Chapter Two
The Batcave, Gotham, 1:36PM
Buried deep under the foundation of Wayne Manor, the Batcave is as dark as the Fortress of Solitude is light. As cavernous and tight as the Fortress is vast and open. The Batwings thrusters roar as the aircraft splashes through the waterfall that keeps the cave hidden from the outside; it's LED's shine their bright white light throughout the dark den. Deep in the damp recesses of the cave, awoken bats scree and flap their leather wings as the Batwing hovers down onto its landing pad. The hatch violently swings open as Batman jumps out and carefully takes the incapacitated Kryptonian from Wonder Woman's arms. Cradling the girl in his own arms, now, he runs through the cave shouting for his faithful butler and surrogate father, ALFRED. Of course, he had already called ahead from the Batwing, and Alfred was waiting and ready to operate on Kara.
Set on an adjacent platform from the main atrium sits the med bay – a room that's sees use almost nightly – though usually for humans and not mostly indestructible Kryptonians. A single cot sits in the middle of the room, surrounded by state-of-the-art medical devices and cabinets full of syringes, gloves, fluids, and just about anything else one may find in any emergency room around the globe.
Batman lays Kara, softly, on the bed, pulling his hand out from behind her head just as her blonde hair touches the white pillow. He stares down at her for a brief moment, grimacing before turning to Alfred.
"You had enough time to construct the tools?"
"Just barely, sir. "
Alfred turns to a silver plate beside the bed with a number of operating tools, their steel blades replaced with sharp shards emerald of Kryptonite. The former RAF veteran begins working on his patient immediately. Batman exits the med bay and stands in silence for a moment, trying to calm himself, but his anger is taking over. His jaw tightens and he grits his teeth.
"Argh!" He cocks his arm and throws a clenched fist at the nearest wall – but it never makes contact. Wonder Woman stands beside him, a firm grasp on around his wrist, compassion in her eyes.
"Come, Bruce; let Alfred work."
He sighs deeply, gathering himself and nods slightly. She slips her arm underneath his cape and leads him out of the med bay and back to the cave's main platform where she drops him in his throne, across from the cave's main computer system.
He begins typing instantly, almost out of habit. "I promised him, Diana..."
She leans against the supercomputer and folds her arms.
"I promised him I'd look after her and Jon… in case of anything."
"We both did, Bruce. Alfred will take care of Kara, she'll be okay."
"I can't lose another one, Diana… not after Tim."
She pushes off the console and stands up against him placing her hands around his neck and tilting his head upwards. The piercing gaze of the Batman stares back at her. She removes his cowl so that she can speak to the man underneath. Sharp white lenses give way to a soft azure; she can see the anger, the intensity, and the pain.
"She's a strong girl, Bruce; we're not going to lose her."
Heyahh!
Diana pounces across the floor, sword held high.
CLINK!
Sparks fly as the ancient blade clashes against Batman's gauntlet, he grimaces and pushes back against her shield, forcing her to dig her heels in deep before coming to a stalemate.
They pause, each combatant panting, sweat dripping onto the training room's padded floor.
"You sacrificed positioning for a quick strike, looks good but technically unsound." Batman critiques her technique.
Diana smiles, accepting the challenge – she spins off the stalemate, and jabs with her sword. Batman catches the blade in his palms, before pushing off his back leg and thrusting his shoulder into Diana. She falls back, losing her grip on the weapon. Batman contemplates the sabre for a moment before throwing it aside. Diana's already back to her feet. She drops the shield and raises her fists in front of her face. The corner of Batman's lip arcs ever-so-slightly before he jumps towards her throwing a flurry of jabs, each blocked, some countered. Diana lands a shot to the jaw, knocking Batman back – she takes advantage leaping high and driving towards him with her fist. Batman recollects himself and catches her falling fist, turning with her and using her momentum to throw her to the ground. He finishes with a batarang to the neck and a subtle smile.
"Yield. You opened yourself up…again."
"Don't get too cocky"
"Huh?"
In one fluid motion, she kicks out her legs, swiping Batman's out from under him. He falls to the mat with a thud – Diana on top of him, grinning wryly.
"Ahem…" Alfred interrupts from across the room.
Diana laughs as she pushes a few strands of loose hair behind her ear and unsaddles Batman before helping him up.
"How is she?" Batman asks the question before he's even on his feet.
"Young Miss Zor-El took quite the beating I'm afraid: some broken bones, contusions and lacerations, internal bleeding that I've managed to treat…"
"Will she recover?" Diana asks, concerned.
"Yes, with the proper rest and fluids she should be able to make a full recovery… a day or two in the sun may expedite things."
Diana smiles, placing a reassuring hand on Bruce's shoulder, "So you're saying the best thing for her is a day at the beach."
Alfred chuckles, wiping the sweat from his brow, "In her case, that just may be the best thing." He looks to Batman, "I've uploaded her complete report, along with X-Rays to the computer."
"Thank you, Alfred."
"Of course, Master Bruce."
"You are truly a skilled surgeon."
"Luckily for me, I've had Master Bruce to practice on for so many years." He says with just a hint of sarcasm, "Now if you'll excuse me, Princess, I must clean myself up."
Alfred heads back up towards the manor and exits the cave.
Diana watches him, "He's amazing."
"Yes. He is."
Back at the computer, Batman taps at the keyboard and pulls up Alfred's files on Kara: a full medical report along with several X-Rays which are instantly displayed on the several monitors in front of them.
Diana gasps, "Hera… what could have done this kind of damage to a Kryptonian!?"
Bruce keeps his gaze on the monitors, "I've only ever seen four beings capable of inflicting this much physical trauma upon Superman: Darkseid, Mongul, Doomsday, and Zod."
"Cyborg would have sensed any boomtubes opening up from Apokolips." Diana deduces.
"And last we heard of Mongul he was taking a long nap with 1,000 Black Mercy plants."
"There's no way Doomsday escaped from the Phantom Zone..?"
"Doubtful. He's also not one to run and hide after a fight."
"And Zod is dead…"
"Last I checked… but you can never be too sure these days."
They pause for a moment, each traveling to the far reaches of their memories, trying to remember something, anything… anyone, who may be capable of this.
"Where the Hell is he, Diana? We have no leads, no suspects… where is Superman?"
"We can ask Kara some questions when she wakes."
He drops his head. Diana stands behind his chair and wraps her arms around his chest.
"We'll find him. We always do."
She lets her head rest on his, tightening her grip. At the top of the stairs Alfred watches the two interact. She lifts her head and plants her hands on his shoulders as she pushes herself up, giving a reassuring squeeze before exiting the area and leaving Bruce alone. Alfred turns to leave as well.
BOOM
Bruce takes both fists and smashes them into the console. The noise echoes throughout the cave. Both Alfred and Wonder Woman pause for a moment before dropping their heads and continuing on.
Darkness.
It slowly retreats, giving way to blurred vision.
"Uhhhhgh"
Supergirl wakes, squinting as her eyes adjust to the little light in the room. It's quiet and calm; nothing out of the ordinary. Her legs ache as she pushes herslf to her feet and begins to walk around. It's so dark she can barely see in front of her, as she continually strides directly into an invisible wall.
Agh! A voice echoes through the chasm... it's familiar and in pain.
Huh…
"Is somebody there?"
Supergirl reaches out, trying to feel her way around and move closer to the voice.
Where am I?
Argh! Ack!
Her eyes widen, as she realizes the does recognize that voice, "Kal!?"
She rushes towards the noise but is blocked by another wall. She pushes against the barrier, but it doesn't budge.
What?
"Kal, I'm coming! I'm going to find you."
She turns and runs tin the other direction, trying to find a way to the voice but can't reach it; every turn leads her to another dead end, another impediment.
Oof, Agh!
Her eyes glow a magnificent blue as she tries using her x-ray vision to see through the walls, but it's of no use; there is still nothing but darkness.
"Where are you! Call out my name!"
Umph, argh!
"Kal!? KAAAAAAAAAL!"
Supergirl's eyes ignite into a blazing red as she unleashes the fury of her heat vision at full blast on the walls before her.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
She forces her eyes closed and falls to her knees, panting. Out of breath, she gasps for air.
What?
She begins to tremble. Every breath she takes send shivers through her body as she fills her lungs with freezing, cold air.
CRRRAAAACK!
Huh?
She opens her eyes and looks around, more confused than ever; she's back in the Fortress of Solitude. Walls of ice reach up to the sky all around her.
CRAAACK!
The walls begin to collapse upon her. She takes off running in the opposite direction, ducking and jumping shards of ice and shrapnel. She pushes off her toes and takes to flight, outmaneuvering the falling debris until she reaches another dead end. No turning back, she tucks her head, extends both arms and crashes through the thick sheet of ice and tumbles out the other side, into a barren room.
She grimaces, carefully reaching down to her tender ribs before slowly, picking herself up to her knees.
Definitely broken… first time for anything I guess.
She drops her head to her hand and tries to shake off the collision.
Oof, Argh!
"Kal!?" She snaps back to attention.
BOOM!
SUPERMAN crashes to the ground in the middle of the room.
"Argh." He groans in pain before gingerly pushing himself up to all fours, and spotting his cousin in the corner of the room.
"Kara, get out, it's not-"
BOOM!
He's struck from an unknown assailant and thrown into another wall of ice. His body slumps. He turns to his cousin "Kara… go!"
Boom! Another blow sends Superman careening into a nearby wall of ice. Kara turns her head in every direction, looking for a target, but she can find none.
CRACK!
Suddenly, the room begins to collapse upon itself. Kara takes off towards her cousin but is knocked aside.
"Agghhh!"
Her vision is blurry; she hadn't been hit that hard in a long time. A set of footsteps approaches her. She groggily lifts her head and tries to make out the person standing before her - but it's of no use. All she can make out are vague shapes and colors before an inaudible voice calls over and her attacker retreats to help the other with Superman. Supergirl reaches towards her cousin, as darkness begins to encroach on her vision before going black...
"K- Ka...l. Kal."
Darkness.
Supergirl lies motionless; wires running all over her body, connecting to several beeping and whirring machines on the counter next to her.
"KAL!" She springs up, nervously turning her head in every direction, unaware of her surroundings.
Within seconds Batman is beside her, one hand on her chest, the other on the back of her head, keeping it steady.
"Relax, Kara. We've got you; you're safe."
She slowly falls back down to her pillow, but not before looking around and noticing someone's absence.
"Where's Kal..?" Her voice is shaky.
Batman stares at her through the white lenses of his cowl, and slightly shakes his head.
She doesn't like the answer and immediately attempts to escape.
"We need to find him, I need to look for him."
Batman looks for help from Wonder Woman, who quickly over powers the injured Kryptonian before carefully pushing her back down on her pillow.
"Do you remember anything from the attack?" Batman asks.
She takes a deep breath and tries to think back.
"Just bits and pieces, it's not all there."
"Any information on your assailants? Clothes, powers, anthing..?" Wonder Woman tries to jog her memory.
Supergirl closes her eyes and tries to focus for a moment. She sighs, looking up to Batman, with tears welling in her eyes and shakes her head.
"I can't... I can't remember, but I know he's in trouble."
Batman puts his hand on her shoulder and gives a gentle, reassuring squeeze.
"It's okay, Kara - we'll find him, I promise."