Bruce tapped the earpiece tentatively. There was no reason why he couldn't rebuild the Justice League comm link in a Kansas farmhouse. From scratch, using primitive tools and metal waste. His grudging respect for Stark's invention of Iron Man managed to surge one level.

A beeping noise finally reached his ear. He switched to private and dialed the first number that came to mind. Beep, beep. A string of electrostatic noises followed.

"Hello?" A confused female voice seeped into his ear. His link was not registered within the current network. Neither did it send out a geographical location.

"Diana."

More confusion, followed by cautiousness. "Who is this?"

"Batman."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line. "What do you want?" She demanded.

"I need to know-"

"Who do you work for?" She pressed, her voice bordering on threatening.

Bruce's mind clicked and immediately backpedalled. Diana hadn't trusted him at all. "I'm Bruce Wayne. Batman." He said sternly, risking exposure over the network.

"You're a hacker. A blackmailer. Don't pretend otherwise." Diana concluded, and Bruce suppressed a heavy sigh. On second thought, he should have called Dick. He just thought with Clark's reaction, Diana might be able to handle it better than his son.

"I understand from Kal-El's somewhat impaired speech that I am dead." Another long pause from Diana. Bruce was about to describe his strategy in defeating Wonder Woman to prove his identity. Her suspicions, however, suggested that that was perhaps not the safest course to stride. "You deleted surveillance footage number six-four-eight-two-seven-two from the Watchtower database the night you brought Steve Trevor on board. You owe me that much for not recovering that footage."

The silence that stretched over thirty seconds almost forced Bruce to rethink his argument. Then he heard her sudden inhale.

"... where are you?" Diana's voice was shaky, bound by equal amounts of hope and fear of disappointment.

"Smallville."

A moment later, he looked up and watched a blurry figure speed across the velvety night sky. Diana landed gracefully in the fields and stared, her expression speaking of astonishment. Then she leaped towards him and gave him an almost suffocating embrace.

"Oh, Bruce!" She pulled away momentarily to inspect his face, tracing his features. "It is you. But how? Is this magic?"

Bruce shook his head. "I don't know. Last I remembered, I was fighting Bane. Then I passed out and woke up in the meadows."

"How is Kal? Where is he?" She glanced at the closed front door.

"Sleeping." Bruce eyed the upper floor. "He lapsed into something like a panic attack when he saw me."

"Poor Kal." Diana shook her head. "He must have been terribly shocked. It's only been six months since..." She trailed off, but the meaning was clear to Bruce.

"Actually, he still thinks I'm a hallucination."

"A hallucination?" Diana repeated emptily.

"He has been exposing himself to Kryptonite to raise the effectiveness of his antidepressants. Apparently Charles has given his approval of his medications." Bruce's suspicions rose at Diana's lack of surprise. She bit her lower lip when she noticed the subtle change in his gaze. "Have you known?"

"That Kal has been exposing himself to Kryptonite? Yes, I have suspected it." Diana looked away briefly, unable to meet Bruce's accusing stare. "Upon that speculation, J'onn and I have hid the League's supply away from Kal in fear of self-harm. But it doesn't stop him from finding traces of the mineral from time to time. We confiscate it when we can."

That explained why Clark was still alive, despite his fragility. "Shouldn't he be restrained? Supervised for his own sake?"

Diana shook her head. "Bruce, he is no longer a member of the League. He has rights, as much as any other human being on this planet."

"Not a member of the League." Bruce repeated, frowning. "Why?"

"Your death, it… it destroyed him. He cannot wield his powers properly." Diana explained in exasperation. "Whatever it is that he does, it's part of a grieving process. An inevitable period. We cannot interfere."

"In case I haven't made myself clear, Clark is killing himself." Bruce growled.

"The price of immortality is huge. It is the subject of every mortal's envy, but it is a curse as much as a blessing." She smiled wistfully. "Not everyone wants to carry that burden."

Another puzzle piece seemed to click into place. "Where is Steve Trevor?" Bruce demanded quietly.

When the answer didn't come, Bruce pressed on. "Does Superman know?"

Diana shook her head.

"Is that why you let Superman drain his life down a sink? Because you want to follow his footsteps?"

"No, Bruce." Diana shut her eyes. Her voice was strained.

"Is Trevor dead?"

Diana bit her lip nervously, made the slightest shake of her head again. "He's lying in a hospital bed, in MedStar." She whispered, her eyes solemn. "I watch the moonlight spill on his face. Reflections of passing car lights, dim yellow street lights, casting his shadow against the stark white of his pillow. That fragility suffocates me, now more than ever… yet at this moment, I wish nothing more than to share it."

"You all gods and goddesses envying the ephemeral life forms beneath you." Bruce was unable to contain his mockery. "Pathetic."

"Death gives life meaning, Bruce." Diana crossed her arms protectively. "Immortality is a beautiful name for something as cruel as eternal imprisonment."

They stood in silence, each gripped by their own thoughts.

Eventually Diana spoke, changing the topic. "You say you remember fighting?"

"Yes." Bruce acknowledged with a dull grunt. "Underground tunnel. Bane broke my arm and fractured my skull."

"You look not a day older than that… that horrible event." She gently caressed his face.

"So do you." And Clark. Bruce thought. Clark can look untidy. His beard can go on forever. But his skin will forever be taut, his hair forever black.

Diana sighed, clearly remembering a time that he had no way of knowing. "Kal was devastated. He visited you every day, brought flowers to your bedside and spoke to your unconscious form."

"Tell me when it happened."

Diana hesitated momentarily. "Thirty years ago."

So he was around sixty when he died. Not a terribly short life, he thought. Not as long as he would have liked, but he was prepared every mission for someone to end him on the battlefield.

"You weren't…" Diana swallowed. "... killed." At Bruce's grim expression, she continued. "I cannot be condemned for disclosing what cannot be prevented. It was… cancer. Induced by lifelong exposure to Kryptonite. Kal did everything he could to save your life. And you fought bravely, up to your last minute."

Bruce nodded numbly. Cancer. It sounded like a terribly painful way to go, but knowing Clark had fought the uphill battle with him was somewhat heartwarming.

"Clark said I was his husband."

Diana smiled. "You are. He proposed… you should ask him."

"By all logic, this is all happening in my head while I am unconscious." Bruce warned, more to himself than Diana. "I might just vaporize when the sun rises."

"But maybe…" Diana placed her hand on Bruce's chest, feeling once again his strong, beating heart. "You are here for a purpose."

"What purpose?" Bruce snorted. "We're talking destiny."

Diana looked down at her Bracelets of Submission. "We all believed it at some point. It is why we are here. Why Kal-El and I, not of your kind, fight for the peace of your planet. Maybe you are here to be someone's savior."

"I'm Batman." Bruce muttered. "I'm not anyone's savior. I will never be a knight in shining armor."

"A knight cloaked in the darkness of nights, but a protector nonetheless." Diana leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Kal is about to wake. You should be by his bedside. And I… I have to be by someone's side when they wake as well. I say farewell, Bruce, but I hope to see you again."

She left as she came, like a shooting star crossing the skies, granting wishes that were thought to be unheard.