A/N: As someone was kind enough to point out last chapter, I wrote about the Amazons wearing togas – obviously I was wrong lol, since they're not Roman, so I apologise for that! Any references I've gotten wrong here – blame Wikipedia for them lol! Also I worked it out and this is going to be around the 17-18 chapter mark, not the 10 that I first naively suggested tee hee.

Chapter Nine – Cosmic Metaphor

J'onn!

The Martian's eyes glowed slightly as he titled his head to reach out and accept the urgent thought that Batman was sending him. What is it?

Diana can feel people on the planet's surface.

J'onn's eyes widened. That is unexpected. And potentially very dangerous for her state of mind.

That much I know, she's- Batman's mental voice, brimming with frustration and anxiety, cut off. It was a couple of seconds before he spoke again, this time in his normal, much calmer timbre. She can't talk anymore, and is in obvious pain. I don't think she can read my emotions, but evidently I'm no longer any kind of protection for her.

I see. I'm afraid there is nothing that we can do until Hawkgirl arrives back-

J'onn, she is losing her mind!

It was like being shot in the head, and though no empath himself, the bite in those words made the emotion behind the words redolent. Any question in the Martian's mind about the exact nature of the relationship between his two colleagues disappeared. Even if they themselves were unaware of it. Or in denial.

Focusing on the task at hand, J'onn replied. I could put Diana into a drug-induced coma.

She still has nightmares when unconscious, Batman said.

Probably because dreams are more emotion than thought-based. However, surely it is better than the alternative.

True. I'll sedate her and bring her to the medical bay. If…

J'onn frowned. If?

The connection was cut off before he could question further. Sighing, J'onn got up and began preparing the medical bay for Diana.

---

Diana was barely aware of Bruce calling her name again – all she knew was the pain. They were still over Hawaii, and the anger was building, making her want to rip something apart – but the conflicting happiness stopped her, the sorrow forcing her to cry. It hurt more than emotionally now, since her throat was raw with sobs and her eyes stung as though someone were pouring acid into them. Still, she couldn't stop, too full of grief to do anything but weep.

The gentle press of lips to her forehead woke her slightly – she did not stop crying, but managed to raise her face blindly to his, to try to listen. "Bruce?" she breathed, seeing concerned blue eyes drift in and out of focus.

"Diana, you're in pain. I have to sedate you, but-"

She gripped his hands, vaguely hearing bones creak but not caring enough to notice. She tried to gather enough air to speak. "M-make it s-stop. P-please."

She let go of his hands and buried her fingers in her hair, ready to tear out the dark strands. She barely felt the prick of a needle in her upper arm before everything, mercifully, went black.

---

Less than two minutes later, Bruce entered the Infirmary carrying a slumbering Amazon princess in his arms. "She's out," he told J'onn.

"How much anaesthetic did you use?"

"150 mg Pentothal," he replied.

"That is more than the recommended amount for…anyone," J'onn pointed out. "A lot more." He'd have to use the apparatus to help her breathe now, since the drug that Batman had used would almost certainly have restricted her respiratory and cardiovascular functions.

"Diana's a meta. She'll be fine," he answered brusquely, putting Diana down on an empty bed. "Just make sure she stays unconscious until we've had the founders meeting."

"Founders meeting?" J'onn questioned, frowning at his patient. She was deeply locked into unconsciousness, but not at all restful; her face was creased in pain, her eyes moving from side to side under their rids, her lips slightly parted and letting tiny whimpers escape her. She looked nothing like the Wonder Woman he had stood and fought side-by-side with for years.

"Yeah," Batman said. "Do what you have to do, then get to the conference room." Without another word, he turned and left the room.

J'onn pretended not to notice the last – lingering, he thought privately – glance at the prone figure of the princess. He shook his head slightly before intubating her. "Humans," he mused to no one in particular. Such odd creatures.

Ten minutes later, the five male founders of the League were gathered around the circular table, discussing their cursed colleague.

"She needs to be as far away from people as possible," Batman said.

"We're hundreds of miles above the Earth," Green Lantern pointed out. "There is nowhere else."

"I believe that the sudden worsening of Diana's condition is due in part to the number of people onboard the Watchtower," J'onn said. "It is possible that sensing their emotion had acted as a gateway of sorts, to feeling the emotions of those on the planet's surface."

"So what you're saying is, if we get her away from anyone, she might recover?" GL asked.

"Stabilise, certainly," J'onn confirmed.

"Well evacuating the Watchtower's out," Superman said. "Aside from the fact we need it to monitor Earth, there are some for whom the Watchtower is the only home they've got."

"Agreed. But neither can we use the Cave. It's far too close to Gotham," the Dark Knight said.

"So what are you suggesting, outer Mongolia?" Flash asked incredulously.

He got no reply further than a Batglare.

"What about the Fortress?" Superman asked thoughtfully.

There was a silence for a moment, then Batman spoke. "Good idea. It's far enough away from settlements, and no one outside of the League knows its exact location. How long would the food stocks last?"

"Long enough, hopefully," Superman answered. "And the living quarters are comfortable enough."

"But in order to get there, we'd have to fly over most of Asia and Europe," Batman observed, cursing the fact that the transporters were out. He looked at J'onn. "Would the sedation hold that long?"

"It should do. Diana's metabolism is faster than that of most humans, but I do not believe she will wake before you arrive at the Fortress of Solitude."

"Good. In that case we'll leave straightaway," he replied, getting up and heading to the doors. "Have Hawkgirl contact me when she gets back."

---

Athena spoke, tapping Shayera's mace against her palm. "We will find her, and force her to reverse the curse she has laid upon your daughter."

"Great," Shayera replied. "Can I have my mace back now?"

The goddess gave her a blank look. "No."

"Oh." There didn't seem to be much to say to that.

"Who is with her?" Aphrodite, who hadn't yet spoken, asked. Her voice was like listening to spring water.

Shayera narrowed her eyes. "What difference does that make?"

"Humour me," the goddess of love replied simply.

"Batman. For some reason she isn't in as much pain around him."

Hippolyta shifted, frowning. "A man? You left her alone with a man?"

"Hey, all the men in the League care about Diana, Batman included."

"To not be afraid, Hippolyta," Aphrodite said. "She is in good hands." Shayera blinked in surprise as the goddess actually winked at her.

"And in the meantime?" The redhead asked. "I can't just go back to the Watchtower with nothing."

"Until we locate Skatha, there is nothing that can be done. If Diana is safe for the moment then keep her that way."

"Rest assured, it will not take long," Hera said.

Without another word, the three goddesses vanished in another flare of light, leaving Hippolyta and Shayera looking at one another with puzzled expressions, especially since Shayera's mace was suddenly back at her belt. The Thanagarian noticed the queen's hands were fisted at her sides, and Hippolyta's mouth was compressed into a thin line.

"You ok?" Shayera questioned.

"I am fine," she said immediately.

"I wouldn't be," Shayera replied quietly. She wasn't expecting Hippolyta to talk – wasn't even sure she wanted her to, but Diana was her friend. Still, somehow, after everything she'd done, Diana was her friend. And if Diana's mother needed someone to talk to then she'd try.

Hippolyta was silent for a moment, then she spoke. "I will return to Man's World with you," she said decisively. "I need to see my daughter."

"I can't let you," Hawkgirl said immediately, remembering Batman's words to her. Now that she was here, and could see the look of desperation in the blonde woman's eyes, it was proving harder than she'd expected to deny Hippolyta the right to see Diana. If it were her, she was pretty sure that nothing would have stopped her. But it wasn't – and right now she was Diana's friend, and she'd seen what people worrying about her did to Diana. That and Batman would kill her.

"I know you want to see her, but if you would be causing her more harm than good, Your Majesty, trust me on that."

Hippolyta was silent again. Shayera got the impression that she was a woman of few words. She and Batman would have got along like a house on fire. Had Batman not been of the male species, of course.

The queen took one, long, deep breath, and released it slowly, suddenly looking much calmer and utterly serene. She still had gravitas in her countenance, but was accepting of the situation. "Very well. I will not return with you, but I wish to be informed the moment she is recovered."

Shayera nodded. "You have my word."

---

Batman got no further than a few steps toward the Infirmary before he remembered that J'onn would have intubated Diana. And though he was competent in field medicine, there was no way he was qualified to pull a tube safely out of her trachea. Not that he'd trust his hands to remain steady anyway – not with Diana.

Thankfully, J'onn was close on his heels. As the Martian carefully removed the tube helping her breathe from Diana's throat, Bruce gently removed the IV from her hand. "Will she be able to breathe by herself?"

"Yes. Enough of the drug will have metabolised by now."

Sure enough, as Bruce bent down to check, there was warm breath teasing across his jaw. Repressing a sigh of relief, Bruce gathered her into his arms, giving J'onn a nod of thanks before leaving as quickly as possibly for the hanger. It was the work of a matter of moments to make sure she was secure in the ship – he took the Javelin, rather than the Batplane, not wanting to have Diana sat behind him where he couldn't see her. She was still twitching, occasionally, and though J'onn had stated that she wouldn't wake until they got to the Fortress, Bruce wasn't willing to take any chances of her waking up above Europe. If a million minds had been too much for her to handle, God only knew what more than seven hundred million would do. The Batplane would do Mach 3, the Javelin could do Mach 4 – if he pushed the engines.

Bruce pushed them.

Hard.

It was no less than ten minutes between the Watchtower and the Arctic Circle; visible breath came from both of them in tiny puffs of air. It was cold, but not actively so – more like the cold before a snowfall than anything. Still moving swiftly and smoothly, Bruce carried Diana through the Fortress – it was strange, but the Fortress and the Batcave were exactly opposite, and exactly the same. The Cave was permanently shadowy, black all the time. A place of darkness. The Fortress seemed perpetually bright, white light everywhere you looked. A place of illumination.

They were both places of solitude. Of loneliness.

It was enough for Bruce to (inwardly) utter a small snort of irony. Cosmic metaphor. The same, but different.

Moving by memory, he located the living quarters quickly. Setting Diana down on a low couch, he sat on the edge of it and brushed some hair away from her face. She moaned a little, uttered an inaudible word or two. Her eyelashes flickered, casting trembling shadows on her cheeks. She was waking up. "Diana."

She stirred again, muttering more. "Diana, wake up."

"Bruce…"

He was sure she didn't mean that to sound as sultry as it did. Decided to inject a little urgency in his voice, he tried again. "Diana!"

Her eyes shot open, and she drew in a sharp breath. Finally her gaze settled on his face. "Bruce?"

She sat up slowly, and he passed her some water. "How are you feeling?"

As if considering it for the first time, she tilted her head. "Better," she said in a surprised tone. "Much better. What happened? And…why are we in the Fortress?"

"Later. Do you still feel other people?"

Another pause as she thought about it. "Yes. But it is more like a buzzing noise than anything…like you hear around bees. A vague feeling of unease."

"You seem much better," he noted with a slight warmth to his voice.

"I do feel it," she agreed. "Why are we here?" she repeated.

"We're far away from most people on Earth here, and apparently that's enough for me to be an effective buffer for you. You're safe here."

She nodded thoughtfully. "For now."

---

A/N: Review please!