Chapter 22: Saved By A Goddess
Snaking their way through the corridors of the detainment facility as discreetly as possible, Diana and J'onn made their way through the labyrinth of corridors making up the detainment facility. They were still in search of the control center so they could remove their shackles, and as a result, fully restore all of their powers. Things could have gone quicker, but while J'onn was willing to push a hypnotic suggestion to his guard into releasing Diana from her own cell, he found that the risk was too great to take the chance of pulling the building's layout from that guard's mind.
There was a very real possibility that Bruce would become notified of their escape, and if he did and had the Triangle of Light with him, they'd very likely have to perform a repeated attempt at escape. Diana knew that J'onn was also protecting himself from any further repercussion, and she couldn't blame him. If they did happen to be returned to their cells, J'onn maintaining what powers he did have to utilize was paramount to success for any other attempt they had to make.
This Bruce had obviously discovered some of J'onn's abilities such as his shape shifting and Meta level strength, but he hadn't apparently discovered the Martian was a telepath yet. If he were to discover that little trinket of knowledge, he'd surely develop some form of a neural inhibitor and attach it to J'onn's skull. So it was better to hide that as best they could until Bruce was separated from the Triangle.
Diana eventually came up to a left turn as their only option, and the fates apparently were being kind, as at the end of this hallway was the control center. However, as fortunate as that may have seemed, it all came crashing back down by the sound of an alarm as it began to blare, and thus announcing their escape attempt. The need for stealth suddenly had gone out the window replaced by a need for haste. "J'onn, we need to get inside that command center." Diana announced as she sprinted forward.
J'onn was running alongside the Amazon, silently agreeing that they had to gain entry, but without all his powers, he wasn't sure how they would get inside. They couldn't just kick their way through a wall or the door. It was too strong a material without their powers, not to mention all the guards that started forming a human wall between them and their destination. The Martian glanced over to his counterpart only to see a look of pure determination on her face. She seemed to have every intention of plowing straight ahead as well. What strategy do you suggest? He questioned telepathically to her.
Even without powers, I still have a vast amount of fighting skills as an Amazon. She relayed. I'll deal with the guards, but I need you to put in a hypnotic suggestion to at a minimum, one of them once we get close. Get them to flee and open the door as an act of fear. Once they put in their access codes, we push our way in.
J'onn didn't respond, but slowed down from Diana's pace of pushing forward, allowing her to take the lead. Without his strength, his fighting skills would only take him so far, and he knew that he couldn't take out all of the guards that were standing before them just ahead. He decided to take the stance of watching Diana's back, and helping her as she took the guards on instead.
However, just as Diana was getting close enough to swing at the nearest guard to her, a bright flash of light appeared in the center of the guards. It felt like a small black hole had opened, only there was a hissing sound accompanying it as the guards closest to the light were sucked in almost immediately.
Diana skidded to a halt as this started happening before her. She was shocked at the sight, and quickly retreated, not knowing for certain just what was happening in front of her.
The whole incident only lasted a few seconds before the light disappeared and the dust seemed to settle. Some unknown papers started floating to the floor all around the Martian and the Amazon even though they hadn't seen any laying around throughout the corridors. As both J'onn and Diana looked forward again to see what was left between them and their freedom, they soon came to find that only a handful of guards remained from the twenty to thirty that they thought they would have to take down.
Those few remaining guards also didn't require any more motivation from J'onn to retreat either, the soldiers were shaken to their very core out of fear. One of the guards seemed to completely forget about the needed credentials to gain access to the control room as well. He was right up to the door pounding on it in a panicked state.
It took a couple moments to collect themselves as well, but once they did, Diana knew that J'onn wouldn't have to take any more risks. They already had their frightened guard, and she was going to make certain the guard got them into the control center.
Bruce's car came to a screeching halt at the front entrance of the facility. "Status report." He barked into his Bluetooth as he jumped out and started sprinting for the front door.
"The...they're all gone sir." A startled voice responded.
"Who?" Bruce demanded.
"Our men sir." The man one the other end answered. "They just...disappeared right as they were about to engage the prisoners, sir. All we could see was a white light, and then they were gone.
A white light? Upon hearing that, Bruce dropped his keys by the main door. The description was so eerily similar to that of the case he'd been working on with all the unexplainable disappearances happening around the globe. If this was the same thing, then he wondered how it could have something to do with the Martian or Diana, and how it was able to slip into the building without being detected. Could whoever was responsible for the outside disappearances be someone that'd originally ordered Diana to seek out the holder of his Triangle of Light? If so, had they become impatient with her and chosen to chase it down themselves? He needed to find that out before he was confronted by this being, but as he entered and started running through the building, he also knew that he had to successfully subdue the two escapees without having to go back in time and make changes to alter the outcome in his favor.
If he could get Diana and the Martian back into their cells, then he could use the footage from security cameras to perhpas discover some clues as to who was responsible, or even how they were doing whatever it was to make people seemingly disappear from existence. "Status on the two escaped prisoners." He barked after reaching his office and heading straight for the safe.
"The female is interrogating one of the few remaining men now." The officer described. "I can't tell from the feed what they're saying, but from the looks of it, she's getting what they need out of him."
"They want access to the control room." Bruce declared after he'd opened the safe and placed the Triangle around his neck, being careful to hide it under his shirt in order to evade detection. "If they get in there, they'll have a better chance of getting their shackles off, and then we'll never catch them." At least not without him having to resort to making another time jump, he though silently. He knew that if they were successful, it would ruin any chance of gaining insight into the random disappearances. "I want the D.U. 179X online and ready for me in the next thirty seconds, and have every other member of our security unit meet me in weapons storage."
Bruce dropped the call at that point. He'd formed a plan of attack, and needed to act on it quickly before his options were taken from him. He wasted no time in getting to the weapons storage area where fifteen soldiers and his Detainment Unit 179X were waiting for him. Without hesitating, he immediately leapt onto the 179X, taking charge despite his obvious lacking in serving for the military. "To the control center." He ordered as he took off off in that direction.
After "asking nicely" how to gain access to the control center, Diana and J'onn managed to open door. They were surprised to find that the area appeared to be clear of any human activity. They'd both been expecting to find more opposition in spite of what happened to the last batch of guards. Diana wasted little time in overcoming her initial shock toward the lack of people, but knew better than to waste too much time with Bruce surely on the way. "You know what we need to do next." She stated as she began looking for the shackle controls.
Upon hearing Diana's words, J'onn began searching for what would inevitably provide them with their freedom at the opposite side of the control center. They each made their way around various control panels, looking for the right console to grant them their freedom until J'onn came across a section labeled as "lockdown". Diana, I've found a security measure over here to lockdown the facility. He announced telepathically.
Keep that in mind, but only as a last resort for the time being. Diana replied as she continued to search. I don't want to risk lockdown preventing us from removing our bonds, and if this facility is in lockdown, that might be one of the processes for the lockdown. Ensure that prisoners don't have any advantages.
J'onn couldn't help but to agree with that, as it logically made sense. Bruce Wayne was at the forefront of the most technological advancements that had been implemented inside the building's walls, and J'onn's experience with this man told him just how logically Bruce tended to think. Lockdown would most likely trap them inside the room with still no way to access their powers. They'd be trapped like rats until Bruce came for them, and J'onn didn't want to face that possibility if at all possible.
"Found it!" Diana yelled out suddenly as she started to input commands to disable the inmates' shackles. Just as she finished inputting the code for release, J'onn reached out and stopped her from hitting the Enter key.
"Wait!" He beckoned as she looked over questioningly and impatiently at him. "Why would someone such as Bruce Wayne have such a protocol so easily available for us to access? There most certainly should be some form of access code or a key to ensure a validated release for prisoner restraints."
Diana thought about it for a moment before eventually wavering. "You're right." She concurred. "Bruce would have some type of failsafe in place, and if we were to attempt disabling our restraints, then it could very well do the exact opposite."
"So what do we do?" J'onn questioned.
Diana hesitating for a moment, know that J'onn wouldn't like hearing her answer, but it was the most likely chance they would have at success. "I'm sorry J'onn, but I can't think of any other way to gain the information we need. You're going to have to reach out to Bruce's mind and find out."
Her Martian friend seemed to be quite reluctant to do such a thing, especially at first. If they were to fail, that surely meant Bruce wouldn't stop until he could ascertain all of J'onn's powers and extinguish them in some form or another. Discovering J'onn's secrets would very likely come through some method of torture until he finally would break and give up the remainder of his abilities. She wondered if J'onn would again refuse to take on such a risk as he sighed next to her with his head hung low.
"Give me a moment." He eventually replied, and soon his eyes began to glow.
Bruce arrived outside the control center with the soldiers following closely behind. He wasn't sure just what to expect from the two inmates. The likelihood of them removing their restraints wasn't highly probable, but he didn't want to underestimate them. Especially her. If the Martian was able to get free, he would very likely to flee and attempt to simply disappear. The worst case scenario with him would be having to go back in time to keep him locked up, and that would be the end of it. However with Diana, she was somehow able to recall what happened before changes in the past were made. She'd still know what he did to stop them, and would likely try to compensate for it.
Bruce reached the main door to the control center, but stopped as his eyes suddenly snapped shut. It was almost as if a migraine had just exploded out of nowhere in his head. The pain was throbbing, but there was also something different, something peculiar about the pain. It felt almost like someone was digging their fingers into his brain and trying to pry it apart. At first it was nearly crippling to him. He even halted the advancement to the control center, abruptly stopping the 179X not but a mere fifteen feet away as he clutched the sides of his head.
Slowly, he started to become accustomed to the pain, and attempted to focus on the task at hand when he felt it. There was someone lurking around in his mind. He pinched his eyes tightly shut, focusing on who it was attacking him mentally until he could just make out a greenish apparition in his thoughts.
The Martian! Bruce realized. How could he have missed that the Martian was a telepath before? No matter, he thought, but now he needed to get that Martian out of his head. "Martian's a telepath." He rapidly announced to the confused troops around him. "He's attacking my mind. Break down the door. Now!"
The soldiers wasted no time in advancing on the locked door. They of course tried the easiest route first, utilizing standard clearance methods to unlock it, but found that the code reader had apparently been disabled from inside the room. That left them with the next option of breaking down the door with explosive charges.
Inside the room, the two escaped prisoners heard loud and thumping bangs against the only thing standing between them and their adversaries. It would only be a matter of moments before they were once again faced with defending their chance at freedom, and seemingly it was going to be without their powers as J'onn appeared to be battling with Bruce mentally. Preparing for the worst, Diana began to maneuver items that weren't bolted to the floor, soon clearing a large enough space to engage any combatants that she might come up against in the very near future. Every few seconds, she spared a glance over to her friend, who remained standing as still as a statue. His eyes were glowing bright orange, and every so often she swore she spotted what looked like a grimace revealing itself on his face.
Bruce was obviously putting up a good fight against J'onn's mental attack, but that was only until J'onn let loose of an agonizing yelp before falling to his knees. "J'onn!" Diana shouted in concern as she ran over and knelt down next to him. The grimace that had been flashing briefly across his face now seemed to be a permanent fixture. "Are you alright?"
"Bruce was able to push me out of his mind." J'onn shared, as he shakily got back to a standing position. "I was...unprepared for such resistance."
"Were you unable to get the codes?" She asked, hoping his efforts weren't all in vain.
J'onn rubbed his temples as he continued to shake the pain off. "I believe so." He eventually relayed.
Hearing his answer caused relief to flood Diana's thoughts. With her powers, she'd have a much better chance of stopping Bruce. As the thoughts of this nightmare coming to an end began to flicker hope in her mind, she immediately went back over to the control panel while J'onn was still dealing with the effects of his mental battle with Bruce. "Tell me the codes, and I'll put them in."
"9-6-4-X-7-D-1-5-8." J'onn slowly rattled off, and Diana input them into the console. They both watched silently as an indicator light started to blink with a red light a few times on their shackles. Then suddenly the main door slid open, granting the soldiers and Bruce entrance just as both Martian and Amazon were crippled with a shocking pain that sent them to the floor curling into the fetal position. By the time the pain began to dissipate enough to where either of them could open their eyes, the soldiers already had them surrounded while Bruce was kneeling down in front of J'onn.
"Very clever attempt, but you're not the first telepath I've come across." Bruce shared. "Before we even incarcerated you, I learned how to force a telepath out. I even learned how to disguise information in my mind to trick you into thinking you gathered what you were looking for. All you did was enable the escaped alien protocol. But I suppose congratulations are in order. You did manage to hide that little trinket from us until now."
Bruce tapped the side of J'onn's cheek a couple times. It was a light slapping action as if to say, shame on you for trying. "The question that remains is, what other abilities might you be hiding from us." He announced before motioning for some soldiers to collect the green alien up off of the floor.
"No!" Diana shouted, gaining everyone's attention. Bruce stood and spun around, focusing now on the greatest threat to his mother and father. "Don't hurt him." She pleaded. "I'll tell you all of J'onn's abilities, just don't hurt him."
"You shouldn't have tried to escape." Bruce said as he made his way over to her. "I warned you not to try escaping again. Now you leave us no choice but to resort to more drastic tactics. Maybe after you see what punishment is in store for your friend over there, you'll think twice before trying this again."
Diana held a horrified look, in utter disbelief that Bruce would resort to such methods. "No, you can't do this." She pleaded. J'onn didn't deserve such a fate.
"He tried to hide his abilities from us." Bruce explained as soldiers started to pick Diana up from the floor. "For that he has to face the consequences, just as he does for his role in helping you get this far."
"Bruce, please." She continued to beg. "You're a good person. You can't do this."
Bruce shook his head after listening to her plea for mercy. He motioned for the soldiers to carry J'onn away, and looked directly in Diana's eyes. "I told you that I'll do whatever is necessary to protect my family. From random thugs. From Martians, Kryptonians, Amazons, and even gods if..."
A hissing noise interrupted him. It sounded as if air was being swiftly pulled or pushed just before a bright flash of light off to the side in his peripheral v. He spared view appeared. Bruce glanced over to it just as the soldiers and Martian were all seemingly sucked into it, screaming for help before disappearing completely. Then just as suddenly as it appeared, the light vanished and the hissing, whistling sound vanished. Bruce was absolutely astonished. What the hell was going on? He saw this white light with his own two eyes, and still couldn't believe it. "What the hell just happened?" He asked as he turned to face Diana accusingly. "Is this the work of your supposed gods? Where have they taken my men?"
Diana's mouth was hanging open at this point. She might have witnessed it once before, but it was no less shocking the second time around to see people there one moment, and gone the next. She was so shocked, at first she didn't even notice that Bruce had said anything. The sorrow of seeing a good friend being ripped away was all that she could register, but soon Bruce planted his face right in front of hers, forcing her to focus on him. "Answer me." He ordered in a demanding growl.
"Butterfly effect." Diana responded simply, quietly. She gazed directly into Bruce's eyes with a hardened stare, looking for any ounce of reasoning within the man that she thought she'd known so well.
Bruce's eyes flashed momentarily as he registered what Diana said to him. She was insinuating that these instances were being caused due to changes made in the past. Changes by the Joker, Samuelson, and himself. "No." He said in disbelief. "It can't be."
"It is." Diana announced as she struggled with the soldiers that were still holding her captive. "The time stream has been getting ripped apart each time you travel back."
Bruce straightened to his full height, and began to pace around Diana, debating internally with himself. This couldn't be happening, could it? He needed answers so that he could fix this, but in the current situation, the soldiers would just as likely detain him if they started to believe he might be at fault. That was something he couldn't allow to happen, and he didn't want to travel back in time again until he could solve this problem. He quickly made a decision, stopping in front of the remaining soldiers. "I'm putting the facility on lock down." He announced. "Two of you stay here with her, and the rest of you get to your posts. I want the Martian located. He's got to be here somewhere. She's only trying to stall for him."
The soldiers hesitated for a moment, but eventually complied with the new set of orders filing out in the direction of their posts. Once there were just two soldiers with them inside the control center, Bruce enacted the lockdown protocols. Large steel walls slid and locked into place around the command center until it appeared to be sealed off completely. Diana half expected to receive another violent jolt from her restraints, but that thankfully never happened.
Instead, to her surprise, Bruce pulled up his firearm and shot the two soldiers holding her with some form of an electrically charged bolt-like projectile. They instantly collapsed on each side of her, allowing her to stand under her own power. She was shocked as well as concerned by Bruce's actions. "You didn't..." She began to question before trailing off, almost not wanting to know the answer.
However, Bruce knew what she was asking. "No." He responded. "They'll just wake up with a nasty headache."
As relief flitted through her, she quickly realized that he still hadn't released her from her bonds. "You must let me fix this, Bruce." She advised. "Release me before its too late."
"But, if I do that, my parents will die." Bruce responded in a small, defeated tone.
Diana could see the hurt and despair Bruce was now experiencing. All he'd wanted to do was save the lives of his mother and father, but somewhere along the way he'd allowed that obsession to consume him into this madness. Now he had worked to remove anything or anyone that was perceived as a potential threat, including her. Still, she knew that he couldn't avoid the fates taking his parents away, and now it would very likely be the result of his own handiwork. Either way he was going to be involved in their deaths. The only question was if he took down the world with them or not. "I know they will die Bruce, and please believe me when I say that the fates have been incredibly cruel toward you and your parents, and undeservingly so."
"Why?" He questioned. "Why should I let you then?"
"Because it's the only way to save the world, Bruce." Diana pushed. "It may not be today, but sooner than later they will be taken from you, and what you're doing is not living. You're only obsessing over something that you weren't meant to control. None of us are. The timeline must be restored. Things will only get worse if it isn't set right."
"What if I were to stop going back any more?" Bruce attempted to negotiate out of desperation. "Or jumped back just once more, stop myself from making all the changes I did?"
"I'm sorry Bruce, but the damage has already been done." Diana replied.
"How do you expect me to live with myself if I just allow their deaths to happen?" He argued, on the verge of tears. "Do you have any idea what you're asking me to do?"
"Yes, I know what I'm asking, and that it's the last thing you want to do." She tried to answer. "But you have to look at the bigger picture. Sooner rather than later, this will affect the entire world, and the only way to stop it is to end it where it began. That will inevitably change the course of events for your entire life as well. You need to accept that you're parents weren't meant to survive past your childhood, and you then choose to become Batman and protect Gotham as a result of that impact in your life. You'll also eventually form partnerships with colleagues like Kal and J'onn instead of imprisoning them."
"To hell with being Batman." Bruce fired back. "I don't want anything to do with becoming that if the cost is my family. I want them to live. They deserve to live."
"Yes they do." Diana agreed. "In the short time that I've come to know them in this altered timline, I was able to see just how extraordinary your parents are. It is truly a shame that the fates saw fit to take their lives from this world so soon, but the fates don't select who lives and dies based on merit or fairness."
Bruce snorted in disbelief. "Then why would you still willingly go through with this mission if even you find it to be unjust? You speak of them as such good people, but in reality, you don't care about them enough to save them, and you can't care what having to see them die again will do to me."
"That's not true!" Diana snapped at him. She found his words to be incredibly hurtful, and it was plainly visible in her eyes. "I do care, more than you know. Even after what you've said and all that you've done. After you've tried to keep me locked away. I...I still.."
Diana trailed off at that point, and there was a silence that followed until Bruce lost his patience. "You still what Diana? Are you going to try to convince me that you could possibly care about what happens to them? To me?"
Before Diana could respond, what was quickly becoming an unmistakable hissing sound started to emanate once again. Diana's keen awareness was able to pick up on it quicker than Bruce, and she reacted instantly.
Even still, she almost wasn't quick enough without the benefit of having her powers, but Diana was able to lunge forward, latch onto one of Bruce's arms and yank him away before the bright white light appeared in almost exactly the same spot he'd been standing before she got to him. Bruce stumbled as he fought to recover from Diana's maneuver, and upon gathering himself was shocked by the realization of what she'd done. She saved him. She saved the man that had locked her away and attempted to throw away the key. He opened his mouth to speak, the question why firmly etched into his thoughts until he noticed something that caused his eyes to grow as wide as saucers. "Diana, move!" He yelled, but by then it was too late.
She felt the incredibly strong pull from whatever the source was within the white light as it seemed to grab hold of her, attempting to drag her into nonexistence. She fought with every ounce of strength she had to keep from being pulled in, managing to cling onto a nearby floor mounted computer console, but she was certain that it was ultimately a losing battle. No matter how much she continued to claw and fight, she was still being slowly pulled in. Within mere moments she could sense her feet touching the light, feeling a tingling sensation starting at her toes, and it began to swirl around her ankles before moving up her legs. The feel of that growing sensation was when she came to the realization that she'd failed in her mission. Soon she would lose the battle to keep from being pulled into oblivion, and then it would only be a matter of time until the degradation of the timeline would rip itself apart, and take the world with it.
She had just come to accept her inevitable fate until she was startled back to reality by the feel of someone's hands trying to grab her just below her wrists. When she spared a glance to confirm, she was still shocked to see Bruce reaching for her. "Grab my hands!" He called out desperately. "I'm not going to lose you too."
Initially, she couldn't help but to hesitate, unsure just what his intentions might possibly be after how he'd been acting ever since he had possessed the power of changing the past, but the desperation she could hear in his voice was what eventually drove her into believing his intentions were purely wanting to help her.
It was then that she stole another glance and looked into his eyes to find that not only was there a sense of desperation rolling off him, but also pure and utter determination. It was a quality in him that she hadn't seen since before the timeline was originally altered. He looked somehow more like the original Bruce to her at that moment.
Seeing him like that reinvigorated Diana's resolve, and she sent out a silent prayer to her patron goddesses, asking for the strength to continue fighting in spite of the intense burning sensation building in seemingly every arm muscle she had. As if her goddesses had heard her plea, somehow she found a way to fight even harder than before. Powers or not, she wasn't about to give in. Not now, and eventually that determination was rewarded. She managed to pull herself forward ever so slightly, pulling up enough to begin bending her elbows just enough to try reaching for him. She knew she needed the extra room for error when she risked her life to let go with one hand just long enough to latch onto Bruce.
There was no way she'd be able to hang on with just one arm. It simply wouldn't be strong enough to keep her from being sucked into oblivion, and letting go was going to be a leap of faith, but as she took a deep steadying breath, it was a leap she was still willing to make. She believed whole heartedly that he wouldn't fail her. So, she readied herself, and let go of the console with the hand closest to Bruce's reach.
This was where the plan hit a snag of sorts. Not but a second after she'd let go with one hand, her grip with the other slipped from the console. Her eyes grew wide as this realization struck her, knowing she was about to be consumed, and it seemed that time stood still at that instant.
Diana closed her eyes, waiting for the tingling sensation to engulf her, but it never came to be. Instead she was snapped back to reality as she felt Bruce's hand forcefully latching firmly onto one of her wrists. He'd risked lunging himself forward more to grab onto her, and a slight relief filled them both once she managed to locate a new grip on the console once again with her other hand.
Working in sync with each other, they pulled, and slowly she began to pull free. The tingling sensation started to dissipate around her feet until suddenly it abruptly left her entirely. Unfortunately neither of them had time to react and compensate for that unexpected change. Like a rubber-band being let go after having been pulled to its limit, Diana's body snapped forward with great speed, soon flying over Bruce's shoulder before an unforgiving wall eventually got in the way of her momentum.
Both of them were spent from all the effort they put forth to pull Diana free. Bruce had lost his grip on Diana as she when flying over him, and he proceeded to collapse onto his knees from sheer exhaustion. His chest was heaving as he tried to suck in giant pulls of oxygen, trying to recover from the rigors of their fight for Diana's life. Eventually, he worked back up to a vertical base, and looked over to see her still struggling to get back on her own feet. "Why?" He suddenly asked.
Diana felt like she had cooked spaghetti noodles for legs. She glanced over to Bruce upon hearing his abrupt question, quickly realizing that he was indeed asking something to her. She responded with an arched brow, revealing an unspoken question back to him.
Bruce sighed, knowing that he needed to elaborate. "Why did you save me?" He asked.
Diana felt a small smile begin to heat her cheeks. "I could ask you the same thing." She answered without really answering him at all. "Had you let me be pulled into that...thing, you would've removed the last real threat to your parents' survival. Until the timeline destroyed everything and everyone at least."
"I know." He replied in a despondent tone before reaching for and pulling the Triangle of Light out from under his shirt. At first, he left it around his neck, but soon took it off and stared at it in his hand. "I...I didn't...couldn't go through that. Not again." He said in an almost whisper.
"What do you mean, not again?" Diana asked.
Bruce slowly looked away from the Triangle of Light, until his eyes met hers. There she could see a devastating sadness revealed in his features, and she wasn't sure what exactly to make of it as he seemed to be searching for the words. "I couldn't go through losing someone that I...that I care about. Not again. It was devastating. Even after feeling like you'd betrayed me, that you wanted to take my family away from me. I still couldn't stand the thought of letting you be taken away. Not another person I..."
The hissing sound from the white light interrupted Bruce as it suddenly increased tenfold. He didn't have to look behind him to realize what had happened. The area where the white light had been, suddenly grew as if a tear had just been ripped open, and he was going to be pulled in. There was no chance to save him from this fate, but he could do what he should've done in the first place. So, before he was pulled in, as his last act in this world and timeline, he took the Triangle of Light and threw it toward Diana with all his might.
Diana caught the amulet, but was completely distraught by the notion of Bruce's fate. "Bruce!" She yelled desperately, but in vain. She had to watch as he was consumed by the light. There were no screams from him, he was just gone. Had the mission been over, she very likely would've curled into a ball and cried her eyes out. It was what she wanted to do at that moment, but it was obvious that the tears in time were growing. That was an obvious indicator that she was quickly running out of time. She only hoped that there was enough light in the room to power the trinket as she quickly draped it over her head just before she started thinking about crime alley, and the year when Bruce's parents were killed.
Diana started to become concerned when nothing happened. It was compounded by being locked into a room with limited space, no powers, and a still growing rip in time quickly closing in on her. She held her arms up as an involuntary reflex once the tear got close enough, and that was when another flash of light grabbed her attention before everything around her suddenly became very dark.
A/N: Reviews, just like a zombie craves delicious brains, I crave delicious reviews. Did you like, dislike?