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[right]Steel - Part 1.02 - Shout[/right]
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"-And news of a new hero appearing in Metropolis has sparked new discourse around vigilantism in the city. The anchor continued, the studio lights gleaming off her papers. "Eyewitnesses report that the armored individual dubbed 'Steel' by bystanders, prevented a violent bank robbery and rescued multiple civilians from a car accident shortly afterward. Authorities have declined to comment, but public sentiment appears overwhelmingly positive for the mysterious figure."

The report played over shaky phone footage of Steel lifting the overturned sedan above his head, the crowd scattering around him in awe. Then the screen cut to a wide shot of the bank: shattered doors, police lights strobing against glass, and a line of stunned robbers kneeling in zip-ties.

The footage froze as the segment ended. Her suave co-anchor shifted in his seat, one eyebrow raised and a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Well, I've gotta say," he began, leaning an elbow on the desk "Between Steel over here lifting cars and Thor throwing lightning around Midtown, Metropolis is starting to look like the world's most dangerous gym membership. Say, you think Thor spots for Steel? What do you think his bench is?"

She stifled a laugh. "Are you suggesting a team-up, Eric?"

"I'm just saying!" he replied, hands raised in mock innocence, "You put a guy with a magic hammer next to a guy with a giant metal one, and I start wondering if we're looking at the next great superhero team-up - or the world's loudest construction site."

She shook her head. "So you [i]are [/i]predicting friendship?"

"Oh, absolutely not!" He said with theatrical certainty. "My money's on a good ol' fashioned rivalry. Two hammer guys? That’s asking for trouble. Next thing you know they're arguing over who’s got the better swing."

"Very professional analysis." she said dryly.

"Hey, it's what the people need! Hard facts."

Their laughter faded as the broadcast transitioned into the next segment, but the image of Steel with the car held overhead like it weighed nothing lingered on the screen behind them, framed in bold red letters:

[color=9e0b0f][b]WHO IS STEEL?[/b][/color]

John clicked off the small TV mounted in the Irons family kitchen. "You guys actually watch this trash? Whole lotta noise over nothing."

"'Nothing' he says!" Clay Irons called from the dining table, laughing as he set out four plates. "Johnny, people are losing their minds over this guy. Did you see that car he lifted? Man's built like a tank."

John tried to keep his face neutral. "Yeah, yeah. The guy got lucky, if Thor had got there first you can bet not one bullet would have been fired."

"Lucky?!" Natasha piped up as she bounded into the room. John smiled as he did the obligatory 'secret handshake' he had practiced with his neice upon seeing her. Her braids bounced as she plopped into her usual chair. "Uncle John, he lifted a whole car. Like, it was nothing! Everyone at school's talking about him. Steel is so cool."

Her father gave a mischievous smile, placing down a set of cutlery in front of her. "Say, Natasha - who do you think would in a fight Thor, Steel or...hmmm" He thought for a second. As pervasive as superheroes were in culture, Clay made a concerted effort to avoid any news of them as much as possible. Not many appeared in 'Technology Monthly' anyway. "Who's that guy again, green guy? And the one the pentagon made the announcement on-"

He could barely get the last word out before his daughter interrupted. "[i]Ahem[/i], his name is not [i]Green Guy![/i] If you must know he doesn't have an official name yet, but I call him the Martian. Aaaand-" She began punching the air in front of her. "Her name is Warbird! And for your information she would definitely beat up those knuckleheads - she stopped an alien invasion all by herself!"

John laughed, shaking his head. Natasha spent way too much time browsing online forums and fangirling over superheroes, it was official. "Hey, hey, hey. Just who says they gotta fight? Who says they can't be friends?"

Natasha grinned. "Yeah, well, if I ever get to meet any of them, I'm getting a selfie, whether they're friends or not."

John took a seat in front of her, comically rolling his eyes. "Let's start with your geometry homework first. Selfies can wait until later."

Clay's wife, Leila, nudged her husband with a smirk. "You hear that, hun? Your brother doesn't think selfies are dignified. Who could've guessed?" She plated up dinner and took a seat next to Clay as the family began to dig in to their food.

"Oh, he's always been like that." Clay said through a laugh. "You should've seen him in college. Star batsman on the Metropolis State baseball team - stands there after hitting a home run, all apatehtic like it was just another day at the office. Y'know, John I really think you could've given Marcus Aurelius a lesson in stoicism!"

Natasha gasped, her eyes rapidly shifting from her father to her uncle. "Wait what? Uncle John played baseball?!"

John sighed into his hands. He was never one to take a trip down memory lane. "Clay..."

"He did!" Clay said proudly. Revelling in his beloved older brothers discomfort. "Guy was a machine. Coaches practically tried to adopt him. Could've gone pro if he wasn't such a geek!"

John shook his head, half-embarrassed, half-laughing. "It was a long time ago. I still had hair then!"

The table laughed. "Can you believe this guy? Future lined up as a batsman for the Metropolis Meteors and he quits to build robots!" Clay added. "Nerd."

Leila laughed. Natasha pointed and joined in "Nerd!"

John raised his fork at her. "Careful, kid. I still know my way around a bat." He swung an invisible baseball bat in her direction, adding sound effects when it would have hit her.

"Pfft, yeah right, you'd need to catch me first!" She called back.

He couldn't help smiling now. For all the weight in his life, all the responsibility and the guilt. This place, sitting in this kitchen with the people he loved most in the world made it all feel so light. Like just being within these four walls made the world stop collapsing, even if only for a few hours.

Clay leaned back in his chair, fixing John with a look he'd worn since they were kids. The kind that every loving brother wears on the regular - a mix of concern and brotherly prodding. "Hey, speaking of robotics...LuthorCorp's hiring in Applied Systems. Good pay, good team. You'd fit right in. With my recommendation they'd make you team leader like that." He snapped his fingers.

John's smile faded. "Clay, no. We've talked about this. I appreciate the offer, but no. I'm happy where I am now."

"It's a different division." Clay insisted. "Nothing to do with weapons. Not the stuff you walked away from. Just R&D. Civil tech. Infrastructure systems. Robots to rebuild, not to break down."

"Clay-" John warned.

But Clay pushed on. "Come on, man. Just go to an interview. Do it for me. I put in a good word already."

John frowned. "You did what?"

Clay shrugged innocently. "Hey, what's a younger brother for if not to look out for his big bro?"

John rubbed his temples. "I don't want to get pulled into that world again, Clay."

"It's not that." Clay said gently. "Look, I just want you to have something stable, Johnny. Something good. You deserve that. You're wasted anywhere that isn't a lab."

Natasha chimed in. "You'd be awesome there, Uncle John. And the labs are so cool. Dad took me there for my work experience last summer!"

Leila lifted her wine glass. "Three against one, John."

John exhaled, staring down at his plate. "I'm sorry guys, I just can't. Not again. Not after last time."

The three each shot each other a look that expressed disappointment but understanding at the same time. His brother clapped a hand around John's broad shoulders. "Ah well, it was worth a try. Anyway, think we're just in time to catch the Meteors beat the Knights, right?"

A few hours had passed since their dinner and both Leila and Natasha had retired to bed. Or at least, Leila had. Natasha was still up, sitting in her dark room with her computer monitor shining a silhouette of her against the wall.

John and Clay were sitting out in the back garden, basking in the hot night. John gazed up at the stars and the endless sea of black above them. When he was a young man he dreamed of interstellar travel, with every science fiction book or movie he consumed this love for the unknown only deepened. In recent memory though this was replaced with fear. A fear for what was out there, and who if anyone could protect them if it came knocking at Earth's door.

He was snapped out of his thoughts with the noise of the back door slamming shut - his brother taking a seat on the deck chair next to him and handing over an ice cold beer.

"Cheers." Clay said, lifting his bottle.

John clinked his against it. "Cheers."

For a moment, neither spoke. Crickets chirped. A warm breeze rustled the hedges. Somewhere down the block, a dog barked at nothing. Clay took a pull from his beer, gazing out at the yard. "Natasha's getting sharp, isn't she?"

John smiled faintly. "Sharp? Kid's already smarter than the both of us put together."

Clay chuckled. "Yeah, she's got that spark. The way she talks about science, engineering...hell, even superheroes. If she finds something she likes she's bound to research every little bit of knowledge about it." He nudged John's elbow. "Wonder where she got that from."

"I dunno." John said, hiding a smile behind his bottle. "Her dad's a pretty smart guy."

Clay barked a laugh. "Oh please. She got my charm. All the clever stuff? That's you."

"She adores you, Clay."

"And she idolizes you!" Clay countered. "Kid practically lights up like a Christmas tree when you walk in the door."

John exhaled, looking up at the stars once more. "She deserves a world better than this one."

"Maybe." Clay said. "But she's gonna help build it. You see how she talks about the future? How excited she gets? She’s not afraid of it like we are."

"I just want to make sure she’s got every shot possible. That she never has to choose between doing the right thing and surviving. Not like we did."

Clay nodded. "Exactly. And having you around more? In the labs? Mentor her from up close, show her what's possible?" He shrugged. "That'd mean the world to her. To all of us. The boss already told me she's got a lab assistant job waiting for her when she gets into college."

John didn't answer right away. He never let an expression pass over his face, refusing to take the bait.

Clay leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Look, I get why you walked away from the old job. I honestly do. But this isn't that. LuthorCorp isn't perfect, but the team? The division I'm talking about? It's clean. Real science. Real good. Call me crazy, but I think Luthor is one of the good ones."

"Clay..."

"No weapons. No politics. No shady contractors. Just tech that helps rebuild the city. Bridges, power systems, rescue-bots, stuff that makes life better."

John rubbed the back of his neck. "I dunno, it still feels dangerous."

"Everything worth doing is." Clay said gently. "Hell, look at Natasha. Girl's already outpacing half her class. She's gonna outrun us both someday soon. Might as well have something solid to leave behind for her, right?"

His brother knew exactly how to play on his heart strings. His walls were beginning to break down. Clay noticed. He always did.

"Just an interview, Johnny. That's all I’m asking. Go in, listen to what they have to say. If you hate it, walk away. I won't push again. Scout's honor." He held up a scout salute.

"You were never a scout."

"Damn right!" Clay said, grinning. "I was cool in highschool!"

John snorted, shaking his head. "Oh yeah? What happened?"

They both laughed. Another long silence passed between them. Finally, John sighed. "Fine. One interview. Just one. But you owe me one."

"Hey, I owe you about a hundred by now."

They clinked their bottles again, the simple sound echoing softly into the night.