Diana and Bruce travel to Kansas in search of the Gotham vigilante and her best friend.

Also wanted to give a special thanks to Classic Cowboy on his help with some of the details during the last two chapters.

Chapter 7: Smallville Rediscovered

The flight out to Kansas was pleasant and filled with friendly chatter as Diana and Bruce maintained a friendly distance between one another. She'd taken all of her supplies with her, which had left Bruce initially disappointed as he read into that as an indicator that Diana was planning on finding somewhere other than her room at the Manor. He knew that they had moved more quickly than either of them had anticipated, but to deny that there was something special growing between them would be lying to themselves. Bruce though only decided that he would simply have to increase his resolve and determination in seeing through just what it was that was between Diana and him. For the moment though, he was content to go through all of the details that Diana had to share with him.

There wasn't very much information to go off of, but Bruce could see that there was at least enough to believe that it was at least plausible for him to investigate. He came to find a handful of unexplainable events that had occurred in the small town over the years. One story was an instance where a barn began to collapse on top of a farmer and his horses on a particularly windy and storm filled day. As the barn began to topple over to one side, it suddenly stopped before teetering a moment and then held steady. When the farmer worked up the nerve to come out and see what had happened, he came to find that three large trees had managed to somehow find their place pinned as makeshift crutches in a manner that allowed the barn to continue standing. Most believed it was by the Grace of God and a miracle that he was saved, but no one could figure out just how those trees were uprooted and dropped equally apart on the side of the barn in a manner that would allow it to continue standing.

Another story was of a store robbery that was foiled by a strange set of scenarios. The gun at one point became so incredibly hot that it left second and third degree burns on his hand. The local patrons that had been hostages at that point took over from there, tackling the unarmed robber and holding him down until the police arrived. Upon looking over the evidence, when the police went to pick up the gun they found that it had even started to melt. No one could explain that, and the police interviewed each and every witness that had been in the store, but found that no one had witnessed the event. They all had been previously instructed to lie on the ground with their heads down, and didn't look up until they heard the robber scream in pain followed by the sound of the gun dropping onto the ground. It was only then that any of them acted.

Of the few other instances, there were scenarios that had some question as to how things had happened, but not nearly enough of a cause to believe it could've been a super powered being. Especially when he based on the witness testimonies that came with those stories. To Bruce, it came down to those two stories. He'd heard of something similar with the gun when the rumors were flying through Gotham, and that was enough for him to warrant further research.

Diana had agreed, but also didn't want to simply throw out the other stories. She also agreed that they didn't warrant further investigation, but used them as references when she laid out a map of the area. There were a few farms that were at a centralized point within all of the abnormalities that happened in those years. When he asked her which one to start with, she selected one that made sense as it was in a geographic point that logically made sense. Bruce had gone over her points and ended up agreeing with that plan as what seemed to be the best. She had wanted to head over to the Kent's farm first, but thought better of it once again as she instead found a way that would work to get them to the Kents as the second stop. The only thing that could derail her in the quest at that point was if Kal ended up having not returned to his hometown. If that was the case, then she'd have to at least temporarily break off from Bruce to travel to the Fortress of Solitude. Simply put, there was no explaining going from a small town in Kansas out to a frozen tundra in the middle of nowhere. It wouldn't be a long trip, but she could sense that Bruce would question why she'd continued her pursuit alone, and she didn't even like omitting why she went to Gotham in the first place. That knowledge had started weighing on her just from being quiet about it with Bruce even though she knew that she needed to remain quiet.

By the time the jet touched down, Bruce had already secured transportation and a decent cover story that he hoped would help in easing the tongues of the Smallville people they were going to visit out of the clear blue. He decided to have them pose as researchers for a piloting TV show that researched the unexplainable in the country. Diana found out yet another similarity with her Bruce and the Bruce Wayne of this timeline. They both were certainly not without their means or methods of remaining inconspicuous. She had to admit that it was a great idea to pose as a budding TV program. The only thing that she didn't like was the fact that he had set her up as the main character for the show. She couldn't argue with him though because Bruce had used some of his business connections and when they did arrive, there was a small production crew assembled and waiting for them at the first farm. The family there had already been introduced and informed that if there was plausible evidence, the show producers would set up a place to film interviews with the host Diana present.

Bruce sat in with Diana and actually did the majority of the interview. The farmer seemed to be in awe over Diana, and she would've taken offense to being constantly gawked at, but it seemed to be serving a purpose as the he seemed all the more willing to share his story in the hopes of being interviewed by her personally for the show. If she had to admit it, she was glad that Bruce was doing much of the talking. He definitely had the talent to pull off such a ruse, especially if it would be compared to her. After the interviews, they went to the site of the now collapsed and replaced barn. Inside of it, the farmer held an album with photos that revealed what it was that he'd found when the storm passed. Looking at those photos, it was definitely feasible to believe that someone or some thing had most definitely been there to move the trees in place. Diana wished that the trees had still been there to inspect. She was sure that if Kal had been the reason they were put against the barn to keep it from falling over, then there would likely be someplace on them that showed where he'd have grabbed hold of them to rip them from the ground. Being a farmer that had been taught to use everything from the land though, he'd eventually cut and split the trees to use for firewood.

Bruce led Diana back to their car so that they could continue on with their "investigation", and move onto the next farm. She waited until the car was back out on the world before shaking her head in disbelief. He noticed and gave her a questioning glance as he continued driving down the road. "What is it?" He asked.

"I just can't believe that this ruse worked." Diana responded. "You didn't even have to alter your appearance, and not a single person realized that you're actually a billionaire."

"It's not that hard to conceive if you think about it." Bruce countered. "How many COO's do you honestly know by face or even by name? It might've been a little more difficult if it were dad in my place, but even still, this is Kansas. Aside from some of the products that are made and distributed here from Wayne Enterprises, not many people here would be concerned about the who's who of Gotham City."

Diana thought about that for a moment. The Bruce from her timeline was the face of Wayne Enterprises, and had made a public spectacle of himself that had brought him world wide recognition as a billionaire playboy that was more concerned about extreme sports and hot women than anything else. In this timeline Bruce was the next in line behind his father, and he'd never had a reason to hide other facets of his personality from any reprisals. In this timeline, Bruce was complete, whole and not broken and splintered. Getting to know him was becoming rather difficult for her as she could only imagine how Bruce would be if he hadn't been tortured at the hands of a fate no man or woman should be met with, but she knew that eventually if she were successful he would return to that broken version of himself.

Fortunately for Diana they soon arrived at the Kent's farmhouse, and she had to clear her mind of the thoughts about Bruce. She stayed in the car for a few moments composing herself, and it was enough time that Bruce had made it around the car to open the door for her. Typically she wouldn't allow that, but this time she needed the extra few seconds to push the water back from glistening in her eyes. She had a mission to continue, and this was not the time to allow tears to form. Focusing her mind on the task at hand, she stepped out of the car and followed Bruce up to the door where they were met with a friendly looking older woman. She knew instantly that this was Kal's Ma he'd always carried on about in his farm life stories before the cape was donned. "Can I help you?" Martha Kent asked as she wiped her wet and soapy hands on the apron she'd been wearing.

"Yes, Mrs. Kent." Bruce answered as he took her hand for a moment. "We're in the process of producing a reality show about some of the unexplained phenomena that's happened around this country, and a few of your neighbors have what I think could be a real opportunity to qualify for our pilot episode. If you and your family could spare a few moments of time, we'd like to ask you some questions about some of the claims."

Bruce was certainly using his charms and brilliant smile to win Martha Kent over, and it appeared to be working as she glanced around at the filming crew that was also pulling in behind them. It was at that point when her husband made his presence known however. "Martha, what's going on?" Jonathan asked as he came in from the kitchen. "Who are all these people?"

Bruce smiled and stepped in front of Jonathan with his hand held out as he reintroduced himself to Jonathan. Kal's father seemed to be quite apprehensive, and especially so when he was informed of the makeshift reason that they were there in the first place. He wasn't nearly as good at hiding that they knew more than they were letting on as his wife was. She'd reacted much in the same way that her neighbor did by showing at least some interest and willingness to answer questions about what the claims were. It wasn't until Bruce brought up the trees being used to keep a falling barn propped up that Jonathan started to react in a manner that read he was being incredibly defensive.

"John?" He questioned. "That's what you're going off of is our crazy neighbor down the street?"

"Well his photographs are the part that was the most convincing to us Mr. Kent." Bruce countered.

"I've long since stopped believing in fairy tales, Mr. Thompkins." Jonathan continued to argue. "Even if they do come with doctored photos, and I think it's long time you come to the same conclusion. This is a small town, and we appreciate things being kept qui….."

"What's going on?" The oh so familiar voice called out as the back door swung open. There he was, partially covered in mud. He'd obviously overheard Jonathan's voice rising slightly and had come to investigate it. Diana could hardly believe her eyes seeing Kal in this fashion.

"Oh nothing Clark." Jonathan replied. "Just some big city people trying to get rich off of nonsense."

"Hello." Bruce exchanged, focusing on Superman instead of his father. "My name's Bruce Thompkins. We came to Smallville to investigate some claims from the neighbors about some unexplainable situations. Your….father here was just giving us his account on some of the stories we've been informed of such as your neighbor John down the street."

"Oh John?" Clark asked in fake surprise. "I think Pa's actually right about him. He's got a wild imagination thinking that someone could've done what he claims."

Diana stepped in front of Bruce for the first time and took Clark's hand in hers. "It's nice to meet you." She said aloud before whispering in a tone low enough that only a superhuman could hear it. "Kal."

Clark's eyes became as large as saucers for only a split second, but that was more than enough as even Bruce managed to see the change. He lowered his head for a minute before leaning to the side and looking directly at his father. "I need to have a word with our two guests Pa. It's alright though. I'll be fine. Just keep the rest of them from wandering off too far." He said before looking back at Diana and Bruce. "Please, follow me."

Bruce and Diana followed closely behind as Superman led them over to a barn, where he showed them in before closing and locking the door behind him. He kept one hand on the door with his back facing his two guests as he looked no where specific. "How?" He asked after a few moments of silence. "How did you know that name?"

Bruce had a look of confusion on his face as he wasn't exactly sure what had just happened. Diana however seemed to be filled with confidence that she knew what she was doing as she stepped closer to the farmer's son and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm afraid it's a very long story Kal, but I know who you are and where you come from." She replied as he turned around and took her in for the first time.

"That's not my name." He pushed. "I'm just Clark."

"You and I both know that's not true." Diana fired back. "We also know that you were in Gotham City for a time."

"How could you…." Clark began before looking at her partner more closely. "So Bruce told you then."

"I told her about the rumors I'd heard about a vigilante hero that was fighting to bring the city back from the brink of its own despair." Bruce clarified. "Diana here was the one that was able to track you down. Although it seems that she knows more than she led me to believe."

"Why did you come?" Clark asked.

"I was hoping that you'd be willing to help." Diana answered only to see Kal's head drop instantly. This was clearly not the man that she'd known, but just a shell of what he once was. "Why do you lower your head so Kal? You're the most powerful being on the planet, and virtually invulnerable."

"All that power still wasn't enough." Clark explained as he began to walk away from Diana. His head was still hung low. My….my birth father….he left me a message that said I'd be able to change this world. I thought that he meant for the better, not the worse." Clark pulled open a heavy door to reveal a hidden room. Inside of it was a small spacecraft along with a black and grey suit that had a silver "S" held inside of a diamond shape. His hand delicately ran across the symbol on the suit before he pulled it back as if it'd burned him to the touch. "Hope. That's what I thought I was going to bring to the world, but in the end I only made it worse."

"What are you talking about?" Diana said. Bruce was stunned into silence by what he saw before him. He'd found out that the one that had been believed to be a hero for Gotham was indeed an alien after all. "Why would you stop fighting the evils of this world when you have such strength?"

"You wouldn't understand." Clark said as he shied away. Bruce was the last to leave the room with the spacecraft, and he tried to close the door, but found that despite the amount of effort, he couldn't get it to even budge. Clark then walked back over and easily pushed the door closed.

"Diana seems to have you pegged, Clark." Bruce commented. "You were doing so well in the city. It still needs someone like you. It's gotten worse since you left. My family's done everything we could to try and help, but we just can't make a difference like you can."

Diana was glad that she was out of Bruce's sight upon hearing that. She couldn't stop the look on her face that basically read how even Bruce wasn't aware of what he was capable of. She wanted to give hope back to the most hopeful man that she knew, but she knew that doing so in front of Bruce would only cause him grief. She had to get Kal to talk to her in private, and she didn't want to mince words or waste any more time than necessary. "Bruce." She called out while looking Kal directly in the eye. "I need to have a moment alone with Kal please."

Bruce had a truly disappointed look on his face. What had he just done? He'd led a beautiful woman right to the man that she described as the most powerful being on the planet. He'd led her right to someone who'd actually made a real difference in a lost city. And now she wanted him to leave her alone with this man. He couldn't help the envious streak that shot up his spine, nor could he hide it from appearing on his face before he turned away and headed out of the barn without speaking so much as a single word to either of them. Diana waited until the door was shut behind Bruce before she broke the silence between the two powerful heroes. "This world isn't the way it's supposed to be Kal." She started. "You were never meant to save Gotham. You were actually supposed to become the champion of another city."

"How can you say this after what I've done?" Kal responded in utter disbelief.

"What is this terrible thing that you speak of Kal?" Diana asked.

"I…I created something." Kal choked out. "Something so purely evil and it's all my fault."

"What evil?" Diana asked before it donned on her. "You were involved with the creation of the Joker weren't you?"

Kal nodded affirmatively at her discovery. "I was just trying to stop him. He was just a petty crook then, but when he fell into that acid, he became so much more evil. If I hadn't been there, he'd have never fallen into that acid in the first place. Can't you see? He exists because of me. He's completely insane and nothing I do would ever stop him unless I'm willing to take his life. It's what he wants me to do too."

"How can you be so sure of that?" Diana asked. She was acutely aware of just how insane the clown was, but couldn't help being interested in what he'd done to cause Superman to give in.

"I tried to stop him." Kal explained. "Gift wrapped him, but he'd be back on the streets not even three days later and start up again. He told me that he'd keep coming back unless I stopped him permanently. If I take a life, then it makes me no better than he is, and I knew after a while that he was telling the truth. Nothing I do could stop him for long at all. And then to see that all of the other criminals were getting back out on the streets as quickly as I pulled them off of it. Finally when the city called for my arrest, I knew I'd done nothing to help it, and with my part in the Joker's creation I actually made it worse. It was best for me to just leave. The world isn't ready for someone like me. It doesn't want to be saved."

"Kal." Diana called to him as she placed her hand back on his shoulder to offer comfort and strength. She had to tell him everything. It was the only way he'd have a chance of coming back. "As I said before, you weren't meant to be there in Gotham. The whole world is changed, and I've been sent to correct it. Believe me please Kal, this world is worth saving, but I have to fix what's been changed to correct everything."

"What are you talking about?" Clark asked.

"In order for you to understand, you need to know exactly who I am." Diana began to explain. "I realize this may be hard to comprehend, but please don't be quick to judge until I've finished what I have to say. My name is Diana, and I am from an island called Themyscira. I am an Amazon with gifts granted from the gods of Olympus."

Clark's face revealed that he didn't believe a word, and as a means of displaying that she was being honest she floated in the air and grabbed him by the hand before squeezing as hard as she could. Clark winced in obvious discomfort and she continued. "The gods saved me from the changes in time and protected my memories of that timeline to aid me in this mission. I am to find the persons responsible for changing the timeline and repair the damage that they've caused."

"And…in your timeline….I haven't created that madness?" Clark asked, a little hope beginning to shimmer in his eyes.

"I wish I could offer you the comfort that the Joker doesn't exist in the real timeline, but I hope you can take solace in the fact that you weren't there to have any fault in his creation." She replied. "In my world, you are one of my very best friends, and that is why I came to you for help."

"What happens if you fail?" Clark asked.

"If that were to happen then eventually the gods would release their protection on my memories, and I would be returned to Themyscira while the world slowly crumbles. The ripples in time that this person is causing will only increase with each change that they make. The potential that this world's end would come is a possible outcome."

"How will you find him?" Clark continued to question.

"I intend to use my memories to locate changes in the timeline and look for any possible patterns or signals that could lead me to this man. I ask that you return with us to Gotham. It's the first location where I've seen a great change."

"I don't know." Clark commented. "How can you know that you need to be there just because of one anomaly?"

"It's not just one." Diana responded. "That city has lost its champion just as Metropolis has lost you in this timeline. I've also seen that heroes from my timeline aside from Green Lanterns seem to be frowned upon, and that is why I've not revealed my powers to the likes of Bruce. He's become a friend in both timelines."

"I…" Clark began before swallowing the lump that had grown in his throat. "I…just can't go back. Not there. I'm sorry Diana."

Before she could respond Clark opened the door and left her standing in the barn all alone. Diana couldn't believe how far her friend had fallen. He'd truly lost his way thanks to the maniacal clown tearing apart his psyche. She would have to ask Batman how he withstood standing up to a monster like that all those years. Perhaps it was why he held such more violent rules while he patrolled Gotham as compared to being involved on League missions. Surely there was something that could help to explain it.

Diana walked out of the barn to see Bruce sending the production crew away. With the discovery of Kal, there was no need to keep up the ruse. Diana looked around for her sullen best friend but couldn't find him anywhere. She offered a prayer to her gods that Kal finds some form of peace for the demons that were torturing him and had beaten him until he was a broken man. With Kal gone, there was nothing left to stick around the Kent's farm for. She knew that at the moment Bruce was her only chance at having some help, but she had no idea how to tell him what his consequences would be if he did help her. Perhaps she could garner information about what happened to that moment in his life as an eight year old boy. That might also give her an opening if there was someone in that alley that she would know wasn't supposed to be. It was a long shot, but still her best opportunity at that point.

Diana walked up towards Bruce to hear him finishing an apology to the Kents and promising to keep their secret safe. She made her farewells and asked Bruce if he was ready to return to Gotham. He didn't answer her verbally, but did walk over to the car and sat in the driver seat. She was slightly surprised at the fact that he didn't offer to open the door for her as he had every other time up to that point, but decided to just leave it at that. The ride back to the airfield was just as silent as their departure. Diana was processing about how broken Kal had been from the results of dealing with the Joker. She still couldn't understand how a human with no super powers whatsoever, even as insane as the Joker is, could so quickly bring Kal down to the point of submission. He was supposed to be the strongest of the Justice League, but now it seemed that he was more simply the most powerful in strength only. His will to fight against such insanity apparently could only take him so far before he'd become virtually stripped by that insanity. But she'd seen him fight the Joker on numerous occasions in her own timeline, and never did he seem to even waver in the slightest against that madman.

It was then that Diana realized that of all the missions where Batman was not involved, she could never recall a single one with the Joker that he wasn't right there fighting along side them. She'd always just assumed that it had to do with the Joker being from Gotham City, but perhaps there was more to it than that. Bruce had gone toe to toe with the Joker on his own more times than she could recall, and he never once seemed to waver in his quest to continue on despite whatever the Joker tried to do. Those thoughts caused her to realize just how little she still knew about her dark teammate. She wanted to know more about him now more than ever before, and that caused her to finally look over to Bruce, who she realized had remained silent the entire time. He was staring forward and his hands were gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles had turned white some time ago. She knew that he was upset, but over what she wasn't sure. "Is something wrong Bruce?" She asked; concern evident in her tone.

Bruce continued to stare forward for a few moments before taking a couple of breaths and allowed his grip to lessen. Then he glanced over at her, and she noticed that the hard look had left him. "No." He finally answered, although she could tell that he was trying to hide whatever it was that had been bothering him.

"Please Bruce, don't lie to me." Diana requested. "I can still see that something's bothering you. There's no need to hide it from me."

"It's nothing Diana, really." Bruce still defied. "You shouldn't be concerned about it. I'm just ready to head back to Gotham. I've had my fill of visiting the farming life."

Diana felt compelled to reach into her bag and pull out the Lasso of Truth because she knew he was still hiding what it was that had been bothering him, but that would mean letting out that she was more than just a woman to him. She wasn't quite sure just how he'd react to finding out that she had powers, let alone the fact that he could begin prying into just what she was really up to. Still though, there were other ways that she'd picked up in her time away from Themyscira that could get the answers she was seeking. She'd have to employ that on the flight back however as Bruce pulled to a stop in the airfield where his company jet awaited them. "We can continue this conversation on the flight back then." Diana barked. "Perhaps when we get closer to your city, your tongue will loosen up and allow you to be honest with me."

"Diana, please just drop it." Bruce huffed. "Yes, there was something that bothered me, but it's over now. We're going back to Gotham and apparently Kal isn't. I'm fine with that. Really."

The way that Bruce used Kal's name tipped her off to what it was. There seemed to be venom dripping off the word as it left Bruce's mouth. Something Kal had done or said was the likely culprit. She waited to continue and studied Bruce as they boarded the jet. He was beginning to get over what it was that had set him off, but it still lingered enough to show in his body language. They both sat quietly, but that only lasted until shortly after the jet had taken flight. "Did Kal say or do something that upset you Bruce?" She started again.

Bruce faced her giving a look that said he certainly didn't want to continue with this conversation. "No." Bruce stated. "Aside from the fact that he gave up on Gotham, he didn't do anything to bother me."

"Then what in Hera's name is it?" Diana called out before realizing she'd finally let something slip about her that she hadn't intended.

Bruce had a quizzical look on his face now that had drained all the anger away seemingly. "Hera?" He asked rhetorically at first. "Who's Hera?"

"She's…." Diana tried to think of something quickly, but nothing came to her aside from the truth. After a few seconds of silence, she sighed and decided to continue. "Hera, queen of Olympus and wife to Zeus."

"You called out the name of a Goddess from Greek mythology?" Bruce asked.

"Who says it's a myth?" Diana answered with a defying question of her own.

"Wait, so you're telling me that all other forms of religion are wrong?" Bruce inquired.

"I never said that either." Diana again responded defiantly. "All I'm saying is what I believe in. I'm not questioning anyone else's faith unless they wish to question my own."

Bruce halted in his argument against Diana's religious beliefs after her response. He thought about it for a moment. There were certainly crazier things that people could believe in, and she certainly wasn't trying to force her beliefs onto anyone. "Sorry." He apologized. "I didn't mean to offend you."

Hearing Bruce apologize was still incredibly foreign to Diana's ears. If she had to spend too much time completing her mission, she'd likely hear more apologies in that time span than the rest of Bruce's life once things were set back to normal. "Apology accepted Bruce." She responded. "But you still need to tell me what it was that upset you."

"You're not going to let this go are you?" Bruce questioned rhetorically. "Fine. I was….concerned when he was alone with you."

"Why would you…." Diana began to ask before she stopped herself. She didn't want to know the answer to that question, and thought it best to finally drop the subject entirely. "Never mind. I can see why you'd be concerned, especially after finding out about how strong Kal really is."

The closer that they got to Gotham, the more normal and friendly their conversation became. That was until the point that Bruce came to the realization of the hour that they'd returned. He didn't realize how much time they'd actually spent in Kansas before returning, and it was now late in the evening. Much too late for them to be out and about in Gotham City with no form of protection. Considering that he'd driven them to the airport himself, there'd be no one there to pick them up, but Diana once again didn't show any fear about heading to the car in the parking garage. Bruce grew increasingly quiet as they walked further and further away from the entrance of the airport. It was dark in the garage, and if he were to be asked, it was a little too dark there. He stopped instantly at the sound of something pinging off the floor as though someone had dropped something metallic onto the concrete. Diana sensed Bruce's uneasiness and came to a stop too right in front of him. She looked around for a moment, but couldn't see or hear anything that concerned her. Bruce began walking again at that point as well, so he apparently passed the noise off as a non-threat. When he saw his car parked right where he'd left it, he though that they were home free, but those hopes were summarily dashed by the sound of a gun being cocked behind them. "Getting in kinda late don't ya think?" A thug asked as they turned around to see a group of thugs with white face paint standing before them.

"You'll have to pay the Gotham City entry tax." Another thug announced, followed by the chuckles and laughter from the rest of the crew.

"He lives in Gotham." Diana responded as she stepped in front of Bruce even though he tried to hold her back. "We owe you nothing, and I advise you to stop now before you get hurt."

Half of the thugs bent over in laughter upon hearing the threat from this super model. She obviously didn't know who she was dealing with, and that was going to be a hard lesson that she would have to learn quickly before she stopped breathing. Three thugs took a shot at her, and all they saw were her arms moving rapidly followed by three ting sounds. She was still standing before them in a defensive stance, and they all began firing on her. They weren't going to fail and have to face the Joker's wrath because of some bimbo. Little did they know how far off base they were with their assumption of who they were up against.

Diana took flight and charged at the crew, attracting their attention and more importantly their gunfire solely on her. She made short work of five men as soon as they were within her reach, tossing each one of them into a concrete wall hard enough to leave them in an unconscious heap. That left two more immediately in front of her, and they wisely dropped their guns and took off in the opposite direction. It was then that she heard the sound of a fist making contact against skin and bone. She quickly turned to see Bruce standing there with a gun in his hand and a thug on the ground by his feet. Even though he might not be Batman in this timeline, she saw that he was still a warrior in spirit, and that brought a smile to her face.

Bruce dropped the gun onto the ground as he looked into Diana's eyes. Although at first he was frightened by the situation, he was also quickly surprised to find that this beautiful woman had powers to combat the evils of Gotham. It was no wonder she was unafraid. He'd never seen anyone move as fast as she did, and to see her toss the first mugger like he was nothing more than a paperweight across the parking garage only to be followed quickly by four others. It was an amazing sight to see. He saw though that another thug was moving to take a shot from behind Diana, and that was when he went into action. He quickly grabbed the gun that the man was beginning to take aim with as Diana dealt with the other two remaining criminals, and his MMA training kicked in for him as he slammed the elbow of his free arm down onto the thug's before ducking a clumsy punch that was sent his way. He quickly followed that with an uppercut that connected solidly on the thug's jaw. It was then that Diana turned to see her friend standing there victorious. Adrenaline was pumping through him as he'd never experienced something so exhilarating before. "That was….amazing." Bruce commented. "How long have you had powers?"

"I was granted powers by my patron gods and goddesses on Olympus." Diana responded as she started walking toward Bruce and the car. "Ready to go home?"

"Definitely." Bruce announced as he unlocked and opened her door for her. It was then that the adrenaline began to subside, and was being replaced by…pain? Why was he feeling pain? He reached under his jacket to investigate the source of that pain and felt something warm and moist to the touch. He was then overwhelmed with a feeling of dizziness as he tried to use the car door to steady himself, but it was too late as he fell to the ground.

"Bruce!" Diana screamed as she climbed back out of the passenger seat to see him pull his hand out from under his jacket, revealing that it was covered in crimson red. She cradled his head as she checked on his vitals. "Stay with me Bruce." She pleaded as he closed his eyes and his world went black.