They were in the medical wing of the Watchtower

Diana walked up to Bruce's body, he was unconscious. His armor had been stripped and his cowl removed, there was medical gauze wrapped around the upper part of his face, leaving his mouth and chin unwrapped. She quietly looked at the machines that were monitoring his vitals, everything was steady; his chest heaving, his heart monitor beeping...everything was OK. Yet she didn't FEEL OK. She felt distraught, she felt angry, and she felt like grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and screaming at him. She hated him. Diana stared hard at Bruce. She could hardly believe that she knew who he was. Nobody else knew. Not even J'onn, who put the gauze on in the first place, he wore a blindfold when he was treating Batman, out of respect for his identity.

Diana placed a hand on his chest; whatever part of his chest that wasn't covered in medical gauzes was layered with scars, many different types. She ran her hands across the older ones, the scars that had years to become tender and light. She trailed her fingers over the more recent ones, the ones that were darker, and rougher. There were long and narrow scars, and then there were shorter deep gashes. She could see bruises, lumps, and knots on his body. She could see the passage of time on his body. She looked at her own skin and frowned; her immortality and healing prevented such scars from forming.

She spoke aloud quietly, "I hate you for doing this to me."

Bruce didn't answer. She shook her head, "I hate myself for not being fast enough. Strong enough. Smart enough"

Diana continued, "I hate that all those years, you ignored me. You left me. You abandoned me."

Bruce laid there, indifferent to her words.

Diana's voice became hoarse, "I had a good life, I had friends, I had family, I had a home here with the others, and I had Steve. Yet, I still wanted to see if you'd come back, I knew I shouldn't have...but I WANTED to see if you'd come back"

Diana let out a small tear and a sob, "And you did...you came back."

She smiled and leaned over to kiss Bruce's forehead, "You always do". Bruce didn't respond, he didn't wake up at her kiss like she had childishly hoped. He just lay there, breathing, sleeping, and recovering.

Diana sighed and ran her hand through his hair, "I won't tell anyone, no one will know what I know...Bruce". It felt odd to say his real name, she wondered for years what it would be like to finally know...and it was like rediscovering a forgotten memento, you were never really looking for it, yet you knew it was there.

She stepped away and walked to the exit, she turned around and gazed at Bruce one more time, she whispered under her breath. "No one knows...not even you"

Diana walked back to the Monitor Womb and slid in, Flash was the first to notice her.

"How is he doing?" Flash asked.

Diana shrugged, "I'm no doctor, ask J'onn"

J'onn turned back from the giant TV monitor, "Batman's injuries were quiet severe, his arm was infected, and the amount of blood loss could lead to serious brain damage and/or abdominal complications, urine infection, blindness-"

Shayera turned green, "-OK OK! We get it...he's in bad shape"

Clark looked from the screen and shook his head, "No Shayera...he's a couple miles past bad shape"

J'onn opened his mouth but closed it in consideration; he nodded his head to Superman, "A crude...but apt analogy"

Diana looked at the screen and grimaced, "Have things gotten worse?"

Superman nodded gravely, "It seems the Joker is parading the downfall of Batman relentlessly."

The screen showed the city in chaos, people were running in fear. Bomb squad's filled the streets, police were running rampant. It was the Joker's dream.

John stared at the screen, "Yeah, I can't imagine the grudge he's holding, you know, after Batman beat him to pieces in the interrogation room"
Flash exhaled steadily, "I know, I mean, I thought he was going to kill him"

Superman closed his eyes and shook his head, "I-I-I didn't know what to do, I couldn't understand..."

Diana walked up to Superman, "Clark...nobody blames you. You had no idea that the Joker was carrying kryptonite."

Flash laughed, "Yeah I mean, I thought he just flaunted the green-hair for his crazy reasons, but he actually GRINDED kryptonite and sprinkled it in his hair. I mean how on earth did he thi-"

"Wally!" Shayera interrupted vividly,

Flash stopped mid-rant and looked back down at the floor sheepishly, "Sorry Sup"

Superman sighed, "It's ok Flash" Superman turned back to the screen and tightened his fists, "Damn bastard got the jump on me. He baited me and I fell for it."

Diana walked up the screen, "He doesn't look that smart...it's scary"

"So what will we do?" John asked.

Superman looked to J'onn, "Assuming Batman doesn't wake up...we'll have to interfere."

Flash turned to Superman, "You think he'd like that?"

Diana shook her head, "He wouldn't like his city turned to hell just because of his pride...we'll help Gotham, no matter the cost."

"I do need your help" said a pained voice behind them.

Everyone whirled around; they saw Batman, dressed in uniform, leaning on the doorway, holding his arm. He looked...vulnerable.

Bruce. Diana's eyes widened, she ran up to him just as Bruce's legs fell underneath him. She put her arm around his abdomen as a fulcrum to keep him up. It sounded very technical, but it also came off as a bit intimate. Diana noticed it right away, she saw Shayera grin manically behind the rest of the League. Diana bit her lip and tightened her grip on Batman, the hell with image, he was hurting.

Batman noticed the grip and stayed quiet; he looked at Diana and then let out a groan of appreciation.

Diana thumped Batman on the head, "You idiot, what are you doing standing up?!"

Batman grimaced and began to shift his full weight on his legs, "Need to be on my feet, I need to b-"

"What you NEED is to get some more re-" Diana snapped.

"I've told you before that I ca-"

"The hell with what you have told me be-"

Diana stopped mid-rant and her eyes widened as Batman's attempt to shift his weight on himself failed and he began to stumble. Diana quickly stepped forward and applied pressure toward her to balance Batman's weight. Batman let out a snarl of pain, and his breathing quickened as he instinctively leaned heavily on her. After a few moments, Batman's breathing settled and the room turned quiet. Diana looked at him and spoke gently, "Batman, is everything ok?"

Batman turned to her and paused, he stared at her without blinking, without moving a muscle. Finally, he sighed and relaxed his body into her grip.

"Yes" he said quietly.

Diana stood still until she became aware of the other League members staring at the two. She turned to them and turned a light shade of pink as she realized how close she was holding Bruce, and how fast she reacted to him. Clark had a slight grin on his face, John was pretending to fiddle with his ring, while Shayera wasn't even trying to hide her reaction; she had a stupid grin plastered on her face that could be seen from Space.

"I, uh." Diana said lamely.

The League let out small chuckles, Diana joined in as she fully realized the situation. Batman and her were arguing as if they had been arguing for years, almost like if they we were married.

Diana's laughter died abruptly at that, her eyes widened as she realized what had so effortlessly crossed her mind. Marriage. She had thought about a relationship with Batman, and a very serious one at that. She turned her attention back to him; could she imagine a life with a man as elusive as Bruce Wayne...as Batman? She studied him as he focused on his breathing. She could see him struggling to maintain the pain, to rebuild the thresholds that were shatter when Rachel died. She was so close to him that his rarely exposed emotions were palpable...she could FEEL his inner turmoil and inne-

"Diana?" Batman asked quietly.

Diana came out of her trance and looked back up at Batman. He was looking at her curiously; his hand was on her arm, gently pushing it away.

Diana looked at it with confusion. "I thought you asked me for my help?"

Batman nodded and then stood up on his own weight, without a single groan of discomfort escaping him. Damn, how can he take so much abuse?

Diana let go of him, she began to step back, but he put his arm on her shoulder, stopping her. She looked at his arm curiously and then back at him, expectantly.

Batman squeezed her arm gently. Then he did something completely out of character.

"Thank you Diana...you saved my life"

Diana's jaw dropped at that, as did the other jaws that weren't dressed up in black Bat-armor. Diana blinked and shook her head.

"I-uh-well...you're welcome"

Batman squeezed her arm in acknowledgment and nodded his head to the screens.
"The Joker?" he asked.

"Threatening the city with explosions, and he has two ferry boats at hostage. Better yet, we cannot locate him" Flash said gravely.

Batman let out a snarl. "How is he free?"

Diana looked down at her feet and shook her head gravely. Superman stepped forward.
"My fault Batman...he..."

Superman sighed and hung his head ashamed, "His hair isn't green for aesthetic reasons alone...he had kryptonite grinded to a liquid and sprinkled on his head. He goaded me into...well, he escaped"

Batman looked at Superman without a reaction; he just looked at the League calmly.

"Dent?" he asked the room.

Nobody wanted to answer. They all looked at one another out of the corner of their eyes.

Batman understood, he breathed in and looked at the screen.

"How long?"

J'onn spoke up, "1 week"

Batman nodded and walked up the screen, leaving a confused League staring behind him. He worked the keypad without pause.

The League looked at each other and shrugged; they didn't have any idea what he was doing. Diana walked up to him and stood behind, waiting.

Batman sensed her presence behind and spoke aloud while he worked the computer.

"I asked you for your help"

Diana nodded, "yes, you did"

Batman stepped back from the computer, and turned to her. "I need you to speak"

Diana raised an eyebrow. "What do you wa-"

A loud high-pitched sound erupted throughout the room as the computer screen went blank. Diana stared around the room in confusion. She looked back to Batman, who didn't react to the events around them in the slightest.

"What did you do-"

A calm feminine voice rang out throughout the room.

"VOICE RECOGNIZED. SATELLITE SYSTEM ACTIVATED"

The Watchtower groaned and the room began to shake.

Flash looked around vividly. "Hey what the heck is going on!?"

Batman stood calm and quiet while the others looked around nervously.

Clark jumped into the air and looked at Batman. "What did you do? Why is everything shaki-"

The room stopped and the loud calm female voice rang out again.

"SATELLITE REALIGNED. SYSTEMS ONLINE"

The screens fizzled for a second or two, and then became a violent blend of blue and white light. The room was flooded with a dazzling display of the two colors and a loud whirling sound radiated from the computer as a series of images rapidly sped through in blinding blue and white light.
The League covered up their eyes as the brilliant light filled every corner of the room. Batman alone stood stoic and cool, the light from the Computer clashed against his frame and smoothly radiated at his sides; creating a solid Black Silhouette in the horde of white-blue.

"GOTHAM CITY ONLINE, CURRENT LOCATION – GOTHAM GENERAL HOSPITAL"

The screen became a blue-print like representation of Gotham City; it showed the ruined remains of a building. It was blackened with char and ashes, rubble covering the entire area.

The League members walked up to image with amazement and confusion shining from their faces.

"How did you tr..." Superman stared in bewilderment, he turned to Batman. "What is this?"

Batman moved from the computer and began to punch in coordinations into the teleporter.

"It's a high-frequency generator receiver...it turns every cell-phone in Gotham into a microphone that sends out sonar waves..."

"...That are read by the receiver and then sent back to this machine to be flesh-out" J'onn finished.

Batman turned to J'onn and gave a small nod of acknowledgment.

Superman stared at the screen. His mouth closed and he turned back to Batman, "this can map out the entire city...and the people don't have any idea do they?"

Batman stayed quiet.

Superman steeled his eyes and nodded, "Of course they don't"

"Have we always had this capability in our computer?" J'onn asked.

Batman finished inputting the coordinates and turned to J'onn.

"Yes."

"You're lying" Diana stated immediately.

The entire room looked at her in shock and interest; expect Batman, who didn't react.

Diana exhaled slowly. "The visit, when you first arrived. I thought you remained quiet behind us while the video played out, but you didn't. You installed it somehow didn't you?"

Batman didn't answer her; he looked back to the screen and stared there.

Diana grew angry, "you didn't come back to help us out, or to answer our call. You came here for yourself...just like you always do."

Batman's attention snapped back to her at the last statement, he opened his mouth in furious response, but then closed them. He stood still, and then shook his head.
"It was before the city demanded I turn myself in...I was there during the video, every step of the way."

A large portion of Diana's anger dissipated, she raised an eyebrow, "Why install this here the first place?"

"The Watchtower was the only private satellite that had the capacity and isolation that the machine could function on."

"Why did you lie?

Batman walked up to her, staring hard. She stared right back, her chin out defiantly. He stopped a few inches short of her nose.

"Because I knew one day, the only person I would be able to trust with this machine...would be you"

Diana dropped her defiant face for a second. She looked at him bewildered. Did he just confess that he needed my help?
Diana struggled to recover and maintain her defiance, but she couldn't shake off what he said to her.
"What makes you...? What makes you think that I'd help you after this?" she asked hesitantly.

Batman stared at her and then reached down to his hands; he removed his right hand glove and let it fall to the floor. He then reached over with his bare hand and grasped hers. He felt her warmth encase his cold hands and looked down. He squeezed her fingers gently and then looked back up at her.

"Because...because I can't do this alone...and I haven't got anyone else. I never did."

Any remnants of Defiance in Diana evaporated on the spot at that, but she wasn't thinking about that. She was currently trying to figure out why all feeling in her right hand had ceased. Then she remembered that Batman had reached over and touched her without his armor, he was extending an olive branch...an INTIMATE olive branch. This wasn't the normal stoic and cold-calculating Batman...she didn't know who was in front of her. Bruce?

"I-I..." Diana began.
She turned to the computer and looked over the city, she was looking at power. Lots of power. This kind of machine could control Governments, launch warheads...destroy countries. Her gaze turned to Superman; she could see him working it out. He looked up to her eyes, and then he looked at Batman. He then turned his head, and look back at the computer, a shade of guilt in his eyes...he reached the same conclusion she did.

She looked to the League, they too were looking away from the pair...everyone in the room knew what was at stake.

She looked back to Batman and she squeezed his hand tightly, "I'm ss..."

Diana closed her eyes and breathed in shakily.
"I'm sorry Batman...but this is too much power for one person...even you"

"That's why I gave it to you...only you can use it."

Diana's eyes shot opened and she stepped back from him, releasing his bare hand.

"Wha—What?"

Batman nodded to the computer. "It has been coded to your DNA, all I needed was for you was to speak and encode itself to your voice...It will only work for you."

Diana stared at him with a mixture of anger and wonder. She turned back to the other League members who reciprocated her feelings...at least their faces said so.

"I can't. I won't—"

Batman stepped forward.
"Diana please...I need your help...I need to find this Man."

Diana stared at him, helpless. "This is the kind of power YOU warned US about...Incredible Power? Wielding it wrong? These are YOUR words..." Diana couldn't finish. She let out a small cry and stepped back from him.

"I'm sorry"

Batman stared at her, his mouth slightly opened in shock. He reached out to her but she turned away. Batman stood there, he looked to the League.
"Clark?"

Superman shook his head gravely, "I'm sorry..."

Batman looked to the rest, "J'onn...Wally...Shayera...J'onn?"

They all shook their heads, looking down to the floor...unable to face Batman...Batman pleading at them.

Batman looked at all of them, his figure faltering.
"You don't understand" he said to the room, "I need to this find this man...he is going to destroy Gotham...my home"

The League felt a pang go through their guts; they never heard this kind of emotion from Batman...

Batman looked to Diana his voice hoarse.
"Diana...everything I've done...the years I've spent...it will be undone"

Diana's closed her eyes and felt them watering, she turned her face away. Her heart was breaking.
Batman turned to Clark.

"Clark Please...I am aski—I am begging you...I need your help"

Superman looked at Batman, the stoic man who never asked for anything...reduced to begging in front of him. Clark expected anger, resentment from Batman, anger that he always gave, and never asked.

And here they were, denying him when he called in the favor.

Clark almost assented, he almost gave in. But he looked back to the screen and saw the machines potential...it was corrupting.

He looked back to Batman.

"This machine...it has great power...power that scares me, and I've been around great power since I was born."
Clark looked around the room, looking at everyone.

"Today if we use it...out of necessity...it will be the first step in a long, but dangerous path. Maybe we don't use it for another 10 years...but one day the need will rise again, and we'll reason, 'We used it once...no one was hurt. Why not again?' And we'll use it, again. Each time we consider the consequences less and less, using it more frequent. It could become a very useful tool..."

Superman looked back to Batman. "...but this is too much power for anyone person...even somebody as noble and rigid as you Batman."

"Clark I will never use this to hurt innocents, to terrorize. I've DEDICATED my entire life to Gotham, to the people. I DON'T have powers, I don't have special abilities...I'm a human being...and I haven't done anything to prove that I'll abuse this otherwise. I FUNDED this Watchtower...I've dedicated everything to fighting for the good...why can't you trust me? I've EARNED IT"

Superman winced at Batman's roar...but he shook his head, "Yes Batman...I know that...but we cannot trust you with this power over us. You betrayed us before, for the GOOD...what is stopping you from doing it again? We couldn't find you the two years you disappeared. We didn't have any trace of you. You can disappear from us; you're this silent wraith that could be behind me at any moment."

Clark nodded to the machine, "With this Machine...we wouldn't be able to stop Batman..."

Clark raised a hand to destroy the computer, "I'm sorry Batman, but we cannot trust you with this..."

The entire room stared at Superman, they all nodded...they knew what needed to be done. Clark nodded and pulled his arm back.

"Wait"

Clark stopped in the air and turned to Batman, waiting expectantly.

Batman looked at Superman, at J'onn, Wally, John, Shayera...and then finally Diana.

He smiled at her, and stated quietly. "We lie to ourselves to be happy."

Diana stood there confused. What is he talki—OH.

Diana's eyes widened, she remembered that line. Bruce Wayne said that to her, but why was Batman repeating tha – OH!

Batman smiled, he turned back to the league and raised his hands to his cowl. Ra's Al Gul's voice whispered in his head, Do What Is Necessary.

Batman knew what was necessary.

He spoke aloud, "You can't trust Batman with this machine..."

Batman removed the cowl from his head, and gazed calmly at the League.

Bruce Wayne stood in the middle the room, surrounded by shocked faces and expressions.

He looked directly at Superman with a piercing glare. Superman stood there, his mouth hanging open.

"...How about Bruce Wayne?