After a lot of thinking, I finally decided to add the Justice League to my Tony/Bruce universe, so here we are. I hope you enjoy it and remember any comment, criticism or correction will be appreciated.
I don't owe Batman, Iron Man, Justice League or any of its characters.
OoOoO
Chapter I: First Impression.
Clark rested his elbows on his knees, head cradled between his hands and eyes closed. His hearing was narrowed down to the med bay-one room in specific-and he could hear every sound in there. Bruce's heartbeat, the beeps and buzzing of the equipment, the whisper of movement as the medical team worked and the tense exchange of words.
He could be watching the procedure too. He should be watching it, but he didn't think he could. Clark couldn't bear to see Bruce lying on the operating table while the doctors worked to save his life ... and the blood. There was so much blood. Clark squeezed his eyes tighter.
The attack happened so fast he had no time to stop it.
In the middle of his fight with Bizarro Clark allowed himself a small smile when Batman activated one of the many devices he kept in his belt, turning all of Toyman's robots useless, and the next moment he caught the flash of a dark blur out of the corner of his eye as the figure was thrown several feet away from where he had been standing.
Clark flew to him before he knew what he was doing and was barely on time to catch him before his body hit the ground. Protecting the unconscious man with his body, Clark flew away without bothering to say anything to the rest of the League and instead asked J'onn to set everything up to transport them back from the location of the closest zeta tube.
Once in the Watchtower, he flew straight to the med bay where the medical team was already getting ready to work, but his job didn't end then. With all the security measures implemented, he had to use his x-ray vision and super strength to find and open the hidden clasps to remove Batman's suit and cowl.
Back when they were still working to set up the Watchtower, Bruce had insisted on the need to protect the identity of League members when they needed medical attention. The idea of making J'onn erase the necessary memories from the medical team was dismissed almost immediately, and they chose to use magic instead.
A special spell had been cast in the medical facilities by Giovanni Zatara (someone Bruce met during his training) that protected the identity of anyone in the area by blocking the memory of the person's face-unless you already knew them-as soon as you stepped out of the medical area. He had no idea how it worked, but it did.
With Bruce being taken care of and his identity safe, Clark knew he should have left then. Should have flown back to Metropolis to help the League. That was what Bruce would have ordered him to do if he had been conscious, but he wasn't, and so Clark stayed.
He collapsed into one of the uncomfortable chairs in the waiting area as soon as he was asked to leave the operating theater and hadn't moved since then. He forced himself to tell J'onn to contact him if the League needed help, but that was it. The next time he heard from the Martian he told him the others had taken care of everything.
The buzzing from the comlink in his ear some unknown time later pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Superman."
He let out a sigh before replying. "What is it, J'onn?"
"I apologize for disturbing you, but we require your assistance in the Monitor Womb."
The Kryptonian straightened up in the chair.
"What's wrong? Did something else happen in Metropolis?"
"No. The situation had been solved there. Wonder Woman and Flash have just returned, and Green Lantern and Hawkgirl are helping the local authorities to contain Grundy and Bizarro."
"What is it then?"
"It is not an emergency, but we have an unusual situation that requires your presence."
"I'll be right there," Clark replied with a frown.
He hesitated a moment, using his x-ray vision to look through the walls and into the operation theater, and watched as the medical team continued their work. He didn't want to leave, even when he knew there was nothing he could do to help Bruce. Not even the acknowledge that he could keep monitoring him from anywhere in the Watchtower helped. Clark curled his fingers into fists and forced himself to move.
Superman flew past a couple of League members on his way to the Monitor Womb and ignored the surprised and consternated looks aimed his way. News traveled fast so they already knew about Batman's injury.
It took him less than a minute to arrive, and when he did, the first thing that caught his attention was one of the large holographic monitors in the back. It was showing a very angry Tony Stark looking down at his teammates from what Clark immediately recognized was the Batcave. Of course, the billionaire was using the Batcomputer to contact the Watchtower.
And now he understood why they called him.
Billionaire entrepreneur Tony Stark was in a very public relationship with his counterpart Bruce Wayne, but that meant nothing to the rest of the League since they didn't know Batman's identity. J'onn knew, of course. It was near impossible to hide things from a telepath, but he probably didn't have enough information about Earth society or even Bruce's life to know about the relationship between the two billionaires.
Or maybe he did and that was why he contacted him. Stark was using Batman's own communication line to ask for information on the injured vigilante, and the others had no idea what to do about it.
His teammates' backs were turned to him, but he could see Diana standing to the side in an unmistakable defensive posture. In contrast, J'onn looked entirely unperturbed and at his side, Barry looked tense and unable to stand still. It was the speeder with his nervous shifting who noticed him first.
"Superman!" He called, obvious relief in his voice.
He felt the eyes of every person in the room turn to him, so he straightened his posture and looked at the screen.
"Where's he!?" Stark demanded before he could speak.
Clark was taken aback by the vehemence of the words and the expression on the billionaire's face. He didn't think he had ever seen Stark without a smirk on his face or an amused twinge in his eyes. The change was enough to give him pause.
"Batman is still in surgery, Mr. Stark. I contacted A and told him I would call as soon as I had any information to share."
There was no immediate reply to that, and a second later Clark realized the reason. Stark's brown eyes were fixed on his chest, looking at the messy patch of blood covering the front of his suit. Bruce's blood. Clark stopped from crossing his arms to hide the stain. He was reminded of the fact he had dried blood in his hands as well.
"I'm going there," Stark declared, leaving no room for argument.
"What!?" Barry almost squealed.
"Mr. Stark, I'm sure you understand we cannot allow a civilian in the Watchtower. And I don't think Batman would appreciate that," Clark added, putting special emphasis on the name to remind him Bruce's identity was still a secret since the billionaire obviously didn't care about the first part.
"I don't care!" Stark shouted.
"You arrogant man! We-"
"Diana," The woman shot him a glare but didn't say anything else. Clark cleared his throat. "I understand your concern, Mr. Stark, but Batman is receiving the best care possible at this very moment. There's nothing you, or any of us, can do at this time. I will give you an update as soon as I have any information about his condition. You have my word."
"Right. Well, that's nice and all, but I don't need that because I will be there to hear it myself."
"That is not possible." The Martian replied.
"I'm not asking for permission!" Stark shot back with narrowed eyes. "Either you give me access to your little space club house, or I get it myself. Really, you should thank me for having the courtesy to ask in the first place."
"You cannot do that." Diana countered.
"Oh, but I can. Do you know who I am, sweetheart?" Clark saw Diana's face darken at the nickname. He swallowed. "I'm a fucking genius, and if I say I can get in I will get in. And even if you doubt me, you should really take a look behind me. It's clear none of you are the brains here, but I'm sure you can put two and two together.
"And you know what? You're not very good being the brawn either, so I don't think you can stop me anyway." He finished with a snort.
"How dare you-"
"I dare, Princess because you're all fucking pathetic. Because even with all your mighty powers together, no one of you was capable of watching the back of the only human fighting at your side. No one!"
Nobody dared to say anything in response to the billionaire's accusation.
Of course. Of course, he wasn't the only one who felt guilty about what happened. He saw it in the way Diana tightened her grip on her sword and the clench of her jaw. Barry's head was hanging low, hands fidgeting a little. Even J'onn had inclined his head slightly down, even though he hadn't been out in the field.
They should have protected Batman. He should have protected Bruce.
Clark closed his eyes and searched for the familiar heartbeat at the other side of the Watchtower.
"What's it going to be, Supes? Do I need to do it all myself or what?"
He paused, exchanging a look with the others even if he knew there was no choice at all. The rest of the League may not know it, but Stark helped Bruce with the design of the Watchtower, and even if he hadn't, the man was a genius. Of course he could find a way to get in here, especially if he was using Batman's system, and the others weren't going to take the branch well if it happened.
The only thing Clark could do now was try to maintain some semblance of control over the situation and stop things from getting too out of hand. The last thing they needed was for a fight to break out in here. And, it was obvious Stark truly cared for Bruce and was worried sick right now. Clark couldn't just ignore that. It would be cruel.
That, of course, didn't change the fact Bruce was going to be less than happy with this. All of it.
"Well?"
"We will allow you to come into the Watchtower," Clark conceded after a moment, and he caught the minute sag of Stark's shoulders. "It would be temporary, of course, and your access will be limited to the medical facilities. I don't think that should be a problem."
Stark snorted.
"It will also be your responsibility to explain the situation and your presence here to Batman."
A flicker of doubt crossed Stark's dark eyes for the first time but was gone just as fast as it appeared. "No problem."
Clark nodded, feeling the corner of his lips twitch. It was strangely reassuring to see he wasn't the only one worried about Bruce's possible reaction. "Do you know how the teleporter system works?"
"Of course I do."
"Then you know we will need a moment to make some adjustments to allow a guest in the satellite."
"You have five minutes," Stark stated before cutting off the connection.
Silence fell into the Monitor Womb.
"Are we truly going to allow that man in here?" Diana asked him, her tone quiet yet sharp.
Clark wasn't surprised by the fact Diana was the first to speak. She was a strong, proud woman, and naturally, she wasn't simply going to forget Stark's insults and rudeness. Clark didn't even know what Stark said before he arrived, but what he heard was enough to justify Diana's reaction.
"Yes."
"Yes?"
Clark sighed. "I know this is highly unorthodox, and that the way Stark acted should be enough to deny him access, but this is ... complicated. Besides, you heard what he said. If we don't let him in he will find a way himself."
"Wait. He was serious?" Barry asked, eyes wide behind his mask.
"I believe so,"
"So we confront him," Diana countered. "He wouldn't be able to get past all of us."
"That's not- He's not our enemy." Diana looked ready to argue, while Barry still seemed hesitant, so Clark played his last card. "He's in Batman's lair and used the system there to contact us. I think it's clear Batman trust him."
Like Clark expected, the last sentence settled the matter. It was obvious they didn't agree with this but were willing to go allow with it under the idea that he knew Batman better than they did, and if the Dark Knight trusted Stark with his secrets, it was for a reason.
"Wait! Does he give Bats money?" Barry asked suddenly, drawing everyone's attention. "I mean, he's filthy rich, and the things Bats use don't look exactly cheap, you know?"
Clark had to stop himself from squirming even a little as they turned to him for answers. He hated when that happened because he knew he could never betray Bruce's trust, but he also hated lying to his friends.
"It's not my place to deny or confirm anything about Batman," Clark replied simply before turning to the Martian. "J'ohn, can you make the necessary configurations?"
With a nod, the Martian moved to the control panel.
"We also need to clear the corridor from the closest zeta tube to the med bay," He said, turning to the other two heroes. "The fewer people know about Stark's presence, the better."
"I'm on it," Barry declared before disappearing from the room.
"Diana ..." The Amazon turned her head, chin raised proudly. "Can you please try not to punch him?"
She pondered the request for a moment before inclining her head slightly in concession. Before Clark could sigh in relief, she spoke.
"I shall, but I may have to reconsider that if he insults us one more time."
Clark nodded slowly, knowing that was the best he was going to get from her and it wasn't entirely her fault. Stark seemed to have a strange gift for making people want to deck him, after all. He just hoped the billionaire would hold his tongue for the couple of minutes it would take to get him to the med bay.
Or maybe he should just keep him away from Diana entirely. That sounded like a better idea.
OoOoO
a/n: And that's it. Like I've mentioned before, I'm not a comic reader so I hope I didn't mess the characterizations too bad. Either way, any advice will be very welcome. The next chapter should be posted soon. It will be from Tony's POV and in quite a different style than this one. You'll see. ;)
This is unbetaed and I'm not a native speaker, so please feel free to point out any mistake you may find.
The title was taken from the song by the same name by David Bowie. It has zero to do with the fic, obviously, but I chose it because I love the song and because the Watchtower it's in space, and having Iron Man in the League's headquarter is an oddity, so yeah. Space oddity. I'm sorry. *runs off*
