A Kryptonian's Fixation

Bruce: Everything Seems Normal

I had watched Clark all dinner and dessert. He acted normal, he looked and sounded normal. Just something was off. He would stare at me or Dick for a little too long before his eyes drift off somewhere else. He would randomly glare at Lois, though I was sure that he still had feelings for her. Nothing that seemed completely out of the ordinary, however. He was still polite and cordial as usual.

After everything, the two left, leaving me mentally exhausted. Stretching, I quickly made sure my ward had brushed his teeth and changed into some pajamas.

"No investigating?" He asked, a pout forming on his lips.

I gave the boy a smile and rubbed his head as I tucked him in.

"Right now, I need to go to the Justice League and check on Superman. I don't want you to miss out on sleep. Even if you say you're not tired." I gave him pointed look to which he looked away sheepishly.

Chuckling, I pressed a kiss to his head before leaving. The faster I get that done, the faster I can get my own rest. I was already tired from the day.

Slipping into my cowl, I went in front of the Zeta tube I had installed with the help of J'onn. He at least already knew my identity because of his mind-reading ability. I have yet to figure a way to keep him completely out of my head, only to distract him and hide information.

"Recognize: Batman 02." A robotic female voice called as a blue light scanned me up and down.

The tube activated quickly, so I walked through. The light was blinding for a moment, then I was at the garden entrance of the Watchtower. I took a slow and calming breath before I continued onward.

I didn't need to look through my comms or the cameras to know where Clark would be. He would be in the medical wing, right where I need him to be.

"Batman, I know-"

"You know what?" Naturally my voice deepened, and I narrowed my eyes on the alien before me.

He sighed heavily, rubbing his face with his hand before nodding.

"That I should've been more careful with Ivy... But I feel fine! It wasn't infused with Kryptonite or anything similar!"

I wanted to scoff, but held it in. Instead, I pushed him toward the bed. It had been recently equipped with a scanner similar to those for the Zeta tubes, except these scanners are supposed to see if anything is wrong with the brain and nervous system, similar to a CAT scan, MRI, and a number of other types of scans that doctors have a plethora of different equipment for. There were some bugs to fix, but it should be good enough to figure out if there was anything major wrong with him.

The light was a soft green, a color that I chose because I figured it would put others at ease and it wasn't too hard on the eyes. Superman sighed heavily as the metal bar moved up and down before focusing on his brain for an extra few minutes.

I leaned against the wall, having my 'bat phone'- as Robin would've called it- out and rewatching the event. I would have to talk with Ivy to see what type of plant she used or talk with Commissioner Gorden about getting some sample of the giant plant she was using. There was no way that gas did nothing.

A beep sounded and made me look up. It seemed it was done scanning. A long sheet of paper was printed out near me with the hero's name. Taking it, I began to look it over. It showed a few pictures of bruised bones and of his brain, but it kept mostly to what could be said in a few words.

"Well?" There was a note of annoyance in Superman's tone. It seemed he really hasn't learned his own sin.

"You have several bruised bones and it seemed like the spores are causing an inflammation on the amygdala area of the brain, most likely causing some anger and annoyance." I drawled, carefully folding the paper and putting it in the necessary medical basket for one of the more professionally trained doctors to look at.

Looking to the man in blue, he held a look of surprise and then he hunched over with a weary expression. He took a deep breath before releasing it slowly.

"I... I was getting annoyed with Lois..." He admitted, a grimace forming. "She was just being her usual self, and I was getting annoyed and then..." He shook his head, clamming up.

I sighed heavily, moving from the door to him, placing a- hopefully- comforting hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me in surprise.

"I'm sure it's fixable. We caught it early." I quickly removed my hand from him as I went to walk out of the room. "Also, Superman... Thank you, I wouldn't have gotten there in time."

I felt my heart beat just a few paces faster than normal as I hurried out of the room. I had already paged an actual doctor to help get Clark back to normal. After he's back to normal, I'll drill into him about caution and that he isn't always indestructible! Damn, do I need to nearly kill him for him to understand that?

I shook my head and moved to my room aboard the Watchtower. I should start gathering samples of whatever Ivy made, just as a precaution.