Chapter Three

Oh My God

"Welcome, back." Was what Clark heard coming from the man who was standing behind his mother with soft smile on his face. The dark hair young man had not responded to his welcome immediately because he was busy squeezing his brain to remember who this man, he seemed familiar the graying hair, the pointed nose, the sharp eyes, the high class posture, the expensive suit. The name was on the tip of his tongue but he was disoriented and not clear-headed so he struggled to acknowledge the man,

"You…you are B….Bruce," the young blue- eyed man said with difficulty, his mouth was dry and his throat was scratchy. His voice was strange even to his own ears as if his vocal cords were jarred; the older man sensed his struggle so he kindly answered the question that was evident on the sky blue eyes.

"Yes, I am Bruce Wayne, I get acquainted with Martha, the day she lost you. We will fill you with the details you want to know after you having some rest and restore some of your strength, right Martha?" he asked for the old woman's consent and she could only nod because she could not trust her voice right now to sound normal, she knew if she spoke, her voice would be shaky and quivering. She was still in daze, she still thinks that she might have a wonderful dream where her only son, came back to her from the dead, where her son resting on her old couch and she was afraid to blink her eyes lest her little boy will disappear. But her daze vanished when the soft voice of her son called her.

"Mom, are you alright?" asked the young man with small, hesitant tone as he was expecting to scare his mother to death if he spoke louder, after all, he was dead and just rose up from his grave. But the old woman smiled softly to her son who was searching her face worriedly for any sign of trouble whose eyes revealing his weariness and the inner struggle to adjust to all what happened. She hugged him once more to reassure him and herself that everything is all right before answering his question.

"I am fine dear, do not worry about me, I am a strong, stubborn woman." The resurrected man smiled softly after hearing the assuring words of his mother then he remembered his girl friend and colleague Lois Lane.

"Mom, where is Lois?" when her son asked that question, Martha's eyes traveled upwards to meet Bruce's eyes as if she was asking for help how to answer that question but he shrugged because he could not form any answer but the truth. When his mother had not responded to his question, he repeated it again with worry and fear eating his soul. Then his mother collected her courage and answered him,

"She is in a long trip out of America, dear." The relief that invaded him cannot be descried when he knew that she had not made reckless thing and endangered her life while he was away.

Before the young man asking more questions, the rich man who was standing quietly listening to a mother and son reuniting spoke addressing the lying man.

"I guess you need a long hot shower and a change of clothes. I will help you while Martha goes to prepare a hot meal for you to restore your energy then you could catch up as you wish." Martha who was not comfortable to talk to her son about certain issues right now was excited about that suggestion,

"This is a great idea Bruce, I will hurry to Clark's room to retrieve some of his clean clothes for him to change and you can help him go to the bathroom to have a shower then I will start preparing Clark's favorite meal. Okay, honey?" the young man was more than ready to remove his graves' dirt from his clothes and his body so he tried to stand up but the dizziness attacked him once more and he was about to fall again but a pair of strong arms caught him and steadied him.

"Take it easy, do not rush yourself, you can take your time to adjust to using your muscles, the hot shower will improve your condition," the older man assured the younger one with confidence coming from long experience with worn out muscles, angry wounds and even broken bones but until now the young one had not suspected that there is any relation between Bruce and the batman.

The rich billionaire encircled one of his hands around the young man's waist to make sure, he won't collapse again. While he was leading the young Kent towards the bathroom, he cannot help but to how slim the waist of the young man was. After Superman's death in the battle field, he was the first one to carry him and he was sure that the alien was well sculptured so holding the young man and feeling how fragile he becomes, leaving a bitter taste on his mouth and a bang of guilt on his heart. If he was better, if he was not foolish and selfish may be Clark would not have died and he would not go through the terrible experience of being dead and of course he would not be that fragile and weak that he needs his support of all people to go to the bathroom.

The man who he was supporting cleared his voice to gain his attention so he turned his eyes down to look at the shorter man. When Clark made sure that the rich man focusing his attention with him, he asked the question that bothered him since he discovered the presence of the old rich man, he was embarrassed but he shot the question anyway.

"Are you dating my Mom, Mister Wayne?" the older man blinked once and twice before his mind register what the young man was inquiring.

"I am sorry, if I offended you but I was in the shadow for a long time and it would be nice to know what is happening around me so I won't make fool of myself." added the young man quickly to explain himself.

"Oh…. no me and Martha are just close friends. Do not worry no one could took the place of your deceased father on your mother's heart," the man smiled fondly to the younger man and the younger man's face turned red so he looked away to cover his embarrassment.

"Here is the bathroom, you can start showering, I will be close so if you need anything just yell," said the graying- headed man casually and he left the young man to help himself into the bathroom. Clark started to brace himself by leaning against the bathroom door before he could shut the door, Martha rushed with a set of clean clothes and handed them to her son, he thanked her dutifully and closed the door to start his cleaning process, he shed the stained jacket first and threw it on the laundry basket beside him and followed it the shirt and the pants then he took off his underwear when he was totally nude that he noticed something off about his body so he turned to face the big mirror hanging in the bathroom and he shrieked with surprise, shock and dismay,

"OH MY GOD."

To be continued,

End of the Chapter