The screech of the train wheels sliding across the tracks echoed through the platform as the train slowly pulled in. Clark tightened his jacket, looking at the two pet carriers in his hands.
Rapping his fingers against the pet carriers, he muttered to himself, "If it weren't for you two, I wouldn't need to take the train."
Regardless, he carried the pet carriers and headed out of the station. Just as he was about to leave, he felt hunger creeping in. After all, despite the short distance from Gotham to Metropolis, commuting by slow train still took a few hours. As Schiller Manor was out of service, he hadn't stayed for meals and hadn't eaten all day.
Even as Superman, while he can't starve, his regular appetite still made him crave for a full meal. Looking around, the facilities at Metropolis' train station were quite comprehensive, but the food was pricey. With a tight budget, Clark decided to look for food outside the station.
Just then, an enticing aroma wafted towards him. Turning his head, he noticed a food stand near the train station entrance wafting the delicious smell.
Following the scent, Clark discovered a hot dog cart. Metropolis was quite strict with its city cleanliness, so he didn't often see food carts. Back on Kansas Farm where he grew up, local farmers would push their food carts to sell homemade dishes, much like the aroma he was now familiar with.
Drawing Clark in with a combination of hunger and nostalgia, he approached the cart where a bearded man was busily preparing food. Clark ordered a large hot dog, loaded with double toppings and pickles. As he savored this high-calorie delight, he couldn't help but sigh with satisfaction.
"Oh, what are you carrying there? A cat? ...Pretty cute," the bearded man said.
"You think? That's why I adopted it," Clark responded, chuckling as he continued eating. He found the man to be quite the conversationalist, which only elevated his dining experience.
"What's in the other cage? Do you have two cats?" The hot dog vendor inquired as he continued grilling sausages.
"Uh, no, that's a uniquely colored rat. He was dyed by someone, and I rescued him," explained Clark, his voice sounding slightly unnatural. Clearly, it was a cover story he had been instructed to use, and he always felt awkward when lying.
"Keeping a cat and a mouse together? Your taste is quite extraordinary." The vendor responded after a moment of hesitation. Clark didn't know how to react so he just immersed himself in his meal.
The conversation grew slightly awkward, but Clark's wolf-like eating hastened the hot dog's end. After taking a few gulps of free soda, he wiped his mouth, waved to the vendor, and left.
After leaving the train station, burdened with his two pets, he still couldn't fly. Firstly, he didn't know if bringing pets to a high altitude would cause them stress, secondly, his yellow rodent pet claimed to have acrophobia, strictly forbidding Clark from taking him any higher than a three-story building.
The fact that a mouse could talk didn't surprise Clark. After all, he had just come from a city full of talking cats. If cats could talk, why not mice, right?
After repeatedly warning Pikachu to abstain from yelling in the city, Clark hailed a taxi and went straight back to his dorm at Metropolitan University.
Metropolitan University had better facilities than Gotham University. Clark's outstanding performance in the athletics competition had attracted the coach's attention, who then moved him to accommodations with better conditions. Not only did he have a single room, but he also had a small living room, completely independent and unrestricted for keeping pets.
He opened the pet cages and let out the cat and mouse - the Bat Cat was quick to flatten its ears, hissing at Pikachu the moment it leap out. Clark swiftly placed his hand on Bat Cat's head and reminded him, "What did I tell you earlier? No fighting!"
While petting the top of Bat Cat's head, he continued, "Don't be anxious. I know, as a cat, you may never have seen a talking mouse before. That scared you, right?"
"What are you on about? I wanted to bite him because he just shocked me!"
"Wait... even if he shocked you, you cannot... Wait!! You can talk too??!!"
Clark was startled and inadvertently let go of Bat Cat, who jumped onto the sofa across from him.
He meowed again, and Clark found that he could understand what the cat was aiming at - Bat Cat said, "What are you so surprised about? Haven't we met before?"
Frozen on the spot, Clark stuttered, "You can't be… Bruce, right? I thought you just looked like him..."
The Bat Cat exhaled in exasperation. Clark had never thought he'd see Bruce's expression on a cat's face, and Bat Cat began to explain things to him.
Since their consciousness had been to Cat City and they could understand the cat's language, after returning to their bodies, their souls could still comprehend the language of the cats.