Disclaimer: DC owns the characters within, not I.
"With Diana," Clark stated as he crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. He glanced over in time to catch the smirk on Bruce's face as he got up from a chair and made his way across the large room to retrieve some papers laying on the big table in the center of it. "I saw that."
"What?" Bruce asked as he turned his attention from the papers in his hand and back up to Clark.
"The smirk," Clark clarified.
"Did I smirk?" Bruce said with a shrug.
"You did," Clark said.
"Seems like that's been happening a lot lately," Bruce remarked.
"What?" Clark questioned.
"Every time I contact you... you are with Diana," Bruce said for clarification as he made his way over to stand in front of Clark.
"She's a fr..." Clark began.
"I get it," Bruce said, cutting him off without attempting to hide his smirk this time. He stuck the papers out against Clark's chest.
"What's this?" Clark asked as he accepted the papers and began to look at them.
"Sattelite images," Bruce answered.
"It's a boat?" Clark asked.
"A yacht actually," Bruce replied.
"What is the significance?" Clark asked.
"The significance is..." Bruce started as he walked over to the computer in the room and pulled up some charts on the screen. "I am detecting readings coming from that yacht that are highly abnormal."
"Abnormal how?" Clark inquired.
"Powerful... enough power being generated on that yacht to... it's got to be Luthor," Bruce responded.
"Luthor?" Clark asked. "What kind of power is being generated?"
"I'm not sure... just the levels were spiking... very similar to..." Bruce paused. Clark cocked his head slightly and waited. "To the surges, your ship gave off."
"Where is it?" Clark asked.
"I lost it, Bruce answered.
"How did you get the pictures?" Clark asked as he held them up for emphasis.
"That was a few days ago," Bruce answered. "It's no longer at those coordinates... in fact, I haven't been able to locate it anywhere nearby."
"How is that possible, it can only go so far in a few days right?" Clark asked.
"You would think..." Bruce said as he rolled the chair down to a different keyboard and monitor and began to type.
"What is it?" Clark questioned.
"It must be cloaked..." Bruce replied. A few readings began to appear on the monitor in front of Bruce that meant nothing to Clark.
"Is it?" Clark asked.
"Yeah... I'm detecting irregularities in the images that indicate something is messing with the transmission." Bruce said.
"So it's still somewhere near where these pictures were taken?" Clark asked as he placed the papers down on the desk.
"I would think so," Bruce answered. He turned to Clark to see him start heading for the door. "Wait."
"What?" Clark asked as he turned around.
"I'm coming with you," Bruce said as he stood up. Just then a beep sounded on the computer and Bruce turned back around, he cursed quietly.
"What?" Clark inquired.
"I put a tracker on Deathstroke... I've had nothing from it since our last encounter until now," Bruce explained as he walked over to the wall and pressed on it to reveal a sliding door and his suit behind it. "I'll check out the tracker, you try to find the yacht."
"Got it," Clark said.
"I'll try to reach the others," Bruce said. "Arthur may be nearby but he has been as elusive as you as of late."
"Okay," Clark said before he exited the room.
(****)
Superman flew across the water outside of the harbor, scanning from side to side for any sight of a yacht. He flew a little higher and stopped. He spun around using his x-ray vision and let out a frustrated sigh when he saw nothing. He was about to continue on when out of the corner of his eye in the distance he saw what he was looking for.
Superman flew farther out into the ocean and stopped just above the yacht. He scanned it for any sign of life and saw someone sitting on a chair on the deck. Superman floated down to land on the deck and got a better look.
"Took you long enough... aren't you supposed to be fast?" Deathstroke commented as he stood up from the chair and kicked it out from behind him.
"Where's Luthor?" Superman asked glancing around wearily, fearing a trap.
"You tell me," Deathstroke answered.
"What's your deal?" Superman asked.
"Money... money is my deal," Deathstroke responded as he reached back and unsheathed a sword.
"You seem to know enough about me to know that is useless against me," Superman said with a nod to the sword.
"Yes... well, I know enough about you," Deathstroke replied. Superman knew something was off and began to take back to the skies but before he could the whole deck of the boat exploded in a cloud of green smoke. Immediately Superman's lungs began to burn and his vision blurred as he fell back down to the deck. He hit it with a thud and tried to stand but found no strength in his muscles.
A sharp pain in his side caused him to roll over and grasp it. He glanced to see another kick from Deathstroke coming through the cloud of smoke. Superman attempted to block it but his arm was easily batted away and a boot found his side once more. Shortly after he felt himself being pulled up to his feet and his face a few inches away from the mask of his foe.
"That was Lex's little gift he left for you... said it would do a number on you," Deathstroke commented before he headbutted Superman knocked him back down to the deck floor. Superman began to crawl to the edge of the yacht with the intent to throw himself off the edge and out of the still thick cloud of smoke that hung low over the vessel. Deathstroke grabbed him by the boot and pulled him back out onto the deck. He spun him over on his back and began to rain down punches to him.
Deathstroke retrieved his sword and plunged it into the shoulder of his opponent. He grinned beneath his mask when it pierced his flesh. He grabbed Superman by the throat and stood up with him. He pulled his sword out of his shoulder and repositioned it to run it through his chest this time. Before he could plunge it a second time he felt resistance and looked down to see that Superman had grabbed the blade and was holding it firm.
"Did Luthor... tell you... that it wears off?" Superman asked as he felt some of his strength returning.
"He did..." Deathstroke responded as he held up another detonator with his free hand. Supermans' eyes widened as he pressed the button and another explosion of kryptonite smoke filled the deck. "He has tons of this stuff."
Superman felt all his strength leave him once more and he felt faint. The feeling was momentary though as it was replaced with overwhelming pain as the sword pierced the flesh of his chest. Deathstroke sunk it into him before pulling away and hitting him with a spinning slash that got his face. Superman fell the ground and looked up to see the sword coming down over him before he blacked out.
Deathstroke smiled as he brought the sword down between Superman's eyes. Before impact though he felt all of his breath leave him and he lost the grip on his sword as he flew backward across the deck. He landed with a thud and gasped a few times to recover his breath he got up to a knee and scanned the deck. He saw a shield laying nearby and looked up just in time to see Wonder Woman land right in front of him.
"What have you done to him?" Wonder Woman asked with a glance back at the fallen Superman. Rage filled her as she turned back to Deathstroke who was attempting to flee. She retrieved her lasso and swung it around Deathstroke before he could dive off the edge of the yacht. She yanked him back down to ground at her feet. "What did you do to him?"
"It's Kryptonite... it's filled his lungs and his body is full of it," Deathstroke replied as he felt the rope burning him through his thick armor. "He might die."
"No," Wonder Woman whispered as she loosened her grip on Deathstroke and ran over to Superman. She knelt down next to him and noticed that Deathstroke had now dived off the edge of the yacht. She ignored that and scooped Superman up in her arms and took to the skies.
(****)
"How is he?" Bruce asked as he removed his cowl and walked up to Diana as she stood at the entrance to the med bay.
"Angry." Clark's voice came from inside the room prompting both to turn to see him standing approaching them.
"Kal, you should rest," Diana said as she reached out a hand to his chest. She noted the wounds still on his chest.
"No..." Clark replied as he tried to gently push his way past both of them and into the main hall.
"Clark... if your wounds haven't healed you must have been hit with a lot of Kryptonite," Bruce stated as he attempted to steady a weakened Clark.
"I'll heal..." Clark said as he finally squeezed between the two and made a few steps into the room before collapsing to a knee. Diana rushed over to him.
"You're being stubborn... it's not becoming of you." Bruce said.
"Maybe not... but..." Clark paused and took a deep breath as he turned to Diana to see the look of concern in her eyes. He turned back to Bruce who was approaching him. "They aren't playing around."
"Clearly," Bruce agreed as he extended a hand to help Clark to his feet. He accepted it and got up. "Right now though... you need to take it easy."
"Arthur is searching the area," Diana assured Clark. "If anyone can find them now, it will be him."
"Victor and Barry are on the streets as well," Bruce added.
"They are staying two steps ahead of us..." Clark said as he glanced next to Diana still glancing down at his the wounds on his chest.
"It's only a matter of time... they will slip up," Bruce countered. He turned to Diana. "I'm going back out."
"Okay," Diana replied with a nod. Bruce walked over to retrieve his cowl off the table an slipped it back on. He quickly exited the room.
"You should go with him," Clark said with a nod.
"I..." Diana started to reply.
"I'm fine... I'll join you s..." Clark didn't finish his words before he felt faint again.
(****)
Clark opened his eyes to see a familiar ceiling fan above him. He blinked a couple of times and started to set up. A stinging pain was felt on his chest and he glanced down to see a bandage on his bare chest. He glanced around to confirm he was in his own bedroom. He heard the door open and saw Diana approaching him with a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a cloth.
"Hey..." Diana said as she sat down in a chair next to the bed. She dampened the cloth and reached out tentatively towards the gash running along Clark's cheek.
"What are you..." Clark began to protest slightly until he felt her hand on his chin to steady his head. He felt the wet cloth on his face and a mild sting. He jumped slightly, prompting Diana to shift her eyes to meet his. "Sorry... I'm new to that."
"Stinging?" Diana asked.
"I think so," Clark answered, realizing that how unfamiliar he was with the sensation.
"I didn't know how to treat you... so I thought I'd just try this..." Diana said as she lowered the cloth and surveyed the gash. Her eyes widened as it began to shrink.
"It's healing isn't it?" Clark asked as he noticed her expression. She nodded. "I can feel it."
"I've never really seen it from this perspective," Diana said. Clark took notice of the way her hair was falling slightly in her face as she watched his wound disappear. He was suddenly very aware of his bare chest and surroundings. He started to sit up more. This garnered Diana's eyes to shift back to his. "Maybe you shouldn't..."
"I'm going to be good as new any time now," Clark responded as he reached down and removed the bandage from his chest. Diana's gaze moved down to see the large wound from earlier was now gone.
"Amazing," Diana commented with a small smile. Clark watched her for a moment until her eyes moved back to meet his. He threw the covers off his legs to see he was in his boxer shorts. He pulled them back to him to cover him once more. Suddenly feeling a wave of bashfulness at considering how Diana had undressed him. She noted his actions and smiled. "I thought you'd want to be comfortable... I didn't know what you slept in usually."
It was then Clark noted that it was dark outside the window to his bedroom. He glanced to the clock on the nightstand to see it was after midnight.
"Deathstroke..." Clark said.
"They didn't find him..." Diana said as she leaned back in her chair and placed the cloth on the nightstand.
"I don't understand how he could have gotten away," Clark said.
"Me neither," Diana agreed. "He had to have help."
"Thank you..." Clark said as he turned to her.
"It was nothing," Diana replied.
"You saved my life," Clark said. He reached over and placed his hand over hers on the bed. "It was something to me."
Clark couldn't deny the spark he felt when his hand enveloped hers or when the words left his mouth. Judging from the look Diana was giving him she felt it too. There was silence for a few moments before Clark moved his hand back to his own lap. Diana cleared her throat and stood up.
"I should... let you sleep," Diana said as started to make her way over to the door, her movements seemingly laden with uncertainty. Clark watched her as she reached the doorway. He found himself rising to his feet and standing behind her with a speed that surprised even himself.
"Wait," Clark said, his voice just above a whisper as he was now just a few feet behind her. He reached his hand back down to find hers once more. She turned to him slowly. Clark noted her quickening pulse and the way her breathing changed. Her eyes were darting back and forth, and he knew they were searching his to try to discover his intentions.
"Kal..." Diana's voice was even lower than his and the uncertain tone moved Clark to explain his actions.
"I..." Clark found no words. He wasn't sure what he should say. He knew what he wanted to say. "Stay... I... I don't want you to go."
"I don't..." Diana paused as she felt his hand squeeze hers ever so gently. "I don't want to go."
Clark smiled. The smile made Diana feel things she had not felt in many years. She returned the smile, but only briefly before her lips found his.