Chapter Nine
The younger Batman's head swiveled in all directions when the simulation ended abruptly. All around him holographic grids began to flicker and fade, and the labyrinths of Arkham slowly vanished, replaced with damp stone floors and iron support walls.
Whatever had gone wrong with the time suit must have been catastrophic, and McGinnis knew he was now in for the fight of his life, teamed with men and women three times his age, facing the most powerful heroes on the planet, and outnumbered to boot.
But with a little over half of the massive cavern still shrouded in darkness, and Dinah, Oliver, and Crock still hidden on the scaffolding above, firing powerful albeit antiquated weapons, maybe they still had a chance, a small one, but still a chance, but when Wayne, Palmer and Holt suddenly appeared from the darkness, marched from the shadows into the light like prisoners of war, that hope quickly faded.
"Aw shit," he sighed.
Distracted by their sudden appearance, Batman never saw the Warhawk descending from on high, slamming into him and viciously, driving him straight into the stone floor.
"Stay down kid. Don't make this worse."
Batman sat up slowly, his right hand grabbing at the side of his head, wincing in pain. "Good to see you Rex," he said sarcastically, his fingers reaching inside the back of his cowl searching for the dampness of blood.
"You too McGinnis," Stewart replied regretfully. "You know I wish it didn't have to go down like this."
"Yeah, me too," Terry sighed, still working past the spots in his vision.
Micron marched the trio to the well-lit center of the room, shoving Wayne and the others into the light, as Wonder Woman walked over to meet them there. She eyed Palmer and Holt coldly, but her real venom was directed solely at Wayne.
The two former lovers stood silently in front of the other, Diana struggling to conceal her anger, Bruce as always impassive.
"I don't know what you were hoping to accomplish, but you're little rebellion here is over."
"So it appears," Wayne replied spiritless.
"Don't expect an ounce of leniency. Each one of you will spend the rest of your days rotting in a cell until you finally pass away, you're golden years wasted, all because of this man."
"I am aware."
With Wayne's aloofness grating on her last nerve, she snapped at the Dark Knight. "Why are you here? What was your plan?"
Bruce dismissed the inquiry. "If you're going to arrest us Princess, let's get it over with."
"That wasn't my question."
From his perch on high, cloaked in shadow, Lawrence Crock looked down on the scene in disgust. Across the cavern from him, Green Arrow had already ceased his attack, accepting defeat, giving up without a fight.
"Fucking amateurs," he cursed to himself.
Wayne and the others, they'd had their chance, he thought to himself. The alien and the fish girl where were as good as dead, the boy scout couldn't have taken many more shots from that Red Sun cannon. If Wayne had really wanted his cockamamie bullshit plan to work, they would have finished the job when they had the chance. It's not like they all weren't dead already.
But if West didn't end up killing himself, there was still a chance; and even if the rest of those pussies weren't willing to pull the trigger, he was. Like an old friend once told him…
Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I'm an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It's fair!
Crock pulled out his javelin, silently locking it into place, activating the small thermal charge at the edge of the tip. Even at his advanced age, he was still a dead shot, and with Wonder Woman's back to him, so preoccupied with Wayne, she'd never see it coming.
He counted down to himself. Three…two…one…and let it fly. The spear flew swift and true, and even if she reacted in time, the explosive would take her down anyway, along with anyone else standing close by, friend or foe. Collateral damage, the price of war.
The javelin impacted, a blinding blast and deafening explosion rocked the cave, dust and debris shaking loose from the cavern ceiling, but when the dust settled, all he could see was the crest of a black and white S, the Man of Steel standing unharmed, and failure.
Seconds later, an emerald beam of concentrated energy shot forth, slicing into the scaffolding and sending the three plummeting to ground. At the last possible moment, Green Lantern formed a makeshift cushion to break their fall, thick enough to save their lives, but thin enough that they'd feel the full brunt of the impact, jarring both breath and bones.
Clark walked over to them, shaking his head in pity. "What a waste."
He turned back to Bruce, still not nearly at full strength, but more than enough for the job at hand. "Let's try this again. What are you all doing here?"
Bruce stood firm, standing across from him with an unreadable expression across his face. "There's no point in discussing it. You stopped listening to me a long time ago."
"I could say the same thing to you. When we needed you the most, you took your toys and went home like a petulant child, all because you didn't get your way."
"Your mind was made up long before I left. No one gave you the right…."
"We gave ourselves the right!" Superman demanded, losing his composure, "How many more have to die Bruce before you see the old ways just don't work! We made the call, and it was the right one. Is there a cost? Of course there is, but the end more than justifies the means. My only regret is that we didn't see it sooner!"
"Spoken like a true Justice Lord." Wayne replied coldly.
Clark took a deep breath, calming himself. There was no point talking to this man anymore. Wayne and the others had made their choice, now it was time to pay the price.
"Interesting," Green Lantern interrupted, drawing everyone's attention for the moment as he walked towards the reinforced support wall, boulders and debris weighing heavily against it. Kai Ro stared curiously at the structure, glancing down at the ring's readings and looking back to the iron support system. That's when he finally noticed it; a tiny flicker, barely noticeable from a distance, almost imperceivable unless you were standing right next to it.
He closed one eye, lifting his arm and grasping his ring hand with the other, lining up his shot. A thin burst of energy shot forth slicing through the hologram and destroying the final emitter, exposing what lay behind it.
"What the hell is that?" Warhawk asked, walking over next to the Tibetan teen.
"I do not know," Lantern replied curiously, sending a mental command to the ring when suddenly the form of a large emerald magnifying glass appeared, complex sensor readings appearing on the surface of the lens.
"This device seems to be the source of the Tachyon radiation the Watchtower sensor's detected. It appears to be a modified Zeta Tube, one not networked with any of our systems."
Wonder Woman walked over to the device, stopping just short of the machine that rested in front of it. "Is that a…treadmill?"
Lantern ignored the query, focusing instead on the readings he was receiving and the machinery the Zeta Tube was wired into. The magnifying glass disappeared, replaced with a large holographic monitor, with more sophisticated designs and schematics appearing on the green screen.
"Oh my!" Kai Ro replied distressed.
"What is it?" Superman demanded.
"I believe what we are seeing is an Einstein-Rosen Bridge; a device that could theoretically create a wormhole, connecting two separate points in space-time."
"Excuse me?" Warhawk interrupted, placing his mace down and walking over to the device for a closer look.
"A time portal," Kai Ro clarified glancing back at his confused teammate, "Time travel," he said simply. "Fascinanting."
Diana looked back at Bruce, mouth agape. "Hera, what you have done?"
"I do not believe the device is active, "Lantern added. "I would be detecting at least 37 billion Bq disintegrations per second of quantum flux; this unit is barely releasing a million."
Superman turned back to Wayne in shock. "Time travel? Are you insane? Do you have any idea the damage you could do? The harm you could cause?"
As soon as the words left his mouth Clark stopped, finally realizing the Dark Knight's intention. "That was your plan all along."
"And they say I'm the detective," Wayne smirked.
"I take it back Bruce, you're not insane, you're a psychopath. The only thing you're lacking is clown makeup."
Wayne's eyes narrowed, but the same bemused expression remained on his face. Perhaps Clark was right he considered, in the end it would be left to history to decide.
"Shut it down Ray!" Wonder Woman growled towards the physicist. Wayne may be the ring leader, but Ray Palmer was the brains.
"I can't," he lied. "There is no off switch; it's on an internal timer. If it remains inactive it will eventually go into sleep mode, but it you try to force a shutdown it could activate and open up a singularly right here inside the cave. I don't think you want to risk that."
Palmer kept his breathing slow, hiding behind veiled eyes. It was a stall, probably the last one they had left before Bruce would be forced to set his final contingency into play; his endgame.
"What's the treadmill for? Aquagirl inquired, examining the device from afar, wary to touch it. "Is to launch something?" she asked curiously.
"An exothermic device of some kind? a bomb perhaps?" Lantern suggested turning to the two scientists, looking at them in utter bewilderment. "You'd destroy the time stream, you'd destroy us all. You were willing to go that far?"
Superman looked over to J'onn, the Martian nodding in acknowledgement, walking over and coming face to face with the two scientists. Ray Palmer and Michael Holt stood anxiously in front of the alien, looking into his cold emotionless eyes as they began glow. The Manhunter began his search, reaching towards their psyche, willing to go as deep as necessary to find the answers he sought, before suddenly stumbling back, placing his hand to his temple in pain.
"There is a psychic interference emanating within the cave, some form of subsonic carrier wave that's disrupting my abilities to concentrate at the needed level."
Clark shook his head and chuckled to himself. "You really did think of everything, didn't you?"
"Just everything you'd think of."
"Perhaps this calls for a different incentive" the Martian said calmly, reaching down and grabbing Crock by the throat and dragging him to the front of the prisoners.
"Dr. Palmer, please tell us how to shut off the device," the Martian asked with an eerie politeness. The two physicists remained silent, worriedly glancing over at Sportsmaster as he dangled in his grasp.
"Don't tell him shit," Crock gasped as J'onn grip tightened.
"I will not ask again."
"Fuck you," Crock laughed, spitting into the alien's face.
After a few moments of silence, J'onn lowered the assassin to the ground, while Holt and Palmer collectively blew out the breath in relief. The Martian looked quizzically at Crock, studying him intently with an unearthly gaze, right before his hands became translucent and forcibly entered into Crock's chest cavity. The assassin's face wrenched in pain, his body seizing while the alien dug deeper, rearranging vital organs that were never supposed to be moved in that fashion.
"Crock!" Ollie screamed, rushing towards them when suddenly Micron's mass began to expand, his body growing five times his normal size, grabbing both Black Canary and the young Batman in his massive grip, squeezing just enough to prevent Dinah from catching a proper breath, or Terry being able to access the Batsuit's weapons.
"I wouldn't do it Arrow." the giant's voice echoed from above, causing Ollie to freeze in his tracks, while Aquagirl rushed over the Martian. "J'onn you're killing him!" she yelled.
"That's enough." Superman demanded, staring down the Martian until he removed his hands and the limp form of Sportsmaster slid on to the floor. Aquagirl rushed to the fallen villain, checking for a pulse.
"He's in cardiac arrest! He's dying!" she exclaimed, looking to her teammates for reaction, support…anything.
Ollie watched on in horror as Crock skin grew pale and his breathing stopped, but before he could do anything he heard the muffled screams of his wife.
"Let her go you son of a bitch!" the archer demanded, as Micron's grip tightened once again.
"Then answer the question," the giant replied.
"I don't fucking know you asshole!" Queen screamed upward, "Do I look like some kind of god damn scientist?!"
With no answers forthcoming, the Martian walked past the uncomfortable glances of Superman and Wonder Woman, finally making his way in front of Mr. Terrific, the elderly African American staring back at him defiantly.
"Dr. Holt please tell us how to shut off the device," he repeated again politely.
"It's Michael. Say it! Don't act like you don't know me." Mr. Terrific swallowed nervously. "You do what you have to do, I know you won't feel a thing; you stopped doing that a long time ago didn't you J'onn?"
For a brief second, Holt's words took the Martian aback, sparking a memory to a time when these two men were close friends, when Mr. Terrific and the Martian Manhunter stood side by side aboard the Watchtower, guiding teams on away missions, playing challenging games of chess, discussing the complexities of the universe. Then those memories went dark, and his blood grew cold.
"I'll ask again. Dr. Holt please tell us how to shut off the device."
Mr. Terrific closed his eyes and prepared himself for the inevitable
xxx
Inside the Medbay, Wally watched the monitor in horror as the Manhunter dropped Lawrence Crock to the ground, the assassin's eyes rolling up into his skull, his arm clutching at his chest.
"My God!" he gasped.
McGinnis had warned him. Life West. When you go into one of their prisons, you never leave. But murder? Is that what they'd come to?
Wally looked over at the two scientists still working diligently on the power coupling of the suit, refusing to give up. He imagined in his mind what would happen when they were finally discovered, when it was their turn in front of the Martian. He wasn't about to let that happen, not to them. The mission was a failure, and trying to fight the League definitely wasn't the answer, he wouldn't stand a chance, but he might still be able to save the doctor's lives; to live to fight another day, but if he was going to do it, he had to do it now.
"Silas Tina, it's over. We gotta move. Once I start running, gravity lessens on objects I'm carrying. I can get both of you to the cave entrance before they have time to react. The Batmobile is parked at the far end of the mountain. Grab the Bertinelli girl, get in it and don't look back. I'll try to save as many of the others as I can…."
"Wally…."
"Dr. Stone, is there any other weapons in here, something I can use as a diversion…"
"Wally!" Tina exclaimed, trying her best to keep her voice down. "We're not going anywhere, we never were."
"What do you mean?"
He turned to Silas to see him nodding. "You weren't the only one with a fail-safe," he said with a sad smile, placing his arm on the speedster's shoulder. "This entire island is lined with Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate. Once Bruce triggers the detonators, it will cause a chain reaction and bring the rest of the mountain down on top of us."
"Why…why didn't he tell me?" Wally asked in despair.
"He was hoping he wouldn't have to, that you'd be long gone before now, but they're here and there's nothing more we can do. Save yourself while you can, because very shortly he'll be taking as many of them down with us as he can."
"But….
Tina took his hand. "We knew the risks when he signed up. We're not going to die in some prison; it'll be on our terms, our choice, but Wally if there's any possible way, try to take Terry with you. This was always going to be our fate; it doesn't have to be his."
Suddenly the room grew bright; and all gathered wheeled around to see the glowing power coupling activating without warning.
"Holy Shit!
"It's working!" McGee gasped.
Before she could answer, Wally's body was a blur, putting on the rest of the armor, waving urgently for the final piece.
"Put it in!" he yelled, as Silas opened the chest plate, placing the power core into the receptor and twisting. They stepped away as the lightning insignia on Wally's chest began to glow brightly. Tina ran to the computer, activating the few remaining senor arrays in the cave.
"The Zeta Tube is still reading active. We can do this, but you need to hurry. Remember just like we talked about. The moment you reach 500 m.p.h. the portal will activate, but you'll have to be at ten times that speed before you can enter the time stream safely."
Silas grabbed the speedster's shoulders. "Wally look at me! When you step foot on that treadmill, a force field will activate and cover that part of the chamber. It's on a separate power grid. It would take them a half hour to even reach the generator to disable it, but when Bruce activates the detonators, you won't have long. When you start running, no matter what you see, do not stop, do not look back. This was always to be a one-way mission, but if you don't make it, it's all for nothing."
"You can do it Wally" Tina added urgently. "You have the power, the speed. You are the fastest man alive."
Wally took a deep breath. "All right," he breathed, "Let's do it."
"You'll need a distraction." Silas stated and before Wally could argue, the elderly scientist was out the door.
xxx
Michael Holt screamed in agony as the Martian's fingers began to penetrate his chest. The others raged and pleaded while Bruce's eyes stared helplessly at the utility closet in the corner of the cave, less than thirty feet away. That's where their salvation lay.
It was supposed to be Crock's job to reach the detonators inside, and the elderly man cursed himself for placing the fate of the mission in anyone's hands but his. He was supposed to be the perfect distraction; and with the League's eyes all focused on their renegade former teammate, Crock could have reached them easily, if his lust for vengeance hadn't gotten the best of him. Wayne had to find a way to reach it, but for someone his age, in his condition, thirty feet might as well be a mile.
Wayne hoped that Wally had the good sense to get himself and the others to safety as quickly as he could. This was always to be their fight, not his.
Before the Martian could probe any deeper, Silas Stone stepped out from the shadows. "Stop!" he demanded. "I'll tell you what you want, but you have to let him go."
Bruce stepped forward, about to try and dissuade the doctor when Diana's fist landed hard in the old man's gut, driving him to the cold stone floor, gasping for breath.
"Don't…say...a…word," she growled.
The Manhunter ignored Stone's plea and continued delving deeper into the helpless hero, when Superman suddenly appeared next to him, gripping the Martian's forearm.
"That's enough J'onn."
The Martian turned, sending the Kryptonian an emotionless glare when the Man of Steel gripped it a bit harder.
"I said… that's enough."
The Martian complied as Clark turned to the elderly physicist.
"Silas," he shook his head sadly, "for the love of God, I thought you were smarter than this. How could you let this madman talk you into something this reckless?"
"He told me…" Silas paused, his eyes beginning to water, "He told me if we stopped you, my son wouldn't have died in vain."
"He played you Silas, he played all of you."
The elderly scientist looked at Wayne in anger nodding. "Yes he did, and I hope he's ready for what's about to happen."
Kneeling on the ground, holding what was most likely a set of broken ribs, the old man smiled, message received.
"Tell us how to shut it down, before anyone else has to get hurt."
To further his point, Micron tightened his grip around Black Canary and Batman, muffled cries of pain barely escaping his massive fingers.
"Please Silas, don't make me ask twice."
Suddenly the cavern began resonate with an odd hum, the sharp scent of ozone filling the air. Superman and the others looked down to see the hair on the arms beginning to tingle and rise.
Then came the lightning
A blinding streak of kinetic energy shot out across the cave, making an impossible stop and turn, picking up the discarded Thangarian weapon and rushing towards his helpless target. Seconds later the cold sparking Nth metal mace made contact with the giant's chin, sending Micron tumbling helplessly into the iron support beams of the cave, his body shifting into normal proportions and unconsciousness, immediately freeing his prisoners.
They room stared in collective shock as his blurred features slowed, quickly coming into clear view; scarlet armor, lighting bolt insignia, sparks of electricity dancing across his skin. Appearing next to the treadmill stood the Flash, the fastest man alive, the last speedster.
"What the hell?" Warhawk cursed.
"The meta-human that appeared in Paris I presume." the Lantern stated succinctly.
Superman raised his hands slowly, trying not to startle the new arrival. "I don't know what lies this man may have told you, but we are not your enemy. You have nothing to be afraid of. This can still end peacefully if you stand down and step away from the device. No one will be hurt, you have my word."
The crimson figure paused, considering the Kryptonian's words for a moment. Slowly he reached up, his fingers finding the locking mechanism and releasing it. The speedster removed the helmet, holding it off to his side as the room stood in stunned silence.
"I don't think I believe you….Clark."
"Hera!' Diana gasped.
"My God….Wally… is that really you?"
"Who?" Rex Stewart asked.
"I believe he is referring to the hero formally known as Kid Flash. The first one if I'm not mistaken" Kai Ro asserted.
Superman continued staring unbelievingly. "How…how did you get here? How is this even possible?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
Wonder Woman slowly came forward, standing next to her fellow teammate. "Wally listen to me carefully. We are not the enemy despite whatever Bruce may have told you. We've had to make certain decisions, difficult decisions to ensure humanity's survival."
"How? By locking up anyone that doesn't fall in line with your brave new world? By not giving criminals or heroes any kind of due process? When was judge, jury and executioner added to the Justice League by-laws?
"You don't understand…."
"Diana I've seen the footage, I've been to Central City, I know about the clone. I know all the mistakes that were made, and I know you feel as guilty about it as Bruce does, but this is not the way, and if the others were still alive they'd tell you the same thing."
"And somehow you think that going back in time is going to fix all that. Do you realize the damage you could do?"
Wally nodded. "Yeah I do, I really do. I've thought about nothing else. But I could save millions of lives too, and I could make sure no one ever ends up living in a world like this."
"We saved this world. We've protected it."
"You rule it Clark. You can call it anything you want, but this is a dictatorship. This is the kind of thing the Justice League fought against. We stand up for those who can't stand up for themselves. Those were your words Clark. So who's standing up for them now?"
"Bruce has poisoned you? He's tricked you into doing his dirty work."
"Dirty work? Like murder? Like what you did to Sportsmaster?"
"He was a criminal!" Superman replied angrily.
"He was a person!" Wally replied in kind. "And what about Mr. Terrific? Was he a criminal too?"
The Amazon shot a heated stare to the Martian standing impassively next to Mr. Terrific as he agonizingly crawled across the cold stone floor away from his assailant.
"This was unfortunate accident, but it's not the way we do things, Let us show you all the good we've done, everything we've accomplished. There's a lot more at stake than you realize." Diana pleaded. "Then you be the judge, don't just go on the word of a madman."
"And end up in one of your prisons. I'll pass."
Superman's jaw tightened, his patience running thin. "Wally come down here and let's end this. You still have a future here, by our side. Don't throw that all away for some antiquated belief. Worlds change, people change. You have to accept that."
"And if I don't?"
The cave grew silent at the question before Superman answered. . "Then you'll suffer the consequences, just like them," Superman replied coldly. "No quarter given. This world doesn't need saving, not anymore. We've seen to that."
That's when Wally finally realized what Bruce had been saying all along. The League wouldn't listen, they couldn't. With every fiber in their being, they believed what they were doing was right. No amount of words would ever change that. To go against them now was suicide, but he'd died once already, and to save not only this world, but his as well, he was ready to do it again.
"I'm sorry guys, I really am."
After a troubled pause Diana looked at the speedster in disgust. "Barry would be ashamed."
Wally took those words to heart for a moment, then looked back to the League and shrugged.
"Maybe so, but I do know this…he wouldn't have been one of you."
And with those words, he was gone in flash.
"There will always be a world to save" he remembered Artemis telling him as he carried her through the streets of Paris upside down, firing wildly at the drones protecting the Reach device, the final time he held her in his arms.
He thought back to that moment, back to her words, and her wisdom fueled his drive.
"You were right about that babe."
The speedster quickly stepped onto the treadmill, briefly testing the flywheel and rollers, feeling the tightness of the belt just as a strange buzzing sound surrounded him. He glanced around to see a shimmering wave of distortion begin to form around the enclave, isolating him and the device from the rest of the chamber.
When he took his fist step the display flashed to life; incline, distance, pace, pulse, and most importantly speed, readouts and outputs that once read zero now increasing exponentially.
And his feet began to blur, and Wally ran….
xxx
Twin beams of crimson thermal energy, shot out from the Kryptonian's eyes, bouncing futilely off the newly formed force field.
How many tricks did this man have? Superman raged, nodding to the Manhunter as J'onn made his way towards the invisible barrier. Once again his body became intangible, his ghostly silhouette placing its hands upon the shimmering boundary, beginning to phase through the force field when he released an unearthly cry, electrical feedback sending him hurdling away from the barrier .
Clark rushed to his side while J'onn's body gyrated wildly across the cold cave floor. Superman turned back to the Dark Knight in fury only to see the elder Wayne's wry smile disappearing behind the blinding burst of a flashbang and the smoke screen that followed.
That image froze in his mind, the smug taunting smile of someone he once consider a brother, a friend. How long had Bruce waited for this moment, how long had he planned, hoped, dreamed of it? His vain arrogance would be his downfall Clark swore to himself.
But before Superman could pursue the macabre ringmaster, he fell to his knees, clawing helplessly at both sides of his skull. The remaining Leaguers rushed to their fallen teammates, Diana's picking up the massive form of Martian, while Kai-Ro scanned the Man of Steel. Adjusting his scan to X-ray, Green Lantern soon found the culprit. Inside Superman's ear canal, a tiny figure pounded away at his vestibular and cochlear nerves, driving the Man of Steel into agony. Ryan Choi swung viciously at the membranes and bones surrounding him, the deafening howls of his host the roadmap to his success.
Ryan hoped Ray and his team where finding cover, because his wouldn't last much longer. As if on cue, a tiny green set of green forceps maneuvered their way through the twists and turns of the Kryptonian's auditory canal, before grasping the tiny scientist by the waist and pulling him free. Lantern formed a small bubble around the miniature hero, removing his air and waiting for him to fall into unconsciousness, when the sonic onslaught began again. Canary's high pitched scream again drove him to the ground, but this time he was more prepared, forming a set of sound dampening headphones around his ears, blocking out some but not all of her attack.
Warhawk wheeled around, looking for his mace to join the fray, only to see it held firmly in the grasp of a figure in black, the red bat adorned on his chest glowing from the sparks of the Nth metal mace.
"Shit!" he growled, closing his eyes, realizing what was coming next.
"Payback's a bitch Rex," Batman smiled, swinging wildly and sending the winged hero, smashing into the force field and bouncing back into his Tibetan teammate.
And all the while, Wally ran
Away from the battle, Aquagirl held the fallen Sportmaster as he took his last breath, distraught that both sides had offered no assistance or cared so little about this man. This was not what she'd signed on for. This was not the League her father had allied himself with all those years ago. If she survived this battle, the Atlantean knew her days with this group were numbered. Surface dwellers were savages, they always had been, and unfortunately that truth was now fitting for her teammates as well.
"J'onn! Are you all right?" the Amazon screamed, trying to jolt him back to conciseness to no avail. Moments later, with a guttural groan the alien sat up slowly, his hands folded in front of him as he willed the pain away.
"I am fine. Assist the others while I will search for the generator that powers the forcefield. Shutting down that device is our top priority. Anything or anyone that gets in our way must be dealt with accordingly. There is no room for compassion Diana. Do you understand now?"
Diana nodded grimly. The Manhunter had been right all along, and she was a fool for not seeing it sooner. Diana quickly glanced across the battlefield, prioritizing her targets, the most important being Black Canary and her assault on Green Lantern. Even with his added defenses, his shields were failing, his concentration waning.
Diana rushed towards her target when an invisible force grabbed her midflight, driving her to the stalagmite covered ceiling. Batman's arm became visible as it wrapped around her neck from behind, trying to position itself against her carotid artery for a choke hold. She'd held back the last time he's touched her, maybe in some kind of misplaced loyalty to the man that had mentored him, but not again. Never again.
Diana grasped that arm as the miniature hydraulics of the Batsuit fought futilely against her savage Amazonian strength. A sickening crack followed and McGinnis cried out, as every thruster at his command tried to pull away from her. Wonder Woman grabbed the top of his head, right between the horn-like projections of his cowl, holding him in place as a vicious blow stuck him squarely, sending him flying more than a hundred feet downwards to the hard stone below. Seconds before impact an oceanic wave erupted and caught his unconscious form, scaling down to slow flowing river and floating him away from the fight to the far side of the cave.
Wonder Woman glared down at the young Atlantean in anger. If they survived this battle, she would impart to her, one way or another, a painful lesson she wished she'd learned decades earlier; loving a Batman was an exercise in weakness and betrayal.
Diana turned back towards her initial target when a small black orb struck from behind, followed by another, and another. On the ground Mt. Terrific willed his T-Spheres to swarm the Amazon, slamming into her from all directions. Holt knew his spheres wouldn't have a chance of bringing her down, but they could still provide enough distraction for Wally to reach the proper velocity…hopefully
And all the while, Wally ran...
From across the cave, Green Arrow watched the mechanical hoard attack Wonder Woman from all sides, and for each one she destroyed, anther took its place. Mr. Terrific's reserves wouldn't hold out much longer. Oliver prayed they wouldn't have to. On the other side of the cavern Superman was still on his knees, trying to recover from the shock and nausea of Choi's attack as well as the lasting effects of the Red Sun Generator.
What Ollie wouldn't do you have that weapon back. They couldn't keep this up for much longer; they were out matched and outgunned. Somehow Bruce had brought the battle down to their level, but everyone involved knew it couldn't last; they were the Justice League for Christ sakes.
Through the shimmering force field, Ollie watched as Wally's body became nothing more than a blur, lightning contrails trailing off of him, the Zeta Tube glowing brighter and brighter. And that's when he caught site of the Manhunter, the Martian's gaze locked solely on to his wife. Green Arrow's eyes searched the cave for Wayne, hoping the old man had one more distraction left in him. After several seconds of searching and prayer, Ollie knew what had to be done.
Time slowed as he reached into his quiver, finding just the right tip to attach to the shaft. In all his years fighting crime, from thieves to batterer's, rapists to robbers, criminal masterminds to cold blooded killers, Oliver Queen had never intentionally taken a life, never even seriously considered it, not until now. There'd always been another way, and just like some cops on the force for thrifty years that had never had to fire their weapon, Ollie hoped he'd caught a break and wouldn't have to either. At this moment he knew differently.
He notched his arrow, aiming and arming it, his target site following the Martian as the alien flew towards the heroine, his heroine. "Don't do it J'onn," he cried as the Manhunter continued on unabated to his wife. Oliver closed his eyes and let the arrow fly.
The projectile was barely a few feet away when the Manhunter caught site of it, changing his density at the last second to allow it to easily pass through him, never noticing the miniature warhead opening up as it passed though his ghostly figure, dispersing a small cloud of smoky particles.
The Martian looked over at the archer in annoyance to see Oliver's hand shake, his eyes water. When the alien turned back towards his wife, Green Arrow pressed the plunger.
"I'm so sorry J'onn," he whispered.
The Martian dropped from the sky, landing heavily of the cold cave floor in agony; flame escaping his eyes, ears, nose and throat, even through the pores of his alien skin as he burned from the inside.
"No!" the chamber shook as Superman deafening screams echoed throughout the cavern. Green Arrow turned sharply to see the Kryptonian's glowing red eyes focused on him. The world slowed as Queen began to notice the smell of burning flesh, his flesh. Then the fury of pain struck as his body was cleaved in two.
Oliver writhed on the ground, his lower torso twitching and jerking across from him, unaware it was no longer part of a whole, while a few yards away the Martian howled in an unearthly cry, burning alive. The cave froze in horror, the battle paused as an unfathomable line was crossed. Diana rushed to the Martian's side grasping his hand helplessly as the alien's body morphed into a myriad of figures, trying futilely to fine a form that could ease his suffering to no avail, while Dinah rested her husband's head in her lap, tears flowing freely down her cheeks, rubbing strands of sweat soaked curls out of his eyes while Oliver alternated between whimpering and laughing. Clark stood aghast; all around was a waking nightmare. In the stunned silence of the moment, in that instant there were no sides, no adversaries, no enemies, only the Justice league, allies friends. Now one lay dying and the other not far behind. The shroud of horrifying nostalgia was suddenly ripped away when the reality of the situation came crashing back. Behind the invisible force field the speedster body glowed brightly and with each step the world as they knew it teetered on the edge of extinction.
Over the years Clark had learned one frustrating unwavering truth about a speedster; there was no amount of reasoning you could use once a Flash's mind was made up, there was no turning back when a decision was made. Superman would have to mourn both enemy and ally later, right know he had to find a way to stop the fastest man alive before the speedster could destroy their present and humanity's future Superman willed his body from the ground, defying gravity and preparing to pierce the shield surrounding the speedster with every ounce of his strength when something caught his cape, ripping him from the sky and back towards his new aggressor. Clarks eyes grew wide as before him stood a seven foot tall, heavily armored ebony behemoth, and even if the twin horns of the helmet and glowing red bat emblem across the chest plate weren't the dead giveaway, the modulated voice that spoke out from it could only belong to one man. "You were right Clark, this does end tonight."
Superman sighed. "It was always going to come down to something like this wasn't it?"
"Yes."
"You know I can't let you do this."
"I know you'll try." Batman replied.
And with those words Superman rushed at him striking first, driving the armor brutally into one of the iron support beams with the force of a locomotive. Behind Batman, reinforced steel supports walls whined upon impact, rocking the cave and shifting the boulders and rubble behind them. Immediately following, an alarm went off within the suit, the external temperature reaching 1200° degrees Fahrenheit and rising. Through optic lenses, Batman saw the Kryptonian's eyes glowing. Once the heat reached 2500°, the armor would begin to melt. Inside the suit fragile skin began to blister and burn.
Thrusters ignited from the back of the suit, dislodging the clunky armor from its iron prison, but seconds after its escape, a brutal over hand blow drove the Dark Knight down again, crushing the escape valves of the thrusters and leaving them inoperative. Superman reached down, grabbing the armored figure by the throat as Wayne's legs dangled helplessly. Slamming him into a new section of the cave repeatedly, trying to render it occupant unconscious.
Across the cave, Terry struggled to stand, his broken arm hanging powerless behind him. The old man was going to die, right here, right now. He had to do something. Bruce Wayne had given him everything: a second chance, a purpose, a new family. He couldn't stand idly by while this man continued to absorb that much punishment, paying for all their sins. He looked to Wally, still moving with all his might, his features literally glowing, but still in the same position, still not yet at the proper speed. Terry began to think it was unreachable.
All I have to do is maintain a constant speed.
And what's that supposed to be?
Let's just say faster than I've gone before….
McGinnis soon began to realize, not fast enough. The cave was still intact, another part of this masterplan that had gone to shit. He stumbled forward, reaching down to his belt to see what weapons he still had left, when Wonder Woman grabbed him and bent his bad arm behind him, yanking him away from the battle. McGinnis cried out in pain, as Diana threw him to the floor between the dying archer and alien. "Don't you think you've done enough!" she screamed.
"Look at them! Look at them!" she demanded. "This is all because of you. You call yourself a hero. You could have stopped Bruce at any time. You could have prevented all this if you'd just had the courage to stand up to him like Dick and Tim and Jason did. They were the other side of the coin, they were his conscious. They righted the ship when he went off course, but all you did was enable him and his insane plans because you were afraid if you didn't he'd take away his toys and wouldn't let you play hero. You're not Batman; you're a fraud wearing a uniform you didn't earn."
Terry grimaced, trying to catch his breath through the agony of his injury. "You're right I could have," he gasped holding his broken arm barely into place. "I could have stopped him. I could have told him how fucking crazy he was to even consider it. Maybe I might have even turned him into you all, but then I think about all the people you've imprisoned, all the friends and family waiting for their turn to die. If you're willing to do that to your oldest friends, what's going to happen to the scared kid who wakes up one day with powers they can't control? Or the one bad choice someone good makes because they don't see a way out. There are no shades of gray with you all anymore, just black and white. This is a world I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy and I'll do anything I can to make sure no one else has to. Even if it means listening to some crazy bitch with a god complex lecture me about what it takes to be a hero while watching her two best friends fight to the death…or this."
Suddenly a batarang extended from his glove and launched from his hand before Diana could stop it, flying tried and true towards its target. The projectile impacted directly in front of the Kryptonian's eyes, releasing its phosphorous package.
A blinding flashbang exploded between the two men, causing Superman to cover his eyes in agony, while computerized optic lenses filtered out the blinding light. Now it was Bruce's' turn,
Batman struck back as the Man of Steel was knocked to the far side of the cave, slamming fiercely into a stone embankment, his armored fist slicing into his Superman's jaw and opening a gaping wound across his cheek. Clark's hand rushed to his face, easing it back away to see the crimson liquid dripping from his palm. Moments later the nausea and panic set in.
Kryptonite.
And all the while, Wally ran. Sensing the time stream calling out to him.
The Dark Knight wrestled the Man of Steel to the ground, his heart racing as Clark crossed his arms, trying to deflect the blows of gauntlets laden with shards of a green meteor, digging deeper into the Kryptonian's skin. More crimson fluid flowed from the Superman's body. Clark reached up through the fray, using what strength he had left, grabbing at the armored helmet, tearing it away to see the man inside. If he was going to die tonight, Bruce Wayne would have to look at him in the eyes to do it, but with the helmet discarded what Clark saw was horrifying. There was no trace left of the noble man he'd fought beside, the partner he'd teamed up with to save the world several times over, all he saw was decades of anger, hatred, and resentment. He saw the blood lust and demented smile of a man who had sold his soul for this moment. That's when the battle ended for Superman, He lowered his arms, refusing to fight, refusing to defend himself.
"Fight me you son of a bitch!" Bruce demanded, hearing his own heart beating loudly in his ears, his chest aching, his breath shortening, but Clark refused.
"I'm done fighting you," Clark rasped, spitting globs of blood from crushed ribs. "It seems that's all we've ever done.
"Shut up and fight!" the old man snarled, striking over and over, traces of tears forming in the corner of his eyes.
"You're going to destroy this world, and all those innocent people you swore to protect." Superman coughed, blood oozing from his lips. "That's your legacy Bruce, that's what you'll take to your grave."
"That fine, but I'm taking you with me."
xxx
Outside the cave, seismic tremors shook what was left of the mountain with every blow. Towers of boulders and stones began to fall, small trails of avalanches rushing towards the beach, while larger boulders broke away from their foundations and tumbled downward. At the bottom of the trail head, a large stone rested on top of the lifeless body of Helena Bertinelli, her bloody leg extended out from underneath. Next to her black combat boot lay a small metallic box, a red light blinking on its outer casing. When the next tremor struck, a boulder as large as a tractor dislodged from on high, rushing to escape its stoney confines. It rolled down the cliff-side, flattening everything in its path, including the small metal box on its trek. Seconds later it was obliterated behind a blinding glow, and Mt. Justice began to die.
xxx
The ceiling began to collapse as the series of explosives began their chain reaction. Green Lantern rushed to the dying heroes, forming a barrier above then when iron support beams began to give way. Aquagirl screamed a warning as a bedrock slab collapsed above, burying Warhawk in its fury. Mareena and Terry rushed to his side, trying to shift the large boulders off of him to no avail when suddenly another slab collapsed. Kai-Ro growled as he extended his shields farther, trying to protect the two while they frantically drug through the rubble trying to reach Rex Stewart. The Tibetan attempted to clear his mind and center his breathing, blocking out all unneeded emotions, but when he turned Green Arrow and Black Canary were gone as well. Moments later so was his shield. Terry reached over and held Mareena in his arms as their world began to end.
Despite the carnage, Batman remained unabated, frenzied even as he placed both hands around Superman's throat squeezing with all his might. As long as there was life left in Clark Kent's body, he would not stop. There was no more keen intellect, no more conscious thought, just rage, pure unbridled hate. Revenge for every person he could not save, no matter who the cause.
Superman's eyes began to haze under Batman's grip, his skin turning an ashy grey from the exposure to the Kryptonite. Sudden panic raced through Bruce's body, but yet he still did not stop. The task wasn't complete yet. He barely heard her words, as she wrapped a powerful arm around his neck from behind.
"Don't make me do this Bruce." Diana pleaded, but her words fell on deaf hears, she knew they would. There was no more Bruce Wayne left in him, only Batman.
With a sharp twist, tears running down her cheeks, she broke his neck.
Wally pushed harder when the treadmill began to shake. Above him sand and stone collapsed down upon the shimmering barrier, the force field sparking and straining under the massive weight. He looked back and time began to slow. All around him was death and destruction. New and old friends, mentors and teammates, all in the final moments of their lives.
He watched helplessly as Green Lantern's last ounce of will escaped and the bodies he so bravely protected were crushed. He looked to Terry McGinnis holding Aquagirl in his arms, disappearing behind a shower of fallen earth. He saw the lifeless body of Lawrence Crock shaking with each wave of rock landed all around him, but when he caught Wonder Woman's eyes, time actually stopped.
It was if his spirit had left his body when he glanced into her piercing blue eyes. So much pain, so much sorrow and regret. She held the lifeless body of Bruce Wayne in one arm, and shielding the dying one of Clark Kent with the other.
She stared at Wally, not so much at him as through him. Watching the hypnotic glimmer of the Zeta Tube in the background, imagining what lay behind it. The days of the Justice League were at an end, and with their absence, in time the world would revert back to the way it was, and perhaps that wasn't a bad thing. It harkened back memories of when they were humanity's guardians, not their rulers. When people looked up to the sky in hope, not fear.
She wasn't afraid of death, to be hero you had to put that fear to rest for the greater good. What she feared was a world that she could not protect, she could not cherish. There would always be powerful forces both on Earth and beyond, silently waiting for their chance to strike. Without people willing to stand up, what chance did any of them really have?
Perhaps Bruce was right; they had lost their way, but there was more than enough blame to go around, not that it mattered now. But humanity still had a flicker of hope, and it rested at the feet of someone who'd died once already to save it. It would fall on him to do it again.
Through the deafening explosions, crumbling earth, and the tears in her eyes, she whispered one final word with her last breath. She looked to Wally West and simply said. "Run."
Wally tuned back towards the portal with new found strength, what little speed he'd lost observing their final moment he gained back as reserves of energy he never knew he had sprang to life. He watched the odometer closely, seeing his speed rise by the second. Above him, the force field was about to give way, but he kept going. He dug deep, cursing every word that came to mind as his chest ached and his legs screamed. The Zeta Tube in front of him now burned brightly, as a new universe formed on the other side, almost within reach. He closed his eyes and willed himself to that final gear. Suddenly the odometer began to blink and sirens blared. A nanosecond later the treadmill shut down and the belt locked, propelling the speedster into the void.
For the second time in his life Wally West ceased, falling down the rabbit hole, hoping Alice was waiting for him on the other side.
xxx
Author's Notes - First off congrats to all YJ fans out there. We did it, and places like these and the stories that have been told are a big reason why.
I hope I conveyed that the Justice League are not the bad guys here, that their ideology differs from Batman, but ultimately they still have the same goal, to protect the world and keep it safe, but after decades of disagreements they all knew there would be no compromise. In the end all of them have become heroes and villains at the same time. Now to see how Wally can fix it. Things are about to get...strange.
I'll be going back through and searching for typos along the way, and if you're digging the story, stop and drop me a comment or review. Motivating and appreciated. Hope you enjoy.