Yesterday I died, tomorrow's bleeding
Fall into your sunlight
The future's open wide beyond believing
To know why hope dies
Losing what was found, a world so hollow
Suspended in a compromise
The silence of this sound is soon to follow
Somehow sundown…

"Welcome, Wonder Woman," Alfred's voice met her as she slid the clock back into its place.

"Hello, Alfred," She nodded and hurried past the caretaker before ascending the stairs. No words, words only reminded her of the fresh Hades she had been through in the past few hours. For the first time in her life, she was in a situation that she couldn't control and she hated it. Her gaze was cast down upon her bare feet, tiptoeing softly upon the velvet carpeting that swallowed up the Bianco Carrara marble stairs.

"What's wrong with velvet?" Bruce questioned her, smirking up at her as a royal hand gestured to the hundreds upon hundreds of pieces of lint that the rich carpet attracted.

"Do you know how hard it is for Alfred to clean this? Hera, it must take him at least three hours just to clean half of them," Diana informed the man who was leaning against the elegant banister below her, "My mother absolutely despised velvet. Although it is luxurious, I can't see why you would want to cover up this gorgeous, natural marble. It seems like a scam to the eyes."

"Princess, you should know me well enough now to know that I am quite famous for my cover- ups."

"And not for your scams?" Her eyebrow rose precautiously, watching as the Dark Knight's smirk grew larger.

"So is there any other reason you're insulting my choice in décor and practically throwing yourself at Alfred in pity?" She gasped, floating down to meet her love at the base of the stairs.

"Bruce, you insolent little bas-" Bruce chuckled at her expression, wrapping his arm around her waist and twirled her around, placing a fat kiss onto her red lips.

"Would you like to hang out with your new love interest in the kitchen or join me upstairs?" His lips nibbled at her ear lobe and she sighed in defeat, falling into his awaiting arms.

"I'll take option two, Mr. Wayne."

Diana paused at the set of double doors; the satin chrome handles shining against the hallway's light.

It's all right, Diana. She pulled down slowly on the doorknobs, listening to the gears rotate and the spindle push the latch aside. The doors swung open with a soft whoosh and allowed the yellow glow from the hallway to scatter across the hardwood floor. Her feet made a light slapping noise as she crossed the room, pushing the door back quietly with her heel. The wide, open bed appeared in her line of vision, resembling the ominous feeling that had been beating inside her heart. The royal blue suede comforter was folded to one side, cast away as if kicked off. Diana knew that Alfred was itching to fix it, to make everything perfect again inside the room, but even the old Englishman knew it was impossible. Settling herself on the mattress gently, she ran a hand over the bruises that peppered her arms and legs, the particularly painful one settled between her rib cage and hipbone. Lifting her shirt gently, her pale fingers splayed across the mauve-colored defect on her otherwise flawless skin.

"Princess, you should get that checked out with J'onn," Batman advised his teammate as they returned from defeating Giganta in an attempt to steal an intoxicating crystal- literally. As soon as Flash had touched it, he became woozy and was out like a light.

"Why? So I can look like Koalemos and he can kindly remind me that they'll be gone within another hour?" She glanced at the Bat in suspicion, wondering if he was suddenly questioning her strength. What was a couple of bruises and bloody scratches going to do? Ruin her sheets at the most, she reasoned and he glared.

"Fine. Then why don't you come down to the manor?" She quirked an eyebrow at his sudden invitation and he almost rolled his eyes, "I could assess the damage down there. That way you won't even be remotely considered the Greek god of foolishness and you can entertain Alfred," He must have noticed the still wary gaze she was giving him so he finished with, "I hear he's making his famous lemon ricotta cheesecake…."

"Offer accepted," Her small hand gripped his armored shoulder tightly as she spun to kiss his rough cheek, she was met with a pair of lips. "What was that for?"

"Sealing the deal, Princess."

The Egyptian cotton sheets formed a cocoon around her body as she slid underneath the blankets. Warmth met her after a few minutes and until then, the stinging cold of the unused covers reminded her of the tears that were flowing down her cheeks. It's just a bodily function, she reasoned logically and pathetically. Amazons did not cry, especially at petty situations as this. But Bruce deserved the tears. For him to just lie there in her arms, for her to feel his heart thump erratically, skip, and collapse was certainly something to cry over, right?

"Right," Her voice croaked into the darkness of their bedroom. Feeling the dam she had built around her emotions breaking, she uttered a quick prayer to Penthos for a quick and painless mourning. The sobs wracked her body, her arms tightening and curling around her chest. She furiously wiped away the tears and found the motion was futile, for they were soon replaced with new ones. Overwhelmed with the feelings of helplessness and remorse, Diana coiled up into herself, head to knees, and used her fingers as a gag to hush the cries. Crying meant it was real, meant that everything that had happened was real. If she kept still and solid, it was as if nothing had gone on in that courtroom.

Hera, I'm turning into Bruce, she realized miserably. Cold fingers wrapped around at her throat, trying to clear her airway from the bile that had rose. Finally, she released her neck, allowing air to seep through and her body sluggishly collapsed into the mattress yet again.

"Why are you crying?" Diana rolled over to meet the pondering face of her boyfriend.

"You're an asshole."

"Now, that's not very nice. I just went through getting shot, going through surgery, and all I receive in return is being woken up in the middle of the night?" He gave her a half-smile before turning serious and pulling Diana closer.

"Don't you dare act like you don't know why I'm crying, Bruce Anthony Way-"

"All right. I'll act like I do know and this conversation can be over." He earned a light smack to his chest and winced slightly. "What part of 'going through surgery' do you not comprehend, woman?" Bruce chuckled as she snuggled deeper into his arms, all the while her frown intensified.

"What happened with the Joker and you, in the courtroom?" Her voice reflected the worrisome expression settled on her face. Out of habit, Bruce ran a hand through his black hair before resting it around her waist.

"As I explained to Clark before when he was bandaging up Lois, Ace was the mastermind behind the time-switching, with Joker pulling all the strings. Luthor assisted him with finding Ace and hacking into our mainframe and communicators, but that's about as far as Luthor was needed in the plan. The rest was Joker."

"Did he say anything, about the reason behind all of this, before the police shot him?" Her hand was running up and down the length of his side, pausing aimlessly to rest on his arm.

"For the most part, he wanted to slow Batman down, and he found that the only way to do it was brute force. That was why he tried to kill you a second time. The Batman could stand one death, but could he stand gaining a bit of hope, only to have his world come crashing down upon him again?" Diana felt a shiver creep up her spine at his words. "Joker had never wanted me dead, specifically, only dead inside. To drive me to the point of insanity and break me."

"He wanted you to become him." Bruce simply nodded, bringing her hand up to kiss the smooth skin and place it on his chest. Smiling at his motion, she leaned up to kiss his lips tenderly and then cuddling up against his strong frame, the taste of his mouth lingering on hers.

"You're not wearing the earrings," He nibbled at her ear lobe and spread butterfly kisses down her the nape of her neck. She scowled playfully, turning her head to allow him more space to roam, her tears drying up in the corners of her eyes. "You want new ones?"

"Not especially. I'm not into fancy objects like most women, you know that," He shrugged, letting her know it didn't phase him, "Get some sleep, Bruce. For me." His lips met with hers for the last time before he succumbed to the comfort of his pillow and her body against his.

Who I am from the start
Take me home to my heart
Let me go
And I will run
I will not be silenced

There's a light
There's the sun
Taking all the shattered ones
To the place we belong

Yesterday I died, tomorrow's bleeding
Fall into your sunlight

AN: Song was "Shattered" by Trading Yesterday. I hope I answered any questions you might have had, and yes, if you didn't catch it, Lois survived. Epilogue is up next and I believe you'll enjoy it. This is the first time I will beg for a review: review please! There. That's it.

You know the drill.