Chapter Thirteen

"The Art of War and Love"

So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss.
If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose.
If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself.

Sun Tzu's The Art of War is one of the oldest and most successful books on military strategy. It has had an influence on Eastern military thinking, business tactics, and beyond. Some have even extended it to all interpersonal activities, using the metaphor of the battle for all interactions.

By using several of the thirteen precepts, you increase the likelihood of victory. Batman, of course, had read it. Analysis and logical decisions are at its core.

Eristic, from the ancient Greek word Eris meaning wrangle or strife often refers to a type of dialogue or argument where the participants do not have any reasonable goal. The aim is to win the argument.

When an argument gets personal, all rules other than winning go out the window.

New York

Karen could just make him out in the shadows. Like most of the newer members of the League she respected Batman more than just about any other hero. Also like the other new members, she was a little intimidated by him. Though she had minimal contact with him even in the League, she had heard others tell horror stories about getting the Bat glare. Seeing him in her living room, she could fully understand those stories.

The only thing that mitigated it was she was pissed.

"We need to talk, so you broke into my house?"

"It was necessary."

"Oh, was it now?'

"Have you really thought what you're doing through," he asked.

"What-What are you talking about?"

"This tryst you're having with Superman."

It caught her by surprised that he knew. It shouldn't have, she thought, he's Batman, after all. Something about his choice of words, tryst and the way he said it annoyed her.

"That's private, between us," she managed to say. This wasn't going her way. He had her out of step, feeling awkward in her own home,

"Is it, really?"

Positioning.

Batman had chosen to confront her here in her own home for a reason. He wanted the element of surprise, to make her off balance even in a familiar location. He'd done his homework, checking out each room before deciding on the living room. It was large and spacious, with no centralized lighting for the whole room, just a series of table lamps. He had even calculated which light she would turn on first. While it illuminated her, he remained mostly in the shadows. With her enhanced vision she could see him, but not as well as she would want to.

"Yes, " she said in answer to his last question about it being private.

"For how long? Your little fling is already starting to leak out, isn't it? How many people already know?"

The Challenge

He wanted to keep her on the defensive, always explaining and justifying. By hitting at the weakest spot, or what she thought was the weakest spot, he could start the seeds of doubt in her mind.

'Not that many, just a few people know,' she replied. Karen knew he was manipulating her, trying to shift her focus. It only pissed her off more. She took off her jacket and tossed it on the sofa. His strategy only worked if she let it. She needed a moment to gather herself.

"I think I'm going to need a drink for the rest of this," she said. Karen moved over and started to pour out a glass of wine.

"So only a few know, but it's already having an effect, isn't it? It's not everyday a teenage girl screams hysterically and passes out on the station."

"Kara won't say anything," Karen weakly replied, taking a sip of her wine.

"Perhaps," Batman said, shifting deeper into the shadows. "But if we take that as effect one it leads to effect two. Who else found out about your frolics because of her?"

"Jonn."

"And?"

"Wally." She hated admitting that, especially after he used the word frolics.

"He promised Clark he wouldn't say anything," she tried to quickly justify.

Silence filled the room. She could see him just staring at her.

"Okay, not the strongest argument," she admitted. "So what if people know? We're just dating."

"Do you really think it's that simple?"

Attack by Stratagem.

He'd exposed the weakness in her first argument and now moved on to the main thrust.

"You don't think that what you call 'just dating' isn't going to spread like wildfire? He's Superman nothing he does goes unnoticed. It won't stay just on the station either. People like to talk, to gossip about celebrities. How long do you think before it's on the web or TMZ? The news that Superman is 'dating' another Kryptonian will be everywhere. You don't think people are going to take notice of that?"

"It's-It's none of their business,' she replied. Her mind was reeling a bit from the implications of what he was saying. Clark was probably the most famous hero on the planet.

"You think it's bad now being Power Girl, just imagine once the press gets a hold of this story. Are you prepared for every dirty joke and sexual innuendo they can come up with all directed at you? You'll be the hottest topic on the net, with pictures and gossip, an avalanche of attention like you've never imagined. And that's the good side of it all," Batman said.

"You-You're exaggerating," she fumbled to reply.

"Am I?" He responded. "Ninety million people watched a white Bronco slowly drive down the freeway and the media's only gotten bigger and more aggressive since then."

"Why are you doing this," she asked. "Why are you poking your nose into our private lives?"

Variation in Tactics.

He had her on the defensive and was making progress. Batman needed her to understand he wasn't doing this just to be malicious but out of concern. This meant he had to be flexible in his tactics.

"Because someone's going to get hurt if you two continue," he replied. His voice was much softer now. "I'm not trying to be cruel, just realistic. It only takes one small thing to turn people's opinion against the two of you. The government is already worried about him as it is. There not the only ones."

"You make us dating sound like some global threat," she offered. Her emotions seemed to be all over the place, as his arguments felt like body blows.

"In a way it is," he replied. "When he was brainwashed by Darkseid it brought home hard lessons to Earth. It showed just how vulnerable everyone is to someone with his power. It reminded everyone that for as much as he looks like us, he's an alien. It also made everyone wonder just where his loyalties lie."

"You make Clark sound like some monster," Karen fired back. Her anger was returning. She didn't like what he was suggesting about Clark. "You know him as well as anybody, how can you think that?"

"Because others have already thought about it,' Batman said. "How do you think they'll react to the idea of two aliens with your powers being together? Is your little affair worth that risk?"

Attack by Fire.

This was the cruel part, he knew, but it had to be done. He had to make her see that by being with her, Superman would lose focus on the mission and innocents would pay the price.

Selina.

"He has a lot of enemies and when it gets out that you're important to him, they'll use you to get at him," Bruce said.

"I can take care of myself."

"Yes, I know you can, but it doesn't really matter, does it? He'll start worrying about you and lose focus. He'll be vulnerable. Is that what you want? Is this dalliance really worth it?"

Selina.

The name kept coming to his mind and he pushed it away. He couldn't let it happen again if he could stop it. When she's been attacked to get at him, it had almost ripped him apart. Even after her recovery, the guilt was too much. He'd forced himself to stay away from her, to cut her out of his life to protect her. She seemed to understand and hadn't tried to contact him.

He couldn't stand by and let it happen to anyone else, especially a friend. So if he had to be cruel, he would make that sacrifice.

"He'll be the one to suffer, you know that, don't you?"

"Shut up."

"It won't be just him, either,' he continued. "He's the symbol for the League, the face of it. Confidence will erode for it when it's learned you're 'just dating'. Soon it will make the other members take sides. You'll get the more romantic of the members on your side, thinking of it as some fairy tale romance. The more practical members will worry what it means for the rest of us. You're both Kryptonians and now that you're together will Earth still be your focus, they'll wonder."

"Shut up, Batman."

"Governments and everyday ordinary citizens will wonder as well. It won't be just Earth, either. He's known throughout the galaxy, remember? How do you think they will react on Rann or Thanagar, not to mention the Spider Guild or even the Guardians? They won't focus on you, hardly, but on him. If anything they'll use you against him. Ask yourself, is it worth it, really? All that against what exactly, your schoolgirl crush? A few amazing romps in the sack and you're already probably thinking of the storybook ending, aren't you? A beautiful wedding, magical honeymoon, children and then you ride off into the sunset? Are you really that naïve or just deluded to think that's how this will end?"

"I said, SHUT UP!"

With a flick of her wrist, Karen sent one of the wing chairs crashing against the wall. The rage was plain on her face. Words can hurt and his had wounded her deeply. She wanted to smash her fist into his smug face again and again until he would never speak to her like this ever. She wanted to tear him apart and make him understand just how deeply he'd hurt her, but she didn't.

Standing there, the rage nearly overwhelming her, she knew that would just be playing into his hands. It would just prove to him everything he'd been saying about her and Clark. Slowly she calmed herself, taking a few deep breaths and unclenching her fists.

By going at her and making it personal, Batman had stepped over the line. He'd done it deliberately, which hurt her even more.

Karen had read Sun Tzu's The Art of War as well, but this wasn't a war to her now, this was a fight. It was a fight with words, a cruel nasty argument where all those reasonable principles and analytical observations meant nothing.

In a fight, the aim is to win by any way you have to.

"You hurt me, but you know that, don't you,' she said. Her voice was as cold as his. "What have I or Clark ever done to you, Bruce?"

"This isn't about me," he replied, but she waved him off.

"Isn't it?"

"No."

"Somehow I don't believe you, Bruce," Karen replied. She slowly moved over and turned on another light. "I know you're supposed to be smarter than me and just about everyone else, but even I know cruelty like that comes from experience.'

"I'm sorry if I hurt you, but it needed to be said," he replied.

"So what was it that hurt you so bad, Bruce?" Karen continued, not even acknowledging his response. "Was it watching helplessly as your parents were murdered or something more recent?"

She turned on another light and the shadows faded just a bit more.

"I said this wasn't about me," he replied, his voice even colder.

"It's something more recent, isn't it,' she asked. "Something still fresh or at least the scars are still fresh."

She was making her way towards him and turned on another light. Karen could see the grim set of his jaw plainly now.

'Something that hurt that bad would leave a mark, wouldn't it,' she asked. "I imagine it would leave a mark right around here.'

She ran her finger slowly in a circle over her heart. He stiffened as she made this gesture.

"I'll take your silence as a yes."

"This isn't about me," he practically growled. "If you can't see the danger that's right in front of you, then someone has to point it out. When you lose focus…"

"Someone gets hurt," she said, finishing his sentence. "I remember you said that before."

Karen was within ten feet of him now and reached slowly down and turned on another light.

"It was a woman, wasn't it, Bruce,' she asked. "It would have to be, wouldn't it? You blame yourself for her getting hurt, don't you?"

"Shut up, you don't know what you're talking about,' he spat back at her.

She turned on another light and now the room was fully illuminated. The shadows were gone and they stood facing each other.

"Guilt's a funny thing, Bruce," she practically whispered to him. "Take the most disciplined mind for example. It can rationalize and analysis it and tell itself it doesn't matter. It can push it away, but guilt has a way of coming back when you least expect it. The unconscious does this amazing thing, it forces those thoughts and feelings we don't want to deal with to the surface in the most unexpected ways."

He didn't respond, just stood glaring at her.

"You must care for her very deeply, Bruce," Karen said, stepping closer to him. "Did you let her in here?"

She made the same gesture, circling her heart with her finger.

"Did her being hurt leave a scar there," she asked, lightly touching him just over his heart. Karen held his eyes for a moment, letting him know just how much pain he'd cause her.

"You've been warned." His voice was barely above a rasp. In the next moment he was moving towards the window and launching himself out into the darkness of the night.

"Don't ever break in to my home again, Batman," Karen called after him.