When A Dream Comes True
Gotham is getting more interesting these days.
If anyone would like to ask Clark’s opinions.
In the past few days, he spent more time than he likes in that dark, twisted, and gloomy sister city of Metropolis. It’s a wonder how Batman managed to tame her in past decades. Without her loyal guard and knight, the crime is threatened to rear its ugly head. Nothing major has yet happened, but given the time, Clark is not so sure it could be always this quiet.
At least the sub columns talking about dropping bodies of policeman in Gotham from Clark’s morning paper has a say to it. But it’s Gotham, there always are died bodies lingered around in random corners.
Clark is having a hard time deciding whether Superman should engage in this situation.
It all comes back to Batman’s era of *cough cough* “minding your own business” and “leaves Gotham to me” *cough cough*. Superman should only show up in Gotham in strict order of Bat to avoid being more trouble worth than help. Things tend to be more gray than black and white in Gotham and make his line of work a lot harder. You cannot seek justice without breaking a couple of ethical rules. The corrupt police force is definitely not helping. High society is even worse.
Batman tames Gotham and the same vise verse.
Back in time Clark tried to respect his boundary and work style because despite the possibility that they may never become friends, they’re at least colleagues and allies.
Is this still standing true?
Especially when considering how Batman betrayed the league and went off of picture for so long.
Not being friends nor alliance do not make them enemies.
Being Batman’s enemies is going to be catastrophic in some way. Clark sulks. Batman being paranoid and making a handful contingency plans to take down his allies, disastrous, and it’s the ultimate reason leading them to today. Batman actively and furiously making attack plans against the League? It somehow tastes like World War III and Superman is not amused.
There are always some wrongness hugging the edge of Clark’s thoughts whenever he must think about Batman. He cannot put his finger on it and it’s also so frustrating in his subconscious he may not always be on the moral high in this process. He feels guilty and it’s shockingly ridicules.
It’s very subtle comes to relationships. May it be romantic or work.
Life is so complicated, and Clark doesn’t know how the average person handles it, making himself feel so alien, apparently, he is the only one thinking this way in the League. Well, considering the composition of the League, they have aliens, demigoddess, mutated superpower user and etc., he may not be that bad.
Nonetheless, without the dark knight’s patrolling, Gotham is not left vulnerable. A group of young associated with Batman steps up and takes control of situations. Nightwing, Robin, and … Red Hood, if Clark’s research turns out to be correct.
Isn’t Red Hood some kind of crime-lord? He definitely makes himself on top of the police wanted list. He didn’t wear his iconic red hood, probably as camouflage to avoid being spotted as a criminal and blowing up the meeting, but his build and other details matched.
How Red Hood showed up on that night and was teamed with other two vigilantes are a mystery to Clark, nonetheless the enraged young alpha did have a red bat symbol on his chest, and he seems to deeply care about Batman to be there in person even though he was not so much a fan of the League.
Clark doubts if the other two share the same feelings toward the League. Nightwing was friendly enough to make small talk and Robin was not impressed, he kept feeding in facts to support Nightwing in the entire conversation, otherwise he was quiet observing Diana and Clark from a distance.
The good thing was none of them started any yelling contests or caused any trouble on that night. Red Hood had an attitude, but he didn’t really speak other than sneering a lot. Clark has a hunch that he maybe has some sort of agreement with Nightwing to let the other leads. There’re good couple times Clark was spotting him on edge about yelling liars in their face and breaking the talk to a fist fight.
After confirming both parties had no idea where Batman had been or gone, the conversation pretty much ended there. They reached an agreement to exchange info on Batman’s whereabout if either party catches some news. Clark didn’t leave the message that Batman was voted out to them, other than it’s the League’s business they don’t need to explain it to outsiders, Clark didn’t think it’s a good idea to tell anyway.
These young guys held respect and deeply cared about Batman. Batman in MIA had stressed them out already and Clark didn’t need to be the last straw to break the bad news.
But it’s not like if they’re asking for help to make Gotham safe Superman would say no. He is more than happy to lend a hand but it’s going to be complicated when you kick their associate, if not the leader thinking about the age and experience, out of the group chat and still want to be friends with the rest.
If these young vigilantes are anything like Batman, Clark would say being paranoid would be on the top of the list.
Could anything be simple and easy with the Bat?
Apparently not.
Someone is demanding Superman when Clark is about to retire tonight.
-X-
March in Metropolis could be nice and beautiful, but it’s just not tonight. There was a bit of rain during the day and the sky is still mostly cloudy at night. This makes everything a touch bit darker than usual and definitely a lot colder.
The wind on top of skyscraper is chill to bones, but sane people won’t want meet Superman on rooftop at this unholy hour.
The last person who did something like this is Batman.
It’s going to be very helpful if this Batman makes his mysterious appearance in the night of Metropolis. It’s still troubles he brings, that’s for sure, Bat never simply hangs around for no good reason, but that’s kind of troubles Superman know how to handle.
This is different, not only because Clark has absolutely no idea who is this one perching at the edge of the rooftop. He wears an armor covered from head to toe with a white cape, two swords visible on his back, no other weapons could be seen. He is looking at Clark’s direction before he gets close.
The neon lights from other high buildings and streets lights so far down below them is not enough to illuminate their surround, though it doesn’t bother either of them.
“Superman,” the stranger greets with a hint of challenge, seizing him up, body postured in a way ready to charge at a blink of eye.
He looks like a seasoned fighter, Clark thinks, certainly not his typical rival. Nobody sane is thinking of taking down Superman only by material arts, or Lex Luthor would make himself the greatest material art master in history. Clark doesn’t think it’s going to happen any time soon.
To take down Superman, one needs either a big gun or a hand full of kryptonite.
None of these two is on display right now, if the other wants to talk, so be it.
“Who are you?” Superman is floating in the middle of the air, arm crossed, “what do you want?”
Not every day someone calling Superman with a specifically designed ultra-sonic device blow the message in a frequency only could be caught either by special receiver or superhuman hearing. When someone goes all the troubles do this only means a lot more troubles are waiting down the line.
The stranger could be the very trouble incarnated.
It’s hard to read people when you can’t see their face nor smell their scents. The stranger must use some very strong scent blocker and neutralizer to be this scentless, thinking it as a compliment given Superman’s nose.
Almost like a ghost, if he is not standing right in front of Clark and he is seeing him with his very eyes.
That’s put Clark on guard.
If someone doesn’t come to Superman for help, then the trouble probably is.
Just before Clark starts to speculate what kind of superpowers or ability this stranger might have, he answers.
“I have no interest in meeting you nor we shall meet, but there we are. We can make this as quick as possible,” says the stranger. “Tell me everything you know about Kryptonian pregnancy and abortion measures, and I will be on my way.”
What the hell? Clark is stunted, “why in the world you need that kind of knowledge?”
The stranger is not impressed and dangerously lowering his center of weight. Being with Diana and Batman long enough makes Clark know how to read a fighter’s posture when they make a show of intimidation and threatening.
The stranger is not about to use violence to sort out their difference but it’s a close call if Clark doesn’t keep the conversation going, so he is holding himself and clearing his throats.
“This kind of knowledge is useless except you’re a Kryptonian. But Krypton is long gone, it makes me the last survivor. I think this kind of knowledge becomes very personal; don’t you think?” Clark grimaces, he himself never thinks about looking up to this kind of thing until Lois’s pregnant with Jon.
Apparently, Kryptonian is used to be a galaxy level immigrating species and colonized many planets in its history. It has this weird ability that could fail other compatible species’ contraception mechanisms and facilitate a cycle. Aphrodisiac in a secret way. The other won’t realize what’s happening until the conception already happened. Another wonderful reason why Kryptonian shifts to reproduce in Genesis chamber to monitor unwelcome outsider’s genes.
Until that very moment, Clark knew human contraception doesn’t work very well with Krypton biology and it doesn’t matter which party takes it.
One of his most memorable mistakes, never paying enough attention to his Kryptonian biology class and simply assuring it’s the same as the earth.
Clark is very lucky he is not very sex active since he grows up and the karma only caught upon with him until few years back.
Though he never regrets having Jon and Jon is a ray of sunshine but just they never planned. Pure surprise.
But Clark is not someone who repeats his mistakes, he has been careful, and he has not seen anyone for a long time. Lois stopped share her heat with him for a good couple of years and this morning he checked, she was not pregnant.
No way there is a Kryptonian pregnancy happening without his acknowledgement, and Clark wonders if any mad scientist will be bold enough to ask him in his face about how Kryptonian reproduce.
… that must be the part of abortion comes in, right? That brings more suspicious questions about why someone wants to know specifically about Kryptonian abortion measures.
“You need proof. Fine. I could give you one.” The stranger acts like reading Clark’s mind. He throws a ball of a folded handkerchief in Clark’s direction.
Clark catches the handkerchief before realizing he is catching it. All his mind and senses are focused on one and only thing, the faint and dull scent lingered on the handkerchief.
It could be hours, even days past since the handkerchief caught the scent. The scent on it is almost gone if not for Clark’s super sense. The stranger must prepare it in such a way that eliminates the possibility of Clark recognizing the owner by the scents only, but still leaves enough traces for Superman to know what he is smelling.
It’s the faint bittersweet of burnt sugar and complex cinnamon spice scent, something so sickly sweet and warm and dangerous and yelling in the hollow wind. It’s the distress and desperation whispers, and they are saying dangerous words.
Too bad Clark pins down the owner of scents in a blink of eye.
If Clark hadn’t recognized it in his dreams, he startling knows right now.
What provokes him to feel so protective and possessive, well, the answer may be very simple.
A Kryptonian pregnancy.
As the last son of Krypton, it’s very likely he is the sire.
Clark is shocked and horrified.
How could that even be possible?
“Ready to talk or not?” The stranger cruelly reminds him, impatience and annoyance bleeding out of his harsh voice. “I don’t have all day.”