They heard the bang, even as they rushed through a hallway of unconscious men. The sound had caused Diana and John to slow their pace as they looked to each other questioningly.

"I think we've found the last bit of resistance here," the Green Lantern said, his green aura brightening as he tightened his ring hand into a fist.

"Then let's bring this to an end," Diana returned before she dashed off to the wide open doors at the end of the hall. She could see the backs of many gunmen, all of whom seemed to be focused on something else in the room they stood in. What a chance for a surprise attack.

Picking up her pace, Diana rushed at them, leaning to a side and bracing her body as she rammed her shoulder into an armed man's back. The blow sent him flying through the air, knocking over two of his comrades and sending all three of them to the floor. This brought everyone's attention onto the Amazon.

That was when multiple green beams of light flew by Diana on all sides, causing her hair to whip around her face as they passed by, each beam forming large boxing gloves at their heads. Three of the men took the punches to their face, snapping their heads backwards they fell to the floor.

Because of this, however, Diana got a good look at what just so happened to captivate the men long enough for the two Leaguers to get the drop on them. A man in black clothes held a gun-shaped weapon in his hand, standing over the limp form of Flash. There was a distinctive red puddle growing from his head, spreading out over the carpet.

The dark-haired woman felt her heart drop into her stomach, her entire body going cold. Her eyes took in every last detail of Flash's body, how his arms laid out on either side of his head, said head turned to a side. There was no tension in his body, no signs of breathing as his back neither expanded or contracted.

No…

It was slow at first. An unbridled fury began to burn inside of the Amazon. First, Batman, now Flash; what more could be taken from her?

Though it had seemed time had stopped for her, it hadn't for the rest of the gunmen. It was to the sound of the first shots being fired that she was sucked out of her head and put right back in the White House's dining room. While she had the reaction time to stop these bullets as they flew at her at point blank range, even she knew that she couldn't stop all of the shots from that range.

Which is why she was fortunate to have a comrade that could at her side. Even as Diana began to raise her arms to ward off the gunfire, another green beam flew by her shoulder before it expanded out to form a green bubble around her. All of this happened in the span of an instant, just before the bullets hit the shield. The sound of machine gunfire rang out, sparks exploding off of the construct. Several seconds went by before each and every man ran out of bullets in their magazine, but once they did, John allowed his shield to disappear.

Immediately, Diana leaped forward, a hand drawn back into a fist. She didn't hold back as she slammed her fist into the first man she came too, immediately, sending him flying head first into one of the dining room windows. The glass shattered as he flew through it, the man disappearing from sight beyond its frame.

Placing all of her weight on her lead foot, the Amazon leaped into the air, spinning her body so that she could lash out with her back leg at the next gunman, her heel colliding with his face and causing his head to snap to a side. She didn't use as much force this time, though her foe did stumble a step to his side, allowing the dark-haired woman to land back on the floor, knees buckling slightly to brace herself. With one arm drawn over her chest, she then swung it across and away, delivering a backhand blow to the armed man and launching him away from her.

She didn't bother watching where he landed, or who he hit; her attention was focused solely on the man responsible for Flash's prone status. This...this was the man that had taken so much from her. He...he would pay for this transgression equal its weight in blood.

The dark-haired man had raised his gun, aiming it right at the Amazon. The moment he pulled the trigger, Diana quickly learned that this was no ordinary gun. A shockingly large shell was fired from the barrel, traveling at speeds that surprised even her. Raising both of her arms up, bracing one arm behind the other, she waited the heartbeat it took for the projectile to it.

She felt the full force of the blow and Diana would've been left breathless had she taken it head-on. Her feet skidded backwards across the floor, tearing up the carpet as her heels dug into it. Her arms literally rammed into her chest, a noticeable jolt of pain shooting down her arm. Wincing, the moment the Amazonian Princess was sure she had her footing back, she lowered her arms down and turned her front one to a side to see what damage had been done. To her astonishment, there was a sizeable dent in her bracer.

That...that was impossible! This bracelet had been forged in Godly fires, tempered by Hephaestus himself. Nothing should have been able to damage them, not like this. While the metal wasn't broken, it had never shown wear such as this.

Because of this, Diana was distracted to her enemy as he raised his gauntlet-covered hand and a blast of dark blue light fired from it. The dark-haired woman caught sight of it at the last moment and moved to get her unblemished bracer up to deflect the beam.

Instead of it bouncing off her bracer though, Diana immediately felt like Atlas had unburdened his load onto her. Immediately, she dropped to one knee, though she did everything she could to keep her arm up. Her head drifted downward, even as she gritted her teeth, her eyes closed tightly as she tried to resist this strange force.

"Back off!" John suddenly shouted. The dark blue beam ceased, much to the Amazon's relief. Tilting her head to a side, she saw the Green Lantern with a cannon construct in front of him, aimed right at the dark-haired man. All around him were the unconscious bodies of the rest of the men, indicating he had dispensed with them easily. A moment later and a green cannonball was fired.

Their enemy widened his eyes briefly before he dove to a side, dodging the cannonball as it blasted a hole through the far wall of the room. Immediately, John raised his ring hand up, allowing the cannon construct to disappear and in its place form a large sledgehammer. Holding his arm out to his side, he let out a war cry as he swung the hammer from right to left at the man.

Their foe was just pushing himself up onto his feet when he saw the hammer swinging towards him. He ducked low to the floor, allowing the construct to fly harmlessly over his head. In an instant, he aimed his weaponized hand and fired the dark blue blast again.

Because his arms was across his chest, John was wide open as the beam hit him and like Diana before him, he dropped to his knees. Instantly, his green construct faded from existence as the dark-skinned man fell forward, his arms shooting out in front of him to use his hands to brace himself against the floor.

"Too easy," the man scoffed as he stood up on his feet. Once more, he raised his strange gun and aimed it right at John.

Horror filled Diana then. She knew the force of which that weapon could hit with and if John was hit, it would kill him. Though she still felt the effects of that beam, it was lessening with every passing second. She raised a hand up to her head, her fingers wrapping around her tiara, the muscles in her arm abnormally flexed, showing just how much strain they were under as she did this.

The gun was fired, it's absurdly large bullet flying out of the barrel and towards John.

Twisting her face from the strain, Diana let out a yell as she ripped her tiara off of her head and sent it flying, the headpiece spinning in a circle over and over as it flew through the air.

Her aim proved to be true, much to her relief. Just as the tiara passed in front of John, it collided with the large shell, an explosion of sparks flying everywhere and washing over the Green Lantern as both projectiles had their trajectories forcibly changed. From where she knelt, Diana saw her tiara be forced to embed itself in the floor next to her comrade while the shell ricocheted to the nearby wall. The shell burst through it, leaving a large hole in its wake.

The man frowned as he looked back to Diana. "Unexpected, but ultimately futile." He turned his gun back to her. "Let's see you try that again."

That was when another wall blew apart, sending pieces of sheetrock and wood flying in all directions. Shayera and J'onn emerged from the hole that had been made, the two heroes coming to a stop a moment later.

J'onn's attention immediately went to the mastermind as Shayera looked for any other threats. "Vandal Savage," the Martian said lowly.

So that was his name. Even as Diana dropped her outstretched arm, her hand balled into a fist. The effects of his blast were just about gone and she slowly stood up. Glaring down Savage, she now knew what to put on his grave marker.

"You are outnumbered," J'onn continued, his own posture tense and prepared for the offensive, which stood in stark contrast to his normally stiff stance. "Surrender yourself now and no more harm would come to you."

Speak for yourself…

Savage glanced about the room, looking nonplussed about his fallen henchmen. That only served to grow Diana's ire further. "I do believe you are correct, but I'm not going to give myself up that easily." He then dropped his gun, where it landed with a heavy thud on the floor. He then reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a rather recognizable device.

A detonator.

"I know your type quite well, Martian," Savage spoke. "You were going after my hostages before coming to confront me—a poor decision on your part as the Flash would attest to." The very hairs on the back of Diana's neck stood up as rage burned from her eyes. "That allowed me to take certain precautions should this exact stalemate come to fruition. You're quite well aware of the Canidite in my possession. Right now, I have it placed in strategically locations throughout the White House. With a push of this button, I blow this whole place sky high."

"You would risk killing yourself over this?!" Diana demanded as she took a step towards the madman.

Infuriatingly, Savage looked at her with a haughty expression on his face. "You're assuming I can die, Amazon."

"J'onn, get in this guy's mind and stop him," Hawkgirl hissed at the Martian.

Though J'onn normally had reservations about such tactics, he did not hesitate as his eyes glowed orange. Diana fully expected this Vandal Savage to become the Martian's puppet in a second, yet with each one that passed, the man didn't freeze up nor drop his detonator. Instead, he cast a bemused look at the telepath.

It didn't take J'onn much time to realize what was going on. "Telepathy Inhibitors," he groused as his eyes dimmed.

"That one's free," Savage told him, before holding the detonator out higher. "The next time one of you tries to stop me, I press the button."

"Go ahead," John groaned as he slowly began to rise onto his feet. "We've already gotten all of the hostages out, so there's no way you'll kill them. My ring can take any explosion you throw at us, even the Canidite. Face it, Savage, you're through."

"Is that so? Which one of you managed to find the former President?"

Diana immediately glanced to the others, seeing them stiffening at those words. The Amazon knew that she and John had not come across the President during their search. It seemed Shayera and J'onn had no better luck either.

"I believe that's checkmate," Savage gloated. "Only I know the President's location. Strike me down and you risk killing him. Your only option now is to leave the White House—my White House."

For a moment, it seemed they had been stopped cold. They had been played this entire time. While they had been reacting to Savage, he had been executing his next move; in fact, it had been more. While they had fought their way into the White House, he had been placing his explosives and ensuring no one found the President. Before that, he had obtained weapons that had felled two of her friends.

It couldn't end this way.

It wouldn't end this way.

Diana subtly moved her hand to her hip, reaching for her lasso. Except, it wasn't there. Eyes flickering to its usual spot, she found it wasn't there. But when? How? Why wasn't it there?

And then she remembered she had dropped it in a previous room, the one she had saved John in. Why hadn't she recovered it? It was second nature to her by now. Her hand tightened into a fist. She was becoming complacent, that was the only explanation, and it would be their undoing.

A cursory look to the others told her the others felt much like she was. Each was brimming with frustration as they were effectively powerless. Even J'onn was openly scowling. Straightening his posture, his cape enveloping his body, the Martian reluctantly said, "Very well."

Vandal Savage didn't change his expression as he continued to stare the Martian down. The taste of defeat was sour on Diana's tongue and she wanted nothing more than to retch.

Then out of nowhere, two red beams burned through the air until they struck the detonator in Savage's hand. The man yelped as the device immediately glowed red from the heat, letting the device go as he snatched his blackened hand back to his body. The smell of burnt flesh reached Diana's nose a moment later. In an instant the beams stopped, but that didn't stop the detonator from dropping to the floor, where it made a wet splat. Somehow it retained its form, yet it was clear that it was melting where it laid.

And then Superman came flying through the hole Shayera and J'onn had made, a red-and-blue blur that went right for Savage. Diana wasn't sure how hard Superman hit the man, but he had been none too gentle as he sent Savage flying hard into the side-turned table, causing the thick wood to shatter from the impact.

Where Savage had stood, Superman hovered in midair. There was a look on his face that Diana hadn't seen before. Clearly the Kryptonian was angry, but it was a cold anger that burned from within. It actually sent a shiver down her spine.

However, the stalemate was over and the Amazon could not fault her friend for his action. Had he not down what he had, Savage would have won the day whether the Justice League had withdrawn and allowed the madman his prize, or blown up the building with innocent people still being held within.

Diana's eyes then turned to Flash. During her reverie, Shayera had knelt beside beside the speedster, a hand trembling as it hovered by his face. John was moving up behind her, his face becoming stricken as he stood next to the two. "Is he…?" he trailed off.

Slowly, Shayera nodded her head. "He's gone."

There was a loud yell, one that got all of their attention. Superman had finally settled on the floor, but he was screaming at the top of his lungs, his arms held out to either side of him, hands balled into fists. The yell was long and seemed to go without end, but finally he stopped.

Yet, it continued to echo in Diana's ears and she felt it would never leave.

It was getting tense. Ever since it had started, the situation had been slowly getting out of hand, but damn it, there would be a satisfactory resolution.

"Say it," Helena ordered.

Batgirl glared at her—yes, glared. Though she still had her mask on, there was no hiding the look of displeasure that was on her face.

Helena also wore her mask, but she was no longer in her suit. Why be dressed for work when you were staying in for the night? While she had opted for some casual clothes, the other girl stayed in full Bat-regalia. The dark-haired woman was pretty sure it had to be uncomfortable for the girl, but she didn't so much as utter a complaint and hadn't since she moved in. Still, if Batgirl wasn't going to show her real face, neither would Helena. While her mask didn't provide as much coverage as the other girl's, it would do for now. Besides, she got the feeling her reluctant pupil wouldn't know her from the man on the moon.

The one benefit of being locked up in a cave for most of the day.

"Staaaaaa," Batgirl spoke. "Staaaaa."

"Wrong. There's no A in it," she reprimanded.

"Staaaaaaaa."

"Try again."

She knew the girl was frustrated. Hell, Helena was too. She had known there was some learning deficits, but she hadn't thought they were this bad. No wonder Batman had been taking his time with her.

Still, she knew some sort of coddling was in play. Batgirl had this air about her of "good enough." There was no "good enough" in Helena's book. You either knew it and could do it, or you didn't, that was all there was to it. Now, she would never use that method of teaching on her students at school, yet she had pulled out some of her "tough love" moves on the ones that didn't want to try.

It was all tough love here. Maybe it was because Batgirl had the body of a young teenager, or maybe it was her attitude, but Helena was going to be damned if she didn't make any progress with this hot head.

"Staaaaaaaa."

"Either you say this word, or I'm eating your dessert for the night," the dark-haired woman threatened.

Batgirl's eyes narrowed. "Staaaaaa."

"Now you're just not even trying. Say good-bye to your ice cream."

Helena stood up from her place on the couch and began walking to her kitchen. She couldn't help but noticed the wide eyes of Batgirl's mask as she watched her walk away.

"Stop!"

She did as told, but she turned her head to smirk at the girl. "See? Told ya you could do it."

The glare was back, but she could tell it didn't have the same malice. All in a day's work.

Instead of going into the kitchen, Helena did a U-turn and snatched the TV remote right off of the coffee table. Hitting the power button, she turned it on, the picture taking a moment to appear. She went to her spot on the couch and sat down, lounging as she did so. "Alright, your pick," she told Batgirl, just before she began flipping through the channels. "Just say stop when we find something you want to watch."

"Stop."

Well that was quick, she mused. However, she soon realized just why. They were on a news station, which was proclaiming BREAKING NEWS. Well, that wasn't anything new; however, the aerial shot of the White House in D.C. was definitely attention grabbing.

"—moments ago, the hostage situation at the White House was resolved, thanks in part to the Justice League. I'm told the mastermind behind this plot has been apprehended, as well as the men he used to attack the President."

Suddenly, Helena felt she needed to watch the news more often.

It was still unreal. For someone with Superman's powers, he still failed to be there when his friends needed him most. It was infuriating, maddening...hell, it was inexcusable.

They were the Justice League, the most powerful heroes on Earth. They saved people from threats man-made and natural. They stopped crime, alien invasions, and ran point on natural disasters. And yet, in spite of all of this, they were being picked off one by one, not by a galactic tyrant, or getting caught up in an avalanche, but to a single man with a plan.

Was that all it really took?

He hadn't said it out loud; he wasn't sure he could bare the looks he'd receive if he did say anything. When he had hit Vandal Savage, he hadn't held back. In fact, the man had pieces of the White House's dining table piercing through his body. Part of Savage's face was caved in from the punch he had landed when the Kryptonian charged at him. Somehow, someway, Savage hadn't died. In fact, he was being loaded into one of D.C.'s police cruisers, looking none the worse for wear aside from some holes and bloodstains on his clothes. That was something to look into, but right now wasn't the time.

On the floor of the dining room was a white sheet that covered Flash's body. The very sight made Superman numb. First it had given him indescribable sorrow and his yell had startled his friends. Now he was silent, his throat still feeling the after-effects of his scream.

The others weren't in any better shape. Hawkgirl's eyes were red, visible even with her helmet on. John stood next to her, an arm wrapped around her shoulders as grief stricken his face. Neither had moved much since they had approached their fallen comrade's body.

J'onn was also looking at Flash, his face stoic like usual. Yet, Superman could see the sadness in the Martian's eyes as he gazed down at the white sheet. There was no telling what else was going through his mind.

As for Diana, she was facing away, looking out through the ruined window. From there—if anyone cared to—you could see Secret Service, Military, and local police scouring the property. Savage's men were either taken away by law enforcement, emergency transport, or...well, what did it matter where they were taking them? If it weren't for these men, Flash would still be alive. Batman would still be alive.

How much more would be taken from them?

"What shall we do with Flash?" J'onn spoke, shaking the Kryptonian out of his mind. "I'm sure he had some last wishes should he—"

"Not. Now," Hawkgirl interrupted him, one of her hands clenching tightly into a fist. "I want to know what's going to happen to Savage. I want to know that son of a bitch is going to receive justice."

"He's going to," Superman was quick to reassure her. "For what he's done here, there's no court in the world that won't convict him."

"I'm not talking about here," the Thanagarian spat back. "I don't give a fuck about what he did to the President. That guy has a hundred different people ready to take his job at any given moment. I want to know what they intend to do for Flash. He deserves something for everything he's given; he deserves to be avenged."

"We're all in a bad place right now," John said quietly. "Now isn't the time for anything rash. We need to—"

"No!" Hawkgirl pulled away from John, anger contorting her face. "I don't care! I don't, I don't! We can't let the world know that they can take one of us out without repercussion! Otherwise we're going to invite someone else who thinks they're smart enough to take us on! Someone like Luthor could kill Superman! Or any one of our own enemies! We can't let anyone think they can get away with this!"

"Hawkgirl makes a valid point," J'onn agreed. "To discourage more attempts, we need to act now."

It was then that Diana entered the conversation. "This has to stop." Turning around, she faced the group, determination in her eyes and on her face. "We cannot let this happen again. A strong message has to be sent that we will not be discouraged. No more deaths. No more crime. No more leniency."

"Damn straight!" Hawkgirl agreed.

Those words, they clicked in Superman. This couldn't go on any longer. Lifting off from the ground, he flew towards the broken window and went through it. He continued to rise into the air until he found exactly what he was looking for.

Beyond the barricade of law enforcement and military vehicles were news vans. Descending down, Superman came to land in front of one, which just so happened to have its cameraman hefting up his camera onto his shoulder.

"Superman!" a nearby reporter exclaimed before he got over his surprise and shoved his microphone in front of the superhero's mouth. "Can you tell us what happened in the White House? Is the President safe? Is there any truth to the rumors that one of your own was struck down?"

Behind the Kryptonian, the rest of the League landed, each one with a stoic or serious expression on their face. Superman cleared his voice before he began to speak. "As you may have heard, there was an attack on the President tonight. As of now, he is safe, of that I can assure you."

"And the rest of America breathes a sigh of relief at that news," the reporter responded. "I know I am. What can you tell us about the perpetrator's plans?"

The dark-haired man swallowed deeply. "If I may, there is something else I would like to discuss," he told the reporter. "Tonight, one of our own was killed. I know I speak on behalf of all the members of the Justice League that we cannot express our full remorse for this loss."

He paused. "Tonight, the Flash was killed in the line of duty, protecting the President against Vandal Savage's...evil. While we know this won't be of comfort to Central City, just know that he fought valiantly until the very end.

"But that isn't all." Superman then squared his shoulders. "Last month, during an investigation into Savage's plans, Batman of Gotham City was also taken from us in the explosion in Erie, Ohio. We had wanted to keep this news quiet due to the difficulties there had been in Gotham recently.

"More importantly, however, is that I, us, the Justice League has a message for the entire world: no more. Two of our own have made the ultimate sacrifice and we will not let those sacrifices be in vain. From here on out, we pledge to put an end to crime as the world knows it. If there is anyone that thinks they can defeat the League, they are sorely mistaken. No more will we be reactive; no more will evil men sit safely and securely in their palaces, or penthouses, while innocent people die because of them."

By then, a crowd of cameramen and reporters had surrounded the League. The crowd was getting bigger with every second that passed and every word Superman said. This was good since he wanted the entire world on notice.

"Never again," he finished.

"Never again."

Helena stared at the television screen. She wasn't quite sure how she felt. Numb was a good word. Shock, most definitely. Yeah, she was going to go with shock.

Tearing her eyes from the screen, she looked over to Batgirl. It was quite clear she hadn't understood the gist of what Superman had just announced on what was most likely on every news channel in the country; hell, the world. However, the girl had perked up at the mention of Batman and if there were any words she had understood, she had caught the important ones.

Jesus Christ…

It was then her phone rang, startling the dark-haired woman. Looking to it, she saw her cell phone dancing across the coffee table due to the vibrations it made. She could clearly make out the name of Dinah on the caller ID.

Oh, this was just getting better.

Glancing back at Batgirl to see what was going on with the girl and seeing she hadn't so much as flinched from the ringing, Helena reached over and picked up the phone, answering it. "This is H," she said.

"Is it true?" Dinah's voice demanded at her, causing the dark-haired woman to wince. She really needed to tone down the volume.

"Are you referring to what Superman just announced to the world?" she asked rhetorically.

"Damn straight I am, H," the blonde woman retorted angrily. "You should have told us all about this! I mean, you're not the only vigilante in this damn city."

Dinah was angry, that much Helena would give her. But if she thought she was that close to the Bat, then she was sorely mistaken. "I'm just finding out about this myself," she said as calmly as she could manage. Adding her anger to the conversation wouldn't help anything. Again, she looked over to Batgirl, seeing she still hadn't budged. "All I was told was that he was on some mission with the League and that came from Batgirl herself. She didn't even know."

There was a moment of silence, then, "Oh God, we need to find that girl. There's no telling what she'll do when she hears about this."

"Kinda late about that, D. She's been staying with me the last couple of weeks. She's actually sitting right next to me in some sort of daze."

"Do you need me over there?"

This time, Helena openly stared at the masked girl. She was actually starting to get concerned with the lack of reaction from her. "Bring your mask, okay? And Dinah? Get here fast."

"On my way."

She hung up the phone then, lowering it until it rested on her lap. "Batgirl?" she ventured softly, hoping to get some sort of response out of the girl. "Are you okay?"

Finally, she got something. Batgirl pointed a finger at the television and asked, "What?"

Helena glanced to the television screen and then back. "Are you asking what they're saying?" she questioned.

Batgirl nodded.

Oh, this is going to suck. Perhaps it would be best if she waited for Dinah to show up. She was definitely better at comforting other people. Then again, Helena had to do that every day at school. Why would this be any different?

Because you don't tell little kids their parents are dead.

Okay, so perhaps there was that. Still, she had to try, right? Swallowing deeply, Helena prepared herself for what was going to be a rough talk. "The Justice League, Superman," she started pointing to the screen with both hands. "They said something. Nod if you understand so far."

She got a nod. Okay, so far so good. "What they said is not good."

There was a look of innocence on Batgirl's face, or at least that's what the mask was showing. Damn, how was something that was supposed to be menacing looking like that? It was almost unfair. "No good?" she actually managed to say.

Hey, her first sentence. Why did it have to be like this? "Yes, no good. What they said was...was...that Batman is gone."

The girl tilted her head to a side, clearly indicating she didn't understand.

"Dead? He's dead?" Helena tried again.

That got her attention. "No Batman?"

Well, it was simple, but it would do. "No Batman." Helena found herself pointing to the television again, this time with one hand and not both. "He was working with the League and died. So no more Batman."

There, she knew she had reached the girl. The first sign of that was the unconscious trembling. Immediately, Helena closed the distance between them on the couch, wrapping her arms around the young girl in an embrace. She was slow at first to respond, but soon the dark-haired woman felt two arms wrapped tightly around her, Batgirl's shaking becoming more and more noticeable.

"Shhhhh," she cooed, doing her best to be soothing. "It's going to be okay. We're going to figure this out, the two of us."

It was the right thing to say, she was sure of it. But were things really going to be okay? What did she know about raising a teenage girl? Slowly, Helena found her eyes falling onto the television screen.

There was one thing she was sure about though. Nothing was okay and they never would be. No matter what pledges the Justice League made, things were just waiting to get worse. Gotham's criminals would be coming out in full force now that they knew the Bat was gone. They would have to be ready.

It would be a long time before they were okay again.

To Guest: Hopefully this chapter gives you an idea of which path they'll take.