In the Middle of a Broken Constellation

Pairing: WonderBat (Wonder Woman x Batman)

Rating: T / 14A

Universe: N/A - Reader's Choice

This wasn't at all how Diana anticipated the rest of her morning to be, but it was quite a sight to behold, if she were truly honest with herself. "You do quick work," she assessed Huntress with both admiration and reservation. "The moving trucks aren't even here yet." The long, empty living room that the five of them stood in allowed for her voice to echo, emphasizing her tone of voice more clearly than she had herself.

Across the floor stood the woman she had encountered and battled on a Gotham rooftop last night and beside her was a man in a tight black suit, a black mask over eyes with upturned edges resembling a familiar symbol in this city. So comfortable was he, in fact, that he took it upon himself to perform his own introduction. "Wonder Woman, is it? It's really an honour to meet you. My name is Dick Grayson, but I go by Nightwing when I'm… dressed like this." The sheepish smile he offered her at the end made him appear much more boyish than his presence ever implied.

But to make sure that she had a perfect depiction of Nightwing, Jason leaned over and pretended to whisper. "He was once a Robin, too. The one before me, actually. Now he's his own superhero."

Instantly, Dick's face scrunched up so fiercely it moved his mask. He stepped into the living room as he chastised his successor. "But not a very good one, apparently, if I didn't know you were back in town. Why didn't you come to me as soon as you knew something was wrong with Bruce?"

Taking immediate offense, Jason stepped into the metaphorical ring as he approached Nightwing. "I've been a little busy. And you're literally around the corner - why did I have to tell you?." That last remark was clearly meant to scathe, and Diana wasn't the only one who noticed.

Before anyone else could take a step forward or utter another thinly veiled insult, Clark stormed his way into the middle of the room and barked at them all. "Well, we all know now. Can we commit to working together on this? Bruce is going to need all of us and we aren't doing ourselves any favours by arguing over what's over and done with."

"He's right," Huntress groaned as she fell against the wall, arms crossed, hip popped. "We've lost enough time in the past month when none of us knew what was going on. What are we going to do, moving forward?"

"Well," having sat with the worry and the knowledge of Bruce's situation long enough, Diana decided to gather the attention of her guests and set them on the proper path for a productive conversation. "I've taken a position at Wayne Tower to try and stay as close to Bruce as possible, without being too suspicious. I'll monitor him as best as I can at work."

Proving himself to be the more empathetic of Batman's extended family, Dick removed his mask as she spoke and showed her just as how stirred his emotions with his uncovered eyes. "Doesn't that mean you'd have to sacrifice your everyday life in order to do that?"

Unwilling to fret over it, all she could say in response was, "Bruce would have done the same for any of us."

Her words made some pause, all while motivating Clark to carry on with strategizing their next step. "After speaking to Vicki Vale, I think it's important to have someone in Diana's position. But we also need to think of the bigger picture: Gotham."

Immediately, Huntress shot her hand up. "Hi, you're looking at Gotham's new defence force. I've been trying to recruit other 'heroes' in the city but everyone's got their own problems to deal with. It'd be nice to have a helping hand or two."

"I'll work on getting that for you," Clark stated with such confidence that the shape of her headpiece only emphasized the way Huntress' jaw dropped open slightly. "As it stands, Vicki has been covering the recent rise in crime for the Gotham Gazette all on her own, chasing down leads as a civilian and I think she needs someone to follow her."

"Why?" Was Jason's deadpan response, sounding uninterested in her safety at the moment.

"Because she's been monitoring the situation with the people transformed by the sludge in the hospital and it's been drawing some attention. She's received threatening messages at work, and even had a letter delivered to her house implying that some of the sludge would be sent her way next. She thinks that's why someone was trying to take out the security in the quarantine wing, that someone is trying to get her infected so she'll keep her nose out of it."

The audacity that someone would go so far as to infect this woman was nauseating to Diana. Considering there was still no way to break down the compound - that they weren't any closer to finding a cure than they were weeks ago - was downright diabolical. If someone was making sure to scare a reporter who was simply doing their job, then that meant the sludge wasn't truly contained in the quarantine wing.

And…

"The person is still out there, then. The one who started all this." Jason surmised, sounding much more reserved than he was moments ago.

As if linked to his estranged brother, Dick tacked on. "And they are still active."

"Meaning they are probably keeping a watchful eye over the entire situation." Huntress mumbled from the back of the room, unamused.

"Wait," Diana gasped suddenly as a realization dawned on her. Everyone's eyes landed on her, panicked by her tone, and it was a proper reaction given what she needed to share with them. "One of these creatures appeared on the east coast last night and Aquaman and the Flash went to fight it together."

The look of terror that flashed over Clark's face caused her heart to miss a beat, even though she was already infused with anxious energy. "Where are they now?"

She had no answer to give him, only creating more tension in the room with her silence. Unable to even imagine what that could have happened to her friends, Diana threw her hand up to her earpiece and phoned into the JLA Headquarters. "Cyborg? Wonder Woman here. Have you heard back from Aquaman or the Flash?"

It took one second too long for Victor to respond to her SOS. "Cyborg here. No, they haven't contacted me since last night. Why? Do you need help with something?"

The look of absolute dread on her face must have tipped off Clark, as he joined their conversation instantly. "Superman here. We think that whoever is responsible for these sludge creatures is still in control of them, and using them to manipulate us. They've gone after a reporter in the city and-"

"I'm on it. I'll let you know once I find them." Victor felt the same way they did, and he hadn't even been apart of their impromptu meeting. Each Justice League member felt strained by the different angles this situation was pulling them in, and knowing they had two of their own Metahumans to worry about on top of Bruce's brain trauma was enough to make the remaining three members quake ever so slightly in metaphysical boots.

"All right," Clark murmured with a tinge of embarrassment. "I guess we don't have the reinforcements I thought we had."

Ever the optimist it seemed, Dick immediately threw up his hands in the hopes of lifting the spirits of Superman. "It's okay. We should be able to corral some support from inside the city too. We can't fall to pieces just because Batman isn't around."

Huntress, despite feeling like the lone ranger in the city as of late, nodded in agreement with her friend. "We have to pick up the slack, or there's no point in ever thinking that Gotham stands a chance. I'm still on the lookout for someone to join the cause, but I've stopped holding my breath. Besides, Batman always hated how aggressive I was, but now he'll owe me a big, fat apology whenever he gets fixed up, won't he?"

"That's one way to put it." Nightwing laughed under his breath at her side.

The dynamic that the were all forming in such a difficult situation was genuinely heartwarming to Diana, as she knew that she was one to draw her strength from the promise of a positive outcome during any battle she faced. Though unexpected and a touch out of place, it seemed that everyone in their current predicament was willing to rise to any challenge in Bruce's name, and she made a mental note to tell him about the love that was being gathered for him once he was well again.

Because he would be well again.

She just knew it.

Jason even threw his hat into the ring, rather prideful with the way he went about it. "I'm in, whether I need to work with others or on my own. We need to sweep the city of regular crimes, keep an eye on Bruce, Vicki and Alfred, and we need to research this sludge stuff that showed up around the time this all started."

The bullet point list of all of the tasks they needed to complete helped organize their conversation neatly. Clark put a hand over his chest and gleefully claimed his role. "I think I can help Vicki do her research and keep an eye on her at the same time. I want to observe the people in quarantine and see if there's anything I can gather from it too. Once I find anything, I'll report back."

"And since Wonder Woman will be with Bruce," Dick, rather obvious about his disappointment, stepped forward once again to take on his task. "I will try to help clear out the crime in the city with Huntress. I'll also get in touch with Oracle and see if she can help us out."

"That'd be nice." Jason tried to egg Nightwing on, but the conversation was much too busy for the likes of his humour.

"Thank you, Dick. And to you too, Huntress. What you're doing is so important to keeping the peace, I hope you know how much we appreciate it." Diana made sure to share her gratitude with the self-made defence force that was being formed in the name of Gotham, for the sake of Bruce's legacy. That type of dedication to one's home was something she grew up with, and it felt almost nostalgic to see it in action now.

Whereas Dick merely smiled with silent awe at her words, Huntress laughed off the praise. His kind blue eyes were even contrasted by her masked face, and they appeared to be quite different in so many ways but similar in others. There bond was also reminiscent of the sisters she hadn't seen in far too long - charged and prepared to wage wars, weathered souls that were kindred by their experiences rather than blood - that she was actually inspired by them in that very moment.

"In fact, I think I might be able gather an ally or two to help you protect the city." Speaking slowly, she gave herself one last chance to back out of such a crazy idea. But Diana knew that now was not the time to second guess herself. Turning to Jason, she smirked as she realized how fate had worked in her favour. "Room mate, I need you to bring in all of my furniture when it arrives. Clark and I have somewhere to be."

"What!? You're taking away the man who can lift a couch with his pinkie finger!?" Jason whined at her delegations without any shame whatsoever.

Ignoring him completely, Clark tilted his head as he questioned her. "Where are we going?"

"To ask for help." Diana promised as she waved to her guests and motioned for Clark to join her at the door. They'd need to leave the building as regular people before jetting off into the sky, just in case they were spotted by her new neighbours. After all, even though three different Batman-related people had met her in her civilian clothes since she had started this venture, she had no intention of becoming so friendly with anyone else in Gotham City anytime soon.

When they arrived at the Temple of the Amazons, they had just missed the crowds of tourists that visited the spot daily. After the appeal of Wonder Woman had grown around the world, people from all walks of life had been visiting the temple in the hopes of learning more about the hero's ancestry, Diana presumed. She had visited it herself a handful of times over the years whenever she happened to be in Greece and it always made her homesick just as it empowered her to work harder in her mission to protect 'Man's World'.

In the dark of the night, they landed gracefully at the back of the structure in the hopes of avoiding the security guards who were monitoring the front entrance. As softly as he could speak, taking into account both of their inhuman hearing capabilities, Clark asked her, "What do you need me to do?"

Standing upright once she confirmed that the coast was clear, Diana bowed as a sign of respect to the temple, its history, and its patron guardians before wandering into the ancient building. There were merely pillars acting as the walls, meaning that they had to be careful about being seen. Still, her plan required them to reach the front doorway if she was to succeed. "I need you to start a fire."

There was a pause, then a very unrefined utterance of the phrase, "I'm sorry, what?" She heard the hastened footsteps coming up behind her, which only encouraged her to move faster herself.

"The Amazons will know that I am asking for them to send me a warrior if we light a fire at the entrance to their temple. If they choose to allow me their help, their champion will arrive in three day's time to help us take care of Gotham City." She explained with as much confidence as she could portray to him, given that there was a part of her that worried she'd be ignored by her sisters.

As they reached the middle of the temple, Clark swooped into her path and blocked her from proceeding. The grave look in his eyes proved that he understood how bold her actions were. "Diana, are you sure you want to do this?"

Instead of ramping up her own indecisive thoughts, his question only made her feel empowered to take such an emboldened step. "Yes."

Though he examined her for a moment too long, searching for some kind of doubt anywhere in her expression or body language, Clark silently accepted her choice and turned to face the entrance. From behind his towering form, she watched as a red energy formed around his head, just before releasing his laser vision at the floor before the doorway. Then, before she could blink, he scooped her up and flew them out of the temple to avoid ever being seen.

Sailing through the air, Diana smiled at her friend with great respect. "Thank you."

"I won't be cursed or anything for doing that, right?" He joked, his smile wide, but there was definitely something hidden in the corners of his lips that implied he might be nervous about the possibility of vengeful mythological enemies.

Playing true to her honest personality, all Diana did was laugh because she couldn't promise him anything. After all, even with the stunt they had just pulled, she couldn't even guarantee that they'd be given a champion Amazon to help them in Gotham. Everything that they were enduring was incredibly formidable, and yet, all of their solutions required time.

Until her phone rang as she was flying over European skies, that is.

"Wait!" She screeched a little too loudly while fumbling with the buttoned up pocket on her dress. Clark stalled in the air and hovered obediently as she revealed her phone's screen to the both of them.

Wayne Enterprises was calling.

She didn't waste any time and tapped her thumb down on the green button that allowed her to answer the call. In fact, she began to throw out her greeting before the phone was even properly next to her mouth. "Hello?"

"Well Miss Prince, I have to say that your resume speaks for itself." The air pressure was strong where she was, but hearing Bruce's voice on the other end of the line is what made her gasp for a single breath.

"Mr. Wayne?" She asked in order to clarify that she wasn't simply hearing what she wished to hear. She turned to Clark and he mirrored her expression of surprise, clearly invested in hearing what the phone call was about.

Unaware of their shock, Bruce spoke to her as though no one else could hear them. "We just got your documents from your previous employer and I have to say, you're quite impressive on paper."

"I would hope that my interview was impressive, as well." Diana stated her opinion rather than ask it, as if to demand some credit for the improvised persona she had created in order to win her the job.

"Of course you were." His voice became deeper when he answered her, and the chill she felt was much too close to her bones to be caused by the wind that surrounded her. Somehow, even when he wasn't the Bruce she knew, that civilian Bruce - the one she had met once face to face, where they were merely two people in each other's presence - always managed to make her feel like he was ready to tower over her, to demonstrate what his inclinations would be like when matched up against hers.

"Thank you, Mr. Wayne." She hoped she didn't sound too breathless, but just enough that it would make him think she was honoured by his praise.

"Are you outside? It sounds like you're in a windstorm." The tension was severed by his curiosity and it made her feel as if she was released from something ethereal.

Confidence restored, Diana looked to Clark to watch his reaction to her lie. "I'm exploring Gotham right now. I am looking at a few places today, so I can have a home somewhere in the city."

"Well, that works out since I'm calling to let you know you got the job."

"I did?" She smiled in Clark's face so brightly, he curled his own lips in so he didn't laugh at her excitement.

"You did, and you start tomorrow morning. Lucius is throwing you right into the frey."

"That's perfect." She replied to his challenge with a response that proved she was ready. Diana had had enough of planning and organizing and straightening out her feelings - she wanted to get into the ring, battle with Bruce's enemies and take on his challenges. She needed to get her hands dirty now and being hired by Lucius Fox was the first accomplishment she'd had in a while.

Whether Themyscira sent her a champion, Diana felt like she had revived the spirit of a champion inside of herself. Now, she could be by Bruce's side and make sure that nothing else happened to him.

Finally, things were starting to look up and not just because she was in the literal clouds.

Author's Notes:

I am a day late, but I am here with a bonus page! I want to say thank you to The GD Patman for helping me conceptualize the 'beacon' I needed in this chapter, and I want to send a special shoutout to LOTSLover, who I wrote that last little phone call for. The WonderBat people I know are just so amazing!

If you think of this like a series, the first arc/saga is now over. Diana will begin her job at Wayne Foundation, everyone has their roles of what they need to do, and we have a few mysteries on our hands! I hope you enjoyed the first segment and continue to read more! ~ Maiden