Mates: Book Three

Chapter Four

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A/N: Hey guess what? I have no internet currently, so instead of continuing my lazy streak (brought on from lack of reviews, sugar and bad upbringing..) I'm instead forced to write yall a few chapters. Damnit it all...

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Fading

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Zeus wasn't surprised that the others were failing. He wasn't sure if it's because he was too angry to feel anything besides hatred, or because he'd known it all along.

Known that they were going to be the ones chosen for the journey. Of course, Earth was still a few cycles down the line before they could test that knowledge of his, but only because he'd been voted out. The other gods had wanted to try their own heroes out. And if one of the other 'heroes' could do it, then Zeus would gladly step aside and let them...

Yet already fifty-seven cycles had passed by, without any of the other gods having luck with their selections. They could only try once per cycle, and Earth was still quite a ways down the line...but with the way things were looking now...fifty-seven planets and all fails...

Zeus sighed, leaning his head back against his thrown. He didn't want to be right. The prophesy that H'ronmeer had shown up with...was very troublesome. Especially the end...

Not to mention, he didn't know if the Justice League would be...able to tackle the situation. From what he could feel of the situation...they were falling apart just as fast as the rest of them. Though as the cycles passed, Zeus was finding it harder to feel them. Couldn't feel anything other than anger. That scared him. It was such a strange sensation, being scared...

Only he didn't have much time to be concerned over such emotions, before anger resurfaced and he'd have to control himself from hurling lightning bolts down at Earth like old times.

Zeus wanted to kill Rao for putting them all through this. And he could have done it too! Rao was no longer technically a 'god'. He'd cast off that title the second he'd abandoned his people. Except apparently one of the Martian gods had taken care of that. So frustrating. If he had someone to place the blame on, maybe he'd have been able to placate his anger.

But there was no one, just himself and other gods who were all dying at the same rate, and it would anger him so much, that he'd end up shouting at everyone. Then a majority of them would end up shouting back and they'd waste about a cycle arguing with one another.

He stared down at Earth, feeling guilt briefly stir up inside him. Forgive me, he begged silently, for having failed you so much...

Poof. "Fail."

Zeus turned to the god that had interrupted his musings and snarled, "REALLY?! So surprising!"

"WELL EXCUSE ME! WHO WAS IT THAT'D GOT US IN THIS MESS AGAIN?!"

As he started arguing with the winged god, anger clouding his mind once more, he couldn't help the small voice chanting in the back of his mind, forgive me...for having failed...so much...forgive me...

Knowing that no matter what happened, he would be the one at fault.

After all, he was Zeus, King of the Earth Gods...

And how could one possibly forgive a god for messing up as badly as he?

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Bruce stared out at the window, his breath hitching ever so slightly. His face closed off and posture so motionless, that if it weren't for the shaky breaths he were taking, one would think him to be a complete statue. Weeks had passed, with everything falling apart. His relationship with...everybody. Dick, Tim, Alfred, J'onn, Gotham...

Though he was a bit satisfied that he and J'onn hadn't sunk to Hawk Girl and Lanter's level yet. Oh yes, he was quite aware of the blows they gave each other...but he couldn't find it in himself to care enough to say anything to them. Which wasn't new, and was in fact why he was now staring out the window. He didn't care.

About anything.

Hadn't cared when Alfred stopped calling him Master Bruce and started referring to him as Bruce, signifying his loss of respect for him. When Tim had packed his bags to live with Dick, he hadn't batted an eye. No pain in his chest or feelings of betrayal or self-hatred. Just emptiness. When Barbra stopped checking in from the assignment she'd been given? No concern or anger. So what? If she was fine, fine. If she wasn't, oh well. The day that Gotham had stopped talking to him didn't irritate or hurt him one bit. The silence had bothered him for exactly one and a half hours, before it had passed.

Apathetic. That's all that he felt. All that he could feel.

He'd gone to the extremes at first. Had visited his most haunting memories, even going to his parents' graves, hoping, begging to feel some flicker of emotion. Only to come up with nothing. It wasn't possible.

Bruce wanted to care. Wanted to grow paranoid and run tests against himself and all the others, because something obviously wasn't right. He was too empty and the others were too angry. Something had to be going on. Except...

He didn't care.

So what if his family was leaving? If he was driving them apart? What did it matter? It should have, but it didn't. Let them all leave if they wanted. He didn't give a damn.

Or at least, that was what he'd thought.

"Do you want me to leave, Bruce?! Is that it!?"

Until J'onn had threatened to go as well.

And finally, for the first time in months, he'd been able to feel something.

Fear, despair, betrayal...a strange twisting in his chest that wouldn't go away, despite all the time that had passed. Twenty minutes, and he still cared.

"You don't talk to me for WEEKS, don't touch me for days... is this your way of saying you don't want me here anymore?!"

No...

He didn't want J'onn to leave...him.

Wanted him to stay. He cared if J'onn left him or not. Couldn't...stand it... yet... All that he'd been able to do, was look at his mate. No words or expressions... just silence. Like he'd been for weeks.

He cared, he finally cared, and he didn't know how to say it. It'd been so long since he'd felt emotions...he'd forgotten how to show them. So instead he'd been silent, and now his mate was...

Leaving him. Like...everyone else had.

"Mister J'onn is leaving, Bruce," Alfred stated coolly from the doorway.

Bruce ignored the tone as he walked past his butler and towards the grandfather clock. Stopped in front of it, mind racing. What was he supposed to do? Beg? He shot down that idea almost immediately. Apathetic or not he wasn't going to beg. If J'onn wanted to leave...

He reached a trembling hand out to turn the small ones on the clock, walking down the stairs when the passageway opened. Wouldn't beg. That was entirely beneath him. Yet as he spotted J'onn, pacing erratically in front of the computer, all thoughts of what was 'beneath' him faded away as he pulled J'onn into a tight embrace.

"Bruce--"

Didn't want to hear it. Hear a formal apology about how things weren't working on and maybe it'd be better if they just remained just teammates. So he kissed J'onn, deeply, hoping to stall it for as long as possible. Couldn't explain what he was feeling. Couldn't beg. J'onn was going to leave and their wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.

J'onn roughly pulled away, eyes flashing. "Bruce, you cannot expect--"

"Don't..." Bruce's voice sounded unbelievably small, but he didn't care about that or how weak he was showing himself to be... None of that mattered. The only thing that did...the only one...was on the verge of leaving him. "Don't...leave. Don't go..."

J'onn stared at him for a few seconds, then slowly nodded. "Okay." He leaned his head against Bruce's shoulder. "Okay..."

They stayed like that for the longest time...

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When did I lose your respect?

It's a question that was constantly circling through Clark's mind, growing louder whenever he was in Bruce's presence. It was so loud that sometimes he wondered if Bruce could hear it. Hoped that he would, in fact...

Because maybe then he'd get an answer.

An answer he so desperately wanted...

When had he lost Bruce's respect? When did Batman start snapping at him with such disdain as when they'd first met? What had he done to lose it? And...was there anyway he could get it back? It was tearing him apart, knowing that he'd lost it.

Batman's respect.

To be honest, having the others' respect wasn't really all that much to brag about. They were quick to give it out, slow to take it away, and quick to give it back on the off chance that they did. Batman however...

That had been a slow and steady climb uphill. Sometimes sliding backwards, but once he'd had it... It wasn't a sudden thing, so it wasn't really noticeable all at once, but he'd been able to tell the first time Batman had actually listened to his ideas. Didn't make any sense whatsoever. He was Clark Kent, Superman, Kal-El. Last Son of Krypton. What did a Batman's respect matter any?

But it had. It'd made him stand just a bit taller...knowing that he'd had that.

And now...it was gone.

Just like that.

And he was clueless as to how to earn it back.

"When...why?" he mumbled out awkwardly, seconds before Batman was ready to step onto the teleporter. Batman seemed to be in a hurry, so he probably wouldn't answer... Maybe Clark didn't really want to know the answer. Besides, it's not like Batman even knew what he was talking about.

Then suddenly, the bat turned, staring with those white slits of his and Superman was reminded of just who he was thinking about.

"Because of your stupidity, J'onn was hurt. Twice." It was stated in an emotionless tone that was becoming very common with the Bat. So different from the others who were so emotional... "Now stop asking, you've been giving me a headache." Batman then disappeared. Probably to the cave or wherever. Maybe to J'onn.

Superman didn't know what made him more angry. The fact that he'd lost Batman's respect because of J'onn...

Or the fact that he was still...

Jealous.

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Review. o.o or I'll stop stalking joo. Poor poor Joo. Joo's now crying. Because...he liked me stalking him. ;.; What did Joo ever do to you?!

o.o oh dude...you notice that even though Bruce claims to not care about anything, he still cares about J'onn and things J'onn related?

XD I didn't plan it like that I swear. I was planning on having him totally emotionless... But he snuck that in. Bastard. XD