Part I

Im late!, he exclaimed. He tried to rush into the building of the Daily Planet but with all
the people going in and out of the building, this was a herculean task. If I could use my
powers, I would have already reached his office, he thought and sighed as he made his way
into the Daily Planet. He ran towards the elevator and pressed the button for it to come. He
was breathing heavily and his fingers were being crushed in the rhythmic grip of his other
hand. His mother and father had told him not to have stress when meeting Perry White,
Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Planet and, hopefully, his new boss. But he couldnt help it. On
the other hand, he thought, not all was stressful or bad. Metropolis was a wonder to behold.
Although he had seen big cities before on the internet, going there in person was an entirely
different thing. He had been amazed by the tall skyscrapers and the crowds of people
walking in the city. He had seen nothing like it back in Smallville.

A ringing sound notified him that the elevator had arrived. He walked in and pressed the
button to get him to the sixth floor. When the elevator reached the sixth floor, he rushed to
Perrys office and knocked the door.

Who is it?!, he barked.

ItIts me., the young man said. I mean, its Clark Kent.

Perry opened the door and welcome Clark in. Clark was a young man in his late twenties,
tall, thin and wearing thick black rimmed glasses and a black suit. Perry, on the other hand,
was in his fifties, with grey hair and wearing a blue shirt and black trousers. The fact that he
looked tough and strict made Clark even more stressful. Clark put up an awkward smile and
said, II am.here forforthe interview. For the job.

I see, Perry said. Ive read the email you send me with the articles you had written for
the Torch of Smallville. You have a good prose and it seems that you have great potential.

Hearing this, Clark allowed himself to relax a bit and smiled. Does this mean I am hired?

Perry sighed. Sorry, kid. You do have potential, but not enough experience. This is the Daily
Planet we are talking about, the greatest newspaper in the entire world. We sell more than
all of Metropolis newspapers combined and our website is visited by millions daily.

But experience is not everything!, Clark protested. Give me a chance to prove myself and
I will.

Perry thought about it for a moment. You do have passion. I like that in a reporter. Well
bring me a story and prove me wrong!

So I am hired?, a smiling Clark asked.

Yes. But if you do not bring me a good story really soon, you will leave as fast as you were
hired.
I understand., Clark said. As he walked out of the office, he bumped into a young woman.
I am sorry., he quickly apologized.

Watch where you are going., she said. Are you blind?

Clark was about to apologize again when he saw that woman. She had tall frame and slender
body. Her hair was straight black, her eyes dark. Clark could find no words to describe her
beauty.

Are you deaf too?, she said.

ISorry, IvemeI

Before he could finish his sentence, Perry interrupted him. He is Clark Kent, our newest
reporter.

He then said to Clark, And she is Lois Lane, the best reporter of the Daily Planet.

Nice to meet you!, Clark said and offered to shake hands but Lois ignored him. Instead she
handed some papers to Perry. This is the story about the serial killer., she said.

Perry read the first page and smiled. Excellent work. Hey, Clark, you could learn a thing or
two from Lois. If you read her stories, you will understand why she is the best reporter of
our newspaper.

Clarks Apartment

Clark was back on his apartment and sitting on a couch. He had rented this apartment only
yesterday. He was surfing on the net in his laptop, searching for an interesting subject to
write about. That serial killer case sounded like a good story to write about, he thought.
Too bad Lois got it first.

Clark sighed, but not because Lois had gotten the story first. He sighed because he had made
a fool of himself before her. Why cant I be normal, he said. I have to be either the mild-
mannered clumsy guy who gets ignored or laughed at or the extraterrestrial that has to hide
his true identity from everyone.

He decided to scroll down the news page he was reading in order to forget about his
embarrassment. He found an emergency story about an armed robbery and read it aloud.
Armed robbery in Metropolis Bank. Three armed men hold hostages inside the bank.
Among them the famous Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane

Without second thought, he used his super speed to quickly dress up and rush to the bank.
The whole building was surrounded by cops and police tracks. As Clark was thinking his next
move, a young female police officer approached him. She was tall, with blonde hair and blue
eyes.

Who are you? What are you doing here?, she asked.

II am Clark Kent, from the Daily Planet. I am a reporter.

I advise you to leave., the police officer warned. Things may get messy and you certainly
do not seem like a guy who can be in the midst of action.

You will be surprised, he murmured. He then used his x-ray vision to see what was going
on inside the bank and identify the three thugs. One of them was pointing his gun at the
hostages while the other two were having a verbal fight. Clark used his super hearing to hear
what they were saying.

I told you this was going to end badly!, one of the thugs said.

Shut up!, the other retorted.

Earth calls Clark!, the police offer said. What are you doing?

Clark had no time to explain. If he was late, Lois could be in danger. So he used super speed
to run faster than a speeding bullet and enter inside the bank. In the timeframe of only a few
seconds he punched on the face the thug pointing his gun at the hostages, kicked on the
chest the second thug and grabbed the third thug and threw him against a wall. He then
made his way back as fast as possible.

I just have a headache., Clark replied to the police officer and smiled.

Me too., she replied. By the way, I could swear that for a few seconds you had left this
place. But it must be my headache. Anyway, hope this hostage crisis is over soon.

Something tells me that it already is.

The police officer turned around and saw the hostages getting out of the building all safe
and the policemen arresting the three thugs.

How did you know that?, she asked.

Reporter instinct., Clark said and smiled.

By the way, my name is Helen. Helen Smith. Maybe we should meet sometime. You seem
to be more interesting that one would think from first glance.

Perry Whites Office

Only a few hours later, Clark was delivering Perry his story about the bank robbery and the
miraculous rescue of the hostages.

Excellent work., Perry remarked. It was a good decision that I hired you after all.

Clark just grinned.

Perry then showed him his new office. This is your new office. Welcome officially to the
Daily Planet!

Clark was delighted to see that his desk was opposite to that of Lois.
Dont let this go over your head, kid., Perry said. I want you to bring me more good
stories. If possible, I want you to find out who or what saved the hostages from those
thugs.

I will work on it., Clark replied.

 Part II

Clark Kent sat on his desk and surfed on the internet. It was his first day in office as an
official investigative reporter for the Daily Planet. In the past few days, Clarks life had
changed radically. Before, he was a farm boy from a small town. Now, he had moved to a big
city, worked in the most successful newspaper of Metropolis and he was using his powers to
help others. He had never felt happier than when he used his powers to save Lois and the
other hostages from the thugs. Clark was determined to use again his powers to save even
more people and do even more good.

Clark was lost in his thoughts about how he would go on saving people when Lois said,
Clark, Perry wants us to cover an exhibition in the Museum of Metropolis.

Wha- Yes, lets go, partner.

Lois sighed. Dont call me that. We are not partners. I am the greatest reporter of the Daily
Planet and you are a rookie. I do not even know why Perry wants to send you to the
exhibition instead of sending someone more experienced.

Clark just smiled. I suppose he wants me to learn more about reporting.