Chapter 21: Rumors and Benefits

Disclaimer: All things Supergirl/Superman and Batman belong to DC. No infringement is intended.

It had started innocently enough.

Roughly three years ago, when Kara had begun meeting regularly with Bruce and Diana about the formation of an alliance of heroes, some photographer or other had taken a photo of the famous Bruce Wayne meeting with two stunningly beautiful business women. Tabloids being what they are, they had published some story about Gotham's favorite son having a threesome with two unknown women. Such stories appeared regularly, so no one paid it much mind.

A few months later, though, some press pictures were taken during yet another successful Wayne Enterprises cooperation with K-Solutions. The press event had seen Karen Kent, the elusive owner and CEO of K-Solutions, making one of her rare public appearances and someone had remembered that old tabloid photo. It took but a quick comparison to show that Karen Kent was indeed one of the two beauties Wayne had met.

Now while their meeting was easily explained away as a simple business brunch, the tabloids ran with a different take, of course. Rumors quickly ran rampant about the savvy and mysterious brain behind K-Solutions finally being the one to leash Gotham's most famous bachelor. The rumors persisted, even when nothing more incriminating that a few more business lunches happened to give credence to it.

Until the night the Batman was shot.

"Quit being such a baby," Kara admonished him, even as she carried him bridal-style towards his bedroom.

"I am fully capable of walking on my own," Bruce complained, though the blood-soaked bandage high on his left thigh told a different story.

"Let me guess, you would have preferred to hobble up here alone or with me giving you a shoulder to lean on at the most, despite knowing perfectly well that I am more than capable of carrying you one-handed, while lifting your Batmobile with my other hand?"

"Yes," he simply growled. It would have been a pout on anyone else, but the Batman did not pout.

"Well, I promise that the next time I am hurt and unable to walk, you are welcome to return the favor!"

Alfred was already inside the bedroom, first aid kit at the ready. It wasn't the first time he had patched up his employer / adopted son and it would certainly not be the last. At least this time he had the distinct pleasure of seeing the perpetually grim Bruce Wayne being carried to bed like a child by a woman smaller than he was. His lips barely twitched, but inside he was howling with laughter.

"Just put him down on the bed, Miss Kara," he directed.

"The bullet went straight through," she told him, even as she did as asked, "no fragments or anything in there that I could see. The main artery was nicked, though. I used my cold breath to numb the area and staunch the blood flow, but someone with more medical knowledge than I needs to take a closer look to make sure everything heals up nicely."

Alfred immediately went to work, even as Kara's thoughts flashed back to events earlier in the night. It had been sheer happenstance that she had been there. K-Solutions and Wayne Enterprises were frequent business partners and while she preferred to do most of her work remotely and away from prying eyes, the occasional face-to-face meetings could not be avoided entirely. Bruce had not been there, as his official involvement in the day to day affairs of his company was limited, but after the meeting had concluded late at night, she had decided on a whim to look him up.

It was a good thing she had, for Superwoman had flown over Gotham at exactly the right time to witness an obviously corrupt cop draw his piece and about to shoot the Batman in the back. Gotham's Dark Knight had been busy putting the finishing touches on one of the many super villains that had appeared over the last few years, this one a mountain of muscle and scales called Killer Croc. Croc had already been down, but Batman had appeared quite winded and not as attentive as he usually was.

Kara was fast, but tonight she had not been quite fast enough. The cop managed to get off a shot half a second before she arrived on the scene. Thankfully Batman had moved at the same moment, so the bullet that had been intended to go into his back had instead gone through his leg. Kara suspected that the cop had packed special armor-piercing bullets, because she knew that Bruce's suit was normally not so easily penetrated.

She had wrapped up the cop within two seconds and had been by Batman's side a moment later, seeing that he was bleeding like a stuck pig. Despite his protests, she had quickly done what little she could and then hoisted him up to bring him home.

"The wound is serious, but should heal without problems," Alfred finally said about two hours later, finishing up. "You will need to stay off that leg for a few days, though, Master Bruce."

Bruce seemed about to protest, but deflated when she gave him a look, arms crossed, and eyebrow raised. It usually worked on Clark, too.

"Okay, but I will need you to fly back to the crime scene and..."

"Already taken care of," Kara told him. "I incinerated the blood stain you left behind, no trace of your DNA will be found. And the cop that shot you has already been taken into custody."

He leaned back, huffing. "Well, it looks like you have everything well in hand then."

"The word you are looking for is 'thanks', by the way," she said, winking at him.

"Thank you," he said, sincerely this time. "It seems Gordon's success in cleaning out the corruption in Gotham's police department made me a bit sloppy. I did not expect to have to duck police bullets again."

"He came prepared," Kara said, sitting down on the bed beside him. "How many normal guns can shoot straight through the Dark Knight's body armor?"

"Not many," he agreed. "Well, if I'm to be bedridden, at least I will be able to do some research. That cop couldn't have known that I'd be there to fight Croc today, so he probably just took advantage of the opportunity. He must have prepared for it beforehand."

"Let me know if there is anything I can do to help."

"Aren't you busy supervising the world's first teenage superhero?" he asked, smirking.

Kara gave him a mock slap to the shoulder, careful not to jostle his injury. "In case you have forgotten, it's a school day. Clark is well aware that Superboy's activities are not allowed to intrude upon his education unless we are talking a major disaster."

"And you think he will always listen to you on that?" Bruce asked. "The boy is 14."

"Oh, I fully expect some form of teenage rebellion sooner or later, but he's just started out. He is smart enough to wait a while, trying to lull me into a false sense of security"

"I hope you are right. Last thing the world needs is a moody teenager kicking down mountains because he feels misunderstood."

"I have quite emphatically forbidden Clark from kicking mountains," she said, deadpan. She patted his shoulder. "Take it easy for a while, Bruce. Like I said, let me know if there is anything I can do to help."

She rose to leave, but stopped in the open door. Her enhanced senses were picking up several vehicles that were approaching Wayne Manor. She looked through the walls and saw that three police cars were coming up the drive.

"We've got company, it seems," she said. "Gotham's Finest!"

Bruce sat up, looking slightly alarmed. "Can you pick up what they want?"

She concentrated, allowing the sound of the cars to fade out and focusing on the voices inside the cars. "It seems they received an anonymous tip that Bruce Wayne might sport a bullet wound similar to the one that Batman has received tonight. Lieutenant James Gordon is with them and apparently not happy about going to all this effort on a wild goose chase, but someone higher up has overruled him."

Bruce cursed under his breath. "Gordon and I are still keeping our cooperation on the down low. Officially, the Gotham police still has a standing order to bring in the Batman for questioning, though zero effort is going into actually accomplishing it. Usually, at least."

Kara walked back towards him. "We need to get you down into the cave. Alfred can tell them you aren't home."

"And what then?" he asked. "If they can't find me here, it will only lend credence to that tip. If Bruce Wayne stays out of the public eye for the time it would take someone to heal a bullet wound, the police will be even more suspicious." He sat up, swinging his legs over the side. "Batman operates on a budget that all but requires a large company or rich entrepreneur as a backer. I need to nip this in the butt now or my secret identity is gone."

Kara crossed her arms. "And how exactly do you intend to hide the fact that you have a hole in your leg and can't even walk?"

"I will have to give the performance of my life, I think," he growled, trying to put weight on his injured leg. He hissed as it gave out under him and Kara was there in a flash, an arm around his torso.

"Yeah, this isn't going to work, Bruce. But I think I've got an idea."

"Look, Mr. Pennyworth, we just need to have a brief chat with Mr. Wayne, that's all," Lieutenant Gordon said.

"If the guy can stand up and walk down those steps," another cop added, a pretty nasty-sounding and -looking character.

"That's Sergeant Bullock," Bruce whispered to her. "Hates the Batman's guts, real piece of work, but honest as they come."

"Okay, then let's put on a show for the good officers," Kara replied, smirking.

"You are enjoying this way too much," Bruce replied, then continued speaking in a louder voice. "Gentlemen! You wished to speak to me?"

The police officers looked up and saw Bruce Wayne approaching them, dressed in expensive-looking sweat pants and an even more expensive-looking dressing gown doing little to hide his bare chest. Plastered to his side was a blonde woman, wearing a rumpled-looking business suit and a pair of very high heels dangling from her left hand. To even the most observant outsider, it looked as if she was simply snuggling up, arm around his torso, while Bruce Wayne leisurely walked down the steps on two obviously uninjured legs.

In reality, of course, Bruce's feet were barely touching the ground, as Kara supported his entire weight and was subtly using her powers of flight to have them both more or less float down the steps. Bruce's leg was tightly wrapped, no outline of the bandages showing on his loose pants and while moving his legs back and forth to simulate walking did hurt, it was bearable as long as there was no weight to support and no sign of discomfort showed on his face. He just looked bored and irritated.

They reached the lower level, coming to a stop in front of the police officers. "What can I do for you?"

"I am very sorry for disturbing you this early in the morning, Mr. Wayne," Gordon said, looking equal parts angry and contrite. "We have received an obviously false tip that... well, that someone had shot you."

Bruce laughed. "Shot me? Now whoever would want to shoot me?"

"I can think of a few people, darling," Kara said, smiling seductively. "You are such a bad boy, after all!"

Several of the police officers looked away, obviously not entirely comfortable watching as Kara all but rubbed up against him. Bullock, though, seemed less inclined to buy the show. Or maybe he was simply obstinate by nature.

"Where were you last night, Wayne?" he demanded. "At around four o'clock!"

"Oh, he was with me, sergeant," Kara said, giving him a coy look. "Would you like to ask what we were doing, too?"

Bullock opened his mouth as if to ask exactly that, but Gordon cut him off. "I think we do not need all the details, Ms…?"

"Kent, Lieutenant. Karen Kent."

"If you gentlemen don't mind," Bruce interjected, raising his right leg in the process to scratch an imaginary itch on his calf, "I have promised Ms. Kent a most spectacular breakfast, so if there is nothing else..."

"Of course, Mr. Wayne," Gordon said, beginning to usher his people out the door. "Sorry for disturbing you."

A moment later they were out the door and Kara quickly guided Bruce over to a chair, letting him sit down. She focused on her senses again, listening to the cops talking as they drove off.

"Bullock thinks they should have asked more questions, but Gordon and the others are convinced, I think. Gordon tells Bullock that no man with a bullet wound such as the Batman had last night could even stand, never mind walk down a set of stairs or put all his weight on the injured leg. He is also pretty pissed off that they had to drive all the way out here in the first place."

"Looks like I'm in the clear," Bruce said, slowly relaxing. "You could have given him a false name, you know? It's almost certain one of those cops will talk to the press about what he's seen here today."

Kara simply shrugged. "If they investigate, they would quickly discover a false identity and it would only make them suspicious again. That Karen Kent is in town and had a business meeting last evening at Wayne Enterprises is easily proven. There are already plenty of rumors out there about Karen Kent and Bruce Wayne. One more won't hurt. Besides, we might even use this to our advantage."

Predictably, the fact that Karen Kent of K-Solutions had spent the night at stately Wayne Manor quickly made the rounds in the tabloids. Old rumors were heated up again and everyone was quickly convinced that the two business giants had carried on a tarried affair for years now. One tabloid even speculated that the two of them were already secretly married and that Mrs. Wayne only kept her maiden name for tax purposes and brand recognition.

Both Bruce and Kara took advantage of the rumors. The main reason that Bruce Wayne played the role of the notorious playboy was so that no one would even suspect that he might be one of the few men young, rich, and driven enough to be the infamous Dark Knight of Gotham. It was getting harder, though, to find women willing to put up with his antics, especially as he seldom followed through on his supposed ways by actually bedding the women he took out. While not opposed to the idea in general, some of them were bound to notice the many scars he had accumulated and ask questions. Playing the besotted paramour of Karen Kent made things a lot easier for him.

Karen Kent, on the other hand, had been the mysterious figure behind the success of K-Solutions for years now and many people were interested in learning more about her. By turning up on the arm of Bruce Wayne now and then, she gave just enough fodder to the newshounds that most of them lost interest in digging further. Kara had long ago made sure that Karen Kent of K-Solutions and Karen Kent of Smallville, Kansas had nothing in common except a rather common name.

So to the amusement of the few people in the know – Diana found the whole notion quite hilarious – Kara and Bruce continued to be each other's decoy dates. They appeared at just enough public events together to feed the rumors and otherwise continued to live their lives just like before.

In other news, the police officer that had tried to murder the Batman had quickly been convicted after a large sum of money had been found in his account. Obviously someone had hired him for the assassination attempt and it was deemed entirely possible that same someone had sent the anonymous tip to the police. Interestingly enough, that turned out to be false. The cop had been hired through intermediaries by Lex Luthor, who was still awaiting trial and looking for payback against the Batman. Hiring a would-be killer was quickly added to his list of charges. The anonymous tip that nearly demolished Bruce's secret identity, on the other hand, was apparently courtesy of R'As al Ghul, who had heard of the botched assassination and simply wished to keep "the Detective" on his toes.

Life went on. Then one night, things changed again.

Kara laid back in bed, staring at the ceiling, and searched her own feelings. Currently she was very much at a loss as to what to do or say next.

"That bad?"

She looked to the other side of the bed, where Bruce was propped up on an elbow and looking at her in turn. She briefly let her eyes roam over his still unclothed body, the shimmer of sweat on his skin, and thought back to their activities during the last hour or so.

"Not bad at all," she said, "but..."

"Yeah," he agreed. "But..."

Bruce and she had played the part of a couple for several months now and Kara had considered whether turning the act into something real might be feasible, especially after a heart to heart talk with Martha. Kara had told her about her mock affair with the famous Bruce Wayne (Bruce having given her permission to inform them of his true identity). It had led to her aunt / adopted mom asking her whether there was anything that Kara the woman wanted out of life. Superwoman the hero, Kara the mother, and Karen Kent the entrepreneur were all pretty well set, but what about the woman? Was a make-believe affair with a comrade-in-arms of her Superwoman persona all she wanted? It had gotten Kara thinking and considering if there was anything in her life apart from those three roles.

She liked Bruce as a friend, she certainly found him physically attractive, and they worked well together as superheroes. So why not as a couple, too? Kara was a bit too cynical to believe in love at first sight and didn't expect there to ever be a Prince Charming that would come into her life and sweep her off her feet. But the idea of someone with whom she was compatible in terms of personality, someone to whom she could come home at the end of the day (that wasn't her son or her adopted parents), was certainly enticing.

Bruce had entertained similar thoughts, it seemed. The Batman didn't leave much room for anything else, building a relationship with someone unaware of Bruce's primary purpose in life would probably be impossible. So after another dinner that was part business and part show for the tabloids, they had – almost without words – decided to give it a try, so to speak.

The physical act itself had certainly been enjoyable, as was evident by the rumpled sheets and the scattered clothing. Kara was not a virgin and neither was Bruce, so they both knew what they were doing and were certainly fit enough. Kara's body still buzzed with the afterglow, but she knew that that was a purely physical reaction. On the emotional front, though, there was nothing. Bruce and she might just as well have been sparring instead of having sex.

Judging by Bruce's face, he was in a similar predicament.

"So…," he began, only to trail off.

"You know, you sound far more eloquent when you wear the mask!" she smirked.

He looked affronted for a second, but then smirked back. "Should I have worn the mask?"

She pretended to think about it for a moment. "Oh, I don't know. Would you have wanted me to wear the cape and boots?"

Both ended up laughing.

"I guess this isn't going to work, is it?" Kara asked a moment later.

"Not in this particular way, no," he agreed. "But we will always be friends."

"Friends with occasional benefits?" she asked, teasingly raising an eyebrow.

"I could think of worse arrangements."

"Ah, Bruce," she mock-despaired, folding her hands over her heart in a dramatic gesture, "always the romantic."

End Chapter 21

Author's Note: I originally had tentative plans to have Kara and Bruce end up a couple in this story, but abandoned them almost as quickly as it simply didn't fit with the characters as I envisioned them. Still, there was that bit I wrote in chapter 12 where Bruce mused about a tabloid reporter catching him with Kara and Diana and the idea simply wouldn't let go.

As far as Batman goes, I mostly consider Bruce Wayne to be asexual, regarding the need for physical companionship with the same disdain as the need for food and sleep. And as for Kara, only time will tell if she will ever find somebody to love (apart from her family and friends) in this universe of mine (don't expect Dick Malverne to turn up any time soon). At this point I'm honestly not sure. I have several ideas, but they might go the same way as the Bruce/Kara idea.