Note: Hey all—I know those reading PYL and this are anxious for a chapter of PYL. It's on its way. In the meantime, I thought I'd share the next few installments of this one. Hope you don't mind.

After the last chapt, I decided to make this one a tad lighter. And I realize I'm still focused on Bruce at this point, but Clark definitely has his emotional expositions coming. Enjoy and I'd love to hear feedback/thoughts!

p.s. C/L will be in the same space in the next chpt. Thanks!

--

Chapter 11

"You're Batman?"

"Well, don't sound so surprised, Kal-el." Bruce Wayne emphasized Clark's Kryptonian name, his voice lilting in dry humor. "I'm not the anomaly here."

The irony of an alien from another planet, and friend of one Oliver Queen, finding it difficult to believe a billionaire playboy could have a secret identity was not lost on either man.

Clark's cheeks flamed red. Bruce smirked.

Brushing past Clark, Bruce headed toward the single strongest point of light, at the far end of the Batcave.

For there was no doubt, that's exactly where Clark Kent stood. If the cave with random bat symbols hadn't clued him in, the Batmobile, poised and ready to launch, would have. Not to mention the extensive exercise and training equipment that took up at least a fourth of the space.

As Clark invaded Bruce's private domain, an awed gaze swept the place, noting every detail.

The massive, high-tech computer set up took up one wall. Chloe would have deemed it double drool worthy. The obviously large cache of oddly shaped, a-typical weapons was stationed along another wall. There were satellite feeds. A mini-triage. What looked like a science lab complete with a mini-library.

The only thing missing was the Batsuit.

"Does Oliver know about this?"

"Of course. As I do about Green Arrow." Bruce glanced up as he logged on to a semi-small computer screen extending from the wall. "You know, he's mentioned you. Never by name. Just that he had a friend with special powers. Someone he wished would be a lot more vigil and a little less anti. It wasn't until after I did some investigating on a totally unrelated subject, that I put two and two together and realized what he meant by 'special'."

"And the Kryptonite tipped arrows?

"Had those installed the second I learned of your connection to Lois. Call it instinct. I had a feeling we'd meet." Blowing out a breath, Bruce turned to Clark. "Look. About earlier. I didn't know exactly what I'd be dealing with so..."

"And I didn't really give you much choice." Clark stopped Bruce's apology with his own as his troubled gaze met that of his rival-turned-partner. "I'm…sorry. My emotions have been…erratic lately. To say the least. I'm usually much better at controlling myself…"

"Yeah, well…" Turning from Clark with a shrug, Bruce let them both off the hook. "…having the woman you love in the clutches of your enemy is usually a game changer. No one ever really knows how they'll react to those."

Clark's gaze narrowed, gauging. "You don't seem affected."

"Good. Years of practice have finally paid off." Bruce quipped. "Besides, I may hate Luthor and everything he stands for, but he isn't my arch nemesis. And I don't have history repeating itself right before my eyes." From a nearby drawer, he pulled out a thin silver device and slipped it into a nearly invisible computer socket. His voice hardened, his eyes glinted dangerously. "He's never taken anything from me. Until now."

"Was he right? Were you the one that stole the information he's looking for?"

"Yeah. Sorry about that." Bruce's tone was clipped, but not unkind. He tapped in a few codes on the screen and paused, waiting for the computer to work its magic. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Why?"

"To be honest, I took it just because. Luthor had security on it so tight I figured it must be very important." A few more keystrokes. A few more entered commands. "And anything that important to Luthor was worth taking away from him. I just had no idea how important it would end up being…" Watching the screen intently, Bruce's expression registered the merest hint of satisfaction. "…...to me."

"Because of Lois."

The ghosted smile disappeared. He hit a final key with added emphasis. "Yeah.

"So, what all are we talking about here?"

"Enough items to fill a warehouse. Or two." Pulling the silver item from the computer, Bruce turned to Clark and displayed it with a flourish. "And then there's this."

"What's that?"

"A micro-chip with every bit of information Lex had on you. And where to find it all." He handed the razor thin chip to Clark as he continued to explain. "When I…" He paused to choose his word, irony twisting his lips. "…obtained Lex's treasure, I took one look at it and realized it was too explosive to stay in one place. So, I immediately catalogued it, split it up and sent the items to various locations around the globe. Some of which, I'm not even sure I can find without this."

"Not to mention…" Focusing on the chip in Clark's hand, Bruce filled in a bit more of his plan. "…this little baby is kinda rare. It takes a special computer to access the data. I happen to own one of only three in existence."

"Good." Clark complimented with a nod. "Then that'll make it impossible for Lex to find."

"Since I've encrypted the data with my own special coding, yes, it will be difficult."

"Great, then let's…"

"But not impossible." Bruce corrected Clark's faulty assumption. "Lex owns one of the other computers." Bruce retrieved the chip from Clark and returned to the workstation. "Which is why we're not giving this to him."

"What?" Clark's voice lowered dangerously.

In a subtle move, the chip disappeared into the palm of his hand then into his pocket. "Clark we can't let him get his hands on this again. Who knows what he plans on doing with it."

Clark took a determined step forward, his expression registering instant alarm. "Ok, maybe I need to make something clear. I don't care that he gets any of it back. I just want Lois as far away from him as possible."

"Who's feeling and not thinking now?" Bruce questioned with a raised eyebrow. "He doesn't even need a fourth of the information to destroy you. And believe me, Clark, that's exactly what he intends to do."

Pulling in and exhaling a calming breath, Clark's jaw twitched. The last thing he needed right now was an over-protective hero holding him back from what needed to be done. "Look, I appreciate how you're trying to protect me right now, but this isn't my first run in with Lex Luthor. And it won't be my last." His commanding suggestion was pushed through clenched teeth. "Let's just give him what he wants and get Lois back."

Crossed arms over a massive chest. "No."

"Bruce."

An eyebrow rose. "Clark, this is my town. My show. My decision. Besides…" With a sudden quirk of Bruce's lips, Clark got the distinct impression this particular hero was having a bit too much fun putting Clark in his place. "…you promised to play it my way."

Narrowed eyes. Pursed lips. Crossed arms over a massive chest. "What exactly is your way?"

--

"Hey. Pssst. Yeah, you. Scarface."

The muscular body guard slowly turned and faced the fiercest job he'd ever been paid to do. The nail marks on his face still stung and his right eye was already starting to swell. At least the initial pain in his groin was beginning to subside, though he wondered how long it would be till he had full use of that particular organ.

That one, innocent looking, slip of a woman could do that…

Yeah, this was one tall tale that would be embellished with twenty strapping men and nary a female in sight.

"Come here."

He approached slowly, reluctantly. And kept his distance.

Though they were the only two in the room, Lois' voice lowered instinctively. "Look, I don't know who you're working for or how much they're paying you, but I can double whatever it is. Triple it, even. I just need you to do one tiny thing for me." She leaned to the side and wiggled the fingers on her tightly tied hands. "Loosen the ropes."

If he were capable of laughing, he would have. Instead he remained silent.

Lois rolled her eyes and smiled sweetly. "Look, I know I kinda went overboard on the whole fighting for my life thing, but you did kind of, well…take me by surprise." She sent him a wink. "So, let's just call it even, shall we?"

The muscle man opened his mouth. Another voice spoke instead.

"I applaud your attempt."

Lois craned her neck to see who belonged to the voice behind her kidnapper. It sounded vaguely familiar, but…no…it couldn't be.

Lex Luthor smoothly stepped around the human wall blocking his path to Lois. And smirked. "Lois Lane. We meet again."

---

"Absolutely not. I am not dressing up in some…"

"It's a uniform, Clark." Bruce sighed impatiently, though his voice remained its usual calm. "Latest rage in hero fashion."

Arms crossed over his chest, Clark's expression mirrored his stubborn stance. "I'm not going to do it."

"Look." Tossing the uniform to the side, Bruce's hands hit his hips. Clearly, they were squaring off for another fight. "The best way to get Lois back and protect your secret is to protect your identity. Believe me, Clark…" He inclined his head toward the discarded suit. "…this will do it."

"Maybe that will, but…" Eyes flashed with determination. "…I won't."

"We don't have that many options." Irritation flickered in response. "I'm not going to allow Luthor to force our hand by having the information and Lois in the same space. Decisions will need to be made, actions taken. It's too great a risk. We need Lois out of the equation before I face him. Unfortunately, we don't have time or resources to wage a full out assault. And I can't be Bruce and the Bat at the same time…"

"I don't see why we don't just get it all back once we know Lois is safe." Clark's suggestion held the tenor of a command. "You already said you've encrypted the data. That buys us some time. Once we have Lois back, we can wage that assault. I happen to know a few friends that would join us just for the fun of it."

"To what end?" Bruce queried. "Clark, you know after all this is over Lois will still have to choose one of us. Either way, she'll be in even more danger than she is now."

"How do you figure that?"

"Now, she's just a pawn and I'm just a means to an end. If we deny Luthor even a temporary triumph, the stakes get raised really high, really fast. Then, if she chooses me, I, Bruce Wayne, become the enemy and Lois…Lex's greatest weapon. If she chooses you…the object of his obsession…" Bruce paused as an eyebrow rose in question. "…do I really have to finish this sentence?"

"Alright, fine. I get it. Batman needs to be the focus of Lex's retaliation. For now." Clark shook his head and pointed to the discarded pile of leather. "I'm still not wearing the suit."

"Then I'm doing this alone." Bruce turned from Clark and grabbed the Batsuit from the table.

"But…"

"I should have known better than to trust you with this." Bruce mumbled a challenge under his breath, making sure it was loud enough for Clark to hear. "Guess your limit to 'doing anything for Lois' stops at wardrobe choices."

A large hand shot past his shoulder and grabbed the obviously offensive outfit. "Fine. But only for Lois." Clark agreed through clenched teeth. "Where do I change?"

--

"Lex." Lois couldn't hide the surprise in her voice. And for once she was grateful. The last thing Luthor needed was to know that her stomach had instantly turned into a giant ball of tight anxiety and quivering fear. "I thought you were dead."

Casually slipping his hands into his pockets, Lex's pale blue eyes never left her face. "Rumors of my death…yadda, yadda."

Lois relaxed back into the chair, her face becoming an unreadable mask. Suddenly, the stakes had just been raised. Lois Lane instinctively knew who the prize would be. "Well, I should have known. It always has been hard to kill evil."

Lex turned to the guard and nodded. The guard took his cue and exited as quickly as possible, grateful he'd escaped with no new injuries. Lex turned back to Lois. His appreciative gaze raked over her every curve. His lips quirked as a note of interest flickered in his eyes. "You certainly have…matured well. Or maybe I just didn't notice before."

"Well, you were a bit occupied. You know with all the manipulating, betraying…going off the deep end."

Lex stepped closer, bending at the waist till they were eye to eye. "Honestly, I don't know how I didn't see it before." His gaze still roamed. Inspecting. Approving. He didn't touch her. He didn't need to. She felt violated just the same. "The appeal of Lois Lane. Maybe I should…pay more attention this time."

"Don't bother. I'm not your type."

Lex straightened and smirked. "No? What makes you say that?"

Forcing calm into her voice, Lois smirked back. "Because I've seen your type. And let's just say…I'm a little more snark and a lot less whine then you're used to." The tilt of her lips expanded, the double meaning of her words rang through. "Besides, I don't do crazy."

Lex chuckled. "Oh, yeah. I definitely see the appeal now." A smarmy grin deepened. "You'd be a challenge to conquer, and a constant pursuit once you were. No wonder Ollie came back for a second helping. And Bruce? Well, from all accounts, you have him so locked down he can't see straight."

Lois swallowed hard at the mention of two very important men in her life. "What do you want with me, Lex? What could I possibly have that could drive you to this?"

"Oh, don't flatter yourself." Dismissing her question with a wave of his hand, Lex began a slow pace in front of her. "In the grand scheme of things, you're pretty insignificant. It's actually Bruce that has what I want. You're just the pawn to get it back."

"He won't do it. Whatever it is, he won't give it to you." Lois stated with firm confidence.

"Not what he said." Lex informed her, his voice sing-songey in tone. "He didn't even put up a fight. Then again, it really isn't his fight anyway." He shrugged. His eyes glinted maliciously, wistfully. A predatory smile curved his lips. "No, that one is to come."

--

The heated mumbling coming from the dressing room was amusing, to say the least. And though Bruce had pegged Clark Kent as the non-swearing type, he definitely heard a few choice words vehemently coupled with his name.

Bruce smirked as he concentrated once more on the downloading files. He was actually grateful for a bit of levity if only to keep him from going insane. Which is where the very thought of Lois in Lex's clutches was pushing him.

He took a deep breath and focused.

His plan was simple. Two discs full of data. One, fully encrypted and destined for a hiding place so secure it would never see the light of day again. The other, with just enough accurate, but innocuous, information to convince Luthor he had the means to take back everything stolen from him.

And buy Bruce enough time to destroy him once and for all.

A loud thud coming from the dressing room arrested his attention. "You ok in there?"

"Stupid thing is so…damn…" A loud sigh followed a longer pause. "How do you even move in this thing?"

"You get used to it." Bruce called back his response over his shoulder.

Clearly not ready to exit the dressing room, Clark hrumphed his response as another thud sounded followed closely by the sound of crumbling stone. "Oops. Um…don't worry...I'll pay for any damages…"

Bruce rolled his eyes, shook his head and turned his focus back to the computer screen. Almost there. His mind shifted to the plan. Clark would be seeing Lois alone. Before Bruce. Before any explanations could be given. As to who knew what, when, how. They couldn't afford any slip ups because full disclosure had not been given.

That being the case, there was…something Clark needed to know.

Bruce quickly moved to another part of the Batcave and retrieved a medium sized chunk of Kryptonite from a cabinet full of the green rocks. Better to be safe than sorry. He slipped it into his pocket. And stayed a relatively safe distance from the Kryptonian with unmatchable strength and a passionately beating heart that belonged to one Lois Lane.

"Uh…Clark?"

"Yeah."

"I think it's only fair to tell you that uh…" Bruce paused, contemplating all possible reactions. And to that point... "…first, I need you to promise not to flip out on me. You know, we can't afford a repeat of earlier. We don't have time and…" He paused, pulling out the big guns. "…it's not in Lois' best interest."

A loud, impatient sigh was his response. "I told you, you wouldn't need the arrows. Besides, if I were going to flip out, it would have happened already. I look absolutely ridiculous…"

"Clark."

"Sorry." A pause. Then, continued rustling sounds. "Look, Bruce, whatever it is, just spit it out."

"Alright." His eyes never left the dressing room door. "I'm not the only one that knows your secret." Bruce took a deep breath and readied himself for the explosion to come. "Lois knows about you too."

Tbc…