Disclaimer: not mine
Bruce had been working with Ella. She had sent him all she could gather so he could work with it while she prepared for her trip to Gotham. So far they had managed to recover partial coordinates. They didn't match the destroyed facility, so this could mean somewhere to start searching.
It was then when he heard a noise. Something other than bats flying. He didn't need to look up to know who was there. Neither he would pretend he wanted the visit right now.
"Do you always sneak up on people in their own places?"
"Only when it's necessary."
Clark hovered down, landing by his side.
"I am not with the League right now."
"But you are trying to find out who killed Barbara." Clark looked down. "I know what you're thinking, Bruce." Bruce turned his head to the side, making Clark look at him. "I fear you're right, and Luthor is behind it."
Bruce tensed but controlled himself.
"Barbara was not your own personal sidekick, Clark, you had no right. And I though you learned long ago about risking sidekicks' lives by now," said Bruce.
Clark clenched his teeth and fists at the comment, but reminded himself why he was there.
"Luthor poses a threat to everybody, Bruce. It wasn't personal."
Bruce got up from his chair and confronted him. Face to face. No cowls, no glasses. Clark could feel his breath on his face. Bruce talked through gritted teeth. "Luthor has a personal vendetta against you, not against the rest of the world."
Clark tried to control himself again. "Lex hates me, but this is not about Lex and Clark, Bruce. This is bigger, it has to do with whatever he was hiding in that facility and his plans to take office." Clark awaited for Bruce to snap at him, but all he got was a silent look. "Look, someone at the paper heard that Luthor mentioned Gotham on a phone call the night Barbara died. If you follow that lead, it will take you to Barbara's killers. You'll do justice," concluded Clark.
"If all this leads me to anything related to Luthor's personal agenda against you," Bruce finally said, "you will also know about justice."
They both remained in a silent and tense stare fight. Once more, it was Clark who let his pride aside.
"I'll be in touch," he said before taking off.
"Don't bother," said Bruce knowing that Clark would hear it.
After he left, Bruce opened a new file and started writing his notes.
Barbara Gordon's murder case had just been open. A few minutes later Alfred came in with some food and drink.
"I brought you some refreshments."
"Thank you, Alfred."
The butler placed the platter on the table and caught a glance at the big screen. After the years he was very familiar to Bruce's detective work patterns. "You have made some progress."
"Yes. I found a lead. It might take a little time but it's reliable. Have you checked on Dick?," he asked.
"Master Dick left the house."
"He probably went for a walk," said Bruce slightly tense.
"He left the house through the window," replied Alfred.
Bruce closed his eyes. "He will come back," he sighed. "He will come back."
Luckily for Clark, another fire and a few minor crimes had kept him busy for hours. When he got home, Lois was already sleeping. He took a shower and considered going to bed, but he wasn't that tired, and his restless movements would surely awake Lois. He opted to sit on the coach and turned on the news channel, muting the volume. He left home before she woke up, leaving a note on the kitchen table saying he would see her at the Planet, promising to talk. Taking off he flew West. Soon, he was hovering over Ollie's house and saw his friend outside practicing with his bow.
"Morning, Clark," said Ollie while Superman landed by his side.
Clark looked towards their bedroom "How's Dinah?," he asked.
"Better than I expected. I think she's found a way to cope with it."
"I'm glad." Clark smiled. "She's a very strong woman."
Ollie smiled with pride at his remark. "She is." More than Clark would ever know.
"Did you get my message?"
"I did." Ollie threw another arrow, breaking in two perfect halves the first one, already in the middle of the target. "That woman of yours is a raw diamond. Emphasis on 'raw', by the way."
"Apparently the guy who drove Lex's limo was a friend of my brother in law."
"So now the whole family's involved. I don't know how you do it, Clark, but you're a magnet for the worst scum."
"I'm starting to think it is Lois the one who attracts them."
"Dude, Lois is the one to attract mortal danger. The scum thing is yours. Learn to share with your wife."
Ignoring Ollie's remark, Clark kept talking. "I went to visit Bruce. I told him what I knew."
"I figured you wouldn't tell just me," Ollie said rolling his eyes while he took another arrow and loaded the bow.
"This is not a competition, Oliver."
The third arrow hit a further target. Even Clark had to squint his eyes to see it.
"Hey, I was just covering your red-blue ass, Clark."
"I appreciate the gesture, Oliver, but stop doing it."
"Ok, but when the bat comes after you, don't call for my help."
"Do you have something?"
"Not yet. And Ella's out of range until she gets here," said Ollie.
"So it's final? She's coming?"
"As if you didn't know." Clark looked away. "Now you have two problems, right? Not just covering your precious wife's rear end but also your fronts, and don't stop worrying about Bruce as a bonus."
"About that last thing. I've been thinking." Clark looked at Ollie in the eyes. "Do you still have Lex's kryptonite ring?"
Author's notes: thanks for reading, even if it was a short one!
