An: Thank you to all for the reviews. Here goes the next chapter! Hope you like it.
Riotous laughter filled the backseat of Bruce Wayne's car. Alfred looked in the rearview mirror and smirked. It was not often he saw Bruce in a good mood like he was.
"So then the guy turns as white as a sheet and I say 'It's okay. Lots of guys come back from the dead.'"
"Oh man! I can't believe he didn't know who you were!" Chloe giggled. After the meeting with Lex, Bruce decided that he'd very much like to spend the day with Chloe and Lois so he called Chloe's phone and picked her up. Chloe pulled out her phone and held it up to her ear. Her smiled faded.
"Still no answer?"
"No not one. It isn't like Lois to not call me back."
"You said she was going to check out the bank that got robbed right?"
"Yeah she left last night and told me not to wait up so I didn't but she wasn't back this morning and she hasn't been answering her cell phone." Suddenly Bruce's phone beeped. He pulled it out and looked at it. Clark had pressed the button, he had important information. "Bad news Bruce?" Chloe saw the expression on his face.
"Only that I'm afraid I can't show your around anymore today. Duty calls." Chloe looked bugged for a moment and then her smile came back.
"Don't worry about it Bruce. You're not the first man in my life who suddenly had to go save the day."
"I'm very sorry that the day is ruined. I'll get in touch with some of my sources to see if I find anything out about Lois." Alfred pulled over in front of the hotel.
"Thanks Bruce. Maybe we could do this again sometime."
"I think I'd like that Chloe." She smiled brightly and got out of the car.
"Charming girl wouldn't you say Master Bruce. Bruce smirked at Alfred.
"Clark is on the roof of the police headquarters. Take me nearby Alfred please."
"Yes Master Bruce. I hope our gifted new friend has found out something useful. That dreadful Mr. Thorne had my favorite produce market held up yesterday."
Clark paced back and forth. Anger and frustration flowing through him. He couldn't understand why Lois would have been kidnapped by Rupert Thorne. Of course he also couldn't understand how his one-time best friend Lex Luthor had become something vaguely familiar to what his father was. Clark heard a gust of wind and soft footsteps. He turned around and faced Bruce.
"Hey Bruce."
"I'm never going to be able to get the drop on you am I?"
"Not unless you know my weakness." joked Clark.
"Whats the new Clark?"
"Not good Bruce. Thorne met with Lex Luthor earlier today."
"Luthor? I knew he was corrupt but meeting with Mob bosses?"
"I get the feeling Lex may be one himself."
"Hmmm.. That would explain the crime problem in Metropolis."
"I guess so. I think I've been away too long."
"What did they discuss?"
"It seems like you've pissed the right people off Bruce. Thorne asked for Lex's help in protecting him tomorrow during an arms deal thats going down at the Gotham piers."
"Protection from what?"
"You Bruce."
"Oh..."
"Theres more. Thorne seemed to suggest that Lex has men that are capable of defending themselves from you better than most hired thugs. He's sending four of them to Gotham right now. He said that two of them would raise hell in the city to distract you."
"That doesn't sound good. Damn Luthor. Nobody raises hell in my city."
"They also mentioned a kidnapping. A reporter for the Daily Planet named Lois Lane." Clark said with some emotion in his voice. Bruce did not miss the anger he heard when Clark spoke.
"Lois? I just spent some time with her cousin Chloe." Bruce saw a flash of recognition cross Clark's face. "She mentioned that Lois didn't come home last night and wasn't answering her cell."
"What are they doing in Gotham Bruce?"
"Interviewing me for their paper. I think for once I'm gonna get good press and not be portrayed as some crazy rich bachelor."
"Well you do dress up as a bat."
"Yeah but I didn't tell them that part. Do you know them Clark?"
"Yeah..." Clark paused. "Chloe and I were best friends a long time ago and Lois and I were... I'm not really sure what we would have been if I had stayed." Bruce understood where Clark's anger was coming from now.
"Don't worry Clark. We won't let anything happen to her. We have one advantage on these guys now."
"What's that Bruce?"
"You. We'll have to split up when they start their attack. You can stop the two men rampaging through the city and I'll stop the arms deal and capture Thorne."
"Divide and conquer. I just hope it works out for us Bruce."
"Me too Clark. I'm going to go and scout out the pier. Clark. Be careful. When these guys start attacking there's no telling what they're capable of. Luthor has been implicated in some pretty dangerous experiments."
"The same to you Bruce. I'll see you when this is all over." The two men shook hands and Bruce lept off the roof. Clark smiled. 'No abilities and he still learned to fly.'
"Mr. Luthor we've arrived."
"Excellent. Do what you're paid to do."
"Mr. Luthor the serum is still in its experimental stages are you sure we'll be okay."
"Of course you will be. Don't worry about it. Tell you what I'll pay all for of you a bonus million after you complete your assignment."
"Yes sir." Lex smiled. The super-strength serum made from the meteor rocks worked incredibly well. It was easy to convince hired goons to use it. What he never told them was that after it had run its course the user died painfully as the meteor rocks caused their bodies to meltdown.
Lois awoke in a dark windowless warehouse. She was surrounded by a hubbub of noise and activity. Tons of seedy looking men were moving boxes around, examining weapons and chatting loudly. "Glad you could join us Ms. Lane." A fat gray haired man smiled at her as he approached. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Rupert Thorne. You may have heard of me."
"Oh I've heard of you. The papers never really report how fat you are though. Don't worry, my next article will accurately portray you." The smile disappeared from his face.
"Ms. Lane. There's no need to be rude."
"No need? Your buddies in that alley bashed my head into a wall and then tied me up in some warehouse."
"Well Ms. Lane you were a witness to a murder directly related to this deal. This deal is going to make me richer than I ever imagined and will solidfy my power over the gangs in this city. I didn't need some snot nosed reporter messing things up for me. I'm so SICK of do-gooders interfering with my business."
"Well let me go and I won't." Thorne laughed a deep belly laugh at her.
"No Ms. Lane I think I'll keep you around long enough to watch me get rich and then I'll kill you." He looked two thugs nearby. "Take Ms. Lane to her new quarters. See you real soon Lois." He smirked. The two men picked her up out of the chair she was sitting in a carried her to a cargo container. As they slammed the door on her she saw the far door of the warehouse open and four men enter.
"Mr. Thorne we are here to do what you wish."
"Ahh you must be Lex's men. I hope you're worth every penny."
"You'll find that we are sir."
"Excellent. Follow me and we'll talk business."
"Hello!" Chloe grabbed her phone.
"Chloe"
"Bruce!" Chloe sounded delighted as she said it.
"Hi. I have some news about Lois."
"Uh oh. Lay it one me."
"She's been kidnapped by a man named Rupert Thorne." Immense worry descended on Chloe.
"Do they have any idea where she's being held?"
"No but a contact told me of a big deal going down soon at one of the Gotham pier's. Chloe I'm a friend of Batman's and I've already told him about it. I'm sure the police will be there too."
"I don't like the sound of this Bruce."
"I don't either Chloe. Don't worry we'll make sure she won't be hurt."
"Who's we Bruce?" Chloe didn't get an answer because Bruce had already hung up.
Clark didn't sleep much at all that night. He got up early, put his mask on and started circling Gotham by the air. Nothing happened during the entire day. As night descended on the city once again Clark became more vigilante. Around nine o'clock Clark found what he was waiting all day for. An explosion rocked a city street. Clark quickly flew as fast as he could to the site. A man with some kind of strange armor on was throwing cars at police who were trying to return fire as best as they could. The man had a car lifted above his head and was ready to crush some of Gotham's finest with it when Clark grabbed his arm.
"Not today pal." The thug quickly whirled around and backhanded Clark with his other hand. Unfortunately that meant he dropped the car on himself. Clark's ribs stung with the blow. 'Man that guy can hit hard.' Clark heaved the car off of him and the thug and was immedately kicked by the man. Clark went flying into the side of a building, leaving an imprint of his body in the brick wall. He picked himself up quickly and charged the guy. The man threw a punch but Clark's speed was too fast for him. Clark dodged the punch and then grabbed the man's leg and threw him at a building. He hit with a thud but quickly jumped to his feet. He charged Clark when suddenly he collapsed and his body started to glow bright green. Clark felt incredibly sick and he fell to his knees. 'Kryptonite!' The thug screamed "Luthor!" before falling to the ground dead. The green light faded and Clark immediately felt better. He ran over to a police officer.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Thanks to you I am."
"Is there another man like this in the city?"
"Yeah ten blocks that way." The officer pointed. "Who are you?" The cop said as he heard a burst of wind. He looked around. Clark was gone.
Bruce watched quietly from the top of a crane on the piers. A large ship had pulled up and several men with guns got off. He pulled out his binoculars. Rupert Thorne approached a man in a dark brown coat. Bruce recognized the man. Vladimir Popov. One of the most powerful Russian mafia bosses. "Here goes nothing." Bruce dove off of the crane and landed in the middle of a group of armed men. In a flurry of martial arts he quickly dropped and disarmed all of the men. Bruce stalked towards Thorne. "You're not getting away from me this time Thorne!" Rupert Thorne did not looked suprised. Both he and Vladimir pulled out guns.
"Oh I think I am Batman!" From behind him Bruce felt a hand grip his shoulder and casually toss him into a cargo container. Bruce jumped to his feet as two men in some kind of prototype armor approached him. Bruce charged the men and dodge several clubbing punches, kicking and punching the men several times. It didn't seem to matter how much he hit them however. They just kept coming at him. Finally one managed to distract him long enough for another one to put him in a bearhug. Bruce felt like his back was going to break. The other man approached and slapped both hands on either side of his head. Darkness consumed him and his last thought was 'hurry Clark.' Thorne looked at the men.
"Good job boys. Tie him up with the reporter. Now Mr. Popov. Lets go inside and discuss business."
Clark dropped out of his dead sprint to see a blockade of police surrounding a man armed with a gun and wearing the same armor as the last thug. Clark quickly jumped several police cars and landed right in front of the man. "Turn yourself in man! The cops have you surrounded."
"I don't know how you made that jump but you're gonna be sorry you got in my way." The man threw a hard punch right into Clark gut. It knocked him to the ground and knocked the wind out of him. A previous battle with super-strong villains flashed through Clark's mind. "They might have your strength but they don't have your other abilities son." Clark heard Jonathan's voice. His enemy had his fist raised again, ready to crush Clark's head into the ground. Clark quickly super sped behind the man as his fist crashed into the ground. 'Time to even the score.' Clark concentrated as his lungs grew incredibly cold. He blew freezing air around the man's legs and they were quickly encased in two solid blocks of ice. A new trick he had learned only recently.
"What the hell are you?" The thug gasped. Clark was about to land a final punch in the thug's face when he collapsed in pain, his skin boiling. The thug screamed in pain as he too began to glow bright green. Clark dragged himself away from the man. There was no telling what it would do to him to be at ground zero. Finally the feeling of sickness faded as Clark climbed to his feet. He turned around and saw that the man had slumped over dead.
"There's a major arms deal going down at Gotham pier 12 right now!" he shouted at the police. One of them quickly got on a radio. Clark stood and took off, heading for the pier, hoping Bruce was alright. If those guys could hurt him he didn't want to think what would happen to Bruce.
Thorne shook Popov's hand. "A real pleasure Mr. Popov." Things at the pier had settled down after Batman had been captured. "How'd you like to help me finish one last task?" The two men stood and headed to where Bruce and Lois were tied up captive.
"Let us go you fat bastard!" shouted Lois.
"You won't get away with this Thorne."
"You guys are hurting my feelings. And I don't like to have hurt feelings. Nice knowin ya." Thorne pointed at the two remaining Luthor thugs. They slammed the door on the container and began dumping gas all over the warehouse. "Burn it." sneered Thorne as he walked out the main doors of the warehouse. The two men quickly lit matches and toss them, setting the whole warehouse aflame. As Thorne and Popov stepped outside they were quickly blinded by a spotlight from a helicopter. Before them the entire Gotham PD was assembled. Jim Gordon stepped out with a megaphone.
"Its over Thorne. Give yourself up!" All the police started in awe as flames began to billow out of the warehouse. Popov bolted. As he ran he was suddenly tackled by a blur and he fell to the ground unconscious. Thorne turned and watched as a hole suddenly appeared in the side of the warehouse. Somebody had just entered and he heard the sound of Luthor's thugs fighting somebody. "Get down on your hands and knees Thorne!" Gordon shouted again. Thorne thought for a moment. Popov was going to be captured. He was going to be captured. The cops had a whole ship of evidence against him. They would find the charred bodies of batman and that reporter inside as well. He'd go to prison but he wouldn't be safe. The russian mob would not take the arrest of Popov lightly. Thorne made his decision.
"I'm not going to live in a cage Gordon!" he shouted and pulled his gun, firing several shots at the amassed police. Quickly fired was returned and Thorne was shot several times. He stood dazed for a second, staring back at the police. Slowly he dropped his gun and fell to the ground dead.
Inside the warehouse another battle was taking place. Clark was outnumbered by the two thugs. He beat on one of them he had pinned to the ground as the other pulled himself out of some fiery rubble that Clark had just tossed him into. A flaming piece of wood crashed across Clark's back, temporarily upsetting his balance. The man he had pinned kicked him off of him. 'I just have to last until they go kaboom like the other two did.' The two men regrouped and charged at Clark. Suddenly one of them fell to his knees screaming in pain. The sickness returned and Clark knew what was about to happen. He would be very vulnerable until the Kryptonite in the man's veins burned out. Thankfully the other thug stopped to watch what was happening to his friend then he too fell to his knees. The flames of the fire started to burn Clark as he became incredibly sick. Then the green light faded from both men and Clark was fine again. He shakily got to his feet and x-rayed the building. It was going to come down very soon. His super-hearing kicked in and he heard coughing. He saw two skeletons struggling inside a cargo container. Clark quickly charged it and ripped the door off its hinges. Inside he saw Bruce and Lois tied up. He ran in and snapped the rope. Bruce jumped to his feet. "Get out of here now!" Clark shouted at him. Bruce didn't wait to answer and charged through the flames. Clark grabbed Lois who was barely conscious and choking on the smoke. "You're gonna be okay Lois." Their path to the exit was barred by flames. Clark would be able to make it through them fine but he didn't wan to risk burning Lois. Seeing no other option he flew straight up, through a flaming hole in the ceiling. He landed gently in front of the police and then dropped Lois off. Before anyone could ask any questions he took off again. At the warehouse Jim Gordon scratched his head. He had just seen both Batman and another man exit the warehouse and quickly take off.
"Somebody get this girl some medical attention! Ok boys lets clean this mess up!"
From a nearby tower two masked heroes watched as the fire burned itself out and Vladimir Popov was taken into custody. Bruce looked at Clark and smiled. "Thanks for saving me Clark. I'm going to have to figure out a way to beat super-powered psychos it seems."
"Thank you for your help Bruce. This city is in good hands."
"So what are you going to do now that you've helped me mess up the Gotham mob for another several months."
"I think I'm going to go see a farm." Clark paused. "Say I do need a career besides super-hero... You think I could get an interview with Batman?" Bruce smiled at Clark.
"Anything for a hero like you Clark. We do need to do something about your outfit though. A black mask and plaid shirt and jeans don't really say obey me."
