Smallville/The Dark Knight (Part 2)

Bruce and Tess

(Bruce marched into Luthorcorp, passing Lucius in the lobby)

Lucius: "Men's room's free, Mister..Wayne."

(Bruce flashed his ID at the front desk and went straight up to the CEO's office)

(When he entered, a red haired woman sat at the desk, Bruce's emotions grinded to an abrupt halt, noticing how attracted he was to her)

Tess Mercer: "It's Mister Wayne, right? I think I've read about you once or twice. 'Drunken Billionaire Burns Down Home'..I believe was one article I found..particularly amusing."

Bruce: "I was having a rough birthday."

Tess: "I can imagine. So to what..pleasure..do I owe this surprise visit?"

(She sipped her drink)

Bruce: "Morgan Edge."

Tess: "Hm..wasn't he a crime boss way back when?"

Bruce: "About five years ago was the last time anyone's seen him. But there's more to him than that. He pretended to care about my father's company in order to steal it out from..from.."

Tess: "Under him?"

(Bruce slightly nodded)

Tess: "Well I sure wish I could help you..but why should I give a damn about any of this?"

Bruce: "Because Clark Kent told me all about you."

(Hearing Clark's name instantly shifted Tess's demeanor)

Bruce: "And I'm sure he'd be thrilled to hear all about how you refused to help us find someone he needs closure with. An old enemy of his. A personal one based on what he told me."

(Despite her surprise at this development, Tess was still up for Bruce's challenge)

Tess: "Yes well..Clark's made it clear he's not my Knight in shining armor."

Bruce: "Course not. That's my job."

(Tess smiled at that)

Tess: "Didn't realize there was a job opening for that position."

Bruce: "Depends. You hiring?"

(Tess leaned across her desk, till their faces were much closer)

Tess: "Would that be something.. you're interested in?"

Bruce: "I'm considering it."

(Saying that snapped Bruce into an unpleasant memory)

"Oh there's only minutes left. You're gonna have to play my little game if you wanna save one of them."

"..them?"

(Bruce snapped back to the present)

Tess: "What's wrong?"

Bruce: "Uh..n..nothing just..a...very poor choice of words."

(Bruce headed for the door)

Tess: "Wait."

(She tossed him a card)

Tess: "Feel free to..give me a call..if you'd like."

(Bruce nodded before leaving)

(As soon as the door closed, Tess made an astonished look that quickly turned into a genuine smile)