It was morning at the Dailey Planet, and the Flamebird Trio were currently in the office of their boss, Perry White whom was holding up the latest issue of the Daily Planet. He looked pleased with the trio.
"Firstly you three, I wish to say how I'm pleased at how fast this latest issue sold." Perry said. "One newspaper stand almost went out of stock. And my Mama said print was dead."
The trio smiled. "Thanks Mr White." Lois said.
"But you know why I'm mad as well?" Perry asked.
"Well, I'd like to guess…Ah choo!" Clark sneezed suddenly, blowing some of Perry White's papers. "Sorry, Mr White." He sniffled.
"Well, I'm a little annoyed that you blew on my papers but that's not why I'm mad." Mr White said as he gripped on the corner of the desk.
"Well, I'd like to guess that someone got your coffee order wrong but I assume it's not it isn't it?" Jimmy asked.
"You bet your keister it isn't!" He slammed his hands on his desk.
"What's wrong?" Lois asked. "We only told the truth!"
"The truth eh?" Perry asked. "The truth?! Firstly, the headline 'Wayne Criminal Enterprise?' Paragraph 35, 'Could Bruce Wayne have been importing weapons to criminal organisations for some extra money? Or, has he joined the ranks of criminals such as Bane?' Apparently Bruce Wayne's attorney wants to sue us for defamation."
"Ooooh, that's not good." Clark remarked before sneezing again.
"I get you three constantly get in peril to deliver riveting stories and how much you strive for the truth and I appreciate the heck out of you, but this is on you!" Perry said. "Lawsuits are bad for business."
"Wait, could Bruce Wayne be planning to sue us because he's trying to cover his tracks?" Lois asked. "To distract the public from learning of his supposed crimes. I mean, people are bound to focus on a billionaire suing a news organisation. It's the kind of news Vicki Vale would come running after!"
Perry sighed. "But….Bruce Wayne, for some reason, is not going to sue us."
Clark, Jimmy and Vicki froze with surprise. "Huh, that's unexpected." Clark remarked before sneezing loud.
"Okay Mr Kent, do you need to go home?" Perry asked. "Because you're sneezing a lot."
"No, no sir, just got the sniffles that's all." Clark assured him.
Perry sighed. "Okay. Anyway, Bruce won't sue any of you because he's…I don't know what good graces he has in his body but he mailed me these." He reached into his drawer and retrieved a pair of pamphlets that he handed off to Clark and Lois.
They read the pieces of paper and realised that these weren't just regular pieces of paper, they were invites to a party hosted by Bruce Wayne himself.
Lois and Clark looked shocked about this revelation. "No way." Clark said before sneezing again.
"So, we write a report about his company deporting weapons to dangerous criminals and he…Sends us invites?" Lois asked in mild confusion.
"He wants to partake in an interview to help clear the air and prove his innocence." Perry stated.
Jimmy cringed. "Oh, that's awkward."
"Wait, why doesn't Jimmy have an invite?" Clark asked. "His name's on the article as well."
Perry looked at Jimmy with a hard stare. "You wanna tell me, Olsen?"
Clark and Lois looked to their friend with raised brows. "Jimmy?"
Jimmy chuckled nervously. "Well, I was planning to reveal this after the investigation but…I got invited to Bruce Wayne's party and wanted to bring you as my plus ones."
Clark and Lois were surprised by this revelation. But the silence was ruined when Clark sneezed again.
Later, the trio were walking down the street trying to comprehend what Jimmy was getting at. "Wait, you were invited to a party for millionaires?" Clark asked.
"Millionaires and billionaires." Jimmy corrected him.
"So…Are you two like pals?" Lois asked.
"I mean, it'd be cool to have a rich friend." Jimmy said before noticing Clark and Lois giving him some judgemental stares. "Well, even if I did become friends with Bruce Wayne he would not replicate the experience you two bring."
"Aww." Lois cooed before Clark suddenly sneezed but this time in a tissue he pulled out of a pack.
"But, I am going to partake in my first high class party." Jimmy said. "How should I act? Should I flaunt my wealth? Should I try and stand by a corner looking rich? Or should I pretend to like caviar?"
"Do you not like caviar?" Clark asked.
"I don't know." Jimmy replied. "Never tried it! I could hate it."
"Okay, me and Clark are going to my place to train." Lois declared. "You go ahead and practice acting rich."
"Make sure you go easy." Jimmy said.
"I'll do my best, Jimmy." Clark assured him.
"I was talking to Lois." Jimmy pointed out.
Lois grinned smugly while Clark just chuckled. "I'll go easy on him as I can." Lois assured Jimmy. "Good luck with getting your act together. And, probably jot down some ideas for what we should ask Bruce Wayne."
"You got it!" Jimmy responded.
Once Jimmy left, Clark sneezed into his tissue again. Lois looked at her boyfriend with a bit of concern.
"You okay, Clark?" Lois asked her boyfriend. "You've been sneezing quite a lot today."
"I think the effects of Captain Cold's freeze ray are getting to me." He sneezed again. "I've never had a cold before. And oh boy…" Clark sneezed again. "…I feel terrible."
"Maybe we could hold off combat training." Lois suggested.
"A little cold isn't going to stop me." Clark said. "Come on, I'll go easy on ya."
Lois grinned. "Okay, Smallville. You owe me if I win." She and Clark began walking back to Lois' apartment.
"Do you want me to fly to your apartment?" Clark asked.
"Nah, I kind of like this walk." Lois said. "How do you think Wayne is handling the scandal?"
"I'm more concerned about his co workers and employees." Clark said. "I wonder how they're handling it."
At Gotham, in Wayne Tower, secondary CEO Lucius Fox was walking down a corridor talking with employees over the recent illegal imports of their stuff.
Lucius Fox was a man possibly in his mid to late fifties with greying hair, a grey moustache, freckles, a beige overcoat, a white button shirt, red bow tie, black pants and black shoes.
"Alice, did you check the Brazilian branch?"
"I've checked." Alice replied. "Mr Gujan hasn't been importing any weapons."
"Isaiah, did we have any kind of payments from unknown sources?" Lucius asked.
"I've checked." Isaiah replied. "All of our payments came from business partners and investors."
"Well, how can this get any worse?" Lucius asked.
Then, a man in his late twenties to mid thirties burst through the door, panting. "Mr Fox!"
"What is it, Jack?" Lucius asked. "Please tell me it's good!"
"Vicki Vale is in your office." Jack replied.
Lucius groaned. "I told you to stop the press, Jack."
"I tried stopping her, I tried to get Roger to stop her but she is very persuasive." Jack explained as he walked with Fox.
"Better check the designer department." Lucius said.
"But…"
"Stall her Jack." Lucius said. "Talk to her about our new satellite program that will help us predict when the next hurricane will hit Gotham."
Lucius lead Alice and Isaiah into the designer department which was a small workshop with all sorts of materials and blueprints scattered.
As Lucius entered the lab, he accidentally stood on a green cube with 25 mini squares making up all of the six faces. And in the centre of each face, was a question mark.
Lucius picked it up and placed the cube on a workbench in annoyance. "Edward!"
Behind one of the workbenches, a man in his mid twenties, black hair, glasses, a white lab coat, brown jumper and green neck tie popped out from behind one of the desks.
"Sorry, Mr Fox." Edward said as he approached his boss. "Been working on a latest puzzle. All you have to do is rearrange every square so that all six question marks will align and-"
"Not in the mood, Nashton." Lucius interjected. "Did you check to see if everything is in order?"
"Yes." Edward replied. "I checked everywhere and I never had any word about any of our tech being shipped out to places like Santa Prisca."
"Did Alex find anything?" Lucius asked.
"I didn't." Coming out of a corner, eating a sandwich was a young man in his mid twenties with red messy hair, a pair of glasses and a purple shirt under a white lab coat. "All of our tech seemed to be in order."
"You sure, Lex?" Edward asked.
"I'm sure Mr Nashton." Alex replied. "And don't call me, Lex."
Edward chuckled. "Nah, that's not going to stop."
Lucius mumbled. "I swear this investigation is going to drive me crazy."
"Mr Fox, I assure you, if things go nowhere, me and Alex will take the fall." Edward said.
"I won't." Alex interjected.
"It's modest of you, but lying is not going to help us find this mole in our system." Lucius said. "Now if you excuse me, the Wicked Witch of the Vale is here and Jack is currently stalling her right now. So if she comes in, just tell her some aspects that she can't use to slander us because you know how much of a cruel mistress she is when it comes to this sort of stuff." As he spoke, Alex was grinning while Edward was shaking his head and making a zipping mouth gesture. "What's the matter Nashton? You're acting like she's been in the workshop this entire time."
"It's because I have." From one of the corners, Vicki was standing with her little notebook in hand. "It's okay though, Mr Luthor did tell me everything. How are you Lucius?"
Lucius gave Vale a deadpan stare. "Exhausted, Ms Vale. How's editor-in-chief job? Speaking of, shouldn't you be behind a desk flaunting your Pulitzer?"
"Ha!" Vale laughed. "Funny enough, it's been going well. Finding someone who will do everything to expose that caped menace is challenging as he's very liked."
"Not by me." Alex said.
"I was talking about Batman but yeah, Superman as well." Vicki said.
"How about we step into my office, Vale?" Lucius suggested.
"Gladly." Vicki said before departing the lab.
As she and Lucius were, Jack ran in looking exhausted. "Sorry Mr Fox, I've looked everywhere for Vale but-"
"You did a terrible job." Vicki said before leaving, causing Jack some confusion. Lucius gave him a sigh and shook his head before a sympathetic pat on his shoulder.
Once Alice and Isaiah left, it was just Ed and Alex on their own. "That woman is terrible." Edward remarked. "If she keeps slandering, then she's going to get her comeuppance."
"Slander?" Alex laughed. "She's telling all the harsh truths. Don't tell me you're a Superman supporter. He cost my job."
Edward groaned. "This again? Alex, you gotta get over it. I mean, your Dad managed to get you a job."
"Working for people who are enemies of the Luthors." Alex argued.
"Don't need to tell me that story." Edward said.
"One day Edward, Superman will pay for what he has done to me." Alex said. "I hope to take everything he has taken from me."
Edward sighed. "You know what, Lex. You need to focus your mind on another topic. For example, Riddle Me This: I am a belt made for a star. What am I? Think hard on this one."
"What?" Alex asked.
"You're smart Alex, you'll figure it out." He patted his back before going back to his computer.
A few floors up, Lucius and Vicki were talking over a cup of tea. Lucius' office itself was huge with a ginormous window for him to look out of. There were colourful paper weights, a giant portrait of Thomas Wayne on the wall, a bookshelf and pictures of Lucius in a photo with his kids.
"So, how are things? Being editor-in-chief?" Lucius asked.
"Things get boring sitting at a desk." Vicki replied. "Sometimes, I like to get back on the field if a story interests me. Such as this one."
Lucius sighed. "Vale, I assure you, Mr Wayne hasn't been in contact with people like Bane."
"Who said it was Bane?" Vicki asked.
"I read the Daily Planet." Lucius flaunted the article by Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and Clark Kent to Vicki. "They have a lot more integrity than you do."
Vale sighed. "Come on Lucius, isn't it obvious? Bruce is in a bad spot. His company isn't doing well."
"I can assure you, Wayne Tech is financially stable." Lucius said.
"Really? Then where's Bruce right now?" Vicki asked. "If he's trying to prove his innocence then he should be right at his tower fixing things."
Lucius raised a brow. "He's busy at home right now. He doesn't wish to deal with press junkets. You sure you're not reeling well from the breakup?"
Vicki chuckled. "Bruce is hiding something from the public. The public deserves to know the truth. They need to know what they think of the most eligible bachelor in all of America. Mr Fox, you should know that I don't put relationships over work. There's more to this than him being my ex. Yes, me and Bruce might have had a very controversial relationship but it's all in the past. I-"
Suddenly, Lucius heard a beep coming from his phone. "Hang on, I think I got a message coming in." He changed the settings to speaker and turned to the phone. "Mr Wayne, how's the investigation going?"
"What?"
"That whole weapons importing debacle." Lucius explained. "Ya know the-"
"Bruce, whatever you're hiding I will uncover it!" Vicki interjected. "You think you can hide in the shadows with your secrets, well I'm the flashlight that's going to-"
Suddenly, they heard the sound of what sounded like someone kissing a pair of lips. "Huh?"
"Guten Morgen, Bruce." A woman said seductively on the other end of the call. Lucius and Vicki watched on in shocked discomfort as they heard more kissing sounds and Bruce moaning.
"Oh Vicki, is that you?" Bruce asked like he didn't care. "Yeah, I just woke up recently, sorry. I'm with this super attractive model though I can't remember where she's from. I think it's somewhere from Europe. Sweden, probably. I know it starts with an S and a W."
"Ich komme aus der Schweiz." The woman said on the other end.
"Oh, Vicki, listen, congratulations on being editor-in-chief of the Gazette." Bruce said. "Really big shoes to fill." Vicki narrowed her eyes at the phone. "Oh, and I'm a little busy at my home today so I won't be doing anything today except some video meetings so I won't be answering any calls from your journalists. Oh, and Vicki, you should know that I don't put relationships over work. There's more to this than you being my ex. Yes, you and I might have had a controversial relationship, but it's all in the past." Vicki was completely speechless by what Bruce had said. It's was like he was condescending her. She realised she was getting angry and out on her cold composure to ensure professionalism.
"Bruce, I-"
"Oh, did you get my invite? I would have expected an RSVP by now." Bruce explained. "Oliver Queen is coming, so is Harvey Dent and that Jimmy Olsen guy. I don't invite social media founders often, but my Ward is a bit of a fan. Also, those reporters from the Dailey Planet are coming. Wasn't one of them, Lois Lane? That fabulous reporter with amazing integrity who made such a fascinating piece on Superman saving Metropolis from some kind of…Kaiju. Didn't you do a piece on Superman not too long ago? Or was it a slander piece?" He chuckled suddenly while kissing noises were heard. "Oooh, is that really appropriate? My ex is on the line. Aren't you going to say, Hallå?"
Vicki quickly pressed the decline button and inhaled aggressively through her nose while Lucius gave a smug grin.
"He's as shallow as ever." Vicki said in anger.
"Really?" Lucius asked. "But I thought you were a journalist. Aren't relationships and work life meant to be separate?"
Vicki narrowed her eyes at Lucius and got out of her seat. "I will find out the truth. I deserve to know the truth." Vicki stormed out of the office in annoyance while Lucius just stayed sat drinking his tea.
He grinned. "You've done it again, Bruce. You've done it again."
At Lois' apartment, Lois was dressed in her workout gear circling around Clark, whom was dressed in his own. They were each in their own defensive stances getting ready for a training session.
They had moved a lot of the furniture just so they could have plenty of space to train on Clark's combat skills so the next time he's in a fight as Superman, he has less cuts and stitches.
"You ready?" Lois asked her boyfriend.
"I'll go easy on ya." Clark assured her.
Lois grinned. "I don't think so, Smallville." She came charging towards him with her fists raised. She tried punching Clark, but he kept managing to block all of her hits. She tried aiming high and low, but he just kept blocking.
He was so fast, that Lois began to get exhausted. "You better not be using super speed on me."
"I assure you, I'm not." Clark said all while still blocking his girlfriend's hits.
Then, she dropped on the floor and performed a crescent kick that Clark avoided by jumping and going into hover mode.
Lois sat on the floor and panted while playfully narrowing her eyes at her boyfriend. "I thought we said no powers."
"Well, I have to utilise…" He sneezed. "…Them at some point."
Lois sighed. "Alright, I'm gonna make some chicken soup. Clearly that cold isn't doing you any good."
"I assure you Lois, I'm…Ah choo!"
"No arguing, Smallville." Lois demanded as she stood up. "I'm gonna make some soup so you can get better!"
"Lois I-"
"No, arguing." Lois interjected as she began walking to the kitchen.
As Lois began making her boyfriend some soup to calm down that cold, Clark used his super speed to put the training mat away, place the furniture back to where it was positioned before and then a quick shower before coming back down dressed in a shirt and jeans.
Lois looked from the kitchen and groaned in disappointment. "Aww man, you had a shower already?"
"Yeah, why?" Clark asked.
"Never mind." Lois said as she continued cooking the soup. "So tell me, what do you know about Bruce Wayne?"
"Well, not much." Clark replied. "Except the fact that he's a billionaire playboy who inherited his family's business at the right age after his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne were killed in a mugging. Huh, that's surreal. My Ma is called Martha too. Though, that won't mean anything. I mean, could you imagine me and Bruce Wayne becoming friends all because our Mom's have the same name?"
Lois froze at the thought of the idea. "Yeah, that sounds ridiculous. Anything else?"
"Oh, he's currently CEO, is Gotham's most eligible bachelor and is considered one of the most generous people in all of America." Clark said. "He has his own charity for orphans called the Thomas Wayne Foundation, gave money to a crumbling neighbourhood in Gotham City and donated funds to finance Gotham's pride parade."
She walked out of the kitchen to leave the soup to boil. "Well, he may look good natured but…" She walked over with a laptop and sat down on the couch with Clark following her lead.
She opened up an article that showed Bruce Wayne partying in a club by an ice sculpture with his shirt off while many women cheered and threw their money at him. While a tiny man with a top hat, monocle, pointy nose and dressed like an elegant gentleman, looked to be yelling at him in annoyance.
"He's known to be very eccentric and rather showy." She then showed another article of Bruce Wayne on a boat with a bunch of women in swimsuits. Then another article of Bruce Wayne in the restaurant fountain fully dressed in his suit while everyone watched him in either disgust or amusement. "Plus, wild antics."
"And this man is supposedly selling weapons to people like Bane?" Clark asked. "Sure he's eccentric and wild but…He might have a good heart."
"I guess you're right." She then turned to the next article which had a tabloid magazine making a headline out of Bruce Wayne in a relationship with an older woman. "Uh, tabloids." But when she got a look at who the older woman was, Lois froze. It was Vicki Vale, her ex idol who slandered Superman and gave journalism a bad name and tricked her.
She narrowed her eyes at the article before moving to the next one which was another tabloid detailing a breakup between her and Bruce Wayne.
"Well, least them two aren't together." Clark remarked.
Then Lois, heard the sound of a ding and quickly went back to being enthusiastic. "That'll be the soup." She jumped off the couch to prepare Clark his soup.
He saw how distressed Lois looked over seeing an article about her ex idol and gave her a sympathetic look. She told him what had happened and since then, he despised that woman.
She returned a few moments later with his bowl and a spoon in hand. "Here. It's perfectly warm." He took the soup from her hand. "Careful, it's…" She saw that his hands seemed to be unaffected by how hot the bowl was and froze. "…Oh, right. Of course."
Clark took a slurp of the soup and smiled at his girlfriend. "Thanks, Lois. This tastes great."
"Come on, just a little something I whipped up." Lois retorted. "By the way, how's your super vision coming along?"
"Still trying to keep control." Clark said. "I mean, last time I was seeing right through you for a few hours."
Lois turned red in the face and covered herself even though she was still wearing clothes. "You mean…"
Clark panicked. "No. Not like that! I mean, I saw your insides. Organs and skeleton."
"But, can you-"
"Yup, I can see through clothes." Clark replied. "But I haven't looked through yours. Honest."
"You could if you want." Lois mumbled.
"What?"
"Still have problems with seeing through lead?" Lois asked.
"Oh yup, big time." Clark replied. "I hope it doesn't cause me any issues in the future. Do you think it was a good idea to mention that in our last interview?"
"Sorry. Needed to fill some lines." Lois stated.
Clark gave Lois a sympathetic stare. "You okay? You seem frustrated seeing that article with Vale."
Lois sighed. "I'm still not over what she did to me and Jimmy. Tricking me just to slander you and all for some editor-in-chief job?! I heard the phrase never meet your heroes, but I thought of it was just some over exaggeration. I guess they were right. I met mine and she turned out to be the worse person I have ever met. Well, besides Professor Ivo, Mxyzptlk or Livewire. Actually you know what? I think I'd rather have a conversation with the last two than be in the same room as Vale!"
Clark looked at his girlfriend with a sympathetic stare. "Hey, just hope we won't encounter her. If you see her again, just pretends she doesn't exist or if she tries to talk to you then just say you can see someone you know."
Lois smiled. "I doubt Bruce Wayne would be stupid enough to invite an ex over to a party. Or maybe he might."
"Well, however this party might go, me and Jimmy will never leave your side." Clark took her hand and began to stare into her eyes. "I promise you. Even during our inevitable interview with Bruce Wayne."
Lois smiled. "Just as long as that cold doesn't get in the way."
"I think it's passed actually." But unfortunately, Clark performed an unexpectedly powerful sneeze that it caused what could be described as a gale blown into Lois' face.
The force of the sneeze was so powerful that it knocked a desk lap off the desk and on the floor, the desk to shatter into pieces, a few windows to shatter, the curtains to fly off and into the wind and for the curtain pole to collapse off the wall.
Once the wind stopped, Lois' hair was spiky, one of the straps of her top had snapped and there was shock on her face.
Clark began to panic after he sneezed on his girlfriend. "Oh, Lois! I am so sorry! Do you want me to-"
"What?!" Lois asked. "I think your sneeze gave me tinnitus!"
"Lois! I am so sorry for what I have done!" Clark shouted. "Do you want me to-"
"Super breath?!" Lois asked. "Did you know you had super breath?!"
"No!" Clark yelled.
"What?!"
"NO! JUST FOUND OUT!"
"OH!" Lois yelled loud. "I'M GOING TO SHOWER, OKAY?!"
Clark made an okay gesture just as Lois got off the couch to have a shower. But as she began walking, she was stumbling a bit and almost losing balance. But thankfully, she managed to get upstairs while Clark just sat down taking in his new powers that he had found out.