Hello folks, this is ShadowMajin, and I'm back with the third Justice League story in Anonymous Void and My series. This one's going to be a fun one for sure, so strap in and get ready for a wild ride. The title is a homage, which I'm sure many of you will pick up, or already have. Hope you enjoy.
Given a choice between a God and a King, why would anyone pick a God?
Power, dominion over people, everlasting life through the ages if not physically, but through an oral representative—all of those pretty baubles went into Godhood. Worshiped by all who feared their wrath for any slight, no matter how small seemed very tempting.
Except...Kings had that too. They had power, they ruled over peasants and lesser organisms. Why, they even made it into the history books, remembered right alongside Gods. They too were worshiped, given offerings of wealth and food all for the promise of protection. Why, one could say Kings and Gods were one in the same in that aspect.
In another, however, there was one very big, very real difference. Kings were real. There's evidence to prove they roamed the Earth, crushing the unworthy beneath their boot heels, their very words determining the fate of nations. Gods, well, it took a little faith. You had to believe they were real along with, oh, a few million other people. Otherwise you were considered crazy and a heretic and burned at the stake for your belief.
So where was the downside in all of this? As a King, you were mortal, and eventually you would die, your reign ended after years of tyranny, or squelched long before you had the chance to be truly great. A God was immortal, so that wasn't truly a problem for them. Yet, the worst thing anyone could do to a God was forget about them.
The more people forgot about them, the less power that God had. Their dominion weakened as their droves of worshipers turned to others, leaving them by the wayside as relics of a simpler time. Their temples were either razed for the new idol, or neglect slowly eroded away their alters until they were forgotten by time itself.
You couldn't do that with a King.
It didn't matter if you were a good king or a bad king, someone was going to remember you. Many were immortalized through poets and playwrights, detailing their accomplishments be they insignificant, or world-shattering. To this day there were people that held them in high regard, demanding paparazzi to hack their phones and email accounts, greedily consuming pictures of them eating their breakfast and flossing their teeth.
A gloved hand reached out to a small table, taking hold of a small shot glass. The amber of the scotch held in it a beauty not quite appreciated by its usual imbibers. The light from the crackling fire glanced off of it, providing the only source of illumination in the dark room. Moving the glass, it was brought to red lips, which pressed against it, the drink disappearing into the mouth beyond them. Finished, the glass was returned to the table, a dull thud being made as it was set down. The gloved hand released its hold, yet stayed near as it moved to a much larger bottle. Picking it up, the bottle was turned and poured more of the scotch into the glass, the bottle being set down a moment later.
It was a shame really. Why would anyone pick Godhood over being royalty? It honestly didn't make any sense. Yet the plebeians constantly threw themselves at such fanciful ideas. The chance to do good with the powers of the cosmos—who wouldn't want to do that? Well, if you wanted to be boring…
A sigh left the man. His drink was beginning to speak for him. Lulling his head back, it pressed into the back of the rather comfy chair. The sight before him brought a small, lazy smile to his face. It was a work of art, created painstakingly through others. He would have to thank them for their contributions.
Picking up the shot glass again, he raised it up, his head lulling to a side to regard his collaborators. "Good work guys. Very good work." He then tilted the glass, pouring the scotch to the floor as it splashed upon contact. It was the least he could do considering they were all lying on the floor on top of each other. They didn't seem to mind and in fact were smiling widely.
Refilling the glass again, he tossed this one into his mouth, savoring the burning in the back of his throat as he swallowed. Another refill. So much work for one man was left to do, but it would be worth it. A lot of planning, expenses, and lives had been put into it and far be it from him not to follow through.
Another sigh. Sleepy eyes rolled to look towards his free hand, admiring the watch wrapped around his wrist. It took a moment for him to realize just where the hands were. "Whoops, it's late," he spoke to himself. "Better call it a night before I get myself into trouble."
Yet, one more drink wouldn't hurt. Retrieving his filled glass, he held it out in front of him, offering it as a toast to the art before him. On the wall was the symbol of a bat, encircled with an even larger heart around it. It was hard to tell with the lighting, but it was made with red paint, provided by his smiling collaborators. Unfortunately, there were small trails dripping down from the lines—an amateur's mistake. Still, it gave it some character.
"To the Bat-King," Joker said before he tossed down his drink. He slammed the glass harder on the table next to him, a sharp tap! ringing out into the room.
"To the Bat-King."
The rules had been set. Weapons had been chosen for this round, courtesy of his opponent. The air was still save from the air condition silently blowing in a steady stream of cold air. The two combatants stood at the center of the room, platitudes of respect having already been offered and accepted.
A bo staff spun slowly in front of Batman's face, his hands flipping it end over end. There was a soft whooshing sound with every pass the staff's end made. Beyond it, he had his eyes focused on Wonder Woman, who held her own staff at her side. It was a relaxed stance, but he was fully aware of how fast she could bring the staff up to either attack or defend.
This wasn't the first time they had spared like this. In fact, the first time they had, Wonder Woman had a smirk on her face, fully confident in her abilities. The moment Batman had disarmed her, the smirk had left and she had gotten serious. They were well passed the point of hubris now.
Suddenly, Batman stopped his twirling and grasped the bo staff tightly. In a black blur, he lunged at the Amazon, jabbing at her face with the end of the staff. As expected, Wonder Woman stepped backwards, her own staff shooting up and parrying the blow away, the collision of the wooden staff's creating a light knocking sound.
Due to his staff being batted to a side, Batman used the change of direction to his advantage, pulling the end back as he attacked with the opposite end. Again, he was blocked, yet Diana continued to pull back.
The Dark Knight narrowed his eyes even as he pressed his attack, alternating which end he struck with. The Amazon was leading him somewhere, he just knew it. She had done something similar in a previous bout, countering was a leg sweep—
The moment Diana dropped downward, Batman was leaping upward, his feet just barely clearly the swing of Wonder Woman's staff. Once he reached the apex of his jump, the vigilante kicked out a leg, his foot ramming into the dark-haired woman's face. The blow snapped her head back, leaving her dazed.
Landing on his feet, Batman pressed his advantage and delivered another strike to the side of her head, this time with his staff. The hit knocked the Amazon off her feet, sending her crashing to the floor.
However, before he could attack again, Wonder Woman had gone into a roll, ending back up on her feet, though she stayed crouched. Halting, Batman assumed a defensive stance, one end of the staff pointed right at his opponent as he studied the woman.
"You remembered," Diana commended him, a twinkle in her eye that countered the redness on her face. "I was wondering if you would."
"Those bruises should be evidence of that," he returned, adjusting his grip on the staff.
"Perhaps." Suddenly, Diana pushed off the floor with her legs, charging at him. Seeing the incoming staff strike, Batman immediately countered by jabbing at the weapon with his own, the two ends ricocheting off each other. Unfazed, the Amazon continued with her assault, repeating striking with the ends of her staff. The only thing Batman could do was block them to the best of his ability, which he was certain he was succeeding, considering his opponent hadn't landed a blow on him yet.
That was when Diana changed things up. When the vigilante blocked her latest jab, she suddenly arched her bo staff up into the air as high as it would go. It then swung downward, aiming right for his head. In response, he held up his own staff, both of his hands grasping it at different points.
The moment the two staff collided, Diana's end landing right between Batman's hand on the middle of the staff, a sharp snap! rang out, the Amazon's staff breaking the vigilante's in two. Jumping back to put some distance between them, Batman held both ends up, assuming a defensive stance as he did so. Sparing a glance, he couldn't help but note the splintered ends of the staff's pieces. Faintly, he wondered if Wonder Woman had applied her superhuman strength into that blow.
"Scared, little man?" Diana taunted him, keeping herself low as she pointed the end of her still-whole staff at him. Her back leg was bent at the knee, her other leg extended forward at an angle and as straight as an arrow. Because of this, she was leaning towards her back leg, putting most of her weight on it.
Batman whirled the pieces of his staff in circles, gaining a better grip on them. "Not especially," he responded coolly. He then moved his short staffs in front of him, forming an X with them. "But if it makes you feel better, the staff is."
The corner of her mouth twitched upward. "I suppose I'm going to have to try a littler harder."
Immediately, she pushed off with her back foot, adjusting with her front to place her weight on it as she lunged forward, jabbing her staff end at him. With his make-shift escrima stick, Batman used his left one to bat the strike to a side, simultaneously raising his right one above his head and swinging it downward.
Diana blocked his attempted blow with the end of her staff, immediately jabbing the other end and forcing Batman to block it. Before he could counter though, the Amazon suddenly spun the staff rapidly between them, her hands a blur as she flipped and adjusted the weapon in her grip.
Unfortunately for the vigilante, his broken staff pieces were ripped out of his hands by the spinning staff, effectively disarming him. Caught off guard, he stood still as he processed just what had happened, which left him wide open. Seeing this, Diana stopped spinning her staff pulled it away from him while at the same time shooting her free hand out in front of her. The palm of her hand slammed into Batman's chest and the force of the hit sent him flying backwards through the air.
The moment he landed on his back on the ground, the air in his lungs was forced out, causing him to cough. Damn, she hadn't held back with that palm strike.
Suddenly, a pair of legs was straddling his waist, a heavy weight sitting on top of his abdomen. Diana shoved her staff down on top of his throat, putting pressure on his windpipe, but going no further. Her dark hair cascaded around her head as she looked down on him with sparkling blue eyes. "I believe that's match."
Despite the Amazon's declaration, she had made a small error—namely she hadn't pinned his arms down. So from that standpoint, Batman was still able to offer resistance. However, he knew better than the try, especially when all it would take was for Diana to press her staff further down on his neck with her super strength. As previously stated, she had indeed won this round.
Raising a hand, he then slapped it against the side of her thigh, tapping out to signify his surrender. In response, Wonder Woman pulled back her staff, relieving the pressure against his throat; still, she hadn't gotten off of him either.
"You're slipping," she told him, though her tone was teasing. "I normally don't beat you that quickly."
"That tends to happen when you surprise me," Batman admitted. "Not to mention when you disarmed me."
"That's when things get interesting usually. Is something else on your mind? Distracted, maybe?" As if to emphasize her words, the Amazon breathed in deeply, which caused her bosom to push out towards him.
Batman took note of the cleavage for a moment. It wasn't the first time he had, nor would it be the last. The last couple of months he had found himself in positions such as this, with the Amazon Princess offering seemingly flirtatious teasing. At first he had been annoyed by it, but eventually he had found himself becoming less resistant. He was a man after all. As long as he didn't act on more instinctual urges, it was fine. Still, considering all that he knew on Amazons, this behavior was strange.
At least if you disregarded the fact that Amazons were women too.
"Nothing more than usual," Batman finally answered Wonder Woman's query, though his words did nothing to diminish her smile.
Of course, that's when the door to the training room they were in slid open. "Whoa, is something going on in here, or is it just me?" the voice of the Flash exclaimed.
Not the least bit perturbed, Diana raised her head up and looked towards the red-clad man. "Just finishing a training exercise, Flash," she replied to him, her good humor still laced in her voice.
"If you call straddling Bats training, then I think you're not quite finished," Flash returned, a smirk on his face. "Before you get too deep into things, just thought I'd let you kids know that it's almost meeting time."
"Thank you, Flash. We'll see you there."
A red blur replaced where Flash stood and the hero was gone a second later, leaving the two Leaguers by themselves. "I do wonder where he gets those ideas?" Diana wondered out loud.
Aside from the fact the Amazon had still not gotten off of him with ample time to do so, Batman could think of a couple of reasons, though none were coming to him at the moment. "Can't possibly see how he would."
Looking down at him, Diana gave him a look full of mirth before she finally stood up, stepping to one side so as not to stand over him. Before Batman could move though, the Amazon extended a hand out, one he stared at for a moment before taking with his own hand. The two pulling against each other, Batman was soon back on his feet, looking no worse for wear as his cape began to encircle him.
"Same time next week?" Diana asked as she continued to hold his hand.
"Same time next week," the Dark Knight confirmed, loosening his grip even though the dark-haired woman made no such move to reciprocate. Glancing down, it was then she let go of his hand, allowing him to drop it to his side. By the time he looked up, Diana was standing near a wall, placing her bo staff back on its rack.
Finishing her task, she glanced at him before saying, "Coming to the meeting this time?"
Batman shook his head. Because of his "part-time" status, he wasn't mandated to attend every meeting, especially the routine ones that occurred every two weeks. The agenda for this one didn't require his presence, so he saw no reason he needed to attend. Besides, he had other things that required his attention.
"I have some work in Gotham I need to attend to," he said. "Just send me the notes afterwards."
"Very well. Take care of yourself."
Without another word, Batman turned away and strode towards the exit. Already he was contemplating what awaited him in the cave and a sense of fatigue hit him. Aside from his normal patrol, he had been in constant training not just with the League, but his relatively new sidekick. His shoulder still ached from a previous spar. If he had a brain at all, he would take the next few hours off to at least rest.
Of course that thought never made it out of the Justice League headquarters.
"Colonel Vox is currently incarcerated by the Kasnia Authority, though I think we still need to keep an eye on this," John Stewart reported. "Kasnia doesn't have a stellar human rights record and they're especially not going to be extending any decent treatment to a man that tried to usurp the throne."
"Agreed," Superman responded. He then turned to look in Diana's direction. "Think you can pay King Gustav a visit?"
The dark-haired woman nodded her acceptance. It wasn't surprising that she would be considered for the assignment because of her involvement with Vox's apprehension. She and John had received and responded to a distress call from a private plane belonging to the Kasnia Monarchy. Upon defeating the terrorists on board, they had met the Princess Audrey, who informed them of a coup occurring at the country's capital. With J'onn and Flash as back up, the Leaguers defeated Vox and his men, restoring order to Gustav. In the aftermath, Diana had found herself with Audrey for a considerable amount of time.
Though it sounded devious, it was understandable that the League would need to use that association to keep tabs on Kasnia. Perhaps when Kasnia took care to treat their prisoners more fairly, such tactics would be unnecessary. Until then, Diana would just have to swallow her distaste and use such diplomacy.
"Assuming the rest of the week remains uneventful, I can pay a visit at the end of the week," she responded.
Superman nodded his acceptance. "On that note, we need to discuss next month's budget."
Flash groaned loudly at that. "Can't we hire an accountant for that, Big Blue?" he complained. "This bean counting is a major pain."
"Sorry, Flash, but it has to be done," the Man of Steel replied apologetically. "I know it's not the most exciting thing, but it is important."
"Paint drying is more exciting than this." The red-clad man slumped in his seat before his eyes glanced towards something more captivating. "Besides, shouldn't we all be here for this?"
Diana couldn't help but turn her head to what Flash was indicating, which was the empty chair between J'onn and Hawkgirl—Batman's chair. Following his inclusion into the League, he had been given a chair at the table, one that half the time was empty due to him reneging on his League duties. John had grumbled early on about the vigilante's frequent absences.
Of course, when the subject was brought up to Batman, he had responded by slapping down the Justice League handbook and indicated to a highlighted section that clearly explained that he was not required to attend every meeting. He had then stared at the group, challenging them to contradict him.
Needless to say, that was the last time anyone brought the subject up in the Dark Knight's presence.
"Benefits of being a part-timer," Hawkgirl remarked, lounging back in her chair as she turned it to face Flash. "You know, you could do the same thing if you became one," she added slyly.
That caused Flash's head to perk up. "Hey, you're right!" he exclaimed. Turning to look at Superman, he said, "Big Blue, I motion to make myself a part-time member of the League."
"Denied," John immediately snapped. "Dropping from full-time status to part-time just because you don't want to attend meetings is a poor excuse. You have a duty to the League to attend and you're going to do it, no matter how much you don't like it."
For once, the Fastest Man Alive was frozen in place, eyes wide as he stared at the Green Lantern. Then he slumped in his seat, openly pouting. "Party pooper," he muttered.
Superman gave the red-clad hero a sympathetic look. "Sorry, Flash, but you're needed here. We'll try to make this as painless as possible."
"Too late for that."
As amusing as Flash's antics could be, there was definitely a rift forming within the League considering the seemingly special treatment given to Batman. To be frank, Diana had been in agreement with John at the beginning as well, while J'onn and, surprisingly, Superman accepted the vigilante's absence. Hawkgirl didn't seem to care one way or another and seemed more amused at the other's frustration with it.
However, when Diana had broached the subject with Batman, he had coolly laid out his case: he had many other obligations that the rest of the League did not share in. After all, none of them ran billion-dollar corporations as a day job—in fact, more than half of the League didn't have jobs. Then there was his need to be in top physical shape. Though Diana was quick to point out that the other heroes also needed to train, Batman had maddeningly stared at her before he completely rebuffed her point.
"One member gets his powers from the sun, which doesn't require him to make frequent trips to make sure it's still burning. Another member has a battery source to recharge his ring. Another just has to make sure his body doesn't burn every calorie. Your powers don't diminish unless your Gods decide to revoke…"
It was about there that Diana stopped him. The point was they didn't have to work as hard to maintain their powers. As far as she could tell, that was a valid point. Then, surprisingly, he confided in her that he was in the process of training an apprentice of sorts. Well, at least that's what she could glean from his vague words anyways.
"So, if I end up missing a meeting, so be it. I don't have that much free time to waste on League updates."
After that, Diana had been more than willing to cut the vigilante some slack in his attendance. Now it was just a mild amusement to her. In fact, she found herself agreeing more and more with the vigilante as time went by.
Thus her teasing, or so she saw it. His non-reactions, such as they were, caged in raw emotion, ones she was intent on seeing if only to see the vigilante lose his cool just once. In a battle of attrition, time was the determining factor and the Amazon understood this well.
Of course, other members saw her actions...differently.
"Look on the bright side," Hawkgirl was saying, drawing the dark-haired woman's attention back to the meeting at hand. "We haven't had to worry about extra revenue for awhile. That cuts down on budgeting. Remember how long it used to take?"
Flash visibly shuddered. "Don't remind me."
That was also another change within the League. During their inception and the months that followed, obtaining currency had been an issue. Their expenses were much larger than the donations they received from the local government and other groups. Since the Justice League refused to do corporate sponsorships, most big businesses kept their distance as well as other political groups. That wasn't to say they had offers to support various causes, but it was made known that the League would not promote the interests of one group—or in other cases, products—over another.
The month following Batman's acceptance into the League had also delivered them a balanced budget. It was never said out loud, but it was highly suspected the vigilante simply paid for the outstanding expenses and never said a word about it. In fact, Diana was pretty sure this arrangement would have continued unabated.
And then Flash decided that the League headquarters needed massive upgrades, though none of it towards surveillance or technological improvement. The break room had been refurbished with new appliances. A new refrigerator, coffee machine, pinball machine, and other banal entertainment devices had magically appeared.
The next meeting Batman ended up attending if only to personally hand Flash each and every receipt. That had single-handedly confirmed who was footing the bill and made it clear that the League was not receiving—as Superman said—a blank check. Needless to say, the pinball machine was returned, the coffee machine generously paid for by the vigilante—the old one had needed to be replaced anyways—and Flash was still paying off the refrigerator.
"For once, our maintenance budget did not exceed its allocation," J'onn reported. "All computer systems are current. I do not foresee any pending expenses for upgrades in the coming month."
"On-the-job destruction?" Hawkgirl prompted.
"That is, of course, our largest expense. We were up from the previous month's cost."
"You know, you would think the local govs would understand that when fighting in their cities, we can't prevent damages."
"That's what happens when you get bean counters involved," John grunted out in response. "They obviously thought that if they can't pay for it, they'll get someone else to—namely us."
To be honest, Diana could see the meeting devolving into mindless boredom, which helped her understand Flash's complaint. At least it was almost over though. Hopefully more exciting things were in store once the meeting ended.
