A hum filled his ears just as light flooded his eyes, and an odd smell penetrated his nostrils. Batman, also known as Bruce Wayne, groaned and sat up. His head throbbed momentarily, and then the pain settled.
The Dark Knight blinked, looking at his surroundings. He was in some odd office space with yellow walls, and it was empty with nothing but a smooth floor and active lights. Slowly, the Caped Crusader struggled to get up, but something tugged on his arm. He looked down, seeing his girlfriend, Wonder Woman, Diana, Prince of Themyscira, resting beside him.
Only a short time ago, they'd battled Brainiac again; the alien had tried to wipe out Metropolis with a time laser that would have sent the city back to its pre-construction phase until nothing remained. Luckily, both Batman and Wonder Woman, with Superman's help, managed to take the alien down.
And then, after that, Bruce and Diana had retreated to the rooftops of a penthouse for some relaxation, and they had laid down to nap together.
However, Batman did not think he would be waking up in a place like this.
Seconds later, he heard a sigh and saw Wonder Woman finally open her eyes. The shapely Themysciran sat up, looped her arm around the Batman's neck tiredly, and kissed him tenderly upon the side of his face.
"Is something troubling you, Bruce?" Wonder Woman asked sweetly.
"Diana." Bruce said firmly, "Do you see what's around us?"
Hearing her boyfriend's gruff and wary voice, Wonder Woman yawned and finally looked around at the place she and Batman had ended up in. She let go of his arm and stood up, allowing Gotham's silent protector to finally get back on his feet. The Amazon placed a hand to her hip, surveying the environment with confusion and curiosity.
Wonder Woman stared at Batman, looking into his eyes behind his cowl as if she were hoping he knew where they were.
Batman shrugged. He was unsure what this place was as well. And yet, despite the confusion, the vigilant Dark Knight was on alert in case danger lurked in this mysterious room. He pinched his nose briefly and remarked, "That stench reeks of bad garlic."
"I think we might be dreaming." Diana quipped, "But... this feels real."
"I've dealt with dreams before." Batman commented, "The Mad Hatter once put me in a dream world where my parents were alive and I wasn't Batman."
"Sounds like Superman's one dream where Krypton wasn't destroyed."
"You talked about that with him?"
"In all fairness, Bruce. You're the one I fancy talking to the most..." Wonder Woman pecked Batman on the cheek delicately and stroked his muscular torso.
"We'll look around, see what else is here, and find an exit if there is one." Batman said urgently.
The Dark Knight's lovely Amazonian companion agreed with him, then they set off down the hallway, and Diana drew her Lasso of Truth from her belt just in case.
Batman prepared his grappling gun if they saw a higher level they needed to get up to, even though Wonder Woman had the power of flight that she was always ready to use in certain situations. Both superheroes moved slowly, staring around the walls and every corner they peaked around, keeping their very eyes peeled for the first sign of trouble.
A light flickered and shorted out, then it popped back on after seconds of inactivity.
Wonder Woman and Batman peeked around a wall, finding another empty hallway. They moved onward, looking around another corner, to find nothing but a dead end.
Stepping away, the Dark Knight and the Themysciran princess moved towards a T-junction. They looked to their left, seeing a flight of stairs that led downward... to another room similar to the one they were in.
Eerie growling noises shook their eardrums, and the superheroes looked around, but they saw nobody else was around. This place had to be messing with them to a degree.
Ignoring the noise for now, Batman and Wonder Woman decided to follow the stairs. They walked down the steps with Batman, letting his charming Bruce Wayne persona out for the moment, taking Wonder Woman's arm as he led the way down the steps as if he knew the place like the back of his hand.
A dark shadow swept past them as they stepped off the last step of the stairs, Batman held up his Batarang defensively and Wonder Woman raised her arms with her gauntlets sparkling gold. A soft, electric, buzzing sound filled the room, accompanied by nothing but Bruce and Diana's slow breathing.
"Can't stop." Batman said gravelly, "We got to keep moving."
"Nor can we let our guard down..." Wonder Woman nodded.
They took another step forward, proceeding through the hall ahead of them, and looked at the halls off to their right and left just in case that shadow thing came for them. Lights flickered again and the buzz seemed to get louder, then it settled down. Batman's footsteps resonated in the floor, along with the click-click-click of Diana's heels.
A low growl reverberated in their ears, indicating that something was close by. A second later, a dark shadow seemed to sweep over the Dark Knight and the Themysciran warrior. Wonder Woman and Batman turned around slowly and cautiously.
A massive, scaly, bipedal creature with demonic eyes stood a few feet away, raising a clawed hand while snarling ferociously. The monster charged toward the heroes, but Batman stepped out of the way quickly as Wonder Woman stepped forward. She tackled the creature, hitting it across the face with her lasso, and clicked her gauntlets together.
With an ear-splitting boom, the shockwave knocked the creature back and slammed into the ceiling. Batman nodded to Wonder Woman, and then they darted off down the corridor and took a sharp turn right at a nearby junction just as they heard the creature giving chase again.
"Now, I just realized..." Wonder Woman gasped, "...why this place looks familiar."
"It is? Why is that?" Batman asked
"We're in The Backrooms. I learned about it online, it's an urban myth that's been around for a while. Someone must have sent us here, but I didn't think one of us would actually end up in the world of The Backrooms."
'I must have been busy.' The Dark Knight thought.
He and Wonder Woman turned left, running through an open doorway leading away from the yellow-ish hallway into a greyish corridor. Seconds later, the Batman and Wonder Woman stopped, taking a couple of seconds to catch their breath, and surveyed their new surroundings.
The walls were greyish blue with a couple pillars and a hint of light yellow that indicated they were still in The Backrooms; the place had to be massive, providing a challenge for anyone who ended up there. However, the change in wall color wasn't the only feature the room had to offer for someone like Batman and his girlfriend.
A large, clear swimming pool with blue water lay before the Dark Knight and the heroic Themysciran. It looked very inviting, especially for anyone, but Batman and Wonder Woman hadn't brought their bathing suits.
Both Justice League heroes heard a growl behind them, a massive hint that the creature chasing them was catching up and would be with them in soon. Batman looked at Wonder Woman, who urgently held his hand.
"We're going to have to swim." The tiara-wearing Amazon said to the Dark Knight.
"I can tell that's the case." Batman nodded.
Wonder Woman stepped towards the edge, spread out her arms, and then dove into the water. Her head bobbed up just as Batman discarded his cape, and then the Dark Knight dove into the pool behind his girlfriend. By then, Wonder Woman was moving her arms and legs rapidly as she swam towards a platform that awaited on the other side of the room.
Batman followed after her and didn't look back, even as part of him warned the billionaire vigilante that the creature was still behind them. He caught up to the woman of his heart and swam with her, even though their dip in a pool in dangerous territory was not a good idea for a date.
They swam quickly, reaching the other side. Wonder Woman pressed herself onto the platform and stood, shaking her head to dry her hair. Batman exited the pool, even as he felt the water seep into his bat suit. They would take care of the matter later; they had to leave this place, and the exit had to be nearby.
Wonder Woman walked towards the hall that led out of the room, and Batman came to her side, preparing his Batarang if a creature like the one behind them was ready to attack at any time.
They cautiously walked through the corridor, staring around the light-yellow walls that made up the hall and spotted a door waiting for the duo at the far end of the left side of the corridor. Batman and Wonder Woman dashed towards it, running as fast as their legs could carry them, and the Dark Knight threw himself against the door.
He grabbed the knob, twisted it hard, and kicked the door open, leading into... an empty library. The two wet superheroes looked around, surprised for a brief moment. Still, there had to be something behind those vacant shelves that could lead Batman and Wonder Woman out of this whacked environment.
Batman peaked around a counter, finding nothing valuable, and Wonder Woman lifted up a shelf with her superhuman strength. Nothing!
They headed to a section with larger shelves, where much bigger items would be sold instead of books, only seeing dust everywhere. Then they looked ahead, seeing a door just beyond a pair of shelves. And above the door, written on the white plate in red, were the words; 'EMERGENCY EXIT!'
Plus, they could see the words flashing a bright light, and the door seemed to be glowing.
"We might be in luck..." Batman remarked warily, "...but it could be a trap."
"I don't want to spend a whole day or all eternity trapped in the Backrooms with monsters after us." Wonder Woman said, "So, we take our chances and go through that door."
Right after she said that, Wonder Woman and her boyfriend heard shrieking noises, indicating that more monsters were coming. Now was the time to leave. Batman ran towards the door as fast as possible with his Amazonian love beside him, they ran through the row of shelves right as they heard loud snarling and made a mad last dash to the emergency exit.
Batman grabbed the door handle and pushed with all of his strength. Wonder Woman pushed as well, and the exit opened. A light filled the study, and the two heroes walked through the doorway, feeling themselves pulled through time and space and leaving the Backrooms behind.
When the light faded, Batman and Wonder Woman felt a jolt and found themselves lying on the floor... of the Batcave!
Batman removed his mask, revealing the handsome, brown-haired face of Bruce Wayne. Bruce stood, wiping some sweat from his forehead. Diana also stood up, holding her wealthy boyfriend's arm, just as Alfred came in and asked them why they were wet. However, Bruce ignored his British butler and began making out with Diana, who kissed him deeply as he kissed her.
It was good to be home, safe and sound. Now, Diana and Bruce could relax...
The End