Act III: out of energy

Little Batman pressed his palm to the glass. Even through his glove, he could feel the cold. The big Batman had told him that it had to be cold, that it would keep Superman's body 'safe.' But what if it was too cold? Superman was never cold. Not even in his icy fortress.

The room was dark, with only the modest sun-lamp providing light, directly over the semi-cylindrical glass casket. They'd unwrapped the little Superman from the big one's cape, and so now everyone could see how dead he looked, his face innocently expressionless, his skin colorless despite the yellow lamp.

By this point, little Batman was thoroughly exhausted. But he refused to leave his self-assigned post, standing on the chair beside Superman's body. He was halfway resolved to wait there until a miracle happened. If he was just patient enough, just determined enough, if only he had enough willpower, enough… faith.

Faith. He'd put his cowl back on earlier, and the thought of that word made a grim, grief-filled frown stretch out beneath it. Faith was Superman's word.

He would have faith. And he would stand watch, for as long as it took.

Occasionally he almost convinced himself that Superman looked like he was just asleep. But it was a lie. He didn't look like that when he was asleep. For one thing, if he was asleep he usually curled up on his side, or sprawled out on his stomach, and he usually had his mouth open, snoring or drooling just enough to get teased about it by the other League members.

Now he was… now he was… now, Batman wouldn't ever hear him snoring again, or have to kick him to get him to stop unconsciously hogging the best spot on the couch in the rec room. Like a waterfall, thoughts of all the little things that he would miss about Superman poured into his mind. He'd miss his voice. Miss his exclamations of "great!" and "neat!" and "wowie!" …He'd miss his eternal optimism, his unparalleled loyalty. He'd even miss the soft, ruffling whoosh sound of him flying.

Suddenly the little Batman felt a chill go down his spine. Just as he'd thought of the sound, he'd heard it. Had he imagined it? Had he gone crazy already? No.

His eyes narrowed to deadly slits.

"Hey," Clark said from the doorway.

"Get lost!" the little Bat shouted at him. "I don't want your pity!"

"Actually I was just hoping I could keep you company," Clark said.

The little Bat hunched his shoulders defensively.

"…the other Batman told me I should leave you alone," Clark continued, approaching with caution.

"If that Batman and I are anything alike, then he's probably right and you probably should've listened to him," the little Bat growled, turning his back on Clark to look down at his friend again. His mouth squiggled unhappily, and he rested his forehead against the glass, defeated. "…but if you're anything like him, then I know you'll just follow your heart, no matter what anyone says."

Clark stepped up next to the little Bat. "I think Superman would want me to be here," he said solemnly.

Little Batman wiped his face on his arm. "It… it's cold in there," he said, sniffling.

Clark nodded. "It's all right. That's how it's supposed to be."

Little Batman looked up at him. "Were you… cold… when you were dead?"

"No," Clark said, smiling. "Well, I suppose my body was, but I didn't feel it. Not while I was dead."

"What was it like?"

Clark placed his hand on the glass and looked down at the little Superman's face, pale, expressionless, blank. Dead. "That's a good question," he sighed. "I'm not sure if I remember. But I think… it was like a dream."

"Dreams can be bad," the little Batman said immediately.

"Mine wasn't." Clark smiled again at the half-memory.

Little Batman drew a ragged breath, and tried to square his shoulders, but they crumpled forward again. "Maybe it is my fault," he said, morose. "It was such a stupid little thing but my, my attitude got in the way—I should have listened to him. I should have taken my nap. Superman warned me that I would run out of energy and I knew he was right but I ignored him. He was only looking out for me. He always cared about me more than anyone. And I never told him how much I--"

He stopped, choked up, and Clark put his hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry," he said. "He knew."

Wordlessly the little Bat turned towards him, buried his face against his side.

His strong little arms were too short to reach all the way around Clark's waist, but he held on tightly to all he could hold.

Clark looked down at the defiant little bat-ears, the brave, round little shoulders under their menacing black mantle. "Listen…" he said after a moment. "I can tell that you're tired. Everyone else is asleep already. Let's go--"

"I am not leaving him," the little Bat growled against Clark's side.

"It'll be all right," Clark assured him, rubbing his back. "He'd want you to get some rest. Big Batman left already but you can stay with me."

"I'm staying here."

Clark couldn't help but smile at the familiar-sounding stubbornness in his tone. "Okay," he said softly, relenting. The little Bat offered no resistance as Clark reached down and picked him up, sitting down on the chair that the little Bat had been standing on. "We'll stay here."

Little Batman sighed, his limbs loose and his head resting against Clark's chest. With narrowed eyes, he stared at the little dead Superman under the stark yellow lamp.

"…and I won't go back," he muttered after a minute.

"…what?" Clark asked him.

"To my world." Little Batman clarified. "I won't go back there without him. I can't."

Clark considered that for a minute, and then his brow creased in concern. "But all the little villains… your Justice League… I know your world needs a Batman."

"My world needs Superman," the little Bat declared. "It's this world that needs me. This…dark…giant world. This world of pain is the world that needs a Batman."

Clark's eyes crinkled at the edges, and somehow he knew that the little Bat knew what he was about to say: "…and we've already got one."

The little Bat was silent. "…yes," he conceded at last. "And I… might not measure up to him. But I can't go back. After this… nothing will be right. How am I supposed to tell his Lois?"

That was as sobering a question as Clark had ever heard. He tightened his arms a bit across little Batman's back. Took a breath, raised his eyebrows. "Hopefully, when Superman comes back, you won't have to."

"Hmf. That's exactly the sort of optimistic thing he'd say… But I know I have to tell her, somehow. That's… the first thing I'll need to do…"

"…After you get some sleep," Clark finished for him, sensing that the little Bat was drifting off.

Little Batman shifted, semi-consciously snuggling against Clark. His eyes blinked and then finally closed.

"It's funny," he mumbled, and then his voice trailed off into silence. "You're…just as warm as…"

They were both awoken a few hours later by the door to the lab creaking open. Clark blinked a few times and looked up to see a hulking bat-eared silhouette in the doorway. And then he heard the gasp of a slightly higher-pitched but still unmistakable voice from somewhere in the vicinity of the bat-eared silhouette's knees:

"Clark?"

There she was, with her dark hair parted to the side and tucked neatly behind one of her perfect little ears.

"…I knew I had to tell her," big Batman muttered.

"Lois," Clark said, sitting up straighter.

The little-more-than-two-feet-tall Lois shuddered and stepped backwards, as if to hide behind the big Batman's cape. She stared up at Clark with one expression on her face:

Horror.

More than anything, he hated to see her scared. The fact that the reaction of most of the other miniaturized females to encountering giant versions of their men had been along the lines of instant infatuation rather than fear only made it worse. "oh, Lois-- don't be afraid," he pleaded right away, getting to his feet. The little Batman literally leapt out of his arms, landing gracefully on the floor with scarcely a flutter of his cape.

"It's all right," the little Bat said solemnly. "He's a friend."

Lois looked from Clark to little Batman with uncertain eyes, and then looked up at the bigger Batman for confirmation. Big Batman nodded, and Clark watched in awe as she steeled her nerves the very same way that his Lois did—that determination in her face, that glint in her eyes—the resemblance was downright uncanny.

"…It's good that you're here," the little Bat continued quietly. "Now we have to capture Mxyzptlk."

"Done," big Batman growled, and dragged a bound-and-gagged Mxyzptlk into view. The yellow-and-purple clad imp wasn't even struggling, and in fact had tears streaming down his cheeks. He was trussed up with three glowing cords: one white, one neon blue, and a golden one which had almost certainly been borrowed from Wonder Woman.

The little Bat nodded once, business-like and stern. "Good work," he complimented the larger version of himself.

"What happened to Clark?" Lois asked urgently, demanding the little Bat's attention. Her eyes flicked up and briefly met big Superman's, and then refocused on little Batman. "My Clark."

Little Batman took a breath and was about to tell her when Superman stepped out of the way--and she saw for herself. Her voice hitched in her throat, a small, desperate sound.

"--No." She pushed past little Batman and before anyone could offer to help her she climbed up onto the chair beside the body and pressed her hands to the glass. "Clark, no." For a moment she fought the tears, her shoulders trembling, her hands slowly curling into fists. "You can't," she said breathlessly. "You can't be… "

Big Batman hated being a helpless observer. He tightened his hold on his fifth-dimensional prisoner, who whimpered through his gag in response. "Listen to me," Bruce growled at Mxyzptlk. "Technology exists, in this world, in this reality, that helped to bring Superman back to life once before. Recreate that science here and apply it now. Make it work. Bring him back."

Mxy shook his head, and Bruce ripped the gag from his face. "I already told you!" Mxy blubbered. "He's dead—his soul, departed! I can reanimate his corpse, like a zombie-- but is that really what you want? I'm sorry… I can't do it!"

Suddenly Lois whipped her head around, glaring at all of them. "Open this up," she commanded, pounding one of her little fists against the glass over the body. "Now!"

"It won't do any good," little Batman muttered.

Lois stared directly into Clark's eyes. "Please."

Clark couldn't help but obey. He unlatched the glass canopy, lifted it up.

Bravely, little Lois reached for the dead Superman's hand. Grasped it.

And that was all it took.

Clark did a triple take and nearly lost his balance as he saw his little double's eyes crack open. As badly as he wanted to believe it, he almost couldn't—there was still no heartbeat, nothing.

"Hi," the dead Superman said, his voice feeble. "Lois. I missed you."

Both of the Batmans looked from Mxyzptlk to Clark and back. "What's happening??" they demanded in unison.

"I missed you too," Lois said, tears dripping from her eyelashes. "I thought you were gone."

"I think… I think I'm supposed to go," little Superman admitted. "But I knew I had to find you first. You were too far away… and I want… you to come with me. So we'll always be together."

Lois took a deep breath. "Clark. I don't understand what you're talking about, or why this is happening, but I do know that we don't belong here—so if you have to go someplace, of course I'll go with you. Anywhere."

"WAIT!" Everyone turned to look at little Batman, who stomped over and hauled himself up onto the chair beside Lois. Furious, he glared down at the dead Superman, who gazed placidly back up at him.

He pointed directly at little Superman's cute little nose, emphasizing each word with an accusatory jab. "Don't. You. Dare," he snarled. "Don't you dare try to start your eternity early. Maybe you two do deserve to be together forever in your own little heaven and that's wonderful. But don't leave now, Clark. And don't leave m…"

His mouth squiggled into an uncooperative line, protesting the act of voicing that sentiment. But his brain knew it was too late. It was already out there; he might as well finish the sentence.

"…me."

"That's enough," big Superman said, his voice overriding the little Bat's. "That's more than enough." He glared down at the cowering Mxyzptlk. "I don't know where you think Superman's soul is right now but it's got to be close by. Either you start his heart beating again, or I will."

"Okay okay, everybody calm down!" Mxy begged, shrinking away from all the eyes glaring at him. "I'll do it. The three-dimensional science way, just like the good detective ordered. Stand back. Lois, darling, let go of his hand for a second."

"Not a chance," Lois declared, holding the dead Superman's hand with both of her own.

Mxyzptlk sighed, and then cringed as both versions of Batman began to snarl at him. "Fine! Here goes--"

Gold-white electricity snapped through the air. The opened glass canopy shattered, the bulb in the sunlamp burst with a shower of sparks, and little Lois screamed. And suddenly everything went dark.

Big Batman opened a panel on the wall and pressed a button. When the emergency lighting came online a few seconds later, it revealed Mxyzptlk passed out on the floor and big Superman holding little Lois in his arms, having been unable to stop himself from swooping her out of harm's way when she'd cried out.

Little Superman's eyes were closed again, his body motionless.

"…Clark?" little Batman asked, ending the silence that had descended upon the scene. Unless big Clark was much mistaken, the miniature version of Bruce sounded achingly hopeful.

And then Clark heard the beat of a strong little heart, slow at first, but quickening until it was steady and fast—like a child's, only deeper somehow, distinct. "It worked," he announced, dissipating the weight of everyone's unasked questions.

Impatient, little Batman reached out and shook little Clark's shoulder.

"…Hi," little Superman said again, waking up alive this time. "Batman. What hap--- where's Lois??" he asked, as if suddenly remembering something of utmost importance.

"Clark!" Lois called, stretching her arms towards him. He sat up, took one look at the situation—big Superman holding little Lois—

"Hey!" he shouted, blue eyes blazing. With his cape streaming out to the sides like the wings of a tiny red fighter jet, he launched himself into the air and zoomed into action.

Understanding, Clark opened his hands, only to find that little Lois had already been whisked out of them.

The happily reunited Lois and Clark were hugging in mid-air, generating a flurry of inexplicable little red hearts, which floated a few feet above their heads, balloon-like, before vanishing with cheerful little popping sounds.

"Clark, I felt so sad-- don't ever do that to me again!" Lois was saying. She wrapped her legs around his waist, which instantly made his cheeks turn a brightly embarrassed pink.

"Lois!" he protested, between cute little smooches. "You're wearing a skirt!!"

In an identical motion both Batmans "grmf"ed and turned their faces away to avoid an accidental glimpse up little Lois's skirt. And in a further display of like-mindedness, they then focused their attention on the unconscious fifth-dimensional imp.

Big Batman crouched down beside Mxyzptlk as little Batman nudged him with his boot. "Mxy," little Batman said. "Snap out of it."

"oh, believe me, I would if I could," Mxy moaned, reviving. "But these blasted ropes…"

"I'll untie you as soon as you swear that your first action upon being freed will be to take all these little ones back to their own world," big Batman growled. "But first…"

Batman's voice was so harsh that Mxy winced, but when he dared to look, he saw that Batman was—well, he wasn't exactly smiling, but for once he didn't look the least bit pissed off. "…I want to say thank you."

"Thank you," little Batman chimed in gravely, as if on cue.

"C'mon, Bats," Mxy said, flustered. "It's not like I wanted Li'l Blue to stay dead, you know... and all I did was re-energize his body-- it was all of you who managed to reel in his soul."

"Still," little Batman grumbled. "If you hadn't helped, it might've taken weeks or months for us to get him back, if we got him back at all. So… we're grateful."

By now little Lois and Clark had landed on the ground and were standing side by side, holding hands. "That goes for us, too," little Clark said, beaming. "Thanks, Mxy."

Mxy blinked a few times, and a genuinely happy smile, completely free of mischief, lit up his face. "Well then… you're welcome."

Little Batman turned to his much larger counterpart. "We're grateful to you as well," he stated. "To you and your world's overgrown Justice League." He hesitated, and then looked up at big Superman. "But I want to thank you most of all," he said.

"Me?" Clark asked, taken aback. "But I didn't do anything."

"You were there when I needed you," little Batman explained. "And you helped me to have faith. Just like you always do."

Clark felt rather compelled to reach down and scoop the little Bat up for a hug, but the shorter Superman beat him to it.

"Aww," little Superman said, closing in on his Batman with open arms and a great big grin.

"Get away from me," the little Bat growled, dodging him. "There's been entirely too much hugging and cuddling going on lately. I've had enough of it."

Little Superman stopped, eyebrows high. "Really?" he asked. "But… I haven't gotten to hug you, in…" he looked up for a minute, calculating, and then looked back down, determined. "Four whole days!!" he exclaimed.

Little Batman frowned, and then sighed. "All right," he grumbled. He stepped in close, wrapped his arms around little Superman's sides. "…Four days is a pretty long time," he conceded.

Little Superman scrunched his eyes closed in happiness and hugged the little Bat until his feet nearly came off the ground.

In this midst of this scene, Clark dared to glance over at Bruce.

Bruce's eyes were narrowed to unreadable slits, but Clark was pretty sure that Bruce was looking in his direction. He shrugged. "Like I said, they're from a simpler, happier world."

"But not the real world," Bruce countered. "Like I said."

"It's real enough for us," little Superman said cheerfully, releasing his hold on the little dark knight's ribcage. "And, if it's all right with you, I think we're ready to go back!"

Little Lois and little Batman nodded in agreement.

"Mxy?" big Batman growled.

"I swear!" Mxy piped up. "First thing I'll do is take them all home. Promise."

Satisfied, big Batman freed Mxyzptlk from his bonds. The gaudy imp did a somersault in the air, and with the poing! of a spring being sprung, he disappeared.

Little Superman, Lois, and Batman were already starting to fade from reality. "Thanks again!" little Superman called out, waving. "It was really awesome to meet you!"

"Goodbye," said the little Bat, looking up at Clark.

And then they were gone.

Clark and Bruce heaved simultaneous sighs, and then spent nearly a minute in awkward silence, not looking at each other, until at last Clark turned his head.

"…Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

"No," Bruce grunted. "But I do need to say one thing…What that little Batman said to you…goes for me too."

Clark smiled, and clapped his hand down on Bruce's shoulder.

And didn't have to tell him that he already knew.

The End!