DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS IN THIS STORY!

Note: Not much to say. Just please review. Thanks!

Cover- Lex Luthor looking out a window, grinning evilly as Superman flies overhead.

INFINITE SUPERMAN

Truth, Justice and the American Way Part II

"AAIIEE!"

Currently, a girl is being mugged in an alley just outside of the Metropolis City Bank. Not too far away a certain man hears her cries of distress. Or should I say a certain…

Superman!

In a flash of red and blue Superman is off and in just under five seconds the would-be mugger is lying in front of the Metropolis Police Department unconscious. The girl is standing in shock in the alley, her purse on the ground in front of her…

MetroIsland, About 11 AM

"Damn, son, you don't just do your job; you do your job well," General Lane exclaimed while looking down at the sheet of paper in his hands, "A total of thirty-five arrests in the last four hours. The crime rate has gone down 10% in the last two weeks alone since you've started this…this superhero business."

Clark Kent just sat lazily in a chair in front of General Sam Lane, grinning cockily, "What can I say? You dragged me out of my perfectly normal life to be superhero, so that's exactly what I'm going to do. And anything I do, I do well."

"Seems you definitely lack confidence," General Lane replied sarcastically, "And you seem to do your job too well. Fifteen of the people you left at Metropolis PD weren't known criminals. And you gave the MPD no proof that they were. Only three of them had mental health problems and four of them, three of whom were the ones with mental health issues, had been fired or evicted recently. Those fifteen and a few others have gotten out of jail free of charge. People are claiming you beat up and 'arrest' random people. A popular conservative radio host, Leslie Willis, claims you're a menace to the city and the world, and not just because you have powers. America's had meta's before you…"

Clark interrupted General Lane "I'm not a meta…"

"Doesn't matter. That's what they think you are. Listen, kid, they don't know the real you, and thanks to your little 'don't ask, don't tell secret identity' thing you're in a shit hole and if they find out you work for the government it's going to get a hell of a lot worse."

Clark forced his anger down, "Whatever, let's change the subject…"

General Lane nodded his head in agreement, "How are the hours working for you? Twelve hour work days would have anyone exhausted, especially with what you're doing."

Clark stood up and stretched, "Sir, with all due respect, I'm Superman. I don't get tired. Working 10 PM-2 AM, 6 AM-10 AM, and 2 PM-6 PM is fine."

"Yes, but you never sleep. And you still save people off work hours," General Lane was amazed at the twenty-one-year-old alien's endurance. The young man truly never slept, and his work hours tended to be more around 20 hours a day, not 12.

Clark sighed, "Again, I'm not a man. I'm Superman."

"And, it's my job to protect the people who aren't super, 24/7."

"Well, if you're so awake and ready, you need to meet one of Project SUPERMAN's Weapon Manufacturers and top sponsor. We had already planned this, anyway, and before you get your panties in a loop," General Lane told Clark, "We were planning on telling you about this yesterday, but you chose to save ten more people rather than listen to us."

Clark had even worse trouble holding his anger in, "That shouldn't change anything! Just call me while I'm on the job. And really, a weapons manufacturer? Really?"

"Deal with it," General Lane ordered.

Clark groaned, "And really, more meetings…"

"Stop complaining," General Lane growled, "And I need you to put on your Superman suit. The man doesn't know your secret identity, as you requested."

Clark stopped, surprised, "Oh, uh, thanks. I didn't expect you to really follow through on that…"

"Go put on your costume now." General Lane ordered.

"Yes, sir," In a flash of red and blue, Clark was back with his costume/armor on.

The two walked quickly through the large island facility. They came to the loading docks where a large white private plane had just landed. The words 'Luthor Wing 1' were posted in green on the side.

"Luthor…" Clark muttered; the name sounded familiar to him.

General Lane pointed to the plane, "Now, I'd like to introduce the CEO of LexCorp, billionaire, philanthropist and largest donor to Project SUPERMAN: Lex Luthor."

And right on cue, the hatch opened and a tall, thin bald man dressed in a black suit walked out.

Clark gasped, recognizing the man, "Lex Luthor…"

Clark thought back to years ago, just six months after General Lane and Amanda Waller's visit to Smallville…

Clark had begun to wear glasses, which was his attempt at keeping a disguise. He knew that in a few years, when he was a superhero, it would be obvious who he was if he didn't start hiding his identity now. So, he did. And almost immediately after he began doing that the Luthors came into town. Lionel Luthor was a millionaire in charge of LuthorCorp. Having grown up in the town, Lionel felt an attachment to Smallville and he had bought it just a year after Clark had arrived in the town via spaceship. Lionel frequently visited the town and this time he brought his son, Lex.

Lex and Clark became friends after Clark saved his life in a car accident. Lex also began dating Clark's crush at the time: Lana Lang. All of that ended when Lionel mysteriously killed himself on Lex's 18th birthday, leaving his son the sole heir to his company. Lex left Smallville to lead the company and Clark thought he'd never see him again.

Clark thought wrong.

"So you're Superman…" Lex grinned as he strutted out of his private jet, "Magnificent, absolutely wonderful to meet you."

Lex took Clark's hand and shook it vigorously.

C'mon, Superman, play the part. Clark thought to himself nervously.

"It's nice to meet you too, sir." Clark tried to sound as confident and not-shocked as possible.

"What an interesting specimen you are…" Clark stood awkwardly as Lex walked in circles around him, examining every little detail, "Only 6'3" and 235 lbs but you're more powerful than a locomotive and faster than a speeding bullet…"

"How do you know my height and weight?" Clark asked, truly curious.

Lex stood straight up and pointed to his eyes, which were an unnatural shade of blue, "Contact lenses that automatically calculate every bit of physical data I can get from you. Ingenious, wouldn't you say?"

"Yes, sir."

Lex suddenly stopped walking and began to frown, "I hear you do your job quite well. What's the data, oh yes, over two hundred arrests and the crime rate down 10% in the last two weeks…Absolutely fantastic," Lex growled.

Clark didn't understand Lex's sudden hostility, "What's wrong, Mr. Luthor?"

Lex suddenly had a smile back on his face, "Oh, please just call me Lex. And nothing is wrong…"

And suddenly his smile turned mischievous, "So, you seem to have been surprised to see me. When I first walked out of the plane you looked shocked. Why is that? I was sure that General Lane or Agent Waller would have told you about me...especially considering my involvement in Project M-0…"

"Project M-0?"

Lex grinned evilly, "So, they haven't told you…"

General Lane suddenly stepped in, which shocked Clark, "I think the meeting's gone on long enough, Lex. You should leave. Now."

Clark stood there, confused by what was going on and suddenly suspicious of General Lane, "Wait, why? He hasn't done anything wrong!"

"Oh, it's alright, Superman. Just remember, never trust the government…" Armed soldiers forced Lex back into his private jet while he just laughed.

Clark watched the jet take off and then turned to General Lane, "What was that about? What's Project M-0?"

General sighed, "It's nothing, Clark. Nothing at all. The man's crazy. It runs in his family. Why do you think his father killed himself?"

Clark got into General Lane's face, "Tell me the truth!"

General Lane turned away from Clark, "You can't handle the truth. About Lex. And about yourself."

"What are you talking about?" Clark called after the older man, who was walking away.

"Never trust a Luthor, Clark."

"Darnit!" Clark flew off towards Metropolis.

Not Too Long After That

Clark was sitting in a café, back in his civvies, a coffee resting in between his hands. He listened with his super-hearing to everyone around him.

"Hey, did you hear about Mike?"

"OMG! I can't believe that!"

"That superhero…yeah, Superman…he's a menace to our city! He's way too powerful and is going around hurting random people!"

"I wish I could meet Superman?"

"Can he get shot? Like, seriously."

"Superman needs to come out and tell us the truth about himself, and then I might trust him."

"Superman is a menace…"

"Damnit!" Clark smashed the table in front of him, which broke in half, "Oh, shoot, I didn't mean to…" Clark looked around; people were staring at him. Realization slowly began to dawn on all of their faces.

Clark ran away, not super fast, but as fast as an Olympic Athlete. He ran into an alley, changed into his costume and flew into the air until he was so high that he could see all of Metropolis. He just floated there and stared at the so-called 'City of Tomorrow.'

He reached into a pocket in his costume and pulled out his cellphone. He dialed Lois' number.

"Hello, Lois Lane, speaking."

Clark took in a deep breath and then said, "Hi, Lois, it's me, Clark…"

"Oh My God, Clark! Where are you? I heard you and my dad got into an argument and you flew off! Are you all right? Are you still mad…"

"…Lois," Clark interrupted his liaison, "Stop. I'm fine. I'm, er, above Metropolis. And there's something I need to ask you…"

"…Do you think I'm a menace? A threat to Earth?"

Clark heard Lois gasp from across the phone, "Heavens, no! Clark, you're a hero! Whoever said that to you is…"

"Lois, the people of Metropolis said that to me..."

"…Well, they're wrong. Give them time, Clark. It's been barely been a month and you've already changed the city…in a good way…"

Clark sighed, "I know, Lois, it's just…I want to do something to make them trust me…"

"Like what?" Lois asked.

Clark looked down at one of the largest skyscrapers in the city, a golden tower with a globe on the top, "I don't know…maybe an interview…"

"That's a fantastic idea!" Lois exclaimed.

"Really? I...well...that's good…just don't tell anybody. Especially not your dad or Agent Waller," Clark said as he began to float down towards the 'globed skyscraper.'

"Why, heavens, Clark, whatever could be talking about…?"

Clark grinned, "Bye, Lois."

"Bye, Clark."

The Daily Planet

19-year-old star reporter James 'Jim' Olsen was typing frantically into his computer, trying to finish the front-page story about Superman for the next day's paper.

He heard a knocking sound and looked up and practically fell out of his chair.

"What?"

Superman was floating just outside the tower, knocking on the big glass windowpanes. Superman motioned to himself, then to the computer and then to Jim.

"You want…a…an…interview…?"

Not Too Long After

Jim sat down across from Superman in a room on the top floor of the Daily Planet. Both sat awkwardly for minutes while Jim's lanky photographer snapped photos unwaveringly of the primary-color clad superhero.

Jim took a deep breath and decided to be the first to speak, "Hello."

"Hello."

"I'm James Olsen, but you can just call me Jim. Everyone does. And this," Jim pointed to the photographer, "is Christopher Cavill. He's my stalker/photographer."

"Hey!" Christopher called out, his messy black hair falling over his right glasses lens, "I don't stalk you! And you can just call me Reeve, by the way. Although nobody ever does…" Christopher addressed Superman.

"So, what's your name?" Jim asked as he pulled out a recorder.

"Superman."

"I mean your real name…"

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's Kal-El. However, I would prefer it if people kept calling me Superman," Superman admitted.

"Okay...and Kal-El…is that German or…?"

"Kryptonian."

Jim stopped, surprised, "And let's pretend I don't know what Kryptonian is…"

Superman took in a deep breath, ready to spill most of his secrets, "I am not human. I am from the planet Krypton, which is, or was, billions of miles away from Earth. Krypton was a utopia that to you would seem like science fiction. Its technology was millennia ahead of Earth. My father was a scientist, Jor-El, of the House of El. Houses are similar to a family but more like what on Earth we would call a clan. My mother was Lara Lor-Van."

"You described all those things with 'was.' Did something happen to Krypton?"

"Yes," Superman began, "My father found out that Krypton's sun, a red sun, was going supernova. None of the other scientists believed my father, saying that the sun was too young to die. In secret, my father built a spaceship. He only had enough time to build a ship that would fit one person. That person was me. I was launched to Earth where I was adopted in this very country."

Jim was more curious about the superhero than ever before, "I'm truly sorry about that. But, I have to ask, what are your Earth-parents' names? What is your Earth name?"

Superman sat up, looking uncomfortable, "I wish to keep that private."

"Alright, and what are your powers? How do they work?"

"I have what you would call super strength. And speed. Flight. Invulnerability. Microscopic vision. X-Ray vision. Heat vision. A frost breath. And possibly more I haven't discovered yet. Your yellow sun's low gravity and specific type of radiation allows me to be the super part of Superman."

"Interesting. So, do you have any weaknesses?" Jim sat forward in his chair.

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you since it's impossible to tell the rock apart from any other gem…"

"A rock…?"

"Yes, a rock. Kryptonite. The last remnants of my dead home."

"Oh. Again, I'm sorry. Well then, we're done with that part of the interview so let's get away from the past and look at the present: how do you feel about being labeled a menace by Leslie Willis?"

Superman sighed sadly but sat up straight, more so than before, "I…I don't agree with it. I'm only here to save, not to hurt."

"Alright, and that 'S' on your costume…does that stand for Superman?"

"It's actually a Kryptonian symbol for 'hope.'"

"Okay. Wow, that's actually really cool. Well, I'm sure you have to go save somebody or something so let's finish this up. How do you feel about the nickname we at the Daily Planet have given you: 'The Man of Steel?'" Jim asked.

Superman looked up, chuckled and responded with a small smile, "I like it. A lot."

"And lastly, why did you come to me for the interview?"

"I wanted people to better understand me and my intentions. Which are to help, of course."

Jim stood up and held out his hand, "Well, thank you for this interview."

"No, thank you, Jim" Superman shook Jim's hand and looked at Christopher, "Thank you, Chris." He then flew out of the room and out of the building.

LexCorp Tower, Later that night

"Damnit!" Lex shouted as he threw his laptop, which broke on impact, to the ground.

"Mr. Luthor…" Lex's assistant, Mercy Graves, tried to calm her boss.

"Shut up!" Lex growled, "Damnit! Superman is screwing up my business!"

Lex turned to Mercy, "Ms. Graves, did you know that 50% of the people Superman stopped were men I hired. Those men were my guards, my soldiers and my assassins. They did whatever I told them to. And they made business good!"

Mercy Graves replied, "I do know, sir. But, sir, if you really want Superman gone, why not just speed up Project M-0?"

Lex stopped and smiled evilly, "Of course...of course! Speed it up!"

Mercy smiled back at her boss, pleased with herself, "Then I shall…"

Lex paused, a frown forming on his face as he made a sudden realization, "But even if we speed the development up, it won't be ready soon enough. I want Superman dead now, not in a few weeks," Lex looked at Mercy, " Order Cadmus to speed up the development anyway but also make an order for Kryptonite bullets…as many as possible."

"Yes, sir," Mercy began to leave the room.

"…And, Mercy."

Lex's assistant turned to him, "Yes, Mr. Luthor?"

"Call Alex Trent…tell him…tell him that he's got a bigger fish to fry than a few black people. Tell him that not just America, but the world is in danger from an alien…a real life alien."

MetroIsland, The Next Day

Lois Lane looked down at the newspaper in her hands and then at the man sitting in front of her.

"How did you know what to tell them?" Lois asked Clark, who was eating a bowl of cereal in his apartment, that she had nicknamed his 'Fortress of Solitude,' "About Krypton. And your name?"

Clark looked up at his liaison and grinned, "Y'all aren't the only ones who've done research on my past. And you aren't the only ones who have access to my spaceship."

"I…oh…my bad…" Lois apologized, feeling sheepish, "Well, be prepared, when my dad sees this he's going to be angry."

"I know." Clark just grinned as he looked at the front page of the Daily Planet in Lois' hands, 'Superman: Our Hope.'

"Kal-El, the actual name of the hero we have called Superman, is an alien from the planet Krypton, and seems to believe in truth, justice and the American way…"

Note: I hope you liked it! This was really setting up for the second part of this arc, where the action really begins! The second part of the arc begins next chapter. Please review!

Next: The Man of Steel Part I