Chapter 27
To be so brazen as to hide a secret and damning facility underneath one's own office building, Lex Luthor was either brilliant or insane. High above, Clark hovered as he scanned the building for life and a confirmation of the schematics Lois had found. All the way down to the bottom he looked until he was stopped by what he assumed was lead shielding. Was that to keep him out or to keep something in?
Maybe both.
This secret floor spanned at least two city blocks and he wondered how much Kryptonite was inside and shuddered. It was fortunate therefore that he hadn't travelled alone.
Painful static filled his ear and Clark groaned loudly. Irritably pressing the device in his ear he asked "Yes?"
Bruce's voice poured out of the earpiece. "Sorry. They're prototypes."
Clark hummed his slight annoyance.
"Solaris, have you found the Kryptonite?"
Kassandra's voice came loud and clear. "Yes."
"Then get to work. Superman?"
"Yes?"
"Do you see the guards in the building?"
Clark took a closer look at the guards walking inside the building and tried to scan their weapons.
"Yes, there aren't that many, but their guns appear to be lined with lead. I think they're armed with Kryptonite."
"Then the plan goes as follows, understand? You wait until my signal. No improvising," he said sternly.
With a little hesitation he answered. "Yes."
"Also from here on out we use only our code names on the comms."
Clark sighed exasperated. "I figured, Batman."
He would be watchful then. Clark took a deep breath. This was the moment where their trust was tested. With so much on the line, he prayed they passed.
Batman stood on the roof of the Daily Planet scanning the building for entrance. Scaling a building was something that came naturally to him. If he ever entered a parkour tournament he would without contest win. The schematics Lois and her cousin had found showed that with the executive suite was a secret elevator. The inside of the room had no cameras. What kind of illicit business person would Lex be if there was evidence of his dealings. However the whole room was wired with motion detectors and other security measures that could only be disabled from within.
He pulled out his double grapple gun and shot it out one end connecting to the Daily Planet roof and the other to the side of the LexCorp building and clipped the line to his harness. Zip-lining across the expanse, he landed lightly on the side of the building. To which he attached a laser glass cutter which etched a large circle. Using suction pads, he carefully pushed the glass segment in and lightly set it down, allowing him a wide enough space to enter the building. He was directly outside Luthor's office. A deceptively simple control pad hung next to his office door. Batman plugged into the device using his computer on his wrist. With relative ease he decoded the password and overcame the security measures to Luthor's office.
Although satisfaction would be the usual emotion, that was too easy for comfort. But they had to be there.
"You can come inside," Bruce spoke over the communicator.
Within seconds, Bruce felt a slight breeze as Superman zoomed in. When he looked up Clark had materialized in the elevator and Bruce wordlessly entered it. He pressed the only button on the control panel and waited as the elevator hummed.
He looked over at Clark. His hands twitching were the only sign that he was agitated. Bruce wondered if he hated going so slowly. In that moment he understood. Not only did he want to find Barbara quickly, he also didn't want to be alone with Clark.
Awkward was not the correct word to describe the atmosphere. Although they had decided to work together they were by no definition friends and they were allies only by common purpose. There was too much unresolved tension for them to truly work together, but they had had no time to clear the air. They certainly weren't going to do it there. Bruce told himself he was fine with the situation, but he couldn't completely ignore the guilt of being so wrong about Clark. Barbara had been right: he was a good man. But the other side of him, the one that was suspicious and hesitant with everyone and everything was holding him back. He needed to know unequivocably that Clark would never kill again.
The elevator mercifully stopped and when the doors opened Clark was the first out. Bruce was taken aback by his brash behavior, but then remembered that he probably had already scanned the area for guards. Surprisingly there were none. Bruce narrowed his eyes.
"Let's go find Barbara," Clark said.
"Wait." Bruce was studying a device on his wrist. The screen showed a wave of red emanating from an area to the southeast.
"There's an energy surge in the Southeast corner."
"Is it Kryptonite?" Clark asked urgently.
"No. It looks like something has been turned on." Something very powerful.
Clark nodded. "You find Barbara. I'll investigate that."
"Superman-"
"We can't waste time," he said in a commanding voice. "Whatever it is could harm you; I'm the sturdy one. If it's not Kryptonite, I'll be fine. Change of plans: find Barbara and get her to safety. Alert Solaris of the danger. If it gets worse, leave immediately."
Although slightly miffed by Clark's belief that he could order him around, he had a logical point he couldn't deny. "What about you?"
Clark shrugged with an easy smile. "I'll be fine." He disappeared with a whoosh.
He opened a separate channel through his wrist device. "Solaris?"
"Yes, Batman," she said quietly.
"There is an energy surge near you. Be careful," he said.
"Acknowledged...Do you still want me to...," asked her hesitant voice.
"Yes."
She sighed. "Batman, I don't think-"
"I am doing what is best for the planet. Trust me. He's not the only one."
"...Fine," she said a little bitterly. "Over and out."
Now to find Barbara. There was no way to track her. It also showed red dots meandering around the halls surrounding them. Clark easily sped by them, but Batman needed to talk with one of them. Silently he walked to the wall nearest the closest guard and waited from him to pass. With his back to him, Bruce snuck up, disarmed him, grabbed the man who immediately began to struggle with him and fought his way out of his grip. Fumbling for his gun, he searched desperately then looked up to find Batman smirking. The look of abject fear on the guard's face was almost comical as Batman grabbed him by his lapel and lifted him up the wall.
"Talk."
"What about?" the guard squealed.
"You know what," Bruce growled.
The guard whimpered. "She's in the north quadrant, the manufacturing area. There are two guards standing by her door. It's labelled storage."
"Thank you," he said as he struck him out cold.
Looking carefully around the corner he saw two guards.
Batman released anesthetic gas into the hallway. The guards quickly collapsed and after the gas had dispersed, Batman walked to the door. He picked the lock easily and opened the door. A swell of rage gripped him as he saw her there. Barbara was unconscious slumped down in her chair. Her wrists were purple probably from struggling. There was a gash across her left cheek and her lip was split open. Any other injuries she had Bruce couldn't assess, but he quickly went to work on her bonds. He had to be careful though. The rope had done enough damage to her wrists and ankles without him accidentally cutting her.
"Batman..." She breathed out. He looked up into her blurry eyes and smiled a little. Gently he touched the uninjured side of her face.
"Ssh. I'm going to get you out of here."
"Took you long enough," she said with a half-smile. Bruce chuckled. At least they hadn't damaged her spirit.
"Save your strength. You'll need it to get out." Still he felt guilty. He was the one who had dragged her back into all of this in the first place. With a snap the rope was cut and her left wrist was free.
"Are you alright?" he asked her tenderly.
She groaned a little and had her eyes shut. "Nothing I can't handle," she said with a strained smile and she leaned back. When she did he noticed that she had a bad bruise in the shape of a hand forming on her neck. He felt a rage within him that surpassed any he had felt before.
"Why did he do this?" he asked shakily.
"He tried to get me to tell him who you are."
"Why?"
"He said you were gonna get in his way. That he was trying to save the world. He wants to work with you."
Bruce looked up in surprise. Like he would ever work with Lex Luthor.
"I swear I didn't say anything," she said earnestly.
He smiled. "I never doubted you." He refocused on her other wrist. "I've almost got you out of here."
"Now all I want is to kick some ass," she said with renewing strength.
Bruce smirked. "You'll get your chance. But are you sure you're-"
"Br-Batman, I'm fine," she said firmly. Although he was proud of her resolve, he was also worried. Her other wrist was free and she rubbed them in obvious pain.
"I don't want you fighting." He freed her left ankle.
"Batman, I'm fine," she insisted.
"But-"
"You will not begrudge me the chance to help my friends." The last bond was off and she stood.
"What are you talking about? Solaris, Superman-"
"What?" she asked with sudden anxiety. "Superman is here? Where is he?"
"He's investigating an energy surge," Bruce said looking at her strangely.
Fear lit up her face. "You have to tell him to leave."
"Barbara, what happened?"
She swallowed. "He fashioned more Kryptonite bullets. Kal might be walking into a trap and Luthor..." Her face was a mask of frightened distress.
But Bruce didn't need her to finish. Lex Luthor was going to kill Superman.
"We have to help," Barbara said her eyes searching his.
Bruce pushed something into Barbara's hands. "You're gonna need these."
It was her belt and her mask. She looked up at him determinedly. Finally he had Batgirl back.
It took only a few moments to reach the location of the energy surge, but there was no indication of anything that could have caused the blip on Batman's radar. The room was completely empty of anything strange. A mahogany wooden desk with a black leather chair on which sat a laptop. A matching leather couch lined the far wall with a glass coffee table. Opposite that was a small cabinet of alcohol. It seemed like a normal office. An office he assumed belonged to Luthor if the full-length portrait of himself gallantly holding the American flag behind the desk was any indication. Tacky, but not incriminating. Although nothing like the office upstairs it still emanated the cold, unwelcoming feeling as its counterpart. The walls however were strange. There appeared to be an opaque glass. Clark slid his hand over it.
Then suddenly the walls turned a sickly bright green and Clark felt like he was hit by a train. The pain ripped through his body; he could no longer control his legs and he felt them fall underneath him. Groggily he saw the door was still open and with blurry eyes he crawled. But each movement was like fire inside of him. He clawed the floor and pulled himself closer, his joints crying out in protest, but he fought on. He was inches from the door when he saw a pair of Italian leather shoes blocking his path. With all of his strength he looked up to find the man who was the cause of all of this, smiling evilly obviously enjoying his torture.
"Hello, Superman," he said congenially. He spoke as though he was giving a tour to a guest. "I see you've notice that I've added some new amenities to my office." Clark shuddered and gasped while Luthor stepped over him. "More like safeguards really. In this dangerous world one can't be too careful."
Lex turned to him and Clark could barely make out his face, but he knew that he was smiling.
"What do you think? I rather like them. They're my design of course."
Anger surged through Clark. He wanted nothing more than to swipe that smile off of his face, but it was in vain. He could barely lift his head much less stand and even less look intimidating. "You were-" he choked out.
"Expecting you? Of course I was. It would be most unlike you and Batman to not rescue a friend." Luthor knelt until his face was a mere few inches away from Clark's.
"Look at you. How pathetic you are. A god brought down before a mortal," he said whispered. "It's poetic. You have all the power in the world, but a few moments in this room and you're on your knees begging for release."
Clark could no longer hold up his head. His body was weakening so quickly and he knew he was dying.
"Before you even think it; Batman isn't coming. Hell, I bet he's already dead."
Clark groaned as the worry gripped him. No. Bruce wouldn't die so easily.
"There is a way out of this though...it only takes one word."
Luthor looked at him significantly. Not having the strength anymore to form words, Clark let his eyes speak for him and put all of his rage that he could muster into his glare.
"I was worried you would say that." He sighed dramatically. "You leave me no other recourse Superman. But don't fret I won't let you die like this. Your demise is of special interest to me."
Clark willed himself to stay conscious as he watched Luthor press a few buttons on a remote. The wall bearing his portrait slid open to reveal a secret chamber. Standing in cold glory was a mechanical suit. It was svelte and was shaped exactly like Luthor.
"This is something I made just for you."