Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When Clark first… arrived… Martha knew he wasn’t human. She didn’t know if an alien would have different needs than your average human. Would some foods be toxic to him that weren’t to humans? What if he needed more sleep? What if he needed less?

It worried her because there was no one to ask. There were no resources she could call on. She couldn’t just… let him go though. She didn’t trust the government or anyone else to really have his best interests in mind.

So she was careful. She tried her best. 

He never seemed hungry. He never asked for food. But he also never refused what she gave him, and he always ate everything on his plate. So she researched the proper calorie intake for a three year old child and tried to make him food that’d hit that limit.

She tried her best. That was all she could do.

…---...

Clark grew up at what seemed to be the same rate as human children. Martha was relieved by that. She didn’t know how they’d have managed to hide it if he didn’t.

He also grew significantly heavier than the other children. It never affected him physically- he was faster and stronger than anyone else she knew- but she also knew that other kids made fun of him for it.

Martha didn’t know how any of this worked. Clark never got tired, not of working anyways. Was nothing here hard enough for him to get real exercise? She worried. But there was no one to ask. She talked to Jonathan. And they tried their best.

…---...

Clark had never fought back before. He had his group of friends. And he had his group of bullies that liked to pick on him for his weight.

It was the same stupid comments as always, but today he didn’t want to handle it. He shouldn’t have to handle it.

He asked them to stop. They didn’t. They never did. Then they started getting pushy. Shoving at him and laughing when he didn’t move- saying it was like trying to move a beached whale. And today, Clark pushed back.

He hadn’t realized how close they’d gotten to the top of the stairs. Greg fell backwards, arms windmilling- and then he fell. When he hit the bottom he didn’t get up again.

…---...

It had been an accident. Clark didn’t know his strength. But now Greg was paralyzed and it was all Clark’s fault.

Clark couldn’t stop shaking. 

…---...

And then, Martha Kent received a call from her father for the first time in years.

He told her about a job opportunity in Gotham, and chance to get back to the city- to get away from the farm life. 

Before, when it was just her and Jonathan, she wouldn’t even have considered. But now- now she felt like she was watching her son fade away.

She said she’d think about it. 

Three months later they’d sold the farm and moved to Gotham.

…---...

Jason was angry at a lot of things these days. He and Bruce were fighting. There always seemed to be more crime to fight and Jason felt like there had to be a better way to end this. 

He felt like he was always balancing on a razor’s edge- one step away from flying into a rage.

But he couldn’t. He still had to go to school. It was stupid. 

They had P.E. Which was double stupid because Jason could run circles around all of these kids in his sleep.

And then a new kid walked in. He was big- probably somewhere around 300 pounds in Jason didn’t miss his guess. He walked like he wanted to be able to disappear, head bowed, shoulders pulled in. 

Jason looked away.

They had to run the mile today. And Jason- Jason was going to leave all of these kids in the dust.

Except he didn’t. Because the new kid stayed with him the whole time. No matter how fast Jason went, new kid kept up. He wasn’t even breathing hard.

And then, right before the finish line, new kid pulled ahead.

Jason… had not been expecting that. 

…---...

Clark was tired. He had tried to fit in in his last school. He had tried to stay in the middle of the pack physically. 

And he’d ended up pushing someone down the stairs. Greg would, most likely, never walk again.

His new school was… different. There were a lot more kids. And unlike Smallville, people didn’t tend to know each other’s names here. 

Gotham was just so… big. And dark. Clark felt like he couldn’t get enough sunshine. It was… draining.

Which didn’t make much sense. But that’s how it felt.

And then Jason Todd invited Clark to race him again after school.

Clark had intended to lose their first race, nearly a week before. But it was just so… easy.

And it wasn’t like it mattered anyways. Blending in hadn’t done him any favors.

…---...

Jason watched Clark run. He ran like his body was weightless. He ran like he could keep going forever. That it would never tire him out. And he had terrible running form.

It didn’t seem to matter how bad his form was though, because no matter how hard Jason pushed himself Jason never won.

They would always start out at the same speed. And then, just before the finish line, Clark would pull ahead.

It might not have been so bad if Jason didn’t know that Clark was holding back. Because when Jason slowed down significantly Clark did too. 

Clark wasn’t really racing him. Clark was… it was like how a parent would walk beside a toddler. The toddler thought they were fast, but the parent could beat them so very easily.

But just because Clark was ridiculously fast didn’t mean he’d win at everything .

Jason tried strength next. He gave up on it immediately afterwards. 

He tried sports. Clark usually lost at sports, but Jason had the feeling it was because he wasn’t actually trying.

They moved onto gymnastics. 

Jason could swear that Clark was simply able to ignore the laws of gravity and how it was supposed to affect people. 

Jason looked at Clark, trying to think of something else. Jason was Robin. He was a vigilante and a random kid in his school could beat him at everything. It was humiliating and… and… and even with the humiliation clogging his lungs Jason found that he likes spending time with Clark.

Which led Jason to his best idea yet- the arcade.

…---...

Clark hadn’t expected to enjoy spending time with Jason as much as he did. Of course at first the whole thing was about Jason trying to beat Clark at some sort of physical activity- but Clark didn’t feel like Jason would appreciate it if Clark let him win. 

And Jason also didn’t seem to type to give up. Clark didn’t want Jason to stop once he’d won. 

Not that that seemed likely. They were friends now. 

Which led them to this moment, outside of an arcade in one of the scarier parts of Gotham. 

Jason dragged them inside. 

Clark was… really bad at arcade games. He had to be gentle with everything to make sure he wouldn’t break it- but arcade games were designed with people moving quickly in mind. They were supposed to go as fast as they could. But if Clark moved as fast as he could he’d end up ripping the controls off.

Which meant most of this trip was an exercise in seeing how much force he could exert on these- and how fast- before they started to dislike the pressure. 

Jason was laughing at him. Well, not really. Mostly he was just smirking and glancing over at Clark’s score every once in a while. 

Clark felt a smile tugging at his own lips too. It was a little funny. 

Clark was glad that they’d moved. Having to move what was apparently his own spaceship from the stormcellar had been surprising, but it’d also answered a lot of questions he’d had. He wasn’t human. He never had been. 

Both he and his parents were flying blind on… everything. Clark wasn’t even sure if all of his internal organs were in the same place as human organs were. 

Not that it really mattered seeing as he never seemed to get hurt. 

Clark shook his head forcefully, focusing back on the game. He could think about all of that later. 

…---...

Things were getting worse with Bruce. Again. Jason ground his teeth, following Bruce sullenly.

He was too violent. He didn’t listen to orders. In the end, it all came down to the fact that Jason wasn’t Dick. And he never would be.

Bruce ordered him to stay behind. 

Jason didn’t listen. He went into the warehouse alone. 

…---...

Clark was at home- sleeping- when he heard Jason start screaming. He started yelling insults at first. And then- then it was just noise.

Clark didn’t bother to wonder how he could hear Jason. He didn't stop to put on shoes. He didn’t close the door behind him. He just ran.

Behind him, the door fell out of the doorway and slammed to the ground outside of the apartment. The hinges he'd torn off the door clung to the door frame stubbornly. Clark didn't pause at the sound. He just kept running. 

Chapter Text

Tracking someone based on sound alone was difficult. Clark could tell which direction the sound was coming from, but he couldn’t go through the buildings which meant he had to go around them. 

He found himself running towards a warehouse. He didn’t pause at the doors. Instead, he slammed straight into them. They crumpled, and Clark moved through like there had been no resistance at all. 

Everyone in the room looked like they were frozen in place. The creepy clown guy was grinning, a bloodied crowbar in hand, raised above his head. Jason lay crumpled on the floor at his feet. His costume was bloody and torn, but still recognizable as Robin’s. Which… actually explained a lot. 

There were other people around, guns in hand. Some were watching the Joker, others were watching the door. 

Clark could see the crowbar move a fraction of an inch. He wanted to go there immediately. But he could also recognize just how fast he was moving. He needed to stop the others in the room first, make sure none of them could shoot once he got Jason. Clark hadn’t ever tested to see if he was faster than bullets and now did not seem the time. 

Clark moved. He couldn’t attack the people directly, he didn’t know how much strength would kill them. But they’d used rope to tie Jason’s hands and feet together before the Joker started beating him. And there was quite a bit left.

Clark had been a boy scout at one point. He still remembered the knots. He stole all of their guns first, dumping them out of a broken window. It had been boarded up. Those boards were broken now. Then he moved, tying everyone’s hands to everyone else’s. It wouldn’t hold up long, but it didn’t have to. 

He made sure to keep an eye on the Joker and the ever descending crowbar. He wouldn’t let it hit Jason again.

And then the men were tied, and Clark moved again. He ran in front of the Joker and grabbed onto the crowbar. Sound returned to normal. 

Jason wasn’t screaming now. Instead he was whimpering, letting out shallow, pained breaths. People started moving again. The Joker’s eyes widened as he saw Clark and he tried to yank the crowbar back. Clark didn’t let him.

Instead, Clark yanked the crowbar out of his hands and tossed it into a wall. It embedded itself into the wall. 

The Joker threw a punch, and Clark stood still. He didn’t move with it.

The Joker broke his hand. He hissed, taking a step back. Clark heard Jason’s breath hitch. Clark didn’t have time for this. He knew you weren’t supposed to move people who were injured but he was also pretty sure leaving Jason here long enough to get an ambulance was a really bad idea. Clark held his hands out and shoved the Joker lightly.

The Joker slammed into the wall, several feet away, with a thump. He slid down the wall, eyes rolling up in his head. Clark stared for a moment. But... the man wasn't moving.

He grabbed the Joker, dragged him over to the rest of the people and tied him up beside them.

Then he moved to Jason. Jason’s eyes were unfocused and blood was trickling out of the corner of his mouth. His nose was broken. And probably so were his ribs and left leg. Clark focused, letting his eyes… shift. He could see Jason’s bones through the skin. His spine looked fine. But then Clark wasn’t a doctor.

Clark shook his head, tore the ropes off of Jason as gently as he could, then lifted him. 

He didn’t know exactly where the hospital was from here. So he closed his eyes. He focused on the beeping sound that heart monitors made. And he listened.

He turned with the noise. There.

…---...

Bruce was not having a good night. He and Jason were fighting. And Jason wouldn’t listen to him- wouldn’t recognize what was wrong. That he couldn’t just hurt people to get what he wanted. That he had to exercise restraint.

He’d left Jason behind. And now his heart was climbing out of his chest because Jason hadn’t stayed behind.

He drove faster than he’d ever driven in his life. Which meant that the warehouse was in sight when it exploded.

Bruce froze. No, he thought, no no no no no.

He knew that nothing inside that building could have survived the explosion. Even still, he found himself jumping out of the batmobile and running forward.

Then Alfred’s voice came in. Bruce couldn’t hear at first- the words making no sense- until “Jason is in the hospital. He’s stable now, but they’re trying to get in contact with you.”

Jason was alive. Somehow, against all odds, he was alive. “Which hospital?” Bruce asked, voice barely more than a whisper.

And then he was running again. 

Chapter Text

Clark was trembling on a chair in the hospital waiting room. He was pretty sure he was going to have to talk to the police at some point. 

He’d burst into the hospital, carrying Jason and they’d taken him in immediately. Someone had asked him what’d happened. Clark had made up some sort of rambling story about a costume party but hadn’t really been able to explain. They’d been at a costume party. The Joker had shown up to kidnap Jason. That part was actually pretty believable what with Bruce Wayne being Jason’s dad. But how was Clark supposed to explain how he’d gotten Jason free? 

Luckily, they hadn’t asked. Clark hadn’t heard anything since.

Clark clenched his hands together and red flaked off onto the floor. Ah. He still had Jason’s blood on his hands. And his shirt. His feet were still bare. Clark knew that any human who had run as far as he had without shoes would’ve found themselves with bloody and blistered feet in short order. Well. Probably not every human. But at least most of them.

But Clark was here, and none of the blood on him was his. If Clark had been on the ground of the warehouse instead of Jason the crowbar would have broken before Clark. If Clark had been there- well. Clark wouldn’t have ended up on the ground at all.   

He had never felt more alien than he did at that moment.

He vaguely saw someone burst into the waiting area. He heard them talking to the front desk, saw them pace back and forth out of the corner of his eye.

“He’s in surgery now,” someone said, voice soothing, “One of his ribs punctured a lung.”

“When will I be able to see him?” the man asked.

“We’ll let you know as soon as it’s possible.”

Clark drifted again, mind wandering back to the blood flaking off of his hands. Clark had never actually bled before. Not that he could remember. Was his blood red too? 

He didn’t really notice the man settling into the seat beside him. “Clark?” he asked.

Clark didn’t look up. “Clark Kent?” the man asked. Clark dragged his eyes away from his hands. He recognized the man. Jason’s father. 

Mr. Wayne was just looking at him. “You found Jason.” Mr. Wayne said. Clark nodded.

He felt like he should probably say something, try to reassure Mr. Wayne somehow- but Clark felt… heavy. Like his tongue weighed a thousand tons and didn’t want to move anytime soon.

“Where was he?” Mr. Wayne asked, “When you found him.”

Clark pointed back in the direction they’d come from. “Warehouse.” he managed to say, “Carried him here.”

Mr. Wayne’s eyebrows rose ever so slightly. “You carried him over ten miles?”

Clark stared at him. How would he know which warehouse it was? Or that it was ten miles away. Clark didn’t even know how far he’d traveled. Just that it’d seemed far too long. “Don’t know.” Clark said, “Maybe.”

Mr. Wayne stood still, his eyes fixed on Clark for a long moment. Then he nodded. “Mind if I sit by you?” he asked.

Clark shook his head. Mr. Wayne sat slowly, They waited together in silence. 

…---...

Clark nodded off half an hour into the wait. At first his chin rested against his chest. Then the boy had slumped to the side, head resting on Bruce’s shoulder. His breath was so quiet Bruce almost couldn’t tell he was breathing at all. 

Bruce let him be. 

Clark’s parents showed up a half an hour again after that- apparently they’d been searching for him frantically until one of them had decided to check the house one more time and got the voicemail.

Then they’d come here. They woke him gently. He leaned into the embrace his parents offered. 

And Bruce- Bruce looked away. When had he hugged Jason last? Did Jason even want that? Bruce swallowed. 

Clark’s parents settled on either side of the boy, his father sitting closest to Bruce. “You’re Jason’s dad?” Jonathan asked.

Bruce would admit that he’d looked them up when Jason started coming home with stories about a Clark Kent. He knew… a bit more than he probably should about their family. 

Bruce nodded. “He’ll be alright.” Jonathan said. “He’ll be alright.”

Bruce couldn’t speak. So he settled for nodding again.

Chapter Text

Bruce and Alfred were able to see Jason in the morning. Alfred had arrived mere minutes after Clark’s parents. Now, Bruce sat by Jason’s bedside, looking at him, feeling the anger stirring in him again.

Yesterday he’d been too horrified to be angry. But he could see the casts- from where Jason’s limbs had been broken. He could see the bruises on his son’s face. The Joker had done this. 

Bruce hadn’t been able to get there in time. Jason would have died. But Clark had saved him.

Alfred left to grab Bruce something to eat, so Bruce allowed himself to stand up, running a hand through his hair. The thing was, Bruce had no idea how Clark’d saved Jason. There was no way the Joker would have gone into that warehouse alone. He would have had people there, if only to keep Bruce from getting to Jason in time. 

Somehow Clark had managed to not only find Jason but rescue him? Alone? And then carry him to the hospital barefoot?

Bruce started pacing. It didn’t make sense. Was Clark working for the Joker? Was this some sort of elaborate plot? That didn’t make sense either, not with what Bruce already knew about Clark and his family. But it made more sense than believing a teenager- one who’d never been in a fight in his life- had somehow walked into the warehouse, defeated a group of armed thugs and then managed to drag Jason out of danger without getting shot.

He’d need to talk to Clark and his parents soon. He could invite them all to dinner? 

And then Jason’s eyes opened. He blinked, slowly, though his left eye barely opened past a squint. “B?” he said, voice slurring slightly.

“Jason.” Bruce said, stepping closer. He took Jason’s unbroken hand in his. “It’s good to see you awake.”

Jason blinked again. “How,” he said, voice dry and rasping, “How did I get here? Did you save me?”

Bruce barely kept himself from flinching. “Clark was the one who found you,” he finally said, “I’m not sure how he saved you. I didn’t ask.”

He hadn’t even thought to. He’d been so worried- it was only now, when Jason was out of immediate danger that Bruce’s brain was starting to work again.

 “Is he okay?” Jason asked.

“Not a scratch on him.” Bruce said, face twitching into something like a smile before it died. 

“I’m sorry,” Bruce said, before the words could catch in his throat. “I’m so sorry. That I couldn’t get there in time. That I wasn’t with you.”

Jason’s good eye widened further and he looked mildly panicked. “I didn’t listen to you,” he muttered, “Shouldn’t have gone alone.”

Bruce could tell that cost him. Bruce’s lips twitched- though he wasn’t sure whether he should smile or cry. He opened his mouth to say… something- but Jason interrupted him. “Clark knows I’m Robin. Everyone else?”

And Bruce found himself freezing again. He hadn’t thought about that. He should have thought about that. The hospital staff had all thought that Jason and Clark had been at a costume party. But Clark- he would know differently. That dinner needed to be soon . 

Bruce had no idea how Clark was reacting to the news that his best friend was a vigilante. He needed to figure that out. And to make sure he stayed quiet about it.

…---...

Clark went to school again two days after running Jason to the hospital. He was doing well and 

Clark had been able to see him- he just hadn’t been awake.

It was odd to be at school without Jason. Jason who was Robin. That thought… wasn’t as odd as Clark felt it should be.

The teachers had made some sort of announcement- Jason had been attacked and was in the hospital. They hoped that he’d get better soon.

Clark still felt curiously numb. He didn’t really have friends other than Jason. So he drifted through the school day and waited for Jason to come back. 

…---...

Clark did get interviewed about Jason. He wished that he’d come up with a better story at the hospital. He could have said they’d been attacked, or just that Jason had been attacked and Clark had found him in an alley afterwards. Whoever said that the best lies were closest to the truth… well. They were probably used to having believable truths.

Instead, he had to come up with another lie. “They were going to blow up the building.” Clark said, looking down at his feet. “They were planning for the explosion to kill him. They’d just been beating him up for… for fun.” 

Clark swallowed before continuing. “When they left I went in and grabbed him. Then I brought him to the hospital.”

Clark wasn’t quite sure if the officer believed him or not. But it wasn’t like they had a better story. And the building had exploded.

…---...

Martha wasn’t entirely surprised when Jason’s father called and invited them to dinner. Jason was leaving the hospital soon and he’d wanted to thank them in person.

Martha accepted, but she couldn’t help but worry. When she’d come home to find the door ripped off its hinges she’d known who’d done it. She just hadn’t known why. When she’d figured it out she couldn’t help but be proud of Clark- but she was also scared for him.

Jason and Bruce Wayne had to know that Clark wasn’t… normal. And she didn’t want to know what they’d do with that knowledge. 

Chapter Text

Clark had never actually been to Jason’s house before- they’d always met outside of school or at Clark’s house. Looking at the place now, Clark could understand why. 

It was so… clean. And nice. He felt like just by walking on the carpet he was messing it up.

Mr. Pennyworth walked them to the dining room. Clark didn’t try to stop himself from staring. It wasn’t like he’d had a ton of opportunities to explore mansions.

When they got the the dining room the food was already on the table, and both Jason and Mr. Wayne were waiting for them. 

Mr. Wayne got up to shake hands with Jonathan and Martha. Jason stayed sitting down. Which- with all the casts, made sense. Getting up was probably a pain.

Clark felt his eyes slide into x-ray mode- he really needed to find some other name for that - almost without his permission. He still didn’t know a lot about bones but they seemed to be straighter now? If a bit cracked still and… and… 

Was that a jet?

Clark looked further down, beneath all of their feet. There was a massive underground cavern here. And it was full of… stuff. Cars and suits and gadgets. 

Cars and suits and gadgets that Clark recognized- if only from pictures. 

It made sense, now that Clark thought about it. Jason was Robin. Mr. Wayne was Batman. Families sometimes needed to be crazy together. Good bonding time.

Someone nudged him gently. He let it sway him, glancing up at his dad. Jonathan motioned for him to sit down. Clark hurried to do so, sitting by Jason. Jason smiled at him, and Clark smiled back.

Clark talked to Jason while his parents talked with Mr. Wayne, asking about his recovery and what he was doing in the meantime.

Jason was a bit stir-crazy but otherwise alright. 

And then Mr. Wayne cleared his throat. “Clark.” he said. “You told the police that you were at a costume party. The Joker had kidnapped Jason and you got him out before the building blew up.”

Clark nodded. That was pretty much exactly what he’d told the police. If he hadn’t known that Mr. Wayne was Batman he’d be freaked out that Mr. Wayne knew that. Actually, he was still a little freaked out. 

“But that’s not actually what happened.” Mr. Wayne said, and as he spoke he straightened, focusing entirely on Clark. “Jason was captured. You found him. You weren’t with him before. You didn’t follow him. How did you know where he was? How did you rescue him? How did you carry him barefoot for nearly ten miles?”

Clark stared back. He didn’t speak for a long moment, and on the other side of the table Martha and Jonathan were equally silent. They glanced at each other.

And Clark- well. Clark knew Jason’s secret. He knew Mr. Wayne’s secret. And… he trusted Jason. 

“I heard him scream.” Clark finally said. “I was in my room. And I could hear him screaming. So- I followed the sound. I’m fast enough that when I’m really moving it looks like everyone else is just… standing still. I tied everyone up- everyone in the warehouse- made sure they were separate from the guns. Then I stole the Joker’s-” 

Clark hesitated then, glancing at Jason. Jason was watching him steadily. Clark swallowed, looked down at the table, and continued. “He swung the crowbar. I caught it. Threw it into a wall. He tried to punch me,” Clark stopped again.

The Joker had broken his hand on Clark’s face. He didn’t mention that part. It seemed… inconsiderate. Considering. “I tied him up with the others. Then I grabbed Jason. I listened for the beepy sounds that hospitals make- and I ran again.”

Clark took a breath, then released it. He traced a pattern embroidered on the edge of the table cloth idly. “I can’t remember the last time I was out of breath from running. I can’t remember the last time I tried to lift something that was too heavy for me. I can’t remember the last time I actually got hurt.”

Clark stopped himself from saying more, clenching his jaw shut. That was enough right? They didn’t need to know that he wasn’t human. 

“And my spaceship is in our attic.” he said. 

Jason choked and Clark turned towards him with supernatural speed. The arm on his chair cracked from where he brushed it when he moved.

Jason looked between Clark and the arm of his chair, eyes wide. Then Jason started laughing. “That’s why,” he said, gasping words out through the laughter, “That’s why you were so bad at the arcade. You were afraid of breaking the machines by going too fast.” 

Jason pressed a hand to his side. “Ow.” he said. “Ow- that really hurts. Stop making me laugh.”

Clark felt himself blush. Because Jason was 100% correct.

Mr. Wayne was still staring at him, face expressionless. Clark wasn’t sure what that meant. Clark didn’t look at his parents. He knew they both thought he was crazy. He’d told them about the Jason-is-Robin thing, but didn’t really know how to say the Mr. Wayne-is-Batman thing in Mr. Wayne’s house without being rude. 

Clark smiled at Mr. Wayne, feeling incredibly awkward. He was pretty sure his smile reflected that. “That’s about all.” Clark said.

Jason laughed again.

Chapter Text

Bruce wasn’t quite sure what he’d been expecting. Whatever it was wasn’t this. Clark… was an alien. From outer space. With powers that even he didn’t entirely comprehend.

But Bruce also knew that this- this was a lot of trust. A lot of power that Clark was putting into their hands. 

Clark knew that Jason was also Robin. And now they all knew Clark was an alien. 

“You know,” Jason said, “I’ve always heard that aliens were green.”

Clark shrugged. “You know about as much about my biology as I do,” he said. “There weren’t reports of any other aliens landing at the same time I did. And I didn’t want to try and get an X-ray or something- because what if something was different? That’d be bad. But as far as I know I outwardly resemble an average human man.”

He glanced down at himself and smirked slightly, “Or perhaps a slightly larger than average human.”

Jason seemed to consider that. “Do you even know how much you’re supposed to eat? Have you experimented with eating different amounts of food- see how long it takes you to get hungry? Because you eat like a human. But you might have different food needs than we do.”

Bruce found his attention shifting towards Clark’s parents. Both of them seemed rather pale- shocked. 

So- Clark hadn’t run his reveal past them. That made a lot of sense. They’d have been training him to keep this a secret since the day he’d landed in their lives. They wouldn’t have let him go through with it.

“Are you two alright?” he asked them.

Martha started, turning towards him. Jonathan’s eye twitched. “Oh,” Martha said, “Yes. I just… he’s never told anyone before. I didn’t know how people would… react.”

“I promise,” Bruce said, “Your secret is safe with us.”

Martha’s smile turned a bit more genuine at that, her body relaxing. “Yes,” she said, “I imagine you’d know a lot about keeping secrets.”

Bruce kept himself from stiffening through sheer force of will. Of course, with them knowing about Jason it wasn’t a big leap to figure out who he was but he’d been hoping there would at least be some doubt about who he was.

His two personas didn’t exactly- go together. They were designed to be on opposite ends of the spectrum. Smart, gruff, mildly rude… maybe more than mildly rude- vs the socialite. The fool who drank too much at parties.

No one was supposed to be able to connect them. Ever.

Bruce found himself snapping back to Clark and Jason’s conversation when Jason said, “How about this. I’ll show you the batcave if you show me your spaceship.”

Bruce opened his mouth to reply to that- but Clark beat him to it. “That sounds pretty swell,” he said, “But I think you’d need your dad’s permission first.”

He smiled at Bruce then, a wide trusting thing that showed pristine teeth. Did aliens not have dental problems? Bruce swatted that thought away. More important things to deal with. 

“How much do you know about our family Clark?” Bruce asked carefully.

Clark hesitated for a long moment, glancing between Bruce and Jason before he seemed to come to a decision. He sat up a little straighter in his chair. “I know you’re Batman,” he said, “If that’s what you're asking.”

Jonathan choked on his drink at that. So. They hadn’t known. They’d been talking about Robin after all. 

“I know Jason is Robin. I know the batcave is that way.” he pointed then, down towards it. Of course, the batcave was a very large area so he could have pointed anywhere vaguely down and still got it- but Bruce wouldn’t be surprised if he actually knew where it was. “Other than that,” Clark said, “I know lots of things about Jason. Because we’re friends. But I don’t know anything else about your family. Watching the news about your family would be weird at this point.”

Bruce nodded at that. He hesitated for a long moment before continuing slowly, “Jason has a point.”

“I’d like to study the spaceship- if you don’t mind. Maybe there’s more information on there that we could find. It could tell us more about you- your home planet- things you need to know. If you bring it here we could take you down to the batcave to study it.”

Clark grinned. For a moment Bruce thought he was going to jump out of his chair, but he calmed down in time.

The conversation died after Clark accepted the invitation. But it didn’t stay dead for long. It was kind of amazing how much Bruce had in common with these farmers from Kansas. They’d all kept secrets for so long- it was odd how freeing it was to let some of those secrets go.

…---...

Eli had been in a warehouse, watching the Joker beat Robin to a pulp as the boy- he couldn’t have been out of highschool yet- screamed. Then those screams turned into a sort of whimpering sob.

He’d known the kid would be dead soon. 

And then- Eli’d been tied up. Tied to all of the men around him. And he’d turned to see the Joker break his hand on some fat kid’s face. 

Ever since then- even since they’d escaped that warehouse- they’d all been looking for the fat kid. The Joker was off making some grand scheme for his comeback. But everyone knew they needed more information.

Who was he? How had he found them? How did he know Robin? What could he do?

Eli stared at the picture in front of him for a long moment. He’d known it was a long shot. There were thousands of kids in tons of schools around Gotham. But he’d started from the closest highschools and middle schools to the warehouse and worked his way farther out.

There were a few different kids that could fit the one he remembered. The Joker was the one who’d seen him best- they’d need to take these photos to him afterwards.

Eli added another name to his list. 

Clark Kent.

Chapter Text

When Jason finally made it back to school he was met by whispers. People didn’t seem to want to talk to him, for the most part they talked around him.

Bruce had gotten Jason an electric wheelchair because pushing the chair with one arm would have been incredibly difficult and Jason didn’t want to have to rely on someone else pushing him around all the time. 

Clark was the part of his life that changed the least, which was odd considering what they knew about each other now. They’d both been keeping secrets. Jason was Robin. Clark was an alien.

Jason was almost jealous of how effortless everything seemed for Clark. 

Jason- he remembered the warehouse. A little bit.

It’d been blurry- and everything had hurt so badly- but Jason thought he remembered the moment Clark had stepped in front of him.

He hadn’t dodged anything. And it hadn’t even given him a bruise. 

Jason remembered when Clark had broken the arm of his chair on accident. Gauging the amount of strength Clark needed to use for things- how little of it he could really use on fragile human constructions- Jason felt less like he wanted to have to do the same.

Also- hugs. Jason would not admit that he liked hugs if his life depended on it. Probably. 

But when something went wrong- when it came out alright again and the relief hit- that’s when the real hugs happened. The ones where you tried to squeeze each other half to death to reassure yourself that you were both still alive. 

Clark couldn’t do that- ever. He couldn’t hold anyone with all his strength. Because he’d literally crush them. 

And Jason- liked not having to worry about that. 

Did he still think that having Clark’s abilities would be super cool? Yes. But he couldn’t have them- no matter what he did he’d never be as strong or as fast as Clark.

So Jason tried to focus on the downsides of Clark’s powers. It made things easier. 

Jason knew Bruce was still searching for the Joker. He was more… intense when he was looking into something he really cared about. And he really cared about this. 

Jason couldn’t help. But Clark- Clark could hear people from miles away. Maybe he could find the Joker when they couldn’t.

…---...

Moving Clark’s spaceship to the batcave wasn’t too difficult. The apartment the Kents were living in was really not meant to have an attic space but the last tenants had knocked a hole in the ceiling 

that the landlord either hadn’t caught or hadn’t cared about. They put the spaceship in the same gigantic box they’d used to transport it here and let Clark carry it out to the car.

Bruce almost felt bad that he didn’t have time to study it now. 

But the Joker had almost killed Jason. He needed to be gone- back away- back in prison. Bruce needed to make sure that something like that never happened again. 

And so the extremely interesting spaceship sat on a pedestal in the batcave and very interestingly didn’t gather dust at all.

And Bruce searched.

…---...

“Could you find him?” Jason asked, “The Joker, I mean. Could you just… listen for him?”

Clark hesitated. Maybe? But he didn’t really know the Joker's voice. Or anything about him other than that he was super creepy.

“I don’t know,” he finally said, “I’ve never really tried it before. With you- it’s like I was in a huge room with lots of conversations and someone said my name- so that’s where my focus shifted. I hear… a lot of stuff. It’s hard to sort through it sometimes.”

Jason nodded slowly. “Could you try?” he asked.

It was lunch. They were eating outside because inside the school was basically terrible. Clark nodded slowly. “I’ll try.”

He closed his eyes and focused- trying to think of what the Joker actually sounded like, trying to find his voice in a city full of voices.

He heard babies crying, clocks ticking, people talking, cars honking, dogs barking, people screaming, sirens blaring, a man cursing because he couldn’t get his tie on right, a woman yelling because her kid had just scored the winning shot-

Clark snapped back to himself.

He shook his head as though that’d displace the sounds.

“I-” he said, “I can’t hear anything. Well. I can hear lots of things. But- but not- him. I’m sorry. I don’t think I know his voice well enough to search for it.”

Jason opened his mouth to say something. And then Clark heard something else. Something he’d only heard once before. The sound a bomb makes when it explodes.

It was coming from the school.

Chapter Text

Clark moved. Panic swept through him as he ran- the world freezing around him. Finding the bomb was easy enough- the problem was that it was already exploding. And unlike everyone- and everything- else around Clark the explosion was still moving.

Clark threw himself on top of it, wrapping his arms around it, trying to contain as much of the blast against himself as he could.

The world seemed to snap back into normal time. And Clark heard screams. Screams from four other schools- screams from people he couldn’t save.

…---...

Clark’s skin felt- odd. It felt- almost unpleasant. He didn’t think it was quite pain, it was just uncomfortable.

He wondered if this was kind of like what Jonathan always complained about when they had to drive long distances.

He couldn’t stop running- not now. He had a pair of basketball shorts for PE and he’d changed into those- his jeans- and his shirt- had been thoroughly destroyed.

But he couldn’t go home for a shirt- not now.

He made it to the closest school first. There were people, trapped, who were still alive.

And Clark was faster than gravity.

…---...

Bruce would admit that he hadn’t had many- maybe any- genuine friends in his life. That’d become more pronounced over time.

Even so, he knew it was probably not so good to place your own cameras around someone’s apartment building. And the block they lived in. Just in case.

He did it anyway.

Bruce was glad for that now.

It was the only reason he noticed the people gathering around the Kents’ apartment building.

People he recognized.

Bruce didn’t know how they’d found the Kents, but he was going to find out.

After he stopped them of course.

…---...

Jason blinked. One second, Clark was there. The next there was a semi-muffled booming sound and Clark was gone.

“Clark?” He asked.

But Clark didn’t answer.

…---...

Clark moved quickly and carefully, unburying people. Some were alive. Some were dead. Some were burnt beyond recognition.

Clark barely kept himself from throwing his lunch up all over the floor.

But now wasn’t the time to be sick. He could be sick after this was over. He could be sick after everyone was safe.

He couldn’t help the guilt twisting inside of him. He’d saved one school. But could he have saved more? Was there some way he could have… gotten rid of the bombs? Should he have noticed someone placing them? Should he have seen them?

He swallowed the nausea down, and he kept working.

…---...

Eli had set the whole thing up. Five bombs, five schools. Only two of the schools actually mattered, but no one else would know that.

There would be lots of dead people come nightfall.

That included the people in the school. It would soon include the Kents, the Bryants, and three more randomly selected families.

Eli chose to go in the group that’d kill the Kents.

That was, he reflected some 15 minutes later, a bad plan.

His broken arm agreed with him.

He, and the rest of the men, had been left for the police to find outside of the Kents apartment building.

The Kents had gotten into the batmobile with Batman. And Eli- Eli wondered. In all the time he’d known of Batman he’d never seen the man do anything like that. Eli wondered what it meant now that Batman had.

…---...

Teacher after teacher asked if Jason knew where Clark was. “I have no idea,” Jason said, “But I think he wasn’t feeling well.”

…---...

When Clark went back home he was greeted by flashing lights- well. He assumed they were flashing. Or that they would be if he was a bit slower.

There were people tied up outside of the building- but his parents were gone.

Chapter Text

Rebeka hadn’t really been watching Jason and Clark. She’d just been facing their direction. And then- Clark disappeared. Rebeka blinked, looking at the space Clark had been a moment before. And Clark- Clark was still gone. She couldn’t see Jason’s face- his back was towards her, but he didn’t seem surprised.

Rebeka shook her head. She was going crazy. People couldn’t just… disappear.

She looked back at the empty space, studying it as though that’d make it make more sense.

“And Rebeka has left this world behind,” Angie said, placing a hand on her chest and looking upwards, “We always knew she couldn’t stay with us forever.”

Rebeka snapped back to the conversation and nodded with mock solemnity. “I gave you all the time I could,” she said, “But there are others who need me too.”

Jordan threw a french fry at her.

Rebeka let herself be distracted. But she couldn’t help but look back at the spot Clark had been sitting.

…---…

The news about the explosions in other schools around the area spread quickly.

School ended early. Parents rushed in, grabbing their children.

Alfred came to get Jason.

…---…

Clark panicked for a long, frozen moment, staring at the apartment his parents should be in. He forced himself to think.

He needed to find somewhere he could listen for them. And he needed to talk to Mr. Wayne. Mr. Wayne would probably know how to find them- or have an idea of how to find them- if Clark couldn’t hear them.

Clark nodded to himself.

And then he was gone, leaving nothing but a particularly strong gust of wind behind him.

…---…

Martha had not been expecting to see Clark rush into Wayne manor wearing nothing but a pair of basketball shorts.

She didn’t complain when he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. She held him back, squeezing tightly. She knew he was being gentle with her. Not for the first time, she wished she was strong enough to withstand the pressure of a true hug from him.

She wished that he could squeeze harder, wished that he didn’t always have to worry about how hard he held people. Wished he didn’t have to worry about breaking them. But she couldn’t fix that. She couldn’t change herself and she certainly didn’t want to change him.

“I went to the house first,” he said, “I went there and you weren’t there.”

Martha could understand that fear. She couldn’t fix it, couldn’t change what’s happened. So she settled for holding him tighter.

…---…

Jason had not been expecting to arrive home to an argument between the Kents and Bruce. All things considered it was a fairly civil argument. But it was still an argument.

“I know where he is,” Bruce said, “I’ve found the Joker. I’m going to go, and I’m going to stop him, and you’re going to stay right here.”

Jason watched Clark’s face carefully. He knew that face. That face meant I’m-going-to-follow-you-whether-you-let-me-or-not.

Alfred cleared his throat. “The young Mr. Kent can block bullets and explosions without receiving harm.” He said.

Alfred didn’t finish the thought. Why wouldn’t you take him?

But looking at Bruce, watching the almost-fidgets that indicated his discomfort- Jason thought he knew.  

Bruce wasn’t letting Clark come because of Jason. Because he was afraid Jason would be offended. Because Bruce was afraid Jason would think he was being replaced.

“Don’t go alone,” Jason said. “And come home safe.”

Bruce watched him for a long moment before he nodded. He squeezed Jason’s shoulder gently, then turned to look at Clark. His slightly slouched posture disappeared as his shoulders straightened.

“Looks like I’ve been outvoted,” he said.

Clark nodded.

Chapter Text

Dick knew that he didn’t have the best relationship with Bruce anymore. He knew he’d never really had a great relationship with Jason.

But he’d thought that Alfred would have called to tell him that the Joker had viciously beaten and hospitalized his brother.

But no. Of course not.

He’d heard of the school bombings and had decided, in a very spur of the moment decision, that a visit was in order.

When he’d gotten to the manor he’d found Jason in a wheelchair with more than one broken limb and two strangers talking to him on the couch.

Dick froze, just looking at them. They froze too, looking back at him.

Jason glanced up. He waved with his unbroken arm.

Dick slowly waved back.

…---…

Bruce couldn’t shake the thought that there was more to this. More than just the Joker.

He didn’t doubt his instincts, but that didn’t make the Joker less of a threat.

The clown had almost killed his son. Bruce’s hand clenched and he forced himself to relax his fingers.

Clark was beside him in the Batcave, looking around curiously.

“We need to get you a mask,” Bruce said, “At the very least.”

“Okay.” Clark said. “I really only need like a sack or something though.”

Bruce just looked at him.

Clark shrugged. “I have x-ray vision.” He said, “And I don’t need to breathe. So, I’m pretty good with whatever.”

Bruce breathed, reprocessing the fact that Clark wasn’t human. His skin prickled with the knowledge that if Clark wanted to kill them- wanted to kill Jason- Bruce could do nothing to stop him.

Bruce didn’t believe that Clark would hurt them- not really. But Bruce liked knowing that he could affect things, that he could change things.  And he couldn’t stop Clark. Not with the knowledge he had now.

Bruce didn’t believe that Clark was truly invulnerable. There must be something capable of stopping him…

Bruce shoved those thoughts away.

He didn’t have time to think about that now.

“We’re getting you an actual mask.” Bruce said.

Clark didn’t argue.

…---…

The Joker was having a day. The bombs had gone off without much of a hitch, and the one that hadn’t had simply confirmed their suspicions.

The boy who’d stopped them had either been Daniel Pierce or Clark Kent.

And then Batman dropped in with a sidekick that was significantly bigger than usual.

The Joker couldn’t say he knew who it was. But he was fairly certain he’d broken his hand on the kid’s face.

The fight was over before it even began. There was a sound like wind was tearing through their hideout and the Joker found his hands were handcuffed behind him.

Everyone else was also handcuffed. All of their guns were piled neatly in one corner of the room.

The boy was standing beside Batman again, almost like he’d never moved. He was wearing a mask this time. The material was something harder than cloth but not quite as hard as Batman’s mask either. It was red and blue and covered most of his face. The mask didn’t have holes for the kid’s eyes.

The Joker had the distinct impression that he could see anyways.

“You couldn’t have left any of them for me?” Batman asked.

“Oh!” the boy said, jumping a little. The concrete floor under his feet cracked. “I’m sorry. I can uncuff one of them if you want?”

Batman’s mouth twitched into something like a smile.

“No need,” he said, “You did good.”

The kid beamed. The Joker shuddered.

Chapter Text

Bruce cracked open Clark’s ships secrets. Well. Some of them anyways.

Enough of them that Clark was able to figure out how to start the construction of his ‘fortress of solitude.’

And enough to figure out that while nothing from earth could hurt Clark- there’d been a lot of meteors that’d fallen with him.

Bruce was the one who found out what Kryptonite did to Clark.

And he was also the one who insisted that Clark needed to actually learn how to fight rather than relying on his inhuman strength.

Clark didn’t need much convincing.

Besides, he agreed that he needed to get more control of himself both with and without his powers. He needed to be able to determine how much strength to use- how much strength he could use on people without killing them.

And Batman- he had equipment to help with that.

…---…

Clark sat next to Jason on the roof of Wayne Manor. It was nice up here. It’d been a trick to get Jason up here without re-breaking anything, but they’d figured it out.

Clark tilted his head back to look at the stars. He didn’t know if he really wanted to see Jason’s face when he said this. Just in case.

 “I want to help people,” Clark said, “I want to save them. I think- once I move out- finish high school- I’m going to find my own city to protect. I don’t really know where… but- somewhere.”

Jason looked at him sidelong. “As long as you don’t think you can get out of visiting. Alfred wouldn’t stand for it.”

Clark laughed.

…---…

Jason healed. Dick visited more often.

Clark didn’t ask to go out again with any of them in a vigilante capacity. They had a certain way of doing things- and it worked out. He wasn’t going to get in the way of that.

Besides that- he had plans.

That didn’t mean he didn’t worry. So, it was maybe possible that he was using his abilities to stalk them while they worked. Just a little bit.

Which was how he found their other, very dedicated photographer/ stalker. Their very young stalker. Clark was more concerned about who let the tiny child out every night in Gotham than he was about the stalking part.

He couldn’t really tell the Wayne’s about their mini stalker without revealing that he was also stalking them. He would tell- if it’d help the kid.

First though, he needed to gather a bit of information. So he plopped himself down on the roof beside the kid. “Hi.” He said.

The kid screamed, jumping up and running away. Then he almost fell off the roof.

Clark caught him, wrapping his arms around the kid and bringing him safely back over the side.

He was very, very gentle about it.

The kid stopped screaming, turning to gape at Clark instead.

Clark smiled weakly at the kid. The kid kicked at him. Clark barely moved the kid away in time to keep him from breaking his own foot.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Clark said, “I was just wondering why you were chasing Batman and Robin.”

That… did not help. “I’m not telling you anything.” The kid hissed, eyes narrowed.

Clark realized then that he… had not thought this through.

Clark closed his eyes, using the hand that wasn’t holding the kid up to rub at them.

He felt a weird pressure on his arm and opened his eyes again to see the kid trying really, really hard to bite him.

Clark blinked, not really sure what he was supposed to do now. Did he… stop the kid? He didn’t think his arm would break the kids teeth but that really depended on how hard he bit down…

The kid finally let go on his own, leaving behind a bunch of slobber and unbroken skin.

The kid glared harder at Clark’s arm, looking affronted. But Clark could hear the kid’s heartbeat and it was going up way too fast to be healthy. He was scared.

“I’m a friend of theirs.” Clark said. “I’m not here to hurt them. I’m not here to hurt you. I’m sorry for scaring you.”

He gently set the kid down on the roof. Then he backed away. He’d keep an eye out for the kid- but maybe talking to him wasn’t the best idea.

That’s what he thought until the kid surprised him by finding him a week later.

Clark figured out the kid’s first name a week after that.

And once Tim really got talking about Robin and Batman- well. Clark knew he had to introduce them.