my alter ego...

i am not discreet. i cannot be discreet. when a whole race, a whole planet, look upon you as if at their god, you cannot be the everyday. there are expectations.
and so the costume. my godly adornments: bright and shining. red and blue like their ridiculous cloth icon so they can feel i belong to them, when in truth they rest just on the borders of enslavement. i am their power, but they are my greatest threat.
i am everywhere. on the cover of every newspaper and magazine, on their television screens. they use my image to sell their products and to scare their enemies. i can not escape myself. not anymore.
but he is oblivious. and they are oblivious to him. he has such a small life. meaningless. influencing nothing. inspiring nothing. so little is demanded of him. just that he do his job. that he be present when asked. he is nobody, yet i depend on him more than anyone would ever imagine.
he is so frail. broken eyesight, damaged confidence and esteem. dependant on the world around him. and just two words could kill him. and yet he is the only one around that can control me. who can keep me at bay. he is the only one who could destroy me.
he is my sanctuary. my hiding place. his is the life i wanted to live. he is who i really am. he is not superman, i am clark kent.
because i have worn this cape for too long. it weighs me down far more than any man-made weight could manage. it used to be my finest asset. it inspired hope in those who follow me. but now it draws criticism, contempt, questions with no correct answer. the cape is now a brand, an image which must be maintained so that it can shine out as a reflection of their world. this cape now tugs like a leash. but when i put on these glasses, i feel more powerful than ever before. i am free. i go unnoticed. i alone decide if superman will intervene. these glasses, this barren suit, this human facade. they are my new power. my new dominance over these humans. and it feels good. it feels wonderful.