Issue #5 - BIRTH OF A HERO

He flew. This wasn't just a test of his powers, this was real. People's lives were in danger. As Clark broke through the sound barrier, he knew every one of his senses and abilities would have to be fine tuned, working together.

Dragging his arms back, he pushed himself even faster as he saw the plane ahead of him approaching him. Clark ducked, letting the plane go past him, deciding it was better to approach from behind. He followed, spinning under the plane, surveying the damage, then flying above the wing, looking inside to see if everyone was alright.

In the cabin, Lois Lane was strapped in her seat, holding on as the plane threatened to come apart. Looking out to see the wing, she saw something she couldn't believe. A man was flying out there. He smiled at her, then he was gone. Lois couldn't believe it. Maybe her imagination was playing tricks on her.

Two engines were on fire, one on each wing. Kal-El pondered the situation, looking around, then down towards the ground, trying to figure out exactly how much time he had. At first he wanted to grab the plane but he was afraid that the sudden stop could jolt the passengers out of their seats and injure them.

He decided the best thing to do was to slow it down gradually, but first he needed to take care of the engines, afraid that they would explode. Clark dived under the right wing, flying upside down, looking up at the burning engine.

Taking a deep breath, he held it for a moment before exhaling with a strong cold gust, extinguishing the flames. As he prepared to move to the other wing, his ears picked up sound bouncing off something up ahead. Tilting his, he saw an oncoming mountain, realising that both he and the plane had gradually been getting lower and lower in altitude.

He moved under the cabin section, placing his hands on the metal and pushing. The plane went upwards and forwards, avoiding collision. Clark however was forced to fly straight through the rock, coming out the other side.

Focussing his eyes for a moment, he spotted the plane, now higher up in the atmosphere thanks to his push. He flew after it, coming up behind it, smoke and fire been blown back into his face.

Inside Air Force One, nobody had a clue what was happening as Clark flew under the left wing. Again he blew out the flames, however he could see that the stress and heat from the fire was creating cracks, threatening to tear the wing apart. He grabbed onto it, keeping it in place as his eyes ignited and burned a reddish orange.

Kal-El sent out a focussed beam of heat energy from his eyes, effectively welding the wing into its position, then cooling it with his icy cold breath. With that task finished, Clark went under the centre of the plane, holding onto it, trying to tilt it upwards and slow it down.

But the other two engines were still working, trying to push it forward. It began to shake, in Clark's hands. Although he had no problem holding onto it, he feared for the passengers and let go. The engines were working but with the navigation and electronics malfunctioning, the plane was still heading downwards.

He flew to the front of the plane, seeing the pilot and co-pilot. He tried to signal them to turn the engines off but as they looked out, they were in a state of shock, seeing this man flying.

Kal-El continued to fly with the plane, debating to himself whether or not he should use force to stop the engines, weighing up his options. His problems worsened as another lightning strike from the raging storm obliterated the functioning engine on the starboard side, sending the plane into a spinning nosedive.

Air Force One went straight down, the ground rapidly approaching. Clark had no choice now as he barrel-rolled and caught the other engine, ripping from the supports on the wing. He stopped in mid air, the large engine in his hands as he looked around, before throwing it far out into the ocean, ensuring that it wouldn't hit any ships in the area.

The plane continued to fall and Clark was soon back beside it, using his eyes to see through the solid metal, checking that no one was hurt. He flew forward, again trying to signal the pilot, this time to lower the landing gear. He couldn't do it though, either because there was no power or because he was just too stunned to do anything.

So Kal-El did it himself, forcing the front wheels down then spinning backwards to lower the other wheels. He could see the lights of the city below, knowing that he was out of time. Clark went back under, pushing upwards, gradually slowing the plane down and bringing it level as he held the entire weight on his back with ease. Narrowly avoiding the globe atop the Daily Planet.

Clark was in full control now, carrying the plane on his back as flew towards Metropolis Airport. He saw the lights of the runway as he brought the plane down. With the landing gear out, the plane touched down gently as emergency services approached.

Clark was already out from under the plane, hovering as he ripped the passenger door from its hinges, throwing it to the ground as he rushed to check on the passengers. As they got off the plane they were in awe of this stranger who had saved them.

Clark saw Lois rising from her seat and heading towards the exit. They stared at each other for a moment before Clark offered her his hand, lifting her and gently floating out of the plane and onto the ground.

"Are you alright miss?

Lois was tongue-tied, unable to say anything as she just stared at him, totally confused and finding it hard to believe any of it was real.

"Miss…are you alright?"

"W…what? Oh…yeah I'm fine…thanks to you. Who…How…What…"

Kal-El smiled as Lois struggled to find the words to ask or say anything. She took a deep breath, calming down.

"Who are you?"

"Just someone who wants to help…are you sure you're ok? You seem a little rattled. Maybe you should see a doctor."

"No…no I'm ok really, I'm just…how did you do that?"

"Oh you know…just comes natural. Make sure you get checked out by a doctor. I've got to go."

"Wait…where are you going?"

Clark smiled and pointed his finger towards the sky.

"Up."

"Up…?"

Kal-El grinned as he rose into the air. "And away…"

Lois smiled as the stranger went higher and higher, floating away.

"Goodnight…"

Lois couldn't answer. She just watched as he flew off into the distance, not noticing as the President approached.

"What did he say to you? Do you think he's a threat?"

"He just saved our lives Mr. President…I don't think any of us have anything to worry about."

"What do you think he is?"

"Hope…"

As the President was ushered away by the secret service, Lois took out her phone, ringing her boss.

"Chief…it's Lois…hold off on the president interview ok, I just found a bigger story….no I'm serious, this is way bigger…headline…?"

Lois thought to herself for a moment, replaying events in her head, then remembering a collective name for the Greek heroes of old that she had learned in high school.

"…Superman…"

Clark flew over the city of Metropolis, a new protector. He looked down on the city, his arms out in front of him as he flew, smiling to himself as he saw people on the streets below looking up at him in amazement as he listened for any signs of trouble.

A woman ran, fear feeding her adrenaline as she tried to get away. But it wasn't enough. She turned to see a man, his hands wrapping around her throat as he forced her against a wall. She tried to scream, the man just laughed.

"Nobody's gonna help you lady. Now stop struggling. Who knows you might enjoy it."

He laughed again as he brandished a knife, threatening to cut her open. The woman kicked and screamed, trying to fight back for a moment. Then she stopped suddenly, looking behind the man trying to rape her. He felt a little tap on his shoulder and turned around quickly.

Clark was there. The man looked him up and down and laughed again.

"What the hell are you wearing? Halloween was months ago. Now get out of here before I put this knife through your chest."

"Go ahead…do it."

The mans hand thrust forward, the blade impacting against Clark and shattering. Stunned, he looked at Clark who grabbed him by his jacket. Clark smiled at the woman before throwing the man straight upwards.

"Excuse me a moment…"

The woman could only stare as Clark flew into the air, catching him and holding him high above the city.

"You shouldn't be threatening women like that. Now we're gonna go to the police and you're going to get some help…"

The train rumbled on through the night. A runaway, moving faster and faster. The driver knew the route like the back of his hand, and he knew here was a bend coming up and at this speed the train would go right off the track and fall into the forest below. He tried everything, but it just wouldn't slow down.

The passengers were holding on for dear life, looking out the windows, not knowing what to do. Suddenly, something blue, just a blur, whizzed past them. Clark flew alongside the train, moving to the front carriage. Looking down, he ignited his heat vision, melting through the metal couplings separating the carriages from the engine. With nothing pulling them forward, the carriages began to slow down. Clark flew ahead in a burst of speed as the engine ploughed forward, going off the tracks and began falling into the trees below.

Then it was rising again, being held by Clark with one hand. As the carriages slowed, Clark extended his other hand, stopping them gently and pushing them backwards along the track away from danger.

The passengers quickly got off, watching as he laid the engine down, cutting the power before flying off. They cheered, not knowing who he was, but grateful to him always.

Kal-El flew high into the air, stopping in the upper atmosphere, his eyes closed. He listened, filtering out random sounds, trying to pick up voices and noises that would signify danger. He began to fly again, circling the globe, still listening.

As the night went on, reports began coming in from all over the country of a man in a blue costume saving people from disaster. Soon these reports spread across the planet as Clark flew everywhere, helping where he could. As amateur footage of the dramatic plane rescue began showing on news channels all over the world, nobody was quite sure what to make of it.

Lex Luthor knew though. As he sat in his office watching the news reports, he knew instantly that this stranger was Kal-El. He allowed himself a little smile. Now that the alien had revealed himself, Lex could kill him and gain all the technology he would require to bring a new order to Earth. For now though he had something else to worry about, Zod was on his way Lex knew that controlling him would be difficult.

Putting it out of his mind, Luthor began implementing a plan to draw out the alien who was saving people across the globe, ringing through to his secretary.

"Yes Mr. Luthor?"

"Get John Corben in here. Tell him I have a mission for him."

By the time Lois Lane got back to the Daily Planet, the world knew of the stranger's existence. She sat down to write about her experience, saved by Superman, as she called him. All over the offices, TV monitors showed news channels from across the globe reporting on the strange events as the man in the red cape flew around. Lois drew on this, writing the article of her life.

She considered phoning Clark, but she figured that going solo on this story was the best for her, after all this was her chance to be the biggest reporter at the Planet.

Clark flew all night. As he used his powers more and more he felt himself getting slightly weaker so he flew above the planet, orbiting until the light from the sun shone on him, replenishing his strength and powers to full capacity.

It was midday in England; flying across the sky he noticed the city of London, a construction site. It was Wembley Stadium. As they worked, no one saw the arch above the stadium begin to shake in the wind, rattling as its supports gave way. The large metal arch began to fall.

As the workers looked up, trying to protect themselves with their hands, they saw a blur, and then the arch was rising again, being lifted by Kal-El. As he put it back into its position, he used extensive and focussed beams of heat to weld the arch into place, making sure it was secure before flying off into the distance.

In St. Peter's Square at the Vatican in Rome, the Pope walked among a crowd of people, blessing them, shaking their hands, completely unaware of the danger to his life as a lone gunman watched on a roof through the scope of a sniper rifle, loaded and ready to fire. He waited and waited until he got a clear sight of his target.

The Pope waved, turning to greet the people gathered in the square. There was a bang as the bullet sped through the air, heading straight for his head. Everyone heard the bang and ducked, except for the Pope who was stunned as he saw a hand in front of his face, open and holding a bullet.

He smiled, handing the bullet to a Swiss guard befre taking off to aprehend the shooter.

Metropolis:

Clark Kent waited in the office of Perry White as Lois read out her first draft of the article she was writing.

"The world is going to hell, the human race has lost hope and needs to be a saved. Well look no furter...this looks like a job for Superman...Fas..."

"Hold on...I'm still not sure I like Superman...I mean the Times is calling him the Caped Wonder, in London they're calling him The Man of Steel...and the best we have is Superman?"

"Chief...the guy's got a big red S on his chest..."

"Ok...we'll stick with Superman for now..."

"Anyways..." Lois continued to read out her story, " Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive..."

"Locomotive? Too 1940's...change that to Freight train, or tank...yeah more powerful than a tank..."

"Right ok Chief...where was I? Oh yeah...Leaping tall buildings in a single bound...today, the world saw the coming of a saviour..."

"Scratch that Lois...saviour is too religious...he's a...a...a hero...no wait...a superhero...Superman, the superhero..."

Clark grinned to himself. The name Superman was beginning to sound good to him. As Lois read out the rest of the article, detailing the plane rescue and the sightings from all over the world, Clark realised that there was no turning back. The world knew he existed now. Before he went to work he had phoned his mother, who was filled with pride for her son.

He didn't know what was going to happen next and as the latest issue of the Daily Planet went on sale, joined by other newspapers with different perspectives on the events of the previous night, he knew that his life was never going to be normal.

As the day went on, Clark began working with Lois on figuring out who Superman was, coming up with theories on who he was and where he came from. Clark knew that eventually he would need to give the world the answers to these questions but he didn't know how to do it without raising suspicions that Clark Kent and the Caped Wonder were the same person.

His thought were interupted though by a breaking news story on the television, showing live coverage of a police chase through Metropolis. Before he knew what was happening, Lois was grabbibg him by the arm, almost dragging him to the elevator.

"Come on Clark, we have to get down there...maybe you know who will show up."

"Maybe he will ...but it's too dangerous Lois. You could get hurt."

"Show some backbone Clark...have you never done anything risky?"

"I...um ate a hot dog at a ball game once..." Clark joked..

Lois laughed a little as the elevator doors opened and they walked outside of the iconic building. Clark knew he had to get away.

"Um...we should get Jimmy to get some photos...you go on ahead and I'll follow."

Lois just nodded her head, in an obvious rush as she walked i nto the middle of the road, forcing a taxi to stop just inches from her. As she climbed in, she looked around, not seeing Clark anywhere, presuming that he had gone back inside the building.

In fact, Clark was running down a side alley, ripping his shirt as his clothes transformed into a cape until he was in his new costume, taking off into the air. Some called him the Man of Steel, some called him the Caped Wonder, but by far the most popular name was Superman. Clark hovered high above the city streets, his eyes searching, his ears listening. Then he heard it, sirens, car engines, gun shots. Zooming in on the location of the sound with his eyes, he paused to make sure then set off, straight down.

Four cars sped through Metropolis, weaving in and out of traffic. One of them was wreckless, dodging oncoming vehicles, shifting and swerving as it tried to avoid being caught by the three police cars following behind. Two men were inside, one laughing as he tried to maintain control of the car, the other leaning out the window, shooting back at the cops.

Above, news helicopters captured everything, beaming live pictures across the country and then as it was picked up through affiliates, the whole world was watching the chase.

The two thugs were enjoying the fame, undeterred by the police chasing them.

"Damn...I'm out of bullets..."

"Screw it...there's a turn off towards the harbor up ahead. If we make it there we can get on a boat and get out of here."

They looked ahead of them, the driver spinning the wheel left and right, speeding up and changing lanes. The police were not ready to take such risks though and had to slow down, giving the thugs a chance to get away. But then their moods changed. They saw him.

Clark was standing in front of them, his cape blowing in the wind, his arms crossed as he watched them. The road was clear at this point as Clark waited for their car to reach him.

"Crap...now what do we do?"

"We ram him."

"What? Are you crazy? Do you know what they say about this guy?"

"Look, do you wanna go to jail? Most of the stuff said about him is probably just stuff made up to sell newspapers."

"But..."

"It's either this or jail..."

Kal-El noticed that the car was speeding up and heading straight for him. A crowd of people had gathered aound, waiting to see what he was going to do, including Lois. She found Jimmy Olsen standing, taking pictures as the car approached Kal-El at even greater speed.

Clark focussed his eyes, looking directly at the front right tyre. His eyes burned as he sent a blast of heat towards the car, melting the rubber on the tyre, making the car unstable.

The car lost control, flipping and corkscrewing through the air, straight at Clark. The crowd gasped as he merely extended his hands, catching the car with ease. The entire world watched as Kal-El held the car over his head, tilting it slightly to look inside.

The two thugs stared through the windscreen, stunned. The driver took out his gun and pointed it straight at Clark and fired. The bullet shattered the glass and merely bounced off his chest. Clark grinned and shook his head as the police cars approached.

"If you want my advice, throw out your weapons and surrender peacefully."

The thugs stared at each other for a moment then back at Clark before throwing their guns out the window. As the cops approached, Clark let the car down gently.

"They're all yours officers."

"Thank you…um Superman."

Clark smiled, shaking the hand of one of the cops before turning, spotting Lois in the crowd. He walked over to her as the crowed cheered, hailing him as a hero.

"Hello Miss…Lane, right? From the plane…"

"Yeah…that's me…um what do I call you?"

"Well I read your article…Superman…?"

"Oh sorry about that…you never said a name…"

"It's alright…has a ring to it. And I do have a big red S on my chest after all…"

Lois looked at him as he smiled at her, realising that she had said the same thing earlier to Perry and Clark. Where was Clark anyway? He had gone to get Jimmy, who was already here, but no Clark. She stared at Kal-El, his face familiar to her. For an instant, she thought she saw Clark standing in front of her, but she dismissed it, laughing to herself.

"Is there something funny Miss Lane?"

"W…what? Oh no…look, the world wants to know about you. So how about an interview?"

"That's a good idea…tell you what…."

Clark stopped mid sentence, picking up a sound in the distance.

"I'm sorry, I have to go…excuse me…"

Then he was gone, Earth's new hero, flying across Metropolis as Lois looked on in awe. Superman. He bombed through the city, his eyes zooming in on a man in need of help, hanging from some scaffolding. His hand struggled to maintain it's grip until eventually it became too much.

He began to fall, gravity pulling him down as the ground got closer and closer. Then he felt something grab his hand. Looking up, he saw the Man of Steel, smiling, reassuring him as his descent slowed until his feet touched the ground gently. As the man turned to thank his saviour, he found that Clark was already gone, flying away into the sky.

Lois walked the streets of Metropolis, Jimmy Olsen at her side, heading back towards the Daily Planet. Ahead of her she saw a man in a long overcoat and glasses heading towards them.

"Clark?"

"Lois…Jimmy…" he seemed to be out of breath as he looked at Jimmy. "There you are…I thought you were at the Planet…"

"No I was on my way there when I saw the car chase on the news. I got some pretty cool pictures of Superman."

"S…Superman? Wow he was there?"

"Yeah Smallville…" Lois answered, "It was quite a show. It's a shame you missed it. You really need to catch up Clark, I've got another Superman story to write and you don't have anything on him yet…in fact you don't seem to have written anything at all in the last couple of days."

"I know…I've been busy…after all I can't go as fast as him…"

"Do I detect a note of jealousy Clark?"

They joked and laughed together as the walked back to the Daily Planet while coming up with ideas for a new article to follow up the first story on Superman. The world was embracing a new dawn, a new hero. There was hope for the people again as they began to believe that there were greater things for them to achieve as they watched Superman take flight. But they wanted to know who he was, where he came from and how he could do the amazing things he did and Lois Lane hoped that maybe she could get the answers.