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3 CENTURIES AGO, the first superpowered beings, known as METAHUMANS, appeared on Earth, ushering in a new era of TITANS AND MONSTERS
3 DECADES AGO, an extradimensional baby was sent in a pod to Earth, and adopted by two Hometown monsters.
3 YEARS AGO, the baby, now grown, announced themself as SUPERMAN, the most powerful human of all.
3 MONTHS AGO, Superman, who spends their days as reporter KRIS DREEMURR, went on their first date with old childhood friend and fellow reporter, NOELLE HOLIDAY.
3 WEEKS AGO, Superman stopped the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA from invading THE UNDERGROUND, sparking controversy around the world.
3 HOURS AGO, a metahuman called the HAMMER OF HUMANITY attacked Superman in the city of Metropolis.
3 MINUTES AGO, Superman lost a battle for the first time.
3 DAYS LATER, Superman is now wanted for arrest due to government and public suspicion of nefarious intentions, due to a recording found by billionaire CEO W.D. GASTER and his henchmen, THE ENGINEER AND ULTRAMAN.
“I mean It seems to me that the only rabid around here is Superman! Ever since the discovery of the Darkner’s master plan, they’ve gone off the deep end! Thoughts, Spamton?”
“CAN’T SAY I’M [SURPRISED]-!”
The news broadcast trailed off as Superman, still wearing their suit, drifted into the window of their apartment. They couldn’t help the sigh that slipped out of his mouth as they slumped into the couch. Their suit was still covered in the ashes from the Titan’s fire. Kris hadn’t even had a chance to breathe before Gaster dropped that bombshell on the world…and them. They saw that Ma and Pa had left several voicemails, but that was the least of Kris’ concerns.
Gaster.
They know he took the dog. They just know it. Didn’t matter if they made a fool of themself on the TV, the dog was gone and he took it and admitted it and no one cared. And that message…it had to have been fake, right?
No, Mr. Tenna said it was real, but…this whole time, Kris had been sent here to rule? What have they been doing all these years? Was it all a lie from the very start? And what about-
Just like that, the TV clicked off. Kris looked up in shock to see Noelle, slumped against the counter with a mug in her hand. She had a slightly bemused expression on her face. “You have a dog?”
Kris exhaled slightly. They forgot they gave her the keys to the apartment. “No, not really, it’s more of a…foster situation.”
She smiled, a bit wider, seemingly accepting the explanation. She put the remote down, picked up a second mug, and gently walked towards them. Every time Kris saw Noelle, they were in awe of just how…beautiful she was. They’d just reunited for the first time after almost twenty-five years not that long ago and she’d changed so much. As they ruminated on the past, Noelle offered one of the mugs to them. “Hot cocoa. Your favorite.”
Kris scoffed. “Your favorite too, if memory serves?”
Noelle giggled. “Fahaha, yeah, that’s why I made myself one as well.”
The joyful energy left the room as quickly as it seeped in. The situation was too grave to even consider the past, no matter how tempting it may be. Noelle cleared her throat, her expression now concerned. “You were out there helping them?”
She gestured outside, which Kris barely spared a glance towards. “Out there,” Susie, Antony, and Berdly, better known to the world as Hawkgirl, Mr. Tenna, and the Green Lantern were fighting against a giant monster, with a massive display which screened a distorted human face, and a set of plant-like tentacles which outstretched over Metropolis. Berdly summoned a giant bat and Mr. Tenna surveyed the situation with drones, as Susie went for a more physical approach.
Kris seemed surprised by the question. “Oh, no, it’s just uh…just some dimensional imp. They’ve got that handled, I was looking for the dog.”
Noelle paused. They were being surprisingly casual about what looked to be a monster far more intimidating than the Titan they fought earlier. Then again, she suspected that the monster was the least of their worries, judging by the serious expression on their face. She sat down on the couch across from him. “You okay?”
They shook their head. “The footage is not what it looks like, Noelle.”
She had to resist the urge to slip into reporter mode. Now was the time to listen, not ask questions. “…Okay.”
“The ship my parents sent me in was damaged in transit, so I only ever heard the first part of the message. And I believed: I knew how it ended: that my parents sent me here to serve the people of Earth and be a good…” They paused for a beat. Noelle clocked it instantly. They were going to say a ‘good man.’ She almost grimaced at the thought and scowled internally. Another thing their birth-parents got wrong about Kris. “…a good person,” Kris eventually settled on.
“I’m not here to rule over anybody, Noelle.”
Noelle had to stop herself from reaching over and hugging Kris. She needed to hold back, for both of their sakes. “I never thought you were. Even for a moment, Kris. I know you too well for that to even be a possibility.”
Kris nodded, almost to themself, and took a sip from the mug. Noelle smiled softly, and did the same. The former sighed, “Ah that’s good. Glad to see you haven’t lost your touch.”
Noelle giggled, just a little bit. Then Kris exhaled and closed his eyes, almost in pain. “I’m sorry we fought.”
Oh right, Noelle thought. The fight. Kris had come home, eager to celebrate their three-month anniversary as a couple. Noelle gave Kris a bit of trouble for the potential optics of constantly interviewing themself as “Superman,” before they suggested that she just interview them one-on-one. Kris got flustered during the interview, went to walk out, and Noelle made the mistake of saying “I knew this wouldn’t work.” Even now, she winced at the thought. Kris, being Kris, walked out not long after.
Noelle nodded. “Me too.” And she meant it…but she couldn’t help the smile that crept on her face. “But we’re bound to, though. We’re so different. I’m a punk rock kid from Metropolis and you’re…Superman.”
Kris recoiled. “Punk rock? Since when were you punk rock?”
Noelle scowled. “I listen to punk! I listen to Green Day, My Chemical Romance-”
“Oh, okay, you know what, that makes sense.”
“What do you mean ‘that makes sense’?!”
“If memory serves, Noelle, before you left Hometown you only listened to Christmas music!”
“And what about you?! Back then, you listened to Radiohead, Tally Hall, Tame Impala, and now, for some reason, I heard you listening to Journey and Electric Light Orchestra?!”
Kris paused…and then immediately started to blush. Noelle cackled. “Oh, that gets you to quiet down?!”
“Shush-”
“And now you say ‘shush’?! When did you become so reserved? You listen to pop bands and refuse to curse-!”
“And when did you become me?!” Kris immediately gasped. Slowly, as they let the silence hang, both Kris and Noelle started to smile a little bit. They couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. “When did you and I become opposites?”
Noelle let out a long exhale. She wasn’t prepared to talk about this, but…Kris had a right to know the truth. The truth of how she became who she is today. “Did I ever tell you why we left Hometown for Metropolis?”
Kris shook their head, their hair gently waving back and forth. “All Ma told me was that it had to do with your dad.”
Noelle nodded slightly. “Yeah well, Carol found a experimental medical treatment that would save Rudy. All it required was for Dess and her to work for a billionaire in town that had that treatment. There were experiments, procedures, and every time Dess and Carol came home…I could see the look in their eyes…they’d changed. They’d become more bitter as the billionaire whispered poison into their ears. I don’t know what he told them, but when dad eventually died, they barely mourned. Instead they blamed the ‘Metahumans.’
That billionaire was Gaster.”
Kris’ eyes went wide as Noelle continued, “When the mighty Superman showed up onto the scene…god they hated you. Dess got some sort of experiment done to herself and I haven’t seen her since. Carol and I never talk anymore and that’s fine by me. I hate them for how they let my dad die in silence because of how they took the word of some rich bastard. I promised myself to expose Gaster…and to bring all of them into the light. Even if that means sending my own sister and mother to prison.”
Noelle balled her fists in her lap, those old familiar feelings threatening to tumble to the surface…until she felt a nudge at her feet. Kris had reached across with their foot to tap her, a way to ground her, just like they did when they were kids. “Noelle…I’m so sorry.”
She shook her head. “Kris, you have nothing to apologize for. You can’t save everyone, and that’s okay.”
Kris looked off to the side, his vibrant eyes gleaming for just a second. “…I have to try. Asriel’s death changed things. You weren’t there when it happened, Noelle. I heard him and I…I couldn’t get to him. I failed. Ma and Pa tell me it wasn’t my fault, that nothing could’ve been done, but from that moment on…I had to treat every life as it was my whole world. I created a persona, an idea to sink myself into. This is who I am now, Noelle. And it’s…it’s better like this.”
She let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. Noelle tapped their foot as well to get their attention as she beamed. “Kris, despite everything, you’re still you. I still see that little kid in you, who wore devil horns to fit in, who cried when they first watched Bambi, who tried so hard to scare me and cheer me up when I was down. My problem is that I question everything…and everyone. But you? You trust everyone and think everyone you’ve ever met is, like…beautiful.”
Kris looked up, their bangs parting for just a moment, allowing her to see their beautiful red eyes. A small smirk crossed their features. “Maybe that’s the real punk rock.”
Noelle scoffed, but smiled wide. Typical Kris. Then a serious expression surfaced on Kris’ face as they leaned forward, mug still in hand. Their faces were just a few inches apart and Noelle thought they were gonna lean forward and- “Noelle, what did you mean you said…that you knew this would never work?”
And just like that, her heart sank. An expression of guilt flashed across her face as she realized one irrefutable fact: “I…I don’t know.”
She wished she had a better answer, something more she could’ve said to explain herself, but by the time she rethought her words, Kris scratched their face and stood up. “I’m gonna go. The DOJ has a warrant out for my arrest so…I’m gonna turn myself in.”
Noelle gasped, “What? Why?!”
“Maybe they’ll take me wherever they took the dog.” They looked down, worried. “I don’t know how else to find him.”
Noelle grabbed their hand, baffled. “It’s a dog.”
“Yeaaaah, and he’s not even a very good one but…he’s out there alone…and he’s probably scared.”
As Kris went to step out the window, Noelle held tighter. In that moment, she felt this incredible fondness for them as all their previous arguments seemed to flow out the window. In that moment, not knowing if she’d ever see them again, she embraced them as tightly as humanly possible. She could barely make out the smile on their face as they lifted her up. She paid no mind to the resolution of the tentacle monster fight outside, all that mattered was Kris’ warmth, their smell, the way their heartbeat pumped slowly.
“I love you, Noelle.”
Noelle’s eyes shot open and once again, she felt all oxygen leave her lungs. Kris didn’t stop there. “I…probably should’ve told you that a long time ago.”
Before she could inquire further, Superman gently let her down and gave one last small smile before flying out the window. The breeze left by their speed billowed against her face as her exhale of dread and terror was absorbed into the night sky.
In that moment, Noelle made a promise to herself. No matter what happened in the next few days, she would bring Kris back into her arms again.
Then she would tell them the truth.
But for now, all she could do was watch as her best friend, her partner, and her hero flew into the night sky, into what would almost certainly be their certain doom.