TITLE: Trick

AUTHOR: LOTSlover

CHARACTERS: Batman / Wonder Woman

RATING: M

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: Mad Hatter manages to capture Batman and Wonder Woman in his trap, but will his trick end up being a treat for Bruce and Diana? BMWW #WonderbatTrickOrTreat

Trick

Batman forced his eyes open despite the splitting headache that pounded incessantly, slowly shaking his head in an attempt to clear the cobwebs that had formed in his brain. He tried to clear his vision as well, but it was difficult. He could barely make out the sound of a familiar voice through the ringing in his ears. It was a voice that he had hoped that he wouldn't hear any time soon and yet here he was.

Through blurred vision, he was barely able to make out a man bent over someone. He was putting a pink dress on someone that he assumed was a woman. A woman…Wonder Woman…Diana. She had been with him in Gotham. It was Halloween and she can come to help him with patrol despite his insistence that he didn't need it.

They'd been arguing when an alarm had gone off in a nearby building only for them to be ambushed. She had gone with him in spite of his resistance to her help. He couldn't appear weak to the villains in Gotham…couldn't look like he needed help in his own city, or they would never fear him. Still, there was a small part of him that had understood and appreciated her desire to help him on the busiest night in Gotham City. If he were honest with himself, he knew that he could never be mad at her for long.

Batman struggled for his freedom, but it was useless. He needed to get to Diana, but he was wrapped up like a mummy, unable to get his arms or hands free. He couldn't even move his fingers. He listened as the man talked to Diana, telling her how beautiful was and that she was absolutely perfect for the part she was about to play in his fairytale.

It was Mad Hatter.

Batman gritted his teeth as he struggled harder to break through the bonds that held him fast. He needed to get to Diana before they became participants in one of Mad Hatter's delusional plays. He watched as Jervis Tetch carefully placed a diamond tiara on Diana's head, but Batman knew it wasn't just an ordinary tiara. Tetch had wired it to control Diana's mind.

"There," he said as he straightened up to appreciate his handiwork, clearly pleased with himself as he took a step back. He clasped his hands before him as he studied Diana. "You look positively lovely. You just wait here, and your prince will be here soon to rescue you."

Batman silently willed Diana to wake up, but she wasn't stirring at all. Dressed in an intricately detailed pink dress, she looked just like the princess that she actually was by birth. She looked exactly like a real-life sleeping beauty right before his eyes.

"Ah, I see your prince has finally awoken," Mad Hatter noted as he turned his attention to Batman. "You're just in time to play your part, Caped Crusader."

"I'm not playing your game, Tetch," Batman rasped, his voice hoarse and his throat dry. How long had they been out for?

Tetch laughed as he pulled a crown out of his coat pocket. "I don't really think that you have any say in the matter wrapped up as you are," he pointed out. "I've always wanted to do the story of Sleeping Beauty with you as the lead, but I had no idea when you responded to my trap that I'd also get Wonder Woman for the leading lady.

"I have to admit, though, it was more of a Halloween trick than an actual trap. I had to trick you into thinking you were responding to a call for help, and it worked beautifully. I've been planning this trick for months. I wanted this to be a Halloween that you'd never forget."

"Don't do this, Tetch," he growled. "I need to be out there keeping Gotham safe. You know Halloween is the worst night in this city. That's why Wonder Woman came to help. She knew that it was going to be nothing but chaos tonight. She wanted to help me keep innocent people safe. You're keeping us from doing our job."

"That's very noble of her wanting to help you in a city like Gotham," he told him. "Now, she's going to help more than she had thought. She's going to be your princess that you get to rescue."

"I thought you were obsessed with Alice in Wonderland," Batman stated.

"I am, but I want to branch out…expand my horizons…try something new," Tetch replied, waving his free hand in the air. "Alice in Wonderland…I've been there done that. It's time to see what else I can do."

"I remember your last adventure in Wonderland," Batman ground out, recognizing the familiar surroundings of the old, run-down mansion Tetch had used before for his last Halloween tea party.

Tetch loomed over him with the crown firmly gripped in his hands and an excited grin on his face. "Now, this won't hurt at all."

"Don't!" Batman yelled.

"Don't worry," he assured him. "This is going to be fun. You're going to love what I have planned for the two of you. Sleeping Beauty…Cinderella…Beauty and the Beast…all the classics. And, if we have time, we just might get to have that tea party again."

"Jervis!" Batman growled, shaking his head as Mad Hatter drew closer.

"This won't…hurt…a bit," Tetch said, slipping the mind control band over the top of Batman's cowl. "See? That wasn't so bad. Now, let's play!"

XXX

Batman worked his way through the expansive labyrinth of the mansion, growing desperate to find his betrothed. She had been put under a sleeping spell by the evil witch Maleficent. If he didn't find his princess soon, he feared that he would lose her forever.

He tightened his grip on his sword, ready for a fight to save his love's life. Nothing would keep him from getting her, nothing would stop him from waking her and marrying her. She was his whole world…his future wife. He wasn't about to lose her now if even if it was a dangerous witch like Maleficent that he had to face to do it.

Turning a corner, he instantly threw up his arm to block the scorching flames that greeted him. His Batsuit protected him, keeping him safe as he pushed forward despite the risk to life and limb. Thankfully, the flames finally stopped, revealing a large dragon at the end of the hallway. The dragon roared violently, snapping its teeth at him.

With a growl on his lips, Batman raced straight at the demon creature, ready to slay it when a high-pitched laugh caught his attention. It was Maleficent. Seething with rage, he turned towards the direction the laughter was coming from, hoping it would also lead him to his princess.

The sadistic laughter grew louder as he grew closer. He clenched his jaw, the muscles locking tightly like a steel trap. He was bound and determined to kill the evil witch, keeping her from going after him or his princess ever again.

No one would ever interfere in their lives or keep them apart.

Entering the great hall, he skidded to an abrupt stop at what he found waiting for him. "Maleficent," he growled between clenched teeth, his sword poised for a fight.

She was wearing a flowing, black gossamer dress that seemed to whisper against her skin as she sauntered towards him with a devilish smirk on her face. "Prince Phillip," she greeted him, appraising him from head to toe. "You proved quite skillful escaping my clutches as you did. No one has been able to escape me like that before you."

"You caught me once," he ground out. "You won't be able to do it again."

"And you think I'll just let you waltz in here and take your princess with you?" she asked.

"No," he retorted much to her surprise. "I know you're going to try to stop me, but you won't win."

"Oh, really?" Maleficent drawled as she slowly drew closer. "I don't know what you see in that little wench. I could give you so much more than she could ever dream of giving you."

XXX

Jarvis Tetch laughed with glee as he watched with rapt attention on the expanse of monitors spread out before him. He cheered as Batman entered the great hall to face off against Maleficent…or should he say Catwoman. He still couldn't believe his luck that he'd managed to lure Catwoman, Batman, and Wonder Woman into his play all in one night.

Next time, he was going to have to capture more of Gotham's finest villains to participate. He couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Joker playing the part of a dwarf or maybe the Cheshire Cat. Poison Ivy would make a great evil stepmother for Wonder Woman's Cinderella or Riddler as the Beast.

He rubbed his hands together as he watched Catwoman come to a stop before Batman. This was going to be the best production yet. It was a good thing that he was recording every moment of it.

XXX

Maleficent extended her hand, a long, red fingernail reaching out to gently trace the curve of Batman's cowled face. "I'd love nothing more than to show you love as you've never known before," she practically purred. "I could show you pleasure, unlike anything you've ever experienced."

Batman's lip curled into a sneer as he slapped her hand away. "Where is she?" he demanded to know.

Maleficent's evil smirk only grew in delight in proportion to the prince's distress. "You'll have to find her," she taunted him. "She's somewhere in this mansion, but can you find her in time?"

"What do you mean in time?" he demanded to know, panic rising.

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" she asked. "If you don't reach her within the hour, she'll never wake. She'll stay in this slumbering state forever."

Batman started to lunge at her only to stop short as Maleficent shook a finger at him. "Watch it," she warned him. "You're wasting valuable time on me that you need to find your princess."

He knew that she was right, but he hated to admit it. "I'll be back for you."

She laughed in response as he raced out of the great hall, the sound of her mocking amusement ringing in his ears and echoing down the hallway. It only added to his already simmering fury. He would get revenge for what she had done, but not now. It would have to wait.

He checked every room that he came across, desperation mounting with no sign of her. Every minute that passed by was excruciating. He abruptly came to a stop, knowing that he needed to think through this. It could take hours to search the entire mansion. He needed to think like Maleficent.

His lips curled slightly as he took off for the staircase, knowing where his princess was being held. She was in the top of one of the two turrets. He knew it with every fiber of his being. Quickening his pace, he took the steps two and three at a time. He was rapidly running out of time.

He wasn't about to lose her, not like this.

He ran to the top of the turret, finding nothing but a thick layer of dust and too many cobwebs to begin to count. His heart dropped in his chest, frustration tightening its grip on him to the point he could barely draw a breath. He had one more turret to check. If she wasn't there, he was out of time.

Racing down the stairs and across the mansion, he flew up the second turret's stairs. He refused to give up, refused to lose hope now that he was so close to getting her back. "Hang on, princess," he murmured under his breath. "I'm coming."

There was a glaring problem that could not be ignored. How would he wake her from the witch's spell? There had to be something…a potion or a chant…something that would break the spell. He just didn't know what that something could be.

Approaching the door, Batman drew a deep breath, raising his boot and kicking the door down. He ran inside only to come to an abrupt stop. His princess lay so beautifully on a bed, her hands resting peacefully on her abdomen. She was dressed in a beautiful pink gown that only added to her exquisiteness. She looked so serene laying there that it terrified him. Had he already lost her? He knew he was going to have to try no matter what.

He cautiously approached her, worried that Maleficent would show up to stop him from saving her now that he was so close. Coming to a stop by her bed, he dropped his sword, reaching out with his hand to caress her cheek. She didn't stir…didn't show any sign of life.

"Princess…" he choked out as he fell to his knees by her bed. "Don't leave me. I need you with me."

He took her hand in his, holding it tightly as he pressed his lips to the back of it to find her skin warm. "Please…wake up," he told her. "You have to wake up for me."

She didn't move, didn't respond. It was as if he'd already lost her.

Tears began to sting his eyes as he leaned over, pressing his forehead against her cheekbone. He had no idea how to save her. He'd finally found her and yet he was still going to lose her. There had to be a way to break the spell that was stealing her away from him.

"I love you, my princess," he whispered as he stroked her silken hair, leaning over to press his lips against hers.

Her eyes fluttered open with the warmth of his lips against hers. Looking over, she found her prince kneeling beside her bed, tears trickling down his cowl. She smiled softly at him, her hand reaching out to caress his face. "My noble prince," she murmured.

"You're awake," he replied, getting to his feet as she sat up on the edge of the bed.

Taking his offered hand, she stood to her feet, relieved to be near her betrothed once more. "Because of you," she told him. "Your kiss broke the spell. You saved me."

He cupped her cheek as he gazed into her eyes. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for you," he swore to her. "I love you."

"I love you too," she murmured, her lips claiming his in a passionate kiss.

His gauntleted hands gripped her hair firmly as he returned her kiss, something clicking in his brain as his tongue found hers. His breathing grew ragged as a love long buried rose to the surface, breaking through the fog of deception and taking him from fantasy to reality.

Batman broke the kiss, finding Diana standing in front of him dressed as a princess. Turning, he saw Catwoman dressed like an evil witch wearing a black crown, clearly not herself at that moment. That's when he remembered being tricked by Mad Hatter.

"Just because you found her doesn't mean you have saved her!" Maleficent screamed angrily from across the room.

"What's going on?" Diana asked as she looked around her, confused as she glanced down at the pink dress she was wearing. "Where are we?"

Batman immediately reached out to snatch the tiara off her head before removing his own crown. "Mad Hatter," he growled as he quickly pulled out a boomerang.

With expert precision, he threw the weapon directly at Catwoman, knocking the black crown off her head. "Hey!" she cried, her hands going to her head. "What happened? Why am I dressed like this?"

XXX

"What? No!" Mad Hatter cried in shock as he jumped to his feet, dropping his bowl of popcorn onto the floor. "But…but…but…how? It's impossible! This isn't how it's supposed to end!"

A/N: Hey, gang! Look for part two of this fic tomorrow. I'm almost done with Chp 2 of Marked for Death. I hope to start posting it in the coming weeks so be looking for it. :)