Meeting

Well, since I'm on my cousin's laptop, I decided to type up a whole new story. And I just thought of this. Enjoy!

It was raining in Metropolis. Quite surprising, really, considering that Metropolis was usually sunny. However, the figure on top of the Daily Planet didn't really mind the downpour.

Superman ignored the rain as he surveyed the city. It was quiet, unfortunately. Not that he enjoyed putting criminals in their places, but at least he would have something else to focus on besides the one thing that he had been thinking about for the past several months now.

"Lois..." he whispered, not even realizing he had said anything.

He knew it would have happened someday. After all, she had been growing older. When it did happen, though, it was not in the way he had expected. It had been a car wreck caused by a drunken driver. Naturally, he had had to fake his own death, since the crash was something no one was expected to survive from. Since then, he only answered to "Superman," "Kal-El," and in Wally West's case, "Boy Scout."

Superman sighed as he placed a foot on the railing of the rooftop, leaning forward to gaze down at the streets below.

"HELP!" A shrill scream pierced the air. Superman's head shot up and he looked down at the alley beside the Daily Planet building. A young woman was there, along with a thug-like man who had a little girl in his arms and a gun in his hand. "My baby!" the woman cried.

"Listen, lady, just let me have the kid and no one'll get hurt." Superman chose to intervene at this, rising into the air and descending into the alley.

"Do whatever you want to me, just don't hurt my baby," the woman pleaded, taking a step forward. Wrong move.

BANG!

Superman froze as the woman crumpled, then regained his composure and dropped into the alley, slamming the man against the wall and catching the kid, putting her aside.

"What did you want with the girl?" he demanded as the man scrambled to pick up his gun.

"Nothing that concerns you, Supes," the man sneered as he pointed the gun at the girl, "I'll shoot her, I swear I will!"

Within seconds, Superman had tossed the gun aside and pinned the man against the wall by his throat.

"I'll ask one more time. What did you want with her?" he questioned.

"She has a meta-gene, telekinesis, telepathy, the works. My boss and I wanted to do experiments on her," the man confessed, clearly terrified. Superman let go and the man promptly fainted. Superman smirked, but then the smile disappeared as he heard a soft childish voice behind him.

"Mama?" He turned to find the little girl shaking her mother's shoulder desperately. "Mama?!" Tears were forming in her bright blue eyes. He sighed, picking her up as she yelped in surprise; this would be the hardest part.

"Your mother isn't coming back," he said gently as the child gazed up confusedly. Slowly, the tears in her eyes began falling as she pressed her face into his shoulder. The sight made him soften as he placed a hand on the girl's back, hugging her carefully. She couldn't be more than two years old. "I'll take you to the police, okay? They'll know what to do." She clutched tightly to him as he lifted into the air, flying towards the police station.

"Here's her birth certificate," the commissioner (Superman had yet to find out his name) said, handing the paper over and Superman glanced at it.

"Ariel Swan," he read aloud as the girl looked up at the sound of her name. "Is that you?" he asked and she nodded timidly.

"Her father was imprisoned not too long ago for sexual harassment of his wife. No relatives, nothing," the commissioner stated.

"I could take her in," Superman suggested.

"There's an orphanage not far from here, though," the commissioner argued.

"Well, I guess it's up to her," Superman said simply and looked down at her. "Ariel?" Her head lifted once more. "Do you want to go to an orphanage or stay with me?" She hesitated and he prodded, "We'll go with whatever you want." She looked down before mumbling something softly. "I can't hear you," he prompted.

"I...wanna stay wif you," she spoke quietly and he smiled slightly.

"That's it, then." He looked up. "Can we officially sign the adoption papers at a reasonable hour?"

"Fair enough. The kid needs her rest tonight," the commissioner agreed. Superman picked Ariel up, rising into the air and flying out the window as she wrapped her arms around his neck once more.

Superman landed in his apartment, setting Ariel down in the hallway.

"What's your name?" she asked curiously.

"My name is Kal-El. But you can call me Kal," he replied, starting down the hallway.

"Kal," she repeated happily, following him.

"This is my room. If you need me, just knock on the door, okay?" She nodded and he opened the door across the hall. "You can stay here." She hesitated at the doorway. "Go on." Slowly, she stepped into the room, gazing around with interest. Smiling, he picked her up, ignoring her squeal of surprise, and placed her on the bed. "Why don't you get some sleep?" he suggested and she nodded in agreement.

"Stay?" she requested hopefully, tugging on his sleeve as he made to stand up and Kal-El couldn't help but smile at the little girl.

"If that's what you want." She nodded before moving aside for him to sit down beside her and pull her into his arms. She yawned, resting her head on his chest and within seconds, she was asleep. He made to place her on the bed, but she made a small noise of protest, clutching his shirt tightly in her small hands. Shaking his head, he smiled again before turning off the light and laying down on the bed, watching in amusement as Ariel curled up against him, her tiny thumb in her mouth and a peaceful expression on her face.

What had he gotten himself into?

I found this rather cute. Don't worry, I'll have Batman Beyond tie into this in the third chapter. Second will be a meeting with our favorite Bat and little segments of Ariel's life as she grows up (including her first tooth falling out. I'll have fun with that XD). R&R!