Apologies for not leaving an A/N in the previous chapter; I realized there were a quite a number of loose ends which needed to be tied up. I actually finished the chapter while half asleep.
This being Clark's first exposure to Kryptonite (I think everyone have got it by now) left him considerably weakened for a long time. Gradually Clark will start to recover better from Kryptonite exposure.
Lois calling Superman by his name, in front of Batman. Yes that WAS an intended, on my part, slip up by Lois.
CHAPTER 8
Antonio Dorrance looked at the rewards his mob's latest venture had brought. The crates which housed the goods were worth more than diamonds to him. The family's old trading partners had shown defiance to Dorrance after knowing that he had usurped Cyrus Gold, but a few broken necks were enough to coerce the rest to go on with the partnership as if nothing had happened.
"Anthony, should not you leave?" Dorrance whispered hoarsely.
"Yes, boss. I was wondering if you needed me," the meek voiced man in a red overcoat spoke.
Having his back face towards the man who was previously Cyrus Gold's personal assistance, Dorrance turned at the slightest hint of rebellion in the little man's voice. Whatever bravado Anthony had mustered, it vanished at the sight of the seven foot physique towering above him. He crooked in fear and took his leave from the room without any word.
As he opened the crates to reveal the ampules of steroids underneath, Dorrance felt his mind slip back into old memories: his first encounter with the Dark Knight (as the Gotham tabloids liked to call him), his defeat and landing in jail, his transfer to the Arkham Asylum, the first brush with steroids, and then the precious liquid, prompting his transformation into the paragon of human race that he believed in, both physically and mentally.
He looked at his enormous, bare hands, and he could almost imagine the blood from his first ever murder flowing on them. In his over indulgence in steroids, he had turned to lethal means within the asylum. That was until he had got his hands on the same compound that was filling the vials in front of him. How he had changed; his insuppressible rage turned into absolute focus, his then tall but weak body stacked up by copious amount of muscles. With each passing day, as he defeated and broke countless inmates, he would take time to look at himself: the perfect specimen of humanity, as he liked to think of himself.
And now, he had the chance to gain everything he had dreamt of after he had landed unceremoniously behind the bars as a common street punk. Taking the top spot on his list of priorities was getting even with the man who had put him through those ordeals in life.
"It is time," Dorrance mused, opening the last crate to find the apparatus with which he could supply himself with a continuous supply of his serenity drug, even during battle. Putting it on, he turned to call Anthony.
(-)
Lex was torn between a feeling of triumph and contempt as he finished viewing the video on his desktop. The fight with Superman had gone better than he had anticipated, and he was pleasantly surprised to find the Man of Steel weakened by the mere exposure to the green rock fueling the cyborg. He had greater regrets, however. If only he had known earlier, he would have had changed the alloy to some other one which did not radiation from the ore from reaching Superman. And that nitwit of a cyborg wasted his time on boasting how he had bested the Boy Scout, when he could have quickly finished the task and prevent Batman's interference from being decisive.
Batman, mused Lex as his train of thoughts abruptly came to a stop. That man had proven himself to be as much of a hindrance to Lex's goals as Superman had been. And the video gave a glowing testimony of what Batman was capable of, despite lacking superpowers. Lex rewound the video again, observing how Batman arrived in the nick of time, followed up a smoke grenade with an EMP one to disable Metallo, and saved Superman. That was when the video feed stopped running. Lex wondered where Metallo was. After the fight had ended, the army had returned to the site, but there was not a single living soul there.
"Metallo can wait for now," Lex whispered to himself. "I need to get rid of that Bat first." Picking up the phone he barked to Mecry, "Get me another meeting with the gang."
(-)
Bruce leaned against the giant globe on Daily Planet Building roof and looked upwards at the star-lit sky. The sky was never that much clear in Gotham, even in the cloudless days. There was always too much smoke from the old factories. A sigh escaped his lips at yet another indication of how Gotham would always be considered inferior to the other cities. Bruce could recognize Sirius, Canopus and Vega among the brightest stars shining, courtesy of Alfred taking time in the evening to teach the young Bruce a little about the night sky.
The thought almost made Bruce homesick. He was aware he was away from Gotham for more than a week, and he rarely had been that long absent from his home city since he started crime fighting. He would never admit it in front of the others, but seven nights of patrolling alone in a barely known city made him wish badly to be back in the company of Alfred, Tim and Barbara.
A swish awoke him from his world of musing, and he turned to find himself face to face with Superman.
"Why are you here?" Bruce asked roughly. Superman raised an eyebrow, but did not answer. For a change, it was the first time Bruce actually found himself facing Superman with no hostilities involved. He quickly lost interest, concentrating instead on the job at hand: breaking yet another meeting of the so called Intergang.
It was Kent who broke the ice first after five minutes of silence, "Care to share what is going on here actually?"
Bruce ignored him. Kent went on, "Look I did not come here to fight, if that is what you are thinking. I just came to say thank you. Maybe we can work together, if you are willing of course."
"You will be helping me, if you get yourself out of this place and this business. I work alone," Bruce responded rather ungracefully.
He half expected Superman to heat up and fire one of his eyebeams again, but Kent just shrugged and took off. Bruce followed suit, but headed for the opposite direction. His intuition told him something was going on in the shadowy warehouses downtown.
(-)
Clark had never felt that much confused in his life. He was grateful to Batman and offered to repay the debt in his own way. And there was also how Batman had made his personal life even more complex than before. Swinging on the roof tops before finally finding yourself dumped unceremoniously on the apartment balcony of a woman on whom you harbored not-so-subtle feelings? That was a bit embarrassing. He himself did not help matters the next morning by waking up with a yelp in Lois' couch before crashing to the floor while turning, while Lois sat on her bed, fully dressed in office attire with an amused expression on her face. That was downright humiliating for him.
Wayne constantly giving Clark the cold shoulder and him and Lois going out on yet another dinner date was also frustrating for him. Sometimes he could not decide which of the rich guys he despised more: Wayne or Luthor. As he flew away in the night sky, out of the corner of his eye he saw Batman jump from the Daily Planet building rooftop.
Clark changed his direction, following Batman from a distance at which he would be safe from the latter's eyes. He wanted answers, and he was not willing to wait further.
(-)
As soon as he had broken in, Bruce knew he had walked into a trap. The warehouse seemed empty whichever he looked. Whoever Bruce had followed must had known he was on their trail, and they were waiting in the shadows to ambush him.
A whoosh and then a dark shape dropped on him. He adroitly leaped aside, before taking his assailant's arm and flipping him towards two others who were rushing towards him. The fourth man lunged at him with a knife in hand. Grabbing the hand in mid-stab, Bruce knocked his free hand right underneath the attacker's diaphragm, knocking the air out of his lungs. He then followed with a kick to the left ribs and a right hook to the face.
"Not much of a trap, is it Batfreak?" a rumbling voice sneered from the shadows. As he stepped into the light, Bruce made out the enormous figure of the man.
"Enjoy this fight as much as you can. For all I know it could be your last fight," the giant sneered again. "Let's go."
Bruce threw a batarang at the huge man. To his surprise, the giant popped it out of air and crushed like it was made of cardboard. "Ok, this is going to get ugly," he told himself, before launching himself at the giant.
He was facing an opponent of unprecedented proficiency. His adversary withstood every blow he landed; even the nerve strikes did little to faze him. Worst of all, he felt himself tiring as the fight dragged on, but the giant was not countering his attacks. Bruce could realize that his opponent was deliberately tiring him out before going for the kill.
As the giant parried his last kick, Bruce flipped backwards, panting from the effort. He barely had the stamina to carry on another round. He feinted a right hook to the jaw before sending his left fist to the giant's diaphragm, but his adversary saw through the trick. Holding Bruce's fist in an iron grip, the giant immediately pulled him into a crushing bear hug. Pain shot up in his chest as if someone had poured boiling water in his innards. He heard a few ribs crack before the grip loosened and fell to the ground.
"Hurts huh? I would give you mercy, of course, if you beg for it!" the giant taunted.
"Go..to…hell!" Bruce spat out through clenched teeth, fighting the pain back.
"If you say so," the giant lifted Batman's barely moving body. "Now I break the Bat!" With those words, he brought the limp form in his hands right on his knees.
Bruce howled in agony as his back connected with the stone hard knees of the giant with a loud crack. His entire body became numb with pain. The last thing he could make out before losing consciousness was a blur of blue speeding and colliding with the giant, knocking him back.
A/N: I took inspirations from the Knightfall story arc for this chapter. It had been one of my most favorite stories about the Dark Knight.
Thanks for all your comments! :D
