Chapter 8: Central City

Clark had barely entered their usual snack bar when Lois got excited, waving at him. As if he could not have seen her. Already jaded, he settled on the bench opposite her: he had not removed a sleeve of his jacket that he was already entitled to remarks.

"You're late! You abuse! "

"Hello to you too Lois, I am better, thank you for asking", he threw on a sarcastic tone.

She swept away his words with a gesture of the hand.

"You're always late anyway. "

"Sorry, I had to do a few things first. "

Like avoiding a major car accident, intervening in a suicide attempt, and bringing back Asian take-out for Bruce, because he didn't want Bruce to eat only pasta. So he'd made the quick trip there and back and put the groceries on the table.

"Now, we need to have a serious talk. Since we didn't find anything on the Cadmus videos, I wanted to dig deeper about the building. And guess what? " She pulled out a map and placed it between them. "This is a loading zone attached to Cadmus. And it's not covered by their camera network, it's an independent circuit. Rather suspicious, isn't it? Since we can't get those, I used my skills to view surveillance tapes of the street that leads to it. "

She paused and reached into her bag to pull out a notebook and a large envelope. She pulled out several shots of trucks that he recognized as time-stamped screenshots. She grinned in victory as Clark made the connection to Cadmus' transportation records. He had a pretty good memory and remembered that it didn't match.

"The trail picks up Clark! We've got some unreferred transports here. That's illegal! "

Clark grabbed one of the shots and looked at it carefully.

"Yes, but we don't know what they're carrying. "

"That's what I'd like to know too. "

There was a long silence as Clark analyzed several photos. Meanwhile, they ordered lunch. Clark attacked his fries as soon as they arrived, his eyes still focused on the photos.

"They must be different loads. Look, those are different license plates here and there. "

Lois squinted to see the numbers and finally pulled a pocket magnifier from her bag with a sigh. She didn't comment, even though Clark knew she was itching to.

"This vehicle has Gotham plates, but the other one... I can't recognize. "

"Chicago. "

Clark straightened up and unpacked the pictures. They ate while theorizing about what the trucks might be carrying. Long theories.

"In any case, we need to see where this truck came from in Gotham. I may have some acquaintances that can help me. I'll borrow this picture and make copies. "

"Okay. I'll keep digging on my own. We'll keep in touch! And this time, pick up when I call you! "

He sighed and looked up.

He walked her back to the Daily Planet and they parted ways. Clark walked to his apartment and took care of the posters. If he was going to be out all day, he might as well get as much done as possible. With the copies in hand, he left his apartment and disappeared around the corner of an alleyway, taking to the air.

He went back down far from the city, where he was sure his landing would be least noticed. Then he drove to the old Gotham harbor, where he was sure to find the homeless people who had helped him. Bob was not among them, but he recognized other faces, to whom he distributed the photos. He told them that he would come back to them often if they had any information. They all agreed to help him because they were grateful for his generosity toward them. Clark felt that he was asking them for another favor. With his distribution done, he returned to Smallville.

"Can you give me some more nails? "

Clark raised his head slightly to watch from the corner of his eye as the Bat reached into a bucket hanging from the gutter and handed him a handful of nails. He thanked him with a nod and continued to stare at the reinforcements. The hammering resumed and again the man of steel matched Bruce's pace to make it look more natural.

When he had returned from Gotham, Clark had offered to take care of Bruce's neighbor's farm, who was away for the day in Metropolis. Clark had planned to more or less finish reinforcing the house today. The storm was coming in two days and already the wind was getting stronger.

In complete silence, the men were reinforcing the roof, speaking only to each other about their business. Clark wondered if the previous day's conversation with Bruce had something to do with it, or if it was the Bat's usual silence but he wasn't used to it anymore. Or maybe it was him reacting this way, because he had decided to push him into a corner. Which he had started to do by entering Bruce's private sphere. By standing very close to him.

He knew he had succeeded when he heard Bruce's heart racing at his proximity and his breathing changing. It was a good thing he had developed senses, because on the surface, Bruce knew how to hide his game. Indescribable until the end. But Clark had caught himself in his own game: having him so close to him, smelling only his scent, his neck just inches from his lips. Because of that, he couldn't stop thinking about that area of his neck that had been in his grasp since he'd gotten home.

He lifted his head as a hammer blow from Bruce grew louder. The man was drenched in sweat and his breathing was unnatural. His ribs must still be hurting and the exertion must be wearing him down. Clark knew that Bruce would be too proud to say so. So he put down his hammer and jumped off the roof while Bruce continued his business as if nothing was wrong.

"I need to stretch my legs. How about a coffee? "

The Bat nodded his head in agreement and the Kryptonian headed for the Kent farm.

He returned a few minutes later with two large thermoses and a bottle of water, just in time to see Bruce demonstrate his agility in getting down from the roof, with much more grace than he had. He handed him the water first and served them two cups. Clark went to sit on a bench along the wall of the house and Bruce came to join him, retrieving his cup as he went. They remained silent for a moment, their pensive eyes fixed on the horizon. Until the reporter decided to break the silence, raising his glasses to his nose.

"Have you some news from Tim? "

"He's still criticizing this idea of teamwork. "

"He doesn't get along with the others? "

Bruce nodded and took a sip of coffee. The wind was messing up his hair a bit and even though they were under cover, it was blowing pretty hard.

"He said they were immature. "

Clark caught the hint of amusement in the intonation of his voice. He smiled in return.

"They're seventeen. Then again, it took us a while to get along, too. "

A long time, that's for sure. It was a long time before trust was established. The reporter stretched on the bench, closing his eyes and tilting his head back.

He stayed in this position for less than two minutes. His communicator connected to the League's network began to beep: a call for help in Central City, made by Flash. The two men looked at each other:

"Don't you dare leave me here. "

"You can't be reasonable. You're tired. "

"I've fought much hurt than that. "

Bruce's determined look and sharp tone resigned Clark. In superspeed, he collected all their belongings and headed for the Kent farm, returning seconds later with a heavy jacket.

"Put this on. You'll stand the flight better. "

Bruce complied, remaining impassive. As soon as he was ready, Clark grabbed him by the wrists and they headed for Metropolis, to the teleportation point.

It didn't take Bruce long to get ready once they were in Gotham. He had wanted Clark to meet Barry there, but Clark was determined to keep track of him. It was a non-negociable point.

They arrived at the same time as Firestorm at Star Labs, where Black Canary, Flash and the Hawkman-Hawkgirl duo were already fighting well-known enemies. Superman had no trouble recognizing Black Adam, Despero, Circe, Poison Ivy, Killer Frost, Grodd and Copperhead. He then saw Mr. Freeze and Major Force arrive.

Clark activated the comm, just as he heard Firestorm:

"What the hell?" he cried as he fired directly at Poison Ivy who was hindering Hawkman.

Superman charged at Black Adam while behind him, Batman fired at Cheetah and Copperhead in the batwing. Dashing into a fight in the air, Superman was using his thermovision when he heard the peculiar sound of a Boom tunnel and Wonder Woman and Cyborg emerged. The fight became equal in numbers.

"Theywerestealinganacceleratedmaturationchamberandaplutoniumgenerator. "

Flash was fighting Grodd and talking too fast. Superman had no trouble understanding him, but he knew the others did.

"Translation? "Black Canary asked as she fought hand-to-hand with Killer Frost.

"I need help against Despero!" shouted Shiera.

Wonder Woman came to Hawkgirl's aid, but they were still in trouble.

"They must not leave with the equipment, there's plutonium! "

Superman took a hit as he answered and felt weaker because of Black Adam's magic. He knew very well that he was vulnerable against magic. It had done the same to him when he had to fight Shazam. But the situation quickly turned around and the enemies changed.

The fight was out of this world. Wonder Woman and Superman took on Despero together, while Cyborg and Hawkman took on Black Adam. That left the other vigilantes to deal with Major Force, Grodd, Poison Ivy, Copperhead, Circe, Mr. Freeze and Killer Frost, who had to be dealt with by Flash, Firestorm, Black Canary, Hawkgirl and Batman. While they were all more or less able to handle them, the problem was not so easily solved. The organization of the enemy and the sheer numbers of the melee made the task much more difficult. If they were used to being organized, so were their enemies. This made it very difficult for the fight to go on, especially when the enemies changed roles.

Just as Superman was about to attack Despero, he fell victim to a psychic attack from Grodd so violent that he screamed in pain and fell to the ground, only to be directly attacked by Major Force. On the other hand, Circe attacked Wonder Woman with rage, and the enemy she was supposed to be dealing with, Black Adam, charged at Hawkgirl.

All of them changed opponents in a second, making the fight even more grueling for the vigilantes. Batman, aboard the Batwing, fired at Grodd to distract him and at the same time directed his shots at Mr. Freeze, who was firing frozen shots at Firestorm with Killer Frost. Poison Ivy and Black Canary had isolated themselves to fight.

There were many of them and it was a total mess. Superman had no time to assess the situation. Major Force was a formidable foe and he was not letting up. As they fired energy at each other and engaged in a close combat, Superman could see Despero fighting Hawkman and Cyborg out of the corner of his eye. And they were in deep trouble. Hawkgirl was fighting Black Adam alone and seemed to be holding her own. Until the latter charged towards the Batwing.

Meanwhile, Flash had knocked out Copperhead with ease and went to help Firestorm. Superman took the risk of stepping back to watch the Batwing try to avoid a bolt of Black Adam's lightning, but was still hit. But Batman had obviously anticipated the blow and reached down to get out of the vehicle.

Superman decided to change his enemy. He charged at Despero and attacked him with his thermovision, aiming for his third eye. Behind him, he heard Cyborg probably covering him with Major Force. Seeing a new opening, Hawkman struck him with a heavy mace. Superman flew back to Major Force, determined to get rid of him. He flew towards him and they fought hand-to-hand again, Superman trying to carefully measure his blows to avoid creating a nuclear explosion. As his opponent launched a powerful attack, Superman grabbed his wrist and threw him to the ground, aiming for Circe in the process.

Landing on the ground with Wonder Woman, they engaged in a double fight, as they had often done before. Their blows complemented each other and they had an advantage over their two enemies: they were coordinated and not the other two in their fighting techniques. Circe did not have enough control over her rage towards Wonder Woman and Major Force had a flaw in her pride.

Mixing their different skills, the Kryptonian used his own fighting techniques, just as the Amazon did with hers. Their powers combined, they came to a result. Superman used Wonder Woman's lasso of truth while Wonder Woman held Major Force in place, waiting for a solution. A solution named Batman.

The Bat's gadgets were able to defeat both enemies. The League's golden trinity raced towards Black Adam. Batman found a radical way to bring him to the ground: using his cable launcher, he aimed at his legs and Superman helped pull him down. But being immobilized in this way did not please their opponent. Sending a myriad of lightning bolts at the duo, Superman and Batman were inevitably hit. But not Wonder Woman, who intervened against him with the help of Flash.

Again, Superman switched opponents when he saw Despero throw Hawkman at them. Batman got up and narrowly avoided taking on his teammate and went to help Cyborg, who was in a very bad position: crushed to the ground, the man was trapped and about to take an energy attack. While Batman's electrified Batarangs distracted him for a few seconds, Despero was enraged and released his energy.

Superman took the attack right away to protect Cyborg. Firestorm intervened by throwing his flames at him, combining his attack with Hawkman and Hawkgirl, who swung their maces at him. Batman followed up by blinding him with smoke, and while his hand-to-hand attacks had little effect on him, he took the liberty of placing explosive charges on him.

Despero screamed in rage, but Black Canary intervened by yelling at him. This had more effect than expected. The pink enemy lunged at the two humans with a speed that surprised them both. Batman and Superman were thrown a good ten yards and were about to be charged when Cyborg shot at him and Firestorm. And Superman charged him. Pinning him to the ground, he hit him, ready to use his heat vision if he tried to get away. He did so, but was interrupted by an ice attack followed by a psychic attack.

And he knew that this last attack was common to all. Superman had time to watch their enemies flee the area, leaving the Star Labs equipment in place. After recovering from the attack, they all gathered around the equipment in question. Superman was still struggling to recover from what had happened. It was such a mess in his head, in that fight that had made no sense and was more than unusual. There was something else. All this trouble for a flight, it was hiding something else. But what?

"I don't understand," said Black Canary. "It doesn't make sense. "

She was obviously saying out loud what everyone else was thinking. It didn't make sense. This robbery, this group.

"It was a diversion, I'm sure of it," said Superman.

He instinctively turned to Batman, who was already tapping away on his wrist screen and doing research.

"Warehouses in Central City were broken into... Palmer Industries' subprocessing labs were broken into... as well as a branch of Queen Industries and Kord Industries and other warehouses in Ivy Town and National City. We've been duped. "

"Damn it! Damn it to hell! Shit! Damn it!" Hawkman raged. "I've got to go tell Ray. "

"And Ollie. He's in Austria for a few more days," announced Black Canary.

"We need to find out what they stole," said the Bat coldly.

"It was planned, thank you," Flash replied in an aggressive tone that didn't suit him.

"Let's calm down. Tonight, we've had clear evidence that our enemies have gathered to gang up on us. We must be on our guard and alert the others. Whatever they are up to, we must stop them. In the meantime, there's no point in losing our cool. "

Wonder Woman dared everyone to look at her and contradict her right then and there. No one did. This bossy woman was not known for her diplomacy.

"Let's go home. We'll discuss the events later with the other League members," Cyborg concluded.

Cyborg opened a Boom tunnel to the Watchtower. While everyone entered as they went, except for Firestorm and Flash, who went their own way, Superman was held back by the Amazon. Batman went through the tunnel and Cyborg seemed to be waiting for them.

"We'll fly, Victor. I need to talk to Kal. "

"As you wish. "

The man passed through his tunnel and the two supermen were left alone. Diana and Clark flew away in agreement.

"What did you want to tell me?" the Man of Steel asked as they gained altitude.

"I used my lasso on Black Adam earlier. He said something... I don't know what to make of it."

"And what was it? "

"He said it's time to give up. I don't know what that means. But with all that organization they just showed, I'm worried. "

Clark understood her concern.

"We all need to be careful. Especially you, Diana. You've been attacked a lot lately. "

"Yeah, I feel like they were testing me. But I guess I wasn't the only one. You need to be careful, too. Tonight we had a hard time fighting them. "

And he couldn't argue with her. They weren't the most successful against this team. While some of them were small fry for them, they had known enough to put them at a dangerous disadvantage to tip the scales against them.

They arrived through the hangar and went straight to the Watchtower infirmary. Hawkman was nursing a burn on his back, Batman and Black Canary were being examined by the computer. The dark look he gave the Bat when he saw the results was noticed by the two women present. But Superman said nothing.

He retrieved some special regenerative strips and bandaged Diana's arms, which had been hit with a spear. He, too, had been hit, but he had had a chance to start regenerating. The room was silent and Clark concentrated on what he was doing to keep from expressing his anger. He blamed himself for not paying enough attention to the Bat to prevent further injury. From what he'd seen, he wasn't hurt badly, but he'd taken a blow that seemed to have weakened his recovery. He used his supervision to confirm the first information. He had been lucky to have his suit to protect him. Next to him, Black Canary had been less lucky and had taken the blows without protection.

When he was done, he put the equipment away and left the room with Diana. They went through the control room to check that everything was okay. Hawkgirl was already there and was in communication with Firestorm. They were both obviously on duty that night. Firestorm had started his rounds when Flash had contacted them.

They returned to the common lobby to head for the teleporters. Diana had a slight smile on her lips despite the situation.

"I suppose you're not going back now? "

"I'll wait for Bruce. "

The Amazon didn't lose her smile, but could see from her teammate's mood that she shouldn't insist. She greeted him before going through the teleporter, leaving the Kryptonian alone.

Clark was definitely not in a good mood. Really not. That's what he told himself as he was frying peppers, in a kitchen that wasn't his own, in a huge house, alone. He now understood Alfred's desperation and why he didn't mind having people in the Manor. It made for a lively atmosphere in the Manor, which seemed gloomy when there was no noise.

Dick, Jason and Tim must have brought some spark of life to the building when Bruce spent his night in the Cave. As it was now. In the Tower lobby, when Bruce had come out of the infirmary, and probably after he'd been in the control room, the two of them had had a heated discussion. Bruce wanted to go back to the Cave to investigate, while Clark wanted him to rest. The Kryptonian had lost in this kind of discussion. Going to the Cave was non-negotiable. So he'd managed to get Bruce to go with him, while he did what he had to do and they returned to Smallville.

That was four hours ago, and if Clark had had any hope of having dinner at the farm, he'd been disappointed. He'd gone back to Smallville to take care of what they'd left behind and the dogs, and had run errands for the dinner he was belatedly making. He wasn't even sure the Bat had noticed he was gone and had even taken the opportunity to remove his costume. He had also gone to the Fortress of Solitude to check his suit which was a kryptonian artefact.

The oven timer went off and he took the fish dish out of the oven. He turned off the heat under the peppers and divided the codfish backs and their coconut milk sauce, the peppers and white rice onto two plates. He then took the two plates down to the Cellar on a tray.

Bruce had not even removed his suit. He had just pulled down his hood and was still looking at the screens, tapping away at his keyboard. Clark didn't care what was on the screen right now. It could wait. But he'd forgotten that Bruce had been out of town too long, and he should probably take the opportunity to catch up on his work.

"Good appetite. "

Clark set the plate down hard in front of the Bat and propped himself up against the console deliberately, plate in hand. He knew he was in the way and didn't move. Bruce finally responded.

"I'll meet you upstairs. "

The Man of Steel took a bite of fish and chewed slowly, this time looking at the screen behind him. After several seconds, he tried the Bat's patience.

"Clark. "

"Oh, perhaps I'm embarrassing you? " replied the interested party in a falsely naive tone.

"You may go. "

Bruce looked up at Clark. His expression changed when he saw the Kryptonian's.

"I'm not someone you can call and dismiss at will, Bruce. "

"This is important. "

"It always is. "

Bruce's night life was far more important to him than anything else. Right now, Clark wasn't in the mood to think about it. To think that maybe Bruce's case was hopeless. He didn't like to think that. It was like losing faith in him.

Clark took a bite of everything on his plate and pointed his fork at Bruce. His expression must have been quite stern because after many seconds of insistence, Bruce accepted the bite. That was enough for the Man of Steel, who agreed to move away from the console, but stayed by the side and continued his little game.

The Bat accepted the bites that the Kryptonian handed him without saying anything, continuing his work. They had reached some sort of unspoken compromise, because neither of them wanted to give ground completely. If Clark Kent could appear to be someone who was constantly being stepped on, it was only a facade: he too know reply firmly, and he needed it in front of Bruce Wayne.

After an indeterminable amount of time had passed since the meal, the Kryptonian decided to take Bruce off the screen. He had no idea what time it was, but he knew that after he had finished eating, he had gone to the farm to get a bag with a few things of his own, including some investigative files and something to keep him busy. He had taken a slight detour to Metropolis for this. While for a while he had been reviewing the file he was putting together on Cadmus, he had spent another part of the evening drawing, in a simple pencil sketch, the interior of the Batcave and the Bat. Of course, he had planned to destroy this drawing afterwards, but he liked to draw, just to externalize.

He closed his sketchbook and threw it in his bag before joining Bruce. He had spent hours in front of his screens without even moving. It's easy to think that in addition to his injuries, his muscles wouldn't like it. So naturally and with a great deal of care, he put his hands on Bat's shoulders and began a massage.

"Relax... you've had a hard day. The world won't blame you if you relax. "

Clark spoke warmly and gently. He knew exactly what to say to Bruce's determination and pride. Under his hands he felt his muscles tense and his senses told him that his presence was also a factor: Bruce had straightened up a little, his breathing was more contained and his smell had changed slightly. He massaged him in the deepest silence of the Cave, while the Bat had stopped making any gestures. After some time of silence, the Bat finally spoke.

"Why are you doing this? Taking care of me like this? "

The Kryptonian smiled slightly. So this is what it was coming down to, this kind of conversation. He was sure that if Bruce was venturing into this kind of subject, he must have been too transparent. Clark hesitated for a moment as to how he should respond, whether he should continue to play on the unspoken. Bruce was an avid user of the unspoken. So, continuing on the same path, he decided to go for it. It was now or never.

"For the same reasons you made breakfast this morning. "

Bruce opened his mouth to answer, then closed it again. Clark could easily imagine the inner debate that must have been going on in Bruce's head. He decided to remove his hands and step back. To give the Bat some space. To keep himself from crossing a line. But he flinched when the other grabbed his arm, having lost none of his quickness. This time, it was the Kryptonian who tensed up. He turned his head towards the Bat and met his light blue eyes. A look in which he could easily drown.

They stayed like that for long seconds, standing without saying anything, their eyes plunged into each other's. Bruce still hadn't let go of his arm. Then Clark decided to cross that line for good. He gave in to his urge to break into Bruce's personal sphere, to dare to put his lips on his and to slide a hand through his dark hair. If he gave in to his cravings completely, he would probably throw himself at Bruce. But he didn't want to scare him away.

With a tense in his stomach, Clark slowly moved closer to him. He was doing this to give Bruce a chance to push him away at any time. The idea scared him, because he knew there would be no turning back. It was up to him to find the courage to break the tension between them.

He used his heightened senses to be certain of what was going on with the Bat that he didn't want to show. They were close. Very close. He slowly raised a hand to his face, watching for the other's reaction. There was no reaction. So Clark went through with it.

He kissed him. With an extreme slowness of which he would not have believed himself capable, his lips met those of Bruce. Their softness contrasted with the rough skin of his regrowth which excited the kryptonian. His hand, posed on his cheek, slipped in his hair. He could not prevent himself from deepening the kiss, tasting his flesh without wanting to be intrusive. He felt Bruce passive in the exchange, but he was still holding Clark, who eventually broke away to let them catch their breath.

Bruce's cheeks were slightly flushed, his breath short, his lips pink from their kiss. He stared at the Kryptonian with an intense gaze, finally letting go of his arm.

"Stay here tonight," he said in a firm tone.

It sounded like an order. Clark nodded and retrieved his bag, opting to leave the Bat alone, and left the Cave for the Mansion. When the back door closed behind him, he leaned against the wall to recover himself. The urge that was igniting him was coming on violently and he didn't want to rush it. It was sure, he was crazy about Bruce. That kiss had put him in such a state that he could literally feel energy tingling in his fingers. This was the third time it had happened to him.

He closed his eyes to try to calm himself and to refrain from his desires. A cold shower. There he needed a cold shower. Icy. Perhaps an express return trip to the Fortress. The Kryptonian meditation would not manage to silence the desire nor to prevent his member from hardening as he thought again of his kiss with Bruce.

He cursed himself for not switching places when the door opened behind him and Bruce came out dressed in a black t-shirt and simple pants. He walked past Clark and Clark felt compelled to follow him. Just as he thought he was going to show him to a room where he could sleep, they found themselves in Bruce's room.

Clark swallowed. Bruce's silence made him extremely uncomfortable, especially since his action should really have elicited a reaction. Any reaction at all. He was used to being patient, but now he couldn't be. He approached Bruce as Bruce turned his back and removed his shirt. Clark would have preferred to have his x-ray vision. He wouldn't have had to see the severe bruising on Bruce's body. His reaction was immediate.

"Why didn't you put on the Tower strips?! "

This time, any envy that had gone up had come down. His concern and protectiveness immediately took over. In a rush, he left Wayne Manor.

Clark returned in all of fifteen minutes. He found Bruce sitting on his bed, still shirtless, flipping through his sketchbook. He still had his back to him and didn't look up, even though the Kryptonian knew he had heard him. Right now he knew his drawings were on display, but now that he had kissed Bruce, he didn't care. And now he was angry. Double angry. Because the Bat, didn't care about his injuries, but also because he was completely ignoring him. He threw what he had brought back to the bed.

"Here. I'll leave you to deal with it. "

This time Bruce had a reaction. He stood up and crossed the distance between himself and Superman and dropped the sketchbook. It was all very quick. The dark-haired man framed his opponent's face and kissed him with uncontained ardor. Clark was instantly inflamed. He put his hand on the Bat's cheek and the other went to the small of his back, where he was sure there was no bruise. Bruce had a way of putting his emotional control to the test, for what little there was of it when he was with him.

Then they separated again, watching each other for a few seconds before Clark realized what had happened. His cheeks turned instantly red and he had to turn his head away because he felt so embarrassed. Bruce Wayne had just kissed him. He could feel the tips of his ears flare up as he blushed. Then he heard Bruce's little laugh and turned his head towards him.

Their lips met again, this time even more passionately. The Bat's hand clung to the back of Clark's neck and hair as he longed to be able to put his hands wherever he wanted without hurting Bruce, who was sticking his body too close to his own.

Clark had a moment when he lost his senses. He was getting too many signals at once. He could feel Bruce's body warm against his, his skin tingle under his hands, he could hear his heart beating faster, and most of all, he was overcome by his scent. It was perhaps the most mind-boggling thing about what his senses were reporting to him.

That alone was enough to take him away. He had no reaction when Bruce threw his glasses on the floor and tore off his shirt to undo the buttons faster. Their tongues were already mingling, hands reaching for each other's pants. Clark thought he was living in a daydream when Bruce led them to the bed. Then the sound of something falling gently brought him back to reality.

"Bruce... we can't do this... "

The Bat grunted but continued to kiss him, rubbing against Clark. Clark had to fight hard not to lose his train of thought as the sensations flooding through him were more than exquisite. He turned his head to break their contact. Bruce didn't like that at all. He frowned, his eyes and tone hard:

"I know you've been dying for this for a long time and you know I have too. I didn't think you'd mind. "

The Kryptonian didn't pay attention to his reaction, he was too used to it.

"Rao knows I've been dreaming about this moment, but... "

Clark left his sentence hanging and let his hand run along Bruce's ribs. Bruce clenched his jaw to control his pain.

Bruce knew at that moment that he had proved the Kryptonian right. While he was on top of the latter, he pulled away from him to let him reach the bandages that had fallen to the ground. He then let himself be treated, before slipping under the sheets of his bed, the Kryptonian with him. They didn't say another word, but the tension was palpable. Each one was still totally excited by the other, but they were exhausted. At first tense for long minutes, they soon fell asleep, each one thinking that all this would be only a part of it.

Index

Black Adam : Ennemy of Shazam, he's liteeraly his oppenant

Circe : She's an immortal witch and ennemy of Wonder Woman she's as powerful as gods of Olympus.

Copperhead (Crotale) : Enemy of Batman who has a body half snake, half human, and thus possesses some abilities of the reptile.

Despero : An Alien conqueror, he has powerful psychic and physical powers. He is a powerful enemy of the League.

Gorilla Grodd : Great Gorilla with psychic powers also very powerful, he is a known enemy of Flash

Killer Frost : A metahuman who manipulates ice. An enemy of Flash.

Kord Industries : Companies of engineer Ted Kord, a.k.a. Blue Beetle, a member of the Justice League (and best friend of Booster Gold).

Major Force : Supervillain enemy of Atom, but especially of the League. He is super-fast, strong, invulnerable, can regenerate, etc. He is very powerful.

Mr. Freeze : Enemy of Batman, he can also master the ice.

Palmer Industries : Companies of the engineer and scientist Ray Palmer, aka Atom of the League.

Poison Ivy : Metahuman enemy of Batman. She has a very close relationship with plants, being able to control and generate flora. She can even change herself into a plant.

Queen Industries : Companies of Oliver Queen, aka Green Arrow. He also creates research and scientific material.

Sorry for taking so long to post this chapter, I work in the medical field and as I don't have any vacations, it's a bit of a rush at work, so I didn't have much free time for myself =/ I hope it will be ok for the translation! Have a good reading, and a nice summer to you!