Chapter Two
'"Haunted"
A/N- reviews are good! Thank you! sorry i took so long, but this one is crazy long. And as you will come to see, every chapter in this fiction will have a title that is a song of Jewel's.. I would definitely recommend you check them out! Well anyway, on with the story that I know each of you is wetting you pants to read. (Sarcasm intended)
Let me speak quietly,
So your heart can hear.
I will hypnotize and mesmerize you,
With the sound of your own fear.
"You didn't, did you?" Chloe's covered her mouth to keep her laughter from erupting.
Bruce covered his face with his hands and nodded.
Chloe's laughter burst out, and the entire restaurant turned to stare. Chloe didn't care, and kept laughing freely.
Bruce was laughing along too, not as loud, and he noticeably was enjoying Chloe's happiness.
It was two weeks after they had run into each other on the elevator, and it wasn't the first time they'd been out since then. They'd actually been out around eight or nine times, and Bruce found himself staying in Metropolis a lot longer then he had predicted.
"I can't believe you didn't realize you had no pants on. I mean can't you feel your.." Chloe's voice got lower and she leaned in, " your winkie out in the open like that?" Bruce surprised Chloe by throwing back his head and letting out his famous bark of laughter.
The same annoyed people continued to glare at them and Chloe found that she was enjoying herself even more than she thought she would.
"I can't believe you still call them winkies, Chloe. You write hard hitting articles on crime and Superman, how the heck did you wind up using the same word that you've probably used since you were twelve?" He stole a bite of her Crème Brule and winked at her when she scowled.
"I'm sorry if my vocabulary on male parts isn't mature enough for your taste!" She smiled as she pulled away her dessert, preventing Bruce's wandering hand from grabbing another spoonful.
"Hey now, I'm picking up the check." He said as he reached his spoon towards the dessert.
She pulled it away again and replied, "Only because you won't let me even see the total, let alone pay for it! You're greedy with the checks." Chloe finished off the Crème Brule and laughed, her cheeks full.
"I'm greedy because I pay for everywhere we go, right!" He rolled his eyes playfully and she swallowed.
"Hey, I bought those Art Exhibition tickets and later found the exact amount, with a little interest if I'm not mistaken, in an envelope on my kitchen table. That's right, you think you're sly, but I know what you're up to!" She reached down for her purse and began to stand up. They had already paid and the hour was nearing twelve.
"Hey, it's not like I can't afford to take a beautiful young woman like you out on a couple dates every now and then." He smiled as he offered his arm to her. She linked with him and smiled back up at him.
"Where now Mr. Wayne? Must you retire for this evening or shall you accompany me back to my place of residence?" She said, faking an old British accent.
He grinned and opened the door for her, she stepped through and he said, "Well Madame, I must return to my 'place of residence'; however, I shall accompany you back to your own. I can't have anything snatching up the only reason I will return to Metropolis."
They walked slowly down the deserted sidewalk and as Bruce said that, she caught herself looking into the dark alley as they passed.
"Well Bruce, I'll have you know that I am probably the most capable woman of taking care of herself that you'll ever meet." Nevertheless, as she said this she neared Bruce's towering figure.
Bruce smiled as he thought of Catwoman, a recent 'capable woman' he had met. Bruce decided not to let it slip to the blonde reporter, and kept his mouth shut.
"If you say so." He said, chuckling.
"Oh I say so." She turned to face him and felt the familiar chemistry coming alive again. They hadn't yet kissed although they had come close quite a few times. He brought his lips down to meet hers, but a drop of rain fell down between the two, finding its way into Chloe's blouse. Another drop fell, followed by a few more.
Chloe reached in her bag and pulled out an umbrella. "A reporter is always prepared." She proudly hoisted it above them both and Bruce pulled Chloe closer.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew furiously through the streets. Chloe's white coat flew upwards and she laughed, feeling like Marilyn Monroe. Another stronger gust blew through and knocked the umbrella away once more.
"Damn weather!" Chloe picked up the bottom of her coat and prepared to march, in the rain, towards the umbrella which was now residing on someone's front porch down and across the street.
Bruce grabbed her arm and said, "Chloe, I'll buy you another, don't worry about that one. It's damaged now anyway." He laughed loudly as she noticed the umbrella turned inside out.
"It's the principle that matters Bruce! You can't buy me everything, and that umbrella has been with me through thick and thin." The rain was coming down more steadily now, prompting Bruce to lead Chloe backwards to stand under the shelter of a balcony.
"You wait here; I'll retrieve that blasted contraption." He gave her a quick smile and jetted off. Chloe watched as he hopped through the obstacles of the puddles. A smile came to her face when Bruce stepped in a rather deep puddle and he pulled his foot out quickly, shaking it like a cat.
In a split second, Chloe found herself farther back in the alley, a cold object against her neck. A flash of fear went through her body, but then her senses took over.
"Stay still." A harsh voice whispered in her ear. His voice was like ice, literally. His voice chilled her senses slightly. Chloe stayed silent, biting her lip to keep from saying anything back.
She felt his finger stroke her neck, sending chills throughout her body.
"My purse, take it. Take it and leave." Her voice was surprisingly steady, and to her slight shock, she wasn't all that scared. Maybe because she expected Superman to swoop down, or maybe because a common criminal was nothing compared to the meteor freaks she had encountered.
"Oh dear, I don't want your purse." He turned her around so that she was facing him and her back was to the wall. What she saw shocked her to the bone.
He was only a few inches taller than Chloe, but was very bulky. His skin was a tinted purple and blue color and his white hair reached his shoulders. The eyes were what shocked her most; the palest blue she had ever seen. They would've looked white if she hadn't been so close. His dark blue lips were drawn into a sneer on his pure white face, as he stared lustily at her.
He removed the cold object from her neck and she noticed that it was a long jagged fingernail, the color of metal.
"Go ahead, scream." His breath showed in the now chilled air. "What baby, you too scared?"
She let out a piercing scream that shocked even the man. She then brought her knee up into his crotch, and brought her elbow across, jabbing it into his nose. He yelped and let go of her.
She aimed a kick at his head and was satisfied when she heard him yell in pain. Turning around, Chloe took off.
"CLA… SUPERMAN! SOMEONE NEEDS YOUR HELP RIGHT NOW!" She yelled frantically, but kept running. She had been farther down the alley than she had expected. A hurricane sized gust blew towards Chloe. She felt herself getting ready to fly backwards and grasped wildly for something to hold onto. Chloe grasped a rung to a fire escape ladder and held on for dear life.
"You can't hide from the wind." A chilly voice whispered in her ear. Chloe yelled again and all of the sudden the wind stopped. Chloe crumpled to the ground and turned around to see where the man was.
What she saw was a man in a black suit with a large cape and facemask in a fight with the smaller man.
"Batman.." Chloe gasped. She had read the articles on him, but had never seen him in person.
"Wait till I tell Clark." She said but then berated herself as she realized that she had refused contact with him since the incident a couple weeks ago. It still hadn't stopped her from yelling his name when she had needed him, or from him being the first one that came to her mind when she first felt the coldness on her neck.
Chloe turned her attention back to the fight and was startled to see that Batman was on the losing end. He was pinned to the ground, a bleeding wound on his shoulder. Chloe got up immediately and turned around frantically looked around her for something heavy.
"Ah, you'll do." It was an old crowbar and Chloe grabbed it. Without thinking about it, she shot over to them and hit Weather boy on the head as hard as she could. He flew against the wall, giving Batman the time to get up. Weather boy touched the gaping wound on his skull and with a flick of his wrist, sent Chloe into the opposing wall, and disappeared in another gust of wind.
Preparing to crash into the wall, Chloe braced herself for the impact. Instead she flew into something other then a wall. Opening one eye, she looked upon 'Superman.' Feeling a smile come to her face, she watched as Clark's worry-filled eyes calmed down. He landed on the ground and set her down too.
"Ma'am, are you alright?" A voice interrupted them, and Chloe turned to face the one and only Batman. She felt slightly in awe but then got a hold of herself, turning on Reporter Chloe.
"Oh I'm fine; Just a few scratches. How about you? You've got a nasty gash on your left shoulder." She moved forward without thinking twice about it and got a closer look at the wound. He looked down, shocked that she was so concerned but then moved backwards.
"Miss, what are you doing in this alley anyway?" Clark's eyes searched her own as he tried to act like he had never met her before.
"I was getting out of the rain while my friend Bruce-Oh my God! Bruce!" She put a hand to her head as she remembered Bruce.
"I saw a fellow crumpled up on the other side of the street, I moved him under shelter and then I came back here when I heard you scream." Chloe got a panicked look in her eyes and Bruce added, "Oh he was fine, just knocked out it seemed."
"Yeah, I bet he was fine, that man never goes away." Clark mumbled under his breath and Chloe shot a warning look his way.
"I'm Batman by the way, and I'm sorry if I'm in your territory Superman. I was just passing through, and since it seemed like no one was here to help this young lady, I jumped in."
"I know who you are, and some of us don't have time to just be 'passing through,' but I've got it from here, thanks." Clark's eyes narrowed at the other superhero, and Chloe would've rolled her eyes if she hadn't thought it made it obvious that she knew him.
"Well miss, would you like me to fly you home?" Clark asked, his voice calmer.
"No Superman, thanks. I've got to go check on my friend. But thanks to both of you, that creep would've gotten away if it hadn't been for you.." She turned to Batman, but he was already gone.
"Well alright then." She turned and started to walk towards the street.
"Chloe, we need to talk, and I'm sorry I wasn't here for you immediately, are you okay? Did he hurt you? I'm so sorry Chlo'." He flew in front of her, his back facing the street.
"You know I hate it when you do that, and yes I'm fine. We'll have to do this later Clark, I have to go see if Bruce is alright." She gently pushed Clark aside, and continued walking briskly away.
Bruce's slumped over figure was apparent in the alley across the street. She looked both ways and then scurried across the dark and deserted street. Coming beside him, she knelt beside him and brought his head onto her lap.
"Bruce, Bruce..Common Bruce, wake up." Chloe said gently. He opened his eyes and smiled slowly.
"I knew I'd wake up to that face one day." She smiled and brushed the hair out of his eyes.
"Do you remember what happened?"
"I was coming back from across the street when I heard you scream, so I started to run, and this gust of wind hit me, and I'm telling you Chlo', it was a HUGE gust of wind, and it must of thrown me into the wall and knocked me out. But you're alright aren't you? What happened to you?"
"A man, thing, tried to mug me. Don't worry Bruce, I'm okay and Batman slash Superman saved the day." He struggled to his feet as she stood to hers and embraced her.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so, so, sorry." He murmured in her ear. She gently pulled back and looked up at him, smiling, and said, "I'm perfectly fine, I told you that I was capable."
His eyes were very alert, Chloe noticed. In her previous experiences with unconsciousness, people seemed a little confused after being knocked out. Bruce was definitely not. She rubbed it off, 'He must bounce back quickly,' she thought.
"Well now I'm definitely walking you home, and I may stay a little later to make sure that you're okay and you're safe." He put his arms around her shoulders and she fought the urge to laugh and roll her eyes.
"I'm fine, I swear, and I'm safe too, but you are more than welcome to stay a little later if you want." He smiled and they started towards Chloe's apartment.
Bruce continued to talk to her, but Chloe couldn't get her mind off of the mugger that could control the weather, and the superhuman that had captured her mind since she was ten years old.
'You can't hide from the wind.' A gusty voice blew around her. She shook it off as being paranoid, but Chloe knew better than anyone that paranoia sometimes paid off.