Diana experiences some changes firsthand and Bruce continues down the path of becoming a new hero.
Chapter 13: A Cave With An Internal Conflict
There was an incredibly bright and blinding light. Diana held an arm up in an attempt to block the brightness so that she could open her eyes. The pain that she'd been in melted away by the time she noticed the brightness illuminating around her. As she stood there attempting to gather her bearings, she sensed a sort of familiarity about the light before her. It was in some way seemingly offering her comfort from the pain she'd been experiencing while sparring with Bruce. Suddenly the thought of him came to the forefront of her mind. What happened to Bruce? Where was he? She began feeling around for him and calling out his name as she spun around searching for him with her hands through the air and her feet on the ground. Not being able to locate him caused concern to begin welling up inside until a whooshing sound whipping by her like a strong breeze, but no feeling of wind touched her hair or skin. That brought an uneasy feeling and caused her to cease in her search for Bruce. She wasn't sure, but she thought that she heard some faint whispering that joined along with the sound trying to tell her he wasn't there.
A loud crack exactly like the sound of thunder seemed to snap the bright light away and she opened her eyes to find that she inside a warehouse and it was at night. It only took a moment before she realized exactly where she was. It was the warehouse where she'd followed the mobsters into. The very same warehouse that the Joker had double crossed them and also stopped her from capturing him due to his contingency plan. She wasn't sure why or how she was reliving this moment, but now that she knew what was going to happen she was going to change the outcome. She went to move to the section of the warehouse that the Joker had held his hostages, but when she tried she found that it was impossible to move. No matter how much she fought to gain control over her motor functions, she couldn't move. Soon though she realized that not only could she not force her body to move, but she also couldn't stop herself from moving in the direction and manner that she'd started to do. It was almost like she was being forced to relive this moment in her life, but why? She knew that the Joker would evade capture from her if she couldn't take control, but she could only sit idly by and watch as everything progressed just as she recalled. She had to sit there listening to Lenny talking to the Joker about trust concerning what his plan was. Then came the refusal and the gas plume entering from the air vents. Everything had been happening just as she recalled.
Diana watched as her body swept through saving the children and mobsters from the Joker's deadly gas, and soon she was up in the sky looking for the clown once again. She remembered what happened next, and cringed internally at the mere thought of it. That poor man was going to lose the life of a loved one, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She remembered clearly how she'd arrived too late to save the woman.
~~ John's cabin ~~
John was sitting in his secure room, the Triangle of Light draped around his neck once again and his ski mask in one of his hands. He was still lost inside his own thoughts as he continuously went over the situation that had happened the night before. He had to stop the mad man from harming his sister, but the Joker wasn't just any common criminal. He'd need more than the element of surprise, and that was why he was also holding a gun in his lap. He never intended to kill anyone before, but that demented clown was a menace to everyone and needed to pay for what he'd done. John didn't have all of the details of the event though as the police were still investigating, and didn't even have the clown listed as the guilty party yet, but John knew. He was there. Wonder Woman should've known as well, but she wasn't one who'd witnessed it and her testimony wouldn't be able to hold up if anyone were even willing to use her as a witness. Either way it didn't matter. The Joker was criminally insane and wouldn't be put to death because of that. Therefore another form of justice was in need.
Waiting any longer would tear John's remaining sanity to shreds, so he was going to go back tonight and save his sister again. He pulled his ski mask down over his face and held the powerful artifact in front of a light as he began to focus his thoughts on that horrible event. Soon the familiar light began to emit from the artifact and consumed the whole room just before the feeling of a downpour started pelting him from above. He glanced around quickly, taking in his surroundings. He was on a rooftop nearby, but he was still a couple of blocks away. Hoping that he'd spot the Joker before the mad man reached that fateful intersection, he rushed down through the building and smashed through a window, and he sprinted down the sidewalk towards his destination.
John halted immediately upon spotting the clown standing in front of his car with the gun pointed at his sister through the windshield. He only had seconds to put a stop to this, and ran forward with reckless abandon. As his feet splashed through the puddles on the road, he realized as the Joker pulled his sister from the car that he'd been too loud in his approach and had gained the Joker's attention. Spinning around, the clown noticed the masked man approaching. It only took a second to realize that the masked man wasn't one of his, and he pointed his gun at the man while noticing a gun barrel being pointed back at him. "I don't know who the hell you are, but this taxi's mine." The Joker announced menacingly.
"You're not going to hurt her." John seethed as he cocked his berretta 9mm to show that he meant business.
"Well, aren't you the party pooper." Joker mockingly whined before returning his gun's barrel to the girl's head. "I'd love to stay and play, but unfortunately other party crashers are slithering around. So how about we make a deal? I get the car, you get the girl, and we all leave happily."
"I've got a deal of my own." John countered. "You let the girl go and you go to jail, or you die here tonight." He hoped that he was convincing with what he'd said as he was bluffing. No ending he'd planned had the Joker going anywhere except six feet into the ground.
The Joker stood there for a moment with his lithe human shield that he'd have to duck in order to sufficiently cover himself with, and then he began to giggle before becoming serious again. "Sorry friend, but I've already done my bit of negotiating." Joker replied as he violently shoved the girl into the masked man. She began to tumble and John instinctively reached down to try and catch her, but that was the one mistake that the Joker had calculated for. He still wasn't quick enough to be on top of his enemy as John had looked back up and managed to fire a shot off, but it didn't hit his intended target, and the Joker retaliated with his joy buzzer to the masked man's neck. As the electricity surged through, John's muscles contracted involuntarily, causing him to squeeze off one more shot before his world went black.
Minutes later, Diana landed to the familiar sight of the man in the street holding onto the female victim. The searing pain that she'd experienced while sparring with Bruce had just returned with a vengeance, but having experienced it before she was more able to handle the pain this time. Now she only stumbled momentarily as she approached the two in the street. When she was close enough to kneel down next to them just as she had before the pain was immediately forgotten. Surprise enveloped her as the woman moved to see who had joined her and her companion. "Someone's here to help John." The woman called out as she sat up. "We need to call the police."
Diana managed to snap from her stupor and form words as the young woman had spoken to her. "Are….are you both alright?" She asked. It was then that she realized that her own thought process had joined with her body. She'd wanted to ask that question, and her body responded accordingly. She seemed to have control again, and stood back up from her kneeling position to test and confirm that suspicion.
"Yes, we're both okay." The woman answered. "We were just carjacked. Can you call the police for us?"
Diana was about to inform the woman that she had no phone when the sound of police sirens off in the distance answered the request for her. Though she was still dumbstruck by what was going on and trying to get a grip on everything. She couldn't understand why she hadn't been in control before, and now she seemed to be. She also didn't understand why her memories were seemingly wrong. This girl had lived when she recalled seeing her in that very spot with no life coursing through her body at all. It was at that thought the searing pain came rushing back again, and Diana had to fight to maintain her footing. Her eyes pinched closed and she squeezed the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger as she fought to push the pain away. It was then that the bright light she experienced earlier reappeared around her, only this time it was filled with a booming voice that she clearly recognized. "You must accept it Diana, Princess of the Amazons." The voice stated.
"I don't understand, mighty Apollo." Diana replied as she knelt down as a showing of respect to the Sun God. "How do I accept something that I recall being completely different? Why is this happening?"
"This is the way it must be Diana." Apollo answered. "It is a direct result of your memories being protected by the Gods. Instances where your memories are more directly affected from the changes by the time jumper are harder to accept."
"So he is the reason that the girl survived." Diana surmised aloud, and to her astonishment at that deduction the pain began to decrease. It was only a moment longer before she could open her eyes again to see the Sun God standing before her.
"Walk with me Amazon." Apollo ordered, and Diana quickly rose up to follow him in a direction that seemed to lead through a whiteness that had before been blinding, but now seemed like walking among the clouds. There was a growing silence before Apollo broke it as he explained what was happening to her. "You should prepare yourself for such an event as it could be likely that it occurs again. If your mind willingly accepts the change, then you will be better able to continue on in the present time."
"Do you mean that I'm not doing so currently?" Diana asked.
"Your last memory should still be that of when you were with the mortal man in the cave." Apollo answered. "I can see why you've once again chosen to align yourself with him. He is still managing to make Nemesis proud, but I am offering a word of caution for you my dear. Spending so much time with him may end up becoming more detrimental than not."
"Bruce?" Diana questioned more to herself than Apollo. "I know that his parents were supposed to meet their end years ago. That is the reason I have aligned myself with him. I believe that there still could be a connection to that altered event in time. He's also been a great asset as I've sought out the one responsible for all the changes."
"Your theories may very well be sound, but it is still dangerous for you to continue the path that you are taking along with him." Apollo stated as he came to a stop. With a wave of his hand, the white light dimmed, and Diana realized that they were now inside the Manor and more directly inside her room. There she saw Bruce sitting at her bedside, and to her surprise she was there in the bed seemingly asleep. Before she could ask the question though, Apollo began to speak again. "When these changes in time affect your direct memories, if you do not accept them in your mind then it could very well render you unconscious, or worse, perhaps even fatal. Fortunately this time your companion was there to revive you. I apologize for not warning you, but no one could foresee what such an event would have the potential to do. With these fluctuations in time I'm also no longer able to see the future as clearly as before, but what I can see is that things are likely to get much worse, and much more quickly if you do not find and stop the one responsible."
"You're referencing that the fabric between space and time could become irreparably damaged." Diana stated in response and received a confirming nod from the Sun God.
"It is time for you to return to the present, but remember this child." Apollo declared. "Remember still that those around you have had their memories altered due to the changes, and that includes your friend. You must make haste in locating this jumper in time, reset the damage that was done, and restore the timeline. I fear that your time has grown short by these recent events."
Diana began to question what the Sun God had meant, but before she could everything became black as night. She felt something warm on her right hand, and then light began to peer through. Soon she realized that she was opening her eyes, and glanced to her right to see Bruce there holding her hand. His eyes were closed, but his grip on her hand was firm while also comforting at the same time. She curled her fingers around his and watched as Bruce slowly lifted his head off the mattress where it'd been resting next to her. He quickly realized that Diana was awake and smiled in relief to see her looking back at him. "Welcome back." He softly said to her.
"Thank you." She replied as she began to sit up only to be halted by his other hand just above her chest. Her expression hardened immediately from his attempt at holding her down.
Bruce realized this instantly and lifted his hand away. "Please just take it easy." He requested. "I don't want you to overdo it. I thought I'd lost you for a moment."
Diana instantly thought back to Apollo's words. Apparently her vitals had crashed as her mind fought the change in time instantly without her even realizing it. She'd only felt an immense flicker of pain before it had consumed her, and obviously Bruce had stepped in to bring her back. "I'm sorry." She said as her gaze instantly softened upon the realization. "I'm not accustomed to being saved or even in need of saving."
"What happened?" Bruce asked. "I didn't think I hit you hard enough or even in the right area to cause you to stop breathing."
"It wasn't anything that you did." Diana replied before deciding to explain further. "It was an unexpected side effect from yet another change in time. Only this one altered a memory that I was directly involved in. The time jumper seems to have saved a young woman's life just before I'd arrived. I had memories of her being dead upon my arrival, but instead she survived, and my mind wasn't willing to accept it."
"Is there anything that we can do to prevent that from happening again?" Bruce inquired.
"We need to find the one that is going into the past and changing things." Diana answered, but knew that wasn't what Bruce meant. "The only other thing that can be done is I have to be prepared mentally to accept the changes in my mind when they occur."
"That doesn't sound too promising." Bruce murmured as he stood from his seat.
"I agree Bruce, but it's the only option we have." Diana responded as she finished sitting up and turned to drape her legs over the side of the bed. "Apollo instructed me through this first instance, so now I'm better prepared should it happen again. For now, I need to focus on the mission and stop this. Time is beginning to grow short."
Bruce balked initially at Diana when she stood to her feet, but knew better than to try and stop her again. She may have been unconscious for almost two solid days, but as he watched he could plainly see that see was either very good at hiding any pain or had fully recovered already. He had to admit that seeing her up and around so quickly after having just woken up was relieving to say the least. So he chose to leave her to some privacy as she grabbed some clothes, marched to the bathing area, and turned on the water to the shower.
To help pass the time while waiting for Diana to finish showering, Bruce chose to return to the preparations on the cave that he'd already started on. He'd already arranged for a supercomputer to be delivered to the vacant warehouse that was to one day become WayneTech. Next on his agenda was the forensics equipment followed by the medical supplies. He also had to put the finishing touches on a second dummy corporation to purchase other more questionable equipment.
Diana stepped out of the shower feeling refreshed and ready to take on the mission once again. She dried herself off and got dressed into some loose fitting clothing not meant for leaving the Manor as she had no plans to leave until nightfall. Then she would return to the scene where her memories had been altered. She also planned on researching the police records on the carjacking for any other clues, but her next destination was to the kitchen area for something to eat and drink before she'd head off in search of Bruce. She ended up having to return to the cave to find him, and while it was something familiar about that there was also something that troubled her as well. Had she not shared her knowledge regarding the altered time line, then Bruce wouldn't be there and she was responsible for that change. She didn't have much time to dwell on that though because of what Bruce was up to in the cave. The first thing that she noticed when coming down the stairs was how the cave seemed to be brighter, and looking up she found that he'd already hung some lighting fixtures in certain areas. The noise he was making at the moment was what drew her attention next, and she saw that he was continuing on some construction of a platform to extend one of the shelves of the cave. He'd obviously been keeping busy while she was unconscious. "Just how long was I out for?" She asked.
"About two days." Bruce answered before rappelling down to the cave floor that Diana was on. "It's not much yet, but what do you think?"
"I think you've been quite preoccupied." Diana commented as she took in the surroundings for all of the changes that Bruce had already made. "It's certainly taking shape already for such a short time Bruce. How did you get everything here without raising suspicion?"
"Dummy corporation with some excess equipment." Bruce explained. "I loaded a truck and took everything to the marina, and brought it all here using my personal boat. It's not uncommon for one of the Wayne boats to sit just offshore from the Manor grounds. There's even a beach just around the hillside that the cave is hidden behind. I've actually got a lot more equipment that'll be ready for transport tomorrow if I can get all of the flooring built in time."
"Sounds like you'll be stuck here for the next twenty-four hours straight." Diana surmised, only to see Bruce smiling to her.
"That's only if I'm forced to do it all myself." He replied. "I was hoping to recruit a certain person's help that has the ability to fly."
"I didn't think you kept Clark's number when we visited." Diana teased momentarily before returning to a more serious tone. "I'll help you this time, but in return I need you to help me with the memory that was forcibly changed. Everything's still a little fuzzy, but there would be a minimum of a carjacking taking place that should have a police report. I need the names of the victims so that I can interrogate them."
"Why do you need to interrogate them?" Bruce asked as he released himself from the rock climbing apparatus.
"If I can get the story from them, perhaps I can discover something that might bring us closer to capturing and stopping the time traveler." Diana answered.
Bruce couldn't argue with that logic so he informed Diana about his plans for the cave, and she took off on finishing the assembly of the new platform that would soon hold the Supercomputer and forensics equipment in place. She was amazed at just how close it was going to resemble the cave from her timeline. While she worked on the landing, Bruce slipped out of the cave to his boat, returning to the warehouse where he retrieved the supercomputer. When he'd returned Diana had already completed that section of the flooring and had moved onto the section that Bruce designated for the infirmary area. She continued working silently after seeing that Bruce was connecting the computer, correctly assuming that he'd planned to use it for her search.
When Diana finished with the last of the landing area, she glided over to join Bruce in front of the new computer system. He had already set everything up and was in the middle of digging into the police files for what she was looking for. She watched him as he worked, once again reminiscing and comparing him to the Batman that she'd known. It took longer, but eventually he was able to get in and pull the file with the name of the victim. It was then that she received confirmation that the Joker had been the one involved, and with no victims there now any possible doubt about the person changing the past was gone. She needed to locate and speak to this Sarah and John as soon as possible. She especially wanted to speak to the man named John. He'd not provided much of anything according to the report as Sarah had apparently done most of the talking when statements were taken. If needs be she'd also use the Lasso to help loosen his tongue. Delicacy was going to have to take a backseat as results was what had to take precedent due to the warning from Apollo. From her own experience, anytime a god or goddess saw fit to offer more information after a mission had been assigned, that usually would mean more trouble was brewing than originally believed or coming much more quickly, and she'd lost enough time from being unconscious or from helping Bruce setting up his cave.
Diana left immediately for the city using Bruce's boat in order to keep where she was staying a secret. Once there she was going to head straight for the Samuelson home. Bruce had wanted to accompany her, but she chose to heed the Sun God's words. She just couldn't be certain what was detrimental from being around Bruce, but believed that the likelihood would only increase during the late night hours with the current path he was taking. Leaving his boat docked at the marina, she quickly traveled to the destination that Bruce's research had provided for her. John and Sarah's parents were the ones that opened the door after she'd knocked, and once she'd offered her reasoning for the visit they reluctantly granted her access. She was disappointed to find that John had actually left shortly after he and his sister returned home. Both his parents and his sister mentioned how oddly he'd acted up to the point that he left, not even telling them where he was heading. With John missing, Diana moved on to the only other witness and took in the account that Sarah had of the situation. It was then that she discovered all of the details about what the Joker had done, and how Sarah was able to avoid what was supposed to be a death sentence. Sarah also was calling the time jumper he or him as she described the masked man covered in black. Another item that she'd not anticipated finding out was that when the Joker took the car, the time jumper had disappeared at the very same time. As she'd learned from Bruce many times, there were usually no such things as coincidences.
~~ Abandoned Warehouse, east side ~~
John was groggy, but finally began to open his eyes. It didn't take long though before he noticed the demented clown leaning back on a chair against a neighboring wall to the one that he'd obviously been restrained to as he attempted to get free. "What….why are you holding me?" He asked as his eyes searched the surroundings. It was then that he noticed it.
"I'm curious." The Joker answered cryptically. "How were you in two places at once?" He asked as he stopped twirling the trinket that would answer his question around his index finger.
John wanted to break into an all out panic, and seeing this, the Joker caught the Triangle of Light between his fingers in mid spin. Getting caught wasn't supposed to happen, and a mad man like the Joker simply couldn't be permitted to use something so powerful. There was no telling what the Joker would do with such power, but it was a certainty that the entire world would suffer from whatever change he would end up making to the past. "What are you talking about?" John responded, not wanting to divulge anything.
The Joker turned the Triangle of Light around in his fingers as he sat there before his new friend. "A word to the wise junior." He ominously said as he rolled closer on his chair to stare directly into John's face. "It's not a healthy choice to mess with certain clowns." Joker then pulled out a knife and started off dragging it slowly across John's face. "On the other hand, perhaps you like to make a clown like me smile."
John flinched at the notion of what the clown had in store. Unfortunately for him though, the Joker noticed the movement, and he could tell by the victorious look on Joker's face that he could very well be in for a world of hurt. "You got away, what more could you want from me?" He frustratingly asked.
"Knowledge Johnny boy." The Joker answered as he tossed the Triangle of Light up into the air while simultaneously spinning his chair around before catching it nonchalantly.
"Wha….what kind of knowledge?" John questioned. His nerves started to grow exponentially at being called Johnny. He wasn't sure if the Joker had somehow figured out his name or not.
"Oh not much really." The Joker started casually before revealing a menacingly evil grin. "Just some things like how you were in two places at the same time last night." He saw the concerned look on John's face and continued to push on while gloating at the same time. "You don't get to run an entire city without knowing how to pick up peculiar details my boy. So now you're going to entertain me with a story, and if I like it enough, you might just get to see tomorrow."
John was trying to think up anything that would explain away the truth. If the Joker were to learn that he'd traveled through time then there'd be no telling what kind of shape the world could be in if someone as demented and crazy as the Joker had the ability to change the past. Seeing that the clown was waiting for the story, he blurted out the first plausible thing that popped into his mind. "I…I'm a twin."
The Joker's smile vanished instantly, and stood up before stomping over to John where he delivered a vicious backhand across the face. Before John had a chance to gather himself, he was made instantly aware of the cold sharp metal that was pressed and beginning to dig into the skin on his neck just under his chin. "Lie to me again and I'll make you pick the body part that I remove." The Joker sneered, and John had no choice but to gulp the lump down that had grown in his throat as he tried to think of a way out of the mess he'd gotten himself into.
~~ East End, midnight ~~
Bruce struggled to finally pull himself up over the ledge of a rooftop. The night hadn't gone anywhere nearly as smooth as he'd hoped. Sure he'd managed to stop a few robberies and muggings, but he'd also been the recipient of quite a bit of abuse himself. It had become quickly apparent that any criminal he attempted to stop was more than willing to fight for what they believed was theirs to take. The armored suit had held up well to that point, but there were certainly some dents where gunfire had struck him. Some criminals managed to get a shot off while they struggled against one another while others opted to take a shot at him when he was distracted by their accomplices.
Bruce collapsed and leaned against the ledge of the building rooftop as he fought to catch his breath. Every muscle in his body ached, and that wasn't counting the ones that were bruised as a side effect of being shot in the armor at point blank range. He didn't even want to think about the round welt like bruising that was sure to be there come morning. He knew regardless of how warm it was supposed to be that he'd have to sport a long sleeve shirt around everyone except for Diana. His thoughts seemed to halt at that moment just from the mere thought of her presence which caused his mind to wander. She'd acted strangely distant throughout the afternoon. She was less friendly than when they'd first met on the sidewalk next to the dry cleaners. He hadn't knowingly done anything to get on her bad side, and it was beginning to concern him. Especially at that moment as she hadn't even come back to patrol Gotham yet. Even if she did happen to be upset with him, he never thought that she'd neglect the innocent people that this city preyed upon. He didn't think that it was in her nature to turn her back on those that needed her like that. After all, she didn't seem to care that people with super powers were frowned upon for the most part in the world. And she'd even managed to earn a bit of acceptance in that area from what he'd seen on the news reports. Some were even touting her as a hero, and rightfully so. He just knew that she was a beacon of true hope for the city.
Another scream from down a neighboring street caused Bruce to focus his thoughts more on his tasks at hand. He'd rested enough and there'd be time to think about Diana later. Right now he had to focus on who needed his help down below. He quickly made his way over to the area that he'd heard the screams and cries for help coming from, and immediately noticed a group of people in the alley. He could clearly see that there was a man face down on the ground that'd been assaulted next to where the group was currently congregated. That area revealed five men with one on top of a woman being held at knifepoint. It was obvious that he was intending to rape the woman, and that was all the detail that Bruce needed to see before choosing to take action. He leapt over the ledge of the rooftop while simultaneously hooking the end of a line, which slowed his descent as the line started to become taut. Once his feet hit the ground he released the decel line and rushed over to the group. The first man was knocked instantly unconscious as he'd not even seen the fist coming at him until it was too late. The rest of the group realized that they had an unwelcomed guest by that point and turned their attention to the armored man standing before them. Two men drew firearms on Bruce and opened fire wildly. He was able to evade a couple of shots, but inevitably the armor was forced to provide the protection he needed as he closed in on the goons until he slammed his hands down onto their wrists in a vicious chopping motion. This knocked their arms down, one of them even losing his grip on the gun. Bruce moved quickly as he grabbed hold of the other's wrist and bent it in an unnatural and extremely painful position causing that man to yelp in pain. The other unarmed punk unwisely chose to punch Bruce in the face, but immediately discovered that a bare hand slamming into a reinforced metal helmet wasn't the wisest of choices. Bruce then swept the legs of that man out from under him, and he was out cold as soon as his head bounced against the pavement.
Bruce then focused on the other man whom he never released his grip on by performing a standard hip toss. He gave a cursory glance to that thug followed by a crushing stomp to the face before he started to spin to face the rest of the crew only to feel the blunt end of something metal come into contact with him at the base of his skull. "I don't know who the hell you think you are trying to invade my territory, but just like the lady over there, you're going to have to pay the toll for trespassing." The thug that was holding the gun to Bruce's head sneered.
Bruce raised his hands as if to show that he'd surrendered, but as soon as the man with the gun started to ease with the confidence of getting his way, Bruce spun one arm sideways to knock the gun away while coming up with a thunderous uppercut with the other. It was then that he'd heard a gun shot being fired, but only immediately before he felt the slamming sensation against his helmet. The feeling was like that of a bell held over his head and being rung repeatedly. The force was enough to knock him off his feet and the ringing was more than adequate to keep him from regaining his senses very quickly. The first thing that he realized next was that a gun was now pointed directly into his face, but that was until a flash of skin and sliver sliced through the air followed by the sound of bones breaking. By the time Bruce's eyes regained focus, all of the remaining thugs were lying broken and unconscious with Diana standing ready to attack. She'd arrived and dispatched of everyone within seconds, and he was kneeling there in awe of what she'd done. The woman that had been attacked had taken that opportunity to scurry over to what appeared to be her significant other and was also already calling the police.
By the time Bruce managed to get back to his feet, Diana had bound all of the thugs up into a neat pile, and then she grabbed him by the arm before lifting the two of them up into the air until she set him down and landed down on a nearby rooftop. It was then that she released him and began to pace. He also noticed at that point a peculiar look about her face that he couldn't quite place. It wasn't complete anger, but somewhere in there that emotion was still clearly evident. There was also something else though, and it was that which had him baffled. "Is everything alright?" He eventually asked to break the silence between them.
Diana immediately ceased in pacing as her head snapped into the direction of Bruce. "Why in the name of Athena would you think that everything's alright?" She fumingly and incredulously asked in response.
My apologies for such a long wait. I'll try to keep things moving a little better going forward. As always, please R&R.