A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! I was surprised by all the feedback I got from you guys and to show much it was appreciated, I decided to put the chapter up today rather than wait! I can't promise updates will be coming this fast in the future, by the way.

Disclaimer: The ownership of these characters go to, you guessed it, their owners! I don't own them or get anything but entertainment from them. No villains or heroes were harmed in the making of this story.


Chapter Two

By the time they arrived at the manor, it was already well into the morning. So far, there hadn't been any word from Robin since he started patrol, but upon spotting the suit put away safely and the cave empty, a weight lifted off his shoulders, a relief he needed after such a stressful couple of days. Must have been a quiet night, he thought, relieved that Tim wasn't inside the cave when they arrived and the questions his adopted son would have when he spotted the Amazon princess.

Bruce didn't regret his decision to bring her to the manor, it was the only thing that made sense. He couldn't spend all his time on the Watchtower and he certainly wasn't going to condemn her to excruciating pain whenever he wasn't around so it kind of tied his hands on what to do. His worry lay in what having her around so often would do on the icy ground they stood on. Or more like a tightrope because ice is a lot more stable that this dance of ours, he mused, opening the clock door and walking in with her right behind him, holding a suitcase that she wouldn't let him take for her.

"Alfred should already be…" He started, slowing when he spotted the butler near the door and narrowing his eyes. "He's supposed to be asleep."

"Sir, I shall sleep after I'm assured that our guest is comfortably in her room and to do any less than that would be impolite on your end as my employer and my end as an employee," he said professionally. Bruce could see the twinkle in his eyes though, his surrogate father obviously wanted to make sure he treated the princess with nothing less than politeness and this only further proved Bruce's opinion that Alfred had a soft spot for Diana.

Diana watched them, confused but amused. Bruce looked sternly at the butler, a silent argument taking place, before he sighed. "I suppose arguing would be futile?"

Alfred didn't hide his smile. "Yes, I believe so, Sir." Then he turned to Diana, bowing his head politely. "Your highness, it's a pleasure to see you again. I do hope he has been treating you as kindly as he can?"

"It's a pleasure to see you too, Alfred, but please, call me Diana," she said, smiling warmly at him. "And he has been a perfect gentlemen, you have no worries."

He shook his head, looking scandalized. "Apologies, Miss, but that would be improper. However, I would be happy to take your bags up to your room while Master Bruce continues with whatever he has planned."

"I don't suppose you can tell me what he has in mind?" Diana inquired, relinquishing her bag with an ease that had Bruce staring. Hadn't she just threatened him a few moments ago that she was perfectly capable of handling her own bags in that threatening way of hers? Granted, it hadn't bothered him so much as amused him, but that wasn't the point.

"I can't begin to guess what Master Bruce will do, he is quite fond of surprising me," he replied, smiling kindly.

Bruce cut in, "I can take her to her room, Alfred. I insist you go to bed afterwards." His words didn't allow for argument, but he didn't doubt that Alfred could somehow twist his arm if he wanted. He didn't, thankfully, he only welcomed Diana again and bid them goodnight before leaving the room, trying to muffle a yawn when the door closed. Bruce turned to Diana, eyebrow raised. "Didn't you threaten me a few minutes ago?"

She smiled, disarming him in an instant. "Alfred has a way of manipulation that make it rather difficult to ignore him, I'm positive that he has been blessed by the Gods in such a way."

"Perhaps, he would have to be blessed to deal with me for as many years," Bruce admitted.

"You are a difficult man," Diana agreed.

"Tell me how you really feel, Princess," he grumbled goodnaturedly. She looked puzzled by that response. "What?"

"You're in a rather good mood," She pointed out then stepped closer to him. The air seemed to leave the room, but she continued forward, undaunted by his sudden tension as she lifted her hand to his cheek. "You don't feel feverish."

He swallowed back his first instinct, whatever it may have been from kissing her to falling on his ass, relieved that he had practiced it so much over the past few months. It didn't help much, but it made it… bearable. Either way, he responded with the first thing that came to mind, but at least it was better than doing something foolish. "Probably just delirious, I have been sleeping in a chair for a few nights and even I haven't done that before."

The mischief in her eyes faded away at his words, her hand unmoving from her face as she stared at him with sad, guilty eyes. He wanted to hit himself for saying that. "I'm sorry, I…." She trailed off, struggling to find the right words, her hand slipping away from him and leaving a sense of loss that became poignant as she stepped away. "I don't know why I always seem to make things difficult for you without intention."

"This isn't your fault."

Diana shook her head. "If I had dodged Circe, it wouldn't be a big deal, but here we are."

"I didn't realize you could become intangible like J'onn, your range of abilities is fascinating," he replied sarcastically and getting a glare in response. He didn't back down from it anymore than she backed down from his returning glare.

"Bruce, this is serious."

Bruce raised his brow. "I know, that's why you're here. Come on, I'll take you to your room, we can talk about this more tomorrow when we've both slept."

She laughed coldly. "All I've done is sleep apparently."

He held back a shudder at her laugh, silently deciding that he didn't want to hear it with anything other than the absolute warmth that invaded every other action she did in some way or form. It had nothing to do with being Wonder Woman either, but something that was entirely Diana; she didn't let the darkness of the world drown out her own light. That light brightened other people, even those reluctant to accept it or show it. Like him.

Bruce shook his head. "I meant in a comfortable bed with soft blankets, the ability to wake up yourself, and to not worry about hurting yourself either," he explained, offering up his arm for her. "So, Princess, may I show you to your room or shall we stand here debating over the impossibility of changing the past?"

Despite her irritable mood, she seemed amused by his actions, looping her arm through his. "Arguing with you is impossible sometimes."

"If I'm going to lose an argument with anyone, it would probably be you. Or Alfred," he shrugged, thinking of his surrogate father. The man had the uncanny skills of getting Bruce to do what the butler wanted without him necessarily realizing it at the time, a trait that he admired and resented in nearly equal measures.

She laughed in response, much closer to her normal one. Apparently she wasn't giving into his arguments as much as she implied or was a lot sleepier than she looked otherwise he was positive they would still be downstairs debating a futile topic. He knew the irony of preaching about being unable to change the past considering he reflected so often on the night that changed everything, still subject to its frequent nightmares, but advice was easier to give than to swallow.

Her room was small, but cozy and located, he realized with an evil glare towards Alfred, right beside his. Only a wall separated them. This is for the best though, she won't suffer from being far away from him, but neither would be tempted by her being right beside him. He let her in, pausing in the doorway as she roamed around the room, hands brushing over things as though afraid they would break.

"There's a bathroom here, if you need it," he said awkwardly, pointing across the hall from them, a few doors away from Tim's room. Not knowing what else to say, he cleared his throat, drawing her eyes. "Well, uh, goodnight. I'll see you… later."

"Goodnight, Bruce," she replied as he stepped away, pulling the door closed and leaning his forehead against the door, the coolness reminding him of the many reasons that he shouldn't kiss her. In the end though, it came down to just one thing: it would be too dangerous.

He sighed, going into his own room, trying to decide whether he meant her safety, his heart, or both.


Bruce woke up slowly, acknowledging the fact that he really didn't have anywhere to be today that required getting up immediately for the first time in ages. He might have appreciated it more had the sudden awareness of why he had nothing to do popped into his mind, waking him up entirely. He sat up, trying to stretch the grogginess of sleep away, listening carefully for anything abnormal in the house and wasn't surprised to hear nothing. It was only noon, after all; Tim would have left for school and Alfred would have let him sleep for a little while longer.

On the other hand, he didn't know whether the princess was up or not. He tried listening for her, but the only thing he could decipher was the gusty wind outside that rattled the windows and his own breathing, revealing nothing of her presence. Bruce sighed and pulled himself out of bed, heading into the bathroom to take a shower.

Alfred has super hearing, he thought when he came out with a loose towel around his waist to spot the made bed and clothes set out for him. He pulled them on, adjusting his sleeves as he left the room and towards the only place he imagined his guest to be: the kitchen. After all, she enjoyed Alfred's company.

He pushed the door open, almost happy to see them, when emotions slammed into him. Not gently, like he had been experiencing the past few times that her emotions had leaked to him through their link, but with a sudden rushing force that had him freezing in the doorway. His head pounded, processing the emotions: happiness, awe, guilt. They weren't his, he knew this, but it was hard to remind himself of that when his brain brought up his own memories for each in a futile attempt to fix it.

Stumbling back, he held the doorway, expression pinched as fear flooded his system. He broke out in cold sweat, sweeping the kitchen for whatever inspired his instincts while Alfred stood with his back to him, focusing on the food in front of him. But Diana wasn't looking at Alfred or listening to the blur of noise that was the butler's words, but looking right at him, her expression concerned and-

"Bruce?" Her hand landed on his shoulder and the emotions stuttered to a stop, leaving him blank and empty, feeling absolutely nothing. Was this what he usually felt like? He felt so… hollow. She repeated, "Bruce?"

He blinked and relief flooded her features. "Sorry, got a headache all of a sudden." Her hand tightened a fraction on his shoulder and he drew warmth from it as it pushed away the prickling sensation in his brain, like a bright line was shining on it.

"You don't generally get headaches so noticeably, Master Bruce," Alfred input, sounding suspicious. Bruce leveled a glare his direction, the butler stared back, still suspicious and Diana added her own look, the one that he used to get when he told her why they couldn't be together.

He muttered under his breath, forgetting that he was in the presence of somebody who definitely had super hearing and somebody he suspected did as both of their expressions twitched with amusement. "Your emotions are a lot more powerful than people give you credit," Bruce told her, slipping from her grip and coming to sit at the counter as Alfred passed along a cup of coffee to which he gave a nod of thanks.

Diana sat beside him, biting her bottom lip. Anxiety, he noticed, feeling her emotions again, but not as heavily as before, it was back to a gentle trickle that he barely noticed. He considered prodding it, figuring out the true source of her emotions without having to ask, but crossed it off immediately. This bond of theirs violated her privacy enough without actively looking at it, he would have to do it the old fashioned way.

He preferred it that way.

"Is it painful?" She questioned before he could ask, taking the mug of coffee that Alfred offered her with a gentle smile.

He didn't pause to think, the answer springing up immediately. "No, it hasn't been like that before, I need to take a look at your blood and see if anything shows up in comparison to the data we already had. I don't think we'll find anything though. This isn't science, it's magic."

I hate magic, he thought. Only magic gives someone a side effect even though they weren't hit by it. His only thanks went to what he had to deal with compared to her, there were worse things in the world than to feel her emotions, to feel a fragment of her thoughts if he happened to think or look at her too deeply. Granted, he did both of those more often than he admitted, but he could work on that. It's all about self-control and he was a master of it. He shook his head, taking a drink of the hot liquid that did little to soothe him, but did put him into work mode.

"If that doesn't work, what do we do?" Diana asked.

"X-rays," he replied slowly, debating what other options they had and came to the conclusion that they had next to none. "The League is already on alert for Circe, but if we can find a solution without her then all the better. I can't imagine what she would want in return this time."

Diana nodded in agreement, embarrassed to know what had happened last time they went against Circe. At least she wasn't a pig this time though, she could count herself lucky for that. He was tempted to ask her which fate was worse until the rest of his brain kicked in, reminding him that he wouldn't be able to do anything to fix this if Diana blew up and, say, launched him out the window into Alfred's flower bed. He knew she would be too because if someone asked Bruce if he would rather be a pig or be in pain when not next to someone that he loved but couldn't then he'd be pissed and liable to throw them out the window into Alfred's flower bed.

Then Alfred would be mad too and the mild-mannered butler probably had years of pent up rage after dealing with Bruce for so long that he didn't want to burst that particular bubble. He added another thing to his to-do list: prepare for the day that Alfred gets mad and find a way to fix it.

She tapped her fingers against her mug, looking at him questionably as he blinked out of his thoughts, staring confused until she repeated, "What about us? What does the League know?"

"Right. The founders know the details of it, there was no point in keeping it from them when they would figure out something was up when we're both removed from active duty. As far as everyone is concerned, I'm handling business in Gotham and you're recovering from Circe's attack." He knew she wouldn't like that, he could already see her expression hardening with annoyance. No surprise, she wouldn't like knowing that she had to stay out of fights.

"So you did all this without evening asking me about what I wanted to do?" She demanded, setting her cup down harder than necessary.

He shook his head. "It wasn't just my decision, Princess. We all voted on this as the best precaution until we know what's going on."

"We already know, you're feeling my emotions because there's a copied piece of me inside your head and I'm feeling pain because…" She trailed off, thinking hard. He waited, watching her brow furrow and unfurrow as he admired her beauty silently. Didn't she realize how hard it was to think rationally when she sat in his kitchen wearing a robe over her pajamas, her hair a mess but still leaving an ache in his hand that wanted to stroke the raven strands?

No, probably not, it was one of the reason he was so attracted to her.

"Did you figure that last part out yet? I certainly haven't figured out why you're in such a state of pain when I'm away from you even though you're physically fine," he said gruffly, narrowing his eyes at her. "If we were on active duty, you could get hurt or distracted and then that's it for Wonder Woman, your mission ends there. No one wants to see that happen." I don't want to see you hurt.

She was starting to agree, he could feel the reluctant acceptance trying to break free from the stubborn warrior in her that didn't want to be kept hidden away. Her shoulders slumped. "So, that's it then, I'm here until we figure it out."

He decided to lighten the mood, nudging her lightly with his elbow, drawing on a little bit of the playboy. "You could be more pleased, I'm not that terrible of company to have…" Alfred made a noise, he gave him a dark look. "Thanks, Alfred, your confidence in me is lifting."

"Just making sure you're honest, Master Bruce," he replied, taking their mugs from them to wash in the sink with a wink at Diana. "Lunch will be in a couple of hours."

Bruce fet a variety of expressions cross his face, from surprise to annoyed to pleased, that he didn't attempt to stop when Diana started to laugh. She leaned forward when he didn't say anything, whispering his ear, "I think he dismissed us. Come on, I know you're dying to get started on this mystery."

Ask him thirty seconds ago and that's exactly what he was planning to do, but with her warm breath sweeping across his ear, sending a shiver down his spine, there were a few other things that he wanted to do. Things that he couldn't do. He reluctantly pushed the feeling away, turning to face her, pleased when her face turned a pleasant shade of red. "Oh, if you insist."

She got up from her seat very quickly, clearing her throat to glance down at her robe. "Give me a minute to change into normal clothes."

He nodded as she disappeared. "I need to make a call, I'll meet you in the study."

When Diana appeared again, he wasn't grinning playfully anymore, looking almost painfully serious. He didn't say anything as he went to the clock and moved the hands, leading her down into the cave as he reflected on the reason for his annoyance.

While Wayne Enterprises could manage without him, it had been doing so under Lucius Fox for years, he didn't know if Gotham could do the same without Batman. Already there was an issue that required his attention, though he didn't know how much he could do even as the Batman until the Joker made his move. Even Diana's warm presence behind him did little to lighten his darkening mood.

He didn't even know what the Joker would want to do with a museum relic, there wasn't anything special about it that could strike the man's attention, but the Joker seemed to live off doing the unexpected. But he had always been able to figure it out, at least to some extent, and now he couldn't come up with anything.

"Bruce?" Her voice was laced with confusion that brought him to a halt at the bottom of the stairs. She stopped right behind him, he didn't need eyes to know that her expression would be quizzical. "Is everything alright?"

Stiffly, he nodded, unsure of whether she spotted the movement. She didn't go to speak any further so he assumed that she was satisfied with his answer. No, not satisfied, she wouldn't ever accept a nod in response to a question, but resigned to the fact that he wouldn't share everything with her. This spell changes nothing, he thought.

They stepped into the dimly lit cave, bypassing the computer of his domain and entered the medical area. It wasn't a very large part of the cave, but it was the nearest to the entrance and exit in case of emergencies where going a few farther could mean life or death. Thankfully, that was rarely the case.

He gestured to the medical bed and she hopped up as he went to a drawer, pulling out a syringe and a needle for starters, beginning to hook it up. Experience kept his hands from shaking out of nerves, but control was the only thing preventing him from turning away from her gaze like a bug may hide from the light. It certainly put their situation into perspective, he had a lot more confidence than a bug, but that didn't change the fact that she was light and he was... something else.

Not a bug, but certainly not light.

She broke the silence, not as resigned to his silence as she made it seem. This didn't surprise him. "Does that have something to do with Batman or Bruce Wayne-"

It wasn't you, it was Batman or Bruce Wayne. The thought settled over him uneasily because when did she reach the point of thinking of him that way too?

"-Or Bruce?"

He couldn't help himself. "What?"

"Something is bothering you. Is it from Batman, Bruce Wayne, or Bruce? I know you won't allow hope with one, but maybe I can help with one of the others," she replied, leaning back on her hands as he stared at her.

It was the first person and Batman wouldn't ask for help unless he had no other options, and no other options generally came after death on his list according to Alfred, but he knew that the Joker could potentially bring trouble to the other two as well. Joker wins, Bruce Wayne is in trouble when Bruce has to take action. Then again, the Bat would have to be gone for it to come to that which meant everything else was a moot point-

He hated referring to himself in the third person sometimes. It was a necessary action to prevent slip-ups, but it gave him a nasty case of "Wait, what?" whenever his thoughts revolved around more than one part of his personality.

She caught his eye, her head tilted to frown at him, the debate playing across her face. To push on or let it go, he could see the indecision more than he could sense it. She has a terrible pokerface still, he thought, unwittingly, jolted from his thoughts at the fondness tinging his thoughts.

"I can't keep much from you now, at least not easily," he started slowly, trying not to let bitterness leak into his words. Maybe he did feel the decision was out of his hands, he didn't like letting people into his world and here she was, waltzing right in. He knew it didn't happen like that, she didn't do it on purpose, but that didn't mean he enjoyed having the choice taken out of his hands. Her emotions were conflicting him "The Joker is up to something and I need to find out what."

She nearly jumped, but his firm hand on her wrist, holding her firmly in place, kept her from ripping the syringe out. "Oh, Hera, Bruce. I'm so sorry."

He blinked, confused. "For what?"

"Me being here is going to mess up your schedule. How are you supposed to patrol without me following you? No metas in Gotham," she quoted, resigned to that fact, her eyebrows pinching together.

"For tonight, someone else is covering me until I can figure out the next best course. If there's an emergency, however…. you'll probably… have to come with me," he replied carefully. At her expression, he added, "In disguise. I can't have Wonder Woman in Gotham."

"I am Wonder Woman and I am in Gotham," she stated coolly.

He shook his head. "You're Diana and you're in Gotham."

She looked confused now. "Isn't it the same thing?"

"No." He didn't elaborate.

She leaned closer to him, studying his face. He leaned away, covering it by removing the syringe carefully and wrapping her arm swiftly, even if it would be healed within the day. "Does that mean Batman and Bruce aren't the same person?"

"They are the same person, I suppose." He didn't like thinking on that anymore than he had to, for the same reason that he didn't like thinking of himself in the third person. The World's Greatest Detective didn't need to solve the "Who am I?" mystery anytime soon.

She grinned then, one filled with mischief and triumph that had him pausing with a very mild case of trepidation. "Then I should be able to help both if I can help one. What do you know so far? About what the Joker's up to?"

He gave her a batglare, she ignored it. When she didn't turn away the longer it went on, he finally relented, sighing and offering his hand to help from the table, trying not to think about her warm hand in his as she hopped down. "What do you know about him?"

She paused thoughtfully. "I know he's mad and without purpose. He didn't last with Luthor and the rest so he doesn't play well with others. He doesn't… have a conscience." Diana stopped, looking at him with a silent question.

"He does have a purpose, it's chaos, to be the other side of the scale to me. He's a lot more clever than people give credit and, yes, his lack of a conscience ensures that his schemes succeed more often than they should." He felt her fingers squeeze his, he didn't realize he hadn't let go yet and wondered whether it was safe to hold on to the contact. Deciding that he had given up enough just by letting her in, he let her go. "He's threatening to take something from the museum."

"He hasn't stolen it yet? Why?" Her confusion showed on her face, he didn't need some strange magical connection to know it.

He laughed without humor. "He wants people to question it and get paranoid about what he can do with it. Sometimes its just a fancy decoration that does nothing."

"What does he want to take then? We should figure out whether it's dangerous," she suggested.

"In the Joker's hands, anything can be dangerous," he muttered, taking her blood and dropping it into a scanner near his computer. The testing would take a while as it compared the new blood sample to information from an old sample, but if that failed, it would have to do a full scan for abnormalities that Bruce would then have to meticulously go through and that would take longer. He counted himself grateful that he didn't have that on his plate yet.

Diana watched silently as he turned back to the computer, his fingers moving rapidly against the keys to pull up another file, this one of the Joker, and tossing it to one side of his screen as he pulled up another file on the museum and one item in particularly. He turned to her, brown eyes meeting blue eyes.

When she finished reading, he turned to her expectantly. "What do you know about it personally?"

She sighed bitterly. "I don't know much about the key, they never wanted the Amazons to know about it after the... incident with Hades. They didn't want one of us to get the key and free the Minotaur. Like any of us would wish that beast upon the world."

"I thought Theseus killed the minotaur?"

Diana shook her head, correct lightly. "He killed a minotaur. The Minotaur is another being itself."

Bruce didn't see the difference, even with her emphasis, and he didn't want to ask for her to clarify. It would meant that he did need her help and Bruce... didn't know if he was ready to concede to that defeat yet. Then the Joker's sinister grin flashed into his mind, his cackle taunting him, and he tightened his jaw, turning to face her like one turned to face death. "I don't follow." That was the best she would get from him.

She didn't reply, watching him knowingly and he sensed her sadness even as she pushed it away, but she couldn't anymore than he could ignore it. It hung between them, both well aware of what it meant, but refused to speak of it.

"There were tributes of people sent to the Minotaur and some never found it. Some... did and made the same mistakes that Queen Pasiphae made and bore another beast. Theseus killed one such minotaur, but not the original. According to some of my Amazon sisters, the fact that Theseus had difficulty slaying just an offspring, the Gods ordered the labyrinth locked away, where nobody could potentially lead it to freedom even on accident. The Joker couldn't know any of this though, your history doesn't tell the story that way."

He wanted to believe that. "What else could this key do?"

Diana hesitated. "As far as I know? It can't do anything else. Maybe it is just to cause panic, you did say he liked to do that."

"As far as you know," he repeated skeptically, rubbing his eyes. "It could be, but I can't live with a maybe."

"I know." She smiled gently.


A/N: Review please!