Chapter 17: Changing fate

No. Definitely not. They couldn't do that. It was more than a bad idea. No. No, they were not to change the course of events. Change fate. They had no right to do that. It was immoral. It was too risky, too dangerous. There were hundreds of reasons not to do it, and even more reasons for it to go wrong. No. He couldn't think of such a possibility.

Bruce couldn't afford to think about Barry's idea. He couldn't afford to hope, to believe that it would work. Hope was a dangerous thing, when it was lost. He couldn't handle failure. Not this kind of failure.

He jumped up from his chair and paced around the Cave. Damn it! It was too late, Barry's idea had made its way into his mind and hope was growing inside him again. He wanted to scream, to scream at himself, to scream to free what was weighing him down.

He saw Barry again, in the Fortress of Solitude, three days earlier. He had expressed his idea with a simplicity that had elicited a strong reaction from everyone: to bring Superman back. Wonder Woman had more than objected. Death was a sacred thing and one had to respect one's peers and grieve. J'onn and Bruce had spontaneously talked about risks.

But Barry was Flash. His ideas were racing through his head and he had argued well. They had seen what impact Superman's death had had on the world, on the League. He had briefly stated the assets that Superman brought to the League, to the world, and those that Clark Kent also brought. Then he had argued that Kal-El was the last son of Krypton, and that they might have a way to save a species. And then, because Clark was their friend.

Without giving them time to argue, Flash went on to explain how they could bring him back, how they could fix some technical problems and keep things from going wrong, how they could check it out without turning it into a laboratory experiment.

At the end of his presentation, no one had dared to speak. Bruce had given the starting signal and they had all followed in silence. Since then, Bruce had not spoken to any of them again. Instead, he continued to search for Cadmus and began to track down other enemies to get more information. So far, he had nothing.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard footsteps behind him.

"How long has it been since you slept? "

Bruce looked back at the older man. He didn't even know.

"I'm not sleepy. "

Dressed in civilian clothes, the younger man grabbed Bruce by the shoulder and forced him to follow him, a smile on his face.

"Perfect! We'll watch a movie together with Alfred. You can't escape. "

The Bat sighed and pulled away.

"I'm not in the mood, Dick. "

Richard's smile suddenly disappeared from his face and his expression turned serious. Bruce was inwardly surprised by the sudden change of expression.

"No one is. That's why we're doing this. Get changed, I'm waiting for you. "

Bruce was unsettled. He knew Dick had matured a lot, but to behave this way... Hell, Dick was a grown man, and underneath his futile exterior, he was much smarter than most of the people around him.

Bruce complied and, changing into a simple dark gray shirt and pants, he went up to the Manor with Dick. Dick was wearing a T-shirt and sweatpants, a basic outfit he liked to wear to be comfortable. They went to the room where the home cinema was located.

Alfred had prepared it beautifully: he had set up the extension cords on the couch so they could all sit together and had put popcorn, couches and mini-sandwiches on the small coffee table in front. They arrived just in time to see him bring chips and candy. It wasn't at all what Alfred liked to make for dinner, but he had carefully prepared for everyone's tastes. No doubt there was still some left in the kitchen.

Tim brought in a couple of bottles of soda and Jason returned with half the bar in the living room. When Bruce looked disapproving, he just smiled widely. The Bat gave up. He didn't feel like getting mad at anyone. Instead, he nodded when Jay offered him a glass of bourbon and settled into the couch.

"What did you decide to watch ? "

"An old James Bond. Enough so that no one would reject it because it's a classic," Tim replied as he sat down next to Bruce.

Dick dropped into the couch next to Tim and Jay came and sat next to him. They all waited for Alfred to sit down. Alfred was uncomfortable.

"Oh, I've got more to do... "

Bruce patted the seat next to him.

"Come, Alfred. You're family too. "

Bruce's softer tone surprised him. Alfred was moved and, nodding, came to take his place beside Bruce.

They had put on the very first James Bond film. While Bruce and Alfred knew the film quite well, the younger boys were surprised at how old the film was. And yet, even though the story was known to everyone, the boys had been absorbed by the film.

Bruce had to admit that he had a good time relaxing with his family. Clark had been right, the times he told him they were more than just precious. The Kryptonian hadn't realized how important he was to them too, to him.

It was in this way that Bruce realized how stupid he had been. He had never realized how lucky he was, too blinded by his pride. He had Alfred, Dick, Jason, Tim and Barbara too, to rely on on a personal level, outside the League. Bruce was surrounded. He had always said he liked to work alone, and that was probably one of the biggest lies he had convinced himself of.

But on his side, Clark had no one. He lived alone, had no official partner or apprentice, and no friends to whom he had revealed his identity, not even his childhood friend, Lana. Only his mother knew his secret and Kara was his cousin. Clark had been much more alone than he was.

This realization hurt so much that he could feel his chest tightening. Clark, such a kind, helpful, gentle person, had always led a lonely life. Much more lonely than Bruce Wayne, the notoriously antisocial man. How could Bruce have missed this? Clark had always been there for others, never for himself. Bruce wondered if Clark had tried to fill that emotional void with himself and the boys. Now that he thought about it, it made sense in his mind. How had he never seen this? He knew it. Because he hadn't always cared.

He came out of his dark thoughts when From Russia with love was launched. Alfred was gone, and now they were the only ones left. Bruce had missed the chance to leave without attracting attention. He sighed, trying to refocus on the film. He was lucky. He had to take advantage of it.

With an emotional outburst, he put his arm around Tim's shoulders, and Tim cuddled up to him with a smile. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dick smile back. If Bruce thought he'd be safe on the other side of the couch, the bathroom breaks told him he wasn't. Soon he found himself surrounded by Tim and Jay, much to his surprise. Dick switched sides as well, when he realized that Tim was falling asleep in front of the movie and slouching more and more on Bruce. This time Bruce didn't see the end of the movie either.

"You have to do it. "

Jay's firm tone was unmistakable. The green look he gave Bruce was almost threatening. The latter did not take up the affront he was giving him with his eyes.

"It's not that simple," Bruce replied in a cold tone.

Dick pounded his fist on the table.

"Are you serious ? I think it's quite simple: if you can bring Superman back, you do it! "

"We're not sure if it's going to work, or what it might look like. How will we look with a second Doomsday and no more Superman ? "

Everyone remembered what the last fight with Doomsday had cost. With more than a dozen superheroes, they had not been able to stop him.

"What if Doomsday comes out again ? That he'll be even stronger ? You know he's not just out to destroy Superman. On his list, after him is the rest of the humans. "

Dick wasn't wrong, Bruce had already thought of that.

"There are risks. "

Barry and J'onn had talked about the change in behavior that this might entail, if they succeeded. Bruce had already seen what happened with Jason, who had become more violent. A violent Superman was a disaster waiting to happen, and if he got out of control...

"If you really cared about Clark, you'd do it. "

"That's not the point, Jay. We have to make this decision objectively. "

Dick rose from his chair, which creaked on the living room floor.

"There's nothing objective about it ! He wouldn't hesitate for a second to do this for you, or for the others in the League !"

Annoyed, Dick left the room. Bruce found himself alone with Jay. Jay was staring at him with such intensity that he felt as if he could look into his soul. It was almost true.

"Say what you have to say," Bruce finally said.

"What are you most afraid of ? Is it that it'll fail, or that you won't get the same Clark back if it works ?"

His question was like a cold shower. If Jay had decided to hit him, it would have had less impact than his words. In turn, Jay stood up and left Bruce to his own thoughts.

Batman entered the lab. The Flash, J'onn and Cyborg were obviously working hard on multiple problems to correct. No doubt it had to do with the regeneration chamber.

"Right. Anyway, whether I agree with you or not, are you going to bring him back?

It wasn't really a question, but Barry stopped to smile at him.

"Yes. But it's a relief to have you with us. All that's left is to get Diana's approval. Without her, it can't work. "

"Did you try to convince her? You obviously have good arguments. "

He had his own idea of what might have motivated Cyborg and J'onn to support him in the project. In fact, maybe Barry hadn't even needed to convince them that much after the fact.

"Diana refuses to discuss the subject. I think... I don't know, I think there's something she's not saying. I don't think it's an ethical issue. "

Barry seemed lost in thought for a moment, then looked up at Bruce:

"Do you really think this is a good idea? "

The Bat shrugged.

"I don't know. But Clark wouldn't give up if there was a chance to bring lives back. "

Barry nodded with a half-smile.

"Clark was much more human than we are. "

Bruce merely nodded briefly. It was one of the things he admired about the Kryptonian.

"I'll talk with Diana. I'll leave you to your work. "

Barry greeted him and returned to J'onn J'onzz. Bruce then left the room, looking for Wonder Woman.

Diana was sitting on the edge of the cliff, her feet in the air and her hair blowing in the wind. Her eyes were lost on the horizon of the Atlantic Ocean. Bruce sat down next to her, his cape whipping through the air in the strong wind.

"All that's missing is your agreement. "

Diana turned her azure blue gaze toward him. It was a blue that was close to Clark's own hue, but it didn't have all of his beauty.

"Are you okay with that? That we think we're necromancers? "

Bruce shrugged.

"Clark would do the same for us. And then... we can do it. "

"Pandora had the box within reach. It didn't do any good. "

The Bat had nothing to say to that.

"Okay, bad argument. But Clark deserves to be tried for him. He's always given everything to others, and never thought about himself. He deserves better than that. Better than dying like a lab rat after a torture session. "

He saw the goddess take her face in her hands and sigh.

"It's my fault... I didn't pay enough attention to the warnings I was given... Maybe if I told the others, we could have protected ourselves better... "

"What happened is not your fault. No matter how prepared we were or weren't, something bad was bound to happen. But this time, we can cut our losses. We can bring Clark back. "

There was a long silence as Diana pondered the situation. Bruce was good at being silent. So he let his mind wander over the situation, staring at the horizon in turn. Until she turned her head to him again.

"Between the two of you, there was more than friendship, wasn't there? "

"That's not the point. My decision is objective. "

Diana laughed slightly.

"Objective when it comes to Clark ? Stop lying to yourself, Bruce. It's a little late for that, isn't it ? "

"I can tell the difference. "

"Except when it comes to Clark. "

Bruce didn't answer. If his behavior was different because of Clark, logic dictated that his decision making would be affected as well. Diana was about to start again, so Bruce took the lead and returned to the original subject.

"I'd like you to agree to help us bring him back. Maybe I'm not objective, but the others don't have the same motives as I do. "

There was a moment of silence during which Diana seemed to hesitate.

"Do I really have a choice? Are you going to do it anyway? "

Bruce shook his head.

"You have the key. Clark deemed you worthy of being its keeper. It's your decision. "

She tucked a stray lock of hair from the wind behind her ear. She sighed.

"Don't get me wrong, Bruce. I want him back so badly... but I'm afraid it's going to go wrong. "

"I've considered the risks. We can minimize them, and prepare for the others just in case. We won't play the sorcerer's apprentice. And then... " He paused. "No one wants to see Clark again more than I do. I know it's risky. But if I could, I'd give my life to get him back. "

He kept his gaze fixed on the horizon as he saw the surprise on the Amazon's face out of the corner of his eye as she tried to stare him down behind her mask. Bruce thought he would not be able to maintain his impassivity long enough. But Diana smiled, then looked in the same direction as him.

"I believe in love. I hope this time you can admit it to yourself. "

Bruce turned his head toward her. Her little smile was still there and she was staring off into the distance with a certain determination.

"So that's a yes. "

She nodded.

"It's a yes. "

Batman took a breath before knocking on the door. Two weeks. They had all been working hard on the Kryptonian box for two weeks. They had determined that there would be a big gap in power and they had managed to create a power converter that could connect to the chamber. They had already installed everything, but there were still some compatibility tests to be done. For that, they needed Clark's body.

He knocked on the door again when there was no answer. They weren't going to dig up Clark without telling Martha. But she didn't seem to be there. So did their dog.

"I think she's gone. "

He heard Barry's distinctive crack of lightning.

"Yeah, the farmhouse is totally empty. What do we do? Dig up Clark and leave a note? "

"No. We take Clark and cover it up," Batman decided.

Batman thought that would be the most unpleasant part they would have to do. He was wrong. Once the coffin was brought to the Fortress, they had to take Clark out and dress him in a special suit, so that he would regenerate faster by absorbing the radiation from the yellow sun. Although the decomposition of the body had not progressed very far, the sight was a real horror. There was really nothing beautiful about death.

He and Wonder Woman placed Clark in the chamber. Cyborg and Flash checked their equipment while Martian Manhunter checked the Kryptonian technology.

"We're good to go. "

"On my end, too," J'onn replied to Victor.

Diana and Bruce stepped back.

"So it's up to you, Barry. "

And the Flash left. They watched him walk through the door, which Diana had held open, and then saw the Flash return to them the next moment. The energy Barry sent was more than enough. The converter activated and the energy spread throughout the chamber, which lit up. Then they heard the voice of the Fortress speak in Kryptonian,

"Now we must wait," J'onn said, checking the chamber.

They all sat down among the crystals, waiting to face the room. Bruce could feel Krypto's gaze on him as he stood in front of the hallway they hadn't yet entered. It would be a long wait. Very long.

Bruce didn't think the process would take this long. Sure, there was a lot of work to be done, but he thought Kryptonian technology would be faster. On the screen next to the chamber, the progress bar was slow, and with each change, the Fortress's voice interface told them in Kryptonian.

Barry had finally gone to get them some maps, as well as some food. In his cold-weather armor, Bruce chose to stand back with J'onn and watch the mechanism work. He had to admit, he was more than a little tense. Everyone else was, but he was afraid things would go wrong. If they did, he knew he would be able to fight Clark, but not kill him.

He'd tried to convince himself of that a few days before. To tell himself that if he had to protect his life and the lives of others and killing Clark would be necessary, he would do it. But every time he remembered his face, his look, his smile, he knew it was wrong. He couldn't use the kryptonite he had on him to kill him. That was his weakness.

He walked back into the room where Clark was, hearing Krypto's growl behind him. Every time he approached Superman, the Kryptonian dog growled. They had thought he would be an obstacle to bringing Clark back, because Krypto didn't know what had happened to his master. But when he had seen them move him into the chamber, he kept his lane and watched them even more. No doubt he took his role as guardian very seriously.

He turned his attention back to the chamber. The progression was almost finished. He went to find J'onn and together they joined the others. Just then, a spray of sparks flew from the converter and a huge short circuit occurred, causing a part connected to the chamber to explode. Within a second, the Bat's worst fears were realized.