Chapter 3: Long Time No See

It had been a busy shift that day for him. First there had been GL's mission down to Africa against that new threat, villainous or otherwise. Then there had been the tsunami out in the Pacific threatening an entire island's worth of people. And then there had been the prison break in North America. And that wasn't even mentioning the hordes of smaller missions that the Justice League were always embroiled in. Yes, it had indeed been a busy night.

But despite it all, J'onn still found the time to reach out telepathically to his wife.

It was his turn for duty at the moment. Ever since his return to the Justice League during Darkseid's attack, he and Mr Terrific had been taking command in shifts. J'onn couldn't do the job full time any more. Now he had a reason not to. No longer did he have to stay cooped up on the Watchtower alone all the time. No longer did he want to. Now he wanted to spend his time with his latest family. Now he wanted to have a life again. Now he did have a life again.

He had never expected it to happen. He had never expected to move on, to find a new place that he could well and truly call home. His years with the Justice League had made him care about the Earth deeply, yes, but it wasn't the same to him as Mars had been. It was a wonderful place, but it wasn't his home. It wasn't where he was from, where he had spent hundreds of years of his life. It wasn't where he had had – and lost – his family.

Not a day went by when J'onn didn't think about the wife and children that had been taken from him by the Imperium and their invading army. Being the last of his kind was lonely enough as it was. Being the last of his family had made it even worse. That loneliness and loss had drove him to solitude, no matter how much he cared about this new world and his new friends. It just wasn't the same.

Then Wonder Woman had encouraged him to spend time among the people of the Earth, to spend time as a common man, to take in what this world really had to offer, as she had done. J'onn had – eventually – decided to give her idea a try. It was then that he had met his new wife.

He would never forget the life he once had, the family he had lost, but she helped him to see that his own life was not over. She helped to give him more reason and purpose beyond his heroics. She had taught him that even after so much hardship and suffering he could still find happiness again. She was very much the reason why he now looked forward to his time when he wasn't on duty.

For that, he would be eternally grateful to her. But he would also never stop missing the life he had once had, no matter how happy he was now.

He reached out to her again. At this distance he couldn't really converse with her telepathically, but the bond between him and his wife had become firm and strong enough that he could detect her with ease, even with all the billions of other minds down there with her. He was glad to register that she was happy. Rather selfishly, he was also glad to detect that she was missing him, despite him only having been away for a matter of hours.

Still, if she had been a fellow Martian, the distance or the crowds wouldn't have mattered. The link would have meant that so much more could happen now than just registering his wife's feelings.

Despite it all though, J'onn was happy. He was in a healthy, stable and loving relationship with a woman that he wanted to be with for a long, long time, despite the differences. Of all the Justice League's founding seven, it was remarkable that he was the one to have found love in such a way. He very much doubted that anyone would have believed that a couple of years ago.

As it was though, things were complicated for all of his friends. There was also the GL/Shayera situation, Superman's ongoing fling with Lois and then Flash with his constant awkwardness at awkward times around the opposite sex. But Batman and Wonder Woman topped the lot.

Wonder Woman had returned to the Watchtower a few minutes ago. The look she had given J'onn upon doing so meant that he didn't need telepathy to know what she was thinking about. J'onn had played a key part in helping her to understand her feelings towards a certain masked vigilante. He had known about it longer than she had thanks to both his telepathy and her... lack of experience. He had monitored things throughout the long development between the two, so he was one of the few in prime position to know what she was going through. Of course, with Batman away he couldn't read what he was going through, but he did know his friend. He knew that it was about time that Batman returned, for both of their sakes.

It was just as he was thinking that that the call came in from Shayera.

"Shayera to J'onn. The situation is handled. Beam us back up. And J'onn, a word of warning. There'll be a very familiar third coming up any minute after us. You might want to get the right people prepared."

The smile was creeping across his face even as he was hitting the buttons to bring Flash and Shayera back aboard the Watchtower. Batman was coming back. He could just imagine the look on Diana's face when she would find out.

The thought of such potential love and happiness made him reach out to sense his own wife again, revelling in the happy thoughts.

They meant that he didn't pick up the outside source listening in on him.

"Yeah, but of course, none of it compares to what we do here," GL went on. He had been talking for a while now about all things Sector 2814. Diana had listened intently to it. She was enjoying just sitting here chatting with John, as if they weren't all superheroes who so often had the fate of the entire world on their shoulders. It also helped her to forget about all of life's other problems. "Nothing out there is quite like the Earth, you know?"

"There is a reason why the gods favour us so," Wonder Woman responded. "And I for one am certainly glad for it. Our world truly is a beautiful place. It gives us yet more reasons to make sure we protect it."

"Not exactly like we need another one, though, is it?" GL said with a smile. "There's enough out there for us to be safeguarding as it is. Enough people. But hear, hear!"

He held up his glass for a toast, with Diana quickly following his lead. She didn't fail to notice his stressing of the word "people". He was clearly referring to a certain two when he said it, a certain two who were very close to each of them respectively.

Rather aptly, it was just then that they heard Flash's rather excited shouts start echoing throughout the Watchtower as the Scarlet Speedster sped around the corridors. He was clearly determined that everyone who could heard what he had to say. Little could he know just how much Diana actually wanted to hear what it was that he was shouting.

"He's back! He's back! Hey, everyone! Bats is coming back!"

Diana instantly shot up in her chair. She stayed seated, but to an onlooker she might have looked rather like a meerkat sensing danger. Her attention was well and truly caught. Was this the day after all? Was this the day that she had been waiting for for eight long months? After so long, was it finally here?

"Look busy everyone! Look busy! You don't want him turning that scowl on you on his first day back, do you? I repeat, Batman's coming back!"

A red form suddenly appeared in the doorway as Flash rapidly flung himself to a stop in the commissary doorway. He seemed to instantly spot Wonder Woman and Green Lantern sat in the corner, latching onto them and zipping over to their table. Before either of them knew it, Flash was at their side, leaning over them with one arm wrapped around each of them.

"Hey, guys! Bats is coming back!" he quickly babbled on before either of them could react any more than the initial looks of surprise. "Me and Shayera just ran into him in Gotham when we were chasing down that stretchy guy! And our favourite gloomy guy said that he's on his way back any second! Speaking of which, I better get going! There's still plenty of people to warn!"

And then Flash was gone as quickly as he had arrived, but he had certainly had a major impact on things. Diana quickly looked over at GL. Her feelings on the situation were abundantly clear. She made no efforts at all to hide them. In front of GL there would be no point anyway. He already knew that her heart desperately wanted her to leave this chair and this room. Now she definitely had somewhere else that she wanted to be. Somewhere else where she needed to be. After eight months she didn't want to wait any more, not even for a second. She had to be there when he arrived back up on the Watchtower. Ideally, she had to be there to greet him alone. GL obviously saw that much in her eyes.

"I think that Flash might need a hand spreading the news," GL said as if he was musing aloud, though Wonder Woman knew that he was saying it for a different and very deliberate reason. "Perhaps you should head up to the teleporter without me, give our friend a proper welcome back."

Wonder Woman instantly grinned more broadly than the Cheshire Cat, gently resting a hand on one of GL's where it lay on the table between them.

"Thank you, John," she voiced her immense gratitude, her voice giving away the giddiness that she was feeling with every fibre of her being. GL smiled back in return.

"Go get him."

Wonder Woman did not need telling twice. She was gone even quicker than Flash had been, literally taking off into the air and flying her way throughout the Watchtower's corridors. She flew right over the heads of anyone she came across out there, no matter who they might be. One or two startled looking heroes even called after her, sounding worried that something drastically wrong might be happening, They were worried that they might be needed somewhere, particularly due to Wonder Woman's speed as she darted beyond them all. However, Diana did not even bother to pause to explain things to them, or at least lay any unease she might have stirred in them at rest. She was just too determined to reach the teleporter room. She had to be there when he got back. It might sound silly, but she wanted to be the first thing that he saw when he re-materialised. She definitely thought it was a silly notion herself. A year ago she would be chastising herself for such a thought, being the proud Amazonian warrior that she was. But then a year ago she had never thought that she would be in love with a man. Living in this world had definitely changed her, at certain times at least. This was one such time. She wanted to be the first thing he saw. She wanted him to be returning to her before he was returning to the Justice League. Call it selfish, but that was how things were.

Unfortunately, the best laid plans of many people so often went wrong. Wonder Woman just happened to be one of those people.

She arrived at the main teleporter chamber full of that optimistic hope, landing just before she opened up the door. She eagerly hit the button, picturing how this should go in her mind. In there, the second the doors opened there was the flash of light and then Batman was there before her, with them then running into each others arms. Not very warrior-like, but she was quickly developing her romantic side.

But when the door did open, things were quite different to how she was imagining them. Despite all her efforts to get here fast, she hadn't been fast enough. Batman had already arrived.

She was halted in her tracks before she could begin to move towards him. She had wanted this day for so long, and now that the moment was here she didn't know what to do. She just froze, staring across at him.

He looked exactly as he did when she had last seen him. Exactly as he did every time Diana had pictured him in her mind since. He was... Well, he was still Batman. His face was still shrouded behind the cowl, his jaw set firm giving nothing away. With those white lenses hiding his eyes she couldn't tell for sure if he was looking her way, but she felt pretty sure that being the master detective that he was Batman would have looked up when he heard someone new entering the room. However, he still wasn't reacting. In truth that didn't surprise Diana. That was just Batman's way. He had never been the type to display emotions in all the time that Wonder Woman had known him, apart from his anger. There was no reason for that to change now. When they had confessed their love for one another, Wonder Woman had even made the point that, unlike so many women who had been in his life before her, she didn't want him to change. She loved him for who he was. Despite all that though, she couldn't lie and say that she wasn't disappointed that he didn't at least smile at the sight of her.

But just seeing him again was enough for now. It would have to be. Batman beating her here was not the only way in which Diana's plans had not come to fruition. They had company, company that didn't know the truth about what was going on between the two of them. Wonder Woman tried to make herself look as normal as possible – albeit doubting how successful she was at doing so – not wanting to give anything away until the time was right for others to know. The thought – or perhaps hope – crossed her mind that perhaps that was the reason why Batman had reacted so seemingly indifferently to her arrival.

J'onn and the civilian controllers would be up top working the devices of course, but they were all out of sight and out of earshot right now. Superman was in there too, the only other person in the main area. His back was to Diana where he stood between her and Batman. He was stood with Batman, clearly conversing with the returning hero. From the look of Superman, he had only just got back himself, obviously no longer needed down in the Pacific with the local authorities taking over the recovery operations. He looked happy himself to see possibly his best friend back. Not as happy as Diana of course, but happy all the same.

"What kept you?" Superman was saying through his great, big grin, his words making it pretty clear that the conversation was in its infancy. One of the two men had clearly only arrived moments before Wonder Woman. Now that she looked closer, it looked almost like Batman had just fended off a hug from Superman. She suspected that he might be doing that a few times in the coming days after having been away for so long from a group of people who had all learned to respect him greatly. She knew that she for one wanted to embrace him in an expression of joy. However, she also knew that she could well be the exception, the one of them that Batman would want such an action from.

"I was busy," Batman very simply told Kal, still giving nothing away. His voice was as deep and gravelly as ever. Hearing it again gave Wonder Woman the oddest of sensations deep in her stomach, as if it had just done a somersault, even if he was still giving no indication of knowing that she was there. "I still am. This'll have to wait until later."

"Come on, Bruce!" Kal countered, though he didn't sound surprised, nor did his mood dampen at all. Wonder Woman continued to watch on from the sidelines. It wasn't her forte, but she would be patient. She didn't want to have to act, so she was going to wait her turn. "You've been gone for almost a year! What can possibly be so important that you can't spend a minute or two to say hello? Its not like the world's ending again right now."

"I have reports to file, systems to check, maintenance programmes to implement, scans to run," Batman immediately argued back as if such things were the most important in the world. "As you say Kent, I've been gone for almost a year. I have to make sure that things are still running smoothly after my absence."

"What's the matter, Bruce, don't you trust us?" Superman said with a smirk. It was an attempt at humour, referencing back to the time when Batman had left them in the first place. Back then there had been a big issue between Batman and the Justice League, a matter of trust that had almost seen Batman expelled from the group until he had finally explained things to Superman and set things straight. Typically, Bruce wasn't finding Kal very amusing.

"It's important work," he simply stated instead, stressing the word firmly and very seriously. He was making sure that no room for doubts was left open, giving Superman one of his best glares to aid the process.

"I guess I'll leave you to it then," Superman gave in after a moment's pause. He sighed as he spoke, the smile now fading from his face. He had clearly been looking forward to this day too. Wonder Woman wasn't the only one whose plan for this day hadn't come to fruition. "I'm due to see Lois in Metropolis soon anyway."

"With or without the glasses?"

Batman said the words dryly, as if there was nothing to them. Wonder Woman knew exactly what it was that he truly meant. Was Kal going to see Lois as Superman or as Clark Kent? It was almost as if Batman was judging his friend for not having told Lois the truth about his identity. It was a bit rich, that, coming from the man who had spent years dodging away from telling the woman he loved about his own feelings. No matter how much she loved him, Wonder Woman still felt annoyed with Batman for that comment, one which Superman sheepishly avoided.

"Its good to have you back, Bruce," Superman said instead, a resemblance of a smile actually returning to his face. "It'll be just like old times. We'll catch up when I get back. I'll not let you dodge out of it next time."

"Right," Batman gave the non-answer in response, simply staring Superman down as he so often would. However, that just made Superman smile again. The old Batman they all knew and loved was certainly back. No matter how rude he might seem, it was clear that Wonder Woman was far from the only one who had missed him.

She continued to stand silently by in the doorway as Superman climbed up onto the teleporter pad. Batman watched as Superman performed the action, facing the big Kryptonian all the way and still seemingly not noticing that Diana was there. Before both of their eyes, Superman looked up to the control centre and where Wonder Woman knew J'onn would still be stationed.

"Energize, J'onn," Kal said. And the next second he was gone, teleported away in a flash of light. Technically J'onn's control station was in the room, but with it out of sight for all intents and purposes Superman's departure meant that Wonder Woman and Batman were now alone. J'onn spoke to her telepathically in that instant, as if to emphasize that point. Unlike Superman who seemed too distracted to notice, the Martian would have known she was there before she had even arrived.

"I shall see to it that the two of you now get some privacy. Good luck, Diana."

Wonder Woman felt the smile cross her lips upon hearing those words cross her mind. However, she did not remain focused on them for very long. It was then that Batman finally turned to face her properly for the first time in far too long. Her breath suddenly caught in her lungs as he began to slowly walk towards her, though he still was giving no indication of how he was feeling. Now that they were alone, Wonder Woman couldn't hold it all back any more.

"Bruce!" she virtually breathed his name, too overjoyed to shout it.

She flung herself forwards, flying the short distance that was left between them and wrapping him up in her arms. She held him up close, hands clenching tightly against the fabric of his cape. If he didn't always ensure every aspect of the real him was hidden to maintain his identity then she would be drinking in every line, every scent, Hera, even every taste of his right now. It took her along moment to realise that he wasn't reciprocating her action.

"Bruce, what's wrong?" she asked as soon as she registered that. She pushed herself back so that she could see his face properly again, only to see that it was still completely unmoved. That giddy feeling that had taken hold of her was suddenly gone. She really didn't like the new feeling that was taking its place. She was starting to feel scared. Why? Why was he still failing to react? Why, after all that had changed between them the last time they had spoken? "What is it?"

"Now isn't the time, Princess," Batman stated simply in response, remaining completely stoic.

That was really starting to annoy her now. He had agreed. Eight months ago, Wonder Woman had said there was only one thing about Batman that she would ever want him to change. She had told him not to shut her out, and he had promised to do as she asked. Never in those eight long months had she doubted that he would live up to his word. Now she was starting to have doubts. Now she was suddenly starting to doubt everything. Damn, Bruce could affect her like no-one else could ever manage. She really was in love with him.

"Bruce, now is exactly the time," she countered him. This was definitely not going to plan. Never had she envisaged there first minutes back together evoking an argument. "Have you forgotten what happened? Have you forgotten what we both said in your cave? Have you forgotten how we both feel? I've waited eight long months for you Bruce. You said you needed time and I gave you time. Please, just give me a few moments now. Tell me what's wrong."

"Diana," Bruce practically whispered her name, dropping the typical growl from his tones as he did so. His jaw even seemed to loosen slightly, as if just saying her name reduced the anger that he utilised so well. "I will tell you everything. I haven't forgotten a single second of that night. I never will. There's just something that I need to do first."

"Filing reports?" Wonder Woman blurted out in shock at what she was hearing. "Checking maintenance systems? Bruce, surely those things can wait..."

"Those one's can," Batman cut her off, the firmness coming back to his voice now. "But not every task I told Superman is so mundane. Princess, something is going on, something I have to check out to make sure its not truly dangerous. I need to use the Watchtower's sensors to do that."

"Bruce, tell me this isn't another solo crusade," Diana virtually pleaded, harking back to the last time she had seen Batman in action. Then he had fought an entire army of incredibly deadly aliens to save the world, to save her, and he had done so without bringing the Justice League into it. Being Gotham's protector was one thing, but for the world as a whole, against such overwhelming numbers... Batman may well be the most dangerous man on Earth, but even he couldn't do everything, especially twice.

"This isn't like before, Princess," Batman was quick to assure her. "But I have to investigate this. If I need help, you'll be the first one that I call."

Wonder Woman could immediately tell that that was the best that she was going to get, right now at least. "Then do what you have to. What is this thing anyway?"

"I can't say for certain," Batman answered. He had begun walking as he said it as Diana took a step to his side. She made sure that she matched strides with him. She may have relented and allowed him this extra time, but that didn't mean she couldn't go with him now. Together they strode out of the main teleporter room. From what little Batman had really told her, it didn't take a genius to figure out that he was leading her to the control room and its equipment. "Not with what I know so far. But I have my suspicions from what I've been able to detect from Gotham, and I don't like it."

"Do you at least know where this thing is?" Diana continued to question him, definitely feeling that the more she found out about this now, the quicker she could help Bruce to resolve it so that the two of them could then finally reunite properly. By now they were already fairly deep into the corridors, well on their way to where they were going. "How long do we ha–?"

She never finished that sentence. She didn't have the chance to. The blood curdling scream saw to that, a scream so loud that it reverberated thunderously throughout the corridors around them despite there being no-one else in sight. Instantly both Wonder Woman and Batman looked back in the direction they had just come from, both registering from where the scream had emanated. They both also recognised from the sound exactly who it was who was screaming, who it was what was in such obviously incredibly intense pain; J'onn.

Wonder Woman quickly looked back to Batman. All he had to do was give her a quick confirming nod and she was in the air and scooping him up. Her flying was the quickest way for both of them to get there and there was no doubt that that was where they both needed to be. Whatever had happened in these last few moments, whatever they had planned before, neither of them were about to abandon their friend.

As Wonder Woman raced through the air once again, Batman draped in her arms, she couldn't help but feel that J'onn's scream was the answer to her unfinished question. Perhaps this thing Batman had come back to investigate was already here.

However, despite the possible ramifications of that, that thought didn't frighten her anywhere near as much as the thought that it might be this thing that Batman returned to the Justice League for, and not her. Again, she knew it was selfish but she couldn't help it. She knew that she would need to resolve those fears, just as soon as they had helped J'onn.

If they could still help him...

A/N:

I've just realised I forgot to throw in a disclaimer at the start again, so here it is instead. I own none of the non-original stuff herein. That lot belongs to DC and their parents at Time Warner. Shame, but that's how things are.

Anyways, review/follow/favourite away friends. See you next week, same Bat-Time(ish), same Bat-Channel!