A/N: Sorry for the delay, but this is a very important chapter. Thanks for all the feedback! And don't worry... there'll be more Bruce and Clark interaction in the next chapter!
CHAPTER 9
Meanwhile, at Joe Chill's hearing, Bruce was sitting in the audience with frozen eyes. All his attention was focused on the man who ruined his life forever.
His thoughts were turbulent. But he knew, or at least he believed he knew, what he had to do. And it was exactly what he believed that would calm down his soul.
With eyes fixed on his parents' executioner, while watching him entering the Courtroom followed by guards, Bruce noted that he was very different from the night he pulled out from his life the people he loved most. Now, years later, with shaved beard and clean clothes, next to the pompous District Attorney Finch, and his Assistant Rachel, to the last member of Wayne's family, Chill was still a monster and the slag of humanity.
Bruce looked at the justice symbol above the wall, and gave a sad smile. It was like a stage play that wouldn't convince him, because it wasn't the justice in which he believed.
Suddenly, Chill stood up before the Judge after the ministerial petition's reading for his early release. Bruce continued looking at the one who had destroyed his life.
Meanwhile, after he had made a fast patrol through the external part of the Court, Clark appeared at the front door of the courtroom and saw the young Wayne in the audience. Quickly, he used his x-ray vision to discover that Bruce wasn't carrying his gun underneath of his coat, which was very strange. Clark wondered if he had hidden the gun in some place else or if he had given up he idea to kill Chill. Then, someone approached him:
"Is there something wrong, kid?" the police officer asked.
Clark turned too look at him. He was a mild-mannered man with a thick mustache and big eyeglasses. Clark read his ID badge: Sergeant James W. Gordon.
"No. Nothing wrong" Clark answered, quietly, looking again to where Bruce was, to be sure he hadn't seen him.
The hearing continued.
"I gather a member of the Wayne family is here today..." the chairman said, looking at the audience.
At that moment, Chill reacted, turning. Bruce studied his weathered face.
Clark wrinkled his forehead, wondering if Bruce was planning to do something in that moment. But there was no sign of the gun he had seen the night before.
"Does he have anything to say?" the chairman added, when he found the young Wayne's face in he middle of the audience.
Chill noticed Bruce's cold eyes and had to look away. Then, Bruce stood up and walked away, all eyes on him. Including Rachel's.
When Clark saw Bruce coming in his direction, he quickly walked away under the suspicious eyes of Sergeant Gordon. It was pretty clear to Clark that Bruce had given up his insane plan to kill Chill. On the other hand, he knew he was still in danger and his killer could be in any place. Then, he paid attention to all the movement around him in the Court's corridors.
As Clark walked back to the Court's front door, his cell phone started to ring. It couldn't be a worse time, he thought.
Bruce Wayne walked past him through the hallway and entered a bathroom. Surprised that he hadn't been seen by the billionaire, Clark took his mobile and kept his eyes where he had gone:
"Chloe?" he asked, while continuing to look at the bathroom's direction where Bruce was.
"Clark, things are worse than we have imagined!" she said.
"I don't have any doubt about that" he answered, seeing that the police officer still watched him. "Bruce came to the hearing…" he finally said.
"What?" she asked, surprised and worried. "Are you at the Court?"
"I followed him" Clark added.
"Oh... now that couldn't be worse" she said. "What about Lois?"
"She's not here. And she doesn't know" Clark said.
Then, Clark used his x-ray vision to see Bruce alone, in the bathroom, quiet, looking at the mirror, probably, wondering what to do.
"I have something to tell you" Chloe said. "Maxwell Jensen is dead"
"What?" Clark asked, shocked. "How did it happen?"
"I don't know. His body was found today morning at Hobb's Bay" she explained. "But the good news is that I arrived in his office before the police…"
"You did what?" he asked, perplexed and worried about his friend's safety.
"Hey... Don't worry, Clark. It wasn't a big deal. After all, it was easier than trespassing Luthorcorp security systems"
"What did you find out there?" he asked, looking at the Court's front door.
"Nothing" she answered. "Until I rummaged through his garbage…and just our luck, I found a piece of paper with a name that can help us..."
"What name?" Clark asked, looking at the other side of the street.
"The Grand Hotel" they said in unison.
"How do you know that?" Chloe asked, confused.
But Clark didn't know. He had seen it. Across the street, there was The Grand Hotel, and in a third floor window, he saw a person pointing a gun against the Court's front door.
"Chloe, I have to go" he said, turning the phone off.
"Clark!" she asked in vain.
Clark ran as fast as he could to the hotel.
Meanwhile, Bruce was in the bathroom. He continued looking at his face in fron of the mirror. Slowly, he took out a bundle that was under the sink. He opened it and there inside was the gun, where he had hidden before entering the courtroom. He placedthe gun inside his pocket and once more, he looked at his face in the mirror.
"Can't you go faster?" Lois askedAlfred a few blocks away from the Court.
"I'm sorry Miss Lane, but I can't. It's the traffic!" he answered, overwhelmed.
Lois looked again at the streets. The cars weren't even moving in the main avenue. She calculated they couldn't be so far from Robinson Park, judging from what she recognized of those streets.
Determined, she opened the car's door and said:
"Don't take it personal, Alfred, but I'll meet you there!"
The butler turned around to see Lois running between the cars and, confused and stunned, he could only imagine that Bruce was in danger.
Without being seen on account of his super-speed, Clark crossed the entry hall of The Grand Hotel and went up the stairs to the third floor. Stopping in front of the bedroom where he believed the shooter was, he used his x-ray vision, but there was nobody in that room.
Confused, Clark examined the next bedroom. A woman was next to the window, holding a rifle.
With a small kick, Clark opened the door and entered abruptly, surprising the shooter, who suddenly turned around holding the rifle, and started to shoot him.
Clark easily deflected the bullets. Quickly, he ran into the shooter's direction, pulling the weapon from her hands.
Shocked, the shooter faced him, then turned to run away through the door, but with a small touch of his index finger to her forehead, Clark made her fall unconscious.
Clark bent down on his knees next to the shooter and examined her pockets. There was no wallet or any identification of who she was. But he deduced that she was The Dutchess. He finally found her cell phone in one of the pockets of her leather jacket. Attempting to discover something, Clark noticed there was a call from the same telephone number in Metropolis that Chloe discovered had been Maxwell Jensen's. It was probably his last call before being murdered. And maybe, she was his murderer.
Clark stood up and walked over to the window, where he had a clear view of the Court.
Many reporters were crowded in the hall of the Court while Joe Chill left the hearing room. Not very far away, there was Bruce, who observed everything. The young billionaire was standing with both hands in the pockets of his coat, and he now concealed a gun.
As fast as he could, Clark, who saw everything, tied up the shooter with the ropelike tiebacks of the curtain of the hotel's bedroom and went back to the Court.
However, seconds later, when Clark stopped behind Bruce, something happened:
"Joe! Hey Joe!" a blonde female reporter called out.
Everybody looked at her, when she suddenly took a gun from her coat:
"Falcone says 'hi'!" she said before shooting it point blank against his chest.
As shocked as Bruce, Clark couldn't do anything to avoid it. It was too fast, and too unexpected.
Police officers came from everywhere to take arrest the fake reporter. But it was too late for Chill. He was dead.
Fifteen feet away, Bruce kept the loaded gun up his sleeve. His face was as uncomprehending as it had been the night Chill killed his parents. Rachel moved to Bruce, pulling him away from the chaos.
"Come on, Bruce. Come on, we don't need to see this" she said.
Bruce yanked his arm away.
"I do" he said, keeping his eyes onJoe Chill's dead body.
Clark took a deep breath, and sure that there wasn't anything else to be done there, he moved away. Looking back across the street, there was another movement in front of The Grand Hotel. He noticed that the shooter who he had immobilized instants before was now being arrested by some police officers. One of them was Sargeant Gordon.
Wondering if the entire situation was now under control, Clark decided to go back to the mansion and face Lois' anger for not being awakened in time for the hearing, when he suddenly saw her appearing at the door of the Courthouse.
Without noticing him, Lois ran into the hall until where Bruce was, while Clark observed them from behind some pillars.
"Rachel!" the District Attorney Finch called.
Rachel looked at her boss and then at Bruce, who was still too shocked to say anything.
As Rachel moved away from Bruce, Lois approached him.
"Bruce?" Lois said, looking around and seeing Joe Chill's corpse being covered.
But Bruce didn't say anything. Then Lois stood directly in front of him to have his attention.
"It's over" she said, while their eyes finally met each other.
Some tears appeared in Lois' eyes and she hugged him affectionately.
With his face buried in Lois' hair, Bruce continued to look at Chill, sure that justice had finally been made.
A fews meters away, Clark took a deep breath, trying not to be hurt at seeing how much Lois loved Bruce. Slowly he left the building to wait for them outside, when his cell phone rang again.
"Chloe" he said, quietly.
"Clark! Whathappened? I read the Internet news! Who shot Chill? I hope it wasn't who I think it was..."
"No, Chloe. Everything's fine" he said, quietly, looking back to see Lois and Bruce, still embraced.
"No matter what happens, I will be always here for you" Clark heard Lois whisper to Bruce.
"Things are a little complicated here, Chloe. I'll call you later, okay?" he said, trying not to show her what he was feeling right that moment.
"Clark, I..." Chloe said, but it was too late. He had hung up on her. Again.
Slowly, Clark crossed the street, amid the confusion of police, press cars, and people conglomerated in front of the Court and The Grant Hotel. He took a deep breath one more time, completely ignoring the media circus that was now taking place in Gotham. He decided to go back to Smallville on his own. Just walking. Without his super-speed. After all, no one else needed him, and there was a lot to think about during the trip home, mainly about his feelings over Lois.
Meanwhile, Lois perceived something was wrong. She walked away from Bruce and lookedaround, noticing something strange.
"Where's Clark?" she asked, worried.
Bruce, who hadn't heard a word she said, just looked at Chill's body been carried to the ambulance, when Rachel approached them:
"Have you seen Clark?" Lois asked her.
"No" she answered, confused.
Lois continued to look around, visibly concerned.
"Bruce... let's get out of here" Rachel said, gently, while Lois walked ahead of them, looking for Clark.
"Where are you, Smallville?" she asked to herself, overwhelmed.
"Lois!" Rachel called, approaching her with Bruce.
Lois turned back to see them, and smiled, friendly, trying to pretend she wasn't worried about Clark's disappearance.
"I was thinking about taking a ride with Bruce" Rachel said, with the arm hooked in Bruce's. "Do you want to come with us?"
Lois smiled. They probably had a lot to talkabout. And Rachel was better than she was when the subject was Bruce. Anyway, Lois was too worried about Clark. So, she was sure she wouldn't be very pleasant company.
"No. Thanks. I'm gonna stay here for a while... I have to find my... I mean, Clark" she said. "And Alfred is on his way. Don't worry about me"
Rachel smiledand looked at Bruce, who was still completely afflicted with everything that had just happened.
Lois faced Bruce one more time, and remembered the day of his parents' funeral. The same expression. His past was all there. And she understood what may be passing through his confused and stunned mind, no matter how concerned she was about Clark.
"Are you gonna be okay?" Lois asked to Bruce, who now lookedher in the eyes.
He just gave her a little smile.
Then, Lois hugged him once more and had the strange feeling she wouldn't see him again for a long time.
"We'll talk later" she said.
Lois looked at Rachel and gave her a friendly smile. She knew Bruce was in good hands.After all, Rachel was the woman who loved him as much as she believed herself to have loved him once.
As Rachel and Bruce left, Lois continued to look for Clark, while the movement in front of the hotel on the other side of the street was still intense. She looked up and saw a third floor window of The Grand Hotel. There were some policemen examining the place. So, she wondered the person who wanted to kill Bruce could have been there. Worried about what could have happened with Clark, Lois ran as fast as she could, hoping he was fine.
Minutes later, Clark walked some blocks away, his thoughts dominated by conflicting emotions. Suddenly, he saw a familiar car crossing the street. It was Rachel's. Noticing that Rachel and Bruce were inside, and believing that the young Wayne was still confused and stunned, Clark wondered if something bad could still happen, so he decided to follow them.
To be continued...
