Hi! WHEW! I was going to take another week or so before I updated this story, but I was so happy to see the reviews so I just couldn't help myself! :)! Thanks everyone for all the reviews, it really means a lot to me!

Some Things that might help you guys put this story into perspective:

Bruce is 28 years old; Dick is 25; Jason is 23 - None of the Bat-clan is Bruce's adopted children.

There are no Superhero Personas in here. It's strictly Bruce, Diana, Clark. No WW, BM & SM!

I can't think of anything else for now, but if you guys have any questions regarding the story, definitely let me know!

ENJOY! :D


"You sure about this?" Worry filled Dick's voice as he handed Bruce his tuxedo jacket, "I mean, we all want Jason to return safely but you might be throwing yourself under a bus by doing this,"

Bruce didn't reply, instead he just shook his arms to straighten out the shirt before putting the black jacket on. He tugged gently on the bow tie to make sure that it would stay neatly in place. Dick sighed as he roughly ran both his hands through his jet black shoulder length hair.

"Listen Bruce, I don't want to come off as insensitive but losing Jason is one thing and losing you – well let's just say we can't label that as a possibility," he let out another sigh as he leaned his back against the wall in frustration, "We can't afford to lose you, we just can't,"

A few moments passed in silence as Dick began to regret what he had said, but knew that he had to have said it. Dick knew best that Bruce was someone who was willing to throw his life on the line for absolutely anyone. Every bone in that man's body was selfless, and it didn't help that he was one of the most stubborn people he had every come across. This meant that Bruce was willing to throw his own life away at any moment, and nobody could do anything to make him change his mind-nobody. It always managed to sadden him knowing that Bruce was condemning himself to this sorrowful path that he had chosen. Even with the knowledge of what it was exactly that drove this man to being the dark, secretive and self-inflicting hero that he was today did not justify his actions. No one should be pushed to tread the path that this man follows, but he continually chooses to do so.

A large strong hand being placed on his shoulder had brought Dick back to the matter at hand. He looked up and greeted the surprisingly reassuring gesture with a wide-eyed look. Bruce's usual artic blue eyes were replaced with ones of sympathy and warmth, it was the first time he had seen that look on his face since Bruce had found him 15 years ago.

"I need to do this," Bruce simply said with an even voice as he squeezed his friends shoulder firmly before turning around to grab his watch and wallet,

'And you need me to understand,' Dick silently told himself, finishing his words for him. He shrugged his shoulders before announcing his surrender,

"I'll be in the com-room," he turned and walked out of the Master Commander's quarters. Bruce didn't bother turning to look as Dick left the room, it would make it harder to follow his resolve. Dick was like a brother to him, but so was Jason. As much as he wanted to reassure Dick that he would remain safe and sound, he wanted to be assured that Jason was as well. He wrapped the watch around his wrist and clipped it on in one swift motion. He checked the time and silently cursed to himself, he was running late.


-1 Hour Later-


The ballroom was filled to capacity with the mass of people that had attended this year's North Eastern Charity Ball. The large fancy décor that hung from the ceilings and walls only mentioned a small portion of the wealth that belonged to those who attended this event. The NE Charity Ball was the most prestigious and well-known of the celebratory events the Empire had hosted. All of the richest throughout the Empire gathered here for this one day, for it was also the ultimate 'purge' event. The closest relative to a 'Purger' would be a bounty hunter, and the closest relative to a 'Purgee' would be a slave. The Purgers main job is to go seek and capture members of the resistance. The Purgers are rewarded according to the age, gender and position of the member that is caught. Then, the Purgees are kept in prison until the next Purge event. At these events, the elite members of the Empire pay insane amounts of money to purchase their own Purgees to keep, sell, or in most cases-to kill. In the Empire, there is no law but that of The Supreme and in order to keep the people content and happy with the way things are run, he sees fit that the people can have micro-laws of their own. To join the Empire, is to gain supremacy over those who do not conform to them. This instills fear and empowerment amongst the elite members so that they would choose on their own not to forsake the Empire.

Bruce walked over to the long drink bar and ordered a scotch. He doesn't drink, but for obvious reasons he would walk around pretending that he was drinking. He turned around to face the main area of the ballroom and rested his elbow on the bar. Scanning the room for a familiar face, he pretended to be unaware of the lustful stares he received from a good number of the female population.

'Now if only Jason would look at me like that, it'd be so much easier to find him,' he jokingly told himself as a smirk found its way across his lips. They had received intel from Tim that Jason was going to be here at the ball. Bruce only knew what his intentions might be if he had planned on coming to this ball-to assassinate the Supreme. It was pointless; the Supreme was beyond human biology-there was simply no known way as to how they could go about killing him. Jason was planning on killing himself in an attempt to exert his revenge for his fallen love, and Bruce was here to stop it. He continued to nonchalantly look around for the young man, trying not to draw attention to him – but failed to do so. He felt a figure approach him from the side, far too close for it to be without intention. He held a sigh as he got ready to leave his post, but was pulled to a stop by a gentle hand grabbing him by the bend of his arm. He lazily looked over to his side and gave his attention to the black-haired beauty that had stopped him from his get-a-way.

"Hey pretty boy, where ya running off to?" her words were slurred, and her eyes full of undeniable lust. The event had just started and she was already a drunken mess. Bruce mentally shook his head in disbelief, perhaps this is what the people on the surface did during their free-time – get wasted.

"The lavatory," he answered with a monotone voice hoping that she would get the hint that her presence was unwelcome.

"Lookin' for someone to go with you?" She tilted her head, causing her deep blue eyes to glisten under the crystal chandeliers.

"Not particularly," He pretended to stretch his shoulders in an attempt to get her hand off of his arm so that he can escape with more ease – again, no such luck. This time he just jerked his arm out of her grasp and involuntarily let out a short sigh. He began to walk away when there was a sudden jerk on his arm and he felt a moment of panic as his drink flew out of his hand,

"Oops," The woman let out as she let go of Bruce's arm in shock of what she had just done. A good majority of the room went silent, but not before a gasp was heard from every mouth that had witnessed what had just happened. Bruce clenched his jaw and groaned to himself as he began to regret coming out in search for Jason. The idea was to keep his presence on the down-low, but this drunk had just ruined that for him. His irritation dissipated immediately when he finally noticed the real reason as to why everyone in the room had made just a big fuss about him spilling the drink. It wasn't that he spilt the drink, but rather who he had spilt it on.

Standing before Bruce was none other than the Empress. The 'right hand' of the Supreme, his ally and what most consider – his lover. She looked as elegant as can be in a pearly white one-shoulder dress that ran diagonally across her abundant breasts and down past her knees in a draping manner that showed off her smooth silk legs and ended in a short trail behind her. Her raven hair was filled with loose waves as it all gathered over one shoulder and stopped above her waist. Bruce stopped his journey short at the discovery of the splotches on her dress where he had spilt his drink on her. He was beginning to wish he had actually drank so that there wouldn't be as abundant a supply of alcohol as there was on her dress. He looked up to find deadly azure eyes piercing his very soul. He should be frightened, but instead he finds himself allured. There was nothing but clarity that enveloped her eyes, an innocence-perhaps a naivety of some sort.

"A sorry would do plenty," her voice was filled with irritation. The bartender was the first to move as he grabbed a bunch of napkins and ran around the bar to help the Empress with the mess.

"Thank you," her voice this time was much sweeter and softer as she gratefully accepted the napkins from the bartender. Bruce found himself wishing he was on the receiving end of that voice instead. He cleared his throat as he gathered his once lost composure.

"Please," Her voice filled with royalty as she addressed the others, "pay no attention, enjoy yourselves,"

The attendees returned to their previous states, as if none of what had happened actually happened. The Empress was turning towards the direction of the bathroom when Bruce called out to her,

"Excuse me," she turned around immediately, her eyes made no effort in hiding the surprise she felt when she heard his deep baritone voice for the first time. Bruce took a step towards her, leaving the previous woman with her newfound interest in the bartender.

"Would you like to dance?" He chuckled to himself as he saw her raise an eyebrow at his inappropriate request in regards to the situation.

"Would you like to apologize?" She retorted as she shook her head in disbelief, she had never met anyone like him.

"An apology would mean that I'm sorry for something that I had done," he took another step towards her and offered his hand to her as he grinned before continuing, "But if I had not done that, I wouldn't have been able to ask you for a dance,"

Diana kept telling herself not to trust this man, that he was someone who did not abide to all the rules, that he was dangerous. But something in Diana pushed her beyond reasoning, pushed her enough that she now stood inches away from this man with her hand in his. She froze the moment she realized what she had done, she wanted to retreat and take her hand back out of his. But she lost her chance the moment she gazed into his deep blue eyes. She lost all cognitive thought as she felt her being flee into the depths of the oceans his eyes had casted, little did she know that she had him under her spell as well.

"It's best to air dry your dress anyways," His voice snapped her back to reality and she once again felt the irritation that she had housed easier.

"Just one song," She said sternly as she looked away from his eyes, refusing to be hypnotized again.

He led her to where all the other couples were dancing, and gently pulled her closer to him as they began their slow dance. She was taller than most women, but he was also taller than most men. The couple stood out amongst the others, they were not awkward like some. If anything they had the most chemistry, as if they had been dancing with one another for years on end. He found it easy to concentrate on her and her features because of how natural it felt to dance with her, it took no thought or planning as to what the next move would be. A minute passed before she finally said something,

"What's your name? If I may ask that is," she felt the involuntary shake of her voice from how nervous she was really feeling.

"Thomas," He simply replied, he smiled on the inside at how nervous he had made her,

"Thomas…?" She left open ended trying to get him to give her his last name,

"Yours?" He brushed away her question with much ease,

"Diana," She hesitated a bit before responding because she was not used to people asking for her actual name. They usually just referred to her as 'The Empress'.

"Diana…?"

"Of Themyscira," She asked herself why she was giving him this information, it was pointless small talk.

"Thomas of Gotham," a crooked grin was painted across his face as he found it quite enjoyable to be playful with her. His grin was met with a gasp from her as she took in the sight of possibly the most handsome man she had ever met. She couldn't even find time to be annoyed with his answer as she was busy trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. This man did strange things to her, and she didn't know whether she should be okay with it or not.

Bruce enjoyed the feeling of her in his arms, even though they weren't holding each other as an intimate couple would be. She was different. She wasn't like The Supreme at all, but he had known this. She was his ally not by choice, but rather by force. The island of Themyscira was unchartered by the rest of mankind, it was an island that was hidden. But once the Supreme had begun taking over, he had found the island. After losing a great number of her people and her mother in an attempt to stop them from taking over, Diana was forced to decide whether; her people died or joined the Empire. He understood her position; he too had been faced with life-changing decisions to which many lives were at stake. He didn't blame her for what she had done, and he liked that she seemed different from the others-she still had her independence. Her independence, which at the moment was strictly guarded by multiple security guards around the room. He began to feel like a mouse in the field that was trying to escape the murderous eyes of numerous hawks.

"Guess babysitting is a rather high-paying job," he jokingly chuckled, secretly hoping that the security guards had heard his remark.

"I can handle myself just fine," she pouted, obviously not too happy with the security guards herself. Bruce lit up inside at the sight of her pouting, it was absolutely adorable. He mentally noted that he would have to make her do it again sometime.

"Seems like you're the only one who thinks so," He kept teasing, pleased that he could make the well-put-together Empress so flustered. He noted to himself that the song was coming to an end, and as much as he would like to dance with her for the rest of the night-he still had a person to find.

"Don't push your luck," she stammered, her frustration with the man for continually teasing her on the rise. She felt him lightly release his hold on her waist and hand as he leaned his head in towards her. She flinched as she felt his dark hair brush against her forehead. What was he doing? He's too close!

"I'm sure you could handle me just fine, princess," He whispered into her ear as their cheeks touched causing her to squirm and turn a bright shade of red. Before she could even say anything, he retreated and flashed her another crooked grin before turning around and walking into the crowd.

"What an infuriatingly insufferable man," she hissed under her breath as she hid her face, hoping that no one would notice how bad she was blushing.


Bruce spun in slow circles as he made his way through the crowd; he had no luck in locating Jason. The auctioning had already begun and it was becoming harder for him to make his way through the mass of people. He was hoping that people would start filing out soon and he would weed his way through the remaining people. His thoughts kept veering off towards Diana, and it took almost every single drop of willpower for him to keep himself from looking for her. If only Jason turned up faster, he wouldn't be struggling with himself this much. His eyes kept busy as he quickly looked past the faces of the people in the crowd. He was about to head over to the bar for a break when he heard a familiar name over the microphone,

"This right here is Jason! Rip at the age of 23, he WAS one of the lead officers of the resistance," the announcer hissed the last part, "but ladies and gentlemen, he is here now and here for the purge,"

Bruce took no time to process this new information; his body reacted by clenching his fists and jaw. Jason was here alright.


So! What'd you guys think of this second chapter? I tried to make it more fast-paced than my other stories, hopefully I've done a decent job of doing so.

Have any questions/remarks/comments? Hit me up with a review :)!

Thanks for reading!