Author's Note: Okay, I delayed updating for a little bit because I actually wanted to update on Auguest 16th (today) because it's my birthday! Woo! And this chapter is extra special because the very last part of it had probably been my favorite part I've written. Anywho, I hope you all keep reading. I plan to make more Justice League fics, so if you guys keep reading my author's notes, I'll be sure to let you all know when I have oublished another one, though that may not be for a while because I kinda want to wrap up Aftermath before I go charging into another epic story. R & R!


Superman was flying somewhere over Oregon, taking his time as he watched the green landscape from above in the clouds. The wind played with his hair, pushing it back away from his eyes. He inhaled deeply, savoring the feeling of flight once more. Though he didn't like to think about it, Superman wondered briefly how people could stand to not be able to fly. Perhaps it was because not many of them had experienced it first hand, but still. Clark struck his hand out to capture some of the clouds next to him as he flew by, grinning almost childishly as he was felt the familiar surprise of slipping right through, as if expecting to be holding fluffy white clouds in his hands.

"Have you finished up with Supergirl?"

The superhero frowned as Batman's detached voice reached him over the intercom link, snapping him out of his musings. Superman pressed his finger down on the metal earpiece, allowing himself to be heard.

"Yes, and I'm on my way back to Gotham, but geez, Bruce, Oregon is just beautiful. Maybe we ought to think of relocating the HQ when this is all said and done," he responded. And then he heard Flash's voice in his ear.

"Don't bother heading back, Supes. We were thinking of going over to your little igloo and training in there. Bats says its top notch," Flash said amiably.

"Wait – am I on a conference call?" Superman asked lamely.

"Yup, and for the record, I've been saying that for years now, but we still had to be in space," Shayera replied curtly, and he could picture her making a face. Superman groaned and did a barrel spin, changing his course northbound.

"How close is everyone to it?" Superman asked, flipping over to his back. White birds flew overhead in a V formation and he couldn't help but soar over toward them. He fell into formation with them, a little glad his teammates couldn't see him being so silly.

"We are all fairly close, Clark – I mean – Superman," J'onn said monotonously.

Superman smiled to himself. He hadn't seen any of the others for about two weeks, except for Bruce occasionally and even that was brief. So far, he'd been too busy, flying all over the place to pay visits to retired heroes and ex-villains. It would be nice to see the rest of them altogether again and just take a break from tracking down old comrades and enemies continuously. After all that had happened, it still seemed so sureal that he was back with the league members again, after all this time. Truthfully, he'd missed them more than he cared to let on, but he had a sneaking feeling that perhaps they all had missed one another more than anyone really cared to admit.

"Okay, Superman out," he said, letting his line go dead. Land slowly took the shape of the blue green ocean that glittered back up at him. He flew down closer to the surface and watched the undulating reflection of himself, amused.

Alright Kent, don't get too cocky, Superman thought as he drew one finger across the mirror image. The other Superman momentarily dissipated but at the rate he was flying, after a second the image returned and was smiling back up at him. Superman soared up higher and picked up his speed, hoping to make it to the fortress faster, suddenly eager to see his friends once more.


"And then, Flash grabs the thug like this," Green Lantern said as he demonstrated, "and asks him if he knows where the nearest bathroom is as he's trying to escape with the jewels."

"True story, I swear," Flash chuckled, holding his hands up while the room was filled with mirth.

The whole team, minus Batman, was laughing and gathered around a table in a room that looked especially normal for being in the middle of the Artic, with wooden furniture and matching flooring. Diana opened a bottle of champagne with a loud pop and began pouring everyone's drinks.

"When was the last time we did this?" Shayera asked, taking a sip of the bubbling drink.

"What? You mean with no vendettas or anything?" Superman asked skeptically, his eye brows raised. "That would be never."

This earned another round of laughter from the group and also more drinks were poured.

"No, I mean when have we ever just sat and talked like this?" she corrected herself, wiping away the small tear that had gathered in her eye from laughing so hard. "We had that conference room on the watchtower, but we hardly talked about anything but work, you know? And I certainly don't remember any champagne."

Flash took a big swig of the alcoholic drink, draining his own glass, and said, "Remember when we turned ourselves in a couple years back? When the government thought that we were the one who fired the watchtower's weapon but it was actually Lex?"

How could they forget?

"The one time Amanda Waller didn't want us dead," said Green Lantern as he shook his head, but another smile broke across his face. "And Flash told the guard that Batman couldn't make it because 'the batmobile lost a wheel and Joker got away'."

The heroes broke into more fits of laughter, giggling and snorting wildly as drinks continued to be poured. The room seemed warm and alive as it was filled by their joy. It was moments like these made having the league suddenly all the more worth-while. Some would think that one of them would feel it as they pulled survivors from burning buildings and stopped galatic threats from destroying their world, but it was truly the small moments, the in-between time that made the team.

"I thought you were supposed to be training." Batman's voice resonated through the room, almost sucking the warmth from the room. Everyone swiveled their heads to see the dark knight standing in the doorway, watching them with a closed expression and his arms crossed impassively. The happy mood suddenly was stifled and the others exchanged looked that mimicked that of a child who'd been caught stealing from the cookie jar.

"We were just…," Diana trailed of as she cast a glance around the room, Flash holding an empty champagne bottle and everyone relaxing with some form of the drink in their hand, "…catching up."

Batman just gave her a look, causing her to turn away from him. Superman sighed and stood up, as if deciding to take the heat from his old friend, instead of everyone else. Meanwhile, Flash resisted the urge to say "This looks like a job for Superman!".

"Bruce, just come and sit down with us, have a drink or two," Superman said, trying to be persuasive. He gestured for Batman to come over, but he didn't move an inch from his spot on the frame. Clark sighed heavily, realizing that their little break was officially over and that there was going to be no convincing his brooding friend otherwise.

"I think perhaps we should start training now," J'onn said, standing up. Everyone quickly followed suit, trailing the Martian over to the simulation center's doors. Superman punched in the codes on the control panel and then walked in with them to the gigantic empty room.

"What'd you set it to?" Lantern asked, stretching his arms behind his head. Shayera twirled her mace in her hand until smashing it back down onto her open palm, forcing it to life with electricity. Flash smirked as he began betting with the Martian how many practice droids he could take out.

"I put in the basic design of the old models we used to use way back when, but these are a bit more revamped," said Superman with a shrug. "They may not be especially tough, but they can pack a punch, so be warned."

Before anyone could say anything else, the simulation began to fill the room, placing them in a field with tall grass at night. It was strange how real the simulation really was, having the moon and stars shinning down on them and having the meadow at their feet. With the new locale, new figures stood in front of them, just the basic robots the League used to use for combat training.

"Kind of a strange place to pick," Wonder Woman remarked as the automatons formed a circle around the seven.

"It's also kind of a big crowd," Superman pointed out. "I mean, there are thirty some odd of these guys."

"We're out numbered," Green Lantern said, rolling his shoulders. The group retreated back into a circle, all with their back to each other so to face the closing ring of androids around them.

"But they are out matched," J'onn said with light humor touching his voice.

"Tell me about it," Flash grinned, rolling his eyes behind his mask. Suddenly, all of the droids opened fire, blasting red colored rays at the faction.

Batman jumped upwards, firing an array bat-a-rangs onto three of the opposing targets while the rest of the heroes on the ground scattered. Wonder Woman deflected a few blasts with her silver bracelets, forcing it back at her assailants. Meanwhile, J'onn phased his arms through two of the machines, taking with him their main power cores before moving on to new droids.

Superman toppled over as a large group of robots jumped on top of him in an attempt to pin him down. The weight on the man of steel's shoulders disappeared with a powerful swipe from Shayera's mace. He smiled up gratefully at the winged woman as she landed next to him and helped him to his feet.

"Thanks," he said cordially, "but duck."

Shayera dropped to her knees just in time as Superman's heat vision sliced one of the robots in half. They hadn't the time to exchange anymore pleasantries and immediately launched themselves back into the fight.

Lantern held a throng of robots away with a green iridescent wall of energy from his ring while behind him, Wonder Woman covered his backside. With her lasso, she caught one of the droids and spun them around, smashing and breaking a large group of them. Green Lantern pushed the wall downward, crushing the rest of the droids into the lush earth.

"Missed me," Flash said, zipping behind a robot who was still staring dumbly at the place he had occupied before. His fist began to vibrate as he smashed through the center of the machinery. The droid dropped to his feet and with a blur, Flash had moved on.

Batman roundhouse kicked a few robots, driving them back and he continually threw small explosives at them from his belt. He backed up until he bumped into something hard and turned just in time to see Superman casting a glance over his shoulder as he too checked who he'd run into. The two super heroes got back-to-back, fighting and smashing all the while.

"Batman," Superman said, reaching his hand around to grasp the dark knight's arm. It was a signal that he was used to when the two were taking on a group of villains that had them trapped, like it was now.

"Got it," Batman grunted as Superman yanked him around to in front of him. Batman struck out with his legs, catapulting the heads off of the rest of Superman's assemblage as the man of steel whhipping him around in a flawless arch. As soon as he released his friend, he turned and blasted Batman's remaining set behind them with ease using his heat vision.

Suddenly, a loud blaring alarm interrupted the team, who were having a great time beating the drones back, already dwindling their numbers to nearly nothing. The meadow around them faded square by square back into the white room. Shayera was yanking her mace free of the dissolving metal chest plate of one of the robots as all of the remnants of their battle dissolved as well.

"Aw, I wasn't done yet," Flash complained, crossing his arms over his chest. All that earned was a hard look from Batman.

Superman strode over to the doors and stepped out as they opened on automatic hinges. The rest of the heroes trailed after him, wasting no time. They continued on until they appeared in a larger room of ice that had the giant super computer in it, the screen flickering madly with a red dot and the word "danger" flashing in one corner. The beacon honed in until it showed what looked to be the center of New York City.

"Could it be a false alarm?" Lantern asked, rubbing his chin.

J'onn's orange eyes lit up and for a long moment, everyone was silent, waiting for the Martian's confirmation. His eyes dulled as they stared back at everyone unflinchingly as he said, "There is an attack, lead by the Injustice Syndicate that Batman had warned us about. It is bad, getting worse. We have no time to waste."

"What do we do?" Flash asked. For a long moment, it seemed like no one was going to answer until Diana spoke up.

"We're going to do what we would've always done; we're going to go stop them," she said firmly, her hands balling up into fists. A wry smile crossed the Amazonian's face as she added, "And maybe bash some heads of our old enemies in the process."

Shayera smiled back at the other woman as she said, "Then what are we waiting for?"


Copperhead wheezed out a maniacal laugh as he took in the scene of absolute mayhem in the heart of New York City. People ran for their lives, screaming wildly, while others who were stupid tried to fight off the rampant villains with homemade weapons, like shovels, knives and others guns. A few cars were lit on fire, compliments of Volcana, and most stores had been smashed and looted.

Deadshot was just walking out of a jeweler's shop, his arms filled with golden trinkets and whatnot, but stopped next to Copperhead, seemingly to gloat.

"It's beautiful, ain't it?" the sharp-shooter asked, breaking his gaze from his heap of fortune he was holding long enough to look at the city. "Catch."

Copperhead caught one of the diamond necklaces and nodded gratefully as he hissed, "Thankssss man."

Across the street, Sinestro was toying with a feeble old man by tossing him in the air with a blast from his power ring, and just barely catching him before he splattered across the sidewalk by enveloping him in a surge of power again.

"Why didn't we just do this years ago?" Star Sapphire asked, a few feet away as she robbed some young aristocrat woman. The woman scampered off when the malevolent villainess was done and was now occupying herself with trying on the pearls she just stole.

"Because the Justice League would never let us," Cheetah purred as she approached, dressed ironically in a zebra print fur coat. Sapphire smiled appraisingly at the furry mistress while Sinestro simply rolled his eyes, catching the elder citizen again, making his cry out in fear.

"A rot of good they're doing now, eh?" she giggled, spinning the pearls around her index finger again and again. The jewelry was fake anyway, a knock-off, much to Star Sapphire's disappointment.

"You know why Joker sent us here, though," Sinestro said as he flung the old man once more skyward. "He wants us to draw them out, like putting a carrot in front of a rabbit's hole."

"So do you think that, like the carrot, we'll be eaten?" Cheetah scowled. "Joker would do something like that, but not Lex, and we all know that he's the one behind it all. He may not admit it now, but we are serving him a good purpose."

Sapphire ran her fingers over the silky smooth pearls and said almost meekly, "I don't want to fight the league if I can help it. I'm not stupid, and I know that those good-two-shoes are not about to just let us run this town. We may have strength in numbers, but not long ago, so did they. All I'm saying is that I'm not out here looking to fight."

"Who would want to?" Sinestro sniffed as he caught the old man again and finally set him down, laving the old man to hobble away to safety. "But we have nothing to worry about, think about it. I'm not one for trusting my employer but Lex does have a plan and I trust him to get it done. We're out here to remind these people why they needed the Justice League, and by the time they try and assemble to stop us, it'll already be too late. Lex will have a secure position with the lethal force to back it up with and the rest of us will be relaxing in Tahiti. After being the Lantern Corps prison, I realized that I'd be willing to sacrifice my dream ruling the universe and instead just settle with owning my own island. "

"Yeah, I suppose you are right," Sapphire said. "What I still don't get is who says that anyone from the league will show? You'd think that they would be smart enough not to show their faces again after the trial."

Metalo advanced toward them as he answered for them. "Because they are heroes, and heroes live to save the day. They are the most narcissistic people, especially that idiotic 'Man of Steel'."

Suddenly, a red and blue streak smashed into Metalo, sending him soaring away into the distance and in his place stood Superman. The rest of the League descended behind him, all standing tall.

"Well, well, well," Sinestro chuckled. "What did he tell you? Heroes live to fight the bad guys."

Star Sapphire pressed her hand against her jaw, enabling their communications system and said, "Everyone, it's show time. The boy scout and his pals are here so get your asses down here now."

"Squad B is on the way," replied Shade's detached voice in her ear.

From the end of the street, which was a couple hundred yards away, blackness seemed to resonate and from it, a crowd of all shapes and sizes of villains could be seen. At the head of the mob stood Shade as all the darkness swirled back into his cane. Behind him, standing menacingly was easily thirty to forty super powered and enraged criminals.

Sapphire smiled at the group and made a purple energy field around her and Cheetah as she flew over to them. Sinestro gave a sardonic salute and followed closely behind the rest of retreating villains.

"You picked up some friends," Cheetah observed dryly as she looked at the newcomers.

"We stopped by Arkham Asylum," Shade said as he tipped up his hat. Behind him, Clayface, Poison Ivy, Firefly, and Mr. Freeze all seemed to smile sinisterly.

Superman smashed his tightly clenched fist against his open palm and asked, "So what are you all thinking?"

"I think they don't stand a chance," Shayera said menacingly, cracking her knuckles for emphasis. The crowd beyond them, right on cue, began to charge forward and the seven superheroes ran forward to meet them.

As they clashed, the ground seemed to shake. It was a battle of Titans and the stakes had never been higher. People stopped to duck behind cars and hide in shops, just to watch this battle of epic proportions unfold.

Superman took on Bane, Grundy and Parasite, ducking and smashing as they tried in vain to gang up on him. Parasite lunged to grab hold of the man of steel's forearm but missed and instead began to drain power from Grundy who was opposite him. He pulled back but the damage had been done as the monstrous and pale man fell to the ground, smoke curling up from his back.

A steroidal cocktail began to flow into Bane's system, super-sizing his muscles to grotesquely immense feats. Superman grasped Bane's veined fist which came barreling in at him with both hands and for a moment, the two powerhouses were locked in a struggle of dominance. Ultimately Superman won, smashing his opponent into the gravel and then repeatedly punching until the body underneath him didn't move and then he continued on to the next wave of enemies.

Meanwhile, Shayera dodged a ball of fire thrown from Volcana but turned in time to see a giant block of hardened clay crash into her. She struggled to get back up to her feet but Clayface engulfed her wings with his supple mud hand and then let it harden, picking her up from the ground with it. He pulled her up just enough to where she could see his twisted sneer before he smashed Shayera down on her face and hard. The pavement broke beneath her, cracking in intricate webs.

She barely clung to consciousness as he pounded her repetitively into the concrete. Just as he slammed her down again, the weight disappeared. The winged woman rolled onto her back, her eyes closed for a moment as she just tried to breathe. Shayera felt a cold hand against her cheek and suddenly her eye lids flew open.

Green Lantern's face hovered over her, concern radiating off of every fiber of his being. Shayera sat up and lurched to her feet as she pushed up past him, determined to stand on her own two feet. Without saying another word, they both tore in after another target, pursuing whoever they saw fit.

"Missed me," Flash said as he dodged a blast of energy from Firefly. He tapped the super villain on his shoulder and disappeared again when the enraged man turned around to shoot at him.

"Hold still, you brat," Firefly snapped. Flash smirked and took off again, running around Firefly until finally sopping behind his back again. Just as Flash moved to strike, a hand on his arm restricted him from movement and then something else was resting on his shoulder. Flash twisted to see what or who was holding him but instantly regretted it.

Livewire and Parasite were standing behind him, each holding on to part of him and smiling threateningly.

"He's kind of cute, Rudy," Livewire said with a harsh laugh. She looked him up and down, hesitating particularly on his chest where his emblem was. "But kind of not."

"So we can waste him?" Parasite asked.

Livewire giggled and replied, "Oh, Baby, I love when you get all power drunk, why not?"

Parasite's hold on Flash tightened and suddenly, electricity shot between the two as he absorbed the hero. Flash bit back a scream of agony but could no longer hold it in as Livewire began to pour her energy over him. His muscles convulsed against their will, twisting him into odd and stiff angles. The pain was almost too much for Flash

"Babe, I am so glad that you're living electricity," Parasite flirted as he took more and more power from both of them.

"This is only a taste," Livewire said, amping up the volume as it surged over Flash, who in turn was arching and crying out in pain.

Suddenly, Shayera was on both of them, smashing at them with her mace wildly. Livewire moved to duck one of the enraged woman's swings but wasn't fast enough. Shayera brought the weapon down on the girl's back as hard as she could with a sick snap and on her backswing she clipped Parasite in face, then rounding on him. Shayera flung herself down upon him and drove her weapon deep into his stomach. Flash, behind her, staggered to his feet and before he really could regain his breath took off in a blur of red once more. He just simply didn't have the time to be injured.

Batman jumped away from a beam fired by Mr. Freeze but felt his legs immobilized by some force. He stared down to see thorny green vines spiraling up to his waist and securing him in place.

"Ivy," he snarled, twisting his torso to glare at the scantily clad red head. Poison Ivy smirked at him as she sauntered over in the midst of the heated battle raging all around them.

She walked over to the trapped dark knight and ran a pale green finger across his broad chest, tracing the bat symbol. Ivy opened her mouth as if to say something but was instantly cut off as Batman punched her in the face as hard as he possibly could. Ivy dropped to the ground and the plants pinning him slackened, allowing him to escape and pursue after Mr. Freeze.

Meanwhile, Wonder Woman put up her bracelets to deflect a few shots of energy from Sinestro and bullets from Deadshot. For a moment she faltered but suddenly, J'onn was standing in front of her, taking the shots into his chest unflinchingly as they dropped useless out the other side. His arm shot out, suddenly elongated, and pinned the two onto the street. His form seemed to morph, his body twisting in a strange four-armed serpent no bigger than his usual size yet twice as ferocious. The beast that was the Martian lowered itself down on the two. The thing opened its jaw, exposing cruel fangs and emitted a hypersonic scream, literally driving the trapped villains into the ground with its sheer force.

J'onn stood back up and, morphing back into his humanlike form, turned back to her. Wonder Woman gaped openly at him for she had never seen him with such ferocity. The display was certainly unwonted, to say the least.

"That was…," she searched for the right words but came up short. J'onn held out a hand to help her up to her feet.

"I know it was ruthless, Diana," the Martian conceded almost sheepishly, "but they could have hurt you."

Wonder Woman didn't have the chance to reply, but merely snorted to herself as another cluster of villains swarmed over the two. Before she could attack, they were held back by a ring of green energy and pushed back outward.

The rest of the team assembled together, trying to hold off the villains' ranks together. It was déjà vu as they made their tightly knit circle, preparing for the inevitable rush. Unconscious criminals littered the ground around them, but some still remained standing, just enough to possibly tip the scale. Each of the heroes were in no shape to continue on, all drawing in ragged breaths and nursing open wounds and already-forming bruises and welts.

Suddenly, giant vans and helicopters seemed to assemble from no where, coming out from behind buildings and such until finally encircling the whole crowd. From the industrial vehicles emerged a squad of troopers, each holding some sort of bazooka. From a smaller car emerged Captain Atom. He made a gesture to the troopers who quickly moved into position and began firing at the rest of the standing villains with their strange guns. Nets made from pure energy, not unlike the one that had been used upon the first monster, ensnared the remaining criminals. The soldiers quickly began loading them into the large carrying trucks, moving with such efficiency that the battle field was cleared in nearly a minute.

And then it seemed that the battle was over as quickly as it had begun, now leaving just the battered heroes and a ruined street in New York City.

Superman took a step forward, outstretching his palm for a handshake and said to Captain Atom, "I haven't seen you in ages, Captain. Thanks for the-."

A hand gripped the man of steel's shoulder and clenched down hard, rooting him to the spot. Superman turned slightly to see Batman standing behind him, shaking his head almost imperceptibly no. Superman's smile faltered slightly as his brow crinkled in confusion. The rest of the league moved back defensively, obviously understanding the situation.

"Superman, Batman, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash and the Martian Man-hunter, you are all under arrest for crimes against the United Nations, please come quietly," Captain called out in a cold voice, "or I will have to use lethal force."

"Have you lost your mind?" Superman cried, bewildered. He moved to take another step forward but yet again was held in place by the Batman's obstinate grasp. He shook off the tenacious clutched of his teammate frustratedly, earning only a darker look from his friend and colleague. Tension seemed tangible in the very air as everyone was trying to read their opponent's movement, waiting to either attack or fight off being attacked.

Captain Atom took a few steps forward and outstretched both of his hands, palms beginning to glow an iridescent blue. He still wore the same suit as before when he first joined the Justice League, gray blue and bright red. The uniform mocked them now.

"I'll ask once more," he called out, curling his hands into fists, "give yourselves up." Captain Atom paused and then added only a tad softer so the league members could only hear, "I don't want to have to do this."

"Then don't," Wonder Woman shot back acidly. Instantly, as if shaken from his unwonted hesitation, Captain Atom's expression hardened as he set his jaw in determination. A cerulean plasma beam shot from his fists and hit the ground in front of Superman and suddenly a small dome engulfed them seven heroes. Without warning, electricity surged around them and into them, rendering them nearly paralyzed as the painful voltage coursed over their bodies. Wonder Woman, acting surprisingly fast for the amount of pain she was enduring, unclipped Shayera's mace from her hip and thrust it up high over her head. For a moment, all of the electricity was poured down onto her through the peak of the weapon.

The pain, however, was too great, and Diana knew she was merely fighting the inevitable, holding it off for only a few seconds at best. Her muscles screamed at her to let the weapon drop and blackness slowly began to close in around her field of vision. Diana cast a quick glance around – her team was in no condition to fight and there was no getting out of this one. Finally, they'd truly lost.

The last thing Wonder Woman saw was Batman forcing himself to try and stand before her world spiraled off into dark oblivion.


Amanda Waller walked down the plain steel hallway until she reached its end, which was a giant automatic door guarded by an iris scan and hand imprint reader. The entire place was inescapable, and this time, she wasn't about to take her chances with the League. A man dressed in the classic army green uniform shifted his gun to one side and saluted her.

"Ms. Waller," he said, lifting his chin and straightening his back in attention before standing down. In his face she could read fear and respect, mixed together in an indiscernible slurry. Amanda Waller just nodded to him as she flashed her security badge that hung loosely around her neck with her free hand, as her other hand was holding a large manila envelope and placed her small caramel hand on the reader. Her movements were smooth, practiced, as she had walked down this same corridor many times, yet each time for entirely different reasons.

A mechanic voice responded with, "Hand scan complete. Proceed to eye scan."

Amanda pushed up on her toes slightly so it could read her eye at a level field and yet again the voice droned out.

"Eye scan complete. Identification: Amanda Waller. Welcome back and please have a nice day."

She rolled her eyes as the doors in front of her parted and walked in to maximum defense holding room. On her right side, it was just a plain metal wall, no windows, and on the other side there were lowered rooms all in a line with the dimensions of ten feet by ten. Amanda's heels clicked across the cold ground until she stopped and examined the first cell. The walls of it were slanted down slightly and in the open wall facing her was a field of pure energy to keep its contents in but to allow other items to pass through it on the other side. The invention was revolutionizing prisons, and she had demanded only the very best for her so-called 'honored guests'.

Amanda glanced down at the portfolio she retrieved from the envelope and glanced back up at the man in the cell.

"John Stewart, also known as the Green Lantern of Earth. Served a small time in the marines but then was allowed temporary leave, yet never returned," she read aloud and glanced back up at the man with arched eyebrows from behind her glasses.

He had beautifully brown-reddish skin and passionate shadowy eyes but he still wore the garish uniform of the Lantern Corps, though it was torn in places and stained with flecks of blood. He was chained against the back wall by his wrists and ankles yet had enough slack to sit down but he just stood with his head dipped, leaning against the concrete wall. The ring he had once worn had been confiscated and was now in the possession of Amanda herself, lying in wait within the pocket fuzz of her Armani skirt-suit.

John Stewart lifted his head to simply glare at her and spat, "Am I supposed to be impressed? You did your homework, congratulations."

His face was swollen slightly, obviously from the fight and Atom's energy field, and his lip was split, allowing a fresh drop of blood to trickle down his chin. Amanda smiled, not kindly but rather in a mocking way, and pushed her petite glasses back onto the bridge of her nose before moving on.

The next prisoner in the line of cells was Flash, who was lying on his side, maybe unconscious, on a blue circular platform which indeed was quite an ingenious design in and of itself. It harnessed gravity in a small enough portion just to increase the weight in which Flash felt as to slow him down greatly.

"Wally West, also known as The Flash," Amanda peered down at him. For a moment she just stood there, as if rooted to the spot, and didn't – couldn't – say anything. He was just a kid, yet he was in worse shape than the Green Lantern had been in, sporting even more cuts and a black eye that she could see forming under his mask, which did little good for him now.

Slowly, Flash shifted and rolled over onto his back which seemed to take all the life he had in him. He raised his chin but then let it slam back down without saying a word, not even trying, and letting his eyes slide shut.

With a smirk, Amanda Waller walked down a few yards to the next containment unit. As she stepped in front of this cell, she was instantly bathed in a red light. Superman was crumpled on the bottom of his bare room and over head there was a light washing him out in plain red.

"Superman, also known as Clark Kent," Amanda paused for a moment but hastily continued. "You know, Mr. Kent, that nice lamp harnesses the radiation of a red sun and its compliments of Captain Atom. We designed this cell just for as we reexamined all of your weaknesses again. In fact, Atom suggested the red sun radiation to begin with, said that it would suck the very energy from your bones. I guess he was right then, yes?"

"He wouldn't do that," Superman said hoarsely, not bothering to look up at her, she even doubted that he had the strength to move, especially to breathe. His voice sounded dry, and it seemed as though his strength was just fizzling away under the intense light.

"Oh yes, Mr. Kent, or did you forget? Captain Atom can imitate any type of radiation, even the type that can sedate you," Amanda said simply and then walked on before the man of steel had the chance to reply.

In the cell beyond, the Martian was contained with nothing but a stasis field, which had rendered him utterly powerless. The Martian was hardly in need of any restraints for the beam that was illuminating the entire room blocked any and all forms of telepathy. He seemed to be having a hard time retaining his human like shape and looked more like a real alien at this point, his skull pointed at the top and elongated orange eyes following her every move. She doubted suddenly that he could even understand was she would say to him, so she wasted no time and moved on.

Amanda eyed the winged woman in the next cell with particular interest. Her wings were in metal clamps and her hands were hand-cuffed behind her back. Her people had once attacked Earth, and it was strange to see a Thanagarian so close. Amanda Waller directed her attention back to the paper before her.

"Lieutenant Shayera Hol of the Thanagarian Empire, also known as Hawkgirl," Amanda said. She opened her mouth to continue to read the rest of the woman's profile but was cut off.

"You're wrong, I'm no Lieutenant and I sure as a hell am not Hawkgirl, not anymore, thanks to you," Shayera called out, laughing coldly. She sat up and leaned against the wall, strands of auburn hair falling back into her face in thick strands. Shayera had a long gash running across her cheek that was smothered in dried blood, marring her beauty. Amanda glanced up sharply but didn't say anything else and progressed to the last few holding units.

"Ah, and here we have Batman," she said, staring in at him. The detective was secured to the wall by a bar over his waist and his hands and legs were also pinned against the wall by metal ringlets separately.

"Don't be coy, Amanda," he said in a darkly amused voice. "Why don't you let me go and then I can personally kill you myself."

Amanda Waller began to chuckle and then shook her head as she said, "Don't think I even take you seriously for one second, Batman. I know you don't kill people, even when the Joker begs for it."

Batman didn't respond but his eyes simply narrowed at her from his cowl. She had left the heroes in their costumes for a reason she herself did even know. Amanda could feel his gaze smoldering on her hatefully.

"You should be glad that you're alive," the Vice President hissed, digging her nails into her file of papers. "I told Captain Atom that if you didn't surrender, he was to obliterate you on the spot. He showed you a form of mercy that I do not have the luxury of."

Batman didn't say a word, but just continued to stare at her with such an intent gaze. She tried not to squirm under it, playing herself off as cool, but the silence stretched on, for what seemed to be hours, neither one saying a word, but just trying to read the other.

"I wish it didn't have to be this way, you know," Amanda said, dropping her voice to a whisper. She took a few slow steps toward the energy wall so no one else could hear her. "All I've ever had for you was respect but it's foolish to wish for the feeling to be mutual right?"

Batman stared down at her unflinchingly and asked, "Then why?"

"For my country, for all the people who you could've killed had the Justice League gone rogue. And now I'm doing this to not only uphold the law but also to stop this virus before it can spread."

Batman began to laugh, long and cold before replying. "You stupid little fool."

Amanda's toes curled at his voice which was dripping with menacing hilarity and sarcasm. A long moment passed before he elaborated upon his comment.

"Luthor is using you," Batman explained with soft contempt, his words like silk but laced with poison. "Where do you think the rest of those incarcerated criminals went?"

Amanda glared openly at the dark knight. "They were shipped off to Riker's Maximum Security Prison."

"Bullshit," he said back immediately with the softest of chuckles. She just watched the pinned hero for a brief second too long before moving onto the next cell with a hollow feeling in her chest.

Amanda looked at the last prisoner with mild disinterest, but was self consciously standing there, still feeling Batman's gaze hatefully on her back. In the final cell, Diana was tied to a thick metal pillar. The rope that was holding her secured was her lasso and was nearly indestructible. Amanda looked at the Amazonian and felt her heart get sick. The raven-haired woman had her head hanging limply and few drops of dried blood were on the ground and a few on her knees. It was like watching a stallion being broken and killed, it was appalling.

She flipped the profile folder shut and turned on her stout heels and began to walk away. The clicks of her heels were suddenly in seeming rhythm with her thumping pulse. As Amanda walked to the end of the hall, she felt her cheeks get hot for a reason unknown to herself even. She had to get away, and she suddenly felt all of their eyes on her, looking at her with so much hate. For the first time, in a long time, Amanda Waller felt guilty and like she was truly doing something wrong.

The doors slammed shut behind her fiercely.