The Daily Planet

Half the summer vacation had flown by in the blink of an eye, and Jay had spent nearly all of it holed up at home. Since the Underground Mall riot, the three members of the family had avoided mentioning his extraordinary abilities, and life had continued as usual. His seven-day schedule was as precise as a preprogrammed routine—get up, eat, pick an old movie to watch, or find a book to read, then figure out how to kill the rest of the day. By now, the long vacation had lost much of its former appeal. He had begun to think school might actually be more interesting, even if it only meant listening to his high school classmates gossip about things that had nothing to do with them.

Of course, during his spare time, he had taken Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds's advice and rescued several trapped civilians from a burning, collapsing building, as well as stopped two robberies. But he always swept through the scene like a particularly fierce whirlwind, resolved everything quickly, and left just as quickly. People did not even get the chance to figure out what had happened.

Given the current situation, he felt that perhaps the world was not ready for a new Superman.

But emergencies did not happen every day, so they did not take up much of his time. Games had seemed like a pretty good pastime at first, but he soon grew bored of them because they were all far too easy. He only needed one day to dominate any new online game he picked up, and it did not bring much of a sense of accomplishment. It felt like using cheat codes.

Mrs. Reynolds's nagging was another reason he felt he should not keep staying at home—she was practically an endless recording on repeat. Every time she passed the bedroom or living room and saw Jay doing nothing, she could not help lecturing him a little, saying he ought to find something meaningful to do, as though she would be unable to eat or sleep otherwise.

"Then maybe you can come to the newspaper office with me tomorrow," Mr. Reynolds suggested after returning home from work and hearing this. "I'm sure I can persuade Editor Perry to arrange some sort of internship for you. It may be a little early for you, but there's no harm in learning what work is like sooner rather than later. Besides, you'll get to see plenty of interesting things at the newspaper."

"Most importantly, I won't have to listen to mom nag," Jay muttered under his breath. When Mrs. Reynolds raised her voice and asked what he had said, he hurriedly changed it to, "I'd be delighted."

"That works too." Mrs. Reynolds nodded. "Learning how the world works will benefit you in the future."

None of the three objected, and so it was settled. The next morning, Mrs. Reynolds dragged Jay out of bed early and dug out the most formal suit in his wardrobe. She said that if he was going to work, he ought to look like he was going to work.

The Daily Planet, the largest newspaper in Metropolis, could fairly be called one of the city's landmarks. It was a skyscraper more than a hundred stories tall, standing head and shoulders above the surrounding buildings. Sunlight gilded one entire side in brilliant gold, while an enormous golden globe, sculpted in the shape of a planet, stood atop the tower. The words "The Daily Planet" reflected the blinding sunlight.

Mr. Reynolds gave Perry an explanation, and Editor Perry White, who was already fairly familiar with Jay, gladly issued him a temporary work badge and even had a desk specifically arranged for him.

That morning, Jay was assigned to proofread articles, and he completed the work flawlessly at astonishing speed. For the rest of the day, he was mostly left with nothing to do. Jimmy Olsen came over to chat with him once—he was a slightly goofy redheaded kid and one of the newspaper's photographers. When Jay had first visited The Daily Planet at fifteen, the two had hit it off immediately, though their conversation back then had mostly revolved around video games. Today, Jimmy had just excitedly pulled him aside to say that he had secured the right to buy an unreleased game when Perry, who seemed to have ears everywhere, overheard him. After being loudly scolded, Jimmy drooped his head and obediently returned to his desk.

With the rest of his time, Jay began browsing through materials. Under the current circumstances, newspaper reports faced severe restrictions, but there were plenty of interesting rumors in public submissions and unofficial forum sites.

For example, a post from the Central City forums read: Terrorists attacked an amusement park, causing numerous casualties. Should we miss the days when Green Lantern was around?

There was also a submission from someone claiming to be a Gotham resident: "I didn't see it wrong! It was definitely him—Batman! He dropped from the sky when Viper Gang members cornered me and beat every last one of them senseless! The Gotham Gazette is lying. He never left this city at all!"

And there was a comment from a local Metropolis user: "What happened at the Underground Mall was nothing like the reports said. There was no leak! I was there, and I saw it with my own eyes! A white monster rushed into the crowd, baring its fangs and claws, attacking all of us with its teeth and claws like a starving wolf! They forced us to keep quiet and not tell anyone, but people deserve to know the truth! The truth is, we no longer have Superman. The next time a monster like that runs into a crowded district, who will stop it?"

There were many more posts like these. It seemed not everyone agreed with Luthor's theory that "we don't need Superman." Many people in Metropolis still missed the days when they never had to worry about falling from a skyscraper and dying. Jay grew tired of reading. His attention drifted away from the monitor, and he began looking around aimlessly. His eyes eventually fell on a photograph mounted in an elegant frame on the wall. It showed a mature, capable woman with intelligent light in her dark eyes, the kind of person who left a deep impression at first glance.

Her name was Lois Lane. Her photo had hung on the wall ever since Jay had first entered The Daily Planet building, because she had once been a legend at the newspaper and had won the Pulitzer Prize for journalism many times. Jay knew from comic books that she was Superman's soulmate, a respected reporter who had devoted her life to fighting for the truth. Unfortunately, he had never had the chance to meet her. According to the other people at The Daily Planet, she had apparently resigned after the great war six years ago and left her post. No one knew where she had gone.

Even a woman like Lois Lane had reached a point where she could no longer face the future and keep moving forward. Perhaps Superman's absence had dealt her too devastating a blow.

Jay's wandering thoughts were yanked back to reality by Perry's voice, which shook The Daily Planet building. Curious, he looked toward the editor's office and happened to see Mr. Reynolds enter under Perry's shouting.

"What is it, boss?"

"It's Grant. She's about to arrive in Metropolis." Perry's expression was rather grim as he said this, as though some terrible beast was about to descend upon them. "We need to send someone to pick her up from the airport."

"Grant? Ms. Grant from CatCo Worldwide Media?" Mr. Reynolds asked in surprise. "Did she schedule a visit in advance?"

"No, of course not, because that's just how that woman is. She always does whatever she wants." Mentioning her clearly did not bring back any pleasant memories for Perry. After a pause, he asked, "Reynolds, do you have time to pick her up at the airport? I can arrange a car for you."

"Uh, I—"

"No need to say anything. It's decided—you're going." Perry waved a large hand. "You can take Jay with you. Meeting Ms. Grant will definitely be good for his internship."

Mr. Reynolds pulled a miserable face, as though he had been assigned the worst job in the world. He could only nod helplessly. "Yes, boss."

He pushed open the editor's office door, walked over to Jay's desk, and rapped his knuckles against the surface. "Come on, kid. We have to pick up a guest."

Jay raised an eyebrow. He had a feeling this would not be as simple as it sounded.