Bruce Wayne is forever the caretaker of his city, regardless of the season, time or personal circumstance. He views snow, rain, bitter cold and stifling heat as his allies, for his foes are surely more inconvenienced than he. Sundays and holidays are not off days. In Gotham City, a shadowy figure roaming the rooftops on Christmas Eve is hardly unusual, but he wouldn't be good ol' Saint Nick!

He pushes himself like no one else. Rarely does the Batman make concessions to his own limitations. On this occasion, however, he does, at least to an extent. Still recuperating from the ill-effects of Circe's mystical virus, Bruce knows he is not yet physically up to the challenge of his nightly patrol. Nightwing is occupied with Teen Titans' duties; therefore for the next couple days the hero has entrusted the protection of his beloved Gotham to Batgirl.

Even with Babs Gordon capably filling in, there is no rest for the Batman. The diabolical sorceress Circe has apparently taken control of both the mind and body of her arch enemy Wonder Woman. The very thought of Diana's Amazon powers being used for evil is worrisome. In combination with Circe's wizardry, it's downright scary.

Bruce has long looked upon the supernatural with a considerable level of skepticism. He acknowledges the existence and potency of magic, particularly given the obvious abilities of his friend and colleague Zatanna. That said, the caped crusader places greater faith in the value of science. This approach has served him well over the years and it is a branch of science to which he once again turns.

"Begin recording." his weary voice commands of the Batcomputer. "I have read through the medical report filed by Star City physician Dr. Stephen Altman. Working under the presumption that Altman's mystery patient was in fact Wonder Woman, I am preparing to investigate further. Star City Memorial Hospital has forwarded its blood and tissue samples taken from Diana. I will run an analysis upon them in the hope of uncovering any vulnerabilities which we may be able to use against her."

*****

"So you're on the lam from the Justice League. I can appreciate that, but what in blazes are we doing back in Gotham? We make a surprisingly good couple, little miss perfect and a gimpy-legged homicidal maniac, but even I'm not out there enough to think we're inconspicuous!" Diana is momentarily startled by the Joker's comment. She quickly realizes that, although he is blindfolded, he is astute enough to recognize his home town via his other senses.

"Gotham City has a sound and feel all its own." the villain notes with a smirk. "Besides, that fabulously rank aroma is a homecoming in and of itself! All that's missing is our old friend Bats, and do you really think it's gonna take him long to find us?"

"Shhhhh!!!" Diana insists as she and the Joker attempt to blend into the masses. Sporting bland overcoats and large straw hats, the unlikely pair slips from doorway to doorway in the market section of the city. Given the diverse nature of the Gotham population, their presence goes largely unnoticed. "We'll be meeting up with the Batman," the Amazon whispers, "but on my terms as opposed to his!"

The silver BMW is parallel parked on the street. It is finely cleaned and polished, thus ensuring that it stands out even further from the older and less expensive autos up and down the row. Diana smiles upon spotting the vehicle. Noting the exterior clock face of a nearby bank, the heroine chuckles to herself. "Some men are as predictable as the morning sunrise!"

Wonder Woman spots her subject through a storefront window. He is about to return to the car; therefore the princess must act swiftly. She extracts her tiara from her handbag and subtly flicks it fifty yards through the front window of a jewelry store. Alarms immediately sound, drawing the attention of everyone within the vicinity. Having created the necessary diversion, Diana leads her confused prisoner to the rear of the BMW. The heroine pries open the truck with her bare hands and she and the Joker squeeze in just before Alfred Pennyworth arrives. "Bless you for your diligence Alfred." Diana privately praises. "What better way to reach Batman than directly through the front door!"

*****

Bruce stares solemnly at the tiny canister he holds in his right palm. The label affixed to it simply reads "WW - X". His minds wanders for a few moments of uncharacteristic indecision. Suddenly his thoughts are interrupted by a low-volume buzzer emanating from within the technological marvel that is the Batcave. His focus restored, the Batman snaps the canister in place and slips the small assembly into a ready compartment of his utility belt.

The hero quickly studies the results of his initial chemical study performed on Diana's blood sample. "Resume recording." he instructs. "Preliminary blood work-up is consistent with Wonder Woman's profile. Blood type O matches. Scans also indicate the presence of meta-gene xX+, an hereditary characteristic known only to exist within the Amazon population. Curiously, the preponderance of xX+ indicators is not nearly as substantial as I would have expected it to be for the princess. There are several possibilities which could explain this; therefore I am proceeding with more extensive DNA testing."

*****

The situation would be comical were the circumstances not so dire. Wonder Woman, immensely famous super-heroine, finds herself hiding in a pitch black car trunk along with the most notorious psychopath in the world. Reprising the grandest battle strategy of Greek lore, Diana seeks to reach the Batcave undetected. Playing the role of the Trojan Horse is a BMW with Alfred Pennyworth at the wheel. The butler is unaware of his stowaways and drives back in the direction of Wayne manor after having concluded his weekly shopping.

Wonder Woman remains focused despite the complaints and snide remarks from her unlikely partner. She knows the methods of the Justice League, as well as the individual traits of its membership. Diana has deduced that her colleagues will analyze the blood samples taken in Star City. The Amazon also presumes that the Batman will assume this responsibility, his own depleted health be damned.

The safest approach would simply be a quick in and out. The princess could charge into the Batcave, relieve Bruce of the samples, and flee before meeting resistance. Alas, her predicament is such that conservatism is no longer her wisest option. To keep her friends and the public safe while simultaneously preventing Circe's escape, Diana must take numerous risks. As such, Wonder Woman plans to seize the Batcave and make it her research facility and base of operations.

*****

Alfred hastily enters the living area of the Wayne mansion via its spacious garage. The butler will attend to his groceries shortly, but he is quite concerned about his employer. The Batman will push himself beyond the point of ridiculous. To ease his own conscience, Alfred must periodically check upon the recovering Master Bruce to ensure his well being.

Within the walls of the stately manor, it is quite easy for Wonder Woman to gently subdue the unsuspecting butler. Diana is familiar with the layout of the estate, hence she and the Joker head straight for the study. The heroine accesses the hidden stairway which leads down to the fabled underground sanctuary. The Joker's presence complicates the situation significantly. As much as he disgusts her, Diana can not unnecessarily put even his life at peril. To lock him up in an isolated locale is problematic, because should she fall, he would also be doomed. Wonder Woman must therefore risk bringing the foul clown inside the Batcave. Once there, she must remove his blindfold and restraints so as to be consistent with the ruse that it is Circe's personality which now controls her.

The Joker's broken leg will limit the physical threat that he poses, but there is still his dangerous knowledge of her diminishing powers. To dissuade him from revealing such, the heroine resorts to psychology. She casually 'complains' that Batman will relentlessly search for any vulnerability through which to attack her. Given his long-standing hostility with Bruce, Wonder Woman gambles that the Joker will keep her secret to himself simply because the Batman is so desperate to learn it.

*****

His mind is so fixated upon his work that Bruce barely notices the echo of footsteps emanating from the stairwell. It is not unusual for him to be so engrossed that he does not acknowledge the arrival of Alfred, Dick or Barbara. He always knows that such a person is present, however. On this occasion though, the Batman is not quite himself. Fighting powerful fatigue in the wake of his illness, the hero's concentration is compromised. As such, he is atypically slow to recognize that the reverberating footsteps are not those of his butler or Batgirl.

The Batman ignores his sluggishness and stealthily makes his way towards the stairway entrance. He quickly springs out from behind a storage counter to confront a figure lurking in the shadows. Bruce aggressively pins the intruder against the cave wall, where the angle of the light now reveals his identity. "Joker!" he snarls in a combination of disdain and surprise.

"On the very first guess too? And here I thought these dreadfully dull prison greys made for a pretty good disguise!" the villain jests. "So this is the Batcave huh? Somehow I had imagined it would be a little darker, a tad less hi-tech with a bit more of the creepy, Bela Lugosi feel to it. Don't get me wrong Batty old boy, it is quite a place but ..."

"Shut up!" the Batman demands of the smirking harlequin. The anxious hero assumes a defensive posture with Batarang in hand. It's clear that the hobbled arch felon has not found his secret fortress on his own. "Wonder Woman! Show yourself!" he sternly declares.

The golden tiara soars through the underground catacomb with aerodynamic perfection. Bruce catches a glimpse of it through the corner of his eye, but no one without meta-human quickness could possibly react with the necessary swiftness. The tiara finds it mark, striking the top of the hero's right hand and jarring the Batarang loose. The weapon comes to rest on the cave floor eight feet away from him. He instinctively begins to scramble for it when the Amazon swoops in ahead of him.

The Batman defiantly holds his ground, hands on hips, as Wonder Woman triumphantly clutches the Batarang. It is a delicate balance which Diana must now maintain. Bruce believes that Circe controls her mind. The Joker knows otherwise, and the villain can not be counted on to willingly play along with any ruses. It is a fine line which she must walk; therefore the princess reasons that the less said the better. She intends to secure both the Batman and the Joker inside the Batcave. The villain will not be a threat to others while the superhero's presence will satisfy Circe's Justice League proximity requirement. Of course, the heroine must avoid physical contact with Bruce, for he has not yet been ruled out as the colleague whose touch means her death.

Bruce rightfully fears the power of Circe's sorcery and Diana's might, but he yields no indication of such. He studies the beautiful woman standing before him, looking for outward signs of his longtime friend. He glances at the Joker, who has managed to limp his way over to a seat beside the Batcomputer. The caped crusader can't fathom this alliance with the Joker if Wonder Woman still maintains any control over her actions. "This must end now." the Batman thinks to himself. "Forgive me Diana."

A subtle twitch of the Batman's index finger depresses a small trigger switch hidden at his side. The Batarang detonates in Wonder Woman's right hand. A thick white gas is released from within and it immediately gravitates towards her arm and face. Diana reflexively spins away, but it is too late. Her mind begins to cloud. When she first arrived in mans' world, Wonder Woman was quite susceptible to chloroform. Over time, she has developed a fair tolerance for it, although it is still known to stagger her a tad. This is not chloroform, but its effects are similar. Instinctively she knows that she will soon pass out.

From past experience, Diana fights to retain her senses and stamina. She absolutely mustn't succumb in Batman's presence. There's only one hope, far more radical than anything she had anticipated. Wonder Woman hurls her tiara with every erg of her remaining strength. It connects with amazing precision against the ceiling at the mouth of the vehicular exit tunnel. Tons of rock fall, thus blocking the way.

Wonder Woman remains in motion as an incredulous Batman bravely attempts to restrain her. Anticipating a battle, the Joker scurries to the far reaches of the cave to escape harm. The heroine hefts a treadmill from Bruce's underground gym. She rams the heavy piece of equipment onto the front hood of the Batmobile, leaving the car inoperative. Diana grabs a chunk of the shrapnel and fires it directly at the reserve generator, causing a small explosion. The entire electrical system shorts out. All lighting is extinguished throughout the cave with the exception of the sparks which continue to fly from the ravaged generator.

An angry Batman tackles the Amazon princess and slams her through the already cracked windshield of the Batmobile. Diana's limbs are going numb. Bruce is dumbfounded that she has lasted this long, for his noxious gas attack was genetically designed specifically for the princess. By his reckoning, she should have collapsed immediately upon exposure.

The Batman lands a punch to Diana's chin. The jolt of pain unwittingly stimulates the heroine's fading senses. She surprises the hero with a blow to the solar plexus. Momentarily winded, Bruce is unable to prevent the princess from crushing his JLA communicator, which she had earlier spotted on the table adjacent his lab equipment.

Wonder Woman can barely stand as oblivion relentlessly blankets her mind. It is now or never. The heroine has one last burst left within her. Diana sprints for the stairway from which she entered. She fires her tiara upwards where it strikes a pair of enormous stalactites which hang from the cave ceiling. A thunderous rumbling ensues as tons upon tons of rock give way. The Batman reluctantly takes cover. Wonder Woman shakes off several glancing hits of debris and reaches the stairwell. The world seems to spin around her as she begins to ascend the steps. Her knees buckle. The din intensifies. The beleaguered Amazon crawls as her body is pelted with rubble. Were she cogent enough to formulate a thought, she would likely exclaim "Great Hera! The whole complex is caving in!"