What If
Chapter 3 'Inside Information'
I watch Barbara as she seems to mull over what I said. For a few moments she doesn't say anything and then she shakes her head.
"He's too distant. It's been worse after what happened, but he's grown too far apart from all of us. He's even grown apart from Selina. The only person that connects the two of them is Celeste. I know that he would lay his life down for any of us, but... I think all that is left of him is Batman. I can't see myself falling in love with him." She says to me.
I nod. The way Bruce acts now... He's pushing people away from himself. I've seen him do this before. He did this when Joker kidnapped Tim, and he did this when he believed that us being together would hurt me in the long term. I knew that if I wanted to save Bruce... If I wanted to restore everything then I needed to find out how this happened and the best way would be to help stop Ra's and understand how he was able to do this.
The train rolls into the abandoned subway station and we walk out with Shayera. I see Bruce's eyes harden and before either of us can do a thing Selina has crossed the distance and holds a blade to Shayera's neck.
"Selina don't." Bruce barks as he hobbles toward Shayera.
She lets out a growl that could almost pass for feline and backs up.
"Why is she here?" He asks Barbara.
"She's broken Ra's control." Barbara answers.
Bruce holds up the scanner and his eyes widen. He studies it for a few more moments and then looks at her. Barbara removes the blind fold and Shayera looks at the subway station. Her eyes widen at the amount of arsenal Bruce has collected into the his makeshift headquarters. The sound of the train rolling away can be heard, but no one sees it leave. Shayera walks slowly toward Bruce and stops when he holds up a hand to her.
"Stay perfectly still." He says as he presses a button. She does as he commands and seconds later the sound of something powering down can be heard.
"What was that?" Shayera asks.
"Anti League traps." Bruce says.
I look at him and watch as he flips a switch. Moments later we watch as two large machine guns sprout spring out of the the floor and two more drop down from the ceiling. He flips the switch back into place and the machine guns retract.
"They're high powered and filled with Kryptonite shells. I've designed each of them with a power disruptor for energy shields." He says as he looks at her.
She knows that if Ra's would have sent them to find him, and they stumbled onto his little fortress, he would have took several of them with him.
"How is she breaking the control?" Barbara asks.
"I have a feeling, but I need a blood sample." Bruce says as he pulls out a hypodermic needle.
Shayera stands still and waits for Bruce to finish. He takes the blood over to his microscope and then takes a small drop of water. After a few seconds he stands and a smirk crosses his face.
"Her natural body chemistry is breaking down the nanobots. I had a feeling that Lantern's ring was disrupting the nanobots." Bruce says as he looks at Shayera.
"That's why they inject John and I every so often... They know that we're lovers." She says as she stands unsure of herself.
"It makes sense. I doubt that Ra's tested it any further. Also how long?" He asks Shayera.
She looks away from him and swallows.
"About two months. Ra's tested... He tested how much he could use the control. John thinks it's his. But Dinah, Stargirl, Donna, and myself... We've... He's insane. He said that he wanted a new body... A new male heir." Shayera says as she hugs herself tighter.
"Shayera... Hera," I say unable to bring the words forward.
"The bastard has to pay for everything he's done." Barbara says as she looks at the terminal.
"Hey Bats." a raspy voice says over a communicator.
"Jones." Bruce says over the communicator.
"One of those soldiers found themselves in the tunnel. What the was rule if they don't know anything?" He asks.
"Then they are at your mercy Croc." Barbara says as she closes her eyes.
"You heard the lady boys. Tic Toc, Tic Toc time to feed the croc!" He says over the radio as screams fill the air and suddenly there is silence.
"Babs... I love you." The voice of Dick came over the radio.
Barbara's eyes flashed open and she tried to pinpoint where he was at.
"Dick! What's going on?" She demanded.
"They where torturing her... They was torturing Officer Romerias... I stepped in and saved her... I didn't realize that they had the armor piercing stuff on them... Just thought that it was the usual group of brute force... I just... I just couldn't let this happen without telling you that I love you..." He says over the radio his voice getting weaker.
"Don't talk like that Dick! We're coming to get you!" She shouts as she runs toward the tunnel and doesn't wait for the traps to disengage. She is half way up the ladder before the lamps go off. I watch her suit glaze over for a moment and then she I see her opening the manhole and she is gone.
"I'm going to go and help her." I say.
"I'll go with you." Shayera says.
I know that she is wanting to make up for all she has done. She stops as she feels something against her back and then Selina walks forward.
"I don't like leaving Batman here alone, but then I'm not going to give you the chance to betray us." Selina says with hate in her voice. She throws a few bat-a-rangs and disengages the traps and we follow Barbara.
Following the signal from Dick's communicator is simpler than I expected, but then Selina, Bruce, Barbara, and the others he trusted enough to help most likely had been trained how to do this. Instead of us running across the rooftops Shayera and I fly. I carry Selina and we land near Barbara who is working on Dick. I hear her frantic breathing. Even in the mechanical body she is in a panic.
"Don't you dare die on me Grayson! You promised me!" She shouts as she works on closing the wound.
"So cold..." Dick says weakly.
I look toward Barbara as Selina rushes toward her. The former thief puts the small case down she had grabbed before leaving and pulls out a small bag and IV. She takes a hanger from the same case and soon the bag is hanging from an door knob to a roof access. Together they work on Dick and I hear Shayera's own breathing become a little elevated. I turn to see her facing away from them.
"God we caused this. We did this! Oliver... He warned us and so did Question... They both said something was wrong and... We... He made Superman... He made him kill them both. We've brought nothing but pain to this world." Shayera says as she tries to control herself.
"I think that he is stablized enough to move him." Selina says to Barbara.
"We can't make it back to the station... do you think that Leslie can hide us again?" Barbara asks.
"We don't have a choice." Selina says as she stands.
I watch as Selina pulls out a separate communicator and activates it.
"Selina?" a voice says over it.
"Les we have a situation. Is it clear?" She asks.
"The top floor is clear. Bruce again?" She asks.
"No, its Dick, and it is still pretty bad." Selina says.
"Be here in five minutes." Leslie says before she cuts the communicator off.
I know Leslie from the other timeline. I've seen her work on Bruce and often act like a mother toward him, but at the moment she looks tired, frail, and scared. She helps get Dick into a bed and beside her is another bag of blood that she connects to the IV. She then pulls a portable Xray machine over and checks him.
"They broke a rib, but the wound looks as if it missed most everything vital. Barbara you did a great job stitching him back together." Leslie said as she gave a small smile.
"Thanks." Barbara says as she breathes a little easier.
"Les... How is everything downstairs?" Selina asks.
"I've managed to get a few more people out of the city and moved them with Zatanna's help. She's running scared Selina. The League has been looking for her." Leslie says a she pulls an eletric blanket from another bed and puts it on Dick.
"I'm going to stay with him." Barbara says as she looks at Leslie.
"I don't blame you Barbara, but the longer you stay in the replicant the harder it is to transfer back. Eventually you won't be able to." Leslie says to the girl.
"I wouldn't be giving up much Les, but I'd give it up in a second for him." Barbara says as she kisses Dick softly on the cheek.
"Alright I'll bring another bed over." Leslie says before she sees Barbara grabbing a chair and bringing it up against the bed.
"Or you can just sit there beside him." Leslie says with a smile.
"Les you might not be hearing from us for a while. Bruce has been putting something together... And... Look you know how to get where we are right?" Selina says softly.
"Of course." Leslie says as she looks at the younger woman.
"If something happens to us please get Celeste." Selina says before a soft smile crosses her face making her look like she was a cat that just ate the family canary.
"Not that I would let anything like that happen of course." Selina purrs as she turns around and starts to leave.
Shayera and I follow her and soon we are taking the skies again.
(In the shadows below.)
"I see them father." a soft voice says.
"Good, now Talia follow them and you have my word I will not hurt the detective." A voice says.
"I do not trust you father. I do not trust your word. I will not find where he is." she says.
"The bond between us saved your soul into me Talia. I gave you a new body. I suggest you do as I command or I can make things unpleasent." Ra's says over the communicator.
"I won't find my beloved for you." She states defiantly.
Suddenly she drops to the ground and screams in pain as she claws at the back of her neck. A small device stops emitting the Kryptonite radiation and Talia groans as she lays almost motionless for several moments.
"Now follow them." Ra's commands.
"No..." Talia says in a horse voice as she crawls out of the shadow.
Even with her hair dyed black and the modest amount of muscle on her anyone can see that it's not Talia's body. Instead it is Kara's body and Talia is nothing more than a mental parasite being kept alive in a host body.
"Do you wish for me to kill your host?" Ra's asks almost amused.
"She agrees with me father. We will not do this!" Talia shouts into the communicator before she tosses it away from her.
"I will not give him my beloved." Talia says to no one around her.
I know. I'll fight with you. I won't let them control us. I won't let do to us what they did to Clark. Kara's voice says from inside of their shared mind.
Talia smiles as she slowly rises to her feet. The microchip that hurts their shared body, the very thing causing pain to them both is what houses her mind. She has no illusions about what will happen when her beloved finds Kara. To be honest she knows that she will ask for it. Her father killed her in the cave. She died happily knowing that she protected the man she loved. Her fathered bastardized her soul, her memory by forcing her into submission again.
Do you think that Bruce can really overthrow Ra's? Kara asks Talia from inside of their mind.
"You do not know my beloved like I do. He won't stop. He will come for my father and when he does there will be no force in heaven or hell that will stop him." Talia says with pride as she leans against the wall.
Do you want to try and run again? Kara asks.
"Of course... This time... This time he won't catch us." Talia answers as she grabs a manhole cover and drops into the sewer.
(In the abandoned subway tunnel)
Bruce looks at Selia who smiles at him and nods. He seems to relax for a minute before turning his back to her. I watch the exchange, and while I want to be with Bruce, I can't help but feel sad for Selina. She had not asked for this. She had Bruce to herself, but it wasn't him anymore. I look at the man I love and I can see something there that my Bruce didn't have. My Bruce had managed to stay out of the Abyss. He had kept from falling into the darkness, but this Bruce... He had become dark. His quest for Justice had lead to compermise after compermise until he was no longer the Batman I knew.
"Bruce. May I speak with you?" I ask as I near him.
Selina realizes what I am trying to do and she nods. Bruce is unable to be brought out by her efforts alone. She instead goes to Shayera and the two of them sit down. I can hear Selina starting to go over the 'rules' of the 'cave'. Bruce looks at me and then at Selina. No simply nods and turns back to the terminal in front of him.
"This isn't you Bruce." I say as I look at him.
"This is how I am Diana." He says my name.
I use to find him calling me Princess irritating. I found it demeaning and finally I found it enduring, but to hear my name used so clinically. I would go back to 'Princess' after he beat me in a sparring match if I could. It breaks my heart to hear no tenderness in his voice. I want to hear him, not Batman, but Bruce. I had heard Bruce a few times, and now... Now I would trade my very soul to hear the Bruce I love.
"No you would have never allowed Croc to eat anyone. Bruce would you never allow someone who is so evil to aid you." I say as I near him.
"I'm out of options Diana. I don't have a network of heroes to help me. I have to work with what I have. It's not perfect, but fuck it isn't a fucking perfect world either!" He says venom in his voice as he talks to me.
"I know Bruce, but... You've slipped into darkness. Do you think that Alfred would want this?" I ask.
Suddenly I feel his hands on my shoulders as he shoves me against the wall. I see anger, pain, rage all flowing through his undamaged eye.
"You don't have the right to say his name! You don't have the right to say anything about Alfred, you don't have the right to talk to me about my life! Where were the Justice League when I needed help huh? Where was Clark? Where were you?" He shouts his face contorting in rage.
My feelings are so conflicting. I want to throw him off of me, but his anger isn't unfounded. I feel my own anger starting to leave and instead I feel sorrow for not being here for him. My arms reach out to him and I draw him into a hug. He doesn't hesitate and instead he pulls me in close. I feel hot tears touching my shoulder as he lets out the pain.
"I will fix this Bruce. I will find out how this happened and I will fix it." I promise him so silently that only the two of us can hear it.
I can feel Bruce's hold tighten for a few moments. He shakes a few moments and then slowly he begins pulling himself together. I watch him for a few moments and he looks at me. Something seems to flash through his eyes. I can see it. Behind the bat I can see Bruce.
"I'm sorry D..." He begins before I press a finger against his lips.
"Princess. You always called me Princess, please call me that." I say as I look at his face.
"Alright princess." Bruce says as he smiles.
I look toward Selina and see her with a relieved smile for a moment before Celeste comes out. The little girl walks toward Shayera. Shayera looks at Celeste before the little girl hugs the Thangarian and kisses her cheek.
"Kisses for the booboo." Celeste says softly to Shayera.
"I'm alright." Shayera says as she smiles at the little girl.
Celeste shakes her head and puts a hand against Shayera's chest over her heart.
"You have a boo boo here. Sad..." Celeste says as she looks at Shayera.
I watch as Shayera hugs the child and lets out a cry of grief and pain. Celeste coos softly to her.
