Disclaimer

The characters used in this story are the property of DC Comics and Warner Bros. I have used them and fabricated this tale which is entirely is product of my imagination.

Chap 11

26th December – Watch Tower

Diana was moody all day and her behaviour started to bother the others when she unwittingly pressed the button which almost flung the watch tower out of orbit. She threw in a quick and dry apology before she walked away from the flushing red face of Batman, who was in an equally foul mood. He was due on monitor duty that day with Diana, but decided it would be better if he let Superman take over. Superman was only too happy to oblige for he enjoyed working with Diana, but after the incident, he wasn't very sure. Batman clenched his teeth and wanted to pursue her, but Superman pulled him back.

Diana had gone to the kitchen to cool her mind off. Hawk Girl followed her, determined to set her mood right, only to find Amazonian Princess ripping apart the coffee maker for the fault of adding only the 'optimal' amount of sugar to her coffee as set by Batman.

"Easy Princess! That is no bad guy!" Hawk Girl said, pulling the remnants of the erstwhile coffee maker from her hands.

Diana panted, more out of frustration, as she sat down in the chair. Hawk Girl gave her sometime to compose herself.

"What's the matter, Diana? I've never seen you like this before!" Hawk Girl started off with what she considered as the safest expression.

"Men!" Diana muttered through her clenched teeth. That hint was enough for hawk girl to frame the entire story.

"Your date didn't go very well, did it?" Hawk Girl remarked.

Diana raised her head abruptly and her mouth dropped lightly. Her date!

"No need to act before me, Diana! I know it was you and nit your friend who was skeptical about going out with Bruce Wayne.

Diana simmered down and let out a sigh. Hawk Girl placed her hand over her shoulder and continued.

"What happened?"

"Bruce Wayne is a complete idiot!" Diana muttered. Hawk Girl could see tiny tear drop
peeking out from the corner of her eye.

"What did he do?" Hawk Girl growled. "Did he misbehave with you? Should I wreck him? Or have you done it already?"

By that time, Batman had stepped in for a coffee. He was infuriated to see the condition of the kitchen, especially the coffee maker.

"That's it, Princess! I've had enough of your ranting for a day! What do you -" he paused when Hawk Girl signalled him not to push the matter any further.

It didn't help the situation as Batman had rekindled the fire which looked to have simmered down. Diana marched towards him, her eyes showing a mixture of rage and humiliation. Batman involuntarily took a step back.

"You are worried about the coffee maker! Go tell your boss that I'll pay for it!" she growled.

Batman turned to Hawk Girl and raised her eye brow, asking for explanation. Hawk Girl realised it was up to her to take control of the situation.

"I'll go break his bones right now!" she offered as she tried to march past them. Diana stopped her.

"That won't be necessary. Lisa has already done what has to be done!" she remarked.

"Wait! What are you talking about?" Batman frowned.

"Bruce Wayne, of course! He misbehaved with Diana's friend, Lisa" Hawk Girl explained.

"Is that true?" Batman squinted at Diana.

"I never said he misbehaved." Diana remarked. Hawk Girl's jaw dropped in astonishment.

"What did Bruce Wayne do then?" Batman demanded.

"I don't care what he did," Diana turned away from him, "but poor Lisa was crying all night!" She felt a pang of strong emotion as she recollected the last night's incidents.

Batman had lost the little patience he had.

"And what did she expect from him anyway?" he growled. "How can women so stupid and senseless? All you can do is cry!"

Hawk Girl realised it was better for her to leave as the things started to heat up. That last remark of Batman wouldn't win any accolades from her for sure. She slowly made her way past Diana and out of the kitchen.

"And you back your boss in it, don't you?" Diana snarled, pushing him away.

"He is not my boss! Just because he funds me doesn't make him my boss!" He thought he had hit the wall as a result of the last push, but it was Superman.

"I demand you two stop, right now!" Superman shouted.

Surprisingly enough for him, both of them heeded. However the look on Batman's face showed that he was going to be in some serious trouble after this.

Nevertheless he took advantage of the slack to assume control of the situation.
"Now Diana! What is it that Bruce Wayne did to offend your friend?" he enquired.

Diana sank back into her chair and Batman folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the wall.

Diana began in a reminiscent tone. "She called me up late at night, around 12 AM. I reached her apartment in less than 10 minutes. She opened the door, and I tell you, I've never seen her so badly shaken before. Her eyes were red and moist and her face was all pale. She hugged me cried on my shoulder for a very long time. She could only mutter – 'Bruce' and would start all over again. I gave her a sedative to put her to sleep for a while. She woke up after about 2 hours, and looked composed, and upon my insistence, narrated the whole incident.

She said that she was quite excited about the date, that she gave my instructions a deaf ear. Bruce Wayne pretended to be excited himself, but after he they reached the children's hospital, he had started neglecting her. He was surrounded by his plethora of girl friends and other high society companions and he was so engrossed with them that he didn't even care that she was feeling out of place. She hoped that it was just a social call and he would come back to her soon. But that didn't happen. In the mean time, some other women, who were presumably jealous of the attention she had got from him till then, began making insidious remarks about her, her status and one of them even called her a 'whore'" She could not take that any longer. She wedged her way through the gathering, towards Bruce, only to find him kissing another woman -" she paused and sighed. Superman eyed at Batman who looked utterly confused.

"Bruce had seen Lisa and forcefully disengaged from the other woman. She wanted to hit him, but all she could do was storm out of that awful abode of the rich. Bruce probably must've realised his mistake as he caught up with her and tried to offer an explanation. But Lisa did not as much want to see his wretched face. But that son of a bitch pursued her."

Superman became mindful of the sudden change in expression. Hawk Girl! – he thought. He had evaluated the incident till then, and understood that Bruce's version of the story would certainly explain his behaviour.

"And - " Superman paused encouraging her to continue. Batman was gazing into the abyss.

"She lost her patience and slapped him!" Diana concluded.