"Hahahahaha! I'm having so much fun!" laughed a man dressed as a jester. He was currently driving a large toy tank. "Wouldn't you agree, Zoom?"
"Shut up, you fool! This is no time for fun!" said the evil looking Flash.
"Both of you keep quiet," stated a being dress in formal ware that consisted of a white suit, cape, and top hat. What stood out was the man was invisible.
"What are we here for anyway, Craddick?" asked the jester, as he looked around the museum they broke into.
"It is simple, Toyman. There is a tome on display that is said to grant its owner power over the dead. I plan on using it," replied the Gentleman Ghost.
"Why are we here then and what do we get out of this?" demanded Zoom, glaring at the specter.
"You both needed work, did you not? Besides, I will pay the both of you handsomely once I retrieve the tome."
"If you really wanted a book so bad, there are plenty of libraries out there," said a voice from behind.
The three villains turned to see the Flash, Hawkgirl, and Wonder Woman standing at the entrance of the museum.
Zoom gave of an evil grin. "I was hoping you'd come, Flash. Catch me if you can!"
With that, Zoom sped off with Flash right behind him. This left Wonder Woman to take on Toyman, while Hawkgirl dealt with Gentleman Ghost.
"It's been a while, Craddock. What's the matter, Gotham City not doing it for you anymore so you came back to Midway City?" questioned Shayera with a smirk.
"Accursed bird! You will not foil my plans!" exclaimed Craddock as he tried to blast Shayera with the magic of his cane.
With great skill, Shayera was able to dodge the magical blasts. Gentleman Ghost didn't stand a chance when Shayera got in close and was able to hit him with her nth metal mace.
"One down," said Shayera, looking down upon the fallen Gentleman Ghost. Before she could do anything else, an energy beam blasted her from behind. Catching her balance before falling to the ground, Shayera turned around and was surprised to see Star Sapphire. "What are you doing here?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
-:-
With the Flash, he was still chasing after Zoom.
"What's the matter? You seem a lot slower than your predecessors! Then again, they could never keep up with The Rival and Professor Zoom!" taunted Zoom.
Flash narrowed his eyes at his Reverse-Flash counterpart. 'No one talks about Uncle Barry and the Old Man like that!'
Flash sped up, gaining Zoom. The two speedsters unfortunately got no further as they surprisingly tripped.
"What the hell?" demanded Zoom as he tried to stand. He soon found that he was stuck.
"What's going on?" wondered Flash.
The two got their answer when the ground started to "melt" underneath them and they rose with it as it molded itself into being of mud.
"Clayface?" exclaimed Flash.
"Friend of yours?" questioned Zoom with a sneer.
"Mine, no. Batman's, yes."
"You two won't be going anywhere," said Clayface with a laugh.
-:-
At the same time as Shayera and Flash's fights, Wonder Woman was dealing with the Toyman.
"Who knew I would get to fight such a pretty doll? This will be so much fun!" exclaimed Toyman with much glee.
'So this is the new Toyman that Superman mentioned. He doesn't seem so dangerous,' thought Wonder Woman.
Toyman shot off a round from his tank, but Diana was able to dodge it, lasso it, and send it right back at Toyman, much to the jester's surprise. The tank blew up upon impact from the missile and Toyman flew back, landing on the floor unconscious.
Smirking to herself at the easy victory, Wonder Woman turned to see how Shayera was handling Gentleman Ghost, only to see her battling Star Sapphire. Diana was about to go and assist the winged woman when a blunt object struck her from behind. Before she completely blacked out, she felt someone grab her lasso and tied her up with it.
-:-
Back with Shayera and Star Sapphire, the two were still trying to gain the upper hand on each other when Star Sapphire's earpiece went off.
"I have what we came for. Fall back now!" growled the voice of Prometheus.
The villainess gave off a smirk and then turned to her opponent. "Sorry, bird girl, but we'll have to finish this another time."
"Hey, get back here!" demanded Shayera as Star Sapphire flew off. "Damn it!"
It was then that Flash arrived with an unconscious Zoom flung over his shoulder.
"Hey, Shayera! You won't believe what happened! I was chasing after Zoom and then all of a sudden, Clayface appears out of nowhere, which is weird since I thought Clayface was dead."
"Clayface? I just fought with Star Sapphire after dealing with Gentleman Ghost. I didn't think we'd have to deal with more villains than the three we were told about."
"Uh, where's Diana?" asked Flash when he noticed that they were short one hero.
The two heroes looked around and saw no trace of Wonder Woman anywhere.
"What's going on here?"
"This is bad, Shayera. You think this was a trap?" asked the Flash, a worried look on his face.
"It's possible. Head back to the Watchtower and inform the others, while I take care of these three. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Nodding in agreement, Flash called for teleport while Shayera took the three villains to lock-up.
-:-
"Everything is going as planned," said Talia with a smirk.
"Now we just need to make sure the Justice League doesn't get in the way," said Star Sapphire with a frown.
"Do not worry. They cannot possibly ruin this," replied Talia as she sauntered over to the English woman.
"But…" started Star Sapphire, but was shushed when Talia put her finger to the English woman's lips.
"I said do not worry, but t seems you need more convincing."
Talia then surprised Star Sapphire by planting her lips onto hers. Sapphire's surprise didn't last long though as she soon returned the kiss. Off to the side watching the show sat Doctor Psycho and Copperhead, the latter holding a bucket of popcorn.
"I gotta say, Doc, your powers of illusions are just great," said Copperhead, stuffing a handful of popcorn into his mouth.
"Glad to see there are some people out there who appreciate my work," said Doctor Psycho with a laugh as he continued to watch his illusions make out.
The fun didn't last long as the illusions of Talia and Sapphire were blasted away by a beam of violet energy. The two males turned to where the beam came from to see the real Star Sapphire seething in anger. Under her mask, it was obvious that her eyes promised death.
"Hey! You're back! Did you complete your mission?" questioned Copperhead, taking another handful of popcorn.
"I'm going to kill the both of you!" yelled Sapphire, the jewel in her mask glowing brightly.
"I should kill you first since you destroyed my illusions," said Doctor Psycho with a frown.
"Enough!"
The villains turned to Talia, who had walked into the room. She turned to Star Sapphire, waiting for a report.
"Prometheus has taken Wonder Woman to the holding cells as we speak."
"Good. We can then move on to the next phase of our plans. Doctor Psycho, go and tell Maxie Zeus we are ready."
"Very well, Talia," replied the psychotic man with a laugh.
As Talia and Doctor Psycho left the room, Copperhead turned to Star Sapphire.
"Hey, Sapphire? What do you got planned for after this whole operation anyway?"
Sapphire sent a glare in Copperhead's direction, still mad at that little stunt he and Doctor Psycho pulled. "If you must know, I plan on turning Wonder Woman into a Star Sapphire like myself."
"…What?"
The English woman let out a sigh. "I recently found out that the jewel I possess is similar in power as those power rings of the Green Lanterns or Sinestro Corps. The only difference is that instead of using willpower or fear as a power source, it uses love."
Copperhead didn't look all that impressed. "…Love? That sounds stupid."
"Keep quiet! Anyway, if Talia is right about Wonder Woman being in love with the Batman, then I can manipulate her love for him and make her into an obedient servant," explained Star Sapphire with a wicked smile.
"Not going to happen, girly," said the voice of Clayface as he trudged into the room.
"And what makes you say that?" challenged the English woman.
"Hehehe, Wonder Woman is made of clay and I plan on absorbing her into my body so I can become even more powerful. Once I have her power, no one will be able to stop me! Not even the Batman!"
"Well this is interesting. The two of you want Wonder Woman as your own personal weapon," said Copperhead with a smirk. "I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out."
"It'll turn out in my favor," declared Star Sapphire with much confidence.
"Don't count on it! I'm the lead actor on this one, so it will be me who comes out on top!" laughed Clayface as he oozed away.
"Stupid pile of mud," sneered Sapphire.
"Yeah, yeah. Come on, let's go see if Talia made her broadcast yet."
-:-
"What do you mean Diana went missing?" demanded Batman, sending a batglare at the cowering Scarlet Speedster.
"I don't know, Bats! She was just gone! Maybe Gentleman Ghost had backup. I mean, I did encounter Clayface, who I thought was dead from our last encounter, and Shayera said she fought Star Sapphire. Clayface and Star Sapphire though retreated before anything really happened."
It was then that Shayera arrived. Batman sent a glare her way, wanting answers.
"I interrogated Gentleman Ghost, Toyman, and Zoom about what happened. All three knew nothing about Clayface and Star Sapphire being there. It seems they had nothing to do with Diana's disappearance, Batman," explained the winged woman.
"Then what could have happened to her?" wondered Superman.
It was then that the computer started beeping. J'onn typed a few keys to find out what it was.
"Incoming message. It is for you, Batman."
"…On screen."
J'onn pressed one of the keys and soon the computer screen had the face of a woman. Batman scowled at the face.
"Hello, Batman," said the woman with a smirk.
"Talia," growled Batman.
"Don't be like that, Batman. We've been through so much together."
"What do you want?" demanded the Bat.
"You should know what I want."
"I don't have time for your games, Talia."
"What if I told you I had something that belongs to you and your league?"
The screen then split in two to show Wonder Woman bound with her lasso and was in what looked like a prison cell. Batman's jaw clenched while the other members of the League were surprised.
"Let her go, Talia!" ordered Batman.
"If you want her back, Batman, you will do as I say."
"If I refuse?"
"Then Gotham will burn."
A third picture flashed onto the screen. This time it was a flying warship over Gotham City and an electronic barrier surrounding the city.
"Damn you, Talia," growled Batman.
"I know how you are, Batman. Your city is very important to you. If you want both your teammate and your city safe, then you and you alone will come and meet me. If you receive any outside help from your Justice League, then the city and Wonder Woman will be destroyed. Understood?"
"Understood," agreed Batman, surprising his teammates.
"Good. Hope to see you soon, Lover."
With that the screen went black and Batman turned to leave.
"Batman…" called out Superman.
"No."
"You don't have to do this alone. Diana is our teammate as well."
"You heard Talia, Clark. She won't hesitate to destroy the city if she finds out if the Justice League helps me. She is her father's daughter after all. Besides, I told you all before, Gotham is my city and I don't want any of you in it," stated Batman, his voice becoming cold towards the end.
"But…"
"Maybe we should let him go, Supes. Plus, it's like a fairy tale, the knight going off to save the princess," said Flash, hoping to lighten the mood a little.
It didn't exactly work as he received one of the fiercest batglares he has ever seen. Shayera also smacked him on the back of the head for his stupidity.
Batman turned to leave, but this time he was stopped by a purple-clad woman, who was blocking the door.
"Move, Huntress," ordered Batman, glaring at the young woman before him.
"I overheard Talia's threat and I want in on stopping her," said Huntress, not even flinching from Batman's glare.
"I don't need your help, Huntress, now move!"
"Look, Gotham is just as much my city as it is yours, so whether or not you want it, I'm helping, got it?"
Batman intensified his glare, hoping to scare her off. He was surprised, though didn't show it, when she just returned a glare of her own. The standstill last for what felt like hours, but only for a minute or so in reality before Batman surprisingly caved.
"Fine. Just don't get in the way and do what I say!" said Batman through gritted teeth.
Huntress smiled in victory as she followed Batman to the teleporter, leaving behind the rest of the League Founders in stunned silence.
"…What just happened? Huntress' glare was almost exactly like Batman's!" wondered Flash, being the first to break the silence.
"I have no idea, but how did Huntress manage to out-glare the Batman?" questioned Shayera.
"You don't she's…" started Flash, only to be answered by John.
"If she is then God help us all."
-:-
Batman and Huntress arrived in the Batcave, meeting up with Oracle, who was at the computer.
"How is the situation?" questioned Batman.
"It doesn't look good. How Talia was even able to set all this up without anyone finding out is beyond me," replied Barbara as she typed away at the keyboard.
"Who is working under her orders, aside from Clayface and Star Sapphire?" asked Huntress.
Oracle glanced at the woman before looking back at the screen and answering. "I'm not sure to be honest, though given the design of that warship, it's obvious who one of them are."
"Maxie Zeus," growled Batman.
"…Should we call Dick, Bruce?" asked Barbara. "You might actually need some help on this one."
"No. Nightwing is currently investigating rumors in Bludhaven that involve Deathstroke and he'll need to stay focused. I'll handle this myself."
"Hey! Didn't I say I was going to help take down this bitch? You're not leaving me here!" said Huntress, glaring at the Batman.
Batman returned the glare. "Think before you act, Helena. We can't risk Gotham if Talia knows someone is helping me because you want to go in and start fighting."
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
"I want you to sneak through Gotham through the shadows and acquire information from local thugs. No doubt some will be "employed" by whoever is working for Talia."
"…I suppose I could do that," said Huntress, though there was some reluctance in her voice.
"Good. I'm heading out. Oracle, stay on monitor duty and try to find out the other members of Talia's group."
"Right."
With that, Batman ran towards the Batmobile and drove off out of the cave, while Huntress hopped on the motorcycle that Nightwing uses at times and sped off, taking a different route out of the caves.
Barbara let out a sigh as they left and got started on her duty. "This is going to be a long night."
CHAPTER END
-:-
The beginning of this chapter was more or less a way to kick of the Society's plans. As for the villains used:
Toyman – That version of Toyman was used mainly because as a kid, I was first introduced to the Toyman by watching the old Superfriends cartoons and they used the Jack Nimble version. At the time, I didn't know he was the second Toyman. When I first saw the Toyman of the DCAU, my first thought was "what did they do to Toyman?" It wasn't until years later I found out that there were two different Toyman villains. Anyway, I always liked the Jack Nimble version better than the original and wanted to put him in here, even if it was for a short appearance.
Gentleman Ghost – He was added 'cause he is one of my favorite Batman villains. You may be wondering what I mean by him being a Batman villain when he was originally a Hawkman villain. Well, from the late 1970s up to the debut of Jason Todd, Gentleman Ghost went from being a Hawkman villain to officially becoming one of Batman's rogues gallery. In one storyline, Gentleman Ghost, along with a bunch of other Gotham villains gathered by Joker, teamed up to kill Batman before Killer Croc could (Croc said he'd kill Batman within twenty-four hours). The villains then went into separate teams to locate Batman with Gentleman Ghost teaming with Killer Moth and Clayface II. With Craddock as an enemy, it makes Batman even more awesome as not only can he handle normal villains (Joker, Penguin, Two-Face), meta villains (Clayface, Poison Ivy, Man-Bat), and supernatural/magical villains (Ra's al Ghul, Solomon Grundy, Spellbinder), but also paranormal villains as well.
Zoom – Zoom, more or less unfortunately, is just a filler character. I was originally going to use Hot Streak from Static Shock, but I figured he wouldn't take orders from anyone, even if they were a century old spirit. At least with Zoom, I was able to put in mention about Barry and Garrick.
I hope you all got a laugh out of the scene with Doctor Psycho and Copperhead. Given Psycho's personality, I could see him doing something like that with his illusions. I was actually reluctant to add that part of the scene as I wasn't sure if others would have found it as funny as I did in my head.
Now we're getting to the good stuff with Talia's challenge for Batman and it seems that Huntress will be helping out, against Bruce's wishes. Next chapter is when the first battle against the Society will begin, so stay tuned.
