Disclaimer: We own nothing! I wish i owned the batmoblie...

"Clark, you are so lucky Oliver had his cell phone with him at his meeting," Chloe said furiously, glaring at Clark. "Everyone else is out of communication range right now and I'm certainly not strong enough to drag you out while fighting whatever guards are posted down there."

He was sitting at the table in Watchtower, where he had been since Oliver dropped him off. Oliver had gone back to his meeting, saying that he needed to be there. Clark was pretty sure he just didn't want to risk getting caught in the lecture.

"I'm sorry Chloe," he said. "But it was a good lead. I didn't want them to get away with the kryptonite."

"So you barge into a lead lined room to stop them?" she asked, shaking her head. "How many times are you going to do that before you realize the kryptonite is ALWAYS in the LEAD LINED ROOM! You have to LOOK before you go running in somewhere or you're going to get yourself killed!"

"Well, at least I found something," he said meekly, trying to calm her down. "It wasn't a total waste…"

Chloe took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers. Neither one noticed that the elevator door had opened.

"You are so lucky Lois isn't here," she said. "If you think I'm bad, think of the lecture she'd be giving you."

"So what is it I'm lecturing Smallville on this time?" Lois piped in.

Chloe and Clark both whipped around to see Lois standing by the elevator doors, hands on her hips.

"Umm… well," said Clark, glancing over at Chloe. "You see—"

"You're going to have to dig yourself out Clark," Chloe said, walking away. "I'm not getting in the middle of this one."

"Spill," Lois said, crossing the room to stand in front of Clark.

Choosing to avoid the subject for the moment, Clark stood up a pulled Lois into a hug.

"I thought something happened to you!" he said. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to Gotham?"

"I'm a big girl, Smallville," she said, rolling her eyes and pushing out of the hug. "I can take care of myself. Besides, Batman intervened before anyone could really hurt me. A few bumps and bruises don't count."

"What happened?" Clark asked. "Who tried to hurt you?"

"Just some thugs," Lois said with a shrug. "They only had one gun, and they didn't actually get to use it. All they did was rough me up a bit and try to take my electronics."

"Gun! That's it. Next time you go running off like that I'm not listening to Chloe when she says not to chase you."

"Relax, Clark," Lois said, putting a hand on his arm. "I'm fine, really. And I've got a firsthand account of Batman to add to Chloe's list, not to mention Tess' story just needs to be proofread and it'll be ready for the news."

"Just don't do it again," Clark said with a sigh. "And I'll check it over for you. Let's head back to the Planet."

He started heading toward the elevator doors, intending to head out. But Lois stayed where she was, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I think you still owe me an explanation," she said, glaring at him.

Sighing, Clark turned and came back to her.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I let being a hero push you out of the way again. I'll try not to lose track of time on our next date night. I promise."

"Date night?" Lois said, frowning in confusion. "Oh! That. I had actually forgotten about that. I want to know why Chloe was lecturing you."

"Umm… Well—"

"Spit it out, Smallville," she said. "We're not leaving until you do."

"Well, I may have had a small incident with some kryptonite while I was investigating something for Chloe. But I'm fine. Oliver got there before anything serious could happen and got me out. And we managed to get some more info on the people stealing the kryptonite."

"Let me guess," she said with a glare. "You went running in without thinking first. Again. Am I right?"

"I guess—Kind of," Clark said sheepishly. "Yes…"

"How stupid can you be, Smallville?" Lois asked. "You should know better than that by now. How many times has this happened at this point?"

As Lois continued to lecture Clark, the pair headed to the elevator and out into the streets of Metropolis on their way to the Daily Planet.

Chloe sighed. This meeting was not off to a great start. Even though almost everyone had actually arrived on time, she hadn't been able to hold their attention at all. They kept distracting themselves and Chloe was starting to get fed up with it.

"Would everyone please sit down and shut up!" she yelled over the din.

The heroes all turned to look at her in shock. Chloe just glared at them until they all took their seats.

"Sorry, Chloe," Oliver said.

"Thank you," Chloe said. "Now, let's get started for real, because we have some decisions that need to be made."

"Decisions?" said Dinah. "Are we still on the Batman issue?"

"Yes," Chloe said. "We've all made attempts to make contact but, despite all of our efforts, we have yet to even get a picture of the Batman."

"So what are we going to do then?" Bart asked, zipping over to the mini fridge for a snack.

"Well, to start with," Chloe answered. "You're going to sit back down. And then we're going to compare notes. If we can pick out some kind of pattern, maybe we can track him down. I don't want him to think we're out to get him, but I don't want to have to deal with a rogue issue on down the road. At least not without knowing how to take him down."

"So how are we going to help?" Clark asked. "We've been talking, and none of us was able to keep up with him."

"By comparing notes," Chloe said, "we should be able to put together a basic profile. Maybe come up with some weaknesses or even just an approximate visual of him."

Chloe opened the laptop sitting on the table in front of her. She hit a few keys and projected her desk top onto the big screen behind her. Various articles were spread over the screen, each one saying something about Batman.

"Wait," Clark said, interrupting. "Did I just see a flash of red upstairs? Bart, why were you upstairs."

Everyone turned to look at the speedster, who was sitting with his feet propped up eating his way through a pile of sandwiches.

"What?" he said with a mouthful of food. "I haven't moved since I went to the fridge to make sandwiches."

Rolling their eyes, the group went back to looking at the screen.

"As I said earlier, we have no pictures or visuals of Batman," Chloe said, glaring at Bart. "All we have is a lot of hearsay from the newspapers in Gotham and, of course, our own experiences. Victor and I tried to get a picture early last week, before I sent the rest of you to Gotham, but we didn't even come close."

Cyborg paused in the middle of the sidewalk as a burst of static crackled in his ear before he ripped it out. He had just arrived in Gotham and was heading into the darker parts of town. The com malfunction would make things interesting, especially since he was supposed to be staying in close contact with Watchtower. Slowly, he put the earpiece back in, ready to take it back out just in case it was still emitting static.

"Cyborg, can you hear me?" Chloe's voice crackled through the static, which had been reduced to a mere buzz. "Come in, Cyborg."

"I'm here, Watchtower," Cyborg answered. "I had some interference, but it's gone now. Probably just the distance."

"Hopefully," Chloe answered doubtfully. "But there's nothing I can do about it from here. I've got you on camera and I'm scanning ahead, so head deeper into the city. Hopefully I can pick up Batman's trail for you to follow."

"Got it, Watchtower," Cyborg said, taking off down the street again.

He walked confidently, staring down anyone who looked like they were going to try someone and sending them scurrying in the other direction. The sun had just set and he could see people hurrying to get inside. Other than people quickly clearing the streets, Cyborg saw nothing unusual. No signs of a masked hero. Not even a crime happening. And crime was supposed to be a constant in Gotham.

"Any sign of him, Watchtower? I've got nothing. I can't even get someone to come close enough to threaten me."

"No signs yet, but I'm looking," Chloe answered. "Maybe if you try and appear less intimidating someone will attack you. You're probably scaring them off right now. I'm pretty sure the minor thugs in that area are too afraid to approach you."

"And just how am I supposed to do that? It's not like I'm trying to scare them away."

"Well, stop glaring at them then. And slouch a little," Chloe answered. "Oh! Try walking with a limp. Just make yourself appear to be an easy target."

"Great," Cyborg grumbled. "You're gonna get me shot."

"I didn't say you couldn't fight back," Chloe protested. "But if a fight breaks out Batman might come to see what's going on. Because I still can't find him and I've hacked every camera in the city. Although more than half of them are broken and won't turn. They're fixated on one spot. Mostly walls or the ground, so nothing interesting on them."

"Fine," Cyborg sighed. "I'll try… But if I get shot it's your fault."

"Quit whining," Chloe said, excitement in her voice. "I think I found something! Take a right at the next cross street and go down a few blocks. A group of men jumped someone and now they're going down fast. I can't get a visual on the attacker, but it has got to be him. Hurry!"

Cyborg took off running in the direction Chloe indicated. But by the time he got there, the victim was gone and the group of men was all lying on the ground either bound or unconscious. Cyborg stopped and stared at the sight, looking around for any sign of Batman.

"Did you see him?" Chloe asked. "I didn't get anything. Not even a shadow."

"Negative, Watchtower," Cyborg answered. "The gang is down, but no signs of who took them down."

"Wait! I've got something else! Keep heading in that direction a few blocks."

Cyborg followed her directions, but only found the aftermath again. Time and time again this happened as the night war on. Chloe would find a crime of some kind in progress, but Batman never appeared on the screen and Cyborg couldn't get there in time. He only ever found the criminals lying on the ground or against a wall, tied up and or unconscious. As the night wore on toward morning, he just kept getting more and more frustrated.

"Can I come home now?" he asked. "This is clearly not working. And I really feel like someone is following me. It's creepy. Can I please come home?"

"How can it possibly be this difficult?" Chloe grumbled in frustration. "He's just one man. There's no way he can be avoiding both the cameras and you. He's got to mess up somewhere."

"Face it, Watchtower," Cyborg said. "We're beat. The sun is coming up and I'm coming home. We aren't catching him tonight."

"Alright," Chloe sighed, "Come home. We'll have to figure something else out. Maybe someone else will have better luck."

"I doubt it," Cyborg said. "I'll see you soon."

"And the rest of us didn't have a whole of success either," Clark said. "I managed to catch a glimpse of him, but it was right after I arrived and I don't think he was completely expecting me."

Clark sped into Gotham as the sun went down. Chloe was hoping his speed would give them an edge on keeping up with Batman and actually catching him in action. A silhouette on a nearby rooftop caused Clark to come to a quick stop. The figure was tall and a cape fluttered behind him, and Clark had the distinct feeling on eyes on him. But before he could take another step, the man was gone.

"Watchtower!" he exclaimed in excitement. "I got a visual and I'm in pursuit."

"That's great!" Chloe answered. "Where are you?"

"North side of the city."

"That's weird," Chloe said, "because I'm picking up activity on the south end of town. Someone is breaking up a robbery."

"I'll be right there," Clark said, spinning around and running the other way.

He arrived at the scene of the robbery just in time to catch a glimpse of a cape going around a corner. But when Clark sped around the corner no one was in sight.

"He's gone again," Clark said. "I saw the edge of his cape. Which I could have sworn had jagged edges, but this one was smooth…"

"Forget it, Clark," Chloe said, "Head east, fast. Carjacking in progress and the carjacker just got dragged out of the car. And no, I didn't see who did it, just hurry."

"On it!"

Again, by the time Clark got there all he saw was a flash of a cape and then no one.

"Ok," he said. "Something weird is going on. I could have sword that one was dark green, not black. And, now that I think of it, the last one had some yellow."

"It's just the lights, Clark," Chloe said. "Now get a move on. West side this time."

"How is he doing this?" Clark asked in exasperation as he sped to the other side of town.

Once more, he caught a glimpse of a cape. This time it disappeared onto a rooftop.

"Southside again, Clark."

He started to head south.

"Wait! North side!"

"Aaaahhhhh!" he yelled, startling some people as he rushed past.

For the rest of the night, Clark ran in circles, chasing phantoms and only catching glimpses of a cape or occasionally the heel of a boot. By the time the sun came up, he was started to feel warn out.

"He's got to have superspeed, Watchtower," Clark panted as he waited for Chloe to tell him where to go. "There's no way he can cross such distances that quickly without it."

"I think it's time to give it up, Clark," Chloe said with a sigh. "We aren't going to catch him tonight."

"But we keep getting so close," he protested. "I've got to keep trying."

"Forget it, Clark," she said. "I can't even find anything on camera anymore. The sun is coming up. He's not going to be out anymore. Just come home."

"Come on Chloe, just a little longer."

"Clark," she said sharply. "You're exhausted. Give it up and come home."

"On my way," he grumbled, spinning and heading back toward Metropolis.

"I don't get tired easily," Clark said, "but that was a really long night. I was running in circles the whole time and never got more than a glimpse of him. Like I told Chloe, he's got to have superspeed. Maybe invisibility too, cause keeping track of him was kind of like tracking the black ranger. I really don't think he's human."

"We don't know anything for sure, Clark," Chloe said. "Let's not make too many assumptions right now."

"Well, at least you didn't take a dip in the bay," Bart said in complaint. "My trip there didn't end well."

"Nope," said AC, grinning, "but it was really funny."

Impulse skidded to a stop near the docks of Gotham. Aquaman popped out of the water, leaning against the dock to talk to him.

"We're here, Watchtower," Aquaman said. "Where to?"

"Well, there's something going on a ways down the bay," Chloe answered. "Which is why I wanted you both to go. Head down and check it out and let me know what you see. The cameras there are out."

"Got it!" Impulse said, speeding off down the shoreline.

Aquaman dove back into the water and sped off after the speedster. He got there first, popping up underneath a dock to take a look around. He didn't see anything. Then Impulse arrived, coming to a stop behind a stack of crates and peering around.

"Well," he said. "I don't see any Batman, but I'm pretty sure those guys aren't unloading anything good. Shall we go disturb their peace a little?"

"Watchtower said not to interfere, Impulse," Aquaman hissed. "We're here to observe Batman, not cause trouble."

"But that's no fun," Impulse protested, getting ready to run out.

Before he could do anything though, the men on the dock started shouting and running away toward their boat. A few of them fell down, but the rest made it onto the boat. The boat took off into the bay and Impulse took off after it, thinking to stop it before it got too far. Something hit his feet as he ran out over the water though, and he lost momentum and fell. Impulse sank for a moment before breaking the surface, sputtering and flailing as he tried to free his feet. Aquaman swam over to Impulse and started pulling him back toward shore.

"Why would he do that?" Impulse sputtered as he spit out more water. "Is he trying to kill me?"

As Aquaman deposited the wet speedster on shore, they heard more yelling and turned to see men jumping overboard. Suddenly, the dark night became bright as an explosion rocked the bay. The boat head blown up, leaving its crew swimming for shore. Another boat, black in color, sped away from the scene. They hadn't noticed it until it moved.

"I'd say the almost drowning was better than that would have been," Aquaman said, pulling the rope from around Impulse's feet. "Why don't we head home? I think that's enough for one night."

"Yeah, let's go," Impulse said, shivering. "It's really cold all of a sudden."

"We're heading home, Watchtower," Aquaman said. "I'll explain when we get there. But we've got something for you."

"Alright, Aquaman," Chloe said. "See you soon."

Aquaman dove back into the water while Impulse hopped up and sped out of the city.

"They did bring me back the rope Batman used," Chloe said.

She bent down to pick it up and straightened in confusion.

"Well, I had it here a few minutes ago," she said, frowning. "Where did I put that? Clark, did you move it?"

"Nope," Clark said. "I didn't even know you had it."

"And don't look at me," Bart said. "I swear I didn't touch anything."

"Hmm…" Chloe said. "I guess I'll have to find it later. Anyways, it was a black rope with weighted bats on either end."

"Wow," Oliver said. "Someone's taking their theme to the extreme."

"Like none of us do?" Dinah said. "Look at you, Robin Hood."

"What is it with everyone knocking my costume?" Oliver exclaimed. "Is it really that bad?"

"Calm down, Oliver," Dinah told him. "I'm just trying to make a point. We all have a tendency to overdo some things. I mean, Bart wears a lightning bolt on his chest."

"Hey!" said Bart. "I'm proud of that lightning bolt."

"Yeah, well," said Oliver. "At least I managed to keep track of Batman for a while, unlike the rest of you."

"But you left me alone," Dinah said, glaring at Oliver.

"Give me a break," he said. "It was a spur of the moment decision."

Green Arrow and Black Canary perched on a rooftop, scanning the horizon for any sign of movement. They'd been in the city for a few hours now, waiting for the sun to set and for Batman to appear.

"Alright, Watchtower," Black Canary said. "We're in position and ready to go. What do you have?"

"Nothing yet," Chloe answered. "Why don't you two start a sweep? Stay together though, I don't want to lose track of either of you."

"Got it, Watchtower," Black Canary answered. "On the move."

The two heroes started leaping across the narrow gaps between the rooftops, occasionally swinging down to the streets to navigate an especially long leap. Finally, they caught wind of a robbery in progress and moved closer to check it out. A couple of men came flying out into the street, falling to the ground bound in dark ropes.

"We've got him, Watchtower," Green Arrow said. "Pursuing now."

A dark figure appeared on the rooftop of the next building, cape swirling in the breeze. Spotting the two heroes, Batman immediately took off. Green Arrow and Black Canary started chasing him. He moved quickly, moving from rooftop to rooftop and ducking down into alleys without a pause and they barely managed to stay on his trail. Then Batman leapt off a building, landing on another one across the street. Without pausing to think about it, Green Arrow shot a grappling hook across the distance and took off after Batman, leaving Black Canary stranded behind him.

"I've lost them, Watchtower," Black Canary said. "Green Arrow is still in pursuit."

"Alright," Chloe answered. "Stay put. I'll keep you update on their location as I can."

Green Arrow kept on Batman's tail, trying to keep the mysterious legend in sight. He couldn't keep right behind Batman, but Green Arrow managed to stay close enough to keep catching glimpses of him. But after a while, Batman disappeared completely, leaving Green Arrow alone and looking for any sign of where he had gone.

"I've lost him, Watchtower," Green Arrow said in frustration. "I can't find any sign of where he's gone. Whoever this Batman is, he's good at disappearing. Somehow I get the feeling he was letting me follow him."

"Just get Canary and head back," Chloe said. "No point in spending another fruitless night searching. At least you have somewhat of a description."

"We'll see you there," Green Arrow said.

"All I saw of him was a silhouette," Oliver said. "He's really tall, and he's not a small guy. Batman was wearing all black, including the cape. No colors at all. I think you need to get your eyes checked, boy scout. I think you might actually need those glasses you wear now."

"Hmm…" Chloe mused, "Maybe we need to have another doctor on staff. After all, Emil doesn't specialize in eyes."

"Chloe!" Clark exclaimed. "Do you really think it's a good idea to have someone poking at my eyes? Besides, there's nothing wrong with them. I don't need to have my eyes checked."

"Just a thought," Chloe said with a grin.

"Can we please get back on topic," Victor interrupted. "I thought this was important."

"Right," Chloe said. "Of course. So, given what information we've managed to gather, let's try and put a basic profile together."

She started typing as she talked.

"He moves quickly, so let's put superspeed down. Also invisibility and possibly flight, though neither has been confirmed in any way. Like I said earlier, the articles don't give any definite information. They even contradict themselves, like the color issue. Occasionally they report a dark purple or red or yellow, like Clark saw."

"Apparently the boy scout isn't the only one who needs to get his eyes check, then," Oliver said with a grin. "Because Batman was definitely wearing black. All black."

"I'm gonna make you black and blue," Clark growled at him.

"Back on topic. I can attest to flight," Dinah interrupted. "I don't know how else he could have gotten across the road. He didn't swing like Oliver, it was more of a gliding, flight-like motion."

She turned to glare at the archer.

"Speaking of, thank you again for stranding me. You do realize that I can't actually fly, right?"

"Sorry," Oliver said, shrugging. "Again, it was a spur of the moment decision. I thought it was important to follow him."

"Anyways," Chloe said, "keep in mind that all of these are guesses."

"Well, he's got to be super smart," Victor said. "I mean, he's able to stay off all the cameras. Maybe he can even connect to the system like I can."

"I'll add that to the list," Chloe said. "But let's get down to the point of all of this. Do we extend an invitation to join us, or not?"

"I don't see why not," Oliver said. "He hasn't done anything that's opposes what we do. Sure, he doesn't hold back from hurting people like we try to, but Batman lives in a rougher city than we do."

"But what if he tried something like that here?" Clark argued. "He could cause a lot of problems for us if he can't control himself."

"Both good points," Chloe said. "There are a lot of reasons both for and against inviting him. Votes for?"

Everyone but Clark raised their hands. He sighed and shrugged.

"Ok, I know it's not unanimous, but I think at this point we need to make the effort," Chloe said. "Now who should we send to Gotham to extend the invitation?"

"None of you," a deep voice interrupted from behind Chloe.

Everyone at the table stared as Chloe whipped around to face the speaker. Batman had just appeared out of the shadows behind her. Dressed head to toe in black, only showing the skin of his jaw, Batman seemed a part of the shadows behind him. He was glaring at the group, arms crossed in front of him.

"What!?" Chloe exclaimed. "How—How did you get in here? Without my alarms going off?"

He didn't answer, but continued to glare at them.

"We didn't expect you here," Chloe said. "We were hoping to talk to you. Maybe learn a little more about you and ask you to work with us."

"I work alone," he answered.

"So then what are you doing here?" Clark asked, getting to his feet, ready to act.

"I came to deliver a message," Batman said shortly. "Stay out of my city."

He turned and started walking away from them. No one moved, unsure of how to react to that statement.

"Wait!" Chloe exclaimed, but he was gone.

Everyone looked around, trying to figure out where he had disappeared too. Bart shot a hand into the air.

"I'm with Clark on the invisibility," he said.