(My apologies for posting this chapter three days late.)
Two days after the hostage crisis, things were back to normal. Luthorcorp was still under investigation, Deadshot was incarcerated in Stryker's Island maximum-security prison, and no one outside of the five teens and Alfred knew what had really happened at Excelsior. Deadshot claimed to have fought a bulletproof boy and a warrior princess, and was quickly thereafter labeled insane and recommended for transfer to Arkham Asylum. Lois had already published her first-hand eyewitness account of the incident—"I Was A Hostage"—in the Daily Star, and had already received several calls from high-profile newspaper publishers about possible internship. Despite the relative horror of the hostage situation, the teens were enjoying a relatively happy time. All except for one.
"So is Bruce still not talking about the whole thing?"
Diana's deep blue eyes were wide open with honest curiosity. Lois, her head leaning sideways into the palm of her hand, barely opened her mouth to reply "no."
They were sitting alone together for lunch, which that didn't happen often. Diana was almost ashamedly excited to have some time alone with another girl—after all, she had been raised on an island of only women, and therefore had a very sisterhood-centric upbringing. After living in man's world for over a year, she'd begun to crave the simple sisterly relationships that she once had.
Lois, on the other hand, could care less about the sex of whomever she was talking to.
"It's because of Clark, isn't it?" Diana asked.
"A little bit, I think," Lois replied.
"Is Bruce always this mistrusting?" Diana asked.
Lois thought for a moment before responding. "...Not exactly. He just... well... Bruce is suspicious of everyone that he can't figure out or understand. And when you're as literally alien as Clark is, then... well... you get the idea."
Diana nodded. "Yeah, I suppose so. But look at what happened. Clark saved both your lives; doesn't he deserve a little bit of trust?"
Lois shrugged. "Tell that to Bruce. I don't know if he'll ever trust Clark completely, no matter what happens."
Diana let her eyes sadly sink toward the table. "That's... too bad. With Clark's powers and Bruce's resources, they could probably accomplish a lot if they worked together."
That night, Bruce sat alone at his computer, watching a security videorecording of Metropolis High's cafeteria. One rather large line of text on the screen read "WayneTech hi-res sound zoom active." On the recording, Diana and Lois's voices could be clearly heard above all the rest: "...they could probably accomplish a lot if they worked together..."
Bruce paused the recording.
He put his hand to his chin and leaned back in his chair, deep in thought.
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