A Kryptonian's Fixation

Bruce: Exhausting Time in Both Worlds

It had only been a few days after Clark left with the others when Metropolis needed help. Thankfully before the group left, I had J'onn and the Lanterns send out a warning to all incoming aliens that Earth was 'unstable' and couldn't be habited by them. So far, it had worked, which meant that it was one of the usual from Superman's city.

I didn't have anything to do that day, so I suited up and flew over in my jet. As I flew over there, I looked at who it was. It seemed Livewire was back in action with some newer villains, all of whom were lightening/electricity based. They were currently just destroying downtown. The people there had smartly hide or ran away.

"Watchtower to Batman." The Martian's voice called through the com in the plane.

"On route, J'onn."

"Need backup?"

There was a moment of silent as I tried to think about it. I had my own share of experiences with Livewire and beings similar to her... Yet, I was unsure if I would be able to handle the unknowns.

"I'll send Supergirl."

"I'll be done before she gets there." Came my natural response before dipping my plane down and turning off the coms.

True my words, I was done before Clark's cousin showed up, but that didn't mean I didn't have any new bruises on my body.

"You have a few new burns on you, Master Bruce." Alfred informed me when I went to the Batcave for a quick check up.

I sighed heavily before wincing as he began to rub in cooling cream on those spots.

"I'm going to have to upgrade my armor." I grumbled.

Alfred nodded, not saying much else as he focused solely on bandaging me up. Once he was done, I went back to work. It was there that I had my people focus on creating gloves and vests for electricians, specialized gloves and vests that is more resistant than the usual brand. I then continued on my crusade of finding the oil expansion.

I found it after looking for it all night, and I was pissed. I had signed it under the guise of looking into healthier and safer ways of gathering energy. I thought I had read it thoroughly, but apparently, I didn't as it stated in the fine print that it would also be exploring the same things for oil!

"Mr. Terry, please call in Mr. Geo. Tell him, I need to see his research on the Advancement Energy Project early."

I scowled at what I was looking at, glaring at the offending paper. I worked hard trying to prove to Ivy that I could help change the world, but here it was. A sharp knock made me school my features and set the paper down.

"Come in."

A spindly man entered the room where a knock-off suit. His hair was slicked back in a professional manner, but it looked wrong and made the man appear as if he was balding. His eyes were large but beetle-like.

"Mr. Wayne, you called me?" His smile was crooked as he walked in and took his seat in front of me.

Everything about this man screamed that he was a disgusting bastard trying to line his own pockets. I do try my best not to judge like that, and all his other employers had good things to say about him. Perhaps, I gave the man too much power too soon.

For the next hour, we talked and discussed everything. He had honored the contract, especially the fine print. When I had brought it up, he tried to play surprise, but it was he who had offered it, it was he who had made the contract and set it to me personally. After that, he broke down and began throwing a fit. He talked about how much money we were losing- we weren't and were in fact gaining more money and opportunities outside the States- and how oil was the tried-and-true method of energy.

I had let him rant and rave, saying nothing as I heard him. I then promptly demoted him and sent him home on investigative charges. Then I called in his assistant, a charming young woman who seemed to prefer pant suits to skirts. When I had showed her the contract and how it purposely tried to hide the oil part, despite my clear standing on trying to help Ivy in a more peaceful route. Her face had flushed with embarrassment and apologized for what her team leader had done.

"I'll make sure to document everything we do and hand it in bi-weekly, Sir." She stated before I nodded and dismissed her.

I thought I could relax and work on the other departments, check in and get updates, but my "bat-alarm" went off. It was Bane, which too more time than I care to admit.

"I want Bane to go to Arkham. He needs to be treated for his drug abuse." I told the responding police, who nodded and hurried off.

Going to Alfred, I found a had new bruises and marks before heading back to the office to work a little longer.

This cycle of me being repeated for about a week and half. I was bruised, sore, and in need of some me/civilian time. Then I got a call from J'onn.

"It was Darkseid but they're back. You're planned worked."

I hummed in acknowledgement before my phone rang. It was Clark. A smile twitched on my lips.

"Hey, Clark, how was that getaway?" I asked, relaxing into my chair.

"Good, are you alright? You sound tense?" His tone was rushed, worry clearly there.

I tried to laugh, but winced as my bruised ribs protested the action.

"Just... Work. Being a CEO does suck sometimes."

There was a pause before a sigh slipped through the phone.

"Alright... I have a few more days off, I can come by and spend some time with you and Dick?"

My smile grew as I hummed.

"He misses you, so I don't think he'd let Papa go." I teased.

A breathless laugh sounded in my ear as he tried to take in a few deep breaths. I felt my stress slip through my fingers and my body relax.

"I wouldn't mind having him cling to me, at least then I'd also have you at my side."

I blinked in surprise, my heart skipping a beat.

'Did he- No... Oh god! He did!'

"S-Sorry, that was... Sorry..."

I covered part of my face with my hand. My face was warm.

'Was I- I was! What the hell was he doing to?'

I cleared my throat, trying to quell the childish thoughts floating around my head.

"It's fine... But instead of the three of us spending time, why not just us?"

'Okay, just breathe. We just need to see if anything's changed within the week he's been gone... It's work, nothing-'

"Y-Yeah, I'd like that a lot... When do you want me to pick you up?"

"Pick me up? No, I asked, I'll pick you up. We can have it this weekend? You can pick the place."

He laughed in my ear again, probably smiling like an idiot.

"Alright, don't dress to fancy then." He hummed. "See you then."

"See you then, Clark." I breathed lowly as the phone clicked off.

I set it down, blinking a little as my heart beat was moving faster than usual. I hadn't felt this way before. Everything felt good and bad, and I just wanted to spend time with him- even I wasn't so blind as to not see that! But I shouldn't be reacting to him this way! I was acting like a crushing schoolgirl! At that thought, I completely covered my face this time and scowled.

"Shit."