The apartment was dim and silent as Chloe opened the door and stepped inside. "Clark?" she called out. There was no answer. Disappointedly, she gently closed the door and turned on the lights, illuminating the living room of her apartment.
"Clark?" she said again, but still there was no answer. She retrieved her phone from her purse before placing the purse on a small end table. She tapped a couple keys, speed dialing Clark's phone at his apartment. Unconsciously, she paced the floor as the phone began ringing.
After six rings Clark's voice mail picked. After Clark's greeting and the eventual beep, Chloe spoke into the phone, "Clark, when you get this, give me a call… Or just come over if you want. I hope you're doing all right."
She hit the disconnect button and snapped the phone shut. She sighed, putting her hand to her forehead, in worry. She knew he was probably someplace second guessing his decision earlier that day. Not in saving the plane, but wondering if he could have found a way to do it without revealing himself. There wasn't any way that she could think of and wanted to be able to say so.
Turning to place her phone on the end table next to her purse she happened to glance out onto the balcony of her apartment. A familiar shadow could be seen leaning on the railing and staring out over the city.
Trying not to hurry too much, she opened the sliding door and stepped out into the cool night air. Clark was still wearing the clothes he had on when he had saved the plane and his glasses were nowhere to be seen either. It was a look that she only saw occasionally, during private moments between the two of them. More often than not, Clark stayed in "costume" even if he would let his real personality show through.
"Clark," she said, approaching him.
He glanced back with a distant look on his face. "Sorry… I've just needed some time to think," he said.
She shook her head. "No, I understand. I'm sure you've been paying attention to the news from here?"
Clark nodded, turning his gaze back to the lights of Metropolis. "Among other things," he said. "I can't believe even the international news has been picking it up."
Chloe shrugged, "Well there were enough smart phones and camcorders running and camera shutters clicking that even the largest skeptic is having a hard time calling it a hoax. Are you doing OK?"
Clark nodded. "Better than I thought I would be doing."
"Really?" Chloe said skeptically as she put her arm around his waist. He returned the gesture, putting his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close.
"It's sort of cliché but it really does feel like the weight of my secret has been lightened. I know I still need to be careful but part of me is glad that it's no longer necessary to hide that side of me."
"Well, I'm glad you're handling it so well. And your disguise has definitely helped. If anyone from the Planet would have recognized you both our phones would be ringing non-stop."
"True, but I wonder if it's going to be enough, in the long run that is. Everyone is wondering who the "mystery" person who saved the plane is. Those pictures are going to be examined from every imaginable angle. It may be only a matter of time till someone does make the connection, unless we do something."
"What did you have in mind?" Chloe asked curiously.
"You're going to have to trust me on this," Clark said with a determined look that contained just a slight twinkle of mischief in his eyes.
The elevator dinged as the doors slid open, revealing an empty elevator. Chloe yawned, making a note to grab another cup of coffee soon, as she and Clark stepped onto the elevator. On reflex, both turned to face the closing doors as Clark hit the button that would take them to the main Daily Planet newsroom floor. The elevator began its long ascent up to the 60th floor of the Daily Planet Building.
"I can't believe Perry wanted us here on at 7am on a Sunday," Clark said. "I think everyone is over-reacting."
"You know that's not true. You're big news" Chloe said looking at him from the corner of her eye.
Clark nodded and sighed. "I just hope Perry doesn't take one look at the pictures and then at me and figure it all out."
"I think you'll be ok. You'd probably fool me if I didn't know you so well," she said. "I do like your new glasses, though," she snarked, just managing to keep from giggling.
Clark examined himself in the reflection of the door. The new lenses were so thick, they gave him an almost bug-eyed look. "I do look ridiculous," he said with a half smile, managing to sound surprisingly upbeat about it.
"No you don't," Chloe said. "You're still handsome. You just look very…"
"Careful," Clark said, smiling.
"I was going to say, 'very un-Superman like'. That is the point after all."
At the sound of the word Superman, Clark's face crinkled. "What?" Chloe asked.
"Just not a big fan of the nickname you gave me. Superman. Every newspaper is using it. It's embarrassing."
"Would you have preferred the 'Metropolis Marvel'?" Chloe said, referring to the name run by the Inquisitor. Almost no other papers that had carried the story about Clark's save at the air show had decided to go that name. Most had used the name she had coined.
Clark shook his head in response to here question. "Besides," she said, "I think that if anything, it's an understatement."
Clark chuckled. "I think you're hoping for that exclusive interview Perry's going to be wanting."
Chloe gave him an innocent look, complete with batting eyelashes.
Clark smiled. "Well, I was thinking that I did owe a certain someone for jump starting my career and adding my name to yesterday's byline." Clark suddenly grew serious and asked, "You wouldn't know how I would get a hold of Lois would you? So I can thank her?"
Chloe smacked his arm. "Arghh! Don't remind me. I've been regretting it ever since I said it. It was the only thing I could think of. I wish I could take it back."
"It's a little too late for that now. I doubt that there will be a major newspaper in the world who doesn't know the name Lois Lane by now. So you have a choice, take the name that's on its way to being famous or stick with your real name and go back to being confused with you know who at the Inquisitor."
Chloe sighed. "You're right. I know that, but it doesn't make it easier."
"You think being branded with the name "Superman" is going to be easy for me?" Clark said.
Chloe sighed, "Point taken, but just don't start calling me Lois. I'm not changing my name or anything like that. It's just a professional decision, that's all."
"Fair enough," Clark said.
Moments later the elevator dinged as it arrived at its destination. Clark motioned for Chloe to go first and then followed a step behind her. After a few steps he moved around her and pulled one of the doors that separated the elevators from the news room open for her. She smiled at him in thanks.
Together they proceeded to the large conference room at the far end of the floor. Perry White and few others were already there but it was obvious that they were still amongst the first to arrive.
Perry turned from the conversation that he had been having as they approached and moved towards them.
"Sullivan. Kent. Great work yesterday. Great work," he said as he gave a congratulatory handshake to Chloe. He turned to do the same to Clark and froze suddenly.
"Uh," he stammered, briefly, before continuing to extend his hand. "New glasses, Kent?"
"Uh, yeah, Chief, I've been putting off getting a new prescription for too long," Clark responded as he shook Perry's hand and adjusted his new glasses with his left. He managed to look completely awkward while doing so, Chloe silently observed.
"You ever think about contacts, Kent?" Perry said bluntly.
"They irritate my eyes, Chief." Clark said.
Perry nodded his head, seemingly sympathetically. "Well, take a seat you too. We're starting soon and whoever isn't here in the next five minutes had better come in with a damn good excuse."
Clark and Chloe both nodded and quickly moved to take seats at the conference room table. Clark caught Chloe's eye and gave her a triumphant wink.
Chloe smiled in return. The new glasses that Clark had spent half the night looking for in various thrift stores and flea markets around the world didn't make him look too bug-eyed she thought. However, as she noticed a few failed attempts at concealed amusement from several others in the room upon talking to Clark she wondered if she was just looking at him through the eyes of a girlfriend. Perhaps so, but new and improved glasses were clearly doing what they were intended to do: make Clark look even more geeky and less like Superman. After all, who would ever believe a man who could fly would wear Coke bottle glasses. And that was clearly the point.
Clark and Chloe chatted softly until the room eventually to near capacity.
Perry finally called out, "Alright everybody, listen up." The room went silent nearly instantly. With purpose he held aloft the previous day's front page with the headline of "Mysterious Superman Prevents Plane Crash" and one of Jimmy's pictures of the scene. "I want to know it all. Everything," he began.
One week later
Clark looked in the full length mirror that stood in Chloe's bedroom. He wasn't sure if he should feel embarrassed or what. He was clothed in a blue body suit that he and Chloe had sewn over the past couple of days. Red boots, red cape, red briefs and a yellow belt broke up the blue. It had looked silly on paper and even sillier when they had been sewing it, but it had been the least silly of their different sketches. Several times Clark had wanted to scrap the whole project but Chloe hadn't let him back out.
When they had first finished with the suit it hadn't looked complete. It was Chloe's idea to add a symbol. Once again, they had gone through several different ideas but none had seemed correct.
It was when he and Chloe had been discussing whether to tell the world that he was from another planet that he come up with the idea of using the symbol that he now wore boldly on his chest.
From his visits to his Fortress of Solitude he had learned that the different Kryptonian houses had each always had a symbol. His father, Jor-El, had once marked him with the symbol of the house of El had had been around for thousands of years, but Clark had later learned there was a more modern version that had occasionally been used before Krypton's destruction. Chloe claimed to have gotten goose bumps when he first sketched it for her.
Now as Clark stood in the suit that he and Chloe had created, he wondered if he was making a mistake; perhaps taking on too much. Though he only sought to help where he could he knew he was about to set himself up as a superhero. Expectations of him would soon be set and he had no doubt that they would be high. While he wore the suit he would never be able show any doubt or any insecurities. No weaknesses. People would look to him for answers he couldn't give; to solve problems he couldn't solve. There was an inevitable element to it.
He kept those thoughts to himself, not wanting Chloe to worry about him any more than she already was. If she was aware of the implications she kept them to herself; most likely so as not to worry him.
There was a knock on the bedroom door. "Clark," Chloe said from the other side, "Are you ready?"
Glancing one last time into the mirror he then took several steps over to the door and opened it.
"Whoa!" was the shush reaction that Chloe gave to seeing him in the suit for the first time.
"What do you think?" Clark asked.
Chloe slowly took it in and then looked into his eyes. "You look… amazing."
"You don't think the blues and reds are too much?"
"Not anymore," Chloe responded.
When they first discussed suit options, Chloe had leaned towards a black suit. There were several reasons, but for one, it was much easier to make a 'cool' looking suit if they used black. After a lot of thought, Clark had vetoed the idea of black. A black suit carried an undertone that the person was hiding something or an undertone of violence. He even made the point that if they looked at the different comic characters that were around, those that wore black were always amongst the most violent, even the heroes. He didn't want to project that. The image he had wanted to portray was that of one that was there to help and that he had nothing to hide. Bold colors like blue and red did that much better than black ever could.
"Are you ready for this?" Chloe asked after a few more moments of admiring him in the suit.
Clark smiled and shook his head at the same time, prompting a smile from Chloe.
"You'll do fine," she said and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips.
Clark nodded, "Only because I have you. I'm not sure I'd be able to do this without you."
Chloe blushed slightly but then responded, "Yes you could. This maybe one of the biggest steps you've ever taken but you were doing this sort of thing long before you ever met me. You hate the word destiny, but if this isn't yours, then I don't know what is."
Clark nodded and embraced her gently. After a moment, he whispered, "I'd better get started."
Chloe gave him another kiss, this time on the cheek and said, "I love you."
"I love you too," Clark responded as he slid from her embrace.
With a deep breath he walked towards the balcony of her apartment. He slid the door open and then looked back once more at Chloe. She gave him a gentle nod before he turned and leapt out into the night sky.
Chloe stood on the balcony, enjoying the night air. Clark had streaked away just moments before, off to who knows where. She couldn't help but feel proud of him.
Chloe wondered if Clark fully understood how popular Superman was about to become. People would never tire of hearing about him, never be able to get enough of him. His every action was going to end up creating headlines, every opinion he voiced would influence those around him. She kept those thoughts to herself, not wanting to make him anymore nervous than he was, though he did hide it well.
She yawned, the whirlwind of the past week had nearly taken its toll on her. They had spent nearly every free moment working on that suit. Its every detail and been pored over and thought and then re-thought. Clark had been right about the bright colors, they did inspire a feeling of confidence and not fear like black would have.
Chloe and Clark had flown to Smallville to talk to Judge Ross the day after the incident at the air show. Potentially anything they did could come back to her, if anyone ever figured out Clark was Superman. She had supported them though. She said had never been more proud of anyone not of her family than when she had seen the news reports about Clark saving the plane. Pete had been supportive as well when they talked to him.
Chloe stepped back inside. She wanted to go to bed but there was still a lot of work she needed to do. She had an interview to finish writing up so that she could submit it to Perry in the morning. It would probably cause a larger stir than Clark's unveiling the week before.
Clark had decided to hold as little back as possible. The article that she would submit the next day would announce his extraterrestrial origins. They both figured it was better announce it right away than to have it come out later. Still they had no idea how people would accept that new revelation.
"Damn it, Hank," Bill snapped in a hushed tone. "Can you get it or not?"
"I'm trying," Hank snapped back as he pushed and pulled with a crowbar that was jammed in between the door and frame in front of them.
Bill scoped the alley they stood in once more. No one else was around but when it came to casing a joint, a pawnshop this time, anything could go wrong. And Hank wasn't helping.
"Damn it, Hank, hurry up."
"If you can do better, go ahead," Hank said as he removed the crowbar and thrust it into Bill's hands.
Growling, Bill grabbed the crowbar in two hands and positioned himself to jam it back in between the door and the doorframe, in hopes of prying it open.
"Gentlemen."
Bill froze suddenly at the sound of the voice behind them.
Bill slowly turned and looked to see who was behind them, gripping the crowbar at the same time. He was ready for a fight, if necessary. His eyes went left and then right. There was no one. Then, very slowly, he began to look up.
Floating ten feet above the ground was a man in a blue and red suit with a red cape flapping in the breeze. His piercing eyes could barely be seen in the dim light, but they still managed to grab his attention and hold it.
"Did we forget our keys?" the man asked with one eyebrow arched.
The crowbar slid from Bill's hand and landed with a loud series of pangs on the concrete below. It was all that Bill could do to keep from wetting himself.
Next Day
Randy was unsure if he'd been so scared in his life. The morphine the paramedics had injected into him had numbed the excruciating pain he had been in just minutes before but had done little for the fear.
Just thirty minutes before he had been hard at work, a part of a construction team contracted to help build a new highway overpass. He had been helping to direct a bulldozer as it plowed tons of soft dirt onto an even larger and ever increasing mound of dirt that would be part of the overpass. He hadn't been paying close enough attention and had been standing to close. The dirt had shifted and the bulldozer had slid down the mound and tumbled onto its side, trapping Randy's legs when it landed.
He had passed out instantly, only to wake a short time later, barely able to think straight with all the pain. There were about a half dozen paramedics, milling around him. One gently secured him in a neck brace. Two more had gently lifted his head and torso and another had carefully slid a back board underneath. Randy was unsure what was going beyond his immediate vicinity, but he imagined his fellow construction workers were watching nearby.
Suddenly one of the paramedics was hovering over him, clearly anxious himself. "I'm sorry Randy," the paramedic said. "We need to get you to the hospital before you bleed to death and there's only one way to get you free. We're going to have to take your legs."
Randy began weeping, but he managed to nod his head. His thoughts turned to his young wife and daughter. How could he have been so careless?
"We're giving you another shot of morphine, Randy," the paramedic said. "And I want you to bite on this," he said as he produced a short wooden cylinder and placed it in Randy's mouth.
Randy bit down and closed his eyes. A few seconds later he heard the sound of a saw and he did everything in his power to think about something other than what was about to happen.
"Wait," a loud voice suddenly said the saw suddenly shut off.
Randy opened his eyes and saw that the paramedics were looking up into the air, the mouths agape.
Randy's eyes slowly moved upward until he saw what had the paramedics so shocked. It was a man, in bold red and blue colors, floating in mid air.
"I can help, if you'll let me," the man said. Randy noted the concern on the man's face. He looked back the paramedics, who were still speechless.
Randy looked back at the man and finally recognized him. He was the one that had saved the plane from crashing the week before. Who else could be? Who else could fly? What had they called him? Superman, that was it.
The man landed softly, just a few feet away. The paramedics slowly stood, clearly unsure of what to do.
"I'll lift the bulldozer while you pull this man out from under. Is that OK?" the man asked.
The paramedics glanced at each other and then nodded. Randy then watched as the man that people were calling Superman bent down and positioned his hands underneath the bulldozer. Could he really do it? Randy asked himself.
As if he could read Randy's mind, the man called Superman turned gave him a reassuring look. "Don't worry," he said. "We'll have you out of here in just a moment."
Without showing any signs of strain, Superman began lifting. The bulldozer groaned at first and then began to slowly move. Within moments Randy felt himself being dragged clear and then hoisted onto a nearby stretcher.
As he was being whisked away to an ambulance parked nearby, Randy saw Superman rise into the air above. Randy did his best to say thank you, but his voice barely croaked. Superman seemed to understand because Randy saw him nod and wave before disappearing in a streak of red and blue.
Three days later
"I take it Star Labs confirmed that the sample this 'Superman' submitted yesterday is authentic?" President Steele asked, speaking to the man seated on the couch opposite to his in the Oval Office.
"Yes, Mr. President, that's correct," responded General Sam Lane as he flipped open the brown folder that held his report. He had the first copy and it had not yet been released to the public. "All evidence indicates that this 'Superman' is not of this world.
President Steele let out a long drawn breath. When Sam Lane's niece had gone to print three days ago announcing that this 'Superman' who had suddenly started playing hero across the globe was an alien the entire world took notice. It had been bad enough when he had saved the plane the week before but now it was causing panic in some places. There were people demonstrating against him, fearful of what his arrival may bring and those that were demonstrating for him. However, enough doubt of the authenticity of his origin's existed that Star Labs had publically offered to test a sample to confirm the claim. Superman had promptly shown up at the Star Labs in Metropolis and presented a hair sample, plucked from his own head on the spot.
"Do you think the sample will be able to tell us how to stop him, if we need to?" President Steele asked. This meeting President Steele was having with General Lane was the third of its kind since that day at the air show. Quite frankly, the powers exhibited by this man scared the governments of the world and they scared him personally. He had already had to console several dozen world leaders and assure them this was not some American super weapon. And while General Lane's niece had outlined his abilities in her article, it had given no indication of weaknesses or how strong or fast he really was.
"We're not sure and it could take weeks to find out."
"And your niece? What did you find out from her?"
"She believes he's on the up and up; that he really is here to help. It's also my opinion that she is somewhat protective of him so I was careful how I asked my questions."
"What do you think, Sam? My advisors are saying that if the tests are positive then I should invite him to the White House. The Secret Service are against it because they're afraid they wouldn't be able to protect me if he came with ill intentions." President Steele said. Sam had been a friend since they served in Vietnam together. There was no one outside of his own family that he trusted more.
"Honestly, Mr. President, given what he has demonstrated so far, if he meant you harm he could deliver it whenever he wished. It's my opinion that so far he has given every indication of being exactly what he says, a friend. However, I won't presume to recommend how you deal with him."
"Fair enough, Sam. Give Star Labs the go ahead to release the test results to the public."
"Yes, sir. And my I will make one recommendation though, Mr. President?" General Lane asked. When President Steele nodded, he continued, "We may be able to use him in dealing with our other situation."
Isis entered the darkened room silently. There was virtually no light available but Isis could see every detail. The only sound was from the figured that slept in the bed at the far end of the relatively small room. The bed was the only furniture present.
"Awake," Isis said. It neither command nor request.
The figured snarled, clearly irritated at his disturbance. "What is it?" asked the figure in a harsh voice.
Most that knew him would quake with fear in his mere presence but not Isis. She feared nothing. "I believe I may have found one that could aid us in accomplishing our goal," she said.
There was silence for a moment as the statement was allowed to sink in.
"Are you sure?" asked the harsh voice.
"Am I ever wrong?" Isis responded with a question of her own, though they both knew the answer.
The figure laughed a harsh laugh before responding, "Tell me."