Chloe held her hands out of the window of the rental car and sang along to the radio as Clark sat in the driver's seat laughing. They had just left the airport and were on their way to Gotham City. When the song finished Chloe looked over at Clark and have him a hug.

"I've missed this so much. It's like we're going back to high school and investigating meteor freaks all over again. Well except this time it's Gotham and we're investigating a crazy psycho path who looks like a clown. Come to think of it, this guy actually scares the crap out of me. Did I tell you about the videos he released to the public a couple of years ago when he was terrorizing the city? I'm getting the creeps just thinking about it."

"Don't worry Chloe, everything will be alright. We'll make a few stops here and there and get some more information and then be back in Metropolis tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow morning? I thought we'd be back tonight."

"I have something I need to do tonight."

"In Gotham? Do you mean the Blur has something to do tonight?"

Clark glanced at Chloe, "I have a meeting with somebody."

"And this somebody doesn't happen to dress as a bat, does he?"

"Look, I've arranged for someone else to fill in for me tonight while I'm away."

"Who?"

"It's a surprise. Besides, right now you need to focus on the story and our first byline together."

Chloe sat up and leaned against the back of the seat, crossing her arms.

"You know you and Lois both do that exact same thing." Clark pointed out. "It's weird."

"Notice the common denominator there…you." Chloe said while staring straight ahead.

"Neither of you can stand not knowing what is going on, can you?"

Chloe didn't say anything but a smile slowly formed on her face as the city of Gotham emerged from the fog.

Once in Gotham, they made their first stop at the Gotham City police department. Commissioner Gordon came out to greet them.

"Mr. Ken and Ms. Sullivan, please follow me."

They did so and followed him into his office.

"So I'm guessing you're here because of the Joker. What do you want to know?"

"Right to the point then," Clark shrugged as he took a seat.

Chloe took the lead, "What kind of threat is the Joker now that he's out of prison?"

"That's tough to say to be honest. The Joker is completely unpredictable. He has no system or set of principles that he follows. There is no method to his madness. And that is what makes it so difficult to guess his next move."

"Have you come close to finding him yet?" asked Clark.

"We thought we had him cornered a few nights ago, only for it to turn out to be a common criminal with white makeup on his face."

"A copycat then? Has anyone else joined the investigation?" Chloe inquired.

"What do you mean? It's our investigation and ours alone," Gordon replied.

Chloe stared him down, "I find that hard to believe. What about the last time the Joker was caught? Have you gotten any assistance from him."

"I don't know who you're talking about Ms. Sullivan," Gordon replied with a slight smile.

"You know darn well who I'm talking about. Has he gotten involved?"

Jim tapped a pen against his desk and looked past Clark and Chloe through the windows of his office. The Batman has gone M.I.A. it seems. There have been no sightings of him whatsoever for almost two months now. But the crime rate have decreased rapidly over the past three years so maybe he decided his job was done. Besides, he's wanted for murder, haven't you heard?"

"Well you seem to really be busting your butt to catch him sir," Clark spoke this time with a hint of sarcasm.

"The hours I put in just trying to find him, you'd be surprised Mr. Kent."

"Do you think he'll come back if the Joker does something?" questioned Chloe.

Gordon looked at both of them and looked out his window at the rest of the department again, "This stays between us and off the record."

Chloe shook her head as Clark looked back at the rest of the officers who busy with daily work.

"We don't stand a chance without him. The city needs him more than it knows. But, there is someone else that is trying to help with the crime that remains. Goes by the name Robin."

"Robin? Well that's…quite a normal name." Chloe remarked.

At this time there was a knock on the door as a woman opened it, "Sir, we've got that task force meeting in just a few minutes."

"Thanks, Cindy, I'll be right there." Gordon replied before bidding Clark and Chloe farewell.

As they walked down the stairs and entered the main lobby on the first floor of the building, Clark bumped into a red headed woman causing her to drop the stack of papers in her hand.

"Oh sorry miss, I didn't see you there," Clark dropped to floor immediately and began gathering the papers up.

"It's alright, it's alright. Someone as tall as you probably can't see little oh me," the woman knelt down as Clark handed her her things.

"Really though, I apologize. I can be kind of klutz sometimes."

"Yeah I know what you mean," the attractive woman said as she and Clark stood up. Her eyes stopped as soon as she saw his face. "Well," her cheeks suddenly blushed red, "I'd never take someone like you for a klutz."

Clark looked at her with a puzzled face.

Chloe meanwhile, had a hand on her forehead and chuckled to herself.

"Err, okay. I guess it's just being in a new town, new environment kind of thing." Clark said with a shrug.

"Oh really? Where are you from?" The woman asked.

"Metropolis. The Daily Planet actually," Chloe said as she stepped forward and presented her hand. "Chloe Sullivan."

"And I'm Clark Kent."

The woman embraced both Chloe and Clark's hand, "Vicki Vale, Gotham Gazette. It's nice to meet the both of you. I assume you're here about the Joker?"

"Among other things," Chloe responded.

"Right. I've written more stories about the Batman than you can even imagine. Trust me, you'll never find this guy."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Clark said as he glanced over at Chloe who was trying her hardest to conceal her smile.

Lois wandered around downtown Star City observing the new area. For the first time in weeks she was on a story by herself. What she once found as an adventure for one now felt like but loneliness. But the reporter in her pushed those feelings aside. Clark had her asked numerous times the night before about her plan but she would simply silence him with a kiss. The truth was she didn't have a mapped out plan. Instead, she was going to do what she did best, play it by ear.

As she walked down the street, she noticed a Denny's diner and decided to stop in and grab a quick bite to eat. She sat down at a table and began scanning through the menu before she finally decided on pancakes and scrambled eggs. While she waited, she sent both Clark and Chloe text messages asking how things were going in Gotham. She also sent the General a text but she didn't expect to hear back any time soon as he was currently overseas.

She switched to the diner's wifi and began surfing various news websites to catch up on anything she had missed. She found an article focused on the Hood. In the article, it told of how the Hood had just brought down a corrupt judge who had made numerous back door deals with some of the most dangerous and powerful criminals in Star City. The story brought a smirk to her face as she loved seeing the corrupt brought to justice.

Just as she turned the page, she caught a few words of the conversation that was taking place in the booth behind her.

"I still don't know what we're going to do about this Robin Hood guy."

"I tell you what we're going to do, I'm going to catch him and bring him to justice."

"Look Larry, I want to catch this guy just as badly as you do. But I can't lie, the guy gets results. I can't say the idea of recruiting him to force hasn't crossed my mind."

"He breaks the law to get results. I don't care who you are, it's not going to fly on my watch."

"I agree to a certain extent but as you know, I've lost faith in the system a long time ago. Why do you think I've put my papers in so soon?"

"I know John, and I understand. Have you figured out what you want to do next?"

"Well I still have month but I've been thinking about private security. With the amount of rich folks in this town, someone's bound to hire me."

"Well you certainly have the credentials. What, with military experience and the police, I doubt there's anybody else in this area with that kind of resume."

"Yeah, I hope so. But I need to get going if I'm going to make it to the courthouse on time."

The man got up and left, leaving the other man sitting alone in the booth. Lois turned her head and noticed the empty seat. She decided to take advantage of the moment and moved into the other side across from the man.

"Lois Lane, Daily Planet. How are you doing today?"

"I'm not talking to any reporters right now. If you want, you can set up an appointment."

"Come on detective, we both know that appointment would never actually happen. You would reschedule and do it over and over, hoping I would finally give up. So how about you save yourself the trouble and get it over with now because unlike other reporters who have fallen for that, I never give up. So unless you want constant phone calls every single day for the foreseeable future, you'll sit here and have a conversation with me."

The man looked at her and started to laugh. "You were raised on a military base, were you not?"

"You are correct."

"I thought so. Okay you've got me, what would you like to talk about?"

"The Hood. I've got an article to write and it would be great to get a few quotes from you. I don't need anything risky, just some basic filler. Just kind of describe the nature of this so called vigilante."

"Well to begin, he's the closest thing I've ever seen to the guy in Gotham. He doesn't play by the rules. He doesn't answer to anyone."

"Would you say he's trying to help?"

"That may be his intention, I don't really know, but I've always believed that someone who answers to no one and has that much power, can't be trusted. Now, if he were to come forward and reveal himself, it might be a different story."

"Some might argue that doing that would endanger those closest to him and that's the reason behind the Hood."

"I don't really buy that. It's got to be one way or the other in my opinion."

Just then the man's radio went off, calling for back up, down at the harbor.

"Excuse Ms. Lane but I really need to go."

"Don't worry detective, I would never hold an officer of the law up when duty calls. Being a general's daughter, you tend to learn things like that at young age."

"General's daughter huh? You're not Sam Lane's daughter are you?"

"I most certainly am, how do you know him?"

"I just happened to come across a case that he's pursuing on one of our city's most popular citizens, Malcolm Merlyn."

"Hmm, I'll have to call him later and find out what's going on. Thanks detective. You wouldn't mind at least giving me your last name, for the article."

"Of course not. It's Lance, Detective Lance."

Later that evening, Clark and Chloe returned to their hotel room. Clark had just hopped out of the shower and told Chloe to put on the dress he made her bring. He looked out of the hotel room window and smiled.

"Clark, what is going on?"

"I told you that I had something special for you tonight."

"But you didn't say what it was."

"Look Chloe, you've been working non-stop the past couple of weeks. You haven't been your normal self for a long time. So I've taken the liberty to bring your old self back."

"And how exactly are you going to do that?"

Just then there was a knock on the door. Chloe walked over, giving Clark a look and opened the door to find Jimmy standing there with a bouquet of flowers.

"Jimmy! I can't believe it! How were you able to get away from your assignment in the arctic?"

"CK over here pulled a few strings with the help of Lois and arranged to the whole thing."

Chloe turned and looked at Clark who was smiling. She ran over and hugged him and then faced Jimmy again.

"So where are we going?"

"CK got us a table at the new place just down the street. Then I figure we could go dancing somewhere or whatever you'd like."

"Dancing sounds great. Let's go, I'm starving." She said as she grabbed her things and pushed Jimmy out the door before turning around and mouthing a 'thank you' to Clark.

When the two had left, Clark did a quick change into his Blur outfit which now consisted of darker jeans, a light blue shirt and a dark red jack with his family's crest on the chest. He zipped the jacket up and opened the window and took off into the cool Gotham City air. He found Gotham a very unique city at night time. It was different than Metropolis, in a more mysterious way. As he flew he picked up the sounds of sirens and decided that it wouldn't hurt if he swung by and checked on things.

A squad of eight police cars flew down the street in pursuit of a motorcycle that was weaving in and out of traffic. The motor cycle made a hard right turn and sped down an alley way. The driver ditched the bike and scaled the fire exit of the building. Now on the roof, the driver removed its helmet revealing the long black hair that Clark instantly recognized as Selina Kyle. She reached down and pulled out a set of diamond earrings and smiled.

"Another day, another dollar," she laughed to herself.

"I'm sorry to inform you that today is not one of those days." A young voice said from the shadows before emerging.

Selina laughed, "Exactly what do you think you're doing? I'd admire you're effort with the costume and all but you can't replace him. I mean I thought the name Batman was ridiculous until I actually saw him and what he can do. But you?"

"What about me?"

"Robin? You're just a boy, a boy who thinks way too much of himself. And those colors? Red, yellow, and green? Honey you need help there."

"You can make fun all you want but you're not escaping. You might be called the cat burglar and all but I've yet to allow anyone to get away. You will be no exception."

"You have a lot to learn. It actually saddens me to do this, but I don't have time to stand here and chat with any longer."

She suddenly made a quick move and swept his legs out from under him and took off across the roof and then jumped across the alley way to the adjacent building. Robin quickly got up and followed on foot. He was gaining ground on her and got close enough to throw a specialized batarang that was tied to a rope. The batarang wrapped around Selina's leg causing her to trip and tumble towards to the edge of the building. Robin tightened his grip on the rope but as she went off the edge, the weight was too great for the rope and it snapped, leaving Selina in a free fall.

Robin screamed as he just realized what had happened, thinking he had killed her. He fell to his knees and covered his face. Suddenly he heard a cry and peaked through his fingers to see Selina sailing back up through the air and landing hard on the roof in front of him. What he saw next changed his life forever as Clark slowly rose up above the building.

"Whoa," Robin whispered.

Clark floated down and landed in front of Robin and offered his hand. Robin took it and stood up, his head cocked straight up looking at Clark's tall figure.

"Who-who are you?" Robin gasped.

Clark smiled down at him.

"He's exactly what we need," Batman grunted as he walked out of the shadows.

" Well Batman, this isn't exactly where I pictured our first meeting," Clark admitted.

"Things change. I see you've met Robin."

"I have, he was just about to test whether this one actually had nine lives or not." Clark motioned at Selina who lay still on the roof unconscious.

"Are you him, the Blur?" Robin asked in complete awe.

"I am."

"Wow. I can't believe I'm meeting you right now. This is so awesome."

"Tell me Robin, how old are you?"

"Fourteen, I'll be fifteen next month."

"For fourteen you're doing a great job helping this city, I'm sure Batman here is proud."

"He's coming along," Batman said and gave Robin a pat on the shoulder.

Clark chuckled, "Okay you've got me here. Let's discuss the reason for my appearance, the Joker."

"The Joker is about to strike again, only this time Gotham is not a target."

"Really? Then where is he planning?"

"From what I've found, it looks like he has two different cities in mind. I've noticed several different large shipments of explosives from Lex Corp arriving in Chicago and Washington D.C. By using satellite images, I've narrowed down his most likely targets. I just don't know when he'll put his plan in motion."

"Well I'm not surprised to hear his name mentioned with Lex Corp. So what's the plan?"

"I was hoping that you could maybe do a little surveillance while I continue to figure out his time table."

"Where should I go first?"

"Washington D.C. That would be his first choice."

Lois called for a taxi and requested to be taken down the pier. When she arrived, she pulled out her phone and replayed to recording she took of the conversation between herself and Detective Lance. She picked up the location of the docks that called over the police radio and headed for the address hoping to find any evidence that the Hood might have been there. She passed several different buildings until she saw a group of men enter one of the buildings, all heavily armed. She checked her phone again to see a text message from Clark, updating her on his mission. On my own mission, good luck. She replied. She then sent Chloe a message letting her know she was on to something down at the docks. She then entered the same warehouse as the other men. When she entered, she found a ladder that lead to an overhang that sat above a large room. After climbing she ducked down behind a stack of boxes. She then watched as a group of men and women sat around a table engaged in a heated discussion.

At one end of the table sat a woman who Lois recognized immediately, China White. She quickly searched the faces of the others but didn't recognize any of them. As the arguments intensified, the man at the other end of the table finally stood up and silenced everyone. Lois finally realized who he was, local millionaire Malcolm Merlyn.

"That's enough. While the rest of you have done nothing but argue for the past few weeks, I've been working behind the scenes and recruited someone to fulfill our needs."

The group looked around at each other, all shrugging their shoulders.

"Who?" China White inquired.

There was giggle from the corner of the room as a man slowly entered. He wore a purple suit with green trim. Lois' eyes followed up his body before landing on his face. She covered her mouth as she gasped at the white makeup and red paint on the man's face along with the greenish hair.

"Well….look…at…this. I'm honored that you've all come together to welcome my presence. This city…it's different than I'm used to. I like it, much more freedom to work with. And thanks to Merlyn here, I get to come and play."

"What exactly is going on Merlyn?" one of the men spoke.

Malcolm smiled, "I've gathered you all here to announce a partnership between myself and the Joker. As you know, I've worked endlessly the past five years on our plan. And I've finally found the solution."

He pointed at the Joker, who proceeded to explain things.

"What we're about to do…is going to change how this country views itself. You see…it is my belief…that everyone can be corrupted. I've seen it happen first hand. So think about this for a moment...What happens when a country experiences a major disaster? Whether it be natural cause or intentional... At first there is initial chaos. And I really like chaos. But after a certain time passes, that chaos winds down and the rebuilding begins. Now ask yourself this…What would happen if that chaos didn't wind down?"

Once again, everyone looked around at each other with blank faces.

"The answer…is…anarchy!" he exclaimed and let out shrilling laugh. "We will set forth a series of events that will place the very values of this country at odds between its people and its government."

Everyone in the room sat quietly, trying to comprehend what they were just told.

"That will be enough for now. We will meet again at our normal time and discuss the specifics of the plan." Merlyn announced.

The meeting ended and most of the group left, including Merlyn and the Joker. Lois finally stood up and looked around to make sure no one was looking in her direction. She slowly climbed down the old rusted ladder, careful not to make a sound. When she reached the ground, she crept around a pillar and stood with her back against it. She peaked around the corner and saw three members of the group standing by the exit. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She then decided to go out a different way. After spending the next few minutes waiting, she finally snuck to the far side of the building and opened a door that led down a long hallway. She quickly made her way to the end and just when she was about to reach the doors that led outside, she heard a giggle come from behind her.

"Hello there beautiful. And you are beautiful."

Lois slowly turned around and faced the Joker who was only ten feet or so away. He smiled and pushed his long green hair back. He took a few steps forward and released a haunting laugh.

"Now what is someone like you doing in a place like this?"

Lois took a step back but didn't show any fear.

"So you're the Joker? What are you doing here in Star City?"

"I'm on a…vacation." He laughed again.

Just then a boy in a red hoody crashed through the window and tackled the Joker. The boy stood up and ran over to Lois.

"Are you okay Miss?"

"Yeah I'm fine, who the hell are you?"

"It doesn't matter mam, I'm going to get you out of here."

When he turned around, the Joker was standing there waiting for him.

"Look out!" Lois shouted but it was too late as the Joker swung, sending the boy into the wall.

This sent Lois in a rage as she sprang forward, striking blow after blow on the Joker. She sent him to ground twice but each time, he got up laughing hysterically.

"Look at you go. You are an angry young woman. You've had some training too I see. I admit I didn't expect that."

"Well you should expect it coming from a general's daughter." Lois said with pride and readied herself to attack again.

"You see, I can usually tell when someone can be corrupted but you appear to be incorruptible."

"You can count on that."

His facial expression quickly changed from a smile to frown.

He took a step forward, "You want to know how I got these scars?"

"I don't give a rat's ass how you got any of your unique features," Lois spit at his feet.

"Why…so…serious?" the Joker gritted through his teeth.

Lois moved forward to attack again but the Joker quickly shifted to the side and landed a blow to her stomach and then another to the back of her head, sending her to the ground. The Joker stood over her and pulled out a knife as he began to laugh again.

"It's a shame to waist such spirit on a good moral compass. But that's why I'm here," he said to himself. "To corrupt the corruptible and get rid of the incorruptible." He place the knife her lips, "Now…let's put a smile on that face."

Just then an arrow shot through the window and hit the wall beside the Joker's face. He looked at it and started laughing again.

"Oh I've heard things about this guy," he said to Lois. "This should be fun."

Lois looked up at the arrow as it had begun flashing red. The Joker followed her gaze and looked at the arrow again, noticing the flash. Lois turned her body away just as the arrow exploded, sending the Joker across the hallway.

As the smoke cleared, the Joker slowly moved around on the floor as he laughed to himself. A hooded figure swung through the window and landed in a crouch beside a motionless Lois. He reached down and checked her pulse which was normal. He did the same to the boy who was still knocked out before turning his attention on the man crawling around on the floor.

"Well that was a blast!" the Joker laughed.

"There's a lot more where that came from too."

"Oh I'm sure there is."

"What are you doing in my city?"

"You're city? Who says it's your city?"

"I do!" the Hood quickly pulled an arrow out of his quiver and aimed it at the Joker.

"Attata, I wouldn't do that if I were you," the Joker said as pulled his jacket open and revealed numerous bombs rigged to his chest. "Now if you want to see a real blast, all I have to do is push this button right here."

The Hood stared him down as his grip tightened on the string of his bow. He looked from the explosives to the two motionless people who were still lying in the floor. He gritted his teeth and slowly lowered his bow.

"That a boy. Now, I'm just going to move right along if you don't mind. I have things to plan, people to kill, you know."

"If you even attempt to do anything to this city, I'll put an arrow through your eye."

"Oh don't worry Mr. Arrow, your city is safe for now. The rest of the country however, not so much."

And with that, the Joker disappeared through the exit doors. The Hood knelt down beside Lois again, removing his hood and pulling out a phone.

"Hey Clark it's Oliver, I've got Lois…don't worry she's safe now."