Chapter Text
The whole apartment shook when the monorail ran overhead, causing the fan to rattle and the ice in the bowl to clink together like a cocktail. Bruce reached out absently and nudged the bowl of ice closer to the fan, then settled back in his chair, his attention fixed on the reports in his hand.
A door slammed down the hall. Bruce lifted his head and blinked at the far wall, trying to refocus his eyes. He pushed thoughts of earnings reports out of his head.
“Hello,” he called as the fridge opened in the kitchen.
Jackie appeared in the doorway a moment later, holding a gel ice pack in his hand. “Hi,” he replied, limping towards the other chair. He eased himself down, propping his leg up on the coffee table, and hooked his cane over the arm of the chair.
“Sore?” Bruce asked, watching him arrange the ice pack on his knee.
“Mm.” Jackie settled it to his liking and leaned back in the chair. “And because it’s really fucking hot out.”
Bruce tossed the earnings reports down on the coffee table and went into the kitchen. He returned with a bottle of aspirin and a glass of water. Jackie took it dutifully and swallowed two aspirin down, then snagged the front of Bruce’s shirt and tugged him down for a kiss.
“I can’t believe you’re wearing a shirt in this heat,” Jackie said when their lips parted.
Bruce grinned against his lips. “I was doing work. I feel weird doing work shirtless.”
“Maybe I’ll hire you.” Jackie kissed him again. “I’ll break you of that habit first thing.”
Bruce straightened up and grabbed the edges of his shirt, pulling it up over his head. “I’m on a coffee break right now,” he said, tossing the shirt onto the other chair.
His chest was slick with sweat. Even after six months of recovery from being shot, he still had muscle definition, which just showed how incredibly fit he had been as Batman. The scar was a small purple star slicing one of his abs in two.
He leaned down again and pressed their mouths together. Jackie grabbed the belt loop in his pants and tugged him closer, his tongue slipping between Bruce’s teeth. Bruce met it with his own and then gasped when Jackie ran his fingernails lightly up Bruce’s chest to his nipple. His cock, which had been slowly taking an interest in the proceedings, leapt to attention.
“See?” Jackie said lazily. “It improves workplace performance. We should put it on a motivational poster.” He grinned and then shoved his ice pack into Bruce’s groin. “Hold that for me.”
Bruce grabbed it, wincing, and then stepped back as Jackie heaved his leg off the coffee table and struggled up to his feet. He grabbed his cane.
“Bedroom?” Bruce suggested.
“Lead the way.”
Bruce went out the living room door to the short hallway beyond. The first door in the hallway was closed and locked. Bruce brushed past it without looking at it, which was something that he had gotten good at in the two months they had been living here. He reached their bedroom door and flipped the switch for the ceiling fan.
The room was dark, blinds closed over the open window. The bed was messily made. The fan started to revolve slowly, stirring the air in the room. Jackie came up next to Bruce in the doorway. He kissed Bruce on the shoulder.
“I want to fuck you,” he murmured in Bruce’s ear, then squeezed past him and went to the bed.
Bruce pulled out the drawer in the bedside table and took out the condoms and a bottle of lube. Jackie sat down on the edge of the bed and peeled off his own shirt with a sigh of relief. A slice of sunlight came through one broken blind in the window, falling across his side. The scar on his lower belly was slowly fading into his skin. Bruce stopped in front of him, his knees bumping against Jackie’s. Jackie tilted up his head to look at him, a smile nudging at the corner of his mouth. The scars on his cheeks tucked themselves into his smile lines.
“You’re beautiful, you know,” Bruce said.
The smile turned into a wry smirk. “Thanks,” Jackie drawled in the tone of someone who didn’t believe a word of it but was glad to hear it anyway. He reached out and tugged at the button on the front of Bruce’s pants. Bruce helped him unzip his pants and pull them down, letting them drop to the floor with his boxers. His cock was standing at attention, purple and swollen against his belly.
“You’re beautiful too,” Jackie said to Bruce’s cock, leaning forward and planting a kiss on the tip. Bruce hissed when Jackie took the tip in his mouth, swirling his tongue underneath the head.
“Jackie,” he said in warning after a moment, his voice hitching, and Jackie pulled back.
“Not time yet,” Jackie said with a grin. “Sorry.”
Bruce reached out and shoved Jackie onto his back on the bed. Jackie bounced once, laughing. Bruce grabbed the waistband of the sweatpants that Jackie had worn to his physical therapy appointment and tugged them down. Jackie lifted his hips to help, kicking off his shoes. Bruce tossed the pants away. Jackie propped himself up on his elbows and grabbed for the condom, starting to unwrap it.
Bruce leaned down, his hands on Jackie’s thighs, and took Jackie’s cock into his mouth as far as he could, licking up the length of him. Jackie arched his back, pushing up. Bruce let it slip from his mouth with an obscene pop and then took the condom from Jackie’s limp fingers, standing up again. He unrolled it down the length of Jackie’s cock in one smooth, practiced move, then wrapped his fingers around Jackie’s cock and gave him another lazy stroke, looking down at him.
“Remember—how it’s not time yet?” Jackie gasped out, writhing.
“I think you did say something about that, yeah,” Bruce said, rubbing his thumb over the tip of Jackie’s cock. He shifted forward, nudging Jackie’s legs apart, his knees bumping the mattress, his cock sliding against Jackie’s. Jackie squirted a generous amount of lubricant from the bottle into his palm, then reached down and grabbed both their cocks together in his hand, stroking up to slick them both. Bruce made a sound of approval in his throat, pushing forward into Jackie’s fist.
Jackie sat up, hooking his good leg around the back of Bruce’s knee. The change in position rubbed their cocks together. Bruce grabbed his head in both hands and pulled him forward for a harsh kiss, trapping their erections and Jackie’s working fist between their stomachs. They were both breathing quickly into each other’s mouths.
“Okay, okay,” Bruce said. “I can’t last much longer.”
Jackie let go of them both and scooted back on the bed, favoring his knee. Bruce crawled up onto the bed with him, his cock angrily protesting the sudden lack of attention. He dropped down onto his side next to Jackie. Jackie squirted more lube onto his hand.
Jackie leaned in and kissed him, then pushed him onto his back. He crawled on top of Bruce and settled between Bruce’s thighs, most of his weight on his good knee. Bruce wrapped his legs around Jackie’s hips. Jackie leaned down, chest-to-chest, and kissed the corner of Bruce’s mouth. His other hand slid between Bruce’s thighs and gave his balls a quick squeeze, then moved further back to toy with the tight ring of muscle there.
“You don’t have to be so careful with me,” Bruce whispered when Jackie’s index finger slipped inside to the first knuckle. Jackie kissed his mouth again and added a second finger, working them slowly inside. Bruce let his breath hiss out at the stretch.
It had taken a lot longer the first time they’d done this, two months ago when they first moved into this apartment. Now Jackie’s two fingers quickly sank into the base and he quirked them. Bruce gasped when pleasure jerked in his stomach.
“There it is,” Jackie said in a quiet singsong, bending his fingers again. He rubbed his thumb gently against Bruce’s perineum.
“I’m ready,” Bruce said, urging him on with a squeeze of his thighs. “Go on.”
Jackie withdrew his fingers and then shifted to get the right angle. The head of his cock bumped against Bruce and then he began to push. Bruce felt his body opening up, letting Jackie inside. He lifted his hips, helping Jackie slide home. Jackie sank in to the hilt and stopped.
“Come on, move,” Bruce whispered, hitching his hips. Jackie pulled out slowly and then pushed in all the way again. He moved into a slow rhythm, giving it to Bruce in long strokes. It was hot in the room and sweat streaked their chests, pooling where their flesh touched. Bruce’s thigh slipped against Jackie’s hip. He pushed up to meet Jackie’s thrust, his breath hitching a little when Jackie bottomed out inside him. Bruce reached up and curled his fingers in Jackie’s sweaty hair, tugging him down and kissing him hard.
Jackie shifted his weight and then started thrusting a little faster, moving in and out with a steady pulse. The bed creaked. Bruce dragged his knees up to let Jackie go deeper, clutching Jackie against him. His cock was weeping against his stomach and each thrust was rubbing something inside of him, pushing him closer and closer. He urged Jackie on faster, his breath hitching.
“Shit, Bruce,” Jackie whispered, his grip slipping on Bruce’s hip. He slammed into him a little harder, his stomach muscles quivering.
Bruce grabbed hold of them and then rolled them both over, pushing Jackie onto his back and straddling his hips. He brought himself down hard on Jackie, planting his hands in the bedsheets and ramming back into his cock. Jackie thrust up into him, heels and elbows digging into the bed, gasping open-mouthed. He let out a wordless noise, his eyes squeezing shut. Bruce rode him hard, making the headboard slam the wall until Jackie reached down between them and took hold of Bruce’s cock, pumping it quickly in his fist. Bruce grunted, thrusting forward into the tight grip around him as Jackie pushed up inside him. Jackie had lost all rhythm, his breath coming ragged, his free hand digging furrows into Bruce’s biceps.
Bruce hit the edge and went over, feeling himself erupt messily in Jackie’s hand. He forced himself down on Jackie’s cock again and again, his breath caught in his throat, until finally he sank down and stopped, shuddering, sucking in air. Jackie was catching his breath underneath him, his eyes flicking open. They kissed messily, catching their breath.
Bruce lifted himself up off of Jackie with a wince, then dropped down onto the bed next to him, rolling on his back. The air from the fan was quickly cooling the mess on his stomach. He closed his eyes and listened to his heartbeat start to slow down.
“I think we should do that a little more often,” Jackie mumbled, sounding exhausted. “Like maybe in an hour or so.”
“You did say you were going to hire me,” Bruce answered, licking his lips. “You could schedule more frequent coffee breaks.”
Jackie snorted. The china rattled faintly in the cupboards as another monorail went by. Out the window, a pigeon cooed softly.
“Isn’t Ramirez coming by later?” Jackie suddenly sounded a little more awake. Bruce opened his eyes.
“Crap,” he groaned. “She is. What time is it?”
Jackie fumbled to sit up, reaching for the alarm clock. “Two thirty.”
“I think she said she’d be here at three.” Bruce sat up too, grimacing down at the mess they’d made of the bed.
“If we shower together, we’ll save time,” Jackie said thoughtfully.
“Cold shower,” Bruce said. “Cold, cold, frigid shower.”
Jackie’s eyes lit up. “God, yes,” he said. They scrambled for the bathroom.
##
Ramirez was ten minutes late, which was average for her and gave Bruce some time to strip the sheets from the bed and put on new ones. By the time she knocked, Bruce was back in the living room with his earnings report and Jackie had cracked open the laptop at the corner desk to read through the designs the Research & Development team had emailed him.
“You don’t get paid enough for an air conditioner?” Ramirez asked, dropping a bag of groceries onto the kitchen counter. “It’s like a sauna in here.”
“We’re saving up,” Jackie said cheerfully, maneuvering over to the counter with his cane. He grabbed the receipt from the counter where Ramirez had put it and then winced. “If only we didn’t have to eat.”
“I’ll give up eating for an air conditioner,” Bruce said, coming into the kitchen as well. “People can live three months without food, right? The heat wave can’t last that long.”
“It’s only June,” Ramirez said wryly, taking boxes and bottles out of the paper bag. She must have gotten off work a lot earlier because she was in cargo shorts and a tank top, her dark hair tied back in a knot. She emptied a bag completely and folded it up.
Jackie emptied another bag, piling a carton of eggs, a zucchini the size of a baseball bat and a box of condoms on the counter. Bruce raised his eyebrows at the box of condoms.
“Wait, condoms? You bought condoms?” he asked.
“It was on the list.” Ramirez shrugged.
“You put condoms on the list?” Bruce asked Jackie in faint horror.
“We were running low,” Jackie said, obviously enjoying the look on his face.
“It’s not like I didn’t already know,” Ramirez said. “What you guys do is your business. Just please tell me the only thing you’re going to do with that zucchini is eat it.”
Jackie snorted in hilarity and Bruce rolled his eyes, turning away. Ramirez was grinning, folding up the final empty paper bag. She and Jackie caught each other’s gaze and then burst into giggles.
“Let me get some money,” Bruce said, heading into the bedroom.
When he returned, Jackie and Ramirez had put all of the groceries away and Jackie was twisting ice cubes from a plastic tray into a couple glasses of water. Ramirez leaned against the counter, looking as if she were melting in the heat.
“How’s physical therapy going?” she asked Jackie.
Jackie gave her a sour look. “The same.”
“That bad, huh? Thanks.” She accepted the glass from him and took a drink.
“They’re talking about surgery.” Jackie pushed the other glass towards Bruce as he rejoined them.
“Shit, really?”
“They tried everything they could to fix it with physical therapy,” Bruce said, handing Ramirez a couple twenty-dollar bills. “But it was damaged too badly.”
“Health insurance won’t cover it because it’s a pre-existing condition,” Jackie added.
Ramirez winced. “Wow. I’m sorry. Look, if you need to spend more time saving money, you can always move back in with me. It wasn’t a problem.”
“Thanks, but we really want to try to stay here,” Bruce said. “You were a really big help to us. We don’t want to have to keep relying on you.”
Ramirez shrugged. “I didn’t just want you to stay there to help you guys. It helped me too, when I was in that wheelchair. I don’t know how I would have dealt with that on my own. I owe you guys for that.”
“We’ll figure out some sort of solution,” Bruce said. “Maybe I’ll ask for a raise at work. For now, that ice in a bowl in front of the fan trick actually kind of works.”
“Guys, it’s like a hundred degrees in here. You need to get out of here and go somewhere cool. Maybe you could wear masks or something.” Her voice faltered slightly when she realized what she’d said. “Ah, you know. So no one recognizes you.”
“Maybe,” Jackie said magnanimously, ignoring her slip. He picked up the glass of water and went around the counter, heading into the living room. “Let’s sit in front of this ingenious invention of Bruce’s. Maybe R&D will want to hear about it.”
Ramirez and Bruce followed. The ice in the bowl had melted into a puddle of water that was doing nothing for the temperature in the room. Out the window, the struts of the monorail tracks rose up out of sight. They were in a third floor apartment in a building with an actual elevator, which had been a necessity when they were looking to rent, since Jackie could only manage a couple steps and Bruce was only marginally better. It was surprising how many things stomach muscles were used for.
Ramirez settled in the chair by the window, crossing one ankle over the other knee and settling her glass of water on her stomach. “So I assume you saw the news? We caught that guy who had killed three elderly women in uptown?”
“I saw,” Bruce said seriously, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “How did it go?”
“You should have been there. He had holed up in a warehouse in the Narrows and rigged it up with traps in all the entrances. The team got in through the south entrance, disabled the traps and completely surrounded him before he even knew we were there. He tried to trigger the place to detonate and it just didn’t work. The look on his face…” She shook her head. “We were like ghosts, Bruce. You’ve trained us well.”
Bruce nodded shortly. “You were good students. Just be careful.”
“You know, I think some good has come out of this whole thing,” Ramirez said thoughtfully. “Mayor Aggison really got behind having Wayne Enterprises train the police force. I mean, if he knew Batman himself was training us, he might be a little iffy, but just taking this step is admirable. Mayor Silvestri would never have done something like this. I don’t even think Mayor Garcia would have gotten behind it. They were both too involved with how things looked to the public, rather than what was actually good for the city.” She shrugged. “Anyway, it’s repairing Wayne Enterprises’s reputation too, having them pay reparations by training the police force for free. I just wish Gotham could pay you back more than just your token salaries from Wayne Enterprises.”
“A bigger salary for two R&D drones would be suspicious,” Bruce said. “I understand Lucius’s need to be discreet. And you really have done a lot for us. I wouldn’t have expected the number of doctors and physical therapists you’ve gotten to look the other way for us.”
“It just doesn’t seem like it’s enough.” Ramirez frowned at her water. “They still think you two are Owlman and the Joker. They don’t even know what you two did to help us.”
“It’s fine,” Jackie said. “You saved our lives. That counts for something.” He grabbed the ice pack from the floor where it had been abandoned and resettled it on his knee.
Ramirez put her glass down on the coffee table. “Well, let me know if you need anything else. I have to go pick up my nephew from daycare.” She got to her feet, stretching. “I have an air conditioner in my apartment, in case you’ve forgotten. Maybe you should come over for dinner tonight.”
“Ooh, Bruce, can we?” Jackie said eagerly.
“Pizza and beer and air conditioning,” Ramirez said to Bruce with a grin. “I think there’s a baseball game on tonight.”
“Sounds great,” Bruce said, getting up as well. “We’ll pay for the pizza this time.”
Ramirez led Bruce back into the short hallway by the kitchen. At the doorway, she glanced back at him.
“You look troubled,” she said.
“Do you think Gotham is doing well? Seriously?” Bruce asked her, his brow furrowed.
“I think Gotham is going to make it,” she said to him softly, her hand on the doorknob. “Will Batman ever make an appearance again?”
“Gotham doesn’t need Batman anymore.” Bruce stared at her with dark eyes.
She smiled a little sadly and glanced past Bruce to where Jackie sat in the living room. “You know, I think Batman doesn’t need Gotham anymore, either.”
“See you tonight.” Bruce returned her smile. Ramirez slipped out into the hall and Bruce locked the door behind her.
##
The prow of the freighter cut through the waves, sending lacy streamers of foam out in a V behind it. The Zodiac bounced in the wake, motoring towards the freighter with a single-minded focus.
“They’ve spotted us,” Peters muttered, holding the binocular to his eyes.
Lois Lane leaned back in her seat, feeling the wind whipping her hair to a fine froth. The sun beat down on the boat, keeping her bare shoulders warm despite the wind. “Is it a problem?”
“No, ma’am.” Peters lowered the binoculars.
Three more Zodiacs fanned out behind them. Lois tipped back her head to glance at them. Grim faced men with semi automatics sat in the boats. They were the best lackeys money could buy, according to Ultraman, but Lois had her doubts. For one thing, they didn’t seem to see her as dangerous.
Up on the deck of the freighter, people moved in ant-like panic, scurrying to all corners of the ship. A loudspeaker blared out at them as someone told them to change their course immediately or their approach would be seen as a threat. Lois sat up with a stretch and then leaned forward, grabbing the semi automatic at her feet. She lifted it up, sighting lazily along the deck where a few men were looking out at them. She squeezed the trigger, spraying a quick burst of bullets in their direction.
Peters ducked and the Zodiac swerved a little. He looked over his shoulder at her with wide eyes.
“Do you think they saw that as a threat?” Lois asked, lowering the gun.
He didn’t answer, swallowing. The Zodiacs were nearly at the freighter now and the men behind her were raising grappling guns. She heard the pop of CO2 cartridges shooting grapples all the way up to the railing at the deck a hundred feet above them.
She slung the strap of her semi-automatic over her shoulder and then took out her own grappling gun, hooking one end to her harness. “See you on the boat,” she said to Peters, aiming up.
The grappling gun winched her up the side of the boat speedily. She held her feet out, half-walking, half being pulled up the side of the boat until she reached the railing. A few of her lackeys had already reached the deck and were exchanging gunfire with the crew.
Below, the Zodiacs motored away, heading back to the ship they’d come on. It would be pulling up soon, in time to take the payload. By then, Lois and her lackeys should have everyone subdued.
Lois planted both of her feet on the side of the freighter and pulled the semi-automatic off her shoulders. The grappling gun and harness held her weight as she squinted through the railing at the crew.
A few crew members had taken cover behind a bulkhead. Two of them were sprawled on the deck, dead. Her lackeys coolly squeezed off more gunfire in their direction. Lois switched her gun to single shot and then sighted down on the men behind the bulkhead. The second someone popped his head up to fire, she let out a shot. Blood burst all over the bulkhead.
“Cover me,” she said, hitting the switch on her grappling gun. It jerked her up the rest of the way and she swung a leg over the railing. The lackeys nearest her nodded and sprayed covering fire over the bulkhead, keeping the crew ducking well out of sight as Lois released herself from her harness.
“You, with me,” she added, pointing at two of the lackeys. She didn’t wait for them to release themselves from their harnesses. She started down the deck to the rear access door, listening to them struggle to follow her.
Footsteps thudded the other side of the deck, rounding a pile of shipping containers. Lois raised her gun and ducked against a shipping container, flipping the gun to a three-shot. As soon as the first two rounded the corner, she pulled the trigger, sending a quick burst into them. The third crew member managed to catch himself before coming around the corner. Lois took two quick, silent steps to the corner of the shipping container and then dropped down to a crouch. She swung around the corner, pulling the trigger as she dragged the gun up. Three men fell under the onslaught.
The two lackeys caught up to her. Lois didn’t look back. “Come on,” she said, heading to the rear access door. She yanked it open, using the door to shield herself as she peered down the stairs. A man down the stairs caught a glimpse of her and then retreated.
“You first,” Lois said, urging one of the lackeys forward. He started down the stairs, gun up. She came in behind him, letting the other lackey take the rear.
They moved quickly down the stairs. The lackey ahead of her, a broad-shouldered man with sandy blond hair that Lois was beginning to think of as the Giant for his nearly seven foot height, stuck his arm around the curve in the stairs and sprayed bullets without looking, then edged around the corner to take a glance. A bullet pinged off the steel wall behind him. Frowning, he let out another few shots, then started forward again. Lois followed.
Two corpses were sprawled at the bottom of the stairs. One of them was still choking out the last of his life. Lois stepped over him.
The hallway was short and at the end of it was a steel door. The Giant tried the door handle but it was locked.
“Got it,” said the other lackey, who Lois was going to call Fanny Pack for what he was wearing around his waist. He took a length of plastique from his fanny pack and pressed it gently to the door around the lock.
Giant took Lois’s arm, urging her back towards the stairwell. She shot a look at his hand and he immediately let go. Raising her eyebrows, she headed back to the stairwell, climbing up to the curve in the stairs. The door at the top was still closed. She trained her gun on it and waited.
Fanny Pack joined them after a moment and then hit the detonator. A loud bang echoed down the hallway. Fanny Pack retreated.
“It’s open,” he called.
Giant and Lois followed him. The door was hanging open, the metal cherry red in places. A narrow stairway led down. Fanny Pack went first down the stairs. Giant waited for Lois to go ahead of him.
The stairs let out into a large room. Fanny Pack emptied his gun into a group of people out of sight. Lois followed, stepping out into the room as Fanny Pack reloaded.
The room here was one of the storage rooms in the freighter. Shipping containers were stacked in neat piles all around the room, with narrow walkways in between. The far end of the room was a giant door that could open up when the freighter was docked, allowing the ship to be unloaded.
A few more corpses were piled in the narrow hallway by the door. Fanny Pack climbed over them, then reached the end of a row of shipping containers and turned right. Lois and Giant followed, Giant walking backwards as he covered their rear.
The crate they were looking for was at the end of the row. The crate was painted dull green and marked U.S. Army. Fanny Pack stopped next to it, glancing at the padlock.
“I can take care of that,” he said, and then staggered forward as a shot hit him in the back of the head. He slumped, his blood painting the door of the crate. Lois whirled, letting off shots down a walkway. Two crew members ducked out of sight.
Giant started down the walkways towards them, firing in their direction. Lois cut down the next aisle and ran down to the end. One of the crew members came around the corner and she cut him in half with a spray of bullets, then paused as she heard Giant exchange fire with the other crew member.
She stepped around the corner, sighting on the crew member’s back. She opened fire into him and then returned down the aisle to the shipping crate.
The boat is in place, crackled a voice in her ear piece. She squatted down next to Fanny Pack and pulled some plastique out of his pack. Giant rejoined her.
“Have you used that before?” he asked, his voice guarded.
“Sure,” she said offhandedly, standing up and letting her gun swing free on its strap. She pressed plastique to the door.
“There’s a bomb in there,” Giant said.
“I’m aware.” She found herself starting to smile. Giant looked uneasy. She buried the detonator into the plastique and then retreated.
“You might want to step back,” she said. There was a rim of white around Giant’s eyes. He retreated with her, all the way to the end of the aisle. Lois pressed the detonator.
The bang echoed in the small space. Lois waited, her breath held, but there was no immediate holocaust, no searing of her body into ash. Her head was buzzing pleasantly. She moved forward again.
The shipping crate was open. Inside, it was nearly empty except for a row of small, round explosives, each with enough power to take out roughly a square mile of civilization. There were eight in total, all connected in a row the size of a fire extinguisher. It was packaged carefully in a metal crate filled with molded foam rubber. Lois lifted it out like she was cradling a baby.
“I have it,” she said into the ear piece.
Good job, Ultraman whispered in her ear. This will take care of all our problems.