Wedding: Interrupted

Rated: T

by Icha

Summary:

My take on the (possible) future storylines in JLA#0, notably Wonder Woman's marriage. BMWW, Diana Nemesis, Bruce Talia, Dick Donna. Spoilers from JLA#0, WW volume 3, and various post-IC references. Set five years after the IC. Ch 14: Someone visited Bruce in the office. Not really an expected guest at all.

Thanks so much to my readers for their review and encouragement and to A Little Summer Wine for the superb beta as always. I don't own DC or its characters. This story is not in continuity with my other story arcs where Bruce dates Diana.

Chapter 14. Fire

Tuscany, Monday morning

"Alberto! Dio! Alberto, wake up!"

Maria's screech brought the dizzy Alberto back from his sleep. Wake up? Wait a minute…

Alberto reached to touch his forehead and found a damp flannel perched on it. He frowned. He did not remember sleeping with the fabric on his forehead. Instead, he recalled…

"Madam Talia!" he literally jumped out of his bed. His vertigo took over as he saw lots of imaginary fireflies flying around him. "Ouch!" He slumped back on his bed.

"Careful, old man!" Maria tsk-ed her husband. "You got a bump on your head. Madam said that you slipped and she found you in the kitchen." She took Alberto's flannel, dipped it into a bowl of cold water, and placed it back on his forehead.

"Madam?" Alberto held the cold flannel. He sighed and closed his eyes. "I slipped?"

"That's what she said in the letter," Maria waved a piece of paper in front of Alberto. "Funny. I didn't recall she mentioned a plan to return to Gotham last night."

Alberto fluttered his eyes open. "Return to Gotham? What are you talking about?"

"This." Maria shoved the paper in front of Alberto's nose. "Read it. It said that she received an emergency call last night that she had to return to Gotham. When she went down to wake you up, she found you lying unconscious in the kitchen. Probably slipped, she said."

"Probably slipped…" Alberto closed his eyes once more. It didn't make any sense. "I didn't slip."

"Yeah?" Maria sat down on the bed next to her husband. "Then what?"

"I…" Alberto frowned as he remembered hearing some noises from the kitchen. He had checked it out then, to find several shadows on the kitchen. He had asked then, but received no answered. Instead, his surroundings had gone black in an instant.

"Someone hit me," he fluttered his eyes open. "There were some robbers in the house last night."

"Yeah… right…" Maria rolled her eyes. "And Madam was kidnapped, instead of going back to Gotham on her own."

Alberto studied the letter Maria gave him. It was Talia's hand writing alright. In the letter, she explained how she found Alberto unconscious, but because of the emergency situation of her own, she had no choice but to place Alberto on his bedroom then packed and went back to Gotham. She also told him not to call, as she would be too busy to receive any calls. She might return to Piazza d'Talia, though, in a few days time.

"The letter sounds weird," he commented afterwards.

"What weird?" Maria shrugged. "It's her handwriting alright. She also left some money as usual for us, and brought all her things back with her. Well, she left some of her clothes, but that's what she usually did anyway." Maria took the flannel and dipped it once more to the bowl. "Nothing strange to me."

Alberto grunted. "Perhaps we should wait for a few days and call her then."

"If you must," his wife shrugged again. She placed the damp fabric back to Alberto's forehead. "So. Do you want to have a piece of my sister's bread, or not?"

-xxx-

A few hours later, the City of Gotham buzzed in her usual Monday traffic. Bruce Wayne emerged from his Limousine, thanked Alfred Pennyworth, who was returning to the Manor, and went inside the Wayne Tower. He reached the top floor, nodded to Patricia Cornwell and entered his office. Bruce was browsing through his emails when Patricia knocked and entered with a cup of coffee, some cookies, and Lucius Fox with his usual energetic morning demeanor.

"Morning, Bruce," said the senior CEO of the Wayne Enterprises as he sat across the table from Bruce.

"Morning," Bruce nodded to Patricia and asked, "Another cup for you, Lucius?"

"Nah, don't bother," Lucius waved his hand. "I'm just here a few minutes."

"Alright, Mr. Fox," Patricia nodded and excused herself. Bruce waited until his secretary closed the door before asking,

"What's up?"

Lucius studied his employer for a while before folding his fingers in front of him. "The Wayne Foundation, Bruce. Christina has some projects with Talia, and she hasn't been getting proper feedback as of late. Considering…" Lucius straightened up, " – that your wife has not been present for more than a week."

"She's in Tuscany," Bruce sipped his coffee casually. He hoped that Lucius wouldn't notice his split second tension upon the mention of Talia, but he knew better. "I told you that already."

"Yes, you did, Bruce." Lucius still eyed him. "But Talia is also out of communication, and this is starting to bother Christina."

Bruce pursed his lips. Slowly, he put down his cup. "What is your suggestion?"

Lucius cast his eyes heavenwards. "Don't ask me, Bruce. Talia is not my wife." He then looked at Bruce again and sighed. "Look… I'm sorry to bring this up, Bruce. Really. But…as Talia is a staff of the Wayne Foundation, I need her to keep pace with Christina." Lucius took off his glasses and massaged the bridge of his nose. "Forgive me for asking this. But…is there something happening between you and Talia? Things that might hinder the company's performance?"

"I will let nothing hinder the Enterprise's performance, Lucius. You know that." Bruce clenched his jaws. "Nothing."

Lucius Fox kept studying Bruce Wayne for a while. Though Bruce was officially his employer, Lucius had known him long enough to be like a father to the younger man. "I know that, Bruce. Don't get me wrong. It's just…" he sighed and placed his glasses back. "Look. My wife and I also got trapped into prolonged disagreements over the course of our marriage. And it happened quite often, you know. But we always found a way to get around it, to solve it."

Bruce didn't make any comment. Instead, he took another sip of coffee and fidgeted with the china for awhile. Lucius got up and fixed his tie.

"Well… that's what marriage is about, Bruce. Finding ways to get around problems." The old executive director smiled. "I'm sure you will find a way, Bruce."

Bruce opened his mouth to speak, but thought better off it. He nodded as Lucius walked out of his office after saying, "Meet you for lunch?" Then, he buried his head in his hands and groaned.

"Solve the problems. Yeah, right…"

-xxx-

Bruce worked for another hour before joining a meeting before lunch. The meeting went until 12:15, and at the time he returned to his office, Patricia handed him a note.

"Mr. Fox has an emergency meeting at the moment, Mr. Wayne. He said if you would like to wait for him, you can have lunch with him at 1:30. If not, he would understand."

Bruce studied Lucius' notes on the post-it, glanced at the clock above Patricia's desk, and nodded. "That's alright. I can wait."

The billionaire then walked into his office and opened up his laptop. His mind wandered at his nocturnal activities, especially on the fact that Robin and Batgirl had indeed found a scimitar last night. A scimitar, or a curved Middle East sword, was not a common weapon used by Gotham thugs. Either it was a weapon of the Intergang that was found by a Gotham thug, or a weapon of the League of Assassins that somehow got into the hand of a common thug. Or that Intergang or League of Assassins was operating again in Gotham last night. Talia had forbidden the League of Assassins's activities in Gotham, so unless Ubu wanted to ignore his former mistress' order, it was unlikely that the LA would be operating in this city. Unless… Bruce thought grimly, Nyssa found a way to live again and took over the League.

Another 'nicer' option was the Intergang, and it meant contacting Black Adam or the Kahndaq Embassy. Bruce was considering using his secure line to contact Teth Adam himself or Isis at the Embassy when Patricia buzzed in through the intercom.

"Mr. Wayne, a Mr. Clark Kent is here to see you."

Bruce raised one eyebrow. Clark? Here without a proper notice? He shook his head. "I don't recall an appointment with him, Pat." Strange, usually Clark would call first. In fact, Clark would normally just use the Justice League commlink instead of the traditional phone line.

"He said that it was an emergency; an interview for the Daily Planet tomorrow."

Bruce frowned as he switched on the videocom that linked him to Patricia's desk. It was Clark alright, all with his glasses, bending a bit as Clark Kent would usually do.

"Clark?" he buzzed into the intercom.

"Yeah, hey, Bruce…" Clark flashed his dopey grin as he looked at the videocom. "I…um… Perry White has me doing an interview about the Wonder Woman Foundation, and also some people usually connected with it. So, that's you, of course." Clark rubbed his nose and fixed his too-large glasses. "So, I understand that you're busy. But maybe just a fifteen minutes interview?"

"You could've called." Something was not right, but Bruce couldn't pinpoint it and that annoyed him.

"Yeah… sorry," that dopey grin again.

Bruce shrugged. It was almost an hour before his lunch with Lucius, anyway. He nodded to the videocom.

"Send him in, Patricia."

Patricia ushered Clark in. The Daily Planet reporter entered Bruce's office with his trademark clumsiness and flashed another 'Hi Bruce' as Patricia left them.

"Some interviews, indeed…" Bruce rubbed his nose as he signaled Clark to sit on one of the chairs next to the bar. "So, what are you really doing here?"

Clark sat and rubbed his nose again. "Nothing, really. Just an interview."

"Look, I'm a bit busy, Clark," Bruce sat down in front of his old friend. "So unless you want to help me with the trade with Kahndaq, you might wanna speak up now."

Bruce and Clark had made a deal to never speak openly in public (including at the Wayne Tower) about their vigilante activities. Yet, Bruce had mentioned Kahndaq to give Clark a hint that he was working on something Bat-related instead of Wayne-related. Usually Clark would let Bruce doing his Bat-works undisturbed.

"Kahndaq?" Clark's blue eyes looked at him. "Ah… yes. Of course. Well…" he rubbed his hands. "I'll be quick then."

Bruce nodded. "Good."

"For a start…" Clark leaned forwards. Bruce noticed that he didn't take out his notes (Clark was obnoxious with hi-tech gadgets for his reporting works). "What do you think of Wonder Woman's wedding cancellation?"

Bruce blinked. He stared at his friend for a while before saying, "Clark. That was more than a week ago. And this is for an interview?"

Clark looked at him. "Yes, I know that. And no, actually, this is not a formal interview."

Bruce squinted. "Why am I not surprised?"

Clark shrugged again. "So, what say you?"

Bruce leaned back on his chair. "You called me the day she cancelled the wedding, Clark. And if my memory serves me right, you called again after I took a walk in the park with her the same day."

Clark blinked and, to Bruce's surprise, seemed to be taken aback. "You walked with her in the park that day?"

"Yes, I…" Bruce stopped and leaned forward. "I've told you that already, Clark."

Clark seemed to remember that. He blinked and gave a chortle. "Why…yes. How could I forget? Perhaps because this is about Wonder Woman. So…" he cleared his throat, "You think she did that on her own volition?"

"We have discussed –" Bruce stopped again. He and Clark did talk after he walked with Diana in the East River Park. Clark had asked him if she told him the real reason behind her cancellation (of which he couldn't answer, of course), and if she was alright. But never had Clark wondered if she was under mind-control or not. After all, many people had deduced that Wonder Woman would be impervious to mind-control thanks to her Lasso of Truth.

Bruce's mind to try and determine who the impostor of Clark Kent was, who was sitting in front of him. The first conclusion was that Clark was just forgetful. But that simply wasn't the real Clark Kent. Clumsy he was, but he was never forgetful. How about Martian Manhunter? But, for what reason?

J'onn… Bruce called J'onn J'onzz telepathically.

Batman? The deep clear voice of Martian Manhunter buzzed inside Bruce's mind.

Checking for status. Your position?

At the Moon, of course. Things are rather slow today. Anything else?

Just a check, J'onn. Thanks.

"Bruce?" Clark narrowed his eyes. "Are you okay?"

Bruce looked up and smiled. "Yeah… just a bit tired. Say…" he locked his hands behind his head and leaned back on the couch. "How's Lois?"

"Oh? Fine…she's fine…"

"Still taking Krypto to the park as usual?"

Clark smiled. "Of course. Naturally."

Bruce chuckled and closed his eyes. "Do tell her that I'm sorry that I forgot her birthday yesterday, Clark. I will bring her a present later on."

Clark nodded. "Sure."

"Does she know that someone is impersonating her husband right now?"

Clark frowned. "What?"

Bruce opened his eyes and looked Clark straight in the eye. "You're not Clark Kent, Mister. But something tells me that you didn't kill the real Clark to get here. So –" Bruce leaned forward, "why don't you tell me why you're here, Nemesis?"

Clark didn't budge at all. He didn't even blink as he looked back at Bruce. Then, slowly, he reached for his collar. He pressed a small button inside the collar; a greenish gas puffed out of the button and covered his face. Casually, he rubbed his face all around, took off his faux hair and glasses, and revealed himself as Tom Tresser, the hero known as Nemesis.

"Nice deduction, Bruce Wayne," Tom smirked. "Not bad at all for a dumb playboy."

-xxx-

Even while he was dating Diana, Tom Tresser could not dismiss the thought that his girlfriend still cared for Bruce Wayne. As weird as it sounded, Wonder Woman still showed some affection for the billionaire playboy whenever they met at charities, which Tom also attended. Every time Tom asked about it, Diana just smiled and went, "It's ancient history, Tom. We're friends now. Can't I be nice to a friend?"

And Wonder Woman doesn't lie. Thus, Tom could not do anything but push his jealousy away. Anyway, they rarely encountered Bruce outside of the charity events. The only time they had met Bruce outside of a gala dinner was during Little Helena's birthday, where (to Tom's benefit) Bruce suddenly had to leave soon. It wasn't that Tom had anything to complain about, really. Heh. He had proposed to Diana later the night anyway, and she had said yes. Things had been so beautiful then.

Except that his vision of marrying the woman of his dreams had crashed as Diana went to his house a few days ago, telling him that the wedding was off. Enraged, Tom could only think of one thing: someone talked Diana into it. And the only person bold enough to do so was none other than Bruce Wayne.

But Tom had seen no evidence of Bruce's fingerprints on Diana's wedding cancellation. At least until last Friday, as he happened to read a gossip column in a small New York bulletin that spoke of Diana of Themyscira having lunch with Bruce Wayne in Riverside Park the day before. Originally, he didn't want to believe it. But instinct took over, and he found himself questioning the reporter in such a manner that the poor reporter thought that Diana having lunch with the CEO of Wayne Enterprises was a matter of national security.

After receiving confirmation from the reporter, Tom pondered the virtue of ransacking Bruce at his Wayne Manor or even in his office. What argument did he have anyway? That Bruce Wayne flirted with Diana? The reporter, who happened to be having lunch at the park as well, said that both celebrities were having a very casual and friendly dinner. No kissing, no loving-embrace. But what did that dude know? For all I know, Bruce could say anything to Diana discreetly that had made her cancel the wedding. That damned playboy!

Tom thought about his choices over the weekend. He then decided to come to the Wayne Enterprise the next morning, try out his luck. He had lost Diana anyway. A punch on the billionaire's nose might make up for it. Yet, Tom realized that Bruce might not want to see him if he dressed up as a DMA agent. Hence, him impersonating Clark Kent, a Daily Planet reporter Tom knew had a sort of comradeship with Bruce Wayne.

The fact that Bruce would be able to deduce his disguise so soon was not something he had calculated on. Yet, what the heck! I'm here already anyway. Might as well punch him at the nose right now.

So, as he took off his blue eye contact, he looked at Bruce with a smirk. "Nice deduction, Bruce Wayne. Not bad at all for a dumb playboy."

Bruce clenched his jaws to see the revealed Nemesis. "I'm not a dumb. Lois Lane is my good friend, and her birthday is months from now. Plus, she hates Krypto." He folded his hands and continued drilling into Tom's hazel eyes. "And I'm definitely not a playboy."

"Right," Nemesis snorted and took off his tie. "Says someone who flirts with my wife."

"Diana is not your wife, Mr. Tresser."

Nemesis slapped his tie on the table. "She would be right now if you hadn't flirted with her!"

Bruce's blue eyes drilled into Tom's hazel eyes. Then the billionaire got up and coldly said, "I. Did. Not. Flirt. With. Diana."

"Right," Tom also got up. Bruce was taller than him about two inches, but he didn't feel intimidated at all. "You only took her for a walk the day she cancelled her wedding. Also last Thursday."

"She needed someone to talk to." Bruce didn't unlock his gaze from the agitated man in front of him.

"Right. To you, of all people."

Bruce smirked. "I obviously had some advantages, in addition to my charm."

Tom squinted. "You have a wife, Mr. Wayne. Her name is Talia."

"That is not your business, Mr. Tresser."

Nemesis clenched his jaws and hands. "Are you saying that you've disregarded the fact that you're married, and you're targeting Diana as well?"

"My relationship with Diana is none of your concern, Nemesis."

"You bet the hell it is," Nemesis hissed. "Especially because you're never there to soothe her pain. In fact – " he stepped closer to Bruce, eyes squinted, emanating hatred, "You were always there to hurt her. Until I –" he poked his own chest, " – came along and she let me tend to her wounds. Until I –" he jabbed his chest again, " – came to wipe her tears away!"

Bruce also narrowed his eyes. If they were Kryptonians, they would have burnt each other by now. "I never tried to hurt Diana."

"Right!" Tom barked at Bruce. "You attempted to take her virginity away, and when she objected, you dumped her. That's your definition – " Tom jabbed Bruce's chest, " – of not hurting her. Oh –" Tom raised one hand for an afterthought, "And you kissed your wife in front of her, in public no less! Not hurting her, my ass!"

"Enough!" Bruce yelled. "I never violated her decisions or her person!"

"Oh yeah?!" Nemesis also increased the volume of his tone. "Like trying to rape her and dumped her when she was too strong to be subdued?!" Tom jabbed his finger once more at Bruce, "And you're saying that you're not a playboy!"

Bruce raised one hand to stop Nemesis. "I said enough! I never tried to rape her! I never tried to hurt her!"

"You tried to bed her!" Tom yelled on top of his lung.

"Yes, I did!" Bruce also yelled, finally losing control. "And if things were different, I would be married to her right now!"

The next thing either of them could remember was Tom throwing a right upper cut at Bruce's jaw, sending the CEO of the Wayne Enterprises crashing into one of the bar stools.

"Don't talk about my girlfriend like that," roared the Nemesis.

-xxx-

Upon detecting a commotion inside her boss's office, Patricia Cornwell ran into Bruce's office. She gasped as she saw her supervisor lying next to a bar stool, trickles of blood running from his nose down his left cheek bone.

"Mr. Wayne!" Pat shrieked. "What happened?!"

She then realized that Mr. Clark Kent was not there anymore. Instead, a blond man, wearing Mr. Kent's clothes, stood in front of Bruce Wayne, breathing shortly, almost panting, as if trying to control his anger.

"Where's Mr. Kent? My God…" Patricia blinked. "Mr. Wayne, I will call security."

"Patricia, don't!" Bruce raised his hand. "It's a small matter between us. Just leave us alone, please."

"Small?!" Pat squeaked. "Your nose is bleeding, Mr. Wayne. At least let me tend to your wounds."

Bruce waved his hand and shook his head. "It's nothing, really. Please go, Patricia."

Pat blinked in disbelief. "But…" she still tried to protest.

"Please. Leave." Bruce reached for his handkerchief and pressed it against his left cheek bone. "It's alright." Which was pretty true anyway, considering the wounds and scars he usually experienced during his night patrols as the Batman.

Patricia blinked again then gave in. "Alright, Mr. Wayne. But another commotion like this and I will drag this gentleman away." She shot a dirty look at Nemesis. "And I suggest you put some ice on your nose, Sir. The bleeding looks pretty bad."

"Thank you, Pat," Bruce nodded as his PA walked away and closed the door. Then he turned his attention to Nemesis once more.

He was standing still in front of Bruce Wayne, controlling his breath and anger. But not only that, Nemesis was looking at him with disbelief, as if seeing a ghost coming alive.

"No way…" Tom whispered. "It can't be…"

"What cannot be?" Annoyed, Bruce kept pressing his cheek with his handkerchief. It was really a small wound compared to what he usually experienced. He just didn't know what else to say. To him, Nemesis's accusation that Bruce Wayne took Diana away from her wedding was as true as it could get. And thus, Bruce had no desire whatsoever to punch Nemesis back.

"You…" Tom stumbled to sit on the chair. "You…are the Batman."

Bruce opened his mouth to make his usual 'what-are-you-talking-about' denial, but he met Tom's hazel eyes in the process. Still eyeing him with disbelief, Nemesis whispered,

"Lord, what fools these mortals be!"

Bruce went silent not because he recognized Puck's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' line spoken by the Nemesis. Instead, he was quiet because he recognized hurt and betrayal on Tom's face.

The billionaire sat down and closed his eyes desperately. It seemed that he did need ice as Patricia mentioned earlier.

-TBC-

Author's note:

Okay guys… how do you like this? Personally, I love both Batman and Nemesis, and almost can't wait to write their banters and clashes.

Next: Still on those gorgeous boys…

Oh, Lavender Gaea and Summer Wine thought that I should pair Nemesis and the Cat Lady (ehmm…) together. Never thought of it… but it's an interesting proposal. What do you guys think?