DC:The Darkest Knight

[3RD POV]

Opening her eyes, Diana found herself in an unfamiliar room, lying on an unfamiliar bed.

"Hey, you. You're finally awake." Batman's voice reached her ears.

Diana turned her head to the side and saw Batman sitting on a chair, looking at her.

"How long was I out?" Diana asked as she sat up. Now all healed up thanks to her demigod powers.

"An hour," Batman replied.

"Mmmhmmm, that was a good nap," Diana said as she stretched.

"I thought you might be upset, Diana," Batman said, standing up and offering his hand.

Diana looked at Batman with a confused face, wondering why he was thinking that she would be upset. On the contrary, she was happy since it had been a long time since she had such a hearty and fun fight.

"I'm happy, actually. I get to fight to my heart's content. It was a good spar," she said, smiling as she took his hand.

"A tie would be a better conclusion, Diana. You fought with your own body that can get tired, while I had a suit with endless energy," Batman said as he led Diana to the resting area.

"You don't have to sugarcoat it, Batman. I lost, and that's it. There is no excuse for it."

"I'm not saying that to make you feel better, Diana, and it is the truth. And if you don't believe me..." Batman said as Diana raised an eyebrow at his words.

"We can always have a second date," he added, making Diana giggle as they reached the resting area.

"You certainly have a way with words, Batman."

He brought her to a window, revealing the snowy landscape of the North Pole.

"It was a wonderful date, Batman. I am thankful for it, even if its ending was not the best, at least for me. But I'm looking forward to a second one," Diana said warmly with a smile that was so bright it could make flowers bloom if there were any.

"Tell me about yourself, Batman. You seem to know a lot about me, but I know nothing about you other than your name or, more like, your title," Diana said as she expectantly looked at Batman, waiting for his answer.

Just as Batman was about to refuse her, he felt an overwhelming urge to tell the truth. While he felt his wrist getting hotter, he looked down and saw Diana sneakily tie her lasso to his wrist. Lifting his arm up, he looked at Diana. She gave an embarrassed smile and took back her lasso.

"I can't do it, Diana. Not right now," Batman replied, disappointing her. He understood that revealing his identity would lead Diana to end things, as he was just a kid beneath all that armor.

"Do you take me for a plaything, Batman?" Diana said angrily as she glared at Batman.

"Don't be angry, princess. It's not that I'll never tell you who I am, but the timing isn't right. And when I do, you'll know that it was for a good reason," Batman explained, releasing her hand and moving behind her to place his hands on her shoulders, trying to turn her to see the Northern Lights. But Diana resisted, still glaring.

"Okay, okay, you are stubborn. I will tell you a little bit about myself," Batman said as he put his hands on Diana's underarms, lifted her up, and turned her around. Then he placed his hands on her shoulders as they watched the northern lights, while Diana shook visibly with anger because Batman treated her like a child with what he just did.

"I'm a smart guy—really smart, Diana. I can make an atomic bomb powerful enough to destroy the world just from scraps in a junkyard," Batman stated as he touched his chest and took out the arc reactor. "I made this myself. It's an arc reactor, a power source that offers unlimited sustainable energy. Something that will change our world forever, ending global warming and the energy crisis, ushering in a new era for humanity."

"It's beautiful," Diana said, her anger fading as she reached out to touch the arc reactor. "But if it is capable of everything you said, why haven't you shared it with the world yet?" Diana asked Batman, since she had never heard anything about it.

"Now isn't the right moment, princess, but it will be soon," Batman said, placing the arc reactor back into his chest before Diana could touch it.

"Again with this," Diana said, sounding annoyed.

"And this suit, I made it with a near-invulnerable metal that can easily survive an atomic bomb without any real damage."

"Indeed, even after our battle, I couldn't really damage it at all."

"I also have several satellites orbiting the Earth," Batman said as he noticed a smirk on Diana's face.

"What's with the smirk?" Batman asked her.

"You just gave away one thing about yourself: that you are a rich man from Gotham. It'll make it easier for me to find out who you are," Diana said with a smug expression.

Hearing her words, Batman looked at her with a confused expression, which Diana couldn't see due to his helmet.

"And you've just realized it. I was pretty sure you figured it out when you saw my suit when we first met. My suit is not something that can be made with wit alone," Batman said, causing a blush to appear on Diana's face once the realization hit her. Feeling embarrassed, she didn't want to face Batman, so she turned back to watch the Northern Lights.

"You're pretty cute when you get embarrassed, princess," Batman said with a smirk. Seeing her embarrassed look, he wanted to tease her more.

"This is the second time you've embarrassed me," Diana said, looking out of the window with a calm expression, though the blush on her face deepened.

"Okay, okay, don't be mad. I'm just joking," he said as Diana turned to glare at him, still blushing.

"Your jokes beginning to get on my nerves, Batman."

"Then let me make it up to you," Batman said as a mechanical arm came down from the ceiling, holding a tube filled with yellow liquid. He took the tube and handed it to Diana.

"This is?" Diana asked, examining the tube.

"The cure for the furry, at least for her animality," and that's all the furry will get from him since there is no way he will waste his time to make a cure for someone insignificant to him; even this much was just to win over Wonder Woman. If not, he wouldn't have bothered at all.

"Are you speaking the truth, Batman? This could change everything," Diana said, her eyes shining with hope as she held his hand.

"Just give this to the furry, and you'll see."

"Thank you, Batman. Truly, you have my deepest gratitude," Diana said as she bear-hugged Batman with tears in her eyes, thinking that her friend, her first friend in man's world, who was tormented by her appearance, finally could be herself or at least have hope that she could be finally at least somewhat normal again. It gave her a joy that was beyond her dreams.

"We should immediately return. I need to give this to her as soon as possible," Diana said, releasing him.

"Diana, we're on a date. Let's get to know each other first. You can take the cure to Furry later, and if anything happens to it, I can make another."

"But..." Diana hesitated, torn between helping her friend and spending time with Batman. In the end, she chose to enjoy the moment with him; at least she could after he made the cure. It also helped to know that Barbara could wait and, as Batman said, he could create another cure if needed.

"Very well, what would you like to learn about me?"

"Your clothing business, how did you get into it?" Batman asked while he thought.

'Hook, line, and sinker, successfully changed the subject, essentially didn't reveal anything about myself, making her want to know more about me and shifted entire attention to her, now all I need to do is just keep the conversation all about her until she insists on learning about me, then I remind her about the cure.'

They continued their conversation for a while, getting to know each other better before Batman escorted Diana back to her hotel, then headed back to Wayne Manor.

***

[Bruce POV]

Standing outside Lady Shiva's cell, I observed her face twist in agony as bats continued to bite her while she hung in mid-air, restrained.

It had been a few months since I captured her and began torturing her relentlessly without any breaks. I provided the necessary nutrients for her body through injections I made to keep her alive.

I turned off my projection and loosened one of her handcuffs slightly. I watched as Lady Shiva noticed my image fade and the handcuffs loosen. Gritting her teeth, she looked at the handcuff but didn't try to escape at first, aware it might be a trap. She was right. I was doing this to give her hope, only to crush it and drive her deeper into despair.

After waiting for 10 seconds and seeing she still wouldn't try to flee, I tightened the handcuff again.

"In a week, flicker the barrier for a few seconds, then after 5 days, stop sending the bats for 10 minutes, and in 2 weeks, loosen one or two handcuffs again." It's better to create random errors than follow a pattern, making her believe it's my mistake, not a trap, thus giving her false hope.

"Sandra," I called her name affectionately as I stepped into her cell. I decided to try to give her Stockholm syndrome.

As I entered, the bats flew away, leaving me alone with Lady Shiva. I looked at her body, which was covered in bite marks from the bats, and her face showed pain and annoyance, likely from the itching.

"You seem to be in a lot of pain, Sandra, but don't worry, I'll take care of you." I took a cream from my pocket and began to apply it to her bite marks. The itchiness slowly disappeared, and relief washed over her face.

"You poor girl, but you have to endure, okay, because it's your punishment." I spoke to her softly, as if she were a child, gently stroked her hair while she just stared at me calmly, hardly showing any emotion. It's to be expected since she has decades of mental training. Without actually mind-breaking her, it will take longer than a few months to break her.

"Looks like you are not in the mood. Goodnight, Sandra. Get some rest, okay?" I kissed her forehead softly and stepped out of the cell, while Sandra just scoffed at my words, thinking I was mocking her since she had barely gotten any sleep in the last few months.

After leaving the cave, I headed to my bedroom. When I walked in, I found my lovely wife, Teleute, reading a book on the bed. I lay on the bed and snuggled against her as she set the book aside and ran her fingers through my hair.

"How was your day, darling?" she asked me with her divine voice that melted me.

"I went to find Wonder Woman and take her to space for a date-" I began to tell her about my day as she listened to me with a sweet smile on her face.