Chapter 4

"Hey," Superman waved to Diana who was just walking out of a briefing with some team leaders. "Love the new look," he said and tugged on her hair gently.

"Thanks. I wasn't planning to get my hair cut, but after yesterday I didn't have a choice. Besides, a change could do me good. Hera knows I need to shake things up." Diana's tone was more sullen than she intended and she winced at her own words.

"Is everything ok?" He stopped and looked at Diana, his eyes filled with concern.

"Yes," she reassured him, "I'm fine. I have been so busy with the League and the UN that I hardly have time for me anymore."

"Oh," he said quietly. "I understand how that feels. Let me pass along some advice a good friend once gave me. Take a break." He smiled with all the boyish charm he could muster.

"You're friend sounds wise," she said, her lips quirking into a cocky smile.

"Smartest woman I know, aside from Lois of course."

"Of course," she said and laughed. "How is Lois?" Diana knew Lois from her work at The Daily Planet, and had met her only a handful of times. She had been polite, but she had not been overly friendly. Shayera had told her once that Lois did not like her because of the rumors about her 'romance' with the Man of Steel. Utter nonsense, but people loved gossip and with their matching costumes she figured they looked like a matching set.

"Lois is great," he said. "She is working this lead and the story could be big. Really big."

"That's great," she said, happy for the other woman. Lois was a success in what was a male dominated profession so Diana felt pride in her achievement. "I hope she cracks it wide open. That's what they say, right?"

"Yep," he said. "Listen, I gotta' run and get some work done before the meeting later. See you then, ok?"

"Yeah," she turned toward the infirmary, "see you later."

Fire, she learned, was still in the infirmary and she wanted to check on her before she went to the weekly meeting. Diana entered the infirmary and greeted J'onn with a quiet wave. He was going over Fire's chart when she approached.

"How's she doing?" she whispered. Fire was lying in the bed asleep, her shoulder and chest wrapped in thick beige bandages. After J'onn had checked her out yesterday they discovered two broke ribs and some internal bruising from her fall. J'onn had kept her overnight for observation.

"She is progressing well. How are your wounds Diana?"

"Healing and less painful with the burn cream the nurse gave me."

"Mind if I take a look?" He set Fire's chart down and headed to the exam room. Diana followed and allowed him to inspect the burns.

"They are healing well, but continue to use the cream until they are healed. It will prevent infection and minimize the scarring."

"Alright."

"You've changed your hair," he said in his usual way that indicated interest but not enthusiasm. She nodded.

"Got pretty singed yesterday so I got it cut. I like it," she swung her head from side to side and smiled.

"It suits you," he said and turned. "Excuse me, but I need to get back to the monitor room.

Diana left the infirmary and went to her League office to process some paperwork and review mission reports submitted by the teams she was in charge of. She also reviewed requests by the Citizens Action Committee that was in place to monitor League activities and make recommendations on ways they could better serve the people. The door to her office opened as she was reading their latest memo. Looking up she was surprised to see Batman.

"Hello," she said, her tone and face neutral.

He did not say anything but tossed the tabloid with the picture of her leaving the salon on her desk.

"Don't tell me getting a hair cut damages the reputation of the League," she said. The comment was playful but she did not smile as she said it. After their last encounter she was not sure if they were back on their fairly friendly terms.

"I was just wondering why you concerned yourself with a new hairstyle. I thought Amazons were above that sort of thing." His tone was neutral and she decided he was asking out of curiosity and not some dark ulterior motive. Maybe he had gotten over whatever snit he had been in.

She smiled up at him and said, "The decision was made out of necessity. I had a run in with Volcana and she burned off part of my hair. When Flash tells you your hair looks bad then it looks really bad." She was pleased to see the corner of his mouth lift into what she thought of as the 'Bat Smirk'.

There were only a few minutes before the League meeting so Diana stood to file away her papers in the cabinet behind her desk. She stilled when she felt gloved fingers brush the skin on her back next to her burns, exposed now because of her shorter hairstyle.

"What happened?" His voice was gruff, but not harsh. She looked over her shoulder and felt her stomach do a flip.

"Also burned," she said with a voice that was breathier than she intended. She cleared her throat and said in a stronger tone, "It was all spelled out in the mission report I filed yesterday. I'm sure you know that since you seem to read them all."

They stood that way, her eyes looking into the unreadable white slits in his cowl. After a moment she turned and said lightly, "We need to get going. Batman hates it when we're late."

Batman nodded and walked with her to the door. He placed his hand on her arm and she stopped. Not looking at her he said, "I'm sorry Diana."

Her jaw dropped. She was not sure she had ever heard him say those words before and it left her speechless.

"About the other day, I know you better than that," he went on. "And who you see isn't my business."

Her shock transformed into disappointment tinged with hurt, but she hid them well. She wanted him to care, wanted it to be his business but he was distancing himself again and she had come to expect it.

"Thank you," she said. "You're right, who I choose to see isn't your concern."

She saw him stiffen then but he said nothing as he left her office. Taking a deep breath, she took a moment to collect herself before heading down to the weekly meeting.

…

"There was a break in at the Desert Sands Nuclear Facility last night. Nothing was taken, however," Batman turned at looked at J'onn, "I believe they were testing the security system, looking for weaknesses."

"Agree," the Martian said. "The surveillance footage is poor and does not offer us anything particularly useful."

"Are there any other instillations with security systems similar to Desert Sands?" Diana asked.

"One other," replied Batman. "The Springs Nuclear Facility in New Mexico."

"I'm sure they are on heightened alert since the attempted break in at Desert Sands, but we should send some people to help beef of security at The Springs Facility. We already have people at Desert Sands," Superman said and Shayera made a note on her duty roster.

"I suspect," said Batman, "that whoever is after the uranium already has the kryptonite they need. All the information I am getting is related to nuclear material."

"Lex," said Superman.

"I'm not positive, but it looks that way right now. He's the only person I can think of who would have access to kryptonite and desire to see us destroyed." Batman looked over at Superman and said, "You need to stay away from this one right now. After what happened the last time, he won't hesitate to play up your past to earn sympathy."

"I don't like it, but I agree. I want to be kept informed if anything else comes up." He tilted his head forward and said, "I mean it Batman. No hiding things from me."

Batman said nothing but nodded. Diana wondered what Lex hoped to accomplish with this bomb. Would he use it to destroy the founding members of the League, or would he use it to blackmail the world into handing over power? She puzzled over that problem long after the meeting was over.