Thread: Kryptonite (Belle and Father)

Jessie had never seen Editor Lane go through such an incredible shift - from being utterly annoyed with the poor assistant she'd brought along with her to absolutely engaging and thrilled with Mr. Westerfield. Jessie had known the Editor's goals for a long period of time were to discredit the Man of Steel...but Westerfield was talking about something far more deadly than mere slander. As he showed them through his personal stores and spoke of his want to 'understand' the vast peoples we shared the Universe with, and the part that Superman had to play in that, Jessie was already feeling anxious. But when he showed them his strange store of red stones - glowing in a bloodthirsty radiance that reminded Jessie of the collapse of a star - she completely froze. And with this you can weaken him? Editor Lane pressed, her eyes alight with the same gaze a tiger might use when assessing how to leap upon a deer. With this, Westerfield amended, but a similar gaze in his eyes told Lane and Jessie all they needed to know. We can even the playing field, and bring all in this great country to justice. No more shall we as a people cower before what we do not understand like victims beneath a storm, or supplicants before some demonic monster. With the might of our fine men and women in arms - like your father, Ms. Olsen - and the knowledge to unweave the deepest secrets of the Universe, we shall take our stand against the calamities that rain down from the skies above...or even from the corners of our own cities. Well what are you waiting for, Olsen? Lane said, turning over her shoulder to look at Jessie. Snap a picture! Jessie had just enough time to make sure she didn't look too troubled when Lane looked her way and instead she dutifully brought the camera up to her eyes and took the picture. She had no idea that at that very moment someone was watching her . ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jessie couldn't drive home fast enough. The uneasy thumping in her chest and the tempest of anxiety in her stomach made her not even want to take Barbara up on a slice of pizza for dinner. All she could think of was getting home. For some reason the idea of home made her feel...safe. But that was stupid! Why should she need to feel safe? She was in no danger. No. But he was. Heman. Superman. Whatever she called him. It didn't change the fact that he was the one who should want to run. Then...why did she feel the want to flee? The eyes of Metropolis weren't on her. There wasn't an extension of the government built just to kill her . And yet she felt as though she was going to be sick with worry. Even as she walked into her apartment and put her things down, taking off her dark green pea coat and rolling up the sleeves of her sweater, Jessie still felt constricted - as though the air in the apartment itself was trying to choke her. With shaky hands she tried to fix herself some chai - but even that didn't go as planned. By the second time she almost dropped her mug she decided to give up on the whole stupid idea. Making her way over to the couch she tried flipping through several channels from every spectrum of news to South Park to a documentary on space of course. And even then she couldn't shake the nerves. So finally she turned the T.V off and folded her elbows on her knees as she thought. The documentary's images of super novas still filtering in her mind, her thoughts once more drifted to Heman. And this time - unlike the rest of the week - she allowed herself to focus on him. And the anxiety slowly started to fade. Then she understood. She was trying to tell herself something. Jessie needed to keep her promise. But there was no way to do it? It wasn't as though she had his cell phone or some communication device. When he had left he made it evident that there was to be no more communication between them. So now how was she to alert him to the danger? She could always go back to that alley way...but that was stupid beyond all reason. As she racked her brain trying to figure something out, she thought back to what people had always said about him. He was fast. He was strong. He had incredible senses- Senses! Jessie stood up and went to her window. She had no balcony, but the window looked out over the city and maybe - if his senses were as good as everyone claimed - maybe her could hear her! She couldn't shout - that would alert everyone in her building and the near by vicinity of their secret camaraderie. So instead she took in a gentle breath and began to whisper as soft as a prayer. Heman? she called out. Heman it's me - it's Jessie. I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can, I need you to find me. Come find me quickly. Please. Because throwing out the magic word never hurt anybody.