Anderson and Another

 Lt. General Anderson was being shown around the D.E.O. by Hank Henshaw's second in command Nikita, a human-looking alien. She speaks with professionalism and restraint. That is she speaks with obvious emotion but keeps herself restrained and professional. Anderson asks her about how she first came to be part of the D.E.O. Her voice goes quiet before becoming present. Director Henshaw returns from a mission and the 3 of them go up to the briefing room. They talk for a few minutes before Anderson's face gets the unmistakable 'down to business' look of an officer wanting to burn away irrelevancies. That is where this story starts.

Lt. General Anderson: Okay there is one thing that confuses me about this whole situation. And that's you, director.

Hank Henshaw: How do you mean, General?

Lt. General Anderson: Nikita speaks highly of you, I couldn't get her to say a bad word about you if I tried. The entire time she showed me around she let me form my own opinions about everything, not trying to sell me on how good a job you're doing; a good strategy by the way. It's clear her loyalty is to you first and the D.E.O. second.

Hank Henshaw: Why would that be confusing to you? She's served under me for years. At the very least we have a history together.

Nikita: It's confusing to him because he knows the rest of that history. I told him how we met, how I came to your attention. And about the day everything changed. He doesn't understand what you could have done to change my mind about you.

Lt. General Anderson: It's not just that. When you were talking to me about your time here before, you spoke of Hank with sadness in your voice. Said the only thing you felt for him was pity. But you're loyal to him. I can tell you genuinely believe in him. You'd have to be blind not to see it. So my question to you Director is, what changed?

Hank Henshaw: (In quite a different voice) I did General, literally.

Nikita: Sajen, no.

Hank Henshaw: Nikita, I appreciate you having my back, but I appreciate telling the truth a little more. Keeping my secret is one thing, but I'll not have you flat out lie for me. General, here's the truth as any of us know it. (He shape shifts into his natural green form). Two years ago the original Hank Henshaw led a mission to kill me. Nikita was part of that mission. As was an agent named Jeremiah Danvers. Nikita vouched for me, to Jeremiah. Or actually more the other way around. She did everything she could to keep Jeremiah safe. And that man died saving me from Henshaw. So when I found her I brought her back here, to the D.E.O...and she's served as an agent under my command ever since. My name is J'onn Jo'nzz.

(looks of confusion and resignation until Anderson basically asks 'okay, what now)

J'onn Jo'nzz: Listen to me General. I'll surrender myself on one condition, that Nikita stays as she is. Don't discipline her for having a sense of honor.

Lt. General Anderson: (In a hard tone) I don't see why she should get off. She knew what she was doing and contrary to your assertions she outright lied for you. If she's a free individual, she had a free choice. One you ironically gave her. Believe me, there will be an investigation into this. And it will begin with her.

J'onn Jo'nzz: She was following my orders; she's done nothing wrong! (getting himself under control) General, you know Henshaw kept her here as a prisoner for years before deciding she should serve under him. She didn't have a choice back then. I gave her a choice when I asked her to stay. And she chose to keep my secret and help me serve with, well I honestly think I have done a good job here with what this place is supposed to be. But regardless of what I did with my name, and if it justifies my deception, I will NOT see her punished for being loyal to a friend, who happens to be her superior officer. She sees this as paying a debt, to Jeremiah if not to myself. Please.

Lt. General Anderson: Thank you for proving the kind of man you are J'onn Jo'nzz.

J'onn looked confused. Then smiled faintly. 

J'onn Jo'nzz: You were testing me, to see where my priorities stood?

Lt. General Anderson: I wanted to know if you would stand up for yourself or for her. If you were...If you reciprocated the trust and loyalty Nikita clearly has for you. Don't worry, I'm not about to haul into detention as a traitor. But this deception cannot stand any longer.

J'onn Jo'nzz: I don't understand, what's the alternative?

Nikita: That you remain as director but admit who you are to the public. That way you are not viewed as a liar and will never fall under the suspicion of being a spy or some other kind of enemy. The deception has to end. Your time as Hank Henshaw can finally come to an end. But your tenure as the Director of the D.E.O. does not have to. I can stop lying for you and can be recognized as the man you truly are. In Superman's case it would be better if he told people who he truly was rather than being found out and you are no different than him in that regard. 

 No one saw it at the time but General Anderson's face went white.

“J'onn, congratulations. It's good to know things really are changing for the better around here.” Superman said as he clasped J'onn's hand lightly.

“You should thank Nikita, she's the one who convinced me to accept it. And of course General Anderson for making me the offer.”

“Is he here, I'd like to thank him in person.”

Nikita walked up with General Anderson at her heels. “I am unfamiliar with protocol in these matters so I'll fall back on my own peoples customs of formal introductions. Superman, I would like to introduce you to Lt. General Mitchell Anderson. General Anderson, I'd like you to meet a friend I believe needs no introduction whatsoever, Superman.”

“General, it's a pleasure to meet you.” Superman said extending his right hand. Lt General Anderson looked flustered as he accepted it.

“It's good to...meet you too...Superman.”

“So how exactly did this happen?”

“The general came for an inspection of the D.E.O. and picked up on the fact that Nikita had a much higher opinion of me than she did of the actual Hank Henshaw. I offered to turn myself in. And instead they convinced me to step into the light.”

“Well that couldn't have been an easy challenge.”

“It actually wasn't hard. Nikita made pretty convincing arguments that I should stop living down to my own face, that Director Jo'nzz had a much better ring than Director Henshaw.”

“I'm sorry, would you excuse me for a moment?”

“Of course General.” Nikita said simply.

“Of course General, you would know all this anyway.” Superman said simply.

“Thank you Superman.” General Anderson actually snapped to attention gave a short, curt bow and excused himself.

“Okay that was weird.” Superman pondered aloud. “I wouldn't have expected a military general of all people to get unnerved around me.”

“Superman, I think 'unnerved' is an ironically appropriate choice of words.” Nikita said thoughtfully. “He's not tripping over himself; he's beating himself UP.”

“What possible reason could he have to do that, you just met.” J'onn intoned.

“I was beating myself up like that the first time you and I met, if you remember.”

“Good point.”

“I'm going to and follow him. This is...something I don't have the words for.”

Nikita found Anderson standing against the back wall of the auditorium. “How do you know Superman?” She asked simply.

“It's pretty obvious I don't right, you heard him he just met me.”

“Yes, he just met you. It doesn't' go both ways.” Anderson looked thunderstruck. “Your open-book nature makes it a lot easier for me to get a read on you. And what you feel for him is so close to the surface it might as well be painted on your skin.

“Well I suppose that comes with the territory of being a low-level empath.”

“I don't read people, either telepathically or like a book. I sense the core or essence of most beings and the emotional vibrations coming off of them.”

“And what are your conclusions on the matter?” General Anderson asked stiffly.

“You are familiar with Superman but he doesn't know you. The only thing I can think is that you know a different version of him.”

Anderson's face instantly transformed. As if a lightning bolt had somehow vulcanized his skin into metal. “What do you know about that?” He asked in an urgent whisper.

“It's only a theory. 'Simultaneous realities in parallel places wherein our statuses are different but we have the same faces.' Does that sound right?”

“That sounds...weirdly accurate actually.”

“General, I can guess what happened between you and your Superman, at least in the broadest of strokes.” Anderson gave a 'go ahead' look with his eyes. “You didn't know he was anything but Superman. Whatever posting you had put you with him as completely as being director of the D.E.O. means J'onn has to deal with National City's highest profile alien. But you never trusted him...until it was...almost too late.” She thinks for a second. “Wait, were you the director of the D.E.O. on your Earth?”

“We didn't have one. The only aliens known to exist are Kryptonians. And I... I screwed up badly. It took landing on a world with a red sun where the D.o.D. Had been taken over for me to realize how wrong I was. Superman and I made peace and I tried to help him fight the bad guys. I died. Like I actually remember dying. Except I woke up... and I was in a world where Superman works with an organization called the Department of Extra-normal Operations. And the leader of the agency is an alien himself.”

“I imagine your inner jaw hit the floor when I first mentioned Superman.”

“Oh yeah. Do you mind if I ask...”

“How do either of us know him?” Nikita suggested. General Anderson nodded. “Hank Henshaw, Jeremiah and I were on a mission to hunt down a particularly dangerous alien. Well that alien, turned out to be J'onn. It was the biggest mistake I can remember making, being into Hank's rhetoric and being so completely wrong about the man. Henshaw was knocked on conscious, the three of us got away. At least for a while...