THE sun had begun to tower over the Daily Planet, illuminating the giant golden sphere that sat atop one of the oldest newspaper companies in all of Metropolis.
Jessica was usually always one of the first people, in her office building, to be inside. It was her extra time to do some more research in the records archive without getting her ass chewed out by Perry for not working on her articles.
For someone who had a secret identity, she sure was bad at being sneaky. That day, she opted on just going straight to her cubicle before the day started. Started meaning she would bump into someone and get coffee spilled all over her clothes.
When she managed to avoid even that, Perry was yelling at her about something. Today must be her lucky day. "Alright people, a couple of stories for today!" Perry shouted, catching everyone's attention. "We got last night's game, Kansas State versus Metropolis Sharks."
Jessica smirked before turning her attention to Chris, a tall middle-aged black man who had a small scowl on his face. "I expect my fifty dollars in fives and compliments." The office erupted into a fit of chuckles.
"Alright, back on track people." Perry redirected with a smile on his face.
"I'll take last night's game." Chris sighed. "Although it was disgraceful."
"Just like your bets against Jess." Lois teased.
Perry continued with a roll of his eyes. He had the most immature reporters, but he couldn't help but be thankful they've kept him entertained through his years at the Planet. "Now, we have a press conference downtown." Stacy raised her hand, writing notes down at the same time. "Lois, you got the cold brother court case downtown, and, last but not least, one of the girls that were found in one of those safe houses for sex trafficking in Gotham reached out to us and wants us to help get her story out."
Jessica and Clark both jumped up at the word Gotham. "I'll take it!" They said in unison.
"They're doing that weird twin thing again." Doug grumbled as
Jessica threw her pencil at him with narrowed eyes.
"And you're bringing your two senses into things again."
Perry rolled his eyes at their bickering. "Jess, you have Gotham. Kent, you have sports."
"Perry," Clark started. "I don't think sending Jess is a good idea."
Perry raised a brow, curious to see how this was going to play out. "Why not?"
Clark tucked his hand into his pocket. "For starters, she's not equipped to handle a story like that."
"Oh, and you are?" Jessica started as Lois squeezed her eyes closed. "Need I remind you, I've been sticking my nose into danger way before you started at the Planet, thank you very much." Perry and Chris made eye contact with each other before they mouthed ten bucks, placing their bets on who would win this argument that was ready to brew.
The office looked at each other, not knowing how it was going to go. Jessica was usually quick to just give in, but it seemed she had a motive to get over to Gotham. "All I'm saying is Gotham isn't a safe place and you'll be by yourself."
"So now I can't take care of myself?"
"Yes!" Clark bit his tongue the minute the words flew out his mouth. The whole office sucked their teeth before looking away as though they hadn't just witnessed Clark tell one of the most independent women in all of the whole office that she was unable to take care of herself.
"Wow, thanks, Clark." Jessica hissed with her arms crossed, turning away from her brother and back to Perry. "I'm taking the story."
"Good," He nodded. "Now everybody get to work." Perry disappeared into his office, not before Chris handed him his ten dollars, Jessica began to collect her things to head over to Gotham.
"Jess, I... I didn't...-"
"I don't want to hear it. If you think I'm so incapable of doing anything myself, that's totally fine." She shrugged, shoving her drawer shut. "I guess that just shows how far apart we've grown." With that, Jessica walked down the hallway with a tremor in her aura.
Clark sighed deeply, rubbing the back of his neck in frustration. No matter what he did, he always seemed to mess up their relationship even further. He loved his sister with every fiber in his body, all he wanted was for her to be safe and know he cared. He wanted her to know he would be there, but he seemed to even mess that up.
"That was low," Lois began. "Even for you."
"I know." He muttered, picking at a strand in his pant pocket. "I just don't want her to get hurt."
Lois sighed, grabbing her purse as well. "Clark, you know what kind of woman Jess is. She is too independent to constantly have you hovering over her shoulder. She's better off doing her own thing."
"How could you say that?"
"Clark, you need to remember something, and I want you to carry it around for the rest of our lives." Lois placed her hands on his shoulder, looking him straight in the eyes. "I was her best friend before I was your girlfriend." She stated sternly. "I know her better than she knows herself and frankly, as much as you claim you do, do you really know your own sister?" Clark clenched his jaw before looking down at his faux leather work shoes. "Honey, I know you want to protect Jess, believe me, but you're not teenagers anymore, you left, and she grew up." Lois explained with sympathy in her eyes. "She's been watching out for her own back since college and if there's one thing Jessica can do, better than anyone, it's listening to her gut."
Lois placed a quick kiss on Clark's cheek before walking towards the elevators to get the day started. It left Clark to wonder how distant he and his sister had really become.
_______________________________
IT was a weird spot, to say the least.
Jessica had heard about the Narrows, but she never assumed it would look so sad. It broke her heart to see people resting in tents in the alleyways or trash piled up on the sidewalks, waiting for garbage day. What did warm her heart, however, was kids running around in the middle of the street with their friends after a fire hydrant burst open.
It sprayed water onto the road, drenching the side of Jessica's car, but she did not care, as long as those kids kept their smiles. It was a particularly hot day so Jessica could not blame the kids for wanting to have a fun day to just cool down.
Finding a parking spot, she carefully squeezed herself inside. "I wouldn't park there ma'am," A Hispanic woman said while braiding her daughter's wet hair on the steps of her apartment building. "That's a nice car, wouldn't want someone to jump you from the alleyway when you leave."
Jessica locked her car before smiling towards the woman. "It's fine, I won't be long."
The woman chuckled when she noticed Jessica's badge. "You're from Metropolis, figures."
"Is that a bad thing?" Jess asked curiously.
"Not necessarily." She shrugged asininely. "You Metro-folks are so used to Superman saving your behinds all day every day, you forget what it feels like to be on your guard."
Jessica motioned to the step next to the mother with a smile. "May I?"
"I don't mind it." Jess sat herself down on the stone step, making sure to keep her purse close and legs tucked in to avoid anyone from tripping over her legs. The woman tied off her daughter's hair before patting her shoulder to signal she was finished. "Watch out for those cars!" The girl nodded with a huge, gapped smile while rushing to her friends, making sure to look both ways before crossing the street. "You see," The woman started. "You all in the fancy city have hope but what we have is a little something called a can of ass whoop."
"How so?" Jessica questioned.
"He's a shadow, always listening, always watching and when you break the law, it's like hell has been unleashed." She answered. "He goes by many names, the Dark Knight, vengeance, El Cuco, but us normal folk know him as...-"
"Batman." Jess finished with her brows furrowed behind her glasses.
The woman chuckled. "Yes ma'am." She looked to her daughter with a softer smile on her face. "I don't have a problem with him, not one bit. He saved my little girl's life a couple of years ago. It happened so fast, I looked away to deal with my boss demanding to spend more hours at the club and someone just snatched her from me. Right out of my hands."
The woman sighed. "I couldn't eat, sleep, until my baby was home. It took three days, three days for him to track down whoever stole my baby, beat them to a manchar, and came to find me with my baby in his arms."
The two ladies stared at the little girl with smiles. "She's beautiful." Jess complimented with that same smile perched on her lips.
The lady agreed with a nod of her head. "Thank you." She shook her head before holding her hand out. "Carmen."
"Jessica."
She whistled with a smirk, laughing lightly. "Oh, that's so white." Jessica could not help but laugh at the joke. When Jessica realized that she was supposed to be working, she took out a picture.
"It's been fun talking to you, Carmen, but I need your help." She handed Carmen the picture of an Asian woman. "I need to find Manami Shibata."
"Ami? She leaves on the first floor of the building." Carmen shook her head. "Poor girl hasn't left her apartment since that night. She lives in 1C."
"Thank you, I appreciate the help."
"Remember," Jessica paused her movements, stopping on the second to last step. She turned her head to face Carmen with curiosity. "Don't be out at night. Lots of sickos will love to snatch your pretty self-right up."
With a nod of her head, Jessica continued inside. Loud music blasted from inside one of the apartments while screaming and arguing was heard in another. Jessica cautiously took in her surroundings before knocking on the door labeled 1C.
Multiple clicks from the locks inside alerted Jessica that someone was opening the door. It opened ever so slightly, revealing an almond-shaped eye poking through the slot in the door.
"Ms. Shibata, I'm Jessica Kent. I'm a reporter with the Daily Planet, do you mind if I come in." She quickly opened the door and ushered Jessica inside. She closed the door, locking all of the locks.
"Thank you for coming..." She muttered, motioning for Jessica to follow her into her living room. Right off the bat, Jessica could tell Manami came straight from Japan.
Her accent was thick, and she tried to sound as American as she could to blend in, but it didn't work as well as she wanted it to. Jess took a seat right across from Manami, all the while, taking in her surroundings. The windows were covered with thick black blankets, the only light really coming into the room was the side table lamps.
The apartment was quint, little pops of color in the paintings she had hung on the wall of cherry blossom trees and Samurai. "Tea?" She asked with a raised brow.
"No, thank you." Manami sat down in her armchair while messing with her hands. "There's no need to be nervous, I'm not going to hurt you." Jessica reassured. "You also don't have to be afraid of using your accent."
Manami gave a breathy chortle. "No, I know, it's," She swallowed thickly. "Terrifying, I suppose."
"Well, let's start." Jess nodded while pulling out her recorder, placing it gently on the coffee table. "Let's start from the beginning." Just like that, Manami spoke like a flood of truth. She talked about how she was abducted, where she was held, how she was treated.
"And then it came."
"It?" Jessica repeated.
"Yes, all other women tried to forget but I couldn't. It was a he, tall, dark, mean at first sight." She explained. "I never seen man in all dark clothing. He had a..." She moved her hands over her chest to symbolize something. "A... Kōmori?"
Jessica furrowed her brows in confusion. "A symbol?"
She shook her head yes before grabbing a notepad from beside her. She quickly sketched something, showing Jessica. It was a picture of a bat in sharp, jagged, lines. "Kōmori."
"A bat?"
"Yes! Bat." She placed the notepad onto the table with a deep sigh. "We all tried to hide but he said not to be scared." She shook her head gently. "He was so soft... like monster with flower. But Aku no upstairs made noise and he was angry again." Manami made eye contact with Jessica. "He may seem like a Dōbutsu to you but he's Kyūseishu to me."
_______________________________
HOW she always got herself in these predicaments was always beyond her.
Currently, Jessica was rushing out of Manami's apartment building to get back to Metropolis. She felt so stupid for not checking the time but at the same time, Jessica wanted the sun to go down.
In some weird and twisted way, it somewhat excited her but being in Gotham at night also terrified her. She made sure to cover all her bases when trying to walk back to her car. She knew she should have checked over her shoulder one last time. She felt a hand slap over her mouth before dragging her into the alley behind her.
Jessica elbowed the man in the ribcage before headbutting him. "Don't touch me!" She hissed.
"You're from Metropolis aren't you, huh pretty little thing?" He wheezed. He grabbed the back of her hair, yanking her into the wall behind her. "Don't you know it's dangerous to walk Gotham's streets at night?"
Jessica reached her hand up to her glasses. "I think you picked the wrong woman to mug."
The thug smirked. "Oh yeah?" He asked. "Who says I'm mugging you?" He moved closer to her. "You'd make a pretty penny on the market."
"You stay away from me!" Jessica hissed. "I'm warning you."
"And who's gonna stop me? You?"
"She won't, but I will." The voice growled in the shadows of the alleyway.
The man swung around with his gun pointing in the darkness. "Stay the fuck back!" The man cried, taking Jessica hostage at gunpoint. "Where are you?!" A grappling sound was heard, coiling around his leg, and hauling the thug into the shadows. A shriek was followed by a couple of bone-crunching punches.
Jessica flinched every time she heard the breaking of bone. She knew she should've run away, run to her car, and pretend it never happened but she couldn't move. So much for the bravest woman on the planet.
Batman could never be able to do anything to her, but she still felt helpless. Maybe it was since she just witnessed her abuser be ripped into the dark and heard his nose crack and burst open at the contact of the dark knight's scarred gloved knuckles. "Ms. Kent," His deep voice drew out, stepping out from the shadows of the alleyway. "Are you alright?"
"Fine... just spooked I guess." She mumbled with her right hand rubbing her upper arm. She needed to take her mind off the situation that just occurred all because she was being careless and did not turn around one last time. "How did you find me?"
"I was patrolling this street," He answered. "Making sure a little girl I saved a couple of years ago is still at home." Bruce jerked his head towards her. "What are you doing here in Gotham?" He questioned, moving a step closer. "It's not safe here, especially at night."
Jessica pointed her hand behind her timidly. "I was interviewing a couple of eyewitnesses for work." Batman's brown eyes remained unmoved. He wanted a better explanation. "I thought it was only going to be an hour, but I guess I was wrong..." She trailed off embarrassed. "Thank you for, um, saving me."
He grunted in response, holding his hand out to her. Jessica watched it as though it was a trap. To her, she was overthinking what it could mean. "I'm not going to hurt you, give me your hand." She swallowed thickly before placing her hand inside his. He gently pulled her close to him before reaching his hand to his side. "What are you doing?"
"Do you trust me?" She blinked her big blue doe eyes at him for a second before slowly nodding. Bruce took that as his cue to raise his arm above his head. "Ever flew before?"
"Eh... no?" With a smirk on his features, he pressed a button on whatever gadget he was holding. It latched onto the ledge of the roof above them, shooting them up into the air.
Jessica gasped in surprise at the sudden feeling of the ground being torn away from her feet. It is not that she has not flown before, it's just she hasn't flown without actually using her powers to do so.
She clung to the giant black mass with wide eyes, looking around at the city for a second just as he catapulted in the air. It was for a moment, falling back down just as fast as they went up, but to Jessica, flying without having to exert any effort at all, was exhilarating. She watched the stars grow closer to her before it was ripped away and saw the misunderstood beauty of Gotham for only a few short moments.
When the Batman landed, he replaced his tight hold around her waist with a much softer tone. She must have looked like a mess with her hair in a tangled rut and falling out of her ponytail, but he saw the beauty of her wonder to a city that tried to rob her only fifteen minutes ago.
Without thinking, he tucked a wild strand behind her ear as tenderly as he could.
Jessica shifted her eyes over to him with raised eyebrows. He cleared his throat in embarrassment. "That was un...-"
"It's fine." She smiled, turning her head back to the view of the city. "You have a beautiful city. I'm glad there's someone to watch over for it."
Batman grunts before responding. "People don't see it that way."
"I know the feeling..." She mumbled with her arms crossed. "Either way, you choose to do it because you see the good in the city, in the people. If others don't see it that way then they should remember how it was before you decided to save them... twenty years ago?"
He smirked lightly at the last part of her sentence. "You remembered?"
Jessica felt her cheeks warm up over the brisk Gotham air. "W-Well, I..." She began to curl her hair over her finger after letting it out of her ponytail to distract her racing heart from his very forward teasing. She turned away from him, walking closer to the edge of the roof.
"Don't get so close to the...-"
"Shh..." She shushed. "Let me just... listen to your city." She mumbled, closing her eyes to listen to the sounds of the city. She crossed her arms, feeling at peace for once in Batman's presence. "You know, I see how long you've been saving Gotham and can't but think twenty years of fighting crime is quite heroic." She smiled with her eyes still closed. "The super twins just started a little under two years ago...-"
"Which makes them amateurs." The dark knight interrupted quite rudely. "It also makes them a threat."
"What is it with you and them being a threat?" She scoffed, opening her eyes now after being kicked out of her Zen. "They aren't invading your city or...-"
"But when a Metropolis reporter, who's close to Superman, starts coming into my city, poking her nose into things she shouldn't, then there's a problem." He growled while pointing his gloved finger at her chest, looming over her just like her own shadow. "You haven't realized how much of a threat they are because you're so swept up in the fantasy of two beings that are from another world, you forget the actual danger they impose."
Jessica pushed her glasses further up her face. "Like what?"
"Were you not in Metropolis when their kind invaded? I mean count the dead, Kent, hundreds of lives lost."
"There could've been more if they hadn't intervened! Superman told me that Zod was going to use our planet as a foundation to rebuild theirs. If they hadn't acted...-"
"If they hadn't announced their presence to the world, families wouldn't still be mourning." He snarled.
"If they hadn't announced their presence, a family wouldn't be complete and criminal activity wouldn't be at its lowest!" She argued with her hands clenched to her side.
Batman slammed his hand against the brick wall, making Jessica realize that he had backed her up against the wall of the roof. He loomed over her again, with his teeth bared, jaw tightened, and eyes blown in a vicious rage that could frighten anyone. Anyone but her.
She knew his game, thought about it repeatedly in her head while at work. Even though she thought she had it down, she obviously did not.
The rain had started to pour, calming the heat of the afternoon into a warm shower. Jessica felt water droplets fall from his mask and right onto her forehead.
It slid down the bridge of her nose, down her cheek, glided down her neck, and into the exposed cleavage of her shirt. "And what do you think Superman would do if he found out you were communicating with me?"
"He would trust me." Jessica grumbled. "He wouldn't hurt me."
"Then you're a damn fool."
"And what are you, a saint?" She growled back.
As the rain poured over the two, Bruce could not help but share a passionate kiss of desperate zeal. Lip locking, teeth clashing, skin grabbing, and saliva exchanging fervidly, right there in the pouring rain.
He had visited her multiple times on her balcony to talk about anything they could. It usually always ended in an argument like the one they had.
That is when he knew she was dangerous to him. Bruce was willingly allowing himself to be frustrated over this woman, mentally, physically, and sexually. Seeing her whenever he had free time as Batman was killing him. He pulled away from her lips as if they burned him with her passion of desire. Their foreheads rested against each other as Bruce kept his body pressed against hers, along the brick wall, hands tangled in her long soaking midnight locks.
"We're playing a dangerous game." She breathed out over the rain. Her rosy lips begged to be roughly pressed against his once more, a desire that was there to stay.
It took Bruce a few seconds to reply. He was processing the sentence she had spoken very seriously. It was true, the more he was around her, the less he could control himself.
It was like a game of Russian Roulette between the two. The longer they played, the more they risked catching that bullet in the head. He swallowed thickly before letting out a gruff, "I know".