Hello again fellow readers, so here is my next attempt at a story based on comic book characters, this time, I'm taking on the vast library of DC Comics. I couldn't think of one at first, until I rediscovered "All-Star Superman", which in my opinion, is one of the best Superman stories ever written. In one part of the story, Superman gives Lois Lane a formula that gives her powers just like his for 24 hours for her birthday, along with a suit, with which she takes on the name Superwoman, and that's where the concept for this story came along. Basically, this serves as a continuation to that storyline, with a few ideas of my own to make it interesting, and I hope you guys like the first chapter.
Chapter 1
Sunlight, that's what stood out the most today, big, bright, and the sign of another hopeful day for the city.
In the streets of Metropolis, thousands of people were walking down the streets, whether they were commuting to work, catching a taxi, or doing any other activity that one might do in a city. The sun, mixed with mostly blue skies, beamed down upon the city, making it feel like the kind of day where good things will come even after the bad ones pass you by. On the sidewalk, one particular woman had a feeling in her guts telling her that this day was today.
A young woman in her late twenties was walking on the crosswalk towards her destination. She has long brown hair flowing freely, wearing a purple colored suit jacket over a white dress shirt, with a white pleated skirt and purple heels. This woman was none other than Lois Lane, the star reporter at the Daily Planet, the news company situated in Metropolis. She holds her cup of coffee in her right hand while carrying her bag on the left. To the passersby, she looks like she is ready to take on the day, but deep down; she still misses a certain someone, who is no longer flying in the skies
It had been almost two months since the hero known as Superman, who was diagnosed with solar radiation poisoning, flew into the sun to prevent it from going supernova. The world believed that he died, and everyone, even some of the man of steel's closest friends, mourned his departure. However, Lois didn't give up hope, she knew that he wasn't truly gone, but a part of her still worried for him, and she missed him deeply.
As she approached the Daily Planet building, she kept her posture straight as she walked into the doors and up the elevator. When she arrived at the main office complex, she walked straight towards her desk while she looked at the other busy employees around her. They all kept at their jobs, but she knew that they all missed him as well. As she sat down at her desk, she saw a familiar face walk by her desk.
"Good morning Lois." The young man said to him.
"Morning Jimmy," Lois replied "Do you have those photos for the article today?"
"I did my best but I think I got them," Jimmy said, who looked around a little bit before he turned back to Lois "It's too bad Clark isn't here right now, otherwise he'd be the one to give a word of mouth on this." Lois still felt a little pain inside herself when Jimmy brought that up, and looked at her desk.
"Yeah… Too bad." Lois said with a hint of sadness in her tone. Jimmy noticed this and felt like he had made a mistake.
"Oh god, I'm sorry," Jimmy quickly said once he realized his mistake "I didn't mean to…"
"No, no, it's alright" Lois said reassuringly "We all miss him, it's bad enough that this city has it's own set of problems."
"You still think you can handle it all even with him gone?" Jimmy asked "I would think you would have taken some time off to process it all."
"I'll admit, I am still coping with it, but I'm not going to let it get in the way of my work." Lois said to him "I still think we should help the people out there."
"Couldn't agree more Lois," said a voice behind them. The two turned around to see that their boss, Perry White, was walking towards them "and today you can start by getting in on the latest story that's starting to surface. I know someone like you wouldn't shy away from something like this."
"Neither would he," Lois replied back.
"Are you talking about Clark or the other guy?" Perry asked her. She looked at him with a look that told him not to overstep his boundary, and Perry noticed, "Sorry, don't get me wrong, Clark was a good man, and we all miss him, it's bad enough that he and the Man of Steel are not here with us anymore."
"You don't have to get all sentimental on us," said Lois.
"I didn't say I was going to be," Perry said "But with Superman gone, the crime in this city is starting to rise, and the last thing we all want is to lose another one."
"Well let's be honest," Lois said with a smirk "Has there ever been any danger that I haven't steered away from?"
"Of course not Lois," Perry said with a smile "I take it that you wouldn't mind getting in on that new story before it becomes yesterday's news."
"You know me chief," said Lois "by the time I get it, it'll be tomorrow's news today. What's the scoop?"
"There's talk about a new arms dealing operation happening within the Metropolis criminal underworld." Perry said "We've already gotten some good leads on the people running the operations, but we need someone to get a closer look. I want you to get whatever leads you can on this, any information that will be good enough for the press."
"I'll see if I can interview anybody that is involved or knows about this case," said Lois "the police might have somebody on it that I can talk to."
"Good," Perry said with a smile "See what you can dig up today and get whatever you can to me by the end of the week."
"Can do," Lois replied before she walked towards the door "I'd say wish me luck, but I know I'm not going to need it." Perry smiled as Lois closed the door behind him, watching as his star reporter set out for the scoop with Jimmy Olsen tagging along with her. As he watched her leave, Perry couldn't help but still feel concerned about the pain that Lois was hiding underneath the confident and brave face she wore.
(Later that night, in Lois's apartment)
After the long day at work, Lois went back to her apartment, which wasn't too far from the Metropolis Park. Throughout the day she had interviewed the police officers that were on the case, and even a few people on the streets that seemed to know about the operation. From the leads that she had gathered, the next deal was going to take place on a secluded dock at the Metropolis Harbor. She planned to sneak out to that harbor, and observe the deal as it would go down, hoping that it would be enough for the papers.
Now, she was home, which meant that she now had the time she needed to relax. She didn't have much to do that night, nor did she have any friends she would want to catch up on, she just ate some order-in take out and watched a little TV. She took the time to help herself relax, but many thoughts still raced through her mind.
Ever since Superman left Earth, she wondered that even with other heroes protecting the Earth, who would help bring hope back to the world in the Man of Steel's absence. Just the thought of Superman, whom she also knew as Clark Kent, made Lois cry a bit on the inside, the love of her life flying away even though she felt that he wasn't too far away. Of course Lois still had her ways of helping others, but would it be enough?
Then, her special birthday came into mind as well, a wonderful day that she would never forget. When Superman took her to the fortress of solitude, he gave her a serum that granted her Kryptonian powers for 24 hours, along with a suit made of indestructible thread; which she now kept in her closet as a way to remember him by, along with. Being able to fly alongside Superman felt like a dream, a thrilling experience that allowed her to see what it was like to live in his shoes. Of course, she knew that those powers were gone now given the serum's limitations, and she would never get to experience that feeling again, unless there was another vial lying around.
Feeling tired, and seeing how late it was, Lois stood up from her couch, took a nice hot shower and went to bed, taking some Advil for a strange headache that had been bothering her all day. When she looked in her closet for her nightgown, she noticed her Superwoman outfit lying on the ground in the corner, the bright blue and yellow, along with the boots and cape far in the corner for no one to notice, but visible enough for her to see it. Looking at the suit, more memories came from that day, and a few tears started to trickle down Lois' face.
She looked out the window from her bed, and saw the moon shining bright in the starry sky, making her think of the kiss she and Superman shared on the moon due to serum allowing her to go into space like he did. It was one of the most magical moments in her entire life, one that felt bittersweet now knowing that he was gone. With her thoughts wandering, she turned the lights off in her bed stool, and slowly closed her eyes as she drifted off into slumber.
In Lois' dreams, she saw herself flying in the sky again, donned in her Superwoman suit, the vast, clear, windy night sky surrounding her, floating in a vast, never ending sky, before she began to fly around without a care. The rush of the wind in the air and the speed of flight fill her with absolute joy. Then, she saw him, the love of her life, hovering not too far away from her, and a smile spreads across her face, and the same going for him. She speeds towards him, and the two embraced, his blue eyes shining down upon her own, and his black hair fluttering in the wind, just like her hair was. In this moment of bliss, she had tears forming in her eyes, happy to know that at least she could see him in her dreams.
Suddenly, just as she was beginning to lean in for a kiss, Lois began to feel her body dragging down, and realized that she couldn't fly anymore. Her grip from his arms began to slip, and soon, she was falling out of the sky, watching in fear and shock as the image of the only man that she loved grew smaller and smaller above her as she fell through the never ending abyss.
When she opened her eyes, Lois found herself back in her bedroom, still panting from the abrupt ending to her sweet dream. She looked around her room, seeing that it was still the middle of the night and dark out, save for some of the city lights that came from outside her window. Lois let out a sigh, reminding herself mentally that what she saw was just a dream, one of many similar dreams that she had been having every night since he left. Of course, she knew that she couldn't stop thinking about him, since he was the one man that she had wanted to spend the rest of her life with had the circumstances been different.
However, as she drifted back to sleep, a strange thought lingered in her mind. When she woke up from her dream, she felt as if she had been dropped from the air and onto her bed. She assumed that it just came from snapping out of the dream, and sometimes she could tell whether she was dreaming or not. But this felt different, and she wasn't sure if this had to do with the fact that she had been feeling weird lately ever since the night Superman left. She would make a mental note to go see a doctor whenever she could, and set to resume her sleep, not knowing what tomorrow will bring for her.
Well, here we are, at the end of the beginning. I hope you guys like what I have so far, and if any of you want to see more of this, have any questions, comments, concerns, or if there is anything else that you want to say, let me know in the reviews.
Fun Fact: For all you fans out there, the suit that Lois wears at the start of the chapter is based on the outfit worn by Lois in the DCAU. I just thought it would be a fun little Easter egg to throw in there.
