Chapter 3
Electric Event in Gotham
The morning sun rose over the city of Metropolis, and the sound of birds chirping filled the yellow sky with a few clouds drifting slowly across, as several the citizens began their day. In her bedroom, Lois woke to the warm sun on her skin through a crack in the curtains. She sat up and swung her legs over her side of the bed and stirred out her partner's arms.
"Morning," Clark yawned as he put on his glasses.
"Good morning Clark," she curtly responded.
"Look, about yesterday..."
"It's fine, I was just having a bad day," she admitted in a guilty tone. In her defense, was bad.
In all reality, she had to deal with being kidnapped by Livewire who tied her to a pole with thin wire so she could act as bait for Superman. When he took a little too long, she gave Lois nasty electric shocks. Luckily, they had only been minor but it still just made her day all the more unpleasant, not helped by the fact that Livewire had managed to escape. Clark smiled a little at her before he prepared to speak but before he could get a word out Lois shook her head. He looked down slightly as an awkward silence filled the room.
"We should get going," she hinted.
Meanwhile, in Gotham, Barbara was making breakfast while Kara was on the phone with Martha.
"You can be nice to her for a month," Martha said.
"I'm not the problem," she corrected her.
"I know, I know but you can't change everyone. She just might need more time?"
"I've been giving her time for the past seven months." Kara groaned in frustration.
"I know, she can be stubborn at times but she's still part of the family, just like Barbara," she reminded her daughter. Kara signed proving Martha right. "Please, for Clark's sake."
"I will," she promised.
"Thanks, sweetie."
"Bye ma," she sighed and ended the call.
The sad truth was that both Jonathan and Martha noticed that Clark hadn't really been happy with his partner for the past eight months. Although neither of them said it out loud, they both had suspected that they were going through some issues. At first, the Kents weren't too concerned after all it's normal for couples to fall out every once in a while, however, as time went by it became clearer that their son's relationship may have lost its spark. Kara noticed it as well, although she thought her cousin was feeling stressed over his Superman alter ego, but, one night when she was visiting him in Metropolis, she overheard them arguing over something intense enough for them to be spouting profanity at each other. Although similar to her foster parents, Kara wasn't too concerned as she and Barbara would get into tiffs that were resolved after a few minutes. Her cousin's relationship, on the other hand, became volatile with fights that took weeks or even months to resolve. The Kents had agreed to keep this information to themselves because they didn't want to ruin Clark's relationship based on speculation.
Kara returned to the dining table just as her partner placed her breakfast of toast, fried eggs, and baked beans down. "Thanks."
Barbara smiled as she took her seat to begin her own meal. "So what were you and Martha talking about?"
"Oh not much."
"Was it about she-who-will-not-be-named?" she asked. Kara nodded. "Well, you won't have to face her alone," she joked.
"Thanks, Babsy. So, how's your dad?"
"He's good. He invited us for a movie night." Barbara said trying to hide the sorrow in her voice to no avail.
"So, what's the problem?"
"It feels like he doesn't want me to be dating you."
"At least he's trying to accept it," she encouraged her.
"So what movie are we seeing?" Kara asked.
"Batrabbit vs Superduck III."
She and Barbara had watched the first film on the night they had first met, it was a good bad series of movies.
"I can't wait!"
Back in Metropolis, Clark and Lois went to the train station dressed in work attire. As they waited for the train, Clark talked with their co-workers Jessica Cruz and John Stewart.
"Are you sure you two will be ok? Metropolis also has a lot of crime." Clark asked.
"No te preocupes, we'll take care of things here." Jessica assured him.
"Yes, Metropolis is in safe hands." John agreed.
"Thank you again." he nodded.
"En cualquier momento." she waved away.
"Just be careful in Gotham." John warned, "It's even more dangerous than this city."
"Hey Clark, you coming or what?" Lois impatiently beckoned as she got on the train.
Clark picked up his belongings and followed her, waving goodbye to the two green lanterns. As the locomotive departed, a bolt of electricity stealthily followed close by through telephone wires. After a few hours, the train arrived at Gotham station on time. Once they departed, Clark found his cousin in her business casual attire, waiting for them at the station exit.
"Be nice," he whispered to his partner.
"I will try."
They approached her.
"Hey, guys."
"I'm sorry about yesterday, I just had a stressful day," Lois said in a genuine tone.
"Fresh start, then?" Kara said, holding out her hand which Lois shook.
They left the station for a taxi to take them to Kara's apartment where Barbara was waiting in her best clothing.
"Lois, this is, Barbara Gordon."
"It's nice to finally meet you, Ms. Lane." Barbara greeted.
"You, too, Ms. Gordon." Lois responded.
"It's great to see you again." Barbara directed to her girlfriend's cousin.
"It's nice to see you again, too." he replied.
"Can I get you anything?"
"Coffee with two sugars, please." Lois requested.
"Nothing for me." he politely declined.
Barbara went over to the kitchen.
"So do you know what you're gonna write about?" Kara inquired.
"Not yet." Clark said.
"Do you know anything that's happening this month that could be worth writing about?" Lois asked.
"Well, there's a charity event at the museum at the end of the month." Barbara suggested from the kitchenette.
"What's it for?" Clark asked as Barbara stirred the dark brown liquid.
"It's for their new research facility," she mentioned as she handed over the drink.
"Sounds interesting," Lane encouraged her partner.
"Why don't we check it out tomorrow?" he suggested.
"Sounds like a plan," Kara said. "We could try to get some interviews in before the event? Find the best vantage points for photos?"
They chatted for a bit before they headed off to the hotel where Clark and Lois were staying, still unaware of their unwanted guest. As they waited for a taxi, Lois got a drink from a nearby vending machine. As she approached it, Barbara caught sight of a familiar bolt in the corner of her eye.
"Lois wait!" she shouted, but it was too late.
Just as she reached the machine, it became consumed in electrical volts that soon revealed a woman.
"Hello, again Lois "Damsel" Lane," Livewire teased.
She grabbed her victim again and connected to an energy source which shot her to the building rooftops. Barbara, Kara, and Clark slipped out of sight to return as their alter egos respectively.
"Seriously, kidnapping me two days in a row?!" Lois yelled in frustration.
"Well, Superman always comes for his bitch," Livewire taunted. On cue, the heroes emerged. "Well speak of the devil. Superman with two brats."
"Let her go Livewire," Clark declared.
"You want her, come and get her," she called with a cruel smile. She then shot out a bolt of lightning which the superheroes quickly dodged.
Batgirl looked around to see if there was a water tower nearby, catching sight of one a few roofs over. "Hey, I've got an idea," she told Superman. They put their heads together while Gordon explained her plan.
"So miss Lane, how would you like this to end? Falling or fried?" Livewire asked, giving her captive a small shock.
"Hey, Livewire!" Batgirl shouted. The villain looked down at her. "You know for someone with lighting powers, you're pretty slow."
"Slow?" Livewire scoffed.
"Well, that or you have terrible aim," she continued.
"Maybe you forgot,, allow me to demonstrate."
Livewire put down Lois and chased after her new adversary. Batgirl sprinted towards the water tower, dodging the erratic bolts of lightning. Once she reached the basin, she feigned a look of concern.
Livewire smirked, "Any last words, Baby Bat?"
"Hope you brought your swimsuit," Batgirl retorted.
Live looked at her in baffled confusion, unaware as the Supers lifted up the basin to dump on her, leaving her completely soaked and powerless. The heroines quickly cuffed her while Superman went to attend to Lois. An hour later, the police arrived and arrested Livewire. With the current issue dealt with, they continued to their destination once the police arrived.
By nine, Kent and Lane got ready for whatever was in store for them.
"I still can't believe it, Superman in Gotham," she noted.
"Guess he knows that trouble follows you," Clark teased from the bathroom.
"Ha ha, really funny."
"And it looks like his cousin knows it too."
"I don't get her," Lois muttered under her breath.
"Stop," he commanded. Clark emerged from the bathroom and sat next to her. "Hey, I was wondering-"
"Not yet," she informed him.
Clark looked down in disappointment. "Well, goodnight."
"Night."
They got under the covers and Clark turned out the lights. Again, when he tried to snuggle his partner, he was pushed away.
In the criminal underground of Gotham, Joker was hunkered down in his office. He still dwelled on Harley's separation. He paced back a forth as he plotted his next move. On his desk were several pictures of potential targets including Zatanna, Diana Prince, and Selina Kyle. Joker knew he had no chance of getting his old flame back who made it abundantly clear that she was never coming back. Even when he had kidnapped her seven months ago, the former psychiatrist refused to be his little puppet and was rescued by Ivy, with a little help from Batgirl and Supergirl.
It was clear after that incident that Joker knew he would never be able to reclaim Harley, and even if he did Ivy would kill him and feed him to one of her carnivorous plants. So, if he couldn't get Harley back he would create a new one. Joker had considered several women as a suitable replacement but they were either too powerful for him to control, like Kara Kent or Zatanna, or he couldn't bear to look at them for even half a second like Barbara Gordon's red hair. Joker slumped in his chair in defeat and listened in on his goons.
"Did you hear, Superman's in town," one of them said.
"The boss isn't gonna like that," another said.
They were right, Joker didn't like that, but then it dawned on him, and a wicked grin appeared on his face as a truly horrible idea came to him.
"If he's here, then Lois Lane will be with him…" his iconic laugh began to rumble in his chest before he finally let it out. "but not for long."
