71 – An interview with Lois Lane part 2

71 – An interview with Lois Lane part 2

Gawking at the scene, Lois was the first to recover as she rushed over to the counter, where the strange alien creature floated calmly behind it. Clark, who saw this, couldn't help but imagine seeing a puppy chasing after a frisbee and let out a small chuckle. He quickly coughed to hide his chuckle before focusing on the creature, suspicious and ready for anything that may happen.

"Excuse me, would you mind if we do an interview with you?" Lois asked, getting the creature's attention.

"And who might you be?" The creature asked before tilting its head past her to look at Clark, "And panion?"

Not even noticing the creature's lingering gaze on Clark, not that Zeref had eyes, Lois introduced herself. "I'm Lois Lane, and this is Clark Kent; we are with the Daily Planet news, and we were wondering if we could do an interview?" She stated again after introducing herself and Clark, showing a surprising amount of courage or...insanity with how cordial she was talking to the creature.

"I see...Sure," Zeref replied nonchalantly before waving his hand and summoning a...chair for Lois to sit down in.

"Take a seat, and you," Zeref pointed at Clark, "Get ready; if you need anything, just ask; for this interview, I will foot the bill."

"What do you mean?" Lois asked, confused.

"Exactly what I said. If you find yourselves hungry, thirsty, or in need of medical attention, all you need to do is ask. For this interview, I shall allow you to sample my products and goods and voice your opinions to the whole world," Zeref answered, only for Clark to raise his hand, getting both Lois and Zeref's attention. "You sure do sound...confident. Why is that?"

Zeref chuckled, giving those within earshot and listening in goosebumps. "Why wouldn't I be? I have nothing to hide or be afraid of. Even if you two were to be corrupt and lie about everything, there are plenty of other witnesses around you at this very moment to prove you wrong," Zeref answered, the cosmic energy in its body flaring while the black hole seemed to...vibrate while it laughed.

Looking around, they were met with flashes of cameras and phones recording the entire scene.

Waving to them, Lois turned to Clark and said, "Let's get this ball rolling. Are you ready, Clark?"

Nodding, Clark pointed the camera towards the two.

"Can you tell us about yourself...mister?" Lois fished for a name.

Zeref gestured to himself, his cosmic energy and the blackhole flaring ominously in his chest. "You can call me Zeref, as for who or rather what I am," Zeref started before pausing and leaving his audience in silence. "I don't have any words to explain what I could possibly be...but why use words if I can simply show you?" Zeref ominously spoke out before waving its hand, enveloping the three in a black bubble and instantly making both Clark and Lois panic.

"Calm yourselves. You are in no danger," Zeref spoke out from the darkness, amusement clear in his ethereal voice.

Before they could ask any questions, Zeref continued, "Welcome to my mind, quite empty, isn't it?"

"Your...mind?" Lois asked, confused while looking around with wide eyes.

"Yes, my mind. I figured that if I could explain to you what I am with words, why not just show you instead?"

Suddenly, the darkness that surrounded them began to change as small specks of light appeared around them, slowly expanding to a star-filled expanse that surrounded them.

"Wha-..." Lois exclaimed as a literal universe formed around them.

Little did they know, what they were seeing was merely an illusion, one without any real...substance.

Before their eyes, a simple solar system with a massive star came into being. This system had several planets and celestial objects orbiting around the star.

"What...Where is this?" Clark asked.

"Somewhere far, far away," Zeref chuckled as if he remembered something when he said that.

That's when an ominous dark star flew through the system, draining the system of all light and life before it seemed to orbit around the supergiant start, latching onto it with countless dark appendages that seemed to grasp the star.

Before their eyes and recorded by the camera, the star began to shift and change, becoming a dark star.

In the star's place, a creature began to form, one of gigantic proportions, shocking the two.

Before the two's eyes, the surrounding celestial objects began to break apart, transforming into cosmic energy that flooded into the creature, fueling its growth.

"That...is you?" Clark asked, much calmer than the horrified Lois.

"W-What?" Lois stuttered, shaking as the energy flowed into her.

"What you have just eaten is a golden apple, a fruit from one of the games currently offered in the store, Minecraft, to be specific," Zeref explained.

"Minecraft?" Clark asked, concerned.

"That's right. Like I said earlier, it's a Minecraftian product, and I can guarantee that it is completely natural and in no way harmful to either of you," Zeref said, emphasizing 'Either' as it looked toward Clark.

"It's also one of the games available in the store. Perhaps I will show you in a bit. For now, I believe you have some questions," Zeref waved his hand, gesturing towards Lois to begin asking.

Seeing that Lois was distracted by the changes happening to her body, Clark nervously looked over her before asking Zeref, "How old are you?"

"Decades? Centuries? Millineia? I cannot remember," Zeref replied with a half-truth. After he died, he had no way to tell time as he drifted in that dark void for who knows how long, though he felt as if he had forgotten something while he was trapped in the 'In-between,' in the Void.

"Why here? Why have you come to our...Earth?" Lois asked with grit teeth and a blush on her face, trying to gain control over herself.

"Hmm...because it's interesting. This universe is chaotic, to say the least. There's so much going on with this small planet and even the galaxy around it that, to be frank, I doubt I would run out of things to do for a few centuries, at least," Zeref explained.

"So...you are planning on staying on Earth for the next few...centuries?" Clark asked, baffled and worried.

"Sure, why not? Humanity is interesting, and I'd love to see how you guys fare against the wider universe come the next couple of decades," Zeref nonchalantly replied.

"Against the wider universe? Does that mean aliens exist?" Lois suddenly jumped in her seat, excited and curious.

"Of course. The likelihood of a dead universe is far lower than that of a universe housing life, and I can also guarantee that aliens do, in fact, live in this universe, some even calling Earth home. What did you think Superman was? He's certainly not a mutant, metahuman, or inhuman," Zeref commented off-handedly.

"Superman is an alien?! What are...Inhumans?" Lois asked, concerned.

"Yes, Superman is indeed an Alien, a Kryptonian, in fact, one of the few of his species left, though a few are still out there roaming the stars or living out their lives in one of the galactic communities," Zeref answered.

"As for Inhumans, think of them as another branch of Humanity, much like the discriminated branches that have been given derogatory names such as 'Mutant.' I'll have you know that the term 'mutant' will only hurt the human race. Personally, I believe all you guys are doing with your discrimination against the Mutants and metahumans of Earth will only end with the conflict," Zeref spoke, clearly stating his annoyance with the matter.

"You believe it would end up in...war?" Lois asked, concerned and pale, imagining the kind of war that would be, one that would make World War 2 look like a Picnic if it were ever to happen.

"Correct; you remember your history, right? Magneto's attack on the White House? That's because back then, Mutants would have gone extinct if Trask Industries's robots were put into service, which, just some advice, would have eventually led to the extinction of the human race as well," Zeref stated as if it was nothing.

"W-What?" Lois asked with wide eyes, shocked.

"Right, I guess I need to give you some history in basic genetics. Unlike what governments and countries would like you to believe, every child born is capable of having what I will now call an active 'Gifted' gene that grants them powers. Which means that no matter who or where you are, eventually, down the tree, someone, somewhere, will give birth to a gifted child," Zeref explained.

"And those robots would have...realized that?" Clark asked, shocked.

"Right on the money, the Artificial Intelligence in Trask's Killer Robots would have realized that eventually, even a normal human couple would give birth to a quote on quote 'Mutant,' which means, if they logically wanted to make the 'Mutant Threat' go extinct, humanity would have to go extinct with it, a full-blown terminator situation is what we would have on our hands if that happened," Zeref explained before gesturing towards the pale Lois to ask another question.

"If...Aliens exist...what about other things? Like Gods? Or Magic?" Lois asked another absurd question that no one had a real answer to, no one but Zeref and the supernatural community.

"They sure do. I know for a fact that the Greek Pantheon exists, and so does the Biblical Pantheon, with big G, God, his angels, and demons as well. So, if you think someone has rapidly undergone changes near you and is possessed, please call an Exorcist. While most are hoaxes, the ones from the Vatican are the real deal," Zeref recommended with a serious tone.

"...Demons are real?" Lois asked.

"Sure are; other than that, Magic also exists; do with that what you will," Zeref explained, not going further into the details about Magic.

"Is...Is there anything else you think we should know?" Lois hesitantly asked.

"Ah, not all aliens are friendly, so I highly suggest NATO and other countries come together to either start expanding into space or, at the very least, begin the creation of planet-side defenses that will allow for the Earth to protect itself from any threat that comes from space," Zeref recommended.

"Other than that, I feel like I should give you guys a quick tour and some first-hand experiences as to what my Cafe can offer. Are you up for it? I promise to answer any more questions you come up with," Zeref asked, looking upon the two humans before it.