Adult-FanFiction.org : Comics

Tears and Rain	By : Waxcrayons Category: DC Verse Comics > Batman Views: 13549 -:- 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
- 5
- 6
- 7
Earlier...

Diana had come to Man's World once over two years ago in search of America's Superman, a figure she had been lead to believe had dropped stolen nuclear missiles a little too close to her home. That initial meeting had taken her on a strange quest, banding her together with the Apollonian vision confined by Man's modern world concepts and his contemporary shadowy brother-in-arms. Erebus in a mortal body was how she had first and continued to view the Batman. They had parted on good terms at the end of their journey, she thinking that that would be the last she would see of men and the two Gods that resided among them. Never did she expect her mother to place such a responsibility at her feet a year later. Ambassador of Themyscara was an honor she accepted, and she returned to Man's World to educate the world about how much better it, and the people who inhabited it could be. Her arrival and public heroics had opened yet another world to her... That of America's budding 'Superhero' team.

Calling themselves the Justice League of America, these rogue local heroes from across the nation had come together in a united front against crimes simply too large for one hero to take on alone. With a singular hub for all their information to pool and be distributed, the Justice League had learned to better react to threats by sending the right man or men for the job, coordinating complicated action plans involving multiple teams and locations, all eased by an open globular communication line each member was connected to at all times. Diana had been approached to join by a figure she had come to understand was the guardian of Earth and all it's stars. Earth knew him as the Green Lantern, but the man frequently reminded her that she could call him 'Hal'. Believing more could be accomplished with joint efforts, Diana had agreed, and had been working with the League for over a year now. At the time of her joining however, she had frequently found herself wondering why the Justice League operated without America's first and most well known superhero, Superman. Unlike the public figure, the Justice League operated almost as secretly as she recalled the Batman to. Indeed, their covert operations had some suspicious news reporters making wild speculations as to the motive behind their banding together. It was only after the League had noticed a growing apprehension around their name and endeavors that they had called a meeting to discuss recruiting Superman to their cause.

It had been a lengthy conversation, the smaller names in the room extremely vocal about accepting the aid of a man that was practically God. The people here, to Diana's surprise, were fearful and even overtly disdainful of the superpowered alien. Did they not see how noble a heart was in the man, she had wondered. Did they not see a true warriors spirit? A genuine strength and gentleness? She argued in favor of him, recounting her experience with him and his shadow.

"Well, divided or not, we all at least can see why it wouldn't hurt to have a trusted face like his with us." The Flash mediated, bringing about a much needed calm into the meeting room. "But Superman is a force all on his own. Why would he need us, is the bigger question. What could we offer the Man of Steel, who has a new power every time I see him on the news?"

"True, Barry." Hal sighed. "He's sort of the star quarterback..."

Diana mulled the idea around in her head before she spoke up. It wasn't like she was still angry with the man, but he had been infuriating and pig-headed... and he had had the nerve to kiss her when she had believed herself to be bathing privately. The other League members were afraid Superman would come in and run their show, but she had experienced the mythical Batman first hand. The League had absolutely no idea what they were in for if they agreed...

"Superman has worked with the shadow in Gotham City, the Batman, numerous times. In my time with Superman, he spoke of how valuable Batman was to him. I have to agree, the man is a wonder at gathering Intel and planning a course. Superman values the wide-scope view Batman is able to provide with his network... I believe our ability to have our fingers on the pulse nationwide, of having up-to-the-minute information available and spare hands if required will appeal to Superman. He is one man, after all. One man who takes it upon himself to protect people on a global scale."

"Indeed." Hawkman agreed. "He can't always be in America."

Diana nodded. And now for the hard sell. "And to better perform that duty I believe we should also consider extending the invitation to Superman's brother-in-arms."

"You mean the Batman, Diana?"

Hard sell, indeed. "Superman depends on him. He is a true warrior. Driven, courageous, crafty... He also has wealth and intelligence and the means to expand ourselves around the country and perhaps even the globe, eventually." And she had thought the Superman debate had been drawn out...

It was forcefully declared over when Hal threw up his hands in exasperation. "Then get the Princess to ask them both! We'll make it a two-for-one deal."

Weeks later found the League along with their surveillance and communication equipment in place around a sealed complex owned by one Lex Luthor from Metropolis. Their purpose was gauging how well both the Superman and the Batman would work in a team environment by studying how well they worked together. It was a stroke of luck they had even found out about the operation in time to get there before the whole mess had been wrapped up. Still, they had only managed to hack into the frequency the two heroes were using just as Superman had safely removed all the civilians and was circling around the large complex in search of the dark Batman. Diana recalled Superman explaining to her shyly that he had a hard time seeing through lead, and she imagined Superman's long standing adversary Luthor would make a habit of constructing all of his building with the material. The buildings were beginning to catch fire from what turned out to be an evidence eradicating ploy on Luther's part, and not too far away from outright exploding.

"There's a lot of fire, Batman... Are you still inside?" Superman's voice was openly concerned.

"...I'm almost done." An unhurried baritone answered.

"Umm... Seriously, Bats. The West wings are caving in. The place is going to blow."

"...Don't call me Bats."

"Batman... Really. Come on. I can't find you through all that lead. The place is exploding." It was a barely contained panic.

"I'm on my way out now. Headed North, I think."

"You think?"

"I don't know if you've noticed, Superman, but this complex is exploding. It's a little hard to discern which cardinal direction I'm running to in all this black chemical smoke." Batman's voice was impossibly even given the situation. "We're going to play a trust game right now."

"Are you high?"

"The fumes are potent, but I've got a mask. What I don't have is anymore grappling lines, understand? Due to untimely explosions I'm going to have to jump out that window up ahead, and if you like me as much as you say you do, I fully expect and trust you to catch me."

"Damn it, Bats! Tell me something that will help me spot you. And don't you dare tell me to look for the black shape falling out of a window, because there's black debris flying everywhere."

"...Then I won't tell you that."

"Dear Lord..." Superman murmured nervously. Diana had almost leapt into action when the modern day Apollo took off. "I have you." The Man of Steel assured the falling Knight, and he was right. Superman swooped in from the side to catch the man, twirling in such a fashion that the Batman was wrapped in the red cape and pulled close, Superman protecting him from the brunt of the explosion. He drifted on the wind for a moment before slowly descending to the scorched earth below. Superman checked the Knight over for any wounds despite that he had succeeded in protecting his partner, and only let the shadow-clad man go when he began to fidget.

"I'm glad you're okay." Superman sighed. "It's too bad that..."

"He didn't. I have a copy of all the projects Luthor tried to destroy in that explosion. The only thing he succeeded in was wasting money and adding to the damaged ozone layer."

"You're so handy." Superman said affectionately. "Enough to make some charges actually stick this time?"

"Maybe... I'll look into it after I find out who's hacked into our frequency."

"I was wondering why you signalled me to keep it on..." Superman scanned the area, spotting them. "Up there."

Diana watched the Green Lantern, Hawkman, Hourman, the Flash, the Martian Manhunter and Starman descend from their vantage point to meet the two statuesque men below. They fell into one of their formations by instinct, she had presumed, as oppose to expecting hostility from Superman. Batman, maybe... It was Hal who stepped forward to greet them first, a greeting that fell into the awkward silence that stretched between the two parties. Batman's hands were hidden beneath his cloak, no doubt poised to pull out an array of tools that would take down the League. Superman was no better, taking an aggressive step forward so that he stood between the League and the Batman. Always concerned for the dark warrior. Diana decided the men weren't getting anywhere on their own so she hovered down elegantly, expertly catching everyone's attention.

Superman's eyes lit up as he watched her, and he even forgot his defending stance to fly up and meet her half way. He took her hands in his, smiling. "Diana." His tone was musical. "I'm so surprised to see you... I mean, it's wonderful." He blushed. "No pun intended." He promised as they drifted lower to the ground, hand in hand. "Honestly though, I can't believe you're standing here in front of me."

"Kal, it's a pleasure." She laughed, embracing him after a quick peck on the corner of his mouth. It only made him blush even more. "I've missed you, as well... And you, Batman."

Said Batman merely stood stiff and unreadable. Diana gave Kal's hands a squeeze before releasing them and closed the distance between the dark man and herself. "Truly." She said but she was rewarded for her warm welcome with a stern glare and a upraised hand warding her intended peck.

"You punched me in the face the last time I kissed you." Came the blunt explanation. "And you're arrival with these... people... is highly suspicious."

"You are just infuriating." She hissed, taking his hand by force and pulling him into a welcoming embrace whether he liked it or not.

"Well, I suppose we can try again." The Batman reasoned pre-collision and he moved voluntarily into her, angling himself just perfectly to... kiss her once again. He had the audacity to not even show any shame or apologize for his actions either, instead giving Kal a single shoulder shrug. "Maybe the third time's a charm?"

What else could she do? She hit him.

"You didn't learn your lesson the first time around, Romeo?" Superman scolded at his side, having caught him before her blow could take him down.

He flashed a bloody smile before spitting a gob of blood on the scorched dirt. "Some things are worth the price of pain, Superman."

...It was an interesting start to her proposition for them. Superman had seemed leery of her after she had hit Batman, but he heard them out regardless. The Batman was a silent wraith to no surprise yet he also listened. The conversation ended with them agreeing to think over the invitation to combine their forces and resources, which they had done, formally becoming members of the Justice League a month later.

Now why Diana was suddenly remembering all of this was because she recalled what Kal had said the the dark warrior as they were departing.

"You owe me, you know. I saved your life." Kal had teased.

"What do you want?" Batman said tiredly.

"Oh... I'm think I have something in mind."

"Not in your lifetime, Kent."

It was a long time apart, but just another sign of how in tandem the two men were. Here, months later, Batman dragged an injured Superman out of a collapsing building after the man had been struck with a strange red light the notorious Dr. Light had produced. It's effect seemed to have drained the Man of Steel's powers instantly. Batman had subdued the Doctor, and now pulled the larger man out of the building to safety. He stumbled, fell onto his behind with the unconscious Superman's head pillowed on his chest and body limp against his armored torso and legs. Batman made no move to get up, simply braced himself with a hand, the other holding a wad of gauze he must have magicked from out his belt to the wound Dr. Light had visited upon Kal's side, and let his head fall restively forward. He didn't even lift his head when Hal and Barry rushed to assist them. All he would say is that it was 5:32 AM and Kal would be fine in eight minutes.

"We're so even." He had whispered to the sleeping man, and Diana had gone off on her reverie, content to wait eight minutes for Kal to be well again if that's what Batman said.

It started as shades of gold shimmering beneath Kal's skin and she swore to the gods she could hear the sparkling sounds. Kal drew in a long breath, arching slightly, right hand sliding up to grip the Batman around the back of the neck, left hand digging into the dirt. Kal's exhale was satisfied sounding... even pleasure-filled. His glazed eyes creaked open and he looked to the horizon where the sun was just starting to rise. Apollo greeting the daylight.

"It's so beautiful, Bruce..." Kal whispered.

Bruce... Batman followed his gaze to the ball of orange fire. "I'm really more of a sunset kind of guy. This is past my bedtime." Waiting only a moment after speaking, Batman made as if to get up.

"Don't..." Kal pleaded. "Just a while longer... I'm so tired."

Batman pursed his lips but remained seated. He freed his hands from his gauntlets and gloves proceeding to place a hand on Kal's forehead. When that apparently gave him unsatisfactory results he slipped the hand down to Kal's cheek, and then back to his forehead. "You have a... normal temperature. Which for you is hypothermic." Batman explained, wriggling slightly to loosen his cloak and cover the Man of Steel in it. "I'll signal for the jet and take you home."

Diana crouched down by Kal's side and smiled down at him. "Is there someone at home who can take care of you?" She asked.

"Mmm..." Was all she got as a reply.

"Well I'm not watching him all day." Batman huffed. "I'll take him to his mother."

"She's going to freak out on me..." Kal complained softly.

"Deal with it. She's going to tear me a new one. This is like the seventh time I'm going to be dropping you off for her to take care of. Think about the lecture I'm going to get about leading you into trouble and not watching out for you... Like you're not bloody Superman."

Kal chuckled weakly. "She feeds you right out of the oven pie with real whipped cream when she lectures. You love it when she mothers you, anyway"

Diana giggled despite herself. Peculiar relationships like the one Batman and Superman shared were not uncommon amongst her Sisters back home. Living, laughing and fighting side by side the same person day in and out forged a bond like no other. It was the natural course of things, a thing to be celebrated. However, in Man's World she had not witnessed such bonds as the ones back home, her two warriors aside. Man's people seemed incapable of noticing the nuances in every action. She was coming to understand that although the love for each other was clear as day for her to see between her Apollo and Erebus, to the rest of their companions... It was sarcastic quips and humorous stabs at each other. Nothing special... Sad as it was, she felt her bringing their tightly woven bond up to the surface in a conversation would be in poor taste. Best to let it be and hope that the two warriors realized what a wondrous thing they were in possession of.

The Batman's black silent jet set down in a clearing, cue for it's owner to gather the shivering Kal up in his arms and place him in the back seat of the jet. Lifting a hand in farewell, he hopped in and the jet shortly departed. Off to take Kal home to his mother where she would look after both her son and his shadow.

"There's something odd going on with those two." Starman startled her. "I think they need to vacation at the Turtle Cove Resort in Cairns, Australia to work it out for themselves. You know what I mean, Princess?"

She thought she did... "Perhaps they do."

...And perhaps the people of Man's World were not so blind to love as she had assumed.

***

Later...but still earlier...

After Jonathan had fed the animals and done some minor repairs to get the old truck kickin', Martha and her husband set off into town to do some early morning errands. While Jonathan filled his prescriptions she picked out a good portion of stewing beef for supper later that day and the ingredients to make a blueberry pie. Martha took her time at the florist choosing the sunniest most uplifting flowers she could find while Jonathan loaded the old truck up with feed. Both finished, they headed back up to the farm in no great hurry. Martha always enjoyed the drive and she could always pick out where the tree she had found her Clark nearby was even though the old thing had died and been removed years ago. Her little blessing... The baby she had always wanted.

"Looks like that goth boy is here, Martha." Jonathan said passively.

She looked up the space between the barns and noticed the shadow of the cloaked jet. It would go unnoticed by really anybody in their small town, but Martha and Jonathan were used to Clark's friend and his big flashy toys by this point. Jonathan was right. Bruce, Clark's too pale, too thin, and too downcast friend was visiting... which meant Clark was here too. And for the troubled youth to have come here in that hidden jet unannounced could only mean that he had brought Clark home hurt once again.

"That boy is getting an earful." She cursed, gathering her bags and marching straight inside. She left the groceries on the table and continued her march up the stairs to Clark's old bedroom where she paused in the door to assess the situation.

Her baby was dressed in a flannel pair of pajamas, wrapped in Bruce's black cloak and tucked under all his blankets as opposed to just under the comforter like Clark preferred to sleep. Her darling was rosy faced but shivering. Bruce, still in his armored costume only without the gloves and mask, lay next to Clark on top of the covers with an arm strung across the shivering boy next to him. Clark shifted closer to Bruce and murmured that he was cold. Bruce grunted, turning so that most of his body curled around Clark for the added warmth, and murmured back that he was tired and Clark should really just shut up and go to sleep.

Martha chose to let them be. She went downstairs, put her groceries away, and called Bruce's home to let the kind old Alfred know that Bruce was here in Smallville so not to worry. Alfred thanked her, a little voice she recognized as Richard asking Alfred to tell 'Uncle' Clark hello in the back. Finished with that task, she set about making a few of her signature pies. One for tonight, one for tomorrow, one for Clark to take back to Metropolis and even one for Bruce to take back to Gotham for his boy.

Yes, she would probably still scold the pale boy when they woke up, she decided. But deep down she knew Bruce always did his best to watch Clark's back, and Clark did the same for Bruce. It was a stress-releasing thought... Jonathan and she were quite old the near three decades ago when they had found Clark, and they weren't getting any younger. So while she was force-feeding the thin pale shadow that was bedding down next to her ill son with warm blueberry pie and a stern lecture, she also decided that she was going to thank Bruce for taking care of Clark all the time and even let the sullen boy know that if anything ever happened to Jonathan or herself, she knew Bruce would continue to look out for her son.

They were two peas in a pod, after all.
- 5
- 6
- 7
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Tears and Rain