Author's Note: Okay, this really is for only one in particular reader who left a review by the name of Kyer.
Dear Kyer: Yes, unfortunately I am a small *die hard* Bruce Timm fan and yeah, I changed a bit *a lot* of what happened. Usually, I don'tlike when people go super AU but...well I did. Yeah, and I didn't have GL offer to bring Wally with him because honestly, he really couldn't. I know Kilowag would probably be stoked but I didn't feel like the Flash really has a place in the Green Lantern Corps. They're all too much of tight asses for him anyhow :)
Okay, now that that's taken care of, anyone else who's reading this better be proud that I was able to pump out as much as I did today. Yeah, updated twice in the same day. And I have cute kitten to distract me. The ultimate test a write must go through: distractions. Okay, well enough of my rambling, cuz I know most people skip over it (I usually do), so please, Read and Enjoy and *pwease?* Review.
Hawkgirl was standing on the front steps of Wayne Manor, staring at the heavy oak door with Flash on her back. She slammed her fist into the heavy oaken door, once, then twice.
After a moment, the door creaked and then swung open, with an old man in a tuxedo standing in the doorway, looking rather expectantly at her.
"Hi, Geeves, I'm a friend of Bruce's. Bruce Wayne, so If you could just let me in so I could talk to him, that would be great," she rambled. The butler cocked an eye brow at her doubtfully. Behind the man, a boy only in his early teens was standing, glaring her with a look not too different from the butler.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am, but whatever scheme you are trying to pull, it isn't going to work. Mr. Wayne is not taking questions from some," the butler looked at her up and down, "reporter."
Damn, they can't see my wings and I probably look like hell from that flight too, Shayera thought exasperatedly. She tried to shift Flash to one shoulder to show them that she was indeed a different kind of friend.
"Listen lady, I don't know who you are, but you better leave," the boy snapped, "or else."
Shayera smirked at the kid, "I'm not leaving here until I talk to Bruce."
Without warning, the teenager launched himself at her, aiming to punch her in the face. She dodged gracefully, but only barely. He was fast in striking again, trying to give her a kick in the ribs. Shayera was able to avoid all of the moves without laying a hand on the kid, but she feared tipping over and hurting Flash.
"Ugh, I so don't have time for this," she hissed under her breath. Shayera set Flash aside for a moment, while the kid went to charge in and attack again. She ducked, grabbing his fist and bashed him against the door frame. He whammed his elbow into her face and leapt back, rubbing his left shoulder.
Shayera charged just as the kid did. The boy jumped forward, intending to strike, and she was gearing up to punch him in the face in order to know him out. The boy was caught suddenly by his shirt collar and thrown backward, while Shayera stumbled and tried to regain her balance.
Bruce stood above Shayera, dressed in a black turtleneck and slate gray slacks. He looked over at Flash and with one fluid movement, had Flash over his shoulder and Shayera inside with the door closed tight.
"Alfred, take him," Bruce commanded, handing the unconscious hero's body off, but then added a tiny bit more gently, "I'll explain this to you later."
The young boy followed at the butler's heels, sending her death looks all the while. Shayera shook her head, and spread her wings out more, stretching them.
"Didn't know you had two personal assassins to answer the door," she remarked humorously. Bruce stayed expressionless.
"Come with me," he said simply. She followed, not bothering to question.
They went through a tastefully decorated dining room before reaching an even larger room that she presumed to be the study. Set in contemporary wooden shelves, were books, everywhere. One wall was just a glass window, and off to one corner, there was a hefty desk. In the very center of the room, there were a couple of big leather chairs. Shayera was thankful for a place to rest, but she stayed standing, as did Bruce.
"What happened, Shayera?" he asked, training his icy gaze on her. Shayera looked down at her short, pale pink dress and matching stilettos and instantly wished that she had her trench coat to cover up with.
Conscientiously, she answered, "I was out, at a bar, and the next thing I knew, Flash was there passed out. So, I left the bar with him and saw the Gotham City Limit sign, and I just…I don't know."
Shayera wrapped her arms around herself, as if that could protect her from Batman's withering judgment. Surprisingly, he said nothing, as if waiting for her to say something more.
"I wasn't thinking, okay? I shouldn't have gone out, but I needed a drink, and well," she paused. How could Bruce possibly understand; he absolutely hated social life and even grimaced at the company of more than a couple people.
"How could you be so stupid?" he scowled. She had been expecting that response but it still stung.
"You don't trust me," Shayera remarked dryly, putting her hands on her hips.
"Isn't that fair?" Bruce shot back. "After all, you show up at my house, at a time when the world trusts us the least, wearing that," he gestured, looking her over before continuing, "with one of our other members passed out drunk."
"Okay," she said, holding her hands up in surrender, "I know. What I did was stupid, and yeah, I suppose I really have so far never truly given you a reason to ever trust me again, after what happened…you know. I am sorry, though."
Bruce let out a long sigh and said nothing. They stood in the study, neither one daring to break the silence. Shayera watched Bruce for a moment, wondering to herself how odd it was to see him without the mask. He seemed so different. His eyes looked cloudy and staring off into another time, hopefully a better one. She thought of saying something, but Bruce beat her to it.
"He'll be okay," Bruce said, half to himself. He turned the brunt of his intense gaze on her, making Shayera flinch. "Would you like me to show you to your room?"
"Room? No, don't go to the trouble. Is there a place I can stay where I can actually be with Flash?" she asked.
Bruce hesitated. "Yes and no."
Shayera put her head to one side, "You've got to be kidding me."
Bruce gave her a look and she put her hands back up, once again in surrender. "Just follow me."
Bruce led her to a different room, which seemed to serve as a living room and had a kitchen attached onto the back side of it which was also connected to an old fashioned dinning room with a glass table and a matching chandelier. Over in one corner, a huge grandfather clock stood proud. He continued to walk toward the clock, until finally stepping in front of it.
"Oh, my god, this is it, isn't it?"
Bruce sent her a puzzled look from over his shoulder. Shayera felt her cheeks grow hot.
"Flash told me all about your secret passageway, and I felt a little left out to have never seen it before," she amended. Bruce didn't even merit that with a response and, after fiddling with the clock for a second, stepped inside the newly revealed tunnel, walking down a ways of stairs before leading into the expansive and quite legendary cave.
The same kid from before was leaning against a wall nearby, watching her every move with fixated suspicion.
"Don't mind Tim," Bruce said off-handedly, "he's been through a lot."
There were two levels of the bat cave, and on the first one, there was large computer and some strange decorations. An elevator connected the two stories.
Shayera threw herself off of the smaller platform and, catching herself by unfurling her wings, landed down on the one below, now finally seeing Flash. He was resting on almost what looked to be an operating table but padded.
She walked over to the butler and the unconscious teammate and looked down at him with concern. Flash was lying there, shirtless and with an IV plugged into his arm. Hawkgirl rested her hand on his chest, and closed her eyes, just listening to his rhythmic heartbeat and shallow breaths.
Bruce walked over to her and brushed his hand with hers. Shayera felt a lump form in her throat because, for Bats, that was practically a hug.
"He'll be fine," Bruce said again, but more softly, "but will you?"
Shayera sighed and gave him a half smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "Yeah, I think I will."
Green Lantern flopped down on the couch in the apartment. He glanced around, it was already past eleven and Flash still wasn't home. The TV created an endless stream of background sounds, but nothing of which John really paid any mind to. Worry gradually began to set in.
"I'm losing my mind – Flash can take care of himself, and besides, it's not like he'd do anything stupid," Green Lantern said aloud, "right?"
The words hung there in the air. To be honest, Lantern had no idea of whether Flash was okay. For all he knew, Flash could've been dead.
Green Lantern shook his head, mentally slapping himself and squelching all thoughts of Flash. He got up and wandered over to the refrigerator and was about to open it, when something caught his eye: a note. A note with oh-so familiar quickly scrawled handwriting.
GL
Gone out for a drink. Don't wait up.
Wally W.
Green Lantern felt his blood boil. He snatched the note, balling it up as tight as he could. Wally had always been one to get carried away and what If he got really drunk and used his super powers?
He sighed and looked down at his ring hopefully. Maybe he could still track Flash by his heat signature. It only took a second, and as the ring sprouted to life, his clothes morphed instantly into the standard Lantern Corps uniform.
He shone a light from his ring of the front door and saw, faintly, the residual substance of heat and energy that Flash used. It would be easier to track Flash's movement because Flash usually moves pretty quickly, which needs a lot of kinetic energy which meant simply a lot of heat.
Green Lantern followed the foot steps out of the apartment and into the cold night. The foot prints slowly began to run together into just a line, and that, as Green Lantern presumed, was when Flash kicked up into high gear.
He flew high above the city and with his ring he created a kind of flashlight to view over the city, letting him trace the path of the speedster. And on he flew, through dark clouds and the freezing black sky.
He traced Flash's progress until it stopped at a bar, and went cold. Lantern landed in back of the club and eyed the small line with the big bald bouncer who was checking for ID.
"Excuse me," Lantern said, strutting straight up to the head of the line, "I need to get in here. Now."
The bouncer looked Lantern up and down skeptically. Then, he jerked his thumb toward the opposite direction of the club entrance.
"Back of line, buddy," he said, once again turning back to the next people in line.
"Listen," Lantern growled, snatching the man by his muscular arm, lifting him off of the ground. "My friend is in there, and I don't have time for you, buddy."
Green Lantern tossed him aside like he weighed no more than a crumpled piece of paper. He walked into the smoky club, letting his eyes adjust to the strobing light and deafening beat. He walked straight to the bar because most likely, the bartender has seen every person, since no one goes clubbing without a little bit of alcohol.
The bartender had dark hair with streaks of some other color that Lantern couldn't distinguish in the changing luminosity. He was wiping out an emptied beer mug when he noticed GL walking up to the bar.
The bartender gave a low whistle and said above the music, "You sure don't dress like any of the scum I deal with. What can I do ya' for?"
Lantern arched an eyebrow at the man, "You can tell me if you've seen a young, red haired guy, about your age but maybe shorted than you. Real sloppy drunk?"
"I'm afraid I've seen one too many of those kind of men," the bartender responded airily.
Lantern again felt his patience run thin. "He might have mentioned me?"
"Well, if I knew who you were maybe it would help," he responded thoughtfully.
Lantern hesitated. He wasn't supposed to be going around dressed like the Green Lantern but what really stopped him was the fact that the guy didn't recognize him to begin with.
I bet Superman has never had to deal with this, Green Lantern thought tiredly.
"I'm the Green Lantern, you know, was protecting the universe before you could even walk," he said pointedly. Recognition dawned on the man's face.
"Oh! I know that guy you're talking about! He was sitting at the end of the bar talking about some green guy, but I didn't think…and I thought you super guys had all been decommissioned," the bartender finished slowly.
"Yeah, we kind of were, but my friend, what about him?"
"Oh, he left awhile back with-," he cut himself off before he could finish. "Well, I'm not at liberty to say whom."
"What?" Green Lantern snapped. Then he realized what was going on. "Oh, I'm not here to hurt him. That guy was really my friend and the person who took him; well frankly, I don't really care about them."
"So, you haven't totally lost your mind and are going to kill her?"
"Her?"
"Yeah, she took him. She comes in every night, always wearing some beautiful dress, but always wearing a big coat over it. Drinks more than anyone at the bar, pays, then leaves. I talked to her a couple times, because, well she's a stone cold fox."
"Okay, but what does this mystery woman look like? Do you have a name, an address?" Green Lantern pressed.
The bartender chewed it over for a second and finally said, "Yes, her name is Shayera."
He continued to talk but whatever he said fell on deaf ears, for Green Lantern felt like his heart was about to explode as its beat thumped in his ears.
What the hell is she doing at a bar with Flash? The thought struck him painfully because he wouldn't be able to trace her as easily as he could with Flash and what as worse, he had no idea where they went or when they left, or even what condition they could both be in.
And they were both endowed with destructive and banned super powers with the government already hot on their heels.
"Crap." With that, GL turned and fled the club, feeling frantic. He whirled around on the sidewalk, and breathed the cold air in, letting it burn his lungs before releasing it back out again. He had no lead as to where they might have gone; in fact he didn't even have the slightest idea where to start.
Just as he began to take a step into the waning night ahead, a feather, larger than any local bird landed at his feet. Feeling hope in his chest he looked up to the sky, wishing that he would see Shayera flying above.
But instead just a huge sign that read: Gotham City Limit – 32 Miles. And then an idea sprang forth.
Batman.
"And what are you doing again, Savage?" Lex asked fervently. All that merited from Vandal was a contemptuous glance.
"You are worse than that clown, you realize," Savage snapped, returning back to his work. Vandal was trying to extract a piece of the alloy without exposing all of it, and was just pulling out a small chip of it into the open air of the laboratory. As soon as the alloy collided the oxygen, it expanded into a large sheet of metal, thinner than paper. Lex and Savage exchanged curious looks.
Savage knelt over the metal and examined it closely, weary to actually touching it. Suddenly, the metal crumpled, all of its own accord, and morphed into a large rod.
"What happened?" Lex said inquisitively, his voice beginning to turn sour. "What did you do to it?"
"Calm yourself, Lex Luthor. This alloy has special properties," Savage murmured. He moved to pick the rod up, and as soon as he did, he stiffened, like he was being electrocuted and then released the rod with a yowl of pain.
Lex rushed over, "What is it?"
Savage's eyes fluttered open and then looked around slowly until finally training his vision on Lex, saying, "It spoke to me."
"What?"
"That alloy, isn't an alloy at all. It's a telepathic, indestructible being. It doesn't exactly have thought and reason like we do, but it communicates through ideas and notions."
"So what?"
"So, when it became a rod, it turned into something I wanted. At the second it changed, I wished that I had something to move it with, thus a rod."
Lex looked at the rod and concentrated hard. The metal morphed again, crunching and changing to become the figure of a hand pistol. Then again into a small tree and then once more into a knife.
A smile split Lex's face as he said, "Then I know the absolute perfect form for it to be in."
The alloy churned again, morphing down into a small bullet. Savage looked at Lex with sudden understanding.
"This will be the bullet that pierces Superman's heart," Lex said with a chuckle. "Get me a phone. I need to call some friends."
Green Lantern showed upon Batman's doorstep a few moments later. He knocked lightly, at first afraid that he would actually wake his friend up, but then realized how funny that seemed.
Alfred stood in the doorway looking him over before giving a tired sigh and just said, "Come with me, sir."
Alfred led him down to the bat cave and then took his leave. Green Lantern looked around, hoping to see Batman sitting at the super computer, typing away. He walked further in the cave, glancing around at all the strange items, like a giant penny, a metal joker card, a tyrannosaurus made of plaster.
"Sure brings back memories," he mumbled to himself.
He continued to walk through the dimly light cave until he reached something that made him stop dead in his tracks.
Shayera.
There was a big black leather couch, and on it, Shayera was curled up asleep, her head resting on Bruce's chest. She was dressed in a silky, and also pretty short, pale pink dress. Her hair that was pulled up into a bun was falling out, spreading a few rouge strands across her peaceful face. Bruce was simply dressed in a black shirt and gray slacks, just as well sleeping, his arm draped around Shayera.
"What is going on here?" Green Lantern demanded loudly. Bruce's eyes flew open and he was off of the couch in a second, tensed and ready for battle. Recognition spread across him, returning him to a plain standing position.
Shayera had been awoken by the sudden commotion, was sitting up groggily, and pulling her hair out from the ties holding it up. It fell across her shoulders and down her back.
"John?" she asked slowly. Then she was really awake and stood up from the couch, not even bothering to say hi. Shayera walked forward slowly, not stopping at Bruce's side, but then began to run to him.
Shayera and Green Lantern collided awkwardly, both tumbling over and hitting the metal floor hard. Her lips were instantly on his. Bruce was to say the least quickly scarce.
"You're okay," Shayera whispered. She put her ivory hand against his cheek, stark in contrast between his caramel skin. Green gazed back into green and once again their lips touched briefly.
"I thought that you and Bruce were…," he trailed off, suddenly feeling very foolish, but one look at Shayera made him understand just how silly it really was.
"You actually thought that Batman and I were what? Together?" she shook her head and stifled a giggle. They both stood up finally picking themselves from the cold metal floor. "God, it is really great to see you again."
"Hey, wait, is Wally with you?" Green Lantern asked abruptly. Shayera eyes clouded and she looked away.
"Yeah, he is," Shayera said quietly. He shot her a questioning look but she didn't meet his gaze and continued, "Just follow me."
She flew down to the lower level of the cave where Flash was still unconscious. His heartbeat was on the monitor and it, oddly enough, was as slow as a regular human's.
Green Lantern didn't bother to ask what happened; he could guess just by looking at Wally's stained shirt hanging over a chair nearby and the heavy smell of whiskey coming from him. Lantern sighed, yet again wondering how it had all come to this.
Shayera placed a tentative hand on his shoulder and muttered, "He'll be okay, John. Bruce will take care of him."
They looked at each other, both seeming to realize how much faith they had in Batman and also in every single one of their team mates. Lantern wrapped his arm around Shayera's waist.
"Don't worry. We'll see them again, somehow, someday," he whispered in her ear. She pressed her face into his chest and pulled her arms around Lantern.
"I really hope so," came her muffled reply. Lantern stroked her hair protectively.
"Lantern, Hawkgirl."
They both separated quickly. Batman was standing in the dim light of the bat cave, completely suited up. Shayera had never realized how much she missed that face. She had always imagined Batman's face instead of Bruce's when she thought of the dark knight.
"Flash will be fine, so I have decided to move him to one of the guest rooms. Alfred has prepared your rooms too," Batman stated simply.
"Now wait a sec, Bats, you really expect us to just stay here for awhile? What about Amanda Waller?" Green Lantern asked skeptically.
"Yeah, and what are you all suited up for? You can't seriously expect us to sleep in a nice warm bed while you are out in Gotham doing who knows what in the dead of night," Shayera snapped, swaying her hips to one side, placing her hands on them.
"Yes, I do, and I can handle Waller. The best thing you can do is to stay here." Batman whirled and stalked out toward the batmobile. Alfred walked over to the couple and gestured for them to follow.
Lantern picked up Flash in his arms and strode after Shayera and the butler, glaring at Batman's back all the while. The batmobile sped out, leaving them all behind.
"Dinner in Paris and dancing in Venice? Even for Superman, you out did yourself tonight," Lois Lane said, tightening her arms around Clark's neck. They were nearing her apartment in Metropolis after a fantastic evening in France, then later Italy.
"Well, without really being Superman, I have more time to spend with you," Clark said smiling, yet it didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Well, I do kind of miss the spandex," Lois responded, a suggestive edge to her voice tracing her finger around the symbol on his chest. He hardly ever wore the outfit, except for when flying, just in case he ever was really needed. This time Clark laughed, and Lois finally felt relieved to see him loosen up.
"Well, I'll just have to-," Clark was suddenly cut off. A there was the slight sound of the trigger of some kind of gun going off and close. He spotted the sniper on the building across the way before he could stop him, but instead Clark moved himself in front of the bullet.
Shock and pain went though his body as the bullet embedded itself in his back. Lois was yelling something, but Clark was fading fast, feeling consciousness slip from him.
Why didn't the bullet just bounce off? Suddenly, Superman was awake, and just as the two almost splattered on the concrete he soared upward, but then landed back down on the sidewalk.
"Lois, stay here," he commanded but suddenly felt himself falter slightly.
"Clark!" Lois cried after him as Superman shot off toward the roof top where the sniper had been. Sure enough, the petty crook and common gun for hire, Deadshot, was standing, hefting his riffle over his shoulder.
"Hey, Supes, I got someone who really wants to talk to you," Deadshot sing-songed sarcastically. The door to the roof burst open, and from it, Lex gaited out. Following Lex was Gorilla Grodd, Copperhead, Shade, Sinestro, Metalo, and Solomon Grundy.
"Hello, Superman, you already know the gang," Lex gestured to the rest of villains behind him. Lex was dressed nicely in a suit and tried to straighten his tie in mock casualness. "You see, Superman, Deadshot just hit you with an indestructible kryptonite laced bullet. Compliments from me, of course. Now, as you realize, that bullet will continue to weaken you until you die, but until then, I brought some friends to help pass the time."
"Get him."
The night then seemed to explode. Grundy picked up Copperhead and launched him at Superman while Metalo and Sinestro both shot beams at him.
Superman dodged Copperhead with ease and ducked both beams, trying hard to keep in the air. Suddenly, Grundy was coming down on top of him, and smashed the man of steel down into the street. People scattered and ran through the street, creating chaos in a desperate attempt to flee the super powered fight.
Superman pulled himself up from the crater he had made in the road, ruble falling off of him. He gave a taunting chuckle.
"Is that the best you can do?" he spat. Grodd was now on him, punching Superman hard. Every second he fought, was one more second in which his strength was being drained.
"Superman!" Lois cried from the side. He tried to turn back to her for a second, but his strength was failing. One arm was grabbed by Grundy, and the other by Grodd, each holding him down. Lex walked over to him, seemingly out of place amongst the debris of the short lived fight.
"Too bad. I was hoping that you'd be a lot har-," Lex was cut short by Grundy being thrown on top of him. Superman promptly punched Grodd in the face before soaring back over to the building where the rest of them were waiting.
Shade, in desperation, tried to run, but Superman moved in his way. With one swift punch, Shade was lying on the roof top, most likely concussed. Just as he went to make a move back towards the remaining super villains, a bullet tore through his side, skimming painfully against his rib bones.
"Darn, I missed," Deadshot said jocularly, "but I promise I won't again."
Deadshot pulled the trigger, this time aiming at his heart. Superman moved out of the way just enough to where the bullet slammed into his shoulder but missed its original mark.
"We have what we need. Get down here," Lex cried, pointing at the helicopter. Deadshot snatched Shade up and threw himself over the side of the building, caught in the yellow beam from Sinestro's yellow ring which safely brought the two back to the helicopter.
Superman felt his world begin to spin and his vision blur. He had reached his limit, and the kryptonite in his back would now undoubtingly kill him. He watched helplessly as Grundy dragged Lois into the helicopter, her kicking and screaming all the way, and took off.
The helicopter stopped in front of him, and Superman braced himself to be shot at with God knows what when instead, Lex Luthor jumped from the craft and landed next to him.
"You know Superman, I think it would be bad if they caught me with a bunch of criminals, don't you?"
Lex knelt down beside Superman and gave a chuckle. Just as he placed his hand on Superman, he was flung backwards. Superman stood, shakily, but he was standing.
"If you lay even one of your slimy hands on Lois, I will kill you," Superman snarled. Lex had crossed the line awhile back, yet even with his failing power and life, Superman was still determined to beat his nemesis senseless.
Superman took a few more labored steps to where Lex was and, glancing at the helicopter disappearing with his heart over the horizon, picked Lex up off of the ground by the collar of his shirt.
"Would you really want me to have to kill Lois?" Lex tried in vain to bargain, but Superman wasn't buying. He pulled out arm back and punched, with everything he had in him, he broke Lex's nose. Lex fell to the ground, gasping and coughing with pain. Superman stooped over Lex and turned him over onto his back. He slapped Lex, backhand, then front, then back again, all in rapid succession.
Superman put both of his hands on Lex's ribs and stood up with him and then threw him back to the ground like a discarded piece of trash. Again Lex cried out, but again it fell upon deaf ears.
"Please," Lex wheezed. Superman towered over the broken man, not yet feeling his malice satisfied.
"Superman!"
The voice came muddled at first, like he wasn't sure he had heard anyone call his name. He almost took another step towards Lex when it came again, this time painfully clear.
"Clark!"
And somewhere within Superman's torrent of rage and hurt, the voice reached him. He turned slightly and saw the one and only person he knew could stop this.
"They took Lois," Superman murmured before collapsing onto the concrete. Batman walked over to his old friend and was about to pick him up, when he stopped abruptly.
"Luthor," Batman snarled, coming over to where the president was laying, "I will personally beat you within an inch of your pathetic life should you ever come near Superman or any of Justice League with the intent to murder. They may be above it all, but that's why I'm the dark knight; I don't hesitate."
With that said Batman stalked over to Superman and picked him up from the gravel. He disappeared over the side of the building and into the back alley below, where the batmobile waited patiently.
After securing Superman in his seat, Batman drove off, speeding through streets of Metropolis until Superman dared to break the silence.
"How do you stop yourself, Bruce?" Superman asked weakly. Batman didn't even glance at his dying friend.
"I don't know what you mean," Batman said a moment later. Superman struggled to sit up more, but after he couldn't, he laid back down.
"What I mean is, why haven't you just killed Joker yet? Don't you ever think about it? Killing someone, I mean," Superman mumbled. Batman still didn't avert his gaze from the road for even a second, but his hands clenched and unclenched on the steering wheel.
"Yes, I think about it. I have even considered it," Batman said a bit softer than before.
"Well, what my real question is," Superman continued, his breaths coming short and raspy, "what stops you?"
"When I was eight years old, my parents were murdered by some punk with a gun," Batman spat the last words particularly harshly. "I don't kill because that is the very fine line between hero and villain. There have been times that I wanted to kill, but I stop myself. You need to learn to control your murderous temptations before you can call yourself a hero."
Superman blinked a couple of times, and then looked away, saying, "Then, I'm not much of a hero."
"Clark, don't," Batman warned. Superman had always been the greater hero of the two of them, was Batman's opinion.
"No, Bruce, I was about to kill Lex," Superman said a little more firmly, "but you stopped me. You saved me from myself, and then you'll probably save me from this kryptonite in my back."
"What." The word was short and swift, but not quite directed at anyone.
"I have-,"
"No, I know what you just said. Turn over," Batman commanded. Superman rolled over with great effort, the small green stone giving off a faint green glow, leaving two pin pricks of light in either sides of his back. "Shit."
Batman pressed a button, and the car converted to a jet, taking off to the skies. With the pull of a lever, the jet took off toward Wayne Manor. Batman was pushing how fast he could go, but it didn't matter; Clark could die.
Angling between the upcoming buildings of Gotham, Batman was able to nearly land the jet, just enough for it to convert back to a car. They hit the pavement with a squeal of tires, but, still going 160, the car flew down the street.
Taking a hazardous turn, the two rounded the corner into a back alley that ended in a brick wall. Just as they were too close to stop the impact, the wall moved to the side to show a long dark tunnel.
Within a couple of seconds, they pulled into the main parking space for the batmobile. Batman got out of the car hurriedly, taking Superman with him.
He hadn't the time to wait for Alfred so he placed Superman on the steel operating table which once had Flash on it. With a pair of surgical scissors, Batman cut off Superman's shirt, and turned him over. The skin around each of the bullet wounds was already turning an ashen color.
Batman produced a pair of pliers from his utility belt and set to work. He really hoped that he wasn't too late.
