CHAPTER SEVEN: STEEL THY HEART
A/N: Sorry for a shorter chapter. Next one will be longer.
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Superman teleported back to the Watchtower the next day and entered the sophisticated laboratory on the shuttle. The Flash was bent over several slides, his mask off, revealing his red hair. His face was serious for once, his brows drawn together in deep concentration. The Kryptonian touched his friend on the shoulder. The Flash jumped, whirling on the Man of Steel.
"Don't do that, Supes! You almost gave me a heart attack!" he shouted.
"Sorry," Superman apologized. He studied one of the slides, asking, "find anything?"
"Yeah," the Flash reported. "It took most of the night, but what we're looking at is a new chemical compound they were working on at Star Labs. Professor Hamilton is one of only a handful of scientists who have access to it."
Superman paced the lab, his fingers resting on his lips as he considered. "So, our thief might be working for them, is that it?" he mused.
The Flash said, "Maybe. She could just be a world class bandit we've never come across before."
"Could be," Superman agreed. "What about the chemical? I remembered smelling this substance before when I visited Professor Hamilton. Was it something called 'phaze'?"
The Scarlet Speedster nodded, saying, "When you're right, you're right. It's a substance called 'phaze', one of the most revolutionary chemicals ever created in a lab."
"I do not understand: what exactly is that?" J'onn J'onnz, the Martian Manhunter, asked as he came up beside the Flash.
The red costume clad superhero switched into chemist mode as he explained, "It was designed to be used for medical and military purposes. Army Doctors and Soldiers could inject the substance and pass through many different types of solid matter, including glass, wood, and brick. The scientists haven't licked the ability to phase through metal yet, however. Metals like steel and iron tend to have a more complex molecular structure. In any case, phaze was to be used primarily so that a soldier could pass through an enemy's defenses without detection."
"How is that possible?" Kal El wanted to know.
"The person who injects the substance becomes pliant and able to take on the characteristics of the barrier he or she is trying to break through. The body part of the subject, becomes the glass or the piece of wood once he or she touches it, and therefore is able to pass through it. During that time, anything handled by the subject also takes on the characteristics of the surface; then, once the objective has been achieved, both the person and the object become exactly as they were initially."
"The person uses concentrated brain waves in order to activate the chemical once it reaches the bloodstream?" J'onn J'onzz inquired.
The Flash nodded, saying, "Yes. It works on thought energies, but the telepathic commands must be focused. Any distractions in the mind can cause the chemical to be ineffective."
"And, while they are using it, the person is able to disable electrical systems, like alarms?" Superman asked.
"You got it, Supes," the Flash told him. "I'm just wondering, though: how did Catwoman stumble onto this?"
The Big Blue Boy Scout crossed his arms, saying, "I'm afraid there is only one person who can answer that." He regarded his co-workers and friends, commenting, "For what it's worth, I think she may be innocent of having stolen that chemical."
"Innocent!?" the Flash yelled. "What makes you think that?"
Superman thought a moment before responding, "I don't know. Just a feeling, I suppose."
The Martian Manhunter advised, "Do not let personal feelings interfere with apprehending this woman. She is more than likely guilty of the crime."
"I agree," the Flash said, putting in his two cents. "She may be a looker, but don't go confusing that with what she did. We gotta bring her down before she uses phaze for something worse."
"We won't do anything," the Man of Steel said determinedly. "I'll handle this, and, just for the record, it isn't personal feelings for her that is making me defend her. It's the fact that the break-in at the museum had so many errors that it just doesn't add up in my mind."
Superman went to the teleportation pad and, before he dematerialized, said, "I'll let you know what I find out."
After the Man of Steel disappeared, the Flash said, "Boy! Sure hope Supes isn't getting in over his head."
The green skinned superhero beside him frowned, saying, "I believe that is exactly what will happen."
Both heroes thought about what the Kryptonian was getting into and both worried.
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Wonder Woman stared at the stars from her hotel room in the castle she and Bruce were in. The Caped Crusader had gone back to the case at hand, the bath they had shared forgotten all most as soon as it had begun. Princess Diana of Themyscera thought about her midnight warrior and wondered just as she had when their relationship had begun about the level of his commitment to her. Oh, he enjoyed bathing with her and when pressed, he sometimes invited her to Wayne Manor for dinner or dancing, but he still held an important part of himself back from her.
She knew that being emotional and touchy-feely was not his strong suit, and she also knew that, like most women, she had the foolish hope that if she gave him all the love and encouragement she had to give that he would change. But as her mother Hippolyta had told her, "Gaul wasn't built in a day. Neither are men's affections nor their attractions for a woman."
A knock was heard at her door. Wonder Woman opened it to admit John Stewart, the African American Green Lantern.
"Hey," he greeted. Upon seeing the Princess's pensive mood, the emerald clad superhero asked, "something wrong?"
Diana shook her head, asking, "What are you doing here?"
GL said, "Just bored, I suppose. What are we doing here? We usually come to help people when the goin' gets tough, and they need a little muscle."
Wonder Woman chided, "You know that's not always true. Besides, the technology of Alton Seven has helped us many times before in our struggles for world peace on Earth, and so we are cleaning the slate, I believe the saying is?"
Green Lantern shrugged, saying, "Yeah, that's true, but I'm not a diplomat, or a person that likes sitting around. I wish something would happen; something that we could throw our might into!"
Diana turned back to the window and commented, "I think Bruce feels just as you do. He was frustrated about not finding any clues behind the disappearance of Prince Marton Kishna, I could tell."
When she felt John's hand on her shoulder, Wonder Woman turned back around. "You seem…down, I guess," he said. "Does it have to do with Batman?"
"Is it that obvious?" she asked. John nodded.
"Sure is," he confirmed. "If you want a nickel's worth of advice…"
Diana went to her couch studded with moonbeams against a midnight blue background and said, "I'd even take it free."
"Okay," GL told her, "if I were you, I wouldn't try to figure out the Batman. I've known him longer than you have, and he's a man who is totally closed off. You try breaking the ice around his heart; you'll find that the more you chip away, the bigger glaciers you'll get."
Diana turned slightly annoyed, slightly hurt eyes on her friend and colleague. Deep down, she knew that John was right, but the Warrior Princess in her was just not willing to accept his words without trying to fight for whatever she and Bruce shared.
"So you're saying that I should end things with him and just cut him off?" she almost snapped.
"I'm saying that if you want to have any kind of relationship with him, know what you're getting into. Know that it's gonna be intense and full steam ahead, or it's gonna be over. There is no in between, which is what I think you really want," he responded.
"And you should know, having been with Shayera," Diana said about another of their colleagues, the Hawkgirl.
She felt instantly guilty for criticizing John about the alien woman, especially since although on some level the Princess was right, her jibe came from jealousy over the happy relationship John and Shayera had now and not from any well-intended advice.
John hid his hurt behind the stoic face which, after years of military training, gave him an anchor to use in many an emotional storm. "Look," he said, going to the door, "I'm just tryin' to be a friend here. But if you don't want any advice, just say so. If you want freezer burn dealing with the Batman, be my guest. But I really think you're not ready for that."
Before John closed the door behind him, Diana said softly, "John?"
GL turned back. "Yeah?" he asked.
"Thanks," she said sincerely. "I know that you are only trying to help by putting whatever Bruce and I have into the proper perspective."
The ebony colored Lantern smiled and left Diana to her own thoughts. She went to the window and looked upward into the heavens again.
Bruce probably knows exactly where we're headed in our relationship, she mentally told herself. I wish I did.
Wonder Woman removed her bracelets and her uniform and got herself ready for bed.
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In his room, Bruce was still looking at the photos and scant clues spread out on the table. Diana's beautiful face intruded in his thoughts. He rose from the table and forced himself to the business at hand, but try though he might, he couldn't stop thinking about where their lives were headed.
As he tried yet again to focus on the dossiers of the royal family and friends of the Prince, another woman's face touched his mind. Selena Kyle's green eyes and lower, intensely sexy voice encroached upon his thoughts. Bruce wondered what she was doing thousands of miles away on Earth. He also wondered if she missed him.
Stop thinking about them! The Dark Knight commanded himself.
Realizing he wouldn't get any peace just being in the empty room he occupied, the Batman let his grappling hook fly. As it fired out the massive window and its claw grabbed a gargoyle statue on the side of a nearby building, he swung out into the night in the direction of the royal palace.
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The cell doors opened at Metropolis's Thirty Seventh precinct and the prisoner who had only been there for a very short time exited. She didn't know why she couldn't have used the chemical she had gone through so much time and trouble to acquire, but her Albanian cohort told her to use it sparingly.
No matter, she told herself. Once they get a search warrant, the police will locate the clues planted in her apartment, and then, I shall have my revenge.
The woman went into the bathroom and changed into some regular clothes. She then headed for a non descript car outside of the police station and went to her friend's apartment, laughing and smiling all the way.
