1938 Sullivan Lane, Penthouse, New Troy, Metropolis. Kent Residence.
Lois Lane-Kent unlocked the door to the apartment she shared with her husband and their two children, and hanged her satchel and jacket from the coat rack just inside. Lois was an attractive, middle-aged woman of average height, with flaming red hair and a curvy figure accentuated by her otherwise modest business attire. Her stunning violet-grey eyes were rounded with dark circles, and her normally cool demeanor was replaced with an air of exhaustion.
"Hey, mom." A boy in his early teens with jet-black hair and blue eyes said from the couch across the room. Jonathan Kent. He was seated across from a boy who might have been a year or so older, with the same jet-black hair, his brother, Conner Kent. "We've got company." Jon pointed to a dark figure in the corner, then to a glowing green one lounging against the wall. Batman and Green Lantern.
"Bruce, Hal" Lois said, her lips barely cracking what might have been a smile. "You guys can have a seat, you know. The couch won't bite." The smile slipped from her face. "This is about Clark." It wasn't a question.
Batman nodded. "We've searched across the entire world. We can't find a single trace him or the creature."
Lois sighed, and tossed her keys onto the table by the door with a dejected abandon. "You ran the Bat-cam footage on everything you could? Every bowling alley in the world, right?"
"That was the first thing I did." Bruce replied. "We haven't found any reported sightings or comparable damage to what the League saw anywhere on Earth."
Lois raised an eyebrow. "So you're saying they're on a different planet?"
Hal shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time. I sent a message to Oa, they've got the entire Corps and then some monitoring everything they can looking for any mention of him, or the monster, assuming they landed somewhere in our jurisdiction."
"In the meantime, I'm following up on a clue Yl'geth left behind." Batman said.
"What kind of clues would that thing leave?" Lois asked.
"An energy signature." Bruce replied. "It's a unique pattern, and a powerful one, too. The one it left at KORD Industries still hasn't faded, and the ones at Lexcorp and STAR Labs are extremely strong. Based on available instrument readings, it leaves them behind whenever it cuts open a portal. I've got the Watchtower Satellite running an active scan, and every Wayne Enterprises and KORD Industries satellite is looking, too. The next time it shows up, you'll be the first one to know."
Lois let out a small sob, and grabbed Bruce and Hal in a tight hug. "Thanks, guys." She said, and then let them go.
"Hey, you're family." Hal said, casually. "He'd do the same for us."
Bruce tossed Lois and the boys small tokens with the symbol of the House of El on one side, and a screen on the other.
"As soon as we know anything, those will have coordinates on them. We'll either have Clark, or he'll need our help. Either way, I know you'll want to be there." Bruce said. "Take care, Lois. Try to get some sleep, okay?"
Batman and Green Lantern made their exit from the apartment via the rooftop patio. Lois couldn't help but think about every time she'd seen Clark take off from and land on the roof, and hoped she'd get to see him do either again.
"Don't worry about him, mom!" Conner exclaimed. "He'll be fine. We've been through worse, right?"
"Yeah." Jon said, solemnly. "When he died."
"Come on, boys." Lois said, kneeling down between them. "Don't fight, not right now."
"We weren't." Conner said with mild indignance. "I just think he's going to be fine, wherever he is."
"Did you have to make a fucking scene at the goddamn support group?!" Hughie demanded as they walked away from the church.
"Fuck yeah, I did." Butcher growled. "Even after all that, you're still carrying a torch for fuckin' Starlight?"
"Yes!" Hughie exclaimed. "Because not every superhero is like Homelander!"
"You're lyin' to yourself, Hugie."
"He's right, you know."
Hughie and Butcher turned to the sound of the voice. It was a broad, dark-haired man with poor posture, horn-rimmed glasses, dressed in a brown leather jacket over a dark T-shirt and bluejeans.
"Who the fuck are you, and what business is it of yours?" Butcher demanded.
"When things get out of their control, and people can't fix things themselves, they try to turn to someone stronger. Their parents, the government, superheroes, gods. Anyone who they think has the power to solve their problems." The man said. "It's not a sign of weakness, it's an aspect of human nature. These people with extraordinary powers... They have a responsibility to use them to help others, or at least not hurt anyone with them. If they're not... They aren't superheroes. Where I come from, we call people like Homelander supervillains."
Hughie and Butcher exchanged a confused look.
"What are you talking about?" Hughie asked the man.
"I'm talking about power and responsibility." The man said. "When I was a teenager, I felt like I was on top of the world, like I could do anything. Then, my father died of a heart-attack, and I felt like everything was falling apart. All I wanted to do was help him. My two boys knew that feeling before they turned thirteen. Most of the people you're familiar with around here wouldn't know how that felt if it hit them in the face."
"Mate, I'm gonna ask you again, who the fuck are you?" Butcher asked, befuddled.
"Just a man looking to do some good in the world." The man said as he disappeared into the crowd exiting the church.
Homelander returned to Seven Tower, and strutted through the halls with a newfound confidence in his step.
"Homelander!" Madelyn Stillwell's voice cut through his bravado and brought him back down to earth.
Stillwell marched down the hallway to Homelander, clearly pissed.
"I need to see you in my office." She said, curtly.
"Now?" John asked, incredulously.
"Yes, now!" She said, insistently. Madelyn grabbed him by the wrist and marched John into her office.
"Take a seat!" She said as she practically slung him into the office. Madelyn took the seat behind her desk, and sat down, seething.
"John, we can't do damage control if you disappear!" Madelyn whispered.
Homelander twitched. Nobody called him John anymore. Especially not Madelyn.
"You did good at the expo," she continued. "Until you didn't. You made some mistakes."
"What mistakes?" John asked. "I-"
"Do you know how long you've been gone?" She demanded.
Homelander scoffed, and shrugged.
"Three days." Stillwell said, letting every word linger in the air. "That's three days we've had to make excuses for where you are and what happened with that monster, trying to quell the rumors that you were mortally wounded and that you were no longer fit to lead."
"I didn't think-"
"Damn right you didn't!" Stillwell snapped. "I know you felt like you'd been hurt, and you didn't have anything left to lose, but we can still salvage this. Just tell me two things."
"Alright. Name them."
"One. Where did you go?"
"Wherever I needed to to find Superman. He embarrassed me."
"No, that monster embarrassed you. I understand that you think he's stealing your thunder, but we could've spun things better if you'd immediately released a statement thanking him for his help while we planned something behind the scenes. Did you find him?"
"Yes. He's at the North Pole. He's stronger than I thought he was."
"How strong?"
Homelander shook as he thought back to landing on his back from the shock.
"Way stronger than me." He said, shakily.
"Alright, then let me handle it." Madelyn said, getting up from her chair. She circled her desk to press her bosom against Homelander's head. "If you can't win it by fighting, let me figure out what he wants, and we'll solve it a different way."
John knew what he should be feeling. Safety. Arousal. Security. He didn't feel anything like that. He felt like he was being condescended to.
"Homelander?"
"Yes?" He asked, looking up at her.
"Who's Clark Kent?"
Homelander shrugged.
"Some reporter with the New York something or other."
"Did you check his credentials before you spilled your heart out to him?"
John scoffed.
"I'll take that as a 'no.'" Madelyn said with mild exasperation. "He's publishing his material on a website that appeared while you were off the reservation. ."
Homelander felt his internal irritation rising. "How does it make me look?"
"Not bad, but not great, either. Especially in the wake of disappearing as long as you did after Superman showed you up. It's remarkably neutral in presentation... But, taken in concert, it paints you as aloof and out of touch."
Homelander's face twitched a little bit, and Madelyn used two fingers to turn his head to look her in the eye.
"New rule, okay?" She asked, softly. "Don't give any interviews after getting high on your ego. I know you couldn't have known, but these are the kinds of mistakes we have to avoid."
Homelander nodded, and swallowed a lump in his throat as he caressed the spot in his suit where he'd stashed the green rock.