A Whale of a Tale

By Icha

Rated: T

Summary: A massive whale stranding threatens to disturb Bruce and Diana's holiday in Bali! Guest starring: the almost forgotten Cascade, and Aquaman - the King of the Oceans.

Disclaimer: Batman, Wonder Woman, Cascade, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, the Batclan and the Global Guardian belong to DC Comics. I deliberately developed the second persona of Cascade (i.e. Chandragita Delphina), her job and her life in Indonesia. This story is in continuity with 'Roses of Paradise'. Many thanks to Athena Phoenix for beta reading.

Chapter 1. The Whales of the Same Color Flock Together

Saturday morning, Ubud – Bali.

It had been raining since early morning, making the cool weather of Ubud cooler. Guests of the Jepun Ubud Hotel walked slowly along the terrace, afraid of the slippery granite path. It was not a hard rain, but the gray clouds in the sky made many guests weary and they started canceling their outdoor activities. Instead, they just hung around the big semi-open lounge of the hotel, watching the misty rainforest in the valley across the lounge and the giant pool facing the valley, its water falling into a heavy cascade made heavier by the rain.

Bruce Wayne was also watching that giant pool, built to protrude over the valley and thus making the water falls directly onto the cliff. He could smell the sweet Bali rain entering the open window of their bungalow, mixed with the fragrance of golden frangipani, gardenia, and cempaka that grew outside the window. He sighed in contentment, grateful that he had let himself come here for a weekend. A rustling noise from the bed made him turn around, smiling to the woman responsible for his being here.

In their bed lay Diana of Themyscira. Still sleepy after a good night's rest, the Amazon struggled to open her eyes. She usually got up easily, especially after Apollo's morning sun greeted her. But the rain this morning made her lazy and sapped her willpower to wake up. Instead, she just rolled to her side, looked at Bruce, and gave him her warm smile.

"Morning, Bruce. You woke up early," She yawned, stretching her hands, and stayed in bed for a while, not wanting to move. "Nice rain."

"Yes, it is. And it makes you lazy, Princess," Bruce said teasingly. He walked over to Diana, leaving the window half open, and the smell of rain came in. From their bed, Diana could also see a part of the giant pool and its cascade that Bruce just contemplated. Cascade. Suddenly Diana remembered her Indonesian heroine friend. What would she think if she knew I'm here... with the Batman?

"Wake up, sleepyhead. You said you wanted to have a paddy walk today." Diana had mentioned the previous night that she wanted to explore the rice paddy field, as most tourists often did. Bruce sat at the edge of the bed, tucking a small golden frangipani he picked just now behind Diana's ear, and then leaned in to kiss her.

"I 'ouh'at'we'd 'ust'stay'ere..." Diana struggled to speak while her lips greeted Bruce's.

"What did you say?" Bruce smirked. "Didn't your mom tell you not to speak when kissing?"

Diana grinned too. Years ago, speaking of Hippolyta would have brought sadness to her. But she had talked about her mother over and over again with Bruce, and now she was used to mentioning her in conversations, and even jokes. "My mother told me not to date a brooding bat, as he would make me moody." She tilted her head, her azure eyes sparkling, "Apparently she was wrong." Bruce responded with his usual sly grin.

"I said, 'I thought we'd just stay here', as it is raining anyway," She continued. "We can have the paddy walk this afternoon, or tomorrow before we go home."

"Whatever you say, Princess." Bruce took her hands, kissing her long fingers. "But don't you want to have breakfast?"

Diana thought for a while. She had awakened to find that she was hungry (must be something with Ubud's weather), and had seen Bruce Wayne, her new boyfriend standing by the window. She could not decide which one she wanted more at the moment. But she was aware of one thing: Bruce was enjoying their short weekend here, and it made her happy.

Actually, she had not found it difficult to persuade Bruce to come with her for a weekend in Ubud, Bali. They had just started dating after their night together at Paradise Island. Two weeks later, she had to go to Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. She had arrived on Thursday to have several meetings with local humanitarian groups about AIDS, organic farming, and women's empowerment. Assisted by her local friends, she also had discussions with some prostitutes about their health and future, as well as giving them martial arts training on Friday. But before leaving New York, she had talked with Bruce about the possibilities of having a short holiday in Bali. By chance, Bruce was in Singapore for his Wayne Enterprises business while she was in Jakarta.

To her relief, Bruce agreed to spend their Saturday and Sunday in Bali. After all, Gotham was pretty quiet those few nights, and plus Nightwing and Alfred had suggested that he take 'some time off'. Apparently the Bludhaven fighter and the English butler had sensed something between Bruce and Diana, as they separately, seemingly absentmindedly just added, "And say hello to (Miss) Diana..." or something like that.

So, trying to be incognito, they flew to Bali separately on Friday evening, Bruce arriving at the Jepun Ubud Hotel only one hour after Diana's arrival (he flew in with the Batwing, as his preferred international means of transportation). After dinner last night, they strolled the cool and quiet streets of Ubud; Diana admiring the silver earrings at the local jewellery shop, while Bruce contemplating the Balinese keris (short dagger) exhibited in front of another shop. They also watched the gong kebyar dance in front of the Ubud Castle, and went back to the hotel as the rain started. Afterwards, they made love at the hotel room, nice and cool because of the rain, with exotic fragrance from the frangipani and jasmine flowers the housekeepers spread over their beds and all over the room. Diana tried to remember how many times they made love last night. Three times. No, four – if we count the one in the bathroom. Wait. Five. While we were watching the silly movie? Yes, five.

And now suddenly she knew what she wanted.

"Mr. Wayne..." she pulled Bruce's arms to her, "...there's some chocolate in the fridge. Eat it if you're hungry now. For I'm going to need you this morning..."

Bruce grinned delightfully. "I suppose you don't need breakfast then, Madam Ambassador?"

"Yes, of course I do. But later, after I have my morning session..."

Looking at the computer monitor, Chandragita Delphina sighed weary. She had arrived at the Marine Mammal Research Center in Sanur, Bali early this morning in the rain. Her blue raincoat was now wet, dripping the rainwater on the floor of her office. She should have left her raincoat outside instead of coming in wearing it, but she forgot. For a few days her attention had been focused completely on the work she had been doing with her friends at the Center.

For more than a month, her research center had been monitoring a pod of killer whales that they encountered during a surveillance cruise on the Savu Sea. She could easily remember the excitement of her team as they spotted the long-awaited pod of transient killer whales passing on the horizon. They had managed to plant satellite tags on some of the whales, in an attempt to track their movements. The transmissions had been successful, and for a month they had been exhilaratingly monitoring the movements of the whales. To their surprise, the pods went back west towards Bali, instead of going east to Timor Leste.

Chandra was a marine mammal researcher that had fallen in love with all whales, especially killer whales, or orcas. Their findings had increased her working hours, but she and her friends did not mind. After all, this was the first project to track the movements of killer whales in the Indonesian sea, and they were dying to know the results. And the fact that the whales had moved towards Bali and her research station had increased her enthusiasm. Her team had hoped that the tags were indeed functioning, not falling from the whales and lost in the sea. Of course they didn't have any clue whatsoever that she, Chandragita, had gone to the sea a few hours after they planted the tags to check them. As Cascade, of course, the almost unknown heroine of Indonesia.

Chandra gazed at her backpack. In its hidden compartment, she had put her Cascade blue-green uniform, in case she needed it. She rarely wore it in Indonesia herself; mostly she appeared as Cascade during her international missions with the Global Guardian. The last time she remembered wearing it in action was during the big tsunami events in the Indian Ocean, last December. She had felt so useless back then that so many people had died despite her efforts to stop the waves. Although she knew there was nothing she could do once Mother Nature was in action, the consolation and help from the Guardian plus Aquaman and the Justice League were not nearly good enough.

She sighed again, drumming her fingers on the table. The monitor showed maps of Indonesia's Bali and Nusa Tenggara islands. The last time the monitor blinked was a week ago, when it showed the pod's position in nearby Sumbawa. Afterwards, they had received no signals at all. Chandra had actually donned her Cascade costume again three days ago, cruising the sea trying to find the whales with no luck. She possessed the power over water and metahuman high speed and resistance for swimming and deep diving, but not the power of flight or telepathy with sea animals that would be very useful in these circumstances. Perhaps she should call Aquaman for help. After all, he was the King of the Oceans; unlike her, a mere whale scientist that happened to have control over the water.

But, calling for Orin just to search for whales? What if the whales just showed up in front of her station then, all happy and healthy?

But, actually calling Aquaman would not be so bad. Chandra liked Orin/Arthur Curry, though she preferred the King with his long hair and beard rather than the clean surfer-like ocean hero like the one she met a few months back. Perhaps he had grown his beard and hair again, and then it would be interesting. But how to call him? Through the Global Guardian commlink? Or the Justice League? For a pod of whales?

Chandra knocked her pencil on her teeth several times, thinking. Calling GG? Or Martian Manhunter at the moon? J'onn would definitely be able to connect her with Orin. Calling, or not calling?

The door opened abruptly. Yanti, her assistant and longtime friend, rushed in with a piece of paper in her hand.

"Mbak, bli Wayan called just now. His friends saw some killer whales off shore Candidasa, about to strand!" Mbak is the Javanese friendly title for girls considered older than the caller; bli is the Balinese title for older man or boy.

Chandra leapt from her chair hastily. Bli Wayan was a hotel manager near Candidasa, a tranquil coastal tourist village in eastern Bali. He occasionally informed the center about whale sightings.

"What is the weather condition there?" she asked anxiously.

"Raining and windy. Perhaps it will get heavier by the hour," Pushing her spectacles to her nose, Yanti also looked worried. "Mbak, one of the whales has a big chunk in her dorsal fin."

"Manis..." whispered Chandra. Manis was the name of the big female killer whale they had found in the Savu Sea. She had a big cut on her dorsal fin, possibly due to a boat strike. She and another young male killer whale were also the ones wearing satellite tags. The last time Cascade checked on Manis, she had realized that the female whale was pregnant.

Chandra grabbed her raincoat and backpack. No time for Orin. She had to go to Candidasa to prevent the stranding. And damn it, she could not do that as Cascade, because her team would be going with her.

Rushing, she walked to the door. "We will go to Candidasa now. Prepare all the ropes, medical equipment, etc. I will start the jeep." Yanti nodded, hurrying to the cabinet at the corner of the room. Chandra grabbed a GPS and three handie talkies at the table nearby, pushing them into her backpack, adding, "Where's Aditya?" and resumed walking.

Again, the door abruptly opened, almost knocking her head. At the door, stood Aditya, her other teammate, his face paler than Yanti's.

"Mbak, just heard from the Jakarta Post reporter. A tanker ship has trouble off the shore of Candidasa, on its way to the nearby Pertamina oil station. In this weather, it might crash on the reef!" the young scientist blurted out. Pertamina was the Indonesian National Oil and Gas Company, and their depot station was a few kilometers west of Candidasa.

Chandra blinked. This is a joke, right? But she knew that Aditya would not joke about things like this. "Call the Pertamina in Candidasa," she instructed, pulling out her mobile phone from her pocket, throwing it to him. "Use my mobile. And also call the local rangers; remind them of the standard stranding procedures. We're going there now."

Chandra, Yanti and Aditya walked through the rain to reach their 4WD jeep. The rain was getting harder.

Diana sighed peacefully. She hugged Bruce tightly, not wanting to let him go. Bruce in return also embraced her, planting his head on Diana's messy hair. Petals of frangipani were everywhere; their sheets were so messy and sweaty. He looked at her, grinning.

"We should really eat now, you know? The chocolate's energy is already gone." As 'instructed' by Diana, he had already eaten some of the chocolate bar from the fridge. But he smiled, remembering that most of the chocolate was used for 'other purposes', and God – how Diana loved it!

"Mmmmhhhh..." Diana just lazily nodded, brushing a lock of her hair from her face. "I'm very hungry. Otherwise we could stay here all day."

"That might be a good idea," Bruce mused. "It's still raining anyway. But let's eat first, okay?"

Diana looked into Bruce's blue eyes. "Okay, we'll eat..." glancing at the clock (10:45!), "...brunch then. Even lunch, perhaps." She grimaced. "No wonder I'm starving!"

They both rose and walked to the bathroom. After a quick shower (no time for another session – they needed food!), they changed and walked out to the café.

With screeching sound Aditya parked their jeep at the main beach road of Candidasa. Despite the heavy rain, a crowd of people had flocked to the beach, most of them staring in awe to see many whales stranded. Chandra also blinked in disbelief at what she witnessed.

"A multi-species stranding! But this has never happened here!" She jumped from the jeep, tugging her backpack and a big bag, pulling her jacket hood, and walked to the beach. Yanti and Aditya followed behind her, dragging a set of long rope, blankets and another bag, both looking dumbstruck. Bali had been a regular spot for whale stranding these past few years, but never a multi-species one.

"Chandra, we have spinner dolphins here," Aditya pointed at a group of dolphins squeaking in pain, sending distress signals as they struggled to swim on the wet sand.

"And pilot whales!" Yanti gestured to a pod of black whales with long pectoral fins emanating 'swooshing' sound from their breathing holes.

"Pilot whales do have tendencies to strand together," Chandra stopped for a while, looking at the surroundings. "And killer whales as well. But this multiple species stranding here is really weird."

"At least they are all small cetaceans, so it is easier to move them back to the sea," Yanti commented. Chandra shook her head.

"No, we don't only have small ones here," She narrowed her eyes, looking at the far side of the beach. "We have a little sperm whale over there!"

"You must be kidding me!" both Yanti and Aditya exclaimed, running to the direction Chandra gestured. It was indeed a sperm whale, not so small as it is already almost six meters long, but little nonetheless, compared to adult sperm whales. The little whale kept making noises in panic, trying to retreat back to the sea.

"Yup. And we have the mom over there," Chandra pointed to the sea at a black rock-shaped creature that wandered around the coastal water of Candidasa. "She must be very panicked, and tried to rescue her calf. She might be trapped too, if she tried."

"So you've seen the mother," A voice from behind made the three of them turned. They saw Wayan, the local hotel manager approaching with a bald, sturdy man with a big Canon 20D digital camera wrapped in a plastic cover. Chandra recognized Niartha, the local representative of the Jakarta Post.

"How do you do?" She shook hands with both men who were already soaking wet. Wayan looked weary, but Niartha still kept his journalistic demeanor.

"Bad," Wayan grimaced. "I have summoned my friends and the villagers here to help return the whales to the sea. But the weather is getting worse, and we are worried about the tanker ship as well."

"Where is the ship?" Yanti covered her eyes, scanning the horizon. "Is that the one over there? The tiny one?"

"The tiny one will hit the corals over there should a stronger wind blow," Niartha pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. Trying to light one, he continued. "I've contacted the Pertamina office; we'll see what they can do."

"So what will they do now?" Aditya pulled his waterproof hat down to protect him against the rain and wind. It was not really helping, actually. Soon, they would be as wet as the whales down there.

"Well, they wanted to send a smaller boat to guide the tanker ship. But the wind is so strong, they are afraid that the small boat might not survive the waves," Niartha cursed, shaking his Zippo in annoyance. Chandra couldn't tell if he was disturbed by the disobedient lighter, or because of the tanker ship. She turned her attention to the sea. The color was dark blue now, with white ripples at the top of the surges. The light gray sky already turned into darker gray as the rain poured heavier.

"The surges and waves are coming this way, so the ship might be washed ashore too," she commented. "It is still no better than being wrecked on the coral out there, we will still have oil spills either way." She turned to her teammates. It was time to work and do anything they could. "Let's get to work."

The five of them walked over to the crowds and the whales. The first thing to do in a whale stranding event is to make sure that not many people are around the whales, and if there are any, that they help, instead of just standing there and making noise that would make the whales more anxious. While both Wayan and Niartha dismissed the spectators and gathered the volunteers to help, Chandra and her team pulled out their field equipment. They brought a set of long rope (Wayan should have more rope for this stranding), several blankets (usually used to cover the whale's skin from the sun, but today was raining, so the blankets would serve as bases while they pushed the whales to the sea), roll meter (to measure the size of the whales), etc. Chandra also brought her digital Canon Eos 300D in her backpack to take some photographs.

They began their rescue. Chandra had chosen the killer whale pod, as she wanted to make sure that the pregnant Manis was all right. But she also had asked Yanti and Aditya to make sure that none of the other female whales and dolphins were pregnant. They also had to identify mother-calf pairs, as they should not separate the mother from the calf. Chandra made a swift examination of the orcas, and found out that they were all right. However, she noticed that both of the satellite tags they had planted on the orcas were already gone. That's why they lost the transmissions.

"We have no preggies here," Chandra's HT rustled, receiving Yanti's transmission from the other end of the beach. Yanti and Wayan had gone to the pilot whales and the spinner dolphins. "But we have three mother and calves for the pilots, and two for the spinners."

"Identify the leader, and try to push it back to the sea. Careful with the flukes and fins," Chandra replied, then switched to Aditya. He and Niartha had gone to the little sperm whale to check for the condition. "Dit, how is the little one?"

"He is okay," Aditya had identified the whale as a male. "But I saw his mom over there, and it seems that she wanted to swim here to rescue her son on her own."

"Damn, she's gonna make it harder for us!" Chandra muttered. "I'll go there a.s.a.p. I still have to examine our Manis." She broke their connections, and felt the rain and wind grew stronger.

She squatted next to the big female killer whale to study her. Manis was pregnant in the last semester when she saw her last month. Now, the female orca should deliver her calf soon. Chandra hushed Manis to calm her down. She caressed the whale several times and whispered to her, trying to assure her that every thing would be okay. As Manis started to relax, Chandra began to scan the whale's belly (very big, ready to deliver), check her eyes for any sign of illness (no, the eyes were as clear as the bright sky) and examine Manis's genital areas. The whale was ready to deliver a baby.

Chandra rose to her feet. They had to push Manis back to the sea immediately, or she would suffer from the delayed labor. Chandra beckoned to a reporter girl that already started to help her with the killer whales. She recognized Parama, the anchor news for Bali TV, the local TV station. She explained the situation to Parama, making sure that she knew what to do.

"We can move other orcas back to the sea now, but I'm afraid we have to wait for a boat to help dragging Manis back to the water. She is ready for labor, and any stress will damage her and the baby," Chandra looked at Parama in the eye. She had known the reporter for a while, and had even involved her in several whale stranding rescues in Bali. Parama would know what to do with the stranded whales by now.

The tall reporter girl nodded in assurance. "We will start moving the other orcas now. But I gotta tell ya, the weather is really not helping." As Parama spoke, thunder cracked from afar. Soon, the rescue attempt would endanger the rescuers as well.

"Make sure that those mothers and calves are released together," Chandra gestured to two mother-calf pairs of orcas and left. She switched to her HT, talking to Wayan, asking for any motorboat to pull Manis to the sea. She ran past the pilot whales and spinner dolphins straight to the little sperm whale. She blinked her eyes as the rain attacked her face, and then stopped next to Aditya.

The young scientist and some villagers were trying to turn the head of the whale back to the sea. Tying some ropes to the fluke to maneuver it, the volunteers needed to be careful to avoid being hurt from the fluke, or hurt the whale instead. Niartha was busy talking on his mobile phone.

"...he okay?" Chandra lost her breath from running. Running was not her favorite activity, and she was running on the wet sand.

"He's okay," Aditya wiped drops of sweat from his forehead, then gestured to the sea, " – but his mom is not at all."

The sperm whale mother already swam nearer, ready for a suicidal rescue attempt. Contemplating the approaching whale, Chandra suspected that soon they would have to halt their rescue. The weather was not helping; she might endanger the lives of the volunteers as well. She knew that the whales would stay safe on the beach in the rain , for a while. Her concern was more for Manis's labor. She opened her mouth for comments, but Niartha cut her.

"The mom is not the problem now. Our tanker ship is. They broke one of the machines. It started to lose control." The bald reporter pointed his mobile phone to the sea, to the struggling tanker ship. Soon, the wind would turn into a storm, and their priority should switch to saving the ship first.

Watching the ship, Chandra knew she had more work to do. And she could not do that alone.

She made up her mind. "I'm calling Orin."

Bruce and Diana returned to their room after a nice brunch. Like a newlywed couple, the rain did not dismay them. They even considered it a blessing, as then they would just have to stay at the room, and continue their pre-brunch activities. Along the hotel hallway, they held hands and talked leisurely, not caring about the hard rain outside, or anything else in the world. The semi-open corridors were slippery from the rain; Diana had to walk carefully, raising her bright red sarong, and thus revealing her long legs to Bruce.

She's so damned exotic! For once, Bruce didn't even think of Gotham. He knew that Nightwing, Batgirl, Huntress and Oracle could handle his city well. Plus, he had made sure that the Batclan and Alfred would contact him should any emergencies arise that required his presence . So far his JLA and Bat commlinks were silent. Good.

Turning the room key, Diana smiled at him. He squeezed her hand, with a trace of the Bruce Wayne leer, and pushed the door open. The sweetness of frangipani and jasmine welcomed them; their room was already cleaned and all was fresh and new.

Diana went to open the window, as she loved fresh air. Bruce sat down at the bed, absentmindedly reached for the TV remote control on the table and switched the TV on. An annoying detergent commercial filled the screen, reminding him of his reason for not watching any TV that wasn't the news. Bruce pushed another channel, determined to switch the TV off should he find another commercial. He was ready to push the 'Off' button when his eyes caught the news of the stranded whales in Candidasa, one and a half hours' drive south of Ubud.

"... and as of now, the volunteers in Candidasa had released eight of the small whales. But we still have another twelve killer whales there, and also several...er... spinner dolphins and pilot whales. Oh, and not to mention the sperm whale! So what did our whale expert say about this, Parama?" The anchor newsman blurted in excitement.

"Well, Yudhi, as you can see, we're very busy here. I could not have mbak Chandra here to talk with us. But I talked to her beforehand, and she said that our priorities should be delivering the pregnant killer whales and preventing a sperm whale mom from beaching here," Parama's wet face showed up on the screen. In the background Bruce could see many species of whales stranded on the beach. Diana also turned her attention to the TV news. Both of them understood the Indonesian language, so they had no difficulty in following the news. Parama continued, "But actually, the real problem has just started. Our tanker ship could not escape the weather, and is ready to crash on the coral reef."

The TV showed a long shot of the tanker ship, clearly struggling to survive. Some of the crew already released safety boats in an attempt to save their lives. Judging from the heavy rain and wind, the boats would not survive either.

"So what can the Pertamina do for this, then?" Yudhi's voice entered again after a brief silence.

"I called them just now, and they said that they really could not do anything but to save the crews and deploy the slick bars soon to prevent oil spills. It's sad, really. I was hoping that –"

"Wait!" Yudhi suddenly cut Parama's sentence. "What is that? That... something swimming fast to the tanker ship. Camera, please zoom more!"

The cameraman clearly strived to zoom and focus on a spot swimming to the tanker. It looked like a slender fish, but definitely had hands and legs.

"My...God... I could not believe this..."Parama whispered, forgetting that she had an audience. "I thought she was just a myth."

"What?" Yudhi sounded very curious. "Parama, could you tell us what happened there? What... or who is this... thing?"

It was very hard to adjust the focus, but the camera managed to capture a figure dressed in a blue-green suit, holding her hands up in the sky, and suddenly a surge of water emerged against the waves, literally trying to push back the current.

"Cascade..." Diana whispered. She knew that Cascade wielded the Power of Water and could swim very fast. She had not expected the news, let alone to see Cascade in action in the TV. But she also knew that Cascade's daily job was a whale researcher, and it did not surprise her to see the Indonesian heroine appear on the stranding scene.

"The Global Guardian from Indonesia?" Bruce asked Diana, his eyes fixed on the screen.

"She is Cascade! Our only heroine from Indonesia, a member of the Global Guardian! I hope she will save the day," Parama's voice dubbed over the tanker scene, confirming Bruce's identification.

"I met her during the Circe attack a few years back in New York," Diana explained. "Then I got to know her better from several meetings in Indonesia about women and AIDS. She was volunteering for one of the AIDS NGOs in Bali. But her real work is with the whales," Diana gestured to the TV. "Her real name is Chandragita Delphina."

"Ms. Delphina seems to need some help," Bruce commented, looking at the surges and waves on the TV. "She might not be able to move the tanker without endangering the crews as well."

"She called herself Chandra. We should help her now," Diana walked to the cabinet, retrieving two locked bags from within. She pulled out her own Wonder Woman uniform from the little bag, and tossed the big bag to Bruce, who had just turned off the TV.

Changing into his costume, Bruce commented, "Why didn't she contact the Global Guardian or Aquaman? This massive stranding seems too big for her to handle alone."

Diana shrugged. She fastened the clips of her breastplate, and attached the Lasso of Truth to her girdle. Afterwards she donned her silver vambraces and tiara. At the same time a calm voice with an urgent tone entered her mind.

"Diana, is your position in Indonesia?" Martian Manhunter spoke to her through telepathic link.

"I... yes..." Diana said the words aloud, though J'onn could hear her thought without her saying it.

"Splendid. Then you and the Batman could assist Cascade in the tanker and whale affair in Bali. I have tried to contact Aquaman, but he was occupied in Hawaii and California," J'onn's words were as calm as ever, with a hint of amusement. "I trust that Batman already donned his suit and is ready to go."

Diana blushed, looking at the Batman next to her. He had put his complete costume on, so she could not see his expression behind his cowl and white lenses, but she was certain that he blushed as well. Or was at least a bit annoyed, as clearly Martian Manhunter had known his present position and also contacted him telepathically.

"We will reach Candidasa in ten minutes, J'onn. Thank you for your call. Wonder Woman out." Diana felt J'onn's presence subside from her mind. She turned to Batman and asked, "How does he know?"

"Damned Martian!" Batman shrugged, beckoning Diana. "Let's go."

"Not damned, Batman," suddenly J'onn's voice chimed again in both of Bruce's and Diana's minds. "Just sincerely joyful for you two. Happy whaling!"