[ EU ] You 're a psychiatrist having your first session with Superman

Dr. Ray Feldman found himself unsure of how to begin. A veritable god sat before him, in his classic red-and-blue. The piercing cerulean gaze locked with his and Feldman repressed a shudder. One could almost forget this man hailed from a distant planet, until you met his gaze. Nothing was lost in it. 
 
 `` So, uh, Mister-'' 
 
 `` Just call me Kal.'' 
 
 `` Kal? Oh right, yes. That's your birth name, correct?'' 
 
 `` Yes, Doctor.'' 
 
 Feldman could feel the power emanating from him as he spoke. He seemed a furnace at full heat. 
 
 `` You seem... agitated, Kal.'' 
 
 The being laughed briefly, `` That's what Lois said.'' 
 
 `` Can I take that as a yes?'' Kal nodded and Feldman continued, `` What seems to be bothering you?'' 
 
 `` I keep waiting for something to happen. Something I have n't anticipated.'' 
 
 `` From whom would this event come?'' 
 
 `` I do n't know. Lex, I suppose.'' 
 
 `` But Lex Luthor has been incarcerated for over 20 years.'' 
 
 `` Yes, which is what worries me.'' 
 
 `` We placed him in a prison of your own design, Kal.'' 
 
 `` Yes.'' 
 
 `` This is n't helping. Tell me, what is it you fear?'' 
 
 The man locked eyes with Feldman once again. The doctor was sure that gaze was taking in every scrap of information -- weighing and judging every fact in a dizzying display of intellect. Feldman held firm. 
 
 `` I'm not sure, Doctor. I suppose that's why I'm here.'' 
 
 `` Our personality is constructed from our past experience, Kal. I'm sure you know this. Unfortunately, past experiences can sometimes cause damage. These little cracks in our foundation are not always bad -- they're what help make us all unique -- but if the crack is big enough, certain irrationalities will emerge. The first step to repair is through identifying the cause. In order to do that, we must go into your past.'' 
 
 Superman looked at Feldman. The moment stretched like a rubber band -- the tension building until Feldman was certain it would snap. 
 
 `` I know what you're asking me to do, Doctor. I ca n't. Not even Lois knows.'' 
 
 `` Then I ca n't help you, Kal-El of Krypton. We both know that story. Everyone does. It is the story of a god descending upon us, ready to herald to human race to a golden age of peace and prosperity. It is a tale worthy of myth. But you did not arrive here in red and blue spandex ready to fight. Even Hercules was a child. Tell me the story of why you love humanity so. Who gave you that? Who laid down that foundation so strongly, that even upon learning of your extra-terrestrial origins, you still felt a kinship to us strong enough to risk everything?'' 
 
 The being sighed and it seemed to Feldman that a mountain crumbled. 
 
 `` I suppose it was my father.'' 
 
 Feldman blinked. 
 
 `` Not Jor-El. My Earth father. The one who found me with his wife in a crash-landing in the middle of a corn field. The one who protected me when I was frail and sickly. The man that taught me how to bail hay, drive a tractor, lay down a fence in a perfectly straight line. The man that took me fishing and taught me to tie my own lure. He loved me unconditionally, he and my mother.'' 
 
 `` You use the past tense. Are they gone?'' 
 
 `` My father died trying to protect my secret.'' 
 
 `` Why did he feel you must stay hidden?'' 
 
 `` He did n't think the world was ready for the truth.'' 
 
 `` What did he fear would happen to you?'' 
 
 `` He thought they would come for me then, to try and hurt me or take me away.'' 
 
 `` Do you think he was right?'' 
 
 `` I've kept the secret.'' 
 
 `` Who are they? The people that would come for you?'' 
 
 `` I'm not sure.'' 
 
 `` From the beginning of your life, you have had the most important people taken from you, while they attempt to protect you. Do you feel this is why you are so willing to give your own remarkable life for others?'' 
 
 `` Yes.'' 
 
 `` Do you feel that if you did n't, their sacrifice would be in vain?'' 
 
 `` Yes.'' 
 
 `` Do you feel that if you revealed yourself now, your father's sacrifice would be in vain?'' 
 
 There was a pause. 
 
 `` Yes, Doctor. I very much do.'' 
 
 `` Do you still believe the world un-ready for the truth?'' 
 
 `` Yes.'' 
 
 `` Even with all that we have accomplished with your guiding hand? We live on a planet with virtually no crime, there is peace and stability in every region, and villains like Lex Luthor remain locked away in a Kryptonian prison of your own design. You are unanimously loved by all, Kal.'' 
 
 `` I'm sorry, Doctor, but I ca n't do that.'' 
 
 Feldman sighed. 
 
 `` You must understand something, Kal. This secret is directly tied to your continuing fear. You were taught to hide your true self, and then the man who taught you was taken away from the world he simultaneously loved and feared himself. You took that as a sign of the truth. Every major event of your life has seemed only to validate that belief. But I tell you, Kal-El, those that would wish to harm you latched on to that secret as another potential weapon, and if it had n't existed, they would never have attempted to discover it. The world is at peace and stands ready to take the next stride into a bright future with you as their beacon. But that will never be if you can not shed this fear and learn to trust the world in which you have given so much.'' 
 
 Feldman sat in silence as the hero considered the doctor's plea. The minutes ticked away. Eventually, Feldman spoke again. 
 
 `` Perhaps you can not muster yourself to make such a momentous decision all at once. I understand. To choose to tell the world a secret you have kept for virtually your entire life is a hard step. But if you could take a smaller step. Trust me. That's the only way these sessions will work anyhow. There must be a mutual trust. Please, Kal, for once, let someone you have saved save you.'' 
 
 The mountain crumbled yet again. 
 
 `` I was raised as Clark Kent, Doctor Feldman.'' 
 
 -- 
 
 The room was empty now. It had been for hours. Doctor Feldman looked down at his notebook. One name was written clearly. He glanced over to a picture of his wife sitting on the desk. He picked up his phone and made a call. 
 
 `` Clark Kent,'' he said, then disconnected. 
 
 He looked at the photo on his desk. Perhaps now he would see his wife again. If Luthor kept his promise. 
 
 -- 
 
 Edited for grammar.
