Chapter One
Her brain was screaming at her. The warrior part of her demanded that she do something while the strategic part (she thought of it as the commander part of her) screamed that she needed to keep a level head and wait.
The commander won. After all, Diana was the one who had found the bomb.
The kryptonite colored bomb was placed under the cape of an unconscious Batman. She and Superman had found hanging fifteen stories in the air from a girder of a building in Metropolis. He was hanging over the girder, arms above his head, by a pair of handcuffs.
She wanted to pull Batman off the building. It would be so easy. She wanted to know why he was still unconscious and if leaving him there was only making it worse. His breathing was shallow but fairly consistent. She was hovering in the air next to him, guarding him but keeping a safe distance in case there was something else rigged to him they hadn't seen yet. She would be the first thing he saw if he regained consciousness.
She wouldn't, couldn't touch him because she knew that someone had left him there like that on the assumption that one of them, probably Superman by the tell-tale green glow of the bomb, would scoop Batman off the building without paying any attention.
When she found that someone……
"We need Atom!" she heard Superman shout to the Watchtower through his communicator. "I don't care if he is in the middle of a lecture. Emergency transport now!"
Wonder Woman was sure there had been some acknowledgement of the command but it hadn't really registered with her.
"Diana, I need you down here when Palmer arrives," Superman said through the communicator. He was on the ground, keeping a safe distance.
Atom was the right answer. He would be able to get small enough to disconnect any traps without setting them off. She knew that. A large part of her just didn't want to wait.
Whatever had been done to Batman wasn't going to be fixed by allowing him to hang there. And the dishonor of letting him stay there was becoming harder to deal with.
"Get down here," he repeated. "Atom will tell us when it is safe to touch him."
"On my way," she said without bothering with the communicator. He could hear her.
She floated down to the ground, her boots hitting concrete at the same time Ray Palmer appeared beside Superman.
"Look," Dr. Palmer said, "I appreciate my skills put me in demand, but a little warning isn't too much to ask, is it?"
Diana pointed towards Batman.
Palmer's expression and tone changed completely. "Oh. Oh no. Oh no. I'm sorry. Get me up there."
Diana put her hand out and Palmer shrunk and leapt into her palm. With no embarrassment, she placed him in the bodice of her armor and took to the air. It was the safest place for him to be when she flew and they were adults.
Atom stayed large enough to be seen until he hopped onto the girder and approached Batman. Diana saw the light as Atom shrunk and then heard his voice on the communicator.
"Can you hear me?" Atom asked.
"Loud and clear," Superman answered.
Diana let that be the answer. Time was passing and Batman was still hanging there.
"Good. Okay, yes, I can see the problem. Wow. Yeah. That is high grade kryptonite and, I don't know that I've ever seen it ground before." Atom said, his tone shifting with academic curiosity. "Someone with a lot of resources did this."
"Luthor?" Superman asked immediately.
"He has the resources, but this doesn't have his vibe. There it is. Oh yeah, I can disarm it and we can study it."
Diana floated back in front of Batman. Atom hadn't announced there was anything else so, while she would await word before moving him, she was willing to move a little closer.
She saw the burn marks on the cowl then. It meant one thing.
Someone had tried to take his cowl off and had set off the defensive systems, including the electric surge. She stared at the blackened streak and allowed her rage to take over.
"I'll be back," she said over the communicator and flew away.
It was time to fulfill a promise.
Amanda Waller was enjoying the feeling of the sunlight hitting her back through the window in her office. It was the only thing about the day she was enjoying so far. Something was going on and she didn't know what it was.
Two had called in sick, which wasn't all that unusual. Granted, she usually didn't get the call, but they were in her executive circle. One had called claiming to have stomach issues, but she could hear the sounds of a hospital emergency room in the background. When she asked him where he was, he had said he was at home.
Lying to Amanda Waller was foolish. Lying badly to Amanda Waller was just stupid.
The other one didn't call. His wife did and she clearly was repeating what she was told to say. To make matters more interesting, Amanda got the impression that she hadn't seen her husband. So who gave her the script and how?
What could those two, former military commandos, have gotten themselves involved in? And was it the same thing or two separate events?
Amanda was not a big believer in coincidences but they did, on very rare occasions, exist.
She made a quick note on her computer in her personal code. She would figure it out.
In retrospect, had Amanda not been puzzling over what had become of her staff, she probably would have heard something coming outside her window. However, as it actually happened, she got no warning at all, just the sound of glass shattering. In fact, she didn't realize what was happening until she was airborne and leaving her office building.
Years of training kept her from panicking. She was too high in the air to survive a fall so she suppressed her instinct to struggle. Instead, she looked up.
Wonder Woman had her. She wasn't looking at Amanda; she was flying ahead with the focused look of a driver.
"This is a bad idea," Amanda said, having to shout to make herself heard.
Diana's lips spread into an angry bitter smile.
"You would know about those, I think. But today, I am going to give you an up-close look at one of your bad ideas."
Amanda scanned her memory. Nothing came to mind. There were lots of things in development, but in early stages.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said honestly.
"Let me remind you then," the Amazon answered and removed all emotion from her face.
Amanda spent the next few minutes trying to remember details of Wonder Woman's flying. Was she hampered at all carrying a person at such speed? How high were they flying? How fast? Could any of this information be used to Cadmus' advantage?
She had never seen Metropolis from this height. She had flown over it in an airplane and she had been on the ground in the city, but not this mid-range. It was fascinating. She wondered what detail she might see if they slowed down.
And then they did.
She was hovering in front of Batman. Unconscious but showing no signs of injuries. His uniform was dirty but it was hard to know exactly what the stains were. He was handcuffed and hanging off the building as if he was a Dark Ages prisoner in a dungeon.
It was unsettling. She hadn't realized she had tried to touch him until she momentarily dipped as Wonder Woman let one hand go to tap Amanda's down.
"Tell me what they did to him. Other than the kryptonite bomb," Wonder Woman said.
"I didn't authorize this," Amanda whispered. She had hopes to get Batman on her side. He almost understood. He didn't agree with her methods, but he could come around.
She was sinking, slowing, still being held by the Amazon. Her knees buckled when her feet touched concrete but she caught herself. Superman glared above her – clearly at Wonder Woman.
"Why is she here?" he asked
"Because she is behind this," was the hard reply.
"We don't know that."
It was time to defend herself.
"I didn't do this," Amanda said.
"No," Wonder Woman snarled. "You didn't do it. You ordered it. You want the League unmasked to the world. I don't expect action from you. But you will tell me what you've done to him so we can fix it."
The Amazon leaned in and Amanda caught the scent of soap and sweat. On Wonder Woman, it smelled good.
"Atom is working at the subatomic level to undo everything so we can take him down without blowing up him, us and the building," she hissed. "You are going to tell me what you allowed him to be injected with so that he would remain unconscious. Because every second he isn't with our doctors is another second that stuff kills him just a bit more."
Amanda caught the smallest hint of a tremor in the League member's voice but her relationship with Batman wasn't news to her.
Amanda looked back up to the figure of Batman. It bothered her to see him like that. It bothered her a bit more that it bothered her but she would sort that out later.
"I didn't authorize this," she repeated, this time louder.
"I don't believe you," Wonder Woman said.
"Diana –" Superman said in warning.
"Do you?" Wonder Woman demanded.
Amanda wondered what Superman would say, but they both reached to their ear and listened for a moment.
"Great, Atom! Thanks! Okay, Watchtower, ready? Emergency medical transport for Batman! Then get the bomb to the lab and then…" Superman paused. "Atom, what? Repeat that! …J'onn, did you hear that? When I find out who did this…."
Amanda looked up and watched Batman disappear into a beam of light and heard Wonder Woman's strangled sob of relief and anxiety.
She lowered her eyes as Superman's voice trailed off. She met his blue eyes, hoping she was radiating bored indignity. He was radiating barely contained sorrow and anger.
"Ms Waller, I'm afraid we need to talk to you a little more," Superman said, politely but leaving no room for argument.
"She's coming with us," Wonder Woman said.
Amanda turned towards the Amazon in time to feel her face explode.
She can't punch me was Amanda's last thought before the blackness and the concrete claimed her.