Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing. Certainly not the Justice League, Cartoon Network, DC Comics, or anything else. But a girl can hope!

Thanks for the support and the reviews! Title from 'Til Tuesday. Gotta love 80's bands.

A Girl's Best Friend, Chapter 7, Voices Carry

Currently from Batman's perspective…

I had worked through the afternoon and into the night, breaking only for coffee, anxious to make some progress on determining the reason behind the Star Labs theft and to keep my mind off of Diana. There were a number of reasons why the theft could have occurred, but none boded well for Kasnia or for their role in the International Space Station. The Kasnian government had only become one of the nations interested in the Space Station in recent years – others had been working to implement and construct the Space Station for years, but Kasnian's efforts had been much more recent in comparison, only a few years.

Rumors had also surfaced during my explorations that day about the civil unrest in Kasnia – the people had been somewhat overlooked due to the Kasnian government's work with the Space Station. Unemployment had risen, civilian technological advances had been all but disregarded, and now the government needed something to prove their ultimate worth to the Kasnian people, not just the worldwide political community. Kasnia was a country on the verge of collapse and the International Space Station held part of the blame. But the fate of Kasnia was not foremost on my mind – I had to get to the weapons thieves before they could use the technology for whatever malicious purpose they intended.

Several possibilities had arisen over the course of my investigations that day. Perhaps the Kasnian intended to use the newfound status in the international community for ill purposes. Trying to establish a dominating presence in the world could certainly be gained both by the theft and by their contribution to the Space Station. Kasnia had been integral in the ultimate success of the project and gained power and status due to this achievement.

Or conceivably, the theft could have nothing to do with Kasnia and simply be a coincidence that a Kasnian military man had been part of the group stealing the technology.

But I don't believe in coincidences.

Of course, there was always the old standby reason for theft - someone was framing the Kasnian government, hoping to further incite the unrest or hurt Kasnia's standing in the international community. An underground group could certainly have undertaken the theft, and the Kasnian Special Forces Officer I had interrogated could have been part of such a rebel network. Civil unrest could lead to trouble in all quarters and the military was no exception – they had the training and experience to lead the people into war and an ultimate overthrow of the government.

The Star Labs theft could be connected to any one of these circumstances. But I had learned over the years that the simplest answer was often the best answer. However, at this point, I had no idea what the simplest answer was. Either way, Kasnia was involved in this situation and I intended to find out how. I just needed more time and more information, although as the hours continued to advance, it was only a matter of time until I discovered, alongside the rest of the world, exactly how the weapons technology would be used.

Perhaps I could check…

"Batman? This is Diana. I need you to check something for me."

-VvV-

As I flew away from Vandal Savage, I used my communicator to get in touch with J'onn to see what he could find out about this present incarnation of Savage. I intended to use whatever information I received from J'onn to corroborate with Batman once I returned to my hotel room. When talking things through with someone like the Batman, a brilliantly deductive mind, I had learned if you are to think on one's feet, it was better to actually be on one's feet.

It was also best, when discussing a potentially dangerous subject with Batman, to have as much fact and information at your fingertips as possible. I was not about to enter into such a conversation unarmed.

I deliberately chose a longer flight path in order to clear my head of all possible distractions and to give J'onn time to get me whatever information that he could. I also needed to get any and all thoughts of the attractive Bruce Wayne out of my head. The man was simply too good-looking by half. Blessed by the gods with a muscular physical, gorgeous black hair, and…Oh, Hera! Stop thinking about him!

Focus, I told myself.

As my hotel came into view in the distance, J'onn contacted me, relaying what information he had unearthed. After a brief discussion, he returned to his monitoring duties while I decided to slip back into my uniform. A girl never knew when she would need to be ready for action and a formal black gown simply did not say prepared.

I quickly made the change in apparel and initiated my conversation with Batman.

-VvV-

The Princess needed me? As a faithful Knight, I would certainly try to do whatever I could – as any teammate would do, of course.

"Go ahead," I told her brusquely, trying to brush aside the emotions crowding my throat. It wouldn't do for anyone to discover the Batman had a weakness, not even Diana. Especially not Diana. After all, my weakness was Diana, even if this was the first time I could actually even remotely admit that fact to myself. But admitting it was the first step to getting over it, to working past it so that I could work with her solely as teammates. I had proved time and time again that I could do anything that I put my mind to and I was determined to bypass my emotional weakness for a certain Princess. I had to – my work and therefore, my life, depended on it.

I snapped back to attention as she began to explain what had occurred during her time that evening at Audrey's engagement ball. I knew that she had been planning to attend the event. Bruce Wayne had not received an invitation to the occasion; therefore, any intentions I had of going, even surreptitiously in my everyday persona in order to keep an eye on Diana had been relinquished in favor of keeping a low profile for the evening to delve into the Kasnian connection. Although unlikely, if Diana were to spend too much time with the billionaire Bruce Wayne, she might realize exactly who lurked behind the cowl.

As she described her encounter with the present Vandal Savage, I put aside my concerns about the weapons theft in order to concentrate both on what she was saying and what was appearing on my computer screen as I delved for information on Savage. Search initiated, I concentrated on the sound of Diana's voice. I could hear the wind blowing over the communicator and took a moment to indulge in the picture of Diana, dressed in her Wonder Woman costume, ebony locks being tousled by the wind and the air brushing against the softness of her skin.

"I'm still not sure it's really him," she told me, and I snapped back to attention, my mind beginning to pursue the idea of the origin Vandal Savage still being alive. My teammates had filled me in on their mission back in time to stop Savage and I could only imagine the horror that he was about to unleash on the world if it was indeed the same Vandal Savage. But I preferred not to imagine – I deal in cold, hard facts, and the computer could help me with that information and to corroborate Diana's accounting.

"But if Savage is still alive, the pieces begin to fit." And indeed, if Savage were still alive and about to marry the royal heir of Kasnia, the pieces fit with stunning accuracy. The weapons theft by the Kasnian military officers could still be traced back to Kasnia, albeit to a government connection rather than the head of the state itself.

"I don't know. I had J'onn look up his birth certificate and school records. It looks like it all checks out."

It was moments like this that I realized why the Princess and I worked so well together – she trusted her instincts and hunches and I relied on facts and evidence. She trusted her instincts to tell her that Savage was indeed alive and still evil incarnate and I followed the information trail to see what I could learn about the situation. Each way had its positives and negatives and complemented each other to form a whole picture –black and white and all the shades of gray in between. She, still being new to this world, did not completely understand the availability of technology to forge documents, to create entirely new identities. I, on the other hand, had been following, and using, technological advances for years as both Batman and Bruce Wayne, keeping on the cutting edge of technology.

"Papers can be forged." I had long ago removed my tie, but I was still sitting in front of the computer is a pressed white shirt, part of the training that Alfred had instilled years ago. I rested my head on my hand and continued searching for more information. I did a side-by-side comparison of the Vandal Savage of the 1940's and the Vandal Savage of today and came to the same conclusion as Diana – the resemblance was inconceivable unless they were the same man.

"Well, whether he's our Savage or a sequel, he makes me nervous." The entire puzzle made me nervous – we were still missing too many pieces for comfort or for action.

"He should," I told Diana. For both of us to feel discomfort about an individual meant that that individual was someone to keep an eye on. Both eyes, if possible. I continued talking to Diana, trying to reason out all the pieces of this puzzle – "Look at what we've got so far – a Kasnian operative stealing military secrets, Kasnia spearheading the International Space Station…"

"Good cover to circumvent the weapons embargo they're supposed to be under," Diana interjected. We often engaged in this sort of dissection of a mission, trying to reason out what and who lay at the heart of the matter and work out all the possibilities.

"If that's all Savage is up to, we're lucky." If this was the original Vandal Savage, our luck and our lives would soon change.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the television set flicker and a breaking news flash scrolled across the screen, detailing the location of the news as the principal city of Kasnia.

"Hold on a minute," I told Diana, ready to see what impact the news might have on our puzzle. Turns out that the news was of a serious nature – Audrey's father had suffered a serious stroke.

"Serious and convenient. You get all that, Diana?" I heard silence from the Princess for a moment, then a gust of air that could only be generated by an Amazon flying into action.

"I'm on my way to warn Audrey."

I rose from my computer chair, ready for a little action myself, particularly after spending the day in front of a computer screen.

"Meet you there."

-VvV-

I entered Audrey's suite only to find the room darkened and empty. I wandered around, trying to see if perhaps she was in another room off of the main area.

"Audrey? Audrey, it's Diana." I hoped that she would respond to my voice and emerge, but suddenly, I heard a loud noise from outside Audrey's building. I rushed over to the balcony only to see an aircraft take off from the top of the building. Certain that it was Audrey, I quickly followed in pursuit.

I had been chasing Audrey for several miles before I caught up enough to be able to attempt a rescue. I was certainly Audrey was with Savage in that plane, worried about her father when she should also have been worrying about the man accompanying her.

Unexpectedly, I saw a man wearing a jet pack emerge from the plane heading straight for me. Although I knew that he couldn't see it, I glared at him, battle ready, and determined to bring my friend Audrey to safety, even if it meant bringing this man down. I had recognized the figure of Colonel Vox and knew that Savage had sent his henchman out to greet me. But I was already resolved to give the man a welcome he would remember.

As Vox approached, he let loose, aiming sonic waves at me through his mouth. Unaware of his powers, I narrowly dodged his first scream by flying to my left and began heading at greater speed toward the plane.

Abruptly, I felt Vox grab my head, pulling me towards the Earth and then dragging me along the ground, pressing my face deep into the grass and dirt. However, he had not relied on my strength and I flung my head backwards, butting him in his jaw with the back of my head. I escaped his clutches and began to fly side to side, trying to avoid Vox's sonic waves. I looked back over my right shoulder, trying to get an idea of where the Colonel was in proximity to me, when I was hit by powerful sonic waves from my left. I immediately put my hands to my ears, but I had already begun to plummet towards the ground, and I could feel myself lapsing into unconsciousness as I continued my descent.

Still like it?

Time to exercise a little democracy! I'm not entirely sure where I want to eventually go with this story, so I want some votes! I'll see what everyone says and see if the majority leads me in a specific direction…and then see if I can still make up my mind! So anyway – I have 3 ideas of where to go-

1 – End my story more or less exactly where the episode left off – BM & WW walking off arm in arm. Then I'd continue to do a behind the scenes for other episodes that feature each of them (or like Comfort & Joy where they're not featured, but would be fun anyway) But they would just be flirting and taking baby steps into a possible relationship. (Of course, eventually I would make them into a real relationship, how can I not?)

2 – Continue this story with a happy ending. BMWW walk off arm in arm and build a relationship, but it's not in context of the other episodes. Just a happy ending.

3 – BMWW walk off arm in arm and develop a secret relationship within/around the context of the other episodes. At the end, do a little of their future after the final episode of JL

What's a girl to do?