"You're worried about Gotham, aren't you?" Diana guessed intuitively,
leaning against the metal wall of the monitor room. She had been watching
the Batman pace for the better part of twenty minutes now, occasionally
checking the computer monitor.
"I'm always worried about Gotham." Not exactly the warmest or most explanatory reply, but Diana pressed on.
"You know, earlier, it seemed like you were avoiding us. You hadn't shown up at meetings for weeks, and you weren't answering your communicator.
"My priority was Gotham. I was facing the crest of a crime wave, trying to keep more people from being victimized by the fact that I'm sometimes not around to protect them." Diana arched an eyebrow. "You think that being with us keeps you from being able to help Gotham. She tried to keep her voice neutral, although in her mind, she couldn't help having substituted the word 'us' with the word 'me'.
"It can."
"So you avoided us."
"I decided that at the time, the best place for me to be was Gotham. Not the Watchtower." He finally turned to look at her. "I'm here now, aren't I."
"Against your will, apparently."
Batman turned back to the monitor screen, wondering how the conversation had taken on a sour tint. She made it sound so personal though. "We're not all natural team players, Princess."
"Its impossible," breathed Hawkgirl. Lantern had similar thoughts but managed not to voice them.
On the outside of the force field, the sun had been partially hidden by clouds, and the temperature had been on the chill side. Here though, the sun was bright and shining and giving off just enough heat to create a comfortable atmosphere, not to mention the birds that flew overheard. John thought briefly that it was as if they had entered another dimension.
"I-don't understand," continued his companion, looking all around. Where the force field was, one could not see the outside world, or tell that it even existed. Visually, the scene of a perfect, sunlit ocean seemed to stretch on for miles, even though at a certain point, the physical power of the field would exist. It was the illusion of a utopia, and it was sitting right in the middle of the ocean without any nation having a clue it existed.
On the island, huge towers rose into the air, a cursory look was all that it took to confirm that this was an industrialized nation. Green Lantern stared for a while, his mind formulating a plan. He turned to his companion. "Come on," he said, "Lets go."
Wonder Woman sat down in the main living room of the Watchtower, reclined on the sofa. She wondered if perhaps she should have gone with one of the other two teams, since that was no doubt where all the action would be. She glanced at the hallway that led to the monitor room. Being stuck on a satellite with only Batman to keep her company certainly didn't rank among the top of her most entertaining list. The man did nothing but look at that blasted screen and analyze charts and data, pausing every once in a while to contact Oracle or one of his numerous other contacts. It was hard to get anything more than a duosyllabic response whenever she tried to initiate conversation.
Perhaps that was why she was so attracted to him. He was a challenge, and a darned good one at that. The most valuable treasures are usually the hardest to reach, her mother had once told her.
A whirring sound reached her ears. The large, steel doors to the Monitor Room slid back, and Batman stepped through, the entrance closing behind him.
Diana arched a brow. "I was beginning to think you'd set up permanent residence in there."
"New development. Some sort of energy field seems to have appeared directly above the country of Egypt. All communication has been disrupted. No signal can get in or out, and the field is impenetrable," said Batman, ignoring her attempt at levity.
"What can we do?"
"Wait. This is Lucas's doing, another global address should be forthcoming. In the meantime though. There's not much I can do, except keep an ear out."
Diana patted the cushion next to her. "Sit."
"Hmm?"
She gave an entreating smile. "You just admitted to having free time, and I myself have nothing to do . . .we can talk."
Batman regarded her for a moment, then moved to sit down, choosing a place that wasn't conspicuously distanced, but neither necessarily close to Diana. "About what?"
"Oh, I don't know, how about your other identity."
"Why?"
I'm curious. Do you lead a normal life. How do you pay for the batmobiles and the planes and the equipment?" She flashed a slightly flirtatious smile. "What do you look like under the mask?"
Caught by surprise, it took Batman a moment to gather together a response. "I can't really get into that. . ."
"Yes, I did have a feeling you would say that." Diana sighed. "Why though? I'm not some sleazy tabloid reporter or a mad supervillian, I'm your teammate, you're . . .friend."
"Its necessary."
"But we're a team."
"Like I said, I'm-"
"Not a natural team player." She tilted her head to the side. "That's too bad though. Whether you think so or not, the team needs you. We wouldn't be what we are if it wasn't for you."
"The guy with no powers."
"The guy who's saved all of our lives more than once." Her eyes wandered, seeming to focus on nowhere in particular. "There's so much more to you than the mask and the cowl," she said softly. "But you won't let anyone get close enough to-"
Batman stopped her mid-sentence with an upraised hand, rising to his feet. He had no idea how the topic had suddenly shifted. He was confused suddenly, trying to make sense of what his teammate had said.
Time for that later though, he had just gotten word through the receiver in his cowl that Lucas had made another transmission."
"What is it?" asked Diana.
"Lucas."
"Oh." Diana rose to her feet. "We'll finish this conversation later," she said.
It wasn't exactly what Batman would have called a conversation, but he simply nodded and punched in the passcode for entrance into the Monitor. He had automatic devices in place that would record Lucas's address on multiple digital location, but he still wanted to see it live. "You've made your move, Mr. Lucas," he muttered to himself. "Now tell us what you're up to."
"I'm always worried about Gotham." Not exactly the warmest or most explanatory reply, but Diana pressed on.
"You know, earlier, it seemed like you were avoiding us. You hadn't shown up at meetings for weeks, and you weren't answering your communicator.
"My priority was Gotham. I was facing the crest of a crime wave, trying to keep more people from being victimized by the fact that I'm sometimes not around to protect them." Diana arched an eyebrow. "You think that being with us keeps you from being able to help Gotham. She tried to keep her voice neutral, although in her mind, she couldn't help having substituted the word 'us' with the word 'me'.
"It can."
"So you avoided us."
"I decided that at the time, the best place for me to be was Gotham. Not the Watchtower." He finally turned to look at her. "I'm here now, aren't I."
"Against your will, apparently."
Batman turned back to the monitor screen, wondering how the conversation had taken on a sour tint. She made it sound so personal though. "We're not all natural team players, Princess."
"Its impossible," breathed Hawkgirl. Lantern had similar thoughts but managed not to voice them.
On the outside of the force field, the sun had been partially hidden by clouds, and the temperature had been on the chill side. Here though, the sun was bright and shining and giving off just enough heat to create a comfortable atmosphere, not to mention the birds that flew overheard. John thought briefly that it was as if they had entered another dimension.
"I-don't understand," continued his companion, looking all around. Where the force field was, one could not see the outside world, or tell that it even existed. Visually, the scene of a perfect, sunlit ocean seemed to stretch on for miles, even though at a certain point, the physical power of the field would exist. It was the illusion of a utopia, and it was sitting right in the middle of the ocean without any nation having a clue it existed.
On the island, huge towers rose into the air, a cursory look was all that it took to confirm that this was an industrialized nation. Green Lantern stared for a while, his mind formulating a plan. He turned to his companion. "Come on," he said, "Lets go."
Wonder Woman sat down in the main living room of the Watchtower, reclined on the sofa. She wondered if perhaps she should have gone with one of the other two teams, since that was no doubt where all the action would be. She glanced at the hallway that led to the monitor room. Being stuck on a satellite with only Batman to keep her company certainly didn't rank among the top of her most entertaining list. The man did nothing but look at that blasted screen and analyze charts and data, pausing every once in a while to contact Oracle or one of his numerous other contacts. It was hard to get anything more than a duosyllabic response whenever she tried to initiate conversation.
Perhaps that was why she was so attracted to him. He was a challenge, and a darned good one at that. The most valuable treasures are usually the hardest to reach, her mother had once told her.
A whirring sound reached her ears. The large, steel doors to the Monitor Room slid back, and Batman stepped through, the entrance closing behind him.
Diana arched a brow. "I was beginning to think you'd set up permanent residence in there."
"New development. Some sort of energy field seems to have appeared directly above the country of Egypt. All communication has been disrupted. No signal can get in or out, and the field is impenetrable," said Batman, ignoring her attempt at levity.
"What can we do?"
"Wait. This is Lucas's doing, another global address should be forthcoming. In the meantime though. There's not much I can do, except keep an ear out."
Diana patted the cushion next to her. "Sit."
"Hmm?"
She gave an entreating smile. "You just admitted to having free time, and I myself have nothing to do . . .we can talk."
Batman regarded her for a moment, then moved to sit down, choosing a place that wasn't conspicuously distanced, but neither necessarily close to Diana. "About what?"
"Oh, I don't know, how about your other identity."
"Why?"
I'm curious. Do you lead a normal life. How do you pay for the batmobiles and the planes and the equipment?" She flashed a slightly flirtatious smile. "What do you look like under the mask?"
Caught by surprise, it took Batman a moment to gather together a response. "I can't really get into that. . ."
"Yes, I did have a feeling you would say that." Diana sighed. "Why though? I'm not some sleazy tabloid reporter or a mad supervillian, I'm your teammate, you're . . .friend."
"Its necessary."
"But we're a team."
"Like I said, I'm-"
"Not a natural team player." She tilted her head to the side. "That's too bad though. Whether you think so or not, the team needs you. We wouldn't be what we are if it wasn't for you."
"The guy with no powers."
"The guy who's saved all of our lives more than once." Her eyes wandered, seeming to focus on nowhere in particular. "There's so much more to you than the mask and the cowl," she said softly. "But you won't let anyone get close enough to-"
Batman stopped her mid-sentence with an upraised hand, rising to his feet. He had no idea how the topic had suddenly shifted. He was confused suddenly, trying to make sense of what his teammate had said.
Time for that later though, he had just gotten word through the receiver in his cowl that Lucas had made another transmission."
"What is it?" asked Diana.
"Lucas."
"Oh." Diana rose to her feet. "We'll finish this conversation later," she said.
It wasn't exactly what Batman would have called a conversation, but he simply nodded and punched in the passcode for entrance into the Monitor. He had automatic devices in place that would record Lucas's address on multiple digital location, but he still wanted to see it live. "You've made your move, Mr. Lucas," he muttered to himself. "Now tell us what you're up to."