Over the years fortune had always shined on the group of heroes the world had come to recognise as The Justice League. Starting out with just seven founding members, it was hard to believe that in such a short space of time the small glimmer of hope had flourished ad developed into such a vast, international organisation. Despite the challenges they faced, no matter how tough, or how laborious the task, they always managed to pull through, gaining universal respect worldwide.
Superman stood atop the Daily Planet building alone, gazing out at the people of Metropolis getting on with their day to day lives. They had gotten used to seeing him now, every now and again just taking a break while he surveyed the area around him, keeping the great city trouble free as always. "I know you're there." He said softly, a smile creeping across his face.
"Nobody could ever sneak up on you." Wonder Woman chuckled as she stepped closer behind him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she stood on her tip toes. "You could hear them a mile off." She whispered softly into his ear.
Turning to face her, his arms snaking their way around her waist, he leaned in close "I only noticed you a moment ago, a bit too heavy on your feet when it came to the globe." He glanced at the golden metal sphere beneath them, "But I suppose it is hard to keep balanced up here."
A soft shade of pink stained her cheeks as she smiled, "I did stumble a bit when I jumped up." she admitted, embarrassed at her lack of grace. "I can't wait until Thursday though!"
Superman grinned, "Me either. I can't believe it's been eight years since the Justice League formed, it seems like it was only yesterday."
"It's been great." Wonder Woman replied enthusiastically, "It's nice that we're having such a big celebration as well."
"Only three days to go!" He laughed, picking her up as he took off into flight. He noted how she'd become more comfortable with this, she used to hate it, but now it had become one of her favourite things to do; just flying around in his arms.
They stayed that way for a while, just circling the Metropolis area, until he landed and gently set her down on a hill overlooking the woods. "I better go, I have a lot to do today, I just wanted to stop by and say hello." She said gently, still holding onto his muscular arm.
"I understand. I need to get back to the Daily Planet, they'll be expecting Clark Kent to be there in about ten minutes." He said, brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
She giggled, "Well, I'll see you tonight, it'll be nice to have some time that's just the two of us." She said, pecking him on the cheek. "That's one of the perks of having so many member of the League now."
"I can't wait." He smiled, moving in for a goodbye kiss.
"Bruce, I'm on my way there now." Clark's voice came through the communicator. "I need you to keep an eye on her for me."
Batman sighed, "Are you sure about this Clark? You know what they can be like."
"I know what I'm doing, just make sure Diana doesn't know what I'm doing." Clark replied slowly, "If she finds out it will ruin the whole plan."
Rolling his eyes, he moved to the watchtower control panel, "She's in New York right now, stopping some bank robbers, I'll let you know if she makes a move."
"Good... that should keep her busy long enough for me to get this sorted out." Clark mumbled, half to himself, half to Bruce, "I'm nearing Paradise Island now, it shouldn't take long."
"Don't do anything stupid." Bruce warned, his eyes on the screen showing Diana doing her famous bullets and bracelets trick. "She's not going to like this."
Listening intently to the other line, Bruce could feel the tension rising as he waited hours for a reply off Clark. Something had gone wrong, something had to have gone wrong for him to not respond. His eyes turned to the screen in time to watch Diana climb into her invisible plane, and he instantly started a video call with her.
"Diana, have you seen Superman?" Bruce asked as she answered the call.
Frowning, Diana's eyes were on the plane controls, "Not since this morning."
"Hmm." Bruce grunted, deep in thought, "Where are you headed now?"
"Themyscira." She said quickly, "I've had a distress call from my Mother, I need to get there now."
Bruce's head snapped up, his eyes wide under his mask. He was right, something had gone wrong. His internally cursed as he closed the video call and attempted once again to get Clark on the communicator. "Clark, you need to leave now, Diana is on her way." He growled, pacing back and forth in the control room. "This was supposed to be a quick mission Clark, you were supposed to stay low key." He tried again.
Fists clenched, he walked out to where he left his BatJet, still mentally scolding Clark.
Diana landed on Paradise Island, her stomach churning as she noted there was no welcoming reception, only a deafening silence. Leaving her plane, she looked around the seemingly deserted buildings and let out a shaky breath. "Hello?" She called out entering the royal living quarters, her voice booming in the empty halls. No reply. Her eyes constantly shifting, she reached up and pulled a sword and shield down from the wall, making her way back outside. "Hello?" She called again, becoming more panicked as she began to sprint.
Her mind racing, she had covered more than half of the island before she finally found any kind of indication of what had happened. She stopped in her tracks, eyes downcast as she dropped to her knees, "Sister..." She whispered, cradling the body of a wounded Amazon in her arms, "Who did this to you?"
The woman in her arms was barley moving, her breath ragged as she clutched her bleeding side. Diana watched her, trying to place a name to her face, but it seemed the time away had left her at a loss when it came to recognising her own people. "A man has invaded our territory, he has declared war on our Island." The woman moaned as she curled up in Diana's arms, the blood seeping through onto her skin, "You must help, he headed towards the shore."
Diana clenched her jaw, helping the woman to her feet, she pulled her over on shoulder and began running to the sandy beaches of her homeland. "Why would the entire army head out after one man?" Diana asked, keeping her hand on the woman's wound to maintain the pressure.
"He was too strong for us, he had strange powers." The woman coughed, gripping the fabric of Diana's close tightly.
Reaching the shore, Diana froze. Her eyes wide, body tense as she slowly dropped the woman over her shoulder, "H-How..." Her voice was low, her entire frame trembling as she looked out upon the shore, coated in the blood of her Amazon sisters. She stumbled back a few steps, her hand grasping a nearby tree of support as her arm held her stomach, sickness growing inside of her. Closing her eyes, she could feel tears building up, but her burning anger boiled over, and when she opened her blue eyes, there was no trace of mercy left in them.
"It was him." The injured Amazon said rawly, her finger shakily pointing to the sand, "He did this."
Throat dry, she turned again to what now was a battlefield, and soon to be a graveyard, eyes finally landing upon the last warrior standing, the last man standing. "C-Clark?" She murmured in disbelief, watching as he made his way over to the frothing sea.
Author's Note: This story is a challenge from acepro Evolution and it sounded really interesting so I wanting to give it a go :)
The basic theme is that Superman has been accused of doing something truly evil, and I really want to let you know the rest of the challenge, but I'll be doing it in a few chapters, so if I were to tell it might ruin the plot! At the end I will post all of the criteria fr the challenge :)