Men of Steel

Chapter 5

"What are you?"
Harry woke up to these words being thrown at him by an unknown female in an empty room. Blinking in surprise, Harry's brain quickly remembered what happened to him last he was awake, and the Kryptonian simply rose an eyebrow from where he sat handcuffed in a chair.
"A captive, apparently," he snarked. Harry had no intentions of giving his secret away to just anyone.
The lady scoffed before she tossed a closed manila folder down on the metal table situated in front of the Kryptonian. "You are not so much a captive as a suspect to an investigation. If you answer all of our questions truthfully, then there should be no reason for you to be held here against your will," she said succinctly.
Harry hummed noncommittally and nodded. She must work for some type of government agency. Even so, he couldn't just break the Statute of Secrecy, so there was no way he could fully tell the truth, but he would try his best.
This did inspire many questions to form in his mind though, as, from what he knew, he hadn't done anything warranting any type of authority to suspect him of anything. "If you don't mind me asking then," Harry looked deliberately at the file marked with big bold letters, spelling the word 'classified', "What is this investigation about?"
The woman nodded her head with a sigh, slipping into the metal seat across from him with a grace the malnourished teen had never been able to acquire. "We will get to your questions in due time, however, my superiors would greatly like to know why you show signs of having superior strength and hearing capabilites. Were you involved in a chemical accident?"
Harry looked around at the gray, blank walls as he thought for a moment before saying, "Not necessarily. I was born with these capabilities, though they only started to mature recently. It's a common condition in my family." That seemed true enough to Harry. Magicals were all capable of these feats, which did run in his family, and the super strength and his great hearing really only began to improve recently. Unfortunately, if these people did not already recognize him as Harry Potter, there was little chance they knew of the Wizarding World, if he was to believe the many people that said his name was known world-wide.
"Interesting," the lady commented before she leaned forward a little and drummed her sharp fingernails on the table. "So your Aunt, Uncle, and cousin all also have these talents?"
"Err, no," Harry smiled sheepishly at the woman's raised eyebrow, starting to think he should have probably just kept his mouth shut. "It comes from my father's side. My mum married into it."
Bright blue eyes locked onto a mixture of green and blue before the woman opened her mouth to pose another question. "Would you consent to us taking a sample of your blood to see if these abilities come from a mutation in a certain strand of DNA?"
"No," Harry frowned. He was adverse to giving blood after the incident with Voldemort in the graveyard. The memories always came back to haunt him. "I wouldn't feel comfortable with that."
"Okay," the lady said, leaning back in her chair again, a suspicious gleam in her eye. Harry didn't like it. "Are there any other talents you have that we're not aware of?"
Harry frowned deeper, his willingness to tell the truth decreasing as this line of questioning continued. "Not really," he dodged. "I just seem to be a bit harder to hurt."
The woman nodded slowly, as if sensing his lie, but continued on nonetheless. "Would there be any way we could get in touch with the paternal side of your family?"
Harry huffed lightly before he shook his head. It had been a bit sad for him, a small boy who had always wanted a big, loving family, to learn that his father hadn't had any siblings or close cousins, but Harry'd be damned if he grew teary here in front of this stranger. "No," the Kryptonian added. "They're all dead."
After a moment of silence, Harry shifted in his seat, only lightly pulling on the 'cuffs so he didn't accidentally break them. There would be a lot of panic if he showed that they couldn't actually contain him. "The investigation?" Harry pried.
The lady gave her own huff before she waved a manicured, but calloused hand in the air. "We are simply looking into the event of a few key words being researched, as they could potentially be a link to a terrorist group. That is all I can legally say."
Harry felt his stomach sink as he realized they were probably looking for him. Why else would he have felt like he was constantly being watched, had been abducted in the middle of the night, and was currently handcuffed in a chair in an interrogation room? "Oh," he muttered, brain whirling.
If this lady found out he had been the one to look up Kryptonians, how would he explain it? Just say that he was one of them? They'd either think he was barmy or believe him an interesting specimen. But then again, if they were watching for people that might research Kryptonians, maybe they knew something about them? This lady might be his only chance to learn anything about who he really was.
Not to mention- Harry stretched lightly in his chair, feeling his holster shift on his forearm- he still had his wand on him. It'd be a simple matter of breaking the 'cuffs around his wrists, grabbing his wand, and obliviating the lady to keep his secret safe. Hopefully, it wouldn't have to come to that.
"Mr. Potter, I'd like to know where you were on the night of August 11th?" The lady's question brought Harry out of his thoughts, and confirmed in his mind that they were indeed looking for him. That had been the night he got back from his visit to Gringotts and searched up his race.
"I was at my house, Ma'am."
"Excellent," she said, as she grabbed a pen from a pocket in her dress pants. The lady then reached forwards and grabbed the manila folder, opening it to scribble something down on one of the top sheets of paper.
"Was there anything unusual that happened that night? Perhaps a guest was invited over? Or a suspected break in?"
"No," Harry denied. "Everything went on in the house as usual."
"Oh?" The lady raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Then did you all go to sleep as regular as well?"
"No," Kad-El denied again. The Kryptonian looked deep into the lady's ocean-blue eyes before he sighed, "I had learned some startling information earlier in the day and couldn't fall asleep."
"And this 'startling information' was..?"
"I am not human."

-

"Superman."
Clark looked over his shoulder at the raspy sound of his companion's voice.
"You're needed in Britain. The American government is requesting your expertise for reasons they refuse to divulge," Batman grunted sourly.
The Kryptonian man smiled at his surly partner's annoyance before he furrowed his brows. "The American government in the United Kingdoms, you say? I wonder what they're doing there..." Superman trailed off as he thought on the conundrum. Usually, the British and Americans tried to stay out of each other's business in times of peace. "Well, nothing more to it then, I suppose. I'll just be on my way to the Zeta-Tube then. Beam me down, would you?"
The dark, cloaked superhero stalked away silently, the only proof he would do as Kal-El asked being the path his feet were taking.
Superman nodded in finality before he, too, walked away, his scarlet cape swishing behind him with his sudden movements.
The only thing left in the silver corridor was a giant window showcasing the slow rotation of a giant blue and green planet surrounded by shimmering stars.

-

Superman touched down from his flight in front of the entrance to the bunker Batman had briefed him on. The unassuming building was apparently a high-level American facility that was tasked with keeping tabs on dangerous persons and information with the permission of the United Kingdom's own government agency. What they were keeping tabs on though, was a mystery.
"Ah, Superman."
The hero's attention zeroed in on the woman who called his costume name. She stood just in front of the doors to the building with a manila folder hugged to her front.
Walking towards her, the blonde waited patiently until Clark was about four feet away to start talking again. "I am Agent Magdalene from the United States Supernatural Research Department. I apologize for calling you here on such short notice; however, in light of recent events, we believe that your expertise will help us greatly."
"My... expertise?" Clark questioned as the pair walked down hallways empty besides the random agents that bustling to and fro.
In response, Agent Magdalene thrust the folder into his arms, and Clark expertly grabbed it, keeping the papers inside from flopping out and falling to the floor. He had had many things thrown at him before during his more hectic shifts at the Daily Planet. He silently thanked his Director for the practice as he opened the folder.
Reading the information, Kal-El became even more intrigued by this excursion. A man- well, really a boy barely into adulthood- had been researching Kryptonians on the internet and was showing signs of inhuman abilities which were 'apparently hereditary', as the sheet said. Even a child would put two and two together and say this was probably a Kryptonian, but there was no conceivable way it was true. Krypton was dead, Superman had even flown there to see for himself. The vision of his home planet looking like nothing but a barren wasteland still haunted his mind.
Perhaps this male was another alien life form? Just like Martian Manhunter, who came to Earth by accident and had no way of getting back home? It would make more sense to Kal-El. He couldn't wait to hear what the man would have to say.
Luckily, Clark didn't have to wait long. It only took a few minutes more for Agent Magdalene to point him towards a door indiscernible from every other they had already passed. The normally calm man was nearly burning with curiosity as he opened the door after waiting for the female agent to swipe her ID card.
And what met his gaze as soon as he stepped inside stopped the Man of Steel in his tracks.