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SPACE (SHUTTLE) PILOT

***

Perry White looked up from a pile of papers on his desk when there was a knock on the door. Oh great, what now? Oh yeah, the meeting with that boy... Kent, something. Perry sighed - he didn't really have the time or capacity for that. He was just doing his old friend, Peter Carlton, a favor. But oh well.

"Come in."

The man who entered the editor's office was...not what Perry had expected. He had expected a rather unremarkable, shy farm boy who didn't quite know what to do with himself.

Instead, he got... He wasn't sure how to describe him, but Clark Kent had... a certain charisma, a kind of confidence and authority that he wouldn't have expected from someone his age or position. He seemed like someone who was used to being respected, to getting what he wanted.

Well, if that was the case, he would quickly learn who was boss around here.

"So you want a job here? Show me what you can do."

He wanted to get this over with quickly. Perry didn't understand why Pete wanted this guy to work at the DP anyway. It wasn't like he usually passed on student recommendations to his old friend. In fact, his email seemed odd... impersonal, like he hadn't written it himself. Perry would have looked more into it, but he didn't have the time.

"Of course, Mr. White. I have brought a selection of my previous work with me..." said Kent, handing a folder across the table to the editor-in-chief.

Perry leafed through the folder, reading some of the articles and shaking his head in annoyance. Kent's writing wasn't bad - there was something unusual about it, as if it came from someone who looked at the world and the things that happened in it with an immense amount of curiosity and fascination. He couldn't put his finger on it, but the cub reporter was good in his own way. The choice of topics, however...

"Kent, with things like this," he pointed to an article from the Borneo Gazette about bird mating, "you might be able to score points elsewhere, but this is the DAILY PLANET! We are one of the biggest newspapers in the world! You have to do better than that! I'm sorry, but I really don't have the capacity for... your kind of journalism at the moment!"

The man across from him seemed...irritated? As if he hadn't expected to be turned away. Well, son, you'll learn soon enough, the old Editor thought.

A wave of pain shot through Perry from head to toe and he couldn't suppress a loud groan. He was getting too old for this shit.

"Are you okay, Mr. White? That sounded...worrying."

Oh yeah, damn it, Kent was still there. "Just my increased stress level. Should listen to my wife, she always tells me I work too much!"

Kent looked...sympathetic. "I know the problem."

What would someone like him know about it? He was what? 25? Then again, Perry had learned in his many years as a journalist never to make assumptions.

Meanwhile, Kent had started rummaging around in the work bag he had brought with him, and after a moment he pulled out a small tin with...little round somethings...in it.

"If you want, I can leave these for you," he offered. "Helps with sensory overload, brain overactivity, things like that. I've been having a bit of trouble with this stuff since I got here. Not used to this kind of environment."

"Well, this is Metropolis. A big city is different from any small farming village, ain't it?"

Kent shrugged. "Probably."

"So what exactly are these?" He doubted Rookie would poison him, but better safe than sorry.

"Oh, you can't get them at the pharmacy. Family recipe, so to speak. But I guarantee perfect functionality with no side effects."

That was...interesting? "Doctors in the family?"

"Sort of. My fa."

He stopped abruptly, as if he had said something he shouldn't.

Perry was about to ask him about the stumble, but didn't get the chance because the office door was abruptly thrown open and a mini-tornado in the form of his star reporter stormed into the room and began babbling incoherently about...some crazy story.

"LOIS! Can't you see I'm in the middle of a job interview? And anyway, what about that article on immigration statistics that I gave you?"

Lois snorted derisively. "Come on, Chief, you know very well that I don't do puff pieces! I'm Lois Lane!"

"That may be so, but as long as I'm the boss here, I make the decisions. So, GET OUT!"

Perry almost gasped. OK, he would try his luck. He carefully took one of the pills from Kent's box, filled a glass with water, and swallowed the whole thing.

The effect was... surprising. Almost immediately he felt much better. Calmer, more relaxed. His mind seemed much better able to think logically and organize things. In a much calmer tone he continued:

"All right, Lois Lane, Clark Kent, he's here looking for a job. Kent, this Spitfire here is our very own Lois Lane. She can be a little...headstrong, as you just saw. Oh, and that's some damn good stuff you've got there!" He waved towards the pill box.

Kent grinned. "I know. Feel free to keep the rest, I have enough supplies. Oh, and nice to meet you, Mrs. Lane. I'm sure we'll work well together."

"Now wait a minute, I just said I don't have the capacity to-"

Perry was interrupted by Lois's angry gasp. She spun around and stared at Kent with flaming anger in her eyes. Oh dear, good thing looks couldn't kill.

"*MRS* Lane? How dare you? I'm not that old and I'm not even married, you little-"

"Lois, that's enough! This is an office, not a mud fight. And Kent, a free tip from me, never piss off a woman. You might be sorry."

Kent looked...confused, as if he had no idea what he had done wrong. "...I was just being polite? I...assumed you were of a suitably high rank in terms of emancipation...?"

Perry wondered if it was a mistake to take the pill if thoughts like this were the side effect.

Lois looked back and forth between the other two, irritated.

Then she turned around. "Oh whatever, I don't have time for that, I have a story to follow. JIMMY?!"

And with that she stormed out of the office.

Perry sighed heavily. "Well, that went well. Anyway, I don't have anything for you right now. Sorry."

"I understand. I haven't earned your respect yet. I can work on that!"

"This is not-"

But he didn't get a chance to finish his sentence because Kent had already left the office and marched out of the newsroom. With a clear sense of purpose, as if he knew exactly what he was going to do next. That was... strange. Only crazy people in this newsroom, Perry thought to himself.

He certainly hoped that Lois would at least write her article. Oh, who was he kidding? If this girl wasn't his best reporter, he would...

***

Lois Lane was completely frustrated. Lex Luthor had repeatedly ignored her calls, her sister Lucy was pestering her daily with her failed attempts at dating, Perry wanted her to write some fluffy stuff, and now this idiotic Hack had insulted her. Just great!

It certainly didn't help to see Cat Grant trying to undress the guy with her eyes. Not that Lois was interested - not at all - but Cat was just disgusting.

The guy's reaction was all the more surprising. He basically ignored Cat completely, said something like "Thanks for the offer, but I'm not interested" and... just left.

OK, he got points for that. Take that, Cat!

It was funny - he almost seemed to be used to constantly getting offers from women who wanted something from him or wanted to use him for their own purposes. Well, with this build-

Don't go there, Lane! Just...don't.


She would never see him again anyway.

Or so she thought.

Two hours and one date cancellation later (thanks Mitch), she was proven wrong.

Clark Kent was back - and walked straight to Perry's office.

OK, the guy has balls to try again after being rejected. This show, she wanted to watch.

She crept quietly to the half-open office door and watched as Kent presented the Chief with two neatly written pages of paper.

Perry seemed reluctant at first, but then the curiosity that characterizes every journalist won out and he began to read.

She couldn't see his face at first, but when he finished, he looked up with something like...interest?

"Well, what can I say? This is damn good. You actually managed to beautifully portray the perspective of these immigrants on what it's like to live in a new, unknown country, to integrate, the challenges one has to face. It almost reads as if you know exactly what you're talking about. And...I appreciate initiative."

What the...? Wait, he couldn't mean that...

"Clark Kent - welcome to the Daily Planet!"

WHAT?!

This - this - hack from Nowheresville got a job by stealing *HER* story?

Oh, that meant war!

***

Lois gestured wildly in Perry's face. "I'm telling you, there's something to that!"

"And I'm telling you, Lois, I can't assign you anyone to handle that half-baked story you have. All *my* reporters are busy. That is...you can have Kent."

"KENT?! First of all, he's a total rookie and second, he stole MY story!"

Perry sighed again. "The story *you* didn't write."

"That's so not the point. And I don't need a minder, I can investigate on my own!"

"Oh yeah? May I remind you what happened last time?"

"Really Perry? Are you still holding this against me?"

"Well, I'd say nearly being killed, multiple times, is worth mentioning occasionally, don't you think?"

That was...not fair. "OK fine, but Kent? Really?"

"It's Kent or nothing. Take Jimmy with you if you like."

Lois snorted at that. Jimmy took decent photos and was good with computers, but that was about it.

"Urgh, fine. But only because this is going to be a really big story. But if Kent steps out of line-"

"I'll take care of it, not you. Do you understand, Lois?"

She grumbled something, but left.

She marched straight toward the new hire's desk - conveniently located directly across from her own, whatever prompted Perry to do so.

***

"Kent, you're coming with me!"

"Um...do I?"

He really needed to learn to understand the women here better, he thought. He had done something wrong earlier and now this Lois Lane was apparently on a warpath against him.

Well, he could handle war; he had more than enough diplomatic disputes to settle in his short life.

"Oh yes, you will! I'm pursuing a story about a scientist and Perry thought I needed a partner. And unfortunately, you're the only one available! Plus, he probably thinks you can learn something from me."

Whether he wanted to admit it or not, there might be something to that. The job he had to do would be much easier to handle if he could quickly familiarize himself with the new work environment.

"That sounds like a compromise acceptable to both sides."

Lois Lane seemed to disagree - or at least that was the impression one might get. Her face twisted as if she had bitten into a particularly sour Twellian fruit. "Let's be clear, this is not an equal partnership. I'm the top banana here!"

That was...huh? How should he react to that? He looked his temporary partner up and down once, just to make sure he didn't say anything wrong, and then decided:

"Don't worry, your proportions are nowhere near those of a banana. You're good."

The person he was talking to was...not amused. She just stared at him, somewhere between seriously confused and irritated.

"If that's supposed to be funny, I can't laugh at it. And if you really didn't get it, what I meant was that I'm in charge here. You listen to me and do what I say, and I get the bulk of the byline, and we'll be fine, all right?"

Oh, good, this was his chance to fix his faux pas - whatever he had done now. "I'll try. I'm sorry if I've offended you!"

"Well, you can make it up to me by accompanying me to the White Orchid Ball at the Lexor tonight. That idiot Mitch canceled at the last minute and stupid society makes it look weird for a woman without a date to show up alone."

Oh, well, he could do that. After all, he had attended more than enough dances in his past, that would be easy. Besides, such an event was good for getting an idea of ​​the rich and powerful of the city of Metropolis and, ideally, even making some connections that might prove important or helpful in the future. "Okay. Dress code?"

"Borrow a Smoking or something and you should be fine."

Well that...could be arranged. "Okay, so what about your scientist? Area of ​​expertise?"

It was definitely a good topic. His expertise in the scientific field might help to improve the article in the end. Maybe it would help him to gain some respect from Lois Lane - not that that was important to him. Not at all, no. But avoiding conflict was always preferable.

"Oh, he works at EPRAD, specifically for the space program. He is partly responsible for the space shuttle that will soon be heading to the Prometheus space station."

Well, that was...ironic, if nothing else. In the end, he would have to be careful not to say anything...problematic.

"Interesting. I find the efforts of humans to venture into space fascinating."

"Yes, very exciting, blah blah. Anyway, this Dr. Platt came into the office this morning and..."

***

Lois groaned. She hated this. They had been here for two hours and she still hadn't managed to intercept Lex Luthor and ask him for an interview. Her heels were starting to seriously annoy her. What idiot had invented such impractical shoes?

It didn't help that she had to deal with her new junior partner, too. She had offered to pick him up from his hotel. Luckily, he had told her he would find the address of the event on his own - so she had more time to prepare herself.

Unfortunately, his choice of clothing was...not ideal. Especially the tie he chose. Seriously, selling such garish ties should be forbidden.

His dancing skills were also worth discussing. It was strange because he seemed to be able to dance, and wasn't even bad at it - but unfortunately all the dance steps that he knew well didn't seem to fit the music at all. He was good at what he did - but he seemed to have problems with total standard dances. What kind of weird stuff were these Midwest farmers learning?

She flinched as the object of her anger suddenly tapped her on the shoulder.

"For your information, Lex Luthor is on his way to the ballroom and will arrive at the door in approximately...30 seconds. If you wish to intercept him, this would be your chance."

Huh?

"As if you could know that for sure, that's nonsense. Why would you even tell me that?"

"Well, two reasons. First, it might help make this visit a success, and second, I'm tired of having to put up with your whining all the time. You wanted to go to this event, so stop complaining."

That was...how dare he...argh, whatever. She didn't believe a word of that nonsense about Luthor anyway. Not one.

She was really only heading toward the door to prove him wrong and to make sure she didn't miss any opportunity, no matter how small.

She had just arrived when the door opened - and Lex Luthor was standing right in front of her.

Well...damn. Maybe Kent wasn't completely useless after all.

***

The next morning, Lois was in a good mood. She had actually managed to persuade Luthor to do a one-on-one interview. Perry had been really excited, and Clark had also spent the rest of the evening doing other things at the ball, talking to people. Probably making connections. Good for him, he would need it. She certainly wouldn't share with him.

However, the good mood with which she had arrived at the editorial office suddenly disappeared when they arrived at Dr. Platt's.

***

"Suicide?! Are you kidding me, Bill? That's stupid!"

Hendrson was unimpressed. "Well, there's nothing to suggest murder, Lane, and besides, his wife mentioned to us how difficult and obsessive he's been lately. Maybe it got too much for him?"

Lois was still seething as she and Clark left the police station.

To her surprise (and secret delight), however, Clark seemed to share her concerns.

"Law enforcement here seems extremely incompetent. It would make no sense for him to come to your office and even make an appointment just to kill himself like that. Even if we assume he did it out of guilt, if he was involved in something questionable about the shuttle, one would assume he would at least leave some kind of notes or something similar detailing that guilt, revealing the co-conspirators, and so on."

That...was mostly in line with her opinion. "Not bad for a rookie!"

"Well, that's simple strategic thinking. It's part of the basic training for being a r...reasonably intelligent person."

Lois was irritated by his stumbling around, but ignored it for the moment. "We should speak to the head of research, a certain Dr. Antoinette Baines..."

***

Yeah, that was a waste of time. Baines either didn't know anything or was hiding something. Lois was leaning towards the second option. So was Clark. He had talked about how "her body language made it very clear that she wasn't telling the truth."

However he wanted to know that. Especially since Baines seemed to have nothing better to do than flirt shamelessly with him. Not that Kent seemed to care. His professional detachment was actually something she appreciated - the guy might be a country bumpkin and socially awkward, but he was far from naive and far from a womanizer like...certain other colleagues she could name.

Now the two of them were sitting together in the almost empty newsroom - and Lois was hungry. "I'll order Chinese take-out. Do you want something too?"

Clark nodded. "Sure, the food here is always a special treat. I think I know a good place, if you allow me, I'll get some and bring you a selection."

Whatever Clark, as someone new in town, could know. Ah well, she would risk it.

"Sure, why not? See you soon."

In a surprisingly short amount of time, Clark was back with various containers of food. The grin he wore almost the entire time he was eating was...something else. This guy must really like Chinese food.

But Lois had to admit that the stuff was damn good. "At some point you'll have to tell me where you got it. It's better than pretty much any other China Express I know."

"Maybe I'll do that sometime, when...certain things are cleared up," he replied mischievously.

OK, very mysterious hints, whatever. She would find out. After all, investigating was her job.

What she found out during the evening was that her new colleague also spoke Chinese (among other things).

("It is one of the most spoken languages ​​on the planet. It is certainly advisable to master it."

"Oh, sure, sure. How many languages ​​do you speak then?"

"...some? At least the basics. I was in a position where you get around quite a bit, you could say, for a long time.")

Well, Clark might be a lot more interesting than she had imagined.

Not that she was interested in him. That would be...just no.

But she was also Lois Lane. And that meant she couldn't resist any secret.

***

So yes, she had made it clear that it wasn't going to be a full-fledged partnership and that she made most of the decisions. He could deal with that.

What he did not agree with, however, was a complete exclusion. Especially when she set out alone with this photo child to confront a suspicious person.

Well, strictly speaking, it wasn't his problem. If she died and he wasn't there, no one would blame him or investigate him.

In fact, it would be less risky for her to leave her alone. (Baines was obviously a total suspect. Her heart rate, her eye reflexes and all that were out of the normal range. Not that human senses could detect that clearly. The adaptation brought about by solar radiation had to be good for something, he mused.)

But he didn't want to be responsible for innocent people dying. If Baines' plan succeeded, all the colonists would never make it to the space station. Not to mention what a massive step backwards that would be for human spaceflight efforts.

And it was certainly in his interest that they were as successful as possible. That could be very useful later. (Of course, only if things were handled… properly.)

And Lois and Jimmy? Well, if it meant they survived, that would be a nice bonus. It might also make him a little more popular with them (especially Lois). That couldn't hurt.

He briefly considered using his new uniform for this endeavor, but decided that now was not the right time. This "rescue" would not be public enough. No one would believe Lois Lane (or the photo geek).

So it was decided. Clark Kent would search for his two renegade colleagues... and find them.

It was easy enough, thanks to superior vision and hearing. And yes, knowing the address might have helped too.

Lois and Jimmy were already tied up. Grabbing them and escaping from here was not an option, however. It would completely compromise his cover and would not stop Dr. Baines for the time being. Alternatively, he could take care of her first, but again he did not want to endanger his civilian identity in this way. He would find her again - and what else were there special institutions for enforcing the law for?

So he "accidentally" knocked something over, caught Baines' attention, was tied up - and then was allowed to watch together with his new colleagues as Baines' helicopter exploded with a loud bang.

Well, that was...unexpected. Seems like someone else is behind it.

And based on the information he had gathered, he had a good idea who that might be. But Lex Luthor was a worry for another day.

As he set about (slowly) untying his own "loose" bonds, and then those of Lois and Jimmy, he had to listen to a long story about how one of her colleagues had taken advantage of her and cheated her to get what he wanted.

Well, he could sympathize with that. He assumed she had only shared it with him out of fear of not surviving this or simply because she was lonely. The fact that Jimmy was unconscious could also have played a role.

No one should say he were not willing to share in return.

"It's certainly not the same, but... I understand what it's like to be used so that someone can consolidate and maintain their own power. My family... well... let's just say there were... certain expectations. Who I should marry. How my life should go. My career. All of that."

***

Lois snorted. "I know the story. My father was always mad that I wasn't a son. And then I didn't even work in the medical field."

“Well, I haven’t known you long, but I think I can already tell that you’re good at what you do!”

She was initially inclined to reply with something sarcastic like "Thanks, Clark, I know that myself," but then thought better of it. He hadn't really done anything to deserve her anger this time - in fact, he had saved her and Jimmy. So she kept quiet.

And she always thought that Country life was so simple and uncomplicated. Seems like some families and/or places in the Midwest are still stuck somewhere in the 19th century.

After all, Clark seemed to have managed to resist them – or did he? And why should she even care?

Focus, Lois! The story was much more important anyway.

And no one could seriously tell her that the explosion of Baines' helicopter was a total accident - even if the idiots from the police seemed to think so. No, there was more to it than that. Lois had a feeling.

She would find out the truth!

***

It was a disgrace! Perry actually refused to print her proposed article "without concrete evidence." Which... admittedly, was kind of fair. But still.

But hey, she had a new plan. She sneaked aboard the Prometheus shuttle. If she couldn't write an article about the manipulation and sabotage, she wanted to type up an exclusive report on what the shuttle looked like inside and be there live when it took off.

(She briefly considered staying on board for launch - but quickly realized what a bad idea that was. She had no equipment to survive the flight or on station, there probably wouldn't even be a seat available for her, and she would be sued for the rest of her life. She wasn't *that* reckless, contrary to what some people might believe!)

But then she “accidentally” discovered another bomb.

What else?

She unplugged a cable that looked important and started calling excitedly.

An alarm went off.

Then...something really strange happened.

So suddenly this guy stood in the doorway in a...really weird outfit.

This was definitely not how she imagined people dressed for a trip into space.

OK, the tight-fitting fabric was probably some kind of protective measure, but the...underwear on the outside? And what about that cloak-like extra he seemed to be dragging behind him?

(She would also admit that the guy was, objectively speaking, pretty hot. Not that she was looking, so that didn't really matter!)

Well, fashionably appropriate or not, she would take whoever she could get. Maybe the guy was competent...one could hope.

"There's a bomb!"

He looked up at her...irritated. "I understand that much, thank you. Step back, Lois Lane!"

Well, you can have that. Just get away from that thing.

The underwear model looked at the countdown on the bomb and frowned. Then he stared intensely at the object of their mutual discomfort, as if it would reveal its secrets to him.

"Well...this is going to be uncomfortable!"

And then - he stuffed the thing into his mouth like a snack.

Okay, what...the...hell?

She should have known. Anyone who dressed like that had to be crazy.

So she was going to die after all. Well, shit.

...or not.

A loud "BOOM!" was heard, but it sounded very muffled.

Then Spandex Guy let out an audible burp and then...nothing else.

"What was...THAT?!"

Her opposite cleared his throat. "I apologize for that. The explosion created a certain amount of air pressure. And that air had to go somewhere."

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT"

He looked like he couldn't quite decide between being confused and...amused?

In the meantime, the technical team and some of the future space Station inhabitants had finally arrived and were also amazed.

Wild discussions broke out about what had happened and what should happen next.

There followed much angry murmuring about the mission not being able to launch. The time window was missed.

"Just to be clear, the engines and everything are fine, you just need a little... momentum to take off, right?" Spandex guy asked the lead engineer.

"Well, that's true, but we don't have much of that now."

"If you want, I can fly you up a bit. It will be a bit strenuous, but it should be doable. Everyone aboard, please!"

And to prove that it was aparently no joke, he suddenly could be found floating a meter above the ground.

The guy...flew.

Wow, those were damn good drugs. If only she knew who gave them to her and when.

A little girl in a wheelchair - Lois recognized her after a moment's thought as Amy, the daughter of Dr. Samuel Platt - tugged at the...super...man...by his cape.

"I like your costume!"

"I'm glad to hear that. I'll tell the seamstress."

"Cool! And now we can go into space. My dad said I could float there too, and scientists are trying to develop things to help people like me walk!"

Flyguy looked intrigued by this. "Interesting. I'll be sure to visit you up there and ask about progress. I admit, this kind of technology is not my area of ​​expertise, but I may have some ideas about it, let's see. Have fun!"

"Thanks."

With a big grin, Amy joined the rest of her fellow travelers.

Lois was so fascinated and amazed that she jumped when someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"Ma'am, would you please exit the shuttle?"

"What- oh, yes, of course!" Lois hurried out the door, which closed behind her.

And then she watched in amazement, with her mouth open, as the man in the suit lifted the entire space shuttle, which weighed several tons, as if it were a toy, and took off into the air at incredible speed.

"Hey!" she called after him. "Who are you?"

"A friend. Everything else later, in due time."

And with that, he and the shuttle disappeared from their sight.

Well, eat this, Perry! There are enough witnesses this time. This will be the story of the century, and she was there, live!

She hailed the next taxi and drove straight to the Daily Planet.

It was only several hours later that she suddenly noticed something.

How did the spandex wearer know who she was?

***

"MYSTERIOUS SUPERMAN SAVES PROMETHEUS MISSION!"

He looked at the headline in today's Daily Planet with satisfaction. Things had been going well so far. The initial public reaction seemed largely positive - fascination, amazement, gratitude, but also a lot of confusion. He could work with that.

The fact that Lois Lane was the first person to see him was...less than ideal. On the other hand, it was an ideal test of the disguise. Better to rip off the band-aid, as humans say. And she didn't seem to have recognized him as Clark Kent, which was good proof of the functionality of the "secret identity."

In his mind he heard Martha Kent's voice predicting: "No one will look at your face!"

Martha was a damn smart woman. She could do so much better than wasting her life on the Kent farm.

(Not that he had anything against Farming - but he also recognized untapped talent when he saw it.)

Oh, and that stupid name Lois came up with. Superman. He had to clear things up quickly before that spread.

Not that he wasn't superior in some ways - both mentally and physically, and made even more so by the yellow sun - but that wasn't really the image he wanted to project. It would do more harm than good to his cause and his public perception.

And it sounded really silly.

Well, he had no one to blame but himself. He would have to give a public interview sooner or later anyway.

With a heavy sigh he leaned back. Time for the report.

He picked up his communication device and dialed.

The assembled group of people on the screen looked at him with expressions ranging from interest to dislike. Finally, the group's chosen speaker spoke up.

"What news can you tell us? How is your progress?"

"The project has now entered the next phase. Today I made my first public appearance, which can also serve our own interests. Science seems to have progressed further than we assumed, at least in some areas, particularly with regard to space travel and related plans. My presence here has so far been received mostly positively. My solution to a problem that arose was readily accepted without the participants looking for another, own solution. This suggests a search for the simplest possible way and an ability to recognize hopeless situations when they arise."

"Very good. How are things going on the infiltration front?"

"Clark Kent is now officially employed by an organization that specializes in providing daily updates and opinion-forming to the planet's citizens. I also had the opportunity to join an event attended by many of the powers that be in my immediate vicinity. Most of them seem harmless enough and caught up in their own problems. Lex Luthor, however, could be a problem. I will continue to research this."

"Very well. The Council thanks you for your successful efforts. Goodbye...Lord Kal-El!"

***

The End

Sooo...thoughts? FDK can go right down here.

Wow ! I actually love this! 🫨 A wonderful what if imagining , and one that could make sense ? I’m all 👀 if there’s more to this story…

Happy to hear you liked it. I love to explore what-ifs and especially wander on paths that have not yet been taken in fanfic as far as I'm aware. And, As you might have guessed, I just scratched the surface and there's still plenty to unpack here. As for the making sense...some of the things I have in mind for this might be a little...uncommon and I'm expecting not everyone to like it but that's always a risk, and its fun to go into how things imght be in such a different background setting for especially one of the characters. I definitely will revisit this universe to explore what's going on there.

Ok, I'm hooked!

Well, that was kind of the intention, lol. Hope to not disappoint.

OOh, I love this! Can't wait for more!

Great to hear you liked it. Obviously, There will be more, hopefully soon.

This is different from the show. I wasn’t expecting the ending. I wonder what Clark is up to. Is he the threat that Trask feared. I’m looking forward to more. Thank you!

Hi Songbird,

Well what can I say? Exploring different scenarios is part of the joy of fanfiction.

Happy to hear the big twist came as a surprise. I placed several big and small hints throughout the thing and was definitely curious how long it would take readers to put some things together. But obv. it was all intentionally vague, and we just scratched the surface of things.

What Clark is up to will be revealed in future parts, bit by bit. And, as these things go, not everything must be as it seems.

Clark could be the threat - or he could be (part of) the solution. That remains to be seen. Trask will pop up in the next one. Lets just say that he might be over his head.

More is to come. I'm currently writing the second installment, which will be posted either this or next week.

Glad you enjoyed it!

My thoughts were along the same lines as Songbird's regarding Trask. Then my mind went evil, as it sometimes does, and Ultrawoman showed up.

There is obviously something planned and Kal-El sounds prepared for public acceptance or resistance. Ultrawoman would be a wildcard. Could be friend, foe or anything. Whether the powers were Resplendently duplicated or Ultra transferred it would put a little chaos in Clark's life. And if they were transferred, then he would have the same chance of discovering Ultrawoman's identity that Lois has of discovering his.


As they said in Maxwell Smart, "Verry Interesting"!

Hi Shallowford,

Trask will be in the next one. The otcome of his actions remains to be seen.

Kal-El is doing strategic thinking. But he also knows there's only so much you can plan ahead, especially in a novel situation. He's gonna have to deal with the reaction on both sides of the veil the one way or another.

Oooh...now THAT would be a twisty one. I can tell you that Ultrawoman is not gonna happen soon though. That said...she...might appear at some point.
One could argue that guessing her identity would not be that hard as Clark could simply look through her mask, as well as hear her specific heartbeat. Then again, the glases and expectations work for people so...might still work as well.

Well I hope so. I hope to have the next one up soon. There's a little but important detail I'm stuck on. And I also catched a ocld which renders my brain quite useless. One these two things ar eout of the way, I'll hopefully continue soon.

Hi Nick!
But Kent, he’s such a super boy!
CAT: Could also be a great boy toy.

He could ask Lois to take him for a test drive.

Wearing dungarees, a straw hat, and chewing a straw stick as he’s gazing around in wonder at them candles that don’t smoke no more?

Been fostered by Lex Luthor, sent to the Daily Planet as a mole? Ends up falling for Lois just as his foster dad decides that he, too, would like to investigate more in depth, triggering a Greek drama of Shakespearen dimensions.

I was just joking!

/Points at Lois/

Okay, we got more deviation from the Pilot.

Did Clark hack? Is he a military intelligence plant? Or military with the intelligence of a plant? Or did you go the Gotham route and build an intelligent military plant? But no, even Perry would notice a 6ft tall, talking flytrap.

https://harleyquinn.fandom.com/wiki/Frank_the_Plant

Like an intelligence officer would.

There’s another deviation.

That’s not good.

Oh, he’s good. First using telepathy to induce pain, maybe an aneurysm and then asking if his victim is feeling all right. He is good, you gotta give him that.

I might be using Discord information here, but it sounds like this time we got a Kal-El married to Zara. And she’s not happy that he went and does the menial work of the hired help. Or, does the hired help, for that matter.

Like that he’s talking to a human, non-alien lifeform actually born on Earth?

Looky there!

What? The Alien did *not* trigger Perry’s brain issues? Also, he got Krypto-Zanex to help with the over stimulation!

Too many flashy dressed humans?
CAT:

Or a space palace orbiting a red dwarf.

Molly.

Oooh, Globuli

Awwww… Perry got a crush on his newest Page One headline

Lois: Boooooring!
Kent: I can do it. Let’s see… we got Mexico… , we got Italy… and for Aliens from outer space we got 1993 has one immigrant, 1994 had two, and in 1995 there’s 200.

He’s adorable that he still thinks he’s the one in control.

Will Lois call the cops in the form of DEA agent Call-Me-Daniel on her drug pushing partner?



Oh, you snuck this in well under the radar Can he call her ‘Ma’am’, too?

She’s also not her mother.

CAT: Someone said ‘mud fight’?

What she gonna do, scorch him with her eyes?
ZARA:

culture clash! /Gets popcorn/

she’s…overdeveloped her rank?

Yes, they dull the brain to subtle social cues, significantly reducing the chance of men understanding women.

Clark could offer her one of the pills. He could even explain they’re so she can calm down easier and not strain her heart with these … exuberant outbursts.

Doc. Klein: Interesting. I have never seen a human do this much damage to a fully grown Kryptonian.



Well, he did hire most of them.



The crowning jewel!

/Points out earlier phrasing about being emancipated/

And now Cat is trying to get Jimmy to do a false flag operation to prove the New Guy has … no interest in women.

Poor guy. Heavy weighs the head that bears the crown.

But Lois is used to investigating places no Cat has gone before.

It’s just like dealing with the Council of Elders. If at first you don’t succeed, try and convince them again.

And yet when Cat is curious and intends to investigate, it’s depravity.

LOIS: I said ‘journalist’.

Yes, immigrated from Red Krypton.

Co-opted her story? Why yes.

This is a fun tweak/expansion on exploring their states of mind!

Yes, but she needs a rescue puppy.

It’s not like this is an exceptional occurrence.

She’s very cute!

Hi, people got to be billionaires before age 25 with less skills.

Lois is not allowed to cut him down to size?

Scientific curiosity.

If it were just one thing.
Like Skywalker in The Last Jedi: Amazing. Every single thing you just said is wrong.

Yes, but he always had reasonable men as his opposite before.

/Reads this as Lois Lane being the aforementioned work environment/

Nice. So, when *were* we supposed to figure out Clark is a new arrival from Hessecks Prime?

Yes, she’s the female leader of the Harem. Got it.

Option a) smile and nod.
Option b) make a suggestive comeback.
Option c) report her to human resources for sexual harassment.

CLARK: umm…c?


Look, he chose option d, make her report him to human resources!



No, not weird. They’re called hookers and congregate at the bar during such events.

Like with the city’s leader, Mr. Luthor?

Let’s see how his alienspaining “explosions” goes with her.
LOIS:
Looks like she got it.

Nope. Also, very adorable!

Let’s hope he doesn’t love the irony.

No wonder Lex fell for her hard. She doesn’t care about sentiment, only success.

What happened?

They’re his house colors. Like the Scottish tartan used for a kilt.

The Hokey Pokey.



See? They also say infuriating men are preferable in bed. Not that *that* information is of *any* interest to her.

But what if one of his connection leads to a story?
LOIS: what if one of the connections *I* set up for him leads to *me* and him getting the story?

Good catch. He wouldn’t want to say *politician*.

Perspiration. Heart rate. Pheromones.

*Cough* Claude?

Hey, how long has he been…inserted into society?

CLARK: here it’s from a place called ‘Ralph’s Pagoda’. If he vouches with his name in it, it must be good.

Or generally anything that’s not gray gruel.

Indeed. He’s still a hick. Ick.



Yes, but considering she never died before he got there, it does seem like an odd coincidence. Also, dead Lois is only something for necrophiliacs and Lexes.

It’s also good for keeping Loises alive and satisfied.

Yes, freshly rescued Loises make for great professional caregivers.

Ah, they’re tied down for the time being.

Documenting if your spaceship is parked in front of a fire hydra (sic).

Oops?

You never, ever keep Lex Luthor for the next day.

Maybe he should express this nonchalant sentiment to Lois?
KAL-EL: huh, she got the exact same thing expression my wife had when I told her that her mother would have to stay in the guest quarters above the crew deck.

He’s a *reporter*!

Because he mentioned marriage.



She can also report live how the bomb looks before it blows up.

Canon Lois: Hey!

/Inserts picture of Landsknecht uniform. Looks just like the Swiss Guard/

It looks good when he gets sucked into an aircraft engine.

Rrrrright.

Something she and Cat got in common.

Oops?

You know, we never had a fic where it went to other way.



And all because of one nosey reporter. Poor colonists, prevented from ascending to heaven.

This could be a fun name for Clark’s uniform. Scratch the whole ‘super man’ idea.
LOIS: Spandex Guy, HELP!

Yes, it’s because he’s full of hot air.


The sad part is that the most obvious answer would be Lex, and she’s getting prepped to entertain him.



Sweet interaction!

PERRY: Gas leak. Mass hallucinations. You got video?

He can read minds. It’s why he’s always looking like his cape when in the presence of Cat.



LOIS: What? It was far less objectifying than Hot Stud and Perry wouldn’t go for Spandex Guy. Something about trademark issues…

Yes, the little princeling is quite full of himself.
LEX: I’m much fuller than him!

Do you know the Invincible series? Omni-Man and the Viltrumite Empire ring quite a few bells.
Not really. They still rely on manual labor to reach orbit.

‘problem’

No, the Earthbound human is simply lazy. /Inserts cross reference to ‘Spagoda, Ralph’/

Good. He already has had several requests for mating.

Could have gone better. Other organizations are far better suited to influencing the masses. /Points at Met Star, National Inquisitor, Daily Whisper, and LNN/

Yes, but he could simply let the problem drop.

This wasn’t meant as a surprise, was it? You know, if you had written ‘Lord Nor’ on the other hand…

Very entertaining piece of alternate universe

Michael