Chapter 20: Correcting Things
There was a soft and gentle breeze blowing around the landscape of Brecon Beacons National Park. Bruce had been in England for a few days, and this was his final stop before his duties to his lost family would be complete. In Alfred's will, he'd asked to be cremated, and to have his ashes spread over two locations of which that had meant something special to them. Brecon Beacons had been one of them, and the other Credenhill. Bruce understood clearly the first location, what with Credenhill having been the location where Alfred had spent a considerable amount of time training while with the SAS. Plus there was the Church of St Mary there to serve as one resting place.
But Brecon Beacons National Park? That just added to the list of questions that he'd never get to ask Alfred or his parents now. He wondered what was the significance to Alfred that would cause him to make such a request. Was there some fond memories that took place inside this national park, or could it be something as simple as the view? Perhaps he'd look into it at some point in the future. All he had now was time as there wasn't much else to do that mattered to him these days.
At the very least, he'd allowed himself to sober up before coming to the foreign country. The hurt was still immense, and didn't seem to be getting any better at all whether he was drunk or not. It made him wonder if it ever would. The only conclusion that he'd managed to come up with though was that booze certainly wasn't doing anything useful, and he'd decided to give it up entirely because of that fact. He needed to find something, anything that would help him to cope with his loss and grief. He just didn't know what that was.
After having spent three hours roaming around in the park, he'd finally located an area where he thought someone like Alfred would've enjoyed it. He knelt down while pulling out the final container of Alfred's remains, and spread it across the area. Bruce then closed his eyes for a moment, trying and failing to squeeze a tear away from falling. "I'm sorry Alfred." He whispered into the breeze. He eventually stood back up, and took in a deep breath as he tried to control the sadness and grief welling up inside him. He needed to use all of his strength to do so, otherwise he'd end up going back to the bottle. "I...I'll come back to visit when I can. I love you."
Once his farewell was given, Bruce turned and dragged his feet back in the direction of his car. With this final wish of his family's faithful butler complete, he knew that he had to return to Gotham even if he still wasn't ready, or even wanting to go back. In actuality there was only one reason in his mind that gave him the strength to return, and that was to see the Joker fry for what he'd done. He didn't care what it cost him in the end so long as the Joker received his long overdue punishment. After that, he didn't know what he'd do. Or if he even cared what happened next.
The flight back to Gotham was uneventful and quiet. Bruce had ignored the staff aboard the company jet for the most part, spending his time either peering out a window or feigning that he was asleep. His eyes may have been closed during a good portion of the flight, but his mind never took a moment to attempt rest. After the plane touched down and Bruce exited the airport, he went on autopilot. By the time he realized what he was doing, he'd already pulled up to the main gates of Wayne Manor.
The place that he'd once lovingly called home now seemed so very dark and cold. Gone was the warmth and the sense of love and affection that had filled the grounds for many years. His chin quivered slightly, but he continued up through the gates all the way to the front of the house. There he could see the police caution tape still up over the main entrance, and upon seeing that he almost turned around to leave. He'd originally intended on returning to the hotel where he'd been staying ever since that horrific night, but something inside made him wonder if there was more of a reason than he was even aware of that could explain why he'd ended up here instead.
Bruce sat in the car for some time, internally debating what his next move should be. It seemed that time stood still, and the only thing reminding him that it wasn't the case was when a single rain drop would occasionally land on the windshield of his car. That seemed to snap him out of his temporary trance-like state, and he made his decision by opening the car door and stepping out before walking straight up to the front door. As he reached for the door handle he was surprised when the door pulled away as it opened for him. This caused his eyes to widen for a moment before narrowing into a heated glare after finding out how the door had been opened for him, and who was responsible for it. "What the hell are you doing here?" He seethed.
Five minutes earlier
Jim was looking around in half amazement. In such a limited amount of time, Bruce and Diana had already built quite the beginnings of a very intricately designed command center below the Wayne mansion. To say that he was surprised at what was all around him would be an understatement. It was hard enough to believe that the Wayne's from the past had previously shaped this cavern to help with the underground railroad, and now how it showed all the potential for what it could possibly become for this crime riddled city. He watched as Diana worked to power on all of the equipment with little trouble. Noticing how while not a novice by any means, she still wasn't as well versed as someone who dealt with technology as a profession such as Bruce or some others employed at Wayne Enterprises.
"What are you hoping to find down here?" Jim asked.
"I'm hoping that Bruce thought to connect the surveillance system of the Manor to his computer down here." Diana answered. "From the items I saw in the evidence locker, I'm also hoping that the Joker did something with this Triangle of Light amulet at some point on the night when he killed Martha, Thomas, and Alfred, and that it was caught on video."
Jim moved over next to the now seated Diana, watching as she worked her way through various files that had been saved up to that point in the Batman's short career. It wasn't long though before she was rewarded to find that Bruce had done what she'd hoped and saved the Manor security records, and sifting through the date stamps was easy enough to locate the correct file.
Jim became wide eyed at seeing the Joker on video as he toyed with the Waynes and Alfred. Martha was completely shaken by fear while Thomas and Alfred appeared to be attempting to negotiate with the clown. That was up until the point where he had them all gagged before wrapping them in the vests that would eventually be the cause of their deaths. Diana didn't want to watch this as eventually she saw Bruce coming into the picture, but found that she couldn't help it. Even unconsciously playing that part back at normal speed throughout the confrontation. Tears quickly filled her eyes as she watched Bruce standing there helplessly until she arrived. Then she couldn't keep the tears from flowing freely down her cheeks as she watched what that mad man did to Bruce's family for the second time.
Jim Gordon was shocked to witness what had transpired. The Joker had never meant for any of them to survive, and that much was clear. It was a truly horrific sight to behold, and one that he'd likely never be able to erase from his memory. Another issue that he came to realize was that there seemed to be nothing that appeared to show the Joker discarding any sort of trinket or amulet. "Did you see anything?" Jim asked as they reached the end of the file, wondering if perhaps his eyes had missed something.
Diana sat there for a moment, barely even registering that Jim had asked her a question at first. She was almost lost in the travesty of that horrific event. But after a few seconds of silence, she finally looked away from the screen. "No." She answered briefly. "The Joker didn't appear to make any move that would indicate he'd hidden anything up to the point of his arrest."
"Well, without knowing where the clown was taken to, we've just about run out of leads." Jim announced as he leaned against the computer desk in defeat. "We've already been all over Joker's last hideout."
"Perhaps one of his men moved it after his capture?" Diana suggested, grasping at straws at this point.
"I know he's crazy, but if I were him I wouldn't want anyone else to know about something so powerful." Jim countered.
Diana couldn't help but to agree with that logic. If anyone were to believe that a trinket could allow you to travel back in time, then the greed of this world would certainly include the Joker's henchmen too. They'd want the device for their own selfish reasoning and the Joker would be acutely aware of that fact. Secrecy had to be key with something of such value. "I'm up for suggestions at this point." She stated. "I must find this Triangle of Light somehow and repair the damage that's been caused before things get worse."
Jim was about to respond when an alert sounded, gaining the attention of them both. It was a security sensor going off from the main gate, indicating that someone had accessed it. Jim and Diana then fled out of the cave, and up through the secret entrance to see the flash of headlights pouring in from the front windows of the Manor. Jim was the first to move up to those windows, and pulled back a curtain slightly to see just who this unexpected visitor was.
Diana became concerned when she noticed how Jim had quickly stiffened. From the reaction of his body language, who ever this was had been both unexpected as well as someone that Jim clearly knew as he hadn't reached for his firearm yet. "Who is it?" She asked as she moved closer to the same window.
"Bruce." Jim announced.
"We came back to see if we could find this trinket that the Joker had." Jim answered for a tongue tied Diana.
She'd been shocked into silence by his words. Still clearly evident was the hatred pointed toward her. It seemed that she did have a better knowledge of Bruce than Jim, even if he'd known the young man from this timeline longer. It was still the same Bruce at heart in both worlds. The only difference now was Diana's direct involvement with Thomas and Martha's murders.
"You're not a cop, and she's trespassing." Bruce spat at them. His anger becoming white hot the longer she stood there in silence while in front of him.
"Bruce, don't do this." Jim requested. "You're going to regret it if you treat Diana like this."
"No Jim." Diana finally spoke up. "If Bruce wishes to be angry with my involvement, then he has every right. I kept the truth from him, and for that I am deeply sorry. But I also understand that there are consequences, and I take them freely as I deserve them."
"Damn right you do." Bruce continued to seethe. "You used me to help take my parents away from me as a child instead of as an adult. If you hadn't been forced to, you would've let me unwittingly be involved in their deaths almost twenty years ago. I'd have played a part in murdering them. Maybe instead you should've just given me the gun, and made me pull the trigger. That would've been a lot easier than waiting for the Joker to do your dirty work for you."
"You're being unreasonable now Bruce." Jim said in a disapproving and raised voice after seeing how Diana's shoulders slumped further with each hate filled word.
Diana had never thought of it from that perspective. She'd really only been looking for a friend to help to fix the timeline. Now she was wondering if he might actually be right, and her actions were causing him to have involvement in his parents being violently taken away from him. "I'm so sorry Bruce." She said in a small voice. "I never meant to cause you any harm. I swear to you I didn't. I only hope that there might be a day where you can find it in your heart to forgive me."
Bruce stood there for a moment with his arms crossed over his chest. Jim looked like he was about ready to smack Bruce silly for his harsh words. He was about to tell them both where he felt they could go, but then a thought occurred to him, and he changed his angry and aggressive demeanor. "I can't forgive you Diana." Bruce quietly replied. "Not now."
He was being honest. He couldn't bring himself to absolve her of her role, even if it'd been completely unintentional to cause him harm. "I understand." Diana replied, turning away from him to leave as she didn't want to be the cause of any more pain for this tortured man.
Before she made it to the front door though, the sound of Bruce's voice stopped her cold in her tracks. "Was I..." He started before trailing off, but once she turned back to him, he continued with his line of thought. "In your timeline, was I...happy?"
Diana was surprised by Bruce's question. Completely gone was the anger in his voice, and that concerned her greatly. Now he seemed to be looking for something, anything to hold onto that would tell him her intentions were only for his best interests as well as everyone else's.
She wished that she could definitively tell him yes, but that wouldn't be true. She tried to think of some way to answer him that would seem more positive than not, and still came up empty; eventually sighing in defeat. Her shoulders slumping even further than she had thought was possible. "No." She answered. "Definitely not like you were before the Joker killed your parents. The only differences between that time and this are that you didn't lose Alfred, and you had more time to learn how to deal with the grief from such loss. It seemed to be a part of what drove you to become the man that I met as an already established hero of Gotham."
"Then why should I help you back to that world?" He asked, and that question initially caused her head to join her low hanging shoulders.
"Because eventually the changes that have been made will unravel this world to a point where it cannot be fixed." Diana responded logically without making eye contact. She hadn't initially meant to say that, but it was logical thinking and Bruce always had relied on his own logical mind. After all, the damage had already been done, and she still had a mission to complete. Even if Bruce wound up hating her for it, the world depended on her success. That was the line of thinking which finally caused her to straighten in her stance and strengthen the resolve in her voice. "I understand if you don't wish to help me, and I'm sorry for involving you already. Especially after what it's cost you, but I must find the Triangle of Light and fix the time line before more damage is caused."
"I never said that I wasn't going to help." Bruce replied, which completely blew Diana away. Just minutes ago he'd made a compelling argument to rid himself of any involvement with her or her mission, and the last thing she expected to hear was Bruce being willing to help her in essentially killing his parents. Until now she'd almost expected that he'd fight to try and stop her from succeeding, but then she recalled how her Bruce would always be the last to put his own wants or desires in front of others just as quickly as he would be the first to jump into the fray when trouble presented itself.
"So... are you going to help?" Jim asked, equally astounded by Bruce's words.
"It's better than getting into another bottle." Bruce mumbled before swiftly moving on to avoid any more discussion on that topic. "What have you discovered so far?"
Diana hesitated, having discovered that Bruce had apparently been on a drinking binge, but soon let it be as she went on to tell him about how she'd gone after the Joker and discovered he'd been moved out of Arkham Asylum. Then she described how she'd struck out on finding the trinket in the evidence lockup facility before ending her tale by detailing the "interrogation" with the man that the Joker tortured.
Bruce had been attentive as he listened to her. He'd even at one point pulled out a pen and notepad, jotting down notes occasionally as she spoke. It wasn't until she'd finished that he even spoke a single word. "What exactly was it that he told you?" He eventually asked.
"I know he was struggling to speak so the message was broken up a bit." Diana described as she thought back to remember exactly what it was that the tortured man had said to her. "The wearer...the Triangle of Light...will...possess great power. The power of time spent. That's exactly what he said."
Bruce wrote down every word, and then spent some time going over them in his notes. "Power of time spent." He repeated quietly to himself as his mind tried to work through the words. "If I had to guess, maybe he was trying to tell you that this Triangle of Light can give anyone the power to change time from the past."
"That's the only conclusion that I could come to." Diana agreed. "We should also consider what the Joker revealed under my lasso's influence. He said that to move through time he needed to have a light source to use with the Triangle of Light, and then focus on the time and place where he wanted to travel to."
"Seems a little too easy for something so powerful." Jim commented.
"It's not too entirely surprising considering some of the things that I've come across." Diana responded.
"Let's see if there isn't something more we can find out about this Triangle of Light." Bruce suggested. "Jim might be right. There might be more than this than what that demented clown told you."
After coming to an acceptable approach, Jim and Diana followed Bruce down into the Batcave. The first thing that Bruce noticed was how his equipment had been turned on, indicating that the other two had been here as well. He left that be and instead focused on the main computer screen where he then noticed the Manor security footage paused on that fateful night where his mother and father had lost their lives. His hands involuntarily clenched into fists initially before he managed to clamp down on the anger and hate broiling inside him. It took a few deep breaths to regain his focus and control, but once he had it he instantly dove into the work at hand.
Bruce searched for anything that was related to the Triangle of Light online. As he came across topics of interest, he filed them away before continuing until there was nothing left to go over. It took the better part of a couple hours, and Jim had eventually called it an evening for himself after receiving a fifth call from his wife that had changed from inquiry of his whereabouts into threats of an empty household when he did choose to come back.
While Bruce had continued searching for more items of potential interest, Diana used the secondary computer monitor to delve deeper into the information that Bruce had saved off to that point. Once he was finished with the initial search, he turned to see how far she'd gotten. "Find anything worth looking into?" He asked.
"Possibly." Diana answered briefly as she stopped reading and went back to the beginning. "It seems there was an archaeologist by the name of Arnold Ward-Perkins that had believed in and researched the existence of a Triangle of Light. He was also a known expert in the city of Djenne-Djeno. His research was the most complex and the most successful in finding this sacred amulet. He and his research team were also responsible for locating a hidden section within a building during one of his expeditions. Initially this was thought to be the hiding place for the Triangle of Light, but what they ended up with instead was gold."
"A lot of gold." Bruce added as he began diving into the expedition participants. "Most of the crew were standard labor workers and guides, and all of them fairly local to Africa."
"While I don't believe that they would be the ones responsible, we shouldn't toss them out as innocent just yet." Diana suggested.
"Agreed." Bruce responded before focusing on the next few people. "Aside from Arnold that leaves his interns. There were two men and one female. Of those three, only Chrissie Levenson and John Samuelson are from the United States."
"Do you think that the man inside the Joker's hideout might have been Perkins or one of his interns?" Diana asked.
"Perhaps." Bruce answered cryptically. "He was inside the U.S. and because of that. At a minimum we should focus on all the males first since the person you found was a man."
Bruce then began to look into the closest one from the list, and that happened to be Samuelson. As soon as he pulled up a profile picture of the man, Diana gasped in shock. I've seen him." She announced.
"What do you mean?" Bruce asked.
"John Samuelson." Diana replied as she rifled through her recent memories. "I've seen him. In Gotham. He was attacked by the Joker."
"Did anything out of the ordinary stick out when you saw him?" Bruce pressed.
"Yes!" Diana answered excitedly as something clicked inside. "It was one of the memories that were altered while I've been a part of this timeline. When I first saw him, he was completely devastated. The woman that was with him had been murdered by the Joker in a car jacking. But then the timeline was changed, and the both of them lived despite the confrontation. There was something odd about his demeanor the second time though. Something in the way he was looking around blankly. I couldn't put my finger on it then, but he looked like he'd seen a ghost for lack of a better term."
"Perhaps he saw himself attempting to save the girl." Bruce deduced. "But likely wound up getting caught by the clown instead, and knew that either he died or the woman he was with. That would've left him with a difficult choice."
"That also means that Samuelson could very likely be the one that started all this." Diana added. "Once we have the amulet, I'll have to find him so that this can all be over with."
"But with him dead, that doesn't mean much." Bruce surmised. "We still need the amulet. And we need someone that knows how to use it to travel through time. We don't want to do something that might only cause more damage."
"Then we have to find the Joker." Diana replied. "He knows where it's at, and obviously he's used the amulet successfully before."
"I'll see what I can do on finding where the authorities have taken him." Bruce offered. "In the meantime, you might be able to gain some useful information by digging into the archaeologist some more."
"Alright." Diana agreed, and went back to the secondary computer to find out all she could about the archaeologist while Bruce searched for the Joker's location. While it wasn't exactly the same, Diana still enjoyed working alongside Bruce once again. Still she was mildly concerned about having him around the Joker once the clown was located, but she decided not to touch on that subject until the time came. She knew it would only result in a fight with Bruce, and there was no sense picking a fight over how to handle the clown until he was found in the least anyways.
Both spent a number of hours hacking and digging into research and classified documentation, with neither Bruce or Diana seemingly getting any closer to finding anything useful. After the first thee hours had passed, they each took turns stretching their legs. Diana wandered around the cave for her break, and once she returned Bruce headed up to the Manor. When the sixth hour passed, Diana stood to stretch out a kink in her back until she heard the sound of a fist slamming down onto a table followed by Bruce yelling at himself. "Son of a bitch!"
"What, what is it?" Diana asked as she flew over to him.
"I thought you said he wasn't in Arkham?" Bruce asked in response.
"He wasn't." Diana answered with a hint of confusion in her voice.
"Well, he's there now." Bruce revealed as he played a video of the clown from a hacked camera outside the facility that revealed Joker being returned just days ago. "Let's go get him."
Diana was initially dumbstruck from the realization that the clown had actually been returned, and didn't immediately register what Bruce had said at the end until she finally turned to see him putting on this timeline's version of the batsuit. Seeing that caused her to instantly know that now was when the argument she'd initially avoided was going to begin. She flew directly up and placed a hand onto his chest, causing him to stop in his preparations. "Perhaps it would be best if I go in alone." She suggested.
"Not a chance in hell Diana." Bruce immediately retorted as he shoved her hand away, and just like that his anger had returned with a vengeance.
Still undeterred, Diana pressed forward with her concerns. "I don't think it's wise for you to be near him Bruce. You're too emotionally involved."
"Don't give me this bullshit Diana." Bruce fired back as he placed the cape around his neck. "You owe me this."
"I don't owe you anything!" Diana vehemently stated, her ire beginning to rise as well.
"So what, are you just using me again?" Bruce heatedly questioned, which in turn caught Diana off guard. She hadn't anticipated him taking that approach, but didn't get a chance to respond before he continued. "I'm going. My research is what found him, and after what that piece of shit did to my family, if you think that you're going to have me do all the work just to sit back and do nothing, then you're clearly delusional. You'll have to kill me if you want to stop me."
Diana was surprised more at herself than the actual words Bruce had hit her with. She'd allowed herself to almost forget how angry he'd actually been, or how a good portion of it was pointed directly at her. But she still had a feeling inside that if Bruce were to come with her, then he'd most likely let his emotional state get the better of him. She didn't want to allow that to happen. Not to mention the fact that the Joker may very well be the last real chance to end this mission. So she put away the amount of hurt that his words had caused, and stood resolute. "Your response is the precise reason why it may be in your best interests to stay behind Bruce." She replied with a sense of finality. "While I can never imagine the amount of pain and hurt that madman has caused you, I still know that your emotions will only affect your judgment when you do get close to him. It's a natural human response."
Bruce glared at her in response, but his lack of words told her that she'd made a valid point and it sunk in a little with him. She'd earned her opening to make her case, and needed to slam that door shut. "Even though you don't want to see it, I do care for you Bruce." She continued. "Yes, I'm also saying this for the benefit of the mission, but don't let that blind you into thinking it's the only reason I'm saying this. And deep down you also should know that you're using my feelings for you against me."
"What do you mean?" Bruce asked.
Diana noticed that some of his anger had dissipated with that question, as his voice had calmed a tad. "You said that I'd have to kill you to stop you." She explained. "Even though I could kill you, you know that I'd never do that, and you used it as an attempt to get what you want. I'm not going to stop you from coming Bruce. But I will stop you if you try to do anything with the Joker aside from learning the information needed to fix the timeline."
Having heard that, it was Bruce's turn to be dumbfounded. While he hadn't intended on it, what she'd said about his actions were true. He had used her feelings for him to get what he wanted, and he'd never for an instant thought that she might've only been making a suggestion rather than ordering him to stay away. He also realized that his emotions had gotten the better of him just now, but he felt that he had to see this through to it's end. It was a goal that mattered to him when he really had nothing else that did. "I won't lose control." He promised to her, and it was a promise he intended to keep.
A few hours later and now under the cover of night, Bruce and Diana had made their way inside the outer gates of Arkham Asylum. Diana continued to be apprehensive about Bruce's involvement, but eventually gave in as it was easier to stop this Bruce physically than it was to win an argument with him. After their heated discussion about his involvement had concluded, they actually worked together well in formulating a plan to slip inside the asylum with what they hoped would be minimal detection. The goal was to get to the Joker's cell undetected, and after breaching it they would use the lasso to get what information was needed. The cell breach would unavoidably cause alarms to sound, and from that point they'd only have a couple minutes before they'd be confronted by security.
Normally Diana wouldn't be concerned with detection, but she didn't want the Joker or any other criminal to get loose unintentionally. Especially if they weren't successful in gathering every bit of information that she needed. She figured it would be different had this Bruce been from her timeline. That man had every nook and cranny of Arkham ingrained into his brilliant mind, while this Bruce was relying heavily on blue prints. Her Bruce would've known exactly which cell the Joker would be placed in as well as where he'd be located should he not be confined to his cell when they did breach the facility.
As it was now, they had only limited information to go on, so getting as far as they could undetected was paramount to their success. Getting inside the outer walls was the easy part, but each step from that point onward would only become more difficult. And the next step was fast approaching. Once again they were hindered by Bruce's lack of vigilante experience as he hadn't trained on breaking into locked doors, nor did he have the necessary gadgetry when training wasn't enough. So they needed to attain a key card, but not draw anyone's attention.
They waited until on of the guards patrolling around the grounds started making his way toward them. Diana took the initiative there, slipping in behind that guard before striking him with a well placed chop to the neck. She caught him before he crumpled to the ground, and then Bruce started searching until he located what they needed, handing Diana the key card. Bruce dragged the guard over to some bushes, tucking him as close to them as he could in the hopes of hiding the guard from being spotted by anyone else before he rejoined Diana, and they covertly made their way to an entrance.
The security card worked as expected, allowing them into the main building. Both surveyed their surroundings for a moment once inside, taking in all of the security camera locations and where each one was currently pointed. They found that they had to move quickly to avoid one as it panned over to the door they'd entered from. They had to work through dodging camera positions the rest of the way to the high profile security area. They'd then need to gain an access code as well as another security access card from one of those guards as they held higher security privileges.
Unfortunately, as they came within sight of that particular guard station, some sirens began to sound from outside. Their cover had obviously been blown somehow, as they found that the high profile security guards began making their way over to their current position. With weapons drawn, Diana moved swiftly, striking two guards while Bruce handled another. It only took seconds to knock down those guards, but none were still awake to gather the code from. "So much for stealth." Diana commented as she began to float off the ground. "Follow me."
Bruce quickly grabbed a security card from one of the fallen guards, and then followed as Diana smashed through a concrete wall almost as if it'd been tissue paper. It still was astonishing to see just how powerful someone lithe in frame like her could really be. Soon enough, they found themselves in the high profile quarters of the inmates. "Which one is he in?" Diana asked as she spun around in search of the correct door. There were no windows to see who was in each cell, and they were short on time.
Bruce spotted a terminal as he looked around for a clue, and pulled out the card he'd taken. After scanning it in to the terminal, he was able to pull up the room numbers and inmate lists to compare. "Should be in 3E." He answered after locating the Joker.
Diana turned around once more until she located the door number they needed, but the sound of a gun being fired distracted her from making her way up to that door. She deftly blocked the bullet with her bracer, and looked over to find guards in different uniforms piling into the area. There seemed to be quite a few guards, even for a facility like Arkham. And that revelation caused the hairs on the back of her neck to rise just as she heard a voice calling out to them. "I was wondering when you were going to show up." The man said as he stepped in from behind a still growing group of guards. "We've been waiting for you to come for the clown again."
"Who are you?" She asked as she glared into the direction that the voice came from.
"Lieutenant General Wilson." The man answered. "But we're not here for introductions. We're here to take you into custody."
"I'm sorry, but that's something that I cannot allow." Diana replied just before she took flight, slamming into the nearest guard. However she realized quickly that these weren't actually guards but soldiers. She took a moment to take in the situation as more soldiers were continuing to file into the area, and quite a few were carrying a weapon of the likes that she'd never seen before. She wasn't sure just what they hoped to accomplish with this new weapon, but she was certain that it couldn't be anything good.
Meanwhile Bruce was doing his best to keep from being detained himself when he too noticed these large and odd looking firearms. The weapons were so large in fact, that he was surprised a single soldier could carry one without assistance. His first instinct was to try and get to one of these weapon carrying soldiers and relieve them of it so that he could find out what it was, but before he had an opportunity to do that a soldier managed to fire one of the weapons at Wonder Woman.
Diana had been working her way through the mass of soldiers attempting to apprehend her. She wanted to find out what they were potentially up against, but instead had to find out the hard way as a soldier managed to fire at her with one of the weapons. A large projectile of an odd shape exploded out of the barrel, and out of pure instinct she raised a bracer covered forearm up to block whatever it was that was heading for her. That turned out to be a mistake as the projectile didn't deflect away, but instead latched onto her arm.
Diana looked down at what was now latching onto her, and realized two things immediately. First was that there appeared to be a cable attached, and it went back to the soldier's weapon. Second was that the portion currently attached to her arm looked almost identical to the shackles she'd allowed herself to be taken into custody with when she'd been confronted by government officials before. Realizing this, she instantly attempted to remove the shackle, but found that the blue aura had already lit up around it. Try as she might, she found that she couldn't break free of it.
Diana had to think quickly before she was hit again. She still had her fighting skills to rely on even without her powers, but she also knew that the chances of getting to Joker had greatly diminished. She was the more experienced of the two between Bruce and herself, and so with that understanding she made a choice. "Batman!" She yelled as she reached down with her free hand and grabbed her lasso. "Get what we came here for while I hold them off!"
Bruce turned upon hearing Diana calling out to him just in time to see the golden lariat being thrown in his direction. He noticed that one of her hands wasn't free and wanted to help, but thought that she could more than handle everyone with as powerful as she was. So he quickly attached the lasso to a compartment on his belt and did as she requested, making his way up to the Joker's cell. In the interest of cutting down time and effort, he placed a small charge onto the door lock and set it to explode before stepping back a safe distance.
Diana managed to dodge and strategically maneuver the soldiers into positions where any more of the shackling weaponry couldn't be used against her. Some soldiers were inadvertently struck by the large projectiles, while other shots were complete misses. She heard and felt the explosion caused by Bruce as he broke into the Joker's cell, and she knew that powers or not; she needed to get up there with Bruce now to make sure he remained in control.
The Joker had been standing in his cell after he'd heard a confrontation taking place close by. Curiosity getting the better of him, he opened the small feeding tray door to peer through and watched as he noticed how a trap had been sprung against his favorite new toy. He'd have enjoyed the entire show if it weren't for the explosion right outside his door followed by it being swung violently inward, crashing into his head. Initially he saw some stars as the force of the door opening had pushed him into falling on his backside, and there was some ringing in his ears as well. He couldn't help but to laugh just as he started to open his eyes, and then laughed harder upon seeing a blurry and dark humanlike profile advancing into his cell. This was going to be fun.
Bruce was instantly infuriated upon seeing the Joker face to face again. Had the madman refrained from laughing, he might've been successful in controlling his rage, but before he knew it he'd already picked the Joker up by his throat and slammed him up against a wall. "You're going to tell me everything I want to know." He seethed through clenched teeth.
"Why should I?" The Joker replied in between gagging giggles. "You going to beat me up?"
"That's too easy." Bruce replied before slamming his other fist into the Joker's groin, and then his face. Instantly the clown's nose began to gush blood from having his nose instantly broken. "Now tell me how the Triangle of Light works."
Diana managed to make her way close enough to the Joker's cell door where she could keep soldiers from entering and interrupting Bruce from gathering the information that they needed. She thought about joining him in the cell, but once she heard him begin asking about the Triangle of Light she figured Bruce was in control of his emotions. Still she knew better than anyone in this timeline that someone like the Joker couldn't simply be coerced into giving up information that he didn't want to through natural means such as torture.
The Joker laughed maniacally as Bruce struck him with punches and knees. He was breaking bones, but the Joker wasn't about to give him what he wanted. "Tell me or else." Bruce threatened.
"Or else what?" The Joker taunted as he fought to suck in some air. "There's nothing you can do with all your strength that'll get me to tell you what you want to know."
"Or else I'll kill you." Bruce threatened.
"Then I'll be the one that gets what he wants." The Joker teased as he began to laugh again. Bruce couldn't believe how unconcerned the Joker was with the threat of death. It was almost as if he welcomed it. That was the wrong approach to take with someone that already wanted him dead, and he proved it as he began to squeeze his grip on the Joker's neck.
Diana threw a soldier over the railing closest to Joker's cell after he'd tried sneaking past her. It was then that she saw how Bruce had lost control. He was going to kill the clown, and then they'd have nothing to help retrieve the Triangle of Light. She had to get through and reason with him, but she was consumed with the constant onslaught of soldiers coming her way. Her only option was speak to him and hope that he'd listen. "Use the Lasso Batman!" Diana yelled. "Find the answers we need."
Like the sound of a distant echo, Bruce heard something calling to him. He blinked a couple of times as everything seemed fuzzy, and realized that all he could see was red . When he reopened his eyes, his vision began to clear and he saw the insane clown still smiling and gasping for air. Bruce then shook his head. Even though this was what he thought he wanted, he knew that it wasn't why they'd come. It was then that he could hear through the fuzziness and start making out what Diana was saying to him over and over. He needed to use her lasso on the clown.
Bruce glanced down to the lasso before grabbing it with his free hand. He then draped the lasso around the Joker's head before synching it tight around the neck. It was time for answers. "Tell me exactly how to use the Triangle of Light."
The Joker instantly stopped smiling as he struggled to keep that information from Bruce. This wasn't fair. He was supposed to get what he wanted, and it was being taken from him because of a damned stupid gold rope. He was equally angered when he noticed the smile beginning to grace the black clad man's face before him, but try as he might he couldn't fight the power to tell the truth. "You have to wear it like a necklace." The Joker finally blew out as if he'd been holding his breath for hours. "Then you hold it up to a light source and think of the time you want to go back to, while at least thinking of what the inscription says."
"And what does it say?" Bruce asked.
The Joker tried to squirm but knew it was pointless. He was incredibly depressed by having been bested with a rope, mystical or not. "The wearer of the Triangle of Light will possess great power, the power of time spent." The Joker answered.
Bruce had heard something very close to this before, and then it clicked. Diana had told him this was basically what the man she'd questioned had told her. Satisfied that the Joker had spoken the truth, he slammed the Joker's head into the wall knocking him unconscious. "Wait!" Diana yelled, albeit too late. "Did he tell you where it is?"
"I'm sorry Diana." Bruce said as he reached up and removed his cowl.
Shocked by this move, Diana was distracted enough that she'd not paid attention to the soldier that came up behind her until he'd already latched another shackle around her neck. She was able to elbow him away, but couldn't focus on the soldiers any longer. "I won't go back to any world where my family is gone." Bruce announced as he pulled the Triangle of Light out of one of hid belt compartments and draped it over his head.
Diana tried to lunge for him as she pleaded for him not to go through with what he was planning, but she was being pulled back by a group of soldiers by then. She could only watch as Bruce head the triangle up to the lone light in Joker's cell. Then with a bright flash he was gone, and she was left with a searing pain inside her skull that caused her to collapse to the ground.