Author's note: WOW everyone... thank you for reading I have had an overwhelming response which makes me proud to finally have put this up. I own none of the characters from DC or the JL or JLU series. I am just developing them as I feel the character in my head and heart. Your reviews are very much appreciated and criticism will only make my stories better. Thank you so very much one and all. Enjoy!

Chapter 2

Bruce and Zatanna

They had all secretly met every day since Diana and Zee had advised them of their plan. From making excuses of sparring together, assisting Zee with her latest show, helping Diana with setting up the orphanages nationwide in her newest project Home for the Children, attending Mari's fashion shoots, shows or media events, to Ladies night out clubbing to unwind.

These had effectively put a lot of questions to rest but their men had their suspicions something more was going on. Each male hero had realised something was off when the woman they were dating or secretly in love with suddenly started being evasive and avoiding them. They decided to question them to find out more. They decided to approach their women separately to try and obtain the information from them.

Ten days ago

"Zatanna", Batman growled at her in the commissary where he found her enjoying a cup of coffee before she was to do monitor duty.

Zee was deep in thoughts of him and did not hear him. She was daydreaming about being married to him with two beautiful children and all the joy it would have. She remembered when she had first met him and how she had instantly had a crush on him as she watched him work with her father. As they grew up her crush turned into attraction then to love. She had been in love with Bruce for years.

The real Bruce that is, not the Batman, not Bruce Wayne but just Bruce. They had spent many talks together enlightening each other of their dreams and what their life goals were. Zee knew everything there was to know of Bruce, the darkness he shrouded himself in to block out the pain. But she still loved him and hoped he would give them a chance. The one time he allowed her in when she was 19 had started off wonderfully. He had shown her a world she never thought she would see and a love she knew he had in him. Her father had been overjoyed for them both as he loved Bruce like a son. Then it all went to hell.

Ra's Al Ghul had gotten wind that John Zatarra was training Bruce and was livid because only HE was to train Bruce and no one else. Bruce had left Ra's behind and his heartbroken daughter Talia when he had found out their plan to have him take over the family empire. What he had seen was not to his liking and he would never betray his parents' memory that way. So he had John killed while Bruce and Zee were at the mansion having dinner and had left a note pinned to his body saying "You should have taken my offer". Zee had been inconsolable for weeks clinging to Bruce as her only lifeline from losing herself in grief. Bruce could not handle the pain in her eyes thinking to himself that she blamed him. But Zee knew it was not his fault and kept reassuring him of this, in spite of her pain.

Batman had gone on a manhunt for those who had taken John's life so cruelly. He had found them and had them thrown in jail after beating all of them senseless. For one split second he had seen John's face and wanted to kill them all, then Zee's face appeared telling him it was not his fault. He quashed the thought and then began to pummel them mercilessly. He then tied them all up and called Commissioner Gordon to pick them up. He had decided then and there that he could not be with Zee as the darkness he lived in was too cruel and unforgiving for her.

He had returned to the mansion to find her asleep in his bed, he had stayed in costume and gently shook her awake. Zee had woken up slowly and gently smiled at him. Before he lost his nerve for adding to her pain he calmly told her they were not meant to be and she was better off without him. Zee's smile disappeared and her sad eyes dropped to her hands, when she raised them again there was only disappointment. She quietly got out of his bed and gathered her belongings. She walked up to him and said "For what it's worth Bruce you are wrong. But this is what you want and I won't push you," shrugging her shoulders, "It's better to have tried and failed then to have never have tried at all".

With that she kissed his cheek, "Goodbye Bruce" and walked out of his life.

"Zatanna", Batman repeated a little louder this time, snapping his fingers in front of her face to snap her out of her reverie.

Zee blinked a few times and jumped slightly to see Batman standing there, "Bruce?"

"What are you all up to?" getting straight to the point as always in his usual brunt manner.

Good old Bruce, never messing around…oh how I wish he would mess around with me…

"Could you be a little more specific….all?...who's all?", she wasn't going to make it easy for him.

"Diana, Wally and you…what are you three planning?", he glared at her.

Zee rolled her eyes, "Why do you want to know?, it is not Justice League business".

"You three together does not bode well"

"Excuse me?!...who the hell do you think you are?", Zee snapped, she could not believe his accusation she wanted to take her top hat off and beat him over the head with it, but this was her favourite hat and she knew it would hurt her more than him. Maybe she could put a hex on him to become butt ugly, a toad, or a rodent.

"You do not want to be with me and I am have come to accept that but you persist in wanting to know what I do with my life? What a hypocrite!", this had the eyes of his cowl widen as he stepped back, "Well guess what Bruce, you have no right to ask me anything so take you and your bloody bat circus and GET LOST!"

"Zee….", he began cautiously.

"NO!...no more Zee, I am no longer that little girl whose pigtails you used to pull or followed you around like a lovesick puppy when we were young. I am a woman who thought she was in love with you and wanted to be with you so we could work together in fulfilling your mission. But you know WHAT…you are an arrogant, selfish, cold-hearted pig…you won't take the light I am offering to balance your life saying you will drag me down and hurt me. But yet you will frolic freely with that whore of a cat who keeps you in the shadows blinded to the light in the world. Well good luck to both of you, because I have had ENOUGH. You can both rot in hell for all I care. You say we can stay friends but friends don't hurt each other and that is what you have done to me time and time again and I keep coming back because I convinced myself you will accept sooner or later that you NEED me. Well guess what…I have now accepted I…don't….need….YOU. You are now on a need to know basis and what Diana, Wally and I do with ourselves outside of league business….YOU…DO…NOT….NEED….TO…KNOW!", this final statement she had made after standing up and making the point by poking him in his kevlar covered chest.

"Zatanna…" he tried again in his Bruce Wayne voice.

Grabbing her hat off the table and now cold cup of coffee, she made her way over to the bench, threw the contents out and placed it in the dishwasher, ignoring him.

"Goodbye Bruce", she spat out and stomped out of the commissary.

Bruce feeling ashamed and guilty at evoking her tirade was staring at the entry where she had just left, "Well that could have gone better", and then remembering her words and the overwhelming waves of hurt that had come off of her, "Damn it" turned and strode out of the commissary and heading in the opposite direction. He pulled out what appeared to be a pocket organiser, it was what he used to see the location of all members on the Watchtower he found Zee in Diana's room he breathed a sigh of relief knowing she was with the best person to help her at the moment, needing to think over everything she had said he left the watchtower and returned to the batcave.

Meanwhile, Zee had headed straight to Diana's quarters where she had burst into tears and collapsed into Diana's arms when she had opened her door.

"Oh Zee, what has he done this time? Want me to go punch him for you? No holds barred?", Diana had easily lifted Zee's slight body into her arms and sat her on the bed, immediately sitting next to her and hugging her as Zee wept miserably onto her shoulder.

"He.." sniff "is such.." sob "a pig of a" hiccup "man, but I still" blew her nose on the tissue she conjured up, which then promptly disappeared, " love him", and then she wailed miserably again into Diana's bare shoulder.

Diana's heart twisted at the pain in Zee's voice and knew she needed to get this out of her system, "J'onn?"

"Diana?"

"Something unfortunate has come up and Zee is not able to do her shift tonight, can you-"

"It's covered Diana, I have nothing to do tonight so I can do it for her"

Diana's answering sigh of relief was not heard in the room over Zee's crying but J'onn felt it nonetheless, "Thank you so much, J'onn I will let Zee know she owes you one" she communicated back.

"Tell Zatanna to grab the Bat by the ears and give him an ultimatum to allow her to find the peace she seeks and we will be even"

Diana smiled knowing that J'onn would be the only person to know what was going on in their lives, being the best telepath they knew. She suddenly frowned.

"No doubts Diana, you can all pull this off! They won't know what hit them. I am going to get myself a front view seat for this, I can't wait!" he chuckled.

The radiant smile on her face and sudden lift to her shoulders made her turn to Zatanna.

"Zee?...Zee, listen to me….calm down…..stop….stop crying….Zee for goodness sake listen…that's better…we are both beautiful, strong, intelligent, independent women right?"

Zee looked up at her with tear stained cheeks and confused eyes.

"Right?"

Zee nodded slowly, "Uh huh, but Di-"

"No Zee, no more, we will go ahead with the plan and give it our all, because if we fail then it is on them not us. Our hearts have been given to two men who are powerful, commanding, leaders in both respects, intelligent and self-sufficient in their own ways, but they are both as stupid as each other when it comes to affairs of the heart. I am tired of leaving them to make the decisions when it comes to pursuing a relationship with us, now is the time to let them drop their balls and be men where it counts…", Diana stopped as Zee had suddenly convulsed into fits of laughter, "Zee?"

Catching her breath and still giggling slightly, "Sorry Diana, it was the visual that came into my head when you said drop their balls," to which she bent over and began anew in her merriment.

Diana cocked her head to the side and a slow smile came to her face as she too pictured that, she started to snicker and a short time later both women had collapsed on the bed clutching their sides attempting to calm the storm of their laughter.

"That felt so good and we both needed it, didn't we Di?"

"Yes we did, feeling better now?"

"Yes Diana, let's get down to business shall we?"

"Let's do this", Diana stated with a classic Wally fist pump in the air and then she and Zatanna jumped and high-fived each other giggling. Zee left feeling better and with a determination in her eyes that Operation Sucker Punch would be a success come hell or high water.

"J'onn?"

"Diana?"

"Thank you my friend"

J'onn smiled, "Anytime, Diana".