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"jimmy this is the third time, you show us your original superman prompt."

I posted this same prompt a few months ago

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Saudi Arabia lures Clark Kent into the consulate in Istanbul.

This one again?

Maybe wait a bit longer before reposting next time.

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Knowing how whacky the CIA can be, they'd probably want to test the Kryptonite they'd just discovered aswell and would nail him with a Krypotian tea.

Virginia 6:50 AM

This has to be it. We have been hunting him for weeks now with nothing to show for it. We have visual confirmation sir, it is him. That's great, we need to clean this mess as soon as possible. Ask delta to move in. Have beta on standby to engage only on delta's call. 

Istanbul 2:55 PM

Alright delta going in the building now. 

Virginia 7:30 AM

They're on the floor now sir, all exits sealed. Waiting for green light. 

Virginia 7:40 AM

Alright, go in now. We need this to be clean no loose ends. 

Istanbul 3:42 PM

Roger Alpha. going in now.

Istanbul 4:00 PM

We tried talking to Superman sir. He came out of nowhere, with the dust we lost sight of the target. There was nothing we could do. We had to pull out quickly. We got two laptops and some documents.

Virginia 8:30 AM

Mr. President, we have secured two laptops and some documents of the deal. But we cannot say if there were any copies. This has become an international incident now with Superman being involved. We had to pull out quickly to avoid media. 

Athens 6 PM, next day

This is Clark Kent, I am recording this because I am in immediate danger from some agencies, and it is important for this information to be public in case anything happens to me. I only have a few minutes. This is about the……….

starting a little bit of writing again. Critiques welcome. Thanks for reading if you did

After months of encrypted email exchange, careful assurances, and a few false starts, Clark had finally met the source in a greasy back-alley Chinese joint and was now riding the train back uptown. He had hours of recordings to review. Incredibly, the man had been willing to go on record exposing the CIA's black program on behavior modification - a combination of low dose psychoactive drugs administered secretly in a target's food; modulated subliminal messaging through infiltrated social media, internet, and communication channels; and repeated near-field microwave irradiation of the brain to induce states of mania and suggestibility.

The most damning testimony was that the program had been running a test phase on American citizens for the last 2 years - some of them highly placed business and social personalities like Elon and Ye - and was now entering the Phase 3 trial targeting mid-level US political representatives.

All his travels, all the tragedies he had prevented with his godlike powers, the depravity of humanity he had witnessed again and again as Superman - but it was this program, which he had patiently and painstakingly uncovered as investigative journalist Clark Kent, which horrified him beyond words. His mind wandered darkly as the rhythmic sounds of the train carried him home.

He almost didn't notice the tiny pinprick of a needle trying and failing to enter his upper thigh. By the time he looked up in surprise, his neighbor had stood, discreetly dropped something on the floor, and was making his way to the just-opened exit at 42nd street.

Clark gave no response, but he let his senses follow the man as he left the train and walked down the platform and into a narrow stairwell, losing himself in the crowd. A quick look showed the man carried a wallet whose ID read Michael Johnson, no cell phone - strange - but he had a small radio in his pocket connected to a collar mic. And a concealed gun holstered on his right hip. As the train started to pull away, Clark heard the man talk into his mic: "Negative contact, negative contact. Equipment failure. Return site bravo."

Clark stood and started making his way toward the back of the train, gently but insistently shoving his way through the packed cars. His mind was racing. His heart would be too, if it could. He came to the back of the train, miraculously empty, and with a silent apology he removed his glasses, looked up, and let the unquenchable energies boiling within him briefly escape out through his eyes, where they instantly vaporized a section of the train's ceiling. He had flown up and out before the whistling sound of the hole reached the nearest passenger.

He took a short ballistic arc back downtown, topping out at 3,000 feet and descending meteorically over Chinatown. He scanned a 5 block radius around the restaurant, then 10, then 15 - and that was when he saw the contact. He was lying prone on the street, his arms and legs uselessly splayed, and a crowd was gathering around him. Is there a doctor here? What's wrong with him? Oh god. Someone call 911. Even from the sky Clark could see the man would be dead in seconds.

He landed softly in the middle of the crowd - they immediately withdrew to give him space - knelt and draped his cape over the dying man's torso. He saw a telltale pinprick in the man's upper thigh. He saw the man's heart spasming with each beat, laboring with each pulse of precious lifeblood, failing, fading. He died.

Clark closed his eyes and allowed himself one deep breath, one silent moment. He felt the roar of the energies inside him, the stored sunlight pleading for a purpose, roiling, insisting. He gathered his cape and stood and turned to a woman in the crowd and said, "Please call an ambulance. This man is dead, but he deserves to be seen by a doctor."

As the woman took out her phone she asked, "What about you? What are you going to do?"

He looked at her: a middle aged woman, worn down by the world but not broken, accustomed to loss, saddened by what she'd just seen but not shocked. Well acquainted with tragedy.

Truth, he almost replied. And justice. But he made no response and instead ascended slowly and gently into the air so as not to disturb the cooling corpse, accelerating as he rose, breaking the sound barrier before he'd cleared the 10th story of the nearby buildings, and flew a line as straight and true as a ray of light toward the 42nd street train station.

"The Director will see you now."

Nodding to the receptionist, Agents Clinton and Bush rose from their seats and entered the top-floor corner office for the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Beads of sweat rolled down their spine as they made their way into the drab-yet-oranately decorated room. Stood at the end was the Director. Staring out the window, his grey hair and broad shoulders imposed a long shadow over the desk.

"Agents, take a seat." He said calmly, almost a whisper. If ice and stone had a voice, his was it.

He turned to face them, grey haired and balding with a unmistakable belly indicating years of fine wine, rich food and leisurely rounds of golf.

"Status report."

The Agents looked at each other, engaging in game of chicken to see who would speak first whilst making sure they collectively didn't take too long to respond. Bush broke first.

"Our last attempt was unsuccessful sir. Another stroke of unforeseen bad luck."

Agents Clinton and Bush had been having a lot of bad luck lately. Six months they had been trying to assassinate Clark Kent, a prominant journalist at the Daily Planet. Six attempts in six months, each failing more incredulously than the last.

The first attempt was simple. A lethal-yet-untraceable dose of Ricin slipped into Kent's coffee. They watched via video feed as Kent lifted the cup, a big goofy smile on his face. He lifted it to his mouth to drink, taking a big deep inhale to savour the scent. He then appeared to get distracted by something on his screen, placing the cup down awkwardly and spilling it in the process. The second attempt they tried the same again, this time Kent announced to the intern that he was taking a break from coffee, his boy-scout grin disarming as he waved a water flask apologetically.

"Kent's inauspicious switch to a healthier lifestyle is bad luck Agents, this is begining to feel like incompetence." he said, now turning around and fixing them both with the cold, dead eyed stare pre-requisite for a CIA Director.

Bush and Clinton shifted nervously in their chair. After the Ricin they moved the operation to Kent's home for their third attempt. They fixed minature bombs to his car breaks. Detonated remotely and leaving no trace, they were a favourite of the agency. Again they watched in disbelief as Kent climbed inside his car, and then a couple minutes later got out. Bush smashed his mug against the wall in frustration whilst Clinton stared in silence as they watched Kent hold his hand out to the warm sun, go inside the house, and return wearing walking shoes. He had taken public transport ever since.

"But Sir," Bush interjected, "there was no way we could have predicted the mugging failure."

Attempt number four involved a mugger, hired anonymously, to rob and kill Kent down an alleyway. Again, the sounds of broken stationary could be heard after the Agents watched Kent slowly back away with his hands up. The mugger slowly walked towards him, before suddenly slipping up on patch of... seemingly nothing at all, cracking his head on the ground knocking himself unconcious.

"Prior planning prevents piss poor performance Agent Bush. You should have prepared and hired a second mugger."

Agent Clinton let out a snort, realising too late his mistake. The director slammed his fist down hard on the table making even the seasoned Agents collectively and figuartively shit themselves.

"I don't see what you find so funny Agent Clinton. Last time I checked you seemed to have no problem handling a simple boshjob!"

A boshjob was the borrowed colloquial term for a push-and-run, from the UK 'bish bash bosh' job done. By attempt number five the Agents were getting desperate. Keen to finish the job, Agent Clinton studied Kent's subway route, finding a perfect time and location to subtly push him off the platform just before an arriving train. Making his approach, he made one last check to see if the coast was clear. Not that it mattered, his Covert-Issue Shimercamo suit rendered him invisible. As the train arrived, he pushed.

Only, to his surprise, Kent pivoted at the last second, patting his pockets as if he had forgotten something. Clinton's momentum meant he would have been the one kissing the train had Kent not caught him. Kent grabbing his arm had shortcircuited the suit, revealing nothing but the plain suit underneath.

"Gee almost didn't see you there! You okay sir?" Watching the man he had just tried to murder all flustered, fussing over him and patting the non-existent dirt off whilst asking repeatedly if he was alright... it was a feeling he would never forget.

The director went to his drinks cabinet, poured himself a glass of something strong and then took his seat. "Now, what happened with this latest cockup? I've read the report, I want to hear it from you."

Their latest attempt had upped the ante with no result. Desperate, the Agents anonymously hired Intergang - the nationwide organised crime syndicate. Kent was attending a press conference at a banking expo. Intergang were hired to storm, rob, and take hostages. They could keep whatever they could get and would recieve support to escape with high value targets, ensuring they would recieve any ransom they demanded. The one condition was that they killed Kent to show that they were serious. However, Kent was nowhere to be found. Instead they found themselves all unconcious or incapacitated by Superman. Kent was in the bathroom and had missed the whole thing.

"Sir, may I ask.. is it necessary to remove Kent from the equation? We could simply hack his computer and delete all his research into our ties with the upcoming UK election coup."

A vein visably popped in the Directors forehead.

"Agents, in the event that the Democratic-Socialist party comes to power in the UK, do you know why we are staging a coup? It's the same reason why Kent has to die." The Agents had no answer. "If that commie bastard becomes leader it won't just start with Scandinavian-style "centrist policies". No. It's a slippery slope. You give the left an inch, they'll take a mile. First you allow higher taxes and better public services. Then they nationalise transport, utilities, energy. And then before you can say 'Karl Marx' the corporate class are behind bars or in exile, assets seized and hippy cooperatives running the whole goddamn show. The press outlets are worker owned and not the controlled opposition running the narratives that we want, not to mention what they'll do to the British military-industrial complex! Suddenly we've lost our special relationship to America's best simp-state in Europe. That, Agents, is why Clark Kent must die and why we at the CIA need to make sure those limey red fucks NEVER win an election. It's not just about power, it's about about principle... and sending a message."

"Thank you Director, that's all I needed to hear."

Glass shattered as the Directors tumbler hit the floor. The Agents turned around. Floating in the air a foot above the ground was Him. Superman. Their eyes caught the tail-end of their covert-issue Shimercamo flickering off, revealing the crossed arms of the nations most infamous Superhero.

"You have some fantastic gadetry here gentlemen I'll give you that. This CIA invisiblity tech you have here is incredible," he glanced at Agent Clinton, "along with the recording devices I placed in your pockets and the cameras dotted around the room." A pile of papers wooshed into the air as a blue-red blur collected the incriminating evidence. "You should really be careful when trying to murder one of the worlds finest investigative journalists, especially one that has me in his contact list."

"You've just made yourself an enemy of the American state you alien scum." The Director screamed. "What happened to truth, justice, and the American way?"

Superman smiled before melting the glass behind the director. He turned to see the Man of Steel now floating in the air outside above him.

"Who said CIA coups and assassinations were the American way? Think we better let the press and the American people decide that, don't you?"

And before the Director could reply he was gone, leaving nothing but a red-blue blur.

Fantastic, love the first person supes point of view. "Apolegtically" zapping the train ceiling, those are the nice kind of touches that give Clark his character. 10/10 would read again

Thanks! Glad you liked it. I love Superman as a character and it's really fun to write about him.

Same! You smashed it. My post here is my second ever on WP and my first about Superman so I had a blast. People think he's difficult to characterise, he's not. He's just a good egg from Kansas.

Nice work, I like the Timezone narrative a lot. What did Superman have to say?

Thanks! glad you liked it. Maybe Clark knows that the natural calamities that keep hitting US’s prime competitors in technology and warfare, aren’t really NATURAL.

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great pov!

Thanks!

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Good! Last bit kind of reminds me of James Holden from the Expanse

That'd be a surprise twist. Holden is actually Superman.

Superman's true power being a groundbreaking journalist would be a good spin on him.

Zero percent chance Superman isn’t successfully painted as anti American by conservative media. Zero percent chance the American people don’t back the state.

thanks! glad you guys liked it. I have not watched the Expanse. Maybe will give it a try 👍

I'm always baffled when I see an old Tumblr post totally recycled into a WP. I know it's not theft, technically, but it feels disingenuous.

It was mid morning as the director came into the office. "Here's your coffee sir" said an intern holding out a Starbucks cup leaning forward almost in a half bow. Director Clement took the cup from him without a word and took a sip. "This has almond milk, I thought I told you nitwits I preferred coconut milk." "I am so sorry" said the, for all intents and purposes, nameless intern. The director brushed past him without another word coffee in hand and went into his office. He sat in his luxurious cushioned leather chair and looked at the small folder that read "TOP SECRET". He opened it; inside there was a small stack of messages. The first one read "I believe the mission is done. I followed the mark for a couple days to see his usual routine and on his way to work I stuck him with a cyanide coated pin on the end of an umbrella. I got the idea from some documentary a watched a while back, those crazy soviets were always doin wild stuff." The director grimaced and picked up the next note. "Alright turns out this cat is still showing up for work so I guess I gotta just stick to the basics. Every day he stops by a Starbucks and they just so happen to have a help wanted sign. I applied to the job and got it, all I gotta do is spike his coffee after Kevin here shows me the ropes." The director sighs and picked up the next message. "Alright alright this man is an unstoppable force of nature, I suppose I gotta step up violence. I've planted a nice little surprise in the garbage bins near his apartment. Kevin's a nice lad I think you'd like him. He's been showing me how to make little leafs on the coffee." The director frowned as he saw yet another message in the file. "I shit you not on this, he was right next to the explosion, and all he did was lost his clothes. While the man was certainly above average, I was thinking with how tough he was he'd have to coil it up in a jockstrap like one of them bubble gum tapes. I've still been giving him the spiked coffees, today I put a four leaf clover in it hoping for some better luck. This has been real stressful, Kevin says there's a lot of tension in my shoulders." The director took a large breath in and pinched the bridge of his nose as he looked at the last message in the file. "Y'know boss I think I'ma just stay working at this joint with Kevin and that this has been a message from God. I showed my mom a picture of the four leaf clover I put in his coffee today, she said she was proud of me and she was happy I turned my life around. Sorry about your coffee but you were the only person who knew my identity :/" the directors stomach churned.

Maybe, one can dream. Counter:

A. Statistically, nothing has a zero percent change

B. Superman isn't real, and neither is the fictional America containing advanced tech, aliens and supernatural beings that he lives in

LOL

I love how he seems to forego the "American Way"

Conservative media definitely tries, but you comically underestimate:

A. The American left, and

B. (much more relevently) The popularity of Superman it takes year's of engineering by Luthors genius and incredible wealth to damage Superman's rep, the CIA has hours before they're entirely discredited by prize winning investigative journalist Clark Kent, with testimony from America's favorite hero

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Related topic https://www.reddit.com/r/AskScienceFiction/comments/fqvxpc/dc_has_anyone_ever_attempted_to_hit_clark_kent/

There is an episode in the cartoon with this scenario except it's the mob.

Superman, a national hero for decades, painted like that?

Something tells me you're a blueberry that only heard about raspberries.

I place my money on this one.

Honestly not bad social commentary. Felt more modern while keeping to the feel of the old comic’s Superman.

If you are on mobile, double enter for paragraphs to form. It will make it easier for people to read and less likely for people to skip over it.

Very good story. 2 differences between "King's English" and "American English" pulled me out. First, we call a subway train arriving a 'Train' not a 'Carriage'. Second, Kent was in "the men's room" or "the Bathroom" the whole time, not 'the toilets'. The wording just broke the illusion. The British slang the Director used was OK though... makes it feel like he spent a long time as an agent in the UK (or grew up in the UK as the son of an Agent).

Ahh you makin my day, muchos grazias amigo

It's an element that comes up a good bit in some of his best comics!

Ah, heres me calling it a carriage because for a second I thought train was the UK term. Thanks for the heads up, I'll make the edits now cheers.

PS I went for 'boshjob' because I was trying to make a cheeky reference to Clinton and 'blowjob'. May be a bit of a stretch, glad it worked kinda

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Is there some context I'm missing here?

A large segment of the American population immediately flipped pro Russia anti Europe when the news told them to. Don’t worry about decades of memories, Oceania has always been at war with East Asia.

Hey, thanks for reading. i think i might have missed something but not sure. Can you please elaborate?

Would love to read a part 2 please.

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I did like the Bush and Clinton reference. I just assumed those were fake names the agents used to conceal their real identities. Kind of like how Sam and Dean got creative with their fake names on Supernatural.

Overall this is a great story and perfectly in character for Clark/Superman. Perfectly playing the innocent, Kansas farmboy while working the long game.

To: Director of Operations

From: Director of Science and Technology

Date: Mar. 12, 2016

Subject: Kent

It has been discovered that Mr. Kent has obtained documents related to the ongoing project Two Spoon. This is seen as a threat to the security and future of the project if such documentation where released into the public domain. I strongly recommend action be taken to correct this issue as outlined by PBSUCCESS, section 23, subparagraph 7.

​

* * *

​

To: Director of Science and Operations

From: Director of Operations

Date: Apr. 22, 2016

Subject: Kent/Pillow Talk

Operation Pillow Talk has been initiated. Team designation is Tripod. Notification upon completion will be transmitted however all documentation and communication during operation will be internal to the Directorate of Operations. Available only on authorized request.

​

* * *

​

To: Director of Operations

From: Office of Requisitions

Date: May 3, 2016

Subject: PKG 1023/Pillow Talk

Please attach authorization. Tripod Actual has requested standard EP Pkg with redundancies that flagged this for divisional authorization. Thank you.

* * *

To: Director of Operations

From: Office of Requisitions

Date: May 29, 2016

Subject: PKG 572, PKG 327a/Pillow Talk

Please attach authorization. Tripod Actual has requested P-EP Pkg 572 with additional sub pkg 327 (kit alpha) for ongoing operation Pillow Talk. Please note that all further requests from Tripod are now flagged with review notation under internal document Hephaestus (section 3, subsection 1.3.8, paragraph 12). In addition to this notation, fiscal review of operational budget allowance for Tripod may be requested per the Office of Requisitions under that notation.

* * *

To: Director of Operations

From: Office of Requisitions

Date: June 13, 2016

Subject: PKG 52, PKG 73, PKG 110/Pillow Talk

Please be advised. Fiscal review of Operation Pillow Talk has been scheduled for June 20, 2016 0900 before the Operational council.

ATTENTION: PKG 73 is a type 5 P countermeasure, designation flamebird

Please attach authorization. Current payload is ready for deployment.

* * *

To: Director of Science and Technology

From: Director of Operations

Date: June 20, 2016

Subject: Pillow Talk

For reasons outlined in Operational Council Meeting this date: Operation Pillow Talk is suspended until further notice. Please take internal measures to minimize potential damage related to exposure of documentation on project: two spoon

Please audit attached audio file. Contents are last intercepted message received from Tripod Actual.

* * *

[excerpt 12]

"What? Say again Tripod 2, say again."

"Tripod Actual, bogey inbound bogey inbound! Confirmed: Superman...I repeat, its Superman!"

"WHAT!!! You got to be $#!^ me!! He just showed up again!!!"

In all fairness, there are those, like myself, who would have never noticed the prompt otherwise, having missed the first one.

How quickly did people turn on Dr. Fauci? Despite decades of service for both parties, despite doing his best to save lives, suddenly he's public enemy #1 for a lot of people.

Do you remember when a lot of right-wing pundits decided to make Mr. Rodgers their target? Apparently teaching children good moral, Christian values (he was a Presbyterian minister) was enough to make him hated in some circles.

And if we're making the Superman = Moses connection, in the story in Exodus, it didn't take long for the people to say "To Hell with Moses, let's worship a golden calf." Despite being the guy who literally led them to freedom, it didn't take long to turn on him.

That's human nature. Too many people want to listen to the proverbial devils on their shoulders. Or the real devils on television, radio, and the internet. And if those devils say it's time to turn against the hero, they turn against the hero.

Isn't there a comic series with essentially this premise?

I NEED MORE

Fantastic read. Enjoyed the twist.

Ah, re-reading I understand better, Virginia is where the CIA Headquarters are, not where a second operation is taking place at the same time.

Ergo, Clark Kent is in Istanbul and is the sole target, instead of potentially being at his family farm in Virginia (I don't know where the Kent homestead is supposed to be)

I thought that (given my initial impression of two operation sites) this may reference past cases where journalists were targeted by government entities.

There's even an episode of the 90's animated series where he uncovers a conspiracy but does so as Clark, not Supermam. So Clark is the target. It's a pretty good episode and a lot darker than expected.

This is why I think people saying "Superman is a boring character" are incredibly wrong. He's not boring. He's very, very interesting and nuanced. Because he's both Clark and Superman. He has vulnerabilities, just not those that are immediately obvious. He also must be creative, more than people realize, in solving problems.

Your story is fantastic and I'd love to see more like this.

I'm pretty sure this is like an actual comic story lol

Which segment?

The important difference between your reply and the comment I replied to is that you recognize it happens on both sides.

In a comic book, I saw him eating while someone shot at him. The bullets fell into his soup, and he ate the bullets to avoid arousing suspicion.

Ive been wondering why my formatting has been shit when i comment on stuff. Thank you.

As soon as you said "almond" milk, i knew how this would end. Brilliant attention to detail.

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Thanks. Im undecided if they're their real names or not. I tried to low-key make their characteristics match the real Bush and Clinton.

High praise though, thank you kindly my dude

Immediately thought of the comic where the Joker is about to (he thinks) cave Kents head in with a giant mallet and Kent is having a minor panic attack trying to figure out how to make him surviving the attack seem realistic.

That's the distinction for me, Supes is boring. Whatever power he needs he's got, immortal, etc.

Kent is interesting as hell. Trying to be a reporter and live a life while hiding what is essentially God hood.

The best Superman stories are the ones where he can't just use his powers to automatically win. He has to figure out how to use his powers, when to not use his powers, and make choices about who he saves and who doesn't get saved as a result.

Like the 15th time this has been posted

The emote actually nails it!

Funnily enough, back in the original runs, Superman was actually pro-worker!

the Kent homestead is somewhere in Kansas, last I checked.

Superman is probably the portrait of an ubermensch, and yet he accepts control and authority over his power (and every time he breaks his controls, it turns into a dystopian elseworld). But even Superman can't save the world--it's up to Clark Kent to spread the word, and to inspire everybody else to do the right thing when it's needed.

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The Good Place has overridden 'almond milk' as far as brain associations.

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The hit was simple.

A journalist by the name of Clark Kent.

Hired by some dirty cops to do some dirty work.

A couple days of planning and the trap was set. Clark had a knack for getting himself into trouble from what I gathered, so the plan would kill two birds with one stone. One, take out Clark Kent. Two, plant evidence leading cops to a rather nasty smuggling operation here in the city. (I left out the fact I had taken a job for them a few months back, less pay but a nice safehouse incase things went topsy turvy)

There was construction in a building across the way, a front for some old mafioso pals back in the day. Having remembered the service elevator in the back, I grabbed my bag and my suitcase and shipped off. Got to the site and field assembled ol'reliable, distance 100 meters, breeze? I lick my finger and stick in the air, none. I look through scope and through the window, favorite lunch spot with a window view, 4th time this week. Humans are creatures of habit. I load a round into the bolt chamber with a resounding clang, best sound In the world in my opinion.

I steady my breathing, account for bullet drop on the scope, and, just to be safe. I decided against the silencer on the rifle due to wanting them to find the evidence, but I upholster my 9mm and silence it instead, Incase things go that south.

I breathe out one long breath... and squeeze the trigger.

PING

...what

The bullet went through and landed on target, I'm sure of it. He fell down from his seat at the bench and then promptly got back up.

That... that hit, I'm positive

He looks at his coworkers, and assures them of his safety and then looks out the window.

Right at me

...yeah it's time to go

I begin packing up, leaving the "evidence" as I make my escape, fold up the rifle back into it's suitcase and back out. The 9mm in my back pocket ready to be drawn at a hai--

"Forgetting something?"

I spin around with the gun in my hand and fire at the voice

Ping

Superman

Godamn superman

That smug smile on his face is the last thing I see before waking up in the police department.

I guess he was always fates to be an enemy of the House of Un-American Activities.

“Affirmative, I have a shot.” An agent whispers into a headset, standing on the mile tall building besides the Daily Planet, the most popular news organization in Metropolis. The man wore an ordinary T-Shirt, designed by the head agents of this operation to look particularly ordinary. “The fuck are you doing, Regis? Take it!” The New Yorker accent of head agent James Jackson replies. Regis could hear the cigar being tapped on an ashtray through the transmission. Regis, with no hesitation, shoots the man.

The man, as if nothing happened, turned around to investigate the noise. Regis could hear screams as people saw the bullet on the ground. “The fuck?” Regis mutters. He quickly scopes the man in and shoots again. “What’s wrong, Regis?” Regis shoots again. “The bullets, sir. They’re… bouncing off of him.” James’ tone changed almost instantly.

“Regis, run!” Regis immediately started running towards the door to the building. “What’s wrong, sir?” James swings the door open. “The fuckers a meta human!” He bolted down the stairs, until he reached a hallway encasing a set of hotel rooms. Regis could hear something being thrown at the wall through the transmission. “Fuck! Did he see you, Regis?” Regis shakes his head, then realizes James isn’t looking at him. “No, sir. He was looking at the window, not me.” There was a sigh heard through the transmission. “Okay, good.” A few clicks are heard. “Standby, Regis, a chopper’s headed your way.” Regis nodded his head, laughing as he again realized nobody could see him. “Thank you, sir.” Regis could hear the helicopter in the distance. He slowly walked back up the stairs. Once he met the door, he opened it, to be met with a huge S. Superman was at the door, and he had questions.

I am tied up with something but have a thought… by mistake an intended attack on Clark Kent misses or a bullet ricochets and it appears to be an assassination attempt on a politician (maybe incorporate real history here). Under increasing scrutiny, the CIA is forced to wind down their assassination program, at least as far as Clark Kent is concerned. To his handlers, shooter insists he struck Kent but that’s impossible, the politician was hit and nobody caught the hole in Clarks clothing. Shooter and ends up in an insane asylum… where he is subjected to a procedure that transforms him into a nemesis with special abilities, who only has it out for Clark Kent, not (knowingly) for Superman.

It used to be called Project:433-Kent.

These days we just call it Project Rasputin. You would too if you witnessed as much as we all have. The way that Clark Kent survives.

Human cockroach, the Unkillable, Metal Man, Clark Kent. All synonymous.

Like any of us, one eventually knows too much; gets too close. Even if he didn’t work for us, he couldn’t leave well enough alone when it came to Lex Luthor. It’s a shame, really, I would have liked to see that guy finally get what’s coming to him. Even so, you can’t punch up the system without getting put out. Not with how Mr. Luthor owns half the city, at least.

That’s why we all thought it’d be easy. Get in, get rid of the issue, get out. Have the local police turn a blind eye. We didn’t account for Clark to be the goddamn beast he actually is. The man eats bullets for breakfast, I swear to God. Then he gets up, goes to work, and doesn’t notice until lunchtime that there’s a hole in his shirt.

I wish I could tell you what color he bleeds, but we haven’t got that far. Not yet. Maybe he’ll kill us all before we get the chance. Then again it’s like he doesn’t even notice us; he probably thinks we’re annoying at best.

Bullets, poison, bits of metal in his food, all unnoticed and ineffective. Made no progress with explosives. Poisonous gas leak? No dice.

That being said…

Advice?

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Paragraph breaks are your friend

I agree completely- my favorite scene of him choosing who gets saved has a great parallel in Greek myth in the Iliad.

Zeus wants to save Sarpedon, but Hera tells him it is forbidden. Because he doesn’t save him, the Trojan war ends and thousands live.

Clark wants to save Lois, but Jor-el tells him it is forbidden. Because he saves Lois, he must deal with the consequences of his actions and the people he did not save as a result.

America likes to think they would support Superman when they would actually support Homelander.

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Thanks for the suggestion, I appreciate it!

DC would do well to make this the plot of man of steel 2. Even if it’s only the original writing prompt. Would be a breath of fresh air.

Smallville to be precise, Well the county that Smallville is In.

And I love that you gave his powers/sunlight it's own character almost, that was fantastic to read.

Eh, Fauci's public rep was crap after the AIDS response, and it wasn't rehabilitated in the press until COVID. He had a generally positive rep in industry circles, but any general press that came out before 2020 inevitably included the bungled AIDS vaccine.

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Gods alive this was beautiful.

Can you like, get licensed by DC to novelize Supes? Not in-house like as a contractor so you can maintain some creative independence.

This made me feel for the Man of Steel in an intensity I haven't since my teen years.

There's al qaeda video from afghanistan of a sniper shooting a US soldier in the chest, shouting a cheer, and then saying the arabic equivalent of "what the fuck?" When said soldier gets back up and returns fire. This was from before they learned about ballistic body armor.

I imagine a similar palette of emotions colored this man's mind when country boy Clark Kent gets up from a shot to the head.

Thanks for sharing! To be honest, I've always wanted to write a real Superman story - one that makes me feel the things I could never quite get from the official versions. Because they all make the same mistake of focusing on his strength. So writing this little prompt was very cathartic. I'd love to do more of it!

Thanks, glad you liked it!

The real antagonist in my ideal Superman story wouldn't be a super powered bad guy but rather the quiet banal evil of humanity itself. Our bottomless capacity for self harm. Even Superman would be challenged to overcome this and you can bet he isn't going to punch his way out of it.

Hard agree on all points my dude.

The best bits of the 90s batman and superman cartoons were Batman being the "worlds greatest detective" and Clark Kent being a great investigative journalist.

I cracked up at ‘Fiscal review scheduled’! As someone who has to deal with this stuff at work, the sarcasm was dripping off this. Well done!

Wow! Could you write more haha

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Project 433-Kent? How original. What? Are you surprised? You thought I wouldn't find you? It's a public forum. I don't even have to be a quasi-great journalist to find your rant. By the way I prefer just to be called "earthling" like every other "earthling" prefers. No need for all the name calling. Now I'm not sure why you would post this stuff about me. You must have me confused with someone else. I'm just trying to go about my normal mundane life, and just like everyone else I have good weeks and I have bad weeks. For example, this week has been a little rough on me so I'm a bit on edge. Monday my car blows up, I thank your god I bought that car from the POTUS auction. Tuesday, I'm sitting at the breakfast table reading how the Columbian cartel wars are picking up and find 2 spent bullets in my coffee. Not to mention a hole in my best work shirt while on lunch. I really should quit smoking cigars. Wednesday, I wake up to the smell of rotten eggs, and I'm pretty sure it was the dog, so I literally sent him to the moon doggie day care. Thursday, I blew out my toilet with what felt like shrapnel, now I have to sit on a damn inflatable doughnut! Can't stay off that jalapeno cabbage it's delicious.

So, you see, I'm just your normal run of the mill journalist with either a lot of luck on my side, or no luck at all, I'm not sure yet. And since you asked, I believe I will leave you with one bit of advice... RUN!

Thanks I appreciate the comment. I never really know how my writing is come across so it is great to hear. :)

Oh shit.

He found us.

Shut it down, shut everything d-

yeah, I didn’t think of SmallVille here

I kinda imagine the juggernaut hit marker sound effect from the older call of duty games

do you have a link for that?

While I know it's not sensitive, my first viewing of this particular clip was not on a public platform, so I have no idea where it'd be available. I can try tho.

Part 1

"Gentlemen" , spoke the Director. A wide wooden table was host to a small group of men in suits. With the folders each one carried and their elegance, it would probably fool the untrained eye into thinking it was a normal corporate meeting by executives. However, the people sitting were among the deadliest in the country, and the contents in their folders would probably make a tinfoil maniac out of the average Joe.

"It has fallen into my attention" , he continued, "that a metropolitan journalist who goes by Clark Kent has been stumbling disruptively close to many of the people present in this room's more sensitive projects. How should this situation be approached?".

"This man is currently aware of classified information that no person outside of the Agency has managed to manipulate without having their lives in jeopardy. Clark Kent has to be dealt with as swiftly as possible." , said Jasper Thompson, a high-ranking expert on assasinations.

"Yes, Thompson, it is being worked on unsuccessfully as we speak. Mr. Kent has unwittingly rejected food and office drinks laced with the deadliest toxins on this planet, survived any attempted traffic accidents, and all direct physical attempts carried out in Metropolis have been stopped by his red and blue buddy. So, any ideas?" replied the Director.

The room fell silent. Seconds later, a low, yet indistinct chatter began. Whispers were exchanged, archives shown around, and the possibility of metahuman killers was thrown around, until the low-ranking intern who had entered to take away their finished coffees decided to speak:

"Have you tried fishing him out of the city?"

"As unauthorized as you might be to stay within this meeting, I plead you to elaborate.".

"Here's the thing: If you try to do anything actually certain to him in Metropolis, such as setting up a sniper, the boy scout will simply scoop down and save him. But what about cities outside of the big S' territory? What about a shithole like Gotham, where we could bet for having half the town on our payroll and on him?".

The Director stood silent for a few seconds, as he slowly processed the available courses of action. Quickly after, he got up from his chair, and started the familiar order barking everyone was looking forward to. "You've got a point. Richard, elaborate a distraction story to draw Kent into Gotham. Gerry, delay all possible transport so as to buy us time for the set up. Jasper, arrange an agreement with Oswald Cobblepot and Roman Sionis, we do not need their organized crime rings to breathe on our necks. I will talk to Amanda Waller a few days after this meeting, and we will see if her goon squad can handle the mess ol' Smallville is getting himself into".

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Superman fighting bad guys isn’t interesting

But Superman trying to persuade people to be better? That’s interesting. How does he win people over? How does he change society without resorting to violence or autocracy?

Even if Supes isn’t trying to fix systemic problems, he can change people just by being himself. He can inspire people.

There’s a lot of stories you can tell. For example, what happens when Superman’s heroics inspire a young boy, and that boy then tries to stop a robbery at a local store and gets shot? That would wound Superman like no bullet can. And while Superman is trying to figure out what he could have, should have done, life doesn’t wait.

There’s another boy to inspire with inspiring words. There’s another villain to put a stop to without allowing any harm to come to anyone. Louis asked for a favor, Clark Kent has a report coming up, a politician wants a photo op, and all Superman wants to do is fly back to his fortress of solitude. He wants, just for one second, for this responsibility to be lifted from his shoulders. He wants, just once, to take the quick and easy way.

But he can’t. He can’t let go of the responsibility, he can’t use violence to solve problems, he can’t order people around, and he must continue to inspire people.

And it’s all worth it, because he does inspire people. He does save people. The henchman he spared, looked in the eye like the faceless mook was a real human now has a productive job. There are countless children happier and more optimistic about life because Superman is there.

Superman is a simple character. He’s as close to perfect as you can get (and he has to be, any abuse of power or laziness would be catastrophic), and he doesn’t change, doesn’t have a normal character arc.

Because Superman works as hard as he can to change the hearts and minds of other people. He is a beacon of hope. He is the catalyst for their character arcs.

Dang this was great. I love imagining the vengeance Superman could visit upon a rogue CIA.

Beautifully done, and I loved the ending.