Author's Note: I had several responses to the part about Kyle. I stand corrected. I knew that there's a few episodes that I missed, so thanks for telling me.

I'm also trying to update as soon as possible. So far my professors haven't done too much more than lecture, but once they really start to throw the assignments at me, I'll probably only be updating once a week.

Resurrecting the Red

Chapter 5: A Fateful Meeting

Somehow Clark Kent knew that he should have known better. A Luthor was a Luthor after all. Maybe he was getting old...he'd better not let Bruce hear him say that. He'd never hear the end of it.

"How did you know Luthor?" he asked coldly. The red haired woman merely smiled cryptically at him. The Kryptonian had been intending to listen in on her meeting with the two businessmen from Sevron Enterprises, but somehow things had gone awry.

"No need to be so formal Clark," she smirked. "Call me Alexandra." Clark gave a start. She knew? She knew who he...Damn. This wasn't good. The woman finally stood up from her desk and a sudden feeling of weakness washed over him. Clark knew that feeling all too well. His eyes drifted to the green jewelry on her body.

It was made from kryptonite.

Clark managed a slightly sarcastic laugh as he took a step back. Had she learned nothing from her father? Humans could be affected by long term exposure to kryptonite. It was how Lex had developed his cancer in the first place.

Her eyes narrowed at his laugh and she touched the green necklace around her neck.

"I suppose you're laughing at this? You must be thinking I'm incredibly foolish to risk getting kryptonite poisoning. But really Clark, or do you prefer Superman?" Clark glared at her as she continued. "But really, that thinking is so...outdated. After all, with the advances that are available to us in medicine today, do you seriously think that this poses a threat to me?" She took another step forward.

"In fact," she smirked. "What would you say if I told you that there is a way to manufacture kryptonite? False, yes, I know. But so are these and you can feel their effect, don't you?" Clark took another painful step backwards as she moved forward.

"You think you know everything, don't you Luthor?" he gasped. Oh yes, Bruce was going to give him hell over this. The red haired woman smiled as she made a show of preening her hair.

"No, Mr. Kent, actually I don't. However," her eyes narrowed darkly at the Kryptonian. "I do know that two...associates of yours in Gotham are poking their noses into my business. And I don't appreciate it."

Clark watched her in growing alarm as she pulled a gun out of her jacket. Somehow he had the feeling that he wasn't going to like this at all.

"You'd better not touch them," he warned.

"Or what?" she asked. "You'll kill me? Like you did to the man who killed your son?" That touched a sore spot in the Kryptonian's heart and he carelessly lunged at the woman.

She pulled the trigger.

Clark felt something slam into him as he crashed back into the wall. Something wasn't right, he felt weak...

"Newsflash Kent, that wasn't an ordinary weapon. It's uses kryptonite as its power base."

Clark staggered to his feet as he realized that he was in deep trouble. He needed to get out of there, fast. Alexandra Luthor aimed her weapon again at the weakened Kryptonian, but he managed to smash through the window and jump out before she could pull the trigger.

She slowly lowered her weapon and stared out the gaping hole in her outer wall. Hmph. Luthor wondered how Bruce Wayne was faring.

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Bruce glared out the window of his limousine. He'd had the unpleasant duty of meeting with Paxton Powers today over last night's break in at the research center. As much as Bruce disliked Paxton, he was thankful that the younger man didn't quite have the same sharp mind that his father had possessed.

For that reason, Bruce had been able to subtly manipulate the younger Powers without him realizing it. He had come to discover that Paxton truly had no idea about what Debray had stolen. Whatever Derek Powers had been up to concerning Cadmus, it was unlikely that Paxton knew. Father and son had been notorious rivals before the former had died.

Bruce rubbed his eyebrows tiredly as he picked up his cell phone. For once he would like to hear some good news. Unfortunately, in his experience, one could never wait on good news.

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"Hey, you awake?" Dana asked. Terry came out of his daydream to see that the others were smirking at him. The others, besides Dana, included Max, Chelsea, and Newbie. They'd decided to go get a pizza together after school and Max had insisted on bringing David along. Terry supposed that was okay. Red really didn't seem that bad anymore. Anyone who was on Nelson Nash's bad list was okay with him.

"Yeah," he yawned. "I'm awake. Just wondering about the old man. He had to go to a meeting today with Paxton Powers and he wasn't too happy about it."

"Is he ever happy about anything?" Max asked.

"Good point."

"You guys make him sound like an ogre," Chelsea said. "Is he really that bad?"

"Sometimes," Terry admitted. "But once you get used to him, he's not as bad."

"You know," David finally said. "From what I hear, he used to a real womanizer back in the day." Terry actually burst out laughing at that. Red Hair had no idea.

"Yeah, except the old man was too stubborn and hard headed to keep any of them," he said. "He couldn't commit to a relationship if he tried. The guy has absolutely no social life. It's no wonder he's alone."

"Maybe he needs a girlfriend," David joked wryly. "Maybe you should post a want ad for him on a singles site." Terry and Max laughed at the idea.

"Yeah," Terry said, "Crazy, nonsocialable, gloomy old rich guy with a god complex needs a woman who can tolerate the above listed conditions."

"Mr. Wayne would kill you if you did that Ter," Max said. Even so, the thought of it was hilarious.

"I'll save it as an idea for April Fool's..." Terry's cell phone rang then and he picked it up. He listened solemnly for a moment before closing it and standing up.

"What's wrong Ter?" Dana asked. Terry sighed as he pulled on his coat.

"It's the Old Man, he's coming here to pick me up. And he doesn't sound too happy," he added. Dana muttered under her breath and the others pretended not to hear. David listened curiously however. He'd had no idea that she could swear like that.

"How close is he?" Max asked. A black limo pulled out in front.

"That close," Terry said. David peeked curiously out the window. He'd never seen a billionaire before. Terry noticed this and smirked.

"Never seen him before, huh?"

"Nope," David answered. Terry waved him to follow after him.

"I don't think the old man's in the mood for introductions, but you can probably get a good look at him when he opens the door to glare at me."

Curiosity aroused, David trailed after him in the hopes of getting a glimpse of the, by now, infamous Bruce Wayne. Could he really be such an intimidating old man?

The side of the limousine opened up and he could just barely see an old man sitting in there. The old man's blue eyes swept briefly over him to look at Terry, when abruptly, the eyes flashed back to him.

David had the uncomfortable sensation of being under a microscope as a pair of impassive blue eyes pierced into his. The old man even went as far as to stick his head out of the limo to stare at him. What was wrong, did he have pizza sauce on his face or something?

He saw the old man turn to McGinnis and say something. His classmate seemed surprised, but he shrugged his shoulders and walked back to David.

"He wants to meet you," Terry said with surprise. He couldn't understand what Bruce was doing. He'd been in such a hurry before, but now the old man was staring at David like he was ghost. Not only that, but he actually wanted to meet him. Terry was confused.

David followed warily after Delinquent. Why did the old man want to meet him?

"David, this is Bruce Wayne," Terry said. The old man continued to study him intently as his assistant continued. "Mr. Wayne, this is David Kae. He just transferred to our school the beginning of this week." David held out a hand to the old man.

"How do you do Mr. Wayne?" David asked politely. The old man reached out and firmly shook his hand. The teenager found himself surprised by the strong grip of the aging billionaire.

"Very well," Bruce Wayne answered formally. "And you Mr. Kae?"

"Uh...I'm fine," David answered. Max and Delinquent hadn't been kidding when they said he was intimidating. What had he been like when he was younger?

"If I may ask, Mr. Kae, where did you transfer from?" he asked.

"St. Anthony, Iowa," the teenager answered. Terry looked back and forth in confusion. Why was Bruce taking the time to talk to his classmate? He didn't get it. Hadn't the old man been in a hurry just moments before?

"I see," Bruce answered. This time he smiled at the teenager, but the intensive look in his eyes spoiled the effect. "And how are you enjoying Gotham? Have you seen anything interesting lately?" David searched madly for a reply, but the only thing he could come up with was his experience at the gaming center.

"Well, I saw Batman this week when was at the VR Room downtown," he said. Bruce's eyes narrowed at that.

"You don't say?" Bruce murmured. "How interesting. Are you and Terry getting along well in school?" David swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded. McGinnis had understated when he was describing the old man. This guy was more than a little terrifying.

"We..didn't get along too well the first day," David admitted. "We ran into each other. Literally."

"I think my head still hurts," Terry muttered. He was starting to get a little annoyed. It wasn't that he disliked David, he just couldn't understand why Bruce was suddenly so interested in him. A small smirk formed briefly on the old man's lips before disappearing.

"So you haven't had any problems adjusting to a new school?" Bruce asked.

"Umm...not really." This was starting to feel like an interrogation.

"He and Nelson got into a fight," Terry suddenly added. "David's pretty fast. Nelson never even landed a punch on him." Bruce's eyebrows lifted a fraction.

"Pretty fast you say?" The old man was silent for a long moment before he went on to shock even Terry. "Have you ever ridden in limousine before Mr. Kae?" David shook his head no as Bruce continued. "How would you like a ride home?"

Terry gaped at his employer, but the old man shot him a glare. Terry slowly closed his mouth as he and David looked at each other. What the hell was Bruce up to? Why was he bothering to...

"Where do you live Mr. Kae?" Bruce asked.

"Uh...East Side Apartments, but you really don't have to..."

"Get in," Bruce commanded. David immediately climbed in after Terry.

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"That was weird," Dana said.

"Yeah, why does Newbie get to ride in the limo?" Chelsea asked. Max knotted her eyebrows together as she stared thoughtfully after the departing vehicle.

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The man stood up in irritation and looked around at the Gotham skyline. He was currently standing on top of Gotham's largest bridge. According to his information, Wayne was supposed to have been taking this route. However, his contacts had recently informed him that there was a change in plans.

The assassin quickly levitated into the air and flew off in a new direction.

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"So Mr. Kae, how do you prefer your coffee?"

David resisted his usual answer of cream and thirty two sugars. Somehow he didn't think Mr. Wayne would be amused by that, even if it was the truth.

"Uh, I'll take cream and...eight sugars please," he said instead. Terry almost spit out his own coffee.

"Eight sugars?" Terry asked. To his surprise, Bruce actually seemed to be amused at that as he handed several sugar packets over to the teenager.

"Eight sugars," Bruce repeated calmly. "Is that all?"

"Yes sir," David answered. He was very confused. First Bruce Wayne had actually wanted to meet him, then he offered him a ride home, and now he was offering him coffee? What the hell was going on?

At least the car was cool. It was one of those automated ones that didn't need a driver. There was a steering wheel in the front for one if a driver was needed, but apparently Mr. Wayne had decided that a driver wasn't necessary at the moment.

Bruce sipped his own coffee as he studied the young man over the rim of his cup. It was uncanny. This young man, with the exception of his eyes, was the very image of Wally. But Wally's daughter had died before her child had been born, hadn't she? There had been conflicting stories around her death that Bruce had never really trusted. But he did seem to remember that Amanda Waller had been...

Waller.

Several things clicked in Bruce's mind. Iris West Cullen had met with Amanda a month or two before she died, hadn't she? He remembered now, because he'd been a little suspicious of it. Hmmm...perhaps he needed to give Waller a call later.

Bruce dropped his cup as the car gave a sudden violent shake. Without warning, the car suddenly flipped onto its side and began careening out of control.

"Terry!" he started to yell, but Terry was already in motion. He was trying to get the door open when the smell of gas hit their noses. Terry swore, they had maybe seconds before the car...

Whoosh.

A disorientated Terry suddenly found himself being deposited on the side of the street with Bruce. As he looked around in confusion, he saw the limo explode about a block down the street. The teenager gaped at the explosion and then up at the red haired young man standing above him. David smiled sheepishly as he handed Terry's school bag to him.

"Are you two okay?" David asked nervously.

"Wha..how...what the..." Terry sputtered in confusion. He looked over at the old man, but Bruce didn't appear to be the least bit surprised. In fact, if anything else, he appeared very pleased.

"I thought as much," Bruce said as he fixed a stony glare on the red haired teenager. "You're Wally West's grandson."

David gulped as Terry whipped his head around to gape at him. What should he do now?