Disclaimer: The Justice League is locked in my basement and being used as
my sex toys, but I do not own them...YET – BWAHAHAHA...err...not really.
Sarafu: I finally got five reviews!! I'm so happy people like this fic!
So, on with chapter two!...I wonder how I'm gonna write this...O.o
********
BURCE'S P.O.V.
********
It's been three hours, and so far all of our supposedly "solid" leads have been dead ends. The League has split into small teams. John and Shayera (how predictable) are checking the last facility the metas used (though if I didn't know better I'd say they were just having sex in there), J'onn and Kal are investigating some sightings at the air force base nearby, and Wally and Diana are keeping tabs on a suspected accomplice. All of the feed from their com-links are being transmitted to the Watchtower computer system, and I've been pitying Diana since 15 minutes into the operation. Wally NEVER shuts up.
"God, babe, I'm starvin'."
"When can we leave?"
"I wanna go to McDonalds."
"Do you like McDonalds? Cuz if you do that's totally NOT hot - you'll lose your figure."
"You look tense, want me to rub your shoulders?"
"Or maybe you're cold...it is kinda windy and with that costume...err, I could use my hands as a heating pad,"
"We could share some body heat...ya know, like..."
"Shut up, Flash," Diana spits venomously for about the hundredth time.
I hear another voice coming through, this time a soft alto...
"...Batman?"
"I'm here," my voice shakes, almost imperceptibly – almost.
"You alright?" Kal asks innocently.
"Fine," I clear my throat, and hope I sound normal, "what did you find?"
"We're not sure, but it looks eerily like the transmitters used to create the boom tubes that Darkseid uses," he says, sounding a bit nervous.
"Let's hope not," but I already have a dread settling in the back of my mind that this situation is far more complex than we than we had ever anticipated.
"Wally and Diana haven't found anything yet," I tell him, "I'm going to call them back to the watchtower. John and Shayera are determined to keep searching – I'm giving them another hour before we eliminate the old base as a lead. I'd like you and J'onn to come back now as well," there, I managed not to sound too uncomfortable.
"Alright, then. We'll see you in a few minutes," he terminates his transmission as soon as the words are out of his mouth.
For some unknown reason, his statement felt...inadequately impersonal...not that it was...but...Ugh, I'm doing it again. I now notice the heat that had rudely invaded my cheeks, and mentally kick myself for my odd and inappropriate behavior – something strange is happening to me...something I've been thus far unable to control, and as one could guess – I'm pissed.
Perhaps Kal is doing this on purpose – this is all the result of some meta- power we never knew he had, a pheromone he recently started giving off. Or perhaps this is the work of the metas I encountered the other day – some sort of neural inhibitor or drug that only lets me think of him that they used on me while I was unconscious.
Or, maybe, just maybe, it's something deeper than all that. Something real, all my own, that I always refuse to recognize when it decides to surface...perhaps it's love – but that's preposterous. I can't be in love with Kal – I would destroy him. Which, since he's the closest thing to a friend I have, would of course bother me. But that's all he is – a friend. A kind and gentle friend, who, despite his loving family, can still understand the isolation I feel, can empathize with my loss, and who has managed to retain such inner light that he has been known to share it with those around him, shine a glowing beacon of hope and trust into the dark corners that I dwell in, and lead me just close enough to the daylight that I'm saved from slipping through the cracks and over the edge time and again.
Hmm...well, perhaps he is a...little more than just a friend...I can say he is my best friend. But love him? Though suddenly after thinking it all through, the idea doesn't sound so strange...yet it's still a foreign and frightening thing. Not that I would ever admit it of course. Kal is essentially invincible. Virtually. Even I, the mere mortal who was somehow mixed into a league of gods and goddesses, have almost killed him more than once. And it hurt every time. I know that now. I was always afraid I would kill him, or that once he recovered, he would lose that unique brilliance I so envy and admire and drift into my darkness and whither away. The light that sustains and defines him could not dwell in someone so broken as myself, so I tend to keep away from him unless it's necessary. God knows what would happen to me if I somehow managed to smother it.
So I love him. I'm...in love with Kal. But he won't find out. I won't let him. I can't. I wouldn't be able to stand seeing my closeness drawing him into my sad and lonely world. He doesn't belong with someone like myself. He deserves so much better. When he returns, I have to control my reactions to him. I will not risk destroying such innocent beauty and corrupting such flawless serenity. He will remain untainted by the cruel night, and I will remain alone, as I should be. It's better this way.
********
KAL'S P.O.V.
********
It's been three hours and all J'onn and I have been able to find is some sort of remote. Although it looks like the devices Darkseid uses to create his boom tubes, I'm keeping my hopes up that it's just something to active a bomb or satellite.
I tell J'onn we're probably not going to find anything else and I take a deep breath before speaking directly to Bruce.
"...Batman?"
"I'm here," he responds stoically. His smooth baritone shakes slightly, and I wonder if he was injured more severely than we'd thought.
"You alright?" I ask.
"Fine," says, clearing his throat, "what did you find?" Hmm...well, he sounds ok now. Good.
"We're not sure, but it looks eerily like the transmitters used to create the boom tubes that Darkseid uses," I say, trying not to let my nervousness about the evidence...and him show.
"Let's hope not," I can tell he doesn't like the sound of that either.
"Wally and Diana haven't found anything yet," he says to me, and I feel a pang of jealousy as he mentions her name, "I'm going to call them back to the watchtower. John and Shayera are determined to keep searching – I'm giving them another hour before we eliminate the old base as a lead. I'd like you and J'onn to come back now as well," he finishes, sounding a bit strained. I hope he's as alright as he's trying to portray – he's notorious for trying to seem stronger than he is. I've never understood why he feels so compelled to try to compensate for his lack of superpowers by pretending he heals like a meta. I suppress a sigh.
"Alright, then. We'll see you in a few minutes," I turn off my com immediately and motion for J'onn to follow.
I want Bruce alone up there for as short a time as possible. Even though it seems I'm impartially overprotective of humans, I really care for Bruce more deeply than that. Sure I have Lois, but she can be so overbearing, and doesn't accept me completely. I told her six months ago who I am, and although we started a formal relationship, she still hasn't come to politely tolerate my Clark side. After all we've been through, she still hates him. Bruce on the other hand accepts me completely, even if it is with some annoyance. He understands what it is to have to deal with two lives, and even has come to embrace the third, and probably most true side of my persona, Kal-El. My Clark is his Bruce, my Superman is his Batman, and my Kal is his frightened inner-child who's still kneeling in that dark alley all alone, soaked in his parents' blood.
Though he hates it, I feel the need to protect him, not just from the criminals that he faces (who have been known to give even me a hard time), but also from himself, and his incessant need to push everyone he cares about away. I realize he does it because he doesn't want them to get hurt, but when he does these things, it only achieves scarring them even more deeply than anything that could have happened to them because of associating with him.
He needs someone to show him that there is good left in the world, he can do more than just swoop by and help preserve it, but he can be a part of it, and he can surround himself with it. He has so many people that care about him, but he chooses not to see them because he believes it's safer that way. I suppose in some ways it is, but when it comes down to it, no matter how used to it he might be, he cannot hold the burden of pulling in all of the bad from his city without someone to balance him out.
And I want that someone to be me. I want to be his support, his guide, his friend, his lover. I love him, all of him, today and every day, forever. I've made up my mind – I'm going to tell him tonight. Shayera has monitor duty, so he'll be free, and I'll pull him aside, and no matter what he says, no matter what he does, he will know.
From there, he can do what he wants with the knowledge – I just hope Bruce takes it for what it is.
******** Err, I had some trouble ending this chapter. I'm sure you get the idea, but I understand if you complain about it being a little awkward – this is the fifth draft and it's still not right, but it's getting really late, so I have to stop. I might revise and repost this later, but lemme know what you think...
********
BURCE'S P.O.V.
********
It's been three hours, and so far all of our supposedly "solid" leads have been dead ends. The League has split into small teams. John and Shayera (how predictable) are checking the last facility the metas used (though if I didn't know better I'd say they were just having sex in there), J'onn and Kal are investigating some sightings at the air force base nearby, and Wally and Diana are keeping tabs on a suspected accomplice. All of the feed from their com-links are being transmitted to the Watchtower computer system, and I've been pitying Diana since 15 minutes into the operation. Wally NEVER shuts up.
"God, babe, I'm starvin'."
"When can we leave?"
"I wanna go to McDonalds."
"Do you like McDonalds? Cuz if you do that's totally NOT hot - you'll lose your figure."
"You look tense, want me to rub your shoulders?"
"Or maybe you're cold...it is kinda windy and with that costume...err, I could use my hands as a heating pad,"
"We could share some body heat...ya know, like..."
"Shut up, Flash," Diana spits venomously for about the hundredth time.
I hear another voice coming through, this time a soft alto...
"...Batman?"
"I'm here," my voice shakes, almost imperceptibly – almost.
"You alright?" Kal asks innocently.
"Fine," I clear my throat, and hope I sound normal, "what did you find?"
"We're not sure, but it looks eerily like the transmitters used to create the boom tubes that Darkseid uses," he says, sounding a bit nervous.
"Let's hope not," but I already have a dread settling in the back of my mind that this situation is far more complex than we than we had ever anticipated.
"Wally and Diana haven't found anything yet," I tell him, "I'm going to call them back to the watchtower. John and Shayera are determined to keep searching – I'm giving them another hour before we eliminate the old base as a lead. I'd like you and J'onn to come back now as well," there, I managed not to sound too uncomfortable.
"Alright, then. We'll see you in a few minutes," he terminates his transmission as soon as the words are out of his mouth.
For some unknown reason, his statement felt...inadequately impersonal...not that it was...but...Ugh, I'm doing it again. I now notice the heat that had rudely invaded my cheeks, and mentally kick myself for my odd and inappropriate behavior – something strange is happening to me...something I've been thus far unable to control, and as one could guess – I'm pissed.
Perhaps Kal is doing this on purpose – this is all the result of some meta- power we never knew he had, a pheromone he recently started giving off. Or perhaps this is the work of the metas I encountered the other day – some sort of neural inhibitor or drug that only lets me think of him that they used on me while I was unconscious.
Or, maybe, just maybe, it's something deeper than all that. Something real, all my own, that I always refuse to recognize when it decides to surface...perhaps it's love – but that's preposterous. I can't be in love with Kal – I would destroy him. Which, since he's the closest thing to a friend I have, would of course bother me. But that's all he is – a friend. A kind and gentle friend, who, despite his loving family, can still understand the isolation I feel, can empathize with my loss, and who has managed to retain such inner light that he has been known to share it with those around him, shine a glowing beacon of hope and trust into the dark corners that I dwell in, and lead me just close enough to the daylight that I'm saved from slipping through the cracks and over the edge time and again.
Hmm...well, perhaps he is a...little more than just a friend...I can say he is my best friend. But love him? Though suddenly after thinking it all through, the idea doesn't sound so strange...yet it's still a foreign and frightening thing. Not that I would ever admit it of course. Kal is essentially invincible. Virtually. Even I, the mere mortal who was somehow mixed into a league of gods and goddesses, have almost killed him more than once. And it hurt every time. I know that now. I was always afraid I would kill him, or that once he recovered, he would lose that unique brilliance I so envy and admire and drift into my darkness and whither away. The light that sustains and defines him could not dwell in someone so broken as myself, so I tend to keep away from him unless it's necessary. God knows what would happen to me if I somehow managed to smother it.
So I love him. I'm...in love with Kal. But he won't find out. I won't let him. I can't. I wouldn't be able to stand seeing my closeness drawing him into my sad and lonely world. He doesn't belong with someone like myself. He deserves so much better. When he returns, I have to control my reactions to him. I will not risk destroying such innocent beauty and corrupting such flawless serenity. He will remain untainted by the cruel night, and I will remain alone, as I should be. It's better this way.
********
KAL'S P.O.V.
********
It's been three hours and all J'onn and I have been able to find is some sort of remote. Although it looks like the devices Darkseid uses to create his boom tubes, I'm keeping my hopes up that it's just something to active a bomb or satellite.
I tell J'onn we're probably not going to find anything else and I take a deep breath before speaking directly to Bruce.
"...Batman?"
"I'm here," he responds stoically. His smooth baritone shakes slightly, and I wonder if he was injured more severely than we'd thought.
"You alright?" I ask.
"Fine," says, clearing his throat, "what did you find?" Hmm...well, he sounds ok now. Good.
"We're not sure, but it looks eerily like the transmitters used to create the boom tubes that Darkseid uses," I say, trying not to let my nervousness about the evidence...and him show.
"Let's hope not," I can tell he doesn't like the sound of that either.
"Wally and Diana haven't found anything yet," he says to me, and I feel a pang of jealousy as he mentions her name, "I'm going to call them back to the watchtower. John and Shayera are determined to keep searching – I'm giving them another hour before we eliminate the old base as a lead. I'd like you and J'onn to come back now as well," he finishes, sounding a bit strained. I hope he's as alright as he's trying to portray – he's notorious for trying to seem stronger than he is. I've never understood why he feels so compelled to try to compensate for his lack of superpowers by pretending he heals like a meta. I suppress a sigh.
"Alright, then. We'll see you in a few minutes," I turn off my com immediately and motion for J'onn to follow.
I want Bruce alone up there for as short a time as possible. Even though it seems I'm impartially overprotective of humans, I really care for Bruce more deeply than that. Sure I have Lois, but she can be so overbearing, and doesn't accept me completely. I told her six months ago who I am, and although we started a formal relationship, she still hasn't come to politely tolerate my Clark side. After all we've been through, she still hates him. Bruce on the other hand accepts me completely, even if it is with some annoyance. He understands what it is to have to deal with two lives, and even has come to embrace the third, and probably most true side of my persona, Kal-El. My Clark is his Bruce, my Superman is his Batman, and my Kal is his frightened inner-child who's still kneeling in that dark alley all alone, soaked in his parents' blood.
Though he hates it, I feel the need to protect him, not just from the criminals that he faces (who have been known to give even me a hard time), but also from himself, and his incessant need to push everyone he cares about away. I realize he does it because he doesn't want them to get hurt, but when he does these things, it only achieves scarring them even more deeply than anything that could have happened to them because of associating with him.
He needs someone to show him that there is good left in the world, he can do more than just swoop by and help preserve it, but he can be a part of it, and he can surround himself with it. He has so many people that care about him, but he chooses not to see them because he believes it's safer that way. I suppose in some ways it is, but when it comes down to it, no matter how used to it he might be, he cannot hold the burden of pulling in all of the bad from his city without someone to balance him out.
And I want that someone to be me. I want to be his support, his guide, his friend, his lover. I love him, all of him, today and every day, forever. I've made up my mind – I'm going to tell him tonight. Shayera has monitor duty, so he'll be free, and I'll pull him aside, and no matter what he says, no matter what he does, he will know.
From there, he can do what he wants with the knowledge – I just hope Bruce takes it for what it is.
******** Err, I had some trouble ending this chapter. I'm sure you get the idea, but I understand if you complain about it being a little awkward – this is the fifth draft and it's still not right, but it's getting really late, so I have to stop. I might revise and repost this later, but lemme know what you think...