Hands (SuperBat)

12 Steps

Bruce and Damian were currently eating breakfast in the dining room. The two ate on the far ends of the table. They've been eating with the blinds and curtains shut tight for a week, just in case Kal wanted to join one day.

That morning, he did.

Bruce heard the sound of slow footsteps approaching the two. When he looked up, he saw Kal in the doorway peeking in.

Damian heard him and looked over as well. He gasped, "Super-." He got a glare from Bruce. "Kal!"

"Good morning, Kal," Bruce greeted. "Care to join us?"

Kal nodded.

Bruce got up and pulled the chair from the table. He gestured to it and the breakfast that awaited.

Kal went over and sat down.

Bruce sat back down.

Damian looked between the two. He said awkwardly, "So uh... Do I call you Dad or..."

Kal glanced over at Damian unable to figure out what to say. He never thought he would be in that position. He glanced at Bruce for an idea.

Bruce shrugged.

Kal said quietly, "K-Kal." It seemed too early for him to get his bearings proper. Maybe this was a step up for him, so he still needed to get adjusted.

Bruce said, "Just call him Kal. Don't worry him too much about it."

"And touching..." Damian started curiously.

"Damian," Bruce warned. "That's enough."

Damian shrugged unperturbed, "Okay. I'll stop."

Bruce turned back to Kal and said, "I'm glad you could join us this morning."

He only nodded in response.

Bruce held in his excitement. He was happy that Kal made another step. Maybe he will be ready to see the outside again soon. Just maybe he will want his powers back and see his friends. He sighed as he stared at the man before him.

Halfway eating a bagel, he noticed Bruce staring. "Um..." He was was amused of the staring. "Are you psycho-analyzing me in your head?"

Damian piped up, "So I'm not the only one noticing that?"

Kal shook his head. "Your father wants me to get better at a faster rate than I expect."

Bruce was surprised that he gave that information out. He knew that for a while Kal was ashamed of himself and what he was going through. Another step he didn't expect from Kal. Maybe those visits from Diana was helping more than he thought.

"Are you going try to go outside?" Damian asked.

"Damian," Bruce warned. He didn't want Kal to go into another frenzy like from a while ago.

"No, it's alright," Kal said. "I'm a bit clear headed right now." He cleared his throat and straightened his back as a way to prepare himself. Then he gave an answer, "No."

"Why not?" Damian asked sounding disappointed.

"Um," Kal tried to find the right words. "I'm... scared."

Damian scoffed, "What are you afraid of? You are like the strongest man on Earth."

"No, I'm not," Kal replied. "Power means nothing if you can't protect the ones you love." He grimaced.

"Okay, that's enough," Bruce said to Damian. He reached over to Kal, but Kal pulled away before Bruce could make contact. "Oh, sorry."

"No, I'm sorry," Kal said. He held his hand up to reach for Bruce's hand. His hand was clearly shaking as it inched closer to his.

Bruce placed his own hand onto his lap and said, "Don't force yourself, Kal. It's okay."

Kal whispered almost without a beat, "But what if I'm too weak?" His jaw clenched as his breathing began to tremble. His eyebrows furrowed with worry.

Bruce replied quietly, "You're not. There are just some things that are too difficult, and that's okay." He took a quick glance at his son across the table to see how he was doing.

Damian looked guilty about what happened. It was the case of curiosity that killed the cat, but there were two cats. He wanted to clearly apologize.

Kal had a vacant look on his face. He said, "Thanks for having me for breakfast." He got up from his chair.

"Wait," Bruce called. He understood what happened. Kal was trying to his best to be open like he used to. He wanted to try his best to be honest and strong.

Did he fail?

"I'll be in my room," Kal took a deep breath in. "I'm going to open the curtains."

"Hunh?" Bruce said even more surprised. "Really?"

"Why not?" Kal muttered with a melancholy tone. "I'll be useless regardless." He began walking away.

"Whoa whoa," Bruce replied, standing up. "Where is this coming from?" He caught up to Kal by the time he reached the doorway. Without a second thought, he grabbed Kal by the elbow.

"STOP TOUCHING ME!" Kal pulled his arm, but in the process slapped Bruce in the face. A second didn't go by when he placed his hands over his mouth. He breathed, "I'm sorry."

Bruce grimaced from the slap. "It was an accident, I know. My fault." He placed his hands up in front of him. "I was just worried. Everything just seemed to be sudden."

Kal gulped guiltily. "I... I don't know." He seemed conflicted on what to think or do. "I just..." He glanced over at Damian who was sitting at the table. He turned back away and said quietly, "I have to be stronger, even if it is just a little bit. But I don't want to be myself. It's so confusing."

Bruce nodded, sympathetic. "Okay. We can go to your room if you want to talk more. You want to?"

Kal nodded.

"Alright."

Bruce and Kal went to his bedroom. Kal sat on his bed while Bruce sat on the window sill.

Bruce said, "Okay. So you're conflicted about whether you want to heal or separate from yourself. Am I correct?"

Kal nodded.

"You still see yourself as weak and worthless with your Krytonian abilities, but you see yourself as getting them back as healing," Bruce observed. "Separating yourself as Superman and Clark was a way to cope for you, because you can separate yourself from your trauma. Do you still want your abilities back?"

"I don't know," Kal said. This was one of the moments he was glad that Bruce had the intellect to describe his situation. "I will have to go outside eventually, whether I like it or not. How else am I supposed to heal, but accept that part of me I still feel is worthless?"

Bruce said, "So you really thought this through. I'm glad." Sometimes, even he miss some things. He was happy that Kal was willing to take this step. "Well, what are we waiting for?" Bruce stood up and placed his hand on the edge of the curtain.

Kal took a deep breath and...