[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/CAJhOXG.png[/img][/center] [b]Air Force One[/b] [b]45,000 Feet Above Colorado [/b] President Calvin Ellis leaned back in his office chair and stretched his hands behind his head. This particular part of Air Force One contained a mini-replica of the Oval Office. He’d tossed his suit jacket off and loosened his tie as he settled in to watch the live TV coverage. He was alone for the first time since he woke up this morning. He’d requested Pete and the Secret Service wait outside the door for just a little while. Not long after inauguration Calvin spoke to one previous president over the phone. The ex-president had jokingly called the office “the bubble”, but to Calvin it was more like a fishbowl. He had eyes on him at almost every moment of his day, be they waking moments or otherwise. Every movement was accounted for, every interaction planned in advance. His days of spontaneously meeting people were over. He’d gone from The White House to Andrews Air Force Base in a convoy guided by Secret Service and police. From there he boarded Air Force One, the world’s safest aircraft, and took off with an escort of two F-16’s. Like many presidents before him, Calvin Ellis was the world’s most protected man. And it was utterly pointless. Millions, hundreds of millions, of taxpayer money going to secure an indestructible man. Calvin was sure there was some underlying message about the redundancy of government there, but the footage on the TV pushed those thoughts away. [i]“Breaking news here. It appears that the Lexcorp spacecraft [i]Lillian[/i] is having difficulty re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere. It’s hard to see the footage, but what looks like the spacecraft is beginning to spin out of control as it descends from its maiden voyage. Four crewmembers on the ship, Lexcorp CEO Lex Luthor among them--”[/i] Calvin stood from the chair and undid his tie fully. He began to unbutton his dress shirt, revealing the blue suit underneath. There was a slight buckle and shake from Air Force One as the president of the United States disappeared from his office.. “Just some minor turbulence,” the pilot reassured the passengers. “We are still on course to land in Denver in the next half hour. So please sit back and relax [hr] [b][i]LCSS Lillian[/i] 15 Miles Above Earth[/b] Lex Luthor began to make peace with his impending death. He’d closed his eyes a few minutes ago to help with the motion sickness. His best bet on what happened was that the pressure of the reentry popped some circuit in the ship’s flight stabilizer. The thing designed to keep the craft steady on the hardest part of its flight had failed. Colonel Graves was trying her best to right the Lillian, but G-force weighing down on them meant the control yoke was almost impossible for them to move. Lex could hear the warning alarms as this ship -- over a decade of personal work and sacrifice -- free-falled through the sky towards the ground. They knew the chances of something like this happening were pretty remote, though never zero. All that hard work and it was sheer chance that would kill him and his crew. The feeling of finally breaking free of the Earth’s gravity had been one of the best moments of his life. The number of people who’d gone to space was rare. For Lex to have managed it with nothing but hard work and his company’s capital was an achievement of what one man could accomplish on his own. No government, no superpowers. An orphan from Suicide Slums had become an astronaut. Just a man with a dream. And now the dream was over. Or it would be in just a few short minutes. He heard Professor Hamilton mumbling some sort of prayer while Colonel Graves continued to fight until the very end. That was Mercy, thought Lex. Rage in the dying of the light. Lex didn't know what awaited them on the other side. He didn't believe in God. Not with all the things he'd seen could he in good faith believe in some divine creator with a plan. But whatever came next he would be ready to face it. Even if it was oblivion. “Wait…,” Colonel Graves said suddenly. Lex’s eyes opened as the alarms stopped and the ship came to a shuddering halt. He could see the continent of Australia ten or so miles below from the starboard window. Graves quickly grabbed the yoke and activated the ship’s side thrusters to began a slow, careful descent down towards the ground. Lex looked out the front window of the ship and narrowed his eyes. Floating there in front of his ship, the very ship Lex had named after his mother, was [i]him[/i]. [img]https://i.imgur.com/8KBBSqU.jpg?1[/img] Lex stared straight ahead at Superman. And he stared right back at him with some sort of smug aloofness Lex knew all too well. “Colonel Graves,” Lex said softly. “Get us to the ground and away from that man as quick as possible.” [hr] [b]Denver[/b] Calvin Ellis adjusted his glasses as he prepared to step off Air Force One and start down the stairs. The few White House corps reporters who tagged along on the flight were already gathering with phones and notebooks to grab some comments. “Mr. President, what do you think about the breaking news?” “Once again, our nation owes a debt to Superman,” Calvin said with a slow nod. “What could have been a day of mourning, instead turns into one of celebration. Also my congratulations to Lex Luthor on his successful launch. He serves as an inspiration to all of America as to what we can all achieve with drive and talent.” Calvin paused when he saw the confused looks on the reporter’s faces. “I meant Justice Hartwell… he died.” Calvin adjusted the knot in his tie and tried to compose his thoughts. Herbert Hartwell, a grubby little man who never met a piece of progressive legislation he wouldn't strike down. A Nixon appointee still clinging on to the high court well into his 90's. He cited health reasons as to why he couldn't attend Calvin's inauguration. The only Supreme Court member to do so. Calvin thought at the time it was Hartwell's petty protest. But maybe there was a reason behind his absence. “Well… Justice Hartwell was a dedicated jurist and a champion for the US Constitution and its strict interpretation.” “Any thoughts on replacing him?” “That's enough,” said Pete Ross. “We'll have a more formal statement and take questions at a later time.” Calvin and Pete walked down the stairway towards the tarmac with Secret Service agents flanking them on both sides. Both men remained quiet until the finally climbed into the back of the presidential limo. Calvin looked at his oldest friend and chief of staff and raised an eyebrow. “Less than a year in and we already have a chance to appoint a justice,” Pete said with a slight smile. "And with Hartwell gone the court is pretty much at an even 4-4 ideologically. Whoever we appoint will be a swing vote." “We need to find the right candidate,” said Calvin. "One we can trust... and one we can get through the Senate. No way Edge is not going to let our nominee waltz through confirmation without turning it into a knife fight." “If only appointing justices were as easy as catching falling spaceships, right?” Pete said with a wink. “You almost flubbed it back there with the reporters.” “I'm the president, Pete... I'm supposed to know things before other people.” Calvin glanced out the window while his armor-plated limo raced through the streets of Denver with police escorts flanking it on all sides. After a few minutes of freedom in the skies he was back safely in the bubble. [i]His[/i] bubble. But that was okay, he thought to himself. As Superman he had done so much to help the world. But as President Calvin Ellis? Who knew how much more he could do.