Fall of Justice

The Penthouse of Solitude

Sunlight burned between skyscrapers as dawn gave way to morning. Clark still wasn't used to living in a penthouse apartment. It felt cold compared to the farm where he'd grown up. But he was grateful to Bruce for providing it. Though Gotham's skyline was just as foreign as the apartment, he was more than glad to be somewhere safe, somewhere he and Lois could live without fear of being seen.

"You always wake up before the sun, farm boy?" Lois asked with a yawn as she entered the living groom. He turned to find her wrapped head to toe in a comforter, only her face peeking out

"Actually, yeah. You can turn the heat on you know," he smiled.

"It's Bruce's place, it feels like stealing."

"I hate that you feel like that. Maybe we should go back."

"Metropolis isn't safe for us right now, hell neither's Gotham but at least we have this view," she said.

"I don't want you to feel like you're trapped."

"Well I am trapped, but hey if you're gonna be housebound it's not a bad gig to be in a place with a jacuzzi."

"I'm serious."

"So am I," she moved close to him and rested her head on his chest. " I'm fine, trust me. If things aren't working, I'll tell you."

Her eyes found his, beneath his forced smile there was only worry. He ran a thumb across the newly healed scar on her neck. She took his hand in hers. "I'm so--" he began.

"Don't," she interrupted. "It's not your fault. It's not even hers. And it doesn't hurt anymore, so stop worrying, and stop looking at me like I'm a china doll you have to keep from cracking. It's you I'm worried about. When's the last time you slept the entire night?"

"With your snoring? Fours years ago?" he smiled, a genuine one this time. She lightly punched his chest, even so it hurt her knuckle.

A quick rap on the door and Clark was halfway across the room. He looked through the peephole and sighed. He opened the door. "Wait!" Lois said as she tried without success to waddle out of the room before Bruce saw her.

"Hey Lois," he said, giving her a quick wave. She turned, her blanket cocoon making it difficult to navigate. "There's... pie..." she said. He smiled and with that she shuffled out of view.

Clark stepped aside, Bruce wandered in. "Problem with the heat?" Bruce asked.

"Problem with the tenants. What's wrong, you looked worried."

"I went to see Kara last night, I know-- I'm supposed to leave her out of it, but... she talked to me Clark."

"She did?" Clark felt a rush of joy followed closely followed by a sting of jealousy. Why had talked to Bruce but not him? This was immediately followed by a wave of guilt and a topping of shame, courtesy of his midwestern upbringing. "What did she say?" he asked.

"She saw something... saw you, but it wasn't you. She didn't say much more but I don't think it was a hallucination. I called her psychiatrist who wasn't happy about the hour. She told me hallucinations wouldn't match her state of mind, now or before we brought her in."

"What else could it have been?"

"I'm not sure but, but it's a lead."

Clark turned his attention to the sun again. The rays were finally reaching the window, he could feel the warmth soaking through his skin. "How is she?" he asked.

Bruce hesitated. "...She needs more care, more therapy. She was talking about killing Joker--"

"Maybe she should," Clark said the words without thinking. Bruce was at a loss. Clark had never said anything of the kind, he could see Bruce's disapproval.

"You can't let him get to you, I know it's impossible but you're a hero for more than your strength, you have to be more than what he wants. You're a weapon Clark, whether you like it or not, and if you can't keep yourself in control, you'll be his weapon."

Clark pulled his eyes from Bruce. "Thanks for letting me know. I'm glad she's talking."

"You don't want to dig into this? It's the only clue we've gotten in months."

"I need to be here, with Lois."

"You know she wouldn't like you using her as an excuse."

Clark moved back to the cold glass window, his eyes to the world below. "They still suspect me... they don't trust me," he said.

Bruce nodded and moved to the door. "Don't let that pie go to waste," he said before leaving.

Alone, Clark released the fist he'd been making without realizing. He took a deep breath and let it out in a shaky sigh. There was an anger inside him, one which had always been there. Even as he grew up in a perfectly pleasant home, there had been rage, a sense of loss and indignation at what he could not get back. He never understood how it could be so strong, if all that he had lost happened before he could remember, but now, as things had begun to fall apart, he was afraid it would come out in one way or another, he was afraid what Bruce had said was true, he was afraid maybe he was a weapon.

#

In the other room Lois lay in bed about to fall asleep when a wave of nausea bubbled from her stomach. She ran to the bathroom and vomited just in time to make it in the toilet. She caught her breath, shocked. She hadn't thrown up since she was in high school. She knew she wasn't sick and she didn't have a fever...

"Oh shit," she said.