Diligence

If you step one foot into the city of Gotham, the device in your brain will kill you."

When Bruce Wayne said those words, he meant them. It wasn't his fault if Jason didn't listen.

If he was honest, Bruce would say it surprised him that it took three years. He thought Jason would test his boundaries or give into his darker impulses long before that. Maybe, he genuinely tried to rehabilitate. Perhaps, he genuinely tried to leave his past behind. Conceivably, this could be just an extremely elaborate way to commit suicide. Of course, it could be he simply bided his time, letting his rage fester until it consumed him completely. Bruce would never know for sure.

A couple of days before Thanksgiving, he received an urgent call from Lucius. A week before, Jason disappeared. Fell right off the map. His phone shut off. His last known address vacant. An investigation of his last known hangouts revealed evidence that he had been devising a plan to return to Gotham.

Of course, the news alarmed the Super-Bat family. The last time Jason came for them he set off a Kryptonite bomb in the bat cave. Dick considered the entire episode the darkest, lowest point he had suffered in his tenure as Batman. It was the only time he ever faltered while apprehending a villain. Sadly, he didn't know if he had changed. He didn't know if he had it in him to stop Jason, by any means necessary. He wondered if he would fail, this time, as he did before.

Clearly, Clark feared for the safety of his daughter. He worried about his family. The safety of Gotham and all its inhabitants concerned him, as well. He remembered the crime spree Jason embarked on the last time he visited. The loss of life spread a wave of fear throughout the city he now called home. He didn't want Jason to terrorize his home or his family. He desperately wanted to play some role in his apprehension but, three years ago, Superman was of little help. Today, that seemed to still be true.

Mostly, he wanted to offer whatever support he could to Bruce. The night of Lucius' call, Bruce left the room upon hanging up the phone. Clark followed. He found Bruce sitting at his computer running a diagnostic program on the bat cave computer. Leaning against the console, he tried to get Bruce to talk, but his success in this arena has only ever been so-so. In the end, he left Bruce to finish his work. While a sense of anxiety threatened to overtake him, Clark couldn't help but notice that Bruce didn't seem concerned at all.

For a week, German authorities placed their airports on high alert. They increased security at their borders. They sent troops into the mountains. All in an effort to catch one young man. They almost did catch him once, but the son of Batman is not so easily caught by local authorities. He slipped from their grasp and the German's official report stated he was believed to have fled the country.

Back in Gotham, the police department were set on a state of high alert. Many on the force remembered Jason's last crime spree. There were roadblocks and sweeps of the subway. They checked airports and bus terminals. They bribed their snitches. They hauled in people just to shake them down. All of this was to no avail.

Inside, Bruce knew it would come down to this. Sitting at his computer console, a map of Gotham on the screen, he pictured Jason in his mind. He saw the grave face of a troubled twelve year old boy as he ran another diagnostic test.

Shortly before Christmas, Bruce came home from the office to find Clark waiting for him in the main foyer. In his hands, he held the coroner's official report. The place of death indicated that the body was found at a small airfield just within city limits. Today was the date of death. The time was early this morning. The cause of death read: Aneurysm. Bruce knew better. It was the device making good on its vicious promise.

"Who else knows?"

"The authorities, of course. Dick and Barbara took the kids out so that I-"

"Could break it to me gently? That was very considerate, Clark, but I'll be fine."

Clutching the paper in his hands, he tried to brush past Clark, but strong hands didn't let him. Meeting Bruce eye to eye, Clark said, "Don't shut me out."

"I've had a long day. It just got longer. So, just let me be."

"Bruce."

"Clark. Don't worry. It won't be like when Alfred died."

"Why is that? Because, with Alfred, you didn't feel the guilt you feel now."

"Clark..." It came out as a warning that died on his lips. Reaching up, he pushed Clark's hands off his arms.

"Bruce, you did nothing wrong."

With a weak shake of his head, Bruce stepped forward as he slid his hands up to cradle the face he'd woken up next to for the past eighteen years. As he felt familiar arms encircle his waist, he sighed, "I did something today, I've never done before. I killed a man, today."

"What?"

"The last time Jason died, I felt guilt due to failure," he whispered. Slowly, he turned his hands as he rested the back of his forearms on Clark's wide chest. As he stared at his palms, he continued, "This time, I have to face the reality that Jason's blood is truly on my hands."

"Bruce, don't be so hard-"

"It wasn't a tracking device."

"What?"

"The thing I implanted in Jason's brain. It wasn't a tracking device like I said it was. It didn't stop working. It wasn't disabled. No. In fact, it worked just as it should. It was a device that could mimic an aneurysm. I told him. I warned him. I said if he returned to Gotham, the device would kill him. He just didn't believe me."

"You activated it?"

"Not directly. After Jason returned the first time, I knew what I would have to do. I knew what kind of man he had become. Unfortunately, the risk he posed was not easily dispatched. He was truly the greatest threat this family ever faced simply because he knew us. Trained by me, I knew he could slip by standard law enforcement. As such, I created the device and also wireless triggers. Through various Wayne Enterprises subsidiaries, I had the wireless triggers hooked up at every bridge, airfield and port of entry leading into Gotham. I also had some placed at Gotham Prep, Gotham Police headquarters, Wayne Towers and on the manor grounds. I ran regular diagnostics. I maintained the system. I repaired it when necessary. So you see, although I never pushed a button or flicked a switch, I'm still to blame."

Pulling Bruce closer, Clark hugged him as tightly as he safely could. Burying his face in the nape of his neck, he waited until some of the shock and tension left Bruce's body before he pulled away enough to take hold of both of his hands. As he pressed tender kisses to hard knuckles, he repeatedly whispered the same two words.

"Thank you."

After the third run of his litany, Clark looked at Bruce while keeping his head bowed. Seeing the shock written on Bruce's face, he explained, "You always do what the rest of us can't. You take the steps no one else will. You shoulder all the responsibility but, just this once, don't let yourself carry all of the blame."

"What I did..."

"You protected our daughter. That's what you did. You kept her safe and, for that, I am infinitely grateful. Everyone talks about my powers and how God-like and awesome they are, but all it took was one young boy and a Kryptonite grenade to completely lock me out. I was useless three years ago, but you weren't. You never are. Because you do what has to be done."

"Don't pat me on the back. I don't want to be proud of this. I killed him. I killed my own son."

"No. Jason did this to himself. You may have set a stage, but, he had to set foot on it. You didn't lead him there. He did that all by himself."

Steering Bruce to the library, Clark gently guided his husband one step at a time. Grabbing his shoulders, he pushed Bruce down into his favorite armchair. For a minute, Bruce just sat there staring off into space until Clark returned with his favorite drink. Quietly, Clark knelt down beside Bruce as he watched him down the drink in one long swallow.

A moment later, he found Bruce's hand stretched out in a wordless plea. Quickly, he grabbed it. With an urgent squeeze, Clark returned the frantic grasp. With a weak tug, he waited until their eyes met before he made his pledge.

"Jason died of an aneurysm. That's all anyone ever needs to know."