Chapter 18: A State of Shock

The repeated flashing of blue and red lights were the only things that seemed to bring Bruce out of his staring at seemingly nothing. He was sitting at the back of an emergency squad while police officers were attempting to get through to him with their questioning, but to that point their efforts had been in vain. He wasn't speaking, be it out of pure refusal or simply explained by being in a state of shock, they couldn't tell. All that anyone could decipher was the sheer coldness that was now easily readable in the depths of his steel blue eyes.

Diana on the other hand was most certainly not staring off at nothing in particular. Her red rimmed eyes were focused on the man that had been so cruelly tortured. She wanted nothing more than for the questioning by the authorities to end. If they'd go that then she could go over to Bruce and offer whatever comfort that she could to the poor broken man. Seeing Bruce like this caused her to think back to how he'd been able to deal with the Joker when he'd killed Jason Todd. That Bruce had still held some restraint when he'd captured the Joker. Sure there was a full body cast waiting for him at that time, but he'd never needed someone to stop him from crossing that invisible line. That was certainly not the case this time around as her mind started to process what had happened just minutes earlier.

~~ Just after the Wayne's deaths ~~

Bruce was sobbing uncontrollably as he continued holding his mother. He was questioning the word "why" over and over again to no one in particular as he rocked back and forth. Wanting to offer her strength, Diana had released Martha's hand and moved over behind Bruce as he wept. Her eyes were watering as well, not caring at that moment about being a strong Amazon warrior or how her sisters might think of her acting in such a way. The Joker and his men had been all knocked unconscious so there was no more battle to contend with. Now was the time to mourn the loss of some truly beautiful people that she'd only just gotten to know. She felt a close bond with them herself in spite of her feelings for their son.

Thomas, Martha, and Alfred were all beacons of the good that came from Man's world, and without them the world seemed to instantly become somehow darker. She could only imagine what Bruce was feeling at that moment. The amount of loss seemed to be unbearable for an individual to be put through, but here he was unfairly being the one that had to carry such loss and continue on.

Diana placed her hands on Bruce's shoulders in a sign of offering comfort. She bowed her head, and a tear escaped her, splashing as it made contact with the back of Bruce's neck. That sensation seemed to cause a sharp intake of air from him, and he reached up to wipe the tears from his eyes. He was trying to compose himself even through all the heartbreak as he reached up and placed one of his hands over Diana's, but soon lifted it away from him before he turned to focus more on his mother.

His family was all gone now. He had lost nearly everything he cared about, and it was then that his thoughts began to change from pure sorrow and heartbreak. He slowly laid his mother's body down onto the floor next to his father, and then reached for his helmet before rising to his feet. His breathing was still shuddering, and he was very far from reaching any form of composure any time soon.

Diana stood up straighter to continue offering support to Bruce, and came around to look into his eyes. What she found was a truly broken look in them. The Joker had successfully broken two of her best friends. First it was Kal by using his pure insanity and now Bruce by murdering his loved ones in front of him. "I'm so sorry Bruce." She called out as she wrapped her arms around his neck in a gentle hug. "I'm so sorry."

Bruce stood there, not reciprocating the affection at all. Instead he was now staring at the one responsible for his pain. "You were right Diana." He said as he began to sob once again before backing out of her embrace.

She pulled back in confusion as she looked into Bruce's tear soaked eyes. "What?" She asked, deeply concerned by his statement.

"I wasn't ready." Bruce responded. "I wasn't strong enough, fast enough to stop him, and now I've lost them. I couldn't save them."

"No Bruce." Diana retorted. "None of this was your fault. It was the Joker. He is the one that planned this, and there was nothing that you could do to stop him. Please don't blame yourself for the actions of a madman."

Before anyone could say anymore, they were interrupted by the sound of the Joker groaning as he started to come to. Bruce's hands clenched into tight white knuckled fists as he ground his teeth together. He tossed his helmet to the side and marched straight over to the clown before Joker had even opened his eyes. He reached down and yanked the Joker up by his lapels, seething in pure fury and rage. Joker feeling the sudden jerking from being roughly picked up, coughed once and then opened his eyes to see the blurry features of a man's face before him. "I don't know about you, but I'm not interested in becoming romantic." He teased, which only brought Bruce's ire to a higher level.

Bruce instantly snapped as he slammed the Joker back down to the floor. He was able to get a vicious punch in against the Joker's face before Diana intervened once again by shoving Bruce away and stepping between them. "What are you doing?" She yelled at him.

"I'm going to kill him!" Bruce roared in return as he marched back over to her. "Get out of my way."

"No." She defiantly replied as she blocked his path with a forceful hand pressing against his chest. She knew that he needed to be calmed down before he did something that he'd later regret. "I know you're hurting, but this isn't the answer. We should call the authorities, have the Joker arrested, and let him be served justice in the manner that it should be."

"Justice!?" Bruce incredulously questioned. "Where's the goddamn justice? What can the authorities do to make this right? He took EVERYTHING from me!"

"They can't do anything that would return your parents to this world, but you're seeking revenge won't do that either." Diana tried to explain. "If you were to go through with this, it won't take the pain away, I can promise you that. The only thing that you'll get from this will be regret."

"I'll get revenge!" Bruce argued loudly.

Diana gasped slightly at seeing the pure hate and anger seething from the man before her. He was filled with such venom and seemed about ready to explode. Then a thought came to her. "Listen to me Batman." She called to him as she continued holding him away against his chest. "A great man once told me that revenge isn't a valid motive. It's just an emotional response. Once the emotion is quelled through revenge there will be nothing left for you after that but the pain. You need to seek justice, not vengeance."

Bruce hesitated at hearing her words. Finally some of them began to sink in, and he relented. "Who the hell told you that?" He asked in barely a whisper.

"You did." Was her simple answer. It seemed to have some sort of effect as Bruce did step back and ceased in his attempts to get to the deranged clown. Now was her chance to convince him to think rationally, and she knew she needed to exploit it. "Let's call the authorities, and allow justice to take its course."

Bruce nodded and turned to locate a phone. At that time a small noise reached Diana's ears, and she turned to see the Joker hanging half way out of a window. Immediately she grabbed him by the back of his jacket, and violently yanked him back into the study. "As for you." She said as she closed the distance between the two of them while she stared directly into the clown's eyes. "I have some questions for you, and you're going to give me answers."

~~ Present time ~~

"Ma'am?" An officer questioned, snapping Diana from her thoughts. She blinked and then forced herself to make eye contact with the officer, thus letting him know that she was listening at that point. "We know it's a tough situation but once Mr. Wayne feels up to it, if you would please have him come in so that we can take his statement."

"Certainly officer." Diana replied hastily. She wanted this process to end quickly so that she could focus on Bruce's temperament.

"Be sure to give Mr. Wayne the department's condolences." The officer stated before finally letting Diana go.

She wasted very little time before joining Bruce at the ambulance, where she found none other than Jim Gordon standing there with him offering his own condolences. It was surprising, but not entirely unexpected. The only surprising part was that he'd managed to get through the mass of reporters and police tape separating them from all of the hustle and bustle that came with the sudden and tragic deaths of high profile individuals. Diana gave Jim a look that he immediately understood, and changed from his offering words of comfort. "Bruce, why don't you and Diana go inside?" Gordon suggested. "Gather some things from your rooms, and we'll find you both somewhere to stay for the time being. While you're doing that, I'll put in a call to our security department and set up a perimeter to keep these hounds away from the house, and then when everything settles down I'll join you inside until you're ready to leave."

Bruce didn't answer, but did turn and dejectedly make his way up the stairs and into the Manor with Diana right there beside him every step of the way. Once the doors were shut behind them, Bruce's silence quickly ended as he let out a heart wrenching feral scream before taking a thick wooden coat rack and slamming it over his knee. The wooden structure snapped into two pieces before Bruce dropped them and stumbled forward until he met a wall. He placed his hands upon it and leaned over, his face parallel with the floor. He held his eyes tightly shut as he fought internally with all the conflicting emotions.

Diana slowly walked up behind him and gently rubbed one of her hands over the expanse of Bruce's back. She could see clearly how devastated he was, and wished that she could do something, anything to take some of that pain onto herself so that he wouldn't have to bear it all. They stayed in that position for almost ten minutes until Bruce's breathing started to even out. When that happened, he reluctantly stood up straight and turned to look at her.

Diana was again stunned by all the pain she could see on Bruce's face and in his eyes. She'd never seen anything like it on him from her timeline. He'd always been a man of such undying strength and will. That man appeared to be gone as she read the brokenness in his eyes. She wondered if this was how he looked as an eight year old child. There was even a small quiver on his chin that she'd noticed as he fought to keep from breaking down once again. Up to this point in the three years that she'd known her Bruce, never had she seen him cry, let alone appear so lost and hurt. She'd been expecting the anger, but it appeared that he'd spent his rage already on the innocent coat rack earlier. He seemed more likely to collapse than anything else.

Slowly she opened up her arms and waited to see what Bruce would do with the gesture. She didn't want to crowd him or force him, but she wanted him to know that whatever support he needed she would do her utmost to provide.

Bruce stood there for a moment, causing Diana to believe that he wasn't going to accept the offer of comfort, and just as she'd almost expected he didn't reciprocate in the least. "I can't believe they're gone." He shakily whispered into as he stood there with his head hung low. "I can't believe they're gone."

"I know Bruce." She replied. "I'm so sorry."

Bruce sniffled as he lifted his head slightly to look into her eyes. "You can do something about it." He said with conviction, which caused her to reply with a look of confusion. "He told you about the time jumper and where he's holding him. Fix the timeline. Save my parents."

"Bruce." Diana tried to console. She knew that he wouldn't like to know that regardless his parents were doomed to death, but there was no escaping the fact that he deserved to know the truth regardless of how hard it would be to take. "I…"

The front door opening up interrupted her from continuing at that point. The couple separated slightly to look back and find Jim Gordon coming through the doors before slamming them shut, and releasing a frustrate sigh. "I'm sorry." He started upon meeting the eyes of the other two occupants inside the Manor. "But those reporters are relentless. I think we've already got them backing off. I made a call into W.E. and your PR department is working on a statement to release on your behalf Bruce."

"What are they going to say?" Diana asked.

"I'd assume the standard please respect our privacy during this tragic time speeches will be coming soon." Jim explained before closing the distance between the three of them and focusing more so on Bruce. "But that's not important right now. What is important is how you're doing Bruce. Is there anything that I can do?"

"You've already done so much for us Jim." Bruce managed to quietly say in a croaking voice. "I…I just need some time."

"Take all the time you need Bruce." Jim replied. "Everyone will be here for you if you need us."

Bruce nodded his head in thanking Jim before turning and heavy-heartedly traipsing up the stairs in the direction of his bedroom. Jim waited patiently next to Diana until they heard Bruce's door shutting before he focused his attention on her. "Tell me just what the hell really happened here?" He instructed more than asked.

Normally Diana would've been offended at such a demand being made of her, but the events from earlier had left her drained and unwilling to be confrontational with regard to something that seemed quite miniscule at the moment. She instead huffed out a frustrated burst of air and walked into the nearest room with some chairs, taking a seat and motioning for Jim to join her. She leaned forward, her shoulders slumping as she rested her elbows on her knees and looked downward. "Would I be correct to assume that you know more than anyone else about Bruce and I?" She started off questioning, but didn't look up to see him nod affirmatively before she continued with the details that weren't shared with the police.

~~ Just after the police had been notified ~~

Bruce was standing outside the room trying to gain some measure of composure. He'd called the police and changed into his own clothing at Diana's request, and she had also asked that he stay outside the room for his own sake until the police arrived, which he was currently struggling to comply with. Soon he gave in disregarding that request when he heard the sounds of the Joker yelling as if he were in immense pain. Any torture that sick, twisted freak received he felt compelled to witness with his own eyes. So he marched back in to find all of the Joker's men had already been bound and gagged. He then looked to the other side and saw the demented clown wrapped up in Diana's magical lasso, and seeminglystill in quite a bit of discomfort despite his screams ceasing. Good was the thought that went through him as he absentmindedly walked over to stand next to her. "The Lasso of Truth compels you to respond." She barked out before realizing that Bruce had joined her. Fortunately the Joker's back was to them both at that moment, and she was thankful of that because it meant that Bruce's identity was still safe. "Tell me how you were able to change the past to your benefit."

The Joker squirmed as he fought to keep the answer from slipping past his red lips, but the pain was incredible, and his body was starting to betray him. After all of a few more seconds he could fight against the Lasso's power no longer. "Alright, alright." He finally broke down and spilled. "After my little gas gifts in the warehouse, I needed a ride. When I found one, I pulled a girl out of the car because she was in my seat. Then some guy comes up with a gun and tried to stop me from killing the girl. So instead I used her to help take him down, but then I noticed that there was two of him right in front of me. I knew that the cops were catching up to me, so I took the duplicate guy with me and….coerced him into sharing how he was in two places at once. Once I had his secret, I tested it out for myself."

"You used it to change what happened at the warehouse with those mobsters and children, didn't you?" She angrily questioned.

"Yup." Joker willingly answered.

"Ask him why he came here and killed my parents." Bruce requested. Diana's eyes widened instantly. It was obvious that Bruce wasn't taking care to protect his identity, and that had caught her off guard. She never thought he would ever be so careless with his identity, but then again this wasn't the real Bruce. This Bruce was still coping with the freshness of losing his family. In that sense, he wasn't being rational at all, but she had to admit that the question was logical to be asked and an answered was needed.

"Why did you choose the Wayne's as your target to draw us to you?" She asked.

"Because I knew that they meant something to you." The Joker answered darkly. "And if I could get to them; that would bring you to me. Then I could show you the truth about the world. Then you would see what I see. It'll be inevitable to you all one way or another. That no rules will save you, and all you need as proof is to experience is just one bad day. If you don't believe me, then just ask Brucie there."

And with that announcement, Diana received all the confirmation she needed to know that Bruce's cover had been blown. "But you wanted both of us here. Explain that."

"Well, Brucie wasn't the only one staying here now was he?" The Joker answered with a question in a tone that came off as though they should've known why themselves.

Both Bruce and Diana were flabbergasted by the clown's response. How did he discover that nugget of information? How could he have known with just figuring out that Bruce was Batman? "Tell me how." Diana ordered.

"I followed you." The Joker responded with a crooked smile. "Oh it wasn't easy, but I had time…on my hands."

"YOU SON OF A…" Bruce yelled. He couldn't take anymore and lunged forward with fists flying through the air, only to be blocked by the Amazon.

"No." She ordered as she held him back once again.

"He killed them because of me!" Bruce yelled.

"Because of you?" The Joker asked in surprise. "No, no dear boy. I followed her."

Bruce stood there in shock as Diana's eyes widened upon the revelation. They were dead because the Joker and tracked her down, not because of Bruce at all. It was her fault that his parents had been put into harm's way. She stood frozen as Bruce's face morphed from one of question to one of pure anger. Before she could even manage to get a word out, he'd quickly turned and stormed out.

"Oh he's more fun than I could've dreamed of." The Joker cooed in joy. "I wonder what would've happened if you hadn't stopped him. Do you think that he would've taken the step to my side?"

"You will remain quiet except when being asked a question, and you will not remember discovering the secret identities of Batman or myself." Diana ordered, to which the clown's mouth abruptly slapped shut much to his chagrin. Diana took a deep calming breath to focus on the task at hand. She figured that there were only a few minutes left before the police would arrive, and she still needed to change into civilian clothes. She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes as she tried to calm the nerves that had risen up inside of her upon the revelations revealed by the Joker's answers. She could only hope that Bruce could find a way to forgive her in time, but she'd have to worry about that later. She had to get any more useful information that she could. "Where is this man that you coerced into showing you how to change the past, and how was it possible to do so?"

"He's in my warehouse on the East side." The Joker answered. "There's this trinket that I borrowed from him, and using some light source with it, you can go back in time and make whatever changes you want. All you have to do is focus on the time and place, hold up the trinket up to the light, and poof you're there. Same thing to come back to the present."

~~ Present time ~~

"I was going to continue interrogating him, but that's when I heard the police sirens approaching." Diana said to end her story. "So I ordered the Joker to sleep before releasing him from the lasso, and then I quickly changed clothes before the authorities came bursting in through the front door."

She finally looked up from the floor to see the dumbfounded look on Jim's face. "That's….certainly some story." He commented.

"I know how it must sound Jim, but please believe me it's true." Diana responded. "If you still struggle with believing it, just think back to a few years ago when you most likely believed that aliens didn't exist, and then you experienced the White Martian invasion."

"Alright, fair enough." Jim conceded upon hearing Diana's well made point. "Let's say for the moment that I'm inclined to believe you. Then shouldn't you go to get this time traveler and stop him? Maybe even reverse Thomas and Martha's death from even happening?"

"I…I'm afraid it's not that simple." Diana replied.

"Why?" Bruce asked, startling both Jim and Diana. They jumped up as he startled the both of them. They hadn't even heard him coming into the room. Bruce held a duffel bag hanging over his shoulder, having obviously grabbed some supplies in order to find another place to spend the night. Even though everything was taped off in the study, the rest of the Manor was still labeled as a crime scene until the CSI's had finished with their investigation. "Let's go get this bastard right now, and fix everything so that we can save mom and dad from this ever happening to them. We can stop the Joker from ever coming here."

Diana looked up somewhat sheepishly. She knew that it was unavoidable now even though she wanted nothing less than to spare the man she loved any possible grief, but now she knew that her prior silence was only going to cause more. "Because your parent's fates were already meant to occur." She finally answered as the silence that had grown became unbearable. "I'm so sorry Bruce, but they weren't supposed to live past your childhood."

Bruce actually laughed in disbelief, which caught her off guard. "What are you talking about Diana?" He asked in utter disbelief. It couldn't be possible, could it?

When Diana's eyes returned to her feet as if there were something incredibly captivating on her toes, he knew that she was being serious. It took almost a minute of silence from him waiting for an answer before she finally gave in with a dejected sigh and told the story as she knew it. "You were just a child Bruce. Around the age of eight. On one particular night your parents had taken you to a see a late movie, and after it ended your parents and you were confronted by a criminal before you could reach your car. He…he shot and killed both your parents….right in front of you. You were the only one to survive."

"No, no that's not possible." Bruce responded in denial. Then his mind flashed back to the night he knew she was referencing. "But… but they were saved by a hero. All of us were."

"I'm so sorry Bruce, but in the actual timeline, there was no one there to save them from their fate." Diana continued. "There was no hero back then. It was the man that started changing the past before the Joker became involved. And after that night in the actual timeline you made a vow to honor your parent's memory by standing up for those that couldn't, and ensuring that no other child was forced to go through the horror you had to. Then you left Gotham for years, stopping in order to train and hone your body and skills, studying abroad all through your adolescence up into your adulthood until you were ready to become Batman."

"You knew all this time and didn't tell me?" Bruce asked, anger clearly evident and growing in his voice and showing more prominently on his features. "Why?"

"To spare you pain." She responded immediately. "You were forced to live such a tortured life, and when I saw the happiness you had here, I just couldn't bring myself to cause you any unnecessary pain. I knew that telling you how your relationship with your parents growing up was mostly a lie would do just that."

Finally chancing a look up, she stopped at his eyes, and Diana regrettably saw nothing but pure coldness in their depths. It was that coldness which was now pointed directly toward her, and it was a coldness that she felt she deserved even if it was breaking her heart. Bruce didn't say another word, but when Diana stepped toward him and attempted to reach out with a comforting hand, he immediately turned around and walked away from her. He didn't stop or even hesitate, but simply left her and Jim Gordon standing in that room. A few moments later both Diana and Jim heard the sound of a vehicle starting from inside the garage, followed then by the sounds of a car speeding down the driveway.

Jim saw the look of despair on Diana's face, and moved over beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder to offer what little comfort he could. "Just, give him some time." He suggested. "Regardless of how angry he might be with you at the moment, he still needs you."

"You don't know him when he's grieving like I do Jim." Diana responded hollowly as she stepped away and walked closer to a window peering down the driveway where he'd just left. "He held onto the pain of his parent's deaths ever since he was eight years old. Their bond with him then compared to now would only have grown through extended time with him, and the Bruce that I've come to know isn't the forgiving type. Especially when it comes to matters of the heart."

"You may know of a Bruce, but I know this one." Jim retorted as he again stood next to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't give up on him. He loves you, and that will pull through in the end. You'll see."

"I wish that I thought it could be true." Diana replied sadly.

"Just think about what he went through not so long ago to save you Diana." Jim explained. "He risked telling me about what you both were doing at night, he was even going to break into a police evidence room just to steal some containers with only the hope that he'd be able to come up with an antidote to save your life. I saw the look in his eyes. He was almost desperate to save you, and willing to deal with any consequence so long as you were alright."

Jim's words did do enough to gain a sliver of hope in Diana's heart that he might be right. At that moment, she turned and wrapped her arms around him in a thankful hug while fighting to keep growing tears in her eyes from falling. Jim held her there for a moment before eventually letting go and coaxing her into grabbing some of her own things. She hesitated initially, knowing that she needed to find the Joker's warehouse, but soon had her things gathered and left for the city. Her thoughts were still running rampant though. She wanted to ease any pain for Bruce, and with the clown in cuffs, she decided that the best thing that could be done for this Bruce was to find the time jumper and get everything reset things reset. She might not have any say in Thomas and Martha's lives, but at least she could save Alfred, and that was better than nothing.

~~ Infirmary Wing, Arkham Asylum ~~

The Joker woke up in a familiar hospital room. He was bruised and beaten, but he knew that he'd gotten to both of them. That line of thinking placed a smile on his face. Who would've thought that by simply killing some do gooders like the Waynes; he would get such a response out of his two new play toys. They were so much fun, and he couldn't let something like going to jail take that away from him. Not now when he was just getting started on winding them up. He decided then that once he got out of there, the next target would be to finish off the remaining Wayne that unfortunately hadn't been home when he visited. But that was alright, it actually just stretched out the potential to get the heroes' attention. Maybe even provide them with yet another bad day. In thinking about it, he almost wished that he'd have killed the Waynes one at a time to better savor the victory, but there was no driving desire to change what'd been done. He knew now which buttons to push for a reaction.

What mattered at the moment was getting out of there. No fun could be had from behind bars. Joker looked around for anything that might help him escape, but with his hands secured to the bedrails, it was certainly going to be a challenge. He gave a strong shake against his restraints, testing the strength of his bonds as well as the structural integrity of the bedrails themselves. For all his struggling though, the only discovery he made was that brute strength certainly wasn't going to get him anywhere except back in his reserved cell. He knew that he certainly wasn't going to escape without at least some form of help from a willing participant. So he'd just have to bide his time and wait until an opportunity would present itself. His grin grew from ear to ear at that thought, knowing that in a town like Gotham, opportunity always knocked for his kind. It was part of what he loved so much about his city. With a little gumption, freedom was waiting for just the right moment t present itself.

~~ Warehouse district, East Side ~~

Diana landed on yet another warehouse rooftop. She was growing weary and exhausted from an emotional night. This was the fourth warehouse that she was about to check out, and if not for the use of the Lasso of Truth she'd almost believe that the Joker had led her on a wild goose chase. She wanted to find someone that could be "convinced" to share the location of the Joker's personal warehouse, but not a soul seemed to be out in this area. Not that she could blame them. In looking around it seemed more like a rotting cesspool than a place for established businesses that would have at one time thrived. Now only the occasional rat or stray cat could be spotted on the streets.

Her patience had already run thin by the time she reached this building, and unceremoniously she busted through a large window, the glass crackling on the floor as she touched down. She moved quickly from room to room, and was about to give in until she heard what sounded like a small groan off in the distance. She abandoned her regular searching process and instead heading straight for the source of the noise. Cleverly hidden by a bunch of shipping pallets, she found an entrance below that allowed her access to a large and smelly area just below the first floor. She gasped in shock when she turned a corner and saw what was responsible for the noise she'd heard. Bound to a column, the mangled visage of a man was slumping forward in front of her. He seemed to be barely conscious at all as she approached him. She gave him a quick once over before reaching for his bonds, but halted immediately upon hearing a blood curdling scream as soon as she touched them. She pulled back in shock looking for the cause, and it was then that she noticed the man's severely mangled hands, or what was left of them rather. "By the gods." She whispered in surprise and horror as she placed a hand over her mouth. "You poor soul. No wonder the Joker learned how to change the past."

A/N: I know, I know it's still keeping with the sadness, but who wouldn't be a little depressed in such a situation. Things will turn around soon, promise. As always, please R&R.