Bruce was sitting across from Lois in a corner seating area in the cave.

"Wanna explain to me why he's so angry over the fate of a woman he's never met?" Bruce's voice was thoughtful, "And why would Brainiac do anything to separate them?"

"Let's see. An entire planet is destroyed, and an entire race is left with one baby. There are actually several more, but he doesn't know about them, and you asked about him." Bruce nods getting her point, "So we have survivor's guilt. Add to that the fact that his parents' last act was to put him in a spaceship and send him unaccounted for in the hope that people on Earth would love him and protect him and he would end up with good parents."

"And what? The bet failed? Their hopes dashed?"

"No. On the contrary. He fell into the hands of the best parents you could find. Half the time I'm sorry they're not my parents. But you have all these abilities that no one around you has and you're not stupid, you know what's going to happen. Your biggest fear is ending in a lab. So, you hide the truth, build fortifications around you that don't allow anyone to get close. At first to protect yourself and your family and then to protect others, especially since you can't see people hurt without helping them."

"So, survivor guilt, isolation, hero complex."

"And then your adoptive father, your father for all intents and purposes is dead and there's nothing you could do about it." Bruce was silent. "All your abilities and the only thing you can do is comfort your mother. This Clark has shut himself in and given up his powers."

"And your Clark?"

"He didn't lose his father or his mother, but he won't shut himself up because he's not alone."

"He has you."

"Yes. And he has a life. At least he had." She looked down at her hands for a moment, "Anyway. One day he finds out that people are suffering and because of that he turns himself in and is tortured for over a year and then he manages to escape and finds himself inside a lab, imprisoned. His worst nightmare comes true. Then I show up and don't care about where he was born and what abilities he has. What I care about is that he is scarred and in pain and imprisoned and suffering. There is such an immediate connection that feels so right. But it's not right because..."

"You are from different universes."

"Yes, I have a history with my Clark and despite the great similarity they are not the same person. Then he realizes that his Lois is in danger and now..."

"He thinks it's his fault and he can't do anything again."

"Not right now, anyway. I'd rather him get angry than shut down again but that's me."

"Because if he's angry it's easier to control him?" Bruce asked cautiously. Lois looked at him with a smile and then leaned forward to him.

"You don't think I'm trying to control him; you're testing me." Bruce managed to blush in embarrassment. Lois laughed and he was surprised at how much that laughter captured him. "I haven't had many opportunities to brush tongues with the Bruce in my world. I'm not even supposed to know he's Batman. Female journalists don't really hang around in the jet circle unless they're Kat Grant."

"You can understand why I would think that."

"Yes, because you've never seen him angry. Really angry. The only one who can control Clark when he's angry is Clark."

"So, the only defense against an angry Superman is himself?"

"That's not what I said. If you want to know what his weaknesses are you'll have to ask him."

"Ask me what?"

"Come on, don't pretend you didn't hear the whole conversation." Lois said with a smile.

"I wasn't listening."

"Aha."

"I wasn't listening!" Lois smiled and winked at Bruce. "And you're teasing again. I swear this woman will drive me crazy."

"I'm starting to see what you mean." Bruce said with a smile.

"Why didn't you become Batman?" Clark suddenly asked.

"I..."

"Because you recognized the suit in the picture, and you have at least some of the skills that Lois described and you have the money to carry it out. So? What happened?"

Bruce was silent for a while, considering.

"All my life I trained my body and my mind to be the great protector of Gotham. I came back from a long tour in Europe, I entered the last stage, I even already chose the name, the suit was ready. It is still lying here somewhere. I took care of a good CEO for 'Wayne Enterprises' I even started working on the image of Bruce Wayne as a carefree playboy and then Lex Luthor made his first attempt to take over the company. And as much as I wanted to, I couldn't ignore it. My father's company needed me, the employees, their families. I couldn't let everything go down the drain because I had an inexplicable urge to save the world."

"And after the first attempt failed?"

"I lost the drive. It seemed like irresponsible childish passion. I found other ways to help."

"Like running people away."

"It was in accordance with family tradition. Who am I to go against tradition?"

"You should be Batman." Lois looked at Clark in surprise at the harsh voice.

"Oh? And who are you to decide for me?"

"You need this supercomputer to run people away from Lex?"

"I..."

"A whole cave full of equipment? Like that car in the corner or is that a tank? The surveillance equipment in the mansion? After all you've been through are you seriously willing to settle for being a businessman who occasionally runs people off another billionaire?"

"It's not like you've done more."

"My excuse was that I was afraid of what I could do, I was afraid of succeeding and I was afraid of failing and I thought that doing nothing and living in limbo was exactly what I needed. You had everything you needed and you're clearly much more mature than I was when my father died. If I'm supposed to lead the world in a war now against Lex Luthor, I need someone who is able to scare people just because he walks into a room, who is able to defeat Lex in mind games and who is not afraid to stand up for his principles against me as well."

"And you think I can't do it?" Bruce was on his feet furiously.

"Honestly? I'm not sure. Maybe you used to be successful." Clark put a slow smile on his face, "You didn't even know who I was when we arrived. You thought Lois was the bigger threat. Don't get me wrong, Lois can be very dangerous when she wants to, but you have no idea what I'm capable of. You didn't when you brought us in and still don't. You have no idea. I've always thought the unknown is more dangerous than a woman who has to lie to get your attention." Bruce gritted his teeth, "Are you going to lose control of your anger because of some truths a farm boy told you?" Clark sat down completely calm next to Lois. "And I thought you were the great man of the world."

Bruce remained standing, staring deep into the darkness of the cave, for a long time.

"You're the first," Lois said softly, "not the only one."

"Actually, I'm the second one." Bruce turned to look at Clark. Clark answered him with an unreserved look. Lois smiled and when Clark bowed his head towards Bruce, she put her hand on his arm.

"Clark, can you reach my suitcase in the lab? There's a blue box. Bring it to me, please?"

"What?"

"Let's just say it's a gift from Smallville."

"Ok." He disappeared. Bruce swallowed in surprise.

"You said you could help with Lex."

"Yes. I brought some technological information." She pulled out another CD-ROM from her pocket. "Not too proud to accept help from a parallel world, are you?"

"I'm still not convinced you came from a parallel world." Lois shrugged.

"Maybe it will help." Bruce took the disc from her when Clark appeared, and he almost jumped out of his skin. Lois giggled. Clark was about to hand her the box, but Lois shook her head. "This is for you. Martha Kent designed it, Jor El made it."

"Jor El?" Clark said hesitantly and opened the box. He took out a Superman suit.

"Colorful." Bruce said dryly.

"it's on purpose." Lois said with a smile, "Superman is supposed to be an icon, he has to stand out in the field."

"There's not even a mask here, won't they recognize me?"

"You're supposed to be a symbol of truth and justice, a mask kind of contradicts the idea, don't you think? But the suit is Kryptonian work. Something about it dazzles people, makes them see what they want. The first time I saw it from about twenty centimeters away..."

"How did he get so close?" Lois shifted uncomfortably. "Lois?"

"I fell out of a helicopter, okay?"

"You had fallen from a helicopter?!" Lois sighed.

"You won't let the matter go, will you?" He crossed his arms over his chest.

"You can be sure of that." Bruce managed a smile at the rebellious look on Lois' face. Clark didn't give in and complimented her eye to eye until Lois sighed in resignation.

"There was a tender to create unmanned helicopters for urban defense against terrorism. We gave Wayne Enterprises a chance to try them out in several major cities including Metropolis. Lex found a way to sabotage them. The helicopters started shooting at buildings. I boarded the Daily Planet news helicopter to follow them. The helicopter was hit, the pilot lost consciousness, I tried to take control of the helicopter and before I realized what was happening, I found myself in the air and a second later Mr. Truth and Justice appeared and saved me."

"Mr. Truth and Justice?" Bruce said with a smile.

"Yeah, he didn't stop to introduce himself, just said he was a friend."

"Didn't you tell me you knew your Clark when he was still a farm boy?"

"Yes, he was my partner at the paper at the time."

"So how..."

"How did I not recognize him? The suit. You could say I was the test case. Those who don't know that Clark Kent is the guy in the suit will see what they imagine a hero should look. Those who know the truth will see..."

"You're Clark Kent in a suit." Bruce completed.

"Exactly."

"Lex won't know the truth?"

"Lex will know it's Kal El, he won't know it's Clark Kent. Which will allow Clark here to have a private life."

"So, who are the others?" Bruce said. He stood in the cave's training room wearing a Batman suit, reminding himself of his training, re-teaching himself to use the suit's tools. He suggested that Lois and Clark move into the mansion and Clark, whose closeness to Lexcorp stressed him out, agreed to give up the sunshine of the pocket universe in favor of grim Gotham. Lois was content to keep him away from Hamilton, she still didn't trust her.

"Others?" Lois said. She was standing near the training arena, holding a cup of tea, the coffee in this universe was just awful.

"You said I wasn't the only one." Bruce threw a batarang at the doll standing a few feet away and soured his face when the angle was off from what he intended.

"Oh. Hmmm... I'd like to find someone, but I have no idea where to start."

"You like challenges too much." she smiled.

"Life is boring without them."

"Ok, who are you looking for?"

"Her name is Diana Prince."

"Diana Prince?! Europe's mystery woman? You must be kidding me."

"Sorry?"

"She is very rich, but no one has any idea where all the money came from or where she appeared or where she disappeared to. There is no one, no man, who has met her. She only meets women and those she meets refuse to say anything about her."

"She can't be that isolated from men." Bruce turned to look at her.

"Are you serious?"

"Is there a way to invite her here?"

"Why would she want to help? Why would she even listen to me or believe me?" Lois smiled and Bruce knew he wasn't going to like it.

"She has a way of forcing people to tell her the truth."

"And why do we need her exactly?"

"She's an Amazon. A princess of Amazons to be exact. She's blessed by the Greek gods, so she has many abilities, some very similar to Clark's. And she might not agree to help."

"And what will Clark do while I go deal with your Amazon?"

"He'll try to catch the fastest man in the world. I'll try to find another alien."

"Another alien? Where?"

"In Gotham." She smiled at his shocked look. "It's always so much fun to surprise you." she giggled.

"Lois, it's a bit dangerous, don't you think?"

"He won't hurt me and if he is where I think he will be I will find him quickly."

"Why don't you use the computer in the cave to make sure?"

"I will. There's someone else." She looked at him hesitantly.

"Another alien?"

"No. A genius. He's one of the five smartest people in my universe. A five that also includes you and Lex Luthor."

"Then why the hesitation?"

"I don't know who would be better off approaching him assuming he's alive and not working for Lex."

"Why shouldn't he be among the living?"

"He lost his entire family and was considering suicide when he met someone who changed his life, offered him a purpose."

"Mr. Self Pity?"

"See what I mean? I'm smart but not on his level. You on the other hand are if you can manage not to despise him. If we want to neutralize Brainiac, we're going to need all the brainpower we can muster. Clark and Diana will be the tangible symbols that people can rally around against Lex but you and him, if we find him and he agrees, you will be the ones to handle Milton Fine and the strategy."

"And you will work on the recruitment?" Lois smiled and shrugged. "What about your other alien?"

"I'll let you decide." She smiled mysteriously. "We'll also have to contact the underground. And I have a feeling I'd be more suited to that than you."

"What is the name of your genius?"

"Michael Holt."

"Michael Holt? From Holt Industries?"

"Yes, you've heard of him, I understand." Bruce looked at her, "What's the problem? He's working with Lex?"

"He disappeared, about a month ago. There were rumors that Lexcorp was sniffing for weaknesses in his company. I'll find him, Lois, you can be sure of that." He pressed a button on the mask and Lois heard the computer in the cave dial. "Mr. Fox? It's Bruce... I want full control of Holt Industries by the end of the week... No. A subsidiary. I'm not giving the crazy bald man access to this company... Keep me posted, please."

"So easily?"

"I have a feeling that Lex has started cautiously biting around into that company. He won't expect something so unconservative from me. Until now I've been working mostly on defense but I'm not going to let him steal another piece of the world." He threw one last batarang at the doll and it fell back from the force of the impact, "Know any other geniuses?"

"Dr. John Henry Irons. he..."

"Yes?"

"In my universe he started his career as a superhero shortly before..."

"Before the battle with Domesday?" She nodded.

"From what I understood from him, he was a weapons engineer until reality opened his eyes and he left the company he worked for."

"Which company?"

"Amertech. Not the most decent company in the area, they're a weapons manufacturer after all. He was working in construction when Superman saved him from a fall, and he decided to return the favor and become a hero. He's a genius, Bruce, and a good man. Although here it might be Clark again who manages to recruit him."

"I'll grope in his direction and send, what did you call him," Bruce smiled wryly, "Mr. Truth and Justice if I think it's necessary."

"Ok. When I find my alien, I can continue with some of the others."

"You're putting yourself at risk. Clark won't like it. I don't like it."

"This alien is almost as strong as Clark. If I don't find him, I'll be right back here. I promise. And if you're already on a shopping spree. There's also Ted Kord's company. He's a genius inventor. My beetle is his invention." Bruce left the ring.

"I will speak to Lucius Fox."

"You know James Gordon, don't you?"

"Yes, the police commissioner."

"Does he have a daughter?"

"Yes, Barbara. I was at her birthday party a few months ago. She's 21." He looked at Lois for a moment. "you're kidding me."

"No. As serious as a heart attack."

"She's paralyzed! The Joker shot her to drive her father crazy two years ago!"

"Still. In my universe she was Batgirl for a few years unbeknownst to her father before the Joker shot her." Bruce removed the mask.

"Batgirl?!" Lois nodded, "But she's paralyzed now so what's her importance?"

"She doesn't need legs to be a superhero. Even my Clark doesn't know that, I think Batman is just finding out what she's doing. I have connections deep in the government and I found a very weak thread that led me to her. Barbara Gordon is 'Oracle'. The best coordinator and computers hacker in the world."

"For us, she's just a librarian."

"Clark's Kryptonian mother was 'just a librarian'. Bruce, she has the qualities to coordinate us all. I'll reach out to her, but we'll have to arrange a safe place for her to work. I don't think the cave will do. She'll have to act as if everything is normal and if she suddenly disappears..."

"I can arrange a secure base in Gotham and will add any extras she request." She tilted her head and looked at him with narrowed eyes. "What?"

"You get everything much better than I expected."

"I feel like I've been wandering around aimlessly for years, just reacting to every threat. I have a purpose now; I have a direction. Now I'm acting, planning, not reacting. I'm taking the initiative this time." He smiled. "It feels good." Lois still looked concerned.

"It's too easy."

"Too easy?!"

"Yeah, it's too easy. Something's wrong."

"We're in the planning stage, Lois. All the things that go wrong come later."

"Yes..." She didn't sound convinced, "Maybe."

It wasn't easy getting Wally West to stop for a moment and talk. He was much faster than Clark which was not something Clark had encountered before. He was also deathly afraid of Lex Luthor and that Clark could relate to. But Clark managed to get him to stop and listen and think about it for more than five seconds. Wally agreed to try to find some other super speedsters he knew and convince them to give Clark a chance to explain and recruit them into the new resistance movement. And when the conversation ended Clark looked around and realized he was in Kansas. He knew it must be a mistake, but he wanted to visit the farm, meet his mother, reassure her that everything was fine with him. As soon as he saw Lana and the three children in the living room, he knew it was a mistake.

Marta who saw her son alive and well after almost two years of no contact was happy to see him. He was worried but she noticed the happiness underneath it all and a maturity that wasn't there before. He became a man, the man his father and she always saw him as. Then he noticed Lana.

"Lana dropped by for a few hours visit, Clark." Martha said quietly.

"Clark! It's so good to see you!"

"Lana. I wasn't expecting you."

"Look who's talking! Where have you been for the past two years? You missed Lexa's coming into the world." She held a one and a half year old baby with a smile.

"I was in... I participated in a closed project. Something like the Habitat for Humanity."

"Habitat for humanity?"

"You know, it's when you're imprisoned in a huge bubble with a few other people to test adaptation to closed systems? To build colonies in space and the like."

"Oh. Is this a Lexcorp project?"

"I don't know. I think it's from one of the universities."

"And they turned to you?"

"They needed someone who understood crops and farm animals. How's Lex?"

"Lex is perfectly fine. He's busy all the time. What was the name of this project, Clark? I think it would be of great interest to Lex. His company is constantly doing research on such a variety of fields. It's hard for me to keep track of everything sometimes."

"They went bankrupt."

"Go bankrupt? I don't understand."

"It was supposed to be a five-year project, but they lost their grant. They popped the bubble early." Clark mentally kicked himself.

"Oh. That's too bad."

Martha come to his rescue and turned the conversation to more neutral topics until Lana left still smiling, the limo driver helping her with the kids. Marta looked at him on the balcony, gloomy and worried, the little bubble of happiness gone.

"Clark? What really happened? Where have you been?"

"Under Lex's hands. I wanted to see you, Mom, but that was a mistake. If she tells him and he ties up... I've risked more here than my life and yours."

"Lex's hands? But..."

"When I left everything, I knew about Lex being Lana's husband and being rich. He's not only rich, Mom, he's a crazy tyrant and he's collaborating with such a dangerous creature. I risked everything! She'll be so angry. No, it'll be worse. She'll be disappointed. "

"Who, Lana?"

"No."

"Clark? Whoever it is, I'm sure she'll understand. Anyone who managed to shine the light that was in you when you came in, how can she be disappointed in you?" Clark turned to her with a bitter smile.

"I can't explain to you, mother. I've already risked too much."

"You know you can trust me."

"I know, Mom. But it's so much bigger than me."

"Call her, explain to her, bring her here. She's always welcome." How will she manage to explain to him that she wants to meet this woman who finally brought her son out of his shell? How will he explain to her in what danger he has placed two universes?