Perchance to Dream

BruceDiana

Chapter 4

Bruce sat down on the couch, a cup of coffee left untouched on the table. He was still deep in thought at the disappearance of Diana. He thought of every possible conclusion why she was nowhere to be found or why Alfred had not known her.

He leaned back and stared at the ceiling, desperate to know where she was. Where are you, Princess?

Alfred gazed through the ajar door of the library, worrying about Bruce.

"Still wondering where she is, huh?" Alfred was not surprised to hear the voice of Dick Grayson behind him. He had all gotten used to the act and he had heard the young man's footsteps a few minutes ago.

"I feel guilty for keeping it from him, Master Richard," Alfred turned to gaze at Dick's blue eyes. He looked down and rubbed his wrinkled forehead. He felt Dick's hand rest on his shoulder, "I should tell him, Alfred. I can handle his anger and I don't want him getting all beast mode on you. I would be the one to feel guilty about that."

Alfred looked up and gave a faint smile, "Thank you, Master Richard."

Dick nodded at him before entering the library and closed the door lightly.

Bruce gazed to the other side of the room and saw his ward in his motorcycle jacket, black shirt and grey slacks.

"Hey there, old man," Dick greeted with a smile and a short wave of his hand. He grabbed one of the ottomans from the makeshift living room of the library and sat across Bruce.

Bruce remained silent and Dick knew how typical that was.

"I have to say something," Dick spoke. Bruce noticed the grim tone of his voice, but did not say a word about it.

"Diana's dead," he almost spoke inaudibly, "and the reason why you don't remember any of it is because I asked Zatanna to wipe away that memory."

Bruce felt his heart jump out of his chest, his hands froze, and his legs felt wobbly. Suddenly, he felt lightheaded. "She's dead?" He uttered, his voice almost broken.

"Yes, and Alfred and the rest of us have tried our best to act as if we don't know her because we knew how it would make you feel. We knew how much you loved her, Bruce, and we could not bear to see you so lost the day she died. I'm sorry." Dick sighed, "Please don't get mad. We only did what's best."

Bruce clutched his face with both hands and fell silent. How did she die? How could this have happened?

"How long has it been?" He asked, the growl in his voice now arising.

"About a month now," Dick replied.

"Where is she buried?" This time, Bruce looked up. His eyes gleamed in anger.

"Beside the grave of your parents."

Bruce stood up from his seat and marched out of the library. Dick followed his gaze at him and asked, "Where are you going?"

Bruce had not replied but the loud thud of the door when he closed it was a hint that Bruce was already in a foul mood.

Dick sighed as he looked down on the floor, "I tried."

Bruce found himself standing in front of his parents' grave and Diana's. He kneeled in front of the graves and broke down to tears. The pain of losing the people he loved cringed within him. He loathed himself for letting himself be happy and it cost him the life of his Princess. His Princess was long gone and he regretted not even telling her how he felt for her.

Standing up, he clenched his fists on both sides and walked away.

The next thing he knew, he was punishing himself as he threw angry jabs at the punching bag. Shouting in anger, he kicked the punching bag with one swift move, removing it from its hanging state.

He blamed himself for Diana's death.

When he turned around, he saw a large bat hovering in front of him. "This is your fault," he points angrily to the dark creature enveloping the dark.

Bruce laid down on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Sleep was useless to him. His mind kept racing with thoughts of Diana. She was gone and he blamed himself for it. He glanced to his side, seeing it empty and cold.

He sat up and rubbed his hands against his face. The feeling of Diana gone felt like he saw his parents' die in front of him repeatedly. He looked out the balcony doors, watching the curtains blow against the wind. The night was quiet, the moon shining its light in the dark room. Slowly, the eerie silence crept into him and Bruce found himself drifting off.

Batman walked to one of the chaotic streets of Gotham, gazing at the streets with tumbled cars and burning buses. It looked like a ghost town. Hell had broken loose when the Secret Society attacked and took over the main cities of the world after Lex Luthor had successful won as the President of the United States, giving him the power to unleash his plan for world domination.

He clutched a deep wound across his right arm after his encounter with Bane. His body felt heavy and his suit made it even heavier to carry as he looked around for his colleagues.

"Oh, Batsy!" He turned to his side and found Joker with his arm wrapped around Wonder Woman in front of him. She noticed the lasso of truth wrapped around her, stripping her powers away and leaving her completely weak and helpless. The Joker grinned at him as he taunted, "look who I got." He laughed in an ill manner.

"Diana!" He exclaimed as he ran to her, his teeth clenched in anger, his eyes glaring at the green-haired monster that held the beautiful woman that pulled him out of the dark.

As he ran, he watched as Joker held out a Batarang in his hand. He lifted the Batarang and stabbed Diana through the heart with a maniacal laugh.

"No!" Batman screamed in horror as Joker let go of Wonder Woman and fell lifelessly on the ground. He felt his heart stop, his legs felt wobbly, taking him even longer to get to her.

When he finally reached her, he knew it was too late. He crouched in front of Diana and looked into her dim eyes. Bruce clenched his fist tight as she stood up, his head bowed down.

"You sick bastard," Batman grabbed Joker by the throat, ready to pound him to his death. His sight darkened, his anger enveloping him, feeling himself about to lose control.

"Come on, Batsy. It's what you've always wanted. Killing me with you bare hands, right?" The Joker taunted, his grin never wavering. Batman pressed his lips in a thin line, eyes glowering in anger. Knowing killing was not what Diana would have wanted, he punched Joker with hard blow. He knocked him out cold and threw him to the ground, leaving him with a bloody nose and a busted lip.

Batman dropped to his knees, clutching Diana close to him. He ran his hand across her beautiful face and brushed his thumb across the faint trail of tears across her cheek. His fingers caressed her pale lips. The once-dazzling blue eyes now lost their light. He closed her eyes and clutched her lifeless body close to him. He pulled back the cowl and cupped her cheek.

Suddenly, the tears he held back now trickled down his cheek. He shouted her name in pain as though it would bring her back. "Don't leave me, Princess," he spoke in between sobs, "I love you."He entwined her hand with his, clasping it tight. It felt cold despite the hindrance of the glove, "I'm sorry," he hugged her closer, "I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough."

The heart monitors beeped loudly as Bruce's heart rate increase erratically.

"He's getting stressed out. Something wrong is going on," Superman noted as he stood by the bedside and watched as Bruce's body jerking. Diana rushed beside Superman while J'onn checked the heart monitors.

"He's having a heart attack. We have to wake him up now or else we'll lose him," he warned.

Diana clutched the side of Bruce's face with one hand, "Bruce, wake up. I'm here. I'm right here," She took one of his hands and clasped it with hers, "Please, wake up."

"Bruce!"

Batman turned his head at the sound of her voice. He looked down and noticed Diana's lifeless body had disappeared. "Bruce!" He heard her scream again.

Bruce now found himself standing in a dark place. He could not see anything. "Diana!" He called back to her voice.

"Wake up! It's just a dream Come back to me, please."

Bruce closed his eyes and took three calming breaths as he thought of Diana. When he finally opened his eyes, he let out a breath that he felt like he had been holding.

The feel of her hand against his face made him gaze up at her angelic face. He rested his hand on hers, smiling in relief.

She was alive.

Bruce sat up and pulled Diana close to him, "You're alive."

Diana drew her brows together in confusion, "Bruce, what are you―" He captured her lips as though his depended on it. Her lips felt soft against his.

Entangling his hand through her hair, he pulled her closer as though her chest against his had not been enough.

"I thought I lost you," he spoke breathlessly when they pulled away. He placed a wayward strand of hair behind her ear, "I love you, Princess."

"Oh, Hera," Diana felt hazy at his confession, "I love you too, Bruce."

Superman cleared his throat, making them both turn towards him.

"J'onn and I will leave you two alone now. I'll take care of Mad Hatter and see to it that he goes to jail. J'onn will be outside doing his shift in the monitor bay," Superman smiles back at them before leaving with J'onn.

The two are left alone, glancing at each other with smirks plastered on their faces.

Everything felt real and all was right in the world.

END