Superman, the epitome of strength and kindness, whose limits are only bounded by the limits of imagination, he's not pedantic, instead, he is flexible. He also always appears brimming with ambition, much like a golden retriever a second before you open the door.
The fragments of information about the underbelly of Gotham revealed by Jason during the interview stirred up Clark's desire to delve deeper and conduct a feature story, documenting the conditions of the lower-class citizens of Gotham.
Clark did not only rely on his identity as Superman to uphold justice, because he knew, sometimes, words can be more powerful than fists, and his advantage over other reporters is that there is no place he cannot go, hence, no darkness that he can't unravel.
In reality, Clark had already gained some fame, thanks to the numerous wartime documentary photos he took. Although most were published under the pseudonym of another reporter, some astute observers noticed that there might be a courageous and capable war reporter working for The Daily Planet.
Clark's proposal was supported by the editor-in-chief, as Gotham was indeed under the spotlight.
Bruce Wayne had landed his fortress upon the American Continent, and pointed his guns at both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, and the entire human race, causing these two power-struggling parties to come to an agreement after three minutes of communication, overwhelmingly endorsing Bruce Wayne as the new president of America. Congratulations poured in from various countries.
Surprisingly, from the perspective of polling satisfaction, Bruce Wayne was doing well. Considering his previous dealings were more infamous in tabloids, this was quite miraculous.
The keen observers realized the factor most favorable to Bruce Wayne's popularity was what he had done in Gotham. More surprising was that despite the chaotic life of the human race, the collective consciousness often finds the best way out at critical moments. As the saying goes, the eyes of the masses are sharp.
Or should we say that the majority chose Bruce Wayne due to their populist thinking. To them, if Wayne could make a dump like Gotham have an economic bright spot, wouldn't his rule over our place be an immediate lift-off?
Gotham might be dangerous, but it's not completely closed off. News trickles out from time to time, and any media that could get hold of such news would undoubtedly gain enormous exposure through this topic.
While the editor-in-chief has no idea that Clark is Superman, he does notice something extraordinary about the kid. Therefore, he gave Clark a month to complete the assignment and hinted to him that a more realistic portrayal would be better.
The phrase "the more realistic, the better" does not mean its literal sense. It's an American newspaper jargon used in wartime reporting, implying the grimmer the images, the better.
If Gotham wasn't in a state of distress, how would Bruce Wayne's competence be notable? The new president seems to have a long tenure ahead, and if one does not brown-nose while the new official is fanning the fires, they would be the next one in hot water.
Clark got the hint from the editor-in-chief but he didn't give it much thought. He preferred to take the phrase at its face value, vowing to depict the real and complete picture of Gotham to the public.
On his first day in Gotham, however, reality gave him a sucker punch - he had been robbed.
Clark couldn't describe how absurd this was. He is so powerful that he could cap off the Atlantic, yet on his first day here, the $200 in his pocket had vanished.
Clark was certain that he could not have lost it himself, because his jacket pocket had a zipper that was zipped up, yet the money was gone.
After careful recollection, Clark remembered stepping out of the train station and seeing a child run past him without their parents, as if they had some urgent matter.
Clark followed the child, who then tripped. Clark was about to help him up when another group of children charged over, fists raised, ready to hit the fallen child.
Of course, Clark had to intervene. Not just to stop them, but also to understand why, to reason with them, to educate them.
The group of kids spoke incoherently, mixed with all swear words. Clark had to remind them over 30 times within the one minute. It took him a full 10 minutes to get to the bottom of things.
As it turned out, the child who had fallen was a newcomer, not a part of their group. But he had moved to their turf and started to encroach upon their business. They had been chasing him for days and were determined to give him a beating.
With their story told, they prepared to beat the child again. Clark was tired of all the fighting, he didn't have the energy for kindly advice anymore. He resolved the conflict first by buying the juice the child was selling. Then, he escorted the beaten child to the nearest clinic.
But when he returned to his hotel, he found his money gone, and he had no idea when it had been stolen.
Superman could be deemed all-knowing and omnipotent, but the premise is that he has to focus his attention on something. At that time, he was already annoyed by the kids and couldn't bear the sight of the injured child, he just wanted to get him to the hospital as soon as possible.
He vaguely remembered his coat being tugged a few times. Probably it was during then that his money was pickpocketed.
Clark heaved a deep sigh and began to tidy up his luggage. He had brought a lot of things as he planned to stay for some time. After tidying up, he felt a little thirsty and took a swig of the juice given to him by the child.
As soon as the juice entered his mouth, Clark spat it out.
It had been laced.
Or rather, it was more product than juice.
Clark looked at the orange juice in his hand in shock. According to his limited medical knowledge, orange juice could enhance the absorption of a certain drug, scientifically called MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy.
Clark hurriedly grabbed a bottle of water from the hotel's table and started rinsing his mouth frantically. He had swallowed a mouthful accidentally. Anyone but a Kryptonian would have been hallucinating about Batman and the Joker dancing by now.
He dry-heaved over the bathroom sink for a long time. After washing his face with water, a wave of anger surged in his heart as he vowed to hold to account those behind involving children in drug peddling.
Due to his intention of deep-diving into the conditions of the Gotham slum, he didn't stay in an upscale hotel. Instead, he found a budget hotel near Arkham City, which was the still-under-construction Gotham slum.
From the window of his room, he could see the walls of Arkham City that was halfway done. Clark spent a moment admiring the view from the window, only to have his door knocked upon shortly after.
He walked over to see who it was, but there was no one in sight. Even when he opened the door, he saw nothing but a small card left on the ground.
Just from the color and design of the card, Clark knew its purpose. He sighed and tossed the card away.
After a short while, there came another knock on the door. This time it was a different card from a different company, apparently aimed at same-sex services.
Clark ignored it once again, tossing it aside casually and heading for a shower. During his shower, he faintly heard a knocking sound. Once he was done and went to open the door, he found yet another card.
This time around, Clark was a bit annoyed. Not because of the constant disturbances, but because the age of the model printed on the card clearly didn't comply with the underage protection law of New Jersey state.
He peeked out into the hallway, but saw nothing. He glanced out at the evening sky, deciding to take care of this annoyance tomorrow.
As a result, he was kept awake all night. Approximately every 10 minutes, he would hear a knock at the door followed by picking up a piece of paper from the floor. The services offered were wide-ranging, even including what might have been a cat the size of a two-story building judging by the scale.
By gathering all these cards, there was a complete tourist map of Gotham slum, clearly marking different attractions.
Clark tried to guard the door, but it seemed like they were familiar with this trick. When Clark watched the door, they didn't come. Whenever he was drowsy, the knocking sound rang promptly right on time — a classic guerrilla warfare tactic.
At the moment Clark picked up the phone to dial the emergency number, he felt the ridiculousness of the situation and ultimately decided to give up.
Any war correspondent would be wary of local authorities. As airing dirty laundry in public is a common human trait, police are often the enemies, rather than aides, to the journalists for the sake of their own performance record and reputation. So Clark had to be extremely cautious.
Of course, there was another reason. After they saw these 50+ cards, he would have difficulty explaining himself. He would inevitably be questioned, 'these aren't enough for you, are you wanting to sleep with the sun?'
Through the sleepless torment, Clark finally made it to the next day. Seeing the dawn breaking, he knew he could finally venture into the Gotham slum.
Clark wasn't aware of his unfortunate timing. When Batman was the only hero in the city, the mental state of Gotham citizens was chaotic and insane. However, ever since the Robin Gang showed up, their mental state could only be described as 'Gotham is our home, and everyone contributes'.
Clark failed to enter the slum on his first day in Gotham. He didn't managed to take more than three steps from his door when he realized that the manhole cover on the road had disappeared.
As Superman, he wouldn't turn a blind eye to oncoming vehicles potentially flipping over due to the missing manhole, so he decided to cover it up with something, or at least find a warning sign, to indicate the drivers to detour.
But as soon as he approached the manhole, he heard a peculiar sound coming from inside. It sounded like something was running, and fast, heavy enough to sound like...
Bang!
The giant beast that burst out from the manhole slammed into Superman's chest. As expected, we failed to penetrate the enemy's armor and were sent back down into the hole.
Clark looked down to find a humanoid with a crocodile head, its whole body skin resembling that of a crocodile as well.
To ensure the authenticity of the investigation and interview, Clark hadn't asked Bruce for the data on Gotham's super criminals beforehand. Therefore, he could only tentatively refer to this humanoid he ran into as Killer Croc.
"Hey, what's the matter? Do you want to get out?"
The Killer Croc was in a disoriented state after being slammed. Looking at the shadow above, he roared and attempted to jump out again.
Clark saw furious desperation in his eyes. He hesitated for a moment and then decided to step aside.
Killer Croc managed to escape to the ground. However, without pausing for a moment to mourn his broken nose, he took off running.
Clark watched his retreating figure in confusion. The next second, something else bounced against him. When Clark turned to look, it was a crocodile.
Is it his kid? That was Clark's first reaction.
Then he realized that he had probably been influenced by this insane city. The Killer Croc he just met was clearly one of Gotham's mutants. Humans can't give birth to crocodiles.
However, his common knowledge was soon challenged when hundreds of crocodiles were spewed out from the manhole like a fountain, causing a whirlwind of crocodiles on the street.
"What are you staring at? Run!"
Clark turned around to find the Killer Croc, who had just run away, now standing at the street corner yelling at him. Seeing the crocodile whirlwind intensifying, Clark hesitated for a second before running off.