Zealous | [SUPERMAN]

Ch.11 - Bone to Pick

Marilyn woke up the next afternoon with a mind splitting headache in her own bed. Her groggy eyes adjusted to the sunlight shining through the window as she sat up in her bed in pure confusion. She was in her pajamas. Her phone was beside her on the nightstand charging. Had it all been a dream? The woman checked her phone for confirmation, a text from Clark the first thing she saw on the screen.

From: Clark Kent
Sorry, can't make it tonight, see you Monday.

Marilyn set the phone down and rubbed her temples slowly. She could've sworn she had stepped out with him last night-- at least the last thing she remembered was him. Or maybe it was the last thing she thought about. She climbed out of bed and accidentally knocked over an empty wine bottle that started rolling across the room. Maybe she drank herself into believing she went out.

'Sounds like me.' She thought.

After piecing that together, she didn't pay it too much mind. She began to undress and put on her favorite bikini, grabbing another bottle of wine from the kitchen on the way to the backyard. No better cure than a little hair of the dog that bit her.

"Cheers." She said to no one in particular, using her power to pop the cork out before taking a large swig and laying down on a lounge chair in the sun. She placed her sun hat over her face and began to doze off; she would not let Clark's rejection sting her today.

"Marilyn." A booming voice that had joined her in the backyard startled her awake, but didn't necessarily make her want to address it.

"I'm hallucinating." She said out loud from under the hat. "Great." Clark surveyed the surrounding and noticed the half empty wine bottle next to her. Drinking on a Saturday morning?

"You're not hallucinating. We need to talk." Marilyn peeked out from under her hat and sat up, completely confused as to why Superman was standing in her sun. She checked the time on her phone.

"You're a little late for a sober conversation; rain check?" She smiled, laying back down again. His facial expression was anything but amused.

"If you want to go down with Luthor, that's your choice. But I'm warning you now; I'm not a great enemy to have." Clark said sternly, watching her expression go from content to confused. Genuinely.

"Luthor... Luthor... Lex... Alexander?? Go down for what?!" She pondered the thought. She truly had no idea what he was talking about, but he didn't buy it. She started to regret drinking this early in the day.

"Not much goes on around here that I don't know about. The word going around is that Lex is preparing a new pet to do his dirty work for him and to my understanding, it's you. I want to give you fair warning before you make a big mistake. I won't go easy on you just because you're a woman. A criminal is a criminal no matter age, shape, or gender." He was aiming to set her straight. He was hoping his words would scare her into a better mind set, but all he sensed from her were anger and hurt.

"You've gotta go." She said in response. She didn't understand one bit, but she was going to straighten things out with Lex in that instant.

"I kept your secret because I understand what it's like to be the odd one out. I know what it's like to be battling with what you want to be and what you're becoming. Don't do this. You'll lose." He stated in a matter-of-fact manner. His cockiness made her more angry than it did anything else as she stood to her feet. Being 5"3 paired up against his 6"1 stature didn't scare her, not even a little.

"You don't know anything about me. You don't even know what my business is with Alexander, so I suggest you go back to flying around the city and beating up bad guys for petty theft and saving cats from trees, alright?" She felt her power begin to build in her finger tips. She was itching to teach him a lesson, but she didn't want her first real throw down to be in her backyard, half drunk in a bikini.

"I just want to be very. clear. with you," Clark paused stepping closer to her and expecting her to stand down, but she held strong and looked right up at him. He would be lying if he said it didn't turn him on. "I know my full abilities and potential. You're just starting out. You don't want me as your first adversary-- you. will. lose." Clark went flying across the yard in a split second, his back meeting the concrete wall that perimetered the yard. He struggled to move; to un-pin himself from whatever invisible hold she had on him, but it was no use. He couldn't barely breathe.

"I want to be clear with you too." Marilyn said, one hand was flat and stretched outward, holding the hero in his place as she approached him. "I'm not stupid. Whatever beef you have with Lex is between you and him. I'm not here to be the bitch on your back, but when you come up in people's backyards accusing and swearing you know the full story, then somebody is eventually going to put you in your place." She closed her palm and let him drop, he struggled for air as he felt the compression finally come off his chest. "I don't want to fight you. But if I do, it'll be because you're coming for me in my own home; not because some puppet master is using me to beat up his bully." Clark stood to his feet and looked her square in the eye. They both meant business.

"For your sake, I hope so."

He flew away; his words buzzing angrily in her head.

She had a bone to pick with Lex.