Chapter Fourteen

Batman vs Superwoman

The whole floor of the night club could be seen from the owner's office. The place was empty and completely void of its usual life. The Joker scanned the building from his position by the office's window, taking the empty dance floor and bar, and the green smiley faces Hailey had taken the liberty of painting on the walls. Claiming it helped with the 'homey' feeling. The woman in question was sitting the owner's chair, leaning against the desk grinning at the clubs owner and a few of his associates as they sat together on the other side of the room.

Metropolis might shine brighter than Gotham city. But that was only because its grit and grim was beneath the surface, the crime and its bosses were hidden better. But with a hero that could basically see all and hear all that was understandable. But for someone in Jokers line of work, it was easy enough to track down his like-minded Metropolis cousins.

Which is how he had found this club. All he had to do was recognise the signs. They're might as well have been a sign out the front saying 'crime lord here'.

"Now boys," He said, turning to grin at his new colleagues. "From now on you work for me."

"Sure Boss," Was the reply, followed by frantic nodding.

"Excellent!" Joker exclaimed, clapping his hands together to rub his palms. "Now now, we need to find a way to get the flygirls attention." He held up a finger when someone looked like they were going to talk, "But! We need to do it on our terms."

The gangsters exchanged confused looks and the Joker sighed, "I'm not going face to face with her. I'm not crazy you know! But a trap on the other hand." A large smile twisted his face. "If this was home sweet Gotham, I would just nab someone they were close to. But who is the closest person to the caped wonder?"

The gangster exchanged looks.

#SC#

Lois Lane smiled as she sat down at the restaurant table. The place had to be one of the more exclusive ones in Metopolis. A place where you would needed to book at least two months ahead for a reservation. Trust Bruce Wayne to get a table by just walking through the door.

"I must say, I'm impressed." Lois said as she settled in her seat.

"Don't be," Bruce said easily, giving her a half smile that was lazy, charming and all round butterfly inducing. "This was easy."

"So what really brings you to Metopolis Bruce?" Lois asked giving her own attempt at the half smile back.

"You asking as polite conversation? Or asking as a reporter?" He asked, smiling in full amusement.

"Sorry," Lois sighed, "Hazards of the job. I'll try and leave the reporting world behind for the night."

"Ohh on the contrary I'd love to hear about you're work," Bruce said, leaning back in the chair. "Most be dangerous given some one stories you've covered."

"Oh like you wouldn;t believe," Lois laughed, "Nothing I can't handle of course."

"Of course," Bruce echoed, then adding, "Is that how you meet Superwoman?"

"Superwoman?" Lois blinked.

"Yes," He continued, "I noticed you were the only reporter to get an interview with her. I was just wondering how you two meet."

"Oh," Lois said scanning him for a second, "Yeah Superwoman saved me. I think I was the first reporter she meet. So she came to me for an interview. I've been covering her ever since."

"So how do you get in contact with her?" Bruce questioned, a confused expression on this face. "I mean how does anyone get her attention?"

"It's not like the Batman," Lois answered although her voice had turned flat, "We don't have a signal in the sky." She sighed before snatching up her purse and stood up. "Look I know what this is, its happened before. If you really want to talk the Superwoman. Try shouting 'Help Superwoman.' Or even throwing yourself off a building. That seems to get her attention. You didn't have to take me out to dinner just to find a way to get close to her."

Bruce winced as she turned and walked away. "Lois wait….." He called, but anything else was lost to loud shouting and banging.

"Ladies and Gentleman," A loud familiar voiced called, "If I might have your attention please. We will be out of your hair quickly, so you might go back in enjoying vastly overpriced meals. If one of you would be so kind as to point out Lois Lane."

Lois being to only person standing in the middle of the restaurant at this point was the first to get his attention. The Joker looked at her, and back to a photo he was holding. Back and forth a few times, before finally shrugging.

"Oh there you are. That was quick." A span of his fingers and a point had his thugs closing in. However the hand that grabbed at her was twisted brutally away, and the thug shoved into the floor. Bruce Wayne stepped in between Lois and The Joker.

"Oh Bruce Wayne," The Joker exclaimed smiling widely as he recognised the famous Gotham billionaire. "Look guys its Brucie. Hi Brucie!" He's smiled dropped, "Get him out of the way will you."

The thugs descended on Wayne, who surprising defended himself well against the attacks, however one lucky attack saw a thug hit the butt of his gun into Wayne's head. The dazed billionaire dropped to the ground, and the thugs closed in on Lois.

"You won't get away with this," Someone called, "Superwoman will…"

"Superwoman is busy," Joker called back shrugging, "Oh for timely disasters," He checked his watch, "She might be fast and strong, but there is only one of her."

"There might only be one of her boss," One of the thugs said, "But they're plenty cops, and they aren't all busy." He pointed in the direction of incoming sirens.

"Come on boys," Joker called, before looking at Lois, "And lady. Lets move!"

#SC#

It had to be one of the strangest nights Superwoman had had, and that was including the time while Toyman had been on the loose. Numerous location came up in the city's emergency response system, only for Superwoman to arrive to find nothing out the ordinary. However just as she finished with another false alarm, an abandoned warehouse across town exploded.

Superwoman had the strangest feeling that she was been given the run around.

#SC#

Despite both being a sprawling heavy populated city, both Gotham and Metropolis were vastly different. They were daytime and night-time to each other. Metropolis gleamed in both the sunlight and the moonlight, bright metals and other materials. Its road ways wide and tree filled. Gotham was a dark beauty, gothic artwork on its towering skyscrapers. The roadways thin and crisscrossing in every direction. It was dark both day and night, with heavy clouds, casting shadows everywhere. But still even in the bright Metropolis Batman moved from shadow to shadow with the ease of someone who had spent a lifetime in the night.

He paused briefly on a rooftop and looked down at the screen of his tracker. During his 'fight' with the thugs at the restaurant, he had known there was little he could have done as Bruce Wayne. He had had a feeling that it wasn't going to end well. So he had planted a tracker on one of the men. A tracker that had lend him to a club in downtown Metropolis.

Landing lighting on its roof, he was able to scan the club through the skylight. Although the club was busy and darkly lit he was still able to spot some on the thugs from earlier. Jaw set he stepped forward, and crashed through the skylight.

To say the parting crowd was surprised when Batman landed in their midst, along with the crash of falling glass and panelling, would have been an understatement.

He lunged through the fleeing crowd to grab hold of a familiar face. With a jerk he heaved the man from his chair and clear off his feet, snarling straight into his face.

"Where's the Joker!" He growled. The man gasped as he tugged at Batman iron hold in a vain attempt to free himself. The thugs friends attacked then, going for vigilante's back.

Sweeping kicks, and throws sent his attacks flying. A quick throw of a batarang took out a gun before the man had even finished drawing it. A stray shot went off, striking somewhere in the roof. The sound of the fleeing crowd grow a pitch, as screams of fright erupted.

He cleared up the rest of thugs quickly after that using a couple more batarang and at one point a bolas to tangle up another would be shooter.

Batman turned looking for the man be had started to question, spotting him quickly making it for an exit. He caught up with him easy enough. Slamming to man back into a wall.

"Where's Joker!" He demanded louder than before.

"I don't know! Honest!" He man cried, "He left! I dunno where he went!"

A hand touched his shoulder and he reacted, twisting sharply using his attacker's weight against them, sending them flying. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a red and blue clad figure slam into a table.

It seems he had managed to meet Superwoman.

#SC#

The moment her hand had touch dark leather clad shoulder, she had found herself flying through the air under no power of her own. It was the shock that prevented her from stopping herself from slamming into the table, she felt it break under her crashing into the floor. It hadn't hurt, but it still stunned her enough that all she could do was stare. The tall dark figure was not someone she had ever meet before, but she had heard of him.

The Batman stood across from her returning her look, with an assessing one of his own. Before he turned his attention toward the fleeing thug. Superwoman's eyes narrowed. No way, she thought, you're not getting away that easy.

Crossing the room in a blink, she body slammed Batman. She's learned from last time, to keep her hands to herself. She heard his faint Oof at the contacted, but the man stayed on his feet. 'Though he did slide back a few feet.

"Batman right?" She said flatly, she didn't need him to tell her, she knew who he was. But she wasn't going to play nice, not after what just happened. No one could just come into her city and attack her. "I don't like vigilantes in my city. What are you doing here?"

"Joker is here," The Batman replied, seeming willing to share at least this. But what could she trust about a man that hid behind a mask? Focusing her x-ray vision one to see through the black material. Only to find she couldn't, something was blocking it.

"Lead?" She gapped out aloud. Who wore a lead line suit?

"You peaked," Batman seemed almost amused. Faintly. "I thought you might. So I came prepared."

A spike of frustration welled in her, a feeling she wasn't quiet used to. Who was this man? This man, this human. And he was human, she could tell. One hundred percent human that could do all this. Who took out a room of armed thugs, who could throw her across the she was a sack, who wore a lead lined suit. She really wanted to know who was behind that mask.

"Why are you here? Why is the Joker here?" She would settled right now for things that could be answered.

When a gloved hand pulled a familiar glowing green sliver from his belt, she couldn't help the groan that escaped her. The pain that ripped through her as familiar as well. Kryptonite.

"It doesn't take much does it?" Batman commented, watching as she sagged against a nearby table, "The Joker has a lot more of this. Thought you might like to know."

When the pain finally faded Superwoman lifted her head. Batman was gone. Frowning she scanned around herself. His suit might be lead, all she had to do was look for a bat shaped hole in her surroundings. Nothing, he was long gone.

Heavying a sigh she flew up and out of the broken skylight. Heading straight up through the atmosphere. She need a little quiet time, or as quiet time as she could get. Lois was missing, the Joker was in her city, and a masked vigilante was running around looking for him.

Floating high above her home, she focused her hearing. Hoping maybe she's get lucky and hear Lois's voice. But nothing came.

She was about to head home, when something on her floating cape caught her attention. A tiny bat shaped device had been stuck to her cape. A tracker, she realised. Glancing back down to Metropolis, the city where the Batman was. Superwoman crushed the tracker between her fingertips.

"Touché."