Chapter Three: An Actor's Life for Me

The next day, after breakfast, which Brainy found out was a meal people had in the day to keep them going until the afternoon, Brainy and his parents stepped outside as Brainy starred in awe at the children and ran around as Lois tried to put his jacket on.

"Oh, look at all of them Mom and Dad!" Brainy said excitedly.

"Wait a minute, sweetie." Lois said. "I have to get your jacket on, so you won't get cold."

"Who are those little people?" Brainy asked.

"They're children off to school." Clark said. "Girls and boys."

"Oh boy!" Brainy called out as Lois finally managed to put his jacket on, and he was about to run off.

"Whoa, hold on for a second there, Brainy." Clark said with a laugh as he picked Brainy up and gave him an apple. "This is for you to give your teacher. You know, start things off on the right foot."

"Why?" Brainy asked.

"So that you two can get along right away." Lois explained. "And here are your books."

"Now turn around and let us look at you." Clark said, and Brainy turned around from the neck down, and the two smiled at him. "Now run along now."

Krypto then rushed off to follow Brainy before Clark and Lois stopped him.

"Hold on boy." Clark said with a chuckle as he held Krypto's collar. "School's not for you."

Krypto whimpered a little before he rushed up stairs to lick Salu, who they let sleep late for a little, awake.

"Bye Mom!" Brainy called out as he left. "Bye Dad!"

"Bye son!" Clark said. "See you tonight!"

"Stay safe, Brainy!" Lois called out. "Hurry back after school's over."

They then went inside.

()()()()()

Coming down the road was a woman with red hair and green eyes. She was accompanied by a blonde girl with her hair in pig tails and dressed in a red skirt with a black sweater. The red haired woman wore a green top hat with a purple cloak over a green suit. This woman's name was Alexis, and her companion was Harley Quinzell.

"Ah, Harley, listen." Alexis said. "The laughter of children on their way to school. Thirsty minds on their way to the fountain of knowledge."

"Those poor morons." Harley said with a smile.

"Now, now." Alexis said with a smirk as she picked up a stray cigar. "School's a noble institution. After all, what would this stupid country be without-?"

Alexis suddenly stopped and looked at a picture that said, "The Great Lex Luthor's Marionette Show"

"Well, well, well." Alexis said. "Daddy. So the old rascals back in town." Alexis then laughed. "Remember Harley, the time Jack and I dressed you as a harlequin and tied strings on you, and we tried to pass you off as a puppet? We nearly put one over on the old chrome dome that time."

"Yeah." Harley said with a smile. "Poor Jack. We've really gotta visit him in the slammer again."

"Someday, my dear." Alexis said with a smile. "Someday."

As they continued down the street, they passed a boy on his way to school, a wooden boy with blonde hair.

"Huh." Alexis said. "A wooden boy." After a few seconds, the shock of what he just saw hit him. "A WOODEN BOY?!"

"Holy cow!" Harley exclaimed. "Just look at him!"

"I know, Harley." Alexis said. "A puppet that moves along without strings and apparently of his own free will. That'll be worth a fortune to someone, now who…" Alexis then smirked as he thought of the poster. "Of course! Daddy! That phony would pay a fortune for something like this!"

"Sweet!" Harley called out.

"Listen, we play our cards right, we'll be on easy street, or my name isn't Honest Alexis Luthor." Alexis said.

"Can we get Jack out of the slammer after we sell the squirt to LL?" Harley asked.

"Of course dear." Alexis said. "We better hurry before he gets to school."

They rushed to a corner just in front of the wooden boy, and Alexis smirked.

"Now here's the plan." Alexis said when she turned to Harley and saw she was carrying a ridiculously large mallet.

"Not that way stupid." Alexis said as she pulled the mallet from her hands. "Let's not be crude. I'll handle this."

Alexis then stood by the corner and extended a cane she'd grabbed out as he appeared to be talking to Harley.

"As I was saying to our associate just the other day, Harley-" Alexis began when just as she planned, the wooden boy tripped on the cane and fell over. "Oh my poor boy, I'm so sorry. I do hope you're alright."

"I'm fine." The boy said as Alexis surreptitiously slapped Harley's hand away from the boy's pocket.

"Well, well." Alexis said as she picked up the book the boy was carrying. It was an alphabet book for kindergarteners. "A man of letter's I see. It's not often we meet a scholar is it, Harley?"

"Nope." Harley said.

"Here's your book." Alexis said as Harley pocketed the apple as the boy wasn't looking.

"I'm going to school!" The boy said.

"Ah, school." Alexis said as she put an arm around the boy. "I guess you haven't heard of the easy way to success."

"Uh-uh." The boy said.

"No?" Alexis said in surprise. "I'm speaking, my boy, of the theater!" Alexis might have made a good actor herself with all the dramatic cons she pulled. She then tugged the apple away from Harley before she could eat it and handed it back to Brainy. "Here's your apple. Anyway, the theater. Bright lights, applause, fame!"

"Fame?" The boy asked.

"Yes!" Alexis said. "And with that personality, that profile, that physique! Why he's a natural born actor, eh, Harley?"

"Oh, he'll make all the kindergartner girls melt." Harley said. "Everyone will wanna be friends with… Um… What's your name?"

"Brainy Kent." The boy said.

"Brainy Kent!" Harley called out. "I can see it on big letters over the box office! B-R-A… Uh… How do you spell 'Brainy' Lexie?"

"You're the former secretary, how would you spell 'Brainy'?" Alexis asked.

"With three 'n's and a 'e'." Harley explained.

"Three 'n's and a 'e'?" Alexis asked.

"Well that way it looks like a typo, and it'll be up to da guy who got it ta figure it out." Harley said.

"You two are funny." Brainy said with a laugh.

"Oh, you should see Jack, but he's in-" Harley began before Alexis cut her off.

"Another town at the moment, but we're wasting precious time." Alexis then put her hand on Brainy's shoulder. "On to the theater!"

Hi-Diddiley-Dee

An actor's life for me!

A high silk hat

And a silver cane.

A watch of gold

With a diamond chain.

Hi-Diddiley-Day

An actor's life is gay!

It's great to be a celebrity.

An actor's life for me!

Hi-Diddiley-Dun!

An actor's life is fun!

They walked off in the direction of where Lex Luthor's carriage.

()()()()()

Salu was sleeping in the bed as she was being shaken.

"Salu, wake up." A voice said. It didn't sound like the mean lady who ran the orphanage. She opened her eyes and saw a lady with purple eyes and black hair, and it all fell back in place.

"Oh shoot!" Salu called out.

She rushed out of bed, tossed off the night-gown Mrs. Kent had given her and tossed on her freshly clean leotard and grabbed her cloak as she rushed down.

"See you tonight Mr. and Mrs. Kent!" Salu shouted as she ran out of the door.

"A fine conscience I am." She said to herself as she clasped her cloak around her neck. "I over slept on the first day! Oh well, how much trouble can he get in between home and school?"

Eventually, she arrived at an arch and heard someone humming.

"Ooh, a parade." Salu said with a smile as she watched for it to pass, and she saw Brainy in the ground.

"WHAT?!" Salu asked in alarm. "Brainy?! Where is he going?"

Salu ran up and grabbed the blonde girl by her pig tails to get her to stop.

"OUCH!" The blonde girl called out.

"Oh hi, Salu!" Brainy said.

"Ah, there's something in my hair!" The girl said. "Get it out Lexie! Get it out!"

"Oh, it's just a little-" the other woman, Lexie, said before the girl took out a mallet and tried to smash the supposed Salu away when she hit Lexie on the head, so that her hat ended up over her face.

"Uh-oh." The girl said as she looked down and saw Salu there. "I am in trouble."

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Lexie shouted through the hat.

"Don't worry Lexie, I've got ya!" The girl pulled the hat off, and she looked at it. "Don't worry Lexie, da hat is okay!"

Lexie rubbed her hands through her red hair and pulled the hat away from the girl.

While this happened, Salu took Brainy aside.

"Hey Salu!" Brainy said excitedly. "I'm gonna be an actor!"

"Oh yeah?" Salu asked. "Remember about temptations, about how the wrong thing may seem right at the time?"

"Yeah." Brainy said.

"Well that's basically what this is." Salu said. "That guy and his friend are temptations."

"No they aren't." Brainy said in a perfectly friendly way. "That's Miss Honest Alexis and her friend Harley."

"Oh… Boy." Salu mumbled. "Look Brainy, you should go to school to get an education and an actual career. Just go over there and tell them that you can't go to the theater, say thank you just the same to be polite and that you're sorry, but you have to go to school."

"Okay." Brainy said.

"So Brainy, ready to continue?" That Alexis girl asked as she walked up and turned Brainy away from Salu. "On to the theater, eh?"

"Bye Salu!" Brainy called out as he walked on.

"Good-bye?!" Salu exclaimed as they walked off. "Brainy, we've gotta- You can't-"

Salu watched them walk off.

"What am I supposed to do?" Salu asked herself. "Wait, I can just go tell Mr. and Mrs. Kent! No, wait, I'm supposed to do good things since I'm a conscience, and if I told them that'd be snitching, and that's bad. I'll just go get Brainy myself."

Salu then ran off after Brainy.


Oh yeah, that was a real smart choice. A five-year-old goes off to try and take a wooden boy away from a guy like Lex Luthor!

Salu: Two days!

Kara (sleepily): Yay…