Episode 6: Money Problems

Bruce discusses his finances, in a more personal light than in previous episodes. A new issue is brought to Clark's attention, and it's more than frightening.

            Tuesday of that week, Clark and Bruce were ready to return to business as usual. The IRS were pealing off due to the media backlash this case had gotten them. The Wayne estate and it’s company had released all the statements it was ever going to, and the press had gotten their various interviews and questions answered. While the public were still loud and buzzing about the incident, as it affected their lunch schedules at least, the situation was over for Bruce and Clark. Margaret took a few weeks off. She had no serious injuries, but she did have a large paycheck from Bruce and an abundance of stress. So she was off to Georgia to visit family. Bruce didn’t hire anyone in her stead. He decided to use his lack of an assistant or secretary as an excuse to schedule as few meetings as possible. A fortnight of ease before she returned sounded like exactly what he needed.

            Bruce set out the placemats and coasters with renewed vigor. He had been looking forward to this all day. He had a lot to dread in the later hours. Today was Tuesday after all, he expected the metropolis butcher to drop off another body somewhere. He had to follow up on the Amazo incident and he had his own problems in Gotham to take care. Right now was going to be a reprieve, a moment of real joy and comfort, that he planned to relish for every drop it could give him. It was an hour where he didn’t have to spend any brain power on murderers or androids unless he wanted to, and those came so rarely these days.

            He left the soundproof doors open without Maragaret to close them remotely, so he was made immediately aware of when the elevator dinged and Clark Kent stepped out of them. He strode quickly into the room with an expectant look on his face. The kind of face that either had something to confront Bruce with, or was about to launch into a very emotionally charged story. Possibly both. Clark began speaking before he was fully in the room.

“Well haven’t you been busy.” Clark bellowed, setting the sandwiches down and closing the doors with his heels.

“All the time, yes.” Bruce said, choosing not to lean into his bait.

“I walked into Ahmet’s Deli today, and the sign about him closing had come down. I asked him if he was staying open and he said yes, the shop wouldn’t be closing for the foreseeable future. I said that was amazing, how did he manage that? Wanna know how Bruce? Wanna know how he managed that?”

“No.”

“He said he had a donation of fourteen million dollars come in from Bruce Wayne.”

“I said no.”

“Fourteen million? You don’t think that’s at all excessive?”

“A restaurant in the downtown area of Metropolis is going to burn through money like a burning bush. He could spend a million dollars in a single year if it’s bad enough. Maybe two. I wanted him to be safe for long enough to get his feet on the ground.”

“Seriously, how do you get all this money? You said yesterday that Lucious is your CEO, so you don’t even have a job anymore? What do you do all day? I thought bigtime billionaires didn’t hold much cash.”

“Set out the food. I’ll tell you while we eat.”

            Clark set out the meals at each spot and took a seat. His phone went off as he sat down and he compulsively pulled it out to look at it. His heart leapt and he cracked a smile at it’s contents, despite trying his darndest not to reveal what it was. Lois had texted him. It said “hey you, I hope you have a great day. I can’t wait to see you later.” Attached was a picture of her. A selfie of her smiling in his bed. She got off early today, and had let herself in to Clark’s apartment. She didn’t ask, she didn’t alert him first, she just came in.

            An outside observer might see that as impolite. Even if they were dating, wouldn’t she need his permission to enter his home? Clark didn’t see it that way. To him, this was nothing but good news. The idea that she felt so welcome in his home that she would let herself in was an elation unlike anything he had ever felt. He wanted to share everything with Lois. He bought groceries planning that she would be there. He put decorations up that he knew she would like. Everything he had he was happy to share, and the act of sharing made it special. He had already started calling things “theirs” rather than “his.” He’d tell her to meet back at “their place” or she could have some of “their cereal.” She would always correct him, saying things like “we’re not married yet” or “it’s not ours if my name isn’t on the lease” but Clark didn’t care. He knew where his heart was. He knew how he felt for Lois. In his heart, the two were already joined, moving as one unit across the dangerous world, braving its many turmoil’s together. Of course legally that wasn’t true, but that didn’t concern Clark. That was a money issue. He hadn’t engaged because he couldn’t afford a ring, or a wedding, not because he wasn’t there yet. He knew he loved her enough to marry her right now if he could. He just couldn’t yet.

            None of this was necessary for Bruce to see, but despite his best efforts he just couldn’t hide his reaction. Bruce noticed instantly and put the pieces together in one thought.

“Text from Lois?” He said, throwing a coffee dripped napkin in the garbage.

“Yeah she’s uh…super cute.”

“Have you two slept together yet?”

            Clark furrowed his brow and looked up at Bruce with a mixture of disbelief and disgust. What a crass way of putting it. And what business is it of his? Clark had many ways he wanted to reply, sifting through to find the appropriate one was the challenge.

“I don’t think that’s any of your business.”

“I was just curious how that worked. Don’t you have super speed?”

“Dude, ew!” Clark exclaimed. “First of all, that’s disgusting, second of all, that’s not any of your business! And for the record, I’m capable of controlling myself. Just because I can go super fast doesn’t mean I always do.”

“So you two have had sex?”

“Dude!”

“Isn’t that what we’re referencing?”

“No! We are not talking about this at all. That’s not any of your business and I don’t appreciate the prodding.”

“I’m just saying, I thought by now you and Lois would have wanted to be physical.”

“You can be physical without taking it up to eleven you know.”

            Clark was going to launch into a heated debate on the fact that the young people of today are too loose with their clothing and will bang anything on two legs, but he then recalled that Bruce spent many a night with young women himself, and had developed quite a reputation for himself amongst the young women fortunate enough to catch his eye. He didn’t want to offend Bruce, but he did want to get his point across, so he tailored his speech to be less judgmental.

“I know it’s old fashioned, but I happen to think we need to return to the old ways on this subject. I’ve heard so many stories of teenagers getting sensitive information leaked or getting pregnant at fourteen and ruining their lives. I think a lot of bad marriages would be ended quicker, or wouldn’t have even began if people had had a little more self control.”

“Uh huh.” Bruce replied. “Does Lois know you’re Superman?”

“…No.” Clark said, in a way that seemed confused and offended, as though she should know but begrudgingly doesn’t. “That’s another reason I’m waiting with her. I mean, if I don’t trust her with my biggest secret, how can I say I trust her with my body?”

“Makes sense.”

“I want to propose though. I know she’s the one.”

“What’s stopping you?”

“Money, mostly. I mean, I am nervous. She hasn’t met my parents yet and the whole Superman thing is in the way. But it’s mostly money.”

“Reporter salary isn’t good? I thought you guys were risking your lives to get the stories you do.”

“It’s ok, but in a big city like this it doesn’t afford you much. After taxes, savings, bills and expenses I’m almost breaking even. Lois makes even less.”

“You know I can cover anything you need.”

“I know. I just don’t want my engagement ring to be paid for by some other guy.”

“If your dad offered you his ring, or a family ring that’s been there for generations, would you take it?”

“I wouldn’t take my dad’s ring away from him but I get the idea, yeah.”

“Even though they were paid for by someone else?”

“That’s not the same though. Those have history. You would just be paying for some ring I found in a store.”

“I see.”

“There is another problem though,” Clark continued. “When do I tell her I’m Superman? I would think after marriage, right? Once I make that total commitment to her and everything’s set in stone then I know I can trust her, she’s free to know everything. But wouldn’t you want to know that kind of thing BEFORE making a permanent commitment to somebody?”

“Who says you would tell her after marriage?”

“Very funny.”

“It’s not a joke.”

“I’m not keeping that a secret from her forever. How am I supposed to sleep in the same bed as her without taking my glasses off?”

“Fine. Tell her now. Or soon, whenever you plan to propose. Tell her you want to marry her but there’s something standing in the way. Drop the news and see how she reacts.”

            Clark thought about this and caught himself in a mental loop. He knew that was the right way to do it, and the best way to do it. It meant he could tell her very soon. It was honest, and direct, just how he liked it. The question he kept coming back to however was “what if she says no?”

“Then you two separate and don’t pursue a relationship.” Bruce said.

“Well duh. But what about her? I can’t just leave her walking around with that kind of intel.”

“If that happens I’ll keep surveillance on her. If she spills, I’ll handle it.”

            Clark had a million questions about that. What did he mean “handle it?” What would he do? Lois didn’t deserve to be hurt or imprisoned over something like that. Besides surveying her 24/7 seemed like it was overkill at best, unconstitutional at worst. He wanted to challenge this idea at every point, but talked himself out of it. They were talking about a hypothetical here, and besides, Lois wasn’t going to say no. He knew her. He loved her. He knew it would be ok. He decided to shift gears back to the original topic of discussion.

“I guess. So uh, about your money?”

“Oh yeah.”

            Bruce set his lunch down and cleared his throat. He took a second to contemplate what he was about to do. He never liked talking finances with people other than those he trusted most. Was Clark truly someone he considered to fall into that category? Or did he just want the questions to stop? He decided he was ready, and he was willing to trust that Clark wouldn’t go telling all of these details to all the other League members.

“My money comes from many places. One of my biggest money makers is the land I own. I don’t just own the property of Wayne Manor, I own the land underneath it. Same with the land under this building, Wayne Enterprises, and half of the housing projects going on around here. I do this to make sure that A, I’m financially invested in the improvement of Gotham, B I can stop landlords on my land from price gouging, C, I have a steady stream of income, and D if some land based villain or catastrophe ruins things it’s a rich man like me who can take care of fixing things rather than some poor bastard on his last legs. I also own a lot of the land under our various facilities and warehouses. I also own three massive plots down in Florida that Duke Energy and Star Labs rent to build solar cells. That’s money from those two, and tax cuts and benefits because my land is generating clean power. The next big thing I get cash from is patents. The driver in your smartphone? I invented that. Not my company, me. I invented the highest power processing units on the market today. Nvidia, Apple, Lexcorp and anyone else in the entire country using my processing units gives me a paycheck. Including Wayne Enterprises, which means all the software and security measures in Arkham Asylum give me a small cut as well. Or rather, the US Government writes me a check when they use something of mine. Much of the tech prosthetics are mine, I lead the world in prosthetic design, which means more patent money. And of course military contracts. That mostly goes to the company, but I get a little bit.”

“That’s so gross.” Clark said. “I mean, no offense, but when I think about people like Lois having to scrimp and save so much, you sitting up here with that much money in a tower on top of the world feels so grotesque.”

“I know, I’m with you. As billionaires go I need it more than anyone else does. If Tim Cook tried to pay for Batman expenses his head would spin off into a ditch. But I do try to do good things with it. I build a lot of low income housing, I fund a lot of civic restructuring and city projects. I do my best to spread my wealth.”

“Right, but you’re pretty much the only one still doing that. Bill and Melinda do a lot of charity, anyone else? Jobs doesn’t do any of that stuff, Lex doesn’t do ANY of that stuff. So many of these rich guys just sit on their money like a dragon and then act like they’re one of us as soon as taxes get brought up. It makes me sick.”

“If I weren’t so busy with drug cartels and psychos I’d go after them for sure.”

“I believe it.”

            The room hung in a lull. Bruce had more to go into but he figured if Clark was satisfied it was best to stop there. The two continued eating and let a moment of quiet live in the room. Bruce finished his sandwich in a few more bites. He enjoyed it, but it was starting to get repetitive. He wondered if he would ask for a different order, or if it was not worth the effort. He thought maybe he would have a catering company bring lunch tomorrow. But if he were doing that he would need more people present. His thoughts were about to crystalize when Clark interrupted.

“Speaking of…psychos…”

“There’s nothing to report. He drops a body every Tuesday. I guess I’ll find something tonight.”

“Sorry to bring it up. I just…don’t want anyone else to…”

“I know. I don’t either. What do you want me to do? I’ve combed over every angle I can find. I don’t have any leads yet.”

“It’s ok. I don’t think you’re not doing enough. I just want to stay updated. And of course offer my help if you ever need anything.”

“I understand.”

“Good.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“So uh…nothing else has been going on?”

“…I guess there has been one thing.”

“What’s up?”

“Follow me.”

            Bruce stood up and lead his friend into his office. Bruce shut the office doors and sealed them shut, a gesture Clark found to be excessive given that the conference room doors were already sealed. Bruce walked over to his desk and pressed a few buttons on a panel next to his mouse. Metal sheets started dropping down over the windows and balcony doors like a garage door leaning closed. The room was plunged into total darkness as sunlight was blocked out by the ray.

“On!” Bruce commanded, activating the voice controlled sensors turning on his office lights. Clark couldn’t help but feel concerned. He struggled mightily against figuring out what this thing his friend was going to show him was. A bomb? A gas of some kind? It couldn’t be Kryptonite, Bruce wouldn’t be that careless. What in the world could this be?

            Once Bruce was satisfied the room was sealed, he stepped behind his desk and motioned for his friend to come around. Clark hesitantly walked closer and stepped to the side of the desk so he could see what Bruce was doing. Bruce pulled out a selection of keys and picked one to unlock his office drawer. It slid open and revealed an eclectic group of objects. A Batarang lay morosely in the drawer, curiously different to the ones Clark had seen employed before. An older model perhaps? A manilla folder stamped “classified” as well as at least twelve different cell phones sat in the drawer as well. The item Bruce was looking for sat atop the pile of nonsense, and it was a small cardboard box. Small enough to hold a pair of earrings, or a single key. He withdrew the box and slid the drawer closed, the automatic lock shifting into place upon doing so.

“Do not tell Hal what you see here.” Bruce warned in his darker, Batman voice. Clark nodded, trying to cut to the chase. Bruce withdrew the top from the cardboard box and revealed the contents to Clark. What he saw instantly instilled a resounding feeling of fear.

            It was a yellow lantern ring. The symbol was unmistakable, not to mention the obvious yellow color. The curves on the top and either side with the dot in the middle couldn’t be anything else. It was big for a ring, but smaller than one would guess for an item of such immense power. Clark had seen rings like this one before many times. Chiefly on Sinestro, but many more on the fingers of the Sinestro Corps. fiends when Hal needed help storming Qward. Even the sight of it made one uncomfortable.

            The ring was clean, and still shined as though it were brand new. Clark found it unlikely it was taken from Sinestro, where did Bruce get it?

“A lantern ring?” Clark asked, beginning the series of questions.

“It floated to me randomly last night while I was interrogating some crooks about the butcher thing. It planted itself on my hand and flew me off into space.”

“You were chosen by a yellow lantern ring?”

“Sinestro wasn’t happy. He tried to kill me, I subdued him.”

“You USED this ring?”

“I had no choice. I could never have beaten Sinestro without it. Besides, how else would I get home?”

“Yeah I guess. Smart not to tell Hal. Where is Sinestro now?”

“I left him on Qward. I couldn’t risk taking him to Oa, they’d kill me.”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“Right. Send you to handle an entire planet of yellow lanterns by yourself. Why didn’t I think of that?”

“So what now?”

“Can you destroy it?”

“Destroy it?! A lantern ring?! Is that even possible?”

“Not by any means I can come up with. You are my only hope. Can you try?”

            Clark thought about it. He had faith he probably could if he could find a way to exert enough force on something so small. Maybe his laser eyes could do it. He pondered whether or not this was the right idea. He had never seen what happens when a lantern ring breaks. Does it explode? If it did it would either explode with the force of all the fear in the entire universe, or just the fear that Batman makes people fear, both incredibly powerful explosions.

“I suppose I’ll give it a shot. Let me take it to space though. I don’t want this to explode and kill you, or level the building.”

            Bruce nodded and handed him the ring. Bruce disengaged the security lock and let the balcony doors open. Clark stepped out of them and took position on the balcony. He took one step to the side and began to spin. He spun around so fast his figure turned into a blur of colors matching the clothing he was wearing, which slowly transitioned into bright blues and reds. Faster than a speeding bullet, Clark Kent transformed into Superman, with his cape shining a vibrant red, and suit beaming with all the proud blue it had been known for. As soon as the transformation was complete he took to the skies, and rocketed toward the outer reaches of space in record time. The wind whipped by him for less than a second before he had left earth’s atmosphere. He blew passed the moon and the sun and traveled out to his favorite destination. He arrived beside the sun Vega, the brightest start in the Lyra constellation. At a distance of 25.05 light years away from earth, it was certain to do no harm to his home or it’s inhabitants. He smirked as he realized the time it took to arrive there. 7.38 seconds. Slower than his previous record. He’ll have to really push himself next time.

            Clark took a second to study the ring. He examined its shape and tried to get a handle on what it was made of. It was densest at the top where the symbol was, and weakest along the band. It wasn’t made of any material Clark recognized, not even extra-terrestrial ones. He wondered if it could possibly be made of fear, crystalized somehow through Parallax’s dark ways. If that were the case, Clark should have no trouble breaking it, as he did not fear Bruce.

            Clark opted to try the most reliable tactic first. He laid the ring flat in the palm of his right hand and closed his left hand atop it. He squeezed the ring there and attempted to crush it between the palms of his two hands. This was his method for holding the micro black hole Lex invented years ago, and it was his method for containing the explosion of the neutron star. It should contain the blast well enough. The only question was could it expel enough force.

            Superman clenched and squeezed with all of his might. Starting small, he slowly added pressure until his arms began to shake from the effort. It was a great challenge to put force on something so tiny, but he struggled regardless and applied more and more strength. He felt the dark matter of space convulsing around him, he felt himself drawing Vega in as he created enough mass to form a gravitational field. He pressed harder still, determined to crush the ring. He flew and danced around Vega making sure to keep it where it was supposed to be even despite his gravitational pull. He was nearing the end of what was plausibly doable, nearly ready to return to Bruce, when he felt the first inch of progress. He felt the sudden drop as the ring cracked. A bright yellow light began to shine between the palms of his hands and the cracks of his fingers. He was doing it. He was making progress.

            He applied the last of his might, willing the ring to break under his infinite strength. After two more cracks of progress, the ring could take the punishment no more, and gave way to the strength of Superman. It crushed into a fine powder, shattering it’s fear energy across space in a massive explosion of blinding yellow light.

            The blast, though grand in scope and blindingly bright, left no damage on the man of steel or Vega. It was only light, as though someone had dropped a flashlight on the floor. Superman felt a wash of relief as he realized taking the ring to space was unnecessary. A revelation that would be a game changer to Clark, because now if someone bearing a lantern ring meant harm to planet earth, Clark could dispose of their greatest weapon without hurting anyone. Clark would make sure to remember that.

            He tossed the powdered remains of the weapon into Vega, then launched himself back to earth. He hurled across time and space at hypersonic speeds, pushing himself for a new record. He rocketed passed planets who’s names he knew and who’s names he didn’t. Asteroids, debris and stars and made way as Superman passed, arriving back at Wayne International Plaza in 7.02 seconds.

“Darn it.” He thought. “Still slower than my record.”

            Clark landed on the balcony gracefully, slowing himself before landing so as not to crush the building. He did the same spinning routine as before and returned to his business suit, and assumed the mild mannered Clark Kent façade. He smiled at Bruce to indicate a job well done.

“That was fast.” Bruce said. “Did you break it?”

“Yep!” Clark beamed. “The ring has been fully disposed of.”

“Thanks. Did it blow up?”

“Yeah but just light though. It wouldn’t hurt anybody.”

“Good to know. Was it hard?”

“It was pretty tough. I don’t know what it’s made out of but it stood…”

            Superman was then interrupted by a blinding yellow object burning bright as if the sun itself were falling. It hurtled towards the two men from directly above their heads, making a streaking, burning sound one would hear a firework make as it flew. It hurtled at physics defying speeds and the closer it got the more obviously it was aiming at Bruce Wayne. Clark quickly lifted his hands up to try and catch it, but the object made a harsh turn around Clark’s hands and landed on the floor in front of Bruce. It too slowed itself down before landing so as not to damage anyone or anything.

            The two examined the object, dreading what they both knew to be true. Sure enough, it was a yellow lantern ring. It didn’t force itself onto Bruce this time as he had already completed training, and no longer needed to be lifted to Qward for examination. Bruce looked up at Clark with anger and squinted eyes, the classic “bullshit calling face.”

“I swear to God I destroyed that ring.” Clark said, defending himself. Bruce looked back down and examined the ring further. It was identical to the previous one. It didn’t have anything identifiable like a serial number or nametag. It was just another copy of the same ring.

“Swear to me.” Bruce mumbled as he picked up the ring and took it into his office. He placed the ring into the same cardboard box the other one was in and placed the box back in his desk drawer.

“Can they not be destroyed?” Clark asked.

“I was afraid of this.” Bruce elaborated. “Lantern rings are made of the emotion the wearer creates. So this yellow lantern ring is made out of the fear I instill in others. That fear didn’t go away just because you broke the ring. I guess as soon as your ring breaks they just make a new one and send it to you. The only reason they would ever run out of material is if you stop making people afraid of you, which means you weren’t worthy of the ring anymore anyway, so who cares?”

“Who’s they?”

“Parallax and his guardians.”

“Oh. So what now?”

“Now we just lock this up, never put it on, never tell Hal, and pretend this never happened.”

“Any chance you could stop being so scary?”

“No.”

“Ok.”

“Wanna play chess?”

“Sure.”