Hey guys! Thanks to everyone who left a review, I really appreciate the feedback. Now, just in time for Xmas, here's Chapter 8!

Diana sits in the back of the limo and looks over at Bruce. He does not look comfortable. "I promise I won't hit you," Diana tells him.

"Its not that," Bruce tells her, cracking a smile.

"Then what is bothering you?" she asks him.

"Oh, I just hate doing this," he explains. "Especially in front of someone who...knows me."

"Then why do you do it?" she asks.

"It helps keep me and mine safe," he answers.

"Alight, I'll...try and play along," Diana assures him.

"Don't play along too much," Bruce tells her. "This is going to be the first time a lot of the world will see you."

"A lot of the world? How?" Diana asks.

"The paparazzi, your highness," Alfred says from the front seat. "By this time tomorrow your face will be on televisions, computer screens, and newspapers all over the world."

"Well I hope they get my good side," Diana says, sitting back.

The limo eventually pulls into the Gotham Airport and Alfred announces, "Its time."

Before her eyes the man she has gotten to know over the past few days is swallowed up into someone else completely. His eyes loose their sharpness, his shoulders relax, his posture slacks, and his mouth opens into an easy grin. "Shall we?" Bruce asks with a quite different voice, opening up the door, and reaching over to take Diana's hand. Intrigued, the Amazons Princess takes his hand and steps out into the airport and finds herself surrounded by a small army of men and women with cameras.

"Hey guys!" Bruce shouts at them. "Take a good look at her, she's going to be the biggest thing to hit the world since the end of the dinosaurs!" he says, guestering up and down at Diana.

The Princess gives her companion an odd look, but as everyone around her start pointing her cameras at her, Diana simply shrugs then smiles and waves. After a few seconds of pandering Bruce wraps an arm around her waist and leads her forward. Fighting down the butterflies rising in her stomach at his touch, Diana simply removes his arm from her back, and instead holds his hand as they walk.

"You are doing well Princess," Bruce tell her somehow without moving his lips or dropping his act.

"Lets just get to the plane," Diana answers. "It a bit creepy seeing you smile like that."

After a short walk the two get on Bruce's private jet and the billionaire is able to return to his normal personality. "Sorry about that," Bruce tells her.

"It wasn't really that bad," Diana tells him.

"I was toning down, the only place I touched you was on the back," he answers.

"Yeah, I might have hit you on reflex if you had grabbed anywhere else," she tells him.

Bruce pulls out his phone and calls up Clark. "Hey, we're less then an hour away," he tells him.

"I might be a bit late," he answers, as explosions can be heard in the background.

"Anyone we know?" Bruce casually asks, as Diana leans forward interested.

"Brainiac," he answers before hanging up.

"Brainiac?" Diana asks.

"An evil robot from outer space," Bruce answers. "Did you bring your armor?"

The Amazons Princess stands, holds out her arms, and twirls. Then, in a flash of light, Diana is now standing in her armor. Bruce looks impressed. "I didn't bring the mask," she admits.

"From now on, no masks for you," he tells her. Then Bruce looks out the window and presses a button to talk to the pilot and says, "Slow down a bit." Before leading Diana to the door. He presses a hidden button and the door slides open, unleashing a huge wind flow out of the plane, forcing Bruce to hand on to a nearby rail while Diana stands easily. Through the open door Diana looks down and sees a beautiful city with many different skyscrapers, parks, and a huge metallic skull with glowing green eyes and metal tentacles smashing its way through it as a red and blue blur zips around it. Bruce then looks over at her and says, "Have fun."

Diana smiles and tells him, "I'll see you on the ground," before leaping out of the plane. The Amazon angles her fall so that when she hits terminal velocity she is aimed straight at the alien city wrecker. As she falls she sees that the reasons the man in the blue suite and red cape can't get close is because beams of bright white energy keep shooting out of the guns dotted around the giant metal cranium. Those same guns turn on Diana herself, but with a couple of quick moves of her bracelets the blasts are deflected and her speed and trajectory are barely affected. A split second before she reaches her target the Princess flips around so that she hits the machine boots first. The entire thing lurches forward from the impact and the gun closest to her swivels around to let out another blast. Before it can discharge though, Diana grabs it and forcibly points it down, blasting a hole through the bizarre crafts outer armor. A good couple of kicks then open a hole, allowing the Amazon warrior to jump inside.

Within the monster Diana finds an android linked into a hovering control chair. Before her eyes all the wires that connect the robot to the chair retract and "he" stands. The mechanical alien is tall, taller than Bruce, and broad shouldered. It is dressed in a mostly purple body suite with metal plates covering a few large portions of it. Its head is hairless with green "skin", white emotionless eyes, a straight mouth, and three white lights on its forehead.

The creature turns to its intruder and asks, "You are neither Kryptonian nor entirely human. What are you?"

"I am Diana of Themyscira, an Amazon Warrior!" she answers.

"Fascinating. I must remember to fully dissect and scan your corpse," Brainiac tells her before point a closed metal fist at her and firing another bright white bolt from it at her.

Like the last several, Diana deflects that as well, and continues to do so as she approaches her enemy. To her surprise though, when she is about half way to him Brainiac shoots forth his entire hand on a cord that grabs her around the throat and starts emitting a tremendous amount of electricity as it chokes her.

Right before she blacks out a blast of heat vision severs the arm and the man in the red cape flies down and tackles Brainiac, throwing him against the wall, pinning his remaining arm, and pulling back his own free hand to punch the robot menace in the face. "You shouldn't hit a lady BraniAAACC!" the hero's line turns into a yell of pain as a disguised chest canon blasts him away.

"My apologies Kal El," the robot says before pelting the down hero with more blasts of bright white energy. "Forgive my lack of manners."

Brainiac's attack stops abruptly as he notices the Lasso of Truth wrapped around his mid section. He looks over to see Diana smile ruefully at him before she yanks on the golden cord and spins him around his war machines cockpit, before slamming him into and through a wall.

When he lands on the street bellow Diana is right behind, pouncing on his chest (crushing the cannon) and repeatedly slamming super strong punches into his head. As metal bits fly off between the hammer blows, all the cords that connected the robot into his command chair fly out and ensnare Diana. With her entangled Brainiac raises his remaining arm to fire at her head point blank, but before he can make the shot (one that in her current state Diana would not be able to deflect) a blast of heat vision destroys his fist.

Whats left of Brainiac's head turns to the side to see that Kal El, smoking yet relatively unharmed, float out of the ruined war machine. Before the alien villain can even begin to think of a new set of probabilities to get him out of this position, Diana shouts out, "Hera! Give me strength!" before ripping herself out of the mechanical bounds. Then she rips off Brainiacs arm and uses it as an impromptu club to flatten his head.

By the time Diana is satisfied with her work and stands, a crowd has gathered to cheer for the two heroes and their victory. "Thanks for the help," the caped man says, as he walks up to the Amazon Princess.

"The same to you," Diana says, gesturing with whats left of Brainiac's appendage, before realizing what it is and dropping it on the ground with the rest of his scrap. "I am Diana of Themyscira, if I heard right your name is Kal EL," she says, reaching her hand forward.

"Yeah well, most people call me Superman," the Man of Steel answers, taking her hand and shaking it.

"Good to know, Kal," Diana tells him with a friendly grin.

As the two get acquainted reporters and camera crews show up and begin shouting requests of interviews. "More paparazzi," Diana notes.

"No no, those are legitimate News People," Superman corrects. "Well mostly," he adds when he sees a van with the letter written on the side.

"Hmm. Well if its all the same to them, I'm supposed to be meeting someone at the airport," Diana tells him. "Can you give me directions?"

"I can do better then that," Superman tells her, taking her hand and carrying her off into the sky.

The two land on the runway just in time to meet Bruce as he walks off his jet. "So my dear, how are you finding the city?" he asks, now fully back into his "Bruce Wayne" mode.

"Fun activities, good people to meet, wonderfully varied rooftops...so far I'm enjoying Metropolis," Diana answers with a grin.

"Hello again Mr. Wayne," Superman says with a smile.

"Hello Mr. Superman," Bruce says, shaking his hand. "Still doing your thing and keeping it safe for the rest of us to enjoy ourselves?"

Superman nods and asks, "So you already know Diana?" .

"Oh yes, its quite a story. I'd tell it to you now, but I'm afraid I've already promised it to my buddy Clark from the Daily Planet," the foppish socialite answers. "We are just on our way to him now."

"Well then I won't keep you," Superman tells them. "Nice seeing you again Mr. Wayne, and nice to meet you Diana," he tells the two before flying back into the sky.

"Until we meet again, Kal!" Diana calls after him.

"Kal?" Bruce asks, curiously and with his true voice.

"That is his name is it not?" Diana asks.

Bruce grins in understanding. "One of them," he answers.

Diana twirls back into her civilian clothes before Bruce takes her hand and begins leading her to the car. "So who are we seeing again?" she asks.

"Clark Kent, one of the star Investigative Reporters from my Daily Planet World News Network," he answers.

"Investigative Reporter?" Diana asks.

"His job is to find the truth and tell it to the world," Bruce explains.

"That sounds like an excellent profession," Diana says as they reach the car. "What can you tell me of the man himself? What's he like?"

Bruce opens the door for her and smirks. "I think you'll find him oddly familiar."

TBC. Reviews are always welcome, and appreciated!