Mercy

01. Switch

Author: The-Lady-Isis

Summary: Clark was under for hours, Bruce for less than five minute. Both would have fallen to the insidiousness of the Black Mercy without Wonder Woman. So what will happen to Diana...when she is taken for over a month? Can she surrender paradise? Will she?

Diana was having a day off, and enjoying it more than she thought she would. She’d teleported down to Metropolis, had lunch with Lois and listened to the latest ‘Clark-still-hasn’t-told-me-he’s-Superman’ gossip (honestly, she didn’t know how Lois hadn’t just snapped and told him she knew), and was now shopping, debating whether Bloomingdale's or Macy's deserved her custom more.

Suddenly, there was the unmistakable sound of an alarm bell ringing from the jewellery store across the street from Diana, and she dropped her bags and flew over there, landing amongst the broken glass of the smashed display cases.

“Wonder Woman!” the proprietor gasped. “Oh thank God.”

“Where are the thieves?” Diana asked.

He pointed. “She ran out the back. But-”

Diana didn’t stick around for the ‘but’, and left the shop in the same manner she’d entered it, following the faint sound of heels from just around the corner. As she turned into the alley, a door at the far end closed with a snick. She flew to it, and went inside the apparently empty warehouse.

It took a moment for her eyes to become adjusted to the sudden lack of light before she began moving again, levitating a few inches off the ground so as not to cause any noise. She was about thirty feet in before she heard anything.

“Ooooooh bad idea to come here alone, little Princess.”

At the voice, Diana repressed the urge to groan. Not again. “Circe. What do you want, witch?”

“Just to have a little fun.” There was a shimmer in the air, and the sorceress appeared, smirking widely. Diana wasn’t concerned about her so much as she was the three snarling tigers that had appeared along with her. She dropped into a defensive stance automatically.

“Here to turn me into a pig again?”

“Oh no, I know when to abandon a strategy. Attack,” she added casually to the big cats.

The reaction was instant; all three of them pounced on Diana, claws and teeth out, ready to sink into any flesh they could get out. The only positive thing was that since they’d all leapt at once, two of them hit each other, leaving only one to get to her. She raised her bracers, and most of the tiger's teeth hit the metal – then broke. It whimpered and let go of her, but slashed upward with its paw, and Diana felt four deep scratches open on her side. She used the pain to fuel her aggression and punched the tiger in the head, then threw it through a wall. Dimly, she realised Circe was still talking.

“No, I’ve been regrouping,” she said, as if catching up with an old friend. “I decided that research was the key with you.”

The other two tigers pounced on her together; one on her torso while the other one went for her legs. After receiving a bite on her thigh, she grabbed and squeezed its huge chest between her legs. She heard ribs break, and then kicked the tiger upward, aiming for Circe. The witch only floated a few feet to the left.

“The past is easy to look at magically, you know. And I’ve been studying you.” Her smile widened. “I have to confess, I’m disappointed by you, Diana. Still not managed to seduce the Batman yet? And you dare to call yourself an Amazon.”

Diana was only half-listening, since this tiger was proving cleverer than the other two, and had backed off. The two were circling each other – both hunters in their own way. Finally, it leapt at her again, and got lucky. Its full weight smashed into her shoulder, which on a normal person would have broken it, but with Diana only dislocated the joint. Partly out of pain and partly reflex, Diana drove her other fist into the big cat’s skull, cracking it.

“And not just you, either. And you know what struck me? The thing that almost brought down you, and Batman, and Superman?”

Diana’s mind quickly ran through the list of missions the three of them had been on, that had almost resulted in them being killed or totally incapacitated. Only one came to mind quickly, and moving as fast as she could through the pain, Diana threw the tiger off her, and spun back to Circe. She was half a second too late, and registered a lashing pink tongue flying toward her. She had just enough time to feel a frisson of fear before everything went black.

---

“Diana?”

I blinked, refocusing on the man in the kitchen. “Hmmm?”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’re not listening, are you?”

“Of course I am! You just asked me if I’d like red or white.”

“Actually I asked you if you’d like white or rosé,” he said. “Red with fish?”

I looked down at my plate. “Oh, I thought we were having lamb tonight.”

He came out of the kitchen and lifted my chin. “What’s wrong? You’ve been distracted all evening.”

I smiled. “Sorry, Bruce. Just…brooding, I guess.”

“Over what?”

“Mary Jackson.”

“Oh.” He took my hands now. “It’s not your fault, Diana. You caught that psychopath. You stopped him killing again.”

“Yes, but it was Gotham’s brilliant DA that put him away,” I grinned, standing up and wrapping my arms around his hips.

“I try,” he said, matching my smile. “Now let’s eat.”

“Alright.”

We sat down, and I dug in with gusto. “You haven’t forgotten about tomorrow, have you?” he asked suddenly.

“Tomorrow…hmm…what could be happening tomorrow…?”

He glowered. “Diana.”

I laughed. “Of course I remember. Six pm, the manor. Your parents’ anniversary.”

“Alright. I’d hate to deprive Mom of another chance to ask us when she’s getting grandchildren.”

“You make your mother sound like some kind of harpy,” I smiled. “It’s nice having a mother-in-law who likes me.”

He squeezed my hand. “Diana, it would be impossible for anyone not to like you. Now shut up and eat, this took me ages.”

“Oh is that why it’s burnt?” I teased.

“That’s the best fish you’ve ever tasted,” he said in a quelling fashion.

“I’ll be sure to let Alfred know that,” I commented.

“Alright, I take it back,” he said, a mock-fearful expression on his face.

I giggled. “All of Gotham’s underworld after you, you can deal with. Alfred on the other hand…”

“I dare Maroni to face Alfred and not quake.”

I could feel the stresses of the day draining away slowly as we ate, and by the end of the meal, we were curled up on the couch together, relaxed. He stroked my hair from my face and kissed my forehead. “You patrolling tonight?”

I shook my head. “Not unless the signal goes up. Most of the big ones are back inside. I think the police can cope without me for one night.”

“And the League?” he asked, kissing me on the mouth this time, slow-burning passion igniting the spark inside me that his kisses always did.

“They can also cope. Plus Superman knows I’ll kick his ass if he calls me in tonight,” I murmured, kissing back and tilting my head to the side when he moved his mouth down my neck.

“Superman calls you in tonight and I’ll kick his ass myself,” my husband growled, picking me up and carrying me into our bedroom.

I wasn’t complaining.

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