The Not Quite Justice League in... The Bee's Pleas!!!

[stands_for_hope]

[continued from here]

Finishing his article, clearing everything with Keith, those things took time. That was why it took a few hours before Clark was ready to make his usual call to Lois that night. He had worried that he might not make the time window that she cleared every day to talk to him and the others, but he was proud to say that he'd left himself an even half an hour as long as everything was to schedule.

After the fifth time she didn't pick up (didn't so much as text or ping him), it became clear that things were very much off schedule.

Clark made his way back to the main floor where everyone seemed to congregate and headed straight for Tony, holding up the phone to him.

"I know we're all tired and we've certainly had a long day, but... can you find out where Lois's phone is from the number here?"

In all the madness of the day, all the fighting and the close calls and the weakness brought on by the proximity of kryptonite, he'd lost track of her heartbeat. Usually, it was simple enough to pick up over the phone once again, a steady pulse that he could find his way back to once the phonecall had ended.

He couldn't hear her. He couldn't tell where she was. And she wasn't answering her phone. She always answered her phone. He didn't want to think anything was wrong, but he wasn't naive enough to discount something like this. Not after today. Not after they'd pulled out kryptonite weapons.

Comments

[kolodnoykovki]

"She's here, and I've got Mike doing a little field medicine until my personal doctor can get here. Apparently that boy's car is really great at first aid," Tony said, "and has been walking him through it over that little earpiece of his."

And then he pointed, "Nice, quiet room, that way."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Diana nodded and headed towards the room. Steve bit his lip and looked between the room and Jim before turning to Tony.

"Can you show him that gym? We promised Clark and I want to check my niece."

[kolodnoykovki]

Tony nodded his understanding. "You've got it." And then he was leading Jim off, showing a little sensitivity in how he wasn't chattering on - or touching him. In his own moments, he'd learned that touch wasn't always so helpful when it came from strangers.

The room Lois had been shown to, though, was as promised. A nice, quiet room, with overstuffed furniture, a private bathroom, and a young man who was responding to what Lois wanted instead of forcing anything on her, even if he did have a box full of medical supplies at hand.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Steve immediately headed over, giving her a warm if somewhat dirty smile as Diana walked beside him to settle at the foot of the bed to carefully rest her hand on Lois's leg on an unmarked section.

"Hey, sweetheart," Steve said, tired and sounding it, "how're you doing?"

He turned an appreciative smile on Mike before reaching out to gently brush her hair out of her eyes. Lois gave them both a brave smile.

"I'm assuming Clark's off finishing things properly?"

Diana nodded.

"He took a large force of Bialyan and HYDRA troops to the UN for questioning and to substantiate your claims of Bialyan cooperation with HYDRA. From what I understand, this was what you were doing there in the first place."

"Oh yeah," Lois said, groaning as she tried to sit up a little. Her hands were splinted and bandaged, but they were still messy, "that's what I was going for. Let's see Queen Bitch explain this away."

"Lois!" and Steve almost looked like he was going to push her back down to rest before she raised an eyebrow at him. AHEM. WHO was trying to get her to lay down and relax when there was work to do?

[secondtry]

"Lois," Mike said, "you're doing pretty much exactly what I'd do, and I get told off for it all the time. So how about I prop you up against the headboard? Last thing you want is people telling you how much you remind them of Michael Knight. Either of us. I can get you something so you can dictate your story, though."

[stands_for_hope]

"Oh hell no," she said as she leaned up against his arm so he could do as he'd said, "I saved that thing to my email account. Should be waiting for me as soon as I can use a keyboard again."

Then she nudged him.

"And stop insulting the guy who's patching me up. I happen to like him."

[secondtry]

"Don't let anybody else hear you say that," he said as he settled her against the pillows and the headboard. "It'll ruin my reputation as an asshole. Besides, I'm a secret operative. Of course you like me."

Mike gave her a broad wink.

"How's that painkiller kicking in, by the way? Should be starting to about now."

Kitt had the good stuff. Stuff they didn't let the civilians have. Stuff that dulled pain but not thinking.

Mike liked it a lot.

[stands_for_hope]

"I feel about fifty percent myself," she reported before rolling her eyes at him. Then she smiled over at Steve and Diana.

"I'm glad you guys are all right. I mean, I know you're superheroes, and you had two Kryptonians helping, but a girl's going to worry a little when she's not there slinging an automatic weapon right beside you."

Steve chuckled a little.

"We're fine. Jim's fine too, but he needed a little time to... unwind."

"And he really doesn't need to see me like this right now."

"...that's probably true too."

[secondtry]

"Sounds about right," Mike agreed, then looked to the two new arrivals. "If you two want to wash up, I'll sit here with her until you get back. Otherwise, I'll let you have some family time."

Even if he'd never done it himself, he figured it was important to people who actually... felt family.

"I should probably call Michael, anyway."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Steve nodded in appreciation to Mike.

Diana gave him a warm smile before nodding towards the door.

"You should know that the last I saw Sanderson, he appeared to be fine and said that he would return here once he had made sure that Clark had things in hand in New York. I have no doubt he will arrive soon."

Lois blinked.

"Who's Sanderson?" she asked, looking around in mild confusion. "Did we pick up another roomate?"

Steve shook his head with a short laugh before tilting his head to Mike.

"Nope, not ours. Possibly his."

Lois grinned brilliantly up at Mike, or as brilliantly as she could given her injuries and a fat lip.

"Go get em, slugger."

[secondtry]

"Never knew I'd have a super boyfriend," Mike answered with a grin. "She needs anything from the kit, you two feel free to get it. There's everything in there from painkillers to antivirals - just ask Jarvis to ask Kitt before you start dosing anything out. The doctor should be here pretty soon, depending on traffic, and when he gets here, hide my box."

But he stood and nodded to them all before going.

A few floors down, Jim was beating the shape out of a training dummy, letting loose of the control he'd been exercising so carefully all day. He only stopped when he was sweaty and absolutely in need of the showers next door.

[stands_for_hope]

When he got out of the showers, Clark was waiting in the locker room, dressed in civilian clothes, looking tired but mostly satisfied. Arms rested on his knees, he looked over at Jim and gave him a warm smile of appreciation before leaning back and tipping his head at him.

"Steve and Diana are up with Lois. Or at least, that's what I can hear. I... haven't been up yet."

He let his eyes close.

"Been a day, huh?"

[kolodnoykovki]

"I..."

His voice was lower, like it used to be. Rougher. He took a breath, swallowed. His head was drooping, eyes refusing to close because if he let his eyes close for more than a blink, he wasn't sure who he'd be when he opened them.

"I'm sorry."

[stands_for_hope]

"Think you're taking my line, Jim," he said with a little curve to the corner of his lips. "I came down to apologize to you. Also to make sure that you were doing all right."

[kolodnoykovki]

But Jim shook his head, sitting heavily and lifting his hand to rub around where his arm was secured in place. Times like this, it ached for no physical reason. "You didn't do anything wrong."

[stands_for_hope]

"Neither did you," he said gently as he watched Jim sit. Clark was breathing evenly, settling out, mostly in control of his composure but not entirely there.

"The doctor's in with Lois now so... I figure we've both got a few minutes."

[kolodnoykovki]

"Stark said the young guy, Mike, did her first aid. He's ex-Army. Probably knew what he was doing." So had he when he'd waded into the base, but the feeling of having to hold back... It still had his shoulders taut.

[stands_for_hope]

"Her vitals sound good to me. And Steve and Diana are chatting with her normally. So... I've got high hopes."

[kolodnoykovki]

"She's tough," he agreed, "She'll be fine. I should... unwind before I go see her, though."

It was one thing when he was threatened. Or Steve, or Diana, or Clark. As tough as Lois was, she was human. If she was shot in the chest, she'd die. Her life was, in the end, much more tenuous than theirs. And the downside of having emotion again were these things, these instances, that pushed him so deep into his past that he wasn't sure he could come out. Into that ice-cold rage that meant someone would lose their life. More than one someone if they got in his way.

He'd thought he was past that. Or at least that he was prepared. Now, he was facing the fact that he wasn't.

[stands_for_hope]

"That's why I'm down here," Clark admitted quietly. "I was... I was nervous as hell before this, before she even left. And then this happened and--"

His head dipped down and both hands rose to scrub at his face. He pulled them only as far as they needed to be for him to speak to say

"But I know when she's better, she'll be back at it. And that's Lois. And I love her for it. But..." a breath in. "Goddamn."

[kolodnoykovki]

Without thinking, Jim reached up and settled his hand on the back of Clark's head, fingers in his hair, gently rubbing. Even if he couldn't quite be okay himself, Clark deserved better. Clark deserved the reassurance that, "You're gonna be fine. She's gonna be fine. Hell, I'm gonna be fine. We just gotta take some time, take a breath, and keep living."

[stands_for_hope]

Clark leaned into the touch, accepting the affection and giving some of it back. He knew Jim wasn't... well. But he also knew something in Jim needed to take care of others. He'd been worried about coming down, not sure of what to do. In the end, he'd decided to go with the most human of options: he'd been himself, fears and worries and troubles and all, heart on his sleeve as always. He hadn't been sure if this was the right way to go, but he was pretty sure that this was a good sign.

He smiled a little.

"And now I have an inkling of how you must have felt watching Steve all those years ago? And, you know... last Tuesday."

[kolodnoykovki]

"Still feels like that a lot of the time," he admitted. "There's nobody in the world that can get himself into the middle of a fight like Steve. Just now he's able to fight back. Little idiot used to show up covered in bruises, eye swollen shut, nose bleeding, but with this smile on his face like he thought he'd done something big. Lucky he never lost a damn tooth."

But as he talked, he started to sound more like himself. His actual self, not the Soldier he'd been forced to be.

"Lois is the same way, but she fights with words instead of with fists. This is just... the first time she's come back with bruises on our watch."

He gathered Clark to him, hugging him. His brother. He needed it. He thought they both needed it.

[stands_for_hope]

Clark got his arms around Jim and gave him a warm, firm squeeze, letting his head drop against Jim's shoulder a little. Just... breathing. Being hugged. Hugging.

That meant it was over, more than anything.

"Thanks."

[kolodnoykovki]

"S'what brothers are for," he murmured, rubbing Clark's back. "I've got you. It's gonna be okay now."

And he was sure of it. Didn't doubt it for a moment. They'd gotten each other out of the soup - all of them. Just one of them would need a little more physical healing than the rest.