MetroStar.Com Studio - Metropolis, Delaware
Cat Grant stood in front of a blue screen, smiling at a camera as she gave her lines. "Welcome back to MetroStar.Com. Have you ever seen a superhero in action first-hand? If you haven't, that's alright. We tend to know many things about superheroes thanks to news and interviews. But there are things that even the biggest superhero fans might not know. This will start off a series of videos about the heroes we've all seen in the news countless times. Here are ten things you might not know about Metropolis's own Man of Tomorrow, Superman..."
The forced smile on Cat's face persisted as she discussed items on the list. Chloe Sullivan watched from behind the camera. She was just a writer for the website, only stepping in front of the camera when it was absolutely necessary.
She laughed quietly to herself as she listened to the "little-known" facts about Superman. She couldn't help it. Chloe knew more about Superman than almost anyone; he had been her best friend for about nineteen years.
Chloe hadn't written this script herself, as Cat identified as "Superman's biggest fan". If only the gorgeous blonde knew the past Chloe shared with the Man of Steel. She knew every detail of his powerset, his weaknesses, his taste in movies and music, and his favorite pastimes. Most of all, Chloe knew Superman's secret identity, Clark Kent.
Chloe and Clark had met when she moved to Smallville, Kansas from Metropolis the summer before her ninth grade year. She'd gone to live there with her father Gabriel after her mother Moira suffered a mental breakdown. Gabriel was good friends with Clark's parents, and they immediately hit it off.
Chloe had always been interested in investigative journalism, so she joined the school paper in their freshmen year of high school. As her love for journalism grew, so did her suspicions of Clark's often strange behavior. She figured out about his superpowers on her own, and then he told her his story. She'd never run the story. That honor would go to Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane years later.
After high school, Chloe attended Metropolis University, where Clark had also been accepted. He grew to love journalism, as well, and he and Chloe helped each other through their classes. They graduated after four years. Clark had immediately been hired at the Daily Planet, but Chloe had struggled to find work until she was found by MetroStar.Com.
It was funny how life worked sometimes.
MetroStar.Com wasn't all bad. Chloe had fun researching celebrities, movies, and TV shows, but it wasn't what she'd wanted to do. She wanted to investigate hard crimes and crack tough cases through journalism. Instead, she was currently working on a list of "Ten Things You Might Not Know About Batman". It was honestly embarrassing.
In front of the camera, Cat wrapped up the video. "So maybe you don't know your heroes that well. Check back next week to learn ten things you might not know about Batman."
"And cut!" yelled the director, Jerry. "That's lunch, everybody."
The smile vanished from Cat's face, and her shoulders slumped. She walked away from the blue screen and retrieved her phone from on top of a speaker. The smile reappeared on her face. She locked her cellphone and carried it at her side as she approached Chloe. "Guess who has a date tonight?"
"Another one?" Chloe asked. She kicked herself for engaging with Cat. Chloe wasn't a mean person, but Cat most often got on her nerves.
Cat scoffed. "What about you, Sullivan? You're going on a lunch date, aren't you?"
"Yeah." Chloe picked up her off-white purse and pulled the strap over her shoulder. "But he's just a friend."
"You are fibbing, Sullivan," said Cat, following Chloe across the spacious set. Her hot pink heels clacked against the cement floor. "Spill. Who is he?"
"No one you would know," said Chloe. Cat constantly acted like they were best girlfriends, but they'd never spent a moment together outside of work. Chloe was perfectly fine with that arrangement.
"C'mon. Just tell me," Cat whined.
Chloe grumbled. "Fine. It's Clark Kent."
"Daily Planet Clark Kent?" Cat's mouth fell open. "Are you leaving us? Are you trying to get a job at the Planet?"
"No," said Chloe. "We went to school together. He's just an old friend. It's not a date or an interview. Now, if you'll please just let me pass. I only have an hour for lunch and then I have to go to Gotham to interview Robin."
Chloe brushed past the taller woman. Behind her, Cat yelled, "Get an autograph for my son! He loves Robin."
Chloe let the door swing shut behind her as she took the stairs down to the ground floor of the building. She would've taken the elevator, but she knew that's the route Cat would take, and she didn't need the woman getting in her face about Clark again.
She pushed through the revolving door and pulled out her LexPhone to text a message to Clark.
On my way, she typed, her red, manicured nails ticking against the screen. Catching the train now.
Chloe turned at the corner. She weaved through the crowd bustling across the busy sidewalk to ascend the steps to the bullet train. She loved taking the train anywhere. It was such a modern marvel that she could feel technology escalating. The train was called the Tomorrow Train, fitting for Metropolis, often referred to as the "City of Tomorrow".
The train took off, and Chloe kept to herself as usual. What she loved most about the train was the inclusion of little TV screens hanging from mounts in the ceiling. The news was on right now, but Chloe was paying more attention to the window. The city of Metropolis whizzed by, and she exhaled. It was beautiful.
Metropolis was formed of mostly tall, shiny skyscrapers, all of them with their own unique design. From almost any place in the city, one could see the slowly revolving gold globe on top of the Daily Planet building. She'd been inside to see Clark a few times, but she'd dreamed of standing on the roof, watching the globe turn up close and personal.
Another obvious building in the skyline was LexCorp Tower. It was the tallest building in Metropolis, a whopping 163 floors. It was taller than even the Empire State Building and had a sleek, modern design. The silver skyscraper started out with a thick base and rose upwards into a rectangle before starting to taper with each floor until it ended at a sharp point at the very top. Chloe had never been inside that building, but her longtime best friend Lana Lang (who also went to school with Clark) was going to start working at LexCorp very soon.
The train slowed and came to a stop, but Chloe stayed seated. Her stop was on the other side of the New Troy borough. Clark's apartment was in a building on Clinton Street, not far from Clinton Bridge, which crossed Cedar Creek to the borough Queensland Park.
Chloe's phone made a noise, and she looked at it. It was reminding her of two events that she'd added to her calendar recently. The first was her meeting with Robin this afternoon. The other was something she'd forgotten about completely.
The next day, she was having dinner with Clark, Lana, and their other high school friend Pete Ross. She smiled at the prospect. The four of them hadn't been in the same place at the same time since Clark first became Superman five years earlier. Now that Lana was going to be living in Metropolis full time, it would be easier for them to spend time together. Just like old times.
A woman on the train gasped, and Chloe looked up. On the closest TV, a giant spider was attacking Gateway City in California. Chloe rolled her eyes, and she wasn't surprised when her phone went off.
Giant spider attack. Meeting League to stop it. Gotta reschedule, read Clark's message.
Chloe locked her phone without replying. This was to be expected when your best friend was a superhero. He'd had more time to spend with her before forming the Justice League with several other superheroes two years earlier, but hey, someone had to save the world from giant spiders.
The train stopped again, and she stood and filed outside with a bunch of other people. She took in her surroundings. She'd nearly made it to Clark's apartment this time. Usually, he cancelled on her before she could even get to the first stop.
She bit her lip and opened a new email. It looked like she was going to be skipping lunch again.
Lunch was a bust. I know we had an appointment for 1:00 but I can get to Gotham by 12:30 if you can meet me sooner.
Chloe Sullivan.
She stood on the metal train platform, awkwardly starting at her phone awaiting a response.
12:30 works. Same place.
The email was closed by a tiny picture of the Robin symbol. Chloe smiled. Time to meet another superhero.