Justice League does not belong to me. Just Artemis & Thomas.
Last chapter! Next one is the epilogue.
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Together the two Amazons walked towards the room where ex-Lord Bruce was keeping the dimensional transporter. Only two hours left until the Leaguers left for their dimension and Artie found herself wishing that she could just tie them down with her lasso.
Her right hand drifted up to her neck, nervously fingering the short, almost choker-like, necklace. It was the very same necklace that her father had given to her mother for their fifteenth wedding anniversary. An onyx stone in the shape of her father's symbol hanging from a thin, but strong, golden chain. It had been Tommy's idea for her to wear it. And she had to admit that her brother was a genius. Wearing the necklace made her feel like she wasn't turning her back on being a Bat by becoming Wonder Girl.
The other thing that helped keep the Batgirl feeling was the silver domino mask that Thomas had also insisted that she wear. As the daughter of Bruce Wayne, billionaire extraordinaire, and Diana Prince Wayne, a top notch reporter, her face was on more front pages and in more tabloids than her parents' combined.
"Artie, are you sure that you're alright?"
Artemis gave the older Princess a sideways glance, "I'm fine. Actually, I've never been better. I'm just worried about how Daddy's going to take it," she finished softly, still fingering the little black bat.
Diana was silent. At first, the older Amazon had been very talkative most of the morning, but, now, it seemed as if she had nothing to say. Probably because she doesn't know what to say. She's only just beginning her first, and probably only, relationship. She doesn't know what it's like to lose a soulmate like Daddy and Aunt Linda do. Hera, even I don't understand it. All I know is that Dad's suffering more than Tommy and I are. And being around this Diana isn't helping him heal. For a moment, panic seized her. What if I made the wrong choice? What if, by choosing to do my own thing, I hurt Daddy? The very thought of bringing her father pain made her wince. Why on earth didn't I think this through? It's too late now...
The doors to the room whooshed open, revealing her father looking over some blueprints. "Good morning, Artie. Diana," her father said, not bothering to look up from his work. He was greeted by silence. Bruce looked up toward them and his face visibly paled, "Artie? What-?"
Before Bruce could finish, she practically soared at him and wrapped her arms around him in a desperate hug, "I'm so sorry, Daddy. I wasn't thinking. I just... It's that... I put on my costume, my old one, and it doesn't fit. I didn't mean to..." She pulled back, "I'll go change back right-"
Her father shook his head, then did something she hadn't seen him do since they'd rescued him. He smiled at her. Not a grim kind of smile, as if he were trying to mask his pain. A genuine, happy smile, "You don't need to change. The armor suits you. And I can't help but feel as if your mother would have wanted this."
"Wanted what?" came the voice of Uncle Bruce from the doorway. Artie turned to meet his gaze and he smirked at her, "I was wondering when you'd start wearing that armor again." He stepped into the room and slipped an arm around Diana's waist and she shifted closer to him.
He must really love her if he's being so affectionate out in public like this, Artie thought with a smile.
A little over an hour and half later and they only had less than thirty minutes left. Uncle J'onn, Uncle John, and Aunt Shayera had already come through to say their goodbyes. So had Alfred. And since Rex was in Africa, that left Artie, Tommy, their father, the twins, and Aunt Linda with the three Leaguers. The two older adults were hanging back to give the younger seven some semblance of privacy for them to exchange their goodbyes.
Not even skipping a beat Flash pulled the two girls and Tommy into a rib-crushing hug and ruffled Jai's hair, "I'm really gonna miss you guys."
Iris kissed his cheek and Artie followed suit, making Wally blush. The youngest redhead pulled away as Impulse clung to him. "We're gonna miss you too, Uncle Wally," Jai said softly. Iris disengaged herself and nodded, head hanging as she wiped a tear away.
The transporter hummed to life. "Ready whenever you are," Artemis' father said quietly. Wally and his teammates nodded to the older hero before turning their attention back to the kids.
Tommy had a death grip on both Wally and Bruce's hands and it looked like he wasn't going to let go anytime soon. As the younger Batman knelt in front of the boy, Artie turned to Diana. The older Princess was watching her solemnly, her own blue eyes watering. Without saying a word, they embraced. Diana ran her fingers through Artie's dark red hair as she pressed a motherly kiss to the girl's temple. She's so much like Mom that it's almost scary. Hera, why can't they just stay?
Diana's arms stayed locked around her as the older Princess spoke softly, "No matter what, Artie, don't forget that I'm proud of you. I love you as if you were my own. Be careful, and take good care of your brother and father for me, okay?"
Artie nodded as she pulled away, "I will. And I love you too."
Wonder Woman smiled sadly at her as she turned to the others and embraced them before she disappeared into the portal. She was quickly followed by Flash, who looked as if he was trying his best not to cry.
The only one left was Batman. He'd managed to calm Tommy down by now. Her kid brother was now clinging to her father's side, but he wasn't hysterical anymore. Bruce hugged Iris quickly, shook Jai's hand, then made his way to Artemis. For a moment, they just stood there, two sets of identical blue eyes staring at each other. Then Bruce wrapped his arms around her shoulders and she found herself sobbing, hugging him fiercely.
"Shh, it's okay, Artie. It'll be alright," he murmured, almost awkwardly. As if he wasn't used to comforting others. But he was trying hard for her and that was all that mattered to Artie.
It was several minutes before she could control herself. When she'd finally managed to catch her breath, she pulled away and met his eyes again, "Be careful, okay? Take care of yourself." Her eyes narrowed and her voice deepened into her threatening tone, "If you get yourself killed, I will murder you. Do you understand me?"
He nodded, chuckling softly at her dark humor, "Not part of the plan, Artemis. I'm always careful."
He turned for the portal, stopping when she spoke again, "You'd better be good to Diana, Batman. If you're not, I will come for you."
He rolled his eyes then turned back to the portal. And just like that, they were gone. Artie hugged herself, barely aware of Tommy's cries and Aunt Linda trying to comfort Iris. She swayed and Jai caught her, pulling her into his lap. She curled up against his chest and they cried together.
In no time at all, the three Leaguers were right back where they had started. The only difference was that Bane and his thugs were nowhere to be seen. But Bruce's mind was not on his surroundings. That had to have been the most heart-wrenching goodbye that he had ever faced. The way that the kids had clung to him... It very nearly broke his heart. Contrary to popular belief, he really did have one.
Wind gusted through the quiet Gotham alleyway and something fluttered from his belt. Flash zipped forward and caught it, his masked eyes growing huge when he saw what the thing was. Wordlessly, he handed it back to Batman. Bruce's heart clenched when he saw the photo of the four kids. Jai in his wheelchair, Tommy in his lap, and the girls behind them with their hands on the black-haired teen's shoulders. They must have taken this just yesterday. And there was only one way that the picture could have been stuffed into his belt without his knowing. Artie.
Diana peered over his shoulder and smiled sadly, "We should have left them a picture as well."
Flash nodded, "We should have. Too late now, I guess."
Bruce snorted in amusement, catching them both by surprise. He ignored their shocked expressions at the uncharacteristic sound that had come from him, "You two weren't paying attention, were you? After Artie recovered, she kept a small camera on her person at all times. I caught her taking pictures of the two of you several times when you weren't looking. I don't doubt that she did the same with me. It would not surprise me if she had enough photos for a small album."
Diana sat at her place by Batman at the League's conference table. Bruce had told her only an hour ago that there was a reason why his seat was next to hers. That little piece of information had brought back memories of other instances where Bruce's feelings had shown for her. Some, she'd noticed. Like the time he'd tried to dig her out from under that missile in Gorilla City and the time that he'd sung Am I Blue? to rescue her from Circe's spell. Others, she hadn't realized until right then. Like how he would always seem to be glued to her side on missions, hardly ever letting her out of his sight. There had even been times when he'd taken a hit that had been meant for her. The only thing that still confused her was why in Hera's name did he have to take so long to admit his feelings?
But that was a matter for another time. At the moment, she, Bruce, and Wally were being debriefed by the rest of the League on their mission to the Lords' dimension. Actually, just her and Batman were being debriefed. Flash was still too upset to answer with anything more than a nod or a small shake of his head.
So Bruce had taken center stage with Diana adding in comments. Superman revealed to them that they'd been searching for the three of them for two days. That in itself was shocking. But didn't Iris tell us that our dimensions run on entirely different timelines now?
During the entire meeting, Batman's face remained as expressionless as a block of stone. He wasn't sending Diana small smiles between questions like she expected. She figured that it probably had to do with the fact that he was trying to keep up appearances now that they were back home. Hoping that Clark wasn't using his X-ray vision and that J'onn wouldn't use his telepathy, she moved her hand under the table and gently laid it on top of Bruce's, which was resting on his thigh. He jerked slightly in surprise, gripped her hand and squeezed gently, then pushed her hand away. What?
After that, she wasn't able to focus on the questions anymore. Diana spent the last fifteen minutes of the meeting berating herself for ever believing that he'd actually decided to pursue her. How could I have been so stupid? It was only because he thought that we might die. That's why he let me believe... He'd better hope that the others don't leave me alone with him. For his safety.
The meeting ended and Flash zipped out, heading toward the teleporters. The other Leaguers went their separate ways and Diana and Bruce were the only ones left. Wonder Woman didn't even grace him with a glance his way as she headed for the door, using all of her self-control to keep from turning back around and strangling him. He played me for a fool. And I bought it. Hook, line, and sinker, as Wally likes to say.
"Diana," he said in his usual cold tone. She kept walking. "Princess? Wait." This time, his tone changed ever so slightly. In fact, there was almost a hurt quality to it.
She whipped around and glared at him. He's not going to win me over that easily. "What, Batman?"
He took a half step back, his posture almost... uncertain, "What did I do, Princess?"
She'd been about to stalk off without even dignifying his response with an answer, but the wording of that particular question coupled with the wounded tone completely caught her by surprise. For a moment, they studied each other warily. "You pushed me away, Bruce," she finally spoke. "Again." That last word was nothing more than a whisper.
But he heard it. He rolled his eyes and then strode toward her. She tensed, preparing for another lecture about why they couldn't. But the monologue never came. He pulled her close, crashing his lips against hers in a kiss more passionate than any of the others that they'd shared so far.
He was the first to pull out of it, but both of them were panting. "Kent was about to peek, that's why I pushed your hand away. Don't get me wrong, Diana. I do love you, more than you know. But I'm not ready for everyone to know about us just yet. Wally already knows-"
She chuckled and laid her head on his shoulder, "But he's too scared of you to say anything about us. Bruce? I'm sorry for my reaction. Just... Warn me next time, okay?"
He kissed her temple as he pulled away, "I'll try." With that, he turned and walked down the hallway. Diana just stood there, watching him go. Before he disappeared around the corner, he turned back to her, "Are you free tomorrow night?"
She ran her hands through her tousled hair, trying to straighten it out again, "I should be. Why?"
Batman answered with a beaming smile which looked so out of place with his cowl, but she found that she liked it. She'd never really seen him smile in that way before. "Would you like to have dinner with me, Princess?"
Diana smiled back, "I'd love to."
All Wally knew was that he was somewhere in downtown Central City. He was still thinking about Iris, Jai, and Artie and his mind definitely wasn't on where he was going. He'd been wandering around for several hours and it was now around five. Quittin' time for a lot of people.
Wally didn't even see the person in front of him until he bumped into the other pedestrian. Papers went flying and a young woman's voice spat out a few irritated words, jerking him from his thoughts. He immediately bent down to help her gather her belongings, "I'm sorry, miss. I didn't even see you-"
"You must be blind, 'cause I was right in front of you, buddy." That voice. He knew it from somewhere. He looked up at her face and instantly recognized her. Linda Park. No way. This has gotta be just coincidence.
They both straightened and he stared at her, unable to form any coherent thought for a moment. He hadn't realized how pretty she was, even when she was looking at him with fury in her eyes.
"This is a really important story that I've been working on all day and you almost made me lose it!" Her expression turned shy as he continued staring at her and she brushed her black hair out of her eyes, "What? Have I got something on my face?"
He shook his head to clear his thoughts, moving almost too fast. Slow down, Bozo! His entire face, including his ears turned bright red, "Umm... no?"
Despite herself, Linda laughed. Rolling her dark eyes, she began to walk away from him.
Don't you dare let her get away, Wallace! Quickly, but being careful to stay within normal human speeds, he moved to catch up with her, "Hey, look, I'm really sorry. Is there any way that I can make it up to you?"
She started walking faster and he almost chuckled. If only she knew who I am. "Yeah, you can get lost."
"Are you really gonna make me live with my guilt for the rest of my life?" He shook his head, "C'mon, let me buy you dinner."
"Are you asking me out? I don't even know you!"
"Wallace West. Wally, if you please. I'm a Central City Police Department chemist. And I already know that you're Linda Park. The best reporter in all of Central City. Now that we know each other, where would you like to go?"
Linda actually stopped trying to get away and giggled this time, making him smile, "What did you have in mind?"
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