vengeance is the night

through the shouts and the thundering steps, he hears a name:

the batman.

kal's blood runs cold. the batman is notorious for hunting down targets and obliterating ships, leaving the crews to fend for themselves in small dinghies and whatever else they manage to grab before going overboard. and he always takes the loot.

kal shrinks into the tub as much as he can, the sounds of swordfighting above making him flinch hard enough to slosh water up the edge. with shaking hands, he thumbs the handle of the boning knife he managed to swipe from the ship's captain. kal doesn't want to hurt anybody, but he can't be found. nobody knows where the batman takes his winnings. nobody will ever find kal if he's taken. what if the batman chops him up like meat? what if he pulls kal's scales one by one to get kal to tell him where the other merpeople live? what if he—

the lock on the door clinks, and soon after the knob jiggles. kal sinks further into the water, until only his eyes and hair are visible. he watches with wide eyes as the knob stops and the door bows inward with a harsh bang! once, twice more, and the door gives, swinging open and smacking hard against the wall.

kal grips the boning knife hard, swallowing against the fear creeping up his throat as a lone man stands at the threshold. the mask he wears is dark, obscuring his eyes and nose, leaving only his sharp, pale jaw exposed under the candlelight. his cutlass gleams silver; kal catches the sight of his own reflection: utterly still and terrified.

"hello," the batman says, his voice a low, gravelly thing. kal has never seen a man so large. the batman fills the doorframe completely, obscuring the hall from view. kal cannot hear any more fighting. did the crew escape? all of them? or...did the batman kill them?

the batman moves one step closer, the grip on his cutlass loosening. he holds his free hand out, palm up, placating. kal's brow furrows. everything he's heard about the batman speaks to direct violence and quick, efficient strikes. why would he move so slowly?

kal's tail writhes, unbidden, beneath the water—a giveaway for his own anxiety. he thumbs the hilt of his knife and tries to steady his breathing.

"you're not a part of this crew, are you?" the batman asks. kal notes, curiously, that his voice seems...gentler. "did the captain take you from your village to use for his own...pleasure?"

kal has heard of the evil things pirates do, but he's not sure how this one came to that conclusion.

"he won't hurt you anymore," the batman says, taking another step closer. kal heaves a fortifying breath. "i'll keep you safe, i promise."

the batman takes another step. kal gauges the distance for a few precious seconds and then surges out of the water towards him.

they land in a heap with kal on top. he's quick to bat away the cutlass and press his forearm over the batman's sternum, slithering his tail around the man's legs and squeezing tight enough that any more pressure would break a bone. human's are so fragile.

"ah," the batman says, looking absurdly calm considering the circumstances. "didn't take you from a village, then. pulled you right out of your home."

kal presses the flat of the boning knife to the batman's neck, trying to arrange his face into something that could pass for intimidating. he ignores the lump in his throat. focuses on the task at hand. "you will let me go," he says, his mouth moving awkwardly around the human words. "i will not injure you if you promise. i will let you go."

the batman slowly raises his hand to kal's—the one holding the knife. he wraps his fingers around kal's fist and smiles at him, stilling the shake of kal's hand. "i had no intention of harming you," the batman tells him. "or keeping you."

kal blinks against the sting in his eyes, hot confusion curling in his chest. "you are a pirate," he says. "pirates want me."

"not this one," the batman says with a reassuring smile. despite only seeing half his face, kal has to admit that what he can see is rather handsome. "i can help you up to the deck, if you'd like."

and so that's what happens. kal cautiously releases the batman and lets himself be carried out of the room and up to the deck. the batman doesn't even protest the knife beneath his jaw as he works.

"you do not want me," kal says before the batman lets go. he has to make sure before he turns his back to the man.

"i think you're fascinating," the batman says, voice betraying his wonder. "beautiful and strong—with abilities i've only ever read about." before kal's shoulders can tense, he continues, "but i know better than to hold onto something that doesn't want to be held. return home safely."

"i'm kal," kal says, pulling away to brace himself on a stack of crates. he turns to the sea, relishing the salty breeze against his face.

"call me b," the batman says, words half-lost in the wind. "i'm glad i could help you."

against the railing, with the sea churning on the other side, kal turns back to the batman to thank him, but the man is already gone.

———

kal spends the next few months recovering from captivity and basking in the sun.

(at least, that's what he tells ma and pa when he swims up to their farm on the coast.)

he secretly gathers intel from passing sealife or sailors from beneath a loading dock. kal soaks up every stray piece of information he can get about the batman. what his ship looks like, where he's spotted the most, the docks he's rumoured to land at.

eventually—finally—kal finds him again.

he cannot leash his excitement. every spare moment he had was spent on tracking him down. his dreams were often replayed memories of that muscled body and soft smile. kal swims as fast as he can, displacing the water as he goes.

he knows he's giving away his position but he can't find him in himself to care. he calls on the sunlight to give him a burst of energy as he surfaces, pulling out of the water and arcing right onto the deck, next to the wheel where the batman—where b—stands, unmasked, his jaw slack with surprise.

"i found you," kal laughs with a wide smile, reaching for him.

b returns the expression, catching kal beneath the arms and hauling him up so they're face to face. "you did. why come looking?"

"i think you're fascinating," kal says, gazing into eyes as blue as the ocean, echoing what b said months ago. "beautiful and strong—"

"okay," b laughs, a dimple in his cheek. "i get it. thank you. i'm glad to see you've been keeping yourself safe."

"because of you," kal insists, wrapping his arms around b's shoulders. "you said you don't hold on to things that—"

"i remember," b says, his brow furrowed. with a small frown, his gaze darts between kal's eyes.

Bruce thought he was haunted by not one but two ghosts

he tries to be. god, he tries.

it's just—why?

what made them do that? what made them decide he was better—more important, worth prioritizing—than finding a solution for all of krypton? why didn't they at least try?

kara had told him not all kryptonians were like his parents, had said she let him believe they were good because he wanted to believe it, and telling him otherwise would be—cruel.

clark doesn't hold it against her. he can't. not when it makes so much sense, even though it makes him feel all kinds of stupid and naive; the little boy who believed his parents could do no wrong.

his mind is a jumble of hurt and confusion every time he thnks about it, messy thoughts of “i’m glad my parents were outliers and most people on krypton weren’t like that” and “if my parents weren’t like that would they have even built a ship and sent me here? would i be alive?” and also “why did they have to be like that? why did they think they could decide my whole life for me? why would they think i’d want to hurt people?"

he knows what his pa said—how could he ever forget?—how he talked about clark's actions being important, more so than his parents' intentions and beliefs could ever be.