A/N: Holy Crap! An update? No your eyes don't decive you. It's been crazy the last while, college ending for the semester and moving and getting a job. You know the typical excuses. Anyway a very special thanks to Calico for Beta-ing this chapter.

Chapter 10

Banquet Mind Games

"Charles Xavier," Luthor smiled. "I would like you to meet Bruce Wayne. Not exactly a kindred spirit but definitely a fellow philanthropist."

"It's a pleasure to meet you sir," Bruce said extending his hand. "I can't say that I know much about genetics but it's an honor to shake hands with someone that is doing something to help advocate peace in our society."

"That is my goal," Xavier responded, shaking Bruce's hand. "I in turn would like you to meet my assistant Dr. Jean Grey. As I recall Wayne Enterprises does business with a close associate of mine, Warren Worthington III; he speaks very highly of your establishment."

"That's good to hear," Bruce's eyes suddenly scanned the room. "Well, Professor Xavier, it would seem that my date is getting anxious for me to find her, or rather I'm looking to find one. Of course, perhaps your Dr. Grey will be willing to help me with that?"

"Well, I..." Jean began.

"I'm afraid that Jean will be needed at my side virtually the entire night, Mr. Wayne."

"Well, you can't blame me for trying." Bruce smiled. "If she does become available, I will also be here all night. But it was a pleasure to meet you both and one last thing before I go: I just want you to know that Wayne Industries will be donating heavily to your institute."

With that the billionaire nodded to both Xavier and Luthor and headed off to mingle with the crowd. Luthor shook his head and excused himself from the Professor for a moment.

"We need to watch him," Xavier commented to Jean telepathically.

"Which one? Luthor or Wayne?"

"Take your pick. Both of them are guarding their thoughts. Mr. Wayne in particular."

"I think that he was down right slimy," Cyclops' voice came from behind them.

"Scott," Jean chided. "Are you jealous of a man that didn't even know I was married?"

"No, there was just something about him that makes me wary. He had a look in his eye...kinda reminded me of something I see in Logan every now and again."

"You're just on edge because we're in a large crowd." Jean smiled wrapping an arm in between his. "But you look dashing in that tux and as soon as Charles lets us I'm dancing with you. Billionaire Bruce Wayne watching or no."

Xavier smiled, but said nothing. Part of him wanted to allow his two closest students to enjoy themselves, but the feelings of uneasiness that Cyclops held were too close to home for him. Xavier scanned the room for his X-men. Each of them had parts of the room that they were to be near. Colossus and Shadowcat were near an exit wall should there be a need for Kitty to sneak away and investigate more. Rogue and Gambit were amongst most of the other guests using their southern charm. Wolverine and Storm were paired together near the banquet table where they could get a look at the whole room. Jubilee had chosen to stay with them.

Xavier paused on her for a moment. He had not seen her so dejected in some time. As he looked upon the girl he could not help but feel for her. He could still remember when he had been rejected by Moria Mactarrget because of who he was. It was a pain that never entirely quit. He could only hope that she would turn to her teammates for the support she would need to get over her problems. Yet Wolverine was keeping as much a protective eye on her as he was on the look out for any problems at the Banquet; she was in good hands.

The mutant leader was suddenly brought out of his contemplations by a large man with glasses and a woman accompanying him in a ravishing black dress. The woman approached him and extended a gloved hand to his.

"Professor Xavier, I'm Lois Lane."

"Ah," Xavier responded taking her hand and admiring the firm grip that she gave him. "From the Daily Planet? I've read some of your work. Your articles on Superman and meta-humans are quite interesting. And who is this with you?"

"Clark Kent. Lois' husband and an amateur journalist in my own right. " The man flashed a genuine grin that seemed to scream all American while taking Xavier's hand in a surprisingly weak handshake for a man his size.

"Amateur indeed," Jean said. "Anyone who reads the Planet knows that you two are the top reporters. It must be easy to find good stories when you share the city with a certain big blue boy scout. In fact I'd bet that it's hard to find news that doesn't involve him. "

Both Lois and Clark answered at the same time.

"Oh it's not that hard,"

"Next to impossible."

The two reporters exchanged looks before Clark turned his attention back to Xavier. "We came to congratulate you on this night, and maybe get a few comments for a story tomorrow."

"Well, far be it to deny one of the city of Metropolis' best reporters a few answered questions."

"If we may then," Clark smiled motioning over to a part of the room that was less occupied where he could sit down. "This will only take a few moments. If your assistant doesn't mind?"

"Jean, I think that this may be the opportunity that you were looking for." Xavier smiled, watching the woman's face light up. Both she and Lois stood where they were only long enough to watch the reporter and the professor move away and begin their interview.

"He seems like quite the man," Lois commented to the other woman.

"He is," Jean responded, smiling appreciatively toward her mentor before letting eyes stray to her husband and quickly excusing herself from the reporter to go to his side. Lois chanced another glance to Clark thinking that she would do the same thing once she got a chance. Whether Bruce would approve or not. And almost on cue with her thoughts his voice came into her ear.

"Confirm target 'X' is taken care of."

"Yeah, Clark's with him right now."

"Good be prepared to distract 'L' if needed."

"You owe me big for this one."

"I'll have my company add an extra room to your apartment next week."

"That won't be..." Lois didn't finish her sentence as she saw Luthor making his way through the crowd toward Xavier and Clark with a look of fury painted across his face. "Looks like it's going to have to be a double room," she finished before making her way to intercept him.

Tim Drake marveled at how much more uncomfortable a tuxedo could be than his kevlar Robin uniform. It seemed to pull at his neck tighter than his neck guard and just didn't conform to his body. Of course the fact that he had his Robin costume on underneath didn't help matters much either. He couldn't help but envy Conner, who only had his Superboy t-shirt and jeans beneath his tux. Yet as he glanced over to his friend who was positioned in a corner, he quickly took that envy back. Conner looked as high strung as he possibly could, shifting his glasses and his fidgeting with his tie. This only got worse as they both saw Lex Luthor be intersected by Lois, who began to chat with him with mock enthusiasm.

Conner immediately shifted away until he was next to Tim. All the while his eyes never left Luthor. The man who was one half his genetic 'father'. The young superhero's face had gone near white by the time he reached Tim.

"I shouldn't have come," he said quietly. "If he recognizes you."

"He's known Clark for a long time and never suspected," Tim responded. "He doesn't even know Conner Kent."

"I know it's just..."

"What?"

"Uh...nothing."

"What do you mean nothing?"

"It's just...she's here."

Tim felt the blood drain from his face. He followed Conner's gaze until his eyes fell upon the banquet table where they fell upon a girl that until a few hours ago he thought was just like any other girl.

Jubilee stood wearing a red dress and looked stunning to the young crimefighter yet her presence only unnerved him. Bruce's instincts seemed to have been proven right. If she was here then the other X-men most certainly were as well. And that meant that things would only get much more complicated.

"You need to go and speak to her, man." Conner finally said.

"Are you kidding? With Bruce here? He'll kill me!"

"But dude! Look at her. I haven't seen someone look that bad in a long time. She probably thinks that you didn't help her with Xavier because you realized that she's a mutant."

"I don't care about..."

"I know that. But does she?"

Tim's eyes went to the mutant girl, lingering on her face for a moment before shifting to Bruce who looked as if he didn't have a care in the world with a girl hanging on each arm. Yet Tim knew better, Bruce had no doubt assessed the whole room and identified any possible enemies and also possible escape route that he could take to be able to change into Batman if need be.

"If nothing happens tonight, I'll go to her room first thing in the morning. We have a job to do. We have to be ready to slip out at a moment's notice. I can't let myself be distracted."

"For the protégé of the World's Greatest Detective, you can be pretty clueless at time, ya know that don't you? Conner sighed before making his way toward the banquet table.

"Where are you going?"

"To do your job for you. Just keep behind and wait for Bruce's order's. I'll probably be back before that happens anyway."

Before Tim could do anything Conner was already to the banquet table and approaching Jubilee. He chanced another glimpse at Bruce to make sure that he wasn't being watched before plowing through the crowd so at least he could handle things his own way.

"Bruce, you have to bring me to Gotham some time!" the blonde hanging on his arm practically sang.

"There's not much to see there," the billionaire said with a yawn that turned into a grin. "Besides with someone like you here, Metropolis will only shine brighter."

Bruce smiled as the girl blushed, mostly because it never ceased to amaze him how well that line worked every time he was in Metropolis. As the girl blushed he took another sweeping gaze of the room. He had been able to identify at least five possible X-men. They had come just as he suspected. Now all that was left was for Clark to use his handy superspeed to slip a homing device onto the Professor. Then Batman would be able to find out the man's connection to the X-men and if they truly presented a threat to Metropolis and if they had anything to do with Ra's scheme.

Still, even with that taken care of there were too many variables that Bruce didn't like. The girl was one. He had checked all of his sources but could find no trace of her or why the Brotherhood would want to find her. He also didn't like the idea of the X-men possibly being in the same hotel as he. If Ra's was working with Luthor, then it surely wasn't a coincidence that they were there. None of it bode well. And all of it made it difficult to keep his mind on portraying the "playboy".

Even more distracting at the moment was Luthor almost pushing Lois over to get to Xavier and Clark. Though Lois was trying her best, Bruce figured that she could only keep Luthor distracted for about another thirty seconds to a minute. Bruce held his ear piece tightly.

"S," he whispered. "The wolf has almost passed the lamb, hurry."

Bruce then made his way through the throngs of guests, nodding and shaking hands the entire way before he finally managed to get to Luthor and Lois just as he could hear the twisted billionaire tell Lois that he didn't have time to speak.
"Lex!" he called out, causing the bald man to turn slightly in his direction. "I was wondering if we could talk for a minute about our two companies."

Luthor seemed to examine Bruce with an interested gaze. "Oh…" he responded. "I was under the impression that Wayne Enterprises wasn't interested in any sort of partnership with Lexcorp."

"Well since one of the main themes of this little banquet that you're having is tolerance I think that it's an ideal time to discuss putting aside old differences and speaking of things that we have in common."

Luthor smiled and pulled Bruce aside. "You're right," he breathed, "Such as how we're both orphans. A commonality, yes, yet that's what makes us different. I took my tragedy and made something of myself. Brought myself out of the slums and you…hide in the shadows and squander your parents fortune. I guess what I'm getting at is that Lexcorp will not attach itself to the sinking ship that is Wayne Enterprises. Now, if you'll excuse me, your toy reporter is bothering my guest of honor."

With that Luthor turned on his heels and made his way toward Clark and Xavier. But then stopped an turned to Lois "Oh and just a word of advice, Wayne seems to have a thing with reporters, so I would be careful or you might become his next Vickie Vale or Vesper Fairchild. Poor Vesper."

Luthor then disappeared in the crowd. Somewhere Bruce thought he heard Lois step up next to him. He also had the vague impression that she had placed her hand on his shoulder. Her voice seemed far away but only after Luthor was in the process of breaking up Clark's interview did he finally gain enough coherence to make sense of what she was saying.

"Bruce are you alright? Bruce?"

The billionaire released a breath he didn't know he was holding. "I'm fine."

"Yeah, then why are you shaking?" Lois questioned

"What happened?" Clark said having bumped through the crowd to where they were. "Your pulse, it's through the roof. What happened?"

"Nothing that can be discussed right now," Bruce responded after a minute of staring hard in Xavier and Luthor's direction. "Did you do it?"

"Under his wheel chair," Clark confirmed.

"Good. Let's get ready for phase two."

Just as Bruce turned to find his place amongst the Metropolis elite, he felt a hand on his shoulder again.

"Whatever he said," Lois' voice came, "It's not true."

Bruce shifted his gaze toward both her and Clark slightly, looking at them with dark eyes. "No, that's the problem. It was true. Stick to the plan."

……………

"Do you have a problem with yer ears boy!" Wolverine growled. "I said that yer not going to talk to her and that means that you won't!"

"No, I hear better than you'd think," Jubilee heard Conner reply trying to look over the Wolverine's shoulder at her. She would only give him a scowl. "But I just need to talk to her for a second."

"Look, kid," Wolverine gruffed, "I just got this suit and I would really hate for it to get dirty tonight. But that's what's going to happen if you keep trying to bug her. Because I'm going to have to."

"Logan!" Storm interrupted. "I think that the young man has got a point. Jubilee doesn't want to speak to him."

So intent were the three mutants on the boy that none of them noticed a pair of hands come up behind Jubilee and pull her under the table, covering her mouth. The young mutant's eyes went wide when she saw the face of Tim shushing with one finger raised. Jubilee had half a mind to strike him, but the earnestness of his face convinced her to follow him instead. The teenagers left the other side of the table and entered the throng of people that were dancing on the main floor, lost in the crowd.

"What do think you're doing!" Jubilee finally demanded.

Still, Tim didn't explain, instead he took Jubilee in his arms and began to dance. Always making sure that there were several people around them.

"Sorry," he finally said, "I'm just trying to blend in as much as possible."

Jubilee's brows furrowed. "Would that be because you'd rather that I blended in better with everyone else?"

"What?"

"Don't act like I didn't see your face!" she snapped, "When Professor Xavier came and got me you figured it out didn't you!"

"Well…"

"You figured out…what I am. I can't honestly believe you actually had the guts to show your face to me. You didn't like that you were hanging out with 'gene trash' did you?"

"Now wait just a minute!" Tim's face grew stern. "I was surprised when Xavier showed up, but I don't care if you're homo-superior or not. You're still-"

"Tim," the young vigilante's earpiece suddenly rang with Batman's voice. "Luthor is preparing to give his speech get into position."

"I'm still what?" Jubilee asked, somewhat of the fire had left her eyes but it still kindled there.

"You're still a-"

"Tim, where are you? You need to be able to slip away while all eyes are on Luthor. Get into position!"

"Mutant?" The flame began to reignite in Jubilee, "Is it that hard to say? Or do you prefer 'freak'?"

"No! If you'll just-"

"Tim! Get into position!"

"If you'll just let me talk to you later. I have to go," Tim breathed letting Jubilee go, not even sparing her another glance as he headed toward his prearranged position.

Next Time: I can actually say with confidence what you'll see with the next update. Because I've actually written it. I just have to transfer it from my old comp to this one. Anyway next time…well basically the Banquet comes to a stunning halt when a one or maybe some very special guest decide that they want to crash the party.

Reader Responses:

Xc00lcomic: Well cut the boy some slack it caught him completely by surprise. But I agree that Tim is normally great. Thanks for reading.

Kitty Rasputin: Thanks for the thoughtful review.You raise a good point about Sup's not recognizing Wolverine. The next chapter address' it somewhat but I usually think that as a rule Superman doesn't go around looking through peoples masks with his X-ray vision unless he feels he really needs to. So he wouldn't have recognized Wolverine. The others however… Well like I said it's addressed a bit in the next chapter.

Matt: Thanks for the review. And yes your right. The chosen villains will be a major factor in what's going to happen later. Both to the heroes and to themselves.

Bean: Thanks for the review. I figure Gotham is somewhere around Boston as well. Maybe higher maybe lower. But I also figure Metropolis as being somewhere around there also. So I suppose it's all really relative.

Blackheart Syaoran: "Bald headed menace to all Love" I like that line I'll have to use it sometime, with permission of course. And you're on to something with Ra's and Apocalypse. Their relationship will be a key part of the story once the evil plan is revealed.

Emerald Knight1: Thanks for reading! I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter and liked how Prof. X tried to help Jubilee (even though it was all his fault.) And thanks for the compliment about Kurt Busiek. I'm flattered!

Robster72: Oh yeah lets just say that next chapter all hell breaks loose. Thanks for reading!

Ghostninja85: Don't give up hope on more characters. The story has to grow to accomidate them. And it's almost to that point. I guess I'll give you a minor spoiler by telling you that later on we'll be seeing more heroes from both Marvel and DC.

Final Note: I just wanted to tell all ya'll how much I appreciate your reviews. Almost all of them are in depth, well thought out, reviews that keep me on my toes, give me ideas, and just get me really fired up to write this story. Thanks again!