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

[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.

[stands_for_hope]

Clark gave him a good squeeze before leaning back a little, resting his forehead against the side of Jim's temple.

"Ready to face the music?"

[kolodnoykovki]

His answer came with a faint smile. "I'd kind of like to put on pants first."

He'd just been out of the shower with a towel around his waist. Pants... were a little necessary.

[stands_for_hope]

"Steve and Diana would probably appreciate you like this," Clark joked with a grin back as he stepped away. Then he gestured over to the fresh set of clothes he'd brought down with him.

"Lois would make fun of you, though. So I brought you some things."

[kolodnoykovki]

"Thanks. I wasn't... thinking about that when I came down here." But now, with the opportunity, he dressed, clothes clinging to his damp skin just a little, but it didn't stop him. It was nice to be in clean clothes - and maybe him and Clark being there would give Steve and Diana a chance to clean up, too. Feel more at home in their skin.

[stands_for_hope]

Clark shrugged, because he was just being helpful. Then he pushed away from the wall he'd been leaning against and headed for the elevator.

"Thankfully, Kara told me that she'd handle the majority of the trouble at the UN. Said it was a good opportunity for the JSA to start showing themselves to the public." He tipped his head sideways. "And she knew I needed to be there for Lois. We'll have time to catch up later, thankfully."