Author's Note: Yeah, I delayed, a lot. But it's only becasue I'm really trying to make this story great for all you readers. So, this chapter has a lot going on in it so it did initially take me a tad longer to write, considering I felt like I couldn't publish it until I was totally satisfied with it. If anyone is reading this or remembers for that matter, I'll have a little Author's note at the end of this chapter so Please Read it.
Anyway, do enjoy!
"What do you mean's he's gone?" Lex cried. Metalo didn't even flinch as the bald president raged at him. He'd heard it before, and Luthor had yelled at him once so long that his face had nearly turned purple, but because of the kryptonite powering him, he was also one of Luthor's biggest assets. Metalo fought the urge to tear the powerful man to shreds.
"I mean that I took a coffee break, and then the lab was empty when I came back," he replied icily. "Look Lex, I was willing to help out before because once, you and I were friends, or at least allies, but now that's not a good enough reason. Not anymore. You need to start paying up and not just giving everyone empty promises, or else things will start getting ugly, and fast."
The two were standing in Lex's main's office at the top of the head Lex Corp building. In the dim light of the setting sun, Metalo's chest filled with kryptonite gave off and eerie light. Luthor felt his eyes train on it, unable to look away as he mentally weighed the situation. There was a great truth in the villain's words, and indeed he would have to, lest he have to get his hands dirty.
"I can pay you more, give you more than the others," the president bribed smoothly. Metalo snatched the short man up by the collar of his George Armani suit, half dragging him over the table in one quick gesture.
"Not good enough, Luthor," he snarled.
A slow mean smile slid over Lex's features. "Are you sure?"
Before Metalo even had a moment to respond, Lex whipped out a small remote control and pressed a button on it. Instantly, Metalo released him and his robotic hands shot up to his ears as he let out a hiss of agony. His knees buckled and he fell to the nicely carpeted floor with a thud.
"You know, robot technicians can create amazing things in this day and age," Lex smirked, twirling the device with his fingers. "Though the sound is so high pitched that I can't hear it, I suppose it's deafening for you. Ah well, guess you should've taken my other then."
Lex walked around dramatically from behind his desk to inspect his so called employee. At his black leather dress shoes, the robotic man writhed and twisted, crying out in obvious pain. Metalo reached out and snapped one weak hand around Lex's ankle, looking up at him with pleading eyes.
"Don't scuff my shoes," Luthor snapped, bringing his foot into crushing contact with Metalo's face. He tumbled over himself until coming to a halt, falling completely still.
Lex sighed, straightening his tie before walking calmly back over to his desk. He pressed down on the receiver button on his office phone and said, "Mercy, I've got a little trash I need you to take care of and get the car ready, I have someone I need to go visit."
Superman opened his eyes slowly, adjusting to his dim surroundings. Everything was blurry, his memory and just as well his vision. He was leaning up against a wall; his legs stretched out in front of him, and tried to stand up. Instantly, there was a hand on his chest and back, helping him to his feet.
"Easy, big guy," Flash said. Superman tried to focus on him but his world swam before his eyes and felt himself slip to the floor. Flash tried to keep him steady as he set him back down again gently.
"Wally," he murmured, "where am I?"
Flash kneeled down next to the man of steel and laid him back against the wall he had currently been occupying.
"Take it easy. How do you feel?" he asked, pressing the back of his covered hand against Clark's forehead. Superman's eyes lolled and he still tried to keep focused on his friend. "Come on, stay with me. Do you feel sick? Weak?"
"Tired, and confused," Superman replied, running a hand across his temple, trying to alleviate his throbbing headache. "Now, answer my question. Where are we?"
Flash gave a small smile, stood back up, and helped Superman back up to his feet again, making sure this time to get a better grip on the Kryptonian. He pulled the burly arm of the man of steel over his shoulder to keep him standing.
"We're at Bruce's," was all the response he got but didn't press for more. Flash lead him over to the main platform in the bat cave where all the others were gathered, excluding Wonder Woman.
A strange blob-like alien was huddled in the center, restrained by energy from Green Lantern's ring. Standing in what seemed to be the front of it was J'onn with one arm outstretched toward the beast and his eyes closed in concentration. For a moment, the Martian faltered, staggering back a few feet until Batman moved behind him for support.
"Find anything?" Batman asked, standing back up straight with his hands under his friend's arm to help him up.
"Yes," J'onn said. He turned to face Batman as he continued. "I am not sure I could explain it quite to the extent of you properly understanding though. As a human, you have limitations to what you can comprehend, especially since you are not a telepath, as I am."
Batman shot him a look and said, "Try me."
J'onn paused for a moment, considering his words, as if struggling to explain it just before finally spitting out, "It is a telepath and a very powerful one. Alien as it may be, it somehow has a vague memory of us. There are just images, ideas, but nothing more. Basic, yet I can feel its complexity."
"Guys, don't look now but your science project is breaking," Flash said, tapping Batman on his shoulder with his other arm. They now directed their attention back to the metallic creature which was strangely splitting down the center, seeming to melt over on itself.
Standing, bare and marred torso exposed, was Vandal Savage, staring back at them with hollow eyes.
In the dead silence of the cave, Flash suddenly cried out, "No freaking way!"
"My sentiments exactly," J'onn murmured before hesitantly approaching Savage. The man just stared blankly back, his eyes fixated in one spot, unmoving. His jaw was slack, hanging agape. Long tendrils of the alloy were buried deep within parts of his chest, no doubt puncturing and infecting his innards. The sight was a grisly one.
"Savage," Batman said slowly, walking over to him. Vandal's waist and below was hidden underneath the creature's mass and as Batman drew nearer he could see that red and silver rods were rooted deep into the shell of the man.
The organic being you once knew is dead.
The voice, so clear, rang in Batman's mind. He glared up into Vandal Savage's face, looking past the gruesome façade. His fists clenched so tightly that he actually broke the glove's protection, drawing blood. The group watched silently as a few dark drops landed at his feet.
"Destroy it," Batman spat, whirling away from the indescribably revolting scene. His cape billowed ominously as he jumped down to the lower level of the cave. The remaining league members glanced around each other in astonishment, surprised that even Batman could be so disgusted by it but even more so that he was telling them to actually kill someone.
"What do we do with it?" Shayera asked hoarsely. No one bothered to respond and they all stared at remnants of Savage fixatedly, torn with indecision.
On the second story just below, Alfred was just snipping up the last loose ends of Diana's stitches. She was barely under the anesthesia while lying down on the quite familiar and recently quite used metal table. Batman walked over to where the two were and placed a few unsure fingers on the locks of her dark mane.
"Superman is lucky, sir. The bullet was laced with a deadly amount of a kryptonite," Alfred murmured. "Another stroke of good luck was that the bullet didn't go all the way through and missed her heart by a good few inches."
Batman just stared down at her face so pale under the operating lamp and realized that he'd never seen her look so fragile. Diana had always been powerful and proud, never backing down and never giving in. She was an Amazonian and thus begin weak was not something she ever did. Batman felt as though he was looking at a porcelain version of the woman. At that moment, he was numb, not feeling sad nor angered but was simply devoid of all feelings, similar to when his parents had been murdered.
"A penny for your thoughts, master Bruce?" Alfred stated softly, placing a gentle hand on Batman's caped shoulder.
"Give me a moment with her," he requested in an equally unassuming voice. The butler didn't say a word and retreated noiselessly to the elevator, which then dipped out of Batman's awareness. Overhead he could still hear the sounds of the other deliberating and the alien beginning to struggle.
"Bruce, what happened?" Diana asked groggily, her sapphire eyes blinking up at him.
"You were shot when you saved Superman," Batman whispered, brushing back a few stray black strands of hair from her face. She fought to sit up on her elbows but after wincing from the obvious pain, she settled on just staying still. Diana gave Batman a kind yet oddly triumphant look.
"I knew it, it's written all over your face," she murmured before passing back into unconsciousness.
"What is?" he whispered back, but didn't get a response, yet not exactly expecting one. He knew exactly what she meant and he didn't doubt that she and all the others could see the blatant concern for her. Batman sighed as he stared down at her, not really seeing what was in front of him. If only she really knew.
"Ma'am? Vice President Waller?"
Amanda Waller's attention snapped back up to the meeting. A few important generals and whatnot were gathered at an oval dark wood table beside giant windows with light spilling in all over them. She tapped her pencil absently against her blank notebook and sighed in frustration. Concentration was yet again eluding her as she tried to focus on the meeting, though of course the fact that it had been terribly long and not to mention boring hadn't helped much with her situation.
"I need to take a break guys, you carry on without me; I'll just catch up and read the notes taken down," she said as she stood and walked out, letting the door slam shut behind her. Amanda was in an expansive meeting hall out in Maine and was supposed to be listening to a new plan for America, but recently her thoughts had been wandering else where. Ignoring the fact she was wearing a skirt, she slid to the floor against the door and placed her caramel hands upon her knees, playing with the hem tiredly. She glanced out another smaller window to her left, looking out and up into the mildly cloudy sky.
I wonder if they're alright, she thought slowly. Her hands clenched tightly and she felt tears burn at the edge of her eyes, threatening to fall and ruin her makeup. I don't want them dead; I want my country to be safe. Had the Justice League gone rogue, then who could possibly stop them from seizing power? I was right to stop them, but I still feel so guilty. I've ruined so many people's lives, especially those seven.
"They were a threat to my country. A threat to the world," she said aloud, as if finalizing it.
"If that's what you have to tell yourself to get a good night's sleep, then by all means go right ahead."
Amanda whipped over to see Captain Atom leaning against a nearby wall, eyeing her with a guarded expression. Instantly, she was up from the carpeted ground, trying in vain to brush off any dust and just as well as her discomfiture.
"Captain," she said brusquely, putting back on her harsh politician mask. "I have a meeting that I must return to. I'm glad to see you're well, but I am very busy. Please, have yourself a wonderful day."
"Oh, cut the crap!" he snapped, holding Amanda from turning away with his words. "I'm done playing your game, Waller. You know damn well that the Justice League hasn't done anything wrong."
"Coming from a former member," she observed dryly. The ex-superhero gritted his teeth, obviously struggling to control himself. Blue radiation abruptly flared from his hands but died down a second later, all the while under the careful scrutiny of the vice president.
"What's your angle, anyway?" Captain Atom finally was able to choke out.
She frowned at him, pushing her petite glasses back onto her nose properly. "My angle is to protect the citizen from threats, which includes the Justice League."
Captain's eyes flared and he spat, "You sound like Lex, you know that?"
With that, he turned on his heel and stomped off through the halls until his heavy footfalls seemed to just disappear and blend with the silence. Little did he know how deep his words struck.
"Let me out!" Vandal Savage screamed, his tone distorted with burning desperation. His voice was distorted and strange, twisted, cruel, and inhuman. The infuriated cried tore through the echoing cave and all the alien could do was struggle against its laser restraints. It was held onto a thick metal wall by similar energy fields from Waller's prison that Batman had lying around. From the Justice League table, Superman shot a hesitant peek over where the shouts of rage had originated. The other leaguers, excluding Wonder Woman and strangely as well as Batman, stayed silent, waiting for someone to break the silence, and indeed someone did.
"I say we kill him," Green Lantern offered plainly, taking the initiative to tackle this task. "Vandal Savage has been taken over, and there's nothing more we can do. You all heard it – the human he once knew is dead, so really, killing him would be like just putting his body to rest like his mind."
"No," Superman replied firmly, bringing his fist down hard across the cool metal surface. "We as the Justice League do not have it in our jurisdiction to say who shall live, and who shall not. Plus, Vandal did break us out, so he must have done it for a reason, because I don't honestly think that the parasite controlling him has that much rational thought or memory of us, and what it does have would be Vandal's memories, so it shouldn't have tried to save us based on those alone."
"Yeah," Flash intervened, "Supes is definitely right. We'd be crossing a line that's clearly drawn and Savage is a smart dude, there's no way he'd just let himself be controlled like a puppet."
"But this thing poses a threat to everyone else," Shayera pointed out. "Say it got loose, what then? I've fought a thing like this before and it was no walk in the park. We need to think of the welfare of the people. I mean, if Flash, Bruce and I couldn't take it, then that's pretty bad."
"But that just means that something must have changed, because when you two fought it, I bet that Vandal still had control, and he was trying to kill you last time, and right now, I'd say he isn't," Superman rebutted, crossing his arms.
All eyes swiveled toward J'onn, the deciding factor. The Martian stayed stonily silent for a long time, eyes closed and face unmoving. Finally, the orange orbs flicked open, glinting with deep knowledge.
"Well?" Superman pressed impatiently.
"I do not know," J'onn declared in his oddly accented English. "Both sides are equally appealing yet both pose problems."
"Where're the tie-breakers when you need them?" Flash groaned leaning back in his seat.
"Well, we are going to stay at this table until we can come to some sort of decision," Lantern said with finality. Everyone glanced around the stubborn expressions and realized oddly that it would be a very long night.
Amanda Waller woke up only to glare at her alarm clock at exactly 5:13 a.m., wishing that she had heat vision to melt the damned piece of machinery as if it had been its fault that she couldn't sleep that night. For a long moment, she debated whether or not to just simply roll back over and try to go back to sleep for she didn't actually need to be anywhere until late morning, yet sleep was something that was hard to come by for the vice president. Grumbling sourly to herself, she traipsed through her still-dark house, not bothering to turn on a light, even when she began to make some coffee. Amanda Waller stared out the large glass windows of her modern and huge kitchen.
You know, most of the Justice League has done more work that I have, put their lives on the line, lost their friends, yet it's me who ends up with the nice house. Amanda smirked bitterly to herself. And who's the real criminal?
Her coffee machine whirred softly in the early morning, like white noise, allowing her mind to just go blank. Amanda sighed again heavily and felt a mental itch at the base of spine, as if she was forgetting something. Her mind whipped back to the alien creature and the escape of Justice League and she again heard the voice of Captain Atom.
You sound like Lex.
The Vice President sat down at her kitchen table and looked morosely at yesterday's unfinished crossword. She was missing just one crucial word, which made it nearly impossible to figure out the rest without a clue because that same said word intersected everything. All points lead there.
Suddenly, it was as if she knew, as if all things had been made clear for one very pointed moment. All thoughts churned and all things in life opened to her, exposing truth. Everything was connected by one whole, and in order to do the rest of the puzzle, you need to find the base.
A smirk crossed the woman's face as she picked up the ink pen to write in the missing word.
C-o-n-n-e-c-t-i-o-n-s
The dark knight stared down on Gotham from his perch on a tall skyscraper. Above his masked head, a storm was swelling, preparing to release itself down upon the world. The city below cast everything into blue green light and cars rushed by on the large street, reminding Batman of how life pushed tenaciously forward, no matter how much you wanted it all just to stop. He ground his teeth together, his jaw clenching powerfully as he was reminded of sitting in that steel waiting chair in the hospital where his parents had been taken all those years ago. Gotham melted away.
"He's that Wayne child."
"You're kidding? Well, with or without parents, the kid will be fine; God knows he has enough money to be happy."
Batman clenched his fists as the voices resounded in his mind and before he could fight it, the memories flashed through his mind. Gunshots, blood, paramedics, the funeral, the yawning emptiness that it all left. He mentally pried himself away from his memories, feeling lost as he stared down at his gloved hands. At the edge of his vision, Batman glimpsed a figure staggering down the dimly lit and desolate side walk, passing in and out of shadows.
It was the forsaken hours of the night, in which the moon didn't even dared to show its face and which no one dared to walk the streets. The only one who thrived in this time was Batman, soaking in the darkness and eerie stillness of the usually bustling city, yet in this instance, he was no longer alone.
He watched the person, black trench coat undulating behind them familiarly, with a guarded expression. Curiosity, which came so naturally to humans, prickled at the back of Batman's consciousness. He moved across the rooftops silently, watching the figure as it continued to lurch forward. Suddenly, the mystery person came to an abrupt halt, standing ominously under an orange streetlamp, drowned in sharp shadows and hazy light.
Then time slowed as the first of the raindrops began to fall all around Batman, rolling down his shoulders and chest like disregarded tears. The dark knight swung forward, using his grapple to descend onto the now wet sidewalk, across from bystander. Through the thickening sheet of rain, the two faced one another, each standing on the side of the dampened street. The unknown intruder of the night was hidden just partially, as to where his face was simply unexposed. With a gesture so recognizable and fluid, the bystander shot their arm out, zinging an object out at Batman with dexterity and speed.
On reflex, the dark knight snapped his hand up, catching the slick object with ease between his index and middle finger. In the muted light of the dead city, he could see that the thing was about the size of his palm, square, flat and metallic, glistening back malevolently. Upon the wretched surface was a clown, but under deeper scrutiny under the streetlamp, Batman saw that it was a playing card – a Joker.
The dark knight snapped his attention back to where the stranger should have been standing. He just barely saw that end of the opposing alley, the tails of a trench coat whipped around the corner.
In a flash, the dark knight took off after the perpetrator, splashing across the street nimbly. The two raced down the narrow alley, Batman gaining on the criminal until finally, they reached a dead-end. The figure stopped abruptly, putting their shadowed hands above their head hesitantly, as if in surrender. As they began to turn and face the dark knight deliberately, a slow deep laugh started to shake him, at first low until gaining in momentum. The tremendous cackling only grew and grew, getting higher and more frenzied, forcing Batman's blood to run cold.
I know that laugh, he thought in dull realization. Turning fully to face each other, Joker stood there, face half hidden in shadows, half exposed in the moon's pale light, eyes glistening maliciously back.
"Joker," Batman snarled, drawing out a few bat-a-rangs placed defensively between his knuckles. The clown price pushed his trench coat back, letting it fall to the damp alley floor.
In the diffused light, Batman watched in painful horror as his long-time arch nemesis walked forward slowly, showing himself in full view. A strange spindly red and sliver fibers clung to all of one side of Joker's face, changing the other eye into just a solid black orb. The material was all over Joker, digging visibly into his pale skin and leaving behind trails of blood and holes all through his suit. Joker staggered forward, clenching his trembling fists around the edge of Batman's cowl in desperation.
"Fancy meeting you here," Joker hissed, smile never faltering, "Bruce."
"We shouldn't be relaxing here," Superman pointed out yet again. The rest of the league was sprawled contently across the leather couches in Wayne's grand living room, having decided on a change of location in order to continue their little debate. Curled up on the matching black love seat, was Flash, sleeping soundly. The room was only illuminated by the white light of the moon, yawning in through the wide windows off to their left side. The rain made up for their lapse in conversation, pattering against the cool glass softly and trickling down in a cascade of water.
"So you have made clear," J'onn stated in his usual monotone, looking strangely out of place in the modernly decorated room as he sat nonchalantly beside Shayera. Lantern shifted uncomfortably as he opened his mouth to speak.
"I would've have gone mad myself if I had to hear Savage screaming anymore," he shrugged, leaning forward to place his forearms across his knees.
Suddenly, Diana walked into the room, leaning against the doorway and watching the team. Her left shoulder was bandaged and blood was just beginning to stain the white wrappings. She staggered forward, her bandages getting more soaked with every step.
J'onn reacted smoothly and was instantly off of the couch, picking up Diana as if she weighed no more than a feather to him. The Martian set her down next him gently before seating himself back on the leather sofa as well, draping a comforting arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer in an oddly affection manner.
"Where'd Bruce go?" the Amazonian asked through gritted teeth, wincing as she cradled her injured shoulder. The superheroes exchanged mystified glances. Indeed the dark knight had left, but where to, none were actually aware.
"You've missed a lot, Diana," Superman sighed, leaning deeper into the couch. "That alien that saved us actually had Vandal Savage inside it, controlling it the whole time. We have reason to suspect it had been him the entirety time."
Wonder Woman frowned, her brows drawing together in confusion. "That doesn't make any sense, though. Why would he save us?"
"Maybe he finally lost his mind," Shayera offered with a shrug which only earned a hard glare from the other female.
Lantern snaked his arm around the Thanagarian's waist and hissed in her ear, "Don't pester."
She simply stuck her tongue out in response. The conversation carried on without the two.
"Perhaps Vandal had realized the error of his way," J'onn said, rubbing his other large, green hand across his strong chin. Flash began to stir in the chair opposite, sitting up and blinking rather much like a child who'd been disturbed from a long nap, rubbing at his eyes with the back of his hand.
"When pigs fly," he murmured, yanking his mask back to expose the young face of Wally West. His orange hair was askew, sticking up at odd angles across his head comically, and yawned, stretching his arms up above his head before settling back down.
"Always need to get one little quip in, don't you?" Shayera teased fondly. Flash glanced over at her, his forest-like eyes clearing of the fog as now amusement began to dance in its place.
"The thing is, none of us are in any condition to take him out," Superman sighed, stretching his arm out across the dark leather as well. He stared up at the vaulted ceiling helplessly, for after all, he was painfully right. Still affected by the radiation, Superman was no use, Flash couldn't dispose of it, Lantern didn't have enough power to carry it up to the sun, Shayera couldn't either, Diana was badly inured, and J'onn couldn't get too close to the creature due to it's violent telepathy.
"Well, I could use the remains of my ring to carry Vandal out to sun," Lantern said, rubbing his temple in frustration. "Or I could go get my Lantern and then dispose of him."
"But that would mean we actually agreed to killing him, and obviously we haven't yet," Superman pointed out, shooting Green Lantern a look. Flash groaned and crossed his arms, leaning back against the couch.
"We just keep going in circles," Flash complained, pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly. Exasperation was clear in his tone.
"Yeah, but now we have a tie-breaker," Shayera said, gesturing over to Wonder Woman. All eyes turned back to the Amazonian.
"Listen, I don't really-," she started but as cut off as Alfred rushed into the room, panting slightly, his eyes wide in fear.
"Sorry for my intrusion, ladies, gentlemen, but master Bruce is in need of your assistance," the butler puffed. "He's in the bat cave and specifically asked for me to retrieve you all. Please, hurry."
Superman got to his feet, followed swiftly by the rest of the team, and brushed past Alfred with ease. Once they reached the recently replaced grandfather clock, Shayera yanked the antique free of its hinges with one pull but was cut off from advancing beyond as Superman shot forward, no longer walking but flying, past her and into the yawning darkness. From the second level came a loud crash followed by the high screech of metal grating against metal. Superman was the first to reach Batman, followed quickly by J'onn and Lantern.
Superman's gut wrenched as he stared out on the gruesome scene of Joker writhing with the strange fibers clinging to one side and Batman slamming the clown down fiercely, a look of determination ingrained into his features.
"What the hell is that?" Lantern cried as Superman separated the two. J'onn moved in swiftly to contain Joker and then finally Green Lantern put restraints all around him, allowing the Martian to back down.
Batman struggled against Superman for a moment before realizing what had just occurred. He shrugged the other superhero off, still in a whirl of anger and frustration. Joker strained against the ring's power while the heroes came closer as if to examine him.
Strange silver fibers dug deep into his skin but molded together in a thick paste the thicker it got and consumed the entirety of his left arm and leg. The more Joker fought to free himself, the more the spindles crept over his white cheek, burrowing deeper and inching closer to the plastered smile.
"Stop! You'll kill him," Superman snapped, snapping his hand out to clench Lantern's outstretched forearm with the power siphoning out of his ring. "The more power he exerts, the more the parasite gains control."
And then everything fell silent, except for the villain's ragged breaths, his green hair seeming limp and soaked with perspiration. Blood slowly began to pool around the clown's knees.
Joker gave a small chuckle, and said, "Laughing in the face of my death, wouldn't you say Batman?"
Suddenly, the clown prince twisted under the binds, writhing in pain and gritting his yellowed teeth together. Lantern released him for a moment, and then quickly put a large green dome all around him. Colorless hands clawed at green hair and screams ripped through the throat in which usually was giving a taunting laugh. The tumor-like growth whipped out more tentacles and long fibers across the rest of Joker's torso, burrowing into his suit's purple jacket until blood slowly began to drip down, adding to the already growing puddle of crimson.
"Don't make me beg," Joker wheezed, lifting his head. Blood trickled out from the corner of his cruel smile. "Just take my life, Batsy. I came all this way to make sure it was you who got the honor."
For a moment there was calm, silence, just the sound of breathing could be heard, as it they had all entered the eye of the storm, their one moment of tranquility before it all exploded into chaos once more. Sure enough, Joker suddenly began to convulse, coiling and writhing in agony once more before the movements became violent seizures. Batman sprung forward, kneeling down by the clown's side as the villain's movements halted, going completely still. The heroes watched in morbid fascination as Bruce lowered his head down to Joker's, and, hearing no breath, began to perform CPR on his arch nemesis.
"Get me the shock panels and an IV and someone set up the cell on the next story," Batman demanded loudly, pumping his palm furiously against the madman's bare chest. After a few more thrusts, Batman captured Joker's lips and forced breath back into his lungs.
The remainder of the League rushed about, preparing and getting everything Batman could need to keep the clown alive.
"Don't die, damn it," the dark knight snarled. "You never gave up before."
He continued to work on Joker, now just slamming his clenched fists down on the bleached body. Suddenly, the Clown Prince of Gotham began to breathe, as if hearing Batman's words, yet he didn't wake up, but rather stayed unconscious, but still alive at least.
"What do you plan to do with him, Bruce?" Superman murmured, crouching down beside his teammate. Batman cast a sidelong glance at the Kryptonian, feeling at a loss. Superman placed a strong hand on his friend's shoulder, giving a comforting squeeze. "I'm sure we can find a way to cure him, well I know at least you can, though there are times when I wonder why you'd ever even bother to save him…?"
Batman let out a long sigh, making his body tremble with the enormous release of tension. He'd been asking himself that for years – lying awake in his bed, unable to sleep, because that madman plagued his mind. By all means, Joker ought to have been dead, after all the people he killed and then murdering Jason Todd, that alone should have made him snap and kill the clown, but there was always something that held the dark knight back, something that Dick had once said. It was that Joker exited because of Batman and visa versa, and the two would be locked in an everlasting combat because ultimately Bruce would not cross the line and Joker would never stop testing his limits.
"Just go, I'll get him accommodated; you take the rest of the team back up with you," Batman ordered, "…and Clark?"
Superman paused for a moment before he turned away, glancing back only to lock eyes with the dark knight.
"Thanks."
It was so simple but the word and inflection it all implied carried a much deeper meaning. Bruce wasn't thanking him for doing what he'd asked this time, or even for all the times, but more that Clark was still able to give him some consort to depend upon. With that said, Superman retreated away, assembling the rest of the league with him as he headed them back up the stairs, leaving Bruce alone with his enemy.
Flash slid down the wall in the study, where the league was yet again gathered. The storm outside raged madly now, incessantly, pounding itself against the windows. Diana was beside Flash, often murmuring words that only the two could hear. Superman paced wildly, moving back and forth in a half stride, half float. Shayera and Green Lantern were talking quietly amongst themselves on one of the couches but it was J'onn's state that was most bothersome. The Martian was just standing in front of window, looking out at the destructive wind and black, clouded sky as rain came down harder by the minute. He had a hooded look to his face and hid orange eyes were staring off into some unseen place and time.
Alfred walked in the doorway, carrying a tray with plain white tea cups, all with steam curling up from each. The butler set it down on the dark wooden coffee table and fidgeted with his cuffs for a moment in the deeply seeded silence.
Shayera took a cup in her delicate hands and took a sip of the warm liquid, giving Alfred a kind and genuine smile. The elder gentleman duplicated the action, seeming to calm down slightly. The rest of the league joined the small group on the couches, not speaking but drinking and sitting quietly, all except for J'onn who continued to gaze out the window.
Suddenly, there was a loud crash that shattered the silence. The whole group cast confused glances over towards the direction of the bat cave. Another loud slamming noise was quickly followed by another, and then the whole mansion seemed to shake for a second.
The tea pot slipped from the butler's gloved hands, smashing into tinkling porcelain shards and staining the intricately designed rug brown. Rounds of explosions all followed one after another, all in rapid succession and then ceased as soon as they had started up.
Shayera was first move, snapping her wings out in the expansive study and barreling through the large doorway, her feet leaving the ground briefly. Following behind her was Superman and Green Lantern. Flash moved to speed off after them, when a hand landed on his lean shoulder. The young hero glanced up at J'onn, staring back into the deep, pupil-less orange spheres. Before he could say anything, the two slipped through the floor, disappearing into the wood and descending down upon bat cave from above.
As they floated down, Flash smirked and said almost tauntingly, "Sometimes I forget how helpful intangibility is."
The two landed down beside the rest of team, and Flash cast a long look around the bat cave. The cases that originally had the costumes on display were smashed and gadgets that were no doubt from Batman's belt were strewn everywhere. The super computer that usually was sitting placidly in the corner was broken; the keyboard had snapped in half on itself and smoke was curling up from the damaged screen.
Flash stepped forward, letting out a low whistle but was cut off as his foot splashed in a puddle. The young hero glanced down and instantly recoiled from what he saw; his foot in a rippling pool of blood. Smaller red drops adorned the metal floor of the cave.
"Bats! Hey, come on, buddy, where are you?" he called out, retracting from the blood and pacing in the opposite direction.
Shayera launched off of the platform and down to the second story. Flash continued to call out and walk around the upper story while the winged woman was checking down below.
"Guys, get down here!" she called. Superman and Lantern dive off of the side of the first landing while Flash, having one hand of J'onn's resting on him, lets himself slip through until descending upon the group like the latter of their actions.
Sure enough, there was Batman, leaning across Shayera's thin shoulders, holding his side painfully with his free hand. Superman walked over to his friend hesitantly, taking him from Hawkgirl and inspecting him closely.
"Vandal got away. I think he knew I was alone and I was putting Joker back into his cell when he made his move. It's my fault, I shouldn't have left him unattended," Batman ground out between clenched teeth and a tight jaw. "I'm fine, bruised and maybe broken, but trust me; I'll live." He answered the unasked question smoothly, putting the team more at ease.
Flash turned away for a moment, and saw, much to his displeasure, more puddles of blood, no doubt most of it Batman, though he tried to ignore it and find Joker before it was too late and they had one more thing to worry about. He walked past it, refusing to look down at it but instead was determined to take a look around for the missing villain. Sure enough, he found Joker crumpled against a wall near where his cell was, bleeding badly from his still-human arm, and was beaten from what looked to be a struggle. Perhaps he had tried to help Bats?
"Find him, Flash?" Lantern called out, snapping the younger hero from his thoughts. He confirmed it, and John quickly came over and helped the clown back into his cell.
"What do we do now?" Diana asked, placing her hands on her hips and looking around the group for any kind of answer.
Batman glanced over at her, pushing his cape back aside as he said, "We find a cure for Joker."
Author's Note: So I suck at cliffhangers, but we all have room for improvement, right?
Okay, so as Promised, there is a note so PLEASE READ this. I wanted to ask this, and I'm not necessarily looking for an answer, but I want my dear readers to at least have this in their head - If I write another JL story of about the same caliber as this one, could I expect at least half of you to read it too? After I finish Aftermath, I was thinking about writting another story, however, IT WOULD NOT BE A CONTINUATION. That said, I have an idea for the next plot and yes, I have been working on it a little bit, so it should be ready about two weeks after I wrap this all up.
Now, more buisness. Since the plot I have now is not set in stone, I was just going to say that if any of you have an idea for a JL story but you just don't really feel like writting it all out, I will gladly write that for you and publish it so you and the rest of te Fanfic community can read it, and the person who gave me their idea would probably have each little chapter dedicated to them. And maybe if you don't have like a giant plot already in your head, but you want to see a certain situation, I could do that too.
However, if I don't get any suggestions, ideas, etc. then I probably will continue with my plans to publish my next upcoming JL story. So, if I tell you when it's out, would any of you care to read it?
