Disclaimer

The characters used in this story are the property of Dc Comics and Warner Bros. I have used them in this story which is entirely a product of my own imagination.

Chap 23

Superman knew it was inappropriate to speak anymore. Silence prevailed for a long time between the two. Superman looked out of the plane absent mindedly while Batman gave an undue amount of attention to his flight. Suddenly Superman realized something was wrong.

"We are flying to Gotham!" he said.

"I am aware of that." Batman replied calmly.

"You want me to get to Metropolis on my own? What was the point of offering me a lift? You could've saved me a lot of time!" he protested.

"We've got some things to discuss, Superman!" Batman replied, taking a sharp turn.

"About what?" he asked.

"The case, of course!" Batman replied.

"I beg your pardon!"

"The case, Superman! The case in hand."

"Ok…" Superman said sharply, "Either I've heard you wrong or you have lost your mind! I believe the second one holds here. What part of I am not interested do you not understand?"

"And why are you not interested?" Batman questioned.

Superman fixed his gaze on him for a while, and then said, "I have said it once. But if I need to humor you again, then listen - I don't approve of her methods to accomplish… whatever she intends to accomplish. To me, the case is plain and simple. Get hold of that Mark guy and spank him until he burts out everything. That is the evidence we require and he'll be behind the bars in no time! For some reason, she doesn't want to follow that line of investigation. Her actions are unjustifiable on any perceivable grounds – and you know what, it is still blur to me as to why and where Bruce Wayne fits into this." Superman paused, waiting for the other to respond.

"I understand your point, Superman! You are obviously pissed off, for you thought she'd be like you, but it turns out she thinks more like me!" Batman remarked.

Superman's eyes widened. That certainly was uncalled for. "What are you driving at, Bruce? You see sense in all that!"

Batman remained silent.

"Very well, then! Care to explain why you left the discussion then, if you made sense out of all that! I'm sure they can use some inputs from you - The man who jumped off the cliff!"

Superman regretted making that remark almost immediately. But batman looked unperturbed. He let out a small sigh and said, "You were right, Clarke! I let my emotions take over, and I couldn't stand her presence! Now I realize, it was a big mistake! I should've pursued the matter further yesterday, and I didn't, thanks to all the emotional drama created around the point that she betrayed me. I don't want to repeat that mistake."

"And you realized that - when?" Superman mocked.

batman did not respond.

"Then fly back to watch tower! Why to Gotham, and why take me with you?" Superman asked.

"No, let them do what they plan to do! If I go there, I will be wasting my time with them." he said.

"Then why don't you ask them not to waste their time on that?" Superman asked.

"I cannot say that! If anyone has to take a call, it's Diana! Let her decide if a course of action is worth taking. I don't want either of us to influence her actions."

Superman sighed in frustration, "I hope you realize, you sound as stupid as Diana did!"

"It'll all be cleared, Clarke! You think she's stupid, I think she's cryptic! We'll soon find out what she actually is, and what is it that is actually bothering her."

"I don't mind being on the same page as you, Bruce! Care to explain!"

"That's what I intend to do, Clarke!" Batman said as he lowered the jet through a tunnel and prepared for landing.s