For those of you who read "Seven Days" (shameless plug! shameless plug!) while this story is not a sequel (in that the events are not related to anything that happened in Seven Days – that will happen someday), it does take place after those events.

Obviously, I do not own any of the Justice League characters nor am I profiting from their use for this little tale.

Review please, if you would like – I may not respond but I do read and consider all of them!

Chapter 1

So scream you, out from behind the bitter ache: Matchbox 20

She felt the anger coming. It was building along the edges of her mind and coloring her perspective of normal events. It had happened before but dealing with the Greek gods and a civil war had served to reset her and she had returned her normal self.

This time, unlike the last, she realized what was happening but that didn't mean she knew how to fix it.

It was morning. Wonder Woman had been asleep when disturbing dreams had jerked her awake. She was alone, in her room in the Watchtower. The room had little decoration but had a warm and feminine feeling to it. She didn't have a lot of visitors to the room – it simply wasn't large enough for entertaining, but it was a cozy place where she could spend time without feeling penned in.

She stood up and wrapped a dark blue silk robe over a nightgown in the same color and washed up in her bathroom. Some mediation and prayer was what she needed, she decided. She changed quickly into a pair of sweatpants and a tank top and pulled her hair into a long ponytail. She sat in the full lotus pose in front of her meditation area and just began to focus on the silence. After a few moments, she prayed to each of her goddesses – Hera, Athena and Aphrodite – giving each the respect and time that they required. Diana had learned from her infancy the importance of keeping the goddesses happy. Because of her strength, power and importance to the gods she knew she had an easier time than most dealing with the moods of the gods. However, an angry goddess was an enemy that no one could handle - not even one with the abilities of Wonder Woman.

She did feel better when she was finished. And, since she was dressed and ready for it, she slipped on some shoes and went for a workout.

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J'onn J'onzz and Superman were sitting together in the conference room. There was not a leadership meeting scheduled for several days but a mission had come up and staffing it was causing an issue. The conference room was a quiet place where the two could be pretty certain of privacy.

"It is not just her," J'onn J'onzz said softly. "I think an all-male team ought to be sent."

"But that hampers us," Superman said. "We are going to be on the planet, but we will be working independently of the government officials. As long as Batman is there to be the go-between between the League and the government, I think we ought to send the best members, regardless of gender."

"Usually I would agree," the Martian said. "However, I think the attitude towards females is such that all of our League members may have some difficulties, but the women even more so."

"Hey, I am not a fan of Dratrayan's attitude towards women either. But that is not what we are dealing with. We are keeping both sides of the war from getting access to planet-destroying weapons. That is our mission. It is a good mission even if we don't agree with the philosophy of the beings we are helping."

J'onn sighed. The problem was, of course, that they were both right. The mission was a good and necessary one, or they never would have agreed to go to the small planet. However, the planet's attitude towards women was, by the standards of majority of the Justice League members, backwards. To others, including one particular princess, it would be offensive and probably impossible to ignore. The problem was she was a logical member of the team – which was going to be large. And because of the numbers needed, while an all-male team would be possible, it was not optimal.

"We will make it part of the mission briefing and allow members to withdraw if they think it will cause them distress. That is the only thing we can do," J'onn said.

"No one is going to back out," Superman said firmly. J'onn nodded. He was right, no one would.

He wondered if that was the best thing for everyone involved.

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The transporter room was crowded. The team had been assembled and J'onn was in the process of giving the mission overview. It was a straight-forward mission. Before civil war broke out on Dratrayan, a fear of their planetary neighbors inspired them to build a collection of weapons designed to protect the planet in case of an attack. No external attack had ever come and, in fact, the weapons had inspired neighboring planets to enter into peace treaties. However, now there was an internal war and the same Dratrayan neighbors wanted the Justice League to remove and safely destroy the weapons. The Dratrayan government had agreed – the civil war was pulling the planet apart as it was, but those weapons could literally tear the planet apart and it didn't matter which side pulled the trigger. While leaders on both sides had promised to let the League do its job, there was every reason to believe that talking about removing the weapons had inspired both sides of the conflict to believe that they needed to get them.

The members understood. They had gone on similar although not identical missions before. They knew the drill and yes, usually at least one group of soldiers tried to keep the League from performing their duties.

"There is something about Dratrayan that you need to know," J'onn said. "The females on that planet are absolutely, in all ways, subservient to their males. Dratrayan males do not speak to females of any species except for their mate, who serves him completely. Although there are some social undercurrents to this civil war, that issue is not a major issue, however you may see signs of women being treated in a manner offensive to you. If you go, you must understand that while you need not agree with their customs, you must acknowledge that those customs exist. If you think that this will cause you difficulties, I am asking you to withdraw from the team now. It will not impact your standing among the League or for consideration for future assignments."

"Do they know women are coming?" Vixen asked.

"Yes, they do. Since they assure so that no one will be at the site other than us, they do not anticipate a problem," J'onn responded.

Diana could feel the other women's eyes looking at her, waiting to see what she did. She was going. No planet of small-minded males was going to keep her from a mission where she was needed. Nothing a man could do or say could deter her. That, frankly, would give them more power than they had any right to.

Batman, who was standing quietly next to Diana, stared at J'onn. There was something he wasn't telling them, the Dark Knight thought. Not about the mission, but about this male/female dynamic.

Everyone had gone to a planet where the natives held different beliefs and come away unscathed. On various worlds, he had been considered everything from food to a god and things in-between. This was the first time planet philosophy was part of the briefing.

He looked at Diana, who had lived in Man's World for years and had adjusted fairly well. He knew that she considered some men to be her equal. He wasn't certainly how she stood on the entire male population but then again, he wasn't sure how he felt about the entire human population either, so he never asked.

So what exactly is happening on Dratrayan?

There was no time to find out as J'onn dismissed the group. Those who needed them were to head for space craft. Those who could fly would lead the armada. But the bad feeling lingered in Batman's mind. In fact, perhaps a certain princess may need some time away from the League members afterwards, he thought darkly.

"Princess, a moment?" Batman said quietly as Diana turned to join Superman and the other flying heroes.

"Yes," she asked, working to maintain a safe distance from him. Batman, because of his nature, had a much easier time hiding their relationship from the League than Diana did. She understood his reasoning for keeping it secret but would have been happier celebrating it with her friends. And it seemed to her that she was often second-guessing herself making sure she wasn't acting like anything other than a team mate.

"Dinner after the mission?" he asked.

She stared at him, unable to answer. For him, such a question in public was completely out of character. She knew there was a reason why, but right then, she didn't care what it was. She was going to take it on face value.

She smiled.

"That would be great."

He nodded.

And with that, they prepared for the journey to Dratrayan.