Three
"He hasn't been to work in a week, Bruce. Perry is furious, and Lois and I are running out of excuses for him."
"I haven't seen or heard from him either. He doesn't appear to have gone to the fortress, he's not at the farm, and he hasn't been back to the manor since Tim found him there. Chloe, hold on a second."
Chloe could hear voices and shuffling noises in the background then the sound of a television flicking on. She strained to pick up on the words, but the volume was too low. Bruce came back on the line again.
"Turn on the news. Now."
Chloe reached for the remote and flipped through the channels until she caught sight of a flashing breaking news message. A female reporter stood solemnly before a taped-off crime scene.
"This is Rebecca McHart reporting live from the scene of a very disturbing crime. Eyewitness reports started coming in not more than thirty minutes ago of an attempted rape stopped by Superman. The almost-victim, an unnamed 20-something female, told authorities that Metropolis's own hero arrived on the scene and pulled the man off her. We are told Superman snapped his neck and throw the body approximately 50 feet to land in a nearby park. Sources at the scene say Superman's last words to the young woman were, "Don't worry, he'll never be able to hurt anyone again."
"Oh my god." Chloe's hand was frozen in mid-air, finger still poised to flip to the next channel. "Bruce!"
"Diana's on her way to deal with the authorities. The rest of us are organizing a search for him. Keep your communicator on and alert us immediately if you see him."
"Okay," Chloe whispered, but the line was already dead in her ear.
o o o o o
The rapist was only the first in a series of brutal acts that Superman called "justice". A purse thief was found with his foot cut off, the limb removed and cauterized with laser precision. A bank heist was prevented when the guns were melted into the flesh of the robber's hands. An abusive husband was beaten to death, and a group of drunken teenagers in a stolen car died when Superman picked up the vehicle and threw it into a tree.
By the time the third week of brutality had bled into a fourth, the city of Metropolis was in a state of panic. LuthorCorp, at Lex's orders, had stepped forward to provide the Metropolis Police Department with kryptonite bullets. The Justice League had taken up near-permanent watch in Metropolis and crime was on the rise elsewhere as a result. The public made demands for the League to find and stop their rogue member, but Bruce and the others were at a loss to stop a powerful, angry Superman.
Until the day he came after Lex.
Lex had been expecting it. He knew Superman would come after him for stocking the guns of the Metropolis Police Department with the one thing that could hurt him, and he also knew it would be the League's best – only – chance to capture and destroy him. Which was why he approached only Bruce.
"He'll kill us both," Bruce told him, unwilling to believe the words even as he spoke.
"He won't. Something's got him, but whatever is going on there's enough of Clark still in there that he won't take the life of someone he cares about."
"How do you know that?"
Lex smirked at him. "You haven't figured it out yet?" Bruce's glare was answer enough. "He's only killing or hurting 'bad' people. He's still in there somewhere and he's trying to fight back. If we can capture Superman, we'll have time to figure out how to save Clark."
"Who says we can capture him?" Bruce wasn't yet willing to acknowledge the glimmer of hope building inside him.
"You're the Batman, Bruce. Don't tell me you can't take down one measly rogue super hero."
"You're an ass, Lex."
"I've got enough kryptonite to subdue him for however long it takes." The playful tone dropped from his voice as Lex became serious. "We both know the others won't hesitate to destroy Clark in the process of destroying the enemy. You love him, Bruce, and this is the only chance we've got."
Lex was met with a lengthy silence before Bruce spoke. "Tell me your plan."
o o o o o
The facility was 60 feet below ground. With lead-lined walls throughout and a series of security protected doors and elevators separating the entrance from the main rooms, it was a suitable location in which to keep Clark until they could stop what was happening to him.
Bruce stood in the mid-sized room that would be, if all went as planned, a holding area for Clark. His prison, he thought grimly. A titanium table graced the centre of the space complete with restraints for ankles, legs, hips, chest, wrists, arms and head. The device Lex had created to shield the kryptonite solution was tucked into one corner, plastic tubing coiled neatly on top, and several other pieces of equipment were placed around the perimeter. Bruce tried and failed to repress the shudder that raced through him. Lex, for his part, did not acknowledge the sign of emotion.
"It will attack when I leave the facility. This place is completely soundproofed to go along with the lead walls, and I've no doubt it's been keeping tabs on us by our voices, heartbeats and other distinctive sounds up to this point. It'll come when it can hear me again; we've been out of range too long now and that will have angered it." Lex's cold, professional exterior dropped for a moment as he fingered his wedding ring and brought his eyes up. "Bruce, this is our only chance. We either catch Clark or he kills me and comes after you. If I die –"
"What happened to 'he won't kill us' Lex? Clark won't let it. Getting hurt, however, is a very real possibility."
Lex forced his hands back into his pockets and began again. "If something happens to me, you need to stop that thing."
"I know."
Lex nodded and turned away, parting from Bruce when they reached the control room and continuing up to the surface. He paused at the last door and glanced briefly at the camera, tipping his chin back and squaring his shoulders as he opened the door and stepped out into the stone and lead-lined alcove that separated the door from the forest and hid the facility from public eye.
Superman was there as the door swung shut behind him, lifting him by the throat and driving him back hard enough to imprint the door with the shape of Lex's upper body. His grip tightened and Lex squeezed his eyes shut against the flare of pain and sudden oxygen deprivation.
"You betrayed me, Luthor. I always knew you would. You'll pay –"
That was all he had a chance to say before Bruce activated the kryptonite gate. It slid out of a hidden panel in the wall and slammed home on the opposite side, trapping them. Superman dropped Lex as he crumpled, face a mask of confusion and body curling in on itself as pain raced through his veins. Lex, momentarily stunned by the attack, had the door open and was reaching for the kryptonite-based sedative they'd created to contain the thing just as Bruce appeared behind him.
"You hurt?"
"I'll live."
Bruce didn't flinch at the agonized howl that spilled from Superman when Lex injected the mixture. "We need to get him away from the gate," Bruce said as Superman's body went lax. "It's too much for his system to handle at once."
They dragged an unconscious Superman through the door, slamming it shut and cutting off the effects of the gate before lifting him onto a waiting stretcher. Superman whimpered at the change but did not stir. It took them an hour to manoeuvre him back to the room, strip him of his bloody uniform, clean him, and hook him up to the equipment that would sustain his body for as long as necessary.
"He was most like himself when he first woke up," Bruce said quietly. Lex looked up from where he'd been fussing with the soft cotton pants and t-shirt they'd dressed him in.
"It's too risky."
"He's still in there, Lex. Whatever has hold of him... Clark is still in there. I need –" He stopped, shaking his head and looking at a spot on the wall over Lex's shoulder.
"A few seconds, Bruce. That's all I can safely give you."
"Take your samples before he wakes up. The sooner we start, the sooner we can fix this."
o o o o o
An hour dragged by before Clark's eyes started to move beneath their lids and ten minutes more until Bruce saw a slim line of blue. "Clark? Can you hear me?" A quiet groan was followed by another flicker of blue.
"Bruce?"
"Hey, Clark. Listen," he glanced up at where Lex waited to start the flow of sedative. "We don't have much time, but I need you to know that I'm going to save you. We're going to save you. I just need you to hang on, okay? Can you do that for me?"
"Promise... to make it stop?"
Bruce shoved down the hurt caused by how small Clark's voice sounded. "Yeah Clark, I promise."
"'k Bruce. Me too."
Bruce leaned forward to press a kiss against Clark's dry lips. "Just hang on."
Clark's body trembled and his eyes opened wider and Bruce could see the thing was clawing back control. He looked up at Lex in time to see him start the sedative. The thing that wasn't Clark growled and strained against the titanium bonds, screeching angrily as the kryptonite hit Clark's system.
"I'm sorry Clark." Bruce's voice was a whisper, too quiet for Lex to hear, but the thing caught it and laughed.
"Sorry won't save him. It won't save any of you." Then it was unconscious and Bruce's body went cold at the realization he'd just been thinking of Clark as an 'it'".
"It's not him." Bruce looked up to see Lex standing opposite him and realized he'd spoken out loud.
"Let's start the lab work."