18 months ago

Channel 52 News – Bethany Snow

'Hours after the attempted invasion by beings the authorities are calling "Kryptonians" was stopped by one of their own, the media-dubbed "Superman" has been criss-crossing the oceans in a bid to buffer and divert the massive tidal waves that continue to persist despite the destruction of the "World Engine" in South East Asia.

'More than 90,000 ships are at sea at any given time, ranging from cruise ships and military to oil tankers and cargo ships to fishing boats and yachts and everything in between. It's still too soon to know exactly how many people were at sea when the Kryptonians attacked, however reports are coming in on a number of rescues and recoveries in the areas around Indonesia and north-west Australia.

'Linda Park, currently travelling through Indonesia, had this to say in a video posted on her blog:

"The thing that got to the locals in this small fishing town was how black the sky had been, with some even suggesting that Death had laid his clock down. It has cleared up now but the air feels wrong. Some of us ventured out and found thick layers of dust clinging to everything. People here are resorting to wearing face-masks in order to give themselves at least a little protection from whatever it is that's in the air around us.

"We're the lucky ones, though. I…there have been some deaths here. Some children and a few of the elderly…whatever it is that did this made it difficult to breathe and...we're waiting to...

"Most people are staying indoors and, right now, we really don't want to know what's causing all those booms around us."

'In the Philippines, the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology issued a number of Tsunami alerts, as well as ones for a number of volcanoes. Their spokeswoman said:

"We have different alert signals for the volcanoes but there is no denying that, right now, the alert levels should be at a 3 for several of the volcanoes, and a 4 for the others. There is intense unrest. and lava emissions and explosions have been reported. That there's this much activity happening at the same time is not normal."

'And that seems to the thought on everyone's mind right now: this is not normal.'

The 'border' of the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans is a flurry of activity that hasn't been seen before, in living memory. Boats lurch about on the waters, tossed around by waves and rapids that seem to appear from nowhere. In the distance, dark clouds drift and scurry across the sky, some looking pregnant with rain and all carrying with them pockets of lightning storms bombarding the water below. The sea-life seems to be competing in their bid to get away from 'something', with scores battering anything that gets in their way, even at the cost of their own lives.

A cruise ship near Mauritius rocks back and forth, dull thuds reverberating throughout, unnerving some of the experienced crew. The passengers – numbering over a thousand – have been gathered in the dining hall and, confused by what is happening around them and the fear brought about by the captain refusing to give the order for the lifeboats to be launched, there are a number of them who are restless and 'keen' to take charge.

A hush slowly descends in the room as the Captain steps on to a platform, microphone in hand, and gestures for quiet. He looks quite calm and smiles at some of the people looking at him while he waits for the room to quieten a little more.

'Thank you all for coming together so quickly. With what has been going on outside, I felt it important to speak to you all directly in order to avoid any confusion or misunderstanding, and to answer any questions anyone may have.' He smiles and adjusts his hat before clearing his throat a little and continuing: 'You all heard the broadcast when the aliens made contact. I have been informed that the storms and rough waters we are experiencing is a result of the aliens attacking, and-'

Immediately there is a roar of noise as the passengers begin screaming and praying and shouting Some begin rushing towards the exits, pushing and shoving anyone or anything that gets in their way.

'Please. Please! Ladies and gentlemen, please remain calm! The attack is over and the aliens have been defeated.' The rumbles being to die down and the panicky people start to realise what they were doing and there is a murmur of apologies throughout the room. 'I know this all sounds crazy but please be assured that we are quite safe now. What we have to do is ride out this storm and then we can make our way to port. There is no need for anyone to leave this ship.'

'How do we know the aliens haven't won and you're not just luring us into a trap?' shouts one of the passengers.

The captain chuckles a little and tries to reassure everyone as a new murmur begins to build, but then:

'Oh my God! They're going to sacrifice us!'

There are more shouts and screams and the wait staff and crew find themselves steadily overwhelmed and begin to move towards the walls of the room, away from the panicked and enraged passengers.

'Please! The aliens have been beaten! We're all going to be safe!'

'He's lying! We have to take the ship!'

'We have to save ourselves!'

While some of the passengers rush at the crew and wait staff, most of them huddle together and try to move out of the way of the fighting that begins to break out around them. There are screams as the captain is struck on the head and buried beneath several men as they attack him.

After a few moments, his white uniform stained with blood, the captain is pulled to his feet and the aggressive group begins to chant: 'Over board. Save Ourselves'. Their chant is flat and doesn't stir the other passengers, so some of the chanters begin shouting louder and gesturing at the frightened passengers to join in.

The captain and some of the crew are dragged from the room, writhing and shouting, urging the other passengers to help them and to stop what is happening. Some of them want to help but their fear and uncertainty holds them back. There are whispers: 'What if it's true?' 'How could we have beaten aliens?' 'They tore the sky open. What if they have taken over?'

On the main deck of the ship, the chanting continues, interrupted by the lurching of the distant rumbles and cracks of thunder, and the small group of passengers quickly attacks any crew members they come across. A couple of men pin the captain against the railing and punch him a couple of times.

'You actually thought that we would let you just hand us over?' says one of them, breathlessly. 'That we wouldn't fight you?' He grabs the captain by the way and turns his head up to look at him. 'You thought it would be easy, us being out here with no one to help? We're homo sapiens. We rule the world, not your alien masters.'

'Please,' says the captain, weakly. 'You're making a mistake.'

'You made the mistake,' shouts the other passenger, and he punches the captain in the face, and then winces and clutches at his hand.

Scores of passengers rush out onto the deck, shouting at the others to stop and telling them that 'we're better than this' and some of the attackers begin to lash out and swing wildly at those around them, the ship's movement only making things harder for everyone. 'We're doing this for you! We're doing this to save us!' In the struggle a half dozen people get pushed overboard and their screams capture everyone's attention. The clashing-crowd is silent for a few seconds, stunned by what has just happened.

The ship lurches again and dozens of people fight against its movement as they try to hurry to the side in order to look overboard in the hope of being able to save someone.

'Oh Lord! What have we done?'

The side of the ship is dented and smeared with the remains of hundreds of fish and the water churns and froths red. Dead fish float on the water as the waves rise and fall, but there is no sign anyone.

Massive tentacles suddenly reach out of the water, and in each one is one of the people who had fallen overboard. Some of the fallen are limp and unconscious, others are stunned and wide-eyed. The passengers on the ship stare, and many fall to their knees or on their behinds as their legs give way.

On the 'border' of the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans, hidden from sight, Arthur floats in the water, his eyes closed and his brow furrowed as a concentrates on conducting and coordinating dozens of rescue efforts. Dolphins leap through the water, conveying urgent messages to the marine-telepath and, deep in the depths of the oceans, huge creatures stir, reluctantly, in order to provide the aid he has requested of them.

Near dozens of boats and ships of all sizes, bodies rise to the surface as the drowned are returned.

Max and You Special Edition, on ML News 1 – a discussion panel with Max Lord hosting, and G Gordon Godfrey and Simone DeNiege as guest panellists

Satellite images and news broadcasts are displayed on a huge screen behind the three speakers. The screen has been divided into sections and the footage shown ranges from the ruins of Metropolis to artist renditions of the World Engine; large waves crashing into coastal towns and villages; weather patterns across the oceans; state leaders giving speeches; and people desperately trying to get to safety. One piece of footage is of rescue helicopters hovering in the air, aided by the lack of storm winds and, beneath them, massive fishing boats lying in pieces.

'…weather analysts across the world put together dozens of models in the wake of the attack,' says Simone, 'and every single one of those initial models predicted a level of destruction that just has not happened. What's key to note, however, is that those models were not wrong. What happened in the South Asian Seas, and the tidal waves that were created, should have wiped out Sri Lanka, the Maldives, scores of the Indonesian and Philippine islands, a chunk of North-West Australia, and dozens of other places, including the West Coast of the United States, Mexica, Guatemala and so on. Hawaii shouldn't exist right now. The only thing that stopped all that from happening is the guy flying around the world over and over again.'

'So you're saying that the world is a little "safer" than it might have been and that's because of this "Superman"?' asks Godfrey, frowning and leaning slightly towards Simone.

'Of course. Without-'

'And what of the fact that it was his own people who did this in the first place?'

'What of the fact that he stopped them? What of-'

'Look,' says Godfrey, turning from Simone and facing the camera directly, 'their "General Zod" made it pretty clear that they only came here because of this "Kal-El", so it stands to reason that he should bear the responsibility for what happened, right?'

'Why are you ignoring what he has been doing to put things right?' shifting in her seat in order to get back in Godfrey's line of sight, or at least get him to look at her.

'Maybe you should ask the people who lost loved ones because of him, or those who are having to survive in refugee camps across the world because their village was wiped out.'

'The local and national governments-'

'Could do nothing to stop what was happening, and can do nothing to fix things. How can you not see how he has made everyone reliant on him?' Godfrey points at the screen as footage is shown of Superman carrying tonnes of aid to a refugee camp, and hundreds of people cheering at his arrival.

Channel 52 News

'Continuing our non-stop coverage following the foiled Kryptonian invasion, we are now at a point of...well, a point simply of grief as the first of what will be thousands of funerals are taking place in temples, churches, mosques, and synagogues across the world as those who have lost loved ones in the Kryptonian attack try to lay their family and friends to rest. While many have a sense of closure no one would have thought possible, after the bodies of all of the drowned were returned to the surface, for almost everyone that closure is heavy with pain, and questions abound as to what could have been done to have stopped this from happening, and what can be done to stop it from happening again.

'"As a man, casting worn-out garments, taketh new ones, so the dweller in the body, casting off worn-out bodies, entereth into others that are new. For certain is death for the born, and certain is birth for the dead; therefore, over the inevitable, thou shouldst not grieve."'

'"…may his place of rest be in the Garden of Eden. Therefore, may the All-Merciful One shelter him with the cover of His wings forever, and bind his soul in the bond of life. The Lord is his heritage; may he rest in his resting place in peace."'

'"Oh Allah, forgive those of us that are alive and those of us that are dead; those of us that are present and those of us who are absent; those of us who are young and those of us who are adults; our males and our females."'

'"…day after day, He cares for His beings; the Great Giver watches over all. Your gifts cannot be appraised; how can anyone compare to the Giver?"'

'"…whom Thou hast commanded to pass out of this world, that Thou wouldst place him in the region of peace and light, and bid him be partaker with Thy Saints."'

'"And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Blessed indeed," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labours, for their deeds follow them!"'

'"Even the gorgeous royal chariots wear out; and, indeed, this body, too, wears out. But the teaching of goodness does not age; and so Goodness makes that known to the good ones."'

First Church of Superman – webcast of Pastor Papp

The stain-glass window bears the 'S' shield and, on the altar, is a bent car bumper and a large piece of scorched black fabric. Pastor Papp is a man of slight build but there is an excitable energy in the way he walks, a sense of urgency, and his voice is firm and confident.

'In times of hardship and devastation, people of faith cling to their faith with a firmness they never thought possible. Many of those without faith often find it and find themselves changed. This used to be the norm. This is how it was when God was invisible.

'God is with us now.' He turns slightly and his hand brushes against the S-shield on his sleeve. The camera follows him as he walks to a large print of part of a cave wall – a part on which a variation of the S-shield has been painted, along with something falling from the sky.

'He walks among us and has walked among us for years upon years.'

He turns to the altar and traces a finger over the dent in the bumper - it's about the size of a man's forearm.

'And with a casualness that suits His godhood, He dismissed the attacks of the one who would try to usurp Him.

'Some mock us for what is apparent and true. Some try to call us crazy. Yet their God is unseen. Their God did nothing to stop what would have been the end of the world.

'It is no coincidence that the whole world heard His name to be Kal-El when it came time for us to know of Him. He hears our whispers and comes to our aid. He delivers manna upon His shoulders so that those who would otherwise starve can live.

'In His mercy, He has brought back those who died because of the usurpers' actions. Not to life, no, as that is not His desire, but back, to us, to those who lost their loved ones, so that we could see and understand. Death touches us all, and those who were taken are truly blessed as He has chosen them above all to be saved from what is yet to come.

'God walks among us and still withholds His judgment. He walks among us and watches as we right ourselves. He walks among us and salves some of our pain that we may grow stronger and follow Him.

'It is no coincidence that he wears the blue of the sky and red of royalty. With a glance he makes his wrath known and, soon, without any doubt, he will begin to cleanse the world of those who do wrong.

'Live in obeyance and kneel before Kal-El.'

Channel 52 News – Molly Mane with Dr Helga Jace

'Look, we can all agree that the effects of that machine could have been far, far worse, but the fact remains we do not know happened to those islands,' says Dr Jace.

'Are you saying the world's governments are conspiring against us?'

'No, I'm saying they're trying to find out and are doing their utmost to avoid a global panic.'

'What kind of panic do you suppose would happen?'

'There's no short answer to that. We know the machine had started to increase Earth's mass, we don't know what that means for the stability of the planet. We don't know the impact that has on the environment. On the climate. We don't know, yet, how that affects our gravitational relationship with the moon.'

'You keep saying what we don't know. What can you tell us about what we do know?'

'We do know that this Kal-El or "Superman" person is doing a cleanup of the damage his people caused and the lives they took.'

'That's all?'

'That's all we know with any certainty.'

'Thank you, Doctor Jace.

'Continuing with the main headline of the day: The Select Committee on The Metropolis Incident, headed by Senator Finch, has requested Supeman's presence at a public meeting to be held in ten weeks' time in Metropolis.'

Large screens in the NorthCom centre display scenes from various battles and scenes of destruction from across the globe. The effects of the World Engine, satellite readings of the changes in landscape – from the South Indian Ocean through to the Grand Canyon – and the piles of rubble in the middle of Metropolis. Shugel turns to Swanwick, gesturing at the various screens:

'At the end of the day, General, what guarantee is there that he won't one day turn against us? Or turn against the world?'

'It is now three weeks after the foiled invasion, and while state leaders continue to debate on what needs to be done to avoid the economic crisis edging closer to us, the funerals, burials, and cremations of the dead continue. Responding to the World Health Organisation's plea for there to be mass burials and mass cremations in order to avoid the spread of disease, a letter has been released, signed by more than 10,000 religious leaders across almost every faith and denomination, stating:

'"The events of the recent attack are unprecedented. Even more so is the return of all those who were lost at sea. That their bodies have been recovered obligates us to perform all the rites and rituals owed to them because of their respective faiths.

'"Despite the uniqueness of the situation we all, collectively and individually, have precedents and rulings in place which allow us to fulfil our obligations to the faithful who have passed on. We are wholly aware of the threat of disease, and we are also aware of our duties to the survivors, the bereaved, and the future generations."'

'Alongside the concern for potential outbreaks for disease, many are now raising questions on confirming the identities of the deceased after Superman, working alongside Interpol, broke no less than seven people trafficking rings.'

GBS News - Gotham

'In the wake of the destruction of Metropolis, many who call that city home have fled to Gotham for refuge. The once-shunned sister city has opened itself up to tens of thousands of people after Metropolis' Mayor Berkowitz made a call for aid. Although the Metropolis Incident has been declared a major disaster, the preliminary damage assessment conducted by State and Federal officials has determined the extent of the impact to not be beyond the scope of the State's abilities and resources.'

The main gates to Robinson Park are displayed on the screen, and the camera rises to provide an aerial view. Robinson Park is now a massive refugee camp. Hundreds of tents cover the greens, and small boats trawl the water and clear the rubbish that has been thrown in. Near the recently renovated bandstand is a large soup kitchen. The queues are long and ordered, and while the people look tired and haggard, there is a sense of calm.

'As you can see, there are many, many people here who would disagree with that assessment.'

'"How can they call this a disaster and not help us?' said Evelyn Curry, an asset manager for a firm in Metropolis, and currently homeless. "All of us here lost everything in the attack. Everything. Including who we are. This...I have money, but I can't access anything. I can't do anything. This isn't right."'

'An army civil engineer said: "The downtown and financial district of the city are in ruins. The infrastructure – gas mains, sewers, metro, all torn apart. Repairing things will have to start deep underground."

'The investigators have concluded that most of the destruction was contained in an area of around three square miles, with damage for two miles outside that zone being classified at around sixty percent, with structural integrity of many buildings still being assessed. Beyond this area, we understand the damage to be comparatively minimal. However, to say something like this to those currently living in the Park, and the responses you receive are quite understandable:

'"We don't have a home! There's a crater miles wide and they have the-"'

A torn piece of see-through plastic-looking material is being examined in a sealed room. It sparks a little and the delicate probes are repelled. Red lights flash in warning, but no alarms sound.

On a large screen are images of a densely packed molecular structure covered with 'error' and 'unknown' markings. On a number of smaller screens are a series of computer generated models of structures that have a passing resemblance to the one on the large screen. Computer simulated tests on the models reveal instabilities in the structures and they collapse, shatter, or degrade.

Gotham Cemetery – The Wayne Lot

Two caskets have been led onto the lot and are waiting for interment, and there are over a hundred people in attendance.

'I have to be honest with you all: I'm not ready for today. Ever since it all happened I've been turning the events over in my mind, trying to understand, trying to see…and I can't. I just…I keep seeing chaos.

'This morning I kept saying to Alfred that it should be him here talking to you, not me. It should be him, the man who was like a father to both of us, and not me, the one who insisted on building walls. Alfred said it wasn't his place, but I know what he meant was that he would do what he always did and speak to Dick in private.

'I wish I could do that right now, too.

'People say that laughter was taken away from them when they lose a loved one, and I don't think there is anyone here today who wouldn't say that Dick's passing has taken our laughter away. He would definitely snort at me for saying this, but he was the kind of man Dostoyevsky spoke of when he said: "If you wish to glimpse inside a human soul and get to know a man, don't bother analysing his ways of being silent, of talking, of weeping, of seeing how much he is moved by noble ideas; you will get better results if you just watch him laugh. If he laughs well, he's a good man."

'Dick truly was a good man. He was only a boy when I met him but he was awe inspiring. Young in age but immense in feat, he was, beyond all doubt, a Flying Grayson and deserved the title of 'Boy Wonder'. He was only a boy when his world was shattered and our lives came together. For me, he…for me...

'"How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world."

'That was him. That was Dick. As much as other people would lay claim to bringing about change in Gotham, Dick was one of the truest source of that change – for me and in me and, across our city, one person at a time, he inspired change.

'One of the things I heard him say over the years, whether it was to children in the orphanages or the homeless in soup kitchens, or when we were in India, or anywhere else, was how "a person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly" and that "if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely."

'This morning, Alfred reminded me of another: "...above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely of places."

'Sometimes it seemed like such a childish thing, the words Dick held on to, but, as the years passed, I realised how much they reflected him and the good he saw in others.

'But we didn't just lose Dick. We lost Barbara, too. These past weeks, I keep remembering her as the quick-witted redhead who could remember everything, and the way Dick stared at her when they first met. I remember Jim's eyes light up with pride whenever he mentioned her, and how broken we all were when...

'But Barbara was strong. Perhaps even the strongest-willed woman I will ever know. Perhaps it was their mutual strength and determination that eventually led to Dick and Barbara coming together – I'm certainly not going to claim to be some kind of guiding influence. When the use of her legs was taken from her, she didn't give up. When we found a way for her to walk again, her efforts to bring our city out of darkness only increased. Together, hand-in-hand, they achieved so much, and I know many of you here today will help me and us in continuing that work.

'When Jim Gordon was taken from us I steeled myself for Barbara's hate. I have so much responsibility for what happened, I still do, but, somehow, she didn't hate. Somehow, she told me...somehow she believed that Jim wouldn't blame me for what happened. I couldn't wholly accept that – I think, over the years, many of you know that...that there are losses I have taken very personally. Jim's passing was one of those, but Barbara's love and understanding...

'The day this all happened they had called me and said they wanted to see me after their meeting in Metropolis. I didn't think anything of it at the time; I just thought that, most probably, they would be putting a new project before me. Yesterday, I think I found out what it was they wanted to see me about, and when I realised...my heart broke.

'They were expecting.'

Bruce Wayne stands in the middle of the overgrown grass surrounding the ruins of Wayne Manor, staring at the old mansion. The wind rustles through the grass and stirs his overcoat, and there's the sound of a boy laughing. He turns and his vision blurs for a second and the overgrown grass disappears and the grounds and mown and manicured, and young boy is tumbling and spring.

'Master Grayson, please slow down!' says Alfred, hurrying after him.

The boy performs a triple somersault and lands softly on his feet, and frowns at Alfred. 'If you don't call me Dick then I'll start calling you Mr Pennyworth.'

'That's hardly fair,' says Alfred, a little breathlessly. 'My role here-'

'You said we were friends, didn't you?'

'I...I did.'

'Then no formalities. Not with me. And stop forcing me to use big words!'

Bruce smiles as he remembers watching all this while hiding in the trees.