[Metropolis.]
In a modest apartment on the outskirts of the city, a man slowly brewed ground coffee in a ceramic cezve. He stood by the cezve and waited for the foam to rise. When this happened, he removed the cezve from the heat, let the foam settle, and returned it to the heat. He repeated this process three times, and it took quite a while. His guest, who was not known for her patience, kept complaining about it.
"Clark, can't you just pour boiling water over instant coffee and then add a little cream? What's all this fuss about?"
"Lana, you don't understand anything. This is the only way to get the perfect drink," the man explained to his old girlfriend the importance of the brewing process.
"It would have been better if you had just poured me a glass of wine," the girl said regretfully.
"I don't have any wine. You know I don't keep alcohol on me. My Kryptonian physiology makes me immune to any kind of alcohol," said the owner of the apartment, handing his guest a cup of hot coffee.
"Poor thing," she pitied her childhood friend. "You'll never know what it's like to get drunk to the point of passing out and then suffer from a terrible hangover in the morning."
"That's for the best. I dread to think what I could do when I'm drunk," Clark laughed, imagining a similar situation.
"Yeah, a drunk Superman, I'd like to see that," Lana Lang giggled, glancing at the powerful figure. She always found Clark Kent's appearance amusing, especially his strict, unprepossessing suit and glasses with round frames, despite the fact that he had superhuman vision. His pretense of being a weak nerd seemed quite funny and ironic to her.
"What are you planning on doing now?" asked the son of Krypton, taking a sip of the hot drink.
"There is one option in mind…"
"Oh, I'm sorry, Lana, this is all my fault. I shouldn't have asked you for help."
"Forget it, it's not your fault. This is all that bastard Luthor's fault. And frankly, I'm glad I left LexCorp. That company is rotten to the core, just like its chairman. He should be in prison for a long time."
Lana Lang worked at Lex Luthor's company as an aerospace engineer and was a leading specialist in the development of next-generation aerospace rockets.
But her one response to a friend's request to help Superman immediately activated a dormant program in the LexCorp mainframe. It informed Lana that by helping Superman, she had violated the company's standard employment contract, which, in very, very fine print, forbade employees from using LexCorp resources to help Kryptonians under penalty of dismissal. It was no secret that Lex Luthor hated Superman. But even so, she never imagined he would fire his lead engineer over such a minor incident.
"What scenario are you talking about? I'm sure a specialist like you would be a hit with employers," Clark said, confident in his friend's talents.
"Ha-ha, it's not that simple... Luthor used his connections to tarnish my reputation and threatened everyone so that no one would dare hire me."
"Son of a bitch!" the defender of Metropolis could not stand it and unconsciously squeezed the mug, shattering it into pieces. Fortunately, it was already empty, only a drop of liquid fell on the floor.
"Clark, what are you doing? God…"
"I'm sorry." Using the super-speed of a Kryptonian, Superman quickly removed all the shards, and the room regained its former cleanliness.
"So Metropolis is now closed to me," Lana Lang continued the conversation. "But this morning, a company offered me a job in Gotham City."
"Gotham?" asked the Man of Steel with clearly expressed displeasure.
"Yes. It's a new company, and almost nothing is known about them. But their offer is very tempting... A million a year."
"How much?! They're obviously scammers! At LexCorp you were only getting a hundred thousand, and this shady organization offered you ten times that? Don't forget, Gotham is the most crime prone city, nothing good can come from there. Refuse…"
"It's not like that at all. Gotham is currently experiencing a second boom and it's not as dangerous as it used to be. They say it's all thanks to the Dark Knight…"
"Really?" Superman snorted, hearing the mention of the Bat. "He's like a dictator! Civil liberties in Gotham are trampled, people live in fear."
"Clark, you've never been to his city and you don't know what it's like there. It's different from Metropolis. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. I've been there several times, both before and after Batman showed up. His methods may be radical... But how else could he have cleaned the streets of the filth that's filled them?"
"Are you on his side?"
"No. I'm just saying that you can't judge others from your vantage point. Not everyone flies like you, and not everyone expects you to save them... You say that people in Gotham live in fear, but that's not true. Only those who have reason to fear are afraid. Others consider Batman a hero and a savior. For the people of Gotham, he, like you, is a symbol of hope."
"Are you saying that I've become arrogant?"
"Clark, you stand above everyone. Although you sincerely don't realize it, deep down, you consider others beneath you…"
"That's not true."
"Okay, trust me. Who else will tell you the truth except your childhood friend.Think about it... By the way, the company that offered me a job was founded quite recently. "Nidavellir".Have you heard? Its founder is quite famous - Alex Reath. He's a rising star, and as a journalist, it would be a shame for you not to know about him."
"Alex Reath? Of course I've heard of him. He's not just some celebrity, but also a hero who saved the people of Gotham from a crazy clown. They called him the Bright Knight... But besides everything else, I heard about him from my cousin Karen. She met him in Midvale, and he even offered her a job at his company."
"Interesting, tell me more about it."
"I don't know much about it myself."
Power Girl told her brother everything that happened to her that day. She and Superman are the last representatives of the deceased race of Kryptonians. She needed advice, and in the whole world there was only one person she could trust.
Kal-El had lived on Earth longer than she had and was far more experienced in worldly affairs. Therefore, it was only natural for the young Kryptonian to discuss what had happened with her relative.
Alex Reath's discovery of Kara's secret identity was bound to alarm the protector of Metropolis. This was serious business. It was unknown how Reath might have used the information.
Moreover, he was far from the least important figure in the entertainment industry. He had a large fan base. If he had wanted, the whole world could already know his cousin's secret. Clark tried to find out more about him using his powers as a reporter for the Daily Planet, but it was fruitless.
Reath was a true enigma. He had appeared out of nowhere and, in a relatively short time, had managed to make a name for himself throughout the world. It was more than strange... But he hadn't done anything out of the ordinary, so Kal-El decided to leave Alex alone for now. He couldn't even imagine that this same man, a little while later, would offer his close friend a job in Gotham. Superman didn't know if there was some connection, but he told his friend everything.
"He's an interesting man," Lana said after listening to the fascinating story. "I suppose I should agree."
"I won't be able to dissuade you?" Clark asked rhetorically, knowing the girl's stubborn nature. "You must understand that all of this looks highly dubious. There's a chance that this is a trap."
"Ha-ha, that's quite possible… But you will save me if I'm in trouble, right?"
"Of course," the Man of Steel said decisively. "But why take such a risk?"
"I'm a fan of Reath's work," Lang said, thinking about the question. "And I'm terribly curious what exactly he wants to achieve by hiring an electrical engineer like me. He seems to be more than just a media personality... There's a certain mystique about him. Besides, I doubt anyone would offer me more than a million dollars a year. You have to understand that this is a very lucrative offer."
"I understand... It's a lot of money."
"And he's a real hunk," the girl said dreamily. "How can I refuse him?"
"Did you do this on purpose?" Clark Kent said irritably."I never thought coffee could be so delicious," she said, ignoring her interlocutor. "Will you make me another cup? Please... You can use thermal vision, I don't mind."
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Hey all, I hope you missed me.
Can I ask you one thing? For some reason my Google drive isn't working, everytime I try to open a new Google doc, the page gets stuck, with no process at all. Do you all know anything?
Btw did you all get your stones? Give them to me me NOW!🔫