All Heroes' Eve

by Ultragirl

This is just a little something I came up with after reading just the introduction to Betty Huang's "Devil's Day." The Holloween she mentioned reminded me of something I heard on the radio this Holloween, a story about a certain DJ in his youth.

Yeah, in regards to legal mumbo-jumbo. Lois and Clark, Superman, and any related characters do not belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for a really little bit.

*****

"How do I look, Mom?" asked the little boy.

His mother turned from her preparation of dinner to look over her son. He was dressed in his Holloween costume. From his worn-out red cowboy boots to the old red sheet she had tailored to be his cape, the boy looked as much like a home-made Superman as he could get. She couldn't help but smile as he took the ends of his cape in his small hands and jumped from the bottom stair to the floor.

"Great, sweetie! Just like the Man of Steel himself!" she replied enthusiastically.

"Really, Mom? You think I look like Superman?" he asked in awe.

//Actually, he really does look like him,// his mother thought in amusement. Nicky had inherited his father's brown eyes and black hair. He even had the famous Superman pose down. Those elements made him look more like Superman than any costume ever could.

"Of course you do, kid," said his father as he entered the kitchen. He picked up his son in his strong arms and lifted him above his head, twirling him around in a circle. The little boy laughed in delight as his father made him "fly" around the room. That, in turn, made her husband laugh happily, and their glee made her laugh. She loved it when they were all together having fun.

"Okay, come on you guys, dinner's ready, and Nicky needs to eat before Timmy's mother gets here to take them trick-or-treating," she said, her tone of voice merry but firm.

Her husband shifted their son so that he carried him under his arm. The little boy giggled, and the two parents grinned at each other as they made their way to the dinner table.

*****

Nicky was starting to get tired. He and his friends had gone from house to house for what seemed like hours. The excitement was finally starting to wear off now, and his sack of candy seemed to get heavier with every step he took. He sat down on the curb to rest for a few minutes, sure that he would be able to catch up to his friends quickly after he rested for a little bit.

Suddenly, somebody poked him in the shoulder. Nicky turned around to investigate what it was that had interrupted his rest. He came face to face with a big kid and his friends, all dressed like gangsters.

"Hey, look, it's Superman!" the big one exclaimed.

"Hey, Joey," said one of the other gangsters to the big boy who had just pointed out the Man of Steel, "Ya think he's gonna catch us and put us in jail?" The boys all started to laugh at that. Nicky stood up, trying to look braver than he felt. He started to walk away from the group, clutching his bag of candy tightly.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Joe. He and his friends started to come toward Nicky even as he began to run. He could feel the other boys gaining on him, and just as he was starting to run faster, he tripped over a snag in the sidewalk. He fell to the cement hard, tearing his costume and scraping his knee. Before he could get up, the other boys caught up to him and as he looked up, all he could see was a bunch of evil grins as the boys started to close in on him.

They tore Nicky's beloved cape, then proceeded to hit him and laugh. They grabbed his bag of candy and gave him one last shove before running down the street, howling in delight over their triumph. Nicky watched them go, a single tear making its way down his cheek.

For a while, he just sat there numbly. Finally, he picked himself up from the ground slowly. When he had finally gotten up, he was met with the surprise of his life.

Superman. Right there in front of him. Holding his bag of candy! The real Superman, right there in front of Nicky, and he even had his bag of candy! Nicky couldn't believe it! He turned his head up so he could see his hero, even as the big guy crouched down and held out Nicky's candy.

"I think this belongs to you," he said.

Nicky's eyes widened in disbelief. Superman, *the* Superman, had just talked to him! He opened his mouth to reply, but no sound came out. He tried a few more times before he finally managed to get out a feeble, "yeah."

Superman grinned. Then he said, "Don't worry, they won't bother you again."

"Wow, thanks, Superman," Nicky said.

Superman stood up slowly. "Don't you have some friends to catch up with?" he asked Nicky with a smile.

"Yeah, Superman! Thanks a lot!" he exclaimed as Superman took off.

"Guys! Guys! Guess what?!" Nicky shouted excitedly as he ran toward his friends.

*****

That night when Nicky got home, he boisterously recounted the story of his "rescue" to his parents. They both just smiled and told him that he was one lucky kid, before sending him upstairs to bed.

*****

"So, you 'saved' him, huh?" Lois said to her husband after they had sent Nicky to bed. She leaned over to him and kissed his ear tenderly.

Clark smiled. "Yeah, I guess I did," he answered. He then turned toward Lois and proceeded to return her kiss.

"So, what do you think he'll wanna be next year, a gangster, or Superman again?" Lois asked Clark in between kisses.

Clark's grin grew even wider. "Oh, I think he'll definitely opt for Superman again, don't you?"

The End