Disclaimer: I do not own any part or characters associated with DC comics.

Once again huge thanks to MGD for betaing this for me sorry it took a bit longer to get out but I think everyone will be happy with how it ends one more to go after this in this particular story so heres to the home stretch.

Enjoy!

Chapter 5: Getting Acquainted

"Hi. I'm Bruce Wayne. I noticed that you looked a bit bored. Care to have a drink with me?" he said while holding out a champagne glass to her. Hera, this man was handsome simultaneously causing her to feel warm and breathless at the same time. But she would not back away, she represented the Amazon nation. She took a deep breath to pull herself together.

"Diana of Themyscira. Was it really that obvious?" she responded with a tone of guilt in her voice.

"Only for people that don't get lost in your eyes," he replied with a wink.

Brushing her hair behind her ear with a sigh, she claimed, "I don't quite understand why people seem to avoid me. No one cares to explain it, and I am starting to think it's me."

Laughing, he replied, "Your majesty, I can confidently say without a doubt that it is definitely one hundred percent you."

Who did this man think he was! Being so utterly rude, she felt her face starting to betray her. She knew her anger was obvious, but she didn't care. She wanted to throttle this man.

Seeing her impending explosion, he quickly followed up his statement. "What I mean to say is that people are intimidated by you. You're royalty, and people are always intimidated around royalty," Bruce clarified. "It also doesn't help that you're a superheroine and able to lift people over your head without much effort," he finished with a chuckle.

"Yet, you're here talking to me," Diana accused looking at him in a way that demanded an explanation.

"Well, we aren't that much different, and besides the same kind of thing happens to me whenever I leave Gotham," Bruce responded never once losing his smirk.

"So, you're saying your royalty and a superhero," Diana deadpanned deciding to play along in order to see how much more information she pry out of him.

"I am definitely not a superhero. Personally, I think you are all crazy for dressing up in tights and flying around risking your lives. As for royalty, I may not officially belong to any monarchy, but I happen to be considered the Prince of Gotham by some," Bruce replied.

"You're saying that you don't envy the hero life, Mr. Wayne," Diana asked wanting to see his reaction.

"Call me Bruce. No, I don't envy your lives. I give more than enough money to make a difference, and I still get to have all the fun I want," he said while signaling a waiter for more champagne.

"So, you're a prince and battle evil with your checkbook?" Diana asked with a hint of amusement.

"Precisely and so far, I haven't gotten any complaints. Don't forget, your Majesty, I have plenty of time to play," Bruce replied causing Diana to laugh at the statement.

"That's enough about me. Tell me about yourself. What brings Wonder Woman to the modern world?" Bruce asked turning the questions on her. Diana allowed him to continue figuring that she had just as much opportunity to get information out of him if he was comfortable around her.

"The Martian invasion was felt even on Themyscira, and I couldn't sit by while the world was crying out for aid. I couldn't stand by and do nothing, especially since my goddesses gifted me as the champion of the Amazons."

"So, you chose to help the men of the world that you so despise," Bruce asked in a way letting her know that he meant no offense but was just curious.

"Truthfully, I did not come for the men of this world but for the women. I knew that they were going to be hurt by the invasion, and I could not let my sisters suffer," she responded honestly wondering how he would take the news.

"So, I guess we can consider it an ironic bonus that you helped us men while helping the women. You really have it in for us, don't you? If you don't mind me asking, what is so bad about us men?" Bruce said without any malice in her voice, which surprised her.

Usually, when she made a statement like that, the men would get a look of disgust on their face that suggesting that they thought she was a fool. "Men have severely wronged women as far back as written history treating them like property instead of the self-thinking independent people that they are. Also, the history that I have read so far makes women seem like they played no significant part and, in fact, were a hindrance to men in the progression of the world," she said feeling the passion within her rise as she started building her case. "Can you deny that men have oppressed women for centuries and even now are in a subservient position to men in several areas today's world?" she waited for his inevitable pathetic defense knowing she would be able to contest any argument that he could muster.

"I never said that I denied it," he replied while watching her face as it turned from a mask of anger into a shocked expression.

"Men have oppressed women throughout history. It even goes on today, but you shouldn't think that all women have been completely powerless in history. You should read up on Sappho, Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, both Queen Elizabeth's, Catherine the Great, Harriet Tubman, Eleanor Roosevelt, Indira Giadhi, and even Oprah in today's world just to name a few. If you ask any married man who really rules that relationship, and if he says him he's just lying through his teeth," he actually conceded her point much to her further shock and brought up some names, which she only had heard a few. Apparently, Bruce Wayne was more intelligent than he let on.

"There is some intelligence behind that smile, and I think that little speech that you gave earned you the right to call me Diana," she found him more and more interesting as they talked. She figured that he deserved to call her by her first name since he wasn't as chauvinistic as the rest of the people she had met tonight.

"Well, I am honored that a lady such as yourself deemed this humble man worthy to address you in a more intimate way, Diana," he teased with an irresistible grin on his face the entire time assuring her that he wasn't being sarcastic. "Tell me, Diana, I've noticed you mingling, laughing, and even blushing tonight, but I have not seen you dance yet. Do you know how, or were you just waiting for me to come and ask you?" he smirked.

Damn him and that small little grin of his! For some reason, his grin tugged more at her the more time that she talked to him. "I took dance lessons when I was told that I would need them for events, but I refuse to be led around the floor by a man as some kind of trophy," she was surprised by him. He seemed to have the courage or a complete lack of shame; he was so open and actually flirted with her.

"That's an easy enough problem to fix, so it looks like you're about to have your first dance with a man in this world," he said standing up and offering his hand to her.

"What do you mean it's an easy problem to fix? I don't see anyway where I don't look like your arm candy out there," she was now just confused by his statement. As she glanced out to the floor, she saw the same thing that she had seen all night prosperous older businessmen gliding across the floor with scanty clad women that could easily be mistaken for the daughters.

"It's simple, Diana. You know in this kind of dancing that someone leads, right?" he continued at her nod, "So, how about I let you lead until you're comfortable enough out there for us to switch off every now and then. Deal?"

At this statement, she couldn't help but give brilliant smile at his thoughtfulness. He was willing to sacrifice his image in front of the elite of Gotham, just so she could have some fun. With that offer, she could only say one thing, "Deal." She stood and took his offered hand.

When they got to the dance floor much to the surprise of everyone, she couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure you don't mind all of these people . . . your friends seeing you follow the lead of a woman on the dance floor? Won't your date be upset?"

"Diana, I could care less about what my 'friends' think since I'm the one who got you to dance and not them. As for my date, she looks like she's too interested in Flash to notice the two of us," he said this as he pointed over to where his date was blatantly flirting with the Flash, who seemed to be greatly enjoying it.

"May I have this dance, your Majesty?" he inquired while tossing her a wink. His formality made her laugh as he stepped forward taking her hand and putting his other one around her waist while she put hers on his shoulder.

With his hand around her waist, she felt a surprising sensation that she couldn't quite name. It was a feeling that made her stomach warm, her breath short, and her heart beat like she was charging into battle. After a couple seconds of standing motionless, his grin came back and said, "Diana, it's customary for the person, who leads, to start the dance."

Blushing in embarrassment, she took the first step. Then, they moved together as one around the dance floor. He was much lighter on his feet than her since he had been doing this for much longer, but he never flaunted it once. When she stumbled or forgot a step, he would catch her with the hand on her waist and guide her in the right direction. As soon as she was back on course, he let her pick up the lead again. Diana found that she was really starting to enjoy the dance after the first song. As they waltzed into the second song, she couldn't hide the smile that was plastered on her face.

She knew Bruce had a horrible reputation as a womanizer and drunkard before she even arrived in Gotham. Superman made a point to mention it, but those traits were surprisingly absent while he was with her. He seemed very caring, intelligent, understanding, and extremely polite with a hint of flirtatiousness in his manner. After contemplating his traits, she realized that he was definitely out as Batman simply because they had nothing in common besides intelligence. While Bruce was polite and understanding, Batman was arrogant and cold towards others. While Bruce fit the physical description, which she deduced from the muscular physicality of his body, his personality contrasted too much with Batman's. Now that she thought about it, she fought the urge to laugh aloud at the inaccuracy of her earlier suspicion.

"I hope that you're not laughing at my expense, Diana, because in today's world it's rude to laugh at your dance partner."

"No, I was just thinking that one of the reasons I came was because I had this absurd idea that you may be Gotham's Batman."

She was glad that he started to laugh when she told him her thoughts. "Diana, I must say I am flattered that you would even consider me to be Batman. If I thought I could get away with it, I would actually encourage the thought. If you don't mind me asking, what made you decide I'm not eligible to be Gotham's Dark Knight?"

"Your personality. Batman is dark, rude, always thinks he's right, and completely uncaring to another person's situation. Don't mistake me. I mean he is extremely competent, very dedicated to his cause, and intelligent, but I haven't seen him even show a hint of humanity. It's just almost impossible to image him being at a party, talking to people, enjoying himself, and dancing with someone like us here tonight."

"Well, in that case, I will take it as a compliment. You seem to know quite a bit about Batman. I can't imagine him having many friends."

"Actually, I know almost nothing about him other than what I learned during the Martian invasion, and even then he never talked about himself. We have been searching for him for a couple weeks and so far haven't seen any trace of him other than his handiwork with the criminals. What's very strange is that everyone that we've talked to in the city seems to think that he's not even real or that he is actually a group of people. We want to invite him to the Justice League, but we just can't find him to let him know." Diana knew she was being a little open with Bruce. But nothing she said was really confidential knowledge, he may have some knowledge about Batman since he seemed in touch with the city.

"I don't know too much about him myself, but I do believe I can help you with confirming his existence." Diana raised an eyebrow at this wondering what information he could have. "If you ask some of the older attendees of these parties, they can vouch for that as well. You see when Batman first showed up in Gotham, he actually crashed a few of our parties to prevent a few robberies and kidnappings. From what I remember, I believe it was the same man since he always looked the same and had the same voice." Bruce told her all of this like it was common knowledge. He didn't realize that the knowledge that he just gave her was more than the rest of the League collected in the weeks they had been looking for him.

"Bruce, do you realize that you just gave us more information about Batman than the rest of the city combined?"

"Well, like I said, Diana, you just need to know who to ask," he said with a smile. By Hera, it only made him more appealing. She was incredibly happy to have met him tonight since she was immensely enjoying his company. The information about Batman only felt like a bonus.

All of the sudden, a crash was heard from across the room. As they both turned to look, they noticed Bruce's date had fallen over onto a table and had caused a number of dishes and wine glasses to break on the ground.

"Well, I better get over there and take her home before she breaks anything else that I'll have to replace. It was a pleasure meeting you, Diana. I hope to see you at more of these events," Bruce said while taking her hand and kissing it causing her heart to beat a little faster. As he walked backwards to his date, he said, "Don't be a stranger. If you're ever in town, stop by the manor or my office." With that, he turned and walked over to where his date was trying to extract her body from the debris that she created. As he was walking across the dance floor, she couldn't help but think that there was at least one man in the modern world, who wasn't so bad.

*****************************************

Well, that worked out much better than I thought it would. At first, he was all ready to approach her with his silly drunken playboy act, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it when he saw her sitting there by herself. Seeing her so isolated and lonely, it just reminded him of his life, and how he was constantly alone after the death of his parents. That is when he decided that he would do his utmost to help her enjoy the night and get into her good graces. Enough where he could hopefully dissuade her from thinking that he could ever possibly be Batman while pumping her for information about what the League had found out regarding his alter ego. His plan worked to perfection, and he had no doubt that when she relayed the events to that he would write it off as just another typical Bruce Wayne attempt at seduction. The only thing he did not plan for, however, was the fact that he enjoyed himself more than he had in years while talking to her. Finding a woman of such intelligence and beauty while at the same time being courageous and possessing such strong character was completely surprising.

He expected her to be completely uncompromising in her position like most other feminists he had ever met. Instead she was open to criticism on her points, it seemed that she wanted to follow up on his advice to study some of the strong females in history. Overall, he was incredibly surprised to find such intelligence in her, and her assimilation to man's culture occurred very quickly since the Martian invasion. When she first arrived, she was very stubborn, rash, and completely uncompromising of any approach but a full frontal assault. Now, she seemed to be willing to learn the modern culture while at the same time not losing an ounce of her spirit or conforming to the society around her.

When he got to his absolute disaster of a date, he looked at Flash with a grin and asked, "You're not trying to steal my date away from me tonight are you?"

"Just kept her company while you were dancing. She's all yours, again," Flash made a hasty retreat not wanting to deal with a drunken super model that looked on the verge of tears. Luckily, he knew how to diffuse these types of situations through years of practice

"Sweetie, how about I take you back to your place, and we can continue the party there?" he said helping her stand up and brushing her unruly locks behind her ear.

"Oh Brucie! You're just too much," she giggled while she stumbled into his arms unable to keep her own balance. God, her voice was annoying.

Escorting her out to the car, he beeped Alfred to let him know that he was on his way. He actually had to carry her the last fifty feet to the car as she passed out when they got outside. At least, it prevented him from having to come up with an excuse to ditch her. When he got her in the car, he sprayed her with a very mild sleeping agent to prevent her from waking up during the ride. When he was confident that she was truly under and not waking anytime soon, he slipped fully into the Bat.

"Let's drop her off quickly, Alfred. Then, I need to prepare for a meeting with the Justice League," he said.

"I assume that you successfully dissuaded any of them from believing that you are Batman, Master Bruce," Alfred questioned as much as he stated glancing back to his charge in the rearview mirror.

"Most of them are fools. All but one did not even suspect me of being Batman. If that is the evidence of their investigatory work, then they are in desperate need of my help. I did manage to glean that they know nothing about me and have been trying to seek me out to join their League."

"Most of them, Sir?" Alfred always caught onto the smallest things. It seems that one can never take the spy out of the man. His instincts and senses were as sharp as ever.

"Wonder Woman suspected me, but I made her think otherwise by putting on an act completely contrary to Batman," he stated.

"You mean that you were polite, caring, and all around charming, Sir," Alfred said in his tone that bordered on mocking but was just polite enough for him to not be called on it.

"Yes," he ground out wishing that sometimes Alfred wasn't so damn insightful.

The rest of the trip to the hotel was made in silence and together they moved his date to a ritzy penthouse. Once they were inside, they proceeded to destroy the room to make it look like a wild after party involving all kinds of debauchery took place. Finishing up with that, Bruce put on his cape and cowl, gave a nod to Alfred, went out to the balcony, and took to the night. He had much to do tonight to prepare for the inevitable meeting. He had carefully prepared for this night. His suit contained a powerful sound device that masked his heart beat, and his cowl was lined with lead to foil Superman's x-ray vision. His only worries were the Martian's telepathy, and the small chance Diana may be able to recognize him from earlier tonight. He had prepared a location to meet with the League. Now, it was just a matter of luring them there.