[center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/445351464320106498/870668188650733618/SB4.png[/img][/center][indent][sub][color=white][b]SEASON ONE[/b][/color][color=e20025] Sensation & Wonder[/color][/sub][sup][right][b][color=white]SUPERBOY #5[/color][/b] [url=https://youtu.be/lUMT9OIaVvE][color=e20025]Pull My Strings[/color][/url][/right][/sup][/indent][indent][indent][indent][hr][/indent][/indent][/indent][indent][color=white][sub][b]Three hundred and fifty miles above the surface [color=e20025]♦[/color] Earth's upper atmosphere[/b][/sub][/color][/indent] [indent] They called it the thermosphere. It was by far the largest layer of earth's atmosphere, ranging from sixty miles up to over three hundred and seventy. Near its zenith the air was so thin it was practically a hard vacuum. What gas particles were up here, though, were packed with thousands upon thousands of degrees of heat. They absorbed solar radiation like sponges. The electrical charge those particles carried were what bounced short-wave radio transmissions back down to earth. Those transmissions played in Superboy's ear through a receiver implanted into his cochlea. Hundreds of songs, voices, and sounds smashed together in a garbled mess of sensory activity, but he could still make sense of it. His brain was designed to intake vast amounts of data all at once, storing the best of it for later in his long-term memory. He had most of Wikipedia stored in his hippocampus, thanks to Cadmus. They'd thought all that knowledge and processing power meant he'd come outta his vat a genius. [color=lightblue][i]'But I'm a capital M moron,'[/i][/color] he sulked, soaking in the morning's rays. He'd spent the better part of the night way up here, just a short flight from the International Space Station. His lighter injuries were fully healed by now, but the heftier ones- like that lower right rib- required medical attention. Doctor Roquette could've had him good as new in four hours, tops. She also would've told him to report in after last night's brawl. Somebody was bound to yell at him for letting Knockout get away. And for letting her kiss him. [color=lightblue][i]'Didn't even ask me first.'[/i][/color] Still, it was a hard thing to complain about. He'd never met anyone quite like that before... [color=lightblue][i]'Not what's important right now,'[/i][/color] he reminded himself. [color=lightblue][i]'Need to figure this out.'[/i][/color] Cadmus's Acquisitions department had sent Superboy to capture Knockout. Not detain her until the cops show up- capture and return to their facilities. Why, though? Was it just because the police would've had a hell of a time holding someone like that? Maybe. That still didn't explain why she was a priority in the first place. She hasn't been an active threat to anyone for years now. Even had some kind of deal with a high ranking government official to wipe her slate clean. Far as the law was concerned, Kay Fury was an innocent woman. [color=lightblue][i]'Until we demolished a chunk of Hob's Bay beating on each other.'[/i][/color] So many people's homes, their business, all that public property- just destroyed because he was more concerned with having fun than protecting people. He seriously needed to figure out this hero thing. There was something he was missing. A piece of the puzzle left out of the box. If he knew more about her past maybe he'd be able to draw a connection between her and Cadmus. Whatever it was, his creators hadn't deigned to give him that piece of information. It wasn't a name he'd known until yesterday. Could just fly back to the tower and google her, but... [color=lightblue][i]'They're gonna be monitoring the place, dummy. And its not good for your health to let the bosses know you're snoopin' around behind their backs.'[/i][/color] Okay, so where did people go for information they couldn't just look up online? [indent][color=white][sub][b]The Daily Planet [color=e20025]♦[/color] Metropolis[/b][/sub][/color][/indent] The Daily Planet was the last bulwark of decency in New Troy. No matter how the rest of Metropolis changed around it, for good or for ill, the Planet remained stalwart. A lighthouse on the shore, guiding ships to the harbor of truth. A symbol carved from brick and mortar of the City of Tomorrow's best future. It was also, unrelated, closed. It turns out truth does, in fact, sleep; specifically between the hours of six PM and eight AM. Those doors wouldn't open for another half an hour. Time wouldn't pass any faster the longer Superboy stared at them, either. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe the library was open earlier- Somebody rounding behind him. Couldn't see, about to bump into him. He's half a foot to the left before they even know he was in the way. [color=B477B7]"Ahhh shit. Shitshitshit."[/color] The woman hiding behind a stack of coffees and breakfast snacks grumbled to herself, trying to find an angle to grab the door. Was going to drop everything. No two bets about it. Superboy slipped the key from outta her fingers and opened it himself and had the keys back in her hand in the time it took a butterfly to beat their wings. [color=B477B7]"Thanks, pal. I'd be dead meat without ya."[/color] She walked into the lobby, and he followed after. The place was empty, save for the dull roar of printers spinning in the basement. Quiet talking from a back room behind the front desk. Just a handful of people, all too tired for their own good. That was where the woman with the coffees and snacks was bound. Superboy gave her time to finish up with that before bothering her further. One of the men waiting on her was her boss. Older man, upset that she'd taken so long. Stupid, though. Coffee came from a place on the other side of midtown. She'd made it back in record time. Probably broke a few traffic laws to do it. Not sure it'd matter to him, though. The boy spent the next few minutes unsure what to do with his hands while he waited for her to get back. Pockets on the jacket were fake, crossing his arms made him feel like an ass. How'd people stand around like this all the time? Door opened again, and the intern stepped back out. She was short, built for track. Brown skin, dark hair, and a cheap purple blazer over a pink button-up. There was a dangerous sort of curiosity burning behind her eyes when she finally looked at him. [color=B477B7]"Tana Moon, Daily Planet. You can't be in here."[/color] She all but had to climb atop the front desk to stick her hand out to shake his hand. He took it, awkward as all hell, but he took it. [color=lightblue]"Uhh, right. Sorry. Name's Superboy-"[/color] [color=B477B7]"Wow, really? Couldn't tell. You only own the one outfit? Same one from your rampage last night, got all the same cuts."[/color] [color=lightblue]"Ah, great."[/color] He sighed, and threw up his hands. [color=lightblue]"They already uploaded it? 'Course they did. Man I am so dead."[/color] [color=B477B7]"Trending since midnight. You and that redhead've been the talk of the town. You wanna make a statement about that, by the way?"[/color] [color=lightblue]"God, that means they know about the kiss, too."[/color] He started pacing. He paced when he couldn't fly, and he flew when he was nervous. Tana pulled her phone out of her pocket. [color=B477B7]"Kiss? What kiss? You kiss someone?"[/color] He stopped, turning to look at her. [color=lightblue]"They edited it out?! What am I saying, 'course they did. Man. Rex'll have my hide...What're you doing? Are you recording me?"[/color] [color=B477B7]"What? Nobody's interviewed you since the incident and you just dropped an exclusive."[/color] [color=lightblue]"Do not [b]run[/b] that!"[/color] Before she could argue he'd taken the phone, deleted the video and handed it back. Papers flew off the desk as he came to a stop. [color=lightblue]"You have no idea how much trouble I'd be in if that got out. Seriously, I'm talkin' nine lashes kinda bad, here. Please."[/color] She paused to mull it over. [color=B477B7]"Never touch my stuff again and you have yourself a deal."[/color] [color=lightblue]"Thank you. Now, I need your help-"[/color] [color=B477B7]"-Sure, anything-"[/color] [color=lightblue]"I gotta find the reporter who worked the old Superman beat."[/color] Tana cocked her head. [color=B477B7]"Uh, you tried the White House?"[/color] Felt like his whole head was about to explode. [color=lightblue]"What?! Since when?"[/color] [color=B477B7]"How about January, the same time every president's been inaugurated since, like, forever?[/color] [color=lightblue]"Since FDR, actually."[/color] [color=B477B7]"You know that but not who the current president of the United States is?"[/color] She scoffed. Great, he was one wrong step from leaking the biggest secret of his life to some nosy reporter, and he sounded like the dumbest know-it-all alive. He hadn't bothered to learn just about anything about the government since stepping out of his vat. Politics were a strict no-go zone for him. [color=lightblue]"The...news is...for losers. Obviously."[/color] Good save. Suspicion avoided completely. Moon held back a snicker. [color=B477B7]"The news is for losers, but FDR facts aren't?"[/color] [color=lightblue]"FDR facts are [b]cool[/b] and for everybody!"[/color] He pointed at her. [color=lightblue]"You're gettin' me off track. Look. I gotta find information on one of Superman's old rogues, and the Planet's the closest to a first-hand source on all that save for the big guy himself. You're no Lois Lane, but-"[/color] [color=B477B7]"-Hurtful, but true-"[/color] [color=lightblue]"-[i]but[/i] can you help a guy out?"[/color] [color=B477B7]"Sure. We've got a digital archive of every paper since World War Two. Follow me!"[/color] [/indent]