Accepted Destiny
A video of the space plane hung on the large screen T.V. in front of everyone.
"You see this." Perry White pointed out with his finger and cigar, "This little blot right here that looks like a man. Well, guess what, it is a man! A man. Defying. The. Laws. Of. Physics! Great Caesar's Ghost, I've never seen anything like it. A man defying gravity! Who is this guy? Where did he come from? Is he the red/blue blur? That's what all you numbskulls are going to find out. For how ever long it takes us, we're going to track this guy down and we are going to have the exclusive on him."
The reporters in front of Perry White nodded their heads in acceptance of his orders. Especially his most recent additions to his press team: Lois Lane and Chloe Sullivan. Both of them were rigorously taking notes.
"Lane, you got the closest look at him, what did you see?"
"Not much Chief…"
"Don't call me chief."
"Right. Anyway, what I saw when I got out of the plane…it was amazing. I could have sworn that the boosters cooked him good, but he was still moving, like he hadn't even been singed. It was unbelievable."
"Did you see his face?" Perry asked.
"No. Just, some kind of symbol…it looked like an 'S.'"
"An S. Alright, we go with that. What can we call our 'S' man?" Perry opened.
Suggestions immediately began to fly around the room:
"Superb!""Ultra Man!"
"It's an S not a U on his chest!"
"S-Man!"
"You have no imagination what so ever do you?"
"Saint!"
"Hold it! Hold it! Hold it!" Lois called out. Everyone stopped. "We're about to sound ridiculous and none of those names fit at all."
"It sounds like you've got something, Lane. Share." Perry said.
"This guy, who ever he is, is not the red/blue blur. We really don't even know what he can do yet. All we know is that some how he guided the space plane down to the ground. He's invulnerable to a degree and he is strong. It's like the Nietzsche ideal come to life. A super-man! A real life super-man."
Perry ran his hand over his chin, running the idea over in his mind considering it. It had great potential, in fact it was the best name he heard, it fit and told the story. It summarized everything about what the man was doing, the whole heroic act. As far as Perry was concerned, it spoke volumes.
"Here's tomorrow's headline." Perry suddenly announced.
"Ready." His copy editor said, opening to a new page in his notebook.
"SUPERMAN Saves Astronauts. Good work, Lane. You up to writing the main article?"
"I…"
"Good. Have it on my desk by five o'clock tonight. That's it." Perry said closing the meeting. Everyone began to get up and leave. Chloe stared at Lois in amazement. Lois thought she might start drooling if she did not close her mouth soon.
"What?" Lois asked.
"I wish I had thought of that." Chloe replied.
*
Clark had brought in the morning paper for his mom, but he was sure she wouldn't mind if he took a look at it first. Nothing in the Times or the local paper anyway. He wondered what was new in the Daily Planet. He unfurled the paper, seeing the giant photo and himself catching it. Then he looked at the headline.
"SUPERMAN!" Clark said out loud, not all entirely sure he liked it.
**
Hours Later.
The wind blew past his hair, faster and faster. But, to his senses, it was like a passing summer breeze, it was almost like running, but faster. Do you believe a man can fly? He did now. He is human, but he is not. But in spirit, he is. His own physiology allowed him, but God did he feel like a man. And oh God, what fun he was having. He was free and at peace. One could be at peace if they could do what he could do, but what lay ahead he was not quite sure, but he had accepted it. All of it! New sensations and new sounds accompanied him. The whip and flap of the cape as it shot down over him and at times to the sides, like they were angel wings or something like that. His destination approached: Metropolis!
***
Lois and Chloe truly had moved on up, as the statement went. From the basement, to the main newsroom near the top floor, filled with cubicles, shiny televisions, opened windows that looked out over the entire city! Not the street! A room filled with fresh coffee, noise, computers being worked on and phones that worked, ringing off the hook.
"THIS IS CRAP!" Came the booming and powerful voice of Perry White. Perry White's voice could be heard from in his own office, with the doors closed.
"I'm in Heaven." Chloe said with a smile as she sat down at her work station.
"I know what you mean. Can you believe we're here?" Lois asked as she began to write up her story of the near crash of the space plane by…someone. That someone she could only assume was the red/blue blur. She caught a sight of him, but not his face.
"I know! I can't believe you're here as well." Chloe joked.
"Quiet you!" Lois replied in kind but with a threat.
Chloe laughed, clutching her sides, "I know what you mean. We're full time reporters now! I wonder what's in store for us."
Lois moved to reply, but was suddenly distracted by people moving toward the windows and young Jimmy Olsen rushing to the windows with camera in hand. More people began to get up from their desks and move to the window to see. Chloe and Lois could hear snippets of what the people were saying.
"No way!"
"I don't believe it!"
"How is that possible?"
"Is he really doing that?"
"Parachute?"
"Are you stupid?"
"Falling with style?" The click of Jimmy Olsen's camera echoed over all of the people's voices.
"What do you suppose has gotten the attention of so many people?" Lois asked her cousin.
"I don't know, let's find out." Chloe suggested as she and Lois made their way over to the windows. They had to push through some people to do it though. The gathering of so many people at the windows garnered the wrath of the editor-in-chief, who swung open his door to the press room, ready to unleash his anger.
"Get back to work peo…Great Caesar's Ghost!" Perry said in amazement, his cigar falling from his mouth. "Olsen, that camera better have a new roll of film!"
"Sure does chief." Jimmy replied.
"Don't look at me, take the pictures! And don't call me chief!" Jimmy immediately resumed taking pictures.
Lois and Chloe had pushed their way to the front to see what everyone was looked at. The ones closest to the front stood in shock. Chloe watched Lois' face join them, but she retained her ability to speak.
"It's …it's him! Lois stumbled out as the man in red and blue, with a great cape to match, flew by the windows of the Daily Planet, waving as he passed and moved on.
"I have no idea." Chloe said with a knowing grin on her face.
"The red/blue blur?" Jimmy guessed.
"That… is not the red/blue blur. That is someone…astonishing." She said mouth wide open.
"And good looking too." Cat Grant added. Jimmy's camera continued to take picture after picture.
Clark smiled at all the people looking at him from the windows of the Daily Planet. He saw Chloe, the only one with a knowing smile. He waved, it being meant for her, but it would come off as he waving at all the people in the building. He could hear everyone from inside the building and more. Like a swimmer, he dove down and then back up into the air. He went down lower and flew down main street, causing people to stop what they were doing and look up to see, someone flying over their heads and over the lamp posts and traffic lights.
More voices flooded his ears. "Look, up in the sky!"
"Is it a bird?"
"…A plane?"
"Wish he could get me out of traffic."
Clark smiled and lifted up again, gravity pushing against him, but he easily pushed through it. "Is he leaping over those buildings?" He heard other voices say. Clark circled around the LexCorp building and rocket back toward the Daily Planet.
"Well, well. Who have we here?" Lex Luthor thought out loud to himself.
****
"Now there's a page one headline." Lois said as she slowly began to move away back toward her desk.
"Not if I write it first, Lane!" Cat Grant said competitively as she ran back to her work station.
"Oh no you don't!" Lois yelled back at Cat, as she turned and ran to her computer at an equal pace.
Chloe laughed at her cousin, relieved that she would not have to compete with her. At least she hoped. She turned back to look out the window and saw the man in red and blue was turning to come back. Chloe quickly left the group and ran for the stairs. She had to see him. She had to this without any obstruction. She kicked off her heals and ran up the stairs, two at a time. She reached the door to the roof and opened it with both her hands, bathing herself in the sunlight and cool air at the top of the building. Chloe put her hands over her eyes, the breeze gently blowing through her air, but then picked up as he approached. He had heard her coming up the stairs, so he took his time on his way back over.
Chloe looked up at him, the cape blowing at his back, the run reigning over him casting some shadows over his face, but the symbol on his chest bore through brightly. Chloe looked at him, a huge smile full of happiness on her face as he came and floated in the air in front of her.
"Hello there. Who might you be?" She asked with a knowing grin.
"Haven't you been reading the newspapers, miss? I'm Superman." He said with a grin and then flew off back into the city. Chloe turned to watch him go fly back into the city. If Oliver could see him now, she thought.
*****
Days Later
Clark was fixing the glasses on the edge of his nose and then tightened his tie. He had just finished his patrol of the city. Lex Luthor and Tess Mercer were up to something, but he had not figured it out yet. He and Chloe had some clues, but they were both still investigating them. Lois was not talking to him because he had published one of the first stories about Superman. Oh, being Superman did have its perks after all. It got him a seat among the big leagues. This probably would be the last time he used his own "fame" to his advantage. Clark sat down at his desk, swiveled in front of his computer and a stack of papers promptly fell over with a nudge from his elbow.
"Little avalanche there, Kent?" Lois chided.
"Nothing I can't handle, Lois." Clark replied.
"Hey you two, staff meeting." Chloe informed, leaning against Clark's cubicle. Both Lois and Clark got from their desks and headed and began to walk down the long hall, all the cubicles to their lefts. They talked excitedly of recent events. The entire newsroom was filled with talk of Superman. Clark had begun to make more appearances and already news of what he could was spreading. But, also what was spreading fear, fear about him and what Luthor called Oliver's group. Oliver would be extremely insulted if he heard Luthor call him a "corporate terrorist." But news of Clark's arrival also had softened the image of Oliver's group, but Clark knew that more would have to be done to counteract Luthor's media blitz.
Clark was so stuck in his thoughts that he almost walked into young Jimmy Olsen. Jimmy Seemed to be glued to one of the televisions in the room, staring, almost not blinking. He looked mesmerized.
"Whoa, Jimmy, I almost walked into you. Be careful." Clark said.
"Sorry Mr. Kent, but you should look at the news." Jimmy replied.
"What is it?" Lois asked, putting her hands on her hips and looking up.
"Is that a tank?" Chloe asked.
"Clark shushed her as the three of them looked on and listened to T.V. reporter.
"Footage coming live from Gotham City, Gotham Police have engaged in a car chase of a vigilante criminals have called the 'Bat-Man.' So far, we have heard unconfirmed and superfluous reports that the car can fly."
All four watched in amazement as they saw a car drive widely around the streets in a circle and then tear down another strip of road. Everyone spoke in astonishment when they saw the tank like car break through a jersey divider and onto another section of highway.
"Tonight's sighting co-insides with Metropolis' own marvel, Superman, who revealed himself just days ago. Are the two connected in anyway?" The reporter hypothesized as the black car avoided another squad of police cars.
"Too fast to be a tank, Chloe." Chloe leaned over to Clark so that she could whisper into his ear.
"Looks like you've got someone trying to steal the lime light." Chloe said barely above a whisper.
******
Weeks Later
Clark poured over his notes and sources, trying to find the link between Lex Luthor and Intergang. Two of his most important sources had wound up dead unfortunately, something that Clark vowed to gain justice for. He just gotten back from Gotham City where he had run into and dare he say it "teamed up" with the dark vigilante the press had been reporting as an urban myth. Before they left, Clark expressed his concerns about his methods, but the man merely said that they both had their methods and he would continue to use his. Before he left though, Clark told him he hoped that they could work together again in some way, shape or form. The man in the bat suit merely nodded his head as Clark flew off. He certainly was one of the coldest individuals he had ever met.
"Clark!" Lois yelled, causing him to jump, drop all of his papers on the floor and spill his coffee on them.
"What Lois?" He asked annoyed.
"Just wanted to see if I could get you to do that." Lois said with a please smile.
"Very funny." Clark replied.
"Come on, you gotta see what's on the T.V." Lois said, taking hold of Clark's surprisingly strong bicep and leading him from his desk to one of the televisions hanging in the room.
"Lois, I'm busy what's so impor…"
"Check her out. I think every other male in the world is." Lois said. Clark stopped and looked at the image on the television screen. He then looked around him to see every male staring at the same image as well as some women looking on in fascination.
"How do you suppose she got those abs?" Cat Grant asked on the fly. Clark turned his attention back to the screen. He read the sub screen and parts of the news crawl at the bottom of the screen. The sub title read: "Amazon in Boston." Clark wondered what that could mean and finally listened in.
"…Colonel Steve Trevor, USAF, who was missing in Action for the past two weeks, appeared in his home town of Boston today accompanied by a woman who says that she is an ambassador of the Tribe of the Amazons. The Amazons who, up until now, have been the stuff of Greek myth. The 'ambassador's' name is Diana, Princess of the Amazons. The rather loosely clad, but colorful woman says that she has come in peace."
"How does she not fall out of that get up?" Chloe wondered out loud. Clark listened to another television.
"Here we have video of this amazing woman saving a pair of Army Air force jets with what appears to be only her bare strength and a golden rope of some kind. Well it certainly looks like the heroes in Metropolis and Gotham City have a new ally." Clark listened to other reports, not just in the newsroom itself, but from all over the country.
"…Local Boston newspapers have dubbed the amazing woman: Wonder Woman…"
"Wonder Woman, huh." Clark thought out loud to himself. It seemed he had walked into a much larger world after all. Clark smiled, he had a sudden feeling that his path would no doubt cross with this Wonder Woman as he no doubt believed he would cross paths again with Batman.
*******
One Week Later
Clark was making his way to the stairs so that he could make his way out to the roof so that Superman could begin his patrol. As he passed a row of cubicles, his ears suddenly picked up to the television as well as a small group of people beginning to gather around it. What could it be this time he wondered?
"They are coming out of the wood work now." One employee of the Daily Planet said. Clark listened closely.
"Report coming from Coast City of an 'emerald hero' saving a family from a fire. First reports came from air plane testing center: Ferris Aircraft, where the hero first appeared after saving a test pilot from crashing. Witnesses there claimed the hero called himself: Green Lantern. Just another hero in America's ever expanding group of vigilantes."
"Vigilantes?" Clark thought to himself. "They think we're vigilantes?" Clark smiled as he made his way to the door to the stairwell. He laughed at the old memory and how right on he was so many years ago.
"Guess Bart's right, we'll need a league or something." He thought out loud to himself as he raced up the stairs, removing his glasses and ties.
The End…But Also, Just the Beginning!