Madly
Chapter Seven:
Anger
Diana rushed to the infirmary once she was onboard the Watchtower. There was no one there. Touching her com link, she haled the Monitor Room.
"Where is J'onn?" she demanded.
"He's in the holding cell area with Flash and Superman."
She recognized the voice of Mr. Terrific, but was in no mood for pleasantries. Thankfully, Mr. Terrific didn't care for them either. As quickly as she could, she flew to the floor that housed the holding cells.
Having not asked which room J'onn was in, she made her way down the corridor, peering into the small openings in the doors. On the third to last cell, she finally found them. Pressing her hand against the recognition device, she nearly screamed with frustration as it slowly scanned her finger and palm print.
Finally the doors parted, and her heart stopped.
On the other side of the glass partition was Bruce. He was on a cot, back to her, body curled and trembling in a fetal position. His clothes stuck to his clammy skin, and he looked so frail, which meant he must have been in really bad shape. Under no condition would he ever allow his teammates to see him so helpless, unless he was completely incapacitated.
"Hera," she pleaded.
Someone placed an arm on her shoulder, and she whipped her head around to see J'onn.
Behind him was Superman and Flash. The edges of her visions blurred, as the blood rushed through her ears. Striding over to the Man of Steel, she slammed him into the nearest wall. "Why didn't you tell me he was here?"
He quickly got to his feet, brushing the dust and debris off his suit as if he was in the habit of being put into a wall. "You wanted space. I gave it to you," he said.
Diana lunged towards him again, fisting her hands in his uniform, ready to throw him through another wall. Scarlet covered fingers wrapped around her wrist and squeezed. She didn't even look at the offender who was touching her. All she could focus on was Clark and hurting him like he had hurt her.
"Both of you get a grip," Flash said. "You can fight later, when he's better."
They all turned to look back at Bruce. Her anger with Clark immediately evaporated, replaced with anxiety and fear. Her throat constricted, and her eyes stung with unshed tears.
"What's wrong with him, J'onn?" she asked, voice cloudy.
"We were unable to capture Ra's, but he escaped only minutes before we arrived. Because he didn't have the time to destroy his facility, we were able to find information on Batman's whereabouts. He was being kept in a shack in a South American jungle. On one of Ra's's compounds. They were monitoring him via satellite."
"Did they torture him?"
"They didn't need to. He was submerged in a Lazarus Pit, and he is now suffering from fits of madness. His memory is gone as well."
Diana closed her eyes, overcome with relief. Though it was horrible news, Bruce was alive. That was all that mattered. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she asked, "I thought the Lazarus Pit killed healthy people. How is he still alive?"
"According to the information we found at Ra's headquarters, the pits can be modified. Some have been changed to induce mind-control; we are assuming this is what happened to the one Batman was placed in. The loss of memory would help in shaping his mind," J'onn said.
"Then why was he left alone for so long?" Wally asked.
"I can only assume it was at the request of Ra's daughter. She was probably going to come to him eventually, once the madness wore off," J'onn said.
"Why?" Wally said.
"I don't know," J'onn replied.
Diana wasn't certain, but she had a guess. She knew of Talia's obsession with Bruce. It was both easy and difficult to believe that Talia would take Bruce's past from him, just so he would want to be with her. A desperate woman would do anything to be with her love, even destroying him. But that wasn't love; it was control.
A twinge of pity thrummed through Diana. Bruce had told her of Talia, how she slavishly yearned for her father's affection. A father who routinely took advantage of his daughter's desire to please him to further his own goals. Perhaps for Talia, control was love.
"How long will it take before the effects wear off?" Diana asked.
"I can't say. But I think we may have aggravated his problems. The change in environment has caused a shock to his system. Not so much physically, but mentally," J'onn replied.
"How do we get his memory back to him? Can you enter his mind? Reestablish the connections?" Diana said.
"I have tried to enter his mind to calm him, but in his current state, it is impossible. He has repeatedly blocked me. Batman's mind was always difficult to see into, but now it's impossible. And his efforts to resist me only make him worse," J'onn said.
"So that's why I'm here? To trigger one of his memories? To tell him of his past?" Diana said.
"The recovery of his memory will be a slow process. We will have to tell him of his past, but not all at once. It has to be gradual, when he is in the correct state of mind to receive information. To try and force a return of his memory might permanently ruin him," J'onn said.
Diana felt as helpless as Bruce looked. "But you made it sound like there was something I could do. Why am I here?" she said.
"You're here," Clark answered, his eyes narrowed and voice accusing, "because he keeps calling for you."
To Be Continued