Chapter Nine
("During transference, people turn into a 'biological time machine.'"
A nerve is struck when someone says or does something that reminds you of your past.
This creates an "emotional time warp" that transfers your emotional past and
your psychological needs into the present.)
Gotham
A trauma in childhood has long been believed to have consequences that reach far beyond the momentary pain. Some believe they continue to affect the person throughout their life. Imagine the affect of watching your parents gunned down before your eyes. Imagine the helplessness, the guilt, and the shock of having your whole world ripped away from you in an instant. Bruce Wayne doesn't have to imagine these things.
It could be said the real Bruce Wayne died in that alley too and the Batman was born. Since that night, he has always kept everyone at arm's length, never letting anyone get too close. At least that's what he's tried. Some have always slipped through. Selina. The villain Hush, his childhood friend Tommy Elliot, carved her heart out to hurt Bruce. He'd let his guard down and someone else was hurt. He lost his focus on the mission and someone else got hurt.
Someone else got hurt because of him.
That was a lapse he wouldn't allow to happen again. Bruce shut down that part of his life and locked it away, not wanting to deal with it. It seemed like a good plan at the time. A funny thing happens with even a great mind like Bruce's. The more you repress something and don't deal with it, the more your mind finds other ways to bring it to the surface.
It was the wee hours of the morning and Bruce Wayne sat in front of his computer deep in the Batcave. His cowl was down and on the screen in front of him was two pictures, Superman and Power Girl. It seems with each passing day he grew more worried about their liaison. Every time he looked at them together more reasons sprang up in his mind about why it bothered him. What was most troubling was he hadn't seen it. Why hadn't he seen it?
His physical gifts were impressive, but what made the Batman the formidable hero he was had little to do with them. It was his mental prowess, his ability to outthink everyone and every situation. He was always five, ten steps ahead of everyone. He had already run every possibility before the battle began. These abilities didn't stop with just the villains, but took in every possibility, including his teammates. He knew each of their weaknesses; their vulnerabilities and what would defeat them. If he ever had a second thought about this, Darkseid's brainwashing of Superman ended it.
Everyone was a possible threat to Earth, to the mission.
The one enigma in all that careful planning and cold calculations was Superman, the very one that started him on this line of thinking. Clark Kent. Bruce knew him as well, if not better, than just about anyone. He could confidently predict almost every action Superman would make. Batman knew that if Superman were ever turned again, he would be ready.
Yet for all this knowledge and strategy, Bruce hadn't fully figure Clark out. For the most part, Clark Kent was exactly what he appeared to be, just a good, honest farm boy, a Boy Scout. It's probably what endured him to people so easily. Bruce knew that was only the surface, the mask Clark put on. He was really a much more complex man than that. He'd seen first hand with Darkseid that stronger passions boiled just below the surface with Clark. As much as the world and their fellow heroes embraced him, Clark was an outsider.
His was the classic story of the immigrant. He was a stranger in a new land. He'd done an amazing job assimilating, yet he would always be an outsider. Bruce understood this probably better than most, for the irony was that Bruce was an insider, perhaps the ultimate insider. His family went back generations, he was born into wealth and privilege, even his very name, Wayne, spoke of power and influence.
Clark was an alien, a foreigner, yet he'd learned to blend in to his new land. What could be more mainstream and familiar than mild mannered Clark Kent? He'd adopted the ways of his new home, their customs and culture. Even the symbol on his chest most mistook for an S as in Superman. He was by far an immigrant success story of spectacular proportions.
It was one of the things that worried Bruce about this tryst between Clark and Karen. He knew how easily adoration could switch to fear. It was innate in every culture to fear the outsider. How quickly after the Darkseid incident had the government and people turned away from Superman. It was a testament to Clark's skill and personality that he'd been able to win most of them back. That fear, though, remained just below the surface, ready to reignite at the smallest spark.
Superman dating another true Kryptonian could certainly be that spark in Bruce's mind. Why didn't I consider the possibility before, Bruce wondered? How did I miss it? Superman and Power Girl together made it impossible to forget they were from another world, another far more advanced race. They had powers and abilities far beyond just about anyone else on Earth. They're being together would not go unnoticed. It would bring up all those old fears about Superman and where his loyalties lay.
Since that night in New York when he realized just how far they'd progressed together it had been eating away at Bruce. How could he miss something so obvious? They were two of the last survivors of their world. They were in many ways two sides of the same coin. Power Girl was Superman's perfect genetic and cultural match. How could Bruce have missed the obvious pull that would have on both of them? Finding someone so right for you rapidly became more than just a casual thing.
Selina.
The longer Bruce pondered over the two, the more concerns and worries came to mind. What would them being together mean for the League? The goodwill it enjoyed was more tied to Superman than anyone else. A simple farm boy, yet it seemed so natural that he would speak to the world leaders for the League. On interplanetary missions, Superman was usually the one sent, as he was well known throughout the galaxy. Even the Guardians and their Lantern Corp showed him deference in most situations. He was hardly just a simple farm boy.
Superman with Power Girl would change that. It didn't matter if others dated or even married. In the grand scheme of things, Green Arrow and Black Canary hooking up changed little. Cadmus hadn't been formed out of fear of them going rogue. Two Kryptonians together was a different story. That shifted the dynamic completely. Would their first loyalty be to the League and the planet or to each other? If it was to each other, who could stop them? Even Bruce wasn't sure he had a plan for that.
He told himself it wouldn't happen, that he knew Clark. The problem was it almost didn't matter if nothing changed with Superman and Power Girl; the perception of others would change. That they were really outsiders would be more apparent then ever. As every immigrant knows, it's a delicate balance between your tribe, you homeland, your ancestors and your new home. Embrace where you come from and the old ways too much and the worry starts. You become the alien, the foreigner, and the unknown. Every society, every people fear the unknown.
Power Girl represented such a dangerous situation for Superman. Almost any other woman that Superman could be with would not pose the same problems. If he were to marry Lois Lane, it would be seen as another step in that assimilation. Marrying inside the new tribe would add to his acceptance in his new world. For that matter even if Clark were to have a fling with any other member of the League it wouldn't raise the same concerns as Power Girl would. The other women were mostly from Earth. Power Girl raised questions about tribe, loyalty and the unknown. Most people knew very little about the Kryptonians, only that their world had exploded. Other than Superman, Power Girl and Supergirl, the only other Kryptonian anyone had ever heard of was Zod and his cohorts. What was to say that once Superman and Power Girl took the next step they wouldn't change? Perhaps as Kryptonians got older, their dreams and desires grew just as their powers did.
Bruce wanted to reject this idea as outlandish, but the problem was he wasn't sure. Bruce hated not being sure. He'd patterned his life so he could control as much of it as possible, limiting the exposure. Superman and Power Girl were a bit of chaos he hadn't planned for. Bruce didn't like chaos. Chaos breeds mistakes.
Once passion and emotions for a woman came into play, focus was lost. Superman wasn't just some other young man dating a young woman in Bruce's mind. He was a force for good, much as Bruce was in his own way. The more Superman became involved with Power Girl, the more chances there were for him to lose focus on the mission. Losing focus on the mission meant other people got hurt.
Selina.
Looking at those two photos, Batman knew something had to be done, for the good of the League, for the good of the mission before others got hurt. Love was a dangerous thing, especially for someone like Superman. The mission had to come first, no matter what.
The Watchtower
Karen silently made her way down the hallway of the habitat ring. Her shift was over and she probably should have been heading back to New York for a good night sleep. She smiled and returned the greetings of the few teammates she saw. Most just assumed she was heading towards her quarters to perhaps shower and change before leaving. When she was sure the area was clear, she quickly moved over to one certain door and pressed the chime.
The door opened instantly and a hand came out and pulled her inside. The door silently closed again.
Karen eagerly moved into Clark's arms, kissing him passionately.
"Mmm, I thought you'd never come," he whispered between kisses.
"I thought my shift would never end," she replied. Karen was already pulling off his uniform, eager to get him naked. Clark's hands seemed to be everywhere, caressing her.
"God you are so beautiful," he murmured.
"Don't tear my uniform this time, Clark, or I'll have to go around naked."
"And the downside of that would be what," he teased.
"Oh, just shut up," Karen gasped. "I want you, right now."
"The feeling is mutual."
In a flurry of motion they were out of their clothes and on the bed. Groans and gasps of passion quickly ensued.
Metropolis
Kara sat in one of the trendier nightclubs checking out the crowd. Clark was up on the Watchtower again. He seemed to be spending more and more time up there lately. He still hadn't told her whom he was dating and it was so frustrating to her. By not telling her, it only fueled her desire to know. It felt as if he were pulling away from her, leaving her and that bothered her.
As Courtney came back to the table, Kara tried to forget about Clark for a while. Since he was working, she figured she might as well go out and have some fun. The two young women were receiving their share of admiring looks and had been approached by more than a few men. If the crowd had known they were really Supergirl and Star Girl the attention would have grown.
"Still pouting," Courtney asked as she sat down.
"I'm not pouting, I'm sulking, and there is a difference."
"I stand corrected. Why does it bother you so much that Clark has a girlfriend again?"
"Because he won't tell me who she is."
"Why do you care," Courtney asked.
"What if I had a boyfriend, wouldn't you want to know," Kara asked.
"I suppose, but you'd tell me if you did," Courtney replied.
"What if I didn't?"
"Why wouldn't you? I thought we were friends? Are you holding out on me?"
"No, but that's the reason it bothers me about Clark," Kara explained.
"So you're not dating anyone," Courtney asked.
"No, let it go. It was an example."
"So you would tell me if you were dating someone, wouldn't you?"
"Yes, Courtney, yes! Okay?"
"Okay," Courtney agreed. "So you're really not dating anyone?"
"God, it was an example!"
"You're so emotional some times, Kara. You should really watch that," Courtney replied. "So where is Clark anyway?"
"On the Watchtower."
"Again? He spends a lot of time up there lately."
"I know, it's weird, it's like he can't wait to get up there lately."
"Maybe that's where his new girlfriend is," Courtney offered.
"What?"
"I was just thinking, maybe he's dating one of the other League members. I mean he is Superman after all."
"I know he's Superman! He's my cousin, remember?"
Kara seemed to think about this for a moment.
"You really think he might be dating someone up there?"
"I don't know, but it would explain why you haven't been able to find out who she is. You've been like following everywhere, haven't you?"
"Well, everywhere except to work at the paper and the Watchtower," Kara replied.
"Well, you said it definitely wasn't that Lois Lane woman, so maybe it's one of the heroes up there," Courtney offered.
"That actually makes sense," Kara admitted.
"So who do you think it is? Diana? I always thought they'd be perfect together."
"No, Diana's interested in Batman, isn't she," Kara replied.
"That's right," Courtney said. 'So who? Zatanna? She's real sexy. I always hear guys talking about how hot she is."
"I don't know," Kara replied. "You think?"
"It's just a guess, I don't know. He's Superman, I'm sure there are lots of women that would want to date him."
"I'm leaving," Kara said, standing up and gathering her things.
"What? Already? We just got here," Courtney complained.
"You stay, I'll be right back," Kara said.
"Where are you going?"
"I want to find out."
"You're going to the Tower? Now?"
"Yeah, I just have to know."
"Remind me never to try and keep a secret from you," Courtney said. "You get like obsessed or something."
"I'll be back."
The Watchtower – Later
Kara had teleported in, checking the roster when she arrived. Clark's shift was over, but he hadn't left the tower yet. Kara's suspicions grew as she thought about it. Doing a quick scan of the roster, she saw there were quite a few female heroes on duty. She dismissed several right off as possibilities, but that still left quite a few.
She started looking for Clark in all the usual locations, cafeteria, gym, computer lab, but he wasn't in any of them. After eliminating all other possibilities, she headed down to the habitat ring. It was mid-shift so very few people were around. As she approached Clark's room, she stopped in her tracks. Her super hearing could hear them from the hallway.
Her face flushed and she was unsure what to do. Clark and his new girlfriend were together right at that moment. From the sounds she was picking up, they were having sex. What should she do, knock? Flustered and unsettled, Kara stood there for several moments not sure how to proceed. Curiosity finally won out. She had to know who the girl was. Using her x-ray vision, Kara looked through the wall of Clark's room.
Kara's jaw dropped open in shock as she saw who it was.