The Outsiders gather at Fate's Tower to await Batman and Wonder Woman who are trying to return with Talia plus one more. They brought her newborn son with them, but they did not travel back the conventional way due to some help from Audrey to sneak them across the border in a vehicle that been retrofitted from a simple sound proofed van to one that had protection against anyone trying to see inside. Batman drove all night towards the European Federation checkpoint, but before then each of them adds a few cosmetic surprises to their appearance to pass for Kasnians on a diplomatic mission for the figurehead Queen Audrey. The Federation had been reluctant to involve itself in the Kasnian Civil War, but deep down Diana felt a compulsion to help Audrey even though the whole world is at stake.
The accelerated pregnancy brought the baby to term ahead of the biological clock schedule, but he was as healthy as one could expect for a baby that is less than a week old. She had given him an uncommon name for this era, but that is her call in the end. Faraday's associates met them in Vienna before putting them on a train to Paris. Diana looks rather ravishing in this particular dress that was given as part of their travel cover. It is a strapless dark purple dress that has a pattern of sparkles just below her shoulders and again above her waist close to her chest. Her appearance certainly garners some attention, but a slightly different hairstyle also deflects some level of recognition. She enters the compartment cabin she is sharing with Bruce, which has a connecting door to Talia's. They were all traveling under assumed names and Faraday for all his unexpected preparation, made her and Bruce… a married couple.
She recalls the conductor making a joke about their name, which only Bruce vaguely caught yet Diana cannot seem to fathom. He travels as arts connoisseur Thomas Crown and her background is an antiquities specialist named Callista Turan who kept her maiden name after marrying Mr. Crown. As for Talia, she is Ishtar Halcyon traveling with her infant son Nekhen, a variation of Nekheny, which translates roughly into the word falcon. Bruce is partially grateful that Faraday had not given them all mythological inspired identities because that would be too obvious especially if Ra's or his followers are scanning manifests for them.
However the way Diana positions herself behind him as he watches the European landscape flow by yet knowing she is near negates his heavy thinking because she is as always too hard to ignore in a dress that flows and hugs her body so well. He recalls that night in Paris when he stealthily sneaks into her room before she got back from spending the night out with Audrey. She so delicately took off her heels before noticing him watching her or at least it look that way from where he sat watching then she stood up in full. She could look so desirable, so enchanting no matter what she wore, but it had little to do with how physically attractive she is to him. His mind pulls back to now as he sees the present dress reflect in the window again.
"So Mr. Crown, any chance of a dance in Paris?" she asks seductively.
"I think that's doable should we find the time and the place," he answers with a slight grin.
It may be a tiny cabin, but the bed will do fine, which likewise fortunate for them is the fact the new era of train cars has sound proof options. Otherwise they could be risking waking a very tired and maybe a little cranky 'Ishtar' as well as a sleeping little 'Nekhen.' This is the first time any of them could feel small comforts after that long drive from the Kasnian border to Vienna. Bruce and Diana had alternated with driving as Talia was kept busy with Darius the whole way at least when he was awake or awaken by the bumpy patches. At the least the train ride seems smoother by far and the way Diana's hips seem to sway indicate she still is recalling how much she enjoys a dress that gets a reaction out of Bruce.
The blinds are shut closed before she advances on him a second time after intentionally making her hips connect with a certain spot below his belt. She could hear him make a low sounding exhale against her neck when she did that and then slides both hands behind her towards his backside. He runs his fingers along her dress getting the feel for her body in the dark of the cabin. She did not want to wonder about whether she could have kids with him or not, but some part of her wants it just the same, she hopes he does too. On some level, his experience with kids is limited to anyone else's kids or his former wards. Her dress is on the floor along with his shirt only minutes after these inner thoughts about having kids.
She locks her lips with his after roughly pulling out his belt and he kisses her back with a little more force than usual. She pulls him by his tie on top of her in the somewhat crammed cabin car bed. The tie goes off next as she tries not to rip the shirt considering that these things are not to cheap to make, but she manages though a very few buttons do get torn anyway. The burn and freeze experience in Kasnia had of course not been forgotten yet the danger compels a stronger urge to be this close. She was afraid that she would not get him to safety in time, he had looked like the freeze could kill him, but somehow the speed she put into her flying did the trick.
She works her way back on top and for yet another time he actually seems to enjoy her taking control. As her body moves in tandem with his, he pays no mind to anything except her, except the way she is looking at him while she is panting, if this is not living in the moment, he did not want to know more about the world he already knew was outside that door or through that window. She reacts more as his body exudes signs of enjoying her display of physical affection. She plants a long kiss on his lips after feeling like she had enough breath to hold it yet bites his lip towards the end because he had just hit her hips at the same time.
"You always been able to multitask like this?" she asks with a giggle.
"Years of mental and physical discipline have more advantages than even I really knew at first," he answers in his voice, not Mr. Wayne or Batman, just Bruce.
"Works for me," she responds.
She gets rougher yet not too rough, not wanting to push him too much, but of course he manages to keep surprising her even in bed. The ride to Paris had been almost over by the time they woke for a quick breakfast as Faraday's Paris connection picks them up to be taken to a hotel before getting the next part of the route to a quick freight run across the Channel towards Ireland. Talia while still envious of Diana, tries to put the almost hand holding love birds out of mind as Darius tugs at her shirt. Someone sees the group getting cabs from the train station to a hotel in the city. It is a member of Ra's organization, the Society of Assassins, who alerts Ra's servant Ubu to his discovery, and in turn Ra's dispatches Ubu to Paris, but will Ubu get there in time even with a fast plane with enough fuel supposedly to make it to France.
Ra's contemplates alerting Kal to this, but once hearing that Talia had been seen is no longer with child, rather she is carrying a child, makes him decide against it, the child could be hurt with Kal in his current frame of mind. It was like seeing a permanent deranged post-Lazarus pit frenzy in that new agent of his. However Kal has already left Kasnia once breaking into the former royal residence and killing many of Audrey's supporters in the search for his targets. His departure follows finding out from a bloodied Audrey that they were gone, he left her there badly hurt, but still alive as a warning except unknown to him as well as Ra's, Vandal had been in the area so he gets Audrey away from the fighting that is occurring perilously close to the residence.
He would not participate in such wanton violence, he may have sought to become a global ruler once, but he sought order, sought a world that fit his image of a future where all the past sins and evils would finally be accepted, forgiven, and moved away with forever. However, such a world seems impossible with everyone speeding towards endgame, but still meeting and dealing with this thing that used to be a worthy foe turn amoral associate did not feel right to him. He could only strangely hope for once in his immortal life that Batman and Wonder Woman got Talia to safety if there is still such a realm available.
"What are you doing Vandal?" asks Audrey weakly.
"Saving you my dear," he murmurs to her.
"Why?"
"You didn't deserve this, just because you gave refuge to a conscious objector and the enemies of Kal."
"I owed Diana, besides I was surprised to hear that you helped Talia get away."
"I was never as evil as people thought I was, but of course I was never as good as I thought either. You live long enough the world stops surprising you quite often, but of course between the Lords and meeting you, something eventually changed my mind."
She smiles slumping in his arms, she was tired, she was hurt, but she felt safe with him. Perhaps Vandal had learned something after all despite having ordered her father's murder in order to try to usurp control of Kasnia to begin another attempt to rule the world. She admits later to reluctantly revealing to Kal where Diana and Batman went with Talia. She told Kal that they were long out of Kasnia, which upset him yet by then he already gone through dozens of her residence personnel to get to her. Their deaths would not go unanswered or unpunished in her mind, but she refuses to let their passing turn her into a fury. The ice glow in Kal's eyes had done its work both with the dead and with her knowing how far some went when mad about any number of things.
***
Word got around campus about what happen in Bludhaven and of course he had to dodge campus security when he heard them looking for him. He knew that Dick and Babs would not kill anyone, Bruce never did, I mean sure he did allow those brain fries, but it was just not in him to kill even when it was someone like Luthor or Joker. Both times Supes beat Bruce to the punch or in this case to the burn. He hops on to his jury rigged motorcycle and rides off taking a series of short cuts through the sewers to the outskirts of the city before trying to contact both the Outsiders and his 'family.' Nobody was answering so he kept driving taking back roads and staying off the main roads, he knew not to go to Bludhaven or Gotham, so where to then, but just then his ear piece chirps, it is Kara.
"Where the heck are you Tim?"
"On the back roads looking for where I could someone after all the news I have heard."
"Head for Smallville or Central City if you have enough gas in the tank," she continues.
"I don't think I have enough to make either, so maybe a little whoosh would help."
"Hold on, I'll meet you outside Central City."
After hours on the road, the cycle starts making that puttering or coughing sound like its out of fuel. As he tries to pull off, he spots government cars coming from the direction of Central City, he thinks of all the times, it had to be now.
However, this time is not Cadmus apparently, as a blond haired man steps out and pulls him into the car. They wait until there is whooshing sound over head then he opens the door again so Kara dashes over and makes a relieved sigh.
"Glad you found him instead of someone else Mr. Faraday."
"You know this guy?"
"Yes, he has been helping us since the Cadmus attack on the moon base."
"A lunar outpost, what did Bruce sponsor with all that money he used to have?"
"More than any of us know for sure, but right now we need to get you to Smallville and as for you Kara, you are welcome to ride since flying might get you too easily seen with the sky watchers."
"I'll be along later, just get him to the 'family' and I think J'onn wants to see you."
"He must have decided about that countermeasure to a certain device."
"What device?"
"Something effective when it comes to powers."
"Right, well let's get moving already, we do not have all day I'm sure."
The government cars speed away towards Smallville as Kara speed runs back to Central where Inza meets her after sharing that the others already went ahead to the Tower. Inza however has to generate an energy bubble as Galatea has taken this opening to deal with Kara. The clone attacks and attacks before Kara tells Inza to open a rift, so the sorceress does then pulls Kara through as Galatea tries to follow only to smack into a barrier that does not appear to be there yet it is just the same.
***
They chance a dance in Paris though of course it is a little more private as she goes without heels this time in a silky black number and something new with her, stockings, which he had not seen many women wear in a long time. He wonders why he would think of the rareness of it yet in some way maybe that is the point, rare like her or those eyes of hers. As they dance, it felt like that old Paris magic taking over again. There is a noise through the walls; something is happening in Talia's room, but by the time they get there, she had already subdued the latest unexpected visitor Ubu. They would have to move sooner if he is here.
As they drove out to the freighter, she rests her head on his shoulder and places a hand on his thigh then kisses him so of course he responds kissing her with his hands rubbing her legs. It is not as if they could not keep their hands off each other, maybe it was that yet this is where they have rarely been… a space full of everything that is not common to their pasts or battling foes. She still smells good from the shower, the smell of lavender, and the lipstick which she used tasted good to her, maybe to him too.
A/N 1: Faraday's organization, which I have yet to decide a name for has people everywhere, the notion of people everywhere comes in a stranger twist from a concept in the recent Bond movies except his organization is far different from that particular bunch. As for European Federation, well its like the EU except its not. Tim is back after a few mentions in previous segments. Sure Faraday's appearances seem too predictable, but it was that or risk him getting picked up by Cadmus which is just well predictable its own way.
A/N 2: Faraday's covers for Bruce, Diana, Talia, and little Darius are of course film or mythological inspired. Thomas Crown from the Thomas Crowne Affair, I'm talking the remake with Pierce Bronsan. As for Callista Turan, Callista is Greek for beauty and Turan is one Etruscan equivalent of love. Turan is also considered a counterpart to Venus and Aphrodite.
A/N 3: As for Ishtar, it translates roughly to mother, a kind of duh with her being a mom now and as for Darius as Nehken, a name that as I wrote means falcon or dark. It works for dark hair which he will likely have with dark hair parentage. For anyone who has seen BtAS, you'll remember Ubu as Ra's bodyguard/servant.
A/N 4: This time Inza goes out of the Tower instead of Fate, Galatea makes a one off appearance and again fails to get to Kara. I thought having her smack into an invisible barrier was a little funny.