13
Ultraman's POV
"Fool…" I mouthed. "You just fled..."
No, I was worse, I was a coward. She was trying to be friendly and I just ran. I knew J'onzz had been outside the door to my room when it happened. I sighed. He was never going to let me hear the end of it.
"Fear is a good thing," I mocked.
It sounded like something he would say. But was this feeling fear? I shook my head. It wasn't fear, it was something else. I knew fear. It gripped your soul and pulled you down to the depths of the void. This was something else entirely.
My senses were heightened, my blood ran hotter, and every fiber of my being was focused on her... only her. She was an obsession. My biological father left me recordings talking about our people. He called us predators. We took possession of all we desired. Whether it was from other planets, our fellow Kryptonians, or even our family, nothing would satisfy our predator instincts until we had captured our desire. The predator, in me, wanted out the moment I saw her. He was hungry and wanted to devour her whole.
As Ultraman, few women dared to interact with me, yet she did so without hesitation. Her touch was gentle, even when stabbing me, it showed through. Of all people, I didn't deserve such a gesture. I barely passed as anything 'human' anymore; that sweet boy died long ago.
As the night air caressed my face, I closed my eyes. All I could see was her tender-looking face.
"Damnit!" I cursed.
There it was... that feeling... that hunger. As far as I was from my penthouse, I could still smell her scent. It was all-consuming. I needed to focus. This Apollo figure and his servant Darkseid needed my full attention. There was only one person who could snap me out of this. I reached up to my ear.
"Call Bruce,"
I waited a few moments, hoping Bruce had left Lois's house. I wasn't in the mood to deal with her.
Click….
"... You hung up on me, you big blue bastard!" Bruce hissed. "You can't just mention Darkseid and do that..."
From the level of sarcasm in his voice, I knew I'd royally pissed him off. He knew more about Darkseid than any of us. And even that was limited. The grey-fleshed mob boss was illusive. I didn't think he was real until Bruce made a side comment about him once. He said his grandfather had dealings with him over a century ago. Something about him wanting to expand into the American drug market; Bruce's grandfather tried to help him but it went nowhere. Bruce never said why, just that the big scary grey guy never messaged his grandfather again.
"... We're small fries compared to him..." Bruce continued.
Floating above my penthouse, I couldn't disagree with Bruce's assessment. We were nothing compared to Darkseid's organization. The man was older than dust and controlled all Eurasian criminal networks. We only had Gotham, Metropolis, and Central City. The West Coast were allies but we didn't have direct control over them, yet. Arthur hadn't put down Black Mantas' forces just yet. The fish man was too stubborn for his own good.
The rumors about Darkseid made him seem supernatural. He was older than humanly possible. There were even rumors of him dating back to the 1400s. I can't speak about the supernatural, being an alien, but he seemed otherworldly like me. I knew of no human with grey stone-like skin. Krypton conquered many worlds, from my understanding. They, however, make no mention of a grey stone-like people. Maybe Apollo turned him into the creature that was after what was mine.
"I told you I had company," I replied. "You didn't listen, that isn't my fault…."
"Sure, sure," he snapped. "That pussy got you all fucked up doesn't it…"
I growled. He knew that sound. It was the last sound many a man heard before I killed them.
"Ok, ok," he said quickly.
"Where are you?" I asked with a hint of anger in my voice.
"Back at my place," he replied.
Before he finished his sentence, I'd taken off in the direction of his Metropolis home. Leaving the center of the city, Bruce lived in an old mansion in the south. As I landed on the front lawn, Bruce was there waiting for me. He was shirtless with his arms crossed.
"...So Darkseid wants the girl?" he asked.
My face twinged. Telling him about Apollo's role in this would only distract him. He was another possible body to eat. Darkseid was the more immediate threat. 'Men' like Apollo rarely get their hands dirty. He'd send Darkseid first. If he failed, then he'd come personally.
"Hello, to you too," I snort back.
Approaching Bruce, I could smell the rancid scent of my wife on his body. He could have at least taken a shower, but he wanted to make me suffer in his presence.
"You are full of jokes too damn early in the morning," he replied as he stepped aside.
"Says the man using my wife's pussy juice as mouthwash,"
He laughed as I walked passed him. Upon entering Bruce's home, he closed the door behind us. Grand, decrepit, and haunted was the best way to describe this place. It fit him perfectly. All that entered were meant to be unsettled.
His butler, Alfred, was waiting for us with two scotches on a tray. The aged man had been with Bruce since his childhood. Ex-MI6, or so I've heard. The man was ruthless. No wonder Bruce came out the way he did, a monster raised him.
"Good evening, Master Kent," the old butler said. "Are you here about the club?"
"Alfred..." Bruce groaned.
The old butler immediately went silent.
"Is there something going on at the Cat's Den?"
Alfred looked to Bruce for guidance.
"Nothing Selina can't handle," Bruce replied. "We've got bigger problems to deal with..."
"... I'm sorry, Master Wayne," Alfred said.
Placing the tray in his hand on a table, Alfred backed away from us slowly. He nodded at me before backing away from us. He looked concerned. Not for me, but for Bruce. What had he done?
"If you need to handle something back at home, you can," I said. "I'll have J'onzz deal with Darkseid..."
"I'll handle it,"
Bruce picked up one of the glasses and took a drink. He was hiding something. I sighed. This wasn't the time for one of Bruce's games. When Bruce reached the bottom of his glass he asked.
"You going to answer my question?" he asked.
"And what was that?"
"Darkseid?!"
He raised his voice a little too much. Slamming the glass down on the table, Bruce's hand began to bleed. Bringing his bloodied hand to his lips he pulled a piece of glass out with his teeth.
"So it is about the girl," Bruce spat, spitting the piece of glass onto the floor.
I shrugged.
"Maybe," I replied. "Hence I need you to look into him…"
"Maybe?" Bruce asked as he raised his eyebrows.
"Did I stutter?"
Walking past Bruce, I pulled down on a candelabra on the wall behind him. A piece of a side panel popped out of the wall. Pressing inward, the panel revealed a hidden passageway.
"This isn't a laughing matter, Clark," Bruce said with a hint of shock.
"And I didn't laugh," I replied. "You are coming?"
Stepping into the passageway, I followed it deep underground. Not as grand as his cave in Gotham, this was the center of his spy operations in Metropolis. Bruce soon followed suit. Rushing to catch up, Bruce was breathless. His heartbeat tripled the closer I came to his private hideaway.
"He's never messed with us before and we've never messed with him," Bruce shouted from behind me. "The only thing different now is the girl... What does she have to do with Darkseid?"
"She's beautiful," I replied. "What more does a man need to want to take something?"
When Bruce finally caught up with me, he jumped in front of me. Breathless, he placed his hand out to stop me from moving forward.
"So, you want to start a gang war with a man with more power than us, over a woman," he said in between trying to catch his breath.
Swiftly I grabbed Bruce's wounded hand, digging my thumb into his open wound. He grunted in pain. A sound I did enjoy. Probably more than I should have, but I took great pleasure in silencing his big mouth.
"This has nothing to do with her," I lied.
I pushed him back into the wall behind him. Leaning my mouth to his ear, each word from my lips burned in his ear. Bruce's resistance to my grip faded.
"Lie to yourself, but not to me," he said as he licked my lips. "Tell me, did her body fold into you like this..."
He pressed his body into mine, I felt him pressing against me. Hard as always.
"I wouldn't know,"
I avoid his gaze.
"Now, now Clark, who's lying," he cooed. "This has everything to do with 'her'."
I ran my thumb over his still-blooded lips as his eyes closed.
"And what if it does,' I replied.
There was a silence between us. His free hand slid up the side of my body but I released his hand. Blooded, he looked up at me with the biggest devilish smile.
"What's in it for me," he asked. "Darkseid is a dangerous man. Investigating him is a death sentence. What do I get out of this?"
I leaned back down to his ear.
"You not getting fucked to death by me," I growled.
I could smell the desire oozing off him, but he was her.
"Come on," he cooed. "Give me a try… Kal-El."
Him calling me by my true name enraged me. It wasn't something for him to say. I lifted Bruce by his ass with one hand. His legs wrapped around me as I thrust upward. He gasped when he realized how inhuman I was.
"Two dicks?" he gasped.
I growled in his ear, "... With spines..."
He gulped hard as I lowered him back to the floor.
"... Still, want me to fuck that little asshole of yours?"
Bruce took a few moments to adjust himself. He was flustered. A rare feat.
"I see your point,"
We walked the rest of the way in silence until we reached Bruce's monitor room. The cave was full of ceiling-to-floor screens. They captured images from all over the city.
"The moment he sets foot in this city I want to know,"
Bruce audibly groans.
"I can't watch this all-damn day. I've got a life. Who will keep Lois in check?"
"Buy her a vibrator," I snapped.
"I have a remote one,"
I gagged a little.
"Then use that," I continued. "Have a few of the boys you trust take turns."
Bruce took a seat in the middle of the room. He called for his butler, Alfred. He asked him to take the first round of surveillance duty.
"Should I turn on the cameras in your penthouse?" he asked. "I mean to look after your clay woman…"
"No need," I growled. "J'onzz will look after her."
Bruce feigned shock, "You don't trust me enough to watch over your woman?"
I didn't reply to him. He already knew the answer. I didn't. Bruce had just tried to jump my bones. Rao only knows what he would do to her. I didn't want him near her, hell, I didn't trust myself to be around her. She was too innocent to be in my world. And I needed to keep her far away from it, from me for her own safety.