Chapter Eleven - Real World

Oh no! This is the last chapter!

I even liked writing that. Writing for Batman is different, I tried to bring a darker story, but I liked the end result. I hope anyone reading this will also enjoy it.

More than determined, Diana approached the structure of an abandoned warehouse. The place looked unusable for years, but she was there. According to Alfred, the last whereabouts of his master was that place. He went to take a call for help, and since then they had no news of the Batman.

She scrambled forward, but as she approached the dark, dirty structure, felt as if she were being followed. In a precise movement, she turned and grabbed her possible oppressor, pressing him against a wall. Diana caught a glimpse of the red hair followed by her startled gaze. Diana let go of the redhead, who fell back to her feet, smoothing her throat.

"I'd tell you to take it easy, but it was my fault for walking behind you."

"What are you doing here, Shayera?" She gestured at the same time she shot the Tanager with her eyes.

"I knew you wouldn't stand, and I decided to help you."

"And why would you help me?" She asked suspiciously, the redhead already shrugged.

"Batman is like a big brother. Besides, he's one of the few people who still talks to me."

Although Diana was reluctant to accept help offered to her, she knew that big something was needed to stop Batman. So, even though she did not like it, she could not refuse the hand Shayera was offered. Then the women walked toward the warehouse. Shayera looked around.

"Why are we here? Right here?"

"This was Bruce's last whereabouts." She said. "I'm surprised no one's been looking."

"There's nothing here."

Diana frowned at the redhead.

"How do you know?"

"Because J'onn and me have turned every corner of this place and found nothing."

"Maybe you didn't look for it right." Diana said, grabbing what was left of a window. Using all her strength, she threw it away. So, she entered, followed by Shayera.

Like the outside, the warehouse looked abandoned for years. They walked through the rubble. This time, however, there was something different.

"What is this?"

They approached a strange crack in the wall. It was not big, only inches. Shayera touched the crack and frowned. Looking back, they had the same idea. She lifted her mace as Diana came toward the wall.


"It's done." Poison Ivy said as soon as the last of his devices was off, leaving only the heart rate monitor. Her plans were otherwise, however, it would not give Batman a chance to return, no matter what he did.

Joker shrugged, bored with the near end of the joke. Now, with the imminent end of Batman, it did not look as good as before. It was too easy. Suddenly they heard a rumble. Poison Ivy moved away from Batman as Joker headed for the door. The villain stole away as the door was smashed from the outside. What was their surprise at seeing two heroines standing there?

They took a good look around. The walls in sickly white hid a very advanced technology, powerful enough to block J'onn's telepathic powers. The abandoned warehouse was just a facade for the lab. The whole place was filled with strange technologies, including a greenhouse full of monstrous plants. However, what most attracted attention was the black figure held on the stretcher, connected to wires and devices.

"Batman! Diana yelled and ran towards the fallen hero.

However, she was intercepted. She felt the hard blow only when it was too late. The Joker hit her pretty face. Diana staggered, but soon recovered and put herself in a fighting position. The Joker would not be a great opponent against her. Poison Ivy ran to help the villain, however, Shayera was soon in front of her.

"Don't even think about it, dear!"

The two women stared at each other for a moment. Shayera spun her mace, while Ivy rushed at her. The villain held onto her mace, preventing the heroine from using her weapon. They turned, without Shayera being able to break free. Ivy was stronger than usual. It was difficult to put her down.

Diana also seemed to have difficulty with the Joker. The villain dressed as a clown gave her a sinister grin as he struck her again in the stomach. Diana fell, holding the spot. She looked up as he walked toward her. He grabbed her by the hair, pulling her up.

"As the Bat weakens, we get stronger."

Although Diana did not understand what those words meant, she knew she needed to get Batman out of his prison. With all her strenght, she managed to hit the Joker. He released her with the blow, and took a few steps back. Diana saw something moving beneath his clothes, and whatever it was, she knew to be the source of his strength.

She would soon come upon the villain, hitting him where she could. At one point she held something with a sticky, tentacle-like texture. She pulled with all her strength. It was difficult, but that strange creature was detaching itself from the body of the villain. The creature, half plant half animal, let out an ugly scream and began to dry before their eyes, still in her hand. The Joker also uttered a strange cry, and fell to the ground, unconscious.

Ivy listened to the whimpers of her plant and turned to see what was happening. She saw the Joker falling, and her plant unraveling in Diana's hands. Shayera took advantage of the distraction of the enemy and lunged at her. The villain did not wait, and Shayera flew against it, toward the greenhouse full of hybrid plants.

With the impact, the stove broke, causing the two women to fall into the middle of the strange plants. Shayera went to her feet, but felt something grab her wing. Tentacles came from the plants, and they were coming toward her. As the heroine tried to free herself, Poison Ivy took the opportunity to flee.

Shayera took advantage of the electric charge on her mace, and shocked the strange creature that gripped her. She watched as it melted away, drying and loosening. She knew what she should do. Her mace would not be enough, so she ran and dropped the electrical appliances. What began as a spark was soon spreading more and more.

Poison Ivy stopped in her escape, trying to decide between saving her creations, helping the Joker or running away. Although she enjoyed the partnership, she knew he would never risk himself for her. So she decided to run away, haunted by the grunts of pain from her monstrous plants being burned. She shrank into the shadows, taking advantage of the distraction of the two heroines.

Diana approached Batman. The hero opened his eyes for a moment, then closed them. Another of the strange creatures came off his back, falling to the ground and drying like the others. The apparatus that monitored his weakened state showed his beating to fall with alarming speed.

She looked around. The Joker was still unconscious, and Shayera set fire to the place. Without the telepathic barrier, J'onn should have known where they were. She released Batman from the useless gadgets, and ran out, with the hero unconscious in her arms.

Outside, she heard the sound of the sirens, approaching where they were. Diana laid Batman on the floor and tried to hear his heart, but it had stopped. The ambulances were still far away, so she started the resuscitation maneuvers herself.

"Please, react!" She asked and continued to do cardiac massage, alternating with mouth-to-mouth breathing. "Please!"

Shayera left shortly after, dragging a Joker still unconscious, while the place behind them caught fire. Diana took the mace from her hands, and used an electric shock as a defibrillator. Electricity ran through the body of the hero, and revived his heart. Both women let out a sigh of relief.

The sound of the sirens was around. An ambulance soon picked up Batman, and gave him the necessary care. The police carried the Joker, and he would have to answer many questions. Despite the bad day, they won. And Batman would be coming home soon. He would be fine, they were sure...

Some time later...

Batman was walking through the aisles of the league. It was his first day back after everything there was. Being in another world and losing the perfect life was a hard blow, even for him. It did not just move with his body, but mostly with his mind and it was scary.

After a bit of walking, he found one of the people he wanted to thank. Shayera was alone in the dining room, until she felt a presence at her side. She gave her friend a half smile.

"I knew you had come back. Glad to know you're better."

Batman sat across from her.

"I didn't thank you for helping me.

The redhead shrugged.

"I didn't do anything, it was Diana. She didn't give up. She tried to resuscitate you until the help arrived."

Though he knew it was true, he could not fail to thank her. He remembered the sacrifice of his friends in the other reality. Thinking about the death of his friends, even if it was not real, made him a bit sick. Without them, he might not have been there to say thank you. He still had not got rid of all the traumas of bad experience, yet he knew he would soon.

"I don't know what you went through, but I think you should tell somebody. Not me, of course..."

Shayera smiled, and it did not take much for the batman to understand what she meant. By the way Diana fought for him till the end, he knew that the princess's feelings were beyond friendship. And that pleased him indeed. Maybe it was time to quit solitary life a little.

"And you should pay attention to the people around you." He said, remembering the unusual couple she formed in the other reality with Flash. Batman knew she still had feelings for the Green Lantern, but maybe it was time to start over. "I'm sure there's someone who would like your company."

"What do you mean?" She asked, but in answer she got only a half puzzled smile. Batman just got up and left. She would find out for herself. And also, there was another person with whom he very much wanted to talk ...


Diana heard the door open, and frowned at the intrusion. She opened her mouth to say harsh words, but all she could do was show a big smile when saw the figure at door. Forgetting protocols and any lack of intimate contact, Diana threw herself into the Batman's arms.

She was so happy to see him well and standing that she forgot all else. Batman was taken aback, a little disconcerted, but gradually found himself returning that hug. He lost track of how long they stayed there, until Diana was the first to break the contact.

"I'm very happy to see you awake." She paused. "I imagine it was difficult."

"Can we talk?" He asked. Diana nodded and they sat side by side on the bed. Batman then began his story.

"There was no Superman, no Green Lantern or Marcian Manhunter. Neither justice league, nor heroes. But you were in that reality. While everyone was struggling to keep me prisoner, you helped me. You took risks by believing in me..."

Batman told every detail of the other reality. He told how there were no heroes and the dilemmas of that life. He also told how he grew up with his parents, and that the false memories still mingled with the true ones. In the other world, he was an ordinary man, and he was good, but even so, when he knew the truth, he knew he needed to return to his world, because he was not just a common man.

And it was difficult, he told her. It was hard to leave a perfect life, where he had everything he wanted and more. And he told how hard it was to abandon her version in that reality, and yet, that same version that helped him out. Without Diana, he would never have returned. So Diana knew how she helped him twice, in both realities. It took some time for her to understand everything he had told her. It was too much information.

"So Flash and Shayera were married, we were best friends and I was his wife?"

"Everyone looked happy, it was really hard to leave. Without your version in that world, I wouldn't have the strength to fight. Not only did you help me, but it was mostly you. I will be forever grateful."

"There's nothing to be thankful for, Bruce. I just did what my heart told me. And I believe the other Diana, too."

"The memory of her will always be with me." He confessed.

Diana took her hand.

"And I'm with you. Ever."

Batman smiled. He was not a man of many smiles, but that promise pleased him. If Diana said she would always be by his side, she would be. He was sure.