Dear Kryptonite

Dear Kryptonite,

It's me, Superman. I know we've had our disagreements over the years. You've made me feel like shit, driven me to the edge of death from time to time, and I must admit, I held it against you. I've avoided you like the plague. I've peddled you off to Batman, or someone else in the JLA. God only knows what they did to you. I can only assume that you didn't enjoy Bruce's battery of tests.

But, it wasn't just my friends who mistreated you. No, my enemies have made you into weapons of various kinds, ranging from swords and shurikens to laser guns and drinkable potions.

What I'm trying to say is, you obviously haven't had an easy go of things, and for that, I'm sorry.

But, that's not the real reason I'm writing this letter. I am actually writing this to thank you, Kryptonite.

Kryptonite, what you do to me is terrible. You take my powers away completely and put me in excruciating pain, but you have taught me more about what it means to be human than my parents ever did. Without you around, I'm invincible. I can fly, for God's sake. For all intents and purposes, I am a God among ants. Nobody in the universe can go toe-to-toe with me, not without you that is.

When you're around, I feel the weight of the world. Not in the sense where I'm holding it up, but where it's pulling me down. My skin feels soft, and sometimes I bleed. You teach me how to feel vulnerable, fallible... human. Although you may have brought Superman to the edge of destruction multiple times, without you Clark Kent would have died a long time ago.

You force me to pull away from my usual techniques. I have to approach a problem as if I weren't... well... me. As if I weren't Superman. As if I were Clark Kent.

This letter is getting a little long, so I think I'll finish up here. I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for saving my life.

Love,

Clark