Lois uncrossed her legs.

"You want me to do a fluff piece Bruce?"

The voice of her pseudo-cousin came over the prototype Wayne XOver Lite, "Well, it's not exactly a fluff piece?"

She sighed, "You're asking me to do a society piece on the adoption of some random orphan boy into the Gotham Waynes. How is that not a fluff piece?"

"Um…"

Lois raised an eyebrow, confident that Bruce could feel the sceptical disbelief her expression implied, despite having no visual contact. Uncle Thomas had once told her that she must have gotten the gesture from either Martha or Alfred.

"Okay. You know how I ended up in that situation back in March?"

"Oh yes. We're calling your attempted assasination a situation now are we?"

"Look, the guy I'm adopting? Um…"

Lois drumming fingers stilled. "Oh no."

"So…"

"No Bruce. Tell me you didn't."

"You see…"

"Bruce, you decided to adopt your rescuer? Hang on. The guy who dived in front of a bullet for you is a minor?"

"Well, you just told me not to tell you so."

Lois groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose. A gentle hand rested on her shoulder as the scent of hot chocolate wafted up into her nostrils. She turned to Clark and mouthed a thank you as he settled at the desk across from her.

'Your cousin?' He mouthed at her. She grimaced as she nodded at him, before turning her attention back to the phone conversation.

Apparently, he had not stopped rambling. "...and really, the best place for him to be while on the run from a super hush, hush secretive megalomaniacal cult would be in the direct spotlight right? Where everyone and their granduncle Steve can keep an eye on us and him."

"Hang on. Backtrack. Super hush, hush secretive megalomaniacal cult? Bruce - are you talking about..." She searched for a term to use that would sound strange - but not flagworthy. "Our Athenian friends?"

"Athenian?"

"Yeah Athenians, all crazy. Had a bit of an owl obsession because her divine animal was one of those pesky birds."

"Oh! OH! Those Athenian friends! Yeah! They're a doozy. Um. So, will you do it?"

Lois huffed before asking, "Mind if I bring a friend?"

"Um what?"

"Look, if it's going to be a fluff piece, I'm not going to do the fluff piece alone - and besides, he can double as our photographer."

Clark looked at her, eyes wide, mouthing 'no' over and over again. She sent a wry smirk his way before saying "Yeah, the guy I've been telling you about? Clark Kent?"

She hung on for a second, "You know, the guy I call Smallville?"

Clark dropped his face into his palms.

"Okay then. I'll ask the boss for a week, we'll come down."

Lois set the smartphone down and rolled her eyes. Clark peeked out from the cradle of his hands.

"Did you have to drag me into this?"

"What Big Blue can't handle a society piece?" She threw at him with a grin.

Clark leaned back in his chair, "Big Blue isn't the journalist - Clark Kent, unappreciated investigative journalist partner to one, one, Lois Lane is." He looked at her sternly through his glasses, "And he did not expect to be shanghaied into helping out with announcing the appearance of 'Gotham Waynes' New Heir!', boohoo for all hopefuls looking to snag the good doc."

Lois leaned over and playfully grabbed his spectacles off his face, "Remember that piece on Reighart?"

"Mhm?"

"Cousin dearest mentioned that the new heir needs to be high profile because… cult?"

"You're saying this guy was the one who helped you out."

"No, I don't think so? I mean, I don't know. I knew the guy was young - but you can't really tell exactly how young just from the voice. He was about my height - but that doesn't tell me anything. And I mean, we both know how helpful confidence -" She paused, reaching over and gently pushing his shoulders back till Clark couldn't be mistaken for anything but Krypton's last son, "-and posture can be as a mask."

Clark immediately sprawled back into his comfortable, compacting slouch. All resemblance hidden as coincidence as he plucked the glasses from Lois's hand and settled them back on his face.

"Point."

Lois nestled into her chair as she took a long drink of the hot chocolate. "Still," she mused, "what are the odds our new Wayne heir is the guy I ran into?"

"Honestly?" Clark shrugged, "Pretty darn low - I don't really see the point of pushing to figure out the identity of our mystery Good Samaritan. Besides - didn't you tell me he told you it's probably not the time?"

"True."

"Also, Lois. How much evidence do you actually have about our feathery folk?"

She glared at Clark, "I know, I know. You don't need to tell me 'how to journalist good' Smallville." She let a pen sail across the room. Clark didn't even bother to snatch it out of the air, pretending to wince as it hit his sternum lightly. Lois recrossed her legs, idly kicking off her pumps. She raised a finger.

"We know they believe they control Gotham - and a variety of other cities on a global scale."

A second finger raised, "We know Reighart was one of them and was on the Gotham Political circuit helping to embezzle funds." She raised a third finger, "We know Talons are real."

"You never actually told me what a Talon is."

Lois hummed thoughtfully to herself, "Well, as far as Harvey told me - Talons are the assassins that operate for our Athenian friends. He told me that according to the legend, they're a relentless force that cannot be killed. That they always get their target and that they're impossible to detect. They're... " She trailed off.

"What?"

"No, it's just something our Good Samaritan asked us. 'What happens if a would-be Talon slips their hold'?"

"So there's a loose cannon running about Gotham?"

"No, it's the 'would-be' part that got me."

Clark's eyes widened, "Would-be implies a process."

"Human experimentation."

Lois and Clark stared at each other for a bit, before finally Clark attempted to break the tension with a joke. "Think dearest Lexy lifted some techniques from them?"

"That sure would be convenient, wouldn't it?" She leaned forward, "But not quite his style - he wants to rule supremely. They have a parliament. Weirdly democratic for a megalomanical force."

"More oligarchic really than democratic from what little you've told me."

Lois rolled her eyes at the comment as she stood and walked over to Clark's side of the desk. Gathering up his empty mug she flicked the used teabag into his rubbish bin and transferred it into the hand holding her own finished drink.

"Well, I hope your photography skills aren't too rusty." She called out as she walked over to the pantry. "Because Perry owes me for the last fluff piece I did. Come to think of it…" She smirked as she paused at the threshold of the pantry, "Didn't you drag me into that silly dog show?"

Clark chuckled helplessly to himself - he knew, powers or not, that little mistake had just come back to bite him on his arse.