tough questions ;

DJ knew a thousand tricks to keep calm. It was an important habit to keep, to avoid stage-fright and not to get caught lying to the cops. Not one of those tricks kept their palms from sweating. Even without the cameras, this was crazy. Going out into the spotlight was dangerous, especially at a time like this. Especially for their kind. But the reporter had hounded them and when their little boy looked up at them with his big dark eyes, they couldn’t say no. “Yeah, I guess. You’re not gonna use my name or anything though, right? If you gotta use something, use Jack. It’s my stage name.”

“Jack. Works for me.” Lois scrawled it across the top of the page in her notepad in her small, sharp handwriting. “I know this might seem crazy, but I think it’s important to hear the real stories of what people are going through in this city. All they’re hearing from the Gazette is propaganda from the government, and I’m not going to be a part of that.” Lois paused. “If you put a little trust in me, I can keep you safe.” She paused again. “We’re both kind of diving off the high board.”

karen appreciated journalists that attempted to spread the good word, or at least the word that could change the world positively. which was why she liked lois lane, though occasionally lois lane’s articles would make her question her own capacity and lengths she would go to find the story, to find the truth. so when she came across her, karen couldn’t help but thank her for what she has done and how she couldn’t wait to read what else she had coming. though, it seemed lois was ready to get karen ready for this city. “yeah.” she answered, before nodding lightly at her statement. “i know. hopefully it helps me understand what is going on exactly.” she said, though she understood the overall concept of it. “what is something i should look forward to? or not look forward to?” she asked, knowing that despite the thirst and passion a journalist could have, every story had their complications. things that people didn’t look forward. she wanted at least something of a warning to prepare mentally. or at least, prepare as much as she could. 

“You know, I object to you needing to know any of this stuff,” Lois said as she stretched her shoulders out, standing lightly on the balls of her feet. “You should be trying your best to stay out of trouble.” Lois knew that an amount of self-defense knowledge was necessary in their current climate, but she hated that standard. It seemed unfair and gross and just reminded Lois of the hellscape they were living in. “But if you really want to learn, I can teach you. Does it always have to be in this creepy building, though?” 

Lois had become accustomed to getting recognized these days, for mostly the right reasons (though some of the wrong). She had gotten some infamy after she had leaked that article from the Gazette and gotten fired, but more than that, she was known for her correspondent videos from when she was living in Jordan. Usually, she hated the recognition, but when it was another journalist, she felt some sympathy. At least they were (usually) coming with good intentions. “You’re here from New York. Right?” Lois bit her lower lip lightly. “Things are going to be a lot different for you here.” 

Lois sat down quietly, as if she was afraid of scaring DJ off. It had taken long enough to get this interview, and if she could get to the bottom of things, she knew it would make an incredible story. She had a nose for this kind of thing. Lois didn’t bring a recorder that day, knowing that the kind of questions she was going to ask would be better remembered in easily explained handwritten notes rather than incontrovertible, recorded proof. “Are you ready?” 

“Maybe.” Josh didn’t sound one bit convinced, but what was the point in droning on about it? If the world changed for the better, great. It wouldn’t be the biggest, best surprise he could possibly get. If it didn’t, well…it would just be meeting his expectations.

He let out a quiet sigh and after a few moments of silence thought to ask, “The interview I did with you. Did it ever get published?” He hadn’t checked. They’d relocated the clinic very shortly thereafter. It hadn’t slipped his mind entirely, but it hadn’t been a priority to follow up on it either. 

Lois wasn’t going to push anything. She was still trying to cultivate this relationship, get Josh to trust her enough to confide in her. She was gathering as many mutant and metahuman sources as possible, before they all were forced to go underground. If she could form these relationships now, if things got worse, she’d be a trustworthy mouthpiece for the people who needed it most. 

“It did,” she said, nodding. “It was watered down on the Gazette but I leaked the full version online. I guess that’s why I don’t work for the Gazette anymore,” she said with a grimace. “It is what it is. I don’t want to work for a propaganda machine anyway.” 

“You again. We should really stop meeting like this,” Lois teased lightly, rifling through her purse looking for her recorder that she had so carefully stowed when she was talking to her source. All was fair in love and war—and this was world war 3. “You’ve come in real handy these days, you know. Ever since my car got stolen I haven’t had a chance to collect the insurance and besides, they’re all stingy about that stuff anyway.” Lois tossed her hair out of her face and looked out the window. “Jesus, I wish I hadn’t quit smoking.” 

“Just like old times, eh, Jim?” Lois said with a grin on her features, wearing her coat with the collar popped up against the win. “I had to get a new coat. Remember how I used to do this with that beautiful wool trench coat I had? It’s so warm here, I hate it.” She ducked her head for a moment before looking back up and out over the water from the docks. “I hear you’re cleaning up the department. Got any comment?” 

Lois hadn’t seen Diana in far too long. She was certainly feeling more and more like she was spiraling out of control, completely caught up in what she was doing with the Fourth Estate and abandoning most other things in her life. She had a cigarette balanced between two fingers as she opened the door. “I swear, this is the last one. I quit four years ago.” She took another drag. The running was supposed to replace the smoking, but it seemed like these days, she needed both. “Leave me alone. I need my vices.” She walked back into her apartment, leaving the door open—an invitation for Diana to come in. 

Conner shook his head lightly and gave a half-chuckle at her words. “What do I know about relationships, Lois?” He asked her, raising a brow but turning his attention to the lasagna as she laid it in front of him. “Thank you.” He added before taking a couple of bites. “You been okay?” He asked between bites. “I mean, with everything going on. You still writing pieces?”

“I guess too much optimism just leads to even more disappointment when you see what the world is actually like.” He’d learned it early on. Far too early. It was hard not to see “hope” as naivety.

“If it wasn’t NOVA, it’d be something else. The Purifiers, The Reavers…pick one.” There was more than that. Josh was just intimately familiar with those particular groups. “No shortage of people who want us dead or,” he shrugged, “leashed.”

“And I’ve spent a lot of time seeing what the world is actually like.” Lois had spent time overseas for that reason—she knew there were stories being squelched that deserved to be heard. 

Bruce didn’t make a habit of intruding on personal relationships, or keeping up with them, and he wasn’t sure whether or not Lois and Clark were as close as they had been in the past. That didn’t mean that she wouldn’t be a useful ally in what he saw as a situation that was unfolding rapidly. “I wanted to speak with you about Clark.” He knew Clark wasn’t at the house. He’d made sure of that. “I have some concerns.” 

Lois paused for a moment in mild surprise before she composed herself and nodded. “Okay. Sit.” She gestured at the table before picking up her glass of wine from where she abandoned it in the kitchen—she felt she would need it for this conversation—and sitting across from him. She curled her legs into her chest, her toes just barely hanging off the edge of the seat she was in. “Shoot.” 

“Didn’t peg you for a cynic.” But maybe he should have. Being a journalist anywhere, but especially a city so full of chaos and assholes, had to take a toll on a person.

He laughed to himself for a moment. “If people around here want to leave, we usually have some uh…alternate methods of doing it.” Josh didn’t, personally, but the options were never far away. He pointed to a small refrigerated box on the counter. “Got that through teleportation.”

“It’s part of the job,” she replied. “Idealistic journalists burn out too fast.” That was just a hard fact of the job—they were never reporting on the best of humanity, only the worst, the corruption, the war, the important things. You needed a thick skin and a way to protect your heart. 

Conner cracked a smirk back at the woman, though it quickly returned to its resting flat-lined expression. “When aren’t you? Please, Lois. You and Kal couldn’t stay away from one another if you tried. You’re like magnets.” He remarked.