Chapter 6 – A Star in Los Angeles

(Early Morning - Downtown Los Angeles – 9th June 2019)

"FLOOR IT!" South Side Los Diablos lieutenant Vincent Meraz screamed at his driver, who was weaving through traffic.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK I'M DOING?!" The driver yelled back as they swung around a corner desperately trying to get away as fast as he could. His fear got the better of him and suddenly he turned around to look out the back window. "Have we lost hi- Oh SHIT!"

The driver's attention suddenly shot forward again as he noticed an elderly woman and child trying to cross the street. Having no time to apply the brakes he tried to swerve around them, but the angle was too sharp, and the side of the car was going to strike them. As everyone inside the car closed their eyes and yelled, they suddenly jolted forward. pening their eyes, they found themselves flying through the air.

"Oh god, oh god it's him! We are so fucked!" The guy sat on the backstreet with Meraz and started screaming his head off and twisting looking for a way to escape.

Just as suddenly as the flight had occurred it ended, and everyone's attention turned to the figure now standing by the driver's side dood. The driver reacted first pulling out a shotgun he had stuck next to it and pointing it at their pursuer and saviour. Their saviour however moved even faster and wrenched the gun from their hands not wanting to risk a ricochet or the gun exploding if he heated it up.

Meraz moved first however pushing open the car he lifted his gun and started firing away at the hero. He fired dead centre into the bright red crest in front of him, then started to advance towards him firing madly as he did so, however his bullets did little more than crumple when they struck him. Hearing the gun go empty, Meraz cast it aside and pulled out his back-up piece: a heavy snub-nosed Colt Anaconda that he lined up against the monster's face and fired.

The world seemed to slow for him as he watched the heavy calibre bullet slowly hit his target's eye only for it to flatten like a tin can. Meraz's eyes followed it all the way to the ground and then looked up at his intended victim who did not look impressed. Feeling rage at the casual look he was receiving, Meraz threw his gun away before balling up his fist and throwing the heaviest punch he could.

"Take this you little bi- ahhhhh!" Meraz crumbled to the floor as he felt his hand shatter against the steel jaw of his target.

"Okay, why the punching?" Clark asked in disbelief, shaking his head at the gang lieutenant who was now crying kneeling on the pavement. "I mean, if bullets don't work, how would a fist?"

Meraz offered no response and believing that the superhero was distracted the driver made a move to run. However, he stopped dead when he caught the superhero just looking at him and shaking his head. The gang member didn't even try to resist, instead, he immediately threw his hands up into the air and knelt on the floor.

The watching crowd went wild in a rush of clapping and cheering as Clark floated away from the subdued gang members over to the elderly woman and child. The child's eyes went wide at the sight of his idol floating down from the sky. Clark was tall now, well over six feet, broad-shouldered, with handsomely chiselled features and enough muscles to make even the most devout nun blush. He was dressed to impress as well, the tight blue skinsuit clung to his body and showed off his body, whilst his S-Shield was emblazoned on his chest proudly. What tied it all together for the child however was the long red cape that hung off of the hero's back and billowed perfectly in the wind.

"Are you two alright?" Clark asked while landing before the elderly woman and child with a friendly smile on his face.

"Um, yes, yes. Thank you, Superman." The woman blinked. Although he was a regular occurrence over the skies of L.A., she had never actually thought to meet the city's hero.

"And what about you buddy? You doing okay?" Clark asked the wide-eyed child taking a knee to be able to be level with the boy.

"Yeah…...you're really Superman, aren't you?" the boy asked wonder in his eyes as he looked up at his and the city's hero.

"I am, and I am here to help." Clark offered a smile and then noticed that the boy was holding a Vought comic book in his hands and was fidgeting with it, nervous to ask what he wanted. "Do you want an autograph?"

The boy immediately brightened up and nodded with fury causing Clark to smile, kneel down and sign the comic book. He suppressed a grimace as he saw it was of him and made a mental note that he needed to talk to his Aunt about Vought's Comic version of him. It was so corny it made him wince, especially since it was written as if he still spoke with a heavy Kansas accent.

Clark did not have to wait long for the police to arrive and as he watched over the gang members he had subdued. As he did, he politely waved to the crowd that had gathered to watch, then he signed a few more items and posed for a few photographs. He thanked the police officers that showed up and did a quick scan of the area to make sure everyone was all right before shooting off into the air.

The image of Clark taking off paused before shrinking into the corner of the Vought News Network's (or VNN as it was called for short) screen. The headline banner under the lead anchor Cameron Coleman read: Superman Involved In 100thSuper-Save In Just Two Days.Cameron leaned forward and gave his best awarding-winning smile.

"And that folks was footage from the West Coast, marking Superman's 100th Save in under 48 hours. Which means he has officially broken Homelander's own record." Cameron then swivelled in his chair to face a different camera, so that he had more room next to him as two pictures appeared, one of Superman and the other of Homelander. "Yet, I'm sure it won't be long before Homeland steps back up to the plate and shatters this record. In fact, I am so sure that I'll make one of my famous Cameron Coleman predictions that it'll happen by the end of the month, and that is a C.C. guarantee!"

Cameron then leaned back taking a deep breath as he prepared to press on, which he did with the skill and ability of a seasoned muckraker.

"However, I'm sure my loyal viewers and anyone who isn't living under a rock or a liberal naysayer no-brain, will note that this is another record that will surely add to the ever-growing pile of contest going back and forth between these two titans." Coleman spoke with a wide grin and boundless charm as he hammered his next point home. "So, I am going to ask the question everyone wants to know, when is Superman going to join the Seven? He is clearly the second strongest man alive, and together the two will be able to save America more effectively. But you want to know why this is happening, well I will tell you why: it's because of the bleeding-heart yellow belly sissy li-"

Lois switched off the TV before she threw up, or more likely threw something at the screen.

(Daily Planet News Building – Central New York - 9th June 2019)

"Lois, why are you watching that garbage?" She looked up to see it was one of her fellow reporters who had popped into the breakroom she was in to grab a quick drink.

"Perry told me too, I think he wants a piece on Coleman for my next report," Lois responded, tapping the notebook she had in front of her to emphasise her point. Although, as her colleague looked at the pad, what he could make out were hardly notes and more a list of indictments of the man, several of which brought a chuckle.

"Well good luck, with the amount of shots you've been firing at Vought lately I'm surprised they haven't tried suing us…. again." Her co-worker joked back earning a small chuckle from Lois who checked her watch to see how long until she was on the air. "Oh, speaking of Perry, he wants to see you in his office as soon as possible."

"Do you know what about?" She asked, it was odd that her boss would be asking to see her so soon before her primetime slot, usually he caught her afterwards to yell at her, or in the morning to do the same.

"No idea, but I think it's urgent. He told everyone if they saw you to send you to him straight away." Her co-worker shrugged as he finished making his drink and moved out of the breakroom.

Lois spent a few more minutes finishing her 'notes' on Cameron Coleman and was about ready to hit the airwaves. She still couldn't decide between "bigoted blowhard with a bullhorn" or "insecure small man with masculinity issues." She moved towards Perry's office and couldn't help but scoff at what her so-called News Channel was running, Cat Grant was on and she was leaning heavily into their top story who was going to replace Lamplighter. Lois didn't have anything against Cat apart from her questionable fashion choices, she just didn't get the obsession with Supes, not after all the evidence she had uncovered of accidents and botched saves.

'Not that you're ever allowed to speak, print or even blog about those'. Lois lamented. The Daily Planet News network might not be owned by Vought and was more critical than most, but even they toed the line when it came to Supes. She knew why: money. Vought had a lot of it and had spent a lot covering up messes so they couldn't be reported. Any who did would soon wish they hadn't when they were quickly buried with lawyers and sued back to the Stone Age.

As she opened the door to Perry's office she froze. Her eyes beheld a sight that her brain couldn't explain. Sitting in the room were the last two people she would ever have expected to see. One was Madelyn Stillwell, and the other was Cameron Coleman himself. They both turned to look at her. Madelyn was all business and met Lois' entrance with a polite nod whilst Cameron looked like the cat that had swallowed the canary. Lois' eyes shot up to Perry who had a grimace on his face and he gave her an apologetic look.

"Ah, there's the newest addition to my team," Cameron spoke first, his voice oozing with satisfaction. "I so look forward to working with you."

"Cameron, please." Madelyn shot him a quick look that caused the bombastic muckraker to become quiet but didn't remove the smile from his face. She then stood up and offered her hand to Lois. "Miss Lane, I'm Ma-"

"Madelyn Stillwell, I know who you are. Perry, what's going on?" Lois moved into the room ignoring Madelyn and focusing solely on her boss.

"Lois, we h-" Perry began to speak only for Madelyn to cut him off with her own reply.

"Vought has just brought the Daily Planet. As of two hours ago, this network is a subsidiary of VNN." Madelyn explained briskly before seeing the alarm in Lois' eyes and expanding on her statement. "Don't worry, there won't be any changes…yet. In fact, you are being promoted to a lead position for your own primetime segment right alongside Cameron's show. Hosting Heroes with Lois Lane. You two are even going to co-anchor our primetime news slot as well."

"I already host my own show in primetime, and I anchor the news solo with the Planet," Lois responded coldly, not returning the other woman's clearly fake smile.

However, the Vought manager did not care and merely kept up her professional indifference, as she really wasn't concerned if Lois was happy or not. Madelyn had won and the nosy reporter just had to live with it.

"Well, think about how much easier it's going to be with a co-host and a more… well-funded team behind you," Madelyn stated with a practised smile as she picked up her bag, a clear signal that she was leaving as Cameron scrambled to his feet too. "Perry even has your first assignment as part of the Vought team, I'm afraid the current project you were going for isn't on brand. Perry, we'll talk later."

Lois had to almost jump out of the way of Madelyn as she strode out of the office followed by Coleman who had a stupid grin on his face. As the two left, she wheeled back around with a look of disbelief on her face.

"PERRY, WHAT THE HELL?!" Lois demanded not caring about being respectful or keeping others from hearing.

"Lois calm down." Perry spoke releasing a sigh as slumped back into his cheer, as the 27-year-old ace reporter screamed bloody murder.

"CALM DOWN?! WHY THE HELL SHOULD I CALM DOWN?!" Lois replied, yelling even louder.

"GREAT CAESAR'S GHOST LANE, SHUT IT AND LISTEN!" Perry screamed back with rage on his face as he slammed his fist into the table causing it to buckle with the blow.

Lois looked ready to continue but he released another deep sigh and slumped back into his chair looking defeated. The old war dog's reaction caused her to hold back her and check her rage, moving to sit down and really look at her boss. Perry White, one of the strongest men she knew looked exhausted but worse he looked beaten, like the fight had gone right out of him.

"What happened?" Lois asked more cautious and considerate than before.

"It was a fuckin' coup." Perry grimaced as the unpleasant memory of the last two days played through his head, bad news piled on horseshit fed to him as if it was candy. "The Network's been on Vought's radar for years. We are, or were, the last ones standing, the final holdouts of a truly free press, not toeing the Vought line. So, the moment they smelled blood in the water they pounced, our parent company caved and *ta-fuckin-da*, like a magic trick we're like everyone else."

"Isn't there something we can do?" Lois asked, hoping that he had a way out of this almost nightmarish scenario.

"Nope," Perry said bitterly feeling like he needed a drink after being sober for almost 20 years. "I tried every ploy I knew and called in every favour I had. No one wants to take on Vought, so as of 2 hours like the lady said, we are no longer the Daily Planet but the Vought Daily World News Network. Some fuckin' genius in their marketing department thought that one up, it's all cape chasing and hero praising now."

"My god Perry, we can't let them do this. I'm working on something that could blow the lid off Vought." Lois pushed her chair forward to bring herself closer to the desk. Whilst she hated sharing a story before it was ready, she needed to show her boss they still had a fighting chance. "One of my contacts has given me a lead to look into, a charity called 'Samaritan's Embrace', apparently it's a Vought Front for something major if I cou-"

"Lois stop, please. All your current projects have been canned, Vought's got a piece they want you to do, flights booked and everything…and you're also to report to Vought Tower before you go." Perry said that last bit under his breath, causing Lois' eyes to widen.

"Why?" She asked in a dangerous tone.

"…they hired a fashion designer and makeup artist for you. They're giving you a newer, more female-friendly look." Perry didn't make eye contact as he gave that piece of news, keeping his gaze low to the ground.

Lois blinked for a moment as she registered what Perry was saying and suddenly she knew what Vought meant by the term. She had seen how they dressed their female supes. 'Female-friendly' was Vought code for a two-inch-long skirt, a blouse that showed cleavage and sometimes, if they felt like it, it even meant breast implants to hammer the point home. Even if Perry didn't know Lois well enough to know her reaction the woman's face said it all.

"I quit," Lois said bluntly. She would rather sit at home and create a blog than subject herself to Vought.

"Lois, you can't quit." Perry pleaded with a look of self-loathing on his face for having to say it, but also concern as he knew he had to.

"Like hell I can, you watch me," She started standing up and readying herself to leave but was stopped by Perry who practically sprinted around the desk to stop her.

"Lois you can't. You have a non-compete clause in your contract, if you quit that's it, no reporting, blogging or any television appearances for 5 years, it's a career death sentence…" Perry reminded her.

This caused her to freeze as the meaning of his statement truly hit her. Her life was this job, so for her to lose it and then not do the thing she loved would mean she was screwed. It also caused her to become angry remembering that her agent had mentioned that change in her contract a few weeks ago, and how it had been a small sacrifice for getting a bigger paycheck and more freedom. A change she now found suspicious as hell due to the fact that it would have also been around the time Vought was starting to look into buying the Daily Planet.

"It's also the only way I can think to keep you safe." He pleaded, releasing a heavy sigh and a look of genuine worry in his eyes.

"Safe, what the hell are you talking about?" Lois was confused, Vought might do some shady stuff and could wind up ruining her career, but they hardly went around killing people.

"You go after the big fish Lois, you always have, and it's why I hired you. You are relentless, fearless, and you have a true sense of morality, it's why I love you like a daughter." Perry revealed, causing Lois' eyes to widen, not used to her boss talking like this and genuinely touched by his words. "However, you also don't know when to back down and you are going up against people who are dangerous."

"I can handle Vou-" Lois started trying to defend herself only for Perry to cut her off.

"I'm not talking about Vought!" He half whispered, half yelled at her before taking a deep breath and then spoke in a quiet voice. "I'm talking about their clients, the Supes, those people are fuckin' dangerous."

"The Supes? Come on Perry, most of them are idiots in spand-" Lois chuckled slightly at Perry's concern she had spent her career busting Supes and most of them were idiots.

"JUST GODDAMN LISTEN FOR ONCE!" Perry yelled with genuine fear in his voice, which caused Lois to go stone-cold silent. "Most of them are, yes, but some aren't. When I was your age, my partner, a guy named Lucas Carr, we all called him "Snapper", did this piece on Soldier Boy, a beautiful takedown piece that dropped the guy's numbers down by double figures…. two days later they found him decapitated in his car, roof cleaved off, crashed on the side of the highway. "Accident" they said, "must have been speeding and hit the sign on the slip road." Only thing was, Snapperdidn't drive, never did, especially at night, his eyesight was shit. Then there's the fact the poor bastard's head wasn't at the scene either."

"Jesus…." Lois whispered, feeling herself going numb as she sat down again.

"Yeah, and before you go all 'that was 30 years ago', remember Ron Troupe?" Perry moved back round to his desk and sat down taking out a bottle of scotch from his drawer before filling two glasses and sliding one over.

"Yeah, he used to be the political columnist here when I first started, he died in a boating accident …...why?" Lois asked, not taking the offered drink yet as she felt she knew where this was going.

"Well, he wrote a piece about Vought, about Homelander and Stillwell in particular. It was damn good, Pulitzer-winning even. What it was not was very pro-Vought or flattering to Homelander. That boating accident, they found Ron, his wife and his two kids in pieces, fuckin pieces Lois, on the shoreline. They said sharks had got to them or something like that, but the M.E I talked to said it looked like someone had ripped them apart by hand"

Lois didn't say anything. Instead she just took the offered glass and downed it in one swig, and when she placed it back on the table it was quickly filled up again. They sat there for a while drinking Perry's Scotch and sitting in silence as she absorbed what he had told her. She knew Supes had a dark side, she knew Vought covered things up, but there was burying botched saves and drug addictions and then there was… whatever the hell you wanted to call this.

"What the hell are we going to do?" Lois finally asked after the bottle was empty and an hour had passed, she looked Perry in the eye, she was frightened of course but wasn't going to let that stop her. "We can't just let them get away with this."

"For the moment, we play the game and hope things change." He sighed, hating that this is where his life had led. "In truth Lois, we're fucked, we could get all the dirt on Vought we wanted but it wouldn't matter, we haven't got anyone to give it to."

"What about the Government? My dad's a General in the Army, could he help?" Lois offered, trying to figure out a plan that didn't involve sitting back and waiting.

"It won't matter. Neither the people in Washington nor the folks in the Pentagon are going to take on the Supes, not at this time," Perry said bitterly, swirling the last bit of his scotch in his glass before draining it. "Unfortunately, Lois, the truth is at the moment no one wants to or is able to change the system, it would take someone with nothing to lose….and even then they would likely need a Supe on their side as well, like that'sactually a fuckin' possibility "

Lois scoffed at that, someone with nothing to lose wasn't difficult to find, especially one with a grudge against supes. The only issue there was that most of those people were just that: people. It would take someone with a high level of skills and a lot of rage to make a dent. But what she found laughable was finding a Supe willing to change the system, because they were ones who liked it just the way it was. She didn't know a single soul who would give up that kind of power and privilege just because it was the right thing to do.

She fell silent for a few moments debating in her head what to do and although she wasn't willing to throw in the towel, she also couldn't think of any way forward. With Vought in control and what Perry just told her about Supes' true nature, there weren't any good options….well, options that wouldn't result in her being killed. It was with bitterness that Lois sighed and turned to face Perry, if they were going to win they needed to play the game for the time being.

"So, this assignment they want me on, what is it?" Lois asked, swallowing both her pride for a moment and the bile in her stomach.

"They want you out East, L.A. specifically." Perry moved some papers around on his desk and picked up the file Stillwell had given him earlier. "They want to start your new…..segment, strong, so you are going to interview Superman."

"Great…the hero of Hollywood, the second strongest man in the world. If Homelander is a vain nutjob I can't wait to see what the hero who hangs out with tabloid gossip columnists and movie stars is going to be like." Lois lamented as she took the file off of Perry, who gave her a sorrowful look.

"Lois….just be careful okay?" Perry requested almost paternally, she gave him a smile and nod before leaving.

(Kent Mansion – Beverly Hills, Los Angeles – 12th June 2019)

Clark exited the shower he wrapped a towel around his waist and looked at himself in the mirror, what stared back at him was a man that he hardly recognised sometimes. He remembered for much of his life that he was skinny, with lanky arms and a rake-like profile even when he got tall, but those days had long disappeared. He was 6'6" with massively broad shoulders that you could balance an acrobat on, his bulging arms resembled tree trunks, and the rest of him was covered in enough toned muscles to make three bodybuilders.

He moved his head to the side and let out a sigh as he ran the tap and started to try and scrub out the sooty and greasy grime in his hair. He had just finished dealing with a wildfire in the north of the state only to have to rush back south to deal with an oil field spill. He had dealt with both easily enough but the combination of ash, crude oil, and other petrochemicals had made for some very nasty stains.

"Master Kent, I should remind you that Miss January and her mother are arriving today, and you need to meet them at the airport." Kelex's automated voice sounded out. After learning about his heritage and spending a very cold summer in the Arctic in his other house, Clark had installed a version of the Kryptonian AI to watch his house when away.

"Thank you Kelex, I'm just getting ready." Clark said as in the blink of an eye, he exited from the bathroom into his bedroom fully changed.

"You also have two voice messages as well: one from Mr. Edgar and the other from your Aunt Mary." Kelex relayed the message causing a grimace to appear on his face.

Although Clark was still involved with Vought, it was a more tenuous relationship than before, the only people he really dealt with were the stone-faced CEO and his Aunt who was still sort of his manager. He said 'sort of' as he rarely did interviews, endorsed products or made movies as the other heroes did, so there was little to manage, instead focusing more of his energy on saving people. However, that had only resulted in him becoming more popular as his rare media appearances were sensational. Aunt Mary had managed to play up his actions not as aloofness as some people said, or his dislike of Vought's way which was the case, but instead as Midwestern humility.

"Start with Aunt Mary" Clark sighed, his relationship with her was mostly professional these days ever since the incident.

However, they both had tried to patch things up, over the years his Aunt tried to view him more as a person than a product and him trying to be more patient with her, understanding more than ever the moment of negativity she dealt with daily. His only real issue these days was that his Aunt was at times superficial, still caring more about image than helping people. Although, to give her credit, she was the main reason he was able to spend so much out helping instead of dodging interviews and doing product placements.

"Hi, Clark, sweetie, I know you won't get this until later. I'm watching the news right now and I can see you're occupied. I just want to remind you that I need you to sign off on the script change for Superman: Steel Justice.We got rid of that gang scene you disliked and 75% of your profits are going to charity." Kelex replayed the message as Clark moved into the room that was his office, he could see the script and papers were neatly on his desk. "Also, I wanted to ask…. your cousin Mathew's son Richard, my grandson, is having his fifth birthday and he loves Superman….I know you are busy but if you could stop by I'd really appreciate it….anyway give me a call when you can."

Clark smiled at the last bit of the message; he liked his cousins even though he rarely saw them these days, so he didn't mind helping them out. He also knew why Mary was so hesitant asking him to show up, although he had a decent relationship with her children, the rest wasn't great. She had sacrificed a lot for her career, including her marriage which fell apart years ago, and although she hid it Clark knew from his mother that he could count on one hand the number of times her own children had called her in the last year.

"Kelex, tell Mary that I will be there unless something else comes up, and I'll read through the script, then if it's okay I'll sign off tonight," Clark responded as he moved around his office, picking up another file the Vought crime analytics had dropped.

Although he was listening, his main focus was on the right-hand wall of his office that was covered in photos connected by strings with police reports and files attached to them as well. He read through the report and then added the information he had to his crime board, or as Pete called it his Wall of Weird. The wall, for anyone else, was indeed weird; it was a sprawling, seemingly random pile of crime data and evidence, but for Clark's hyperactive mind it was a map of where he was needed and the places he was likely headed next.

"Should I play Mr. Edgar's message, sir?" Kelex asked after a few moments, as Clark went quiet doing calculations in his head and predicting the most likely areas of high crime activity over the next few days.

"Hmmm…...oh yes, please." He responded by clicking back to reality.

"Mr. Kent, Stan Edgar calling. I just wanted to let you know that Madelyn Stillwell has arranged an interview for you this weekend. Her name is Lois Lane and she will be there on Sunday" The executive's voice sounded just as cold and businesslike over the phone as it did in person. "I do apologise for this, and I will be having words with Miss Stillwell, since I know this is a breach of our personal agreement. Rest assured it won't happen again. Unfortunately, the reporter is already heading to you, and so I would ask if you could please indulge Miss Lane with a simple interview just to tide her over. However, if you require it, I could direct someone else out there to take it for you."

Clark released a sigh at the news and ran a hand through his hair, although he didn't want to do the interview, he thought it best to just get it over with. Otherwise, who knew which superhero the reporter would end up interviewing, The Deep was just up the coast, and he wouldn't want anyone stuck talking to the fish guy. What irked him the most was that Stillwell was still trying to go around his aunt and get direct access to his life.

He had met the 'Senior Vice President of Vought International's Hero Management' a few times already, and it had not made a good impression. Whilst his aunt was cynical at times, she was family at least and actually listened to him while seeming to try and put his interests first, even if that didn't always happen. The vibe he got from Madelyn directly and from what rumours there were was that she couldn't care less about heroes or saving people. All that mattered to the woman was optics and pushing her own agenda, mainly military contracts.

He never understood what the Seven saw in her, and was honestly starting to wonder if the wholesome clean image of the superhero team was genuine. He gave everyone the benefit of the doubt, and like everyone had grown up with the Seven as the leading light of heroism, but he had seen the darker side of supes. This led him to wonder if Stillwell was where she was at in spite of the Seven's image, or because she was the cause of it.

Although he had heard the occasional gossiping about the Seven, it was usually only that, and he never heard a bad word said about Homelander or Black Noir, either in private or publicly. The issue there however was that he suspected someone was keeping any negative hearsay away from him about Homelander, a foreboding that grew every year seeing as he had never met the hero or any other member of the Seven. They were always on a secret mission or attending some other charity event whenever the possibility came up, especially when it came to their leader. This had sparked rumours that there was some sort of rivalry between them and that in private the two hated each other, which he found ridiculous.

"Master Clark. I would remind you that you need to leave for the airport now if you are to pick up Miss January and her mother." Kelex's voice sounded out, breaking Clark out of his thoughts and looking at the clock.

He cursed under his breath, how could he not realise how late it had gotten?, and sped down to the garage to grab a car. Although he was used to flying everywhere and didn't personally need a vehicle, he found that they were useful when his folks visited as nobody actually liked being physically carried around town. However, he sighed as he caught sight of the vehicles he had. Clark personally wanted a pickup truck but according to his Aunt that was too midwestern for L.A. and the only cars he currently owned were ones that sponsors or Vought gave him.

Looking between the various sports and luxury cars that filled the garage Clark decided on the Blue Rolls Royce Ghost, mainly because it was one of the few cars that actually had four seats. As he buckled up and pressed a button to open his garage door, he made a mental note to talk to his aunt about selling most of the vehicles. He was thinking a charity auction, covering the spread himself from what he was making on that movie he was doing, then donating the collection and ensuring all the proceeds went to people who really needed it.

However, he pushed that out of his mind as he smiled at the thought of seeing his old friend Annie again. She was coming out to do a special audition for Vought at one of their facilities for the position that was opening up on the Seven after Lamplighter's retirement. He had heard rumours that he had been considered for the spot and almost offered it but nothing had happened. What he suspected was either his aunt wanting to keep him solo for his ratings or possibly Stan Edgar not being keen on risking his fragile relationship with Vought breaking due to a sudden change in management.

Regardless of that however, he was happy to see his friend and was over the moon that she had been given a shot at the Seven, something he knew she had dreamed of since they were little.

(Vought L.A. Facility – Central Los Angeles - 14th June 2019)

Annie was smiling to herself as she exited the studio where she had recorded her interview and demonstrated her powers. She thought it went very well and truly believed that she had impressed the interviewers. In truth, she held little belief that she would get the spot on the team. The rumour floating around was that Clark was going to get it, and if it wasn't him then there were about a dozen A-listers ready to take the position.

As she exited the facility she smiled as she saw her old friend waiting for her with a bag of doughnuts and her mother nowhere in sight. She walked over, and without waiting for him to say anything took the bag and breathed deep the rich aroma of sugary goodness.

"So, mmmmm, where is… mmf, my mom?" Annie asked between bites of her favourite delicious treat as the two started to walk back to Clark's car.

"Gave her a day at one of L.A.'s most exclusive Spas, thought it would give us a chance to hang out without your mom being all….." Clark trailed off not knowing how to finish that sentence without offending anyone.

"All her?" Annie finished with a smirk, finding it adorable that Clark still tried not to talk negatively about her mother.

"…..Yeah." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head as they reached his car.

As they got in, Annie saw him place a pair of fake thick rimmed glasses over his eyes before donning a baseball cap and slouching his shoulders. She realised what he was doing, he was disguising himself as they journeyed back out to main L.A. and away from a place that was under Vought's control. In the last two days, she had seen him do similar things, mostly wearing hoodies and sunglasses when it wasn't a slouched posture and a mild-mannered attitude. However, she couldn't fault him for that as she was used to doing the same thing in Des Moines, just on a smaller scale.

She remembered when he had shown up at the airport to pick them was something that brought a smile to her face as it had been a shock for both her and her mom who were expecting a chauffeur at most. Her mom had said his superhero name too loudly, and a kid next to them quickly recognised him. A ten-minute walk out of the airport turned into an hour-long battle as Clark had become swarmed by people all wanting a picture or autograph. What made her happiest was the fact that although he clearly didn't enjoy it, he still had signed every single piece of paper shoved in front of him and taken photos with everyone who asked.

"So how did it go?" Clark finally asked her as they waited for a light to turn green.

"Okay… I think. To be honest, I'm just excited to be asked." Annie replied, licking her fingers for the last of the sugary sweetness her mother never let her have. "I'm under no illusions that I'm anywhere near the top of the list, so who do you think's got it?"

"Don't sell yourself short Annie, you've done amazing things in Des Moines. Crime's down in your district, you're likeable and a far better person than most supes I've met," Clark stated with a smile, missing the look Annie gave at his last words wondering where that had come from.

"Yeah, but it's nothing like you. I mean look at L.A." she gestured to the city around them, even driving through it felt safe and upbeat. "Crime's hit a record low, again this year, it's officially the safest city in America, also the happiest, you've still got to tell me how you do that, AND you've done that here and across the state whilst being the only actual full-time supe in California."

"It's nothing, I just do the work," Clark responded, turning his attention back to the road as he drove them back to his place.

"Uh-huh," Annie responded with a roll of her eyes, chuckling at the same farm boy she had met all those years ago. "You're unbelievable, you know that Clark, you're the only guy I've ever met who can do half the things you can and the only one I know who wouldn't brag about it. I mean, if anyone should be in the Seven it's you."

"Thanks Annie, but I've got a good thing going here. Besides, they've got Homelander, and if the team needs anyone it's you" He gave her a smile which she couldn't help but try not to blush at.

Annie looked away from Clark to the outside world that sped by, hating the images that mind was conjuring. She would be lying if she said she never thought about him that way but where once her image of Clark had been a skinny adorable, cute teenager she had a silly crush on, he was now very different. Her old friend had muscles for days, a jawline that didn't quit, eyes that you look at all day and even in modest clothing was attractive enough to make the most celibate matron blush, there was a reason he was the top 5 of every Sexiest Men Alive list.

Her mind had not been helped by her mother's teasing suggestions on the flight all the way over, nor the probing questions that were asked earlier when finding out Clark had offered her a place to stay whilst in L.A. for a few days. However, the thought of her mother instantly cooled her mind as she remembered how her mom had not so subtly pushed her to try to date Clark in their youth on the basis that it would be good for her brand. Annie lamented the reality she found herself in. She supposed if things had been left naturally then who knew what could happen, but that was the issue. Although a friendship between them was easy and natural, anything more would certainly not be, it would be all tabloid stories and interviews.

"So it's one of my last nights in L.A., what craziness do you have planned that we can dive into?" Annie asked, giving Clark a teasing smile which vanished when she saw him tense up.

"Um, what kind of craziness do you normally get up to?" Clark asked, his mind going back to what Alex did years ago, remembering how wrong he had been about that and worrying that Annie wasn't as wholesome as she seemed.

"Uh, I was thinking, like,bowling, or a movie?" Annie responded with her voice hesitant as she felt heat rise in her chest thinking Clark had taken her words the wrong way. "Why, what craziness do you normally do?"

"A movie and bowling sounds great." Clark suddenly smiled and relaxed again, becoming the natural self which Annie felt instantly comfortable with. "And tell you what, if you want, we can do it at my place, for some reason my aunt had a home cinema and a bowling alley installed."

"Wait, you let your aunt design your house?" Annie couldn't help a teasing smile from reaching her face as she saw her friend's face go red. "OH my god, you did! Oh no…please don't tell me the reason was because you wanted to buy a farm or something?"

"…..It was a ranch" Clark eventually admitted earning him a laugh from Annie who keeled over in the car. "What? It was cool, it had its own water, grazing lands, and a herd of cattle and horses!"

"Oh Clark, never change, you are always going to be that farm boy aren't you?" Annie asked, wiping tears away from her eyes.

"You bet, ma'am" Clark responded in an overtly mid-western rural Kansas accent that had her laughing again.

(2 movies and 30 games of bowling later.)

Clark was staring up at the stars as he listened to the still night air on the terrace that made up part of his home. He could hear how the city he was assigned to protect was having another peaceful night along with the other 'burgs in the state, and how Annie was asleep in her bed, dog-tired after losing every match. He heard the shuffling of feet behind him and turned to see that Donna January had slipped from her room and had come looking for him.

Donna was not someone that Clark was especially close to, nor someone who's company he really enjoyed. Although he avoided the topic around Annie he always found the elder January far too controlling and too much like his aunt when she was having a bad day, obsessed with fame for fame's sake and caring more about what people thought about her charge than that person's feelings.

"Couldn't sleep?" She asked him, bringing in her nightgown tighter to fight the cold air.

"I don't actually sleep, a side effect of being…. well, me," Clark responded with a smile and then a chuckle as he saw Donna's eyes widen. "So, what's keeping you up?"

"Annie. I'm sure your mom's the same," Donna responded, moving towards him and leaning on the terrace railing overlooking the city with him. "You can never sleep when you have a miracle as a child. Some part of me is always worried that it's all a dream and that one day they're just going to disappear, or something is going to happen to them."

"You don't have to worry about Annie, she's a tough one and I promise you I'll always be there if she needs me." Clark gave his promise to Donna but found himself regretting it as although the elder January gave a thankful smile there was a glint in her eye he did not like.

"That means so much to me, and it's great to know she has such a good friend." Donna started out sincere, but her voice took on a subtle edge as she went. "A friend who has a lot of connections''

Clark was silent and resisted the urge to sigh, grimace or do anything at all as he just looked on neutrally. Taking his silence as consent, she continued, slightly bolder this time, leaning in almost conspiratorially.

"A word from you and I know Annie would get the spot in the Seven, guaranteed. Annie would be so happy and grateful." Donna leaned into her last words gently, subtly implying something that caused Clark to go stiff and feel very uncomfortable.

"Miss January, I think we shou-" Clark started wanting to end this conversation as he felt a line had been crossed.

"I'm not implying anything." Donna quickly backtracked, realising that she had for once misjudged a man's interest in her daughter before going for a different tactic. She released a very convincing sigh and looked away from Clark. "It's just, Annie's wanted this since she was a girl and I would hate to see her crushed is all…..wouldn't you?"

Clark was silent for a few moments. Although he knew what was going on here and what type of mother Donna was, it didn't make her wrong. Annie had wanted to be in the Seven since they were kids, he knew she lived, breathed and even ate for the hero's life, always wanting more than anything to save people. If it was right by her, why shouldn't he help his friend if he could? Annie was twice the hero than anyone else in contention, and The Seven, like him, had access to resources that would make it so much easier for her to change things for the better.

The only thing that gave him pause was the few rumours he had heard about some of the Seven activities, rumours that painted a not-so-pretty picture. However, that's all they were, just rumours, and although he had met many bad supes he knew there were good ones too. After all, there were rumours about him that were false, and this was theSeven, the greatest hero team in the world. Vought might have had some dirty dealings, but it didn't mean that anything linked to them was.

"….I'll see what I can get Mr. Edgar to do." Clark whispered out, only half listening to the chorus of thank you coming from Donna.

He suddenly felt very unsure about the choice he had just made, but put that to one side as he focused on the positive. Annie was going to achieve her dream of joining the Seven and becoming the greatest hero she could possibly be.

(LAX Airport – Los Angeles -16th June 2019)

Clark waved goodbye to Annie as she and her mother passed through security. Annie had extorted a promise that he would come to visit her next time, and he had agreed after she jokingly threatened to blind him if he didn't. He also caught a glimpse of Donna as well who mouthed 'Thank you' again in his direction, and whose joke that the next time Clark saw her daughter he would be visiting the newest member of The Seven still rang in his ears. Annie had chuckled at the statement, dismissing it as a good-natured wisecrack unaware that yesterday Clark had called in a few favours he owed and secured her lifelong dream.

As the duo disappeared, he turned and started walking towards the arrivals section of the airport. He had managed to time the flights just so that the reporter sent to interview him would be getting out of security any moment. He moved to the baggage claim exit that was depositing the passengers from New York and spotted his target: the Vought company man his aunt had sent to pick up Lane.

Clark moved through the crowd who, although they didn't recognise him with thick glasses and a baseball cap on, still parted for the incredibly tall man. He tapped the shoulder of the man holding up a sign saying "Lois Lane – VNN". The man jumped slightly, turned to look at Clark with an annoyed expression on his face, and was clearly about to say something unkind before Clark tilted his glasses down and recognition exploded on the man's face.

"M-m-Mr. Kent, I wasn't aware you were going to be here." The Vought man exclaimed in shock clearing his throat as he spoke.

"No worries, I'm free and was here anyway. I thought I'd pick up Miss Lane, and if you tell me where she is staying I'll drop her off myself. Maybe start the interview off early." Clark deftly took the sign off of the man as he spoke.

"Oh umm, Miss Lane isn't staying in L.A. We offered her a room at several hotels but she wanted to come here, do the interview, and go home…So we were just going to drop her off at HQ and wait until someone called you. Did nobody tell you the itinerary?" The man responded slowly, clearly wary of saying too much and not sure if he was breaking some unwritten rule by divulging what he already had.

'More like wait until after my aunt has threatened or scared the woman half to death to write a puff piece about me, not that she needs to. Vought never sends a real reporter for supe interviews. It's always vain bloggers or airheads that read cue cards and worry more about mascara and ratings than real reporting.' Clark thought to himself bitterly as he gave the man in front of him a disarming smile.

"Of course they did, don't worry about it. Why don't you take the hour off? I'll get Miss Lane where she needs to go, and you won't get in trouble." Clark offered the man, who looked hesitant but took the offer. Clearly he wasn't used to questioning orders, so he just followed Clark's as if they were coming from his aunt.

The hero in disguise didn't have to wait long before he spotted the only woman that could be a Vought reporter. Lois Lane was tall, leggy, with black hair tied back into a ponytail that reached her shoulders, wearing a mockery of a women's business suit; the front was cut far too low to be practical and her skirt didn't even come close to her knees. He sighed upon seeing her and was readying himself for another inane promotional piece of an interview when suddenly her expression gave him pause. She wasn't ditzy, she was pissed.

As Lois dragged her small suitcase behind her she tugged at the 'jacket' Vought had made her wear and swore the thing had been designed by the biggest pervert in the fashion industry as she tried to get it to cover her cleavage. She sighed when she couldn't get it to go any further and decided the first thing she was going to do was buy an honest-to-goodness dress. For the first time in her career as a reporter she thought 'screw the interview,'If Vought wanted their golden boy shined up by her, they damn well had to wait. All she had to do was find the blockhead they were sending to pick her up and convince him to-.

Lois' thoughts stopped as she spotted the sign with her name on it being held by a very tall man with broad shoulders; however what struck her most as odd was not his height but his clothes. He was dressed in casual California summer wear with a baseball cap and glasses on, very much not the Vought company look. Raising her eyebrow a little, she went over to the man who was looking back at her with curiosity.

"I'm Lois Lane, you're from Vought?" She asked sceptically, looking him up and down before focusing on the pair of glasses that seemed, to her eye, not to actually contain real lenses.

"I'm here to pick you up, do you need a hand with your…. bag?" Clark looked behind the woman and saw she had only one piece of luggage, which made sense he supposed as she wanted to stay only a few hours.

"No, I'm fine, thank you. I just want to do this…interview and leave." Clark raised his eyebrow slightly, finding her tone intriguing and nothing like the other reporters he had met. "Look, whoever you are, I really want to get this over with, okay? I'm sure you're going to take me to some skyscraper somewhere, sit me in an office for a few hours whilst I'm threatened into writing a good piece. So, if you don't mind, can we please go?"

"Okay then." Clark gestured for her to follow which she gladly did and followed to a car parked outside.

Her eyes widened slightly as she saw the blue luxury sedan waiting for them and gaped even more as the man opened the front passenger door, not the rear. Lois tentatively got in the car and, as her supposed chauffeur sat down, eyed him suspiciously. Cat had said that L.A. was a lot more casual, but she suspected that this was not how handlers from Vought acted anywhere. After a few minutes her driver eventually spoke again. His voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.

"So, I thought we could do this over coffee, or would you prefer lunch? I know a quiet little place round the corner that does both and can be private if we ask nicely." Clark asked Lois as they stopped at a set of traffic lights.

"Oh umm, I'm flattered and I'm sure you're nice but I'm just here for the interview. So I'm not looking for anything, especially a one night sta-" Lois started, trying to sound casual and keep the surprise out of her voice, not expecting a company employee to be so forward.

"Uhm….I meant for the interview, miss, you seemed to want to do this quickly so I thought we could get it out of the way?" Clark clarified looking confused before realising that he was still wearing the hat and glasses and hadn't introduced himself.

"Wait, the interview…? Sorry I think there's been a mistake. I'm here to interview Super…" Lois trailed off as the man next to her took off his glasses and hat, he shook his head slightly and suddenly his voice clicked in her head. "…man"

"Apologies for that. I do go by Superman, but you can call me Clark Kent, or Clark, or CK, or Mr. Kent if you want. Whatever you're comfortable with…..So, lunch and coffee?"

"…...Sure. That works for me." Lois recovered immediately, going professional and throwing up a wall. She resisted a grimace from forming on her face, not liking that she'd been played by the Supe in front of her.

She readied herself for what was sure to be an ego fest while remembering with a shiver how much these guys loved to talk about themselves.

(One tediously flattering interview and lunch later)

Lois was both bored and surprised. She was bored because the interview was over and she had asked all the questions Vought had approved, i.e. given her to ask, each one as dull as was expected. However, what had surprised her was Clark. He was humble, actually consistent in his responses and, much to her surprise as well, truthful. He didn't dodge the big issues or skirt around the questions he didn't want to answer, not that there were many of those to be found in the ones she had been forced to ask.

What also impressed her was that he hadn't tried to awe her or try to get in her pants like so many supes had before. He had taken her to a genuinely small café on the corner, the owner had greeted him as Clark, not Superman, and as far she could tell they were either oblivious to who he was or at least good at feigning ignorance. He also had not looked at her low-cut clothes or high skirt once beyond a quick glance when they first sat down, after which he straightened himself up and placed himself such that trying to look at her cleavage or skirt again would be difficult.

His act really was flawless, Vought must have trained their show pony really well. 'Superman the golden boy of the Golden State, more midwestern charm than the whole of Minnesota, Michigan and Missouri put together along with a slice of Kansas.' She knew it was all a sham even if it was a solid one, which was why she hadn't taken any notes and instead spent most of the interview doing a crossword tucked into her notebook. Speaking of which, she was finishing a particularly tough set of words off as the interview, such as it was, started coming to a close. It was exactly what Vought wanted from her, mindless hype for her new career as a Cape chaser.

"Lamplighter." The random word caused her head to snap up with a look of confusion on her face.

"What about him?" She asked, thinking he was giving material for the interview.

"27 down is Lamplighter, 12 across is Mississippi, 13 down is Chicago and… 2 down is Babe Ruth." He gave a friendly smile as he sipped his coffee.

She looked confused for a moment before she remembered her crossword and did a double take after realising he was right about all of them. She sheepishly put down the pencil, looking at Clark apologetically. A bogus interview was still an interview, and she should at least be professional. 'Come on, Lane, have some self-respect.'

"Sorry about that, it's just that…" Lois trialled off not knowing how to end that sentence nicely.

"This interview is a bunch of hooey, and no matter what I say or you write down Vought is going to publish some cheerful nonsense making me look the way they want?" Clark offered in a neutral tone before giving Lois a bashful smile.

Lois was silent for a few moments before she started chuckling. A supe with a grain of self-awareness? That was new. At least Clark seemed different, despite what she knew about supes. Was she still so sure it was all an act? She looked into his eyes and decided it was good enough for her real opinion not to make its way to that bitch Stillwell.

"Yeah…Vought took over the company I worked for, so instead of real reporting I'm doing this." Lois gestured to her stupid hypersexualised outfit and the recorder she had placed on the table. "No offence, but you realise no one is ever going to tell you what they really think or give you a tough interview, right?"

"Yeah, I know that. But, you could now if you want. If it's okay with you ,I'll give you a real interview right here" Clark offered, setting his coffee down and leaning forward, honesty in his eyes. "It might never go on air or the front page, but I'll answer any questions you ask."

"Anything?" Lois asked, raising her eyebrow challengingly.

"Anything." Clark stated firmly.

"Okay…. March 6th 2015, there was an incident at an orphanage, Drummer Boy apparently responded to it. I have it from a reliable source that the official story is crap, and you were somehow involved. What really happened?" Lois pressed forward taking the opportunity to feel like a reporter again even if she knew that the truth would never go anywhere.

"Yes, I was there, and I did involve myself. What really happened was….." Clark then explained in painstaking detail the events of that fateful night, leaving nothing out, not even his own shortcomings and failures.

Lois was quiet as she listened and suddenly felt hope, slight as it was, that the man in front of her was as honest as he seemed. Here was a celebrity with everything to lose blowing the lid off of a Vought cover-up that three years ago she hadn't been able to scratch the surface off let alone get to. She suddenly took out her notebook and pen for real and leaned forward like a world-class poker player with a royal flush. What followed was a series of rapid-fire, hard-hitting questions worthy of Cronkite at his best. Eventually, Lois ran out of inquiries, which was a first for her as she had nothing left to ask one of the world's greatest heroes, the two just sitting exhausted after 3 hours of interrogation into the seediest depths of the superhero industry.

"Got anymore?" Clark joked sipping what had to be near his 12th cup of coffee as Lois frowned trying to think of anything else to ask.

"Not at the moment, unless you want to give me your number so I can call you when I do?" Lois' casual flirt escaped her lips before she realised what she was saying. Her eyes went wide as she tried to back track. "I mean, uh for um profess-"

She stopped talking when she saw Clark pass over a napkin with several numbers written on it, all marked "home, office and personal". She hesitated but then took the scrap of paper before shoving it into her purse quickly yet carefully enough not to damage the numbers. She gave him an awkward smile and then brushed her hair behind her ear again, a trait she did when nervous. Her stomach then growled, causing her to chuckle awkwardly which earned her a smile from Clark.

"It's getting on, do you want to get dinner before heading back for a flight?" Clark offered with a tentative smile.

Lois was about to refuse, trying to remain professional when her stomach complained again and she looked into Clark's eyes one more time. Whatever excuse she had died on her tongue, and she suddenly found herself nodding in agreement. His smile widened and he offered her a hand up out of her seat, which she took and then made for the door as Clark paid. As she left he made a mental note to call his Aunt about Lois' new position with VNN, he might not be able to right every wrong he wanted to, but at least he might be able to get her wardrobe changed to something not tacky.

As they got into the car together Lois couldn't keep a smile from appearing on her face as she looked over at the very muscular and more importantly honourable man that was taking her to dinner. However, she suddenly realised there was one question she hadn't asked yet, that just came to her and she turned to look at Clark, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Do you mind if I have one last question?" Lois asked as Clark started the car, he turned and smiled at her.

"Don't even need to ask permission. Go ahead, shoot." Clark declared with a smile as he decided where he was going to take Lois for dinner.

"What can tell me about a charity called Samaritan's Embrace?" Lois asked carefully, trying to judge his reaction.

He went quiet for a moment as he paused from pulling the car out onto the street, instead remaining still with his hand on the handbrake. Clark's face became one of contemplation then concern as he debated what to do with the question. He was tempted to play off the question but when he looked at Lois he knew from their brief meeting that she was never going to let the matter drop, and would pursue it until she found the truth. He sighed and decided to give her the answers she was looking for.

"It's a Vought front, but you already know that I think." Clark looked at Lois who nodded so he pressed on. "It's all a system by which Vought ensures they control the future heroes of the world …but what you're really after…what is the real key to it all, is Compound V."

Lois went quiet for a few moments processing the massive break Clark had just handed to her. Her eyes narrowed and she went full reporter mode as the car left the parking lot and took them on their way.

"…..So what's Compound V?"