AUTHOR'S NOTE: Before anyone reads, I need to apologize for the way I went about this fanfic. Originally, it was to be a joint effort, but with my diminished available time, I failed to properly alert everyone who was to be involved with this. I apologize for simply abandoning the group effort, but I still very much wanted to write this story. So with that being said, I went ahead and began the fic myself. I've been working on this on and off for months and I'm fairly happy with what I've been able to come up with so far. Updates won't be very frequent because I want to give this as much attention as possible. Again, I apologize to anyone who is still upset about it. I hope this proves to be worth it.

I do not own any characters in this story

JUSTICE LEAGUE BEYOND

CHAPTER ONE:

…And the Adventure Continues

"Lookit that, would'ja!"

The misty night of mid April covers Blüdhaven even in the narrowest of places. The ally behind Sal's Butcher Shop shares the same feel as two luxury sedans along with seven men gather in secrecy. Two of the men are talking together as the rest of them pay attention to their surroundings. Both of the men speaking are representatives of separate organizations who are making a deal tonight, one of them holding open a briefcase for the other to see.

"Not a bad cut, Lou", the other man said reaching inside the offered suitcase. "Mr. Daggett is gaining some muscle back here in Blüdhaven and is happy to see that the Thorne family is opening up to other…associates. How is the old man doing?"

Lou closes the suitcase as Daggett's representative moves his hand back. He then hands the case over as he motions for his men to wrap it up.

"Not good, Bobby", Lou says. "Mr. Thorne has been bed ridden for six months and ain't looking any better. Bunch of his family keep flyin' in to pay their respects to him."

"That's too bad", Bobby says. "Daggett sends his well wishes and thanks for his support."

The men securing the area began to make their way to their respected cars as Bobby and Lou shake hands.

"The good ole' days are coming back", Lou says. "Gotham's been pretty open game since most of the freaks are rounded up. And the Justice League only deals with UFO's and earthquakes. We're under their radar."

Bobby stops shaking Lou's hand and looks at him with a slight scowl.

"What about the Bat?" Bobby asks sternly. "He likes pinchin' guys like us."

"Don't worry", Lou says. "The Bat's been in Metropolis lately with the rest of the super freaks. Been showing his mug all over TV so much he's lost his bite. Freakin' kids stealing purses and cars don't even sweat'im anymore."

Lou stands by the driver-side car door as Bobby opens it and hands the briefcase to one of his friends.

"It's a good thing there's still honest cities like Blüdhaven left to make a buck", Lou says as Bobby gets in the car. "No masks, no metas, no one playing cowboy who ain't on the police payroll."

"That's not entirely true."

A crash behind Lou forces him to turn his head to see the windshield of his car smashed. His boys spill out of the car in a coughing fit as a smoke cloud pours out of the car as well. Lou forgot to even follow the random voice that came from somewhere in the ally as Bobby starts his car ready to drive away. The front, passenger window of Bobby's car shatters as smoke starts to fill that car. Bobby and his boys exit the car just as quickly while Lou's crew backs them up with weapons drawn.

"Thought you morons said this place was clear", Lou yelled as he pulled out his glock.

"It was, Lou", one of the guys said.

As soon as Lou's men surrounded him, a figure dropped down on the ally ground causing a puddle to slightly splash.

"I know this one!" Lou said taking aim. "Nightwing!"

Nightwing pulls out two batons as his long, black hair covers a small portion of his face.

"I'm touched", Nightwing says with a smile.

He jumps through the air with a grace that almost captivates his would-be attackers. They pause just enough for him to quickly land between them and pummel them with a barrage of baton strikes and kicks. Lou backs away as Bobby and his crew begins to regain themselves.

"It's one of the masks!" Lou shouts to Bobby. "When did they get down here?"

Nightwing takes down the last of Lou's boys as Bobby backs up Lou with his crew.

"We're going global, Lou", Nightwing says with a smirk.

Nightwing charges them as he easily avoids sloppily-aimed gunshots at him. He quickly throws his batons at two of the men and charges the crowd of them. The batons disarm two men as the rest continue to display their poor shooting skills. Nightwing kicked the first of them in the chin and followed with a spinning backhand to the next. Those two fell quickly as the unarmed men attempted to charge him. Nightwing swept the legs out of the first of the two and came up with an uppercut on the second.

Lou and Bobby were the only two left as their crews were easily dispatched.

"You got some guts coming here, mask!" Lou says as he raises his gun.

A baton quickly catches his hand while Bobby knew better than to raise his weapon. Lou grasps his hand in pain as Nightwing approaches them. Nightwing nonchalantly picks up his baton with a snap of his elbow. The two men look at him in disbelief, thinking that these situations were long gone.

"A city full of things worse than us and you gotta come here", Bobby says to Nightwing. "What do you want wit' us?"

A sound behind Nightwing forces him to quickly turn around flinging one of his batons. One of the men did not go down as easily as the rest as the baton smacks into his forehead, stopping any hopes of getting the drop on Nightwing.

"Die you…"

Bobby raises his gun and fires at Nightwing who does not move, even when he heard Bobby and the gun. Bobby pulls the trigger as a white blur drops down in front of him. The bullet bounces off the right shoulder of a woman who appeared out of nowhere.

"No no no", the blonde female says. "Not nice when a man has his back turned."

Her sarcastic smile shifts to a frightening scowl as her eyes begin to glow red. Bobby feels the metal of his glock begin to heat up to a stinging temperature. He screams as it drops into a puddle, causing a brief hiss of evaporation. Both men back into the wall of the butcher's shop just as sirens can be heard in the distance. Nightwing comes from behind the woman and tosses two sets of handcuffs at the men.

"Make it easier guys and put these on, would ya?"

The two look at Nightwing with a bewildered looks as the woman's eyes begin to glow red again.

"Or I can do it really easy", she says.

Nightwing points at the bottom of a fire escape where they can cuff themselves. After seeing the woman's eyes, they wasted no time securing their hands to the rusty ladder of the fire escape.

"Much better", Nightwing says as the sound of sirens get alarmingly closer. "Well, they're playing our song."

Nightwing jumps over the two men as he swiftly climbs the fire escape to the top of the building. The woman stares at Bobby and Lou one last time before she lifts into the air. They watch in amazement as the curvy beauty ascends above them, never having seen a Meta firsthand before in their lives.

"Did you see the guns on her, Lou?"

The young Meta lands on the roof just as Nightwing flips over from the fire escape onto the ledge. He stands looking over the ally way with no fear of the forty-foot drop that lies below him. She walks next to him as he stands over her while on the ledge.

"This was bigger than it looked, G", Nightwing says. "All it takes for things to get worse in this city is to have a steady pipeline from here to Gotham. After this, the Thornes are gonna think twice about doing business with Daggett. You did great."

The woman looks down from the rooftop with him, watching as the police begin to round up the men.

"I was slightly off, Nightwing", she says. "He fired his gun before I got there."

"But he was shocked to see you when he fired", Nightwing replied. "Besides, you've got the whole lineage thing down by stopping that bullet from out of nowhere. I don't think big blue could stop spitballs any faster."

She huffs out a slight chuckle as they continue to watch below.

"How long have you been doing this?" she asks him after a moment of silence.

Nightwing turns to look at her as he jumps down onto the rooftop.

"Since high school, really", he says. "Over ten years now."

"I have no idea how anyone can do this without powers of any kinds", she says curling her arm and making a fist. "I'd lose my mind knowing some loser with a gun could end it all with one lucky shot."

Nightwing looks away from her noticeably.

"I know what you mean."

Hovering over Earth, the Watchtower sits in perfect orbit next to the planet. As the longtime lunar base of the Justice League, it has regained its status as a symbol of hope to the world. The heroes who have resided in this space facility have devoted themselves to protect the people of Earth for nearly seven years. Now in the year 2008, the Justice League has sustained their longest period of peace since its inception. Growing from its seven founding members, the League's roster has necessitated two bases of operation: the Watchtower and the earth-based headquarters, the Metrotower in Metropolis.

As the Justice League's numbers grew, the founding members served as the core leadership within the League. However, in the past two years, two of the founding members have either limited or completely removed themselves from active duty. J'onn J'onz has taken it upon himself to pursue a life of happiness since his Martian race was eradicated on his home world of Mars. His time as a member of the Justice League has opened his heart once again as he chose to pursue a personal love, which he happily found.

Diana, a highly respected and valued member of the League, has begun her venture into the political world. For a while, Diana had hoped to bridge the ideals of her fellow amazons to man's world. She began to make appearances at political functions as a liaison of her people. Now, she is finishing the final negotiations of becoming an official ambassador of Themiscyra. Focusing strongly on her civil duties has all but taken her away from the Justice League completely.

Not far away from the Watchtower, hovering in place is the unofficial face of the Justice League, Superman. To him, watching small shuttles flying around to and from the Watchtower reminds him of the old bug zapper hanging on the porch awning back on the farm in Kansas. With a belly full of cafeteria food he wishes he had passed up, Superman himself wonders if the peace he and his teammates have enjoyed is bound to be broken.

He knows the answer is yes, and he almost feels guilty enjoying the time they have had.

However, he remembers Green Arrow telling him that cops walking the beat can enjoy a sunny day just as easily as everyone else can.

Superman likes hearing simple lines of logic similar to that. His upbringing in the Kent household provided him plenty of lines his ma and pa would say to him as he quickly added each one of them to a notebook in case he needed to refer to them. Growing up, Clark Kent referred to that book whenever a saying he needed to hear could not come to mind. That book saved his life a few times in college. But since his days becoming Metropolis' favorite son, Clark memorized the notebook in case he was ever a few hundred miles or planets away from his bookshelf.

Superman can't help reminiscing about everything the world has experienced over the last few years. The invasions, the threats of war, the political conspiracies and so many other events that were enough to prove his and the League's value to the world. Superman even laughs when some of the Leaguers tease John Stewart for the Guardians assigning a second Green Lantern to help John with the excess work he's been experiencing. Everyone genuinely appreciates the extra help from the new kid that Superman met many years back, but it's still funny to see the look on John's face whenever someone asks if he needs his "assistant" to help tighten a bolt.

The Kryptonian's thoughts are interrupted as the communicator in his ear beeps on.

"Superman", says the voice of Mr. Terrific. "Galatea's finished in Bludhaven with Nightwing. Seems things went off without a hitch. They're both back on the tower now."

"Thanks Terrific", Superman responds. "I'll be inside in a minute."

If there were any air in space, Superman would breathe a deep sigh. So little often does he remember to take the time to appreciate the views his abilities grant him. The view of Earth with both the sun and the moon in the same picture makes him feel like a kid again. As a boy, Clark Kent did spend a good amount of time staring at the stars. However, he had the advantage of floating above the clouds before his sixteenth birthday, so the stars seemed more attainable to him.

"Go ahead, Terrific", he says in his ear.

Superman is engulfed in blue light that transports him from the emptiness of space and into the dock of the Watchtower. He rematerializes around station workers performing their duties to maintain the tower at all times. After the transport, he shakes off the brief chills caused by each teleportation. Superman then walks to the ramp of the platform as the bottoms of his boots create subtle clanging sounds against the metal of the ground. The operator working the teleporter control panel looks up to Superman with a smile as he passes.

"Good morning, Bill", Superman says to him as he stops for a moment. "How much longer does she have?"

"Six weeks now", Bill says with country accent. "Can't keep enough peanut butter and jelly in the house anymore."

Superman smiles as he lifts into the air.

"Well, remember to have pictures ready for everyone to see", he says hovering towards the command bridge.

Superman rises above the bridge to see Mr. Terrific, Steel, Green Arrow, Nightwing and Galatea standing in conversation.

"Morning everyone", Superman says as he lands on the bridge with them. "How did it go last night?"

Superman lands as Nightwing looks at him with folded arms.

"Great", he says with a yawn. "There are a couple of guys who won't be showing up in my backyard anytime soon."

Superman lifts his eyebrow as he turns his head to Galatea.

"Nothing like that", Nightwing says with a slight chuckle. "Let's just say Blüdhaven isn't used to flights and tights that much yet. I've only been there for a couple of years now and I keep a lower profile than most in our business."

"Gotham and Metropolis are pretty well versed in our kind", Terrific chimes in. "The locals in those cities wouldn't exactly relocate after a blown deal."

"I still have no clue why anyone would do anything stupid in those two cities", Green Arrow adds.

"Why does anyone do anything stupid in the first place with our kind around?" Superman asks. "The point is we have to make our presence known in every city without completely stepping on the toes of local law enforcement."

"We've been walking that line for a long time now", Nightwing says. "Anyway, I gotta get back to the Haven. Can anyone get me a lift?"

"Sorry Nighty, but I'm ready for a bath and my comfy bed", Galatea says.

Mr. Terrific smiles as he points Nightwing to the teleportation platform below the command bridge. Nightwing sighs as he looks over the console where Terrific pointed him. Steel walks up to Nightwing holding a small box.

"Don't forget this", Steel says as Nightwing turns around.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about this", Nightwing says enthusiastically. "Did you get it running again?"

"The hard drive froze on it", Steel says handing the box to Nightwing. "That's the fourth one I've fixed this month. Next time you get an MP3 player, make sure you buy the store warranty. I had to tell that to Stargirl, but I don't think she even bothered listening."

Nightwing smiles as he jumps on the console.

"Thanks Steel. See you guys later."

Everyone watches Nightwing leap off and use the gliders under his arms to slow his descent to the lower section of the Watchtower. Green Arrow turns to Steel with a smile.

"I never get the warranty", Green Arrow says.

"That's because you can afford to buy ten of every toy you get, GA", Steel says.

Superman watches as Galatea leaves the monitoring platform for her much needed sleep. She had been on training missions all week with Nightwing, learning the ways of the streets as well as learning to work with someone whom she could build level of trust with. Since his first days as a member of the League, Nightwing has proven himself to be an extremely valuable teammate. Superman knew that Galatea had a better chance of learning from someone who carried himself in a way that Superman respected as much as he does Nightwing. Normally, that role would easily be Batman's, but Nightwing also proved to be more agreeable than his mentor.

However, when it comes to Galatea, it's not easy for Superman to look at her and not think of his cousin Kara. He misses her, and so do Ma and Pa. Kara was a free spirit who Superman had the pleasure of calling cousin as Clark Kent, especially since he found her on Krypton's sister planet in suspended animation. He brought her home to Kansas in hopes of offering her the life she was denied on her home world after it felt the devastating effects of Krypton's destruction. She was his adopted cousin, almost a sister, and more importantly someone who was his closest connection to the home he never knew.

Now her clone Galatea is a member of the Justice League as a fulltime member and a resident of the Watchtower. Superman had taken her on as his responsibility when the idea of her joining first came about. Since the careful questioning of her joining are is but a memory after the attack by Cadmus, he is happy to see she is holding her own as a member amongst the other League members.

Superman also takes a moment to watch Steel and GA go back and forth with a smile. To him, he knows that it's a good thing that they can have these moments. He always enjoyed having such different personalities come together and working together as well as they work. Also, the humorous moments that these moments breed make him more comfortable with what he does as a protector of Earth. People like his teammates remind him of what he's fighting for.

"She's getting along fairly well", Mr. Terrific says interrupting Superman's thoughts.

"She is", he responds. "But I'd feel more comfortable if she would work with more than one person."

Terrific sits down at the main control console as Steel and GA make their way down the steps from the platform. Superman stands behind Terrific with his arms folded still in thought.

"Well for my dollar", Terrific says. "If I had to pick one person for her to work with, it would be Nightwing. He embodies the majority of skill and experience Batman has, with a major improvement in the personality department. With those combinations at work, it's a good position for someone looking to turn a new leaf to be in."

"Yeah", Superman sighs. "You're right."

Terrific turns in his chair to look up at him.

"My other opinion is that maybe for your own sake, you should stop putting the expectations you had for Kara onto Galatea", Terrific says. "She may be a copy of Kara, but she has to become her own person. Cadmus trained her fairly well, but left a lot to be desired. So unlike Kara, Galatea came with a lot of needed deprogramming. The attachment you have for Galatea is understandable, but she's starting to feel the pressure from it. You know how long it took for her to let go of her attachment to Hamilton, so don't go looking to add yourself into that role."

Superman stares blankly at Terrific.

"…I read self-help books for amusement", Terrific says with a small grin.

Superman chuckles for a moment and takes the empty seat next to Terrific.

"So what's on the agenda for today?" Superman asks while logging into the Watchtower system.

"Columbian drug trafficking", Terrific says as a map of Central America appears on the console monitors. "There's steady activity stemming from Columbia into the Central American countries. The activity stops in Guatemala by the Mexican border. With the recent Mexican sanctions set up with U.S. aide, drugs have had to go around Mexico to make their way into the states."

Superman yawns as places his hand on his cheek.

"With cocaine suppliers appearing in other areas", Terrific continues, "Columbian drug lords' chief export took big losses. Rumors are stating that another drug of choice is coming out of Columbia to balance out their profits."

"It took them this long?" Superman says under his breath.

"But we can't confirm what exactly they're exporting", Terrific says. "Washington's contemplating organizing a special taskforce to find out first hand what the Columbians are prepping to export. For some reason, they can't gather the proper intel."

"Uh huh", Superman barely makes out.

Mr. Terrific turns to Superman with a confused look.

"Something on your mind, Superman?"

"Sorry, Terrific", Superman says straightening himself up. "I guess this down time's starting to get to me."

Mr. Terrific's look grows even more perplexed.

"Down time?" Terrific asks. "We've been busy for months."

Superman looks back at the monitor with an almost disheartened look on his face.

"Yeah", Superman huffs. "I suppose you're right."

"So what's it gonna be, Zee?"

Vigilante stares down Zatanna with a heavy glare. Zatanna returns his stare as the hum of the florescent light mixed with the whirr of the ceiling fan fill the room.

"Llifer", Zatanna says as she points a flow of magic from her finger into her empty teacup resting on the lounge table.

"Sure could use a set of hands like that", The Question chimes in, waiting on her move as well.

Zatanna sips from her teacup, giving a satisfied sigh as she places the cup newly filled with honey lemon back on its saucer. True, she could have gone without the sigh, but she knows Vigilante bets larger when he's rattled.

"Call", she says.

Five cards lay on the middle of the table, only with three exposed. The Queen of Hearts, Seven of Diamonds and the Two of Spades stare at the four leaguers while two cards remain unturned.

Question now looks at his cards as Wildcat finishes another beer.

"Stinking light beer is all we got?" he asks before his belch fills the room.

"You know we've got a lady in the room here, Cat", Vigilante points out while still irritated.

"You mean the one that's got your rent sittin' in front of her?" Cat sneers back.

"I've done better, Cat", Zatanna adds while Vigilante stares back at them both. "Besides, Vigilante's been hitting the moonshine since nine this morning. I'm sure there are other bills he'd like to be late on."

Vigilante huffs out a laugh as Wildcat places his cards face down. The four league members are enjoying their hour dinner break from their duties within the Metrotower. These four have been enjoying each other's company since the official splitting of the Justice League roster into two operating units in both the Metrotower and the Watchtower. Vigilante had one of the unused quarters remodeled into a poker room along with Zatanna. Other members often join these four, but mostly these four are always in the game.

"Turn'em", Question says.

Vigilante turns over the final two which are Ace of Diamonds and King of Hearts. Wildcat drops his cards in disgust while the other three continue to raise the ante until they stop at a fairly high amount.

"Show'em", Zatanna says.

Vigilante almost jumps towards the pot showing his cards.

"Ducks", Vigilante says excitedly showing his pair of twos.

Zatanna lets out a one of her trademark stage-smiles.

"Cowboys, cowboy", Zatanna says showing her two kings.

Vigilante's eyes over his bandana drop from confidence to a defeat that he seems used to experiencing with the magician. Zatanna greedily reaches for the pot as The Question grabs her wrist.
"As the irony is enough to make me laugh hysterically, may I point out to you Zee that I'm sitting on pocket rockets?"

Everyone raises their heads to see the pair of aces sitting in front of the outstretched arm of Question's.

"Ah shoot", Zatanna says sitting back down in a huff.

"Jeez, Q", Wildcat says cracking another beer.

"That sure is one heckuva poker-face you got there, Question", Vigilante says as Zatanna gathers up the cards.

"Come to daddy", Question says in his usual calm tone while gathering up the chips. "You know Zee I'm surprised you didn't have any cards up your sleeve."

Zatanna pouts while she reorganizes the deck.

"Where do you think that last hand came from?" she dryly says with her lips puffed outwards. "I really wanted those leather boots, too."

"Suppose you're going to take that Huntress gal out with my money there, Q."

The Question quietly counts his chips to cash out with the cash box Vigilante locks away in the small safe in the room. Everyone starts to stand up from the table, but Vigilante continues to stare at his losing hand. Wildcat walks out with a quick "see you later" to everyone. Zatanna uses her magic to gather his cards knowing he'll stay there all day if she lets him. Vigilante continues to stare at the blank spot even after the two cards that rested there were magically returned to the deck. The cards float in the air then fly directly into Zatanna's top hat.

"So what time are we scheduled for that simulation Shayera set up?" Zatanna asks. "I have to be in Reno for a show tonight."

"We got plenty of time", Vigilante says. "Shayera's been prepping the new girl for Watchtower duty. Don't know why, really. She's had the Bat breathing down her neck for so long that you'd think this would be a piece of cake."

"One would think that, Vidge", Question chimes in. "The Dark Knight has a particular obsession with attention to detail. It would lead to believe that his pupils would adopt – by choice or not – the same characteristics to some degree."

"Batman definitely has a way of leaving a little bit of himself with anyone who spends time with him", Zatanna says with a sly tone and a smirk as she sips the last of her tea.

The three sit down again as The Question counts his earnings. They raise their heads to the opened door as a knock is heard. One of the newer members of the League peeks his head into the room, with a oddly relaxed look on his face.

"'Scuse me guys", the young Green Lantern says. "Shayera sent me in here to get you. We're ready to run the simulation."
"Sure thing, Kyle my boy", Vigilante says. "We're finishing up in here."

Rayner smiles and pulls his head back from sight. The three are finishing with the clean up while Zatanna seems slightly distracted, which Vigilante notices right away.

"Looks like new guy's got Siegfrieda's attention just a bit", he says teasingly.

Zatanna looks up at him slowly with a ticked off look on her face.

"Keep yappin cowboy, and I'll turn your gee'tar into a ukulele."

"You think I'm in over my head, don't you?"

Diana sits at her desk with her hands folded under her chin. She stares down at a subpoena issued to her by the United Nations for her actions at the Peace Summit in the Kingdom of Jordan last month. Her glasses perfectly reflect the letter to the two women standing in the room in front of her desk, Diana's two most trusted aides.

"It is not that, Diana", the young woman says to her with a European accent. "You were doing so well for so long to have made a mistake like that."

"I agree", the older woman adds. "I know that the Syrian ambassador insulted you, but slamming him through that buffet table was no good."

Diana sighs as she now opens her hands to catch her face. Her two advisors have grown more and more concerned with the pressure Diana faces from being a former member of the Justice League. The large amounts of attention she draws from worldwide gatherings of nations to city fundraisers add more pressure on her to prove her worth as someone who politically represents a nation's people. Most of celebrities or public figures who have entered politics in the past worked primarily with the people of their country. It was not often that former movie stars had to debate world issues with representatives from other countries.

"Look on the bright side", the young woman chimes in. "At least no one had to eat that awful food after the incident."

Diana snorts a laugh into her hands as she brings her head up to see
Dr. Sandsmark cover her own face after Audrey's comment. Audrey always had a way of lightening the mood when the weight of the world came down on her. For Diana, Audrey represents someone who has allowed humility to raise her after she resigned her reign of Kasnia. To have such a carefree spirit around her during her mission helps Diana to see everything from a less-dire perspective.

Dr. Helena Sandsmark plays the role of "bad cop" between the two advisors. Diana met Helena during a archeological dig in Egypt to help unearth Thanagarian artifacts from thousands of years ago. Dr. Sandsmark had spent the majority of her time, however, serving under the newly government-formed Historical Artifact Preservation Organization. Her responsibilities were to declare which artifacts were to be given federal assistance to preserve for future generations. Now, Dr. Sandsmark helps Diana of Themiscyra on a part-time basis to advise her on domestic politics. Dr. Sandsmark has had her battles in securing federal money that was originally intended for other uses, some being selfish uses. So if anyone could have shown Diana how to properly battle politicians, it was this woman.

"Diana, you don't need me to remind you of all you've accomplished up until this point", Dr. Sandsmark says while bringing her hand down to her side. "EVERYONE is looking for a good reason to blackball you from the UN, especially representatives on your side. You don't bring this much heat on anyone who publicly endorses you, no matter how much someone deserved getting slammed through a table full of food."

Whenever Dr. Sandsmark raises her voice, Diana almost feels the aura of her mother near by. Diana looks at the serious look behind the circular glasses resting on Dr. Sandsmark's nose, marveling how her red hair manages to stay redder than her face at the moment. It's a complete departure of the demeanor that Audrey – whose own vanity led her to legally keep a single name – carries with her on a regular basis. Even their professional attire differs, with Dr. Sandsmark's business suit to Audrey's cardigan sweater, skirt and open-toed high heels. It shocks Diana that they manage to stay professionally tolerable of one another.

"So what can I expect to happen at this hearing?" Diana asks her advisors.

"Judging by what I had to go through, I don't think this will be as dire as you make it seem."

"Judging by what you had to go through…?" Diana asks raising her eyebrow.

"Oh lord…" Dr. Sandsmark says covering her face again, knowing exactly what Audrey is about to say.

"Some South American peasant copped a feel during a retirement banquet for one of the UN representatives. I was still queen and exercised my royal right to defend myself by giving him a concussion with my…"

"Stop", Diana says holding up her hand. "I remember reading about it."

Audrey folds her arms as she relives the event.

"I don't know if that cockroach's country even exists anymore…" Audrey huffs.

Diana starts what seems to be a small smile as she stands up from her chair. Dr. Sandsmark seems relieved that Audrey stopped talking while Audrey herself continues to shiver from her horrific experience.

"I have to just face this head on", Diana says. "If I attempt to present myself in a rehearsed fashion, I won't last long. What I would like from you two is to go over a speech I've written to see if that's going to help my stance."

Diana hands over a piece of paper to both of her aides. Audrey gives Diana a confused look.

"Did you not just say you didn't want to rehearse anything?"

"Well, that speech is more of what I expect myself to say in the heat of the moment", Diana replies. "It's more like a list of replies and answers to any possible question I may face. Well, you're right; it is a bit of a rehearsal. I just need all of the preparation I can get to show everyone that I'm not some mindless brute looking to change the world with my fists."

"That is an image you're going to fight for as long as you last in politics", Dr. Sandsmark says while looking over the speech. "For example: what I really want to say about a few of the items you've written down here are things I'm trying to sweeten up knowing what you can do to me."

Deadpan humor, Diana's favorite.

"Just work on that speech before I fire you or make some museum my own personal gym", Diana says with a smirk.

Diana now fully smiles as she walks from behind her desk to embrace her two friends. Towering over the two women as she does allows her to put an arm around both of them at the same time.

"I trust you both", Diana says.

"You had better", Audrey replies. "I could be finding something better to do with my spring nights."

The three women end their embrace and walk towards the door of Diana's office. Her two advisors leave promptly to begin their work as Diana lets them out. After closing the door, Diana walks back to her desk while removing her glasses. The morning sun slowly transitions to the afternoon, but still manages to shine a fitting amount of light through the window behind her desk. She walks to the window to stare out at the buildings of New York City. The landscape of the city may have changed over the years, but Diana will always marvel at humanity's creations as she resides in one herself.

She begins to think about her two friends who now work with her on the political stage. To Diana, the three of them are a team working together in pursuit to better the world. Diana was apart of a team with similar goals, but Diana began to venture away, hoping to better the world in a more diplomatic fashion. Her road has not been the easiest to travel, but Diana remains determined despite all of the negativity towards her.

Diana turns from the window and looks at some of the pictures on her wall. They consist mostly of photos with her and politicians, Audrey and Dr. Sandsmark, and some of her with her mother. She knows what faces should be resting on her wall along with the other pictures, the very large part of her life that brought her to Man's World in the first place.

But that is the part of her life she is quietly trying to rid herself of. That entity has existed for better and for worse over the years, with the worse of it nearly bringing the world to the brink. Even as she could easily ask for a few of her former comrades' involvement in her work to help raise awareness, she knows that her own involvement brings on enough attention.

Also, Diana no longer publicly displays her mother's armor in her office as she once did. The looks delegates have given her for having full Amazonian armor with shield and sword on display implied to her that she needs to let go of her hero life altogether. She almost feels ashamed for allowing herself to walk away from that life as much as she has. However, in order to improve the relationship between Amazons and Man, and to help preserve the planet they share, Diana, Princess of Themiscyra, knows that there is only one way for her to achieve her goals.

"Commish, I know that you've been letting freak-job and his cabbage patch play good guys in this town for years, but they needs to stop hangin' perps offa friggin' lampposts!"

"Well Captain, at least the exercise has been doing you some good."

Harvey Bullock looks down at the belly that doesn't hang out as much as it used to, then gives off a toothpick-framed smile. He walks towards the lamppost as GCFD cut down Two-Face's men from the rope hanging them up there. This gives Jim Gordon the opportunity to enjoy his coffee in peace while Gordon's longtime friend and partner hiding in the shadows approaches.

"You know, Harvey should thank you for the perp-piñatas", Gordon says. "He would have never gotten married swallowing donuts and telling beat cops what to do on a daily basis."

"Then how did you ever get to remarry?"

"Deadpan humor, my favorite", Gordon says then sips his coffee. "And for the record, this sense of humor you've developed over the years is scarier than your usual demeanor."

The Gotham night is humid from the day's rain. The unusual, yet typical heat wave that hit during April is fitting to the uncomfortable atmosphere of the city. Tonight, Gotham is starting to see the end of the reign of terror that has plagued the city for almost fifteen years. The theatrical and unusual criminal element that attempted to claim the city on a nightly basis has nearly been contained for good. Now all that remains is the normal crime that cities across the world suffer from.

Gordon listens to Bullock berate the captured individuals from a distance before the blood can flow back from their heads.

"Two-Face is the last loose end I need to take care of before I hang up my badge, old friend", Gordon says. "Montoya is ready to take over, but I want to make sure she has her own lunatics to take care of. She doesn't need to start off with Harvey Dent or any other of my sins still out there."

"For what it's worth, I'm sure she could handle it."

Gordon takes another sip.

"I don't doubt that", Gordon says. "It would just be more satisfying if I could retire with all of Gotham's monsters finally locked away for good."

"Most of them are, but two."

"More deadpan", Gordon says. "I'm going to count Two-Face as one, thank you very much."

"I wasn't talking about Harvey."

Gordon stays silent for a moment, and then breaks the silence with another sip.

"You told me that he was practically brain dead", Gordon says sternly. "You said the Justice League declared him catatonic."

"Brain dead isn't dead. There's always the chance…"

"He's DEAD!" Gordon shouts as he throws his coffee to the ground.

The rest of the GCPD didn't notice Gordon's outburst as they continued to arrest Two-Face's men. Gordon lowers his head while trying to calm down.

"Forgive me, friend", Gordon says with his head down. "But my legacy will always show that Gotham suffered its worse years of crime under my watch. Yes, you shared the brunt of its wrath, but in the books it shows that I was solely responsible for Gotham's safety. You have to understand how important it is to know that I took all of that with me when I retired."

"I do, Jim. But you're the one retiring, not me. Arkham's new facility was designed by the Justice League, so whatever's in there is staying in there. Harvey is finished, he even knows that. Tonight was his last attempt at a score to get him out of town. No syndicate or family out of town is willing to touch him if he goes to them with empty pockets. Even the local crime lords are turning him away."

"H…Harvey isn't who I'm concerned about, old friend", Gordon replies with a slightly cracking voice. "It's that other one that keeps me awake at night. He's claimed so much of this city's soul, our soul."

There is a brief pause, and then it is broken by Gotham's longtime protector.

"That other one is a reason why I'm still on the streets, Jim. If he resurfaces, I have the resources to see that he doesn't claim any more of us than he already has."