Chapter 19

Metropolis...

Lana is sitting at her desk at her office in the building where she operates her business from reading Clark's latest letter to her. Handwritten on a piece of paper. Clark hasn't caught up to the digital age yet...and in reality Lana knows he just likes to write the old-fashioned way. In many ways Clark's letters start off the same expressing he is alright...like the virtually invulnerable man would be any other way.

It's been almost a year since he left Metropolis. His letters have been infrequent. More so at the beginning for the first 5 or 6 months. Since then they have gotten more frequent and their tone more upbeat. Reading between the lines Lana took it to mean Clark was better within himself. Perhaps wishful thinking on her part but she liked to believe she was correct.

Lana reads on. Clark writes a lot about what he sees how the cultures work. He has a gift for seeing the view of the average person. He really is a talented writer. He always was but he seemed to have forgotten about that part of himself with everything that has happened to him. When he gets back Lana will have to remember to remind him of his talent.

Once she has finished reading the letter Lana picks the envelope back up and looks at the postmark.

Perth, Australia.

Lana turns to her computer and does a search for anything news worthy that happened there lately. In particular involving a blurred red/blue figure. Sure enough there it is. A plane with engine trouble coming into Perth's International Airport being saved by a mysterious figure in red and blue.

Lana had noticed that from everywhere Clark sent a letter from in the last few months there would be reports of a mysterious figure or a hero or an angel performing a heroic deed or 5.

Clark had not explained in his letters for obvious reasons that he could never be sure no-one else was reading them. Lana would love for him to visit though and explain what it was that inspired him to return to this whole using his power to help once again.

Lana peers closely at her computer at the few out-of-focus pictures of Clark. That was all anyone had managed to get of him. She is trying to figure out what it is Clark is wearing now. Her inner fashion designer curiosity demands to know. Clark was wearing something...like a long red trench coat she thinks. Blue clothes underneath. Well at least he was sticking to the colour scheme Lana thought worked best on him.

Just then her phone rings. She checks the ID and smiles thinking how nice it is to have a boyfriend once again.


The Watchtower...

At the meeting of the big 6 the mood is not one of a happy organisation. Lately the League had become frayed at the edges with a few of their member leaving citing the reason as that they were unhappy with the direction the League seemed to be going in claiming it was becoming too authoritarian and was starting to treat the members as if they were soldiers in a war.

For half of the big 6 they did see it as a war in many senses and that the only way they were going to win was if they were focused, disciplined and determined to do what was necessary to win. It wasn't what in an ideal world they would do but the world was far from ideal. It was becoming a dark, corrupt place thanks in particular to Lex Luthor and Intergang.

At the moment in this meeting Batman is bringing them up to speed on the activities of the Birds of Prey. For as long as this group's activities did not clash or interfere in League business they were inclined to allow it to continue to operate independently. However that was open to change if circumstances did.

Once Batman has brought them up to speed they move on to the newer issue of the recent rescue acts of a blurred red/blue figure. It didn't take much guess work on anyone's part to assume this was Clark Kent, whom not one of them sitting at this table, had seen in a year because who else would it be. It fitted perfectly with what people saw before when he was in Metropolis trying to be a hero.

"He's helping people. When did that come a bad thing?" Wally asks, troubled more and more by the direction and seemingly hardening attitudes of some of the people sitting at this table.

"No-one is saying that," Diana insists.

"He requires supervision," Aquaman states. "Nothing has changed in the intervening year to alter that," he explains why he still holds that opinion.

Wally looks to Hal with an expression that says 'Can you believe this?' because he most surely doesn't.

Aquaman turns to Batman. "Do you know his current whereabouts?" he asks.

"He has not been remaining in the same place for very long. This makes tracking his exact location at any given time difficult."

"Which is a long winded way of saying no," Hal summarises while rolling his eyes at why Bruce just couldn't give the short answer. He sighs. "You know what it's attitudes like this that have caused others to walk away," Hal expresses his view finally getting off his chest something that has been needling at him for ages.

Aquaman snorts in a derisive manner. "Those that have left simply didn't have the wisdom nor resolve to see what we are doing is what is needed to save this world," he states in quite an arrogant, condescending voice...or in other words pretty much the usual one for the King of the Seas.

"Right," Hal drawls sarcastically. "Hijacking oil tankers is what is necessary to 'save' this world," he says sardonically in reference to Aquaman's last over the top reaction to an accident and minor oil spillage.

Aquaman shoots to his feet, his face flushed with anger. "Do not lecture me how to rule over and take care of my domain!" he snaps at Hal threateningly. "I, unlike others here, know when to be responsible and not spend time seeing how many women they can get into bed," he insults Hal.

Hal gets to his feet, raises his ring and makes it glow. "Any time you want to go fishy just say the word," he challenges Aquaman being deliberately insulting.

"Sit down!" J'onn slaps them both down in a raised tone which catches both Hal's and Aquaman's attention since J'onn rarely raises his voice.

Diana agrees with J'onn sentiment. They were acting like children...no worse than children. They were acting like foolish men who were trying to see which was the alpha. Diana has no time for such foolishness as Hal's and Aquaman's respective egos. "That is enough. Both of you," she snaps in a commanding clear voice. The kind of voice that says dare mess with me and prepare to get a hurtin'.

Hal and Aquaman lower themselves back down into the respective chairs as Diana glares at them.

Diana's gaze does not let up as she speaks. "For now Clark Kent is not a priority," she determines. "If he wants to continue helping people and for as long as his activities do not interfere with ours I am perfectly happy to leave him. We have other much more important tasks," Diana states. It is not that she has changed her opinion from the vote they took a year ago about Clark Kent joining. She has not. It is just the circumstances they face have changed. The world is a darker, deadlier place and therefore Clark Kent is just down the the League's 'To Do' list.

Diana continues to speak. "We require to focus on the two most pressing issues. One we still don't have a lead on where Intergang is getting this advanced weapons technology it is selling nor do we have any clear idea of who is it's current leader."

In the past year Intergang's power and influence had been getting more and more prevalent to the point Diana had to call it a threat to global security. It seemed to be behind several crises in what looked like attempts to destabilise entire countries. For what end could not be determined only it must be the directive of whoever the mystery leader of Intergang is. A man no-one could identify.

Diana continues with the other pressing issue. "Two. Lex Luthor and the Injustice League." Lex was always a priority in trying to find a way to link him to the Injustice League and therefore finally have grounds to arrest him. "Now does anyone have a problem with what I have laid out?" she inquires of the other 5 around the table.

Diana takes the silence that follows as a no.


Tokyo, Japan...

Lois Lane steps out of the conference building where there will shortly be a press conference with the President whom she is accompanying on a tour of Asia. For the life of her Lois can't remember how Perry talked her into becoming a political correspondent especially considering Lois hates the day to day bore or is that chore of politics. Scandals, affairs, corruption...those are the bits of politics she likes.

Lois fumbles around in her purse and pulls out a packet of cigarettes. The reason she is outside in the first place. She puts one in her lips and lights it. She lets out an audible sigh of pleasure as the nicotine hits her bloodstream.

"I thought you were quitting."

Lois rolls her eyes before turning round to find her red-haired companion on this trip. "Olsen you are neither my mother nor my father so seriously get off my back," she warns him having had enough of his pestering her about her smoking. So yeah maybe she is smoking a little more than she use to but with her and Hal still on the outs she needs another way to relieve her stresses and she finds smoking relaxing.

"I'm just concerned about your health," Jimmy defends himself.

"Well when the day comes lung cancer is eating me alive I'll permit you to say 'I told you so'," Lois says in a rather snide sounding manner. "Seriously Olsen I don't know how you can have a girlfriend when you nag worse than my mother."

"Because I don't nag her because she's perfect in every way," he heaps praise on his current beau.

Lois rolls her eyes again at Jimmy's over-the-top lovey doveyness. She really does not need to hear that.

There is then a low rumbling sound that slowly starts to grow louder. The ground begins to move under Lois' and Jimmy's feet. At first they aren't that concerned. It's Japan. Earthquakes are common. Heck there was a tremor last night that woke Lois up for a few minutes but the intensity of this one just keeps getting larger and larger until it is difficult to remain upright.

CRACK!

The sound draws one's attention to this decorative steel spire that stands nearby. The spire has sheared at the base and is starting to topple over toward the conference building and for Lois and Jimmy right at them where it will crush them.

It's the strangest aspect of people that when your rational mind knows it needs to run from impending death you find that your feet turn leaden and you end up rooted to the spot and simply watching the reaper coming for you.

Except it never does as mere inches above Lois' and Jimmy's head the spire stops its descent and there floating directly in front of them is a man with a strong jaw, handsome features and vivid beyond description cerulean blue eyes. As Lois' mind starts to fire up again her eyes drift over his form from the long red coat over what Lois thinks is a blue t-shirt and jeans and if she is not mistaken to what are just standard buy from the shelf black work boots. It is a mixed and matched costume to say the least yet as he floats there holding this immense spire as easily as she might lift a cocktail stick Lois can't deny he puts out a presence.

"Are you two alright?" he asks.

Both Lois and Jimmy nod and the man puts the spire down to the side in a safe place before vanishing in a blur. There were many more people he needed to help.

By blurring away in a red and blue streak it finally hits Lois who that was. "That was the Blur."

Jimmy knows in fact that was Clark who he had not seen in over a year. "You think so?" Jimmy asks trying to sound uncertain so as to protect Clark. Lana had emphasised upon him the need to protect Clark and Jimmy agreed with her 100%.

"I know so," Lois says with absolute certainty although she had never seen his face as clearly as she had just seen it there. The man was gorgeous. He had also been a ghost since the incident in Gotham. Where had he been? What had he been up to? Why had he returned? These were vital questions and Lois Lane determined she would be the one who gets the answers.


A few days later Lois is still in Japan trying to pull together everything the Blur did which was a lot. All over the area affected by the powerful earthquake he was there putting out fires, pulling people to safety from under the rubble. He even managed to save the President who was almost crushed when a huge roof beam fell from directly above in the conference centre.

Someone managed to record that encounter on a phone and it was now all over the internet. As a result Lois had come to the conclusion that Texas needed to be kicked out of the union. Then she wouldn't have to deal with a barely mentally competent Texan President(who she never voted for by the way) who steal her headlines.

Lois clicks on the link on her laptop and even though it is a kind of torture for her watches the video back again.

There's the President off in a room awaiting to have that press conference. His bodyguards swarm in around him as the earthquake starts and they lead him out trying to escape the building. They enter the large hall of the conference centre. There is a loud cracking sound. The shaky phone pans up to the roof where dust falls from a steel beam that is breaking loose.

The beam falls but just as with herself and Jimmy there he is swooping into the rescue and he catches the beam and holds it as easy as if it weighed nothing. He then lifts the beam back up and using red beams from his eyes welds it back into place before floating back down.

"Are you alright Mr President?" the man once dubbed the Blur asks.

The President dusts himself off. "Yes son. Thank you kindly."

"I'm just here to help sir," the Blur says with that gosh darn honest smile that probably makes women melt.

Other women. Not Lois. It so takes more than that...and that dream she had the other night meant nothing despite the fact that it was that kind of dream. It's probably just because its been awhile since she had sex.

Back to the video the Blur continues to speak. "If you will please excuse me Mr President," he says with true politeness. "There are many other people who need my help."

The Blur lives up to his then name and blurs off out of shot. The phone pans back to the President. "Now that gentlemen," the President says to the others standing around. "That is some kind of super-man."

Superman.

In every paper the next day that had an image of him performing some kind of heroic rescue including one where he virtually stops an entire skyscraper toppling over by himself that is the name everyone used.

The damn president stole Lois' headline. Any chance he had of ever getting her vote when he tries to get re-elected is out the window Lois swears.

But she's not bitter. The President may have stolen the name from her but Lois can still get a story. After all who is Superman?

She only spoke to him once previously and he avoided answering that question. Then there is what happened back in Gotham with Poison Ivy a year ago. Never got his side of that story. Then there is where did he vanish off to and Lois means vanished. For perhaps at least 6 months not a peep. Then, as she found out after doing a little research, he is back popping up all around the world performing this rescue and that heroic feat.

Questions. Questions. Questions.

Too few scant answers.

Where to get answers?

That is the question Lois is struggling with. She taps her chin thoughtfully and tries to come to an answer but the problem is that she can't know where...Superman will show up.

The solution to the dilemma suddenly strikes her. If she can't get to him then somehow she has to find a way to get him to come to her.


Metropolis...

A week after the earthquake struck, a jet-lagged Jimmy Olsen walks into the apartment he now shares with his girlfriend. A tried smile comes to his face at that thought. He had never gotten as far as living with someone before so it was new territory and new discoveries but so far Jimmy had to say he liked it.

He looks at his watch and then realises it is still on Tokyo time. He rubs his face and tries to recall what the actual time here is and if his girlfriend is actually home or not and if she is and not in immediate sight whether it is late enough for her to be in bed or perhaps she is out with her friends.

He lets out a 'grrrr' of annoyance at himself. He was trying to surprise her but he might have messed up his timings. His brain is just too out of sync to think properly.

Jimmy crashes down upon the couch and closes his eyes. Perhaps he'll just let himself fall asleep right here.

"You're back!" an excited voice shouts.

Jimmy barely has time to re-open his eyes before he finds himself pinned down on the couch having the life kissed out of him. He guesses she missed him and well he missed her just as desperately as he gets involved in some serious making out. Hands start to peel clothes away.

"Oh Jimmy," his girlfriend says in a deep husky tone.

"Oh Lana," he moans back.

"Oh Jimmy," she moans in return.

"Oh Lana," Jimmy moans once more.

"Oh god! My eyes!" a new voice cries out.

There is a girlish scream in reaction...courtesy of Jimmy as he and Lana try to cover themselves.

Lana's eyes fall upon the intruder who has a hand covering his eyes. Her green eyes narrow in anger. "Clark!" she yells at him.

"Please don't yell at me," he pleads sounding pathetic.

"What do you expect me to do when you burst in here unexpectedly...without knocking first!"

"Well I didn't expect to find you and Jimmy trying to ensure the redhead gene survives for another generation did I?" Clark says in his defence.

Jimmy goes as red as his hair at that as he pulls his shirt back on.

"Are you decent yet?" Clark asks.

Lana pulls back on her nightshirt, she had been in bed when she heard Jimmy come in. "Yes Clark."

Clark peers between his fingers just to make sure before he lowers his hand. "I'm going to need so many years in therapy now," he whines.

Lana gets to her feet and points a finger at him. "You are not funny!" she scolds him.

"Who's joking?"

Lana puts her hands on her hips and scowls at him. "Alright who are you and what have you done with Clark?"

"Eh?"

"The Clark Kent I know would be blushing and stammering like a schoolboy right about now. Not cracking jokes," she argues as to how this reaction is all wrong for Clark.

Clark adjust the glasses on his nose slightly and shrugs. "I've gotten some perspective on things," he says sounding serious and a tad wistful and sad.

Lana lets her anger fade, steps up to him and wraps her arms around his large frame in a hug. Clark returns it. Jimmy stands around looking as awkward as he feels right about now.

When Lana steps back Clark awkwardly adjusts the glasses on his face once again. "Hi Jimmy," he greets the younger man.

"Hi Clark," Jimmy replies still utterly embarrassed about getting caught like this.

"What's with the glasses?" Lana suddenly asks a little perplexed. After all she knows he doesn't need them.

Clark rubs the back of his neck unsure how to answer this with Jimmy about. "Well its complicated."

"Uncomplicate it," Lana tells him.

Clark just looks at her, then at Jimmy and then back at her and Lana finally gets it.

"There's no need for the act Clark. Jimmy knows."

Clark goes wide-eyed with worry.

Lana clarifies, "It was Gotham. He recognised you."

Clark groans. "Of course he did." He takes a moment before pulling the glasses off his face. He looks at Jimmy. "I'm sorry Jimmy. Lying to you was...it's never something I want to do."

"It's ok as matter of fact. Lana explained it."

Clark looks back to Lana.

"Just after you left he came to see me and tell me he knew and I told him about you and why it needed to be kept a secret," Lana explains.

Clark understands and appreciates that. "And I'm guessing afterwards you started hanging out which led to me wishing I didn't have such a good memory," he says still sounding whiny about it.

"Grow up Clark," Lana tells him sternly.

"I'm perfectly grown up," Clark defends himself. "That doesn't mean I want to see...that. No offence intended."

"Here's a suggestion. Knock next time or hey use those super senses of yours."

"A, I was wanting to surprise you and B, I don't use my powers to spy on people."

"Well you certainly got the surprise part down," Lana says wryly.

"Look I obviously interrupted for which I'm very sorry. I'll come back in the morning."

Lana makes a grab for his arm. "You are not going anywhere. It's been a year and all I've gotten from you are some letters. You are staying right here," she tells him because if he vanishes who knows when he will reappear. Lana then leads him to the couch and she knows she can only do that because Clark is allowing her to do so. "Sit," she orders him. Clark does so.

"You know I'm pretty certain you never use to be this bossy," Clark complains about the changes in her from when they were kids.

"Blame Mel," Lana says in reference to her friend and assistant. "From the first day I hired her she has been trying to make me more assertive. You know take control of my life."

"You'll have to send her a card of thanks because she succeeded."

"Don't be cheeky," Lana tells him off. "What would your mother think?"

"Uh...she would probably tell me off and send me to bed without supper," he says with a nostalgic grin.

"She probably would," Lana says in agreement as she sits down as does Jimmy next to her. "So what brings you back?" she asks him.

"Jimmy actually."

"Me?" Jimmy asks with some confusion.

Clark nods. "After I saved you in Japan and after everything calmed down I thought about the fact I saw you and Lois and it sort of just hit me just how long it had been since I had seen you or simply been back to the States so I decided to come home for a visit."

"Saved you? What does he mean he saved you Jimmy?" Lana asks her boyfriend.

Jimmy is forced to confess what happened in Japan.

"You told me you were fine and nothing happened!" she reminds him, her voice rising in ire at the fact he lied.

Jimmy cringes. "I may have told a teeny tiny minuscule white lie so not to worry you," he admits.

"You are so sleeping on the couch tonight buster," Lana tells him.

Jimmy winces and Clark winces in sympathy at that one. Clark mouths 'sorry' to his friend for inadvertently blabbing. Jimmy accepts the apology and also accepts that maybe lying to Lana hadn't been the best choice he had ever made.

"How were you even in Japan?" Jimmy asks Clark.

"I had been there for a few days. I was just travelling...meeting people...getting to understand them a little better. Essentially it was just a coincidence I was in the country when the earthquake struck."

"So where else have you been to Clark?" Lana asks.

"Where haven't I been?" he asks back with a nostalgic smile as he thinks back on every place he has been to and every person he has met.

"Yeah you have gotten around these last 6 months," Jimmy remarks from all the reports he picked up.

"And were completely persona non grata for the 1st," Lana recalls.

"That was deliberate Lana. Like I told you I just wanted to vanish for awhile," Clark explains.

"And now you're out there and visible and showing your face Mr Superman. What happened?"

"Superman?" Clark inquires with a puzzled expression.

"That is what they're calling you," Jimmy explains.

"Who is calling me what?" Clark asks and Lana can see he clearly has no idea what she and Jimmy are on about.

"Clark where have you been for the last week?" Lana asks him as she gets to her feet and heads into her kitchen. She returns with a copy of the Daily Planet in hand.

"After Japan and I decided I wanted to come home I went to the farm. I've spent the last few days doing some repairs before I came here," he describes his actions since the house and barn hasn't had any maintenance done on it for a year it was needing some minor repairs.

"And you didn't read the papers or watch television?" Lana queries as she hands him the paper.

"No," he replies as he reads the paper. His eyes widen and he almost chokes. "Oh come on. That's...Superman? Seriously? That's ridiculous," he expresses his opinion on this name.

"Blame the President," Lana tells him.

"B-but that makes me sound...egotistical or something. Super? How am I super?"

"Clark in Japan alone you probably saved thousands of lives especially that skyscraper you stopped collapsing."

"I doubt it would have collapsed completely. The shaking had only cracked a few support beams. I was just being cautious," he says modestly.

"And what about all the other rescues you have done this last 6 months. The landslides, wild fires, plane crashes, that oil tanker that almost ran ashore and I'm sure many other activities that don't get reported."

"I'm just trying to set an example."

"What does that mean?"

"Like I said I got some perspective on my life."

"What perspective?" Lana asks.

Clark feels there is no reason that Lana and Jimmy shouldn't know what happened to him and how he came to the conclusion he has reached. "Well it begins just after I left the country. I was flying over Haiti..."


Elsewhere in Metropolis that night Batgirl stands upon a rooftop, crouched, hidden by shadow, waiting.

Waiting.

Waiting.

"She's not come again has she?"

Batgirl's head turns to her left where Nightwing has appeared. "You're late," she tells him off.

"Sorry. Bruce is having one of his paranoia episodes."

"Clark," Batgirl assumes.

Nightwing nods. "Got it in one...or are we calling him Superman these days?"

Batgirl's lips twitch. Barbara wonders how Clark is taking that.

Nightwing crouches next to Batgirl. "Babs," he says her name softly. "We're going to have start making decisions."

"Dinah's alright," she insists.

"I'm not saying she is not but it has been 3 nights in a row she has failed to check in. You have to make the decision to go in after her and risk blowing the investigation or leave it and risk something happening to her."

Barbara thinks. She is always good at thinking. Ever since she expanded the Birds of Prey she has them going after people in a way she never could before. Dinah had volunteered to infiltrate this underground metahuman fight club Barbara had heard about to try and find the identity of the players behind it. That was 2 months ago and every week they would check in here on this rooftop. Occasionally Dinah was a little late but never 3 days late.

Barbara thinks until a solution comes to her. "There's a 3rd option," she says.

"Like?"

"We send in someone else undercover with the sole task of finding Dinah."

"Babs I don't mean to question your brilliant idea but that someone needs to be a metahuman and everyone we know is busy or too well known," Dick points out what he sees as a flaw.

"I know that."

"You're not doing it!" he insists thinking that is her idea.

Barbara rolls her eyes as the overprotective male ego of her boyfriend kicks in. "I'm not...although I would if I could," she says more than willing in an instant to take the risk to find her friend. "However I would not get in the door. They test people to make sure they are metahumans."

"So what are you thinking?"

"Well our metahuman friends may be busy but we don't need a metahuman. All we need is someone who can pass for one."

Dick looks at her intently trying to figure out who she means.

"You know someone who just showed up on the news," she drops a hint.

Understanding dawns in Dick's eyes. "You mean..."

Babs nods with a smile.

"How will you even find him?"

"I have my methods," she explains mysteriously.

"And how will you get him to agree to help?"

"He owes Huntress a favour. I'm going to ask her to call it in."

"And Huntress will agree to this why?" Dick asks knowing Helena would not give up that bargaining chip easily.

"Because she owes me like a dozen times over."

"Again not to question your brilliance here but he's a little high profile now. How is this going to work without anyone recognising him?"

"Oh so he's done one big appearance. It isn't like he's someone who has been around for years and their image is ingrained into everyone's psyche," she shoots down that argument. "Besides I've already got an idea or two on what to do."

"Of course you do," Dick says.

"Was that scepticism I heard in your tone Mr Grayson?"

"Of course not. You know I back you up 110%," he assures her.

"Good...because you're going to have to help me give him a crash course in how an undercover operation works."

"Do we have time for that?"

"He learns very quickly. Trust me."

"You know I do."

That makes Barbara smile although it fades as her thought return to Dinah. Barbara is worried about her friend. This has to work and to work all it needs is for her to track down Clark Kent.


Author's Note: Clark's costume is a mixture of things. It vaguely resembles his iconic one while taking inspiration from the depiction of the younger him in Action Comics as of late it is also obviously something he put together himself. Now he has his name the rest of the story will be about him earning and believing in himself everything that name represents. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up; Clark gets recruited by Batgirl to find Dinah while sinister forces work behind the scenes.