Diana was surprised to find that her surroundings were actually not the Watchtower, but a large cave. She quickly realized that she was in the storied Batcave for the second time. Under different circumstances, she would have been more eager to continue looking around at all the sights as she'd begun during her first visit, but with a seriously injured teammate, her focus remained on helping Batman in any way that she could. She and Superman carefully carried Batman off of a transporter pad that looked identical to the one on the Watchtower. Once down the steps, they were met by a woman in a Batsuit and a young man in the Robin suit. Diana quickly deduced that she was meeting Batgirl and Robin. She was slightly confused for a moment as all of her previous research on the Dark Knight had revealed Robin to be much older than the young man before her. He couldn't have been more than thirteen years old. Her mind didn't have much time to go over the two individuals there as Batgirl spoke to the two Justice League members. "We need to get him to the medical area. Follow me." Diana and Superman followed behind Batgirl as she walked over to a staircase which brought them up a level where another man could be seen lying on a medical table and apparently unconscious. Batgirl pointed them over to another table next to this young man on the table. He was still masked, preventing any unwanted guests to have free reign as to their secret identities. Batgirl pointed to another table. "Put him on that medical table. The doctor should be here any minute." She said before she began searching over Batman's injuries.

Superman reached for her wrists before she disturbed Batman in his current condition. "Be careful Batgirl." He said. "I used my x-ray vision and discovered some significant injuries to his spine."

Batgirl backed away quickly as she didn't want to do anything that could cause more issues. Instead she went over to a vault and came back with chilled IV bags in hand. "We need to keep him as cool as possible." She explained. "There's evidence with professional athletes that spinal injuries can be lessened if you keep the swelling down as much as possible. We need to remove one of Batman's gauntlets so I can insert the IV."

Diana dug her fingers into the gauntlet on one of Batman's hands and began to pull away at it slowly at first. She was quick to realize that Batman had designed the suit to hinder a Meta from gaining access, so she increased the amount of effort that she was applying, and soon the locks on the gauntlet began to snap. After a few breaking noises, the gauntlet had been removed successfully and tossed aside. Batgirl wasted little time inserting the IV into Batman's vein and beginning the flow of the chilled liquids into Batman's system.

Diana watched as Batgirl made her way over to a computer and accessed Batman's vitals. She was keeping an eye on his body temperature as it slowly dropped. "I'm not familiar with such a treatment." She said to Batgirl. "What can you tell us about it?"

"It's still experimental, but Batman believes it can help in spinal injury cases." She explained. "It's called cold therapy or moderate hypothermia. We're basically chilling him from the inside out by infusing cold fluids into Batman's veins with the hope that any further damage from swelling can be deterred until an actual doctor can try to help him." Batgirl took her eyes off the monitors and looked over at Tim. "Robin." She said to get his attention. "See if you can find out how long it will be before Dr. Tompkins arrives."

Tim looked around for a moment before realization donned on him what she was actually trying to relay to him. He then began to run up the stairs to the entrance, but just as he was about to run out of sight, he was stopped in his tracks by two fast approaching elderly people, one Alfred Pennyworth who was escorting Dr. Leslie Tompkins. By the time Tim reached for Alfred to push him back up the stairs, he was interrupted by the voice of recognition down in the cave. "Alfred?" Diana asked as soon as she spotted him. Her mind began to race as all the facts started to fall into place for her. However, as quickly as her mind was putting the pieces together, it was not prepared to stop her from asking the obvious questions. "What are you doing here?"

Alfred immediately froze upon hearing Diana's voice. He looked at her confused face wondering what he could say. He wasn't even aware that she was in the Batcave while he'd been waiting at the Manor doors for Leslie to arrive. "Um, well, Miss Diana…" He started as his mind raced for the appropriate response. If Diana's facial expression was any indication, she was rather furious at the secret being kept from her. "I do apologize for the secrecy Miss Diana, and I give you my word that an explanation will be provided. However, that will need to wait until we've tended to Master Bruce's condition I'm afraid."

Hearing his name shouldn't have made it seem more real, but even though she'd already figured out Batman's identity, the confirmation only served to floor her. He'd been the same man the whole time. Even though he seemed so different while in the cape and cowl versus in a business suit. She didn't realize that she was actually standing in the way of Dr. Tompkins examining Batman, or Bruce's condition. Superman noticed the look of shock still on Diana's face and pulled her gently out of the way as he informed the doctor of his own findings with the hope that what he shared would help to expedite the treatment and hopeful recovery.

Batgirl went over to Nightwing and kept a close eye on him. She still felt guilty about him being put in such a precarious position, and she wanted to be by his side when he woke up. She cared for Dick very much, and knew that if the roles were reversed, she would want Dick to be the first face she saw upon waking up. Tim joined her in looking over Nightwing as he settled on the other side of the medical bed. He watched from afar as Dr. Leslie worked on his primary mentor. With no one in the cave in the shadows any longer about Batman's secret identity, she'd worked with Alfred on carefully removing Bruce from the Batsuit. Diana stood as still as a statue until she heard the thud of a piece of the suit falling to the ground. Diana finally looked over to see the chiseled muscular form of Bruce, or Batman. She couldn't decide how she should think of him anymore. Was he her friend, or her teammate? She only knew that she needed some time to think things through. "I'm going to help Flash." She said to Superman. "I'll return shortly."

Diana started to fly off in the cave searching for an exit before Superman came up swiftly behind her. "Wait, Diana." He said. Which caused her to stop and turn to face him. "I just needed to make sure you are aware, since you now know Bruce's secret, you can't tell anyone about it."

Diana glowered at Superman for a moment in a manner that would have rivaled a Batglare. She poked Superman in the chest between each word that leaked out through her clenched teeth. "Of…the….three…of..us…I'm…the…only…one…that….had…nothing….to hide."

"Let me explain." Superman tried.

"No Kal." Diana interrupted. She was furious at this point. Straightening her arm and pointing her finger over in the direction of the medical area she continued. "That man has been taking advantage of my feelings for weeks. I thought him a friend as Bruce Wayne, and a teammate as Batman. Now I think of him as a pathetic man, just as mother described all of you."

"It's not like that Di…" Superman tried before she interrupted him again.

"And you Kal." She seethed. "You knew all this time and didn't think I had the right to know? You are just as guilty as he is." Superman lowered his head in guilt from the accusation. "How can I trust either of you now?" She asked before turning and taking flight towards what she hoped was an exit.

Dr. Leslie had confirmed Superman's findings by this point and called him back over to the medical area. She had decided to use Superman's powers to her advantage, and she instructed him how to gently force the three protruding vertebrae back into their correct position. Using his x-ray vision, he was careful to make certain that he didn't cause further damage to the spinal cord. The two broken vertebrae served as the greatest challenge in moving and keeping intact. One was in pieces as it were. Had Bruce been conscious at this point, he'd be in an immense amount of pain. Most likely an unbearable amount of pain. When he was finished, Leslie took back over so that she could operate and insert something to help stabilize the injured vertebrae and help keep them intact until they'd had the appropriate amount of time to heal.

~~ Gotham sky ~~

Diana hadn't flown back to the police station to help Flash as she'd said she would. At the moment that was the last thing on her mind. She flew aimlessly for a time lost in her own thoughts and anger. She was hurt that Bruce had felt that she wasn't trustworthy of such a secret. Why had he attempted to befriend her? Was she honestly just some naive girl that he hoped to take advantage of with his kindness to sucker her in? He'd been so friendly and never attempted to try anything that she hadn't wanted to do. How could he be this way, and what did he have to gain from such actions? She didn't know if she wanted to pummel him or just kill him outright for toying with her emotions.

Diana then thought about what he'd done as Bruce around her. How he'd approached J'onn without fear. Though now that she thought about it, the more she began to believe that the telepathic Martian had most likely used his powers to figure out who the man behind the cape and cowl was. Was he guilty as well as Kal? Perhaps not. Perhaps J'onn wanted to be respectful of two colleagues and their needs. If that were the case then perhaps Kal also felt obligated from duty to hold Bruce's secret as well. But she and Kal were so much closer than anyone had known them to be. While they hadn't shared more than a few steam filled kisses, their relationship should have made them closer than other League members. That was why it hurt and angered her more to think of Kal keeping such a secret from her over J'onn.

She landed on the rooftop of Wayne tower. It made sense to her why Batman had come to this rooftop now. He worked there during the day as well. Diana tried to quell the anger towards that man, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. She wanted answers. She needed answers, and by the Gods she would get the answers. She stood proudly on the rooftop for a few more moments as she contemplated her next course of action. Alfred would likely know the most, and he did tell her that he would explain once Bruce's injuries were attended to. She would start there, and perhaps the rest of the Batclan before setting her sights on Kal. Once she was finished with him, she would wait for Bruce to wake up. She just couldn't be certain that she wouldn't slap him silly as soon as she looked into his eyes or just kill him outright. He certainly deserved a beating in the least as soon as he healed enough for trying to play her for a fool. Before she headed back to the Batcave, she'd decided to make just one more stop and took flight in that direction.

Commissioner Gordon was the last remaining officer on top of the police headquarters building. He was next to the destroyed Bat signal. He ran his hand around the circular area that used to hold the glass in place. It looked like a war zone on the rooftop. Everything was in shambles from the battle between Batman and this new criminal. Gordon hadn't been at the building when the fight had taken place, but he'd heard from the few officers that had witnessed some of the fight. It was a fight that the mighty Dark Knight was losing according to the ones that witnessed it. The Flash had still been there when Gordon arrived onsite, but he had kept his answers vague and short. His answers may not have given many details, but his body language was speaking volumes to Jim. Flash was obviously in a state of disbelief, but he also carried himself with slumped shoulders. Something that Jim hadn't noticed from the interviews and footage he'd seen of the Flash on television. This all lead him to believe that Batman was seriously injured or perhaps worse. He shuddered at the thought of a Gotham City without its Batman there to protect it. Batman had done so much to help clean up this city that was so lost inside its own darkness. If Batman were to be no more, it would only be a matter of time before the city collapsed on itself into a pit of despair. Jim pulled out a pack of cigarettes that he'd not touched in weeks. But this night had been incredibly taxing on the commissioner. He shedded the cellophane and stuck a cigarette in between his lips as he searched his pockets for his lighter. "Heaven help us." He uttered quietly to himself.

"Perhaps I can offer some assistance." Gordon heard a heavenly voice state from above him. He ceased searching for a lighter as he looked up to see Wonder Woman landing before him.

"Hello Wonder Woman." Gordon responded as he quickly removed the cigarette from his lips and stowed it away behind one of his ears. "Is there something that the Flash missed?"

Diana gave Gordon a puzzled look for a moment until she recalled that Flash had been left behind to gather intel about what had happened. "No Commissioner." She answered. "I didn't come on behalf of the League's investigation, and in my experience, Flash is typically quite thorough in matters such as this."

"Oh." Jim responded. "Well then perhaps you could give me an update on Batman's condition. Is he going to be alright?"

Diana wasn't sure how to respond. She didn't want to give anything away as she still recalled Kal telling her that Batman's secret identity had to remain a secret. Although she didn't understand why, she knew from the seriousness of Kal's tone that it would be wrong of her to put Batman in a bad position, even though she was still furious with him. She took a deep breath to settle herself and hide any emotion from her voice before she answered. "Batman is receiving treatment for his injuries as we speak. I'm not a medical expert so I would like to refrain from going into details."

The commissioner sighed and turned away from Diana. "I…I just need to know if he's going to be alright." Jim said. "We need Batman here to protect the city."

"In his absence, I'm sure the League could step in until Batman is able to return." Diana offered.

Jim chuckled slightly at Diana's response. "No, Wonder Woman." He said. "Gotham needs Batman. Someone like you or even Superman wouldn't survive in a city like Gotham."

Diana was deeply offended by that response. She glowered at the commissioner while crossing her arms over her chest. "What could possibly lead you to believe that Superman or I wouldn't be up to the task of protecting this city from the evils it has to offer? Kal and I are powerful enough to handle any of Gotham's criminals."

Jim noticed the anger that was growing inside Diana. He held up his hands in surrender, but still moved forward with an explanation. "Please don't be offended Wonder Woman. I meant no disrespect to you, but you have to understand something about this city." He waited for a moment until Diana seemed to relax her posture a little before he took a deep breath and continued. "You see, in my time here, I've seen this city take the best and brightest men and women be taken, and be chewed up and spit out. They've all fallen from the darkness that is inside this city. Any good that comes from them seems to be snuffed out by more bad until they either give up or fall into that darkness. I might have even fallen in if not for Batman."

Diana's stance went from hardened to inquisitive as she listened to the commissioner explain what he'd meant. "Please go on." She prompted him.

"Yes, well what I was trying to say is that even though I'm sure that you or Superman would do some good. This city seems to have a power to turn that goodness against those that bring it back to them with even more darkness and evil. Batman is different than someone like a Harvey Dent or even a Superman or Wonder Woman." Jim continued to explain. "You see, I believe that Batman was born of this city. He came out from its darkness and used that power against the city. He uses fear to keep the criminals at bay, and he uses his mind to always remain two steps in front of the criminals here. Sure there are the Jokers that Gotham has produced against Batman, but he never wavers in his fight. I've never seen him give up or let Gotham bring him down. And we've had Batman here to keep up the vigil working alongside the police force. Even the crooked cops have gone away for the most part because they knew it was only a matter of time before Batman would find them. Gotham needs Batman. It's tried other good people like Harvey Dent and turned them into the evil that they fought to remove. Batman has never allowed that to happen to him."

Diana saw her chance to gain more information and decided to take it. "What about other citizens?" She asked. "What about someone like Bruce Wayne? I've gotten to know him and he doesn't seem to be letting this city corrupt him."

"Bruce?" Jim asked in surprise. "Bruce….well he is a slightly different story. You see, years ago, when I'd first started on the force. Bruce was involved in a hideous crime. His parents were shot right in front of him by some common thug. I believe that Bruce was scarred that day, and those scars have sort of hardened him to where he isn't so much affected in any way, good or bad. Don't get me wrong, Bruce Wayne has done a lot of good for the city, but how much is honestly from him or from a PR firm within Wayne Enterprises is unknown to anyone that isn't very close to him. The only true thing we know of Bruce is he is one of the most generous when it comes to charities for Gotham City. Aside from that, what you've read in the tabloids should describe the kind of man that he's grown up to become."

Diana took in all of Gordon's information, and had to hold back from the smirk that wanted to appear on her face. If only the commissioner knew that Bruce Wayne was not just a charitable rich kid born into wealth, but until tonight he was also moonlighting as Gotham's dark vigilante. Gordon interrupted her thoughts with his next words. "If you would Wonder Woman, please send Batman the city's prayers and best wishes for a quick recovery. Without him, this city will most likely crumble back into chaos."

Diana nodded at the commissioner before saying good night and taking off in flight. Her conversation with Gordon had done much to alleviate the immense anger. Jim's words had been enough to remind her that while Bruce had hidden things from her and taken advantage of that, deep down he was still an admirable hero, and especially so for his city. She was now ready to head back to the Batcave and confront Kal and Alfred before settling on Bruce for the rest of the answers that she still wanted to understand.

~~ Batcave ~~

Superman was working with Batgirl to relay the files that Flash had retrieved from the police department as well as his report on the happenings from on top of the GCPD roof. It was challenging to work past all the layers of protection, but after some searching, Batgirl found what she knew her mentor would have to keep tabs on the Watchtower and its inhabitants. Protected and hidden from anyone without a vast array of knowledge with computers and coding, there was a hidden program that she used to pull the data from the Watchtower database. They reviewed all of the information, which fortunately as well as unfortunately showed some surveillance footage from the rooftop. Batgirl didn't want to watch as Batman was slowly beaten down by the brutish masked man. She remained there however and ran the super computer recognition program based off of the size of the man, grasping at straws to find out more about him. They did notice that parts of the mask were missing, which revealed some of the man's face, but it was covered in blood and misshapen from what they each assumed was Bruce's handiwork.

Alfred and Leslie watched over Bruce together as he was resting. They'd diagnosed and treated Bruce's many wounds including having to reset his broken arm. They also realized that he had suffered a serious concussion at some point during the fight with the masked man. Batgirl had summed that up to the man slamming Bruce's head into and partially through a wall. They were now forced to play the waiting game to see how Bruce responded once he woke up. They could only hope and pray that he would be alright eventually.

Dick had come to soon after Diana had left the cave, and it only took a few seconds before he realized that Bruce was also injured, and appeared to be in a more serious condition that Dick was himself. Dick had received quite a beating from the masked man, and he was absolutely disgusted from having watched the security footage of Bruce falling to the same man. If only he'd been more prepared, he could've saved Barbara from being captured and the three of them could have taken down this masked man together. Instead now they were all forced to wait to see what condition Bruce's spinal cord is in and how much damage or loss of motor skills Bruce would suffer from the injury. Once Dick had finished going through his recollections of what had happened that night, he started to wobble as he became lightheaded and dizzy. With that being noticed, Alfred ordered the others to assist Dick in getting up to the Manor and into a guest bedroom so that he could continue to rest and recover. It would be a while before the young man would be fit enough to continue with the mission.

Batgirl and Superman were sitting quietly in front of the computer as they went over ideas and theories on how about to track down this man. Superman knew however that this event just had to be tied to the tectonic plate shifting and brought that up to Batgirl's attention. She quickly went to work on it, hoping that she would be able to shed some light on the subject when they were all caught off guard from Wonder Woman's return to the Batcave. Barbara instructed Tim to go up to the Manor and check on Dick before he himself was to get to bed. The shock on everyone's faces from Diana's return slowly went away as she walked towards the English gentleman, and laid a hand on one of his shoulders. "Bruce's condition seems to have stabilized Alfred." She said. "Now I need to speak with you. I have questions that need answers and you gave me your word I would have them."

Alfred released Leslie's hand as he stood and turned towards Wonder Woman. "Indeed miss, I did give my word. Please follow me."