"Undercover and Underneath it All"

By: The Angelic Temptress

Disclaimer: The usual. They're not mine, although I'd take them if they let me.

Spoilers: "Wildcard" and some for "Starcrossed" (Timeframe: Between those 2 Eps.)

Rating: PG-13 for language, drugs, and adult content.

Pairings: GL/HG (Of course!) BM/WW (Who knew I had it in me?)

A/N: I promise that there will be more Diana/Bruce stuff, but it's happening gradually.

A/N2: This chapter will be running on a fine line between PG-13 and R. BEWARE! ;)

)(

Chapter 5: Identities

"What are you doing here, Lantern?" the gruesome barfly asked as he hovered over his mug of slurge. "Shouldn't you be out saving some distressed planet?"

"Shouldn't you go easy on the drinks?"

"Mind your business."

GL rolled his radiant eyes and turned toward the bartender, who had been staring at him. John raised an eyebrow and swallowed his bourbon.

"Why are you here this early, Lantern?" the squid questioned. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Maybe."

"Women trouble?"

"No. For once, there's no problem in that area."

The drunk beside GL chortled. "You got some last night, didn't you?"

Lantern threw him a disgusted glance. "And why would I tell you?"

)(

After rounding up the two unconscious scientists, Wonder Woman watched as Batman rapidly typed the keys on the bomb without thinking. He was like a programmed machine sometimes, doing things on instinct and without hesitation.

She had watched him earlier that night without him knowing. Diana had pretended to be sleeping then. He had been preparing for the day ahead by inspecting his many intricate gadgets and gizmos and packing his infamous and resourceful utility belt. Before he had even told her, she knew that they would be destroying the complex and all it housed.

Diana glanced around the lab, taking note on all the scientific materials and... rifles. There was artillery stacked in one of the corners of the basement. Earth hadn't only given gold for the Euphoria...

They were trading weapons for the drugs as well.

"It's armed. We've got three minutes."

The princess nodded and lifted the two aliens. Batman and Wonder Woman darted out of the basement and into the main lobby, where The Green Lantern waited. When he caught sight of his companions, he punched the squid-like bartender followed by the man sitting in the next seat.

Batman sprung into action, throwing his bola and capturing the drunk he had aimed for. Diana witnessed her teammates finish off the final three; two had been the bar's "bouncers."

Lantern placed an energy bubble around the captives, Diana, and Batman; he then guided them all out of the building. When they were a safe range from the nightclub, GL pressed his comm-link.

"Lantern to Hawkgirl. Over."

There was no answer.

"Shayera, come in."

Still there was no reply.

"Something's wrong."

"She knows that she has only three minutes," Diana reported with a worried tone. "Maybe he's a bit more trouble than she had perceived."

Batman took a step forward, as if he were going to dart back into the building, but The Green Lantern flew off before the others could go anywhere. They watched as their friend returned to save the other.

)(

"You made me look like a fool, Lieutenant," Max told and made his way toward Hawkgirl. "And you know how I feel about being the fool."

"No, but I'm sure you'd like to educate me."

The drug lord chuckled. "You've still got that spunk, and that's why I find you so attractive. You're a woman who needs to be tamed."

"And you're a roach that needs to be exterminated." Hawkgirl narrowed her eyes and readied herself for the explosion she expected within the next two minutes. If she died in that building, at least she'd take the son of a bitch with her.

"Ah, little Lieutenant Hol." He came to her and roughly caressed her cheek with his green hand. "So what's the story on your girlfriend, Devil? She a cop too?"

"Something like that."

He laughed again. "I guess I picked the wrong woman. I should've hit on her. I bet she would have been easier to nail. You're too experienced for my taste anyway." When she didn't make a comeback, he let his hand travel down her neck, across her collarbone, over her right breast, and to her belt.

"Keep away from her!"

The gangster never got the chance to unfasten the buckle. He was knocked to the side by a green force that had come from GL's powerful ring.

A similar beam of light cut the clasps seizing her wrists, and she stood from the chair. Hawkgirl took hold of her energy mace, and turned to face the man who possessed so much authority and leverage over the inhabitants of Torica.

"You're working with a Green Lantern?" he spat and slowly climbed to his feet. "What? The Thanagarians not paying you enough anymore?"

Without warning, she bashed him upside the head and into the winged trophies he valued so dearly. Both sets of wings toppled onto him, and Hawkgirl raised her mace to strike him again. John stopped her from continuing the attack by grasping her wrist.

"It's over," he stated. "We need to go."

She knew he was right.

He guided her to the open window, and she took off first.

Then there was a gunshot.

She whirled around in the air and saw John clutching his left shoulder. He raised his eyes to meet hers and yelled, "Go!" Before she could protest, he shot a beam of green energy in her direction, shooting the detective across the street.

Exactly like he had done in Vegas.

The building blew the moment Diana's arms caught Hawkgirl's body. The Thanagarian screamed Lantern's name and ripped herself from the Amazon's hold. She had to find her lover, the only man who really understood her, the only man who wanted her for what she was.

"John!" she cried and raced for the burning building with Wonder Woman and Batman following close behind.

To her surprise, they didn't have to run that far.

The Green Lantern, shielded in a green aura, came to them with one hand still on his injured shoulder.

Finally, Hawkgirl could get herself to breathe.

He was alive.

)(

Batman wrapped The Green Lantern's gunshot wound with the bandages he kept with him. The four heroes were situated in a back alley, a few miles away from the explosion and away from angry eyes.

Everything the alien drug lord had built and owned had been destroyed. Their mission had been accomplished.

Gotham had been once again protected from a deadly substance and its producers.

His city was safe.

"Are you strong enough to get us home?" he asked the African-American who sat on the cemented road. When GL nodded, the Dark Knight took a step away and allowed Hawkgirl to stand next to the man she cared for.

"I thought I lost you back there," Batman heard her whisper.

"But you didn't." Lantern gave a small smile and formed a shielding bubble around the team.

Together, they flew to the Watchtower.

They flew home.

)(

Three days after returning, Shayera and John were still on leave. Superman and the rest of the League had decided that a week's vacation would them both good. Somehow, she knew Batman was behind it all.

The duo sat on the couch in John's apartment, eating their small cartons of ice cream. She hadn't gone home since coming to Earth. She had spent every day at John's apartment.

She had spent every night in his bed and in his arms.

But she couldn't help feeling dirty. No matter how many showers she took, no matter how hard she scrubbed, she still felt so tainted.

It wasn't because of Max or the fact that she had been with criminals. She felt terrible because of the secret she kept from John.

She wanted to tell him who she really was, that she hadn't been shot across the universe by mistake. She wanted him to know she was a Lieutenant in the Thanagarian Army, but then he'd have to know about Hro Talak. He'd have to know that she was already taken, that she was "promised" to another.

John would have to know their relationship needed to end.

She couldn't tell him. She was too selfish, too lonely... Shayera Hol had fallen too hard for John Stewart to allow it to end now. His dark skin against hers felt too good to give up. His kiss, his touch, his love...

As much as she hated herself for lying to him, she'd hate herself even more for not exploring their connection.

Even worse, when would he hate her? When she told him who she was? When she told him he was the "other man?" When she told him she had lied?

She didn't want to hurt him, but she knew she would.

"I'm not good for you, John."

"What?" he asked with a chuckle and swallowed another spoonful of his Rocky Road ice cream. "What are you talking about?"

Tears were forming behind her eyes, but she fought them. "You don't want me. I'm just trouble for you. Look at us... I'm..." Her sentence trailed away, without completion. She couldn't tell him. She had sworn an oath.

"What?"

"You don't even know me," Shy blurted.

The human shook his head. "Are you nuts? I know you better than you know yourself sometimes, Shy. You're courageous, you're compassionate, you're intelligent, you're witty, you're amazingly beautiful..." His nose crinkled as he thought. "You love a good fight and a good drink. You love picking on Flash and squabbling with me. You like rock music, and you hate reality shows. You enjoy it when I... well, you know."

"I'm not good for you," she repeated.

The man who only wore a pair of boxers laughed and looked at his empty carton. "Well, neither are Ben or Jerry, but I still eat their products." John leaned forward and snatched Shayera's Butter Pecan carton from her hands. After he placed it on the coffee table, John crawled on top of her.

She couldn't resist him.

His mouth found hers and he whispered, "There's another product I wouldn't mind trying." John's lips traveled down, over her tank and to her navel. He smiled against her stomach, and she knew where he was headed.

)(

"So, that was really nice of the Big Guy to give those two a break, huh?"

Diana's eyes moved from the space she had claimed as her staring target and to the speedster standing next to her. She hadn't heard a word he said. Her mind was someplace else... someplace beneath Gotham City.

"I know GL got shot, but is Hawkgirl all right? I mean, why else would Big Blue give her time off?"

"She's fine."

Flash frowned and leaned against the monitor womb's computer keys. "Nothing gets to her, but something did this time. I know it. I don't miss a thing with that girl. I have a sixth sense when it comes to women, you know."

"Right." Diana still wasn't paying much attention to Flash's ramblings. As he continued down his road of gibberish, the Amazon returned to her gaze to the Earth.

What was she craving? Was there something to crave? Why hadn't her mother told her about these feelings?

Why was Wonder Woman, Princess of the Amazons, so infatuated with a man?

A Batman?

)(

She was extraordinary.

That was official.

Her head lay on his right shoulder, and she was asleep. She looked like an angel, no pun intended, and it was Heaven to hold her. Her feathers alongside his body not only felt erotic, but it felt right.

He couldn't imagine being with anyone else, couldn't imagine not having the wings to stroke or the auburn hair to muss.

Her olive skin beside his chocolate skin looked just right.

John knew he wouldn't have it any other way.

He loved the Thanagarian detective and trusted her with more than his life.

Suddenly, Shayera shifted in her sleep, wrapping a wing and an arm around him. Her hand found a place atop his wound, and he winced in pain. He avoided crying out, and actually ignored it.

He didn't mind the aching as long as she was close. Either way, it hurt, and at least with her near, it hurt for good reason.

John hadn't lied when he told her he'd die for her. Ever since they had met, John hadn't lied to himself. It was as if his heart had known from day one.

He had found her so stunning before even knowing her.

God worked in mysterious ways, and Shayera Hol was as mysterious as they came. John wouldn't mind learning about her, even if it did hurt.

She'd just have to talk to him.

That was all he wanted.

)(

Batman quietly slipped into the commissioner's office through the window. To not startle the older man, he allowed the window to creak as he closed it.

Jim Gordon whirled around to face his friend and let out a sigh of relief. "Well? Did you –?"

The Dark Knight slightly nodded from his place in the shadows. "It's done."

"Good. Unfortunately, Joker's up to his old tricks. Seems as if he's downtown, trying to attract attention." Gordon lifted the Styrofoam cup to his lips and said, "Could be a trap." He tilted his head back to finish his black coffee and then returned this eyes to where the Bat had been standing only a moment before.

He was gone.

Batman made his way to the roof of the building, only to find Batgirl waiting for him. She had her arms crossed over her chest and a smirk on her face.

"Welcome home," she greeted. "I thought you might be giving him a visit."

"The Joker's –"

"I know. Nightwing and Robin are already on their way."

He almost smiled. "Some things never change," he muttered, thinking the young redhead wouldn't hear.

"You're right. Some things don't change. Speaking of change, how'd the trip go? Any alterations in a particular Wonder Woman and her Batman?"

He turned away from the prying question and shot out a line.

Batman would be taking the car tonight.

) THE END (

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But until then...