A week later
Dinah Lance stared into the camera and smiled warmly. "Welcome back to a special live edition of the Word of Justice, today I'm joined by a very special guest. Appearing for the first time on camera he's been alternately called the Metropolis Marvel, The Man of Steel and The Man of Tomorrow. Ladies and Gentlemen please give a warm welcome to Superman!"
The crowd applauded as Superman walked out from behind the curtain and after shaking Dinah's hand sat down on a chair.
The applause died down and Dinah began the interview.
"Well Superman where to begin? You first appeared over the skies of Metropolis a little over two months ago and have quickly become the darling of not just the city but the entire world. There have been sightings of you in nearly every major country and I'm told you just got back from flying several tons of food and medical supplies into the Middle East and Central Africa."
"I'm just trying to do my job Ms. Lance." Superman responded earning him another round of applause
Dinah flashed him her award winning smile. "And a fine job you seem to be doing Superman. Everyone is familiar with your work but people want to get to know the man behind the cape, the real you. I imagine protecting the planet is a time consuming job and we are thankful you could squeeze us in for this interview."
"You're right Ms. Lance, my time is often not my own but I'm happy to be here."
"Well let's hope any disasters can hold off for the next twenty-five minutes. Now Superman it seems you've made Metropolis your unofficial haunt, would it be safe to assume that you're from our fair city?"
"No, I'm from out of town Ms. Lance, in fact I wasn't born on this planet. I was raised here though and consider the Earth my home and myself an American first and foremost." There were gasps from the audience but Superman and Dinah ignored them.
"You're an alien, forgive me but you look so-"
Superman smiled. "Human? Yes I've been told that before."
"If you weren't born on Earth where were you born?"
"On a planet called Krypton."
"I've never heard of it before. So are there other… Kryptonians on Earth as well?"
"Krypton was destroyed and to my knowledge I'm the last of my kind."
Dinah face assumed a sad expression. "I'm sorry to hear that. Do you go by any other name beside Superman?"
"Well my birth name is Kal-El, but I rarely use that name as I spend my hours as Superman."
"So you're Superman 24/7? "
Superman smiled. "As you said earlier Ms. Lance being Earth's protector is a full time job."
Dinah nodded and she caught the eye of her producer who was signaling her that it was time for a commercial. "Well that brings us to our first break; will you be sticking with us Superman?"
He nodded. "There's nothing that needs my attention right now."
"Excellent, then we'll be back with this very special edition of the Word of Justice and our special guest Superman."
Across town in the Daily Planet Lois and Chloe were watching the interview with a number of their co-workers. Everyone was so focused on the TV that no one noticed the two of them standing back further than was necessary and talking in low whispers.
"There both great actors, you'd never know they had this whole thing planned down to the letter." Chloe noted appreciatively.
"I don't know why he had to do the interview with mega-bitch; I could've done it ten times better." Lois replied darkly.
Chloe sighed Lois's attitude towards Dinah had gone from prickly to outright hatred. When she had found out that Dinah had been the blonde woman who had beaten her up at Ollie's penthouse she'd been livid. Then she learned that in the wake of her break up with Oliver, Dinah had started seeing him and that had sealed the deal. "Maybe, but by appearing on TV unmasked and revealing details about himself, Clark is further distancing himself from Superman, which given the scare we had with Lex is a good thing."
To her credit Lois looked abashed. "I know it's just…I gave him the name Superman, you'd think he could toss a little bone my way…a little quid pro quo. I could've won a Pulitzer if he had given me that interview."
"Come on Lo, do you really want to win your first Pulitzer because Clark gave you an easy interview or do you want to go out there and earn one for yourself?"
Lois sighed. "I hate it when you're right."
Chloe smiled. "I know….shh it's back."
"Welcome back to the Word of Justice, I'm joined today by a very special guest; Superman!"
The crowd applauded and Superman inclined his head.
"Now Superman we'd like to go to some members of the audience for a live Q&A session."
"That's fine Ms. Lance." Although his voice was steady, this had been the portion of the interview he had been nervous about.
Dinah took a wireless mic and walked up to a red headed woman who was showing a scandalous amount of cleavage. "Hi Superman! Two questions; are you single and are you looking for a girlfriend? She asked leaning forward and threatening to knock the mic out of Dinah's hands with her large bosom.
One of the first things he had to learn to deal with as Superman was the seemingly endless stream of women that (sometimes literally) threw themselves at him; he had it down to a science now.
"You're very kind miss, I am single; but I'm not looking for a girlfriend right now."
The woman looked disappointed and sat down. Dinah moved on to the next person trying to bite back a smirk.
An older gentleman in full Army dress uniform stood next. "Superman, I'd just like to thank you for all the good you're doing in the world. You saved my niece from a hit and run a few days ago, the only reason she's still alive is because of you."
Clark remembered the incident vividly. "How is your niece…Melanie I believe?"
The man smiled; touched that Superman had remembered. "Yes that's right. The doctors say she'll be ready to be released in a week or so."
Superman nodded. "I'm glad to hear that sir."
The man sat down to a round of applause and Dinah made her way to a man of Asian descent. "Superman I've got a question, what do you like to do in your free time, do you and the rest of the Justice League get together and hang out?"
"Well I don't have much free time, but I enjoy reading whenever I have a chance. I don't really hang out with my fellow heroes, we tend to keep our interactions professional only." That wasn't entirely true, but it was a good perception for the public to have given the mischief some of the members got into during their free time.
Dinah's next pick was a college age boy with long floppy blond hair. "Hey Superman, you think you could get me that babe Black Canary's number?" He sat down and his buddies patted him on the back.
Superman didn't dare look at Dinah, lest he burst out laughing. "Black Canary is a fairly private person and I wouldn't be bold enough to comment on whether or not she's looking to date anyone."
Dinah navigated the sea of people and caught the signal her producer was flashing. "I think this will be our last question, yes ma'am?"
A heavy set middle aged woman stood and spoke into the microphone. "Yes Superman, how do you respond to people who are uncomfortable with the idea of people like you and your associates doing what you do?"
Superman was silent for several moments before answering. "I was told by a wise man that it is every person's job to leave our little corner of the planet in better shape than we got it. I was born with great gifts and I use those gifts to the best of my ability to better the world. I would go so far as to say my fellow heroes are of one heart on that matter."
"But the violence you perpetrate; doesn't violence only beget more violence?"
"Again I feel free to speak for my colleagues in saying that violence is used as a last resort. We try to negotiate peace whenever possible, but there are those out there who will not be reasoned with; who only seek to destroy. It's then and only then that violence is used and only as an ends to a mean, never as a tool for accomplishing our goals. Otherwise we are no better than those we seek to stop."
The woman sat down, looking thoughtful; he hadn't changed her mind but had given her much to think about.
Dinah meanwhile wrapped up the interview. "I'd like to once again thank Superman for not only this interview but your candor as well."
Superman smiled. "It was my pleasure Ms. Lance. Thank you for having me."
Across the world in a hotel in France two women watched the interview with Superman, one with fascination the other with a degree of wariness.
Diana shook her head. "Great Gaea! This Superman, I see his name, his picture, everywhere. They worship him almost as if he is a god."
"Given the scope of his abilities, that may not be far from the truth." Artemis responded grimly, uncomfortable with the thought of a man having the level of power that Superman possessed.
"He champion's truth and justice; in fact his tenants seem very much in line with my own." Diana was excited to see another person that seemed to be fighting the same fight she was. "I wish to meet him. I have a feeling he and I can accomplish great things together."
Artemis's eyes went wide. "You cannot be serious princess!"
"I am Artemis; that's why I've decided that our first destination when we arrive in America will be Metropolis."
"But-he's…a man!" Artemis sputtered.
Diana frowned lightly. "And my duty is to bring the teachings of the Amazon's to the man's world and bridge the gap between them and us, in order to do that I must work with men as well as women. And how much easier would that task be with an ally as beloved by the people as he by my side? Much easier I say."
Artemis had to admit Diana had a point and she was blessed with the wisdom of Athena so perhaps she could see something Artemis couldn't, she bowed. "As you command princess."
Diana rolled her eyes and took Artemis's hands between her own. "Artemis you don't have to be so formal. Do not forget we are friends first and foremost."
Artemis' visage lightened and Diana disappeared in the bathroom. She still wasn't sure about Diana's decision to seek out Superman, but as her protector and friend she'd be behind her every step of the way.
It was evening the next day and Superman was patrolling the city with Empath. Superman was flying several hundred feet above street level and Empath was navigating the streets on her motorcycle. Oliver had bought vehicles for all the members of the league that didn't have superhuman means of transportation and Clark had been shocked when he heard Chloe say she had always wanted a motorcycle. Of course it had been supped up by Cyborg and had all sorts of 'goodies' in it.
"Quiet evening." Chloe's voice sounded in his ear thanks to his earpiece, but to be fair he could've heard her without it.
"Yeah hopefully it'll stay that way." He responded while swooping around a water tower.
"Tell me about it, I have a date with Jimmy tonight."
"I'm glad you two got back together; he's good for you."
"He is." Chloe responded wistfully. "Have you thought about getting back on the wagon Clark? It's been nearly half a year since Lana left, don't you ever get lonely?"
He thought for a moment about the best way to answer that. "I do, but it'd take a special type of woman to get involved with me Chloe…all of me. I had just assumed romance wouldn't have much if any room in my life. Lana is a prime reason why Clark Kent and romance shouldn't mix."
"Why didn't you ever go after her?" She knew she was prying but that one question had always stumped her.
"I learned…the hard way, that you can't force someone to love you. How Lana and I felt about each other is in the past and it's time for me to move on. I could track her down but I'm going to respect her decision and give her the space she wants."
Chloe opened her mouth to tell Clark how proud she was of the growing up he had done, but before she could utter a word a huge explosion ripped through the night air; it was followed by three others in rapid succession. Instantly Superman and Empath changed directions and headed to the source of the explosions.
Using his ocular talents Superman instantly saw what was going on. Livewire; an anti-Superman radio shock jock turned electric spewing super villainess was rampaging across the theater distract.. "Chloe, it's Livewire, I'm going in." he sped off leaving her behind.
Her bike could exceed two hundred miles per hour but she still had little chance of keeping up with Superman. "I'll catch up as soon as I can." She responded.
Superman came to a stop over the theater distract and saw Livewire; she wasn't doing any of her usual cackling or showboating she just was walking down the middle of the street and firing off bolts of lightning randomly. Something about this situation struck him oddly but he put it in the back of his mind. He quickly scanned the area and saw all the innocent civilians; he needed to draw her attention and get her someplace innocents couldn't be hurt. He dove down but never got close; a figure flew in from Superman's left and landed in front of Livewire. Superman stopped in mid dive and got a good look at the new comer.
He wore a full face opaque mask, and his entire upper body from the neck down seemed to be covered in glowing green cables. The lower half of his body was covered in black mechanical armor. The man raised his right hand and the cables on his forearm glowed brightly and seemed to come to life and shot out and encircled Livewire. She glowed brightly and convulsed for a moment before she slumped over unconscious. The cables retracted and Livewire fell to the street. The people of Metropolis began to cheer but the man on the street ignored them, instead he turned until he was looking at Superman, he raised his hand and pointed at The Man of Steel before he launched himself into the air and flew off. Superman was tempted to give chase but he needed to supervise Livewire until the police came. He landed and a moment later Empath roared onto the scene and parked her motorcycle. "Good job Superman, you didn't even need my help with this one."
"I didn't do anything." He explained to her about the mystery man.
"What do you think he wanted?"
"I don't know Empath, I don't know."
Across town in a non-descript warehouse the masked man landed he punched a code into a key-pad and the door lifted up. He stepped inside and a team of technicians swarmed over him checking readings on his armor and bio signs. They stayed at it for about ten minutes before disappearing almost as fast as they had shown up. Dr. Sydney Harper stepped forward, he was a man in his mid-forties he had shoulder length dirty blonde hair that was beginning to show signs of greying and rather vivid green eyes, he was tall and powerfully built. He was an intimading man not just physically but mentally as well, he was one of the world's foremost exports on genetics and had he not have been discovered doing unethical research into human cloning he might have been on his way to a noble peace prize; but he had been black listed by the scientific community and was now doing private work for Metropolis's richest son, Lex Luthor.
After he had concluded his own examination of the test subject Harper collected and reviewed the technicans data. Satisfied with what he was seeing he picked up the special encrypted phone and dialed Lex's number. The mogul picked up between the second and third ring.
"Yes Harper?"
"Test number two was a success, I recommend that test subject is ready for fieldwork." As ready as someone as unbalanced as the buffoon Luthor decided to use will ever be.
He wisely kept that last part to himself.
"Excellent Dr. Harper, keep me abreast of all changes."
Lex hung up the phone and smiled, by this time tomorrow his would be on the front page of every paper in the city. From then it was just a matter of time until his plan came together.
Things were definitely starting to look up, he picked up the phone again and called his press secretary, it was time for the next step, get the public behind his champion.
It was time to call a press conference for the world's first cooperate sponsored hero. Add to the fact that Superman was going to be replaced by the very thing he had snubbed and Lex was ecstatic.
The irony of the situation was almost more than he could believe.
A/N: The brief cameo by Diana didn't go into the level of detail about her journey that I wanted to but just consider it a teaser, she's got a big chapter coming down the pipes so please bear with me. Anyway thanks for reading and I'll see y'all next week.