It wasn't the first time Wally was relieved to hear that something wasn't his fault. As much as Bats would have liked to blame him for the system failure that occurred on his monitoring shift, it was clearly a glitch in the system itself. Clearly a mistake on the programmers part, and not the user. That part he definitely didn't voice. Nobody did. It was left particularly un-said. Regardlessly Bats kept shooting him bat-glares from his place before the main console. J'onn and Shayera were at adjacent stations lending him a hand at finding the stray bit of code in the entire system that was wrong. Probably not an easy task in a program as vast as the Watchtower.

Diana, who was still learning how to operate the system stood arms folded off-side. She studied J'onn working, occasionally giving him a sympathetic smile. JL was working the industrial sized coffee machine and Supes stood by him, observing everyone and everything. He could have helped rather then stand around uselessly being a fair programmer in his own right, but the bat-glare always seemed to fall on him each time he opened his mouth to suggest so. GL was just starting to offer up the freshly brewed coffee when the tell-tale teeth-grinding began. Bats was losing his patience. The temperature was already dipping below frigid.

Next, the gloves came off. Literally. Bats stepped back and hopped onto the console of all things, pulling miniscule tools out of his belt. He pulled a metal panel off and tossed it haphazardly behind him that Supes saw fit to catch and set down neatly and began to pull a handful a wires to the forefront. An outstretched hand was all the hint the Big Guy needed for him to hand Bats a smallish briefcase. Moments later a handheld devise was manually wired into the Watchtower with a wickedly victorias 'HA!' from Bats.

"What did you do?" Diana queried, clearly interested.

"The botched code isn't anywhere apparent and searching for it is taking far longer then I have the patience for. I having my Remote-Tower handheld search and repair any anomalies or broken code for me. It'll be a faster process. When all systems are fixed it'll shut down completely and restart."

"So we just have to wait, right?" GL sighed. "How long will it take before we're operational again?"

"A system this colossal? Well... the damaged code still has to be found, and the re-formatting on this scale would..."

"Bruce?" Supes quirked a brow.

Bats groaned and grimaced. "A while. A long while."

Supes chuckled and handed Bats a tall mug of black coffee. It was as clear a reply as if he had spoken. Everyone stood back and collectively sighed. They would have to settle in until the Watchtower was operational again. Nothing to do until then. Even the javelins would be useless without the navigational specs received from the Tower. They had nothing but minimal power. Air, heating, and electricity. Not even a window to the outside.

***

They each had their own room so to speak on the Tower but somehow the League had ended up together in a small habitat on the same level as the main com room. Bruce must have had it built with everyone else in mind, because there wasn't a hint of Batman's utilitarian touch.

His old friend likely never thought he would ever find himself in here. Clark couldn't help but smile as he watched Bruce study the casual atmosphere with apprehension. They had decided to change out of their uniforms since there wasn't going to be any working going on for a 'long while', and clearly Bruce was feeling uncomfortable in both his regular clothes and this space.

Wally buzzed around the kitchenette at hyperspeed, preparing heaping amounts of food and drinks. Clark thought it was a good idea to stay out of the kids way so he claimed a spot at the end of a firm but comfortable couch across from a wide, flat screen and separated by a low rectangular table. The whole setup seemed reminiscent of his first bachelor apartment years ago. He didn't see a remote anywhere obvious so he contented himself to listen to the hubris behind him.

Shayera fluttered up to sit on top of the couch, her feet resting by his thigh. J'onn took the single recliner chair stoically after a moment, and John settled down on the opposite end of Clark. He grinned and nudged the Hawk, motioning to John. Shayera flashed him her teeth and changed her spot so that she was next to John instead. John shrugged indifferently, but twisted to sit at an angle that had him turning in her direction. Clark bit back a laugh. There was a bet going on between him and Wally about when those two were going to just give in and get it over with.

"Are you going to stand in the door frame the whole time, Bruce?" Diana's voice carried from behind him. Clark could picture him without even looking. Eyes downcast, discomfort likely painted all over him. "Come on." The Amazon came into sight leading, for lack of a better word, a very shy Dark Knight behind her.

Poor guy. Clark thought. Don't you know how to interact with people without having to pretend being vapid Brucie? Well, he didn't see Bruce going out to the local bar with 'the guys' or having any friends over at the Manor where somebody could accidently find out Gotham's Prince was the notorious Batman. Do you even have any friends? He also wondered, a little shocked. No. No time for friends and pleasantries for the Batman, right? Only the mission. He frowned for a fraction of a second but then turned it into his mega-watt smile. No friends and pleasantries for the Batman maybe, but what about Bruce Wayne? Not Brucie, who had hoards of hanger-ons, but the genuine Bruce Wayne?

"What channels do we get on this thing, Bruce?" He asked, a simple ice-breaker to draw the Knight out of his shell.

"Normally any. Satellite feeds are down with everything else though. You could probably only play any avi, dvd, or bluRay discs." Just that short answer, murmured, and the man before him retreated back into silence.

"So, Movie-Nite at the Watchtower." Wally proclaimed from the kitchenette and sped out of the room in a blink of the eye to return just as quickly. He dumped a pile of dvd's on the table and returned to the kitchenette. Appetizing scents were beginning to drift out of there. "I wasn't too sure what everybody liked, so there's a variety. Mostly comedy. My favorite. Who doesn't like a good laugh, right?"

John reached forward and rifled through the collection. "You like Mel Brooks films, I take it, Wally?" He smiled. "I never got to see Dracula Dead and Loving It. Can we watch this one?"

Clark pulled out a copy of Robin Hood, Men in Tights and added it to the 'to be watched' pile. "I love that movie."

"Blazing Saddles there?" Shayera asked. John nodded. "That's a classic." It was added promptly.

Surprisingly J'onn reached out and lifted Wrongfully Accused out of the pile. "A one-armed, one-eyed, one-legged man?" He raised a brow. "What is this about?"

"Leslie Nielson." Shayera replied. "It's hilarious. Good pick, J'onn."

"Is this a good one?" Diana asked, holding up Hot Shots.

"Charlie Sheen, Diana. Also a classic." Shayera insisted, as the Leagues apparent movie-buff.

"Did I grab Airplane?" Wally called out.

"Yeah, you did. I'll to add it to the pile, Wally." Clark replied. They had each chosen a solid comedy of their own to marathon while the Watchtower was offline. Clark was glad he hadn't pried the doors open in the hanger bay and took off earlier. Part of being a team should getting to know each other. They would work better together if they formed bonds, he thought. Just as the other dvd's were about to be set aside by John, Shayera piped up once more. Everyone had chosen a movie... but Bruce. The Dark Knight shrugged shyly--that word again--and said nothing. "I don't see you as a comedy type. What do you usually watch?" He asked.

"Nothing. I-I haven't seen a movie since I was a kid."

Not missing a beat Clark motioned to the pile. "Well, no time like the present. Pick one."

Bruce seemed to draw in on himself at the same time as he tentatively reached out and pulled a dvd free. "What is a Spaceball?" He asked so honestly the heavy laughter that followed was a given. He felt a little bad for the blush touching the embarrassed Knight's visage, but not enough to stave his amusement.

"Spaceballs is an extremely funny movie. Good eye, Batman." Shayera wheezed. "Sorry to laugh like that. It's just, you can be pretty adorable when you're out of costume."

"Right." The Knight muttered.

Never been called adorable before? Clark wondered idly. Their team was filled with the inherently kindest people he knew. There really couldn't have been a better group of people to teach the Batman some social skills. So far so good.

Wally chose that moment to set out a spread of food that suited to college-kid feel of the area. Chili-cheese-fries and nachos, steamed hot-dogs, pizza, cans of beer he must have retrieved from his quarters, Vodka mixed lemonade, and kahlua coffee in a large pot. Napkins were placed in a pile, plates too. Utensils were forgotten about. Wally popped in the first movie, John's pick, and made a dive for the empty spot next to Clark. Diana tsked and climbed over him to occupy the area where Shayera had originally sat. Clark spread his legs a little and patted the small spot between them with a mischievous grin.

"You can sit in my lap, Bruce"

"I'll pass, thanks." Bruce said with a quirk of his lip, but still sat between his legs, back up against the couch on the floor where he could stretch out his legs.

Only a touch jilted Clark made sure to bother him for everything on the table at least twice. As expected, watching movies with a crowd turned into a competition of sorts for who could come up with the funniest comment first. In all honesty, Bruce's confused observations won out every time. Clark found himself becoming less engaged in the conversation and more focused on the man below. The lip-twitches and near-smiles at the funny parts that had everyone wiping tears from their eyes. How he obligingly passed up plates of food and drinks but never had any of his own. His eyes followed Bruce out the room mid-way through Blazing Saddles and found him again as he returned minutes later, and again when he left part-way through Hot Shots. To check on the Watchtower repairs. He knew Diana was starting to give him strange looks of her own, but he just couldn't stop observing the Batman in this unfamiliar habitat.

It took seven highly amusing movies to do it, but at last Bruce Wayne caved during his movie-pick, Spaceballs. It started with a barely audible gasp, an involuntary smile, and by the time Dark Helmet starting claiming that he was surrounded by assholes the Justice League were witness to a rumored impossibility. Bruce chuckled, which turned into laughter when Dark Helmet had his men combing the desert, which had him doubled over and gasping for breath by the time Helmet and Col. Sanders decided to find Lonestar by watching their pre-release of Spaceballs. Only then did Clark witness him reach out for a slice of cold pizza and a mug of kahlua. Clark heated the two items with a zap of laser vision the Dark Knight thanked him for by tipping the mug towards him and smiling.

Exhausted, most were yawning by the end of the credits. The Watchtower was still murky, so still running on reserve power. In all likelihood nobody was going home tonight. But a quick look around told him that nobody seemed to mind that. Wally was too sleepy to speed-clean, so Clark did it voluntarily, returning to the now subdued room of heroes. Shayera had moved into John's lap, J'onn seemed content dozing on his chair, Diana seemed to tolerate Wally cuddling up to her leg, and Bruce had stolen his spot to talk to Diana. Clark had no reserves about taking his place on that triangular space between Bruce's thighs. The Dark Knight even accommodated him by shifting to allow him more room.

"I suppose there wouldn't be any blues or jazz exposure on an island like Themyscara." Bruce yawned. "You should expose yourself to the music in America. There's quite a variety, I'm sure you'd like a lot of it."

Diana yawned herself, too tired to even reply.

"We're going to head down, guys. Have a good night. I had fun." Shayera dipped her head and John followed with a raised hand in parting.

Diana dragged herself off the couch and pulled the drowsy Wally with her. "I'm putting the Flash to bed and then I'm resting myself. Fair night, gentlemen."

J'onn, strangest of all, simply smiled a little too knowingly and phased out, his transparent body sinking through the floor and vanishing.

Clark stood, offering a hand to Bruce he was surprised to see taken. He lifted thee Knight up and set him down before him. There was the silence again from earlier that day, but ti didn't feel cold or awkward now. It was an amicable and soothing silence. Bruce stepped around him as if expecting him to follow and he did. Right back into the com room. There on the main console screen was a simple message. Reboot. Y/N. Bruce hit the "Y" and the system began the process.

"Just in time for it to be operational by morning." Clark commented.

For an odd reason Bruce smiled guiltily. "My handheld found and fixed the code while we were watching Hot Shots. If I had rebooted then we could have gone home in about an hour from now."

"You didn't though. How come?"

"I didn't think any of you really wanted to leave. If I had fixed it we would have been running tests and all that instead of watching movies. I thought..."

"You did right, Bruce. We've all been working together for a while but there was still an unease that crept in every now and then. We weren't comfortable with each other personally. I think tonight changed that. And tomorrow morning we'll all share breakfast together, run your tests, and head back. Except Wally. He has a shift to make up."

Bruce laughed quietly. "Strange what can result from an accident." He murmured. He said nothing but Clark knew he felt the change of the air in the Watchtower. The hand he placed on Bruce's shoulder was covered by one of Bruce's own and squeezed.

"You don't just re-format computers you know." Clark yawned.

"I suppose you don't." Bruce replied thoughtfully and gave Clark a look over that he had never seen the Dark Knight give anyone before. "Good night, Kal-El of Krypton."

Clark stood there for a while processing the depth of that last meaningful look. There was a world of possibilities within reach if only he would reach out and take it. Alone in the Watchtower com room he stood as full and proudly as he would in front of a crowd of Metropolis citizens, and whispered silently into the night.

"Good night, Bruce Wayne, Prince of Gotham."