A/N: Long time coming, but not as long as some of my other stories, so I hope you enjoy, and are not so confused at the Fates part. Remember: the fates are three goddesses talking as one, so the spacing makes sense if you read it all in succession. Also, Morpheus in this is not supposed to be a representation of any other dream-entity or god, he's mine in this one.

ccabello: not as soon as I'd like to have updated, but c'est la vie

Henry EviL: Let's be insane, it helps the world stay in pretty colours

brainfear: Yeah, if I don't get reviews I don't write, reviews are my inspiration. I'll change entire stories based on how the reviews go
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Ra's Al Ghul had been captured shortly after limping away from the place Batman dumped him. The Justice League had been given the honour of interrogating him. Superman took his chances.

"How many people died in the attack on Kazakstan?"

"Their deaths would have been below me"

"Come on, that game won't work here"

"I made no attack?! Of what do you speak!?"

"Kazakstan! Have a spare Nuke hanging around?"

"Why would I want a nuclear missile?"

"Answer the question, Ghul. Why did you blow up a quarter of Kazakstan!?"

"I did nothing!"

"Do you still deny your involvement?"

"Where is Talia? Where is my daughter?"

"Where is the nuke, Ra's?"

"Give my daughter to me!"

Superman stepped back, yelling wasn't going to work, and Ra's Al Ghul wasn't going to crack, even if he DID steal the nuke. How does Batman DO it? Superman thought, taking a turn around the room to drink some water and think about how best to get the information out of the ancient man. Superman definately can't play dirty. Batman. . . well, all Batman DOES is play dirty, Superman gave out an exasperated breath as he looked at the man who one hour ago looked robust, if a little worse for wear. Heck, now he's got liver spots and wrinkles the size of an oversized sweater. He's going to fade. What should I do? Let him wither away? No. He's not answering any more questions, he might be dangerous, but maybe. . .

As Al Ghul limped into the shadows, J'onn watched in meditation, floating like a whisp of smoke into the alley way Al Ghul met a midnight haired woman who towed her father into an awaiting vehicle. Back to the lazarus pit.

"Will it work?"

"It's the best option we have, is it not?" the Martian Manhunter said, moving his muscles to a whisper.

"For now" Green Lantern said, tapping his comm link to leave J'onn to the search. Superman flew to Green Lantern, rubbing his forehead.

"We need Batman, don't we?" Green Lantern asked, rubbing the stubble on his chin.

"Didn't we always?"

"You know, for someone who fought so hard to be a loner, he sure has one hell of a way to tell us we're damned without him"

"We're not damned, just. . . I guess we just got used to Batman taking care of the dirty work. I think if anything it's reminding us that not all this hero stuff is saving puppies".

"Yeah"

"What I want to know is why Diana isn't here, and why it was so easy to find Al Ghul?"

- - -
The sleeping form of Batman slumped on the medical table was one Diana had etched in her mind every time she closed her eyes. He looked dead. The medical slab no more than a funeral pyre.

"What did you see?" Diana asked, stroking a stray lock of black hair from his pale forehead.

"Something you will only live"
"Yes, only live, will you"
"Something for the tapestry"

"A proud and noble image"
"Death!"
"Pity!"
"Breeding"

Three women materialised in the cave, one barely over 14, another clearly in the blossom of her adult beauty and the third knarled and hunched in elderly webbings of wrinkles and spots. The Fates: Clotho, Lachesis & Atropos.

"Why are you here?" Diana breathed, bowing before the godesses of destiny and time.

"You asked what he saw"
"Prayed to Athena"
"Hera"

"What else were we to do?"
"Not much goes on for the weavers of the tapestry"
"When we could be making a better picture"

"What did Bruce see?" Diana asked, stooping protectively beside Batman's slumbering, troubled form.

"The truth as it will be"

"I am going to die?"

"Eventually"

"your thread is not strong enough"
"To hold our scissors shut"
"But not by him. At least"

"Not in the way"
"He thinks of death"

"Morpheus came to him in a dream, a flood of corpses, all of which he knew well"
"You will join them"
"Soon enough"
"No one can avoid the Fates"

"We're tricky like that"

"The dark one thinks of death as an ending, an ebbing of the fight,"
"For what is Batman"
"Without a war?"

"He doesn't know"
"How to live"
"Without fighting something"
"Significant"
"Sacrificing"

"Himself for the cause he champions"

"He has yet a great part to play"
"What can heroes do without a fear monger?"
"Not much"

"What don't I know?" Diana asked, trying to piece some sense out of the enigmatic Fates.

"Cannot tell you that"
"Against the rules"

"An ending, a beginning, the cycle of life & grief."
"The reason for your healing"
"Is to shape the future"

"With one final born warrior"
"One more"
"Warrior"

"A saviour wasn't enough"
"One more"
"And all will be complete"

"Finished"

"The war"
"Will be left to a standstill"
"Heroes will age"

"Death takes us all"

"Why did Morpheus visit Bruce?" Diana asked, trying to understand the broken statements the three women said in pieces to one another.

"Not tonight"
"Not yet"
"Wake up"
"Wake up"
"wake up"
"Wake up"

"Hope is the only dream"

"Diana! Hey, Princess!"

Diana felt herself shiver as the image of the fates whisped away into multi-coloured sallow fog as Nightwing plodded up to the Princess through the image.

"How's Sleeping Ugly?" he said, pointing to Bruce's recovering form.

"I. . he'll be okay"

"Okay. Will you?"

"I'm fine"

"You looked in trouble for a minute there"

"I saw. . it was a dream"

"Oh goodie" the youth drawled, running his fingers through the dark mop of hair on his head before sighing and looking at Batman with a troubled look in his masked eyes.

"What?"

"Heard the news? Al Ghul doesn't have the nuke"

"Who does?"

"They. . . don't know."

"Batman would"

"At least he's the only one able to find out"

"J'onn could"

"Not unless he read everybody's minds"

"Nightwing, what are you saying?"

"I don't think we need to worry about the nuke anymore"

"Superman. . . "

"Will have Batman's head for this one"

"I won't let that happen"

"It's gonna start a war, isn't it?"

"Not until. . ."

"Until?"

"I have to wake Bruce"

"Your funeral"

"What did you say?" Diana asked, looking over to the stoic glare so familiar of the Bat and Nightwing.

"I was only joking. . . kinda. . . if you're going to wake Bruce, I'd do it carefully"

"Okay"

"I've got to check up with Commisioner Gordon"

"Goodbye" Diana turned back to Nightwing to find silence, and an empty spot. Like father. . . Dick isn't Bruce's son. Sighing heavily, Diana's head shot up as she heard a sick laughter catterwall through the Cave, frightening the bats out of their perches, and molting miniature stalagtites from the ceilings.

"Hahahahahaha"

"I . . . I know that voice"

"Hahaha"

"Morpheus!"

"Heheheheeh hello, Princess"

"Get. Out."

"Hehehhmm. I like it here"

"You won't when I get through with you"

"Nuh uh, Amazon. Not good to challenge a god. Bad karma"

"So's this!" Diana shouted, taking flight toward the midnight blue cloaked figure, hearing a gratifying crackle as the impact sent both of them flying into and through the upper wall of the cave, and three floors of Wayne manor, before turning down to careen out of the magnificent house and through a window before Alfred could tisk or shake his head. Not stopping, Diana flew faster, breaking the sound barrier as she used all her confusion and rage to keep going. Hearing a sickening cough and splinter, she let the god drop. He hit a mountain side on the way down. Hovering over the rubble, Wonder Woman peered down at the broken form of Morpheus like a goddess over an unwashed miscreant.

"cough Can't kill a god"

"Watch me"

"Wanna coughhack make a deal?"

"Give me Bruce"

"Sorry, no can do"

"Want to see if a god can survive a mountain slide?"

"I showed your sick, tortured lover the truth, it's his choice whether he believes it or not"

"Give him back"

"You don't own his soul"

"Maybe I should"

"Tad megalomaniachal dontcha think, Princess of Themyscyra?"

"We mated"

"I heard"

"I have to save him"

"Why, because in the process you'll be saving yourself? That excuse died with Oddyseus"

"Watch it, Morpheus, or I'll Medea your ass"

"By killing your children?"

"I don't have any"

"Yet"

"I don't. . "

"Think, Diana. Think HARD"

"I know!"

"Then put the two together, or do I have to remind you what happens to an Amazon mother? What's Wonder Woman without a fight?"

"You gods are getting redundant"

"What kind of hero can you be as a stay at home mother, Diana. I saved you!"

"To let Batman wither!"

"He's not Batman in his dreams no matter how hard you want to believe"

"I can still crush you"

"But you won't, because if you really want your lover back, and ultitmately the end of Wonder Woman, you're going to need my help"

"Shut up"

"Come now, you're beginning to sound like the Flash"

"I doubt I'm that juvenile"

"I must admit the Flash's dreams are like manifesting a series of chick flicks and teen movies"

"Enough!" Wonder Woman said, picking up a boulder the size of a semi.

"Amazons"

"gods"

"Mine sounds better"

"Whose holding the big rock, Morpheus. I doubt you can do anything without a head"

"Says the one with the gothic costumed bat as a lover"

"He's tender"

"That's the last word I'd say. You do realise people are the most truthful in their dreams"

"My mother never gave up her throne"

"Please tell me you know how you came into being"

"Of course I do"

"Bingo"

"Shut up!"

"Or you'll hit me with a big rock? You need to spend less time with the Kryptonian"

"Take me into Batman's dreams"

"You have to be a psychic to do that"

"I know you can do it"

"I manifest people in dreams, I'm not a doorkeeper"

"Then who can be?"

"One you already know"

". . . J'onn"

"Bingo"

"Come"

"Oh, I'm taking orders fr... yes ma'am!" Morpheus said, seeing Diana inch the four ton boulder into better aim. Not wishing to be squished flatter than an annhorexic pancake, the regenerating god stood on shaking limbs as bones began to snap back into place and Wonder Woman grabbed his cloak and took flight.
Grabbing her Justice League communicator and flipping it on, Wonder Woman barked into the small yellow module.

"J'onn! Wonder Woman to J'onn Jones, over"

". . . ppzzzzzzzzztttt"

"Damn it!" she said, giving it a shake.

"Must've been when you decided to add sky lights to Wayne manor"

"Do you EVER stop talking?!"

"Obviously not"

"We're three kilometers above earth, don't make me drop you"

"Have it your way"

"Wonder Woman to J'onn! Where are you?"

"Pzzt... Diana!? pzzzttt Diana, is that you?" Superman's voice radiated through the tiny yellow box.

"Unless there's a spare Wonder Woman in the League" the pouting god said.

"Huh?" Superman asked, clearly confused as to the masculine voice on the other end

"Nevermind, the gnat was just gagging himself. Where's J'onn?"

"Are you SURE everything's alright?" Morpheus went to make a comment,but Wonder Woman glared at him, loosening her grip on his cloak briefly so he shut up.

"Batman's in a coma"

"J'onn's looking for the nuke"

"Lantern can look for the nuke, I need J'onn NOW!"

"Pzzt alright, pzzt you're breaking uzzzttp! Where are you!?"

"Above the Atlantic"

"Can you make it to the watchtower"

"Negative"

"I'll patch you through" a patch of static burred through the tiny radio as Superman changed the frequencies

"J'onn here, what is it?"

"Where have you been?"

"Taking a nap"

"By the way, Prince. . . " Morpheus said, raising his finger.

"You KNEW he was sleeping?"

"You could have just asked"

"J'onn, where are you?"

"Zeroing in on your position"

"Meet you at the B. . . " Wonder Woman stopped short as Morpheus waved his hands wildly.

"Isle of Dream" Morpheus stated quickly.

"Isle of Dream?" Wonder Woman asked.

"The Isle of Dream" Morpheus said, pointing his finger into the general direction of his island.

"Where am I going?" J'onn said, his Martian voice confused.

"The Isle of Dream", Grabbing the arm Wonder Woman was holding the communicator with, Morpheus shouted into it,

"Pass Themyscira, fly towards the big green space, when you get close, don't turn to the Sirens, they'll skewer you, turn towards the turtle"

"Who is that?"

"Morpheus"

"Oh joy"

"Meet you there"

"Oh, and J'onn?"

"Bring Batman".