Knight Part I

by Andrew Jobling

The first part in a 2 part crossover, Lois Lane is kidnapped by the Joker, so Clark and Chloe call in the help of none other than the one and only, Batman.

SMALLVILLE

KNIGHT (PART I)

PROLOGUE: JOKES ON LOIS

Lois Lane is sat in the dark Daily Planet on a cold, winter night, she looks around before walking to the printer to pick up her newly finished story, ready for publishing the next morning, she stands waiting a few seconds until it prints and walks back to her station and shuts down her computer. She begins walking to the stairs when she is shocked by a shadowy character, "jeez Smallville, you have to stop doing that", the large man appears from the shadows, its Lois' co-worker Clark Kent, "Lois, you're working late?", "Of course, I had a story to finish" replied Lois. She rushes past Clark and dropped the printouts into a mail box-like container and walks out of the Daily Planet main entrance, Clark on her tail. "Lois, I was wondering, do you want to get some coffee sometime?", "Clark, we went on a date last night, do you really want to seem desperate? Its not really a turn on" replied Lois awkwardly, "Sorry, i'll just go" said Clark sadly, Lois turned around and starts to walk away, "second thoughts" she turns around and Clark is nowhere in sight, "doesn't matter" she says to herself.

Lois is inches from her apartment door when she hears a mysterious laughing, "hello?", Lois shouts into the distance, "is anyone there?", no reply, Lois thinks nothing of it and walks into her apartment, she flicks on the lights and walks on...'wait a second, no lights', Lois walks back and flicks the switch a few more times...nothing. She walks out the door and down the hall towards the handy man's office, suddenly she's intercepted by a strange looking man with green hair, a white face and red smile, "hello, Miss Lane", Lois attempts to scream but she is suddenly stopped when the man places a knife to her throat, "who are you?, what do you want?" asked Lois in a choking voice, "my name is Joker, I understand that you have a connection with a FREAK named 'the blur', am I correct?", "what do you want from me?" shouted Lois, "Listen to me Lois, do you know how I got these scars? Well I'll tell you, see my Dad, was a real ass hole, one day he came home, drunk of course, and picked up a kitchen knife, he took the knife to my mothers throat, me...being 7 years old...was in tears, he turned to me and says 'why so serious? Lets put a smile on that face' and carves this into my face" Lois looks on in horror as the Joker tells his story with a smile on his face. "Now you're going to tell me everything you know about" Joker pauses and suddenly growls "the BLUR, because I have another freak on my tail and I really don't have time to mess around, you hear me?", Lois looks on in horror, she knows Clark is the Blur, but he is her boyfriend and her cousin's best friend, she can't give him up..."I don't know what you're talking about", the Joker's expression changes from a sadistic smile to an even more sadistic frown, "I think you're lying, nope, wait, I know you're lying", Lois realised that Clark would never forgive her if she gave this freak his name. In a sudden burst of adrenaline Lois slammed the Joker in the stomach and ran down the stairs, hearing the lunatic laughing hysterically, this only makes her run faster. BANG! She hears a shot, the Joker is standing behind her with a shotgun in his hand, "now, I really don't want to use this...but I will...IF YOU DON'T STOP RUNNING!". This just made Lois run faster, she could still hear the ringing of this man's laughs in the background, suddenly she sees that made face in front of her, then...total blackness...Lois feels herself drifting into a never ending sleep...is she dead? Or is this a dream...but then that laugh again, sounding ever so real...it was the last thing she heard, then...nothing.

CHAPTER 1: MISSING?

RING! RING!, Clark awakens with a shock...but what's that sound?

RING! RING!, the doorbell? Not this early

RING! RING!, the phone, but who?

Clark turns over in bed and answers the phone, "Hello", his voice was croaky and dry, he must've slept with his mouth open. "Clark, it's me" the voice of Chloe early in the morning wasn't really something Clark was accustom to, "Chloe? What is it?", again his voice was dry, he tried clearing his throat "what's wrong?", he new something had to be wrong, Chloe never calls his home this early. "It's Lois", a sudden rush of worry draped over Clark, "What happened?", he could feel the hair standing up on his back and his stomach churning, had she been hurt? Had she been killed? Clark didn't like to think of it, "She didn't come home last night", relief flew over Clark, Lois was known not to come home, "she was probably just drinking again, Chloe, don't worry", but then Chloe said what Clark had been dreading, "Clark...she left her keys in the door and the door open, her apartment was empty, she's missing". Clark's heart did a somersault, 'Lois missing?' this is what he'd been dreading since he told her his secret. "Have you called the police?" Clark was hoping that John Jones, a.k.a Martian Manhunter, would've taken the call, "yes, I called them, but they said they can't do anything until they have hard evidence that she's indefinitely missing". Clark consoled Chloe for a minute then hung up the phone, he had to find Lois, any way possible.

Lois awoke with a sudden throbbing pain in her head, did she get drunk and fall again? Or did she just slip over and pass out. But then it all came rushing back, that face, the running...Joker. She didn't know where she was, she couldn't see, she was blindfolded, she tried to shout but she had been gagged, her arms and legs were tied to a chair and she couldn't move, 'what have you gotten yourself into now, Lois' she thought to herself, 'don't worry, Clark will be here soon and everything will be fine...or would it?', what if Clark hadn't even noticed she was missing, what if he thought she was just staying at Chloe's, or back at her apartment? But surely he'd notice when she didn't turn up for work. Then she lost track of thought when the blindfold was ripped from her eyes, she could see again, everything was bright and blurry, like she had just walked out of a room with no lights and into a room brighter than the sun, she started to gain focus again eventually. She took a second to look around, where was she, a warehouse, no, too small, a police station, 'don't be silly, Lois, why would the police kidnap you?' she told herself, instead it looked like an abandoned public toilet, it smelt like one too. Then a figure appeared in front of her, he was wearing a dirty, purple suit and a green shirt, the smell from him was horrendous, if she wasn't overwhelmed by the smell of stale urine she would of threw up, then she recognized the face, the white war paint with the black eye make-up and red lips, with a smile painted on very untidily, and those scars, the green hair was slicked back but still looked very untidy and dirty. This guy looked like he hadn't come in contact with water for weeks. Then she remembered the name, Joker. Joker released her gag, Lois took a second to moisten up her mouth with saliva, then she spat at him "what do you want?", the Joker smiled at her, almost sympathetically, "Miss Lane, I don't 'want' anything, but what I 'need' is the name of the man you, and the rest of your citizens of Metropolis, refer to as 'the blur'". Lois actually considered giving him Clark's name, but knew that if she did, Clark would never forgive her, and their relationship would be over. "I'm telling you, I don't know who the guy is, he just calls me on the phone and gives me his stories", Lois realised that what she just said was actually partly true, but then a burning slap came across her face, "I'm growing impatient and sick of you and your lying, now tell me, WHO IS THE BLUR" screamed the Joker, Lois scowled at him, "Okay, I'll tell you"

CHAPTER 2: KNIGHT IN DULL ARMOUR

Clark arrived at Chloe's place a little shaken up, his girlfriend and co-worker was missing, something bad had probably happened to her, he needed to gather as much evidence as possible so he could get the police involved, that would be the only way Clark could get help on this, or would it? He stumbled into Chloe's apartment at super-speed, Chloe was standing at the counter with her trusty laptop plugged in, Clark peered over her shoulder, she was checking CCTV footage of Lois' apartment. Clark didn't want to alarm Chloe so he cleared his throat and spoke, "what have you got?" he asked, "just some footage of Lois, this is the last time she's seen all night, I checked the Planet's CCTV, my apartment, your apartment, even Ollie's apartment, nothing, this is it", Chloe seemed to be getting really worried, "And?" Clark was getting a little impatient when Chloe didn't seem to be as forward as usual. "Well she goes in, comes back out, walks down the hall and that's it" Chloe said simply, "What she just vanishes?" Clark heard himself and realised how stupid he sounded, "No, the CCTV only covers this hallway on this floor, there's no other angles", Chloe seemed to be telling all she knew. "Chloe I'm going to need help on this..." Chloe cut Clark off in mid-sentence, "Wait" Chloe requested, a sudden urge in her voice, "What?" asked Clark, "Do you recognise this guy?", Clark peered over Chloe's shoulder once again, he saw on the camera a man with a pasty white face and an extremely sadistic smile, "No, I've never seen him before". Chloe gasped, "Oh my god" Chloe said to herself, "I think that's who kidnapped Lois", Clark thought that that was a serious allegation, "Chloe, we don't even know the guy, he's probably just a guy who works as a clown that lives in Lois' building", a sudden rush of disbelief ran over Clark, what if it was the guy who kidnapped her? "Clark don't be mad" said Chloe, Clark wasn't expecting that and seemed puzzled, "What? Why?" asked Clark, "A while ago, when I went away for a while, I went to Gotham City, I ran into a guy called Bruce Wayne, he was also a 'vigilante', he called himself the Batman, well he was talking about a guy named 'the Joker', he described him as a crazy clown looking guy, I think this might be him". Clark realised how crazy that sounded but it also made sense, Gotham wasn't far from Metropolis, Joker could've easy came here to get away from 'the Batman'. "I think I should give Bruce a call, so we know if that's definitely the Joker or not, Clark, it's our only shot" said Chloe. Clark nodded and Chloe began dialling on her cell phone.

"Okay, I'll tell you" snarled Lois Lane, the Joker looked at Lois, listening intently. "His name is...a Mr...Kiss...My...Ass", a sudden rush of anger swooped over the Joker, he slapped Lois across the face, Lois only wished that she hadn't tried to be so clever. The Joker pulled out a knife and put it to Lois' throat, "Miss Lane, I'll ask you one more time", Lois put on fake tears and pretended to cry, "I swear I don't know, I swear, please don't kill me" she pleaded, but the Joker saw right through it, and sliced a deep cut across her right forearm, "Now Lois, I know you were brought up by a one General Lane, correct?" Lois nodded, "So you really think that those little girly girl tears will work with me?", Lois realised how stupid of an idea that was. She could feel the blood gushing from her arm but tried not to think about it, or give the Joker reason to cut her some more. The Joker seemed to be growing more impatient by the second, he was pacing back and forth across the white tiled floor, throwing sharp glances at Lois, he seemed to be thinking. Lois was too busy thinking of a way to get out of here.

"He's on his way, he says it's possible that the Joker has skipped town to Metropolis, he hasn't seen him in weeks" said Chloe, Clark seemed a little relieved, if this was the guy who kidnapped Lois then at least he had help finding him, even if it was from this Batman guy. "How long will he be?", Clark wondered "Well Gotham is at least an hour away...but...he does have this kick-ass car" replied Chloe with a hint of satisfaction. Clark was anything but satisfied, how could he accept help from a guy he didn't even know? What was so good about a guy that ran around in a silly costume saving the helpless?.

CHAPTER 3: ARRIVAL

Clark looked up and down at the man that stood in his doorway, hair neatly combed over and a tidy suit meant this guy meant business...literally. A smirk creeped onto Clark's face, "Can I help you?" asked Clark, holding back a laugh, Clark wasn't used to men in sharply dressed suits and such a business attitude since the days of Lionel and Lex Luthor. "My name is Bruce Wayne, Clark, Chloe told me all about you" spoke the man, also with a slight smirk on his neat, clean shaven, handsome face. Bruce spoke with a rasp in his voice, but in body language he couldn't be smoother. "Chloe told you...everything?" Clark's heart leaped into his mouth, had Chloe told this Bruce character all about his powers, his kyrptonian heritage...everything?. "Well, not everything, she said there would be some things that you would have to tell me yourself", a wave of relief came across Clark, and Bruce smiled...almost apologetically. Clark began explaining his abilities and origin when Chloe walked in, Bruce stood up and shook Chloe's hand in a very gentleman-kind of way, then smiled and nodded curtly and sat back down and asked Clark to continue. When Clark had finished he realised that if he was to trust this stranger he had to be very forward with Bruce as Bruce did with Clark. "Tell me about yourself Bruce" asked Clark. Bruce began explaining how he earned his billions, what he did for a living, but then stopped, "but you don't care about that" laughed Bruce, Chloe glided in almost silently with her laptop with the screen grab of Lois' kidnapper already on display, she sat the laptop in front of Bruce and Bruce frowned, "Yep, looks like you found Joker all right" said Bruce casually.

Lois had been released from her chair and was allowed to use the bathroom, Joker said that 'the pee smell was already too overwhelming without her adding to it' so she was led to the bathroom by one of Joker's henchmen. On the way Lois checked her surroundings, she was in the middle of nowhere, stuck with this freak, she had no choice but to persist and wait for Clark to show. She went to the bathroom and returned to the Joker's room, where there was camera set up. 'What's he doing with a camera' Lois thought to herself, Joker stood waiting for Lois to take her seat. She did as she was instructed and then Joker picked up the camera and hit record.

"people of Metropolis, I am Joker! Here with me I have the very talented, but also very stupid, Lois Lane, of the Daily Planet...this goes out to the FREAK! Known as the BLUR!, if you don't show up at the Metropolis city limits at 9:30pm Lois will be killed...no wait...she will be left for dead...she'll suffer a fate worse than death, she will be left...locked in this room...forever!"

The Joker laughed and hit stop, he placed the camera down and turned and smiled at Lois. Lois had never been so frightened in all her life, so Joker grabbed her by the hair and dragged her out "c'mon sweet cheeks, we're going for a walk!".

"Were do we start looking for this guy?" asked Chloe

"Well I guess we hit the streets, a few people are associated with Joker, even in Metropolis" replied Bruce, a hint of irony in his voice.

"Clark, we better get ready" smiled Bruce, Clark obliged and walked into his changing room and was out and ready within a second. "So with all these super-powers, what do they call you? Superman?" laughed Bruce, "Actually...no...more like...the Blur" replied Clark awkwardly.

"The Blur?" laughed Bruce again, Clark scowled and Bruce looked Clark up and down, Clark had on his usual black trench coat and pants with his black shirt emblazoned with a silver mark of the house of El. "That's it, that's your costume?" asked Bruce with a small hint of disgust in his voice, Clark nodded awkwardly, "Okay, whatever" said Bruce as he walked into the bedroom to change.

Minutes later Bruce stepped out, Clark had to double take, the figure that stood before him was unrecognisable, black leather body armour and boots, black headgear and a cape, with a bat graved into the chest...was this Bruce Wayne? Clark had to ask himself. "Who are you?" asked Clark, the figures voice was deep and croaky, and the expression on his face never changed, he looked at Clark, "I am Batman".