He didn't hear the other two come in the manor despite being awake all night but they were there in the morning. Dick had made it his personal duty to be his escort everywhere in the manor, asking questions about anything that popped into his head. Clark couldn't bring himself to be annoyed at the boy, he lived in Gotham, so Clark was probably his only connection to what was happening outside. And after so long dealing with criminals and super villains it was probably nice to have some decent conversation.
"Okay so this is my little brother Jason and this is my sister Cassandra. But we call her Cass for short," He introduced. Jason looked to be seventeen and in the midst of a punk rock phase if the leather jacket poking over the side of one of the chairs was anything to go by, Cassandra looked to be fifteen and gave a martial bow to him instead of a greeting.
"What's he doing here?" Jason asked his brother. Clark ignored the hostility and moved around him to take his place at the lavish table. One of them had made breakfast and Clark wasn't going to let it go to waste since he had a snooping job to attend to.
"He's investigating that killer who murders those kids parents," Dick explained hopping into the seat next to Clark.
"Okay. But why is he here?" he stressed the 'here.'
"Apparently someone let slip that the murderer takes up residence here. Superman decided to come and take a look so Bruce let him stay here. Great isn't it?" he cheered before stealing one of Jason's pancakes.
"Play nice," A low baritone said just as Jason was about to stab Dick with his fork. "Good morning," Bruce greeted before taking his place at the head of the table.
"Morning Dad," Dick chimed and handed over the orange juice.
The man had circles under his eyes and his skin was paler than yesterday. Clark must have been really distracted last night to not hear even Bruce turning restlessly in his bed. Conversation was sparse at the table. Dick had ceased his questions as soon as Bruce sat down. Favouring shovelling food in his mouth instead. Jason and Cass were eyeing Clark wearily and casting looks between him and Bruce.
"I was thinking of going to the old museum today," Clark told them, if only to break the silence.
Jason stopped his food on its travels to give Dick an exasperated look "Did you tell him about the territories?"
"He never asked," Dick replied sheepishly "He had me by the throat when we met and it never seemed relevant."
"Territories?" Clark queried.
"We'll show you after breakfast," Jason told him and resumed his inhaling of food.
There was a map pinned up in one of the rooms which Clark later learned was Bruce's study. On it were sections coloured in or symbols drawn to separate Gotham. Jason took him through each of them in turn. It seemed that while the others had thrown their own villains in here they hadn't done so well to gain any land. Mostly Gothamites ran each sector. The green parts he was shown belonged to a woman named Pamela Isley who was known as Poison Ivy to everyone else. She had taken all the gardens and green that Gotham produced for herself and had her lackeys take care of the ones she wasn't present in. Clark was warned to stay away from her if he didn't want to become one of her love slaves. Then there was specific clubs and the museum that belonged to a buisnessman named the Penguin.
"He has people like Captain Boomerang and Mirror Master working for him. He also likes bribing the other leaders to join his cause if he has leverage but it usually ends in disaster," Dick mumbled from his swinging session on Bruce's chair.
The other parts were labelled accordingly and Clark had it committed to memory. He listened closely for familiar names and where they were and figured he would pay them a visit.
It was with reluctance that Dick let Clark go into the beyond of Gotham but he made him swear that he would be back no later than seven or they would go and search for him. Clark promised solemnly before ruffling the nineteen year olds hair and taking off. He had went with his super suit for the day since interrogation was the plan of action.
He knew that Mirror Master was particularly tricky to work with so he stayed clear of Penguins territory. Instead he went to the old harbour where the ice villains had taken up refuge. Clark stayed between the clouds for cover whilst he spotted out Captain Cold. Flash's villains weren't particularly bad in nature, just misguided and often told their plans to the speedster if the right incentive was given. It was a dark day when Barry had to say goodbye to his villains. The vote was unanimous, like most others, so there wasn't really anything he could have done to prevent it.
Cold had frozen another patch of water to walk aimlessly onto when Clark swooped in and grabbed him. He pulled him up to a suitable height from the ground and made sure that he was ice free before he began.
"Cold, I know you've heard about the parent killer. Tell me what you know," He threatened with a little shake. The man looked unconcerned and even cast a sighing glance at the ground.
"You may as well drop me," He muttered pitifully "Death has to be better than here."
"Cold," He shook.
The man rolled his eyes before snapping his gaze back to Clark "Yes I've heard of him. Everyone has. And parent killer? Would have thought you'd come up with a better name than that." Clark glared some more "We call him 'The Bat' and everything else I know you probably do too."
"Not helpful," Clark told him.
"Set me down and I'll see if I can think of something then. Flying isn't making thinking easier," he quipped.
Clark took them away from the harbour and set him down on the rooftop where he had met Dick the night before. He noticed the discomfort the villain showed at their location but didn't appease him by moving.
"Well?" Clark sighed.
"I don't think we should be talking here," Cold muttered casting his gaze around.
"Why not?"
"This is where we sometimes see him. I wouldn't put it past him to have surveillance put up," Cold told him shocking Clark by voluntarily stepping closer to him.
"Here? Are you sure?"
Cold nodded and made motions for them to get away from the rooftop. Clark sighed before picking the villain up again and flying them to the road leading to Wayne Manor. The house itself wasn't insight since it was at least ten minutes away from their location and it seemed to ease Captain Cold to be there.
"So he goes to that rooftop. What else do you know?" Clark urged finally happy that he had a lead "And why do you call him the bat?"
"He hangs from rooftops draped in black. Learning your secrets and every move. You wouldn't even know he was there most of the time and when you do the only thing you do see are red eyes staring from the dark. He knows everything about everyone here, people and locations."
"And..." Clark trailed, enraptured with the story Cold was telling.
"Well, you know yourself he can get out. We don't know if he's meta or not but we know to stay clear. One time Crock nabbed one of his little birds and broke their finger. It was completely by accident since he was using the kid for leverage to get The Bat to work for him. But in the second hour after the kid was taken Crock turned back to check on him and he was gone. The guards he'd stationed were dead with their throats slit and a bomb was waiting where the kid was. Crock can handle a bomb, but he's never went against The Bat again," Cold shivered as if the story was coming to get him.
"Birds?"
"His underlings. I've never seen them myself, he has three apparently. You should really stay away from him Supes. I'm not sure even you could capture him," He warned.
"Why's that then?" Clark challenged.
"Crock can hear the slightest thing and yet he turned away and didn't hear The Bat killing four of his men. What makes you think you have a chance? Judging from the look in your eye your facing the same problem Crock did," Cold smirked "How long has The Bat been hunting you I wonder," He mused before demanding to be taken back to the harbour.
Clark interviewed four other villains that day before returning at six to the manor. They had similar things to say about The Bat. All of it bad and making Clark uneasy as he followed the smell of dinner being cooked. Clark cringed at The Bat's smell. It had made itself known all over the manor and Gotham which was another thing that had made Clark uneasy. Tracking by smell wasn't going to be easy.
"What are we having?" Clark asked putting a cheery face on. Jason was standing at the cooker stirring what looked to be mouth watering spaghetti.
"Pasta, hope that's okay with you?" he glanced back. Clark smiled his agreement and left when Jason shooed him out telling him to check in with Dick.
Dick happened to be in their lavish gym, teaching Cass how to do some really complicated moves that Black Canary would be envious of. What really caught his attention was the fact that Bruce was also there. He seemed to follow Dick's instructions easily and although he didn't seem to possess the quality performance Dick had he was truly something to behold in Clark's biased mind.
"You're back early!" Dick cheered flipping over to him. "We're doing some warm ups, do you want to join?"
"Err no," he opted out "I'm more the brute strength kind of guy than flips and handstands. I don't even think I can do one. At least not the normal way," He rambled watching Bruce's arms flex as he held himself up perfectly still.
"Okay then you can watch. I need an audience anyway," Dick waved off the snort that came from Bruce. Which made Clark's face go into a dopey grin at the man showing some affection. "Now you'd better clap at the end!" He warned before cartwheeling his way back to Bruce.
Cass opted out of the team stuff that Dick had Bruce perform with him, preferring to practice another combination of movements to the side. Bruce on the other hand effortlessly led Dick into flip after flip, performing his own impressive moves whilst he waited for gravity to catch up with the boy.
Needless to say Clark was enjoying himself. Watching Bruce work out with his kids made Clark forget momentarily the state that he had first seen him in. There was nothing timid about the Bruce who let his son perform dangerous stunts. Clark may have indulged himself in using his x-ray vision to watch Bruce's muscles flex but argued that it was only so he could tell Dinah and Oliver later how Bruce had pulled them off.
They eventually stopped and pulled Cass back into their little group. She took the lead this time making them go through much more familiar moves. Clark knew that a recluse would want to learn how to defend themselves and thought nothing of it when they started sparring like champions. He figured that with nothing else to do they would become experts on what they could.
Clark did indeed clap at the end of their session and followed them out when Jason told them that dinner was ready.
"Wow, it's a shame that you don't go out," He told Bruce taking the back of the line alongside him "You'd probably win some competitions with those moves," He complimented.
"Thanks," Bruce smiled timidly making Clark beam stupidly at him. "I know I haven't really been a good host to you," He started off rubbing his neck awkwardly "So how about I give you a tour of the manor after dinner and you can tell me about your investigation. Despite what it looks like I am interested in it."
Clark was so happy he may have floated a few steps "That sounds great. I have some information that will definitely keep you interested. But I hope you don't mind if I ask you some more questions. I'd hate to intrude more but I think that you may have some links that I'm missing."
"Of course," Bruce agreed and pulled Clark's chair out for him before sitting himself at the top again.
Clark was tempted to kidnap Jason when this was all over. His cooking was magnificent and much better than the supermarket meals for one he bought.
"Are you sure I can't tempt you? The Watchtower's actually quite cosy," He propositioned to a laughing Jason.
"No," He got out between giggles.
"Imagine it though Jay," Dick envisioned "You'd be living the ultimate dream of catering to Superman."
"Then you do it fanboy," He nudged. "You'd have to watch out though. Between this one and Bruce you would probably starve to death."
Clark gasped in mock horror "Surely that can't be true. There must be something you can cook?" He asked Bruce.
The man shook his head grinning at his laughing children. "He tried to make a sandwich once," Cass said "It left Jason on the toilet for four hours."
They all burst out laughing again. Clark was happy that the atmosphere of this morning was gone. They were a happy family, one that Clark was glad to have met. Once dinner was over Clark excused himself on the basis that he wanted to change before their tour. Going around the manor in his super suit wasn't the only reason he wanted to go to his room though.
He needed to check in with the Daily Planet and give the report about how well his investigation was going. Perry wasn't thrilled that Bruce hadn't given him more than Clark had told but relented that he had a week to get the rest of the info out of him.
He changed into some casual if not slightly fancy clothes to show off to Bruce and picked up his phone to make one more call. He checked his messages back home. One was from his mother but the second one made him pause. There was nothing but white noise for a while before Captain Cold's voice came through the phone.
"He hangs from rooftops draped in black. Learning your secrets and every move..." It was the conversation he had earlier. Clark listened to Cold go on and for himself to reply before cutting the message off.
He sat on his bed panting. He'd never heard him like Cold said he wouldn't. He'd been there today and managed to gain another advantage over Clark. Wiping his forehead he went to meet Bruce.
Figuring that he would have to be more careful in the future Clark knocked on the ornate doors that Dick had pointed out last night and watched as a rather lovely chest he had peeked at earlier greeted him. Unfortunately it was swiftly covered by a turtle-neck jumper.
"Time for the tour then," Bruce announced and led him along the corridor.
Bruce was a rather excellent tour guide but again Clark could be somewhat biased since that low voice sinking into his skin just made him want to listen. Bruce pointed out important things such as the garden and parlour room. He also named everyone on the portraits they passed. Clark enjoyed trying to piece together where Bruce got what. He had his grandfather's nose and great aunt's eyes.
They ended in the library which actually did make Clark's jaw drop. He may have felt the twinges of jealousy staring at all the knowledge this library had. Sure the fortress had a super computer but it was nothing compared to the feel of paper and leather under his hands.
"I may have just fallen in love," He announced to an amused Bruce.
"It's quite something. It's one of the things I thought would be completely gone when the earthquake struck but I managed to fix it up again. But enough about this, I've talked for way too long. Why don't you tell me about what you found out," He propositioned sitting on one of the comfy chairs adorning the room.
Clark took the one opposite and filled Bruce in on his interrogations and the name of this unknown enemy. The news seemed to make Bruce withdraw into himself. The smile that had graced his smooth jaw was gone after a few sentences. The confidence he had shown telling Clark about his home sunk back into tense shoulders and a rigid posture.
"What do you intend to do then?" He asked worriedly.
"I don't know. I'm going to interrogate some more people before trying to find out how he comes and goes. Perhaps if I found a way to trap him here like the others the killings will stop."
"Maybe." Bruce looked worried and hesitantly met his eyes "The questions you had for me, can they wait. I don't think I'm comfortable answering them right now."
Clark understood and let him go. He knew that he should have made it less factual and more comforting, like Clark was near to actually capturing the guy. But he hadn't and now had to bear the consequences. He hoped that Bruce would return to his pleasant self by morning. After having witnessed who Bruce Wayne actually was he didn't think he could go back to the timid shell of a man that had greeted him.
He got up and paced the library for something interesting to read. There was a book bound in leather with no title on the table nearest the door. It too, unfortunately, smelled like The Bat like most things but Clark was interested in what had singled its presence out on the table.
His answer was that it was an album full of Bruce and his kids. It started with Bruce and Dick grinning into the camera. Dick had to be no older than nine with his big blue eyes and short black hair framing his chubby face. The next few were of Dick in various stages of contortions, some of them had Bruce joining in. He eventually got to Jason being included in the photos. It was uncanny how much the two unrelated boys resembled each other. He was staring sullenly at the camera before Dick stretched his mouth in a smile in the next one. Cass was near the back of the album. She seemed to have joined them in the midst of the earthquake since the manor was nothing but ruins all around them. They were all smiling happily enough amidst it. Dick hugged his new sister proudly. And although she was the only one not smiling she seemed happy enough to be there. She looked like she had been through some hazard with cuts adorning her arms and her boyish hair cut made her look more like their little brother than sister in the photo. If it weren't for the eyes Clark would say that they were actually Bruce's kids since they shared most of the same characteristics.
Clark grinned down at that last picture and set the album down. The library was silent and Clark listened to the four occupants of the manor settle down for the evening. He made a promise to himself there that even after the week was up he was going to come back here. Not just because Bruce left him breathless but because it was nice to be reminded that even though they live in a hell hole that they can still be happy where they are.
He made his way back to his room smelling that awful stench that had seeped once again into the bed covers. It seemed that The Bat had paid another visit to his room while he was gone. Clark sighed in defeat and took a shower to get his mind off his stalker. It would do no good thinking about him right now since that was what he wanted. He wanted Clark to become as obsessed with him as he was with Clark. The stunts he was pulling were nothing but mind tricks. Messing with him because he can get past Clarks' heightened senses. He has defeated Clark already by being better than him. Never getting caught and never making a name for himself like other villains do. All because he didn't have to. Clark did it all for him. He just had to be better than Clark and he could get away with his vile crimes.
But he wasn't going to think about that. Instead he tried to cast his mind onto something else and thought back to Bruce in the gym with Dick and Cass. He hated indulging himself in this way but it wasn't like the other man knew what he was doing so he let his hand wander down the familiar path to his cock while his mind went to thinking about Bruce. About his muscled thighs and how good they would feel. He had a few scars but they just added to his look. Clark fisted himself thinking about Bruce's chest and how good it would be to release himself over it. Or maybe just have him pose in Clark's room while he indulged himself like he was now. He felt himself nearing as he pictured Bruce's eyes darkening with want and his lips tipped up into that smile. He bit his lip to keep from crying out as he came over his hand.
Washing off felt like he was erasing evidence. But he figured that he hadn't really done anything wrong. It was natural to- Clark stopped still as something caught his eye. He looked up to the shower curtain to watch the shadows in the bathroom.
There was something off. He couldn't quite place it since his orgasm was making his mind a bit slow but as he focused on the row of small balls hanging just outside of the curtain he realised what it was. Clark drew it back being careful to not disturb the pearl necklace that had been recovered and hung in between the top of the shower curtain. The Bat's stench was everywhere again and Clark had the sickening thought of him being in the same room as him while he showered.
Carefully Clark removed Bruce's mother's pearls and dressed himself in his room. He cast his gaze to the shadows and then out the window, remembering what Captain Cold had told him about shadows before leaving to find Bruce.