it's his tone, right? @bunnywritesmarvel - Tumblr Blog

asylum

clark kent x gn!journalist!reader

wc: 9.8k. lowercase is intentional. no use of y/n.

summary: reader unveils a massive scandal at a psychiatric facility in gotham and suffers the consequences.

a/n: definitely not my best work, was written in a surge of motivation in, like, two days earlier in december. not beta’d, skips around a bit, kinda focuses on reader more in the beginning before clark shows up, but i really wanted to post something to hopefully motivate myself to get back into writing this year.

limited dc knowledge. just basing off of the new superman and what i remember about some characters in the batman arkham asylum game lmao. reblogs and comments welcomed and encouraged!! missed you guys a lot <3

cw: plot was heavily inspired by the video game outlast, one of my favorites. gender neutral reader, reader is implied to be smaller than clark, reader does not know clark is superman, clark accidentally revealing his identity, investigative journalist!reader. clark and reader are going on dates but not officially together yet. mentions of blood, dead bodies, illegal experiments, etc. kidnapping, reader gets tortured, superman saves the day. guest appearance from bane, two face, croc, and manbat. lmk if i missed anything!!

i do not give permission for any of my works to be reuploaded/reposted, copied, fed into AI, etc. minors dni, age in bio or blocked.

you blinked a few times, trying to will your eyes to adjust to the dark. you let out a soft groan, rubbing the heels of your palms against your face before reluctantly sitting up, glancing at your alarm clock. the red LEDs read 3:42 am. you swung your legs out of bed, shoved your feet in your slippers, and shuffled the few feet out of your bedroom and to the bathroom to relieve your insistent bladder in the dark.

after washing your hands, eyes closed as you tried to preserve the sleepiness, you began to make your way back to your bedroom. the light from your laptop caught your attention, and you huffed at yourself before trudging through the kitchen and to the table, intending to shut it down.

your email was open, displaying an array of messages. spam, work, reminders for upcoming events. you reached out to shut the laptop, but a subject line of the newest email caught your attention. you squinted at the screen, pulling out your chair and sitting down as you read it. after a moment of hesitation, you clicked on the email, your eyes quickly scanning over it.

october 24th, 2025. 2:26 am.

from: [email protected]

subject: tip / illegal activity at gotham psychiatric facility

keep me anonymous. i have to be quick, they’re definitely monitoring.

i did a few weeks of software work at gotham psychiatric facility. all sorts of NDA's i am very much breaking right now but seriously, fuck those guys.

horrific things happening there. don’t understand it. don’t believe half the things i saw. doctors talking about dream therapy going too deep. people are being hurt and GothCorp is making money.

it needs to be exposed.

you blinked a few times, before starting over and reading it once more. you highlighted the email address it came from, copying it and pasting it into a google search, but no results came up. no accounts or phone numbers attached to it, no connection to anything that could be a lead. you frowned, backspacing before typing in gotham psychiatric facility and clicking on the wikipedia page for it.

your eyes scanned the article, navigating to the gothcorp page and reading further. you ran a hand down your face, opening a new tab and searching up the facility once more. you scrolled through various news articles, but nothing in particular stood out. no scandals, no complaints, nothing particularly suspicious. gothcorp had similar results.

with a shake of your head, you closed the laptop, getting up and making your way back to bed. you laid there under your covers, eyes closed, willing yourself to go back to sleep. it never came, leaving you awake and thinking until your alarm finally went off.

“reading another love letter?” lois’s voice startled you out of your thoughts, and you scrambled to shut the tab that was displaying the anonymous email.

“wha- i, uh- love- love letter?” you stammered, swiveling your office chair to face her.

lois was smirking, arms crossed over her chest. “you know, the little love notes clark keeps leaving on your desk?”

you felt your face heating up and shot lois a half-assed glare as you turned back to your monitor. “he does not leave me love notes.”

lois laughed, shaking her head as she perched yourself on the edge of your desk. “oh, the little growing collection of post-it note compliments aren’t love notes?”

“shut up.” you sank further into your seat, making lois laugh more, reaching out to gently nudge your shoulder.

“oh, relax, i’m just picking on you.” she chuckled, peering over at your screen. “what are you working on?”

“i… am… uh, plane ticket.” you answered, quickly navigating to the right website for the nearest airport.

“plane ticket?” you repeated in surprise, “what do you need plane tickets for?”

you made a noise of acknowledgement, your brain working overtime to come up with an excuse. “i… am… visiting a friend.” you answered, “in jersey.”

“youre… booking plane tickets to jersey? don’t you have a car?” you asked, “it’ll be cheaper to drive.”

you looked at her for a moment, blinking a few times. “you know what? you’re right.” you said, standing and grabbing your laptop. you quickly began to pack up your things, making lois stand up with a raised eyebrow. “i’ll just drive! i have enough PTO, i just need to swing by perry’s office and-”

“whoa, whoa, whoa,” jimmy interjected, rolling his chair over to you. “you’re taking PTO? you?”

you huffed a little, shoving your things in your bag. “yeah, yeah, i know, i never take PTO, but an old friend moved not too far from here and- and i want to see… them.” you cleared your throat, giving them both a tense smile before sliding past both of them and towards perry’s office.

jimmy raised his eyebrows, and lois could only shrug.

by the time you were able to get to perry and get a few days off approved, get home, pack a bag, and drive all the way to gotham, it was nearing midnight. pitch black, drizzling rain, the moon hidden behind too many clouds to provide any meaningful light. you turned your headlights off as you approached the front gates, pulling off to the side and praying your car wouldn't end up stuck in the mud as you parked.

you gathered your things; a camcorder, some batteries, a flashlight, and a USB cord to connect your phone to any computers you come across. you put them in your small cross body bag you brought with, pulling it on and grabbing your balaclava. you tugged it on, making sure your face and your hair were hidden before exiting your car, tucking the keys in your bag.

keeping your head down, you trudged up to the front gates. the security booth was strangely empty, and you hesitated before sticking your head inside. dust lined the desk, and the computer was blue screened. you frowned in thought, wiggling the mouse for a moment before pulling open the drawers. you found a set of keys hanging under the desk, grabbing them just in case.

you exited the booth through the other side, bypassing the gate and making your way up to the building. you opened your camcorder, pressed the record button and made sure to get a good shot of the outside. it was massive and constructed from cement, with pillars along the front like some important government building. a massive cement staircase led to the front entrance. the lights were off completely, save for a few windows glowing a dim yellow.

it seemed… abandoned. quiet. it made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

along the side of the building was some scaffolding, abandoned mid-renovation it seemed. you made your way to it, trying to stay in the shadows. you climbed a ladder, already feeling a little queasy at the shakiness of the structure. you made your way across the platform to another ladder and climbed again, your eyes set on the shattered window a few stories up.

being careful of the glass, you climbed into the building, glad your eyes had already adjusted to the dark for the most part. you could hear tv static a few rooms over, only adding to the horrifying ambiance. the room was in disarray; couches strewn about, tables knocked over, paperwork scattered. a large portrait of a man in a doctor’s coat was ripped and hanging by one nail, crooked. its eyes seemed to follow you as you walked past, camera still recording.

the hall was equally a mess. furniture, papers, a lone wheelchair knocked on its side. the scent of blood was thick in the air, and you fought down a gag. you silently made your way through the asylum, down the halls and peering into rooms, making sure to get whatever you could on video. thunder rumbled threateningly in the distance.

as you peered around the corner and into another room, you couldn’t stop the gasp that came from you as you spotted two men sitting on the couch. your heart leapt into your throat as you pulled back as fast as you could, straining to listen above the roaring of blood in your ears. when a few long moments of mostly silence passed, you swallowed down your fear and forced yourself to take another look.

both men were sitting on the dilapidated couch, staring blankly at the tv hanging above the fireplace, blasting loud static. they were alive, but the only way you could tell was by the heavy breathing coming from one of them. they were dressed in the same outfit; patient scrubs. dirty, most likely blue but stained and faded enough to come across a sick looking brown.

you zoomed in on them, on their faces. blank stares, straight ahead, locked onto the flickering black and white on the television. you caught sight of a door behind them, an employees only sign screwed to the front.

you internally debated for a moment before taking the risk. camera still poised, you slowly stepped into the room. the two men didn’t seem to notice you. the only way to the door was to walk in front of them, and you couldn’t stop your own heavy breathing as you shakily walked past them.

“what the fuck…” you breathed out, your heart still racing.

they didn’t move, didn’t acknowledge your presence, but simply continued to stare ahead as if you weren't there at all. one mindlessly reached up to scratch at his face and you flinched, quickly scurrying to the door.

you tried the knob, and it creaked open ominously. inside was what looked like a break room. some counters with a microwave and a bowl of rotting fruit, a fridge, a table and chairs. there was a pile of bloody clothes on the floor, with a sheet of plywood leaned against it like a ramp. above the makeshift ramp was an air duct, the vent tore off like someone had climbed through it.

you paused for a moment, eyes flickering up to the vent, down to the ramp. up again, down once more.

“jesus…” you breathed out, pausing the recording and tucking the camera into your pocket. “i’m an investigative journalist. this is what i do, and i’m… not regretting taking this route instead of the elementary art teacher route like my grandma suggested.” you grumbled to yourself, closing your eyes and taking a few deep breaths.

you shuddered a little as you stepped onto the ramp carefully, grimacing at the sickening squelch it made. you managed to get to the top of the pile, reaching up and grunting with effort as you pulled yourself into the air duct.

you pulled your camera out after you settled yourself inside, fumbling with it for a moment before turning it back on. you wiped the lens clean, before the door you had just walked through was slammed open with a frightening bang. you barely managed to stop another gasp from escaping you as you whipped around to look.

a man was looking around frantically, whimpering in fear. he was wearing the same scrubs as the others, and the wild look in his eyes confirmed he must have been a victim of whatever was going on here. his hands were slick with blood, more splattered on his scrubs and streaked across his face. you didn’t think it was his.

“oh no,” he whimpered, hands yanking painfully at his hair. “oh no, no, no, no-”

he took off back where he came from, leaving you in the air duct, hands shaking and breathing heavily. you looked down to make sure you were recording, relieved you got it on camera.

you crawled a short distance through the air duct, before dropping out and onto the floor below. you had made it to the balcony level of the second floor, the middle was open to peer down into the lobby that was as destroyed as the rest of the rooms you had witnessed. you leaned over the railing, recording and zooming in on different details. across the floor in front of the half circle receptionist desk were the words they lie written messily in blood. a few bodies were piled in the corner, men wearing security uniforms.

you shuddered and tore your gaze away, quickly and quietly making your way around the maze of furniture and abandoned medical equipment. you walked past a room of computers and desks, and your heart leapt with hope.

the door was open, and you made your way past the computers, wiggling mouses and tapping on keyboards, hoping one of them would turn on and give you access to something that could be useful. after trying to turn on a few computer towers and having no luck, you huffed, making your way down the aisle and to the door at the back.

as you maneuvered your way through the building, documenting whatever you could, you came across mostly furniture and medical supplies. any other person you came across was dead, sprawled on the floor in a puddle of their own blood. you tried not to look at them for too long, swallowing down the bile rising in your throat.

the sound of furniture sliding noisily across the floor made you whip around, heart pounding, sweat dripping down your temple. you listened, and heard it again a few moments later.

“shit.” you hissed, turning back around and reluctantly delving deeper into the building.

you found yourself down another long hall, your pace quickening as you tried to put distance between yourself and whoever made that noise. you passed a closed door, metal with a small window, before double back and standing on your toes to peer inside. another wooden screech made your breath hitch, listening intently. a buzzing silence filled the hall once again.

you grabbed the keys out of your pocket, going down the line and trying different ones until the sixth one finally worked. you pushed open the door, hurrying inside and shoving it closed. inside was the security room. monitors with live camera footage lined the walls, with an access computer on the desk. a few lockers were against the wall across from the door, and a chair and a small table were opposite the monitors. there was a security man slumped over at the table, his face resting in a puddle of blood.

you nearly collapsed into the stained office chair at the security desk, setting your camera down for a moment and clicking around on the computer. you were surprised to see it was still logged in once the screen lit up.

you immediately plugged your cord into the tower and the other side into your phone before searching around, digging through files and emails. you downloaded whatever you could find; patient files, doctors notes, videos and photos, experiment procedures and lab files. you recorded scrolling through emails and files too big to download to pause and read later. you filled your phone until the storage was full, making sure everything downloaded properly before ejecting it and shoving it back in your pocket. you picked up your camera, getting a few good shots of the security feed.

various rooms, patients milling about, mindlessly standing like the two you saw earlier. alive, if you could really say that, but not really there. drugged or experimented on like the whistleblower email eluded to, but whatever it was practically zombified them.

you grabbed your things and went to the door, before pausing. the sound of heavy, shaking footsteps were echoing down the hall. you floundered for a moment, going left, then right, then turning around and lunging for the lockers. you yanked the biggest one open, shoving yourself inside and closing it just as the footsteps stopped in front of the door.

you held your breath, camera up and filming between the slats in the metal as the knob slowly turned. what walked inside made your blood run cold.

he was huge. bigger than any living thing you had seen with your own eyes outside of a zoo, well over 7 feet and pure muscle. he was some strange humanoid reptile, with the head and tail of a lizard, his body covered in scales, but upright like a human. he had yellow eyes and slits for pupils, his gaze dragging lazily across the room. he had to hunch in on himself to make it through the doorway.

you slowly and quietly grabbed your phone, shaky hands tapping around until you attached everything you had downloaded onto an email, typing in the first person you thought of.

october 27th, 2025. 1:47 am.

to: [email protected]

subject: (empty)

if you don’t hear from me in two hours, call the police.

[attached: 34 files]

[attached: 15 videos]

[attached: 28 photos]

you tried to breathe as quietly as you could as he made his way around the small security room, his steps shaking the floor. he turned and eyed the lockers, before slowly approaching them. you hit send and quickly locked your phone, clutching it against your chest.

he stood there, staring at the doors before reaching out and yanking open the one next to you. he snuffled around, snorting and grunting before he huffed through his nose, just two holes like a lizard’s, and turned to leave, slamming the door shut behind him. you didn’t breathe until his footsteps were down the hall. you wondered if your camera was even able to pick anything up with how hard your hands were shaking.

you quietly pushed open the door, peering out and listening for anyone as you shoved your phone back in your pocket. deeming the coast clear, you booked it down the hall, retracing your steps as fast and as quietly as you could. you maneuvered through the maze of hallways and rooms, eventually finding yourself dragging a broken couch over to the vent you had crawled through. you managed to climb it and pull yourself back up, crawl through the air duct, and drop back onto the makeshift ramp.

you let out a quiet yelp as the plywood moved when you landed, sending your tumbling to the floor. you grimaced as you landed in a puddle of sticky, half dried blood, unable to fight down the gag as you scrambled back to your feet. your phone began to vibrate in your pocket, but you barely felt it. you ran through the break room, past the two zombified men staring at the tv static and back to the room with the broken window.

your phone vibrated insistently in your pocket again. you didn’t look behind you until you were back at your car, sparing a glance over your shoulder as you quickly unlocked it and dove inside. you didn’t bother to buckle in, just slammed and locked the door, starting the engine and reversing out of your hiding spot so fast you almost slammed into the security booth.

you were still breathing heavily as gotham psychiatry facility got smaller and smaller in your rearview mirror, gripping the wheel painfully tight with one hand and yanking off your rain-soaked mask with the other. your phone began to vibrate again, and you let out a shaky breath, lifting your hips enough to fish it out of your pocket and glance at it.

clark’s name and face lit up the screen, a photo of him from a few years ago. he was dressed in his work clothes, holding an office phone against his ear and giving the camera a lopsided smirk. you quickly swiped to answer it, pressing the phone against your ear.

“he-hello? yeah?” you stammered, staring at the road as you navigated onto the exit.

“oh thank god- what the hey? i called six times- where are you, what’s going on? what was that email?” clark’s relieved and exasperated voice came through the speaker.

“sorry- i’m sorry, jesus, clark, i… listen, did you look at anything on those files yet?” you asked, your voice shaky and pitched.

“i mean, a little, but i was more worried about your message. call the police? what is going on?” he asked again, “are you okay, are you safe?”

“i’m okay, i’m fine.” you forced out, “i got an anonymous email a few days ago about some weird shit going down in gotham and-”

“gotham? are you in gotham right now?” he interrupted, his voice getting higher. if you weren't terrified right now, you would probably laugh at him. “is anyone with you? don’t tell me you went to gotham alone!”

you squeezed your eyes closed for a second, letting out a mix between a grunt and a whine. “clark! just… listen, okay? i got an anonymous email, right? some… whistleblower tipped me off about some weird experimental shit going down at the gotham psychiatric facility, the one run by gothcorp. i… i went, okay? i went, i got inside, and i… look, it’s completely fucked up. i didn’t see a single worker, everything was ruined, i… there were dead bodies-”

“gosh-”

“and- and there were patients still there. i walked in front of two of them and they didn’t even act like they saw me, okay? something bad is happening and those files might uncover whatever the hell it is.” you rushed out, the feeling finally returning to your fingers. “i… i’m on my way back, i should be home in a few hours, i just… need to get some gas and get my stuff from the motel and i… i’ll be there before morning.”

clark was silent for a few moments before he let out a sigh. “could you at least share your location with me? so i know where you are until you get home?”

you let out a breathy laugh, nodding despite him not being able to see it. “yeah, give me a second.”

you pulled the phone away from your ear, putting him on speaker before tapping around. glancing between the road and your phone, you shared your location with him before setting your phone in your lap.

“can you see it?”

“yeah, i got it.” he sighed, “i’ll keep an eye on it until you get home.”

you were quiet for a moment before nodding again. “...okay. okay, yeah. thanks.”

“...what’s going on in your head right now?” he asked gently in that damn voice that somehow never felt pitying.

you kept your eyes on the road, staring ahead as your wipers occasionally swept across the windshield. it took you a few moments to figure out what words you needed.

“i… i’ve never seen a dead body before.” you told him shakily. “or… or seen enough blood to be able to smell it, clark, it was so…”

you let out a breath, unable to describe the feeling in your chest accurately enough to even try to string words together. another brief silence filled the car.

“you still keep your spare key under your welcome mat?”

the door was unlocked when you tried it. you were practically dead on your feet as you finally made it inside safely, the sun only a few short minutes from making its grand entrance for the day. you dropped your bag on the floor and kicked your shoes off just as clark came around the corner.

he took in the sight of you, his brow furrowed in worry.

“hey.” he breathed, already coming over and taking you by the shoulders. “let’s get you sitting, yeah?”

you nodded numbly, letting him guide you over to the couch and sit you down. he kneeled in front of you, smoothing some stray hairs down on your head.

“do you want to talk about it?” he asked quietly, “or do you want to sleep?”

you blinked a few times before shaking your head. “i… i don’t even know.” you let out a humorless chuckle, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath.

clark nodded again. “that’s okay. how about you go get changed into something more comfortable and i’ll make you some tea?”

you hummed in agreement, still a little out of it. “i need to shower.”

“okay. shower and change, and i’ll make you some tea. are you hungry?”

you shook your head, standing from the couch and letting clark take your jacket. he watched as you shuffled to your bathroom, shutting the door. the shower started after a few moments and he sighed, going to hang up your jacket and lock your door before heading to the kitchen.

you stood under the hot water for a while, eyes closed, letting it soak you and wash away the chill on your skin. you slowly bathed, rinsing off the last of the soap just as the water started to run cold. you shut it off, grabbing your towel and wrapping yourself up in it before shuffling off to your room to grab clothes.

clark had to reheat your tea in the microwave by the time you were done, the mug steaming once more and sitting on the coffee table. you came out in sweatpants and a hoodie, looking every bit exhausted and numb.

clark frowned as you went to your bag and unzipped it. you grabbed your camera and your phone, sat next to him, and pulled your laptop into your lap from the table. “are you sure you don’t want to sleep?”

you shook your head, already booting up your laptop and pulling the SD card out of your camera to pop into your computer. “i… i need someone else to see this.”

clark watched as you clicked on the video, pressing play and handing the laptop and headphones over to him. he slipped the headphones on and watched intently, jaw tight and brows furrowed. you reached over, skipping ahead until you were in the building. the video was shaky, your heavy, scared breathing the only audible thing. you didn’t look at the screen as the footage played.

clark squinted through the shakiness of the video, watching you go through the asylum. the blood, the bodies, the chaotic destruction of the place made him glance at you, worry making his heart heavy. he skipped forward a few times, stopping once you were in the security room. his heart sank as you had to hide in the lockers, filming whatever was looking for you through the slats in the metal door.

he shut the laptop when the monster left and tore the headphones off, turning to look at you. he was speechless for a moment, torn between lecturing you out of worry for your safety or wrapping you up in a blanket and never letting you out of his sight again.

“are you okay?” was what came out first, quiet like he was afraid to startle you.

you didn’t answer for a few moments, before shaking your head. “this needs to get out as soon as possible, clark.” you said definitively. “i need you to help me.”

you had never had so much attention on you in your life. the article garnered worldwide attention, with your name plastered on every new article as a source. other news outlets were begging for interviews, for more information, for anything they could get their grubby hands on. a few other news reporters had already shown up outside of the daily planet, hoping to get a few questions in or get footage of the person who published the top news story in the last ten years.

you were already sick of it. between the vulture-like news workers lurking outside your work and your apartment, the FBI bringing you in multiple times for questioning during their investigation, and the up-coming court testifying you would have to do, you were exhausted. all you wanted was a bottle of wine, a hot bath, and some fucking peace and quiet.

gotham psychiatric facility was quickly shut down by the FBI, and the patients that were alive had been shipped somewhere else in hopes of reversing whatever experiments had been conducted on them. the villains had been strangely quiet since the story broke, and that simple fact kept you up at night.

you grabbed your glass and poured a generous amount of wine into it, already taking a gulp as you made your way through your living room and to your balcony. you sat on one of the plush chairs with a huff, soaking up the last of the sun before it went down. it was chilly, winter only a few weeks away from finally hitting, but it was nice to be outside.

you closed your eyes for a moment, the setting sun warming your skin. the sound of the traffic below was like white noise at this point, an oddly soothing constant that you could focus on when you needed your brain to be quiet. people yelling, horns honking, the whoosh of cars driving below.

you opened your eyes after a few moments, lifting your glass for another drink of wine when the whirring of a helicopter above your building caught your attention. you squinted as the spotlight shone brightly, tracking something flying through the sky. it was fast, too fast to see, a blur of brown and beady eyes. the spotlight struggled to keep up with it, more helicopters flying in with news station logos painted on the side.

you gasped as it hit the building, shaking dust down onto your balcony. you hastily set your glass down and stood up, but before you could make it inside, the creature had crawled down from the balcony above and onto the ceiling.

he was grotesque; a massive creature with the face of a bat. he was was all leathery skin and thin, dying hair covering his body. his eyes were red and beady, fangs lining his hissing mouth. his ears were large and pointy, the skin stretched between cartilage thin enough that it was translucent. you were staring into the face of something straight out of a horror movie, and the overgrown humanoid bat was staring right back.

you both were frozen in time for a second, staring at each other. your blood roared in your ears, your heart working overtime.

the bat suddenly crawled towards you at a surprising speed, and you let out a scream, your fingers barely touching the door handle before his clawed feet were grabbing you. you screamed again as his claws sunk into your shirt, flapping his wings as he launched himself off of the balcony.

you were suddenly staring at the city streets below, your hands scrambling to grab onto him, terrified he would let go and you would plummet to your death. the bat adjusted its grip, claws closing around your biceps as he flew through the sky, letting out a screech as it headed in the direction of gotham, the news helicopters following behind.

clark ran his hands down his face, groaning softly as he rubbed at his tired eyes. he had stayed late at daily planet, behind on an article that was supposed to be published this weekend. his superman duties had been eating into his work hours lately. he took his glasses off, checking his watch.

his phone vibrated loudly against his desk, and he was tempted to ignore it, but the words on his computer screen were starting to blur. he picked it up, seeing lois calling. he swiped to answer it, putting the phone to his ear.

“hey, what’s-”

“clark, turn on the news right now.” lois interrupted, her voice sounding panicked.

clark furrowed his brows, adjusting the phone to his other ear. “what? why, what’s going-”

“just do it!” she urged frantically.

“alright, alright, jeez.” he grumbled, opening a new tab and navigating to the daily planet news station website.

he clicked on the live feed, the video loading for a few moments before finally playing. the screen displayed helicopter footage, following an object quickly moving through the air. he blinked a few times, the camera zooming in as he squinted to make out the shape. his heart dropped to his stomach when it finally clicked into place.

“clark, you need to get to them now.” lois told him, her voice shaking.

there was a long silence from clark’s end of the phone.

“clark, can you hear me?” she asked. another stretch of silence.

clark’s footsteps echoed through the empty halls, his phone abandoned on his desk as he raced to the stairwell. he was taking the stairs two at a time, stripping off his button up and his tie and throwing them carelessly on the stairs as he burst out of the roof access door. within seconds, he was launching himself into the air, leaving behind a small crater in the roof from the sudden force.

you were sure you were on the verge of a heart attack as you finally landed. the helicopters had lost you miles ago. the bat dipped low enough to the skyscraper to dump you onto the roof and you hit it with a painful thud, rolling a few feet across the gravel before coming to a stop. you groaned, trying to blink the dust out of your eyes as you struggled to your hands and knees.

blood dripped down your arms from where his claws has dug into your biceps and you hissed in pain as you were finally able to freely move your shoulders. you yelped as a strong hand grabbed your and yanked your to your feet, your other arm flailing to grab onto whoever it was.

“let go of me!” you yelled as you fought against their grip, your voice already hoarse and breathless from the rough flight over.

“oh, shut it, sweetheart,” a gruff voice responded, and you nearly let out another scream at the sight of who it was.

he was tall, wearing a nice but worn looking suit. half his face was burnt to a crisp, all of his teeth and his jawbone on his left side grotesquely visible. he dragged your by your arm, a gun in his other hand, across the roof and threw you down at the feet of the lizard creature from before.

you scrambled to your feet, but you were shoved down again, grimacing as your knees scraped against the rough ground. harvey dent gestured to you.

“well, you got ‘em.” he huffed, “what do you want now?”

you looked up at the man he was speaking to, a tall, hulking piece of muscle. he was wearing a vest and some black version of military pants, but his face was covered in a strange mask.

“croc?” he asked, turning to the creature next to him.

the crocodile stepped forward, snuffling the air around you before nodding with a snort. “that’s them."

bane stepped forward, crouching down to your level. he eyed you for a moment, the only sound being the wind around them and your own heavy breathing. he let out a huff of a laugh, before reaching out to grab you by the hair.

you cried out as he dragged your across the roof, frantically crawling on your hands and knees to keep up with his pace. pieces of gravel stuck in your palms and your knees, scraping up your skin and stinging harshly. you grabbed onto his arm as he pulled you up and slammed you into a chair at the edge of the building, the front two legs lifting off of the ground from the impact.

you yelped, frantically trying to lean forward and counteract the movement to avoid tumbling off the edge of the skyscraper, your blood like ice in your veins. the ground shook as croc and harvey joined, standing on either side of bane.

“who- who are you?” you managed to choke out, “what do you want with me?”

harvey laughed, crossing his arms. “you know why you’re here.”

you swallowed hard, struggling to look him in the eyes but forcing yourself to. “maybe. care to remind me?”

bane stepped forward once more, grabbing the back of your chair and pushing it until the front legs came off the ground again, dangling you over the edge of the building. you gasped, your hands flying out to grab onto his arm.

“don’t play stupid, it won’t get you far.” he growled.

“bane,” harvey deadpanned, “relax, they just got here.”

“they know what they did.” he argued, not taking his bloodshot eyes off of you.

“i exposed the horrific fucking experiments you guys were benefitting from,” you spat, your voice shaking. “and i’d do it again if it means i can do this.”

you gathered up a glob of saliva in your mouth before spitting it directly onto bane’s face, missing his eye by mere centimeters. he flinched back, his hand coming up to wipe it off of his face with a snarl.

“you bitch!” he barked, backhanding your across the face before harvey could protest.

you couldn’t even groan at the pain as your head whipped to the side, your eyes fluttering shut and your ears ringing, muffling their voices. you tasted blood, licking your lips as you fought to gain your bearings. you could feel bane grabbing your hands and forcing them behind your, binding them together with rope.

“-we’re gonna kill ‘em anyways!” bane snapped, “might as well have some fun before we do!”

harvey pinched the bridge of his nose, before waving his hand dismissively. “fine, fine! do whatever you please, but don’t kill them yet.”

the world was still spinning a little, and you blinked your eyes hard to try and settle your vision. before bane could set his hands on your again, a scaly hand wrapping around your throat and squeezed. you gasped, mouth instinctively opening as you tried to draw air in. you could breathe, ever so slightly, enough to keep your alive but still make you feel as if this was it. your heart pounded in your chest as you fought to fill your lungs with enough air.

“you’ve pissed off a lot of the wrong people.” croc hissed, his snorting breath puffing your hair into your face. “pokin’ your nose into places it don’t belong. trespassing on our territory, feeding the public things they don’t need to know.”

he let out a deep chuckle, loosening his grip to watch your drag in a wheezing breath, only to tighten it again. your feet kicked out as you struggled in his grasp, bringing him a warm feeling of satisfaction in his chest.

“should turn you into one of our goonies instead,” he threatened, “turn your brain to mush, make you do our dirty work for us. you tried to free ‘em all, eh? maybe we should turn you into one.”

his breath was hot on your face as he laughed once more before finally relenting his grip. you slumped in the chair, sucking in a harsh breath before coughing painfully, your face throbbing as blood flow returned to your head.

“fuck you.” you groaned, panting between words, “you said you… you were gonna kill me… just get it over with. i don’t have all day for this shit.”

harvey raised an eyebrow. or maybe both, but the left one is just burnt to an ugly crisp and can’t move. “do you really want your last words to be sarcastic?”

“do i have a fucking choice?” you huffed, your head slumping forward to fix him with a deadpan stare. “i’m an investigative journalist, i’ve seen this story dozens of times. i know how it ends.”

croc huffed in annoyance, reaching out to grab you by the arms and lift you into the air. you yelped, your feet kicking uselessly, bouncing off of his chest like nothing. he stepped closer to the ledge, dangling you a few feet over. you screamed before you could stop yourself, looking down at the streets below. you were probably close to a hundred stories in the air, if not more. the people below looked like ants and it made your dizzy.

he grinned as you struggled, enjoying the fear on your face. “c’mon, sweetheart, beg me not to do it.”

“no!” your voice sounded shakier than you had hoped, but you wouldn’t give him what he wanted. if you were going to die, you’d do it with your dignity intact.

croc’s smile fell, and he scowled at you. you yelped as he loosened his grip, dropping you just a few inches.

“croc,” harvey scolded, “put ‘em back in the chair.”

he huffed, but did as he was told, setting your carelessly back in the chair. you stared up at harvey as he approached, silver gun still in hand. he tapped the end of it against his chin in thought.

“well, i’ll bite.” he hummed, “who was your source?”

you scoffed, shaking your hair out of your face. “even if i knew, i wouldn’t tell you.”

“bane.” he deadpanned, and suddenly a large hand grabbed your face, squishing your cheeks together painfully.

“don’t lie, it won’t get you anywyoure.” he warned, voice low and annoyed.

“i’m not.” you grit out, grimacing at the pressure. “i don’t know who my source is, it was anonymous.”

“anonymous?” harvey repeated as he began to slowly pace back and forth. “an anonymous whistleblower. how… convenient.”

he turned on his heel, aimed his gun at you, and fired off a shot. you screamed as it bounced off of the gravel and ricocheted elsewhere.

“who was it?” he demanded, his impatience finally showing.

“i don’t fucking know!” you yelled back, your words a little garbled from bane’s grip on your cheeks. “i’m telling you, i don’t know!”

croc approached from the other side, unsheathing one long, curved claw. you stared at it as he got closer, trying to lean away but bane kept his grip. your eyes followed as slowly hovered the claw over various parts of your body as if he were debating where to slice, before he finally settled on the top of your thigh. you bit back a cry, squeezing your eyes closed as he stabbed the claw into your thigh, slowly dragging it across, ripping fabric and skin alike. a pathetic whimper left your lips as he flicked his hand, bringing the blood coated claw up to his mouth to lick it clean.

“i’ll ask again,” harvey sing-songed, finding delight in your gasps as croc drew anotyour line below the first. “who’s the source?”

“i-i told you, i don’t know!” you whimpered, gasping as croc brought his claw up to your face.

you were hyperventilating now, your eyes wide as he cut a line into your face, just below your eye. you cried at the sting, tears welling up and blurring your vision.

“i’m telling the truth, i swear!” you whimpered, your head lolling forward momentarily as bane let go.

harvey fired off another warning shot, making you cry out and jolt away, nearly tumbling out of your chair. bane grabbed you by the hair once more, dragging you over to harvey and tossing you at his feet. you grunted as you hit the ground, struggling to roll onto your side and get onto your knees. before you could sit up, a punch knocked your back down. you moaned in pain, your head spinning. more blood dripped from your split lip, splattering onto the gravel as you coughed.

harvey kicked your onto your back, and you blinked your eyes open, staring up at him in a daze as he leaned over you. he pressed the cold barrel of the gun against your forehead, crouching down beside you.

“i’m not asking again.” he whispered, “you know what i want.”

you closed your eyes tight, trying to will away the tears that threatened to spill. “i don’t know.”

harvey let out a sigh, shaking his head as he tutted in disapproval. you waited for the inevitable, waited for the world to go dark, to be over, to disappear forever, but the pressure of the barrel was suddenly ripped away with a sudden rush of wind.

you opened your eyes just in time to catch a flash of blue and red, superman throwing harvey right into bane’s chest, sending them both skidding across the roof. you screamed as croc grabbed you, claws digging into your torso as he manhandled you roughly, scratching and drawing more blood. croc used you as a shield, hand gripping your throat tight as superman turned to face them, fists clenched tight.

“let them go.” he demanded, floating closer.

you whimpered as croc tightened his hold, and superman stopped. your legs dangled uselessly, squirming in his grasp. his other hand was wrapped around your torso, claws digging into your side to hold you up.

“let them go.” he repeated, his voice trembling with barely contained rage.

“never seen you venture over here,” harvey grunted, getting to his feet. “what a privilege to have thee superman grace us with his presence. normally, we’re fighting the bat.” he chuckled, dusting off his suit, “wonder where he is. not his battle, i suppose.”

superman didn’t take his eyes off of you, calculating in his head how to get to you without causing you harm. no plan he could conjure seemed good enough. too many risks plaguing him with indecision, the unfamiliar feeling of being at a loss settling in his chest and making it hard to breathe.

“what do you want from them?” he asked, “i’ll get it for you, just name it.”

the villains paused. harvey laughed after a few moments of tense silence, coming to step in between them. he looked over at croc, a curious look in his eye as he regarded you, still gasping and struggling in croc’s grip. he swiveled his head, looking superman up and down, before turning to face him completely.

“i want the name of the whistleblower.” he requested.

“it was me.” superman answered, nearly interrupting harvey in his haste. “it was me, now let them go.”

harvey laughed, shaking his head. “it wasn’t you.” he said, sparing a glance over his shoulder before gesturing towards you with the gun. “do you know them?”

superman hesitated. you tried to shake your head, but croc’s grip was too tight.

“they’ve… interviewed me a few times.” he admitted tensely, “that’s all.”

harvey nodded slowly. “and you… care for them? because of that?”

superman didn’t answer. he shifted his gaze from harvey to you, fists clenching by his sides again.

“if i recall correctly,” harvey began, beginning to slowly pace back and forth like a lawyer laying out the facts during a trial, “because, contrary to popular belief, i do my research on any potential… threats. they’re the only journalist you’ve ever graced with an interview.”

“they’re a good journalist.” superman nodded once, his tone clipped with impatience and fear.

“indeed.” harvey hummed, “they mean something to you?”

superman didn’t answer again. harvey paused next to bane, staring at the hero for a few moments before letting out a deep chuckle. he turned on his heel, lifted the gun to aim at you and squeezed the trigger.

in a blur of motion, superman was blocking the bullet, the crushed metal bouncing harmlessly off of his chest. as bane lunged forward, wrapping his arms around superman and pinning his arms to his side momentarily, croc lifted you up and tossed you over his shoulder, sending you plummeting over the edge of the skyscraper with a scream.

superman moved without a thought, breaking free of bane’s hold and grabbing him. he flung him around, knocking his heavy body into harvey’s like a wrecking ball. the force of the impact sent them both rolling, scattering dust and gravel as they tumbled over each other in a heap. superman launched himself at croc, tackling him over the ledge and sending them both freefalling through the air, your scream barely audible over the rush of wind.

they grappled for a moment, before superman managed to bunch his knees to his chest and plant his feet against croc, pushing off with enough force to separate them. croc was rocketed into the next building, crashing through the wall and disappearing inside while superman was launched backwards.

he slammed into the building, righting himself before diving back out of the crumbling glass and down towards you. you were flailing through the air, arms still tied behind your back, your screams ringing in his ears. with an extra boost of speed, superman was slamming into you, wrapping his arms around your body as you cried out at the impact.

he pivoted mere inches from the ground, shooting back up into the sky as you screamed again, his hand tucking your head against his chest. you gasped for air, the wind knocked out of your lungs from the harsh impact. pain blossomed along your ribs, making it difficult to suck in a decent breath as superman whisked your off away from gotham.

you pressed your face against him, eyes squeezed closed. as he flew, he tugged at the ropes around your wrist, freeing them effortlessly and you immediately clung to him, your nails digging into the material of his suit almost painfully. the wind was like ice against you, stinging your cuts and exposed skin, but as superman adjusted his grip on you, encasing you in his arms, his warmth seeped into you instead.

he slowed, touching down on the balcony of an apartment building. superman didn’t set you down, only shoved open the sliding glass door and quickly brought you inside. you grimaced in pain, unable to stop the soft gasp from leaving your lips as he lowered you onto the couch, immediately kneeling in front of you and cupping your face.

“are you okay?” he asked frantically, his eyes scanning you quickly. “gosh- your ribs. i-i must’ve broken them when i grabbed you, i’m so sorry.”

you winced as you sat up, your hand coming to hold your side. “i’m okay,” you rasped, your voice raw from screaming. “i’m okay, i-”

he grabbed your face, pressing his lips against yours before you could finish, and you let out a muffled mphf! your eyes widened, grimacing in pain as his sweaty palm pressed against the cut under your eye. he quickly pulled away, adjusting his grip to cradle your jaw instead.

“i’m sorry!” he rushed out, immediately standing up and disappearing into another room.

you sat there in shock, your lips tingling from the warmth of his kiss. your eyes darted around the living room, brows furrowing as you slowly recognized the space, your frazzled brain taking a few extra seconds to put the pieces together.

superman returned, holding a first aid kit. he set it on the coffee table, immediately opening it with enough force to fling the supplies across the room.

“jeez-” he huffed, moving to gather everything into a pile, but your hand shot out, grabbing his wrist.

he looked at your, holding your gaze for a moment. your skin was ice cold against his, your brows furrowed in confusion, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

“...clark?” you breathed out, your head tilting like you needed to change angles to truly see him.

clark held his breath before his shoulders sagged as he breathed out a sigh, looking away for a moment. “this… isn’t how i wanted to tell you.”

you could only stare at him, trying to piece all of the information together while simultaneously still reeling from the fact you almost died. you shook your head, letting out a breathy, disbelieving laugh. clark took that as his cue to gather the supplies he spilled.

“i swear i was going to tell you, i just… i don’t know, it’s complicated, y’know?” he rambled as he set the supplies on the table, ripping open a packet of gauze and soaking it in antiseptic. “i didn’t want to put you in any unnecessary danger, and… well, i had to make sure i could trust you- not that i didnt! that’s not what i meant, what i mean is… in case you, i don’t know, didnt… want to know. it’s a big responsibility, and i understand that while some people are curious about superman’s true identity, people that are close to me have a different kind of… risk they face when they know.”

as he talked, he pulled the sleeve of your shirt up, dabbing away at the claw marks on your arm. you didn’t react to the sting, just stared at him in silence, letting him ramble on and disinfect your wounds as you struggled to process everything that happened in the last few hours along with the fact that clark was superman. your clark. dorky, clumsy, goofball clark who spills coffee on his desk every other day, and remembers all of your favorites like it was the easiest thing in the world.

“-and then there was the whole hammer of boravia guy, and then that… that footage of my parents- my biological parents, from krypton, and after that, i just… i wasn’t sure if you would trust me as superman, and then-”

“clark.”

“-all that luthor stuff, and the pocket universe, and the rift in the fabric of whatever that ripped apart the ground, and trying to put it back, and then that interview with you after! that article was so amazing, and you did such a good job getting my- er, superman’s voice just right that i wanted to tell you, but i couldn’t find the right time-”

“clark.”

“-and then we went on that date- our fourth one, you remember? and gosh, you make a really good alfredo, you know that? i know i told you like a million times but it was truly amazing, like, you could’ve been a chef-”

“clark!”

clark finally stopped his rambling, looking up at you. you stared at each other for a few moments before breaking into soft, incredulous laughter.

“clark, i…” you shook your head a little, struggling to come up with a response. “i think… maybe a hospital is a little more appropriate? not that i don’t think you can patch me up, it’s just… the cops might need to get involved and… i don’t know, clark kent doesn’t really have a believable reason as to why superman brought me to clark’s apartment.”

clark laughed a little, his head hanging for a moment before nodding in agreement.

“that seems like a good idea.” he said as he stood, helping your stand.

you grimaced in pain, holding onto his arms as he scooped your up again, making his way to the open balcony door and stepping out.

“you okay?” he asked softly, looking down at your as you wrapped your arms around his neck.

you looked up at him, giving him a gentle nod. “because it’s you, yeah. m’okay.”

clark felt his chest warm at your words, leaning down to press a kiss to your forehead. “hang tight.” he murmured, before pushing off and into the air.

you were exhausted by the time you were discharged from the hospital. after x-rays, CT scans, stitches, pain meds, and a long conversation with some cops to give your official statement, you were finally stumbling out of the front entrance and into clark’s waiting arms. you sagged against him, eyes closing, mind vaguely fuzzy from the pain medication they had given you.

he dropped a kiss to your head, his large hands rubbing your back to chase the chill of the morning away. “let’s get you home.” he murmured, carefully scooping you up.

you didn’t protest, just tucked your head against his shoulder and held your prescription bag to your chest.

“did the cops talk to superman, too?” you asked, voice fatigued and raspy.

“they did.” he nodded, walking along the side of the building and to an empty alleyway. a quick glance to ensure no one was around, and he gently lifted off into the air, wanting to get you home quickly.

“what did he say?”

he tightened his hold on you, trying to shield you from the wind as he flew back to his apartment.

“he said what happened.” he told you simply, “a civilian was in need and he stepped in to help.”

you rolled your eyes, but were too tired to press for more details. the flight home was peaceful, your eyes closed and fighting sleep. the next time you opened them, clark was laying you in his bed. he moved quietly, grabbing an old college sweatshirt of his and a pair of boxers that had gotten too small for him years ago. he came back to help you sit up, gently removing your dirty, blood stained clothes. when you opened your eyes, he was looking away respectfully, and you let out a tired laugh.

“clark, it’s okay, you can look.” you reassured him, “i’m not going to think you’re a creep.”

he met your gaze after a moment, his eyes falling to the stitches in your cheek, the bruises steadily darkening across your ribs, the stitches in your thigh. his jaw tightened at the sight.

he helped you out of your clothes and slipped the sweatshirt over your head. you leaned back and lifted your hips so he could slip your underwear off, quickly replacing it with his boxers. he tucked you into bed, pulling the blankets over you and pressing a lingering kiss to your head.

“get some sleep.” he murmured, smoothing your hair down with a gentle hand. “you need it.”

before he could turn to leave, you grabbed his arm, tugging on his sleeve.

“stay.” you requested, your voice so small and tired it made his chest ache.

he nodded without hesitation, already slipping off his shoes to slide into bed beside you. he wrapped you up in his arms, your head tucked against his chest once again. the silence settled over you comfortably, clark’s hearing zeroing in on the sound of your heart beating in your chest. rhythmic, calming, alive. minutes passed, and clark was certain you had fallen asleep until your voice interrupted the silence.

“so… i was interviewing you the whole time?” you asked sleepily, your eyes still closed.

clark couldn’t help but laugh quietly. “yeah, hon. it was me the whole time.”

“and that means all the times i was trying to tell myself that superman wasn’t flirting with me, he was just being himself…”

“i was, in fact, flirting, yes. why aren’t you asleep?”

“can’t shut my brain off.”

he hummed in sympathy, running his hand up and down your back gently. “do you want to talk or just lay here?”

“talk, please.”

he nodded, adjusting his hold on you as he pressed a kiss to your head. his voice filled the room, soft and comforting, speaking about anything that came to his mind. old childhood memories, embarrassing college mishaps, even a few superman stories. it wasn’t long before your breathing slowed, your body relaxing against him as you finally succumbed to sleep.

he knew you both would have a lot to discuss in the morning, about what you went through, about clark’s other identity, about what this means for your relationship. but for now he was content to lay here and count your breaths in the comfort of his bed until you woke.

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