Chapter 6

South of France; May 2nd, 20:11 EST

Mera ground her teeth as Arthur carefully dabbed at the wound on her back near her shoulder. It was still oozing quite a bit of blood which only caused Arthur to worry even more. It should've stopped bleeding by now, leaving him to wonder if Black Manta had coated the tip of the spear with something.

"That looks really bad," Barry commented, leaning over with his hands on his knees to inspect the damage as Arthur worked. "We should get her to a hospital."

"I'm not going to a hospital," Mera insisted, hissing as Arthur put pressure on the wound in an effort to curtail the bleeding.

"You'll have to if this bleeding doesn't stop," Arthur told her.

"I'll be fine," she stated as she shifted her position on the bed. She was angry with herself for being distracted by Arthur and allowing Black Manta to get the jump on them like he had.

"Do you want me to run to the store to get more supplies?" Barry asked.

"If she doesn't stop bleeding, you're going to have to," Arthur replied with a frown, wishing he knew what Black Manta had done to her.

"It's not that bad," she tried to tell them. Unfortunately, neither of them believed her. "If I can just lay down and rest, I'm sure I'll be better in the morning."

Arthur's frown deepened as he picked up more gauze. "I'll bandage this up with extra gauze," he told her. "If this doesn't get better soon, I'm taking you to the hospital."

"Whatever," she muttered with a roll of her eyes.

"You have your hands full with that one," Barry whispered to Arthur.

"Don't you have someone to look for?" Arthur asked him.

"Oh, yeah," Barry replied. "I guess I'll be going. Call me if you need anything and I'll be here in a flash…no pun intended."

"Funny," Arthur flatly stated as he glared at him.

"Right," Barry said. "Hope you feel better, Mera."

"Thank you," she responded, wanting nothing more than to lay down. Her eyelids were growing heavy and her body ached.

Barry exited the hotel room, shutting the door behind him and leaving them alone once more. Arthur worked carefully to bandage her wound, hoping that she was right about being better after some sleep. He wasn't holding out hope, though. He didn't trust Black Manta not to have poisoned her with that spear.

"There," he muttered, applying one more strip of tape. "That should hold for at least a while."

"Thank you," she replied, wincing as she pulled the back of her shirt down.

"I'll help you change your clothes," he offered as he stood to his feet, going to the dresser to look for something for her to wear.

"You don't have to, Arthur," she responded, shifting her position on the bed to lay down.

"You don't want to sleep in a bloody shirt," he pointed out, finding a different one for her to put on. "We have to be careful that the wound doesn't get infected."

"Fine," she relented with a reluctant sigh much to his surprise as she moved to sit on the edge of the bed.

"You're not going to argue with me?" he teased, giving her a little smirk as he moved to stand before her.

She gave him a barely suppressed smile as she began unbuttoning her shirt. "You were kind of enough to tend to my injury," she replied. "The least I can do is be a good and somewhat obedient patient."

"Wow," he uttered, holding the clean shirt up. "I wonder what else I can get away with making you do."

An exasperated look adorned her face as she paused, holding her shirt closed. "Close your eye," she told him.

"That's just cold," he told her with a shake of his head.

"When you decide you're ready for a real relationship, then I'll decide just how much you get to see," she informed him. It was time to lay down the rules if this was going to work.

He stared at her for a moment as if locked in a stalemate as he considered her proposal. "Do you really think I don't want to have a relationship with you?" he questioned her.

"You haven't once tried to kiss me since the first time until tonight," she reminded him. "What else am I supposed to think except that you don't want me?"

"You haven't tried to kiss me either," he lamely countered, avoiding her focused gaze.

She looked at him as if he'd just lost his mind. "Are you serious?"

"No," he grumbled, finally meeting her incredulous look. "It's not that I don't want to kiss you or have something more with you."

"Then, what is it?" she questioned him. She wasn't about to let him escape this conversation.

"I'm a loner," he told her. "I'm used to being alone. I'm not really relationship material."

"You have your father and mother," she reminded him.

"When I found out my mom left me and my dad, I swore I'd never let anyone get close to me," he revealed. "I've kept everyone at arm's length so I wouldn't have to go through that again."

She rested the palm of her hand against his chest. "I'm not your mother," she gently pointed out. "I'm not going to hurt you or leave you."

"You can't promise that."

"No, but I can do my best to keep it," she assured him, tilting her head, and kissing him.

He returned her kiss, knowing she was exactly what he wanted. "Come on; let's get you into bed," he murmured. She gave him a look that quickly had him backpedaling. "To sleep…to only sleep."

She chuckled softly as she took the shirt from his hands, making a circular motion with her forefinger. "Turn around please."

"I thought I just had to close my eyes."

"I don't trust you not to peek."

He cursed under his breath as he turned around, her ruined shirt flying past his head. "Can I look now?"

She hissed as she attempted to slip her arm through the sleeve, causing him to instinctively turn around. "You're not supposed to turn around yet," she said with a scowl.

"You obviously need help," he pointed out, trying not to notice the fact she was only partially clothed from the waist up. Her lacy bra made his throat grow dry.

"Fine," she relented, offering him the shirt.

"Thank you," he said with a smirk, moving around her. He paused beside her, leaning in to whisper in her ear, "that bra is so sexy."

"You're incorrigible," she told him, trying not to react to the feel of his hot breath against her skin.

She tried not to shiver as his fingers brushed against her skin as he moved to stand behind her, putting the shirt over her shoulders. He helped her put one arm through the sleeve before focusing on the other. Getting her shirt on, he moved to stand in front of her, doing up the buttons for her.

"You would make a good nurse," she praised him.

He snorted in amusement. "I don't have the patience," he replied, helping her get into bed.

"I can do this on my own you know," she tried to tell him.

"Not on my watch," he stated, crawling into bed next to her.

Arthur rolled onto his side before settling in behind her, his arm slipping around her waist as he kissed her shoulder. She was already asleep, giving him hope that she would be better by the time they woke up. Black Manta had better hide because if he ever got his hands on him, he was going to tear him limb from limb and enjoy every single second of it.

Paris, France; May 2nd, 20:16 EST

Bruce's grim expression only darkened the longer that he went through his files, checking on all of his rogues for their whereabouts. He wanted to get to the bottom of who had sent that letter to him at Wayne Enterprises before the mysterious individual could deliver the next blow.

He wasn't about to just sit back and let him or her call all of the shots, putting him on the defense. He was going to attack this head-on, hopefully stopping it before anyone got hurt or worse. He wasn't worried about himself. He'd lived a life of incessant danger for years. The only fear that he held was for those he cared about most.

Scarecrow was still in Arkham Asylum along with Riddler and Two-Face. The Penguin was in Blackgate Penitentiary. Joker was still on the loose as was Mad Hatter, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy. Deadshot, Killer Croc, and Harley Quinn were all working with Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad which he did not think was a good idea, but he had bigger things to worry about right now like protecting his secret identity.

If Amanda Waller wanted to deal with the psychotic doctor girlfriend of Joker, then she could also handle the consequences.

This didn't really fit with his usual rogues except for maybe the Riddler, but it wasn't a riddle that had been sent to him. He decided it could be Luthor playing games with him again. He wouldn't put it past him. The problem was that Luthor had called in Black Manta to take care of Arthur. It would be more likely that he would recruit someone to face off against him without getting his hands too dirty.

Bruce sat back in his chair, folding his arms as he stared at his laptop screen. The list was endless when it came to his enemies, the names in the hundreds, and each of their backgrounds more storied and dangerous than the last one.

He tilted his head back in an attempt to clear his mind. His thoughts abruptly shifted to the kiss he'd shared with Diana tonight. It had been intense and passionate and better than he'd imagined it would be. He'd be lying if he said he didn't want her…didn't love her.

He was tired of denying what he felt for her. It had become too powerful, too all-consuming to pretend that he didn't have these feelings for her and after that kiss, he didn't want to pretend anymore. The problem was what he should do about it. He knew what he wanted, but was it right when he had a possible stalker on his hands?

His cell phone signaled an incoming call from Alfred, intruding on his thoughts. "Is everything alright, Alfred?" he inquired, worried that he had left Alfred home alone. Then again, Alfred wasn't someone to mess with. Besides, Clark could be there within seconds if needed.

"I saw you were up so I thought I would check in to make sure everything was alright," he replied.

"Luthor is bringing in others to take out our team," Bruce revealed. "Black Manta attacked Arthur and Mera tonight."

"Dear me," Alfred murmured. "I hope they're alright."

"Mera was injured, but Arthur said she'll be fine," he reported. "Diana and I are coming home tomorrow. We need to get a handle on this before it spirals any further out of control."

"And how are things in the city of love?" Alfred asked, unmistakable hope in his voice.

"Diana and I are doing just fine," Bruce uttered, rubbing his eyes and choosing to ignore Alfred's prodding. "We have almost everything packed up and ready to be delivered to the jet tomorrow."

"Not going to give up any information?"

"Not one bit," Bruce said, amusement lacing his voice.

"So, something did happen," Alfred astutely responded.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Bruce said before abruptly ending the call.

He tossed his phone on top of the table before sliding his chair back from the table. He wasn't going to be able to accomplish anymore here tonight. He needed to get back to Gotham and begin eliminating suspects while simultaneously trying to find Luthor.

Looking up, he noticed Diana approaching him, mesmerizing him with the seductive sway of her hips. She was wearing a long-sleeve white dress shirt and nothing else. Her raven hair was loose and falling past her shoulders, making him wonder if this was reality or fantasy. He silently prayed that he wasn't dreaming.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, finding it difficult to make his voice work as he openly gaped at her. "Did I wake you?"

"Couldn't sleep," she murmured as she drew closer.

She stopped before him, gazing down at him before moving to straddle his lap. Her hands gently cradled his face, her thumb caressing his cheek. She lowered her lips to claim his in a slow, sensual expression of her desire for him. There was no question that she wanted to continue what they had started earlier this evening.

His hands unconsciously gripped her hips, tightening his hold on her and keeping her on his lap where he so desperately wanted her. His tongue slid sensuously against hers in a dance of longing that begged to be sated. His hands slid up her back and into her hair, his fingers wrapping around the silky strands as if holding on for dear life.

She moaned softly as he kissed her with undeniable urgency, her hands finding the front of his shirt and slowly unbuttoning it. She ran her hands over his muscular chest, her breath hitching as he tore her shirt open with less patience than she had shown. Buttons flew all over the room, rolling to a stop in places that they'd never be found.

He kissed along her throat, burying his face in the crook of her neck and leaving warm kisses behind. She wrapped her right arm around his neck, tilting her head to the side as she offered herself up to him. She held him close to her as he explored with lips and tongue, igniting a fiery passion inside of her.

She gasped as he began to softly suck on her skin, an overwhelming need for him causing her to move her hips against him. She wanted more from him, needed to feel every inch of him. He obviously felt the same way as he pulled her shirt off her shoulders, trapping her arms still in the material behind her back. He wrapped her up in his arms before standing up and carrying her to her bedroom, Diana's legs circling his waist.

He swiftly silenced the alarms going off in his head telling him that he needed to stop this before it went any further. He didn't want to stop. Making love to her and making her his was the only thing that he wanted at that moment.

He wasn't about to run away from his feelings or Diana anymore.

Metropolis; May 3rd, 00:12 EST

Superman landed on the roof of a building that was well-known for being owned by Bruno Mannheim. He had searched this building several months ago, coming up with nothing, but he was hoping this time would be different.

He needed to get to the bottom of what Lex Luthor was stirring up with Bruno Mannheim. It didn't make any sense, though. Bruno wasn't a Meta, didn't possess any special abilities. He was a gangster, but he couldn't create the destruction of Doomsday or the chaos of Steppenwolf.

It would make far more sense to send someone who could go toe to toe with him, someone who would pose an actual threat to him. Then again, trying to second guess what Lex Luthor had up his sleeve was next to impossible. He knew he needed to be ready for anything.

Checking the access door on the roof, he found it to be unlocked, rousing his suspicions even more. He silently made his way down the stairs, using his super-hearing to detect any movement or conversations before he stumbled upon them.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he began to fly, using his x-ray vision to do a sweep of the building. He had a bad feeling that something was going on here. It was just as abandoned as it had been the last time that he'd been here, but his gut told him this time was going to be different.

Why would Mannheim own a building and leave it vacant unless he was secretly using it for something illegal?

Picking up the sound of movement in the basement, Superman flew down several floors before finally reaching the basement. Landing before a closed steel door, he used his x-ray vision again, finding a man setting a bag down. He removed his jacket, laying it on a table before settling down in a chair before a computer.

Now, he was finally getting somewhere with all of this.

Hearing voices, Superman slipped back into the shadows, taking note of who was joining this little party. He recognized them as being a couple of Bruno's henchmen. He had put them in jail not that long ago, but they had obviously gotten out either legally or illegally.

He felt guilty. He'd been so consumed with finding Lex Luthor that he hadn't paid as much attention to Metropolis as he felt he should have been. He needed to get his focus back on his city and let Bruce and the others handle trying to find Luthor for now.

"I don't know why we're here," the first henchman grumbled, puffing away on a cigarette.

"Bruno said to show up here, so we show up here," the second replied.

"But we answer to Bruno, not Lex Luthor," the first griped. "What's Lex got with this?"

"I guess we're gonna find out."

"I don't like it, Sammy," he continued to grouse, dropping his cigarette on the ground, and crushing it with the heel of his shoe. "Intergang doesn't need the likes of him. He's screwy in the head. There's no telling when he might go off again."

"Well, you tell Bruno that next time you see him, Davy," Simmy advised. "See if you're still breathing after that little conversation."

"I'm not saying anything to him," Davy decided. "I'm just saying I don't like it. It's trouble getting in bed with Luthor."

"Or it might turn out to be the best thing for Intergang," he told him. "Luthor's loaded."

"And Bruno isn't?"

"Not like Luthor," Davy responded with a snort. "I heard Luthor's got tons of money stashed all over the world."

"Hey, there you two are!" a third man called down the hall, jogging past them to enter the room with the steel door. "Hurry up! Bruno wants us to get this started tonight."

"I still don't know what 'it' is!" Davy exclaimed.

"Just get in here and we'll tell you," he urged him.

The two men entered, slamming the steel door closed. Superman emerged from the shadows, having confirmation now that Bruno Mannheim and Lex Luthor were definitely connected in this. He listened closely as the four men began to make plans that included a project by Professor Ivo.

He felt a sense of dread welling up inside of him. This wasn't going to be good.

Lake House; May 3rd, 01:42 EST

"I'll take a dozen hamburgers, a dozen hot dogs, a monster bag of French fries, and a super-sized Coke."

Victor couldn't help but smile in response to Barry's order. "You're coming in loud and clear, pal," he told him.

"So, how soon can I get that order of food?" Barry joked.

"Well, seeing how you're still in France, I'm going to say not any time soon," Victor relayed.

"Are you sure?" Barry asked. "I can be there in less than two minutes."

"You're supposed to be helping Mister Curry find Lex Luthor, not eating," Alfred chimed in.

"You two are killjoys," Barry said. "Flash out."

Alfred and Victor shared an amused smile. "The comm link seems to be working great," Victor decided.

"Do you think the frequency needs to be tweaked a bit?" Alfred asked. "I thought he sounded slightly muddled at the beginning."

"I thought I noticed it too," Victor agreed. "Let me see what I can do. Then, we can get started making comms for the rest of the team."

"It wouldn't hurt to have more on hand just in case," Alfred suggested. "If the rest of you are anything like Master Bruce, you'll need several backups."

Victor chuckled softly as he made the necessary adjustments to the comm frequency. "Does Bruce go through a lot of uniforms?"

Alfred grunted in mild annoyance. "That's an understatement," he replied. "As much as he puts himself through on a nightly basis, it's a wonder that he's still alive."

"How much longer do you think Bruce is going to be able to keep doing this?"

Alfred's expression grew pensive, sadness permeating his eyes. "Until the bad guys are one step faster than he is I'm afraid," he told him. "Until then, he'll keep pushing himself until he keels over."

A grim silence settled over them when they were met by a whipping wind. "I need your help," Superman announced without preamble, looking from Alfred to Victor.

"What is it?" Victor asked.

"I need to know everything you can find about Professor Ivo," Clark revealed, urgency in his voice.

"What happened?" Alfred inquired, sensing Superman's trepidation.

"Luthor has the leader of Intergang working with Professor Ivo," he informed them.

"That doesn't sound good, especially if he has Professor Ivo involved," Victor uttered with a sense of dread as he began to access his database.

Paris, France; May 3rd, 02:36 EST

Diana smiled sleepily as she gradually woke up. She automatically reached out for her lover, already missing the feel of his warm skin pressed against hers. Finding cool sheets and no Bruce, she frowned to herself as she rolled onto her side, opening her eyes to find him standing with his back to her. He was gazing out of her window with his arms crossed against his chest, watching the city as it woke for a new day.

His nude, chiseled frame beckoned her, but his stance told her something was still weighing heavily on his heart and mind. She hoped it wasn't regret over what they had done last night. It had been better than anything she could have ever imagined.

She silently slipped out from under the covers before making her way to him, not bothering to find something to cover herself up with. They'd explored every inch of each other just hours ago. There was nothing to hide between them any longer.

Emotions and desire long since secreted away had been laid bare and conveyed throughout the night. She felt as though they had become one in more ways than just the physical. It had been almost magical, making her long for him all over again. She'd never dreamed that she'd be able to find love again and she had in Bruce.

Coming to stand behind him, Diana slid her arms around his waist, her lips caressing his shoulder blade as she molded her body against his. "Morning," she softly murmured, not wanting to break the intimate tranquility of dawn.

Bruce's forehead creased with worry as his hand instinctively moved to cover hers on his abdomen. He had been struggling to find a way to tell her last night had been a mistake for the last hour or so. The happiness that he had felt being with Diana last night had disappeared like a vapor in the wind this morning as inexplicable dread had replaced it.

He had given in to what he'd wanted most in this world. By doing so, he'd just put her life in more danger. How could he break her heart now when he loved her more than his own life?

Last night had been beyond his dreams. He'd never known love like what had been shown over and over again with her. He wanted nothing more than to just stay here with her and forget about their lives, creating their own little world here in Paris. However, Luthor and the threat of someone knowing his identity forced him to face the reality of what was happening and what he had allowed to occur last night.

"Morning," he softly replied.

"When are you going to tell me what's been bothering you?" she asked, pressing her cheek against his back.

"Last night was a mistake," he told her, bracing himself for her furious response. "I never should've let this happen."

"I don't recall giving you much of a say in the matter," she lightly teased. "What makes you think it was a mistake?"

"It was lust, Diana," he said, pulling out of her embrace. He turned to face her, steeling himself for an argument or far worse. He hoped she let him get dressed before she threw him out the window. "It wasn't love. It was just sex—nothing more."

Her expression was calm, her countenance breathtaking and yet there was a fierce fire burning in her eyes that gave her a feral air. It was almost frightening. Her hair was mussed from love and sleep, awakening a hunger within him that had only just been momentarily satisfied a scant three hours ago.

She was who he wanted to wake up to every morning…spend the rest of his life with, but he knew that wasn't possible. He never should have allowed this to happen last night. It had been incredible in every way and now he not only had to let her go, but he had to forget about the incredible night that they'd spent together.

"Bruce," she said, her hands coming to rest against his chest. "This was not a mistake. Whatever is going on, we'll work through it together. Shutting me out is not the answer."

"There is no working through this together, Diana," he heatedly stated. "I'm sorry, but you were nothing more than a conquest…one of many notches on Bruce Wayne's bedpost."

"Bruce," she ground out his name in warning as if chewing on shards of glass. "Stop it!"

Bruce looked her dead in the eye, a derisive smirk on his lips. "Now, I can tell the whole world that Bruce Wayne had Wonder Woman and how amazing she was in bed. I'm sure it'll make the headlines on all the tabloids. They'll all want details."

Diana slapped him across the face, tempering her strength. Still, she knew it had to hurt. "Why are you lying to me?" she demanded to know, her chest heaving with fury.

"I'm not lying to you," he angrily growled as he moved past her to look for his boxer shorts, doing his best to ignore the stinging pain in his cheek.

He knew they were around here somewhere or at least he thought they were. His need for her had been so intense that clothes had been thrown everywhere as they had begun to make love. Right now, he just needed to get out of here before she permanently broke him in two. It wasn't that he didn't deserve it, but he needed to be in one piece to take on Luthor and Darkseid.

"I know you're lying, Bruce," she snapped as she stalked towards him, yanking his boxer shorts out of his hands. "I know you're trying to protect me, but I don't know why or from whom. Have you forgotten that I am an Amazon warrior? I took on Doomsday and survived!"

"No, I haven't forgotten!" he yelled, straightening up from retrieving his pants from the floor. He whirled on his heel to face her, his emotions bubbling just beneath the surface. "I still get nauseated every time I remember how Doomsday threw you around like a ragdoll. I thought for sure he was going to kill you."

"But he didn't," she reminded him, taking his pants from him. He wasn't going anywhere until they had talked this out.

"No, Clark did," he angrily growled. "It very easily could have been you too."

"I am not afraid of anything, not even death," she boldly proclaimed. "I have never run away from a battle, and I don't intend to start now."

"That's what terrifies me," he nearly cried, moving to sit on the edge of her bed. "I've fallen in love with you and there's nothing I can do to protect you. Keeping you away from me is all I can do."

Diana smiled softly as she sat down next to him, her arm slipping around his shoulders. "I don't know what makes me angrier with you—the fact you think you need to protect me or that you thought you could lie to me about last night," she replied. "Thank the gods I love you too much to throw you out my window."

Bruce snorted softly as he looked at the window. "Don't think I wasn't worried about that possibility," he muttered, turning sharply to look at her. "Wait…you love me?"

"Yes, you fool," she snapped with a frown. "I thought I had proven that several times last night."

"You did," he assured her with a smirk, "but I was worried it was nothing more than an amazing dream…just wishful thinking on my part. I've never felt anything so intimate and alive with love like what we had last night."

She rested her head against his shoulder, her hand stroking his back. "Please talk to me," she softly pleaded. "I want to help you. If we're going to be partners in every way, you can't shut me out. You need to let me in."

"I thought I did last night," he lightly teased, giving her a small smirk.

"Not funny," she told him.

"Sorry," he replied. "I received a letter at work a few days ago that said I know who you are. It had the Bat symbol on it."

"Could it be from Luthor?"

"It's a possibility," he agreed with a sigh of resignation. He should've known that Diana wouldn't let him get away with not being honest with her. "I'm worried that he gave my secret to one of my enemies."

"What do you think Luthor's end game is?"

Bruce slowly shook his head as he considered her question. "I think he's forming his own league to counter ours," he said. "He's recruiting our enemies to stop us. I just don't know who is going to come after me."

"We don't have time for that," she spat out. "We have an invasion by Darkseid to worry about."

"Now, we have Luthor and his makeshift gang in addition to Darkseid and his army," he told her.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere," she stated in no uncertain terms. "We need each other now more than ever and the world needs the Justice League."

"Diana, someone knows who I am," he reminded her. "They could plan an attack at my lake house in an effort to take me out. I don't want you to get caught in the crossfire."

"All the more reason for me to be there," she insisted, a smile forming on her lips. "I can help you stop them."

"It's too dangerous," he tried again, knowing it was useless. "I'd force Alfred to leave if I could, but he's too stubborn. He already refused to go into hiding before we left for Paris."

"Then, that makes two stubborn people because I'm not leaving either," she told him. "I'm going back to Gotham with you. Now, we get to make up."

"Make up?"

"We just had our first fight," she said with a grin. "We get to have makeup sex."

"Diana…"

Diana shifted to straddle him, pushing him back onto the bed. He knew he wasn't going to win this argument as she pressed her body against his. At least she was nearly invulnerable and a battle-hardened warrior. It helped ease a measure of his worry knowing she could hold her own against whoever was stalking him.

Her lips found his in a sensuous kiss that grew more desperate, anxious to share in what they had discovered in each other last night. He found himself responding to her, knowing he was fighting a losing battle with her. He flipped her onto her back, unable to restrain his desire for her any longer.

He kissed along her jaw to her ear, his hand caressing her thigh. "You are incredibly wicked," he huskily whispered in her ear.

"I think you like it," she flirted.

He nipped at her bottom lip as he pinned her wrists to the bed. "I love it," he growled as he began to make love to her.

Everyone had their weaknesses.

Superman had kryptonite.

He had Diana.

A/N: OH LA LA! Way to go Bruce and Diana!

UP NEXT: Mera gets worse, Everly learns more about Lex, Lois and Clark come face to face with danger while Bruce and Diana come home to Gotham :)