An Invulnerable Heart | Man of Steel

V. A Cold, Lonely Stranger.

1 Week Later.

Working at the Daily Planet, wasn't that bad. Elaine adapted quickly, working as an intern, then working her way up the ladder. From now, since she can't write articles, she is partnered with a young man named Axel. Both newbies to the Planet, they were sent to the Artic to retrieve their first news story. Elaine didn't mind Axel, his dry humor and sarcasm entertained her. He wasn't exactly the greatest person around Perry White, their editor-in-chief. The two would have countless arguments that would last for hours.

Apparently, there had been a ship stuck in the Artic for years. They were sent to learn about this mysterious ship and where it came from. Due to Axel's overachiever attitude, they flew to the Artic four days than expected. Either he wanted to surprise the army at the site, or he wanted to explore the Artic area.

"Let's go grab some scotch. I'm in desperate need for a drink." Elaine complained.

Axel sighed, "How many drinks do you need, Elaine?"

Elaine ignored his comment, before they walked into the small bar. Her huge white flap jacket was bothering her, almost to a point where Elaine wanted to take the jacket off. She fixed her red beanie, adjusting it to keep further parts of my head warm.

"Ugh. Elaine, the woman singing ... she sucks." Axel whispered, his nose cringing at every high pitch note the woman would make.

"Be nice." Elaine ordered, sounding almost like a mother.

Their waiter came by, polite and quiet, he took their order with any hesitation or question. Axel took out his smartphone, and started to fiddle around with his apps. While Elaine continued to listen to the female singer, trying her best not to wince at her screechy sounds.

"Can we get another singer on stage?" A man cried rudely.

They started to throw their drinks, glasses, and napkins toward the female singer. Elaine refused to watch the humiliation of the poor woman, before suggesting herself to take her place. The waiter who had took their orders, returned with their drinks, noticing the mood of the crowd.

"Well, blondie, are you going to sing us a song?" One man slurred.

Axel took a sip of his drink, nodding slowly while Elaine walked onto the small stage. Her heart started to race, Elaine began to regret the decision she had made. Obviously, she didn't think this decision thoroughly, but all she wanted was for the humiliation for the other singer to stop. Elaine stroked the strings of the guitar lightly, trying her best to think of a song to sing. Her eyes shifted from Axel to the distracted crowd, her clammy palms rubbing against themselves. She looked at the distracted crowd, with Axel and her waiter – the only ones paying attention. Elaine took a quick glance at her waiter, his scruffy appearance, dark hair and blue eyes. The appearance of her waitor brought the flashback of the bus accident back into her mind.

"All, I want for you is to stay away from that boy. Who knows what else he's capable of."

That was the last time, Elaine seen the mysterious boy due to her mother's overprotective actions.

"Hey! Blondie, sing a song for us!"

Elaine shook her head, and cleared her dry throat, again regretting this action.

Maybe, I should have grabbed a drink before doing this.

Elaine started to strum the strings of the guitar, engulfing herself into the music. Her small petite voice lost in her throat, as she struggled to bring the words out of her mouth. Elaine's fingers continued to strum but her voice lost in her dry throat. Soon, the words of the song became jumbled in her head, mixed with screams and cries of children. The sudden gush of cold air from the back brought Elaine back to the bus incident. Seeing the younger version of herself, fighting with all her life for safety. Her mother's words echoing in her head, as it continued to mix itself with screams, cries, and words from the song she was supposed to sing.