TITLE: Weighing on His Mind
AUTHOR: LOTSlover
CHARACTERS: Batman / Wonder Woman
RATING: T
WARNINGS: Author Chooses Not to Use Warnings
DISCLAIMER: I love Justice League, but especially Batman and Wonder Woman. Unfortunately, I do not own the characters and, if I did, things would be much different for them.
SUMMARY: Set during the episode Doomsday Sanction, Bruce and Diana find each other on opposite sides of a fight. Will they be able to reconcile their differences, or will their relationship pay the price?
Weighing on His Mind
"Get dressed. It's time we talked," Batman stated, not so impatiently waiting for her to get out of the shower. "Amanda Waller…born in east St. Louis, road scholar, PhD in political science, served in intelligence under three administrations, disappeared from public life four years ago."
"Am I supposed to be impressed? Maybe I should rattle off your resume now," she shot back, appearing unfazed by his in-depth knowledge of her. "You know I could blow the whistle on you any time I want."
"Fine," he countered. "Why don't we step into the light together? I'm sure the American people would be just as interested in your activities as mine. Secret weapons…illegal cloning experiments…bypassing Congress."
"What do you want?"
"I want to know what you think you're doing."
"Did Superman ever mention that to get Luthor's pardon, he had to tell us about your parallel universe adventure…all about it. We started to wonder what would happen if you took the same actions as the Justice Lords did so I had my people run some computer simulations. If the Justice League ever went rogue, what do you think would be the result?"
"That's moot," he stated, hands clenched at his sides.
"Humor me," she retorted. "In every single scenario, you beat us…badly, but that was before Cadmus. Now, we have the technology to defend ourselves."
"Whatever you think you're doing, if you present a threat to the world, the Justice League will take you down," he warned her.
"If we present a threat?" she nearly yelled, clearly incredulous. "You've got a space ship floating over our heads with a laser weapon pointing down. In another dimension, seven of you overthrew the government and assassinated the president. We're the good guys trying to protect the country from a very real threat—you."
Batman turned on his heel and stalked out of her bathroom, his mind churning with the things that she had said as the blaring of a security alarm sounded in the background. He didn't like what she had said…or the fact that it hit too close to home for him.
That incident played over and over in his head, weighing on his mind…invading his sleep and permeating every single waking moment. Waller was crazy to think that the Justice League…his friends and teammates would ever become anything like the Justice Lords. Wasn't she?
He had yet to be able to talk to Diana about his visit with Waller. He knew that she was as anxious as everyone else to find out what was going on. Problem was he wasn't very anxious to discuss with anyone right now…not even her.
"How long is this going to take?" Flash asked from his spot at the round conference table. "I thought we had an island to evacuate?"
"First team is already down there," Diana informed him, wanting to get to what Bruce had found out. "We'll join them as soon as we're done. I want to hear what you learned."
"Project Cadmus is in the business of developing weapons…specifically to fight us," Batman revealed.
"They're worried we've grown too powerful and they want to even the odds," J'onn surmised.
"Exactly," Batman said. "They were behind that business with the Ultimen and the Supergirl clone, Galatea."
"What are they so worried about?" Flash asked. "We'd never try to take over like that."
"The Justice Lords did in their dimension," Batman pointed out, remembering what Waller had said. It had struck him far deeper than he cared to think about and yet he couldn't help it. "What's to stop us?"
"Me," Flash declared, sweeping his arms out with a grin. "Those guys went overboard because their Flash died so as long as you all focus on keeping me alive that'll never happen here."
They all stared at him for a long moment before J'onn finally broke the silence. "Let's put a pin in that theory to explore another time."
"I've seen the federal budget," Superman added. "There's no funding for a Project Cadmus. Where's the money coming from?"
"We're all thinking the same thing," J'onn announced.
"Luthor," Diana ground out with a sneer.
"The obvious suspect," Batman said from Diana's left. "He funded General Hardcastle's rogue operations, but if he's bankrolling Cadmus, he's doing an excellent job of covering his tracks. I've got the Question looking into it and…"
"Oh, not that kook," Flash griped as a couple of the other Leaguers groaned in unison.
"I admit…he's wound a bit too tightly, but if anyone can find a hidden link from Luthor to Cadmus, he's the man," Batman evenly stated, expressing his confidence in the paranoid man. "In the meantime, I'll be following a trail from Waller's end."
Everyone agreed, standing to their feet to head towards their respective missions. "Batman…a word," Diana softly said.
Bruce nodded curtly in response, waiting until everyone had cleared out of the room. "What is it, princess?"
"Be careful," she told him. "We know some of the lengths that Waller will go to oppose the League. There's no telling what else she might already have up her sleeve."
"I will," he reassured her.
She gave him a small smile, knowing that he was telling her whatever was necessary to pacify her. She drew closer, pressing her lips against his. He allowed himself a rare moment of weakness as he returned her kiss, trying to keep the nagging feeling of dread that he felt in the back of his mind at bay.
He felt guilty that they hadn't spent very little time together over the last few weeks. He'd been so busy digging up dirt on Amanda Waller and trying to find out what she was up to that Diana had unfortunately taken a backseat to Waller and Gotham.
He swore to himself that he would make it up to her once this mission was over.
"I've missed you," she breathlessly confessed. "Hopefully, we can spend some time together after the mission."
He nodded in response, knowing that they both had responsibilities and people waiting for them. As much as he would've loved to spend time with her, they were both needed elsewhere. "I'll see you when you get back."
Her lips quirked into a knowing smile. She knew that was the most she was going to get from him apology-wife for not spending any time together lately. She was going to make certain that they made up for lost time once she returned from San Baquero island.
If they were lucky, they could have a whole weekend to themselves without any interruptions. Unfortunately, life never seemed to be very inclined to allow them such an extravagant luxury. Such was the life of a superhero she guessed.
XXX
Diana easily pushed a large boulder impeding traffic, allowing emergency transport trucks to pass through as they worked to evacuate the island. Flash appeared at that moment in a streak of red. "Our radios are barely working," he griped, frustration clearly written on his face. "I'm spending half my time running messages around."
"It's the electromagnetic interference from the volcano," she informed him, her hand going to her commlink. "Superman, how's it going in there? Can you read me any better than before?"
"You're dropping in and out," Superman told her. "It depends on where I am. I'm trying to ease the pressure on the volcano. If I can dig some tunnels off the main core, it could stop the eruption before it starts."
"When will you be able to tell if it's working?" she asked.
"Hard to say," he responded. "I could just as easily set it off, so I have to go slow. Just get everyone clear as soon as you can."
Diana immediately got back to work, knowing that they were on borrowed time. They continued to work without rest for what felt like hours on end, evacuating all the people of the island before that volcano finally blew. As she worked, she couldn't help thinking of Bruce, though.
He'd been occupied trying to find out as much as he could about Amanda Waller, every spare minute not devoted to Wayne Enterprises or Gotham given to researching the woman and trying to determine her agenda. He had been working relentlessly and it seemed to finally be paying off.
She had a niggling feeling that there was something more that had been said between he and Waller, something that he hadn't told the other Founders about. She could sense an uneasiness in him as if he was trying to reconcile something that was weighing on his mind that he couldn't quite wrap his head around.
She hoped that he would eventually trust her enough to talk to her about it. While she knew that he trusted her with his life, his old tendencies still managed to rear their ugly heads at times. Maybe together they could get to the bottom of what Waller was planning to do if he would open up to her.
Picking up an ambulance, she took to the air once more, carefully flying it to safety. She gently set it down before attempting to contact Superman again. "Superman," she hailed him, hoping that he'd been able to make more progress. "Give me an update."
"Something's come up," his broken response filled her ear. "Just keep doing what you're doing."
"Where are you?" Diana demanded to know. "I'll come help."
"No!" Superman insisted. "Stay with the evacuation. This isn't important. Getting those people to safety is."
Diana drew a deep breath, feeling conflicted between evacuating these people and trying to help her friend who was obviously in trouble. She steeled herself, doing what she knew she had to do even if she didn't like it.
"Move it out!" Diana signaled as she took off in a dead run.
XXX
"Another transport just landed on the mainland," Batman informed J'onn. "They're over half done."
The sound of an alarm caught Martian Manhunter's attention, forcing him to focus on another computer screen. "I don't believe it. It's a nuclear missile headed straight for San Baquero."
Batman was up and out of his seat in less than a heartbeat, panic threatening to overtake him. "And from the spectrograph, it's warhead is lined with Kryptonite," Batman noted, his tone urgent as he tried to quiet the qualm that he felt rising in his chest. "Can we hit it from up here?"
"No, it's moving too fast, but who fired it?"
Batman knew exactly who had done it. "Call off the missile," he demanded from the other end of the phone.
"How did you get this number?" Waller growled.
"The missile headed for San Baquero…if anyone dies on that island today, I'm coming for you," he threatened her.
"You do what you have to and so will I," she ground out, hanging up the phone.
Batman hung up, turning to look at J'onn, his fear for the innocent people of San Baquero as well as his teammates spiking. However, fear one person stood out far about the rest. "She didn't know," he told him.
"Captain Atom is on his way from Southern California," J'onn revealed.
"His top speed is under Mach two," Batman stated as he weighed all the possibilities. "He'll never make it there in time."
Without a second thought, Batman turned and raced from the Monitor Womb, flying past Fire and Ice, knocking Leaguers out of the way in order to get the Javelin Bay. "Clear the hangar! Now!" he shouted as he ran straight towards a Javelin.
He immediately set a course for San Baquero island, pushing the Javelin as fast he it could possibly go without tearing apart. He could feel the heat as he approached entry all around him like a cocoon, knowing that he was putting far too much stress on the plane, but it couldn't be helped.
"Batman, you're going too fast," J'onn warned him.
"If I let the Earth's gravity accelerate me, I should reach intercept in two minutes," Batman explained as he clenched his jaw, tightening his grip on the controls.
"If you don't burn up on entry," J'onn said.
Batman flew the Javelin as fast as it would go, pushing it to its very limits in hopes of intercepting the nuclear missile before it could hit San Baquero. He had to save the people that were still in the process of being evacuated off the island. He couldn't ignore the greater desperation to save Diana. The thought of her being killed by that missile made him ill to the core of his being.
He was in love with her—completely, madly deeply. He had expressed that love to her many times over the last few months but had never actually told her how he felt. It was something that still scared him, something that he was still questioning and struggling to come to terms with.
Now, though, there was no question. He had to stop that missile before he lost her forever.
XXX
"Say again," Diana said.
"Repeat, there's a Kryptonite missile headed your way…can you read me," J'onn's broken voice came through.
"Flash, get everyone as far away as you can," Diana ordered him. "I'm going back for Superman."
"But…"
"Do it now!" she yelled at him.
Diana immediately took to the air without giving him another look or a chance to respond. Something was wrong with Superman, something that was keeping him from finishing what he had started inside the volcano. There was no way she was going to leave him behind.
XXX
Batman fired a couple of missiles at the nuclear weapon in hopes of stopping it, but it failed. He silently cursed to himself, knowing that there was only way out of this. "The missile is armed with magnetic repulsors," Batman said.
"The only way past that is with the Javelin itself," J'onn stoically stated, knowing that he was sending Batman to his death. "You could give the haul an opposing charge."
Batman had already come to the same conclusion, not even hesitating as he made the adjustments to the Javelin. "Understood."
Without vacillation, Batman quickly directed the Javelin towards for the missile, feeling the plane shudder as the missile attached itself to the hull. He knew he was only going to have a matter of a minute or so at best to guide the plane and eject before the missile blew.
"Forgive me if this doesn't work, princess," he murmured under his breath.
Pulling back on the controls, he flew straight up into the air before hitting the eject button. The escape pod broke free as the Javelin and the nuclear missile hurtled into the ocean with a massive explosion, creating a tidal wave that crashed into Batman's pod.
"Batman…Batman come in," J'onn hailed him.
Bruce's last thoughts were of Diana as everything went black.
XXX
Bruce lay in bed watching the news, his arm in a cast, bandages around his torso and a collar around his neck. He stared at the television on the far wall, watching the news. His anger burned through his veins, knowing what the others were doing…knowing that Diana was part of it.
This was going to affect their relationship and not for the good. There was no getting around their differences in opinion on the matter or the fact that they were one step closer to becoming their rogue counterparts from another dimension with their actions today.
The door to his room in the infirmary slid open to reveal Diana's smiling face. His room seemed to immediately brighten with her appearance and yet he couldn't find the will to return her smile. He was more than relieved that she was safe, but he could not excuse their decision.
"You'll do anything to avoid monitor duty," Diana lightly teased as she came to stand beside his bed with Superman.
"Sent him off to the Phantom Zone, didn't you?" Bruce icily stated, staring straight ahead at the television.
"He left us no choice," Superman said.
"Spoken like a true Justice Lord," Bruce bit out with disdain.
"What?" Superman exclaimed. "Come on!"
"Passing judgement like gods with our super powered army and our orbiting death ray," Batman growled with a sneer as he finally looked at him…at her. "Cadmus is right to be scared. The human race wouldn't stand a chance."
"We'd never go there," Clark snapped. "It isn't in our nature and nothing can change that."
"Nothing?" Bruce shot back. "What if Luthor does become president like he did in their world? What would stop you from doing what that Superman did?"
"There's always that Kryptonite you carry around," Clark teased, trying to lighten the mood.
"You don't get to joke!" Bruce yelled, stunning both of them. "Not today! I just took a bullet for you."
Clark glanced at Diana, bewildered by Bruce's words as well as his anger. Diana appeared just as perplexed as he felt, confusion and hurt swimming in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Bruce," he apologized. "You're right, but you don't have to worry about the Justice League. Trust me. You know me."
"Yah…I do," he softly spat out, turning his attention back to the news.
Superman placed a hand on Bruce's shoulder, his expression one of hurt mingled with regret. "Get some rest."
Diana wordlessly followed Clark to the door, pausing to look back over her shoulder at the man that she loved more than life itself. He'd almost died again today in an attempt to save the world much like he had when he had destroyed the first Watchtower. It filled her chest with pride and at the same time, nearly broke her heart.
She turned off the lights to let him sleep despite the desperate urgency to talk to him, to explain things and make him understand that they weren't like the Justice Lords. She had learned long ago, though, that now was not the time to push him. They both needed some time apart to think.
XXX
Bruce woke up, instantly aware of the presence of another person in his room. Without even opening his eyes, he knew it was Diana, her Jasmine scent permeating his senses. He had hurt her yesterday with the things that he had said to her and Clark, but he still stood by them…stood by the very real fear their actions had awakened within him.
"What do you want, Diana?" he asked without opening his eyes. "An apology?"
He knew that he was being cruel, but maybe this was how things finally ended between them. It was probably better to end it now before he hurt her more than he already had. It would be far easier to move on now then a year down the road…or at least that's what he told himself.
He had tried to tell her before that they were too different, but she wouldn't listen to him and neither would his heart. He had fallen hard for her, but he would recover in time. He always had with all the others in his past. This time would be no different.
After several more moments of silence, Bruce finally opened his eyes to find her sitting in a chair by his bed, sadness swimming in her eyes. It pricked his heart, but he shoved the guilt aside. She had wanted this with him and she would get it all—the good, the bad, and the oh so very ugly side of him. It was high time she saw it before it was too late to walk away with their hearts still intact.
"No," she simply said.
He frowned at her, his brow creasing. "No what?"
"No, I don't want an apology from you," she evenly stated, keeping the hurt in her eyes from finding a way to her voice.
"Then, what do you want?" he bluntly asked.
"The truth," she replied, doing her best to remain calm when all she wanted was to beat the words out of him.
"The truth about what?"
"What you really think of me."
"Diana…" he uttered with a weary sigh, his left hand coming up to rub his eyes.
"At the very least, you owe me that, Bruce."
She was right, and he knew it. "Your heart is as pure as your intentions, Diana, but I fear at times your loyalty to your friends might blind you."
Stunned, Diana sat upright in her chair, a scathing retort dancing on her tongue and burning like acid. She forced herself to relax, to not allow her anger to dictate her response. Bruce was a master at manipulating emotions in the those around him, using their feelings against them in order to keep everyone at arms' length. She wasn't about to let him do that to her in an effort to drive her out of his life. He wasn't getting out of this relationship so easily.
"All right…in what way do you believe I'm blinded by loyalty?" she snappily inquired.
While she wasn't going to allow him to use her anger against her, she also wasn't going to let him get away with believing she fully accepted his opinion of her. He was going to know she was angry, but it would not be used to drive a wedge between them.
If Bruce was surprised by her angry yet calm demeanor, he didn't show it. Still, it had taken him by surprise. He had half-expected her to break his other arm. "Face it, princess," he retorted. "When it comes to your best friend 'Kal', you would do anything in this world to protect him…even going so far as to follow his every decision no matter how dangerous or wrong it could be."
The fury brimming in her eyes was replaced with sorrow, prickling his guilt all over again. "That's not fair, Bruce, and you know it," she countered, pausing to draw a deep breath to help her keep her composure. "Is that how your really see me or are you just using your anger with Kal and Waller as an excuse to drive me out of your life?"
Bruce stared at her for a long moment, knowing that on some level she was right whether he chose to admit it to himself or not. "The Founders crossed a line yesterday, Diana," he responded, avoiding her question altogether. "Whether you like it or not, all of you are one step closer to what we saw in that other dimension."
"Hera, Bruce!" Diana nearly yelled, showing the first signs of losing her temper with him. "We sent Doomsday, a monster bent on destruction and killing, to the Phantom Zone where he couldn't hurt anyone. You make it sound like we executed him for his crimes."
"You played judge, jury, and executioner yesterday. Whether it was killing him or sending him to the Phantom Zone makes no difference," he shouted. "It's all the same in my book."
"So high and mighty, aren't we?" she stated, moving to sit on the edge of his bed beside him, refusing to back away from this. "It's so easy for you to accuse us because we're Metas and you aren't. That's it, isn't it, Bruce? That's what has you so upset, so ready to shove me out of your life.
"Since you can't control us, you can't allow yourself to trust us…not even me. That's what all of this comes down to. We're an unknown variable that you can't account for and it drives you crazy. I'm a variable you hadn't counted on in your life and now you don't know how to handle it…or if you can handle me…trust me."
"That's not it at all," he angrily growled, averting his eyes.
"Then, what is it, Bruce?" she demanded. "What has you so scared? What besides this whole nonsense of us becoming like the Justice Lords has you so terrified?"
"I love you, dammit!" he yelled, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "I…love you…and I can't stop loving you no matter how hard I try…and God help me, I don't want to stop. Somewhere…somehow…you've come to mean everything to me and I can't lose you."
"Oh, Bruce," she softly murmured with a tilt of her head, understanding how difficult it was for him to admit his feelings for her.
She drew closer to him, pressing her lips against his in a gentle kiss meant to soothe and reassure. His fingers threaded through her hair as he parted his lips for her, silently pleading for more than gentle. He wanted more of her…all of her even if he wasn't in any shape for it right now. Their tongues danced and dueled for control, neither winning and neither losing as Diana finally pulled back to look at him.
"I love you too, Bruce," she gently told him, her hand caressing his jaw. "You're not going to lose me, and I'm not going to become a Justice Lord or betray you like Shayera betrayed John. I'm not going to try to take over the world and I'm definitely going to let you drive me away. I'm here to stay with you whether you like it or not."
He released a disheartened sigh, hating the fact that she could figure him out so easily. Yes, he was still worried, but he found he wasn't quite as much as he had been yesterday. She always seemed to make everything a little better despite his best efforts to screw everything up.
"I'm still mad at Clark," he told her with a frown as he stroked her hair, "and I still don't agree with sending Doomsday to the Phantom Zone."
"You're allowed to have your opinion, Bruce," she reassured him. "No one is taking that away from you, but maybe instead of worrying about it alone, we can work together to make sure that we don't become what we fear most."
The corner of his lips twitched despite his best intentions to stay mad. "I guess that might work too."
"Now, we're finally getting somewhere," she replied with a soft chuckle. "I just wish it hadn't taken you trying to kill yourself again for you to admit that you love me."
"I was kind of hoping you wouldn't remember that part," he told her.
She frowned at him, her finger poking him none too lightly in the chest. "That's twice that you tried to kill yourself, Bruce Wayne," she reminded him. "As far as I'm concerned, that's twice too many. No more suicide attempts."
He groaned with the feel of her finger poking his badly bruised sternum, taking hold of her forefinger and bringing it to his lips to kiss. "I couldn't help it," he replied. "The woman I love was about to be blown up by a nuclear missile. I had to do something to save her."
"Hera, help me," she muttered with a sigh. "Now, you're going to use our love to justify your obsession with trying to kill yourself all the time."
It was Bruce's turn to chuckle only for it to turn into a wincing groan of pain. "Only if it helps to get me out of trouble with you."
"What am I going to do with you?"
"I can think of several things once I get out of here in a couple of days," he said with a lustful leer.
"Hera, help me," she uttered again, a smile breaking across her face as she leaned in and kissed him again.
