Days went by, Irene couldn't bring herself to even try to be half the person she was before. Perry had told her that she could take as much time as she needed off of work, but she didn't know how long that would be.

It had been almost two weeks and each day felt worst than the last.

Irene hadn't left their apartment and if it wasn't for Jimmy and her brother she was sure she would have starved by now. She had no real motivation to go outside, at least not until she read the paper with the headline that Lex Luthor had been convicted to a lifetime in Arkham Asylum.

She wished that she could just accept that and move on. That knowing that he he would be locked up for ever would be enough.

But it wasn't enough. She needed to talk to Luther, needed that closure.

So she did they only thing that she could think of. She called Bruce Wayne, because he was the only person that could get her inside to talk to him.

Irene stood outside of Arkham Asylum, not surprised to see the black sports car park right beside her exactly at the time they had agreed on. Bruce Wayne was dressed in a fancy suit, and it was almost difficult to imagine him as who he really was.

"Bruce." Irene greeted softly, she hadn't seen him since that night. He had taken her and Jimmy to his hideout after to clean the cuts on her feet and stitch up to cuts that ran too deep. Jimmy had called in the Batcave, which Bruce didn't seem to appreciate at the time.

Irene had never thought that she would see Bruce Wayne again, she especially never expected to see his butler Alfred again.

"Alfred, nice to see you again." She said when the older man stepped out of the car.

"A pleasure Miss Miranda." The butler replied and a part of Irene couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed. He had only ever seen her as a crying mess, and maybe Irene wasn't crying now but even she had to admit that she looked terrible.

Bruce who seemed to be studying her with concern, like if she was a child that needed protecting.

"I don't think this is a good idea Irene." Bruce stated firmly, and Irene began to fear that maybe he had only accepted to see her so that he could say no in person.

And maybe he was right. Maybe seeing Lex Luthor was a horrible idea that would only make the pain she felt worse. But that was something that she needed to find out on her own.

"I need to talk to him." Irene insisted not going to take no for an answer.

"Will it help?"

Irene hesitated not sure if it would help her heal. If it would help her move on with her life. "I hope so."

"You should know that Arkham..."

"Don't try to scare me out of this." She replied knowing the reputation that Arkham Asylum had. That all the worst criminals in Gotham were locked up behind those walls.

That the Joker, the Riddler, Harley Quinn, Two- Face and countless more had found permanent homes there. But Irene wasn't scared of them, she found that nothing really scared her anymore.

The moment that Irene stepped inside the walls of Arkham she realized that maybe Bruce's attempted warning hadn't been to scare her. Maybe he was just trying to prepare her for what it was really like.

There was something sinister about its walls. Like all the Beverly of the terrible people that resided in the asylum could be felt.

When Irene finally saw Lex Luthor step into the visiting quarters in chains she wished that she could feel some kind of joy or satisfaction in it. In seeing him no longer dressed in fine suits and instead wearing the orange jumpsuit that every Arkham patient wore. I'm seeing the way they had shaved the hair that he once took so much care in styling.

She expected him to be upset or angry. But instead Luthor smiled when he saw that it was Irene who was waiting for him.

"Look at you. An angel lost without her God." Lex Luthor said as she took the seat across from him.

It shocked her that he seemed so unaffected by what he had done. Or at the very least what had become of him. He was one of the most powerful and rich men in the world and now he was locked up like any common criminal.

And not just any criminal one that was deemed too far gone and needed to be locked up in a place like Arkham Asylum.

"He may be gone but you lost anyway. They love him more than they ever did." Irene stated knowing that t there was nothing but through in her words.

The whole world mourned their loss of Superman. His symbol was in ever corner. Lex had wanted to destroy that symbol and he had failed.

"I don't know how to lose." Luthor replied as he leaned forward. She wanted to believe that Luthor had lost his mind, that it was the reason for all of this pain.

But that wasn't the case. He knew exactly what he was doing, everything had been perfectly orchestrated to his advantage.

"But, the bells are already been rung, and they've heard it." Luthor continued a dark look coming over his eyes that worried her. It was like everything was still going according to his plan, like none of it was over yet. "Out in the dark. Among the stars. Ding dong, the God is dead."

He always seemed to talk in riddles, but she didn't know what he meant. His words sounded like a mix between a threat and a warning.

Normally she would have been intrigued. She would have wanted to find the answers. She would have wanted to know.

But now she couldn't find it in herself to care. Irene no longer wanted to be involved in whatever Lex Luthor had planned. She didn't want to another pawn in his game again.

She stood knowing that the conversation was over. She didn't want to know anymore. She couldn't be in the building anymore.

Irene had to accept the Lex was right. She was lost.

Before Clark she was so sure of who she was and what she had wanted from life. Now everything had changed.

Now she didn't know who she was without him. What she wanted from life had changed because of him and she wasn't sure if she could go back to the person she was before. Irene didn't want to be that person again.

Irene hadn't realized that she had started crying until she had stepped out of Arkham. She ran her fingers through her hair in desperation having wished that she was stronger. That seeing Lex would have given her the closure that she needed. Instead seeing him just reminded her of her own failures.

She felt someone place a hand on her shoulder, and instinctively she turned around and wrapped her arms around them. Feeling like she just needed someone to hold onto.

Jimmy and her brother weren't there, but Bruce was.

And Irene knew that hugging wasn't something that Bruce Wayne typically did, because for a long moment he just stood there. Frozen, clearly unsure of what was expected of him to do in a moment like this.

It was a long moment before he wrapped his arms around her and returned her embrace. But his arms weren't the ones she wanted comforting her, and the realization was what she used to force herself to stop crying.

Because she shouldn't have put Bruce in such an uncomfortable situation.

"You we're the one that paid all the funeral cost right?" Irene questioned as she took a step back looking him in the eye and she quickly wiped away her tears.

She could see how uncomfortable Bruce was from the way he now stood. Or maybe it was just the pity that he felt for her and made it difficult for him to look her in the eyes.

"Yes." He replied simply.

Irene knew that Bruce wasn't looking for her gratitude. Even know she could see the guilt shinning in his eyes, she knew that was why he had done. He hoped that maybe paying all the funeral costs would ease his guilt but he was wrong.

"Thank you for arranging this."

"Did it help?" He questioned, but he already knew that answer. He had just held her as she cried, clear it hadn't helped.

"You've already spoken to Luthor right?" Irene asked knowing that she wouldn't be able to go home without getting some understanding of what Luthor meant. "What he said about the bell being rung. What did he mean?"

Bruce almost seemed relieved that she had asked."Something is coming. Something darker."

She didn't know what she had expected him to say, but it certainly wasn't that. Irene couldn't imagine anything worse than Doomsday.

"Worse than Doomsday?"

"Exponentially worse I suspect."

Irene nodded trying not to feel angry. Because Clark's sacrifice couldn't have been for nothing. And if something worse was coming then they had no hope against it. Not without Clark. "What are you going to do?"

"I was planning on asking you for help."

"Me?" Irene questioned in disbelief, for a moment wondering if he was joking. But Bruce Wayne didn't seem like the kind of man that made jokes.

"If what's coming is worse than Doomsday we're going to need help." Bruce stated like if whatever was coming they were going to face it together. Like if they were already a team. "There has to be more like them. More like Clark and Diana. Help me find them. You found Clark, help me find others like him."

She didn't know what to say. What she did know was that she was in no place to go searching for a story. She couldn't think straight. Everything felt like a blur and she couldn't hold onto a single thought or emotion. "I don't think I can do that."

"Of course you can. You're brilliant."

"You're wrong." She replied hating that there was a time when she would have believed his words. But now that wasn't the case. "I couldn't... I wasn't able to figure out Lex's plan. I never even suspected that he was creating Doomsday this whole time."

"You were able to see what I couldn't. You figured out who Lex was, I was the fool who let himself be used like a puppet."

Something told Irene that Bruce rarely admitted when he was wrong. Clearly this wasn't easy for him to say.

"That doesn't change the fact that I couldn't figure out his whole plan. I failed. Clark died because of it."

"We don't have to fail anyone again. If we work together..."

"I'm sorry Bruce." Irene said as she shook her head. She wasn't who he thought she was, at least not anymore.

And she hated that. She hated knowing that Lex Luthor had broken her to the point where she couldn't be herself anymore. That she couldn't do what she had once loved.

Lex had taken everything from her when Clark had sacrificed himself.

A/N: Can't believe that I've gotten this far. I'm really proud of this story and I can't wait to finally finish it after three years. Book four will have 19 parts and will follow the events of the Justice League movie (Zack Snyder's of course). Can't wait to for all of you to see Irene continue to grow as a character the last few chapters.