Chapter Two

June 15, 2041

Emma Colt sat on the steps looking around at the red brick and empty parking lot. She was done with school. Not even in her wildest dreams could she get into college. She had barely passed high school, but not for lack of trying. It just didn't help that she switched schools five times in the last four years. Her school records were a jumbled mess, but that is what you got being in foster care.

Emma sighed and looked down to the letter in her hands. This was not something she was expecting by any means. Ava, her social worker, had handed it to her after graduation. She had showed up just for that. She didn't walk or even go to the ceremony, but she came afterwards to say goodbye to Ava. Aging out of the system wasn't a walk in the park, but Emma got the traditional 200 dollars as well as the envelope. All Ava said was that it was hers. It was from some bank. An account her parents had made for her. This money, unlike the rest, hadn't been taken to pay off the mortgage or to pay for funeral costs. It was all hers.

Emma opened the envelope slowly careful not to rip the contents inside. She pulled out a single piece of paper. A bank statement. She sighed in disappointment. Part of her had wished there was a note of some kind from her parents inside, but no such luck. It didn't surprise her. Her parents didn't know they were going to die. It was an accident. A car accident.

When she unfolded the piece of paper the number at the bottom stood out like a sore thumb. $5,345.97. She had never had that much money in her life! In fact most of the homes she stayed in growing up didn't have that much in their bank accounts. By all means she was rich. Not enough to get a really fancy car or a penthouse, but enough to get her started. Enough so she could leave this town and not look back.

"Goodbye Granville. Hello Star City." Emma said smiling to herself.

()()()()()()()

"I'm just moving across the country mom not the universe." Matt said still captured in what seemed to be a never ending hug from his mother.

"I'm just going to miss you." Lois said finally releasing her son and brushing away one defiant tear.

"I can be home in a blink," Matt said disappearing and reappearing right behind her, "There's nothing to miss."

"I know." Lois replied.

Matt looked at her questioningly eyebrows raised.

"I do," Lois reiterated, "I just don't want my baby to move away."

"Sorry I'm late," Clark said appearing seemingly out of nowhere. He was just about to wish his son goodbye when he heard screams.

"It's cool Dad." Matt said, "You take care of the central states and I'll take care of the west coast."

"That's not how it works son." Clark said, "But I can always use the help and I know you are ready now."

"Finally taking the training wheels off hugh?" Matt replied jovially.

"Well, you are my son after all." Clark said, "You know I accept things in my own time."

"No prob Dad." Matt said understandingly, "Just let me be the hero I was born to be."

"You already are." Lois piped up encouragingly. Matt was everything she dreamed her son would be and more.

()()()()()()()

June 18, 2041

Two hundred and fifty dollars and three and a half days later Emma arrived in Star City. The bus stop wasn't the most gorgeous local to end up in, but it was a start. It was a good thing the city was close knit and that she only had a duffel bag and her backpack. After being in that cramped space for so long she was up for a walk.

And this walk inevitably ended up being an apartment hunt. She needed a place to live and when she saw a for rent sign outside a complex she went in to talk to the owner. The man literally laughed in her face. No steady work, no employment history, no one to co-sign on a rental form. He pretty much assured her she was screwed. In fact his exact words were, "No one in their right mind would lease to you." Emma hadn't realized it was going to be so hard, but she was more than willing to fight the uphill battle to starting a new life.

()()()()()()()

"They would be so pissed if they knew." Charlie said.

"I know," Matt replied, "But I needed to get out. To be on my own."

"You don't even have a place yet." Charlie added.

"Correction. I do have a place. I just can't move in until July." Matt said.

"You are literally sleeping on my couch."

"It's a comfy couch."

"I know. I miss sitting on it." Charlie laughed.

"You offered. It's your own fault."

"I felt bad for you. Overprotective parents and all."

"Yeah well…par for the course I guess." Matt replied, "You should hear the stories Dad tells about growing up. His Dad wouldn't let him play football. His parents pretty much kept him under lock and key."

"They didn't know what to expect," Charlie said, "He was the first."

"But not the last." Matt replied.

And out of nowhere Matt heard a small cry for help.

"Duty calls." Matt said and he changed his clothes in a flash. His costume was nearly identical to his dad's. He flew out the window of his cousin's apartment and rushed to the scene a large smile on his face. He liked his job. Especially now that he got to do it on his own.

()()()()()()()

June 24, 2041

Emma began her daily ritual by sitting down at Star Diner with a coffee, a donut, and a newspaper. She had spent every day since she arrived scouring the job section of the Star City Register and pounding the pavement. Her job search had been just as encouraging as her apartment search, but she figured the job would help her with the apartment. For the first time ever she found herself thanking her English Teacher for making her write a resume. It wasn't much by any means, but it at least gave her something to staple to job applications.

Emma tossed the paper aside with a sigh. There were no new listings since yesterday. Emma thought about going to the library computers again and searching there, but that had been even less helpful to her than the paper.

"The paper." Emma thought, "I wonder if they need any help. It must be a big operation. I'd pass out coffee if I had to. I just need a place to start."

()()()()()()()

So Emma left a tip on the table and headed out smiling thinking about a buzzing newsroom and herself in a suit with a pen on her ear.

The paper was a mad house when Emma arrived. People were rushing around all over the office and no one noticed her arrival or paid her any attention at all. She looked around for someone who could guide her to Human Resources or something, but the more she walked through the crowd the more she kept bumping into people. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a nameplate she recognized. It was on the door of a decent sized office and it read, Chloe Sullivan Senior Reporter and Assistant to the Editor. Emma was debating whether or not to knock when the door flew open.

"Oh thank God." Chloe said ushering the girl into her office, "Human Resources said they were sending someone over."

"That's me." Emma lied with a big fake smile on her face.

"Sorry that there isn't much time for a tour right now, but there is a big story going with The Flash saving…well I'm sure you've heard." Chloe said while pulling a stack of paper out, "I need fifteen copies of each of these in the board room in half an hour."

"Sure thing." Emma replied walking out the office with Chloe surging on ahead of her, "Where's the copier?"

But Emma's question fell on deaf ears as Chloe had already made her way to the elevator and dialing her phone as she waited.

"I guess I'll find it myself." Emma said heading off in search of the nearest copy room.