Chapter 75: Metropolis
Author: Rowing Without Oars 233
Metropolis was a legendary city.
Unlike the rain-soaked Gotham, Metropolis was a city with more clear skies than rainy days. The place was always busy, with towering skyscrapers standing in every corner of the city. Bustling crowds moved through the hectic streets, and electronic signboards reflected off glass curtain walls, adorning the city with modern colors.
There were clear skies and sunshine here, yet it wasn't the warm sunlight of Kansas State, shining over endless waves of wheat that rolled across the fields. The sunlight in Metropolis seemed to have a dimmer tone, and everyone living in the city was always in a hurry.
"It's so tall..."
Kara stood at the base of a high-rise, looking up at the majestic building. The curtain wall reflected the dazzling sunlight like a giant mirror reflecting the surrounding scenery, shining with the cold gleam of steel and glass. The lines on the wall intertwined into beautiful geometric patterns, creating a marvelous visual effect through angled cuts and reflections.
After all, she had only seen Gotham since arriving on Earth, and Gotham's style was completely different. Its predominantly Gothic-style architecture rarely reached such heights. Only buildings like Wayne Tower and the nearby commercial towers might be this tall, but they gave off a completely different feeling.
"Ah!"
An old woman bumped into her as she was looking up at the building, and her handbag fell to the ground.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Kara bent down to try and pick up the bag for her. "Let me help you—"
"What are you doing!?"
The old woman glared at her fiercely and snatched her bag back. "Give it back!"
"Sorry, I was just trying to—"
"Count the floors? You're not from around here, are you, little girl?" The old woman frowned.
"N-no, I'm not." Kara nervously tugged at her dress. "Why?"
"Locals don't just stand around gawking up at buildings, Bumpkin." The old woman snorted heavily, slung the bag over her shoulder, and walked away. "Stay away from me."
Kara watched her retreating figure, feeling a little hurt. "I thought only people from Gotham were this unfriendly."
"That's just how it is these days, but who knows about the future." Orin Vale patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry about her. Aren't we here to find your cousin?"
"Right!"
As expected, Kara immediately pushed that bit of discomfort to the back of her mind. Now that she was alone on an alien planet, far from home, the chance to see a blood relative was inevitably exciting.
However, Orin Vale hadn't taken two steps before he suddenly felt like something was missing.
He turned his head and, oh, he'd lost Kara.
Kara had stopped beside a miserable-looking homeless man on the street, her eyes wide. "Do you need help, sir?"
"Of course."
The homeless man looked up pitifully, raising the empty bowl in front of him as if to beg for money. But when he looked up and saw that the person before him was an exceptionally beautiful girl, he put the bowl down and changed his tune.
"I still need a wife, you see..."
"Ah." Kara shook her head. "I can't help you with that."
"Don't judge me by how I look now!" The homeless man hurriedly sat up straight, lowered his voice, and spoke with a completely serious face. "I'll tell you this secret, but don't tell anyone else. I'm not actually from Earth!"
"Huh?" Kara looked shocked.
She almost blurted out, "Huh, what a coincidence! Me neither."
"I'm from the Vega System, a member of the royal family on my planet. I was stranded on this planet due to internal turmoil. When I return to the royal family and take power, I'll reward you with a planet..."
Before he could finish, Orin Vale had already returned and was dragging Kara away. As she was being pulled along, she was still muttering, "Hey, Orin Vale, wait, he said he was an alien too..."
A short while later, they finally arrived at the legendary "Daily Planet."
"Why would Kal be in... a place like this?" Kara asked, puzzled.
"Because it's what he's most interested in... Hold on a second, let me find where he is." Orin Vale narrowed his eyes.
His Ultra Vision easily penetrated the walls, locking onto the target of their trip.
Kal-El, Superman, whose Earth name was Clark Kent.
At this moment, the young Superman was sitting at his desk, on which sat a computer and a mountain of documents. The young reporter in a suit and tie was sitting behind his desk, answering the phone... with his arm in a cast?
For a split second, Orin Vale was a little surprised. What kind of god-like being could put Superman's arm in a cast?
However, a quick use of X-ray vision revealed that it was obviously fake. There was nothing wrong with Superman's arm; it was perfectly fine. It was clear that his identity as Clark Kent had been involved in some dangerous incident, and this was a deliberate disguise to dispel any suspicion from his colleagues that he was Superman.
"Yes, Lois, I'd love to go too," Clark said into the phone with a helpless look. "But as you know, I was just thrown off a bridge by some Gang members the day before yesterday. It's a good thing Superman happened to be passing by to catch me...
"Yes, that's right, it's a very serious injury. My whole arm is numb right now."
But as he said this, Superman suddenly glanced left and right, looking like an elementary school student checking to see if the teacher was looking.
Seeing that no one seemed to be paying attention to him, he stealthily pulled his casted arm out—since his other hand was holding the phone—and quickly picked up the coffee on his desk for a comfortable sip. Then, he hurriedly stuffed his arm back into the cast before anyone noticed.
Orin Vale was speechless.
It wasn't that he wanted to complain, but Superman's disguise was just so careless. He couldn't even commit to the act...
"...Yeah, that's right, it's so badly injured I can't move it at all. I think I'd better just stay in the office. That's all, see you later."
Clark hung up the phone and let out a long sigh.
A young, freckle-faced photographer walked up to Clark's desk.
"Still pretty bad, Clark?"
"Yeah, Jimmy." Clark put on a pained expression, clutching his shoulder in frustration. "It makes me feel useless."
"Don't be too hard on yourself. Perry said you can take a day off... By the way, you have visitors."
"For me?" Clark was a little surprised.
He didn't remember scheduling a meeting with anyone.
"Yeah, they seem to be from Gotham. They just arrived in the waiting room."
"Alright, I'll go see... Thanks, Jimmy."
Clark stood up, puzzled, and went to the waiting room.
"You are...?" He closed the door to the waiting room, a look of confusion on his face as he saw the unfamiliar person before him.
"Orin Vale, from Gotham." Orin Vale smiled and shook his hand. "I'm a fan. It's a pleasure to meet you, Clark... or the name you've been using more recently should be, Superman?"
"What?" Clark snatched his hand back as if he'd gotten a shock. "I don't know what you mean..."
Orin Vale looked at him helplessly. "Uh, no offense, but you're only wearing a pair of glasses."
"Glasses? What glasses? Oh, right." Clark adjusted the thick frames. "You mean my nearsightedness? It's an old problem, been getting worse since middle school. I feel practically blind without these things..."
While the two were talking, Kara appeared silently behind Clark, stealthily approaching him.
Then, at close range, she suddenly accelerated, striking like lightning with her super-speed!
Having been trained by Orin Vale for a while, Kara had already learned the basics of super-speed. With a precise movement, she snatched the glasses from the bridge of Clark's nose. Clark's pupils constricted, and out of reflex, he raised a hand and grabbed her fair wrist.
"Hmm, your hand looks fine, Mr. Kent," Orin Vale interrupted.
Clark blinked, looked down, and only then realized that his reflex had caused him to instinctively pull out the arm that was supposed to be hidden in the cast.
Now there was no need to act anymore.
Meeting Kara's gaze, Clark's face showed his astonishment.
"You... Kara?"
***
**Friend Promotion Time!**
*Wuxia: Start With a 60-Year Internal Energy Boost!*
Chaotic times, a turbulent jianghu.
Lawless bandits, heroes slaughtering across the fields, and the demonic path bringing disaster to the common people.
Jiang Ran transmigrates to this world and awakens the [Hired Blade System], from which point he enters the jianghu with his blade.
At the pinnacle of the martial world, where heroes gather.
An unparalleled bladesman emerges, dominating in all directions!
He points his blade, his gaze cold and sharp:
"Let's see, which one of you is a wanted criminal!"
(end of chapter)