Hunter's Night

By Christy (Serena)

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"Hold position!" I shouted to Robin and Batgirl, trying to avoid the sudden roll in my gut. "Batman! Batman, come in! Do you copy?" I soared down to the flames, terrified of what I'd find - or not find -

"I'm fine," came Batman's voice, raspy. "I'm all right."

I scanned the area for his shadow, letting out a slow breath of relief. I saw him crouched on a container above the flames, glaring down into the fire. I soared down, trying to contain my sheer relief. I dropped onto the container.

"Batman... you..." I tried to calm myself. I licked my lips, followed his gaze.

He glanced at me. "No accident."

"No," I agreed grimly. I had to get a hold of myself. This was the mission, the job. I had to get it together. I just - I hadn't expected that -

"See you got my message!" shouted a proud, deep, harsh voice.

Both of us whirled around to see a shadowed figure standing above us on a container some yards away. I saw the gleam of swords and armor. I flew up, but Batman held my arm.

"Deathstroke. He's not alone," Batman muttered. "It's a trap."

The assassin Deathstroke jumped down easily - too easily - to another container closer by. I didn't recognize the man, but he was tall and strong, clearly agile.

"There's been a bounty on your head," announced the assassin.

"Oh," I growled, "You have got to be kidding me."

"Come now, Princess," said Deathstroke mockingly. "I'm sure we don't need to go over how this works. It might even be more interesting if you put up a fight. But then again -"

A shadow descended on me from above, and I nearly missed a pair of clawed hands lashing out on me. I twisted around, ducked, and flew up into the sky.

"-Looks like you'll have enough of a fight without me!" finished Deathstroke, laughing mockingly.

He and Batman launched themselves at one another. While both were excellently trained, Deathstroke did have an advantage of strength over him. But I didn't have time to worry about my more-than-capable partner - I was staring at a cheetah woman.

But, for the second time that night, I found myself just plain pissed off.

"Are you serious?"

But the woman just grinned and hissed, lashing out at me again. She was strong, nearly as strong as Artemis. But I'd been sparring with Artemis for a very long time. And if I could handle her, if I could handle Ares or Shiva, I sure as Hades could handle this... cat-woman.

"Who are you?" I demanded, flying out of the way of her next attack. But she latched herself onto me and knocked me to the ground. I rolled back and threw up my arms, blocking several attempted blows from her sharp nails, and skidded back into the ground when she did a swift roundhouse kick. She was strong... very strong. Almost stronger, I had to admit, than Artemis. But not quite.

"Never mind," I snarled, "I'll just ask you." I whipped out my lasso, spun around as she avoided it, and burst around her, wrapping the lasso up around her body. "Who the hell are you?" I demanded.

The lasso lit up, and for a second the cheetah-woman tensed -

But then she grinned, punched me in the face, taking me off guard, and spun right out of the lasso's hold.

"Nice try, Princess," she goaded. "But that won't work on me."

I was unable to keep the shock out of my expression. No one was able to break out of the lasso. No one could resist its Olympian god-made powers.

What the hell...

"What's wrong, Princess?" sneered the cheetah woman, crouching into a fighting position. "A goddess put a kink in your plans?"

I hesitated, scowling. "What are you talking about?"

The cheetah woman just laughed. "Poor little princess. So naive and innocent. But maybe not that innocent." She glanced over at Deathstroke and Batman still fighting it out. "Well... if you haven't bitten yet, maybe I'll take a chunk out of him myself..." She licked her lips.

I just glared at her, disgusted. "Are you for real?"

The cheetah woman hissed, her fangs baring. "You'll find out just how real I am when I -"

But the hair on the back of my neck stood up, and a shot hummed through the air. I threw up my hand to block it with my gauntlet; a bullet bounced off it, harmless, and the cheetah woman was already descending on me with a speed nearly matching my own.

I blocked her first, but as another shot rang out and nearly caught me again from an unknown sniper, she was able to distract me long enough to swipe me across the face.

I let out a surprised cry and whipped around to kick her directly in the jaw. She stumbled back, giving me the chance to burst forward, twisting her arm around and ripping it right out of its socket. She shrieked, swiped at me again, and then whacked me with her elbow.

Damn, she was strong.

I glanced over at Bruce, he seemed to be having a difficult time but holding up.

The Cheetah-woman whirled around, attempting to twist my neck -

I grabbed her wrist, jerked it backwards; and she let out a shriek and jumped off me - I hurled the lasso at her and yanked her back, landing a punch direct in her face. She went flying back and disappeared with a thud behind another container.

I burst after her - but more shots rained on me - sniper shots, and I blocked each one of them. I scanned the dark skyline, but I knew the shooter was probably close to a mile away. Deadshot was just that good. I dove behind a container and sped around to reach where Cheetah had landed -

The cat-woman was gone. Thanks to Deadshot, who was probably long gone, too.

Infuriated, I rammed my fist into a nearby container. My fist went straight through the thick steel. I drew it out, cursing Athena under my breath.

He'd heard of Deathstroke. The man was a legend, and not really in a good way. Bruce could barely keep up with him, especially not when Deadshot was aiming for him as well -

Batman ducked another swiped of Deathstroke's blows, blocked his sword, and twisted him around, breaking the sword in two. Deathstroke growled, headbutted him, sending him stumbling back slightly, and the assassin leaped into the air and hit the Batman with a roundhouse kick that sent Batman sprawling back off the edge of the container -

Batman twisted around mid-air, using a retractable bo staff as a catch, and swung himself back up and knocked a startled Deathstroke right onto his back. The assassin quickly recovered and dropped into a roll, coming back up onto his feet in a crouching position. Batman maintained his position warily. Batgirl and Robin couldn't get involved in this - not when a sniper was on the loose.

"You two, stay put," he hissed into his earcom. To Deathstroke he demanded, "Who hired you?"

"Come now, Batman," said the arrogant assassin, rising to his feet. "You should know that always remains a secret." And he hurled a grenade at the Dark Knight -

Batman threw up his cape and dropped back off the container just as the grenade exploded. But when he jumped back up onto the container, the assassin was gone.

Batman hissed under his breath. This was far from over. They were playing with him and Diana, teasing them. Trying to wear them down bit by bit.

Like hell, he growled internally.

"Batman, report in." Diana sounded pissed off. Seriously pissed off.

"He's gone," said Batman grimly. "For now."

"She got away," she growled. "Whoever she was - she was strong. Stronger than anyone I've fought in a long time. I think... I think she was goddess-influenced."

"Athena?"

"Yes. But she also mentioned someone else. I thought it was Artemis, but I'm not sure."

Batman scowled. "Why would Athena go to these lengths, even for Hippolyta?"

"Ares is dead. He was the god war, she the goddess of battle. She thought he would kill me. When he didn't... now she's closing in. My moth- Hippolyta... She wants me dead. And not just me. And not just dead." She sounded strangely weary. It unnerved him.

Batman folded his arms across his chest. "I don't think it was Maroni alone who hired these assassins."

"Who else would it be?"

Batman was silent. "I don't know. Did you get anything out of that... cheetah woman?"

"No." A pause. "The lasso didn't work on her."

Batman tried to hide his astonishment. Thankfully she couldn't see him, and even so, the mask worked wonders. "I thought it was Olympian made."

"It is. Which is why she must be protected by Athena."

Batman glowered. "More Olympians in Gotham. Perfect."

"If you're blaming me -"

"I never said that."

"It was implied," said Diana irritably.

"Maybe," Batman growled, "If you would stop attacking me and assuming I think the worst of you -"

"I don't assume anything."

"Every time we talk you bite my head off."

"I'm an Olympian, too, Bruce! You're blaming me for something I can't control! You think I want the Olympians here? I'd just as soon slice Athena's head off - all their heads - if it meant I didn't have to deal with them!" she thundered.

A cold silence fell over the two of them.

"Um... guys... we have a plan or what?"

Batman had completely forgotten their coms were connected to the children's.

Diana sighed. "I'm heading home for tonight, kiddos."

"You go ahead," said Batman coolly. "I have more work to do here."

Diana hesitated, as if she wanted to say something, and flew away. "Robin, Batgirl, why don't you stay with your father. I'll be in the Cave when you get back."

And she shut off her com and disappeared into the night.

Batman glared after her. If this kept up, maybe there wouldn't be a wedding left to plan. He had enough on his plate as it was, what with Deadshot after both Bruce Wayne and Batman - and now they had not one, but several assassins out for their heads. They didn't have time for these pointless quarreling. His son alighted on the roof next to him, Batgirl following closely behind him.

"You guys are fighting like cats and dogs," Dick said, annoyed. "I don't know what your problem is, but you need to figure it out."

"Keep your head focused on the mission, Robin," snapped Batman.

"You keep your head focused," muttered Robin.

Batman rounded on him to give him a sharp retort until he saw the look on Robin's face.

"There's something wrong with her," Robin blurted out. "She's not herself, Bruce."

Batman hesitated. "I know," he said finally. A pause, then he placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "The night is still young, Robin. Let's keep digging."

Robin nodded after a moment and saluted. "Sir, yessir." He looked over at Cass, crouched there silently, watching the both of them.

Batman paused as his earcom received a call from Gordon. "Jim, go ahead."

"Hey, could you stop by the precinct? Something you should see. Also, mind if we have company? I have Dent's assistant D.A. here."

"Be right there." Batman shut off the link. "We'll finish this another time. They'll be back." And he shot his grapple gun into the air, knowing the two would be just behind him. They jumped down into the Tumbler and sped off towards Gordon's office. Several minutes later, they joined Gordon on the roof. But Gordon was not alone. A woman stood beside him, eagerly waiting.

Batman regarded the young woman very carefully. She looked a little older than Diana, in her mid-to-late twenties. Her eyes widened only fractionally when he and the kids appeared out of the shadows.

"Gordon." He was more formal in company.

"Batman, this is assistant D.A. Dinah Lance. She's been wanting to meet you."

"Sir, nice to meet you." She held out a hand, but he did not shake it. She retracted it, a bit chagrined. But she recovered herself quickly. "I've heard you've done a lot of good, Batman. I'm looking forward to hopefully working with you in the future."

Again, he said nothing. She was eager, yes. But she was also hiding something.

He hadn't been called the World's Greatest Detective for nothing. "Why did you leave Star City?" he demanded in a low growl.

Dinah went pale. "What?"

"Star City. You left abruptly. You had a secure job there; a boyfriend. Oliver Queen, I believe. Playboy billionaire. Why leave all that behind?"

Dinah's eyes flashed. "How the hell..." She cut herself off. "That's none of your business."

Batman advanced on her several steps. "You come into my city and say you want to start working with me. How do I know what side you're really on if you can't even be honest with yourself, much less me? Gotham will tear you apart, Miss Lance, before you even get to the bottom. You need to have more than a thick skin if you're going to survive here."

Dinah's jaw tightened. She looked away for a moment, then straightened and looked at him coolly, directly in the eye. "What I'm about to tell you is for your ears only. Can I trust you to keep a secret?"

Batman merely stared at her.

Dinah shook her head, smiling wryly. "Of course. Who am I talking to." Her smile, bitter, quickly faded. "I... I had to leave. I almost got caught at a crime scene. I have a... unique ability, Batman. I don't even think you'd call me human. I'm only telling you this because I know your partner is even less 'human' than I am."

He waited for her to continue.

"There was a man," said Dinah tightly. "In my apartment building. I knew he was abusing his niece; her parents were dead. He was getting away with... a lot. So one night, he attacked her again. I stepped in, and he came after me." She blinked, her eyes narrowed as she stared at him. "The man is not only permanently deaf, but in a coma. He might not ever wake up, because of me. I won't go into detail, not now. But know this - I'm here because Gotham is a city that is redeemable. You and Wonder Woman are leading the way, and not just for regular people - she's not. And maybe you're not, either. I don't know. But I know that you and she - and your partners back there -" She nodded to Robin and Batgirl, shooting them a small smile - "Are doing a lot of good. And I just want to help, in any way I can."

Batman studied her. "That's enough. For now."

She nodded. "Thank you."

"But make no mistake, Miss Lance," he warned, "Do not cross me."

"You have my word." She held out her hand.

Now, he shook it. Then he turned to Jim. "There was an incident at the docks tonight. Several assassins came after us."

"Assassins? As in more than one?" demanded Gordon.

"It would seem so," said Batman. "Deadshot - Floyd Lawton. And Deathstroke - also known as Slade Wilson. He's a military experiment gone wrong... or very right, depending on how you look at it. There was also a woman - a cheetah woman - "

"Cheetah woman?" demanded Dinah.

Batman nodded tersely. "Yes. She went specifically after Wonder Woman. But she was working with the others. Enhanced strength, senses... and she looked like a cat-woman."

Gordon frowned. "I've been hearing about a cat-woman, but more like a burglar. Runs around in a black cat costume robbing museums and rich people right and left."

"No. This is someone different. A meta-human." He watched Dinah Lance's expression as he said this term, and he was not disappointed in her reaction. "Someone with enhanced, inhuman abilities. Slade is a manufactured meta-human."

Gordon rubbed his temples. "More good news," he said grimly. "But who's left to dish out the reward? Just because Maroni's in prison doesn't mean he can't be running things. We'll have to put him in solitary, keep a tighter leash on him."

Batman was silent.

Gordon froze. "You don't think it's Maroni, do you?"

"I don't know yet. Partially. I think he could be a front for someone else."

"But who?"

"I don't know."

Gordon rubbed his temples. "Not that you don't have enough on your plate already..."

Batman turned to him. "What is it?"

"Can't call it a serial killer yet, but this is pretty nasty stuff." Gordon handed him several photos.

Batman slowly flipped through the photos, growing more and more disgusted and horrified as he did so. "This is... this is different," he said grimly. "This isn't some mob hit or a simple crime. This has intent. This was planned. Carefully executed."

"My first thought was selling organs - including skin - on the black market. But we haven't been able to find any potential buyers who would be interested, at least, not in Gotham. Whoever this is, he's keeping a low profile."

Batman's eye lenses narrowed. "I'll do some digging. Stay sharp, Jim." And he disappeared into the night.

"You, too," muttered Jim.

Bruce returned to the cave to find Diana typing away on the computer, dressed in a simple lightweight cotton nightgown reaching her knees. With a simple nod to Robin and Cass, he sent them up to bed. Pulling off his cowl, he ran a hand through his hair - he needed a haircut and a shave - and came up behind her. He pressed a hand to her shoulder, wary of the response; to his relief she tensed for only a moment before relaxing and covered his hand with one of her own. He leaned down, pressed a kiss to her shoulder, and started kneading her soft skin.

She sighed, and as he drew close again, he noticed something startling. He turned her chair around and took her chin in his hands.

"What the hell is this?" he growled, noticing her olive skin marred with four long cuts down her cheek.

"Oh. That cheetah woman. I'm fine."

"I haven't seen you injured like this since... in a long time."

"Well, I'm pretty sure she has goddess backing... But don't worry about it." Her voice started out very tight, but ended in a soft tone. "I'll be fine. Let me look at you."

"I'm fine." He straightened.

"Uh-huh." She helped him out of his armor down to his underarmor shirt and pants. She lifted up his shirt, saw the strikes of Deathstroke's sword, and the bullet wound from Deadshot's hit. "Bruce! You got shot!"

"It's not that bad -"

"Not that bad! Babe, you got shot!"

Bruce shrugged, his attention already on his phone. "Princess, I've had worse."

She made a growl of frustration. "Shirt off, buddy."

"Yes, Your Highness." There was a note of humor in Bruce's voice.

She whacked him across the chest; he winced and took off his shirt. He started tapping on the main computer, and she worked around him, cleaning up his wounds and pulling the bullet out and stitching him up. He would never admit how much he actually liked Diana patching up his wounds. Not that he was a masochist, but really... she was just so beautiful.

Right. Marriage. Work. Marriage.

"Should just elope," he muttered to himself.

"Can't," Diana said through the gauze between her teeth as she finished wrapping gauze around his arm wound. "Alfred and Mom would kill us."

He kept forgetting somehow about her enhanced hearing. "Right," he said dryly. He plugged into Gotham PD's mainframe and then cross-referenced that with their own database. Running a hand over his stubble covered jaw, he didn't even realize it was scruff by now.

"You haven't shaved in a few days," said Diana, her voice suddenly a low, warm drawl.

He raised an eyebrow, his gaze still focused on the screen. "Been a little busy."

"Do I look like I'm complaining?"

Now he turned to look at her, and her eyes were shining. He leaned forward and kissed her slowly, tenderly. He pressed his forehead against hers.

"I'm sorry about tonight," she murmured. "I was out of line. Way out of line."

"You haven't been sleeping. We're worried about you." He ran his hands through her long hair.

"I'm worried about you, too," she confessed. "You haven't been sleeping, either. And not just because of me."

Bruce pulled back slowly, turned back to the computer. "Got a lot on my mind." And several headshots appeared onscreen. "This is who we have after us. Deadshot, aka Floyd Lawton. Slade Wilson, also known as Deathstroke. I don't know who the woman is, but she's only recently appeared in a couple of museum heists, a focus in ancient artifacts. She goes by Cheetah. And then we have a few others, according to the phone swipe I got off Deathstroke. I could only get the list, but the ID and number traced back to a spare phone. Paid with cash. Impossible to trace. But there are others. Oswald Cobblepot -"

Diana snorted.

He gave her a look. "Goes by 'the Penguin.' He's a mobster of sorts, owns a few less-than-reputable businesses, clubs in Gotham. Police have been trying to nab him for years without success. And... the Black Mask. Real identity unknown. He'll send out his hired guns, though. He wouldn't go after us himself. And then... we have a few others." He touched the computer keyboard, and Diana's breath hitched.

"Oh."

"I know."

"You think she'll come after us?"

"She's still a cold-blooded assassin, Diana," he reminded her.

"Yes," she said, a strange note in her voice. "But we're raising her daughter."

"Whom she originally raised as an assassin."

Diana frowned. "I don't think she'd take this job, Bruce."

"But you're not sure," he said.

A pause. "No," she said finally. "I'm not sure."

He touched the keyboard again, and her eyes flashed red.

"Oh. No. No, no, no. He wouldn't."

"He has every reason to," Bruce said grimly. "Despite his feelings for you, he had no qualms about nearly killing your mother. Or Cassandra."

"You don't think I know that?" she seethed. "Bruce, he's a sociopath! He doesn't even know what love would even feel like. He was just trying to use me, to use my emotions against me."

"You don't believe his declaration was real," he said, surprised.

"Of course not!" she snarled. "You do?"

He looked at her, then at Bane's picture. "I saw his eyes, Diana. He did love you. In his own way."

"Screw him."

"I'd rather not," said Bruce. His jaw tightened. "Diana... I need to do some digging."

"No," she said instantly.

He frowned. "Diana, my father either cheated on my mother, or he met Bane's mother before he married my mother. Either way, I need to know what happened."

"If he comes after us again -"

"We'll be ready. I have a feeling he won't. At least not after you."

He looked at her, and her eyes were fierce.

"If he hurts you again," she said quietly, "He will regret it."

"That's my girl," Bruce said with a grim smile. He wrapped his arms around her, rested his chin on her shoulder. She sank into him, deflating.

"I know it's in my blood, Bruce," she said, "But I'm tired of people trying to hurt our family."

"Me, too. But we do what needs to be done."

"I know."

"Probably will be doing this for the next forty-or so years."

"Please, Bruce. The only reason Batman is going away is when you're no longer able to stand."

"Hmm." He stared at all of the assassins listed on the computer.

There was a bigger piece missing here. Maroni in jail, the Russian still on the run after the Gotham War, and yet it still felt like things were just getting worse. And those things were only just getting started.

The hit on them was just the beginning. Someone was after them - and that someone knew who they were.

He needed to know who. Olympian or no Olympian - there were other forces at work besides disgruntled, psychotic goddesses of war. More human opponents.

One of them just happened to be his half-brother.

"Diana," he said finally, "Whoever hired these assassins made a mistake. They know us, but not that well. Not well enough to know your connection to Shiva. Or if they do... and if they do know about Cass, they obviously don't know Shiva well enough to know why she gave us Cassandra. Not well enough to know our connection to Bane. But they do know us."

"You think it's someone we know."

"Maybe not that well. But someone with a serious history... someone with a very big vendetta against us."

"Athena would make sense."

"Unless she's working through someone else - or with someone else." Bruce's eyes narrowed. "Whoever it is, you know we'll never get answers from the assassins. Not most of them, anyway."

"You want to ask Shiva... or Bane."

"Yes."

"But if they don't come after us... If they don't take the job... We'll have to hunt them down."

"Good thing I'm one hell of a detective."

He felt, rather than saw Diana grin, and she slid her arms around his neck. Her scent, her skin made him heady, and he sucked in a sharp breath as she pressed her lips to his.

"Answer me this, then, Detective," she murmured, "what am I thinking about right now?"

Bruce locked his arms around her, wound his hand in her endless hair, and crashed his lips onto hers.

Tonight, in the early morning hours at least, they would find peace in one another.

As much as Bruce disliked having to put on his Bruce Wayne mask, he also saw it as part of the job. Even if it meant having to put on his mask for Harvey Dent. He'd agreed to meet Harvey and Dinah Lance for dinner this evening. He was still aching and sore from the fight with Deathstroke the night before, but at least Diana had already healed. Artemis had been furious, as had Alkyone. But the gods, including Hades and Persephone, had not yet responded.

Bruce didn't really care. He didn't want them anywhere near him or his family, including Diana. He just wanted them all gone, all of them. They'd done more harm than good, most of them. If they wouldn't even protect Diana, he wanted them out. Well, he wanted them out, anyway. He wouldn't admit being afraid of what he didn't understand, but there was still something about the Olympians that bugged him. Whether they were aliens or just an ancient, long-living species from another universe or dimension... they had still proved a constant irritation. He'd been plagued with them ever since he'd been younger, since he'd met Diana. They'd plagued her for even longer. He would not let them, including Athena, dictate their fate.

Diana tugged at her short auburn wig and adjusted her very geeky, boxy glasses with a thick black rim. She frowned at herself in the mirror, blinked with her green contact lenses, and twisted around to look at her very conservative outfit in the mirror. A slightly-above-the-knee A-line small floral patterned dress, thin pink belt, and a pale aqua cardigan matching her aqua flats was her ensemble tonight. She let her short auburn wig hang down in light waves; but she kept tugging on the ends.

"Need to make these less itchy," she muttered.

While he desperately missed her long raven hair and shining blue eyes, Bruce had to admit she looked absolutely adorable. Definitely not one of Bruce Wayne's sleazes of the week. She looked like an elementary school teacher, the definition of "cute."

Definitely not what anyone would be expecting from Bruce Wayne's fiancee.

"You look beautiful," he said sincerely.

She turned to him and grinned, her nose wrinkling. "You look really good," she said, torn between envy and attraction. "You wear that suit like it was made for you. Oh, wait, it was... custom-made and tailored," she said with an amused roll of her eyes.

Bruce grinned but tugged on his tie. "Trust me. I'd rather wear the other suit." He let her adjust his tie.

"I'd rather be wearing a snuggie, but we can't always get what we want," Diana said blandly.

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you have a snuggie."

Diana just grinned. "I have a lot of things, Bruce Wayne. Some which will have to wait until we're married." She smirked at his astonished, suddenly red face. "Married, buddy," she said, punching his chest lightly. "Married."

Dick burst into the room and flopped on the bed. "How come you guys get to go to a fancy dinner?" he grumbled. "I wanna go."

Diana collapsed on the bed beside him and ruffled his hair, embracing him tightly. "Nice try, bird-boy. But this will be boring, I promise. I can order something for you, if you want... Like one of their specially made chocolate cheesecakes."

Bruce gave her a look.

"If you do all of your homework and clean up your room," she added, much to Dick's annoyance.

"Ugh... yes, Mom."

Although the word had been said as a mocking word, Dick suddenly sobered and looked up at Diana for her reaction. Bruce watched both of them, hesitating.

Diana's face was hesitant. She'd never been called "Mom" before. Not with words. When she saw Dick's stricken face, she simply forced a smile and kissed his head. "Thanks, hon."

She rose to her feet, straightened out her dress. "Ready to go face the wolves?" she said, attempting to put on a smile.

Bruce, unsure of what to say, simply nodded. He exchanged glances with Dick; his adopted son still looked unsure of what to say. Rising to his feet, he added, "Don't stay up too late," and started to leave the room with Diana.

"Wait!" Dick blurted out before the door closed behind them.

The couple halted, looked back at him.

"I meant it," he said, tears in his eyes. He chewed on his cheek and looked away awkwardly.

Diana's eyes filled with tears. She covered her mouth with a hand, tried to breathe normally without much success. She let out a slow breath. "We'll be back before one," she said. "Don't stay up too late, kay?"

Dick rubbed his eyes. "Okay."

She smiled the most brilliant smile at him; and Bruce hid a small smile and closed the door behind him.

"You okay?" he asked in a low voice, pressing a hand to the small of her back.

"More than okay," she replied. For the first time in months, Bruce saw a real smile on Diana's face.

He took her hand, pressed a kiss to the back of it, and led her to the car.

Thoughts?

After these pretty depressing chapters, thought I'd end with a high, bittersweet note.

More of Deathstroke to come. Picture him as a mix of Arkham Origins and Arrow. But Green Arrow I picture as Justin Hartley, or JLU Green Arrow. Same goes for Dinah.

Also, I can't picture Artemis as anyone else but Katheryn Winnick's Lagertha. Seriously.

- Christy