Chapter 3…
A/N: So, I must say to all of my reviewers, you certainly rose to the challenge. Thank you. I was going to hold this chapter back a few more days until I got a little further into Chapter 4, but since your responses were so encouraging and I have such poor impulse control – here you go. BMWW as promised…
This chapter (and probably several other Batasskicking chapters) dedicated to Aries. :D
Thank you, as always, to the incredible DaisyJane for beta services rendered.
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, events, and music are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is being made.
BROKEN
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It was nearly dawn when Batman returned to the cave. The GCPD had issued the Amber alert and were stopping all cars headed out of the city. Extra patrols were out. The GCPD airships were focusing surveillance in and around Arkham City. There was no sign of the missing twins anywhere.
His frustration was growing. He had spent hours at Blackgate interrogating prisoners and hadn't discovered anything that could help them find the two girls. None of the prisoners knew a thing. Every minute that went by lowered their chances of finding the girls alive.
It had been a mistake to try and talk to Harley Quinn. The psychiatrists at Blackgate had told him that she was nearly catatonic. At least most of the time. Although they had also told him that catatonia was not the most abnormal behavior she had demonstrated since being locked back up the night before. The shrinks weren't exaggerating, what he had seen was definitely disturbing.
The guards had taken him to her cell. Since her escape from lockdown in Gotham General, they minimized her movements in any way possible. The contents of the cell were minimal and included only a molded plastic bed and night table, sheet, blanket, and pillow. A few paperback books lie on the floor by the bed. Harley Quinn was insane, yes, but not stupid. The prison was careful not to allow her access to anything that could be used as a weapon or means to escape.
Quickly he had realized that he wouldn't have a chance to ask her anything at all about the murders or abductions. She wasn't capable of answering any questions.
Harley Quinn was by no means sane. Years spent with Joker had made sure of that. He expected the homicidal ideation – a normal behavior for Harley. After the last few days, he even expected suicidal ideation. What Batman observed inside the cell, however, was completely unexpected.
Harley was sitting in the tiny room on her bed with her back to him, rocking back and forth. And humming.
He watched with facination through the polycarbonate bullet-resistant window as she slowly stood, still facing away from him. She had stopped rocking when she rose, instead beginning to sway back and forth. He began to make out words as Harley's humming became singing. His eyes widened in surprise as he listened.
"Hush little baby don't say a word, momma's gonna kill for you the whole damn world…"
As Harley turned toward him, he noticed immediately that she appeared to be holding in her arms something wrapped in a white sheet. His earlier surprise turned to shock as he surveyed the scene, comprehension quickly dawning. The white bundle was held in the crook of Harley's arm lovingly, as she swayed and sang a lullaby. Harley's expression was serene. Batman took a step back from the glass. It wasn't possible that she had a baby in there.
Harley's singing and swaying ceased as soon as she caught sight of him through the partition. Her expression went from serene to hard and cold. Calmly, Harley walked over to the bed and carefully placed the bundle on it, leaning over to kiss it gently before she stood. When she turned, her expression had transformed once again. It was a more familiar expression – one he had seen just the night before. Angry, violent, and bloodthirsty.
She launched herself against the clear plastic partition – screaming. She flung herself at the window again and again.
"You killed them! You killed them! I will cut out your heart like you did mine you Bat-freak!"
Batman stood staring at her in silence as a Blackgate medical team rushed into Harley's cell. The woman didn't stop screaming until the Thorazine entered her bloodstream. The white bundle on the bed was simply a sheet wrapped up into the size and shape of an infant. He found out later from the shrinks that she'd been rocking and singing to it almost since the very moment she was put in her cell the day before.
Harley's behavior had shaken him. He left Blackgate having learned nothing about the twin's disappearance. Right now all he could do was analyze crime scene evidence and he was eager to get to it.
Back at the cave, he climbed out of the Batmobile and looked over at the monitors above the Cray supercomputer. Images on the screen were flipping from one mug shot to another of small time crooks at work in Gotham.
"Did you find anything?" he growled, as he pulled off his cape and cowl and walked toward the computer.
Slowly the chair turned around and he found himself staring into bright blue eyes. They looked on him with care and concern. The last time he'd seen them there was anger. A soft smile graced Diana's lips as she looked up at him.
"Nothing yet," she replied.
He stared for a moment, taking in the sight of her while attempting to ignore the very un-Batman-like flutters he felt every time he laid eyes on her. She was out of uniform, so this wasn't official League business. Instead, she wore a blue oxford shirt and faded blue jeans. She looked beautiful. At that moment, just seeing her made things a little easier to bear.
After several more seconds staring, he finally asked, "Where's Tim?"
"Upstairs," she replied. "He has a final exam early this morning so we thought it best for him to at least get a couple of hours of sleep. Dick is on his way to take over."
"Why are you here?"
"To see you."
"I don't want to talk about it."
Diana rose from the chair and took two steps toward him, stopping just inches away. She crossed her arms in front of her, standing toe to toe, face to face with him. She leveled her gaze directly into his eyes with a determined gleam.
"That's good, because I'm not here to talk."
His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Then what are you here for?"
"An evaluation. Your behavior the last few weeks is concerning. You're more withdrawn than usual – which is really saying something. You haven't slept for at least two days - since you were taken hostage by Harley Quinn. I know better than to ask you to talk about that so I won't waste my breath. You are not following any of J'onn's recommendations regarding your health. My intent is to determine your fitness for active duty."
The small amount of relief he'd experienced when he first caught sight of her was quickly replaced by outrage. "I'm on temporary leave from the League. Get out."
"Your being on leave is irrelevant, Bruce. Even working minimally in the field as Batman, you could still be a risk to yourself or someone else. I'm here to evaluate that risk. The League will need you. I need to know that you are on your game physically and mentally."
"I won't be evaluated by you or anyone else," he growled at her.
"Bruce, I know that every minute counts looking for those girls. The chances of finding them alive after 24 hours are slim. Dick is on his way to help out while you get some rest. Tim will join after he gets back from class. Barbara is still looking through surveillance footage. As you know, the Amber Alert is up and the GCPD have roadblocks all over the city. Everything that can be done is being done."
He eyed her suspiciously. She knew far too much about the night's events. "Fitness for duty hell – Alfred called you."
"We compared notes," she agreed. "He was not pleased to have been kept in the dark about your blood tests, Bruce."
"How did he even get you to come down here?"
Diana arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow and remained silent.
"Right. It's Alfred. Diana, this is a waste of my time. I have work to do."
"Ok, Batman. Let's go then. It won't take long. Two out of three falls. I win and you sleep for six hours or until there is a break in the case. If you win, I can help you investigate or I can leave. Your choice."
"Fine." Realizing he wasn't going to get her to leave on her own, he reluctantly gave in. He turned his back and walked toward the training room. As he crossed the threshold, he began to take off his utility belt.
"No, Bruce."
He turned around to look back at her with a puzzled expression, but said nothing.
"Leave it on. This test is about how well you can deal with meta-level threats. Using all – or most – of the weapons at your disposal." She smiled sweetly at him as he glared at her.
He growled and turned his back on her again. He refastened his belt. Normally when they sparred, the emphasis was on testing each other's martial arts skill. Bruce would fight without his weapons and Diana wouldn't use her super-strength. Apparently, today would be different.
"Just try not to destroy my cave."
Diana followed Bruce to the center of the sparring mat. They faced each other and backed up a few steps. It was a routine they'd been through together many times. He waited for her to make the first move.
She feinted a roundhouse kick, but he saw it coming and ducked under her leg, attempting to block her follow up by hitting her with a hard right hook mid-turn. His right didn't connect, encountering nothing but air in front of him. Bruce experienced a second of surprise before he felt his feet knocked out from under him from behind and he landed hard on his back. He looked up to find Diana floating above him, grinning ear to ear. Again, he glared back.
"What? We set the ground rules. Weren't you listening? One for me."
He stayed on the floor for a moment, quickly processing all of his options for taking the next two falls. As with other metas with Class A strength, he needed to take care that she didn't land a direct hit. Any hits needed to be deflected as much as possible. He suspected that she still wouldn't use her full strength, but he still didn't want to risk any more cracked or broken ribs.
The weapons on his belt wouldn't be as effective on Diana as they were on Gotham's typical criminal masterminds. She would never be incapacitated long enough for him to come in and take her down with hand-to-hand combat. His best bet was to use a quick combination of attacks, designed to first distract, even just momentarily, and then bring her down from a distance. Although hand-to-hand with Diana was much more enjoyable.
He flipped up to a standing position, now entirely focused on Diana's movements, both on the ground and in the air. A split second after he landed on his feet, he threw several quick fire batarangs toward her. As she attempted to deflect them back toward him with her bracers, he somersaulted below her as the last batarang left his hand. In mid roll, he grabbed his Remote Electrical Charge or REC, adjusted the power, and sent a blast of electricity at her from behind. Her muscles immediately froze and she fell face forward to the training mat with a hard thud.
After a few seconds, Diana rolled onto her back. It was her turn to look up at him with a glare. "Ok. That's new."
"Not really," Bruce replied. "It's a good thing there's miles of rock under there, Princess. One for me." He smirked back at her.
Diana floated back up to her feet, turning her head so he wouldn't see her grin. Deciding to take a different tactic, she remained on the floor and rushed forward toward Batman. She swung and he dodged and deflected blows for several minutes before he grabbed a handful of smoke pellets in his left hand. Knowing she'd be able to see through the smoke quickly with her enhanced vision, he grabbed the Freeze Blast in his right. He threw the pellets at Diana's feet as he bent down to dodge another roundhouse kick, and then threw the Freeze Blast. The cold, blast of ice exploded at her mid-section. They didn't disable her but distracted her long enough for him to roll away, spin, then come back at Diana, sliding on the ground in an attempt to knock her feet out from under her.
Sensing that she needed to move, Diana shot into the air, above the smoke. Anticipating her move, Bruce grabbed the REC again as he slid, directing the stream of electricity directly above him, into the smoky haze. He couldn't see her from the floor, but her yell told him that he'd hit her. Her muscles seized again as the charge made contact and she fell through the smoke to the floor, landing on her hands and knees beside him. Taking advantage her position and seized muscles, he flipped her onto her back, straddled her hips between his knees and rested the palms of his hands flat on the floor on either side of her head.
"Two," he said, looking down at her.
It could have been that familiar rush of adrenaline he felt every time they sparred. It could have been her subtle, yet always intoxicating scent of jasmine. It could have been the way she was looking up at him with affection, not with anger after having been beaten. More than anything else it could have been the fact that he wanted her and at that moment in time he was too tired and emotionally spent to resist it. He needed to feel something other than despair and guilt. He needed her. He had for years. His body moved on its own volition.
It was tentative at first. He leaned down and gently brushed Diana's lips with his and then lifted his head to look at her. Her eyes narrowed and her brow furrowed as she studied him with a look of apprehension – of wariness. After a moment, she raised her hands to his shoulders and slowly slid them up, resting one on the back of his neck and burying the other in his thick black hair. Very gently she applied pressure and pulled his lips back down to hers. It was all the encouragement he needed to quickly drown her hesitant response in an eruption of raw passion.
Easing first onto his elbows, he lowered himself to rest the full weight of his body onto hers. Unsatisfied with the feel of her through his gloves, he shifted slightly to the side and quickly pulled them off, tossing them aside, and tangling the fingers of one hand through her soft hair and sliding the other under her hip. He pulled her roughly against him and the grip of his fingers in her hair tightened into a fist as he forced her open lips to his.
While he kissed her with desperation, he lifted the hand from her hip up to squeeze her breast before slowly sliding it across her stomach to the waistband of her jeans. He deftly unbuttoned them with one hand and eased down the zipper. His hand slipped underneath the denim.
"Bruce."
So lost in his own need, he didn't notice that she had stiffened. She pushed against him gently and said his name when his lips moved to her neck.
"Bruce, stop. Not this way." Her hands found his shoulders and pushed harder. The force sent him onto his back, directly beside her. Gasping for air, he stared at the ceiling as she pushed herself up to sit next to him. She turned her head to look at him as he lay beside her on the floor.
"Bruce?"
"I'm sorry," he said. He didn't meet her gaze but continued to look past her toward the ceiling.
When she lifted one hand to rest on his chest, he jumped to his feet and walked away from her. His escape was stayed when he felt one firm, yet gentle hand on his shoulder. He stopped but didn't turn to face her. He couldn't.
"Bruce, I wish that I could provide you some measure of comfort. But unless I can be sure that it would mean more than some temporary distraction…"
It would mean more. He willed himself to say the words. They didn't come.
"I understand." He sighed and his shoulders slumped. It was all he could say.
"It wasn't your fault, Bruce. She knows that you tried…" His back straightened beneath her hand, which hadn't left his shoulder.
"I have work to do." He finally took a step forward.
She sighed audibly from behind him.
"Would you like my help?"
He finally turned to look at her, his expression emotionless. "No," he replied.
She looked crestfallen, but turned to leave. He grabbed her hand before she could take a step toward the door. In spite of everything that he wanted and knew he couldn't have – just her presence brought him comfort. It was something else that he wished he could tell her.
"Diana… thank you."
She lifted the hand he was holding up to his cheek. His hand moved with hers.
"Bruce, the League didn't send me to test you…I only came because…"
"I know why you came."
She leaned toward him and kissed him chastely before she turned to leave again.
At the door to the training room, she turned back to look at him one last time.
"If you need me…"
"I know," he replied.
Just as the door of the training room closed behind her, he suddenly felt as if he couldn't breathe. His chest felt tight – like it was caught in the grip of a vise. He gasped for air until he fell to his knees.
Finally, when he felt like he could pull some bit of air into his lungs, he stood. It was time to work.
E/N: So again, reviews are much desired. I don't deny it. Keep them coming and much, much more is promised. I have something very huge and very hot planned for you in a few chapters. ;D