[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/M3SfSt4.png[/img][/center]

[quote=@Master Bruce]
[b][color=#656565]"Look,"[/color][/b], I announce, walking to him. [b][color=#656565]"Clark, is it? You're going to need to snap out of this. I don't mind helping the three of you, but I [i]do[/i] take issue with someone from your town putting the rest of Gotham in danger."[/color][/b]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/c3fgLOD.png[/img]

[b][color=#656565]"So if you have any idea of how to stop him [i]tonight[/i], now would be a good time."[/color][/b]
[/quote]


I nod vacantly, the words only registering halfway in my head.  I nearly killed a man tonight, a man who was trying to help us.  For months, people like Lex Luthor and G. Gordon Godfrey have been saying I was a monster waiting to happen, that sooner or later, I'd start throwing my weight around and turn against the people I'm trying to protect.  Are they right?  Can I be trusted with this sort of power when I can lose control of my better judgment so easily?

I catch a glimpse of one of the Toyman's broken drones, and I'm back to reality.  You can beat yourself up on your own time, Clark.  Right now, there's work to be done.

[color=RoyalBlue][b]"I--....yeah, I think I've got something,"[/b][/color] I nod and face Batman.  [color=RoyalBlue][b]"Those drones, they look like LexCorp designs.  I've got a friend who owns one of the civilian models, he won't shut up about it.  Apparently, LexCorp drones don't use the regular radio transmitter/receiver setup, but a proprietary two-way laser communication system that keeps other people from being able to hijack the signal.  If we can get one of them working again and sending signals back to the controller, I can take it into the air and watch the beam back to the source."[/b][/color]

[color=Silver]"I might --[i]*ngh!*[/i]-- I might be able to help with that,"[/color] Doctor Irons says with a groan, even as Lois struggles to keep him upright.  [color=Silver]"LexCorp's drones are --[i]*hgk!*[/i]-- they're based on designs Schott was working on at SteelWorks before I let him go.  Winslow took his work and --[i]*nnh!*[/i]-- and sold it to Lex Luthor.  I'm still familiar with a lot of the hardware, though."[/color]

[color=RoyalBlue][b]"Are you sure, Doctor?"[/b][/color] I tell him.  [color=RoyalBlue][b]"You're not exactly in the best shape right now."[/b][/color]

He waves the comment away.  [color=Silver]"Batman said help's on the way.  Since I'm not going anywhere til then, I might as well make myself useful."[/color]

I nod, then head to the wreckage of the nearest drone and carry the pieces back to Irons.  While he sets to work, I approach the Batman.

[color=RoyalBlue][b]"I know this probably doesn't carry a whole lot of weight right now,"[/b][/color] I say, still ashamed and angry at myself for my actions, [color=Royalblue][b]"But for what it's worth, I want to apologize for what I did.  I'd just gotten up from being electrocuted across the brain and I wan't thinking straight, but--....but that's no excuse.  Once this is over, I'm gonna need to do some pretty serious thinking."[/b][/color]

He doesn't respond right away, but the scowl he gives me in return says plenty.  I doubt he's ever going to be able to trust me, let alone be on any sort of good terms, but at the very least I hope I can convince him that I'm not going to attack him again.

I turn and take a few steps away, give him some space, and Lois approaches me.

[color=Violet]"Starting to feel better, Clark?"[/color] she says, putting a hand on my cheek.

[color=RoyalBlue]"I actually feel a lot worse,"[/color] I admit.  [color=RoyalBlue]"I wasn't in control of myself there.  I nearly did something I'd regret for the rest of my life."[/color]

[color=Violet]"'Nearly' just means 'didn't',"[/color] she consoles me.  [color=Violet]"You were able to rein yourself in when it really mattered."[/color]

[color=RoyalBlue]"[i]You[/i] reined me in,"[/color] I say.  [color=RoyalBlue]"I've been running on empty all night, but the thought of you in danger, and when I saw you were hurt, I just--"[/color]

She gives me a grin.  [color=Violet]"Bumps and scratches and near-certain death just come with the job, Clark.  You're going to have to get over that fact if we're going to keep this up."[/color]

Her hand drifts from my cheek to the back of my neck, but before she can pull me close, I take a step back.

[color=RoyalBlue]"About that,"[/color] I say.  [color=RoyalBlue]"I don't know if we [i]can[/i], Lois.  I mean, if I'm this easy to get emotionally compromised, maybe....maybe my feelings for you aren't--"[/color]

[color=Violet]"No,"[/color] she insists.  [color=Violet]"I've seen you improve so much over such a short time.  You're stronger, faster, in better control of your abilities than you were six months ago--hell, you're better now than you were six [i]weeks[/i] ago.  We just need to make sure your mind is toughening up the way your body is.  And I'm going to be right there to help you with that.  You might be able to push a continent around, but you are [i]not[/i] pushing me away just because of one scary moment.  I was there when this started, and I'm going to be there every step of the way.  Got it?"[/color]

If the determination in her eyes could be transferred into her hands, she'd be able to bend steel right now.

[color=RoyalBlue]"Lois,"[/color] I start to say, [color=RoyalBlue]"Why are y--"[/color]

Before I can get another word in, she pulls me in and kisses me.  All of my shame, all of my guilt, all of my trepidation and uncertainty, even my physical pain and fatigue, it all just drops away as fireworks go off in my head.

As her lips finally pull away from mine, I catch myself laughing.

[color=Violet]"What's so funny?"[/color] she asks.

[color=RoyalBlue]"Something you said earlier,"[/color] I say, grinning from ear to ear.  [color=RoyalBlue]"'Oh, what are the odds of me running into [i]two[/i] super-villains in one day?'"[/color]

She thumps me on the arm.

[color=Violet]"Can it, Smallville,"[/color] she says, [color=Violet]"and save the wilting-flower act for when you've got your glasses on.  Right now, there's a psychotic cyber-terrorist on the loose, and that sounds like a job for Superman.  Afterwards....well, we're still on for coffee, right?"[/color]

[color=RoyalBlue][b]"Right,"[/b][/color] I nod, and then head to Doctor Irons.  [color=RoyalBlue][b]"How's that drone communicator coming along, Doctor?"[/b][/color]

[color=Silver]"Almost have it,"[/color] he says, carefully connecting wires.  [color=Silver]"Just trying to re-route power to.....there!  I've got it!"[/color]

Sure enough, I see a dark red beam-- well, 'red' is the closest name I can give to wavelengths that low on the electromagnetic spectrum-- flashing out of the wrecked fuselage.  The beam starts to diffuse when it hits a nearby building, so I pick the salvaged drone up and take it into the sky.

[color=RoyalBlue][b]"Let's see....."[/b][/color] I mutter to myself as I follow the beam back to its source.  I expected the signal would trace back to Metropolis, but it's actually here in Gotham City.  No wonder I couldn't find Schott's hideout this whole time; he's been operating remotely from a different city.

Heading back to the ground and setting the drone down, I tell Batman what I've found.

[color=RoyalBlue][b]"Otisburg,"[/b][/color] I say.  [color=RoyalBlue][b]"Stagg Enterprises has a server farm there, looks like it's mostly automated, completely empty at this time of night.  The building has a large transmitter tower on top, and I'm seeing pretty large spikes of electricity being diverted from the city's power grid to feed into a single room on one of the building's sub-levels.  Thick lead shields around the room itself, so I can't see if the Toyman's actually there.  But I'd bet good money that's where we'll find him."[/b][/color]

That steel-bending determination in Lois's eyes must have rubbed off on me with that kiss.  Now, suddenly, getting myself airborne isn't a struggle at all.  I take to the sky, and then turn back to the vigilante in black.

[color=RoyalBlue][b]"Are you coming, or what?"[/b][/color]