Chapter 1 – Achilles' Heel
"Hey, Smallville, you gotta try these crab cakes." Lois used a pair of ornate silver tongs to drop another one into her plate. "I didn't know they made them this good." In a minute, golden Panko bread crumbs and hot oil were all that were left on her plate.
Clark shook his head. "I'm good, thanks."
"Oh my God, I'm so hungry. I didn't eat anything all day."
"That's no reason to not use a napkin. People are starting to stare."
"If they're staring it's because you look like you're going to puke all over their nice buffet." She dabbed her lips and pointed past the meteor exhibits in glass cases, to the ladies' room. "I'll be right back. Unless you want to join me and hurl your guts into a toilet while I fix my makeup."
"Let me get back to you on that."
Lois was about to walk away, but she stopped to take a closer look at him. "Really Kent, you're not looking so hot."
"I'm all right."
"What's wrong with you? Some kind of bug?"
"Yeah. Maybe."
"Better not be catching."
"I'll be sure to keep my distance."
By the time she returned, lips freshly glossed with color, the lights in the hall had been dimmed and the conference was already under way. She moved to stand beside Clark. She looked up at him and saw that he was sweating. "Hey, seriously, are you okay?"
He didn't answer.
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. Before we get underway, I'd just like to say thank you all so much for coming. This is a special honor for the city of Metropolis, to be able to display these very rare and precious meteorites that landed halfway across the world in China's Liaoning Province more than 30 years ago. We here at the Metropolis Museum of Natural History extend our warmest thanks and appreciation to Mister Lex Luthor and Mister Bruce Wayne of Wayne Enterprises for making this rarest of occasions possible."
A round of delighted applause went up through the crowd.
"I now present, Mr. Lex Luthor."
More applause.
"Thank you. Thank you everyone. But I would not have been able to achieve this if not for Mr. Wayne's techniques of persuasion when it comes to the Chinese government."
Wayne leaned in. "It's called money, Lex."
Light laughter.
Clark exhaled shakily and his legs buckled a couple of times.
"Clark," Lois hissed. "Are you going to hold it together or not?"
"I…"
Luthor smiled knowingly. "Now, I don't want to bore you with a lot of technical detail concerning these meteor fragments you see around you. But the story goes that it was the middle of a summer night. Dawn was hours away, but the sun began to rise. Soon local villagers began to come out of their houses, confused, and saw that the sun had crumbled to hundreds and hundreds of pieces of gold.
"Balls of fire fell through their homes, on their crops, at their doorstep. Houses burned down and people were injured. It was a terrifying several minutes, but it was soon over. When all was said and done, all that was left, was this." Luthor gestured to the glass cases. "Shards of green meteorite.
"Because the Shenyang meteorites emit very low levels of radiation, the largest piece of this exhibit is going to be contained continuously in a lead casing for added safety and will be visible to museum patrons through a video monitor. However, for photography reasons and because of all of our guests, we are going to allow you to look at the meteorite up close. But don't worry. This level of radiation is so miniscule that it's totally harmless. Bruce, would you like to do the honors?"
Wayne spread his arms. "Sure."
The lights were dimmed further, plunging the room in almost total darkness except for the exit signs.
The meteorite shards currently on display inside small glass cubes emitted a slight green glow. The guests were oohing and aahing at their mystical quality.
Bruce Wayne approached the centerpiece and the lead casing. He pressed a button and the lead enclosure moved upward, leaving behind a thick, bullet-proof glass casing. A green hue fell over the guests as they gasped in wonder. Diamonds glittered like emeralds, blonds and brunettes suddenly had shades of green hair. Everyone's skin now held a sickly, radioactive glow.
Cameras began to flash as the newspaper photographers began to snap pictures. People took their own personal pictures on their phones. Camera crews filmed the meteorite while reporters talked.
But those damn green rocks were the last thing Lois was thinking about right now. Because Clark's legs finally gave out.
Lois caught him around the waist before he hit the ground and he leaned all his weight into her. She groaned and began to go down.
Bruce Wayne hurried over as the crowd funneled around them and took some of the weight off Lois. "Whoa there, big guy."
"Clark, are you okay?" Lois strained.
"Let's take him outside."
They began walking, each holding Clark under an arm as he went staggering between them.
"Okay. Thank you, Mister Wayne."
"Call me Bruce." He looked at her from her Clark's arm. "You're Lois Lane, right?"
"Yes."
He smiled and nodded to himself. "Superman's weakness."
"Oh, I don't know about that."
Mister Wayne smiled. "At least one of them, I'm sure."
Lois frowned at him. "What makes you think he even has any?"
Wayne shrugged noncommittally. "Even Achilles had his heel."
One week later.
Gotham City Police Commissioner Jim Gordon unlocked his office and entered the darkened room. Street lamps below cast an upward light, piercing the thin gaps between the slats of his blinds and lining the back wall and ceiling. He removed his tan trench coat and draped the collar on a coat rack, his other hand going for the light switch.
Before he could touch it, there was a gentle slap on his desk.
Gordon stiffened and spun around, hand going to his gun.
"Read it." Said a rasping voice from the darkened corner.
Gordon relaxed slightly. "Don't you ever knock?" He berated irritably and picked up the newspaper. Gotham Gazette. Front page. He pulled out his reading glasses. Pushed them on with a finger over the bridge.
SUPERMAN FAILS—AGAIN!
Vicki Vale
Senior Reporter
Metropolis residents never thought it would happen the first time. They really didn't think it would happen a second.
Just one week after Superman's spectacular failure in apprehending four armed suspects in the heist at Metropolis Natural History Museum that left two security guards wounded and a temporary meteor exhibit stolen, Metropolis City's resident Big Blue seems less like a Man of Steel and more like any old son of man. Videos that captured Superman crumbling like a bag of rocks after a mere gunfight have gone viral in the past two days, garnering a whopping 38 million views worldwide.
Is it safe to assume that Superman is losing his laser edge? If so, perhaps Metropolis would like to borrow our fugitive Dark Knight—who has made no prior claim to being from the planet Krypton or any extraterrestrial planetary mass for that matter—to clear common thugs out of the way so Superman can deal with more important and deadlier foes—and not to mention, hog all the glory.
Recent events have revealed with painful clarity that Superman's weaknesses lie not in defeating hardened military generals like the late invader Zod, or even obliterating alien terraforming devices, but simply good old-fashion criminals looking for trouble. The universe is not without a strong sense of poetic irony.
The perpetrators in the Museum heist are suspected of being connected to the Metropolis crime syndicate, Intergang, which has, in the past, proven to be marginally connected to none other than LexCorp's CEO, Mr. Lex Luthor. Mr. Luthor did not return calls for comment…
"What do you want me to do?" Gordon asked in a low voice, pulling his reading glasses off. He rubbed his eyes and looked up at the still and silent shadow in his room. Gordon didn't know how the Batman entered his locked office. Sometimes the man was like a dark magician.
"Do you really think Superman can't handle a couple of armed thugs from Intergang?"
Gordon sagged into his chair and shook his head. "No."
"So why can't he?"
"I don't know. Let Metropolis PD handle it."
"No. I want you to bring him to Gotham."
Gordon scoffed. "What, you want me to invite him for a cup of coffee?"
"Something like that. Tell Superman you want him to apprehend the Batman."
Gordon gaped at him incredulously. "You don't seriously think you can outrun Superman."
There was a knock on the door. "Commissioner."
"Really, Gordon. I thought you'd have a little more faith in me."
The door began to open.
Gordon just looked away from Batman for a second. But he was already gone.
"Uh…Commissioner. Why are you sitting in the dark?" Detective Montoya flicked the light switch on. She frowned when she saw the room was empty except for him. She noticed the open window, stared a little too long at it.
Gordon stood. "What are you staring at?"
Montoya looked away from the open window. She gestured to the room. "Were you—talking to yourself?"
"Yeah, I'm rehearsing what I'm going to tell my wife since I'll be working late tonight. That makes all seven nights this week."
"Huh. I hope it's better than what I rehearsed telling my wife when I have to work late."
"Well, good thing for me, I have you."
"Sir?"
Gordon picked up his coat and pulled it over his shoulders. "Detective, will you please call my wife for me? I don't have time to waste arguing with her."
Montoya snickered. "Sure thing. Where are you headed?"
Gordon shook his head like he couldn't believe what he was saying. "Metropolis. Before I go, was there something important you wanted to tell me?"
"Uh, yeah," she replied like it should have been obvious. "Superman went down. Again. Wonder what tomorrow's headline will be."
Author's Note: I was pretty disappointed in Amy Adams as Lois Lane. I don't think it's her fault, though. She was just not cast right. In fact, as far as live action, Lois has never been cast right, in my opinion. And in general, Nolan's superhero movies seem to have poor casting when it comes to the women. Catwoman wasn't right, although I like Anne Hathaway, and neither was Talia Al Ghul, although I loved her in Inception. Anyway, as far as Lois Lane is concerned, I much more prefer the snarky, black-haired, violet-eyed version in Superman: The Animated Series.
Speaking of which, I got the idea for this chapter from one of the 3-part episodes featured in the Series. The plotline in this chapter very loosely follows that one. It's one of the best episodes ever made, hands down. If you get a chance to watch it, don't pass it up.
