The House of the Earth Part 2 (7/8): Understanding
Title: Chapter Seven: Understanding
Pairing/Characters: Kal-El, Bruce Wayne, Lex Luthor, Selina Kyle, John Henry Irons, Lois Lane
Notes: " The House of the Earth" is an AU in which a few thousand Kryptonians escaped the destruction of Krypton to flee to Earth and enslave its people.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2450
Summary: Kal meets the leaders of two cells of the Metropolis resistance and makes something of an enemy and something of a friend.
When Kal walked behind Bruce into the low, dimly-lit room below the Metropolis streets, his feet padding cautiously but definitely on the cool stone floor, the group of people in the room murmured slightly.
It was not an overly welcoming sound.
Most of the people in the room were masked, but a few had bare faces; Kal recognized the young woman from the party, Bruce's contact. Her hazel eyes met his above the razor-straight scar on her cheek and she dropped her gaze.
Bruce led him to a tall, brawny man with dark skin, his bald head gleaming in the fitful light. "Mr. Irons. This is Kal-El, who will join our cause if you will have him." He turned from the man to Kal. "Kal-El, this is John Henry Irons. He leads a cell here in Metropolis."
Irons held out his hand and Kal took it briefly, looking around for the other human leader Bruce and Kara had mentioned, the one stockpiling Kryptonite and working with Selina. No one else seemed to be commanding the same level of attention as Irons, though. Masked faces looked at him and away. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Irons."
The man's voice was deep and surprisingly gentle. "Likewise, I'm sure, Kal-El." His mouth curved in a slightly ironic smile. "Would you like to make your case before the crowd?"
Kal swallowed in a mouth gone rather dry. "If they're willing to listen, sir."
Someone laughed at his deferential words, a nervous titter that cut off abruptly. The room seemed almost electric with tension. Irons took a long, level look around the room, then stepped to the front of the room. "The first order of business tonight is Kal-El of the House of El, who claims to wish to join us in our struggle. Some of you have met his cousin Kara Zor-El, who vouches for his integrity, as does Mr. John Jones. Tonight you may decide if you are able to trust him as well." He gestured to Kal to step forward.
Kal resisted to urge to look over at Bruce before stepping to the front of the room. "I thank you for allowing me to come to your House. It is a sacred House I have come to."
"It is a sacred House you have come to. You have come to the House of the Earth," came back the response, a low ripple of words. Kal took a deep breath and began to speak.
He spoke of his past and his childhood, of his friend punished for his transgressions--he scanned the crowd but saw no mocking emerald eyes--of his education offworld. He spoke of his ignorance and fears, his slow realization of the wrongs of the system. He spoke of freedom and respect and hope for the future. "I've finally come to see that this heinous wrong must be fought," he concluded, his words ringing off the stone walls. "And I've come to ask you tonight to forgive me for my blindness and my missteps, and to ask if there is a world in which we can work together to bring about a better world--one in which we can live freely together." As the last words fell into the room, he drew in a breath, his heart pounding.
Silence.
The crowd simply looked at him and Kal stared back.
Clap. Clap. Clap. One set of slow, deliberate handclaps broke the silence, and Kal looked toward the door to see a tall, bald man standing in the doorway, bringing his hands together with a sardonic smile on his face. Next to him lounged Selina in her black suit, the only un-collared human in the room, her back straight and her glittering whip twining lazily on the floor. The emerald eyes behind the mask were unreadable as she gazed at Kal.
"Oh, bravo," the man who must be Lex Luthor said, strolling into the room. "Well done. Thank you so much for enlightening us on the Heroic Journey of Kal-El." He gestured contemptuously. "And now why don't you just take a seat in the back and let the adults discuss real strategy?"
"I was just--"
"--I know what you were doing. And I am telling you that this rebellion, these people, do not exist as props to illustrate your boundless nobility." Lex was pacing restlessly, prowling the room. The eyes of the crowd flicked back and forth between the human and the Kryptonian. "This is not your story, alien. You don't get to define it that way. You're not the hero of the rebellion, you are a tool that we will use or discard as we see fit." His voice snapped in the air between them. "Remember your place, slaver."
His caustic words met an answering flare of fury in Kal. His hands clenched and a hiss of breath escaped him. "How dare you--" he started.
And then he looked around the room. Bruce's face was a blank mask, handsome and remote as the moon. Selina looked coiled and ready for a fight. But the hazel-eyed woman was shaking. Above the silver scar on her cheek, her eyes met Kal's boldly, but he could see the fear in them, memories moving like shadows in deep water.
It was like being slapped across the face, the anguish in those eyes looking at him. Carefully, carefully, he uncurled his fists and took a deep breath, centering himself. The stone was solid under his feet, the stones of the Earth. Then he looked up again at Lex Luthor.
"You're right," he said.
Luthor looked nonplussed for just an instant, then smiled toothily. "Of course I am."
Kal stepped down from the front of the room. "My apologies. The floor is yours." He stepped down amongst murmurs and made his way to the back of the room. After a moment, Lex took his place and began to speak.
"Of course I support Kal-El being admitted, as I supported Kara Zor-El being allowed access. I am not so impractical as to turn down potentially useful weapons in the fight. But we shall vote on that another time, when he isn't here." Green eyes flicked past him and were gone. "I would like to take this opportunity, in addition, to urge further consideration of my long-term plan as opposed to that of our more...patient brothers and sisters." The word was spat out like an insult.
Kal focused on breathing deeply and steadily, ignoring the glances at him as Luthor continued. He almost jumped at a slight touch on his elbow. He looked to see the dark-haired woman looking at him gravely. She leaned forward to whisper to him.
"He doesn't seem to like you," she said solemnly, gesturing toward the gesticulating Luthor.
Kal stared at her, unsure whether he wanted to laugh or cry. Her hazel eyes were cautious but friendly. "I can hardly blame him, really," he said wryly.
"My name's Lois," the woman said. "Lois-Ve." She paused and lifted her chin. "Lane. Lois Lane is my human name. My real name."
Kal put out his hand. "Pleased to meet you, Ms Lane."
After a moment, she put her hand in his and pressed it. Kal felt callouses and scars against his skin for a moment. "Pleased to meet you, Kal."
Luthor and Irons were arguing now; Kal forced himself to focus. There seemed to be two different plans being debated, although neither side was going into detail. "We can't know the effects of your plan on the human population, Luthor," Irons was saying. "It's too risky. That much radioactive material--"
Luthor made a sound of disdain. "You're just afraid to get your hands dirty, Irons. You want your freedom and your moral purity too. It's not that simple."
From his position to the side of the room, Bruce spoke for the first time. "Your plan would make us no better than they are, Luthor."
Luthor's green eyes snapped anger and contempt. "You seem to think I care whether humans are better than Kryptonians. I don't give a damn about that. I just want them gone and I don't really care how." His eyes flicked over Kal. "I support the Els being admitted because I'll use whatever comes our way to achieve our goal. And I know how to deal with them if they cross us." His gaze was dark and meaningful, and Selina's whip twitched as her mouth curved in a smile.
Irons sounded exasperated. "None of this matters much because neither plan is at the implementation stage yet. We're here to discuss how to get our hands on some of the materials we need." He addressed the crowd. "Did anyone manage to procure some extra cyclamed? Or some fiber-optic cable? Those are our top priorities." There was a murmur of discussion and movement as some of the humans produced raw materials and put them at the front of the room.
Kal suddenly remembered the little white tablet in his pocket. He went over to Irons, the crowd parting carefully before him. "This is some kind of psychotropic drug," he said. "They said it was from Rigel. It seems to cause euphoria and mild hallucinations."
"It also causes a slight lowering of inhibitions," Bruce said behind him as Irons took the pill from him. "Could be useful."
Irons nodded, wrapping it in a bit of cloth. "Thank you."
The meeting seemed to be breaking up slightly as people separated into groups, trading gossip and information. Kal felt Luthor's glower on the back of his neck, almost tangible. He turned to meet the eyes of the woman beside him. "I've been told they call you Cat," he said to her.
"Nine lives, lands on her feet, walks by herself...it sounded right," Selina said lazily. "Not to mention cat o'nine tails." She turned.
"I'm sorry," Kal said before she could walk away. "I know you probably won't believe me, but I...didn't remember what happened to you."
"Oh, I believe that."
"I mean--" Kal struggled for words. "I mean that I couldn't remember it, until recently. Until I met you again. I won't ask you to forgive me, but I wanted to say I was sorry. More than I can express."
"Perhaps I will help you express it, one day." Her whip made small circles on the stone.
"Would that bring you satisfaction?"
She bit her lip, white teeth against ruby. "No," she said. "Nothing will. Forgiving you and your kind certainly wouldn't."
"I hope..." Kal said, "I hope that you will find whatever does, someday."
For a moment, the cynicism fell away, and her eyes were the eyes of the girl he had known. "I hope so too," she said. Then she was linking her arm in Luthor's and walking away, Luthor looking back one last time, his face unreadable.
"A dangerous pair." Lois Lane was at his elbow again, gazing after Selina and Lex.
"I don't think she likes me very much either," said Kal ruefully.
Lois gave him a long, assessing look. "You don't know how to read us very well yet, do you?"
"Bruce is always saying that," Kal said with a small laugh. "But I think I know hatred when I see it." He met her eyes. "I know fear when I see it."
Lois crossed her arms and tilted her chin up at him challengingly. "I'm not afraid of you," she said. "Not now. Not any more."
"Why not?"
"I saw your eyes earlier. They weren't..." For the first time she seemed at a loss for words. "They were sad."
Kal grimaced. "I wish I hadn't let Luthor goad me."
She shook her head, dark hair swinging slightly in her eyes. "Not then," she said, reaching to push it back. "I mean at the party. As you watched him." Another light touch on his arm, and she was gone, melted away in the crowd.
Kal looked over to where Bruce was deep in conversation with Irons. As if he had felt Kal's gaze on him, Bruce looked over and met his eyes, nodding slightly before he turned back to the conversation.
He was going to have to get better at bluffing.
: : :
"It's your night to have the bed," Kal said.
Bruce looked around the sparse apartment. "There's no couch."
"I'll sleep on the floor." Kal settled on the floor, wrapping a blanket around him. After a moment, Bruce got into the bed.
"Lex's plan," Kal said into the darkness. "It sounds...pretty final." Bruce made a noncomittal noise, almost a hum, and Kal added hurriedly, "I know you can't talk about it in detail until they vote on me."
"They'll let you in," Bruce said. "I heard your speech." There was a short pause. "Lex has been stockpiling Kryptonite. He hopes to create enough powder to seed the entire atmosphere with it."
"That's..." Kal's voice trailed off as he imagined it, the fine dust settling over everything, the emerald rain.
"We're working on another way," Bruce said.
Kal's throat felt tight; his chest burned where Selina's whip had cut him. "How long do we have?"
"He doesn't have the tech to get that much material into the atmosphere yet. That's the last stumbling block."
Kal took a long breath. "Thank you for telling me."
"You deserve to know. It's your life--it's your planet--too." Another pause. "Earlier tonight. You did good when Luthor was hounding you." Kal laughed bitterly into the dark and Bruce said, "No. I know you got angry. But you pulled it together fast and didn't let him goad you unduly. This was your first real test, and you passed it, Kal. And it won't get much tougher than Luthor. I was hoping you might meet the Lanterns first--Guy's a hothead but he's easier to deal with. Luthor has a gift for sensing your weak spots and going for them. And that's why..." He fell silent for a bit. "Kal. I'm sorry I couldn't...couldn't defend you against Luthor. We can't afford to have it look like I...favor you, somehow. So I couldn't just tell him to go to hell."
"Did you want to?"
A very long silence. "Yes."
"Then I'll be okay. I don't need Luthor to understand me."
Bruce shifted restlessly, sheets rustling. "He hasn't seen you hold a newborn human baby. He hasn't seen your eyes when you have to put that collar back on me. He hasn't--" Bruce broke off, swallowed. "He doesn't understand you."
He didn't speak again, and Kal let sleep start to sift over him like snow, scattering his thoughts to the winds. Understanding, he thought as he slipped deeper into sleep. To be understood.
It was enough. Maybe more than enough.
Pairing/Characters: Kal-El, Bruce Wayne, Lex Luthor, Selina Kyle, John Henry Irons, Lois Lane
Notes: " The House of the Earth" is an AU in which a few thousand Kryptonians escaped the destruction of Krypton to flee to Earth and enslave its people.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2450
Summary: Kal meets the leaders of two cells of the Metropolis resistance and makes something of an enemy and something of a friend.
When Kal walked behind Bruce into the low, dimly-lit room below the Metropolis streets, his feet padding cautiously but definitely on the cool stone floor, the group of people in the room murmured slightly.
It was not an overly welcoming sound.
Most of the people in the room were masked, but a few had bare faces; Kal recognized the young woman from the party, Bruce's contact. Her hazel eyes met his above the razor-straight scar on her cheek and she dropped her gaze.
Bruce led him to a tall, brawny man with dark skin, his bald head gleaming in the fitful light. "Mr. Irons. This is Kal-El, who will join our cause if you will have him." He turned from the man to Kal. "Kal-El, this is John Henry Irons. He leads a cell here in Metropolis."
Irons held out his hand and Kal took it briefly, looking around for the other human leader Bruce and Kara had mentioned, the one stockpiling Kryptonite and working with Selina. No one else seemed to be commanding the same level of attention as Irons, though. Masked faces looked at him and away. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Irons."
The man's voice was deep and surprisingly gentle. "Likewise, I'm sure, Kal-El." His mouth curved in a slightly ironic smile. "Would you like to make your case before the crowd?"
Kal swallowed in a mouth gone rather dry. "If they're willing to listen, sir."
Someone laughed at his deferential words, a nervous titter that cut off abruptly. The room seemed almost electric with tension. Irons took a long, level look around the room, then stepped to the front of the room. "The first order of business tonight is Kal-El of the House of El, who claims to wish to join us in our struggle. Some of you have met his cousin Kara Zor-El, who vouches for his integrity, as does Mr. John Jones. Tonight you may decide if you are able to trust him as well." He gestured to Kal to step forward.
Kal resisted to urge to look over at Bruce before stepping to the front of the room. "I thank you for allowing me to come to your House. It is a sacred House I have come to."
"It is a sacred House you have come to. You have come to the House of the Earth," came back the response, a low ripple of words. Kal took a deep breath and began to speak.
He spoke of his past and his childhood, of his friend punished for his transgressions--he scanned the crowd but saw no mocking emerald eyes--of his education offworld. He spoke of his ignorance and fears, his slow realization of the wrongs of the system. He spoke of freedom and respect and hope for the future. "I've finally come to see that this heinous wrong must be fought," he concluded, his words ringing off the stone walls. "And I've come to ask you tonight to forgive me for my blindness and my missteps, and to ask if there is a world in which we can work together to bring about a better world--one in which we can live freely together." As the last words fell into the room, he drew in a breath, his heart pounding.
Silence.
The crowd simply looked at him and Kal stared back.
Clap. Clap. Clap. One set of slow, deliberate handclaps broke the silence, and Kal looked toward the door to see a tall, bald man standing in the doorway, bringing his hands together with a sardonic smile on his face. Next to him lounged Selina in her black suit, the only un-collared human in the room, her back straight and her glittering whip twining lazily on the floor. The emerald eyes behind the mask were unreadable as she gazed at Kal.
"Oh, bravo," the man who must be Lex Luthor said, strolling into the room. "Well done. Thank you so much for enlightening us on the Heroic Journey of Kal-El." He gestured contemptuously. "And now why don't you just take a seat in the back and let the adults discuss real strategy?"
"I was just--"
"--I know what you were doing. And I am telling you that this rebellion, these people, do not exist as props to illustrate your boundless nobility." Lex was pacing restlessly, prowling the room. The eyes of the crowd flicked back and forth between the human and the Kryptonian. "This is not your story, alien. You don't get to define it that way. You're not the hero of the rebellion, you are a tool that we will use or discard as we see fit." His voice snapped in the air between them. "Remember your place, slaver."
His caustic words met an answering flare of fury in Kal. His hands clenched and a hiss of breath escaped him. "How dare you--" he started.
And then he looked around the room. Bruce's face was a blank mask, handsome and remote as the moon. Selina looked coiled and ready for a fight. But the hazel-eyed woman was shaking. Above the silver scar on her cheek, her eyes met Kal's boldly, but he could see the fear in them, memories moving like shadows in deep water.
It was like being slapped across the face, the anguish in those eyes looking at him. Carefully, carefully, he uncurled his fists and took a deep breath, centering himself. The stone was solid under his feet, the stones of the Earth. Then he looked up again at Lex Luthor.
"You're right," he said.
Luthor looked nonplussed for just an instant, then smiled toothily. "Of course I am."
Kal stepped down from the front of the room. "My apologies. The floor is yours." He stepped down amongst murmurs and made his way to the back of the room. After a moment, Lex took his place and began to speak.
"Of course I support Kal-El being admitted, as I supported Kara Zor-El being allowed access. I am not so impractical as to turn down potentially useful weapons in the fight. But we shall vote on that another time, when he isn't here." Green eyes flicked past him and were gone. "I would like to take this opportunity, in addition, to urge further consideration of my long-term plan as opposed to that of our more...patient brothers and sisters." The word was spat out like an insult.
Kal focused on breathing deeply and steadily, ignoring the glances at him as Luthor continued. He almost jumped at a slight touch on his elbow. He looked to see the dark-haired woman looking at him gravely. She leaned forward to whisper to him.
"He doesn't seem to like you," she said solemnly, gesturing toward the gesticulating Luthor.
Kal stared at her, unsure whether he wanted to laugh or cry. Her hazel eyes were cautious but friendly. "I can hardly blame him, really," he said wryly.
"My name's Lois," the woman said. "Lois-Ve." She paused and lifted her chin. "Lane. Lois Lane is my human name. My real name."
Kal put out his hand. "Pleased to meet you, Ms Lane."
After a moment, she put her hand in his and pressed it. Kal felt callouses and scars against his skin for a moment. "Pleased to meet you, Kal."
Luthor and Irons were arguing now; Kal forced himself to focus. There seemed to be two different plans being debated, although neither side was going into detail. "We can't know the effects of your plan on the human population, Luthor," Irons was saying. "It's too risky. That much radioactive material--"
Luthor made a sound of disdain. "You're just afraid to get your hands dirty, Irons. You want your freedom and your moral purity too. It's not that simple."
From his position to the side of the room, Bruce spoke for the first time. "Your plan would make us no better than they are, Luthor."
Luthor's green eyes snapped anger and contempt. "You seem to think I care whether humans are better than Kryptonians. I don't give a damn about that. I just want them gone and I don't really care how." His eyes flicked over Kal. "I support the Els being admitted because I'll use whatever comes our way to achieve our goal. And I know how to deal with them if they cross us." His gaze was dark and meaningful, and Selina's whip twitched as her mouth curved in a smile.
Irons sounded exasperated. "None of this matters much because neither plan is at the implementation stage yet. We're here to discuss how to get our hands on some of the materials we need." He addressed the crowd. "Did anyone manage to procure some extra cyclamed? Or some fiber-optic cable? Those are our top priorities." There was a murmur of discussion and movement as some of the humans produced raw materials and put them at the front of the room.
Kal suddenly remembered the little white tablet in his pocket. He went over to Irons, the crowd parting carefully before him. "This is some kind of psychotropic drug," he said. "They said it was from Rigel. It seems to cause euphoria and mild hallucinations."
"It also causes a slight lowering of inhibitions," Bruce said behind him as Irons took the pill from him. "Could be useful."
Irons nodded, wrapping it in a bit of cloth. "Thank you."
The meeting seemed to be breaking up slightly as people separated into groups, trading gossip and information. Kal felt Luthor's glower on the back of his neck, almost tangible. He turned to meet the eyes of the woman beside him. "I've been told they call you Cat," he said to her.
"Nine lives, lands on her feet, walks by herself...it sounded right," Selina said lazily. "Not to mention cat o'nine tails." She turned.
"I'm sorry," Kal said before she could walk away. "I know you probably won't believe me, but I...didn't remember what happened to you."
"Oh, I believe that."
"I mean--" Kal struggled for words. "I mean that I couldn't remember it, until recently. Until I met you again. I won't ask you to forgive me, but I wanted to say I was sorry. More than I can express."
"Perhaps I will help you express it, one day." Her whip made small circles on the stone.
"Would that bring you satisfaction?"
She bit her lip, white teeth against ruby. "No," she said. "Nothing will. Forgiving you and your kind certainly wouldn't."
"I hope..." Kal said, "I hope that you will find whatever does, someday."
For a moment, the cynicism fell away, and her eyes were the eyes of the girl he had known. "I hope so too," she said. Then she was linking her arm in Luthor's and walking away, Luthor looking back one last time, his face unreadable.
"A dangerous pair." Lois Lane was at his elbow again, gazing after Selina and Lex.
"I don't think she likes me very much either," said Kal ruefully.
Lois gave him a long, assessing look. "You don't know how to read us very well yet, do you?"
"Bruce is always saying that," Kal said with a small laugh. "But I think I know hatred when I see it." He met her eyes. "I know fear when I see it."
Lois crossed her arms and tilted her chin up at him challengingly. "I'm not afraid of you," she said. "Not now. Not any more."
"Why not?"
"I saw your eyes earlier. They weren't..." For the first time she seemed at a loss for words. "They were sad."
Kal grimaced. "I wish I hadn't let Luthor goad me."
She shook her head, dark hair swinging slightly in her eyes. "Not then," she said, reaching to push it back. "I mean at the party. As you watched him." Another light touch on his arm, and she was gone, melted away in the crowd.
Kal looked over to where Bruce was deep in conversation with Irons. As if he had felt Kal's gaze on him, Bruce looked over and met his eyes, nodding slightly before he turned back to the conversation.
He was going to have to get better at bluffing.
: : :
"It's your night to have the bed," Kal said.
Bruce looked around the sparse apartment. "There's no couch."
"I'll sleep on the floor." Kal settled on the floor, wrapping a blanket around him. After a moment, Bruce got into the bed.
"Lex's plan," Kal said into the darkness. "It sounds...pretty final." Bruce made a noncomittal noise, almost a hum, and Kal added hurriedly, "I know you can't talk about it in detail until they vote on me."
"They'll let you in," Bruce said. "I heard your speech." There was a short pause. "Lex has been stockpiling Kryptonite. He hopes to create enough powder to seed the entire atmosphere with it."
"That's..." Kal's voice trailed off as he imagined it, the fine dust settling over everything, the emerald rain.
"We're working on another way," Bruce said.
Kal's throat felt tight; his chest burned where Selina's whip had cut him. "How long do we have?"
"He doesn't have the tech to get that much material into the atmosphere yet. That's the last stumbling block."
Kal took a long breath. "Thank you for telling me."
"You deserve to know. It's your life--it's your planet--too." Another pause. "Earlier tonight. You did good when Luthor was hounding you." Kal laughed bitterly into the dark and Bruce said, "No. I know you got angry. But you pulled it together fast and didn't let him goad you unduly. This was your first real test, and you passed it, Kal. And it won't get much tougher than Luthor. I was hoping you might meet the Lanterns first--Guy's a hothead but he's easier to deal with. Luthor has a gift for sensing your weak spots and going for them. And that's why..." He fell silent for a bit. "Kal. I'm sorry I couldn't...couldn't defend you against Luthor. We can't afford to have it look like I...favor you, somehow. So I couldn't just tell him to go to hell."
"Did you want to?"
A very long silence. "Yes."
"Then I'll be okay. I don't need Luthor to understand me."
Bruce shifted restlessly, sheets rustling. "He hasn't seen you hold a newborn human baby. He hasn't seen your eyes when you have to put that collar back on me. He hasn't--" Bruce broke off, swallowed. "He doesn't understand you."
He didn't speak again, and Kal let sleep start to sift over him like snow, scattering his thoughts to the winds. Understanding, he thought as he slipped deeper into sleep. To be understood.
It was enough. Maybe more than enough.