Title: Heartbreaker

By Neptune

Summary: Man, how many women has Batman dated?

AN: This was supposed to be a little ditty for Valentine's day over at the JLA Universe boards, but it did really get finished in time…so it's another on going story. I swear…all of these will get finished!

Chapter 1: Cheetah's Never Prosper

***

He expertly threw the bolas across the road. The metal balls torqued around the legs of his target, tripping her. He extracted the batcuffs and ran, attempting to reach her while she was still immobilized.

Cheetah, living up to her name, quickly clawed apart the rope with her fingers. Rolling slightly on her back, she was able to brace him with her legs and use his own momentum to propel him over her body. She rolled and pounced on top of him when he landed on his back. "Don't I get a kiss?" she purred as she pounded his fisted hand into the ground, making him release the cuffs.

"I'm taking you back to Blackgate."

She slammed both his fists into the concrete again. "As I'm sure you've noticed, I'm on top here. And you're in no position to be making threats." The distant whining of GCPD sirens became audible, causing her ears to perk up. "I'm sorry we don't have time to play, lover," she said, leaning in close to his face. Her tongue darted out and she dragged it slowly from the bottom of his chin up to where his cowl met the skin of his cheek, "but I've got other appointments to keep." She gave his face one more lick before raising her fist above it.

Before she could pound him into unconsciousness, she was jerked upwards. Batman recognized the golden rope that now suspended Cheetah above the ground. "Consider your schedule cleared for the next twenty years." He recognized that voice too.

"I didn't realize you people traveled in packs," Cheetah said, tearing at the lasso.

"Don't bother," Diana told her, pulling the rope more securely, "it's indestructible. You, however, are not."

"An empty threat, Wonder Woman. I think you're full of it."

The princess raised her eyebrows, before swinging the lasso upwards and allowing her fist to meet Cheetah's face. "Never insult the honor of an Amazon," Diana told the unconscious girl as she lowered her to the ground in front of a now standing Batman.

"I was handling it," he told her gruffly.

"I could see that. She looked very intimidated." Loosening her lasso from Cheetah's prone form, Diana reattached it to her waist. "What should we do with her?

He retrieved the batcuffs and latched them onto Cheetah's paws. He then wiped his cheek, which was still streaked with her saliva. "The police will be here soon. They can take it from here. We should go."

Shooting off his grapple, he flew upwards and into the shadows of the closest rooftop. She followed and landed next to him in the darkness. Looking back to the street, they saw two police cars pull up to the sidewalk they'd been standing on moments ago. The still unconscious Cheetah was loaded into the back of one car by two lieutenants.

"Are you sure they'll be able to handle her?"

"I tranquilized her. She'll be out for hours."

"I didn't see you do that."

"I was subtle."

"You usually are." Diana turned to face her companion. "Why was she here?"

He pointed to the building next to them. The police had begun taping it off. "Jason Blood lives there."

"Blood? As in Etrigan the demon?"

"You remember."

"He's a hard person to forget. What did she want with him?"

"I don't think it was him she was after. Blood's been out of town for weeks now. I like to keep an eye on his apartment when he disappears. He owns a lot of mystical things, some of which would be very dangerous in the wrong hands."

"What could she possibly need magical talismans for?"

"Maybe she was hired to steal it. Maybe she's given up on finding a scientific way to change herself back into a human. She wasn't very forthcoming about her reasons."

Diana smirked. "Maybe if you'd asked her nicely. She seemed rather fond of you, 'lover.' "

He stoned his mouth, obviously not amused by her attempt at humor. "Why are you here, Diana?"

"I was in the neighborhood."

"I find that hard to believe."

She opened her mouth to argue, but was cut off by a beeping on her Justice League comm-line. Batman heard it too, and activated the channel. "Go ahead, J'onn."

"Batman, Diana, I'm receiving an Alert from Metropolis. There's a hostage situation at a LexCorp facility, and with Superman off-planet…"

"We're on our way." Batman told the Martian before closing the line. "I'll get the Batplane."

"There's no time for that," she told him, grabbing him around the waist and lifting him off the roof. "People are in danger."

He didn't argue, much to her surprise, and stayed quiet for the rest of the flight.

***

To Be Continued…