Inbetween

Chapter Twenty Four: Living Nightmare

If y'all could cast the justice league who are you guys picking?
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Bruce cracked his eyes open and he could instantly feel his heart sink to his stomach. He reached at the top of his head to make sure his cowl was still on; it was. He shook his aching head and checked his surroundings. As he realized where he was at he could feel his saliva thin in his mouth and bile threaten to escape his stomach. The alley he sat in was far too familiar and he hated that it smelled exactly how it did on the night his parents died. He stood up from his spot as fog started to roll into the alley. The surrounding buildings were cracked, old, and nearly brittle enough to crumble just from a touch of a finger. Trash piled along the walls of the buildings and the ground was caked in dirt and garbage slime. Bruce tried his best to keep himself steady but he knew that it was only a matter of time before the fear toxin completely took over.

His heart was pounding hard against his rib cage and he could feel sweat start to form on the palms of his hands. He stumbled down the alley using the sides of one of the buildings to walk steady. He could feel bile rising up to his chest and into his throat and he did his best to swallow it back down. Bruce could see the moon starting to peak out from behind the clouds and he knew that it was almost time; he blinked hard and stopped walking for a moment to catch his breath.

Heavy footsteps echoed throughout the alley and he could feel his body start to shake; he hated that the fear was starting to take control. He had built up a tolerance to Scarecrow's old formula but whatever the Kryptonite enhanced it made Bruce want to run and never stop. The footsteps grew louder and heavier; Bruce pushed himself off the wall and balled his fist to prepare for a fight. He froze as the figure finally appeared in front of him.

Superman stood in front of him with blood splattered across his chest and his mouth twisted into a nasty grimace. Bruce could tell that the Superman in front of him was not the one he was in love with, but he still moved towards him without hesitation. A grin broke out onto Superman's face and Bruce could see that his eyes were bloodshot and wild. Bruce hesitated and stumbled backwards; Clark's skin began to peel and Bruce took in a sharp breath.

"Where are they?" Clark's voice was guttural and Bruce felt a shiver run up his spine.

"Who?" He hated how small he sounded.

"Your parents." Clark grinned, "dead mommy and daddy."

"I don't know." Bruce ignored the dead comment and answered his question.

"Maybe I should join them to find out and take your family with me." Clark's eyes started to burn red, "It's not like you can stop me."

"Kal-" Bruce started.

"That's too easy." Clark huffed and took a couple steps forward so he was in Batman's personal space.

Bruce gulped but kept direct eye contact with the other hero. Clark grabbed the edge of his chin and tipped his head up so that Bruce couldn't move away. Batman felt another hand on his chest just near his heart.

"Who holds your heart the most?" Clark's voice to Bruce was all wrong and he tried to pull away but Clark kept him firmly in his spot, "who are you in love with?"

"If you don't know than I can't tell you." He spoke through gritted teeth.

Clark hummed, "must be someone special."

The silence between the two was thick and Bruce attempted to wriggle out of his grip once again. Before he could register what was happening Clark had him pushed up against one of the brick walls. He licked his lips as he eyed Bruce up and down.