Diana continues taking on the turmoil that runs rampant through Gotham after the sun sets.

Chapter 11: To Save a Life

"I'm sure it's just a coincidence honey." Martha tried to pass off. "I wouldn't let it trouble you any longer, but you should speak to Diana. You don't want such a lovely young woman to possibly think that she was the cause of your actions this evening."

"I'll make it up to her." Bruce stated as he glanced at his watch to see the time. It wouldn't be long before Diana made her exit and headed back out into the city again. He'd meet up with her after she returned. He had some more things to work out. Even though his mother seemed to believe the doctor's words were more of a mere coincidence to their savior's years ago, Bruce just felt that he needed to look into that more in an attempt to try and ease his mind. He just couldn't stop the thought from eating away at him that there was more than just a coincidence. He believed that coincidences were more than likely not real, but rather just a sign that something simply required more research in order to uncover what actually caused the coincidence to occur.

"Alright Bruce, but just remember not to keep a woman waiting for too long." Martha said as she turned to leave the room and allow her son to think over what she had to say. He always seemed to work through what information she had to provide him if she left Bruce to think things through on his own. This was something that her husband struggled with. Thomas always wanted to keep working through until a resolution was discovered. Bruce simply didn't work that way. He needed his isolation to work through everything he had at his disposal. So she'd made a habit of getting out what she had to share with Bruce and then leaving promptly after, and she found that it worked wonderfully well. Bruce also seemed to be more open to discussing certain things with her over anyone else, and she chalked it up to their established line of communication.

Bruce waited until his mother left the room before he grabbed a towel and walked out as well. He went straight to his room to grab a quick shower, and spent some time in there looking down watching as the water trailed off his body to the drain. He noticed that it was tinged with a pink hue from the blood that washed off of his knuckles. There was also a small stinging sensation, but nothing that he couldn't tolerate with no more than a small wince revealed through his facial expression. Eventually though the water cleared and he finally moved on to washing his body before he shut off the water and stepped out. He quickly got dressed and glanced out of his bedroom window to see that the sun had already set on the day. He'd definitely missed on any chance to reach out to Diana, but he decided that he'd just try to catch her in the morning. He had some other things to attend to in the meantime.

Diana didn't spend much more time staring into the grandfather clock after Bruce's father had left her. She found that she was even more conflicted about what to do regarding Bruce than before. Thomas' words to her had increased the number of possibilities that could have been the reasoning behind Bruce's isolation instead of helping to resolve it. She returned to her room and waited there for the sun to set so that she could once again escape into the night sky without the concern of detection. She hoped that Bruce would choose to open up by then. His father had said that given enough time to work through what ever happened to be bothering him, that he'd then willingly discuss it more openly. She still though couldn't help the thought from her memories of the old Bruce would shining through where he'd simply bottle everything up and grow cold or distant, choosing instead to never bring up anything that had to do with emotions.

As the sun did finally disappear behind the landscape, Diana became slightly disappointed that Bruce hadn't seemed to come out of his self imposed isolation, but she wasn't totally surprised by it either. She was beginning to separate the differences and similarities between this Bruce and the one she knew as Batman in her mind. There seemed to be more and more in common than there was not with him. Still though she knew that she needed to stop fretting over whatever it was that had been bothering Bruce. She had a mission to complete and also a city that needed help from the deep darkness that it had slipped into. Her hope was that in being here to protect such a violent city, eventually the time traveler would reveal himself to save another life, and she would be there to catch him. Bruce would just have to figure out what was wrong on his own and come to her when he had. So having pushed him from her thoughts, she stepped out onto the balcony of her room and took flight looking to find and put a stop any trouble that she came across.

As Diana reached the outskirts of Gotham, she quickly noticed that the city was even more lively than it had been when she first arrived. It was as though the criminal element was rebelling against what good she was trying to do for the city. She found herself wondering if Kal saw the same thing when he'd tried to become the city's savior. It would have to be disheartening to see that the crime rate and violence increased, but she believed that the increase would only be temporary if the champion of the city chose to stay the course.

~~ Movie Theatre Exit ~~

John was walking out of the theatre with his sister. It was an enjoyable movie, and brought with it fond memories of going to the movies with his sister as they grew up. This time though there was a subtle difference. Sarah seemed to be apprehensive to going at first, stating how she wanted to go but questioned the time of day. She for some reason didn't want to be out so late at night, but John disregarded that as just paranoia. He had so many memories of all the good times they'd had that he believed this would be no different, and after leaving the theatre he felt that he'd been vindicated. "See sis, I told you we'd be fine." He gloated.

"Maybe this time John, but you haven't been around much to see how dangerous the streets get at night now." Sarah countered. "Let's just get to the car before something happens."

Sarah began to quicken her pace as her paranoia was showing through as more fear than anything else. John wondered what had changed to make things so bad in Gotham. He remembered that while it had parts of town that were dangerous to be in at night, the majority of it was actually relatively safe to be out in. He'd have to check to see what was different from his memory to this reality. Whatever it was, he was certain that he could go back and resolve the issue. Perhaps he could even make things better than they were from what he recalled of the city. Perhaps this was his calling now. He could go back and sabotage major crimes from happening. No, he thought shaking his head. If he wasn't careful then he could get himself into trouble or even killed. Besides, he could see the tagging on the sides of buildings throughout the city paying homage to the Joker. It was a safe bet that his followers would travel in groups, and he couldn't beat groups on his own. Instead he'd heed his sister's warning, and began looking around for any possible trouble that could stop them from reaching their car safely.

There were a few unsavory characters spotted by alleys and street corners, but they were easy enough to avoid. He figured they were either pimps or whores looking for any willing takers to earn them a quick buck, but it still wasn't worth the risk. He zigzagged with his sister until they eventually reached the car and climbed inside. Once the car was started and in gear with the doors locked, his sister seemed to calm down a little bit. "Since we're safe now sis…" He began. "Tell me what's happened that I've missed. Why is the city getting worse instead of at least staying the same as it was when we were kids?"

"Well, while you've been off searching the world for astounding discoveries it's just been more of the same, but more often." Sarah explained. "Government officials are either corrupt, too scared to do anything, or both. Any of them that have been brave enough to try and do some good have ended up disappearing and turning up face down in the bay."

"What about the police?" John continued to probe for information. "And the vigilantes?"

"Vigilantes?" Sarah questioned. "There was a rumor about one guy, but it didn't last very long. And besides that, how can one person make a difference in Gotham of all places? Anyone that took the law into their own hands would just have a bulls eye plastered all over them by the supposed police force. They're just as bad as the government officials. The only ones that try to make a difference it seems are the Wayne family, but they have to pay for a small army to protect themselves at the same time, and let's face it. There's only so much that throwing money at a problem can do."

John was confused now. There was a Joker, but no word on the infamous Batman stalking throughout the city to protect the innocent. Where was he and more importantly why did he give up if the rumor Sarah mentioned was true and the vigilante disappeared? Perhaps he'd been caught and killed. If that was the case then John needed to find out so that he could go back and save Batman from his own demise. John knew that the corruption in the city subsided the longer that Batman was making his presence felt, and apparently this city needed that kick to jumpstart the city into becoming safer. Saving one man was something that John was capable of, and he knew now who his next target should be. He needed to save Batman.

~~ West End ~~

Diana was flying through the air just above the rooftops. It'd been a busy night already and it was just past midnight. She still had a few more hours to go before she'd call it a night. So far she'd stopped ten random mugging attempts, twelve car jacking attempts, and also a handful of attempted rapes. At the moment she was following a group of characters that she believed were mob hands of some type. There were eight of them altogether, and that was enough to grab her attention. She watched as they broke into a warehouse, and seemed to be on edge. All of them had their guns drawn before they opened the door and made their way inside. She then changed her focus on finding a way to enter the building undetected so that she could see just what it was that they were up to before she sent them to their own personal hospital stays for a few months in body casts. With all eight off the streets that would put a nice dent in the increased crime rate. Perhaps she could coerce them into giving up their bosses too.

Flying over to the building rooftop, Diana circled around twice looking for an optimal entrance before finding a window that she could easily bust the lock on. With a not so gentle tug upward, she managed to pop the lock and opened the window, touching down onto the floor of the room with the grace of a ballerina, making virtually no sound at all. She took in her surroundings quickly and began to search for where it was that the mobsters were at. It was then that she could make out the sounds of voices talking back and forth. They were just quiet enough to prevent her from making out what was actually being said, but she knew where the voices were coming from in the building, and she also could hear one distinct voice that caused her blood to boil. The Joker was there in that very same building, but why? She'd reviewed details of how Gotham's underbelly functioned and the mobsters all hated the Joker. He constantly stole from them and murdered whoever from the mob happened to cross his path. She needed to find out just what was going on, and so with as much stealth as Athena had granted her, she crept closer to the voices so that she could make out what was being said.

"Why would we want to do anything like that?" One of the mob bosses asked.

"I don't see how that benefits us in the least." Another added. "It's not like you're known for keeping your word anyways. Why should we trust you?"

"Why, history of course Lenny." Joker replied nonchalantly. "Think back to the last time I had something other than you to focus on. How much more were you all able to accomplish with me distracted? Who knows, maybe this one will play along with what I've got planned." The Joker laughed at the mere mention of what he had in store. He'd been so very bored lately with the mob bosses. They were just too driven by greed. "Besides, you know that you'll be targeted too. It's a win-win situation if you ask me. You gain more business freedom, and I get more of a challenge to keep occupied."

"I dunno." Lenny responded. "What guarantees do we get?"

"None." Joker answered quickly as he became scarily serious for a moment before leaning back in his chair and returning to his normal demeanor. "But you already know what it's like when my focus is on you."

Lenny leaned closer to another mob boss and quietly conversed amongst each other for a few moments, but it didn't take long before their secret conversation began to grind against the Joker's patience. His growing ire soon became plainly evident on his facial features as he leaned forward in his seat once again with his hands tightly gripping the ends of each armrest. Noticing the change in his demeanor, Lenny put a quick end to his quiet conversation and gave the Joker his full attention once again. "No deal Joker." He said as he slowly began to back peddle. "You've burned us in the past too many times. We'll take the devil that we know instead."

The Joker stood with a menacing and icy stare from hearing of his offer being refused, but just as quickly the look was replaced with one of smiling indifference. He turned slightly away from the mob bosses seemingly looking at a blank wall off to the side as he began to chuckle. "Well I suppose if you see it that way, then I'll just have give you my surprise as a counter offer." The Joker began cackling madly. What the mobsters didn't realize though was that while he was laughing, he also reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a handheld gas mask and a remote. He pressed a button, and a greenish gas began to emit from the air ducts. A large group of Joker's men also appeared and surrounded the mobsters with assault rifles pointed at them. "Speaking of the devil…" The Joker spouted. "Tell the big guy that I said hello."

"I don't think so." Came a female voice from up above.

Joker smiled under the gas mask as he realized right away that he'd managed to gain this new hero's attention. It was a little sooner than he'd expected, but he'd had high hopes that she'd show, and after creating the poisonous gas that he was now subjecting to his selected lab rats, he was anxious to see just what this hero was capable of. Diana floated down from her perch and landed before the Joker, ready to attack. "Shut down the gas." She demanded before she lunged for the clown.

The Joker was ready for a full frontal assault as he chucked the remote device straight down where it shattered into pieces after connecting with the concrete floor. He laughed when he saw the somewhat scantily clad hero's eyes widen upon witnessing the repercussions of his actions. "Whoopsie!" Joker taunted. "Clumsy me. Now there's no way to stop my new concoction from filling the room. I'm curious though…Will you save the lives of the mob, or stop me?"

"Both." Diana defiantly said before hearing the sound of guns being cocked and aimed. She glanced back to see that some of the Joker's men were holding more than mobsters prisoner now. She growled as her eyes snapped back to the demented clown that was being held in the air by his lapels.

"Mobsters might not mean much to you, but what about some innocent kiddies?" Joker continued to taunt. "Stop the clown or save the kids? Which is it going to be sweet cheeks?"

Diana was almost snarling at the clown as she set him down before releasing his jacket. She wasted little time in going straight for the bound children that the Joker had obviously captured as a get out of jail card. His men all backed off as she approached and grabbed hold of some of the children. She flew them out of the building quickly, but while she was gone, she couldn't help but to hear the sound of gunfire before she could get back inside. She flew in immediately and found the rest of the children were unharmed, but the mobsters weren't so lucky. All eight of them had received gunshots to their legs, and the gas was continuing to pour in.

Diana grabbed the remaining children and two of the mobsters by their feet, dragging them to safety before heading back in to get the rest of the mobsters out. They may have been scum, but whatever poison the Joker had in store for them wasn't a fair end for anyone. She knew from her limited time facing the clown that he'd find the most cruel and torturous means of taking someone's life for his own entertainment just as much as he was trying to get under Batman's skin to make him break his one rule.

Once all of the children and mobsters were safe from the harm of the Joker's gas, Diana bound up the mobsters and had the children go after the police. They needed to know about what the Joker had done to the building's air system so that they could be prepared for whatever plans the clown had in store for the city. She had no choice but to wait for the police, and that would in turn reveal that there was indeed a vigilante in Gotham. She only hoped that the authorities would look more favorably compared to what she'd witnessed in before in Metropolis.

When the police did finally arrive, they begrudgingly called for an ambulance to check on all of the men and children that had been for lack of a better term held hostage. Some of them were still startled while others were coughing every so often. The police seemed determined to bring Diana in for questioning until one of the mob bosses stepped in and interrupted their attempt to handcuff her. It was clear that he was a major player as the officers quickly recanted and let Diana go. She wasn't happy that a mobster had been the cause of her getting out of being arrested, but chose to remain silent so as to not draw the officer's ire. Even though she could easily break free from being incarcerated, she wouldn't make any attempt because of how Meta's were viewed in this timeline. She refused to allow fear to rise up based upon her actions.

Diana gave her account of what'd happened in the warehouse, and finally received a small sliver of satisfaction from the officers when they immediately radioed in to report the Joker being active. The dispatcher relayed the message and soon sirens could be heard all over the city. The police may be useless when it came to the mob, but at least they seemed to have an interest in bringing the Joker into custody. They also eventually called in for a HasMat team to come in and clear the building of the Joker's poisonous gas. Soon the police had all the statements gathered, and the group of people involved slowly began to disperse back into the night. Diana followed suit, but not to go home. She still had a clown to track down before his trail went cold, and mother nature didn't seem to be in a very helpful mood on this night as a crack of thunder followed a spider web-like jolt of lightning piercing through the sky.

A few blocks away the Joker was slithering around in the shadows. He could hear the sirens from every direction as he began to make his way back to a more secure and safe location. He'd met the new vigilante of Gotham. An underdressed female that from what little he'd witnessed held some forms of superhuman capabilities. He was mentally jotting down everything that he knew about this one as he ducked behind a dumpster. This female could fly, and from the beating that his goons had received at the airport parking garage, she was very likely to be inhumanly fast as well as strong. From the heated look that he received from her upon the realization that she had to let him go, he figured that she was much more prone to violence than the quitter he'd gone up against before. He believed based on his own two eyes that this one was going to be much more fun to break. All he needed was a plan to bring her in and torment her into crossing the line.

First though, the Joker had to evade both the new hero and the police. From the sound of all the sirens it was a safe bet that the mob had placed a reward on his head and informed the police that he'd attacked some of their leaders. Swine. They obviously didn't know who they were dealing with if they thought bringing him in would do anything but slow him down for a few days. And when he did get out, there'd be hell to play. Tonight was just a gag compared to what he'd do to the mobsters that crossed his path if he did become captured. Besides, he wanted to see the fruits of his labor from the little present he'd set up, and that meant he needed to get out of there. Rain was beginning to fall, and that would certainly help him in keeping attention away. Especially with how hard it was beginning to come down.

Joker turned a corner and found another spot to move on to. He was becoming frustrated though at how little progress he actually was making. It took nearly twenty minutes of dodging and evading the onslaught of police officers that were littering the streets. Every move he made had to be cautious and calculated. The rain was providing cover for him, but it also was a detriment to his own vision with how hard the rain continued to pelt and pummel the streets of Gotham. What he needed was an inconspicuous ride to get him home, and perhaps a driver to chauffeur him as well.

As if the stars were aligning for him and him alone, the Joker saw his opportunity coming to a stop at a traffic light. He wasted little time in walking out in front of his new wheels before pulling out a gun and pointing it squarely at the driver before changing his aim to the female passenger.

~~ A few minutes earlier ~~

Stupid detours John thought to himself. The roads were all open when he'd headed toward the movie theatre earlier that evening. He wondered why they'd been closed down at this late hour after being open all day. He couldn't see any signs of an accident from where he was stopped by police tape that was strung across the street by two light poles. The downpour wasn't helping him see where he was going either as he'd made a left turn into unfamiliar territory, hoping that he could go a few blocks and turn back onto the main road. His hopes were summarily dashed though as there seemed to only be alleys and roads that went in the opposite direction than he wanted to go. Finally he came across another left turn that would take him back in the direction he wanted to head. It was a small side street lined with some old businesses. Eventually the road came to a dead end with a traffic light signaling to stop. When he pulled up to the light, he was relieved to find that it was a familiar road, and he didn't see anything blocking him from the direction that he wanted to go until he looked back up to the front of the car and saw a man standing directly in front of it. Slowly the man raised his arm to reveal a gun in his hand, and it was pointed directly at his sister in the passenger seat.

"I was beginning to wonder when my taxi was going to show up." The Joker called out with a laugh as he held the gun as close as he could to the windshield until he made his way around to the passenger door, breaking the side window with a well placed elbow. "Oops, already have a fare I see. Eh well toots, looks like your ride ends here."

"No." John called out as he opened his car door to get out. "I'm not leaving my sister here on her own."

The Joker reached in and yanked Sarah from the car before putting the barrel of the gun to her head. She screamed for a moment before he covered her mouth with his free hand. "Not another word from you." He said before returning his attention squarely to John. "And as for you…." He paused for a moment at the sound of sirens approaching. He didn't have time for this, and he needed to make sure that this ignorant buffoon didn't bother with him taking the car. As a thought came to him, he bared his yellow stained teeth in a wicked smile.

John had a look of sheer terror on his face as he started to race around the front of his car, but no amount of speed could do anything as the sick demented clown pulled the trigger. Blood splattered everywhere mixed with the raindrops as his beloved sister fell to the ground. It was almost like seeing her fall in slow motion. He dropped to the ground next to Sarah and cradled her head in his hands and hot tears began to trail down his face. There was no sign of life at all from her as he desperately pleaded for her to stay with him. This was ten times worse than when he lost her as a child, and again it was his fault. It was his idea to take her out to the movies despite her concerns. He'd thought that making it to the car without issue meant that she'd been overreacting, but she was right. He didn't know what to do as he stroked her blood and rain soaked hair and began to rock back and forth while shaking like a mad man.

John didn't even realize that his car was gone until he heard the clicking and splashing of someone's feet behind him. "By the Gods." Diana gasped out as she knelt down to check the young woman's vitals. Finding no signs of life, she then turned her attention to the man that was still clutching the victim. "I'm so sorry for your loss. Are you injured?"

John shook his head to indicate that he wasn't harmed, at least not physically. Mentally though was another story all together. He didn't go back in time to save his sister only to see her life end far too early and too tragically. Slowly he laid his sister's body back down onto the rain drenched pavement before climbing to his feet. Diana stood along with the man before her. "Can you tell me who did this?" She asked, searching for something that could help her to locate the one responsible for this tragic event. "Who did this to her?"

John's arms hung heavily next to his sides as a hollow feeling swarmed over him. He felt numb for a moment as this woman was speaking to him. Not a single word that she spoke registered in his mind as he stared blankly into her eyes until realization struck him about just who it was that was standing before him. She was too late though. His sister was gone and the powerful superhero standing before him was absolutely powerless to do anything to fix it. Anger began to rise up within him. Wonder Woman wasn't a hero at all. None of them were. They only arrived after it was too late to save the next person. There was only one hero here, and he needed to get back so that he could do what all the Wonder Women and Batmen of the world couldn't. He was going to save Sarah again. With his mind made up, he turned in the direction of his parent's house and started walking.

Diana watched as the man walked away from her without so much as a word. Shock was certainly a strange thing. She'd seen it unfortunately many times before, but never had something like this happened before. He'd just left this woman's body there at his feet in the middle of the road. For a moment, she thought she saw anger behind his eyes, but it was only for a brief moment before returning to the blank stare that he'd been holding. She thought about trying to stop him and bring him back, but she didn't feel right to just leave the body lying in the street. Whoever this woman was, she deserved more respect than that, and while the man obviously cared for the woman, he certainly wasn't ready to take that responsibility.

~~ Late morning ~~

Diana woke up once more in the comforting confines of her room inside Wayne Manor. She rolled over to look at the clock and found that she'd slept far longer than she had intended. It was closer to lunch time than breakfast. The night had been trying and long. Especially with the cat now out of the bag that there was a new vigilante in Gotham City. Truth be told she was also surprised that Bruce wasn't waiting on her or already waking her up. It was troubling that he still hadn't spoken to her, and that was something that she intended to rectify very soon. With determination about what she was going to do, she climbed out of her plush bed and made her way to the shower. She also turned on the TV along her way to see if there was anything being reported on GNN as well as to provide some ambient noise as she went for a quick and refreshing shower. Sure enough there was a reporter finishing up on the news report about the warehouse incident and her intervention. She listened halfheartedly as she adjusted the knobs on the shower to get the water temperature just right as another reporter began her story.

While it seems that this beautiful heroine was struggling with the Joker, we have another report that came in from the business district in Gotham. It seems that there's a tandem at work as we've confirmed that an attempted robbery was foiled as well last night around the same time. The well known Genevieve Mortenson of Mortenson Pharmaceuticals came across a hero of her own, but this one was most definitely not a female.

Diana froze in place inside the shower. It couldn't be. She must have been distracted and heard incorrectly, and paid full attention to the reporter's next words.

The victim stated that a man in an armored suit came to her rescue and put a stop to the attempted robbery. The police arrived to find the victim and criminal still at the scene. They took Dennis Meade into custody, where he is now awaiting word on the charges that are being filed later today.

Diana shut off the water and stood there for a moment dumbstruck. She couldn't believe what she'd just heard. She needed to confirm her suspicions, and if they turned out to be accurate, there might be a dead bat by the time she was done with him.