Jade falls apart.
He's never seen this side of his oldest. He's never seen her emotions writ so plainly on her face, her green eyes filled with grief and guilt. "Daddy, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry—" She says it over and over again, rocking herself at his side, too afraid to touch him.
"Jade, it's okay. It's okay." It's not okay. He can't protect them now. He'll only slow them down. "Jade, I need you to listen to me now."
She looks at him.
"Take your sister, Jade. Take your sister and the car and the money, and run. Run, little girl. Run as fast as you can and don't look back. Don't ever look back."
"Run? Leave you? Leave you like this? I can't, Daddy. I can't!" She lays her head down on his shoulder. "I can't lose you too…"
"No, Daddy." It's Artemis who speaks. She hugs the dog Skip again. "Get help, Skip. Get help now!"
The dog looks at her, cocks his face, licks her cheek, and then takes off. "Yip! Yip!"
"We can't leave you, Daddy. We won't. We're Crocks. We're a family. We stick together." Artemis takes the mask off her face—his mask off her face—and he's started by the look of maturity on her face. "We're a family."
"Artemis, Jade, listen to me. I can't protect you now. I'll slow you down. The Shadows are going to keep coming after you. I can't put you at risk. I won't. You have to go now …"
Jade wipes the tears from her face and hugs her sister to her. "No, Daddy. Artemis is right. We're a family. No matter what else we are, we're a family and families belong together. I forgot that for a while, but I remember now."
"You should listen to your daughters, Sportsmaster."
He knows that voice. Normally, it would cause his stomach to sink down into his shoes, but for once he feels something not unlike hope. His girls will be safe.
Superman is here.
His girls will be safe, and that's all that matters.
"You're Superman." The look of maturity has fallen from Artemis's face. Her eyes are wide with wonder as she watches the red and blue clad figure float down out of the sky, the dog Skip flying beside him.
"Yes, I'm Superman. I'm pleased to meet you, Artemis."
"You know my name?"
Superman smiles at her, and lays an affectionate hand on Skip's head. "Krypto here has told me all about you."
"Krypto?"
"That's Skip's other name. He stays with the Kents and looks after them when he's not keeping an eye on me. He likes to keep a low profile. Isn't that right, boy?"
"Yip! Yip!"
Jade stumbles over and grabs his lance. "You aren't taking him!" she screams, her voice raw. "You're not taking my Daddy away from me!"
"Jade." He's simultaneously proud of his daughter and amused. Only his daughter would think to threaten the most powerful man on Earth with a metal stick.
Superman raises his hands up. "Jade, I'm not here to hurt your father. I'm not going to take him away." He looks over at Crock and there's the word Yet in his eyes. "But your father needs medical care. Let me look at him. Let me help."
She lowers the lance and falls down to her knees. "Don't take him. Please don't take him away from us …"
"It'll be okay, Jade. Come here, little girl. Come here." He opens his arms up as he had done before Deathstroke had arrived, and his daughter climbs into them like a frightened child. "It'll be okay."
Superman kneels down beside him and looks at his back. His eyes seem to have a strange sheen to them. "Don't move unless it's absolutely necessary. I don't want to take that knife out. It might do more harm than good right now. You need immediate medical care. I'll see to it."
"I ain't going anywhere, Superman." He gestures to Artemis and his youngest crawls into his arms from the other side. "Do what you have to."
Superman rises back up into the air. "I'll be back soon, Sportsmaster."
"I know."
"Skip …" Artemis says softly.
The dog, about to take to the air, pauses and looks at her.
"Thank you for saving my family."
"Yip! Yip!" The dog wags his tail and then is gone.
And then they're alone.
His girls safe in his arms, Lawrence Crock smiles softly as he waits for the future.
For now, it's enough.