Chapter 6

Well I submitted a lot more of the story than I intended to (I only wanted to put up chapter 3 and I was also planning on putting in another chapter before the warehouse scene) but that's life. Bruce and Clark bond a little and Bruce also explains what Lex is up to. I invented a new character for this story so I hope that's okay. Also I wasn't planning on having any romance but now I am planning on having a little between both Lanes possibly.

"Clark Kent, this is Alfred Pennyworth," said Bruce as they entered the car.

"Pleasure to meet to Master Kent," said Alfred glancing into the backseat.

The ride back to the hotel was a silent one. Clark studied Bruce. He wore some kind of body armor suit, that he was now changing out of.

Alfred pulled up to the hotel and they all got out.

"Alfred me and Clark are gonna take a walk, don't wait up."

"Of course Master Wayne."

The two walked in silence for a few minutes before Clark finally spoke up.

"What did you mean you were stopping Lex?"

"There's a lot you don't know about your friend Lex, Clark…"

"He's not my friend," returned Clark quickly.

"Well whatever he is he's dangerous, in more ways than one."

"Who were those guys that got away, what were they moving?"

"The main one I was after until you decided to crash the party was Lawrence Edge. He was the brother of one of Metropolis' biggest crime lords…"

"I didn't know Morgan Edge had a brother?"

" You know who he is. Well, he's only been out of jail for a year and a half and since he got out he's taken over the family business. Anyways, those boxes were filled with refined versions of that crap that's all over Smallville."

Clark went wide eyed realizing why he'd collapsed back at the warehouse.

"Kryp… I mean meteor rock."

"Right. You see Luthorcorp has been excavating it secretly for a while now, even before Lex started running the show. But they don't refine it in Smallville, it's too dangerous. So they send it out to their other plants around Kansas. Then when they're done they ship it back in. That's where Edge comes in. You see Lex uses the mob in case anything goes wrong and the cops seize one of the shipments."

"So it can't be traced back to Luthorcorp," Clark added.

"Exactly. Had all gone as planned tonight, I would have left Edge at the scene for the cops to interrogate."

"How did you know about this?"

"I've been investigating Lex for months, I got turned onto this by a little incident at your farm actually. When I found out what Lex was doing on Level Three, I offered him a deal as an excuse to come here and stop him."

"All this time I thought you were just like Lex," Clark admitted.

"I'm nothing like Lex. But since I left my company has been into some pretty bad stuff too. I'm trying to clean it up but it isn't easy."

The two entered a park and started down a dimly lit concrete path.

"Bruce, I gotta ask, how, I mean where…" said Clark at a loss.

"What's my deal. I could ask you the same question," Bruce looked at Clark carefully, they had more in common than he had originally thought, " Okay I'll tell you what my deal is if you tell me how you can stop bullets and move faster than I can see."

" I know about your parents Bruce. I can't even imagine what that would have been like."

" You researched me did you?"

"Actually my friend Chloe did."

" The journalism major. Figures," Bruce sighed, " I didn't know my parents that well as people. But in that moment I knew the world. It was cold, lonely, and unforgiving and I had nothing that could make me feel any better. When my parents died I wasn't remorseful. I wasn't sad. I was angry. I got filled with this rage, I couldn't explain it. I was only nine, but I knew I had to leave. That I was meant for something beyond that night."

"Where did you go?"

"All over. I went to every school I could find. Learned all I wanted to learn. I studied the criminal mind. Tried to figure out what made them tick. I studied at every dojo I could find. I studied at monasteries, every where I could. Then I came back."

"I still don't understand. Why you."

"I'm still not sure myself. I just know I decided that night, that what happened to my parents would never happen again. I would make criminals be the ones who were afraid. And now with Gotham the way it is, my job is all that much clearer."

Clark was clearly taken aback by what he had heard. He'd met people with amazing abilities but never anyone like Bruce. Bruce had no powers but he'd made a choice to help, to make a difference. At the same time he saw so much darkness in Bruce. So much malevolence. It scared him a little bit. The talk of fear and of making criminals pay. This guy was a vigilante.

"Where did you get all that stuff, " Clark asked out of curiosity.

" My companies applied sciences division. The combat suit was developed for the military but it was to expensive, same with the utility harness, and all the other stuff. Now it's your turn Clark, where did you come from."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Clark said trying to be convincing.

"Clark I told you my story, now let's hear yours."

"Seriously…" Clark said desperately.

"Clark I'm not an idiot."

They took a seat and Clark sighed.

"Do you have a minute," Clark said finally.

"For you Clark, I've got five," said Clark with a smile.

"Did they get all of it," asked Lex trying to contain his anger.

"We don't know yet, but don't worry my guys wont talk. I'll talk to the cop I know tomorrow to make sure every things cool," said Edge reassuringly.

"Every thing better be cool, for your sake Lawrence. I'm the only thing keeping you from going back to C block," said Lex menacingly and hanging up the phone.

Losing these shipments was not good for a number of reasons. It created unwanted attention and it also cost him money. He was starting to discontinue his level three experiments but he still didn't like mishaps like this.