Fic: A Certain Thought that Lingers - (7/20) (Clark/Bruce)
Title: A Certain Thought that Lingers
Pairing: Superman/Batman
Rating: R
Verse: DCU/DCAU
Word Count: 13,439
Summary: The decision to use a telepathic link to allow the Justice League to communicate during battle backfires, creating a special bond between Superman and Batman. Batman finds the situation...unbearable.
VII.
Many hours later, after the re-group, and the cleanup, and the debriefing with the local authorities, Batman asked the Martian to meet him in the conference room at the embassy. He needed answers, and he needed them now. There was no way what had just happened was normal. No way.
Not only had he once again discarded all rational thought, rushed blindly into a fight when Superman was in danger, but he had. He had-
He hadn’t been able to let Clark go. When Diana had tried to take him. With the rest of the team watching.
He could no longer account for his own actions, and that was simply…unacceptable.
When he arrived at the conference room, he found J’onn and Superman waiting.
“Why are you here?” He pointed at Superman. “You’re supposed to be-”
“I’m fine. Almost good as new.”
Batman scoffed, looked the Man of Steel over from head to toe, noting all the little signs that his teammate was still hurting. Liar. But if Superman wanted to act as if he hadn’t just gotten the crap beaten out of him-that he hadn’t almost died…
“I suppose you had to pull yourself out of bed to say I told you so?” he snapped instead.
“Of course not. J’onn-”
“I asked him to come,” J’onn said in his calm voice. “This concerns the both of you.”
“I don’t see why.” Now, he was beyond aggravated, and he wasn’t above letting the Martian know it. “I wanted to talk to you about the link. It doesn’t seem to be working reliably.”
“It works,” J’onn said.
“How can you-”
“It just doesn’t work for you.”
“Explain.”
“The link works reliably for everyone but you, Batman. It even works for you, with everyone except Superman.”
Batman eyed the Kryptonian suspiciously. “What do you mean?”
J’onn continued, “For…some reason…what should be a simple surface connection between you and Superman, a link that would allow communication, has…morphed…into a physical as well as a mental binding. Your recent reactions are a result of a sensory overload-with the knowledge and physical impressions of the extreme danger to Superman-and it being imperative that you rescue him.”
“Imperative.” Batman’s voice was flat, unbelieving. “Why only with him?”
J’onn’s brow rose. “Only you can answer that.”
“Break it,” Batman said decisively. “Dissolve the link.”
“That is…not possible. Only you-”
“You said there was no danger.”
“This was unforeseen. There was no way for me to know, absent scanning your mind that you-”
“Stop.” Batman rounded on Superman. “This is your fault,” he accused, pointing a finger. “Your feelings-”
“This is not Superman’s fault,” J’onn said, his tone admonishing.
Superman had his arms crossed and his head down. All Batman wanted to do was punch his lights out.
“If anyone is to blame, Batman, I am afraid it is you. You hold on too tightly. I cannot break the link without hurting you. You will not let me.”
Batman stared at the Martian. “What can be done?” he finally asked. He would not live with some sort of intangible connection to Superman. It was unacceptable.
“There are certain mental exercises that I can teach you to enable you to control the flow of thoughts and emotions-”
“How do I get rid of it?”
J’onn paused. “You cannot simply get rid of it, Batman, at least there is no way of which I am aware.” Again, J’onn paused, seemingly wistful, on the sharp edge of distress. “My people would search a lifetime to find what you have found by accident. I could no more break this binding than I could kill the spirit of an unborn child.”
His mind was processing this information, shifting through the nuances, trying to find some path out of the madness. Still, Superman contemplated the floor. “What will happen?” he asked J’onn. “Over time?”
“Over time the bond will grow, becoming to you the equivalent of an arm or a leg, a vital organ without which life would be possible but meaningless.”
Unacceptable. He hadn’t fought for autonomy all his life, practiced distance from people, entanglements, the way some people practiced the piano, to have it all come down to this-some physical and mental dependency on a super powered alien, even if that alien was Clark-
“You said I could learn a mental technique to control this? How much control? Can I shut it down to a bare minimum?”
J’onn was quiet a moment, considering. “Theoretically, yes. Depending upon your mental acuity, you could choke the bond, prevent all but the bare minimum to pass through. Eventually, it is possible you will achieve true quiescence, though I cannot believe that such a state would be healthy-“
“That is what we’ll do, then,” Batman interrupted, satisfied. “At least until I can do some more research.”
He watched Superman nod and turn towards the door. It was surprising that the Man of Steel had nothing to say about all of this. The thought was like a blossoming in his head, and, all of a sudden, he was awash in hurt and disappointment, and an acute sadness that colored the edges of his vision gray. He stumbled, but J’onn was there with a hand on his arm. Superman didn’t look back.
“We should start immediately,” J’onn was saying.
Batman straightened. “What about him?” he asked, nodding towards the door.
“Superman is Kryptonian. His is a higher level of mental acuity. He will have no problems controlling the flow of the link. The ability comes to him as a second nature. As I said, this all stems from you. You hold on too tightly…”
I hold on too tightly.
A divine joke, then, at his expense.
Pairing: Superman/Batman
Rating: R
Verse: DCU/DCAU
Word Count: 13,439
Summary: The decision to use a telepathic link to allow the Justice League to communicate during battle backfires, creating a special bond between Superman and Batman. Batman finds the situation...unbearable.
VII.
Many hours later, after the re-group, and the cleanup, and the debriefing with the local authorities, Batman asked the Martian to meet him in the conference room at the embassy. He needed answers, and he needed them now. There was no way what had just happened was normal. No way.
Not only had he once again discarded all rational thought, rushed blindly into a fight when Superman was in danger, but he had. He had-
He hadn’t been able to let Clark go. When Diana had tried to take him. With the rest of the team watching.
He could no longer account for his own actions, and that was simply…unacceptable.
When he arrived at the conference room, he found J’onn and Superman waiting.
“Why are you here?” He pointed at Superman. “You’re supposed to be-”
“I’m fine. Almost good as new.”
Batman scoffed, looked the Man of Steel over from head to toe, noting all the little signs that his teammate was still hurting. Liar. But if Superman wanted to act as if he hadn’t just gotten the crap beaten out of him-that he hadn’t almost died…
“I suppose you had to pull yourself out of bed to say I told you so?” he snapped instead.
“Of course not. J’onn-”
“I asked him to come,” J’onn said in his calm voice. “This concerns the both of you.”
“I don’t see why.” Now, he was beyond aggravated, and he wasn’t above letting the Martian know it. “I wanted to talk to you about the link. It doesn’t seem to be working reliably.”
“It works,” J’onn said.
“How can you-”
“It just doesn’t work for you.”
“Explain.”
“The link works reliably for everyone but you, Batman. It even works for you, with everyone except Superman.”
Batman eyed the Kryptonian suspiciously. “What do you mean?”
J’onn continued, “For…some reason…what should be a simple surface connection between you and Superman, a link that would allow communication, has…morphed…into a physical as well as a mental binding. Your recent reactions are a result of a sensory overload-with the knowledge and physical impressions of the extreme danger to Superman-and it being imperative that you rescue him.”
“Imperative.” Batman’s voice was flat, unbelieving. “Why only with him?”
J’onn’s brow rose. “Only you can answer that.”
“Break it,” Batman said decisively. “Dissolve the link.”
“That is…not possible. Only you-”
“You said there was no danger.”
“This was unforeseen. There was no way for me to know, absent scanning your mind that you-”
“Stop.” Batman rounded on Superman. “This is your fault,” he accused, pointing a finger. “Your feelings-”
“This is not Superman’s fault,” J’onn said, his tone admonishing.
Superman had his arms crossed and his head down. All Batman wanted to do was punch his lights out.
“If anyone is to blame, Batman, I am afraid it is you. You hold on too tightly. I cannot break the link without hurting you. You will not let me.”
Batman stared at the Martian. “What can be done?” he finally asked. He would not live with some sort of intangible connection to Superman. It was unacceptable.
“There are certain mental exercises that I can teach you to enable you to control the flow of thoughts and emotions-”
“How do I get rid of it?”
J’onn paused. “You cannot simply get rid of it, Batman, at least there is no way of which I am aware.” Again, J’onn paused, seemingly wistful, on the sharp edge of distress. “My people would search a lifetime to find what you have found by accident. I could no more break this binding than I could kill the spirit of an unborn child.”
His mind was processing this information, shifting through the nuances, trying to find some path out of the madness. Still, Superman contemplated the floor. “What will happen?” he asked J’onn. “Over time?”
“Over time the bond will grow, becoming to you the equivalent of an arm or a leg, a vital organ without which life would be possible but meaningless.”
Unacceptable. He hadn’t fought for autonomy all his life, practiced distance from people, entanglements, the way some people practiced the piano, to have it all come down to this-some physical and mental dependency on a super powered alien, even if that alien was Clark-
“You said I could learn a mental technique to control this? How much control? Can I shut it down to a bare minimum?”
J’onn was quiet a moment, considering. “Theoretically, yes. Depending upon your mental acuity, you could choke the bond, prevent all but the bare minimum to pass through. Eventually, it is possible you will achieve true quiescence, though I cannot believe that such a state would be healthy-“
“That is what we’ll do, then,” Batman interrupted, satisfied. “At least until I can do some more research.”
He watched Superman nod and turn towards the door. It was surprising that the Man of Steel had nothing to say about all of this. The thought was like a blossoming in his head, and, all of a sudden, he was awash in hurt and disappointment, and an acute sadness that colored the edges of his vision gray. He stumbled, but J’onn was there with a hand on his arm. Superman didn’t look back.
“We should start immediately,” J’onn was saying.
Batman straightened. “What about him?” he asked, nodding towards the door.
“Superman is Kryptonian. His is a higher level of mental acuity. He will have no problems controlling the flow of the link. The ability comes to him as a second nature. As I said, this all stems from you. You hold on too tightly…”
I hold on too tightly.
A divine joke, then, at his expense.