This is it, Blaine thought as he flew across the city at super-speed. He’d been operating there for a few weeks already, and though he’d been noticed enough to be news and to get named, he hadn’t been fully seen or photographed yet. But there would be tons of reporters waiting at Star Labs, including Kurt.

Blaine couldn’t believe that he had actually been partnered with THE Kurt Hummel. He’d been reading Kurt’s pieces for a long time now and was a huge admirer of his. He knew that Kurt had started in the Life and Style section of the paper, but after he uncovered some scandal in the fashion industry he had broken into investigative reporting and was now one of The Planet’s top reporters. Blaine was shocked at first to hear he’d been partnered with such a journalistic star, but Burt had explained some of it to him back in his office.

“I’ve got just the person for you to work with, kid. He’s good, real good, you’ll learn a lot from him. But he’s also pretty single-minded in his work and way too reckless. Hopefully you can help him with that. This guy’s important to me, so I’m trusting you on this. My gut says you’re a good guy and I always trust my gut.”

Blaine liked Burt already, and he envied how he and Kurt were so close for a boss and employee; they seemed more like father and son. Of course thoughts like that made Blaine homesick for Ohio and Cooper, so he ignored those feelings and focused on the problem at hand. He was nearing Star Labs and he needed to assess the damage and make sure everyone was clear of the building.

As he arrived at Star Labs, Blaine did a quick scan of the area to formulate a plan.

Ok, there’s a crowd already but the police are keeping them back. The building looks stable; none of the main supports have been damaged. Nothing’s on fire. Looks like almost everyone has been evacuated. Good, they’re a research lab, they’re prepared for emergencies. Okay… 3 people trapped on the 12th floor, 4 people on the 13th floor, there’s a lab on 13 leaking… something… that’s probably dangerous… oh, and a whole bunch of people on the roof. Ok, Blaine, let’s see how super you really are.

Blaine took a breath to focus himself, and then he got to work. After finding a window on the 13th floor take fly through, he focused on each task before him. When he was like this, doing what he needed to do save lives, it felt like the rest of the world melted away. Besides singing, this is what Blaine was best at: helping people. Both performing and “heroing” gave him the same rush. He felt focused, he felt alive, he felt invincible. Whether onstage back in high school or in his spandex as an adult, these were the times when Blaine felt at home in his own skin. After years of wondering why he had ever crash-landed on this planet, Blaine finally knew what he was meant to do. He was putting his powers to use, putting his life to use, and making a real difference. For once, Blaine could see himself being happy with his life.

After he had made sure the building was safe and helped evacuate every last person from Star Labs to the waiting ambulances outside, Blaine let himself stop for a breathe. That’s when he finally noticed the crowd behind the police cordon. It seemed like every news outlet in the east coast had sent someone to cover the explosion, and they were all yelling for him. Ever since he had been photographed rescuing an experimental shuttle a few weeks before, the whole world wanted to know who he was. Kurt had written one of the first big stories about him, calling him “Metropolis’ Superman,” and the name had stuck. That was the name they were all screaming at him now as Blaine stood in front of the Star Labs building in a bit of a daze.

“Superman! Superman! Can we get a statement?”

“Superman! Where are you from?”

“Superman! What are you here for?”

“Superman! What ARE you?”

“Superman!”

Blaine was overwhelmed. Suddenly he felt a hand on his arm and he whirled around. Facing him down was a tense looking Hispanic police officer that practically snarled at him.

“Hey Super stud. Either give us a statement or get out of my hair. I’ve got enough mierda to deal with over here without some loco white boy in his undies drawing a crowd.”

Blaine shook himself and gave the woman his best apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, officer. I’m here to help though, just let me know what you need. And… sorry about the reporters.”

She sighed at him. “Fine, whatever.” She stuck out her hand. “Captain Santana Lopez. And it’d probably just be better if you flew off or something. There more you stick around a scene like this, the worse it will be for us.”

Blaine’s smile dropped. He hadn’t realized that he would cause so much trouble. Captain Lopez immediately noticed his reaction.

“Hey, Supes, it’s fine. Stop with the sad puppy eyes. Look, thank you for what you did today. Just because it’s giving me extra paperwork and a killer headache doesn’t mean we’re not all grateful. Got it?”

Blaine smiled back sheepishly. “Sorry again, Captain. And really, let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.”

“Just… keep saving everybody, and try not to get in my way for the clean-up. Oh, and do something about all these freakin’ reporters up in bidniz.”

“You got it, Captain!”

Blaine turned back towards the crowd of journalists all screaming what now counted as his name. He noticed one of them seemed to be louder than the rest, one that seemed to be getting closer to the edge of the cordon.

“OUT OF MY WAY, YOU VULTURES! THIS IS MY STORY, GOT IT!”

Blaine tried to keep his smile down as Kurt Hummel pushed his way through the mob.

“SUPERMAN! SUPERMAN! KURT HUMMEL, DAILY PLANET!”

Blaine knew he couldn’t stop to talk to Kurt, that it would get the attention of all the other reporters. And he was not ready to talk to them, not yet, maybe not ever. He smiled soflty in Kurt’s direction, gave him a wink, and turned to fly. But before he could he heard Kurt curse and jump over the police barricade.

“SUPERMAN! WAIT!”

Blaine turned around just as Kurt reached him.

“Here,” he wheezed out, trying to catch his breath. Kurt shoved a business card into Blaine’s hand. “For when you’re ready.”

Blaine grinned at Kurt just as a trio of police officers ran to apprehend him. “Thank you, Mr. Hummel.” Finally he flew off, trying to keep his grin at a minimum as he thought of the card he now held, the one with Kurt’s number, and the blazing blue eyes that had just held his.

*******************************************************

Across town from Star Labs stood the tallest building in Metropolis: SebCorp Tower. In the penthouse suite of the mammoth edifice were the offices of president and CEO Sebastian Smythe, the youngest Fortune 500 company executive in the world. From his bird’s eye view of the city, Sebastian stood at his window looking down on the people like ants so far below. Suddenly there was a knock on his office door.

“Come in”

A young woman with straight dark hair bounced into the room, a small but wicked smile on her face.

“Here’s the Superman file you asked for, Mr. Smythe. And that reporter from The Star is here to see you.”

Sebastian gave his assistant a tight-lipped smile. “Thank you, Harmony. Send him in.”

With a nod she flew from the room, replaced a moment later by an older man with tightly curled hair, shifty eyes, and shaking hands.

Sebastian looked down on his guest with an air of superiority, a look that seemed so natural on him that he must have been born with it.

“Take a seat, Schuester, and let’s talk about this… “superman.”