Goku felt the pleasure of being able to fly. It was such a delight to feel the wind against his skin. The clouds missed him. Allowing him to cut through them with no resistance. He could feel the damage he sustained fading away. It was a shock to his system, as his body was starting to remember what it was capable of. As time went by, he was unlocking more and more of his potential

Diana watched from the ground with a proud grin. She'd seen his struggle from barely being able to levitate to soaring through the sky. It's been a while, but he wasn't new to this. He made every turn as sharp as can be. He wasn't at full power, but he had enough of his abilities to feel like himself again.

Having enough thrills, he joined Diana on the grass. It had been two weeks since they left the island, and Goku couldn't help but wonder, "When are you going back?"

She instantly knew what he was referring to, "I'm not sure. I've been trying not to think about it. Don't need the stress."

Diana wasn't overly fond of the Justice League, but with Goku by her side things were much more tolerable. She was getting used to life off the island and began to wonder if she needed to go back. After all, nothing good could be waiting for her.

"Your mother's the queen. I'm sure she'll forgive you."

"In time, I hope…Don't worry yourself over it. It's not your fault."

Goku was feeling some blame, "I can't help but feel responsible. I don't wanna ruin your relationship with your people."

"Responsible for what? Accidentally landing on the island. Making no trouble while healing your wounds. Befriending me? You haven't ruined my relationship with my people. It's been ruined by their own prejudice."

She leaned her head on his shoulder, "Don't think for a moment that I regret meeting you."


Batman made it onto a cruise ship that had been taken over by criminals. The clown masks they wore gave away who they were working for, Joker. The most relevant person on this cruise was Mayor Dickerson of Gotham. Batman figured he was the hostage they were there for. Sneaking through the ship, he had taken down many of the masked men, freeing hostages, but there was no sign of the mayor.

Batman was one floor from the top, hiding behind a corner. With a shotgun in hand, one of the hired thugs patrolling the ship walked by and took an elbow to the throat. Dropping the weapon, he was put in a chokehold. The man lost consciousness, with Batman continuing up the ship.

Approaching the deck, Batman spotted several groups of hostages, tied up in circles with bags over their heads. While contemplated how to dispatch of the four gunmen watching them, he heard them speak.

"Check the lower levels. I haven't heard from any of the guys down there in a while."

"I told you those cheap walkie talkies were only good for two-way communication. Too many people on one server screws things up," said another.

"Better that then trying to get a cellphone signal out here, eh? Now get your ass down there and see what's going on."

Batman jumped over the railing, hanging off where he couldn't be seen. He waited for the gunmen to pass by before quietly climbing up and pouncing on him.

The longer he waited, the longer the hostages were in danger. He couldn't wait for the gunmen to walk down to his level one by one. That's if they were stupid enough to do so. He had to take the aggressive approach. With two smoke bombs in hand, he activated his thermal vision, and rushed the deck. He threw the smoke bombs at the remaining thugs, blinding their vision.

He punched one in the face, taking his shotgun, and knocking him over the head with it. Pulling out a batarang, he threw it at the hands of another, making him drop his gun. The blind crook started feeling at his feet for his weapon but was met with a boot to the face.

The last thug held out two pistols, pointing them in the direction where he thought he heard his comrades go down. He shot his pistols, hoping by luck to hit the caped crusader. The idiot could've hit a hostage, shooting blindly like that. Batman made his move, sweeping his legs from underneath him, knocking him out with hammer fists to the face.

When the smoke cleared, he began taking the bags off the hostages. The mayor was nowhere to be found. He went to the only room he hadn't checked, the captain's quarters. It was empty, but the Joker was expecting him. There was a television with a note that read "Batman" taped to it. He turned it on and found Mayor Dickerson. He was tied up along with some other politicians in the mayor's office.

A man with white skin, wearing a purple suit appeared on screen, "Hey Bats! Right on time."

"Joker."

"That's right. What are you doing on that ship, now's no time for a vacation," asked the sarcastic clown?

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Just checking in with the mayor. He hasn't been returning my calls." Joker began playing with the mayor's cheeks. "This wouldn't have been necessary if you didn't ignore my requests. All you had to do was sign off on these laws, created by yours truly, and you could've been mayor for a very long time."

Joker held up some documents, "Look at this, complete anarchy for the citizens of Gotham. Oh, and another favorite of mine. Make the first day of each month Joker Day, in honor of the clown prince. After all I've done for this city, I don't think that's asking for too much."

"Joker..."

"I know, I know. You wanted a Batman day too. But don't worry, when I'm mayor…"

"Joker let them go."

Joker started pouring gasoline around the politicians, "No can do, Batman. I've got to save this city. If that means getting rid some corrupt politicians, that's what I'll do."

The psychotic clown lit a match, setting the office on fire.

"Dammit Joker!" Batman rushed back to Gotham.


Everyone died in the fire. Such a shame. Mayor Dickerson was a good man. Unlike the corrupt mayor who came before him, Dickerson was trying to help the city. Unfortunately, that's an automatic target on your back in Gotham.

Batman arrived only to see the building in flames. The Joker had gone too far. Then again, the Joker always went too far. It was moments like these where Batman questioned his code. Just one time. One life to save many. But he couldn't do it. Not even to him. However, a few missing teeth wouldn't kill him.

A week later, Batman left the mask at home. Bruce Wayne had a meeting to attend. After finishing his business, Bruce walked out of Wayne Enterprises and on his way to his limo, saw a flyer with green writing.

"Mayor Joker wants to create a better Gotham, but he needs your help to do so. First, we need to get rid of the elderly. They're old Gotham and this is new Gotham. Kill as many people that are 75 and up as you can. There's a reward for whoever causes the most deaths by the end of the month."

Those flyers were put on signposts, buildings, and parked cars as far as he could see.

Bruce got in the limo. "Where to Mr. Wayne," asked the driver?

"Wendy's Diner."

On the way there, Bruce saw more flyers. They were probably being put up around the entire city. But why just 75 and up? The Joker doesn't discriminate. He pondered what the clown was up to until the end of the ride.

At Wendy's diner, two masked men ran out the store, running to the limo. One of the men went to the driver's door, "Unlock the door, before I blow your head off.?

The doors were unlocked, and the driver was tossed out. Bruce's door was opened, and he was thrown out as well. After dusting himself off, he watched the criminals escape, before walking into the diner.

The patrons were too hysterical for this to be a clean robbery. Someone had gotten hurt. And then he noticed the bloodstains. Two people lay in a booth, dead. He knew them. Same couple. Same seats. Mr. and Mrs. Fitz. The elderly couple you could find at Wendy's Diner every Monday.


The city was attacked repeatedly. The Justice League sent Wonder Woman and Goku to investigate. They were in Corpus Christi, Texas where a man dubbed "The Maniac" had been rampaging.

Walking through the empty city, they both were able to avoid the building that came crashing down. Floating above the rubble, Goku caught a missile that was launched his way. He easily redirected it to the sky where it exploded.

"Two heroes with real power. This'll be fun."

Diana and Goku saw a man holding a rocket launcher on a building nearby. He was shirtless with yellow cargo pants, and a yellow mask that covered the bottom half of his face.

"Crazy enough to challenge us, I take it you're the maniac," said Wonder Woman

Unbothered by the falling building or the rocket that was shot at him, Goku curiously approached the man, "No one's here but us. Why keep destroying an empty city?"

"I'm the "Maniac" …No, I just wanted to make enough noise to lure out some heroes. I've heard of Wonder Girl over there. Never any mention of you, but the way you stopped that rocket I'd say you're quite the powerhouse."

Wonder Woman landed on the building next to Goku, "Lure us out? Well, we're here. So, what's the trap?"

The maniac pulled out a syringe, "No trap needed. I'm gonna squash you myself."

He injected himself with something and began to grow. The muscles in his body swelled to unnatural proportions.

Diana's seen this transformation before. "He's injected himself with a venom like substance. I've fought against it before while helping Batman in Gotham."

Goku didn't look impressed, and he certainly wasn't scared. "And it's supposed to make you stronger?"

"Whatever gave you that idea," responded Diana sarcastically.

The relentless attack from the maniac did little to excite the two warriors. He attacked and he missed…a lot. Aware of how silly he was made to look, he became frustrated. As if he wasn't sloppy enough, his anger made things worse. So, focused on landing a blow, he didn't see the elbow that Goku shot to his stomach. That pain was accompanied by a kick to the jaw by Wonder Woman.

The maniac hit the ground, wondering what was happening. "Why? This new strain of venom was supposed to turn me into a God."

It was then that he realized he was tricked. The person who had given him the "special" venom had used him as a pawn to draw out the Justice League. They were surely watching. He cursed them to himself as the dose of regular venom ran out. He shrunk back to his natural state and lost consciousness.

A rather uneventful fight, Goku was thinking about his next meal while Wonder Woman pondered what this could lead to.

"He said he was trying to lure us out, but why? He was at least familiar with me, so he should've known being powered up by Venom wouldn't be enough."

"Well, he is the "Maniac," so he probably didn't put much thought into this."

Diana wasn't buying the whole maniac talk, "No, he said it himself. He terrorized a city and rather than moving on to the next, he turned this place into a bomb site looking for attention. When we showed up, he was confident and expected to best us."

"He didn't count on me being here, and he underestimated you. He must've thought that venom stuff was gonna make him much stronger than it did."

"There's that…But there's something bigger to consider. Since joining the Justice League, I've kicked open a lot of doors and no matter who was on the other side, they were at least caught off guard for a moment or two. Our unconscious friend wasn't surprised, because he anticipated us. This was an assassination mission meant for us. Let's hope this isn't the beginning of villains targeting heroes.

On a broken building nearby, a lady on a phone watched the two heroes. "He was defeated, unsurprisingly. I told him the newly developed venom would turn him into Superman. Like we would give an idiot such power. It was the normal everyday dose of venom anyone can get their hands on. Still, he was powered up enough that it would take a metahuman to stop him, which makes this mission a success. We've learned the Justice League has at least one other superhuman on the team. We know a little more about them and they know nothing about us."


It seems Diana was on to something. Goku and herself weren't the only ones who were baited into action. Back at the Justice League headquarters, they joined the other league members who shared their stories about being led into traps.

Batman sat at the end of the conference table, "We've all been targeted around the same time. That's no coincidence. It's fear. Fear of what we're capable of."

"You're right. The league has gotten too popular and too powerful. It's no doubt making our enemies uncomfortable," said Superman.

"We've been rounding up criminals at a high rate," said Diana. "They ought to be scared."

Green Arrow added, "I'm not worried about us as much as I'm worried about the innocent people that are going to get caught up in this. If they're trapped in a war between good and evil, there will be casualties."

"Just remember, when someone's back is against the wall, that's when they lash out the hardest. Anything's game. Be extra careful, and treat every confrontation as a potential ambush," said Batman.

Everyone can be made to be vulnerable. This meeting was about acknowledging that no matter how smart or powerful you are, you'll fail the mission and worse, lose your life if you let your ego get the best of you.

The Justice League was more than just a group of superheroes. Batman and Superman patrolled their cities long before they decided to come together as a team. The Justice League was a statement. A statement to all evildoers that no evil deeds will go unpunished. But the Justice League was fresh, and the balance of power wasn't entirely in their favor. Those of the criminal underworld knew if the Justice League went unchallenged that balance could potentially fall completely into the enemy's hands, irreversible for the foreseeable future.


Goku had flown over the world and realized…this wasn't his planet Earth. At first, he thought he couldn't sense his friends because he was still recovering. However, he knew he was well enough for that to not be the case, and upon regaining his flight, checked what should have been spots where his friends lived.

It was almost midnight in the part of the world he and Diana were in.

"Goku, I'm sure the world as you know it still exists. Just not here."

"Yea, when I fought Majin Buu, I did get sucked into some kind of black hole. I figured I had been returned to earth somehow. Everything seemed normal and it is. It's just different."

Goku was thinking about what this could mean. If he was in a different world, how would he get back to his? Was it even possible? Ever the adventurer, Goku normally wouldn't be against traveling the universe and beyond. That just meant more opportunities to fight strong people. But he had unfinished business. He wondered how Thaysei and the Namekians were doing

Lost in his thoughts, he paid no attention to Diana wrapping her arm around his. She was enjoying their walk through the city. Everyone was asleep. It was so calm. A calmness that she only felt when soaring over the clouds.

Being a member of the Justice League made her a celebrity. Walking amongst the people was always met with cameras, autographs, and questions. It was overwhelming in the beginning, but she was learning to get used to it. It was either that or staying at headquarters all day staring at the wall.

She stared at the Saiyan with a light smile. That's how things were until she brought him along.

"Living here isn't so bad is it?"

Goku snapped out of it, "Oh no, it's not like I'm in a rush to leave or anything. But I will have to leave at some point, I'm just wandering how?"

Him leaving saddened her. Even more so now, than it did when they were on Themyscira. She would be emotionally alone without him. There was no one else she felt comfortable talking to about everything. Growing up, she had her mother, but she was out of the picture for the time being.

She spotted one place that was still open, "Phoenix Landing."

"Goku, Let's see what's going on in there."

The Amazon carried him through the doors before he could respond. While she wasn't in the mood for mingling, she wanted to lighten up the mood. Him thinking about leaving, and her loathing the idea was not how she wanted to end the night.

"Holy shit, it's Wonder Woman!"

The place went silent.

A middle-aged man with a tucked in button up white shirt, nervously approached the duo.

"W-welcome to Phoenix Landing. I'm the owner, Sam Gallows. You can sit at the bar…or a table. Which ever you prefer. Drinks on the house."

Diana led the way, walking past the owner to the bar, "Thank You."

The excited bartender rushed over to take their order, "Wow, I'm such a big fan of yours, Wonder Woman! I'm Sally! What can I get you and your friend?"

"Water."

"Sports drink."

Sally bit her lip, concealing her laughter, "You two have never been to a bar before, have you?"

"Uh-uh."

"Nope."

"Hmm, well let me see if I can help you out," said the young bartender. "Is this a romantic evening?"

Diana blushed

Goku leaned in, "Sure…"

Diana blushed furiously

"…If that means we get to taste romance, why not? I've never tried romance before. Sounds sweet."

Sally looked back and forth between the pair, "Ohhhh, I see. I got something in mind."

She winked at Diana, before turning to find the right drink.

"Hey Diana…"

She looked at her friend at the corner of her eyes.

"You ever try romance before?"

She slowly shook her head, "Nope, can't say that I have. But I'm looking forward to it."

Sally returned, putting down two drinks, "Alizé Wild Passion. Remember, it's on the house. Those glasses get empty, don't worry, I'm keeping the refills coming."

While Diana wisely took a sip, Goku was more proactive, downing his drink.

"Fruity. Sour…Bitter." His face altered with each word, physically expressing the taste.

Having only explored her own, Diana gave her first impressions, "Not bad…Bitter…But not bad."

That was their first drink of the night. The first of many. Sally made sure their glasses stayed full, as promised. They didn't mind. The taste got better and better.

A young man approached, "Hey…um…Wonder Woman…"

"That I am!" She cut him off.

"Yeah…I know you're with someone, but I wasn't sure if you were with him or not. And…I just wanted to know if maybe you wanted to dance?"

A loud gasp was heard, "Wilbert Henry! I go to the bathroom for two minutes and you're talking to another woman."

He followed the upset woman out the bar, "Marge, you gotta understand. It's Wonder Woman!"

Diana and Goku laughed until she fell out her chair. Goku helped her up.

"Why thank you, Goku. You're such a gentleman."

She clumsily fell into him, now face to face. It wasn't the beer goggles fooling Diana. He really was beautiful. So handsome it was unreal. But feeling his fruity alcohol laced breath caress her face assured her he was real. This moment was real.

"A dance is a good idea, let's do it."

She pulled him to the dance floor. They danced closely and slowly. As romantic as it was, it also helped them keep their balance.

She bumped their foreheads together

"Ow." They both giggled like children.

If everyone in the bar wasn't as drunk as they were, all the attention would've been on them. Not that they cared. The combination of music and their drunkenness had them in their own world. And it was reserved for two. You could see them, sure. But you couldn't feel their connection. It was unique. Nothing to do with Amazon or Saiyan. There were of different people. Of different worlds. This was a connection of the spirit.

Heads still attached, Diana moved Goku's hands from her waist to her hips and closed her eyes. They wiggled back and forth. It wasn't much, but it was together. Diana was a bold woman, who didn't need liquor to give her the courage to express her feelings. However, to express your feelings you can't be confused by them. You must understand them. Be honest about them.

That's what the alcohol did for her. It cut through the denials, the uncertainties, and the unknown. Only truth remained. The truth is, she was in love. Unfortunately, there's another affect alcohol has on the body that would consume this moment forever. Neither Diana nor Goku would remember what happened this night.