DISCLAIMERS/NOTES

1. This is a fan fiction based on characters owned by DC Comics. I DO NOT OWN THEM. This is just for fun.

2. As always, I'll point out this was written over a decade ago. Here in the UK, Season 2 of the JL cartoon had yet to air, so Hawkgirl had not been revealed as a spy. And the massive, every-hero-in-the-DCU roster of Unlimited wasn't a factor. My timeline picks up after the Season 1 finale, The Savage Time. All my Wayback Wednesday stories are numbered chronologically, if you get stuck.

3. There are aspects of these stories that, in hindsight, I would change. However, I have kept them as I originally wrote them for history's sake. Not laziness.


PART 2

23:55.

Batman threw his first into the punk's face, breaking his nose. The punk slumped to the floor, out cold.

Batman looked at the girl standing a few yards away. "I wouldn't walk home alone at night," he said. "These streets are never safe." He then held his arm in the air, and a hook fired from his grapple. It hit a fire escape above, and at the press of a button, the line retracted, sending Batman flying into the air, leaving the girl wide-eyed in the alley.

Batman reached the top of the fire escape and put his grapple back in his utility belt. He then climbed the rest of the ladder to the roof, and stepped onto it. He walked across the rooftop, until he got to the edge.

He put his hand back to his utility belt, and opened a compartment. He reached in to feel the object inside. Yes, it was still there.

He knew it was, of course. But he could not help checking. Every so often, he would check, just to make sure. After all, if he lost his wedding ring, Diana would kill him.

He could have left it at home. It would be far more sensible. But… he wanted to have it with him at all times. It made him feel better.

There was a small bleep, and Batman put his hand to his ear. "Robin to Batman."

Batman activated his cowl radio. "Batman here."

"Can I come and join you?" Robin asked. "It's boring."

"No," said Batman. "One of has to stay there for when the hit is made."

"But I've been here for hours," Robin said. "They probably won't show until later."

"Yes, probably," Batman said. "But they might strike earlier, to try and catch us off guard. Stay there and keep watch."

"I don't see why you have to have all the fun," continued Robin. "What are you doing, while I'm sitting on my butt? How do I know you're not on the phone to Diana telling her how much you love her and how beautiful she is and…"

"I'm on patrol," Batman interrupted. "I'm not thinking of Diana."

"Then tell me this," said Robin. "How many times have you checked your ring?"

Batman fell silent. Sometimes he regretted training the boy observation skills. "Batman out," he eventually said, before deactivating his cowl radio.

Batman stared at the surrounding buildings. He smiled slightly. As much as Robin complained about his relationship with Diana, he knew the boy cared about her. And he knew he was happy for him. Finally, his life was worth living. He had a beautiful wife, two beautiful children, and for the first time, friends. As much as he had tried to remain aloof, the Justice League had become his second family.

Batman removed his grappling hook from his belt and fired it at a nearby rooftop. As he swung into the air, he had a thought.

Had Tim been listening to his and Diana's private phone calls…?

/

00:14.

Shayera lay in bed, wide awake. She had not had a wink of sleep all night. She had several thoughts running through her head.

She was pregnant. She still could not believe it. She was going to have a baby. She and John were going to be a real family. Sure, it was fast… but, they had married fast. And it was not as if Batman and Diana had waiting long before having children.

Diana. Shayera frowned as she thought of her. She felt sorry for her best friend. Despite the happy occasion, she felt sorry for her. When J'onn had said that he saw no problems with her pregnancy, Shayera had of course felt enormous relief. But as she thought more of it, she began to think of Diana. Her pregnancy was so hard… she almost died. Of course, Shayera was glad her own pregnancy looked better… but she could not help feeling sorrow for Diana.

Shayera sat up in bed. There was no way she was going to get to sleep. Her mind would just not stop. She decided to go to the kitchen and get something to eat. Soon she would have cravings… she might as well get some practice in.

She looked at John. He was out, as he always was. As much as she loved him, he was a bother at night. They were cuddly sleepers, but… he snored horribly. So every night she would hug him really tight, then roll him onto his side of the bed. For someone with hearing like a hawk, having someone snore down your ears was not pleasant.

She slid out of bed, though she might as well have jumped. Nothing would wake John now. She slipped her feet into her slippers, and reached for her dressing gown. Putting it on, she crept towards the door, then quietly opened it. She walked out of the room, and closed the door behind her.

As she went down the corridor, her thoughts turned to Flash. He had acted strangely earlier on. When she had mentioned Linda… he had suddenly gone all serious. He had also left quickly, even for him. He had been acting oddly around her for a couple of weeks now… keeping his eyes from her, not saying much… sure, sometimes he would be his old self, but others, he would distance himself from her.

It was almost like when…

Shayera stopped.

Oh no. Not that. Please not that.

Could he still… after all this time?

No. He could not be. He was with Linda. He had a girlfriend.

And she was married. And pregnant. He could not…

Could he?

No. She was worrying about nothing. Letting her imagination run away with her. He was with Linda. There was no way he still felt…

But what if he did? How would she handle it? COULD she handle it?

Shayera began to walk down the corridor, but she was getting more anxious with each step.

She needed to have a drink. Have a coffee. Have a Mount Dew. She needed something to calm her down. She was getting worked up.

She reached the kitchen, and went to the table. She made herself a cup of coffee, stirring the milk around for several moments. She then sat down, numb. The thought kept running through her head. Was he still… did he…

No. She was thinking crazy. There was no way he was still… and no way he would…

There was no way.

Was there?

/

01:25.

Batman swung through the air, and pressed a button on his grapple. The hook attached to a rooftop two hundred yards away opened, releasing itself. Batman fell freely, aiming his descent. He raised his arms, his cape opening wide to catch the air.

He landed on the rooftop, and when his line had retracted, put his grapple back in his utility belt. He then went upto the figure crouching on the edge of the roof. "What's happening?" he said.

"They came in about ten minutes ago," Robin said. "Through the roof. They've been there ever since."

Batman looked at the bank on the other end of the street, at the roof. The skylight was still open. "OK," he said. "You stay here while I check it out."

Robin looked at him. "What? There were only eight of 'em. Let's just go in and kick their butts."

"Did they have Peter Mannings with them?"

Robin nodded. "Why?"

"That makes it a hostage situation," Batman said. "I'll assess the situation first, try and get him safe."

"You mean have all the fun," Robin mumbled.

Batman raised his eyebrow. "I'll make sure you get to kick some of their butts," he said flatly. He removed his grapple and fired it at the bank. The hook attached itself to the fire escape, and Batman pulled the line taunt. "Wait for my signal."

"You just want to be all macho so you can go back and tell Diana you took down eight men single-handedly," said Robin. "Then she'll be like, 'Oh my hero' and all kissy-kissy."

"She wouldn't be too impressed," Batman said. "I've seen her take down twenty men." With that, he leapt off the roof, swinging to the bank.

He flew towards the building, and as he got closer, he pressed the retract button on the grapple. As he neared it, he held out his hand. When he was close enough, he grabbed a pole of the fire escape, cushioning the impact with his feet and cape. He then retracted the rest of the line, until he was at the top of the roof.

He walked along the surface until he got to the skylight. He looked down at the building inside. The top floor was a large office, and was untouched. He silently jumped down into the building, landing inside on the floor. He then went to the elevator and pressed the down button.

Once he had stepped onto the elevator, gone down, and stepped off at the ground floor, he looked around. He could hear voices near. He recognised all of them. He smiled slightly. This would be fun.

He liked reunions.

He stayed close to the wall, listening. He went into another room. It was the main part of the bank, where the public came. He looked over and saw the vault. Sure enough, they were there.

He watched as the gang's leader, a thin man with a bola hat and a cane, shouted at another man, who Batman realised was Peter Mannings. "Open the vault!" the man in the hat said. "We haven't got all day."

"But… I can't," Mannings said. "I don't know the combination…"

"Don't give me that! You worked at this bank for ten years! You must know some way to get inside that! Or maybe a bullet with jog your memory…" The man pointed his cane at Mannings' kneecap…

Suddenly, a batarang flew from the shadows, striking the cane. The weapon was knocked off direction, and it shot a bullet into the wall. The man looked at the batarang. "Oh no…" he said.

Batman activated his cowl radio. "Now." He then turned it off, and stepped out of the shadows.

"Don't just stand there!" the man said. "Get him!"

The thugs in green and grey clothing approached Batman…

Batman sighed. It WAS a pity Diana was not here to see this…

/

01:34.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!"

Diana sat up in bed, and sighed deeply. Her hair was a mess. Her eyes were heavy. Her nightie was creased. She looked over at her bedside clock and moaned.

She slowly pushed the duvet away and shuffled out of bed. The noise kept going from down the hall, echoing off the walls. She put her slippers on and put on her dressing gown. She then went to the door, her legs barely working. She reached the door, and went to turn the handle. In her tired state, she could only turn it lightly.

The door would not open.

Diana frowned, as she wondered why the door refused to open. Tired, she did not have the energy to realise it was locked, and turned the handle again.

Nothing.

She sighed, and rested her head on the door. She listened to the sound of high-pitched screaming, and she held her head. Would this night ever end?

She looked at the doorhandle, as her head cleared. She gripped it again, and was about to turn it, when she noticed something crinkling under her feet.

She looked down to see a piece of paper that had been slipped under the door.

She squinted as she focused on the words written on it. She had to read it a few times before the words made sense.

"PLEASE STAY IN BED, MA'AM. I WILL SEE TO THE CHILDREN."

She sighed, and rested her head back on the door. This was the fourth time Alfred had insisted he see to the babies, but the first time he had locked Diana in the bedroom. She could easily escape, but she was so tired…

Maybe she should just go back to bed. Leave Alfred to see to the kids. It was not as if she was forcing him to. He kept insisting that he would tend to them. And he was so good with them.

Diana sighed. She closed her eyes as the crying continued. As tired as she was… her heart ached.

She could not do it. She could not leave her children crying. She had to go to them.

She turned the doorhandle slowly, the lock easily snapping. She opened the door and went down the corridor. The crying became louder as she approached the babies' room. Maybe they had fallen… or maybe they had dropped their toys. Maybe they were too hot… or too cold.

Maybe… or…

Suddenly, there was a crash. The crying stopped, and Diana widened her eyes. She began to run down the corridor. Her babies were in trouble… she would get to them… make them safe…

She reached the bedroom door, and threw the door open.

She stopped at the sight that met her.

Faith and Thomas were sitting on the side table, and began to giggle.

On the floor was a broken jug, with milk all over the carpet.

Alfred stood in the middle of the room, the bottom of the jug on his head.

He looked at Diana casually. "Hello, ma'am," he said.

Diana rested her head in her hands and smiled slightly. "Oh, Alfred…"

TO BE CONTINUED