Chapter 16

When Barbara wakes up she finds herself tied up, strong vines wrapped around her wrists and ankles, pinning her up against a rock face. She thinks this is the big rock that sat in the water feature that use to be this park until Ivy transformed it into a jungle. The canopy is now so thick you can't see the sky. Barbara looks to her left and right to find a gagged Canary, Nightwing and Batman tied up beside her. She guesses Ivy managed to catch Batman.

"Ah. Awake at last."

Barbara focuses her eyes straight ahead as Clark floats up to right in front of her. His right hand gently cups her cheek and his thumb strokes the skin on her cheek softly. "I'm glad you're ok," he says sounding genuine about it. "I was beginning to think I hit you too hard. After all I wouldn't want you to miss the grand finale."

Despite it all Barbara has to say Clark's warm touch is nice. "Cl...Blur," she corrects herself.

Clark smiles softly. "Oh I think it is way past time the masks were pulled away don't you." He then turns his head to his left and looks down. "What do you say Ivy?"

All 4 heroes turn to their right to look at Ivy below them smiling to herself self-satisfied about how events are turning out. "I think it is time as well. What do you say Brucie?"

Behind his mask Batman's eyes narrow to slits and says nothing as he attempts to figure a way out of this.

"Strong and silent to the end," Ivy comments. "Kal sweetie pull the masks away," she commands.

Clark pulls Barbara's mask down first before floating over to Nightwing and ripping the black domino mask off his face before lastly coming to Batman and pulling his mask off. As he does so there is an electric charge that shoots up Clark's arm. Some kind of safe guard to protect his identity. A human would have been knocked out. On Clark it barely tingles. Clark dusts his hands off. "There now. No more masks for the 3 of you Barbara Gordon, Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne and Black Canary there never had one to start with but then again she is really not very important in this so I never bothered to learn her name," he dismisses Black Canary because she doesn't have any part in this really as far as Clark is concerned. She just happened to be here when it all went down.

Dinah thinks she should be insulted at that and she would speak up if she wasn't gagged. She hates it when villains do their research and remember her power is in her voice.

Barbara glares at Clark. "Well since we are going for no masks why don't you introduce yourself Clark Kent?" she says his name revealing it since Clark has gone beyond the point of no return on this issue.

'Clark Kent?' Bruce knows that name...that man in Metropolis he was suspicious of due to the fact he resisted Ivy's control. He let it drop because the man appeared to be what the records showed him to be. Bruce chastises himself for letting it drop too easily when he should have done some more digging. Well once he gets himself out of this situation he will be doing a lot of digging into Clark Kent. Digging into what he is, what his weaknesses are and how to contain him.

Clark smirks, totally unconcerned by the fact Babs revealed his name. What does it matter anyway? It isn't like anyone can do anything to him anyhow. He floats down and lands next to Ivy before he addresses all 4 heroes. "Now why are you 4 here?" he asks them. "I can sum it up in one word. Pride. It was your pride...your arrogant belief in your own skills that prevented you doing as you should have and called the Justice League in. That goes doubly for you Babs," he criticises her with a shake of his head. "I mean really you should have known better than them what I am capable of...but then again you have been a big failure as of late. Point of fact. My little show upon the top of police headquarters was just so you would lead me to old Brucie there. It should have occurred to you I could follow you."

'He's right,' Barbara realises. It should have occurred to her.

"You...all of you are so far out of your league it isn't even funny. I could have ended all of this like that," Clark states arrogantly with a snap of his fingers.

"Then why haven't you?" Dick asks.

Clark chuckles at such a ridiculous question. "Now where would have been the fun in that?"

Ivy speaks up. "Also I wished you all to be here to witness my final triumph!"

"Your triumph will only lead to defeat just like every other time Pamela," Bruce says.

Ivy snorts. "And people criticise so-called villains for being clichéd," she says derisively. "You so-called heroes are just as bad. Besides Brucie who is going to stop me? No-one can stand up to my Kal here."

"Your Kal?" Barbara inquires at the possessive tone.

Ivy turns, stands on her toes and kisses Clark on his lips in a very possessive manner. "Yes. My Kal...in every way."

Barbara makes a face. "There's an image I could do without," she can't help but remark while Dinah muffles something from behind her gag which is probably her agreeing with the sentiment.

Ivy smiles in a sultry manner. "That's because you don't have any idea what you missed out on," she says in reference to Kal telling her about Babs' name slip. All it did was reinforce how pathetic Batgirl was in Ivy's opinion.

Well in fact Barbara was more going with the image of Ivy naked. Clark was...well if anything evil him was probably sexier than normal him.

At Barbara's expression Clark just has to speak up. "Jealous Babs?" he queries with a cocky grin. "Well you should be. After all you had your chance to get your world rocked and all you could do was moan out the name of that man-child next to you," he says bitterly.

Dick's head snaps round to look at his ex. "Really?" he inquires of her with hope present in his tone that this means there is still a possibility for him and Babs.

"So not the time Dick," Barbara chastises him for raising that right at the moment.

"Aw it's so upsetting to see a couple estranged isn't it?" Clark says with false sadness.

"I quite agree," Ivy says. "Before this is over we must see if we can get them to the same happy place we are," she decides.

Barbara cannot believe she is about to get relationship advice from a deranged villainness. This is almost getting humiliating.

Clark claps his hands together. "Lets get started shall we. Babs why don't you begin about how stupid Dick is to give up a catch as fine as you."

Barbara is so not indulging Clark in this. "Clark I'm not playing along."

"Oh come on," he almost pleads. "How else am I suppose to entertain myself?"

As in answer to his question Wonder Woman having arrived in Gotham hovers over the transformed park trying to peer through the thick undergrowth for a sign of anyone. Below the undergrowth Clark's super senses have picked up her approach and he stares up with a crooked grin. Now this should be fun.

"Kal? What is it?" Ivy inquires at what he is doing.

"Wonder Woman is here," he informs her. Clark looks at the 4 restrained heroes. "Ok which one of you was it that signalled her because whoever it was I owe an apology to for that whole too prideful to ask for help crack."

It was none of them in reality.

"Can you handle her?" Ivy asks with a little concern.

Clark shrugs. "Probably. Either way it'll be fun. Can you handle them?" he asks back in relation to the 4 heroes.

Ivy snaps her fingers and more vines wrap around the 4 heroes especially ones around their necks in a position to snap their necks at a moment's notice. "I'll be fine. Be careful," she asks with some worry for him because while she doesn't love him Ivy does care for him and she thinks she could one day love him...and there is still the whole bit where she has to reshape the world and she needs his power to do that. This was a little unexpected that Wonder Woman would show up. Ivy knew she would have to face off against the Justice League. She planned for it but this is too soon. She isn't quite ready yet. She can only hope Kal can defeat the Amazon Princess.

Clark bends his knees slightly before shooting straight up rapidly until he is level with Wonder Woman.

Diana blinks in surprise at the sudden appearance of the figure in black hovering a few feet away from her. He was fast. He also has a lecherous grin on his face Diana has seen far too often as he looks her over.

"Well now if it isn't the Wonder Babe. Tell me Great Hips do you live up to your name?" Clark asks her and boy were those some great hips she had.

The Wonder Babe crack Diana has heard before. She mostly ignores it. "What do mean do I live up to my name?" she asks, her curiosity needing to know what he means.

"I bet you do. I bet anything you're a wonder in bed."

Diana folds her arms across her chest. "You will never ever discover the answer," she swears.

"Definitely your loss."

"Hardly," Diana responds her voice icy cold.

"Don't knock it until you try it honey...assuming you have ever tried it. Must be hard living on an island of women only denied the simple pleasure of...well of me."

This was a man of astounding arrogance. Diana knows she will enjoy putting him in his place. She does not bother to respond to his query about whether she has ever tried 'it'. "Surrender now and I'll take it easy on you," she tells him.

Clark laughs. "On please don't take it easy on me. I like it rough and I'm sure you can...deliver."

Hera. He was worse than the Flash for comments like that. The only thing she is going to deliver is her fist connecting to his face.

Clark looks at his wrist and checks the time. "Can we get this started? You know I'm a busy guy. I have things to do...well hot women to do...if you catch my drift."

Arrogant pig! This is exactly the kind of man Diana hates. This is exactly the kind of man her mother warned her about. Even if J'onn is right about him being drugged it is still beyond the pale. She flies at him and throws a punch. His hand moves in a blur and he catches it easily.

"I reeeaaallllyyy hope that isn't the best you can do," he mocks her.

Diana smiles. "It's not," she promises. After all she is use to fighting foes less powerful than herself. She just needs a few moves to judge what he can take without her killing him. She is here to subdue him only. She pulls her hands free, throws a punch which is only a faint. He falls for it easily and her other fist connects right on his chin...making her entire hand go numb. Great Gaea! His head is as hard as granite. She has to stop herself shaking her fist out and showing him any weakness.

Clark takes a moment to shake his head as he tumbles head over heels through the air a few times before he rights himself. He felt that but Maxima probably hit him harder. "I'm still waiting to be impressed Princess," he continues to mock her because well so far this is boring. Maybe if he riles her up enough he can make this interesting.

Something about the way he said 'Princess' sticks in Diana's craw. Her eye twitches slightly and she flies forward and attacks him throwing many hard punches which get through his defences and when he is stunned she flies up above him and delivers a spinning roundhouse kick to his head and he spirals out of the sky and crashes down into the road next to the park. Diana flies down and lands a few feet away from him.

Clark pushes himself to his feet out of the small crater he caused. His shades are now broken. He pulls them off his face and tosses them aside. He grins like a loon. "Now this is what I was talking about!" he proclaims loudly strangely enthused by the fact he just got knocked out of the sky. He gestures with his hand for Diana to come and get him. "Come on sweetheart. Show me what you've got," he dares her. "Come to daddy!"

Diana 'humphs' at his arrogance. Only a foolish warrior invites a battle where none is necessary and this is unnecessary if he would only take a moment to think on it but Ivy's influence whatever it is has obviously rendered the Blur's ability to think rationally impotent. Therefore Diana does as he dared her. She propels herself off the ground, flies at him and prepares to show him what she has got.


Kent Farm, Smallville...

J'onn takes a few moments absorbing the surroundings marvelling at the humour of Fate that the last survivor of the mighty Kryptonian race ended up on a simple farm on this planet of all places. Throughout the parts of the universe J'onn has travelled to there are myths about Kryptonians but there are few facts. Kryptonians were isolationists to the point of xenophobia. They had chosen not to interact with the rest of the universe for thousands upon thousands of years hence why the truths about them were reduced to myths.

J'onn quickly dismisses his musings and heads into the house after Ms Lang who he brought with him to expedite the search for the substance he gleamed from her mind. The one referred to by her and Clark Kent as kryptonite. Once in the house he finds Ms Lang rifling through the drawers of a cabinet in the lounge.

"Come on," Lana mutters in frustration as she tries to find the lead box with the piece of kryptonite. She doubts Clark threw it away but he could and probably has moved it in the years since she last saw it. She slams the drawer shut when she can't find it. She ends up trying the kitchen, Clark's bedroom. Nothing.

Lana thinks hard. The barn. He had an old desk up there. She walks rapidly out the house and across to the barn with the Martian Manhunter following her in silence. Lana takes two steps at a time up to the barn loft and in the desk drawer is the lead box. She opens it and inside is the green lump of meteor rock.

Lana looks at it and lets out a deep breath.

"What troubles you?" J'onn asks her.

Lana looks up at him, her expression troubled just as J'onn surmised. "I'm breaking his confidence," she says for no other reason than she needs to say it to someone that she has revealed so much about Clark to a complete stranger.

J'onn nods once in sympathetic understanding. "I understand your loyalty but equally in your mind I sensed your fear."

"He...on red kryptonite he doesn't think straight. He doesn't realise the damage he could do and if he hurt someone...he could never live with himself."

"Then you are not betraying him. You are protecting him from himself and you believe the green rock in your hand can counter the effects of the red kryptonite."

"Um...well...it's a guess from what happened when we were young. When the rock was near him and before we got the ring off the odd glow in his eyes faded away but I don't know for certain it will work."

"In any case it will weaken him enough to be restrained. The alternative is a fight and while I'm certain myself and the League could defeat him I know what an unrestrained fight between beings such as ourselves is like. The damage it causes can be immense."

Lana sighs. She doesn't feel good doing this but Clark would feel worse when he is back to normal if he ended up seriously hurting someone. Also she knows about this rock because Clark trusted her to stop him should it ever come to it. She needs to show that she is worthy of that trust. "Ok. Lets go," she decides.

J'onn steps forward, picks Lana up, flies them out of the barn before shooting off across the country to Gotham.


Gotham City...

Clark plows through a police car he wrecked earlier after once more being knocked down from the sky. The burning metal had no effect on him but Wonder Woman's punches and kicks on the other hand...well that was an entirely different matter.

Wonder Woman lands a short distance away and waits ready. From the fight so far she had learned he was strong, fast and extremely resistant to injury but he was also a poor fighter while she was a master of many fighting techniques. Diana knew she could win this. In fact in her opinion it was only a question of how much it would take before she put him down permanently.

Diana's sharp eyes look for movement within the remains of the burning car. Two red beams come surging out of the smoke and Diana raises her arms and deflects them with her bracelets. She then spots a black blur flying right at her. The energy beams had been a distraction. Diana throws a punch more hoping he flies into it rather than she has time to get proper force behind it.

He's too fast.

He grabs her arm and pulls it across her chest as he ends up standing right behind her, their bodies touching and Diana can feel solid walls of muscles pressed against her body. Diana feels him place his nose in her hair and inhale deeply.

"Hmm," Clark says with an erotic moan. "Do you know you smell like an exotic flower?"

Diana has to say from what her nose can pick up he doesn't smell bad either. In fact she hated to admit it but he smelt nice. Kind of earthy as if he worked the land. She feels his free hand come to rest on her hip and slide down onto her thigh.

"Such a waste to cover up legs like this," Clark comments at the tight black pants. "You ever think about a pair of star-spangled shorts instead?"

Diana tugs to try and get her arm free but he's too strong. Stronger than her. Her wriggling to get free causes her rear to rub against him and she can hear a suppressed groan escape his lips and it suddenly occurs to her what she is rubbing against.

She stops.

Clark groans in disappointment at Wonder Woman ceasing her movements because that felt awesome! In fact Clark has to say having the beautiful alluring curvy body pressed against him was just fantastic and they were still clothed. Just imagine how it would feel if they were naked. Clark can certainly imagine many things he would love to do to her starting with kissing and tasting every inch of her olive skin.

Clark lowers his head and does just that to a spot on her neck and he feels her shiver under his lips. Interesting. She was obviously extremely sensitive and on the aside her skin feels like silk under his lips and she tastes like honey.

Diana curses the reaction of her body as a betrayal although she has never felt a man's touch as much as she feels this man's. However she is an Amazon. She is suppose to have complete discipline over her baser instincts. Not to mention she has a boyfriend and only the Gods know why Tom is only entering her thoughts now. Shouldn't he be her first thought?

Clark plants a few more kisses on Wonder Woman's neck while she fight off the traitorous thoughts of how good that feels.

Clark blows gently in her ear. "Relax...and I'll show you the best time you have ever had."

Diana finally snaps out of it and snaps her head back slamming it into his head. As a result her head rings like a bell. She shakes it off.

Clark staggers back a few steps grabbing his face. "Fuck that hurt," he swears.

Diana swings round and delivers a spinning kick to his chest sending him flying down the street. She doesn't give him a chance to recover as she flies after him punching him repeatedly, each time harder than the last as she judges that this man is one of the few on this planet who may be able to take her unrestrained strength.

Another powerful kick sends Clark smashing into a building. He is up to his knees, groaning in pain when Wonder Woman strides in after him. He brings his hand up to his lips and wipes some blood away and lets out a laugh.

Diana pauses confused by why he is laughing. "You find this funny?"

Clark chuckles a few more times. "Of course. I had no idea my game would be this much fun but then again I never contemplated that you would be involved in it just yet."

"Then you made a grave miscalculation."

"Seems so."

"Last chance. Yield now and you won't have to endure any more."

Clark snorts. "You have not obviously been listening to me at all. You're as bad as the other 4 whose asses I thoroughly kicked before you got here."

"Where are they? What have you done to them?" Diana demands to know because if he has hurt them or worse she'll make him pay.

Clark shakily gets to his feet in the living room he finds himself in. "I left them for Ivy to play with."

"What is Ivy up to?"

"Don't really know. Don't really care."

"Then why are you allied with her?" Diana asks confused.

The cocky grin returns despite the beating he has been taking. "I think it's fairly obvious but I'll spell it out for you. She's hot and she's easy...but then again point me at a woman who isn't."

Diana's face darkens. What an arrogant obnoxious man. He was little better than a beast with views like that. "I care little for your attitude nor do I believe you but I shall get the truth from you."

"That was the truth but hey if you want to tie me up in your lasso I'm not saying no. I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun," he says with a cheeky wink.

That really really irked Diana when people...men think her lasso is for some kind of kinky sex game. It was a gift from her Gods. Even the insinuation of its use for that is disrespectful.

Clark coughs and bends over placing a hand to his side. "Wow. I think you cracked a rib," he comments.

Diana's stance softens. If he is hurt maybe he is more willing to surrender now

Clark notices the almost imperceptible easing of her stance. "Psych!" he yells before he blurs into her and the two superpowered beings crash back out into the street tumbling over and over in a tangle of limbs.

Diana finds herself pinned under him really irritated at herself for falling for that. She struggles to get free of him as she bucks her hips and wriggles her legs.

Clark has to grit his teeth at the effort to keep her still. "Wow you're a wildcat!" he remarks. "I bet anything the sex with you must be amazing!"

Diana continues to wriggle and she has to repress a smile when she finally sees an opening. 'Lets see how much he thinks about sex after I do this,' she slyly thinks the moment before she slams her knee up between his legs and she doesn't hold back any of her strength in doing it.

Clark howls in pain...the worst pain he has every felt. He whimpers and moans at the excruciating burning pain between his legs, now having a whole new appreciation of what normal human males must feel. That is inhuman.

Diana easily frees herself pushing him off of her to the side. She grabs her lasso and before he can recover she has it wrapped around him tight. She allows him to recover enough to get back to his knees.

Clark looks up almost amused and slightly intrigued. He had been half-joking earlier about being tied up but now he is he must say he wouldn't mind at all being tied up with Wonder Woman.

Diana yanks the lasso tighter still. "Now you will speak the truth," she commands.

"You really think this little piece of string can hold me?" Clark boasts arrogantly.

"Then break free if you can," Diana dares him.

'Easily,' Clark thinks to himself and tries to do just that and finds he can't. In fact the more he tries the tighter the lasso seems to get and if anything he can feel it start to burn his skin. This is impossible.

Diana smiles slightly. "You can probably start to feel a burning sensation. That is the lasso's power burning away the falsehoods. Now look at me," she commands.

Against his will Clark's head snaps up to look at her and Diana takes a moment to really look at him for the first time. What catches her attention is his alluring cerulean blue eyes. She has seen those eyes before. In fact she comes to realise she has seen and met this man before and it strikes a particular chord because of those unusual eyes that are boring into her. Eyes she has only seen once before.

Clark Kent.

That's his name. She and Tom questioned him that night in Metropolis when Poison Ivy showed up and Ivy is involved this time as well. Obviously the two incidents are connected in some way. "Talk," she demands. "Tell me where Batman and the others are. Tell me what Poison Ivy is up to."

Under the influence of the lasso the words pour out of Clark and he is unable to stop the compulsion to answer. "Ivy has them tied up in the park. I don't know what she is up to. I really wasn't paying attention to what she was saying and frankly I don't give a shit."

"Watch your language!" Diana snaps off and Clark has no choice but to obey.

"What are you? My mother?" Clark snidely retorts.

"You will only speak when spoken to," Diana directs.

Clark's mouth snaps shut and he finds he can't make it open. Bitch! Clark's hearing picks up the sound of something moving rapidly through the air and his gaze turns in the direction he hears it from.

Diana looks in the same direction as J'onn floats down with a red-headed woman in his arms and in her hand is a small square metal box.

Once J'onn lowers her to the ground Lana wanders over to near Clark and can see a spark in his eyes, not the red kryptonite one, but one of relief she thinks. As she looks a bit closer it is plain to see swelling around his right eye. That's going to be a beauty of a black eye later Lana muses. "Oh Clark. What have you been up to?" she asks him.

Only speak when spoken to. "Well that's kind of a long story in fact but first off can I say I'm glad you're alright," he says with a soft genuine tone before the lasso compels him to continue answering the question. "So what have I been up to? Can you narrow that down or this blasted lasso will make me retell my whole life story? Not that I mind retelling that especially the part where you and I popped each other's cherries," he says smugly with a waggle of his eyebrows.

Lana blushes at what he is suggesting.

Diana yanks at the lasso. "Quiet," she orders before she looks to J'onn for an explanation of what is going on, who this woman is and where has he been.

J'onn summarises everything and Diana looks at the small box. That little thing contains the key to restoring the Blur to normal?

Before turning him back to normal Lana has this feeling she needs to know what he has done and he is more co-operative in his current state. She expresses this to Wonder Woman.

"Ask him what you need to. He can't refuse to answer with anything but the truth," Diana tells Lana.

Lana kneels down in front of him so they are eye to eye. "Clark what did Ivy do to you? Did she drug you with red kryptonite?" she asks him.

"Yep...and then I did her many many times."

Lana closes her eyes for a moment. She doesn't need it explained what he is implying.

"Hey it wasn't like she was saying no. Quite the opposite actually. She was begging for more which I'm sure is a sentiment you remember Lanakins."

'Lanakins?' Ugh. He is just as bad as Lana remembers him to be.

"Besides I needed to keep her happy until you were safe," he says in that softer genuine tone. "I assume Huntress found you."

Lana nods.

Clark grins. "I'll have to remember to...thank her," he says with the necessary suggestive tone.

"Is this all you think about?" Diana asks him incredulous that sex seems to be the most pressing issue on his brain.

"Don't knock it until you try it. It can be very relaxing and conducive to getting what you want. Just ask Huntress," he says smugly.

Lana closes her eyes again. He slept with Huntress too. Lana wonders just how many women he got through. "God I had forgotten what an obnoxious ass you are on red kryptonite," she mutters quietly but Clark hears her.

He feigns insult and hurt. "My ass is not obnoxious. It's rather lovely in my opinion not to mention muscular and shapely and you never complained...especially that time on your 18th birthday when you and I..."

Lana's hand goes up to his lips to silence him while her cheeks flush with colour and heat. She has got to stop giving him openings like that. Lana gathers herself and gets back on topic. "What is going on? What is Ivy up to?" she asks him hoping he'll answer her.

"I already asked him this. He said he didn't know," Diana points out.

Lana suddenly realises she asked the wrong question. "No. Not what Ivy is up to. What are you up to Clark?" she asks him knowing he can be as manipulative and scheming as the next guy on red kryptonite.

"I'm simply playing a game."

"A game? What game? What do you mean?"

"The same game life seems to want to play on me. After all someone somewhere has been having a big laugh at my expense for years and I just wanted to be the one to have a laugh for a change."

Lana looks in his eyes. There isn't humour in them. There isn't the smugness she associates with his drugged state. There is stark pain and grief. "Clark. No-one has been having a laugh at you," she says gently.

"Really? Is that why someone destroyed my homeworld leaving me all alone? Is that why someone took Pa away? Is that why someone took Ma away? Because you see the only thing I can think of as to why I always seem to be left all alone is that someone is playing a game on me and having a great big laugh at my misery."

"Oh Clark," Lana murmurs softly before she wraps her arms around him in a comforting hug. She hadn't realised but she have known that the pain and grief over losing his parents was still this raw.

Watching on Diana has a bit more sympathy for him than she did a few minutes ago. While J'onn has never talked about it in detail she knew he hurt greatly from being the last Martian and if she was to lose her mother and sisters she knows it would hurt her deeply but still she doesn't quite get how his grief and pain got twisted into the way he was acting nor does it quite assuage her annoyance and anger at him.

J'onn understands Clark Kent's pain all too well but they don't have time to dwell on such things as they must deal with Poison Ivy. He steps forward and places a hand on Lana's shoulder. "We need to act now," he says in a gentle voice.

Lana nods and pulls herself back to her feet. "Can we do this somewhere we can't be seen?" she requests since otherwise the lots of people standing around will get to see Clark's weakness putting him in danger.

J'onn nods in response and looks to Diana who moves and pulls Clark to his feet. J'onn picks Lana up while Diana lifts Clark and all 4 float up onto a rooftop nearby out of sight of prying eyes.

Clark glares at the box in Lana's hand. "So betraying more of my secrets Lana," he accuses.

Lana sighs and it does sting a bit his accusation. "Clark I hope when you're back to normal you'll understand I had no choice."

Clark scoffs at that. "Lana we always have a choice."

"I'm sorry," she says in a very heartfelt manner as she opens the box and brings it close to him.

Clark cries out in pain and his eyes scrunch up at the indescribable pain, burning, weakness and nausea that only comes courtesy of the green coloured variety of kryptonite. His eyes open and Lana sees them flash crimson red for one moment before it vanishes and his eyes resume their more natural shade. That's it...she thinks.

Lana closes the box and allows Clark a few minutes to catch his breath and regain his strength. "Clark?" Lana tentatively queries.

Clark looks at her and she can see the confusion in his eyes as he tries to figure out where he is and how he came to be here. From the previous experience Lana knows in a second he will remember everything and as she thinks it his eyes widen in horror and then she can see the guilt take over.

"I'm sorry," he whispers in a sorrowful tone.

Lana strokes his hair in a soothing manner. "It's alright," she says as it is the thing she needs to say right now and the thing he needs to hear.

Lana looks up to Wonder Woman. "You can let him go now."

Diana looks sceptical.

"I know he probably said a lot of offensive things but trust me he isn't like that normally," Lana says in defence of him.

Diana is still sceptical.

Clark gathers his emotions back in now that he can for the first time in days. He feels awful for all the things he has done but there isn't time for him to brood and mope in his own self-pity. He looks up at Wonder Woman. "I'm sorry," he says and Diana knows that must be the truth since he is still in her lasso. "I'm sorry for what I said...and what I did but you do need to let me go if you want to help save the others."

"I am not certain we do," Diana says unwilling to simply trust him now. "J'onn and I can handle Poison Ivy."

"It's not that simple. She knows who Batman is along with Nightwing and Batgirl."

"How?"

"Because I told her."

"And how do you know?"

Clark takes a breath and explains about following Batgirl to the Batcave and using his x-ray vision. Diana finds it a disturbing thought that this man can look through things.

Something occurs to Lana. "Clark why did you do that? You didn't need to nor do I think you would have really cared about knowing."

Clark looks at Lana. "I cared about you. You're my friend Lana. Not even red kryptonite changes that and I was doing it all to protect you. Ivy knows who I am and look what happened. She kidnapped you to learn my secrets. I went along with her plans just to buy time for Huntress to find you and then I would stop Ivy. However stopping her wasn't enough not when she knew so much. That left me 2 options. One. I kill her which even under red kryptonite I could never do although it did occur to me," he says with some shame that the thought of killing another living being ever entered his head even for a second.

Lana strokes his hair again soothingly. "And two?" she prompts him to continue.

"Two. I expose Batman's secret to her because I figured the great big Justice League must have a plan for this kind of thing which is probably a really poor assumption."

"Which is your normal even without the influence of the red rocks," Lana playfully quips in an attempt to lighten his mood.

Clark manages a tiny smile at that. He then looks at both Wonder Woman and the Martian Manhunter. "I know saying I'm sorry doesn't really cover it but I am."

Diana looks to J'onn. As twisted as the logic was the Blur is correct. This is a scenario they planned for. It overly relies on J'onn being able to wipe the secret from the person's mind which he hates to do but it was the only plan they had. She then looks at the now rather sorrowful looking figure that is Clark Kent. Her brow furrows slightly as something puzzles her. "With your power you could have disabled Ivy at any time and brought her to us and explained the situation," she points out.

"True but that wouldn't have been as much fun," Clark explains the twisted logic behind his motivations with a pained expression that he ever thought that. He feels ashamed of himself.

Diana sighs. Now she has to deal with Ivy. She finally unwraps her lasso from around Clark. "You remain here. J'onn and I will handle this," she commands and then once this is over the League will have to decide what to do with him.

"No. You won't," Clark argues back. "You need me to distract Ivy. With the way she has the others restrained she can kill them instantly and then there is the fact I have no idea what she is really up to."

"Really up to?" J'onn inquiries.

Clark points in the direction of the park. "You think that is her plan. That was just to lure Batman out. It's all for show...a distraction...a diversion so no-one is looking at what her followers are up to."

"Followers?"

Clark looks at the 2 heroes. "You really don't know do you?" he guesses from their expressions. "Ivy has her own...I guess you might call it eco-terrorist underground network. From what I overheard and saw during this last week I would say she has at least dozens of followers which while not a huge number is more than enough to cause havoc or at least enough to carry out her plans whatever they are. I really wasn't caring a great deal," he says with more shame and guilt because who knows what Ivy's plans will involve and who will get hurt and he could have put a stop to it any time if he had been so inclined.

"What is your plan?" J'onn asks Clark sensing that his fellow sole survivor of another world has one.

"The simple one. We let her think I won the fight. I distract her and then Wonder Woman wraps her lasso around her and uses its power to make Ivy tell us what she is really up to."

Diana isn't entirely happy with this plan for the sole reason she has to bear the indignity of pretending to lose when she was clearly victorious.

"Will that work?" Lana asks.

"Ivy's in the centre of the park. She can't have any idea what is going on outside of it," Clark explains.

J'onn must concede it is a simple plan yet it should be effective and he can be a literal ghost in the background watching in case something goes wrong. He expresses his wish to try this.

Diana is still unhappy because it will involve her playing dead. It is not the warrior's way to be dishonest like that. She even goes as far as to say so.

In response Clark snaps off a snide comment. "Well the warrior's way seems to involve hitting me first and not even attempting to talk me down. Some hero."

Diana's brow drops way down and her expression becomes stern. "Would talking have worked with you drugged?" she asks back.

"Probably not," Clark admits. "But if I had been in your position I would have at least tried. You didn't even do that."

"Who are you to criticise me?" Diana asks pointedly. "I have been performing my job like this for years."

"What is your job exactly? In fact why we are on the subject in general what is the Justice League's job? It seems to be just to go around beating people up. You are suppose to better than that. You are suppose to set an example. You are suppose to be heroes."

Diana's hands clench into fists. Hera help her. What an arrogant man and it is obviously not just what he was drugged with. It is a personality trait. "If that is what you think than you are gravely mistaken," she replies, her voice tight.

"I'm not the only one who thinks it...Princess."

J'onn wouldn't need to be a telepath to sense Diana's fury. "This is a debate for a less perilous time," he says trying to be the voice of civility and reason.

Diana agrees but continues to quietly fume.

'Good Lord. She is even more beautiful when angry,' Clark thinks to himself about Wonder Woman and then resists the urge to hit himself for thinking such a stupid thing. Must be some residue from his red kryptonite personality. He makes himself focus on the task on hand because when he returns to Ivy he has to pretend to be 'Kal' for at least a few minutes. Lets hope he can pull this off.


Ivy sucks on her lower lip in a pensive manner. It's been too long and it's been too quiet for too long yet if Wonder Woman had been victorious surely the Princess would be coming after her by now.

"Getting worried?" Barbara asks at Ivy's expression.

Ivy glares at the redhead. The quicker she can get rid of the so-called heroes...or as Ivy calls them the misguided enforcers of a failed corrupt system that is slowly choking the earth to death...the sooner she can get rid of them the better. Ivy points at Barbara. "You have no idea what you are talking about," Ivy dismisses Batgirl. "You have no idea of Kal's power. I've felt it in a way you will never know."

"Gee statements like that almost make me blush!"

Ivy's head snaps round as Kal walks into view carrying an unconscious Wonder Woman tied up in her own lasso.

"Almost," he continues with a cocky grin.

Ivy jogs up to him and spots the black eye. Her hand goes up toward it. "She did this?"

Clark nods. "She has a hell of a right hook but then again so do I." He places Wonder Woman on the ground and puts an arm across Ivy's shoulders. "Now don't you worry about me. This will have healed in an hour or two at most. How about you? Did our heroes cause any trouble?"

Ivy allows Kal to guide her attention back to the 4 restrained heroes. "Not really. I just got the old clichéd speech about how evil never wins, someone will stop me...etc etc blah blah I've heard it all before."

"Well you won't have to hear for it much longer because their time is almost up." Clark slaps his hands together loudly...so loud to cause a loud boom. He then rubs them together eagerly. "Well I think all that is left now is to sort out the poor man's Romeo and Juliet here. I hate to end their lives with their hearts in a bad place."

"That's really romantic," Ivy remarks.

Clark shrugs. "Meh. I just want to understand what it is that Babs finds so much more interesting in that joke of a man-child than me. It's kind of selfish to be honest."

Ivy shakes her head unable to believe that any woman would be so foolish to turn down Kal.

"Ok I'll start off with saying I'm sorry about having to tie you up but I doubt you'd co-operate otherwise."

"Don't waste niceties on them Kal sweetie."

"I wasn't."

"What?"

Clark looks down at her. "I'm sorry."

Ivy looks at him and spots his eyes. They're far too light in colour...but that means...

Ivy can't complete the thought before a golden lasso is looped over her and pulled tight. The boom Clark made when he clapped his hands together was just to cover any sound Wonder Woman might make as she got to her feet as she only appeared to be tied in her lasso. She never was.

Clark sighs sadly before he floats up to the 4 restrained heroes and proceeds to cut them free with his heat vision. By the time he drops the last one off back onto the ground J'onn has joined them.

"Ok. Is anyone else really confused?" Dick asks.

Barbara is not. There can be only one possibility. "You're back to normal aren't you?" she asks Clark.

Clark nods. "Yeah," he says quietly.

"You haven't won you know," Ivy says with a lot of spite in her voice.

Clark looks at her. "I know this is all a distraction. What are you really up to?"

Ivy hesitates.

"Answer the question!" Diana commands and the lasso forces it from Ivy's lips.

"I created a new variety of my mind control spores. Ones that can survive and thrive in water and as we speak it is being introduced to the reservoirs that feed Gotham's water supplies. In a matter of hours this entire city...millions of people will be under my control."

"Hostages," Batman surmises.

Ivy's lips curve up into a smile. "Oh nothing so mundane my dear Brucie. I'm tired of making demands that are never taken seriously. The human race needs an attitude adjustment and I'm going to give it to them. Millions of people under my control who will move out in every direction spreading my spores as they go and the government is going to sit by helpless because they would never kill their own citizens and as for the Justice League...well can even you contain millions of people?"

'Mind spores...Mind spores...Aquatic...microscopic...' Clark vaguely remembers reading something Ivy had left out. Scribbled notes about the alterations she was making to aquatic microscopic lifeforms. That could have been this. Clark's thoughts are interrupted by J'onn asking Batman a question.

"How many reservoirs feed Gotham's water supply?"

"5," Batman answers.

"You're too late," Ivy says with some pleasure at telling them that.

"We'll see about that," Diana vows. "How are the spores being delivered?" she asks of Ivy.

"In tankers," Ivy replies against her will as the lasso burns the truth out of her.

"Perhaps we can still intercept them," Black Canary suggests as in they can stop them before they reach the reservoirs.

"Wonder Woman and I shall fly ahead and attempt to do so," J'onn says since he and Diana are the fastest.

"And me," Clark speaks up volunteering his help.

"No," Batman says bluntly with a cold voice and a hard glare as the Blur could not be trusted.

"I agree," Diana says.

Clark understands partially their mistrust but there isn't time for this. "I know you don't know me but time is not something we may have a great deal of. You've seen how fast I can move. All I am asking for is a chance. Everyone deserves a second chance."

"He's right," Batgirl says. "Let him help. I trust him."

Clark looks at Babs with a soft slightly glazed expression as to say thanks and to show he is touched she said that.

"From a sheer practical standpoint 3 of us makes it more likely we will succeed," J'onn states the logical point.

Neither Bruce nor Diana is happy but can't argue with J'onn's logic.

"So be it," Diana says coldly before she looks to Bruce. "Where are the reservoirs?" she asks for their locations.


A very brief time later Clark zips across Gotham's skyline and over its suburbs until he comes to the hills beyond. He comes to a hover above the massive lake that acts as one of Gotham's reservoirs. On another day he would note the amazing engineering feat to build this and the entire water supply system to feed a city of millions with clean drinking water...only it won't be so clean if he doesn't find what he is looking for.

His eyes scan the entire lake shore until...there!

He shoots off in that direction and comes across Ivy's henchgirls just reversing up the tanker to the lake edge. Good. He's not too late. Clark zips down and picks the tanker up before flying off with it far away from any bodies of fresh water. As he recalls from what he saw on Ivy's notes the spores can only survive in fresh water.

Clark uses the hose that would have been used to dump the spores into the reservoir to tie up the 3 henchgirls who he will return to pick up later. He welds shut the valve with his heat vision to be on the safe side. That done he flies back up into the air and checks in with the Martian Manhunter on the communicator he was loaned. The response Clark gets is to move onto the next nearest lake.

Clark accelerates through the air and comes to the next reservoir that was on the list. He spots the tanker with its hose already in the water. Is he too late?

No.

They are just moving to open the valve. A quick blast of heat vision welds it shut before Clark swoops down and grabs this tanker and takes it far away to be picked up later like the first by the authorities who can dispose of its contents safely.

That done that should only leave one reservoir left. Clark zips off towards it assuming either Wonder Woman or the Martian Manhunter will probably have already taken care of it by now.

Bad assumption as it turns out as Clark arrives just as they do to find they are all too late and that the mind spores have already been dumped into the water.

"Can they be filtered out?" Diana inquiries.

"Too small. Ivy designed them to be bacteria size," Clark recalls from the notes he saw.

"Some kind of herbicide?"

"That would poison the water," J'onn points out the flaw.

"Is that not better than leaving them to infect thousands."

"Ivy designed them to be immune to all existing methods of killing them...or at least I think she was trying to."

"How do you know that?" Diana asks Clark.

"I briefly saw some of her notes."

"Lets just assume the worse. What do we do?"

Clark thinks and comes to one possibility. "We evaporate the lake."

Diana takes issue with that. "That is impossible. We need to contain the spores."

"How? They are already spread out in the water. In a few hours at most they will be outside this lake. The spores can't survive outside a water environment. Remove the water. They die."

"How do you plan to evaporate a whole lake?" Diana asks Clark.

Clark looks down at the huge body of water below them. "Well I've never tried anything this big but what it is I shoot out of my eyes is concentrated infra-red radiation better known as heat."

"Can you really do it?" J'onn asks.

"Honestly I don't know but I have to try. This is my fault. I could have put an end to this days ago but I let it continue. We've got to try something."

J'onn has to concede that they must try something. He looks to Diana and his expressions asks for her to give Clark a chance. Diana decides they have nothing to lose.

"You're going to want to get back," Clark advises them. "Things are about to get very very hot."

Diana and J'onn fly some distance away as Clark closes his eyes and tries to summon up the strongest blast of heat vision he can. He has never attempted anything like this on such a scale. He isn't sure he can but he must. He must do this. His eyes shoot open and blindingly intense red beams erupt from his eyes and hit the water.

From their position Diana and J'onn have to cover their eyes at the blinding red light. Clark vanishes in an enormous cloud of steam that erupts and soon envelops the entire valley the reservoir sits in.

The glow visible from miles away fades away to nothing and Diana and J'onn try to peer through the mist. They float forward slowly to where Clark was and as they get closer they spot him through the thick water vapour slowly falling down towards the ground. They follow him and land on the cracked, baked hard lake bed.

Diana and J'onn move forward and find him down on his knees, breathing hard, sweat rolling down his face in rivers. J'onn moves forward and places a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"I'm...just...really tired," Clark responds between breaths. "I can't do that again."

As the clouds lift more and J'onn can see more and more of the now dried out valley he says, "I do not believe you will have to. I believe you have accomplished it."

"That's good...although won't this hurt Gotham's water supplies?" Clark raises a concern.

"I believe that is better than the alternative," J'onn argues. "Besides I will make sure the Justice League aids in finding ways to refill the lake."

Clark nods as he takes a few minutes to regain even an ounce of his strength. He has never felt this drained. He doesn't think he could lift a freaking pebble at the minute.

"We should get back," Diana announces. "We have to deal with Ivy."

Dealing with Ivy means erasing her memory. To what extent J'onn doesn't know until he has a chance to examine Ivy's mind. Perhaps he can just erase her knowledge of Clark, Lana, Bruce, Dick, Barbara and Dinah or he might have to go further and erase everything as far back as to when Ivy first discovered the truth. Hopefully he won't need to do that second option. He dislikes immensely having to violate a person's mind like that.


Clark, Diana and J'onn firstly pick up Ivy's henchgirls and deliver the tankers to one location to be picked up and their contents disposed of safely. Diana thinks Bruce will probably get Wayne Enterprises to do that. Once they drop off the henchgirls with the police the 3 soon arrive back in the park where Batman, Batgirl, Nightwing and Black Canary have remained to watch over Ivy.

"So did you guys succeed?" Nightwing is the one to asks.

"We did," Diana confirms.

"Thanks to the Blur's assistance. Otherwise the water supply would have been contaminated," J'onn says giving Clark his dues.

"How could you?" Ivy asks Clark looking hurt by what she sees as his betrayal.

Clark looks down at her, still tied up, with a sad expression. "Because it was the right thing to do," he explains his actions simply.

"You didn't seem to think that before?"

"Ivy I never had any belief in what you were doing. All I was doing was playing along until Lana was found and safe which she is now."

"You're lying. I felt your passion. You will never be happy being this goody two-shoes hero."

"Ivy you do not know me. What you brought out was an aberration of my personality. I'm not going to deny that person exists inside me. We are all many people inside our minds. Many people coexisting in a balance and when you drugged me you unleashed that part of me without any of the normal balances and controls to keep my impulses in check. The truth is Ivy you have no idea or understanding why I did what I did. Then again in return I have no idea why you do what you do either. You are an intelligent woman and I regret you can't see that there are other ways to use your gifts to help the world. Perhaps one day you will see. I hope so but until that day comes let me make it clear. If you continue on this path and try and hurt innocent people I will stop you."

Ivy masks her pain at his words with a cold glare. "You think so? I may not understand why you do what you do but what I do know is your weakness and if necessary I will use it."

"No you won't."

"What does that mean?" Ivy asks him as his tone of absolute certainty about what he just said.

Clark sighs, turns round and walks away.

"What does that mean?" Ivy shouts at him.

J'onn steps next to Ivy and activates his communicator. "Watchtower. Lock on to my signal and transport 2."

In a shimmer of light J'onn and Ivy vanish as he takes her to the Watchtower to scan her mind and determine what needs to be erased.

Clark sighs again. It's over...or at least part of it is over. Everyone still remaining here knows his name now and far too much about him. More than he ever wanted. He's going to have to have a long think about what to do about that. First off right now he addresses Barbara. "Thank you for saying that I could be trusted."

Dick snorts loudly still pissed as hell about what was done to him. He was basically humiliated and it was seen by god only knows how many people.

Barbara silences any possible retort from Dick with a glare. "You're welcome but you understand this has changed things."

Clark nods. "Yes. I do. You know how to contact me Babs if you need to. I have to get Lana home," he says as they left her on that rooftop.

Barbara nods in understanding and Clark flies off.

"We're letting him go?" Dick queries.

"Short of Diana going another few rounds with him there was no way to stop him," Barbara points out. Besides he was looking as guilty as hell and he needs some time to himself to process this before they make decisions about where to go from here.

"Barbara is correct," Batman agrees with her decision which might be a surprise to some. "There has been enough damage done to Gotham. Another fight like that would only make it worse although rest assured Barbara there will be a discussion about how we ended up here and what to do with Mr Kent."

Barbara nods. She figured there would be. All of this has been seen by millions by now probably. They will have to come up with a statement or something and then there is how to deal with Clark from this point on. She has a feeling Bruce will no longer accept her alone dealing with him and truth be told Babs isn't sure she wants to do that any more. When things are a bit calmer and when she has had a chance to think everything over she and Clark will need to talk.

Diana raises a question. "Do you wish me to stay and assist with the clean up?" she asks knowing it is always better to get Bruce's permission.

"No," Bruce says shortly. "We'll handle this. There has already been enough damage to our reputations by this. It will make the criminal element more bold if it looks like we need help."

Diana doesn't really understand Bruce's thinking but she will not force herself where she isn't wanted...unless it is absolutely necessary. She turns to leave but Dinah stops her. "Yes Dinah?" Diana queries.

"Before you go I've just got to ask."

"Ask what?"

Dinah leans forward and scrutinises closely something on Diana's neck. "Is that a hickey?"

"A what?"

Dinah looks around and spots a piece of broken mirror. She picks it up and hands it to Diana who aims it to look at her neck. She spots a faint purplish bruise.

"Is that a hickey?" Dinah asks again because it sure looks like one to her. "You know a love bite?" she tries to clarify it in case Diana is struggling to understand what she means.

Diana's frowns and thinks. How in the name of the Gods...Hera! Clark Kent...when he was nuzzling her neck with kisses he...she can remember the feel of his teeth upon her skin. He must have done it then. Diana finds she is being looked at by 4 curious expressions who are all seemingly wanting an explanation. Diana finds she doesn't want to give one. "I have to go but if you need assistance please don't hesitate to call me," she offers before flying off post-haste and completely avoiding answering Dinah's question.

As Diana flies off her hand rubs the spot on her neck. She better wait until this fades before she sees Tom or only the Gods know how she would explain it. Diana had never felt anything like that before she must admit at the moment Clark Kent did that. It had felt...good...made her body shiver which is something she must work on. She should have much better control over her body's reactions. She is suppose to be an Amazon. Still it is odd to see something like that upon her skin. Her skin is so tough few things can leave marks. Certainly a normal mortal man could not have done it. In fact Diana is certain that Clark Kent is the first person to ever leave a mark like this upon her.


Author's Note: Ivy having her mind wiped was the only way out of this where everyone got to keep their secret identities intact. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up; The fallout of this has Clark making a decision that leads to the next stage of his life.