Author's Note: I haven't suddenly acquired the rights to DC comics, Bruce and Diana, Justice League, or anything else for that matter. Still don't own. Oh, the tragedy...

"Batman to Wonder Woman." There was no reply.

Bruce sighed in frustration. He'd been trying to contact Diana ever since his confrontation with Hippolyta two days ago, wanting to arrange a private conversation with her at the Manor. Bruce didn't want to put this kind of sensitive information over the League Communications system, even though the communicators used top-notch encryption he had designed himself. No system was completely hack-proof.

Fortunately, he had received a response from Diana on one occasion. Unfortunately, she had said that she didn't know when she would have time to see him, due to pressing ambassadorial business for the next few days. Diana had even removed her communicator, not wanting to be distracted by the constant stream of data flowing on the League channels.

"J'ohn, can you give me Wonder Woman's location?"

There was brief pause before the Martian's stoic voice came over the communicator in Bruce's ear. "She requested transport to the edge of Themiscyran space, saying she was visiting her mother for the day. Since I can't track her communicator, I would guess she is still there."

Bruce cringed internally. He'd wanted to provide his side of story before Diana got a distorted version from her mother. There was, of course, a faint possibility that Hippolyta would tell the truth. However, Bruce was not a very hopeful person. The tragedies of his life, as well as his years delving into the filth of society as Batman, had beaten all sense of optimism out of him.

"No problem, J'ohn. Let me know as soon as you have a fix on her location."

"Will do, Batman."

There was nothing left to do but wait for an update from J'ohn. In the interim, Bruce decided he could get some work on the new Batsuit done.

Some time passed, Bruce's mind being overtaken by the Bat as he poured over schematics and worked with delicate machinery. Eventually, he heard J'ohn's voice again.

"Batman, Wonder Woman is requesting transport to the Batcave. She seems…rather upset with you."

Bruce stopped his work and quickly put on his Batsuit, just in case. "Go on, let her through."

"Listen, Batman," J'ohn said, a slight amount of worry leaking into his voice. "Are you sure about this?"

"I can handle it."

"Alright, putting her through now."

A few seconds passed in awkward silence, and then the Batcave teleporter pad hummed to life. Bruce tensed, ready for anything.

Not a second after the humming stopped, a great gust of air reverberated through the entire Batcave. It wasn't quite a sonic boom, but Bruce could tell that it was damn close.

Loose objects were scattered all over the cave. The horde of bats that lived there was disturbed as well, the little creatures flocking as fast as they could to the outer edges of the cavern. Their terrified screeching added to the cacophony of shattering stone as the approaching metahuman smashed her way through several stalactites. The sound was deafening.

When the rock dust cleared, Bruce saw Diana floating about twenty yards away from him. Her luscious lips were twisted into a deep scowl. Her every muscle flexed in anticipation as her eyes burned with white hot fury.

Bruce would never have admitted it, but a small pang of fear shot though him in that moment. Still, he was resolved to stand his ground. His mask was down. He met her hateful glare with a neutral expression.

A heartbeat later, he was seeing stars as his head thrummed with agony. Bruce groaned, trying to process what had just happened. He had never seen Diana fly that fast and wasn't sure that he could have countered her attack even if he had been trying to. There was cold metal against the back of his head, which meant he was presently being held up against the metal wall next to the Batcomputer. By his throat, if the tightness that obstructed his airway was any indication.

When his vision cleared, he looked straight into Diana's beautiful eyes, which were still burning with anger. Her lips were twisted in a snarl. Bruce desperately hoped this was the last time he would see her this way.

"Diana…" he began.

"Shut up," she barked at him. Diana scrutinized him thoroughly, running her eyes over him from head to toe. "You weak, pathetic, ARROGANT little man!" she roared. "You must have an ego the size of Mt. Olympus to think that you could deceive me, could fool me into thinking you're anything but the monster I saw when I first beheld you! I loved…" she tried to continue, choking up a little. Hot tears came to her eyes. "I *thought* I loved you," she corrected. "But now I see you for what you really are, rodent."

Bruce managed to croak out with what little air he had, "And what would that be, Princess?"

"A liar. A pretender. Your crusade for 'justice' is nothing more than an act. It was a trick to earn my respect and gain access to my body. You don't love me. Admit it!" Diana slackened her grip so that he could do as she commanded.

To her surprise, Bruce did nothing of the sort. Instead, he took several deep breaths of air before calmly saying, "I admit nothing, except that I love you, Diana. I've done nothing wrong."

"Don't lie to me, Bruce! My mother told me what happened. She approached you politely and you attacked her. And before you try to deny it, perhaps you would care to explain why two amazons are dead, why a third is barely clinging to life and paralyzed from the neck down, and why ARTEMIS, my BEST FRIEND, is too brain damaged to even speak!" She was practically screaming in his face now, spittle striking him like raindrops as she shook him violently.

Bruce struggled to clear his head and fight past the pain that wracked his mind. Eventually, he was able to talk past the vice-like grip on his throat. "Did…did you actually see them in these states?"

Her nose crinkled, eyes squinting in confusion as if she hadn't even considered that point. "No, I didn't", she said matter-of-factly as if that admission changed nothing. However, she did visibly relax a bit, loosening her grip on Bruce slightly.

"Are you open to my side of the story, Princess?" he asked reasonably.

Their eyes met. Diana saw Bruce's love for her in his eyes, plain as day, in spite of what she had done to him just now. It rocked her to her core, nearly pulling her out of the storm of emotions she was trapped in. Nearly, but not quite.

"Talk," she barked at him, the storm blowing in again. Only this time, it was quieter. Diana set him down on the ground, allowing him to stand on his own feet.

He rubbed his throat which was most assuredly bruised. "I can show you," he rasped, reaching for the wrist computer inside his left gauntlet.

Diana slapped his hand away, nearly shattering the appendage. "I know your tricks. Do you think I'm stupid?"

Bruce shook his head. "I think that you love me, and somewhere deep inside, you know I love you too, and that I wouldn't…couldn't, do something like this." He paused, descending into a fit of coughing and wheezing. When Bruce recovered, he continued on as if nothing had happened. "And I think you also know that you want to give me a chance to prove it." His voice was practically croaking as he talked past his damaged windpipe.

Diana took a deep, steadying breath. Bruce was right. Unable to speak, she nodded her head at him.

Bruce tapped a few keys on the computer, causing a video file accompanied by audio to play over the Batcomputer. "My cowl records everything. This is what happened that night," he explained.

The screen showed Crime Alley from Bruce's point of view, followed by the amazons surrounding him. Diana listened carefully to his exchange with her mother, noting the impassioned way he spoke about her and calmly stood his ground. She watched with rapt attention as her mother boldly ordered his death. She watched as Bruce defended himself, noting how none of the wounds he inflicted matched her mother's story. Diana even saw the honor guard pick themselves back up after the battle, albeit slowly, and leave the scene under their own power.

By the end of the clip, Diana had sunk to her knees, face becoming a blank mask of horror. She stared, unseeing, at the paused video. "I'm so sorry, Bruce," she barely whispered. "She…lied to me. My own mother. She turned me against the man I love. And the worst part is…" a tear slid down one cheek, "…it worked."

Bruce's heart felt like it was going to tear in half. Springing into action, he went over to her on wobbly legs, crouching down to put his arms around her. "It's okay, Diana. You didn't know."

The amazon princess suddenly stood up and pushed him away, tears streaming down her face as she realized what she had done. "No it isn't!" she sobbed. "I…I hurt you. I could have…could have killed you. I nearly did kill you!"

"Diana…" he begged, reaching out for her. She jerked away again, turning her face away from him. She couldn't stand to meet his gaze, absolute shame coursing through her veins. She abandoned him. She abandoned the person she loved most in the world for a heartless mother who would rip that person away from her if she had the power. How could she not have believed in him, not seen through Hippolyta's lies, not trusted in Bruce's character? How could she have treated him, the man she supposedly loved, the way that she did? How could she let her temper surge so far out of control?

Diana thought she must be the worst person in the entire universe to do such a thing. How could he ever want her back after this? He must despise her.

"Get away from me, Bruce!" she yelled. "I'm a monster." She began to run towards the teleporter pad, unable to summon the will to fly.

"Wait!" Bruce pleaded, attempting to chase after her. He stumbled and fell a few times, still dizzy from the head trauma. It was definitely a concussion. "I forgive you, Diana!" he yelled after her, hoping for an answer.

None came. Diana was ignoring him. He saw her punch in a series of numbers on the teleport pad's control console, and then disappear from view.

In the Watchtower monitor womb, J'ohn heard the teleporter pad activate, so he glanced down to see who it was. Was that Diana? And was she…crying? Seeing the strong-willed, tough, and unshakable amazon in this state shocked him to say the least.

The Martian watched her quickly run out of the hall, dashing to her quarters. Unsure what to do to help her (since he still didn't really understand humans), and unwilling to intrude inside her mind, he telepathically contacted Superman.

Superman, J'ohn's voice echoed inside the man of steel's head, Diana is in trouble. She's crying, upset. I don't know why. I didn't know what to do. I thought it was best if you talked to her.

The man of steel was wide awake despite the late hour, doing some important paperwork. Concern shot through him like a bolt of lightning. What? Really? What happened? he asked in rapid succession, his mind radiating pure shock.

I don't know, J'ohn answered. She was angry, and then she visited Batman, and then she came back here, like this.

I swear to god…okay, J'ohn. I'm on it. There was a red and blue blur as Superman flew through the hallways in a mad dash to reach the amazon princess.

He was waiting by her door when Diana arrived. "Diana, what's wrong?" he asked, his worry evident in the tone of his voice.

She just shook her head. "Why are you crying?!" Clark demanded, reaching a hand out to her. She looked away from him. No one in the League would be her friend anymore, would be worried about her if they knew what a horrible thing she'd done.

"It's nothing," she answered, voice trembling.

"Damn it, Diana. This," he said, gesturing at her, "is not nothing. What the hell did he do to you!" When she still didn't answer, he grit his teeth and said "That's it. I'm going to break him."

Diana whirled on Superman, stopping him dead in is tracks with one arm and throwing him up against the wall. It dented badly.

"No, Clark. Leave him alone, or I'll break you. He didn't do a damn thing to me, I promise you that," she said sternly, looking the Kryptonian straight in the eye. "I…I'm the one who..." she muttered, unable to give voice to her crime.

Superman just stared at her in confusion, unsure how to respond to that. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Diana shook her head resolutely and typed in her access code. Without saying another word, she went into her room and closed the door, leaving the man of steel to ponder the situation in abject bewilderment.

Diana flopped down on her bed and cried herself to sleep, feeling utterly defeated, ashamed, and alone.

Back at the cave, Bruce lay on the same medical gurney he and Diana had been when they explored each other for the first time. He had just finished telling Alfred how he had come to be in this state. Now the butler was finishing up what little he could do to help Bruce, then he was leaving to call Dr. Leslie for assistance. As the older man went, he muttered under his breath with no small amount of contempt, "I warned her, did I not?"

Bruce sank deep into despair, blaming himself for what had happened. If only he had told her sooner, he could have prevented this. Instead he had been too stubborn, too selfish to overcome his guarded nature, too afraid of openly talking about their relationship in a channel where people might find out. And now he had to pay the price for it. Diana hated herself, and he had to live with the painful truth that it was all his fault.

Bruce knew what he had to do. He was going to make her see that he still loved her and that he forgave her if it was the last thing he did. He had to; he needed Diana in his life more than she could possibly understand.

I must be a sadistic bastard to do this to the poor couple.

Also wanted to add that I started this story off thinking it would be a one-shot. I just had a good idea for a fic and some things I *really* wanted to write about. It wasn't until the follows and favs and all the other support from you guys came in that I actually thought "oh wait, I could do an episodic thing with this." I've been having so much fun writing this story and I really like writing episodically, so I have to thank you guys. Because without you, I probably wouldn't have done it.