Steampunk Part VIII

I'm not quite finished chapter 9, but I should be by tomorrow morning, so I thought I'd give ye this one now. Warning: the next couple of chapters are more action-y, and I'm not sure action is exactly my strong suit. So you might want to be prepared for a drop in quality.

Title: The Wind At Midnight
Rating: PG-13 overall, I think.
Characters/Pairings: Bruce/Clark. Bruce, Clark, MADF this chapter.
Summary: Almost a quarter of a century ago, the cities of Earth were torn from the earth by some mystic upheaval and set flying, before threatening to fall back. To prevent the incredible loss of life if they fell, structures known as Ramparts were rapidly constructed, containing the material apparently most susceptible to the new mystical gravities of earth: silver. A new world order was built, as the deserts created on the surface during the Upheaval denied cultivation, based on Cities and flightpaths and park-grown food, a world in tentative political and physical balance. And now that balance is threatened.
Chapter summary: In the Ramparts, the action heats up. In more ways than one.
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine. Conceit inspired by James Blish's 'Cities in Flight'. Rest is mine.

A/N: Anyone who hasn't seen Rai_daydreamer's awesome, awesome illustrations for this story needs to go look. Now. I'm in absolute awe of her talent, and amazed that I managed to write something she considered worthy of it. Here:
http://rai-daydreamer.livejournal.com/40966.html?#cutid1

( The Wind At Midnight, Part VIII )