Thread: Kryptonite (Belle and Father)

The gods envy us. They envy us because were mortal, because any moment may be our last. Everything is more beautiful because were doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again. - Homer, The Illiad When there is no guarantee that peace had actually been attained - or worse that it was lasting - there was no chance for Metropolis to heal in the wake of the battle between the Justice League and Project FairPlay. The Justice League had been officially cleared, sure, but then who carried the blame? Certainly not President Waller. Certainly not the innocent humans who merely wished to protect themselves against these understandably frightening gods of wonton destruction and intergalactic infamy. So who did that leave? Well in the year since the official termination of Project FairPlay, the public opinion longed for a monster to chase, and put 'them' on the other side of the line from 'us'. Who cared if there was a public pardon and a retraction from the most powerful woman in Metropolis media? That was then. This was now. And now Jessamine Jessie Olson was officially screwed. Said most powerful woman - in the wake of what she personally called 'a disgraceful lack of judgment' - had retracted her retraction was that even a thing?, Jessie wondered and now Editor Lane was out for blood. How dare they fool her, how dare the 'bane of Metropolis' convince her that he was anything less than 'the Man of Destruction'?!And one perfectly timed shot of the attack one year ago had not only earned Jessie an award, but the position of the primo photo journalist at The Daily Planet. The photo - which had captured Superman striking down the last of the metal monstrosities unleashed by FairPlay - was not only commended for the excellent lighting and the use of angles, but because it was understood she herself must have had to put herself in incredible danger to be so close to the public menace...and the evil giant robot. But now that meant when the lovely Lois Lane decided to join a not so secret collective of Metropolis elite determined to capture something of the remnant Justice League to re-open the open hostilities. And if Jessie Olson could get a photo showing the Superman being a hero, certainly she could catch one of him committing a crime worthy of such anger. So...anything? asked the familiar voice of her long time, long distance friend Barbara through the ear piece of Jessie's cellphone. Not even a little bit, Jessie sighed. She was laying on the bed of her matchbox apartment, her long, bright ginger hair dangling off the edge of the mattress as she held her camera over her head while scanning through the day's pictured. Ms. Lane is going to kill me. Ooooor she could get off her pretentious ass and carry out her crusade against Captain Trench Coat on her own, Barbara snapped. Jessie laughed and lowered her camera. Ha. That's so funny it makes me almost forget my impending doom. Barbara was quiet a moment before continuing. You don't think she's going to fire you, do you? Jessie shrugged, causing the cellphone perched on her shoulder to jostle dangerously. I don't fuckin' know. It's been months since she put me on this and it doesn't matter where I go...it's never where He is. And she's getting mad. Like 'hella mad. I got a five minute shouting lecture today. Apparently if I can't get my shot, I could go be a fifteen minutes of fame failure at another paper. Well then tell her to dangle herself out of the edge of a building or something and I bet he'll come run-er- flying . Jessie grinned. I volunteer to push her. Nah don't do that - cuz then I'd be forced to arrest you, Barbara muttered. And that's not something I want to endure on my vacation. Jessie blinked and set the camera down beside her. Come again? Knock knock, Barbara said and she hung up. At that moment Jessie heard a knock on her apartment. Leaping to her feet she ran as carefully as she could in her socks and opened the door. Standing there was a young woman slightly shorter than she was with darker red hair, bright blue eyes, and a bright smile on her pretty face. Jessie gasped and reached out to hug her. Holy crap! You didn't say you were coming! she shouted. Barbara laughed. Isn't that the whole point of a surprise, Olson?! Jessie let her go and took a step back. I didn't think your Dad would give you off of Police Training! Believe it! Barbara grinned. Now come on, let's see if Metropolis holds a candle to the Gotham night scene. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thirty minutes later and dressed in a little, black dress that showed off a fair bit of her fair skin and complimented the bright tones of her hair, Jessie and Barbara arrived in the entertainment district of Metropolis. Littered with coffee shops, clubs, and theatres the glitterati frequented, there was certainly plenty of places to see and be seen. Reports of two serial rapists on the loose in the area hadn't dampened the attendance of these clubs, and Jessie felt a little more certain being linked arm in arm with Barbara. Standing outside the biggest club around - the Emerald Room - the two girls chatted about work and boys. Barbara had met a young man named Dick who worked as an intern in Wayne Enterprises, and was already received excellent marks in her training at the GCPD Academy. And that night he brought coffee to the house and you should have seen the look on my Dad's face! I thought he was going to pull out his pistol when Dick showed up at ten p.m. with my latte! she grinned. Thank God he didn't. That'd be one clich too many! Jessie laughed. The little clutch Barbara was holding began to vibrate and she reached in to pull out her cellphone. Ha! Speak of the- she muttered and then looked up at Jessie. It's Dick. Mind if I take this? Nah, I'll meet you inside, Jessie said. Barbara smiled and turned to take a few steps away from the line and the pounding noise. Jessie leaned against the wall and resisted the urge to start bobbing her head to the beat of the music like the very definition of a tool. Something caught her eye just out of the corner of her gaze. Something that moved way too fast to be human. Jessie turned around and stared at the corner behind her. She was sure she'd seen it...but what was it? Curiosity gnawed at her insides like a restless tapeworm and she felt her heart skip. No, she thought. This was exactly the kind of thing common sense told her to avoid...but the last time she'd seen anything move that fast it was...Him. Her fingers began unzipping her clutch and she pulled out her new IPhone 6. Time to put that excellent camera to good use! Leaving her spot as the last person in line she slowly began walking towards the corner. Just a peak. That's all she needed. Just one last chance to save her job...