Bruce felt Diana's eyes drilling holes in the back of his head. She stepped closer to him to hiss in his ear.

"Did she just say 'beloved?"

Bruce nodded sheepishly. "It's a long story. I'll explain later."

"Bruce... I love you and I trust you." She whispered. "But if this is what it looks like, I'll punch a hole through your head."

Bruce nodded again.

The dark haired woman continued to stare at him. "Beloved? Vhat are you doing here?"

"Hello, Talia."

The old man slowly approached Bruce, followed closely by Talia.

"Well, Detective. Once again, I must say that I'm impressed. I was sure that we'd meet again during my time in Gotham... But I didn't expect to run into you this quickly. Once again, I'll make a note never to underestimate you."

Bruce turned to Diana. "Diana... Meet Ra's and Talie al Ghul." He faced the newcomers again. "Ra's... Talia... This is my wife Diana."

Talia's eyes widened. "Your... Vife?"

Bruce looked at her and nodded solemnly. Talia lowered her head. Ra's al Ghul looked at Bruce. "Well, well, Detective... You never fail to surprise. But... as I'm sure that you've deduced, I am here on business. As it happens I came to speak to you."

"Well... My car is right here." Bruce said, gesturing towards his limo. "We can talk on the way to your penthouse."

"I'm sorry, Detective, but Talia and I have just finished a long flight, and must take time to rest."

"Of course." Bruce reached out under the pretense of offering a handshake. When Ra's took his hand, Bruce pulled him close enough to hiss in his ear. "Get in the damn limo. Now."

Ra's al Ghul sighed, but obliged. He stepped into the limo, followed by Talia, Bruce, and Diana. Bruce sat directly across from Ra's, and crossed his arms. "Alright. Talk. What are you planning this time?"

Ra's looked out the window sadly for a moment before answering. "Rest assured that I am not to hear to do battle with you. I intend to make good on my promise. But... I need to enlist the help of your 'Justice League."

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "Why? What do you know?"

Ra's looked him straight in the eye. "I have walked this earth for nearly six centuries. In that time, I have gathered knowledge of secrets that are privy to only a very select few men. I have happened up the knowledge of a power that threatens all of humanity."

"But I thought that that was your plan all along?"

"True... But the cause of this power is rather... Detrimental to my own cause. Unfortunately, my knowledge of the situation is rather limited. All I can say is that the force that threatens us is not one of this Earth. Rather, one that predates it by many millenia. All that I can say for certain is that they have visited us before. You see, I'd hoped to come to you with more details, but you insisted on speaking now. I shall continue my research in Gotham City, but I cannot promise that it will yield any new information."

"It's just as well. I'll be leaving town shortly... But be warned. I'm keeping eye on you. Until I'm sure that I can trust you, that you'll be under close scrutiny."

"As you wish, Detective. But I must warn you. You would do well to prepare yourself."

Bruce nodded, and pressed the intercom button to signal Alfred. Ra's al Ghul gave Alfred the address of the penthouse that he would be staying in, and they arrived in minutes. Ra's al Ghul exited slowly, as signs of his age were beginning to show once again. Before leaving, Talia looked at Bruce sadly. She leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Goodbye, my beloved." She said, and followed her father without another word. Once she was gone, Diana turned to Bruce with her arms crossed. "Alright, I'm listening.

Bruce sighed. "Like I said, it's a long story."

"Was she an old girlfriend?"

Bruce thought for a moment. "I can't say for sure. Every time it felt like we were going somewhere, one of us would end up leaving the other stranded in the desert... So I guess not."

"Hm. You weren't kidding when you said that your love life was complicated."

"It happens, I guess. But that's all in the past."

The limo pulled up in front of Wayne Manor, and Bruce and Diana stepped out. Once they reached the manor, the stood at the entrance for a moment. Bruce bent down to lift Diana, holding her below her shoulders and knees. She gasped in surprise. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"It's a bit of a tradition... I must have forgotten when we stopped by earlier." He said as he carried her over the threshold.

She roller her eyes a little. "You people have the strangest customs."

"Right." He put her down. "Now... Why don't you start packing? I have some business to attend to tonight."

She rolled her eyes again. "Can't let it go for one night, can you?"

"Not before leaving for several weeks at a time. It won't be long."

"Don't tell me that the Batman has to get time off?"

"I just want to make sure that everything is alright before we go."

"And what if it isn't alright? What will you do then?"

He realized that he'd backed himself into a corner. "We'll go. I promise. I just have to do my job. Don't worry."

"Alright... But don't get wrapped up in anything, okay?" Without waiting for a response, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him passionately. He returned her embrace; they stood there for several minutes, before Bruce left for the Batcave.

Author's note: Once again, a slow start. But enjoy it while it lasts, because once things get going, they're going to be going fast.

Now... I have a bit of an opportunity for anybody who'd like to get involved in the story. I'm floating around a couple ideas for the mysterious threat that Ra's al Ghul mentioned; if somebody would volunteer, then I would be able to send them some ideas, and maybe have a bit of help deciding. I'm worried that some of the ideas (one in particular) might be a bit too extreme, but I'd like a second opinion. So, for anybody who wants to help me write the story, then now's your chance. I'll try to keep the details that I give out to a minimum to avoid ruining the story for you.

I'm really not sure when I'll have the chance to post again. Ideally, I'll have another chapter up by tonight, but that could very easily not happen. In the case that it doesn't, it could be a while. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm working a lot now. So I'll try to keep posting, but my posts could become a bit more sparing.

Anyway... I'm not really satisfied with this chapter. I have the same issue with it that I do with the last chapter; the dialogue just doesn't seem to flow. Oh well, I'll keep working on it. Feedback would be appreciated.

On a side note... Including Ra's and Talia al Ghul made this chapter hell. Between their names and Talia's accent, half of this chapter triggered my spell-checker. Sunuvabitch.