STEEL THY HEART, CHAPTER TWENTY
A/N: Just wanted to take a moment to thank all of my reviewers and readers for their insights and comments!
I appreciate each and every one of you, including Proponent of EVO, Ratdogwo, SamDanny4ever, Kairan1979, Tauvian, Spaniard, JNottle, SweetNJuicy XO, JOUNOUCHI sawa, BenderTheOffender, Mr. Crossover, asweetapril, Ardans, cabera1234, Thieje, HarimaHige, Sironblood 1, CMU, Kjun, and Captain Deadpool and Cherryll.
I am also appreciative of all who cited my story in an alert or as a favorite! If I left anyone out, it was not intentional, because all of you are precious in this author's eyes!
Anyway, enough sentiment…on with the story!
Early the next day, Superman was working out in the gym in the Watchtower. He ignored the stares he got from his fellow heroes while he practiced flying maneuvers as he fought pretend missiles being launched. Some were giving him envious looks, others glared at him, and still others ignored him, just as they always had. Apparently, news that he was dating Catwoman had traveled fast.
The Flash was silent while he practiced running through some complex mazes the computer had set up. When he was done however, he regarded the Man of Steel. Although Superman didn't see the Scarlet Speedster's reaction, the Kryptonian could feel his eyes boring on him. Superman landed in front of him.
"What?" He asked. The Flash shrugged, but didn't respond.
Superman cried, "Okay, spill it!" He looked around at all the heroes who were in the gym and said in a slightly lower voice, "I know what you're thinking! I must be crazy to be dating her, right?"
"Actually," the Flash responded, "I wasn't thinking anything of the sort. If she makes you happy, then that's half the battle, right, Supes?"
Superman was astonished. He had expected Wally to be judgmental, the way the others who regarded the Kryptonian sometimes seemed to be; or to be mean spirited in thinking that he and Selina had already counted ceiling tiles, especially given Flash's propensity to be very vocal about sex in general and his own sexcapades. But the scarlet clad Justice Leaguer was not reacting in his usually exuberant manner.
The Man of Steel peered at him, asking, "Why are you being so nice to me?"
The Flash shrugged again. "Look," he said, "I can imagine what you're going through, dating the Catwoman of all people, particularly since people in Gotham, Metropolis, and Lord-knows-where-else know who she actually is. But if she is The One, who am I to criticize?"
Superman smiled. He started thinking that the Flash had a depth of perception that he rarely gave the Fastest Man on Earth credit for. Wally's eyes fell on the Dark Knight as Batman entered the room.
"Besides, I think you have a great deal more to worry about than a few of us acting all Fruit Loopy towards you," the Flash said as he left.
The other heroes gave Batman a wide berth. They knew that ever since the rumors had broken about Superman and Selina Kyle dating, there would be tension between Batman and her current boy toy. Although they wanted to witness first hand who would emerge the victor, one look from Batman had them rethinking that notion. Wildcat, Wilderbeast, Hawk and Dove left the area but went to a viewing screen to watch. Some braver heroes still remained inside, still hoping, rather than actually believing, that all of the equipment would escape unscathed and the Great War between Batman and Superman would never happen.
The Caped Crusader used his bat hook on the statue of a gargoyle and deftly swung from one building to another in the holographic city. Superman used his super hearing to ferret out an image of the Parasite's comings and goings. When he struck, Superman grabbed him before Parasite's hologram could touch him and rendered him unconscious. Batman fought the holograms of the Joker and Two Face before landing on the ground.
Once the hologram faded, Superman commented, "Isn't this a bit early for you? Farm boys get up with the chickens, not night heroes."
Skipping all preliminaries like he usually did, Batman said, "I knew you would be here at this time. I want to talk to you."
Superman sighed, saying, "Haven't we gone down this path before, Bruce?"
Batman responded, "I don't think you understand the personality of the woman you're dealing with. Selina may start out as a loving, caring individual, but when push comes to shove, she plays games with the men she's seeing intimately."
Superman crossed his arms, visibly annoyed as he said, "Yeah, well, I don't think she's playing games with me!"
Batman looked at him with his usual emotionless stare. Inside, however, the darkly clad hero was not without a small trace of sympathy and, even though he didn't want to acknowledge it, envy.
"I hope so, Kent," he said, "I hope so."
The pity fueled Superman's anger. It took every ounce of self control to keep the Man of Steel from pummeling his fellow comrade.
"I know what I'm doing," Superman said with confidence he didn't feel.
"Do you?" Batman asked, disdainfully. "What do you think she'll do when she finds out about your concealment of your secret identity from her?"
Superman thought about that. He had thought about it long and hard lately. True, they had only been on a few dates, but each time they did things together, he wanted to confess everything. He felt so comfortable around her; each time they kissed, time, space and everything slipped away until there was only her. The Man of Steel didn't want to jeopardize that by revealing all to her. But he knew that he couldn't keep her in the dark forever, either, particularly since he knew deep down inside how he really felt about her.
"Oh, God…" Superman muttered softly. He knew that in such a short time, just as he had with Lois, he'd fallen…hard.
"Perhaps it's poetic justice," Batman commented, breaking into his thoughts. "You have your secret that you haven't revealed, but I'm sure she has one or two skeletons in her closet that she hasn't shown you."
The Man of Steel thought back to the Moroccan restaurant and their date in Hawaii. Both times, Selina had put off telling him about any portion of her past. He didn't want to use the Daily Planet's or his home computer's resources to find out about her. Superman told himself that when the time was right, Selina would share things with him. To that end, he felt compelled to defend her.
"Why don't we get to the heart of the matter, Bruce!" the Kryptonian yelled. Batman crossed his arms and faced down the larger superhero.
"Which is...?" asked the Caped Crusader.
"Oh, come on!" Superman accused. "A blind man could see it! This has nothing whatsoever to do with her and her secrets! You see me with someone; someone you no longer have and you're jealous!"
Inside, Batman felt white hot anger bubbling. Outwardly, he said flatly, "That is, of course, a lie. I don't care who you choose to feather your nest with. I'm just trying to tell you the truth about her."
Superman closed the distance between him, thrusting out his chin as he said defiantly, "That may be, but you also think I'm trying to take your woman from you, and"—he paused, jabbing his finger into Batman's armored chest as he punctuated his next words—"you .can't. handle. it!"
Batman pushed Superman away from him, practically snarling, "Don't ever jab me with your finger again!"
Although he pulled his next punch, the Man of Steel pushed back. "You didn't deserve her!" He yelled.
Like he had when they'd first met at the club in Metropolis, Batman threw Superman across the room. "And, you think you do? You believe you're man enough for her?" Batman asked. "She'll use you up then cart your heart off like freshly killed game! To her, you're an insignificant mouse!"
Superman saw red as he said, "What? I am not a mouse!"
They grabbed each other then, tossing each other on the mats in the room. In between grunts, Batman said, "But you're certainly not man enough for her!"
Superman returned, "Who are you to judge? If you couldn't keep her, that's not my problem!"
Batman tossed him again, this time out of the room so that he smacked upside down against the wall in the corridor. This event did not go unnoticed by other heroes walking toward the gym or to another destination.
"Fight, fight!" A Brazilian hero said.
Elongated Man, Captain Marvel and visiting Green Lantern Kyle Rayner saw Superman get up and return to the room at super speed. Inside, Batman assumed a Ninja like defensive position. J'onn J'onzz and the other Green Lantern John Stewart stopped short as they saw both combatants. Wonder Woman, Fire and Vixen couldn't take their eyes off of both men. Diana felt her eyes misting over with tears but she quickly hid them, hoping that her former boyfriend with be okay after battling Superman.
"Want more?" Batman finally asked, his voice a deadly whisper. The other heroes' and heroines' eyes strayed to Superman, who looked at the Caped Crusader's stance.
For a long, tense moment, neither hero moved. Then, like a coiled serpent, Batman struck. Superman, however, was ready. He moved with super speed behind the Dark Knight and grabbed his arms, pinning them behind the Batman's black cape. The shorter hero managed to escape Superman's grip, but just barely. Like a shot, the Man of Tomorrow grabbed Batman's cape and pulled with all his might.
"If anyone's a mouse around here, it's you!" The Man of Steel hissed. "Or, haven't you heard that bats are just mice with wings?" He let go of the cape. It fell to the ground.
Batman yelled at that and Superman's remark, aiming a well timed judo maneuver at the Kryptonian.
"Better, perhaps, that she should date a real mouse rather than a pretentious, big blue boy scout!" the Dark Knight ground out. Both men sank to the ground and started pummeling each other.
Superman's super hearing caught the words, "...mud wrestling?" followed by calls and whoops as the heroes did nothing to stop the fight but were actually taking bets on who'd win. It was then that the Man of Steel stopped wrestling with his opponent. He offered Batman a hand. The Caped Crusader waved Superman off and got up on his own. Both saw the number of heroes and heroines still witnessing the scene.
"Look at us!" Superman said. "We're acting like a couple of five year olds!"
"Got that right..." a voice muttered from the crowd. The Batman glared at them. When most of them finally dispersed, he gave Superman a measuring look.
"The truth is, I know I'm right," Batman said finally. "She'll take your love and leave you hanging."
Now it was Superman's turn to show pity when he said, "I know that you're wrong. She hasn't stolen anything since we've gone out with each other. She's changed. I've seen the way she looks at me. I know that this is the real thing." He gathered his thoughts together before continuing.
"But maybe you're right, Bruce," he admitted softly. "Maybe it is too late for her; maybe like a leopard, she won't change her spots. But if I care about her, I have to give her a chance. If she's trying to deceive me, I'll deal with that when the time comes."
He left the gym, not waiting for Bruce's comment. "Good luck, Clark," Selina's former love breathed. "I hope your naiveté doesn't fail you." He walked out of the gym past Nightwing, Wonder Woman and some other remaining heroes and heroines who wisely remained silent.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
When the Man of Steel had teleported back to Metropolis, he got a call from the woman who had consumed his thoughts lately. "Hi," Selina's voice said over his cell phone.
"Hi, yourself," he said as he flew through the air.
He heard a pause as Selina's voice asked, "Where are you, Clark? I hear air whooshing."
"Oh..." Superman said in his timid voice, "I'm just...flying." Selina paid that no mind.
"Well, would you like for me to pick you up at Metropolis International?" he heard her ask.
"No, no," he assured her, "My vehicle's there. I'll meet you. Where would you to get together?"
"Your place," Selina said in a voice that was telling. Superman's heart beat rapidly as he considered the implications of what she wanted. He had trouble finding his voice.
"O-okay," he said in a higher, squeaky tone. After a brief moment, he used his normal voice, telling her, "But, I have to run an errand first. Can we, maybe, meet in about two hours from now?"
"Sure, Clark," Selina's voice said. "Till later, then."
The phone clicked and Superman sucked in a breath. He wanted to see her again, that much was certain. But when he did, he wanted to be prepared with the best advice imaginable as to how far he should go at this early juncture. The Man of Steel placed his phone back in his cape's pocket then flew to the one woman who could help him decide what to do.