Journal of a Superman

By S.P. Bley

The American Way

The security officer stood still by the embassy gates. Behind him, was the closest thing to friendly soil for miles. In front of him, was hostile terrain, permeated by terrorists and dogged members of warring fractions with in the country. This was Kasnia. A nation rifled with civil war for much of it's history, it was a land for the faint of heart.

"Hey, Captain," one of the other guards yelled, coming up to the man, "we have a van on the east side that…"

"I'm on it," the man said, walking around the concrete walls and spying a white van that had been stopped by several other guards. The senor officer approached, and looked into the window to see two Kasnian men.

"(State your business,)" he ordered in Kasnian, showing the men they had a common bond and didn't need to fear him.

"(We're hear from the monarchy,)" the driver stated.

"He says that the monarchy sent him," the captain spoke to his men, "can we get a confirmation on that."

"We did," a young red head informed, "he told us in English. We don't have any calls from the palace or any orders from the ambassador."

"Right," the captain noted, "(The king didn't tell us you were coming. Are you sure you're supposed to be here?)"

"(We weren't sent by the king,)" the passenger answered.

"(Out of the car,)" the officer ordered, drawling his weapon. The others followed suit, training their sights on the men, "(This will be your only warning, we will sho...)"

The captain didn't have time to finish as the van was engulfed in a fire ball. It quickly spread out as the world went black for the guards.


"Kasnian Prince Andre will be landing at Metropolis International Airport tomorrow," the TV announcer, "amid controversy over the recent attack of the United States Embassy in Kasnia, which claimed 12 lives and injured 90 more. Among his agenda are peace discussions and sight seeing."

"So," Susan said, putting a plate of pancakes down on the table, "you are going to come with me to this thing?"

"Mom, the guy is just de-planing," Mike observed, "I swear, if there was a big enough reason for it, they'd have a party for breathing."

"It's Mr. Luthor's party," the mother informed her two boys, "If you're dad was… well he would go and support his boss."

"Like that guy would care," Calvin noted.

"Excuse me," Susan yelled, "he's being very generous. We couldn't manage if we didn't have your father's paycheck."

A silence fell on the room as the boys looked at their meal. Susan looked at both of the boys, and took a bite of her own meal, "So glad you kids decided to come with me, it means a lot," She said, as if they agreed to do it in the pause of dialog, "Be ready by five." She ordered, picking up her finished plate and walking it to the kitchen. When she finished washing it, she walked back up stairs, at which point the boys put down their forks.

"Eating tainted food," Calvin remarks, "she is really good at guilting us."

"It's a new all time low," Mike added, "so are we allowed to bring friends?"

"You know how much mom had to RSVP for this?" Calvin asked, "She didn't. Luthor's personal secretary called us up and said we were going to be his personal guests."

"So we're his charity case of the year?"

"Yeah."


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P.S. 8

Mike sat at his computer starring at the coded message. He tapped his fingers on the keyboard as his gaze shifted down to the paper he had used to decode the message. It didn't make sense. His coded message was garbled still, and there was no way he could figure it out. He subtracted five letters from the original alphabet, but the new substitute was not making any sense. He minimized the window as the rest of the class began to file in for lab.

"What's that?" a dark skin boy with light brown hair asked, as he sat down beside Mike. He was pointing at Mike's failed cipher, and thankfully not the computer. Despite her pleas, he didn't reveal the contents of the first message to Kayla. Who would believe he was receiving coded e-mail from the question?

"Cipher," He said, "doesn't work."

"You mean you like a code?" The boy asked, "So you're a coder?"

"A what?"

"Person who writes his or her e-mails in ciphers because they believe the government is spying on them," He explained.

"Yeah," Mike said, following his cue, "just never heard of it."

"So what do you know that the government is after?" The kid asked.

"I'm personal friends with Superman," Mike declared. His face was serious for a few minutes until the other kid cracked a smile and laughed. Mike broke down as well, mostly because his joke worked so well. Other people pulled it off, why couldn't he?

"That was good," the boy said between gasps for air, "I'm Connor. Connor Irons. I'm new."

"Mike Lark," Mike said, extending his hand to shake, "so where are you from?"

"D.C.," the boy said, "Dad moved back to help the family business."

"Which is?"

"Don't know," Connor said, "government contracts and really top secrete stuff. He could tell me, but he would need to kill me."

"So, are you a coder?" Mike said, holding up the sheet of paper, trying to get the conversation back on track.

"No, I'm a kid," he said, "what do I have to hide? I know my far share of geeks though, I might be able to help. What's wrong?"

"I got the code, and the coded message, but they don't work."

"Then you don't have the code," Connor informed, "either you did something wrong, or your buddy thinks your friend Superman might be interested. What are you talking about anyway?"

"Stuff," Mike answered, "like aliens and junk."

"If you want more then aliens and Junk," Connor smiled, "you should hear some of the things my Grandpa John claims to have done."


"Come on, Cal," Cree said during the lunch break, smiling across the table as she pushed her hair out of her eyes, "how many times do you get to see the next in line for an entire country?"

"Isn't Bill a prince of something?" Calvin jokingly asked, "or is his last name just Prince? I told you I'd get the guy's John Hancock tonight. Why do you want to ditch school to see some guy walk off the plane?"

"Why worry about his John Hancock when I can try to get his real…"

"…Okay," Linda spoke up, "You are officially out of your mind. The guys already got a fiancé. You're suggesting creating a domestic affair."

"Wouldn't it be an international incident?" Calvin noted, catching the pun.

"So are we going?"

"No, we have English," he answered, "we can't hop across Metropolis to see someone who just hopped across the pond."

"We are just going over the Hamlet test," Linda noted, "maybe we can duck out."

"Calvin, If I was you and you were me, what would you want me to do?"

"Cut back on your pronouns," Calvin suggested, "I hate to say this, but the choice to stay is a to be or not to be. And I'm going to be."


"I can't believe you talked me into 'not to be'," Calvin yelled over the din of the crowd on the tarmac as the ground crew rolled up the stairs.

"Come on, you didn't want me to do anything to bad, right," Cree replied, yelling over several other people cheering as one of the men walked towards the door to open it.

"Besides," Linda interjected, "we need someone to hold the sign up while we look good." She tapped the orange paper poster lightly and smiled, "thank-you!"

"You two have boyfriends," Calvin roared, "one of whom is right behind you!"

"Here he comes," Cree noticed, "look someone's coming out of the plane…"

As the roar of the crowd swelled, Calvin's sensitive ears focused on an unusual sound. A distinct clicking of metal. He turned his head towards the source, and zoomed in on a man raising his arm above the crowd level as he pushed two girls out of the way.

"Hey," she screamed, then almost changing from anger to fear, yelled "Oh my God!" It was plane to Calvin what was in the mans hand: a distinctive fire arm.

The boy quickly dropped to the floor, and pulled off his shirt, revealing the 'S' emblem. As he rushed, crouched down at breakneck speeds, he unbuckled his jeans and rocketed through the crowd, which was now sidestepping away from the man. As his finger squeezed around the trigger, Calvin came in at from the side, and grabbed the weapon, and ripped the barrel off the handle. He tightened his grip, until the device couldn't handle the strain and blew up, the force contained in his fist.

"Alright," Superman said, reaching for the guy's shirt as the secrete service rushed a boy with long blonde hair out down the sealed off portion of the walkway, "time to go to…" The man's reaction was faster the Calvin had anticipated, and he found the man had a firm grip on his own arm. As he tried to free himself from the mans grip, he pulled his arm back, moving Superman with him, and giving Calvin his first thought that the man wasn't the normal everyday assasign.

The guy tossed the hero forward, as he turned on his heels and ran back into the crowd. Calvin crashed through a banister and skidded to a stop near the plane, unearthing portions of the pavement as he slowed. Superman quickly got up and took off over the crowds, looking for the man. After making two loops, with his vision, he couldn't see any sign of the man.


"I don't see Calvin anywhere," Cree said, as she looked at the people from the crowd who were waiting to go through the interrogation booths. Several were taking their time, but many were getting in and out quickly. But true to her statements, Calvin was no where to be seen.

"I'm sure he's around," Linda suggested, craning her neck as she feigned looking for the brown haired boy's location, "but I think it's safe to say that if any parents get any calls, we don't mention going together."

"Yeah," Cree agreed. After a few minutes of silence, she looked towards Linda, "are you and he. Have you ever been more then…"

"Huh?" Linda mumbled, "I mean no! No, Calvin's a nice guy, but not my type."

"What is your type then?"

"For now, something closer to his brother," Linda stated.

"Well damn."

"We're one big happy family," She joked, "you two seem to be hitting it…"

"We aren't."

"Do you mind if I ask why?"

"It's like right now," Cree motioned to the tents, "never there when he says he will. Always running out at the drop of a hat. And when we do get together, he always seems to have his head in the clouds."

"Trust me, that," Linda chuckled, "that is one way of putting it." As she spoke, her cellphone went off. She looked at the caller ID: "S". She looked back at the other girl and smiled, "Sorry, It's my bro."

"Sure," Cree replied.

"Hey Derek," Linda yelled into the phone, "What's up?"

"Lin," Calvin's voice replied, "I've been searching. No sign of the dude. Are you covering?"

"Mom never knew," Linda answered in their own special code, "how's the GF?"

"I haven't told Mom I'm running late," he responded, "She's going to go '09 on me."

"Aw, I liked her," Linda sweetly said, "do you want to talk about it later?"

"I need to get to home so I can go look like an evil CEOs charity case, of course I'd love to talk about it later!"

"Later's good, I'm here with Calvin's girlfriend," She replied, "we're waiting for him to get out of interrogation."

"Can I call back in a few and we not pretend?"

"Okay, Derek, I love you too," She finished before adding, "there are always more fish in the sea."

"That's cold," Calvin observed, as he ended the connection.


"Really, Calvin, you knew this was important!" His mother shrieked as they piled into the car a full fifteen minutes after the time they were supposed to leave. "If you make us look bad in front of the President…"

"Mom, two hours after Lex introduces us, he'll be talking business with that Prince Andre," Calvin retorted, "and we'll be told by some one who has never met us of how sorry they feel for us."

"Calvin, a recommendation from one of these sets you for life," Susan informed.

"Don't worry; it will be like I'm not me."

"Between the booze and the politics, its unlikely any one there will be themselves," Mike muttered under his breath, forcing his older brother to snicker slightly.

The car drove through maddening amounts of traffic until they came to the twin towers of the LuthorCorp offices. It wasn't the sight of the party, rather, where they were going to meet Lex so that they could all go to the party. The Limo drove, once again, through sickening traffic, made more so because the bald man insisted on teaching the brothers how to behave in a political environment such as this, and then how he didn't think it was wise to bring the children.

The car pulled out of the tunnels and drove down the darkening streets to a very large home on St. Martin's Island. It was much larger then Lana's place, which they passed almost twenty minutes previously. It was almost like a mix of ancient Roman and Modern, with people milling around on the front steps with cameras trained on the many different people who were exiting various cars.

When it came there turn, the four of them exited the limo and walked down a red carpet amid flashing of bulbs and lights. Calvin had to admit that if it was the old Superman, he would have been on the other side taking notes. He adjusted his own glasses as he walked up the stairs into a large foyer with a large crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling over several guests who were talking outside the main party room.

"Susan," A woman's voice called out, "Susan how have you been!"

"Oh my God, Emily," Susan replied, "You look great. Are the kids here?"

"Well, you know Morris. 'Miserable little animals will cost me an election one day.'" She said, imitating the distinctive voice of Morris Carter, the present Mayor of Metropolis. Calvin had to believe there was some truth to the statement. "But it's good that you could bring your crew. How did you get…"

"Lex invited us," Susan dignitly informed her friend.

"Oh," Emily replied.

"Hey," the real speaker of the distinctive voice bellowed, "hey it's my DA. Susan, how are you doing?"

"Very well," She informed the man.

"You look well," Morris observed, "I am really sorry for your…"

"Morris do me a favor," Susan pleaded in a low, "I'm here as a guest of Luthor's. I'll be hearing that plenty from people who don't know me. I don't want yours to sound like all the other fake ones."

"Sure thing," he said, "I need to go speak with some important people inside the main hall, so we'll be going."

"I'm sure I'll see you around," Susan reminded.

"If you need anything, Sue…"

"I'll ask, I know." She smiled. Morris and Emily walked off as the mother turned to her boys. She opened the purse, and rummaged for something, "That kids, is how you hate people in politics."

"What are you looking for, Mom?" Mike asked. She pulled her fist out and closed the bag. She made an underhanded toss to Calvin, who caught the item, which made a small, metal clink.

"You're driving home tonight," She calmly stated, "I know I'll take up the first person to offer me a drink."


"So how does someone get a gun past security?" Mike asked. The boys had taken to a corner of the party and were relatively alone from the rest of the people who were milling around. There topic was, of course, the subject on everyone else's mind: Who was the gun-man at the airport?

"Beats me," Calvin remarked, "inside job, or something like that. He got away quickly too, like there was a place he was supposed to be after the attempt."

"Like a trap door or something?"

"Could be. I don't know, he just seemed like he knew what he was doing a lot more then I did."

"And let's not for get that he wiped the floor with you," Mike reminded, "I really want that video."

"Yeah, if he could do that, why shoot?"

"So, where is this guy we're supposed to be honoring?"

Calvin turned his head around the room, his eyes looking through around people until they came to rest on another blonde boy, talking with Lex Luthor and a politician that he recognized from the television. "Over, there," Calvin noted, "talking to the king of…"

"Mr. Lark?" a man asked, walking through the crowd. He had silver hair and a very distinctive pair of glasses that looked almost like green work glasses, "Agent David Bennett, NSA. I would like a word with you."

"Which one, sir?" Mike asked, smiling somewhat, "Two brothers and a father. You need to be a bit more specific."

"Which ever one seizes up faster then a cheap engine when around green rocks," Bennett informed, "I'm interested in speaking to that one. Alone."

Calvin got up and looked to his brother and got up. The man escorted the boy to the balcony of outside the main party room, grabbing a glass of Champaign on the way out. He did not talk until they were out on the deck alone. "Mr. Lark, I want to thank you for what you've done," the man said, "you know the first Superman stood for the same thing that my department stands for: Truth, Justice, and The American Way."

"I'm not related to the first one," Calvin noted, "I'm just doing my part. Honoring a memory and…"

"I read you're file," Bennett coldly stated, "I know what you stand for."

"Agent Ryder told me my file was closed."

"Agent Ryder left last Tuesday," Bennett informed, clearly trying to change the subject. "Anyway, Superman stood for a lot of things my department does. We don't like to see Americans die. I really appreciate your help with that…"


Mike reclined slightly in his chair, fiddling some kind of entrée that he had taken from a good looking waitress. He looked over to where the man was talking to Calvin, and then over to the various people in the party. The doors opened for a late arrival, who looked very stoic. Mike thought he recognized the man from this distance. The man just stood and surveyed the room for a little bit.

After he looked over the party goers, the man walked entirely across the room towards the bathroom, by the young boys table. He smiled at the kid and walked in.

"Who do you suppose that is?" Emily asked at the far end of the room, both her and Susan wondering about the mysterious man who had arrived so late.

"He isn't from the city, I would probably recognize him."

"Me too."


"…So I want you to know that the remarks one of our field agents made will be stricken ASAP." Bennett finished telling the boy.

"What remarks?" Calvin asked, not sure what the NSA man was talking about.

"One of agents deemed you a possible risk to National Security after you interfered with one of his assignments," the man informed, "It was a complete misunderstanding, so as soon as I can, I'll remove your threat status."

"Misunderstanding how?"

"The incident earlier today at the airport," Bennett explained, "you were doing you're part, and it got in the way of a few agents."

"I was saving a foreign diplomat's life," Calvin retorted, "how was I interfering. You just said, we were on the same side."

"We want you to stay out of it. Until we get this guy," Bennett noted, "We don't want starting something that could escalate into an international incident."


"Susan, I see that you've met the mayor's wife," Lex said as he approached the two women.

"Oh, we've met before," Emily smiled, "Sue and I were roommates back at Met U."

"Is that so?"

"Hey Lex," Susan interrupted, "We have a little argument that needs to be settled. Who is that man that just came in? Emily and I are having a little debate on who he's with, since he's all alone."

"What man?"

"The guy who just walked in. Five minutes ago. He went to the bathroom, and hasn't come out."

Lex took out his cell phone and hit a speed dial. He waited for a few minutes until he got an answer.

"I've got a mouse infestation down stairs," he stated quickly, and then hung up and began to turn away.

"Lex," Emily said, "Who was it?"

"Taking into consideration that all the guests have been present for a full half hour, I don't know," Lex said as he walked towards the bathroom, "but I will find out." Michael looked up as the bald man approached. Feet from the door, the man walked out, clutching a gun in his hand.


"How could I cause an international incident if I was saving someone's life," Calvin asked.

"Trust me on this," David answered, "it would be very bad if you were involved."

"Bad how?"

"I'm not at liberty to say," Bennett declared, "Calvin, will you please promise you won't get involved in these situations? Legally, you are a minor, and I must direct you not to take…"

CRASH! Calvin lept to his feet as his eyes switching to an infrared spectrum and looked into the room. He saw a very warm body hit the limp on the floor as a cold body held its right arm out, as if ready to fire a gun into the crowd.

"Excuse me," Calvin said as he began to pull off his tux.

"Do you understand what I asked you to do?"

"You're asking me if I understand that an agent of my country asked me to stand down while innocent lives are in danger?" Calvin asked, pulling off the final piece, "Yeah, I do. But that isn't the same as complying."

"You are not getting involved in this," Ryder yelled.

"I'd like to see you stop me," Calvin told him in his Superman voice. He quickly turned and rushed into the room as the weapon discharge a bright light of plasma. In almost an instant, the boy raced into the projectile's trajectory, stopping the luminous blast with his bare hand. The assassin fired several more shots at the obstruction to his target. Superman stopped each blast, approaching the man, with every stopped shot. He finally got close enough and reached for the weapon, ripping it apart.

Needless to say, the assassin was not pleased. He grabbed the hero and through him across the room. He then ran towards the boy, landing a hard kick to Calvin's side upon arriving. The brown haired boy landed again, and was almost instantly picked up by the man, and tossed through the wall.

The man turned to the room and ran for the prince. Calvin looked through the whole he had made as his eyes were illuminated by bright red light. Twin heat beams erupted form his gaze, and collided with the man. Much as the night proved already, this guy shrugged off the attack and continued for his target. With his eyes still focused on the man, he rushed in between the dignitary and continued firing. Both the superhero and the prince backed away as the assassin continued to shrug off the heat blast, silently approaching the two boys until it grabbed Superman's face, silencing the beams, and slammed him into the polished wood floor with a sickening crack.

The man stepped over the blue and red clad hero and continued for the prince. As his hands reached out, his body fought against a force containing him to his spot. The man turned his head and looked to see the child that was interrupting him pulling his leg back. Before the assassin could do anything, he was tossed across the room through another wall. Calvin looked into the crack, and saw something horrifying

"He is flying," Andre screamed behind the hero, "He is fly…" Before he could begin to panic, He was picked up by Superman, who proceeded to rocket out of the window and into the night air, followed shortly by the man, who had acquired another weapon and was proceeding to fire it at the two boys.

Calvin proceeded to weave between the plasma discharges, trying to cut location down to a minimum.

"So, are you with ze zecret zervice?" The Kasian prince asked as a bolt lanced across his protector's back.

"No," Calvin admitted.

"Then you are breaking ze law," He advised, "I am not zupposed to leave my…"

"Look," Calvin interrupted in his Superman voice, "I'm one of the strongest heroes in the world. I'm barely doing a good job at keeping you alive."

"Just for ze record," Andre hollard, "what is your idea of a 'good job'?"

"You're still breathing," Superman replied, as they flew towards a bridge to New Troy, "Do you get airsick?"

"Yez, I'm very…"

"Good," Calvin interrupted, quickly diving towards the bay as the dignitary screamed. He leveled off only feet from the water and looked back at the assassin, who was following a much slower maneuver. Superman began to swerve to avoid shots until he passed under the first bridge, at which point, he made a rapid change in direction and proceeded to fly straight up. He crested over the tower of the suspension bridge and did a quick barrel roll, diving until he was above only inches above several cars, weaving out of the way as trucks and shots dictated. As the bridge ended, he curved for the decent to the underside of New Troy, hoping his opponent wasn't as quick as the last light from the buildings faded to an illuminated street underground.

"Vhat are you doing?" Andre yelled as Calvin rounded a corner at a sharp angle. The hero looked back to see the man still following, although he was taking wider turns.

"He's loosing control on his turns," Superman explained as he made a split decision, maneuvering very close to a large truck and flying down the stretch of tunnel. As the truck rounded the corner, the pursuer overshot his turn, coming out closer to the opposite side of the street below Calvin and Andre. He pulled out his weapon as Calvin took another left twist, causing a large explosion to erupt in the wall that was in front of them seconds before. The man nearly struck the wall as he tried to turn and fire another shot. This one struck a tanker truck, which erupted into a giant fireball in front of the fleeing.

With a deep breath, a blast of cold air erupted from Calvin's lips, suppressing the flames in a cloud of steam that blew out of the way as he quickly flew through it and rapidly turning right. As the man blasted through the mist, he made a grave calculation and smacked himself into the wall of the tunnel. Superman and Andre looked back to see the assassin push a large chunk of debris out of the crater and look towards them. As he took off, Calvin rounded another corner and quickly flew down yet another before the man had any idea which way they went.

"Is he gone?" Andre asked as Calvin looked back with his x-ray vision and saw the man taking off. More importantly, he saw that it wasn't a man, but a machine of some sort.

"Yeah, he's leaving," Superman said as he approached an exit and turned around for the expensive hotel Andre was staying at.

"Vhat a rush," Andre said, the color slowly returning to his pale cheeks, "Vhen ve land, can I get you're autograph?"

"I was going to ask the same thing," Calvin replied as he approached the tower.


"Sir," one of the secret service members called out to Agent Bennett, "our men lost sight of Superman and Andre."

"Okay, call them back and get ready to do a city wide search," David ordered as he stepped out from under the police tap, "don't talk to anyone in the media until I see them both."

"Sir," Susan yelled, waving her arms to get the agents attention, "have you seen my son?"

"Kid with brown hair," Mike added, "you were talking with him before the attack."

"I'm sure he's in this mess looking for you," David said, the three unaware that something flew overhead, "Everyone is out of the house, we searched it thoroughly."

"Agent Bennett," another man came running up, "Andre just arrived at his hotel."

"Thank-you, West" Bennett yelled, "Tell Kyleson I want the prince on lock down. No one gets in and no one gets out. Load Kryptonite bullets if it means deterring someone."

"Mom," Calvin yelled, tux back on and looking just as nice as anyone else in the crowd, "I've been looking for you guys. Are we leaving soon?"

"Luthor's got some business with the feds," Mike replied, distracting their mother from the glare that David was now giving the boy, "but his secretary assistant person will be taking us back if the feds are through with you." They all looked at Bennett, whose cold face was replaced with one of indifference.

"Did you see anything out of the ordinary, son?" Bennett asked.

"I was with you when it happened," Calvin reminded, "we were talking about the investigation from the first one, so I was effectively distracted from the whole thing, remember?" Bennett looked very angry at this reminder.

"Yeah," the NSA agent replied, "you and your family can go Ms. Lark. If there's something that comes up, I'll let you know."


"So, he isn't real?" Linda asked.

"I believe the man said he is a robot," Mike joked, "that's plenty real."

"Okay, he isn't human," Linda corrected.

"No," Calvin answered, concentrating on thinking about the situation, "It was a completely different guy, but I bet the man at the airport would have been if I x-rayed him."

"Well how does that get past security?" Linda wondered, "The guns alone would have set something off."

"That's what I thought," Calvin replied, "but what I'm more interested in is whose controlling it."

"Sorry?" Mike said, looking somewhat confused.

"Ever hear of robots that can think for themselves?" Calvin asked, "Cause I haven't."

"Cyborgs?" Linda suggested.

"Or that Zeta thingy that people claim the government is hiding," Mike reminded.

"You guys talking about the IU Zeta Projects?" another voice asked, as Linda and Calvin turned there heads to see a dark skinned boy with short, curly brown hair, "Do you mind if I sit with you Mike?"

"Go ahead Connor," Mike asked, "Is that what they called those things? IU Zetas? The ones that had the holograms and killed people?"

"Until the one got away and effectively turned public opinion against them," Connor asked, "Yeah. Those are the ones."

"Why would the government do that?" Linda asked.

"Simple," Connor noted, "give them a target to kill. They kill it, get put on trial, and are executed. The "body" is buried, and the government gets another solider to deploy. Eliminates a deadly target AND no man power put on the line."

"But the government discontinued the Zeta project after the exposure incidents," Mike added, "so Calvin, if you think Superman fought one of those last night, they haven't been in use since the late 50s."

"Why would they retire the SR-71?" Connor asked.

"The what?" Mike replied.

"One of the fastest planes in the history of the world," Linda answered, "was able to make a transcontinental flight in less than two hours."

"Cause in 2070, we have planes that can do it in less then an hour and a half," Mike answered, "that's at least 10 years further advanced then that one."

"SR-71 was made in the 1970s," Linda noted, "it was retired in the 90s."

"Okay, I give," Mike admitted, "why did they do that?"

"Only one reason," Connor smiled, "we had something better. And I assume that classified planes today are almost better then the de-classified planes."

"Stories point?" Calvin asked.

"We have a better robot," Connor suggested, "Its referred to as the IU Omnicron online. Apperently, it is better at mimicking human emotions then the Zeta series and acts as a Super-killer. You know, it can handle people with powers."

"Explains why this guy could stand up to Superman," Linda mused.

"Why would we want to kill a guy entering peace talks?" Mike asked.

"Could be rogue agents with one of these," Calvin noted. Connor nodded.

"It's possible."


"Calvin," Cree yelled later in the day in front of a classroom, running up to the boy and giving him a hug, "I'm glad to see you."

"Me too," he said as he approached the girl, "I have something for you." He reached into his book bag and pulled out a small piece of paper and gave it to her. Cree took the item and unfolded it and looked at the writing scrawled on it:

To Cree,

You have an amazing friend,

Prince Andre of Kasnia IX

She looked from the message back to Calvin and then back down again.

"What's this?" Cree asked, holding up the message.

"An autograph from Andre," Calvin explained, "I thought you wanted it."

"How did you get it?"

"I walked up to the guy at the party and asked him for it," Calvin explained, as if it was obvious that anyone should know that.

"You told us you were asked to stay for further questioning," Cree accused, "because you were close to the shooter."

"I was," Calvin noted, "and I had to get home so I wouldn't be late to the party."

"If you were held, how'd you make before the second attack?" Cree questioned. Calvin tried to hid the answer but couldn't come up with any positive response. "Where were you Calvin?"

"I was in the questioning, then I went to the party and…"

"You got from the airport in Bakerline, to Queensland Park, which is on the other side of the city," Cree began listing off, "to New Troy and then St. Martin's Island? Calvin, is this even real?"

"The autograph is real," Calvin protested, "I got it at the party."

"Are you like, James Bond with a tux under your jeans?"

"No, we just got there quickly and…"

"Calvin, I want the truth," She stated, "were you at the party?"

"Do you want the truth as I'm going to tell it," Calvin asked, "or as you want to hear it?"

She glared coldly at him, crumpled the paper into her pocket, and stormed off. Calvin was certain that this was the beginning of bad things.


"So you think she's upset at you?" Linda asked as they walked into Calvin's house and up the stairs.

"Pretty much," Calvin noted, "I didn't think that she would put two and two together."

"Tough break," Linda noted as the bed room door opened to reveal Mike at the computer, "What are you looking at, kiddo?"

Mike jumped and hastily fidgeted with the mouse as the other two approached, "Found something Cal might like," He said as he showed them a picture of two ring like devices.

"ISO Diagravitational Rings," Linda read, "my cousin has a pair of those. Helps with AIDS."

"I think I met a girl with a set," Calvin mentioned as he read about their use to block all matter, making a bubble for people with compromised immune systems, "why are we looking at this?"

"Because of this," Mike explained, scrolling down to a segment that read "Military Applications". "In 2054, one of the designers was able to boost the power, proving it as an effective offensive and defensive weapon. However, he was stopped by Batman, and the company, Wayne Corp, refused to mass produce the juiced up version."

"So what?"

"The problem in the system was sound," Mike continued, "Audio weapons have been common, so the design flaws that amplify sound would prove more fatal. But for a robot that could handle an increased sound was equipped, then it could repel any matter. Even Super-matter." Mike looked towards the brown haired boy at the final sentence.

"Meaning that if Calvin takes him at super-sonic speeds…"

"I could cause damage to the unit," Calvin finished.

"But the government involvement," Linda asked, "what about…"

"They don't matter," Calvin concluded as he took off his glasses and revealed the S shield and ran out of the room.

"So," Linda began as soon as the older brother was gone, "where you looking at porn when we came in?"

"No," Mike defensivly retorted.

"Then what were you looking at?"

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"Sure," Linda answered as Mike opened up the window he was looking at. A field of garbled letters lay in the message, followed by a bolded question mark.

"I think its from some one related to that Question guy," Mike explained, "its coded, but I think I did something wrong."

"Why have you been talking to this guy?" Linda asked.

"He's been helping to figure out where Dad is."

"Sure?"

"Why else would he contact me?"

"Who knows," Linda speculated, "but if the cops haven't found your dad, what's someone who spends most of his time e-mailing you gonna do?"


Calvin maneuvered through the sky and into the steel canyon of New Troy. Below him, people pointed up as the boy shot across down the streets. Taking a banking turn, Superman flew in the direction of the 5 star hotel he had previously visited the night before, slowing as he approached. He leveled off and touched down on the balcony of the penthouse suit. Before he could even announce his presence, the door slid open.

"Freeze, Superman," Bennett ordered, brandishing a gun towards the kid, "I told you to stay out of this."

"Where is Andre, Bennett?" Calvin demanded.

"That is none of your concern," The NSA agent informed.

"Considering he's got a robot that can look like anyone after him for the kill," Calvin retorted, "I'd say he'd welcome my help."

"If you don't leave," Bennett coldly announced, "I will shoot."

"Do you know how many bullets and lasers I've watched bounce off me? What good is that?"

"I'm packing Kryptonite ammo," David declared, "So I want you to fly off right now, and I won't have to prove how good of a marksman I am."

"Bennett, I'm trying to stop some group with a killer robot from killing a dignitary," Superman informed, "and you're holding a gun to me? Whose side are you really on?"

"America's side," Bennett quickly answered, "Protecting Truth, Justice, and the American Way. That's what you and I do. So let me do my part alone." At these words, something sparked in Calvin's mind. NSA made the original Zetas. To make the messiest of murders look like innocently random.

"You're not stopping the robot, are you?" Calvin asked. In a split second, the gun went off as a crude crystal like bullet emerged from the barrel, breaking as it left the weapon. Calvin moved quickly out of the trajectory and raced towards the Bennett, grabbing the gun and crushing it. Bennett's eyes widened as Calvin looked up. "Faster than a speeding bullet, remember?"

Superman's hand grabbed the Agent's shirt, lifted him off the ground, and tossed him through the glass window and into the penthouse. "I don't like being shot at, Bennett…"

"He funded the embassy explosion. He gave restitution money to the families of the bombers. He…"

"Where is he?" Calvin roared, his eyes glowing read with anger.

"Leaving for a peace talk. He's probably outside right…" BAM! David stopped as the boy turned towards the window. A loud shriek from the crowd echoed as Calvin rushed out and looked down, spying the body of a dead boy with blonde hair sprawled out on the ground as several Secret Service members pushed into the crowd. A quick x-ray of the crowd wasn't need as he watched the man run away, pushing people out of his way as he rushed down the streets.

In a blur of red and blue, Calvin flew off the balcony and down towards the machine, grabbing it and lifting it off the ground as the officers stopped and watched the two fly away. As Calvin broke threw a cloud bank, the robot began to struggle, tossing a fist towards the boys face. Calvin only glared as he began to pick up speed.

The first sonic boom came with quickly, causing Superman to lose his grip as the invisible shield rippled slightly. He continued to fly along with the robot, which was now pulling out a gun and discharging it directly into the boy's face. As the second boom came, louder than the first, Calvin returned fire with a blast of heat vision. The twin red beams bounced off the deforming shield as the boy picked up speed.

As the third boom came, the shield deformed enough that the heat vision broke through and seared apart the weapon. The machine finally dropped its holographic covering, revealing it's true self. It was shaped like a human's musculature, sliver in color with a few hints of open wire. Calvin noticed a belt like device around the androids waist. He recognized it on the girl in the hospital. The device was so close and so far away at the same time. Another sonic boom echoed as Superman dodged blows, from Omnicron's attempts to free himself. The few that landed did manage to hurt the hero as he continued to pick up speed.

With a deafening fifth sonic boom, the shield greatly deformed as electricity began to arc across the belt. Superman picked up speed as another boom echoed. The machine's shield fell completely, and the assassin fell towards earth. Calvin doubled around and shot towards it to capture the device. He grabbed the thing by the skeletal legs and arms and began pulling it apart. The metal strained and groaned as it ripped apart like aluminum foil. With a resound crack, the torso separated from the pelvis as cut wires sparked against the metal. The red eyes died as Calvin contemplated what he would do next. Dropping the remains in front of Bennett would not be a good idea, but odds were that Bennett already knew what he had done. There was only one other thing Calvin could think of doing.


The teen of tomorrow landed on the balcony of a large stone fortress in Eastern Europe. As he walked down the halls, he drew attention from several different people, all of whom spoke amongst themselves in a foreign language as the boy looked around.

One of the members walked up to him and shouted something in a dialect Calvin was unfamiliar with. He looked at the man and glared.

"I want to speak with the person in charge," Calvin ordered. The men and women looked around as he turned to another, "Does anyone here speak English?"

"I do," an elderly voice spoke. Calvin turned to see the old man who had just entered the hall addressing him, "who are you and what do you want?"

"I'm Superman," Calvin pointed out the obvious, "And I want to speak to the king or queen or who ever is in charge about Prince Andre."

"You are speaking to him," the man replied. Calvin's eyes widened as he held up a metallic silver object that he had been holding: the detached head of the assassin robot, looking very inhuman.

"I tried to protect your son," Calvin began, "I tried to but the guys running this thing got to him first."

"My son?"

"Was shot leaving the hotel in Metropolis earlier," Calvin informed as the man's eyes grew wide with horror, "they used this robot to pose as a bystander as he left."

"Who did this?" the ruler asked.

"I don't know who made the call," Calvin confessed, "but the robot was made and operated by the US government. I don't know who knew what, but they believed that he was involved in the embassy attack."

"And they killed him for this?"

"I am sorry, sir."

"Did they send you to kill me?"

"No, sir, I am just as shocked about this as you are," Calvin admitted, "but I figured that you would want to know the truth. I don't kill. You can do whatever you want. Declare war or whatever. It's out of my hands. You'd be justified." He turned and walked towards the balcony, leaving the same way that he came in.

"I spent a life time trying to bring Kasnia back into a good light with the United States," the king spoke, stopping Calvin as he turned to listen, "I condoned the attacks, I tried to establish peace. And they go and kill my son. People have gone to war for less. It would be justifiable, but that doesn't mean it is right. What would that bring to my work? King Gregory, peace maker until war was justified. I wanted to make peace with the Americans, and now I am being test: How much do I want that peace?"

"He was your son," Calvin replied, "You're just going to stand there and take it?"

"What can I do?" Gregory asked, "If I go to war, I will be hopelessly out gunned. At the very least, I can come out as the bigger man. That's all I really can do, isn't it?"

"I'm sorry for your loss, sir," Calvin replied, wishing to end the conversation. He quickly sped out towards the balcony and rocketed into the night sky.


"…arriving only seconds late, Superman grabbed the assassin and flew him east…"

Mike flipped the news channel on his laptop to another channel, flashing from the a male reporter to a female reporter.

"…Sources inside the palice have told us that the Metropolis hero deposited the remains of some type of robot…"

Again he changed the channel, switching from one news source to the other, listening to what each of the organizations were saying about the incident down town.

"…Several competent members described the machine as being akin to the now defunct Zeta Projects. NSA has refused to comment on the issue at this hour…"

"…The state department issued a warning to all Americans travelling within Kasnian borders. Tonight we are coming to you from neighboring…"

"Looks like someone's in trouble," Linda said in a sing-song voice.

"What makes you say that?" Mike asked, turning around to see her staring out the window.

"The large flying car that just landed," She answered as Mike leapt out of his seat to confirm the statement. True enough, a large black flying car was parked in the middle of the street, "Who on your street owns a flyer?"

"Nobody…" Mike paused as the doors opened and a man with silver grey hair stepped out of the car. "It's that guy from the party."

"Who?" Linda asked as the door bell rang.

"David Bennett," Mike answered as the pair left the top floor to answer it, "he's the guy who was talking with Cal when the assassin struck last night."

"Yeah, he's in trouble," Linda noted as Mike opened the door.

"May I help you?" He asked the man in front of him.

"Where is Calvin?"

"Out, why?"

"You know damn well why," Bennett declared.

"Why?" A voice asked from behind the grey haired man. The assembled group turned to see a brown haired boy with thick framed glasses, "What did I do? You're the ones who killed Andre."

"Don't try and pin blame on me, you started an international incident!"

"The incident started when you decided to kill someone."

"He was funding the people who bombed our embassy," Bennett yelled, "no more prince, no more funding."

"Do you have proof?"

"I'd better," David retorted, "your little stunt just cost your country years of intelligence gathering efforts used to keep us safe."

"Safe, by causing a panic in the streets?" Calvin asked as he walked towards the front door, "Let me know how that works for you. Are you going to arrest me?"

"What choice do I have?"

"Even during times where the people can't trust government," Calvin mused, "they still trust Superman. Seeing as how they are illegal, I did nothing wrong. In fact, that act thingy that protects a hero's identity would be in play. If you arrest me, you break another law. Hate to see you rot in jail more."

"Where, in fact, do your loyalties lie? That little stunt you pulled a few weeks ago where you trashed New Troy is…"

"Get off my property and don't come back until you get a warrant," Calvin interrupted in a low voice, after covering what distance was between the two in the blink of an eye, "I was cleared."

"Your basic plea was insanity," Bennett retorted as Cal walked back to the door, ushering Mike and Linda away from the man, "If you leave, you will be making a powerful enemy."

"With all due respect sir," Linda announced, breaking silence, "you'll be making a powerful enemy if you don't."

"Look up Cadmus, kiddies," the NSA agent ordered, "Repeating that part of history is not something you want to do." He walked back to his car and got inside. As it took off, Cal, Mike, and Linda all looked up at it, scowls on their faces.


I am not The Question, just a fan. Do you know what exactly his research detailed? Or what Company would be involved? There is no such thing as a stupid answer. Just a stupid question. The answer helps us to figure out what is the smart question.

"?"

P.S. 8

It took him a while to crack the code, but Mike finally got the reply. It had actually been him having fun with a digital cipher wheel he found. The code was not a turning the wheel back five lengths from the start, but from the previous cipher, thus making it a -2 from A. Or at least he thought after reading. When that part of the code didn't work, he turned the wheel so that a 2 from A, just in case and got it.

Of course he had to wonder what idiot would make a coding mistake like that and call himself or herself The Question? More importantly, this person was more than likely looking for an inside scoop to the case.

What do you really want? No tricks, No mistake codes. Here's my stupid question: Do you have anything that could help me find Dad? Or are you some guy behind your computer who is seeing connections that don't exist?

Mike hit the send button and then closed the laptop. He pushed his chair over to the window and looked outside at the sun setting. At the very least, he could figure out what this question person knew.


The wind blew through Calvin's hair as he hovered over the clouds, far above the towers of New Troy. He watched as the white fluff moved below him as he watched people drop flowers and other mementoes in front of the hotel. As various people walked past and reporters spoke of the events, Calvin turned around and flew south. His path took him close to the St. Martin's Island bridge before he heard his phone ringing. He flipped it open and saw Linda's name on the caller ID. He hit the send button and listened in.

"Where are you?" Linda's voice called out from the speaker.

"Just clearing my head," Calvin answered as he hung in mid-air, "you know, the whole assassin thing is getting to me."

"Cal, you can't be everywhere," Linda reassured, "you at least tried, that's all that…"

"It's not that," Calvin interrupted, "Bennett tried to talk me down at the party. He didn't want me to get involved, and he justified his actions using something that hit close to home."

"What did he say?"

"He said he was doing the same thing I was: protecting Truth, Justice, and the American Way," Calvin stated, "And it got me thinking you know. That's his idea of the American Way. Quietly killing the person who he has a problem with. And he's with the American government. That's not where I stand though."

"You're right," Linda thought, "Ever think that he was wrong about the American way?"

"I know he is. It's just that he thinks he and I were supposed to work on the same sides. Defending America in the same way. He thought I would side wholly with the government. That is what the American Way is all about. I don't want a part of it. Every time I wear this suit though…"

"You're not going back to Kilojoule, are you?" Linda jokingly asked.

"Not really," Calvin replied, "It's just that this suit stands for those things and it's not what I stand for."

"It isn't "Truth, Justice, or the American Way", Cal. Bennett is only concerned with America's interests. You're concerned with what it stands for: the former two of the three parts. I've always thought that the statement was actually redundant. Truth and Justice are the American Way. That was what the people who founded America believed in, and it is an ideal that most citizens still believe in. What you did is exposed a lie and injustice about America. Now, we just hope the public see it as such vote the people responsible out of office. It's all about hope, something that, I was told in a speech a while back, Superman offers in abundance."


"Morris," Luthor said as he stood up from his desk, "I caught your speech earlier today."

"Is that why you called me to your office, Lex?" Morris asked as he walked through the doors, "because I've been very busy since this afternoon."

"If I wanted to say something about your speech alone," Luthor smiled as he walked towards the mayor, "I would have sent a card. No, I wanted to ask you something about what you said in your speech. About how you were disgusted with the assassination plot. I particularly liked how you said the president was now going against everything this country stood for. I wanted to know how adamant you felt about that."

"Very much, Mr. Luthor," Mayor Carter declared, "I wouldn't have said it otherwise."

"I was just wondering if you would be willing to take your career all the way," Luthor asked, "As a fellow Metropolitan, I would be more than willing to support a campaign for your presidency."

"Let's take baby steps, Lex."

"Why?" The bald man asked, "You are the mayor of one of the largest cities in the world. You are the leader of a nearly a quarter of the voting public already. And you'd only be in your first term as mayor."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Nothing, just that politicians generally have little scandles in the second term."

"What have you heard?" Carter quickly asked.

Lex smiled as he leaned forward to look the man in the eyes, a grin forming in his bald face.

"Nothing in particular," He answered, "but everyone has a skeleton in their closet. Most a small skeletons, but, when you're in the public, they tend to be much larger. Just do me a favor," He ordered as he pulled out a bright, glowing sphere from his coat pocket. Morris's eyes went into a blank stare as the light swirled around the room, "just think about my offer."

"Okay," the mayor said as he turned and walked towards the door. Lex smiled as the man walked out. Behind the bald CEO, a metallic silver thing, almost like a bubble, rose from the ground. It began to take shape, and formed into a human like blob of liquid metal. As Lex turned, the blob gained more human of appearance, taking on the visage of Calvin Lark, sans glasses.

"That's not in our plan," the Calvin-copy declared.

"No, Brainiac, it isn't." Lex asserted, "I am allowed to do business that is not of your concern. I do like to have a larger voice in politics then the less fortunate."

"Let's not forget," the boy said as his eyes flashed bright red, "who holds the power in this room."

"Yes, let's not," Lex retorted, grabbing the bright light, "let's not forget who made you double go against his will and attack an entire city. Let's not forget who's cloned an army of Superman that will obey his every word. Let's not forget who brought you here. As far as power goes, I am the one in this room who has the most. You are here because I need the information coded into those nanites of yours. If it wasn't for the added muscle you provide, you would be back in the box I brought you here in."

"And let's not forget whose failed attempt to create a super-human threat brought Superman back into this world," the machine reminded, "and how that mistake has undone many of your deepest laid plans."

"Superman is not a problem in the long run."

"You assume too much."

Before Lex had the time to fire back, Brainac ran out of the room in a blur, moving down several flights of stairs before stopping. He looked over his shoulders down the hall and then looked straight in front of him.

"Do you think he suspects anything?" He asked to no one in particular. As he finished his questions, his face contorted into a silver liquid metal and reformed into a metallic looking head with three nodes on a hairless forehead. The rest of his body reformed into a green and purple machine. "Negative," He answered his own question in a more monotone voice, "Lex is blinded by his own human ambitions. He will not see his error until it is too late."