Born to Fly
By Serena Kenobi
Rating: T
A/N: This is actually the third... er, fourth revision of this chapter. Thanks to a few of my recent reviews and from watching Smallville, I realized that made a grievous error in character judgment and history. Thanks for the constructive criticism, Mr. Beeto, that is what makes a writer better. Here is the revised chapter, thanks to you.
Disclaimer: Don't own Superman, Batman, or the Justice League. They belong to DC Comics.
Chapter 9 - First Encounter
The trio walked out to the sleek black limo that was parked up front, and they entered it, the chauffer closing the door behind them.
"You didn't answer my question, Mr. Wayne," Lois reminded him as they drove along.
Bruce smiled. "Question, Miss Lane?" He raised a dark eyebrow.
"Yes," she replied, slightly irritated, "I want to know how you and Clark met each other."
The billionaire merely plucked a few glasses from the nearby mini bar and asked, "Would you like something to drink?"
Lois shook her head, shooting Clark a look. The Kryptonian sighed, drumming his fingers on the seat and shaking his head.
"Oh, it's a long story," Bruce began, pouring himself some ginger ale.
"I've got time," Lois returned, staring at him, determined.
Bruce chuckled, leaning back in his seat. "I see you're a true reporter at heart, Miss Lane," he nodded.
Lois turned to Clark. "Will one of you tell me something? What's the big secret, anyways?"
Clark eyed Bruce, wondering if it was all right to tell Lois about Bruce's secret dark knight persona. Bruce, in return, gave him a questioning look. The Kryptonian realized that the billionaire was asking him if Lois could be trusted with the Batman information.
None of this went unnoticed by Lois, who narrowed her eyes.
"Bruce," Clark began, clearing his throat and taking off his glasses, "She knows."
The billionaire slowly nodded in understanding. "Ah, I see."
Lois stared at him, blinking. She vaguely wondered if too much stress had made Clark lose it. "What?" was all she could muster.
"No, it's okay, Bruce can be trusted," Clark quickly added, seeing the shocked look on her face. "It's kind of a … pact we all share."
"What?" Lois couldn't believe that 'what' was the only word coming out of her mouth.
Bruce grinned, knowing that if Clark trusted Lois, then he could as well. "What do you know of Batman, Miss Lane?"
"Batman?" Lois frowned, trying to wrack her brain of information. "Isn't he the black-caped guy in Goth… wait." She stared hard at Bruce, who smiled pleasantly back at her.
"Your skills of observation do you well, Miss Lane," The man known as the Dark Knight of Gotham told her.
Lois couldn't believe it for a moment; but then, looking at Clark, who had the mild mannered reporter façade down tight, did believe it. "I see," she said. "Well then, Batman, I hope you don't mind if I ask you a few questions. After all, this is one of the interviews of the year. Most people would kill just to talk with you."
"Oh, believe me, I know," Bruce replied wryly.
Lois quickly drew out her notepad. "Okay," She began, smirking at Batman.
"What have I gotten myself into, Clark?" Bruce questioned, quirking an eyebrow.
"It's too late now," Clark grinned smugly, leaning back in his seat calmly. "Once she gets started, she doesn't stop."
Lois nodded in agreement. "You're right about that. Now, Mr. Wayne, how did you and Superman meet?"
"Back to this question, huh?" Bruce shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Well," he sighed, "It went something like this…"
Eight Years Earlier
Batman perched on a statue, overlooking the enormous Gotham city. The sounds of the subways, cars, and city bustle were all the same, and for once, he was thankful for that. He needed to think about his next move.
However, he didn't have much time, for his sharp hearing picked up a cry for help. Swooping down into a dark alleyway, he soared down, creeping along until he turned a corner. He saw a woman being robbed and beaten by a thief, a man much larger than she.
"Please, stop," she pleaded, tears running down her face.
Batman crept up behind the man and tapped him on the shoulder. The man whisked around only to be met by a rock-hard blow to his face, sending him sprawling to the ground. Batman grinned and turned to the woman, who was staring at him in awe.
"Are you all right?" He asked in his deep baritone, holding out a hand.
She nodded, taking it and getting up slowly. "Yeah, I think so," she sniffled. "Thank you."
"All in a day's work," he nodded in return, handing her purse to her. "You had best go home now. It's not safe for a woman to be wandering these alleys alone."
He made sure that she was safely under the city lights and back onto a main drag before turning around and –
"Ugh!" The supposedly hurt robber, who was holding a steel bar in his hands, smirking, suddenly knocked him to the ground.
"Not so tough now, huh tough guy?" he jeered, making his way towards Bruce. He pulled out a gun and pointed it at the billionaire.
Batman growled and was about to leap up, when a pleasant voice caused him and the robber to stop.
"I think you should drop that."
The robber turned to see a tall, well-built man, clad in red and blue, standing there. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded.
Batman quickly stood up, eyeing the newcomer. "You're Superman," he stated, narrowing his eyes.
Superman nodded at Batman.
"Who?" The robber clearly didn't read the newspaper or watch television.
Batman resisted rolling his eyes at the thief's ignorance. "You should really get out more," he grunted, storming up behind him.
The thief turned around and fired a shot at the playboy, but amazingly, Superman, who had supersped in front of Bruce, reflected it, causing the bullet to bounce into a nearby garbage can. The robber paled, dropped his gun, and started to run away; however, Batman quickly hit him from behind, rendering the man unconscious.
Superman gazed at Batman, seemingly annoyed. "You didn't have to do that, you know," he reprimanded the Dark Knight. "I could have just taken him to the authorities. Your use of violence is unnecessary."
"Listen, pal, I don't need your help or your advice," Batman growled, tying the robber's hands up with a piece of wire.
"Oh, of course not," Superman replied smoothly, "You could have easily dodged that shot in time." The two stared at each other coldly. "Good night." Superman zoomed into the air, leaving Bruce alone to brood.
Three Weeks Later
"Sir," Alfred came into the study of Bruce's mansion, "There is someone from the Daily Planet newspaper here to see you."
Bruce looked up. "Send him in." He really had nothing better to do.
In walked a tall, handsome man, dark hair, and large glasses, which he nervously pushed up further onto his nose. If he hadn't felt like being polite, Bruce would have laughed.
"I'm Clark Kent," the man held out a hand, "I'm here for an interview for the Daily Planet. Is it okay if I ask you some questions?"
Bruce smiled faintly. "Sit down, Mr. Kent," he motioned to a chair. "Of course I'll allow a few questions, but I will only answer questions that I feel are appropriate to go on the front page of a newspaper."
"S-sure," Clark stammered, bringing up his notebook. He cleared his throat. "What are some of your future plans?"
Bruce leaned back and shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. I'll continue to run Wayne Enterprises, do all the business stuff. Nothing drastic." He studied the man in front of him, and abruptly began to frown at the reporter suspiciously.
"I see," Clark furiously wrote down his answer, and glanced back up, only to be startled by a glare from the billionaire playboy. "Mr. Wayne? Is something wrong?"
"Have we met, Mr. Kent?" Bruce asked him. "I swear I've seen you before."
Clark raised his eyebrows. "Uh, no, I don't think so," he shook his head.
Bruce made a noise in the back of his throat. "Continue."
"All right…" Clark was puzzled by his behavior. "What is the status of your personal life? Do you see yourself getting married in the near future?"
Bruce didn't reply.
"Uh, Mr. Wayne?" Clark hesitantly questioned.
"I know you from somewhere," Bruce muttered, frustrated.
Clark inwardly sighed. "Mr. Wayne, what is your answer?"
"What?" Bruce said. "Oh. Right. Well, I don't plan on being married anytime soon, but I…" he trailed off, and his eyes widened.
"Is everything… okay?" Clark wondered, now extremely bewildered.
Bruce shot up from his seat. "YOU!" he thundered, glaring furiously at the shocked reporter.
"Excuse me?"
"Nice try with the glasses," Bruce growled, "But they and the clumsy reporter act don't fool me."
Clark blinked, suddenly realizing that the man in front of him had discovered his secret. And the man in front of him was the same Dark Knight he had encountered just a few weeks ago.
"Batman," he stood up swiftly, staring at Bruce with an irate gaze.
Bruce was shocked, but he didn't show it. "Superman," he hissed through clenched teeth.
The two glared at one another, waiting to see who would make the first move.
"It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship," Bruce sighed, grinning and staring out the window distantly.
Clark snorted. "Yeah, right," he retorted. "We didn't get along until we decided that we fought crime better if we didn't fight each other all the time. Even after a month or two, we still weren't close."
"But when did you become friends?" Lois wondered, completely immersed in the story.
The men shrugged.
"We ended up working so much together, we eventually decided that we liked each other," Clark started to smile, shaking his head.
"And then Green Arrow decided that we should form a Justice League," Bruce added.
"A what?" Lois said.
"Justice League," Bruce repeated. "There were so many different superheroes working apart, he thought it would be better if we all worked with each other, which we do. By the way, do you know how the Green Arrow is these days, Clark?"
Clark nodded. "Yes, from what I've recently heard, he's just stopped a large armed robbery in Star City."
"So you guys all know each other?" Lois asked.
The two men nodded. "Something like that," Bruce took another sip of his drink.
Lois shook her head. What am I getting myself into? She faintly wondered.
Many thanks to Mr. Beeto! I appreciate all the help. Hope you liked the revised chapter!