Chapter 83: People Who Know Things
Disclaimer: All things Supergirl/Superman belong to DC. No infringement is intended.
Lois Lane knew things. Things that almost no one else in the world knew. Things that some people would probably pay big money for. Things that some people might very well kill other people for. She had known these things for quite a while now and had so far refused to act on them in any way, shape, or form. She was at a point, though, where she could not do so anymore.
The secret she was keeping was eating her alive. She was a journalist, for God's sake. It was her job to uncover secrets, to pull them out into the open, and show them to the entire world. Keeping this one secret hidden away from everyone was causing her almost physical pain by now. There had been times in the past when she had wondered why so many people seemed incapable of keeping secrets for any length of time, but now she knew. She needed to talk about them with someone or she would burst.
Given the nature of the secret she was keeping and the reason why she was keeping it, there really was just one person she could possibly talk to about it. A person that was rather hard to meet but was finally in Metropolis.
Striding into the office building where the local branch of K-Solutions was operating from, Lois Lane was a woman on a mission. She would tell Karen Kent, aka Superwoman, that she knew her secret and then... actually, she had no idea what would happen afterwards. She just knew that she needed to tell someone that she had figured it out. Whatever happened afterwards, at least she would not explode from the sheer pressure of keeping this secret any longer.
That much, at least, she knew.
The employees of K-Solutions, one of the most successful technology companies in the entire world, knew that their boss, Karen Kent, did most of her work from home. Very few of them knew where said home actually was, of course, and it had become something of a game among them to make up ever more outrageous theories as to where their mysterious boss really lived.
One of them had actually mentioned a base on the moon, which had motivated Kara to build one.
Occasionally, though, even Karen Kent had to visit her offices in person in order to sign papers, attend a few in-person meetings, and generally do stuff she really did not like doing, but had to in order to keep the company running. Besides, even with the very generous salaries and bonuses she paid her employees, it was a good idea to keep an eye on them now and then, just to be sure.
"Ms. Kent?"
Karen looked up from her papers. Gloria, her local assistant, was standing in her office door.
"Yes, Gloria?"
"The security desk called. There is someone here to see you without an appointment."
Kara frowned, then quickly called up the feed from the security desk on her monitor. She immediately recognized the young woman standing there, shifting from foot to foot. Lois Lane, also known as Superwoman's Pal. Okay, this could get awkward very quickly.
"Please tell her that my calendar is full for today, but if she were to make an appointment..."
"She, ah," Gloria interrupted her. "Well, she said that I should mention Joseph Martin. I fear the name does not ring a bell, Ms. Kent."
Kara cursed internally, for the name certainly rang a bell with her. Joseph Martin, aka the Atomic Skull, aka the villain Superwoman had been fighting the first time she had met a young Daily Planet intern called Lois Lane. Until now she had held out a faint hope that Lois was here merely to interview Karen Kent, CEO, but the mention of Martin dashed that hope but good. There was no reason for Lois to mention that name unless she knew exactly who Karen Kent actually was.
"Give me five minutes, Gloria, then bring her in," Kara finally said.
Gloria nodded and closed the door. Kara quickly reached for her communicator and dialed up a certain number.
"Yes?" the gruff voice of Batman came through a moment later.
"We have a problem, Bruce. There is a possibility that Batman and Superwoman's real identities will be a headline tomorrow."
"White?" Bruce asked.
"No, Lane," she replied. "She is outside my office right now and wants to see Karen Kent, but she name-dropped Joseph Martin."
"The Atomic Skull," Bruce immediately clued in. "Where she met Superwoman."
"Exactly."
"Very well, I will make preparations to invoke Plan Zeta the moment you give the word."
"Yes, thank you. I will let you know."
She turned off the communicator and sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Ever since the day Bruce and she had first learned each other's identities and started cooperating in the business world, they had both been aware of the inherent danger. Karen Kent and Bruce Wayne were linked, had been even before their public relationship a few years back. So, if one of them was exposed to the world, there was a good chance that the other would be, too. So being who they were, they had made plans for that eventuality.
If necessary, both Bruce Wayne and Karen Kent would cease to exist from one day to the next. Their respective companies would end up being run by other people, the documents for that having been set up years ago, and new identities were waiting for both of them. Smallville resident Karen Kent had no connection to the high-powered CEO who shared her name that anyone would be able to find, of course, so her home life should hopefully not be affected either way. Still, she hoped that all these preparations would not be needed.
Mentally preparing herself, she guessed it was time to see how much Lois Lane knew and how well Kara knew the girl who called herself her greatest fan.
"I know who you are!"
Those were Lois' first words after she was shown into the office of Karen Kent and heard the door closing behind her. The woman sitting behind the desk merely raised an eyebrow at her, then motioned for her to sit down.
If Lois had had any doubts whatsoever, they were gone now. She had met Superwoman only twice in her life, but she would never forget that face. Karen Kent had her hair in a tight bun and wore makeup that subtly changed the contours of her cheek bones. She also wore glasses that somehow made her eyes look green instead of blue. As disguises went it was quite good, especially as Superwoman's lack of a mask caused most people to think that she did not have any sort of secret identity in the first place. If one knew what to look for, though, it was not hard to see.
"And who am I?" Kent asked, meeting Lois' eyes calmly. If she was in any way nervous, there were no signs Lois could see.
"You are Superwoman," Lois simply said, doing her best to appear as cool and calm as the woman who was still her idol and role model.
There was only silence for a few seconds, then Kent simply nodded. "Okay."
Lois blinked, taken aback. "O-Okay? That's it?"
A small smile appeared on Kent's face. "What did you expect from me, Lois? Stammered denials? Subtle threats, maybe? You are obviously certain, otherwise you would not be here."
Okay, Lois had not expected her to be so blasé about the whole thing. To be honest, though, she had not really had any idea how Superwoman would react.
"Oh, okay, so…," her voice trailed off.
Kent studied her for a moment, then chuckled. "You have not planned on anything past telling me that you know, right?"
Lois opened her mouth for a denial, but then her jaw snapped shut. Because Kent was right, of course.
"Yeah, I..."
"Why don't we start with how and when you figured it out," Kent invited her.
Lois nodded. That sounded like an idea. "I... well, it was about two years ago. I was still in college and... I would love to say it was journalistic brilliance or something, but... it was really just dumb luck."
Lois ducked her head. "I was researching powerful and influential women for an article I was going to write as part of my resumé. I had a picture of Karen Kent open on my laptop and ... well … I have a picture of... well, Superwoman as my desktop background. The two faces kind of ended up right next to each other and..."
"I see," Kent just said, a slight smile on her lips once again.
"The idea kind of hit me and wouldn't let go, so I started researching. The history of K-Solutions, Karen Kent, known appearances of Superwoman, the whole thing. There was nothing that screamed definite proof, but if one knew what to look for, too many things lined up too well for it to be coincidence."
She trailed off, not sure how to continue.
"So, you have known for two years," Kent said.
"And I never told anyone," Lois quickly said, looking up again. "I never planned to, either. I just... I've known for so long now and…"
"And you needed to tell someone," Kent finished for her. "I understand that."
Kent rose from her seat and walked around the desk, perching on the edge of it right beside Lois. Lois did not think it was meant to be intimidating, but nevertheless it was.
"So, what now?" Kent asked. "What do you intend to do with this knowledge?"
"I... I don't know," Lois said.
Kent opened her mouth to say something, but suddenly there was an almighty crash from outside. Faster than Lois could even blink Kent was at the window, looking outside. Lois scrambled off her seat to join her.
Looking out the window, the two women saw that the skies over Metropolis were suddenly a deep, crimson red.
"What's going on here?" Lois asked, her voice almost drowned out by the howling of the storm that had come from nowhere.
"I do not know," Kara replied.
"Okay, people, you know what is at stake," Kara yelled, the quantum shields failing all around her as the entropic energies were unleashed from the tear in space-time in wild surges of antimatter. "The fate of the entire multiverse rests on our shoulders. If we cannot defeat the Anti-Matter Man here and now, he will destroy all of creation!"
The skies burned a deep, crimson red as the Justice League advanced forward in an all-or-nothing charge to defeat the monstrous menace from beyond the boundaries of time and space that had already destroyed countless worlds. So many of their friends and allies had already perished, but they refused to surrender.
"FOOLS," the giant figure of the Anti-Matter Man thundered, even as he killed the Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman with a casual wave of his hand. "YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME!"
"Now, Adam," Kara yelled, even as she attacked the indestructible entity before her. She had super-charged her cells by merging with an infant Sun Eater. The massive overdose of solar radiation would kill her within a few hours, but that hardly mattered at this point. "Activate the Miracle Machine!"
Adam Strange nodded. The aptly named Miracle Machine they had painfully assembled from parts scattered all across space and time hummed to life before him. The Controller who had told them about it was dead, of course, killed by the pawns of the Anti-Matter Man. But they had prevailed in the end; the machine was ready and would save them all. Or so they hoped.
An incredibly bright explosion signaled the death of Superwoman as she unleashed the force of a dozen super novas against the creature that had already killed so many worlds as it casually strolled through the positive matter universes, leaving nothing but emptiness in its wake. The creature merely paused, more annoyed than actually hurt, but it bought Adam the time he needed.
Even as Batman teleported a matter-bomb directly into the creature's heart, Adam focused his will and the Green Lantern ring on his finger, the last of its kind, flared to life. Guy Gardner, the sole survivor of the Green Lantern Corps after the Anti-Matter Man had appeared on Oa, had given it to him seconds before he perished in a surge of anti-matter. Adam would put it to good use now.
His thoughts, shaped by the ring, guided the machine and the flow of time began to reverse. Space and time shuddered as the Anti-Matter Man was wiped from the time stream, never to have existed in the first place. Adam's final thought as he found himself fading from existence was that it was almost a shame that none of them would even remember this monumental event. The multiverse would live, and no one would ever know how close they had come to the end.
"I... I don't know," Lois said.
Kara blinked, experiencing a brief moment of déjà vu. Then she shook her head, focusing back on the matter at hand.
"Well, you should figure it out, Lois," she told her. "I am sure you can imagine that I am not too keen on everyone knowing that Superwoman and Karen Kent are one and the same person. It would disrupt much of the work I am doing here."
Lois looked up at her, puzzled. "I was… I was actually hoping to ask you about that. Why... why are you doing this... this charade? Just to earn money?"
Kara looked at her for a long moment, then chuckled. "Oh, Lois. You did not really do your homework on this one, did you?"
The young reporter looked offended for a moment. "What? What do you mean?"
"If anything, it's Superwoman who is the charade, not Karen Kent. And it is not about money, never has been."
She debated with herself how much to tell the young woman in front of her. Having talked to her, she was rather sure that Lois did not intend to expose her, but she was clearly burning with curiosity. It was the hallmark of a good reporter, she guessed.
"Everything I have ever told to the public and the press about me is the truth, Lois," she began. "Not the whole truth, naturally, but the truth. The death of my world, my son and I being the sole survivors, everything. Arriving here, I was solely focused on ensuring that my son would never experience what I went through. This planet, Earth, it is my second home and it is the only home my son has ever known. It will not share Krypton's fate! I will not allow that!"
"I... I understand, but what has that got to do with...?"
"Did you know that companies in seven different countries are currently building spaceships?" Kara asked her. "And I mean reusable ones that can be used to reach the moon, Mars, the asteroid belt. Not merely for exploratory reasons, but to set up bases, mining operations, outposts. It will happen within the decade."
"I…. no, I had no idea."
"And did you know that currently 46% of the world's energy demands are met by way of solar power generation? We estimate that we will reach 80% by the time the first moon base goes online. The energy collected from the sun is stored in batteries that are 95% recycled materials. Pollution indexes have declined steadily during the last few years."
Lois sat there, her mouth hanging open. "And... all of that is your doing?"
Kara chuckled. "My doing? No, not at all. It is all done by human hands and human minds. I just... let us say I supply the right nudge here and there, make sure that certain innovations are not stifled by outdated regulations or corruption, and deliver the occasional new idea into the hands of people willing to run with it."
She leaned forward. "I never planned on Superwoman, Lois. Do not get me wrong, I used my powers to help people long before anyone knew about it and I will never regret doing it. But Superwoman is all about saving the day. This here, my company, the work we do, is about saving the future. Making sure that Earth prospers and endures."
A wistful smile appeared on her face. "To make sure that a thousand years from now, Earth will be a living, thriving planet at the heart of a peaceful, prosperous alliance of worlds and species."
Lois blinked. "That sounds wonderful. And... oddly specific, too."
Kara chuckled again. She was not about to tell Lois about time travel and the Legion of Superheroes.
"So, what now, Lois?" Kara asked. "Do I need to make preparations for seeing my name in the papers tomorrow?"
Lois quickly shook her head. "No! No, I never planned to publish any of this. At least…," she met Kara's eyes. "I was kind of hoping that, if you ever do plan to go public with your identity and everything else..."
Kara nodded. "I currently have no plans in that direction, but should that ever change, you will be the first person I shall call."
"Good. And thank you."
Lois got up, apparently still trying to digest everything, and headed towards the door. With her hand already poised on the door handle, she turned around to look at Kara.
"I meant it, you know?" Lois said. "Every time I wrote that I am your biggest fan. It's still true. And I think it always will be."
Kara smiled. "That's good to know."
Security Report – Designated Confidential – Recipient: Dominion Security Bureau
Honored Superiors,
This operative is proud to report that we now know the location of the Kryptonians who destroyed the Lime research station and are responsible for the murder of three citizens of the Dominion. The coordinates of the star system are part of this report and the Kryptonians reside on the third planet.
In order to facilitate a swift and just punishment of the Kryptonians, this operative will continue to gather more information about this world and its defenses. The Dominion shall soon possess all knowledge necessary to proceed in whatever way my superiors see fit.
Always your Inferior.
End Chapter 83
Author's Note: The Anti-Matter man's first appearance was in "Crisis Between Earth-One and Earth-Two" (Justice League of America Vol.1 #46-47) in 1966 and in many ways he was the prototype for the Anti-Monitor. Hailing from the Antimatter Universe of Qward, his presence in the positive matter universes of Earth-1 and -2 destabilized everything and threatened to annihilate creation. He was finally stopped by the combined forces of the JLA and the JSA, as well as the Spectre. And if that sounds familiar, yes, it's basically the same plot as Crisis on Infinite Earths, just 20 years earlier, shorter, and with no casualties. And yes, I did say I was not going to put any Crisis-style stories in here. Seeing as no one involved remembers anything and the world was reset by the aptly named Miracle Machine, I rest my case.
Lois Lane first met Superwoman when she battled the Atomic Skull way back in chapter 7.
Up next: Secret Identity Crisis