Firebrand, Superman, Lois Lane, and the Avengers in... Unfortunately Lex Luthor Is An Asshole

[stands_for_hope]

That morning, there wasn't a paper that didn't have a variation of one headline:

Captain America Comes Out in Support of Superman

The quotes were all different, though: 'He's here to help, same as me.' 'I've never met a kinder, more civic-minded man.' 'I've fought beside him and I'd do it again; there's very few people I'd trust to have my back like Superman.'

The Planet was the only one who had a full interview to go along with the statement that had been distributed to the various publications, an exclusive as written by Lois Lane who was starting to get known as the woman to go to if you needed to talk to a harder-to-find superhero. Lois didn't mind that one bit, honestly, though Cat Graham had started to ask her if she knew any of their numbers to get herself a date.

Later, on another day, Clark might wonder if that had been as much of a catalyst as anything. Because that was the day that Lex Luthor decided to make his play.

The massive spider mecha seemed to appear out of nowhere, towering over parts of the downtown area that had only just begun to be rebuilt. The streets were suddenly filled with rolling war machines, filled to the brim with alien soldiers speaking a language that was unfamiliar and strange to anyone who might hear it. Strange flying ships made their way from the outskirts of the city inward, terrifying the people as they scattered them from the streets. And all of them, each and every one of them, wore red, blue, and gold... and sported the s-like curve as an emblem.

The invasion had begun.

Comments

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"I guess we are, come to think of it," Steve agreed with a bit of a laugh before putting his own crate underneath his arm. The hard plastic held up well even with the weight.

"Hopefully, Tony hasn't driven Lois insane yet."

[kolodnoykovki]

"Don't worry about her - she'll kick his ass if he gets out of line. And I don't think Clark would hold her back. From what I understand, Tony used to hit on her pretty bad." Back before he and Pepper became an item.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Oh."

That was a very little 'oh'. Because Oh.

"I didn't get the feeling that Clark holds her back from much of anything. I can certainly appreciate that."

[kolodnoykovki]

Jim shook his head. "They both do what they want. Lois is very strong in her opinions. Definitely Dugan's."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"There's a decent amount of Margot in there too," he said as they walked.

"I don't think you got to know Margot that much, but I spent enough time with her during the USO tour. Lived with her heart open and a blackjack in either fist, but it worked for her."

[kolodnoykovki]

"I don't remember all of that really clearly," he admitted. "Sometimes better than others. Everything is kind of..."

Jim shook his head. It was difficult to put in words, though he had a sort of image in his mind. "They... move around. Sometimes I can reach them, sometimes I can't. Some things are still gone."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Does it mess with your head, me being like this?" he asked, and it was a mark of how much he'd settled himself out that the question was more curiosity than anything.

"I know sometimes I forget that I'm not five nothing anymore, after all."

[kolodnoykovki]

After a faint laugh, he nodded. "A little bit. I remember more of you being about... this high."

He motioned toward Steve's old height, drawing an invisible line with one finger on Steve's arm.

"Not all of the war is blurry, but most of what I remember is snow and cold, and I'm not sure how much of that is really what was there and how much is being stuck in the cryotube. I try not to think about it because it... turns into ... There's a word for it, but damned if I remember."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"A lot of it was snowy and cold," he admitted, "but I know what you mean. At least, I think I do. It's probably about how I felt the first time I tried to take a bath."

[kolodnoykovki]

"Count yourself lucky you can wash your hair without a glove on. Damn hand catches hair like you wouldn't believe." Jim rolled his eyes. "But they did give me some of what they gave you. Y'know, to go with the arm."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

He nodded.

"I've read the file. It mentioned that."

He looked over at his friend.

"Would you... I have copies, but I have the original Nat gave me. Would you want it?"

[kolodnoykovki]

"No." It wasn't angry, or even emphatic. It was just a simple statement. "I know what they did. If you want to tell Clark or Lois, give it to them, that's fine, but... I already know. That, I remember."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

He didn't gravely nod or sadly nod. He just nodded.

"I'll pass it off to Lois. She's kind of taken point on coordinating between our two little groups. Clark just chats with everyone on the computer."

[kolodnoykovki]

"They both know more about that than I do. I almost got shot trying to get those files to Stark," he said, shaking his head. "I'm probably going to take a class eventually. I think the VA offers it."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"It's really helpful for researching things, though I end up going to the library just as often. The girls there are about as helpful as you can get."

He looked sideways.

"Shot?"

[kolodnoykovki]

Jim looked at him flatly. "Did you think I just walked into the Lexcorp building?"

[justakidfrombrklyn]

He couldn't lift his hands given that he was carrying things, but the expression was there.

"I don't know what you did! I just got the report afterwards, from you I might add. Tony didn't give me the details either; he mostly just said he heard from you and that he had some work to do and then he disappeared. I'm not psychic."

[kolodnoykovki]

"I climbed his building, broke through his window after rerouting his security system, and was in the process of warning him to lay off Clark when he showed how crazy he was, so I had to knock him out and get the files he'd shown me before his private army came in," Jim explained. "But the damn computer caught me up. Those touchscreens don't work when your fingers are metal."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Yeah, Tony loves them, but give me a normal keyboard any day. I'm kind of getting into the iPad a little since Nat took me to the shop to grab one; it was great when I was on the road a lot, but I bought a keyboard for the damn thing."

[kolodnoykovki]

"I have no idea that any of that is except 'keyboard,'" Jim admitted. "Like I said, they never gave me much tech. Just instructions to deal with what tech I found."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"I've just been out a little longer," he assured him, "thankfully, they make the stuff easy to learn on purpose."

He glanced at the street and then forward, towards the apartment building.

"Almost there. We'll definitely beat the chinese food."

[kolodnoykovki]

"Good. I'm not going to make anybody else pay for it." But after a moment, he added, "Except Stark. Probably pocket change to him."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"He might insist. He gets a bizarre kind of kick out of bankrolling things," Steve admitted as they made their way to the stairs, "hence the giant Tower that we've all started to hang our hats at lately."

[kolodnoykovki]

"I don't have a problem with letting him pay. Hell, saves my money. I've got most of mine in the damn bank where I can't touch it for a while. Some kind of two week wait until they get a card made." The stairs were no problem, even with the weighty crate he carried.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

As they got to the door, Steve actually started smiling just a little.

He'd gone to the store with Jim. They'd had a walk and a talk and everything had gone just fine, even when it'd rubbed up against some of the sensitive points for both of them and between them.

It'd been... good. Normal. Just the two of them.

The way it made his chest hurt a little, though... he'd need to tug him aside, maybe before they fell asleep. Maybe the next morning. He wasn't sure if it was the right time, but he was hoping that, with everything going so well, it would at least work out.

He shifted the box to one arm specifically and opened the door, holding it open for Jim behind him.

The apartment was pretty much how they'd left it: Thor was watching animated ponies with Sam, Tony, and Lois. Clark was fiddling around the kitchen, neatening up as best he could. Clint was not to be seen at that moment but that only meant he may have found a perch that wasn't visible from the door.

"We come bearing drinks," Steve announced, "and breakfast for tomorrow."

Clark looked utterly relieved and cleared off a spot on the kitchen table for both crates.

"Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it."