Thanks again to HELLACRE13 for her wonderful editing.

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Superman vs. Batman & Luthor

Chapter Two.

Clark took the long route to the Arctic because he wanted to avoid the night shadowed part of the Earth in favor of the daylight illuminated one. He wanted to absorb as much sun energy as possible before arriving.

Superman decreased his speed when he was nearing the Fortress. Knowing Bruce, he'd probably have a welcoming committee prepared in his honor. There were things inside there that really may hurt him, and there was a distinct probability Bruce had already found them.

"Ah!" As if summoned by his thoughts, a particle ray from a Slyvian war drone grazed his right cheek. Slyvian drones were highly specialized war machines, whose stealth capabilities included absolute silent operation. For a man who could hear a micro-organism absorbing nutrients, the fact that he didn't hear it coming was quite remarkable.

"These things always come in pairs, according to their programming. I must be alert." The Kryptonian expanded his hearing range to detect the faintest movement.

"DEEEET!" A loud noise exploded inside his ear.

"Ngh!" The sound, coming at full volume from his communicator, was like a spear stabbing his head. Momentarily dizzy, the Man of Steel began to fall.

"By now I know you increased your superhearing, Clark. Tsk, tsk, so predictable," Batman's voice mocked him as he was regaining his balance. He knew what Bruce was trying to do: he wanted to make the Man of Steel get rid of the communicator, to isolate him from everybody. At risk of his own health, Clark kept it on, in case Diana wanted to get in touch with him. He was leaving the rest of the League out for the time being.

The drones kept firing at him the whole time and even dizzy, somehow Superman managed to dodge their rays. Slyvian technology was developed to stop Mongul, so it could also be lethal for a Kryptonian.

"Not THIS Kryptonian!" said Clark. He finally located both drones and made them explode with his heat vision. "Batman…! Bruce, I don't know how, but you're not acting on your own will. Please, cease the hostilities and let's talk!"

"Talk? The time to talk was over the moment you killed Selina and Damian! You murdering, alien abomination! You took everything away from me! I always knew there would come the time when I would have to take you down!" Bruce's voice cracked when he mentioned Catwoman and his son.

"WHAAAT!?" Of all the losses the Dark Knight had suffered in his life, and given his frail mental balance, these two were the ones that, separately, could send him over the edge of sanity. Suffering both simultaneously could trigger a situation that, because of Batman's multiple abilities and resources, offer no warranties for the one he deemed guilty: all bets were off

"Bruce, no! I didn't…I can prove to you they're alive…!" He made a quick sweep all over the World to locate them…nothing!

"Please, Batman, let's get together and discuss this. I'm sure we both can find where they are and who took them. I'm sure Luthor's hands are dirty! Please, let's not do this! We'rewasting precious time!

"Of all the people, you knew they meant the world to me! I know you've always been envious of my leadership of the League! You couldn't wait to take over! Ever since you got together with the Amazon you both thought you were better than the rest of us and wanted to steer the League in your direction!" Bitterness coated Batman's words.

"Batman. I don't know how to say this, but you've never been in charge. Not completely. We let you think you were running things because you were a useful asset. You helped us see the human aspect of our mission, but when you stepped over certain lines, even you must admit, we stopped you. As long as your ideas were useful, we went along, " said the Kryptonian.

Superman was already at the gates of the home he shared with Wonder Woman. Uncertain what to do, if barge in or wait for Batman to make the next move, he decided on the latter. The massive doors opened and two Mwelex robots appeared, shooting all their arsenal at him. (Kelex automats were the servicing aids of the Fortress, while Mwelex were the combat and security versions) A button in Clark's belt deactivate them instantaneously.

"This is my home, Bruce. You can only turn it against me to some extent," he said.

"Yeah, the Kryptonian artifacts, anyway." Batman acknowledged. A huge animal, a Formeli-anorg (a yellow Stegosaurus like creature), from the Fortress Zoo showed up next with a Uniqueterian antimatter cannon attached to his back. Every time the cannon fired, the more pissed the beast got.

While trying to avoid getting hit (anti-matter blasts sting like hell) Superman was talking to the beast, "Down, boy! Down! You remember me? Yeah… I'm the one who's been feeding you all these years! Don't pay attention to the noisy and nasty gizmo!" Saying that, he froze the cannon's barrel with his breath and shattered it with his hands "There! You see? It's over!" The creature was still angry and attacked him. The Man of Tomorrow had no other option than to knock him unconscious. "Yeah. I love you too, Formy."

Suddenly, every mobile armored device of the Fortress Arsenal-Museum was attacking him "Bruce, I don't know how you manage to get all these machines on line, but it won't help you much!" In that very moment, the Man of Steel remembered a few months back he and Diana were on a peace mission off planet for a week, leaving Krypto and Kara-Supergirl to house-sit the place. Besides the mess that Kara left after throwing a party with the Young Justice members and some other young heroes, she told them Batman came several times to borrow the Super-computer. There wasn't anything new about that, only Diana and him lately shared every bit of relevant usable data with the Watchtower's central system, G.O.R.D.A. (General Operations Regulator and Data Administrator), except, of course, information pertaining only to the Fortress exclusive use and operations. Batman being Batman, he probably had his 'personal reasons', they thought. It didn't sound strange at the moment.

Yeah, it was then when you learnt how to activate my weapons, among other things, right Bruce? Batman never let an opportunity go to waste. Consider all your privileges terminated as of now, Mister.

He started destroying the machines with his fists and other abilities and making his way inside the Fortress, when a thought came to his mind.

"Ooooh! I see! You're trying to lure me into a trap and these are distractions! You know none of these weapons can cause me any permanent damage, but you want to guide me exactly where you want me! Clever. Sorry, it's not gonna work." Every contingency plan he knew Batman devised to take him down had the same flaw: Bruce always counted on Clark, willingly or unknowingly, getting too close to him, so he could use kryptonite or some kind of armor, weapon or lure him into a trap with red sun light, or, his favorite, using his own fists, enhanced with energy gloves, to knock him down.

Man, you really give me too little credit. Honesty, he thought, it isn't entirely your fault, my friend. Famously, his Clark Kent persona was constructed around the idea of him being an average Midwestern boy. What nobody knew is that he also hid some of the real Superman personality to most of his colleagues. The Man of Steel was afraid even his closest associates would fear him if, besides his extensive array of powers, he showed the full extent of his Kryptonian intelligence, especially to someone as paranoid as Bruce, so he also played the trusting, innocent and well disposed superhero everybody loved and trusted. Actually, this wasn't too far from the truth, the difference was there was a lot more than that underneath. The only person to whom he revealed his true self was Diana, who also mostly showed to the World the warrior side of herself, when in reality, she was a much more complex, smart and multilayer person than that. Both rather be liked than feared by the people. None of them craved power and their intention was actually to help humanity to develop its true potential and reach its destiny, hopefully a bright one. They had everything they could ever wanted. More than that: they had each other.

Superman began moving back to the entrance while releasing a wide blast of heat vision, laying waste of all the automated weapons at once. I've always knew it was a mistake to keep these dangerous toys: sooner or later somebody would find a way to put their hands on them and the World could be in real danger if that happens, so, it's better this way.

"If you want me, you'll have to come out and get me, Batman! Your rules do not apply anymore!"

Clark knew the Fortress wouldn't provide any more help for Bruce's plans: there were three sensitive areas in it: the Armory –Museum, the Intergalactic Zoo and the Phantom Zone. Given the dangerous nature of these sectors, a failsafe was in place so no person, not even Superman or Diana, could access the three areas at once, just one at the time. The only exception was the feeding time at the Zoo: one animal container at a time briefly would open to allow the keeper to take food to that particular animal. The Kryptonian guessed that was how the Formeli-anorg was released. Scanning the Zoo sector with his X-ray vision, he saw Krypto locked inside the beast's container. Most certainly, Batman caught the smart hound feeding the animal and somehow tricked him to stay inside when the entrance closed, while letting the monster out, but, once he accessed the armory, the Zoo and Phantom Zone controls shut down permanently. He was aware that the Dark Knight would go for the armory, the other two were too uncontrollable and unpredictable if what was inside them got loose. Batman hated uncontrollable and unpredictable, what made him sort of predictable, in a way.

"What do you say, Bruce? Care to face me 'mano a mano'? Come out and play!" Making him come out in the open would help the Man of Steel avoid seriously hurting his friend and colleague. He scanned the place again looking for the Dark Knight, but he couldn't find him "Where…?" Something hit violently the back of his head.

As these events took place, Diana, still inside the emergency elevator's shaft at the White House, found herself surrounded by five combat androids, courtesy from LexCorp to the Armed Forces, and now to Presidential security. These were wearing Luthor's classical green and purple colors, instead of the usual regulation camouflage painting.

"Oh, Lex, how can your ego and you fit in the same room?" she wondered. The shaft was very shallow and the Amazon found herself with little room to maneuver. The automats were all over her, trying to grab her arms and legs to immobilize her. At the same time, from their eyes, intense heat rays were fired at her face, specially her eyes, with the intention of blinding her. With a jerk of her head, the Princess made her magical tiara fall to cover her eyes. Its lower front point, under the red ruby star, hurt her nose, but she didn't care. Looking down through the interstice the tiara left open, she could see some of the movements of the androids. The one behind her moved its hands trying to choke Diana. With no little effort, she grabbed its extremities and ripped them off the android's body. Using the robotic limbs as whips, the Amazon lash the other automats away. Once free, she put the tiara back in place, and positioned her body properly for combat. The android from which she tore the arms off was still behind her and tried to ram her from behind; the one in front of her was about to do the same.

"The Themysciran Special sandwich is not on the menu today."

Moving down the shaft, she dodged both robots as they collided into one another, exploding violently. The blast put the other three out of balance and the Princess took advantage of it. "I'd say I take no pleasure in doing this, but I'd be lying." A kick at the base of the head of the closest one sent it to the top of the chute as she turned the body into pieces with her bare hands. The power cell began pulsating, as if it was going to explode too. She buried it violently into the chest of one of the two remaining androids and send it against the other. As she was putting some distance, the three power cells detonated, causing the reinforced rails of the lift tube to twist and bend. "This elevator won't come up again."

Hoping for no more surprises, Diana finally got to the Presidential Bunker. Again thick steel doors and a code panel. She barged in shouting,"If you really wanted to make me work, you should make your door of estranium, Luth…!" The place had four main rooms plus service rooms and two deposits, it was a large compound. The Amazon sharp hearing didn't detect anybody in them. In the middle of the biggest room a 52'' screen descended from the ceiling.

"Wonder Woman! This is such a nice surprise! Of all people it was you who came to visit! I'm flattered. What do you think of my little refuge?" Luthor's face appeared on the screen, addressing the Amazon.

"Love what you've done with the place, Lex. You should work harder on security, though. Your androids were fun, but they didn't lasted long, I'm afraid," the Princess retorted.

"It's President Luthor, thank you. But since we are on a first name basis, can I call you Diana?" Lex asked.

"How can I deny a dying man his last wish? Please, feel free to call me the worst you can imagine, it would be nothing, compared with the names I have in mind for you."

"Charming. Incredibly rude, but charming. I thought princesses were taught better manners. Anyway, to what do I owe the privilege of your visit?" Lex's voice was smooth and calm.

"Don't play the fool with me, Lex. You know exactly why I'm here! What did you do to Batman? Why is he attacking Kal?" Calm down, Diana. This is a chess match. Don't kick the board before the game ends, she thought.

"'Kal'. It sounds so sweet on your lips. You know Kal-El is a stinking alien, don't you? I have no words to describe a woman who mates outside her species. It's almost like interplanetary zoophilia, and I find the concept utterly disgusting. Then again, we're not even certain you are human, are we, clay born Wonder Woman?" Lex smile broaden as he emphasize those last two words.

"If monsters are what you're looking for, just look in the mirror," she said coldly. "And how do you call a man who deceives, betrays, uses, abuses and kills his own kind only to gain more power than he knows what to do with?"

"A business man, a conqueror, a ruler…! It's imprinted in our genes: even spermatozoids race one another for the prize of fertilizing the egg. Our very origin as individuals is a competition," Luthor told her.

And the Universe would be a lot better place if your father had used a condom, the Princess thought.

"Besides, don't worry: I know exactly what to do with all the power I'm gathering. Once I remove one or two nuisances, I'll take humanity to its rightful destiny…"

"…Under your rule, of course…" Diana cut him off.

"Somebody needs to guide them, they're like ignorant little children, and I'm the most qualified person for the job," concluded Lex.

"Thank you, Lex. You've just stated the reason why you must be stopped. I'm wasting my time here!" She tore the screen off the ceiling. The room was silent now, except for the sizzling of the cut cables…and something else, a very low humming. Moving as fast as she was capable inside the compound, the Amazon found a nuclear explosive device, small but with enough power to turn 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue into a smoking crater, with a timer.

Nineteen seconds.

"You demented bastard!" Diana grabbed the artifact and rushed as fast as possible to the outside

"Sorry, Kal" she mused as she crashed through the roof of the White House.

Fifteen seconds.

The Princess tried to gain as much altitude as she could.

Ten seconds.

When she passed the geostationary satellite responsible for monitoring the White House security, she threw the bomb into space with all her might and stopped her ascent.

Seven seconds, six, five, four, three, two, one.

Several miles away a bright light, lasting only a fraction of a second, could be seen, followed, four heartbeats later, by a very faint shockwave. The Amazons exhaled.

Once the peril was averted, and on her way down, Diana tapped her ear.

"Superman, come in…Superman, come in."

It was a huge blow Superman took, which sent him directly into one of the ice elevations surrounding the Fortress. With a blow of his own, he reduced the ice mountain to pieces.

"That really hurt!"

Deet-deet-deet. His communicator.

"Superman here. Come in, Wonder Woman."

"Kal. Is everything alright?" She noticed a little agitation in his voice.

"Not yet. Working on it. Tell me what happened," he answered.

"Luthor sent me on a wild goose chase. He wasn't at the White House, but he set a number of distractions to keep me busy," she informed.

"I'm kind of distracted myself right now…" An energy beam, coming apparently from nowhere, aimed at his head. He move three inches to his left and it blew a huge ice formation behind him.

"Are you in need of assistance?" the Amazon asked.

"Nah. Listen: Home is a little compromised right now, could you…?"

"…Go to the Watchtower and try to locate Lex from there?" Diana finished his sentence. "I'll have to inform the others of our small inconvenience. Are you okay with that?"

"They're probably aware something's going on by now. Let's keep Batman's name out of it, for now," Clark requested.

"Agapitos, I'm not sure if that's wise…" she said, while the Man of Steel dodged another beam.

"Indulge me, please," he begged.

"Very well. We'll do it your way. Tell me, at least, what's your status?" The Princess wanted to know.

"Bruce found it," was his short but terrible answer.

"Gaea! Not the Kryptonian armored suit! I'm going over there at once!