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Tears and Rain	By : Waxcrayons Category: DC Verse Comics > Batman Views: 13546 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own Batman, Superman,DC comics or any of their characters, or make any money off of them.

Chapter List
- 11
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- 13
The early morning after the rescue was strangely subdued, or so Diana felt. A warrior thought lost but found in Themyscara would have had a welcome full of tears and laughter and embraces. Instead in place of visible joy was a peculiar silence. Akin to that which was displayed when one was in mourning. Was not her Erebus saved? Why did Apollo and Hermes tread around him as they would a cold grave marker? Diana pondered this as with maternal ease she smoothed a stray lock of midnight hair, caressed a pale cheek lovingly, and pulled blankets more comfortably around a too-thin frame. Batman put up no resistance on account of some potion the Doctor had insisted he consume to the last dregs. Blue eyes tried to focus not on her but on Kal and the Doctor speaking softly to one another, but the potion must have been potent for after two or three long blinks, the Dark Knight slipped into a deep sleep.
Kal looked as if he could use a dose of the same tincture, Diana decided. A shame his physiology wouldn't permit such an easy way to rest. The Flash hovered by his side, ready and willing to help in any way he could, despite the red around his tired eyes and the exhaustion pulling at his shoulders. The pair had left after Dr. Leslie had started to see to Batman and had returned not but fifteen minutes ago. A part of her wanted to scold Kal for leaving Batman in this time of need, but another part of her wondered if Kal was doing just what was expected of him. If anyone could guess what was best for the Knight odds were that Kal would have the answer. So she held her tongue, trusting in their bond to guide them the way.
On her part she felt better being close to him. They had a Warrior's bond as well, though not as hard-forged as the one of Light and Dark. They had shared pain and laughter, if reserved. There had even been a physical interest between them once before they had each in their own way realized that it was never to be. His heart would never truly lay with hers as hers could never accept the burden of whatever darkness rested behind those fake smiles. None the less, she cared for him just as she was sure he cared for her. Perhaps it wasn't his way, but she hoped that he understood how deeply she cared by choosing to be so close.
“...too weak to really fight the infection and extremely dehydrated. I'm giving him fluids and a strong antibiotic intravenously as well as a bit of sustenance but I hate doing that. It almost always leads to more infections which is something his body can't handle right now so I've given your Doctor Midnight friend instructions on when to remove what. As soon as you can try to get him to eat, but don't push it. Something light and easy to digest. Peas and broth are perfect. A banana after a few days. Plain rice. Oh yes, and don't be alarmed if he looks almost as good as new in a day or two and then gets violently sick. A fever is the body's way of fighting off infection, but like I said, currently his body is too weak.” The good doctor was explaining.
“He'll be okay, though?” Barry asked innocently.
“With time, dear.” Dr. Leslie replied sweetly. Her serene gaze next settled on Kal and she reached a hand up pat his cheek. “Good looking man, you are.” She mused to no one in particular it seemed. “Your name is Clark, right?”
Kal shot an almost cautionary glance in Barry's direction but whatever turmoil he battled was brief. When he answered after only the slightest of pauses it was in a friendly, open tone. “That's what my Earth parents named me. I like it.”
“Clark it is then.” Dr. Leslie nodded to herself. “Your name comes up a lot so I'm going to assume you're the primary care giver?”
Kal sputtered a light laugh that turned into deep rich music in no time at all. Such a beautiful sound to behold after the day they had all had. Rich laughter stole the Man of Steel's breath so that he could only answer the doctor with a half shrug and a single nod.
Dr. Leslie procured a card and placed it in Kal's hand. “That's my business number, but I've written my private number on the back. He is an extremely difficult patient but I've learned a few ways of handling him. You may have to give him a mild sedative which I've provided to ensure he gets the adequate amount of rest the first few days. Boy likes to jump out of bed and never get back in it first chance he gets. He won't take them so make him some chamomile tea and dilute it in that. Kid spends a few years in Asia and he believes all that mysticism and herbology stuff. He won't question the drowsiness. Dilute a multivitamin in there too if you think you can.”
“You are positively devious.” Kal admonished with a wide grin.
Dr. Leslie grinned evilly as she continued. “I didn't give him a walking cast for his foot so he can't get too far as well.” Then her face grew serious and her tone no longer carried it's lightness. “Regarding his other... intimate injuries...” She began. “I'm not sure he has dealt with the trauma yet. I can't give you much advice on what could happen or how he will react. Everybody is different, and while he's not the first person that this tragedy has happened to, there is no real precedence on how to help him through this. You'll have to play it by ear, my dear. But you know him. You know the pain and loss he's suffered before... Just be there for him even if he pushes you away... which he probably will. I think he's afraid to trust us, the people around him who love him, to shoulder his burdens with him. Like...” She paused a moment to gather her thoughts.
“Like if he trusts us do it once, the next time when he's depending on our help we won't be there.” Kal finished for her.
“You do know him well.” The doctor nodded solemnly. “So which one of you kind people will take a old woman home?”
Diana watched Kal offer the kindly doctor his services, and depart with her in tow. He mentioned something about still having things to do in Gotham and then promptly left, asking her to watch over Batman until his return. Kal's eyes never touched the sleeping Knight's form. She had expected a tender touch in parting, or even a verbal farewell to the man he had been so desperate to rescue... There was a term she had heard and had once looked up. An utterly human term. Disassociation. She stopped her frown before it could form.
I have seen the pain Batman's suffering caused Kal with my own eyes. I have seen Kal stripped bare, flayed to the bone and dragged over the coals... He cares too greatly. She told herself. If he must be strong for my Erebus, this must be the only way he can do so. He must be a rock when in the Night's presence. Or perhaps... A guiding light. The explanation felt right in her head. So, when he is not playing this role for Batman and has time to resolve his own anguishes... Well... She could be there for him.
For both of them.
***
Hidden away from the outside carnage was a private network of computers and workshops. Another emergency stash of necessities for an overly cautious man. The security systems were top of the line but not impossible to bypass if one had a knack for such things... A genius level knack for such things and a unique understanding of the mind that had constructed them. Within the safety of the reset traps and systems one could find rest and relaxation for as long as it took to wait out the mess happening above. Screens flickered, most of them set to muted news coverages to be cycled through as the highlights played.
“This is Summer Gleeson reporting. It has been called the 'Nightmare before Christmas' by many, but things are looking up for our City. Early this morning was confirmation from Police Commissioner James Gordon that The Joker, speculated to be the mastermind behind the both the Blackgate outbreak as well as the Arkham Asylum massacre has been taken into custody. The footage seen here shows Metropolis' own Man of Steel bringing in a bloody figure believed to be the Clown Prince of Crime as well as a man positively identified as Victor Zsasz, known serial murderer. Since the arrest the Ace of Knaves, G.C.P.D. and the National Guard have followed through with numerous arrests of local gang leaders, among them former District Attorney Harvey Dent, known to many as Two-Face. Illegal weapons busts have also been successful across the city, one cache yielding a staggering amount, some seven thousand illegal guns. Among them military grade heavy artillery and what, according to an anonymous eyewitness, could only be described as a rocket-launcher. Oswald Cobblepot, known more famously as the notorious Penguin has his prized lawyers on hand to counter allegations that the weapons lead back to the former criminal, now self-proclaimed legitimate businessman. More to come after the break.”
Click.
“...And Superman, Superman, Superman. Even Metropolis' Big Blue had to get in on the action in Gotham. The nation has been watching with baited breath over the last few weeks as Gotham City seemed to take a dive right off into oblivion. Following the rumoured disappearance of the City's rumoured Batman, Gotham exploded into what many thought was a downward spiral of violence and chaos that would surely see no end. Select members of the Justice League of America were spotted all over Gotham helping police and the Guard to clean up the cesspool. Records seem to indicate that the League's involvement by working closely with the police was a first for the overnight sensational superheroes. Social outlets such as Twitter and Facebook pages are alight with theories that the missing Batman may have been the only reason for the League's involvement. Arguments for and against such theories have been seen all over. Many viewers have sent in variations of a video taken with cellphones, seen best in these two clips we will play simultaneously. Note here that Superman descends with three people in tow. Two are believed to be The Joker and the murderer Victor Zsasz. The third, a hooded man is neither taken into custody or taken away by medical staff. Some viewers managed to sneak by police barricades... Seen here, the man is hidden behind Superman but you can see as the Flash enters the scene that he knows the hooded man. The viewer on the right manages to film what looks to be the start of an embrace before the G.C.P.D. usher our junior cameramen away from the scene. With the City coming back under the control of Police Commissioner Jim Gordon, America has turned from the horror of Gotham's reality to the intrigue of Gotham's newest mystery. The hooded man. Could he be the Batman or is Gotham's Dark Knight just smoke and mirrors? Who do you believe the hooded man is? This is Iris West reporting.”
Click.
“...Don't forget to pick up the Daily Planet on your commute to work. Here is Lois Lane, Metropolis' famous two time Pulitzer prize winning newspaper reporter to give you a sneak peek reason why.”
“Thank you. This is Lois Lane bringing to you the kind of accurate reporting you've come to associate with the Daily Planet. Was the Joker the puppet master? Was there an inside man in both Arkham and Blackgate? We've got the facts to back up our answers. Answers to even the newest question sweeping the nation. Who is that secret man rescued by Superman? Just a victim? Or perhaps the urban legend 'The Batman'? Exclusive photos only the Planet has to offer will have you asking yourself an even juicier question.”
Click.
“...is Vicki Vale reporting -”
CLICK.
From within the safety of the hidden workshop the world was just going to have to wait.
For now.
***
A face... Pasty, pale and grotesque faded in and out of shadows at his heel, from out the corner of his eyes, above and below... The maniacal laughter herding him down Alice's rabbit hole before better sense could take hold. Eyes yellowed and bloodshot bore their cruelty down upon him as he cowered and begged, matching the Cheshire grin in their cunning intensity. It seemed they waited at every wild turn he took. Each desperate act to elude them only brought him closer and closer within it's grasp.
“What's this?” Red lips parted to sneer. “Off with that head!” They demanded, their serpentine tongue slithering out to obey their command.
He was seized, head swelling and swelling cartoonishly and he was squeezed. Like a swollen grape on a vine the resulting 'pop' stained the world red.
Red confetti formed the swirling curling slide that carried him deeper into the madness. One hundred feet from the ground the confetti slide warped, pulsating slightly before it changed into thousands upon thousands of bloody-winged butterflies. The droplets off their wings rained down on the garden below, and himself as well as he fell into the flower fields. Fae-like creatures skittered away in disgust from the man who had brought this blood with him. All but one green skinned and fire haired nymph. He tried to apologize for the mess, as he didn't believe he brought blood and misery to people on purpose, but she either didn't believe him or didn't care.
The nymph circled him, ruby lips – so much more inviting then then the slimy ones who's laughter were ever closing – parted as she let out a breathy laugh. In her hands was a rose that she offered him. In his hands it became two.
As he looked up to the nymph for an explanation he watched her features contort. Ruby mouth stretching impossibly wide to allow... something from within out. Bony corpse colored fingers wormed out of the nymph's throat, tearing her pretty features as they clawed free. The maniacal laughter was so close now, but he stood paralysed by the sight before him. The nymph had shed her skin. In her place, made all the more gruesome by the relentless blood rain from above, was a mass of flesh twisted into being by shear will alone. Sharp bones cut at jagged angles, claws and teeth... So many teeth... And with the laughter in his ear now there was nowhere to go.
Claws threaded into his body, stripping muscle and tendons away. Organs were pulverised and devoured, bones powdered like chalk. Teeth stripped chunks away, turning him inside out until they found the very core. With glee his remains were cast aside, the monster holding a Wisp so dark and cold that is sucked the light and warmth from the garden... Even from the blood raining down...
The roses were still in his hand when he started to plummet. His bloody remains crashed onto cobblestone in a heap and from the mess a small boy dressed too formally for a child climbed free. In his small hands were no longer roses but two bullets. The blood from his older self, that pitiful disguise, mingled with that of his mother's. Though hers was fast growing cold, the sound of her shriek still echoed all around the bricks and mortar. Mad laughter deafened him to his father's plaintive voice.
The hospital was awash with harsh lights and an uncaring staff. The boy ghosted through unnoticed, following a stretcher that held a dying man, gasping out his name. A hand reached out blindly, smearing a trail of bloody-winged butterflies along the wall.
“Everything will be okay.” The dying man promised. His final words a cruel lie.
“Don't leave me...” His own small voice begged. “Please don't leave me... alone.”
The dread... The helplessness... The betrayal.
The anger.
People were liars. Even the ones who loved you. Especially the ones who said they loved you. When they abandoned you the hole they left in their wake... The deep sucking wound...
His chest hurt.
His eyes burned.
His mind battered itself from within the confines of his skull.
At first he felt more than saw the bright figure of warm luminance hovering just above his small shoulders, the cold rain easily buffered by a cloak of spun gold. The radiance was untouched even by his darkness. By all accounts the closer it got to him the more his darkness defined it, gave it shape and purpose. As if it fed off the Night with the same hunger he felt for the Day. The Light intoxicated him, for a brief moment it even stole his thoughts from the pain and betrayal that had consumed him. It took the shape of someone strong and comforting. That someone took the bullets from his hand and cast them aside... For what fear of bullets and monsters could Daylight have? Light chased the ugliness away from the streets. Turned demons to stone.
“It's all right, Bruce. I'm here, and you're safe now.” The light promised as it drew him closer.
For once he dared to believe. Pale fingers reached out the thread with outstretched golden ones, allowing the warm golden hand to draw him in so that the light could enfold all that existed between here and eternity...
Lights were fluorescent and harsh.
Oh no... Dread ran cold fingers up along his spine before he even realized he was moving. Oh no, no, no, no!
The room was a basic medical facility. He was alone and the air had a ventilated quality to it. Like an underground bunker. And he was alone.
Stupid... His mind did nothing but wander lately. How could he have believed he was safe? The Joker would never let him get away, not unless he escaped himself. And that's what he had to do. He had to escape now while he was lucid and strangely energized. Still, as he untangled his body from the mess of bed sheets and intravenous wires false memories kept creeping just behind his eyes. They whispered little lies to him.
“You're safe now.”
“I'll protect you.”
He found himself searching for a sign... a symbol. Whatever it was it wasn't to be found. The symbol was pushed to the back of his mind and he crouched down by the door to lay in wait. Movement outside spoke of multiple targets that tread too comfortably. Wherever they were, his captors surely felt safe. That was good. Men grew careless in the safety of their homes. He moved just out of view from the widening gyre, allowing the intruder to enter completely before he swiftly shut the door and silently took down his foe. From that moment on there was no time to waste. The others would soon notice that one of their own had not returned. He bolted from the room, keeping enough wits about him to crouch low and move lightly. A garishly green dressed man, likely a crony of the Riddler, went down just as fast as the first target.
A moment of stillness revealed that still no alarms had been sounded. Surprise was still an element he could use, and that was something to be thankful for. The surrounding area seemed to grow less domestic as he moved. He found himself in an armory of sorts that flirted with familiarity where, with impressive ease, he managed to quietly subdue two more garishly costumed goons. One who had reached for a long rod at the end had tried to reason with him first, a move he would have gladly humoured were he not so desperate to escape. The armory lead straight into a showroom to end all other showrooms. Vehicles of land, sky and sea lay on display as far as the eye could see. When a man needed to make a quick getaway this was truly the place to be.
“Wait until I tell him what you managed to pull off.” A airy woman's voice chuckled softly. It was a voice he imagined was more used to being firm and direct.
I've not time to muse over a beautiful woman's voice. He reprimanded himself. Forget Dick. I'm the one who always gets into trouble because of a pretty face.
And trouble she was. No sooner than he had decided to make a run for the fastest looking thing on land the woman was by his side, urging him back into the compound. Her touch was gentle but quite firm. He didn't care. This was the Chinatown sewers all over again. He got a taste of freedom only to have it stolen from him. It was a cruel joke, and one he determined not to be the butt of again. But all his thrashing was about as effective as it had been when the thick meaty smelly man that had thrown him over a shoulder.
What is the Joker feeding you Hulk's and She-Hulk's anyway?
She effortlessly ushered him back deep inside to an expanse that was made to look like a very inviting common area. A round communal table sat in a kitchenette, L-shaped sofas lined a entertainment room with a large television playing Christmas specials. In the entertainment room sat the garish green man being checked over by a man in bright crimson. Garish-Green shot him a sour look he returned in kind, but as Crimson and Garish-Green rose to assist She-Hulk he wished he had held onto it.
The advertisement on the television promised hopeful little children that Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer would be on before their bedtimes tomorrow night. Rudolph... It's Christmas Eve tomorrow and I'm not there to tuck Tim in, to tell Jason not to spoil the Santa myth for his little brother while sneaking him that extra cookie Alfred said 'No' to, or take Dick to visit his parents and wish them a Merry Christmas.
“No!” He yelled suddenly and fought with everything he had left to get away. She-Hulk's grip loosened and he was sent stumbling into a chair, scarlet silk tangling up his legs. Effectively trapped, he thrashed but it was to no avail. The world was spinning as he was taken back inside the medical room and pushed down into the mattress. He screamed and wriggled and twisted but there were too many of them above him holding him down.
They promised him everything was going to be okay if he would only just calm down. They lied to him even as one of them produced a needle and deftly drove the point into a vein. He watched the plunger descend into place just as his arms were tied to the hospital bed with canvas straps. He pulled against them violently but futilely. The faces surrounding him were almost believably concerned. Still pulling at the canvas restraints he at last took a moment to see what had tripped him up in the first place.
There upon a cape of scarlet was a golden 'S'. The very symbol his mind had been searching for. The very gold of the light that he thought would protect him. He stared at the symbol contemplating what it supposedly stood for. It was a symbol for the weak. He scowled at it, feeling hate and betrayal feasting upon his foolishness.
“You're safe now.”
“I'll protect you.”
Lies, lies, and more lies. He couldn't count on a saviour and more than the rest of humanity could.
His eyes burned a hole in the fool's gold of the cape. Whether it had been a dream or reality meant so little to him right now. There was one truth his anger could not let go of, even as a drug induced lethargy fell over him.
“I'm here.”
He lied to me.
“He left me.”
- 11
- 12
- 13
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Tears and Rain