Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Smallville or Superman (which is to bad cause if I had my way I'd make it so Season 8 never happened).
Thanks: Ben10987654321, Wondiebuff and unoarnya30 get a special thanks for leaving me reviews.
Wondiebuff: I'm not sure how long this story will be, I feel like I'm still in the begining and have aways to go, I don't really shoot for a word count so to speak but I just kind of let the story write itself, if that makes sense...but I think I can safely say we haven't reached the halfway point yet. I don't know about a showdown between the four of them, it's a little early to be saying either way... but Ares and Eris will be working behind the scenes a lot.
I had to use the debut story from Superman: Man Of Steel, which Superman Returns and subsequently Smallville have re-spun. Not only is it probably the most famous of the Superman debuts but it's also my favorite... so no complaining.
Lois had been working for the Daily Planet for a little over a month and in that time she was quickly becoming one of the fastest rising stars of the paper. Her tenacious style, nose for truth and never-say-die attitude made her a force to be reckoned with and it surprised no one that she had already managed to scoop several more seasoned reporters and score several desirable interviews. So when she announced she had secured a seat on NASA's experimental space plane Constitution as the official press representative everyone assumed it was just another step in the brilliant career of Lois Lane that would surely end with her being the youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in nearly forty years.
The Constitution was being billed as the future of travel; the dream of commercialized space travel which had seemed like a pipe dream for so many years seemed like it was about to finally come true. The launch had gone off flawlessly and Lois Lane had become the first reporter in the history of the planet to file a report from space. The Constitution had then docked with the I.S.S for three days before finally making its triumphant return journey to Earth.
Everything had been going according to plan, then the heat shielding had failed, Lois heard the desperate calls to ground control, but everyone onboard knew it was too late; without the ceramic shielding to guard against the heat of re-entry Constitution was doomed to a fiery death. Knowing she had only minutes left Lois closed her eyes and tried to make peace with her fate as the ship shook violently around her.
On the ground at Metropolis International Airport, Clark Kent and Chloe Sullivan two more of the Planet's rising stars heard over their Justice League ear buds what was going on. Cyborg had been on monitor duty when the calls had come in to ground control.
"Clark, did you get all that?"
Clark and Chloe who were standing at the back of the crowd were both listening to their league earpieces. "Yeah I got it Victor, I'm going in."
"You're the only one who can handle it, the heat won't let J'onn get close and other than him you're the only one of us who can fly."
"Roger." He cut the channel.
"You sure you're ready for this?" Chloe asked him nervously.
He closed his eyes for a moment, this was it. His journey had led him to this point, he was about to step into the light and after this, things would never be the same again. But he knew he could do it, it was time. "I'm ready."
She nodded seeing the change come over her lifelong friend, quickly she reached up and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Go, and good luck Clark."
Turning around he ducked out of the back of the crowd, and headed quickly to a utility shed, he broke the lock and stepped inside.
The space was cramped and the air musty but he managed to strip out of his street clothes and place them aside. When he stood he was clad in the uniform Martha had made for him. A quick glance with his x-ray vision confirmed the coast was clear. Stepping outside he took a deep breath and launched himself skyward as fast as he could.
He heard people gasp and exclaim as he rocketed past but he put that out of his mind and focused on increasing his speed. By the time he cleared the mesosphere he was exceeding speeds of Mach 15 and still accelerating. He had been scanning the skies but not having much luck, when he caught a flash of movement on the edge of his vision.
Training his telescopic vision he found the Constitution, it was in a full-fledged uncontrolled dive, the engines had obviously failed from the excessive heat, the main source of which was a four foot section of exposed hull where the ceramic heat shielding had come loose.
In seconds he noted the plane's dangerous rise in temperature had a rough estimate of the plane's distance from him, distance to the ground, rate of descent and how much force it would take to alter Constitution's course.
It was still possible to save it but he'd need to act fast.
Pushing himself faster still, he shot past the plane before arcing back around and matching speeds with it. The massive slipstream generated in its wake threatened to knock him off course but he managed to close the distance to the exposed hull and using his own body as a replacement for the heat shield he covered the affected area.
That was one problem solved but the space plane still in a free fall; straining with every bit of power he had Clark used his back to push against the space plane; hundreds of tons of steel; plastics and ceramics assisted by gravity pushed back against him, but he wasn't giving up.
He had to save the space plane and the people onboard.
Inside the cockpit the engineer looked between the ship's pilot and navigator. "Sir, I don't know how it's possible but we're slowing down and leveling off."
"Did you manage to fix the-"
"No sir, I haven't done anything."
The navigator was looking at her panel in disbelief. "Uh-Uh Captain can you come here a sec and tell me I'm not seeing what I think I'm seeing."
The Captain cast his gaze at his navigator who sounded close to hysteria and walked over to her and looked at her board and understood her reaction. On the ship's belly cam as visible as day was a man in an outfit of blue, red and yellow who appeared to be carrying…carrying the space plane on his back.
He stared dazed for a moment before he snapped out of his trance. "Lower the landing gear, I don't know how but that guy's towing us in. Let's help him out."
"He's like a goddamn guardian angel." The engineer breathed, unable to tear his eyes away from the screen.
The captain's brow rose at the particular phrasing but didn't say anything. He didn't believe in guardian angels, he preferred to think he made his own destiny. But prior to five minutes ago he didn't believe a man could fly let alone carry a plane on his back either.
Lois heard the whole exchange and after regaining her composure the second the plane touched down she stepped out just in time to see her rescuer emerge from the underside of the space plane.
"Hey, Hold on a second!"
The man slowly turned around and Lois got a good look at him… it was Clark! He seemed taller, bigger, more confident but there was no mistaking him.
In the back of her mind she noted that she had never noticed how tall and handsome he seemed, the tight fitting outfit didn't hurt one bit either. She lowered her voice. "That.. was a hell of a save Smallville."
Clark smiled and opened his mouth to answer when a low rumbling interrupted him. He turned to see a mob, of at least a thousand people all rushing towards him, adulation, and awe written across all their faces. Lois saw panic flash in his eyes and quickly assessed the situation.
"Get out of here; I'll talk to you later."
He shot her a grateful look before he lifted up and sped off.
Despite hoping otherwise Lois didn't see Clark at all that day but reports and sightings continued to come in about the flying man in red and blue, from towing a marooned ship into harbor to putting out a fire to retrieving a young girl's balloon; he seemed to be everywhere. The next day at the Daily Planet, the newsroom was even in more of a buzz than usual. On the front page in large bold letter's read the title:
Red-Blue Blur Identity Revealed! Meet Metropolis's Newest Hero: Superman!
By Lois Lane
Underneath that was a picture of the newly named hero stepping out from underneath the hull of the Constitution.
Chloe and Lois were sitting at their desks when Clark showed up.
Chloe smiled freely and gestured at his desk. "Good morning Clark, did you get a chance to see the paper this morning?"
He glanced down at the paper and looked back up bewildered. "Superman?"
Chloe's grin was practically ear to ear. "Yeah that's what everyone's calling him, courtesy of our very own Ms. Lane."
"Well if he doesn't like it, maybe he shouldn't walk around with a giant 'S' on his chest." Lois sniffed defensively. "Besides, it's a lot more heroic sounding than 'the red-blue-blur'
"I'm sure he loves it Lois." Clark said causing her stomach to contract in pleasure. He looked around before continuing in a lowered voice "But it's not an 'S' it's a family crest."
Lois laced her fingers behind her head and shrugged. "Looks like an 'S' to me and if I manage to track him down for an interview I'll make sure to ask for clarification about that."
Chloe took a sip from her ever present coffee mug. "I wonder who Superman will grant his first interview too? That's the kind of interview that could make a career."
Clark loosened his tie uncomfortably but was spared answering by the appearance of Jimmy Olsen who bent over and kissed Chloe on the cheek. "Hey guys what's going on?"
Lois beat Clark to the punch. "Oh we were just talking about Superman."
Jimmy shook his head. "You and everyone else, I'd have killed to have been there and gotten a picture of him but I was across town covering Lex Luthor donating a new wing to Metropolis General Hospital. What was it like meeting him up close?"
"I didn't get much of a chance to say anything to him, it all happened so fast. One minute he was there, the next he was gone." Lois said fiddling with a pen cap.
"Yeah but still…" Jimmy said.
Clark's hearing picked up the sounds coming out of Cat Grant's radio across the room; a bank downtown was being held up and hostages had been taken. He was preparing to duck out and spring into action when he heard the frazzled reporter say that the threat had been neutralized and she was standing with the man responsible.
Clark heard what was clearly Bart's voice issue forth from the speakers. "Call me Impulse babe, I just want to let the people of Metropolis know that Big Blue isn't the only superhero in town, count on it!"
Before the reporter could ask for further clarification there was an audible whoosh; clearly Bart had ran off.
Smiling to himself Clark relaxed, he was glad he didn't have to go it alone; having a dependable team of comrades made things infinitely easier. At that moment Clark realized how good his life truly was; it had been a rush saving all those people and finally being able to do so in the open…honestly he didn't know why he had been so resistant to the idea for so long.
It felt right, like he had found his calling.
Lex Luthor hadn't moved in the last sixteen hours, he had remained transfixed on a number of monitors watching the dozens of amateur videos taken of the so called Superman, most had been unfocused and of poor quality but they had shown enough. He was everywhere; every news outlet, every social media site, every blog, all anyone seemed to be able to talk about was Superman and his incredible rescue of the space plane.
In a way Lex understood, the arrival of Superman was significant enough that it had taken his mind off of Green Arrow and the information leak for the moment, he was caught up in learning all he could about Superman as well but he had a different purpose in mind…
If he could find a way to meet Superman and employ him… all of Lex's problems could be solved, Green Arrow could be dealt with, the mole could be found, nothing and no one would be able to stand against him. Lex shivered at the thought of having that much power at his beck and call.
Practically giddy at the possibilities he reached for his phone and called his press secretary.
The 'Fantastic Four' (Jimmy's nickname for their group) was returning from lunch to see everyone gathered around the large flat screen on the wall. As much as Perry detested televised journalism he knew that oftentimes stories broke on that format before anywhere else, hence he relented and allowed one in the newsroom. Chloe managed to get closest to the TV and was shocked by what she saw. Lex Luthor was on the top of Luthorcorp plaza and was asking to see Superman for a private meeting as soon as possible, he had important news to discuss with him.
Chloe discreetly glanced at Clark, with his senses he didn't need to get close to the TV to know what was going on and judging by the look on his face he had heard every word.
Knowing he would hear her she turned her head and whispered. "Clark, meet me in the stairwell."
He looked over at her and nodded before walking off.
She waited a few moments before she faded back slowly as not to garner any attention she caught up just as he reached the door. They walked in together, Clark gave the once over before he nodded; they were alone.
"You don't think he found out did he?" Chloe began immediately.
"How could he have? It's not like we spend much time hanging out anymore." Despite the statement he felt a tiny shadow of doubt.
"I don't know, your disguise is good but Lex has never seen it, his last memories of you are from back in Smallville. It'll be difficult but you're going to find a way to distance that Clark from Superman. Good news is you look at least thirty pounds bigger and two inches taller as Superman, bad news is this is Lex we're talking about, if we're wrong…"
She didn't have to finish that sentence.
"Project your confidence more, try and change your body language; try not to do anything that might clue him in as to who you are. And most importantly keep it short, the longer this goes on the greater chance you have of him connecting the dots." She reached up and hugged him. "Good luck."
Clark disappeared up the stairs in a blur and Chloe returned to the news room only to be pulled into an empty office by Lois.
"I know you both saw that; he's gone to meet Lex hasn't he?"
Chloe noticed the worry on Lois's face and the tightness in which she was being gripped by her cousin's hands and nodded.
"If Lex hurt's him…" Lois growled and left the threat hanging in the air.
It all seemed to click into place then; the looks she had seen Lois give Clark, the protectiveness, the worrying, all of it. Lois had a crush on Clark.
She wasn't sure what she thought of that.
Her own feelings for Clark had long since been resolved and she knew that she and Clark weren't meant to be and they had instead settled into a deep comradery so it wasn't jealousy on her part. She mulled it over for a moment, Lois and Clark; there was no denying that on some level they complemented each other but on the other hand…
What really bothered her was Lois had known Clark for years and while she had briefly thought there was romantic tension between them (she had still been infatuated with Clark at the time) nothing had come of it. Lois dated first Arthur and then Oliver and Clark had ended up with Lana.
Obviously neither of them were in relationships at the moment but it seemed the revival of that tension on Lois's part at least seemed to coincide with Clark's debut as Superman.
She shook her head. It wasn't any of her business. "He'll be fine Lo; we just have to trust in him."
Lois still looked worried. "I hope you're right Chloe."
Deep down Chloe did to.
Superman stood waiting for Lex on the roof of Luthorcorp; when he arrived had briefly considered going through the front door; but he knew from hard experience the amount of camera's present in the building. So he had instead rapped on Lex's office window to get his attention and then pointed up to the roof.
Several minutes later Lex stepped out onto the roof feeling slightly annoyed at the presumption Superman had to dictate the place of their meeting but he schooled himself, remembering he had a bigger goal at hand. The first thing he noticed was Superman's back was to him; his cape fluttering lightly in the wind, he seemed to be gazing out at the city. Again Lex felt a twinge of annoyance but once again he suppressed it.
"Superman, I didn't expect to see you so soon, my broadcast couldn't have gone out more than ten minutes ago."
The large man turned around. "I like to move quickly Mr. Luthor."
His voice was deep and commanding and Lex couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated, that alone was a highly unusual sensation for the young mogul and gave him pause. "I saw your rescue of the Constitution, it was excellent work."
"I was just doing what I could to help other people, it just so happens I can do more than most people." He replied.
"Helping people is something we have in common Superman. Did you know that sixty percent of Metropolis works for me in some shape or fashion? I protect the people with my resources; you protect it using your unique abilities. Our methods may be different but I believe our goals are the same, and I believe we can do a lot of good together. That's why I want to offer you this."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a personal check for five hundred thousand dollars and held it out to Superman.
Superman took the check and looked at it.
"Consider that a down payment Superman, I never let a resource go to waste and you're far too valuable a resource to leave undirected."
Superman folded the check and handed it back to Lex. "Your offer is very generous Mr. Luthor and I agree we can both do a lot of good for Metropolis, however my services are not for sale; and neither am I."
All pretense gone Lex tried the direct route. "Don't be foolish Superman, if it's not enough, I'll double it."
Lex swore he saw a glint of amusement in Superman's blue eyes. "That is quite a bit of money, but I'm afraid my decision stands. Perhaps you could donate the money you were going to give me to charity?"
To Lex's horror and surprise Superman lifted off the roof. "Superman think about it; this could be a decision you'll live to regret!"
"I don't think I will Mr. Luthor, have a pleasant afternoon." And with that he flew off.
Lex stood shocked unable to believe what had just transpired; Superman had turned down his offer.
It was a pity, he had honestly wanted Superman to work for him but he had meant what he said when he had proclaimed that the Man of Steel was too valuable a resource to leave undirected.
If he couldn't be controlled, he'd have to be destroyed.
But before then he'd find a way to make Superman irrelevant, a way to make the fickle people of Metropolis forget about this man that they were proclaiming as their new champion. There was only room in Metropolis for one alpha male and it was him; the people of the city had just forgotten it in their enamor for the brightly colored Superman.
But they would remember soon enough.
Storming down the stairs and barricading himself in his office Lex picked up his phone and dialed a special number, the phone rang once before it was picked up and a deep voice on the other end spoke.
"Mr. Luthor?"
"Project Conduit has my authorization, when can you begin?"
"Immediately, sir."
"Good, make it happen."
Lex hung up the phone and steepled his fingers. Project Conduit had originally been his solution to deal with Green Arrow, but now…now it would serve the purpose of invalidating Superman as well…he didn't like to waste resources and what better use for a resource than to kill two birds with one stone?