There was something to be said for the uncanny ability heroes had to draw out the extremes in people.

Superman would always happily claim that they could bring out the best. Things like hope and compassion – the sort of feelings that could push regular every day people to work together to overcome great evils. It had happened before, a single hero being the uniting force for a mass of people – a movement driven purely by a mutual belief set. Superman had been there, seen it and felt it warm his heart time and time again.

However there was always the alternative to leave a sour taste in his mouth.

It was so easy to forget just how much good they could inspire in humanity when there were people like the Joker running around – symbolizing the opposite extreme. The living, breathing evidence of the absolute worst heroes could bring out in humanity – the opposition of that mutual belief.

For as long as Superman could remember there had always been that answering cruelty, responding to the good that heroes brought with them.

Perhaps it was not entirely incorrect to place the blame for such criminals on the heroes. Without one there wouldn't be the other – that's what the television would say. It was never the fault of the people, or the country – it was the failings of one outsider, one person who did something that the others did not. It was a pack mentality, the same pack mentality that could similarly drive the best of humanity.

Superman didn't understand.

If great good could inspire such horrendous evil – was it really the best choice to try and stop the good from ever surfacing? Some of his planet seemed to think so.

His planet.

The thought was so affectionate and natural that Superman managed a small smile when it crossed his mind. For all its faults, its bickering and disagreements – Earth was still his planet. His home.

"Superman." The com in his ear suddenly crackled into life, bringing with it a familiar, impatient growl. Superman answered with a laugh.

"I hear you Batman – what's the emergency?"

"Don't make light." Batman snarled back, his voice carrying through the grainy transmission with ease. Sometimes Superman found the static background interfered with his teammates messages but Batman's steely voice always cut through it with ease.

Superman smiled to himself. Even the failings of modern technology were no match for their cranky bat.

"You're needed in Central City."

A frown creased the hero's face, wiping away that smile and his hand finally lifted to the earpiece to hold it in a little more firmly, like that would make it easier to communicate.

"Central?" He repeated uncertainly. "Where is Flash? That's his home turf."

"Already there." Batman answered flatly and Superman's brows knitted together more tightly. "Flash has asked for reinforcements, he's been injured and is not currently capable of rounding up his Rogues gallery while also babysitting his novice."

"That's a pretty harsh choice of words Batman." Even as the observation was made with a hint of teasing, Superman was heading back towards the planet, his trajectory changing from Metropolis to Central. He estimated arrival in seven minutes; he'd only gone up into the sky for a quick moment of peace, hardly deep enough to cost him any real time.

"Superman." The man growled in his ear warningly.

"I'm already heading there, Batman – I'm on it." There was an affirmative grunt from the Dark Knight before the line went silent again. If Superman hadn't know any better he would have thought the man had disconnected it was so quiet but he knew that Batman wouldn't have left after having just given him direction. He'd wait till Superman was there or until he decided that the man should be there before speaking up again.

The moment Superman entered the boundaries of Central City from above he heard exactly what the all fuss was. Focusing on a single sound in the rest of a constantly noisy world could be difficult even after years of practice, but today any human at this distance could have heard the commotion in Central City.

It was the details that only he could pick out that separated the chaos humans heard and the clarity with which he found its source. Beyond the wailing of a bank alarm and the screeching of cars trying to narrowly avoid joining those unfortunate enough to be caught up in what seemed to be a heist turned nasty – there were voices.

Muffled and almost completely drowned out by the surrounding commotion, but Superman focused on them easily because they were familiar to him. He could hear the Flash's heartbeat, racing almost as fast as the man himself moved. It was such a distinct sound that Superman could have pinpointed it from anywhere within the country. His voice carried a similar uniqueness to it.

"Ha—Really, I'm fine kid. These guys got nothing on me." Flash didn't sound fine. The slight hitch in his breath caused by pain was hidden well enough but whomever he was talking to most certainly hadn't missed it.

Remembering what Batman had said about the Flash being injured, Superman made a beeline for the man. Following that rapid heartbeat to his friend as fast as he could.

Hmpf. Barry would have called him slow.

"Superman." Batman's voice once again came through the earpiece with an alarming cackle. "Have you got a visual on the Flash yet?"

"Almost." Superman replied almost dismissively. He knew he had to do better than 'almost' to please the man. The Bat wasn't even halfway through forming the first angry syllable when Superman laid eyes on the red speedster.

"Batman, I got him."

When he'd said injured Superman hadn't quite expected the extent of the injury. The Flash and his 'novice' were crouched down behind an unfortunate car that had been upturned at some point in the whole disaster. The league member was still holding onto a grin even as his hands pressed firmly down on his leg.

The red fabric of his suit had been singed and Superman could see that the Flash's skin had been badly burnt where the fabric gave away, leaving him vulnerable.

"I'll be fine in just a sec – I heal fast, remember?" He heard the Flash tell the smaller male with him. Superman wasn't surprised to see Monochrome Black with the Flash. They'd become something of a reluctant pair recently. The Flash's insistence that the young man stay out of vigilantism had been overcome in the previous month and after some recovery time – he'd started to take Black out with him to fight crime.

All minor crimes Superman had noticed. Nothing bigger than a stolen purse or cat from a tree – baby steps for the Flash it seemed. It was the closest the man had ever come to moving slowly with something. The Flash had been keeping his novice on easy, safe jobs for the past few weeks.

At least until today. This was no simple backstreet thug arrest.

Superman began to float down towards the pair, keeping an eye out for any immediate threats. The first to notice him was not Flash but Black and while he realized someone was nearing them it seemed Black was still too inexperienced to remember to check who it was before reacting.

"Stay back!" No sooner than the shout came out of the small male, Superman found himself being bombarded with at least twenty different black spears. They were large, clumsy and formed out of panic rather than any type of skill or planning.

For the most part they were easy to evade in the air but while the attack was inelegant, it was vicious. The onslaught caught Superman by surprise, Black wasn't a league member but he was still in a sense an ally and Superman had not expected an attack from him.

The boy got one lucky shot in, a single spear striking Superman's shoulder, bounding off his body with a considerable impact. Superman staggered back a few inches in the air, able to feel the force of the blow but it was not quite painful. It hadn't cut him or impaled Superman's body like it would have a human.

"Monochrome Black!" A voice barked out of Superman's earpiece – evidentially Batman had found the time to implement a speaker. Was there nothing he could not manage, where did he find the time in all his brooding? "Look at who you are attacking."

Abruptly the boy's head jerked up, hands still held out before him in the motion he'd used to create the spikes that might have killed a lesser creature. His eyes were wide with panic and Superman couldn't decipher if it was the situation in general, the identity of the person he'd lashed out at, or Batman's voice that had the boy looking so spooked.

If he absolutely had to choose one, Superman would have guessed it was hearing Batman.

"S-Superman, I…" The boy stuttered, apology clear in his panicked tone. In response Superman just smiled at the young man, he was near invincible – what were a few useless blows between teammates?

Still, magic carried with it a sting that even Superman was weary of. Noire wasn't terribly powerful and there was no reason to fear his outburst – but the throb in his shoulder reminded Superman of why he detested fighting magic in the first place.

"It's alright, lad." Superman landed effortlessly in front of the pair, taking a few casual steps forward to clap his hand on Black's shoulder reassuringly.

"We will discuss your recklessness at another time, Monochrome Black." Batman's voice chimed in threateningly, overruling Superman's reassurance and all the man could do was offer Black a sympathetic glance before turning his gaze on the downed Flash.

For his part the scarlet speedster looked every bit ready to get up and try again – injured leg be damned. He also didn't seem put off by Superman's appearance and smiled at the hero as he approached – it was nice to be greeted without a growl when he came to offering help. Batman could learn a thing or two if he just let Barry teach him.

"What's the situation?" Superman asked, trying his best not to growl the question like Batman would. It was just a formality.

"The usual." Flash answered with a dry chuckle. "The Rogues are up to their old tricks. The bank two blocks back was robbed exactly two minutes before the one opposite us. They've hit another location on the far end of the city."

"That's a pretty excessive heist for them." From what he knew of the Rogues, they didn't do much other than steal – they didn't kill where they could help it. Superman wished some of his villains would look to them for guidance. If they couldn't stop being bad they could at least try to be less bad.

"This is just the distraction." Flash answered grimly, looking over at the torn up street. There were places where the ground had been shredded up and singed hunks of the upturned cement lay strew around unceremoniously. The cars that had been abandoned hadn't faired much better, the street looked a wreck.

But besides a few places in the buildings where it seemed their scuffle had become airborne and someone had smashed through the odd wall, the damage to the civilian structures was minimal. It almost seemed like whatever had damaged them had done so by accident and then purposefully avoided them in favour for unoccupied land.

"Flash, has anyone else been injured? Hostages, civilian casualties?"

The red suited man simply shook his head, hands pressing more firmly down on his injured leg. The smell of his burnt flesh was almost foul enough to make Superman's face screw up. He forced his muscles to remain lax so as not to offend the Flash by accident. It was hardly his fault human flesh smelt terrible when it was smoldering.

"Not one – just lucky ol' me." Flash confirmed grimly, it was obvious he was in some pain but wouldn't voice his complaints.

After having been in more fights than he could remember, Superman had become accustomed to spotting certain patterns in battle. This was an enemy that avoided hurting civilians – which could mean two things. They were true to their word about not killing innocents, or their goal was not destruction so much as it was an individual and the only person injured here was the Flash.

No sooner than the thought clicked into place in Superman's head, a loud explosion to his back caught the hero by surprise. The force of the blast knocked Black back into the car he and Flash had been huddled against when Superman arrived. Thankfully the Flash was already braced against it and only scooted back a few inches as the car squealed and crept back from the explosion.

Superman had been just a bit closer and no more prepared for the blast than the other two. He was knocked to the ground, not registering any greater pain than a simple thump to the back but still surprised he'd been forced down at all. It took the man a moment to realize that it wasn't something behind him that had exploded but rather the explosion had come from something striking him with great force. Someone had managed to land a solid hit on him.

"Black!" His ears were buzzing just a bit, making the Flash's urgent call sound as though it was fighting its way through static. It didn't help that Batman's voice was also buzzing in his ear, trying to get a confirmation that he was okay out of him.

He had not realized just how jarring the blow had really been before the dull aching and burning began to set in. Slow at first but growing with each passing second – Superman recognized the ache as magic. It felt very much like he'd just been stung, the heat of the blow increasing the longer he stayed down.

With Superman out of commission for at least a few seconds the assailant moved in. Swooping down out of the sky, falling quickly into a crouch as he looked for his actual target – big blue was just in the way. Immediately the male's eyes came to rest on the two heroes against the car – one standing protectively over the other. Despite himself White smirked at the protective stance.

His big brother was still so cute.

"White. What the hell do you think you're doing?" His brother was snarling at him, the usual unfriendly greeting. Paying it no mind White approached his brother and the fallen speedster.

He'd managed to nick one of the hero's legs, he'd heal quickly so White had to kill him before he had the chance to get back up. But there was his idiot big brother, standing in the way.

"Hush now, Black – let the adults talk for just a moment." With a careless flick of his wrist, White called up the light construct he'd used to strike Superman down only seconds ago. The formation took shape as a familiar scorpion tail, the tip still dripping globs of what would have been poison in a real scorpion tail.

White saw his brother's eyes widen when he saw it, no doubt he remembered how its sting felt against his own back. Not feeling the need to give Black an extensive reminder, White simply whipped himself around on spot, sending the tail lashing out at the weaker monochrome brother. It hit Black's chest with a dull thud that sounded dangerously close to rib breaking force and the strike sent his brother flying into a nearby wall – well away from the Flash.

White didn't bother turning to see where his brother had landed. The distant sound of a wall breaking under the force of Black's body colliding with it was enough for White to be sure he would be down for long enough.

"Black! Hey, Black answer me!" Of course the Flash shot up when he saw the younger man go flying. White couldn't decide if that protective reaction infuriated or pleased him.

He watched the Flash try to run to his ward's side, only to put weight on the injured leg and go down with it again. With a snarl of frustration and just a hint of pain, the speedster turned his furious eyes on White.

"I suppose I ought to thank you, for looking after my brother as long as you did." As he approached the injured Flash, White decided that he did want to thank the man for his protectiveness. It had served his big brother well while White was away. He might not particularly like the Flash and would not mourn his passing – but he should still be thankful for all the man had done for his idiot brother.

"As thanks." White continued casually. Ignoring the way the Flash tried to scramble back from his approach, to buy more time for his damaged leg to heal. He wouldn't be able to buy enough. "I'll make it quick."

He could see the confusion, the panic in the Flash's eyes as he tried to figure out just why this was happening. After all White had never made an attempt to do anything outside of occasionally fight with his brother or aid the Rogues in a robbery – attempting to kill someone, even the Flash, was not in his MO.

There was no point telling the Flash why he'd done this. He'd taken a page out of Cold's book and planned this to perfection. Using the heists as a distraction, pulling the Flash out when he had to account for Black's inexperience – he'd even maimed him just as planned.

No turning back now.

Throwing his arm up high into the air, White brought back the scorpion tail, allowing it to arch over his body. It was poised to strike down on the Flash, spear him through the heart and kill him before he had the chance to heal.

There was a morbid curiosity circling White's mind. Speedsters healed awfully fast, if he tore the man's chest open would it try to stitch itself back shut? Just how hard would his body fight to keep the speedster alive before it finally gave out? White would not stop striking until his chest was entirely carved out – just to be sure.

"Flash, I…" Alois paused; he could hear Black beginning to struggle his way out of the rubble White had thrown him into. But he didn't hurry – it felt too soon.

There was just something not quite right about this. He'd planned it all out, imagined it all countless times but as he stood there, at the end of his plans – it didn't feel like he'd imagined it would. It felt like he should say something more to the man staring up at him – like he owed him that much.

"I'm sorry." The apology slipped out in a whisper, almost as though Alois hadn't meant to say it at all. But it was a fleeting moment of hesitation and White felt as though it was the thing he'd needed to say to proceed.

This was just how it had to be.

With a fall of his arm and a whistle as the tail struck through the air to imbed itself inside the Flash's chest, White ignored his own apology.

The scorpion's strike never met pliable human flesh; instead it struck sturdy, unyielding alien skin. The solid force White had met with caused a painful jarring sensation to shoot up his arm, echoing dully in his bones as if he'd just hit a brick wall.

Alarmed White did not immediately realize what had happened, couldn't make sense of why he was suddenly staring at red, white and blue instead of just red.

"Now kid…" Then he tensed when he recognized the voice. Superman was back up. "Let's not play too rough here."

The cold dread coiled in White's stomach as he stared at the man who had caught his scorpion tail like it was nothing. Perhaps it burned him a little to hold but Superman showed no difficulty in keeping it away from its target. Then just as easily as he'd caught White's favoured weapon, he broke it. The construct shattering like it had always been as fragile as glass.

"No…" Horror laced the single word as White backed away from the Flash's savior. "No. No. This is my best chance, I won't let you ruin it!"

The shattered remains of the tail jerked back, slipping out of Superman's fingers as White pulled back with it. Parts of the light construct were still crumbling to the ground, when they met the solid surface they melted and began to seep into the cracks like paint, only to return to White through the soles of his boots.

With a new distance put between the Superman and White, the frantic male dropped down low into a familiar crouch, gaze fixed on the super hero. Superman did not factor into his plans – how was he to know the Metropolis hero would show up here on this day at this precise moment?

Behind the initial terror that raced through his blood at the sight of the strongest man on Earth, there was rage. White had never quite understood how Cold could get so twisted when a heist went pear shaped – he was beginning to understand it now.

It was foolish, White's every logical instinct told him to backpedal. Try to go into hiding before he got himself captured, hope that the man of steel would let him slip away if he was quick enough. That's what he should have done but White was both desperate and furious – logic had no place in his mind right now.

The tail had crumbled away into nothing more than a puddle around White's feet; honestly it must have looked rather pathetic seeing White staring dejectedly in the ruins of his favourite toy. Perhaps that was why Superman began to approach him, casual and open – the sort of approach one might use when dealing with an injured animal. White was being pitied.

"Listen, son." Superman began, ignoring how White winced upon hearing his tender tone. "This doesn't need to get any messier. I know you're not a bad kid. How about we just talk?"

White could hardly believe what he was hearing. The man wanted to talk? What did he think this was, some sort of charity case?

When Superman took another step towards him, White's eyes flashed up to scowl at the man's face. His cold expression almost dropped right off his face when White saw the way Superman looked at him. There was uncertainty there as he approached White with some semblance of caution, but most prominently White could see the kindness in his face.

His own expression must have betrayed his surprise because Superman smiled. Further throwing White off guard.

"See? We don't need to fight – just let us help you." Superman attempted to pacify him and part of White wanted to laugh. The rest was simply at a loss for how to respond.

"Just let me…" Then Superman's hand was resting on his shoulder and whatever sorry state of paralysis had come over White shattered at the contact.

"No!" The echoing sound of White's hand slapping the older man's away was chilling enough, but it was the openly surprised expression on Superman's face that really jarred White. The man had the most gut wrenchingly kicked puppy face that Alois had ever seen. It felt like a proper refusal, it was the loss of a way out.

White couldn't stop now. He wouldn't.

The hero saw the attack before White had fully formed the conscious thought to do it. Springing up from the paint like puddle, an instinctive defensive attack structure and White created the same mindless spikes his big brother had attacked Superman with when he first arrived. The only difference being that White's constructs were in the shape of pillars, larger and more firmly formed. It helped that there was a very distinct lack of a point to them, but the sheer force of being hit with one could still prove to be fatal. Crushing was not much better than being speared.

Having seen Black's version of the reflexive attack, Superman managed better the second time around. Not letting one so much as scratch him as he dove for Flash, determined to get him out of harms way. Scooping the man up in his arms without a second thought Superman got them well out of range, landing down where Black was just staggering to his feet.

"That could have gone better." Flash noted dryly as Superman set him down against the wall that Black had left a distinctly human shape in.

Behind them Superman could still hear White, the young man seemed to be having some trouble calming down enough to think straight. The initial outburst he'd had that resembled his older brother's defensive maneuver had escalated into an onslaught of whip like shapes slamming into the area the man's body. The pillars themselves didn't shift much once Superman was out of range, but the small flailing tendrils were doing some considerable damage to the street.

Superman didn't need his super hearing to catch the echo of pieces of brick and stone being torn from the surrounding buildings in the man's mindless flurry of attacks. It was unlikely he even realized where Superman and the Flash had vanished to – if he'd looked for them at all. White acted like he was much more mature than his brother but Superman couldn't help but see the two as a pair of confused children. A dangerous vision to have when dealing with super powered people, especially enemies – Batman would chide him again about underestimating potential threats if he knew.

But they were only children. Surely even Batman could understand that?

"I'll sort him out." Black asserted as he brushed debris off his shoulders, a hacking cough racking through his small frame and Superman could easily hear how desperately the young man's heart was pounding away. Just looking at Black it was easy to tell he wasn't in fighting shape – Flash would fair better than him at that point.

But there was that twisted determined expression on the red-eyed man's face that he was concerned the boy had picked up from Bruce somewhere down the line. Superman was positive that if Black was allowed to, he'd rush right back out to fight his little brother – he'd lose of course.

"Superman, come in. Can you hear me? Respond." For once Superman was relieved to hear Batman's unfriendly growl come through the coms.

"Yeah we're right here Batman. Could really use your input right about now." There was no shame in asking for help, no matter what Batman thought of it.

"Flash, how long till you can run?" Batman inquired when he was sure the speaker was working again.

Barry winced, eyes drifting down to his leg. It still looked bad but Superman could see that even in this short time a lot of the tissue had started to heal. For a few seconds Flash studied the injured, testing how own limits and calculating just how far he could go.

"I can do it now." He decided slowly. "Not my top speed but I can manage well enough. You got a job in mind, Bats?"

"You will remove yourself and Monochrome Black from the vicinity. When it is safe to do so – collect the Rogues. Lantern and Green Arrow should already be wrapping up with them on the west side of Central City. Assist them should they need it. Superman you will apprehend Monochrome White, then you will all report to the medical bay."

"What?" Superman winced when he heard the venom in Black's voice; he sounded like Batman greatly offended him. Looking at the mortified on the boy's face, Batman just might have. "You can't possibly expect us to-!"

"Monochrome Black." Cold, direct – irrefutable. "You will follow League instructions."

Superman could see the boy gulp, and he swore that Black had broken out in a cold sweat – but he was just as stubborn as Batman was sometimes. Although it took effort to get there.

"I…" Another nervous breath. "I'm not part of the League – I'll do what I want."

"You are under the Flash's direct care and supervision. The Flash is a founding member of the League – you will follow instructions."

There was an argument forming in the young man's eyes but thankfully whatever foolish response he had in mind was cut clean off as the ground gave a terrible tremor under them. The earth shook as something heavy smashed into its surface, whipping around Superman saw that White had become coherent enough to come looking for them.

The boy stood panting in the crumbling remains of the wall he'd just throw an empty car through, his makeshift doorway being the cause for the quake. Even as the construct whips continued to flail around his body without much control, White stood desperately clasping one hand on the broken wall – he looked more a mess than Superman had expected he would. If the effort of keeping the constructs was beginning to take its toll on him or if his frazzled state was a result of his plans going array, Superman couldn't say.

By his side, Superman saw Black take an unconscious step away from his half crazed brother and then more purposefully take one forward. It was a small motion but Superman caught the fear in Black's movements, for all his determination Black was afraid of White. He knew exactly what it felt like to be beaten into submission by the younger brother – even if he said otherwise it was obvious he didn't want to fight White again.

"Flash." White roared when his eyes landed on the speedster inside the increasingly ruined building. "Get out here and die, coward!"

Flash tossed Superman a quick glance, looking for his go-ahead to follow Batman's order. It was a pointless gesture but Superman appreciated the sentiment all the same.

"Go." He murmured in a hushed tone, not taking his eyes off the crazed young man. "Go on, I'll wrap this up quickly."

Superman caught the Flash nodding before the speedster climbed back on slightly shaky legs and moved over to Black. This time the boy didn't protest to the plan. He couldn't be sure if it was fear or the fact it was Barry telling him they needed to go that stayed his angry words. Either way he barely uttered a single complaint as the Flash scooped him up like he weighed nothing and when considering Black's fragile frame he probably didn't weigh all that much.

White's eyes widened impossibly further when he realized what the Flash intended to do. He had barely taken the first stumbling step forward before Flash and Black were both gone. Leaving nothing more than a small swell of disturbed dust in their wake.

"No…" The heartbreak in White's voice almost had Superman frowning as he looked at the wretched expression on the other's face. Like something valuable had just been torn from his grasp.

Then just as quickly as it'd come, the expression was wiped clean off White's face and replaced with a snarl worthy of the Bat. These boys had to stop taking notes from Bruce's book of many unfriendly motions.

"You." White spat, pointing in Superman's direction. The spikes that lingered by his sides following the motion to angle in his direction. Superman didn't fancy taking another blow from them. "This is all your fault! If you just had of stayed in Metropolis where you belong, this would have been over already."

"Failing to kill someone is not something to lament." The reaction was subtle but Superman caught the slight twitch from White. A small change in expression was all he needed to push on. "Have you actually ever killed anyone, White?" Superman asked as he approached the younger man, keeping his stance as open as possible. Perhaps the second time would do the trick? Unlikely, but he had to try.

The piece of wall that White had rest his hand again rumbled a bit more as his grasp tightened upon hearing Clark's question, but White himself remained in stony silence. That was a no then.

"I don't think you want to start today, son." Much like a confused child would, White shifted in place gaze flicking between the ground and Clark's face. He didn't seem threatened by Superman at the very least and he took this as an encouraging notion. "We can still just talk, White – I meant what I said earlier. Just tell me why you're trying to hurt the Flash. We can sort this out peacefully."

"You…" White struggled for the words, looking torn about something. "…wouldn't understand." He decided slowly. "How could you understand? You haven't got a brother. You just float around that ridiculous watchtower playing the world's hero with a smile – what would you know about killing for someone?"

Superman saw the change, watched White's muscled tense up under his flesh as the constructs hardened and stilled in his direction. "Give me a fucking break!"

Then it started all over again.

White had regained some sense of control over his own powers and while they still kept their basic offensive shape, Superman found himself struggling to dodge each one that shot his way in this confined space.

"I'm not your enemy!" Superman tried to reason with the angry boy even as another white lash nearly ripped through his shoulder. Instead of hitting him the strike landed harmlessly against the wall, taking another chunk of stone out of the construction.

The building was beginning to lose its structural integrity and Superman didn't want it to come crashing down. A quick x-ray vision check in the floors above assured him that there were no civilians inside but there was no telling just how much damage the building could cause if it came down.

It was his focus on not accidentally destroying more of the city that got Superman thrown through the far side of the building. One of White's more focused strikes landed flat against his chest – throwing Superman back with a surprising amount of force.

He felt the wall give away around his body as he crashed through it unceremoniously landing with a section of wall under him. There wasn't a great amount of pain but still Superman remained motionless on the ground for a few seconds, just to get his bearings again and fight off the oncoming headache.

"Superman." And the headache just got worse.

"What is it, Batman?" He did not meant to sound so short with his partner but being tossed through a wall by what was essentially a tantrum-throwing child did tend to leave him feeling a bit snippy. Of course Batman didn't pay his bad mood any mind and just went on ahead with the mission.

"Flash and Monochrome Black have met up with Lantern and Arrow – the Rogues have been apprehended. Wrap it up here." It took all of Clark's self control not to roll his eyes. Batman made it sound so painfully simple.

Perhaps for him it was. Batman would have no trouble exerting just enough power to restrain and contain either Monochrome brother, but for Superman it was difficult. It was always so difficult to find the correct balance of strength and restraint. If he attacked White head on with all the strength he could muster – he'd probably unintentionally kill the kid.

The world felt so incredibly breakable at times, Superman had to make sure he was in control or he'd hurt it without realizing he'd even done it.

He wouldn't admit it out loud but he was envious of Batman at times. The man could hit as hard as he wanted and never ran the risk of shattering his opponent's head into a thousand pieces while also taking out half the block with them.

Superman was just pulling himself out of the rubble when he caught movement from the inside of the building. White was following him out. This time when the boy attacked him Superman was ready.

The whip of the constructs could burn, but Superman could just as easily break them and in a small show of frustration he proved that he could. Each spike that shot at Superman was met with a fist and each broke into shards, leaving only the faintest sting against his hand from the contact.

"Enough." After the sixth offending spike broke apart Superman kicked off the ground, flying past a majority of White's attacks to close the distance between them.

Briefly he saw something like fear flicker across White's face when he saw Superman coming in his direction. He masked it fairly easily with rage but Superman knew it was there; it was hard to hide any emotion behind a mask better than the Batman did and White was still just learning the ropes.

With the distance between them lost, Superman reached out to try and grasp White's arm like one would an unruly child. However instead of soft flesh, Superman's hand closed around sharp steel. Snarling as his hand burnt from the contact, Superman retracted his hand only to see that the blade White had produced had broken his skin.

There wasn't enough time for Superman to properly register where the blade had come from, he did not know all of White's tricks like the Bat did. He had not been expecting the boy to have a sword on him of all things, let alone one made of magic like the one currently in White's hands.

Without missing a beat White surged forward taking a swing at Superman. It was a clumsy maneuver fueled by anger more than skill or wit, but it proved difficult to keep out of range when White kept slashing at him.

"I said." Another slash narrowly missed his face, the whistle of the blade flying past his ear almost caused Superman to wince. "Enough!"

White was quick on his feet but Superman was faster and considerably more level headed than his opponent was at that moment. It wasn't easy but Superman managed to get White's feet out from under him, knocking the younger boy onto his back. The sword fell from his grasp, clattering to the ground some distance away.

Blindly White scrambled for it only to have Superman's foot come down hard on his arm, trapping him on the ground. The pinned boy hissed out in pain and panic briefly flared up in Superman, he was sure that he hadn't been applying too much pressure when he put the boy down. But just to be safe he eased off on the kid's arm a bit.

"That is enough." He stressed the words slowly, watching as White scowled up at him hatefully. "Batman, containment instructions?" Superman asked as he pressed two fingers to his earpiece. It could be difficult containing people like Black and White. They had too many tricks up their sleeves, but Batman usually came up with something to nullify their powers.

"For now unconsciousness should do the trick." Batman answered bluntly and Superman winced on White's behalf.

"You're going to have a headache when you wake up." Clark told White apologetically and before the kid could think too much of it, Superman reached down to hold White's head firmly against the ground.

He had to make sure that White's head wouldn't crack against the ground and so he held White down with a steady hand. With the other hand Superman reached down to simply lay a flick against boy's forehead. It might have looked like an innocent tap to an onlooker but Superman knew just how much force to apply to knock White out without truly damaging him and a controlled flick from Superman would be more than enough.

White had reached up with one hand to try and pry Superman's hand away, his efforts proving futile against the kryptonian's strength. But after the sudden hit; his body went slack under Superman's hold. The hand that had been clawing at his wrist loosening until it lay uselessly against Superman's arm. Smiling apologetically he knelt down to gather the unconscious boy up in his arms. Only when White was fully out of it did Superman really take note of how thin he was. Black had always looked tiny to him but his little brother wasn't all that much more impressive.

Perhaps it was the way he carried himself that made White look more formidable than his older brother, but when passed out he looked just as vulnerable and small as a child. Even creatures like Black and White were so fragile when compared to himself.

"Batman, I've got Monochrome White. He hasn't got any outstanding injuries – just a headache for when he's awake." He reported while carrying the boy away from the destruction, it wouldn't be long before the press started swarming and he couldn't take the time to chat with them when he had a super villain unconscious in his arms.

Somehow the term 'super villain' didn't ring true when applied to White. He was just a kid; no matter how mature he made himself look there was no denying these were the actions of a child.

"And yourself?" He was surprised that Batman checked his physical status, surprised but not insulted. Surely Batman didn't think he could be injured after such a short scuffle, without meaning to – Superman laughed. That got an immediate growl out of his partner on the other end of the line and Clark tried to stifle his amusement. Admittedly he could still feel the sting of White's magic, so perhaps it wouldn't hurt to get a quick check over. If only to satisfy Batman that his team had all made it out okay.

"I'm fine." He reported, working hard to keep any trace of his laughter out of his voice. "Don't worry hardly even a scratch on m-"

And then he stumbled.

Clark's arms tightened instinctively around the dead weight of White in his arms as his body nauseatingly dropped forward. For a split second everything was fluid, colour and sound slipping out of their firm structure, blurring and becoming fuzzy around the edges. Even as the whole world momentarily lost its form and Clark battled with the churning of his stomach, he remembered not to crush or drop the fragile body in his arms.

"Superman?" Bruce's voice was in his ear again, not quite panicked but definitely with an edge to it. "Superman, come in. Report."

"Just…" Clark could not immediately form an answer, needing to steady himself and regain his bearings. After a few gulps of air he was able to shake off the possibility for falling. "Just a dizzy spell."

The note of disbelief in his voice would not be missed by Bruce. He had just stumbled, as Superman. Clark Kent stumbled and tripped constantly but as Superman it was just not the type of thing that happened often. At least not without the helping hand of kryptonite or someone like Darkseid. He still felt vaguely ill.

"Regroup with Flash and the others. The Rogues will be returning to their usual cells in Iron Gate prison – White will be getting a specialized cell. His first. That will be handled by the authorities at Central station, you'll report to the medical bay."

Superman wanted to protest that he would be fine, he hardly needed medical attention for a small dizzy spell but it was unlikely Batman would heed his attempts to pacify the man.

"Understood. I'll see you soon Bats."

The responding grumble made Clark smile, that might as well have been Batman speak for 'see you soon'. It would do for now.