Disclaimer: Much as I might want to, I do not own the Justice League, Batman, or Wonder Woman.
For those of you that reviewed for the first time, thank you, thank you! I really appreciate it.
For the repeat reviewers, I hope you all know that I welcome and value your comments – thanks for all the support throughout this story! I don't feel like this is my best chapter, but my opinion is my own!
Chapter title from Alice Cooper.
A Girl's Best Friend, Chapter 10, House of Fire
Batman's perspective…
Silently, not wanting to break the spell of the moment, we swiftly entered the elevator and headed for the main floor of the castle. I could almost hear the air humming around us in anticipation of a fight. As the elevator began to move upwards, I began briefing Diana about what I had learned from my conversation with the Watchtower.
"Savage is preparing to destroy us all unless the world gives in to his demands? He's insane! So many innocent lives will be ruined in Savage's reckless pursuit of power. He must be stopped!"
She turned to me and I could see the warrior within her emerging, a woman ready to march into battle to protect the Earth from a madman. Whatever emotions had been between us just moments ago had been suppressed and the glint in her eyes was pure determination and temper. She looked like a woman ready for a confrontation and I was resolved to be at her side defeating Savage.
And there was no doubt in my mind that we would indeed conquer Savage and return peace to Earth. The other members of the Justice League were dealing with the ray gun and the hostages aboard the International Space Station and Diana and I together had countless times in the past proved a formidable team.
We arrived on the main floor of the Kasnian Palace and immediately, we could hear a pounding echoing through the halls followed by a shrill voice demanding her freedom. Apparently we had stumbled upon the current whereabouts of Princess Audrey without much difficulty.
I looked Diana out of the corner of my eye and I could see her doing the same, in total agreement about the next step in our plans for this mission. We needed to rescue Audrey and then proceed to find Savage and put an end to his evil machinations. I scanned the hall outside Audrey's room, but could find no evidence of any guards holding her captive in the room. Continuing down the hall, we stopped by the door securing Audrey – Diana acting as lookout while I swiftly and silently picked the lock to the room. The demands from inside the room had ceased for the moment and after just a moment, the door was free, and Diana softly pushed the knob, obviously surprising the room's only occupant.
"Oh, hi," Audrey stated faintly looking rather quiet and demure, almost downtrodden. Obviously Savage had rid her of her illusions about his good character and positive nature. The realization that she had married an evil dictator bent on world domination had visibly matured and scared Audrey, but our survival depended on her and right now was not the time to baby-sit the princess.
"Audrey, we need your help," Diana declared calmly, looking at Audrey with something akin to pity in her beautiful eyes.
"I can't even help myself. Vandal's usurped my father's throne." She looked at the floor, embarrassed and ashamed at how she had facilitated Savage's takeover of Kasnia and the International Space Station.
Diana looked at Audrey firmly, conviction blazing on her face – "You're the Queen. You have to take command of the situation."
"How?" asked Audrey uncertainly.
I wanted to tell her that perhaps she should use the woman standing in front of her as an example. Diana's inner strength was as palpable and visible as her outer strength and the woman always had the bearing of a queen. Her regal nature often led foes to underestimate her, but the Princess had grit. Passion. She knew what it meant to stand up for what you believe in and she never hesitated to enter a battle – a warrior queen. Diana was Boadicea in the flesh, leading her people to safety amidst danger and despair and never wavering from her post.
It was rare to see Diana less than fully self-confident – on our mission to Gorilla City, after she single-handedly stopped that rocket and risked her own life, she had emerged from the dirt and grime with an air of absolute majesty. She had spoken to the citizens of the city with such strength and commitment, instantly earning their, and my, absolute trust and approval.
That was also the first time Diana had kissed me, albeit on the cheek. When she realized that I had been frantically digging in the dirt to find her, she had looked at me with her stunning blue eyes, her face melting with sweetness, and had leaned over and pecked my cheek. To my absolute horror, I had felt my own face flooding with color and had done my utmost to protect my dignity, hiding my hands and assuming a nonchalant bearing next to the Princess.
Diana was the epitome of self-confidence and Audrey had only to open her eyes to that fact. But now was not the time for discussion, it was the time for action.
"You can start by taking us to the control room."
-VvV-
Just the outside the door of the control room, Batman motioned Audrey and I to stand back and to the side while he dispatching the man guarding the door. Stepping forward, his footsteps barely audible to my ears, he unleashed a bat-bola, knocking the now unconscious guard to the ground.
Audrey, looking directly at Batman and myself, told us that Savage's main lair was inside the door.
In full protective mode, Batman stared threateningly at Audrey. "Stay here," he demanded before stalking off towards the door.
I, however, stayed behind a second to ask Audrey for a favor.
"Can I borrow you earrings?" I inquired. I had noticed that the Kasnian Princess had rather sizeable diamond stones dangling from her ears and had immediately thought of a functional use for them.
She looked at me with a question in her eyes, but straight away began to remove the diamonds from her ear lobes.
"Heck of a time to accessorize," she teased, placing the earrings in my outstretched palm. I looked at her with a smirk on my face – to Audrey the baubles were simply that – decoration – but to me, the earrings represented a means to an end and I meant to end this fight as quickly as possible.
I walked away from Audrey and saw Batman waiting for me outside the door to the control room. I stopped beside him and, lifting my eyes from my feet, I looked over at him with a question in my eyes – you ready?
Although I couldn't see the charming eyes behind the mask, somehow I knew that a twinkle was lighting up the dark brown – a twinkle that matched the spark in mine – the passion for battle and the readiness to work yet again as team. I was shocked to my toes when I felt a gloved hand squeeze mine gently, almost an affirmation of the feelings that previously had only been a glimmer, a sweet kiss on the cheek, a rescue in the dirt, and now a moment stolen between two teammates on a ballroom floor. I still wasn't sure if he knew that I recognized the Batman in Bruce Wayne, but I knew that something in our dynamic was finally changing. That glimmer was growing; developing into a steady glow that we both understood could and would change the friendship between us. I knew that I was willing to change the status quo, but I also knew that right now was not the time to make any decisions about the future or even a relationship. But I tucked the knowledge and the feel of his hand into my heart.
Looking at him, I nodded in readiness and squeezed his hand in return, just for a moment before releasing him and, taking a deep breath, I steeled my shoulders and knocked down the door to the control room. By now we knew the routine of combat – he went low and I went high, blasting through the air. As gunfire erupted around us, I could see Batman out of the corner of my eye using his martial arts skills in order to evade the bullets and make his way to the firing guards. He knocked over one of the guards in a chair and followed with a kick to the next guard, stopping one of the barrages of bullets. Immediately pivoting on his heel, in one swift motion he unleashed a batarang at a third guard, disarming him as well.
Launching myself through the air with my bracelets moving swiftly to deflect the gunfire, I advanced towards the guards, punching one and as two fired at me, I stopped in front of them, punching one before backhanding the other. High on adrenaline, I was looking around the room for my next target when I heard a distinctly scratchy and mechanical voice echoing through the space around me. As Colonel Vox stood, I surreptitiously slipped Audrey's earrings into the inner shell of my ears, protecting the drums from any damage caused by sonic waves and thus eliminating Vox as a threat.
His voice resonated through the room - "Apparently you didn't get the message. Let me make it loud and clear." The sonic waves he emitted from his mouth had increased in size since our previous encounter and I could literally feel the vibrations coursing through my body. I braced myself, feeling the waves pushing me back but, raising my arms in front of my face, I slowly and determinately made my way forward. I heard a slight commotion over to my right side and observed Batman stealing a guard's gun and using it to knock the man unconscious. I felt his eyes on me and immediately, strength surged through my body and I began to step a little further forward each time I moved a foot towards Vox. Upon reaching the Colonel, I grasped him by the voice box surrounding his throat and, with a snap of the fingers, I crushed the mechanism, rendering it useless.
"Not another word," I demanded, punching Vox and watching him fly backwards into the chair he had previously vacated, his head hitting the backboard. As he slumped over, I drew the diamonds from my ears, holding them up to the light before placing them once again in my palm.
"They really are a girl's best friend," I murmured. I quickly turned as I spied Savage racing towards a computer terminal initiating a launch confirmation.
Batman, with his unique brand of humor, hefted a chair and, spying Savage at the computer, said," You're in my way," before hitting him with the piece of furniture. Savage crashed against the computer and Batman rapidly lifted the dictator's body, tossing him off to the side and out of the way. He began furiously typing and I watched in horror as the computer began to count down from 6, preparing to initiate the rail gun.
As I gained Batman's side, I could hear J'onn's voice through the communicator in Batman's ear –
"Batman, we couldn't prevent the rail gun from discharging."
"Me neither. But I did manage to change the targeting coordinates."
I looked at him questioningly. "Where did you send it?"
With a lift to his mouth, he looked directly at me and answered my question – "Right here."
Hurling a batarang into the computer screen, he raced over to the emergency sound system, breaking the glass and without delay, ordering a complete evacuation. After I grasped two of the guards, we began racing out of the control room. Just outside the door, he seized Audrey's hand and dashed away with her in tow. Fleeing in the air just behind them, I carried the two guards over my shoulders towards the nearest exit, praying to the gods that we would all make it out in time and safely.
As the seconds ticked away, I began to see a dazzling light shooting through the sky towards our location and immediately picked up my speed. In moments, the asteroid exploded, crashing into the Kasnian castle at an amazing velocity. Just in front of me, I saw Bruce pull Audrey into a large ditch just on the outskirts of the castle grounds. The ditch was littered with the fleeing Kasnian soldiers, but there was more than enough space for everyone to safely find cover from the blast. Bruce caught Audrey in his arms, swiftly putting her feet on the ground and pressing her to the dirt wall of the ditch. His chest to her back, he shielded her with his own body and his cape from the debris the explosion had littered the air and grounds with. I jumped down behind them, pressed my chest to Bruce's back as rubble began to fall in earnest all around us.
That's it for now! Any predictions as to what will be next? I know…wink…care to take a guess?