Made to be Broken
Aug. 11th, 2011 10:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
trista_zevkiaTitle: Made to be Broken
Author: Trista_zevkia
Chapter: 2/5
Fandom: Batman/Superman
Characters/Pairing: Clark/Bruce
Rating: PG-17
Warnings: SLASH
Summary: When Batman says to stay out of his city, you really should listen!
Disclaimer: All monies made will be sent to the Wayne Enterprise approved Charities
Author's Notes:
Once upon a time, there was a flood in New Zealand. Many have moved on, but my lazy butt and broken wrist are just now getting around to fulfilling my part. For Darke_wulf kindness about the time, I’m tossing in a few extra words. It has nothing to do with my inability to follow guidelines
; )
Chapter 1 Rules
Other than the occasional outbreak of crime to beat down, Clark spent the day digging into PI & S. The anomalies he found were still on his mind when he went on patrol after work. His phone calls to Lois had been ignored, but that wasn’t uncommon when Lois was investigating. As he flew, he listened for Lois and other cries for assistance. He forced himself to ignore the cries from Gotham, as Batman wanted.
“Superman this is Green Lantern.” The JL com had been busy all night, but this was the first time Superman was addressed directly.
“Superman here.”
“Trouble in Gotham, and Batman’s nowhere to be found.”
“What kind of trouble, GL?” Superman felt he had to ask. He secretly believed there were some things Batman couldn’t handle, though he feared finding out what those things were!
“Entire population has gone nuts, apparently. Screaming and laughing, while doing crazy stunts and destroying things. Unless there was a game tonight, it even seems weird, even for Gotham.”
“What is the news saying?”
“Lois lane was reporting when the regular news crews couldn’t, but then the electricity went out. No one can contact anyone in Gotham.”
“Send whoever is available to Gotham now.” Clark turned in midair and headed for Gotham. He knew Bruce would be doing his best, but Lois wouldn’t be Bruce’s priority. Batman could deal with the territory infringement later, and doubtless would.
“Superman? Flash, Hawkgirl, and I are on our way.”
“Very good GL, and be careful!”
GL snorted into the com. “We can handle Gotham, it’s just another city.”
Before, Superman would have agreed. But hearing the derision in green Lantern’s voice, Clark had a moment of doubt. What if they were wrong about Batman’s reasons? The question was forgotten as he dropped into Gotham and began assessing the situation. The bridges were lined with people fighting over the chance to bungee jump off, while crowds fought their way to the tops of buildings for base jumping. Cars raced down the road, ignoring all rules and safe driving tips. Apparently they had all decided they were stunt people from movies or something! Though that didn’t explain why the electricity was off for the entire city.
Lois’s laugh called to Superman and he sped toward her. When he caught her 20 feet above the concrete, Lois kept laughing. Confused, Clark set her down and went to see what other tragedies he could stop. He talked and searched even as he caught crazed civilians and tried to make them stay put.
“Situation, GL?”
“Superman, we’re all here attempting to save the civilians. Do you have any idea what happened to them?”
“Not really, but I bet Batman knows.” That was what Batman was probably doing, trying to find the cause of the problem and stop it. If he wasn’t so territorial, he could have had assistance from the start of the emergency!
“Not too helpful, if he won’t come out and tell us.” GL sounded smug at the thought.
“I thought he’d pick up our signal and tell us to get out already.” Superman spoke mostly to himself, worry creeping into his voice.
“GL, John?” Hawk girl spoke, and Superman thought for sure Batman would speak, to remind them not to use real names on the comm. “Can you smell that?”
“I can smell it!” Flash spoke first, even as Superman took a deep sniff. “I can smell everything. You know what I’ve always wanted to do? I’ve always wanted to find the Batcave! If you have this, I’m going to track down Bats!”
The words were jumbled up and almost too fast for Superman to decipher. When he did figure them out Clark still couldn’t believe it! “Wait Flash! You know how much that’ll piss him off!”
“Exactly, that’s what makes it fun!”
Superman grinned, understanding what Flash meant. “Have fun Wally. I’m going after the man himself, and I have a surprise for him!”
“John, come fly with me?” There was no hesitation in Hawkgirl’s voice, instead she sounded giddy.
“Been waiting on you to ask, Shiera!”
Superman was peripherally aware of his teammates as they went their separate ways, even as he made sure Lois still climbing the steps to the roof of a building. But his main attention was focused on Batman. Bruce would be at the source of the trouble, so Clark flew in decreasing circles, sniffing the air. At the focal point of distribution, Superman landed. The abandoned greenhouse overflowing with plants was obviously Poison Ivy’s headquarters, and mind altering chemicals were her specialty. The addition of a large warehouse full of chemicals and equipment was unusual for her, though.
A scan of the warehouse showed only two people, neither of which sported the scarred bones of Bruce. Clark knew Poison Ivy could effect him, but he went in without a care. The plants moved at his approach but Clark wasn’t worried. None of the plant’s moved directly at him so he made steady progress toward the first person visible on his x-ray. Large tropical looking plants moved leaves away so he could see her, enthroned on more vegetation. She had a flair for the dramatic, he had to give a Poison Ivy that.
“Ivy! Where is he?”
“He, superman?” Ivy gave him a curious look. “An entire city gone crazy, and you’re asking after one person?”
“Yes, Batman. I wanted to do something to him.”
“Well now, that sounds interesting. But I’m afraid I can’t help you, I’m too busy be turning this city back to the green.”
“JL, assemble at my location!” Superman command into the comm. He was actually impressed by how quickly Flash turned up. Hawkgirl and GL soon hung in the sky just above Superman’s shoulders. “Ivy, I’m not the mood to ask again.”
“Really? You know what would that be scary? Fighting Batman! Yes, search the city and find him. Defeat him on his own turf and defeat your fear of him!”
“Superman? That really does sound exciting!” Flash added in a breathless voice.
“Enough.” The calm growl was quiet, but drew all attention to the speaker. Batman was crouched among the sprinklers in the roof of the greenhouse. When he was satisfied that everyone was looking at him, Batman made a deliberate movement. Something fell, and crashed on the plants below them. Mesmerized, they watched as several plants melted and died. Ivy whimpered from her perch. ”A little something that I picked up in my travels. Hand over the antidote or this entire greenhouse dies.”
“I don’t make antidotes.”
“Your partner does.” Someone found Batman’s words funny, as a maniacal laugh echoed around them. The other person superman had noticed chose not to show himself. Instead he called them over the pa system built into the greenhouse.
“I have the antidote, but I don’t care about the plants.”
“I only need to know which fear toxin you combined the Ivy’s poison and I’ll have the antidote. This is your chance to come quietly.”
“And the clown says you have no sense of humor. I would have been proud to have you as a student, and know you could work out an antidote with enough time. But you don’t have time, do you? What kind of havoc could the Justice League inflict on your city under my influence? Let’s find out. Superman, wasn’t there something terrifying you wanted to do?”
Superman wasn’t sure why he let it go this long actually. He turned to Batman and lifted off, forgetting the felons behind him. A shot of green light arced toward Batman at the same time, but Batman was no longer there. There was more green light as Superman turned, but this green light made him hurt. Angered that Green Lantern would turn on him, prevent him from giving Batman what he needed, Superman focused his heat beams on GL. The green shield deflected the beams into ripping out a chunk of the roof. Shrieking her war cry, Hawkgirl dove at Superman. Superman dodged and she crashed into Flash. His strength leaving him, Superman flung himself at GL. His shield held as Superman used his remaining strength to pound into it. And the edge of their awareness, voices conversed.
“What do you want, Scarecrow?”
“Of late, I’ve been wanting a new challenge. But I find the old challenge is standing in my way. You Batman, my old challenge, I want you.”
“Here I am.”
“Armed to the razor sharp teeth? I don’t think so.”
“My esteemed colleague has a beautiful idea.” Ivy understood, and approved. “Take it off, all of it.”
“He can leave on his underwear, we must leave something to the imagination.” Scarecrow added in a prude voice.
“Give them the antidote first.”
“Do I have your word that you’ll come with us, stripped of your equipment?” Ivy’s normally sultry voice almost quivered with excitement.
“Yes.”
A simple word but it was accepted for what it meant. A plant vine uncurled, passing a large vial to Batman. The weakness and pain stopped, allowing Superman remembered what he came here for. Once again he turned to Batman, but this time his target stood and waited for him. He had just put a hand on Batman’s shoulder when Batman shoved that the vial under his nose. Superman paused, letting the chemicals war within him. It took a moment to realize Hawkgirl was still chasing Flash, and GL was throwing bolts of energy on his back. Fully aware at last Clark flushed. Batman snorted and handed him the vial.
“Replicate this. Cure Gotham.”
“What’s going on?”
“You’ll figure that out. Now go.”
Recognizing the commanding tone and seething anger, Superman got moving. Speeding around GL’s shield he gave GL a whiff of the antidote. Flash and then Hawkgirl inhaled, turning embarrassed the eyes to Batman. He stripped off his gear even as he snarled at them.
“Spread the antidote. Now!”
Embarrassed, Clark silently directed the others out. Once outside he turned to Flash. “Take this to Gordon, give him a sniff and tell him to spread it around. Hawkgirl, GL cover the airspace around greenhouse. I’m going back in.”
“You think you should?” Green Lantern was embarrassed to ask, and a little overwhelmed by Gotham’s villains.
“I’m sure it’ll piss him off further, but I have to.” This time Superman went in slowly, watching for traps. He was about halfway and when the plants attacked. Distracted by flapping leaves, he let the vines sneak up on him. It took longer than it should have to burn off the vines and rip his way through the plants. When he reached the clearing all that remained was a pile of Batman’s armor. Picking up the cowl, Clark noticed the black fluid dripping from it. Like much of dealing with Batman, Clark can no idea what that was about.
“GL, Hawkgirl, do you see anything?”
“No sign of movement.”
“They must’ve gone underground. Come help me gather up Batman’s armor. I shudder to think what he do if he comes back and we missed some.”
sBSbBs
John had never had a more miserable start to the weekend. The entire JL had been called out to Gotham, searching for a naked Batman. In a town gone crazy, there were a lot of naked people but none answered to ‘uh, Batman?’
Commissioner Gordon had managed to replicate the antidote so quickly it was disconcerting. If he’d had time, John would have asked about the system for it and how often it was needed. Instead he’d conjured a fan to blow the antidote over the city, while Flash used his speed to make sure it got to everyone. Once the civilians were back to normal, and safe, the JL had to figure out how to get the electricity back on.
All this, all the statements from civilians and the JL members, and nobody was sure what it had been about. Everyone had suddenly wanted to do what had terrified them before, but how would that benefit either Poison Ivy or Scarecrow? How had the three of them disappeared so thoroughly, so quickly? And why had Superman attacked him, when John finally had the nerve to put that sanctimonious bat back in the belfry?
John was heading for his room on the Watchtower, and saw a bit of brown wing going around a corner. There was a situation he was happy about, no matter how it happened. Shiera had asked him to fly with her, a significant step in a relationship for her people. They’d agreed to meet for supper, so John had most of the day to prepare. He planned on getting some sleep, as he knew a relationship with the hot tempered fighter would be a demanding kind of awesome.
sBSbBs
Clark took the suit to the Batcave, and informed Alfred that he had lost Bruce. Alfred was stoic, but Clark would rather have faced Darkseid than that stiff upper lip!
“He will find his way home” was all Alfred had to say on the subject. Alfred hadn’t known about the black substance either, but ran a chemical analysis.
All he could say was it was a dye based on food coloring. On his third offer of breakfast, Clark took his leave from Alfred. Clark x-rayed all of Gotham on his way to the watchtower.
Superman was usually the nicest person on the watchtower. But on this Saturday morning he was angry and frustrated with his teammates. Their guilty and embarrassed expressions only made matters worse. Clark went into the cafeteria for a cup of coffee and saw Flash slowly picking his way it through the breakfast foods. Clark flushed with anger, outrage that his teammates could continue on as if nothing happened. Storming out of the cafeteria, least he yell at Flash or punch him, Clark decided Metropolis needed him.
sBSbBs
J’onn's meditation was interrupted. He hadn't been that the deep in his meditation so it was easy enough to track the source of the anger. There were many of his teammates that J’onn knew to have anger issues but Kal really wasn't one of them. When someone as powerful as Kal-el was this angry, J’onn felt he had to interfere for the safety of his other teammates. Shifting his molecules, J’onn floated down to the transporter room. Superman was so angry he was having difficulty working the controls without crushing them.
“May I assist you Kal-el?”
The anger intensified as Kal realized J’onn was there. He turned away and muttered as he walked to the platform. “Sure.”
“Batman insisted I teach him how to shield his thoughts from me. That is why I could not find him last night.” J’onn said as he worked the controls.
“I know that. I'm going to metropolis.” Kal’s anger didn't change, and he was clearly avoiding the subject.
“Kal, why could you not find him with your enhanced vision and other senses?”
Kal whirled to face J’onn, his eyes tinged to with red. J’onn shifted his molecules until he was too insubstantial for Kal to target. This confirmed J’onn’s belief he needed to interfere.
“Who are you most angry with Kal? Me, another teammate, or yourself?”
“I did all I could!”
“So did all your teammates. Perhaps you are angry at Batman, but reluctant to feel negatively about a missing comrade?”
“Of course I'm angry at him! If he could communicate with the rest of us it wouldn’t have got so bad! We would have known what we were getting into and gone prepared.”
“So it is Batman's fault that he rescued you?”
“Yes! We were rescuing him and he just had to take over!”
“Ah, this is about Batman's territoriality. I thought it was about the feeling that drug brought out in you. The feelings you work so hard to suppress.”
“What are you talking about?” Kal’s anger was draining away, even as he tried to establish his own mental shields.
“Have you come to terms with what you wanted to do to Batman? Green lantern wanted to fight him. Hawk girl wanted to protect her love interest from him and you. Flash just wanted to know his secrets, as Batman knows Flash’s. You know better than to fight Batman on his turf. He had kryptonite, yet you walked over, close enough to put your hand on his shoulder. What are you going to do?”
“I was going to pull him to me and kiss him.”
John would have heard the whisper even if it wasn't spoken. “You rely on your heart for most things, Kal-el. Why do you deny it in this instance?”
“Fear, J’onn. I'm terrified of rejection from him. I'm scared of losing the hope that it might someday come to pass.”
“So last night's encounter removed the fear?”
“No! It made me want to do it in because it scared me. Just like everybody else I wanted to do the thing that terrified me the most, and I loved every minute of it!”
“So Poison Ivy mixed her love potion with Scarecrow’s fear toxin. Those exposed learned to love fear. An interesting combination.”
“Interesting J’onn? There was chaos in the city last night. So many people were injured and could have died just because they have no fear for their safety. It was all we could do to save them, and Batman had to be sacrificed to do that much. With Batman as a Guinea pig who knows what they'll come up with next! I've got to find them, stop them and save Bruce.”
“And what will you do to Batman once you have him?”
“That’s a different sunrise, J’onn.” Kal-el was a apologizing without saying so, using a Martian expression.
“I see.” J’onn forgave him the same way. “You'll cross that bridge when you get to it.”
“Something like that.” Kal-el did not smile, too much weighed on his mind.
“Very good Kal-el.” A nod of his head and J’onn activated the controls. Satisfied Kal-el would heed his words, J’onn went back to his meditations. He did wonder what it would take to get through to Batman, to make him receptive of Kal-el feelings. But there were some mysteries that confused even ancient aliens with a deep understanding of human nature.
sBSbBs
Clark had been moping for solid work week, and Lois was fed up with it! She'd always felt there was one final clue about Clark she couldn't find. One more synaptic connection and she'd have him figured out. But she'd never made that connection, which is why their dating hadn’t worked out. But this level of moping was new, surpassing how he’d been after they'd broken up, and Lois had only one more idea on how to get him out of this funk.
“Smallville!” Her loud word came with the slapping of a folder on his desk. “It's Friday afternoon and I have a date. Rich, handsome and everything you're not. Admittedly, he's not superman either, but times are hard and we all have to make do. But it's your lucky day, as I'm handing you a prize winning piece to write. I'll take your thanks now.”
“I appreciate the gesture, Lois, and I'll get to when I can.”
“No, you'll get to it now, Smallville! PI & S, out of Gotham, is importing enough biochemicals to destroy the world. And I'm handing you my research on a silver platter.”
“Who? Biochemicals in Gotham? Brilliant Lois! Thank you, you have no idea what this means to me!” Clark tore open the folder as if the Holy Grail was inside, instead of papers, handwritten notes and a jump drive.
Leaving him to it, Lois was went back to her desk. She had more importance stories to work on, but her instincts had told this one was right up Clark's ally. Besides she hated Gotham, and this story might require going to that awful city. She pulled up a blank page to type her article and was distracted by Clark's mutter.
“PI & S? I can’t believe I forgot about them!”
That seemed to be all Clark had to say, so Lois started typing. She’d ask later, but she really did have a date tonight.
sBSbBs
PI & S hadn't been so obvious as to put their master plan on legal documents, but a good investigative reporter could track the shipments of biochemicals. Lois had done most of that and now Clark finished it. That Friday night the entire JL descended on an old warehouse in downtown Gotham while Lois was on her date.
The building was riddled with asbestosis and lead paint, to most people a terrible health hazard. For the JL the real health threat was the villains they were going after. It also meant Superman couldn’t use his x-ray vision, so they were going in blind. The thugs when down easily, but Poison Ivy and Scarecrow put up a good fight.
Poison ivy disappeared into her plants, plants which moved of their own accord. While the JL fought the plants that she could sneak up on them. Her kiss got through the gas masks they wore, but Gordon’s men were waiting outside with the antidote. Flash carried injured JL members outside, coincidentally leaving only Superman's to search for Batman. Ivy’s kiss worked on women, Hawkgirl was embarrassed to discover. But at the sight of her gasping for air, Green Lantern mowed down every plant in the place with large green blades.
Scarecrow saw Ivy fall when her plants did, and chose to run. He left behind as a surprise; liquid fear toxin bursting from the sprinklers. Wonder Woman began to dismantle the sprinklers and their control box while everyone else tried to stay dry. Superman vibrated the liquid off even as he found a way into the basement.
The basement had been turned into a laboratory and a torture chamber. Superman could smell chemicals and an unwashed human body. A bamboo cage in the far corner held a man who trembled in his uneasy sleep. Bamboo was a strong material but it ripped like paper under Clark’s hands.
As gently as he could, Clark laid hand on the shoulder before him. Panicked eyes turned to face him even as his body tried to crawl away. Clark knew those eyes no matter what the emotion was in them. He didn't know why Bruce had blond streaked hair and purple skin, but he didn't care.
“Close your eyes, Bruce. I'm going to make it all better.”
Bruce didn't listen, but than again he never did. Clark's carefully took him into his arms and Bruce flailed in fear. Trying to hold him with a bruising him, Clark’s grip had been loose. Bruce found his feet and backed toward the corner in a fighting stance. Not knowing what else to do, Clark used his speed and Bruce’s disorientation to get behind Bruce. Batman had taught Clark the sleeper hold and the methods for getting out of it, but Bruce wasn't himself enough to fight properly. When Bruce was unconscious, Clark wrapped him in his cape and took him to the watchtower. J’onn was waiting in medical but once Clark laid Bruce down on the biobed, it was his turn to wait.
sBSbBs
Chapter 3
Author: Trista_zevkia
Chapter: 2/5
Fandom: Batman/Superman
Characters/Pairing: Clark/Bruce
Rating: PG-17
Warnings: SLASH
Summary: When Batman says to stay out of his city, you really should listen!
Disclaimer: All monies made will be sent to the Wayne Enterprise approved Charities
Author's Notes:
Once upon a time, there was a flood in New Zealand. Many have moved on, but my lazy butt and broken wrist are just now getting around to fulfilling my part. For Darke_wulf kindness about the time, I’m tossing in a few extra words. It has nothing to do with my inability to follow guidelines
; )
Chapter 1 Rules
Other than the occasional outbreak of crime to beat down, Clark spent the day digging into PI & S. The anomalies he found were still on his mind when he went on patrol after work. His phone calls to Lois had been ignored, but that wasn’t uncommon when Lois was investigating. As he flew, he listened for Lois and other cries for assistance. He forced himself to ignore the cries from Gotham, as Batman wanted.
“Superman this is Green Lantern.” The JL com had been busy all night, but this was the first time Superman was addressed directly.
“Superman here.”
“Trouble in Gotham, and Batman’s nowhere to be found.”
“What kind of trouble, GL?” Superman felt he had to ask. He secretly believed there were some things Batman couldn’t handle, though he feared finding out what those things were!
“Entire population has gone nuts, apparently. Screaming and laughing, while doing crazy stunts and destroying things. Unless there was a game tonight, it even seems weird, even for Gotham.”
“What is the news saying?”
“Lois lane was reporting when the regular news crews couldn’t, but then the electricity went out. No one can contact anyone in Gotham.”
“Send whoever is available to Gotham now.” Clark turned in midair and headed for Gotham. He knew Bruce would be doing his best, but Lois wouldn’t be Bruce’s priority. Batman could deal with the territory infringement later, and doubtless would.
“Superman? Flash, Hawkgirl, and I are on our way.”
“Very good GL, and be careful!”
GL snorted into the com. “We can handle Gotham, it’s just another city.”
Before, Superman would have agreed. But hearing the derision in green Lantern’s voice, Clark had a moment of doubt. What if they were wrong about Batman’s reasons? The question was forgotten as he dropped into Gotham and began assessing the situation. The bridges were lined with people fighting over the chance to bungee jump off, while crowds fought their way to the tops of buildings for base jumping. Cars raced down the road, ignoring all rules and safe driving tips. Apparently they had all decided they were stunt people from movies or something! Though that didn’t explain why the electricity was off for the entire city.
Lois’s laugh called to Superman and he sped toward her. When he caught her 20 feet above the concrete, Lois kept laughing. Confused, Clark set her down and went to see what other tragedies he could stop. He talked and searched even as he caught crazed civilians and tried to make them stay put.
“Situation, GL?”
“Superman, we’re all here attempting to save the civilians. Do you have any idea what happened to them?”
“Not really, but I bet Batman knows.” That was what Batman was probably doing, trying to find the cause of the problem and stop it. If he wasn’t so territorial, he could have had assistance from the start of the emergency!
“Not too helpful, if he won’t come out and tell us.” GL sounded smug at the thought.
“I thought he’d pick up our signal and tell us to get out already.” Superman spoke mostly to himself, worry creeping into his voice.
“GL, John?” Hawk girl spoke, and Superman thought for sure Batman would speak, to remind them not to use real names on the comm. “Can you smell that?”
“I can smell it!” Flash spoke first, even as Superman took a deep sniff. “I can smell everything. You know what I’ve always wanted to do? I’ve always wanted to find the Batcave! If you have this, I’m going to track down Bats!”
The words were jumbled up and almost too fast for Superman to decipher. When he did figure them out Clark still couldn’t believe it! “Wait Flash! You know how much that’ll piss him off!”
“Exactly, that’s what makes it fun!”
Superman grinned, understanding what Flash meant. “Have fun Wally. I’m going after the man himself, and I have a surprise for him!”
“John, come fly with me?” There was no hesitation in Hawkgirl’s voice, instead she sounded giddy.
“Been waiting on you to ask, Shiera!”
Superman was peripherally aware of his teammates as they went their separate ways, even as he made sure Lois still climbing the steps to the roof of a building. But his main attention was focused on Batman. Bruce would be at the source of the trouble, so Clark flew in decreasing circles, sniffing the air. At the focal point of distribution, Superman landed. The abandoned greenhouse overflowing with plants was obviously Poison Ivy’s headquarters, and mind altering chemicals were her specialty. The addition of a large warehouse full of chemicals and equipment was unusual for her, though.
A scan of the warehouse showed only two people, neither of which sported the scarred bones of Bruce. Clark knew Poison Ivy could effect him, but he went in without a care. The plants moved at his approach but Clark wasn’t worried. None of the plant’s moved directly at him so he made steady progress toward the first person visible on his x-ray. Large tropical looking plants moved leaves away so he could see her, enthroned on more vegetation. She had a flair for the dramatic, he had to give a Poison Ivy that.
“Ivy! Where is he?”
“He, superman?” Ivy gave him a curious look. “An entire city gone crazy, and you’re asking after one person?”
“Yes, Batman. I wanted to do something to him.”
“Well now, that sounds interesting. But I’m afraid I can’t help you, I’m too busy be turning this city back to the green.”
“JL, assemble at my location!” Superman command into the comm. He was actually impressed by how quickly Flash turned up. Hawkgirl and GL soon hung in the sky just above Superman’s shoulders. “Ivy, I’m not the mood to ask again.”
“Really? You know what would that be scary? Fighting Batman! Yes, search the city and find him. Defeat him on his own turf and defeat your fear of him!”
“Superman? That really does sound exciting!” Flash added in a breathless voice.
“Enough.” The calm growl was quiet, but drew all attention to the speaker. Batman was crouched among the sprinklers in the roof of the greenhouse. When he was satisfied that everyone was looking at him, Batman made a deliberate movement. Something fell, and crashed on the plants below them. Mesmerized, they watched as several plants melted and died. Ivy whimpered from her perch. ”A little something that I picked up in my travels. Hand over the antidote or this entire greenhouse dies.”
“I don’t make antidotes.”
“Your partner does.” Someone found Batman’s words funny, as a maniacal laugh echoed around them. The other person superman had noticed chose not to show himself. Instead he called them over the pa system built into the greenhouse.
“I have the antidote, but I don’t care about the plants.”
“I only need to know which fear toxin you combined the Ivy’s poison and I’ll have the antidote. This is your chance to come quietly.”
“And the clown says you have no sense of humor. I would have been proud to have you as a student, and know you could work out an antidote with enough time. But you don’t have time, do you? What kind of havoc could the Justice League inflict on your city under my influence? Let’s find out. Superman, wasn’t there something terrifying you wanted to do?”
Superman wasn’t sure why he let it go this long actually. He turned to Batman and lifted off, forgetting the felons behind him. A shot of green light arced toward Batman at the same time, but Batman was no longer there. There was more green light as Superman turned, but this green light made him hurt. Angered that Green Lantern would turn on him, prevent him from giving Batman what he needed, Superman focused his heat beams on GL. The green shield deflected the beams into ripping out a chunk of the roof. Shrieking her war cry, Hawkgirl dove at Superman. Superman dodged and she crashed into Flash. His strength leaving him, Superman flung himself at GL. His shield held as Superman used his remaining strength to pound into it. And the edge of their awareness, voices conversed.
“What do you want, Scarecrow?”
“Of late, I’ve been wanting a new challenge. But I find the old challenge is standing in my way. You Batman, my old challenge, I want you.”
“Here I am.”
“Armed to the razor sharp teeth? I don’t think so.”
“My esteemed colleague has a beautiful idea.” Ivy understood, and approved. “Take it off, all of it.”
“He can leave on his underwear, we must leave something to the imagination.” Scarecrow added in a prude voice.
“Give them the antidote first.”
“Do I have your word that you’ll come with us, stripped of your equipment?” Ivy’s normally sultry voice almost quivered with excitement.
“Yes.”
A simple word but it was accepted for what it meant. A plant vine uncurled, passing a large vial to Batman. The weakness and pain stopped, allowing Superman remembered what he came here for. Once again he turned to Batman, but this time his target stood and waited for him. He had just put a hand on Batman’s shoulder when Batman shoved that the vial under his nose. Superman paused, letting the chemicals war within him. It took a moment to realize Hawkgirl was still chasing Flash, and GL was throwing bolts of energy on his back. Fully aware at last Clark flushed. Batman snorted and handed him the vial.
“Replicate this. Cure Gotham.”
“What’s going on?”
“You’ll figure that out. Now go.”
Recognizing the commanding tone and seething anger, Superman got moving. Speeding around GL’s shield he gave GL a whiff of the antidote. Flash and then Hawkgirl inhaled, turning embarrassed the eyes to Batman. He stripped off his gear even as he snarled at them.
“Spread the antidote. Now!”
Embarrassed, Clark silently directed the others out. Once outside he turned to Flash. “Take this to Gordon, give him a sniff and tell him to spread it around. Hawkgirl, GL cover the airspace around greenhouse. I’m going back in.”
“You think you should?” Green Lantern was embarrassed to ask, and a little overwhelmed by Gotham’s villains.
“I’m sure it’ll piss him off further, but I have to.” This time Superman went in slowly, watching for traps. He was about halfway and when the plants attacked. Distracted by flapping leaves, he let the vines sneak up on him. It took longer than it should have to burn off the vines and rip his way through the plants. When he reached the clearing all that remained was a pile of Batman’s armor. Picking up the cowl, Clark noticed the black fluid dripping from it. Like much of dealing with Batman, Clark can no idea what that was about.
“GL, Hawkgirl, do you see anything?”
“No sign of movement.”
“They must’ve gone underground. Come help me gather up Batman’s armor. I shudder to think what he do if he comes back and we missed some.”
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John had never had a more miserable start to the weekend. The entire JL had been called out to Gotham, searching for a naked Batman. In a town gone crazy, there were a lot of naked people but none answered to ‘uh, Batman?’
Commissioner Gordon had managed to replicate the antidote so quickly it was disconcerting. If he’d had time, John would have asked about the system for it and how often it was needed. Instead he’d conjured a fan to blow the antidote over the city, while Flash used his speed to make sure it got to everyone. Once the civilians were back to normal, and safe, the JL had to figure out how to get the electricity back on.
All this, all the statements from civilians and the JL members, and nobody was sure what it had been about. Everyone had suddenly wanted to do what had terrified them before, but how would that benefit either Poison Ivy or Scarecrow? How had the three of them disappeared so thoroughly, so quickly? And why had Superman attacked him, when John finally had the nerve to put that sanctimonious bat back in the belfry?
John was heading for his room on the Watchtower, and saw a bit of brown wing going around a corner. There was a situation he was happy about, no matter how it happened. Shiera had asked him to fly with her, a significant step in a relationship for her people. They’d agreed to meet for supper, so John had most of the day to prepare. He planned on getting some sleep, as he knew a relationship with the hot tempered fighter would be a demanding kind of awesome.
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Clark took the suit to the Batcave, and informed Alfred that he had lost Bruce. Alfred was stoic, but Clark would rather have faced Darkseid than that stiff upper lip!
“He will find his way home” was all Alfred had to say on the subject. Alfred hadn’t known about the black substance either, but ran a chemical analysis.
All he could say was it was a dye based on food coloring. On his third offer of breakfast, Clark took his leave from Alfred. Clark x-rayed all of Gotham on his way to the watchtower.
Superman was usually the nicest person on the watchtower. But on this Saturday morning he was angry and frustrated with his teammates. Their guilty and embarrassed expressions only made matters worse. Clark went into the cafeteria for a cup of coffee and saw Flash slowly picking his way it through the breakfast foods. Clark flushed with anger, outrage that his teammates could continue on as if nothing happened. Storming out of the cafeteria, least he yell at Flash or punch him, Clark decided Metropolis needed him.
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J’onn's meditation was interrupted. He hadn't been that the deep in his meditation so it was easy enough to track the source of the anger. There were many of his teammates that J’onn knew to have anger issues but Kal really wasn't one of them. When someone as powerful as Kal-el was this angry, J’onn felt he had to interfere for the safety of his other teammates. Shifting his molecules, J’onn floated down to the transporter room. Superman was so angry he was having difficulty working the controls without crushing them.
“May I assist you Kal-el?”
The anger intensified as Kal realized J’onn was there. He turned away and muttered as he walked to the platform. “Sure.”
“Batman insisted I teach him how to shield his thoughts from me. That is why I could not find him last night.” J’onn said as he worked the controls.
“I know that. I'm going to metropolis.” Kal’s anger didn't change, and he was clearly avoiding the subject.
“Kal, why could you not find him with your enhanced vision and other senses?”
Kal whirled to face J’onn, his eyes tinged to with red. J’onn shifted his molecules until he was too insubstantial for Kal to target. This confirmed J’onn’s belief he needed to interfere.
“Who are you most angry with Kal? Me, another teammate, or yourself?”
“I did all I could!”
“So did all your teammates. Perhaps you are angry at Batman, but reluctant to feel negatively about a missing comrade?”
“Of course I'm angry at him! If he could communicate with the rest of us it wouldn’t have got so bad! We would have known what we were getting into and gone prepared.”
“So it is Batman's fault that he rescued you?”
“Yes! We were rescuing him and he just had to take over!”
“Ah, this is about Batman's territoriality. I thought it was about the feeling that drug brought out in you. The feelings you work so hard to suppress.”
“What are you talking about?” Kal’s anger was draining away, even as he tried to establish his own mental shields.
“Have you come to terms with what you wanted to do to Batman? Green lantern wanted to fight him. Hawk girl wanted to protect her love interest from him and you. Flash just wanted to know his secrets, as Batman knows Flash’s. You know better than to fight Batman on his turf. He had kryptonite, yet you walked over, close enough to put your hand on his shoulder. What are you going to do?”
“I was going to pull him to me and kiss him.”
John would have heard the whisper even if it wasn't spoken. “You rely on your heart for most things, Kal-el. Why do you deny it in this instance?”
“Fear, J’onn. I'm terrified of rejection from him. I'm scared of losing the hope that it might someday come to pass.”
“So last night's encounter removed the fear?”
“No! It made me want to do it in because it scared me. Just like everybody else I wanted to do the thing that terrified me the most, and I loved every minute of it!”
“So Poison Ivy mixed her love potion with Scarecrow’s fear toxin. Those exposed learned to love fear. An interesting combination.”
“Interesting J’onn? There was chaos in the city last night. So many people were injured and could have died just because they have no fear for their safety. It was all we could do to save them, and Batman had to be sacrificed to do that much. With Batman as a Guinea pig who knows what they'll come up with next! I've got to find them, stop them and save Bruce.”
“And what will you do to Batman once you have him?”
“That’s a different sunrise, J’onn.” Kal-el was a apologizing without saying so, using a Martian expression.
“I see.” J’onn forgave him the same way. “You'll cross that bridge when you get to it.”
“Something like that.” Kal-el did not smile, too much weighed on his mind.
“Very good Kal-el.” A nod of his head and J’onn activated the controls. Satisfied Kal-el would heed his words, J’onn went back to his meditations. He did wonder what it would take to get through to Batman, to make him receptive of Kal-el feelings. But there were some mysteries that confused even ancient aliens with a deep understanding of human nature.
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Clark had been moping for solid work week, and Lois was fed up with it! She'd always felt there was one final clue about Clark she couldn't find. One more synaptic connection and she'd have him figured out. But she'd never made that connection, which is why their dating hadn’t worked out. But this level of moping was new, surpassing how he’d been after they'd broken up, and Lois had only one more idea on how to get him out of this funk.
“Smallville!” Her loud word came with the slapping of a folder on his desk. “It's Friday afternoon and I have a date. Rich, handsome and everything you're not. Admittedly, he's not superman either, but times are hard and we all have to make do. But it's your lucky day, as I'm handing you a prize winning piece to write. I'll take your thanks now.”
“I appreciate the gesture, Lois, and I'll get to when I can.”
“No, you'll get to it now, Smallville! PI & S, out of Gotham, is importing enough biochemicals to destroy the world. And I'm handing you my research on a silver platter.”
“Who? Biochemicals in Gotham? Brilliant Lois! Thank you, you have no idea what this means to me!” Clark tore open the folder as if the Holy Grail was inside, instead of papers, handwritten notes and a jump drive.
Leaving him to it, Lois was went back to her desk. She had more importance stories to work on, but her instincts had told this one was right up Clark's ally. Besides she hated Gotham, and this story might require going to that awful city. She pulled up a blank page to type her article and was distracted by Clark's mutter.
“PI & S? I can’t believe I forgot about them!”
That seemed to be all Clark had to say, so Lois started typing. She’d ask later, but she really did have a date tonight.
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PI & S hadn't been so obvious as to put their master plan on legal documents, but a good investigative reporter could track the shipments of biochemicals. Lois had done most of that and now Clark finished it. That Friday night the entire JL descended on an old warehouse in downtown Gotham while Lois was on her date.
The building was riddled with asbestosis and lead paint, to most people a terrible health hazard. For the JL the real health threat was the villains they were going after. It also meant Superman couldn’t use his x-ray vision, so they were going in blind. The thugs when down easily, but Poison Ivy and Scarecrow put up a good fight.
Poison ivy disappeared into her plants, plants which moved of their own accord. While the JL fought the plants that she could sneak up on them. Her kiss got through the gas masks they wore, but Gordon’s men were waiting outside with the antidote. Flash carried injured JL members outside, coincidentally leaving only Superman's to search for Batman. Ivy’s kiss worked on women, Hawkgirl was embarrassed to discover. But at the sight of her gasping for air, Green Lantern mowed down every plant in the place with large green blades.
Scarecrow saw Ivy fall when her plants did, and chose to run. He left behind as a surprise; liquid fear toxin bursting from the sprinklers. Wonder Woman began to dismantle the sprinklers and their control box while everyone else tried to stay dry. Superman vibrated the liquid off even as he found a way into the basement.
The basement had been turned into a laboratory and a torture chamber. Superman could smell chemicals and an unwashed human body. A bamboo cage in the far corner held a man who trembled in his uneasy sleep. Bamboo was a strong material but it ripped like paper under Clark’s hands.
As gently as he could, Clark laid hand on the shoulder before him. Panicked eyes turned to face him even as his body tried to crawl away. Clark knew those eyes no matter what the emotion was in them. He didn't know why Bruce had blond streaked hair and purple skin, but he didn't care.
“Close your eyes, Bruce. I'm going to make it all better.”
Bruce didn't listen, but than again he never did. Clark's carefully took him into his arms and Bruce flailed in fear. Trying to hold him with a bruising him, Clark’s grip had been loose. Bruce found his feet and backed toward the corner in a fighting stance. Not knowing what else to do, Clark used his speed and Bruce’s disorientation to get behind Bruce. Batman had taught Clark the sleeper hold and the methods for getting out of it, but Bruce wasn't himself enough to fight properly. When Bruce was unconscious, Clark wrapped him in his cape and took him to the watchtower. J’onn was waiting in medical but once Clark laid Bruce down on the biobed, it was his turn to wait.
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Chapter 3
