Alien Encounter Part 3


    The Daily Planet was boring.  Not the newspaper, the building.  But, Kara Zor-El made a deal with Lois Lane, and she was determined to keep up her end of it.  The deal was that Kara would eventually start college as soon as the next semester began, and live on campus.  In the mean time, she would work as an unpaid intern in exchange for staying in Lois’ guest room.

    It was not Lois’ cruelty, or even her idea.  Kara was a hard worker on Krypton, and she was also quite bored doing nothing during her first few days on Earth.  Her suggestion to work alongside Lois and Clark at the newspaper was shot down at first because they simply weren’t hiring.  She was the right age for an internship, but they would only take her if she was enrolled in college.  Putting the two together, a plan was born.

    But it was far from challenging or stimulating.  Most of the time she sat around in an office chair, spinning around, until she was asked to run something downstairs, or fetch coffee.

    Kara was dressed in clothing Lois was kind enough to get her, so she looked like a typical 16-year-old, only perhaps a little more conservative.  She had a close-fitted black t-shirt with some kind of glittery logo on it that she didn’t recognize, since she hadn’t been on Earth long enough, plus jeans and suede boots.  The boots were barely visible at the moment, because she was sitting on them so the chair could spin more smoothly.

    Unlike Clark, she didn’t want to use an alias or any kind of disguise.  She decided it was kind of silly, especially since nobody knew who she was anyhow.  The family name had to go, though, because Superman’s Kryptonian name was somewhat well known, and nobody was that stupid to believe Kara’s similar one was just a coincidence.  Since she was actually Clark’s cousin from Krypton, it made sense for her to accept the cover story of being his cousin from Earth, as well.  So she took the name Kent.

    While spinning around in the newsroom she tried to ignore that Jimmy Olsen kept looking at her.  He was trying not to, but it was like he couldn’t help it.  She attributed that to her being new, and also that he was male, and naturally curious about her.  At least he was polite enough not to start snapping photos of her.

    At the moment, both Lois and Clark were out on assignment somewhere in Metropolis.  The newsroom was much quieter without Lois barking orders at everyone.  But since most of Kara’s work came from Lois, now she had a lot of nothing to do, interrupted by occasional dealing with workers she didn’t know, and having to be extra polite and courteous.

    The boss’ name was Perry White, and he had two different styles dealing with people.  When he was angry, he shouted orders across the room.  When calm, he would sneak up behind interns like Kara, drop something in front of them, and calmly give them a very rushed deadline.  This moment was one of those cases.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Marketing, five minutes,”  was all Perry said as he dropped a yellow ‘inter-office mail’ envelope in front of her.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“On my way,”  Kara said, learning the rushed language of the longer-lasting interns in the office.  She got up and headed straight into the hallway, and then the elevator.

    Just barely making it into the elevator alongside her was Jimmy, and he wore a backpack.  She clutched the folder to her chest and looked down, hoping he wouldn’t speak if she didn’t make eye contact.  No such luck, however.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You know when Lois or Clark might be back?”  he asked.

    She shook her head, but didn’t say anything.

    He sighed in response, and then said kind of pitifully.  “That sucks.  I have to take pictures of something that’s kind of in a dangerous neighborhood.  Perry told me not to take chances, and to take someone along.”

    Kara looked up.  She knew he meant her, even before he said anything.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I have to deliver this,”  she said, holding up the folder.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Well since you’re an intern, my errand is next.”  Jimmy said with a satisfied smile.

    Kara sighed.  She should have known that might happen.  “Why do you think I can help you?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Come on, I knew that was you, in Clark’s coat, with the red and blue outfit underneath--”

    She frowned, dropped the folder, and rushed to cover his mouth.  “Quiet!”

    Once she let go and retrieved the folder, he whispered, “I’m a photographer, I notice little details.  Like the shape of your face, and how your eyes look.  I would have recognized you eventually anyhow.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Are you going to keep the secret?”  she whispered.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yes.  Even if you don’t help me today, because I’m just that nice.  But I would like you to help me anyhow.”

    She sighed again.  Then she said, “After the delivery.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Cool.  Thanks so much,”  he beamed.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Also, could you try not to stare at me so much?”

    He nodded, making an effort to look at anything else.  “Sorry.  I’ll try not to.”

    The delivery of that envelope was not very eventful.  She just walked into a door marked ‘Marketing’, and dropped it on the receptionists’ desk, where there was a convenient box marked ‘inter-office mail’.  She didn’t have to wait at all, because the box was empty when she dropped the envelope in, prompting the receptionist to pick it up and read it immediately.  Then Kara left.

    She came out of the Marketing office and stood facing Jimmy.  “What next?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You look almost excited to go,”  he noted.  “Things getting boring around here?”

    She shrugged.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“All right, let’s go.  Ever take the subway?”


---


    Kara had briefly seen trains running along tracks high above the streets in Metropolis, but she was not aware that they went underground.  Not until Jimmy led her down an easily missed stairway.  The subways were unnervingly far below ground.  Two sets of long stairs, then a long hallway, then another two sets of long stairs.  It was like being buried alive.  She was more accustomed to the open skies.

    Jimmy then used a vending machine briefly.  Kara learned what those were from the break room at the Daily Planet.  Except this one didn’t sell food, it sold small plastic cards.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“This is a subway pass,”  he explained.  “This one’s good for a month, then you need to get another one.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“A month?”  Kara quickly read the price list behind glass on the machine.  “You paid for this?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“The Planet gave me a card for expenses, I used that.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“A card?”  she asked, confused at the lingo.

    Jimmy showed her instead of explaining.  It looked just like the subway pass, except it had a different logo and some raised numbers on it.  She assumed it was some kind of computerized credit system, she was familiar with that from Krypton.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh.”  She took the subway pass, and waited for Jimmy to lead the way.  

    She copied what he did, walking over to a tall turnstile beside the one that he chose, and slipping the pass into a small slot.  The two wings of the turnstile opened, and she caught the pass on the other side.

    The subway car itself wasn’t clean, but not horrible either.  It was quite a lot like a public park.  Though it was smaller, of course, and much, much noisier and more unstable.  It squeaked and rattled, and when it got up to its maximum speed, the passengers had to hang on to metal bars, or the walls, or the seats.  At one point it emerged outdoors onto the elevated track, and then bright sunlight streamed in.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Were you always so quiet?”  Jimmy asked suddenly during the trip.

    She shrugged at first, but then she felt bad about thwarting his attempt at conversation with nothing more than silence again.  “I don’t know the language well yet.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“So you were more chatty um...where you came from?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Not really.”  She shrugged again.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh, so you’re one of those quiet reading types.”

    Kara responded, “Sometimes.  I also do things.  Make things with my hands.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh.  That’s cool.”  Jimmy didn’t expect quite that much response, so he ran out of questions.  He looked out the window instead.

    The subway train finally stopped, and Kara followed Jimmy off the train.  They walked up several more flights of stairs, and then emerged again onto the street.

    And Kara could see now why Jimmy wanted protection for this assignment.  She wasn’t familiar with Earth and its customs yet, but the look and feel of a scary neighborhood was universal on any planet.  It’s a general aura of neglect, anger, and fear.  People either hanging around trying to look intimidating, or trying not to be noticed.  Litter, graffiti, grime, and neglect.

    Jimmy stopped at an unlabeled warehouse covered in graffiti, and tugged on the steel door.  It opened on the first try.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Are you sure we should be doing this?”  Kara asked.  Even on Krypton, the penalty for sneaking into property you didn’t own was severe.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Don’t worry, Lois does this all the time.”  He led the way in.

    The warehouse was simultaneously dark and well lit.  The windows were too grimy to let in sunlight, and though there were plenty of lights, they didn’t produce much.  That was to Jimmy’s advantage as he entered, and closed the door carefully behind him.

    For some reason the door brought them in on the second floor, adjacent to an abandoned and unused office.  There was one floor below, but it was two stories down - which explained why the many people down there didn’t see Kara or Jimmy enter.  There was a winding staircase just past the office that led down to the lower floor, and a cargo elevator behind it.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I wonder how they got the crates in here,”  Jimmy observed, noting that they were too big to fit through the door he came in, and too difficult to get downstairs.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“The alley is a ramp,”  Kara told him.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“How do you know?”  he asked.

    Kara motioned toward the opposite wall with a nod.  “I can see it.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Through the wall?”

    She nodded again.

    Jimmy stopped asking questions about Kara, knowing he had work to do, and the warehouse and entire neighborhood gave him the creeps.  So he took the camera out of his backpack and started taking photos.

    It wasn’t the crates or the group of people talking down below that interested him - it was the makeup of the group.  Some of them were big names in corporate circles, and one of them was a city politician.  The photos were supposed to be paired with an article Lois and Clark were working on.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“We really lucked out,”  Jimmy whispered.  “I knew they’d all be here today, but not right now.  I thought we’d have to do a lot of waiting.”

    That alarmed Kara greatly.  She turned to him and quickly asked, “How did you know they would be here?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Anonymous tip to Lois,”  he whispered.

    To Lois.  A woman just about anyone in politics or crime wanted to lure into a trap and kill, and to heck with the consequences.  Kara read through some of her articles while she waited around as an intern, and they were not flattering.  

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Let’s get out of here,”  she said.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Why?  I’m getting some great photos.”

    She grabbed his arm so he was face to face with her.  “Doesn’t this feel a little too easy?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yeah, why--”  His face completely flushed, and he said, “Oh.”  Then he threw his camera into his backpack and zipped it up.

    This time, Kara led the way back to the door.  Once she passed through the door with Jimmy, she thought she would be safe...

    ...except that right outside, there were two black cars parked when there were none before.  Men in suits and sunglasses who quite obviously didn’t fit the character of the neighborhood started to climb out.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“The alley!”  Jimmy whispered, and he raced for it, knowing that Kara would surely be able to keep pace with him.  

    As soon as they were around the corner, they could hear footsteps approaching quickly.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Put your arm over my shoulder,”  Kara urged him.  “I’m going to fly us out.”

    She wasn’t sure if that would actually work - she could end up tearing his arm out, or end up dropping him from high in the air - but there wasn’t time to think it through.  She waited until she felt his arm firmly wrap around her shoulder, and she put one arm under his opposite one for support.  

    Then she went airborne, shooting up above the alley so quickly that their assailants wouldn’t even see their shadows in time.  She ascended so quickly that she could feel his grip on her tighten, and he was still dangerously close to slipping away.  She didn’t want to hold him tighter for fear of hurting him.  Fortunately, they landed on the rooftop next door before anything bad happened.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Ugh...I feel sick,”  Jimmy commented.

    She turned around while he emptied the contents of his stomach behind an air conditioning unit.  Humans were so sensitive to changes in gravity and motion.  She would have to remember that later.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Now we go back and give Perry your pictures?”  Kara asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“We can’t.  Not yet.”  Jimmy replied as soon as he recovered.  “They know it was me.  They’ll send someone to wait outside.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I could deliver them for you.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“They saw you too,”  Jimmy pointed out.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I can handle them,”  she replied confidently.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I know.”  Jimmy sighed.  “But do you really want to show off like that in broad daylight on a busy street?”

    Kara thought about that for a moment.  “You have a good point.  Where do we go, then?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“We could go to my apartment, they won’t know where that is.”

    She squinted at him, testing him to see if he was using this an an excuse to bring her to his place.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Just long enough to make copies of the photos, just in case,”  he promised.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Okay, but remember who I am.”  She wanted that last part to sound like a warning.


---


    A short while, and another subway trip later, Jimmy unlocked the door to his apartment, and shoved the creaky steel door open.  He shut it behind Kara once she entered.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Your door is hollow.  It’s not very secure,”  Kara said, mocking the fact that it looked so heavy and was covered in locks, deadbolts and chains.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I know,”  he responded with a sigh, before sliding one deadbolt and chain locked anyhow.

    Kara looked around the apartment.  It was clean, but not very neat.  Kind of like organized chaos, with piles of things looking like there was some order to them, but none readily apparent.  There were not many exposed surfaces on tables or cabinets, they were all covered by things.

    She watched as he sat on his overstuffed couch, opened his laptop computer - which was sitting on a short table in front of him - and waited for it to wake up.  He then plugged his camera into it.  She sat right beside him on the couch to watch.  

    He immediately looked at her as if she had done something inappropriate, like it made him feel uneasy.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What’s wrong?”  she asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Nothing.”  Jimmy shook     his head and tried concentrating on his work.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh, I see.”  Kara finally put it together.  The staring, following her around but keeping his distance, and being spooked by her sitting too close.  “You like me.”

    Jimmy turned pale and looked at her, but didn’t speak at first.  Finally, he came to terms with what he thought was the best thing to say.  “You’re new, and...kind of cool, and fascinating.  But you’re also a super-powered alien from another planet, and honestly, also a little scary.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I scare you?”  she asked, sounding a little hurt.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“A little, yeah,”  he admitted.  “You could hurt me by accident.  I could be too close when some other super-powered alien tries to kill you--”

    Kara stopped him by raising her hand.  “I will never hurt you by accident,”  she promised.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“--and aren’t you too young?”  he asked.  “I mean, you’re very mature, but it’s hard to explain that to the law.  And to your cousin...”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Don’t worry so much.”  She smiled briefly, and leaned back into the overstuffed couch.  

    She then sat up again and pulled a flashlight out of the back cushion.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“How did that get there?” he asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Do you have many girls visiting?”  she asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“All the time!”  he exclaimed.  Then he changed his mind and replied honestly.  “Okay, you’re the first to make it past the doorway.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Can you clean up before I visit again?”  she asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yeah!”  he agreed emphatically.  “Yeah, if you’re going to come back I’ll definitely clean up.”

    After another minute, he pulled a small USB stick out of the computer and held it, as if wondering what to do with it next.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I can fly it to the Daily Planet after dark,”  she suggested.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“That’s a few hours away,”  Jimmy pointed out.  “You don’t mind hanging around here until then?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I don’t mind,”  she replied with a shrug.  “I am hungry though.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Me too.  We’ll order some Chinese food.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I like Chinese food,”  Kara admitted.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What would you like?”  Jimmy asked.  “I have a menu.”  He handed Kara the menu.

    The menu had pictures on it.  Kara chose three items that looked tasty.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Is that all for you?”  he asked.

    Kara shrugged.  “Do you think I need more?”

    While Jimmy ordered the food, Kara found the remote for the television - same type as Lois’, so she recognized it - and turned the TV on.  She found a documentary channel too, just like at Lois’.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“They’re right down the street, so they’ll be here soon,”  Jimmy said.  

    He held up a looped piece of string he had attached to the USB stick, but then hesitated at placing it on its intended destination - over Kara’s head, and onto her neck.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Just in case...um...I don’t want it to get lost, or fall, or get stolen.  It’ll be safe if you wear it.”

    Kara took the small object from him and quickly placed it around her own neck.  “Happy?”  she asked.

    He nodded.  Then he quickly turned around when there was a knock at the door.  “Must be the food,”  he said.

    Kara grabbed his wrist, a little too roughly, to stop him.  “Are you sure?”

    Jimmy nodded, and he handed Kara a folded wad of a twenty dollar bill and a ten dollar bill.  “You’re right.  Would you answer the door?  And if it’s the food, give him this, and say ‘keep the change’.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“‘Keep the change’?”  she mimicked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yeah.  It’s how I get food deliveries so fast.”

    Kara was amused by that.  She smiled, and went to the door.  As expected, it was the Chinese food delivery.  She opened the door, and took the food.  “Thank you,”  she said.  Then she remembered, and handed the man the money Jimmy gave her.  “Keep the change.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Thanks!”  the delivery man exclaimed.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“How much was it, anyway?”  Jimmy asked.

    Kara shrugged.  “I didn’t ask.”

    He looked at the receipt, and it said $16.99.  He smacked his palm against his forehead.  “I...guess I should have said to give him one of those and say ‘keep the change’.”

    As soon as the food was unwrapped, Jimmy discovered why Kara ordered so much food.  She was not confused, and her eyes were not bigger than her stomach.  He’d watched Clark eat huge meals before at work, but thought that was some sort of farm boy thing.  Now he knew it was that Kryptonians had some kind of scary fast metabolism.  She ate all of her food, and some of his, too.

    Then she became self-conscious about it.  “Do I eat too much?”  she asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It’s all relative, I guess.”  Jimmy tried to be diplomatic.  “I mean, I think Kryptonians need a lot more calories.  Clark eats a lot, too.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’m supposed to try to fit in, though,”  she noted.

    He shrugged.  “Just tell people you have a great metabolism.”

    Kara suddenly stopped him, and looked toward the door.  “There’s someone yelling outside.  In the hallway.  It’s an angry man, there was a knocking sound and then yelling.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Knocking and then yelling?”  Jimmy tried to figure out what she meant.  Was it the gangsters looking for him?

    But then it was too late to speculate, because there was a loud banging on his own door.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Olsen, you’re late with the rent again!”

    Kara leapt to her feet quickly, and meant to put a stop to the noise.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Wait, wait, it’s just the landlord.”  Jimmy stopped her.  “He owns the building, and he’s right, I’m a little...late with the rent.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Olsen!”  the voice on the other side yelled again.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Why?”  Kara asked.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Because...I ran out of money, and don’t get paid until the end of the week,”  he admitted quickly.  “So shhh...I’m pretending not to be here.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It’s getting dark, we should go make our delivery anyway,”  Kara pointed out.  She went to the window and slid it open, and then looked down.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“There fire escape is on the hallway window--”  He started to understand what she was getting at when she beckoned him toward her.  She meant to fly them out the window.

    Kara went out first.  She looked to be standing on something outside, but when he leaned out behind her, he realized she was hovering in mid-air, and just trying to look like she was standing.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What do I do, jump?”  he asked, sounding very scared and nervous.

    She answered him by grabbing both of his arms, and lifting him outside.  “Hang on,”  she said.  And he did, he hung on to her waist with both arms for dear life.

    This time, the ascent to a reach high above the buildings was much slower.  Kara didn’t want Jimmy vomiting all over her.  Her acceleration and cruising speed was likewise much slower, which led to a much more relaxed Jimmy - he wasn’t clinging quite so desperately this time.

    Finally, they reached the roof of the Daily Planet.  As usual, it was extremely windy, and cold up there.  While Jimmy unlocked the stairway door, Kara looked over the edge.  She could see a black car similar to the ones at the warehouse, parked on the street.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Security will never let them in,”  Jimmy told her.  Then he opened the door, and motioned for her to go inside first.

     Kara walked ahead of him all the way down the stairs, and into the hallway and newsroom.  She wanted to make sure nobody was hiding along the way.

    Jimmy quickly sat at his desk.  “I’m going to upload the photos to the network.  After that, nobody will be able to stop them.”

    While he waited for the photos to upload, he asked, “Hey, did you bring your um...”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Flight suit?”  she finished for him.  She shook her head.  “It’s at Lois’ place.  Why?”

    Jimmy sheepishly admitted, “I didn’t really think about how we’re going to get out of here.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Same way we got in?”  she suggested.

    But then, as with all best laid plans, this one had a big hitch.  While Jimmy uploaded the photos, his cell phone alerted a text message.  It was Lois - she said she would be at the Daily Planet in a few minutes, and wanted those pictures.

    He gave Kara a horrified look.  “It’s Lois,”  he said.  “She’s coming here.”

    The Kryptonian nodded.  “Flight suit or not, I’m going downstairs.”


TO BE CONTINUED

Story written by Jason Froikin.  Most characters are property of D.C. Comics, used without permission.