Sitting in the car annoyed her to no end. Kara couldn't understand how her cousin could stand it all but there he was, sitting comfortably and enjoying the view. He was probably putting on a good face just to punish her, she thought. There was no way Superman would prefer sitting in the back of a car over flying. She knew that wasn't the case for her. She missed the wind in her hair, the view from thousands of feet above, and that could never be replaced by sitting in the back of a car that was doing the speed limit regardless of how fancy it looked.
"Clark," Kara started, finally breaking the silence. "Why are we driving? This is so slow and we could have been there by now!"
"Been where?" Clark retorted with a question of his own. "Do you know where we're going?"
"No," Kara replied, seeing his point.
"Kara," Clark said with his boyish grin, "You lack discipline and patience is just one of many things you'll be working on during your stay here."
"This isn't fair!" Kara protested, "I'm not a child anymore! I've done a lot of training and made progress with the D.E.O."
"I know that, and I'm very proud of that progress." Clark replied, "But if you want to be a member of the League, you're required to take this training. Even Supergirl can learn a few things from this person."
"Clark!" Kara said, as she couldn't believe it, "You can't say things like that with a stranger driving us like that!"
"He's not a stranger." Clark corrected.
"He's not?" Kara asked.
"No madam," the old man called from the driver's seat. "I'm acquainted with the entire League, and keeping secrets is a part of my job description. Your cousin has never been outed. I can assure you Ms. Danver that your secret will be as safe with me as are the identities of the rest of the League."
"Oh," Kara said, looking back at Clark, "Who is this guy?"
"This is Alfred Pennyworth," Clark answered, "Be nice to this guy and he'll take very good care of you. He can make the difference between your training being a living hell or something you can survive."
"Okay," Kara said as she smiled, "Pleased to meet you Mr. Pennyworth."
"The pleasure is all mine Ms. Davner," Alfred said, not taking his eyes off the road as he made a sharp turn. "Supper time will be at five o'clock and I am pleased to inform you that the Master will be in on time. It's been a slow day in Gotham."
"Excellent," Clark said, pausing for a moment, "Your front left tire needs more air, it's off from the others by five percent."
"Thank you, Master Clark," Alfred replied, "I'll take care of it in the garage tonight. How is the engine sounding?"
"It sounds good." Clark answered, "Nothing out of the ordinary."
"Excellent," Alfred said as he made the final turn, "Here we are."
Kara looked out the window and couldn't believe what she was looking at. To someone who hadn't seen a mansion that big, the manor was rather intimidating to someone with such humble as Kara Danver. This is the kind of castle she used to dream of as a girl and now she was about to walk inside. She was wide eyed with wonder as Alfred opened the door for her.
"This is incredible. It's as big as the white house!" Kara said as she walked up to the front door which was already opened by other servants. She strolled right into the foyer which was something out of a fairy tale. Clark and Alfred walked behind her while Kara giggled like the teenage girl she was while looking around.
"You all right, Kara?" Clark asked.
"I'm just a little excited." Kara said, "Where are we?"
"Welcome to Wayne Manor, Ms. Danver." Alfred replied.
"Excuse me?" Kara said with wide eyes, "Wayne Manor? What the hell are we doing in Wayne Manor?"
Alfred replied by gesturing to a hallway on one side of the foyer, "Master Bruce is waiting for you in the study."
"He is?" Kara said, shocked beyond words.
"Take it easy, Kara." Clark said, grabbing her by the shoulder. "Follow me."
Clark already knew his way around and had no issue finding the study and Bruce was in there reading something at the desk when they strolled into the room. Bruce was rather casual, with his tie and jacket off and the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up. He stood up when he saw Clark and Kara arrive with the butler.
"Clark!" Bruce called out as he walked over and shook the reporter's hand. "Good to see you again."
"Again?" Kara said, looking at Bruce and then back at Clark. "You never told me you knew Bruce Wayne!"
"Must have slipped my mind," Clark said with a grin. "Bruce, this is my cousin; Kara Danver."
"Ms. Danver," Bruce said as he shook her hand, "A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."
"Thanks," Kara said as she shook his hand, doing her best not to accidentally crush the bones in his hand. "Clark, why are we meeting with Bruce Wayne? What does this have to do with the league?"
Bruce looked back at Clark. "You didn't tell her?"
"Tell me what?" Kara said as she looked around.
Both Bruce and Clark couldn't help but laugh and this was only upsetting Kara because she was in the dark about the joke.
"I'll be your trainer," Bruce informed her, "You'll be staying here at the manor for the next few weeks while I teach you the things that will make you a better fighter. We'll also provide you with skills that will help you keep your powers in check much like your cousin does. You might even better than him if you pay attention and put a good effort into it."
"Hold on, you're going to train me?" Kara said, looking back at Clark, "Is this guy for real? I thought you said a member of the league was going to train me."
"That is true," Clark informed her, "Bruce is a member of the league."
"He is?" Kara said, looking back at Bruce. "You are?"
"I am," Bruce replied, "Do you think that watch tower paid for itself?"
"Then who are you?" Kara asked, "The Flash?"
"Not quite," Bruce replied.
"Well, you're not Wonder Woman," Kara said, pausing for a moment to think about it more. "Green Lantern!"
"Wow, is she going name off the whole League here?" Bruce asked Clark as he felt a small bruising of the ego.
"Kara," Clark said as he pointed to the bookshelf behind Bruce. "The answer is behind that wall. Use your vision to find it."
Kara used her x-ray vision and looked behind the wall. There was a secret entrance and when she used her vision to look forward she saw deeper into the cave that revealed massive computer systems, vehicles and even a suit, made out to look like a bat.
Kara stopped scanning and looked back up at Bruce, "Oh crap."
"That sounds accurate." Clark concurred.
"That's right," Bruce said as he gave a small grin, "I'm Batman."
"And you're going to train me?" Kara said as she was confused, "You're just a man. You don't have any powers."
"That may be so," Bruce said raised his hands as if to offer her a free shot. "But if you think that makes me weak, then hit me... if you can."
Kara looked back to Clark, "Is he kidding?"
"You saw the suit," Clark replied, "Do you think he would be the kind to kid?"
Kara took a deep breath and then tried to take a swing at Bruce and that's when things went wrong. Bruce not only was able to move out of the way, but he grabbed her arm and proceeded to flip her to the floor of the study without any difficulty. Kara got back to her feet and tried to throw another punch, and this time Bruce caught the punch with his own hand and began to squeeze her hand, which surprisingly hurt. Kara never felt this kind of pain and dropped to one knee. Kara was fighting with all her strength but she wasn't able to get up.
"Just a man, eh?" Bruce said as he never let go of her hand.
"Owww," Kara said, holding her hand as it still hurt. "How did he do that?"
"This is your first lesson, Ms. Danver," Bruce continued, "You have x-ray vision, which means you could have scoped out an entire room before you even enter it. Yet you didn't and chose to walk in here blind, opening yourself to traps. If you had bothered to look around first, you might have noticed the small green rock residing in the breast pocket of my shirt. You also would have noticed that my desk is lined with lead, which should have been another red flag for you."
"Why does he have kryptonite?" Kara asked, as struggled to get back to her feet.
"Because he can," Clark answered, "Bruce has taken the time to horde most of the world's supply, and I'd rather Bruce possess all of those rocks than some bald super villain in Metropolis."
"If it makes you feel any better," Bruce said, "Most of the proceeds from the auctions went to a charitable fund to aid those injured or left homeless from Zod's attack on Metropolis."
"I didn't even notice you had it on you." Kara said, sighing deeply as her hand and shoulder still hurt from her first lesson.
"That's something you'll have to work on too," Bruce replied as he took the rock out of his pocket and placed inside the drawer of the desk behind him. "The rock gives off minute harmonic sounds that only Krytonians can hear. Your cousin can detect it from almost a mile away. Once you know what pitch to listen for it will be impossible for anyone to surprise you with any of it the future."
"I had no idea," Kara said, still feeling a book woozy but was fine since Bruce closed the drawer, which he said was lead lined. Behind lead, she felt much better as if the rock was not even in the room.
At this point Alfred came strolling into the study. "Dinner is served."