In the Clouds

Lois Lane: Part 9

No one had been studying the superhero as much as she had. Documenting his known abilities, attempting to understand his methods, it was all to get to know the man by the little evidence she had. The first sightings of an exceptionally abled individual didn't even come from inside the country. Since she found that out she had been creating an endless list of questions about him and for a moment it escaped her mind. Every single impression she could gather about him right now was crucial. Never before had Lois been trying to so actively interpret and remember a social interaction. It wouldn't take many arguments to convince anyone that this might be the most important one she ever had. Yet, that astoundingly large gravitas wasn't felt in his words at all.

Instead, he smiled warmly at her gratitude, as if it wasn't something he received dozens of times a day from hundreds of people. At that moment it became clear why he hadn't contacted any media yet. Superman wasn't a public figure, however much he worked for and with the people. I was just doing what anyone would in my shoes. An amazing quote to start off with. The implication that he believed everyone was responsible for doing good and being kind, a sense that he did not hold himself above anyone. Empathetic and humble, almost naive in her biased opinion - maybe too much contact with many of the individuals who would not in fact, act this way.

For every aspect of the plan Lois had managed to get right she had forgotten one important detail. He could hear her heart beat. She should have known that. It came as a surprise for one very specific reason. Her reporter persona required the subject to trust her, and that usually derived from the confidence and seeming control over the situation. That went out the window the second he could see through the facade - a little more forced than usual due to the circumstances of the meeting. There was really no way of convincing him of who she was trying to be if the reality of how she felt was so evident. The necessary adaptation was obvious by then. Plain sincerity, talk to the most powerful man alive as truthfully as she could and hope that maybe he would return the favor.

Lois sighed bringing her hand to her chest, feeling on her palm the accelerated rhythm he was referring to. "I'm fine, I promise. Just a little more excitement than I'm used to. It's mostly from flying, that was crazier than being caught. I didn't really think I'd get to talk to you, so there's definitely that too."

It never really crossed her mind that Superman might have been thankful for her method of reporting. Since he so avidly avoided the cameras for a while she figured he might just generally have an aversion to the media. Not many people she wrote about thanked her afterwards. The awe might have transparent on her expression, eyebrows slightly furrowed with an amused smirk.

"Doesn't feel entirely fair to accept a thank you from Superman, not when we have barely begun. Why don't you walk me to those conclusions, and then I'll think about accepting that?"

It was a not so subtle request for him to stay as he started to distance himself from the ground. He seemed conflicted, looking down at the reporter as she waited for a response, knowing her heart would betray her will to hide the anticipation from him. He probably doubted her motives, maybe even heard of how she had been troublesome to some other targets of her work. But this was different, did he get that this was different? Lois didn't think herself a savior, she wouldn't ever imply that he needed her. Yet she knew how audiences worked, and whether he wanted to or not, he was subjected to them every step of the way.

"You didn't have to tell me not to worry in the air, I already trusted you. It's what you do, you help people. You're good at it too. But I'm good at making people see the truth. Right now you're unknown and unstoppable and that can be so easily twisted to instill fear. It's unfair that doing nothing but good would not be enough to satiate people's worries, but that's not how the world works. Who you are matters more than what you do. People need to meet Superman before they can admire him. You don't have to trust me yet, but if you give me a chance I can show you."

It made sense he'd be weary of people. He'd be wrong not to. Misplacing your trust one time can have enormous consequences on the scale he deals with. That's why when he lowered himself to her level Lois had an appreciative look, nodding at the permission to begin.

 "I'll be recording from now on, if that's okay with you. This is the kind of interview that sources are indispensable. If you want to go off the record at any moment just let me know, I'll pause it and I will not use that information in any future piece." Lois spoke the usual instructions, holding the recorder in one hand in a way to clearly showcase the light that indicated whether it was on or off.

"Let's start with some contextualization. Superman is a popular name given to the super powered individual that showed up in Metropolis about a month and a half ago. Since then, you have been at multiple crisis all around the city turning the odds in our favor. Fires, robberies, accidents - even some domestic disturbance has been reported to been solved by the caped superhero. I couldn't begin this by asking anything other than this. Why?"

The general question had the objective of allowing him to speak freely whatever he deemed relevant before she dove into the more poignant questions. For now, what Lois wanted to do was listen.

"At the bridge you used some sort of heat vision to weld the beams back into place. The maximum reported weight you've been seen carrying is 2.300 tons. High velocity flight, inhuman hearing, there's been rumors about x-ray vision. What exactly are the nature of your powers and their origin?"

"The uniform - you didn't have it at first when you were in Africa. What changed, and where does it come from? Why come to Metropolis afterwards? Are you planning on heading somewhere else?"

Noticing there were enough questions posed for now she paused to listen, a twinkle in her eyes as Lois stood very aware of her interaction with what would one they be part of history.