Meant to have this up way sooner, but it's been kind of a crazy week between school and some medical stuff that happened. The next chapter should be up much quicker though, I'm light on the schoolwork this week. Enjoy! Reviews are loved as always etc.

Five Years Later

Bruce was surprisingly smart for an eight year old, despite what his mother may think. Alfred could see that much. He could also see the looks that Bruce would give his younger brother when he wasn't looking. They were searching looks, like he could tell something wasn't quite right but couldn't describe what it was. The boy had the makings of a great detective in him.

He had taken to Clark surprisingly well, for a kid who had a baby brother seemingly appear out of nowhere. They got along as well as any siblings did, and Bruce seemed to enjoy playing the responsible big brother. Clark, for his part, adored Bruce, and Alfred would often catch him trying to mimic his mannerisms when he wasn't around. He loved Bruce's company more than anyone his own age, and he was always trying to make his older brother happy. It was rather sweet, considering most five year olds don't really do that sort of thing.

Thomas and Martha were just happy that everything was proceeding as normal. Thomas had given Clark a clean bill of health when they had found him, and since then they had done their best to keep everything about his origins a secret. They stored his ship in a secluded cavern on Wayne Manor's grounds, in a place they were sure Clark would never find. They decided to wait until the boy was older to tell him, wanting him to at least try and have a normal life. But they had their suspicions.

The first sign of anything out of the ordinary came around May. It was a day as normal as any other. Bruce was reading in the study, and Clark was playing with some toys of his while Alfred stood by, keeping an eye on them both. Clark got up and walked over to Bruce, walking into a table in the process. Before anyone could register what had happened, the glass vase had wobbled and fallen right onto Clark's arm. Alfred and Bruce heard the crash and rushed over, fearing the worst. Alfred was preparing for a trip to the hospital. They looked in fear at the boy's arm, only to see that somehow it was completely unscathed. But that's impossible, mused Alfred. At least one piece should have nicked him… A cold feeling was creeping up in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't deny he had been fearing something like this since Thomas and Martha adopted the boy. He couldn't have been as like us as he seemed.

Alfred saw Bruce's eyes go wide, and from the look on his face Alfred could tell he knew something was off. The boy is nothing if not perceptive. He was staring at his brother with an odd expression, as if he had never really seen him before. Clark was looking around, not sure why everyone was suddenly crowding around him. Alfred released the boys arm and let him go back to his toys. He glanced up at Bruce again. He had a brooding expression on his face not unlike his father, and Alfred could practically hear the gears turning. He sighed. He supposed this would have to come out of the woodwork sooner or later. He just prayed that the boy wouldn't put two and two together just yet. At least, not until he had a long talk with Thomas and Martha.

A few months after that…

The Waynes walked out of the Monarch Theater into the cold winter air, talking animatedly about what they had just seen. Thomas could see, though, that Bruce wasn't joining in as much. The boy had been acting oddly since that day Clark narrowly avoided the hospital, peering at him as if he were a specimen to be studied. He was becoming slightly more brooding than usual, though he was careful not to show it. There had been a couple of close calls between then and now; Clark had fallen on things, broken things that should have gotten him seriously injured but somehow didn't. He had walked away unscathed, and it was becoming harder and harder to explain away the mysterious circumstances to Bruce. The last time they had taken Clark to a doctor, the needle wouldn't pierce his flesh, no matter what the doctor did. They had to rush from the office before anyone found out what was really going on. He knew the day was coming when he would have to tell Bruce, and perhaps even Clark some of the story, but he hoped he could put it off for a little bit longer.

Clark was going to be a fine young man one day, Thomas mused as he glanced at the little boy holding onto his mother's hand. He had the makings of a boy scout- always nice and polite (as much as a five year old could be), and he adored his brother. He looked up to him immensely, and had taken to mimicking some of his qualities- occasionally copying his searching expression and taking to spending more time than most young children would in the library curled up with a book. Bruce would help explain what he didn't understand, enjoying the look on Clark's face as he did so.

They turned into an alley after Thomas mentioned that it would be a shortcut. The boys were anxious to get home; they liked the play, but it was a bit frightening for Bruce. They hadn't gone far when a man started walking towards them from the opposite direction. The Waynes paid him no mind, though Martha did pull Clark slightly closer to her left side than he was before. The man came closer, and Thomas was about to breathe a sigh of relief when the man stopped in front of them, whipping out a gun and pointing it directly at his head.

Martha let out a startled gasp, and narrowly refrained from screaming after a stern look from the guy as he swiveled the gun over to her.

"Give me your money, now!" The guy looked way too panicked to be a pro, and must have been an average joe, just desperate for some cash. Thomas had worked his whole life to help people like him.

"Take it easy, alright guy? No one needs to get hurt, he said, ever the reasonable one. "Martha, give him what he wants." He looked at his terrified wife, who had shoved Clark and Bruce behind her in one motion. She nodded.

Thomas reached in his pocket for his wallet, holding his other had up in a gesture of surrender. "Just take it easy."

Bruce was shaking. He stood mostly behind his mother, watching her reach for her pearls and his father his wallet. He'll leave once they give him the money. He tried to move, but he was frozen to the spot. He glanced at Clark. The boy was scared, but less so than if he had been old enough to understand what was happening. Bruce grabbed his hand, trying to calm him down. If he screamed, they were all done for. He was young, but not that young.

He watched his father's slow movements, still attempting to talk to the man. It seemed like it was going to go without a hitch, until Clark tried to step out from behind Martha.

She screamed, and then he heard nothing but a loud BANG. Bruce's eyes widened. No, no, no… A second bang. Thomas was on his knees, coughing up blood and faceplanting onto the floor. Martha followed. The man was running away. It all happened so fast… this couldn't be happening. Not now. Not like this. Clark was screaming, crying, trying to shake Martha awake. The pool of dark red liquid was getting stronger. Bruce started screaming too.

That was how Jim Gordon found crime alley ten minutes later. Two boys, kneeling in suits drenched in fresh blood, hands covered in it, screaming at the top of their lungs, sobbing over their mother and father.

(Ik I channeled adult clark and bruce a bit but how can you not? also, I tried to do the Waynes death justice but I'm sorry if I didn't.)