People were lined up outside of electronic stores watching the news from the streets. They all started their days heading off to work, but they quickly got glued to the sets to hear about the breaking story. Others quickly left to go to the nearest news stand to own a piece of history and mythology in action. No one was thinking about going to work as they watched a video of a plane tail spinning in China, but just as the plane was about to hit ground, a red-blue blur came in view, leveled the plane and landed it safely. Cars and trucks were motionless in the streets as their riders were all tuned in to a radio broadcast about a volcanic eruption near Iceland that threatened millions of people, yet they were all saved by one mysterious hero.
No one got a glimpse of this hero. No television camera was fast enough to describe him. And the newspapers didn’t have a clear photo of him, all but one.
A newspaper vendor was heard saying to a customer, “I’m sorry, but we’re all out. We sold out of the Daily Planet once it hit the streets. You won’t be able to find a copy of it anywhere.”
On the sixtieth floor directly below the roof that held a spinning globe, a man in a suit looked out his window and down at the people. He continued to watch the day the Earth stood still. “Look at ‘em all. All of them scrambling to find a copy of my paper.”
“I’m sorry, chief. What was it that you said?”
The man at the window turned around toward his door, “Oh, Grant it’s you. Nothing, uh, I was just talking to myself.”
“Oh, we all do it, chief,” joked Grant. “But I was just letting you know that the phones are ringing off the hook. Other newspapers are willing to pay top dollar for the rights to use our photo.”
“Not a chance! You can tell them all to go to hell.”
“Yeah, but chief…”
“Not another word,” he screamed! A bit softer he said, “Now if there’s nothing else.”
“Well, there was the issue about your decision on Junior Editor…”
“Sorry, kid. But that photo along with the story that White handed in makes White the only candidate I can think of.” He looked at Grant and saw how upset she was. “Look, Grant, you’re a hell of a reporter, but you don’t take any risks. Besides, White’s been here for almost fifteen years, he’s got seniority.”
“I understand, chief. But you don’t find it odd that Perry has all these mysterious sources all the time?”
“Grant, I don’t care if he gets his info from a six foot invisible rabbit. His stories sell papers. It’s all about making money. White gets all that, and when I’m gone, he’ll get my office too.”
Without another word Cat Grant gracefully walked away while leaving David Warfield to continue to gaze out his window.
______________________________________________________________________
“Another one! Where do these freaks keep coming from?” I couldn’t believe what the anchorman just said. The screen to my television set was now in pieces, and the floor was scattered with glass after I threw a statue at it. After all the commotion I caused, Mercy came running in with her gun drawn.
Mercy looked around the room, “Lex, is everything alright?”
“No, Mercy, everything is not alright.” I felt my anger growing stronger along with my hatred for these Metahumans. “The world has gone completely mad, but I’m going to be the cure.”
Mercy holstered her service weapon and got on her radio, “Everything’s all clear in the mansion, over.” Mercy clipped the radio back to her belt. “If there’s nothing else, Lex, I’ll get back to my post.”
“There is one thing. Where the hell is Frederick? I haven’t seen him in three days.”
“No one has heard a word from him, Lex. I haven’t seen him since my training ended, and he missed his last scheduled shift.”
“Well, if he continues to be a no show, it looks like I’ll have to promote you.” Mercy smiled and turned to leave. As she walked away I yelled, “Mercy, arrange to have a new t.v. delivered.”
I looked down again at the broken glass and noticed on my coffee table a paper with the photo of the flying man in tights. I flipped the pages to one of my favorite sections. As I read through the foreclosures, I noticed a familiar piece of land that was up for grabs. With the paper still in my hands, I instantly stood up and said to myself, “Hi-Ho, the Derry-o. The rich man takes a farm.”
______________________________________________________________________
Emil and T.J. watched closely as Clark walked ever so slowly toward the small meteorite. T.J. got the yellow lights ready just in case they would be needed to rejuvenate Clark. To their astonishment, Clark was able to not only get close to the rock, but he was able to hold it up to his faceplate.
“You did it! The suit you designed for him is meteorite proof. It has made him invulnerable to the radiation the meteorite is giving off,” declared T.J.
“You mean Kryptonite,” said Emil.
“Kryptonite?” asked T.J.
“Yes, that’s right. As Clark clearly explained, he comes from a planet called Krypton. These meteors are part of his world; therefore we can be more specific and classify them as Kryptonite.”
“I guess you’re right Professor,” mentioned T.J. as he watched Emil go over to the glass wall and push the speaker button.
“Ah, Clark, it looks like the Anti-K suit works. But how do you feel?”
Clark had adjusted to the helmet, for it was unable to move from side to side when he turned his head. The helmet had been sealed to his suit like an astronaut’s does. “I feel good, Emil. Looks like this was the last test of the Anti-K suit. I have no problem flying in it, and the heat rays from my eyes go safely through my mask and still cause damage.”
“Quite right, and you also didn’t struggle lifting the different weights we experimented with,” pointed out Emil. “Why don’t you put the Kryptonite back in its case and come out of the chamber.”
While Clark was getting out of his suit, Emil went over by T.J. and picked up the paper. “I can’t believe it’s almost 9 and I haven’t read Cat’s Corner yet,” said Emil.
Clark came out of the secluded lab chamber and adjusted his big red boots. “You know Emil, now that two more people know my identity and know my weakness, I’m not sure if you guys should be calling me Clark.”
T.J. looked over at Clark and said in a mysterious voice, “Oh, how ‘bout Kryptonman?”
Clark made an uninterested face in T.J.’s direction, “I don’t think that’s who I am. Besides, I want to be someone people can relate to, and Kryptonman just screams alien.”
“Well, how about Superman?” asked Emil. Emil waited for Clark to look over at him, and then he showed Clark the front page of the paper. “It appears that is what the Daily Planet is calling you in their second issue devoted to your heroics. As the writer explains, you won’t step forward to announce who you are, so he used the ‘S’ on your chest as a label.”
“Superman? It sounds a bit self-righteous to be calling myself that,” said Clark.
T.J. interjected, “No, I think it sounds perfect. It’s exactly who you are.”
“I have to agree with T.J. and this…oh, where did his name go?” Emil began to search the paper for the writer’s name. “Perry White.”
“To be honest, it does have a nice ring to it,” said Clark.
Emil smiled at Clark, “Then it’s settled. You’ll go by Superman.”
______________________________________________________________________
It was now approaching noon, and the girl still lied in bed. She stared out the window and continued to let time slowly pass her by. The book on her night stand hadn’t been touched in weeks, and Sammy the bear, had it been real, would have surely asphyxiated by now from her tight grip.
“Baby, the funeral was weeks ago. I know it’s hard, but it’s time you get out of that bed. We all miss her, but your father and I are now worried about you.”
“Worried about me? I’m not the one who’s dead! I’m not the one who was gunned down by the orders of her fiancé.” She threw her face in her pillow and started to cry again.
“I know Lois. And the man responsible paid dearly for what he did.”
She picked her head up from the pillow and said, “I know Aunt Laura, but if it wasn’t for Lex, she’d be alive right now.” Lois wiped away a tear that fell down her face. “It’s going to be my life’s work to make Lex pay. Maybe not for Lindsay’s death, but I’ll find something.”
“Now, Lois, the Luthor family has been known for doing good deeds. Their commitments to charities have been astounding. Alexander just needs a chance to come around.”
“No, Aunt Laura, you weren’t there. He has a whole wall of weird things going on in that house of his. Something just wasn’t right about him, but I never said anything about it for Lindsay’s sake. Like when we found that wallet I told you about.”
“Well, if he is doing something wrong, I’m sure this Superman will help.”
Lois looked extremely puzzled at her aunt. “Who?”
“My word, how long have you been lying in here? The world has found itself a new super hero.” Laura left the room for a second and returned with a newspaper. She showed the front page to Lois. “This man has saved hundreds if not thousands of lives just yesterday alone.”
Lois was completely intrigued. She snatched the paper from her aunt and studied the face of this blue-eyed hero. She continued to read the article and was informed with just some of the things this man, this superman can do. At the bottom portion of the article she read that the Daily Planet was looking for someone who could identify this person or find out personal information. It went in further detail and stated that the reporter who brought in this story would get a weekly column with the paper. “Aunt Laura, I’m going back to Metropolis.”
“Whatever for?” she asked.
“I’m going to find this Superman and see if he’ll help me.”
“Lois, this man could be anywhere! You can’t know for sure he’d be anywhere near Metropolis.”
Lois jumped out of bed and went toward her dresser. “It said that his first spotting was in Metropolis. That’s probably where he’s around most of the time.”
“Lois, you can’t be serious. A moment ago you were living in this bed…”
Slamming a dresser drawer shut, she went over to the closet. “Aunt Laura, I’m going to need to borrow your old tape recorder and camera.”
Watching Lois go from one side of the room to the other she said, “They’re up in the attic. You’re not thinking of getting an interview from him, are you?”
Lois slid hangers on the closet pole as if she was looking for a particular piece of clothing. “Well, if I find him and ask for his help, I could at least try to ask him some other questions as well.”
“I look in your eyes, and I can see that you have the bug,” said Laura.
“This is it!” Lois said as she removed a dress from its hanger. She looked back at her aunt and asked, “Bug, what bug?”
“The journalism bug. I was filled with it too when I was a journalist in the army. I would go as close to the battlefield as I could get to capture the story. I covered the wars and my cameraman filmed it all. I still have some of the reels as well. The ones that were declassified anyway.” Laura stopped and continued with, “Oh, but I look at you and can see a bit of myself.”
“Aunt Laura, I don’t know about being a journalist, but it’s the truth I’m looking to uncover. I’m going to expose Lex for what he really is.” Lois grabbed a towel from the linen closet.
“I can see it now,” Laura pointed to the air and slowly moved a hand from one side to the other as she said each syllable. “Lois Lane, investigative reporter.”
Lois opened the door and poked her head out of the bathroom then laughed, “Aunt Laura, just help me pack.” She shut the door and turned on the shower.
______________________________________________________________________
I took the deed and headed back down to that dreadful town. I waited a week to make sure the bank had properly secured the land from its previous tenants. Even though the news of my arrival was kept to a minimal, the last thing that I wanted was to be recorded kicking a family out of their home.
My purchase of the land confused all my rivals, and it even confused my accountant as well. But they all didn’t know what I knew. They didn’t know that beneath the few acres of all the crops and dirt held the answers to tomorrow’s science questions. I only scratched the surface last time. But now that I own the land, I can only imagine what other forms and colors of this meteorite has been buried further below.
I noticed the limo glass divider was coming down, “Lex, it looks like we’re here. I believe all these protestors are your welcome party.”
“Yes, Mercy, thank you for your insightful input. Now just get me to the house. You can drive right past the vagabonds or over them, whatever you prefer.”
As my car got closer, I happened to notice a tall black man standing at the base of the path to the house. He stood with his arms crossed, stepped out of my car’s way then slowly raised one hand. As I stared up into his eyes from behind my tinted window, I knew something was wrong. After gaining twenty or so yards, I heard the sound of an explosion. A moment later, I heard Mercy scream and my door swung open.
“Get out of the car, Lex! We need to move!” I took a look at the savages and the destruction they caused on the Lang farm. The windshield to my limo was shattered by debris. We headed back down the road and soon enough, Mercy stood between me and the protestors. She fired off two rounds in the air causing the group to move back.
I stepped in front of Mercy and shouted, “You think I moved down here for the scenery? You all think I wanted to spend my summer nights on the front porch swing of that dilapidated shack? You all did me a favor and saved me money on permits and licensing to blast down that old house.”
Inside the mob of people I heard, “Get out Luthor! We don’t need you or your money.” I then heard a sound that I despised so much, but was grateful to hear this very second. The sound got closer, and the crowd parted as quickly as the red sea must have when Moses planted his staff in it. A uniformed man opened the door after turning off that blasted noise, and he stepped out of his squad car.
The uniformed man grabbed his hat out of from the car and placed it on his head. The black man was the only one to walk over to the officer. Politely, the officer said, “Alright, Ross, I’m going to leave it up to you to disperse this mob before I place everyone under arrest.”
“C’mon Frank. We heard all about the trouble Luthor brings with him where ever he goes. There was no need for him to kick Lang off his land.”
More upset the officer continued. “This isn’t the time or the place. Mr. Luthor has done nothing wrong and more importantly, nothing illegal. And I could say just the opposite for you and everyone else here.”
“You heard the Sherriff,” I shouted. “Get the hell outta here before I press charges.”
The officer looked over at me and yelled, “You won’t do any of the sort. You got half the town here, and my department is understaffed as it is to be investigating who hates you more. Now just go back to the house your money got you and let me take care of the chaos you caused.”
“First of all, they blew up the house,” I screamed as I pointed to the black man. “Secondly, I’m the victim here. I caused no chaos.”
The officer looked at me with great hate. “Lucas was a good friend of mine, Mr. Luthor. You uprooted a good man and his family for whatever intent you have here. Why not just use some of that money you got and build you a new house.” The officer then turned his back on me and faced the black man. “Pete, I want everyone outta here now. Don’t make me come back up here.”
And just like that, the peacemaker left. Leaving me behind with a man named Pete who wore a dirty old sweater that read ‘Cream Corn Factory.’ Pete spoke and said, “Looks like you’re all alone now.”
He was about to walk away when I asked, “Do you remember the Farmer in the Dell?”
Pete turned. Surprised, he asked, “What’d you say?”
“The Farmer in the Dell? You know the old children’s song.” I proceeded to say.
“Yeah, what about it?”
“Well, you see, I’m now the big cheese in town. And if you remember the song lyrics, they mention something about the cheese. My point to all this is that you’re the farmer and I’m the cheese. I can either let you enjoy this small little dell you got yourselves here, or I can make all your lives a living hell. The choice is yours.”
He looked at me with the utmost of disrespect. “Screw you, Luthor.” And he left and got his people off my land.
I couldn’t help but sing to myself, “Hi-ho-the-Derry-o, the cheese stands alone.”
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