Chapter 5

Underworld; September 15th, 15:19 EST

Batman sat silently on his heels by the throne of Hades, his gauntleted hands resting on the tops of his thighs as the god of the Underworld spoke with Thanatos. He was biding his time and trying not to lose his mind in the process. He could feel his grasp on his faculties beginning to relax. He couldn't allow that to happen. The stakes were too high right now.

He needed to make his escape soon. He couldn't help wondering, though, where Ra's al Ghul was. He hadn't seen him in a couple of days making him wonder what the mastermind was really up to now. He was no doubt trying to find a way of escape himself.

He was not staying down here any longer than he absolutely had to, and he was certain Ra's felt the same way. Despite becoming cohorts with Hades, Ra's would never stay here if he could find a way out. He had too many grand plans and schemes that still needed to be accomplished and he very well couldn't accomplish any of them trapped down here in the Underworld.

Bruce's cowled gaze followed every movement, nothing beneath his notice. Not even the casual way that his father-in-law was absentmindedly stroking the top of one of Cerberus's heads or the way that Thanatos impatiently tapped his left foot as if wanting to be anywhere but here.

He felt that every little detail could later prove important in his escape plans…and he would be getting out of here one way or another. While he knew that time was irrelevant down here, he couldn't afford to wait too much longer. His mind was growing fuzzier with every passing day…or night. It was so hard to tell anymore. Memories of his life was blurring around the edges as if curled by the passage of time, growing dimmer despite his best efforts.

He refused to forget everything that he held dear to him. His family…his wife was his whole world and he wanted them back. He knew what it was like to grow up without his parents. He wasn't about to let his children grow up without him being there, his wife going on in life without him being there by her side.

He attempted to silently recite the names of his children, growling to himself for forgetting his daughter's name. He couldn't remember it for the life of him, his anger flaring hotly. He started with Dick, stumbled over Jason, pictured Tim's face but couldn't recall his name. Nicholas was even more difficult to summon in his mind, Kaia a nameless little girl with raven pigtails and blue eyes just like her mother's. Damian was a mystery to him, one that he couldn't unlock.

His fingers slowly curled into angry fists. He couldn't forget his family. It would completely tear him apart if he couldn't remember them. Thoughts of his beautiful wife drifted through his mind, creating a sense of peace and longing in the depths of his soul.

Diana was never far from his thoughts, always lingering there at the nooks and niches of his mind waiting to comfort him and bring him a measure of reassurance. She was forever his anchor, the calming center in the midst of the fierce storm that currently surrounded him.

He found himself wishing that he could see her now. He longed to touch and kiss her…to hold her and make love to her. He missed the warmth of her smile, the lilting sound of her voice and her intoxicating jasmine scent that stirred things inside of him that no one else ever could.

Batman's attention abruptly shifted as a servant rushed into the throne room, somewhat breathless from his task. "My lord," he said, immediately bowing his head before the god of the Underworld.

"What is it?" Hades demanded to know, a frown adorning his face as his hand stilled on one of Cerberus's heads.

The servant lifted his head minutely, gazing at Hades through his dark eyelashes. "Hermes, my lord."

"Hermes?" Hades mumbled, his eyebrows knitting in confusion. "I wonder what he wants."

"He did not say, my lord."

"Send him in," he commanded.

The servant bowed his head once more before rushing off to usher Hermes in, the white slits of Batman's cowl narrowing minutely. Bruce couldn't help wondering what had caused the messenger of the gods to come to the Underworld to see Hades.

He didn't have to wait long as Hermes flew into the throne room, landing before Hades' throne. "Nephew," Hades greeted him, regarding him with a wary look. "What brings you to my realm?"

"Actually, Aphrodite sent me," Hermes replied, his gaze falling on the Batman chained beside Hades' throne.

Hades' eyebrows rose almost imperceptibly as he studied his nephew. "Why would Aphrodite worry herself about the goings on of the Underworld?"

"She sent me to check on your new guest," Hermes admitted, a twitch of amusement on his lips. "Evidently, Princess Diana has been relentlessly petitioning the gods for information about her mate."

Bruce's heart lurched in his chest, nearly stuttering out of rhythm with the mention of Diana. He had no doubt that she would be unyielding in trying to get to him. It caused him to fear for her safety knowing that she would do anything to try to save him from his current situation. She was stubborn and relentless at best, but even more so when it came to those she loved.

Hades chuckled as he reached for his golden chalice. "Ah, my stubborn daughter," he replied, pausing to take a drink of his wine. "I have no doubt she'll try to enter my domain in an effort to rescue her husband."

"She's trying to, but the gate to the Underworld that rests beneath Themyscira is completely blocked by a hundred feet of rubble," Hermes revealed. "I'm afraid the civil war on Themyscira was quite devastating."

Bruce's chest tightened with the news, worry for Hippolyta and Diana's sisters rising. He was somewhat relieved so know that the entrance to the Underworld was blocked, keeping Diana from attempting to enter the realm of the dead. He didn't want her down here at all. He would find a way to get back to her.

"Interesting," Hades softly said, nodding his head thoughtfully as he considered this newest information. "I'm sure my daughter is doing everything in her power to find the other hidden gates to the Underworld."

"Right now, she and her friends are trying to get through the rubble," he relayed. "Hera has seen fit to keep the other gates a secret from the princess."

Bruce released a barely perceptible sigh of relief. As long as Diana was sifting through rubble, she was safe on Themyscira instead of trying to fight her way through the Underworld to get to him. His throat painfully constricted with the thought of her, knowing all too well the depths of her love for him and how willing she was to risk her life in order to get to him. It never ceased to amaze him even now.

"Good," Hades murmured.

"Good?" Hermes asked with a confused expression. "Don't you care your daughter is greatly suffering?"

"She deserves everything that she's going through right now and so much more," Hades uttered with a sneer, standing to his feet as he gazed down at his son-in-law. "I was almost hoping she would come for her husband. I had some grand plans for my daughter starting with a warm welcome by The Hydra."

Batman internally cringed with the thought of what Hades had in store for Diana. He stared at Hermes as if silently willing him to send a message to Diana to let her know that he was fine and to not try to come after him. He would find his own way out of here without jeopardizing her life to do it.

Unfortunately, he couldn't tell Hermes any of that with Hades standing right there.

"Uncle, the princess is your very own daughter," Hermes reminded him.

Hades snorted in amusement as he began to pace, Thanatos stepping aside and out of the way. "Please," he sarcastically bit out. "When has anyone in this family ever gotten along for any length of time? Someone is always stabbing someone else in the back when they're not looking. Besides, Diana refused me what I wanted and helped to send me back here.

"You can tell her that I am greatly enjoying having my son-in-law here with me in the Underworld. If she wishes to see him, she is more than welcome to come down here at any time to visit him…if she can find a way down here that is."

Bruce felt a sudden icy chill race up his spine with the way Hades invited Diana to visit him down here. The invitation was laced with venom and unspoken threats. Bruce knew that Diana's truce with Hades had been tenuous at best when she and Shayera had come down here to help him regain his throne. Now, that fragile truce had all but been obliterated.

Hermes slightly bowed his head in acquiescence. "As you wish, uncle," he replied. "I'll pass on the message to Diana."

Hermes glanced at Batman, trying to decipher some sort of message or secret sign that he could pass on to Diana. Seeing it, Hades grinned wickedly. "Please, Bruce," he said. "If you have a message you'd like to send to your wife, go ahead. I won't stand in your way. Tell her whatever it is you like."

Bruce swallowed hard, pushing down all the things that he ached to say to her. "No, my lord," he evenly stated. "I have nothing to say to the princess. She need not worry about me."

Hades chuckled something dark and obnoxious before taking a long drink of his wine. "See? He loves it down here," he mocked.

Hermes gazed sadly at the Batman, feeling bad for Diana. She was his friend and he hated to see her hurting like this. "I will take my leave then," he told him, casting one last glance at the Batman before leaving.

Hades' mocking laughter could be heard echoing through the throne room and down the halls as Hermes flew away, Hermes' heart heavy for what his friend was going through now at the hands of her father and his uncle. He hoped to bring her some good news, but he didn't think things could be any worse for her or her mate.

Wayne Manor; September 15th, 18:16 EST

"Are you sure it's a good idea to redecorate the kids' rooms?" Tim asked as he placed some corn on Nicholas's plate.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Jason asked as he forked a piece of meat. "It'd give the kiddos something else to think about for a few days."

"He has a point," Donna agreed, glancing at Nicholas and Kaia who were play fighting with their forks. "All right, you two. Time for eating, not fork fighting."

Dick chuckled as he put some potatoes on his plate. "You're going to make a great mom, Troia."

Donna rolled her eyes as she reached for her glass of iced tea. "I'll tell you Nicholas and Kai are great practice for what's in store for us in a few months. They're full of more energy than all of us combined."

"Oh, they're not that much trouble, Miss Donna," Alfred interjected with a smile as he brought a refilled bowl of salad to the table.

"That's because you have the patience of a saint, Alfred," Donna told him. "It must be from all your years of raising Bruce and then each of these three boys. It's a wonder you haven't gone crazy."

"Hey, we were a complete joy," Jason retorted.

Alfred's raised eyebrows indicated his feelings to the contrary, but he remained silent as he exited the dining room. Damian, however, did not. "I highly doubt that," he commented. "I've been here long enough to know that you three had to have been a nightmare to deal with."

"I wouldn't go that far," Tim said with a frown. "I think I had to be the easiest to deal with."

It was Jason's turn to roll his eyes as he snorted his disagreement. "I highly doubt that."

"Well, it definitely wasn't you," Tim shot back. "I've heard horror stories about you, Jas."

"I was just…rambunctious," Jason ultimately decided.

"Oh, is that what they call felons these days?" Dick teased with a smirk.

Jason shot him a glare. "I'm sure I was better than you two."

"I think I'm better behaved than all of you combined," Damian stated.

"That remains to be seen," Dick replied, reaching over and helping Kaia get the tines of her fork into her meat. "Here you go, peanut."

Kaia giggled as she somewhat awkwardly put the end of her fork in her mouth. "Me feed Peanut?"

"No, no table food," Dick reminded her. "Kittens don't like people food."

"Ace does," Nick excitedly revealed, a proud grin on his face. "He ate my broccoli for me."

Dick groaned as he looked over to see all the broccoli gone from Nicholas's plate. "Nick, remember what your dad said? No feeding the dog from the table."

"Yah, but he's not here," Nick pointed out, his little face scrunched in confusion. "So, it's okay, right?"

"I'm afraid not, Master Nicholas," Alfred chimed in as he kneeled down and scooped the puppy up into his arms. "Come along Ace. Your presence in the dining room is no longer required."

"Okay, back to redecorating the kids' rooms," Donna said. "How do we even know Bruce and Diana are okay with it?"

"I heard them talking about it a while back," Dick replied. "They wanted to update their bedrooms because they're getting bigger, but they were too busy trying to stop Ra's."

Damian frowned with the mention of his grandfather, the conversation around the dinner table becoming a distant hum. He'd be lying if he said that he didn't think about his mother and grandfather. It was a concern that haunted him relentlessly throughout the day and followed him into his dreams. He couldn't help wondering where his mother was or if she was even still alive.

Diana had told him that when Hades had possessed his grandfather, he had attacked Talia when she tried to save him. She didn't know what had happened to her after that, but Damian had his suspicions. If he knew anything about his mother and grandfather, it was that Ubu had no doubt been nearby during the battle. Ubu would've done whatever it took to get his mother out of there if she was in danger.

His grandfather, on the other hand, was trapped in the Underworld with his father. It caused inexplicable sorrow to grip his heart. He felt as though he had lost everything. While the people surrounding the dinner table was his new family, he still longed at times to have his old family back.

Nothing seemed right anymore…hadn't felt right since the moment he'd first arrived in Gotham and met his father. Things here weren't necessarily wrong, but he was having a hard time adjusting to all the changes and the fact that he may have lost his father and grandfather forever.

"Damian, we could do your room too while we're at it," Dick announced. "We could decorate it anyway you want…make it your own."

"Sure…why not," Damian muttered as he glanced around the table to find everyone looking at him.

"You want purpo too?" Kaia asked.

Jason choked on his ice water, nearly spitting it out on his plate. "Purple? Are you trying to give your dad a heart attack?"

"We agreed on light purple, didn't we Kai?" Dick corrected her as Kaia nodded her head in agreement.

"I want to be there to witness the look on Bruce's face when he sees it," Jason snorted in amusement.

"I'm sure he'll be fine with it," Tim interjected. "Nick and Kaia have Bruce wrapped around their finger. He'll go along with anything they want."

"What color do you want, Nick?" Donna asked.

"I don't know," Nicholas said. "Maybe yellow and blue."

"Like your dad's vintage Batsuit," Dick commented with an approving nod of his head. "I like it."

"Wait," Donna said, holding up a hand to halt the conversation. "Bruce's first Batsuit was yellow and blue?"

"Well, it was more gray and blue with yellow accents," Dick explained as he thought back on it.

"That doesn't sound very terrifying," Damian commented.

"It evolved from there," Jason added.

"I want blue and yellow like daddy," Nicholas decided.

"Okay, a vintage Batman room for Nicholas and a light purple room for Kaia," Dick decided. "Do you want a Batman room too, Damian?"

Damian rolled his eyes as he shook his head. "No, I'm good."

"Your loss," the first Robin said with a shrug. "It'll be good practice before we have to decorate the nursery."

"We have to find a bigger place before we can even have a nursery to decorate," Donna pointed out with a frown.

"When Bruce and Diana get back, we'll hit the house hunting hard again," he promised his wife.

Donna sighed as she reached for another dinner roll. "That's good because soon I'll be as big as a house."

"You won't get that big, Don," Tim reassured her. "Probably more like apartment size."

"Gee, thanks for the encouragement, Timmy," she groused as she tore into her dinner role.

Tim chuckled as he dunked, barely missing getting hit by a piece of dinner roll. "I'm only teasing," he told her. "You'll be beautiful no matter what."

Dick scowled as he glared at Tim. "Hey, no hitting on my pregnant wife."

"I'm only complimenting her," he defended. "Besides, I have my own girlfriend."

"You should invite Cassie over for dinner with us sometime," Donna suggested.

"Yes, because I'm sure I want to subject her to all of you and the horribly embarrassing stories you'll tell her about me," Tim retorted, wrinkling his nose in disagreement.

"We better get ready for patrol earlier tonight," Dick announced. "Joker is obviously planning something heinous and we need to get on top of it quick before it escalates."

"I agree, but where do we start?" Jason asked.

"He's already hit all the pharmaceutical companies in Gotham and we still don't know what he's using all those stolen drugs for," Tim reminded them.

"We need to finish sifting through all the evidence from the body that we found," Dick said, turning to find two sets of little eyes staring at him. "I, ah, mean…the uh…yah."

"What body?" Nicholas asked, his eyes filled with worry. "Are they okay?"

"Way to go there, father-to-be," Jason muttered with a chuckle. "Scar the poor kids before they reach kindergarten."

"Oh, everything is fine, kiddo," Dick tried to reassure him. "We were just kidding."

"Perhaps you should continue this discussion downstairs," Tim suggested with a frown.

Dick glanced at Donna, noticing the worried expression on his wife's face. "Are you okay, Don?" he asked.

Donna looked up sharply, suddenly realizing that everyone was looking at her. A forced smile formed on her face as she tried to push away the unexpected feelings welling up inside of her. "It's nothing," she said. "I'm fine."

Grabbing a couple more dinner rolls, Jason stood to his feet. "Well…let's hit it then," he said. "It's going to be another long night."

"Yah, and no Artemis to keep you company," Tim teased as he followed his brother out of the dining room.

"I can't wait to meet Cassie," Jason quipped. "I have plenty I could tell her."

Donna shook her head in amazement as Dick and Damian followed the other two out. She looked at Nicholas and Kaia who still appeared somewhat confused by everything. "Let's go play a game while they go to work."

"Me want to pay Candyland," Kaia announced.

"That's no fun," Nicholas decided. "Let's play cops and robbers."

"You are most definitely your father's son," Donna replied with a laugh as she lifted Kaia out of her booster seat. "Let's compromise and play Go Fish while we watch a movie."

Both kids readily agreed as they dashed out of the dining room, Donna following behind with a worried look on her face. She absentmindedly rubbed the swell of her belly as she considered all that was happening as well as the sensations that she was feeling.

She didn't want to tell them that she could feel how Diana's heartache was only intensifying over time or that there was also an overwhelming sense of grief accompanying it.

Themyscira; September 15th, 18:55 EST

Diana paused to wipe her brow with the back her arm, trying to keep the sweat and dirt from running into her eyes. She turned a frustrated glare on the minimal progress that they had made since they'd started. She wished she had Kal's heat vision so she could just blast away the rock that kept her from getting to Bruce, but she knew even that wouldn't be enough to make that much more progress.

She glanced at Shayera who had paused to take a drink. She didn't appear to be fairing any better. She was covered in sweat and dirt, bits of rubble in her hair and wings, but she appeared fully determined to see this through to the end despite the fatigue that clung to her.

They'd been working at it for hours and, while they had made some good progress, it was still not nearly enough to get them anywhere close to the hidden gate to the Underworld. It could take a couple more weeks at this rate to reach it.

Diana moved to sit on a large boulder, leaning forward to hold her head in her hands. Exhaustion weighed her down, but not nearly as much as the deep ache that made her heart feel like it was locked in a vice. It made it hard to breathe.

"Why don't you go take a break, Di," Shayera suggested, her hand on Diana's shoulder.

Diana looked up to find her friend standing next to her, worry swimming in her eyes. Diana took Shayera's hand from her shoulder, squeezing it in appreciation before releasing it. "I'm all right," she tried to tell her. "I just can't help thinking there has to be an easier way to get through this mess."

"I could call John to the island to use his ring to try to blast through it," Shayera proposed.

The Amazon princess released a ragged sigh as she stared at the complete disaster that awaited their attention. "The problem is that we don't know how stable it is. If we move too much too fast the entire above ground structures could completely collapse."

Shayera huffed, blowing a lock of hair out of her face. "I hate to say this, but I don't think this is the answer, Diana," she softly said. "We'll keep working at it for as long as it takes, but I'm beginning to think that we should focus our efforts on finding the other entrances."

"I agree, but my sisters haven't been able to find anything yet in the ancient scrolls and texts," Diana said, raking her fingers back through her hair. Bits of rock and rubble fell from her raven locks, raining down around her. "I don't even know for sure where to start."

"We'll figure it out," Shay reassured her. "In the meantime, I guess we just keep hammering away at this rock pit."

"All right," Artemis said as he approached. "Go get a bath and something to eat. You two look horrendous."

"You don't like my new look?" Shayera questioned her as she showed herself off. "I thought the rubble and dirt in my hair and wings was a good look."

Artemis gave her a skeptical look, a single eyebrow arching. "Think again, bird girl. You two look like you're about to drop. Let some fresh arms and legs in here for a while."

"I'm not stopping," Diana adamantly declared as she stood to her feet, determination burning like twin flames in her eyes. "Go ahead, Shayera."

"If you're not going, I'm not going," Shay replied, lifting her chin defiantly as she raised her mace.

"You'll just slow me and my team down," Artemis retorted, pointing her thumb over her shoulder at the ten Amazons itching to get to work. "Go, Diana, and take bird girl with you."

"That's bird woman to you, red," Shay teased her with a mock glare.

"Fine," Diana relented, knowing that Shayera wasn't going to stop until she did. She'd promised John that she'd look after her. "I'll be back in an hour."

"No, you won't," Artemis shot back. "You'll come back in the morning. Hopefully, we'll be to the opening to the underground tunnel by then."

Diana pursed her lips, knowing that arguing with Artemis was like arguing with Bruce. It was a futile endeavor and an absolute waste of breath. "I'll be back in a few hours," she agreed.

"I don't want to see you here before sunrise."

"We'll see," the princess muttered in annoyance. "Come on, Shay. I'm sure mother ordered the kitchen to save us some dinner. We'll swing by there before heading to our rooms."

"That sounds good," Shayera decided. "I want to check in with John to see how things are going and how the kids are doing. Hopefully the house is still standing."

"I was hoping to check in with Dick," Diana admitted, rubbing her tired eyes with her thumb and forefinger. She'd been working on removing the rock from just before sunrise to long past sunset.

She swallowed hard as she thought about her family, wishing that she could see her children…to hold Nicholas and Kaia in her arms. Being gone for two days felt like weeks, Bruce being gone for over two weeks felt like an agonizing eternity.

"I'll also have John ask J'onn to research possible locations for the other hidden gates to the Underworld," Shay added. "You never know what a Google search can do for you."

A halfhearted smile lifted the corner of Diana's lips. "That's a good idea," she agreed. "I might check in with Zatanna to see if there is anything the magical world might know."

"That sounds like a good plan," Shay said with a nod as they entered the palace. "See? We're getting somewhere, Di. Don't lose heart yet."

"There's no way in Tartarus that I'm giving up on…my husband," she replied, her voice hard like steel that abruptly faltered on her, forcing her to pause to draw a shuddering breath. "I love him too much to let him go without giving everything I have. It's still difficult not to lose hope when we keep hitting one roadblock after another."

"You know after the Thanagarian invasion and everything that went down after that between John and me…" Shayera began only for her voice to trail off, the unexpected wealth of emotions threatening to overwhelm her and taking her by surprise. Despite the passage of time, the wounds of the past still brought back so much heartache for her. "I thought I'd lost my chance with him forever after that. It took a lot of soul searching and finding out who I was for me to find my way back to humanity…to the League and John.

"I felt like I was running into one wall after another, but despite all the pain and hardship, I never gave up hope that John and I would somehow find our way back to each other. I have to admit, though, coming back to find him with Vixen didn't exactly raise my spirits any."

Diana chuckled softly in response as they entered the kitchen. "I can imagine," she replied. "It was quite difficult having feelings for Bruce in the beginning only to see him at charity events and galas with a different beautiful woman on his arm or knowing that Catwoman was just waiting on a rooftop for a rendezvous with him while he was on patrol."

"Men," Shayera muttered with a roll of her eyes, trying to lighten her friend's spirits. "The things we go through for them, but they're worth the pain and heartache."

"There's nothing I wouldn't do for him," she confessed as Mila handed each of them a plate of food that she had saved them. "Thank you, Mila. I'm starving."

"Anything for you, princess," Mila responded with a smile. "I know you'll find your way to your mate."

"I appreciate that," Diana softly said with a grateful nod before turning to leave. She was anxious to return to her room to get cleaned up and get a little sleep before heading back out again.

"You'll feel better once you eat and get some sleep," Shay told her. "I know I will."

"I can't thank you enough, Shay," she responded. "It really means a lot."

"Nothing to thank me for, Di," she reassured her. "You would do no less for me."

Pausing before Shayera's room, Diana gave her a small smile. "Get some sleep."

"See you in the morning."

Diana nodded before heading to her room. Entering, she set her plate down on a small table before quickly stripping off her clothes. She was in dire need of a bath and nothing sounded better to her at that moment than soaking her tired muscles in hot water.

She headed for the bathing suite that was attached to her room, finding a steaming bath awaiting her. She smiled to herself, more than thankful for her sisters perceptiveness and anticipating her needs. She sank into the hot water with a relieved moan, her thoughts immediately settling on her family.

She touched her commlink with her right hand, needing to check in on them. "Wonder Woman to Nightwing."

It didn't take long for Dick to answer. "Diana! How's it going?"

"We've run into some unexpected obstacles," she revealed, trying to keep the constant waves of panic from reaching her voice. "The war on Themyscira was quite devastating. There is a lot of destruction that caused a cave in that is blocking the entrance to the gate of the Underworld."

"You're kidding?" Dick said with a gasp of shock. "Donna's going to be upset when she hears that."

"We've got teams working night and day to clear the rubble, but it could take a week or more to finally reach the gate and that's if the tunnel is still stable. Removing the rubble could cause another cave in, taking the above ground structures down with it."

"Oh, man," Dick softly said. "What are you going to do?"

"I've petitioned the gods for help, but we also have several Amazons reviewing the ancient scrolls and books for information about other gates to the Underworld," she informed him.

"I know if anyone can find a way to get to Bruce it's you, Di," he assured her.

"I won't give up," she told him. "I will get him out of there."

"Well, don't worry about things here. We've got it all covered," he tried to reassure her.

"How are Nicholas and Kaia? Is Damian giving you trouble?"

"Nick and Kaia are their usual mischievous selves, but they're fine," he replied.

Diana groaned as she tilted her head back against the edge of the bathtub. "What have they done now?"

"Nothing major," he told her. "Just a water gun fight…feeding Ace from the table."

"Well, don't be afraid to put them in timeout or make them go to bed early," she said. "What about Damian?"

"He's his usual stubborn annoying self, but he's doing okay."

Diana couldn't help but chuckle, Damian's retort coming through loud and clear through her commlink. "How are things in Gotham? Joker still causing problems?"

"Yes, but we've got it handled," he swore to her. "In fact, we're in the process of tracking him down now."

"Please, be careful…all of you," she instructed him. "I might not be your real mother, but I'm going to mother your whether you like it or not."

It was Dick's turn to chuckle, his tone tender as he responded. "No one ever outgrows needing a mother."

"I'll check in with you again soon," she said. "Contact me if you need to."

"Will do. Nightwing out."

Diana sat up, taking a piece of loofah and beginning the task of scrubbing away the grime and dirt of the day. The corner of her lips quirked, wishing Bruce was here with her to help with the task. Sharing a bath or shower with him was one of her favorite times spent with him, something so intensely intimate about it all. She loved taking turns washing each other, the feel of Bruce's fingers running through her wet hair and over her body.

"Soon, Bruce," she murmured to herself as she grabbed a nearby cup to wet her hair. "We'll be together again soon."

A/N: I don't know about you guys, but I love writing the Batclan all together.

UP NEXT: Hermes reports to Diana, John's struggling taking care of two kids, and more of Joker's plans come to light. :)