Villains • Bruce Wayne

Chapter 2 - Clark Kent

   "Absolutely not," I huffed into the phone, leaning my back against the kitchen counter and taking a much-needed sip from my piping hot morning coffee, which I happened to be drinking closer to mid-day than the actual morning. I grimaced at the time but didn't let myself feel too terrible about waking up so late - not after last night, especially not after the ferry boat incident. I couldn't get the image of Walter's dead body out of my head. All the blood. The two punches that had ended his life. My hand trembled around the ceramic mug and I pushed the thoughts aside. I would deal with this trauma later - I had to keep my composure until tomorrow night, for Lex's event. 

   "Oh, I think absolutely yes," my agent, Julie, argued from the other end of the line, panting ever so slightly. Even through the phone, I could hear her steady footsteps against the small treadmill I had seen the first time I'd visited her office. I could also hear the faint, muffled voices of the news broadcast she had playing in the background. I glanced at my own TV where my frozen face stared back at me - paused with the news headline Idiot Girl. Whoever was coming up with these headlines was fucking ridiculous... but exceptionally good at their job because it seemed -or so Julie made it out to seem - everyone was talking about the girl who had badmouthed both Superman and Batman after being saved. "Do you understand the hot water we're in as a company? The investors are holding on by a thread and if you don't somehow manage to get more bodies into Health Bridge, we're going underwater faster than that boat you were on yesterday." 

   I tensed, running my fingers down the bruises on my neck. I took a large, scorching hot sip from my coffee in hopes the pain would be enough of a distraction to push away the thoughts of Walter's dead body. It wasn't and I couldn't help but think maybe he would have been better off in the streets of Gotham, better off without me intervening... because at least he would have been alive. "Yeah, I know," I admitted, unable to find it within myself to argue. Julie was right, of course. No matter how much of my father's money I put into Health Bridge, no matter how much the wealthy parents of the troubled teenagers paid, it just wasn't enough without the investors. I needed them to keep Health Bridge up and running, but they wouldn't stay if business didn't pick up. 

   "Then do the interview with The Daily Planet and sell the shit out of Health Bridge," Julie urged, panting harder now. "This is exactly what you've wanted, Clara - a chance to tell the world why recovery centers and therapy are more crucial in a broken world than Batman and Superman. Do the interview, save the business, and hopefully they'll give you a better name than Idiot Girl." 

   Before I had a chance to respond, the soft buzzing of another call against my cheek interrupted the conversation. Pulling the phone away from my face to glance at the screen, I wasn't exactly shocked to find my father's number shining up at me. He'd likely seen the news and was worried about my well-being, but that wasn't why I was going to answer. After yesterday's incident, when I'd nearly had the life strangled out of me, when his call had gone unanswered then is what convinced me to answer now. He'd been calling me the whole of yesterday, so it's not like him calling me during my near-death experience was a sign or anything. I knew that. But I couldn't help but use it as an excuse to speak to him.

   Hating someone you also loved was confusing.

   "Schedule the interview - I gotta go," I hung up on Julie and answered the call before the final ring could sound. Bringing the phone back up to my face, I let out a shaky, "Hi Dad."

   "Clara," he said, sounding evidently relieved. My nerves instantly eased at the sound of his voice and I couldn't help but hate myself a little for it. Parental predisposition wasn't fair. He was a bad man. A very bad man. Salvatore Maroni, the reason why the city was in shambles, the reason why dangerous drugs were so accessible, the worst crime lord in all of Gotham... and also my father. "I just saw the news. Are you okay?"