A-Note: Thanks for the feedback. It's kind of fun to see the two camps pulling for different relationships. I'm glad you guys feel democratic enough to express your leanings, just as I feel despotic enough to tell you that you don't get to vote :).
Chapter 6 – Kinetic Energy
"So Wayne and this reporter friend of his appear to be pretty serious."
"It certainly looks that way, Mr. Savarino."
"After he screwed us out of that dockyard reclamation contract, it might be fun to send him a message," the man mused, venom evident in his voice. "But the Manor is pretty well protected. Maybe we can send him a message…thru her."
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTDiana awoke with a start, then reached out to explore the other side of the bed. Her instincts had served her well, as Superman - Clark as she now cautiously called him behind closed doors – had surreptitiously slipped out of the bed.
Again.
Sitting up, she groaned in frustration, then looked at the clock. Four a.m. 'This can't be happening,' she thought, rubbing her temples to relieve the oncoming headache. 'We see each other maybe once a month, we don't even get to go out on real dates, and now he can't even spend the night?'
"Hera, help me," she muttered, then swung her feet out of the bed, heading towards the bathroom. Ordinarily she'd be naked at this point – she preferred to sleep in the buff – but the last few times she'd come to Clark's apartment, she'd brought along a comfortable pair of pajamas in her overnight bag. The fact the clothing unconsciously represented a new barrier between them didn't occur to her, or if it did, Diana didn't want to dwell on it.
Though it was pitch black in the room, she didn't bother to turn on a light. Clark's apartment in Metropolis served as their refuge from the real world when they wanted to see each other – the public spectacle they made as Superman and Wonder Woman was too much for either of them to take – so early on in their relationship she'd familiarized herself with the layout.
She stepped into the bathroom to make a quick pee stop. The cool sensation of porcelain on her butt sent a cold shiver down her spine. Diana debated whether to slip on his bathrobe to ward off the chill, then dismissed the thought quickly.
Early in their relationship, she'd enjoyed the feeling of his robe wrapped tightly around her body. It quickly became a pattern as she'd started borrowing his t-shirts to wear around the apartment. Once, she'd even pulled on a pair of (clean) boxer shorts once to see how they looked on her. While they were comfortable, Diana thought they made her butt look too big. At a shade over six feet tall, a primitive part of Diana initially responded to the fact that Clark's large frame - and clothing – provided a sense of comfort in Man's World.
Comfort, even cold comfort, was a precious and rare thing for Diana. She was still reeling from the shock of her exile from Themyscira by her mother's decree, as well as the culture shock she'd experienced living in Man's World. Working side by side with five men - one of whom she was dating – had also proved more difficult than she originally anticipated.
As the League had settled into a regular routine of rotating shifts, Diana had hoped to befriend Hawkgirl, the mysterious Thanagarian who divulged few details about her own background, as a fellow 'sister' in the League. Unfortunately, the auburn-haired warrior was even less familiar with the culture and accepted practices of Man's World. Oddly enough to Diana, Hawkgirl showed no interest in acclimating to the culture. Given her wings, she had a point, as there was no easy way to pass herself off as a civilian.
Early on, Diana had turned to Superman to help fill that void. He'd been a source of wisdom and guidance for some things, but his own tribulations during the previous year had caused him to become more guarded. The comfort that he offered usually revolved around sex. While she enjoyed that aspect of their relationship, Diana still ached for the connection to family – to the sisterhood – that she'd grown up with on Themyscira.
At four in the morning, the part of her that still ached for the comfort he had provided was quickly overruled by the fiercely independent part of her that cursed Superman for putting her in the awkward position of feeling like an unwanted guest.
Making her way into the kitchen, Diana allowed a quick thought about that, then loaded the coffee maker. The physical aspect of their relationship played a dominant, maybe pervasive, role. It made sense. She was raised as a warrior, and Superman represented the ultimate warrior in Man's World.
The first time she'd watched him through the Oracle's scrying glass, Diana had reveled in his awesome displays of strength and power. Raised in proximity to the Olympian Gods, Superman fit well with her ideals of how the perfect man should look, and what kind of power he should possess. Growing up, a part of Diana had always wondered how Herakles had managed to bed her mother so quickly. Now in Man's World – sleeping with a being with God-like powers - she related much better to the feeling of lust her mother must have felt coursing through her veins when Zeus's son arrived on the Themysciran shores.
In retrospect, Diana wondered if she'd missed some of the warning signs early on when she'd started dating Superman. As a warrior, she knew that aggression was often rewarded, and the previous men in her life had made no secret of their carnal desire for her. It was base…primitive, but raised in the isolation of Themyscira, she accepted their lust at face value. Taught by her mother to treat men diffidently – and never to offer her trust - Diana didn't complicate their lust by making more of it than it was.
She'd heard the stories some of her 'aunts' told around the campfires as a child. The saga involving her mother and Hades wasn't told often, but regardless of the consequences of Hippolyta's actions, the tribe still viewed that relationship with a particular reverence. Diana knew the pain that Hades treachery had caused her mother, but after her initial forays into sex proved ambivalent, Diana wondered if there was something missing, something more than just the physical connection.
She'd hoped that Clark represented a different type of man than the ones she'd known, but history had proved to be an unwelcome guide yet again. The Ancients tended to be of a fiery, passionate temperament. Clark was more subdued, prone to react to a situation rather than be proactive.
Oddly, Superman's sexual performance mirrored his battle performance. During her visits to his apartment, Superman made a point of acting like a perfect gentleman, displaying impeccable manners, holding out her chair, always finding something polite to say about other team members when the topic of conversation managed to veer that way.
As a passionate creature, both with her opinions and her desires, Diana was not one who suffered fools gladly. His diplomatic nature irritated her passionate side on many levels.
Diana longed for the moment where Superman would just take her upon arrival, not bothering with meaningless platitudes or courtesies. She'd routinely surprised Superman and other members of the League with her aggressive views and militant actions, preferring action over diplomacy in most cases. Only Hawkgirl was more militant in her approach. The fact that the two female members proved to be the most aggressive warriors in the League provided a source of continuing source of comic relief for the men.
During a quiet moment at dinner one night a few months after they'd started dating, Superman had commented on the fact that Diana's militancy made him feel uncomfortable on a number of occasions. Her eyes lit up with anger, and the tension that admission had created suddenly represented an unassailable barrier between the two of them. Their dinners, once companionable get-togethers which usually culminated in athletic sex, quickly turned listless as they desperately searched for topics where they held aligned opinions.
As the coffee maker started dripping, Diana admitted with a wry smile that as a couple, she and Clark did work in some odd ways.
Diana didn't mind that she had been the one to initiate the pursuit. She was a Princess after all, and she'd grown up accustomed to the requirements of leadership. She'd been taught that bold decisions were required of leaders, and Diana had grown up having sisters respond to her wishes. While Clark was the strongest being that she'd ever met, Diana was somewhat disappointed that his personality proved rather mild. As they'd gotten to know each other, Diana learned she'd bedded more of a Kansas farmer than a hardened warrior seeking battle. She respected his preference for diplomacy, but in her mind, there were too many instances where his passive approach endangered his teammates, placing them unnecessarily in the path of jeopardy.
She speculated that perhaps it was due to the fact that he possessed so much power that Clark chose the opposite path when it came to displaying it. After the League had formed, other members quietly criticized Superman for taking too many punches and not unleashing his full power on their foes until the situation turned desperate.
Earlier that evening, Batman had coldly commented on that very fact after the Manhunters – an army of cyborgs (originally created and later discarded due to their intransigence by the Guardians) - had come to Earth to retrieve Green Lantern. The Manhunters stated their purpose of retrieving Lantern was in order to stand trial for a crime he'd supposedly committed on Aduris-Five. The League had fought the Manhunters to a draw until Lantern had interceded, then he'd shocked them all by agreeing to become the Manhunters prisoner.
They'd ultimately pursued Lantern and uncovered evidence that not only exonerated him, but also showed that the Manhunters had created the distraction to pull the Green Lantern Corps away from Oa. The League and the Corps barely arrived in time to intercept the invading army of Manhunters poised on the doorway to the Central Battery. It took their combined power, supplemented by the defensive shield created by the Guardians, to defeat the cyborgs.
After the Oa mission, during the after action review – a practice Batman had insisted on in order to improve the League's performance – Batman critiqued Superman's performance during the initial battle.
"One blast of heat vision in the first ten seconds of that fight, and Lantern would never have left the Earth."
"Go to hell," Superman replied. J'onn intervened between the two of them before it turned ugly, but Superman was shocked when Diana agreed with Batman's observation.
Later that evening, when Superman and Diana returned to his apartment, Superman was still agitated that she'd sided with Batman. He went to bed early, without inviting her to join him, and had even emphasized his anger by slamming the door. Diana had watched television for an hour, then finally crawled into bed with him.
As the light on the coffee maker shone red, Diana rummaged thru the refrigerator in search of some cream to add to the generous spoonful of sugar she'd already added to her cup. As usual, Clark didn't have any cream, and she was forced to use the low-fat milk he preferred.
Diana hated low-fat milk.
She wondered if their disagreements were solely responsible for their current predicament or if the guilt she carried about her actions on what Lantern later dubbed the 'Savage Time' mission contributed in any way. The mission had started out as a routine diplomatic mission for the League – less Batman – had accepted an invitation from the new government established on Antares-Three. On their way back, Flash had steered the Javelin too close to a white dwarf star's gravity well. The Javelin had escaped intact, but the strain on the engines burned out a component in the power-plant.
Courtesy of his ring, Lantern had towed them back to Earth at his maximum speed of Warp Four. Somehow, the combination of Lantern's ring or their speed ultimately shielded them from a change in the time continuum on Earth.
Upon arrival, the team was shocked to find the Watchtower missing and the Earth overtaken by a despot named Vandal Savage. On the surface, the League found that Batman and a renegade band of rebels had formed a resistance movement. Batman had no memory of them or the League, having grown up in a world where his parents were murdered at Savage's order. The League subsequently stormed Savage's hideout and found a time machine he'd used to send back technology to his former self in 1944.
With no other choice but to jump back in time and undo the damage Savage had caused, the six members had arrived in Normandy just as D-Day got underway. Superman, Hawkgirl, Lantern and Flash helped the Allies establish a beachhead, repulsing a Nazi counter-attack aided by weapons at least two generations ahead of their time.
Diana and J'onn headed for Berlin to find Savage. During their journey, the two were separated fighting a wave of Luftwaffe fighters intent on shooting down one of their own. Coming to the ejecting pilot's aid, Diana ultimately helped Steve Trevor, a handsome American spy, obtain an encrypted communications relay Savage used to coordinate his attacks.
Trevor had been intercepted by the Luftwaffe on his way to meet a double-agent who possessed the relay. While Diana waited with Trevor at a pre-established rendezvous point - a small country chalet - he'd surprised her by preparing a quick fare of fois gras and champagne. Moments later, he'd shocked her by taking her in his arms on the couch where they were sitting, passionately enveloping her in his embrace. That she'd kissed back had amazed her, and Diana had later realized that only the appearance of the double agent had prevented their embrace from going any further.
In Berlin, J'onn subsequently found Savage and the laptop computer he'd received from his future self filled with weapons design schematics. After defeating Savage, the team had returned to the future. They were relieved to find the Watchtower back in orbit, with the timeline unchanged. Batman had no recollection of the mission at all.
Feeling somewhat guilty about her behavior in France, Diana had cancelled her date with Clark that night without offering an explanation. Two quiet weeks had passed before they'd both freed their schedules to arrange a night together. That date had been interrupted by the Manhunters invasion and the subsequent mission to Oa.
Whatever was wrong with the two of them, Diana was more infuriated about the fact that Clark had gone on patrol at four in the morning, leaving her alone in his bed. His excuses about 'needing some fresh air' or 'going to clear my head for awhile' weren't going to sit with her anymore. She was determined to confront him one way or another.
She didn't have long to wait. A breeze suddenly swirled through the room, sending the napkin she was using flying onto the floor.
Superman stepped from the balcony into the apartment a moment later.
"Out for another early morning patrol?" she asked, eyebrow raised.
"Couldn't sleep," he replied with a shrug.
"If you don't want me here, I certainly understand," Diana continued, staring past him at the open door. "I don't want to cramp your lifestyle."
"You're not cramping my lifestyle," Superman replied mechanically, closing the door. He leaned against the glass, unconsciously standing farther away from her than when he'd entered the room.
"Does the fact that I agreed with Batman during the after-action review not sit well with you?" Diana asked.
"It really has nothing to do with him and everything to do with us," Superman replied, slipping off his boots and cape. "You and I just handle things differently, that's all."
"I am a warrior, Clark. I can't apologize for who I am."
"I'm not asking for an apology," he replied. "It just takes some getting used to on my part. I like things simple. Black and white. Good versus evil. Your methods are more complicated."
"I fail to see how destroying the Manhunters would have complicated anything. In fact, it would have spared us a two-day mission to Oa."
"I have to hold back, Diana." Clark argued. "You saw what I was capable of when I led Darkseid's army. Since then, I've vowed only to use enough force to get the job done. No more, no less."
"It's pretty hard to slay the dragon when you've dropped your sword on the ground," Diana replied rhetorically. "Batman was right. The Manhunters arrived here unannounced and when confronted peacefully about their intentions, responded by assaulting the League. Instead of responding with an escalation of force to drive them away, YOU basically let them off the hook by fighting them to a stalemate instead of destroying them. Why?"
"If you agree with Batman so much, why don't you ask him out?" Superman snapped. He'd immediately regretted saying the words, and held up his hand as if to offer an apology, but Diana was too angry to let him off the hook.
"I thought this wasn't about him!" she replied, furious, then took a deep breath and moderated her tone. "You have to let go of what Darkseid did to you. I understand it was traumatic, but you're allowing Darkseid a small victory each time you hold back."
"You just don't understand what I lost that day," Superman replied, searching her eyes.
"Then help me to understand," Diana replied, taking a step forward as a gesture.
"If you don't understand by now, then you never will." He replied lamely, then looked at the clock in the kitchen. "I have to go. I promised J'onn I'd help align some of the power conduits on the Watchtower before I head to work."
Diana watched him fly away in shock, amazed that he'd left her standing alone in his apartment again. Angrily, she punched a hole in his kitchen table, splintering the wood. Diana winced with regret, but rationalized that it was better than punching him. She debated her next plan of action, then stepped into the shower, reasoning that the hot water might help clear her head.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT"What are you thinking?" Lois whispered. She was lying contentedly next to Bruce in her bedroom, having realized it was easier for Batman to drop in at three in the morning then to wake up early to drive out to the Manor. It was a compromise that made her uncomfortable, but she'd resigned herself to it.
'It wasn't that bad,' she thought with a wry grin. After all, the early part of the evening HAD involved dinner and dancing at the Iceberg Lounge. The fact that Bruce chose that restaurant so he could surreptitiously perform surveillance on Penguin – a well-known black market arms dealer from Slovenia was sitting at his table - while romancing her at the same time did not escape her notice, but a few distracted whirls around the dance floor were better than she usually got, so she settled.
A scowl crossed her mouth as she thought about that.
She hated settling.
Puzzled, Bruce looked at her, trying to remember what she'd originally asked him. Finally, his memory processed the question, and he raised an eyebrow in concern. "Are you sure you want to know?"
"I wouldn't have asked otherwise," she emphasized with a snort.
"I'm trying to develop a new polymer that will graft onto the kevlar we use in our uniforms. The nomex weave is fireproof, but it really chafes."
Her jaw dropped in amazement, then a grin curled on her lips. "Oh, Bruce. You really know how to make such sweet pillow talk after sex. Haven't you ever heard of romancing a girl… just a little?" She bashed him playfully with a pillow to make her point.
"Dinner and dancing not enough anymore? Some girls are never happy."
"Am I just 'one of the girls'? Another notch in the ol' utility belt?"
"You're the only one who knows about my other activities. Isn't that special enough?"
"You can put Pandora back in that particular box and lock it tight if you want," she replied, expression tightening slightly, but she forced a grin, trying not to make things too serious. "So it's okay if you want to lie to me when I ask you what you're thinking. Tell me I have great boobs, anything that doesn't sound Batmanish."
He considered her request carefully, then pulled back the sheet to expose her naked form.
"You DO have great boobs."
"How do they compare to Wonder-Babe's?"
"Do you REALLY want to go there?"
"So you've noticed she's got big knockers?" Lois asked, savoring his discomfort. "Did the legendary Batman lose control for once and allow himself a glance at that canyon of cleavage?"
"Give me a break!" Bruce growled, dramatically slumping back onto the bed. "Does it really matter?"
"It's okay if your blood runs a little hot when she's in the room," Lois observed, but the smirk had vanished from her face. "Just as long as you come home to me."
"Thanks, but you don't have anything to worry about. She's off the market anyway. She's been dating Superman since she joined the League – or didn't he tell you?"
She said nothing, but even in the darkened room, her eyes betrayed her surprise.
"So he didn't?" Bruce prodded, savoring the moment. "Our favorite Kryptonian hasn't been providing full disclosure at your evening rendezvous lately?"
"You know about those?" she asked coolly, but her eyes flashed her surprise and her voice showed her bitterness. "Keeping an eye on me?"
"I make it a practice to find out what's going on in my life." He replied. "Batman has enemies, but so does Bruce Wayne. Besides, you have a history of getting into trouble doing the research for those little corruption exposes you like to write. Without him to look after you all the time, I took that responsibility for myself."
"If you've been keeping such close tabs on me, then you also know that nothing happened." Lois said. "I stopped seeing him when I realized it wasn't fair to you."
"It was a damn sight easier to stop seeing him once he stopped returning your calls," Bruce noted. "Did he even protest when you stopped seeing him?"
"Come to think of it, he didn't." Lois admitted, searching her memory. "But now I've got an even bigger problem to deal with. I just found out that you don't trust me, do you?"
"Trust is earned." He replied. "Did you earn my trust, telling me you were staying in Metropolis for an extra night to hang out with your girlfriends, when in reality you were waiting for him to show up on your balcony?"
"I think I have earned your trust, Bruce. Think about it. I haven't published a potentially Pulitzer prize winning article revealing the most speculated secret identity in the world, and you have the gall to ask me that?
"How about the fact you've been using Percocets and Chardonnay as a sleeping potion for the last six months? Do you trust me enough to tell me that?"
"How dare you?" Lois flared.
"I dare, because I care," Bruce replied. "You haven't been taking Percocets for the past few months, by the way. I weaned you off the drugs that first month I joined the League. You've been taking a placebo ever since."
Lois stared at him in shock. For the first time, she realized how far reaching the implications could be, becoming involved with Bruce Wayne. She didn't like her conclusion.
"Get out!"
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTDiana was surprised to find Batman waiting at the launch bay for the shuttle. The shuttle was housed at an abandoned Air Force Base situated almost halfway between Gotham and Metropolis. Early on, members had agreed to wait until six a.m. Eastern time before departing, lest they end up stranded planet-side until the Javelin, shuttle or Lantern were available to provide transport. Batman had promised delivery of a second shuttle in a few more months, but until then, they were stuck on a schedule.
He was poring over a laptop computer perched on his lap, and didn't acknowledge her presence when she stepped into the small lobby adjacent to the hangar bay.
She cleared her throat to alert him of her presence, but he didn't break his concentration. Diana allowed herself a smile, as lately he was the one man she'd met in Man's World who made an extra effort NOT to notice her.
Settling into a chair across from him in the lobby, she cocked her head, studying him intently. With nothing better to do for the next ten minutes while they waited for any other members to meet the scheduled departure time, Diana decided to pass the time by trying to reconcile the riddle of the man before her – still pointedly ignoring her - with the man who'd passionately embraced her at the lake.
It was more fun trying to solve that particular puzzle than the one that awaited her at the Watchtower.
Not scheduled for duty until that evening, Diana was headed to the Watchtower early, determined to resolve her argument with Clark one way or another.
She stared at Batman, trying to provoke a reaction. He continued typing, irritating her to no end. The silence was killing Diana, broken only by the occasional clack of the keyboard.
Bored, Diana cleared her throat a few times. His eyes finally lifted off the screen for a moment, then he pointed to a water cooler in the corner. "There's water if you're thirsty, Princess."
"So he DOES talk," Diana replied, rolling her eyes. "I thought Bats were nocturnal. Little early to be up, isn't it?"
"Nice to know your royal upbringing included lessons in sarcasm," Batman replied. He looked at the clock over her head. "It doesn't look like anyone else is coming. Ready to go?"
"Sure, who's flying, you or me?"
"You. I have work to do."
They settled into the pilot's chairs and Diana started the pre-flight sequence. Batman strapped himself in, then propped the laptop on the ledge in front of him. Diana glanced at him quickly, then took a deep breath, mentally running thru the pre-flight checklist a second time to make sure she hadn't missed anything. While she hated to admit it, his presence made her nervous. She gripped the yoke in her hands and grimaced when she felt the sweat on her palms.
Diana executed a flawless takeoff out of the hangar, proudly flashing him a glance of triumph as the shuttle clawed through the atmosphere, but he didn't glance her way. She pursed her lips, then decided to make another attempt at conversation.
"What's so important there that you can't even appreciate my perfect take-off?"
"Do you really require positive reinforcement for that?" he replied, still focused on laptop display. "I assumed you'd prefer I didn't point out that you didn't turn on the IFF system. The Air Force is probably scrambling some interceptors our way as we speak, trying to catch a UFO flying across the busiest commercial air corridor in the country."
Diana's face reddened slightly with embarrassment, but she calmly flipped on the IFF button. "Thanks for the warning. Sorry if I scared you."
He stared at her for a moment, a reply forming on his lips, but he said nothing. Diana engaged the autopilot when they reached fifty thousand feet, then leaned back in her chair, stretching. "Now that NORAD is satisfied, do you want to tell me what you're working on?"
"There's been a series of high-tech military equipment sales from the French government to some Balkan warlords during the past few weeks."
"Is that really a surprise?" Diana asked. "From what I've seen, the French enjoy snubbing the U.N. and American authorities whenever they get a chance."
"There's also been a series of equipment thefts in other European countries which match the weapons protocols." Batman mused. "They have to be connected."
"Well, that's why we have you in the League," Diana noted with a smirk. "To find conspiracies in places no one else would think to look."
Batman glowered at her, then turned his attention back to his laptop.
Satisfied that she'd at least finally gotten him to talk, she didn't say another word. The rest of the flight was quiet. Diana kept glancing at him, waiting for him to break the silence this time, but he never said a word.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTAfter landing in the hangar bay, Batman and Wonder Woman arrived in the Monitor Station. Hawkgirl, J'onn and Superman were working through some routine systems checks. It looked to be an opportune time as planet-side appeared relatively quiet.
Batman walked past the group, foregoing any pleasantries. Diana watched him vanish around a bulkhead, then turned her attention on Superman. He glanced up from the booth where he and Hawkgirl were adjusting the stabilizers, waved a blank greeting, then turned his attention back to the task.
By the blank look on his face, Diana realized Superman had absolutely no clue how mad she was at the moment.
Her temples started to pound. Diana was about to give Superman a piece of her mind in front of the other members, when the red warning lights of the Watchtower started chiming.
Batman rushed to the control station, scanning the sensors. "It's an incoming energy signature," he shouted over the din of the sirens. "But I've never seen anything like it."
Superman looked over his shoulder.
"I have," he said ominously. "Boom Tube."
A circular, white grid of energy suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the Monitor Womb. Seconds later, Darkseid emerged through the Boom Tube.
"Superman," the despot of Apokilips whispered in greeting. "It's been a long time."
"Not long enough," Superman shouted, then immediately attacked Darkseid. He landed two furious uppercuts before any of his teammates had batted an eye. The force of his punches reverberated through the space-station. Darkseid didn't fight back, making a point to only defend himself as much as possible.
Batman jumped out of the chair, landing in front of Diana and J'onn. "Stop him before he knocks us out of orbit!"
Alarmed, the two of them looked up as Superman unleashed another series of punches, mercilessly pounding Darkseid in the ribs. The Apokiliptan crumpled to a knee. Superman cocked his right arm into a fist, however J'onn pinned his arm before he could throw the punch. Diana took hold of his left arm a moment later, holding him back.
"Let me go!" Superman shouted, eyes blazing with fury.
"I require only a minute of your time." Darkseid replied, crawling to his feet. "It involves the legacy of Krypton."
"You have a minute," J'onn said, still straining to keep Superman from tearing Darkseid into small pieces. "No more."
"I thought the last survivor of Krypton was here in this room, but I was wrong," Darkseid started. "Yesterday, a spaceship of unknown origin invaded Apokilips. The one who calls himself Brainiac immediately unleashed an attack on my homeworld. As we speak, he's downloading the archives of our central computer. When he's finished with that, he'll destroy the planet. We are defenseless against his power. Millions will die."
"Good," Superman spat. "Let them."
"You can't mean that!" Hawkgirl whispered, amazed at the unbridled fury of her teammate.
"If you want the legacy of Krypton to result in the destruction of Apokilips and every other planet in this quadrant, fine." Darkseid stated, then flung a mother box at Superman's feet. "Otherwise I'll expect your rescue shortly."
Moments later, Darkseid triggered his own mother box, and disappeared into the boom tube behind him.
Diana and J'onn released their grips on their teammate. He looked at them with disdain, angry that he'd been denied the opportunity to finish off Darkseid.
"So when do we leave?" J'onn asked.
"What? You can't be serious!" Superman shouted. "You don't know anything about him."
"We know he used you..." Batman intoned, approaching Superman until they stood eye to eye. "…Humiliated you. Wound you up like a toy and set you against Earth. But if he's right, and Brainiac is attacking in this quadrant again, I suggest you GET OVER IT!"
Superman stared hard back at the Dark Knight. A number of responses formed on his lips. In his opinion, all were inappropriate to utter in front of the two women members, so he finally relented. "Fine. We'll do it your way. But you're going to have to do something for me in return."
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTThe Javelin emerged out of hyperspace an hour after Darkseid had departed through the boom tube at an altitude of two hundred miles above Apokilips. Superman gripped the controls, not bothering to glance at the scene below. As first-time visitors, J'onn and Hawkgirl curiously peered through the canopy, then both recoiled in horror when they realized the extent of the firepits and the terror they inspired on that planet's populace.
Descending through the atmosphere at the maximum speed the Javelin could take, Superman leveled the craft out a mile above the surface, looking for their quarry. It didn't take long to locate Brainiac's spaceship. It was a duplicate of the one Superman had destroyed five years before when Brainiac first attempted to conquer Earth. Superman had destroyed that spaceship from the inside, however he knew all too well the immense power the ship was capable of displaying.
Darkseid's ground forces were finding out firsthand the extent of Brainiac's power, as the Apokiliptan artillery wasn't making a dent in Brainiac's shields. All airborne attacks were repulsed by the laterally mounted plasma cannons.
Superman quickly judged the situation, then decided to make one pass over Brainiac's ship. J'onn and Hawkgirl gripped their armrests a little tighter when Superman brought them in level with the spaceship, hurtling towards it with the seeming intent of a suicide attack. At the last second, Superman unleashed a volley from the Javelin's plasma cannons, then pulled the ship into a vertical climb.
As he suspected, Brainiac's shields were undamaged, so he pulled the Javelin into hover mode, then landed the ship next to a command post Darkseid had established on a hilltop overlooking the spaceship.
Darkseid barely looked up at them as they disembarked from the Javelin. "What are you waiting for?" Darkseid snarled, pointing at the target.
"Well, okay," Superman replied, sarcasm evident in his expression. "But only because you asked nicely."
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTLois reached down and picked up the phone on her desk for the fourth time in as many minutes. The last three times, she'd slammed the phone down before dialing, but this time was different.
She quickly punched in the number that she'd committed to memory months before, then her heart skipped a beat when she heard the ring on the other end of the line.
"Be there," Lois whispered, desperate to hear his voice.
Her stomach lurched when she heard the pre-recorded feminine voice inform her that the number was no longer in service.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTDiana and Batman emerged from the boom tube on New Genesis in a meadow that somewhat resembled the countryside in Normandy. As Diana took a moment to enjoy the view, she spied a quick movement in her peripheral vision, turning in time to help Batman from collapsing to the ground. The boom tube technology obviously had a detrimental affect on his physiology, but Diana couldn't tell how serious the effects were. She debated rolling back the cowl, but he put his hand over hers before she could roll back the material to see his face.
"That was fun," he muttered, returning to his feet with her help.
They looked up at the floating city the New Gods called home, hovering a mile above them.
"Do we really need to be here?" she wondered, amazed by the sight of the floating city.
"On a conflict of this magnitude, we'll need all the help we can get." Batman assured her, then stared hard at their destination, towering over them.
"I'm going to need a longer grapple."
Diana smirked at his lame attempt at humor, then pressed against him. Wrapping her right arm around his waist, she lifted the two of them off the ground. She shuddered inwardly, as it was the first time she'd physically been this close to him since he'd kissed her on Themyscira. She couldn't help but notice how comfortable his arm felt, draped over her own, with his hand perched on her hip. It felt nice, but she didn't have time to savor the moment as a shadow suddenly flashed over them.
"You're not bugs," a strange voice rang out, then Diana felt a hand lightly smack her on the rear end. A humanoid wearing a white body suit flew past them, goading Diana to follow. Clutching Batman tightly against her, she followed the perpetrator around the city, weaving in and out of the spires and alleyways in pursuit.
Without a word, Batman shrugged out of her grip as they passed over a bridgeway between two buildings, then cut an intercept path across the span as she continued her airborne pursuit. As she rounded the building again, a satisfied smile crossed her face as Batman had snared the offender in his cape. The New God struggled to free himself, but the Dark Knight held him tightly.
"Don't worry, we won't hurt you." Diana started, still angry about his lack of manners.
"No, you certainly won't," a new voice rang out behind them. "What do you think you're doing with Lightray?"
They turned and found they were face to face with Orion and the other New Gods.
"We need your help." Diana replied as Batman released the New God.
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"So she follows the same routine every day?" the larger man asked from the shadows.
"Pretty much," his wiry companion replied, leafing through his notes. "Makes the two-block walk from her condo to work, does research at her office until lunch. Grabs a hot dog or a sandwich from the sidewalk vendor, then has a driver owned by the Planet take her around for interviews. Wraps up at six, then heads to the Spektrum Club for a workout after that. Makes the three block walk back to her condo, then that's it, unless she goes out for a late dinner."
"So we snag her on the way back from the gym, make it look like an incidental mugging, but send Wayne a message he can understand, right?"
"Right," the man chuckled. "Can you believe she used to date Superman?"
"I thought that whole thing was overblown. You know reporters. They ain't afraid to embellish a little here or there if it sells more papers."
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTSuperman braced himself, then climbed into the skies above Apokilips. Gaining speed and momentum, he collided with the energy shield protecting Brainiac's ship. Pounding against it with his fists, the energy matrix supporting the shield buckled, then a two-meter wide opening suddenly appeared in the shield. Superman wedged his frame into the opening, straining to widen the gap, then shouted "NOW!"
A thousand meters below, Darkseid personally leveled a plasma cannon, centering the sights of the weapon on Superman's head. It was an inviting target, but he moved the weapon slightly, then discharged the projectile.
The energy from the cannon passed by Superman through the hole he'd created, then impacted on the undercarriage of Brainiac's ship. The entire shield protecting the vessel suddenly collapsed, and the Apokiliptan artillery surrounding the ship unleashed a broadside on the flanks of the spaceship.
Huge holes suddenly opened up along the length of the spaceship. Internal, secondary explosions started to cause their own damage. One blast sent Superman hurtling towards the ground. Hawkgirl dove after him, trying to catch before he smashed into a rocky outcropping. She managed to deflect his fall enough to avoid the rocks, but they still impacted on the adjacent ground with a thud.
Realizing there was no hope to download the entire Apokiliptan archive, Brainiac moved the ship above the artillery, rapidly gaining altitude. Seconds later, the ship left the atmosphere, heading to destinations unknown.
"What are you waiting for?" Darkseid growled, staring at Superman and Hawkgirl, still stunned from their plunge to the ground. "Follow him!"
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTBrainiac's spaceship was damaged, but even with the engines screaming past redline, the Javelin was hard-pressed to gain any ground on the larger ship. Twenty-five parsecs later, Superman dropped the Javelin out of warp neatly behind Brainiac. He opened fire with the plasma cannons but an asteroid appeared out of nowhere. The inert rock absorbed the blasts, shattering into smaller pieces. Superman swung the ship around the debris-field, then set chase once again.
The smoking ship came to view in front of the Javelin's nose as Superman lined up to unleash another volley with the cannons, then the Javelin suddenly lurched as a tractor beam locked onto them. He revved the engines instantly to full power, but the spaceship could not break free.
Superman, J'onn and Hawkgirl worked the controls frantically, looking for a means of escape, but there was nothing they could do. Moments later, the tractor beam pulled them into a crater on a large asteroid. Looking closer, they all gaped with astonishment when they realized the asteroid was actually a space station, fully mechanized but camouflaged.
A dome of energy encapsulated the Javelin after the tractor beam deposited the Javelin in a hangar bay. J'onn watched the atmospheric readings with interest, then told his companions that an oxygen atmosphere had formed in the hangar.
"Let's see what Brainiac has in mind."
They didn't have long to wait. After making a short walk from the hangar bay to a central chamber, they spied Brainiac perched high above them, busily working at a console.
"Greetings, Kal-El," Brainiac intoned metallically. "You are right on time."
"Right on time for this," Hawkgirl screamed, smashing her mace down onto the robot's head. The mace obliterated half the robot's head, leaving a gaping hole in his chest where the mace had finished its arc.
"That was uncalled for," Brainiac said through the remaining half of his head, then collapsed.
"What's the big deal?" Hawkgirl asked J'onn and Superman with a touch of pride, brandishing her weapon over the inert body at her feet.
"That." J'onn replied, pointing to forty more Brainiac replicants emerging from hidden panels in the chamber walls. The three Leaguers gained altitude, then in concert attacked the nearest echelon of approaching robots. They managed to completely destroy the first wave of Brainiacs, but the second wave overwhelmed them. One of the robots managed to level his energy weapon at point blank range on Superman, leaving the Kryptonian reeling on the floor from the blast.
J'onn and Hawkgirl saw their teammate fall. On cue, they immediately started cutting a swath through the robots to come to his aid, but before they managed a rescue, a Boom Tube opened next to them. Darkseid emerged a moment later, triggering his Omega beams their way as soon as he'd materialized. J'onn leapt in front of Hawkgirl to absorb the blow, and the two of them were blown backwards through the floor.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT"This isn't Apokilips." Batman observed. He was standing next to Diana, both of them in turn enclosed by an energy field created by Orion's mother-box to sustain them. They'd been traveling in excess of lightspeed since leaving New Genesis a half an hour before. Batman was feeling nauseous as the star systems flew past, but after his earlier display exiting the Boom Tube, he didn't want to display any more weakness to the Amazon Princess.
"No, but Mother Box detects Darkseid's presence," Orion replied, a hint of dismissal in his tone.
Diana shrugged meekly at Batman then offered a smile. It was oddly comforting to Diana to know there was a man with more issues than Batman somewhere in the universe.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTSuperman awoke with a groan. His head still pounded from the blast he'd received a few minutes before. Anxiously, he checked his surroundings, hoping J'onn and Hawkgirl had escaped. What he saw provided no comfort. Darkseid and Brainiac stood next to a console, obviously working together.
He tried to move his arms and legs but it was useless. Whatever Brainiac had designed to restrain him was working perfectly. Pinned to an apparatus in a crucifix position, he could exert no leverage to free himself.
"I see that you are awake," Brainiac started. "We are ready to begin."
"What is it you have planned this time?"
"I have decided to merge my knowledge and programming with your body," Brainiac replied. "It is logical that the last Kryptonian carry on my legacy."
"What's your role in this, Darkseid?"
"I made a deal," Darkseid shrugged. "Brainiac stopped his invasion of Apokilips in exchange for you."
"We have wasted enough time already," Brainiac replied. "Let it begin."
A huge discharge of energy suddenly surged through Superman's body. It was excruciating as Brainiac's machinery started to disassemble his body at the cellular level. Brainiac slipped into a chair which served as a receptacle for Superman's powers, however the robot noticed too late that Darkseid had attached a Mother Box to the console. A moment later, the console slaved its command routines to the Mother Box, bypassing Brainiac's control.
"What are you doing?" Brainiac whispered, fear evident in his voice.
"Your machinery is a perfect vehicle for the Anti-Life equation," Darkseid replied with a satisfied shrug. "Now, let it REALLY begin."
"I want to resist you, but I am strangely compelled to comply," Brainiac answered.
The power coursing through Superman's body increased exponentially.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTJ'onn sat up, groggily shaking the cobwebs out of his brain. Hawkgirl lay crumpled beneath him. He reached down, searching for a pulse, then sighed with relief when she started to stir.
He stood up, crouching as the tunnel Darkseid had blasted with his Omega Beams was barely tall enough to accommodate his height. He helped Hawkgirl to her feet, then the two of them gingerly made their way up to the surface. Peeking his head up through the crater in the floor, J'onn was relieved there wasn't a Brainiac in sight. Seeing no sign of Superman, they searched around the chamber, looking for any clues as to his whereabouts. Their search was interrupted by the far off sound of a scream, unmistakably that of Superman.
They took flight, arriving in the transfer chamber seconds later. The Darkseid-controlled Brainiacs intercepted them before they could free Superman. A battle quickly ensued. Hawkgirl deflected some of the incoming energy blasts with her mace while J'onn phased in and out of the robots, pulling vital circuitry out of the housings.
Darkseid glanced over, satisfied that his captive army was keeping Superman's teammates at bay, then glanced with astonishment when Orion emerged out of a Boom Tube above him. Without a word, the scion of Darkseid landed a crunching blow. The force of the punch sent his genetic father reeling off the platform. Orion discarded his glider, then without a word, plunged over the platform rail in pursuit.
Batman and Diana landed on the platform a moment later. "Cover me," he commanded, desperately searching the console for a means to release Superman from the restraints. Diana quickly positioned herself behind Batman, deflecting energy beams directed their way by the Brainiacs hovering in their area.
Batman intently studied the panel, hoping for a clue of how to operate the alien technology, then finally gave up. He smashed the panel with both hands, then salvoed an explosive batarang at the console when that didn't work. The secondary explosions kicked off by the batarangs had the desired effect, as the restraints released Superman a moment later.
Batamn cringed as the console's explosion started a chain reaction in the chamber, bringing the roof down in increasingly large chunks. He fired a grapple, deftly swinging behind J'onn and Hawkgirl as they finished off the remnants of the Brainiacs. J'onn grabbed Batman by the shoulders, flying him out of the collapsing chamber while Diana and Hawkgirl followed close behind.
The League didn't notice that Superman had flown after Orion and Darkseid until they reached the Javelin.
"Where's Superman?" Batman barked furiously as J'onn powered up the engines. Diana and Hawkgirl looked at him blankly. Batman shook his head. "That idiot," he muttered, then tapped J'onn on the shoulder. "Get going. I'll meet you on New Genesis."
Diana lifted a hand to stop him. Batman tried to shrug away from her grasp, but she quickly secured him to a chair with her lasso. He kicked desperately to escape the chair, but it was too late. She leapt from the entry ramp then remotely closed the exit. J'onn waved to her from the cockpit, then lifted the Javelin off the hangar bay.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT"I've been watching your exploits from afar," Darkseid growled, smashing a fist into Orion's semi-conscious face. "But I'm disappointed at the first-hand results. What is it they say, spare the rod…?"
"You're up for a disappointment then as well, I'm afraid." Superman gloated behind him.
Darkseid whipped around, surprised to see the Kryptonian freed from the restraints. "Have you come to receive yet another beating, Kal-El? Don't you ever grow weary of them?"
"This ends here, today." Superman replied confidently as he walked towards Darkseid. He stopped a few feet away, then pivoted deftly to his left, dodging Darkseid's fist. Superman landed a left hook - followed instantly by a sharp right cross - that shook Darkseid's frame to his core. The Apokiliptan buckled. Superman stepped forward to finish him off, but Darkseid regained his footing. He threw an uppercut at Superman's jaw that launched the caped figure across the corridor. Darkseid grinned sadistically, then slammed his foot onto Superman's face, literally grinding him under his heel. He screamed with agony a moment later as Superman's heat vision burned all the way through the top of his boot from below.
Regaining his feet, Superman approached Darkseid cautiously, then launched a series of superspeed punches at Darkseid's ribcage. A series of explosions suddenly tore through the chamber, interrupting his attack. Brainiac's asteroid was enduring its last throes as the engineering and power systems started spewing their contents into the conflagration. The flames started feeding higher, setting off additional explosions. The ground shook again with a thunderous explosion. Unsteady on his feet after Superman's assault, the Apokiliptan crumpled to the ground. Superman picked up a huge piece of wall that had toppled over as a result of the explosions, then smashed it with all his might onto Darkseid's head.
Superman watched with satisfaction as he approached Darkseid to deliver the final, telling blow, but his concentration was interrupted when Diana emerged from a side corridor, searching for him.
"The whole place is going to blow!" she yelled, grabbing him by the arm.
"Get out of here!" Superman yelled back, surprising the Amazon by flinging her across the room. Her backed smashed against a rock wall with surprising force, but she was back on her feet in an instant. She produced a Mother Box from a hook that normally held her lasso, then triggered it while simultaneously launching herself onto Superman's back. He struggled to throw her off, desperate to finish Darkseid, but she wouldn't let go.
The Boom Tube opened behind them, sucking both of them and Orion's unconscious body into its matrix.
Pinned under the pile of debris Superman had smashed over his head, Darkseid could only watch helplessly as the three escaped the imminent explosion, leaving him for dead.
"Loser."
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
J'onn had the Javelin's engines throttled into the redline, approaching Warp seven, when Brainiac's asteroid went critical. The resulting blastwave had largely dissipated when they reached New Genesis. When the dropped out of hyperspace, even twenty parsecs away from ground zero, the craft still shook from the turbulence.
Diana and Superman were waiting for them on the planet. The personal physician of the New Gods attended to Orion. He was still unconscious from Darkseid's brutal attack but he wasn't permanently disfigured. The ground shook again from a series of tremors set off by the asteroid's explosion, but each earthquake was smaller than the last.
Batman, J'onn and Hawkgirl ran to their teammates, awed and overjoyed at the fact both of them had survived the explosion. Diana and Superman nodded at them in greeting, but there was an obvious undercurrent of tension between the two that overwhelmed the victory celebration.
Diana pursed her lips in exasperation, but there wasn't anything she could do to rectify the situation. As his confidant and lover, she considered whether to offer some reassurance to Superman that she'd saved his life – not denied him the chance to finish Darkseid once and for all. Given his anxious posture and their recent history, she decided to remain quiet. She didn't feel the need to offer an apology. She walked over to J'onn and Shayera and recounted the events of her escape via the Boom Tube. Batman stood off by himself, his ire still evident that she'd tied him up.
Superman stared into the atmosphere. With his vision, Superman could still see glowing remnants of the explosion light-years away.
"Nobody could have survived that, Clark." Batman murmured with as much assurance as he could muster. "Not even Darkseid."
Superman whipped around defiantly, then angrily leaned in until his face was inches away from the Dark Knight. "Do you know what, Bruce? You're not always right!"
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Lois was tired, sweaty and ripe. She'd eaten a garlic and chicken combination for lunch, and the garlic had oozed out of her pores on the stairmaster at the gym for the last hour. She grabbed a towel on the way out, opting to jog the few blocks home and take a bubble bath rather than rinsing off in the communal shower with the other women.
She grabbed her shoulder and garment bags then tried jogging down the street, but one of the straps entangled in her shoelaces. Grunting with frustration, she stopped in front of an alleyway to untangle the mess.
"Hey, lady. What's in the bag?" a deep voice taunted from the shadows. A hulking, brutish figure of a man stepped out of the shadows, brandishing a nine-millimeter semi-automatic. He waved the gun, telling her to step into the shadows. A second man, more wiry in build but with the same ruthless look on his face, waited there.
Lois looked about for some help, but her heart sank when she realized she was alone. Dejected, she stepped into the alleyway, holding her purse in front of her. The smaller man shocked her when he flung the purse casually to the side.
"We don't need your money, Miss Lane," the larger man said. "We just need you to send a message."
"What kind of message?" Lois asked with trepidation, then her eyes went wide with shock when Batman appeared out of nowhere. Swinging from a jump-line, his feet smashed into the larger perpetrator with such force that he flopped onto the pavement twenty yards away. The smaller wiry man immediately unleashed a fusillade from his nine millimeter, but Batman dove to his right, unleashing a batarang that knocked the gun away.
The wiry man looked anxiously for some assistance from his fellow henchman, then blanched when he saw his body laid out cold on the pavement. Desperate, he searched around the pavement, hoping by some miracle that his gun had landed within reach. Batman's fist connected with his jaw before he had another moment to search, then everything went dark.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTCyrus Bosa had grown up inflicting dread and fear among those he knew as well as people he didn't. As a sociopath, he'd never worried about being on the receiving end of someone else's wrath. It wasn't that there weren't larger, more capable thugs in the world. He just truly believed that the world was his, and people were basically playthings to be stabbed, drowned, or shot as he saw fit.
It wasn't until he was hanging upside down in an alleyway with a batarang slicing open the cartilage between his ribs that he had an epiphany about what it meant to be on the receiving end of his punishment.
He didn't like it.
"Who sent you?" Batman growled.
"I just wanted to steal her purse, honest." Cyrus whimpered, then screamed in pain when he felt the batarang slice another rib open.
"Try again. There are twelve ribs on each side. I've only opened two so far. Are you sure you want to walk around Gotham looking like an accordion?"
Cyrus considered his options for a moment, then gave up. "Savarino sent me. Just told me to shake her up a bit as a warning to her boyfriend."
"Tell Savarino - and everyone else in Gotham for that matter – that she is under my protection."
"I thought she dated Superman," Cyrus whispered.
"I'm looking after her during her visit." Batman muttered, then whipped out a laser, cauterizing the wounds he'd inflicted. A minute later, Cyrus Bosa found himself handcuffed to a lamp-pole. Two Gotham police detective picked him up a few minutes later. Both of them had instantly laughed at the large piss-stain on his pants, recognizing it as the signature of Batman's victims.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT"Since when does Batman use torture an approved method of interrogation?" Lois snapped, walking into her condominium. "I saw that, you know."
She didn't bother looking to see whether he was there or not. Her instincts, and her experience, told her it took Batman less time to scale the outside of her building than it did for her to ride the elevator up.
He stepped out from behind a support column next to her living room balcony, but didn't say a word.
"Seriously, Bruce. Torture? Why?"
"Those men were sent to rattle you by an enemy of Bruce Wayne. Not Batman," he replied. "I didn't want you to deal with a reoccurrence of that same problem in the future."
"Well, thanks for protecting me," Lois said, throwing her gym bag down on the floor in a huff. "I can take care of myself, you know?"
"Your independence issues are well understood," Batman replied warily, then turned to leave. "Good night, Lois."
"So you're just going to leave without saying another word? Admit it! That was a pretty sadistic thing you did to that man back there. Mugger or not."
"I do what it takes to get the job done." He replied. "I hoped you would have understood that by now."
"I don't know if I'm ever going to understand you, Bruce," Lois whispered.
"That makes two of us," he replied with a touch of regret. He turned and waved goodbye, then jumped off the balcony, disappearing into the night.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTDiana waited patiently in the Watchtower while Superman logged in the last of his notes about the confrontation with Darkseid. He hadn't said a word to anyone, either in the Javelin or in the Watchtower, since they'd left New Genesis some hours before. She heard the computer acknowledge his command to save the information, then approached him quietly from behind. She settled her hands on his neck and shoulders, then without saying a word, starting kneading the knotted muscles.
Superman groaned with relief, then came to his senses when he realized where they were. He stood up quickly, frantically searching about the room for other League members. The relief that they were alone was evident on his face, and he didn't return to the chair.
"What's wrong?" Diana asked, trying hard not to show her disappointment that he'd shrugged away from her yet again.
"What if somebody sees us?" he whispered.
"So what if they do?" she countered. "I'm not afraid."
"The time isn't right, Diana." Superman stammered. "I'm not ready to go public."
"Do you need Batman's permission?" she taunted.
"You should know better than anyone not to go there," he replied coldly, then marched past her. "Good night."
Reluctantly, she watched him disappear around the corner, debating whether she should pursue him, then sank into one of the console chairs. Resigned to spending another night without him, she decided to pass the time by sorting through her electronic mail. Most of it involved solicitations from magazines to pose in various stages of undress. She quickly deleted those, but one caught her eye. She sat back in the chair, considering the invitation.
"Paris in September?" she murmured, "Sounds like fun."