In Santa Prisca, Carla was walking with a few of her crew towards what looked to be an abandoned, decrepit building. Looked to be destroyed either due to war or just a gas explosion. The top half was missing, leaving only half of it.
When she arrived, she looked inside to see her boss dressed in a black sleeveless vest that exposed his muscles and more tubes travelling around his body and to the back of his head. He was also wearing what looked to be fingerless gloves, black pants and black boots.
Bane was currently in a fight with two of his men. One had a black mohawk and a tattoo on his bare abdomen. While the other was bald and had a tattoo on his face that looked to be a tear.
They began charging at bane with aggression. One tried landing a hit on the man, but he just slammed his elbow into his face before punching the other one in the chest, rib and abdomen.
The one who got an elbow to the face, now with a nosebleed grabbed Bane by his waist and began punching his back, causing him to grunt. While the other began hitting Bane in the face while his buddy held him back.
After a few punches, Bane managed to break free by leaning backwards on the opponent and kicking the charging opponent in the face. He then freed himself from the other criminal's grasp and by grabbing their hands and quickly removed the hands from his waist and snapped the opponent's wrists with a swift movement.
He screamed in pain as he dropped to the floor on his knees. The remaining opponent tried to hit Bane with a barrage of punches, but he only kept dodging them.
They stopped when Bane grabbed his soldier's fist and then tossed him over his shoulder. But before he could get up, Bane stomped on the chest with his foot, causing him to groan.
Bane stood mighty proud and disappointed at the same time. On the one hand, the feeling of winning gave him more power but he was disappointed with his crew.
"You disappoint me." Bane said. "Why do I even have you working with me when you can't even be a worthy challenge."
The goon he stomped on the chest struggled to catch his breath while the goon with his wrists broken was trying to hold back tears from coming out.
"Point is, you all too easy!" Carla handed Bane his coat which he put on. "Envía uno a la enfermería, el otro a la morgue." (Send one to the infirmary, the other to the morgue.)
Bane and Carla began walking out of the abandoned building together, discussing what was going on. "Did you track where the weapons were imported to?" Bane asked.
"The stolen crate was last located in Gotham City." Carla handed Bane a tablet that showed a Gotham Gazette article about what happened on the dock the night before.
Bane began to read the article. Every detail, every sentence, every syllable he memorised. "Cable vivo."
"SI." Carla replied. "She was the one that stole our crates. And what of Superman?"
"I need a little more time to perfect." Bane explained. "I shall temporarily move our operations to Gotham. We might find ourselves worthy candidates for Venom and the Meta Compound."
"You think this Meta Compound will work?" Carla asked.
"Bane was created because they wanted their own Metahumans." Bane explained as he walked to a private jet. "But all they got was much, much, worse."
"Why not test the Meta Compound on one of our own?" Carla asked. "You don't know who could hold the meta gene."
"And I don't know who couldn't." Bane retorted as he entered his jet. "Remember, disguise the tanks of Venom as tanks of helium. They won't be suspicious." He closed the door in front of Carla and sat down on his seat.
Outside the plane, Carla jumped off the step ladder and walked to the abandoned warehouse to make sure everything was in order while her boss' flight took off.
Meanwhile in Gotham, at some rundown apartment, Leslie Willis, dressed in a black sports bra and shorts, was on a burner phone trying to find a way out of Gotham. She missed her way out of Gotham, which was a one way train trip to Central City and she had no other way out.
"Look, Lisa, I'm sorry about your brother getting arrested but I just need a way out….Look, forge me a passport to get on a flight or find me a truck to Central City…I can't stay here while I'm the most wanted fugitive in Gotham. I've got the police searching for me, I'll probably get the government searching for me, or perhaps Bane and who knows, maybe I'll have the Bat chasing me….I know I said I didn't believe in Batman, but after the other night, maybe I do." Leslie collapsed on the filthy and unstable bed with a sigh.
"Look, just get me out of this city ASAP!" Leslie demanded before hanging up and using her electricity based powers to destroy her phone.
As she laid on her bed, all she was hearing were the sounds of what sounded like punches, cars beeping and people yelling. Just above her, she was hearing the sounds of cats and perhaps a whip. She wanted to know what was going on up there but at the same time, she thought it'd be safe if she pretended not to know.
Far off from Gotham, Slade was busy in a hotel doing some push ups while in his white underwear and watching the news on a small TV. As he continued doing push ups, he was sweating profusely and his muscles were aching.
The reason why he was working out right now, was because he was doing everything he could to build up the perfect muscle strength in order to beat and kill Superman. As he continued to work out, a news report on his TV went on.
"After bringing Leonard Snart and his associates to the Central City Police, Superman took off, most likely back to Metropolis. If it wasn't for Superman's involvement then Leonard Snart or as the media likes to put it as, Captain Cold, would not have been brought to justice. In other news, the Wayne scandal, regarding Bruce Wayne's alleged involvement with dealing weapons to criminals such as Bane or the as mentioned Leonardo Snart. Right now, Bruce Wayne isn't making any comment regarding his alleged involvement neither Wayne Enterprise's secondary CEO, Lucius Fox, gave any comments regarding the incident. The question that is on everyone's minds right now is, is Bruce Wayne dealing weapons illegally or is there someone at Wayne Enterprises that might not be what they seem?"
As Slade watched the news report, he narrowed his eyes at the report. Specifically, at the image of Bruce Wayne. Whatever he had with him, it was enough for him to smash his fist through the TV in anger. He panted in anger before calming down and sighing.
"No. He means nothing." Slade said to himself. "He means nothing."
"Agent Wilson. Do you read me?"
Slade picked up the ear piece from the desk the TV is standing and placed it in his ear. "This is Agent Wilson."
"You're meant to be handling Superman."
"Waller, the only reason why I was able to beat Superman was because I had a bunch of traitors working for me." Slade said. "In order to beat him, I have toughen up. Become faster, stronger, in order to beat him."
"Are you sure on that? You're not after Bruce Wayne, are you?"
"No."
"I know what he has done to you and I assure you, you will have your revenge when the time is right. But you have a mission to save this country from a threat. And that threat's name is Superman."
Slade clenched his fist. "Yes, Waller. Superman will be eliminated while Bruce Wayne will wait."
"Very good, soldier. Report when the job is done."
Slade removed the earpiece from his ear and placed it back on the desk. Then, he got back on the floor where he began to perform a series of press ups while reciting some names.
"Superman. Bruce Wayne. Leslie Willis. Sam Lane. Amanda Waller. Superman. Bruce Wayne. Leslie Willis. Sam Lane. Amanda Waller. Superman. Bruce Wayne. Leslie Willis. Sam Lane. Amanda Waller."
The next day in Metropolis, Clark and Lois were walking to his and Jimmy's apartment so they could make sure he packed everything for their trip to Gotham. As they walked, Lois was discussing with Clark about his super breath.
"Of all the ways you could have discovered your super breath, a simple cold unearthed that ability?" Lois asked her boyfriend.
"Well, my powers work in mysterious ways." Clark remarked just as he and her briefly stopped walking to chat.
"Wait, I just realised your super breath could have all sorts of possibilities." Lois said. "Like, how strong is it. I mean, you blew me. Which makes me wonder, how far would you blow a person like me just to find out."
"Uh, Lois?" Clark cringed.
"Yeah, I agree. Probably a bad time to do it here with all these people in their apartments listening in and watching us through our….What?"
Clark glanced his eyes sideways, signalling something. Lois turned to where Clark was glancing and cringed. She saw a Caucasian man with blonde hair in a ponytail, a prosthetic arm, a prosthetic leg, a distinct red jacket, black pants and black boots. He looked annoyed with the two of them as he folded his arms.
"There's a time and a place." He said with his arms folded before walking away from the couple.
"Sorry Al!" Clark said.
"Okay, maybe not loud." Lois cringed with embarrassment. "Aww man, I'm so sorry." They continued walking to Clark and Jimmy's apartment.
"It's okay. You're excited because I have new powers." Clark said. "I'm a little excited as well. And a little frightened. Makes me worried what will happen next time I get a cold. Will I sneeze so hard I cause a building to crumble?"
Lois held Clark by his arm to comfort him. "Don't worry, Clark. Just think of the pros of having super breath. Like, putting out fires!"
"Will that cause it to spread?"
"Eh bup, pros." Lois interjected.
Meanwhile, Jimmy was standing in his room with a his and Clark's suitcases at the ready. Since Jimmy was of course going to a fancy event, he was practicing speaking to party guests.
"My, my, my, the economy is going in a downward spiral." He spoke in a posh voice and pretending he had a monocle on his face by holding his index finger and thumb in-between his eye. He groaned once he realised how stupid that made him look. "No James. That's ridiculous. Okay, okay, okay. Ah, Oliver Queen, nice goatee. what have you purchased your dough on recently?" Jimmy smacked his head. "Dough?!"
Jimmy shook his head and his entire body. "Let's go with that again, Olsen. Bruce Wayne, nice to meet you! Do you wanna talk about your company or your illegal dealings?" Jimmy groaned. "No! No! No! Wait, I got it!" He began to pretend to be someone like Bruce Wayne. "Ah, Jimmy Olsen, a pleasure to meet you." Jimmy moved to another side of the room so he could pretend he was having a conversation with Bruce Wayne. "Mr Wayne, a pleasure to meet you. Might I say, that is a lovely tie." He moved to another side, pretending to be Bruce Wayne. "Well Jimmy, I gotta ask, what are you wearing?" Jimmy moved to another side. "Well it's nothing extravagant just a Majeur." He moved to another side. "Aren't those famously expansive?" Jimmy moved to another side. "Not when you're rich."
Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door and he ran to answer it. When he opened the door he saw his best friends waiting for him and they appeared to have been listing in due to them snickering.
Jimmy sighed in embarrassment. "How much did you hear?"
"I couldn't." Lois said. "But he could."
Clark rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry Jimmy. I couldn't help it."
Jimmy frowned in embarrassment and narrowed his eyes at his best friend.
Around an hour later, after they carried their luggage to the cab, mainly Clark did all the heavy lifting, they were sitting on a train for a one and a half hour journey to the seedy Metropolis that made Bludhaven look like Central City.
Jimmy was looking out of the window looking annoyed from his best friend listening in on him while Clark and Lois were sitting across from him, each having a cup of coffee.
They realised Jimmy hasn't said anything throughout the entire journey and gave each other concerned looks. But then they figured out, what was causing his frustration.
"Jimmy, come on man." Clark said. "Don't be embarrassed."
"Yeah, we're not going to tell Steve or Cat." Lois assured him.
"I'm sorry I listened in." Clark said. "And sorry I told Lois what you were saying."
Jimmy sighed. "I can't stay mad at you, Clark. Super hearing and all. Just, still kind of embarrassed."
"Is there anything we could do to cheer you up?" Lois asked.
Jimmy grinned. "Well, since we're on our way to Gotham City and I like a little bit of conspiracy, how about we talk about…"
Clark realised what his best friend wanted to discuss and groaned. "Jimmy, no."
"What? Who?"
"The Batman." Suddenly, they heard the sound of lightning striking. Then, they turned to the right and saw a tall man with black hair and large glasses, plugging their earphones into the phone socket.
"Sorry, watching a movie." He said.
"That's okay." Lois assured him before turning back to look at Jimmy. "Batman? Ooooh! I wanted to find a sighting of him ever since I visited Gotham."
"You visited Gotham before?" Jimmy asked.
"Yeah. Not a great time." Lois said. "I visited with a few friends couple of years ago just to see The Lady of Gotham and I almost got robbed by a bunch of goons in clown masks. But me and my friends just outran them. Nevertheless, I tried catching a sight of Batman but couldn't catch a glimpse."
Jimmy was amazed. "Wow. You believe in Batman despite not actually seeing him?"
"Yup."
"Ya know, most outsiders don't believe in him." Jimmy said. "Me and Clark were the only ones in college and him and I would stay up all night debating who he was and his methods."
"And what did you have to say about them?" Lois asked Clark. "You looked like you seemed detested."
Clark inhaled like he was ready to rant. "I just don't like Batman. I think his methods into handling crime are wrong. I mean, breaking bones and psychologically traumatising them for life. He is constantly scaring not just criminals but the residents that I read that some of them don't feel safe going out at night fearing that Batman will snap and hurt them."
"What about Robin?" Lois asked.
"I…Don't have an opinion on Robin." Clark replied. "But I think either Batman's actions influenced him or he influenced him personally."
"But, you can't deny the hard work he's done." Jimmy said.
"Sure, he's locked up people like the biggest crime families in Gotham, an expert marksman, a human crocodile, a scaremongering scarecrow, a cat burglar and a psychotic clown, but how do we know he isn't as bad as them?" Clark asked. "I mean, no offence but a man dressing up as a nocturnal animal taking their frustrations out on criminals has a lot of issues. Sure, I fight crime, but I don't try and traumatise people. My priority is to protect the innocent and fight for truth and justice the American way not frighten them. I mean, what kind of man does what Batman does?"
"Ya know, that's not a bad mystery." Lois remarked.
"Huh?"
Lois quickly pulled out her laptop from her case, logged on and clicked on her documents file to click on a document titled 'Batman's identity.'
Jimmy got off his seat to look what was on Lois' laptop. "You have a file dedicated to Batman's identity?" Jimmy remarked.
"I had one for Superman." Lois laughed. "Can't believe I thought Bruce Wayne could have been Superman. But in actuality, I was dumb enough to not pretend Clark had glasses. Seriously Clark, how does the glasses thing work? It's not really a subtle disguise."
Clark began to ponder his disguise. "Huh. I never asked myself how it worked."
"So, who have you got on this list?" Jimmy asked.
"Well, since Batman is a man with a bunch of nifty gadgets, I came to the conclusion that only someone rich could be him. And it came down to a billionaire who happens to manufacture a lot of products for well paying customers, including much speedier internet connection and the very train we are travelling on. I came to the conclusion that, it was none other than Ted Kord." Lois grinned.
"I mean, that makes sense." Jimmy remarked.
"Yeah, but he lives out Palmera City." Clark said.
"Or…That's what he wants us to think." Lois said. "But I also theorised that Batman could be Oliver Queen. I mean, stuck on an unmarked island for five years, he must have learnt some skills to survive."
"But, Batman does not have a distinct blonde goatee." Superman pointed out.
"But the real question is: Is it natural?" Lois made a mind blown gesture to emphasise her point.
Clark shrugged his shoulders. "He still lives out in Star City."
"Well, your theories are solid but I think Batman is a member of the Gotham City Police Department." Jimmy said. "A cop who is tired of all the corruption and bribes from the mob and does something to clean up the mess."
"Or it could be someone not important." Clark said.
"But what if it was?" Jimmy asked.
"Look, whoever Batman is, he's just someone who is not on the side of the law." Superman said. "He's just a guy who needs more help than the criminals he puts away."
"You sure you're Clark Kent of the Daily Planet or Clark Kent of the Gotham Gazette?" Jimmy's question got Clark to narrow his eyes at his best friend disapprovingly.
Jimmy saw how insulted Clark looked and quickly defused the insult. "Sorry. Sorry. Didn't mean to."
"Well, now I know there's two people I hope we're not seeing when we arrive." Lois remarked.
When they arrived in Gotham, it was as dreary as it looked. And it was only sunset. Compare that to Metropolis which looked like a very progressive city of the future, the city of Gotham's architecture looked to be something noir and gothic at the same time. Getting out of the train station was easy enough but getting a taxi was the hardest part as they either just drove off or someone else jumped in.
So unfortunately, they had to walk down a bustling yet decrepit street to get to their hotel. Clark was carrying his and Lois' cases, Lois was on her phone trying to get a taxi while Jimmy was carrying his backpack and suitcases.
Jimmy bumped into a guy as they walked. "Watch it!" The person, who happened to be a business man, snapped.
"Sorry." Jimmy said.
"Yeah. Next time I bump into you, you could be on the sidewalk." He said before walking away.
Clark cringed. "I hope he was having a bad day."
"Uh! I can't get a good cab here!" Lois groaned. "Just like last time!"
"You know, I read an online review from an analyst that tourists coming here become a victim of a crime in Gotham approximately every 30 minutes." Clark stated.
"How does that help our situation, Smallville?" Jimmy asked.
"Just felt like sharing some trivia." Clark said while someone began to approach him.
"Okay! Okay! I got us a cab!" Lois exclaimed happily before groaning again. "No! It cancelled us."
"What?! In three seconds?!" Jimmy exclaimed.
"Uh! I should have warned you that getting a cab here is impossible!" Lois exclaimed. "Oh gosh, why didn't I?!"
Suddenly, the scrawny man with a beanie and a long jacket tapped Clark on the shoulder. "Hey buddy, you got the time?"
Clark turned to face the man. "Sure." He pulled his phone out to check at the time. "Okay, so it's 4:17 according to my phone. Unless time zones here are different then-" Suddenly, the man snatched the phone out of Clark's hand. "Hey!" Then, he punched Clark right in the face. But instead of knocking Clark to the ground, he felt a painful crack in his knuckles.
The would-be-mugger's face seethed in pain as he fell on his knees crying in pain. Lois and Jimmy had just turned around to see the incident's aftermath. The man seethed in pain as he dropped Clark's phone on the ground.
The tall outsider picked up his device and put it back in his pocket just as a cop arrived. "What happened?"
"His jaw broke my hand!" The mugger cried.
The cop turned to Clark who just put his phone back in his pocket. "He tried to steal my phone. But…I had no idea my jaw was this hard."
The cop known as Montoya looked at Clark with an impressed look. "Some jaw. I'll book this one back at the station. You go on and have a nice day."
"We will. Thanks." Clark, Jimmy and Lois continued walking to their hotel looking panicked.
"Okay Lois, either you find a a taxi or Clark flies us at the hotel!" Jimmy exclaimed.
"I don't know Jimmy. I prefer to keep a low profile." Superman said.
"Why?" Lois asked.
"I mean, someone might find it suspicious that Clark Kent and Superman arrived in Gotham on the same day." Clark replied. "If someone was smart enough. I just prefer to not take the risks. Besides, someone smart might figure out that Clark Kent and Superman are one and the same."
"Eh, unlikely." Jimmy said. "I mean, you were gone for four days and not once did Mr White put two and two together."
"Huh, either I'm good at disguising myself or people are not that smart." Clark remarked.
Meanwhile, the First National Bank of Gotham, a giant building which some would mistaken for a courthouse. Inside, there were people discussing their financial situation, cashing in a cheque or taking some money from their account. It was fine so far. Mundane, nothing interesting going on.
That was until, a group of men burst into the bank wearing sets of insect based masks. One was dressed as a mantis, another as a fly, another as an ant and the other, presumably The leader; Was in a green moth mask.
The moth leader pulled a gun from his pocket and fired a shot in the air, causing everyone to panic. "Alright, listen up!" He forced someone off of a bench by throwing them on the floor before standing on it. "I don't want any resistance from any of you! The Batman isn't coming! In case you forgot, he is a very nocturnal creature!"
Someone tried to run out through the door, but the mantis grabbed her by the sleeve and shoved them to the ground. "Do not move!"
"Check the backs!" The moth commanded the ant and fly.
The ant and the fly ran towards the back where they managed to find a bunch of people taking cover behinds desks or running into a nearby storage closet. They however, pulled them out and forced them on the ground.
"Okay! I'm gonna make this clear!" The Moth said. "When communicating with me, I want you to refer to me as Killer Moth. You refer to him as Praying Mantis. This one, Psycho Ant. And the other, Murder Fly."
Praying Mantis raised his hand. "Uh…Why do I get Praying Mantis? Everyone else gets a cool name, why do I get the lame name?"
Killer Moth sighed. "Now?! We are robbing a bank and you're discussing names now?!"
"You're right, sorry." Praying Mantis said. "I just…Think Praying Mantis doesn't exactly make me intimidating."
"It actually means praying as in it prays on its prey and not what you think it is." A receptionist said.
Killer Moth pointed to the woman with his gun, causing her to flinch. "You see what? She knows what I'm talking about! Okay, everyone, disregarding the name disagreement, where is the bank manager?!" Everyone either cried or just whimpered. "Anyone? Anyone? No?!"
Suddenly, he grabbed a random man wearing square glasses by his collar and tossed him on the floor. "Do you know who the manager is?!"
The man's lips quivered in terror. "I…I….I….I….I…I can't tell!"
"Why?" Killer Moth asked as he pressed the gun to the back of his head. "You the manager? Or do you know who the manager is?"
"HELLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPP!" The man cried in distress.
Outside the bank, Clark, Lois and Jimmy were just walking past the building right at this very moment. Until Clark heard the hostage scream from outside of the building, causing him to stop.
Lois and Jimmy noticed that he had stopped and was looking at the nearby bank like he was listening to what was going on.
"Clark, what's going on?" Lois asked.
"A robbery." Clark used his vision to see what was going on. "Four criminals and a dozen hostages." He placed the suitcases on the sidewalk. "I know I said I should keep a low profile here. But I-"
Lois smiled at her boyfriend. "Go save the day, Smallville."
"You go ahead, we'll try and carry the luggage while you catch up." Jimmy tried dragging the suitcases but he could only get a few inches.
"Be safe, okay?" Lois and Clark shared a quick kiss.
"I will!" Clark assured them before he ran off to get in uniform.
But he needed a discreet place to get changed in his uniform. He ran towards a nearby Photo Booth and opened the curtain to see two teenage girls, one had tanned skin and red hair while the other appeared to be of Asian descent with green hair; Sharing some photos together.
"Hey, wait your turn!" The girl screamed.
"Sorry!" Clark said before closing the curtain and running to where he could find a place to get changed into his uniform. "X-ray vision, Clark. Keep up!"
Then, he found a back ally where he could get changed without anyone knowing. That was until he noticed the nearby CCTV footage which would have exposed his identity.
Then, he ran to a restaurant to see if he could get changed in a bathroom. But he used his vision to see if the stalls were occupied and unfortunately, there wasn't any room.
Then, he found an abandoned house across that he ran inside. But when he got inside, he found something horrifying.
He saw a man wearing a pair of jeans and with what looked to be a green and scaly back. He turned around to face Clark to reveal that he had the features of a crocodile, eating what looked to be some meat off of a bone.
"Leaaaaave." The crocodile man snarled.
Clark was both shocked and terrified by what he was seeing and begrudgingly leave. "Some days, you can't find a place to get changed." Clark remarked before running off to find a place to get changed.
Thankfully, he found an abandoned pay phone that was out of use. He saw his opportunity and quickly dashed into the unoccupied piece of equipment from days of old.
While Clark went to change into Superman, inside the bank, Killer Moth was busy threatening the quivering man. "Are you the bank manager or not?!"
"I…I….I…."
"Look, Walker, we might as well just shoot him!" Mantis groaned.
"You idiot!" Killer Moth exclaimed. "You used my name!"
"Your last name, yes." Mantis said.
Killer Moth screamed. "You idiot! They're obviously gonna trace the name knowing it's a last name!"
"You don't know." The Ant said. "They might think it's a code name."
"It's not a code name!" Killer Moth shouted. "They're going to trace it back to me! And then I'll give all of you up just out of pure spite!"
"I did nothing wrong!" The Fly exclaimed.
"You complained about the whole insect motif!" Killer Moth shouted. "And Psycho Ant brought these masks from a costume shop!"
"Why the insect motif again?" Praying Mantis asked.
Killer Moth groaned. "It's a distinct look! Joker's got one! So I don't see why I shouldn't have one!"
"Yeah, but did it need to be insects?" Psycho Ant asked.
"No! But I wanted it to be insects!" Killer Moth said. "Look, I will think of something else if we get out of this robbery."
"And maybe move to another city?" Murder Fly asked.
Killer Moth punched the wall in frustration. "You idiot! Now they're going to know we'll take a train if this goes wrong!"
"No. That was you. You mentioned the train." Praying Mantis said.
"Can it, Matt!" Killer Moth exclaimed.
"Alright!" The quivering man stood up. "I'm the manager. I'll take you to the vault as long as you stop arguing!"
The criminals looked surprised by what had just transpired. Killer Moth shrugged his shoulder in surprise. "Huh. I guess psychological torture works. Alright, take us to the vault."
"Well, you're not going to like this next part." The bank manager said.
"Why?" Killer Moth asked.
"I don't check on the vaults until Thursday." The Manager said.
"So…."
"I have a piece of paper that tells me the combination lock." He explained.
Mantis groaned. "Oh come on! How did you get a job as a bank manager when you need a piece of paper to remember a combination?!"
"I have a piece of paper that reminds me of my passwords." Murder Fly said with his hand raised bashfully.
Killer Moth groaned. "Can this get any more frustrating?"
Suddenly, Superman dashed into the bank, causing a huge gust of wind to enter the building. "Well, let's hope you don't find me frustrating as frustrating." Superman said.
Murder Fly, Psycho Ant, Praying Mantis and Killer Moth all stared at Superman in shock and surprise. Not only was their robbery about to be thwarted but Superman was here in Gotham.
"Superman?!" Murder Fly exclaimed.
"What's he doing here?!" Killer Moth screamed.
"Sorry, something was bugging me." Superman joked just as Killer Moth, Praying Mantis, Psycho Ant and Murder Fly all began firing their weapons at Superman. But the bullets just bounced off him.
While he knew he was bulletproof, he knew that the hostages weren't and one of the bullets could hurt one of them. So he quickly disposed of Murder Fly by snatched the gun out of his hand and crushing it.
Then, he shoved him to the floor, causing him to slide into a trash can. Psycho Ant was about to shoot Superman close range but then the superhero used his super breath to blow Psycho Ant backwards into a wall, crashing into and causing tiles to fall on top of him.
Superman cringed as a response. "Sorry."
Praying Mantis knew that the bullets were useless against Superman and just tossed the gun aside. He ran up towards Superman and tried punching him in the face.
But he was too fast for the criminal as he either dodged or blocked every punch. "You're only human so hold still!" He exclaimed before hitting Superman hard in the face.
But instead of causing any impact, he screamed in pain and dropped on to his knees while Superman just stood over him.
"You broke my hand!" He screamed.
"No, they're just bruised." Superman assured him. "Don't worry. Just use an ice pack."
"Don't move!" Killer Moth exclaimed as he held his gun to the bank manager's head. "Or otherwise his brains will be splattered on the floor."
The bank manager screamed. "Oh please! Please help me Superman! I'll cover the damages which are thankfully moderate! But please, don't let me die!"
"What are you going to do about it Superman?" Killer Moth laughed. "If you move, blow me, fly, dash or throw something at me, I will shoot him dead!"
Superman just stared at the manager with an assuring stare. "Sir, everything's going to be okay."
"Yeah. Reassure him." Killer Moth said. "It might give him some form of comfort before he-"
Then, Superman used his heat vision to shoot the gun out of his hand. The criminal stared at Superman with a hint of shock and terror all over his face.
Superman narrowed his eyes at Killer Moth. "Surrender, now."
Instead of running, Killer Moth complied with Superman's commands and got down on his knees. "I'll turn myself in."
The bank manager gave a relived exhale just as Superman pulled the manager back on his feet. "You alright, sir?" Superman asked.
"Yeah, thanks."
"Everyone else?" Everyone either nodded their heads or said 'yeah' as a response to his question.
"Okay, good."
The bank manager gave Superman a smile. "Thank you, Superman. You really saved my bacon. How can I repay you?"
"No need." He assured him. "Your's and everyone else's safety is my top priority. Just, might I suggest getting more security next time so this doesn't happen again."
"Sure. Yeah." The bank manger responded. "Will do."
"Though, nice job in not giving them the combination." Superman remarked before hovering. "If anyone else is a hero, it's you." And with a dash, Superman was out of the building while everyone applauded him.
Killer Moth noticed that everyone was applauding and tried to make an escape. But then the bank manager grabbed him by the collar and gave him a judgemental stare.
"Yeah, just because he's gone doesn't mean you're out of the woods." He said.
Killer Moth gave a frustrated sigh. "I should have let Hagen lead."
About half an hour later, at a mansion, a lean man in his mid to late 50's with a tiny moustache, a bald head with bits of greying hair sticking out on the side of his head. He was dressed in a white shirt and a, a purple waistcoat, black pants and a pair of black shoes.
He was walking down the stairs with a laundry basket in hand. "Least there's no blood this time." He mumbled.
Then, the door to the Manor opened and in came a boy in his mid teens with spiky hair, a green shirt, green pants and a red jacket; Looking excited.
"Alfred, you're not going to believe what happened today!" The boy exclaimed.
"Master Grayson? What happened?" Alfred asked. "Did you finally ask Miss Gordon out on a date?"
Dick rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "I'm still working on it."
"What's the exciting news?" Alfred asked. "You know I don't have time for any due to my very tight schedule. And let's not forget the graveyard shift."
Dick chuckled. "Well, I should probably explained the context. Okay, so at the First National Bank of Gotham there was a robbery-"
"Tragic." Alfred remarked as he began walking to the pantry in order to some washing.
"Not finished." Dick interrupted. "Okay, they were these insect theme criminals-"
"Everyone needs a gimmick." He entered the pantry with the basket in hand and placed the clothes in the washing machine one by one. "I'll make sure Master Bruce takes a can of pesticide."
"And you know who stopped them?" Dick asked.
"I should hope the police." Alfred replied.
"No, Superman!" Dick excitedly exclaimed. "Superman is here in Gotham! Isn't that incredible?!"
Alfred turned to face the young ward with a shock brow raised. "Superman? Here in Gotham?"
"Uh huh."
"Well, what is he doing here?" Alfred asked.
"I don't know." Dick replied.
Alfred sighed. "If I know one thing, it's that he's not going to be happy about it."
Meanwhile, in a dark, gloomy and bat infested cave, Batman was sitting on a chair in front of a giant computer analysing the illegal weapon imports from Wayne Enterprise. As he was analysing, he was watching a news report from Central City news from Iris West.
"Police testimony from Leonard Snart came in saying that the illegal weapons he was selling were imported to him from the continental terrorist known only as Bane. For those who don't know, he was behind the destruction of Nolan Stadium in downtown Star City. The weapons that were imported to him allegedly come from Wayne Enterprises under the alias of Mockingbird. In other news, a bank robbery in downtown Gotham City was thwarted when Superman burst in on the scene and apprehended the suspects. Two of them were identified as Drury Walker and Matt Hagen. Two petty criminals who have been known to associate with known thief and arsonist, Garfield Lynns. But the question on everyone's minds is 'Why is Superman in Gotham? Could he be investigating Bruce Wayne? And is he a threat to Batman?'"
As Batman watched the monitor he clenched his fists before with one swoop of his cape, walked off to do something about this before it gets out of hand.
At the Wayne lab, Alex and Ed were watching the news with very different attitudes. Ed looked to be excited as he munched on his popcorn while Alex looked to be narrowing his attention him with disdain.
At the Gotham Gazette Building, Vicki Vale was watching the report and narrowed her eyes at footage of a nervous Superman giving a wave to a crowd of grateful people.
She shook her head and grinned. "You're going to bring this city down, Superman. You are unprepared for what challenges await."
Elsewhere, Livewire saw the same report and destroyed her television as a result. She attached some of her armour on her and flicked a spark of electricity while grinning. Ready to take on Superman.
Inside an apartment, the same TV report was playing and Slade was already armoured up with his weapons at the ready.
"Waller, I'm going to have to cancel my extraction from this city…Our target came to us. Fate is on our side."
Inside some abandoned building on the Gotham docks, a bunch of Bane's crew were unloading canisters of Venom and equipment for his lab from a bunch of boxes that were shipped over from Santa Prisca.
Carla walked up the stairs with her phone in her hand into the office where she saw Bane holding one of his goons in a chokehold.
"What is it Carla?" Bane asked.
Carla held out a tablet. "You need to see this."
Bane looked at his second-in-command before letting go of his goon and letting him fall on the floor mat. "Thank you David. Hazlo mejor la próxima vez." He approached Carla and snatched the tablet from her hand.
What she wanted to show was video footage of Superman's escapade at the bank not too long ago. "Where was this taken?"
"First National Bank of Gotham." Carla replied. "He's here."
Bane stared at Carla with a deadpan yet grateful stare. "Thank you for the information Carla. Prepare the squad. Tomorrow, we are going be tomorrow night's entertainment. In an act I like to call la derrota de Superman." He cracked his knuckles and cracked his neck, ready to take down his biggest challenge yet.
At The Royal Gotham Hotel, a hotel usually arranged for people who could afford it like Jimmy. He and Lois were waiting outside for Clark whom was taking a long time to show up.
"Where is he?" Jimmy asked. "I've been wanting to show him his room."
"Can't I just take these bags while you just wait for Clark?" Lois suggested.
"No!" Jimmy held Lois by her shoulders. "I don't want to ruin the surprise."
"What's the surprise?" Lois chuckled. "You never said anything about a surprise."
Jimmy let's go of Lois' shoulder and chuckled. "Sorry."
"Wait, there he is." Lois smiled as she pointed at Clark running up to them.
"So sorry!" Clark panted as he tried to catch his breath. "There were some problems and I forgot where the hotel was."
"It's okay." Jimmy assured him.
Lois pulled her phone out from her jacket pocket. "Could have used your powers to help us fly us over. But then again, so much for a low profile, huh?"
Clark chuckled. "Hope that doesn't get me into trouble with some of the seedy residents." They began walking into the hotel. "Oh, and my super breath can incapacitate enemies."
"Nice." Jimmy said. "By the way, did you fight a guy who dressed up as a moth?"
Later, Clark had arrived at his bedroom and it was an amazing room. It had a huge king size bed, huge maroon curtains, a TV, a bathroom, ginormous windows with sliding doors that lead to a balcony and a purple carpet.
"Wow! This is my room?" Clark asked. "It's incredible. How much was it?"
"Five hundred bucks a night." Jimmy replied. "And this is what I believe is called the first class room."
Clark looked at his best friend with an impressed look. "Five hundred dollars? That's ridiculously expensive."
"Not if you have over 5 million in your bank." Jimmy retorted.
"Man, I can't wait to have a room like this." Lois said. "So, where's mine?"
"You're standing in it." Jimmy replied.
Lois looked confused. "I thought this was Clark's room."
"It is." Jimmy said with a mischievous grin on his face.
Both Lois and Clark were confused for a moment until they eventually figured out what their best friend was implying. This wasn't just Clark's room, this was also Lois'. They were in absolute shock over this surprise from their best friend.
"Jimmy!" A blushing Clark and Lois exclaimed in anger.
"We didn't discuss this!" Lois shouted while Jimmy just grinned smugly.
"That defeats the concept of a surprise." Jimmy said. "I wanted to get you two your own room together because I felt like being generous. That, and couples get a discount if they have their own room. The actual first class rooms cost one thousand bucks. Which I've taken."
"But…That means…Me and Lois…Are…" Clark glanced his eyes to Lois and to the bed.
"You stayed at her's all the time." Jimmy pointed out.
"I just sleep on the couch, really." Clark informed him. "But sometimes, she does like to sneak in and sleep on my chest."
"Bare?" Jimmy's question got Clark and Lois blushing like mad before narrowing daggers at Jimmy. "Enjoy your stay!" He ran out of the room so he could avoid the wrath of his best friends.
Once he left, Clark and Lois were still staring at the door in annoyance. "I can't believe he would do that! We didn't even talk this through!"
"I sweat, I wasn't thinking of this even though, I would have wanted that, I wouldn't have wanted it right now!" Clark assured Lois.
"Don't worry, I believe you, Smallville." Lois assured her boyfriend. "But the question is, what do you do about the sleeping arrangements?"
"I could sleep on the floor." Clark suggested.
"No! No! No! Clark, I'm not having you sleep on the floor!" Lois protested. "You are going to sleep on a nice and cozy bed." She began to unpack her things.
"Lois, I think you should sleep on the bed." Clark said while checking the texture of the carpet. "It's rough, you could probably get carpet burn or marks all over your body."
"I'm still not having you sleep on the floor." Lois said.
"Well, I can't exactly get marks on my body." Clark said while Lois walked up to him and pulled him towards the bed.
"Clark, you are sleeping on this bed." Lois demanded.
"I will if you don't sleep on that carpet." Clark said.
Lois exhaled. "You sure? I know we haven't…Ya know, officially slept with each other…Ya know, the way couples do."
"I swear it won't lead to anything." Clark assured Lois. "Besides, I haven't…Well…Had any kind of-"
"Say no more, Smallville." Lois jumped on the bed while Clark closed the curtains. "But seriously, you haven't-"
"Nope!" Clark interjected. "Because, well, due to my powers, I'm worried I might end up crushing something."
There was silent between the two as their cheeks became red at the thought of them two doing the thing that Clark has never done.
That was when Lois had an idea. "Do you want to…Test the waters and find out?"
Clark's face in that moment turned bright red and he rubbed the back of his head. But then, he exhaled from his nose and walked to Lois to test the waters.
Meanwhile in Jimmy's room, which just looked similar to Clark and Lois' except with his fancy suit and tie hung on the door. He was currently going to bed while wearing a pair of headphones that emitted opera music. As a means to make him appear sophisticated and rich. Since he wanted to tap into that high class mindset and not look like a fool in front of other rich people.
He couldn't wait for tomorrow. Not only is he going to a high class party with his two best friends, but he could also be exposing another rich scumbag who might be similar to someone like Professor Ivo.
