"You're not to tell anyone else what you've just discussed with me," Batman hissed darkly, grabbing the wrists of the superhero in front of him.

"Hey, don't shoot me, buddy! I'm just the messenger!" he giggled.

"Shut up, Flash. It's not funny."

"How come, Brucie? Cause your little boyfriend is going to go fry up some SuperAss?"

"He's not my boyfriend," the bat retorted weakly. "He's my fiancee. We were engaged to be married."

This earned a hearty laugh from the red costumed hero as he through his head back and let the noise bellow out through the giant empty chamber. It was one of Bruce's many spare rooms. The sadness had sunk so deep inside the batman, however, that he didn't even find himself angry. And he certainly looked. He looked hard and deep to find that anger for Flash, but he just couldn't find it. It simply wasn't there. The shadows in the dark room made the whole scene more sinister, and it dampened the batman's mood. Even the normally-spunky Flash seemed to dim in the cool, musty darkness.

"Your face looks like shit," Flash commented, a little more soberly. "You okay?"

"You didn't even show at the meeting to start this guild. What do you care about me?"

"I just can't stand to look at you. Is that so horrible?"

"I told you I was sorry. I can't make myself love someone I don't, Wally!"

"You could at least try. Do you know how ripped up he was, Bruce?"

"I have an idea, yes," the bat scowled through the darkness. Flash stayed still. Wally West, even in his superhero costume, was not brave enough to intentional provoke the batman and further than he already had. "You're not to tell anyone what you've said here. I will deal with this issue on my own. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm not your sidekick, Batsy!" Wally laughed, leaning back against the wall and smirking - at least until Batman moved in on him, nearly closing the gap between their bodies. "But... But don't you wanna do something about it? I mean... Superman could... could... The Joker could kill him!"

"Wally, he was asking for it. I can understand why Jack would go after him. I would, too, if I were him. You should have heard the things Clark was saying about him."

"I don't need to... I can imagine what would be said," Flash grumbled. Bruce slammed his fest against the wall beside the young man's head. "I'm not scared to hurt you, Flash. I don't care how close you are with Kyle. You deserve a good ass whooping. Someday, you'll get one. Maybe not now... Maybe not from me... But someday, someone will give you the ass kicking of a lifetime, and then you'll change your cheerful little tune. I like you, Wallace. I really do. You were my friend. We used to be close. But if you cross me, if you cross the Joker... you'll be very sorry. And besides... what happened between Kyle and I is nobody else's business. I'm glad you know. We love and trust you. But you'd better be careful before you march in here telling me what's what and who I should be with.

"I know you're hurt by what happened, and I know Kyle's your best friend, but if you love him so much - like I know you do - maybe you should make a move on him and stop trying to convince me to like him. He needs a friend right now, Wally. And you're all ready that." The bat shrugged, at last easing out of the offensive position and into one of camaraderie. "Now's a better time to move than ever. And hey," he laughed, giving the man's shoulder a teasing, playful nudge on the arm, "I think you two would look cute together."

This speech left the room in silence, one that hung ominously over them while they pondered what had passed between them. Their friendship seemed to be taking a new, deeper, more meaningful face. At first, neither spoke to break the silence. Instead, they simply looked at each other - watching, waiting, waiting, thinking, until...

The knock at the door alerted them both that something must have been seriously wrong, so Bruce flung the heavy mahogany contraption open with an over-zealous "Oof!" The drama of the moment made Flash giggle to himself in the background. The master of speed was buzzing with excitement. Even in negative situations, the adrenaline gave him such a high that his body twitched and fluttered with anxiousness.

"What is it, Nighty?" Bruce gasped, putting his hand eagerly on the hero's shoulder. It wasn't at all strange for him to revert back to the old nickname he had for the half-demon. "What's wrong?"

"It's Scotty! He ripped into Logan... and... and now... now..." the mutant blurted out, his furry blue skin prickling with excitement. His adrenaline, too, was pumping and driving him on.

"It's all right, Kurt. Take a breath. Tell me what's going on! Quickly, now, before someone gets hurt!"

"CYCLOPS AND WOLVERINE ARE FIGHTING ON THE BALCONY!" Nightcrawler blurted. He fell over, leaning his hands on his knees to hold himself up. He was gasping for air, as if he'd been running, as his figure sunk and faded into the shadows, blending in perfectly with the darkness of the room. Even though that was unlikely - since he frequently made use of his powers of teleportation - Bruce still worried. Both Batman and Flash blinked stupidly into the darkness, not quite sure if their friend was moving or holding still or looking away or what - seeing as they couldn't separate his figure from the shadows - until the Nightcrawler finally stirred them into action and exclaimed, "Hurry up, guys! I think Logan's gonna kill the poor bastard!"