Thanks to Hellacre for her great help editing this.
Superman vs. Batman & Luthor
Chapter One.
"Every time I step inside his cave, I can't help it: the stench of guano gets inside my nose. I know he and Alfred…well, Alfred, does his best to keep the bats away from the working areas with the help of the ultrasonic emitters installed strategically all around the compound and the powerful ventilation systems. I appreciate Bruce doesn't want to eradicate them completely, after all, the poor creatures were here before everyone else and these caves are their home. What they don't realize is they work with people with enhanced senses, one of them being the olfactory sense. What is perfectly unnoticeable for a limited human nose is extremely offensive for other people like Diana, me and others. No wonder both Karas and Conner secretly call it 'Guanera' instead of Batcave. Lucky for them, they seldom come by. Di and I treat it like a visit to a friend whose house is home to a vast number of cats: everyone can smell them but the owner, who is particularly sensitive about the subject"
"Bruce? Are you in here?" he called. Damn! I wonder what was so important he couldn't tell me via comm.-link. Let's check his heartbeat.
Superman focused his super hearing onto the frequency of his friend's heart 'This is odd: It's coming from everywhere.'
"Bruce? Batman? Are you in here?" He stepped backwards in order to widen his reception. "Is everything okay?" He stepped into the area where the exoskeletons were stored. The armor suits, which he helped build, were large in size and could enhance the strength and speed of the user at least a hundred times, in theory. They also provided some invulnerability, the ability to fly and included several weapons. Clark's back bumped into one of them; to his surprise, metallic hands moved quickly to trap the Man of Steel. One of them was holding a sharp piece of kryptonite, threatening to stab him with it.
"Aaaagh!" The pain of being near green K was intense and Superman's strength began to falter. He let his body fall to the floor and the arms missed him by inches. He crawled away as fast as possible, putting some distance, many artifacts and consoles between the armor and himself.
He looked at the transparent visor of the robotic suit helmet, he saw it was empty. Feeling his powers returning, he scanned it with his x-ray vision to confirm it.
"Batman!" he shouted "What is going on? What's happening?" The armor, obviously controlled remotely, was approaching him fast, destroying everything in its way.
"Do you like the improvements I've made to the suit?" Bruce's voice came from everywhere in the cave, thanks to the ultrasonic emitters, acting now as speakers. The fake heartbeat sound also came from them. He sounded calm and in control.
Clark centered his sight in the wave carrying the signal controlling the exoskeleton. He pin-pointed the origin, which was just a signal repeater. When the machine was already over him. Before it captured him under its weight, Clark, with the last remains of his heat vision, severed the arm wielding the kryptonite shard and blew it away with his super breath.
"Damn you!" Batman's voice was a little less calm now.
Feeling at full strength, Superman smashed his fist into the chest of the suit and shattered it into pieces with his own hands.
"Do you have any idea how much that cost?" and added, "Never mind. Can't expect a peasant like you to understand the value of things. However, got a little surprise for you, you treacherous Alien." Suddenly, all lights became red. "That's right: red sun light simulators. Preparation is the key to success, as I always say." As the voice was finishing these words, all four exoskeletons remaining came on line, cocking their guns and aiming them at Clark. The only other thing in the cave that had tactical weaponry was the plane. Bruce never believed in guns, but he believed in being prepared for everything, fortunately for Clark.
Even under red sunlight, Superman was a few times stronger and faster than any regular earthling. He made a run for it in zig-zag, hiding behind any piece of equipment in between him and the plane. The suits were still shooting at him and wreaking havoc with every console and machine in the way of their bullets and rays.
"You are making a mess of your cave, Bruce!" he shouted.
"Never mind. It's worth the price of taking you down for good, Alien. Besides, it's all replaceable," the voice said.
When Superman reached the hangar sector, he punched his code, hoping it was still valid. It also required voice validation "JL 0.01, Superman. Authorization KRN1938A. Repeat: Authorization Kilo-Romeo-November-one-niner-three-eight-Alpha." The cockpit opened and he jumped inside, closing it immediately. Not a second too soon, because the robotic armors were approaching.
"Well. That was clever. That's probably what I would have done. There might be a brain somewhere in there. To be honest, I never thought you survived a second without your powers." Bruce's voice seemed amused.
"Where are you, coward! Face me and let's end this once and for all." This didn't sound like Batman. Too chatty. Something was off. Way off. And where were Alfred and the rest? "C'mon, Bruce! Is this some kind of test?"
He started the engines in order to maneuver the plane. When he had the suits in his collimator sight, he began to fire at them. He managed to take down one of them with the heavy caliber bullets, but the rest took flight, with the clear intention of surrounding him.
With its lasers, the suit on Clark's right cleanly cut the side wing.
"That's one machine gun and two missiles less," said the voice.
"Oh, shut up!" Meanwhile, the Man of Steel was remembering the cave's layout. Bruce never showed him the plans, for safety reasons, he said, of course, but he surveyed the real thing with his x-ray vision. There were parts obscured even for him, especially for him, with lead. Those were the parts he needed to aim at. If Bruce didn't want him to see them could be for two reasons: because they contained a trap for him or maybe something important for the cave's security. Anyway, it was worth a shot. He had to turn the plane 180 degrees to be in position of firing at one of them, which he hoped might be the cave's energy generators. The aircraft's armored shielding was weakening, so Clark's time was running out.
Finally, one of the bullets broke the bulletproof crystal of the cockpit, gracing his arm. "Aaargh! C'mon, c'mon!"
"Bat 3 ready to launch." The missile was primed, announced the onboard system.
"Finally!" Pressing the red button on the command lever, Superman released the weapon, which flew directly to the selected area. A huge explosion took place, shaking the entire cave and all lights went off. The armored suits were still firing at him, but the red lights were turned off as well. Immediately, another set of red lights began to shine. Emergency lights, this time. He began recovering, feeling stronger.
"I wish I could go out in the sun and recharge a little. Oh well." He broke free from the cabin and with his heat vision and fists destroyed the signal repeater and the rest of the exoskeletons. The auxiliary generators kicked in, but the red sunlight simulators were incapacitated.
Bruce's voice went silent all of the sudden.
With no time to waste, Clark sat at one of the computer terminals still operating, trying to find the transmission's origin. It has been bounced all over the world, but the final point suggested…
"North!? It originated way up North. Oh, no! Not the Fortress!" He knew Batman had all the access codes. He himself gave them to him. Funny how the Dark Knight had a contingency plan for every member of the league, in case somebody turned rogue, but nobody ever suspected he could be the one to flip out.
"I have to give you this one, you paranoid freak: when you're right, you're right. We shouldn't had trusted you this much," he said.
A very low clicking sound behind Superman made him turn rapidly. An Arrow-like object was fired at him, with a green cylinder at the point. Clark caught it before it hit him. He could hear a faint beeping. "It's about to explode!" He shove it inside the monitor in front of him and jumped away a dozen meters to his left. It exploded, releasing a glowing green cloud.
"Kryptonite dust. Ah Bruce…always plan B, C and D. You counted on me catching it and it would explode in my hand, making me breath in the dust. Clever." He tapped his ear. "Wonder Woman come in. Wonder Woman, come in."
"Wonder Woman here. Kal? Is everything okay, Agapitos?" answered Diana.
"We may have a bit of a problem. Batman set me a trap and attacked me. I'm in what's left of his cave. He sounded very strange. I suspect he's in our Fortress…," Clark said.
"I thought we should keep an eye on him. He was always borderline insane. How could he subdue Krypto? You want me to go there and fetch him?" the Amazon asked.
"Krypto knows and trusts him. It wouldn't be difficult for Batman to trick him into a trap. No, I don't want you to go. As much as I agree with you about him being a bit 'intense', he didn't seem like himself. Some of the phrases he used weren't his, but…and this may sound strange, Luthor's…" he explained.
"PRESIDENT Luthor? Are you sure? That poses an even bigger problem!" Diana exclaimed.
"I know. What could two of the smartest humans do when working together, I wonder? I have to ask you for a huge favor…," Superman asked.
"Name it." No doubt or hesitation in the Princess voice.
"I need you to dig out whatever you can on Luthor's end. I need to know the extent of his involvement in this and if he's the one who is controlling Bruce, which I am pretty certain he is."
"I will only promise you no deaths and no destruction, but besides that, I'll use any method available to get to the bottom of this. Agreed?" she said.
"Good. The White House is a Historic Landmark which I'd like to keep intact. Try not to break too many laws, just the necessary ones." The Kryptonian smiled.
"I take it you'll deal with Batman. I'm very fond of our home, Kal, so try not to break the Fortress. Especially the gardens, some Themysciran and alien plants I love the most take forever to mature and blossom. Don't break Bruce either, Gotham needs him. Badly. Let Krypto help," she firmly requested.
"I'll try my best. I have a few things I'd also like to preserve there, as I'd like to preserve Bruce's life."
They both said together, "Be careful" and "I will", and took off to their respective destinations.
First to arrive was Diana to Washington. When she was in range, she called the Secret Service.
"This is Wonder Woman. I request an emergency meeting with President Luthor…" She was interrupted by the sudden apparition of Captain Atom.
"What business brings you here, Wonder Woman? The President is very busy at the moment."
"Hi, Nate. It's been a long time (ever since Luthor took office, Captain Nathaniel Adam was called back to active service for the protection of the White House). How are you? There's an urgent item I need to discuss with the President, it involves high level security matters and he's the only one who can give me answers," she replied.
Captain Atom said embarrassed "Yes. Pleasure to see you too. Sorry, Diana." Changing back to his imperative tone "As I said, President Luthor is busy and can't receive you right now, " he added.
"I must insist. This is actually a life or death situation. I can't discuss it with you, I'm sorry. I'm in dire need of an audience with Luthor…"
Adam cut her abruptly, "President Luthor."
"Yes. 'President' Luthor. Forgive me," she apologized. "May I pass?"
"As a soldier of the U.S. Army, I must follow presidential orders. I have to tell you to turn around." There was a warning in his voice.
"I can't. Please, Nate, let's not do this, time is of the essence. I'm not kidding: there are lives at stake, trust me" she pleaded.
"If you try to get to the White House, I will stop you…"
"You will try. You will regret it, "was her answer.
She threw herself against him and so did he, fists at front. Diana dodged his assault, and connected a powerful uppercut to the Captain's chin, throwing him up several miles. She resumed her course to the Presidential Home.
Descending at full speed, Adam landed his fists in her lower back, pushing her down. Ignoring the pain, Diana took her Lasso and tied Atom's wrists together.
"I'd love to spar with you a while longer, but there's no time. Believe me, I don't want to do this." She unsheathed her xiphos sword and, with the tip, made a small incision in the Captain's containment suit.
"Nooo! Are you crazy? This is a populated area…! I might explode!" he shouted.
"Then I suggest you put some distance from here as soon as possible." It was a calculated risk. She knew he would run as fast and far as he could to avoid damage to the people on DC. Nathaniel recovered from greater wounds than this, but would never risk it, besides, under Diana's punches the breach would only grow bigger, becoming more dangerous. He looked at her with contempt and flew away at great speed.
She could actually feel the sight of many weapons aimed at her, so she sped up in her way down.
Her first impulse was to crash through the ceiling dome. "No. No destruction, I promised." She entered through one of the West Wing windows. There were soldiers and Secret Service personnel already waiting for her. They opened fire. Her skin could stop the bullets, but then she won't be able to control the ricochets which could kill somebody. Using her bracelets, the Amazon redirected the hundreds of projectiles to the floor and ceiling, where they could cause no harm.
"Seriously? Bullets?" she mocked.
A soldier showed up with a rocket launcher and shot at her.
"Woah, that's certainly different," she pointed.
She caught the rocket in mid air and threw it in the middle of the gardens, where it went off harmlessly. Many soldiers ran away. Those brave (or foolish) enough to confront her were left unconscious immediately. "No permanent damage, these people are not the enemy."
So she swiftly made her way to the Oval Office, where Mercy Graves and Hope Taya, dressed as Secret Service agents, were the last line of defense. Both of them fired their UZIs at her till the clips, filled with blasting kryptonite point bullets, were empty.
"Sisters, are you sure you want to do this? You seem prepared to receive someone else, not me." Diana slapped the empty guns off their hands. Both women could take on an entire army each, yet their great martial abilities were useless against the Amazon warrior, who rapidly took care of them.
When she had her Lasso around them she asked, "Lex…eer…'President' Luthor, I mean, where is he?"
Clenching their teeth, and determined to keep their mouths shut, the female agents were on their knees, sweating under the effort.
"Oh. I get it. You think if you don't say anything at all, you won't be forced to speak the truth. I'm afraid that's not how the Lasso works. See: the problem is when I ask a question holding the other end, it compels you to answer it, of course, with the truth. The less you resist the better. I commend you two for your amazing will power, but it's useless. Go on…I know you want to answer me. Come on now…spill it," the Princess teased.
"You won't get anything from us, you bitch,...Lex-is-in-the-Presidetial-Bunker-and-you-will-never-get-him! Aaaah!" Mercy screamed
"Presidential Bunker? How interesting! What and where is it? Hope?" Diana asked politely.
Hope buried her nails in her thigh trying to snap out of it. "Nngh! It's-an-ex-fallout-shelter-turned-into-an-armored-panic-room-ten-levels-underground! Damn you!"
"And where is the access point to it?" The Amazon was almost there.
"Don't say it, Hope! Don't...in-the-kitchen-there's-a-false-shelf-inside-the-pantry-it's-really-a-door-leading-to-a-corridor-with-an-emergency-lift! For crying out loud!" Mercy´s chin fell onto her chest, embarrassed and defeated.
"Thank you, sisters. Hmm…how old are you both?" Diana mischievously asked.
"Twenty eight," said Hope.
"I-always-say-I'm-thirty-but-my-real-age-is-thirty-five." confessed Mercy. "Oh, God! Make it stop, please!"
The Amazon warrior considered they had had enough suffering already, so she punched the lights out of them. 'Pity' she thought `such fine warriors at the service of a man like Luthor.'
She went to an emergency evacuation "You are Here" schematic on the wall to locate the kitchen. Once her bearings were established, she flew there. Some soldiers and Secret Service agents still tried to stop her, but she rapidly incapacitated them.
When she was inside the pantry it took her an instant to find the hidden door. There was a code panel on it which she tore off before bringing down the steel entrance. There she found a fifteen meter corridor with a lift at the end. A claxon alarm went off and a green glowing gas started filling the passage from the ventilation ports.
"Hello, Superman. I knew you will get as far as here, but I'm afraid this is the end of the line for you. Farewell, Alien." Luthor's voice. A recording.
"Evidently, he was expecting another person. He's so obsessed with Kal, that he thinks only Superman would come here to get him. It's amazing how a genius intellect , level 11 like his could be so one track minded. No wonder he's defeated by Kal over and over. Ahem! This accursed gas is making my throat itch! Cough-cough! It seems a mixture with nerve gas, I better hurry!" Diana threw herself against the elevator doors, also coded, tearing them apart. Once inside the shaft, she began her descent, when a side door opened.