The Barren Planet, approximately 6:00pm
"There must be some way out of here!"
Wonder Woman flew high, almost touching the ceiling of the cave. Tired from trying to create a hole on the rocky wall, Hawkgirl just sat on a large boulder. On her left was Batman, who continued to clutch on his side. Despite the thick bandages, his bleeding hasn't subsided and his exposed skin looked paler than usual.
"Diana, you have to rest." Hawkgirl said calmly.
"No! I have to find a way out. The Javelin might still be functioning. We can fly out of here as soon as we can get to it"
Wonder Woman continued to make effort, zigzagging across the spans of the rough ceiling. Shayera hasn't seen Diana like this. Wonder Woman didn't exactly panic but cracks of anxiety were showing. She's been at it for a few hours since they got trapped inside the monstrous cave.
Several hours ago, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman and Batman had responded to a distress call that seemed to have been transmitted from an uninhabited planet in a different galaxy. They kept in mind that it might be trap given that the Justice League has a fair share of extraterrestrial enemies, however, the "what if it's not" question made it impossible for them to ignore the cry for help. It was suggested that they came prepared, so Diana brought two swords and a shield, all forged by the gods of Olympus. Shayera brought additional maces. Batman carried extra of his weapons too. He always did.
It became clear to Shayera that their preparations wouldn't make much difference when the Javelin was struck down by an unsuspecting cannon blast. A powerful one, she reckoned.
After just two hits, they crashed into the barren planet's hillside. As soon as they crawled out of their aircraft, they were attacked by - surprise, surprise! - an army of white martians.
Despite that, they fought well, considering that they packed lightly. But the battle didn't seem to end. More martians poured in. It's almost like hundreds were born every minute and ready to kill them. Batman suspected an express cloning device was involved. Unfortunately, there was no time to find out.
Things got worse when they got cornered at the entrance of a huge cave. They went in as fast as they could while Batman detonated the last of his charges to create a rock avalanche to seal the entrance.
Just soon after, Diana saw a blood trail coming from Batman. One of the martians must've gotten lucky and punctured the left side of his abdomen. The dark knight assured that his vitals weren't hit, but the princess of the Amazons just couldn't rest easily.
Now, in the dark cave that's slightly illuminated by one of Batman's glow sticks, Shayera started counting the hours since they left the Watchtower.
"A whole day of travel… three hours of fighting off those white martians… and… and…"
"We've been gone for more than thirty hours."
Batman broke his silence, as usual in perfect timing, except his voice sounded weaker.
"Thirty?"
"The battle wasn't three hours. It was five. For one hour, we walked in the cave until reaching this dead end. And she's…" he gestured to Diana who's still trying to find way, "… been punching and flying up there for about two hours"
Shayera watched Diana again. She couldn't take it anymore.
"Diana! Stop it!" She shouted to the flying woman.
Diana faced the winged warrior in mid air. Angry. Her regal stance imposing.
"I can't just stop. I can't."
"Diana."
This time, it was Bruce who called out. It looked painful for him to stand up but he did it anyway.
Diana hovered closer to Batman. Her face was now softer. It looked like she wanted to touch his face but stopped midway. Instead, she chose to only look at him. She looked pained to see him like this. Shayera knew this because it's written all over the princess' face.
Then it dawned on her.
It really was true, she said silently to herself. Months ago, Green Lantern heard a story about Bruce, Diana and their 'conversation' during New Year's Eve. He got the story from Flash and Supergirl when he caught them talking about it privately. GL then told Hawkgirl. It sounded impossible when she first heard about it, but now, it seemed a lot less fictitious. In that very moment in the cave, she looked at her two friends differently. Seeing the costumed playboy-billionaire and the Amazonian princess together will have to take some getting used to.
Batman swayed and continued to struggle on his feet. Wonder Woman caught him before he collapsed to the ground.
"Take it easy tough guy" Diana uttered softly.
In unison, all three slowly sat on the stone floor. Bruce took out a small, circular device and gave it to Shayera.
"That tracking device sends a relentless distress signal to the Watchtower. I got it from the Javelin just in time before the white martians attacked…"
He coughed and then continued.
"… I've activated it earlier but unfortunately it's losing power. Your mace might have enough voltage. You have to expose it with your mace's charge continuously or else the others won't keep a track on us"
Shayera placed the device to the ground and placed her mace beside it.
"You have to do it carefully. We still don't know how much the device can take"
Hawkgirl nodded.
Bruce slumped and leaned his back on one if the larger rocks behind him. Having lost a lot of blood, talking has taken away a lot of his energy. Diana moved his hand away from the wound to check.
Meanwhile, Shayera started to charge the device with the flickering mace. Inch by inch, she shortened the gap between the two objects, carefully as Batman indicated. A small light appeared on the device which probably meant that it's working.
Awesome.
Relief fell on her for the first time in thirty hours or so. She couldn't wait to leave this crappy cave.
She looked at Diana and Bruce. Diana looked more like a mess. Her tiara was uneven. Her hair was much worse. Her "uniform" stained. Earlier she had cuts and bruises but due to her quick healing, a gift by the Greek gods she presumed, her skin looked good as new… still, her getup a mess.
Bruce seemed to think differently when he watched Diana while she replaced his bandages. Except maybe, it's more than a look of admiration.
Hawkgirl got an idea. She might as well try this while they wait for rescue.
"Um…", she started while standing up, "I think I'm in the mood to explore the cave"
The two looked at her.
"I'm bored and I might find an exit in the process."
Batman closed his eyes to rest. Diana nodded an "OK". They bought her excuse. Hawkgirl's wings flapped with force and propelled her body into the air. She flew into the darkest corner, where the biggest boulders are stacked side by side. When she felt it's too far for them to notice, she got higher once more. She found a flat surface at the top of one of the boulders and landed without making a sound. Perfect. The rocks offered cover and a great view of Bruce and Diana. She sat there. Watching them like a real hawk.
Diana leaned closer to Bruce. Their soft voices echoed in the cave.
"I bet you're willing to kill for a king sized bed" Diana muttered.
As expected, Bruce retorted seriously.
"I don't kill, princess"
"I was joking!"
The princess laughed and slapped his shoulder a little too hard.
"Ouch!"
"Oh! I - I'm sorry!… Looks like you might have a bruise there."
"Most likely" He groaned. Bruce straightened his back again, trying to rest once more.
"I'm sure Alfred would give you a lecture after this."
"That…" he coughed, "is highly possible."
"If he does, I would bring a camera and record the whole thing"
Batman smiled. At least, it looked like a smile from where Shayera was watching. Diana touched his face with her palms and took off his cowl. Bruce's face revealed a large bruise on the side and a reddened eye. Diana winced.
"I've had worse" he said.
"Yeah, I know." she laughed. "The 'worse' you might be referring to is when your grappling line was cut and you fell from the tenth floor. I remember you fractured your skull."
Bruce raised an eyebrow, but Diana continued.
"Or maybe… when you got bitten by Copperhead. I remember… the anti-venom was a pain to find", her expression changed, "I don't really know which is worse: you on the hospital bed or trying finding that stinking cure."
Shayera could tell that Diana wasn't trying to joke about it anymore. Awkward.
"You seem to remember all of my… mishaps" Bruce plainly said.
Diana shook her head and looked down.
"I remember all of the instances that I failed to save you."
It was Shayera's turn to raise an eyebrow. This was getting interesting.
Bruce scooted much closer. He tried to keep a straight face but failed miserably. This was partly because the pain from his abdomen wasn't gone yet. He stopped when his elbow touched Diana's.
His blue eyes reminisced, like he received a flash back of some happy moments in his life. Shayera wondered what memory it was. Maybe something about his parents when they were still alive. Other than that she has no idea.
Out of nowhere, Bruce kissed Diana's cheek.
Shayera wished she's see it again because it was fast, more like a quick peck. She leaned further for a better view.
"What was that for?" Diana asked, surprised but not angry.
Bruce didn't answer. His jaw stiffened and sweat began to appear on his forehead, most probably because he wasn't used to doing the sentimental stuff, which was ironic because he's the only one of them with the playboy facade.
Diana's eyebrows furrowed, still waiting for an answer. Bruce hesitantly looked at her.
"Few years ago, I tried to dig you out from wreckage. You kissed my cheek when you found out what I did… "
He cleared his throat.
"…Diana… you saved my life, more times than you thought you had. I know this because I remember every instance"
He sighed and continued.
"… That kiss was your way to say thank you… I just thought I'd say it the same way."
Diana was speechless. So was Shayera. The Batman, the guy who made criminals wet their beds, was talking about kissing and other mushy things.
Hawkgirl regretted not bringing a camera. And a pack of pop corn. This was better than any of those daytime soap operas, she mentally commented.
The princess smiled. She leaned and kissed his cheek in return. When she was done, he leaned and kissed her on the lips. Then, they kissed some more… and more.
Shayera felt temperature rise. This was more than she could hope to see.
Then suddenly…
Beep, beep, beep!
The kissing stopped. Both looked at the device that Shayera charged with her mace, the one that called for the others from the Watchtower.
It was beeping faster and faster.
"Is that..?"
"Hawkgirl's mace worked. Our rescue is here."
The moment was gone. Shayera groaned.
"Crap! Not now!"
Her voice echoed loudly. Bruce and Diana looked up and found Shayera on the top of the highest boulder. She was looking down. Frowning.
Diana laughed it off. Bruce glared while putting on his cowl.
Author's note:
Part 4 will be the last. I'll be writing it after I get a break from work.
Update: I'm halfway through the 4th chapter. I hope I can finish it today.
Update#2: I started from scratch 'coz the story was a bit 'botchy'. so... it's gonna take longer than expected to post it. Especially that a typhoon went by my town and severed a lot of power lines. Good thing I found this internet shop (one of the few that still has internet). For the meantime, I'll be writing on my notebook.