An Invulnerable Heart | Man of Steel

VII. Against Everything

Eleanor found herself lying in a warm bed. Her last memory was her rescuer, Clark. The thought of her wound made Eleanor scramble to her side, only to see it had completely healed. Eleanor remembered Clark's kind sincere blue eyes and he way he held her in his arms. She wished she could feel that again. The sense of comfort Clark sent to her, Eleanor couldn't brush off. "I see you are finally awake." Julia said. "Huh? Oh umm yeah." Eleanor said taking the covers off and stretching. 

"You came in late. I was knocked out but I still heard your footsteps when you walked in." Julia said. Eleanor didn't remember any of that all she remembered was falling asleep in Clark's arms. Maybe Clark had brought her back here when she was asleep. "Oh yeah I tried to be as quiet as possible but I failed." Eleanor said covering up for Clark. "You must have done some amazing exploring you talked about it in your sleep." Julia said. "W-what did I say?" Eleanor asked hoping she didn't mention anything about Clark. 

"You were saying how a man with lasers healed you when you got stung by a weird alien object, how your camera shattered and that there are aliens living among us." Julia explained. "And you never lie about what you dream of so I want to use it for the article, think about it 'Aliens living among us.' This will totally get Perry's attention!" Julia exclaimed excitedly. "So this is the story you want me to write? The story that gets us famous?!" Eleanor said. Not knowing what else to say, Julia nodded silently. 

Returning her nod, Eleanor burst into laughter. She laughed uncontrollably as her face turned into a bright color of red. Julia sent her a serious look, making Eleanor come to a stop. "Wait, you're serious?" She questioned. "I'm dead serious. Eleanor, this article will be a hit! Perry has to publish this! If people find out that there are aliens living among us, who knows what will happen?" "I'm not following. You want me to write an article about an alien?" Eleanor stressed each word in her  sentence. 

Julia nodded slowly, "It may seem crazy but I think we have a shot with this." "No we don't that's absolutely ridiculous it was a dream Julia which means it's unreliable." Eleanor struck back. "You never lie in your dreams they are always 99% accurate there is not a chance that this 1% is made up." Julia said. "You don't know me I'm telling you it was a dream." Eleanor said confidently. "Well I don't believe you I'm still going forward with this story whether you like it or not." Julia stated. Anger rose in Eleanor's blood due to Julia's stubbornness.

** 

"I don't know, Julia. I can't publish this – Eleanor dreamed it which makes it unreliable." Perry sheepishly replied. "Perry! You told us specifically to write an article about the spacecraft and what's out there! Why can't we get this story out there?" Julia cried, her brown hair moving back and forth with her movement. The door opened in front of them, revealing an upset Eleanor. "So Perry. Did you publish our article?" Eleanor hoping he wouldn't. "No. I'm not publishing this." Perry responded. 

"Wait? What? Perry, this is the article of the century! People would go nuts over this!" "Exactly which is what we don't need." Eleanor added, crossing her arms across her chest. "Look, you two. I'll be honest with you, this is beautifully written article and Julia, and I'm surprised you want to use unreliable information. The thing is, do you know how people would react if they knew something like this was out there? What kind of chaos and discussion this would cause?" Perry carefully explained. 

"Aren't we supposed to expose the truth? We need to show or tell the world that we aren't alone!"Julia cried loudly. "I understand that, but the government would for sure sue us for this. I don't want to cause any trouble with the government for this article. I'm sorry, but I just can't publish this." Perry responded. He looked at Eleanor and Julia and motioned toward the door. Julia was angry; she didn't understand why Perry wouldn't publish their article. He specifically asked for an article for the two about the spacecraft in the Arctic and they gave him an article. 

"You seemed pretty heated about this." Eleanor said. "I don't understand Perry. We gave him the article he wanted." Julia said. "I just, don't understand. We worked so hard on that article – you took a hit from a tentacle for it!" Julia cried. "I never said that." Eleanor replied. "You mumbled it in your sleep." Julia retorted. "I know, I know. I'll take care of this. Let's give this a few minutes and I'll talk to Perry again." Julia insisted. "That's it!" Eleanor snapped. "You are not talking to him again I told you it's unreliable and so did he." Eleanor said.

"No it's not you wouldn't lie about something like that in your sleep. There has been many stories that link to this one about alien life among us and I am not going to drop the article just because you tell me to." Julia fired back and stormed out of Eleanor's office. Eleanor couldn't risk Clark's secret being exposed just because of Julia. She needed to make sure that Julia wouldn't continue with the story and hopefully Perry will put her in her place once in for all. 

**

Julia took a deep breath before entering into the bar. Her crisp and clean attire should seal the deal with the publisher. Although this deal could be risky for her and Eleanor, Julia decided to push through it. Julia understood why Perry didn't want the two's article to be published. On the other hand, Eleanor didn't seem to understand the concept the article had. It could have a strong impact on the duo and even get them in hot water with the government. Julia brushed these doubting feelings aside as she sat down in front of the publisher she contacted. 

"James Woodburn?" Julia asked. "That's me." Mr. Woodburn responded firmly. "Look, I'll be straight with you. I really want an article to be published and my editor won't allow it." "Are you sure? How badly do you want this out there?" Mr. Woodburn asked, skeptically. "Really bad I want people to know the truth. So, can I count on you to publish this article for me?" Julia asked. "I'll do it." He replied. 

"Please doing business with you." Julia smiled, the two shook hands. Julia drinked the glass of scotch as the cool liquid sipped into her mouth, she felt nervous about this risky decision she had made. Of course, Eleanor would be furious about the article gaining the attention it deserved. Again, Julia brushed the feeling away and drank in victory.

A/N-

So what do you think? Sneaky Julia going behind her best friend's back and getting someone to publish the article that hides Clark's secret. What will happen next? Stay tuned.