Justice Lords Limitless Act 2: EndWar

Part 1: Chapter 4

A rap-tap-tapping echoed from outside stately Wayne Manor's large oak doors. With caution, Bruce approached the entryway. "Who is it?"

There was a muffled answer. It was nowhere near intelligible, but it was there. Without bothering to repeat himself, Bruce looked to the security monitor displaying the outside entrance and, much to his surprise, saw Diana standing with her arms crossed over her chest in a huff and a scarf wrapped about her face tightly. Despite the scarf obscuring half of her face, he recognized her through the screen.

Hurriedly, Bruce opened the two large doors and welcomed the woman. "Diana! What are you doing here?" Ugh, that felt unnatural.

Diana brushed past him and immediately entered. "I don't feel safe."

Come in, why don't you? Bruce closed the doors behind her then quickly led her into a parlor that had a kitchenette. As he prepared a warm drink to calm Diana's nerves, she unloaded on him everything that had been happening to her. The glares, the constant harassment, the threats... She understood their anger at first, that was why she'd been going by an assumed name. But now it was getting to be too much.

After she finished, Bruce took a moment to collect his thoughts. "I see." He took another pause. "Diana, I'm sorry you're experiencing this. We expected pushback from the public so you know there are already proper channels you should raise these issues with. Relocation is all they can offer you."

"Exactly!" Diana sighed. "Great Hera, Bruce. It won't matter! I've already spoken with the director of the rehab center as well as the authorities. They don't even seem to care!" She pounded her fist against the wall in anger. "I've moved twice now and changed my name, but who I am, who I was, always gets out." Diana looked at the spot she had just struck. Not even a scratch. "I'm not even the same person anymore. I can't fight them all off if they attack me." She closed her eyes as tears teased the corners. "I can die, Bruce. I don't want to die."

The two sat in silence as Bruce worked out how best to reply. It was a rare moment of weakness in Diana, one he'd never really seen before. He had to choose his words carefully. "To say 'I know what you are going through' would be a lie. I don't know, and to be honest; I don't think I ever will know." He moved in and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. A friendly gesture. "But I want to help you; however, what I can do through the Wayne Foundation only stretches so far. Relocation to a different suburb or even a different city is all I can offer you and, well... I can't do much else."

Diana understood and she hated that. She didn't want to understand that Bruce was doing all he could to ensure her safety. She didn't want to understand that the most he could offer was lousy relocation and maybe, just maybe, a better home security system. In fact, she understood she was already stretching his charity with her unannounced arrival. She made her way to the door in defeat.

Bruce watched her go, he felt a pang to reach out and keep her safe. She'd been stripped of all her exotic abilities and then thrown, helpless by all accounts, into the very people she'd once subjugated with a golden fist. As unfair as it seemed, it was at least far better than how a few other Lords had fared. He kicked aside the desire to protect her in favor of the more practical, and legal, approach. He would work to get her relocated to a more distant part of Gotham. The Somerset District, as much as he didn't like its proximity to Arkham Asylum, was also a quiet and more remote part of the city. "I promise that I will visit soon. Until then, catalog what you experience and take pictures if you can. The stronger the case for your safety, the more that can be done."

"You better visit... They shrink away when you come." Diana paused at the door and managed a smile. "I hear that he is back."

Bruce played dumb. "Who?"