A/N: Thank you so much for the response on the previous chapter! Okay, so in this chapter, we some slight, rather OOC bromance and a mysterious new arrival with a tendency to beat up people ;)
As always, please, please enjoy.
BTW – I got Season 2 as a birthday present! I was like :O at the end, I swear. And OMG, Diggle's gonna be a daddy!
Disclaimer: All related characters are property of DC. I just borrow them to play with time to time.
And We All Fall Down
"She's got her halo and wings/Hidden under his eyes –
But she's an angel for sure/She just can't stop telling lies."
...
"Yeah she's got a criminal mind/He's got a reason to pray –
His life is under the gun/He's got to hold every day."
- The Killers, 'Under the Gun' Lyrics
~2~
Encounters
When Oliver didn't return, Thea turned so that she was lying on her back, still in Roy's arms.
"I wonder what's keeping him," she mused.
Roy shrugged casually. "Dunno."
"Well then, c'mon, let's go look." she said, nudging him in the stomach.
He looked at her blearily. "Can't we just make-out while your brother's out of the room?"
She looked at him, deadpan, "Yeah, nice try," she said, sitting up and pulling him with her with a strength that surprised him.
Roy groaned when Thea got off the couch but followed after her dutifully as she led him on by the hand.
However, when they did get to the lobby, the sight that waited for them was well worth giving up a quick, stolen make-out session with his girlfriend, after all, it wasn't every day he got to see Thea's hard-ass brother in a head-lock.
He was taken by surprise – that was all, it was nothing to be ashamed of, really – really…
"Ready to give up yet, Queen?" Bruce said, his arms tightening.
Oliver snorted. "In your dreams, Wayne," he said, sharply elbowing the other man in the rib before he managed to break out of his hold.
When the two of them separated, they had a minor stare-down before the both of them just cracked up and started laughing. They stepped forward and hugged each other briefly.
"Bruce Wayne," Oliver stated, "you rich bastard – it's been years."
Bruce gave him a firm pat on the back and stepped away. "Five to be exact, but who's counting?"
"I don't know if you knew this, but I've been out of town for a while."
The darker man cocked an eyebrow but was still smiling. "So I've heard…"
"God… it really has been a long time, hasn't it?"
The next thing the two men knew, they heard a voice. "Bruce?"
When they looked over their shoulders, they saw Thea standing in the doorway leading to the living room, eyes wide while Roy looked unsure whether he should laugh or even be there.
Bruce grinned. "Well I'll be damned – is that you, Speedy?" he asked, he and Oliver watching in amusement as Thea grimaced and Roy only just managed to hide his laugh as a bad cough.
"Ugh… how do you even remember that?" she grumbled.
Roy leaned in a little so that he could whisper in her ear, "Do you mind if I call you 'Speedy' too?"
"Do it, and," when she whispered the rest of her threat in his ear, the grin on Roy's face fell off.
Both Oliver and Bruce then watched as the redhead straightened up and cleared his throat. "Thea's good, it's really good. Thea's great." He said with conviction. She smirked in satisfaction.
"Anyway, Roy, this is Bruce Wayne, he's been a personal friend of mine and my family's for years. Bruce, this is Thea's… friend, Roy Harper," Oliver said, earning himself a glare from Thea, which he ignored.
"Friend…?" Bruce said, looking at the younger man appraisingly.
"We're dating," Roy said bluntly, standing up a little straighter, meeting his eyes and holding Thea's hand more firmly as if proving a point. "But, wait – Bruce Wayne? That kinda sounds familiar."
"You've probably read about him," Thea said, rolling her eyes.
It took a minute for Roy to understand before it dawned on him. "Oh, yeah – I think I saw something about you in a magazine once. You're from Gotham City, right?"
Bruce nodded, easing up on his scrutiny. "I am."
"Bruce's got a reputation for being… something of a jack of all trades." Oliver said diplomatically, despite the smirk on his face telling otherwise.
"Billionaire, philanthropist, playboy," Thea explained when she saw Roy's confusion. She then paused. "But, now that I think about it, I haven't heard about you in a while now."
Bruce snorted in amusement. "Is that a bad thing?"
"No… but going from Gotham's Prince to its Recluse is pretty suspicious…" Thea said teasingly.
"I wouldn't go that far," Bruce admitted. "I still cause enough trouble to appear on page six in the Gazette… occasionally."
"Only occasionally?" Oliver smirked. "I think you're losing your touch, Wayne."
Bruce narrowed his eyes in a playful glare, "Never."
"So, what are you doing in my city?" he asked, tilting his head slightly
"Believe it or not, I'm actually here on business." Bruce answered smoothly.
"You finally took over the Wayne Enterprises?" Oliver said, somewhat surprised.
"I did, I'm attending a charity event on behalf of the company next weekend."
"You mean the 'Privileged for the Glades' thing?" Thea asked.
Bruce nodded. "And I thought since I'm here I might as well check up on you as well."
Oliver shook his head. "Well, you picked one hell of a time to visit, Bruce."
"I know… I hope you don't mind…?"
"Like you even have to ask… besides, I doubt I'd be able to stop you even if I wanted to." Oliver said dryly.
"And they said I was the smart one," Bruce smirked.
"You're right, I ended up being the smart and the charming one – tough luck, Bruce."
"Let's not forget the one with the rapidly swelling head."
"Ha-ha, very funny."
"I thought so."
"Okay!" Thea interrupted, clearly amused. "We get it, you guys got the whole bromance thing going on, but we're being rude – Bruce, since you're here now, do you want to stay for dinner?"
Before Bruce could open his mouth to reply, the phone in his jacket pocket vibrated.
Excusing himself, when he checked the message that had come through, something clouded in his eyes and he slipped his phone back into his jacket.
"I would have loved to, Thea, but something important just came up." He apologized sincerely.
"Business?" Oliver asked.
"In a manner of speaking…" He allowed.
"Well, you still have that penthouse in the city, right?" Oliver asked. "I'll call you up tomorrow and we can have lunch."
Bruce smiled slightly. "I'd like that, and maybe we can reschedule that dinner?" he said, looking at Thea.
"Cool," the teenager said with a grin.
"Until tomorrow then?" Bruce asked, holding out his hand to shake Oliver's.
Oliver clasped it amicably and they shook, "Until tomorrow."
Bruce said his goodbyes to Thea and Roy and then turned around and left.
"He hasn't changed at all, has he?" Oliver said wryly, he and Thea waving at him as Bruce got into his car and drove away.
"I don't know…" Thea admitted, "I haven't seen him in a while, but there's definitely something different about him."
Oliver looked at her curiously. "Why's that?"
Thea shrugged. "It's just a feeling," she said lightly. "…It's probably nothing."
Oliver then felt the phone vibrate, and when he fished it out of his pocket, he saw it was from Diggle and stood apart from his sister.
"Something's happening down at the docks," Diggle's voice came before Oliver could open his mouth.
"Hello to you too, Diggle," Oliver said, deadpan. "…And what do you want me to do about it?"
He could almost hear the frown in his voice. "I thought you might want to check it out, they say some masked woman is causing problems."
Oliver stiffened a little.
"Oliver?"
He sighed. "I'll be there." He said, hanging up and pocketed his phone again. He then turned to Thea.
The teenager looked at him, worried. "What's wrong?"
"I got to go… that was Diggle, trouble at the club," he explained briefly.
"Couldn't he check it out?"
"Trust me, I wish he did," Oliver said darkly.
"Well… you're coming back, right?" Thea asked, slightly doubtful.
Oliver kissed her on the head. "I'll see you later," he promised, going to get his keys and leaving behind a frowning Thea.
Meanwhile, at a warehouse at the Docks…
The thug hit the wall with a reckless thump as another slumped down ungracefully onto his side – the last remaining thug had the breath knocked out of his as a crimson high-heeled boot came down on his chest, keeping him there as the blood trickled down the side of his mouth.
(He's going to kill you,) he sneered in Greek, looking up at the woman standing over him through a swelling black eye.
She stepped down harder on him, possibly fracturing something as she did.
(Then I assume you know where he is?) She responded icily.
(Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you anything.) He said, and then, regularly, "You're out of your league, lady – and after tonight, after what you did, you might as well paint a target on your back to spare him the time finding you."
Sea blue eyes narrowed behind a red domino mask, and with a surprising strength, she suddenly yanked him up by his collar before backing him up against a wall.
"Enough talk," she said normally, her voice hard. "He risked a great deal crawling out of Gateway and I want to know why that is – tell me or I break something else."
With a wince, the thug looked up at her, defeated.
"Okay, o-okay," he said weakly before gesturing with his head to the side at a crate on the far end of the room. "Over there, the Boss wanted us to bring that in for him – said it was important."
"What's in it?" she asked, suspiciously.
"What makes you think I'd know, you stupid bi-"
Before he could get another word in, she brought her elbow up to his face sharply and knocked him out.
Letting him fall to the ground, unconscious, she stepped back and walked over to the crate.
Her breath caught when she opened it, and found a breastplate – clearly ancient, what made the piece of armor unusual was that it seemed to have been made for a woman, the metal was a shade of deep, metallic red while the detailing at the base and the insignia over the chest was made out of gold.
Her hands tightened as she gripped at the lid of the crate, and for a moment, she felt like she wanted to stagger – her lips drew into a thin grim line as she slammed it shut, her eyes dark with thought.
A while later…
The Arrow grimaced as he stood, unnoticed on the rooftop across from the warehouse – police lights flickering down below as officers took in several apparent smugglers.
Reaching up to the comm. in his ears, Arrow contacted Diggle.
"Why did you waste my time with this?" he said impatiently.
"I don't get it – the reports said that a masked woman was busy tearing it up down there. Oliver, I swear I thought it was-"
"Helena wouldn't come back to Starling unless her father was involved," Arrow said pointedly, stepping back slightly, away from the edge.
He heard a sigh on the other end. "I'm sorry, man – but, don't you think you should check it out anyway? It might not be Helena, but if somebody else is running around beating the crap out of creeps, wouldn't you want to know about it?"
Arrow let out a sigh. "It's not my concern anymore, Dig."
"I don't believe that."
"Believe whatever you want, I'm going home." He said, and with that ended the connection.
However… before the Arrow turned away from the sight, something strange caught in the corner of his eye – a woman, standing in the dark alleyway right next to the warehouse, apart from everything and concealed in the shadows, watching the whole thing without anyone noticing.
For some reason, she caught his attention, and when she slipped away, Arrow decided to follow after her.
She stuck to using dark alleyways while he trailed her on the rooftops, her posture noticeably rigid as she continually looked over her shoulder.
She happened to glance up once before ducking into another empty warehouse.
When she didn't come out, the archer decided to go in after her – he used one of the upper windows to slip in, his bow drawn and arrow held at the ready as he went down to the lower level.
The warehouse hadn't been used in years – the building was practically falling apart as old crates stood around in multiple heaps, moonlight streaming in through the gaps in the roof.
Arrow walked under an old walkway, still keeping his eyes open, until, unexpectedly, he heard low grunt and the swoosh of air, and the next thing he knew, his breath was practically knocked out of him when something sharp kicked him in the back and made him stumble.
Straightening up immediately after he recovered, when he turned around, the same woman who he had been tracking was hanging from the walkway until she let go and landed cat-like on her feet.
When she stood up straight, she glared at him with harsh, sea-blue eyes hidden behind a red domino mask, raven black hair spilling over her shoulder in a mass of curls – her outfit was… particular, she wore dark blue leather pants with a golden belt with several compartments around her hips while her red boots reached just below her knees. A black leather jacket covered a bustier-like crimson chest plate that was made out of Kevlar. She also had a single silver pendant in the shape of a star around her neck and seemed almost out of place.
The two of them regarded each other for a moment before she spoke first.
"Why are you following me?" she asked slowly. Her voice had the slightest accent in them, and Arrow vaguely wondered where she could be from – the Mediterranean, perhaps?
"Someone had to make sure you don't hurt anyone else." He answered evenly.
"Those were not good men." She bit back.
"Probably not – I just don't like it when someone comes into my city causing trouble."
She scoffed. "Forgive me if I'm not daunted."
Arrow raised his bow slightly, "How about now?" he said, deadpan.
She rolled her eyes. "I've seen worse." She said before drawing a pair of Eskrima sticks from her belt and held them in front of her defensively. "I do not, however, wish to fight you now."
"Then I'll get to the point – get out of my city."
Her eyes narrowed. "Not happening."
"I wasn't asking"
The woman's posture turned aggressive. "I'd like to see you try and make me leave."
Before the archer could react, she then came at him, bringing her weapons down hard over his head – he was just able to block her with his bow and just had enough time to evade when the woman when she made to kick him.
She came at him again and again repeatedly, and for several minutes, they traded blows – but whereas he had a slight advantage in strength and speed, the woman was relentless, skilled and obviously very well trained; she managed to land several blows on his arms, his legs and his chest.
She landed a sharp kick to his stomach, making him stumble back – she drew close again, intending to strike at him again when he drew his bow and arrow again, aiming it at her, not intending to fire it, only to stop her in her tracks which she did.
However, in a blur of commotion, the next thing he knew, something small, black and metallic flew straight at him, striking him on his hand, making him loose his grip on his bow and it clattered onto the ground.
Mere seconds late, something was thrown at their feet, and before anything else could happen, the whole room burst into white smoke.
Blinded, the smoke made the archer cough – he was quick to recover his bow, but, just and as quickly as the smoke appeared, it evaporated into thin air, and he muttered an oath under his breath when he found that he was alone.
Looking around furiously, bow still held at the ready, he spotted the black metallic disk that had struck him.
He reached up for his comm. as he walked over to examine it.
"Diggle," he began somewhat cautiously. "Are you still there?"
The reply was almost instantaneous. "Oliver?"
"I… think we might have a problem." He said reluctantly.
Diggle paused on the other side of the line. "…What happened?"
"It's that woman, she might not be Helena," he began, picking up the disk, raising an eyebrow when he saw that it was shaped like a bat, "But whoever she is, she isn't alone."
At the same time…
She barely had time to protest as he lead her away from the warehouse, both of them shadows blending into the dark alleyways – when he stopped, she glared when he let go of her wrist and turned to face her. She didn't make to break away when he then wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her to him as he pulled out a grapnel from his belt.
Almost instinctively, she put her arms around his neck. His arm tightened around her.
Blue eyes met the white lenses of his terrifying cowl, and without looking away, he aimed the grapnel, and with a mechanical whirl and a tug, their feet left the ground.
When they touched down on a nearby rooftop, they stayed as they were for several moments, watching each other silently until she looked away with an almost weary sigh.
"You didn't need to do that." She said, letting her arms drop from around his neck.
His mouth pressed into a thin line. "He was dangerous." He said – his voice low and rough yet unusually soft.
"I had it under control," she said and stepped back.
"He had an arrow pointed at you." He said – a hard edge creeping into his voice as the whites of his cowl narrowed.
"He wouldn't have shot at me."
"But what if he did?"
A slight spark of annoyance entered her eyes. "What are you doing here, Bruce?" she said very quietly.
He made to take a step closer to her. "You know the answer to that one, Princess."
She turned away from him with her body, cutting him off mid-step. "Don't… You can't convince me to change my mind."
"Diana…" he said, his voice just softness now, tender and yet…
She looked away, refusing to meet his eyes. "I'm not leaving." She said and then looked up, staring right in front of her. "I can't, you know why."
He approached her again. She made no move to turn away this time.
Her breath caught when she felt his fingers brush against her jaw, and with gentle tilt of her head, made her look at him. His mouth was now set in a distinctive frown.
"You'll get hurt."
"Isn't that a risk we all have to take from time to time?"
"Not me – not you."
She covered his hand with her own before removing it from her face, not letting it go immediately as she stepped back again.
"Go back to Gotham, Bruce…" she said, finally letting go, taking more steps back. "I won't let you get involved in this."
He didn't move, but his mouth turned into a determined line as he watched her go, and as she left, barely audibly, "It's too late for that, Princess…"
A/N: I'm trying my hand at drama – I hope this wasn't overkill! *mutters* …I actually really liked this X3
Important! And in case you are all wondering why I made Diana's 'default' weapons Eskrima sticks (which is, as you diehard DC comic fans should know is Nightwing's weapon of choice), I wanted to keep this as realistic as possible, meaning Diana is not the mythical Amazon of legend that we all know and love and would not have a magical lasso made by the gods. Her back story for this fic will be told, just give me some time and be patient, I promise it'll be quite something. Also, since Dick is still Robin in this, I'm sure he wouldn't mind lol.
Response to Reviews:
Mr. Oliver Queen: I know and as previously stated above, it was EPIC. Thank you very, very much for being this story's first reviewer, and there will be more Bat/Arrow interaction and etc later on :)
Lloyd RPGFan: I thank you for saying that :)
Meculedes: Thank you!
Kelana-ti: And there will be more Dick cuteness to come, promise – thank you for your kind words.
letskilloctavian: Why is Dick in here? Because, and I couldn't possibly say this enough times, he is awesome, and because this story is gonna be kinda dramatic and we're all gonna need some Robin goodness to lighten it up every once in a while – but thank you for reviewing… as for which season of Batman? Uh… whatever makes you happiest, man lol.
If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me – otherwise, make my day a little happier and leave a review!
Until next time,
GoddessofDawn out
