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Superman only needed a split second to take in everything.
Bruce's jerking body, his dilated pupils, racing heartbeat, and harsh breathing. And how his screams got louder the second he made contact with his skin. How it was happening was beyond him, but he did know one thing;
Bruce's senses were overloading, and if it kept up he was going to send himself into cardiac arrest. His hold tightened on his friend, as he whispered, because anything louder was going to be painful, he was sure, "Bruce..." No, he needed to talk to Batman for this. "Batman, you need to focus. You hear my heartbeat? Listen to it." The screams lessened ever so slightly, as the Bat fought to do what Kal was asking him to, but there was so much, so much and he couldn't make out--
"Listen to it. It has a rhythm. I know it's hard, and painful, but you have to try."
Rhythm...yes...he could hear it. The steady beating of his heart, and the machines, and thoughts-- he was hearing them all. Too loud.
"Listen to it, Batman. Only my heart. Focus on it."
The screaming died down in volume, but his heart rate was still beating incredibly fast, and that was when Clark realized that it was more than his hearing, all Bruce's senses were going haywire. But...how...?
J'onn...
No time for that right now. Biting his lip, Clark carefully maneuvered Bruce's body, until he was holding him in his lap. Bruce's breathing increased but he didn't let go. "Can you feel me touching you, Bruce? The texture of my skin, the roughness of it against yours? Focus on it. It has a different texture than the clothes covering you. See?"
See? He pried his eyes open to do so, only to be blinded by the brightness of the light and the colors which were just so vivid and things were swirling, not making any sense and how was he supposed to see?!
"C...can't see..." Bruce grounded out, the ringing in his ears coming back only tenfold and thoughts, thoughts were entering his head again--
"Bruce, look at my eyes." Clark ordered, tilting Bruce's head upward, so it would be easier. "See how blue they are? Focus on that. Remember my heart? Listen to that. Your sheets, the texture of my skin, feel that."
At the same time? The same time? Couldn't do it. He couldn't...too much, it was too much too much too much toomu--
"Focus."
With grim determination and willpower formed from a lifetime of training, Bruce tried to do as Clark ordered, but he couldn't remember, not with the thoughts swirling, all the thoughts of the Justice League in his head.
Hawk Girl...
What's going on in there?
Flash...
Duuuude...
Green Lantern...
Should we go in? Don't want to make it worse but...
Wonder Woman...
Hera...please be alright Batman...
He could hear them all.
Focus. Come on Bruce, you can do it. Please focus.
And Clark. He could hear Clark's thoughts too.
His eyes were a vivid blue. Different in shade compared to his, and he could even make out the irises. He lost himself in those eyes, focusing on how the shade kept shifting from one color of blue to the other. His heart beat was strong and steady, beating a little fast, but only just, and he listened to the sound of it, let it fill his mind, along with how his sheets felt, and how rough everything was than he was used to.
Completely drained both emotionally and physically, Bruce drifted off to sleep, listening to the sound of Kal's heart beat.
However, he couldn't stop himself from thinking...
Where did...J'onn go?
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When he saw Bruce was starting to calm down, J'onn quietly made his exit, surprising the other leaguers, who had all been standing by the door, nervously listening to what was going on. He paid them no mind as he passed by, his thoughts still lingering on what had just happened.
His fault.
It was his fault it had happened. He should have explained to Bruce what he was doing before he had even said anything else. But he hadn't expected Bruce to be able to push him out just like that, not in his weakened state anyway.
Obviously he'd underestimated his mate, and as a result Bruce had nearly died—again. Due to him. Again. A pattern seemed to be developing and he wasn't sure if it was just coincidence or...
Or maybe he really had no idea just how a human worked.
"You seem to forget that you yourself are an alien, Kal-El."
"I'm more human than you'll ever be."
Clark was the one who had been able to calm Bruce down, not him. He'd been the cause of his distress. They were both aliens, but Kal was alien by genetics only. When it came down to it, he was for all purposes, human. He'd lived with them since he was a child. J'onn had only been here for a few years.
J'onn slumped against the wall, sliding slowly into a sitting position. Already he'd gotten Bruce nearly killed, twice, and things were just starting out. The first time was because he'd overestimated Bruce, the second time was when he underestimated him. He just couldn't seem to get it right.
He buried his head in his heads, feeling hopelessly lost as he sensed Bruce's despair fading away, due to Superman's help. Not his. Superman's. Who was an alien, just like him, only he wasn't. Truth was they were nothing alike.
Nothing.
How was he supposed to make this work?