Chapter 24

Watchtower; March 27th, 16:05 EST

"Transporting now," Steel informs us. "Good luck."

The sterile steel walls of the Watchtower vanish before my eyes, giving way to Washington D.C. Reminders of the last time I was here on a mission immediately rises in my mind, but I push it away to focus on the chaos that is being unleashed on it.

Gorilla Grodd, Solomon Grundy, Cheetah, and Livewire are trying to get their hands on a shipment of gold bullion that is being delivered to the US Mint, but we are here to put a stop to them. "Booster," I yell. "You have Livewire. Fire and Ice take care of Cheetah and Grundy. I've got Grodd."

Each takes off after their assigned villain in hopes of shutting them down quickly and effectively. I'm a little leery of having three rookies on my team like this, but Fire and Ice have already proven themselves to be highly proficient in the field. My wild card is Booster Gold, but I feel he deserves a chance to prove himself. I just pray that he doesn't let me down.

I fly straight towards Grodd who is currently holding the armored truck above his head with the two guards still trapped inside and screaming for help. He growls as he spots me flying at him, throwing the heavily armored truck directly at me.

I deftly catch it in mid-air before carefully setting it down. Unfortunately, the back of the truck is completely empty. They've already gotten their greedy hands on the gold bullion that was to be delivered to the US Mint.

The two guards quickly escape as I turn to face Grodd. He's already charging towards me with a gleam in his dark eyes and a smug smirk on his face. It only makes me want to pound my fists into his face that much more, to erase that smug expression. I'm more than fed up with the Injustice Gang and their repeated attempts to wreak havoc. It's gone on for far too long and I'm going to put a stop to it starting with Grodd.

I fly at him with both of my fists extended before me. He seems to baulk for a second, realizing that I mean business. He turns and grabs a van, lifting it over his head and throwing it at me in a foolish attempt to slow me down.

Stupid gorilla.

His attempt only manages to further inflame my fury. I'm angry and frustrated with how they continually put people's lives in danger with such little regard for human life. They are blinded by their greed and desire for power. It's a sick depravity that will forever hold them hostage unless we stop it.

Grabbing the van that Grodd hurled at me, I crush it into a ball before tossing it aside much to his surprise. He growls at me as he charges straight for me, refusing to back down or surrender which is fine with me. I'm more than prepared for a fight.

I slam my fist into Grodd's midsection, sending him flying back against the side of a large delivery truck. He leaves an impressive dent as he slides to the ground onto his hands and knees. I spare a glance at Fire and Ice to see them handling Grundy and Cheetah who were trying to escape with the gold bullion.

Booster Gold is trying to evade Livewire who is currently having fun with him. Her electrical blasts narrowly miss taking him out, constantly keeping him on the defense. I curse under my breath, wishing now I'd brought someone else with me instead.

I don't have time to think about it as Grodd lunges at me, his fist connecting with my jaw. His hit has little affect on me. He begins swinging and swiping at me, his claws catching my shoulder and tearing through my skin. I ignore it, attacking with a fierce vengeance of my own. I head-butt him hard, causing him to stumble back. It only momentarily stuns him as he throws himself back into the brawl.

I instantly retaliate with a series of kicks and punches of my own that slowly forces him back. With a warrior's cry on my lips, I raise my foot, slamming the sole of my boot into his chest. He stumbles backwards, giving me time to end this. I instantly reach for my lasso, planning to capture him so that I can help Booster Gold contain Livewire.

I prepare to throw my lasso at him when I'm struck square in the back by an electrical blast that forces me to my knees. I cry out the intensity of the electricity coursing through my body and stealing my breath. I struggle to keep from blacking out, refusing to be taken down.

I'm forced to my hands and knees as unconsciousness threatens to take over when the pain begins to let up a little. The electrical assault abruptly stops, allowing me to catch my breath. I struggle to get up onto my feet once more, turning to find that Batman has arrived.

Livewire is wrapped up in a bola, laying on the ground and cursing as she struggles to escape her confinement. Fury lances through me with Batman's interference. Ever since the incident with Luthor, Kal or Bruce have been showing up on missions that I'm sent on. It's infuriating that they believe I need a babysitter.

I'm a founding member of the Justice League, an Amazon warrior and Champion of the Gods. I do not need some man to assist me or hold my hand on every mission. I don't need someone to help me in my duties or watch over me like I'm some simple child.

I'll have to deal with Bruce and Kal later. Right now, I need to find Grodd who has already escaped the area. I turn to find that my teammates have subdued the others, but it does little to squelch the ire that is burning through me.

Turning, I storm past Batman towards Booster Bold who is rubbing the back of his head as he picks himself up off the ground. "What in Hades was that?" I hiss in fury.

"What?" Booster asks, clearly stunned by my angry outburst.

"I gave you one job to do—stop Livewire," I spit out the words like broken glass. "You couldn't even do that."

"She tapped into an electrical wire before I could stop her," he claimed. "Who knew she could do that?"

"Everyone," I nearly yell, ignoring the sensation of blood dripping down my arm. "If you would've studied the list of known villains you would've been aware of that fact. If you can't be more prepared and handle your job, then maybe you shouldn't be out in the field."

I can feel Batman standing right there behind me, his intense glare burning holes through me despite his cowl, but I pay him no attention at that moment. I'll have to have a private conversation with him later in the cave. Right now, this is about Booster Gold.

"Hey!" he yells. "I deserve to be out here just as much as you do if not more."

My eyes narrow dangerously with his insolent words and sheer arrogance. I step closer to him, my chest heaving with fury. "Because of you, Grodd escaped—that's on your head," I spit out.

"I'm not taking the blame because you couldn't take down some stupid ape," Booster shot back.

"Why you little—"

"That's enough," Batman growls, stepping in as Fire and Ice land behind Booster Gold, the police already on sight to take away the others.

"It's not my fault," Booster grumbles under his breath.

"I said that's enough," Batman angrily growls with a ferociousness that startles even me. "You three return to the Watchtower to write up your reports. Booster, you and I will have a private discussion about this later."

Booster frowns, appearing sullen and dejected as Fire taps her commlink for the three of them to be transported up. I whirl on my heel to face Batman, more than ready to unleash my anger on him as well. He presses a few buttons on his gauntlet and in a blink of my eyes I find myself in the dank, dimly lit cave.

"What are you doing?" I demand to know. "I wasn't done yet. Grodd is still out there on the loose."

"We'll catch him, Diana," he attempts to placate me as he steps down off the transport pad. "You're in no state to be going after him. You're injured and your furious. You need time to cool down."

"Don't tell me what to do, Bruce," I snap as he removes his cowl and gauntlets. "You had no right interfering like that."

"I had every right as a senior League member and a founder," he counters as he turns to face me. "You were out of line talking to Booster Gold like that in public."

"He deserved every bit of it and more," I angrily insist.

"Yes, he did, but not in the public eye or in front of the news cameras," he informs me. "The Justice League needs to show a united front in public, not airing out dirty laundry in front of everyone. This is an internal matter that needs to be dealt with privately."

I look away from him with a scowl, knowing deep down that he's right, but my pride has taken another violent blow and I'm in no mood to admit that he's right. I'm too furious, too tense to think clearly. I needed to prove myself today to the others. Instead, I looked like a fool who can't lead a team on a simple mission.

"Come here, princess," he evenly says, his tone gentler.

He takes my hand and leads me to the medical bay. Exhaustion creeps in and over me, winding around me and reminding me that it's been months since I've actually had a decent night's sleep. It seems to cling to me like a thick blanket that threatens to suffocate me at any given moment. It's also causing me to be short-tempered…one of the many reasons for my short fuse it seems.

Bruce returns with the medical supplies, his expression grim as he begins to clean the claw marks on my shoulder. "It feels like I've been spending more time patching you up these last few months than kissing you."

There's a note of sad desperation in his voice that is difficult to ignore. It tears at my heart like Grodd's claws knowing how deeply it hurts him to see me hurt. I hate causing him more pain and worry. He needs to focus on finding these missing girls, not me and my stupid issues.

"I'm sorry," I apologize as my chin falls to my chest with the heavy weight of failure. I seem to be letting everyone down, including myself.

Fingers beneath my chin force me to lift my head to meet the piercing blue eyes that always causes my breath to catch in my throat and this time proves no different. There is so much emotion swimming there in those depths, pulling me in and wrapping up in his feelings for me.

"You don't have to apologize, princess," he gently tells me. "I just want you to be you again…I need you to be all right, Diana."

I bite at my bottom lip as I avert my eyes. I don't even have the strength to insist that I'm fine. No one obviously believes me anymore anyways so what's the point. "I don't think the old me exists any longer, Bruce," I softly admit. "Something inside of me died in that room. I don't know if I'll ever get it back."

Bruce's hands slide up into my hair as he cradles my face. "No matter what happened in that room, you're still my Diana…still the strongest, bravest, most compassionate and infuriating woman that I have ever known," he tells me with a sincerity that I can't help but believe. "I know you will find a way through this. I just wish you would find a way to trust me to help you."

"Bruce, I trust you with my life," I try to reassure him.

A soft yet sad smile forms on his lips as he stares at me. "I know, but I wish that you would trust me with your heart and the things you keep locked away in there."

He doesn't give me a chance to respond or to argue with him that I do trust him with my heart. He kisses me with a warmth and tenderness that brings tears to my eyes, but I banish them as my hands move to cup his face as well.

The caress of his lips against mine is slow and unhurried. It's as if he's savoring every possible second shared between us, absorbing the feel of my lips and taste of my mouth and imprinting it into his mind. My tongue instinctively presses against his lips, needing more of him.

His lips part and I delve into the warm cavern to find his tongue as anxious as mine to taste and to explore and to worship. He pulls me flush against him, making me wish we could be skin to skin. He breaks the kiss before things can grow any more heated than they already are.

"Let's get you cleaned up," he murmurs as he strokes my hair, nuzzling his nose against mine before kissing me once more.

I can't help but smirk. "Are you offering to join me in the shower?" I flirt.

He groans as he pulls away from me, turning his attention back to my wounds. "You're killing me, princess," he states as he begins to stitch up the deep gashes in my shoulder.

"You know these stitches are pointless," I remind him.

"Just humor me," he tells me. "It's more for me than you."

"Bruce, why do you or Kal keep showing up on my missions?" I ask.

He frowns as he concentrates on his work, refusing to meet my gaze. "I don't know what you're talking about," he insists.

"Ever since Luthor, you or Kal have been showing up on my missions," I press. "Don't you two trust me to do my job?"

"Diana, the only reason I showed up today was because I knew you were dealing with Grodd and his team with three rookies backing you up…one of them being Booster Gold," he informs me. "I wanted to make sure you had the backup you needed."

"So, you agree with me about Booster Gold?"

"Completely," he confirms, his brow furrowed in thought. "I just didn't feel it was appropriate to dress him down in public with the local news camera rolling."

"Fine," I reluctantly agree. "I said my peace. You can handle him now."

"You know you dropped her guard on your right giving Grodd an opening," he tells me. "You need to get more sleep. Fatigue caused you to drop your guard, allowing Grodd to get his claws into you."

"How long were you there before you decided to join in?"

"A while," he admitted. "You seemed to have everything under control until Booster let Livewire get away and attack you."

"Are you going to stay long enough to eat dinner or do you have to leave for patrol soon?"

"If I stay, will you eat?"

"If I eat, will you stay?"

"I'll stay long enough for dinner, but then I need to go," he agrees. "I have to find Emily. Ethan is going insane."

"You'll find her, Bruce," I reassure him. "I can help you."

He draws a deep breath as he nods his head, stepping back to look at me. "Go get your shower," he suggests, refusing to accept my offer of help. "I'll meet you upstairs."

"Okay," I say with a nod, hopping off the table.

My mind is racing with ways to get him to agree to letting me out of the cave to help him with this case. Unfortunately, I have a strong feeling that nothing that I come up with will ever begin to sway him or his stubborn refusal to allow me to help him.

This case is too much of a reminder to him of what happened to me, ripping open old wounds and resurrecting past hurts and fears. It's driving a wedge between us, one that I fear we might never recover from.

PRESENT DAY

Gotham; April 12th, 06:37 EST

I stand paralyzed by what I find, my every muscle rigid. My mind is numb, my tongue thick as my mind works to process what my eyes are seeing. This can't be real. This has to be some sort of sick, twisted joke meant to deceive us…to throw us off track.

I watch in horror as all four men slowly stand to their feet, clearly stunned by our presence. They obviously never expected to be caught if their expressions are any indication. Trevor and Connor Mills both look at Scott St. James, but the person that has captured my attention is the other person in the room, the one that I had never expected to see again.

Ian Callahan.

How this man is alive is beyond me. I don't know if it's really the same man who tortured and assaulted me for five days straight or some sort of clone, but in that moment, all I care about is getting my hands on him and making him pay for what that monster did to me.

They seem to snap out of it as they reach for their weapons. That's when Nightwing and I fly into action. I immediately head straight for Callahan, more than determined to get answers to the myriad of questions that are swirling through my head.

"Well, what do we have here?" Ian utters with that thick Irish brogue of his.

I instantly feel nausea rising, bile burning the back of my throat with the sound of his voice…the stench of his cologne. It's the exact same voice that has haunted my sleep for the last six months, the same Irish drawl that belittled me, spoke to me as if I was nothing but his plaything, made threats to me and attempted to terrify me.

"I'm your worst nightmare," I hiss with a rage so white-hot that I fear that I won't be able to control it or keep myself from beating the life out of him. I know I must, though, or risk never finding Bruce.

Ian laughs something dark and dangerous, the sound raking like fingernails up my spine and over wounds that refuse to heal. He pulls out his butcher knife—the same damn knife that I felt pressed against my skin and my throat more times than I can count. He threatened my life, taunted my vulnerability, and crushed my pride. He humiliated me in some of the most demeaning ways all the while with that knife's blade pressing into my flesh or a cattle prod into my side.

I suppress a tremor that threatens to overtake me as we stare each other down. I will not let this vile excuse for a human being have any sort of hold on me any longer. I have allowed him to insert himself so fully into my life over the last six months, but not anymore.

"You have a fiery spirit, beor," he tells me with a grin as we begin to circle each other. "I like that in my women."

"I already know what you do to women," I spit out with a venomous tone that only seems to cause his grin to grow broader and wickeder if that is even possible.

"Either my fame precedes me…or we've met before," he arrogantly replies, his dark eyes slithering over me and making me want to vomit. "And I definitely would've remembered you, beor."

"I thought you were dead," I state, not taking his bait.

"It's actually quite easy to fake your death when you have help on the inside," he freely admits. "Definitely not going back to jail anytime soon."

His confession just confirms in my mind that St. James has far more in his back pocket within the GCPD besides Charlie Sullivan. "We'll just see about that," I angrily grind out as I lung at him with a batarang in both hands.

This is certainly not how I had pictured this mission to go when we first arrived here at the hotel, but here I am facing off against the very demon who still haunts my sleep. I have been given a rare gift of facing my abuser and making him pay for what he did to me. I would've preferred using my bare hands as opposed to batarangs, but I'll take what I can get right now.

We swiftly trade strikes, blocking each other's moves. I block his deadly blade with the edge of my batarang, the sound of Nightwing battling the other three filling my ears, but I push it aside to focus on the beast in front of me. I have to focus on taking down Callahan before I can help my partner. Besides, Nightwing is highly skilled and efficient, trained by Bruce. I know I shouldn't worry, but I still do.

The loud crack of his Bo staffs seems to make the whole room vibrate as I slam my boot into Callahan's chest, not holding back as much of my strength as I normally do when I'm out in the field as Nemesis. He stumbles backwards in shock, glaring darkly at me. His amusement with my appearance is gone and in its place is nothing but sheer rage.

Callahan charges at me again, wielding his butcher's knife. He makes a sharp slicing motion at me, gritting his teeth with fury as I quickly dodge out of the way. I come up with my fist in an upper cut that takes him by surprise. I resist the urge to completely knock out every single tooth from his mouth but only barely as he spits blood out onto the floor.

I force myself to temper my strength despite the overwhelming urge to tear this man apart with my hands. I want him to bleed. I want him to hurt. I want him to know that I will fight him with my very last breath, keeping him from hurting anyone else no matter what it takes. He almost broke me those five days, but I survived, and I will get back everything this animal stole from me.

Using the back of his hand, he wipes the thin trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, his black eyes gleaming as he stares me down. He slowly licks the blood from his hand, his grin returning. "You're a feisty beor," he compliments me. "I'm going to thoroughly enjoy skinning you alive…but only after I've had a little fun with you."

His words and sickening glint in his coal black eyes cause me to momentarily freeze, my breathing growing ragged as flashbacks rises and crash over me like undulating waves. My heart is hammering against my breastbone, my blood pounding in my ears.

I suddenly think of Bruce and how much I love him, how much I miss him and need him in my life. He creates a much-needed calming eye in the midst of the hurricane storming inside of me. I think of my mother and my sisters, my Amazonian heritage and all my training. One by one my goddesses drift through my mind, reminding me of the blessings that have been bestowed on me.

All of them force me to reach down deep inside of myself, grasping hold of the very thing that I feared that I had lost because of Callahan and MacCaffrey. I am not broken or weak because of these two men. I am stronger than ever before because of what I endured.

My lips begin to curl as I study him, refusing to look away from his murderous gaze. "Come and get me if you think you're actually man enough," I taunt him.

He chuckles at my presumed audacity as he tightens his grip on the handle of his butcher's knife. "Oh, beor…I'm going to enjoy every second of this," he utters with a sneer as he comes at me.

I attack with a renewed fury, delivering a punishing series of kicks and punches. I use the edge of the batarang to slice through his cheek, causing him to roar with rage. He carefully touches the bloody gash, his chest heaving as he slashes at me with his blade again.

I decide it's time to use more strength and less energy. Exhaustion from the last six months is rapidly catching up to me. I need to put an end to this so I can help Nightwing and find Bruce before I lose him forever. It is unacceptable outcome I refuse to allow happen.

I grab his wrist as he tries to slice my arm, crushing his wrist bones and forcing him to drop his knife. He drops to his knees with the extent of the pain that I'm no doubt causing him as I continue to pulverize the bones to dust. He looks up at me in shock, blood dripping down his face from the deep cut on his cheek.

I release his wrist long enough to grasp hold of his throat. "I should break your neck right here," I hiss in a deadly low tone that I know that Bruce would've been proud of. "It would be so very easy."

He begins to gasp for the air that I'm denying him, his face turning red. With his good hand, he grasps hold of my arm in a futile effort to force me to let go of his throat, but he can't stop me now. He is the prey…the victim and I am the predator. The tables have been turned and he is at my mercy now.

I hold all the power, hold his life in my hand. I can't help but notice the flash of fear that flits through his black eyes that are the very personification of evil. I shake my head as I stare at him. "You're nothing but a pathetic little man hiding behind his knife and vile words meant to intimidate and scare, but you don't scare me," I bite out the words as I lean in close to him, his lips turning blue. "How does it feel to be on your knees and at my mercy? How does it feel to know I could end you right now if I so chose to?"

"Nemesis."

The sound of Nightwing's voice breaks through the thick fog of rage as well as the rush of adrenaline coursing through my veins. My blood is singing with the satisfaction that I feel, knowing that I have conquered the very man who had worked his way under my skin and into my head. He will no longer have a hold on me ever again.

"Death is far too good for you," I tell him. "I'm going to see to it that you live to be punished for your countless sins."

Releasing my hold on his throat, he gasps for air, his arms moving to catch himself as he falls onto his hands and knees. I lift my leg, kicking him squarely in the jaw with enough strength to ensure he would be feeling the blow for quite some time after.

He flies backward, landing hard on the ground. I draw a ragged breath, my legs feeling like rubber as I force myself to stay upright. The endless night of searching, the lack of sleep for the last several months on top of the fight with Callahan has completely drained me.

I turn on shaky legs to find Nightwing staring at me with a smile on his face and his hands on his hips. "That was so awesome," he tells me with utter unbelief. "You were freaking amazing."

I return his smile, feeling better than I had in a long time despite the fact I'm about to collapse. I glance to my right, finding Trevor, Connor, and Scott St. James all unconscious and secured with bolas. We did it. We are finally putting an end to this horrific nightmare. Now, we just need to find Bruce and the other girls.

"Let's go find them," I murmur, forcing myself to put one foot in front of the other.

"This way," he replies, placing a steadying hand on my shoulder.

I allow him to lead the way, my heart still hammering in my chest for an entirely different reason now. Bruce is here somewhere. I can feel it deep in my bones. I long to see his handsome face, to feel him in my arms, desperate to bury myself in his protective embrace and breathe in his masculine scent.

I feel tears beginning to build behind my eyes as I follow him to a door that has a lock on it. I feel like the edges of my sanity are frayed, about to unravel if I don't find Bruce soon. I never realized how much of a rock he has become to me until he wasn't there when I needed him.

Nightwing steps aside and I take the unspoken request. Neither of us want to waste any more time. I quickly grab hold of the heavy-duty lock, pulverizing it. I push the door open, releasing the breath that I didn't realize I was holding as my gaze falls on Alley Parker and Heather Myers.

They look at us with abject horror, Alley pressing her back up against the wall as she pulls her knees to her chest while Heather curls up into a ball on her bed. "We're here to help you," I reassure them as I make my way towards Heather, Nightwing moving to free Alley.

I sit down on the side of the bed, my hand coming to rest against Heather's head. Tears begin to run down her face as she sits up, throwing herself into my arms. I hold her for several moments, stroking her blond hair and allowing her to release a small measure of the pain and horror that she's been subjected to.

I hear the chain that bound her to this bed clank against the floor. I'm scared to find out the extent of what these girls have endured, fearing it will match my own and yet terrified it will be even worse than even I can imagine. It's obvious they have suffered at the hands of these depraved men.

I gently pull back, knowing that we need to find the other girls as well as Bruce. "It's all right, Heather," I reassure her, my hand coming to rest against her bruised cheek. "The police are on their way. It's all over. They won't be able to touch you ever again."

"Thank you," she shakily breathes out the words, unable to control the trembling that now consumes her body.

I glance over at Alley who is handling things about as well as Heather is right now. I can hardly blame them. "Are there any other girls here?" I ask, glancing at Nightwing who is obviously anxious to keep looking.

"I…I think so…" Alley replies.

"We're going to go look for the others," I tell them as I get up and turn away from Heather.

"Please!" Heather cries, reaching out and clutching hold of my hand. "Don't leave us."

"Hey," Robin says as he enters the room. "I got here as soon as I could. I took out a couple of guys that were on their way down here."

"Just in time, Rob," Nightwing tells him with a smile. "Can you stay with Alley and Heather while we keep looking for the others?"

"Sure thing," Tim readily agrees, making his way towards Heather's bed where Alley has already moved to so they could hold each other. "It's okay now. We're not going to let anyone hurt you."

"Thank you," Alley whispers, grabbing hold of Robin's hand. "You saved us."

"They did most of the work," Robin tells them as we head towards the door. "I just cleaned up the leftovers."

Tim doesn't realize how much he truly has helped us throughout this whole ordeal, especially ever since Bruce went missing. He's been invaluable in helping keep Gotham safe while we searched for Bruce, helping sort through files and dig through piles of information. Bruce is truly lucky to have him as a partner.

Heading to another room, I break the lock, pushing the door open to find there is only one occupant this time. It's Emily Prescott. "Emily," I murmur as I rush towards her.

She's lying on her side in a fetal position on a single bed. She looks up at me with terror permeating her blue eyes. "Who…who are you?"

"We're here to bring you home," I tell her. "Your father has been desperately trying to find you."

"Is he here?" she asked, panic lacing her voice.

"Not yet, but he's on his way," I reassure her as I pull her into my arms, Nightwing already picking the lock of her shackle. "Are there any more prisoners down here?"

"Yes," she replies with a nod, her eyes wide with fear. "There's a man here. He's not one of them. He tried to help me, but they stopped him. They beat him for trying to save me."

"Is he still here?" Nightwing asks.

"I think so," she says, squeezing her eyes closed as tears began to trickle down her pale cheeks. "I…I could here them torturing him…beating him to get information out of him."

I feel my heart leap into my throat, clogging my airway and making it difficult to breathe. "Stay here, Emily. We're going to look for him."

She nods her head, allowing us to leave without a word. We move on to the next locked door, breaking it down to find what we've been frantically looking for the last four days. "Bruce," I murmur, tears blurring my vision.

"Princess," he whispers as he stares back at me with a faint smile. "I knew you'd find me."

A/N: TAAA-DAAA! I'm super proud of how this chapter turned out and I hope that you loved it too. So much packed into this last part, but I hope I made it worth the wait.

UP NEXT: Diana has a conversation with Batman on a rooftop. In the present, Bruce and Diana are reunited! :)