Superman had intended to reason with his son, share some insights from his years as a Superhero, then take the boy out to look at the stars and tell him about their homeland.
That was how things had always gone. Jonathan had been obedient, a good child. This combination of fatherly affection and recounting past hardships had always been enough to make the boy listen.
But perhaps he had reached puberty. Children were especially rebellious at that age. Seeing that his father would not agree to let him go to Gotham and was about to launch into the same old lecture, the boy pushed away his plate and left the table.
"I'm full."
With that, he turned and ran into his room, slamming the door shut with a bang. The Justice League poster hanging on the door had already had loose tape, and the vibration left one corner drooping.
Clark reached out, but in the end, he sighed and lowered his hand back onto the table. Picking up his spoon again, he looked blankly at Lois and said:
"Did I say something wrong? You don't want Joe going to a place like Gotham either, do you? That's Batwoman's territory. She has an extremely strong sense of territoriality."
Lois ran one hand through her long hair and shook her head sideways.
"I don't know much about that city. You know, I used to occasionally go shopping with Catwoman and Barbara, but girls don't talk about Gotham while they're out on the street."
Lois and Catwoman were very close. Though one was a highly educated intellectual and the other an illiterate thief, they simply got along well.
Earlier this year, when Catwoman had been planning to marry Batwoman, Lois had secretly taken her to the Fortress of Solitude in the Arctic.
There,