Justice:

A Reclaiming Equestria Story Featuring DCAU Batman and Woman Woman

Chapter Two: Language (Part 1)

Bruce looked at the wounded creature that Diana had handled yesterday. Even without the diagnostic equipment he could tell the creature was suffering from various broken bones, a possible broken spine, and he could tell that without medical care the creature was going to die.

"Bruce?"

He was surprised that the comms was still working. He pressed the side of the cowl and studied the creature a little more.

"Out here Princess. I'm looking at the other creature."

"Is he dangerous?"

Bruce activated the scanners in the lenses of his cowl. Like he had thought there was multiple broken bones. One arm was broken in seven places, a leg was broken in three, and then there was his spine. It was obviously broken.

"No. He's not going to be a danger to anyone. In truth without medical help I have doubts that he will last through the day."

The silence told Bruce more than anything Diana could have said. He loved her for several reasons, and one of them was certainly because of her compassion and merciful nature. Luthor had corrupted a part of that. She was far less compassionate and less merciful when it dealt with rapists. There was absolutely no doubt in his mind that this creature, along with the other two, were rapists.

The Batman didn't kill, and right now Diana hadn't killed, but the moral question was he going to save this creature? He heard something behind him, and he saw Luna. She was still wearing the emergency suit of clothes he had brought along with him. Years of patrolling Gotham, dealing with various victims that had been mugged, raped, or worse had thought him to bring along spare clothes.

She walked toward the creature, and he could see the same kind of anger and hate in her eyes that had been in Diana's. She didn't touch him, but instead she spat on him, and a string of sounds left her mouth. He couldn't begin to tell what she was saying, but if he had to assume he was certain she was cursing him. Once more she pointed to the creature, then to the ravine.

"No, I will not kill him."

She shook her head, then pointed to the castle. He knew what she was trying to get at, but he wasn't sure how to explain it. He looked at his gauntlet and flipped open a slightly more bulged out part. When he did a screen appeared. He pointed it to her, then to it, and then he activated the scanners in his lenses again. With a few taps he connected the lenses to the micro computer.

She watched as he scanned the being, and her eyes widened. She could see its bones, its organs, and she looked again at the Caribou. He wouldn't be walking, or fighting, or raping anyone ever again. Right now he was dying, and it would take several hours of surgery to save him. The strange stallion, Bruce, she was sure that was what he called himself, wouldn't kill. He was willing to deal with the Caribou, to stop them from using magic, and to hurt them, but he wasn't killing them.

The other female, Diana, seemed a little more willing to go the extra step.

"Bruce."

He looked at her. She tried to focus on what he'd said, how his words worked, and at most there was little she could really come up with. She looked at him, hoping that at least he could read her body language, that he'd understand that the Caribou was dangerous, to leave it alive would be foolish. He held up his hand in a gesture she'd seen her sister use a few times. Meaning just a moment.

"Diana, I have an idea of what to do with this being."

"Leaving him there to rot seems fine to me."

He knew she was going to be upset, "We need to send a message. We drop him off at the edge of this forest. His own kind will discover him. With any luck they're going to decide that it would be too dangerous to come into the forest, or at least this deep into it."

"I'll be out in a moment."

The thought of letting that thing live bothered her, and Diana felt terrible that it bothered her. Her mission was to spread the Amazon way, to prove that truth, honesty, loyalty, love, and peace were the foundations in which all nations could prosper and even become one. Now, she still wanted to present these values, prove that they truly were the cornerstones needed, but she wanted to deal with those who violated others so much more harshly.

She spotted Bruce, saw the creature, and she lifted it far less carefully than she was certain he needed. She was glad that Bruce didn't say a word about it. Instead she flew toward the edge of the forest, seeing a cottage in the distance, and she dropped the creature there. She flew back toward where Bruce was, not noticing the statue of a creature that looked to be a hodge podge collection of parts.

Getting back she entered into the ruins of the castle and saw Bruce and the creature they saved, Luna, sitting across from each other. She neared them, and then she watched as Bruce lifted a small rubber ball. A black bat adorned the face of it, and she knew that it was something he must have had stored in his belt. He held the ball, pointed at it, "Ball."

She looked at it and then back at him. " , Ball."

He nodded, then he pointed at it, then at her. Taking the hint she looked at it again, "Ball."

He looked at it again, then at her once more, "Ball."

She nodded. Diana sat down, listening, watching, and she observed as Bruce and Luna began to learn more and more of each other's language. Hours passed, and finally, Luna was able to speak to them. It was choppy, at best, but it was a beginning.

"Those creatures, the Caribou, they harmed you?"

Luna nodded, "They come, harm many of… me, ones like me. They do bad," she closed her eyes, "they hurt in bad ways, change some of ones like me to be like them."

"Bruce?"

"Apparently this isn't a localized situation," he looked at Diana, and then back at Luna, "I know my words hard for you, I am still learning yours, I need to know more."

She looked at him, "I need this," pointed to where her horn was, "and I can show you."

"How?"

She thought for a moment, "One like me, live here, in forest. She can help."

"You know where?"

She nodded.

"Lead the way."

The three of them waited until it was dark, and Bruce grabbed what looked like a torch from a holster. It was a simple construct. Rope, wound tightly over what looked like a wooden club. It had been dipped into a thick fuel, something like a very raw crude oil. With any luck it would burn for hours. He lit it with a lighter, watched as it caught, and the three of them headed into the forest.

Walking out the three of them walked over a bridge that looked ancient. They moved deeper into the forest, and as they walked Bruce could make out the sounds of wolves in the distance. Still, they walked until Bruce could see a small hut in the distance. As they neared it something soared over them and then it exploded.

"Beware those who foolishly roam! Beware for I do defend my home!"

"Gentle Zecora, it is Princess Luna. I have come to ask for thy help."

The figure stepped forward, and Diana could see it was similar to Luna, obviously female, and it looked like a Zebra.

"Princess, truly it is you? What is it you need, what can I do?"

Luna motioned for them to follow, and together they stepped into the hut. Bruce watched as the Zebra nodded, to something Luna was saying and after a few minutes she brought over a cup of greenish glowing liquid. She handed it to Luna, and Bruce recognized the word drink. He watched as she drank it down, and then she groaned as she fell to her knees. Slowly, something began to form, almost as if made out of a pale blue light, and it grew darker.

Several moments passed before Luna stood, a horn now in place on her head. She looked at Bruce, "Sleep, I show."

He looked at her, not sure what she meant. He took a seat, cleared his mind, and began to relax. For several minutes nothing happened, but then he felt something inside of his head, something moving, and then he saw a large throne room.

"Can you understand me now?"

Bruce nodded as he saw Luna appear.

"Good, it means that I can access your dreams. I am a co-ruler of this land," she gave a slight smile and then pointed toward what looked like a mist that appeared in the same room, "We were a peaceful nation. Our armies had slowly converted over to Royal Guards, leaving a very small fighting force. For all purposes our world, almost all of our world, was willing to coexist in peace."

"Hera,"

Bruce looked to see Diana as she looked on at the images in the mist.

"It's what we wanted. This is the image of what the Amazons wanted the world to be."

"Yes, and then a pass opened in the frozen north. A path that had not been open for several generations. The first ponies to reach it was my niece and her husband. Rumors of the Caribou, of their wishing to trade with us, and my niece wanted to be the first princess to greet them," her muzzle scrunched up in anger, "The Caribou have a way of altering a pony, of changing them, making them want and wish to do things they would never do. They did this to my niece, her husband, and then through them they began to move into the rest of Equestria."

"What did they do?"

Bruce watched as Diana neared her.

"They enthralled my niece, her husband, and then they began moving inward. When word finally reached us of what was happening it was too late. They didn't directly come for us, instead they began taking over colonies, towns that resided just outside of our lands, and they made their way inward."

"They used a pincer maneuver, from the sounds of it a long and quiet one," Bruce said as he looked at her, "when they moved in they did it quietly as well didn't they?"

She nodded, "They infiltrated our guard, starting those stationed outside of our country."

"They used the corrupted guard to move in, operating covertly, and then they launched the attack. From the looks of things the attack was mostly successful, but seeing that you, and I'm going to assume others, weren't affected by them they aren't overly thorough. That means they are complacent, arrogant, sloppy."

Diana smiled, "We can use that against them."

Bruce nodded, "Yes, we can. First we need to gain a firmer grasp on the language. I'm assuming that for the most part we've been speaking would would basically be like a child to each other."

Luna nodded, "Verily, we have. Our communication to one another had been limited to simple objects. Given time I could perhaps craft a spell that would allow us to understand one another."

"Time spent that we could simply learn each other's language the old fashioned way. From now on speak in your own language. We will listen, and we will pick up on it."

"Very well."

Bruce felt the world around him beginning to fade, and slowly he awoke inside of the small hut. Once awake he looked at Luna who seemed more at ease with him.

"Bruce, how long will it take us to learn their language?"

He looked at Diana and grinned, "Not too long. Total submersion in a language is the fastest way possible of learning it. It allows the listener the chance to pick up on vocal cues, learn the connections, and adapt."

"You've done this before?"

He nodded, "Yes, when I was training, I went to Japan not knowing the language there. I could have taken classes, perhaps made it easier on myself, but I chose not to. The one advantage I did give myself was a formal education in linguistics. I was able to listen to those around me, and in a week's time I'd learned enough to find the grandmaster I was looking for."

"Well then, let us begin."

The next few days were a series of trial and error, but Diana did begin to pick up on what Luna was saying. She knew that Bruce was doing the same, and finally, on the fifth day of their being there she listened as Luna was was silently talking to herself, drawing a map.

"It is possible, if they can understand me, we could free Twilight Sparkle. If we can break the Caribou's hold on her, and on Spike, it would give us an advantage we so desperately need. Twilight would have the magical knowledge to help break others of the hold the Caribou have on them."

"Where is this Twilight Sparkle?"

Luna turned toward her, "You, you understand me?"

Diana nodded, "Yes, there is a few words I still not not quite understand, but most of what you have said I do."

"Huzzah! We shall start the resistance!"

Diana grinned at her enthusiasm, but she didn't fault her. To be honest she was certain that she could relate all too well. She'd heard stories from her mother, about how she and her sisters had been pitted against by Heracles and his men. She heard the terrible stories of what he had done, how he had tricked them, and then enslaved them.

She also heard that when she had the chance her mother had led her sister Amazons against Heracles, defeating him, and once his defeat was complete he was transformed into a living pillar used to support Themyscira. It was the same for these ponies. Luna turned her head, obviously hearing something, and she follows suit. They watched and saw Bruce entering into the room.

He had something, or rather someone. Diana watched as he carried the blindfolded Caribou. His hands were tied, as were his hooves, and Bruce didn't say a word. Instead he climbed the stairs going to the top of the ruins. Once there he stepped out onto a ledge. Diana and Luna moved to watch him.

"Brother, let me leave. I do not know what your issue is with me, but if it is over that unworthy female you can have her. She's an Earth Pony, worthless as a trophy, only suited for breeding."

"You are going to tell me everything about your occupation of the nearby town, the guard schedules, the slave areas, and who is in charge."

"Brother, I will, of course I will, and in return you will release me, right?"

Bruce uncovered his eyes, letting him see the drop that would end up letting him fall onto the jagged stones below. The scream he gave was satisfying.

"Whaaa… Why?!"

"You are going to tell me everything I want to know, or we are going to see if you have the ability to fly."

Luna watched, amazed, as the Caribou began telling everything. He gave the names of the generals Dainn had left in command, were the black, red, purple, and white collar slaves where, what each type of collar meant, and even which stallions were under watch as potential mare sympathizers. He then went on to discuss when the guards did their rounds, when there would be the fewest, and finally he went on to give the location of his own slaves.

"Please, don't kill me! Please!"

He tossed the Caribou bull against the wall, watching him wince in pain. He walked toward him, watching as the Caribou whimpered in fear.

"W… What are you?"

"I'm Batman."

With that he kicked the Caribou hard in the head, making it bounce off of the side of the ruins and causing the Bull to go silent.

"Is he dead?"

"No, out cold. There's a girl, young, down near the entrance. I've only been tempted to take justice into my own hands like this once before."

Diana knew what he meant.

She lifted the stag easily enough, carried him down to the dungeons, and threw him into a cell near the others. They had food, something Bruce had been certain to leave there. By his reckoning, Bruce concluded that their treatment here in the ruins dungeon was a million times better than the treatment their enemies. Were he any other man, maybe Oliver or even Hal, these men, or bulls, would very much be pounded to within an inch of their miserable little lives. Bruce briefly considered making the bulls suffer; Diana's rape and torture by Alexander Luthor had drawn in a wave of vicious thoughts in The Dark Knight, vengeance fantasies he had long since rid himself of resurfacing after decades of suppression.

What kept him from doing so, and it was the same horn he touted to Diana when she threatened to rampage on her foes, was a quote from Clark, of all people. "Only the weak succumb to brutality," the Kryptonian said, "it's much harder to meet cruelty with kindness." As contradictory as such a sentiment was given his and Bruce's chosen professions, it was a lesson he was repeating to himself now, more than ever. There may be some satisfaction in brutalizing these wretches but to what end would that accomplish. The Dark Knight had prided himself for never crossing the lines his more sociopathic and homicidal rogues often did.

It was when he returned to the area the young female, mare, was that he stopped. She was shaking, her large blue eyes frightened, her tail was crusty near the base, and she looked away from him.

"I… I'm a good slave, I am, anything you ask, please, don't hurt me. This slave will do what you ask."

He could see a red collar beside her, the black collar just barely being held on. He neared her and she cowered completely in fear, "Please, this slave knows her place!"

"Are you hurt?"

She looked at him, "This…"

He stopped her, a hand held up. She looked away, ready to be slapped, ready to feel the vicious sting of an attack one of her masters would rightly give her.

"You are okay, he's gone, locked away, and nothing else will happen to you."

Diana neared him, and he backed away. The young mare looked at her, confused. She was a mare, like herself, she was standing proud, with clothing, how was she not on her knees and hands? Why did she break the rules? She'd be punished for breaking them, for believing she was of the same value as a stallion. She looked down, unwilling to show anypony that she was anything other than a good slave.

"You are safe now."

She knelt down next to her, "You are in a safe place, and we are here to help you."

Her calming voice caught the young mare's attention. She finally looked up at her.

"They'll see you.. They always see. Please, don't, I don't want to be beaten again, please."

"Thou shalt not be touched."

The young mare looked up, her eyes widening.

"P..Princess Luna?"

Tears began running down her muzzle. She stood and ran toward the Princess who caught her in a hug. She held the young mare, the barely teenage filly who was on the cusp of marehood.

"Are… are we?"

Luna nodded, "Thou art safe. These ones here have vowed to help us, and we shall free the others. We begin our resistance."

"Daddy… They… He's gone, they."

Luna hugged her tighter, "I know, I know how he cared for you, and I know he died to protect you, and your mother," Luna led her further into the castle, "Come, let us clean you, let us help to heal you."

Diana watched the young mare as Luna, or Princess Luna rather, lead her into the ruins. She then turned to see Bruce. He was checking his belt, his suit, and he was preparing to leave.

"Bruce, what are you doing?"

"Striking a blow. They're cowards Diana. They are no different than the criminals back home. I'm going to give them a reason to be afraid."

She smiled, "Yes, let's give them a reason to be afraid."

Both of them moved through the forest, moving through the path until they neared the edge of the Everfree. Diana looked at the cottage sitting there. She looked to see two Bulls walking out, both of them laughing.

"We start here."

Before she could say a word Bruce melted into the shadows. It was almost as if he didn't even exist. She watched for a moment until one of the Caribou fell. Before the other could say a word she flew toward him, hitting him hard enough to knock him out, and possibly break his jaw. She watched as he crumbled to the ground. Bruce removed the small device he had before and removed their horns.

She watched as he tied them up, leaving them on the path. Silently he moved again, heading toward the cottage. She followed, and watched as he snuck into the back window of it.

Fluttershy shook in terror. She did everything they wanted, she always did, and now one of the bulls was still here. She was kneeling before him, her hands still tied to the bottom of her couch.

"I love to hear a mare scream. And you… You are important, hearing you scream will be a pleasure."

"Please…" she quietly begged.

"What was that?! You dare talk back when not asked for an answer?!"

"Sorry! I'm sorry!"

She felt the slap, hard, against the back of her head. Tears came hard and fast. Then she heard the sound of a grunt and a thud. She looked behind her to see a strange looking stallion that had tackled the bull. He was dressed similar to how she and her friends dressed up like Mare Do Well before. The Bull was trying to get up, but the stallion wrapped himself around the bulls arms.

"I'll break you!"

Bruce pulled hard causing the Bull to groan in pain.

Fluttershy's eyes widened as the bull's arm cracked and broke. She saw bone come through it, and she felt bile and vomit rise up through her throat. She turned away, but it was too late. She vomited all over the side of her couch.

She felt her arms move, and looked to see a very strange mare tear through the chains she was wearing. She slowly stood up, her purple collar feeling too tight on her. She felt a pulling sensation and the collar came off the same way her chains were. She saw the dark stallion, striking the bull, over and over again, a vicious, feral look on his face. She watched as the mare moved toward him.

"Bruce…"

He stopped, looked toward the mare, and stood. The bull would live, if he didn't choke to death on his own teeth and blood. The mare's pink hair, left without proper care, was a tangled and knotted mess, her coat was sticky with bull seed that was spilled on her so often and her body was malnourished from an improper diet. The strange mare and stallion that thwarted the bull were much healthier looking than she was. The mare, in fact, was wearing silver vambraces that she couldn't define. Her flowing ebony locks cascading down her back and framed her olive colored face. Her sinuous body was a single cord of dense muscle, something the little mare could never be.

Now realizing she was totally free, she felt the weight of all that had been to done to her and her compliance in it all. These realizations caused a wall to break in her mind and the winged mare breakdown then and there. The strange mare walked towards her, issuing reassurances but the golden mare was not having it. She pleaded with the foreigners, trying in vain to excuse her behavior, to be forgiven of her sins. In the end, though, she crashed into the muscled woman's chest; as armored as her bosom was, it was a comfortably warm and Fluttershy wept openly onto the metal. When the strange stallion neared, she tried to wrap one of her forlorn wings around his waist only to find that evidence of her slavery still existed. The enchanted bindings the Caribou used for her wings were still there. She'd never gave them reason to use the enchantments, to cause the pain she knew the binders could cause. Instead she looked at him pitifully, an arm snaked out from around the strange mare, and caught him. With that arm she brought him into the embrace. And they stayed there for several moments while the mare bawled.

Fluttershy wasn't overly thrilled about walking in the Everfree after dark. The strange stallion and mare seemed to know how to get the bindings off of her wings, and for the first time in nearly two years she stretched them out. She still felt so sad for simply rolling over for the Caribou. She knew that Rainbow had suffered the same fate as her. Rainbow wasn't like her, she lived for flying, for soaring through the air, and being on the ground was a true torment for her.

She hadn't seen her friend in over a year, but the bulls talked about her. The white collar that wouldn't break. They had to strap her down, and Celestia… She knew things about Rainbow, things that most other ponies didn't know. She knew that Rainbow had still been a… She'd been a virgin before all of this.

Her father, Rainbow Blaze, wanted her to wait, to find a good stallion, but not settle. He and Rainbow Shine wanted their daughter to completely achieve her goals in life. That was the first and most important thing. With this happening… She shivered. They neared the old castle and inside Fluttershy saw somepony she never expected to see free. Princess Luna was there, comforting a weeping filly. She stepped forward.

"P..Princess Luna?"

"Fair Fluttershy, t'is a relief to see one of the former bearers of the elements free. We have much to do," she said as both she and the filly neared Fluttershy.

Without a second thought Fluttershy caught them both into a tight hug.

"Those strange ponies.."

Luna nodded, "I know not where they hail from, but they are here to help."

Deciding it was best to leave the ponies to meeting with one another Bruce and Diana walked into the library. Bruce had seen it before, and now he was taking a moment. He pulled the cowl off of his head, his hair starting to mat to his scalp.

"We need the league for this," Diana said.

He looked at her, at first he wanted to point out that Clark would be next to useless against magic, but she had a point. J'onn could blend in with the locals easily enough. Shayera would be an asset when it came to hand to hand combat, but being that her strength wasn't much different than his own she would be at a disadvantage. He'd been able to take down those bulls earlier because they weren't paying attention, and because they all shared the same traits of being idiots.

Diana could over power them, but she had trouble escaping the telekinetic hold they had at their disposal. One of their best assets would be Stewart. Having a Green Lantern here would make this more than easy. With a full charge his ring could possibly overcome any of the 'magic' these bulls chose to throw at him.

"A step then would be to look for a similar portal like we came through."

Diana nodded, "It's unlikely isn't it?"

Bruce nodded as he stood, "From what I've seen this world's technology is woefully underdeveloped. That interdimensional gate seemed to be what brought us here. Most likely it was a million to one chance that it would work the way it did. I have no doubt that the league has found it, and are examining it, but I don't know if they're actually going to be able to pinpoint our locations."

Diana took a seat.

"We could be stuck here. But, I feel my gods, even here. Actually, Hades seems closer than ever, almost as if the very gates to Tartarus were just a short trip away."

He knew that Diana's gods had power, the same kind of power as Darkseid at the very least. That in and of itself spoke volumes, and it could be possible that her gods could open a way to their world again. But one thing he'd learned was that all magic had a price. Getting a favor from a god level being was not something he wanted to do.

"Do you really see them aiding us?"

"Most would. Bruce, most of my gods would aid me as their champion."

He didn't want to say something he'd regret, like where were they when she was kidnapped, brainwashed, and raped repeatedly for six months. Where were they when he finally found her, brought her back to herself, and helped her hold on to her sanity, and where were they when she'd wake in the middle of the night screaming? If Hades proclaimed to be her father he was a poor excuse for one.

Author's Note:

(Okay, so Chapter 2 is simply going to be far too big to post as a single chapter. Since L0rd0f7hund3r and I have talked and we want to keep the chapters around five thousand words. With what we're wanting to do with Chapter 2 it'd be very possible that the chapter could reach around fifteen thousand words. So, we simply thought it best to split it into three parts.

Thanks,

LF)