"Hey John. You gotta check this out!" Flash yelled in excitement at Green Lantern from the Monitor Womb.

Green Lantern walked over to Flash and looked at the monitor he was referring to. "What is it?" He asked.

"Diana just stormed out of training room three, and I saw Bats go in there earlier." Flash explained. "I think she might have pummeled him or something from the way she left there."

"Think again Flash." GL corrected him while pointing at the screen which revealed a perfectly healthy Batman walking out.

Flash scratched his head in confusion. "Well then, what happened?"

GL turned to walk away as he answered over his shoulder. "If I were you, I'd rather not find out."

Back in the medical area, Batman followed Diana inside and began performing his preliminary testing by tracking all of her vitals. He wanted to get a base line before he had her move on to some of the more physical testing. Diana had a scowl on her face and wasn't speaking. If he'd not have been the reason for it, Batman probably would be researching as to why she was in such a foul mood. When he had gathered her pulse, heart rate, and scanned her lungs and other organs, Batman instructed her to follow him back to the training area. Instead of one of the sparring rooms, he had Diana go into the strength and conditioning rooms. There Batman put her through a variety of tests ranging from speed, endurance, strength, and flexibility. Diana went through all the tests without putting up a fight. She still hadn't said a single word to him in fact. After she completed the final test, before he informed her she was done he had a question for her. "You're not still angry are you?"

She puffed out some air at him, but still didn't answer. "Princess, you recall the conditions of the wager. "I have one hour to ask you anything, and you have to answer, and answer honestly." Batman reminded her.

She finally sighed and her shoulders slumped slightly. "Yes I'm still angry." She started before her voice lowered into a defeated sounding whisper. "How did you defeat me so easily?"

"There was nothing easy about it Princess." He answered. "But if you must know, it's because I knew your moves. You need to use more than just your Themyscrian fighting skills. Expand your knowledge. I used four different forms of martial arts, and unless I'm mistaken, you aren't familiar with any of them."

Diana's eyes widened for a moment before realization set in. "Perhaps man's world has changed and added more efficient forms of combat training since my sisters were last in tune with the happenings of the world outside Themyscria."

Batman nodded his head in agreement of her realization. "But you're here now, and you could change that for yourself, if not for your people."

"That's certainly a valid point." She responded. "Are we finished with the tests?"

"Yes but I still have 55 minutes left to ask questions." Batman countered with a smirk.

Diana turned and was surprised with the playful nature that Batman seemed to be showing at the moment. However before she could continue with the conversation, J'onn entered the room seeking out Batman. "Good afternoon." He said to them both. "Batman, I assume that Superman approached you regarding the Charity Gala tonight in Gotham?"

"Yes, and so long as that is the only purpose, I have no issue with the League sending representatives." Batman answered. "Has anyone decided who will be attending?"

"All are expected to attend." J'onn answered. "In fact, Shayera requested that you attend Diana to search for proper formal wear. She is waiting for you in the Javelin Bay."

Diana thanked J'onn for the information and excused herself from the room. She wasn't exactly sure why Shayera was looking for her, but her curiosity caused her to have the desire to find out. Meanwhile Batman joined J'onn in moving to the area of the Watchtower that Batman had slated for the teleportation pads to be built. He didn't need to return to the Manor for a few more hours, and wanted to make some progress on that project. The sooner it was up, the better. As it stood now, two jets would be traveling to Gotham when it could have been just the Batwing. Batman and J'onn worked hand in hand nonstop for the better part of four hours. They had made great strides in that the base was built, and they had almost finished wiring the base to house up to fifteen people at one time, should the need ever arise. Batman had actually lost track of time, and would have stayed onboard the Watchtower working all night long had Barbara not called him from the Batcave to inform him that she was waiting for him.

Batman flew down to the Batcave, and upon arriving not only was Barbara there, but Dick and Alfred as well. Everyone seemed to be smiling until Bruce and Dick's eyes met. There was an awkward silence for a moment as neither one wanted to say the first word to the other person. Finally Barbara decided to take the initiative and began going over Bruce's plans to anyone that would listen. Sure enough talking business was all it took to get the both of them talking to each other. Within ten minutes, if one didn't know any better, Barbara would have bet no one would have been able to tell that they were fighting constantly before Dick had moved out. It was refreshing to see these two finally getting along again. Once the plans were laid out in full, and each person knew their own part, the subject changed again to one with more friction. "So how is Tim doing with the training? Dick asked.

"You should ask Alfred." Bruce answered. "He's the one that's been training him. Then it's your turn."

Dick gave him an astonished look. He was surprised Bruce would allow him to train Tim. Barbara decided to speak her piece while they were on the topic. "So Bruce, since it looks like a new Robin is going to be in the field again, does that mean that Batgirl can make a return as well?"

Bruce grumbled while becoming rigid in his stance. He didn't want any other young lives to be sucked in by him, and it seemed like they were attempting to force him to do just the opposite. "I don't think that's such a good idea." He said while trying to reign in his temper. He couldn't just push them away tonight since he needed them both for his plans and the charity event.

"Come on Bruce." Dick chimed in. "Babs has been training with me ever since you forced her to stop being Batgirl."

"Yeah and we could start off slowly, like no patrolling alone at first." Barbara coaxed.

Bruce just wanted this conversation to end. "I'll think about it."

"Good." Barbara added with a smile. "While you're doing that, I'll start patrolling with Dick until Tim is ready to switch his training mentors."

"We have a charity event to get to, and it's time to get ready." Bruce said as he moved towards the locker area to get out of his Batsuit and take a shower. Dick and Barbara went back to the computer so that they could look over the last few patrols to see what was happening around the streets of Gotham. They knew if they weren't prepared for everything and made a mistake, and that would be the end of any Batgirl and Robin talk. They found that Joker was still on the loose, and Bruce didn't really have anything concrete to go off of. Aside from that there was nothing out of the ordinary. Satisfied, they powered down the computer before making their way up to the Manor.

~~ Downtown Gotham ~~

Shayera had basically dragged Diana around from store to store, looking for some formal wear that would be considered appropriate for that night's event. Shayera had the challenge of finding something that would allow her wings to be unobstructed. Having a wing pinned down by clothing was like dealing with a cramped muscle. It was incredibly uncomfortable. Diana understood where Shayera was coming from, but she still didn't understand why she also needed to purchase a dress for herself. She had different outfits to choose from that were fit for royalty on home island of Themyscria. Shayera scoffed at the fact that it seemed anything Diana tried on looked good on her. She had settled on a deep blue dress that only accentuated her blue eyes. Shayera meanwhile had finally found a dress more of a cream color with no back that hugged in the right places. Satisfied that they both had the dresses they wanted, they paid for them and flew back to where they had settled the Javelin on a rooftop inside Gotham. Each of them had the afternoon off, so there was enough time for them to grab a bite to eat and Diana wanted to take in some of the sites in Batman's city during the day where she would be better able to view the city. They laid the dresses over the top of the seats in the Javelin and returned to the streets.

Shayera had her sights set more on food at the moment than anything else. Meanwhile Diana was being careful to take in everything around her. Unlike Metropolis, the streets were not as clean as the occasional piece of litter could be seen. The city itself didn't seem to be as beautiful as it was at night. It was much more dingy, and had an aura of advanced aging about it. Sort of like an old retired boxer that had spent years getting beaten upon. Even the sky seemed to be uninviting as it cast a constant gray, and seemingly refused to allow the sunlight to shine through the thick clouds. The sights she took in made her wonder just why a man such as Batman would defend such a place instead of letting it fall into the level of decadence that it was currently in, and starting over from scratch. There were already buildings that seemed to be shut down from disrepair. She stopped momentarily when Shayera pointed out a small diner across the street from a building that looked like it used to be a movie theater at one time. She had been to theaters based on Flash's request. He had told her early in her time in man's world that movies were an excellent reference to help familiarize herself with the world that she knew so little about. As Shayera grabbed her by the arm and pulled her over towards the diner, Diana was still deep in thought as she tried to understand what it was about this city that Batman felt compelled to protect.

The food at the diner was actually tasty. Diana and Shayera both enjoyed their meals as they spoke about what to expect at the charity event. Shayera had more experience in the political sense of the world, and she used that experience in providing Diana with some helpful hints on dealing with the media. She explained how Diana had to be mindful of just what it was that she said as there were some members of the media that would be looking for anything to report on, even if they had to twist some words in order to make a story out of nothing. Diana couldn't believe that some people would be willing to do such things, but in her time living in man's world, she had experienced how deception could run rampant.

After the impromptu politics and media relations session, it was time for them to return to the Javelin so that they could change and meet up with Superman, Flash, J'onn, and Green Lantern. According to Green Lantern initially balked at the notion that Batman thought he could just decide not to go, but J'onn brought up a line item inside the League manual that had been voted in favor of, which excluded part time members from requirement to attend any event that didn't concern an actual crisis. GL grumbled, but knew he couldn't argue the point as he was one of the members that had voted in favor of the Code of Conduct manual. After that had been settled, they decided to arrive at the charity event all together as a team.

~~ Manor, 45 minutes before the Charity Gala ~~

Bruce slipped on his suit jacket after finishing with his tie. He gave a last look in the mirror to be certain that he was appropriately dressed for the playboy to attend the charity. He grabbed a few items for his pockets, his smart-phone, pager, wallet, and a modified bottle of Binaca breath spray. Instead of actual breath spray, Bruce used this spray bottle when no one was looking in order to cloud himself with the scent of a specific booze that the socialites knew Bruce Wayne to drink. Typically it rotated between bourbon and scotch. With no actual date tonight, he wasn't sure he would need it, but better to have it and not need it then the other way around. Once he was satisfied that he was ready, Bruce made his way down to the main floor of the Manor. However upon arriving there, it was as silent as a tomb. Surely everyone had to be here somewhere. Bruce wandered to the kitchen area, but found no one there either. That left him to use his detective skills. Thinking to himself, he knew there were only so many places that someone such as Dick could be where Bruce wouldn't be able to hear him talking or laughing, and the most likely case would be the Batcave.

Bruce opened the secret entrance to the sound of a struggle. He quickened his pace slightly to get down the stairs, and when he did, he could hear the same sounds coming from the training area. He moved silently over to the entrance and watched as Alfred was in the process of training Tim. Bruce watched Tim as he maneuvered around the training area, trying to keep his balance on a series of posts to stand on while Alfred used a broom handle as a prodding device to enhance the challenge. "Very good, Master Tim." He encouraged the young man. "You've shown much improvement in maintaining your balance."

Tim smiled at the compliment, but then happened to see Bruce standing in the doorway and promptly lost his balance, falling onto his backside. Bruce smirked as he walked the rest of the way into the room. "You have to maintain your focus Tim regardless of any changes around you." Bruce instructed.

Tim dusted himself off after getting back onto his feet. He still had a smile on his face at receiving instructions from the man behind the Bat. Two days ago he wondered if Bruce would even let him train at all. He truly believed that Batman needed to have a Robin beside him to keep him grounded and more human. Batman had seemed to lose that when Jason was killed. He had fallen inward and stopped Barbara from being Batgirl. Nightwing was already on his own, and Bruce couldn't stop that. Tim only hoped that he could help out when he finally discovered Batman and Nightwing's secret identities. "Thanks Bruce, I'll keep that in mind."

Dick smiled at this exchange taking place. He knew Tim was a good kid, and would do the old man some good himself. "That's alright Tim." He said turning to the younger man. "You've got a couple more hours of training with me to get that down."

Bruce turned to face Dick with a serious look. "Don't be late tonight Dick." He instructed.

Dick gave him a look that said he would be there to do his part, and not to worry about it. Bruce then looked towards Barbara and Alfred. "Are you ready to go Barbara?" He asked the redhead in a beautiful black dress.

She smiled and held out her hand for him to take. "Yes I am Mr. Wayne." Bruce took her hand and walked with Alfred out of the cave leaving the other two behind to continue training.

~~ The Gala ~~

The Justice League all arrived together just as they had planned. Although as soon as they were spotted, they were consumed with all the light bulbs of cameras that began flashing a storm of white blinding light. Diana had to protect her eyes with her arm from all the flashing lights. She couldn't make out any of the numerous questions that were being thrown out towards the League by all of the media members that were now surrounding them. Flash seemed to revel in all the attention as he quickly zipped from one person to the next answering a question from each person. That proved to be enough of a distraction for the rest of the League as they slipped through the doors and into the building. The interior of the building was exquisite. Everything was dazzling and sparkling. The League was led by a female into a large ballroom that gave off the same look. The only difference there was the banners that had been hung up stating "Save the Defense Department" around room. In the far corner was a small orchestra playing music, and in the center of the room some people were together as couples dancing to the music.

Diana looked around in astonishment at what she saw before her. Outside she would never have guessed that such a building would be so beautiful on the inside. Perhaps this is what Batman saw from this city, she thought to herself. Perhaps there was a deep inner beauty that ached to be released. Before she could take in much more, there was a man swiftly approaching the group. He stuck out his hand as he stood before them. "Greetings." He started. "I'm so glad you could make it. I'm Mayor Marion Grange." He took Superman's hand. "It is truly a pleasure to meet all of you."

Superman shook the mayor's hand in return. "Thank you for inviting us Mr. Grange."

"Think nothing of it." The mayor responded as he moved to shake Green Lantern's and Shayera's hands. I'm sure that just your presence here will help raise the funding we need."

When he reached Diana's hand to greet her, she gave him a questioning look. "What do you plan to do with the money that you gain tonight Mr. Mayor?" She asked.

"Well Wonder Woman, as I'm sure you're aware from the other night, we have a unique problem with some of Gotham's citizens." A man with white hair and a mustache said as he joined beside the mayor. "It's nice to see you again."

"Commissioner Gordon?" She asked as she recalled his name.

"Yes Wonder Woman." Gordon answered. "I'm sure after that night you are well aware of some of Gotham's worst, unfortunately."

"That's right Wonder Woman." The mayor confirmed. "What we intend to do with the funding is twofold. First we need to add on to Arkham Asylum for more inmates to be held there. And secondly, Blackgate Prison is in desperate need of repairs."

Commissioner Gordon chimed in from there. "If we can renovate Blackgate, then we will hopefully have a better chance of keeping the criminals off the streets for a change." Someone behind the Commissioner touched him on the shoulder, pulling him from the conversation. He looked over at what they were referring to, and turned back to Diana. "I'm sorry Wonder Woman, but if you'd excuse me, my daughter's just arrived."

Diana watched as the commissioner walked away towards a lovely redheaded young woman. She was with a man much older than her. She watched as the redhead lovingly embraced her father. Diana decided that she would have to catch the commissioner again. She would even stay behind after the Gala ended if she needed to. She wanted to continue her investigation into the man behind the Bat, and the commissioner was an excellent source of information.

Bruce watched as the commissioner approached from where he was originally. He couldn't help himself but to stare for a moment at Diana from over the commissioner's shoulder. She was absolutely stunning in her dress. She was definitely the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on. The blue dress she was wearing had spaghetti straps which technically covered more of her shoulders than her Wonder Woman uniform but for some reason he'd never taken notice of the bare skin showing there until now. Bruce forced himself to pull his view away from Diana as Barbara left his side to embrace her father. He then followed her the two steps up to Gordon. "Hello Jim." Bruce said in greeting.

"Mr. Wayne." Gordon responded. "Thank you for allowing my daughter to come with you tonight. I know it prohibited you from one of your usual dates."

"No thanks necessary Jim." Bruce responded with a smile. "Any time I can help the woman that keeps Dick in line, I'm more than happy to help out."

Barbara smiled at that comment, knowing that Dick was listening in to the entire conversation. The conversation didn't last much longer as Commissioner Gordon had other responsibilities to attend to. Barbara made her way over to the entrée table and then over to some of her dad's handpicked police officers in attendance. She was very familiar with the majority of the officers in the city thanks to her father's career. Bruce meanwhile perused the socialites throughout the ball room. He dropped off the check he had Alfred write earlier into the Bin they were using for donations, and then he quickly grabbed a drink in one hand as he engrossed himself into the topics of all the social clichés around him. He always maintained a good distance away from the League members, not wanting to give himself away. Aside from Clark and J'onn, who'd found out his secret, it would be easier to throw them off if he only had to approach one at a time. It was much easier to remain in playboy mode while dealing with a small group that he worked with as Batman. He knew eventually he would have to greet each of them as Bruce Wayne at some point tonight, but it would be on his terms.

Eventually Bruce "bumped" into Superman and made his introduction. The conversation was casual for the most part and didn't last very long. Bruce then came over to J'onn and "introduced" himself to the Martian. J'onn formed a mental link after a few quick comments, where they could discuss other business for a few moments. Bruce was saddened that no one seemed to approach J'onn. He felt compelled to stay there with the Martian for a time. He wanted to make certain that J'onn could feel more comfortable. Eventually as others had seen Bruce Wayne chatting and laughing with the Martian, they slowly moved over that way and joined in the conversation. Eventually J'onn had himself a group of admirers thanks to Bruce, and he definitely wouldn't be lonely or bored now.

Diana watched as the man that had come in with the commissioner's daughter seemed to be the only one to introduce himself to J'onn that wasn't obligated to do so. After the mayor and commissioner had introduced themselves, no one else did until this man. In fact this man was actually staying there and carrying on a conversation with J'onn. A smile on her friend's face caused Diana to smile as well. Soon, others even began to approach J'onn and speak to him. Diana leaned over to John and Shayera and asked quietly. "Who is that man that has been talking to J'onn?"

John and Shayera looked over to the man Diana had pointed out to them. "Oh that." John started. "That's Bruce Wayne. He's one of the richest men in the world. Why do you ask?"

"Because he walked over to J'onn, completely fearless and just seemed to strike up a polite conversation with him." Diana explained. "He's the only one aside from us that has done so."

"That's probably because he's drunk by now." John answered. "He may be one of the world's wealthiest, but he's also known to be quite the party boy. He's always at the biggest parties, usually with a different date each time. He does a lot of charity work to offset his playboy image, but a checkbook seems to be the only good he is capable of."

Diana continued to watch this Bruce Wayne character. Based on John's description of the man, she would have thought he'd have said something offensive to J'onn rather than make the Martian smile. Soon she had to avert her eyes as the man she'd been watching looked in her direction, smiled, and then winked at her. These actions caused Diana to flinch inwardly. Fearless seemed to be this man's approach to everything. She was not so unlike J'onn. After all she was incredibly powerful and independent, especially for a woman in man's world. Many men seemed to be afraid to approach her. The women didn't seem scared, but gave her dirty looks as they yanked on their own dates' arms to get away from her. This man not only smiled and winked at her, but now he was approaching her. She turned away slightly to speak with John and Shayera as a form of distraction, but they had moved away to the group with J'onn without her realizing it. By the time she had turned back around Bruce was directly in front of her, looking right at her. "Hello. Wonder Woman isn't it?" Bruce asked while taking her hand and raising it up to his lips.

Diana pulled her hand gently away from his grip. He smelled of alcohol and seemed to be swaying slightly. Still, he had approached and she was going to be cordial with the man at least. Perhaps if she were, he would be generous with a donation for a needed cause. "Hello Mr…" Diana paused realizing that he hadn't introduced himself yet.

"Wayne." He answered. "Bruce Wayne. But please call me Bruce."

"Very well, Bruce." Diana responded. "And you may call me Diana."

"Well, Diana. I'm very glad that you were able to make it here tonight." Bruce stated. "The Justice League being here is truly an honor."

"We do anything we can to help out those in need Bruce." She commented. "What brings someone such as you out here tonight?"

Bruce thought about how he should answer for a moment. He didn't know if he should deceive her completely or not. Perhaps in this instance, a little honesty to the story would go a long way. Especially since she could look up the name Bruce Wayne and find too many ties that could potentially explain any lies or perhaps point her towards his mission. "Well there are a few reasons honestly, Diana." She nodded her head to let him know to continue. "First of all, if you were to look me up, you'd see that I've had some tragedy in my life as a child. I like to help out Gotham with the prosperity of my company whenever I can help. Secondly Jim, the commissioner was actually there for me when my parents were taken from me. He's a good man, and as the commissioner now, I want to help him improve the city. My money can help him to make the changes that he thinks will do that. Also, his daughter Barbara is dating my son. I brought her here with me tonight."

"The redheaded young woman you arrived with?" She asked. He nodded in confirmation. She had to admit that he wasn't what she expected him to be. Even though he smelled of alcohol, he was easily carrying on the conversation with her. She could see why J'onn had smiled when Bruce spoke with him earlier. The man was quite charming actually, and if he was being honest with her just now, he seemed to be a good man. She found that she wanted to know more about him. She was curious about what had happened with his parents, but didn't want to pry into the man's past unless he wanted to divulge it. As they continued their conversation, she found it difficult to believe that he was a playboy, as John had referred to her.

Bruce found that he was actually enjoying his conversation with Diana. She wasn't the dumb airhead or looking to take advantage of his having money. It was refreshing to carry on a polite conversation with someone that contained a real shred of intelligence. He was enjoying the conversation so much that he eventually lost track of time, and decided to forego introducing himself with the others of the Justice League. Instead he decided to do something slightly different. "Diana, I don't know if this is your sort of affair, but would you do me the honor of joining me for a dance?"

Diana was caught off guard by the request. She found the man to be interesting, but did she actually want to go dancing with him? She put on a small smile as she debated within herself what to do. He took in her body language and could read the indecision within her, and he decided to try and push her towards a choice. "If you'd like to lead instead of a mere mortal man, I'd still like to dance with you."

Diana was surprised that the words "mere mortal man" came out of his mouth without any hint of disdain on them. She thought that any male would take offense to being thought of as that, and the fact that he was willing to allow the woman to lead had clearly taken her off balance. She knew then what she wanted to do. "You don't have to allow me to lead, Bruce." She started. "The thought that you would be willing to allow me to do so is enough for me to accept your offer." Diana gave him her hand, and allowed him to lead her out onto the dance floor. A slow melody filled the room as a new song began when Diana placed one hand on Bruce's shoulder while the other held his hand. Bruce placed his one free hand on Diana's hip, and they began dancing to the music. Diana was pleasantly surprised that she was having such a wonderful time. Perhaps she had found a friend in the real world aside from the heroes of the Justice League. Dancing with Bruce was relaxing yet fun at the same time. She felt as though it would be nice to dance with Bruce all night long if that were possible. They continued dancing around as everyone was beginning to take notice of the playboy and the princess in the middle of the ball room. Just before the song ended, everyone's attention was altered however when a masked man came crashing through the doors of the cooking area.