Batman perched on the roof, staring at the street below, waiting for Alfred. Will the butler still insist Superman was one of the good guys after this? If this wasn't a sign of power corrupts, what the hell was?

His jaw clenched. Would Superman give similar dictates to other heroes? Would he tell Green Arrow, the Question, and Gangbuster to be less violent, or else?

This from the man who nearly destroyed Metropolis just to kill Zod. Hypocrite. Had Superman become too enamored with his power? Would he decide the only way to bring peace and order to the world was to eliminate anyone who didn't agree with him?

Batman shuddered, imagining cities reduced to charred landscapes and piles of corpses.

Getting the Kryptonite from Luthor was imperative.

A grapple gun snapped behind him. Hooks dug into brick with a dull thunk. Batman swung around, fists up.

A slender man in a black and dark blue uniform landed on the roof and retracted the grapple.

Batman relaxed. "Dick."

"Bruce." Dick Grayson, a.k.a Nightwing, nodded.

"What are you doing here?"

"Alfred called and told me what happened. I thought I'd check in on you."

Batman grunted and scowled. He didn't need people checking in on him. "I'm fine. And you should be watching Luthor."

"I've been watching him for three days," said Nightwing. "He's coming, he's going. I even snuck into Lexcorp headquarters to snoop around, and getting past that security wasn't easy. I couldn't find anything to suggest he was about to make any kind of move against us or any other hero. Maybe he wants to get more information on these meta-humans before he does anything. Hit us all at once instead of one at a time, keep us from teaming up to stop him."

Batman tilted his head, mulling over what Nightwing had said. The old Sun Tzu quote from The Art of War came to mind. "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the outcome of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat."

He knew Luthor had read that book, just like he had, and most successful business people around the world. Luthor wouldn't act until he knew all the heroes abilities, and how to counter them.

Pride flared in Batman as he stared at Nightwing. He had taught him well.

"You're probably right. You can head back to Bludhaven. Besides, I have a more immediate concern."

"Superman?" Nightwing crossed his arms.

Batman glared at his former partner, who continued, "Alfred told me that, too. You really think he's a threat to the world, after all he's done?"

"You mean nearly destroying Metropolis, killing thousands."

"How about destroying that terraforming machine in the Indian Ocean? If he hadn't done that, goodbye Earth and hello New Krypton."

"You think someone with that kind of power will keep being mankind's savior forever?" Batman spoke in a sharp tone. "What if one day he decides the only way to save us is to rule us? What if tonight was the start of it? Try to get me to fall in line." He told Nightwing about Superman's warning.

"Maybe he has a point," said Nightwing. "Maybe you have gone too far with branding criminals."

Batman grimaced. "You didn't see what they did to those women. And saying I have a new lease on life, to use it wisely or I'm done. That doesn't sound like a threat to you?"

"You really think if you don't tone it down Superman will kill you?"

"He's killed before."

Nightwing let out an exasperated breath. "He did that to save that family from being fried by Zod's heat vision."

"What did I tell you?" Batman took a step toward him. "About why we don't kill?"

Nightwing looked down for a second. "Because it's too easy."

"Right. Kill one, and then you can justify killing the next one, and the next, and the next, and soon you'll find any reason to kill. And Superman's started down that path."

"And you think this magic rock Luthor has can stop him?"

"You saw the footage from the battle in Smallville," said Batman. "Bullets, shells, missiles. None of them so much as scratched him. We have to have some advantage against him, some way to neutralize his powers."

Nightwing shook his head and withdrew his grapple gun. "You know, this is why I went solo when I did. I didn't want to end up as paranoid as you are."

"What you call paranoid, I call being realistic."

"Whatever. I'm going back to Bludhaven." Nightwing turned away, paused, then looked over his shoulder. "Hey, Bruce."

"What?"

"You said you wanted to 'neutralize' Superman's powers, right?"

"Yes."

Nightwing stiffened. "What if Luthor's rock doesn't simply neutralize Superman's powers. What if the only way to neutralize his powers is to kill him?"

Batman drew a slow breath. He stared at Nightwing, trying to come up with an answer.

He stayed silent as his former partner swung away into the night.

XXXXX

"You'll bleed?" Lois drew her head back in surprise as she leaned against the kitchen counter. "He actually said that to you?"

Clark nodded. "Not exactly the response I expected."

Lois let out a derisive laugh and shook her head. "And how does he expect to make you bleed? He's a nut in a bat suit. He doesn't have any superpowers." She folded her arms, brow furrowed in thought. "Sounds to me like he ODed on testosterone. Batman's had the run of Gotham for twenty years, and now here's the upstart hero . . ." She held up her hand. "No offense."

"None taken."

Lois smiled and continued. "Here's the upstart hero telling him to do things differently or else. I doubt his ego could handle that."

"Well, too bad about his ego." Clark crossed the kitchen and stood next to Lois. "This violence he's committing has to end."

"What if he ignores you? What if he keeps branding and crippling people?"

Clark sighed, staring at the tiled floor. "I don't know. Maybe I can drop him at Arkham Asylum. Maybe he can get the help he needs there."

"Good luck with that. He'll probably escape, just like all those rogues he battles. There's a reason Arkham's called 'Revolving Door' Asylum."

"Mm." Clark stuck his hands in his pockets, searching for a response. He had none. Batman might be unbalanced, but all his research indicated he was smart and resourceful. He had to be to survive this long on the mean streets of Gotham City.

Lois had a good point. The Bat probably would escape from Arkham. So what then? Killing him wasn't an option. Expose his true identity? What if that endangered his loved ones? Maybe he could threaten to reveal Batman's identity.

Clark grimaced. He hated the thought of stooping to blackmail.

His shoulders slumped as he thought back to his childhood in Smallville, imagining himself using his powers to stop bad guys. It seemed so simple. Knock out a robber, turn him over to the police, and fly away, the day saved.

Unfortunately, being a hero was not that easy.

XXXXX

Rain hammered the window when Clark woke up the next morning. Lois wasn't in bed. Probably down at the apartment complex's fitness center getting in her morning workout.

After going to the bathroom and getting dressed, he started the coffeemaker and turned on his laptop. He wanted to scan the Gotham Gazette's website to see if Batman had branded any criminals, just to throw Clark's warning back in his face.

Instead, he noticed a still frame of him standing on the burning wreckage of the Batmobile, with a link titled, "Crosstown Battle: Batman V Superman."

Groaning, he clicked on the story.

Someone had taken a video on their phone of him ripping out the Batmobile's engine, the smoke grenades exploding in his face, and finally, the Batmobile erupting in flames.

"Oh snap!" said a voice off camera as Superman flew up to the roof of a nearby building. "You see that? Bats just punked out Supes. Classic."

Clark typed "Batman V Superman" into Google. It was the lead story of the day. Newscasters and analysts wondered why the two heroes were fighting in Metropolis.

He clicked on one story from WHUB in Hub City. A blond newscaster stated, "WHUB was forwarded this video from the enigmatic vigilante known as The Question, who had these statements regarding last night's confrontation between Batman and Superman."

The image switched to a grainy black and white video with a faceless man in a dark fedora. "This is the beginning of Superman's takeover. He will now seek out and neutralize all costumed crimefighters and superpowered beings, making sure no one can challenge him. When everyone with abilities beyond normal humans is eradicated, the world will belong to him."

Clark slapped a hand against his forehead. This guy should be wearing a tin foil hat instead of a fedora.

But how many people will believe him?

Next he clicked on a story with comments from Senator Finch.

"I do have some issues with Batman's methods," Finch said in her Kentucky drawl. "But he does try to protect Gotham City. So why is Superman fighting someone many consider a hero? Does he think he's the only one qualified to be a hero? Does he have a more sinister motive? Does he plan on fighting other heroes like Green Arrow and the Atom? Every day, the American people grow more and more afraid of Superman, and he refuses to explain himself before out committee."

Clark closed out the screen and leaned back in his seat. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the black screen. Great. Now the whole country was paranoid, thinking he wanted to eliminate every other hero out there. Thinking he actually wanted to take over the world. And people like the Question and Senator Finch fed into that paranoia.

This had to end. He had to tell his side, show that Finch and the Question and others like them were out of line. Lois told him not to appear before the Senate committee, but how much longer could he let all these lies go unchallenged?

The door to the apartment opened. Lois was back from her workout.

Clark took a breath, bracing himself for the argument he knew was coming.

TO BE CONTINUED