Chapter 48 – Who the Hell is Superman?
Washington D.C. was still in a state of shock a day after the attack on the White House. Businesses and schools were closed and most the roads were either closed or re-routed causing certain parts of the city to back up with major traffic issues. With nowhere to go, thousands of people had gathered outside of the Lincoln Memorial and along the "Reflecting Pool" that stretched almost to the Washington Monument. Gigantic speakers had been placed throughout the area by local activists as they discussed what had just happened as everyone was still trying to make sense of it all. And after some time, the large crowd began to chant "We want answers! We want answers!" which echoed throughout the area.
Back at the White House, government officials and police officers surveyed the damage and interviewed witnesses as they tried to piece together everything that had happened. Several "Batarangs" and other explosive weapons had been recovered from the scene and place in giant evidence tubs. Out on the street were news stations from all over the world, lined up one by one. Each with their own news truck parked off to the side, satellites spinning on top, as news correspondents conducted their live reports and interviews. A wall of National Guard members and police officers separated them from the front entrance and fence line.
Steve Trevor stood in the center of the Oval Office, reviewing the limited amount footage that was able to be recovered. He watched frame by frame as the attackers mysteriously appeared in different areas of the lower level of the building and began their assault. He watched over the span of two minutes of the attack before something flew and crashed into every camera, one by one. He glanced down at the batarang in his hand before placing it in his personal bag. As he exited the front doors, he was stopped by General Swanwick.
"Mr. Trevor, what do we know went down here? I'm hearing rumors that you were inside when it went happened."
"We're still trying to figure out the details sir. When I know more, you'll be my first call. Now if you'll excuse me.." Steve smiled as he started to walk again.
General Swanwick joined his side as they walked around the west side of the building towards a group of black S.U.V.'s. "I know you know more than you're leading on. You can trust me with whatever information you have. I just want to help anyway I can."
Steve chuckled, "I understand sir but honestly there's nothing more that can be done that already hasn't. Listen I'm on my way to meet with the Vice President right now and I don't want to be late. Maybe we can meet up tomorrow and discuss everything in private."
General Swanwick smiled, "You and your secrets Trevor, one day you're going to tell me everything that happened in there."
Steve laughed, "Get some rest general, there's plenty of work still to be done. And we'll talk tomorrow, don't you worry."
"I'm sure we will," Swanwick sounded unconvinced.
Getting into the black SUV, Steve tuned the radio to one of the local A.M. stations and listened to the different radio hosts as they each took turns with their own theories of what went down. He chuckled at some of the suggestions, which included the President being abducted by tiny green aliens, the work of the Illuminati, and a wild conspiracy theory involving devil worshipping. Laughing aside, he continued to replay the attack in his mind. The number of strangely dressed people, all attacking from different directions felt particularly strange to him. He also couldn't wrap his head around how they exactly got into the building. And then the fact that he had just met the Dark Knight of Gotham and a new guy with powers he'd never dreamed of, he was still a bit shocked by it all.
But every time he played the event over and he always paused at the mysterious woman with the tiara, lasso, and sword. There was something about her that felt so familiar but he couldn't figure it out. It was all he could think about. His attention returned to the radio for a brief second while he maneuvered around a road block and continued for the Pentagon. Suddenly without any warning, he felt his vehicle lift off the ground.
"What..the..hell," he gasped as the SUV continued to rise in the air.
He stuck his head out of the window and saw long red cape flowing in the air above the roof.
"Good afternoon Mr. Trevor. Sorry for the late notice but the President would like to speak with you." A voice sounded from up above.
"Hey you're him! Yesterday… you helped… how are you… who the hell are you?"
"That's a long story but you can just call me Superman."
Steve, who's mouth was agape, shook his head, "Superman?"
Meanwhile Bart, a.k.a Impulse, raced through the streets of Washington D.C. checking each and every building, including train stations and airports, for any sign of the League of Assassins. With most of the roads closed, Bart had no problem sweeping through the outer areas as he worked towards the capital. He finally moved up along the east side of the White House, slowing down just a bit to observe the long line of news vans and trucks that were lined up on the street in front of the famous lawn. He looked more closely at the White House itself which looked like it was missing a good portion of the roof. He also noticed the amount of damage the very front of the building had taken during the attack as he quickly moved around to the front and to the west side of the building.
He spotted numerous men with sniper rifles not only on top of the White House but also the surrounding buildings. There were National Guard Humvees and soldiers all around the back side of the main building as Bart zig-zagged through them, making his way inside through one of the windows. He checked everyone room on each level and moved through the black police vans, collecting the batarangs from the evidence bins. Moving away from the White House, he made his way quickly through the Pentagon and then the Capitol building. He stopped just outside the Washington Monument and placed a finger to his ear activating his com.
"Hey guys, I've covered most of the city. I just have the Lincoln Memorial area left to check. No signs of any members of the League of Assassins. As long as everything is good on Chloe's end, you all should be fine returning the President now. On a more important note, I'm starving."
Bart took a breath as he decided to walk for a change around the Washington Monument as he continued his message to rest of the group. "By the way I collected your ninja stars Batman," he threw one at the side of the monument, only for it to bounce off and land on the ground. "I probably shouldn't throw them, should I?"
As he continued to walk, he started to hear the chants of the crowd gathered on the other side. "Hold on a second guys, there's something going on."
This time he moved a little quicker, stopping on the other side. His mouth opened slightly at the giant crowd of people that were now in front of him in the distance. They continued to chant "We want answers! We want answers!"
"Hey Blur, I mean Superman, I think I might have found a good location to introduce yourself."
Rain poured outside of Arkham Asylum as lightning crackled through the sky, brightening the room of former psychologist Dr. Jonathan Crane, otherwise known as the Scarecrow. Crane sat at the corner of his bed, leaning against the wall, eyes closed as he slowly rocked from side to side. He stopped when the door opened and in walked one of the doctors of the institution. She closed the door behind her and sat down on the stool by the door as she pulled a few charts from a folder in her bag.
"Well Mr. Crane.." she began as she flipped her blond hair to the side.
"Dr. Crane," he corrected.
"Oh yes, of course, Dr. Crane. I apologize," she smiled. "You seem to be doing much better. I see from the test results that your fear levels have begun to lower. It appears you've started to gain control over them. Would that be an accurate assessment?"
Crane chuckled, "Would that be an accurate assessment," he repeated. "My assessment is that I no longer fear what I created."
"So then you feel that you don't need to be here?" she questioned.
"I'm not going to Blackgate, if that's what you're getting at. Besides, if I leave, how will you all figure out how my fear toxin actually works? I mean, I know why I'm being kept here."
"You're being kept here because your fear toxin was released on the people of Gotham, driving them insane. You're here because you're responsible for the lives lost during that attack. You're here because you were exposed to your own creation. Should I keep going?" she said sharply.
This only made Crane, smirk. "You forgot the freak in the bat suit. He's actually the main reason I'm here if you think about it." He looked around the room for a second. "Speaking of freaks, what can you tell me about the clown prince? I hear he's quite the character."
The doctor hesitated for a moment, "I, I don't think I understand. What are you referring to?" she asked, adjusting her glasses.
"Oh come on, you know exactly what I'm talking about. He was your patient, was he not?"
"You know I can't discuss that. It's private," she looked back down at the charts.
"Well rumor has it…" Crane scratched his chin, "you two had a thing going on. Let me guess, private right?" he laughed as the doctor's face turned to a light shade of red.
"Now that is priceless. Talk about fear, I'd put falling for one of your patients pretty high up there on the list. Especially that freak."
It was at the word freak that sent the normally calm doctor into a fit of rage as she snapped, "That's enough!" and smacked the clipboard holding the charts, across Dr. Crane's face.
He sat back up and spit a small amount of blood out of his mouth, "Touched a nerve did I Dr. Quinzel?"
"I swear if you say one more word about him!" she yelled when suddenly the lights went out.
There was a moment of silence while Dr. Quinzel fumbled around in her bag. A flash of lightning lit the room up just as she found her phone and turned it on to provide some more light.
"Must be the storm," she remarked as she walked over to the window.
Crane watched the door closely as he heard a couple thuds down the hallway. "I don't think this has anything to do with the storm….. He's here." He started laughing.
"What? Who's here? What's so funny?" she demanded.
Suddenly the door flew open as one of the larger male nurses landed in the floor in front of them. Behind entered Batman who went straight for Crane, grabbing him by the collar and lifting him into the air.
"Where is he? Where is Ra's?!" Batman roared.
"I don't know! How would I know!" Crane shouted back as he kicked at Batman's side.
Bruce, absorbing the kick, returned a precise punch to the gut and threw Crane against the wall.
It was then that he noticed the woman standing beside the window with her mouth wide open.
"You're, you're him. The Batman. You're just as he described. Tall, fit, and mysterious," she smiled big.
Batman turned towards her, "Listen doctor, you need to get out of here. I just have a few a questions for Scarecrow. I'll be in and out in no time."
"Listen to him sweetheart or he might do to you what he did to your beloved Joker friend." Crane commented as he sat up holding his stomach.
Batman cocked his head back towards her, "Dr. Harleen Quinzel I assume, the one who released the Joker to Blackgate Prison where he ultimately escaped. I've been meaning to have a talk with you, I've just been a bit preoccupied lately," nodding towards Crane.
"Mr. J talked so much about you Batman. He said the two of you were a perfect match, is that true? I can only imagine the fun you two had!" She turned around with the most innocent look in her eyes.
"Get. Out. Now," Batman growled before she turned around and exited the room, stepping over of the unconscious bodies lying in the hallway in the process.
Chloe typed away at one of the ten computers at the headquarters Oliver had set up in Metropolis. The building located downtown, had a signature look to it with colorful stained windows built into the dome shaped roof. There were couches in the lounge area, a fully stocked kitchen, and several bedrooms in case any of the team members needed a place to crash. Chloe, herself, had a technology center consisting of several different computers and monitors as well as a station consisting of tech commonly used in CSI labs.
She continued to use the specialized monitoring system she had set up which helped tracked potential and known threats. She scanned city after city looking for any sign of the League of Assassins, though without any luck. She let out a brief yawn and began to stretch, feeling exhaustion for the first time in a while. She closed her eyes as she felt another yawn coming but quickly opened them back up when gust of wind blew across her. Bart was now comfortably sitting in one of the chairs beside her with his feet resting on the desk.
"Do you always have to do that?!" Chloe complained as she tried to fix her hair which was now a complete mess.
"Yes, yes I do." Bart replied as he unwrapped a burger and started eating, "Especially when I'm starving."
"But your always starving, you're never not starving." Chloe rolled her eyes as she continued to type.
"I can't control my metabolism; I try to keep up with it. I really do," he said while holding up five more burgers. "And besides I got you coffee." He smiled.
Chloe glanced down and saw the six cups on the desk in front of her.
"I didn't know how you liked it so I figured I'd get one of each just to be sure," he winked.
Chloe smiled, no longer annoyed. "Thanks Bart, it's just what I needed."
"Oh yeah I almost forgot," he said before disappearing and quickly reappearing with a white box. "Here's some doughnuts. I figured you should probably eat too."
"You can be quite the gentleman sometimes Mr. Allen, your mother raised you well. By the way, how are your folks? You never talk about them." Chloe asked as she took a bite.
"Um, well you see, the reason why I don't talk about them is…" Bart struggled with the words.
Luckily for him, Carter Hall walked into the room carrying an old Egyptian book.
"Any luck Chloe?"
"Nothing at all. I've searched everywhere."
"So have I Hawkman." Bart added as he finished one of the burgers.
"Please, just call me Carter when it's just us. It's weird otherwise."
"Sure thing Hawkm-Carter." Bart quickly corrected himself.
Carter shook his head and turned his attention back to Chloe, "How are things in Washington? Do you think Clark and Diana will need backup?"
"No they shouldn't. But we need to prepare for the inevitable backlash that's going to come after Clark does this. Everything and I mean everything will change forever." Chloe advised.
"Well there's seems to be no man better than Clark to do this. I can't imagine what must going on in his head right now." Carter commented.
"He's probably wondering if this is all one giant mistake." Bart said between bites. "That's what I would be thinking."
Chloe gave him a dirty look before biting into a doughnut. 'Good luck Clark.' She thought to herself.
Lois and Iris jogged through Reagan National Airport, as they hurried to find a cab. They passed thousands of people who had been stranded after heavy air travel restrictions had taken effect. Luckily finding a cab wasn't too hard, as Lois and Iris were one of the few people actually able to fly into the city.
"I had no idea the Daily Planet was doing so well, a private jet with permission to fly in these conditions? How did you manage that? I might be working at the wrong publication." Iris joked.
Lois chuckled, "You must have missed the name on the side of the plane."
"No I saw Wayne Enterprises but I just figured since he owned the Daily Planet that was just what you all took. But if it's not then….wait, was that Bruce Wayne's jet?"
"One of the many," Lois smiled as they entered one of the cabs lined up outside.
"So he just lent it to you? You two aren't…"
"Oh no," Lois quickly responded. "It's nothing like that. He's just an old friend. Besides I already have a boyfriend. It would take a lot more than a billionaire's fancy jet to change that."
"Oooh, he sounds like quite the man. Let me guess, sports star or actor?"
"Wrong on both accounts. He's actually my partner at the Planet."
"Really? Have I heard of him?" Iris questioned with more intrigue in her voice than she meant.
"Probably not, he does a lot of smaller pieces. He doesn't care as much for the big front page stories. It's part of his charm." Lois smiled.
"Oh. Well good for you Lois. It sounds like you've found a good man."
"I have. So what about you? Who gets to call Ms. Iris West theirs?" Lois questioned.
"My dog Sparky mostly and sometimes my nephew Wally when he visits me," Iris laughed. "But I won't lie, there was a guy. He was my best friend and someone I could have seen spending the rest of my life with."
"What happened?"
"We're on opposite sides of the Flash. He didn't want me getting too close and I couldn't let it go. We had a falling out and he took some time off to travel. I haven't heard from him since." Iris began to tear up a bit.
"Oh sweetheart, I didn't mean to get you all worked up. I'm so sorry." Lois apologized.
"No it's fine. It's my fault, he was just looking out for me. But it's in the past now." She sighed, looking out the window. "Where are we going anyway?"
"The Lincoln Memorial. You'll see why when we get there." Lois said as she checked her phone which hadn't stopped buzzing since their plane had touched down. It rang once before Lois answered. "Yeah hi Perry…I'm here yes…I'm not going to the White House…I know that's where everyone is…well that's not where the story is going to be…you'll just have to trust to me…I know my guy…that's not his name anymore, I texted you this an hour ago…go to your messages… what do you mean you lost your cell… well I emailed you too… how do you not check these things?...Yes I'll be careful… okay goodbye."
Lois hung up the phone and placed it back in her purse and stared forward.
Iris looked at Lois for a second, almost expecting some sort of explanation for that conversation.
Without looking Lois chuckled, "That was my boss. We have an unusual relationship."
"You can say that again." Iris smiled.
Clark set Steve's SUV down in an alleyway outside of an abandoned building.
Steve hadn't had time to figure out where they were because he had been too busy dealing with the fact that he had just flown in a car. He looked in the rearview mirror and saw a bright red 'S' surrounded by gold. As Clark walked around to the driver side of the vehicle, Steve sat still and watched him in the side mirror as he drew closer. Finally Clark stood beside him and gestured for him to roll down the window, to which Steve politely obliged.
"Are you feeling okay Mr. Trevor?" Clark asked.
"All things considering… yeah I'm okay. You said the President wanted to speak with me?"
"Yes sir, POTUS is with us. Safe and sound, ready to go home."
"That great news." Steve said as he looked around and noticed how empty his surroundings were. "I just have a couple of questions though."
Clark gave an acknowledging nod.
"Where are we? Why hasn't POTUS returned sooner? Why am I here specifically? Why haven't you contacted any government officials yet?"
Clark smiled, "Those are understandable concerns. First off, we're just outside the city. Second, I have someone who's searching the entire perimeter right now to ensure safety. And your third question answers your last one. We're contacting you because you're the only government official we believe we can trust right now."
Steve mulled Superman's answer for a minute. "That makes perfect sense actually. What's your plan?"
Clark chuckled, "Come on inside, we've got a lot to discuss."
The Pentagon was still in a slight state of chaos as officials from various agencies scurried in different directions as meeting after meeting took place trying to figure out the next steps for the country. Amid the chaos walked a small group who appeared to be unfazed by the craziness. Leading the pack was one of the most confident and intimidating government officials, Amanda Waller. She strolled through one of the main hallways as hundreds of interns answered phone calls while on the brink of multiple panic attacks. She smiled at the disruption; after all, her work depended on a little disruption and a lot of chaos. She casually stopped and peered out a large window, watching a LexCorp helicopter land outside.
"How gracious of Mr. Luthor to bless us with his presence in this time of need," she sarcastically remarked before moving forward towards her destination.
Lex hopped out of his helicopter and adjusted his jacket before swinging his business bag over his shoulder. He smiled at the sight of the Pentagon and removed his sunglasses before heading for the building. After passing through security, he made his way to one of the few empty meeting rooms in the lowest populated section of the building. He took a seat and pulled out a laptop, opened it, and propped his feet on the table as he waited. He tapped his fingers on the desk in a slow rhythm, starting with his ring finger, then his middle, and finally his index. He did this over and over, slightly speeding up each time.
He didn't like to wait. He didn't have time to wait. Waiting had always angered him. As a child, he waited years for his father. As a teenager, he waited to distance himself from the Luthor name. As a young adult, he waited years for a significant position at his father's company, relegating him to likes of Smallville where he was forced to prove himself in a small town with little ability to show off his true talents. But thinking about Smallville led him to thinking about a part of him that he missed. For most of his life he had been waiting for something. And he thought for a time that all he was missing was friend, someone who had his back at all times. Along came Clark Kent and suddenly he thought his life had meaning again. The moment after he drove his car off the bridge and into the water and woke up to see Clark, the guy he thought he just hit, kneeling over him having just saved his life. He thought his wait was over. But no, his fingers sped up as he contemplated; Clark was never really his friend. Lana Lang, one of the few people he ever cared for, never really loved him as he did her. Lionel Luthor, one of the most powerful men on the earth, was never really a father to him. He was still waiting for his purpose. And the more he waited, the angrier he became. By now, his fingers were rapidly tapping the desk. The door to the conference room swung open and Lex quickly slammed his other hand down on his fingers and stood up to greet General Lane, his demeanor completely reversed.
"General, thanks for deciding to meet with me." He shook Sam's hand and sat back down.
Sam took a seat at the table and noticed the laptop in front of Lex. "Well Mr. Luthor, I don't have a lot of time, so let's get right to the point."
Lex smiled, "Just how I like it, no point in waiting around when there's business to be done. Let's get started." He pulled out a small device, plugged it into the laptop and placed his finger on it. The device scanned his fingerprint and immediately displayed a crystal clear hologram with the LexCorp logo.
Sam sat up a little straighter at the sight of the next generation technology in front of him.
Lex waved his hand to the right and an image of three files appeared labeled Project Ares, Project Metallo, Project Ex . "General Lane, what I'm about to show you is of the upmost secrecy. My laptop is running the most up to date LexTech software that's so advanced, nothing in this building will be able to see what the two of us are about to gaze upon."
Sam wrinkled his face, not quite sure of what he was about to see.
Lex moved his finger and touched to file labeled Project Ares. Numerous videos options popped up and Lex chose the first one to play. The video, taken from a security camera inside a convenience store, showed a man shopping when suddenly a dark shadowy object flew across the screen and directly into the man. A few seconds had passed when suddenly the man disappeared. An aisle over, items began to move as if someone has picked them up and started walking but no one could be seen holding them. As they floated towards the register, other shoppers began to notice and fear began to spread before spooking a little girl who screamed. Suddenly a flash burst from the area of the floating object, temporarily blinding the camera. When the light disappeared, the camera showed dozens of lifeless bodies on the floor all across the store.
Sam rubbed his forehead in disbelief. "I don't understand."
Lex smirked, "In time General, you will, but that's nothing compared to some of my other discoveries." He proceeded to show Sam several similar videos of people being possessed by wraith like shadows and showcasing extremely unnatural abilities including super strength, speed, flammability, flight, and mind control.
Sam just shook his head. The last few days had made him question everything he thought he ever known, this was no different.
Lex sat back with a confident grin, "It appears I have your attention, Sam."
"Why are you showing me this?" Sam asked, not sure if he even wanted to know the answer.
"What you just saw, I've captured. And what I've captured, I figured out how to put to good use." He motioned again at the hologram and another video appeared, this time showing a white male lying on a lab table in a military outfit. Three doctor stood over him, injecting him with three separate fluids, one obviously consisting of the black shadow. The subject suddenly sat up and turned its head and looked a target. A second camera appeared on the screen showing another doctor in another room sending commands out to the subject. The man suddenly turned invisible then appeared again across the room, he then sped to the other side and spun around sending fire balls at the far wall.
Sam stared at the hologram, not sure what to make of it.
Lex noticed and quickly spoke up, "General, man in the video, his name is Lt. Wes Keenan. He was a volunteer for an experimental project I've been working on for quite some time. Sir, I've successfully created the U.S. military's answer to any problem, an actual Super Soldier.
Sam narrowed his eyes, "Super Soldier huh? You know, any other week, I'd say you had blown my mind. But after the last few days, a super soldier doesn't come close."
Lex frowned, "You're not as impressed as I had hoped. I guess Project Metallo might as well wait. No worries, my last reveal is perhaps the greatest discovery of our very existence. Extraterrestrial life exists on our planet general. We're not alone in the universe." He said as his frown quickly turned back to a grin.
Sam smiled, feeling like he finally knew a little bit about something Lex was talking about, "Oh you mean Superman, yeah, I've already met him."
Lex stopped in his tracks, completely and utterly confused, "Who the hell is Superman?"
