Only Human

Chapter 7

Clark Kent had responded to J'onn's summons as quickly as he could, but even Superman takes more than a few seconds to get from the Daily Planet building in Metropolis to the JL Watch Tower orbiting the earth.

"How is he?" asked the Kryptonian as soon as he entered the infirmary.

"I thought it best if he remained unconscious, I would not wish to risk further injury when I attempted to restrain him."

"But Bru-Batman, was he able to say anything? About what happened, about his research?" inquired the Man of Steel, trying to submerge his concern for his friend and colleague. J'honn would have said if Bruce was in immediate danger, and Bruce himself would have insisted that duty to the team came first.

"He said very little. It seemed his first concern was leaving the infirmary." Superman winced slightly at the familiar traces of sarcasm in his tone. That was the Batman- far too stubborn for his own good.

"I think I'll be able to talk some sense into him. And even if I can't-between the two of us-he's not going anywhere," Superman stated as he walked over to his friend's bedside. The Martian looked curiously dubious for a few seconds before joining the Man of Steel. He silently manipulated the controls to the bio-bed. It clearly made sense to him, though Clark was rather lost. J'onn put in a final sequence and was peering searching the screen for signs of a response when a large hand suddenly encased his green wrist.

"Don't ever do that again." ground out the Batman. The man had clearly been aware of the Martian's efforts to keep him sedated. J'onn had to wonder if Batman was also aware that the Martian had been supplementing the light mantra of sedatives with a slight mental suggestion to sleep. Just enough to keep him there until superman could arrive of course. Due to the extra measure of cold venomence in his tone J'onn believed he was.

"Batman, J'onn was simply doing what he believed was in your best interests," defended Superman in his signature, vaguely lecturing, superhero-type way. The Batman grunted in a dismissing manner but did release the Martian's wrist.

"The Lab?" There was no need to elaborate. All present knew just what was foremost in the Knight's mind.

"No civilians were injured and all League members are recovered, other than yourself. Since then there has been one other bombing that we suspect had the same source," replied Superman dutifully. He could have sworn that his super-hearing picked up some choice words in several languages- but than again, he could have been mistaken. Could have.

"I'll need to organize my evidence if we hope to prosecute, as well as figure out where the next bombing is going to take place just in case we run out of time." muttered the Bat to the two other occupants as he attempted to pull himself upward.

"Hold it right there," demanded Superman, placing one hand firmly on the man's chest, "You're not going anywhere." He paused. "For a few more days at least," he amended.

"Get out of my way, Boy Scout." growled the Bat. When that failed to yield the desired result he deliberately exerted enough upward pressure on the restraining hand to cause his own ribs to protest. Perhaps it did not seem the wisest move, but his clouded mind was not going to allow anyone in the group to dictate behavior to him- especially when he was injured. Predictably Clark withdrew his hand to avoid causing any more damage. Carefully he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and, as before, sharp pain raced through his chest. This time, however, he was ready for it. He was able to suppress any outward reaction, but his mind did silently cry out under the assault. He distractedly noted that the Martian flinched at the same time. His mind vaguely wondered if it had anything to do with the race's telepathic abilities. Regardless, it was something he would have to mull over at a later time. Right now he had much more important things to attend to. Like how he was going to get out of the infirmary without aid or any overt signs of weakness. Clark would make the task much more difficult. The Kyptonian knew him all too well and would be quick to catch any unusual mannerisms that the others would miss.

"Batman," Clark's concerned voice broke into Bruce's labored thoughts, "Listen to me. You need to rest." Imagined condescendence in his tone made the flat white lenses on the Bat's cowl to narrow in frustration and anger.

"I'm fine." he ground out, once more throwing as much ice as he could into his voice. Unfortunately the Kryptonian had a super-human resistance to extreme temperatures.

"You know you're not," he responded firmly, going into what Bruce recognized as his 'leader' mode, "and if I had been affected by kryptonite, you would be saying the same thing to me."

'And so would you,' Bruce retorted silently. Still, Clark did have a point, he was not fine. It was doubtful he would be able to make it back to Gotham. Without the Batwing's advanced auto pilot he would have to bring the vessel in manually. In his present state he would be risking harm to his city by an attempted landing. That he would not do. Besides Clark was not going to let him leave without some kind of struggle. The Batman was confident that he would be able take down the Boy Scout for a short time, if circumstances ever forced him to, but there were some weapons in his arsenal that he would rather did not become public knowledge. Slowly, carefully he allowed the exhaustion and pain he had blocked off to seep in, giving his compliance an air of reality.

"Fine," he bit out, very real annoyance clearly evident in his voice. "But without this." he pulled out the IV that had carefully been inserted into his arm. The last thing he wanted was the Boy Scout trying to be clever and keep him sedated. Unlikely given Clarks unbending morality, but he needed to show some sign of obstinacy if he was going to convince the Kryptonian that he was going to be a good little bat and stay in the infirmary. Superman's eyes narrowed slightly, then relaxed. He'd taken the bait.

"Okay, I'll try to stick around the tower," the Man of Steel said, then paused "Look, Batman, I am glad that you're getting better, we were all worried." Sensing more that seeing the Bat's uncomfortable shift, he departed on a more business-like note, "When J'onn says you're up to it, we could still really use your help with those bombings. I've been trying to get into your files for days with no success." Bruce unconsciously smirked as the door swished shut behind the caped figure. Clark was good at his job, but he defiately needed to be brought down a peg or to if he had thought he ever had a chance of breaking into the Batman's database. Suddenly an almost imperceptible frown creased his masked brow- the bombings. That would be his second order of business, after he escaped, which he would do as soon as J'onn left. Quietly he escaped from the mounting pain battering at his consciousness by slipping into a not quite sleep where he was still vaguely aware of his surroundings, yet gave all the indications of the deepest sleep. Patience was what was important right now. He could be patient.

1…1

J'onn shot one more speculative glance at the still figure breathing calmly and regularly in the only occupied bed. The Batman had been quiet since Superman's departure and the Martian was temped to believe that the stubborn vigilante had actual listened to reason. Still that question was soon to become academic; J'honn had watch duty in a few minutes, and he had already asked Hawkgirl to fill in for him the last few days. The Batman was out of any immediate danger and it simply did not feel right to impose any further upon the other permanent residents of the Tower. Besides, the computer would alert him of any changes in his patent's condition. With a last mental confirmation that Batman was indeed unconscious, the Martian left the room.

Seconds after the door closed a black gloved hand drifted upward, seemingly of its own accord. Leisurely it wandered over a panel above the otherwise prone figure's head. Every once in a while it depressed one of the buttons it came across. Finally a computerized voiced announced:

"Program 'B-45MED' initiated." Only then did the Batman carefully come to full consciousness. Never being one to be caught unprepared, Bruce had constructed a rather ingenious program that would loop the bio readings of any individual through the Tower's systems, leading whoever was monitoring the individual to believe that they were still abed, when in reality they could be anywhere on earth. Or beyond for that matter. The real trick had been to activate the program without alerting J'honn. To do this the Batman had embedded the sequence that would need to be entered into the computer in his subconscious so that, according to his vitals, he would still be asleep. The entire setup may seem excessive and unlikely to some, but planning for every contingency was what had kept him alive.

He hauled himself upright and stood, albeit unsteadily, for the first time in several days. After taking a moment to gather himself he located the top portion of his uniform and pulled it with excruciating care over his bandaged chest. The door swished open once more and the shadowed, cloaked figure of the Bat slid into the corridor.


A/N: Well, there it is guys. This was a fun chapter to write as far as charictors go, tell me how you think I did, all right? Anyway I sent review replies to all of you who left an address (but I really appreciate the rest of you as well), so thanks to Lynn, Knottaclue, Valandil, RedSoxGirl5, EvilHamsterMastermind, and Capt. Incredible for reviewing last chapter!

Ps-(I just finished Kingdom Come. It was AMAZEING! It seriously made me want to write something ;)