"Hey, did you see where that boy you were talking to went?" Selina asked, stepping up beside her.
The girl she addressed was still facing the floor-to-ceiling windows, holding a sleek digital camera and peering through it.
"Oh—he said he had to go to the bathroom, I think," she replied, lowering the camera and turning toward Selina. Her eyes lit up immediately. "Oh! You must be his sister, right? Selina?"
She stuck out her hand with a bright smile.
"I'm Lois. Lois Lane."
"Selina Kyle," Selina replied, shaking her hand with an easy confidence. "Nice to meet you."
Lois blinked.
"Kyle? Then why isn't it Kent?"
Selina paused for half a second.
"...I was adopted into the Kent family," she said, offering a small, practiced smile.
"Oh." Lois nodded instantly, as if that answered everything. "That makes sense. Smallville seems like the kind of person who'd have a really nice and kind family."
Selina raised an eyebrow.
"Smallville?"
Lois gave a quick shrug.
"Just something I call him.'"
Selina's eyes narrowed slightly, a faint smirk forming as she took a sip of her milkshake.
"Wow. Nicknames already? Clarky's getting smoother than I thought…"
"Sorry, what?" Lois asked, tilting her head.
Selina didn't miss a beat.
"I said that camera looks interesting."
Lois immediately perked up.
"Oh! This isn't just a camera—it's a video cam. My mom got it for me for my birthday. She brought it from Japan," she said proudly, holding it up. "See? It's small enough to fit in my pocket."
She demonstrated quickly.
Selina gave a small nod.
"Yeah… that's actually pretty cool."
A brief silence settled between them.
Lois shifted slightly, then looked back at her with curiosity.
"So… are you super smart like Clark?"
Selina let out a short laugh.
"Nope. Reading textbooks puts me to sleep. I'm more into fashion magazines."
"I don't really care about fashion," Lois said bluntly.
"Great," Selina replied dryly.
Another brief silence settled between them.
Lois shifted slightly, then glanced toward the restrooms.
"Your brother's taking a long time."
"Yeah…" Selina muttered, her eyes narrowing just a fraction before she shrugged. "He said his stomach was bothering him earlier."
It came out easily—smooth, casual.
But inwardly, she was already certain.
Clark hadn't gone to the bathroom.
He must have "taken off."
Quite literally!
She pushed the thought aside and looked back at Lois.
"So," she said, nodding toward the device in her hands, "what else can your little camera do?"
Lois brightened immediately.
"Do you want to try my video cam yourself?" she asked, lifting it again. "It can zoom really far, and you can take pictures while recording. Look—"
She turned back toward the windows, zooming in on the skyline.
"—see? You can even—"
She froze.
Her grip tightened.
"Wh—what…?" she gasped loudly.
Selina straightened immediately.
"What happened?"
"I—I think…" Lois lowered the camera slightly, her voice shaking now. "I think I just saw a plane almost hit the Twin Towers."
Selina's eyes snapped toward the skyline.
The aircraft was already moving away—
low.
Too low.
Her expression hardened.
"That plane's flying way too low," she said quietly.
Lois shook her head quickly.
"No, you don't get it—it was right there. It almost hit the top. It just—missed it."
"Are you saying someone tried to crash a plane into a building?"
The voice came from behind them.
Selina turned.
A blonde boy in a suit stood there, a cocky half-smirk on his face.
Oliver Queen.
Beside him, a younger girl with shoulder-length dark hair looked up in alarm.
"Wait—Ollie, did a plane actually crash?" Thea Queen asked, clutching his sleeve.
But Oliver barely paid attention.
His gaze had already shifted.
"Oh, Selina," he said smoothly, stepping forward, "looks like your milkshake's finished. Stay here—I'll get you another one myself."
"But Ollie—what about the plane?" Thea pressed, tugging at him again.
"There's no need," Selina cut in quickly, her tone flat. "I'm full."
She didn't even bother hiding her annoyance.
Oliver had been trying to ask her out on a date all this time, and Thea wasn't any better—hovering, watching, getting irritated over the smallest things.
She had already slipped away from them once, and somehow they had tracked her down again.
Selina ignored them and turned back to Lois.
"Are you sure about what you saw?" she asked. By now, the plane had already disappeared from the skyline.
Lois hadn't moved.
She stood frozen, gripping the camera with trembling hands, her face pale as she stared out the window.
"Lois," Selina said, stepping closer. "Hey—snap out of it."
She gave her a small shake.
Lois blinked rapidly, like she was forcing herself back.
"Y-yeah… the plane," she said, her voice shaky but rising with urgency. "It was right there. It almost hit the tower. It just—missed it."
She clenched her jaw, still staring at the skyline.
"Why was it flying that close in the first place?"
"What's this? Someone spreading fake stories already?"
An arrogant voice cut in.
A bald boy in an expensive suit approached with measured, confident steps, a faint smirk on his face.
Lex Luthor.
Behind him, a quiet blonde girl followed, her head slightly lowered.
"Ugh. It's that arrogant prick," Oliver muttered under his breath.
Lex ignored him completely.
"Aircraft aren't allowed to fly that low over the city," he said, folding his arms. "There are regulations for a reason. So either you misunderstood what you saw…"
His eyes shifted to Lois.
"…or you're lying."
"I'm not lying!" Lois shot back immediately. "I recorded it!"
She fumbled slightly with her video cam before pulling up the footage.
Selina watched her for a second.
She had seen the plane herself—and it had been too low. Way too low. And Lois didn't strike her as the kind of person who would make something like that up.
"Look—right here!" Lois said, holding it out.
They all leaned in.
The video played for a moment before she paused it.
"There—that's the plane. See how close it is to the tower?"
For a moment, no one spoke.
Not because they believed her—
but because they didn't understand what they were seeing.
"Wait—what's that?" Lois said suddenly, zooming in. "There's something under it…"
The image blurred as it enlarged, but a faint shape became visible beneath the aircraft.
A figure.
"There's a guy under the plane!" Thea said, pointing, half excited, half confused. "And—wait—is that a cape?"
"It looks like he's… lifting up the plane?" the quiet blonde girl behind Lex said softly, her eyes widening.
Selina's breath caught for a split second.
That red cape—
She recognized it instantly.
"It could be anything," a calm voice cut in.
Bruce.
He stepped forward, positioning himself between Selina and Oliver, his gaze steady as he studied the screen.
"The image is too unclear to draw any conclusions."
"Yes, Lena, don't jump to conclusions," Lex added, his tone sharp but composed. "You should observe first, then speak with certainty."
"Sorry, brother," Lena said quietly, lowering her gaze.
Selina and Bruce exchanged a brief glance.
They didn't say anything—
but they understood.
That red cape…
It had to be Clark.
"This is amazing," Lois said, her eyes wide now, the earlier fear replaced with excitement. "Someone actually stopped the plane from crashing into the tower!"
"We should still leave this place," Bruce said quietly, turning slightly toward Selina. "Just in case."
Selina nodded. She wanted out of here anyway—and more importantly, she needed to find Clark.
"Or," Oliver cut in, folding his arms, "this whole thing is fake."
Selina's expression immediately soured.
"I've seen stuff like this online," he continued. "Edited videos, weird angles… people trying to get attention."
He jerked his thumb toward Lois.
"She could be doing the same thing."
Lois didn't even look at him.
She was already replaying the footage, her brows furrowed, eyes locked on the screen as she tried to make sense of what she had captured.
"Huh," Lex said, sounding almost impressed. "Even an idiot like you managed to reach the right conclusion."
Oliver turned sharply.
"Say that again, baldy."
Lex ignored him, lifting his chin slightly.
"Though if you want a more accurate explanation," he continued smoothly, "there are far better reasons why this is false."
He gestured lightly toward the screen.
"There are no verified metahumans capable of lifting something of that mass. The forces involved alone would make it impossible. What you're seeing is far more likely a visual distortion, or manipulation of perspective—"
"Hey—look! A plane!" Thea suddenly shouted, pointing toward the windows.
"Wha—" Lex's words died in his throat.
Everyone turned.
"There really is one—" Lois had already raised her camera again, zooming in rapidly. "It's heading straight for the tower—!"
Her voice rose.
"And there's someone under it again!"
A ripple went through the crowd nearby. People had already started gathering around the windows, drawn by the noise and the commotion.
"Something exploded!" Lena said, her voice small but sharp with shock.
They could all see it now—the aircraft, the trail of smoke, the sudden burst near one of its engines.
"The plane—" Selina's eyes widened. "It changed direction… it's coming this way!"
"Selina." Bruce grabbed her arm immediately. "We need to find Mother. Now."
He was already moving.
"Everyone evacuate!" he called out, his voice cutting through the growing panic. "A plane is heading toward the building!"
That did it.
The tension snapped.
People began shouting, pushing, rushing for the exits.
The Luthor siblings had already slipped away into the crowd the moment they confirmed the danger.
"Th-this can't be happening…" Oliver muttered, panic finally breaking through as he grabbed Thea's hand and pulled her along.
In his rush, he collided with Lois.
"Ah!"
The camera slipped from her hands, skidding across the floor toward the edge of the floor-to-ceiling window.
Lois stumbled forward and dropped to her knees, reaching out to grab it—
Her fingers closed around the device.
She looked up—
—and froze.
The burning aircraft was right there.
Too close.
Far too close.
And it was coming straight towards her!
"Lois, get away from the window!" Eleanor shouted, her voice sharp with fear as she ran toward her.
But Lois couldn't move.
Her heart locked in her chest, her body refusing to respond.
In that split second—
the plane's nose lifted.
And beneath it—
she saw him.
A figure in blue.
A bright red S emblazoned across his chest.
Holding the plane.
Her breath caught.
Then—
CRACK!
The glass exploded outward.
The shockwave hit her before she could react, ripping her off her feet and dragging her through the shattered frame.
"AHHHH!!"
The world flipped.
Wind roared in her ears as she fell, the city rushing up toward her—cars, streets, people growing larger by the second.
And in that instant—
Lois knew.
She was going to die.
---
The burning engine roared beside me, flames licking across the wing as the hijacker continued to fight the controls. The aircraft had already veered off course, its unstable tilt sending it straight toward the hotel at terrifying speed.
There was no time left to be careful.
I pushed harder.
Much harder.
Forcing my strength into the plane, I began bleeding off its momentum while trying to redirect its path at the same time.
It wasn't safe.
The sudden shift would be felt inside—violent, disorienting.
But there was no other choice.
Not with the pilot still interfering.
Not with the distance closing this fast.
I gritted my teeth and held the balance, stretching the deceleration as much as I could, forcing the massive aircraft to slow without tearing itself apart.
Slowly—
it responded.
The speed dropped. The nose lifted. The trajectory shifted.
And just before it could reach the building—
I forced it upward.
CRACK!
A window shattered.
A scream followed.
My head snapped toward the sound—
and in that instant, my perception sharpened to its limit.
"Lois!"
I recognized her immediately.
Everything aligned at once.
The plane's position. Its remaining velocity. The angle of ascent. The clearance needed to carry it safely over the building.
And at the same time—
her fall.
Height. Acceleration. Air resistance. Time to impact.
The answer formed before the question was complete.
Seconds.
She had seconds.
The plane—
needed those same seconds.
If I stayed, I could clear the building.
If I let go, the aircraft could drop.
One mistake—
and I wouldn't just lose her.
I would lose everyone.
I didn't have time to hesitate.
The solution came to me in an instant, and I acted on it just as quickly.
Instead of holding the plane back, I drove it forward with a final, calculated push and let go.
Freed from my restraint and aided by its still-running engines, the aircraft surged upward, its trajectory carrying it cleanly over the building and into open sky.
Inside, the sudden shift hit hard—bodies lurched, cries rang out, and the wounded passengers were thrown into fresh pain—but the structure held, and that was all that mattered.
I was already moving.
Dropping like a bullet toward her, I locked onto Lois as she fell. Her face was pale with terror, her wide violet eyes brimming with panic as the ground rushed up to meet her.
I adjusted my speed to match hers, dropping alongside her before reaching out and pulling her into my arms, immediately driving us upward.
I hoped my bioelectric aura would extend over her—spread the force, soften the sudden change in momentum instead of letting it tear through her body.
But I didn't know for sure.
And that uncertainty tightened in my chest as she kept screaming, her body rigid with panic while I pushed us higher.
I scanned her as we ascended.
No injuries.
By the time she managed to stabilize and look up, we had already reached the top floor.
Eleanor stood there in shock, frozen for a second before rushing forward.
"She's safe," I said, setting Lois down.
"Lois—! You're safe… you're safe…" Eleanor pulled her into a tight embrace, her voice trembling as relief finally broke through.
I didn't stay to hear anything more. As I turned, my gaze briefly met Bruce's. He stood near the exit with Martha and Selina, all of them unharmed.
That was enough.
Without another moment's pause, I shot back into the sky. The aircraft had already begun to dip again, the hijacker trying to force it downward, but I intercepted it mid-air and forced it steady once more.
Lara had already marked the path to the airport, and a quick scan confirmed that, despite everything, the passengers were still alive.
Now, there was only one thing left to do.
Bring the plane down safely—
and end this disaster.