mithen | The Wonder That's Keeping the Stars Apart (5/7)

Title: The Wonder That's Keeping the Stars Apart, Chapter Five
Pairing/Characters: Clark/Bruce, Lois Lane, Ra's al Ghul
Notes: "Music of the Spheres" is a series set in the combined universes of "Batman Begins" and "Superman Returns." Other stories and notes on the series here.
Rating: PG
Summary: Clark finally gets a lead on where Bruce is--but the rescue doesn't go as planned.
Word Count: 2400

and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

Lois Lane stood under the great golden globe in the bitter early winter wind, a scrap of paper clutched in her hand. "Superman!" she called into the sky, hardly expecting a response, remembering the way his eyes had looked through her the other day. "Superman!"

A rustle of fabric and he was there in front of her. She hadn't realized how tense she was until the muscles of her shoulders and neck relaxed at the sight of his face: pale, tired and worn, but...there. "Lois," he said. That familiar smile was on his face, small and tender, and she wrapped her arms around herself, hugging herself to keep from throwing her arms around him in relief. "What's wrong?"

"There's a message for you." She held out the bit of vellum, seeing the curving, elegant loops of handwriting appear and disappear from view as the wind pulled at the paper. "It was on my desk."

He looked at it for a long moment, reading the message: Tell Superman that I wish to parley. Ra's al Ghul. A set of coordinates followed.

"I know it's not my business, but...what's going on? What are they talking about?"

His eyes blazed cerulean at her over the paper--not with anger, but with fear and a kind of joy. "Something very precious to me." He folded the paper and handed it back to her. "Thank you, Lois."

"Don't you need it?"

"I won't forget the coordinates," he said.

He turned away, the wind catching at his cape, and he stepped forward, one hand out. "Superman--" He stopped and looked at back at her, although she could see it was taking all he had not to leave immediately. "Are you...are you all right?"

He smiled at her, that smile that always made her feel foolishly secure, irrationally certain that everything was going to be fine. Somehow. "I'll be all right," he said. "Thank you."

"For what?"

He tilted his head. "For caring. For reminding me I'm not alone."

And then there was no one there but Lois and the wind.

: : :

The door swung open, the dim light of the corridor outside hitting Bruce's eyes like a blow. Dazzled, eyes streaming, he felt rough hands grab him, tie his arms and legs, and carry him from the room.

By the time they reached the great hall, the worst of the glare was gone from his eyes and he could make out Ra's on his granite throne, a dark green robe thrown around his shoulders. The guards forced him into a kneeling position, and he felt the cold kiss of steel laid along his neck. "Ra's," he croaked. "It's always a pleasure to sample your hospitality."

Ra's lips quirked in a smile. "It's a pity, but I'm afraid you won't be my guest much longer." At Bruce's raised eyebrows, he continued, "I have made the Kryptonian an offer of alliance and I believe he shall be here soon."

Bruce struggled to keep his face still, not to show the sudden leap of hope and fear. "Superman will never work with you."

"He doesn't seem to be much of a team player, does he?" Ra's observed. "But as I said, the most inflexible are the ones that shatter." He stood, pacing down the steps to stand in front of Bruce. "And if he proves intractable..."

He tossed the cloak from his side to reveal a heavily brocaded scabbard, resting his hand on the silver hilt. He unsheathed the weapon with a grating hissing noise, and Bruce had to bite back a startled exclamation.

It was a sword, wickedly curved and elegant. A sword of green mineral, gleaming emerald in the cold blue light of the hall.

"Did you truly think I would allow such a powerful force to continue unchecked on the planet?" Ra's asked, watching Bruce's face as he turned the weapon to glint in the light. "Oh, we have been making plans. I would have preferred to have both of you at my side, but as you are proving a difficult man to work with, I shall settle for him." An arc of viridian as he swung the sword; the Kryptonite hummed in the air between them. "Steel can be made brittle under the right conditions, Bruce. And I always find the right conditions."

His smile sent cold water up Bruce's spine, but he schooled his face to impassivity, feeling the cold metal against his throat.

"My Lord, the alien comes!" cried a guard, and Ra's gestured to the man holding Bruce, sheathing the sword. He was dragged behind the massive stone throne, out of sight, the dagger still poised against his neck.

Clark.

: : :

The thin, cold air of the Roof of the World combed through Superman's hair, streamed his cape out behind him. The Himalayas stretched before him like brides in white, and his heartbeat quickened as he drew near to Ana Dablam's jagged peak, shining in the rosy sunset. Closer to the coordinates. Closer to Bruce.

Guards met him at a steel door set in a rocky cliff face, their guns trained on him. He thought of these same guards keeping watch over Bruce and felt his blood boil. To make a point, he melted one of their gun barrels and seized the man by his collar. "Take me to al Ghul, " he announced. The guard didn't ask how he knew his master's name; he pointed down the corridor with a shaking hand.

Superman carried the man with him. As he entered the vast hall, he tossed the guard across the polished floor to come to rest with a thump at the base of the throne. "You have two minutes before I start taking this place apart stone by stone," he announced.

The man on the throne stood. "Kal-El of Krypton," he said as if welcoming a guest, spreading his hands out. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Clark crossed his arms and stared at al Ghul in silence, prompting a headshake and rueful smile. "So distrustful. You have perhaps heard of my...activities in Gotham before you returned to Earth. And I can understand why these reports, filtered through the bias of the fallible humans who made them, might prejudice you against me. But really, Kal-El, there's no need for hostilities between us."

Clark raised his eyebrows. "Then why are we having this conversation?"

"I wished to offer an...alliance."

"Why would I ever work with you?"

Al Ghul looked surprised. "To bring about peace, of course! Humanity are sheep yearning for a kind shepherd. One with their best interests at heart."

"And you consider yourself qualified?"

Al Ghul's smile was wry and self-deprecating. "Me? No. I have seen too much of humanity's failings to be its guide. But you... You have both the power and the wisdom to usher humanity into a new Golden Age." His eyes were kind and understanding. "I've seen how difficult it is for you to witness their pitiful, blind actions and not want to help them more than you do. You just need to...be firmer with them. Spare the rod and spoil the child, as they say."

The image of humanity--of Lois, Alfred, Lex, Bruce--as sheep or children needing a firm hand almost made Clark laugh out loud. Instead he let the humor merely touch his voice as he said, "Even if I were to grant you that the temptation does exist, why would I need to work with you at all? I have the power at my command to rule without your help."

Al Ghul looked eager, avid, as if he felt he was making progress. "I have something you might be interested in." He beckoned, and one of his ninjas dragged a bound man out from behind the throne.

Clark had suspected as much, but he still felt shock and joy ring through him like a crystal bell, tapped by hope. Bruce's face was worn, exhausted, hollow with hunger. A knife was at his throat; Clark saw threads of blood making their way down from the keen edge. But his eyes were alert, and when Clark met them he felt all the wounded and anguished raw edges in him soothed as if those dark eyes were a benison. Al Ghul was talking, and Clark forced himself to listen, not to cry out Bruce's name:

"-- although lacking the distinctive armor, is indeed the vaunted Batman. I presume you already know that. Similarly, I assume you have realized that the person currently posing as Batman in Gotham is an impostor. This is the true one."

"Yes," whispered Clark, unable to look away from Bruce.

Al Ghul gestured magnanimously at the kneeling man. "I give him to you as a gift, Kal-El. A token of my esteem. Here in this place, you may finally rid the world of your rival with none the wiser."

Clark's gaze snapped to al Ghul, uncomprehending, unable to keep the shock from it. "What?"

There was a long silence in which a variety of expressions flitted across al Ghul's face.

Then he started to laugh.

"Kal," groaned Bruce over the sound of al Ghul's amusement, and he realized he had thrown away the chance to claim Bruce as a sacrifice and flee this horrible place with him.

"Oh," said al Ghul, still laughing. "Bruce, you never cease to surprise me. Truly. I see now that your ambition matches my own--exceeds it, in fact. Allying with an alien...I considered that boldness beyond anything you were capable of. And here I find you not only secretly allied, but..." He eyed Superman's face closely, "...so much more than allies. Am I not right?"

Clark stood silent. A fresh ribbon of blood was wending its way down Bruce's neck.

Al Ghul shrugged. "No matter. I can work with this as well. I do feel it necessary to mention," he said cooly, "That although we humans may seem slow to your inhuman reflexes, I assure you that Ubu is quite fast enough to open your friend's jugular before you can reach him. What I would like from you, Kal-El, is your word. Promise that you will work with me," he said to Superman, "And I shall release him."

"Let him go," Clark said at the same time Bruce hissed "No."

Al Ghul raised a cautionary hand. "I shall need your word that you will stay with me. Swear to serve me, on your honor and the memory of your lost planet."

"I..." Clark met Bruce's furious eyes. "I swear to you on my honor and on the memory of Krypton that I will stay with you if you release him without killing him. I can't," he said to Bruce's blank anger. "I can't let you die. As long as you're alive..." He took a breath. "As long as you're alive, I have hope."

"How touching," drawled al Ghul as the ninja pulled Bruce backwards into the shadows.

"You'll release him," said Clark.

"Of course," al Ghul said, his voice urbane. Clark knew exactly how much that reassurance meant. Bruce's eyes as he disappeared into the shadows haunted him. But away from al Ghul, away from the horde of ninjas, Clark knew there was no way Bruce would fail to return. Clark had bought them some time. He could stall for a while.

Bruce would be back soon and together they'd come up with...some plan that would get them out of here.

Together.

: : :

"You heard our Lord, release him."

The night sky over Ana Dablam was a deep, dazzling violet-black filled with stars. Ice-cold air clawed at Bruce's lungs as the world fell out from beneath him and he was airborne, stars and snow tumbling in his vision, a horrifying drop.

He landed in snow, bounced, hit rock and felt a rib crack, came to rest in snow again. Retching for breath, he finally managed to pull in a lungful of frigid air.

Far above him a steel door clanged shut.

: : :

Clark tried to follow the guards dragging Bruce away with his gaze, but the walls were shielded, some kind of lead alloy... Straining to catch a glimpse, he ignored the shifting of the ninjas around him, remained oblivious to al Ghul's nod.

There was a flurry of motion, and suddenly there was a wet cloth clamped to his nose and mouth. He batted away his attacker, but another took his place, and then another. A sharp, acrid scent clung to his senses, and the room started to spin. He staggered, threw another ninja across the room, went to his knees. Everything seemed very heavy and far away. The air seemed heavy. He couldn't move.

He heard bootsteps and he heard al Ghul's voice: nearby and yet far away, as if through a tunnel. "I've had my finest biochemists working on a way to control you, Kryptonian. It seems our compound mixed with Kryptonite might just do the trick."

His body felt detached, numb; like he was a passenger inside it, trapped. Al Ghul said "Stand up," and he felt his body lurch to its feet, swaying. Everything was very distant. He knew he should be angry, should be terrified. "I never trust anyone's word," said al Ghul. "Come with me and kill anyone who tries to harm me."

His body moved forward and Clark felt silence congealing around him. He was lost in silence, buried within it.

And in that, he found a small consolation, a small hope that he held in his soul like a tiny spark of light.

Because silence meant that Bruce was still alive.

: : :

Bruce curled up as much as he could to conserve heat, taking stock of the situation. He was bound hand and foot, injured, malnourished, and abandoned to the elements on the slopes of one of the highest peaks of the Himalayas.

Between him and Ra's al Ghul stood a sheer rock cliff face, a steel door, and an army of ninjas.

Ra's al Ghul was holding Clark captive.

Batman rolled over carefully and began to hunt for a rock sharp enough to sever his bonds.

One thing at a time.

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From:

skund.livejournal.com

OMG! *inept flailing*

What a powerhouse of a chapter. Lois' pining and Clark's sudden hope and then Ra's! Ah boys, your game is up. Totally love the Kryptonite sword. Gah, and the ending. They're so screwed and yet have so much faith in the other.

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