[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/M3SfSt4.png[/img][/center]

[quote=@Sep]"I have a friend that can probably rig some form of communication up for us, I can run it over to metropolis if you want as soon as it's ready. Barring that, I assume you're not secretly ninety years old and do have access to a cellphone?"
[/quote]


[color=RoyalBlue][b]"Hah, no, I'm not any older than I look,"[/b][/color] I say with a slight chuckle.  I don't honestly know if that's [i]true[/i], though-- I came to Earth about twenty-six years ago, but given that I don't remember anything before that, who knows how long I was out there?  For all I know, I could have been roaming the cosmos for thousands of years in some completely inhuman form.  Once he was knocked out, the Surfer took the form of what looked like an Earth-man.  Who's to say I didn't somehow do the same?

[i]Kal-El.[/i]

So many questions.  And little to no way of finding any answers.

Before I get [i]too[/i] lost in my head, I look back at the Flash.

[color=RoyalBlue][b]"I don't necessarily think it's a good idea to talk about, you know, [i]work[/i] over the phone,"[/b][/color] I say, trying to get back to the subject, [color=RoyalBlue][b]"at least, not over numbers that can be traced back to us.  I've got a pre-paid burner phone, though, and I can give you the number for that.  Might not be a bad idea to get one for yourself, at least until your friend can put together something better."[/b][/color]

Fumbling through my pockets, I find a pencil which was broken into three parts during all the excitement, and a Bibbo's receipt from a few days ago.  Thankfully I didn't have a pen in my pocket this time-- my gravitational force-field might render my clothes more impervious to harm, but that doesn't make them any less vulnerable to stains.

[color=RoyalBlue][b]"Here we go,"[/b][/color] I say as I jot down the burner phone's number and had it to her.  When I got the old junker at a kiosk in New Bohemia, I thought I'd have a network of contacts by now, people I could count on as my eyes and ears in the city.  Unfortunately, one misunderstanding with the National Guard and suddenly it's hard to get normal people to even talk to me without freaking out.

As it is, Flash is only the third person who I've given this number.  The first was Lois, and the second was....

....my Mom.

[i]That's it.[/i]

When Ma and Pa found me, they couldn't stay long enough to investigate the scene where my pod crashed.  They were only able to take three things before running off to escape the cops and military and men-in-black who descended on the area: myself, the red cloak that I wear as my cape, and a silver orb, a little bigger than a baseball, always polished to a mirror shine no matter what you did to it.  It seemed to react to my touch and to my voice, shaking and saying a few phrases in a language none of us could speak before going silent.

Maybe I could give it another try.  See if it responds to the word [i]Kal-El[/i] the way I did.

[color=RoyalBlue][b]"I, erm, I should probably get going,"[/b][/color] I say, nervously scratching the back of my head, [color=RoyalBlue][b]"but this was....a good start."[/b][/color]  Why is my face so hot?  [color=RoyalBlue][b]"We should do this again some time, y'know, the next time the world is in danger.  Erm, anyway, you've got my number now, so....call me if you need me.  And if you're ever in Metropolis, I'm, uh, I'm not hard to find."[/b][/color]

Giving Flash a quick wave and a smile, I take a few steps back, and take off into the skies.  I'm in the upper reaches of the stratosphere before it occurs to me to change course and not just keep heading straight up.

Clark, what the hell are you doing?  You don't know this woman, you've spoken to her for less than a minute, and now you're blushing and stumbling over yourself like an idiot teenager.  This isn't Smallville High, she's not Loi-- I mean Lana, homecoming isn't just around the corner, this is strictly business.  An alliance for the job, someone who you can work with to save people.  [i]Get it together.[/i]

If this is how I'm going to respond every time I work with a pretty woman in tights, I should probably steer clear of Wonder Woman for the time being.

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I turn west, and begin to descend back towards Earth.  Specifically, towards Kansas.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/SRBES4m.png[/img]

It's time I try again to find out some more about who I really am, where I'm from, and why I'm here.

Besides, I haven't called Mom in weeks and she starts to worry if I don't catch up with her.