Similis

"Haze?"



Haze tried to rouse, and to respond to the gentle summons, but there was a great weight pressing down on him. His eyes stayed shut despite his best efforts to open them.



"Haze, come on, you're almost here." That was Bruce's voice, and he was upset.



Haze desperately wanted to respond, but he was so exhausted, neutralising the green mineral had taken the very last of his own energy. He was running empty now, used up and hollow like the old oil drums back on the farm.



" … sunshine?" That was Jonathan's voice, sounding so far away that Haze could hardly make out the words.



"You think that will help?" Bruce was close, the warmth of his breath ghosted over Haze's ear, but Haze couldn't answer.



"I don't suppose it could do any harm…" Bruce decided. "Okay, let's give it a try?"



Cradled in strong arms, Haze felt himself lifted up from the mattress. After the warmth of the bed the cooler air in the rest of the room raised goose bumps on his skin.



"He's getting cold!" Jonathan had noticed. "I don't think I've ever seen him affected by temperature before. Here, hold still a moment, Bruce, lets get this over him."



Something light and warm drifted down around Haze's legs and arms.



"Fold it round him." Bruce was saying. "It's a perfect day out there, hardly a breeze."







Haze drifted, his mind wrapped in fog. For an instant he registered the heat of hands under him, a steady grip on his abused flesh. There was a brisk rocking movement, and the light dimmed, the feel of the room altered. The air around him was cooler now, and darker, and the sound was different.



For a second Haze panicked, not understanding the changes, his senses sliding and no longer locked onto the movements of the world beyond his skin.



"Haze, it's okay, it's all okay. I'm just taking you outside."



Bruce was there. Maybe it was all right?



"We're just going along the upstairs corridor now." Bruce was telling him. "Then we'll go down the main stairs and head directly outside."



Vaguely, Haze remembered the corridor. So that was why it was darker and sounded emptier? The scent of Bruce calmed him, and Haze let his fears slip away as his face rested against Bruce's chest.



"How much do you think he's aware of?" Jonathan sounded worried.



"Some of it probably." Bruce supposed, "My guess is it's like he's under heavy sedation. He can't move, can't open his eyes, but I think he knows we're here. At least I hope so." The rhythm of the movements changed, becoming shorter, brisker.



"Haze, I'm just carrying you downstairs, don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you." It was comforting to hear the rumble of Bruce's voice in his ears, and to feel the vibrations in the broad chest as he spoke. Haze tuned in gratefully to the sounds of the body under his cheek, and let it all wash over him.



A flood of sunlight flowed over his face and shoulders and, while Haze was trying to decide if he was hot or cold, he was gently lowered onto a flat surface. It was harder than the bed, but still slightly springy, and at least partly organic, as the angel could sense tiny filaments of life just beneath the cloth on which he had been placed. They were too flimsy to be of use, even if he had been able to touch them directly. Grass probably, and he was resting on top of some sort of blanket.



"Haze?" Bruce was beside him, but mere proximity was no longer enough. Haze desperately wanted to let his human companions know that what he needed was direct physical contact, something with which to anchor himself, but he could not manage to sign. His hands would not co-operate, his limbs might as well have been encased in concrete for all the use they were.







Ever since he had returned to Bruce, Haze had been frantically fighting the effects of the shock to his system. It was obvious in hindsight that he had been foolish to commit nearly all of his remaining energies into trying to free Clark the previous evening, but he had been desperate.



From the very beginning, Haze had had no option but to keep Clark's body alive and healthy: Clark had been Haze's only safe channel to the sustaining energy of this universe, as well as providing the angel with protective camouflage. Any unguarded meta-human action on Haze's part could have drawn attention to Haze as an invading entity, rendering the angel vulnerable to attack by the natural defences of this existence.



But with Kal running the Kryptonian shell, Haze could no longer draw on Clark's flesh to regain any lost energy. Even though that part of their connection had failed with the demise of Clark, certain physical aspects of the bond were still very much active. Meanwhile the link itself was beyond Haze's abilities to dissolve. This left Haze effectively expending energy and receiving none in return, even healing himself of the most minor wounds was now way beyond his dwindling resources.



Somewhere out there, in the nearby city, Kal must be even now wondering how he had come out of the vicious attack without even a scratch? Whatever the circumstances of the conflict, it had been left to Haze to save them both, and to negate the effects of the knife attack being directed at Kal, by taking the toxin into his own body. Haze was only thankful that the green rock was not directly poisonous to his own underlying physiology.



Haze simply hadn't had any choice in the matter: his options had been reduced to either saving Kal, or being immediately dragged into death along with him. Kal was benefiting from the connection, whether the other youth knew it or not; however Haze was steadily losing ground.



Haze had hoped that he might have husbanded his reserves for long enough to forge an additional link to consolidate his position, but that seemed unlikely now. His grip on this existence was reduced to a fingerhold and still he could think of nowhere else to turn to for help. Compatible people were rare; the only likely candidate was Lex, except that Lex was too far away. In any event it was only speculation that Lex might fit the requirements: the two of them had never forged a proper connection, only pooled resources temporarily.







"The sunlight doesn’t seem to be helping." Bruce was beginning to sound worried. "His pulse is thready … Jon, have you ever seen him like this before?"



"Twice now … night … he first arrived," Echoing and vague, Jonathan's voice sounded as if he was in a cave, "Then again … few days after Clark … missing."



Haze felt his circle of awareness shrinking…



"What happened?" By now Bruce was sounding fuzzy too. Haze wanted to reach out, to hold on to Bruce, but could not. Desperate, he cut his breathing rate by half again. The energy drain had gone so far by now that even being fully bathed in the sunshine would only have been partially effective, and having a blanket around him was reducing that flow even further.



"… nearly died that first night." Jonathan related, the words blending together. "… thought … was a goner."



"What saved him, Jon?"



"… Clark … latched onto Haze … wouldn't let Haze go."



" …the second?" Bruce wondered anxiously.



" … Lex. …The meteors affected Lex … he reckons … somehow … let … help Haze … wasn't this bad though … "



"Oh Lord." Bruce's voice choked, " … neither of them … here …"



"Yep." Jonathan's presence faded into the background hum. "Bruce, … sorry … going inside … I can't …"



" … understand," Bruce promised, "I'll …"



Jonathan's familiar signature vanished hurriedly out of Haze's dwindling range.



Time to stop wasting any energy on breathing. He might just eke out a few extra minutes that way, buy himself more time to think...



Strong fingers gently traced along his jaw, curling into his hair.



"… need you, angel." A shadow blocked the blinding sunlight from his face, as Bruce leaned in close over him. "Please, Haze, please don't just give up."



Suddenly there was moisture on Haze's cheek. Hot salty water seeped into his mouth. Was Bruce crying? For him? It seemed so.



"Oh, god, Haze! I hope you can hear me… I'm probably all wrong for you, but …" Bruce's breath hitched in a suppressed sob. "Couldn't you use me like you did them?" Trembling lips touched briefly onto Haze's.



Could I? He is willing. Drawing on the dregs of his reserves Haze managed to make a very faint response.



"Haze!" Bruce begged softly. "If there's any chance at all that you can save yourself, then do it."







Knowing that this was his very last chance, Haze forced his mind gifts into action. With Bruce's face close to his, he urgently sought for even a faint trace of contact. Was Bruce even capable of doing this for him?



Maybe. Just maybe. A light hint of something shivered through Haze, just enough to stave off the rise of the cold. They weren't really very compatible, but maybe if Bruce could be made willing enough that barrier could be overcome, even if only for just the one time?



Deliberately Haze pressed back, hoping that he could convince Bruce to react in the way Haze needed.



Unconventional, but it might just work…



"Go on, Haze…" Bruce encouraged. The tongue that slipped between Haze's slightly parted lips was tentative, but good for all that.



Haze tried to return the touch, despite the numb state of his flesh.



"Whatever you need..." Bruce murmured, continuing to press his mouth onto Haze's and kissing him avidly.



The glowing aura that was Bruce simmered just beneath the man's skin. Haze could feel it pulsing with each heartbeat and his extra senses latched onto the margins, teasing out into Bruce's flesh, encouraging him. While Haze refused to tamper with Bruce's life-force, there was one safe alternative - if only the human could be induced to supply it.



"Take what you need." The deep voice urged. "I'm here for you."



Hands smoothed along his bare arms, his chest, his legs, and pulled him up, against the hard planes of Bruce's muscular torso. The sheet slipped off Haze, uncovering him to the sunlight, sending beautiful radiation pouring through him.



"You are so beautiful…." Bruce whispered, "So damn sexy. God, I shouldn't be doing this now, not with you hurt… Only I suddenly feel like you need this as much as I do…"



Now that there was sunlight on his skin boosting his reserves, Haze was able to respond a little more. Stimulating Bruce's physical reactions with his mind gifts, he returned the fevered kisses as best he could.



"Oh, yes!" As Bruce grew increasingly aroused, the energy levels within him mounted. "God, Haze, I want you so much!" He whispered.



Silently Haze encouraged his lover, stroking and teasing as the human's pleasure peaked. As Bruce reached climax his aura finally brimmed over, trickling into Haze.



Eagerly Haze drank up every trace of the excess energy that Bruce would otherwise have discarded. Chasing the trail back into Bruce's mouth with his tongue, he savoured the heady mix that radiated from this wonderful man. Chloe had been closer than she knew when she described angels as being pure Love, although purity was technically optional as Lust could serve as a reasonable substitute, in a pinch…



"That was totally amazing." Bruce panted, as he leant back, holding Haze close. Gratefully Haze felt the long-delayed healing finally happen and sighed in contentment as his injuries were absorbed.



Crisis averted.







'Bruce…' Haze whispered into the man's mind, not really expecting a response.



Turning a flushed face toward him, Bruce gave him a wondering look. "Haze?"



'Do you hear me?' Haze asked wordlessly.



Bruce's expression grew puzzled, "I could swear that I could almost feel something, like a buzz in my head…" He said slowly. "It's the strangest thing."



'Good.' Haze signed, realising now that at least part of the earlier problem was because of the thick bandages on both his hands. Sitting up, he awkwardly investigated the closures.



"What are you trying to do?" Bruce was immediately concerned. "You have at least four broken bones in that hand, plus the cuts and bruises. The last thing you need to be doing is trying to undo it. The other hand isn't as bad but I bet it still hurts like hell?"



Haze smiled at him. He means well. Holding out both hands, he encouraged the bonds in the bindings to break down, and absorbed the energy from their destruction with only minimal reluctance. It was not often that the angel permitted himself to indulge in destructive acts, but he was still very weak, he needed the bandages off, and the extra energy would do a lot to help restore him.



Haze knew now that he could not ever draw on Bruce in the way he could have with Clark, or even Lex. Bruce was too fundamentally different for them to blend effectively, and to try doing so would harm the human, a thing that Haze would never let happen. Lex's meteor mutation partly safeguarded him, but Bruce had no such protection.



"What was that?" Bruce was staring, "I saw …" He hesitated. "I felt …"



Haze decided to save time and, reaching over, pulled Bruce back to him and kissed him thoroughly.



"Wow." Bruce sat back on his heels and gaped. He reached out and grasped Haze's hands with cautious fingers, smiling as he saw that Haze was flexing his fingers freely again. "You're healed, aren't you? How did you do that?"



'You helped me.' Haze told him wordlessly. Bruce frowned as if something was on his mind, but he couldn't quite think what.



'Heal, you help me.' Haze signed, knowing that Bruce would understand that, and at the very least their new link would attune them enough to improve the ease of communication.



"I helped you heal? How?" Bruce watched Haze make the signs for 'small' and 'bond'.



"What bond, Haze?" He asked curiously.







Reaching out gently, Haze let the contact between them grow again, until Bruce began to show signs of feeling it. It would never be what Haze could achieve with Clark: Bruce would probably never hear Haze's words freely, and would certainly never be able to initiate this intimate communication, but this link would suffice to help camouflage Haze and to allow him to tap into this world's energies for now.



The angel told Bruce as much, signing slowly and clearly so that Bruce would have time to understand everything that he was telling him.



"You can do that?" The other man was amazed.



Haze smiled as he signed that it was only when they touched closely and carefully, and that Bruce had given him enough to enable Haze take care of the rest. 'Thank you.' He signed earnestly.



"Haze," Bruce was confused still. "I trusted you not to hurt me, and as far as I'm concerned you haven't. I just don't understand what part I could possibly play in helping you tap into whatever it is you need to use? I don't feel any different, so what is it that I'm doing for you?"



Haze couldn't think of how to describe it, until he remembered the curious little power couplings that Bruce used to connect his laptop to the mains power in the house. Getting to his feet, he took Bruce by the hand, pulling him gently in through the open doors and into Bruce's office.



"You're using me like that, to help you tap into the energy of my world?" Bruce grinned as Haze tried to explain. To his surprise, Bruce burst into laughter. "Oh, Haze. I've been many things in my time, but I've never been anyone's adaptor plug!" He chuckled.



"Bruce?" Jonathan came hurrying in, with Alfred close behind him.



Bruce couldn't speak for laughing, and while Haze hugged Jonathan and reassured him that, yes, he was fine now, and yes, it was thanks to Bruce, Bruce continued to laugh until the tears streamed down his face.



Jonathan seemed to think it was equally hilarious as well, once the comparison was explained to him.



Haze and Alfred exchanged glances and left them to it.



"I cannot see the amusement value either." Alfred told Haze. "I think it best if we attribute it to emotional stress and leave them to get over it. I shall go and finish the lunch preparations. Is there anything you require, master Haze?" Assured that there was not, Alfred gracefully exited the room, leaving the angel to puzzle over the spectacle of two grown men openly weeping with laughter.



* * * * *





It was later that evening, over a leisurely dinner, that Haze managed to reveal the full extent of what he had discovered during his search for Clark.



"Kryptonite?" Jonathan was horrified. "A whole lead-lined vault of the stuff? In the middle of Morgan Edge's Gotham headquarters?"



"And we know that he has amassed a whole lot of information about Clark/Kal." Bruce added. "I bet that he stores those files in the same vault."



"So what are we going to do about it, Bruce?"



It was obvious to Haze that the two men were thinking along the same lines.



"A sneak attack wouldn't work." Bruce stated confidently. "Not unless we had an army with us. Edge has armed guards, cameras, the works in that place."



"Sounds like you know it pretty well?" Jonathan was less convinced.



"I went undercover there for about three months, heavily disguised." Bruce admitted. "It was about a year ago, so they could have changed things, but it was tight even back then."



"Any change of getting back in?"



"No. I was discovered and nearly ended up at the bottom of the river with a couple of extra holes in me. If I hadn't been wearing the very best in bullet-proof clothing I wouldn't be sitting here now and talking about it." Bruce sighed. "That place is better guarded than the White House."







Haze picked out the gist of what Bruce was saying, even if some of the terms were somewhat unfamiliar. Gesturing at them, he interrupted the increasingly speculatory conversation and caught their full attention.



"How can you do it?" Jonathan leant forward. "Haze, what are you telling us?"



Haze signed that he could take things apart, but apparently neither of the humans had any idea of what he meant by that.



"Take what apart?" Bruce asked, picking up the words if not the underlying meaning.



When Haze gestured to indicate that he meant everything and anything, their jaws dropped.



"But what will that do to you?" Bruce demanded as Jonathan nodded.



Haze blushed. This was the part that he didn't like to admit. The part that none of his kind would ever want to share with beings not like themselves. Cautiously he confessed that it would make him feel bad.



"Then that's out. We can't risk you leaving yourself vulnerable with Edge close by." Bruce said decisively, misunderstanding just as Haze had dreaded he would despite their linkage.



And so I shall have to tell them…



"We all know how healing takes it out of you!" Jonathan agreed. "You can't chance that with Edge and his men around. How would that help?"



'Not same.' Haze signed. 'Destroy not same as heal.' He looked imploringly at Bruce.



"In what way? How is it different, Haze?" Bruce looked at him.



"Perhaps you'd better tell us exactly what you do mean?" Jonathan had the bit between his teeth and was determined to pursue this to the bitter end. "We've both seen how you nearly die when you heal someone all by yourself, Haze, so what does destroying things do to you?"



Why could they not just accept it? Why did they have to press him for details, knowing that he would not lie, and certainly not to them?



Reluctantly, Haze signed the dreadful details, taking it slowly and carefully so as to be sure that he did not have to repeat it.



Bruce looked increasingly shocked as he watched the signs forming. "You get stronger whenever you destroy?"



The two humans stared at each other in disbelief.







"How is that bad?" Jonathan finally asked. "Doesn't sound at all bad to me."



'Destroy bad, Angel.' Haze signed. 'No Angel way.'



"It's against your ethical code to destroy things?" Bruce speculated. "Okay, Haze, I can appreciate that, but obviously you feel this is necessary, or you wouldn't be contemplating it."



'Must.' Haze agreed reluctantly, signing that he didn't think that Edge would ever stop, not until he had both Clark and Haze under his control, and that Edge would use any tool he could find; including Jonathan and Martha, in order to achieve his ends, and the man already knew far too much about all of them. He probably also had Bruce on his list by now.



"So you're saying that we have no choice, if we’re going to protect the people we care about, and probably the rest of the city if not the World." Bruce decided. "Okay, I agree with you, and obviously we have to help you with this. How near would you have to get, Haze, in order to take out Edge's vault?"



Haze signed that he would not be going for the vault.



"You're not going to be able to take out the whole vault?" Jonathan supposed. "Yeah, I guess that it would be a bit much to manage…"



Haze reminded them that the vault occupied practically the entire floor, and if he were simply to remove it, the structure of the entire tower would be compromised. The upper floors would fall the instant the vault was gone. The damage would be tremendous.



"So what were you thinking of doing? Emptying the vault?" Bruce asked. "Just vanishing the contents?" He clarified.



'Thinking destroy building. Get everything.' Haze signed, then sat back and waited as the proverbial penny dropped.



"Good Lord Above." Jonathan sat back and stared at Haze. "You can really do that?" It was obvious that he was finally beginning to gain some understanding of exactly what he had invited into his home.







Haze nodded, feeling the tears brim in his eyes. He was so ashamed at having unsettled Jonathan. This man had taken him in, and clothed and fed him, only to find that he had been housing not one but two alien time bombs in his home. That Haze would never have used his gifts against the Kent's was irrelevant.



I have still caused distress to Jonathan! Losing Clark to the red-side had been bad enough for the man Haze had come to regard as his surrogate father, now the angel felt as if he had just deliberately stuck another knife in the same wound.



"Haze?" Bruce was immediately at his side. "Haze, don't upset yourself. I know that you wouldn't even be considering this if you thought there was any other way." He pulled Haze against him and held him comfortingly.



Haze couldn't believe that Bruce could still bear to be near to him after what he had just confessed. How could either of these people contemplate being close to someone who could not only casually destroy things, but would actively benefit from doing so? Even another angel would find the subject distasteful enough to not refer directly to it.



"Is this some sort of taboo subject for you?" Jonathan asked with sudden insight. "Is that why you don't do it? Or mention it?"



Haze nodded.



"Haze." The older man reached over and patted Haze's knee in a reassuring way. "It doesn't change the way I feel about you, son. I trust you. You're a good person, and that is all that matters to me."







Hugging Haze tight once more, Bruce let him go. "So how close will you need to be?" He asked.



Haze indicated he could do it from the shopping Plaza, but that he would prefer to be in the small courtyard at the rear end of the building.



"You could do it from that far away? You don't have to be in contact with the building itself?" Bruce looked relieved at that, and at the same time, unnerved.



The two men watched in stunned silence as Haze signed that he could do it from the other side of the city, but that he wanted to make quite sure that the building remained completely empty of life while he took it down.



"And how are we going to manage that? They aren't exactly going to rush to co-operate with us." Jonathan started to say. "And we can hardly warn them about what we are going to do…"



"My guess is that everyone on duty will be only too pleased to leave if they think that their building is on fire." Bruce smiled darkly. "I am sure that together we can shove in a few smoke grenades into the air vents?"



"How are you going to get into the building to do that?" Jonathan looked worried. "There aren't any adjoining roofs. From the pictures that Alfred pulled up for us, the tower stands well above everything else at that end of the Plaza."



Bruce's smile grew wider and he flapped his hands together in the same sign that Haze always used to denote …



"Wings!" Jonathan's delighted grin was a pleasure to see. "Oh, yeah!"