Chapter 12: Rage's Aftermath
"Batman calling Wonder Woman," the deep voice came over the communicator.
She considered not answering but that was beneath her. So she did. Her voice, however, was a bit frosty.
"Wonder Woman here."
"What's your status?"
Part of her knew that he was worried about her and that the delay in calling had been fear of what he might hear when he did. However, had there actually been a virus, as opposed to a lie told to confuse and distract the League, it would have started impacting her life four hours before his call. She suspected a kinder, more loving woman would understand his fear and love him a little more for it. Wonder Woman, however, was extremely close to her boiling point. So she told him the truth.
"I'm walking towards the medical bay."
She was. She was on the way to the cafeteria for dinner – she had agreed to meet Flash and sketch out their report over a quick dinner before he did monitor duty. And, at that moment in time, she was striding towards the medical bay.
"That's your location. Not your status." The response was instant. And for someone who knew Batman extremely well, there was a bit of panic in his voice.
"Excellent point. I'm fine. What's your status?"
"You're fine?"
"I'm fine. There was no virus. Luthor lied to Superman. The whole situation was just to distract us so that he could cover his tracks."
"Are you sure?" he asked. The relief was obvious.
"Are you asking me if I am sure of the health of my own body, if Luthor lied to Superman or if the virus was merely to serve as a distraction?" asked Diana in her haughty princess voice. "I refuse to answer if it is the first because it is too insulting. If it is the second, the answer is yes. If it is the third, the answer is that I am not sure what Luthor's actual motives are but that is my theory and that of the other League members I have discussed the situation with."
"Thank you. Batman out."
When the communicator clicked off, Diana was so stunned that she actually stopped in the middle of the hallway.
I'm going to kill him.
And then, she had a better idea.
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"Batman to Superman," came over the communicator.
"Superman here."
Superman was on monitor duty. He had about another 45 minutes until Flash relieved him and he was looking forward to being done. It had been a quiet shift which he was grateful for but he wanted to go get a good workout in and then get some sleep. The day had seemed very long to the Man of Steel.
"What are you doing about Luthor?"
"I'll take care of it, Batman," he answered.
"I have some free time before patrol," Batman responded.
Superman closed his eyes briefly. The idea of a "your way versus my way" discussion with Batman was not what he wanted.
"That news warms my heart. I hope you use the time wisely."
"Is that an invitation?"
"No. It is not. Luthor lied to me, Batman. Believe me, he and I are going to have a little chat."
"Chat," Batman repeated with a flat voice that did nothing to hide his disgust at the idea.
"Batman, I am not in the mood to have this discussion with you," Superman snapped. "I will handle Luthor. Keep pushing me on this and I'll come and have a chat with you too. If I find out you went to see Luthor…."
"Oh, you won't," Batman answered and deactivated his communicator.
Superman snarled at the dead air. For a moment, he considered calling Batman back and letting him take on Luthor. The two of them could do enough damage to each other that perhaps the Man of Steel could get a little break. Go to Smallville, do some fishing, something fun like that.
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In Superman's opinion, one of the good things about being a reporter, and he believed there were several, was if he needed to know where a prominent personality was going to be, it was easy to get that information. Especially, if there was a press conference and the prominent personality actively wanted reporters to attend.
Superman arrived a few minutes before the start of the press conference. Luthor was announcing his intention of updating the playgrounds in one of the city's public parks and then building affordable housing around the park. It was one of several projects Luthor had announced as part of his on-going campaign to improve his image and he was making this announcement from the run-down pavilion on the park.
During the extra time, Superman surveyed the pavilion, using his X-ray vision to determine the location that would maximize impact while minimizing damage.
By the time he was ready, the conference was in full swing. So, Superman counted to five and threw the manila envelopes through the pavilion with bullet-like precision. The envelopes landed a few feet from Luthor's microphone but no one was hit by the falling debris and bits of wood.
"You lied to me, Luthor," Superman said as he lowered himself through the hole. Hovering a few feet above the ground, he sounded like a disappointed parent.
The surge of questions from the media as they tried to determine what was happening seemed to go ignored by the main players. A few reporters grabbed the envelopes.
Luthor smiled. "Superman, what a nice surprise. I have to admit, though, I have no idea what you are talking about."
"The virus you said Weston injected into Wonder Woman when he kidnapped her for your little science experience. Before you killed him, of course. The virus never existed." The Man of Steel had chosen each word carefully to ignite the press corps behind him. It worked. Luthor's response was lost in the cacophony of questions, demands and the sound of people getting out of their chairs.
"Don't bother to deny it," Superman said. "I have Weston's lab notes here, with your comments in the margins and his blood on the last page. You should not have been so sloppy as to write so close to the blood. It makes it so clear that you were writing after the blood splatter. I have copies here for everyone. The police already got theirs."
Luthor sputtered in anger. Superman, feeling like the point was made, began to rise through the roof.
"Don't lie to me again, Luthor," he said and left Luthor to deal with the reporters.
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Although not a creature of habit in the traditional sense, there was some regularity to Batman's schedule. Patrol usually started at the same time and once a week, usually Thursday afternoon, he trained at the Watchtower rather than in the Batcave. He did that for several reasons. Mainly, however because it gave him a different location and different programs to work with.
He had just started a program – fighting a team of eight – when Diana walked into the training room. She was in her full costume, which she rarely trained in but he was a bit too focused to give too much thought to the implications of that.
They hadn't spoken for a day, since the short call over the communicator. He was planning on stopping by her room after the training program. He had expected an angry call but one had not come. Frankly, it made him a little nervous.
Saying nothing, she turned off the program and waited for a moment while he recovered from kicking air. He stood quietly in front of her.
Here it comes, he thought. Although he wasn't even entirely sure what "it" was.
"You seem to be protecting me from danger. I do not require your protection but words do not seem to convince you, or, at least impact your actions," she said coldly.
He said nothing. Every word she said was true.
"I have, therefore, decided that you need a reminder as to why I am on the team," she said and stepped three feet in front of him and dropped into a bit of a crouching position.
"You want to spar?" he asked, keeping his voice as flat as he could.
She smiled at him. It was not a warm smile.
"I don't have time for this," he said and took a step towards her as she was standing between him and the door.
"But you do," she sneered. "You were planning to train for another hour. Believe me, I can make my point in about five minutes."
"If the issue was your ability to protect yourself, I am sure you are right. However, the issues are your innocence and your tendency to rush into a situation without reflecting on the implications of your actions," he snarled.
He may have heard the roar from her before he found himself airborne and flying backwards towards the wall but he wasn't sure. But he was sure that once he hit the wall and recovered his feet, she was facing him, but otherwise in the same pose.
"That only proved my point, Princess," he said and threw a batrang around her ankles. He gave the rope a pull but rather than sending her on her back, she took flight and dragged him several feet into the air. Then she pulled her feet apart and snapped the cord, sending him back to the mat. She made sure he was looking at her before she casually lowered herself back to the ground.
"All right," he said. "If you insist." He dropped into a defensive position and motioned to her with his hand.
Diana smiled and charged.
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Flash was walking past the training room when he heard an unusual amount of, well, thumping and crashing. He doubted someone could have snuck in without the Watchtower defenses screaming, but he thought he had been check.
He opened the door just in time to see Batman flipping Wonder Woman over his shoulder and onto the mat. He wouldn't have thought anything of it – League members train together all the time – but there was something about both of their expressions that suggested this was anything but a friendly training session. Batman, he realized, always looked angry, but Wonder Woman looked like she was after blood, which didn't always happen even when she was fighting villains. He was fairly certainly neither of them seen him so he quietly slipped back out into the hallway.
He knew he ought to keep it quiet, but he activated his communicator.
"Ah, Superman? It's Flash. Batman and Wonder Woman seem to be trying to kill each other in the training room. Maybe you could grab J'onn and come on up in case one or both of them is possessed?"
"We'll be right there," Superman said and disconnected.
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The three stood outside the training room wall while the crashes inside continued. Occasionally there was a shout from either Diana or Batman but no words. J'onn did not even need to really reach out in order to connect with the variety of emotions in the room.
"They are both themselves," he said. "They are both very angry."
"Do we break it up?" Flash asked.
Superman tossed him a look. "We?" he asked with a smirk.
"All right, you," Flash amended. "Should Superman go in there and break it up?"
"Not break it up," J'onn said. "However, it might be wise for us to go in there and make sure it does not escalate."
Superman nodded his agreement.
Flash looked at them both. "Okay, but seriously, if either of them gets mad at me, I will tell them that it was your idea." With that, he activated the door and the three of them stepped in.
The air was filled with smoke that suggested that the contents of Batman's belt were not off-limits. However, they could all clearly see that Wonder Woman had her foot firmly planted on Batman's chest, who was lying on his back on the ground.
She had not acknowledged the three men who had just entered the room, but she knew they were there. She was looking a bit worse for wear – no bleeding or bruising, but she looked tired and her stance suggested she was hurting a bit.
When Batman didn't move fast enough, she removed her foot from his chest and pushed it under his back and lifted him into the air and back on his feet. He was facing Superman, Flash and J'onn who he threw a look of gratitude which none of them understood before turning back towards Wonder Woman. In the second they saw his face, they noticed a small cut in the corner of his mouth and a bruise forming along his jawbone. Consider what little of him was visible with his costume on; it was not a good sign.
Batman engaged Wonder Woman and the two were lost for several minutes in a whirl of kicks, punches and flips. Finally, Diana's meta abilities won out and she flipped Batman on his stomach and this time, put her boot on his neck.
"Stay down," she ordered.
Batman was breathing heavily and made no attempt to move. After a moment, Diana stepped off.
"I may be new to Man's World," she said softly and bitterly, "but native and impetuous I am not. Remember that next time."
Batman did not respond. Diana, without acknowledging Superman, Flash and J'onn walked out of the training room, looking every bit the warrior princess.
"You all right, man?" Flash asked as he rushed to Batman's side. Batman was already trying to stand. It was slow going, but it was happening.
"I'm fine," he growled in response.
"What happened?" Superman asked. He was completely confused at this point. He had been sure that there was something between Batman and Wonder Woman but the look on Diana's face when she walked out suggested quite the opposite. He didn't want them hating each other, but he really didn't want them in a relationship. That was a nightmare waiting to happen.
"A disagreement regarding protocol," he answered in a tone that, despite the fact he failed to answer the question, did not leave room for discussion.
Batman left the training room and headed back to the Manor. He needed to recover a bit before patrol.
It could have been worse, he thought as he limped along to the transporter room.
Because she hadn't ended their relationship.