The next few hours were filled with visits from the Knights who were coming off patrol for mandatory rest. Even with 2 members down Oracle made a schedule for them to all have time to eat and sleep until the threat had passed. Cass was the first to visit and she hugged Bruce for 30 minutes while listening to his heart. Once she was done Tim and Stephanie took her place to chat Bruce up and update him on the Central City battle. They briefed him on someone that had helped them when the fighting got thick, but neither of them got a good look at who it was. Next was Dick who tried to tell as many jokes as he could to lighten the mood. He was politely shushed away by Selina before Damian tried to kill him. Last was Jason who mostly said nothing, but had a knowing look on his face.
Bruce and Jason had a complicated relationship after what happened with the Joker. With Jason's death and resurrection looming over them it was up to Bruce to make things better. After Jason tried to take on Batman in his Red Hood persona, the two seemed to have a mutual respect for the other's tactics. They may have massive disagreements and even fight each other sometimes, but at the end of the day they were family and always had each other's backs. It always helped that Selina and Alfred would browbeat them into apologizing to each other.
The Batkids also got a chance to see their heroes in Superman and Wonder Woman again. The exchanges were brief, but meaningful as each of them expressed their joy about the power couple returning. Lara was bouncing off the walls as she met each one and couldn't resist hugging Jason after seeing he was okay. In a weird way she felt like she knew them very well despite only meeting them this one time. Her mother had always regaled her with the stories of the heroes she fought with and she spoke fondly over the batchildren whenever Lara would ask about them.
The day had been long, and despite his hard headedness Bruce was still on the medical table after Selina refused to let him get up till Pennybot said he'd had enough fluids. She'd also told Penny bot not to say he'd had enough till the next morning. A little game that they played to make sure Bruce's health was always prioritized over his inability to stay still. It was now just Bruce, Selina, Diana, Lara, and Kal.
"I really don't appreciate you two ganging up on me. I'm fine and we need to co-ordinate our forces to reduce the gaps in patrols." Selina kept nodding her head and smiling supportively.
"You will stay on that table or I will sic Pennybot on you to make sure you do." Bruce grunted in response as the superfamily made their way to them. Diana spoke up.
"I'm glad your okay Bruce. I guess the wound looked worse than it was." The three of them stood at the foot of the table.
"Maybe you can convince my nurse that I'm okay then since she is obviously overdoing this." Bruce looked to Diana for assistance.
"I trust the expertise of Nurses Selina and Pennybot fully. If they say you should rest than you should rest." Diana smiled and Lara stifled a laugh.
"Well that is that, three against one so you are staying here tonight." Bruce rolls his eyes. "Don't worry the table is big enough for the two of us. I'll get pillows and blankets for us."
Bruce and Kal were just staring at each other now. Neither of them were very good at this sentimental stuff. And there were more than just thanks that Bruce wanted to give him. Bruce was angry with Kal. Not because of what he did, but what he didn't do.
"Kent. Glad to see you could make it."
"Made it just in time apparently."
"Only took you 9 years. Guess that super speed is selective huh?"
"Nope. Nope. Nope." Selina interrupted and shook her head.
"You two are gonna do much better than that. We have been through too much to resort to that unspoken angst between you two." She looks to Bruce. "You did all this work to bring them back. So get over yourself, swallow that pride, and say what really needs to be said so we can go back to saving the world." Kal tries to protest, but Diana interrupts.
"She's right Kal. We can't do this if you two aren't on good terms. We can't resolve everything here and now, but we can do enough to settle our emotions and reassure each other. We will need our best selves for the battles to come. Come Lara, they will need privacy for this." Lara frowns.
"Awww can't we stay? I'll be real quiet." Diana shakes her head no.
"It won't take long Lara. But if Daddy does his best and hurries we may be able to fly together tonight." Lara gasps and runs up to Kal.
"Can we Daddy? Canwecanwecanweeeeeee?" Kal breaks his stare down with Bruce to respond.
"Yes, I'll fly with you two tonight. Just let me finish up here it wont take long." Selina begins to walk off and takes Lara's hand.
"Come on Ladies we all need some R&R after such an exciting day." Diana kisses Kal on the cheek before whispering something in his ear and walking away.
Once they leave the silence lasts for minutes and the tension is thick enough to cut through. Kal always has to make the first move with these discussions, but this time Bruce has had enough and decides to finally talk.
"Are we brothers Clark?" Clark looks shocked.
"I remember you came to the consensus a while ago, when we finally started trusting each other, that we were more than just partners or comrades in arms. You told me we were brothers and you would always look out for me and my family." Clark's gaze averted.
He remembered that day. He'd shown Bruce the fortress and gave him a tour. He wanted Bruce to know what he was dealing with before he asked him to look over it if Clark ever died. That was before anyone. Before the league, before Kara, before Diana or Lara. The first-person Clark trusted enough to tell them everything, was Bruce.
"Bruce I'm sorry for what happened today. I should have picked up on the fighting- "Bruce shouted at him.
"NO! Don't play dumb with me Clark. What happened today has happened before and it will happen again. What shouldn't have happened was you turning your back on me and Diana." Clark understands now. Bruce is mad about the decision he made years ago.
"I knew you didn't approve of me killing Luthor Bruce, even if Brainiac was in there too. But you're right. I turned my back on my wife and my best friend. I even turned my back on my daughter and Kara. I don't deserve forgiveness, but I've been given a second chance here. I'm gonna make the best of it." Clark looked into Bruce's eyes again.
"You're right Clark. You don't deserve a thing. You have a beautiful little girl out there who adores you, but you didn't earn that. Diana did that. If Diana was anything less than the amazing woman I know she is, Lara would hate your guts. But she doesn't. Lara might even love you more than Diana does if that's even possible." Bruce paused and clutched his side. His blood pressure was rising.
"And to cap it off. You're right, I was pissed about Luthor and Brainiac. But you know who helped me get over myself? Diana. She almost decapitated me the day I spoke out against you in the last League meeting. It took everyone to keep her from killing me. So instead of hurting me with her fists she used words. She asked me what I would do if the Joker had my whole world in his hands and threatened to kill it. What if he had Selina or Damian or Dick or Tim or Cass or Jason or any of them?" Bruce looked up into the cave and laughed a little. It had taken the combined efforts of every Leaguer on station to protect him from Diana that day.
"She didn't let me answer because she said already knew what I'd do. She told me that I would have let my family die. I would have let Joker take what remained of my heart, if I had one, because I was too weak. I was too much of a coward to sacrifice myself and my damn ideals to protect the ones I loved. I realized that day that what you had done made you a better man than me. You weren't Superman in that moment Clark, and hell you weren't even Clark Kent. For one of those rare moments in your life you were Kal-El, the last son of Krypton. And in that moment, you sacrificed everything to save your world. Everything that you ever fought for and anything you ever stood for meant nothing on that day when it had Diana and Lara's life in its hands. You acted as a father and a husband. I respect that."
"I'm disappointed in you for what happened after. You stopped being that man when you didn't pick a side." Both men were tearing up a little, but Bruce pushed forward.
"You could have joined the government Clark. I would have been mad, but I would have understood. You didn't do that. You did nothing. You were lukewarm. You decided not to do anything which was more selfish than anything you have done in your life. You basked in self-pity and did nothing to protect your family or your world." Clark gets the courage to speak up.
"I know I failed them and you. I compounded my mistakes until I got to this point. Diana and Lara could have been killed. And I would have just been up there rotting away. Bruce, I don't want to make excuses for what I did. It was a mistake. I should have come to you and stayed with Diana and Lara. I could have made things better, but I was too weak to carry on. I didn't rely on the people who loved me during my time of indecision and weakness." Clark moves closer to Bruce side.
"But something happened to me Bruce. Someone did something to my mind. In my head, I have only been up at the fortress for a few months and it turns out its been years. Lara's birthday was coming up, her first one. I was going to come back for good and find them to apologize. The last thing I remember is hearing Wally die, then I just turned off and I went numb to everything. That's the last thing I remember Bruce I swear it to you. I haven't earned your forgiveness or theirs, but I must find out what happened to me. I need to know who did it so it can't happen again. I can't- "Clark breaks down a little before continuing.
"I…. I'm not strong enough to lose them. I'd rather die than live without them. I can't be shut down like that again. If I don't do one more good thing on this planet I'm going to be a good father and husband. I need your help to find out who it was, so I can stop them from ever doing it again. Then you can go back to hating me."
"You heard Wally die?" Bruce was shocked. He knew Clark's hearing could pick up on even the smallest of things from a great distance, but hearing something so specific still was bewildering. Then there was the fact that Wally was still alive. What had Clark heard?
"And I saw it. It was like I was there Bruce." Clark hangs his head as he relives that moment again. Bruce isn't sure how to break it to Clark and he's confused on how he could have seen it from the fortress.
"Clark. Wally's not dead. His death was faked, and he was captured by the world government. He's still alive." Bruce waited for Clark's reaction.
"Alive? That…That's not possible Bruce. I saw him get shot, I heard his heart stop." Clark is bewildered and scared again. He feels like he did at the fortress when Diana had told him how long it had been since he went missing.
"The robbery was staged Clark. He was shot with a tranquilizer and since his powers were negated his heart would have been stopped. They pronounced him dead at the scene, but I know for a fact they are holding him and Linda somewhere. I'm still working on pinpointing Linda's location, so we can free them both."
Clark is stunned again. Someone really did a number on him. They staged Wally's death and used the imagery in his mind to shut him down. There were only so many people in the world who could get into his head and take advantage of him like that. Bruce was thinking the same thing. He isn't sure how to feel at this point. Dealing with his own emotions is still a battle within itself. But he sees the hurt and desperation on Clark's face and that's enough. The only things he feels now is anger and motivation. Someone hurt Clark and tried to break him.
Someone was stupid enough to go after his best friend and expect to get away with it. New resolve filled Bruce with confidence about what was going to happen next. He was going find whoever did this to Clark, he was going to make them suffer, and he was going to enjoy it. Bruce gets up from the table slowly and grabs Clark in a hug which surprises him. The hug endures as both men show a rare moment of vulnerability between the two of them.
"I'll make you some promises tonight Clark. The first is I'm going to protect you and your family with everything I have. The second is I'm going to find out what happened to you and who did it. The final one is I might think about maybe forgiving you for leaving like you did and leaving me with the mess you made." Clark laughs and returns the hug a little stronger.
"By the way- "Bruce adds "I have thought of 100 ways we could have made Luthor and Brainiac's death look like an accident. So technically I failed you there as much as you failed me after. So, we're even on that front."
The two of them share an easy laugh again before separating finally. The world's finest were back together and now the league could be reformed. Nothing was going to get past these two. Except for the Pennybot which recorded the hug for Selina and Oracle's blackmailing purposes.
