A/N: Thank you for the reviews! Here's the next chapter.

Chapter Twelve - Searching

Diana hadn't known she could cry this much. It didn't seem possible that there was this much water in her body in order for it to be sobbed out. She stopped every so often, for a few minutes or once even up to an hour – but then she'd walk past the twins' bedroom, or there would be a commercial on TV for one of their favourite shows, and she would start crying all over again.

She and Bruce had never relied so heavily on one another – she didn't want to eat, or sleep, or do anything except tear the world apart to find her babies. She knew Bruce was the same. Equally, however, she wanted to make sure he ate, and he slept. Since he appeared to have the same thoughts about her, they were both eating and sleeping. Not much, but a couple of hours in twenty-four could hardly make a difference, so she kept telling herself. It was an argument that was violently rejected by every maternal instinct she had.

It had been more than twenty-four hours, with no ransom demand, and no groups claiming responsibility. It only made both of them more terrified. The military style of the kidnap and the weaponry used had suggested that this hadn't been managed by someone without money anyway, and the amount of time that had passed with no word – and there had been no word, despite the dozens of appeals she and Bruce had made via the media – put forward only one conclusion: that Sarah and Nick had been taken not because their father was the richest man in the continental US and their mother a successful woman in her own right, but because their father was Batman and their mother Wonder Woman. Which made it all a whole lot worse.

Anyone who knew the identities of she and Bruce was someone with power, someone with a grudge to settle, someone who could very well be sending them packages containing tiny limbs in the mail –

"Diana?"

She jumped at the touch on her back, turning to Bruce. He was in the suit, but his cowl was down. Diana hadn't taken her uniform off either – she had to be ready, just in case. "What is it?"

He gently wiped her cheeks free of tears before he replied. "Clark's here."

"And?" she asked sharply. "Did he find anything?"

"No, and combined with the evidence we've already got, it's not Luthor."

His voice was totally devoid of emotion, as it had been since they'd started this...case. She knew it was his coping mechanism, but the longer it went on, the more it angered her. In her darker moments, she found herself seriously wondering if her was fully aware that these were their children. She had said nothing of this to Bruce or anywhere else; it was spectacularly unfair. Besides, he hadn't been as calm as this during those first twenty-four hours. Diana was very well aware that he'd gone on a tear through Gotham, demanding answers out of anyone who came to his attention in his search. Dick, Tim, and Barbara had been right behind him the entire time. She also knew that the latter two had had to pull the former two off the Joker when he dared to laugh. The Clown Prince was now in the medical wing of Arkham, with seven broken bones and a brain injury, and probably-temporary amnesia. He had no clue where the twins were, or – thankfully – who Batman was.

"Come down to the Cave."

She nodded, and began walking away from the children's bedroom. Bruce caught her elbow. "You have to leave that here, Princess."

She looked down; she was holding Sarah's laptop tightly to her chest. "Oh. I forgot." She kept wandering in and picking things up. Last night she'd slept with Nick's baby blanket. She moved back inside, forcing purpose into her step. Her arms seemed to be moving independently, tearing the computer away and putting it down on the desk.

Then she moved back to Bruce, letting him take her hand. When they got down to the Cave, Clark and Nightwing were by the computer, Superman relaying everything he'd gleaned from Luthor and the other people he'd investigated in Metropolis.

He smiled kindly at Diana. "How are you?"

"Have you found my children yet?" she asked, voice raw.

He looked down. "No."

"Then I think your question's redundant. What about Luthor?"

"It's not him."

She nodded, taking a deep breath and now feeling guilty. "Sorry," she said softly.

He moved forward, hugging her. "It's okay."

"Are Michaela and Jonathan safe?"

"Yes. They're onboard the Watchtower."

"We sent out a general alert to all League members," Bruce informed her. "The ones who couldn't get their kids to the Metrotower have been offered places on the Watchtower. The Flash twins and the Stewarts are up there too. Helena managed to persuade Vic that it was the safest place for Olivia too."

Diana nodded. At least the twelve-month-old toddler wouldn't be scared. She imagined that Rex and Kyra would be terrified, especially if their parents had not managed to block the news of what had happened to Sarah and Nick from reaching their ears. Isabelle and Iris were probably still a little young – though they were perceptive kids. If Wally was tense, they usually sensed it too.

"Do we have any leads at all?"

"We're waiting on J'onn to get back to us – he tracked down several Legion members and interrogated them. So far no luck."

"There is another possibility too," Dick pointed out.

"Which is?" Diana demanded.

He turned to the computer, bringing up a personnel file. Hers, to be exact, followed by another personnel file – this time not one of the League. "Hades."

"How dare you even–"

Dick cut her off. "It's a possibility, isn't it?"

She opened her mouth to issue an angry denial, but faltered. "It's possible," she nodded. "But it's also not the way the gods do business."

"Ares did."

"It is not the way Hades does business. If he wanted to inflict damage upon me, it would be by his own hand, and in front of my face. I understand why you're going down this route, but you're wrong." The irony that she was actually defending Hades from the charge was not lost on her, as repugnant as Diana found it. Still, even with the reasons that she had given Dick, she just knew that Hades had not stretched forth his hand to bring harm to her children, his grandch–

Diana forced herself to cut the thought off.

Dick nodded thoughtfully. "If you're sure."

"I am," she declared. "Mortal men took Sarah and Nicholas."

J'onn's face appeared on the massive monitor. "Batman, Diana. We've interrogated the suspects we have; none of them know anything about the kidnapping."

"Thank you, J'onn," Bruce said, dismissing the call. His voice was even as he continued. "Now, according to Diana's logic, we're looking at either a private army or a small country using its own special forces. If we assume that, there are several companies in the US that could be responsible – genetics, struggling firms et cetera. Or, if it's a country, we start looking at the less economically fortunate."

His fingers were moving as he spoke, and he pulled up a map of a country Diana recognised, highlighting military bases. "Kasnia?" she asked incredulously. "Audrey is Sarah's godmother, Bruce! There's no way she's involved. She would never do anything to hurt them."

"I'm not suggesting she would," he replied calmly, "but as we've seen in the past, Audrey is not always aware of her own country's dealings. Vandal Savage proves that."

Diana's fists curled. "And you don't think she might have learned from that? That she might not have grown?"

"I'm not counting on it."

It went on. Endless lists of organisations and nations with a grudge to bear, all of them carefully analysed and examined. All with a completely impassive expression, all with a voice that never wavered. Diana wasn't sure what was the final straw, but suddenly she lost her patience.

"Damn it, Bruce, how can you be so calm?!" she yelled, picking up whatever was nearest her hand and throwing it across the Cave.

It happened to be the Batwing.

Bruce stood up sharply, making Clark and Dick both flinch. "Excuse us, gentlemen," he growled.

They all left fairly quickly, leaving Bruce facing a barely-holding-it-together Diana. Her chest was heaving, her balled fists trembling, and her eyes were glittering both with unshed tears and rage.

He shoved the cowl back. "You think I'm calm?" he asked quietly.

"You seem to be doing a good impression of serenity," she answered in a shaking voice.

Just like that, the shell of cool cracked. Faster than she could blink, he was in front of her, grasping her upper arms hard. "I am the furthest from calm I have ever been in my entire life, Diana, don't you dare for one second think otherwise," he snarled.

"So why can't you–"

"What am I supposed to do? At least this way I might make some headway, and it's better than just standing here snivelling."

She opened her mouth to protest, but now that she'd started him off, he wasn't about to stop. "What do you want me to do, Diana? What do you want from me?"

She broke his hold on her arms, but a sob flew from her mouth before words could. "I want you to stop pretending that Batman is the only one who can do anything. I want you, for five minutes, to be the father of my children–!"

She couldn't carry on without the tears that were threatening taking over. Before all of this, she would have refused to cry in front of a man, but now it didn't matter. She threw her arms around Bruce's shoulders, and she found they were shaking with sobs too.

Diana got her wish. For five minutes, they weren't Wonder Woman and Batman. They were the very frightened parents of very absent children. For five minutes, they only held each other, and wept.

When they finally pulled themselves together and went upstairs, they found Clark, Dick, Tim and Alfred in the drawing room. As soon as they sat down, Alfred pushed two cups of tea in front of them.

Diana took hers and sipped with a weak smile. "Thank you, Alfred."

Tim launched straight in. "What about Sarah's powers?" he asked, tone forcibly optimistic. "Have they come out yet? I mean, if they have then she might be able to..."

Diana shook her head. "No," she said hoarsely. "They haven't."

"If I may, Miss Diana," Alfred spoke up, "I'm not sure they ever will."

Bruce frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Nicholas can fly," he said, nodding as both parents' jaws dropped. "And from what the children hinted at, I believe he has the rest of your powers as well."

Diana attempted to pull her jaw off the floor. "But...he's male, how can that be?"

There was silence; Alfred's announcement, while it was shocking and unexpected, wasn't really of much help. Regardless of which of her children was blessed by the gods, those same gods had chosen to abandon both him and herself now. Her children were still gone, and Diana refused to let the hope that he might be able to escape using his powers grow. It was too tempting. If whoever had taken them had done so because they knew who she and Bruce were, then it was likely they'd know there was a chance Sarah and Nicky could share her gifts. Her son wouldn't be able to escape. No, it was up to the League to get her children back, even if... She forced herself to think it, even as grief and rage clawed at her lungs. Even if they are already dead.

Knowing what she was thinking, Bruce's eyes met hers as he took her hand and stood up. He didn't let go all the way down to the Batcave, no matter how hard she was squeezing his fingers. "We'll be able to do more on the Watchtower," he said, ordering a transport up.

Alfred regarded them with terrified but kind eyes. "You'll find them, Miss Diana, Master Bruce. Alive and well."

Diana nodded, glancing at Bruce. He only pulled the cowl up, clenching his jaw. She could tell he didn't believe that – and he had to, just as much as she did. She put both hands on his shoulders. "No. We will find them, Bruce." He had to believe it. To believe anything else would mean madness for both of them. The world would not be able to withstand a Batman and Wonder Woman driven insane from grief.

Finally, he nodded. "I know," he said hoarsely.

She embraced him, and they were beamed onto the Watchtower like that. No one batted an eyelid at Batman hugging Wonder Woman. Bruce let them all know that pity would not be tolerated with a Batglare, then stepped off the teleporter platform, heading for where the Question was waiting. "What have we got so far?"

Shayera couldn't know how Diana felt. She didn't want to know, but she ended up knowing anyway – through the empty, desolate look in Diana eyes. She had nothing unless she had her kids. And that, Shayera understood perfectly. Because when she held Rex and Kyra, newborn, in her arms, she understood that her entire life had been leading to that moment. That all the events in her life made sense now, even the invasion, and even her relationship with Hro - it was all adding up, like grains of sand trickling through to fill an hourglass.

All her life. Leading to Rex and Kyra.

So Shayera watched as Diana continued to pace the conference room. She watched all her muscles tense as the princess struggled constantly not to scream or destroy anything she could see just to try to force the sense of continued panic out of her body. Nearly everyone had ceased trying to comfort her, to offer her meaningless words of reassurance. Shayera hadn't even done so in the beginning, had only given her a brief squeeze around the shoulders before she got to work. She knew Diana didn't want words, useless platitudes. She wanted her babies back in her arms, right now.

Clark and J'onn stood over the computer terminal on the other side of the room, discussing something in hushed tones, but both women ignored them. Shayera sat silently at the table, tapping her fingers endlessly on the surface of the table. There was no point in talk of any kind. Unless they knew where Sarah and Nick were this second, there just wasn't. Speaking in general was pretty much beyond Diana at this point. She hadn't even been able to send a message to her mother; Shayera had done that for her.

Queen Hippolyta's reaction hadn't been pleasant, to say the least. The Amazon Queen had sworn viciously in Ancient Greek, and had offered to bring a contingent of Amazons to assist in the search. Shayera had managed to get her to hold off, at least for now, to give the League a chance to find the twins. Things were bad enough with Diana's sanity holding on by mere threads. Add a few dozen Amazon warriors to the mix, all of them bent on obtaining vengeance for their princess' children? Shayera had no doubt that Diana would probably snap, and rip the world to shreds in order to find them.

Finally though, even she couldn't stand it anymore. Diana couldn't see her children; Shayera had to see hers. Without a word to anyone else, she left the conference room and almost ran to Dormitory Deck A. Then she opened the door.

She'd only been in the room for five seconds, and already there were tears building in her eyes. She clamped a hand over her mouth, stifling the oncoming sob.

Inside, one of the small forms stirred in the bed. Shayera couldn't stand it anymore – she ran to the beside, pulled her babies into her arms. Since there had been no ransom demands on Nick and Sarah for Bruce's money, the only conclusion that could be reached was that it was because they were the children of Leaguers. That meant they were all at risk. Even in the Watchtower there wasn't enough room for them, so some were holed up in the Metrotower. For Shayera and John, for Clark and Wally, for Helena and Vic, that hadn't been enough. Sure, the Metrotower was the most secure building on Earth – but it was on Earth. Here, no one could reach them. No one could. And even then she wasn't sure.

At their mother suddenly yanking them into a tight hug, both Rex and Kyra woke complaining.

"Ow! Mom, can't breathe –"

"Hey, I was sleeping –"

Abruptly they both realised that she was crying, and began hugging back. After a few minutes, Rex spoke again, "Mom... they haven't found Nick and Sarah, have they?"

Shayera shook her head. "No, baby. They haven't."

Kyra started to cry too. Shayera stroked down her hair. "They will, honey, they will," she murmured.

She just prayed she was right.

Diana had moved to the commissary a while ago. That was her plan for the next few hours – keep moving around from place to place in the Watchtower until something happened. The leads she'd been following herself had proven useless, and she hadn't bothered to pray. The goddesses had abandoned her the moment they let someone take her children.

Batman entered the commissary long enough to grab an espresso and sit down next to her. "We have a new lead," he said quietly. "The tyre marks from the manor's lawn; they're not standard issue Hummer. They're custom-rims, made in only one place on the East Coast. Only half a dozen corporations in the country use them, and they all check out, except one. It lead to a fake mailing address in Oregon."

She shook her head. "But if it's fake then how–"

"Question's working on it. Flash is helping since he can type faster than anyone else. Clark is...standing there." He took a deep breath. "There has to be a link somewhere, Princess," he said quietly, taking her head. "And we'll find it. And then we'll find Sarah and Nick."

She nodded numbly, unable to allow herself to summon hope. "Is there anything I can do?"

"You can come..."

"Watch?" She sighed, nodding. "It's better than nothing."

They walked inside just in time to see Flash racing out. He got twenty yards past them before zipping back. "We got it! Question found the location – it's an old Cadmus facility, outside Central City."

Diana's heart sped up and she quickly started toward the door. "Let's go then," she ordered. The doors opened and she started to walk through them–

A hand grasped her wrist and pulled her to a halt.

"Diana, wait," Clark said. "We need a plan."

She glared at him. "I should think the plan was obvious, Clark. Get in there and pull my children out."

"And if we meet resistance?" J'onn asked softly from behind Clark.

She turned to the Martian. "Then they will learn, firsthand, why mothers are the fiercest creatures in nature." Diana then wrenched her arm free and stormed out, not bothering to see if the three men behind her followed. Bruce appeared in front of her just outside the hangar.

"Ready?" he demanded, his voice colder than the Arctic.

Diana nodded and matched his tone. "Let's go."

She didn't know who the people were who had stolen her children, and if they attempted to stop her from taking them back, they would suffer for it. That, by Nemesis, she promised.

A/N: Review please!