Well, here is the next chapter everyone. As usual, all praise goes to my BETA Hepburn (who I think could be a better writer than she thinks;-). Without further ado, here's the chapter!
...
On the day of his wedding, Bruce is where he has been many times before. He stands in his study staring at the portrait of his parents hanging on the wall. As silent as the man he serves, Alfred approaches. "Something on your mind Master Bruce?"
"Just wishing that they were here with me today."
Alfred puts his hand on Bruce's shoulder, "I think they would be proud of you Master Bruce, and I know that they would love Diana."
Bruce nods. "How's everything going?"
"The Bride is getting ready right now," Alfred answers, "Once that lengthy but important affair is finished, we may depart for the church."
"Good, we should be ready to go in a few hours then." Bruce surmises.
Clark enters the study, dressed neatly and immaculately. "Bruce, shouldn't you be in your tux?"
Bruce frowns at the thought. "It will only take me a few minutes to get into it, it can wait."
"Master Bruce does not particularly like Tuxedos," Alfred explains.
"Why?" Clark asks, confused, "Everyone looks good in a tux."
"You would not like them as much if you had to wear them on a constant basis since you were eight." Bruce explains.
Clark takes his place at the other side of Bruce and turns his eyes to the portrait. As an orphan himself, he can feel some of what Bruce is feeling right now. "Today is going to be a good day Bruce." he assures his friend.
Bruce nods, "Yes it will," he agrees, "once all the inevitable madness is over with."
...
Selina stands staring at the woman in front of her. She is "slightly" younger than Selina is, but they are the same hight, same weight, and have the exact same figure. "You and I have the exact same measurements." she says.
Helena nods her head in agreement, "Yeah, that's weird. It looks like we wear the same size shoes too!" she says. "We could be...sisters."
"Yeah weird." Selina answers.
Helena shakes her head, "So where's the blushing bride?" she asks.
"Squeezing into her dress, with help from Audrey, her sister, and her mom." Selina answers.
"Couldn't believe she was actually Diana's mother!" Helena says.
"I know, me either!" Selina agrees.
"Let's go see how its going," Helena says as she starts heading down the hallway. She looks down at herself, "These dresses are really nice, but I don't think I look so great in blue. I wish they were black or..."
"Purple." Selina says.
"Yeah, exactly."
...
Many of the guests are hanging out in the kitchen as they wait for the time to leave. There, Wally and Dick catch up. "Wow, old Wondy and Bats! When I first met them, I would never have pegged them to get together. Guess I'm kinda thick." Wally says.
"I would never have thought of it either, and I bill myself as a detective, so don't feel bad." Dick says.
"Can't wait till I find a girl. Maybe then people will actually treat me like an adult." Wally muses.
"You? You're the 'fastest' man alive. Most people think I'm just Batman lite." Dick complains.
"Hey, compared to him, everyone is lite." Wally tells him.
Just then Artemis decides to walk in. She grabs a glass from a cupboard and begins to fill it at the sink. Dick walks around the counter to talk to her. "You must be Diana's sister Artemis?"
"Yes, I am just getting my sister something to drink." She answers.
"Well its a pleasure to meet you Artemis." Dick says, "I'm Dick Grayson."
"Yes you are the foster son of my sister's chosen. I know who you are, and I don't really have anything else to talk to you about, goodbye." she says, taking the now full glass with her.
"Smooth…" Wally comments after she is gone.
"I was just trying to make casual conversation." Dick argues.
"Sure Grayson, whatever you say," Wally assures.
At that moment Shayera makes a quick dash to the fridge. "Hey." Dick says to her.
"Way out of your league junior." she tells him as she grabs something and rushes back the way she came.
Wally nearly falls over in laughter as Dick stands there slack jawed. "I am not after every redhead I see damn it!" Dick protests.
"I hope so," Barbra says, walking up and planting a kiss on his cheek. She leans in and whispers in his ear, "Because if you were, I'd kill you."
...
"My dear I think they sent you the wrong size." Audrey says, pulling up on the neck line.
"I knew we should have walked out with it when I had it on," Diana says, trying to physically shrink her frame by pure will. "Its too late to change it now."
"We could try and ask your sorceress friend for some aid?" Hippolyta comments, slowly working up the zipper.
"With all do respect to Zatanna, the last time someone shot magic at me I was transformed into a pig," Diana explains, "I am not willing to risk anything like that today!"
"Well then my dear, suck it in!" Audrey says, pulling up with all her might.
The zipper somehow flys up Diana's back with lightning speed, closing her dress together. "Got it!" Hippolyta shouts in triumph.
"Hera!" Diana shouts in pain her hands grabbing her chest.
"What's wrong?" Audrey asks, thinking her friend's pain has little to do with the tightness of the dress.
"Something sharp is digging into my breast!" Diana shouts, pulling down on the dress.
The Queens franticly try to pull down the dress, "What in Tartarus could that be?" Hippolyta asks.
"A piece of tubing broken through the fabric, a loose stitch, her bra's under-wire, it could be anything!" Audrey suggests.
Artemis walks in with the glass of water, "What's wrong?!"
"Oh Gods!" Diana shouts in agony.
"We need to get this dress off of her!" Hippolyta explains.
Artemis calmly steps forward, takes hold of the neck line, and pulls...
...
Clark finds Bruce standing in the main living room. He walks up and hands him his tux, "I think its time for you to get dressed."
"My record for putting one of these on is less than two minutes," Bruce explains, "it can wait."
"Metro Tower to Batman." Mr. Terrific's voice says into his ear.
Clark's face falls as his super hearing picks it up. Batman touches his ear piece, "I'm guessing this is important?"
"Sorry to interupt your wedding day big man, but there is a wild fire in California. At the moment it is a good distance away from civilians but that will change soon. We could really use the help of some of your guests." Mr. Terrific explains.
"Understood," Batman answers.
"Well that is some bad luck." Clark says.
"Actually I was expecting worse, they say trouble comes in threes..."
At that statetment one of the doors flys open and Artemis back peddles in with her hands in the air saying, "I'm sorry sister, I was only trying to help!" she explains.
Following her in is Diana. A look of murder is in her eyes, the top of her dress is ripped to shreds, and every female guest is trying to hold her back. "You have destroyed my wedding dress!!" she screams at her sister.
"Wow." Clark says.
"Well there's number two." Bruce responds.
Tim runs in, followed closely by everyone else, "Batman, you need to see this," he says, grabbing the remote and turning on the tv.
On the tv is a news report. Vicki Vale is on the scene, behind her a large number of patrol cars are lined up in front of what looks like a church. "...I repeat, the Joker has taken control of a church. The Church of Saint Avellino. A few minutes ago he sent this message to police."
Suddenly the screen is filled with the Joker standing in front of the alter, wearing a purple priest outfit, holding a Bible upside down in one hand and a revolver in the other. "Hello my flock," he says, "I, the Joker, have come to save thee. Save thee from the boring tripe spewed out by this institution. Unfortunately there are not as many of the fools here as I was expecting (apparently everyone shows up on Sundays), but I won't let that stop me. I solemnly promise that you will all be very entertained and no one will be saved! Also I want the city to fill my collection plate. Or I'm sending every sheep here straight to heaven via bullet express!" He shoots a bullet into the ceiling to demonstrate, "Ha HA HA He ho HA HA HE HO HAHAAHAA HAAAHA HA HA WHOO HOO PRAISE THE LORD!" The lunatic shouts at the camera.
"Dear God," Alfred says.
"There is no way this is a coincidence." Vick says.
"No, its damn bad luck," Oliver argues.
"Is the whole world trying to stop us!" Diana screams in rage.
The room gets filled with chatter. The Batman smiles and says, "Excellent." He turns on his heel to face the stunned crowd. "Clark, get rid of that tuxedo," he instructs, "then take John and Wally with you to handle that wild fire. Between the three of you, you should have the situation under control in no time." He turns to the other male superheroes, "The rest of you do a quick sweep of the city and make sure we get no more interruptions." He turns to the women assembled, "Ladies, by whatever means necessary, please help my bride get dressed." Next he turns to Alfred, "Alfred, please make sure everyone finds their way to Wayne and Brown."
Alfred raises his eyebrow in confusion. Then he smiles, "I understand sir. I will take care of everything."
"Thank you," he says, "Dick and Tim, you're with me. " everyone begins to head out. As everyone sets off, Bruce stops, "Hold a sec," he says. He walks up and kisses Diana, "You look beautiful," he assures her, "I'll see you soon."
With that all the men leave the room. Diana smiles, no anger in her anymore. She collects the ripped fragments of her dress in her hands, "Alright ladies, we have some serious work to do." she tells them.
TBC! Hope you liked this chapter everyone, let me know!