Chapter 22

"Let's begin the meeting," J'onn said as soon as all of the Founders were seated at the conference table. "You're all aware that our raid on the Legion of Doom is Sunday night. Each Founder will be leading a smaller team of heroes who will target a few specific villains during the operation."

"Batman and Shayera have carefully assigned the teams and their opponents in order to maximize our effectiveness against the villains that Lex expects to be present. Four Founder-led teams will be inside the complex for the primary assault, and three will cover the exterior for escapees and to assist on backup as needed."

"However," J'onn said, "before I turn the meeting over to Batman, we have some other matters to discuss."

Shayera looked down at the table but Batman sat stoically without blinking. Diana and John sighed, suspecting what was coming. Flash was looking around nervously, but when he saw that both J'onn and Clark's glares were directed at the other team members and not at him, he began to relax.

"Yesterday's emotional outbursts were not only destructive to the integrity of the Founders' team unity, but they were damaging to the Justice League as a whole," J'onn said severely. "And before I start naming names, rest assured that four of you are equally to blame. Wally, obviously, had nothing to do with it."

"Which is why we bought him a cake," Clark said dryly.

"Which I appreciate, Big Guy," Wally said happily.

"We have taken the stance that who each of you dates is your own business and a freedom that you are entitled to. However, the interpersonal rivalries that have arisen have affected all of us," J'onn said.

"Diana, tactlessly and vocally announcing Batman and Shayera's relationship to John in the commissary yesterday alerted every other League member present that the Founders are splintering," he went on. "And John, storming out to obviously confront Batman worsened their impression."

"I'm sorry," Diana said humbly. "Truly, I am. I didn't think," she said guiltily.

"Me, neither," said John. Wonder Woman and Green Lantern's eyes met in mutual chagrin with a hint of reconciliation and understanding.

"Indeed," said J'onn. "You did not think, and now we are asking the other League members to trust us to lead them into battle against more villains than we have ever faced at one time. Villains who, until recently, have been commanded by Diana's boyfriend, Lex Luthor."

Diana sighed with regret.

"Furthermore," J'onn said, "while I have not been reading individual minds, I am sensing an overwhelming concern on the Watchtower this morning that this sting operation is a trap by Lex Luthor to attack and kill the Justice League."

"No," Diana said with concern. "Will the rest of the members be willing to participate?"

"We shall see," J'onn said. "Batman and Shayera have meticulously planned the assault teams and should those teams need to be rearranged, it would take time and slow our preparations and possibly weaken our offensive advantage."

"And speaking of Batman and Shayera," J'onn said, "I trust that Vixen has thoroughly reprimanded both of you as to your thoughtlessness in not informing Diana and John privately of your new relationship, which was the impetus for their outbursts yesterday and therefore, for the League's weakened trust in the Founders."

John hid a smile behind his hand as Wally shuddered at the memory of the tongue-lashing that he had inadvertently walked in on.

"I did inform Diana privately," Batman said, but for once he said it with a sigh instead of with snark.

"But I didn't," Shayera said quickly, reaching out to lay her hand over Batman's gloved one. "I didn't realize the impact that it would have on our friendship, Diana. I'm sorry," she said, meeting Diana's eyes with genuine regret. "Earth customs are much different from Thanagarian ones. It wasn't my intention to hurt you."

Diana ground her jaw and didn't answer, but Shayera saw wounded pain in her friend's eyes instead of anger, which made her feel worse.

"Perhaps we could talk more about it later?" Shayera asked tentatively. Diana glanced over at Clark who gave her an encouraging smile, and she sighed.

"Very well," she grumbled, not exactly graciously, but it was the best that she could do.

Diana knew that Lex had counseled her against taking Shayera's actions personally, but they still hurt her so much. But for the sake of the Justice League? And for Lex? And, if she was being honest, for the principles of friendship and love, which Diana did believe in even if she'd been having an off day yesterday, the princess would force herself to parlay.

"Thank you," Shayera said with relief, and Batman gave Diana the slightest inclination of a head nod, expressing his thanks, too. Which was another layer of pain, but Diana understood the sentiment behind it.

"Good," said J'onn briskly. "With that, I will turn the meeting over to Batman to go over our tactical details as they now stand. The Founders will reconvene at four p.m. after the All Hands meeting to discuss if our plans need to be altered based on the League members' willingness or reluctance to move forward with the operation."

"Our current plan, if you look at your notes," Batman began, "is for myself and J'onn, Clark, and Shayera to lead the interior assault while the Flash, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman stay outside on backup."

"What?" Diana said in alarm. "No, I want to be inside."

"So you can protect Lex if needed," Shayera said to her.

"Well, yes," Diana frowned. "None of you are his biggest fans. He's risking a lot for this operation and I don't want him to get hurt."

"That is a risk that he must take," J'onn said decisively. "And, I might add, given his past villainy, it is a risk that he is not entitled to avoid."

"If you were to lead an interior team, Diana, your focus would need to be on your team members and your assault targets," said Clark. "Your desire to protect Lex would distract you and put not only your teammates but the entire operation in jeopardy."

"But - " Diana said in frustration.

"Lex is a smart guy," Batman said. Diana's eyes flew to his. She was surprised to see a measure of compassion in them. "He knows how to protect himself," the Bat said. "I have no doubt that he has twelve different plans in place already to account for his own safety plus a cache of hidden weapons at his disposal."

Diana bit her lip, trying not to argue. Hera, she knew it made her look weak and vulnerable and like a liability to her teammates, but how was she supposed to stay outside during the battle, knowing that Lex was inside in danger?

"Lex will be wearing kevlar," Batman said reassuringly. "I brought some different styles for you to take back to Metropolis for him to try on."

"Ok," Diana said softly. It wasn't ok, though. Not at all. She was an Amazon and a founding member of the Justice League and even with the joy of waking up this morning in their shared penthouse for the first time, Diana still believed with all her heart that her duty to the League came above her relationship with Lex.

It was a question of honor. And responsibility. And duty. And sacrifice.

She understood and believed that. She did. She thought she did.

Until she sat faced with the reality of having to wait powerless on the outskirts of the battle while Lex faced danger without her. And now she wanted to scream and rage and impose her will on her teammates and friends and Hera, even cancel the operation if she couldn't be by Lex's side keeping him safe from all harm.

She swallowed. And gritted her teeth. But she kept silent as Wally gave her a sympathetic glance.

"Deployment is always harder on the military spouses than on the troops," John said quietly at her elbow. Diana turned to look at him. He shrugged.

"Going into battle, that's the easy part. Waiting? And feeling powerless? That's what's hard," he said gently. Diana blinked as some tears filled her eyes and she gave John a tight smile as she nodded.

John let out a reluctant sigh, but he reached over and squeezed Diana's hand, even though he really didn't want to comfort her over Lex fucking Luthor. But the Martian Manhunter had been right, earlier; John, too, had hurt the team and the League so it was his job now to work to turn that situation around.

Diana's smile got a little easier, although her eyes got a little more watery as she squeezed John's hand back.

"Thank you," she said. "I didn't expect to feel this way."

"But you understand why you have to be assigned outside," Batman said, and it wasn't really a question, but Diana nodded.

"Yes," she said. "Yes, I see why I shouldn't be leading a team near where Lex is."

"Good," J'onn said with relief.

The rest of the meeting went smoothly as Batman outlined each member's tactical plans, until he got to the Green Lantern.

"John, your team will include Supergirl, Vigilante, Fire -" He cut himself off as John cried out in pain.

"John!" Diana said in surprise as Shayera's eyes widened in concern. Diana reached over to hold his shoulders as he bent over the table, his hand on his head, while he clenched his jaw and moaned softly.

Batman frowned. The Green Lantern's military training combined with his disdain for showing weakness meant that he had to be in severe distress.

"J'onn?" Batman asked, glancing down at their telepath, who had narrowed his eyes as he concentrated on John's mental patterns.

"I sense nothing unusual," J'onn said slowly. "Perhaps his hangover is malingering?"

"You got drunk last night?" Wally asked him, despite the fact that John was still grimacing in pain. "Not too smart when we had a meeting this morning."

"I was told," John snarked as he took a deep breath and rubbed his temples, "to stay on Earth for the weekend and enjoy my time off. What can I say?" he grumbled. "I follow orders."

"My apologies," J'onn said with a slight crinkle at the corner of his mouth. "I did not have the information regarding the date of our assault until last night."

"Yeah, yeah," John muttered, slowly sitting up.

"Did you drink enough water?" Batman asked him with what almost looked like a playful grin threatening to burst out onto his face as he turned his head to the side and caught Shayera's eye, who bit her lip to keep a giggle in.

"I drank water at breakfast," John sulked. "Mari made sure of that."

"Did you put cayenne and lemon in it?" Shayera asked him.

"What?" John said in confusion, looking over at her. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I've heard that adding cayenne and lemon to your morning-after water is an excellent hangover cure," Shayera said, her lips definitely starting to quirk as she stole a sideways glance at Batman.

Diana felt a pang in her heart as she watched their subtle flirtations and she wondered if John was feeling it, too, but he seemed like he was in too much physical distress to be paying much attention to his ex and her new lover. Diana took a deep breath, though, and forced herself to mentally confront the reality of Batman and Shayera. Truthfully, the Amazon warrior had to admit to herself that getting drunk and suffering through a hangover was not her idea of a good time.

Especially the idea of spending time with a hungover Bruce. He was grumpy on a good day. Hungover? Diana shuddered. Maybe… maybe Shayera was a better match for Bruce, like everyone had been telling her. Because Shayera and Bruce were both acting like they'd enjoyed their mutual misery. Hm.

And Lex definitely wouldn't care for getting drunk. Diana knew that without even asking him. He valued control too highly and enjoyed more sophisticated, refined pleasures. Like she did. That thought didn't completely ease her heartache, but it did lift her spirits.

"I'll get you some lemon cayenne water, GL," the Flash said, jumping up and zooming off to the commissary. He was back seconds later with a tall, sealed reusable bottle. "Here ya go, hangover water, just for you," he said, handing it to John.

"Thanks," John mumbled, unscrewing the lid and taking a sip. He grimaced as it hit his tongue and swallowed quickly. "Holy shit!" he yelled. "How much cayenne did you put in here, Flash?"

"Uh, I don't know?" Wally said cheerfully. "A bunch, I guess."

"Ugh," John said, but he kept sipping at it. "Well, if it works," he muttered. "Sorry about that, everyone," he said, looking around the table. "You can keep going, Batman," he said and the Dark Knight nodded.

"As I was saying," he said, and the meeting continued.

Afterwards, Shayera whispered something to Batman and came over to Diana.

"Would you like to get lunch together?" the redhead asked her. "We could eat it in my room if you want, so we could talk privately."

No, Diana really did not want to, but she was an Amazon warrior and they were nothing if not brave.

"All right," Diana said. Shayera gave her a small but relieved smile as they fell into step together and headed down the hall.

"Ladies," Wally said as he strolled by them slowly for once, his precious gourmet chocolate cake in his hands. "Don't be asking me for any of this deliciousness, because it is all mine," he sang.

"Your commitment to your virginity is admirable," Shayera said with a sly smile. "Far be it from me to tempt you to give it up." Wally gasped as Diana couldn't help but giggle.

"Shayera," she said in a mildly scolding tone, but Wally quickly recovered.

"So you think I'm delicious, hm?" he asked Shayera, leaning into her with a suave smirk and an eyebrow wiggle.

"Oh, please," Shayera said, rolling her eyes but Diana laughed.

"You walked into that one," she said. Shayera huffed.

"Hey Bats, your girl thinks I'm delicious!" Wally called over her shoulder.

"Her man thinks you're delirious," Batman shot back, but he sounded slightly more amused than annoyed, which was… new, Diana thought. Very new. And kind of nice, actually, if she could get her hurt feelings enough out of the way to admit it. Bruce had never been prone to banter with anyone, really. And she had wanted him to be happier, and… well… she had never felt happier herself than she had felt this past week with Lex. It was just unfair that the aftermath of her and Bruce hurt so much.

Her phone buzzed and she pulled it out to check her text message as they continued walking towards the commissary, Batman slowly catching up to them now that he'd been drawn into the conversation by Wally.

Love you, baby, Lex had written. Waking up with you only one room away was pure bliss.

A happy little giggle escaped Diana's lips, causing the group's eyes to land on her, but she didn't even notice as her thumbs flew across her screen to write back.

I love you, too, Lex, she wrote. I can't wait to come HOME to you tonight. She added some little heart emojis before hitting send, and only then noticed the amused glances of her friends and blushed.

"I, um," she stammered.

"It's sweet how you don't lust after me like Shayera does," Wally said thoughtfully. "I bet Lex appreciates that."

"Oh my God, Wally, you're dead," Shayera said threateningly. "You and your cake," she said, suddenly reaching for it.

"No!" Wally yelped, clutching it to his chest as he raced off down the hall to Batman's quiet snickers.

"It's ok, Shy," Bats said to her. "I know you were only lusting after his cake."

"As if," she scoffed. "I don't care where that cake is from. It can't hold a candle to Alfred's."

"No wonder he likes you so much," Bats said affectionately.

"Oh, Diana," Shayera said, turning to her. "Did you hear we're finally getting a real chef up here on the Watchtower? Alfred shamed Bruce into it."

"Really?" Diana said. "Just when I'm moving down to Earth. Nice timing, Bruce," she said with some teasing sarcasm. He grunted.

"Like Lex can't hire his own chef," he said. Diana raised her eyebrow.

"That doesn't make up for the quality of the food I've had to endure up until now."

"You and me, both, sister," Shayera said with feeling. "Do you know, Alfred almost cried when he heard that we had to eat frozen biscuits. He cried, Bruce," she said, poking him in the shoulder. "You made your butler cry."

"It wasn't the first time," Bruce muttered, but he looked like he was holding back laughter as he said it. Shayera snorted.

"Why he puts up with you," she said.

"He's British," Bruce said. "Stiff upper lip and all that."

"I have no idea what that means," Shayera said honestly.

"Me neither," said Diana in equal confusion. Bruce sighed.

"Go have your girl talk," he grumbled. "Are you going to be friends again? Please?" Diana hesitated. Bruce's pleading tone mixed with Shayera's equally pleading eyes started to soften some of the hardness that had coated her heart.

"We'll try," Diana said. She could only hope that they could figure out how to succeed.