Davis"Clark, oh god. Clark we have to get out of here."
His brother waved both hands in front of him ineffectually, and Davis shuddered. Clark's eyes were a mess. The skin aroud the sockets was horribly blistered with the skin sloughing off. The eyes themselves were milky white, as if consumed by cataracts, and the pupils no longer visible. They moved frantically from side to side in Clark's panic, as if he were trapped in REM sleep with his lids open. How on Earth had he managed to heat vision himself? A stupid broach or whatever he'd hit should not have come close to doing this to him.
"I can't. I can't speed if I can't see!"
Davis looked back at Jonathan and Nell. Her eyes were wide and he was holding her closely. Davis didn't have his brother's acute hearing, but he didn't need it to hear the sirens of the police closing in. He did not want to answer questions or to have any of his brethren called in to exam Clark's wounds. Unacceptable.
"Squirt, this is gonna be cumbersome but bear with," he said, picking his brother-all six plus feet of him-and slinging him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. It wasn't heavy but his long limbs almost tangled in Davis's legs, but it was what he had to do. Sparing on more glance at Jonathan, Davis secured his grip on Clark and sped back to the estate. He'd come back as soon as Clark was safe in their room for Chloe.
Martha
"I don't understand."
Chloe was sitting with Clark in his room currently, trying to keep him calm. She'd taken a cold compress with her, but Martha doubted that would do much at all. On the other hand, they couldn't have Clark panicking and breaking through walls with his misguided strength.
Her oldest sighed and swept a hand through his hair. "The meteor rock. You had to notice it made us feel like crap. I don't know how he managed to do it. It was like a shot in a million, but his heat vision reflected off Nell's pin when the mugger dropped it. Apparently his own heat vision can damage him."
"No, he can't be...what can we do?"
Grandfather, who was home tonight, had watched them on cable access, frowned. "Martha, what do you think we could do? Everyone knows how hot his heat vision burns. He's managed to hurt himself with it. There's no doctor we could take him too and, even if we bribed someone with millions, they'd not understand him or how his vision works. We have to wait and see if it ever comes back."
Ever?
No, not her baby. Davis had been contained so far. They'd found a way to keep his beast at bay with a steady supply of deer and rabbits. It wasn't perfect, but it kept The Beast from going after bigger prey. She had no idea what to do if Clark couldn't see. He'd never be able to speed again, which he loved. He'd have to learn all over caution with his strength or risk making new doorways all over the house or shattering tables if he walked right into them. He'd not be able to help Davis on patrol, which he'd found solace in.
Clark would be house bound.
"No, we have to think of something. Davis is resistant to heat vision."
"I'm not what Clark is. We probably had different mothers to say the least. I'm a beast and he's not. Whatever I am or am not resistant to is moot. Clark'spowers finally hurt him. We have to reteach him everything, at least restructure the estate to be friendly for him now that he's blind. I...he can adapt. God knows his hearing's more acute than any human's ever was. He can compensate some with his other senses."
"It won't help him run again or patrol. It won't help him use the gifts he loves."
"He'll learn how to do things again. Maybe he'll adapt in ways we can't even think about yet. I mean why wouldn't his sense of smell or touch get more acute too? I...at least he has the hearing."
She nodded and took a drag on her cigarette. Father frowned but didn't argue with her. "He's hurt."
"I know," her eldest replied.
"I hate that I put so much pressure on you. You boys had father but you never had a father to protect you, for discipline and guidance. You've always taken it upon yourself to keep him safe, even The Beast in you does this. Can you take care of him now, sweetheart? He'll need you more than ever, someone with your strength to help keep him from hurting himself."
Davis smiled and took her hand. "I'll always take care of him, mom, always."
Clark
"Hurts."
He could hear her sighing above him, hear her heart pounding, even the blood pumping furiously through her veins. Chloe and his whole family were running on adrenaline and worry. He could hear his mother, how scared she was for him, and his grandfather's truths. Not that he needed to. Clark wasn't stupid. There was not doctor for whatever the Hell he was, no treatments. He'd done it to himself and he'd never even be normal for him again.
The cold compress helped stop the burning of the skin on his cheeks, around his eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Clark."
He swallowed and held her hand in his, just for a moment he wanted to feel her near to him.
"I won't get better."
Sighing again, the compress pressed a bit harder to his face. "You might. This could be fine in a week. We don't ever know. We never know with you two. It's a guessing game, alright. I have faith you can get through this."
He laughed mirthlessly. "Should I become Daredevil? Maybe I'll develop some sonar or something?"
"Don't tempt your body," she replied honestly. "We're here you know. It's an adjustment, but, you're pretty good about fixing your abilities."
"Except the floating thing."
"There is that. You'll be okay. We'll figure out a way to keep you from, well-"
"Crashing into doorways?"
"Your mom might have to proof the mansion a bit."
"Clark-proofing, an interesting concept."
"See there's some humor," she said, and he took a deep breath. He could already tell his sense of smell was getting more acute. He could smell so much on her-the hair dye she used to keep her roots blonde, the soft scent of her body lotion, the strawberry shampoo she used, even the stronger undercurrent of her own smell, of sweat and something deeper, and he blushed. That was more invasive than he'd thought.
"Clark? Are you okay? You seem flushed."
"I...my nose is getting more acute. It's a lot of information to take in," he said, hoping she'd let it drop.
Rustling above him and Chloe leaned over to hug him tight. "See? You'll adapt just fine. I know it."
He hated that he could feel the thumping of her heart, hear it too, as she lied.
"God damn it!" Clark swore, pulling his cane back from the table it was tangled in. It had been a week and so far he'd ruined one couch, three walls, and now the table. He was just grateful his mom had never been into collecting sculptures or pottery. Anything priceless would have been toast by day two.
"Squirt, hey, back up a little bit. You're going to do fine, alright?" Davis said, grabbing his shoulders and setting back on a presumably clear path.
"I hate this. I don't feel like I can go anywhere. I break everything. It's like my growth spurt before freshman year all over again."
"You're getting better."
"I haven't walked through a wall in two days, joy."
He could hear the rustle of fabric as Davis shook his head. "How is the rest of you?"
"I'm hearing more than ever. I'm pretty sure I got the overture for a broadway show, which is so bizarre cause we're like a thousand miles from New York. I can smell everything. It's annoying when we had fish last night cause it's not like salmon's not smelly enough. I swear I can even feel the air currents and the individual threads in my shirts. It's intense."
"Maybe that can help. At least the air currents can tell you where there's open space. Hearing can keep you from wandering into people or traffic, which wouldn't be any good for a car. I don't know what smell can do for you."
"Not make me want to go near fish," he quipped. "Davis, can you help me actually find the sofa?"
Strong hands were clamped on his shoulders, leading him to what was left of the sofa that he'd run into the day before. "You good now, Squirt?"
"Thanks."
"No problem. We're working on this. Hell, at least you're not lashed to a spikey monster like you thought."
He could hear the anger and frustration in his brother's voice. "I'm sorry it's you. I wouldn't want it to be me, but I'm so so sorry. What a pair we make. I'm like an alien wrecking ball whether I mean to be or not and you-"
"Hunt and tear deer apart every few months. Bitch not being human, isn't it?"
"Chloe still loves you, you know. It pains me to say this because I love her too and I wish to god she cared about me as more than a brother, I do, but she misses you so much and only a moron couldn't tell that."
"She deserves normal, someone who wouldn't kill her in bed, someone who wouldn't give her baby beastlings."
Clark couldn't stop himself from grimacing at the thought of that kind of childbirth. "Okay, well maybe not babies, but she's miserable. You're miserable. It's tragic because you're just being stubborn."
"Maybe but she hasn't tried to date. I said that she had to try a normal, human guy before I thought about going back to her."
"And what happens if she falls in love with him and never comes back to you?"
"Then that's what she needs, alright. Now let's see what we can hear on tv."
Clark snorted. "It's like radio. Grandfather and I can bond over 'the good old days.' This is so ridiculous."
"Yeah," Davis said, squeezing his shoulder and sitting down beside him. "But you're not alone."
"Neither are you and huh?" he said, sniffing the air.
"What?"
"Perfume. It's not from mom, Chloe, or Cecille. Makes my nose burn. I think someone's, yeah, I can hear it too; they're buzzing the gate. It's Nell and Jonathan's with her."
Martha
Nell Potter was skittish. Martha wasn't shocked. Nell did bitchy. Nell did conniving behind your back. Nell did not do direct confrontations with people who overpowered her. Martha shook her head and poured herself a drink. Holding out the bottle, she asked Jonathan and the other woman if they were interested.
Both declined.
More for her then.
Taking a swig, she eyed Jonathan coolly. "I wonder what you're here for. Afraid of real competition? My debut in the polls was solid."
"Not ahead of me by a long shot yet," he said. "I came to see the boys."
"I don't think that's wise."
"They saved my life and Nell's. I'd like to thank them, it's the honorable thing to do."
She snickered and drained her glass. "You don't know anything about being honorable, or you wouldn't have threatened to send them away. They were just kids. Clark was barely past being a toddler and you would have left them to something I can't even imagine."
"That was over fifteen years ago. They're clearly grown now. I don't see why you're holding grudges."
"My boys. I don't like when people threaten them, still don't. You have something to say to them? Make it quick and then I'll keep seeing you to debates. I don't have anything left to say to you."
"Frigid," he noted.
Nell, blinking, finally seemed to realize where she was. "What are they?"
Martha narrowed her eyes. "They're my children."
"They're so fast. I...what the hell did Clark do to himself. I felt some of that heat...it came from his eyes, didn't it?"
"I have no comment on that."
"Way to practice for press, Martha," Jonathan drolled. "Do you think it's wise to be out in the public eye with all Davis and Clark have to hide? Do you really?"
"What would you do if you got to office? What would you tell Lowell County or people higher up than you?"
"Are they dangerous?" Nell asked, interrupting the real conversation.
"They're mine. You'd do well to remember that, Nell," she groused. "What will you tell people if you win, if you have street cred?"
"There are two extremely dangerous creatures out there, Martha. I saw what Clark did as a child and now Davis is as fast and easily as strong. The public has a right to know and to protect itself."
"You're going to lose."
"You hope I do," he replied. "But Lowell County likes salt of the Earth, and not uppity Metropolis blue bloods."
"I can make you lose."
"Then game on," he said. "I want to see the boys."
"Five minutes. Thank them if it's so honorable and get the Hell out of my home."
Davis
Sometimes it felt like The Beast was beating against him, that it resented the flesh and blood cage that contained it as much as he hated it in return. When he helped lead Clark into the corner of the grand hall, The Beast bayed for blood.
Jonathan Kent was not welcome here.
"Mom?" Davis asked.
Clark turned his head back and forth, trying to focus on the myriad of sounds that had been assaulting him lately. Davis couldn't imagine how hard it would be to tune stuff out from Metropolis and beyond, but he managed to do it.
"I...there's two people in here. I smell Nell's perfume and cheap cologne so I guess Jonathan is in here too."
"I'm impressed," Jonathan noted. "I'm sorry about your accident, Clark. If not for you and Davis, we'd both be dead. I didn't wish you harm."
Clark turned his head to the sound and Davis could see him steady himself. "Just to send me away. I'm happy to be of service. I'd have saved anyone. Believe it or not, it's what we do."
"So I've realized," he said, walking forward and shaking Davis's hand first.
The Beast howled again and Davis had to blink back the red film beginning to spread across his vision. If he changed shapes here, he'd tear them all apart, and he wouldn't be a murderer.
"Davis?" his mom asked, her voice colored with concern.
"Fine. I'm fine," he said, backing up and letting Jonathan move to his brother.
When Jonathan got within three feet of Clark, his brother screamed and fell to the floor, curling himself into the fetal position.
"Clark!" his mom screamed, kneeling beside him. "What did you do?"
Jonathan shrugged and pulled out Nell's pendant from his pocket. It was shining a bright green, pulsating with what Davis realized must have been the rhythm of Clark's heart. The older man took a step forward and Clark's veins started to go black.
Davis had had enough. He was on the other man in a second, pushing him twenty feet across the room, thrilled by the sound of the plaster crumbling from the wall Jonathan hit. "You're leaving. You come back and I'll take care of you myself."
Jonathan frowned between Davis and the meteor rock but didn't tarry. Grabbing Nell, he rushed out of the house.
"Clark?" his mom asked. "Clark, baby, are you okay?"
"Ugh," he said, sitting up and he was still sweating a little, still a little green.
"Baby?"
"No, I...I'm fine, I swear. It just burned." He quirked his head up at Davis and his shades were slightly askew. "You didn't fall. I heard you throw Jonathan across the room."
"It didn't hurt," he said. "I didn't feel a thing. If I'd known, I'd have stopped him from even touching you."
"But you hurt last time," he said, adjusting his glasses so that they obscured the cataracts again. "You can't hurt from it now?"
"I don't know."
Chloe
"Martha, I'm sure if he's not on the estate he'll be here soon with like a rabbit or a carnation bundle, possibly both. I promise you when I see him, I'll let him in to sleep it off. Dad's in Gotham on an interview and I was spending the weekend at home where there's better food. Yes, I'll watch him. God, I can't believe Jonathan did that. How's Clark? Uh-huh. Right, if you see Davis first, let me know. Alright, good night," Chloe finished, hanging up the phone.
She sighed and played with her spaghetti. It was going to be a long night.
It took The Beast-Davis-about two hours to show up at her door. He had a deer with him and Chloe banged her head against the table. Her dad would be home tomorrow night. She'd have to get Davis or Clark to move it.
Wait, not Clark. She kept forgetting he wasn't what he was.
The scritching at the door made her think that she just needed to get a very, very large doggie door.
Opening it up for him, she smiled. "Leave the deer and come in. At least you'll spend time with me like this."
The Beast glared up at her and she was so used to it by now it barely fazed her. If this was Davis, then so be it. "Chloeeeee."
"Yes, we established this. Come in Davis; I promise I won't bite."
She was mildly amused to find Davis the next morning at the foot of her bed. Naked. It was a nice view, but she felt a smidge guilty staring at him (just a smidge). Tossing her comforter over him, she coughed.
"Davis?"
He sat up and blinked back at her. Looking down at his covered lap, he sighed. "I did it again, didn't I?"
"Perfect gentleman, even brought me a gift but, uh, could you either prep the deer for the freezer or get rid of it. I can't explain that to my dad."
"Oh for fuck's sake."
"It was sweet in a very you way. At least The Beast will hang out with and talk to me."
"Ouch, duly noted."
"Davis, we can make this work, you know. I've really missed you."
"Clark said as much."
"Well anyone with eyes would...oh crap, you know what I meant."
He nodded and wrapped the quilt tighter around his lap. "It's alright. He's not here to feel offended. I know you didn't mean it."
"It's true though. I've been obvious about it. I miss you."
"I just came to your door like an overgrown mastiff and brought you a deer. This is not a conventional relationship."
"I don't want one."
"Chlo, drop it."
She sighed and gathered her knees to her chest. "I don't suppose you have a reason why you changed? Was there a catalyst? Extra stress perhaps?"
"Jonathan visited yesterday. He hurt Clark."
"Nothing hurts Clark."
"The meteor rocks do, apparently. At the speech it wasn't a fluke. That broach Nell wears hurts him."
"It made you sweat and wince too."
"No, it doesn't anymore. I didn't feel a thing. I...I think it's like the heat vision. I get hurt once or even not at all and I'm just resilient. Whatever it does to Clark it's not doing to me."
She frowned, trying to figure it all out in her mind, put the pieces together. "Wow. We can work on that."
He shrugged. "Nothing to work on. I'm glad the rocks can't hurt me. It made Clark's veins turn back and Jonathan knows it. There's tons of that crap in Smallville. It's a miracle he's not been injured on patrol. I just...it was terrifying. Once the rock was out of range, he was fine. But I swear he was screaming like his body was on fire."
Chloe reached out and stroked one bare shoulder. "What do you think Jonathan is going to do, now that he knows?"
"Nothing good, Chlo, nothing good."