Hi, hello, bonjour :D

Just a quick note before you start reading,

I know this is following really closely the movie but it'll change in the next chapters!

Please, don't hesitate to let me know what you think!

Enjoy!


In Which the Bat Meets Clark Kent, or Superman Meets the Bat

"Philanthropist, bibliophile, true friend of the library of Metropolis, Mr. Lex Luthor."

Every single guest and reporter who had been invited to the event turned their heads towards the man who was making his way towards the blonde woman who had just called his name.

"Speech, speech, bla bla bla… open bar, the end." Lex first said to his audience, trying to be funny.

Bruce Wayne was standing there, in the white room, already bored, clapping unenthusiastically, waiting for his moment, for an opportunity to disappear and do what he had to do.

His eyes caught the ones of a beautiful young woman in a red dress, standing a few feet before him. She looked right back at him, unimpressed, like she knew exactly who he was. She looked away a few seconds later, turning her attention back to Lex Luthor. Bruce thought nothing of it, he was used to being stared at.

He looked around for Ness. He had no idea if she was coming but he had a few questions to ask her. She was nowhere to be found, though, and he looked up at the stage where Lex started his real speech.

"The words "philanthropist" comes from the Greek…"

Bruce looked at the unimpressive man who was standing up there, looking down at his audience, wondering how dangerous he could really be. Certainly, he couldn't be as dangerous as Superman.

As every guest was paying attention to Lex's every word, Bruce decided it was the right time to act.

"Alright, where am I going, Alfred?"

"Go past the elevator," Alfred, who was back at the Glasshouse, replied. "It's in the service corridor in the basement. Go down the stairs."

Bruce followed Alfred's instructions and managed to place his device right where he needed to.

Lex's speech was a disaster. Luckily, when Bruce came back up the stairs to socialize, it was over. The woman in the red dress was there and they exchange another look. He was about to follow her but was interrupted by some journalist who had some weird questions.

"What's your position on the bat vigilante in Gotham?"

Bruce looked down at his badge and read "Daily Planet? Do I own this one? Or is that the other guy?"

"Civil liberties are being trampled on in your city. Good people are living in fear."

Bruce was getting annoyed at this point. Little did he know, Ness was watching not far away, and she found the situation rather hilarious.

"Don't believe everything you hear, son."

"I've seen it, Mr. Wayne. He thinks he's above the law."

Bruce faked a smile which only lasted a second.

"The Daily Planet criticizing those who think they're above the law is a little hypocritical, wouldn't you say? Considering every time your hero saves a cat out of a tree, you write a puff piece editorial about an alien who, if he wanted to, could burn the whole place down. There wouldn't be a damn thing we could do to stop him."

"Most of the world doesn't share you opinion, Mr. Wayne."

"Maybe it's the Gotham city in me. We just have a bad history with freaks dressed like clowns."

The conversation was going nowhere and Ness was having a good time. She was standing not far away in a beautiful black dress and watched the two men playing the game of "who's got the biggest" and neither of them was winning.

But after a few seconds, the tensed silence that had settled between them two was broken by none other than Lex Luthor.

"Boys!" he yelled. "Um, Bruce Wayne meets Clark Kent. Ha!" he clapped his hands, "I love it. I love bringing people together."

Ness rolled her eyes and finished her glass of champagne. She wondered if he was on drugs or if he was just that crazy. The way he was speaking made her think that both could be possible.

"How are we?" Lex asked as he held his hand towards Bruce.

"Lex," he said, in his usual unenthusiastic tone.

"Hello. Good," he smiled at Bruce, impressed by his grip, "Hi, hello, Lex," he introduced himself to Clark. "Ow, that is a good grip. You should not pick a fight with this person. Huh."

Clark nodded at Lex who brought his attention back to Bruce.

"So, after all these years, we finally got you over to Metropolis."

"Well, I thought I'd come drink you dry," he said.

"Well, you're welcome," Lex nodded. "You should hop the harbor more often, though. I'd love to show you my labs. Maybe we could partner on something."

Bruce had no idea what to answer, fortunately, Lex's assistant had perfect timing and came to remind him he had to talk to the Governor.

"Excuse me," he said before he turned around and walked away.

"Next time," Bruce said and didn't wait another second to walk the other way.

He walked down the stairs again but when he reached for his device, it wasn't there.

He quickly looked up, surprised and suddenly worried.

The same woman from before, in the red dress, was standing in the hallway, staring at him. As soon as he saw her, she turned around and quickly walked away. He followed her as quickly as he could but neither of them could run as it would bring too much attention. There were way too many things on his way; the guests, the waitresses, even the damn cake. But when he finally got outside and found her again, she was standing next to her car, once again looking right back at him. And she wasn't alone.

Ness was there too, standing on the other side of the same car. She grinned and winked at him before she got inside the car and they both drove away.

/

A few days after he foolishly lost his device, he finally managed to track both thieves down. Actually, he hadn't been able to find Ness, but he figured out where her friend was going to be and he was ready to confront her.

To say that he wasn't happy was an understanding. He was pissed. He was pissed at himself and he was pissed at Ness. What kind of fool would trust a stranger who had not only broken into his car, but who had also not made very much sense? Well, he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

He found her at a museum. She was wearing a gorgeous sparkly white event gown and she was staring at a blade he recognized to be the sword of Alexander.

He approached slowly, with pride, thinking he was going to surprise her by showing up here.

"It's a fake," he said, and she slightly turned her head towards him, acknowledging his presence. "The real one was sold in '98 on the black market. And now it hangs…"

"Over the bed of the sultan of hajar," she cut him off. She had an accent too, but it wasn't the same as Ness's.

She turned around, breathed out a small laugh, excused herself, then stepped away.

She was surprised when he followed her. He took her arm and walked with her through the room.

"Excuse-me, miss. The other night you took something that doesn't belong to you. Stealing is not polite."

"Is it stealing if you steal from another thief?"

Bruce didn't answer. "Who are you?"

"Someone interested in the same man you are."

"Is that right?" he asked as he stopped and placed himself in front of her.

"I believed Mr. Luthor had a photograph that belongs to me," she replied.

"Did you get it?"

"She didn't," another voice, whom Bruce recognized to be Ness's, said behind his back.

She appeared next to him and stopped next to her friend. She was wearing an even more gorgeous blue dress and stood shorter than he remembered her to be.

"But I did. The data you copied had military-grade encryption. Hacking is more my thing," she grinned.

"So you just needed my device," Bruce said. "You played me?"

Ness faked a frown, "Of course not!"

Her friend cleared her throat, demanding that Ness say the truth.

"Okay, we did need your technology," she admitted. "But, you also need all the information you got the other night. So, it's a win-win," she shrugged.

"Excuse-us now," her friend smiled and took Ness's arm, then started to walk away.

But Bruce stopped them. He put his hand on Ness's hip and slightly pulled her towards his chest.

"You know, I bet in that dress 9 out of 10 men will let you get away with anything," he whispered in her ear.

"But you're the 10th?" she grinned.

"I'm guessing I'm the first," he answered. "You might think you know me, but I've known a few women like you."

Ness chuckled and took a step towards her "friend", who smiled, amused too.

"Oh, I don't think you've ever known women like us," she said.

"You know, it's true what they say about little boys," Ness said as she looked up at him. She stepped back towards him and fixed the bow of his suit before resting her hand on his shoulder, "born with no natural inclination to share." Bruce smiled a little as she got closer to him, "We didn't steal your drive. We borrowed it." She moved her hand down his chest and onto his back and pulled him towards her with an incredible strength that surprised him. He could feel her hot breath on his neck as she whispered in his ear, "You'll find it in the glove compartment of your car."

She slowly moved away and their eyes met for a few seconds. She wouldn't stop grinning.

"Mr. Wayne," Ness's friend said a little too loud, as if she didn't like what was going on and she wanted her friend to step away from the billionaire.

"I told you, I'm on your side," Ness told him. "Take a look at the drive, I'm sure you'll find very interesting stuff in there," she said as she stepped away. "Until next time, Mr. Wayne," she winked at him before she turned around and followed her friend out of the museum.

He watched them leave a little confused, even though he would never admit it. Now that he had the drive, he could continue what he had started, and he was still convinced he had to stop the man who came from the sky.