Diana was still trying to catch her breath. The level of descent Batman chose to take in dropping through the atmosphere was both exhilarating and made it difficult to keep her breathing normal. She was still feeling a tad dizzy from all the G-forces they had just experienced. She was also amazed that they didn't burn to a crisp. Diana was half expecting the wings to melt away as she watched the metal glow a brilliant bright red. After about ten minutes, Batman finally leveled the Batwing off and Diana could breath normally once again. She looked out of the cockpit and could make out the mass of land next to what had to be the ocean. Diana was shocked that they could already see land when they had only departed the Watchtower ten minutes beforehand. This man was either completely insane or absolutely fearless, and she was curious to discover which it was. "You are certainly not one to shy away from danger, are you Batman?" She asked.
"You have no idea Princess." Batman responded.
"I don't recall that maneuver being provided in the Javelin flight manual." Diana commented.
"That's because it's not." Batman answered. "A teacher never reveals all of his secrets."
"Perhaps then I'll just have to persuade you to teach me that move." Diana countered with a smirk on her face.
Batman must have sensed it, because he too smirked as he grunted in response. He then quickly dropped the Batwing again as he was swiftly approaching the outskirts of Gotham City. Diana looked around at the city when they leveled off once again. It seemed to be a beautiful city, but with a hint of darkness around it. She thought about how it seemed to match with what little she knew of Batman's persona, as he always lurked in the shadows, using that to his advantage just as a hunter would use their surroundings to camouflage them from their targeted prey. She was caught off guard by the bright shining floodlight that formed the symbol of a bat up in the night sky. She never would have thought that the people of this city would have accepted such a dark figure as its hero.
When Batman reached his desired destination he slowed the Batwing down considerably, and opened the canopy. Diana didn't have time to ask what he was doing as Batman quickly inverted the jet and unfastened his harness, allowing him to freefall. Diana's first thought at that moment was that Batman had to be insane to jump out from this altitude, especially when the man had no power of flight to keep him from plummeting to his death. She quickly unlatched her harness and dove out after him. She had to go as fast as she could to gain on him. Batman wasn't even attempting to slow his descent until just when she was almost within reach. She saw Batman as he reached back and grabbed hold of his cape, then it suddenly became rigid allowing him to almost hang glide. Diana had to avert her course quickly to keep from slamming into Batman, and once she was clear of ramming into him she slowed down to follow him where he was going. It was still Batman's city after all, and Diana had never been there before. She watched in awe as Batman controlled where he was heading, and then when he pulled out a grapple gun and fired it at another rooftop. She couldn't believe how quietly he landed on the roof. It was almost as though he controlled sound entirely. Not even his cape seemed to make a noise. There was a man waiting on the rooftop that Batman had led her to, and it was also the source of the floodlight pointed into the night sky. The man turned around almost as though he was expecting to be snuck up on from behind. "Commissioner." Batman spoke first.
"Hello Batman." The commissioner responded. "I'm sure by now you've heard about the explosion on the far east side."
"Yes." Batman answered. "What other information can you tell me about it?"
"Well we have reason to believe that it was the clown and Quinzel again. No casualties, at least not yet." The commissioner answered before looking over at the woman that landed just behind Batman. "I see you've increased the heroes on your team." He walked over and stuck out his hand in greeting. "I'm Commissioner Gordon. It's a pleasure to meet you Wonder Woman."
"Temporary assignment, Jim." Batman explained, but the commissioner was already shaking hands with Wonder Woman. This gave Batman the opportunity he was waiting for, and he silently slipped away while the other two were in the middle of introductions.
Diana noticed not but a few seconds afterwards that Batman had disappeared, and was likely heading to the east side of town. She decided to be friendly with the commissioner and see if she couldn't retrieve some extra details before she took off after Batman. Commissioner Gordon seemed like a good man, and he also seemed to have a great respect for what Batman was trying to do to clean up this city. Diana decided that she would have to visit Gordon once again. He was an intricate piece of the puzzle to finding out more about Batman.
Sure enough, she found Batman near the site of the explosion. He had a device in his hand, and seemed to be searching for something as he slowly wandered around. Diana landed next to him and watched intently as Batman worked. She decided that he was definitely intelligent in the least, as he was collecting data to explain what had happened prior to the explosion. After a few more minutes, Batman put the device away and turned towards an adjacent roof top before firing off a grapple and flying up into the air. Diana shook her head and followed. What was it with this man, she questioned internally? He seemingly refused to let her in on anything that was happening. She wasn't some rookie that needed to be held back, and her frustration at this mortal was beginning to resurface once again. By the time she reached the rooftop where the grapple had latched onto, Batman was nowhere to be found. Diana looked around in every direction, and finally spotted some movement two rooftops away. She kept her focus on the movement as she approached, but lost it temporarily after it had advanced another five rooftops. Diana landed on that roof, and began searching for where he had disappeared to. Just before she took flight to look elsewhere, a voice came from behind her. "Quiet Princess." Came the deep low voice.
Diana spun around and could just barely make out a figure hidden in the shadows. If she weren't a Meta with enhanced senses, she would never have been able to see him. She silently walked over to him before whispering. "Are you going to let me be a part of this or not?"
Batman didn't answer verbally, but merely pointed to another rooftop over her shoulder. She could see some figures moving about, and turned to look back at Batman. "Joker?" She asked still whispering.
"No." Batman answered. "Just some of his goons. They are most likely spotters looking out for when I approach. Joker is long gone by now, and these men are supposed to throw me off, but I can still get answers from them. Wait here."
Just like that, Batman sprung to life again, running to the edge of the building and leaping off. Soon Diana saw him elevate, with his cape once again rigid. She wasn't about to miss what was going to happen, and she flew over to another building for a much better view. Just as she landed, Batman had fired off his grapple which attached to one of the henchmen. Batman retracted the grapple, which caused the henchman to fall while simultaneously pulling Batman swiftly to the remainder of the group. He was completely surrounded by the other five men. Diana was about to join in to help him, but just as she left her feet she saw one of the five tied up in a bola, and another on the ground after a leg sweep. The third person had a smoke bomb thrown at him. It must have been anesthetic gas as he crumpled to the floor in a heap. The other two tried to run off, but a batarang flew from Batman's hands with a chord attached which wrapped around one man's legs, tackling him to the floor. That left just one man. Batman ran up to him and snatched hold of one of the man's arms before sending it flying downward into Batman's swiftly rising knee. Diana could hear a crack from her rooftop where the bones by that man's wrists were now broken. He shrieked into the night sky from the pain before Batman grabbed him by the throat and dragged him to the edge of the building. "I want answers, and you're going to give them to me!" Batman said in a very cold and menacing voice.
The henchman before him was shaking in fear, but was only babbling about not knowing anything. Suddenly Batman tossed him over the edge of the building. Diana saw this and took flight immediately after the fast falling henchman. Based off of what Wonder Woman had just witnessed, Batman would be expelled from the League. She was quickly gaining on the man when she noticed a cable starting to become taut that was wrapped around the man's leg. Sure enough he slowed to a stop, and began rising back up towards the rooftop. Diana floated up and landed next to Batman, who was controlling the cable as it retracted and brought the man back up. He had clearly lost control of his bodily functions, his clothing now stained in wetness in the front. Batman latched onto the man's hair and pulled his head closer so that his face was staring right into Batman's. "Last chance Jimmy. Next time I won't use the line to stop you. Where is the Joker?"
H….He's …..He's in the warehouse district!" The henchman yelled in a pleading tone that was basically begging to be removed from dangling upside down over the edge of the building. "Th….The building at the corner of fifth and Clemons."
Batman pushed Jimmy away so that he swung outwards. Jimmy began to scream in fear before he swung back towards the Dark Knight and was met with a fist to the face, knocking him unconscious. Batman pulled the unconscious man back over the rooftop before releasing the cable, and allowing the body to fall to the floor. Diana watched as Batman secured all the henchman with plastic fisticuffs and basically hog tied them all together. He then pressed a button on his belt, and shortly after the Batwing was hovering above them. Batman used his grapple to climb up to the jet where Diana just flew up and was sitting in the passenger seat waiting for him. "I don't recall that being part of the policies on interrogation in the Justice League Code of Conduct handbook you provided Batman." Diana stated as the canopy closed. "Don't you think that was a little excessive?"
"Gotham isn't a part of that handbook." Batman responded before pushing forward towards the destination the goon had provided. "I needed information, and I got it. He'll live. That's all that's important."
Diana looked at him with a disapproving glare. "So you are exempt from following the guidelines you've set forth with no one else regarding Justice League protocol. That seems quite hypocritical."
"When I am working for the Justice League, I follow and accept the protocols that have been approved." Batman fired back. "You came along on this ride without my permission. This isn't a Justice League matter. So don't question what I do to get the job done here. This isn't Metropolis Princess, things work differently here."
Diana had heard just about enough about what she didn't understand that was taking place here, and her patience had worn out. As soon as they landed on the rooftop Batman had chosen as a safe enough distance to keep from attracting the clown's attention, Diana flew off until she located the destination. Batman tried to stop her, but she was too quick this time for him. She was going to take down Joker quickly, and in the interest of Justice League policies. When that was done, she planned to call for a meeting to vote Batman to either be suspended or out of the Justice League entirely. If he wanted to handle things in this hypocritical manner, and treat the rest of the League as second rate, then she wanted nothing to do with him any longer, curiosity aside.
Diana flew around the building a couple times before deciding where she wanted to enter. She found a broken window, and entered the building silently. It was quite dark inside, and took her eyes a moment to adjust. She walked around cautiously, looking and listening for any signs of intruders. Diana came up to a door, and leaned in to listen as she tried to decipher if someone was on the other side. After a few seconds, she was able to make out some voices talking quietly on the other side. They couldn't be right at the door though as their voices didn't indicate they were whispering, but carrying on a casual conversation. Satisfied that she could enter unnoticed, Diana grabbed the door handle and began turning the knob until she was overcome with an immense shock from electricity. She tried to fight her way through the pain, but was overcome by the massive amount of electricity flowing through her body. It sent her crashing to the ground. She was just able to look up when she heard laughter followed by the squeaking of the door opening. "Very good Mr. Cutioner, I'm ready for some roasted Ba….Whoops! Wrong do gooder." Joker said as he saw it was Wonder Woman and kneeled down beside her. When he saw that she was still conscious, he grabbed her by the hair and turned her head so that she was looking right at him. "You're a little out of your element here, aren't you my dear." Joker laughed again. "Electrocutioner, give her the shock of a life time. We can't have her warning the Bat about our surprise." Electrocutioner cranked up the voltage and gave her another direct hit of current through her body. Diana screamed in pain before everything went black.
Batman was more than furious with Wonder Woman. Why she would take off after someone as dangerous as the Joker was beyond him. She was supposed to be immortal and have lived for centuries already. That island she came from had obviously sheltered her from the real world more than Batman had anticipated. He was going to have to work quickly to get there before she did something stupid like get herself caught. He didn't even want to think about what the Joker would do to torture her. It took about five minutes to make it to the building that the henchman had pointed him to. Looking around at his surroundings, the building was quite large. Batman flipped open a panel on his right gauntlet and hacked in to the city's files where he located the building's blueprints. Using those, he found seven possible ways to enter. Batman then engaged the infrared vision on his cowl. When it focused in, he could make out two bodies dragging a third towards where a fourth person was standing. They had to be dragging Wonder Woman, and were likely going to place her somewhere that she could be confined. Surely the Joker had expected Batman to arrive, not Wonder Woman. Now they were likely going to use her as bait. Who was the fourth person though, and how much trouble would that other person represent? Batman basically wiped out all of the usual suspects in Joker's crew on the rooftop earlier.
Batman entered the building cautiously. He kept the infrared on so that he could see where everyone else was at, and be certain that they wouldn't be aware of his presence. He wanted to do two things before he mounted his attack. First he wanted to see who the other person was in the building. Then he needed to find a way to check on Wonder Woman's status. That would give him all the variables he needed to formulate a plan of action. Once Batman was safely inside, he shot out his grapple and climbed up into the rafters of the building. Moving silently, he approached an area where office rooms were located. He scanned the area up there for any possible traps, and finding none he then dropped down to the first floor. He approached a door at the end of a hallway where some of the heat signatures were still at, and Batman pulled out a small fiber optic cable and slid it under the door. Kneeling down, Batman connected it to a screen on his gauntlet, and saw who the fourth person was. Electrocutioner would make this rescue and apprehension extremely difficult.
Saving Wonder Woman would be the main priority now instead of taking down Harley and Joker. With that thought in mind, he was now curious as to how they had been able to take her down. Batman pulled the fiber optic cable out from under the door when he noticed that Electrocutioner was approaching the door. As Batman closed the panel on his gauntlet and started to stand up, he noticed scorch marks on the wood around the handle to the door. He surmised that it must have been rigged with a massive electrical charge. Especially if it was enough to take down someone like Wonder Woman. If it had been him that tried to open the door, he might not have survived such a blast. Batman had no more time to waste as he could hear Electrocutioner's footsteps approaching. Batman swiftly went back down the hallway until he found a room with the door cracked open. He slipped into that room and returned the door to its original position just as Electrocutioner opened the other door at the end of the hall. From where he was at, Batman could make out what Joker was saying. "Everyone take your seats. With this creature here, Bats won't be far behind." Joker laughed as Electrocutioner shut the hallway door again. Batman figured that it was Electrocutioner himself that had supplied the charge to bring down Wonder Woman when she touched the door handle. He would have to find another way in, and take out Electrocutioner immediately before anything else.
Joker knelt down in front of Diana and gave her an appraising look. She certainly had to be strong as he could see signs that she was beginning to wake up already. Joker smiled deviously as he pulled out a knife, and dragged it along the smooth skin of Diana's cheek, then followed a path down her neck. The feel of the cold metal against her skin was enough to rouse her, and she began to slowly open her eyes. Her head was throbbing, and she groaned from the pain of it as her vision adjusted to see the white painted face before her. She soon realized that Joker held a knife to her throat as it's razor sharpness cut her skin ever so slightly.
"Good evening Wonder Woman." Joker greeted with a great wide smile revealing all of his yellow stained teeth. "I apologize for the rude introduction earlier. My name is Joker, and you've already met Electrocutioner." He cackled for a moment before clearing his throat.
"I already know who you are." Diana growled.
"So, my reputation precedes me." Joker cooed. "But I would have to wonder why you still came if you knew me already. That disrespect cuts me to the bone. Sort of like this!" Joker rammed the knife next to Diana's shoulders. The blade was long enough that it scraped against her collar bone. Diana couldn't stop herself from yelping slightly from the pain before she regained her composure. She wouldn't give the clown any more glory of delivering pain. He seemed to revel in causing it and hearing it's effect.
"Don't worry dear, I can put a smile back on your face." Joker said before blurting out another short laugh. "Soon in fact, you'll think everything is funny!" Joker tossed a vile at her and when it smashed onto her chest, the vapors rose up into her face. She attempted to hold her breath, but Joker twisted the knife and she couldn't stop herself from taking in a short breath. Diana felt lightheaded for a moment, and then started to giggle. Diana tried to fight it with all her might, but it seemed that the more she fought, the stronger her body urged to laugh. She looked up into the Joker's face and wanted to be angry, but another giggle escaped her lips. Joker only smiled at her in return. When Harley came into Diana's view, seeing two white faced people, and one dressed as a jester, she couldn't handle it any longer and began to laugh uncontrollably.