Chapter 758: Clark Kent Effect

“Considering both Lorelie and Revi are with us, I’m kind of surprised that we still have to use the orbital elevator,” Eri remarked as the group queued for their security checks.

“It’s because land is an extreme rarity on the planet, similar to Oceana Seven,” Lorelie answered.

“There are a few spaceports and docking bays on the planet, but they are all reserved for the APSF,” Aphrodite added.

“You do realise that you're going to have to reveal your identity when it’s your turn, right?” Stacey asked as she glanced at Lorelie and Aphrodite.

“I’m aware,” Lorelie replied. “We’re just going to have to hope that chaos doesn’t ensue.”

“Good luck with that,” Adam said with a chuckle.

“We’ll find out soon enough,” Eri stated as the individual in front of them successfully passed through security.

“Who wants to go first?” Rowena asked as she and Emma rejoined the group.

“We may as well let Lorelie go first so we can all enjoy the show,” Aphrodite said with a smile.

Lorelie rolled her eyes before saying, “Fine.”

As she pushed her hover trolley towards the checkpoint, the security officer instructed, “Please place your bags on the scanner.”

“Babe, can I get some help?” Lorelie asked as she turned to Adam.

“Sure,” Adam replied as he stepped forward and helped place the bags onto a type of conveyor belt which fed the bags into a machine.

“Please place your uniband against the scanner,” The security officer instructed while indicating a small black ring that was placed on his desk.

As Lorelie did as instructed, the security guard asked, “Anything to declare?”

“No,” Lorelie replied.

The security guard nodded before glancing at Lorelie’s information, and as he did so, he froze.

“Is something wrong?” Lorelie asked with a smile.

“I, errr, seem to be having technical difficulties. Can I ask you to scan your uniband again?” The security guard asked.

“Of course,” Lorelie replied before once again holding her uniband against the small black ring.

The security guard frowned as he saw the information that was displayed on his console's holographic screen before pressing a button on his desk. “Security to checkpoint three.”

“Here we go,” Aphrodite said in amusement.

“This is going to be good,” Rowena stated with a smirk.

“Whatever could the problem be, officer?” Lorelie asked innocently.

“I’m fairly sure you know the answer to that, Miss,” The security officer replied as more security personnel hurried over. “Are you aware that impersonation is a crime, Miss?”

“Naturally,” Lorelie replied.

“Then would you kindly explain why you're impersonating Diva Lorelie?” The officer asked, causing everyone in the vicinity to pay attention to them.

“Well, so much for keeping a low profile,” Adam said with a sigh.

“Told you this would happen,“ Stacey remarked.

Lorelie wore a confused expression as she asked, “How’s it a criminal offence to impersonate myself?”

“Ok, that’s enough,” The guard said in annoyance before turning to his colleagues and ordering. “Take her to interrogation.”

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

“Yes, I think this has gone quite far enough,” Adam said as he stepped forward.

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to wait your turn,” The security guard instructed.

“Why would I do that when you're attempting to falsely detain my girlfriend?” Adam asked.

“Falsely detain?” The security guard asked in amusement. “You do know your girlfriend is impersonating Diva Lorelie, right?”

“Is it a crime to impersonate herself?” Adam asked, causing Lorelie and the others to chuckle.

“Impersonate herself?” The security guard repeated in exasperation. “Her hair is not even the right colour.”

“Oh, is that the problem?” Lorelie asked innocently. “Why didn’t you say so?”

Then, under the gaze of everyone nearby, Lorelie’s black hair began to change and return to its normal colour.

The security guard gaped in shock as Diva Lorelie appeared before him.

“OH, MY GOD! IT’S DIVA LORELIE!” Someone from the onlookers finally screamed.

“Here we go,” Stacey said with a sigh.

“Well, if you're going to date a diva, granddaughter,” Rowena said in amusement.

“DIVA LORE IS HERE; SHE’S ACTUALLY HERE!”

“Muriel was right; she really did turn up.”

“Rumour has it she’s here for a vacation.”

“Isn’t she in the middle of her New Genre Tour?”

“Yeah, but even divas need a break now and then.”

“I wonder if she will put on a show while she’s here.”

“Seriously though, how did they not recognise her?” Tephe asked in bewilderment. “All she did was change the colour of her hair.”

“It must be the Clark Kent effect,” Emma stated.

“The what effect?” Tephe asked.

“The Clark Kent effect,” Emma explained. “It describes how people fail to recognise someone they know simply because they change a minor aspect of their appearance, such as changing their hair colour or putting on glasses.”

“Oh,” Tephe replied thoughtfully.

Rowena nodded in understanding as she added, “It’s basically how we divas and other celebrities disguise ourselves when we go out so that we won’t be hounded by fans.”

“But why’s it called the Clark Kent effect?” Tephe asked.

“I’ll explain later,” Emma said with a smile.

“Diva Lorelie, it’s really you,” The security guard finally said after getting over his shocked state.

“Who else would it be?” Lorelie asked sweetly. “That is my personal information after all.”

“Of course, of course, I apologise for not recognising you earlier,” The security guard said quickly

“Quite alright,” Lorelie replied while smiling. “If you had recognised me, it would mean my disguise failed.”

“Of course,” The guard nodded. “Well, everything appears to be in order… oh, there was one thing.”

“And that is?” Lorelie asked curiously.

“We were ordered to inform you that when you arrive planet-side, you should head for the Underwater Transport Tunnel. A pod has been specially reserved for you and your party.”

“Thank you very much. Am I free to go?” Lorelie asked.

“Please,” The security guard said.

Lorelie nodded before proceeding through the scanner.

“Hey, hey. Since Diva Lorelie is here, do you think Divas Rowena and Aphrodite are also?”

“There’s a good chance; I mean, they are known to be travelling together.”

“Now that I look more closely at the group of women who were accompanying Diva Lorelie, a few of them do seem familiar.”

“You're right. If their hair colour was different, they would totally be Divas Rowena and Aphrodite.”

“Looks like you've been found out,” Eytelis said with a smile.

“Can’t be helped after that show,” Aphrodite said with a shrug as both she and Rowena deactivated the effect of their earrings.

“Holy shit, it is them.”

“AHHHH, DIVA ROWENA.”

“DIVA APHRODITE.”

“Three divas at the same time, am I dreaming?”

“If you are, then we’re sharing the same dream, and I don’t want to wake up.”

“How did they change their hair colour like that?”

“That’s what I was wondering; it was so cool.”

“The nanobot shampoo?”

“No way, the nanobot shampoo requires a special program on your uniband.”

“You're right, neither of them used their unibands.”

Rowena heard the discussion and so turned to the crowd while flashing a smile and asking, “Curious how we managed to suddenly change our hair colour?”

“Yes!”

“Damn straight.”

“Tell us, Diva Rowena.”

Rowena flashed her signature smirk while adopting a pose that highlighted the earring on her ear.

“Meet the latest product, soon to be sold exclusively via Erkath Fashion and its partner outlets. The colour-changing earring.”

The earring seemed to catch the light at that exact moment and sparkle slightly as everyone stared at it.

“So shameless,” Stacey remarked under her breath. “Just because she’s a partial owner of Erkath Fashion now.”

“Shameless it may be, but it’s an excellent time to advertise their new product,” Aphrodite replied. “Perhaps I should offer my assistance.”

As she finished speaking, Aphrodite moved next to Rowena and made a similar pose, highlighting her own earring.”

The surrounding crowd didn’t miss the opportunity, as many of them quickly opened a camera app on their unibands and began taking photos and recording videos.

Revi smiled before muttering, “If they like this, they're going to love what comes from the upcoming photoshoot.”

Adam shook his head at the actions of Rowena and Aphrodite before stepping up to the security checkpoint and scanning his uniband.

“Mind if we move along? Our friends are waiting for us down on the planet?” Adam asked.

“Oh, right,” The security guard said as he turned to look at Adam’s information. “Anything to declare?”

“No,” Adam replied.

The guard nodded, and after reading through the information and finding everything was fine, he allowed Adam to move along.

The crowd watched in excitement as, one by one, the group passed through the security checkpoint.

However, none of them had anticipated that along with the three divas, the group also contained Phoenix Empress Revi, White Dragon Tephe and even Solarian Prime’s Bureau Chief Eytelis.”

“What on Aqua Primus is with this group? How can so many well-known and famous people suddenly appear at once?”