Disclaimer: I don't own the Justice League or the episode Starcrossed or the characters therein.
During the episode Starcrossed, the Thanagarians, Hawkgirl's people, arrive on Earth in order to secure it from the Gordanians, the Thanagarian's mortal enemies. But things are not always as they seem and things are changing for everyone in the League, including past decisions, alliances, friendships, even relationships.
Chapter 2, Ordinary World, by Duran Duran
"But I won't cry for yesterday/There's an ordinary world/Somehow I have to find/And as I try to make my way/To the ordinary world/I will learn to survive"
Blearily, Diana opened her eyes as a shaft of light beamed through the room, bouncing off of walls and bed sheets. Groaning, she tried pulling a pillow over to her head, but to no avail. The light continued to sear her eyes and finally she decided that perhaps it was time to wake up, to face the morning.
Peering out from under the pillow, she noticed Bruce standing by the windows, speared by a ray of sunlight and she watched for a moment as he stared out onto the grounds of the Manor, watching something, but what she had no idea. Rolling her neck, she stretched on the bed, moaning as her tightened muscles protested the movement, but finally, she collapsed in a state of happy contentment, sighing as she stared across the room at her lover.
He looked over at her, smiling slightly at her sigh, and releasing the curtains, he walked back to the bed and perched on the edge, draped only in his navy silk robe.
She would have preferred him nude.
But still, she wasn't complaining. He ran his hand down the length of her body, finally pausing to rest his hand idly on her hip, but she knew he wasn't hoping for a morning repeat of last night's sexual escapades, but rather, his mind was lost in thought. Still, she approved of the contact and the warmth that his hand provided as it lay against her hip.
Scooting up onto her elbow, she propped her jaw in her hand and looked at him with idle curiosity, wondering where exactly his bountiful intelligence had taken him this time. "Bruce?" she murmured, trying to gain his attention with the words without breaking him completely from his reverie.
He looked down the bed at her, removing his hand from her hip and rubbing her leg in long, smooth strokes from the knee to the bones that jutted out from the base of her body. "Just thinking."
"Anything in particular?" she asked, yawning a little and absentmindedly wondering what time it was and if Alfred knew how to make iced mochas. Somehow, she had a feeling that Bruce's butler could manage just about anything, at the very least an iced mocha. She was dying for some caffeine and that jolt of sweetness as it slid slowly down her throat. Practically drooling, she sat up, looking for a robe or something in which to dress herself. Spying a black terry cloth robe in the bathroom, she made her way to it, wrapping herself firmly in its depths.
"The terrorist plot I mentioned last night."
"Did you hear anything to give credence to the rumors?" she asked him, wandering back over to the bed and taking a seat next to him. He automatically reached for her, almost without any knowledge of the movement, and wrapped his fingers around her knee where it peaked through the bottom of the robe. Their thighs brushed and she had to fight the urge to simply lay her legs across his knees, connecting them even further. But she stayed still, knowing that his brain was deep in the thought process and that he probably wouldn't appreciate either the movement or the distraction.
"Nothing concrete," he murmured, almost as if he wasn't even aware of her being in the room, "Nothing definite, but maybe…" He trailed off and Diana sat there for a few minutes, taking in the view of her handsome lover – the square jaw line scruffy and sexy in the early morning, his hair mussed and tousled from sleep and sex, his body lean, muscular, and superbly athletic and she silently thanked the gods for his presence in her life, for the relationship that had developed so firmly and furtively between them.
She smiled softly and leaned over, gently clasping his hand that lay on top of her knee and giving it a tiny squeeze. His head jerked and he immediately looked over to her, a sheepish expression on his face as he realized that he had forgotten that she was there, that his brain was elsewhere when Wonder Woman was in the room, particularly a partially naked Wonder Woman whom had kept him up for several hours last night enjoying a lengthy and sensual bout of sex.
You're an idiot, Bruce, he told himself. But his brain still continued to be enveloped by the potential terrorist plot he had heard the rumors about and he knew that he couldn't afford rest of the distraction that Diana provided until he had either substantiated or revoked them.
"I need to go down to the cave," he said, looking at her with a hint of apology in his dark eyes. She simply smiled, leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips. "I know," she whispered against his cheek, "Go figure it out."
Five nights later, each of the members of the Justice League had assumed a position outside the building where the International Peace Summit was to be held in Washington, D.C. Batman had given each of them their barking orders during the weekly meeting held just two days before. He had arrived late to the meeting, an unusual occurrence for him. Usually if he was late, he simply didn't show, letting the team know without words that he had other priorities that often were held high above what more or less boiled down to a staff meeting of sorts.
Instead, he had arrived as Superman was opening the meeting, looking haggard and drawn, obviously having spent hours fact-finding at the computer, searching out various informants, and using his general techniques of intimidation and force in order to extract any information that he could about the potential of a terrorist threat at the Peace Summit. The intelligence he brought in was in better shape than he was and certainly seemed sturdier. Even Flash had been quiet during the meeting, for once not bothering to tease Batman and play the fool as they discussed the growing possibility of a terrorist strike.
Diana had sent slanting glances at the Dark Knight, trying to determine his state of mind while mulling over problems at the Peace Summit, a gathering that she believed wholeheartedly in. The past few days they had spent separately with barely a moment between them in order to talk or steal a few minutes away from the others and she had missed them, missed the closeness that had risen between them during their time alone over the Christmas holidays. But still, she had understood from the inception of their relationship that they had other duties that had to be put before their relationship, priorities that didn't concern one another, but the safety of the world, of Gotham City. She didn't begrudge that, but it certainly made for a challenging relationship sometimes. Still, she was grateful for the time that they did manage to spend together and so she focused on that instead whenever she found herself wondering what criminal he was fighting in Gotham or what case he was so intently solving.
Underneath the table, he reached over and gave her knee a little squeeze, just sign enough for her to know that he was okay underneath the scruffy exterior, that he was simply tired from putting in so many hours at work and at his second work. But his time had paid off and now they knew that they were going to have to formulate a plan.
Of course, Batman had already taken care of that as well, as was his usual assumption of leadership, no matter how profusely he denied it.
So, here they were in D.C., watching the skies and the streets for any sign of problems. It was simply a waiting game at this point, wondering if Batman's information would ultimately come to fruition. Batman was perched on one of the government buildings that lined D.C., watching the building across from him intently, with binoculars pressed against his eyes, checking constantly for any problems.
"The delegates from Kasnia are just arriving. Any sign of trouble?"
Diana was the first to answer, "Nothing here." She was circling the area around the lawn, checking over the Washington Monument and hadn't seen anything yet but a few tourists taking pictures and a few joggers running along the paths, sweating profusely as they sipped from water bottles and listened to their mp3 players.
Flash zoomed up in front of the White House, telling Batman, "Zilch. Not even a sleazy politician." As J'onn came up from the ground and solidified, Flash asked, "Are you sure we need to be here?"
His tone was pleading and plaintive, obviously a little irritated at trying to be patient as they waited for something to happen.
"According to my sources, terrorists have targeted this International Peace Summit," Batman told him in a firm tone that booked no argument from the scarlet speedster.
"They would have to do it during the playoffs," Flash whined.
"What if these terrorists are already inside?" J'onn asked quietly, ignoring Flash as he peered around him, trying to determine if anything looked amiss.
"I've got that covered," Batman stated. He could only imagine Lois Lane's reaction to Clark Kent being the primary reporter covering the International Peace Summit for the Daily Planet. He was currently ensconced in the building across the street, pencil and paper in hand, and somehow, Batman imagined, fending off Lois' anger in way that only he could.
At that moment, Hawkgirl and John Stewart were up in the air, exchanging flirtations, a light kiss, and promising to meet up later for Chinese food. After their gentle teasing ended, each took to their own parts of the sky, patrolling the city of D.C. and watching for problems that might arise.
Suddenly, Batman sees explosives light up the sky beyond the Washington Monument and immediately states, "GL, report!"
The Green Lantern, Diana, and Hawkgirl all took to the area from which the explosives were being emitted and a large alien spacecraft appeared in the sky just before them. It was extremely large, dominating the skyline and did not seem to remind Diana or Green Lantern of anything that they had previously seen.
"Not exactly your garden variety terrorists," Green Lantern told Batman, checking out the ship as it continued to coast towards the White House, the obvious target for its trajectory.
"It's a Gordanian Class 7 Cruiser!" Hawkgirl shouted as she recognized the ship in front of her as one of the ships belonging to the grave enemy of the Thanagarians. She had seen many of these types of crafts before, and although it had been five years, her voice was laced with alarm, with total and absolute concern as the large ship came closer to the three Justice League members.
"What?" Green Lantern blurted in confusion.
"Watch out for the plasma cannon!" she yelled and within seconds, a fiery heat burst across the sky, hitting Diana and Green Lantern while Hawkgirl swooped to the side, out of harm's way. Diana and Green Lantern were thrown hundreds of yards backwards, and as they hurtled towards the Washington Monument, Flash raced over to where they were headed, creating a small whirlwind and lowering the heroes to the ground, unconscious but unharmed.
The cannon fired again and Batman jumped, narrowly escaping as he went leaping into the air and off his perch as the plasma beam took out the building under him. Using his batarang, he flew through the air, finally coming to a halt on the soft ground and immediately moving towards where Diana, Flash, and Green Lantern were.
The cannon continued to fire, hitting the building where the International Peace Summit was being held and Clark immediately hung up his cell phone, cutting off Lois and watching as the people gathered raced out of the building and into the streets. He moved quickly, stripping off his suit and glasses, and flying out. He and J'onn flew up to where Hawkgirl was moving through the sky, dodging cannon fire, and Hawkgirl yelled, "I'll draw their fire."
"We'll take out the rear stabilizers!" Superman barked as he and J'onn took off towards the back of the ship. Hawkgirl tried to yell out a warning, telling them to wait, but to no avail. The two heroes were already being electrocuted by the force field surrounding the ship. As they fell, Hawkgirl rushed over and grabbed each of them by the cape before they fell into the reflecting pools that lined the National Mall. She brought them to where the others were waiting, Batman arriving on the scene just as she let go of Superman and J'onn.
The ship continued on its trajectory, heading straight towards the White House on a collision course, when it was struck by a laser from above it. Smoking, it fell to the ground, crashing into the grass where it lay in smoldering ruin.
They looked up to see a shadow passing over them and filling the sky were a mother ship and hundreds of tiny cruisers. Littering the sky, the seven heroes looked up as they realized that a larger problem now loomed on the horizon.
Superman remarked, "Out of the frying pan and into the fire."
But Hawkgirl stepped forward as from beneath the mother ship there emerged a small ship, taking to the sky from a bright yellow hole at the bottom of the ship. It landed in front of them and she said, hope rising in her voice, "No, wait!" And each of them looked at her, realizing that she knew something, that she recognized this ship just as she had done the last. A platform opened from underneath the small ship and a hazy smoke filled the air. But soon a winged figure materialized and as he strode forward, a smile lit Hawkgirl's face and amazement filled the others as something they had never expected was now occurring. The Thanagarians had arrived on Earth.
Next chapter: Maneater – The Justice League tries to convince the leaders of the world to trust the Thanagarians and the men engage in a little "boy talk"…
To my new and old reviewers – Thanks! You all are the best!
To reviewer SarahC concerning Nice & Cozy – I'm not sure that I'll ever be able to realistically pull off Dick/Donna, but I'm willing to give it the college try for now. I just really like the possibilities that it opens up for me. Still, I don't plan on using them very much. Every pairing other than BMWW is pretty much a minor pairing for me. I have one obsession and one obsession only. Hehe. Thanks for the apology! I am trying to keep true to the couple and what we all love about them and not veer off course or off plot. We'll see how that goes. Anyway, thanks and I hope that you're enjoying this story as well!
To reviewer T – Never apologize for reviewing. I appreciate that people take the time out to read my story and let me know what they're thinking and I always promise to try and write you back somehow. It seems to be a trend to introduce people to my stories and I'm grateful for the compliment that action is.
I was actually an English major in college, dabbled in poetry and such, but mainly I liked to write research papers. Sick, huh? I haven't done much with fiction, so that's why I'm still insecure and always a little nervous! The reviews help to boost my confidence.
Of course I love my paragraphing – you're right, it makes it easier to read. When it's all strung together, no one wants to read it. Not even me.
I can't handwrite anymore – it starts hurting! And we all make typos – my brain tends to go faster than my hands and so usually I have a lot of typos, particularly in emails and such.
Definitely a hardcore BMWW fan – I remember falling in love during "This Little Piggy" and it always irritated me that the show just left that relationship hanging.
I like the third person perspective because it allows me to play around a little bit if I want to. It will take a little getting used to though. I couldn't just jump into Starcrossed – I really enjoyed Nice & Cozy because it didn't focus on the episode and I simply wasn't ready to get back into that episode-centric fiction just yet. Guess I have to now. Plus, I'm not ready for all the drama and angst that will come with this episode!
I appreciate the comment that you think I'm the top BMWW writer, but I think that I would certainly list quite a few people above myself. Maybe you're not reading the right people just yet. Try Ugly Girl and tell me what you think then. She does an amazing job.
As for keeping the characters in, well, character, I'm trying and if I'm succeeding, it's only because I'm totally obsessive. Hehe.