Chapter 13
Bruce starts awake. The first thing he notices is that this is not the king-sized bed of the manor, nor is it the dirty floor of Luthor’s basement. He pushes back a headache as he tries to remember last night. Memories flood his mind. The cellar, Dick, unconscious guards….
He’s in Steve’s apartment. His muscles begin to relax as he realizes that this isn’t just a new way for Luthor to torture him. He’s safe. His team saved him, well tried to at least. Through the haze of broken memories, he knows that honor goes to Dick and Barnes. Bruce’s heart clenches at the thought of Dick anywhere near the basement. That thought leads him to Barnes. Privately, despite all of Clark’s and Steve’s assurances Bruce still feels uneasy at the idea of the Winter Soldier. He doesn’t fully know how to separate the POW war hero and deadly assassin… but Barnes had kept Dick safe. Bruce is willing to overlook a lot for someone who protects his boy.
Putting away thoughts of Barnes, his mind drifts back to Steve and Clark. They risked their lives for him. He never expected that of them, never asked that of them. Yet they had done it anyway, like a real team. Bruce feels a humbleness wash over him. Being a team player is not in his nature, but since adopting Dick he’s found his nature is far more flexible than he had previously thought. Perhaps it’s possible to stretch it a little further to include teamwork.
A cat pounces on his stomach, jolting him from his thoughts. He shoos the little beast away as the smell of bacon wafts into the room. Still with a slight headache, the lingering effects of being drugged for weeks, Bruce drags himself from the bed.
He stops at the edge of the kitchen, still partially hidden in the shadows, and smiles softly to himself. In the next room he can hear Steve talking on the phone, giving the Daily Planet an explanation as to why he and Clark will be out. Dick’s enthusiastic chattering can also be heard as he regales the others with tales of his Gotham exploits. A surge of affection propels Bruce into the kitchen.
Barnes Bucky, stands over the stove, fork in hand as he prods the bacon. He looks young with his hair pulled back, clad only in a t-shirt and sleep pants. He hardly looks the part of dangerous assassin that Bruce has always imagined. He looks away, feeling rather sheepish for judging the man without meeting first. He let his emotions get the better of him, a rare mistake.
Bruce pulls his eyes away from Bucky to survey the rest of his rescuers. Clark sits half asleep at the table while Steve is nursing a cup of black sludge-like coffee. Dick is the only one who looks truly awake. His story dies midsentence though as he catches sight of Bruce.
“Bruce! How are you feeling?” Dick asks as Bruce takes a seat at the table. A cup of coffee appears at his elbow.
“Better than I’ve felt in a while.” He admits. He leans over, ruffling Dick’s hair. He can feel Steve and Clark’s smiles from across the table. His stoic Batman reputation is crumbling, but he can’t bring himself to care.
“I suppose I owe you all a thank you.” He starts awkwardly, keeping his eyes on Dick.
“You don’t owe us anything,” Clark says, “This is one of the reasons why we have a team.”
Steve nods in agreement. Bruce opens his mouth and then shuts it, uncertain of what to say. When Clark had first approached him with the Justice League idea he had brushed him off…for months. When he eventually came around, he used it more as an information sharing pool. He had never really considered it a team; had never thought he would need it to fall back on. A thank you is the least of things he should be offering.
“Still, thank you.” He says sincerely. Steve stands up, clapping Bruce’s shoulder, as he passes. He grabs a plate loaded with eggs, and toast, and bacon from Bucky and sets it down in front of Bruce. Bucky sets an equally as large plate in front of Dick.
Bruce tries to repress the warm feeling that rises in his chest as he takes in the cozy domestic scene before him. He’s immensely glad that Clark can’t read minds or he would never hear the end of it. Though judging by the grin tugging at Clark’s face, Clark knows exactly how Bruce is feeling.
Before Clark has the opportunity to tease him, a large dog pads into the room. He sits by Dick’s chair, putting his head in his lap, clearly hoping for a dropped piece of bacon. Bruce blinks, he vaguely remembers the dog from last night.
“Did you bring your dog on a rescue mission?” He asks.
“Of course not,” Bucky scoffs, “We stole the dog on our rescue mission.”
Bruce stares at him, trying to figure out if he’s joking. Did Steve ever mention Bucky having bizarre sense of humor? He wracks his brain, but it still feels sluggish from the drugs. Bucky calmly adds more bacon to the frying pan.
“It’s true,” Dick says, “and the dog has super powers.”
Bruce’s brow furrows as he tries to comprehend what Dick just said. They must be joking. He must have missed something while he was still under the effects of fear toxin, and now everyone is having a laugh at his expense.
“My super powers to be exact.” Clark adds sheepishly.
They’re definitely kidding or possibly they’ve been hit with some sort of hallucinogenic gas. Would an altered fear toxin create such a shared hallucination? Worry grips him and he’s about to ask if they were exposed to any noxious gases during the rescue when one of the cats trots into the room. Upon seeing the cat, the dog leaps over the table. No, not leaps, it flies. The mutt continues flying as it chases the poor creature from the kitchen.
“On it.” Clark says taking off after the dog. He drags the beast back in by the scruff of his neck. Bruce can see that despite his super strength Clark is barely restraining the growling monster.
“Bad. Leave the cats alone.” Bucky scolds. The dog stops fighting, flopping down on the linoleum floor, looking properly scolded.
The dog has superpowers. That’s unexpected. Bruce isn’t sure what to do with that information. It’s unusual even by his generous standards.
Bucky scratches the dog behind his ears. Then looks up at Clark. There’s a calculating look in his eyes.
“You know,” Bucky says casually, “this is the dog I was telling you about a few weeks ago.”
Clark hums noncommittally.
“He’s got a great personality once you get to know him,” Bucky says. Clark shoots Steve a ‘save me’ look and Steve hides a smirk behind his cup of coffee.
“And think, with his superpowers you could finally have a pet that can keep up with you.”
Clark sighs and looks down at the dog.
“I’m not getting out of this without a dog, am I?”
“Think of it this way pal, you’d be doing Metropolis a service. We can’t have a dog with super powers running around; he would cause chaos. He needs an owner who can handle him, and that’s you.”
Seeing that Steve will be of no help, Clark gives Bruce a desperate look. Bruce looks back at him evenly before shrugging.
“That makes sense to me. We don’t want the dog to fall into the wrong hands.”
Bruce calmly ignores Clark’s glare as he digs into his breakfast. Next to him Dick fails to hold back his grin.
“Fine, I’ll take him.” Clark says. He reaches out and pets the dog, a small smile spreading across his face as the dog leans into his touch.
“What are you going to name him?” Dick asks.
Clark looks at Bucky, lost. Bucky shrugs.
“We never gave him a name.”
“He has a collar.” Steve says.
Clark looks at the tag on the collar. It’s not a name, more like an ID. KRY-P-T00.
“Krypto,” Clark reads.
“I like it,” Dick says, “because he has kryptonian powers.”
Clark bends down to give the dog a good scratch behind the ears, “what do you think boy? Do you like Krypto better than Spot?”
The dog rolls over.
“I’ll take that as a yes, Krypto it is.”
The conversation quickly shifts to how to best doggy proof ones home and training instructions. Bruce listens idly as he drinks his coffee, letting their voices wash over him and soaking up this moment of peace. He ignores the hopeful looks Dick keeps shooting him every time Bucky mentions one of the other animals at the shelter. Even in this rare state of contentment, he’s still not soft enough to allow his house to become a zoo.
In an effort to divert any more animal talk, Bruce turns to Steve and interrogates him on everything he has missed the past few weeks. Between Steve and Dick he manages to get the whole picture. Rage boils just under his skin as Dick sheepishly admits to offending and stealing from very important board members. Bruce gives him a reassuring smile and silently vows to fire those three first.
As the morning passes by, a restlessness grows in Bruce. He doesn’t like being away from Gotham for long and the hominess of the apartment, so unlike everything he is used to, is beginning to unnerve him. He needs the solitude of the cave to process everything that has happened.
Clark must read something in his face because he begins making noises about needing to go to the pet store to get supplies for Krypto. Bruce jumps at the opportunity to say his goodbyes as well.
“Thank you again,” Bruce says as he and Dick prepare to leave, “I have to go back and see how many board members have been in Luthor’s pocket this whole time and how many are just idiots.”
“Good luck,” Clark says, “and call us if you need us.”
Bruce reaches out and shakes his hand, smiling warmly, “I will.”
~*~*~*~
Two months later, Clark stands on the edge of the Daily Planet roof top as the golden globe spins lazily behind him. A slight thump behind him tells him he’s not alone. He turns and smiles as Bucky and Steve join him on the rooftop.
“Captain, Sarge.” He greets and receives nods in return.
“How is krypto settling in?” Bucky asks and Clark grins, taking the opportunity to launch into the story of Krypto’s first trip to the farm and his first experience interacting with a cow. So engrossed with his story, he almost misses Bruce and Dick’s arrival.
“Captain, Superman, Sarge.” Bruce greets. Dick waves at them with more enthusiasm then his mentor.
“Any news?” Steve asks. Bruce launches into his latest report regarding Poison Ivy and rumors of her seeking out an alliance with Mr. Freeze. Steve and Clark listen intently. Bucky walks the perimeter of the rooftop, keeping a sharp lookout over the city. Metropolis is safe, but old habits die hard He doesn’t bother paying attention to the report; Steve will fill him in on anything important that he’s missed.
A few minutes in, he’s joined by a lighter set of footsteps. He glances down at Dick who peers out over the city skyline, a serious look on his face. Bucky bites back a grin. The pair do a loop around roof in comfortable silence. Bucky glances at Bruce, still deep in conversation with Steve and Clark, and smiles.
“You know,” he says, “the shelter just put a few kittens up for adoption and there’s a real friendly black one with your name on it.”
Dick’s eyes grow wide, and he spins on his heel towards his mentor.
“Holy Feline! Batman, can we get a cat?”
Bruce looks up just long enough to glare at Bucky, who smiles back unconcerned. Maybe he had been too hasty in giving Bucky a chance. The man is a menace.
“We’ll talk about it when we get home.” Bruce says. It’s not a “no.” Dick grins, confident that between him and Bucky, they’ll wear him down. And the manor is more than big enough for a cat or a few. As he completes another loop around the perimeter, Dick thinks this just might be The Justice League’s most successful meeting yet.