Reality Crisis

Reality was falling apart again. Bruce hadn't been sure how you were supposed to fix something like that but other than the rains of strange animals he had thought the world was stable. When part of the cave vanished making parts of the rest of it cave in he'd found out differently. He'd taken the time to pack up what he could take and headed for answers. People were missing. Some might be gone forever and he hadn't been able to find Dinah right away.

It highlighted to him that she'd become a more important part of his world than he'd admitted. The idea of being without her now if she'd disappeared made him shut down into full Batman mode. Of course only someone like Dinah would probably know the difference. There was too much to do to spend all his time looking for her as everyone packed up to move. If Dinah wasn't gone they'd find each other. If she was...well he'd work alone. It wouldn't be the first time.

The first night they stopped groups were slowly joining up to each other. They all traveled at different rates since they were various abilities and carrying different things. Bruce just took his things and went to scout and guard the perimeters without being asked. He'd cooperate and get people there but he wasn't working for any of the big fish in charge of the various groups.

Back home, weddings might have taken months of planning and putting things together. Sam didn't much care for the idea of waiting. Not in a world that could just as easily rain death on you at a moment's notice. He loved Fred and he wanted to marry her.

She'd asked for a wedding in the fairy forest and while Sam didn't love that idea, she had a point about getting married somewhere that still looked alive and mostly untouched by the devastation that was everywhere you looked in this world.

They weren't too far in the forest. Just far enough in that they couldn't see the ruins, but not so far that they were in the very heart of faerie territory.

Sam had managed to scrounge up clean clothes that were nicer than his every day clothes. He hadn't found a suit, but he did have a nice button-up shirt, a jacket, and some slacks. Some of the locals had been excited to give clothes that had long since been forgotten in closets because they weren't practical. Weddings were a happy occasion and die Festung didn't get to see enough happiness.

Sam thought it was nice that even amidst all of the destruction, life still went on. That was why this day was important. Even if legal marriages weren't a thing anymore. Even if this was a symbolic ceremony, it was still important.

He loved Fred and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Even if the rest of his life was only a few more days or years, and even if it might be decades. He thought that it was important to stop and acknowledge that and celebrate it. Because this was the sort of thing that made it all worth fighting for.

Sam tugged at his collar as he stood in between Dean and Cas and waited for Fred to make her appearance. There was a little case of nerves as he worried that maybe the bride would have second thoughts and wouldn't show. He did his best to dismiss that paranoia and watched the small opening in the trees for any sign of his future bride.

Somewhere in between helping people get out of buildings and whatever else needed to be done, Dinah had stopped caring whether or not she got anyone else out safely. She also wasn't worrying about Bruce or Enigma or anyone else that she'd been worried about previously.

It was a nice break from the concern that was a default setting with her. She didn't stop much to think about the change in attitude, save to wonder why she hadn't found the secret to chilling out earlier. She even had a small smile as she picked through the wreckage in search of something fun. The quaking seemed to have stopped hours ago and people were still running around like chickens with their heads cut off. There was some buzz about the hole in the wall, but Dinah didn't see what the fuss was about for that either. Someone would fix it eventually and until then, maybe it would just be a little exercise in natural selection.

She finally found what she was looking for in a bar that had mostly survived the earthquakes and falling debris. It was a low slung, one story building and there were a few cracks in the wall but it looked otherwise stable.

It was also unmanned so Dinah helped herself to a bottle of the finest swill she could find and a few of the nondescript loaves of grains that were behind the bar. She settled into one of the chairs at the bar and propped her feet up on yet another nearby chair.

She certainly couldn't complain about having the place to herself, could she?

There weren't a lot of earthquakes in Gotham but Bruce had been through enough explosions that when the earth started to move he threw himself under the heavy duty work table to ride it out. It felt different than anything that he'd ever been through. The earth didn't just jar and shake but it moved under him like a wave.

Things crashed to the floor of the cave and the eternal rushing sound of the water from the small river suddenly stopped. Just when he thought it was never going to end there was an enormous crack and a large rock fell from the roof and split into hundreds of shards that peppered the work table and cut open his forehead.

The silence after made Bruce's ears ring and he crawled out from under the desk wiping the blood off his face. He worried about the water not flowing anymore but while he was taking stock of the stability of the cave it started to trickle down the riverbed again and then must have shifted whatever was blocking it because a huge gush of water spilled over the bank before it settle down to its normal flow again.

Nothing seemed in danger of caving in so Bruce gathered his things and heading for the exit. Dinah was out somewhere and the most likely place she'd go would be Sanctuary. If it wasn't for the fact others could be hurt and in danger he'd assume she'd check the cave but if others were in trouble she would go there first. He wasn't thrilled at the idea of running into Bane again but Sanctuary was the closest settlement. If they had it in hand he'd move on to Die Festung to help.

The path was half collapsed in places and there were trees fallen over but he was still able to get to Sanctuary. It looked from the outside like it had weathered it better than he expected. Erik's unorthodox building methods were stronger than they looked.

They had seen something or been somewhere different and Bruce didn't understand what they'd seen or where they'd been. It would help if he could at least decide if they'd actually been there or if they had just seen it. There wasn't any way to track if they'd lost time or left the location though since there wasn't anything like security cameras to check and there hadn't been anyone else in the room.

For now it was safer to retreat to the cave and talk it over. Neither he or Dinah said much on the way back which either meant he was rubbing off on her or she had something to say she didn't think he'd want to hear.

On his end he was just thinking too hard about the flash and not enough about the conversation with Lehnsherr. He should be thinking about both but he was fairly sure that the man hadn't been lying and he didn't think he had a lot to worry about with Bane attacking Lehnsherr. It would be very hard to get past someone that paranoids guard.

Once they were back at the cave and everything checked out he put water on to boil so they could at least have something hot to drink.

After the talk with Selina, Dinah and Bruce had finally made it to Sanctuary and requested an audience with Erik. Dinah was tense at the idea of walking into territory that housed the man who had done so much damage to two different Bruces that she knew by now. Any feelings brought up by Selina's arrival were shelved as she focused on keeping her eyes open for any sign of Bane or Scarecrow or anyone else that might pose a threat. She stayed close as they walked through the small town and didn't move away once they were inside alone with Erik. She had her reservations about the man who ran Sanctuary, but that was just heightened now in the face of whom he was allowing to live there. She still saw good in him, particularly in the way he cared for his people and in the fact that he'd been willing to give them a place to stay. That wouldn't be forgotten. And that was the main reason why she thought it was best to see if he knew who Bane was and what he was capable of.

They didn't get much past the niceties of greeting each other before something seemed to happen. Suddenly the room shifted and she was somewhere else entirely, with her brain struggling to keep up.

It appeared to have been a parking garage once, though the cars that were left were vandalized, rusting, and some were buried in ivy or some other plant type growth.

There was something cold and metal in her hands and the coppery smell of blood was thick in the air. Worse still, Dinah looked down and realized she was standing over someone who had bled out from a wound in his chest. She raised her now-shaking hand and realized that the weight in it was a bloodied knife.

What she didn't see was the scar that ran down one side of her face. She also didn't immediately notice the scars on her arms, or the fact that she was dressed in a tank top and light cotton pants instead of bundled up for winter weather. None of that mattered. Not when she couldn't fight the feeling that the man at her feet was dead because of her.

Bruce was healed thanks to Peter, but that didn't stop Dinah from sneaking peeks at him as they walked to Sanctuary. She just couldn't get the image of him bleeding, bruised, and broken out of her mind. She knew that this might be a suicide mission, but they needed to talk to Erik and see if the leader of Sanctuary knew who exactly he was housing. They also needed to give him a heads-up about Enigma and Damon being vampires.

Dinah wasn't exactly looking forward to that conversation. She still had to tell Bruce too, come to think of it. There had been so much that had happened since Enigma's change that it had just slipped through the cracks.

"Bruce, there's something that you need to know about Enigma," she said by way of opening the conversation.

Now was as good a time as any, she supposed.

Dinah wasn't sure if it was a good thing that Bruce felt badly enough to let her got to Peter or if she was concerned about that. She hated the idea of leaving him, but there was no other choice. They really did need to get some sort of communication system in place. She'd made sure that Bruce was set up on his mattress and had food, pain pills, and water within his reach.

She maneuvered her ATV carefully over the snow as she left the cave and started to head out. She still wasn't quite sure where she should check for Peter, but Sanctuary would be her first stop.

She didn't know if it would work, but she also tried calling out for Peter in her mind. He was telepathic, after all. Maybe if she just thought loudly enough in his direction.

Or maybe it was a longshot. All the same, she tried thinking his name very loudly.

(takes place shortly after the Bruce/Bane confrontation)

The zombies were gone and still, Bruce was nowhere to be seen. It wasn't unusual for him to go off on his own for hours or sometimes days at a time. But it was unusual that he wouldn't check in at some point. Especially after something like the dead rising and declaring war. She was trying not to worry. She really was.

She decided that it was time she checked the cave. There was a good chance that he would be there. He might have lost track of time, or he might have something pressing that needed time alone to deal with. She hoped that was all it was. She didn't worry too much about interrupting whatever quiet time that Bruce might need because she felt a little like it was her job to make sure he didn't retreat too far within himself. Especially when he didn't have Alfred there to keep an eye on him and give him a little bit of company.

The snow was starting to melt so Dinah trudged through a mixture of slush and mud on her way to the cave. By the time she got there, her boots were caked in it, but she was there without incident. Knowing Bruce, he probably knew she was coming by now. If he was there. She was sure he'd set up some sort of alarms for when people were on the perimeter of the cave.

Once she'd gotten past the entry, she headed for the living quarters first.

"Bruce?"

She tried not to think about how much she really hoped to hear an answer. Tried not to think about what might be going on if he wasn't here and wasn't in Sanctuary or anywhere else she'd looked.

Sylar had directed Bane to die Festung to find Bruce Wayne. The Batman. It had annoyed Bane to discover that there was a version of this man out there who was summarily unbroken. He had yet to discover the why behind it, but he would.

He had not yet left Sanctuary to go to this city, since had yet to discuss his temporary leave with Erik. Bane did not want the man to think that he was just abandoning everything that he had been given, but he could not let this Bruce Wayne thing go.

Bane stalked through the center of Sanctuary, formulating a plan. Heading out without one would have been foolish. He only had a general direction to go toward, not a definite hiding hole that the Bat had stored himself in. He didn't think that the people of die Festung would let him just waltz in and do as he pleased with one of their own.

There was no pausing to talk to other members of the community, not only did he have things to organize, but he had jobs to do in order to retain his spot here.

Jonathan looked up as he landed, hard against the ground, groaning as he reached up to pull his mask over his head. He glanced around at the huts before him before cursing violently, laying back against the ground. Willing himself back to Gotham and not stuck in his hell again.

He finally sat up, stuffing the burlap into his pocket and switching his contacts for glasses before pushing off the ground and heading of to explore the place he had landed in, since this didn't look like the last village he had.

He hoped that he ran into someone like Beauty again...or someone with food. Food was good, Food got the person on his 'never kill' list.

The snow had been unexpected. Dinah hated that it was hard to keep track of time in this place. It certainly made one day run into the next. She appreciated, at least, the mark of the change of seasons. It was something normal amidst all of the bizarre in this world. Not to mention that the celebration in the streets was contagious.

Today, she and Bruce were heading back to the cave to check up on things. She did her best to keep her playful mood in check as she walked alongside Bruce. Somehow she doubted he would appreciate that.

All the same, she was currently plotting ways to get him involved in a snowball fight. She still wasn't sure how to spring it on him or what he'd do if she did, but she couldn't quite resist the urge to try.

"So your talk with Enigma went okay?" she asked, hoping to get caught up on what he and the teenager had discussed.

He didn't know Effie in his world but apparently she knew him in hers. Only she knew he and Batman as two separate people. She was also someone who used to be considered a hero and now wasn't. Dinah had known her in her world and wanted to try to help her back onto a different path.

Bruce was of two minds over that. Sometimes you couldn't change people. Sometimes you just had to accept what was part of them and deal with it as best you could. But sometimes people didn't want to be who they had become and with a little help they could change.

His own discovery of how selfish he was through Rachel was a good example.

Apparently in her world she'd tried to kill him at least once. Bruce wouldn't let his guard down around her but as a gesture he was coming to her first to tell her who he was before she found out through someone else. It was a chance at trust hopefully. As much as he could offer anyway.

The city wasn't that big and Bruce didn't think she would hide from him so he went out to look for her.

Since that first kiss, there had been a few more stolen kisses. In spite of all the confusion, that definitely made for a bright spot in her days. Dinah found that she looked forward to time spent with Bruce and kissing. Oh yes, she did like kissing him.

Currently, they had found a little more time for that particular activity. She was happily doing that when everything changed. In an instant, all of the vague memories flooded back almost painfully. She no longer had that lighthearted sensation of a 13 year old in the throes of her first major crush. Instead, there were years of memories-both painful and good, and a whole host of emotional baggage that might make it harder to just throw herself into something with reckless abandon.

All of that aside, she didn't stop mid-kiss. An attraction and feelings of a sort had been building between the man in question and herself for months really. And she wasn't going to complain about this moment in time-even if reality was threatening to creep in and she was sure that he'd push her away once the fog lifted.

For the moment, she simply kept her hands around his waist, where they'd been before things changed. She tried to ignore the creeping headache from the flood of memories that had suddenly returned.

Dinah was having a very bad week so far. She had this explosive scream that she couldn't quite get under control, she was still wandering around in a half-daze as she tried to figure out what was going on, and her parents weren't here. They really really weren't. Neither were her friends or her 'uncles' from the Justice Society or anyone else that would have made her feel safe and might have been able to help her figure out what to do about the superpower that currently cause more damage than good.

Not to mention that she really wanted hot chocolate or pringles or... anything resembling comfort food. This place had none of that.

She wasn't exactly feeling sorry for herself, but she was having a hard time seeing the good in the situation. The only upside at the moment was that it was a little exciting being on her own. She was, for all intents and purposes, an adult. She had the freedom to do whatever she wanted. In theory anyway. Trouble was finding what she wanted to do and doing it.

Dinah let herself into the small hut that she was sharing with Bruce and Effie and looked around to see if anyone else was there.

Enigma flipped backwards gracefully, the knife that had been thrown at her sailing cleanly over her body and she grinned, moving one f her hands to her boot, grabbing her own knife, releasing it as she landed on her feet and rose up, watching as one of her men had to dive out of the way, before she lashed out with a kick to the side, catching the other man who had surrounded her off guard, licking her lips at the grunt of pain he gave.

As her foot came back down and she stood again, she found herself pressed against a hard body, an arm the size of a tree trunk around her throat, gun pressed to her temple. She swallowed, before trying to wing her legs up and back to catch the man int he groin. There was a noise and she yelped in pain, holding the side of her head, glaring at the man who had shot a paint pellet at her. “Oy!”

“Sorry, boss, but I got ya fair and square,” Thomas pointed out with a shrug.

“Yeah yeah, I’m going to go hit the showers, go check the equipment.” Enigma said as she grabbed her towel and duffle bag, heading for the locker room.

“Ya sure ya don't want me to stand watch at the door?” Brandon said with a smirk, his eyes roaming over the redheaded women's’ scantily clad body.

Enigma paused, making a face at him. “Brandon, I wouldn’t trust you to guard my ass in an empty room. And I need something that isn’t small enough to fit through a pasta strainer.” She turned after that, returning to her path of getting a shower, but nodding to Daniel who moved behind her, standing guard at the door of the locker room...just in case.

( Meanwhile, back at the ranch... )

Dinah and Bruce had found Clark first. It was a good thing they had because a wizard named Carlos had found them, claiming to be sent by Peter. Both the Bat and the Canary had been hesitant to trust his story, but Clark was the human-or Kryptonian, at any rate-lie detector. Clark had been able to reassure them that Carlos was telling the truth, and that Kitty was actually Kitty when they'd run across her on their way into Sanctuary, Magneto's village.

Dinah felt a fresh wave of guilt as she realized that Kitty had been attacked, most likely by the same shapeshifter that had attacked her. She'd given Kitty and Piotr's names to the fake Oliver. She would apologize to Kitty later, not that she thought that would cover it. For now, however, they needed to band together and find a way to stop the shapeshifter.

The guards must have known they were coming. Or at least, they'd expected Carlos to bring back people, because the small group had been escorted straight to a building that looked large enough to be used as some sort of meeting hall, yet was on the outskirts of town and seemed to be well-guarded to prevent eavesdroppers she supposed.

Dinah was curious at the prospect of meeting the enigmatic leader of this little outpost. She'd certainly heard her share of rumors about Erik Lensherr, and she was unsure of his motives or of his character. But if he was to work with them on this, then she supposed she would get the chance to see more of who he was and whether or not he could be trusted.

Dinah was somber as they were let into the building. She knew that they were in for the fight of their lives and so she didn't have time for the guilt over her misplaced trust and the fact that she'd risked live because of it.

Bruce's concerns about Oliver weighed heavily on Dinah's mind. Something was off about Oliver, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. It was perhaps the mismatch between the memories of her world's Oliver and this Oliver, who was from a different world. Maybe it was how turned around she'd been ever since her trip to the City and back. Or maybe there was something to Bruce's worries, whatever it might be.

She hated to admit that Bruce had an annoying way of being right more often than not. But then again, when it came to people, he also tended to be more cynical and didn't trust very easily. She'd proved him wrong with Helena after all.

Whatever the case, she had to talk to Oliver one-on-one. She had to give him that chance to explain further. And she had to take more time to decide for herself if he could be trusted.

----

The attempt on Kitty Pryde had not gone well. Sylar's bruises had healed quickly after she'd moved him, but his ego hadn't quite recovered. He'd never had that much trouble when seeking powers. Ironic that he'd considered her the easiest prey. He'd assumed that he would go after her ability, and then add that to his arsenal before going after the others.

He had changed his face back to Oliver Queen's before his return to die Festung. With Peter still alive, his real face wasn't safe for now. And no doubt the mutant who could walk through walls would run straight to her metal boyfriend so that face was out of the question now too.

He was angry as he paced Oliver Queen's apartment like a caged animal. If he wasn't careful, he would very quickly run out of options. People were too concentrated here. It was much harder to hide, even with his abilities. And those with powers were different from those with powers in his world. Sure, he had known that going into this. But he supposed he had underestimated them all.

It wouldn't happen again.

The knock at his door piqued his interest. A look through the keyhole only further heightened his interest.

He wouldn't make the same mistake with Dinah. Not again.

He beamed as he let her in, a welcoming smile. He accepted the quick hug and only half-listened as she started to ask her questions. He couldn't bring himself to care. Not even a little bit.

The surprise on her face was gratifying when he flung her against the wall and started to cut into her forehead. He was careful, very careful to avoid being in the line of fire for that pesky scream. He wanted it to be sure, but he didn't want to be on the receiving end of it.

Once Clark had sped off, Dinah let herself into the cave. If the Batman was home, she had no doubt that he knew she was here. It was odd to think about the fact that this version of Bruce seemed to trust and like her, according to Clark. Back home, she generally got the feeling that Bruce tolerated her and that there was maybe a small, albeit grudging, amount of trust. It was more here. She was still getting used to it, still separating the two in her mind, but she couldn't deny that Clark was right.

Why or what that might mean was lost on her, but she was glad for it. She was also determined not to push him too far and not to take advantage of that trust.

Getting him to come to die Festung and meet the potential team members wasn't her idea of pushing. Or it might be, but it was also necessary. He needed the chance to meet the people that they would hopefully work with.

Her gait was steady, confident. She was still getting used to her newly healed limbs, but it felt good. There was a part of her that wanted a rematch to the spar earlier-a part that really wanted to test out what she could do now that Peter had healed her. Then again, that match had ended in very... confusing way. She hadn't meant to kiss him, but their lips had touched all the same. She couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if they hadn't been interrupted, even if she knew she probably shouldn't. Wondering about that too much or even wishing for anything would just make the fact that they were living in very close quarters awkward. No. Better to keep her mind on all of the things that needed to be done and everything going on outside the cave.

Her first few days in the cave, Dinah had been unconscious more often than not. She had woken to eat, take more medicine, check bandages, and had promptly gone back to sleep. She didn't honestly know how long she'd been there, but she knew that she was starting to feel better which meant that she was starting to get antsy. Bruce had mentioned sparring and while she still had to take it easy, she was ready to dive back into that.

She knew that he'd be pulling his punches and as much as she wished he didn't have to, she was okay with that for her first attempt at sparring since her run-in with the Joker. Her scream wasn't back, but she could feel her throat healing and there was still that tiny glimmer of hope.

For now, she would just settle for getting back into shape. She fell into the rhythm of the fight easily enough. It was just like riding a bike, even if she knew that he was going very easy on her. She did her best to push back, though she didn't give it her all. Not just yet. She needed to ease back into things.

All the same, punches and kicks were traded as they both fell into the art of sparring. She couldn't help but admire his techniques. For the most part, it was very similar to the Batman she knew, but some things were different. Of course, it made sense that they would be. He had perhaps studied different methods or under a different sensei. There were a lot of reasons that his style might be slightly different.

As they fought, they were both drawn in for tighter grappling. It was easier to telegraph what was coming next when fighting from a distance. But when there were only inches away, it was easier to conceal, even if reaction times needed to be even quicker. She didn't mind the challenge, and she attempted to sweep his legs out from under him with one of her legs, hoping to put an end to the fight by bringing her opponent to the floor.