A/N: Hello all. Hope everyone is having a great Christmas. I'm not. I have no trees. Only the stoners will understand that one.
Everyone saw the BvS preview obviously. I really can't wait to watch the movie though. I liked it so much it influences the next chapter. Civil War trailer was a little disappointing, I'll watch it anyway. Curious to see how Black Panther is portrayed. I hope they fix the mispronunciation of his name. Apostrophes are ignored in African languages. T'Challa should be pronounced as Challa, not Tuh-Challa.
Enough rambling, here's the story.
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Blue Marlin Hotel
Outside the hotel it was freezing, and the valet had to stomp their feet and rub their hands to keep warm. One of them lit up a cigarette, exhaling a long plume of smoke into the chilly night air. Their ears instinctively pricked up when they heard the bellow of a car engine. Scrambling to their positions, they were just in time to see Bruce Wayne whip his car round the corner and zoom up to them. The car rumbled angrily,like a caged beast. The ground underfoot vibrating from the sheer force of its engine. It was low, black,sharp curves and broad angles. Beautiful in that bizarrely striking way super cars are. The power underneath the hood was unmistakable.
Bruce stepped out smartly, tossing the keys to one of the men without even looking at him. "If this car has so much as a scratch on the fender, I will see to it, personally, that you never get a job in this city. Ever." He said to no one in particular. The valet holding the keys turned pale.
Walking round to the other side, Bruce held out his hand and helped Zatanna up out of her seat. She was dressed in a long aquamarine blue gown that extended down to her toes, with a slit on her right side revealing a smooth brown thigh. On her feet she wore a pair of white Nike sneakers with blue victory ticks the same color as the dress. She wore no jewellery,only a pair of round blue glasses,also the same color as the dress. It was a simple yet elegant look, unique but still adhering to the dress code. She didn't know it then, but Zatanna was about to be in many fashion magazines for many years to come.
He wore a charcoal grey suit from Brooks Brothers, with a black tie and a crisp white shirt. You can never go wrong with the basics. It was also a fairly simple look, but it had enough good taste and fine tailoring to make up for it. The camera flashes were blinding Zatanna, even though she was accustomed to being photographed(she was a well known magician/illusionist, and so was a mild celebrity) the sheer number of paparazzi snapping photographs still overwhelmed her. Bruce was used to it, being Gotham's prince he was always being watched. He placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her through to the entrance, never faltering in his step despite the bright lights flashing all around them.
"Sorry about that. Should have used the back entrance."
"No, it's fine really. So, what do we do now?"
"Usually I get really drunk and cause a scene, then leave the party early with a couple of girls. But, this is actually an important party, and I am not drinking. Not after what happened last time.."
"Oh god.. Don't remind me.. Let's just.. never talk about that. Ever. Ok?"
"We'll mingle. Walk around, introduce ourselves, gossip. Until the Princess gets here."
"Oooh, Wonder Woman? I'm excited to meet her."
Bruce grunted. "What? Oh don't tell me you're not excited to meet her. She's a super powered princess that looks like a swimsuit model. You've got to at least be 'excited' on a.. y'know.. primal level.." She winked seductively at him.
"No."
"I call bullshit batboy. You mean to tell me you don't think she's beautiful?"
"Is she beautiful? Yes, that's a fact. My opinion doesn't matter there. Anyway, I'm more interested in her future ambitions. Amazons are notoriously intolerant of men, and Greek Gods are known for their abuse of humans just to get their way. She is both. I want to know what she thinks of mankind, what her plans are for the future, and what her true purpose here is."
"Wow Bruce. And here I thought we were here to have a good time. Don't you ever switch off?"
"Honestly, I wouldn't know how to. Here's one of my 'associates'. Come on and I'll introduce you to him."Bruce waved at a man standing a few feet away at the bar, sipping on a glass of scotch. He was wearing a black suit that looked like Armani to Zatanna's practiced eye.
"Is that Lex Luthor? You know Lex Luthor?" she whispered sharply.
"Of course I do. Were more or less in the same line of work. Everybody knows everybody in these circles."
Lex walked over to them, smiling broadly. "Bruce! How are you you old devil!"(old-money bastard, he thought to himself) "I haven't seen you since the party at Wayne Manor."(where you made a fool of yourself like you always do. Stupid spoiled man-baby)"And who is this lovely lady?"(How does he get these women? Escort service?)
"Doing great Lex! Can't complain!"(He must think I'm the dumbest man on earth) "This pretty little flower is my date tonight. Ms. Zatanna Zatarra." (Eat your heart out you bald bastard)
"Ah, surely she can't be the magician? She is!?(Damn you Wayne) You just finished your tour right? Oh, you simply must come to Metropolis one of these days. I-The people of Metropolis would love to have you there."
Zatanna was by no means blind to the tension that was palpable in the air between the two men. On the surface they were interacting pleasantly, in fact they were each hiding it admirably, but she could pick up a certain 'vibe' coming off of them.
"Um, sure. I'll definitely do that."
"Well, I've got to go over and say hello to Queen. We've got some business to discuss. Government contracts, you know how it is. Nice meeting you Bruce, you too Zatanna. Maybe we'll see each other again. Bruce, you'll have to tell me sometime how you managed to swing this gig." (If I never see you again it'll be too soon, Wayne)
"Oh, I understand perfectly. We'll meet up at some point, count on it." (Seriously. Count on it)
Lex departed to talk to a man across the room, who had short blond hair.
Zatanna's eyes widened. "Is that THE Oliver Queen? The guy who was stuck on an island for like 10 years?"
"Yes, and it wasn't ten years. Closer to 7."
"So... What was all that about?" asked Zatanna.
"That? Nothing. Just the usual business type of stuff."
"Uh-huh. You guys clearly don't like each other."
"Is it really that obvious?"
"Well, no. But aside from Alfred, I know you better than everyone you interact with, so I can tell when you don't like someone."
The relatively calm air of the room suddenly became energized. From their position Bruce and Zatanna could hear the din of voices increasing steadily, the excitement palpable in the air. Bruce craned his head to get a better view of the proceedings, but he already knew what was going on.
Princess Diana of Themyscira had arrived. She was every bit as beautiful as the papers,tabloids and reporters said she was. She looked exactly as good as she did on television.
Her long inky black hair was completely open. It was so long the tips brushed against her lower back. She wore a form fitting white dress that stopped just above her knees, and a pair of white sandals. Her crown rested atop her head, the red star adding a touch of color to the whole outfit. She had forsaken her usual bracers for a pair of slimmer, more elegant looking bracelets. Her whole look radiated an air of angelic, pristine beauty. Every man (and more than a few women) looked at her with awe. Even Bruce was taken in, something Zatanna noticed.
"Why does she always wear white?" she asked Bruce.
"The colour of purity. White is never boring." he replied without taking his eyes off of Diana.
Zatanna rolled her eyes. 'Men', she thought. 'Show a little skin and they can't think straight.' "So, aren't you going to introduce yourself? Or me, at the very least?"
"Uh, yes. Yes. Certainly. Right this way." Bruce said as though he had just returned to his senses.
As was expected, there was a small army surrounding Diana. Between the press, her bodyguards and the (very many) admirers clamouring for a chance to speak to her, one would think she would have lost her bearings. But, true to her royal station, she kept a cool head and managed to instil some sense of order among the masses.
"Please, if you would stop pushing at the back, I can attend to those at the front, and everyone will have their chance to speak." Her voice rang out clearly across the packed room. Her strange accent made the words sound almost musical. An old lady standing before Bruce turned to him and said, "Charming accent, isn't it Bruce?" Bruce smiled back politely,"Yes it is Mrs. Bolton."
Zatanna meanwhile was shifting impatiently from foot to foot. "Well? You're Bruce Wayne, you own this hotel and most of this city, can't you, y'know, do something?"
"There is a line Zatanna." Bruce replied, somewhat amused.
"You're not wearing a cape right now. Use that name for something other than throwing parties." she whispered shrilly in his ear.
OUTSIDE "Finally. I was starting to think you'd never show up."
There was a series of clicks as he performed a quick inventory of his weapons. Knives, swords, bo-staff, grenades,smoke pellets. Next he went through his small arms. Two pistols, a back up gun,and the most important weapon, encased in a small black fanny pack tied around his waist. It looked quite comical against his armor and weapons.
Checking all the openings he found it was just as he had predicted. Every living soul in or around the building was distracted by the entrance of the Princess. Everyone, from the valet to kitchen staff to the security personnel were trying to get a look at her. If there was ever a better time to pull a job, he figured he must have been on sick leave.
He launched himself effortlessly from the edge of the roof. For a few terrifying seconds he thought he was going to fall short of the mark, but he managed to grasp the light pole at the very last minute, swinging round it and using his inhuman strength to throw his whole body through the massive glass window. No need for stealth. He wanted all of them to know what he was doing.
INSIDE Time seemed to slow down for 4 people in the room as Deathstroke crashed through the heavy bulletproof glass, strong enough to hold against RPG's but not designed for meta humans with enhanced physicals wearing promethium armor.
Rolling with the impact, he was up on his feet before anyone in the room had realized what was happening. Almost everyone.
The first to notice something amiss was Clark, who was standing with other reporters in the crowd surrounding Diana. Through the flash of camera bulbs,the chorus of introductions and questions from each newspaper journalist,he heard the scratch of boots that was Deathstroke jumping off the roof and the squeak of metal that was his hand gripping the light pole. Clark was muscling his way through the crowd before the intruder had broken through the window.
The second was Diana. Her senses weren't as fine as Clark's, her strong intuition forced her to look outside, where she immediately saw Deathstroke jump off the roof and swing on the light pole.
The third was Bruce Wayne. Though he had no superpowers, he had a very keen pair of eyes, and the glint of streetlight bouncing off of a suit of armor seemingly suspended in the air had been all the warning he needed.
Coming in hot at number 4, barely a millisecond after Bruce Wayne, was fellow billionaire playboy Oliver Queen. Like Bruce he lacked meta human abilities, but he too had very keen eyes, and he noticed the glint of light against the armor.
Diana, ever the warrior, attacked him immediately.
He had to admit he hadn't expected her to be quite so fast. He barely moved out of the way in time. The next blow was even faster. It caught him square across the face, knocking him down.
He barely touched the ground before springing up off of it with unusual agility. Reaching behind his back, he unhooked the bo-staff,extended it to its full length and pointed it at Diana.
The staff fired a powerful beam of energy right at her face. Automatically she raised her arms to deflect it, realizing too late that she had left her battle bracers at home. As the beam got closer, she hoped these would be strong enough to deflect the blast.
She never got to find out though, because a big blue and red blur intercepted the blast. The energy beams bounced harmlessly off its surface, and the blur flew at Deathstroke, knocking him out of the broken window. When it stopped moving, she realized it was... Superman?
..OUTSIDE
He landed on top of a car with a sickening crunch, crushing its roof with the force of the fall. 'What the fuck?' he said to himself, hissing in pain as his foot touched the ground. He had underestimated Wonder Woman, but he flat out hadn't anticipated Superman being there at all.
He took off his helmet and spat a glob of blood onto the pavement. 'Ok. I'm ok. I'll just have to improvise.' Slade knew the chances were slim that he would win today, but he also knew he probably wouldn't get a golden opportunity to lure out the Batman like this again. He would just have to make do with what he had.
He waited until he heard her voice coming from inside the hotel, then he limped into the alley.
...INSIDE
"Is everyone all right?" She asked as she floated into the room, hair billowing gently behind her. She pointedly ignored Superman.
Bruce, with the help of the security team, was already directing people out of the room and into the basement, which was a kind of giant safe room. Built to withstand powerful explosives, with enough supplies to take care of everyone at the party and then some for a few weeks. Extreme? Perhaps. But this is Gotham, and this is Bruce Wayne's hotel were talking about. He would spare no expense if it saved lives. When he saw Diana he walked over to her.
"Yes Princess,everything is fine. We're just evacuating these people to a safer location until we're sure the uh.. threat has been contained. I'm Bruce Wayne by the way. I.."
"I know who you are Mr Wayne. Owner of this establishment, the most influential man in Gotham, and one of the wealthiest men in the country." She looked around at the room. It was a brief spat, but there was shattered glass strewn across the floor and numerous burns on the walls and carpet.
"I am sorry for the mess. Its just.." she half-shrugged, half-smiled shyly.."I'm still new to this. Please, send the bills for repairs to the Themysciran Embassy."
Bruce found himself smiling against his will. "It's no problem at all. Gotham is like that sometimes. No need to bill you for this, I'll take care of it." He glanced over her shoulder, his face seemed to change for just a second, then he asked, "is he with you?"
Diana turned to see Superman, his red cape billowing in the wind the only thing that was visible of him. "No. Excuse me a moment."
She floated over to him outside the broken window. He was looking down at a hunk of twisted metal. She opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it.
"He's gone."
"I beg your pardon?"
"He's gone. He was here just a second ago, but he's gone now."
"I see.. Listen, about what happened in there-"
"Oh that? Don't mention it, it was no problem at all."
Diana smiled sadly, shaking her head.
"Men,the one thing you have in common is your arrogance.. I was not trying to thank you, I was going to tell you that I am not some helpless waif who needs assistance."
"Whoa, hey, it's not like that-"
'Like teenagers', Slade thought to himself. He climbed swiftly up the side of the hotel building, easily kicking down the steel door on the roof. He raced down the stairs, pulling out his pistols as he did so. He kicked down another steel door, running right into the crowd of people that had been trying to escape him. They weren't too many, perhaps 50 or so.
For a few seconds they were still.
That was all he needed.
His incredible brain worked feverishly in tandem with his eye, rushing from face to face searching for an ideal target. The faces in the crowd looked at him and he looked back at them. He could see the fear in their eyes, could practically see it coming off of them like steam from a hot cup of coffee. All I need is one, he reminded himself. Just one of these rich people as a hostage and the Bat will surely come calling. His eye fell on one. Bruce Wayne, crown prince of Gotham. Slade smiled underneath his helmet. If that doesn't bring out the Batman, I don't know what will.
He pointed his pistol at Bruce. "You, playboy, with me." There was a young woman beside him, exotic looking. Her face was panicked and he could see she was holding tightly onto his arm. He cocked the gun, to show he meant business. Bruce disengaged Zatanna from his arm and stepped forward boldly, much to the shock of everyone in the crowd.
As the billionaire approached him, Slade followed an ancient male ritual of sizing him up. He was a big guy. Quite tall and clearly he was into lifting weights. Wayne was almost as big as he was, but he dismissed this. He knew Bruce Wayne's reputation. It was nothing but vanity, a beach body built with supplements and steroids, all mirror muscles, for Instagram selfies only. There was no real fire behind them. Still he felt the need to warn him, if only to mark his territory.
"Any heroics and I will kill you without a moments- AAH! JESUS F CHRIST!."
Slade dropped his pistol, which was glowing red and was swiftly burning a hole in the carpet. He raised the other pistol and to his surprise Bruce Wayne was right in his face and trying to stop him. The playboy had a set of balls after all. Or maybe he was just stupid.
Bruce was struggling against Deathstroke. He considered himself to be pretty damn strong, but whoever this intruder was, he was a lot stronger. Try as he might, he couldn't stop the man from raising his arm. Bruce wrenched him into the wall in an attempt to stop him from shooting at the civilians. He barely moved him aside in time. The shots sprayed into the ceiling, the walls and everywhere else, but mercifully no one in the crowd was injured.
Enraged, Deathstroke tossed Bruce aside as though he was a rag doll and pointed his gun at the prone figure. The billionaire looked at the gun and then into Slade's face with no trace of fear.
Bruce stared down the gun barrel, feeling a cold emptiness in his stomach. What a way to go, he thought. 5 years on the job,every night, rain or moonshine. Survived gunshots, multiple stab wounds, electrocution, broken bones,mob hits, hell even the Police had tried to kill him. And this was how he was going to go out. Killed by a well armed thug in his own hotel. There was no grief, no sadness, just... What a waste.
Fuck that. I'm not ready to lay down just yet, said a voice in his head.
Deathstroke pulled the trigger just as Bruce rolled over to the side. The bullet splintered the floorboards beneath him, sending sharp bits of wood into Bruce's face. He felt nothing, the adrenaline pumping in his veins. Deathstroke fired again,this one glanced past Bruce's shoulder, and he felt a brief hot sting before the pain vanished in the haze of adrenaline.
"Hold still god dammit!" At that moment, the fire extinguisher on the wall seemed to fly off its handle and smack Deathstroke in the back of the head, dropping him face first. The impact cracked his nose against his faceplate, he could feel the blood trickling down his face. 'This is turning out to be much harder than I thought it would be' he thought to himself.
Slade got up slowly, only to be flattened again by the heavy brick wall. The civilians screamed at the sight, but they soon calmed down when they saw the big red S and the bright red cape. Diana appeared seconds after, her eyes scanning the area for any more threats.
"Is everyone all right?" he asked.
They just stared at him in awe. Gotham's citizens had never seen superheroes, and if they did they had never seen any like Superman. As it was Superman never left his home turf of Metropolis. Clark was suddenly painfully conscious of how strange it was that he should be here. People would ask questions. 'Better get the job done and leave ASAP', he thought to himself.
He gave everyone the once over with his x-ray vision, noting that only one person was hurt, he flew over to the man. Behind him, Diana, still seething from the perceived slight, lifted the brick wall as though it was made of styrofoam. Deathstroke lay underneath it, unmoving and covered in dust. He groaned in pain. He was pretty sure everything was broken. It would take at least a week for everything to heal up. He realized he would probably be in prison by that time. Slade groaned again before passing out.
Clark was surprised to find the injured man was none other than Bruce Wayne, the man who had taken great pains to have the Daily Planet team transported to and from Gotham. Beside him was a pretty young woman, a look of concern on her face.
"Ahem. Mr Wayne, you're hurt. Have you been shot? You should probably get that looked at."
"I'm fine. It's just a scratch." Bruce replied gruffly.
"Are you sure? I can-"
"You broke the wall."
"Pardon?"
"I said, you broke the wall. Do you know what it costs to fix that?"
"Sir, I'm sorry about the wall-"
"Sorry won't fix it now, will it?" Bruce said dryly, looking at Clark with hostility.
"Look sir, I just saved your life. The least you could do is show some gratitude." He could feel the people around him recoiling in fear. The slightest sign of anger from him scared them. But not Bruce.
"This isn't Metropolis, 'Superman'. You'll find were not so quick to worship
He just kept on glaring at him. Clark sighed. "Again, I'm sorry about the wall." He flew out through the hole, taking to the skies.
"That wasn't very nice Bruce." Zatanna chided him. Bruce grunted.
"He did save your life y'know."
"Never asked him too. Just like I didn't ask you to heat up the gun or throw the extinguisher at him." She faltered slightly. "What, did you think I wouldn't notice? Better hope no one else did, or you'll be explaining to your manager how your stage act isn't really an act."
She tried to change the subject. "He was nice. Very polite."
"For an alien."
"You just don't like him, do you?"
"It's not a question of liking him. My opinion doesn't-"
"Nope. You said that already. Have an opinion for god's sake."
"He's not human Zatanna. For all we know he operates on a whole different set of rules."
"For all we know he's not a bad person. He broke the wall, fine, but he did it to save your life. And it's not like you can't afford to fix it."
"Look, I'm human, and I don't even trust most humans. Why is that? Because I know what humans are capable of. Our species is dangerous enough. An alien is something else entirely. And like I told you, I didn't need saving."
The conversation continued as they walked outside into the frigid night air.
"You didn't seem too ticked off when Wonder Woman wrecked the place."
"She didn't. HE, whoever that guy was, he did it. Besides, she's a guest of honour and new at the heroics business, so I'll cut her some slack.
"I'll bet that dress had nothing to do with it.." Zatanna mumbled.
He ignored that comment. "Superman"-he said the word awkwardly-"has been in.. the business for as long as I have. Longer actually. He should know better."
"God Bruce! You are such an arrogant prick! 'I didn't need saving'.'He should know better'. Really? What about everyone else in the building, what about me? Were you thinking of us during your little Rambo moment?"
Bruce stopped walking. He knew he should say something, but he didn't know what.
"Exactly!" she said. "You know Bruce, I really don't know why I bother with you sometimes. I don't think anyone can love you as much as you love yourself, and that's really saying something because you don't even like who you are." She stormed off before he could say anything.
Just then Bruce heard a loud thump. His head whirled from left to right, his senses on full alert.
Clark cursed silently and came out from his hiding place behind the van. He had just come here to change out of his costume and he didn't mean to eavesdrop. Thinking fast, he took out a cigarette from Lois' pack and lit it, blowing smoke as he approached Bruce Wayne for the second time that night.
"Sorry about that, didn't mean to eavesdrop. I came out for a smoke.."
Seeing that it was a stranger with a reporters badge and not a threat, Bruce quickly put on his 'rich asshole' demeanor.
"Its ok. Bitches right?"
"Yeah." Clark said, a little stunned. It was like he was talking to a whole different person.
"Um, you're bleeding sir." Clark pointed with his cigarette.
"It's just a scratch. Tripped down the stairs on my way out."
"Ok." (Liar).
"Clark? Clark? Where are you Smallville!?"
At the sound of Lois' voice Clark hastily put out the cigarette. "Girlfriend wants me to quit. She'd kill me if she knew I was smoking." he said in reply to Bruce's inquisitive glance. Clark held out his hand. "See you around man." After a moments hesitation Bruce grasped it. "Yeah, sure. Whoa, that's quite a grip you got there." Bruce watched as the man jogged off towards the direction the voice was coming from. 'I really need to hit the weights harder. That's twice today someone else was stronger than me.' he thought to himself.
He could hear police sirens, indicating the ever 'resourceful' GCPD was on its way. About damn time too. Their response times were getting worse. He signaled to the valet to get his car. He didn't feel up to sticking around and answering questions from the Police when he knew they would do little if anything in the form of a follow up investigation. The valet returned, looking pale and sweaty despite the cold.
"Uh.. Um.. Sir.. There's been an accident sir.. I'm afraid your car.. Well um.. Its.."
"Yes?" Bruce asked in an irritated tone.
"Well, I'm afraid its.. its been totaled. If you'd just follow me.."
Bruce obeyed silently. If one of these kids had wrecked his car taking it on some joyride instead of parking it, there would be hell to pay. The valet stopped before a smashed, black mass of metal. There was actual physical pain in Bruce's chest as he stared blankly at the wreckage.
The earth seemed to spin for a moment.
That was his favorite car. He had a lot of cars, but that was his favorite.
A Lamborghini Veneno, custom made to his taste. Modifications on the engine and chassis to make it even faster and more stable.
Bulletproof glass, monogrammed racing seats and an interior made of calfskin. Lacquered finish on the carbon fibreglass, a polished aluminum finish on the car console. A perfect trim/paint combination.
A sound system from Bang & Olufsen, with killer bass and excellent acoustics. Rims with a black anodized finish.
Cost him nearly $10 million after all was said and done(excluding other costs such as deposit,import,taxes,service charges and builders fees) and he had to wait nearly a year for Lamborghini to build it.
His left eye twitched.
"Uh,your keys sir." Bruce took it without looking, grasping it so tightly in his fist the metal key ring was bent flat and blood seeped from the wound on his shoulder. Veneno's were extremely rare, no more units had been made this year. All the others were already bought. In any case, he wanted one built to his specifications. He could repair it, but that would take ages.. And he knew from experience that once something was broken, it never worked the same way again, no matter how hard you tried to fix it.
Who would do this? Zatanna had a temper, but this wasn't her style. In fact, no one in Gotham was stupid enough to wreck Bruce Wayne's car. Gothamites knew his car as well as they knew his name. Everyone had seen or heard it at one point or another, tearing through the city streets, conveniently dodging routes with police patrol cars as if the driver had precognitive abilities(not that the GCPD would have ever caught him even if they tried).
Bruce switched seamlessly into detective mode. He looked around and noticed the car was parked just above the shattered window. Stepping forward he noted the unmistakable human shaped crater in the middle of the roof, the trail of blood leading from the car into the dark alley. He clenched his jaw, the rage coming off of him in waves that even the valet could detect. He decided to beat a hasty retreat.
The figure of a woman appeared at the broken window. His glare softened. For a moment he hoped it was Zatanna, but he ruled that out when the figure floated down from the window and landed soundlessly at his feet.
"Princess Diana."
"Mr Wayne."
She looked at the crushed car. "This is your vehicle?"
"Yes. Regrettably. It seems it was damaged in the fight."
"My apologies. Chaos seems to follow me everywhere I go. I hope this doesn't taint your opinion of me. I know first impressions are a big deal here."
"No apologies necessary. It wasn't you that knocked him out of the building." To defuse the awkwardness he added with a grin, "A 'big deal' huh? I see you've picked up on some of our speech mannerisms."
She laughed then, a trilling musical laugh.
"Yes. My assistant is responsible for that. English is fascinating. A single word can have so many meanings,and there are different ways for the language to be interpreted."
"You're a fast learner." he remarked.
"You have no idea." she said. They held each others gaze for awhile, until they both realized they were doing it for a little too long.
Diana spoke first."So,how will you get home?"
Bruce cleared his throat, something he never did." .. I could get a cab. Or I could call my butler.."
Her face brightened up suddenly."I can fly you there."
"What?"
"I can fly you to your residence. Wayne Manor is not too far from this place"
"Ah-ha-ha-ha. Uh, as tempting as that offer sounds, I will have to turn you down Princess. I'll make my own way back if thats alright with you."
She shrugged nonchalantly. "Ok. I hope we can do this again some other time, without such... interruptions. Until next time Mr Wayne." Flashing him a dazzling smile, she floated slowly into the sky and back into the hotel.
"Until next time Princess Diana." He replied with an equally radiant smile.
As soon as she was gone Bruce began mentally chiding himself.
What the hell was that? That terrible, mechanical frat-boy laugh? 'As tempting as that offer sounds'? God, Wayne, you're losing your edge. You've seen your fair share of pretty women before, this shouldn't be any different...
Maybe I do need to get out more. Can't be flirting with every pretty face I come across.
A small part of Bruce was happy though.
It thought only one thing: I've still got it.
In their haste to leave the area after the mild flirting, neither Bruce nor Diana noticed the photographer snapping several shots of them and slipping quietly back into the alley. They would know about it soon enough.
He pulled out his smartphone and dialed Alfred. "Alfred. Change of plans. The party didn't go as planned. Come pick me up at the hotel. Yes, just me. She.. she had to go. Look, just come and pick me up, you can lecture me when we get home. Thanks. Bye."
Bruce pocketed the phone and walked into the hotel foyer. The sirens were getting closer. Hopefully Alfred would get here fast and he wouldn't have to answer pointless questions. Unlikely. He sounded upset that Bruce had ditched Zatanna (not what happened at all) so he would probably take his sweet time, just to punish him.
But more than that, he was itching to get home and get on his computer.
Someone attacked his party.
Tried to kill him.
At his hotel.
In his city.
He was going to find out who that was, and he was going to.. he clenched his hands as he remembered his wrecked car. That was another thing. Superman in Gotham? That felt wrong for so many reasons. Were the two connected? Perhaps. Bruce could already tell he wouldn't be getting any sleep for awhile.
He would be working this case until he figured everything out.
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A/N: As always, read and review.
