[sup][h1][center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1055909791542816778/1058433028952703077/232-2322970_superman-logo-n-kingdom-comeclipart-free-clip-art.png[/img][/center][b][center][color=black] S U P E R M A N[/color] [color=4682b4]S U P E R M A N[/color][/center] [/b][/h1][/sup] [quote=Four Years Ago] [color=f7941d][i]"Because of you, Kryptonian."[/i][/color] The alien smirked. [color=f7941d][i]"Because you present a challenge."[/i][/color] [/quote] Clark pushed the nail all the way through the wooden beams with a single finger. He had almost finished repairing the roof when Jons footsteps started coming up the track, Krypto bounding along happily at his heels barking away. With a single bound Jon launched himself into the air, Clark turned and caught him before the projectile child tore a new hole in the roof. Jon giggled at the feat of strength, once the air had returned to his lungs. [color=4682b4]"I thought you were never coming back."[/color] Jons face lit up the brightest shade of scarlet. [color=6ecff6]"I may have crashed a few times."[/color] [color=4682b4]"Don't worry, I saw, and heard."[/color] A sheepish grin crossed Jons face. [color=6ecff6]"You never told me flying was so...-"[/color] The boy paused for a second, as if the word eluded him. [color=6ecff6]"-hard."[/color] He nodded to himself, content with his choice. [color=4682b4]"Well there's a reason I haven't been throwing you off cliffs to find out if you were ready yet. I'm just surprised that you could fly straight away."[/color] [color=6ecff6]"Daaaaad, c'mon. Nobody would do that."[/color] Clark chuckled to himself. [color=4682b4]"You should see what Batman puts the Robins through-"[/color] A lump caught in his throat as Jason crossed his mind. That was perhaps too crass a thing to say. [color=4682b4]"I also might be a [i]little[/i] jealous." [/color] Jon raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side, in a gesture very reminiscent of his mother. [color=4682b4]"I had to work up to flight. I started with tall buildings. Did you think they say that I have the 'ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound' came out of nowhere?"[/color] [color=6ecff6]"I thought it was just a phrase."[/color] [color=4682b4]"Remind me to show you some old Newsreel your Grandma recorded on VHS of me starting out. T-Shirt, Jeans, jumping was the best way to get around."[/color] [color=6ecff6]"That can't be right, wouldn't that be... bad for wherever you landed?"[/color] [color=4682b4]"Oh yeah. I was the bane of the tarmac before I learned to fly. Your Uncle Conor was the same."[/color] Jon laughed, then a the biggest grin crossed his face. [color=6ecff6]"So what you're saying is... I'm better at this than you?"[/color] Clark laughed and faked moving to shove Jon off the roof. [color=4682b4]"I wouldn't quite say that yet."[/color] Jon pouted. [color=6ecff6]"Why not?"[/color] [color=4682b4]"Well. I've not destroyed my bedroom roof in a while."[/color] [hr] [color=00a651]"I said this day would come."[/color] Lex looked through the pile of papers before him, the surveillance photos, radar readings, and sound analysis profiles. Every possible scientific reading that could be taken non-invasively and as discreetly as possible was laid out before him. [color=00a651]"I said it years ago in Metropolis when Superman first ousted himself as an alien. More would come, and since then."[/color] He pulled a chart to the top of the pile that showed the increase in activity. [color=00a651]"Oh but he's a [i]good alien[/i]. That makes me feel so much better. I'm sure some freakshow out there thought Despero was cool, and look what happened there."[/color] Files and files were scattered around the Oval Office, photos, clippings, and scans. It became more unhinged as it got farther away from the Presidents' desk. [color=00a651]"I tried making my own you know. My own [i]Superman[/i]."[/color] Luthor sighed. [color=00a651]"All the powers, all the skills but under the control of people who wanted what was best for the [i]planet[/i] and [i]humanity[/i]. Someone we could put on the frontline, get the media behind them and make the future of all mankind brighter."[/color] Luthor sighed. [color=00a651]"He had other ideas."[/color] Luthor stood up and walked through the room pointing at various photos as he did so. [color=00a651]"When Superman retired. We met, but not many people knew that. We talked. We had been adversaries for so long it seemed wrong not to. We had waged countless battles against each-other, obviously with nothing substantial enough to hold in a court of law of course. I would never be caught doing anything illegal."[/color] His tone changed, almost begging a retort. A comeback, or something witty. [color=00a651]"We agreed to let bygones be bygones. I'm not a [i]monster[/i]. He had lost the love of his life, a woman who despite being a thorn in my side I respected. He had a young son at home to care for. We agreed that so long as he never took up the cape again, I'd leave him alone in his grief. He could raise his son without the fear that I'd try and interfere with either of them. They'd live normal lives."[/color] Finally, he came to the most recent picture, a group of satellite images showing a young boy crashing into a mountain before getting up and flying away. He picked it up and handed it over. The large woman took it in her hand and looked at it before closing the folder and starting right at the President. [color=f7941d]"What exactly do you want me to do Luthor?"[/color] [color=00a651]"I know all about your secret team Waller."[/color] A smirk crossed his face. [color=00a651]"I want you to bring me Superman."[/color]