The month of January has arrived. In one of the cold and snowy winters in the United States, the week in which President Lex Luthor delivered his speech to the nation was almost like spring. It was very cold, but the sky was cloudless, their blue so intense that Lois couldn't help but smile every time she looked at it. And she looked at them a lot in the last few days. Her short stay on the farm taught her to appreciate the open spaces of D.C.'s sky. In the Congo and later in Gotham she could barely see the sky.
After her confrontation with Bruce in the cave she insisted on helping the underground, actively participating in the plan to take down Lex. She didn't know what she was getting herself into. Bruce put her through a training course her father would have been proud of. The solutions that Lois found to the challenges he set before her surprised him every time. Bruce wanted her to wear a costume, but she made it clear that she wasn't going to be a superhero and that her biggest asset was the fact that people knew her. Lois became a symbol of the resistance quickly which worried Bruce but in the end she was right. No matter how much Lex tried to twist the information to neutralize her influence on the nation Lois always pulled out something that caught him off guard. She was more unpredictable than the Joker and her optimism, determination and belief in the cause infected all the people she worked with. If Bruce somewhere saw the Birds of Prey as his soldiers, Lois showed up and proved him wrong. Oracle and the women she gathered around her became even more independent and even less predictable than Lois. And when Supergirl joined the celebration, well... Bruce decided to admit defeat.
Black Canary worked in the White House, Diana lived in D.C. as an ambassador, Supergirl did not stop in one place more than necessary, her every action restores people's hope and faith in Superman. Lois just made trouble. She appeared at the center of Lex's most important events humiliating him, embarrassing him, distracting him. And all this time Oracle was digging and looking for the information they needed. This week all this effort bore fruit.
A few weeks ago, Kara and Bruce found Perry White and Jimmy Olson. They also discovered that the re-education camps were not in North Dakota but in Alaska on what looked like oil rigs. Perry and Jimmy were deemed unfit for re-education, but Lex couldn't let them roam free either, so he put them in deep freeze. Supergirl moved both and all the freezing containers to the Fortress and the Fortress began the process of thawing them and bringing them back to life. They sent the other journalists home secretly, leaving a few people to man the rigs and give the impression that everything is normal.
But Canary and Oracle found the real treasure. Hidden deep within Lex's personal files they finally found the clip. Lex's ego wouldn't let him delete it and he watched the clip more times than any other clip. The Appalachian Massacre was not the only crime Lex had committed against the American people and Oracle now had conclusive evidence that would stand up in a court of law. In addition, throughout this time Canary, according to Oracle's exact instructions, buried code snippets in Lex's system and now in one word Oracle was going to delete all of Lex's database. A database that also contained Superman's energy signature.
In recent weeks, Lois and the Birds of Prey have gradually taken down the pranks and acts of sabotage directed at Lex and his government, deliberately creating the impression that Lex's scare tactics are working and thereby encouraging Lex to enter into a sense of victory and complacency.
Lex Luthor was going to give his State of the Nation address tonight. The Justice League, the Underground, the Resistance, and Lois Lane were going to make sure this speech revealed a lot more than Lex intended.
It's a Tuesday in the last week of January and families all over the United States are sitting down in front of the television waiting for the State of the Nation Address by the President of the United States, Lex Luthor. The Kents and families in the underground complex also sat down in front of the television. Clark was standing in the kitchen fiddling with the coffee machine. He didn't really want to hear Lex's lies. On the kitchen island were bills of the Smallville Post that he had to go through. It could have waited another day or two, but Clark preferred to manage the newspaper's bills than listen to Lex.
The symbol of the office of the president appeared on televisions all over the United States.
"Clark!" Jonathan exclaimed. "It's starting!"
"Coming."
Clark looked at the bracelet on his hand and then through the window at the American flag flying proudly outside. Minutes passed.
"Clark!" Martha called. Something in her voice made Clark rush into the living room.
On the TV screen Lex Luthor's proud face was interrupted by static. His smug smile froze for a second before the transmission interference won out and the screen filled with a very familiar sight, at least to Clark. This was the background of the title of the Torch, the United States flag waving and in front and to the left the torch of the Statue of Liberty.
"What?" Clark said, "What happened?"
"There were disturbances and..." Martha began only then Perry White sat down at the table that the camera suddenly contained. "Is it...?" Clark sat down.
"Hello, ladies and gentlemen." Perry said with a smile. "I am Perry White and until five years ago I was the editor of the Daily Planet. The rumours of my death were not only exaggerated but also false. In the next hour my friends and I will do our best to show you the true state of the nation and reveal the true face of the President of the United States, Lex Luthor.
"Uncle Sam and his Freedom Fighters," a familiar image that appeared in wanted ads of Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters replaced the torch to Perry's left, "will do everything to ensure the continuation of our broadcast and I understand they are receiving close assistance from the Justice League.
"And if we're talking about the Justice League, let's start with the greatest hero of all, Superman." A picture of Superman replaced the picture of Uncle Sam.
The Kents exchanged glances with Clark just shrugging. He hasn't been in contact with anyone from the League since Lois left. This whole broadcast was a big surprise for him too.
"And it is appropriate that we begin with Superman, since the event that caused Superman to leave the planet was the cornerstone of Mr. Luthor's great plan to bring order to the United States. A plan that received the full support of Congress and led to the nationalization of all media and a general mobilization against an enemy whose identity has not been clarified to this day. To that end, I'd like to invite one of the best investigative journalists I've had the honour of working with, Lois Lane."
Lois entered the broadcast and sat next to Perry, the image of Superman between them. Lois wore a red suit, her hair was elegantly pulled up and she looked professional, dignified, and alive.
Ella Lane, in Washington, DC, looked at her older daughter with a smile. Lois looked good, ends of hair slipping out of the pins and sliding down the side of her face. Ella grabbed the remote and turned up the volume. Sitting next to her, Lucy smiled at her mother.
"First, maybe we should clarify something." Perry said.
"Yes, absolutely. Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters never kidnapped me." Lois said with a smile. "It wasn't necessary because I went looking for them the moment I knew they existed. I arrived at Metropolis and a reality I never expected to see in my nightmares. Soldiers with weapons at the gates of the Daily Planet. All my friends and co-workers were gone."
"And the first thing you did?"
"I went out to find Clark Kent, my fiancé." Her smile grew and her eyes shone. Clark smiled in response. "He updated me on everything that had happened since I disappeared in the Congo and as soon as I knew he was safe and protected I went to look for the underground. We both didn't believe that Superman was responsible for what happened in the Appalachians five years ago and I had every intention of proving it, bringing the truth to light."
"I was here five years ago, Lois. This terrible tragedy in which 376 people perished for no apparent reason has troubled the American public ever since. No one has been able to explain what happened there and Superman is not in the area and has not been in the area since to explain. The only survivor." Lois nodded.
"What happened in the Appalachians was terrible and what was even worse was that the victims of this massacre never got justice. No one ever investigated what happened there."
"Some would say it's obvious." Perry said.
"Yes, it's much easier to blame Superman who isn't here to prove or disprove things. But anyone who knows Superman would never believe that this man was responsible for what happened there. There was no reason for Superman to attack innocent people."
"I think you're a little biased." It was clear that Perry had taken on the role of the skeptic. "A few months before you disappeared in the Congo Superman lost control of his powers and it was only by luck that no one was hurt! And this was not the only time he lost control, or someone forced his will on him."
"And you forget that in every case Superman made sure to compensate everyone who was hurt, to evacuate the injured, to comfort the mourners if there were any and to repair any damage. And I think that in the final summary of things Superman did more good for the human race, the earth and everyone who asked for his help than he caused damage. I'd say Superman is more than entitled to the benefit of the doubt and is innocent until proven guilty. The bare minimum is to investigate and find out what exactly happened, don't you think, Perry?" Perry smiled at her.
"And I understand that's what you did."
"One of the first things I did, yes. I met Supergirl and she pointed me in the right direction. I couldn't investigate on my own for reasons I'll explain later but I got a lot of help from the Justice League. We found something in an unexpected place, a video clip. Someone filmed what happened..." Silence prevailed in tens of millions of households in the United States. "Our assumption? Only someone who knew this was going to happen could have filmed what happened and only someone responsible for what happened could have known it would happen. The quality of this video is incredible. I want to warn in advance that the video you are about to watch contains horrific events, it is an accurate record of what happened in the Appalachian Massacre. I suggest keeping small children away from television, these are particularly difficult events, and the experience will be traumatic. There is no doubt about that." She shook her head at the camera and a video was played.
... Superman landed near a chain wreck in front of a bridge. The point of view at first was far from the ground but the camera seems to be moving closer together with Superman to the area of the event. He started rescuing people from vehicles, keeping vehicles from falling into the mouth of an abyss. Since the bridge was the continuation of a main street in a small mining town, people rushed to help as much as they could. It was clear that there were many casualties, but no one was killed. The ambulances started to approach. Superman was at the center of it all trying to calm scared people and crying children and then it happened. Three medics who were standing next to Superman, trying to treat an injured pregnant woman, suddenly collapsed to the ground in what appeared to be excruciating pain. There was no sound in the video. The pregnant woman writhed in pain. Superman looked around, trying to find the source of their pain, and finding nothing. He rushed to help another group of people only for them to writhe in pain as well. The circle of suffering people progressed from Superman outward in ever-increasing circles. Superman's face was full of suffering, people were hurting around him, and he had no idea why and how to stop it, how to protect them. He stood there, people around him writhing in pain until they died on the ground, helpless. Then he looked up for long minutes and then lifted off and flew away. The camera followed him. Wherever he flew people died from immense pain. He flied faster and faster and disappears ...
"In the name of Caesar's spirit," Perry said after a moment. "It's worse every time you watch it."
"Yes."
"But that doesn't explain what caused..." he said. Lois nodded.
"The people in Glory Falls agreed to let scientists from Star Labs examine the bodies. The cars, the bridge, and the ground itself were also examined. In the area of the accident where it all started nothing has grown since. The trees that were there dried up and turned black. Metals were electrified and distorted. The scientists who investigated the incident concluded that the area was attacked with concentrated microwave beams. After a complicated geometrical calculation, they found the source of the microwave beams in a geosynchronous orbit over the east coast."
"And what was it? An alien attack? A strange space phenomenon? An experiment gone wrong?" The picture between Lois and Frey has changed.
"A space satellite that the US government approved for launch a few months after Lex Luthor entered the Oval Office. A Lexcorp satellite." She looked directly at the camera. "You can find the video and the full report by Star Labs scientists on the Torch website." The address of the blog appeared in clear letters at the bottom of the image.
Clark hurried and brought his laptop and opened the blog. Everything was there as Lois said. He also found a small, unapologetic note from Batman. It was quiet in the living room. He slowly raised his head and looked at his parents. They looked back at him worriedly.
"Dad?"
"Clark? Why didn't you tell us about all this?" Jonathan asked.
"I didn't know what Lois was planning..."
"We aren't talking about that!" Martha said. "We're talking about what happened at Glory Falls!" On TV, Perry started talking about crime and unemployment figures, succeeding in bringing enthusiasm even to the dry numbers, but the Kents didn't care about that.
"Oh. Hmmm... there was nothing you could have done, and I saw no reason to worry you and..."
"Son, you went through all this alone! You should have told us!"
"I..." Martha hugged him tightly.
"You saw all these people die…" Martha whispered. She looked at his face. Clark took a deep breath.
"I had to leave it behind, mother, I wouldn't have been able to get out of bed otherwise." Martha hugged him again.
"Oh, honey." Jonathan patted Clark on the shoulder.