Uncle Jimmy

Jason left his mother's office feeling a little bit better than he did when he walked in. Despite being late to his first day at The Daily Planet, there was no question in his mind that his report from earlier was the most heartfelt in the room. With this new found confidence, Jason headed over to the office two doors down to begin his internship. No answer came from inside after knocking on the door twice. He decided to quietly let himself in. There at the desk was a man talking aloud to his computer screen; seemingly frustrated at his picture editor.

"Maybe if you said 'please', the color would come out brighter, Uncle Jimmy," Jason said sarcastically.

"Jason," Jimmy replied. "So good to see you!"

He left his seat to give Jason a hug. Back in the day, James Olsen was just a teenager trying to tell a story through his pictures. At the same he was attempting to gain the approval of his boss, the late Perry White. Today, his iconic photos of Superman made him nationally recognized and earned him the right to be known as The Daily Planet's head photographer.

"Still can't used to this damn 'Photoshop' thing," Jimmy said with a sigh.

"Why don't you call 1985 and tell them to give you your Polaroid back," Jason asked.

Jimmy glared at him, feeling in his fifties instead of his thirties. "Anyway, don't worry about being late. I'm still waiting for someone to arrive."

"Another intern? I thought it was just us?"

"You're the intern reporter. A photographer is coming with us too."

"Really? What's he like?"

"She, actually," said the girl walking through the door. "Sorry Mr. Olsen. Had to make a stop on the way. Ms. Lane has some lungs."

"Take it as a learning experience," said Jimmy as he shook the intern's hand. "Jason, meet Katie Vance, Photography Major at Metropolis University."

She was 19 with light skin and long, straight, black hair. Jason's casual clothes made him feel under dressed as her outfit was a button down with rolled up sleeves and a tie complimented by a skirt that came up slightly above the knee. She was only about an inch or two shorter than Jason but he felt so small standing next to her. He was a kid just a few short days from leaving high school while Katie was on her way to her degree. All of this and more left Jason speechless, causing an awkward five seconds of silence.

"Oh! Um...pleasure to meet me," he stuttered holding out his hand. "I mean you!"

"Likewise," she giggled, shaking his nervous hand. "You ok?"

"Uh yeah," he replied. "Just um...drank a lot of coffee."

"You have a caffeine sensitivity," said Jimmy.

"I plead the fifth..."

"It's ok," said Katie. "I'm nervous myself. Mr. Olsen said this was a big assignment."

"It's a huge assignment Katie." Jimmy pulled out an edition of the paper from earlier on in the day. The headline read 'MAGNETIC TELESCOPE FULLY FUNCTIONAL'.

"In case you haven't heard, Dr. Isaac Harris has become one of the top scientists and inventors in the world. Some, including myself, think he's an absolute nutcase but he is determined to prove us wrong tonight. Dr. Harris is going to unveil his latest creation at the observatory tonight. Apparently, it's a telescope that attracts comets to Earth for observation."

"That doesn't sound safe," said Katie.

"It's not."

"So I take it you're going to assign us reporters to shadow," Jason asked.

"No," Jimmy replied. "You two and myself are the reporters."

"Yes," Katie said with excitement. "Hitting the ground running! I like that!"

"Are you sure about this," Jason asked hesitantly. "I mean, if it's that dangerous-"

"I'll be with you every step of the way," Jimmy replied. "My job is to make sure you don't get into trouble. The coverage is on you."

Jason couldn't help being nervous. First his mother drags him into this internship, then she makes his first assignment a story about a crazy guy who makes meteors fall to Earth. Clearly, Lois Lane felt her son liked the element of danger just as much if not more than she did.

Jason then felt Katie grabbing him by the shoulders. "C'mon Jason! It'll be fun! You and me! It'll be just like your Mom and Clark Kent!"

"You...knew Clark Kent," he asked her.

"I used to read his articles all the time," she replied. "He wasn't the most prolific mind you. When he did write though, it was like he was actually there. Don't you wanna live that? Continue the legacy even?"

Jason, all of a sudden, had all of the courage he needed.

"Alright," he said with a smile. "Let's do it!"

James Olsen was impressed by the excitement of his two new proteges. Then again, the fact that he had become a mentor after all this time was enough to make him proud for the rest of his life.

"Well, now that we're all pumped, both of you get your thoughts, notes, and questions together and meet me back here at 7:30 sharp!"

"You got it, Chief," Katie replied as the two of them began to leave.

"Oh! One more thing!"

Jason and Katie stopped and listened to Jimmy as a smirk crept up on his face.

"Don't call me 'Chief'."

First Impression

Jason walked through the hallway after class. He ignored the chatter of his fellow classmates. Any discussions about who was dating who, how to do your hair, and the star player of the basketball team didn't quite appeal to him. Instead, Jason was fixated on one question.

"Why the hell am I crying?"

It took him a minute to figure it out. The story he told in class was very close to his heart. Superman was more than just Metropolis' savior. He was also Jason's best friend. It didn't matter what was going on in the world. It could have been anything from a terrorist attack or a kitten stuck in a tree. Superman arrived every Saturday at 8am on the dot, never once showing up late. Their routine consisted of breakfast, board games, piano lessons, and bedtime stories. Superman never had to be there, but he wanted to be. Jason could never understand why he was chosen out of every child in Metropolis to be Superman's number one priority.

The train of thought was broken by Jason tripping and falling to the floor. All conversations in the hallway turned into laughter as his face met the tile.

"Might wanna watch that first step, crybaby!"

Evan was standing tall as the culprit. Not only was Evan the most popular among the students, he was the most wealthy. This gave him access to the latest technology and fashions. There were only a handful of red heads in the school and his was darker than most. Intelligence was the only area in which Evan ever had a rival. His rival was Jason.

"I hear you turned on the water works in 12th period today," Evan boasted as Jason got to his feet.

"Heard you still can't find shirts in men's sizes," Jason replied brushing himself off.

"Heh...that's cute. You got jokes. You're also gonna have a black eye in a minute."

The two students approached each other only to be separated by a third party. His name was Kyle, Jason's best friend. Kyle was an artist. Comic strip illustrator for the school paper to be exact. It was fitting seeing as he took nothing seriously. Since freshman year, Kyle had always acted as Jason's big brother; helping him out of confrontations such as this.

"Whoa whoa whoa," Kyle shouted trying to keep them apart. "Let's all calm down before we dent the brand new lockers!"

"Saving the day again are we," Evan asked. "Well one of these days you're not gonna be around to protect him."

"And one of these days your trust fund won't be able to pay for the product in your hair," Kyle replied.

Evan stuttered before responding. "It holds for 12 hours!"

"Thank you," Jason said to Kyle as they walked away. "I wasn't in the mood to deal with him today."

"I could tell," said Kyle. "Felt like frying an egg on your head. What's going on dude?"

"I...got a bit more emotional than I thought I would in class."

If Kyle knew nothing else about Jason, he knew how much Superman meant to his best friend. Jason was close to the Man of Steel for two years. Telling the story of how he died must have taken a toll. Putting his arm on Jason's shoulder, Kyle tried to make things a little bit better.

"Well, look at the bright side, Jay," he said. "You start your internship with Mr. Olsen today, right?"

"Shit," Jason shouted. "I'm late! Sorry, Kyle! I'm outta here! Text me!"

Jason dashed away before Kyle could even come close to saying goodbye. The Daily Planet was a good two miles away from the school. For any normal person at a steady pace, it would take about half an hour or so to get there. Jason, however, moves faster than normal people. Jogging to his destinations cut the arrival time in half.

Upon arriving to The Daily Planet, Jason tried to weave his way through the staff. It was a busy day so everyone was running around trying to meet their deadlines. This was a perfect opportunity to be inconspicuous. After all, he wanted to make a good first impression.

"JASON LANE!!"

Too late for that. The woman's voice was so loud that it silenced the roar of the scattering employees. How she could be heard all the way from the back office, Jason could never understand. All he did know is that from the looks of things the shout was louder to him than it was to anyone else.

"Y-y-yes ma'am," Jason stuttered, adjusting his glasses.

"My office! Now!"

Jason took deep breaths as he slowly made his way to the door marked Editor In Chief - Lois Lane. He shut the door behind him and sat in the chair across from his superior.

"You're late," she said looking into Jason's eyes.

"I know."

She motioned to the slight bruise on Jason's cheek where he had fallen. "What happened?"

"I fell," he replied.

"Evan's fault?"

"Shoe lace."

"Don't lie to me. You know I'm better than that."

"He tripped me."

"Stop letting him get to you."

"Yes, Mom."

Lois let out a sigh pulling out Jason's paperwork. She skimmed through it quickly before addressing her son.

"Look," she said. "I know this isn't what you wanted to do. I don't even know what you want to do with your life. You won't tell me. All I do know is that..."

She tried to stop from getting choked up before starting again.

"He saw the potential in you to do something great. All I ask is that you give the internship with Uncle Jimmy a shot. Maybe then we can at least get an idea of what your strengths are."

"That's just it, Mom," he said. "I'm good at everything short of sports. I don't feel right doing anything though."

"Well you aren't going to find out sitting at the piano until three in the morning are you?"

"No, I'm not," Jason answered. "Am I good to go?"

"Yes, you are."

Jason got up from the chair and made his way to the door. Lois stopped him before he could reach the handle.

"Oh, by the way," she asked. "How did your presentation go?"

"It was ok," he said.

"Is that all?"

Jason paused before telling his mother the truth. "It wasn't great."

"Why not?"

"I didn't get to talk about Mr. Kent," he replied sadly.

Lois got up from her seat. It was one of the two times she got to do it that day. The other being shouting at Jason for being late to work. In contrast, however, she put her arms around her son and gave him a hug. Jason returned the favor.

"Jason," she said. "All that matters is that Clark Kent was a good reporter. You remember what I told you about that right?"

"A good reporter doesn't get great stories," he said with a smile. "A good reporter makes them great."

A Trip Down Memory Lane

A boy stood up from his desk, adjusting his glasses before slowly walking down the aisle of the classroom. His attire of choice was a white graphic tee and a pair of wrinkled blue jeans. Jason, an eighteen year old senior at Metropolis High School, was one of those kids who always felt different from his peers. Straight As in everything but Gym. Begging for a D minus in that class wasn't easy. Neither were the fifty push-ups.

He wasn't quite sure what his future held. All he did know at that point in time is that he felt proud. Every other student who presented that day needed index cards or power point slides as a guide to what they wanted to say. Jason, however, knew his project from cover to cover as this story was very close to his heart. The topic was "Significant Events of the 21st Century." To his classmates, it was the final presentation at the last period of the day. For him, it was a flashback.

Ten years ago, the city of Metropolis became a target of destruction. The antagonist responsible for such terror was a monster known as "Doomsday", a name given to him by The Daily Planet newspaper. Doomsday's rampage began about fifty miles west of the city and continued until he made his way to us. Hundreds of people were killed or injured and the collateral damage was in the millions. As night began to fall, it seemed that our citizens were at the mercy of this remorseless beast. That was until a streak of blue and red came to our defense. It was none other than Metropolis' great defender and Earth's mightiest hero, Superman. 


Both forces gave all their strength to what could only be described as a war. Fists, vehicles, and nearby buildings were all used as weapons. The chants screaming "Man of Steel" could be heard as far as Gotham City. A half an hour into the fight, the two combatants had one final stare down before channeling all of their energy into one final attack. The impact of the clash caused a sonic boom which destroyed the road in which they collided. Anyone watching the event was immediately knocked off their feet. It took ten minutes for the dust to settle. All that remained was a battle-torn cape with the iconic "S" insignia that our hero wore with pride. Doomsday had been destroyed at the expense of the last survivor of the planet Krypton.

Jason took a moment to catch his breath. His eyes were closed for most of the story. Watching the events unfold on the news was a memory that he wished he could forget. Opening his eyes, Jason continued to speak to the class.

"Lois Lane, was the reporter on the scene when it happened," he said as he began to pass out newspaper clippings and photographs to the class. "These were the original photos taken by her partner and best friend, James Olsen."

The students took turns viewing the pictures with great interest. Never had they known someone who was this close to the legendary hero known as Superman. Even the teacher appeared to be impressed as she also took time to view the pictures.

"Rumor has it there may have been another correspondent covering the story for The Daily Planet, " Jason added. "According to my sources, he died at the scene." A bell sounded just as Jason was about to reveal the reporter's identity. The class was over.

"Thank you for your hard work everyone," the teacher said. "If you didn't present today, I'm calling on you tomorrow!"

Jason collected the materials he had shared with the class and placed them in a messenger bag. He then threw it over his shoulder and left the classroom. As he walked toward his locker, Jason noticed a slight chill on his left cheek. With a gentle touch, he discovered dried up tears that had trailed down his face.

He was crying the whole time.