Metropolis 2012 – If The Cape Fits…
Clark had caught a break as Perry yelled for Jimmy to get going on running the pictures of Superman, Supergirl, and Lois, first in the newspaper, and then posting them on line at the Daily Planet website. He casually pretended to be talking on his cell phone and wandered towards the office supply room.
Daily Planet employees often hid out in the storeroom to make personal calls without Perry noticing them, so no one in the newsroom paid him any mind. He x-rayed the area and then leapt out the window, soaring upward back to the rooftop. Lois waited impatiently, holding her arms close into her body. He sped to a stop. “How’d it go?” She questioned. “Good enough! Jimmy and Perry bought it.”
Clark quickly relayed the scene. Lois shivered. “Where’s Kara?” He prodded. “She is doing some aerial aerobics or something, strafing the city streets.” She replied. “I think she’s just showing off!” Clark scowled as he spoke. “No, Kara decided to keep the main populace distracted.” Lois defended. “That keeps their attention off of us on the roof.” Clark was silent, quickly realizing his mistake.
“You know, Clark, Kara is doing a lot more for you than you realize.” Lois preached. “True.” He agreed. “Even though technically, she’s older than me, I still think of her as little more than a teenager.” Clark admitted. “She does have a certain innocence about her.” Lois considered.
“I kind of feel bad that she doesn’t really have any friends, other than ours.” Clark mused. “I mean she still has Laura Lake and Tim Servo, but they’re out in Nebraska living their own lives.” Lois nodded. “We have to let her make her own way, and choose her own path.” She added. “We can’t choose her friends for her, or recommend she stay away from new people.”
“Kara also has to develop her Linda Lee Danvers alter ego, if she wants to live some semblance of a normal life on Earth.” Clark reminded her. “We can help her with that.” Lois offered. “I recommended to Perry that we hire Linda Lee as an Assistant Copywriter. He hasn’t gotten back to me yet.”
“That’s a start. Thanks Lois!” Clark’s mood lightened. “Ready to go?” Lois smirked. “I’m always ready to go!” She flirted. Clark slipped back into his Superman outfit, grabbed Lois, and vaulted off the roof, soaring downward towards the Daily Planet parking garage. He had noted that there was less of a chance of them being seen as they launched from their perch. He flew past Kara.
The Daily Planet building was only a few blocks away from the major Metropolis media hub of TV and radio stations. Kara followed along as Clark and Lois slowed down just long enough for the TV and radio station personnel to catch a glimpse of them. The traffic gridlocked below, as everyone stopped to gape at the surreal scene. Fortunately, no major accidents were caused by the display.
“What the hell’s that?” A foreign taxi driver exclaimed loud enough for all to hear. “Is it a flock of birds?” A young woman that had been jogging by asked. “Is it a plane?” A nearsighted old man questioned. “It’s some kind of new stealth government weapon.” A tall thin college aged boy commented. “It’s probably a set of drones!” A tough looking young woman remarked. A man tossed his partially finished wine bottle in a bag into a city trash can. “The end is near!” He yowled as he staggered from the scene.
Convinced that Metropolis had gotten good glimpses of them, Clark, Lois, and Kara headed away from the city, opposite the route towards Smallville, flying higher as they retreated. They doubled back after passing Grandville and streaked towards the Kent Farm.
Martha and Jonathan Two smiled as the young people approached. The couple sat relaxing on the old front porch swing, each downing a large glass of iced lemonade. Kara led, diving downward out of the clear blue Kansas sky. “How did it go?” Martha asked anxiously, as Clark and Lois slowed their flight.
Kara landed smoothly on the gravel access road that angled toward the Kent barn. Clark landed awkwardly, sliding along the driveway and into the saw grass that edged the property. To his credit, he never dropped Lois, or caused an embarrassing spill.
“Amazingly, according to clockwork.” Lois answered cheerfully. “Great job everyone!” Jonathan praised as Kara sped into the house and flipped on the TV. “We’re all over the news!” Kara exclaimed, laughing as she spoke. Lois and Clark followed Kara into the living room.
“Here we are again!” Kara exclaimed excitedly. The local TV news stations flashed the films of Clark and Lois soaring above the rooftops with Kara trailing them at a short distance. “See? I told you the cape would look great while you’re flying.” Martha commented playfully.
After the preliminary newsflashes ended, the TV commentators promised a follow up story, though they didn’t know that Clark and Kara had already decided to give the exclusive interviews to the Daily Planet. The newspaper’s sister stations on radio and TV were next, after the Daily Planet had posted the stories on line. Clark zipped into his street clothes and reclined on the family room couch.
Lois took up a spot opposite him, across the living room coffee table. “Ready for our hard hitting interview, hon?” Lois asked, grinning broadly, and clearly enjoying her opportunity to put Clark on the spot. Lois sat cross-legged in the rocking chair. “Let’s make this interesting, sweetie.” She encouraged him, recognizing that he was still fairly nervous about revealing the circumstances of his existence to the public. In support of their adopted son’s ‘coming out’ interview, Martha and Jonathan two looked on.
Kara sat on the coffee table between them. Clark took a breath. “Let’s get this started.” He sounded confident to Lois and at peace with his decision to become more public. Lois switched on the small recorder that she’d brought with her. “The people of the world for the most part, had been unaware that actual life existed elsewhere in the universe.” Lois began the introduction in a professional manner. “Superman, what do you think of us?”
Clearly, Lois would be pulling no punches. Clark switched on his voice synthesizer. “The people of Earth seem to be a noble people, and everyone that obeys the law need not fear us.” Clark said with authority, sending chills down Lois’s spine. “I know this concept will take some time to get used to.” He continued. “We intend to prove ourselves every day.” Lois smiled and switched off the recorder.
“That was good, hon.” She praised. “I think that I ought to expand on that in the paper article. Let’s start with the basics.” She flipped on the recorder again. “Superman, who are you?” Lois grilled.
“Well, Miss Lane…” Clark began. “Lois. Please.” She corrected. “Very well, Lois, we are friends to the people of Earth.” Clark typed on the laptop. “Were you known as the Blur?” She questioned. “I was.” He responded. “Do you mind if we call you Superman?” Lois’s eyes sparkled. She was really enjoying this.
“If you think that it’s something people could relate to.” Clark answered stiffly. “Where are you from?” Lois baited. “Supergirl and I are the last living descendants from a planet called Krypton. Our sun went supernova, destroying most of its planetary systems. Millions of lives were lost, including our parents. That doomed race continues on through us.” Clark concluded seriously as Lois switched off the device.
“That’s good, Clark.” Lois commented. “That will really tug on people’s heartstrings.” Martha agreed, adding only: “We can say that you and Kara are refugees. That guarantees you both a slew of constitutional rights. You’ll have to take the citizenship test and all that, but I know you’ll both do well.” Kara scowled. “Doesn’t that limit what Kal and I can do, Aunt Martha?”
“Yes, but for now, you two should concentrate on helping the people of Metropolis, and then the United States, before you get mixed up in international politics.” Martha lectured. “The American government will still have a boatload of questions.” Lois reminded them crossly, adding: “Welcome to Earth, Clark, and all of its red tape.” Clark grimaced. “Terrific!” He groaned. “We just got the government off our backs last year!”
Jonathan Two shook his head. “You two will still have to face the religious, the suspicious, and the overbearing.” He advised. “Overbearing?” Clark echoed. “Yes Clark.” Jonathan continued. “You and Kara will become instant celebrities, and not just of America, but the world. You’ll have to get used to that as well.” Martha frowned. “Let’s not put too much pressure on them, Jonathan.” She scolded.
“We’ll only grant these two preliminary interviews and then go silent.” Clark considered. “Maybe the majority of the public will lose interest after a little while.” Kara folded her arms. “Humans do tend to have short attention spans.” She observed. “We can only hope.” Clark said as he rolled his eyes.
“Anyway, Smallville, back to the interview.” Lois tried to refocus them. She restarted the recorder. “Why are you here?” She began. “Our parents thought that we’d have the best chance of surviving on Earth.” Superman responded. “What will you do while you’re here?” She inquired. “Help save Earth.” Clark stated flatly. “Save Earth from what?” Lois dropped the tone of her voice to sound concerned.
“Save Earth from unfriendly races who might try to destroy it or enslave its people.” Superman replied soberly. “Earth is our home now, if its people will have us. In return, both Supergirl and I intend to defend it, to our deaths if necessary.” Clark gulped as his brave and noble words began to set in.
Lois flipped off the recorder, and sat in uncomfortable silence. “That’s kind of heavy, hon.” She finally said. “Do you think that we should go there in our first interview?” Clark was still debating the statement. “It’s the truth, Lois. We have to leave it in there.” He decided. “Okay. Got It.” She agreed. “We should also go with something more lightweight.” Lois recommended. “This is harder than I thought.” Clark admitted.
The back and forth went on for some time. “If we go to the light and airy stuff, the truth is that the mainstream media wants to know the most insignificant details about a celebrity’s life.” Lois said cynically. “Like what?” Clark asked curiously.
“Like, do you have a girlfriend?” Lois suggested, her eyes twinkling, as Clark reddened. “You better not.” She playfully teased. “If I say yes, then the media will want to know who.” He replied with some irritation in his voice. “If he says no, then some girls will literally be throwing themselves at him.” Jonathan Two put in. “Maybe we should stay away from that one.” Martha quipped.
“I guess.” Lois relinquished. “We’ll have to keep it really simple to avoid a lot of controversy.” Lois switched on the recorder again after the room had silenced. “Our parents sent us here because they loved Earth, and they didn’t want to see anything bad happen to it, or face the same destruction that Krypton did.” Clark stated seriously as Lois gave him the thumbs up.
She mouthed the words ‘nice touch’. “Supergirl and I pose no threat to anyone on Earth, and we are not above its laws.” Clark added sternly. “That will set most peoples’ minds at ease.” Lois commented. “How can we reach you for follow up?” She threw in the obligatory question. “I’ll be around.” Clark said evasively. “Protecting the earth and its inhabitants is a huge responsibility Superman.” Lois began to close the interview. “Are you sure that you two are up for it?” Kara snickered quietly and mouthed the word ‘nice’.
“All I can say is that every day we will do our best.” Clark replied diplomatically. Lois clicked off the recorder. By now, the video clips were all over the TV airwaves, and the internet, of Superman, Supergirl, and Lois. Clark couldn’t help wondering if hadn’t just allowed Lois to open Pandora’s Box.
Continues in 'Edge of Darkness'
Clark had caught a break as Perry yelled for Jimmy to get going on running the pictures of Superman, Supergirl, and Lois, first in the newspaper, and then posting them on line at the Daily Planet website. He casually pretended to be talking on his cell phone and wandered towards the office supply room.
Daily Planet employees often hid out in the storeroom to make personal calls without Perry noticing them, so no one in the newsroom paid him any mind. He x-rayed the area and then leapt out the window, soaring upward back to the rooftop. Lois waited impatiently, holding her arms close into her body. He sped to a stop. “How’d it go?” She questioned. “Good enough! Jimmy and Perry bought it.”
Clark quickly relayed the scene. Lois shivered. “Where’s Kara?” He prodded. “She is doing some aerial aerobics or something, strafing the city streets.” She replied. “I think she’s just showing off!” Clark scowled as he spoke. “No, Kara decided to keep the main populace distracted.” Lois defended. “That keeps their attention off of us on the roof.” Clark was silent, quickly realizing his mistake.
“You know, Clark, Kara is doing a lot more for you than you realize.” Lois preached. “True.” He agreed. “Even though technically, she’s older than me, I still think of her as little more than a teenager.” Clark admitted. “She does have a certain innocence about her.” Lois considered.
“I kind of feel bad that she doesn’t really have any friends, other than ours.” Clark mused. “I mean she still has Laura Lake and Tim Servo, but they’re out in Nebraska living their own lives.” Lois nodded. “We have to let her make her own way, and choose her own path.” She added. “We can’t choose her friends for her, or recommend she stay away from new people.”
“Kara also has to develop her Linda Lee Danvers alter ego, if she wants to live some semblance of a normal life on Earth.” Clark reminded her. “We can help her with that.” Lois offered. “I recommended to Perry that we hire Linda Lee as an Assistant Copywriter. He hasn’t gotten back to me yet.”
“That’s a start. Thanks Lois!” Clark’s mood lightened. “Ready to go?” Lois smirked. “I’m always ready to go!” She flirted. Clark slipped back into his Superman outfit, grabbed Lois, and vaulted off the roof, soaring downward towards the Daily Planet parking garage. He had noted that there was less of a chance of them being seen as they launched from their perch. He flew past Kara.
The Daily Planet building was only a few blocks away from the major Metropolis media hub of TV and radio stations. Kara followed along as Clark and Lois slowed down just long enough for the TV and radio station personnel to catch a glimpse of them. The traffic gridlocked below, as everyone stopped to gape at the surreal scene. Fortunately, no major accidents were caused by the display.
“What the hell’s that?” A foreign taxi driver exclaimed loud enough for all to hear. “Is it a flock of birds?” A young woman that had been jogging by asked. “Is it a plane?” A nearsighted old man questioned. “It’s some kind of new stealth government weapon.” A tall thin college aged boy commented. “It’s probably a set of drones!” A tough looking young woman remarked. A man tossed his partially finished wine bottle in a bag into a city trash can. “The end is near!” He yowled as he staggered from the scene.
Convinced that Metropolis had gotten good glimpses of them, Clark, Lois, and Kara headed away from the city, opposite the route towards Smallville, flying higher as they retreated. They doubled back after passing Grandville and streaked towards the Kent Farm.
Martha and Jonathan Two smiled as the young people approached. The couple sat relaxing on the old front porch swing, each downing a large glass of iced lemonade. Kara led, diving downward out of the clear blue Kansas sky. “How did it go?” Martha asked anxiously, as Clark and Lois slowed their flight.
Kara landed smoothly on the gravel access road that angled toward the Kent barn. Clark landed awkwardly, sliding along the driveway and into the saw grass that edged the property. To his credit, he never dropped Lois, or caused an embarrassing spill.
“Amazingly, according to clockwork.” Lois answered cheerfully. “Great job everyone!” Jonathan praised as Kara sped into the house and flipped on the TV. “We’re all over the news!” Kara exclaimed, laughing as she spoke. Lois and Clark followed Kara into the living room.
“Here we are again!” Kara exclaimed excitedly. The local TV news stations flashed the films of Clark and Lois soaring above the rooftops with Kara trailing them at a short distance. “See? I told you the cape would look great while you’re flying.” Martha commented playfully.
After the preliminary newsflashes ended, the TV commentators promised a follow up story, though they didn’t know that Clark and Kara had already decided to give the exclusive interviews to the Daily Planet. The newspaper’s sister stations on radio and TV were next, after the Daily Planet had posted the stories on line. Clark zipped into his street clothes and reclined on the family room couch.
Lois took up a spot opposite him, across the living room coffee table. “Ready for our hard hitting interview, hon?” Lois asked, grinning broadly, and clearly enjoying her opportunity to put Clark on the spot. Lois sat cross-legged in the rocking chair. “Let’s make this interesting, sweetie.” She encouraged him, recognizing that he was still fairly nervous about revealing the circumstances of his existence to the public. In support of their adopted son’s ‘coming out’ interview, Martha and Jonathan two looked on.
Kara sat on the coffee table between them. Clark took a breath. “Let’s get this started.” He sounded confident to Lois and at peace with his decision to become more public. Lois switched on the small recorder that she’d brought with her. “The people of the world for the most part, had been unaware that actual life existed elsewhere in the universe.” Lois began the introduction in a professional manner. “Superman, what do you think of us?”
Clearly, Lois would be pulling no punches. Clark switched on his voice synthesizer. “The people of Earth seem to be a noble people, and everyone that obeys the law need not fear us.” Clark said with authority, sending chills down Lois’s spine. “I know this concept will take some time to get used to.” He continued. “We intend to prove ourselves every day.” Lois smiled and switched off the recorder.
“That was good, hon.” She praised. “I think that I ought to expand on that in the paper article. Let’s start with the basics.” She flipped on the recorder again. “Superman, who are you?” Lois grilled.
“Well, Miss Lane…” Clark began. “Lois. Please.” She corrected. “Very well, Lois, we are friends to the people of Earth.” Clark typed on the laptop. “Were you known as the Blur?” She questioned. “I was.” He responded. “Do you mind if we call you Superman?” Lois’s eyes sparkled. She was really enjoying this.
“If you think that it’s something people could relate to.” Clark answered stiffly. “Where are you from?” Lois baited. “Supergirl and I are the last living descendants from a planet called Krypton. Our sun went supernova, destroying most of its planetary systems. Millions of lives were lost, including our parents. That doomed race continues on through us.” Clark concluded seriously as Lois switched off the device.
“That’s good, Clark.” Lois commented. “That will really tug on people’s heartstrings.” Martha agreed, adding only: “We can say that you and Kara are refugees. That guarantees you both a slew of constitutional rights. You’ll have to take the citizenship test and all that, but I know you’ll both do well.” Kara scowled. “Doesn’t that limit what Kal and I can do, Aunt Martha?”
“Yes, but for now, you two should concentrate on helping the people of Metropolis, and then the United States, before you get mixed up in international politics.” Martha lectured. “The American government will still have a boatload of questions.” Lois reminded them crossly, adding: “Welcome to Earth, Clark, and all of its red tape.” Clark grimaced. “Terrific!” He groaned. “We just got the government off our backs last year!”
Jonathan Two shook his head. “You two will still have to face the religious, the suspicious, and the overbearing.” He advised. “Overbearing?” Clark echoed. “Yes Clark.” Jonathan continued. “You and Kara will become instant celebrities, and not just of America, but the world. You’ll have to get used to that as well.” Martha frowned. “Let’s not put too much pressure on them, Jonathan.” She scolded.
“We’ll only grant these two preliminary interviews and then go silent.” Clark considered. “Maybe the majority of the public will lose interest after a little while.” Kara folded her arms. “Humans do tend to have short attention spans.” She observed. “We can only hope.” Clark said as he rolled his eyes.
“Anyway, Smallville, back to the interview.” Lois tried to refocus them. She restarted the recorder. “Why are you here?” She began. “Our parents thought that we’d have the best chance of surviving on Earth.” Superman responded. “What will you do while you’re here?” She inquired. “Help save Earth.” Clark stated flatly. “Save Earth from what?” Lois dropped the tone of her voice to sound concerned.
“Save Earth from unfriendly races who might try to destroy it or enslave its people.” Superman replied soberly. “Earth is our home now, if its people will have us. In return, both Supergirl and I intend to defend it, to our deaths if necessary.” Clark gulped as his brave and noble words began to set in.
Lois flipped off the recorder, and sat in uncomfortable silence. “That’s kind of heavy, hon.” She finally said. “Do you think that we should go there in our first interview?” Clark was still debating the statement. “It’s the truth, Lois. We have to leave it in there.” He decided. “Okay. Got It.” She agreed. “We should also go with something more lightweight.” Lois recommended. “This is harder than I thought.” Clark admitted.
The back and forth went on for some time. “If we go to the light and airy stuff, the truth is that the mainstream media wants to know the most insignificant details about a celebrity’s life.” Lois said cynically. “Like what?” Clark asked curiously.
“Like, do you have a girlfriend?” Lois suggested, her eyes twinkling, as Clark reddened. “You better not.” She playfully teased. “If I say yes, then the media will want to know who.” He replied with some irritation in his voice. “If he says no, then some girls will literally be throwing themselves at him.” Jonathan Two put in. “Maybe we should stay away from that one.” Martha quipped.
“I guess.” Lois relinquished. “We’ll have to keep it really simple to avoid a lot of controversy.” Lois switched on the recorder again after the room had silenced. “Our parents sent us here because they loved Earth, and they didn’t want to see anything bad happen to it, or face the same destruction that Krypton did.” Clark stated seriously as Lois gave him the thumbs up.
She mouthed the words ‘nice touch’. “Supergirl and I pose no threat to anyone on Earth, and we are not above its laws.” Clark added sternly. “That will set most peoples’ minds at ease.” Lois commented. “How can we reach you for follow up?” She threw in the obligatory question. “I’ll be around.” Clark said evasively. “Protecting the earth and its inhabitants is a huge responsibility Superman.” Lois began to close the interview. “Are you sure that you two are up for it?” Kara snickered quietly and mouthed the word ‘nice’.
“All I can say is that every day we will do our best.” Clark replied diplomatically. Lois clicked off the recorder. By now, the video clips were all over the TV airwaves, and the internet, of Superman, Supergirl, and Lois. Clark couldn’t help wondering if hadn’t just allowed Lois to open Pandora’s Box.
Continues in 'Edge of Darkness'
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