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To be honest, Gotham hadn't been his first choice. Gotham wouldn't be anyone's first choice. He'd have preferred Central City or Star City, at least they faced problems he was familiar with.
It had been Lois's idea.
"You need to expand your team," she said, refusing to call them the Justice Gang. "You can't be everywhere, and Batman seems like a good one. You need more brains and less brawn."
As usual, he'd listened. He'd found the mysterious Batman—not without much success—while he was stopping an attack.
He'd helped him, preventing him from being shot in the back, and introduced himself.
Everything was going great...until the dog ruined everything.
"I swear, I'm not trying to sabotage you," Clark said, as Krypto used one of the thieves as a chew toy, and the poor guy was on the verge of vomiting. "My dog... it's actually more of a shared custody, but it's complicated... I was saying, my dog is a little... unruly. But he's not mean, and... no, put him down!"
Of course, the dog ignored him, and Batman continued to stare with an intensity that was alarming. Was he judging him a bad dog dad? Did he consider him a threat? Maybe he'd seen the Fox News report about his parents' message and still considered him a threat?
At least he didn't have kryptonite with him... maybe... oh God, he should have checked, he should have…
"What's your dog's name?" the sudden question surprised him.
He swallowed, "Krypto."
"Krypto... seriously?"
"Um...in my defense, I didn't pick the name," he muttered. He couldn't even fault Kara for choosing the name, not when it was clear how much she missed their home world and the only consolation, aside from alcohol, was that dog.
"I see..." the vigilante said, then, looking at the dog, said, "Krypto. Down."
He was about to tell him it wouldn't work. Krypto didn't listen to anyone, not even Clark's parents. But something incredible happened.
The dog dropped the thief and flew in front of Batman. Batman petted the animal's head and, reaching into his utility belt, pulled out a cookie and tossed it to Krypto.
Krypto caught it and chewed it with all the glee of a puppy. Superman probably should have been worried about him eating a stranger's food, but he was too surprised to say anything.
"There's no kryptonite in there," Batman said reassuringly, misinterpreting his silence. "They're just dog biscuits. Ace loves them."
"Do you have a dog too?"
"Hmm. They tell me it's... good therapy," he muttered, trying not to be heard. "Krypto must have smelled it, and that's why he obeyed me."
"So I'm supposed to, what, spoil him with biscuits?"
Batman snorted slightly, "Of course not, we don't want your dog to get fat and sick. But he needs to learn that good behavior earns a reward."
"That sounds suspiciously like blackmail."
"More like an incentive," the other man retorted, "He's not a bad dog, he just needs to learn."
"I wish it were that easy..." At that moment, an idea occurred to him, one that could have been either very stupid or extremely brilliant, "Hey, can we make our dogs meet? Krypto would benefit from interacting with a fellow dog, and we..."
"You could try to convince me to join your team."
His eyes widened, "How do you..."
"I've read about you. The Justice Gang," the grimace he made in disgust at the name was deeply felt by Clark, too. "It was a reasonable assumption that you'd want to expand after recent events."
"Oh, yeah, you're a really good detective."
"So people say."
"And your answer..."
"I work alone," it was as if Ultraman had punched him in the face. But Batman quickly added, "I wouldn't mind introducing Krypto and Ace. Ace isn't very sociable with other dogs, and I've read that socialization is important for them."
"Oh, so I can..."
"Next week, roof of the construction site in Gotham Harbor, after midnight. Ace is nocturnal, mostly. Like me."
"Wow, that's great, really, I wasn't expecting..."
However, Batman looked up at the sky, where a bat-shaped light was illuminating the sky. He said, "I have to go. See you next time, Superman."
He patted Krypto's head before leaving, an expression that made Superman feel all soft inside and his knees weak. Then, his car arrived, he got in and drove off, leaving Clark behind as if he were no big deal.
He didn't consider him a threat, nor a god.
He'd treated him like he was normal, and frankly, he wasn't used to it. His heart began to race, and if he snapped back to reality, it was only because Krypto tugged on his cape to play.
"Yeah, yeah...let's go now," he muttered, and if he tried to tune into Batman's heartbeat to make sure nothing was wrong, well, that was his own business.