Superman/Steven Universe:
The Shield of Hope
(Note: Hello my faithful fans and Happy Independence Day to anyone living in the U.S. I want you all to know the next chapter may be awhile till I can get started. I just got a summer job and I'll be working till Mid-August. During this time I'm going to be working on some smaller projects I had in the woodworks. I just wanted to give you all one more big update before that and let you all know, I'm really grateful for all your support.) :)
Chapter 13
Daily Planet, 1 hour after Parasite Battle
The Bullpen of the Daily Planet was in a stir, dozens of people were all talking at once about the events that had transpired only an hour ago. A monster had appeared out of nowhere from Lexcorp, and killed at least a dozen people both in and outside the building. The beast would've killed countless more if four amazing beings hadn't shown up and defeated the beast. These were no ordinary people, however, they were something ripped straight out of a fantasy book. Speed, Strength, Flight, and countless other abilities that made the people's head swirl. They appeared, subdued the beast, and disappeared as quickly as they came. All of Metropolis was asking who these wondrous people were. And soon enough, the entire world will be asking as well. And, it was the job of the Daily Planet to answer those questions.
Everyone in the office was standing in front of Perry White's office, at his door was a Television and a White board. Standing in front of the crowd was Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, and Clark Kent the three reporters who were in the thick of the event. Jimmy was confidently conversing with the crowd who were asking dozens of questions of what happened in the building, Lois was currently focused on her notepad, which she was writing feverishly into, and not responding to any questions asked. Clark was standing still looking rather nervous as he gave small responses to the questions asked, overall he looked very uncomfortable about the whole situation.
"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT EVERYBODY QUIET DOWN!" Perry shouted as he walked out of his office holding a manila envelope.
Everyone quieted down and faced Perry as he cleared his throat and opened up the envelope. He then pulled out a stack of photos and proceeded to slap them onto the whiteboard. The first was of the caped Mystery Man slamming the police car onto the Parasite, the murmurs once again erupted as everyone began talking about the man, Clark's face reddened as he heard the murmurs. The next photo brought up showed Garnet slamming her lead clad fist against the jaw of the Parasite. Next showed Pearl gracefully leaping across the air as the Parasite tried to grab her, she looked like a skilled Ballerina taking flight. After was Amethyst descending from above, and slamming both her feet into Parasite's face, a huge grin sat on her face. Finally was the Parasite himself. The photo showed him while he was in his larger state, grabbing Pearl by the arm with Amethyst's whip wrapped around it, Garnet rushing from the front, and Clark on its back his arms wrapped around the monster's neck.
"Alright people allow me to start this impromptu meeting with the question that's on everyone's mind. What is that?" Perry said pointing to the five photo's on the board.
The room was silent for a few seconds
"A cosplaying Construction worker, the backup dancers for Ziggy Stardust, and the mascot from the local burger joint." Steve said jokingly making some of the people laugh.
"Wrong Lombard that my fine employees is the biggest story of the year, maybe even the decade. And we are the only paper in town with both photos and a first-hand account of the whole thing, thanks to these three right here." Perry said exuberantly pointing to the three.
The crowd cheered for the three.
"Thank you. Thank you everybody," Jimmy said proud.
"Heh, it was nothing really," Clark said nervously.
Lois simply grunted as she continued to work on the notepad.
"As of right now every new station is playing the footage of the street fight between these guys, and you can be damn sure that Luthor is not going to release any of the security footage from inside the building. He's already gonna be in hot water over this whole monster business and all the people who died." Perry said as he turned on the TV to a random news channel that was showing overhead footage of Clark and the Crystal Gems battle.
"We are the only paper that had reporters inside the building inches away when this all went down. First I'd like to say I'm glad you're all okay, especially you Kent from the fall you took, you sure you okay?" Perry said genuinely concerned.
"A little sore, but I'm fine Perry thanks for the concern." Clark said gratefully.
"Man was I relieved when we found you outside I'm glad you're okay CK, isn't that right Lois." Jimmy said happily gesturing to Lois.
Again Lois simply grunted focusing on her writing.
"The photos on this board are only a few of the many taken by Jimmy Olsen that will both be on the front page and on the website. That combined with Clark's coverage of the evacuation of the building, and the first-hand account currently being written by Ms. Lane, we are going to sell like gangbusters tomorrow." Perry said getting a pop from the crowd.
"But, soon enough, this is going to be yesterday's news after we print this everyone will be running behind us trying to pass us on this story. So we need to stay ahead of the competition by figuring out who or what these people are. What's the update on the purple monster?" Perry asked.
"Well, after those four left in frozen in the street, he was easily brought into police custody with explicit orders on not to touch the creature, and to keep his hand bound and covered at all times. He has apparently been brought to STAR Labs, they have an area where they can contain him." One reporter said.
"That thing was a man named Rudolph Jones he was a Lexcorp security guard. The reasons behind the transformation are unknown, but we have reason to believe that something in Lexcorp was the cause though we'll probably never get confirmation. We are still gathering more info on Rudy's life before his employment to Lexcorp, we'll be ready for tomorrow." A female reporter spoke up.
"Me and the boys in back have come up with a great name for this guy, we're thinking of calling him 'The Parasite.' Based on what we saw so far," another reporter said.
"So we got info on the monster, but now we need something on these four. These are the Heroes of the Hour, everyone is talking about them and wants to know who they are." Perry said as he slapped the photos of Clark and the Crystal Gems.
"Well chief they called themselves the Crystal Gems. The one with the shades is Garnet, the lanky one is Pearl, and finally there's the lovely Amethyst." Jimmy said.
"Crystal Gems huh, good name. What about the man in blue what's his name?" Perry asked pointing to Clark's photo.
"We got nothing Mr. White, all we know that man is the blur Jimmy has been going on about," one reporter said.
"Told you. Told all of you," Jimmy shouted confidently to everyone in the room.
"Other than that we don't know who he is, where he came from, or how he did what he did what he did," the reporter continued.
"We'll work on that part later right now we need a name for the paper. We just can't call him the flying man, or that caped guy, come on people give me something." Perry said.
"Okay, um, how about 'The Red Wonder'?" A reporter said.
"He wears a lot of blue aside from that cape, give me something else," Perry said.
"Mr. Amazing."
"Lame," Perry said simply.
"Strong."
"That's just a word," Perry said annoyed.
"Captain Marvel?"
"Trademarked," Perry said.
"Shazam!"
"ARE YOU PEOPLE EVEN TRYING?" Perry yelled annoyed.
"Super-hunk," Kat said as she stared at Clark's picture impressed.
"Kat, just, not now please." Perry said exhausted.
"What I'm just stating obvious look at him, he crosses off every box on my checklist," Kat said pointing to the photo. Once again Clark's face reddened as he deepened his slouch.
"Come on people we need something here, what about you Lois you were up close to this guy any ideas? Lois?" Perry asked.
Lois was staring deeply into the notepad on it were the sentences she would soon put to print of what she experienced in that building. Each sentence was masterfully crafted telling in excruciating detail of each punch that was thrown, the tension, and the pressure of the fight. She was sure to tell every detail of how these people looked, and how they saved her and Jimmy's lives. There was just one thing that stumped Lois and it was the very thing everyone was talking about now, the name of this Mystery man. She had been going over names for him from before the meeting started, but none of them seemed to stick with him. None of the names she came up with seemed to truly convey what this man was. She didn't know who, or even what, he was, but she believed his words that he was a friend, and wanted to help. Lois knew once the spectacle of what happened wore off people would be afraid of what just happened, afraid of the people who saved her life, afraid of him. She needed to let the people know that those people saved her life, that he saved her life.
While Lois wasn't really paying attention to anyone who was talking she did manage to listen in from time to time. She heard the name Kat gave or to be more precise the first part of the name 'Super'. Such a simple word meaning so many things, something very good or pleasant, something that is above or beyond, as well a myriad of other things. And as far as Lois was concerned he was all of them, that man was simply super. Then in a realization Lois eyes shot up to the photo of the man on the whiteboard, and her eyes zeroed in on the crest that laid on the center of his T-Shirt. That Crimson 'S' that laid in a diamond, it was his symbol, he wore it proud for everyone to see. And then it finally came to her
"Superman," Lois whispered in wonder and awe.
Clark picked up her whisper "Uh, excuse me Lois," he asked.
"SUPERMAN!" Lois shouted as she had an epiphany a huge smile on her face crushing her notepad.
Lois then finally realized what just happened and her face fell, she looked around to see everyone in the office was looking at her slightly concerned. Both Clark and Jimmy had taken a step back from her, both of them frightened by her sudden screaming.
"Um, Superman," Clark said nervous and surprised.
"Isn't that a little bland Lo?" Steve said.
"W-well it was…I mean I was j-just building off of what K-Kat said…. A-and I think it matches up with him….because he's a man….. And he's…. super." Lois stammered out nervously as her eyes wandered to the ground.
An awkward silence filled the room as everyone was taking in what Lois just said. Every second that passed made Lois face turn redder and redder as she shrunk further into herself in embarrassment.
"You know. That's probably the most accurate description of the guy. I mean he does have that 'S' on his chest," Jimmy said encouragingly.
Then the office erupted into murmurs once more.
"It's actually not that bad."
"It's simple to write."
"He does have a big red 'S'."
"I couldn't come up with anything, so whatever."
Clark himself didn't know what to think of this whole situation. He knew that when he finally revealed himself to the world that it was going to be big news. He didn't regret what he did, it had to be done it wasn't about him or the gems, it was about all the people in that building and they needed help. But, he was apprehensive about all this attention, I mean 'Superman'. He thought the name was good if not a bit much.
"Superman huh, short, simple, looks great spread across the front page. Roll with it," Perry said.
"Uh, Mr. White, I don't think our, Flying friend would lend himself to some cheap promotion scheme," Clark said nervously.
"And how would you know Kent?" Perry asked curiously, Clark shut his mouth and shrunk back.
"Besides, this ain't gonna be a one and done deal people, this is gonna be the headline of every paper and new station in the country. People are gonna be examining the hell out of this footage and our pictures, there will be analyst on CNN talking about how this will affect the economy, and most importantly people want to know who-they-are." Perry said.
"Where are they from?" Perry said pointing to Pearl's photo.
"What's their favorite food?" pointing to Amethyst.
"Are they in a relationship?" pointing to Garnet.
"What's their favorite baseball team?" Pointing to the newly dubbed Superman
Clark instinctively raised his hand and opened his mouth, but then quickly covered his mouth with his hand getting a few glances from his co-workers.
"Those are only a few of the questions everyone in this city is asking right now about these, Super-heroes. And I tell you this: whoever answers those questions, whoever can land an interview with one of these people is gonna be a part of the most important conversations in history ever since God talked to Moses." Perry said as he lit himself a cigar.
The office was in silence for another few seconds.
"What are you waiting for, a starters pistol. LET'S GET TO WORK PEOPLE!" Perry shouted making everyone scatter to get to work.
Lois quickly went to her desk and began to turn on her computer only for a small mob of employees to surround her and begin asking her questions.
"How the hell he'd fly anyway?" Steve Lombard asked.
"It wasn't with balloons," Lois answered not looking up from the computer screen.
"How did those girls summon those crazy weapons?" another reporter asked
"They came out they're gems," Lois said as she started to log in.
"Did any of them say why they were there?" Ron asked.
"They showed us why they were there," Lois said as she pulled up an empty word document.
"How big was he?" Kat asked playfully.
"Go away Kat" Lois said annoyed looking up from her screen.
"Hey I'm just saying, a man has to make quite the impression to have a girl call him 'Super'. Hey maybe one of those gem girls is his girlfriend," Kat said playfully making Lois's frown deepen.
"Alright, alright everybody, you have your own stories to work on so get to it," Perry said waving the crowd off and walking to Lois's desk.
"Hey Lois, Lois, editor-in-chief to Lois," Perry said trying to get Lois's attention as she was focused on typing on the computer screen.
"Here are the cliff notes chief, use them as you wish. Right now I need to work on the real story," Lois said holding up her notepad and handing it to Perry.
"Which is?" Perry asked looking through the pad of paper.
"It's actually really hard to put to words. But I'm sure as hell gonna try," Lois said determined.
"Try she says," Perry said exhausted taking the notepad and walking off, just as Jimmy approached Lois.
"Uh, hey Ms. Lane. Listen I wanted to ask you about," Jimmy said nervously only for Lois to pull him down closer to her face.
"Olsen, I really need you to keep your voice down," Lois whispered.
"But, Ms. Lane I wanted to ask, why? I had a bunch of pictures of Steven, even some showing that pink shield thing he did. Why did you have me remove them from the set I gave to Mr. White?" Jimmy whispered back.
"Jimmy. Listen, that kid is not ready for what's to come. The entire world is clamoring for answers about what the hell just happened today and, I don't want to throw him into the media circus. And from what I gathered from those three they don't want him getting caught up in this either," Lois whispered back.
"B-but were reporters Ms. Lane, were supposed to give people the truth and now were lying," Jimmy whispered back upset.
"We are giving people the truth Jimmy, were going to tell them exactly what happened in there, and were just. Omitting a few details," Lois whispered getting a 'really' look from Jimmy.
"You saw the kid Olsen, he's young, he's hopeful, and he's kind. He still has a whole childhood to get through, I don't want to ruin that by having his home hounded by reporters. Consider this me paying the kid back for saving our butts back there, but please Jimmy keep Steven under wraps," Lois asked kindly.
Jimmy took a defeated breath as he looked into Lois's eyes.
"Alright Ms. Lane, I'll omit these details," Jimmy said.
"Thanks, Olsen, and for that you get to join me in my next reporter outing," Lois said enthusiastically.
"After the last one I'm not really sure," Jimmy said a bit concerned.
"Were gonna find our Superman, and the Crystal gems. Blue might be a bit hard, but I remember Steven mentioning something about a Beach City, I need you to search online for any Oceanside towns near Metropolis got it," Lois said.
Jimmy simply nodded and walked away, Lois smiled as her focus returned to the computer screen and she continued to type. Unbeknownst to the two of them, they're secret exchange was heard by Clark Kent who stood at the far end of the Bullpen. Clark looked at Lois and smiled.
"Ever the intrepid reporter, Ms. Lane, but what Steven said wasn't 'A' Beach City, it was just Beach City. Though it's probably for the best you don't find it just yet, I have my own interview with the Crystal Gems this Saturday. I wonder how they'll react when they see their faces on every paper and news station tomorrow." Clark thought to himself.
Suddenly his phone started to ring, he reached into his pocket, and pulled it out. The screen said incoming call from 'The Farm'.
"Oh boy, do I have a lot to explain," Clark said nervously.
Then the phone dinged, and a second notification popped up that said incoming call from 'The Fort'. Clark let out an exhausted sigh as he walked towards the stairs to head for the roof, so that he may have these difficult conversations in private.
Beach City, Steven's House, The Next day
It was the middle of the afternoon in the Universe house, once they returned home yesterday the gems went into the temple to discuss the days happening. Steven was left to excitedly tell his father the battle the Crystal Gems and the flying man had against the purple monster. Though Greg got visibly worried upon hearing every detail of the battle, and the multiple close calls Steven and the two reporters had while fighting that thing, but he was just glad that they were all home safe and that it was finally over. Unsurprisingly it wasn't, one hour later Steven got a call from Connie telling him to turn to a Metropolis news channel. Once he did he saw reporters talking about the battle in front of the Lexcorp tower accompanied by what he believed to be Helicopter footage of the end of the battle on the street. Steven felt his heart swell when he heard the reporters talk about the heroic of the Crystal Gems and the Mystery man.
Today Steven was still watching the news and everyone was still talking about yesterday. Steven smiled as he watched the television screen, while the gems were in the kitchen still talking about their next move.
"Steven are you still watching that, you've been sitting there since you woke up," Amethyst yelled.
"Everyone's still talking about yesterday it's so cool," Steven said looking towards the gems.
"After that show we put on in Metropolis news coverage is expected," Pearl said.
"Don't you guys want to hear what everybody is saying about you most of them good, some are kinda weird, and the other is," Steven said.
"We don't really care about what people think of us Steven, and everyone is entitled to their opinion good or bad," Garnet said.
"I just wish everyone could see you and that flying man for the awesome heroes you guys are," Steven said a little sad.
"Our actions speak for us Steven, we don't need the recognition, or the adoration. We do this because it's our duty," Garnet said.
"I wouldn't mind a little recognition," Amethyst said playfully.
"You know that's never going to happen Amethyst, we have to stay hidden. This news will come and go and soon enough people will put this behind them. Besides we have far more important things to do," Pearl said.
"I don't know Pearl, I think you all made quite the splash yesterday," Steven said
"Come on, you humans are ingesting media every second of your lives. I'm sure some celebrity will do something silly in the next few hours and everyone will focus on that," Pearl said passively.
"Let them talk Steven, all that matters is that they don't know who we or where we are. We're safe," Garnet said stoically.
Steven frowned a bit at what the gems were saying, he accepted what they were doing, but never really understood why. He knew that they could be a bit anti-social and ignorant of human behavior from time to time, but this seemed like straight up hiding. Suddenly the front door of the house slammed open as Connie burst into the Universe House.
"Steven," Connie said excited looking up at his friend
"Connie, I'm so glad you're here I have so much to tell you," Steven said to his friend equally excited
"I already know about it Steven, you guys are all over the news," Connie said walking into the home.
"You may know what the reporters are saying, but do you want to know all the juicy details of what happened inside the building," Steven said coyly.
"Actually I know those details too," Connie said blatantly.
"Wait what?!" Steven said surprised.
"I think you guys really need to read this," Connie said holding up a rolled up newspaper.
Connie and Steven both sat on the couch while the Gems sat around them, Connie unraveled the paper on the table in front of them.
"Hey it's a Daily Planet newspaper," Steven said thinking back and wondering how Clark, Lois, and Jimmy were doing after that whole thing.
"My dad picked it up while I was at school and let me read it on the way here. I searched online and found out that this issue of the Daily Planet is the highest sold issue in year, they're already doing multiple reprints to keep up with demand," Connie said as she laid the paper in front of them allowing them to see the front page.
"SUPERMAN AND THE CRYSTAL GEMS BATTLE THE PERILOUS PARASITE: A first-hand account of what happened during this world changing fight."
Written by Lois Lane.
Photos taken by James Bartholomew Olsen.
On the front page was a photo of the newly dubbed Superman standing proud with his back turned to the camera showing off the black 'S' Symbol the laid on the back of the red cape and his fists raised. He stood in the center while the gems were at his sides Garnet to his right, Pearl and Amethyst to his left. They too had their backs turned and their weapons raised ready for battle. In front of them covered in shadow was what Steven recognized as the Monstrous Parasite baring down on the group.
"That's a really good photo, Jimmy's a really good Photographer," Steven said happily examining the photo
"Super-Man?" Pearl asked confused.
"That's what papers calling him now, Superman. It's really picking up though everybody is calling him that now," Connie said.
"That name is so gaudy, to use a word with so many broad meanings as the word 'Super' and he's not even human," Pearl said.
"Well, he is still a guy Pearl, and I don't think the male gender is limited to one species. Other than that Super is a pretty accurate word to describe the guy," Amethyst said.
"I think it's really cool, and it goes with that 'S' on his chest," Steven said admiring the photo.
"I figured Ms. Lane would end up writing about what she experienced. The only question is how much did she write about us." Garnet said as she began reading the paper
"As a reporter I have seen many things in my line of work both extraordinary and terrifying. From war zones to rainforest, I have seen my fair share of horror and pure awe inspiring moments. But, what I witnessed in the building, what I was only mere feet away from that was beyond anything I've seen or could've imagined. These people, that monster it was like I had stepped into a fantasy book and was watching an epic battle between beings that were beyond normal men."
"I guess we left an impression on her," Amethyst said with a small laugh.
"These people saved my life and countless others by stopping that monster. I want to make something perfectly clear for this article, I am writing this to inform everyone before the inevitable wave of controversy and skepticism washes over, that these people are heroes. I'm usually a bit of a skeptic myself, I always look for some kind of ulterior motive in people, but after what I saw they're action spoke louder than their words."
Steven smiled upon reading the paper and the gems were impressed as well. The article told in extreme detail every punch and kick that the battle had, and it was masterfully written so much that anyone could actually picture the battle in their minds by reading this. Accompanied by every paragraph was a photo from the battle, each hero got one glorious photo in the papers showing them clearly to anyone reading
"They called themselves Crystal Gems, even naming themselves after gemstones. Upon a first look at these three you would think they were just weird and write them off, but they were so much more. Garnet, from what I could tell was the leader of the group tall, strong, and stoic her shades and overall demeanor gave an air of mystery to her. But when the battle started she took charge organizing her comrades in ensuing battle with peak efficiency."
Garnet had a small smile on her face
"Pearl, from her build and dress you would think she belonged in the Metropolis dance hall, but she was a warrior and ready to fight. When I saw her fight she turned battle into art gracefully dodging and delivering blows without a single hair out of place."
Pearl blushed.
"Amethyst, the youngest, and the rowdiest of the trio, a ball of inexperience and untapped energy ready to be molded into something fierce. She made up for that inexperience with her quick thinking and improvised battle style."
Amethyst let out a hearty laugh.
"And finally Superman himself, I was about to die, that monster threw me off the top floor of the Luthor building I was at least a yard away from the building. I should've died, but I didn't because of him. The moment our eyes met I knew that he was here to help, being close to him gave off this feeling that everything was going to be alright that I was safe now that he was here."
Steven agreed with what Lois was writing, the man had a calming aura that surrounded him. Steven felt safe when Superman came on the scene, it was like he gave a wordless promise that he was going to keep Steven safe no matter what.
"There is still a lot about them we don't know, and I promise as a reporter I will find those answers, but I just wanted you all to know what these people did for me and my friends. You are still allowed to create your own opinion of them, but this needed to get out before all the conflicting reports came out. And if my rescuers are reading this I want you all to know, thank you, thank you all for saving me and my friends."
"I guess she's the Daily Planet's best reporter for a reason, but why aren't I in this story. I helped out too." Steven said a bit disappointed.
"That's probably for the best Steven," Pearl said.
"Why?" Steven asked
"Yeah why, let's get Steven some fangirls," Amethyst said pulling Steven closer making him blush.
"Steven is a hybrid of a gem and a human he's special, we just can't parade him down the Metropolis streets who knows what all those other people will do." Pearl said worried.
"Can't I just tell everybody I'm friendly? I mean I could just be honest about myself," Steven said.
"The sentiment is nice Steven, but no. Even though you may have good intentions regular humans tend to be a bit cautious around new things," Pearl said.
"I've spent my whole life around regular humans, what's so different about beach city from the Metropolis," Steven asked
"You grew up here Steven, the people here know you, and we've lived here for so long everybody is used to how strange we are. But the thing about humans, and even gems Steven, when they see something new they get scared. Even if it's something spectacular, they'll still be afraid, and even reject it. Your mother wished that one day gems and humans would be able to coexist peacefully, but that day isn't today Steven. But it will come, just be patient." Garnet said with a smile patting Steven's head.
Steven smiled and nodded understanding what Garnet was saying.
"Still do you think this article will be a problem?" Pearl asked a bit worried.
"Ms. Lane was just doing her job, she only reported on what she saw. Nobody knows were here so were safe," Garnet said.
"You know there might also be something on the Daily Planet website," Connie said as she pulled out her laptop
Connie went to the Daily Planet website with the others leaning in closer for a better look. As soon as they opened the page right in the middle was an advertisement for a Daily Planet Subscription saying it will allow you to see more photos taken from the battle and read the spectacular article written by Lois Lane.
"Aw man, talk about a monopoly. We gotta buy a subscription to see more of Jimmy's photos," Amethyst said disappointed.
"Wait, Jimmy had a blog didn't he. Let's check it out and see what he has now," Steven suggested.
Connie nodded and clicked on the link to the Metropolis Marvels blog. The landed on the page and immediately clicked on the newest video.
"Hello my 30,000 watchers, and still rising. I'm Jimmy Olsen, you no doubt know my name because of the awesome photos I've taken for the newest issue of the Daily Planet which is selling like gangbusters," Jimmy said confidently in the video.
"Looks like someone got an ego boost," Amethyst said with a small smile.
"Either way, yes I was a witness of the Battle between Superman, the Crystal Gems, and the Parasite monster. Also, in case any of them are watching this, thank you for saving my life and the lives of my friends," Jimmy said kindly with a small smile.
"You're welcome Jimmy," Steven said with a smile.
"I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to repay you all for what you've done, but I guess a start is showing everyone the awesome photos of you guys fighting that monster. I was able to convince my boss to let me post a few photos on my blog, but if you all want to see the rest you'll have to buy a Daily Planet subscription. Which I suggest you do or at least buy the newest issue of the Daily Planet so you can read the amazing article by the Planet's All-star reporter Lois Lane, and there's the article by my buddy Clark Kent in there so give him some love, I mean he fell through a floor so I think he deserves it," Jimmy said happily.
"Now taking a step away from sponsoring, the blur is now Superman and it turns out he's not the only marvel around. While I'm very sure they don't live in Metropolis, the Crystal Gems are truly amazing, and I promise on this blog I will continue to report on any new sightings of the amazing heroes." Jimmy said confidently.
"And it got me thinking, I was so focused on Metropolis I never thought about the strange going-on in other cities. Over the past year and a half there have been reports of strange happenings around the country, could these happenings be caused by super-beings just like Superman with Metropolis. Well I'm going to find out, I will be doing my best to look into other strange things happening in other cities in our fine country. For example the freak lightning storm that hit Central City 11 months ago and the weird things that have been happening across the city 9 months later, that will be the subject of the next video. But, for now I am reaching the limit of this video so I must say goodbye for now. But, before I go who do you like more Superman or the Crystal Gems. Go to Cheeper and leave either #Superman or #CrystalGems, let's get this thing trending people," Jimmy said as the video finally shut off.
"Ugh, how ridiculous voting on who's more popular. Why would he even consider doing something like that, doesn't he know we have more important things to worry about," pearl said annoyed.
"Superman is trending more," Steven said as he look on his phone.
"WHAT, WHY!?" Pearl shouted surprised and grabbing Steven's hand to get a better look.
This made Connie chuckle, and Amethyst outright laugh out loud. Garnet however remained quiet.
"Is everything alright Garnet?" Steven asked concerned
"Steven, why don't you and Connie go out to the boardwalk? We need to have a gem discussion," Garnet said calmly
Steven frowned a bit, but understood why they would want to talk alone for now. So he nodded and stood up.
"Come on Connie let's go to Fish-Stew Pizza and see if anybody else has read the Daily Planet," Steven said encouragingly.
Connie smiled and followed Steven out of the House, leaving the gems alone in silence.
"Is this really such a bad thing, everybody saw we were trying to stop that monster," Amethyst reasoned.
"The common human will admiring the spectacle of what we did, but soon enough the humans in power will start conversing about what happened, who we are, and what we can do. And when they start conversing they start panicking, and when they start panicking they send in the military. We can't let that happen we've been so careful," Pearl said panicked.
"The Military isn't going to come after us or Steven. Neither Lois nor Jimmy mentioned Steven in their reports, and they don't know where we live. After living so long in Beach City there is sort of an unspoken agreement that the residents mostly keep quiet about the strange happening around here. And we still have some protection as long as we follow the rules set. For now let's stay low for a bit and wait for the Kryptonian," Garnet said Pearl nodded in agreement.
"I may not completely understand it, but I'll go with ya for now. Besides what if someone find outs where we are, what's the worse they can do to us," Amethyst said confidently though Garnet and Pearl did not share the feeling.
Lexcorp Building, Metropolis
Lex stood in his ruined office looking out the window that overlooked the city, the huge hole from the battle only a few feet away from him as he stood in silence. The room still held scars from the yesterday's battle the hole in the floor, his ruined bookshelves, even his portrait was destroyed falling from its high spot in the wall. Mercy silently walked through the broken down door into the room towards Lex maneuvering past the broken floor and other obstacles.
"Wow, they really did a number on this place, they even destroyed your fancy portrait," Mercy said pointing to the spot on the wall where the portrait would be.
Lex simply remained silent and continued to look out the window.
"And if you think this was bad you should see the receptionist office and accounting. Those places are trashed dozens of cubicles and computers destroyed. They even pulled a urinal out the wall and destroyed it, what's up with that," Mercy said as she dragged her finger against his desk which was miraculously still in one piece.
Lex remained silent.
"And man the basement lab, wooo all that equipment and your thermoelectric generator. That and there's giant holes from this floor to the basement, how much do you think this is going to cost ya," Mercy said as she sat on the desk.
"A lot, but not much for me. Everything will be replaced and repaired in due time," Lex said as he finally walked away from the window towards his desk.
"Wow. You are taking this surprisingly well. I thought you'd be angry," Mercy said playfully.
"Oh Mercy, I-am-absolutely LIVID," Lex said coldly clearly wanting Mercy off his desk.
Mercy gave Lex I small smile. "I thought so," Mercy said as she got off the desk and allowing Lex to sit down on his seat.
"Oh, and your appointment is here Mr. Luthor," Mercy said.
"Excellent, let him in," Lex said with a small smile.
Mercy gave a small bow then walked to the ruined door.
"Mr. Luthor is ready for you General," Mercy said to the person waiting out the doorway.
"Thank you, Ms. Graves" a male voice said.
Then an older man entered the office, he was at least half a foot taller than Luthor. Caucasian skin, blue eyes, and short black hair with graying sides. The man was dressed in Military garb, a green jacket with a belt over it, green pants, and black shoes. Medals and gold stars decorated the jacket he wore, his face was aged but held a strong unmoving determination and fierceness. He stood in front of Lex in full attention, hands behind his back, back straight, and showing off his full height.
"Good Morning General Lane, thank you for coming on such short notice," Luthor said.
"Well I have to admit, based on recent events, it was in my best interest to take this meeting," General Lane said his eyes examining the ruined office.
"As you have no doubt already figured out based on the news, and my destroyed building, I have recently come into contact with the extraterrestrials," Lex said.
"Yes, it appears that the three aliens you have been looking for walked right into your office. And based on all the reports there was a fourth, one similar to the reports I received from the troops I sent to the ocean site. This one was more humanoid than the other three and has abilities very different from the other three." General Lane.
"Yes this, Superman. Admittedly it's has actually been something I've been looking into for a while," Lex said.
"You mean you've known about this alien and refused to share this information with the U.S. Government," General Lane said his anger slowly raising.
"I can't say I really knew at the time General Lane. There were some strange happenings occurring around the city, people saying they saw a red and blue blur before strange things happened. Most wrote it off as an urban myth, but I had suspicions that it might be something else. So I started my own small investigation into the matter and I was going to relay it back to you as soon as I gathered the optimal amount, but my investigation gathered nothing. Though after yesterday I can give you my early analysis of this creature," Lex said.
"You can write a report and send it to me later, right now I only have two questions. Is this creature in league with the original three extraterrestrials, and is he a danger to national security?" General Lane asked simply.
"Well General based on the reports from the ocean site and the three's initial reaction to its arrival, I can assume that they are at odds with one another. And their little team-up against the Parasite monster was only out of necessity. However just like the original three I can say this Superman is a threat to national security, I believe I won't have to write that in the report. You have no doubt read the latest issue of the Daily Planet by your daughter Lois Lane, she speaks in great length about the creature and what it's capable of. And now she has the whole city in a spin telling everyone that these creatures are heroes," Lex said annoyed.
"My daughter has a way of forcing herself into business that's not her own and knows how to rile people up," General Lane said stoically.
"When I looked out the window of my high rise today I saw seven different people walk down the street. They were all looking up, towards the sky, looking for them, for him, hoping to catch a glimpse of him. Your daughter has propped these aliens on a pedestal and has the entire city singing their praise ignorant to the true danger these things pose to our country, to humanity," Lex said.
"Everyone loves a hero story Mr. Luthor they love the spectacle, but soon enough they will realize that they are not our friends, and certainly are not heroes. And once they realize the threat these creatures pose, and these creatures inevitably do something to endanger innocent lives, we'll be there to put them down," General Lane said simply.
"And then they'll praise you and your men like the true heroes you are, serving your country. Maybe your daughter will write a story about you," Lex said coyly
"I haven't been a part of my daughter's life for some time Mr. Luthor, but let's stay on topic. You have generously supplied us with the tools needed to fight the original three Extraterrestrials, but this Superman is a new player with new abilities. From what the reports say he has shown a myriad of superhuman abilities from enhanced strength and speed, to shooting some kind of laser from his eyes, to flight. Not to mention based on going toe to toe with the Parasite creature we can assume he's pretty tough, we can bring in the heavy artillery for him unless you have something else planned Mr. Luthor," General Lane said.
"First General, the word you're looking for is Super-Extraterrestrial as in not Human, which it clearly isn't. And second I actually do have something for it, and it's something we've had in our possession for some time, the Earth-Zero," Lex said with a malicious smile.
"What we have been using to power the weapons for the other three, how exactly have you reached that conclusion Luthor," General Lane asked suspicious
"Well General Lane I was continuing the experiments you asked of me with the Earth Zero, and one experiment involved extracting the radiation from it a mixing it with various chemicals. This chemical cocktail is what was exposed to my employees Rudy Jones turning him to the Parasite, and the Parasite was able to hurt it," Lex said.
"Maybe it could've been something else in the chemical something Earthbound," General Lane asked.
"I thought that to till I read something from one of your earlier alien reports about an incident in the 1990's in Kansas, the day you retrieved the Earth Zero as well as the specimen," Lex said
"Wait you think that….. No, no, that makes sense there has to be a connection. But how," General Lane said but was stopped by Lex.
"I'm sure we'll be able to answer those questions once you and your men bring them in," Lex said with a smile of satisfaction.
"Excuse me, Mr. Luthor," General Lane asked confused.
"You are going to mobilize your forces and bring these creatures in for experimentation correct," Lex said.
"Wrong, Mr. Luthor we are not taking any action just yet," General Lane said.
"Excuse me General, but this attack on my building, on American soil seems like enough reason to mobilize and bring them down. If you're worrying about the fourth alien I assure you my newest project will be of great help for that," Lex said annoyed.
"This attack was caused by an accident on your behalf Luthor, by a man who worked for you, and was mutated by something you created. The only people killed were by it, and the damage on your building from what I can see is not beyond your range for repairs. That and we don't even know where they all are, so now we have to wait for them to make another move and once they do then we will strike," General Lane said simply.
Lex was silent for a few minutes his face was unreadable, though the tension could be felt in the air.
"I understand General, better to retaliate than attack. Before you go I would like to show you the progress on project steel soldier, luckily it wasn't damaged in the battle. I think you will like some of the newest editions I have made," Lex said as he gestured to Mercy.
Lane gave a small nod and began to follow Mercy out the door.
"One more thing Luthor, the child he was with them wasn't he," General Lane said stopping in his tracks and turning to Luthor.
Luthor was silent for a second "Yes, yes he was," Lex said
"If what you theorize about the child is true, then when he is brought in, it will only be for light testing. You will retrieve the data you need without doing any long-term harm to the boy and then he will be released to his respective guardians, are we clear Alexander," General Lane said calm and authoritative.
Lex seemingly flinched from the use of his name and the tone he was giving, again his façade cracked and his Malice began seeping out.
"Of course, General Lane, whatever you say. Mercy please bring General Lane down to the lab so we can show him the update Steel Soldier. I'll be with you two in a few minutes," Lex said calmly.
Mercy bowed and ushered General Lane out of the office. Lex was once again left alone in his office stewing in his silent rage, he clutched the arms of his chair so tightly that the wood of it was visibly splintering. Until a ringing filled his office, he looked towards his desk, and saw that he was receiving a message. The message said it was from Unknown, though Lex simply growled knowing who it was. Lex pulled out a digital keyboard from the desk and opened the message, ready to begin the conversation.
"Hello Mr. Luthor, it has come to my attention that you have come in close contact with the three gems that are currently on Earth." the unknown message said.
"Yes, very close contact," Lex replied.
"Am I correct to assume that the Hybrid was with them?" The unknown wrote back.
"Yes you are," Lex typed.
"How long before the Hybrid is in your possession?" The unknown wrote.
"Longer than we both want, the General won't mobilize unless there's a need despite the need being very apparent," Lex wrote annoyed.
There wasn't a reply for a few seconds
"Don't worry Lex, I believe something will turn up soon. And when it does I expect you to keep up your end of the bargain," the unknown wrote.
"Of course my mysterious friend, you have given me so much information on these gems, and helped develop the weapons I sold to the military. You will have the Hybrid, though I must ask: what is you interest in him?" Lex typed.
"Evolution Luthor, evolution. One more question before I go, there was something else with the gems, from what I can see, the other creature wore this correct?" the unknown replied as it showed an image of Superman's crest
"Yes he did, what's your interest in him," Lex wrote back.
"Some unfinished business, goodbye Mr. Luthor." The unknown wrote.
Lex knew the unknown wouldn't reply back if he wrote again, so he turned off his Keyboard, and leaned on his chair. He started receiving messages from this unknown a year and a half ago, it helped finish calculations Lex made about the gem aliens. Not that he needed help, but it made the whole process faster. The unknown knew a lot about the gems physiology such as how their hard-light bodies are weak to a certain frequency of sound, or how the one known as Garnet has precognitive abilities that can be blocked with a special tachyon frequency. Unknown knew a lot, too much, more than Lex. Lex didn't trust it since the first message he received. And it is extremely interested in the Hybrid, it's the payment it wants in return for its services to Lex. Lex didn't know who, or what, was talking to him, but he wasn't going to give it a goddamn thing. The Hybrid was too important, held to much potential for furthering mankind as well as himself, he had his own plans for the Hybrid. For now let unknown think they have an understanding, then when the time his right it will learn what happens when you try to play Lex Luthor. Lex then stood up from his desk and began to exit his office.
Late at Night, Area 600 miles away from Beach City
The moon was high and was the only source of light on this lone road surrounded by nothing but fields. The sound of crickets chirping were the only sound filling the air, that and the sound of a lone tanker truck rolling down the highway. It was driven by one man who was doing his best to stay awake, the man yawned as he took a sip of the energy drink he had, not wanting to fall asleep at the wheel. The man took a second to look out his window and take in the scenery of the moonlit fields. Then he heard something that sounded like an explosion from far away. The man looked around confused, wondering where it came from, until something bright began illuminating his front windshield. The man shielded his eyes trying to see what was in front of him, but the source wasn't from in front of him it was above. The man finally was able to make out what was coming at him, it was he could only describe as giant meteor flying straight towards him.
That was the last thing he was able to think before the meteor crashed into his truck setting it off in a glorious ball of fire. The explosion brightened the entire road silencing the crickets and sending parts of the truck flying in every direction. The sound of the crackling fire filled the fields, but then there was a loud whirring sound. Then from the fire a small ball was launched into the air, the ball soared high into the sky until coming to a rest reaching its maximum height. Once it did purple vein like lights began to glow across it, as it began its descent towards the ground the ball began to open up. As if a person had curled itself into a perfect sphere arms and legs emerged from the ball, till it fully revealed a thin feminine like figure.
Once the figure reached the ground it extended its forearm and rolled across the ground barely damaging the pavement. It then used its free hand to stop its roll and began to slowly rise. Once fully upright the figure opened its eyes revealing their purple color. This creature had purple skin and appeared to be wearing a strange set of black armor. The armor completely covered her upper torso, waist, legs, and feet while showing off a bit of the purple skin and her hands. The most stunning feature of the creature was its face which covered on the sides by a weird metal armor and was a mirror image of Pearl long nose and all. But this Pearl had long black hair that was done into a Ponytail, and its eyes were very different from Steven's Pearl. Aside from the Purple eyes they held a cold, unfeeling, almost robotic look to them. The figure craned its neck and began stretching its body out weird metallic creaks followed every stretch.
"I wished to land on the planet's surface without causing any substantial damage as to not arouse suspicion, but this primitive vehicle got in my way. I will have to clean this up before continuing the mission, this will be the last deviation on this mission," The figure said in a voice similar to Pearls, but very different, it was cold and robotic.
Suddenly another boom filled the air and a meteor crashed into the field next to this Pearl in a ball of fire. The Pearl let out a sigh and began walking to the crater. Similar to her emergence a ball shot out of the fire only this was much bigger than hers. Once again the purple lights came on and the ball began to uncurl, this time revealing a much bulkier physique. This creature landed in front of the Pearl much harsher than her, destroying the ground beneath it. The figure stood up showing that it was at least a foot taller than the Pearl. It wore armor similar to the Pearls only it was much bulkier and covered the entire body even the face, its helmet had eye holes that showed off its purple glowing eyes and in the back a lone purple ponytail laid.
The Pearl walked towards the giant and began to examine it, after a few second she slapped the giant across the face receiving no reaction from it.
"I believe the words used were 'Stealth until force is needed'. So decided with your limited intelligence to crash straight down creating a crater. Under any other circumstance I would have you destroyed, and I would complete the mission on my own as it should have been done in the beginning. But, the master believes your involvement will insure maximum level efficiency for completion of this mission, and the master is never wrong. So I will allow you to continue existing as long as you make no deviations from the mission, complete it, and follow my every command, understood," the Pearl said plainly.
The creature said nothing and simply stood in attention looking off at nothing.
"Good, now clean up that over there. There should be a human body in there somewhere, dispose of it, and any other evidence of our arrival including this mess you made," the Pearl said pointing to the burning wreck in the road.
The Giant said nothing, and began to walk towards the fire on the road leaving the Pearl. The Pearl examined the burning crater and sighed in disgust as she turned to look off in the distance. Suddenly her eyes glowed purple and her vision changed as if she were looking through a computer screen. Various numbers and calculations flew across her vision, then words appeared.
Four Gems signature detected 965.606 km away.
Mission directives:
Locate Earth Gems.
Destroy surrounding area to attract attention of human military.
Leave before Military arrival.
Retrieve the Hybrid and bring to extraction point.
"Mission understood, time frame till reaching Earth gem location with stealth approach, 42 Earth hours. Must reach extraction point with Hybrid within 54 Earth hours. Known threats ranked from lowest to highest level are an Amethyst classified late emergence, White Pearl classified misshapen, Fusion Garnet classified indecisive with actions." The Pearl said as her eyes returned to normal.
"Percentage chance of success for this mission, 100%" The Pearl said with a wicked grin on her face.
(Note: If you like what you've read then please leave a review I will always try to reply and I really appreciate it) :)