A few days later, secluded in his cabin, Jimmy McIntyre was fuming. "Confined to quarters for the duration of the cruise, two cameras thrown overboard by that psycho muscle-bound red-head; nowhere close to a scoop and the entire passenger compliment is out to get me…I need a break and I need it fast." He thought, giving his suitcase a kick out of frustration, stubbing his toe in the process.

"Oww! Son of a …" He screamed, jumping on one foot.

"Yeah, real smart Jimmy boy!" he mumbled to himself, limping towards the bed.

He sat on the edge of the bed and went over his notes. Supermodel Kori Anders was spending more and more time with one Dick Grayson, former Ward of multi-millionaire Bruce Wayne.

There was little information available on Grayson’s whereabouts since leaving for College and graduating, but sources claimed Bruce Wayne had finally adopted Grayson. Subsequently, Grayson came into a lot of money – a Trust Fund that had finally matured, making him also a multi-millionaire.

"So does Grayson think he can buy the love of one of the hottest women in America? Does Anders really want him or does she want the big Bank account? And where do has-been Wrestler Joey Lucas and his red-head female bodybuilder squeeze fit-in?" McIntyre said in his pocket recorder.

"On the verge of a major scoop … if there was only a way for me to get out of this cabin and do some more snooping…" McIntyre thought.

In their cabin, Joey and Shayera were spending some quality time.

"I’ve put the do not disturb sign on Angel, lie down." Joey said.

"Another one of your patented massages preacher? I like!" She said, smiling, removing her top, and said "Wings out!"

She unbuckled her Molecular Belt, putting in on the floor next to the bed. She lay down on her stomach, moving her red mane to the side, exposing the nape of her neck. Joey could not resist and kissed the nape of her neck. She let out a breathy moan, smiling.

He smiled, seeing the goose bumps on Shayera’s back resulting from his kiss.

"It dawns on me I’ve never tried to massage your wings!" He said, with a curious frown on his face.

"Massage my wings?" She said incredulously, "The feathers grow too tight for you to touch the underlying skin!"

"I won’t use any massage oil or talcum powder to be sure I don’t mat them down, but what if I just went between the feathers with my finger tips, like so …," He said, gently rubbing the top part of her left wing.

"M-mm, no, follow the growth pattern of the feathers…yes, like that!" She said, revelling in those new sensations. "That’s kind of nice! I like that! Soothing … I never realized how much tension could build in my wings!"

Joey bent forward and kissed her, and then continued massaging her left wing, then moved on to her right wing. The blissful expression on her face was hard to miss. He gingerly went over the spot on her right wing, which was previously injured.

"Yes, that’s so nice!" She moaned.

He moved on to her neck, shoulders, and back. He then massaged her arms.

"What ever you do don’t you dare stop!" She said.

He kissed the small of her back, generating more goose bumps. He undid her shorts and proceeded to massage her lower body: buttocks, legs and feet. He ended the massage with a soothing touch of her feet, then of her shoulders. He kissed her again.

"Joey, that was beyond wonderful!" She said. She reached to the floor for her Molecular belt, but Joey held onto her arm.

"No baby, like this!" Joey said.

Shayera giggled. "You don’t mind being on your back?" She asked.

"Not one bit. It reminds me of your nice birthday present, the first time we made love!" He said, with a loving expression on his face.

"Joey you’re too sweet!" She said, moving on top of him, kissing him passionately. They made love.

That night, in Gotham City, Batman’s Knights were comprised of Batman, Robin, Batgirl, a special appearance by Wonder Woman and Oracle providing guidance from her central.

"All clear in the South side," Batman said, "Anything to report Oracle?"

"Gotham PD channels clear, nothing from the Watchtower." Oracle said.

"Nothing north side Batman, all quiet." Batgirl said.

"Ditto on the east side Batman," Robin said. "A bit of yelling due to a domestic dispute, and one drunk driver; but Gotham’s finest is handling that."

"Other than a purse snatcher needing to learn some manners and a drunken boyfriend who needed to be explained clearly you don’t beat up on a girl, the west side is all quiet too Batman!" Wonder Woman said.

Batman repressed a chuckle imagining the bruised up purse snatcher and drunken boyfriend trying to explain to the police picking them up that this scantly clad gorgeous woman literally flew to them and beat them up.

"Very well team, keep your eyes peeled and don’t take any unnecessary risks. Call for backup if things get too wild, that includes you too Princess." Batman said.

"Oh you’re too sweet when you worry about me tough guy!" Wonder Woman said.

Batman could hear Oracle, Batgirl and Robin snickering over the communicators.

"All right, all right," Batman said rolling his eyes, then chuckling too. "Walked straight into that one didn’t I?"

In the east side, Robin noticed a delivery truck dropping a bundle of Newspapers to the curb, near a News Stand. He walked by out of curiosity, and looked at the headlines. "Just a tabloid rag," Robin thought, "The Clarion … more like the ’Load of Bull’ if you ask me…oh my God!" Robin started at the top paper in disbelief.

"Robin to Gotham Knights, come in? Batman, you’re not going to like this!" Robin said in his communicator.

"What’s wrong Robin?" Batman asked.

"The new edition of the Clarion is out, with an exclusive by Jimmy McIntyre, who just happens to be on the same Cruise Ship as Joey, Dick, Shayera and Kori …" Robin’s voice trailed off.

Oracle chimed in "Found it, I have it all right here …Oh my God, can you spell Libel?" She said, "McIntyre basically paints Dick as a power player trying to buy one of America’s Top Models’ love and who owns the services of has-been – yes he specifies ‘has-been’ pro-Wrestler Joey Lucas as his personal bodyguard and describes Shayera – who remains nameless in the article – as a psychotic female bodybuilder who already destroyed two of his cameras!"

"Big Brother’s NO has-been!" Batgirl said, with a hurt tone of voice.

"Great Hera," Wonder Woman said, "I can’t believe someone can make a living printing such filth!"

"It would be laughable if I wasn’t so close to the ones involved," Robin said, "Dick, Kori, Shy and Joey … they’re like family to me!"

Batman let out a deep, slow, breath. Oracle recognised that sound. Batman was fuming, and practicing self-control.

"The editors at the Clarion are going to take a lesson in responsible journalism they won’t soon forget. If I can drive them to the ground and get that idiot McIntyre in jail for libel I’d be glad for all of the trees we’ve saved." Batman stopped to catch his breath.

"Perhaps we should advise our friends on the ship?" Wonder Woman said.

"A sound precaution I’d say. Our friends all have a history of having a nasty temper when pushed too far, a fair warning that the article has been published but that legal action is being taken might avoid McIntyre sleeping with the fish!" Oracle said.

"Okay, Knights let’s all converge to the Bat-Cave. Tonight’s quiet and we need to contact our friends, warn them. Let them know I’m personally suing the pants off McIntyre and the entire Clarion editorial staff." Batman said.

"Joining you Batman," Wonder Woman said.

"Ditto," Batgirl said, "See you all at Bat-Cave" In spite of the news, she could feel her heart beating a bit faster: she was going to be close to Tim if for a short while.

"Same here," Robin said, "Already on my way!" He also could not control his excitement; he was going to be with Cassandra in a few minutes.

They converged to the Bat-Cave. Batman and Wonder Woman made it there first; she gave him a concerned look, knowing how upset he was. She touched his face, and saw how his expression brightened up with her touch. She smiled, thinking once more "Mighty Aphrodite I’m good!" She put her arms around him and they kissed.

Neither one of them noticed the tell tale sound of the Bat-Cycle or of the Redbird. Batgirl and Robin had arrived at about the same time, as Batman and Wonder Woman were still kissing.

Batgirl and Robin repressed a giggle. Robin whispered to Batgirl "Well…when in Rome!"

She smiled, putting her arms around Robin in the same way Wonder Woman had her arms around Batman, and they began kissing. Wonder Woman finally saw them from the corner of her eye and snickered a bit.

"What?" Batman said.

Wonder Woman tilted her head towards Batgirl and Robin who were also hugging and kissing near the parked vehicles. Batman smiled. With one arm across Wonder Woman’s back, Batman cleared his throat to get Batgirl and Robin’s attention.

Robin looked sheepish, while Batgirl looked at Batgirl and Wonder Woman and said "What? You started it!"

"Isn’t love grand Bruce?" Wonder Woman said.

"It certainly is!" Batman said, chuckling. "Come here you two, we need to conference with Oracle!"

They walked to the Bat Computer. Batman keyed in a few commands, to begin a video Conference with Oracle.

"Okay Barb, where is the Cruise Ship located now?" Batman asked.

Oracle looked at a cruise plan and looked up "By now the ship is nearing the Cayman Islands." She said.

Batman looked pensive, and then tried a Justice League frequency on his communicator "Batman to Reverend Justice? Batman to Hawkgirl, come in?"

"I’ll be; they actually listened when I told them to keep their communicators off and relax!" Batman said. He switched over to the Titans’ frequency. "Batman to Nightwing, Batman to Starfire, do you copy?"

Batman sighed, "Of all the times for them to actually pay attention to me! We need to catch up with them and warn them in person. The Batwing only fits two passengers…"

Robin smirked and looked at Batgirl. They would be part of that trip. Not exactly a pleasure cruise, but Cassandra and he, on a Cruise ship in the Caribbean …

Once more, she had read him like an open book. She hugged his left arm, smiling charmingly. "You’re too sweet Timmy Drake!" She thought.

"The invisible Jet will accommodate the whole team, and is more compact than the Javelin. We can land on the Ship’s emergency helicopter pad with relative ease." Wonder Woman said.

Batman smiled at her, and then turned to the computer. "Oracle, keep on trying to reach our people on the cruise ship while we’re on our way? And if you could…"

"I will try to get a hold of your attorney and get the procedures started Bruce, no worries." The look on Oracle’s face was determined. "The Clarion will never be the same once we’re done with them."

"Thanks Barb, Bat-Cave out." Batman said.

He turned to look at his team. "Looks like we’re going to the Caribbean … with very little sleep from tonight, how is everybody?" Batman asked.

"I’m all charged up and ready to go Batman." Wonder Woman said with a wink.

"Same here, got lots rest and I excited to see Caribbean!" Batgirl said, smiling.

"I’m good Batman, nothing a cup of coffee can’t fix if you see me yawning!" Robin said.

Batman chuckled.

"What about you tough guy," Wonder Woman asked, eyebrows arched, "Slept enough lately?"

"I’ll live." Batman said with a smile. "After all, I’m letting you drive, and I don’t anticipate a lot of fighting!"

She smiled back at him. Tim and Cassandra discreetly moved closer to each other and held hands.

"Batman to Watchtower 1 do you copy?" Batman asked.

It was Superman’s turn at Sentry duty.

"Watchtower here Batman, what’s up?" Superman asked.

"I have a party of four to transport to the docking Bay, two Justice League and two Gotham Knights; I’m concerned the transport might miss some people if I try to use the automated transport." Batman said.

"Give me a second here … got you all. Transport to the Docking bay initiated." Superman said.

They materialised on the Docking Bay.

"Thanks Superman, Batman out!" Batman said.

"Any time!" Superman said.

They boarded the Invisible Jet. Batman saw Batgirl and Robin still holding hands and smirked. "Give them space, it’s not like Diana and I never hugged or kissed as Batman and Wonder Woman!" He thought.

They flew. It was a short trip to the cruise Ship. "Wonder Woman to Queen Victoria II, permission to land on your emergency helicopter pad?"

"Queen Victoria II to Wonder Woman, permission granted. To what do we owe the honour of your visit?" the Captain asked.

"We need to get in touch with a few of our associates currently vacationing on your ship." Batman chimed in. "It is of the utmost importance you do not let it known a Justice League team is aboard. No one saw us land under the cover of darkness, and Wonder Woman’s invisible Jet can’t be detected …"

"Understood Batman," The Captain replied. "We will keep your visit quiet."

Wonder Woman turned to him and smirked.

"What?" He said.

"You’re such a born leader!" She replied, and kissed him.

Still holding hands, Tim and Cassandra took their cue and kissed as well.

"Okay," Batman said. "Our friends’ cabins are on the same deck only at opposite sides. Tim, Cassandra, go to Joey and Shy’s cabin; it is number 107. Diana and I will go to Dick and Kori’s. Warn them; let them know we’re working to fix the problem, then let’s all converge at Joey and Shayera’s cabin."

They took a service entrance to the upper deck, and made their way to the cabins.

Robin and Batgirl made it to Joey and Shayera’s cabin first. Robin knocked discreetly.

"I hope not sound asleep!" Batgirl said.

Robin nodded. After a few moments that felt like half an hour, the door finally opened.

Joey, dressed only in his briefs, with bad pillow hair and a scruffy face greeted them. "For the love of God what, do you have any idea of what time it is?"

His gaze focused and he recognised them. "You?" he said. Robin put a finger to his lips. Joey nodded and waved them in. They heard Shayera had finally awakened. "What is it preacher? Who’s at the door?" She asked.

"We have company Angel." He said.

"Wait; don’t turn the lights on yet!" She said, scrambling in the darkness to find a t-shirt.

"Okay, I’m decent now!" She said. Joey chuckled.

The lights went on. Shayera squinted. "Tim, Cassandra? It must be quite the emergency for the two of you to show up at this time of night!" She said.

"You could say that" Robin said. "Batman and Wonder Woman are getting Dick and Kori, we’ll all converge here."

Joey ran a hand through his messy hair. "What’s going on Tim?" He asked.

"Look like bastard McIntyre print bunch of lies in trashy News Paper!" Batgirl said.

"Not him again," Shayera said. "I knew I should have thrown him overboard along with his cameras!"

Joey realised he was standing in front of them in his underwear. "Er, I apologise for my appearance …" He said, also slipping on a t-shirt.

"Don’t worry about it bro!" Robin said, repressing a chuckle.

Batgirl could not resist. "Oh, big brother, Shayera, there is good news too: Timmy my boyfriend now!" She said.

Robin blushed.

"Congratulations to the two of you!" Joey said, giving both Robin and Batgirl a hug.

"Yes," Shayera said, "That’s wonderful news!" She got up and gave them each a hug too.

"Bruce said not to worry: McIntyre and the Clarion are going to get theirs. He’s suing them for libel." Robin said.

"I need some coffee." Joey said.

"So do I preacher!" Shayera said, kissing him on the cheek.

They heard another knock at the door. Joey let Batman, Wonder Woman, Dick and Kori in.

"I take it you all heard the news, no pun intended?" Dick asked.

"The main lines anyway," Joey said, with a yawn. "Who else needs coffee?"

Shayera, Dick, Kori, and even Robin raised their hands.

Joey chuckled. He picked up the cabin’s phone. "Hello, room service? Two large pots of coffee, sugar, cream, skim milk and sweetener with enough cups for a party of eight. Just call it an impromptu business meeting that we cannot reschedule. Thank you."

Joey sat down on the bed next to Shayera, Batgirl and Robin sat on the edge of the bed; Dick and Kori squeezed into the small Loveseat near the window, while Wonder Woman sat on one of the chairs. Batman elected to sit on the edge of the desk, and activated his communicator.

"Batman to Oracle, we’ve located our friends and are briefing them. Yes, we will proceed with the lawsuit, but take some rest: my attorney will not be available until business hours anyway. We just needed to advise our friends before they read the headlines. Yes, thanks Barb, Batman out."

"It’s that bad huh?" Shayera asked.

Wonder Woman nodded "You could say that my sister: he described Dick as a ruthless pragmatist trying to buy Kori’s love and who hired Joey’s services as his personal bodyguard to intimidate the press. He described Kori as a gold digger after Dick’s money and you, Shayera, as an out of control female bodybuilder." Wonder Woman said, looking disgusted.

Joey shook his head, chuckling.

"There he goes again laughing!" Shayera said, with her arms crossed. "What pray tell do you find so funny?"

"I’m very tired, need coffee and am getting a nasty headache from caffeine deprivation." Joey said. "But right now, the only thought going through my mind is "If that rat-faced scribbler only knew the truth about Dick Grayson, Kori Anders, Shy – Sheryl Hull and Joey Lucas, he’d pop a gasket! He’s just so far off base!"

Dick chuckled along "Yes, I do see the humour in this! Here’s that poor sap, spewing out his conspiracy theories, painting us a certain way … yet he hasn’t a clue of who we truly are!"

"All we wanted was some privacy, now it has boiled down to this." Kori said, shaking her head. "Thankfully our identities are safe, but what Mr. McIntyre did is still wrong."

"I’d like to have a word with him, face to face, confront him." Batman said.

There was another knock at the door. Joey answered the door, tipped the Bus boy and wheeled in the dolly with the coffee, cups, milk, cream, sugar and sweeteners himself, closing the door behind him.

They helped themselves to coffee. "Honestly, I wish we could all confront him." Kori said.

"I’d like that too," Shayera said, nodding her head, "But can you imagine his reaction if we did? He’s already crying bloody murder that we’re impeaching the freedom of the press!"

"I’m sure Kal and Lois would have something to say about that!" Wonder Woman said.

Robin put his coffee cup down. "Joey, did you bring your Reverend Justice Suit ‘just in case’?"

Joey gave Robin a curious glance. "Yes, and Shayera brought her Hawkgirl suit too, what’s on your mind?" He said.

Shayera gave him a gentle punch in the arm. Joey turned to her with a puzzled expression.

"You called me Shayera, you were supposed to call me Sheryl for the duration of the cruise!" Shayera said, with a grin. She then gave him a quick kiss.

Batgirl, Wonder Woman and Kori giggled. Robin continued:

"I could hook up a receiver to your cabin’s TV set, tuned in to the frequency of your mask’s micro cam. We can all witness the confrontation from your TV set." Robin said.

Batgirl gave him an admiring look, giving his gloved hand a gentle squeeze.

Dick nodded, "Batman could convey to our friend McIntyre that his constant prying could have serious repercussions that could cost him his job." Dick said.

"Speaking of jobs," Joey said, looking worried, "Dick’s cover with the Blüdhaven Police could be severely compromised by that article. To the rest of the police force he’s supposed to be an underpaid cop; all of a sudden he’s a millionaire playboy."

Batman nodded "Now you all know why I’ve reacted so harshly when Robin told me of the headlines." He said.

That realization made everyone in the cabin look quite morose.

"Time for a change in wardrobe I guess…" Joey got up and grabbed the suitcase containing his suit, and then went to the bathroom to change.

"How much time hooking up that receiver to the TV Robin?" Shayera asked.

"Five minutes tops." Robin said, and got to work.

Joey slipped on the Kevlar suit, mumbling "Even on vacation I can’t leave you behind can I?" He noticed his stubble and shaved. He splashed on some after-shave and came out of the bathroom, putting mask and hat on.

"Missed a spot of shaving cream there, preacher!" Shayera said with a smile, wiping off the shaving cream near Joey’s ear with her fingers, and then kissing his clean-shaven face.

He smiled back at her. He then looked at Batman

"I’d better let you do the talking, I can’t think right now." Reverend Justice said. Batman nodded.

"Do you have your communicator on RJ?" Batman asked.

"Sure do." Reverend Justice replied.

"Now if we only knew where our paparazzo’s cabin is …," Batman said.

"The Captain’s second in command let it slip in front of us that Mr. McIntyre’s cabin is on the lower deck, cabin 240." Kori said.

"The receiver’s ready," Robin said, "Try your micro cam Rev?"

Reverend Justice activated the micro cam in his mask, while looking at Robin. Robin was on the cabin’s television screen.

"Good work little brother; you’re a TV star now!" Reverend Justice said. Robin tweaked the volume as the TV speakers fed back.

Batman nodded. "Batman to Watchtower 1, are you still there Kent?" Batman said.

"Don’t call me Kent while I’m on duty!" Superman’s voice said. "How can I help you Batman?"

Batman grinned. "Could you get a lock on myself and Reverend Justice and transport us to the lower passenger deck? We need to have a chat with our favourite paparazzi." He said.

"Sure can. Jimmy McIntyre has been a black eye to journalism for much too long, it will be a pleasure to see him and the entire Clarion staff fry; transporting the both of you … now." Superman said.

They materialized a few doors from McIntyre’s cabin. "Thanks again Superman," Batman said. They walked up to door 240.

"Door’s ajar." Batman remarked.

Noticing the footprint near the lock, Reverend Justice added, "Forced entry …"

On the TV, Dick, Kori, Robin, Batgirl, Shayera and Wonder Woman heard Batman say:

"Be on your guards, whoever did this might still be in there", and saw the picture bobbing up and down as Reverend Justice nodded.

"We should tell Joey not to move his head so abruptly, he’s making me dizzy!" Shayera said, with a smirk. Wonder Woman, Batgirl and Kori giggled while Robin and Dick exchanged a smirk.

Batman and Reverend Justice carefully entered McIntyre’s room. It was a shambles. James McIntyre himself was sitting on the edge of his bed, holding an ice pack against his jaw and a bottle of Scotch in the other.

"More muscle?" He said without even looking at his visitors. "Too late, my notes are gone: my Laptop, pocket recorder, written notes … and my job." He took another sip from the Scotch bottle.

He then turned and recognised Batman and Reverend Justice. "You’re both a good two or three hours late. My boss’ goons were here on his behalf demanding some celebrity dirt. I tried to tell them I had nothing concrete: both cameras deep under water, a few hair-brained theories … I asked for more time. I was hoping to break Grayson down for an interview, to add meat to my story …no such luck." McIntyre said, taking another sip.

"Are you saying the article the Clarion just printed about the Grayson party …," Batman said.

"You mean they actually ran that slop?" McIntyre said, rolling his eyes. "Then again, no big surprise here. The chief editor is bent on sensationalism, who cares if the facts are accurate or not." He took another sip of Scotch.

"So you were harassing the Grayson and Lucas parties because…" Reverend Justice said.

"Because as you can both plainly see, my former boss has a flair for playing hardball, he busts knee caps as a hobby. The pressure is on us journalists to uncover more dirt, more sensationalism, and the filthier the better. Since they ran my personal theories and side-notes as a factual article, you can see they aren’t picky what they print." McIntyre said.

"If you’re willing to cooperate with us, we can provide you with protection; we can even talk the Grayson party into dropping the libel lawsuit against you if you agree to testify against the Clarion. Our associate Bruce Wayne was not amused by the headlines and is suing the entire editorial staff." Batman said. "If you play ball, he might even find you employment with Wayne Media."

"You’re serious? After all I’ve done you’re actually cutting me a break?" McIntyre asked.

"Brother Batman never jokes." Reverend Justice said. "I for one believe in repentance and forgiveness. Just don’t blow it."

McIntyre nodded, putting down the Scotch bottle. "Where do we go?" He asked.

"Batman to Watchtower 1 do you copy?" Batman said.

"Watchtower 1 here Batman, need my help again?" Superman said, with a snicker.

"Certainly do: I have a key witness here needing protective custody, standing about three feet in front of me; standard security protocol." Batman said.

"Affirmative on that Batman, I have his coordinates, transporting him now." Superman said.

McIntyre vanished from thin air as he transported to the Watchtower.

"Thanks Superman, could you return us to our previous coordinates?" Batman asked.

"Can do my friend, returning you to previous coordinates…now; Superman out". Superman said.

They materialised back in Joey and Shayera’s cabin.

Reverend Justice took off his mask and hat and looked at Batman.

"Standard security protocol?" He asked.

"Just a little enhancement we made to the transports for those times when unauthorised personnel are taken to the Watchtower. Any unauthorised weapons or equipment such as bugs, trackers, and micro cam of non Justice League approved origins are not transported along with our guest." Batman said.

"I think we’ve taken enough of our friends’ vacation time," Wonder Woman said. "I do believe we should return to the Invisible Jet before sunrise."

They took their leave. Joey, Shayera, Kori and Dick returned to their vacation, while Batman, Wonder Woman, Batgirl and Robin first went to the Watchtower to dock the Invisible Jet, then transported back to the Bat-Cave.

"It’s late you guys, thank goodness School’s out, you can sleep in." Batman said to Batgirl and Robin. "So no shenanigans out of you two, I don’t want Barb to worry more than necessary."

Batgirl gave him a hurt look while Robin crossed his arms. "Gee Bruce; can I at least kiss her good night?" Robin said.

Wonder Woman giggled uncontrollably. Batman could not repress a grin either.

"Don’t be a wise-guy Tim! Of course, you can kiss her good night, you don’t need my permission!" Batman said, pulling his cowl off. All I meant was you both need your rest, summer vacation or not. I respect your private space, and Barbara is willing to give you that same respect."

Batman looked at them both, an uncharacteristic paternal expression on his face. "Barb and I have faith in you both; don’t let us down."

Batgirl blushed, looking down. Robin was speechless, an embarrassed expression on his face.

"Thanks to Diana here, I’ve learned not to turn love away, so I’m not about to tell you both to ignore the feelings you have for one another." Batman said, removing cape and cowl. Wonder Woman looked at him, smiling.

"To paraphrase her, love is a good thing, hard to find in our violent lifestyles. I’ll spare you the ‘you’re still young, don’t rush into anything’ speech; because once again, I have faith in the both of you. You’re both very smart. I believe you can make this work."

"It’s good to see my lessons weren’t lost on you Mr. Wayne!" Wonder Woman said, a teasing expression on her face.

"Now Tim, I do believe it would be appropriate for you to escort your girlfriend back home," She said with a wink, "Wouldn’t you agree Bruce?"

"Hey, as long as they’re careful and don’t give away the location to her secret hideout…" He said, shrugging.

"You’re terrible!" She said, laughing, putting her arms around him. "Must you always be such a killjoy?"

Robin and Batgirl also laughed good-heartedly: seeing Batman and Wonder Woman so much in love … it reinforced their feelings that their own relationship just might work.

Batgirl could not help herself and decided to imitate Wonder Woman: putting her arms around Robin. He looked at her and smiled.

"Well, you heard Wonder Woman, shall we?" Robin said, offering her his arm.

She released his waist and took his arm. "I guess we shall…don’t forget Timmy, you owe me hug and kiss!" She said, with a charming grin.

They walked to their respective motorcycles and drove away.

"Young love," Wonder Woman said, "So sweet, so cute!"

"So driven by raging hormones…" Batman said. Wonder Woman gave him an annoyed look.

"I know Princess, I’m being a killjoy again; and who am I to talk about hormonally influenced behaviour?" He said. Wonder Woman laughed.

"But … it’s only a matter of time until their ‘primal urges’ take over. They are smart kids, but still I am concerned. All I can do is hope that they use protection when the time comes." Batman said, with a resigned shrug.

Wonder Woman held him closer. "You’re a good man Bruce Wayne!" She said. "Now how about we follow your own advice and catch some sleep of our own?"

Batman smiled "That is an absolutely wonderful idea Princess!" He said, putting his right arm around her waist. They detoured by the locker section of the Bat-cave where they changed into their civilian clothes, and then went upstairs to Wayne Manor.

Robin and Batgirl made it to her hideout, unnoticed.

"I guess Barb will be stepping out of that elevator any minute," Robin sighed. "But like Batman said: I can’t ignore my feelings." He pulled his mask off and looked at her, smiling.

She pulled her own mask back, looking deep into his eyes, also smiling. She put her hands on his shoulders.

"Can’t ignore my feelings for you either," Cassandra said, her eyes never leaving his. Tim just looked at her, a dreamy expression on his face.

"Timmy, hug and kiss?" She asked.

"Why must she look so sexy?" Tim thought with a bit of unease. "Kiss away Cass!" He said aloud, putting his arms around her waist.

As they kissed, the elevator doors opened. Barbara was there, sitting in her wheelchair.

"Oops …I’m sorry guys!" She said, "Poor timing: I needed spare CD-R’s…"

"At 3 am?" Robin asked, giving her an incredulous look.

"Trust me Timmy, she’s like Owl!" Cassandra said, giggling.

"Here Tim, could you please give me a hand with that box on the top shelf?" Barbara asked.

"Sure Barb." Tim said, letting go of Cassandra. He took the box of blank CD’s and gently put it on Barbara’s lap. Looking at Tim, she could not help a feeling of déjà vu. Tim and Cass reminded her so much of herself and Dick, so long ago.

In a gesture that surprised both Tim and Cassandra, Barbara held onto Tim’s arm, pulling him a bit closer, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks Tim. You’re a sweet young man. Just promise me you won’t hurt her?" Barbara asked in a low voice, a subtle smile on her lips.

"I promise Barb. It’s not going to happen." Tim said, blushing a little from being put on the spot.

"Now I admit: the falling out between Dick and me was mostly my doing. I bear no ill will towards Kori – in fact, I like her. Still…it kind of hurts me inside." Barbara looked away, trying to repress a few sobs.

Barbara smiled. "Just promise me you’ll both think about each other’s feelings and communicate. If you can do that, you’ll be all right!" Barbara said, as she headed back towards the elevator.

"I’ll leave you two alone." She said, her expression changing to one of slight amusement. "Now don’t stay up too late; it’s early morning already!" She winked at them as the elevator doors closed.

"Do you get the feeling we’re being put on the spot?" Tim asked Cassandra, scratching his head.

"A little… and I don’t care!" Cassandra said, hugging him firmly, startling him.

"Hug and kiss!" Cassandra said again, looking once more into his eyes.

Tim smiled, and put his arms around her. They kissed, long and passionately. They stopped to catch their breath.

"Wow!" Cassandra said; a surprised smile on her face.

"Wow is right! I’m going to have a hard time falling asleep when I get home!" He said.

She giggled, putting her head against his chest, and closed her eyes; revelling in the moment.

She looked up at him and said, "Sleep well boyfriend!"

Tim smiled "Boyfriend…I like that; sleep well girlfriend!" He said.

She blushed, smiled and kissed him again. "See you for dinner?" She asked.

"I’m looking forward to it; in fact, let’s do breakfast instead…whenever it is we wake up!" He said, kissing her one last time before taking his leave.

End of part 3