Twenty minutes had passed since the incident regarding Diana. The throw had impacted me more than I first thought. My shoulder has been dislocated, and now that the adrenaline has declined, I can feel it slowly pulsating more and more. I had hid into a secret department I had made myself in the tower, in the event that I was to be attacked or hunted by a meta and needed to evacuate. Paranoia has its ups.
The hatch I was in was very secure, and was designed to stop metas from finding me. First off, the entire floor in the room was covered with Lead. Whilst this seems suspicious as the other rooms don't have it, it is my quarters floor – with previous experiences with Clark and his X-Ray, it has become plausible from them. Secondly, I have made the entire perimeter of the secret pathway soundproof. Whilst I fear a meta can bypass this, it should still require extreme focus.
This pathway was fairly long, and did indeed have a private teleporter at the end waiting for me. This was one of the answers as to why the League found is astonishing that I could just vanish like I do.
I had to slowly make my way to my quarters, because if I ran there immediately, Diana would of ripped my head off by now. I was noticed by J'onn, but he let me pass with no issues. At one point I was metres from The Amazonian, but she was distracted by a Clark coming towards her in an attempt to reason once more.
As I set the location I needed to go to, I lookup to my right to see the monitor which showed live footage of Gotham News and the hidden camera(s) in my quarters. This was so if anyone was in my quarters, I could remain here safely without being found. Soundproof walls come with consequences, so this is the substitute needed. The monitor showed a distressed Woman enter it and shout in frustration with her hands in her hair. Scary, yet still sexy to an extent. If I didn't know the context as to why she was shouting, I would find it better.
'Sometimes I hate this guy. Just talk to me for once, please!' she says to herself under her breath. I simply flinch in response before I realise where she's walking to. I forgot to turn my computer off, giving her free access to (almost) everything on it.
I quickly rush towards the hatch as she begins to settle down onto my computer chair. With no sound made, I life the hatch and stand up tall in my quarters, behind the woman that wants to break me. I stand still, with no noise made, watching over where she decides to search. She glides the mouse to files I'd rather no one see, so I stop her.
"I would prefer you not to click that Princess." I say to her, causing her to flinch massively and turns in the chair to face me.
"You didn't enter by the door. Where was you hiding?" She asks. I simply ignore her question and ask my own.
"What do you plan to find on my computer Princess?" I ask her. She stares at me intently.
"000000110 0xA 733(10^-12)" she read outs to me. I instantly bite my jaw, knowing what path this will lead down. "What does this mean Bruce?" She asks.
"You don't need to know." I simply reply.
"Tell me or I'll make you cry for mercy. You have no where to run now." She stares, slightly tending her arms and quads, getting ready to leave the chair if need be.
Weighing up my options, I decide I have to tell her. "It… it's the date of my parents death." I answer. I see the tint in her eyes change from anger to sympathy towards me.
"This isn't how people write down dates Bruce." She says with a hint of curiosity in her voice. I notice her emphasising my name, trying to normalise me and my life.
"I run around at night beating up thugs in a bat costume, I'm hardly most people" I reply confidently. The mantle of Batman is one I have pride in, regardless of how weird it can sound at times.
She stands up but hesitates to close the distance a bit. Several metres separate us. "You know sometimes you h.." she starts to say as I interrupt her.
"hate 'this' guy. You just wish I spoke to you for once, you even said please." I finish for her. She stares at me gobsmacked for a few seconds before she shakes her head and attempts to scan the area. She knows I wasn't in the room when she said it as she entered the room , which was empty. She just twitches the corner of her lip and scratches her head in pure confusion. I can't help but raise the corner of my lip in happiness. Seeing others confused by myself (especially her) brings me joy.
"Well … yes. Evidently there's a camera somewhere, I wouldn't put it past your paranoia." Biting back at me for what I just done.
No comments are made between us for a long period of time. We simply stare at each other. Our stubbornnesses force neither of us to stand down. She starts becoming flustered in the cheeks, but she fights it and stares as if she was ready for a fight. Finally I'm forced to break it, as I felt it's time to ask.
"Do you..remember what happened during my birthday event?" I ask, clearing my throats after the second word. I feel this weird rush towards my head but I push it aside, more important things are at hand.
"I… erm what are you on about Bruce?" She asks with a slight knot caught in her throat.
"It's nothing, don't worry." I state stoically as possible. The hairs on my back went up from how menacing it sounded, and It did cause tension in Diana as well. "Now to the problem at hand. I'm sorry for my comments made earlier. My anger and frustration was not meant to be taken out upon the League. These conferences just…irritate me to no end."
"It's…fine. You deserve the throw though. And don't you dare disrespect me or my sister again." She says firmly to me. I know she means it, but I can't help but say something I shouldn't.
"Or what, princess?" I say with a smile upon my face. I immediately wish I could retract the statement. My control just goes when I'm around her, and now that she doesn't remember the event on the night of my birthday, I can stop being around her.
"Ahahaha. You always surprise me Bruce, but my point still stands." She says with an equal smile on the surface, but venom underneath.
"I know. Now may you leave please? I have work to attend to." I ask her. She walks up to me and places a hand on my shoulder whilst looking at me in the eyes.
"Oh Bruce. You're injured and nothing is happening in Gotham. Let J'onn attend your injury." She demands concerned about my health.
"Hardly worth attending TOO.." I try to say, before she puts pressure on my shoulder.
"Really?" She asks back with a patronising tone. "I barely pushed and you shouted like a child."
"Not all of us are indestructible Princess."
"All the more reason to keep yourself healed."
Comments pass quickly, but one thing remains constant. Eye contact. She seems desperate to have my lenses removed, allowing her to see me, not the myth that sends chills through the toughest of foes. She starts to bring up her right arm from her side, only to control herself and stop. She backs away from me.
"see you later, Bruce" she says, walking off, waving at me.
"Goodbye Princess." I reply watching her leave. She gets stuck at the door, realising it's closed. "Please refrain from breaking my door down." I say, now sitting down at my desk once more.
"Be a gentleman Bruce and open the door for me?" She asks of me.
"I'm alright. Instead you can stay here for a while and suffer" I remark sarcastically, looking straight at my screen not even attempting to look at her.
"Pffft. Men. They take any chance they can to have a women in their room don't they?" She asks sarcastically, but truthfully, walking back over.
"As Batman, I cannot give you an answer with absolute certainty." I say back to her. I'm fully aware that I'm not in character right now, but I can't help it. It's nice talking to her, and she brings happiness to me. "Diana: You may want to use this time wisely. It isn't often someone's locked in a room with Batman."
"If you insist. What did you mean earlier on about your Birthday?"
"Well … I … er. It's erm… complicated. Probably just me overthinking something minor, being paranoid twenty four seven has these effects on you Princess. The pin to the door is '000000110 0xA 733' – don't bother remembering it, by the time you try, it'll be changed."
"I'm not leaving until you tell me Bruce."
"Well be thankful you can last longer than humans without food or drink."
"Funny. So tell me, now."
"I… can't. Besides, I'm sure being shot altered the thoughts of what happened."
Diana slowly walks towards me, and I here the tatting sound of her heels as she walks. She places her hands on the top back part of my chair and turns me around so I'm now forced to face her. She moves her hands, pushing my shoulders into the chair, causing pain. Whether she knew this or not I don't know.
"Tell me. Or I shall throw you and this chair of yours through the door 20 metres behind me with the might of the Gods."
Not again…
"We erm… made out…" I swallow hard whilst saying this. My suit is suddenly becoming irritable from friction with sweat that has occurred almost instantly.
Diana's eyes widen with her eyebrows pushing down. Her mouth opens slightly in shock and she pushes my shoulders with slightly more force, causing a sweep of pain to rinse my body. I hid it best I can, and she doesn't realise as she's so out of it.
Diana drops her head lightly, and I see the hair fall, from the shoulders to freely hanging. She whispers under her breath 'Hera help me in my time of need'. She bends her fingers so that they're now in between my rear deltoid and the back of the chair.
"Is that …it?" She faintly asks me.
"…yes." I respond to her.
I feel so bad deceiving her like this. I never liked doing this, but I did it without worry. With her it's another problem. I feel morally similar to what I would if I hit a baby with a roundhouse kick. She can't know though, she doesn't deserve it. She doesn't deserve…me.
She tries resisting the lie though. "Bruce, don't lie to me please. Did anything happen after?" She asks faintly but more aggressively. She is desperate to know.
"Well…I got shot. That's it." I reply. But she's still not sold.
"You was shot some time after your party though. Bruce I beg you be honest to me here."
Oh god this is literally hurting me to do this to her. She tightens her hold on my shoulders even more. I barely hold in my pain as I have a desperate amazon in front of me. Either way I take this, she'll get hurt. I lie to her to protect her and she gets hurt. I tell her the truth and possibly lead her down that path and it hurts her as well, probably more. And that's the deciding factor here. Minimal damage rather than damage evasion.
"…No." I state. I don't know whether it was a no to being honest or a no to nothing happening, but it was simply a no.
"You've left me no choice here Bruce. I'm sorry, my friend" she says before one arm leaves my shoulder and falls to her hip.
The Lasso of Truth.
I'm now in immediate trouble. She still has hold of my hurt shoulder, so that arm is essentially out of the equation. I know whilst she is doing this she wouldn't expect such an upfront move, so this'll work.
Without anymore hesitation I push her with my free arm and swipe her legs with one of mine. I immediately drop 2 smoke pellets, one by her and one by the door. I run towards the hidden hatch as she tries to see me through the smoke, but to no success. Within a matter of seconds, I'm out the room. The smoke soon disappears and an angry Amazon stands there with Lasso in Hand. She stomps her foot in frustration, putting a hole in the floor.
Damn it.
She noticed the hollowness and realises quickly what it is: a pathway. She punches through the floor again till she has enough space to fit through. She lands and scans the area, to see me in the teleporter. She quickly readied her Lasso's and hurled it at me. I dissipate when the Lasso is centimetre's from my neck. She lunges towards the teleporter, reading where it has sent me.
"Location: Batcave."
Without any hesitation she runs back and flies through the hole. Entering the 15 digit code on Batman's door, and leaving the Watchtower herself. She knew if she attempted via telepads, it wouldn't work.
'You're not getting away this time Bruce' she inwardly thinks to herself.