Super Friends

              Superman flies to Gotham city, touching down a few miles away from Wayne Manor. Ducking behind into an alleyway, he lets Clark Kent step out. He fixes his glasses and starts walking. There’s a stately presence to the manor, far grander than what Clark is used to back in Smallville. Even Metropolis lacks the old money opulence that the manor exudes.

              He knocks on the door and waits patiently on the imposing stoop. A thin old man, who towers over even Clark, opens the door.

              “Hello,” Clark says, “You must be Alfred.”

              “Mr. Kent, come in.” Alfred says, stepping to the side. Clark wonders how much Bruce has spoken of him and Steve to his butler. From the calculating stare he receives, he guesses it’s a lot. He fidgets, resisting the urge to play with his glasses under the man’s sharp gaze.

              Distracted, he almost doesn’t hear the near silent footsteps coming down the stairs. Batman has trained his apprentice well in the art of stealth.

              “Any news?” Dick asks, lightly leaping over the last few steps.

              “We brought the paperwork to a lawyer friend of Steve’s. Good work in getting it to us.” Clark says and Dick beams under the praise.

              “We’re going out tonight to check out more of Luthor’s properties, see if we can find a lead.”

              “Great! Let me go grab my costume.” Dick says and practically flies off. Clark catches him by the arm.

              “Not you.” Clark says, “You stay here.”

              Clark knows that Steve considers Dick old enough, but Steve also considers boiled cabbage a good meal, so Clark knows his judgment isn’t perfect.

              Dick’s face immediately crumples, “you can’t go without me.”

              “I’m sorry,” Clark says, and he means it. He knows how frustrating it can be to wait on the sidelines. Still, he’s remains firm. He’s not going to let Dick risk his life, “but no.”

              Dick plants his feet and sticks out his chin, “The Captain thinks I’m old enough.”

              Despite the situation, Clark feels his lips twitch. The kid’s brave, he’ll give him that. Not many try to argue with the man of steel. Then again, he would expect nothing less from a boy being raised by Batman.

              “And how would we explain Robin showing up in Metropolis without Batman?” Clark asks.

              “Um…” Dick trails off, trying to come up with a justifiable reason for Robin to be teaming up with Superman and The Captain. He draws up blank, but pushes on anyways with a stubborn set in his jaw.

              “You can’t ask me to do nothing! You have to let me come.”

              Dick hates the fact that he only comes up to Superman’s shoulder; that he has to look up to look him in the eye. It makes him feel small; useless, like a little kid. He feels like one, begging like this. Bruce wouldn’t beg. He would tell Superman that’s he’s coming and that would be that. Dick isn’t Bruce though. He hasn’t managed to capture his authoritative nature. Frustration courses through him.

              “You’re not doing nothing; you’re maintaining your cover.” Clark says.

              Dick scowls, “that’s basically the same thing.”

              “I promise we’ll keep you updated every step of the way.”

              Dick stomps his foot, not caring if it makes him look childish. Superman doesn’t understand, nobody does. He already lost one father; he can’t lose another one.

              “What if it was your dad missing? Huh? Would you wait around for someone else to save him?” Dick snaps. His chest tightens. He should be doing something. Bruce needs him and Dick’s letting him down. Just let he let his actual parents down. Images of a big top with sparkling lights and two broken bodies flash in front of his eyes. He couldn’t save them. And now he can’t save Bruce. His breathing picks up as tears prick his eyes. He’s crying in front of Superman. His face flushes with humiliation.

              “Hey, breathe.”

              Superman is kneeling in front of him, hands on his shoulders. Dick takes a few shaky breaths.

              “You’re right.” Clark says, “If it was Pa missing, I’d be tearing up the city looking for him.”

              Clark sighs, running a hand through his windswept hair. It’s a very human gesture and one Dick hadn’t expected from the alien in front of him.

              “I know what I’m asking you to do isn’t fair, and you have every right to be steaming mad about it, but you have to think about what Bruce would want.” Clark says, “What would he tell you to do if he were here right now?”

              Dick bites his lip as he gives the question serious consideration. What would Bruce want? First, he’d probably want Dick to stop embarrassing himself in front of Superman. Then, as much as Dick hates to admit it, Bruce would want him to lay low. Keeping their identities a secret is priority number one and Robin appearing anywhere without Batman would raise questions, just like Clark had said. It’s a disheartening realization. Clark must read his expression because he gives Dick’s shoulders a gentle squeeze.

              “I can’t lose him.”

The admission slips out so quietly that someone without superhearing would have missed it.

              “We’re not going to let that happen.” Clark promises. It’s a promise he knows he shouldn’t make. Bruce could be already dead for all they know. But he doesn’t take the promise back either. He pulls Dick into a hug. As if a hug will protect him from the pain and potential heartbreak waiting for him. For his part, Dick melts into him, having no shame in clinging to Clark as tightly as he can.

              Clark leaves with a promise to call Dick as soon the moment he’s back from the mission, even if he doesn’t find anything. Dick accepts his words with a shaky nod. Again Clark is hit with how young Dick is and the enormous weight that must rest on the boy’s thin shoulders. His heart aches for Dick. Alfred solemnly escorts him out. Now that he’s looking closer Clark can see that pain and exhaustion also cloak the man, but he never slips from his role of dignified butler.

              At the door Alfred stops Clark. Lightly touching his arm.

              “Find him.”

              Clark doesn’t hesitate to make another promise.

              “I won’t stop looking until I do.”

              Clark flies off, away from the dim and foggy Gotham, which looks even grimmer than usual without its dark knight watching over it, and towards the bright and shining Metropolis. Somewhere under all that polish and shine Clark hopes to find his teammate and friend.

              He lands on the familiar roof of the Daily Planet. Steve is already waiting for him, shield in hand. Next to him, Clark is surprised to see Bucky, clad all in black. Bucky gives him a nod.

              “Steve said it was all hands on deck.” Bucky says reading the curiosity in Clark’s eyes, “so I’m coming out of retirement this one time.”

              “Thank you,” Clark says sincerely. He’s never seen Bucky fight before. In the chaos of the battle against Thanos he had barely been able to keep track of Steve, much less anyone else. He’s heard things though, about what Bucky can do…and what the Winter Soldier can do. It’s a little unnerving when Clark thinks about it. The mild mannered man in front of him who spends his days trying to convince people to adopt pets is one the deadliest assassins in the world. Clark tries not to dwell on those thoughts. Bucky is a good man and his help now is nothing but appreciated.

              “Yeah, well” Bucky shrugs awkwardly, “I’d hate to see the Justice League crumble just because two people are not enough to qualify as a league.”

              “The Justice League isn’t going to crumble. We’ll find him.” Steve says. There’s a quiet confidence in his words. It’s not arrogance, its stubbornness. It’s like Steve believes he can find Bruce and hold the team together through sheer force of will. And honestly, Clark believes he can too.

              “I called Lois while you were in Gotham.” Steve says, “She managed to track down every publicly owned property of Lex Luthor in just under an hour.”

              “That’s because she’s brilliant.” Clark says beaming with pride. Steve doesn’t disagree.

              “I narrowed down the places they could be keeping Bruce,” Steve says, “There are two buildings close to each other on the Lower East Side. There’s low foot traffic and few other buildings in the area. We’ll look there first.”

              “I’ll take one and you and Bucky take the other?” Clark suggests. Steve shakes his head.

              “We stick together. We already know Luthor has access to kryptonite and he’s not above using violence.” Steve says.

              “Searching one by one will be slower.” Clark says, “And we don’t know…how much time Bruce has.”

              The statement hangs there. The truth of it heavy across their shoulders. It’s possible that they are already too late, that Luthor had Bruce killed and hid the body somewhere where nobody will ever find it. It’s a possibility that Steve has considered and dismissed. It does no good to think like that, and until they have conclusive proof that Bruce is dead, Steve plans on operating under the assumption that this is a rescue mission and not a recovery mission.

              “It will go even slower if one of us gets taken down. We go together.” Steve says. Clark chews on his lip but doesn’t argue, bowing to Steve’s greater experience.        

              They head out. Clark flying, using the clouds as a cover, while Bucky and Steve slink across rooftops. Clark keeps them in his sight as they move almost invisibly across the rooftops.

              They reconvene atop a building across the street from their target. Without needing to be told, Clark scans it. Predictably it is shielded by a thick wall of lead. He relays that information to Steve and Bucky. Neither of them looks surprised.

               “I’ll scope it out.” Bucky says.

              Steve nods, “reconnaissance only. Don’t engage.”

              Bucky rolls his eyes, “It’s not my first night mission old man.”

              “Just making sure,” Steve says, but there’s a slight smile on his lips. It’s obvious to Clark, that Steve is enjoying Bucky’s brief break from retirement. He wonders what they were like during the war, before time and too many battles had dimmed the excitement from their eyes. The two of them, and the Howling Commandoes he’s heard so much about, must have really been something to see.

              Bucky disappears into the shadows as effectively as Bruce, and even with superhearing Clark can’t make out his catlike footfalls. Steve stands motionless on the edge of the roof, his eyes scanning the area with a soldier’s vigilance.

              Fifteen minutes later Bucky returns.

“They are definitely up to something in there.” He says before Steve can even ask for a report, “They’ve got a whole team of people, and the security guards they hired aren’t your average rent-a-cop.

“How so?” Clark asks

“They’re ex-military.” Bucky says, the elaborates seeing the question in Clark’s eyes, “You can tell by the way they hold their guns.”

              “Good,” Steve says, “if security’s that tight, there’s more of a chance that something big is here. Something like Bruce.”

              Clark takes to the air. His whole body tingles with a nervous energy. Bruce could be so close. By this time tomorrow they might even have Bruce back in Gotham with an overjoyed Dick Grayson chattering his ear off. Clark can already picture the cheek splitting grin on the boy’s face at the sight of his guardian returned.

              “We stick together. Nobody head off on their own, got it?” Steve says. Bucky and Clark nod.

              “Alright, let’s head out.” Steve says, leaping from the building. Bucky follows close behind and Clark dives after them, a blur of red and blue.