Hello friends! This chapter's for elizabeta H. Austria.
Song: Touch The Sky
Sometimes Arthur really wished he had a desk job. Not that he didn't like being a reporter, oh no, he loved it. Getting behind the scenes and discovering the real story. He was very lucky to be employed to the Daily Planet, one of the few newspaper companies that didn't eat out of Anya Braginski's palm like half the city did. But there were times when certain aspects of his job made him yearn for a safer, calmer career. For instance, at the moment he was hanging on for dear life to a seat belt attached to a damaged helicopter that was teetering precariously on the edge of a thirty story building. The men at the top of the building couldn't reach him and the helicopter pilot was unconscious. His parents had always told him his curiosity would get him into trouble…
"Help! Someone help!" he yelled. He could hear screams and cries of alarm far below on the street. The rock-solid, uncompromising, bone crushing street. "HELP!"
A memory of the day before briefly flashed through his mind. A girl had fallen from her apartment's balcony and had been saved by a blue-eyed "angel" wearing a crown. It had been all over the news as the people of Metropolis had puzzled over this amazing phenomena. Arthur had dismissed the story as complete rubbish - I mean come on, angels? - but now he wished with all his might that a similar miracle would occur. His arms ached from holding on for so long and the tough material of the seat belt bit into his hands. He tried climbing up the belt, but the helicopter slid farther down the side of the building and his hands slipped. A gasp escaped his throat as precious inches of rope slid through his hands and he let out a panic-stricken scream as he lost grip entirely and fell.
As the ground rushed up to meet him Arthur squeezed his eyes shut and prayed his death would be painless. Suddenly, all the air whooshed out of his lungs as he landed into two powerful arms. Searching for air, he opened his eyes to find himself looking into a pair of bright blue orbs. The woman who owned these eyes smiled at him and tightened her grip around his legs and waist. "Don't worry sir, I've got you!" she said.
Arthur's relief was cut short when he remembered that they were still TWO HUNDRED FEET OFF THE GROUND! "You've got me? W-who's got you?!" he squeaked. The woman just smiled and started flying upwards. A loud screech made Arthur and the crowd below cry out in fear as the helicopter finally toppled off the roof and started falling. The woman flew on undaunted and, after shifting her grip on Arthur, caught the entire helicopter with one hand. People below cheered as this mystery hero flew to the top of the building and set both helicopter and reporter safely on the rooftop.
By now paramedics and policemen had reached the top ,and the woman gestured to the helicopter pilot. "Gentlemen, this man needs help," she said, before turning to Arthur. Now that he was no longer in mortal danger, the reporter inspected his savior closely. The woman was about an inch shorter than him and had shoulder length dirty-blonde hair to go along with her blue eyes. For the most part she looked, well, human. It was her costume that really caught Arthur's attention though: She wore a muted green tunic and leggings accompanied by gold boots and a spiked crown that reminded him of the Statue of Liberty.
"Well, I hope this incident hasn't put you off flying," the woman joked. Arthur shook his head firmly and continued to stare. She was very, very, VERY attractive. "I mean, statistically speaking, it's the safest way to travel."
"Right…" Arthur watched dumbfounded as she turned and started to walk away. "Wait!" he called out. She turned to him curiously. Gathering his courage he asked, "Who are you?"
She paused for a second before replying. "A friend." Then she bent her knees slightly and took off into the sky. Arthur squinted and looked up until long after she had disappeared from sight.
Amelia groaned and flopped onto her bed dramatically. "What am I gonna dooooooooooo?!"
Her twin brother, Matthew, watched her in amusement before sitting next to her prostrate form. "Well, we keep a low profile. That's what we've always done before."
Amelia peeked up and him, "Not gonna work this time. I've settled in Metropolis now." She held up the newspaper clutched in her hand and waved it around. "Look at this! They're calling me Lady Liberty! People want to know all about me, Matt! Some are even afraid of me."
Matthew scratched his chin. "That does fit you. Kudos to whoever came up with the name." Amelia groan and let her head fall back onto the bed. "Maybe this will teach you to not get involved next time," Matthew continued. "Especially in that… suit Ma made you-"
Amelia bolted up to a sitting position. "Oh, and I'm just supposed to let people die, huh?! Just sit back and watch people get shot, robbed, raped, and murdered when I can help?"
"That's not what I meant!"
"That's exactly what you meant!"
The twins glared at each other fiercely. Both felt their energy gather behind their eyes, and both looked away before their heat vision could hurt anything.
"...I hate this." Matthew whispered, looking down at his hands. To anyone else they looked like normal human hands but he knew that these hands could easily pound a building into rubble. "I hate having these….powers. I just want to be human!"
Tears, not energy, gathered at the corners of his eyes now. "I want to inherit Pa's farm, get married, have kids…. I want a normal life! Is that too much to ask? I don't want to fly faster than sound or leap over tall buildings. I mean you-" He looked up at his sister. "You like it! You like your powers. You embrace it and that's probably why you like moonlighting as some sort of hero! You don't care that we're alie-" he broke off abruptly and sniffled.
Amelia watched him somberly for a few seconds before pulling him in for a rough hug. "Yeah, I understand."
Matthew smiled sadly and looked out the window. Fields of hay caught his eye and their adoptive father's tractor could be seen in the distance.
"Maybe it would be a good idea for people to know more about 'Lady Liberty'," he said. "I don't want anyone thinking you're like that crazy vigilante in Gotham City. What's her name again? Rose Noire?" Amelia giggled.
"Yeah, you're probably right, bro. And I know the perfect reporter for the job."
"Are you sure you're all right, Arthur?"
Arthur resisted the urge to sigh into the phone. If he had a pound for every time someone had asked him that in the last twenty-four hours…he'd have nineteen pounds. But that wasn't the point. Still, it wouldn't be fair to snap at "Smallville", as Arthur had dubbed the newest reporter at the Planet. Amelia Jones was good at her job, but otherwise uninteresting physically and socially. She was a short girl with mousy blonde hair and dull blue eyes hidden by a pair of enormous glasses. She was always hunched over and clumsier than a bull in a china shop. Now, if he had a pound for every time Amelia had dropped something, tripped, or in general made a mess of things, he'd be a bloody billionaire.
"I assure you, I'm absolutely fine….. mmhmm, yes. Yes, I'll see you tomorrow, Smallville." He quickly hung up and grabbed the cup of tea that had been resting on the table and walked out onto his large balcony. Arthur was fortunate enough to live in a large penthouse that had a beautiful view of the city. He often spent his evenings sitting out there with a cup of tea and a good book. He didn't have the willpower to focus on reading tonight, however; his thoughts were continually straying to a certain hero…
"Good evening Mr. Kirkland!" a cheery, familiar voice called out from behind him. Arthur choked on his tea and spun around. He looked on disbelievingly as Lady Liberty landed on his balcony ledge.
"H-hi!" He managed to get out.
The heroine eyed his dress shirt and slacks (he hadn't bothered to change when he got home) and asked, "Oh, do you have anything plans for this evening? I can come back another ti-"
"NO!" Arthur leapt to his feet and ran forward to meet her. "Don't move!" He blushed suddenly at the ridiculous command. "Er, that is, you can move. Just… don't fly off anywhere."
A wide grin spread over Liberty's face and she jumped off the ledge. "I'm sorry to bother you so late, Mr. Kirkland, but I know there are a lot of questions people just have about me and….yeah." She trailed off shyly. Arthur's eyes widened. Was Lady Liberty asking him for an interview?!
"Of course!" He pulled out his ever ready notepad and pencil from his pocket before inviting his guest to sit in one of the chairs. They both sat and Arthur inquired, "Can I get you a beverage? Tea? Wine?"
Liberty shook her head. "Nah, I never drink and fly." Arthur bit back a chuckle and started jotting down notes on his pad.
"Well, let's start with your vital statistics…. Um, are you married?"
A bubble of laughter escaped Liberty's lips. "No."
"Do you have a boyfriend then?" And why do I care so much if you do? he thought.
"No I don't, but, uh…" Liberty looked down at her hands. "If I did, Mr. Kirkland, you'd be the first to know about it." Arthur blushed a deep crimson and it took him a while to write it down.
"R-right. How old are you?"
Pause. "...Over twenty-one."
Taking that as a sign to move on to something else, Arthur asked, "What powers do you have?"
"Super strength, speed, invulnerability, flight, heat vision, enhanced senses-"
"Stop! Stop!" Arthur looked at her incredulously. "How-? How are you… I mean, are you…?"
"Human?" Liberty finished. "No, so far as I know, we- ah, I'm the sole survivor of the planet known as Hetalia. It was destroyed years ago, when I was just a baby. I get my powers from this solar system's yellow sun."
Arthur swallowed nervously. Lady Liberty was an alien? An actual alien? It made sense of course, with her superpowers and all that, but still…. it was kind of terrifying to think of.
Liberty must have seen the fear in his eyes because she said, "All I ask is that you tell the truth about me."
"And that is…?"
She sighed, "I'm not here to scare anyone. In fact, I've always wanted to help people whenever possible."
"You sound too good to be true, Miss Liberty." Arthur admitted. Liberty shrugged and an awkward silence fell over them. Come on you git, say something! "How fast can you fly?"
Liberty smiled apologetically. "I've never actually bothered to time myself." She glanced over the city then eyed Arthur mischievously. "Why don't we find out?"
Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and how would we do that?"
Liberty gracefully got to her feet and held out a hand. "Take a ride with me?" Her smile widened as Arthur let out an amused chuckle.
"Me? Fly?"
"Well, I'll do the flying, if it's all the same to you." Liberty replied. Arthur looked at her proffered hand. It was small and delicate-looking, like a real woman's hand. Yet Arthur had seen that very hand catch a helicopter. Could he really, truly trust her? The look into her blue eyes calmed any worries to be had. Lady Liberty wouldn't let him get hurt.
Reaching out, he gently took her hand. "Well, I've always wanted to fly…"
Yup, Superman parodies. Technically it's a mix of the first Superman movie and the animated series because Lois is a perv in the movie ("What color underwear an I wearing?" XD).
I'm sorry elizabeta, you probably wanted this to be more focused on England. Well... BLAME THE HERO(INE)! THAT'S WHAT THE WORLD'S DOING THESE DAYS!
(P.S. Epic and I are arguing over whether Batman is the greatest superhero of all time or not (he is btw). Leave a review and tell me your opinion.)