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The End of All Things
Diana jolted as a thunderous crack sounded. She whirled around and froze.
The pillar directly above Batman had finally succumbed to its harsh treatment. It had begun to collapse.
Time seemed to slow as Diana took in the scene. Batman; still trying to free a boy from beneath the crumbled wreckage of the temple. Blood and sweat ran down his forehead. The boy, pale, frightened, as he lay pinned beneath the rubble. Finally, Diana, metres away from either of them.
All at once, time sped up. Not him, was all she could think. Batman's name ripped from her lips. "BRUCE!"
Legs burning, Diana tore across the seemingly endless expanse of the temple floors, wildly careening over the heaps of rubble.
The pillar gave a last groan and crashed its way to the ground. WonderWoman threw herself forward and shoved Batman and the boy in his arms sideways.
The pillar fell with a resounding boom, scattering clouds of dust in its wake.
***
The sudden silence was deafening. Slowly, awareness seeped back into Batman's numb brain.
"Diana!" Batman lurched to his feet, ignoring the sharp stab of pain in his thigh where a shard of falling rubble had pierced him.
Batman limped heavily as he half ran, half dragged himself to the mountain of debris covering WonderWoman.
Batman dropped to his knees, disparately digging his way to the pillar at the bottom of the wreckage. A small, limp hand emerged.
"Diana!" Batman thrust the rock away from her partially uncovered body. The pillar lay across her still form, covering most of it.
Batman slipped his sweaty hands beneath the pillar, grunting as he tried to move it. "Come on," he snarled. Suddenly, the pillar rose. Batman glanced around to see Superman at the other end of the pillar.
Batman's heart skipped an unsteady rhythm as the column moved. Batman knelt to look at Diana, terrified of what he would find.
He felt a warm hand on his shoulder and looked up into Clark's gentle blue eyes. "Bruce…" he began.
"Help me move her," Bruce snapped. Superman sighed, but gently lifted Diana's legs as Bruce laid her down. He tried not to see her horribly ruined body. Superman slowly backed off, moving to stand with the others.
"Maybe we should get her to the Watchtower-J'onn could look at her," Flash suggested hesitantly.
J'onn shook his head despondently. "It would do far more harm than good to move Diana now." Flash stared at him. "You mean she's…." J'onn looked away. "I suggest we move. Let them be alone." They all silently retreated, heads cast down.
Bruce sat still as possible, trying to keep Diana steady as she lay across his lap, her head gently pillowed in his in his arms. He couldn't help but wince as Diana's weight fell on his wounded leg. Diana felt him move and almost smiled.
"I told you to pay more attention, clumsy." Her laugh quickly turned into a wet cough. Batman wiped the blood off her lips with a trembling hand. "You told me your powers would return if you got hurt."
Diana smiled bitterly. "Ares always liked his little games-if I get my powers back he'll lose. He's a terrible loser."
Batman's eyes burned beneath his mask. "Damn Ares and his games! He'll give your powers back or-" Diana's finger pressed against Batman's lips. "Enough. What's done is done." She quickly interrupted Batman's next words. "Would you do something for me?" Throat tight, Batman only nodded. "Don't kill yourself over me. Believe me, Ares couldn't care less about destroying you." Batman began to protest, but Diana stopped him again. "Promise me." Batman was silent. A slow second passed. Batman gave a short nod. "I promise."
Diana smiled then and gently stroked Bruce's face. "I love you, you know. Even if the Batman doesn't date." She smiled again. "Thank you Bruce." She shuddered, then her hand slipped from Bruce Wayne's masked face.
The Batman held Diana's body to him as his shoulders heaved in silent tears.