One

He was 200 feet in the air when a blow to his side from one of the aliens sent him spinning. Clark righted himself and rose after the thing, a grimace fixed across his features as he pushed upwards. Whatever these things are, he thought, they're nearly as fast as I am. The communicator in his ear activated and Batman's voice filled his senses for a moment.

"Superman, we've lost visual contact. Where are you?"

"About 250 feet up. I'm following their leader." The corner of his mouth twitched as a huff of air in his ear told him Bruce was holding back inappropriate laughter. "I should intercept in approximately 15 seconds."

True to his estimate, he overcame the humanoid-like creature soon after. It raised its long, thin arms and planted its hands against Clark's chest as they collided. The bright, lancing pain that shot through him was unanticipated, and it gave the alien time to launch another attack. His body seemed to contract and expand at the same time, and a searing heat coursed through his veins. It was gone as quickly as it had begun and Clark was falling, plummeting back to the earth at an alarming rate.

Bruce's voice was in his ear again as he dropped back into their line of sight. Clark willed his body to slow, but he was powerless to halt his descent. In the distance he could see other League members fighting and turned his eyes down just in time to see the ground rushing up to meet him before everything gave way to a quiet, inky black.

o o o o o

"Shit." Shit, shit, Clark god damn it! The litany of curses looped through his mind as Bruce raced towards the crater Clark's body had formed on impact. He scrambled over the edge and caught a glimpse of Clark's prone form, uniform blindingly bright against pale skin and dark earth.

"Superman," he called out, fighting the instinct to yell Clark as he scrambled down.

"Batman?" He glanced up long enough to see Diana following him, dirt slipping free with each step and cascading down to land around Clark. "Is he alright?"

"I don't know." Above them the battle waged on and the League was starting to gather an obvious lead. "Go help the others."

"I can get him out of here faster." Bruce looked up at her with expressionless eyes before turning his focus back to the unconscious man at his feet. From her vantage point several feet above them, Diana could see him tracking the steady rise and fall of his chest. "I will get him to the tower, Batman."

Bruce nodded and turned his attention to the battle above. "This ends now," he growled.

Cresting the top of the crater, Bruce moved into action with a fluid ruthlessness he hadn't shown since his younger years, before Clark gave him a reason to be careful. From the corner of his eye he could see Diana disappear with Clark's limp body cradled to her chest as she retreated to the Watchtower. Bruce moved smoothly through the battle, watching as the aliens began to retreat, abandoning their dead and taking the wounded with them. He didn't wait around to help clean up the mess.

o o o o o

"Sorry," a voice said as Clark squinted against the bright lights above him. They were quickly dimmed enough to open his eyes with ease and J'Onn into his line of sight. "How do you feel, Kal-El?"

He paused before responding, evaluating his body. "I feel fine," he offered as he shifted to sit on the edge of the single bed. Looking around, he was surprised to find himself in the Watchtower's medical facility.

"You should lie down," Bruce said as he strode through the door. He was out of costume and clad in scuffed black boots, worn denim and a grey t-shirt that hugged his well-defined torso.

"I'm not hurt." Clark looked down at the pale blue scrubs that had taken the place of his suit. "Whatever happened doesn't seem to have had any lasting effects."

"What did happen?" Bruce pushed on his shoulder until Clark let himself be manipulated onto his back again.

"I think I can answer that," J'Onn spoke up. "While I haven't been able to identify exactly what those things were or where they came from, preliminary tests indicate they emit low levels of red sun energy. On its own, the amount projected by one would not harm Kal-El; however, the sheer number of their forces combined to make him vulnerable to injury."

"Do you think they were aware of that?"

J'Onn took his time formulating an answer. "Kal-El did not appear to be singled out. If they wanted to remove him from the equation temporarily or permanently, I suspect their attack would have focused on him in a more obvious manner."

"But you're not sure." Bruce's tone was cold, serious.

"I'm sorry, no." J'Onn took Bruce's nod as the dismissal it was and left the two alone.

Clark sat up again and swung his legs off the bed, pulling Bruce to stand between them. He let his hands rest on Bruce's hips as the other man leaned forward to examine his pupils and press worried fingers against his face. "Bruce."

"I'm getting too old for this."

"You're not."

"I'm 47."

"And you'll still be doing this at 60."

Bruce groaned and moved back enough to see all of Clark's face. "I'll stop at 59 just to spite you. Are you sure you're not hurt?"

"Yeah. I feel good, normal. How long was I out?"

"Almost two hours."

"That all?" Clark smiled in an effort to smooth the worried crease from between Bruce's eyebrows. "Just a power nap." He knew he had him beat when Bruce rolled his eyes and pushed at his chest lightly.

"Alright, smart ass, are you hungry? We haven't been to Bella's in a long time."

"Fettuccine Alfredo?"

"Two helpings if you want."

"I'm starving." Clark slid off the bed and followed Bruce as he moved into the hallway.

"That's nothing new." Bruce glanced over his shoulder in time to catch Clark mouthing the words with him. Clark fixed a look of innocence on his face and raised his eyebrows as if to ask, who me? Bruce smiled and kept walking.