Author's Note: I've had the last chapter in mind for quite a while, and now... It's time to put that plot on hold for a while. Sorry... Just think of it as building suspense, even though in reality it's just me juggling about four separate (at the moment, anyway) plot-lines. I'll get back to it eventually; I'm going to be writing overtime to get there as fast as I can. I have big plans here, and there are some that I can't wait to put in motion. But unfortunately, those events will have to wait for the plot (yuck) to catch up. But stay tuned... All questions will be answered in due time.

Batman was back to work in no time. Almost immediately after he arrived at Wayne Manor, he'd rushed to the Batcave and had J'onn teleport him to the Watchtower. In no time at all, he was in the process of cutting into monster that he'd faced the month before. Superman had filled him in on the details surrounding the monster's appearance; authorities reported that the damage had been very extensive, ranging from cracked streets to completely collapsed buildings. The most unsettling piece of information confirmed Batman's worst fears; a large crater had been found not far from the site of the beast's attack.

Although no extraterrestrial objects found in the vicinity, the crater was more than enough evidence to convince Batman that the beast had come from space. Coupled with Ra's al Ghul's warning, they formed quite an ominous omen.

The monster's anatomy proved very frustrating to Batman. He glanced at the small pile of dissection knives on the table, all of which had been spent in attempt after attempt to break through the tough hide. But the mysteries inside proved to be just as difficult to crack. Batman had expected a mystery, but instead he found that the monster's anatomy was rather familiar. It wasn't unlike a human's; it contained organs that he easily recognized. He was quickly able to find what seemed to be a small stomach, and he could see what appeared to be lungs, although they had been mostly destroyed by Ironman's punch. His attempts to crack through the skull to get a look at the brain were unsuccessful; it's tough skin proved to be to hard and thick. He settled for an x-ray- the cavity that housed the brain was surprisingly large.

The dissection ended up revealing more new puzzles than it solved. The monster's anatomy was too similar to a human's to be completely unrelated... But it couldn't have originated on Earth. It was far to large to hide in a large population, and as it had demonstrated in Paris, it was no master of subtlety.

Diana entered the room to find Batman elbow deep in the beast's intestines. He looked over at her when he heard the door open.

"This is kind of a bad time..."

"I can see that... But I came to remind you that we're going to Themyscira to meet my mother today. We have to leave in three hours."

Batman swore and dropped his knife into the monster's large intestine. "Three hours?"

"Yes, Bruce. You've been in here for nearly five already. Don't worry, you can sleep in the jet... Just make sure that you remember to shower first..." She finished, wrinkling her nose at the horrible smell emanating from the deceased monster.

"Right..."

An hour and a half later, Bruce had finished showering, and was pacing his bedroom, trying to decide between the clothes that he'd laid out on the bed. One one side was his best tuxedo; on the other was his Batsuit. After twenty minutes of pacing, Diana entered the room.

"Bruce, what's taking you so long?" She looked at the clothes that were neatly spread out on the bed. "Bruce, you don't need to impress anybody. Just be yourself."

"I know... But which one?"

"Why don't you try both?"

"Right... But that doesn't really help me make a decision about what to wear..." He said, thinking briefly about trying to wear both the tuxedo and the bastuit at the same time.

"I'm sure that she'll be delighted to meet you either way."

"I sincerely doubt that..."

"Bruce, just pick one. Take a leaf out of your friend's book and flip a coin. Just pick one."

She left the bedroom and headed to the batcave, climbing into Batman's jet. In minutes, she heard quiet footsteps approach through the jet's hatch. She sighed to herself.

"I should have known that you'd choose the one that covered your face... Alright, we might as well go now."

She started the jet's engine, and lifted the legs while Batman sat down in the passenger seat. She activated the ignition, and the jet took off.

Batman slept through a good part of the journey, but was awakened by his excellently trained reflexes just before the island came in sight. In a matter of minutes, he could make out bits of gold on the beaches of the island; as they approached, he could see that they were the battle armor of the amazon warriors that awaited them. They were all very tall, like Diana, and possessed striking features. Batman could make out a figure in the center of the crowd, garbed in white, with flowing white-blonde hair. He recognized her as Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, and mother of Diana. She was an intimidating sight, despite being the only of the amazons not clad in battle armor.

Diana smoothly landed the jet on the beach, while the amazons curiously gathered around it. She quickly turned to Bruce. "Be. Nice." She said, keeping her teeth clenched. Batman nodded slowly. Satisfied, Diana pressed a button to open the hatch.

Author's Note: It's time for some shenanigans before the real plot kicks in. Because everybody loves shenanigans. On an unrelated note, typing is killing my fingers right now. I've busted up my hands playing bass lately, and I've got some nasty blisters forming. Fortunately, I've dealt with a ton of blisters from guitar and drums, and I won't let it slow me down. It is eating up a lot of my time, though; I can play plugged in now, and I've been doing so for hours at a time lately. But I'll keep trying to keep up with writing; I still have another day off. So expect an update soon.