Yeah I know, it so sounds like "The World's Finest" chapter from the "Superman: The Animated Series". Was at a loss for ideas, so finally decided to adapt that with slight tweaks of mine. Anyways it is my first time in fanfiction and I would appreciate some feedback so thanks in advance for all the trouble to read this, and more so for your valuable feedback. Enjoy.

Chapter 2

Bruce looked at the mook he was hanging by his hand and let him down. He was met with some disapproving glances from the Man in Blue Spandex whom apparently the media dubbed as Superman.

"You and your vigilantism is not welcome here, ," Superman said.

For one moment, Bruce was at a total loss for words. Then he remembered that the Kryptonian could apparently look through the fabric his cowl was made of. Damn, he thought, next time I would have to line my cowl with something that block X-rays.

"This does not concern you Kryptonian, and if I were you I would stay out of this," Bruce retorted back. As he said so, he seemed to find the alien similar to someone he had met earlier in the city. He was pretty astute with his eyes, but the disguise seemed too good for him to decipher. He made a motion to exit the place when the Kryptonian's hand suddenly shot out, attempting to block him.

"I'm in no mood for games, boy scout," Bruce hissed.

(-)

It could not have come as a bigger surprise to Clark. Of all people on Earth, a spoiled playboy had to be the normal badass vigilant which had Gotham's underworld trembling? Apparently that was a night for surprises when suddenly Wayne swept him off his feet with a vicious sweep kick. Before Clark could recover Wayne was already fleeing in full speed.

Clark hesitated. He could have apprehended the vigilant without as much as a blink, but he decided that he did not want any more surprises. Calling it a night, he sped through the air for his apartment.

(-)

Bruce was sleepy when he climbed through the window of his hotel room. With no leads from all those thugs, even after beating the hell out of them, and his identity being compromised to, of all people, an alien in spandex made it quite a bad night. He still had one thing to finish before he dozed off. Taking the flash drive out of his belt he inserted it into his Bat-pad (that is what Alfred liked to call his tablet). An image sprang, taken by the microcameras installed on his eye lenses. After two minutes of analyzing, Bruce got up, a curious smile forming in his face.

(-)

RRRRRRIINGG!

"Daily Planet, Lane here."

"Lois, it's Steve. We have got an accident here in the Downtown. A truck containing hazardous chemicals collided with a Hummer in the 49the Street, resulting in toxic chemical spillage. I will need you to cover this story," came the hurried reply from the other side.

"What were you doing down there, Steve," Lois asked, amazed that the sports columnist happened to be in the vicinity of a road accident.

"I live by the 48th Lois, and are you going to waste your time on investigating how I was present there coincidentally, or come here and wrap up the story before I get the new kid Troupe down here?" Steve Lombard snapped. That was all the encouragement Lois needed. Clark looked up at her with raised eyebrows as she hang up the phone.

"It's your cue, Boy Scout," Lois sighed. Clark smirked, he knew she hated being in the same place with the Man of Steel. Apparently a lot of people had witnessed their lip lock during the Kryptonian invasion (seriously I thought that people were busy running for their lives, he noted) and everytime Lois was there to cover a story involving Superman, there would be chuckles all around.

"I will be there, helping on the clean up. See you there in 15 minutes," he winked.

(-)

It was worse than he thought.

The truck had spilled a lot of chemicals after colliding with a Hummer H2. The wreckage, as well as a wide circle around it, was tainted in acid green. Clark feared for the worst, seeing the situation from above, yet he had to try.

The paramedics still had their paths cut off by the emerald seeping, so Clark decided to stoop down and get whoever was pinned beneath the wreckage out of there. X-raying the whole area, he found both the occupants of the Hummer dead, the mangled remains almost bringing back another unpleasant memory from six months earlier. Focusing again on the task at hand he found two men in the truck barely twitching.

Using his heat vision to cut through the metallic body of the cab, he bursted in and took off with the injured. He took care to land as softly as possible near the paramedics' ambulance.

The paramedics took charge from then on. Before the ambulance door closed, Clark caught one of the injured man giving him a strange stare. It was not gratitude that seeped from his eyes, it was something that Clark had only seen once before, in the eyes of another Kryptonian.

Loathing. Deep hatred

"Great. Just another guy who I saved, and who thinks I am a whacko having too much power than I ought to have," Clark thought sadly. He wondered how much he would have to do to convince people that he was not a threat at all.

Out of the corner of his eyes he found Lois walking towards him. Just when he thought that the he could not feel any worse, he found the onlookers leering at the sight of them two.

Clark sighed, partly out of anger, but mostly out of sadness.

(-)

Bruce was not aware he had let his gaze loitering around until Luthor shouted, "Bruce!"

"Yeah, you were saying Lex?" Bruce snapped his eyes in the direction of his would be business partner.

"Well, I am happy that both of our R&D departments have worked hard to develop the new metallic exoskeleton which would be of immense help to those who are physically impaired. However I am afraid that if you continue to wonder off to your dreamland it would not actually help our cause in discussing how to break even with this high budget project."

Bruce relented, and asked Lucius, who was seating right to him, to propose WayneTech's plans on how to go forward with the venture. At the end, even Luthor and his managers were impressed. Handshakes were passed were passed before the two parties decided to call off the meeting.

"Bruce, I would like a word," Lex called as Bruce made to stand up. He looked at Lucius and asked him to wait for him downstairs.

"Yes, Lex?"

"We could be making much more profits if we would stretch our visions further and visualize these exoskeletons in the Army. The Defense Secretary is more than willing to divert substantial government funds for the creation of super soldiers," Lex smiled softly.

"No."

"I beg your pardon, Bruce?" Luthor looked at Bruce frowning.

"This whole project was envisioned to help physically impaired people so that they are no longer viewed as burden in the society, so that they can contribute in the economy," Bruce answered calmly.

"I appreciate our philanthropic views, but.."

"If you think that you can pull the deal with someone else Lex, go ahead, that is if anyone is willing to pool in such a risky venture, even considering the potential profits that could be made. As long as WayneTech is concerned, however, there is absolutely no question of turning this over for military purposes."

And with that, Bruce suavely walked over to the escalator, leaving an annoyed Luthor behind him.

(-)

John Corben thrashed wildly in the bed.

Never had he experienced so much pain, even the time when he had taken a punch from the punk which has the media swooning all over him.

Superman.

He was the reason he was in this bed. If it had not been him nosing while he was trying to pull off a mugging, he would not have had to land that stupid job of a truck driver. That too after serving three months in jail.

And now he was incapacitated, his left leg fully numb, and his right leg amputated. The pain built up so intensely in his chest that he could not help but howl like a wild animal. The duty nurse hurriedly put a Diprivan injection through him.

The last thing he remembered before he drifted to unconsciousness was the inferno raging through his body and the utter hatred of the man who condemned him to this fate.

A/N: The name Corben was enough I could give out without having "SPOILERS" being written all over the story. This is as far as it would get similar to the animated episodes. I would get the rest of the chapters here as soon as I can.

Till then, good luck!