In the Middle of a Broken Constellation

Pairing: WonderBat (Wonder Woman x Batman)
Rating: T / 14A
Universe: N/A (Reader's Choice)

It had taken such an exorbitant amount of time for Diana to return to Wayne Tower after the accident. Even as a superhero who helped clean up the destruction of villains weekly, she felt absolutely drained by the time she had been examined by the EMTs, interviewed by the press and officially released from Gotham General. They hailed her as a medical marvel because she was able to escape the monsters without being engulfed in their sludge, but she tried to push the responsibility of her survival onto Superman as much as she could so that they wouldn't continue pestering her about staying overnight.

Her first day on the job for Lucius was an absolute disaster, without a doubt.

The only silver lining she could think of as she rode the elevator to the thirty-fourth floor was that it had been her who was trapped in the Isolation Ward, not a civilian. If someone from Wayne Enterprises had to make that trip again, she'd gladly take their place. Her metahuman gifts were rendered useless by her circumstances but her instincts from battles over the years were the only reason she was still herself. It was frightening to even imagine herself being consumed by that sludge and… losing herself without any way to return to who she was.

Looking down at her hands, she curled them in towards her palms just to experience the movement and know she had control over herself. To think of the fifty or so innocent lives there were being held captive at that hospital made her stomach drop. What was it like for them beneath that liquified state? Were the aware of all that their bodies were doing or were they all mindlessly wasting away? She couldn't allow the number of monsters to rise, in any of the three cities that were affected by the sludge. Today had been terrifying but she knew she couldn't blame them for reacting to her the way that they had-

Because she realized, the person to blame would have been whoever had unlocked the anteroom door.

A digital chime signaled her that she had reached the thirty-fourth floor and in a moment of panic, she leaped out of the elevator. At that moment, it dawned on her that she hadn't prepared a story to tell her boss about the events of the day. The air of the office was hectic, focused and driven while she wandered down the hall, making her uncertainty feel like insecurity. If he didn't keep her as the Community Outreach Specialist for the Wayne Foundation, then her entire civilian identity would experience a crisis unlike any she had experienced before.

She needed to know if Lucius would tolerate her explanation, which drove her to bang rather loudly on his office door.

"Come in," her boss invited her in without looking up from his desk, distracted by something he was looking at on his computer. The door had been ajar and she expected to meet his gaze immediately. Instead, she took three steps into the room before he lifted his head. Once he did, however, he looked absolutely horrified. "Diana!"

"Mr. Fox, I apologize for being so late. I-"

She wasn't allowed to finish. Lucius reached for the intercom on his phone and nearly shouted, "Tell Bruce to come here."

The floor fell apart beneath her. At least, that was how she felt. She wanted to see her friend as much as possible - that was why she took this job and relocated herself in the first place - but it didn't bode well that the CEO was being called into a meeting with her on day one of her job. The only thing she could do was handle herself with the utmost dignity and pray that they were merely going to beg her not to sue them for emotional distress. "I wanted to return sooner, but something happened at Gotham General. There was-"

Lucius stood up from his desk and walked over to meet her face to face. He adjusted his glasses as if he couldn't believe his eyes, and his tone of voice made her think that he genuinely didn't. "I heard. We all heard about the hospital. I've been trying to call you since the story broke around noon."

"They… I lost my purse in the Isolation Ward." She explained delicately.

"Jesus Christ," He groaned as he ran his hand over his face, stressed beyond belief and most likely imagining what she went through to have sacrificed her belongings. Once his palm reached his chin, he used his other arm to gesture to one of the seats in his office. With a grateful nod, Diana began to move into the closest chair, more than ready to relax after the long day she had had.

Until a hysterical man shouted from the doorway, "She's here!?"

Hearing him stilled her, and her already weary heart managed to thump erratically in her chest. She heard Lucius call for him, but turning around and seeing Bruce after the day she had had was an unexpected godsend. The guarded man she knew looked wild when she faced him. He was clutching the door frame for dear life while his body leaned into the office, his eyes surveying her with intent and fear. The man she was used to would have known not to fret over her, yet this… forgetful version of him didn't. She didn't know how to feel about his evident concern.

"Are you all right? They said you were locked in the hospital with the monsters, we weren't sure what happened to you!" He explained his position with so much panic, it was evident that he had been fretting over her the entire day.

"I was" - as soon as she confirmed his greatest fear, Bruce entered the space and slammed the door shut so that he could hear all about the horrors she faced, uninterrupted - "but I was lucky to get out alive. Superman saved me."

Name-dropping the man from Krypton didn't seem to interest either of the men standing before her. Instead, Bruce continued to inquire about her time at Gotham General. "How did you get locked in there with them?" Preparing for her answer to bowl him over, he crossed his arms over his chest.

It was a question she didn't honestly have an answer to, it was quite easy to play the hopeless civilian. "I don't know. One minute, I am talking to Dr. Hunt about the sludge and the experiments he intends to do on them, and then suddenly, the door to their room opens. Dr. Hunt managed to escape the Isolation Ward, but I was locked in. I just assumed it was an accident with the security system."

No she didn't.

She didn't trust the hospital one bit, especially Dr. Hunt and his department.

Something wasn't right, but that was for Wonder Woman to deal with, not Diana Prince.

A chuckle drew her attention away from Bruce and onto Lucius. "I'm calling them now." He informed both of them without any humor in his voice at all as he returned to his seat behind the desk and picked up his phone.

If she hadn't fought for her life, she might have felt sorry for sending her boss after the hospital. If she hadn't nearly been consumed by sludge, she could have thought to ask Lucius to let it go and to not let it impact the Wayne Foundation's relationship with Gotham General. But it was because of a malfunction in their security system or, quite possibly, the horrendous intentions of someone employed there that she was put in harm's way.

In all honesty, she just as grateful for Mr. Fox's superpower as she was for Clark's.

"Diana," The sound of Bruce softly saying her name made her face him in her chair. "Did they make sure you were okay before letting you go?" He looked as if he was trying to hide the fact that he was absolutely gutted over what she went through, but failing miserably to do so. Did someone he remembered in his amnesiac get taken over by the sludge, and it caused him to fear it? It was possible, she realized, that there was a person or persons of interest in his life that might have been one of the people who was trapped in that Isolation Ward at that very moment.

She felt swayed by his worry in a way she didn't quite understand. "Yes, that's what took me so long to come back here."

"You should have just gone home. Given us a call and taken a sick day." Advised Bruce as he threw his hands up in the air before dropping into the seat next to her. He couldn't believe her determination to return to the office was real, it seemed.

All she could do was smile weakly at him. "I was telling Lucius that I lost my purse trying to survive in there, along with my shoes."

Together, they looked down at her feet, donning a sleek pair of black flats that she kept in her trunk in case of an emergency.

She found them amusing, but Bruce did not. She watched his hunched over body remain still as he observed her shoes with what she could only imagine to be a sorrowful expression. He didn't know what she was capable of, only that she had been through an ordeal on her first site visit in her new role at his company. Despite his attempt to draw himself upwards and pretend that he hadn't been staring at her shoes for much longer than necessary, it was evident that he was unaware of how to handle this situation, of his employee nearly being taken over by the very sludge his company was hoping to help eradicate.

The Batman might have offered an emotionless congratulations and expected her back at work the next day.

That's what she expected from herself, as well.

The Bruce Wayne sitting before her had everything that Batman did except the experience on how to expect the unexpected and handle the aftermath.

It was with a melancholic smile that she said to him softly, "Don't worry, I won't be asking for an advance on my pay to replace my belongings."

Using money in a comedic way seemed to reach him. Bruce chuckled and found the strength to meet her eyes again. "Well, don't you worry, because we're going to."

"Oh," Diana's brows furrowed as she processed his words. "I really don't need you to do that, Mr. Wayne."

It was definitely subtle, though he tried to stop himself halfway through, Bruce did indeed shrug off her rejection of his offer. "You just moved to this city - one of the most dangerous in all of America, no, in all of the world - and were nearly turned into pink slime on your first day on the job. You haven't made any demands of me or Gotham General to cover your hospital bills or your lost possessions?"

She couldn't tell if he was genuinely suspicious of her, but his pointed gaze terrified her. Was he assuming that there was a reason as to why she was handling everything so well? It made her think of Clark's suggestion that she swoon over him when he flew her down to the ground outside of the hospital - was she not playing the part of a normal, depowered woman as well as she thought? It was never so difficult to blend in with society before, and yet, it felt like Bruce was examining her the way he used to.

The way he would whenever he distrusted her and wanted to see what she had to hide.

Diana collected herself rather quickly, took a deep breath to steady her nerves, then took another stab at being a regular woman. "Well, I wouldn't turn down a company car so I can drive myself home, then go out and replace my phone and car keys."

"Your car keys…" Bruce repeated her with shock lacing his words, then he made a rather sour face. "No, here's a better idea. Tomorrow, when you come in, we'll sit down and fill out your report about the incident at Gotham General together. Then, I will take you to replace your shoes, your purse, your phone and your car keys all on the company dime."

"Mr. Wayne-" On the outside, she looked shocked. On the inside, she was boiling. Who was he to take on the role of a dictator, simply because she was a woman without access to her car? It made absolutely no sense for him to take over her life and her career in such a domineering way, especially when he didn't know her well enough to guarantee she would tolerate it.

Regardless, Bruce didn't care. "I just so happen to have the afternoon off, so you'll start at 11:30 and spend the rest of your day with me. I'll teach you more about the company while we take care of your belongings on the Wayne Corporation's dime, and then after that, you'll return to work as… well, not usual. But you know what I mean."

His tone of voice, his commanding air, and his almighty decrees wore down her ability to play the part of the distressed victim. It felt insulting to pretend that he could talk to her like that. The Amazonian blood pumping through her veins refused to allow that kind of talk, and the Lasso of Truth that was still hidden in her brassiere felt warm against her chest as she looked him dead in the eye. Bravely, she sat up tall and straightened her skirt as she proclaimed, "I don't mind giving you my report, Mr. Wayne, but I'm not looking for money."

Without missing a beat, or perhaps while stamping his mark on the end of hers, Bruce blurted out, "Then what are you looking for?"

There was a twitch in the corner of her lips, urging her to make a willful retort. However, it slowly washed over her that the energy between them was shifting. His words echoed in her mind, playing over and over again until she heard the second meaning that was hidden behind the veil of their conversation. It occurred to her that he was right: wasn't she looking for him? Her entire goal was to find him, watch over him, and take care of him until they found him a cure. That was her mission and the attack she had endured that morning was proof that she had taken on the most important role.

She had spent a month wishing she could look for him, and now here he was.

But why did she feel that question in the depths of her heart?

What was she still looking for?

"...Yes, hello. I'd like to speak to Mr. Hunt please." Lucius suddenly spoke into his phone for the first time since promising he'd call Gotham General. When his voice broke through the silence, Diana understood in that very moment that he must have heard their entire conversation.

That knowledge made her cheeks feel warm, but she couldn't fathom as to why. All she knew was that she was locked into a staring contest with the one and only Bruce Wayne. His confidence in this state was something she had seen before but had never felt in full effect, and it made her both excited to work alongside him once again while equally anxious for what tomorrow would bring them.