It's All Relative
Chapter 15: A Broken Princess
By Teala373
Diana's eyes widened in horror as the man she had spent a large portion of her life pining for walked toward her.
"You… you heard…" she breathed.
"Yes, Diana," Superman was trying to keep his anger in check as he held the small external drive in his hand. "I thought I knew you… I trusted you. Many people trusted you and placed their faith in you…"
The broken princess sniffled as tears began flowing down her face. She hadn't wanted her beloved Kal-El to see her like this, to know the truth that lie in her heart. She was mortified of how disgraced she was. She was no longer the strong woman who wielded so much power.
"You practically ran the High Counsel of the League, but now I see that the bureaucracy was false," Superman continued, "I am now exercising my power as chair to disband the counsel and have you permanently removed from the League," he paused to fix a pointed look at her, "I hope you make peace with your Gods before your time, Diana, because you do have much to answer for."
Diana felt something inside her shatter like glass. She was now beyond mortified. She was now becoming angry again. The rush of adrenalin in her veins, coupled with her refueled anger, gave Wonder Woman the burst of strength she needed. Gripping the spear tightly, she quickly rose to her feet and lunged forward at Bruce, intent on killing him.
Someone stepped in front of Bruce and grabbed the end of the spear, pushing back on it and countering Diana's momentum, thus halting the weapon in mid-motion. It happened so quickly, that the first synapse fired in Terry's brain was that it had to be Superman.
But it was not Superman… it was Barbara.
Diana stared back in shock at the woman who was countering her attack. Barbara, however, stared back in anger.
"You… you manipulative, evil, self-centered cow!" she spat, "I can't believe I trusted you!"
Tension ran high as the two continued to stare each other down, each pushing the spear forward with the same amount of force so that it only trembled slightly, but went in no direction. Finally, Superman stepped forward and grasped the center of the spear in his mighty fist, snapping it into two.
Diana went to open her mouth, but Barbara cut her off. "There is nothing left for you to say… except goodnight."
Dropping her end of the spear, Barbara began walking out of the room, both Batmans behind her.
"Diana," Superman began as he himself started to exit, "you will be asked to stand before your peers and recant your sins again." Not waiting to hear her rebuttal, he flew up to a window, opened it, and then disappeared into the night.
The Princess of Themescyra could do nothing but weep.
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Dick and Tim sat with mouths open in shock over the events they witnessed through Terry's mask. Tim finally cut the connection and looked towards Dick.
"So… you won the bet about Bruce not needing the cane, but I won the bet on Babs kickin' ass and taking names. Um, they cancel each other out, so we can just call it even."
Dick finally turned to meet his gaze, and a funny smile slowly took over his features. "I'm not calling anything even just yet."
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Terry had changed back into his civilian clothes and was now loading his family's luggage into the waiting cab. He stood impatiently by the open cab door for his mother, anxious to get away from the embassy. Holding a sleeping Matt in her arms, Barbara appeared to be talking to the shadows, but was in fact conversing with Bruce, still in his batsuit.
"I don't think I properly apologized," Barbara began softly, "I am very sorry for doubting you and trusting Diana so blindly."
"There is no need for apologizes, Barbara," though he was speaking with his 'Batman voice', it was soft and comforting, "the important thing is that we all go forward together."
She pursed her lips as she slowly swayed back and forth, afraid to wake up Matt. "I… I need time… there is still so much wrong in my head… memories…"
"I can help."
She smiled sadly. "I still need time… Dick and I got into an argument…"
"I believe you will find that situation alleviated."
"…and Terry…"
"We'll all help Terry."
Barbara made another attempt at a genuine smile. "Ok… I'll try…"
"That's all I'm asking. I will have a friend contact you tomorrow. Don't worry about Dick. I'll chain him up, if I have to."
Nodding, Barbara settled Matt in the cab before getting in. Terry closed her door and then jogged over to the shadows.
"I know what it took for you to come out like this. Thanks for coming after us."
"No, thank you for the research. I was completely banking on getting a confession. You got hard evidence."
Terry began rubbing the back of his neck, suddenly feeling awkward. "I, uh, I'll, ya know, help my mom through all the other stuff…"
"How are you doing with the 'other stuff'?"
"Well, no offense, but I was kind of relieved that you aren't my dad… I mean, you're great, and I like that we're partners, but…"
"I understand."
A silence, one of many that evening, hung in the air. Terry bid his mentor good-bye and jumped in the cab, thankful the driver was distracted enough by the sports game blaring over the radio to notice what he and his mom had been doing.
The drive back to the apartment seemed long. No words were spoken as Barbara and Terry were content to stare out the window, letting their minds drift away. Terry finally couldn't take the feeling building inside him much more and turned to address his mother.
"Mom, please try to work things out with Dick… eh, Dad…" he blurted out.
Barbara eyes widened as she turned towards him. "Wha-what?"
"Please, Mom," Terry pleaded, "please try. I… I want a real family this time… and I think you do, too. He loves you, you have to know that. You were all he talked about from the minute I met him. Don't throw that away…"
Reaching across the space between them, Barbara weaved her fingers in Terry's hair and brushed his unruly bangs back. "It will be okay this time. I promise."
Terry sighed as he settled back in his seat. It was the best answer he could have hoped for.