At the end of the last chapter, I mentioned that it was the end of the "Batman" section. Well, this is the beginning of the larger "Justice League" section of the story. :)
It all starts with a couple of familiar faces making a late night visit to Lexcorp ...
Enjoy, and please review! :)
The Visit to Lexcorp
It was no secret that Lex Luthor hated Superman. In fact, he had often tried to use his influence in the city of Metropolis as founder of Lexcorp to turn the populace against him. There were rumours that he also was willing to work with such dangerous villains as alien computer Brainiac and the psychopathic clown Joker to take down Superman.
In his quest to ruin and kill Superman and his Justice League, he had faked a presidential campaign, stolen technology from the government and even resurrected the evil God of Apokolips, Darkseid. Naturally, as all of these events came to light, Luthor's popularity rapidly declined, as did that of his prized company.
However, things changed when Luthor apparently made the ultimate sacrifice to destroy Darkseid once and for all. During Darkseid's second invasion of Earth, he and Luthor suddenly vanished in an explosion of bright light, and neither had resurfaced since. Luthor was hailed a hero, and his company stayed in business in his memory, under the watchful eye of his ex-bodyguard, Mercy Graves.
On the same night of Batman's capture, Lexcorp HQ was closed for the night, with security being the only personnel in the building. Amongst them were Arnold, 67, who had worked for the company for 8 years, Darryl, 48, who had worked for 5, and Leonard, 22, who was just beginning his first shift.
"So, Leonard, how you finding it so far?" asked Arnold, a large man with greying hair.
"Uh, OK, I guess," replied Leonard, a thin boy with acne, "Pretty quiet."
"Hey, get used to it, kid," chuckled Darryl, a large black man, "Since Luthor disappeared, nothing exciting ever happens around here any more."
"Hey, do me a favour, will ya?" asked Arnold, "Go into the back room, and get those cookies I've been saving?"
"Uh, sure, OK."
As Leonard walked through, the others heard a small tapping noise. They looked up at the entrance, and saw a woman in a trench-coat, wearing a beret and sunglasses which hid her face.
"Sorry, miss, we're closed!" yelled Darryl.
"Please … I need your help," called the woman, "There's been an accident, and I need to use a phone!"
At once, Darryl rose to his feet and walked towards the door.
"Woah, woah, woah!" yelled Arnold, "What are you doin'? You can't just open the door to some random stranger!"
"Oh come on, the lady says she needs help," said Darryl, "What's the worst that could happen?"
Arnold was just about to answer, but Darryl had already found the key on his keyring and was unlocking the door.
"Come through, sweetheart," he said softly.
"Thanks sir," said the woman, "Let me repay your kindness with a little gift …"
"Oh, that's not really … ARGH!"
Darryl winced as the woman stabbed him in the shoulder with a syringe.
"Hey! What did you do?"
"Oh, lighten up, pops!" called the woman, taking off the beret and sunglasses, "Just tryin' to spread a few laughs!"
Arnold gasped as he looked at the woman. He recognised the white face, black eye mask and red and black harlequin jester's hat.
"You …!"
At the same time, he heard Darryl burst into laughter. Arnold turned, and as he feared, he saw Darryl's face turn pale, and his mouth grow into a large sinister grin.
"Hey, Gramps! Catch!"
Harley Quinn threw a bean bag towards him, and Arnold stepped back in fright as it landed, exploding in a cloud of dust. For a few moments, Harley and Arnold stood in silence, and then …
"Heh … heh ha ha … ha ha ha HA HA … HAH HA HA HA HA HA!"
Just like Darryl, Arnold's face changed drastically as he keeled over from laughter. Harley grinned as he looked at both her victims.
"OK, boys, coast's clear!"
At her words, two large men in coats entered the building.. Behind them walked a third man, thinner in a purple coat with matching hat.
"All done … Mistah J!"
The man in purple chuckled as he removed his hat. His green hair was a startling contrast to his pale white face. This also exaggerated his wide grin, with its bright red lips and yellowing teeth.
"Nice work, Harley," said Joker, Harley grinning widely.
"And now, on to business," he continued, pacing up the hall, apparently deep in thought.
"So … if I was Lex Luthor, and I had a stash of hi-tech weaponry, where exactly would I keep it? Any thoughts, Harley?"
"Uhm … maybe … his office?" she suggested.
"Hmm … that would be a convenient place, and old Lexy was always a brainy box. He could easily have developed some kind of storage facility … good thinking, Harl!"
Suddenly, there was a loud crash from the back room. Joker looked at his henchmen, and nodded silently, prompting the two to go investigate. Moments passed, then …
"Let me GO!"
The two henchmen left the back room, each holding Leonard by an arm as they guided him towards Joker. They passed Arnold and Darryl, and Leonard gasped as he saw the large grins on their pale faces, and heard their shallow breathing.
He was dropped to his knees before Joker, and he looked up in terror at the clown's face.
"Stand up."
Like most people, Leonard knew all about Joker, and what he was capable of. Therefore, he had no intention of disobeying any orders from him, and he immediately rose to his feet.
"Now then …" said Joker, peering at Leonard's name badge, "Leonard … can I call ya Lenny?"
Leonard nodded slightly, his eyes full of fear.
"Great!" said Joker joyfully, putting his arm around Leonard's shoulders, "So, Lenny, here's the situation: you see, my friends and I are on a little expedition to recover some items that Luthor left behind when he …"
Joker sniffed, frowning as he shook his head.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Lenny boy, I always get emotional when I think about Ol' Baldy," he said sadly, "We may have had our differences in the past, but I like to think that we had a kind of friendly rivalry thing going on. How I miss that …"
He sighed deeply, his eyes closed for a few moments.
"Anyway …!" he suddenly yelled, full of glee again, "I've heard that he had some powerful pieces of weaponry stored somewhere in this building for emergencies, and we would like to … commandeer them."
Just then, he clicked his fingers, gasping excitedly.
"Ooh, I've just had a thought - why don't you join us, Lenny?"
Leonard stared at Joker as he saw him for what he was - a complete madman.
"Oh no, no, I …"
"Oh, come now, Lenny," said Joker, "If we weren't here, you would be sitting on your backside all night, bored out of your skull. This will be FAR more exciting!"
"But … but I couldn't possibly …"
"Oh, please, Lenny … I insist …"
Despite having seen his workmates being turned insane by Joker toxin, and being manhandled by his henchmen, it was the sinister tone in which Joker had just spoken that scared Leonard the most.
"Uh … o-ok …"
"Good man!" said Joker gleefully, slapping him on the back, "Now, everyone! To Le … uh, I mean … Mercy's office!"
The group marched along the corridor, Harley in front. Joker followed, with Leonard and the henchmen at the back.
They burst through the doors of the main office. Joker whistled as he saw the refurbished office, with large windows boasting the city of Metropolis (each separated by a wooden panel), leather furniture and rich carpets on the floor. There were also several bookcases sunk into the walls near the door.
"Well, well, business must be booming …"
He and Harley walked across the large office to the varnished wood desk. Joker picked up the nameplate on it, which read Miss Mercy Graves.
"Ah, good old Mercy …" said Joker, "You remember her, don't you, Harley?"
"Yeah … me and Mercy were best buds …" said Harley, "I remember we used to have our thing: I'd knock her out, we'd have a catfight, I'd gaffer tape her to a gigantic robot of doom …"
"Ah, fond memories …" sighed Joker, as he and Harley smiled, their eyes closed in apparent reminiscence.
Meanwhile, Leonard stood nervously beside the henchmen, who were guarding the open doorway. It was taking every fibre of restrain he had not to run for it, as he knew that if he tried, he would either be knocked to the ground or injected with Joker toxin.
"Anyway, enough nostalgia," said Joker, "time to get to business. Harley, you keep our young guest company while the boys and I search the office."
"Sure thing, Mistah J!"
She made her way over to Leonard, as the henchmen began to search the many bookcases for their target.
"Now, Lenny boy," said Harley, as Leonard stared at her in fear, "you seem like a nice guy. I know you wouldn't dream of ditching a date with a catch like me … 'cos you see, my puddin' is awful protective of me, and if someone breaks my heart … he breaks something of theirs."
Leonard smiled nervously, sweat dripping down his face.
Meanwhile, the others had been unable to find anything. They had searched every bookcase, combed every inch of the floor … even searched the furniture for any secret compartments.
"No luck, boss," called one of the henchmen.
"Hmm …"
Joker looked around the room, wondering if he had missed anything. His eyes landed upon Mercy's desk.
"Maybe …"
He made his way over, and looked over the desk. He scanned the top, checked whatever drawers he could open, and then searched underneath. It was there that he found two large red buttons, one of which read PANIC and the other was blank.
"Ah-ha!"
He pushed the blank red button. Suddenly, everyone heard a rumbling and watched in surprise as the bookcases and wooden panels flipped over, to reveal glass panels, full of hi-tech weaponry and gadgets.
"My friends …" exclaimed a joyful Joker, "I do believe we've hit the JACKPOT! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!
He walked over to the nearest panel, and picked up a large gun.
"Hmm … apparently this is a Kryptonite gun …" said Joker, reading the side, "This could come in handy …"
He then looked up to see that no-one had moved.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Christmas? Get collecting!"
The henchmen began to raid the glass panels of all they could. Joker was amazed by the vast variety of prizes available
"Flamethrowers, lasers, explosives … even electric wires! Lexy, I am impressed …"
As they continued to raid the panels, Joker noticed that one of them had what appeared to be a drawer. Naturally curious, he pushed on it, and it slid open to reveal a large folder.
"Hmm …"
He took it out and read the cover.
"Project Tundra …"
He opened the folder and studied the blueprints inside. The more he read, the wider his grin grew.
"What is it, Mistah J?" asked Harley.
"Our secret weapon, Harley, my dear," replied Joker, taking out a key card.
"Everyone, drop everything!"
The henchmen were confused.
"What? But, boss …"
"We can come back for all of this," said Joker, "According to this file, there's an extra special prize in the basement."
"Ooh, what is it, Mistah J? What, what, what?"
"Oh ho ho, patience, my dear," said Joker, "All will be revealed soon enough. Now, to the basement, everyone! That includes you, Lenny!"
"A-are you sure?" stammered Leonard, as Joker approached him, " 'Cos I w-wouldn't want to get in the way …"
"Oh, not at all, my dear boy," said Joker, slapping him playfully on the cheek, "This is going to be the best part of the night! Can't have you missing out, can we?"
Leonard's voice shook as he sighed, defeated. With Harley by his side, he followed the group out of the office.
A few minutes later, the group had made their way down to the basement. It was cold and deserted, with a number of crates scattered throughout the large area.
"OK, boys, search!" called Joker, "We're looking for a card slot."
He followed his henchmen as they began to move around boxes in their search.
"Hey, you feeling OK, kid?" Harley asked Leonard, "You seem a little shook up."
"M-me?" said Leonard, "N-no, I'm f-fine, j-just fine."
"Ah, I knew you were a wild man!" said Harley, slapping him hard on the back, which made Leonard stumble.
"Oww …" he muttered.
"Boss! Over here!"
One of the henchmen had found the card slot, sunken into the right-hand corner of the back wall.
"Excellent work!" grinned Joker, as he pulled the card out of his pocket. He swiped it through the slot.
Instantly, the ground began to rumble slightly. A section of the back wall was beginning to rise, and the group could see a large metallic door slowly appear behind it.
As the rumbling stopped, Joker rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
"Come over, Lenny!" he yelled, "I know you'll not want to miss this!"
With Harley behind him, Leonard reluctantly joined the others as Joker turned the handle on the door.
A burst of ice-cold air greeted them as it was opened. Joker stepped forward to peer at what was inside.
"Ooh ho ho he hee! Lenny, come on! Come here!"
Harley pushed Lenny forward, and he groaned as Joker wrapped his arm around his shoulders.
"Look at that!" said Joker, motioning towards the door, "Isn't that just beautiful?"
Leonard slowly walked towards the door. He looked inside, and gasped loudly.
"No …"
"Oh yes! Oh, the guys back in Gotham are gonna love this! Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh …. HA HA HA HAH HA HA HA HA HA!"
