Disclaimer: I don't own.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Almost Meetings

Super 8 was crossed of the white board with a quick slash of black marker. It was quickly followed by The Defenders, Super Guardians, Superwoman and Co.

"No. No. No." Perry White proclaimed as he crossed each name off the board. "None of these names are tracking well. Plus they suck."

The Editor in Chief of the Daily Planet threw down the marker and turned to face his journalists. The meeting room was packed, every space crammed with someone jotting notes. Perry folded his arms as he stared down a crowd of people, they simple blinked back at him.

Huffing he crossed to a nearby window, pointing to the city outside. "A massive battle was fought in our city," He said. The construction repairing the damage across the city was a clear testimony to that statement. "Each of us probably has a story from that night we would rather forget. But there is something that needs to be told. A group of hero's saved us! And they don't even have a name!" He gestured the cross off names.

"I want each of you out the street." Perry ordered, "I want to know what people are thinking about these hero's. Jacobs! I want you talking to the police, get a statement on their stance about this supergroup!"

He continued walking around the group giving out assignments. Before pausing in front of Lois.

"Lane. I need you to talk the Luthor." Perry ordered, "Chances are he's going to flipping the bill for a lot of the rebuilding. I know you don't like talking to him. But you are the one with the history with him."

"Sure Chief," Lois ground out with an eye roll. Grabbing her stuff and heading out of the conference room.

"Kent!" Suddenly Perry was in front of her. Jumping Claire looking from her notes.

"Yes Chief?"

"I want a quote from the woman herself."

"Wo…w...woman sir?"

"Superwoman!" Perry order. He pointed out the window. "Find me Superwoman! Lois is the one with the connection, but I need her on Luthor. So that leaves you! Get me a quote! A statement! Hell a six part book deal! Just get the story from her. The invasion, and the team up. Understood?"

"Y…y..yes Sir." Claire replied, blinking after Perry as she was left the last person in the room. Pursing her lips she rolled her eyes upward before she sighed. It seemed she had to get an interview from herself. She glanced outside to the brightly sunny day.

Maybe she could get an early lunch.

#SC#

Straight back and poised, the stance of someone that was used to being in control. A stance that would normally belong to a person that stood out. Yet standing there dressed in a grey woman's business suit, her long black hair pulled back tightly into a french braid. Thick framed glasses resting on her nose. Diana looked less like an Amazon Warrior and more like a high power business woman.

Metropolis Centennial Park was peaceful. The sun shining down on the people milling around on their lunch time breaks, or park walks. Children played across the grass, people ran and rode bikes down the paths.

Not one of them looked at her.

A group of people walking towards her, were forced to slow when they noticed her standing in their way. She paused for seconded before backing away and letting them past. She watched them walk way, not one of them looking back.

"This is….incredible." She said turning to her companion.

Claire opened her eyes, sunlight glinting off her glass lenses as she sat on a park bench. Her head tilted back into the sunlight.

"Told you it would work," Claire informed her, sporting what could have been called a smug smile.

"Kal…," Diana begun.

"Claire," She corrected before standing, she gestured with her head down a less busy path. "When I'm dressed like this. Call me Claire."

"Thank you for inviting me out….Claire." Diana said. She might have used her human name but, Claire could tell she didn't truly get why. She made a mental note to explain it to her later.

"It's alright," Claire said with a smile. "I had some time on my hands."

It was nice to be out and about with someone she didn't have to keep secrets from. Plus the looks on Diana military 'guards' faces when Superwoman had turned up at the Themyscira embassies to ask if Wonder Woman wanted to grab lunch. It was something that would amuse her for a while.

"It is nice to be out of the Embassies," Diana admitted looking around, "When Mother sent me to be link with Man's world I had not thought of all the politics. It also does get boring there. Well that is…"

"What?" Claire prompted smiling. With Lana half a country away, and having a better chance of connecting with a bull shark then Lois. Claire had been without girl-talk for a while.

"Steve Trevor," Diana confessed freely, her brazen admittance surprising Claire for a moment. "He is the man that first arrive on Themyscira. It was with him that I came to America. He has been helpful."

"Helpful…." Claire repeated.

"Helpful and infuriating and pigheaded and stubborn," Diana seemed to have gotten herself onto a roll. "But at the same time so noble and so brave."

Claire looked away focusing down the path. But in her mind, a shadowed form with pointed ears, and white eyes dance across her thoughts.

"Yes I know that type," Claire sighed, before realising her own train of thought and pushed it away.

"Have you heard from any of the others?" Diana asked changing the subject.

"No," Claire replied shaking her head, "I've heard about them on the news, and from ...around." she gestured towards her ear. "Flash took down someone called Captain Boomarang. Batman had to deal with an uprising in Arkham. Green Arrow been spotted around Star City. I haven't heard about Aquaman or Green Lantern. But they both work a bit further outside the news reach."

"What about Cyborg," Diana asked.

"You mean Victor? Is that what they're calling him?" Claire asked. "He's in S.T.A.R Labs. Not the one his father works at. I don't think, everything has fully sunk in for him yet."

"I heard on the news that they were calling us group," Diana said, "A team."

"We did team up," Claire said, "We needed to protect the Earth and stop Darkseid. We needed to be a team to do that. But each of us, have our own cities to protect. Our own duties."

"That does explain why everyone just left after the battle," Diana said.

"I'll always there though, if they need help," Claire admitted once again gesturing to her ear, "I'm keeping an ear out. But most of the time, they want to handle things on their own."

"I should head back," Diana finally said, as they came to a stop on the deserted path. She moved to go her own way.

"I mean that for you too Diana," Claire said after her, "If you ever need help. Just call."

"To you as well… Sister," Diana replied, starting to walk off.

"Hey Diana," Claire called after her, gesturing to the suit "Don't forget to change before you head back."

#SC#

She was on her way back to the Daily Planet the moment it hit her, she stumbled as if she had taken a physical blow. Clutching her hands to her head, she cried out as stabbing pain overwhelmed her senses. Her vision fading to black.

Booted feet thudded across dark concert

Overhead lights flared almost too brightly to look at

A blurred appearance of man looking at her, face covered with a surgical mask.

A muted voice called from the distance. Too faint to hear it.

"…el…..he…p…s"

Reality came back with a flood of colour and sound. The pain vanished as if it had never been there, the pressure in her skull gone.

"Are you alright?" A voice asked as one or two helpful passer-by stopped to check on her. She noted she was half leaning on a building, thankful that she hadn't collapsed in the centre of the side walk.

"Yes," She said taking a breath, she straightened reaching up to adjust her glasses. "I'm fine thanks." She gave them a smile, one that was much calmer then she felt.

#SC#

The rest of the day past with incident. She stopped a small car crash from turning into a massive pile up. Plus a handful of robberies that had taken place by people thinking they could take advantage of the cities post battle state. But there had been no other mind attacks, with pain and visions or otherwise.

She was at home when another episode hit her.

Clutching her head, as pain crushed down of mind. She started collapsing as her vision once again was hijacked.

Other head light flared as they flashed past. Moving one after the other down a long corridor.

Blurred images of men in masks and scrubs, walking around amongst computers.

A logo on wall.

"Hel…..lp….p…..s.."

Gasping Claire jerked up, find herself lying in a pile of glass of what used to be her chairside table. Brushing the shards off, she climbed to her feet.

It wasn't an attack…

Someone was calling for help.

#SC#

"There has been a great deal of mental stimulation." Emil Hamilton said looking up from his computer readings. "But without a base line I can't tell if this from these attacks. Or if you brain is generally like that."

"Unfortunately neither do I," Superwoman admitted removing the device from her head. She turned in her seat to look over at the scientist. "But I don't think it was an attack. I think someone is trying to communicate with me."

After the episode in her apartment Superwoman had headed to S.T.A.R Labs. Getting in contact with the scientist that had help her before.

"Well we don't know if you were trying to communicate with you directly because you're Superwoman." Hamilton said, a hand to his chin in thought. "Or that you might just be picking up on the calls because you are more open to them."

"Open to what exactly?" She asked.

"It could be tech," Hamilton said mentally shuffling through the opinions. "Or maybe some kind of ESP."

"ESP? Telepathy?

"This is all just theory." Hamilton shrugged.

"It really doesn't matter the how," Superwoman said, "Someone was calling for help. I need to know where they are."

"What can you remember from these visions?" Hamilton asked taking a seat across from her.

"I couldn't really focus," Superwoman admitted, "They flashed by so fast. Plus the pain."

"Try to remember," Hamilton encouraged. "From what I've heard about you and from. You have a heightened ability of taking in and processing information. I'm guessing much higher than humans."

He leant forward in his chair and gestured. "Close your eyes and deep breath. Try to remember something."

Superwoman shot in a vaguely amused look, she doubted to human cues would matter much to her. But she followed his instruction anyway.

Lighting flaring, booted feet on concert, the distant sound of people talking. Too faint to make out.

Men in lab coats, computers in labs, a logo on a wall, same logo on name tag of a man leaning in.

"There was a logo," Superwoman informed eyes snapping open. She climbed from her seat grabbing a paper and pen off Hamilton's desk. A quick sketch of what she saw, Superwoman looked closes at it. She had no idea what it meant.

Hamilton moved to her side, looking down at the logo.

"I've never seen it before," He said with slight tilt of his head.

Two triangles on top of one another, there points touching like an hourglass. Or a flatten DNA strand. Drawn inside a hexagon shape. In her memories coloured it was yellow and red.

"Neither have I."

#SC#

Superwoman found Cyborg in the same building. The technician working in the lab gave her a wide eyed look as she entered the room. But her attention was on the figure across from her. She knew that cybernetic body was large, but in this room, in its resting position on an almost vertical bed. He looked so small.

She crossed the room looking at the resting face. The organic side of his face that was. Against the gleaming metal of his helmet and chest plate. He looked so young.

One dark eye flicked open, and the other light up red.

"Superwoman," He greeted an electronic undertone cracked his voice.

"Victor," She replied smiling softly at him. "I was in the building. I thought I'd stop by. I didn't mean to disturb you."

"It's okay," Cyborg replied stepping down of his resting place. "I can't sleep. This is the closest I can get to it."

She wasn't sure how to response to that. She herself never needed to sleep, but she's knew that humans needed it. Whatever in Victor that was still human must have missed it. She was saved from replying when Victor changed the subject.

"What brings you to S.T.A.R Labs?" He asked.

"I had ….something happen," Superwoman replied, she wasn't trying to be vague. She just truly didn't know what had happened. "Someone with ESP or something tech based. They tried to ask me for help. It was a bit of a surprise, I needed help working it out."

"Did you?"

"All I got was this logo," Superwoman said pulling the sheet of paper from her belt. Showing it to him.

"I can look into it for you," He offered.

"No it's…" She froze in her denial before nodding. "Thanks Victor."

"It's Cyborg," The young man corrected turning to move away, "No use denying it."

She watched him walk way, heavy hearted for him.

#SC#

"Help me!" The woman screamed as she fled down a rain soaked alley. Before pull on the wire gate at the end, when she found it blocked her way out. Panting she spun to look at her pursuers. "Please…Please…."

The two mean laughed closing in on her, when a figure in red and blue dropped out of the sky between them.

"That is enough," Superwoman ordered glaring at the attackers.

"Superwoman," One of the men said, but the tone was different she what she had been expecting. Low and calm, not the same as a would-be attacker facing down a hero's appearance.

Suddenly bright overhead floodlighting lit up the area like daylight.

Corded wires wrapped around her as the woman behind her fired them on her. Electricity sparked up and down the lines, more than ever would have been used on a human. Designed for her, she realised as blue voltage arched around her, built to be used on her.

Because it hurt.

Crying out, she fall to the wet concert as the pain stunned her.

"Go! Go! Go!" A male voice yelled, as the chain link fence fall away. Dark heavy vehicles pulling up close. She had just begun pulling at wires when she felt it. The power draining from her, as acid like pain poured over her nerve endings.

Kryptonite.

Pain ate away at her vision and hearing as the world around became flashes of colour and sound. She was vaguely aware that she was being moved. On a stretcher into the back of van.

"Don't lose your hold on that Kryptonite otherwise it'll be your ass." A voice called in the distance, and darkness followed the slamming of the doors.

TBC