She couldn't move.
Inwardly, she screamed and thrashed around in horror, praying that this nightmare was just a fiendish dream, but her body wouldn't budge. All she could do was stare at the television in horror along with her father and mother.
"Thank god we canceled that meeting," Abraham Hochberg whispered to his wife, Lea, who nodded readily in agreement.
Hannah spun around helplessly, and was engulfed in a warm hug by her mother. A few tears dribbled out of her eyes, as she shook her head, trying to shake the images out of her mind.
"What is that?" she exclaimed, heaving heavily.
"I don't know," her mother responded gently, rubbing the back of her daughter's head.
Abraham started murmuring a prayer to Yahweh under his breath.
"My god!" Lea yelled.
Hannah jumped out of her mother's embrace, and turned back to the TV.
"It appears that Superman and Batman have arrived onto the scene" the announcer explained "And Superman, who was under fire for the Capitol bombing, seems to not be giving up the fight just yet."
Superman floated into the air, and a millisecond later, two lasers came flying from his eyes. The monster shrieked in rage, and charged towards the Man of Steel.
"The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want," Leah started "He makes my lie down in green pastures, he leads me besides still waters, he restores my soul."
Suddenly, the figure of a young woman appeared on the TV. She stood up erect like a queen, with her brown locks flowing down her neck. In her hand, she grasped a sword, which she held high over her head when she charged towards the raging beast in the center of the desecrated city.
"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil," Lea continued, clasping her hands over her chest.
Hannah heard the words faintly echoing through the room, and she laughed to herself.
Evil is strong, and almost undefeatable. Refusing to fear evil was impossible, a feat that was too much of Yahweh to ask of her. Especially since the world had been changing so much the last few years.
Aliens arrived from Krypton, a planet so far away which the smartest scientists couldn't see and the greatest machinery couldn't reach. Crime spiked in Gotham, even with the bat vigilante desperately trying to bring it to a halt. Metropolis crumbled, and was crumbling once again.
As Hannah watched her parents plead with Yahweh, their God, something inside of her burned. She should be praying for all the people whose lives were being destroyed at the hands of a seething, raging monster that appeared to be going nuclear.
It was hard to pray though! Especially since a God her parents said was all seeing and all loving let all these tragic things take place.
Especially when he died the way he did.
Yahweh let the world turn upside down again.
And all Hannah could do was watch.
Superman died to save the world.
When those words rang through Hannah's ears, she hesitated.
Yes, the Man of Steel did so much to help everyone around him, but Metropolis collapsed twice at his hand. He aided the Batman vigilante, and a new hero, who the media was referring to as Wonder Woman. In the end, he impaled the monster with a spear made of Kryptonite, which weakened him in the process. No one was sure what happened next.
The world mourned for him. Hannah watched his televised funeral in silent grief. Not for his sake, but for the sake of the world, one that was changing every time it spun around the sun. She grieved for the old days that passed away into history, a small fragment of when things appeared so much simpler.
When she was younger, people who believed in aliens were crazy, considered by most to be quietly losing their sanity over impossible theories and conspiracies. She distinctly remembered hearing about a group of 'alien fanatics' claiming that Jesus Christ was an alien. After all, he was not from this world, they insisted.
Now, with all-powerful "gods" looming in the sky, saying that aliens was just something invented by the discontent made you insane.
That didn't mean you had to like the truth . . .
Still, without Superman, people didn't know who would take his place. People argued that without Superman, the disasters that followed in his wake would stop occurring.
Everyone was panicked though, regardless of what one truly believed. The only thing that was discussed on the news stations was whether the tragedies that destroyed cities would keep taking place. Other news often fell to the sidelines, recognized by very few people.
Hannah shifted her position on the couch, and frowned. She clicked the refresh button on her computer screen.
Damn the internet!
As she waited for the web page to load again, she dropped her head back, and stared up at the ceiling. Her eyes examined every detail of the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The muffled voices coming from the TV discussed Superman quietly.
Ever since she graduated from Harvard Law School in the spring, Hannah had been reduced to doing research for big shot lawyers in a cramped up firm in Gotham.
It drove her crazy.
Yes, she knew it'd be a while before she'd be able to get her hands on an actual case for her to defend, but she desperately wanted to do something more than glorified secretarial work.
"It takes time, sweetie," her Mom, Lea, explained when Hannah complained to her "You have to get experience before they put you in charge of a case."
"I'm a Harvard Law graduate," Hannah shot back, brushing a strand of curly brown hair out of her face "That alone should be enough experience. Besides, I think I could crush some of those bitching lawyers I'm doing secretary work for!"
"Patience, darling, patience."
Despite her insistence that she could do better than her superiors, Hannah didn't complain to them. She did her work, hoping that one of them would see something special in her, and give her the chance she needed to prover herself.
The web page finally loaded, and Hannah sighed with relief.
It's about damn time!
She scrolled through the web site, and when she reached the bottom, she clicked on a link. Several images popped up, making Hannah grin in delight. In the image was a picture of a middle aged man with a few wispy strands of blonde hair, and large, pouty lips. One his lap sat an insanely thin woman with bleach blonde hair, who had her arms draped around his neck.
Hah.
In this particular case, they were trying to prosecute a man that supposedly murdered his wife with a steak knife. His reason? An affair, which he readily denied.
Maybe he wouldn't be denying it for much longer.
Hannah clicked on the picture, downloading it to her laptop. After typing a quick email to her boss, she sent it to him, a small smile on her lips.
Listening to the satisfied whoosh confirming that the email had been sent, she closed her laptop, and raised her hands above her head to stretch. She groaned in relief, wiggling her toes.
Tucking her laptop under her arm, her stood up, and walked towards the kitchen. She looked up one last time at the chandelier. Brushing her fingers over the side of the couch, she headed towards the ornate entry way that lead into the study she'd been working in. As she headed down the hall, she stared at each picture displayed prominently on the wall. She stopped at one of her mother holding her just after she'd been born. The smile on her face was so bright, so joyous, it warmed Hannah's heart. Next to that picture was one of a young teenager, sitting in a hospital chair, holding her in his arms. She snickered when she looked at his face; unimpressed, and somewhat sad. Behind him stood an older man, maybe in his late thirties, frowning at the child, almost saying "If you drop that baby, I'll kill you." Hannah shook her head, and continued.
Once in the kitchen, she was greeted by a flustered maid.
"Hi Jane!" Hannah called, pulling out a barstool at the marble island in the center of the kitchen.
Jane smiled brightly, and went back to the sink, where she'd been loading a dishwasher.
Hannah set her lap top down, and grabbed a kettle from the pill of dirty dishes, and poured some water into it.
"Shall I clean the kettle first, Miss. Hochberg?"
"It's alright, Jane. It's just water."
She set the kettle on the stove, and turned the knob up to high. Jane grabbed out a package of chair tea, and handed it to Hannah, who smiled gratefully.
"How is your work going, Miss?"
"Good. Good!"
"You don't sound convinced ma'am."
"Well—"
Hannah's cell phone buzzed. She smiled apologetically at Jane, who nodded forgivingly. Lifting the phone to her ear, Hannah frowned. She hadn't recognized the number.
"Hello?"
"Hannah? Hannah?"
"Who is this?"
"I'd think you'd recognize your best friend's voice!"
"Wh—what? Wait—Lex? Where are you? Why are you calling me from some random number?"
Hannah bit her lip, waiting for an answer.
There was silence.
"I'm at the police station. I've been arrested," the voice on the other end finally whispered.
"What do you mean arrested?" Hannah exclaimed "What for?"
"I—I need you to come to the station. Right now."
"O—Of course! Anything, but I don't understand, Lex!"
She could hear Lex breathing heavily on the other end of the line, something he did only when he was scared.
And Lex Luthor was never scared.
"Tell me what's going on!"
Silence.
"Lex?"
"Too many ears, Hannah. Too many! I—I can't let them hear me!"
Lex stumbled over his words, as if he was learning how to speak for the first time. This wasn't at all like the smooth talking Lex Luthor she'd know since she was a baby . . . This person talking to her was new; scared and unsure of himself.
"I'm on my way, Lex. It'll take a while though. I'm at the town house in Gotham—"
"The guard is coming, Hannah! He's coming! I have to go. Please hurry. I—"
A quick click resounded through the line, indicating that Lex had hung up. Hannah rubbed her forehead, her mind spinning from what she'd just heard.
Lex? Arrested? I don't understand!
"Miss. Hannah? Miss?"
Hannah's head shot up to see Jane, standing in front of her, a look of concern on her face.
"Oh—Uh—Tell Mom and Dad I'm going to Gotham, okay? I don't know when I'll be back, but don't tell them that."
Jane nodded quickly.
With that, Hannah snatched her laptop of the island, and sprinted towards he bedroom on the other side of the manor. Her mind flopped over and over in her brain, making her lose her footing. As she hit the ground, she lifted her laptop over her head, preventing it from touching the ground. She jumped back up, and once she made it to her bedroom, grabbed a pair of black flats, and her purse.
With that, she headed towards the garage, where her Porsche was waiting.
Something bad was happening.
Something bad was happening to her best friend.
A/N:
Hey Everyone! Thanks for reading the first chapter of Letters To Robin! I really appreciate you taking the time to check it out!
For those of you that are wondering, this does take place after Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, but I'll be adding some characters that aren't in the DC Cinematic Universe (Oliver Queen, Laurel Lance etc.)
Also, this story isn't about the forming of the Justice League. Some of its members will show up, and you might see some glimpses of it, but that's not the main point of the story. Sorry guys, no Darkseid!
Please do not hesitate to follow/favorite/review. Things like that motivate me to write, so if you want more, say hello in the comments.
I'll try to publish a new chapter once a week, but no promises because school is starting soon, and I am writing a few other stories also.
Once again, thank you!
Much love,
gotmoreissuesthanvogue