All along the watchtower (dp x dc)
Clark is walking alongside Batman through the halls of the watchtower. Their steps echo in the long halls, and Clark has a fleeting thought he really doesn't want to be late.
"Where are we going?" Bruce turns towards Clark to ask.
"To the meeting," Clark answers confusedly, because if Batman isn't attending an official meetings, he is at the very least aware of every single one of them.
"There's something wrong," the Gotham vigilante says as he starts to slow their pace.
"What? Bruce, we have to go or we'll be late," Clark answers but still slows alongside the other man.
"No," The bat states. "No, there's something wrong."
"We can talk about it once we get to the meeting," Clark tries, tempted to tug at the other man but he knows better.
"What meeting?" Bruce is now completely stopped.
"What do you mean what meeting?" Clark is trying his best to be patient but they are going to be late and he hates being late.
"I mean what is the meeting about? Who's going to be there?" Batman narrows his eyes at him.
"It's-" Clark stops himself. "Uh," he lets out before shrugging embarrassedly. "I guess I wasn't paying enough attention last week."
"I can't remember either," Bruce says simply and that has Clark frowning. The batman rarely forgets anything, and that goes doubly for Justice League matters and meetings. Clark turns his head to look around him and notices it for the first time.
"Where is everyone?" he says. The watchtower isn't infinite and though there aren't that people manning it usually, when there's a meeting, it's more lively. They should have walked past someone by now, or at least heard someone.
"I don't know," Bruce says. "I can't remember how we got here."
Clark tries to remember anything before them walking in the hallway but comes up with nothing. He can't even tell how long they were walking. "Me neither," he admits.
Bruce nods before twirling around and walking away.
"Where are you going?" Clark asks as he follows.
"The com center," Batman says without turning. Clark says silent as he walks up to his side. There is nothing but the sound of their footsteps to accompany them on the way and they make it to the bay without seeing anyone.
Once there, Bruce sits down in front of the control while Clark looks out through the large windows into the deep darkness of space. From the corner of his eye he sees a movement within the watchtower and he turns his head to look. For a split-second he sees a shadow of something that looks like a woman before it's gone.
"Did you see that?" Clark asks, his heart rate hitching up.
Bruce looks up and around but coming up with nothing looks back at the other man. "What?"
Clark trusts his senses, a lot more than what most people do, but this is different. "Nothing," he says.
The batman just squints but Clark offers no further information. Tense silence settles back as Bruce slowly turns back to his station and resumes once more.
Then, there's a deep rumbling that sounds out. Clark puts a hand on Bruce's shoulder who straightens. It lasts a few seconds, sounding like to a low growl that reverberates in the chest before it stops.
"Bruce," Clark starts. "Bruce, that came from outside."
"Sound doesn't travel in space," Bruce refutes but his shoulders are tense.
"I know," Clark answers, eyes stuck into the dark expanse of space.
And as he looks and looks he sees the stars starting to blink out, one by one, like candles in the wind. It's like a trickle of stars being snuffed out slowly and then it starts going faster and faster. And simultaneously, there's a sound like wind flowing that starts up.
"Clark," Bruce's voice is as measured as ever but Clark recognizes the tension in it, the fear. The wind picks up.
The darkness is gaining faster and faster, whole chunks of space getting blacked out like someone drew a heavy curtain over them and the wind is whistling by now and then it's all darkness.
"Clark," Bruce repeats.
"I don't know," Clark answers, helpless.
Just as he finishes speaking, every screen lights up a neon, acidic green and the wind is howling in their ears and it shouldn't be possible because there's no wind here there's only vacuum it hurts it hurts and then it's silence. The green is gone.
They are alone in the dark.
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Ed gets amnesia (Izzy-centric, pre s1 banishment, past edizzy to some degree)
It starts something like this: a rope left out after a raid, a captain showing off to the crew, a workload stretched too thin to have noticed the accident waiting to happen...
When Ed wakes, it's almost immediately clear something is wrong. He's lost a few years of memories- not much in the grand scheme of things, but it's enough that the man who lays in front of them is almost unrecognisable to the man they knew. He's from just at the point where he was starting to get frustrated with the 'ease' of being Blackbeard, tiring of his old life, but still so full of life and love in ways the present Ed forgot how to be.
He's a lot more on guard, for a start, waking up surrounded by strangers, even if they are treating him very nicely. He doesn't trust them, he doesn't even fake trusting them, just shuts them out completely.
Stede and Roach figure out what's going on pretty quickly and try to explain it to Ed after that, about what's happened and all the things he missed, but he doesn't believe them for a second- how could he? If he got hurt, Izzy would be there waiting for him to wake up. He always has been, always is, his predictable and reliable Izzy. He says as much to Roach and Stede, the only thing he will say, and they just... side-eye each other. They can't believe it- Izzy?
Anyway, Ed completely shuts down after that, so someone runs to get Izzy. Izzy, who had decided, after everything- especially the past few weeks on the revenge- that there's no way Ed would want him there. He's still lurking on deck because he can't stand not knowing how Ed is, but he knows that's not his place any more. So to say he's surprised when Stede comes and begrudgingly grabs him is an understatement- Stede doesn't tell him anything, obviously, just that Ed’s asking for him.
The way Ed’s face lights up as he walks into the room is a punch to the gut. There's a cheerful greeting, the kind he hasn't received in years, and Ed’s yapping on about what he's been told and what happened and "this ship, Iz!" and he's just... floored. He can't say anything in response, not even to confirm their story because this is Ed, this is his Ed, who's face is turning worried, joking about how it looks like Izzy’s the one with a head injury, and Izzy can't cope. He just... storms out of the room.
Izzy’s up on deck, and he's not even yelling, or working, or really doing anything, just aimlessly coiling ropes in a daze when Ed appears on deck after him. He's thrown his leather jacket over whatever of Stede’s clothes he was wearing, a return to his Blackbeard armour to be seen by crew, and he jogs up to Izzy and starts getting handsy with him, physically turning him to looking him in the eyes and check he's ok, just generally being casual in a way that nobodies ever seen them- a way that nobody expected Izzy to tolerate (but of course he does, its Ed).
Izzy'll stutter out a response and Ed will wrap his arm over his shoulder, casually, like that's a thing they do. He'll ask for a tour, for him to explain everything, like what's the deal with this Stede guy. He's still enamoured with The Revenge and all its bells and whistles, only now he wants it with Izzy. It's all 'Iz' and 'mate' and affectionate and a side of their relationship even the Queen Anne crew haven't seen in years, a complete shock to absolutely everyone except this Ed.
Ed shows Izzy the model of The Revenge again and Izzy is both heartbroken and so indulgent because that's the Ed he had once, and he's going to take every second while he can. Ed can show him every single trinket on the entire ship if he wants. Izzy's always been willing to indulge Ed to some degree (it's Izzy, after all) but there's usually external factors, like they're in the middle of a raid, storming a hostile ship, or being chased down by the Spanish without any plan and over the years Izzy’s taken to just trying to redirect Ed quickly rather than letting him get distracted with the next shiny thing. It's been a sticking point between them, Ed's distractions and Izzy's rigidity and inability to have fun even when the occasions fitting.
But, for all Izzy's gripes with The Revenge, he does know it's safe for them- or at least that he could take on any member of this useless crew who tried to take advantage of his captain's momentary incapacity. So he does, for once, feels safe to indulge Ed. And God, he wants to. He has wanted to. He wants to watch him forever, like he did when they were little more than kids. He wants to forget all the mistakes he made just to see Ed smile and light up at him one more fucking time. He's not going to throw away this opportunity, no matter how badly it hurts him in the end.
Ed's memories don't come back in a day or so, so the crew keeps getting these shows of their relationship in a way they've never seen before- all these casual touches, and the way he'll turn to Izzy before anyone else, even Izzy laughing a couple of times. The crew gets to see a completely different Izzy- one more like the man he'd have been on The Queen Anne, a man they can see means something to Ed. He's not just his rotten first mate, a necessary evil of Blackbeard, at some point it becomes very clear that Ed did like Izzy, that he chose to have him around. It's like being back when Ed and Izzy were on the same page, at the height of Blackbeard, their partnership, when things were GOOD.
And of course, Izzy’s going along with all this. He's not telling him anything about the way they're different now, about how they finished breaking their matelotage 6 months back, about how they've been living at arms length for years, about how this simply isn't who they are to each other any more. He couldn't possibly do that, not when he gets to live the best days of his life all over again, just for a few short days. Maybe he'll get a week or two, if he's really lucky.
It's hurting him, obviously, it feels like his heart is being ripped out every time Ed touches him, every time he corners him in the depths of the ship (still so untrusting of this unknown crew- not helped by how they treat Izzy. He sees the side eyes and cruel comments and notices in a way the present version of him never did, too wrapped up in Stede and the madness of this ship) but hey. Izzy’s a masochist. He'll take anything Ed gives him, and he'll especially take this opportunity to have one last taste of what he's lost.
At the time it faded so slowly he didn't realise he was losing it until it was all gone, but he won't make that mistake this time. He knows their time together is limited, and he's going to take every fucking second he can and hold it close forever. If Ed makes him leave after he remembers? After he realises the way Izzy took advantage of him? It's worth it, to have this again, one last time.
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