AN: Here it is, chapter 4. I hope you all are liking the story so far!
A blinding flash suddenly filled the room. "Bahh mmrahhh..." is the noise Bruce made.
"Get up Master Bruce or you'll be late for your Daily Planet interview." Alfred said as he opened the drapes and pulled the covers off of Bruce. "How late did you stay up studying that bullet sir?"
"Till an hour ago..." Bruce groaned looking at a clock.
"Find anything interesting?" This question woke Bruce up with a start. Alfred smiled. The man always had energy when he was excited about something.
"Yes Alfred. I had it three dimensionally scanned into the computer, which I then ran a simulation of the bullets path from the gun to what could have caused it's impact. The computer said that the bullet most likely hit a steel plate."
"Well maybe the poor bloke had a steel plate in his head."
"Or maybe that guy is built like a steel plate. When is my interview anyways?"
"Ten minutes sir. In fact the ladies are waiting downstairs as we speak."
"Ladies?"
"Oh yes Master Bruce and I do say in my younger days I would have tried to charm them myself." Bruce bolted out of bed and into the shower.
Chloe couldn't stop talking about the Wayne manor. "Lois did you see that front! Wow! Look at this foyer! Can you believe the size of that fireplace! This place makes Lex's Smallville mansion seem like a dollhouse." Lois had to agree with her talkative cousin. This place was fantastic. "And its all brand new but it doesn't look that way! Bruce burned it down three months ago!" Chloe continued.
"Or thats what the popular story has been saying." A deep voice came from a balcony above them, then footsteps on a stairway. Bruce Wayne entered the room. Both Lois and Chloe were thinking the same thing 'hot!' "Follow me ladies to my study and we can sit down and I'll answer all your questions."
Clark had gotten up early to do some investigating. He wanted to find out who the major crime bosses in Gotham were and how he could tamper with their operations. It didn't take him too long to come across the name Rupert Thorne and that his headquarters was a restaurant in the worst part of the city called the narrows. The people that Clark could get to talk to him filled him in on the rest of the city. The center point of the city was the Wayne tower. Headquarters of Wayne enterprises and central hub of a elevated train system that connected the whole city. Bruce Wayne was the most respected and wealthiest citizen of Gotham though by all reports he was very eccentric. Something most people passed off as a result of him witnessing his parents murder at a young age. He had only been back in Gotham about three months, his arrival coinciding with the terrorist attack. 'Maybe I'll try to meet Mr. Wayne.' Clark decided his best move was to wait for a criminal to try something and then he'd step in and find out some more information. He flew to the top of a skyscraper near the downtown part of the city and put his trusty black winter mask on and waited for something to happen.
Chloe had done most of the talking and flirting with Bruce Wayne for the interview, while Lois took the notes down. Bruce had a thing for adventure, cave diving, base jumping. He had spent the last several years in different countries abroad "seeing the world" as he put it. Only once did he not answer a question. When Chloe asked him about his parent's death he cleared his throat and said "I'd rather not talk about that." The last major thing he wanted to clear up was "I didn't burn down my house. I had a bad night, made everybody leave the party and then I went out to a bar. It was an arson." When the interview was over Bruce stood and shook their hands. "I would really like to show you two around Gotham later this week. Maybe tomorrow after my meeting with Lex Luthor."
"Ok Bruce that would be really cool!" Chloe practically shouted. Lois smiled he agreement. Suddenly Alfred burst into the room.
"Master Bruce, Ms. Land and Ms. Sullivan. I thought you'd like to see this." He turned on a tv. The image of a bank downtown came onto the screen, a blonde reporter was standing with a microphone.
"...dozens of hostages as the armed robbers have quickly been cornered by the police, turning this from a simple bank robbery into a hostage situation. Detective Gordon may I have a word please." The woman approached a gray haired man with glasses.
"Please maam. We're doing everything in our power to get those people out alive." Gordon walked away.
"There you have it. Confirmation of hero Jim Gordon that the police have the situation under control." As soon as she said this several gunshots were heard from inside the bank, flashes from the guns lit up the window. Suddenly several of the robbers came crashing through the glass onto the street right in front of the police. A few more shots rang out and then there was silence. The front doors opened as dozens of hostages came running out.
"What the hell just happened?" Bruce asked.
"Maybe that Batman was there." Lois thought out loud. Bruce looked at Alfred and then mimed a gun shooting somebody in the head with no effect. Alfred shrugged.
"Well Bruce I think we should go. We'll probably be able to get a good story for the Planet out of this."
"Call me Bruce!" Chloe said as she left the room. Bruce smiled at the two women as they left the room and then fixed his gaze back on the TV where one of the hostages was frantically explaining what she had just seen.
"...and then this door just flew across the room, landing on one of the robbers and this guy in a black mask walked in. All the robbers started shooting him but the bullets just fell away and that's when he started throwing them through the window."
"Alfred..."
"Yes Master Bruce."
"Cancel my afternoon appointments. I have to find this guy."
The thug dangled by his leg from the top of a skyscaper.
"Who were you robbing that bank for scumbag?"
"I ain't no snitch."
"Oh you ain't huh?" Clark leg go of his leg and then caught him again by the foot. The man screamed.
"No! No! Don't drop me man! We were supposed to hit the bank for Thorne. Rupert Thorne alright."
"Thanks, thats all I need to know. Come on. You ever been to Gotham PD?" Clark picked the thug up and flew to the police department building, dropping the guy on the pavement in front. He flew up and landed on the roof. Clark smiled, his first good deed in Gotham done. He pulled the black mask off and sat down on a ventilator trying to figure out his next move. If he wanted to take down this Thorne guy he'd have to get the man himself caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Clark's super hearing picked up the sounds of footsteps and breathing. He reached behind him and flipped the man who was sneaking up on him over his shoulder, throwing him down hard. Clark took a step back to see it was the Batman. Batman jumped to his feet and immediately drop kicked Clark. It knocked Clark down but it didn't really hurt him. Clark got back up and charged the bat, hitting him hard in the chest and sending him flying backwards into the rooftop entrance. Batman slumped to the ground in defeat. Clark walked up to him.
"Why were you sneaking up on me!"
"Calm down. I'm not trying to hurt you."
"Could have fooled me!" Batman coughed a few times.
"You hit me like you had a hydraulic jackhammer for an arm."
"I saw you on the news today. I just want to know who you are." Clark considered this. The man obviously knew about some of his abilities now and he was also a very skilled fighter. From what Clark had heard Batman was a hero, like him. Clark decided to take a risk and be honest with him.
"My name is Clark Kent."
"Nice to meet you Clark, They call me Batman."
"I've heard. I came to Gotham to get rid of a mob boss named Rupert Thorne."
"What do you have against that guy."
"Nothing. I've spent the last six years traveling the world, putting things right. This is a pit stop before I go home."
"Ok Clark. I believe you. This is my city and if you want to help me it would be more than appreciated. But tell me this. What are you? You're bulletproof, last night you just disappeared into thin air and now I see that you're incredibly strong."
"Well I guess telling this to a guy in a bat suit won't sound crazy." Clark walked over and sat down next to Batman. "I'm not from around here. I'm an alien."
"An alien" Clark could tell he was not expecting that.
"Yeah, I'm from a planet called Krypton. It doesn't exist anymore. I'm the last of my people sent here by my parents to live and to help the people of this planet."
"How long have you been on earth?"
"My whole life. I was found by a farmer and his wife in a town called Smallville."
"I've heard of it. Center for two meteor showers and epicenter of a whole lot of news of the weird stuff."
"Well most of that news is true. I left Smallville six years ago and I've been fighting injustice ever since. Its just that I think its time to come home. I've been running for too long."
"Running. What were you running from Clark?"
"My father died. I couldn't save him and it was my fault. He made a deal with somebody to help me and that deal ended with his death."
"Well I know what you mean to lose your parents Clark. Batman is a result of my same desire to fight injustice. I came back from abroad just like you to save Gotham."
"So who are you really Batman?" Now it was Bruce's turn to be honest. Besides Alfred only one other person knew who Batman really was and she wasn't telling.
"Well you're an alien, I'm Bruce Wayne." This caught Clark off guard just like him being an alien caught Bruce off guard.
"So you don't have any super powers?"
"Besides a really deep pocketbook no. I was trained in China by a group called the league of shadows who fight injustice like us but will go to any lengths to do it. They were behind the terrorist attacks on Gotham. All my skills rely on my wits and martial prowess to keep me alive. The technology I have access to helps."
"I'm sorry I punched you Bruce." Clark offered his hand. "Friends?" Bruce smiled and shook his hand.
"Deal... So tell me this. I'm a trained ninja. Nobody should have heard me sneaking up on them. How did you?"
"Super-hearing"
"Right... Clark I think I may have a use for you."
Chloe had just finished getting a statement from one of the hostages. "Talk about your wall of weird stuff."
"What they have to say cuz?"
"Some guy kicked a steel door off its hinges, absorbed about twenty rounds and then threw the robbers fifty feet across the lobby through the windows."
"Are you sure we're still in Gotham and not Smallville?" Lois joked. "C'mon Chlo' lets go get some coffee."
"I haven't heard a better idea out of you all day Lois." Chloe said. As Lois flagged down a cab Chloe took another looked at her notepad. 'Bulletproof, super strong... Lois said she thought she saw Clark last night... but what are you doing in Gotham Clark?'
