Clara Kent Superwoman

Chapter 44: Flying

"Remind me again why this is a good idea again?" Clara said shakily, hands gripping the warm arms wrapped around her waist from behind with a gentle but vice like grip.

"Facing your fears is the best way to conquer them. It's not the height that scares you, it's the thought of falling. For everyone else that would be a real concern, but for you, there's no chance you could be injured. It's a purely psychological problem. So, we're going to take baby steps to get you comfortable with heights, and then, when you're ready, you're going to fall."

Clara quickly glanced to her right and caught a quick glimpse of Lex's calm face from his position as her anchor. He was firmly holding her as they stood on the platform, body pressed near flush to hers. Clara took a deep breath and looked down once again at the softly swaying corn stalks. She'd always been terrified of heights, even now, up here on the Kent water tower, she could feel vertigo sweeping through her, and her mind begin to spin like a tidal pool. The fear gripped her and she help onto Lex's arm tighter, trying to be mindful of his vulnerable human skin.

"But do I really need to conquer it? I mean, I save people just fine from the ground!" laughed Clara nervously.

Clara felt Lex rest his mouth on her neck and smile as he kissed it, and a whole new feeling rushed through her. That wasn't playing fair! On the upside, at least she wasn't focusing wholly on the ground anymore. If there was something Luthor's knew well, it was misdirection.

"If there is something a hero, or heroine, shouldn't have is an achilles heel. You're already vulnerable to kryptonite, you don't want to add fear of heights to that list. Especially if you're going to keep waking up weightless. If you can float when dreaming, then chances are, you can fly while awake. Having vertigo with a flight ability is never a good idea."

"Yes..but-" Clara began, but Lex went for the jugular.

"-You don't think Batman's afraid of heights do you or that Green Arrow guy?"

Clara winced and turned around, she had the feeling Batman wasn't afraid of anything. But still, she also bet Batman and Green Arrow's girlfriends didn't make them stand on high ledges in their spare time.

Clara sighed again and looked back down with new determination. It has all started a week ago, when Clara had fallen asleep on the couch at the mansion after watching a movie. She'd been dreaming about birds, and had woken up several feet above the ground to find Lex looking at her in fascination. Ever the scientist, he hadn't even tried to wake her up! After falling in shock and wrecking Lex's mahogany coffee table, Clara had explained about her little levitation episodes, and also about her crippling fear of heights. If there's something Luthor's love, it's a challenge. Clara had taken to calling Lex "Yoda" in her head "Do, or do not, there is no try!".

"Now, I'm right here with you,. Breath in and out slowly, nothing bad is happening, you have to associate heights in your mind with something positive. Give it another 5 minutes and we'll go get some ice cream."

"Promise?"

"Lying to a girl who can bend steel with her bare hands isn't a good survival policy" said Lex innocently.

Clara laughed "Alright, any ice cream I want?"

"If you wanted, I'll buy you the entire store."

"I think two scoops of Phish Food will do for now."

"Yes Ma'am"

Clara breathed in the air, smelling the signs of the oncoming spring, feeling the arms of her boyfriend around her, and thought that, right here, right now, heights weren't so bad.

She guessed eventually, they'd get to the point when she'd either fall...or fly.