Chapter Text
Alfred flicked from asleep to awake in an instant.
Something was wrong.
He scrambled out of bed, pulling his gun from the bedside table drawer. The bed next to his was empty.
Bruce was gone.
He ran to the bedroom door, throwing it open. Ms. Kent was also standing in the hallway, frantic. Both of them tried to speak at the same time.
“Have you seen-“
“Bruce is gone.”
Her eyes went wide with fear, and she bit her knuckle looking around desperately.
It wasn’t her then.
They hurried past the suite’s kitchen, into the living room.
The television was on, it’s flickering light dimly illumining the room. A tiger was tearing apart it’s kill. Blood and viscera coated the ground, sharply highlighted against white snow.
There was movement on the couch. A quiet growl, a sound he wasn’t aware of, until it stopped.
A pair of glinting, glowing eyes turned to look at him.
His heart stuttered in his chest, blood pounding in his ears, fight or flight instincts screaming.
He blinked first.
“Shhhhh…”
The shape on the couch became clear. Bruce was lying on top of Clark, the two boys clinging tightly to one another. Bruce was still, so still.
“is he…?”
He saw Bruce’s chest rise and fall.
His burning chest remined him to take a breath of his own.
A voice came out of the air behind him, and he jumped a foot, nearly drawing his gun on it.
“Bruce is sleeping.” The voice whispered. It was… Clark’s voice? But Clark was on the couch with Bruce. He felt the blood drain from his face.
Clark isn’t human.
Ms. Kent stepped past him, towards the couch. He wanted to grab her arm, but for the first time in three years, he was frozen, unable to move.
She bent over the-the creature on the couch and placed a kiss on it’s brow.
“Make sure you get some sleep too, platypus.” She whispered, with all the adoration of a mother, in whose eyes her child can do nothing wrong.
“Yes ma…” the creature that wore the skin of a child whispered back, as she stood up, and went to move.
“mmhh…” Alfred’s heart jumped into his throat. that was Bruce waking up. If he woke up now, there was no getting him back to sleep. And who knew what that creature might do?
“Mama…?” Bruce asked sounding so small, so fragile.
Ms. Kent froze. Alfred couldn’t see the expression on her face. Then, in a forced calm tone-“Mama’s right here. Go back to sleep, sweetheart.”
Bruce yawned wide, the sound trailing off into the characteristic squeak that gave him the nickname ‘mouse’.
“Yes mama…. Love you.”
Bruce nuzzled against creature and went back to sleep.
There was nothing he could do. They were clinging too tightly for him to be able to grab Bruce. The creature was awake, and looking at him. He couldn’t get Bruce without waking him.
And who knew what killing the creature would do to Bruce? It had given him back his voice, What would it take if it died? Not to mention what it’s mother would do to him.
Ms kent grabbed his arm, giving him the choice of follow or fall. He choose to follow.
She pulled him down the hall, back into the bedroom, then let go.
He sat down heavily on the bed, all he could see was those eyes in the darkness, glinting just like the ones on the telly.
“He isn’t human, is he?”