Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The confrontation with the Bat does not go as Clark had imagined.

In fact, his appearance is almost underwhelming after the stories he’s heard throughout his stay in Gotham. He expected a creature made of shadows, a monster even, hulking and bloodthirsty.

The man standing before him is impressive, yes, but not the myth Gotham had pushed to the world.

When it is evident the man, the Bat won’t speak first, Clark steps forward. “My name is Su—“

“I know who you are,” the Bat cuts in, voice deeper than he imagined, further garbled by a mechanism in his cowl. “Why are you here?”

If Clark didn’t know any better, he would say the man sounded almost petulant. He clears his throat regardless, pressing forward. “I wanted to see if the rumors were true.”

And this time there’s a barely perceptible smirk on the Bat’s face as he crosses his arms. “You came all the way to Gotham for a rumor?”

“I came to see if it was true,” Clark responds, mimicking the Bat’s posture. “You do some good things here in Gotham.”

The Bat falls silent again, and Clark takes it as a sign to continue. “The Justice League would be glad to have you.”

There’s a shift in the air; the Bat stiffens, and a deep frown pulls at his lips. He raises a hand to stop Clark, and glances off to his left. “Robin. I told you to stay put.”

A blur of black and gold stomps past Clark, and it takes him a moment to fully digest what he’s seeing. The child in the hooded cape cranes his neck to look up at the Bat, blatantly ignoring Clark as he sets his hands on his hips. “You said—“

“I know.” The Bat eases the child to his side, half-hidden from Clark by his bulk. “We’ll talk later.”

The child clicks his tongue irritably, but falls silent. Clark imagines he hears snickering beyond the rooftops, but isn’t able to focus on the sound before the Bat’s gaze returns to him. “The Justice League.”

It’s more a question than a statement, and Clark takes the opening. “We work together to handle bigger threats. We’re not asking you to leave Gotham, of course. But having you as a member would–”

“I don’t work well with others,” the Bat growls. Clark wants to argue, but before he can open his mouth, the Bat reaches out with impeccable timing to grab the scruff of the boy in black and yellow as he attempts to leave.

The child squirms, face scrunched in irritation as Batman lifts him with one hand off the ground. He crosses his arms sullenly, glaring at Clark as if it’s somehow his fault. “Father, you’reembarrassing me.”

“Look,” Clark begins again, trying to keep the grin off his face. “We could really use your help in the League.”

“I’m not interested,” Batman replies, turning away, the boy – his son? – still dangling a foot from the ground. “We have enough to worry about in Gotham.”

“We could help you!” Clark moves to follow, the faintest sound of footsteps echoing across the rooftops to his left. “Two people can’t fight crime on their own.”

Batman pauses, a real smirk on his face as he glances back. “And who said anything about two people?”

The laughter around him is surprisingly close, and Clark frowns as he glances at the group of five surrounding him, a bat emblazoned across their chests.

The Bat nods at him once, a dismissal, and throws himself off the rooftop with the child following close behind. The other bats follow suit, leaving him standing alone on the rooftop.

Diana was never going to believe him.

Chapter Text

Clark’s mind is swirling with questions as he paces his apartment, eyes darting to the clock on the wall every so often. They have a lot to get through before he leaves, and he wants to make sure they get to the most important matter: the Bat. The others usually aren’t late to their meetings, and he can understand if they are since the trip to Metropolis is pretty long, but he can’t help but feel anxious as the minutes tick by.

Diana arrives right on time, just as Lois gives him a call. Clark winces, shrugging apologetically at her as he fumbles his phone. “Hello?”

“There’s been a change in plans, Smallville,” Lois says, clipped and breathless over the line. There’s a burst of static, and then a barrage of swearing from Lois, along with what is definitely a car honking.

Diana covers her mouth, snorting faintly as she steps past Clark and towards the kitchen. Clark shakes his head, shutting his door, half-listening to Diana banging through his cabinets. Lois sounds fine, though if he focuses enough, he can hear her heartbeat erratically. “You okay, Lo?”

“Just peachy,” she snaps, pitching her voice lower, as if to keep someone from hearing. “Just wish some people in this city knew how to drive.”

“Don’t pick fights with cars, Lois.” Clark says, and Diana laughs. He looks up, spotting her as she sets herself on his recliner with a mug of coffee and a carton of leftover Chinese. She shrugs at his questioning glance, taking a delicate sip of her mug.

“I’m not. Not today, at least.” Lois huffs out a breath, and he can almost picture her flicking her hair back. “Anyways, Jimmy’s got food poisoning.” And the sound Lois makes is pure agony. “He’s out for at least a couple of days. Can you swing by and grab his camera before meeting us?”

“Sure, Lois.” Clark rubs his neck, tilting his head to listen to the footsteps making their way up to his floor. He waves at Diana to catch her attention, pointing at the door, and thankfully, she catches his drift. “I have a meeting to finish up before heading over but I’ll be there, don’t worry.”

“I already let Perry know, and Jimmy will be waiting for you at his place.”

The knock at the door is light and familiar, but Diana still cracks the door open to peek before letting J’onn in. Clark hums at Lois in agreement, squeezing J’onn’s shoulder in greeting. Diana ushers him to the living room, tapping her wrist at Clark.

“I’ll be seeing you then, Lois,” Clark nods at Diana, turning on the spot to listen to two sets of footsteps hurry up the stairs. “Be careful, okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” she laughs, the sound suddenly deafening as she steps into the subway. “Gotta run! See you soon.”

“You’re very dressed up for a Thursday evening,” J’onn notes when Clark hangs up, letting his disguise fall in the privacy of Clark’s living room. The Martian has found the sleeve of Chocos Clark had bought for him, and eagerly tucks in.

“Duty calls,” Clark replies dryly, taking the proffered carton of Chinese food from Diana. “Make yourselves at home, by the way.”

“Always.” Diana smiles, and J’onn chuckles before offering them a cookie. “You work tonight?”

“Unfortunately.” And it’s not that Clark minds his work, he would just rather not cover Lex Luthor’s annual gala with Lois and Cat Grant. “You’re welcome to stay the night if you need to, but I probably won’t be back before late tonight.”

“I might take you up on that,” J’onn murmurs, looking up at the frantic knocks on Clark’s door. Diana shakes her head, rolling her eyes fondly. Clark sighs, heaving himself up to get the door for their missing members.

“Evening, boys.” Barry looks sheepish as he waves at Clark, squeezing past him. “Caught in traffic?”

“Or something.” Hal nods, following after Barry. “Fastest man alive, my ass. How many meetings have we been the last ones to?”

“See, you say that, but you still call me to pick you up, so…” Barry smiles.

“It’ll be a short meeting today, folks,” Clark says, trailing after Hal and Barry to his admittedly small living room. “Lois and I have a gala to cover.”

“Ooh, a gala,” Hal drawls, dropping heavily onto Clark’s couch. It squeaks a little under his weight, and Clark feels a twinge of pleasure at the outraged look Hal gives it. J’onn shares a look with Clark but says nothing.

“It’s work,” Clark stresses instead, sitting on the recliner’s armrest besides Diana, fussing with his tie. It’s too tight and he hates how it feels and how it smells, but Lois insisted earlier they had to match.

Barry laughs, leaning in on his knees eagerly, looking around the apartment with clear wonder. “Y’know, I don’t think I’m ever going to get over the fact that Superman is a reporter.”

 “It’s good,” Hal adds, settling more comfortably into the couch. “No one would expect it, that’s for sure.”

“We’re not here to talk about our identities,” Diana says, taking Clark’s tie from between his fingers, apparently fed up with his fussing. She ties it around her neck deftly and loosens the knot, handing it back to Clark. “You called the meeting, Clark. What news do you have?”

Right. Clark clears his throat, pushing on the bridge of his nose absentmindedly, ears going red when Barry slides his glasses over.  “I went to Gotham. I saw the Bat.”

Hal immediately sits up, and Barry’s eyes snap to Clark. “Yeah? What’s he like? Is he really a giant bat?”

“More importantly,” Hal cuts in, shoving Barry back into the couch. “Is he in?”

The look on Clark’s face tells them everything, because Barry and Hal fall back in tandem with a groan. Diana frowns. “He didn’t agree then.”

“Not…exactly.” Clark sighs, holding his hands out before him a bit helplessly. “He said he doesn’t work well with others—“

“Wow, what an ass.” Hal says.

“—But it looks like he has an entire network in Gotham.” Clark finishes, staring pointedly at Hal. “There’s at least six of them, if not more.”

“More bats?” Barry asks, brow furrowed. “But…wouldn’t we have heard of them? I mean, the Bat is a person, right? There’s gotta be reports and stuff about him?”

Clark shakes his head. He had done the research before stepping foot in Gotham, and most of what he had was hearsay at best.  “Look…the Bat has been a Gotham legend for years. Pictures are rare, and they’ve only recently come out. It’s all blurry pictures and alleged sightings.”

“But you saw him,” J’onn says.

“But I saw him.” Clark nods, thinking back to his meeting. It was short and bizarre, but there’s something else about it he can’t put his finger on. “He has a kid.”

“The Bat does?” Hal asks, eyebrows shooting up. “How do you know? Do you know who he is?”

“No…No, I don’t.” And in hindsight it would have been wise to use his X-Ray vision on him, but the thought never crossed Clark’s mind. “He called him Robin. He was young, too. Probably twelve? Ten?”

The sound Diana’s mug makes against his coffee table makes Clark jump; she seems calm, but her shoulders are taut, and he can almost feel her disapproval. “He is using children to fight crime?”

“Well, they’re not normal kids, right?” Hal shrugs, leaning back into the couch once more. “They have to be metahuman. How else would you explain all that? For the Bat…hell, for the family to stay unknown for so long?”

“That is still no reason to send children off to battle.” Diana’s response is tart, and Clark takes that as his cue to kick everyone out of his apartment.

J’onn, bless him, seems to agree, giving an exaggerated yawn. Clark isn’t even sure if Martians can yawn, or if he’s picked that up from his time on Earth. “As intriguing as this conversation is, it is late. Perhaps we can think of our next plan of action on our next meeting?”

“I’ll see if I can’t go back to Gotham, maybe look into reports a little more.” Clark says, standing. “I’ll stay in touch, though.”

“Next meeting’s in Central!” Barry grins, waving goodbye to Diana and J’onn. “I found a really cool warehouse we could use as base if you’re down.”

“That sounds awful in every sense of the word.” Hal grumbles, saluting at the rest of the members before following Barry out the door. “Keep us posted on the Bat, Clark.”

“Sure, Hal.” Clark waits for the door to close behind him before dropping heavily onto the couch, wincing as a few creaky springs finally snap.

Diana rolls her eyes, letting the tension seep from her shoulders. “Don’t you have to go meet Jimmy before heading to work, Clark?”

Work, he forgot. Clark groans, dragging his hands down his face, ignoring the teasing laughter from J’onn and Diana.

Chapter Text

An hour and a half into the gala, Clark receives a text from Hal that makes him choke on an hor d’oeuvre. It takes Lois thumping him on the back while Cat does damage control for him to catch his breath, and even then he still feels sucker punched when he stares at the picture.

He’s got a fucking signal, the text reads, and with the brightness turned up on his phone, Clark can see a spotlight of some sort. The picture’s blurry, and even Hal’s glow isn’t enough to light it properly, but yes, there appears to be a bat emblazoned onto the light.

“You alright there, champ?” A voice asks, and Clark nearly snaps his neck in his rush to look up at the small group gathered around them.

Lois and Cat, professional as ever, turn to the man with blinding smiles and notepads at the ready, Lois only sparing him a glance that clearly says to get his shit together.

“Nice to see you again, Bruce,” Cat hums, nodding at the tall man who spoke to Clark. “It’s been too long.”

“You took the words right out of my mouth,” he winks in response, and the three people behind him roll their eyes.

Bruce Wayne doesn’t look anything like how Clark imagined close up. He’s tall and broad at the chest, like a football player, but he’s definitely showing his age. His temples are streaked with silver, and his blue eyes are curious, but friendly. His suit is impeccable, and probably costs more than one of his pa’s tractors, making Clark feel unbelievably frumpy in his borrowed blazer.

He looks Clark up and down, holding out a napkin. “You got a little something there, son.” He taps at his cheek, and Clark flushes, fumbling the proffered napkin.

Lois sighs at him, turning her attention back to Wayne. “How are you liking Metropolis so far, Mister Wayne? We’ve had good weather lately.”

He brightens at Lois, nodding, and motions to the young lady at his shoulder. “That’s what I was telling Cassie – sorry, have you met my daughter yet? This is Cassandra.” He pats her shoulder, and she responds with a thin smile. “I was telling Cassie that maybe we could take a trip to the botanical gardens. We’re spending the weekend in Metropolis, so we figured we’d take advantage of it.”

“What else do you plan to do while you’re here?” Lois asks politely, and Clark preps his camera for the puff piece she’s plotting. 

“The opera, the gardens.” Wayne shrugs and glances at the two boys on his other side. “Did you boys decide what you wanted to do?”

The taller of the two shrugs, glancing about the room with an air of indifference. “Surprise us, pops.”

The shorter shares a long look with Lois and Kat. “They get to go have fun all weekend while I’m stuck working. Does that sound fair to you?”

He’s teasing, but his eyes look almost bloodshot in the lights of the ballroom. 

Wayne laughs and claps his back, making the boy wheeze softly. “C’mon, Tim, it’s all a learning experience. You’ll do fantastic.”

“Mister Drake,” Lois says, then scratches it out on her notepad. “Sorry, just for the paper, do you want that written as Drake, or Drake-Wayne?”

Tim smiles, and his teeth are too white. “Surprise us.”

The smile sends a shiver down Clark’s spine, and he’s reminded of a shark before he shakes the thought away. That’s rude.

“Timbo is going to be heading a quick meeting down at our sister headquarters for a few hours,” Wayne explains, still squeezing the young man’s shoulder lightly. “I think Jay mentioned wanting to see the new museum exhibit?”

The taller shrugs again, sharing a look with Cassie. “Yeah, why not?”

“It’s a shame the other boys couldn’t make it,” Wayne says, and Cat nods like she knows what he’s talking about. “Damian’s got school in the morning, poor kid, and Richard’s working the night beat.”

“Evil never rests.” Jay comments, and the other two kids snicker.

Lois, scribbling in her notepad, glances up. “Remind me, Mister Wayne, those are your five kids?”

“That’s right!” He grins, and the lines along his eyes seem to smooth out, making him seem younger. “Richard, my oldest, then Jason here–” Jason waves. “Jay just came back to us from studying abroad. Then there’s Cassie, Tim, and Damian, my youngest.” Wayne pats his pockets and produces his phone, squinting at the screen as he unlocks it. “I have to have a few pictures here with all of us…”

“That’s my cue to leave,” Jason says, and Tim nods hurriedly. “I’m not doing the baby picture thing.”

“You were so cute as a kid,” Cassandra murmurs, and wraps her arms around both young men, keeping them from running too far. “What happened?”

“Gotham?” The three share a quiet laugh, though its almost bitter to Clark. Bruce ignores them, holding his phone out to Cat and Lois, who coo appropriately at the picture of the young boy, apparently in the middle of a concert, violin tucked under his chin.

“Damian’s been performing lately, though not often. It’s a shame, he’s good. He had good teachers with his mom. If you ask me, though, his art really shines.” Bruce swipes his phone for them, showing art pieces that even Clark has to admit are remarkable. 

Cat hums in appreciation. “And he’s how old, Bruce?”

“Just turned eleven, actually.” Bruce seems to glow with pride, tapping the pictures. “He’s a good kid…they all are.” He adds, and glances back at the trio trying to escape. 

The kids look appropriately annoyed and bashful, Cassandra again holding them steady. Clark takes another picture, and smiles politely. “Studying abroad, huh? How’d you like it?”

Jason grins, his smile wicked. “Oh, I had a blast.”

“Brucie! There you are!” Lex wanders over, and Cassandra finally lets the boys go, all three leaving as their host arrives. “I didn’t think you’d make it.”

“Oh, you know how things get,” Bruce smiles, and Clark sees the wrinkles return tenfold on his face. He can’t say he blames him; Lex is a character to deal with.

“Thank you again for inviting us, Mister Luthor,” Cat simpers, and the three nod and thank him as is expected.

Luthor waves their thanks away, gripping Bruce’s shoulder to keep him from following after his kids, pointedly looking at Lois and Cat. “Do you know how hard this man is to see? It’s almost impossible to get him out of Gotham.”

“I have kids, Lex.” Bruce points out. He grins, and Clark would think it would look like a grimace in any other situation. “You’d be surprised how hard it is to find a babysitter on such short notice.”

Lex rolls his eyes, and starts to steer Bruce towards another group of people. “Now that you’re here, we’re gonna take advantage, Brucie. We’ll have dinner soon,” he tosses over his shoulder at the reporters, and leaves them standing awkwardly in their wake.

“He’s such a creep,” Cat sighs, checking her phone. “If this wasn’t one of the biggest events of the season I wouldn’t have bothered.”

“Who?” Clark asks, trailing after her and Lois as they move towards the balcony.

“Luthor, obviously.” Cat rolls her eyes, and flashes her phone at Clark; it’s a picture of her and Bruce, taken a while ago. There’s less silver in his hair, less lines across his face, though he’s sporting a barely hidden split lip. “Bruce is a doll. Kind of a clumsy mess, but he’s a good guy.”

“I forgot you two dated for a while,” Lois muses, leaning back to take in some fresh air. “What’s he like?”

“Accident prone.” Cat laughs and flips through her phone, pulling up more pictures to share. “It probably isn’t all his fault, though. He was kind of an adrenaline junkie back then. Skydiving and parasailing and extreme sports. He was always showing up to our dates with bruises and cuts, but ever since Richard he’s mellowed out.”

“I didn’t realize he had kids.” Clark hands the camera to Lois, letting her check the photos he’s taken so far. He’s dying to check in on Hal, but he isn’t sure if he can be casual enough after what he sent last. He settles on staring at Cat’s pictures and hoping nothing urgent has come up. “I always heard he was some kind of hotshot playboy, not a family man.”

“They’re adopted, except for the little one. I only met Richard, and I think we split up a little before he officially adopted Jason, but they’ve been good for him.” Cat sighs a little wistfully and puts her phone away. “Bruce is a great ex. I wonder if he’s seeing anyone recently.”

“You can go ask,” Lois snorts and fans her face. “I’m sure he’d thank you for stealing him away from Lex.” 

Cat raises an eyebrow, and she and Lois both turn to track Bruce back inside the hall. “You think?”

“Doesn’t hurt to try.”

Cat deliberates for another minute before squaring her shoulders and marching in like an Amazon warrior. Lois huffs a laugh, knocking her fist against Clark’s shoulder lightly. “You doin’ okay, Smallville?”

“Sure.” Clark shrugs. “I forget how rich some of these people are until they’re looking at me like I shouldn’t be here, but it’s fine.”

“You just need to act like you belong, that’ll trick them into backing off. It’s all about the vibes you put out.” She nods, and leans back resolutely.

“Is that what you do?” Clark asks.

“Oh, no. I’m not an actor. If any of these assholes try to get in my face I’ll do it right back.” Lois smiles beatifically, and stretches her arms over her head. “If I go get something from the bar, can I trust you’ll be okay on your own?”

“I’m a grown man, Lois. I think I’ll be fine.” Clark smiles at her teasingly doubtful sounds, watching her make her way to the bar. Once she’s occupied, he dives for his phone and dials Hal.

“Fucking finally,” Hal says, sounding breathless. “I know you said Gotham was a nightmare, but you could have warned us, buddy.”

“Are you okay?” Hal should be able to handle himself against the Bat, even if he was on his own, but Hal and Barry? They should be golden.

“I just got chased off a rooftop by a child, how do you think I’m doing?” He huffs. “You were right. The Bat and the kid trailing after him. He called him Robin, I think? Kid’s vicious. He nicked Barry before any of us noticed.”

“Is Barry okay?” The metahuman theory was still solidly on the table then, for a child to be able to hurt a speedster.

“Physically he’ll probably live. Emotionally? Eh.” Hal makes a rude sound, and Clark barely hears a rush of wind before Barry’s voice cuts through. 

“Are we sure Gotham’s even a real place at this point? Because I’m definitely feeling like I’m in a liminal space. I should know,” he adds, but doesn’t sound particularly upset about it. 

A shift in the shadows catches Clark’s eye, and he watches one of the Wayne boys sneak out into the balcony. He hears the click of a lighter, and sees the glow of orange as he lights a cigarette, casting a furtive glance back into the main room. If he’s noticed Clark, he doesn’t acknowledge him, turning away so the light of his cigarette’s facing out towards the city.

Still, better safe than sorry. Clark clears his throat, turning his back on the boy. “I’ll see you boys later then, right?”

“If we don’t get sucked into the Gotham Triangle, sure.” Barry laughs, and cuts the line.

Clark sighs, letting his shoulders sag. The more they poked at this Bat issue, the more questions they seemed to find.