Summary: A girl wakes up in Metropolis, City of Tomorrow. It's her lucky day, she thinks. She might finally meet her hero!

Disclaimer: I do not own Superman, nor any of the characters and settings mentioned here.

PRELUDE

Metropolis, Illinois, United States.

April 2004.

The girl opened her eyes and blinked rapidly a few times before getting used to the golden light streaming through the blinds. First her left foot got out of bed. She opened the blinds, smiling at the sun. It seemed to smile back at her. There was nothing like waking up early in Metropolis. They called it the City of Tomorrow. Technology and science flourished, there were green areas everywhere, it was the safest city in the United States, and athletes competed to see who had the cleanest drug-free body. An American paradise, her dad used to say. Her mom claimed there were no clouds covering the sun because that infamous Gotham City had stolen them all.

The girl smiled at the sunrise, and it gave her a photograph that was both impossible and recurrent. Only she could see it, being in her current location and at the usual time. That's why she set the alarm. To watch the sun behind the big golden globe of the Daily Planet, the newspaper her grandfather worked for. The golden sphere, on top of the building five blocks from hers, made the sun look more three-dimensional than it was, turning it into its own flaming halo precisely at 7:52 in the morning. It was perfect for starting the day. A day that promised to be very special.

The girl showered, got dressed, had breakfast, and got in the car with her grandfather. It was Take Our Children to Work Day. This time, she had chosen her grandfather, the famous editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet. She loved her grandfather very much, and she genuinely wanted to learn about his work, but the main reason she chose him was a bit more selfish. Him. That man. No one else.

She just needed to see him up close once. She had read all the articles about him in the newspaper. She had heard about his feats on the radio. She had watched all the news that had him on television. And, like everyone else, she had seen him that day four years ago when aliens became a reality. When he appeared.

But that wasn't enough. Now she lived in Metropolis with her grandfather. Now she could see him in person! She was getting closer. Broadway Street #2525, Illinois. The Daily Planet! Her grandfather cursed at eight pedestrians before parking the car.

Perry White yelled to everyone and their mothers as soon as he entered his office, but given his employees' reactions, it was clear they were more than used to it. After all, who in their right mind wouldn't want to work there, where they could photograph and report on that man? Who wouldn't want to be close to the action when he flew over the city? The answer was... a lot. A lot of people.

There were still those who distrusted him, the girl remembered. While her father had a more neutral perspective, her mother didn't trust the flying alien, as she called him. Not at all. The day he appeared, the world had trembled, and the City of Tomorrow had been reduced to rubble, losing its light. Currently, they were still rebuilding the city (except for Lx Tower, which was fantastically rebuilt in just over a month). Hammersmith Tower and the Grand Hotel were still not entirely functional; Schott's Toys and Carlini's had not reopened. There was a crater in the school where the music room used to be. It seemed natural that people wouldn't trust someone like him.

But what they couldn't understand was that he hadn't caused anything that happened. He hadn't done anything bad. The girl was sure. Although he came from the same planet as them, those evil invaders, he had saved millions of people when he stopped those machines the bad aliens had placed around the world. How could he be a bad person? Why were so many people so afraid of him? What she wanted more than anything was to see him in person. Even if it was just once!

"Great Caesar's ghost!" her grandfather shouted, and his granddaughter was one of the main witnesses to the world suddenly exploding.

In the office, the phones kept ringing. Perry White seemed to multiply, barking orders to everyone. He seemed very upset. Tell me this and that. Go here and there. He wanted reporters everywhere. He asked where the "damn Kent" was. Everyone was doing that fun "running without running" move in which she was an expert. Speeding up, taking long steps, trying not to spill the coffee.

The girl didn't understand anything, and her grandfather ordered her to stay in his office for now. But she had just arrived!

Hold on! There she was! Perry White threw himself at her, with dozens of papers in his hands, waving his arms like a maniac, with his face getting increasingly red. Lois Lane, the famous and fearless Pulitzer Prize winner! The reporter who had had an exclusive interview with the first extraterrestrial the world had ever known! The girl wanted to meet her almost as much as him. Lois Lane had beautiful eyes of a very rare violet shade she had never seen before. Her jacket was the same color, which she had clearly not ironed in a long time. Her hair was jet black, tied in a bun on top of her head with a blue pen. She was using a pen to tie her hair! She already liked her!

"You're sending me where?"

"Oslo! Hawaii! Managua! You choose!"

"Oh, really? And are you going to pay for my trip, Perry?"

"There are more of them, Lois! Three have already landed, NASA reported that more are coming, and the Blue Man has already been seen heading in their direction. What was that, Lombard? Stop moving your arms like a tube man, I can hear you!"

"He's already there!" Lombard shouted from the other side of the room, the man with the mustache her grandfather always mentioned before prayer. Never in the best terms.

"Where!?"

" Oslo!"

"Lois, I need you in Oslo!"

"You don't have to shout at me, Perry, I'm right next to you! But seriously, Oslo? Do you think I can move as fast as him or what?"

"What do you want me to do? They came from space again! It's the second most important news of the… Hey, sweetheart, what are you doing here? I told you to stay in my office" her grandfather said when he caught her eavesdropping from behind a plant. It hadn't been her best idea.

"But, Grandpa, I want to know. I need to know! Miss Lane, are you going to see him? Is he coming here?"

"All right, that's enough. You're staying in my office and that's it! And could anyone tell me where the hell Kent is!?"

That's when everyone could hear it, but only she could see him. Just like with the sun behind the big golden sphere on top of the building. Everyone heard the fast and explosive sound, as well as the windows shaking. Some reporters jumped out of their chairs, and both Lois and her grandfather turned around to find the source. But the girl had seen it. A lightning bolt, or a red comet, descending rapidly far away, near the bay. It had to be him! The windows continued to shake when she ran towards the stairs, knowing that in seconds, everyone would be stuck trying to get into the elevator.

She hurried down, and in less than a minute she was already on the street. Only a few had noticed the fast silhouette flying through sky, and they were looking at the bay instead of moving away. Why would he have flown there so quickly? Why hadn't he come back? Could he be injured, perhaps? She needed to know! She needed to see him!

The skies of Metropolis remained bright and clear. It was her lucky day; the sun itself had smiled at her. She didn't take even ten seconds to catch the bus to the beach, and as it departed, she could see Perry White leaving the building with his shirt soaked, still holding the papers. She felt sorry for him, but maybe now he would have the exclusive from his own daughter! She could see and hopefully talk to the majestic man who was always saving the world, flying above the heads of men and women who had found in him both hope and terrible fear. For her, he was only the former.

At Metropolis Bay, everyone had gathered. People were taking photos of the sea from Queensland Bridge; more and more amateur reporters were arriving with their phones held high. Some other gathered at the railing that separated them from the docks. From the sea, a long, black, smoking column rose to the blue sky, turning it grayish. Had he crashed? Was he injured? Maybe he couldn't get out? Maybe he couldn't breathe underwater, like that fish-man everyone had been talking about lately?

But she had been wrong. She had been completely wrong, and now she was going to pay for it. Was it so hard to listen to her grandfather? It wasn't the man who she was expecting. Whatever had landed in the sea was someone else. Something else. Perry White had been very clear: "three have already landed, NASA reported that more are coming," he said. This was the fourth one.

What emerged from the sea was a creature that she had probably only seen in science-fiction movies, the kind her mother loved. Or in a cartoon brought to reality. It had a relatively humanoid figure, but with four arms instead of two. And they were on fire, despite coming out of the sea.

No, it would be more accurate to say that it was fire. It had a long torso, making it almost as tall as two men, one on top of the other. It had legs, but they seemed to be constantly extinguishing and reigniting. This meant that, at times, it lacked legs, but had no problem to walk out of the sea. Its head was almost as long as its torso, the girl couldn't distinguish any human features on it. There was only fire. It was a very thin and long creature, completely made of a fire that did not extinguish in the water. Out of all the cities in the world where it could have crashed, it had to be this one, she thought.

There were sensible people who ran away immediately, in the opposite direction of the strange figure. There were stupid people who stayed to take pictures, trying to find the best angles as the creature climbed from the water onto the docks. And then there were the stupidest ones who were paralyzed in front of the fire monster. That group only included her. Her hair was getting wet.

It was like in the office, but much worse and more chaotic. People ran from side to side, dialing numbers on their phones, taking pictures, or cursing at the sky. She heard some shouts. Don't move or we'll shoot! Girl, move away! But she didn't pay much attention to them. Not because she didn't respect the law, but because she couldn't move. She briefly thought of her grandfather. What would he think of her? How long would it take him to get there? Like a fool, she imagined a headline for the next newspaper issue. Foolish girl thinks she can defeat a fire monster. She wanted to laugh… but instead, her eyes welled up. Was it sweat or tears? The temperature had definitely risen.

The creature was very tall. It was like a flaming column approaching her. It moved fast, and that was the most intimidating part. It was already upon her, and it extended its hand, about ten fingers, over her head. She was having trouble breathing; it was very hot. Suddenly, the girl could see its eyes among the flames. They were two, like humans had. They were black and empty. She closed her own eyes, wishing to forget the eyes she had seen.

She heard an explosive sound, as if someone had broken the sound barrier. The temperature dropped abruptly after a second sound, more intense and closer than the previous one. As if they had hit a tire, or something like that.

The girl opened her eyes and blinked rapidly a few times before getting used to the red and flaming cape in front of her. She looked up, and a pair of kind and gentle blue eyes met hers, accompanied by the most wonderful smile. She didn't want to forget those eyes. They belonged to that man. That hero. The girl could finally see him!

"Superman!"