With a smile he showed his reporter's I.D. to the bridge guard on duty. The guard, rudely, took the I.D. and looked at it for a long moment, then looked back at the smiling man who hadn't changed his facial expression. The guard sucked his teeth and gave the I.D. back.

"We're not letting reporters in except for a few select cases…" The guard said; the man frowned and took back the I.D. and put it in his wallet and looked back at the guard with a face that showed a lack of understanding.

"I don't understand; no one told us that when we couldn't be allowed access into Gotham." The man explained.

"As you may know Gotham is going through some heavy changes and we don't need any more issues arising between now and the end of the 'cleaning up' period." The guard explained; the man frowned again.

"What could we possibly do…?" he asked; he began to chuckle. "…we're only a couple of reporters." The man half pleased.

"I understand that; but, unless you have a permit from the G.C.P.D. I can't allow you into the city." The guard said sternly; the man went to open his mouth to talk; but the driver of the car suddenly leaned over him and looked the guard directly in the eye.

"Listen…" the driver started. "…you've got ten seconds to give us clearance into the city or else I will call my boss up and change the story to how Gotham city bridge guards are incredibly inhospitable and unhygienic, then I will personal name you…" The driver squinted to see the name on the guards name tag. "…Mr. Kaloni, and make sure that you cause so much embarrassment to the G.C.P.D. that you won't be able to get a toy store security job in Alabama." The driver stopped leaning over and sat back into the driver seat. The guard paused for a moment and then raised the toll bar and the man in the passenger seat smiled before the car sped off over the bridge.

As the car speeded on the bridge there was a long silence in the car.

"You know if you wanted to scare him you could have pulled a gun out on the guy." The passenger said; the driver of the car rolled her eyes and turned on the radio.

"Sometimes you've got to be a little forceful to get anything done…"she said. "…I thought you'd know that by now." She flipped her hair and looked back at the road.

"Oh I do know that; it's just that you can be a little scary when you get that mad…" The passenger said; the driver didn't answer and Hotel California by the Eagles played on the radio. "..Such a lovely place, such a lovely place." The passenger sang along; quickly the driver shut the radio off.

"When was the last time you were in Gotham?" the driver asked; the passenger thought for a moment.

"Not for a while; maybe a year or two..." He answered; he looked at the driver. "…why?" he asked.

"Because…"she answered very quickly. "…this can be a tough town and I don't want you getting hurt or messing up our chances at finding out what we came here to find out." The driver answered.

"In other words I should let you do all the talking?" The passenger asked; the driver nodded her head dramatically.

"Exactly same game plan as always…" she said. "…I do the talking and you do the snooping when I designate its safe." She explained; the passenger nodded and stayed in silence until the car came across the bridge and entered Gotham city. The car slowed as they drove through the streets.

"Do you think he's alright?" The passenger asked; the woman sighed and for the first time in a while seemed to have an emotion other than anger.

"…I don't know; it's hard to tell. This is the cruddiest city in the country, anything could happen…" she said as she turned a corner. "…but he's a resourceful guy, you would know better than anyone." She suggested; the passenger nodded.

"Still no one has heard anything about or from him in a month…" The passenger commented. "…It's a little strange; even for him." The passenger said with a sigh. The car suddenly jerked to a stop.

"Well if anyone can find out it's me…" She said as she got out the car; quickly the passenger followed. "…and I plan to find out" She said as she slammed the door.

The two of them stood outside the, nearly, demolished G.C.P.D.H.Q.2 building. The building was under constant surveillance and no one was allowed inside. Of course that was exactly what both people wanted to achieve. The woman walked up to the cop standing outside the building.

"Lois Lane, Daily Planet…" She introduced herself by showing her press card and quickly flipping it and putting back. "…I'm here to inspect the building on toxins and dangerous materials for a story." She quickly said. The cop looked at the woman suspiciously and shook his head.

"No one is allowed inside the building…" the cop said. "…no reporters." He concluded.

"I have a G.C.P.D. permit…" Lois began digging into her purse.

"No you don't…" the cop cut off her searching.

"...Excuse me?" Lois asked; the cop stuck his hand to do elaborate gestures.

"There are no permits for this building…" he explained. "…no one is allowed into this building." The cop concluded.

"I'm sorry; but, you're very wrong…" Lois looked the man directly in the eye. "…I've been cleared to enter this building here with my partner-" she gestured at the passenger. "Now either you're going to let me in the building or I'm going to have get upset and talk to your boss; either way my partner and I are getting into this building." Lois put her hands on her hips and scowled at the man.

"No Ms. Lane-" the cop started.

"Mrs. Lane; Mr. Tribert." Lois quickly corrected quickly.

"Mrs. Lane; you seem not to understand that orders are very strict and there's nothing you can do here to get me to let you into the building." The cop explained.

"I've come all the way from Metropolis; by car, you can imagine my frustration already. Now I have to deal with you telling me I'm not getting inside…" Lois paused and gave the man a hard smile. "…Do you think I'm going to just turn around and go back?" She asked.

"Frankly, Mrs. Lane, I don't care what you do; but you're not getting inside…" the cop said; he then seemed to take a deep breath and mustered some courage to say. "…now I would appreciate if you left." It was clear from the moment the words left his mouth that it wasn't a good idea to speak to her in this way.

"There must be something in my face that implies that I actually care about what you appreciate…" she reorganized her face. "…I'm here to do a job; I've dealt with cops like you before; there's nothing that you can do to intimidate me." Lois reached inside her purse.

"Please ma'am, keep your hands where I can see them." The cop ordered.

"Oh please I'm reaching for my cell phone…" Lois angrily responded. "..If you feel threatened maybe you should look for another profession." Lois snapped at the cop.

"Miss I don't want there to be a commotion, I'm not allowed to let you inside and there's nothing that can change that." The cop pleaded.

"Damn it…" Lois said under her breath; she looked over at her partner. "…do you have my phone?" she asked him. In a hurry he patted himself down and looked nervously at her.

"No I don't think I do Lois…" He answered.

"…God damn it." Lois spat.

"Miss-" the cop started.

"Mrs. Lois Lane Kent…" Lois sharply corrected. "…Clark here…" she threw a quarter at him and he did not catch it, he scrambled to catch it. Lois turned to him and her whole demeanor had changed; with a glint in her eyes she said: "…Go call Perry." Clark nodded and went down the block as Lois continued to argue with the cop.

At the end of the block Clark Kent turned the corner to view the south side of the building. When Clark had heard Bruce Wayne had gone missing, he at first dismissed it a minute problem. Wayne was a strong man and if he went missing it meant that he'd be back with a good explanation to fool the masses. But when chaos further erupted in Gotham and there was no sign of Batman Clark knew that something was a foot. Metropolis was a big city to police on his own; but, Clark knew Bruce had his hands full Gotham. Whereas Metropolis had its good days, Gotham had its bad and worse days. Bruce and Clark had both agreed not to step into one another's territory as to avoid the crossing of criminal minds. So at first Clark figured not going to Gotham would be the best choice; but, being a reporter Clark knew the things that were happening in Gotham and began to feel as if Bruce wasn't able to help. With some prodding from Lois Clark began to investigate the situation in Gotham. At first no one would answer any of his questions; but, Clark remembered Bruce speaking highly of one cop in particular. So Clark reached out to a James Worthington Gordon; who at first seemed totally disinterested with talking to the press, and inquired on the whereabouts of Batman. It was at the mention of Batman did Gordon seem more interested. Gordon confessed everything about the explosion, how he found the mask and suspected that Batman was either in very bad shape or dead; but, it was certain that someone was trying to cover up what happened on the roof that night. That was what convinced Clark that his help might be needed in Gotham. Clark used Lois to convince Perry to turn Bruce Wayne's one month disappearance back into a story. Once Perry was on board Clark intended to head out alone; but, Lois insisted that she go along.

"You know you're going to need my help…" she insisted. "…plus I've known him longer than you have."

Clark was smart enough to know that he wasn't going to be able to talk her out of going and agreed to let her come along. Here they were now in Gotham city looking for some kind of clue that would help them find Bruce Wayne. There was most certainly something very different about Gotham; the news channels reported nightly about the new change of power I the city; but, they didn't explain the drastic change that had occurred in the feeling of the city. It moved slower; there was a slight feel of remorse in the city. To see Gotham this way bothered Clark; he knew how hard Bruce struggled to make Gotham a better place and, it seemed that ; however, much effort he put into making Gotham work was overshadowed by some criminal or some form corruption that shook the cities political integrity. Yet; Bruce never complained, he always fought harder and fought his battles with a stern force that only prevailed time after time. The biggest problem was that Bruce Wayne was human; he didn't have powers, he needs to eat, he needs to sleep and he has another life that requires attention or, quite possibly, both entities could be destroyed. It was a wonder how Bruce managed to juggle all of these things and not go insane; the differences between Clark and Bruce were large. Clark had consciously decided to become a reporter because it didn't demand him all the time plus, he could use both his lives to help the other; Bruce had been thrown into owning Wayne Enterprises and he had to constantly be aware that he needed to keep Wayne Enterprises afloat in order to support the existence of Batman. Being the C.E.O. of the largest company in the state required most of Bruce's time; but, Batman required most of his time as well. Clark had a enemy who appeared most of the time: Lex Luthor, whenever Superman had to deal with some bomb exploding, or some sort of strange occurrence threatening the people of Metropolis Superman knew that it was more than likely some kind of plan enacted by the man who hated him the most. Batman didn't have that; sure he had repeat offenders; but, he didn't have someone who were the majority of his problems mostly all of Gotham was Batman's problem. Whenever there was some serial killer, thief or rapist menacing Gotham Batman had to start from square one and figure out who the person was and how to stop them. Batman; however, had the worse problem of all, a problem Superman had at one point; but, had solved: a woman. Clark knew about Selena, as most people did, and he also knew that Selena did not know about Bruce's other life. When Clark was keeping Superman a secret from Lois he knew that if anyone found out about his involvement with her as Clark Kent that she would be the first person they went after. The same still held true now; but, the difference was that Lois was wiser now; she knew the threat that might come to her and she was more prepared. Selena was clueless; if anyone of Batman's enemies were to ever find out about his being Bruce Wayne then Selena would be the most preferred target and, without Bruce explaining the danger to her and revealing himself Selena would be unprepared to protect herself. There were other problems as well, such as the one that had recently occurred, clever, cunning people who would stop at nothing just to see Batman destroyed; the protection of Gotham was no longer the problem now, it came down to protecting himself and for a man who could be shot, stabbed, burned, crippled, strangled, electrocuted or, any other form of destruction, that was the hardest thing of all to avoid. Clark; however, knew that heroes had an advantage over villains in on particular category,

Friendship.

Clark smiled to himself; Bruce would find it to be too cliché to say; but, friendship was something villains didn't have. Alliances, partnerships, yes; but, those things ended over the course of time, or at the end of a heist. But with people like Batman and Superman there was no end. Had Superman ever needed the assistance of Batman he could guarantee that Batman would be there. In fact that's how they met; when an ex-botanist turned into a deranged criminal calling her self "Poison Ivy" attacked and killed a politician in Gotham for ordering the removal of Gotham Botanical Garden she moved onto Metropolis to stop Lex Luthor from destroying acres of wilderness by poisoning the water supply and releasing toxic spores that threatened to overgrow Metropolis in growth that would further produce the spore, Superman found himself unfamiliar; yet, effected by the deadly spores. Batman came to Metropolis after following Poison Ivy and inoculated Superman with an antidote, it was then that Superman took the advantage to use his X-ray vision to uncover that Bruce Wayne was Batman. It was a surprise beyond surprises; but, Superman gave no indication that he knew and they went about their separate ways. It was later that night, when Clark, had flown home and settled on his couch to watch some, much deserved, television he noticed that his window was open and when he went to close it he could see Batman across the way smiling at him watching his every move. Batman waved and disappeared into the night; and later on Clark realized that the inoculation must have also had some form of tracking device inside. It was then that Clark found himself very fond of Bruce/Batman, a secret that Clark had kept for years had suddenly been revealed to Batman in a matter of hours, since then the two had become friends, working every so often together to bring down something much larger than the two of them; but now was something different, now it seemed as if Superman had to come save Batman from whatever was hunting him.

Clark looked to his left and then his right to make sure no one was around and the coast was clear, he took a deep breath and his feet slowly lifted off from the ground. Fortunate for Clark most, if not all, of the residential buildings had been evacuated after the explosion and remained that way until this day. The higher he went the faster he accelerated himself to the roof. Clark rarely flew outside of his Superman suit; it was too dangerous and would most certainly draw attention if he was spotted. Even now he felt severely uncomfortable flying up to roof in his regular clothes; in a way it felt wrong, perverse.

Luckily for Clark the roof wasn't very high up and he was on top of it within a few moments. It looked as if most of the work had not been completed as some of the news reported because a lot of debris was still on top of the building. Clark floated just a few inches above the debris looking through the debris to see the actual roof. It was Lois' idea to check this building, she insisted that there would be some clue left on the roof; but, Clark couldn't see what could be left. Two weeks of, supposed, work on the roof plus weathering and whatever else happens on roofs would most certainly have gotten rid of any evidence left. Lois; however, was positive that something was left on the roof. Briefly Clark looked over the edge of the roof to see Lois arguing, more violently, with the officer and now one of his colleagues. She was good, there was denying that, all he had to do was find something of interest on the roof. Clark landed and without any effort moved debris around; he examined the debris, turned it over, looked at it closely and found nothing. Clark wasn't sure what to look for, what could he find that would put him on the trail to find Bruce? He stopped for a moment to think. The news reported Harvey Dent was found on the roof with severe damage to his face and Gordon had confirmed that bit of news; but, added that Batman had to have been on the roof too because he found Batman's mask on the roof and people on the roof were looking for his body. If it was true that Bruce was on the roof at the time of the explosion then wherever he was now, whether alive or dead, he would have considerable damage on his body. He would have burns from the fire, broken bones from the impact, cuts from the flying debris. That was it, cuts would have blood. Blood residue would be left on the roof, even with weathering and washing and all other sorts of things blood residue would be left behind. To see that though, Clark would need a black light or a clever way to recreate that process. Fortunately he did have the latter.

Clark floated a little higher and took off his glasses. Clark concentrated; he knew if he could thin out his heat vision he could heat up the properties of the room from the inside and upon cooling, any residues that where on the roof, would become momentarily visible due to the difference in temperature between itself and the actual roof. The heat started to flow from his eyes and, instead of being concentrated, came out more like a sheet of paper and laid on top of the roof and went through the debris. For a moment nothing happened and Clark was getting discouraged, perhaps his plan wasn't going to work; but, after a while the roof began to glow and pulsate with the heat. Another few moments passed and the pulsating glow began to fade, that's when everything started to appear. As expected there was a lot of residue on the roof; but, because Harvey had suffered so much blood loss on the roof it was easy to see where Harvey laid at the end of the ordeal; from seeing that Clark could tell what was blood residue and what was not, combined with his X-ray vision he could see through the debris and see where one would have stood on top of the roof after the explosion, even if they were buried.

It didn't take long to find a blood residue trail that lead right off the roof, Clark followed it and it seemed to go on in the direction of another room. Using his super speed, as not to be seen, Clark flew to the other roof and did the same and found the same results. It was unlikely that anyone else could have gone roof to roof other than Batman. Clark followed the blood residue all the way to the other side of Gotham and, soon nightfall came and he was still following a trail; but, the residue was getting less worn, which meant that the blood was getting to be fresher then suddenly it stopped. Clark looked around and listened carefully for any sound; he was in a strange part of Gotham standing on a house rooftop, rather than a building. Clark turned and looked south urban Gotham was far, this must've been the suburbs.

"So you are alive…" Clark said out loud; he turned west to a bigger house lying down on the roof, with his back resting on the chimney was Batman. "…we were starting to get worried." Clark said; there was no movement from Batman at first; but, his voice came out of the darkness.

"How long have I been missing in action?" Batman asked; Clark thought for a moment and started to float to the roof Batman was on.

"Bruce Wayne has been missing for a month and a week; Batman isn't technically missing, since the Bat signal is down not many people have noticed your lack of appearances; but, those who have say you've been gone for about three weeks." Clark explained; Batman nodded and stood up.

"Those who have noticed…" Batman repeated. "…Gordon?" Batman asked.

"Who else…?" Clark responded. "…He's been keeping your escape a secret most of the people involved with the explosion, apparently, think you're dead." Clark went on.

"Brummer and his men." Batman revealed; Clark nodded.

"What happened?"

"The last couple of weeks I've been listening to things on the street about him; he had this man named Raymond Hernandez kidnap me in an effort to get Selena to call out Batman; at the same time he had been sending Harvey Dent messages, disguised as me to lure him to the Bat signal that night as well, then when we both arrived he planned to kill the two of us, as to call Gotham into martial law and use the corruption he's built to virtually take over Gotham…" Batman stood and looked away. "…How is Dent?" He asked.

"He's alive, he's just been removed from his medically induced coma; his face has been badly scarred and he lost a lot of blood; but, there's an overwhelmingly large chance that he'll survive with little complications other than his face." Clark explained. Batman nodded; Clark noticed there was something different in his demeanor; but, he kept it to himself.

"Seeing as you have already examined me you can tell me how I'm holding up as well." Batman suggested; Clark smiled, he hadn't even changed the way he was looking at Bruce; but, somehow he knew he had screened his body.

"Looks like you've healed pretty well…" Clark started. "…you've still got three broken ribs, a few burns and I wouldn't be above saying a concussion that needs tending to." Clark listed off.

"It'll have to wait…" Batman said; suddenly the Dark Knight had returned. "…Whether or not you came tonight was the night I was going to go after Brummer and his men." Batman explained; quickly Clark felt protest coming to his mouth.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea-" Clark began.

"There's nothing you can say to talk me out of it…" Batman walked over to Clark. "…Brummer and his men have relocated to an abandoned building in South Gotham, they've been clearing it up to become his headquarters; they're all going to be there tonight and I'm going to…" he stopped to find a proper word. "…apprehend them" There was something strange in Bruce's eyes that Clark had not seen before.

"Are you sure there's nothing I can say to convince you not to go there until you've healed better…?" Clark asked. "…I could get in touch with Diana you could lay low with her for a while." Clark suggested.

"No, I don't need Diana's help…" Batman said.

"Do you need my help?" Clark asked; Batman nodded.

"…Just for one thing." Batman said.

"What's that?" Clark asked; Batman took out his grappling hook and shot it.

"There's this large steel door preventing me from getting into the basement…"