Batman & Superman: One Friendly Night

It was a dark and cold night in Gotham City, and high up in the rooftops the Batman could be seen, perched on one of the many gargoyles built into the older buildings as he silently observed his city and scanned for any crimes or disturbances happening down below.

Batman had been operating for a few hours now, since he usually started his patrols during the evening when the sun had gone down and everything was now being engulfed in darkness. It had been a rather good night for the vigilante, since not much serious crimes had happened around the city aside from stopping a few robberies, muggings and even an attempted kidnapping as well. He was currently doing surveillance work from the rooftops, and this enabled him to slightly relax and take in the surroundings of Gotham, which he thought looked rather amazing at nighttime and from high above too.

After scanning the streets of Gotham a few times with his detective vision and confirming that there was no present crimes happening, Batman looked around and observed the many different buildings and areas that made up Gotham City, such as the residential neighbourhoods, the Wayne Enterprises building and even Arkham Asylum off in the distance. It felt good for the vigilante to see these locations from high above and from a distance too, since it gave him a good feeling that was hard for him to describe in words.

It wasn't long before Batman decided to do another scan of Gotham with his detective vision, but before he could do this there was a sudden gust of strong wind which caught The Dark Knight's attention, and he swiftly turned around to see Superman, a fellow superhero and one of his closest allies fly straight towards him and then come to a stop not far from the gargoyle he was currently resting on. Superman then waved while Batman looked at him with suspicion and confusion shown over his face.

"Hello, Bruce." greeted Superman.

"Clark." replied Batman.

"It's good to see you out here, even though you're on patrol."

"Clark, what do you even want?"

"I wasn't really doing much tonight since things are peaceful over in Metropolis, so I thought it would be good to come over and see how you were doing here, maybe even keep you company for an hour or two."

Batman was left a little surprised at what Superman said to him, since he usually preferred to work alone when it came to Gotham and aside from his own Bat-Family, he never really received help from his fellow superheroes in the Justice League in combatting the crime and various members of his Rouges Gallery in his city. He continued to look suspiciously at the Man of Steel before then responding to his comments.

"I'm not sure about you staying over here for a few hours, since Gotham is still my city to protect and you have much better business to attend to here, but I guess it would be okay for you to remain here for a few minutes or so."

Superman looked at Batman for a few moments before smiling, happy to know that the Dark Knight and his good friend was okay with him staying in Gotham and keeping him company for an hour or two.

"It's good that you're okay with this, Bruce."

Batman merely shrugged in response and continued to focus his attention on the streets of Gotham with his detective vision, while sensing some movement nearby which was merely Superman floating over and standing on one of the gargoyles next to him. Batman figured that out almost right away, so he mostly scanned the streets below while Superman watched him nearby and tried to think of a good conversation subject.

A few minutes passed by, and the Batman was still focused on observing the quiet streets of Gotham for any signs or even the slightest hint of a crime happening down below. Superman had settled down and was watching him do his business, but he decided to break the silence with a question.

"So how's things been going with you lately?" asked Superman.

Batman stayed silent for a moment, before answering back while not taking his focus off observing the dark streets of Gotham City.

"It's mostly just been quiet for me here." responded Batman. "Gotham's lately had a low crime rate and that probably has to do with none of the serious villains breaking out of Arkham over the months, so my patrols have mostly been relegated to observation and also stopping the occasional petty crimes too."

"I think that's rather surprising to know, considering that you've always had to deal with heavy crimes happening in Gotham on a regular basis. It makes me think that the criminals decided to finally take a break from his nonsense, like what's been happening at Metropolis as well."

"I would like to think that's the case, but I can never let my down guard for a few minutes or seconds Clark. I always have to keep a lookout over Gotham because the city never sleeps, and who knows when the criminals will strike again, maybe they're just all hiding in plain sight and waiting for the perfect moment to strike."

"I suppose you've got a point there Bruce, although I still think it would be good for you to take a breather sometime and go spend time with your loved ones in the Bat-Family. It's what I have been doing over in Metropolis here, taking advantage of the low criminal activity to spend more time with Lois and my other family members."

Batman took notice of what Superman said to him here, as he suddenly took his eyes off the city streets and looked directly at his fellow superhero for a few moments while processing the words he talked about. It was important for the vigilante to keep up the routine patrols and keep his city safe, but the Man of Steel was correct in taking some time off to spend time with his family and friends since that's what everyone does during the holidays. It had also been very quiet in Gotham for the past few days with no serious crimes happening, so what would be the harm in the Batman having a break to recharge himself and be with his loved ones

It wasn't long before Batman returned to focusing his attention on the streets down below, although he did give Superman a short response which let him know that he took his words to heart and considered them an option.

"I will think about taking a break soon, Clark."

Superman merely smiled at the response, happy to know that his words came through to Batman and that he was considering going for a short break and spend time with his family if Gotham continued to be peaceful and devoid of crimes for the new few days. It would be good for the vigilante to have some time off anyways, as the constant patrols and crimefighting really wore him down often and he rarely took breaks so the tiredness and pain really affected him here.

Gotham City was soon disrupted from the peaceful quiet night, as a huge explosion suddenly went off in the distance and immediately caught the attention of both Batman and Superman. It led to them scanning the area right away and found that the explosion had come from the Gotham National Bank, where a massive robbery of the vault by a large group of armed criminals was currently in progress.

Batman soon leapt off the gargoyle and glided towards the Bank, while using his grapple gun in-between the smaller buildings to increase his gliding speed as he flew directly to the crime scene. Superman watched Batman glide over there for a minute before he then flew towards the bank as well, while keeping behind Batman as he knew Gotham was primarily his city to protect from all the crime and evil.

It was a rather chaotic scene at the Gotham Bank, where the group of armed criminals had managed to break down the vault door using some C4 explosives they had stolen from a police armoury a few days ago, and they were all now in the process of stuffing the money into their duffel bags and making their quick exit towards the getaway vehicle.

"Oh man, we've got so much loot here!" shouted one of the criminals.

"I think we've planned this out very well, because nobody has gotten in the way of us and we haven't suffered any losses either! If we keep this up, we should be able to pull of the greatest heist in all of Gotham!" shouted another criminal.

"Enough of the talk you two, now let's all get the hell out of here before the bastard cops show up to our doorstep!" shouted the lead criminal of the group.

After grabbing all of the money in the vaults that they could manage to fit in their duffel bags, the group of armed criminals proceeded to fully retreat from the bank and make their exit towards the getaway vehicle, which sat parked neatly outside of the entrance. It wasn't long before they encountered trouble however, as right next to the vehicle stood Batman and Superman, staring right at the criminals in an intimidating way.

Batman and Superman's sudden appearance shocked the group of armed criminals, as while they hadn't thought much about the Batman showing up to stop them, they certainly weren't expecting the Man of Steel to show up alongside the vigilante as well. It didn't take long for the criminals to snap out of the shock and raise all their weapons at the superheroes, ready to raise hell towards them both but this would ultimately prove to be their downfall.

"I see the Bats has shown up with all high and mighty Superman here." said the lead criminal. "Well, let's see how they both like a shower a bullets, shall we?"

The criminal leader raised his arm and gave the signal to open fire, and shortly afterwards the group of armed criminals started shooting their weapons at Batman and Superman. All of them were so focused with unloading their bullets into the superheroes that they never noticed that they both vanished the moment they started firing, and were now standing right behind the criminal gang and waiting for them to take notice.

It didn't take long for the criminals to turn around and react in shock at seeing both Batman and Superman standing right in front of them. Before they could all do anything else, Batman dropped one of his smoke pellets and engulfed the entire group in a cloud of smoke, leaving them blinded and wildly firing their weapons in a heavy state of panic and confusion. Batman then made his move, swiftly disarming the criminals and knocking them out with clean punches and takedown manoeuvres. He made short work of them, mostly thanks to using the smoke pellets to his advantage.

Superman mostly stood back and let Batman take care of the armed criminals, until he noticed that some of them had escaped the smoke cloud and were now prepared to fire their weapons at him. He crossed his arms and watched with amusement as the criminals unloaded their bullets into the Man of Steel, and led to them all bouncing off his chest and landing in small fragments on the pavement. Superman then sped over towards the criminals and swiped their weapons away in the blink of an eye, before crushing them to pieces and then taking them all out with a few light punches.

It only took a few minutes for Batman and Superman to take down the entire group of armed criminals together, and when that was done they decided to clean up the mess and leave them for the police. Batman tied them up with assistance from Superman and hauled them over towards their getaway vehicle, before then disabling the vehicle so that they wouldn't be going anywhere. Superman proceeded to grab all the duffel bags of money and flew them back into the bank vault, before swiftly repairing the vault door and sealing it back onto the wall, making sure the money was once again secure.

Batman then grappled up to a nearby rooftop a distance away from the bank and perched himself on another gargoyle, after making sure the crime scene was completely secure along with hearing nearby police sirens as well. Superman joined him up there shortly, and both of them were soon watching the GCPD round up the criminals and then begin their own investigation into the robbery. It wasn't long before the night was peaceful again in Gotham City, as things went back to normal and it left the two superheroes satisfied.

Superman decided to break the silence and tell Batman his thoughts on what happened with the criminals, after a few minutes of sitting on the rooftops and observing the city with The Dark Knight.

"I sure think we worked well together on those criminals, Bruce."

Batman thought about his words for a moment, before delivering a response that was rather unexpected of the vigilante to even think about here, while continuing to keep himself focused on the city.

"I guess we are a rather good crimefighting team, Clark."

Superman looked at Batman with confusion on his face, as he was caught off guard from The Dark Knight's rare compliment. It was pretty rare for Batman to give compliments to his fellow superheroes and even his companions in the Bat-Family due to his dark and brooding personality and severe dedication to fighting crime, so hearing his own admission that he and Superman worked well at fighting crime together came as a surprise to the Man of Steel and left him feeling rather happy too.

A few minutes of silence passed before Batman reluctantly turned around to look at Superman, who now had a warm smile present on his face as he was delighted with the words Batman had spoken to him. It didn't take long for Batman to slowly smile back, since he was now rather comfortable being around his fellow superheroes to sometimes express his emotions although with severe hesitation since this wasn't something the vigilante did often.

Batman then turned back and continued observing the streets of Gotham, since he needed to make sure there weren't anymore crimes happening right after dealing with that huge bank robbery there. Superman decided to leave him be for a while, before then deciding to bring up another question to Batman, this time a more simple one to change the mood for the rest of the night.

"So, is there anything else you want to talk about?" asked Superman.

It took a while for a response, as Batman was once again on the lookout and too focused on scanning the city streets to see if there was anymore criminal activity, although he was thinking about whatever conversation subjects he could potentially discuss here. Superman was about to say that it was okay if Batman didn't want to talk anymore, but before he could do so The Dark Knight then spoke up towards him.

"I can think of a few good subjects, Clark." said Batman.

Superman felt happy after hearing his response, and proceeded to settle down and wait patiently for Batman to begin his conversation subjects. It wasn't long before Batman started to begin talking, which meant that the two superheroes were in for a pleasant remainder of the night.

And so for the next few hours, both Batman and Superman were chatting to each other about various subjects and exchanging stories that were both very personal and about their crimefighting activities. A few memorable ones were discussed, such as the time were they both teamed up together to stop the Joker and Lex Luthor from taking over both Gotham and Metropolis with their combined strength and genius minds, and the time when the Justice League all went into outer space to combat the forces of Darkseid and Apokolips and prevent them from invading Earth. It was battles that were both really intense and threatening for the superheroes, but enough time had now passed for them to be comfortable enough telling them as stories.

It wasn't all about their superhero activities though, as Batman and Superman also discussed some stories about their personal sides relating to family and friends. A few notable ones from Batman included the time when Bruce took his son Damian on a day out to the park where they both played on the swings and had some ice cream, and the time when the entire Bat-Family had a grand feast of various meals in Wayne Manor. Superman had his fare share of stories too, such as the time when Clark and Lois both managed to win an award for their dedicated efforts to writing a huge story in the Daily Planet, and then when they went out a few days later for a romantic evening together, which took them through Metropolis where they ate at a fancy restaurant and ending in Smallville where they had flown over to admire the country night sky and then spent the night together in the Kent Farm, ending a wonderful night for the couple and a great memory for Clark.

All of the stories and conversations were ones that made Batman and Superman enjoy themselves together and appreciate their company, as exchanging the tales had given them a bond closer then before and both were rather appreciative of the fact that they could trust each other more now, especially Batman due to his severe paranoia and trust issues which often affected his relationships with the Bat-Family and the Justice League. It was a good time for the two superheroes, but it was soon to come to an end.

Superman had noticed the sun was slowly beginning to rise over the horizon, which meant that it was now the beginning of the morning and that dawn was coming to Gotham. He leapt off the gargoyle and begun floating in the sky, which caught the attention of Batman although he too was aware of the rising sun and would soon be heading home himself.

"It's been fun chatting with you Bruce, but I think it's now time for me to head back home." said Superman. "I need to get back home and rest before starting my day at the Daily Planet, since it's nearly dawn now."

"I've noticed the sun has started rising from the horizon here, so I should be heading back home myself." responded Batman. "I need to get myself some sleep and be ready for tomorrow, as I have another day of business matters and then another night of patrolling the city as Batman."

"It seems we're both going to be having big days, huh?"

"I guess you could sum it up that way."

Batman and Superman looked at each other and smiled, before exchanging their goodbyes to each other and thanking them for the good times they experienced tonight.

"Goodbye, Bruce."

"Goodbye, Clark."

Batman watched as Superman rose higher into the sky and gave the vigilante a wave goodbye before he then took off and flew back to Metropolis, faster then the speed of light. It left a huge gust of wind that blew right in the direction of Batman, but he merely stood there and watched Superman fly off before he was nothing more than a small dot in the sky. Once he was gone, Batman then leapt off the gargoyle and glided down to the streets below, where he summoned the Batmobile and was soon right in the drivers seat and heading home to Wayne Manor.

As he drove out of Gotham and made his way home, the Batman thought about how the night had went with Superman and he found it to be an experience unlike the previous times he went on patrol at night. It was good to have had company in the form of Superman and finding out that they worked together at fighting crime as shown with stopping the bank robbery made the vigilante feel rather warm inside. He also enjoyed chatting to the Man of Steel about various stories in his life, and took entertainment in listening to his own stories as well. Batman thought it was a good night for him, and he would be remembering this one for a while.

It was now time for him to head back home though, and get a good nights sleep...