowed any fear that accompanied this and pulled it off. She started slow, making sure he could savour each section of her pale skin as it was revealed and then threw the fabric into the corner of his room.

Silvia's body was athletic with hints of muscle peeking in various places; you could clearly outline the abs on her stomach. The skin was by no means flawless though. There were scars faded into places she'd been dealt a significant blow, including the shiv Batman had buried into her side.

They were visible enough that she knew Clark could see them but she hoped above all else that he wouldn't question her on it... at least not yet.

Clark, thankfully, didn't look like he was going to. In fact he had a look in his eyes that she had never seen in them before; something she'd been trying to provoke. It was unrestrained and instinctual... everything she wanted him to feel.

Silvia sauntered back over to him and crashed her lips against his. There was a moment, however brief, where it  seemed like Clark might actually let go but then he jumped back as of he'd been burnt by a raging fire. There was a look of panic suddenly on his face but she couldn't comprehend why.

"We shouldn't be doing this..." Clark said in a breathy tone.

"What do you mean?" Silvia asked, concern crawling into her expression.

"I.... I'm sorry, Sil." Clark's back hit the wall behind him and he took a deep inhale to try and calm himself. "We can't do this, not yet."

Her brows knitted together and her arms quickly went in front of her, now all too aware of the scars that littered her body. "Are you not attracted to me or something?"

Clark's eyes widened and his hand immediately gestured towards her. "Are you kidding me? Of course I am... I know it doesn't make much sense now but I promise I'll explain myself soon."

Disappointment washed over the blonde, gnawing at her with questions she had no answer for. Was his reason really so specific that he needed to dedicate time to explaining it? Silvia could understand if he wasn't ready but that didn't seem like the case and it worried her.

Regardless, she forced a smile onto her face and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Okay, but could you sleep in the same bed as me tonight instead?"

Clark relaxed in her arms and kissed her forehead. "If that's what you want."

Though she had been taken a little off guard by Clark's rejection Silvia was grateful for it later. As they cuddled on the Queen-size mattress she was reminded of the things she still had to tell him. It was probably best that he know the truth before they went too far... and this was even more motivation to tell him.

Silvia didn't sleep. She couldn't. Her eyes refused to close or even look away from the sleeping man. This might be the last time she sees him like this... It might be the last time she sees him at all.

She'd been waiting for the morning for so long that Silvia barely believed comprehended it when the sharp shadows cast by the street-lamps through the blinds started to fade, diluted by the onset of daylight. Then a chorus of birds broke the drone of the city traffic and Clark awoke not long afterwards.

The day was much too humid for Silvia's liking and so she stayed at his house until it started cooling down in the late afternoon. She spent the whole morning trying to build up the courage to admit who she really was to him but it was harder than she originally thought.

It wasn't until she was already out the door and ready to leave that she found the strength, but she refused to do it out in the open. "Clark?" She said in a small, shaky voice. "Can you walk me home?... I have something I want to show you."

Clark's head tilted to the side curiously but he managed a nod. He preferred knowing she got home safely anyway.

The walk was mostly quiet, something unusual for them. Typically Silvia would be asking Clark questions about his childhood and trying to know him even more than she already did, then completely dodge any of his own enquiries. She was scared. If it wasn't obvious before it certainly was now.

Just as the two entered Southside Silvia took a sharp turn right, and though he wanted to know why this was, he followed her without much resistance... directly into the cemetery.

Rows of tombstones stood in silence to the left and right, in front and behind, like a sea of the dead. Some were crumbled with the weathering of centuries, some were smooth marble with new black writing and laid with floral tributes. Most though, were overgrown and unkempt. Upon the hill a new grave had been dug to await it's new occupant but it was unlikely they'd arrive for another day or two.

Silvia came to an abrupt halt and kneeled in front of a particular row of graves. Clark followed suite, though with a lot more hesitancy.

"What are we doing here?" He asked in an unsure tone.

Silvia's silvery eyes flicked up to him with a smile so weak that it nearly broke his resolve. "I met your mother yesterday." She said softly, turning back to one of the tombstones. "I thought you should meet mine too."

Clark's gaze followed hers, eyes scanning the etchings carved into the stone. 'Jessica Blackwood. Beloved daughter, mother and wife.' Something became caught in the reporters throat and suddenly he didn't know how to react. She had never said more than two words about herself and now she was being laid bare in front of him.

"I'm so sorry..." He said sadly but she quickly shrugged and dismissed his apology altogether. He knew she was not one to want his sympathy, and so he asked the first thing that came to mind after that. "Blackwood? Was that her maiden name?"

"Not exactly..." Silvia sighed. She knew this was the first question he'd ask. "It was her married name... and my real one."

Clark's gaze quickly snapped in her direction, lips parting in shock. "What do you mean?" The words slipped out of his mouth. It was, of course, a rhetorical question... or was it? His mind wasn't registering most of this new information. "Stone isn't your last name?"

"Legally, no... but I prefer being called Stone. It was my mother's maiden name."

Clark's mouth formed an uncharacteristic grim line. Almost robotically his hand rose upward to touch the grave marker beside her mother's, moving away any vines or shrubs that hid the writing. 'Mason Blackwood. Beloved son and brother.' His eyes were almost as still as some bill board poster. "And this is your-"

"My brother, yeah."

Now Clark understood all too well why she didn't talk about herself. This would be a hard burden for anyone to carry. "How did they..."

Silvia's eyes shifted to the side again and became glazed with a glassy layer of tears. As she blinked, they dripped from her eyelids and slid down her cheeks. She bit her lip tightly in attempt to hide any sound that wanted to escape from her mouth; Clark's heart sank.

"I've got something I need to tell you first. If you still want to know after that I promise I'll tell you anything you want." Her voice strained to remain strong, and though she succeeded, it made Clark wonder how many times she'd had to ignore her feelings.

Clark nodded, not able to find any words that weren't questions. He'd waited months to fully understand her and the reasons she had for killing... Now that he was finally getting it he wasn't sure if he wanted it.

Silvia reached into her pocket and, just as Clark had realised what she was about to do, she pulled out a familiar mask. It was fully black with a hand drawn, obscure skull on the front. She handed it to him, completely avoiding his gaze.

"That figure you hear about on the news, the one that Lois wrote about... I'm her. I'm Reaper."

She had her eyes cast downwards, refusing to even spare Clark a glance... and he was honestly grateful that he didn't have to feign shock in his current sorrow. He still let silence wash over them for long enough to appear like he had no idea, then finally passed the mask back to her.

"I've got something I have to tell you too." Clark said but this seemed to stricken Silvia with fear.

"I-I know you probably hate me, I would hate me too... but you've changed me, well you and someone else." Silvia's mind wandered to Superman, an image that she quickly shook out of her head. "I'll answer any questions you have, any at all. I don't want to hide myself from you anymore."

Clark knew he should have revealed himself as well... He knew it was the right thing to do, and yet he couldn't pass up this opportunity. She would no doubt be too shocked to answer any questions if he told her, and the whole reason he had seeked her out in the first place was to discover why she felt the need to kill. To change her perspective.

"Reaper... She's killed in the past." Clark started, uncertain whether he wanted the answer or not. "You've killed. Why?"

"I... I thought it was the right thing to do." She replied vaguely and Clark gave a deep exhale.

"There's more to it than that. I know there is. Tell me everything."

Her lower lip quivered as words slowly made their way out of her mouth. She had never told anyone before but he had the right to know. "My father... He was a monster." She gulped down the tremors that threatened to engulf her. "He abused us, my mother and I most of all. We'd protect Mason from the brunt of it because he was young and fragile. We were scared that if my father went too far he'd end up killing him, like he almost had to me."

Clark placed a hand on her shivering shoulder, eyes lowering in regret. He never should have asked about this...

"He got worse by the day and when he heard about a serum that gave Deathstroke his enhanced abilities it turned into an obsession. When it started getting out of hand my mother had asked him about it and he beat her within an inch of her life... My grandmother confronted him on it." Silvia shivered, trying to hold back a sob that scratched in her throat. She could still remember her grandma; kind, caring, and her favourite person in the world. Her only escape. "He killed her."

Clark's jaw clenched. "Sil... You can stop if it's too much."

"N-No, if I don't finish this story now then I never will." Silvia rubbed her reddening eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. "He hid her body. I still don't know where he dumped her. My mother was as distraught as I was and went to the police, begging them to give him the death penalty. This wasn't the first time he had murdered someone, it was just the first time she was certain he had done it."

"Did they, you know... kill him?"

"No... They arrested him. Mom pleaded with them, said he knew people in prison. Said that he'd escape and come after us but they didn't listen." Her mother's voice rang sharply in her head, erratic cries drowning out the world around her. "He had connections in the police force and was out of prison within the week. I'd never seen my mom so terrified, but for a while he left us alone. That only scared her more."

"Why didn't you move?"

"Mom was saving up to do that but it wasn't as easy as getting up and leaving. My father had eyes everywhere, he would have known no matter where we went." Silvia bit her quivering lip and her fingers grazed against the tombstone. "When he finally did come back for us he'd found a serum similar to the one used on Deathstroke... but it wasn't stable. It was black market stuff, not made by scientists in a research vicinity but in someone's garage who was trying to mimic its affects. Naturally he wasn't going to risk using it on himself until he knew that it worked."

Clark's chest tightened painfully. The next part was obvious. "He used it on you..."

"He wanted to try it on my brother but I stopped him. He strapped me to a chair in the living room and injected it into my neck." Silvia pulled down her collar to reveal a visible scar from a very large needle. "I don't remember much after that. Just a pain worse than anything i'd ever felt. It was like my whole body; my bones, my muscles, my organs, they were being twisted and remade. Like they were bursting out of my body and being replaced. Then my heart stopped... I could hear it. I heard myself die."

Clark was horrified. He could never imagine someone so cruel, and yet he was reminded every day that people like her father existed. It made him feel physically ill. "How old were you?"

"Twelve, maybe... I don't really remember." Silvia gulped. Saying all of this out loud was more painful than keeping it to herself. "I woke up though, and when I did the world around me was suddenly overwhelming. I could hear conversations from a few blocks away, all mixing together in my mind like a chorus of different voices saying different things. I could see an ant on the sidewalk outside my window so close that it looked like a giant."

This part Clark could relate to. He knew how scarring it was the first time your powers appeared... but at least his happened gradually. Hers were forced onto her all at once.

"I was so scared that I spent longer than I should have just curled in a corner, trying to control whatever was happening to me. Then I smelt something metallic. When I opened my eyes I saw a pool of blood... I followed the trail and found my moms body. She was mutilated..." The blonde struggled to get the words out now. It was like they were stuck inside of her and clinging to her vocal chords. "B-But not nearly as bad as my brother was... H-He was unrecognisable."

Something stirred within Clark. An anger he had felt few times before. A rage he had to contain. His fingers wrapped into fists, leaning against the soil like they were going to punch through it at any moment.

"The police came and saw it. Two dead and me the only survivor. They thought I had done it. I was interviewed by multiple people, took tons of lie detector tests, and even had two so-called 'superheroes' come in and question me. They knew that I was telling the truth, but when I was put before the court and judged as guilty they did nothing to stop it."

Images flashed in Silvia's head. Of her being dragged away, screaming and crying that she hadn't done it and of the 'heroes' watching it happen. One of them looked almost amused at the sight where as the other one, some older version of Blue Beetle, appeared distressed. He was a rookie and therefore didn't know how to disagree with the court's decision.

Silvia took a shaky breath but managed to continue. "I was too young to be tried as an adult so they put me in a juvenile detention centre. I was released the year I turned sixteen because new evidence was found that proved my innocence. I lost four crucial years of my life, years that I should have spent grieving and learning how to survive on my own, all because no one was willing to do the right thing over what was easiest."

"Sil... I..." Clark tried to find words but he had none. What was he to say about any of this? Maybe if he had been around he could have stopped it... He could have saved her.

"It's alright. It's not your fault, Dorothy." It was as if she had read his mind. Silvia's lips tried to curl into a reassuring smile but they broke into a frown instead. "I tried to get on with my life. I moved into my apartment with borrowed money and looked for work wherever I could find it... but the serum had done something to me. Any darkness my mind had discarded reappeared tenfold. I'd have thoughts I didn't want, urges I tried to suppress. Then I started seeing things on the news, murders with no culprits. The circumstances lined up with what my father had done to my family... and I knew it was him."

Clark tensed in fear of what came next. "Did you kill him?"

Silvia shook her head. "Not at first. I tried going to the police but they turned me away, so I tracked him down. I found him just as he was about to commit his next murder... I begged him to stop but he laughed at me. The urge arose again, the serum insisting that I kill him... b-but I couldn't do it. He murdered a whole family that night and I was only able to save the youngest son." Silvia's eyes closed and her face scrunched at the effort it took not to cry. "The boy hated me for it. Said I should have killed him."

"He'd just lost his family, Sil. He was upset... "

"No, he was right. No matter how many times they locked my father up he escaped and killed more people. Eventually I started thinking that the life of a monster wasn't worth the lives of a hundred innocent people. I thought it was selfish to keep him alive just to save my own conscience." Silvia's gaze finally fell to the dug up grave beside her, face darkening. "I searched for him again and gave him another chance. He refused it. He said he would keep killing until he found the answer he was looking for, the serum that would make him a metahuman. He provoked me, and I shot a hole through his chest."

Hearing her say it was more jarring than he thought it would be. He knew where the story was going but he was reminded that Silvia had blood stained on her hands, marks that would never come off no matter how hard he scrubbed.

"They buried him here, right next to my mother." Silvia said lowly.

"Sil... there's nothing in that grave."

"Not anymore there's not." Silvia's eyes flashed with something unspeakable. An animalistic emotion, an instinctual one. "I couldn't let that fucker anywhere near them. Not again."

Clark's eyes widened but he wasn't sure if it was in horror or shock. Maybe it was both. He focused on the soil, looking straight through it to a coffin already placed six feet deep... An empty one. She'd dug him up and chucked his body elsewhere.

He wasn't sure what he felt. Clark knew she had done the wrong thing, but after hearing what she'd been through he couldn't blame her for any of it. He couldn't imagine what kind of person he'd be of he'd lived her life... Just the thought scared him.

"I'm sorry... I tried to get you to stay away. I knew I'd hurt you if you ever found out." Silvia's breathing picked up. Each gasp her lungs gave sounded panicky and nerve-ridden.

She was waiting for him to yell at her or to run away in terror and reveal her in the next issue of the Daily Planet. He did neither.

His arms wrapped around her trembling figure and he pulled her to his chest. "Thank you for telling me. I know it must have been difficult." His voice sounded more pained than hers. Like he had experienced every sentence like he was living it. "I'm not hurt... I'm proud of you."

Any attempt to return the favour and tell Silvia about his own life was instantly snuffed out. The last thing she needed right now was more pain. He'd tell her soon, but right now she needed Clark Kent not Superman.

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