37 Chapter 37: Smallville is a Treasure trove
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"Batman Works Alone, Except For Robin, Alfred, Gordon, Batgirl And Whoever Morgan Freeman Played."
-Batman, (DC League of Superpets)
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<(Omniscient pov)>
"Do you really need to return back today? Can't you stay one more day? Maybe we could play baseball and stuff although I am not really that good at it. My balls always miss the mark." Clark laughed a little awkwardly as he remembered how every time he threw or hit a ball, it would always fly away to space. He hadn't mastered perfect control over his strength yet, so he had to avoid playing sports with people.
"That's what she said." Bruce could not help himself but mutter under his breath when he heard the last line Clark said.
"Huh? What?" Clark having clearly heard him due to his super hearing asked with a confused expression on his face, not at all getting the joke.
"Nothing. Anyway, as I was saying we need to leave today. I am really glad for the hospitality all of you guys showed us but it's time for us to leave, though we will definitely meet again. And you can always call us or send letters, whatever you prefer." Bruce smiled at him.
The entire Kent family had come to drop Bruce, Selina, and Vicki at the school and say farewell after they all had breakfast together. Truthfully the Kents might be too humble for Bruce's taste but he still liked them nonetheless. They felt like... well family.
"Yeah, we will miss you guys, especially you two girls. You were a big help in the kitchen. I wish I had daughters as cute as you two." Martha Kent praised as she ruffled the hair of both the girls.
"Okay, I think we should go before the situation becomes even more emotional. By the way, Mr. Kent, I hope you think about my offer. I believe it will not only be good for both of us but also for your family and even your dreams of becoming a senator one day." Bruce nodded at the senior Kent at which the senior farmer nodded back with a look on his face that said he was in deep thought and seriously considering Bruce's offer.
"You sure you have the power and permission to make that deal on your own kid? I mean as much as I know most youngsters your age no matter how rich they are don't really have the power to offer multi-million-dollar deals like that on their own without any permission from an adult." Jonathan expressed his doubt.
"I am not like most kids, Mr. Kent. I am Bruce Wayne. I am the opposite of what 'most' kids are." Bruce shrugged helplessly.
He had offered the deal of a lifetime to the Kent family. According to the deal, he would be leasing the Kent farm and the surrounding land from them for five to ten years Then he would be cultivating his own plants and raising animals of his own choice there using all sorts of cutting-edge technology to maximize output. The Kent family would not only be getting a hefty sum of money at the start of the lease but also a share of the revenue every year. They would even have the option of staying on the property and overseeing the entire operation as his ranch manager.
This would permanently solve the Kents' monetary problems and increase Bruce's own reach into a new industry, the ever-profitable industry of agriculture. He was sure that he could be one of the biggest agro producers in the country in a decade with his technology and Kent Farms would be the best place to start.
Plus Bruce had also hinted at financing and supporting Jonathan Kent's political campaign if he were to ever run for the Senator position. That was the promise that had attracted the attention of the Kent family the most.
Bruce was ready to do all this because he was really happy that his trip here had paid off. He had not only acquired everything he wanted but also even obtained some of the Kryptonian technology designs that Clark's baby pod spaceship had in it by sending some of his spider drones to the Kents' backyard shed where it was kept under a blanket. So, Bruce was truly happy.
"You are not a normal person, are you Bruce? I haven't ever met someone like you, someone as cool as you. It's like you aren't afraid of anything, you are ready for everything." Clark whispered to Bruce as he looked him up and down, his eyes staying on Bruce's belt buckle for a few seconds more than necessary.
'Did he notice my bat-tool? He shouldn't since it is currently placed in a lead holster on my buckle but damn I should have worn lead on my whole body under my clothes as well. I feel creepy knowing that he can more or less see me in the nude with his x-ray vision. Wait, can he see Selina and Vicki naked as well?' Bruce thought as he quickly moved in front of the two girls trying to shield their sanctity with his own.
Of course, Clark had no idea what Bruce was thinking. He was merely just looking at Bruce's physique to get an idea if Bruce was a normal human or some sort of metahuman since the young heir of the Wayne family was too... physically perfect to be normal, both in his appearance and his body structure. As for looking at girls using his power, the last son of Krypton was too innocent and naive to even think about using his powers like that.
But even if he were to use it for a lewd purpose like that, it would only show the Kryptonian their muscle and bone structure, not their naked bodies since that was not how his vision worked. In fact, whenever Clark used it on living organisms, he mostly felt slight disgust at what his vision allowed him to see.
"And I know that you are not a normal boy Clark. Your pitiful attempts to appear feeble and weak in front of people don't fool me. When we were arm wrestling this morning, I knew from your muscle contractions that you were holding back significantly during our match. But why do you hide your strength if I may ask?" Bruce asked in a whisper wanting to know Clark's reasoning for listening to his adopted father's advice and always keeping his identity a secret.
"... My strength scares people no matter if they are a child or adults. Some have at times even branded me as a devil. I don't really care what they say about me but I don't want them to be scared of me. I want to bring a smile of relief on people's faces not fear."
"I see. I guess you should be happy to know that you never scared me. But still, that's a good mantra to follow. So, if you ever lose your mind to power, Mr. Superman, I'll make sure to be there to kick you back to sanity." Bruce snickered as he walked away giving him a mock two-finger salute.
"Yeah yeah, sure," Clark replied with a sneer of his own as he and his parents waved the three goodbye.
He was feeling a little funny thinking about Bruce trying to beat him up in his imagination. It was impossible in his mind since he knew how much stronger he was than ordinary humans especially with his strength only increasing as he grew up. He didn't look down on Bruce at all but even if Bruce was stronger than a normal human, Clark's physique would still be much stronger than his.
But what Clark didn't know was that Bruce was not at all a normal human. No, he was the fucking Batman in the making, a Batman who although inexperienced right now could one day take on an entire army of Kryptonians and still come out on top. And he was not just going to be one of the countless versions of Batman, no he would be The Emperor of the Bats, The King of the Night, The lord of Darkness, The Master of Shadows. He would one day be the Darkest Knight.
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<(Bruce Wayne pov)>
"Good to see you are still alive Deathstroke. Did you get it or did the famous mercenary finally fail?" I asked in a sarcastic voice as I got into the car after Selina and Vicki.
We had decided to return back to Gotham by my private jet. None of us were excited to go on a multi-day journey across the States by bus again. So we just ditched the other students who now had to undertake the tiring return bus journey mostly because of me although I didn't really feel bad for them since I had decided to compensate them by giving them a treat later and instead decided to go to the nearest airport by car where my jet was already waiting.
"What do you think of me you little punk? I am Deathstroke, I never fail. The mission you gave me was a little more difficult than what I expected but it was nothing impossible. Here, is the data and the little... crystals you wanted. Also, I destroyed the black site as you requested. But I wonder if you really don't want the competition, why destroy a single laboratory to set them back? Why not just kill the Luthors and be done with it? That would be much easier and simpler. They aren't exactly the nice and ethical businessmen they portray themselves to be." Deathstroke spoke in a low voice while handing me a briefcase and a USB stick, making sure that the girls could not hear our conversation.
"Huh? Who says I don't want competition? In fact, I am betting on Junior Luthor to rapidly grow his company and give Wayne Enterprises enough competition for it to go bankrupt without my help. Wayne Enterprises won't be able to sell any large significant assets even if it faces a cash crunch since for that they need my signature as their biggest shareholder even though I am no longer on the board and without any good leadership in the company, it will grow weak against hardcore competition from the likes of Luthor resulting in steadily decreasing stock prices. By the time I am ready to take over the company, I want its shares at an all-time low for my plan to be successful. In fact, that's the sole reason why they are still alive and well." I answered.
"So, this was not some industrial espionage you paid me to carry out?" He asked in confusion. Of course, even with his enhanced intelligence, he didn't see the bigger picture since he didn't have all the bits of information that I possessed.
"No, the data you stole for them was never going to be used as consumer products. No, this is the research they have been conducting around a particular subject, about a particular species. I'll be using it for a much greater purpose than them." I said confidently as I slightly parted open the briefcase and immediately closed it after seeing a slight green glow coming from the inside.
What Deathstroke had just stolen for me was green Kryptonite, a briefcase full of the stuff along with all the data and information that the Luthors had on Kryptonians, Kryptonites, and everything else related to Krypton stored in their Smallville black site.
This made my trip to Smallville really worth it as I now had not just the DNA of Kryptonians to study but also some of their technologies, their weaknesses, and any research done on them by the Luthors.
I had struck the treasure trove by coming to Smallville and I could not help but try to make the best and most efficient use of my reward in my mind.
"Oh. Now I feel bad for the father-son duo." Deathstroke expressed.
"Don't, they are sharks and not the Mark Cuban kind. Feeling pity for them will just make you their next prey." I advised.
"Hey, are you guys coming in? We have been sitting in the car like forever." Vicki cried out from inside the car annoyed at the conversation I and Slade were having away from their ears.
"Yeah sure, let's go. We will continue this discussion later Slade." I said as I took a last look at the calm environment of the little town and finally went inside the car to take my seat in the front beside Slade who was in the driver's seat.
"By the way is there something in the trunk of the car Bruce? I feel like I have been hearing something quite heavy rolling there every time Slade pushes his legs down on the brake." Selina complained after about half an hour of driving.
"..." Slade was completely silent as he gave me a side-eye and continued driving like it was none of his business.
"It must be your imagination. I think Slade probably placed one of his bags in the trunk and forgot to tie it. He has been getting old you know. So it's common for him to make such mistakes, go easy on him." I gave the first excuse which came into my mind.
Yeah, I probably should have seen this coming and tied down the dead body but again I was a complete novice at transporting corpses at the back of my car. Well, there's a first time for everything I guess.
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(A/N: Some of the readers asked me why Bruce bought subsidiaries of his own company at high prices instead of some other emerging startup in the category. Well, that's because he can't. He is bound by the law as a majority shareholder of Wayne Enterprises that he can't invest in another company of any category Wayne Enterprises is involved in and the conglomerate is involved in almost everything. He could have if he was a minority shareholder but he wasn't. So, he had no choice but to buy off some of his own companies to get them completely under his control.
Also, he could begin setting up his own business from scratch but that would have no point since he needs connections and resources more than profit. If he could profit a billion dollars or get a kilogram of promethium for research at the loss of the same amount, he would always go for the second choice since his primary aim is not to make money but to have access to connections and resources to purchase stuff like that, whether legal or illegal as well as resist pressure from governments or other companies if it ever came.)
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