DiScLaImEr: I do not own any DC characters blah blah blah yadda yadda yadda…..

This is a continuation of the earlier story "when two people talk about a fallen friend"but takes place after the identity crisis. It does have a flag on this one…so if you don't know what's going on in DC right now please go look.

The darkness slinks from the shadows, the echoes of the cave's inhabitants adds to the gloomy setting that is the bat-cave. In the monitor womb of this shadowy place sitting in a large chair is a man whose very tenure has been to protect the innocent of his city. For years, he has done so and with others, he has protected the world. That was until he found out that he was betrayed. He moves his head slightly as he hears the transporter activate, he listens and a small grin appears on his face but is quickly suppressed.

She has only just heard what has happened, she confronted her best friend as she put the clues together…..

Earlier---

"Kal?" She replies as she enters the arboretum of the watchtower. She knows he is here. He always comes here when something is bothering him. Its this or his fortress but the sensors said he was here.

"Yes Diana." A voice replies. His name is Clark Kent, Kal-El-last son of Krypton, we know him as Superman. Over the last few days, he has witnessed several things that have been dredged up from the past. A past he had hoped never became known. His hands resting on a guardrail overlooking the forest of endangered species of plants from Earth, trying to find peace of mind.

"I want to ask you something Kal. I need to know this." She replies staying near by but not so close to her friend.

He looks down into the trees from his place and deep in his mind he knows what she will ask. He knows her to well, as she knows him, or does she? If he was as good as he claimed to be he would have never done what he had. He also knows of her feelings for the man she is about to ask about. He was also a friend but now Clark knows he has lost his friendship forever.

He exhales slowly as his eyes focus on a tree. He breaths in deeply once more than he answers her.

"Yes Diana."

"Did you really know what Hal and the others did to Br.., Batman and J'onn?"

Her voice has a slight apprehensive tone in it. He hears it in her voice as she corrected herself as she said his name. He remembers watching her steal glances at him every so often. Clark remembers when he found out about the "tension" between Bruce and Diana. It was in a conversation he had with J'onn before the emergence of Fenris. She seemed to hold Bruce to a higher ideal than before. He remembered how her voice sounded when they had followed Batman's idea to allow the Void Hound to attack the Crime Syndicate's Earth. He heard the pain in her voice, as she seemed to berate Batman's choice. It was not berating, it was something else like a painful sorrow.

"What do you want to hear Diana?" He grimaced. He already knew the answer.

"The Truth Kal." Diana answered her voice slightly colder than before.

He looked down and felt a tear in his eye but fought not to allow it to come forth.

With a choked voice he only said one word.

"Yes."

Diana felt anger rage within her. She wanted to hit him, beat him until he could no longer stand. How could this be her best friend? He was there when she always need someone to speak to. They had always come to each other for advice not keeping hardly anything between them. In a venomous fit of words, he had never heard her say he felt the pain of betrayal.

"HOW COULD YOU? I NEVER KNEW YOU AT ALL YOU BASTARD OF A MAN!"

"You don't understand." He feebly replied.

"I DON'T UNDERSTAND! I DON'T UNDERSTAND! WHY SHOULD I TRY! YOU KNEW WHAT THEY DID TO YOUR FRIENDS KAL AND YOU JUST WATCHED! BRUCE WOULD NEVER HAVE DONE THAT NO MATTER WHAT!"

He always hated to be compared to him. All of his career he was the light to his dark. He was the Boy Scout Batman the dark knight. The anger bubbled over as he turns around, tears flowing, voice thundering…

"BUT ITS ALRIGHT IF HE CRIPPLED US DIANA! IS IT? HE BETRAYED US ONCE!" His voice calming to some extent. "He hurt you and me and everyone else."

Diana brought her voice low, almost a growl. He could feel her anger seething out of her.

"I never said that K…Superman. He has made mistakes but he is honorable enough never to allowed himself the opportunity to do what you did." She points a finger at him.

He felt his heart sink as she called him by his moniker not the name she calls him.

"Justice needed to be served. You are one of the few that will kill Diana. It's the same thing." Superman replies

"No it isn't Superman. I never pretended to be…to be" She pauses for a moment as she chokes back tears. "fake! What you see with me is what you get!."

"Diana please." Superman states, all of the fight left him as he hears that word.

"No Superman." Diana responds as she turns from him. "Consider our friendship void as your conscious."

There he was sitting at his computer. Diana wanted to run to him, hold him to allow him to shed tears, but she couldn't, he won't.

"Diana that's far enough." Batman replied coldly almost aloft.

"Bruce please."

"I can't Diana."

"Why?"

"How can I trust anyone?"

She was hurt. She was livid at his statement.

"You're a hypocrite Bruce." Diana replied. "How can you trust anyone? I know you feel betrayed, believe me when I say I know. You betrayed us Bruce when you had created those protocols. You didn't trust any of us enough to help you when your back was broken, or during that whole Hush fiasco. You didn't trust" She paused for a moment trying to maintain her rhythm, not allowing the catch in her throat to cause her to stumble. "me." The truth hit her more so as she admitted this fact. "You betrayed me. You didn't trust me Bruce."

"Di."

She stopped him from speaking, holding up her hand. A simple word coming off her lips. "Don't."

"I trusted you enough to come to you when I needed help with Medusa. I trusted you enough afterwards to give me that test for the others benefit. I didn't have anything to do with what happened to you, believe me. Yet here you are saying how you can't trust anyone Bruce. I never lied to you."

"You did once Diana." States Batman as he turns from her.

"What?" She was shocked. When had she lied. Then realization set in. The only time she lied to him was after she had emerged from the transconsciousness articulator.

"You did too." She replied remembering the scene in her head as if she was just there.

"Why do you think we did?" Bruce asks as he begins to walk away until he feels her hand on his shoulder. His muscles tense and relax; he inhales and holds his breath.

"We are afraid." She answers. Her voice soft and sincere. "I can't promise what the future will hold Bruce and it scares me when I think of you and me together. I could loose so much with you. Your passionate, border lined obsessed, your brilliant, a warrior born, your ruthless, rude, stubborn, arrogant, I feel with you I have to fight so much harder so as to be an equal with you. You bring out the worse in me when we disagree and you bring out the best in me as well. You never allow anyone in Bruce and that is a reason why you lied to me that day by the articulator. You know if you allowed whatever it is we have between us to flourish you wouldn't be able to stop until I was in your heart so completely that it would hurt to argue. I felt your hand on mine as I first emerged from the tank. I felt your warm touch. You came to me without your mask or cape. You came to me as you. I wanted to kiss you then Bruce, by the goddesses I did, but I held back and above what my heart said to do my mind said other things. You took slight steps and swallowed your pride on more than one occasion. I know that now. I remember when I was wounded from 10th circle. You called my sisters to come help me, you stopped me from helping any farther. I even found out that you contacted Artemis to ask how I was doing afterwards. She respects you greatly you know." She stops for a few brief seconds as she turns him around. This man who hides in the shadows, this protector of Gotham. This man who although is a mortal man, can cause any of the metas to fear. He has all of their respect, and her heart. "I also know why you really wanted me to talk to Nightwing Bruce. You saw two people whom you love hurting still, from a common reason…Donna."

Bruce looks into her eyes, her blue eyes and he feels, not for the first time, lost and warmth.

"I feel lost Diana."

"I know. So do I."

"I don't know if I can trust anything I feel Diana."

"trust in me."

Well that's the end for now tell me how you like it.