Revolution: In the Beginning…
Tonight, we come to the home of one Lucy Lane, one that has been doing her best to make her father proud of her. Reckless in her youth and the family wild child Lucy has always been the apple of her father’s eye. Though her misadventures had caused her father much heartburn it seemed that she was ready to as her sister had always wanted her to do, grow up so to speak. Of course, it was a case of the pot calling the kettle black as her older sister Lois had seen her fair share of misadventures, but it seemed that Lucy was always to get away with just a little bit more than Lois could. Why no one truly knew, but truth be told both of General Sam Lane’s daughters felt pressure from their father and each found ways to rebel, each in different ways.
Lucy smoke, drank and dated boys they were no good for her. At least that was the way her father saw it. Lois chose to speak truth to power much to the chagrin of her father and when she found herself in the company of Superman. Well, that pushed him over the edge. She fought his support of Luthor tooth and nail and continued to rail against the star of Metropolis every chance she got. As a journalist she used the power of the pen to present a fair and balanced view Lex Luthor in hopes that it would open her father’s eyes to the man he was and how America would be worse off for it.
It should have come to no surprise that professionally Lois Lane continued to report the news as it happened doing her very best not to allow her opinion to jeopardize her journalistic integrity. However, privately Lucy watched as she railed against her father when he endorsed Lex Luthor for President when he went to the convention to speak of him in glowing terms it was akin to driving a stake through Lois heart. For the first time Lucy Lane could see that her family was falling apart, so she took to action attempting to broker an armistice between her sister and her father.
She tried at least. She wanted to announce that she would be returning to school to finish getting her degree. Despite the fact that they did not agree politically they could be a family. They loved one another as much as a family could despite the strained relations. This is what she wanted, but what she received was more accusations, mutual frustration from both parties and general unpleasantness. What sent Lois over the edge was the statement that her father made regarding her support of Superman that he was the anti-Luthor it was probably all that she saw because her view of Luthor was quite myopic.
It was probably bit more biting that that. Of course, that lead to the Cold War that settled between the two of them. They didn’t speak and naturally you were not to speak to one about the other. As much as she wanted to leave it all behind Lucy became the one to bind them together as best she could. Which meant visiting Lois at least once a month having Sunday dinners with her father.
When he arrived she was delighted to see him, as she had been the last several months. She had recently begun seeing someone that made her delightfully happy. Lois could even see it when she came to Metropolis. He had become a sounding board for her. It didn’t start out that way, but she caught his eye on campus one day and they began seeing one another.
He was a physics student, talented one at that. It was something that he and her father could talk about as he would go over some of the things he read recently and slowly her father began to respond to his comments as they spoke about theories. Which surprised Lucy. Her father was around individuals that were like her boyfriend. He actually started to become a translator. He didn’t share what he was working on, but there were terms and theories that he didn’t understand that Lucy’s boyfriend was able to break down for him.
Then it happened, Sam Lane began to open up to his daughter and talk about how difficult it was for him to not speak to Lois. Father and daughter grew closer so much so that her father brought a colleague of his to dinner a few times. Someone he thought could use a home cooked meal and Lucy seemed to delight in doing them because it meant something to her she had begun to connect it to family. Something that she hadn’t had before. She had family, but the feeling, normal family dinners. It was something that they lost when they lost her mother.
She would have never thought that it was something had wanted, but when the doorbell rang she smiled. “Babe, they’re here!” She called out a she answered the door.
“Dad.” There was bright beaming smile upon her face as she leaned in to give her father a hug. She gave his friend a salute. “Captain Adam.”
“Miss Lane,” he replied back after returning her mock salute. “Good to see you as always.”
“I told you. You can call me, Lucy.” She said with a smile. “You can head back to den. He’s finishing up a paper. He said he wanted to talk to you to, Dad, but I wanted to steal you first.” She slipped her arm into General arm walking towards the kitchen with him.
“How’s the project coming. I know you can’t talk about it, but good bad? Success?” She smiled looking down at the table. “He finished the calculations for you like he promised. He said that they had a few lines wrong. He said that the simulations should go through without a problem now.”
Sam smiled. “Lucy, you make it sound like I’m just here for your boyfriend’s help.” Which was and wasn’t true. It started with a few problems that the project was having, and he happened to mention when he came through frustrated. An offer was made and now he was back on track.
“I’m just teasing, Dad.” She grinned walking into the kitchen with him.
In the back of the apartment, Captain Nathaniel Adam knocked on the door pushing it open smiling over towards Lucy’s boyfriend who had offered several insights about the work he was doing and what it meant.
“Lucy’s looking very happy as is the General. He says you have us on track.” Nathaniel offered as he moved towards the large oversized chair in the room to take a seat. “I think everything is going well.”
On the floor beside Lucy’s boyfriend were copies of the Daily Planet and the Gotham Gazette along with papers from Central City, Star City, Fawcett City and many others.
Reaching for the cup of tea and spoon the table beside him Nathaniel watched as the other slipped the spoon into the cup drag it slowly around the rim a bit before giving it a few slight taps, three to be exact causing Nathaniel stopped talking.
Shortly thereafter the door shut and the man began to speak, but it was a mix of two voices as another man slid beside Lucy’s boyfriend as if he was whispering the words that the other was to say to Nathaniel.
“Good. Let’s talk your progress.” Standing from his seat he smiled over at him. “There’s still a lot of work to do. They’re going to be watching your every move. Looking for signs of weakness, instability and betrayal. I need you to be the man are. Honest. Earnest. They are looking for a new kind of weapon. I’m looking for a beacon of hope. Someone they can send down in a ticker tape parade. Someone the President can be proud of. All of them can be proud of. Someone that will make them less afraid, because their always afraid and because their afraid they’ll want to control you.”
The second man was completely ignored by Lucy’s boyfriend, but when he spoke his words were spoken by Lucy’s boyfriend as if they were his own.
“M’gann and Raven will come and they will search for anything that’s been done, but no we can’t have that. No betrayals. You will show them the kind of man you are before and the one after. You will be the puppet that General Lane and Welling need you to be. They need to prove themselves. One alien means there are more. The world must be ready. All bets are off. They clamor for control, but you know what I want Captain Adam?~
Simon stood behind the high back chair with his back against it waiting for the word to be spoken by Nathaniel.
“A revolution.”
“Yes. A revolution and you will be the shot that will be heard around the world when it’s all said and done. When the dust clears, but right now let’s begin. Starting with the first date and the name. Tell me of the others. Tell me their names. Tell me when they were taken. Tell me when they died. Tell me why. Tell me how. It’s the only way you will remember them. Don’t worry. Lucy and General Lane will understand if we’re a bit late.”
Simon shut his eyes and began to implant the images of the others that had lost their lives to N.O.W.H.E.R.E over the years as Captain Adams and Lucy’s boyfriend discussed their “work.”
Pressing against the back of the chair Simon nodded upon hearing what he wanted to hear from Nathaniel. Parting his lips he spoke the words that as told to Nathaniel by his mouthpiece. He was no one. As far as anyone was concerned he was A. FOAF, a concerned global citizen.
“Yes. A revolution and you will be the shot that will be heard around the world when it’s all said and done. When the dust clears, but right now let’s begin. Starting with the first date and the name. Tell me of the others. Tell me their names. Tell me when they were taken. Tell me when they died. Tell me why. Tell me how. It’s the only way you will remember them. Don’t worry. Lucy and General Lane will understand if we’re a bit late.”
Simon shut his eyes and began to implant the images of the others that had lost their lives to N.O.W.H.E.R.E over the years as Captain Adams and Lucy’s boyfriend discussed their “work.”