***
---Metropolis---
A Few days later…
Barnes sat in a Dodge Hellcat with Clark driving it as they made their way to a gun store in central Metropolis.
“I made a bit of research on some of the cities in this United States about gun laws in major cities and Metropolis is the only one that allows conceal carry and ARs?” Barnes asks, recoiling in curiosity.
“Well of course I provide a lot of safety myself but I do believe that everyone should be able to defend themselves without me being there, in case they are fighting a non-bullet proof alien or psychopath” Clark confirms why Metropolis allows the ordinary citizens to have firearms.
“One question, if you can move so fast that nobody can see you, why did you spend nearly sixty thousand dollars on this hellcat?” Barnes asks.
“It’s because I don’t like using my powers that often for simple tasks and actually getting to work in a car helps to fit in better” Clark answers as he parks outside of the gun shop that Barnes is going to work in.
They both get out of the car with Clark locking it as the two of them enter the shop.
“The famous reporter, Clark Kent, what can I do for you?” The burly gun shop owner asks.
“Hello mr… Bibbowski, I’m not here to buy anything, though I want you to introduce you to my twenty-one-year-old brother, Barnes Kent” Clark says with a smile.
“You sure he’s younger than you? You’ll need to carbon date him to see his real age” Bibbowski jokes with the two.
Clark chuckles a bit before he turns to Barnes and tells him “I’m going to the Daily Planet to report in on a Superman scoop, see you in a few hours.” As he turns to leave.
“Now I know you Kansas boys grew up on a farm which means Daddy let you play with his Remington every once in a while so I don’t need to ask if you know how to use a gun, Barnes” Bibbowski says to Barnes as he opens up a small gate to let Barnes into the the counter area.
“Though there’s one thing I need and it is a security guard” Bibbowski says as he hands him a security card.
“You get a lot of unfriendly visits, huh?” Barnes looks at the security card that was given to him, remembering how his dad, the doom slayer was once stationed on a mars base as security.
“You can say that” Bibbowski says as he moves a box full of ammunition “But owning this gun store isn’t my only gig. I own the ace of clubs bar and barbeque just down the street so I work down there when its the evening because superman shows up during that time.”
Barnes nods, understanding why he works two jobs as he takes the ammunition box off of Bibbowski and puts it on the counter.
With his right hand, he grabs the box cutter and opens the box to look at its contents to confirm if the quantity of ammo that Bibbowski purchased was right.
“Check the receipt on this laptop to confirm everything” Bibbowski says as he puts a laptop in front of Barnes as it displays the order that he made.
“Five cases of buckshot, three boxes of birdshot, and two boxes of assault rife rounds” Barnes reads on the laptop as he looks inside the box, seeing that everything was in place.
Knowing that he won’t have to make a couple of calls to confirm the orders, he starts removing the boxes of ammunition and puts them into the visible displays inside the counters.
As just Barnes was finishing up, putting the ammunition into their displays, the door opened with the bell ringing.
He gets up, revealing his towering figure to the customer who seems to be a simple, ordinary citizen.
The gentleman was looking behind Barnes at the guns on the racks tha were locked behind a metal fence.
“May I have that AR-15?” He asks, pointing at a specific, modified AR.
Barnes swipes his security card on the scanner, opening it up to grab one of the modified AR-15s.
“EO-tech holographic, 13 inch barrel, four inch foregrip, and a stippled rear grip, great for home defense, and great for those close encounters, costs twenty-five hundred, also, ID please” Barnes lists all of the features of the weapon as he puts it in a rifle case.
The gentlemen hands his ID over to Barnes for him to look over and to make sure he wasn’t selling it to the wrong person.
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He swipes the ID on a scanner to reveal if he has a criminal record but low and behold “Five DUIs at the age of nineteen… Eh I guess I can make this sale” Barnes scoffs, he was expecting something that would let him throw a punch but instead, he picks up the card reader as the gentleman pays.
As the gentleman leaves the store with the AR in a rifle case, Bibbowski comes back with an M1911 in hand as he places inside a drawer next to Barnes “This is in case any folk wants to create trouble in my shop” He tells Barnes.
Smiling at the M1911, it looked like the exact one that his father used when he was alive, Barnes inspects the pistol, pulling out the magazine to see the ammunition before reloading it, placing it into the drawer.
“Also, I should mention that its good that I hired you because now I can have someone guard this shop as well as continue to keep it open during evening hours so I can go to my bar, increasing not only my income but potentially, yours also” Bibbowski smiles, knowing that he can now bring in a larger amount of money to himself.
Barnes looked on his phone to see where Bibbowskis bar and barbeque was and it was near the least busiest areas of metropolis “How are you able to generate an income of seventy-thousand from that place let alone get enough people there to begin with?” He asks, curious how Bibbowski managed to keep the bar afloat.
“Superman visited one time so naturally people would start going there, hell I even marked the table he sat at and made all menu superman themed for the sake of it” Bibbowski chuckled.
Barnes however was feeling anxious about the weapon sale he just did, there’s no reason to purchase such a high powered rifle in one of the largest cities in America.
“Bibs, I don’t feel too good about the weapons sale I just did” Barnes said, tapping his foot out of anxiety.
“Even if he does try using that rifle, he’s gonna have to go through Superman and that Doomguy, hell, his double barrel is enough to blow up a tank so I doubt he’ll do anything” Bibbowski eases his anxiety
“Well that is good to remember that this city is defended by the two strongest justice league members” Barnes says as he sits down before asking “Who do you think is stronger?”
“Superman, that new guy was only equal because of his armor” Bibbowski shares his opinion, shattering Barnes’s ego.
“Hmph, I think that doomguy would win in a fight regardless, did you see photos of superman after their battle? The guy had so cuts and bruises all over” Barnes says, trying to feed his ego “Also, it did say on the Justice League website that the armor is simply for better durability and doesn’t add to strength” Barnes adds on, seeing if he can sway Bibbowskis die-hard loyalty to superman.
“Just because a website said so doesn’t mean its true” Bibbowski doubles down on his opinion while revealing that his age is not keeping up with modern times.
---Daily planet---
Clark gets out of the elevator with his briefcase and suit jacket in hand as he goes to sit down in his cubicle as he acts exhausted from the traffic he had to go through to get to work.
“Lets see how Perry wants to screw with me today” Clark mutters under his breath as he boots up his computer as he looks at his notes, seeing what Perry wants him to write on.
“The arsenal of the doomguy, the future of the justice league, and the new dynamic duo of metropolis” Clark reads before puting the notes aside.
“Perry loves giving us the hard stuff huh” Lois Lane peeks into his cubicle as she winks at her husband, knowing that a lot of the stuff Clark needs to report on has already been seen by him firsthand.
“How did the interview with Barnes this morning go?” Lois asks, taking a sip from her coffee.
“He got the job, I was listening to him and Bibbowski on the way here” Clark says before turning to his computer “I think we can buy a Dodge Demon 170 and sell the hellcat, I might even pass the hellcat to Barnes” Clark says.
“I’d get mad at you for wanting to spend a hundred thousand dollars on a car but you got me that Ford Raptor so I have something that is practical,” Lois rolls her eyes as she feels a bit tempted to use her kryptonite ring that was given to her in case Clark went out of control.
---A few hours later---
“No, it’s not my fault that someone shot up a school” Barnes argues with an anti-gun activist.
He’s been at it against the anti-gun activist for what seemed like hours but before the person came, Bibbowski went to his restaurant, leaving Barnes to fend for himself.
As just when he lost all hope, having to deal with the mental exhaustion, he heard the whirring of a pick up truck.
He could recognize that it belonged to Clark but he knew Clark was not driving which was made even more obvious when Lois Lane stepped out.
She steps into the shop as the anti-gun activist starts speaking to her “Lois, what do you have to say of this man selling guns that can kill dozens?”
“... I am not going to sit here and criticize my brother-in-law” Lois shakes her head, a signal to Barnes which meant he can leave now.
Opening the counter to leave before closing it, Barnes was happy to get out of the argument “Now leave the shop, I have to close it”
The activist leaves, respecting Barnes’s wishes as he was also tired of the arguing.
“You’re going to drop me back home but take Jon to the movies, he wants to watch that five nights movie” Lois hands the keys to Barnes before getting in.
Barnes turns on the car as he starts revving the engine, giving Lois a smug face.
---Later---
Barne pulls into the parking lot of the apartment complex that Lois and Clark live in as Lois getting out and Jon jumping into the passenger seat.
Jon buckled his seat belt as he shows visible anxiety when he is around Barnes, feeling scared of the man that almost killed his dad.
“Jon, I know you’re scared of me but I got a ticket to watch the movie as well, and I have five nights at freddy’s on my helmets visor in case i wanna pass time” Barnes tries to comfort Jon.
“Yeah, but it doesn’t make me less scared of you” Jon, still afraid of him.
“Listen, I didn’t want to fight your dad, he attacked me because I blew off Grodds…” Barnes says while trying to get Jon to look him in the eye before sighing “I’m sorry, and I know you mom is only allowing you a certain amount of money for food and drinks, I’ll get anything you want, okay?” Barnes finally catches the attention of Jon who gives a small smirk of accepting Barnes as an uncle.