Tell Me Lies
By Ugly_Girl
Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction that infringes upon copyrights and characters owned by DC Comics and Warner Bros. This author (nor anyone else) is making no money, nor receiving any type of compensation for this work.
This fanfic is based in the Justice League animated universe. All bastardization of characterizations is mine.
Rated PG
Part V
Diana was lost in the story of Odysseus when the quiet knock sounded at the door to her bedroom suite. Assuming it was Shayera, who often brought in tubs of ice cream for a 'light midnight snack' over which the two women would often trade stories of their day's battles, or their histories, Diana automatically gave the command for the door to open, not bothering to put anything on over her short nightgown.
"Diana?"
Her head snapped up, and she saw Batman standing in the entrance to the room.
"Batman," she said awkwardly, and looked around for a robe. Ridiculous, really, she thought, since her uniform covered much less than her nightgown, but her uniform was not nearly so – feminine. Or romantic. She tried to imagine fighting supervillains in silk and lace and had to hold back a nearly hysterical giggle.
When she realized there was nothing on hand to put on immediately, she sighed and decided that it would be far more uncomfortable to have him wait around while she looked for covering, than just remaining in what she had on. Showing the skin didn't bother her -- it was just so…silky. Something to wear with a lover, not a teammate.
She gestured for him to sit down on one of the sofas, but he remained standing.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," he said. He nodded toward the pile of papers and books next to her.
She shook her head. "No, I'm just working on the article."
"Article?" he repeated, and she reminded herself that, of course, he was going to pretend that he didn't know what had gone on between her and Wayne Publishing.
And she had to remember to pretend that she didn't know that he knew. "Ah, yes. I'm doing a book for Wayne Publishing, and right now I'm writing an article on Circe and the Odyssey to be published in a journal before the book is released, to generate interest in the book."
"Oh, are you seeing Wayne again then?"
I am now, she thought, but held her tongue. This was so confusing. She had left Bruce Wayne that afternoon, upset and hurt by him, and now Batman stood before her acting as if he didn't know what had gone one -- and she couldn't remain mad at Batman, because then he would know that she knew his identity. But she did, she realized, remain hurt by his words. Those words that had said she couldn't function on her own in Man's World, that she only managed because of her friends' help.
"Why are you here, Batman? I know you don't usually make small talk."
She heard him take a deep breath. "Because, Diana, there is a problem with the team, and right now you are at the core of it."
And she felt as if he had smashed her with a twelve ton rock. Was she to be thrown out, exiled from the Justice League as she had been Themyscira? And why was it always the people she cared for the most -- her mother, Batman -- that had to pass the sentence on her?
******
He couldn't take his eyes off her.
He was glad, not for the first time, for the lenses in his mask that helped hide the expression in his eyes, or she would have realized that he had been struck dumb at the first sight of her tonight.
She had been reading when he'd come into the room, the tiny nightgown she wore clinging softly to her skin. Her hair had been tucked behind her ears, tumbling down over her shoulders, as dark as midnight, as silky as a cat's. Her face had been framed by that hair, her features too perfect for words, her brows drawn together in concentration as she made notes in her book.
He had watched her every movement, her every expression since he had entered, so he didn't miss the multitude of emotions that flitted across her face when he made his statement about the problem with the team: anger, hurt, fear, sadness -- and acknowledgement.
He frowned. "You do know what I'm talking about?"
She hesitated, turned her face from him before whispering, "You think that I might be endangering the team."
He relaxed. So she did know that her avoidance of him could cause a problem. If the team felt that two of the members were at odds, their trust in each other was not as absolute as it should be, given the dangerous situations they were placed in nearly every day. "Yes," he confirmed.
Her shoulders drooped a little, and he wished he could make it easier for her, but this had to be done. "Have the others noticed? And do they agree?"
Batman thought back to the expressions of surprise on the other leaguers' faces whenever she requested an assignment separate from his, remembered how Superman had, earlier that day, tried to ask if anything had happened between he and Diana to make her avoid him like she had been. "Yes, they've noticed. And they are concerned as well."
She bit her lip. "Why didn't anyone else say anything?"
Batman's eyebrows drew together in confusion. That was an odd question, but he tried to answer it as truthfully as he could, "Because it's a personal matter, and a potentially painful one.
Diana's breath hitched, and for a second he thought she might be crying -- but no, her face was blank, if a little tense. "I'll fix it," she said.
And then she took him by surprise, walking forward, pulling his head down for a kiss. Her lips touched his, soft and moist, and he couldn't think, but just let himself deepen the kiss, inhaling her scent, holding her closer, letting his hands run down her strong, slim form.
She pulled away first, and turned from him.
He tried to catch his breath, recover from the shock and pleasure of the kiss. He reached a hand out to her, wishing she would turn so he could see her face. "I don't under--"
She interrupted him. "I'll fix it, Batman." She took a deep breath. "I would like to be alone now."
Batman nodded, even though she couldn't see his movement. He would leave her alone -- for now. He hadn't found out her reasons for avoiding him, but if her kiss was any indication then she was done evading his presence. He would find out what had caused the problem in the first place tomorrow. Then he would talk to her about the kiss.
He couldn't stop the tiny smile from reaching his lips as he left the room.
*******
When the door slid shut, Diana sank to the floor, her chest aching and breath shuddery. But she didn't let herself cry.
They were kicking her out. The league had decided that she was endangering them -- because of her unfamiliarity with Man's World. Her naivete. She knew that they respected her as a warrior, but obviously her lack of knowledge about how people think and how things work in Man's World were considered a danger.
Well, she wouldn't endanger them anymore.
She controlled her breathing, and stood, looking around the room. She didn't have many things -- just the few items she had brought from Themyscira, and a couple of books and gifts from the other leaguers. It would take her no time at all to pack.
As she gathered her things, she wondered what Batman had thought when she had kissed him. When she realized that to fix things she was going to have to leave, she hadn't been able to help herself.
She had just wanted to touch him one last time.
********
When Batman came into the conference room, he immediately noticed two things: Diana wasn't there, and the rest of the league looked confused and sad.
He sat in his usual position at Superman's right. "Where's Wonder Woman?"
Superman shook his head. "We don't know."
Batman frowned. "What do you mean?"
Superman slid a note to him.
Dear friends,
I am afraid that my presence is causing a problem within the league, and that I am endangering you all by staying. So I must resign my position in the Justice League. I wish you all the best of luck and safety, and hope you understand my need to leave.
Love,
Diana
"It's ridiculous! Endangering us? Where would she have gotten such a preposterous idea?" Hawkgirl banged her fist on the table, obviously upset.
Everyone in the league except for Superman and Batman began talking, their voices mixing.
"Why would she do this?"
"Is she being controlled by someone?"
"What happened? She seemed happy here yesterday."
The conversations and questions continued until Superman held up his hand. "The question is," he said, "Do we go after her?"
Five heads began to nod, but Batman's voice cut harshly through the room. "No."
Six heads turned to look at him.
"We will respect her wish to resign. If Diana feels that she can not be with our team, then we should not force her to come back into a situation in which she is obviously uncomfortable."
"You're right," Superman said, and sighed. "I just wish she hadn't gone."
The others agreed, and Batman stood. He needed to leave, to be by himself.
As he walked away, one thought ran through his head, tightened his chest, created a sinking feeling in his stomach: Diana had resigned rather than forcing herself to be around him. She had left rather than stop avoiding him.
She had left because she couldn't stand him.
The knowledge nearly tore him apart.
Part VI
Bruce dragged his hand through his hair, frustrated, then decided to make the call.
Daniel Lee picked up almost immediately.
Bruce forced himself to speak in a light, careless tone, as if the information he wanted meant nothing to him. "So, Daniel, I hear that Wonder Woman's article is out on stands today? Any word on sales and the initial buzz for her book?"
"According to all indications, Bruce, we are going to make a killing on this thing. The journal is flying off the stands, and we've already got pre-orders for the book – more than I've ever seen before." Sounds of ruffling papers came over the phone. "Speaking of which, I've just received the first draft from Diana. From what I've read so far it's absolutely brilliant."
"Did she leave a return address this time?" Bruce hadn't intended to ask the question – he'd had a million chances over the last couple of months to investigate her whereabouts but hadn't let himself – but this time his curiosity about her got the best of him.
He wouldn't admit that he missed her. She had chosen to leave, and that was that.
"A PO Box in California," Daniel said. "A small town -- Hillsport. I guess when she left the Justice League she decided to live quietly for a while." Daniel chuckled. "She's becoming a recluse just like any writer."
"Uh-huh," Bruce said absently. His mind was racing – did he own any businesses in Hillsport? Was there an excuse he could use to go there, to check up on her?
"Anyway, Bruce, I have to go – I have a meeting in five minutes with a professor from Harvard who is very interested in Diana's assertion in her article that Odysseus' wife Penelope was an Amazon, and that Circe had tried to destroy their marriage when Odysseus arrived back home. Diana's story changes the entire ending of the epic. I'm trying to set up a meeting with Diana to talk with the professor – it's just a matter of getting a hold of her."
"I'm sure you will," Bruce said cheerily, and hung up. He sat back in his chair, brooding. Diana had been gone for nearly two months now, and he had resisted any impulse to look her up, to find out what she was doing.
He stood, stretched, and walked casually over to a panel in the wall. He hit the secret button in the molding, and a computer linked to the Batcave slid out.
"Hillsport," he muttered, and began searching.
*******
On an island in the Mediterranean, thousands of miles from Themyscira...
I hear their voices, calling my name. Not loudly, but quietly, as if speaking in Athenian libraries or classrooms. I hear my name, I hear my story – the true story. The story I have tried to forget in my endless sleep.
How dare they?
My name has been spoken many times over the last three thousand years, but never at this rate, at this volume. And I am beginning to awaken. They call for me – I should come. They say my name – I should answer.
And I should destroy the one who has said the truth, who has besmirched my name, who has told the lies of the Amazon, Penelope. Penelope, who stole my love from me – and now a new Amazon makes me relive my pain, my humiliation through the voices of others.
I will make the Amazon pay.
********
Diana set the two plates of food down in front of the customers, turned, and froze.
Bruce.
What was he doing here? Would he recognize her? Her hand automatically went to her hair – the blonde wig that she wore during her hours at work. It was in place, her fake eyeglasses were on, so maybe she would escape notice from him.
Escape notice from the Batman? A little voice inside reminded her, and she sighed. No, there was no way that she was going to get out of this without him realizing who she was. In fact, she'd place bets that he knew she was here before he came.
She frowned, and filled a cup of coffee. So why was he here? Was he checking up on her? Making sure she kept out of trouble? If he was here as Bruce Wayne then it wasn't for Justice League business.
Bruce's table was in her area, so she was eventually forced to go over to him, order pad ready. She pasted on a fake smile.
"What can I get for you?"
"A cup of coffee and about fifteen minutes to talk to you, Diana," he said.
She blinked. So he wasn't going to pretend that he didn't recognize her, either. "Why, Bruce?"
He sighed. "I need to talk to you about your article, and your contract with Wayne Publishing."
She had to fight the disappointment that he was there purely for Wayne business. Of course he isn't here because of any other reason, she told herself. "Where's Mr. Lee? I thought I was going to deal only through him?"
"Daniel had other meetings, and since I was out on the West Coast anyway, I volunteered to stop."
"Oh," Diana said, then added, "I get off work in half an hour. I can talk then." She went back to the kitchen. Once inside, she leaned against the door, trying to get hold of her roiling emotions. She had seen him in newspapers, on the television since she had left the Justice League, but seeing Bruce again in person had thrown her.
She wondered if her feelings for him would ever fade, if she would ever be free of him.
She worked quickly over the next half hour, keeping her mind as busy as possible, trying not to think of the man in the corner booth. Finally, she was done, and she slid into the seat across from him.
"Do you want to talk here?" she asked.
He shook his head. "We'll go out to my car, then to your place."
She nodded. "Just let me get my things."
********
Bruce caught Alfred's look in the review mirror, and fought a smile. The older man was convinced that he was here for personal reasons.
But I will keep it strictly business, he promised himself. What he had told Diana hadn't been a complete lie – he did want to talk to her about her book. But Daniel could have made it out to California.
She sat next to him in the car, staring out the window, giving Alfred directions now and then. Not that Alfred needed them; Bruce had discovered nearly everything to do with her time in Hillsport before he'd left the office yesterday. She worked at a small café even though she didn't need the money anymore – the advance she'd gotten on the book made her a very rich woman – she rented a small house by the beach, and kept generally to herself, only purchasing groceries and small items locally. She didn't have transportation – she probably discreetly flew wherever she needed to go – and every weekend she made purchases in larger cities. Sightseeing, he imagined.
And the crime rate in her small city had gone down to nothing. There had been reports of a woman who had stopped several crimes, but no one had gotten a good look at her.
Bruce knew it was Diana, though. She would never completely give up crimefighting – her sense of responsibility was too high. She would feel guilty if she didn't actively use her powers for good, protecting the people around her.
They arrived at her home, and they decided to sit on the balcony with a view of the ocean. Diana invited Alfred inside, but he said that he preferred to remain with the car.
"It'll only take a little while anyway," Bruce added.
Diana changed out of her work uniform and met him on the balcony, dressed casually in a yellow sundress. She had removed the wig and the glasses.
She looked, Bruce decided, incredibly beautiful. He couldn't think of one model or actress that he'd dated that looked half as beautiful, and they had used a lot of makeup, had the best personal trainers and dieticians. Diana's beauty was completely natural.
She gazed out over the ocean. "Being here reminds me of living on Themyscira," she said softly. "The sea right here at my back door, the smells of the ocean..."
Bruce's heart twisted for her – he knew that she missed her home, her family. And now, without the Justice League, she was almost completely alone. He knew that feeling, the despair of losing one's family. But, unlike him, she had been exiled from her family. They were still alive, she just couldn't be with them on the island. He wondered if in some ways that was worse than what he had gone through.
In some ways, but not in others, he guessed.
Realizing that his feelings for her were in danger of rising to the surface, he pushed them back, focusing instead on what he had said he'd come to do. "Daniel wants to you to return to the East Coast for a while, to give a series of lectures and talks on your upcoming book. There are several professors from various universities that would like to talk to you as well, and Wayne Publishing would like you to participate."
Diana sighed, and nodded. "It is part of my contract. If you give me times and locations, I'll be there."
Bruce looked at her in surprise. He hadn't expected it to be that easy. He searched for something else to say. "I also have an edited copy of your manuscript in the car."
"Good," Diana said. "I'll get back to work on it right away." A strange expression passed over her face fleetingly, and then she asked, "Did my leaving the Justice League damage potential sales of the book? I would feel bad if the book didn't sell now. I could give back the money, if it doesn't."
Bruce shook his head. "If anything, it made you more popular, since you have become mysterious." And, because he wanted to hear her say it, no matter how painful the truth might be to him, he asked, "Why did you leave the Justice League?" He already knew – she couldn't stop avoiding Batman, couldn't stand to be around him. But he wanted to hear it from her own lips, even if she thought she was telling Bruce Wayne, not Batman.
Her eyebrows drew together, as if in quick anger. "Don't you know--?" But she stopped herself, smiled slightly as if reminding herself of something. "No, of course you don't know," she muttered, then continued at a normal tone, "Well, Bruce, the Justice League had the same concerns about me that you did once – that I wasn't familiar enough with Man's World to take care of myself, and that was a danger to the team because I don't know how people on Man's World think. Batman himself told me this the night I left."
Bruce was shocked, and opened his mouth to correct her mistake when he realized that he couldn't. As Bruce Wayne, he wouldn't know what Batman was supposed to have meant. So instead he had to choke out the words, "Then it was probably right that you left, if you felt you were endangering the team."
He saw her flinch slightly, and told himself that he would make it up to her, that as soon as possible he would return as Batman and clear up the misunderstanding.
And he felt something else, too – elation that it hadn't been because of him that she had left, but because she had misunderstood his meaning. She would return to the Justice League, then.
She had to return. He...missed her.
He stood, already making plans to come back as Batman within a day or two, and pretend to know nothing about this conversation, and convince her to return.
She walked him to the door, where he smiled boyishly and flirtatiously. She didn't know he was Batman, after all, but thought he was Bruce Wayne, notorious playboy.
So as Bruce Wayne he kissed her, allowed himself to pour all of his emotions into the kiss, emotions that he could never show her when he was Batman. She clung to him, lips moving softly against his.
He broke away, smiled again. "Nice to see you again, Diana," he said carelessly, hating the act he had to put on as Bruce, as if she was just another woman that he kissed casually.
She touched her lips, looked away. "Goodbye, Bruce," she whispered, and he turned and met Alfred at the car.
But he would be back, and he would make things right.
*********
Diana got up early, still thinking about Bruce. She tried to put him from her mind as she began working at the café, until the news came out over the television:
We have exclusive footage of the woman who captured the Justice League. Calling herself "the Sorceress", she seemed to use some kind of magic to incapacitate the league, and then vanished them to an unknown location.
Diana watched in horror as the TV showed a purple haired woman raising her arms, shouting a spell and the Justice League – including Batman – falling before her. The tape caught the final words of the sorceress before she disappeared:
"Bring me the Amazon, or these heroes will die!"
Circe, Diana realized.
The news continued. Experts agree that the Sorceress is asking for Wonder Woman, the Amazon who resigned from the Justice League two months ago. No one knows where to find her, though, so we can only hope that she will hear of this woman's crime. We need Wonder Woman.
Diana ripped off her wig and glasses, heard the gasps of the other waitresses and customers as they realized who she was.
"I'm sorry," she said to her shocked employer, "but it seems I have to go." She flew out the door to the sound of her boss' voice telling her she was more than happy to give Diana time off as she needed it.
Diana flew east, to find Circe – to find the Justice League.
