II
"Who else could be there with him?" Diana wondered out loud.
"There's no telling," answered Batman as he navigated the shuttle's controls. "Shade likes to mix and match company. The last I saw of him was when your friend was in town."
Diana ignored his little barb about Aresia, the memory of whom still depressed her. "You know something that troubles me about Man's World?" She didn't pause, knowing that he wouldn't attempt to guess. "It is how you have hundreds and hundreds of such destructive weapons stockpiled, when even a handful would be enough to obliterate the entire planet. And not only are you blind to this folly, but you continue to increase your reserves as you compete with one another to display your apparent power! It's simply a misguided and highly dangerous display of machismo." And then, in what was becoming her trademark way, she spat, "Men."
"There was a time when I would have agreed with you," said Batman, "But the stakes are much higher now."
Scenes from the Imperium invasion flashed through her eyes. Still, she had a reason for her beliefs. "But such weapons are aimed at other people on Earth. That's a problem, Batman. No one should have control of a medium of power that can cause so much destruction."
"Aren't Justice League members mediums of the same level of destruction as nuclear weapons?" asked Batman darkly, "Some of us possess and regularly use powers that are more than enough to cause mass devastation."
"Your comparison isn't reasonable," she said firmly, "I think the discursive effects of nuclear warheads are entirely different than those of Justice League members. That needs to be taken into account as well. The context of the object in question is just as important as the object itself."
"Even you just called us objects."
"Yes, I'm using your language to illustrate my point." She then added slyly, "You can be childish when you have to concede an argument."
Batman said nothing except, "We're here."
Diana checked the shuttle's sensors. Although they weren't as comprehensive as the Javelin's, they indicated that Shade had no aerial backup. Entering the building in question would be straightforward, then. Batman indicated his acknowledgement of the scanner data, and they both disembarked the shuttle. A handful of military personnel were on hand to greet them.
"Commandant Desmarais," the officer in the middle introduced himself to the two Leaguers. He debriefed them of the situation. "It's a relatively small armory - some inactive missiles, but primarily anti-tank landmines, which could be very dangerous if found in the wrong hands. We managed to evacuate three of our men, but there are two left inside." He paused, and then said, "It's strange to think that anyone would want to target a facility this small." He shook his head.
Wonder Woman had almost a sneer on her face as she listened to the debriefing. There was no question that she would help, but all of this could have been avoided so easily. When she saw that Desmarais was attempting to gain their sympathy, her temper took the better of her. "If you didn't have such needlessly vast arsenals of weapons in the first place, you wouldn't have to face the problem of their being taken!" she cried, leaning forward and glaring at the Commandant. Batman immediately put his hand on her shoulder.
"We'll take care of it," he stated to the officer. Desmarais looked furious, but his eyes betrayed his terror. "Thank you, Batman," he answered finally, avoiding the Amazon altogether.
Wonder Woman, throwing a final look at the Commandant, headed towards the storage facility with her colleague.
--
Just as she had predicted, entering the building had been remarkably easy. She had also been surprised to find that Batman said nothing about her outburst at Commandant Desmarais.
The two Leaguers were standing in the shadowed corner of a narrow balcony that ran the perimeter of two walls in the largest room of the storage facility. A year ago, Wonder Woman would have burst through the main doors of the building and dealt Shade the beating of his life before interrogating him about his criminal motives. Now, after going on dozens of cases with Batman and Green Lantern, she gave more weight to the merits of gathering intelligence beforehand - not that she wouldn't have been able to prevail over criminal lowlifes without learning about them first. But having a plan of action was more efficient, even more elegant. A princess had an inherent appreciation for such finesse.
Thus, she managed to stay as still as Batman as they both stood listening to the conversation transpiring at the floor of the room.
The Shade was leaning on his nightstick with his left hand as his right one rested on his hip. "You done taking inventory, magnet boy?" he asked lazily.
"Yeah, but we're talking missiles, war machines here, not a comic book collection," said his accomplice, "I want to go to their main computers and confirm what I counted, so that we know exactly what we're dealing with here."
Wonder Woman had not seen the other man in the room before. He was dressed in a purple body suit with blue armor over his chest, arms, and lower legs. On his head was a peculiar helmet that covered his jawline and extended beyond his neck. The helmet also had two protrusions near the ears, almost like flattened horns. Finally, there was a symbol on his chest – an image of a horseshoe magnet.
Diana leaned forward so that her face was somewhat illuminated, and mouthed to Batman, "Intergang?" He shook his head and returned his attention to the two on the floor.
"Lead the way," said the Shade, motioning with his wand. They walked into another room.
When they were gone, Batman spoke. "He's not with Intergang," he said aloud, "I've never seen him."
"The picture of the magnet on his chest is hint enough," Diana declared. She was confused about the villains' intentions. From her previous encounters with Shade, she knew that he was able enough to provide cover to gain access to places much more guarded than this particular facility. Yet they chose to be here, where they were surrounded by deactivated missiles. Did they mean to activate one of them?
Lost in her thoughts, she glanced at Batman, who seemed to have had the same idea. He pulled out a Geiger counter from his belt and began a scan. She watched, expectantly.
"Nothing," he said.
"I could give the room a sweeping scan," she suggested, trying to assess how long it would take her to fly around the perimeter once.
"Not now."
He said it calmly, meaning that he had ruled out the possibility of warheads being stolen. As she always put full faith Batman's judgment, she was slightly relieved - but still perplexed. There were other grades of weapons for Shade and his accomplice to choose from, ones that could be activated with only some clever technical know-how. Again, Diana was angered by the oversight of those who enabled the proliferation of such weaponry. If they insisted on creating these arms, then why leave them so vulnerable?
--
They waited for several more minutes in the shadows as they heard a faint muffle of voices from the other room. Diana's patience grew thin. She understood the merits of finding the enemy's motives and weaknesses before striking, but in this particular instance, it felt useless. She felt useless. Next to her, she saw Batman pull out various items from his belt, testing out theories as they occurred to him. Maybe if she had a belt, or a ring, or x-ray vision, she thought dismissively.
She opened her mouth to say something, but then shut it quickly when she heard footsteps heading in their direction.
"Well, I think that threatening phone call went rather well, Mr. Polaris," said Shade as he entered the room.
"Doctor," corrected Polaris, "And yeah, we made it pretty clear that the place would blow up if they didn't give into our demands. Although, that Desmarais guy seems to not care one way or the other - he's kind of an ass."
Had he not just made a threat of mass destruction, Diana would have almost liked Doctor Polaris. However, their shared views on the Commandant would have to be pushed aside for the moment, especially when she saw that Polaris walked into the room with a labcoat-clad body slung over his shoulder. Carelessly, he tossed it aside.
Diana jerked abruptly, ready to fight, but Batman's gloved hand was on her arm immediately. While she wanted to turn around and give him a piece of her mind, she begrudgingly admitted that he was right. She clenched her jaw, continuing to survey the scene.
Doctor Polaris continued, "In fact, I would say things are going a little too well. You know why I say that, Shade?"
Shade looked suspicious. "No."
"It's because we won't have Justice League members butting in and ruining our plans," explained Doctor Polaris, and pointed both of his arms in the direction of the shadows where Batman and Wonder Woman were concealed. Before either of them could react, a ray of crackling blue light from each of the villain's arms shot towards them.
Diana watched in alarm as her gauntlets, tiara, and belt began to glow a sparkling blue. Next to her, Batman's utility belt was glowing the same way. Doctor Polaris then jerked his arms and Batman was hurled forward. Diana, however, stayed where she was. No one had noticed her.
"Bet you didn't see that one coming," said Polaris, as he hovered Batman in the air by his belt.
"What are you after?" demanded Batman.
"If you were paying attention, you'd know," sighed Polaris, clearly annoyed, "I'm Doctor Polaris, and as you might have gathered by now, I'm a ferrokinetic. Clearly, your belt has metal."
A ferrokinetic. So he could manipulate metal. But then why hadn't he exposed her too? She had far more pure metal in her armor than Batman.
Batman, meanwhile, tried to reach for a compartment in his belt, but the charge was so great that he drew his hand back, realizing that he would be unable to access anything. Doctor Polaris and Shade laughed, the latter a little too gleefully. And then without warning, Polaris lowered his hands with such force that Batman's body slammed down hard onto the concrete floor. With a groan, he was unconscious.
"That's that," yawned Shade.
Diana watched the scene in horror. Had she not made a sudden movement when the two villains walked in, she would not have betrayed their position. Batman would not be at the mercy of the two plotters. If only she wasn't always so ready to fight, and assessed all of her options before she reacted.
On the floor of the armory, the scientist's blond hair was strewn over her face. A couple of feet away from her was an unconscious Batman. It was too much like Wonder Woman's dream on Sevubir. She felt a rush of dread, but the anger and adrenaline that was ebbing in her veins was much greater.
Batman wasn't with her anymore. It was time to fight.
--
