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Flying recon, Diana saw a crimson smear along a building as something fluttered into and out of the shadows. Too slow to be Flash. Zeroing in on the caped man, Wonder Woman prayed that she knew what she was getting herself into as a wave of nausea made landing a definite priority. Lowering down to where the red caped man lingered, watching in the shadows, Wonder Woman turned to survey the rooftop.
"Why are you seeking me, wind-rider?" the crimson caped man said, his french accent thick and lilting. Out of the darkness, Diana thought she could see metal, a sword maybe?
"What are you doing for Batman?" squaring her shoulders, she waited for the next move.
". . . Leave" the voice said, walking out of the shadows to reveal a red caped man with two golden fire gauntlets, sword, and a face completely covered.
"Azrael!" Diana gasped. If Bruce was willing to call on HIS help, he was either desperate or doing something very illegal. Or just counting on someone I don't have a contactable relationship with. Diana mused.
"What I do is my business, how you found me is inconsequential. I suggest you leave before someone is wounded"
"Or worse?"
"Do not bait me, Windrider!" Azrael's gauntlets lit up in a brief firey blaze. Diana had never encountered this man before, and didn't know how far she could push without repercussions. Nightwing had told her stories of Azrarel, mostly involving someone whose mind was even more unsettled than Batman himself.
"Out of all Batman's contacts, why you?"
"Do not think that being in Batman's bed will save you! I hold no loyalty to you or your precious League"
"Do you think the Princess of the Amazons would be so easily defeated?"
"Amazons can still burn" Azrael said, using an intimidation tactic Wonder Woman recognised from Batman.
"Try me, little man" Diana spat, readying herself for battle.
"Leave!" Azrael shouted, gauntlets blazing as he drew his sword.
"NO" if she couldn't reason with the man she would beat the answer out of him. Another wave of nausea made her glad the night covered her quickly paling face. A small huff exited Azrael's mouth as he steeled himself for a fight.
"Very well. Prepare thyself, Princess" a quick change in the muscles of his thighs was the only alert Wonder Woman had of his attack. Quickly, the scarlet man flung his gauntlets out, raising a flame higher than the rooftops. Flying upward, Diana tried to fly out of the flame, her body screaming at the heat of the inferno. Diana flew down into the place Azrael occupied in the midst of the flame, charging with a hoarse grunt, as she hit Azrael through half of a roof into a building across the alleyway. Coughing abruptly, Diana shook her head as she vomited blood, mucus and brimstone before being thrown to the side. Shaking her head, she parried the blade of Azrael with her silver gauntlets, left, then to the right, thinking of nothing but the fast blade of flames swinging and cutting through the smoking debris. Lifting herself higher, Wonder Woman swung back, hearing a pleasant crack as her fist connected with a breaking rib. The secret to defeating one of the Batclan is that after all else, they're only human. It was rather a cheap way to battle, but also the only way other than demoralising their will. Azrael had the will of Batman himself, except combined with that he held a religious zeal that gave him an unshakable fervour. Watching the masked man land, Wonder Woman descended to hover three feet from where the rubble gave way to crimson.
"What is Batman looking for! TELL ME!" Diana heaved, as the faint smell of gasoline filled the surrounding oxygen. Her eyes went wide as she tightened the grip on her lasso.
Before she could react, an explosion knocked her back into the sharp metal spikes of a fence on someone's rooftop balcony. A epic, tactle pain flooded her spine, as she lifted herself off the edge of an impaled rod, gasping as the thick coat of her own blood seized her back. Shaking off the grogginess of injury, Wonder Woman looked back at the man enrobed in fire stalking slowly toward her. A frightening sight, if she wasn't Wonder Woman. Grunting, Diana picked herself up,
"You didn't answer me! What is your business for Batman?" she spat.
"My business is for YOU!" Azrael yelled, charging the Princess, barraging her with attack after attack with his flaming, razor sharp gauntlets. Azrael knew the only way to be a victor through this battle was to be ferrocious, to tire the Amazon out and leave her for the Bat. All she could do was parry as his barrage didn't leave her a hole to fly or do anything without avoiding injury. The flames grew higher and more intense around her as she felt her air dissipating. He's suffocating me she thought, panicking and kicking her legs out, trying to fly before a part of his cape covered the sword he swung and sliced her in the arm. Pushing him away, Wonder Woman grabbed for her lasso, to find it was in his hand and around her neck, as the man swung with all his strength, choking the rest of the air out of her windpipe.
Sensing a crackle in the air, Diana realised she was trapped: surrounded by debris, her only way out being a direct attack. Smelling bitter sulphur, she readied herself for another blast of fire, before suddenly, another red streak blistered across the scene, yanking her out and past the man whose fire was too slow for the Flash.
"Watchit, Princess. Don't think Bats would like me very much if I let you get singed"
Placing the wheezing female down, Flash sped off, ebbing the flame, and getting closer to Azrael. Sending out a punch, Flash flinched as the man batted his attack away with a shuffle and roll before Flash connected with something hard and metalic.
"Ow! Hey, he's got armour, no fair!"
"Flash! That's enough!" Looking up, the sight of Batman was truely terrifying. His cape rustled in the Portuguese wind, billowing like the sails of an ancient British frigate prepared for war. Eyes shining through the sensors masqueraded as eye slits, the man behind the mask cringed sickeningly at the events he was not fast enough to stop. It was a hiddeous sight.
The Dark Knight flew down to Azrael's side, his innate darkness blaringly contrast to the flame. Bowing slightly, Azrael bent to Batman's ear, speaking a few indeterminate words before Batman nodded and Azrael engulfed himself in flames and vanished, with a flare. Walking briskly towards Diana, Batman scowled at Flash, who raised his hands in surrender.
"Don't look at me, it was her idea"
"I know. I said take three weeks, not four hours" he growled, bearing down on the Amazon like a true gothic horror. Diana found herself mute. Closing her eyes to the quickly healing pain in her ribs and back, Diana felt a tear run down her hot cheek. Batman's cold, black finger caught it as he bent low to investigate her condition.
Whispering, "I'm not appologising for this", Diana let the world go dark as her Knight enrobed her in his cape, and closed her eyes with two fingers.
"Relax," Batman whispered, lifting Wonder Woman's body as she let herself breathe and be carried like a small child.
"Will she be okay?" Flash asked, looking worredly on the Amazon clutched in Batman's arms.
"She had the air sucked out of her lungs. She'll revive in a minute."
"Hey, Bats I tried to stay close, but. .. "
"I know, Wally. You've done well. Get in the Javelin, we're going back to the Watchtower."
"Are you sure that's wise? I mean, Supes's still . . . yeah dumb question. How's Princess?"
"Sleeping."
"Beauty"
- - - - - A soft strand of classical music lilted and lifted past Diana's ears as the Amazonian Princess breathed deeply the air strongly scented with lavender. Half expecting to turn and drape her arm around another torso, Diana woke quickly, raising up in bed to see the inside of her bedroom in the Watchtower.
"What part of take three weeks meant go chase Azrael? I must've missed that suggestion."
"What were you hiding?" Diana asked, running her fingers through her hair and lazily shuffling it behind her ears.
"Must I tell you everything?" Batman growled, gripping the chair arms through the fabric of his gloves.
"When it concerns me? Yes" Diana parried, equally as forceful in grabbing her pillow and chucking it at him. Batman moved his cowled head to narrowly avoid the pillow's trajectory. Feathers puffed their way through the air like soft falling snow.
Leaning back into his chair, Batman steepled his fingers, smiling slightly as he fingered the door lock, and took his cowl off.
"I wanted it to be a surprise. If you're this feisty, what am I going to do for Christmas?"
"You hate Christmas"
"So do you"
"Thusforth we must both celebrate it?"
"We could make the tree secretly ironic. Plus, Alfred's running out of ideas on how to use up turkey stuffing."
"So what is it? What's the secret?" Diana asked, moving over as Bruce sat on the bed beside her. He moved her hair to the side and began massaging her shoulders. Inwardly, Bruce laughed as his loose attempt of changing the subject failed with a flip of her hair. Purring, Diana realised how tense her back was from the fight.
"You first" he crowed, she was putty in his hands when he massaged her neck like that.
"I think you're hiding something"
Bruce nodded towards the small wardrobe against the wall. Rising from bed, Diana looked back quizzically at her lover, opening the doors to reveal a golden suit of armour similar to the one she had on Themiscyra. Turning back into Batman, she sighed as Bruce laced his arms around her waist, his fingers grazing her stomac.
"It was a gift to an Amazonian Queen long before Hypolita. Hephaestos made it for a Queen who had to go into battle while carrying her child"
Shocked, Diana fingered the soft white fabric of the cape, before feeling down the cool, golden metal to the expanding stomach plaiting, crafted of overlapping metal feathers that curved around the back. Turning in the embrace, Diana leaned in to kiss the raven-haired man. Sighing into the kiss, Batman picked up the immortal woman, carrying her to her bed, laying her carefully before tenderly kissing her stomac through the soft fabric of her grecian dresses. Leaning his ear down to her abdomen, Bruce let his fingers caress Diana's hips, then back up her body as she gently pulled him up to eye level.
"Why do you think I'm pregnant?"
"I ran a test on you as you slept. Plus, you're three days late." smiling to herself, Diana ran her fingers through Bruce's jet black hair.
"You never miss a thing"
"Part of the job description"
"What are we going to do?"
"There's a charity ball Wayne Enterprises is hosting in Gotham in two days. Would you accompany me?"
"Are you ready for this?"
"I'm always ready"
"Then why are your hands shaking?" Diana asked, turning to face the man's grim set face.
"It doesn't mean the prospects don't terrify the hell out of me"
"Batman afraid?"
"I can't lose you"
"You won't."
"How can you be sure?"
"I can feel it" she said, wishing the day was over. Dread slowly begain creeping in on her as she realised he was right. He will eventually lose her. Whether to war, or cultures, or the gods that be, or death herself he would lose her. Till death do them part.