Looking out at the inky tenebrosity of space both calmed, and unnerved him. He was a creature of darkness, but a creature who belonged with both feet firmly planted on Earth's soil. He allowed a small sigh to escape his lips as he recalled the reason for his visit.
If it had been anyone but her...
"Day dreaming? Doesn't suit you Bruce."
"Well, Clark, if I were day dreaming it wouldn't be any of your business, now would it?"
Although the words were coarse, they were spoken with a tone that belied years of snarky comments and witty rebuttals. The truth was Bruce was grateful for the intrusion on his thoughts. He knew where they would lead and that place was definitely off-limits.
Clark merely smirked in response, knowing precisely what Bruce was thinking so intently about. He understood why Bruce hated it up in the Watch Tower, but even Bruce himself did not understand why he wouldn't join the League. Any rumors that had started died a long time ago due to the Bat's threats to stop them forcibly. Clark's smirk grew as he remembered Bruce's face, cold and stoney, yet so tense one would think his head was about to explode. Bruce saw the expression and suspicion flared within him.
The last time I saw that smirk I was nearly pulverized by a very angry Amazonian princess.
"And just what, exactly, do you find so funny?"
Clark merely shook his head in denial, not particularly in the mood for an even moodier bat. He'd been having a rather pleasant day so far, no need to ruin it. Just when Clark was about to ask Bruce why he wasn't somewhere else, or rather, with someone else, he noticed a strong wind heading towards them, a wind that looked a lot like a certain overly energetic superhero. Bruce turned and his face immediately turned into an expression of half disgust, half annoyance. The result was an almost comical grimace, well it would have been humorous if not for the nearly materialized daggers shooting from his dark eyes. Clark was going to have to play referee yet again.
"Woah Wally, what's going on that has you so worked up?"
Clark had barely managed to keep a grip on the speed demon's collar. Wally looked up in surprise at being caught, then his eyes took on a mischievous glint and he hurriedly launched into his tale.
"You see, what had happened was, the H2O man and me were messing around. Well, I might have gotten a little carried away." He made sure to emphasize the "little" with his thumb and forefinger. Bruce made a sound that was more huff than snort. Clark rolled his eyes at both of them.
"Alright. Then what happened Wally?" Clark could tell he was going to have to drag the story out of the little trickster, if only to appease Wally's need for attention. The kid's eyes got brighter and his grin broadened.
"Well, let's just say that due to a ticked off master of water, another threat emerged in the form of an equally, if not more so, ticked off woman of the," he then glanced back at Bruce and lowered his voice to a whisper, "Amazonian persuasion." The eyebrow waggle might have been too much, but Wally did not care. He only needed a little more time and his plan would reach its culmination--Victory!
Clark caught on immediately and decided to play along. Sure, it was childish to believe it would work, but what was it his mother used to say? Child-like faith, that's what she said. With a dramatic sigh that was border-line ridiculous, he asked, louder than necessary: "Oh, the Amazonian persuasion you say. Tsk tsk, Wally, you should know better than to involve her in your little games. You always end up with your, um, feelings hurt."
Clark couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped as Wally's eyes squinted and mouth pursed in a painful grimace. It was true, and thinking back on a few select occasions gave him a moment's remorse for instigating all of this, but more for himself than for the others involved.
Bruce decided it was time to step in and tell "the brat" what was good for him. "Maybe if you didn't act like such a child Dian--Princess Diana, wouldn't be forced to scold you like one."
Come on Bruce, you can't keep slipping up like that. The more you say her name the more...
"Oh come on Bruce-y, lighten up once in a while, will ya? There's no harm in having a little fun now and then. How else does a superhero de-stress?"
"For starters, your version of de-stressing is primarily designed for superheroes with hyper-activity disorders. The rest of us have more productive means of relieving stress."
Wally's laughter echoed in the large room, emphasizing its emptiness as well as the emptiness in Bruce's life. Well, at least he thought so. Alfred had passed away almost two years ago and Dick had taken up with some girl whom Bruce would swear was from some alien planet. The dame was clueless. Bat-Girl hung up her cape and mask when she found out she was pregnant. Bruce had wished her luck with finding the baby's father and convincing him to help take care of it. As far as women in his life went, well that's just what they did: went.
Clark could see dark clouds forming on the horizon of Bruce's eyes. Something was getting to him and Clark didn't think it was Wally's pranks. No, this was something totally different and if he knew Bruce, it was going to be a fight to near death before it came to light. Sometimes all the cloak and dagger, Agatha Christie with a dark side, mysterious man with a murderous secret crap that came in the Bruce Wayne package was just too much.
