Chapter 43

I didn’t think streets could get any cleaner after Jump City. I was proven wrong after being flown to Metropolis. If Gotham was a well-used pan covered in soot, then Jump City was one that had just been washed. Metropolis on the other hand was fresh off the conveyer belt.

Most people would feel some sort of relief at the sight. But it just made me feel uneasy. Like I was out of my element. So, this was the Man of Steel’s city huh?

It definitely seemed to live up to its reputation as the city of tomorrow.

There wasn’t much time for sightseeing, as I was escorted by a rather eager ginger towards the Daily Planet. He was very…chipper. But unlike Starfire, something about his demeanor just rubbed me the wrong way.

It wasn’t hard to find the Daily Planet. They had a massive globe on top of their building which had it’s name printed on the side. They were definitely well off, and profitable.

Hmm…

During my escort to the Ninth floor, I got a good look at things on the first few floors. The ground floor was quite neat and orderly. Giving off a very clean aesthetic. Unfortunately, as the elevators were currently down, we had to use the stairs.

The walk up didn’t faze me, but the ginger reporter that was escorting me couldn’t keep up, and easily got winded. Giving me some time to survey my surroundings on a few floors.

The second floor was a sharp contrast from the first. It was messy, papers were pretty much everywhere in a disorganized mess. Forty or so people were on their phones talking to someone loudly on the other side, and it seemed like phones were constantly going off in the background.

The floors above were much the same until the seventh floor. In which the work flow started to slow down. The offices were also looking nicer and more expensive. The managers and executives of the building perhaps?

There were still people working on the ninth floor, but it was a far cry from the earlier floors. Instead of rushed and panicked, everyone was working in a quick and efficient manner. Everything seemed neat and orderly.

Most of the offices looked average to decent, except one. Which was the one that the ginger was leading me into. Inside waiting were two people.

The first was a woman with long flowing black hair. She wore a very professional and expensive looking suit. The kind that had a shirt and a jacket to go around it. She wore makeup and had on a pair of earrings that looked like they’d fetch a decent price in a pawn shop.

At first, I attributed that perhaps she was doing favors for someone higher up in the company, but I dismissed that theory when she looked at me. She didn’t immediately smile. Instead, she seized that moment to analyze and look me over. Liking trying to already get information about me out of the gate.

It was only after surveying me that she offered a small smile. A professional one, not overly familiar.

To her left near a corner of the room was a large man who was hunched over in a rather uncomfortable way. He didn’t even bother trying to observe me besides simply looking me in the eyes and giving me a nod and a smile. One that betrayed that he was feeling a small amount of nervousness.

He was bulky. He definitely had muscle, but didn’t seem to be entirely comfortable with himself or socially. He likely didn’t gain his strength from joining a sports team…gym maybe? His skin had a nice tanned tone to it…farm hand?

It could also stem from the slight hunch he had in his back. If that’s a physiological problem and not a psychological one, then he’d have had a difficult childhood with it.

Despite the man’s obvious bulk, he was rather timid. Making me feel more relaxed around him.

Hah, look at me analyzing them so heavily after the girl had done it to me. She didn’t even have superpowers and she had me feel a bit threatened. Honestly, it was a bit impressive.

“Mister…Law, I presume?”

The man with the slouch asked before getting out of his seat in order to shake my hand. He was tall, but that seemed to work against him as he stumbled a bit as he walked towards me.

He had a bit of slack in his arm, but he still had a decent grip. He likely did some sort of workout in order to not have the muscle he had gained deteriorate.

“Please, just call me Law. And you are?”

“Clark Kent. Reporter, though I’m currently working as Miss Lane’s assistant at this time.”

Miss Lane threw a slightly annoyed look at Clark before looking back towards me and extending her own hand across her desk. She had a much firmer grip than Clark. It was likely that it wasn’t because she was actually stronger, but was probably a way for her to try and get people to take her more seriously. Which showcased a level of insecurity around her if she needed to go to such lengths.

In response, I had practically little to no force in my hand. There…wasn’t really a need to. Strong handshakes was just a way for guys to fuck with other guys and showcase that one’s stronger than the other.

That didn’t matter to me. I knew how strong I was and that I could likely take everyone in this building with one hand. But it didn’t benefit me at all to show it. In fact, the only benefit I would really get was by doing the exact opposite, but I didn’t really feel the need to feign any sort of weakness to a bunch of reporters.

“Lois Lane, senior reporter. I’m very happy that you’ve chosen to take an interview with us instead of the other news outlets. We will do our best to repay your trust.”

‘news’ and ‘trust’ were two words that definitely didn’t fit into the same sentence. But that wasn’t something I was actually going to bring up. It didn’t take long for Ms. Lane to get me to take a seat in front of her and start the interview. Clark sat nearby slightly behind me on my right and was taking notes as she started it off.

“What’s it like being part of the Titans?”

Ah, very vague and all-encompassing question. It was hard to answer and would force me to think about it a bit, causing me to falter later on when she asked the questions that actually mattered to her. Unfortunately for her, while I couldn’t predict every question she had in advance, I had something else up my sleeve.

The ability to not really care too much about my answer.

“It’s fine. We all get along well enough and have fun together. Everyone pulls their own weight.”

Ms. Lane’s eye narrow for a split second during my answer. Showing me that she had found something to poke at in my answer.

“While I wouldn’t ask about any personal information, would you be willing to tell us what city you’ve spent the most time in growing up?”

That was still a personal question, but it also wasn’t one that I was uncomfortable answering. Though if answering this leads to her prodding deeper until she’s told to stop…hmm. Well, I’ll answer her for now.

“I grew up in Gotham.”

Her eyes widened in surprise at the answer. Giving me a rather pleased smile as she looked over to Clark who was writing this down briefly before looking back at me. The way she reacted made me feel like I had just fed a wild animal at the zoo.

“Oh? So the Titans have two Gothamites representing it?”

I nodded, leading her to ask another question.

“Earlier, you said being in the Titans was ‘fun’. What did you mean by that?”

Ah, I see what she was trying to pull. Interesting, I would need to think about my answer a bit before I responded. Clark frowned a bit and threw a disproving look towards Ms. Lane that was subsequently ignored. Though she did seem a bit…less riled up as a result.

“I meant being around people who are about the same age as me, and have powers is enjoyable. It might seem strange to someone like you, but people with…strange abilities tend to feel alienated when they’re around normal people. But when someone abnormal is in a room with other abnormal people…well, then no one’s really abnormal, are they?”

Ms. Lane seemed to nod at that, showing a small smile before quickly hiding it behind an air of professionalism. Clark on the other hand was giving me a thumbs up and a large lopsided grin. It seemed he liked that answer.

“A lot of kids think-“

Ms. Lane started, only to be interrupted by a ringing coming from Clark’s phone. His eyes widened as he fumbled around in his pocket before pulling it out. All the while Ms. Lane was giving him a flat look.

He then gave her an apologetic look before heading towards the exit. Causing her to almost bury her face in her hand. Only stopping half way before cutting herself off. Likely not wanting to mess with her makeup.

She coughed a bit as Clark left.

“Sorry about that. He’s a bit…scatterbrained, but he’s a good guy.”

I nodded at her words. Waving my hand as if to dismiss the issue entirely.

“I don’t mind. To be quite honest, I would be rather put off if he was forced to stay.”

That got a rather genuine looking smile from her. This time it lasted for several seconds before slowly fading away.

“I feel the same way. Sorry, is it alright if I record this conversation? I’m not too great at writing quickly like Clark.”

“Go right ahead.”

Ms. Lane had to call someone into her office in order to get a recording device. After setting it up, she began to go back to the interview. This time however she seemed a bit more…relatable. Likely due to the interview slightly deviating from her initial plan. Her hair was still mostly well done, but there were a few hairs that were now out of place. Her cheeks were slightly reddened, showing either embarrassment or her suit was a bit stuffy.

“A lot of kids and teens look up to the Titans, and I’m told that a lot of them would like to be one if given the chance. I’ve also been told that Titans receive funding, is that correct?”

“We do, but it’s nothing crazy. Most of it goes towards groceries and our Tower.”

She nodded at this. For a moment she seemed to consider another question, before thinking better of it and moving on.

“What advice would you give to anyone who’s looking to join the Titans?”

Hmm…well that seemed easy enough to answer.

“Power. You have to have power. Without the ability to back up your words or beliefs, they become meaningless. There is no value in someone that can’t do anything. Only when you become someone who can will you be able to get what you deserve.”

Ms. Lane paused at that. Looking at me with wide eyes as she seemed momentarily speechless. Which was…odd. I quickly replayed what I said several times in my head but nothing seemed especially odd or really seemed to stand out.

“Well. That was certainly…passionate.”

Was it? It had certainly come from the heart, but I hadn’t really been paying attention in the way I had said it.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she peered down the list of questions in front of her that she had prepared. Her eyes seemingly locking on to one in particular before raising her head.

“As you very well know, the Justice League has become a very popular talking point in and out of the country. Due to their recent distribution of Adriatisin. As a sort of…sister organization to the Justice League, is there anything you’d like to say about that?”

Oh, I could say a great many of things about it. But I’m quite certain none of them would truly benefit me in any way. I shook my head in the negative before moving my hand in a circle.

“No, not really.”

She frowned at that. Biting her lip slightly before looking over to the empty seat Clark left, and then looking back to me. This time a much more…relaxed expression graced her features. Her eyes with half lidded as she rested her head in her hand. Giving me a smile as she unbuttoned the top of her jacket.

…Honestly the sudden change was a bit creepy. Was it the heat? It might have been Fall, but only just barely. Which meant it was still a bit hot from time to time. Which included today.

“…Are you sure? I would be very pleased if you could add in your own thoughts and feelings about it.”

She was fishing for information obviously. I just didn’t really know what she was doing besides that…She tried to offhandedly unbutton her second from the top button on her jacket.

She…wasn’t trying to seduce me, was she? Don’t get me wrong, she was attractive but she looked a lot older than me. No, that can’t be it. So far I’ve gotten the vibe that she was intelligent if ambitious. Not stupid enough to unbutton a few buttons on her jacket which…didn’t really show me anything.

It was a jacket. It wasn’t like opening it up was going to show off her breasts or anything. Hell, the top buttons didn’t even show her shirt.

Maybe she was just hot from the weather? It’d be a lot less embarrassing than the alternative, and make more sense.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

She frowned at that, before standing up from her seat. Slowly making her way over to me and-

The door was abruptly opened, causing Ms. Lane to throw an annoyed gaze towards it.

“Clark, you need to at least knock when-“

Her voice caught in her throat as she eyes widened, leading me to look behind me as well. Much to my surprise, it wasn’t Clark who was standing there. No, it was a man with a much more confident way of standing. One who was also decently built, but without a tan. And lacking in the hair department.

Yes, Lex Luthor was standing in the doorway of the office. An easy smile and unperturbed look on his face as he sauntered in. Peering past him I could see what seemed like a large group of people with cameras and microphones. They seemed to be being held back by the confused reporters of the Daily Planet.

Lex Luthor gave a rather easy going nod towards her before looking over to me.

“Miss Lane, always a pleasure. I don’t suppose Clark is around?”

Her eyes narrowed at him as she tried to subtly button up her jacket. A movement that caught his eye, but he said nothing about it. Ms. Lane strode up to him in an obviously annoyed fashion.

“You just missed him. Maybe if you looked, I don’t know, anywhere else, you might find him.”

Lex Luthor didn’t seem very fazed by how obvious she was of her distaste towards him. Instead he just met my eyes. Almost like he couldn’t look away.

…strange.

“Unfortunate. I quite like talking to him. Not to say that I don’t also enjoy your company as well, Miss Lane.”

“Luthor, I’m actually quite busy with an interview at the moment. So just-“

He eyes seemed to light up at that.

“I see. But what if I tell you I can get you an even better interview?”

Hmm? He seemed to change the topic, but I couldn’t help but feel that he was here for me. Was this…some sort of power play? If so, I genuinely didn’t care.

“I’m not interested, Luthor.”

“Oh, but I think you will be. Especially when the person in question is the creator of Adriatisin. The wonder medicine that’s been sweeping the nation.”

…Well, I hadn’t been expecting that. Neither had Ms. Lane, as she blinked a few times before following Lex Luthor’s gaze towards me. It took her only a moment in order to connect the dots.

“…what?”

She stated in surprise, only for Lex Luthor to chose that precise moment to walk past her. He had good timing, as I’m pretty sure she would have pushed him if he tried to force his way in. That was just the type of feeling I got from her.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Law.”

The feeling wasn’t mutual.