The galaxy is nestled within Clark's palm. He stares at it as they move, the colors swirling and shifting before his very eyes. He can see so many worlds, can touch the little planet clusters.
He can smell them too. Earth is like his Ma's baked pies, but Venus smells like mold. Jupiter is cotton candy.
The planets start to jump out at him and Clark flinches back; though, the grip on his other hand stays steady.
"Sorry, sorry!" He can barely speak through the numbness of his tongue. Clark tries to touch it, but with one hand dragging him along and the other holding the galaxy, he's a little tied up.
The planets calm, thankfully. They begin to circle his fingers, like strings of beads. Clark giggles at the soft sensation.
Clark looks up just as he passes through a rectangular portal into a green jungle of vines and plant creatures. He stares in awe at their beauty as they twist and shift before his very eyes. Tall trees curve over themselves and into the ground again before popping up to meet the others. Vines tangle together in braids. A flower rapidly changes color one pedal at a time.
It's so...
"Who's this?" A voice comes from Clark's palm and he looks back down at the worlds settled there. One planet, a green little thing with a purple ring, bounces in time with the voice. "You were supposed to get Batman! Not some paper pusher!"
"Pencil pusher." A deep grey planet corrects. Clark gasps in surprise at this one. The voice is dark and mean. It sends chills down his spine and Clark tries to will the planet away but he can't move his other hand to pick it from the cluster.
"Oh, shut it!" The green planet snaps. Clark is growing fonder of that one.
The hand not holding the cluster is yanked upward and the rest of his body follows with it. A cry escapes Clark as he's left dangling by his wrist above the winding flora. A massive, pink- no, Blue. No, purple-
A massive flower settles under him. It sprays dust into his eyes and the planets fall as he bats the stuff away from his face.
The fog over his mind clears and when Clark opens his eyes again, nothing is moving. Well, not in a way it shouldn't. He can see the thick vines holding him and the pink carnation just a few feet below his...well, feet.
On the ground is Batman's limp body and that green woman from before. She's discarded the vigilante into another trap of plants; though, it looks far more restraining than Clark's. If only she knew the secrets he's kept.
Before the woman is a man dressed up in green question marks -possibly that Riddler guy- and-
Lex Luthor. Clark groans low in his throat. Lois was right.
"I got the bat." Green Woman waves a hand and a flourish of powder escapes her fingers. "The other guy is motivation." The Riddler looks at her with surprise, but Luthor is all silent fury.
"Where are the others?" Luthor snaps, wrinkles marring the edge of his bald head. "You said you could get me all of Gotham's rogues!"
The Riddle scoffs. "I can get you rogues, but I never said all of them. Some of those baddies even I avoid."
"Really? A known serial killer doesn't want to rub shoulders with other killers?" Despite the humor in Luthor's voice, his frown never lets up. "You're all maniacs, what's the difference between your riddles and Joker's antics?!"
"Plenty!" The Riddler all but shouts. "Why did I even agree to this?! You're just a selfish snob like the rest of Metropolis' criminals! You simpletons have no flare, no style! That's why your hero is so boring!"
Clark's not boring...
Luthor does laugh this time. "Boring? An alien powerful enough to destroy cities is boring? Please. You're scared of that overgrown mental case!" He gestures to the still-sleeping Batman.
"Enough of this!" Green Woman cuts in before anyone else can argue. "If this really isn't going to work, then I'll just kill the two of them and end all of our suffering." She turns to Luthor. "We have the rogues. You hold up your side of the deal."
Another several sets of footsteps trail into the room from the very entrance he just came through and Clark's hopes of their escape start to slip. There are eight of them now in total: Green Woman, Riddler, Luthor, a short man with an umbrella, a...frozen man, someone with a flame thrower, and a very large man with tubes sticking out of his mask.
Clark notices two things about these people at once. First, they all very much have style and seem to take their particular skill set seriously. Second is that they could be extremely unpredictable and if Clark wants to get out of here with both his identity and life, he'll need Batman's help.
"I told you I could convince them." Umbrella man smiles widely at the Riddler, who returns the expression just as fondly.
"I'll admit, you can...occasionally have a way with words."
"I thought words were your thing?" The two practically ooze affection and Clark nearly looks away to give them privacy.
Luthor, always needing to be the center of attention, cuts their moment off. "Wake up Batman. It's time to negotiate."
Green Woman touches the tree closest to her and a normal-sized flower lets out a puff right into Batman's face. The vigilante coughs roughly, forced awake from the previous effects. It takes him about five seconds to struggle, realize he's being held in vines, then address the villains before him with a steely glare.
"Ivy." He addresses -duh, the green woman with plant powers- first. "I didn't know you could stoop low enough to work with Lex Luthor. You know what he's done to the forests in Brazil."
Ivy grits her teeth. "A necessary evil." She grinds out.
Batman's head tilts slightly. "But you'll take money made off of dead trees?"
"We have a greater issue at hand." Luthor interrupts. "Once we've handled it, things will go back to their natural order." Luthor stands with his head high, both hands clasped behind his back.
Knowing now that Ivy is an environmentalist, Clark is equally surprised to see her working with Luthor. What could possibly make them come together?
"You see, there's a certain Kryptonian crossing borders. I propose a deal, Batman. Help us get rid of him and you can have Gotham all to yourself."
Clark sucks in a hiss. Luthor can't be serious!
"What makes you think I want Superman gone?" Batman growls the question back.
Luthor shrugs, still confident as ever. "No one wants Superman in Gotham. He's a natural disaster on legs. Metropolis can rebuild after every alien invasion, but Gotham-" Lex clicks his teeth. "Gotham is hanging on a threat. Even the American government wants rid of it. You recall that incident three years ago, yes?"
Gotham had been blocked off, bridges blown to pieces. It was an island in isolation. The government took months to give aid, claiming that crime had become uncontrollable and rejoining Gotham to the mainland would only spread it. They let innocent civilians die in hopes of snuffing the city once and for all.
It's no wonder that Batman showed up shortly after help finally came.
"So, here's the deal. I give you a crate full of Kryptonite and you kill Superman-"
"-Capture him." The Riddler glares at Luthor. "No killing. Bats doesn't do that."
Luthor has the nerve to roll his eyes. "Fine. You bring him to us and we keep Superman in custody until we can contact Krypton and send him back to his own planet. No more aliens for either of us."
"If you need me to capture him," Batman asks, "Why bother bringing the rogues into this?"
"To sweeten the deal." Luthor smirks.
As if on cue, Ivy turns around and thrusts her hands out. Vines follow the motion and in moments, all six rogues are wrapped tightly in branches. Their protests are cut short with a puff of pollen and each goes limp, the same way Batman was before.
"These lovely folk will be delivered straight to Arkham Asylum. That's six rogues for you to put aside until the next break out." Luthor smirks in that way he does when he knows he's won.
But he hasn't. Batman can't agree to this. He won't!
When Batman doesn't respond, Luthor sighs. "Come now. I've just offered you three points for the price of one! Imagine how light your workload will feel after all of this. No more fretting about ways to stop Big Blue. You've obviously lost sleep over it."
Again, Batman says nothing.
Luthor's smile falters, but just slight enough for Clark to see. "Don't tell me you've gotten chummy, now. He doesn't belong here! Superman is dangerous no matter the justice nonsense he spouts! Why do you think I do what I do?! A supposed moral compass is the only thing stopping him from deciding he wants Earth for himself!"
Clark can't help but smile. Luthor's grasping at straws. He can bring Batman rogues, can offer to solve this -awkward at worst- situation, but Batman won't betray a fellow-
"Fine."
Clark's head snaps to Batman, his blood running cold.
"Give me enough Kryptonite and I can bring him in."
No. No, no, no-
Luthor's eyes wrinkle at the edges. "Wonderful. Ivy will ensure these criminals stay comatose until you've delivered the ambassador."
As he says it, a giant venus flytrap closes over the lot of them, but Clark's eyes don't focus on them. No, he's watching Batman being lowered to stand in front of Luthor, their hands locking in a single, firm shake. Black leather on tanned skin.
Clark, too, is released. He stumbles as the vine retreats and his knees struggle to hold his weight against the waves of shock and hurt rushing through him. Even without the plant hugging his chest tightly, he still finds it difficult to breathe.
He thought- Batman, they...
They're supposed to be heroes.
Fast, just fast enough for Clark to notice, Ivy's eyes widen and she sends a branch hurtling their way. Batman breaks away from Luthor and dodges the attack just in time. Clark pushes himself backward several feet and lands clumsily on his back. An explosion breaks the branch to pieces, but more are coming at them now.
"Ivy, what have you done?!" Luthor bellows, but his voice is lost against another onslaught of gadgets Batman throws at her attempts to capture him.
The room falls into chaos. Clark barely gathers himself enough to not use his powers against the plants crawling towards him. More explosions make the greenhouse shake. A lightshow of fire, then ice starts somewhere on the right. The high shrill of Riddler's voice tells Clark that the rest have escaped their venus flytrap.
He has to get out. Now!
Clark runs to the wall of the greenhouse, his palms flattened against the cool glass as he rushes away from the center of the chaos. Smoke has started to collect at the high roof, but it's only a matter of time before the whole building of glass is filled. And while Clark isn't exactly concerned with the smoke itself, he has no idea what other plant toxins could be mixed with it.
The fire escape is close. With just a little more shimmying, he can manage to push it open and shoot off into the air-
"Ah!" Clark shouts in surprise. A black, bat-shaped knife cuts just centimeters away from his nose and sticks into the glass window with a loud crack. It doesn't shatter, but any more pressure and it will.
A second knife joins its sibling and the window does, indeed, shatter.
"Kent!" Batman swings from the cloud of smoke and lands in front of him heavily. He wastes no time in grabbing Clark's arm and pushing the both of them through the now open window, his black cape draped over the jagged edges in a show of near kindness.
That is, if it weren't from the very person who's betrayed him. Clark can't help but resist Batman's urgent pulling.
"Kent-"
"You're really going to hand Superman over to Luthor?!" Clark tries to whisper at first but his anger burns brighter than any flame. "How could you do that?! Luthor's going to kill him!"
Batman falls into a spread stance, his eyes flicking back to the smoke every few seconds. His heart isn't erratic, but it does steadily get faster. "I don't have time to argue morals, Kent! We're leaving-"
"No!" Clark rips his arm from Batman's grip. "I can't let you do this! He's the only thing between Metropolis and people as selfish as Luthor! I thought you'd understand that!"
The vigilante pauses, his mouth held open for a half second. His tongue pushes against his teeth and his lips twitch, like he's trying to find words.
But just as quickly, Batman is grabbing Clark again and spins them to wrap his cape over Clark's body. Clark is about to ask what the hell he's trying to do, but he's cut off by another, larger burst of flames. Like a flower blooming outward, the explosion takes the wall of glass, then it engulfs them as well. Clark feels shards of glass bounce against his skin, but he braces all the same.
Clark lands several feet away on the grass, his ears ringing painfully. Smoke and ash fills the air around him and he coughs into his hand. The greenhouse is nothing but flames, smoke, and broken glass. Long, metal shards dig into the dirt several inches, like mangled stakes. Clark looks on at the destruction, speechless.
"Kal!" A familiar voice calls out and Clark is already crawling towards it before he can even think. How is he here? He should be in Metropolis, or back at his manor. It's not safe, he shouldn't-
Clark stops when he sees the black figure of Batman. The main body of the suit is singed and ripped where glass must've cut him. His leg is impaled with a metal bar, right through the calf. Batman is shaking, each labored breath wheezing out between his teeth. Blood drips off of him in small clusters. Not a fatal amount, but it must hurt like hell.
The cowl is cut right along the side, leaving a little less than half of Batman's face exposed to the night air. Through blood, Clark can see the edges of sweaty, black hair and a hooked nose. Grey-blue eyes, pale skin.
"Bruce." The name ghosts from his lips. A prayer and damnation.
"Kal-El, we-" Bat- no, Bruce reaches out for him. "W-We have to go!"
Bruce is Batman. Bruce, the spoiled rich playboy. Bruce, the stubborn, angry man who cares too much about his city.
Bruce, who shook hands with Lex Luthor.
"Kal-"
Clark steps away. Betrayal and hurt feel like such small words to describe the anguish that shreds his heart to pieces. This is seeing Zod rip up half of Metropolis. This is learning that he's not only alien, but his home is nothing more than a memory he will never have.
The realization comes at the worst moment and it only sinks the knife deeper into his chest. He loved Bruce. Somehow, while he was struggling to understand the man's knot of masks and lies, Clark fell in love with the inner workings he found just hours ago. Begrudging honesty, passion, and vulnerability. A gentle soul just wanting to save others from getting hurt.
The image doesn't leave his head. Bruce shaking hands with Luthor. Bruce, signing away not just Superman, but Kal-El.
Clark floats into the air, his eyes never leaving Bruce's.
"Wait, wait!" Bruce tries to lift himself up, but he stops dead when the metal in his leg catches on grass. "Kal, please!"
Clark turns away and flies towards the pale moon.
"Kal-El! Please, I-I need you!"
As Clark soars into the sky and over the river dividing their cities, he listens to Bruce's frantic breaths and rapid heart. He hears Bruce call to him...until he doesn't. Clark lets his senses numb over as he crosses Metropolis and into the next town.
It doesn't matter where he goes anymore.
Next chapter will most likely be the last! And yes, I couldn't help but add some Riddlebird into this. Those two own my heart!