I don't own Superman.

Metropolis was called the city of tomorrow for a reason, and that was because it was a good city to live in. Well that wasn't the real reason it actually earned the name since so many inventors built incredibly things in the city, earning it a reputation for being accepting of progress. But over time people came to assume the name was because it was a peaceful city in comparison to others, a city where you could actually talk to your neighbours, a city that is welcoming and kind.

However something people forget is that one of the main reason it's reputation is so good is because its in driving distance with Gotham, a city nobody likes to admit exists and the cities have been described as two sides to the same coin. Because everyone focuses on how much better Metropolis is to Gotham which is considered to be nothing more than a city with crime and death, a city full of people who hide their cruel intentions. They focus on the good about Metropolis so much that they ignore that it is still a city with a less law abiding and kind side.

Nobody knew this better than Lisa who spent a few years in an escort service and saw how cruel people could be, so why she thought to stay out this late was perhaps one of her more stupid decisions. But she had been so happy to be invited out for drinks this weekend that she had said yes, and for the most part it had been fun until they left without her either with people they just met at the bar or with the designated driver Mary. Leaving her to stand around like an idiot for half an hour waiting for them before walking back to her apartment which thankfully wasn't that far away from the bar, wondering how she was going to hide how annoyed she was from her co-workers on Monday to avoid being excluded from future nights out.

Now as she was forced back into an alleyway by the man with the knife who was splitting profanities and threats at her, his erratic mannerisms reminding her too much of some drug addicts she met, she was left wondering if she was even going to survive the night. The man briefly looked her up and down in her dress in a way that terrified Lisa, but thankfully his focus remained on her hand bag which she handed over quickly. While she certainly didn't want to give up her things it was much better than the alternative which I was why she was doing everything she could to avoid making the man mad.

"Is this everything?" the man asked her angrily and she nodded quickly. "You better not be lying. If you are I will-"

"Do nothing."

Both their heads snapped in the direction the voice came from and Lisa immediately wondered if she was cracking from the pressure of the situation. Because standing only a few feet away from them was a man dressed like a superhero from those stupid comics her cousin used to read as a kid. He was wearing a soft blue body suit with a gold belt and matching bright red underpants and boots, while a honest to goodness cape was visible behind him. On his chest was a shield shaped crest with a red S symbol inside, while a yellow background finished off the costume. The man looked to be a little taller than her with blue eyes and black hair that had one curl at the front, and he stood with his legs apart slightly with his fists at his hips.

He looked ridiculous.

"Maybe I really should go cold turkey. Or at least go on a small break." her mugger muttered to himself as he stared at the costumed individual with a baffled expression that Lisa knew matched her own.

"If just were you I would return the handbag now or you will soon regret it." the man said firmly and as threatening as he could, but it wasn't at all effective with his outfit and the fact he didn't sound comfortable saying that at all.

"Oh really? And what will you do to me, fly me up to the sky and drop me?" the mugger asked with a chuckle.

"Maybe I will, or maybe I'll just take you straight up to space. I can breath in space you know and I'm faster than a speeding bullet, so I could do it in less than a second." the man replied but he quickly frowned before sighing in defeat. "That didn't sound right. Did that work for you, were you intimidated?"

"Not at all." the mugger said as he slowly approached the man with his knife.

"I guess its time to face facts, I can't do the whole terrifying brooding vigilante thing like Batman. I never wanted to be that, that's why I'm not wearing black like him even though I do look good in it, but I got too nervous and I thought I had to do this. I'm just going to stick to what I am good at." the man told them before smiling brightly and taking on a more casual pose with his hands at his side. "I recommend that you return the lady's handbag and apologise, and once that is done if you want I can take you to a clinic not far from here. I know the owner, he's a nice guy and knows how to help people with your problem."

"Huh, nice offer. What happens if I refuse?"

"Well I'm afraid I would have to force you to return the handbag in a way that may result in light injury to yourself, and I would prefer not to do that. You are clearly in need of help and I would like you to accept that as opposed to me telling you that you need it." the man said with a gentle tone while Lisa resisted the urge the scream at him to shut up in fear that will simply anger her mugger. Unfortunately it didn't seem to matter as the mugger leaped closer to the costumed man and swung the knife into him.

"No, don't!" she screamed in terror as the mugger repeatedly stabbed into the man, but that emotion quickly transformed into confusion when the costumed man didn't even react. The mugger took a step back in surprise, revealing to Lisa that there wasn't even a tear on the costume, while the knife was suddenly appearing in the superhero's hand. Her jaw dropped when the man simply stared at it and the metal knife literally melted into nothing.

"Oh my God. What are you?" the mugger said with a tone of growing terror.

"I'm Superman. Now please, return the handbag to the lady." the superhero requested politely, as if this wasn't anything strange or crazy.

The mugger instantly dashed towards Lisa and pushed the handbag into her hands, his eyes wide with fear as he glanced at Superman. The taller man took steps towards them and the mugger looked ready to flee, but before he could Superman suddenly appeared next to them and put a hand on his shoulder. For a moment Lisa, who had remained speechless through pretty much all of this, actually feared for the mugger's life despite what he might have done to her.

"What's your name?" Superman asked the mugger, who frowned briefly in confusion though fear remained in his eyes.

"I'm...I'm Jack."

"Now Jack, what do you say to miss..." Superman looked at her expectantly.

"Lasalle. Lisa Lasalle." she answered reluctantly and Superman than turned to Jack who looked shameful at the ground.

"I'm sorry miss Lasalle. I'm really sorry." Jack told her while glancing at Superman in case he would melt him for doing anything wrong.

"Well done Jack. Now do you want me to take you to the clinic so that you can get some help?" Superman asked the drug addict and after a moment of hesitation he nodded which made Superman smile before he looked taking Lisa. "I'm sorry for all of this miss Lasalle, do you need any help getting back home?"

"Umm, no I don't."

"And are you ok, he didn't hurt you in anyway?"

"No I'm fine. Thanks for asking." she responded weakly. "Nice cape."

"Thank you, I honestly wasn't sure about it and I was worried about it getting caught on something. Thankfully there haven't been any accidents yet, though I won't lie there have been some close calls. Anyway we should be off, so I wish you a good night miss Lasalle. Come along Jack, its not that far." Superman said happily as he wrapped an arm around Jack and led him down the alleyway, disappearing behind a corner which left Lisa just standing there in surprise.

She eventually started walking briskly towards her apartment building, taking hesitant looks over her shoulder as she did. She wanted to run back but not only was she afraid of drawing more attention to herself these shoes were not designed with running in mind. So she was relived after about ten minutes when she saw her apartment building and was inside, starting to relax a little as she accepted that she was safe. Of course the second that happened the reality of what she just saw hit her and she needed to tell someone, someone to be calm while she completely freaks out.

There was only one person who came to mind so she dashed as quickly and as safely as she could up the stairs, trying desperately to control her breathing and almost tripping as she did. Thankfully she regained her balance and reached her floor before heading to the door opposite to her own, knocking repeatedly while hoping that he was awake as past experience had thought her that her friend was a heavy sleeper.

After a few minutes she heard someone on the other side of the door and waited impatiently for him to open, and once he did she practically barged her way inside. She knew it wasn't polite but she hoped they were close enough after a year for her to be like this. She heard him close the door behind her while she tried to compose herself and she turned to face her neighbour and friend.

"What's up Lisa? Not to be rude or anything, but it's pretty late and I have my new job tomorrow." Clark said hesitantly in the awkward way he always acts when he knew he couldn't be accommodating and make someone happy. "And actually, I think tomorrow is today now."

"Someone just tried to rob me when I was walking home." she told him simply.

The result was instantaneous as she found Clark checking her over and asking if she was ok, if she needed an ambulance or him to call someone for her. While he did this she couldn't help but be amused when she noticed he was wearing salmon pyjamas, which along with his scruffy bed hair made him look a little adorable. This actually helped calm her down a little more and she began to tell him what happened as calmly as she could.

"I was walking home from a club because the people from work had already left, and then this guy forced me into an alleyway. I think he was on drugs and thankfully he just wanted my purse, but then this guy dressed as a superhero showed up. He called himself Superman and Clark, he could melt metal with his eyes and teleport or something." Lisa explained and growing more comfortable by the lack of disbelief in Clark's eyes. "I think he's responsible for all the stories the Planet has been talking about, you know where all these crimes were stopped."

Over the past year Lisa had noticed that someone at the Daily Planet had been writing about how bank robbers would find themselves without guns as the police came to arrest them or people would be saved from what should have been fatal accidents. People would talk about how they were walking down a street alone at night before someone tried to rob them, just like Lisa, but there would be a gust of wind and their attackers would be on the ground unconscious. There was no concrete proof there was really anything responsible and the person who wrote the stories never claimed that there was someone responsible, but the clear implication was that Metropolis had a vigilante of their own. A vigilant like Batman was one thing but not once had she read anything about people thinking their new vigilante had actual superpowers.

"I mean, I know this sounds crazy Clark. But I swear he could do things normal people just can't do and it wasn't a trick, he actually has superpowers." Lisa told him as she began to pace around a little in Clark's hallway, laughing a little after finally saying it. "Jesus Christ, how can someone have superpowers?"

"Lisa why don't you sit down in my living room. I can get you a glass of water if you want?" Clark asked and after a second she nodded, the two going in separate directions with Lisa gathering her thoughts as she sat down. When Clark returned she accepted the glass gratefully and drank it slowly while Clark sat next to her, waiting patiently for her to finish before speaking which Lisa was grateful for.

"So this guy, Superman, he had powers?" Clark asked for clarification and Lisa nodded before frowning a little.

"Why aren't you freaking out, I'm telling the truth."

"And I believe you, but I'm actually surprised that you're freaking out. I mean, I learned about the Justice Society in school like everyone else, so it's not that surprising that people would show up with powers again."

"There's a difference between knowing that a guy called the Flash ran at superhuman speeds, and actually seeing some guy with a cape melt actual metal with his eyes. And it doesn't help that I've seen comics about him growing up, so him and the rest always felt a little imaginary to me." Lisa told him defensively.

"Yeah those Justice Guild comics were a little stupid, but also inaccurate if you actually look into what the Society were actually like. I mean half of those characters weren't even based on any real people. Those comics were just propaganda done without their permission, and...actually we can talk about this some other time, we're getting side tracked from the main issue." Clark said as he took off his thick glasses to rub his eyes before putting them back on. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"You think that's the main issue? Not that we have a super human vigilante running around?" Lisa questioned though at the back of her mind she didn't know why she was so surprised since Clark always considered something like that the most important thing to know.

"Well yeah, of course that's important. I'm a reporter and I will definitely be looking into it. But are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine Clark."

"So why are you so scared of this Superman guy?"

The question surprised Lisa, and she paused for a moment as she struggled to answer. "I'm not scared of him."

"Then why are you freaking out that he has superpowers?"

"I don't know, because I should? Because we all should, because who knows what he could do?"

"But what if he really is like those heroes from the Justice Society? What if he's just using his powers to help people." Clark asked with an odd amount of reluctance and worry. "I mean, did he make you feel like you were in danger?"

Lisa immediately wanted to say that of course she felt like she was in danger, before she realised that was because of her would have been mugger. When she actually thought about Superman himself, her feelings were actually the opposite which was a little surprising.

"No, I did feel safe." Lisa replied as she finally calmed down and looked away from Clark as she recalled how she felt when everything was happening. "He never actually did anything that made me scared of him. Scared for my mugger because I thought he might do something to him, but it never occurred to me that he would hurt me."

She looked up to Clark and frowned a little when she saw his expression. "What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing really. Just glad that he's a good guy, and that you're ok." Clark told her as he tried to lessen his grin and part of Lisa wanted to question him more. But then she remembered that Clark has always been like this and it's just his unique brand of weirdness manifesting again.

"Thanks for talking to me Clark, and for not getting mad about me showing up like this." she told him as she did feel much better now, before getting up with an apologetic look on her face. "I should leave, like you said you got that new job at the Planet."

She was feeling pretty guilty for having woken him up now that they've talked things through, as she knew it had been rough for him since the Daily Star went out of business. She knew not everyone was as lucky as him to be offered a job at the Daily Planet and she was proud of how quickly he was able to land on his feet, so she knew he needed to get back to sleep so he's prepared for work.

"It's no trouble Lisa. I'm just glad that you're ok and if you still need to talk I'm happy to." Clark told her with a genuine tone as he remained sitting but Lisa shook her head.

"No, I really should go. But thanks." she said as she walked towards his door, Clark getting up and following her. They didn't say anything more to each other as they reached the door and Clark opened it for her, she just smiled gratefully and said goodnight before going across the hall to her apartment.

Clark watched her shut her door behind he before closing his own, smiling with relief that Lisa hadn't been scared of him when he saved her from Jack. When she came to his apartment he had just got back from dropping Jack off at the clinic, and had been surprised when he heard a knock at his door. When he realised it was Lisa he had been less surprised as it would make sense for her to come to him after what happened but he had increasingly become worried by how freaked out she was. He had been doing this hero thing for almost a year now but he had some reservations about being a fact everyone knew as opposed to a rumour that only a few believed to be true. Because the fact was that there hasn't been any superhumans since the Justice Society, so he has been worried about how people would react to learning about his existence and it hadn't been a decision he made lightly.

But it seemed that from Lisa's reaction while people will be frightened at first as long as he kept doing the right thing they will accept him. And its nice to know that even someone who knew him couldn't recognise him even when he was right next to them, as he had been worried if he needed to alter his face even more to hide his identity despite the risk of falling into the uncanny valley. Feeling a bit more relieved with what he was doing Clark made his way back to bed, determined to get a good amount of sleep before arriving early for work as he wanted to make a good impression.

Please tell me what you think and if there are any spelling mistakes or sentences that don't make sense. I know not much was going on but the opening with Clark and Lisa grew bigger than I expected so what I had planned to be in chapter 1 will now be chapter 2, which is him meeting Lois and the other characters. This will be the first story in a DC universe series called Earth 49, with a friend of mine working on a Wonder Woman story at the moment, and will be a pretty standard Superman story before I start doing stories that are more different. My intention with mentioning Batman and the Justice Society is to establish that while superhumans are known to exist none have officially appeared since the Justice Society era, and that Batman has been established for awhile by this point. Finally the mention of Clark altering his face is to show that he has a limited version of the shape shifting power the character had in the Golden Age, so while he can't make himself look like anyone else he can alter for example the size of his nose or jaw so he does have some physical differences between his civilian and superhero identities which is mainly for characters like Lois.