"I insist, sir. Nobody can make sound and split-second decisions while in a state of exhaustion. Not even you." Lex could sympathize with Bruce. It had been more than 48 hours of nonstop activity, and once Alfred noticed that Lex had had to correct his placement of pins and had muddled names, he had sternly sent Lex to the cave's cot to sleep. Lex had driven a hard bargain, though, finally agreeing to sleep for four hours only if Alfred promised to do the same immediately afterwards.
Bruce, almost seeming to retreat into his Batman persona, silently pointed to the map and Alfred sighed. "It only confirms the necessity of resting so you can perform mentally and physically. Better that you be out of commission for two hours now than to make a careless mistake and be injured or killed, thus able to do nothing. Some of the League are able to function without sleep, but you are not among them."
"All right. Two hours. No longer." As if he had been keeping his bones steady only through force of determination, he sagged as he walked to the cot, pulled off his shoes, and lay down. Lex looked away in a sudden, bitter flood of envy at Alfred's unguardedly loving and paternal look at the sleeping man.
Flash's return interrupted his thoughts. "Did it work?" Alfred asked, gesturing for Flash to speak quietly.
"A bit." Looting and violence had escalated even more during the night. Hoping to use Batman's reputation as a deterrent, since there were still so many rescues to be made, Robin had driven the Batmobile through some of the worst areas. "But it won't last. Not unless we can--"
Lex had no awareness of falling, just of the mind-numbing pain in his knees as he got up. Part of his mind noted that he'd been thrown at least eight feet, possibly more, horizontally, and possibly a foot vertically. "Aftershock," he muttered, as though identifying it made the least difference. Alfred had been knocked into Flash and as he extended a hand to help him rise, Lex thought that if it hadn't been the case, the older man might have broken several bones. Flash was holding a wrist that was already swelling and Bruce was lying, silent, on the floor, the blanket which had been thrown with him covering his torso and head. Hissing with the sensation that his bones were grinding at one another with each step, Lex limped over and lifted it. His eyes were closed but he was breathing steadily. Alfred said, his voice shaking almost as much as the ground had, "I'll get a medical kit," and went into the storage room while Flash and Lex stared silently at one another, not wanting to imagine the additional devastation.
***
Clark couldn't say that his body was tired, just that he was aware of effort as he ran or lifted objects. He suspected that his appearance was probably what was scaring the little girl into immobility, as he could only imagine how grimy he was and how much blood and soot covered his clothing. He tried again to call to her to come out. His own build was far too big to fit through the tiny openings in the pile of rubble and in any case, he was supporting the concrete slab that would crush her if it fell.
"Who's in there?" Clark only just prevented himself from jumping at the sound of an unfamiliar female voice behind him. He carefully kept the beam balanced as he turned slightly, but it almost crumpled in his hands as he saw the figure approaching. She might be dressed like a cat but she was certainly shaped like a female.
"A girl. I can't get her to come out, she's scared and I can't get in."
"I can," she answered, almost flippantly, and she crouched, then crawled through the openings. Reaching the girl, she paused, as if pondering some interesting abstract thought, then twitched so that her tail curved around in front of her.
"Meow," she said after the long pause, and the girl giggled.
"Come on, kitten," the woman urged, and after hesitating for a moment, the girl let the woman pull her up into the opening. "Take my tail," she whispered, as if it were a secret, and she and the girl crawled out to safety. Clark let the beam goand turned to face them.
"I've been watching you," the woman said, casually.
"Oh. Uhm, really?"
"Yes, really." He couldn't tell if she was laughing at him or at herself and he felt a blush rise to his cheeks. "I know you're not from here because if you were, I'd know you."
"Uh, no." It was just plain wrong that her voice could sound so much like a purr. "Who are you?"
"A friend. At least for right now," she added.
"Why were you watching me? What do you want?"
She seemed suddenly much younger as she dropped the sultry facade. "To help."
"Right. Uhm, there are a lot of us, well, a few, we're kind of coordinating things. I can take you there and we can figure it out."
"I'm not much of one for taking directions."
He managed to grin. "Me neither. So I just call 'em suggestions."
***
Lex and Bruce looked bleakly at one another and Lex wearily rubbed the bridge of his nose. After three days of aftershocks, which brought with them two tsunamis, Gotham City was a scene of destruction. With nowhere to bury bodies and fear of further disease, funeral pyres swallowed hundreds of bodies each hour.
"They said that it wasn't feasible," Bruce spat. "Not feasible. The only thing I got was a few hours delay." After Bruce Wayne's visit to Congress to plead for funds to provide relief, the situation worsened. The federal government had resolved to declare the city a No Man's Land, to dynamite the bridges that Aquaman and Clark had laboriously rebuilt, at least enough to allow people to flee the city, to leave it isolated to its own devices. Both men knew that his appeals probably had made things worse--he'd made enough enemies who saw a chance to deal, if not a mortal blow, a serious wound to Wayne Enterprises. Some of them were the politicians, some the corporations or organizations which owned the politicians.
Lex and Alfred had, during Bruce's absence, totaled up all the available resources. Most of the Manor's priceless artworks were now rubble, as valueless as the broken wood and stone around them. Wayne Enterprises stock was at a record low and being driven lower. Even if he liquidated all his holdings, the amount Bruce would be able to raise would be almost risable against the needs. Even the most optimistic estimates would have sufficed only to restore a few blocks.
Lex stared at his hands. He knew a way to obtain the money. He just wished it weren't the only way.
Bruce, almost seeming to retreat into his Batman persona, silently pointed to the map and Alfred sighed. "It only confirms the necessity of resting so you can perform mentally and physically. Better that you be out of commission for two hours now than to make a careless mistake and be injured or killed, thus able to do nothing. Some of the League are able to function without sleep, but you are not among them."
"All right. Two hours. No longer." As if he had been keeping his bones steady only through force of determination, he sagged as he walked to the cot, pulled off his shoes, and lay down. Lex looked away in a sudden, bitter flood of envy at Alfred's unguardedly loving and paternal look at the sleeping man.
Flash's return interrupted his thoughts. "Did it work?" Alfred asked, gesturing for Flash to speak quietly.
"A bit." Looting and violence had escalated even more during the night. Hoping to use Batman's reputation as a deterrent, since there were still so many rescues to be made, Robin had driven the Batmobile through some of the worst areas. "But it won't last. Not unless we can--"
Lex had no awareness of falling, just of the mind-numbing pain in his knees as he got up. Part of his mind noted that he'd been thrown at least eight feet, possibly more, horizontally, and possibly a foot vertically. "Aftershock," he muttered, as though identifying it made the least difference. Alfred had been knocked into Flash and as he extended a hand to help him rise, Lex thought that if it hadn't been the case, the older man might have broken several bones. Flash was holding a wrist that was already swelling and Bruce was lying, silent, on the floor, the blanket which had been thrown with him covering his torso and head. Hissing with the sensation that his bones were grinding at one another with each step, Lex limped over and lifted it. His eyes were closed but he was breathing steadily. Alfred said, his voice shaking almost as much as the ground had, "I'll get a medical kit," and went into the storage room while Flash and Lex stared silently at one another, not wanting to imagine the additional devastation.
***
Clark couldn't say that his body was tired, just that he was aware of effort as he ran or lifted objects. He suspected that his appearance was probably what was scaring the little girl into immobility, as he could only imagine how grimy he was and how much blood and soot covered his clothing. He tried again to call to her to come out. His own build was far too big to fit through the tiny openings in the pile of rubble and in any case, he was supporting the concrete slab that would crush her if it fell.
"Who's in there?" Clark only just prevented himself from jumping at the sound of an unfamiliar female voice behind him. He carefully kept the beam balanced as he turned slightly, but it almost crumpled in his hands as he saw the figure approaching. She might be dressed like a cat but she was certainly shaped like a female.
"A girl. I can't get her to come out, she's scared and I can't get in."
"I can," she answered, almost flippantly, and she crouched, then crawled through the openings. Reaching the girl, she paused, as if pondering some interesting abstract thought, then twitched so that her tail curved around in front of her.
"Meow," she said after the long pause, and the girl giggled.
"Come on, kitten," the woman urged, and after hesitating for a moment, the girl let the woman pull her up into the opening. "Take my tail," she whispered, as if it were a secret, and she and the girl crawled out to safety. Clark let the beam goand turned to face them.
"I've been watching you," the woman said, casually.
"Oh. Uhm, really?"
"Yes, really." He couldn't tell if she was laughing at him or at herself and he felt a blush rise to his cheeks. "I know you're not from here because if you were, I'd know you."
"Uh, no." It was just plain wrong that her voice could sound so much like a purr. "Who are you?"
"A friend. At least for right now," she added.
"Why were you watching me? What do you want?"
She seemed suddenly much younger as she dropped the sultry facade. "To help."
"Right. Uhm, there are a lot of us, well, a few, we're kind of coordinating things. I can take you there and we can figure it out."
"I'm not much of one for taking directions."
He managed to grin. "Me neither. So I just call 'em suggestions."
***
Lex and Bruce looked bleakly at one another and Lex wearily rubbed the bridge of his nose. After three days of aftershocks, which brought with them two tsunamis, Gotham City was a scene of destruction. With nowhere to bury bodies and fear of further disease, funeral pyres swallowed hundreds of bodies each hour.
"They said that it wasn't feasible," Bruce spat. "Not feasible. The only thing I got was a few hours delay." After Bruce Wayne's visit to Congress to plead for funds to provide relief, the situation worsened. The federal government had resolved to declare the city a No Man's Land, to dynamite the bridges that Aquaman and Clark had laboriously rebuilt, at least enough to allow people to flee the city, to leave it isolated to its own devices. Both men knew that his appeals probably had made things worse--he'd made enough enemies who saw a chance to deal, if not a mortal blow, a serious wound to Wayne Enterprises. Some of them were the politicians, some the corporations or organizations which owned the politicians.
Lex and Alfred had, during Bruce's absence, totaled up all the available resources. Most of the Manor's priceless artworks were now rubble, as valueless as the broken wood and stone around them. Wayne Enterprises stock was at a record low and being driven lower. Even if he liquidated all his holdings, the amount Bruce would be able to raise would be almost risable against the needs. Even the most optimistic estimates would have sufficed only to restore a few blocks.
Lex stared at his hands. He knew a way to obtain the money. He just wished it weren't the only way.