Daily Bugle (a few days later...)

Peter Parker was inside the building and making his way up towards the main offices of the Daily Bugle, having new pictures of Spider-Man to give the editor.

Upon getting inside, it was easy to hear the sounds of computers typing all around him as he made his way to the editor's office, hearing the sound of two voices yelling at each other the closer he got.

"Hi Pete." Betty Brant greets Parker with a smile. "How's it going?"

"Uh good Betty..." Peter says before asking her. "What's going on with Jonah?"

"Oh he's just arguing with Lois again." Betty tells him. "One of the biggest stories possible happened and she just happened to not get anything on it."

"Lois? ...Oh right! She's that reporter that works for you guys." Peter thinks some out loud. "I read some of her articles before."

"Well maybe if you have new photos for Jonah, you can use this as an excuse to meet her in person." Betty smiles and responds. "Lois has seen your photos and likely wants to know how you know when and where Spider-Man will show up."

Peter went to the door and listens in on the conversation between Jonah and Lois.

"You have to be joking with me!" Jonah calls out in frustration. "Not only did you not get the story of the military hunting that green giant, but you just happened to be part of the big news here in the city and didn't get any words from the guy that stopped it?!"

"Cool your jets, Jonah!" Lois replies back to him. "I said I would get the story on Hulk and got you better results than whatever a normal reporter would give. The only issue is that Ross is strict on his perimeters and I got caught before I could get the full fight scene with Hulk."

"It doesn't matter anymore, Hulk, Stark and even Spider-Man aren't big enough to talk about anymore." Jonah tells her. "This caped weirdo you mentioned is the topic on the street now. New York wants answers on who our mystery man is!"

This caught Peter's interest some, since he didn't see the news report when it was on television, mostly busy around that time dealing with villains like Shocker and Vulture while also curing Dr Connors from being the Lizard, so he didn't get the full news of the plane being stopped.

"Lois, this is possibly the biggest request I'm giving you, but I want you to find any way to get words out of this flying man. Pictures are one thing, but this guy has tons of reports of showing up and saving someone in trouble with no response to the public." Jonah asks of the woman. "Are you up for the task?"

"Just get me a photographer to help on the scoop." Lois suggested to her boss. "Maybe assign Jimmy with me for this."

"Jimmy is getting a few pictures for me of the rocket story you got for me a week ago so it can go for a column on the next paper. He won't be back in a while." Jonah says thinking for a bit before he gets an idea. "How about Parker? His skills at getting pictures of Spider-Man could help get a perfect picture of whoever this....guy is."

"He'll do. Just make sure the kid doesn't get in the way." Lois responds to the idea.

"Betty! Where's Parker?!" Jonah calls out to his secretary.

"He's already here with pictures for you!" Betty calls back.

"Well let him in! This is urgent!" Jonah tells her, prompting Peter to open the door to see Jonah and Lois before walking in.

"You wanted to see me?" Peter asks the editor.

"Yes. For once, I'm offering to pay you to take a picture of someone else besides Spider-Man." Jonah nods before giving introductions. "Parker, this is Lois Lane, the Daily Bugle's best reporter. Lois, this is Peter Parker, the photographer getting the Spider-Man photos for us."

"Nice to meet with you, Pete." Lois tells him while giving a smile.

"Uh...nice to meet you too, Mrs Lane." Peter says, unsure how else to talk with her. "I like your work..."

"Thanks. Mind if I see those Spider-Man photos?" Lois asks him.

Peter hands the photos as she looks through them, probably figuring out which part of the city each shot was taken from.

"Did you take some of these on rooftops and other high spots?" Lois says as she hands them to Jonah. "I'll admit, that's a lot of dedication to your job. You might be perfect for the job."

"What job?" Peter asks her, playing like he didn't hear the conversation outside.

"Have you been living under a rock? There's some stranger flying around wearing a cape and saving people, including being able to stop a plane from crashing." Jonah explains to Peter. "I need you to get me a photo of the man while Lois tries to get a word out of him. It'll be the biggest issue we've ever made!"

Jonah then stored the photos in a drawer. "I'll make sure your photos aren't wasted, though the next Spider-Man column may be on another page instead of the headline. Now get out of my office!"

Lois and Peter walk out of the office and head to the elevator.

"How do you even stand him?" Peter asks Lois.

"I'm used to it. My father is a general, so I used to be at military bases and camps as a kid growing up." Lois answered Parker. "Anyways, call me if you get any pictures."

Peter left after they exchanged phone numbers, with Lois now on her way towards her apartment to find a way to get the scoop.

As the woman was stuck in thought on what to do while going down the streets, she checked her pocket for her keys......only to find a note with it.

Curious, she takes it out and reads it.

If you want answers, come to Central Park at 5pm tomorrow. Don't reveal to anyone how you got in contact with me.

Lois pulls out her phone and contacts Peter. "Pete, good news! I got a lead. Meet me near the Daily Bugle tomorrow."

————————————————————

Central Park

Lois stood at the spot she was planning to meet the mystery man at, waiting impatiently as it was a minute from 5pm.

She had told Peter to do pictures from a hiding place so the person would think Lois came alone, knowing they still needed a picture of him to prove the interview actually happened.

Arriving right on time and floating down to Lois was the exact man who rescued the plane, red cape and all.

"Sorry I kept you waiting, I had to put out a fire over in New Jersey." The man tells him.

"It's nothing. I have to ask, why did you ask to meet with a reporter?" Lois asks him. "Most super-powered people prefer to avoid press, unless you ignore Stark."

"I decided that the people should know who I am, where I come from and why I'm using my powers." The man answered her. "No one should live in fear of me and what I might do."

Lois found this strange for a hero, though she obviously wasn't going to turn this down.

"So what are you? A mutant? Or did you get your powers from something unintentionally?" Lois asks him. "And where were you born?"

"To answer all of those at once, I'm a Kryptonian, a group of people from another planet called Krypton." He replies back. "I was sent here barely more than a year old when my planet was destroyed by some cosmic force, making me the lone survivor. I gained my powers when I arrived here."

Lois starts writing this information down while asking. "So what made you decide to use them to join the other heroes of this world?"

"I'm here to protect everyone and fight for truth and justice, doing my best to help this world avoid what destroyed Krypton." He tells her.

After a few minutes of questions, Lois eventually ended and thanks him. "Thanks for the time. Looking forward to seeing you in more articles."

"See you later, Mrs Lane." He nods before taking off.

Peter came over after he was gone. "I got a good picture right before the end. Any idea what he's going to be called? He never said what his hero name was, even though he said his alien name."

"I don't know, Pete, Jonah is probably going to come up with something once we get this in." Lois tells him. "Probably something regarding that S."

"Like what? Sky Man?" Peter asks, finding it tough to come up with a name beginning with S to a hero that can fly, especially with that strange costume.

Lois thought on this too as they leave for now, figuring it would have to be something unique.

This wasn't a mutant, modified soldier, god or even some genius...

...this was someone beyond a regular man.

Someone strong, powerful....someone su-

——————————————————————

Baxter Building

Benjamin Grimm was reading the latest paper in the news, only this once reading a Daily Bugle copy since the other papers didn't have the recent score for a game he didn't get to watch.

He had recently come back with Reed and the others from an adventure on another world, so the team was having a bit of a break from the action, hence why Ben was having to read the sports section.

Ben didn't bother reading the entire front article, not really that interested in the story on it.

Johnny then showed up and sat down on a couch. "Hey Ben, whenever you're done reading that paper, can I have a look at it? I wanted to see if they got anything on the last race had."

"The 24 car won the last race if you want to know." Ben says, intentionally spoiling it for Susan's brother just to get back for him giving away the ending of a movie recently.

"Yes!" Johnny pumped his fist before noticing the headline on it, swiping the paper from Thing as he was looking for the remote.

"Hey! I was reading that, flame head!" Ben shouts at him as the young man dodged him and looks at the article.

"I'll give it back once I check this out." Johnny replies as he reads through the article.

Susan comes in to see them. "Johnny, give Ben his paper back. I can get you your own copy. Reed needs you guys to keep quiet for something he's working on."

"I think Reed might want to see what's on this." Johnny says as he hands the paper to his sister.

Susan reads it for a few minutes before looking surprised some at the info. "Wait, really?"

Reed comes in and asks the group. "Has anyone seen the notes I wrote down yesterday? Last I remember, I had them here or in my room."

"You may have just placed them near Herbie's console." Susan looks at him. "If you're on break, you should see this."

Reed looks at the article and reads through it, not really figuring out what she meant until he reads a certain paragraph. "Krypton? Interesting..."

"So what? Isn't the blonde guy with the hammer from another planet or some place?" Ben shrugs, not knowing what the big deal is. "And we recently had a few adventures involving aliens as well."

"Dude, this guy just showed up, saves people before you can blink and now he just told everyone about himself, but you're not interested?" Johnny says looking at him.

"Kind of strange he was immediately open about himself." Susan comments herself. "Usually all of us leave before we think about talking to the press, but he told everything about himself. What do you think Reed?"

"I think this article actually confirms my suspicions about something I've seen recently." Reed tells her before leading the group to the lab.

He gets a projection of the Milky Way on screen before zooming into a section that was filled with asteroids.

"After a few simulated tests, I confirmed there was a planet here that was destroyed more than 20 years ago, right within range of this man's age." Reed explains to them. "A few days later, a meteor shower hit most of the planet, which explains why he reached Earth undetected from government intelligence. The ship he was in as a child was masked by the radiation found on the meteorites."

"So he really is the last of them?" Susan says, feeling bad for the new hero that he has to deal with his home being gone.

"How did he get all of that power though? You don't just suddenly fly when you get to a new world." Johnny asks, already thinking of challenging the new hero to a race if the guy had free time.

"Apparently, these meteorites that landed on the planet with the ship he was in. Each one is loaded with energy that's a cross between cosmic energy and solar radiation from Krypton's red sun." Reed replies back. "From what I can gather, this difference in radiation means our yellow sun gives him these powers, and likely he could be even more powerful when in a system with a white or blue sun."

"So the guy's a walking plant?" Ben comments. "Put him in the dark for too long, he's all out."

"I think there may be more to his biology and his home than that, but I won't get answers unless he's willing share more." Reed said to him. "For now, I plan on getting my hands on a piece of Kryptonite to experiment with it and see what it's capable of."

—————————————————————

Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters

Logan was reading the latest copy of the paper, the school providing copies to staff if reading the news was what they wanted.

The only ones who've seen the paper prior to him were Scott, Hank, Charles and Jean, though that was because they were interested in the headline.

Kitty then shows up in the room. "Hey Logan, the professor wanted to see you for something. And is that the paper about the guy from the news?"

"Why are you asking?" Logan looks at the girl. "Kids your age don't read the news."

"It's just that the other students thought it was cool when we see it on TV, but nobody knew if he's a mutant or not." Kitty tells him.

"If I just let you and the kids look at the front page, will you get ice boy to let up on the pranks for a while?" Logan asks her.

"Sure. And thank you." Kitty says as the man hands the paper to her, the adult mutant going to wherever Xavier was.

Both the staff and students were uncertain of what to make of someone that seems so powerful, mutants like Magneto and Xavier might be starting to have second thoughts about going against him.

Hank obviously was curious about the new discovery and what the affects on mutant biology were with this Kryptonian.

Logan himself really didn't care as much, viewing the new hero as just some fancy face showing off their powers, only this man didn't get to worry due to being an alien and not a mutant, pretty much free from what everyone else deals with.

Jean managed to reach out and confirm that the story was somewhat accurate to his memories, though there seemed to be some kind of mental block that prevented her from knowing everything about this Kryptonian as he called himself.

Scott and Ororo didn't really care as much either, though Jean could obviously tell they were a little nervous if the new guy suddenly turned around and started arresting mutants, which that was a common fear most of the adults had.

Xavier was actually looking at the alien hero as a positive opportunity for mutants and humans alike, if only this guy can help calm the conflict down.

Logan could kind of see why Xavier was optimistic, because for once, young mutants like the ones in their academy felt hope, a strong hope that if this alien is willing to protect everyone including mutants, maybe they can come out and live like normal people for once.

Though the Canadian was kind of being pragmatic himself, not really buying the caped hero being sincere until he saw it himself.

Marie seemed to be bothered when she finally saw images of the hero, though Jean and Xavier promised not to read her mind on the matter, so nobody was going to know whatever she knew in this development.

No doubt if Magneto learns of the hero, he may try to sway the Kryptonian to his side and convince him to wipe out humanity, something nobody hopes he would do.

At the end of the day, you can only explore the unknown and see what you get, regardless of the outcome given.

Logan reached the room Xavier was in to join the meeting between the staff, unsure what Xavier's move would be.

——————————————————————

S.H.I.E.L.D HQ

Nick Fury's Office

Director Fury looks at a newspaper with a large headline on the top: Interview With Superman!

Nick had seen a lot in his career over the years about different people with powers showing up, as well as well-talented and efficient people with no powers.

There was geniuses like Tony Stark and Hank Pym, with Stark inventing an armor he refuses to give designs to and Pym working with S.H.I.E.L.D to capture metahuman criminals.

Mystical or overpowered beings like Thor and Wonder Woman were occasionally popping up to ruin some poor fool's day, with Diana herself now an agent that was rivaling Natasha on getting him results.

Mutants have been gaining their powers more often, giving S.H.I.E.L.D more to have to deal with, especially those who try to take advantage of these biologically powerful people.

And of course, there was monsters that have to be caught like Hulk and Abomination, beings that are powerful enough to level cities in a few moves.

Street level crime is being dealt with by people like Daredevil and newbies like this.....Spider-Man, practically making law enforcement on the local, state and federal level look pathetic. Though Fury could care less about them until they actually start dropping bodies everywhere.

There was originally only one small concern on the street level he had, which was Gotham's mysterious giant Bat going everywhere catching every gang and mafia in large numbers, going on a one man crusade to purge the city of corruption. No matter what he did to track the man down, he always eluded him and brought him back to square one. He even tasked Natasha and Clint to find and catch the Bat, but they both came up empty handed.

Nick originally was about to launch his own search into the city to find the Bat, figuring he would have to do it himself if he wanted results, but something new popping up has him now occupied with a new situation to deal with.

This "Superman" that the Daily Bugle refers to just suddenly pops up and starts saving lives as quick as disaster threatens to take them. The guy can fly from above and stop a plane in midair or tear through thick walls of metal with his barehands. Obviously someone that powerful can raise anyone's concerns if they didn't know his true intentions.

Now the director has a lot of pressure on himself to find a safety precaution in case the Kryptonian goes bad soon, needing something good in order to prevent the man from lifting the Helicarrier up and throwing it into the sun.

Luckily, or even strangely, the man came forward and exposed himself to an ace reporter, spilling everything he said he could give, even revealing he was from another planet.

All they would have to do is look into the different crash sites from a meteor shower 20 years ago to find anything left of this guy's home.....maybe even a possible Achilles heel for the Kryptonian.

The director sighs and leans back in his chair as he ponders on these matters, finding he was getting stretched thin himself at every corner of the world.

First he finds an Amazon princess from WWII, then he starts launching a hunt for some bat or vampire running amok in a corrupt city, and now he's trying to keep up with an alien from another world.

If there was an answer on how to deal with so many threats at once, now would be a good time fox if it to be presented to him.

—————————————————————

That's it for now.

Next time......we return to Gotham.....as something rises from the dark!

See you later! Bye!