*A/N: Aloha, lovely readers. I get so happy with your nice comments, thanks so much for supporting this! Anyway, I'm moving on slightly further than the infantile age of the kids and I'm sad to say that we're slooowly getting into the final third of the chapters of this fic. If you have any ideas you'd like to see, say them or be quiet forever! :P I can't promise I'll do them, but if I like them, why not? Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this and… see ya at the end!*

CHAPTER NINE

"Iphigenia Dione Wayne, come back here this instant!" Diana shouted, stumping her foot on the parquet, which creaked loudly. Alfred, standing at the doorway to the old drawing room, made a mental note to call the parquet technician as soon as possible.

"No!" Iphigenia yelled back, clutching her fists. Her eyes were watery.

"Don't you dare talk to me at that tone of voice!" Her mother said, pointing a finger at her.

"I'll talk to you however I like!" Iphigenia spat back. "Leave me alone!" She ran out of the dining room and up the stairs. Diana exhaled angrily.

"Diana-" Bruce said but she shook her head at him and he stopped.

"I'll deal with her now. You go eat and we'll be down soon." Diana strode outside and climbed up the stairs, making the floor 'scream' with her every step. Alfred cringed at the sounds but dared not interfere and made another mental note, to withdraw some cash from their bank account, as the repairs might not be that cheap.

Bruce, Dick and Thomas exchanged a look of equal confusion, shrugging simultaneously. Iphigenia, fourteen now, was going through her puberty and they just couldn't understand her at times. Bruce was angry at how his daughter had burst out into a fit just before going to dinner but Diana was the one to confront her and Bruce decided to stay back and let her settle things with her daughter. They were, after all, both women and maybe they understood each other somewhat better.

The relationship with his daughter was good and he was happy about that, but he couldn't help but feel like he couldn't get close to her at times, now that she was starting to grow up, and quickly. Physically, she was about ten centimeters shorter than Diana, and the summers she spent at Themyscira and the winters she spent practicing all kinds of sports gave her a quite muscular and athletic physique. She had inherited her mother's natural superhuman, to an extent, strength and abilities, and had cultivated them enough. She was quick and strong, physically and mentally. At times, he saw some of his own stubbornness in her and couldn't decide if that was a good or a bad thing; he guessed it depended on where she used it on.

When Iphigenia was blue or confused, Bruce could calm her spirits. Diana said it was always that peculiar connection between fathers and daughters that did the trick but Bruce wasn't so certain about it. It was just that he knew himself well and she was like him, not only on the outside, but on the inside as well, and so he knew what to say. Iphigenia usually opened up to him and listened to him, but today's outburst was quite something and it was time to…pull out the big guns. Diana rarely got in fights with her children and they all knew that she had her good reasons. To say that she would deal with Iphigenia meant that they would have a big talk, a heart-to-heart mother-to-daughter talk that Bruce, if he wanted to be honest with himself, could never have with his daughter. There were some things that only mothers could discuss with their daughters, as some other subjects could better be discussed between sons and fathers.

Bruce was somewhat afraid at how his firstborn child was starting to change but he knew that they had raised her well up until now and there was nothing they couldn't handle. It was just…adolescence. Instinctively, he turned to his son and smiled, as he was still 'unchanged' and would still be for some years to come. Or so he…hoped? He didn't know and wasn't in the mood for finding out now.

Ignoring the banging of doors upstairs, they followed Alfred to the table and started lunching quietly.

When Diana stopped in front of her daughter's room, the door was already closed. She turned the handle and pushed, but it was locked. That infuriated her.

"Iphigenia, open up right now!" She shouted.

"No!"

"Open up, I said!"

"Go away!"

"Iphigenia, open this damn door this instant!"

"No! I don't want to speak to you! Leave!"

"You will speak with me, whether you want it or not!" Diana yelled and inhaled strongly, before proceeding to kick the door. The lock easily broke and the door fell down with a thud, taking the hinges and part of the doorway with it.

Iphigenia jumped up from her bed and looked at her mother in shock. "Mom! What the hell!"

Diana stepped inside and easily picked up the fallen door, leaning it against the wall. "I said you're going to speak with me."

"I don't want to." Iphigenia insisted and sat back on her bed, pushing her face to her pillow.

"Iphigenia, you will. You yelled at us and your behavior was unacceptable!"

"I don't care!"

"Did I raise you like that? Has anyone yelled at you like you did before?" Iphigenia remained silent. "Let me answer that for you." Diana said, approaching her bed. "No."

"I. Don't. Care!"

"Don't speak to me with that attitude!" Diana said, taking a seat at the bed. "We've been working like slaves to give you and your brother everything you want only to have you treat us like that!"

"What slaves?" Iphigenia almost shouted. "Dad inherited the company and you're a Princess!"

"How dare you!" Diana said, clenching her fists. "You think if your father hadn't worked at the Enterprise, he would still be sitting at the board table? You think I've been sitting around the house doing nothing? I have millions of people depending on me! And the world needs us to keep it safe!" Iphigenia mumbled something that Diana chose to ignore and went on. "In this house, we've taught you to settle everything by speaking calmly. I don't think we ever taught you to yell and be aggressive."

"That's rich, coming from people whose main jobs are punching the hell out of others!"

Diana got up, furious, and made her way to the door, not wanting to curse at her own daughter. She stood at the –once- doorway. "We 'punch the hell out of those others' just so you can sit on your fancy bed and mumble through your lacy pillow and speak ill of me, without worrying that your planet will be destroyed the next day. I'm so sorry to see you so ungrateful, Iphigenia. I didn't expect that of you. Maybe if you had less, you would understand what you have now and, trust me, you will regret those words soon."

Diana took two steps outside the bedroom when she heard Iphigenia call for her. "Mom?" She stopped. "Mom? Come inside." Diana crossed her arms over her chest and entered the bedroom once more. Iphigenia had sat up and cradled her pillow to her chest. "I'm…I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to say those things."

Diana arched an eyebrow and reclaimed her seat on the bed. "Why did you say them, then?"

"I don't know! I was angry at you and I said something that I knew would hurt you and I'm sorry!" Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"You need to think before you speak. Others might not take them so lightly."

"Did you take it lightly?"

"No." Diana replied firmly. "I'm still very angry at you but I'm willing to talk it out."

"Please, mom, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I know that Dad and you risk your lives everyday and you're still here for us and I know that you work hard and it was unfair to speak about you like that!"

"Good thing you realize what you said. But words can't be taken back. Someone will hold them against you if you can't learn how to cleverly and calmly speak your mind."

"I said I was angry!"

"I'm angry too, but do you see me yelling at you?"

"…No."

"I am hurt at what you said and about how you acted before but…you're a good kid, Iphigenia. I know your mind is probably confused right now but that is no reason to take it out on us. We're here for you, and only you."

"But… Why did you forbid me from going out tonight?"

"We have our reasons, but you weren't so willing to listen to them. You just started shouting that you hated us and that we're ruining your life."

Iphigenia looked down and wiped her face on her pillow. "That was a bit harsh, I'm sorry."

"Saying you're sorry won't always fix things, Iphigenia."

"But I mean it!"

"I know, and that is why we'll forgive you, although you said all these horrible things."

"I don't know what got over me, mom. I was just so furious and the words just…slipped my mouth."

"Now that you're a bit calmer, will you tell me why you got so worked up before?"

"Because you won't let me go out tonight!"

"We won't let you go out where you want to go out. Do you know that that District is one of Gotham's most notorious ones? Do you think your father would ever let you roam around there?"

"But everyone will go and we'll be a big group and a chauffer will drive me to and from and-"

"It doesn't matter, Iphigenia. It's still too dangerous and I'm not risking it and that's the end of this discussion."

"But mom! All the kids will be there but me!"

"If all the kids jumped off a bridge, would you jump as well?"

"No, but-but that's different!"

"It's not. It's a matter of your safety."

"But I can take care of myself!"

"The fact that you can fight to an extent, doesn't guarantee you anything. Do you know how many times your father and I were close to being dead, no matter how well we knew how to fight?"

"…Countless."

"Exactly. Have I denied you many outings before, Iphigenia?"

"…No."

"Then don't act like you've been held a captive. Is spending the night with us so bad?"

"No, but I just really wanted to go to that park and-"

"It's not the park you wanted to visit, Iphigenia." Diana said meaningfully and Iphigenia gave her a good look. "It's someone you want to see."

The girl blushed a bit. "No…"

"Come on, now, my love. You can always talk to me. Who is it? Is it Archie?" Iphigenia frowned and averted her look and Diana knew she was right. Her daughter had almost the exact same reactions as Bruce. "Don't hide from me. I'm your mother, if you don't talk to me about these things, who will you talk to? If it matters, I think that Archie is a good kid and I'd very much like to help you if you'd only let me."

Iphigenia gave her mother a questioning look. "Are you serious?"

"Of course. I want you to have fun, as long as you keep yourself safe and you never, ever let anyone push into things you don't want to do…"

"That is certain, mom."

"Good. You see how everything gets better if we calmly talk it out?"

"Yes."

"And if you hadn't started yelling, you would have heard our counter-suggestion for your Saturday."

"Which is?"

"To invite your friends here. We'll all be in our rooms and you'll have the ground floor to yourselves. Alfred's an angel with the guests and I doubt there's something in the park that you can't find in the house."

"Can I? Can I invite them over?"

"I don't know if we'd still be so lenient now…"

"Come on, mom, please! I promise to never-"

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Iphigenia. You will be angry at us, as we'll be too, and we will have our fights but I need to know that you'll try to face them more maturely. You're fourteen now, you're not a kid."

"Yes, mom."

"Is there anything else you wish to say to me, baby?" Diana asked, pleased at where the conversation had led to. She had been angry but she knew that she could manage to communicate with Iphigenia. She remembered how going through puberty was like for her and knew that she would be a valuable consultant to her daughter. Iphigenia needed to know that she could trust her no matter what and hoped that today's fight had taught her a lesson. Sometimes, she and Bruce needed to be tough on their kids but they made sure to always explain to them why. Iphigenia's outburst was a first and Diana knew that she had to intervene and have a chat with her, just to show her that they can understand each other.

Iphigenia shrugged. "I don't know why I'm crying."

"It's good. Tears are therapeutic sometimes and you need to let them out. Don't be afraid to cry, or ashamed. It's normal."

"It's just there are so many things going on in my head and I don't know how to keep them in line!"

"I know! You're growing up and you're beginning to experience many new things, that you don't exactly know how to process. Sometimes it will seem too much, I understand."

"Oh, mom, can I share something with you?"

"You can share anything with me."

"Now that we spoke, I could totally understand what you were saying and I know that you're right, okay? I know it."

"Yes."

"But, there's this tiny little voice in my head that no matter what you say and no matter how I know that it's right, it's telling me to do the opposite, just because it's you telling me the right thing!"

Diana smiled and nodded. "I know exactly what you're saying. You see, Iphigenia, being a teenager is all about getting a bit more independent, right?"

"I suppose."

"Well, a step towards independence is not being glued to your parents and so this little voice is telling you to be reactive, just so you can take yourself away from us but you need to know this." Iphigenia paid close attention to her words. "That little voice is a little stupid at times. Although its purpose is to…ready you, in a way, for surviving on your own, it doesn't know much. You still need us, your parents, and this little voice will tell you to do many stupid things, just to get on our nerves. You need to apply reason, my love. Don't forget that Iphigenia controls her mind, and not the little voice. Remember to always think your actions over and tell this little voice to hush when you see that where it's pushing you is the wrong way. Your conscience will warn you about it, I'm sure."

Iphigenia nodded. "I will, mom. I will try. Thanks for not giving up on me."

Diana laughed. "What are you talking about? You're my daughter, I'd never give up on you! I love you!"

"And I love you too, mama."

"Give me a hug." Diana said and Iphigenia threw her pillow away, sharing a firm embrace with her mother.

"Were you like this too when you were fourteen?" Iphigenia asked.

"Oh, yes! And I wish Hippolyta had told me the things I just told you know. You won't believe how many fights they would have saved us."

"So you argued a lot?"

"An awful lot. But now we're better."

"I know. Grandma Hippolyta always speaks well of you."

"That is nice."

"Yes!"

"So, what do you say? Shall we go down to eat now?" Iphigenia nodded and they both got up. "Go wash your face."

"Yes, mom."

"Iphigenia, are you expecting your period?"

"In a couple of days, yes."

Diana nodded in understanding. You don't mess with puberty and hormone tantrums.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Please don't tell Dad about Archie."

"Of course not, are you crazy?"

"Thanks." Iphigenia said and smiled at her mother.

Just when Thomas, Dick and Bruce exited the dining room, Diana and Iphigenia entered grinning, with Diana having her arm over her daughter's shoulders.

"Are you done, boys?" Diana asked.

"Yes…" Bruce replied, looking at them suspiciously.

"Good. We're going to grab our lunch now. See you later!" And so they entered the dining hall.

Bruce let his hand on Thomas' shoulder. "Women, my son. They were never explained, and will never be understood."

"Tell me about it…" Dick mumbled.

Thomas nodded in agreement, pretending to have understood his father's wisdom.

*A bit of a teenage mess there! I sincerely hope you liked it. Growing up certainly isn't easy! The next chapter-don't know when I'll be able to upload it- won't be too child-centered, but having our couple and their…protégés, mostly. Please let me know how you found it!*