Hi everyone! Thanks so much for the reviews! Spring Raine, that's so weird but I was thinking that Vernon's deal would be with LexCorp rather than Wayne industries, so they would be meeting Luthor! And I agree - I don't think I could ever bash Sirius. He's one of my favourite characters!

This chapter is mainly getting the ball rolling. I don't want this to be a fic where Harry finds out he has unlimited accounts, and then drags the reader through a detailed shopping spree, but I needed to lay the groundwork for what Harry has available. We'll get to actual meetings and stuff, I promise!

Disclaimers: I own nothing - every character so far, except for Grunnings Sign Man, is the property of either JK Rowling or DC comics. I'll let you figure out which is which.

Warnings: This is obviously AU and will eventually contain slash. It will also mess with both timelines, as I'm not particularly concerned with making it match up in a linear fashion. If you're one of those picky timeline people, props for taking the time to wrap your head around it, but I don't need to hear it. Also, the characters will probably be OOC from time to time, but I'll try to make them resonate. There will also be mild bashing of random characters from time to time.

Enjoy!

Harry awoke feeling very grungy. His mouth was dry, his clothes were wrinkled, and he was still very tired. He would probably still be sleeping, if the sunlight hadn't been streaming through the sheer curtains directly into his face. Judging by the lack of noise coming from both bedrooms, the Dursleys were still asleep, and would remain so for the foreseeable future. Harry sat up, rubbing his eyes, and reached blindly for his glasses on the side table. Finding them, Harry sighed as his vision cleared and he saw a note near where his glasses had been. He almost snorted in amusement at the idea of Aunt Petunia leaving it – for it had surely been her, as Uncle Vernon would have just shouted the information at him, and he wasn't even sure if Dudley could write properly. His Aunt had probably dithered for several minutes over his sleeping form, before setting the paper on very edge of the table furthest from him and poked it in his direction. Smirking at the mental image, he picked up the note, written on hotel stationary, and scanned it.

It was brief; it informed him that there was no need for him to be around today, and that she didn't want to see him until evening. There was a complimentary breakfast until 10:00, and she had given him a room key so that he wasn't bothering the family at all hours. There was even five American dollars on the table. In short, Aunt Petunia didn't want to see any part of Harry unless absolutely necessary. This was perfectly fine with Harry, though he snorted at the money. Five dollars in a city as large as Metropolis would not stretch very far. He was lucky that there was a magical sector to investigate – he would have to ask about oversea withdrawals once he found a bank.

The clock on the wall said that it was 7 in the morning, so Harry got up quietly and slipped into the bathroom with his bag. It was lovely, with little bottles of shampoo and conditioner, and fluffy white face cloths and towels. He dug around for the ones not on display, as Dudley or Aunt Petunia would surely notice them missing, turned the taps before hopping under the instantly steaming water. The shower was very quiet, for which he was grateful, as he had no intention of waking the Dursleys any time soon. Finishing up, he hopped out and dried himself quickly with one of the towels, before getting dressed. It was simply another pair of black school trousers and a white button-up shirt, but judging from the sun that had woken him he wouldn't be need a jacket too desperately. Harry washed his teeth and then exited the bathroom, leaving it as spotless as when he had entered.

Glancing once more at the brusque note, Harry grabbed his room key – a rectangle of plastic that looked similar to his Uncle's bank cards – and toed into his school shoes. No way was he wearing Dudley's ratty, cast-off trainers. Shouldering his bag, he quietly left the suite, allowing the door to close with a quiet 'click'.

Harry paused in the hallway to get his bearings. He was standing outside a door numbered 1014, and he filed that away for future reference. He had the address of the hotel with him – it was on the stationary Aunt Petunia had written her note on – so now he just had to figure out a way to that breakfast she had mentioned. Vaguely recalling the direction they had come from last night, Harry eventually made his way to the elevator, and proceeded down to the ground floor. Once there, it took only some careful observation and attentive sign-reading to find his way to the dining room, where a buffet breakfast was being served. As he queued up behind a group of men in what could be classed as 'smart-casual' wear, Harry took in the atmosphere. It was very different from the dingy Leaky Cauldron, or the busy Three Broomsticks. Here, people sat in a well-lit room, chatting quietly and serving themselves from the buffet. Servers fetched drinks and cleared dishes, and it was all very relaxing and well-suited to the morning, Harry felt.

The group of men were seated, and Harry made his way to a podium, behind which a uniformed woman stood with a notebook.

"Room number?" she inquired.

Harry blinked, and fumbled for his card.

"Ah, 1014. Booked under Dursley?" Harry said, flashing the bit of plastic at the woman, who smiled at him, and marked something down in her book.

"Excellent. Is that a table for one, then? Parents having a lie-in?" the woman, Sarah her name tag read, asked with a grin.

Harry gave a hesitant answering smile.

"My aunt, uncle and cousin, yeah. Bit of a time change. I was told breakfast is complimentary...?" Harry trailed off, uncertain as to how things worked here. He didn't want to eat something and have his uncle charged. Vernon would be less than pleased.

Sarah smiled again – she seemed to do that a lot – and answered cheerfully.

"Oh, yes. The buffet is included, but if you want to order something we charge it. The buffet includes everything on those tables near the back wall, and the drinks, but our servers can fetch those for you. No worries at all. Now why don't I set you up at this table over by the window, and you can get started!" With yet another smile, Sarah indicated a small table midway between the exit and the food. Harry thanked her and went to the table to set down his bag.

Glancing around, he made his way to the food tables, uncertain as to what he would find. Between Hogwarts and the Weasleys, he was accustomed to a rather heavy spread, and the the Dursleys took things all out of proportion with the sheer amount Harry was required to cook in the mornings. So it was that he was pleasantly surprised to encounter light cereals and fresh fruit alongside a selection of more traditional breakfast fare. Harry loaded up a plate with sausages and eggs, but also served himself large bowl of berries. He even took a small dish of yogurt, out of curiosity. He made his way back to his table, carefully navigating through the other diners and their chairs and tables. Finally setting down his plunder, Harry was almost immediately approached by a woman he almost thought was Sarah due to the large smile she was sporting. Perhaps it was a job requirement – extra large smiles at all times.

The new woman, Jessica, asked if he would like coffee, tea or juice, and he settled for the American black tea. It was rather weak, even though it claimed to be an English Breakfast tea, but Harry supposed it would do.

He savoured the quiet meal by himself – at Hogwarts or at the Burrow, it was extremely loud at every meal, as he was sitting with a house full of Gryffindors at both locations. At the Dursley's, the meals where he was allowed to eat were punctuated with glares and not at all filling. As he was sipping at the last of his tea, he rummaged around in his bag to find the brochure on Magical Metropolis. Apparently there was an entrance near to a city landmark – the Daily Planet building. Smiling to himself, Harry quaffed the last of his tea and stood up, ready to set out.

0000oooo0000oooo

Harry stood outside of a rather nondescript cafe, searching for the clues mentioned in the brochure. He believed that this was the place, but it seemed that Muggles could see the establishment perfectly well; there was a large amount of them inside, queueing up for coffee. With a shrug, Harry entered, brushing past a pair of office-workers and making his way towards the back of the store. Once he reached a rather empty corner, he was shocked to note that most of the customers were full-out ignoring him. It was as though he didn't exist. Come to think of it, for such a busy cafe, this corner seemed to be very unpopular. It then clicked – this was the result of magic, and he was almost in Magical Metropolis. Now he just had to...

Harry sat at the table in the very corner and brought out his wand. There was a nice seating area back here, really, with a large couch and several mismatched chairs. He supposed that this was to accomodate large groups. He brought out his wand, and somewhat self-consciously tapped the table twice with it. There was a sudden shift in his perception, and everything seemed backwards; he was in the same seat, except it was in a shop that appeared to be the mirror of the muggle one. Here the clientele was more varied, with obvious magical beings chatting and drinking in the brightly-lit establishment. After a moment to get his bearings, Harry stood, adjusting his bag on his shoulder, and began navigating through the crowd to exit the building.

Once out in the street, he took a moment to observe. Magical Metropolis was very different from Diagon Alley. The streets and buildings seemed to be congruent with the architecture in the muggle world, only with more magical displays and advertising. It was much more organized, and he saw sign-posts everywhere. Grinning, Harry flattened his fringe – he didn't know how well the story of the Boy-Who-Lived had spread, but he'd rather not take chances – and started off in the direction that a sign reading 'Gringotts' had pointed to.

As he went down the street, he noticed many stores promising very interesting merchandise. Magical America seemed far more in-tune with muggle culture than in Britain; while there were the traditional robes stores, and an apothecary, Harry also spotted a shop named 'Charmed Civvies' that promised enchanted garments in the latest muggle styles. There was also a very interesting shop that had muggle electronics in the window, with signs reading 'Now integrating MC – Magical Current!' It was all very clever, and Harry wanted to browse through everything, but he needed money first. So he continued on his way to the bank.

Gringotts was not a white marble building here; instead it managed to come across as posh, modern, and intimidating, all at once. Harry was slightly nervous going in, but he saw the same threatening poem on the inner doors which, oddly enough, reassured him. He made his way across the darkly-tiled floor to the nearest unoccupied teller.

Harry cleared his throat and addressed the Goblin behind the desk,

"Hello, I'm visiting from Britain and I was wondering if you have a procedure for international withdrawals?" he asked nervously.

The Goblin surveyed him for a moment, before replying,

"If you have an account at Gringotts, and sufficient identification, we will be able to accomodate you. You will not be able to visit your vault, of course, but we provide several withdrawal services, all charged accordingly," the Goblin told him in a neutral tone. Goblins seemed to be much more polite in America, Harry thought.

"Ah, what kind of identification?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Your vault key or wand will suffice," the Goblin said.

Harry sighed in relief, and presented his wand to the Goblin, who examined it minutely before placing it on a small scale. Finally, it looked up.

"All is in order, Mr. Potter," it said, eyes flicking only briefly to Harry's forehead before refocusing. "What sort of withdrawal service do you require?"

"Well, I'd like to buy things here, and in the muggle world, can you do that?" Harry asked hopefully.

The Goblin nodded and said, "Indeed, we can offer our expanded wallet for transactions in both worlds. It allows you to withdraw exact amounts for your purchases. Muggle money stands at three to the Galleon at the moment, and as you are still a minor you have a daily spending limit of 200 Galleons. Will that serve?"

Harry nodded quickly, excited at the prospect of not having to carry a large amount of gold with him.

"Sounds excellent," he said, "I'll take it!"

The Goblin nodded and made a note on an unseen ledger before reaching into a drawer and pulling out a rather nice leather wallet. It went over the features with Harry, explaining how to withdraw money, and how to personalize it to prevent theft. With a brisk nod, Harry was sent on his way, financial matters taken care of.

As Harry stepped out into the bright street, he wondered why Britain didn't have something like this. All that going down in carts to grab bags of coins seemed very inefficient. Not to mention out-dated. The banking system here was very convenient, and blended in far better with muggle lifestyle. Harry smiled wryly at how backwards everything was back home.

He set off down the street, not knowing which store to visit first. A travel shop caught his eye, and he entered it, wondering what they had available for tourists. It seemed to accommodate any kind of travel – there were trunks, suitcases, bags and purses. There was a vacation section and adverts for things like flying carpets, or 'City Ports' whatever they were.

Harry found a rather nice messenger bag made of softened leather. It was had expansion charms on it that were compartmentalized for easier organization, and it had a proportional lightening charm on it so that it never got too heavy. It was a far cry better than his current knapsack, which was a hand-me-down from Dudley, so Harry made the purchase with a smile.

He left the shop and drifted through the magical district, seeing the different pet shops and book stores, and enjoying himself overall. He braved the clothes store that sold muggle clothing, and left with some outfits that were much nicer than any he had had before. In fact, he left wearing one of them – some atfully faded jeans coupled with a red shirt with a lightning logo on it. He had been vaguely amused by the insignia, and had noted a few other interesting shirts with similar logos. There had been a sort of bat, a green ... shape ... and a stylized 'S', but Harry found the irony of the lightning bolt too much to resist. He was also wearing some amazing shoes called converse that he had internally gushed over.

Harry actually hadn't realized how much he liked clothes before. He had never had much choice with Dudley's old things, and at Hogwarts he wore the uniform. The sales clerk had loved helping him choose what he liked.

It was getting on towards lunch time, and Harry had an eye out for somewhere to eat. He passed a plaza that had several arches set up behind a low wall, and paused as he noticed a familiar sign. It read 'City Ports' and he remembered seeing an advert in the travel store for them. He wandered closer to the booth where the information was, and saw that it was an ingenious system of doorways between cities.

Apparently, they were a relatively new development that brought together concepts from floo powder and portkeys. They were spelled doorways that led to different cities in America that contained a magical district. There was a charge to use the doorway, but it was much less dirty than using floo, and sustained multiple uses, unlike portkeys. Harry thought it was a brilliant idea, and scanned the list of available cities.

One of the closest, and cheapest was Central city, which had excellent restaurant and entertainment reviews for both the magical and muggle side. Grinning, Harry paid his fare, and stepped through the Central City portal, ready to explore.

AN: So, thoughts? I hope that these new concepts make sense - I don't want it to be too ridiculous, but I feel that North American wizards would be a bit less stagnated that the European ones. This is partly because they have relatively young history, and I feel that in a country that is home to the Justice League the wizarding community and government would be more aware and more adaptable. They would probably put more into keeping up with the muggles, seeing what villains can do with technology. There are just vague thoughts, so tell my what you think - does it work, is it too much? As I said before, I hate fics where Harry inherits Infinity Galleons and is the heir of everyone important and is actually a creature with infinity powers and a mate that he MUST MARRY OR THE WORLD WILL END BUT ITS OK BECAUSE THEY'RE STRONGER TOGETHER. Those are so annoying. So are the ones that detail every single thing he buys and the exact preparation of everything he eats. I like detail, but I like for it to be natural, and I hope I achieved that here.

I would love your reviews, they make me feel warm and fuzzy and inspire me to write more (hint hint). Thanks for reading!