Disclaimer: No profit is gained by this fiction. I do not own these characters. I just really, really like stories about them!

As always, thanks goes out to Kipling-Nori & GeekyBMWWFan – my Betas and sounding boards.

Special thanks goes out to Hepburn, who helped out with this chapter a lot. Her suggestions and critiques were invaluable! You rock!


Chapter 3: Foundation

Bruce Wayne sat in his own Batcave, the familiar stranger within arm's reach. Both men, dressed in casual workout attire, were showing signs of the physical and mental fatigue from their most recent battle – against each other as well as their respective comrades. But they had prepared their minds for the momentous task at hand. They had much to discuss.

Wayne locked his eyes on his visiting counterpart. The fact that he just agreed to the damnedest scheme he'd ever heard of wasn't what was dominating his mind. What was distracting him was trying to remember that the man standing in front of him had every mental capacity that he had, and he could never take things for granted. After a long pause, Bruce spoke.

"You already know what I'm thinking, don't you?"

"You're wondering," the visitor responded, "how you can trust me and how… if something goes wrong… you can form a 'Plan B' that I won't predict."

Bruce silently conceded the accuracy by simply swiveling in his chair and continuing to ponder.

"For all you know," the guest continued, "I could have helped you defeat the Justice Lords because it would have made it easier for me to take over my world with them out of the way."

Bruce continued to calculate and consider while the other talked.

"I could be sending you into a trap again."

The words didn't distract him… then again, the speaker already knew that. Still, he kept talking.

"And there are only a handful of people that you trust that could come up with something that I wouldn't have thought of already."

There was a pause while Bruce's mind drew the conclusion that his counterpart had also come upon as he was formulating this whole plot.

"You knew I'd have my reservations," Bruce announced when he finally reached his epiphany. "So, before you even came here, you were prepared to agree to any terms that I set."

"Yes."

The logic and the counter logic were staggering – even for the World's Greatest Detective. Like he was told not twenty-four hours ago – this visitor had calculated anything that he'd ever come up with. Then, remembering that same conversation they had during his short stay, his mind caught upon an idea that, while predictable in concept, the other Batman would never have been able to plan for entirely…

"Then this is what I want," he said with certainty and a touch of satisfaction. "Alfred will be in on this whole thing in every detail. If he's not happy about something, I'm not happy about it either."

"I agree. In fact, I expected you would want that, so I had no reservation intruding on the two of you together upstairs."

The quick compliance wasn't a surprise, but Bruce still took a second to study the other man.

"AND," he added strongly, taking a long pause for affect. "FLASH will be in on it as well."

The other man's face showed subtle traces of confusion and concentration. Subtle… but for a man skilled at hiding his emotions, it was blaringly obvious.

"That's not debatable," Bruce declared.

The visitor's eyes darted for a moment as he deciphered the situation. Finally, convinced, his eyebrows raised, he drew in a deep breath through is nose and nodded consent.

"I guess that would be the best solution, wouldn't it? I was about to ask you if you really trust him, but clearly you do."

"Yes, I do. He doesn't know that Bruce Wayne is Batman, and he's got a lot of growing up to do. But our Flash hasn't even begun to understand the full potential of his powers. In that sense… his inexperience and his naiveté… his innocence… he is very powerful and substantial. He'll err with caution. And he's a good man."

The other Bruce's head sank just a little as he allowed a moment to remember the Flash that he once knew.

"Alright. Anything else?"

"Not at the moment. Right now, we're going to work on ways to make sure Alfred and Flash can be brought in on this and understand what we're trying to do."

The other man nodded and prepared for business.

"We've got work to do."


"How in world am I going to tell the two of you apart?" Alfred asked with unhidden exasperation.

As if being Batman's (let alone Bruce Wayne's) caretaker wasn't enough, the poor Englishman now had to deal with the concept of alternate universes, trans-dimensional teleportation, life swapping, and two very stubborn personalities.

It was morning and he had routinely put the kettle on for his day's first tea when both men walked into the kitchen and broke the news of their plans. Dressed in casual clothing, he had trouble knowing which one to address… and which one to trust.

"Now, Alfred," one of them started, "you understand that this is on a need-to-know basis. We need you to know about all of this because we'll need your help – not only to make this work, but to keep it a secret."

"Of course… sir," the older man replied, though he was still unsure who was who.

"I am this world's Batman… your Bruce Wayne," the same Bruce continued. "In all our correspondence, whenever it's necessary to make a distinction, anything to do with the other world will be highlighted with Alpha… be it the symbol when writing or when spoken. Everything about this world will be annotated with Beta."

"Very good, sir. But that still doesn't tell me…"

The butler paused when both men put their right hands on the table in exactly the same fashion. Both hands sported a familiar silver ring on the middle finger with the Wayne family crest. After a moment, he noticed the Greek symbols for alpha and beta cleverly hidden amongst the engraved designs. Had he not suspected a difference, he wouldn't have even noticed. They must have crafted them during the night, the old butler figured, while they were planning and plotting and Lord knows what else.

"Ah, ingenious! And what about when you are in uniform, sir?"

"Well, keep in mind," Alpha Bruce explained, "that after tomorrow, I will be here and he will be in my world… for days, if not weeks at a time. You've seen the differences in our Batman uniforms, so that should be obvious. But it will be very rare for both of us to be in the same place at the same time."

"I see," Alfred allowed, although his whole attitude was laced with uncertainty. "And if I need… other means of identification?"

"X-rays" they answered in unison, while one produced an envelope with skeletal pictures of both men, clearly marked with alphas and betas for identification.

Alfred sat in quiet wonderment at the kitchen table while the exposures were laid out neatly for his review by the 'twins' standing across from him.

"Physically, we were born identical, but we've been in different battles and daily situations. Here you can see that there is evidence on my right tibia from a fracture I suffered, while his is clear. There are other things as well, so this is just an example."

The three discussed some basic concepts and answered some primary questions for the older man, simply for clarity's sake. First and foremost, in a brief recounting of their conversation in the Batcave the night before, they explained their reasons for the charade. They also briefly discussed the short, intermediate and long-term goals. Alfred listened as the two men talked in a virtual tag-team, each finishing the other's sentences. He had to focus just as hard to get over the fact that there were two, virtually identical Bruce Waynes in his kitchen, as he did to absorb the whole idea of them trading places. The whole scene forced him to consider that he'd need an entire pot of tea, rather than just a cup.

They explained that they would spend a considerable amount of time recapping the major points of their lives to discover any significant differences. They would talk about the situations of criminals in their respective worlds, and the dynamics of the Justice League vs. the Justice Lords. They would give topical histories to each other, although either Batman could find detailed files on his counterpart's computers. Basically, the next thirty-six hours would be a crash-course in "Your Doppelganger Life 101".

They told Alfred of their goals to keep the Justice League on the path of righteousness, while simultaneously trying to return the members of the Justice Lords to grace and reestablish their role of trustworthy watchmen in their world. They talked about establishing a secure information link between the two dimensions that could only be used for brief moments each day in order to exchange progress, obstacles and other goings on for their plans.

As they explained all this, they broke off into many conversations between themselves, leaving Alfred to wonder what in Heaven's name they were talking about. After the fifth such occurrence, he finally got up and made his well-earned cup of Earl Grey.

"Lord love a duck!" Alfred muttered to himself as he poured. "Two of them!"


"Let's start with the big one," Beta suggested, sitting comfortably in his den. "When and where do you think your organization started go…"

"Go ahead, say it. I've already recognized it for what it is…" Alpha demanded with a touch of shame. "Where did we go wrong?"

Bruce Beta nodded.

"Obviously there wasn't just one thing that led to it, but there was one thing that triggered it: Our Flash was killed. President Luthor had fabricated charges of treason, conspiracy and sedition against him, and declared that all the offences warranted the death penalty in times of war. Technically, he was the only one that had decided that the United States was at war, so when…"

"At war with whom?" Beta interrupted.

"With us. With metas."

Bruce Alpha explained how Lex Luthor had soap boxed during his Presidential campaign with promises to unite the nation against terrorist forces, all the while, never actually mentioning the Justice Lords (still known at the time as the Justice League) as one of those forces, but they were alluded to as one. He and his high-paid speech writers cleverly catered to the people's need for "change" and "progress" while also offering to restore the country's integrity and standing in the global community. Once in office, he and his lackeys found ways to focus every negative world-wide occurrence on the heroes, until the penultimate time when he executed the captive 'traitor against the nation' Flash as an example.

"By that time, we were already headed towards a war of sorts, it was just Luthor that became the embodiment of our conflict. About a year before that time, we had decided that we hadn't been proactive enough in the global community at stopping crime and violence. We started becoming more and more… insistent. It had caused some internal tensions as well as clashes with some of the World Leaders and their governments… even other heroes."

"Were these changes gradual?"

"Yes, at first," he admitted before continuing with some difficulty. "In retrospect, it's easy to see, now, how Flash was usually the voice of reason, keeping us from making changes that were too radical, too… didactic. After he…" he paused for a deep breath, "after he was murdered, it was just too easy for us to fall into a downward spiral. We changed our name, we changed our look. We changed our approach. We modified the Watchtower and our operations. We deviated from our true path - the right path that your Justice League is on - and became what we had tried to avoid ever since…"

He stopped once again for a tense and difficult pause, suppressing a shameful scowl as his eyes drifted to unseen points a thousand miles away.

"Ever since what?" Batman Beta prompted.

After yet another cleansing breath, Bruce Wayne Alpha began to tell of his own personal hell.

He told his counterpart about the Achilles Device. He talked about how it had stripped Superman of his powers. He talked about how he gained his own powers and what subsequently happened in their lives, as well as how his actions affected the others' lives.

He talked about his slow descent into a power-hungry delusion. He outlined the drug-like affects on his body and mind, how he felt great and invincible. He told about the struggles and the battles he fought against the others in the group. He talked about everything, although he started out keeping it clinical and factual, as if he were discussing a case about someone else. But as he spoke, his voice started to take on a more sorrowful tone. He tried to remain rigid, but the flood gates were cracked open, and they crept open a little more, and little more as he spoke. Eventually, he forced himself to accept the situation; he had to tell everything, clinical or otherwise, if only to make sure his new accomplice would be well-informed. And he did, finally letting his shame and anger show through. His voice rose and fell, it quivered and grew quiet. His eyes twitched and his teeth clenched with each soul-filled word. He finally allowed himself, after all that time, to say out loud the things he refused to let himself think. And all the while, he marveled at how it finally felt like a phenomenal weight lifted from his shoulders to get it out of his system in unfiltered, unedited totality.

His counterpart sat in amazement to hear the tale. He watched every facial expression, every body movement as he heard about the other Batman and how he tried to 'save the world' and how he wound up failing miserably. He learned about how that world's Batman believed that he had become a better man because of his ordeal.

And he understood.

And he could relate.

He also heard about how the lessons learned were more than a personal trial for that Batman, but also for the rest of the heroes as well – for he had almost single-handedly broken the League. In all that the empowered Batman had done wrong, he had actually accomplished much, much more than anybody would have guessed at the time. It was the success stories of his actions that served as justifications for the Justice Lords to continue on with their dominance. His ability to affect change by being aggressively proactive was the motivation for the Lords to proceed with (what they considered) controlled aggression. They thought that the concept was sound, even though his method was madness… and they believed that they had devised a better way. Batman's empowerment was simply the first raping of the values and true ideals that the League had held. Flash's murder made it an easy slide down the path to becoming the Justice Lords.

When all had been said, Batman Beta was virtually speechless. He tried mightily to remain neutral – an outsider – and approach the entire situation dispassionately, as a problem that needed fixing. But to hear the story in his own voice, told with words that he himself would have used had he found himself in that world… he couldn't help but to be moved… maybe even a bit afraid.

After a thick pause, Beta started clinically on some factual observations – if only to avoid the emotional aspects for a while.

"I'd like to discuss some things that you mentioned. The teleporters, for one. Where did you get the technology for that?"

"Factually," Alpha answered, somewhat relieved that the other man kept it impersonal for the moment, "you can look up the Technical Specs of all our equipment and all the Incident Reports you like on the computers. The passwords are the same. There isn't much to discuss besides what's been documented, really. I'm sure you'll be able to use that information as needed."

With that moment to recompose himself, Bruce Alpha was able to right his mind better for the more private questions that were sure to come. He didn't have long to wait.

"What about personally? Tell me about the things that aren't in the Incident Reports. When did everybody learn everybody else's identity? How did that affect the relationships within the group? And what kind of interactions have you observed from the people in our organization that differ from people in yours? And… Clark's father is dead in your world?"

"Yes, he is. I used to consider that a common point between he and I. After all, my… our fathers are dead as well. In short, I had simply filed his pain from that loss as a driving force in his personality. That is, until I found you and your Justice League. Knowing that this world's Jonathon Kent is still alive seems more relevant now."

The Alpha Batman knew that it would eventually turn to the internal relationships within the Lords organization. He had been watching the League's interaction very closely during their recent encounter… trying very hard to deduce the way each member felt for each other. The presence of a living Flash went first without saying. A close second behind that was the obvious lack of intimacy between the League Batman and Wonder Woman as well as the League Green Lantern and Hawkgirl. Once Batman Alpha noticed this, he was quickly able to recognize that there was still a lot of attraction and a ridiculous amount of sexual tension there.

"Over all, The Justice Lords' dynamics made our internal relationships much more open in many ways, but it also allowed us to distance ourselves from each other. Looking back now, it seems that there were many levels of subconscious trust and mistrust at play."

"For example?"

"Our Green Lantern and Hawkgirl are… intimate with each other. However, their relationship is also one of mutual independence. In hind sight, when we achieved that much power that quickly, we were all watching our own backs without even realizing it. Even though John and Shayera are involved, neither one of them would have the slightest hesitation at destroying the other, should the situation call for it."

"Interesting," Beta observed.

Alpha was surprised that a follow up question wasn't immediately asked. He had just begun to formulate a way to change to another topic before he was asked about his own relationships. He didn't make it.

"And what about you and Diana?"

The two Bruces locked eyes, one knowing he'd been caught, one knowing he'd caught the other.

He was going to deny that there was anything between him and Diana – simply out of reflex. He had to catch himself and remember that he'd never get away with that lie. He also had to make an effort to remember that it would be better off for everybody if he was as honest and forthright as possible. Both worlds depended on it.

"We are intimate as well."

He was expecting a judgmental reaction from his League opposite. Instead, he found the other man in deep introspection for the briefest of moments.

"We will talk about that in detail… later," Beta finally announced, though it didn't make either man very comfortable. "What else?"

The Lords' Batman forced himself to relax and started from the top down.

His Alfred was dead. It was difficult to reestablish their old relationship after the incident with the Achilles Device. The two worked together, professionally, but the bond they once shared was permanently damaged. By the time President Luthor was assassinated, Alfred was away, 'enjoying' his retirement.

The two had hardly spoken to each other for five months after that, then, tragically, Alfred Pennyworth had died in a fire at an opera house in London. Star Sapphire had been the cause of that. Seeing Batman's rage, Superman 'accidentally' burned a hole through her head while attempting his heat-vision lobotomy. She lived out her few remaining days as a drooling vegetable.

Alpha Bruce and his son, Dick Grayson had reconciled very quickly after the Achilles Device incident. Their relationship was never 'warm' as the case may be, but Dick was at the manor much more frequently and Nightwing was seen in Gotham on more than a few occasions. In retrospect, it would seem that Alfred may have stayed at the manor as long as he did because of Dick's easy ability to repair tensions between him and Bruce.

When the change was made from Justice League to Justice Lords, Dick had become very eager to join and help the cause. Later, it was discovered that he did so in an attempt to affect change from the inside of the organization, wanting to bring the group 'back from the abyss' as he had been heard to say. Once that truth was known, he was arrested on charges of conspiracy, though it silently broke everybody's heart. But, an example had to be made. He escaped prison within hours and hadn't been seen or heard from since. Not even his former fiancé, Barbara Gordon knew anything about him.

Barbara was steadily climbing the ranks of the Blüdhaven PD as an analyst despite her physical limitations. She had been earmarked by the department for a fast track to the Commissioner's office until she started receiving endorsements from the Justice Lords… then her career took a sudden stall. Her attitude towards police work in general had become very cynical, and although she would adhere to the new 'laws' as they were laid out, she kept a fiery spirit and protested every injustice she could – from the criminals or the Lords.

Jim Gordon had retired earlier than expected. He had to move away from his Gotham home of forty years because his advocacy of Batman had become the reason for many late-night drive-by shootings at his home once the League became the Lords. Bruce was able to track him down in a quiet town in the Colorado Rockies, living under an assumed name, but he never bothered him there.

As far as the criminals… many, many of Batman's so-called Rogue's Gallery had been "subdued" by Superman's heat vision – not to mention other well-known adversaries. The two agreed that the facts of the situation could be easily covered by reading Incident Reports, but the few key notes were that Grodd, Brainiac and The Ultra Humanite were still unaccounted for on Earth Alpha, and Darkseid hadn't been a consideration in years. These, both men decided, would be the first ones to investigate regarding the cryptic message sent between dimensions as they were the most likely ones to have the technology to do so.

"We've got our work cut out for us," Batman Beta summed up. "What did you have in mind about handling your colleagues?"

"What do you have in mind?"

He paused briefly before summing up the delicate situation in the simplest terms possible with the most cavalier attitude he could muster.

"First, I'm going to have to get them to admit that they were wrong. Stripping them of their powers will force some humility into their heads… now I'm going to have to make sure they understand that it was those same powers that gave them the path they followed."

Bruce Alpha nodded in agreement. His eyes showed the kind of understanding that only comes from experience.

"Once I can get that accomplished, I'm going to have to cultivate their desire to make amends."

"That part shouldn't be too difficult," Alpha commented. "They all still have the strong core beliefs that your team has. They're all good people… heroes, really, when it comes down to it. Getting their pride out of the way will be key. I think another big challenge will be trying to get them to want to work together and to learn how to serve again, rather than reign. What do you have in mind for that?"

"A lot of help from their roots," Beta answered thoughtfully then his face rose into a familiar smirk. "After that…Boot camp."


"Flash. Come in."

Wally West bolted upright in his recliner, dropping the remote control and almost spilling his poofy cheesy curls.

Was that Batman? Calling ME?

"Uh… Flash here… go ahead."

"Meet me at the north end of the Gotham docks in twenty minutes. Batman out."

It took Wally a full ninety seconds to contemplate what just happened: Batman called for him.

Does he need help? Naw. There wasn't anything urgent in his voice.

What in the world would that man need ME for?

A few more seconds of pondering and Wally finally got his mind around the situation. Whatever it was, he shouldn't argue, shouldn't think too much, and for Pete's sake… he shouldn't be late!


He was in his famous red costume in seconds and streaking through the night along the interstate. He could be in Gotham in ten minutes and maybe impress the creepy old man with some unexpected punctuality. Then again, he might want to stop for a snack and fashionably be a few seconds late. Oh, those tough decisions of the young superhero life!

The north docks were dark and secluded, long since shut down for repairs that never came to fruition. There was a cooling mist drifting in from the water's edge and the occasional clanging of marker buoys in the channel floated across the hazy darkness. In the distance a ghostly foghorn droned from points unknown. It didn't surprise Flash at all that Batman would want to meet there – it was the perfect atmosphere to complete the brooding. Zipping in with almost a full minute to spare, Flash took the last bites of his burrito, slowed to a more human-like walking pace and strolled around, looking for his colleague.

"Over here."

Flash spun around, half startled out of his gourd, despite the fact that he had mentally prepared himself for an abrupt greeting from The Dark Knight. It didn't help that the voice came from a shadowy corner that Flash thought he had thoroughly checked out just seconds before.

"Jeez! I wish you wouldn't DO that! I was in the middle of chewing, I coulda choked!"

"You'll get over it."

Batman only took a few precious steps from the total blackness into the gray shadows – just enough to be seen, but not much more. He stood tall and menacing, the slight shimmer off his white eye lenses were the only thing Flash could really focus on. For a few dragging seconds, neither man spoke. It was too long for Flash's patience.

"So… whadaya need?"

"Your help."

Flash swallowed, but hid his surprise well. This kind of situation wasn't common – for Batman to ask for help. The fact that Flash was the one he was asking was completely unprecedented. Still, the young man did his best to hide his discomfort and appear casual about it.

"Uh… sure. What can I do for you?"

"I need to show you something in the Batcave."

"The… the Batca-" Flash stammered.

"Yes," Batman interrupted quickly, "the Batcave. I have a situation and you are the only one that can know about it."

Flash's innards struggled with the rush of adrenaline that usually comes with a sudden sense of importance and flattery. Had he been Wally at the moment, he would have been a little less comical. But since he had on the red, he had a reputation to uphold.

"Something that only the Fastest Man Alive can do for you, eh? Well, since it's you Bats… then I'm your man! What can Flash do to make your day?"

Batman's eye lenses narrowed dangerously, making the cockiness drain out of the younger hero.

"Put this on."

With that, something soft and black hit Flash in the face. It fell into his hands and he turned it over for inspection. It looked like a small pillow case.

Batman stormed out of one set of shadows and into another where his legendary vehicle was waiting in perfect camouflage. Flash followed closely, still studying the sack.

"Put this on what?" he asked after a few stumped seconds.

"Your head" Batman replied with a touch of 'what else?' in his voice.

It took a moment, but Flash finally caught on – the Batcave's location is a secret. The speedster sighed with resignation and disappointment as his ego deflated just a little.

"I could just keep my eyes shut, y'know."

"No," came the stern answer as the vehicle's cockpit opened. "And don't bother suggesting knock-out gas either. I know that your system will metabolize it within seconds."

Flash's head sank. Just when he thought that the time had finally come to be accepted and trusted by this dark and sometimes terrifying man, he found himself figuratively back at 'the children's table' again. He climbed into the passenger's seat, buckled in and slid the sack over his head.

"Wake me when we get there," he joked, crossing his arms and leaning back as the engines roared to life.

Maybe the extra noise played tricks in Flash's ears, but he could have sworn that he heard a stifled chuckle.


The drive wasn't as long as Flash expected. The design of the car was excellent for dampening the external noise, so it was difficult to tell that they were actually in the cave until the vehicle glided to a gentle stop and the engines whined down. When he heard the whooshing of the cockpit opening again, he reached for the bag on his head.

"Can I take this-"

"Yes."

Flash undid his safety harness, climbed out of the car, tossed the sack on the seat and spun around to find himself nose-to-nose with another Batman.

"Holy…!"

The costume was unmistakable: it was the Justice Lords Batman. And although he was the one that helped them in their battle against the others, his unexpected presence wasn't necessarily a good thing. Flash's eyes twitched in every direction to take in as thorough of an assessment of his situation as he could. He didn't dare move until he was sure he had the upper hand – and he knew from too much experience that getting the upper hand on Batman – any Batman - was not easy.

He jerked his head to his right, then blazed off to the left. After a few precious steps, when he realized that he had taken the other man by surprise and wasn't in some kind of eastern-origin death grip, he decided he needed a plan. He didn't know the layout of the cave, but it was easy enough to navigate into hidden crags and corners on the fly. He had just spotted the best place to hide until he figured out his next move when he heard Batman's voice.

"It's OK. He's not here to fight."

"Which one of you said that?!" Flash called out from some dark corner.

The two dark heroes ambled up to one another and stood side-by-side to show Flash that it wasn't a trap, it wasn't a trick and it wasn't a fight.

"Flash," the Justice League Batman called out, holding up his hand for identification. "Get out here now! We don't have time for this."

Slowly, tentatively, Flash leaned out of his hiding spot and observed the two men as best he could. Still wary, he zipped into a more well-lit part of the cave, but still a good distance from the others.

"Alright," he started with uncertainty. "I give up… what's going on? Why did you bring me here and what the hell is he doing here?!"

"He's the reason I brought you here," Batman replied, while the visitor remained silent and still. "There's a situation that we have to take care of. We need your help."

"You do, huh? I'm listening."

Batman took a breath and huffed it back out in a frustrated sigh. He shook his head a little and then strutted over towards the main computers.

"Sit down!" he commanded with his coldest voice. "It's a long story and our time is short."

When the other Batman sat down comfortably, Flash finally made his way to the only other chair in the area. Like a cat in a roomful of sleeping dogs, he lowered himself into the seat and listened to the two men as the situation was laid out for him.


Some time later…

"I want to talk to him alone," the League Batman said to the other with out looking at him directly.

Silently, the visitor stood and made his way towards a stairwell that wound its way up and around within the walls of the cave. Batman brought up the security feed from the mansion above to show that the visitor had, in fact, exited the cave completely before he turned to face Flash.

"Do you trust that guy?" Flash started.

"Not entirely. That's one of the biggest reasons why you're here."

Batman paused to allow that notion to sink into the young mind. After a measured moment, he continued.

"The magnitude of this mission cannot be overstated. Nobody can know about this except you and another colleague that helps me in my personal life. Keep it that way."

Typical Batman frankness. Simple, solid sentences that left little room for misinterpretation, although gave precious little in the way of facts or detail.

Flash took the opportunity to contemplate the news while his host turned towards a computer console and began typing.

"Why me?" the younger man asked somewhat weakly.

Batman stopped typing and cocked his head in Flash's general direction.

"Because I know you and he doesn't."

The typing resumed.

Flash's gaze lowered to an unfocused point in space. He drew a deep breath in through is lips and held it while his cleverness kicked into high gear.

"The others all have counterparts," he observed almost inaudibly, "and he knows them. You need me to keep an eye on him… to be… unpredictable."

Batman turned and studied his guest. The average person would have missed the slight degree of expression he wore… Flash had just impressed him with some quick intellect.

"That's right," he allowed, keeping his voice from showing any sign of appreciation.

He turned back towards the computers as some screens of information appeared for both men to review. Rolling his chair back away from the keyboard, he motioned towards the console with his gloved hand.

"The first thing I want you to do is type in a series of words that you will remember exactly."

Fighting the trace of confusion he felt, Flash leaned over and typed as ordered. After, Batman entered a few more commands, then reached for a pair of devices that were mounted in a docking system nearby. He handed one to Flash.

"These are trans-dimensional communication devices. My computers used your words as the foundation for encryptions. Nobody would be able to break the encryptions without knowing at least two of the words you typed… not even our friend upstairs."

Flash turned the device over in his hand. It could have easily passed as a typical cell phone.

"Can I make calls to anyone on this?"

"It's not a toy," was the cold reply.

"I know it's not a toy!" Flash protested. "But when I'm not in costume, I could hide its true purpose if it doubled as a phone, or…"

Flash shrugged and shook his head, thinking that maybe his idea was as childish as all his others.

Batman, however, was impressed for the second time in so many minutes.

"Actually, yes, it can be used as a phone. However, I would advise against doing that very often. There's no such thing as 'call waiting' when it comes to inter-dimensional communications. When I need to call you, I'll need to call you. Plus the batteries wear down quickly."

Flash nodded silently and tucked the device into the top of his boot. He then took the charging cable that Batman offered and found a home for it in his other boot. He eyed the other hero's utility belt with a little bit of envy as he did.

"I want to stay in daily contact with you," Batman continued. "He's going to be patrolling Gotham and I have resources to keep an eye on him as he does. He's also going to be at the weekly meetings. In fact, he and I may switch back on occasion just to keep up-to-date on what's happening in our own worlds – so behave around him like you would around me."

Flash noticed that Batman didn't say 'treat him like you would treat me'. Nobody treats Batman like anything… they behave around him. He's the one that treats people as he wants.

"How will I know when it's you or him?"

Batman held out both hands in front of him with his ten fingers spread wide.

"Pick a finger."

Flash pointed to the ring finger on his left hand.

"When I see you," he explained, "I'll adjust my gloves starting with that finger."

Flash noticed how easily and naturally Batman demonstrated what he was describing. After another moment of deep thinking, Flash tightened his lips and bobbed his head in satisfaction.

"Well, then," he started lightly. "I guess there's nothing to it but to do it."

"Good. Get in the car."

The two men made their way briskly towards either side of the Batmobile. As the cockpit slid open Flash asked:

"Do I gotta put the bag on again?"

"Yes."

They climbed in and buckled up. Flash squeezed out an annoyed sigh as he readied the sack for donning. He procrastinated a little too long for the Dark Knight's patience.

"The bag, Flash," Batman warned. "Hawkgirl would have a hissy if you forced me to punch your lights out."

The youngster stifled a laugh and finagled the bag around the points of the lightning prongs on his hood. But before he pulled it down, his expression dropped into amazement and he slowly turned towards his colleague.

Did Batman just make a joke?!

The mighty engines roared to life and Flash caught the faintest hint of a smirk before the cloth covered his face.


AN: At least I didn't wait 10 months to post this chapter! Chapter 4 is in the works. This story WILL get done. I'm half tempted to try to write the whole darn thing and then post chapters every couple weeks or so, but that kind of approach is what made Chapter 2 take so long. No, I'm gonna keep chugging along and release what I have when it's ready. I thank everybody for their patience. I also think that feedback will help steer the story somewhat, so I take reviews and personal emails into account as I move forward.

If you've read "The Powers That Be", then you probably already know that I put great effort into reading and replying to reviews. After all, I write for you, the reader. And as the engineers say: Feedback of "NO" is better than no feedback. My ego isn't a huge fan of flames, but I accept them. (Personally, when I want to provide negative or constructive points to a story, I do so in a private email, but that's just me!). So, if you're so inclined to post a review or send an email, expect something back. And don't feel bad if you what to flame me up – I do my darnedest to not get bitter about thoughtful posts.

If you post a review anonymously, then I'll try to respond at the end of the subsequent chapter… like this:

To Mischief:
First, thanks for the kind words. I hope I can bring you more stuff that you enjoy as this story grinds along. As for the REAL Diana… you KNOW I can't give anything away… but if you've read my other stories, you'll probably realize that I'm pretty fond of WW as well as the BMWW pairing. Will she ever find out about it? Will there be a happy BMWW ending? Well… I'm not telling, but I will promise that it will be as intriguing a story as I can bring you! Thanks!