Tell Me Lies

By Ugly_Girl

Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction that infringes upon copyrights and characters owned by DC Comics and Warner Bros. This author (nor anyone else) is making no money, nor receiving any type of compensation for this work.

This fanfic is based in the Justice League animated universe. All bastardization of characterizations is mine.

Rated PG

Part I

Diana sipped her iced mocha, and decided to spend her last few dollars on the entrance fee to the Gotham Art Museum. Superman had lent her some cash when he found out that she wanted to do some exploring, and she had enjoyed visiting various cities on the Eastern seaboard. Gotham was her last stop; her stomach was full from all the new foods she had eaten – New York cheesecake was a new favorite – and she was almost out of money. She would have stayed in the city a little longer and done some sightseeing without money, but she had monitor duty in a couple of hours, and she wanted to make sure that she had time to go through the entire museum before making the trip to the Watchtower.

She’d had a wonderful day. Although she hadn’t exactly fit in all the places she had visited – even wearing jeans and a t-shirt she was too tall and too strikingly beautiful to go without notice – she had felt comfortable, at ease for the first time in Man’s World since leaving Themyscira.

Since she had been exiled from Themyscira.

Diana frowned and tossed the now-empty drink container into a recycling bin before entering the museum. She wouldn’t let those painful thoughts intrude on her day, she told herself. Today was to discover more about Man’s World, not dwell on the past.

She was a dollar short for the entrance fee, but the man behind her smiled and offered her the money, flirting a little. She decided not to get upset over his forwardness, but thanked him instead, accepting the dollar but not returning the flirtatious smile.

"Thank you," she said graciously. At his expectant look, she added, "I hope you won’t feel offended if, despite my acceptance of your currency, I tour the museum on my own."

The man looked a little disappointed, but replied easily, "Not at all, I’m just happy to help."

"Thank you," she said again, and looked at the museum map, deciding to visit the ancient Greek section first. As she wound her way through the halls, she thought about the man, and how her upbringing on Themyscira had not prepared her for his, or any other man's, kindness. Yes, she had met men as evil as she had been warned of, but she had also met very many good men: Superman, J’onn, Batman, Green Lantern, the Flash. Thinking of Batman now, her mouth quirked into a smile. What would he think, she wondered, if he knew that she was in his city? She imagined his reaction: he would tell her, in as few words as possible, that she should leave.

"Get out," he would simply say, his voice rough. Or, "Go back to the Watchtower, Diana." No, that would be too many words, she thought, and chuckled under her breath. She knew that he used his harsh tone to intimidate the rest of the league, but it never intimidated her. She’d seen him care about too many people, save too many people, including her; underneath that forbidding exterior, Diana was convinced that Batman was a softie. A softie with a lot of secrets, and some very dangerous martial arts skills, but a softie nonetheless.

She looked down and consulted her map, turned a corner, and ran into a very hard chest. She didn’t stumble, but the man whom she ran into was knocked backwards a foot, barely catching himself from falling by grabbing her arm for balance.

Diana didn’t even think: she took his hand off her arm, turned and threw him to the ground. He landed on his back with a thud and a whoosh of breath; her eyes widened and she went down on her knees beside him, immediately apologizing.

"Oh, Great Hera, I am so very sorry. It was an automatic reaction—are you hurt?" She didn’t think she had used very much strength, but when a move was instinctual like that, it was hard to tell. She began running her hands over him, remembering all of the healing skills that she had been taught on Themyscira.

"Do you hurt anywhere?" she asked as she prodded at his ribs, his wrist. "Here?" The man shook his head and tried to sit up, but she held him down easily, her voice gentle but brooking no argument. "No, don’t try to move until I make sure that you don’t have any injuries. What I wouldn’t give for x-ray vision right now." She muttered the last, but the man heard her.

"I’m glad you don’t," he said. "You’re getting far too good an idea of what my body is like as it is."

She jerked her hands back, a slight blush staining her cheeks. She had been feeling him all over, without even asking. She wondered briefly if she would be arrested for that; Man’s World was so different from Themyscira – what had been an innocent medical examination might be mistaken for sexual harassment or assault. "I’m sorry," she said again, and helped him sit up. She surreptitiously examined his face and eyes for any sign of head trauma, but his color was good, and his pupils dilated normally. She thought she detected a hint of exasperated humor flashing in his eyes before he blinked, and their expression became slightly confused, and a full of male interest.

"I’m fine," he said. "Just--"

He was interrupted by the sound of a woman yelling, "Mr. Wayne!" The slap of high heels against tile echoed in the hall; Diana turned to see a woman running toward them, a worried expression on her face. "Mr. Wayne!" The woman skidded to a halt, gave Diana a once over, then gripped one of the man's hands to pull him up. "Are you all right?"

The man's teeth flashed -- Mr. Wayne's teeth, Diana told herself -- into a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, Valerie." He shook off the woman's hand, then used it to brush off his immaculate suit. "I trust that if you find any cracks in the floor from the impact of my body, the check I've just written the museum will cover it." He grinned as he said it, and Valerie laughed softly, her posture changing into something Diana recognized as seductive.

Diana bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. Women here were, she thought, ridiculous sometimes. Instead of just saying what they wanted directly, they often played games, posing and preening for attention. Not all women, of course, but a lot of them. She turned to look at Mr. Wayne, trying to figure out what the woman was attracted to, and met his eyes with her own.

"And you are alright?" he asked.

"Yes." Diana nodded. She thought the man must be handsome by Man's World's standards, but she wasn't sure. He didn't look like any of the movie stars she'd seen on the videos the Flash often played in the Watchtower, but his features were regular, and pleasing. Not boyish like Adonis, but sharper, more masculine. His eyes were a beautiful blue, she decided; not unlike the Arctic sea. "I really must apologize again; I'm afraid I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Usually, when walking in the museum, visitors tend to walk along the right side of the hall, not the left," Valerie said, not unkindly.

"Oh," Diana said. The unfamiliarity of Man's World, the strangeness of the little details swept over her, and she suddenly felt very alone, and homesick.

Valerie was tapping a fingernail against her teeth, ignoring Wayne for the moment, closely examining Diana's features. "Don't I know you? You look so familiar…Wonder Woman!" She snapped her fingers in triumph.

Diana gave a half smile, not exactly pleased that she had been recognized so easily.

Mr. Wayne gave a visible start, then his expression changed into something Diana didn't recognize, something that seemed almost…predatory.

"Wonder Woman?" he repeated. "This beautiful woman who is both my attacker and my healer is Wonder Woman? I am Bruce Wayne, and I am pleased to meet your acquaintance." He had a slick, flirtatious smile pasted on his face as he leaned forward and raised Diana's hand for a brief kiss on her fingers. She resisted the urge to pull it away, kept smiling frozenly as more people gathered around, calling her name.

She looked at Wayne. So men played games here, too, she realized, and wished that she was far, far away.

**********

Diana was in his city.

He'd known it was her the second she had thrown him to the floor -- there weren't many people who could catch him off-guard like that, and once he had realized what was happening he had let her toss him, or else raise her suspicions that a normal man could defend himself against an Amazonian martial artist.

But what was she doing in his city?

Bruce calculated the chances that her presence in the museum would deter the thieves that he knew planned to steal the Picasso on loan from the Louvre that very night, and realized that an entire month's work trying to crack an art theft ring might be wasted if they got spooked by the appearance of a powered hero. So he decided to turn on the Bruce Wayne charm, and get her out of there, one way or another. Knowing Diana, rather than falling for his seductive attempts, she would hit him and leave in anger.

He'd take either option. A date or a punch, it made no difference to him -- just as long as she left the museum, as long as she got out of Gotham.

Until, of course, Valerie made him rush things along.

He noticed Diana's frozen expression upon being recognized, said the trite lines that he said to nearly every beautiful female celebrity that crossed his path, kissed her hand…then swayed.

"Oh," he said, putting his hand to his head. "Maybe I hit the ground harder than I thought."

She reacted as he thought she would, scooping him up and declaring, "I'm flying you to the hospital."

"The closest exit is that way," Valerie said, and pointed. Bruce moaned theatrically and Diana took off, gliding smoothly through the halls and out into the open. Once outside, she paused for a minute, and he realized that she didn't know where the hospital was. He was about to speak up when she said, "Wonder Woman to the Watchtower. Transport me immediately to the med lab."

*******

Diana frowned, making sure that she understood him correctly. "You weren't really hurt or dizzy?" She looked at J'onn--who had performed the examination--for confirmation, and he nodded, then glanced away. She thought for a second that J'onn was trying to contain laughter, but then dismissed the notion. She turned back to Bruce Wayne. "Why?"

He at least had the grace to look abashed, she thought, until he said, "I just wanted some time alone with you," he grinned, "to get to know you better." He raised an eyebrow as he stressed the 'know you better'. "And now that I'm here and we have a beautiful view of Earth, do you want to show me around the Watchtower? I'd like to see everything: the recreation room, the Javelin…your bedroom," he said.

Diana shook her head. "I don't think so." This man was ridiculous, she thought, but she had to admire his way of saying what he wanted from her. It would have been flattering, if she thought he didn't say these things to every woman he met.

It took only a few seconds to transport back to Gotham, back in front of the museum. Bruce took the opportunity to outrage her further, hopefully guaranteeing that she would think twice before coming back to Gotham.

So he kissed her.

She didn't push him away, or hit him as he had anticipated; but neither did she respond. She was surprised, he could tell, but more curious than offended.

He pulled away and gave his best playboy smile. "I'll be anticipating your return to Gotham, Wonder Woman."

"Don't hold your breath, Mr. Wayne," she said, but without anger. As she flew off, he heard her add, "I'll never understand Man's World…"

Bruce turned, pleased with himself, and realized that a news camera across the street had caught the entire exchange on tape. The reporter rushed over to him.

"Mr. Wayne, Mr. Wayne! Was that Wonder Woman we just saw?"

Bruce did his best to keep his playboy face on. "Yes," he said, and grinned wolfishly.

"Would you like to comment on the nature of your relationship with her?" The reporter pressed.

And because he was being Bruce Wayne, the playboy, and he had an image to maintain, there was only one thing he could say: "Diana and I are sleeping toge--I mean, dating."

PART II

"You were in my city today," Batman growled.

Diana looked up from the book she was reading -- The Iliad, Batman noted -- and arched an eyebrow. "So?"

"Your presence at the museum nearly jeopardized an investigation. Next time, inform me of your movements in Gotham."

Diana put the book down. "Was your investigation compromised?"

Batman could see that she was angry with him. Good. Better she was angry at him than letting her get too close. "No, but it might have been."

"Then go stick a pole up your--" She said something that she must have picked up from Hawkgirl, and Batman's eyes widened in surprise underneath his mask, and he had to keep himself from laughing. Hearing the beautiful, regal princess swearing at him was something he had never expected, and he had to admire her guts on saying it to HIM. "And," she added, "I'll come to Gotham whenever it pleases me, and I won't inform you."

He opened his mouth to reply, to let her know in no uncertain terms that her behavior was unacceptable, but she held up her hand, looking past him. She hit a button on the console, and a reporters voice filled the room.

Batman turned to the television screen that they used to monitor Earth's news, and saw footage of him--Bruce Wayne--kissing Diana.

"In other news, a romance is brewing between the CEO of Wayne Enterprises and Wonder Woman. A Gotham news station caught this exchange between the two lovebirds, and when asked for details, Bruce Wayne admitted that the two were intimate." The screen filled with his face, his voice saying, "Diana and I are sleeping toge--I mean, dating."

The news changed then, and Batman turned to look at Diana, and felt swamped with guilt. She had her head buried in her hands, her shoulders shaking. He wondered if the pressure of her exile, her unfamiliarity with Man's World was suddenly too much, especially now with Bruce Wayne destroying her reputation. He felt a pang in his chest at the thought that it had been him to cause her that much pain. He had never seen her cry.

"Diana, I--" he began, his voice gentler than it had been. But he stopped when she lifted her head and he saw that she wasn't sobbing, but laughing.

"Besides, Batman," she said, pointing at the screen, "It looks as though I'll be visiting Gotham often, since I've apparently got a boyfriend there." Her laughter slowly subsided, and Batman clenched his jaw, unsure of what to do or say -- what could he do without giving away his identity? -- and stalked over to one of the machines in the room, inserting a sample for chemical analysis. He had expected her to rage, to get angry when she found out what Bruce Wayne had said, but humor? It seemed there was more to the beautiful princess than his careful observations had made him aware.

Hawkgirl burst into the room, saw Diana, and screeched, "Bruce Wayne?! Diana, what were you thinking?"

Batman watched out of the corner of his eye as Diana put her book down once again, and said with real innocence, "Why? Is he a villain? Someone I should have been fighting? J'onn didn't seem to find him evil when I brought him here to the med lab."

Hawkgirl shook her head. "No, silly, he's just the richest man in the world, and a womanizer to boot. He goes through girls like he does his ties, a different one every day."

Not quite that many, Batman thought.

Hawkgirl continued, "I can see why he's interested in you, Diana, but you are not in his league at all. He'll use you, then toss you away."

But at least he tosses them away gently, Batman mused. And with a nice bauble or two.

Making a disgusted noise, Hawkgirl said, "Sure, he's rich, but he's not in it for a relationship, Diana. He just wants to get in your panties -- uh, uniform."

You'd be surprised at how many women Bruce Wayne never makes it to first base with, Batman added silently.

"And," Hawkgirl's voice dropped to a near whisper, "he's been cleared of all charges, but he was a fugitive for most of last year for the murder of his girlfriend. He may be crazy. Unstable."

Crazy and unstable? Batman thought that over, then decided that most people would agree with her -- but not in the way that they thought. The real Bruce Wayne didn't kill women, but he did dress in tights and beat up criminals. And keep away from nearly all human interaction.

"He didn't seem crazy to me," Diana replied. "I found him charming, in a lecherous sort of way."

Batman scowled, even though her response had been exactly what he had intended when he'd first tricked her into believing he was hurt, and then kissing her.

"In any case," Diana said, picking up her book once again, "you don't have to worry. The news blew the entire incident out of proportion. We aren't dating. I think that Mr. Wayne was just trying to be funny."

"Or trying to convince everyone that he has a huge penis by claiming to sleep with Wonder Woman," Hawkgirl muttered.

Batman winced.

Diana frowned. "How would claiming to be intimate with me change the size of a body organ?"

"It's symbolic, Diana." Hawkgirl laughed, and said, "You wouldn't believe how many things make a man think he has a huge penis: fast cars, power tools, lots of toys, pretty girls with big breasts." She arched an eyebrow Batman's way, and said, "Hey, Batman, you have a fast car with a big engine and a lot of other toys. Are you making up for anything?"

"A lack of professionalism and confidence in my teammates," Batman said, voice harsh.

Diana and Hawkgirl grinned at each other; Batman left as quickly as possible, before he became the target of a female male-bashing contest. He passed the Flash in the hall.

"Hawkgirl and Wonder Woman could use your help in the monitor room," Batman said.

Their discussion of men like Bruce Wayne would continue, probably with Flash as a victim, and Hawkgirl would remind Diana why the Amazons didn't want relationships with men; it was what Batman wanted, but he didn't know why the idea bothered him so much.

********

The park was nearly empty, except for a few couples strolling here and there. Diana watched them; she didn't have any illusions about relationships between men and women -- she knew that they were as varied as the relationships between any two people, regardless of gender -- and the couples in the park reflected that: some were obviously happy together, some looked angry at each other, and some looked as if they didn't care if they stayed with the person or left them.

What they all had, though, and what Diana missed most, was a connection with another person. The connection might be good or bad, but it was a connection, nonetheless.

She thought of her friends on Themyscira, her mother. She missed them horribly. The Justice League had become her new family, Superman and Hawkgirl very good friends, but she was aware that the basis of their friendship was their job.

And, she wondered about Man's World. She didn't have any friends who lived on Man's World -- she spent most of her time in the Watchtower, and it felt like the only time she came to Earth was when it was in danger. And when she did come to Earth, most of the people she met wanted to talk about what she did in the Watchtower -- they were interested in Wonder Woman the heroine, not Diana the Amazon, the woman.

Except for Bruce Wayne, and his interest in the woman part of her had been shallow, at best.

But still, it had been interest -- it was a place to start.

An idea formed in her head, and she turned the JL communicator on, cued Hawkgirl. "Hawkgirl, are you there?"

"I'm here, Diana. What's up?"

Diana looked up before realizing what Hawkgirl meant -- she still wasn't used to American slang. "How would you like to undertake a secret mission with me?"

"What mission?"

Diana took a deep breath. "I want to go…shopping."

*******

Bruce pasted a bored look on his face even though he was acutely interested in the outcome of the meeting between Wayne Enterprises and the foreign financial firm. He winked at a secretary, and pretended confusion when business terms were thrown about the table. In the back of his mind, he ran through his plan for the night's patrol, and compiled the evidence in a murder investigation.

The meeting was running late, so he looked at his watched to give the board members the impression that he was impatient. He didn't have a date lined up for the evening, but they probably assumed he did.

When the conference room doors burst open, he leapt out of his chair like everyone else; but unlike everyone else, his movement was to make sure that he had room to fight, or escape, depending upon what had knocked the doors open, and immediately tried to list all of the possible criminals who would try to break into a Wayne Enterprises board meeting.

He didn't expect it to be Diana.

And he'd never expected Diana to look like she did, standing in the doorway. She was wearing a red silk dress, cut modestly but clinging to every curve on her body. Bruce saw each of the men's faces go slack and dopey because of her outrageous beauty.

Her eyes focused on Bruce. She smiled. "Mr. Wayne," she said. "You've announced to the world that we are dating--" She flew forward as she spoke, landing directly in front of him. He could smell her perfume, sensual, heady. "--and so I would like to go on a date. Right now."

He didn't like to rearrange his schedule, but he was surprised at the pleasure the idea of spending the evening with her evoked. He weighed his options.

"Let's go then," he said finally, put his hand on the small of her back, and ushered her from the room.

Part III

"I also told the world that we are sleeping together," Bruce said, his lips tilted in a rakish grin, "Does that mean that you'll want that tonight, too?"

"It would take a million more of these," Diana replied, pointing to her wine glass. She was relaxed, feeling more confident of her decision. She had had hesitations about what she was doing up to the point she had knocked open his conference room doors, but after an evening in his company she was sure she had done the right thing. "You know, you're not as awful a person as people say."

He stopped with a forkful of rice halfway to his mouth. "Oh? What do they say?"

"Well, according to what I've heard about you, I expected to be attacked in the limo within the first five minutes. But you've been the perfect gentleman: keeping your hands to yourself, letting me decide where we go and what we are doing." When he had asked, she had said that she knew that most dates consisted of either a movie, dinner or dancing. When she had told him that she wanted to do all three, he hadn't complained.

"Well, I usually only attack women after midnight." He said, then wondered aloud, "If you thought I might act like a lunatic, then why the date at all?"

Her answer surprised him. "I wanted to know what it was like to be a regular woman on Man's World. They shop, they have jobs, they talk to friends, they go on dates. I wondered what it was like."

"And why me?" He and the other leaguers probably hadn't realized the extent to which Diana felt alienated from the world -- even Clark, who was Kryptonian, had a family on Earth, co-workers who were normal, everyday people. And J'onn had his secret identities, too.

He nearly choked on his water when she said, "Because you are safe." She smiled at his reaction, then continued, "If you had attacked me in the limo, I could have hit you into the next state. But also because I don't have to worry about emotional entanglements. I will be just another girl in your long list of girls, and your interest in me is shallow and physical, so you won't get hurt or fall in love with me, and as for me--" She sighed. "--I knew that I could never fall for a man like you, whose interest in me is so superficial. And as for other men -- well, at least I know where your interests are. I'm not tricked by you."

Bruce stared at her. He was tricking her, but not in the way that she thought. And as for his interest in her -- he had to admit that it was far less shallow than she imagined. She was a fascinating woman: beautiful, funny, smart, tough yet vulnerable. He felt a sudden desire to have her closer.

"Let's dance," he said abruptly.

She nodded, and he took her hand and led her onto the dance floor. He owned the restaurant, and had known that the music would be slow, classy -- he'd had a feeling that she wouldn't be ready for one of Gotham's dance clubs -- and now he was glad that they had come to a place where the dancing would be slow. He drew her into his arms, and she stood awkwardly for a moment, and he realized that she didn't know how to dance.

"Dancing is different on Themyscira," she said, chuckling ruefully.

He smiled. "Put one hand on my shoulder, and the other on my arm, like this--" he showed her "--and just sway back and forth to the music. We won't try any fancy steps."

She watched the other couples for a moment, then finally relaxed against him, resting her head on his shoulder. He breathed deeply of her scent, enjoying the way her body brushed against his. The song ended, he thought, far too quickly.

Back at the table, he noted with pleasure that her cheeks were a little flushed, and that she didn't meet his eyes as easily as before. So she was feeling some attraction, too, he realized -- only it was so new to her that she felt uncomfortable and unsure of it. Wanting her to relax again, he started with the safest topic he could think of: her plans to try to feel like a regular woman.

"So, now that you've done the date, what's next? A job? Shopping? Talking with friends?"

"I do have some friends -- they are all league members, but they are friends, at least -- and I went shopping with Hawkgirl today for this dress." She sighed. "And I've tried to get a job, but since my schedule is so hectic that even a burger place won't hire me because they can't rely on me to be there. And I've gotten offers from movie studios and modeling firms, but--" she shuddered "--I just can't do that. And money's becoming a necessity." She blushed a little, but added honestly, "I had to use Hawkgirl's credit card just to buy this dress."

Bruce nodded. He couldn't survive as Batman without his Bruce Wayne persona owning Wayne Enterprises -- it was simply too expensive to be Batman -- but he'd never thought of the impact of not being able to do anything else. His money was to let him be Batman -- but Diana wanted to work just to feel like she was carrying her own weight, and not dependent upon anyone.

An idea struck him. "I might be able to help you, Diana."

Her eyes flashed. "I don't want charity, Bruce."

"No," he said quickly, "You'd work for this." He pulled a business card from his pocket, wrote a name on the back. "This is the name of the head editor of Wayne Publishing. If you wrote a book about growing up on Themyscira, they'd buy it in an instant. Interest in that island is very high, and no one knows anything about it but you."

Her face grew sad, and she shook her head. "I couldn't do that. It would be like betraying them -- selling them."

He thought of the book she had been reading the night before. "Then what if you wrote your perspective of certain works of literature, like The Iliad and The Odyssey, and stories from Greek mythology? To the general public, they are just myths, but to you, they are history, and the gods are real people. You probably have an entirely different interpretation than most scholars do. With your additional knowledge, there wouldn't be a liberal arts professor in the world who wouldn't buy that book, and others would buy it just because you wrote it."

Diana smiled. "My mother actually knew Homer while he was writing the Iliad. She had a lot of stories about him. She also knew Hercules, Achilles -- and I know a million stories from the rest of the Amazons."

"Stories that Wayne Publishing would pay you a great deal of money for," Bruce said, and grinned. "And they'd make even more money for."

Diana hesitated. "I'll definitely think about it." She checked the time, and said, "The movie will be starting in a couple of minutes. Should we go?"

Bruce nearly groaned. He hated the movies, but two hours in the dark with Diana didn't seem so awful. "Let's go -- but do we have to see "Daredevil?"'

She grinned. "The idea reminds me of someone I know," she said. "And I want to be able to tease him about it later."

Bruce realized she was talking about him -- Batman -- and nearly groaned again. Not only would he have to endure a movie, but he'd have to endure her teasing him about it later, all the while pretending that he hadn't been the one watching it with her, that he hadn't been the one who had held her close while dancing.

He decided to kiss her at the end of the date, just to make up for all of the teasing he would have to go through.

********

"I saw a movie last night that I think was based on you, Batman," Diana said as she wrestled the robot to the ground.

Batman grunted a reply, throwing a batarang at another robot's head. It exploded in a shower of sparks.

"Of course, they had to embellish a lot of the details, since nobody knows anything about you," Diana said, "but it was definitely based on you." She finished off the last robot, and scooped Batman up, flying them back to the Javelin. "They made him blind. Like a bat, get it? And they made him a lawyer."

"I'm not a lawyer." Batman grated the words out.

Diana smiled to herself. She loved getting under his skin. "Although I'm not sure how, just because his other senses were enhanced, he could jump so far. Even you have to use a rope. Bruce said--"

"Bruce Wayne?" Batman interrupted. His tone was disapproving.

"Yes. Bruce said that it was the dumbest movie he'd ever seen, and that Daredevil should have been hunted down by the police for the letting all those people die, even if they were bad guys, and that from what he knew of you, that you didn't let people die."

"Bruce Wayne doesn't know what he's talking about."

"Oh, then you do let people die?"

"Of course not."

"Then apparently Bruce does know what he's talking about," Diana said, trying not to laugh.

"Does your sudden adoration of what Bruce Wayne thinks mean that you will be in Gotham more often?" Batman shifted in her grip, and she had to move her arms, holding him closer to her.

She had held Bruce close like this the night before, first when they had danced, and later when he had kissed her. The kiss had been wonderful, soft and searching. She had liked the entire night, in fact.

But she shook her head. "I don't think so." She felt the sudden tension in his body, and realized that he wanted to ask why, but of course wouldn't ask. He was Batman. So she volunteered the information. "I had a wonderful time, but I'm not going to see him again."

"Did he do something wrong?" The words seemed torn from Batman.

"No," she said, biting her lip, remembering. "He was a really fantastic person. But I'm just another girl in a long list of girls; I won't mean anything to him in a year. But I have a feeling there's more to him than he shows, and there's a real danger that if I spend more time with him, find out what's beneath the surface, I just might fall in love with him. And that would be horrible," she finished, and set Batman down next to the Javelin, flying off again, leaving him staring after her.

Part IV

Seeing Bruce on the news with another woman was more painful than Diana had thought it would be, considering that they'd only had one date. She tried not to care about his answer to questions about the status of his relationship with her—after all, she was the one who had decided not to see him again—but couldn’t help but listen as he told reporters, "Despite being a princess, I found that Wonder Woman had a desire to be more...common." He said the word distastefully. "And I have no desire to be with a common woman. Besides," he grinned suddenly, "who wants to be with a woman who can crush you with her bare hands?"

Diana frowned. Those comments didn't seem like the Bruce that had taken her out, danced with her, kissed her gently. She wouldn't have thought that he would be cruel when talking about her later. It made her sad to think that she had misjudged him so badly. But – maybe she had hurt him as well? Was he being cruel to hide any pain that her rejection had caused?

Her heart hurting, but curious, she searched through previous news archives, compiling references that Bruce Wayne made about the women he'd dated. No, she realized as she searched, he'd never been cruel before. He didn't stay with one woman for very long, but when he finally did leave her, he always faulted himself for the breakup, never blaming the woman. Why had he acted differently with her?

An alert screen popped up about a collapsing bridge in New York, and she quickly contacted Superman, letting him know about the alert. He could fix the problem in a minute or two by himself. She turned back to the monitor, and froze.

When the alert window had come up, it had covered only half of a picture of Bruce Wayne that had been up on the screen. The top half. The only portion of his face showing was the bottom half: his lips, his chin, his jaw.

And Bruce Wayne with the top of his face covered, Diana realized, looked a lot like Batman with his mask on.

*******

Diana was avoiding him, Batman realized. She had begun avoiding him two days ago, making sure that her monitor duty time didn't run up against his, requesting to go on assignments or in groups that he wasn't in, leaving a room quickly if he was in it. It didn't bother him that she was avoiding him, he told himself, and ignored the painful twist in his belly at the thought. The important thing was making sure that the dynamics of the team weren't skewed.

So he intended to find her, and discover why she wouldn’t meet his eyes, or speak directly to him if she could help it.

He wondered briefly if it had something to do with their conversation the week before, about Bruce Wayne and her potential feelings for him. Was she now embarrassed for opening up to him about the way she felt about her date? Especially now that Wayne had so publicly dismissed her?

He grimaced. He’d been maybe too harsh with his comments, but when she’d said that she might fall for Bruce Wayne, he’d wanted to make sure that she never would go back to him again.

And, he had to admit now, that he’d been a little jealous of his alter ego. Diana had never spoken of Batman like she had Bruce Wayne, and she’d known him much, much longer.

It was ridiculous, he told himself. He had no place in his life as Batman or Bruce Wayne for her, so there was no reason to feel jealous – because nothing could ever come from his feelings about her.

What those feelings were, exactly, he wasn’t ready to ask himself.

******

Diana smoothed the business suit she had borrowed from Lois Lane and had worn to Wayne Publishing, trying to control her nervousness. If she wrote this book, as Bruce had suggested, would she be bringing any honor to the Amazons? Would Man’s World really be interested in what she had to say about Greek mythology, and classical texts?

And would she see Bruce here?

She shook her head. She still couldn’t believe it, but she was almost positive that it was true – Bruce was Batman. Once she looked into Bruce Wayne’s history, it had made perfect sense: his parents had been killed at an early age, right in front of him. Diana’s heart had nearly broken when she realized what drove the Dark Knight, why he pushed himself to nearly inhuman limits every single day. She had combined the two men in her mind, and she suddenly understood new things about him, admired him more than ever...loved him more than ever.

And she also understood why Bruce wouldn’t let himself be with her, even if she hadn’t already decided not to date him again. He must have been walking a tight line between Bruce Wayne and Batman for years – and it must have been nearly impossible to keep his identity a secret, never letting anyone get too close to him. Dating Wonder Woman would only open up his life to more speculation, and possibly make him a target of attack by supervillains, potentially revealing his identity.

So, she would let him do as he needed – she wouldn’t get in his way, or try to make him love her back. To do so would be too dangerous for him.

But her love for him was real, and so she had done her best to keep as far away from him as possible, at least until she was used to this new feeling. She was afraid that if she was around him for any length of time, her love would show on her face – and then he would feel responsible. She didn’t want to hurt him like that, and she didn’t want to hurt, either – so she simply kept away from him. And she would keep away, as much as possible, until she could see him without her heart aching.

But she couldn’t help but hope that she would see him, even by accident, here at Wayne Publishing.

"Miss Wonder Woman? Mr. Wayne and Mr. Lee will see you now."

Mr. Wayne? Diana's eyes widened, then she quickly schooled her expression to reveal nothing, so that he wouldn't know how pleased she was to see him without his mask again, and so he wouldn't see how she felt about him. She wondered why he had bothered to meet with her – after all, Daniel Lee was the head editor at Wayne Publishing, and could make any decision about buying her book by himself, without Bruce's approval.

Bruce was standing by a window, looking out over the city, his back to her when Diana entered the room. He didn't turn around, even when Mr. Lee began making introductions. Mr. Lee looked uncomfortable because of Bruce's rudeness, but Diana quickly smiled, indicating that she wasn't bothered by it, and took a seat in front of his desk. Bruce remained by the window, looking at neither of them.

Lee smiled. "Wonder Woman, I've spoken with Mr. Wayne about the possible direction of your project, and let me just say how pleased we are that you are considering Wayne Publishing for this endeavor. I am positive that we will both be satisfied – financially, academically, and professionally."

Diana shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She hoped that he – or anyone else – didn't think she was doing this purely for financial reasons, or to suddenly be rich. It wasn't the money itself she cared about, but the ability to support herself, not to have to borrow from or rely on her teammates for everything in Man's World that required cash. But she couldn't tell Mr. Lee that without sounding self-righteous, so she simply nodded.

"Have you thought about what your book will contain?" Lee inquired.

"I don't want to go into details about Amazon society, or Themyscira," Diana said, "but I would like to chronicle our version of history, as opposed to what has been recorded by figures such as Herodatus, Homer, Plato, and others. There are significant differences in the Amazon version of the history of the war on Troy, for instance, than what is mentioned in the Iliad. I thought I would intersperse these notes on history with songs and poems from the Amazons, rounding out the book." Bruce still stood by the window, and Diana forced herself not to look at him, or wonder why he was there if he was just going to ignore them.

"And anecdotes about the historical figures?"

"Yes," Diana said. She thought of Hippolyta, and had to fight a wave of sadness. "My mother and the other Amazons knew several personally. I have heard many stories."

Lee clapped his hands together in delight. "Wonderful! Between having your name on the cover, and the content, there won't be a person in the world who won't want to buy this book." He leaned forward. "I would be pleased to make you an initial offer, Diana. What do you think, Bruce? Two? Three?"

"Five," Bruce said, finally turning around, fixing Diana with a cold blue stare. Was he angry with her? she wondered. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mr. Lee's jaw drop.

"But, Bruce, we've never paid that kind of money for a book," Lee sputtered.

"But, as you pointed out, everyone will be reading it. I'm sure we will recoup our money." Bruce kept staring at Diana as he spoke. "And, of course, that price will include all promotional appearances, including broadcast specials should we decide to televise parts of the book."

"For five?" Diana said. Hundred? Or thousand? If it was the latter, it was more than she had ever had before, more than enough to cover all of her needs for years. She added hesitantly, hoping she didn't seem greedy, "Five thousand?"

Lee gave a sudden snort of laughter, and she managed to surprise even Bruce, she realized, by the way his eyes suddenly widened and then narrowed.

"Five million, Diana," he said. He sounded angry suddenly, and she wondered what she had done.

"Oh," she said. "That is a lot. I don't need that much. Five thousand will do."

She saw the way his muscles tensed, and realized he was getting angrier by the second.

"Daniel," Bruce said calmly, hiding from his voice the fury she could see in his body, "may I have a minute alone with Diana?"

"Of course, Bruce," Mr. Lee said quickly, and exited the office.

The second the door closed, Bruce stalked to her chair and leaned over her, placing his hands on the arms of the chair, effectively trapping her there, his face inches from hers. When he spoke, it was through gritted teeth. "What the hell are you doing, Diana?"

His tone sparked her own temper. "I'm doing what you suggested, selling a book." She leaned forward, pushed him away from her easily.

"Selling it? Giving it away, more likely." He turned, ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "For God's sake, Diana, are you this stupid?"

She leapt to her feet, shaking with her fury. Stupid? How dare he? "I may not have been in Man's World long, Mr. Wayne, but I am not stupid." Stupid for loving you, maybe, she added silently.

"Naïve, then," Bruce bit out. "Any other company would be taking advantage of your innocence right now, giving you a tiny amount for what they would make millions and millions for. How could you be so stupid, and not research what a book like yours would be worth?"

She frowned, some of her anger fading. He was mad at her, but because he was worried for her, that in her newness to Man's World she would be taken advantage of. "Because it doesn't matter to me. I just need enough to buy clothes and food now and then."

"And you'll be able to do that, and more, if you accept the five million we offer you." His anger had started to die as well, she could tell. "You'll be able to do more with it -- take classes if you want, give to charities, support women's shelters."

"Oh," Diana said. "I didn't think of that."

"You need a keeper," he muttered.

She bristled at that. "I can take care of myself."

"Physically, yes, but you have no idea what kind of depths people would sink to once they realized how truly innocent you are of how things work off Themyscira."

"I've been managing fine on my own," Diana said coldly, trying to ignore the sudden pain in her heart. She felt under personal attack, that Bruce had looked at her and found something missing, that she wasn't smart enough, good enough to survive in Man's World.

"Only because of your friends in the Justice League, and because you rarely venture into the real world," he said.

Was this how he saw her as a teammate, too? Did he think that she wasn't capable of holding her own without people around her, guiding her, telling her how to interpret and act?

Her chest hurt from the storm of emotions within her, and she realized that if she didn't leave, she would end up sobbing like a baby. She hid her pain, though, and walked slowly to the door.

"Where are you going, Diana?" Bruce said behind her, and in his voice she heard, for the first time, the gravelly, commanding tones of Batman. How had she never noticed before? she wondered. Behind her stood the man she loved, and right now she was so angry, so hurt by him – she didn't know what to think, she only knew she had to get away.

"I'm going to write a book," she said, voice cool only through a massive effort on her part. "Send me the contract, I'll sign it. And from now on, I only want to deal with Mr. Lee," she added, and closed the door quietly behind her.

*******

Bruce slammed his fist into the wall. He had handled that completely wrong. He had been so frustrated for the last couple of days because she had successfully continued to avoid him – Batman – that when he had realized she had made an appointment with Wayne Publishing he had demanded to be present at the meeting, even though there was no way, of course, that he could talk to her about his and her roles in the Justice League –and why she was avoiding Batman -- as he had wanted.

He had just wanted to see her. And he had driven her away.

No, he corrected himself, Bruce Wayne had. She didn't know he was Batman, so any conversation he had with her as Batman wouldn't be tainted by the mess he had created here.

He could fix things with her – at least get her to stop avoiding him – by being Batman. He needed to fix things – he didn't think he could bear another day of her evading him.

He would never be able to be with her as he was starting to realize that he wanted to be with her, but at least he would see her, know she was alright, he told himself. It would be enough.

It would have to be enough.

Part V

Diana was lost in the story of Odysseus when the quiet knock sounded at the door to her bedroom suite. Assuming it was Shayera, who often brought in tubs of ice cream for a 'light midnight snack' over which the two women would often trade stories of their day's battles, or their histories, Diana automatically gave the command for the door to open, not bothering to put anything on over her short nightgown.

"Diana?"

Her head snapped up, and she saw Batman standing in the entrance to the room.

"Batman," she said awkwardly, and looked around for a robe. Ridiculous, really, she thought, since her uniform covered much less than her nightgown, but her uniform was not nearly so – feminine. Or romantic. She tried to imagine fighting supervillains in silk and lace and had to hold back a nearly hysterical giggle.

When she realized there was nothing on hand to put on immediately, she sighed and decided that it would be far more uncomfortable to have him wait around while she looked for covering, than just remaining in what she had on. Showing the skin didn't bother her -- it was just so…silky. Something to wear with a lover, not a teammate.

She gestured for him to sit down on one of the sofas, but he remained standing.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," he said. He nodded toward the pile of papers and books next to her.

She shook her head. "No, I'm just working on the article."

"Article?" he repeated, and she reminded herself that, of course, he was going to pretend that he didn't know what had gone on between her and Wayne Publishing.

And she had to remember to pretend that she didn't know that he knew. "Ah, yes. I'm doing a book for Wayne Publishing, and right now I'm writing an article on Circe and the Odyssey to be published in a journal before the book is released, to generate interest in the book."

"Oh, are you seeing Wayne again then?"

I am now, she thought, but held her tongue. This was so confusing. She had left Bruce Wayne that afternoon, upset and hurt by him, and now Batman stood before her acting as if he didn't know what had gone one -- and she couldn't remain mad at Batman, because then he would know that she knew his identity. But she did, she realized, remain hurt by his words. Those words that had said she couldn't function on her own in Man's World, that she only managed because of her friends' help.

"Why are you here, Batman? I know you don't usually make small talk."

She heard him take a deep breath. "Because, Diana, there is a problem with the team, and right now you are at the core of it."

And she felt as if he had smashed her with a twelve ton rock. Was she to be thrown out, exiled from the Justice League as she had been Themyscira? And why was it always the people she cared for the most -- her mother, Batman -- that had to pass the sentence on her?

******

He couldn't take his eyes off her.

He was glad, not for the first time, for the lenses in his mask that helped hide the expression in his eyes, or she would have realized that he had been struck dumb at the first sight of her tonight.

She had been reading when he'd come into the room, the tiny nightgown she wore clinging softly to her skin. Her hair had been tucked behind her ears, tumbling down over her shoulders, as dark as midnight, as silky as a cat's. Her face had been framed by that hair, her features too perfect for words, her brows drawn together in concentration as she made notes in her book.

He had watched her every movement, her every expression since he had entered, so he didn't miss the multitude of emotions that flitted across her face when he made his statement about the problem with the team: anger, hurt, fear, sadness -- and acknowledgement.

He frowned. "You do know what I'm talking about?"

She hesitated, turned her face from him before whispering, "You think that I might be endangering the team."

He relaxed. So she did know that her avoidance of him could cause a problem. If the team felt that two of the members were at odds, their trust in each other was not as absolute as it should be, given the dangerous situations they were placed in nearly every day. "Yes," he confirmed.

Her shoulders drooped a little, and he wished he could make it easier for her, but this had to be done. "Have the others noticed? And do they agree?"

Batman thought back to the expressions of surprise on the other leaguers' faces whenever she requested an assignment separate from his, remembered how Superman had, earlier that day, tried to ask if anything had happened between he and Diana to make her avoid him like she had been. "Yes, they've noticed. And they are concerned as well."

She bit her lip. "Why didn't anyone else say anything?"

Batman's eyebrows drew together in confusion. That was an odd question, but he tried to answer it as truthfully as he could, "Because it's a personal matter, and a potentially painful one.

Diana's breath hitched, and for a second he thought she might be crying -- but no, her face was blank, if a little tense. "I'll fix it," she said.

And then she took him by surprise, walking forward, pulling his head down for a kiss. Her lips touched his, soft and moist, and he couldn't think, but just let himself deepen the kiss, inhaling her scent, holding her closer, letting his hands run down her strong, slim form.

She pulled away first, and turned from him.

He tried to catch his breath, recover from the shock and pleasure of the kiss. He reached a hand out to her, wishing she would turn so he could see her face. "I don't under--"

She interrupted him. "I'll fix it, Batman." She took a deep breath. "I would like to be alone now."

Batman nodded, even though she couldn't see his movement. He would leave her alone -- for now. He hadn't found out her reasons for avoiding him, but if her kiss was any indication then she was done evading his presence. He would find out what had caused the problem in the first place tomorrow. Then he would talk to her about the kiss.

He couldn't stop the tiny smile from reaching his lips as he left the room.

*******

When the door slid shut, Diana sank to the floor, her chest aching and breath shuddery. But she didn't let herself cry.

They were kicking her out. The league had decided that she was endangering them -- because of her unfamiliarity with Man's World. Her naivete. She knew that they respected her as a warrior, but obviously her lack of knowledge about how people think and how things work in Man's World were considered a danger.

Well, she wouldn't endanger them anymore.

She controlled her breathing, and stood, looking around the room. She didn't have many things -- just the few items she had brought from Themyscira, and a couple of books and gifts from the other leaguers. It would take her no time at all to pack.

As she gathered her things, she wondered what Batman had thought when she had kissed him. When she realized that to fix things she was going to have to leave, she hadn't been able to help herself.

She had just wanted to touch him one last time.

********

When Batman came into the conference room, he immediately noticed two things: Diana wasn't there, and the rest of the league looked confused and sad.

He sat in his usual position at Superman's right. "Where's Wonder Woman?"

Superman shook his head. "We don't know."

Batman frowned. "What do you mean?"

Superman slid a note to him.

Dear friends,

I am afraid that my presence is causing a problem within the league, and that I am endangering you all by staying. So I must resign my position in the Justice League. I wish you all the best of luck and safety, and hope you understand my need to leave.

Love,
Diana

"It's ridiculous! Endangering us? Where would she have gotten such a preposterous idea?" Hawkgirl