Chapter 10
Darkness falls and Clark stands upon one of Metropolis' taller buildings dressed in the hoodie whose hood despite Lana's best efforts to alter still has a tendency to fall down. Clark is thinking he needs to rethink his whole approach to this costume bit. He doesn't feel like the whole hoodie approach is...it just doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel like it's him.
Anyway that is not important at this precise moment. What is important is what he is planning to do tonight. What he would have done last night had he not been on a date. Thinking on that makes his smile. It had been awhile since he felt this.
He's off topic. He has made his decision. He'll meet with Batgirl and see where that leads. Since she found that factory he operates out from Clark reckons he'll go there, activate the tracker and wait.
He floats up off the top of the building and zips off in the direction of the factory.
Batgirl is stalking the rooftops of Metropolis. She comes to a stop where she has a clear view of Luthorcorp tower, the tallest building in Metropolis. Lex had to have heard she survived his little murder attempt by now. She wonders how he reacted and what he is planning.
Lex Luthor was the kind of foe Barbara relished and hated. She relished the challenge. She hated the type of man he was. She had tried hacking into his computer systems but it was proving tough, near impossible to crack. Course when she thought about it and how even the might of the Justice League had failed to prove Lex did anything remotely shady she had to reluctantly accept he was the type of foe that wasn't going to be defeated swiftly.
Barbara can add Intergang to that list. Since she heard about it she has tried and repeatedly failed to get any leads on this mysterious leader they have. She can tell this will be a long hard slog but minimally her presence in this city had been noted. Every few days or so a story appeared in the Planet about Batgirl but then again so did stories about the man she waits impatiently for to contact her. The Planet just referred to him as the Blur. Seriously she needs to get a name off of him if he ever chooses to contact her.
That is when she hears it. The 'beep beep beep'.
She pulls out the tracker from her utility belt. It's him. He's activated it. Getting the distance and bearing...the factory he operates out of.
Moving swiftly Barbara runs across the rooftops to the site of an 'empty' building that is owned by a front company Bruce created. It was where she stored her bike and she had parts delivered for her equipment. She slips inside through a roof entrance and glides down to the floor. In mere moments she is on her bike and zooming through the streets of Metropolis.
What does one do when they are waiting to talk to a hero?
That was the question plaguing Clark right now. He's not double guessing himself...yes he is. Right choice? Wrong choice? Clark gets the feeling his choice will change how he does this from now on.
His hearing picks up the sound of a motorcycle engine. He peers over the top of his shades and looks through the walls to the outside as Batgirl pulls up. As he waits for her to make her way up he finds his foot unconsciously tapping the floor nervously. He better watch that or he'll put his foot through the floor. The boards were already creaking.
Barbara takes one second to collect herself before she enters the office. "You called."
"Yes. I thought about it...what you said. I do want your help."
Barbara smiles. That was a good start because like she was thinking without a guide who knows where he'll end up. Perhaps it is Bruce's paranoia affecting her but she can't seem to argue against that.
"So how do we do this?" he asks her.
"Well there is a lot we need to talk about but we don't have to rush into that. How about for tonight we go out and patrol together?" she suggests. That would allow her to see him in action and solidify her opinion about what he needs help with in regards to his control.
"Ok," Clark agrees and they starts to walk out together.
"By the way do you have a name?" Batgirl asks him and then clarifies herself. "I don't mean your real name or anything. I mean that is asking for a bit much too soon. I meant just something I can call you when we're out in case I have to shout at you or something," she babbles. Yes she actually babbled. Thank God Helena is not here otherwise Barbara would never live it down.
Clark smiles, amused at the babble. It helps show that she may be a big shot hero but she is still human. Eases the tension.
Batgirl takes a breath and starts again. "The Planet refers to you as the Blur," she mentions. He makes a face at that. Barbara spots it. "Not a fan," she assumes.
"Not especially but..." he lets out a resigned sigh, "it is probably the best I can come up with at the moment." Or in other words she can just call him that.
They reach the outside and Batgirl mounts her bike. "Can I see that Bluetooth of yours a second?" she asks.
Clark briefly wonders why but reaches under his hood and pulls it off his ear. He hands it to her.
Barbara looks it over carefully. The changes must be minute because it look just like a normal one. She puts it up to her ear and hears the jumble of voices that is the whole spectrum of signals from the emergency services. "You can understand all that?" she asks him.
Clark shrugs. "I can filter out what is important and what is not," he says. How he does don't ask him. He just applied himself and managed to do it. He guesses it is just an ability of his he possesses that like all of them he doesn't understand fully how it works.
"Did you alter this yourself?" she asks interested.
"Yes. I did it all myself. I'm good at figuring out how things work," he says modestly.
She looks at him most impressed both by the skill of his work and his modesty. A lot of men she knows would boast and brag to the high heavens if they did this. He must be very clever and she can assume he managed to do it without anything like Bruce's resources which only makes it more impressive. She hands it back to him. "So anything going on we could help with?" she asks him to see if there is a good place to start tonight.
Clark places it back on his ear and listens to the chatter. It was fairly quiet to be truthful. When he explains that to Batgirl she takes a moment to think about and then decide to go with her original suggestion. That the 2 of them just take a patrol around the city and see what they come across.
Lex Luthor sits in his office, not at his desk, but at a small table by the wall upon which sits a chess set. An extremely expensive chess set. In fact the most valuable set every made. Not bought by him but by his father Lionel Luthor. How many times did he and his father sit across from each other playing this. This was one of his father's analogies for life and their relationship. It was all a game, moving pieces about the board, trying to manoeuvre your opponent into opening their defences and then crushing them.
Lex eventually won that game with his now deceased father but he never forgot the lesson. So many pieces on the board. Some still there he thought he had eliminated. New ones appearing.
Lex had learned that Batgirl, Black Canary and Huntress had survived. He was annoyed at this not angry. Lex rarely let himself get angry. Anger makes you do rash foolish things. Therefore he would not rush to get rid of the3 heroines. For now in reality they were only a minor nuisance. Huntress and Canary spent most of their time in Gotham and not in his immediate sight. Batgirl it seemed had moved to his city. Still she was only a mere mortal. He spent his time battling the Justice League whose members included almost god-like beings. On the scale on things Batgirl wasn't exactly near the top. In fact she was pretty near the bottom. Still Lex has to wonder why she had moved to his city.
The new piece on the board. Metropolis' newest hero. The one the Planet called the Blur. Batgirl showed up about the same time he did. Coincidence?
Lex didn't believe in them. After all life was like this chess set. It was just a bigger game. The trick was to make yourself the one moving the pieces about and not to let yourself be the pawn.
Could the Blur be useful to his plans? Possibly. Lex didn't rule it out just yet but the Blur seemed to be a small time player at the moment taking out small time criminals. He wasn't someone Lex had to concern himself with at the moment.
Lex picks up the king from the other side of the board. Who did this represent for him? Who was his main opponent? That was the question.
Was it one of the Justice League? Was it Bruno Mannheim or this mysterious boss he claimed to work for?
Now that interested Lex. To possibly have an opponent working from the shadows pulling the strings unseen. A challenge. Lex loves a challenge.
Lex had demanded a meeting with this boss. No response from Mannheim about that yet. Lex could be a patient man but his patience was wearing thin. He might need to give Mannheim's memory a jolt.
Lex thinks. Mannheim owns one of Metropolis' major banks. It is a way for Intergang to launder money. If Lex was to clear it out it would send a message. Crude perhaps but Mannheim was a man who would probably miss subtle. That being the case Lex won't even bother with taking the time to plan it out. He'll just go for crude brute force. In fact he could have it done tonight. Grundy was still in town. Grundy was mentally simple but his immense strength was useful and his undead mind was driven by a lust for money. It made him easy for Lex to control.
Decision made Lex makes the phone call.
Some days you fight supervillains. Some days you fight crime bosses and their lackeys. Some days you fight people down on their luck and in desperation turn to crime. Some days you try to stop rival gangs killing each other.
For Batgirl and the Blur that last one was today's problem. 'So much for a quiet night,' Barbara thinks to herself as she disarms one man, kicks him between the legs(hey a woman has to use every advantage) and punches him out. Out of the corner of her eye she watches her partner for the night as he fights and he has no finesse whatsoever. He's a powerhouse using his raw power. He has no skill at fighting It was kind of what Barbara speculated about him. She'll need to do something about that. She returns to working her way through the gang members using all the skill and agility years of fighting and training have brought her.
Clark really wishes people would listen to reason. He had made he thought a quite good speech about the importance of life and not wasting it. All that got him was men and boys, frankly some of them were, foolishly trying to hurt him. One strikes him in the back of a head with a metal pipe which bends instantly. The young man looks at the bent pipe with wide eyes in utter surprise. What kind of freak was this guy?
Clark ever so gently flicks the stunned man knocking him out. He briefly catches Batgirl fighting with skill and grace Clark envies. It was incredibly impressive. She used her whole body as a weapon and there was little to no wasted movement.
Clark spots one gang member she has previously knocked out come to and pull out a gun. In an instant he has wrapped his body around hers.
It took Barbara completely by surprise. One second she is fighting. She hears a gunshot and then her whole body is cocooned in a wall of solid muscle.
Clark is about to zip off and disarm the guy who shot at Batgirl but he stops for one moment as her scent tickles his nose and in turn that tickles his memory. His memory of kissing Barbara last night and of Barbara's scent surrounding him. Batgirl smells exactly the same.
Wait a second.
Red hair. Blue eyes. Same build and height...
Now Clark thinks on it despite Batgirl's slightly forced altered tones the voice is basically the same as he compares the two using his perfect memory which can remember everything in such detail and clarity that puts High Def to shame. God someone needs to hit him for not working this out sooner. Why didn't he piece it together instantly?
Clark doesn't know. Maybe because why would he think Barbara Gordon was Batgirl? There was no reason for him to think that so he just didn't put it together...until now. Question is what does he do now?
Disarm the guy with gun. Right. He can do that and then figure out what to do with this revelation.
Clark zips away and knocks the man out. That as it turns out is the last one he needs to as the others have either run away or are already incapacitated. Now he has to decide what to do? Does he call her out and therefore reveal his own identity in the process or leave it and what? Lie to the woman he is dating about the fact he knows she is Batgirl. Not surprisingly growing up on a farm never prepared Clark for this scenario. He isn't sure what to do. Maybe he should avoid confronting it tonight and talk to Lana or something and get some advice.
"Did...did he shoot you?" Batgirl asks pointing at the guy Clark knocked out. She heard the shot so it went somewhere. Before Clark can think of anything to say she has walked over to him and turned him round. Barbara spots the hole in the back of the hoodie. She places her finger in it and feels...
After some careful prying she pulls out the bullet flattened thinner than a dime. Batgirl walks round to Clark's front and holds the bullet up in front of his face. "That outfit of yours isn't bulletproof is it?"
Clark shakes his head. "No but I am. In fact if you want the truth as far as I know I'm invulnerable to any sort of physical harm," he tells her for no other reason than how else can he explain it.
That's...Barbara isn't sure what to make of that. Not even Wonder Woman is invulnerable and she's possibly the most powerful being on the planet...or she might only be the 2nd most powerful now. Well the Martian Manhunter could possibly count as the most powerful. Barbara would need more information about the Blur here before she makes that call. In fact there is a lot she needs to learn about him and his powers and his general mentality. He seems polite and generally like a nice guy from what little he has revealed of himself so far but he is very guarded. He'll reveal more of himself in time when she earns his trust.
"So shall we continue our patrol or call it a night and meet up again tomorrow?" Batgirl asks him. She is trying to do this in a way that doesn't push him too hard and too fast. The complete opposite of what Bruce would do.
Clark thinks he needs to call it a night after the revelation he just received. That is the answer he is about to give when he hears the police announce a major emergency over his receiver. "What's a Code Blue?" he asks Batgirl hoping she knows since Clark has never heard that code used.
"That's the code for an incident involving a supervillian. Do you have a description?"
"Attack on a bank...a huge...grey man?" he queries what he is hearing.
Barbara's face becomes grim under her mask because she knows who that is. "Solomon Grundy."
Batgirl and the Blur come to a stop outside the bank. As they do they are greeted by several police officers coming flying out of the front. In a blur of motion Clark has caught them all preventing injury...or further injury as the case may be.
Batgirl and the Blur then meet up at the bank entrance. "Be careful of Grundy," she cautions. "He is supernaturally strong and...what are you doing?"
"Hmm?"
Batgirl points at the fact his shades are on the end of his nose. He turns to look at her and for an instant she glimpses unmistakable cerulean blue eyes. 'Those look just like Clark's eyes' she thinks to herself and she thinks this because it was such a rare colour. She could have easily gone through her whole life and never seen anyone with eyes like that so to have come across two people with eyes like that...it was putting a crazy notion into her head.
Before that crazy notion has a chance to crystallises in her mind Clark pushes his shades back up his nose and answers her question. "I was looking inside."
"What? Do you have x-ray vision or something?"
Clark shrugs. "Pretty much although I think x-ray is a little inaccurate as a description. I don't solely see that part of the electromagnetic spectrum," he clarifies from the fact he solely doesn't see bones for example. He sort of strips layers back although he'll be damned if he knows how he does that.
Barbara blinks. "Does that mean you can see my face?" she asks. Perhaps not the best time for this discussion when they have to stop Grundy but...hello! Secret identity!
"I respect your privacy," Clark says.
"That's a yes," she gleams from his answer as in yes he can see her face.
"Yes but I haven't look," he assures her. He hasn't needed to look to know it is Babs.
Ok so that's yet another ability she has to add to the list. It leads to one question. What is he?
"So you were saying about Grundy?"
"What? Oh. Right. Yes. What I was saying is that he is supernaturally strong and I don't know how strong you are but you should be careful. Now what did you see?" she asks quickly moving on past the surprise to use this ability to plan strategy.
"He's ripped the vault apart and is clearing it out. He has help. Men in masks. Half a dozen of them."
"I'll take them," Barbara decides because she is not stupid enough to try and fight Grundy. She leaves that kind of stupidity to Bruce and Dick. "You concentrate on Grundy and like I said be careful."
"You too," he says back with more than a little modicum of worry for his girlfriend. He mentally shakes his head. What a weird situation he has found himself in.
"Let me provide a distraction. Then you hit him," she says and Clark follows her in as the two keep to the shadows.
Inside Grundy is passing off the sacks of money to the men assisting him when he hears a voice. He looks round and spots Batgirl standing there. "Grundy remember you. Girl Bat."
"That's Batgirl genius," she mocks him with a roll of her eyes.
"You no threat to Grundy," he states in his rather slow dimwitted sounding voice.
"Hey I know that and you know that." She then points to a spot behind Grundy. "He on the other hand is sort of new at this."
Grundy frowns. There is a gust of wind that blows the giant's white hair about. He ponderously turns round to be greeted by the sight of a man in a red and blue hooded costume.
Clark takes a moment to size up his opponent and for one of the rare times in his life he actually feels kind of small compared to the grey giant in front of him. Clark's nature is adverse to violence. He really doesn't like it but he knows enough about Grundy from the news to know that talk won't solve this so he draws his fist back and hits Grundy across the face. A clap like thunder echoes around the bank. Grundy takes 2 steps back before glaring at Clark with his undead eyes. A cold smile comes to Grundy's face. "You strong. Grundy will have fun with you."
In his life Clark had never bothered to learn how to fight. When you are as far as you know virtually invulnerable it doesn't seem important. The second after Grundy's fist, which frankly is larger than Clark's entire head, the second after it hits him Clark really wishes he had learned. The punch rattles him down to his bones. Clark can hear the crunch sound as the shades on his face break...or was that his nose?
In either case the impact literally sends Clark flying across the bank until he smashes into the wall. The whole thing cracks under the impact. He collapses forward onto the floor, dazed, and groans in pain for the few seconds before Grundy leaps high into the air and lands on Clark's back. The floor cracks under the impact as Grundy pummels Clark down into it.
Lois collapses onto her bed gasping for breath. "Wow," she can't stop herself gasping out no matter how silly it sounds. "You know you really live up to that 'To protect and service' motto."
The man next to her who is equally gasping for breath laughs. "That's to protect and serve," Hal Jordan corrects her. "And that's the police motto on this planet."
Lois rolls over and drapes herself over her lover. She gently strokes his toned chest. "Really? You sure? 'Cause I sure feel like I've been...serviced thoroughly," she says with an impish smile.
"Well one does try his best to do his duty to the complete satisfaction of the public."
In a flash Lois is up and straddling him, her eyes blazing with renewed lust. "Did I say I was completely satisfied yet?"
Hal grins lazily. "Oh well. I will have to fix that!" Hal reaches round to the back of her head and pulls her lips to his and kisses her thoroughly. He had first met Lois when she tried to get an interview from him. It didn't take Hal's finely attuned senses about women to realise Lois Lane was quite a looker so she got her interview and quite a lot more.
Neither of them were deluding themselves what this was. They both had busy lives with little time for socialising so they cut straight to it. He found her attractive. She found him attractive. They slept together and ok occasionally shared a dinner or two. It was plainly obvious to Hal that Lois had a not dissimilar view on relationships to him.
Hal's view on relationships gets some criticism. He doesn't let it bother him. When he sees a beautiful woman he wants to get to know her as in get into her pants. It didn't mean he wasn't on the outlook for someone he could settle down with some day but that day and that woman hadn't come along yet so in the meantime Hal will continue to enjoy himself and live his life to the full as much as he can.
After another rousing session Lois rests herself in the crook of Hal's shoulder and lets out a contented sigh. Hal always knew how to make her feel good...and the sex was great too.
Lois' brow furrows into a frown at the sound of Hal's communicator going off. Hal picks it up off the bedside table. "Really not a good time J'onn," he complains sounding a little weary which he is considering what he has just done...twice.
J'onn J'onzz aka the Martian Manhunter apologises. "I apologise Green Lantern but monitoring of the police bands has picked up a bank in Metropolis being broken into. The description of the suspect matches Solomon Grundy."
Hal groans. "Which bank?...uh huh...Ok...I'm on my way," he says because the police were no match for Grundy. He gets to his feet. "I'm sorry Lois," he apologises sincerely because hey it is a crime to have to leave the bed of a beautiful woman. "I have..." Hal stops when he sees Lois standing there on the other side of the bed already dressed. How in the world did she do that so fast?
Lois pulls her coat on and shoves her phone in her pocket. "Right. Come on then. Lets go."
"Go?"
"To the bank to stop Grundy."
"And you're coming?"
"Of course I am and before you make one comment about it being dangerous and that I shouldn't come I'll point out that I did not become the reporter I am today by shying away from a little danger. Lois Lane laughs in the face of danger."
Hal shakes his head but an amused wry grin comes to his face. What a woman. Definitely his type. He raises his hand with his green power ring on it and concentrates. A green glowing aura forms around his body and the Green Lantern Corps uniform manifests itself upon him.
Lois arches an eyebrow at that. That was so...hot! If only they didn't have to rush off...oh the things she would do to him. She walks up next to him and Hal places an arm around her waist and holds her tightly as he flies them both out of the window and across the rooftops of Metropolis.
Batgirl had attacked the half dozen goons with Grundy swiftly. With them having their greedy hands full of sacks of money it wasn't hard to take half of them down without a sweat. The next 3 managed to drop the bags but really 3 ,essentially thugs, against one highly trained fighter isn't much of a contest. As she remembers Bruce's words from his training if she mastered the skills she would be able to engage an army.
With one hard spinning kick she knocks the last one down. The whole place then shakes and she almost falls over. Her attention is drawn to the Blur fighting Grundy. She winces when Grundy lays in punches to the Blur's ribs. She almost winces in sympathy for Grundy when the Blur hits back with punches to the mid-section and a literally ground shaking right to Grundy's face. The grey zombie flies across the bank and through the teller desks shattering them.
Just as Grundy gets back up the Blur is there having lived up to his name and blurred over and the two exchange in a crude slug-fest. It was the most awful fighting technique Barbara had ever seen. There was no skill or proper attempt to protect themselves. It was raw power against raw power and the two powerhouses were going to flatten this building soon.
Grundy hits a punch which staggers his opponent. He rips out a granite column that is up against the wall and swings it. The column shatters against the Blur dazing him for a moment. Grundy delivers another punch to the ribs followed by a double punch to the head and the Blur drops. "Grundy crush you!" he declares as he raises his foot to bring down atop the Blur's head only for batarangs to impact Grundy and explode.
As Barbara knew they would they did a grand total of nothing to the great grey zombie beyond get his attention focussed on her and off the Blur. Distraction plain and simple. Barbara waits for the smoke to clear to see what is going on. Out of the smoke comes flying a piece of a desk she thinks it is. It hits her solidly in the face knocking her over. She spits up blood from a split lip. Even a simple object thrown by Grundy has immense force.
Barbara finds herself picked up by an immense hand which engulfs her entire upper body. "Grundy angry. Girl Bat should not have interfered," he says gravely as his hand starts to crush her. She screams out as the pressure nears bone crushing strength.
Then just as suddenly the pressure lessens. Barbara looks down to find Grundy's huge wrist grabbed by a much smaller hand which is twisting it and prying it from her. She looks up and...her eyes widen. The Blur's hood has fallen down and now she can see his face.
Clark's face.
Clark's bruised, battered and bloodied face.
Clark's bruised, battered and bloodied face with burning glowing red eyes, his expression twisted in anger and rage. Two red beams shoot from his eyes, hitting the giant grey hand holding her and Barbara can smell the flesh burn.
Grundy cries out and drops her. She then watches Clark work Grundy over with a series of punches of such power that makes the air visibly ripple.
"You..." punch "Do..." punch "Not..." punch "Treat..." punch "Her..." punch "Like..." punch "That..." punch "Ever!" he roars that last bit and Clark throws one last punch like he has never thrown one with virtually all his strength behind it.
The punch knocks Grundy off his feet and sends him crashing through the outer wall flying out the building. On his way through the air he almost hits Hal and Lois as they fly in.
"Whoa!" Hal remarks as he just barely manages to avoid being hit. Grundy smashes into the road and carves out a trench before coming to a stop. Beyond himself Hal had only ever seen Diana or J'onn do anything like that to Grundy. In fact as Hal lands next to Grundy the grey zombie looks like he went a few rounds with both of his friends at the same time.
Hal grabs Grundy by his worn shirt and shakes him awake. "Hey! Wake up! What happened?"
All Grundy can murmur before he falls unconscious again is "Red/blue man..."
"Red/blue man?" Lois repeats.
Hal's glare becomes extremely intense as he looks towards the bank. Any man capable of doing that to Grundy was not to be taken lightly. "Lois. Wait here," he commands as he flies in.
Lois snorts. "Yeah. Right," she mutters as she runs in after him.
Inside the bank Clark collapses to one knee his hand held to his side. He has never been in this much pain ever. God he didn't know anyone could hurt this much and still be alive. He feels a hand comes to rest on his back and his gaze turns to Batgirl next to him looking at him with deep concern and worry.
Barbara bites her lower lip. Ok this is awkward. The red glow in Clark's eyes had faded away and they had reverted to their cerulean blue but he was also obviously hurt. She ignores the revelation that her boyfriend has turned out to be arguably one of the most powerful beings on the planet and focusses on his injuries. Her hand goes to his side and she tries to feel his ribs through the layer of muscle. "I think you might have cracked ribs. They could even be broken. You're lucky you didn't puncture a lung."
"I don't feel so lucky," he lamely quips with a painful groan as Barbara's hand hits a particularly sore spot.
"We need to get you check out."
"No," Clark states firmly.
"But..."
"No Babs."
Barbara's mouth hangs open. "What...?"
Clark reaches up and pulls her cowl back. "I know it's you Babs and you obviously know its me."
"You said you didn't look!" she accuses him in a harsh tone.
"I didn't. I...someone's coming."
Barbara pulls her cowl back up while Clark pulls his hood back up as Hal floats in.
Hal lands and spots Batgirl. "Batgirl," he greets her with a grin, that forever cocky flirty one he seems to wear.
"Green Lantern," she greets him back.
Hal looks at the destruction around him and lets out an impressed whistle. "You sure know how to have a party don't you," he jokes.
Clark gingerly stands up straight while trying to hide his injuries and his face by lowering his gaze.
Hal now spots the new guy in red and blue and he has to wonder how he missed him. The man was huge in height and build. Bigger than he is. Hal is about to ask the guy who he is when...
"You!" Lois' voice screeches. "You're the Blur aren't you!" she realises. No-one had seemed to have gotten a real good look at him before but what she sees before her matches the general description although no-one reported the fact he was so built. Now there looked like a man that could come save her ass any day...'and do a few other things as well,' Lois' naughty side mentally says. Lois comes running up to him. "Lois Lane, Daily Planet," she introduces herself to him. "How about a statement?"
"No," Clark replies.
"Come on," Lois pleads with him. "There have been rumours about you for weeks. The whole city...no the world will want to know about the man who could defeat Solomon Grundy. You could give an interview. I can guarantee to have the reading public cheering your name."
She doesn't get it Clark realises. He doesn't want any of that and he can't shake the feeling she wants this interview as much to bolster her own career then to aid him in any way. Besides he is in no way in any shape or mood to do an interview right now. "No," he repeats. "Now if you'll please excuse me."
Lois opens her mouth to state her case but in a gust of wind he is gone. Lois snaps her mouth shut and fumes slightly. However she is not put off. To Lois Lane this wasn't a defeat. It was a challenge.
Barbara silently curses Hal for his timing. She and Clark need to talk but more important she needs to get him some medical attention.
"So Batgirl. How about you? Statement?" Lois asks.
Batgirl fixes Lois a glare Bruce would be proud of before she looks at Hal. "I'll leave you to clear up," she says knowing Hal will accept it as it is not really her style to stick around for the police. Batgirl walks rapidly outside the building and comes to a stop. She looks around. Clark could be anywhere by now.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Barbara's brow furrows. That...that is...the tracker she gave the Blur...she means she gave to Clark!
She gets the scanner from her belt and looks at it. He's only a few blocks away. She runs over to her bike, guns it and the tyres screech as she zooms off.
Batgirl comes to a halt in an alleyway and she is off her bike and up the fire escape to the roof as fast as she can physically move. Upon the roof she finds Clark slumped against the brick wall of a roof entrance holding his ribs once again. She runs over.
"Sorry," he apologises with a pained groan. "I didn't know who else to call," he jokes wryly as he slides to the ground, sitting against the wall.
Barbara takes a slight risk of someone seeing her up here as she pulls her cowl down so she can see Clark clearly. She pulls his hood down. She lets out a breath. "You need to let me help you," she tells him.
"There's nothing you can do. There's nothing anyone can do really. I just...didn't know who else to call," he repeats.
"I don't understand. What do you mean there is nothing anyone can do?" she asks him, puzzled by what he means.
Clark takes a painful breath. "Babs what do you think I am?"
Barbara looks at him and through the pain she can see fear in his eyes. Fear she will reject him when she learns what he is she thinks. "Well I have a couple of theories. Metahuman obviously but you're a little...sorry for saying this...unusual for one. The alternative is you are some kind of magical being."
"Good guesses but think more along the lines Martian Manhunter," he gives her the prompt.
Barbara looks him up and down. "You're an alien?" she queries that in disbelief. She waves her hand at him. "But you look..."
"Human?"
Barbara nods as understanding dawns in her mind. No-one can help him because he will have a completely alien biology.
"I'm not," he confirms for her.
The fear of rejection is still in his expression and Barbara is in too much shock to say anything reassuring at the minute. Clark coughs painfully and Barbara snaps out of her stupor. Clark's hurt. She needs to do something and she can deal with all this 'Her Boyfriend is an Alien' stuff later. "Can you fly at all?" she asks him.
"Depends. How far are we talking?"
"I have a place not too far away. Near my apartment. I have a place where I store my bike and equipment. I may not know anything about your biology but I can at least strap your ribs up until you heal."
Clark mentally works out the distance. "I can manage that." He thinks.
Barbara helps him to his feet groaning under his weight. He feels a whole of a lot heavier than a man his size should. Clark straightens up under his own power. They walk to the fire escape as Barbara pulls her cowl back up and Clark pulls his hood up. As they reach the edge, to Barbara's surprise, Clark puts his arm around her waist and floats them down gently to the ground.
Barbara hops on her bike. "Follow me," she directs him as she starts the engine. She zooms off into the streets with Clark following her in the sky.
Clark follows Barbara all the way until the two enter the large open space of the building she has been using. She points at a rather raggedy old couch. "Sit down and take your top off," she instructs him while she goes to some cupboards. She opens one and inside is more medical equipment than some hospitals. One thing Barbara had learned doing this job was always have plenty of medical supplies. She picks up what she needs.
Getting his hoodie and t-shirt off is not Clark's idea of fun. It's difficult and painful. Barbara comes to kneel in front of him. She pulls her cowl down and her gloves off as she needs to have a delicate touch. The first thing Barbara does is to wipe the blood off his face. Clark winces when she touches his nose. "Sorry. I think its broken. It's going to have to be reset or it'll heal misshapenly."
She reaches up to do it but Clark takes her hands into his own stopping her. "You won't be able to do it. You don't have the strength," he tells her. "I'll have to do it," he realises. "Just tell me what to do."
Barbara brings his hands up flat against either side of his nose and tell him how he'll have to essentially snap his nose back into place. Clark takes a few breaths, psychs himself up to it and snaps his nose back into place crying out in pain as he does so.
That done Barbara turns her attention to his ribs. As she looks down at his torso there are bruises everywhere. She grabs the bandages and gets him to hold his arms up as she wraps the bandages around him as tightly as she can. "How long will they take to heal?" she asks him in reference to his ribs.
"I don't know," he replies.
Barbara stops for a second and looks at him puzzled.
"I've never been hurt like this before," he explains in response to her expression.
"Never?"
Clark shakes his head.
That just adds another ream of questions that Barbara is forcing herself not to ask. He is hurt and it can wait until the morning. Truthfully she could do with sleep herself and then tackle all the issues raised when her mind is fresh. She finishes wrapping his ribs. "There," she says. "How does that feel?"
Feel? Clark can't really give an answer as he has never been in this position. "I'm uncertain. Alright...I think."
"I have a bed in the back," she informs him. "It'll be best if you stay here where I can keep an eye on you."
Barbara helps him up groaning once more at his weight and leads him to the bed and plops him down. Clark lies down groaning and wincing with every movement. 'Is this what normal people go through?' he wonders. He certainly now has a better appreciation of pain and of what humans must endure. "Babs. You'll be here when I wake up?" he asks and in his eyes Barbara can see that fear of rejection again.
"Of course," she assures him. "I'll be out there on the couch."
The fear in his eyes recedes just before they flutter shut. Barbara lets out a breath. What a night!
The Watchtower...
High above Earth floats the satellite headquarters of the Justice League; the Watchtower. In the Monitoring Womb where all all broadcasts are picked up and monitored stands a green skinned alien. J'onn J'onzz; the last survivor of Mars.
"You know J'onn you have the worst timing," Hal complains although in a jovial tone which indicates he isn't that upset as he walks in.
J'onn is not alone. Wonder Woman is there as well. "What are you on about Hal?" she asks.
"There I was...entertaining..." Diana rolls her eyes. She knows what kind of 'entertaining' Hal means. Hal continues. "When J'onn called me saying I was needed which as it turns out was not the case."
Diana looks to J'onn for clarity. "I contacted Hal because there was an incident in Metropolis involving Solomon Grundy," J'onn explains.
"What were you doing in Metropolis?" Diana asks Hal because that was not Hal's home city.
"Because he's doing that reporter...Lane or something," the Flash responds as he appears from nowhere.
"Flash!" Diana reprimands him.
"What?" the Flash asks. "It's true. Not that I blame him because have you seen her? She's hot!"
"She really is," Hal confirms that with a smile.
"I don't want to hear it!" Diana snaps at the two of them.
Flash leans over and whispers to Hal, "What's got her panties in a knot?"
"I heard that!"
Flash has enough good grace to look guilty but seriously Diana did seem more tightly wound than usual.
Diana mutters in her native Greek. Never a good sign. She had had a bad day. She had finally tracked Manchester Black down only to find out she had walked into a trap he laid. One she barely got out of. It was utterly foolish of her. The more she thought about it the more obvious it was that it was a trap. She had found him too easily. She had been berating herself for the last 3 hours.
"I really worry when she starts speaking Greek," Flash whispers to Hal.
"Flash I can still hear you you know," Diana points out to him. She has hearing that would put a wolf to shame.
Flash shrugs.
Diana rubs her brow. She will not lose it. She will not lose it. She will not strangle Flash no matter how tempting it might be at this moment. "Can we get back on topic?" she requests. She looks at Hal. "J'onn contacted you to deal with Solomon Grundy," she reminds him of where they were in the story.
"Yes and I flew straight there and nearly got hit by a flying Grundy."
"Huh. I don't recall seeing the weather forecast saying sunny with a chance of being hit by the flying undead," Flash quips.
She will not strangle Flash. She will not strangle Flash. "Go on," Diana encourages Hal.
"Like I said someone had taken care of him. I mean you should have seen Grundy. He looked worse than that last time you tangled with him Diana."
And that time Grundy had ended up being carried away on a stretcher. "Who did it?" Diana asks Hal.
"Oh that new guy the Planet's been reporting on. The Blur or something."
Flash makes a face. "Oh yeah I read that. That name is terrible. Still I bet I could take him in a race," he claims arrogantly.
Diana was impressed. It is not everyone who can lay a beating like that on Grundy. In fact she can count them on one hand. Then the pragmatic warrior kicks in. Anyone that powerful could also be a threat.
Hal meanwhile is responding to Flash. "Well I don't know. He did seem pretty fast but if you want a better idea you should talk to Batgirl. She seemed to know him."
"Batgirl was there?" Diana inquires.
Hal nods. "Yep."
Diana knew from Bruce that Batgirl had been sent to Metropolis to find his mysterious helper all those weeks back when he faced Ivy and Harley. It seems like she found him so why is she only hearing about this now?
She is not the only one thinking that for in the shadows Batman stands hidden hearing everything. His eyes narrow to slits. It seems he needs to have a talk with Barbara.
Author's Note: Decided I wasn't going to drag out Clark and Barbara not realising who the other was. With Clark's senses it didn't make sense to IMO. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up; Clark and Barbara talk and decide where they go from here.