Chapter 2
"Wait, so you actually met Superman? Dude, that's Awesome! Did you get his autograph?" Cisco asked. Barry had just recently gotten back from the Glans building and had just filled in the details to the gang.
"When would have been the proper time to ask for his autograph?" Barry says, "When the building was falling or when we were examining the basement for evidence."
"Right. My bad."
"What do you think caused it, Barry?" Dr. Wells asks.
"I think it's a bomb, but-"
"But what?" Caitlin interrupts.
"But it wasn't like any explosion I've seen from a bomb before."
"And how many bomb explosions have you seen?" Cisco asks in disbelief.
Barry thought about it for a moment and said, "That's not the point."
"From what you've told us and from the reports on the news," Caitlin explained, "It seems that the bomb caused the foundations of the building to shift. Without the support, the entire building collapsed"
"Like an earthquake," Cisco guessed."
"Exactly, and since Central City rarely gets earthquakes, the building wasn't built to last though something like an earthquake so it collapsed. The basement was mostly untouched because it doesn't need the foundations of the building to stand. So the only damage would be from the bomb and a collapsed ceiling."
"Can a single bomb have the power of an earthquake?" Barry asked.
"It could if it had some sort of nuclear power behind it. Was there anything like that in the basement?"
"There was these pieces of some kind of green rock and everything in the room was destroyed except for a few wooden of boxes right in the middle, which had no damage to them at all."
"Did Superman take a look at what was inside them," Wells asked.
"Yeah, he used his x-ray vision to look inside of them and he pretty shaken up by what he saw, but when the CCPD opened them up there was nothing there."
"Did you bring us a sample of the rock?" asks Caitlin. Barry reaches into his pocket and pulls out some of the green mineral and hands it to her. The four scientist gather around to observe it.
"It's so small," Cisco comments. The piece was no bigger than Caitlin's palm.
"They were all like that," says Barry.
"Cisco, Caitlin, and I will examine the rock and find out if there's anything significant about it," Dr. Wells says, "Barry, you go down to the Glans building and see if you can find out more about the explosion."
"I thought you said Clark Luthor was good now," Chloe asked Clark.
"I thought he was too, but after Jor-El sent him back to his universe he could've become good or continued being evil," Clark explained, "It was all his decision to make." Clark had returned to Watchtower as soon as his examination of the basement was over, which was pretty quick since he couldn't enter the room. Chloe had returned to Watchtower to fill in after Tess's death. Oliver was out on a business trip. The two of them were wondering how the Ultraman symbol was carved on floor of the Glans building.
"And I thought all of the mirror boxes were destroyed. How could he have gotten back over to our universe?"
"I don't know, Chloe, the other Jor-El could probably send him here just as easily as he was sent there."
"Clark, what should we do?"
"I think the best plan is to have John and the Metropolis PD investigate the bombing and coordinate with the CCPD," Clark offers, "We need to know everything we can about Luthor's return."
Meanwhile, Lois and Jimmy were still at the Glans building, Jimmy was taking pictures of the wreck and Lois was interviewing every police, firefighter, bystander, and uninjured victim of the collapse. Suddenly, the chorus of "I Need a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler is heard coming from Lois's phone. She glances at the caller ID and sees that it's Perry White.
"Hey, Chief."
"Lois, I want you and Jimmy to focus on the Glans building. I sense that there's more to the story and I want my best on it."
"I'm already on it. I have interviews from everyone on the scene before, after, and during the collapse and Jimmy has been taking pictures of everything."
"I'm assuming that means Superman too?"
"Of course," she replied, even though one question doesn't qualify as an interview. Clark only had one time for a question before he had to examine the basement and then fly off without saying a word.
"Incredible. And tell Clark that he'll be working with you, too. I've been having a hard time reaching him."
"Got it, Perry." She hung up. Just then she saw a red streak pass through her vision. It's a strikingly similar sight to Clark back when he still went by "The Blur".
"You saw it too right?"
Lois turns around to find the speaker, who was a beautiful dark-haired girl. She introduced herself "I'm Iris West."
"The daughter of the Detective I assume," Lois says, "Lois Lane."
"You're Lois Lane? The Lois Lane? I'm a huge fan of your articles and I'm such an admirer of how you came out about your conversations with Superman and started his public career by writing articles about him as 'The Blur'."
"Hey Lois," Jimmy said as he runs up to the two ladies, "I have pictures of everything from the building to the trees to the red thing that just went by. See?" He shows Lois and Iris the photo of a blurry red blob with a yellow line going through it.
"That's really good. Can I put that on my blog?" Iris asks. She looks up at Jimmy, "I'm Iris."
"Jimmy," he says, "Your blog?"
"I have this blog about the Flash, that red smudge there," she pointed to Jimmy's picture, "it inspires people to believe in the impossible and while I don't really trust him anymore I can't take that inspiration from my followers." She looks up at Jimmy, "Wait, Jimmy? As in Jimmy Olsen? The guy who took the first ever picture of Superman?" Something about Iris's previous sentence didn't sit right with Lois.
A hint of sadness gleams in Jimmy's eyes, "No," he says, "That was my brother. He was a much better photographer than I was."
"'Was'? What happened to him?"
"He was, um, he was killed by a homicidal maniac."
"Oh," Iris didn't know what to say about that, "I'm sorry."
"Don't be, it's not your fault," he says, returning to his happy-go-lucky self.
At the other side of the rubble, John Jones had just arrived and was being greeted by Joe West.
"Detective Jones," Joe said, "I'm glad you made it to Central City."
"Thank you, Detective West. Do you know what caused the collapse?"
"My forensics guy thinks that it was a bomb but it's unlike any bomb we've seen before."
"How so?"
"Well, for one thing, the room where the bomb was is now littered with glass, lead, and these green rocks which we don't recognize." A look of worry and understanding fell across John's face. "But the weirdest thing," Joe continued, "was these boxes that were in the middle of the room but weren't destroyed by the bomb at all. Weirder still, they were all empty and none of the employees knew why those boxes were there or how they got there."
"Maybe the bomb wasn't that powerful and the building just had a poor foundation," John suggests, though he knew that it was a false hope.
"Highly unlikely considering that it just had an inspection a few days ago. No, this bomb was powerful. If it hadn't been for Superman and the streak, a lot of people would've died. Speak of the devil."
Superman had returned to Central City and was now landing right next to the two men. "Detective Jones it's good to see that you came."
"Superman." John greets, "Why did you ask for the MPD to be here. It seems like the CCPD can handle it just fine."
"The answer to that question is underneath the boxes in the basement," Clark says mysteriously, "I think both police departments should have a look." The two detectives start heading for the building.
Joe stopped, "Aren't you coming with us, Superman?"
Clark tried to come up with an excuse. "I've already seen it." It's pathetic but an excuse all the same.
"...Okay then."
Clark instead walks over to where Lois, Jimmy and Iris are talking.
"…hard to find a 'hallmark card for that." Clark overhears.
The conversation stops when he approaches them. "Miss Lane? May I speak with you? Privately?" Clark and Lois head to an area of the property where they're out of sight. "Lois, you need to be careful. I think Clark Luthor is back."
"What! I thought that S.O.B would stay in his own world! Why would he be back?"
"Chloe and I aren't sure, but we need to take every precaution so he can't hurt anyone."
"As rational as that plan is, Smallville, how are we going to do it? Hide in our rooms until he goes away? Tell the CCPD to put out an APB on you?"
"Well, what would you suggest?"
"We should continue on with our everyday lives and see what move he makes next. I mean why would he destroy a building that has no connection to you? Believe me, Clark, I've interviewed everyone her trying to find a link but there just isn't one."
Clark gave up, "Okay, we'll wait for him to show himself again and so Chloe can track him down."
Suddenly, Iris came around a corner, "Lois," she said but stopped when she saw Lois and Superman in the middle of a conversation, "I hope I'm not interrupting."
"No, Miss West, not at all," Clark responded.
"I just wanted to tell Lois that I convinced by boyfriend, Eddie, to let us in the basement."
"I'm coming," Lois says, then whispered to Clark, "Be careful."
"You too," he whispered back and starts to inspect the rubble as Lois heads toward the basement with Iris, Eddie, and Jimmy. John and Joe lead the little expedition down to the crime scene. Barry, who had been in the basement the entire time, saw Eddie and Iris come down the stairs quickly sped past them to avoid being arrested by Eddie or an awkward conversation with Iris. The six people have various reactions.
Lois and John were surprised and worried by how much lead and kryptonite is scattered and spread across the floor, Iris was shocked at the destruction and wondered how one person could do such a horrible thing and Jimmy was just as horrified as Iris but he was busy taking pictures of the wreck for the Daily Planet for it to show on his face. Eddie and Joe didn't have a reaction since they had seen everything before but as soon as John moved the boxes in the middle, the looks on their faces went from passive to surprised in seconds as they got their first glance of the Ultraman symbol.
Meanwhile, above ground, Barry had gotten out of the Glans building and was about to head for S.T.A.R. Labs until he hears a voice behind him.
"Excuse me," Clark said to him, "I think we need to talk."
AN: Sorry that this chapter is so boring (I call it the meet-and-greet chapter) but kinda necessary. Thanks for all the reviews, guys, you're AMAZING! Did you see the Flash and Arrow crossover episodes THEY WERE AMAZEBALLS! Just a reminder that I cherish reviews. And don't worry there's another chapter coming soon.