TITLE: Cross my Mind
AUTHOR: LOTSlover
CHARACTERS: Batman / Wonder Woman
RATING: T
WARNINGS: Author Chooses Not to Use Warnings
DISCLAIMER: I love Justice League, but especially Batman and Wonder Woman. Unfortunately, I do not own the characters and, if I did, things would be much different for them.
SUMMARY: Following the events of Tabula Rosa, Batman begins to realize that Diana crosses his mind more often than he had first believed and he's not sure what to do about it.
Cross my Mind
Batman stood at the edge of a rooftop just as still and lifeless as the stone gargoyle silently perched next to him. A sudden breeze caused the edges of his black cape to lightly lift and tug as his cowled gaze surveyed the scene below him, patiently waiting for something to happen. He hoped this tip that J'onn had received about someone trying to revive Intergang paid off. It could to be a huge takedown if everything went well.
He glanced to his right, using his night vision lenses to spot Flash hiding out behind a dumpster on a side street below. He was tapping his left foot at supersonic speed, clearly growing edgier with every passing minute. The speedster's patience was clearly waning. It was only a matter of time before Flash showed up beside him on the rooftop, wanting to know how much longer they had to wait.
Batman wanted to go down there and tell him to stand still, but he couldn't without the risk of giving their presence away. He just hoped that Flash didn't do anything that would alert anyone that they were there. While the scarlet speedster had clearly proven himself as a valuable member of the Justice League, Bruce feared his young age and impulsive tendencies were going to turn out to be a detriment.
Glancing to his left, he was just able to make out Diana's perfect feminine frame among the shifting shadows, her hands resting on her hips. He could practically picture the look of annoyance that no doubt adorned her face, the irritated purse of her lips and the knitting of her brow that were always clear indicators of her current mood or thoughts.
He knew the impetuous Amazon princess was probably fairing about as well as Flash was at that moment, but, with any luck, there would be movement here soon.
He forced himself to look away from her, focusing instead on the building below, but his mind refused to bend to his typically dominant will. He found his thoughts lingering on her and the mission they had just finished the other day to stop the enhanced android.
Amazo had given the team the fight of a lifetime, proving to be a very formidable opponent. All of them had been left tending to various injuries except for J'onn. Thankfully, none of them had proven to be very serious, most of them fully on the way to recovery. He, on the other hand, was still nursing a couple of cracked ribs and some contusions.
He absentmindedly rubbed his wrapped ribs, remembering the worry that had spiked inside of him when Lantern had contacted him and Superman about Amazo. Warning them to stay away from the fight had proven to be absolutely worthless, Superman racing in to help save their teammates.
While Bruce had been worried about all of his colleagues, he found his thoughts had swiftly shifted to one more so than the others. He had instantly grown alarmed, worried about how Diana was fairing against the enhanced android that Ivo had created.
He knew if the droid had been able to replicate Diana's abilities then they were going to be in for a very difficult battle. She didn't really have an Achilles heel to speak of save for her tenacity and refusal to ever give up in a fight. It made her a formidable opponent if she ever went rogue.
The corner of his lips twitched in amusement as he thought back to their first meeting a little over a year ago. He had been highly suspicious of her from the very beginning, going so far as to follow her every move and learn everything that he possibly could about her and the Amazons. He'd had no idea back then that she would grow to become a trusted ally.
He was somewhat taken aback by how much she had actually come to mean to him, how often she managed to cross his mind even when he wasn't anywhere near her. It was almost like she had some sort of Meta power that no one knew about, achieving the seemingly impossible—the ability to infiltrate his thoughts at any given moment, constantly lingering there in the recesses of his mind.
He wasn't certain what to make of it…or he knew but he didn't want to admit it. Even though he wasn't ready to admit certain things to himself when it came to her, he couldn't deny how much watching her being attacked by Amazo had infuriated him.
It had inflamed his anger being forced to helplessly watch as Luthor grabbed her from behind and shocked her senseless, dropping her lifeless body on that rooftop. He'd tried to break free from the debris surrounding him, tried to make his body obey his commands in order to get to her, but it refused to work at that moment.
He still felt the rage that had ballooned inside of him, wanting to get his hands on Luthor and make him pay for hurting her like that. On the surface, she had appeared to recover for the most part, but he'd later learned that she'd received several broken ribs as well as a nasty concussion.
He'd been hesitant about asking her to join him on this mission, but she had insisted that she was fine. It still wouldn't stop him from keeping a close eye on her just to be certain she was all right. Though she was more than capable of holding her own in a fight, he didn't want her getting hurt because of him.
"Are you sure about this tip, Batman?"
The sound of her voice in his ear caused an unexpected sensation of warmth to flood his system, one that brought a measure of peace along with it. The note of annoyance that filled her voice caused the corner of his mouth to tick up in response.
"Patience, Princess," he responded with his trademark grating rasp.
He heard her sigh on the other end of the communication, her impatience clearly conveyed in that barely perceptible huff of air. "Fine…but you owe me an iced mocha when this is over."
"Deal," he readily agreed. "If it's any conciliation, I don't think Flash is fairing much better."
"I can hear his foot tapping from here," she bit out.
"I'd threaten to break it, but we need him for this mission," he told her.
A soft chuckle followed, causing his heart to lighten with the melodious sound. "Don't think I haven't considered it."
Batman smiled in response, his lips actually curling. He quickly stifled it, his expression returning to its usual near-scowl. How did she always manage to do that to him? "We've got incoming," he announced, spotting two black vans approaching the warehouse. "Flash, be prepared."
"It's about time," he grumbled with unmistakable exasperation. "I was about to go crazy."
"Stay on your toes," Batman ordered him.
"Always, Bats," Flash cockily replied.
Batman could practically hear the smirk in the Flash's voice, but he ignored it. He kept his attention locked on the two vans as they pulled to a stop outside of the warehouse, watching as four men exited from each van before heading inside. There was definitely something sinister going on here.
He pulled out his grappling gun, preparing to make a surprise entrance when the time came. "Wait for my cue," he told his teammates.
Despite her Amazonian pride, he knew that Diana would defer to him and follow his lead in this. They tended to work very well together, practically reading each other's mind during a fight. They often thought alike, sharing a similar mentality when it came to battle.
It was the main reason that he had chosen her for this mission, knowing that he wouldn't have to give a lot of instructions. While they seemed to be complete opposites on the surface, it was times like these that reminded him they were more alike than he had originally believed.
He hoped Flash wouldn't be a wild card.
They waited for several more minutes to see if anyone else would make an appearance. He wanted to make certain that they were able to capture all involved in whatever was going down here. "Diana, can you get closer to see what's going on without being seen?"
"Do you really have to ask?" she countered.
He lightly shook his head in amazement as he studied the warehouse, hoping that they would get some sort of an idea. He had a few ideas in the back of his mind, but he didn't want to give voice to those suspicions until they had more information.
"There are at least fifteen men inside," Diana softly reported. "It looks like they're making counterfeit money."
Batman's lips thinned into a grim line. It was just as he had suspected. Now, it was time to make their move. "Move in when I give the signal," he ordered, firing his grappling gun. "Flash, you take the front. We'll handle it from above."
"With pleasure," Flash agreed.
Batman flew through the air, landing silently on the roof next to Diana. She grinned at him, clearly anxious for a fight. While there was excitement on her face, her bright blue eyes revealed her razor-sharp focus. He couldn't help but smirk in response.
He'd never met anyone quite like her, a woman who enjoyed the fight as greatly as he did. They both took great pleasure and pride in shutting down evil and righting the scales of justice once more. It was something that they thrived on.
"Move," Batman barked.
Diana kneeled, using her fist to create an enormous hole in the roof. The sound of startled voices quickly rose up out of the gaping void in the roof as Diana entered first, followed by Batman who used his cape to control his descent into the warehouse. He landed on the ground with a thud, turning to find Diana already taking on two large men.
Flash seemed to appear out of nowhere, swiftly getting to work by running circles around a couple of henchmen who were trying to make an escape. As he circled them, he threw some punches that had them disoriented and falling to their knees.
Batman didn't have time to decide who he was going to take on first as a behemoth of a man started to lumber towards him, his meaty fists raised and ready to fight. He stood stone still as he waited for the man to approach and make his first move.
"You're goin' down," he bellowed.
"You can try," Batman calmly retorted as he surreptitiously slipped on his electrified brass knuckles.
The man roared in anger, his wide face turning a furious shade of red as he took a swing at the Dark Knight. Batman ducked at the last second, coming up and slamming his fist directly in his chest. The man cried out as an electrical current flowed through his body, causing him to shake and shudder.
He swung weakly at Batman, struggling to stay upright. Deciding to move things along, Batman delivered a right hook that immediately drew blood, dropping the beast of a man to the ground like a bag of sand. Batman quickly turned and lifted his boot, slamming it directly into the gut of a man coming at him with a knife and causing him to stumble several feet back into the waiting arms of Flash.
Batman fought his way towards Diana, hoping to keep her in his sights just in case. He knew she was the most powerful woman in the world, the best warrior that Themyscira had ever produced, but it was the extraneous factors that were beyond his control and the unknown what-ifs that continually nagged at his paranoid subconscious mind.
He knew that he could never be one hundred percent certain that she would emerge from a battle alive and intact. She may be immortal, but she wasn't invincible. He'd had to remind her of that fact on more than one occasion over the last year plus. He dreaded the day that he would be proven right.
He dropped low as Diana struck her opponent with an uppercut, Batman sweeping his legs out from under the stunned man and following up with a bone-shattering punch to the jaw. He straightened up only to instantly duck as a hail of bullets began to rain down on them from a catwalk above.
He dove for cover behind one of the printing presses, grabbing a batarang from his utility belt and peering around the corner to get a look at who was doing the shooting. Bullets continued to shower down on them, ricocheting and pinging off machinery. He noticed Diana using her bracers to try to divert as many bullets as possible, but they were coming faster now from multiple directions.
"Stay down! I've got this!" she ordered him, trying to push her way in the direction where the majority of the shooting was coming from in order to stop it. She was moving her arms with incredible speed and proficiency, fury etched on her face as she gritted her teeth and pressed on.
"Flash!" Batman growled, knowing he needed to get Diana out of there. It would only take missing one stray bullet and there would be no more Wonder Woman. He wasn't about to let that happen, not while he was still breathing. "Shut those guns down!"
"Got it!" Flash yelled back, taking off in a red blur.
Hearing Diana curse in Ancient Greek, Batman moved to check on her. There was blood running down her right leg, but she was still managing to deflect bullets that were coming at a dizzying pace, moving with a tenacity that only managed to further intensify his respect and awe of her.
At the same time, he hated the fact that she was out there in the middle of all those bullets risking her life to protect him. He didn't need protecting and he was going to make damn sure he reminded her of that fact whenever they got out of this.
The sound of a scuffle followed by grunts and yells filled the air as the shooting abruptly ceased. Batman quickly moved out from behind the printing press, making a beeline for the Amazon princess who was leaning forward with hands resting on her knees.
Leaning over, he placed a gauntleted hand on her shoulder, his other hand moving to brush her hair back away from her face as he tilted her chin up to look at him. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," she reassured him with a faint smile, her blue eyes meeting the white slits of his cowl narrowed with concern. "Let's finish this."
He frowned in response, wishing he could just force her to sit this one out while he and Flash took care of things, but he'd already learned long ago not to even waste the breath trying. "Fine," he relented, "but then you're going directly to the infirmary."
"If you think you can make me," she countered in effort to lighten the mood.
"Got 'em!" Flash yelled as one by one he swiftly dragged out four mobsters who he'd already manage to bound and gag.
Batman turned his attention to the four men lying on the ground before him, his anger simmering just beneath the surface as he moved to crouch beside the man that he knew all too well to be Benny "The Weasel" Whicker. He was an up-and-coming mob boss trying to make a name for himself.
"What are you up to, Benny?" Batman asked as he pulled the cloth away that covered his mouth.
"You've got nothing, Bats," he spat out with a hateful glare.
"I think we've got plenty," Flash interjected, standing behind Batman with his arms crossed against his chest. "We've got Abraham, Ulysses, William, and Benjamin to back us up."
Benny snarled at Flash as he held up the counterfeited money, waving it at him. "I ain't talkin' and you can't make me," Benny ground out. "I know my rights."
Batman grabbed the front of Benny's shirt, roughly pulling him in close to his cowled face. "I know you're trying to resurrect Intergang," he growled low and dangerous. "We've got you for counterfeiting. Now, what else are you involved in?"
Benny's dark eyes narrowed, a sneer twisting his lips. "I want my attorney."
Just as Batman was about to haul Benny off for a personal discussion about what he was actually involved in, a golden lasso appeared out of nowhere and latched onto Benny's wrist. "Answer Batman's questions."
Benny's angry scowl diminished somewhat as he struggled against the lasso's magical abilities, but ended up failing in the end. "Mostly just some money laundering and racketeering…illegal weapons dealing," he confessed. "We were just getting started with the counterfeiting when you three showed up here."
"Is this your only hideout?" Batman asked.
"We have another one in Gotham down at the docks that we just set up last week," he revealed. "It's warehouse number three."
Batman stiffened with the news. He knew they had begun to set up shop in Gotham, but he'd been unable to pinpoint where yet. Thanks to Diana, he now had the location and information that he needed to shut them down. "Is there anyone that you answer to? Any partners?"
"No way," he snapped. "I ain't working for no one but me."
Batman gave a slight nod of satisfaction as he stood to his feet, Diana releasing Benny from her lasso. He turned away from them, tapping his commlink. "Batman to Robin," he called his partner. "I need you and Batgirl to head to warehouse number three down at the docks. Benny the Weasel has a hideout down there. Secure it until I arrive."
Flash rubbed his hands together as Batman turned back to his teammates. "Let's finish getting these guys tied up and hauled away," he told them.
"I've contacted the local police," Batman revealed as he finished tapping keys on his gauntlet. "They should be here soon."
"Wondy, you're really bleeding," Flash commented. "You need to get back to the infirmary and have J'onn patch you up."
Diana looked down at her bloody leg, barely registering the pain. She'd been too consumed with stopping these crooks to even notice it. "It's not that bad," she maintained as she hooked her lasso on her hip. "It'll be healed in a couple of days."
"You're still going back to the Watchtower, Princess," Batman stated in no uncertain terms. "That bullet has to be dug out of your leg."
"I'll finish up here so you two can get back to the Watchtower," Flash offered.
Batman felt his every muscle grow tense with the suggestion. As badly as he wanted to get Diana back to the Watchtower and make sure she was all right, he didn't think it was a good idea being alone with her. Their little encounter in the hallway on the Watchtower three weeks ago had been rather heated and not just because Diana had been angry with him for risking his life to get Superman out of there.
He'd confessed his desire to protect her, how much he valued her. She made him do and say things that he normally wouldn't, his control slipping from his grasp when he was around her. Watching her being beaten by Amazo and electrocuted by Luthor…seeing her shot while protecting him. It had been a wakeup call. The feelings those incidents provoked in him only served to remind him how much of an affect she was beginning to have on him.
She was getting too close to him, he becoming too comfortable with her. He needed to put some distance between them, erecting some much needed boundaries especially with the recurring dreams that he'd been having that revolved around her.
Looking at her now, though, he found the will to do it waning.
"It's okay, Batman," she reassured him as if sensing his indecision. "I'm fine. You need to get back to Gotham."
After a long moment of indecision, Batman finally spoke. "I'll get you to the infirmary and then I need to return to Gotham."
"I don't need a babysitter," Diana retorted with a frown.
"No, you need medical treatment before you bleed to death," Batman countered as he closed the distance between them.
Diana crossed her arms defiantly as she glared at her teammate. "Thank you for your concern, but I'm fully capable of getting myself back to the Watchtower without losing consciousness," she insisted. "Take care of Gotham. I'm fine."
Against his better judgment, Batman relented. "Fine," he bit out with obvious irritation as he turned his back to her. "I'm heading back to Gotham."
"Do you need any help?" she offered.
The sound of her voice offering her assistance caused him to abruptly stop in his tracks. This woman never ceased to amaze him, consistently taking him by surprise at almost every turn. "No," he replied, turning his head slightly to the left to acknowledge her. "Don't worry about me, Princess. Take care of yourself."
He heard a sigh pass through her lips, feeling her frustration and sharing in it. He knew she only wanted to help him. That was just the way that she was—always thinking of everyone else instead of worrying about herself. He didn't think she even knew how to put herself first even in a dire situation. There wasn't a selfish bone in her entire body.
"You still owe me an iced mocha," she reminded him.
Batman turned his head, giving her slight smirk and a nod before marching out of the warehouse, turning his focus towards Gotham and stopping the rest of Benny's gang before they could do anything to harm Gotham.
Making his way to his Batwing, he tapped his commlink. "J'onn," he called him.
"What can I do for you, Batman?" he inquired.
"Wonder Woman is injured," he informed him. "She should be returning to the Watchtower soon. She'll need immediate medical treatment."
There was a long pause before the Martian Manhunter responded, one that caused Batman to grind his teeth. He could only imagine what was rolling through J'onn's head at that moment. "I will be ready for her return."
Without further response, Batman ended the transmission as he climbed into his Batwing and starting it up. While he tried to focus on Gotham and the task that awaited him, he found his thoughts were lingering on the Amazon princess.
He felt a tug of guilt on his heart for not personally accompanying her back to the Watchtower, but he really needed to get back to Gotham. He reminded himself that his city was his first priority as Batman, not his fellow teammates within the League.
Diana would be fine, fully healed within a few days without any sign that she had been injured tonight, but he knew. He heard her curses, saw the bright red blood running down her leg, felt the panic that had lanced through him knowing that she was injured.
He needed to revisit the meditations and exercises that he'd learned long ago that had helped him learn supreme control over his emotions and his body. If he was going to continue to spend any length of time with her, he was going to have to regain some much needed dominance over his feelings.
Heading towards Gotham, Batman couldn't help but wonder if Diana had picked up on any of his feelings and, if she had, did she actually share them? If she did, why did he care?