Chapter 21: Lines in the Sand

"You do know that I'd be macing the hell out of any other guy if they pulled a stunt like this, right?"

They were flying quickly away from Metropolis, heading deep inland and away from the danger zone. It had taken him several moments before he had reacted. By the time he had, Green Lantern had already set off to get Captain Atom and the rest organised, Green Arrow was already back working with General Mulligan and Batman was over with the League magicians, preparing for his return into the very thing they were having to fight. But as for himself, he had needed the time that was available to him, needed the time to decide. Batman of all people had just told him to show Lois who he really was, to give up to her his greatest secret, despite all the possible ramifications of such an act. The fact that it was Bruce saying that it was the right thing to do had meant that Superman found the choice very difficult to cast aside as he had done so many times before. It meant that, even in the heat of all that was happening around them, Superman felt he had a decision to make.

But there was another thing Batman said that Superman realised he didn't have to mull over. Yes, Lois would want to stay in the city. She'd want to be there first hand, to both share in the risk with him and to get the prime view of what was one hell of a story unfolding in front of them all. But, identity revealed or not, Superman had to get Lois out of there now that he had the chance to. The entire city was in danger, and while Superman would get everyone out if he could, Lois would always come first to him. She was his world. Without her, he was nothing.

That was why he had quite literally swept her off of her feet, and was flying her fast away from Metropolis. However, his glasses had stayed securely out of sight. He knew that telling Lois was the right thing to do in so many ways. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that he could trust Lois with this. He was just too afraid of what it could mean, of the possible dangers to her that would come from knowing who Superman was. Heck, Lois was in danger often enough already. Superman just couldn't bear to risk putting her in even more, no matter how potential it was. She meant too much to him. Far too much.

"Sorry, Lois. I'll give you an exclusive when this thing is over to make it up to you," Superman spoke to the woman hung lithely in his arms. They hadn't been flying for too long, but Superman was already starting to feel that maybe it was time for him to drop Lois off and turn back. He wasn't exactly slow in his travelling after all, not when he wanted to shift. Lois ought to be safe around here. Ought to be. So long as Bruce's plan paid off. "That cloud is about to attack the city again. We can't stop that happening, but we do have a plan to stop it for good once it gets there. But I had to be sure that you're safe."

"Always got to be the hero, don't you?" Lois commented, but she said so with a smile, looking him right in the eyes.

"As long as people need me," Superman replied, giving her a smile in return. But that was his signal that it was time to set her down, time for him to return to Metropolis. He couldn't afford to get lost in talking to Lois like this. Things would be happening quickly, and no one could afford for him to show up late.

Almost as suddenly as he had her off of her feet and a long way up into the sky, Superman was back down to Earth, setting Lois down with great care and ease. He didn't know exactly where he had wound up, nor did he pause to check exactly where it was beyond the fact that there was clearly a small town nearby where Lois would find shelter and the ability to contact him if and when she needed to.

"Lois, I..." he began to say, but his words faltered around him. His mouth had been faster than his brain just then. He had almost let it slip. He had almost told her who he was, in the real world, beyond the cape. But then his brain had caught up, his inhibitions had caught up, and his words had faltered. Lois could see he was struggling, even if she couldn't know why. She took her chance to soothe him. She kissed him, softly but full of quiet passion.

"You'll be fine," she whispered to him, clearly intending to help motivate him, help him get back up into the mood for the battle she knew he was about to face. It seemed she thought he was almost trying to say goodbye, like he had been thinking that he wouldn't ever see her again. How wrong she was. "I'll be fine. Just go get 'em."

Once again, Superman didn't know what to say. Instead he acted. This time he kissed her, deeper than the one just moments before. When the kiss was over, there was a brief moment when the two lovers looked deep into each others eyes, a moment of a million silent words.

And then Superman was gone, back up into the skies, heading straight back to his fellow heroes at ground zero.

With the words he was debating over still left unsaid.

Lois had meant what she had said. If anyone else had taken her away against her will, she would be mighty pissed. But this was different. She could tell that Superman needed this, and because of that she would accept being taken away from the best story she had had all week, heck the best one she'd had all year. For him, she could accept this.

Especially as his subconscious had gotten the better of him, and told her the one thing that he had been unable to bring himself to say for so very long. Lois looked out across the landscape, at the sign depicting the name of the town where he had just dropped her off. She couldn't help but smile as she read it.

Smallville.

It wasn't long until Bruce had come to join them. They were still preparing themselves, or the rest of them still were anyway. Zatanna was more than ready. She knew the stakes. And she knew Bruce.

That was why she intercepted him before he arrived at the wider group, dragging him off to one side. At first he had stubbornly held his ground, glaring at her as if to scare her into getting out of his way. Lucky for her, she knew how to find her way past the bat to the man underneath.

"Br... Batman. I need to talk. Just for a minute, I promise. While Fate gets the others ready."

"Make it quick. We haven't much time."

Zatanna sighed, looking up into that cowl. "Batman, I know who you are, I know how you think. No one sees you for eight months and then all this starts going down, including your little trip away from your own body! And then you come down here and... Well, the others might not see it, but it all seems so personal to you. Before you go back in there, is there anything you need to talk about? Anything at all?"

"No. Is that all?" His answer was immediate, predictable. He continued to just stare down at her through those white lenses. Zatanna just stared straight back through them.

"Are you sure about that? Come on, Batman. If you're going in there again we both owe it to the world to make sure you're ready for it. I know that you're not exactly all about sharing, but now might be a good time to give it a try."

But Bruce didn't answer her. He didn't even move. He just continued to stand and stare. But that was enough. Despite him giving nothing away, Zatanna figured it out. She had guessed the pieces once before. Now they were falling ever more into place.

"Its Diana isn't it? It's all right, I won't make you say it. I know you don't want to show off the fact that you actually have a heart under all those layers. Just tell me this, is something wrong? Is she all right?"

"She's fine," Batman answered, but his voice had suddenly softened, becoming barely a whisper. "But the plan will put both her and myself in great risk. Unfortunately, there's no other way."

Zatanna felt the smile creep over her face, a smile of relief. She had the ultimate faith in Bruce. He wouldn't fail.

"You'll be fine," she returned, matching his latest tone and low volume. If nothing else, it meant that she could get away with saying his name. "You both will be. Wonder Woman can definitely look out for herself. And you and Diana... You're a great team, Bruce. You work great together. Between you you've got a great balance of similarities and differences, of strengths, of darkness and light. I'm... I'm happy for you Bruce. Really I am. And besides, you've both now got an extra thing worth fighting for. There's no way either of you will give that up any time soon."

She had not planned to offer up a speech, it had just sort of tumbled out of her. It must have been a side affect of her closeness to one of the most closed off, yet caring men the world had ever seen. Hell, there had been a time when she had truly loved Bruce Wayne, adored the very ground he walked on, even if he hadn't returned that sentiment. These days their relationship was strictly platonic, both ways, but she still loved him. She was just glad that he seemed to have opened up to someone. She was glad he and Diana had found each other. She couldn't stay silent about that.

"Are you done now?" Once again Bruce responded in such typical Batman style. The mission always came first. But yet, he had said it with a faint grin of his own, and despite the lack of words to say it, Zatanna got the message loud a clear. Thank you.

"Batman, Zatanna," a distant voice calmly called out to them. She quickly recognised it as Doctor Fate's. "We are ready. It is time to begin."

Batman immediately made to move off, as if the talk with Zatanna was already done. Zatanna, however, needed just another few seconds. She needed to finish this off. She softly grabbed his arm before he could walk away.

"I'll see you when you've saved everyone, Bruce. I'll see both of you."

Once again there was a soft smile offered her way, but subtle enough so that she alone could see it. A faint nod even accompanied it, but that was all Zatanna got in way of a response. It was a good job that that was all that she needed.

There was no holding him back any more. Even if she had used all of her powers to try and make it happen, Zatanna seriously doubted she would have managed it against all of his indomitable will. Instead she would just use her powers for a different purpose, the purpose Bruce wanted her to use them for. She quickly joined him in wandering back the short way over to the ring Fate and the other magician's had formed, ready to work their magic.

It was time to send Batman back into the cloud. It was time to send him back to Diana.

She had detected Batman's sense of triumph several moments ago, but nothing had happened since then. The others were still debating, still arguing and discussing away to try and figure out how they could stop the Imperium and the threat they held via the energy cloud that the vast majority of the Martians were still working to hold in the waters. Wonder Woman was hardly listening to them though. She knew that Batman had a plan, and she knew that, somehow, he would be telling them all their part of it. She couldn't explain it, but she just knew. That was why she couldn't join the discussions. She was too busy watching and listening for when that sign would come.

She just wasn't expecting it come in the way that it did.

"All this is getting us no-where!" M'vall was arguing. "We need ideas, not nonsense! The Imperium wont be wasting time like this, we shouldn't be doing either!"

"This nonsense is how I get to ideas..." Flash muttered in the background.

"If we can't work together perhaps we should split up to come up with a plan," Shayera suggested, sounding rather fed up.

"That might not be a bad idea," J'onn concurred. "But M'vall is right, we must hurry."

"Fine, but I go with Shay or Wondy!" Flash leapt in. "I need my gibberish to start the ideas flowing..."

"They already have."

Hope instantly flowed. That voice was instantly recognisable. It was Batman's voice. But that wasn't all. As soon as she had heard it, Wonder Woman was sure that he had somehow found a way to communicate with them from the outside, some enhancement to his comm or something. He had done so many remarkable acts before after all. But she was wrong. He wasn't outside the cloud.

He was here. He was back.

"Batman!" Wonder Woman couldn't hold back the shout as the black clad man stepped into the heart of the group. Everyone flinched at the site of him suddenly appearing amongst them – except for all those Martians' whose minds were busy elsewhere. Flash even jumped so far back in surprise that he had to run back forward again. As for Diana, she only just prevented herself from flinging her arms back around him.

Batman surveyed the group. He looked at them all in turn, taking it all in. If Wonder Woman didn't know him so well she would probably have missed the pride that crept over his face as he saw them with the Martians, side by side, without fear. Hera, Diana even thought she saw him offer her a special glance of satisfaction. A rare honour indeed from the Batman in the middle of a battle.

"Batman? Not that I'm not glad to see you, but what are you doing here?" Shayera blurted out. "I thought Fate got you clear?"

"And then he sent me back," Batman growled, turning his attention to her. It was immediately clear that he meant business. As ever with him, there was no time for pleasantries. Right now, Wonder Woman didn't care. "All of you listen up, and listen closely. Its time we drew a line in the sand. There won't be time to do this twice."

"You've got a plan, don't you?" Flash asked the question he clearly seemed to know the answer to. He sounded particularly giddy already. "What is it, giant bellows? Some specialised Bat-tank? Proton packs? How do you always do it?"

"I didn't. You did. We cross the streams."

Wonder Woman had thought there had been surprise in the group when Batman had re-appeared. Now, just seconds later, there truly was shock.

"Me...? I did–? You what?" Flash spluttered around, failing to come up with a sentence.

"Cross the streams?" Shayera repeated the words, utterly confused.

"What is he talking about?" M'vall queried too, addressing her question to J'onn since he was the one she clearly trusted most, if not the only one she really trusted.

As for Wonder Woman, it only took her a second to begin to understand. She was the one who had been there with Batman after all. She was the one who had felt the effects, had felt what that thing could do. And she was the one who knew how dangerous it could be, and how much every part of her had wanted to get clear of it and not go back. It wasn't a matter of bravery. It was an instinct, a base reaction to what had so nearly happened. That was not a good place to be, even for the a super-powered warrior princess who would face any fight head on without hesitation.

But, for the people's safety, Wonder Woman knew that instincts could be kept at bay. She knew that whatever Batman said next, whatever the plan was, she would not shirk away from it. Not if it was what needed to be done. Even if they had to cross the streams.

"While I was there, the people outside the cloud asked if any of you had ideas on how to beat this thing," Batman began his explanation, talking over all the shocked mutterings and getting every set of eyes drawn back onto him. In particular, he seemed to be addressing Wally. "That's when I remembered what you said. Your references to old movies after we first faced the Imperium in here. Stupid, unwarranted comments. But also ones that lead me to exactly the plan we need."

"So... I'm a genius then?" Wally responded, a massive grin spreading over his face. Wonder Woman couldn't help but smile slightly for him, despite knowing what was coming next.

"Don't push it," Batman quickly put him in his place, swiping that grin straight from him. "The point is, I know how we stop this so that everyone makes it out alive. Completely alive."

"Batman, wait," J'onn interrupted. He sounded almost excited all of a sudden, anticipation hitting him. "Are you meaning that–?"

"I am," Batman responded in kind. "If we pull this off, not only should we be able to keep the Imperium powerless for as long as this cloud will last, but we should also be able to get all the Metropolis citizens and the Martians out of here. Alive. Physically alive."

"Us?" M'vall's shock had just got even more evident than ever. "I don't understand. Our bodies are long since destroyed. There's no place for our minds to go."

"The key to the entire plan is having control," Batman began, clearly giving the full explanation he had been planning from the start. M'vall would apparently have to wait for her answer. From the look on her face she didn't like that very much, but even she wasn't about to interrupt a very forceful sounding Batman. "There are two things we need to do; strip the Imperium of any that they possess, and take more for ourselves. Its the only way to ensure the right people go free, and the wrong ones aren't a danger to anyone any more. To pull that off, no amount of telepaths would be enough, no matter their strength. Once more we need to turn the cloud to our advantage."

"But how do we–?" Shayera began to ask a question. Batman gave a glare bad enough that it was the signal to all of them not to interrupt again. Even the confrontational Shayera backed off. Batman immediately resumed, voice even more forceful than before. He resumed with the words Wonder Woman had expected, but hadn't really wanted to hear.

"We use the core of the cloud, just like we did during its first attack on the city. Only this time we go further, deeper. The core is the remnants of the Transcended, left behind when the cloud was created. Its through a mental connection to it that the cloud is moved, that the environment in here is changed. But controlling the core is difficult. We know telepathy increases access to it, but not by enough for what we need. More access than that is needed. We need complete mental integration. We need to merge minds with the core. We need to cross the streams.

"When Wonder Woman and I touched it before to access its power, we could feel that process beginning. The energies of that core are as lost as the Imperium. Its the body without the mind, and it'll take whatever mind it can get to guide it. The problem is there's far too much energy there for one mind to handle, even mine. If a lone person tried to take full control of the core, it would cause a complete shut-down of all mental pathways. It would be instant death. But two people, two minds, that would be enough. Two minds, together, spreading the load, would be able cope with the power they would have at their disposal. They wouldn't even have to stay in physical connection with it since it was borne of telepaths. And that's what we're going to do.

"So listen up. Here's the plan. Wonder Woman and I will be the ones to join with the core. The blending will be phase one. During this the rest of you will need to keep us guarded should the Imperium realise what we're up to and attempt to stop us. Throughout all this, it will be vital that they're distracted. Even with our minds linked completely to the core, that won't deny the Imperium access to it as well. They won't face a change. We will just have more power than them. If we give them the opportunity to, they will try to stop us, however they can. They will try to kill us, with all of their power if we let them. We can't afford to take the risk of them succeeding, of them gaining sole control of this cloud. That's why we need to keep them distracted. That's why we need to let them raise the cloud.

"In attacking the city again, the Imperium's focus should be elsewhere for long enough for us to do what must be done. Superman and the rest will be doing everything to protect the people out there, but we have to help too. That's why we won't wait before beginning phase two.

"Here we need to split up. Flash, Shayera, your job will be retrieval. You need to infiltrate wherever the Imperium are holed up in here. Make us much noise as you possibly can to keep them occupied, but the key is to find all the people they took from Metropolis. Shayera, Dr. Fate is waiting for you to find them. As soon as you do, he will begin extracting them, and the two of you. Once you're all clear, the Imperium's control of the cloud will be weaker. The city should be safer.

"But we can't end it there. Because it will take all of our focus to get the Martians out of here, even with the core access, we'll need to make sure the Imperium cannot interfere. We'll need to make sure its safe for us to drop our guard. That's where J'onn and the other Martians come in. You need to use your ability to change the environment here, and hold it as long as you can. You need to make a cage that will keep the Imperium at bay, by both telepathically blocking their control of the cloud and with an old fashioned prison. Diana and I will try to help, but as our focus will be needed elsewhere when it comes time to extract them from the cloud, the Martians need to take on the brunt of the load. If any Imperium breakaway to try and stop them, then Diana and I step in and engage them. Between us, with the control of the cloud, we should be able to handle it, any numbers that they throw at us. The rest of you will need to focus on your own tasks if we want this to work.

"And then Diana and I can finally end this. The central core contains a physical presence, made from your old bodies from when you Transcended. With the control Wonder Woman and I will have, we'll be able to control that too. We'll be able to shape it and mould it into whatever we want. We'll be able to turn it back into your original bodies. And then we'll be able to put your minds back into them, out of the cloud, using a process that's the exact reverse of how we were absorbed in the first place. Wonder Woman and I will evacuate the same way, before the power of the core leaves us once the core has been taken apart piece by piece. We'll be able to make it out, all of us, and what's more the Imperium will never be able to hurt anyone ever again. With the core removed to recreate the Martian forms, there will be nothing for the Imperium to link to, nothing for them to use to have any control of all of this. The energies will remain, as will they, but there will be nothing for them to do but exist in it. This won't be a weapon any more. It will be a prison.

"And then, with them trapped, we'll all be free."

"Wow. I am a genius." Typically, Flash was the first to react. He was looking mighty pleased with himself, albeit a little confused. The fact that he wasn't asking questions, though, meant he had clearly understood at least his part of the plan well enough. He and Shayera were getting the Metropolis people out. That was all he needed to understand, and he seemed to be accepting that.

"That... that's amazing." That was Shayera's reaction. It was certainly one that Wonder Woman felt like sharing. Both women were fairly dumbfounded by it all, amazed. How? How had he figured all of that out? Even for a mind like his, even with a track record like his, coming up with a plan that detailed without knowing the details was just remarkable. It was just so...Batman.

But Wonder Woman was feeling more than just amazement at Batman managing to come up with such an epic plan. There had been so much to what she'd heard in the last few minutes that she was still taking it all in. She had guessed correctly. They were going back into the cloud's core. What she hadn't figured, though, was exactly how far in they were going. She and Bruce were going to merge with it all the way, to let it merge with their minds. And exactly what that could mean... Well, that was a question that she had to confirm with Bruce one-to-one. No doubt that was coming. She could tell just from a glance at Bruce that he was just waiting for the moment when that could happen.

But there were other issues that needed clearing up first, issues that were far wider ranging and would affect a wider array of beings. The Martians were coming back to life. A race that was one male away from extinction were about to be reborn by the exact same plan that would keep the human race alive. That alone made whatever risks were involved worth it. That alone made Diana very excited.

However, she certainly couldn't match the levels of J'onn and M'vall.

"We can live again?" M'vall was barely able to breathe. Her jaw was practically on the floor, her mouth was so far open in ecstatic shock. "All of us? With actual bodies?"

J'onn spoke up before Batman could. "Indeed. Indeed that is what is being suggested. M'vall, this will be dangerous and I know that you've had issues trusting us to keep you safe, but we have to work toge–"

"Stop right there, J'onn," M'vall interrupted. "We have accepted the dangers simply by coming this far. If this plan will work as your Bat Man has said, if it can save us all, then we must try it. The risks will be great to us all, but we must. You will just have to share your experiences with us to keep us all safe."

"So... Well, there's nothing else we really need to ask then, is there? You've got the bases pretty covered, as usual, Batman," Shayera stepped in. It was clear that the M'vall could have stopped and celebrated all day if she hadn't interrupted. Wonder Woman couldn't blame the Martian, but time was still an issue, and that could wait. "If we're gonna get killed doing this, we may as well do it quick. And if we're gonna make it, I don't want to stay here a second more than I have to. So what else are we waiting for? "

"Nothing," Batman took charge again. "The rest of you go on ahead. Prepare the rest of the Martians for what is to come. Prepare yourselves for your own specific parts of the plan. Wonder Woman and I must prepare for ours. Before we depart for the core."

"Understood, my friend," J'onn spoke for the group, talking through a smile almost broader than his head. Despite his own personal joy at what could happen if they pulled this off, he seemed to understand perfectly well. From the look on her own face, it seemed that Shayera did to.

"Come on Flash," she said, practically pulling the speedster away as his mind was catching up. He may have witnessed Batman and Wonder Woman just minutes ago in their loving embrace, but he was probably still coming to terms with that to recognise the implications right now. From the loud "Oh" that issued from his direction moments after Shayera had taken him off to one side, she had clearly helped him on that path. J'onn and M'vall also left without saying more, though M'vall did offer Batman what seemed to be a very grateful, very genuine nod. Batman barely acknowledged it, keeping up his stony façade. Only when they were gone did he turn to face Wonder Woman. She waited for him to do that, but she wasn't going to bother waiting for him to talk first.

"There's something about this that you left out before isn't there?"

She had spotted it straight away. The others hadn't experienced the effects of being in contact with the core so they wouldn't do, but she had. She knew there was more to it than Batman had told the group, more to it than them both gaining full, remote access to the control centre of the cloud. She also knew that Batman would have already factored that into his plans. Everything had to be accounted for. Always had been, always would be. He didn't wait to explain, didn't bother with any kind of build up. He just dove straight in.

"The core needs two minds to handle it, but it can't be split. The core can be controlled by multiple minds, but the merger must be with one. Our minds merge with the core, but need to be merged with each other first. And that's dangerous in its own right. Having that much access to one another, having that much information thrown at you so quickly, so forcefully and so firmly, it could cause breakdowns, insanity, perhaps even death. Just this first phase will be incredibly dangerous, Princess. That's why I need someone with a mind as strong as yours to be in there with me. We could well need to use each other just to keep ourselves together. Are you up to it?"

"Bruce, you don't need to ask me that," Wonder Woman was quick to dismiss the question. She could tell it was asked almost as wishful thinking on Batman's part, as a way of keeping her from danger by hoping that she would say no. The fact that he had asked her, though, rather than just shutting her out, meant the world to her, no matter how much she felt he should have known the answer already. "The people need this, ours and the Martians. The worldneeds this. We need this. Of course I'm up to it."

"There's something else too," Batman began again, but he didn't do so as if her words had been spoken too early as he may have once done. It sounded simply informative. This time, it sounded like he was almost glad that it would be her at his side. Perhaps she had judged his last question too early. Perhaps he had indeed just been checking that she felt ready and able. Perhaps he was more accepting of sharing the risks with her than she had first thought. That gave Diana an oddly warm feeling inside that she had to batten down in order to focus on what she was hearing. "More than one thing in fact. There is a very undeniable risk that even if we survive the blending, we may end up trapped that way, with a unified mind even after the core is gone. With no previous to compare against, I can't say how real that risk is, but you should be aware of it."

"We face risks everyday," Wonder Woman shrugged that one off. "This will just have to be another for the list."

"The second is more subtle," Batman resumed, the first point clearly deemed moot straight away with her response. "Princess, I know you have struggled with issues of anger in the past. During the merging you will be exposed to my feelings, to my anger. You should know by now I have a lot of it, decades of it built up. If you can't handle it, you may lose control, and with your power, an out of control Wonder Woman could be just as dangerous as the cloud, whether you have control of it or not. I just wanted to make you aware of that, to let you know exactly what might happen."

Wonder Woman actually found herself letting out a little snort of laughter. "It's all right. If anything does happen, I'm sure you have a contingency plan to stop it."

"Actually, this time I don't." That was Batman's response. That gave Wonder Woman an immediate and very strong surprise. Batman always had a contingency plan. Always, until now... "I trust you, Princess. I've trained myself to trust you. Now that you know the risk, I trust you to be able to handle it. You are the only plan. You're the only plan that I need."

Wonder Woman's jaw was suddenly hung even lower than M'vall's had been moments ago when they had all learned that the Martians could be saved. For Wonder Woman, what she had just heard was every bit as wonderful as that message had been for the aliens, albeit far more personal and subtle. Just those few sentences, those few seconds of speech from him, had meant the world to her. They had been the kind of words she had unknowingly dreamt of hearing for so long. Batman, the most paranoid man around, trusted her to that great extent. He trusted her so much he risked two races over what she could do, on how she could cope. It meant far more than his confession of love back in the Batcave all of those months ago, far more than what she had seen in his mind the last time in the core. It confirmed how strongly he felt for her far more than any of those things could ever do. It proved once and for all that he loved her, and that nothing could change that now.

That meant the whole world to her, and he wasn't even done yet.

"Princess, there is no one else that I want at my side in this, no one that I trust more to help me pull this off. I know you can do this. More than that, I know that you can help me to do this. I know that you can be my anchor in there, that feeling your presence, no matter how small, will be enough to get me through the blending. I know that together we can pull this off. Princess, I'm very glad that you're with me. I just wanted you to know that. Now we need to get going. The others will be almost ready. We don't have much time."

Wonder Woman didn't know how to react. She just didn't have a clue. She knew how she felt, and that went beyond any kind of words. She was hardly even registering the fact that J'onn and M'vall had the Martians waking up all around them, signalling that the Imperium would soon be ready to assault Metropolis all over again. In the end, there was nothing she could do but nod her head as the depreciating time forced her to react, however slightly. There was nothing she could do but plant a quick but very passionate kiss on Batman's exposed lips, before just about managing to whisper a few very short words.

"Then lets go save the world together. Partner."

A/N:

Review time. Off you go!