Issue #6 – SAVING THE DAY

All across Metropolis, the Daily Planet was selling out as people rushed to read the second Superman article by Lois Lane. On the front page was a photograph taken by Jimmy Olsen of Superman holding a car above his head.

Meanwhile inside the Daily Planet building, on the top floor, Perry White was impatient, pacing back and forth in the conference room, surrounded by reporters.

"Ok people, thanks to Lois here the Daily Planet is flying off the shelves again. But it's not enough. Every news outfit in the country wants the scoop on this guy. Hell the whole world is trying to get the info on Superman…and we need to beat them to it."

Clark and Lois stood side by side, taking notes as Perry continued.

"…So what do we know about this guy? He's appeared all over the world right? But he's shown up here more than anywhere else. So does he live in Metropolis? Does he commute? How did he get those powers? Is he some government experiment? It's the big question people…Who Is Superman?"

"Um Chief…he did promise me an interview…"

"Well where is it Lois?"

"He kinda flew off before I could really ask him anything…"

"Well find him. I want you to take the lead on this story Lois, find out who he is and why he's here. Kent, you seem to be good at researching facts and figures…I want you to interview the people on the street, find out what they think…"

Perry was interrupted by a knock on the door as a young intern rushed in, holding a sheet of paper.

"Chief, this just came in from Central City…it's from the Flash, talking about Superman."

"Well what does it say?"

"Um…it can only be good for the world, after all he seems to be able to get to places that others like myself couldn't reach. If he's genuine then it's a good day…as for him being as fast as me…we'll have to find out someday…"

"That's it? Ok…Kent, work that into your story…What the world thinks of Superman…"

As the meeting finished, Lois was deep in thought, sitting at her desk trying to figure out a way to get Superman's attention. Everyone had their assignments, she had the hardest. She had wanted to be the top reporter at the Planet, now thanks to Superman, she was.

Across from her, Clark was looking through Internet message boards on his computer, reading comments from people around the world about Superman. Most of them were positive although he grimaced a little at a few of the comments. There was even an anti-Superman forum on the web although it didn't have many visitors.

As Clark concentrated on his assignment, his ears picked up the faint sounds of sirens in the distance. Focussing he listened to police radio chatter, immediately knowing that he needed to go. As he stood to leave, Lois noticed him.

"Where are you going Clark?"

"Oh…I just thought I'd um…go out for a bit and start getting comments from the people of Metropolis. These message boards are doing my head in."

Lois gave Clark a little smile as he began to walk out of the office towards the door. Thinking, she called after him.

"Hey Clark…bring me back a burger will you? Everything on it."

Clark looked back and nodded before leaving. Lois went back to concentrating on finding a way to get an interview with Superman as her stomach growled in hunger.

"Damn, I should have asked him to get me some fries…"

Clark made sure nobody was looking before going through fire doors and onto the stairwell. He ran at high speed up the stairs, pulling his shirt open and changing his clothes into the cape for his suit. By the time he reached the roof, mere seconds after leaving Lois, he was in his wearing his full costume, taking off across the city.

Police cars and SWAT vans parked outside City Hall as cops took cover, guns drawn. Inside, John Corben and a group of three mercenaries held guns at the mayor's head, along with his assistants. Corben looked out through the window, spotting the cops and smirking.

"Alright lads, keep an eye on the mayor here while I go plant the explosives. Our employer is paying us a lot of money and you've screwed up once, allowing them to trip the alarm…well anymore mistakes and I'll personally put a bullet through every one of you…"

Outside, the police captain waited, a woman in her mid forties. He SWAT commander was ready and waiting to take his team into the building, but she was reluctant to allow it, afraid of the possible loss of life. Her prayers were answered though as papers began to fly everywhere. She looked upwards, spotting Superman as he flew through the city, shifting his body to land on his feet next to her.

"Ma'am…what can I do?"

"I'm afraid there's nothing anyone can do Superman, not even you. They have hostages in there and if we go in they will start shooting."

Clark looked at the building, seeing through the walls and surveying the situation. Then he picked up some radio chatter coming from inside.

"…Ok boys, need a distraction here, start shooting…"

Superman set off immediately. He was a blur as he flew into the building. Everything seemed to slow down as he reached the mayors office, bullets almost hanging in mid air as he moved in front of them. When he came to a stop, his perspective changed to a normal speed as bullets flew across the room, bouncing off him.

Clark began to move his hands, catching bullet after bullet. Again things seemed to slow down for him, allowing him to move faster and faster as he grabbed each bullet, crushing them in his hands.

By the time the shooting stopped, Superman turned his hands, the bullets falling out, no longer solid pieces of metal, instead they were like grains of sand, crushed under the intense pressure in Superman's fists.

He mayor stood up, shaking Superman's hand as the SWAT team came in, arresting the mercenaries. Clark knew though that there was one left. He close his eyes as he listened for even the slightest sound of breathing, a heartbeat, anything. He looked down swiftly, his x-ray vision allowing him to see through wood, steel and concrete to the car park underneath. He was gone again in a blur, flying out of an open window, outside to ground level and back in to the car park.

John Corben, who was placing an explosive on one of the support pillars, confronted him.

Through a camera hidden in a wall, Lex Luthor watched, as Corben stood helpless while Superman removed the explosives scattered around the car park, rushing around at high speed. As Superman held the explosives, Luthor smiled and activated a remote detonator.

The bombs exploded in Superman's hands. Thinking quickly he wrapped his cape tightly around him, shielding the building from the blast. He was unharmed. Superman stared Corben down, extending his hand.

"I think you should give me that last bomb."

Corben looked around, trying to find a way to escape. He knew though that there was no way he could ever hope to outrun Superman.

"Alright…" he replied in a strong English accent, "I'll surrender…"

As Luthor watched from his office, he sighed to himself. He had no time for people that failed him. He looked at his monitor, surveying the situation as he flipped a switched that activated the last bomb.

Corben stared at the bomb in horror as the countdown timer stopped then beeped, exploding in his hands. The blast shook the building and Superman was forced to hold up a pillar to prevent it from collapsing as the explosion killed Corben in front of him. Kal-El bowed his head for a moment, then ensuring that the pillar was secure as paramedics rushed into the car park, too late to save Corben.

On the top floor of the LexCorp building, Luthor smiled to himself, content in the knowledge that Superman couldn't save Corben. As he sat back, relaxing, he was interrupted by his secretary, calling him on the intercom.

"Mr. Luthor…"

"Yes, what is it?"

"We've received confirmation from satellite tracking sir, a wormhole has opened and there is a ship coming through."

"Good, get my limo ready and tell my pilot to prepare the jet for take off. I will be at the airport in an hour."

"Yes sir…"

Luthor pondered the situation for a moment. Zod was on his way. Lex still wasn't convinced that it was a good idea to have him come to Earth. It was a risk, but one worth taking if it meant that Luthor would gain the means to control the world.

Lex Luthor waited as the sun set over the horizon. From space, a ship was descending rapidly through the clouds. Lex watched and waited as two beams of energy extended from the ship towards the ground, providing a stable landing field for the ship.

As the main hatch opened, General Zod walked out, spotting Lex then looking at the scenery around him.

"So this is Earth…not unlike Krypton."

Luthor approached, extending his hand. Zod just stared at him, his eyes glowing with fire for a moment.

"Lex Luthor…our mutual benefactor has sent you a sample of the power source…kryptonite. It is encased in the lead containers on the ship."

Luthor signalled to his bodyguards, who immediately began unloading the containers from Zod's ship, carrying them to Luthor's private jet and storing them in the cargo hold.

Minutes later, after storing the ship in an underground chamber at Lex's airbase, the jet was in the air, flying back to Metropolis. Zod and Luthor were sitting, facing each other. Lex was holding a small lead box as he conversed with Zod.

"So…care to tell me why you're here?"

"To uphold my right of vengeance and ensure that Kal-El is destroyed."

"I assure you Zod, I am more than capable of doing that myself, although I am curious as to how he gains his powers."

"Our species have evolved to a state where we absorb and burn energy in a more effective manner. Under the energy of a yellow sun, we become gods."

"Well Superman will fall from the grace of heaven soon enough…"

"Superman?"

"Yes. That's the name the people of Earth call him. He's quite the hero here…flying around saving everybody…it makes me sick."

"Well worry not, all heroes must die."

Lex smiled, looking out of the plane at the ground below. He was lost in thought for a moment. Superman was everything he wanted to be, powerful, respected, admired…and at the same time everything he hated, honourable, nice…but thanks to his silent partner, he would gain the means to destroy the Man of Steel. His thoughts were interrupted as Zod spoke again.

"Is the prototype ready for activation?"

"Almost, and I believe I have found a candidate for the transfer process. He's a criminal, no moral values…no emotional connections to anyone. Now that I have the power source, it should be ready soon."

Lex opened the lead box, taking out a piece of rock that emitted a green glow. He studied it for a moment, then noticing that Zod was backing away, his face pale and showing obvious signs of pain.

Lex watched Zod, intrigued. He brought the rock closer to Zod, who collapsed on the floor. Luthor smiled for a moment, suddenly realising the potential of the rock. He put it back in it's lead box and sealed it, waiting as Zod recovered slowly, getting back into his seat.

"This kryptonite…it hurts you…"

"Yes. It's a radioactive piece of Krypton, left over from its destruction. To humans, short term exposure is relatively harmless but because of the way Kryptonians absorb energy, it's poisonous…deadly to us…"

Luthor smiled again. He had his weapon, the means to destroy Superman and gain everything he desired.

"If a few seconds of indirect exposure causes you so much pain…then what will happen when Superman becomes saturated by it?"

"He will die…"

"Exactly."

Zod and Luthor grinned at each other for a moment, agreeing that Kal-El's time was almost up as the jet flew over across the night sky, the lights of Metropolis in the distance.

At the Daily Planet, Clark was just finishing up, getting ready to go home, having handed in his article to Perry White. As he prepared to leave, he saw Lois sitting at her desk, head in her hands.

"Uh, Lois, are you alright?"

"What? Oh Clark…yeah I'm fine. Just trying to figure out how to track down Superman for this interview."

"Well, he seems like a busy guy but I'm sure he'll show up sooner or later."

"Yeah…maybe I should drive a car off a cliff and hope that he comes to save me."

"I wouldn't recommend it. Besides you don't have a car."

Lois looked up, staring at Clark for a moment before laughing softly.

"Thanks Clark, I needed to laugh…are you heading out?"

"Yeah, just handed in my story. Tell you what, why don't you get your coat and let me take you out for a drink? You look like you need to relax."

"Yeah…I could use a drink…but I can't. If I don't get this interview before another paper gets the scoop, Perry will relegate me to the gossip column again."

"Are you sure? You look like you need to unwind."

"Yeah…Another time ok Clark."

"Ok, well I'll hold you to it."

They smiled at each other and talked for a few minutes before saying goodnight to each other as Clark left for home. Lois looked around the near empty room, spotting Perry in his office, speaking on the phone.

"Screw it…"

Lois shut down her computer, getting her coat, deciding that she really did need a drink. She went out through the office door, hoping to catch up with Clark. As she waited for the elevator, she saw the doors to the stairs leading to the roof.

"Oh what the hell."

Lois rushed to the stairwell, climbing the stairs and walking out onto the roof of the building. She looked up at the giant spinning globe for a moment before walking towards the edge, looking down on the street below.

"Ok flyboy…woman in distress here, come save me…"

Lois waited, standing on the edge. She waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, she gave up and turned to go off the ledge and go back inside.

"…Good evening Miss Lane…are you alright?"

Lois turned back around, surprised as she saw Superman, hovering a few feet away from her, a look of concern on his face.

"You know, jumping isn't the answer…"

"What…? Oh no I wasn't going to jump. I was waiting for you actually…it's about time you showed up."

"Well I'm sorry I couldn't be here sooner Miss Lane."

"No it's ok…and stop calling me Miss Lane. It's Lois.

"So what can I do for you…Lois?"

"Well you did promise me an interview"

"So I did…well why don't you get down from that ledge and we'll talk."

Lois smiled and turned to get down. As she moved, the heel in her shoe snapped and she fell backwards and off the building towards the pavement below. Superman immediately flew down after her, following her and catching her.

As Lois held on to him, he took her high into the air. Flying above the city.

"I want to show you something."

"Alright…"

Lois was wrapped in his cape, floating upwards into the night sky, rising above the clouds. She looked at Superman's face, studying his features as he concentrated on flying. She was amazed. Far below, ordinary people were going to sleep, or working nightshifts or going out to party. But Lois was in the sky, being held by a hero. He looked into her eyes.

"This is how I see the world Lois. No colours, races or creeds, just people. Up here above the clouds, I can hear them, all of them. Sometimes it's too much and I need to filter out the sounds."

"What do you hear?"

"Joy, laughter…pain, sorrow…there's so much potential in the human race…so much greatness. But there's a lot of anger and hatred as well."

"Is that why you're here? To stop hatred and war?"

"…Look at them down there Lois…I'm here to help…but I can't help all of them."

"Why do it then? Why even try?"

"Because the world needs something to lift them…to show them their potential…"

Lois didn't respond as she stared into his eyes. She was in danger of falling for him, then who wouldn't? Kal-El spun her around, dancing with her in the sky. For the first time in her life, Lois felt free. Looking up she could see the stars, with no veil of clouds covering them.

"Beautiful…"

For those brief moments, her hard edge disappeared. Years of ambition and striving to be the best didn't seem to matter as she floated with Superman. Her troubles disappeared. He seemed so strong, but at the same time gentle. Confident and self-assured but at the same time he had nobility. A prince among men.

Kal-El looked at Lois, wanting to tell her who he was. His mind repeated the words over and over…Lois, I'm Clark. But he couldn't. he knew that he had to keep it a secret.

He thought about the first time he met her, bumping into her at the Daily Planet. It was hard for him to believe that this same woman, who had been so rude to him when they first met, was now hanging on his every word, enjoying every minute with Clark…no, not Clark, Superman.

He sighed to himself for a moment. He was one person, showing two sides to his personality…and the world…Lois…could never know.

"Hey…are you ok?"

His thoughts were interrupted by Lois.

"Yeah…just thinking…I want you to feel what it's like to fly…no wires…"

"And how do I do that?"

"Do you trust me?"

Lois couldn't speak. She just nodded her head, bracing herself as Superman pushed her forward, letting go. Lois moved by herself across the sky, as gravity took hold and she started to go down.

Lois wasn't afraid though, she knew that Superman was there and soon he had her in his arms again, descending with her slowly. They flew through the city, watching cars go by on the roads, people walking the streets, unaware of the magic above their heads.

"Hey, that's my apartment over there." Lois stretched out her hand, pointing at a balcony.

Superman smiled, flying them across over a building, touching down on the balcony of Lois' apartment. Lois had her arm around Superman for a moment, not realising that they weren't flying anymore. In her mind they were still high above the clouds.

"Lois…are you ok?"

"Y…yeah…"

Superman smiled for a moment, before turning to fly away.

"Wait…where are you going? What about the interview?"

"Well you seem a little tired, you look like you need to rest. The interview can wait."

"No it can't. I'm fine. The world wants to know who you are. I…we need to know."

"Alright, if you're sure you're ok."

"I'm fine just let me get my tape recorder…"

They talked for an hour, with Superman telling Lois about Krypton and his powers. Everything…except of course, his secret identity. When he left, Lois played the entire interview back to herself, before setting to work on writing it down, knowing that she would need to trim it down.

She tried to pick the most important parts of the conversation for the interview, a very hard task considering that most of what he said was out of his world, beyond imagination.

When the early edition of the Daily Planet went out the next morning, in sold out within 20 minutes. TV stations all over the world bought the rights to read out the article. The planet was learning about Superman, it was everywhere. On the web, chat rooms were filled with people dissecting every little piece of information.

Lex Luthor was also reading the article. Behind him, scientists and doctors worked on the "Metal Man" project.

"…brain insertion complete…begin skin graft…"

Machines worked, building and putting the finishing touches on the metal body as Luthor watched from behind a glass screen, a copy of the Daily Planet in one hand and a glass of brandy in the other.

"…Ok…now insert kryptonite…and close the chest plate…begin electric run-through…"

John Corben opened his eyes and looked around. He was lying in a hospital bed. In the corner, he saw a figure looking back at him. He was bald, wearing a suit.

"Hello John…" It was Lex Luthor.

"W…what happened? Where am I?"

Luthor didn't answer for a moment. He stood up, staring out the window.

"…You died…well, your body did anyway. The explosive went off prematurely. Your body was broken, shattered beyond repair. Paramedics arrived and you were declared dead…"

"Then how…how am I here?"

"Your brain was still functioning, still had a spark of life. It's a miracle really. So my scientists transplanted your brain into a new cybernetic body…"

"Cyber…like a robot?"

"In a way…you are the first of your kind. Enhanced beyond human limitations…."

John Corben listened as Luthor told him of the changes. His metal body underneath his synthetic skin, the kryptonite heart. But there were also sacrifices. Corben could no longer feel anything. He felt no pain, he couldn't enjoy the taste of food, feel a woman's lips…smell the morning air.

"So you've turned me into a monster?"

"There may be a way to enhance you John, to give you back your senses. The person I'm working with…he created the technology to give you life again…he may be able to help you."

Corben stared at Luthor. He knew straight away that there was a price. Working as a mercenary, he knew that nothing came for free.

"Alright Luthor…what's the catch?"

"Kill Superman…"

Corben smiled. "Oh is that all? No problem."

He began to train, getting used to his new body, learning about its advantages as his mind learned to deal with not needing to breathe, or eat. His kryptonite heart became a weapon, harnessing the massive amounts of energy into a powerful beam that would annihilate Superman. As he grew more proficient with his body's abilities, he took a new name, Metallo.

Picking up Lex's newspaper, he read Lois Lane's article and laughed.

"Soon Superman, soon…"