Chapter Seven - Darkness

I call "darkness" that moment when someone is very close to madness. When you lose yourself, your mind, it is as if you were in the darkness. A deep and very difficult place to leave.

A very nervous Diana was tapping her foot as she watched J'onn in a trance. His eyes glowed yellow, and he rummaged through people's minds in search of Batman. The hero had been missing for almost a week and no one had heard from him. At first, they thought that Batman only wanted a time away, however, as the days went by and no one knew of his whereabouts, they realized that something was wrong.

After what seemed hours, he got out of the trance. He looked at Diana, and unfortunately he had no news, as he had of countless other times. He shook his head in denial.

"Nothing?" She asked worriedly.

"This is strange. I can not feel his brainwaves anywhere."

"How is it possible? He is dead?"

"Or in a coma." He returned.

"If Batman were in a coma, could not you feel him?"

J'onn shrugged.

"Unless something powerful blocks him."

Diana wanted to scream at the anger and frustration that gripped her. How could it be that Batman simply disappeared? And though the whole league was looking for answers, it was still too little for her. She felt her hands tied.

"We're doing our best, Diana." Superman touched her shoulder.

"It has not been enough!" She screamed and left, determined.


Bruce looked again at the creature on his back. It seemed deeply connected to his brain, and it did not move, no matter how hard he used. Maybe it needed to be ripped out in the real world, and considering his enemies kept him on the other side, it would be almost impossible for anyone to help him.

He took a long breath, trying to concentrate. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, and when he reopened them, he used all his strength in one last attempt. He screamed, as his head felt like it was going to explode. However, something has changed.

He opened his eyes. At first blurry, but could see in reality. He tried to move his body in vain. As much as he wanted, he could not move. It was as if a huge force held him down. Only his eyes moved. Batman found himself in an enormous shed, dimly lit and dirty. He recognized it as the place where, in his mind, he had his first date with Diana. His mind mingled reality and fiction.

Moving his eyes once more, he saw also Poison Ivy. The scientist had been missing from Gotham for months, and it was strange to see her working with the Joker or any of his enemies. When he tried to see something else, he felt a great pressure on his chest, and it was as if he could not breathe. The images of his arrest faded away, and Batman woke up in his alternative life.

Diana and Martha watched him uneasily, and Diana had some red marks on her body. When he tried to move, he realized he was tied.

"What happened?" He gestured.

"Maybe we should let him go?" It was Diana. "I can't see my husband in this situation."

But Martha shook her head. He took the hands of her daughter-in-law and gave a smile of comfort.

"My dear, how can you want him released after being attacked? We better wait till the doctors get here."

"Is it necessary?"

"I would say so."

Diana looked from her stunned husband to the scratches in her arms. At last she let out a heavy sigh and nodded.

"What happened?" Bruce repeated the question.

Martha came over and slammed her son in the face. She pulled Diana by the arm and placed it in front of her son.

"There was this!" She shouted. "You freaked out and hit us! If it were not the employees, I don't know what would have happened worse."

Bruce blinked in amazement, unable to believe what he saw. His mother and his wife had scratches and red and purple marks on their faces and arms. Diana looked frightened, already Martha, expressing anger. Bruce bowed his head in embarrassment. Even if he did not remember, he was ashamed of the actions of someone other than him, but he wore his face.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"That doesn't change anything." Martha said harshly, and left.


Diana awoke to Bruce's anguished cries from the bathroom. She got up quickly, and ran to the door, which she found locked.

"Bruce!"

She knocked once, twice, three times, until the door opened. She opened her mouth to ask if he was all right, but she preferred to shut up. Bruce was disheveled, shirtless, and with a furious look. He stood for a moment, then stepped on top of her. Diana held his arms, trying to break free as Bruce tightened his grip on her neck.

"Martha showed up shortly afterwards with the driver, and they got you off me. He hit you out and tied you up." Diana finished the story.

Bruce lowered his head, still more embarrassed, at the same time that he was confused.

"I don't remember any of this." He paused. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not mad at you, though. Scared, yes, but not angry. I should leave you and support Martha's decision, but I feel there's something wrong with all this."

He lifted his head at her words.

"Wrong?" He asked.

Diana nodded, and opened her mouth to speak, yet Martha appeared shortly thereafter, followed by a doctor and some nurses. The woman pointed at the figure of Bruce, tied to the chair.

"It's him. You can take him."

Diana ran and stood in front of her mother-in-law, while the men held her husband.

"It's a rash attitude, Martha! Bruce is well now and ..."

"Shut up!" She shouted. "What do you think, Dr. Ledger?"

The doctor laughed and approached. The figure so familiar to Bruce, and still haunting his nightmares, approached. He had short, well-lined black hair, and wore a white uniform with a lab coat over it. Even without the sinister makeup of a clown, Bruce recognized him. He tried to let go, but the nurses kept him under control.

The Joker's version in that world laughed, noisily and sinisterly.

"Get him out of here." And for Martha. "Don't worry, Mrs. Wayne. Let's take good care of your son. He'll get everything he deserves in Arkham..."

Bruce shouted, yet Martha ignored his pleas, talking to the doctor a little more. Diana was the only one who seemed to really care, and ran after him. She ran out of the mansion while her husband was taken. She stood in the doorway, watching helplessly.

The nurses threw Bruce into the ambulance, and she still heard his desperation. Martha left shortly after, followed by Dr. Ledger. The two exchanged a greeting.

"We will make Mr. Wayne's stay as comfortable as possible."

Martha nodded and walked back into the house. The doctor entered the ambulance and they left. Only Diana stayed there, watching her husband be taken. That was all very wrong. She needed to find a way to help him. Crazy or not, it was wrong. She just did not understand why.

Guys, is this chapter good? Was not the writing confusing? Let me know.

Well, it seems Diana wants to help Bruce. Can she? This is what we will see ...

Gratitude!