Author's note: Alright... I've hit a speed bump. I know what I've got going on now, I and I know where I want the story to go, but, I'm not completely sure about how I'm going to connect the two points. But then again, that hasn't stopped me yet. Fuck it, I'm just gonna wing it for a little longer. If nothing else, it'll draw the story out a bit, so no complaints here. I'm still really enjoying writing this, and I hope you're enjoying reading.

Batman had returned to his normal routine of scoping out Gotham at night, with Wonder Woman accompanying him. As much as he'd grown to enjoy her company, this proved problematic. With his newfound infamy came an increased need to hide in the shadows. As one can imagine, this did not come easily to Wonder Woman. Her ostentatious armor made it difficult for her to blend in with the darkness. To remedy this problem, Bruce decided to lend her a cape that she could use to conceal her flamboyant outfit.

"How do you fight in this? Doesn't it get in the way when you try move?" She asked, looking at herself in a mirror in the Batcave. The cape wasn't designed for someone with her build; the length was about right, but it sagged over her shoulders. "I think I have a better idea." She said, looking over her shoulder at the case where Batman kept the spare bat-suits.

"No." He said. "Don't even think about. it."

"Why not? The whole point is to avoid being seen. No one will ever know."

"No. And that's the end of it."

A half an hour later, Diana was wearing the old Batgirl costume over her armor. It was a bit tight, as Barbara Gordon hadn't had Diana's Amazonian build, but it fit well enough.

"Maybe you could get Alfred to loosen this a bit tomorrow?"

Batman glared at her. "Don't push your luck."

"Fine then, I'll ask him myself."

They left the Batcave on foot; the Batmobile would attract fat too much attention. Wonder Woman's flight allowed them to move quickly. In what seemed like no time, they were on a factory rooftop in the outskirts of Gotham City. Batman had received tip that a heist was being planned by some high profile criminals, and he didn't want to miss it.

Sure enough, around midnight, the pair spotted a pair of suspicious looking men breaking into the factory. Wonder Woman began to move in to stop them, but Batman stuck an arm out to stop her. "I want to know what they're after."

Wonder Woman sighed, and stood down. She wasn't used to letting criminals go about their business, but she figured Batman knew what he was doing.

They quietly followed the thieves into the building, making to hide in the shadows. The thieves appeared to be very nervous, constantly looking over their shoulders. They made their way fairly deep into the factory; it seemed that they had come in search of a certain item. Batman and Wonder Woman stealthily followed them as they worked their was to the center of the factory.

They quickly found what they were looking for. It appeared to be some sort of transmitter. They began to lift it, and return the way they came. Wonder Woman looked at Batman, and he nodded slowly. Without a word, the two of them dropped down from the rafters they'd been hiding in, landing directly in front of the two criminals. They dropped the device and began to run away. Batman threw his Bat-lasso, which wrapped around one of the criminals legs. Wonder Woman launched a sliding tackle to topple the other.

Batman lifted one of the criminals by the collar. "Who sent you here?"

"I-I can't t-t-tell you..."

Batman threw the thief into the wall, and then ran and jumped, landing on top of him.

Wonder Woman watched, shocked. "You're going to hurt him!"

Batman continued to stare directly into the criminal's eyes. "I might."

The thief started to sweat visibly. "Fine, alright, just don't hurt me! We... We just came here to steal some stuff so we could make some money..."

Batman lifted the criminal by the collar of his shirt, and pulled his face to with inches of his own. "I know you're lying to me. If you just wanted something to steal, you would have grabbed the first piece of equipment you saw and left. You were after that transmitter, and I want to know why."

The thief gulped. "I-i-i-it was the... Hehe... Hehehe... HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The thieves both broke out in uncontrollable dropped him instantly. Wonder Woman looked on in shock. "What happened?"

"The Joker got to them."

"What? How?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. It looks like he planted a bug and remote-detonated bombs containing his laughing gas. Don't get too close."

"They're still alive... Maybe we could take them back to the WatchTower and see if J'onn can read their minds?"

"No. It's a waste of time. Their minds are gone now. Keep quiet for a second."

Batman listened intently. He heard a very faint ticking noise.

"GET OUT NOW! MOVE!"

He grabbed her wrist and began to pull her towards the exit. Before they could make it out, they heard a loud boom, and the roof began to fall.

"Bruce, get down!" Diana shouted. Batman ducked to the floor. Diana looked up at the ceiling, focusing intently.

"Hera! Give me strength!"

As the ceiling fell around them, she caught the pieces that fell near them and hurled them away. By the time they managed to escape the building, a crowd had gathered. Upon seeing them, the crowd worked itself into a fervor and began to rush towards them.

"Great." Batman murmured under his breath. His stealthy operations had been blown to hell. He pulled out his grapple gun, wrapped an arm around Wonder Woman's waist, and pulled them to the safety of a nearby rooftop. Exhausted, the pair fled to the Batcave.

Author's note: I don't like this chapter, but it contains some necessary elements that'll really help get the story going again. I think that I'm going to stall it for a it longer, but I'd like to have the plot ready to go when I'm ready to get the story going again, if that makes any sense. There was supposed to be more to this chapter, but I decided to cut that and post it as the next chapter. I already have it completely planned out, so it won't take very long. I'd say a couple of hours, if that. Anyway... The next chapter is going to be more than a little bit gruesome, so be ready for that. Sorry this took so long, I wasn't feeling terribly motivated, and put off starting it, and I had a long work day, but here it is. As usual, please tell me what you think, all opinions are welcome.