It was two and a half hours before anybody spoke again. Vera sighed, and placed her pencil on the table. She raked her hair from her face, exhausted. "Why do I feel like I'm in the middle of my finals?" she asked nobody in particular. She frowned. "Please don't answer that, anybody."
"You look exhausted," the elder Luthor said, looking at her with a slightly raised eyebrow.
"Yeah. Just in the last couple of weeks I've discovered that I have an older sister – you've been sleeping with her, by the way; I've died, come back to life and gotten engaged. Between all of that, I've been racking my brain on this." She glanced at the Flash. "Not that I'm complaining about the engagement." She was about to say more when she was interrupted by an incoming call on her phone. She glanced at the caller ID, and took the Commissioner's call.
Vera, Batman and Superman gathered with Commissioner Jim Gordon in the viewing section of an interrogation room. "Is this him?" Batman asked.
"One of them," Jim nodded. "The others we're tracking down now. No priors. None that we've found, anyway. He's not talking, so far. What do you think, Vera?" Vera looked back at the Commissioner, who always seemed interested in her opinions.
"He's just a kid. He'll talk with encouragement." She looked again at the teenage boy sitting in interrogation. He had dark blond hair that fell over his forehead. She couldn't see his features very well for he was holding his head in his hands and looking down at the table. "He's scared as all hell. I think if he's offered a good deal he'll talk, although if he's never been in trouble with the police before, he wouldn't know the difference. Poor lamb."
"So you like him?" Superman asked. Vera gave her mentor a half smile.
"I think he's harmless."
"We'll see," Batman said, and reached for the door.
"Batman," Vera said, still watching the boy. She glanced at him, and smiled. "Don't scare the poor thing too much." Batman smiled a little, and headed into interrogation. The boy looked up when he entered the room, and shied away from the big man.
"Aw, hell no!" he exclaimed, panicking.
"Sit down," Batman growled. "What's the interest in Vera Edwards?"
"Let me out! He's gonna kill me!"
"Nice start, Bats," Vera muttered. "Let me handle this." Picking up a glass of water, she, too, went to the interrogation room. Once she'd closed the door, she turned to face the boy. "Jason, isn't it?" He stared at her, wide-eyed and terrified. "Sit down, Jason. His bark is worse than his bite."
"Nah, that's not what I hear."
"Well, you must be hearing from some pretty unco-operative people." Vera set the glass of water on the table as she sat down, and gestured for Jason to join her.
"You the good cop?"
"I'm not a cop." Vera smiled. The boy's eyes narrowed suspiciously, and widened again.
"You're the girl they tried to kill!"
"I am. You want to sit down?"
"Is that water poisoned or something?"
"We're with the Justice League. I'm sure you know what they're about."
"I got the general idea."
"Well, then you know that we're not going to kill you. First of all, you don't seem to me like you'd be worth the time to kill. Second, the Commissioner has eyes and ears. As does Superman and everybody else in the League. And with all the yelling and screaming, you're giving my friends and I quite the headache." She smiled satisfactorily as Jason decided to sit down. "I just want to talk. That's all." Jason nodded.
"Ok." He glanced at Batman.
"It's ok. Batman is going to watch from the window. Aren't you?" Batman nodded, and left the room.
"Who taught her to do that?" Jim asked him when he rejoined them. Batman and Superman looked at each other.
"That's a talent she's always had," Superman answered finally. "None of us knows what she does. Even the Flash doesn't have this ability." In the interrogation, Vera spoke calmly and softly to the boy.
"I just have a few questions for you, Jason. If you answer them all truthfully, or as best you can, I might be able to convince the Commissioner to give you full immunity and protection through this case."
"What do you need to know?" Jason asked quietly.
"Let's start with something easy. How did you get caught up in this, Jason?"
"I needed money. My dad kicked me out on the street and I didn't have anywhere to go. Some guys came up to me on the street one day and offered me a job. I had no idea what it was, honest!"
"Ok. I believe you. Keep going."
"Well, they put me on the phone to this lady. She said she needed me to do something for her, something with chemicals and cars. She must have seen my school records or something, I don't know."
"You're a good student, then?" Jason nodded. "You know, I was never a good student. I didn't study. I was smart enough, sure, and the lessons stuck in my head. But by the time exams came, I could have been bothered." She looked into Jason's brown eyes. "My parents kicked me out, too, when I was your age."
"What did you do?"
"Well, by then I'd gotten a job. I was an office assistant. I met some nice people and they offered to have me until I could get back on my feet. Then I met the Justice League and I've been with them for the last three years." Jason nodded. "You know, I'm sure that if you talk to one of the child services officers here, they'll help you out like the League helped me. What else can you tell me? Something about your boss?"
"She lives in Metropolis. But I have no idea who she is."
"Well, how did you get paid?"
"One of the guys handed me an envelope full of money. It was a lot of money."
"Do the police know who these guys were?"
"I didn't tell them anything. They must have gotten fingerprints or something."
"Well, why don't you tell me their names?"
"I don't know." Jason frowned to himself. Then he brightened. "But I can draw them."
"Great!" Moments later, the Commissioner brought in a sketch pad and pencil, and Jason got to work immediately. When he finished the drawings, he handed them to Vera. "These are very good," she said, looking at the first one. "Do you study art?"
"No. My dad said it's for girls."
"Well, I know quite a few manly men who can draw and paint, and it's no big deal to them. You're talented. My guardian, Bruce Wayne, I'm sure he'd agree. He's a good judge of art, even though he can't draw a circle to save his life."
"Thanks." Jason beamed. "So, the first guy had brown hair and brown eyes. The other had red hair and blue eyes. And freckles." Vera looked at the second picture, and froze. Composing herself, she looked up at Jason and smiled.
"Well, Jason, you've been very helpful. I'll see what I can do for you. Thank you." She barely gave the boy a chance to reply before rushing to join the others. She closed the door behind her carefully.
"Vera?" asked Superman. She handed her mentors the sheets of paper. "You were right, these are good. But what's..." He was cut off by shock when he looked at the sheet Batman was holding. Vera looked up at him with wide, shocked eyes, and he returned the look. "Jimmy?"
Lex Luthor handed Vera her third glass of brandy. "Jimmy Olsen?" he asked.
"Well, he doesn't have a twin, Lex." She frowned, and glanced up at Clark. "Does he?" Clark shook his head.
"Batman checked it out. It ties in with a trip he made for Perry White." He sat down next to her. "I just can't believe Jimmy would have anything to do with this." Vera offered him her glass, but realised it was already empty.
"It could be that somebody is framing him," Luthor suggested.
"It could. I hope so." Vera bit her lip.
"But we would be back to square one," said the other Superman. "Somebody made an attempt on your life. If they know you're still alive, they're not going to stop."
"But I've already died once, and I came back. Who's to say it won't happen again?"
"And who's to say it will?"
"Superman's right. You might not be so lucky the next time," Luthor agreed. Vera looked between the three of them and sighed.
"What do you suggest we do, then?" asked Clark.
"We carry on as normal," Vera replied. "For him to know that we know, we'd be giving away our position in the trenches. We can't afford that." Clark didn't seem to hear her.
"Jimmy... He visited you in the hospital."
"With daisies and roses."
"I just can't believe this." Clark stood up again, frowning. "How can someone be so innocent and mild-mannered one minute, then a cold blooded killer the next?" Vera and Superman stared at him.
"I'm sorry, I thought that was the idea of secret identities," Vera said sarcastically. "My bad." She hesitated. "And I'm not so sure about cold blooded, either."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it is Jimmy Olsen."
"But does that really mean anything?" asked Lex. "I mean, you wouldn't expect Clark Kent to be Superman, but for all everyone else knows, he could be." They all stared at him for a minute. He seemed puzzled as to why they seemed surprised.
"Well, he's got a point, kind of," Vera said, finally. "But what I mean is that I'm not totally sure he's doing it voluntarily. Think about it. James Olsen wouldn't hurt a fly willingly. He feels guilty when he does. Literally."
"A fly is completely different to a human being," Lex replied. "A fly is an insect."
"I don't see the difference, actually. Humans are just as annoying."
"Thanks...?" frowned Clark. Vera smiled at him.
"My point is, we should give Jimmy the benefit of the doubt." She glanced between the three of them. "There's more to this than meets the eye."
Clark Kent glanced around the Daily Planet. Lois was returning from the staff room with a cup of fresh coffee. Normally, he and Jimmy would join her for a morning coffee and donut before getting to work. Now, he was sipping his own coffee that he'd bought himself, and Jimmy was nowhere to be seen. "Hey, Lois," he said to her when she reached her desk across from him, "have you seen much of Jimmy lately?" Lois frowned.
"No. I think Perry sent him on a project in Gotham."
"Oh."
"Why?"
"I was just wondering, that's all." Lois nodded, and glanced behind Clark. He followed her gaze to see Vera heading towards Perry White's office. Across the room, she flashed a small smile at them before disappearing through Perry's door.
"Did you know she was coming in?" Lois asked him. Clark shook his head.
"Not a clue."
When Vera returned to Gotham that night, she found the Justice League waiting for her in the Bat Cave.
"What brought you to the Planet?" asked Superman. Vera glanced at him, momentarily confused.
"I'm assuming you mean the Daily Planet."
"No, I mean that you're an alien from a dead planet." Vera tapped her nose.
"Secrets." She hesitated, and reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a folded slip of paper. "Somebody else knew I was in Metropolis. They left this on my front door." She handed the paper to Batman. "They want to meet on top of the Gotham Daily Planet building tomorrow night at eight."
"And you're going?"
"I'll take my chances."
"Is that a good idea?" asked the elder Lex. Vera shrugged.
"A lot of the things I do are never a good idea, but it doesn't stop me from doing that. I'm sure you've noticed that."
"We just don't want you to get hurt," said the younger Luthor. Vera smiled softly.
"All that's left to do to me is break my back."
"That's what we're worried about," the Flash said. Vera looked at her fiancé. He raised his eyes to hers under his red cowl. "You may not be so lucky again."
"I know. But you may not be, either. Whenever someone prepares to mess with the Justice League, they prepare for everyone. Kryptonite, guns, fire, you name it. They will even use your loved ones against you, and you all know it." She exhaled, tired. "I'll be fine." Reaching up to adjust her chignon held up by a pair of what seemed, to the younger Lex Luthor, to be a pair of chopsticks, Vera hesitated. For a second, he thought he saw her eyes clouding – more than usual, but then it disappeared before anybody else could notice. She seemed to gather her thoughts again, and glanced up at Batman. "Still, I guess it wouldn't hurt to have someone there. Just in case." Batman nodded approvingly.
Sometime later, Vera glanced towards the door as someone knocked. "Come in." Stretching her arms above her head, she raised an eyebrow in surprise when the elder Lex Luthor stepped through. "Something on your mind, Lex?" She gently bent her body to the left in a half-moon pose.
"Do you really intend to meet this person tomorrow night?" Lex Luthor seemed genuinely concerned.
"I do. It's just going to annoy me, otherwise." The man nodded in understanding.
"And the risk factor?"
"Halved, if someone's going with me." Vera straightened up, and bent to the other side. "The original factor would have been at about ninety percent, if I were a regular person meeting a mysterious figure on top of the Daily Planet building in Gotham City, and completely unaffiliated with Batman and Co. Now, factor in my training, and that takes it to eighty. Add the Kryptonite, and you're down to about forty."
"Twenty percent isn't quite safe enough. And what if you have another energy drain from the Kryptonite?"
"I won't. Not until the next morning, at least."
"How do you know?"
"Well, I did the work." Vera was about to elaborate when she was interrupted by the sound of a crash and broken glass flying through the air as a man broke through her window. Calmly, she turned and looked at the intruder. "Do you mind?" She sighed as the man ran towards her, and raised her right fist just in time to connect with his jaw, and followed up with a kick to his gut. The man was sent flying towards the wall panel behind him, and slumped to the ground, shocked. Vera shook her hand to loosen it up again, and turned to face the door. "Clark! Bruce!" she yelled. To Lex, she seemed more vaguely annoyed and bored than frightened, yet her voice held a note of anxiety, as much as she tried to keep her demeanour calm. After a moment, she frowned, as if she wasn't getting the response she expected or wanted, and then seemed to remember that he was there. She looked at him with some surprise, and stepped gingerly between shards of glass to her bedside table. From the drawer, she pulled out a small first-aid kit, and moved back to Lex's side.
"Don't move," she said calmly. "This is going to hurt." She gestured for him to be quiet when he tried to speak. As soon as he did, he felt a pain in his cheek. "Stay calm. There's some glass in the wound."
Vera was finishing cleansing Lex Luthor's wound when Bruce reached her door. He glanced around the room protectively, and crossed to the pair kneeling on the floor.
"What happened?" he asked. Vera glanced up at him from her tender work, and nodded towards the figure slumped against the wall.
"That guy."
Jimmy Olsen sat across from Commissioner Gordon in interrogation. Vera had kept her cool remarkably well, Superman thought, considering the given situation. That was more than he could say for himself before coming to the precinct as Superman. As Clark, before leaving, he had gone back to the Bat Cave, and punched a wall, which had startled some of the others. Vera, on the other hand, was calm and composed. She now stood between himself and J'onn, thumbs in the pockets of her jeans.
"Well, Jimmy, if you're not going to talk, we can't help you," Gordon sighed. He packed up his papers, and left the room. Vera didn't turn around when he joined the three of them in observation. Gordon turned to J'onn. "You wouldn't happen to have read his mind, by any chance?" J'onn shook his head.
"The young man has developed a psychic block in his mind." Vera's eyes widened, and she tensed all over. "I fear we will get no explanation from him." Vera set her jaw, and in seconds she had left J'onn's side and was on the other side of the glass.
"Oh, no," Superman sighed.
"She knows something, doesn't she?" Gordon asked.
In the interrogation room, Vera slammed her fists down on the table, startling Jimmy and almost denting the smooth steel surface.
"You're going to tell me everything you know. Now." Jimmy looked up at her with wide, innocent eyes.
"What are you talking about?"
"Really, Jimmy? We're going to do this now?" Vera glared at him for a moment. "You attacked me in my room at Wayne Manor, smashing in through my window and injuring someone else as a result. Ringing any bells?" Her hair fell over her shoulders and perfectly framed her face, making her look quite the femme fatale. Vera had always reminded Jimmy of a tough, beautiful heroine he had seen in comics as a kid. The woman had been an agent for the President's Secret Service before being sent ten or twenty years into the past, where she became a vigilante detective. Kind of like Batman. Like Vera had. Now, her eyes were bright with anger.
"I don't have all night, Jimmy." Jimmy took a deep breath, then smiled smugly.
"I don't have to say anything. I know my rights." Vera narrowed her eyes, and straightened up.
"No. Of course not. You're entitled to a lawyer, and the cops should get you one." Vera shrugged, and moved around the table to stand behind him. She put her hands on Jimmy's shoulders, and leaned forward. "But you forget one thing."
"What's that?"
"I'm not a cop," she hissed in his ear. She stood straight again, and let go of his shoulders. She glanced at the one-way window and in a swift movement, swung her leg up and connected with Jimmy's head. Sparks flew, and before she knew it, Superman had burst through the door and grabbed her. She pulled herself free of his grip, and looked calmly at the robotic head as it stopped rolling on the floor. "Commissioner," she said simply, "I assume you'll be releasing this to Batman to examine?"
Vera winced as her head connected with the corner of a door frame. Bruce and two Lex Luthors looked up from newspapers and breakfasts. Vera blinked sleepily, and frowned. "I don't remember getting out of bed."
"You were awake," said the younger Lex. "You were reading a book and having a conversation with me a little while ago." Vera nodded thoughtfully.
"You said something about rubies?"
"No."
"Oh. Well, I must have been dreaming another conversation." Vera blinked as Alfred pushed a steaming hot mug of coffee in her hands, whisking past her.
"I take it you didn't sleep this morning," Bruce said, gazing at her steadily. Vera shook her head and took a seat near him at the table.
"I thought it would be fun to stay awake, instead." She rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn. Her hair fell over her eyes when she looked back down at the coffee mug. "When this is all over, remind me to take a sleeping pill. I just want to sleep for days on end." Bruce reached over to pat her shoulder sympathetically. "Alfred, how many sugars did you put in this?"
"Seven."
"Thank you." Vera sipped her coffee, and blinked as the Flash came blurring through the dining room. "Flash, darling, it's too early in the morning." He responded with a jumble of hurried words rushing out of his mouth. Vera looked up at him, dazed. "It's way too early in the morning. Slow down."
"Oh. Sorry. You guys might want to see this." And then he was gone. Vera glanced back at Bruce, and shrugged.
In the Bat Cave, Vera was handed more coffee by Superman. She smiled gratefully at him, having finished her previous cup on the way down, and looked around the cave. The first thing she noticed was red hair. Her eyes widened as she took in the scene some more. The superheroes were crowded around the large computer screen, where Jimmy Olsen's beaten face was in front of them. The video call was live, it had to be. He saw her from his end of the call, and his eyes lit up with both joy and fear. "Vera!"
"Jimmy?" Vera paused. "What's going on?" Then a figure, male or female, Vera couldn't tell for the clothing, wearing a ski mask appeared.
"This is a friendly reminder to meet us on top of the Daily Planet building in Gotham City tonight..." Vera held up her hand, stopping the kidnapper in their tracks, and sipped her coffee.
"Yeah, yeah, eight o'clock, I know. And the point of this meeting is..?"
"An exchange. Olsen here for the device. Come alone."
"I'm sorry, what device?" Vera blinked. She glanced around at her friends, who all stared back at her blankly. "Anyone?" In the corner of her eye, she saw her Batman slip in to join them from the darkness.
"You know very well what device."
"I'm afraid it... Oh! That one! Sure." Vera nodded.
"Don't, Vera!" Jimmy started to shout, but he received a punch in his jaw. Vera winced inwardly.
"It'll be fine, Jimmy." She glared at the kidnapper.
"That easily?" hissed Superman.
"For Jimmy? Anything." Vera took another sip of her coffee, and sighed as the caffeine and sight of Jimmy revitalised her. "Now, let me speak with him, please."
"Fine." The kidnapper seemed a little taken aback by her willingness to trade, and moved aside. "Thirty seconds."
"Vera-!" Jimmy said helplessly.
"It'll be fine. I know exactly what they want, and for all I care they can have it, as long as you're safe. Just hold in there, buddy. Ok?" Jimmy nodded. In that instant, before the screen cut off, he seemed younger than ever. He was only months older than her, but now... Vera sighed, then steeled herself and turned to face the others.
"You know what they're talking about?" asked the Flash. Vera hesitated. "You don't, do you?"
"You're going to put Jimmy at more risk than he is right now," Superman said.
"No," Vera replied instantly. "I know. I mean... I have an idea. It's either that memory thing, or... Or I don't know."
"You have a plan?" asked Batman. Vera nodded. The younger Lex Luthor raised his hand.
"Would we be learning what this plan is?" he asked.
"No. Just trust my judgement – for once, guys, please! – and know that I know what I'm doing."
Vera picked up the memory eraser, and slipped it into her pocket. Her hair, although it was tied in a curling ponytail, stood out against her black clothing. Clark watched her as she checked herself and ensured her concealed weapons were, in fact, concealed, and he felt both pride and fear welling up inside. She seemed to notice, and sighed.
"Clark, I'll be fine," she said softly, looking up at him. "Jimmy will be fine, more importantly. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of him and myself for a few minutes." Her mentor looked down at her doubtfully for a moment. "And it's better if you don't go, anyway."
"What do you mean?" Vera looked away.
"I spoke to Lex. Nobody apart from himself and I knew about the memory eraser, until I showed you guys."
"She thinks it could be one of us," said Bruce, appearing out of nowhere. Behind him was the rest of the Justice League in their street clothes, except for Shayera, who had only taken off her helmet. Vera bit her lip.
"Vera?" asked Wally. She looked at him, and then back at Bruce.
"Well, for one thing, I'm not entirely sure that that's what they want. They could be asking for something else entirely that we don't even know about. For another, if they do want the memory eraser, it could be someone Lex has wiped before, and they've regained their memories." Clark heard her heartbeat falter for a moment.
"You don't think that, though, do you?"
"It's a possibility." Vera picked up her earwig, and placed it in her ear. "Now, I have to go."
"Wait," Bruce said. Something in his voice sounded off. Vera looked back at him. "What's the plan?"
"The plan? You guys stay here and let me deal with this accordingly." The room fell deadly quiet as she headed to the front door.
"How do we know it isn't you?" asked Shayera. Vera turned around. Everybody seemed uneasy.
"Because I want Jimmy Olsen back here alive," she replied. She opened the door, and when she moved to leave, she jumped back with a scream that was cut short by her hand over her mouth, and stared ahead of her. Clark jumped to her side, but saw nothing outside.
"What is it?" he asked. Vera shook her head, eyes full of terror.
"Jenny," she whispered.
Vera stared out over the city of Gotham from the top of the Daily Planet building. She had managed to convince the League that she was fine, but she knew that the Martians had followed her. She could see her mentor in the corner of her eye, and the other J'onn across the street. Sounds of a door being opened behind her snapped her attention back to the task at hand. She turned around. "So you finally..." She broke off mid-sentence. Batman, Superman and Lois Lane stood in front of her. "Uh... Guys?" She searched Superman's eyes, then Lois'. She couldn't place it, but there was something in her eyes she didn't think was right. "I told you I was fine."
"You also said you saw Jenny." Superman's blue eyes burned through her. Vera shifted.
"You really don't trust me to handle this?"
"We trust you," Batman interjected, "but not your state of mind."
"I'll see a shrink when I'm done," Vera said defiantly.
"You already have one. Two, in fact," Lois pointed out.
"A human shrink. No offence, J'onn." Vera glanced at him in the shadows. "I can do this. Now get out of here."
"J'onn?" Superman asked, turning to the Martian. Vera sighed and turned towards J'onn, and he touched her head with his hands. She closed her eyes, and let him in. Then nothing.
When Vera came to, there was daylight outside. She bolted to sit upright, and sank back to the pillows, her head throbbing. "Easy does it, Vera," Alfred's voice said from the side of the bed. He was dissolving a painkiller in a glass of water, and set it aside to help her sit up.
"What happened?" Vera asked. Then it all flooded back to her. "Oh my god, what happened?!"
"You passed out when J'onn checked your mind," said Bruce from the door.
"What were you guys doing there?" Vera's feet hit the floor, and she was standing in front of Bruce a little sooner than she would have thought. He caught her hand before it hit his face. "What happened?" she demanded, distantly aware of the subtle burning sensation rushing through her body. Bruce looked again at the hand he held away from his face, and back into Vera's eyes. They were burning with anger and fear. He exhaled deeply.
"Why don't you freshen up and change, and then come down to the Cave?" he asked as calmly as he could manage. "There are things we need to talk about." Vera frowned, and stepped back.
"Fine. But you are going to tell me everything." Stepping away from her mentor, she tugged at the silk nightgown someone must have changed her into while she was out, and started to pull it off, and, as she passed him, took the towel that Alfred held out to her on her way to the bathroom.
Vera slipped on a dark blue silk and chiffon shirt on her way out of her bedroom door, and stormed to the Bat Cave. On her way she passed the young Lex Luthor. "Good morning," he said politely. Vera stopped, and smiled at him calmly.
"Good morning. Where is everybody?"
"The Bat Cave. They're waiting for you."
"Great. Thank you." When Vera reached the Cave, she glared back at Batman, who was waiting for her at the bottom of the stone steps. "Now." Silently, he stepped aside. Behind him, on the hospital bed on the other side of the cave, was a young man with red hair – but it wasn't Jimmy. Vera froze, and her eyes widened. Then she was by his side in seconds. "Wally," she whispered, touching his hand. His eyelids twitched, but didn't open. She looked at the heart rate monitor and other hospital equipment, and then whirled on the others. Superman thought he saw a flash of orange flame in her eyes, but it was gone before he could be sure.
"We tried," said the other Flash, quietly.
"Tried? Tried what?" Vera asked, seething.
"We tried to rescue Jimmy Olsen," Batman replied simply. They stared at each other, mentor and protégé, for what seemed like hours before Superman sighed and broke the silence.
"You might want to sit down," he said to Vera.
"I don't want to sit down." The Flash appeared at her side.
"Vera? Please, sit down?" She just looked at him. He was so much like her Wally that anybody else would have gotten them confused, but there was a different set to this one's jaw. Yes, they were very much the same, in appearance and personality, and they both were the kind of guy to put their life on the line for the rest of the world. But this Wally West, the one from the other universe, spoke to her with a different urgency to his voice. "If not for yourself, at least do it for Wally. He's unconscious, but he is still aware of his surroundings. He knows you're upset, and it's upsetting him." He spoke so low that Vera was sure only the Supermen could hear him. She glanced back at her fiancé, and nodded. She could hear the accelerated beeping of the heart monitor begin to regulate.
"Fine." She paced to one of the chairs next to the other Batman, and sat down. She looked expectantly at the superheroes around her. "Who's going to start?" Superman stepped forward.
"We were worried about your state of mind last night, so, the two J'onns followed you."
"I saw them."
"We sensed that something was wrong when you left the mansion. It got worse when you reached the Daily Planet building." Her J'onn stood by her, his hand on her shoulder. "We got concerned. You were pale and shaking, like you are now, so we called on the rest of the League. We were even more concerned when you didn't notice Superman and Batman."
"What happened after I passed out? That's what I want to know."
"Superman brought you back to Wayne Manor, but while he was gone there was a voice, presumably the person who has Jimmy Olsen. They said that because you hadn't shown up alone, we wouldn't get Jimmy. Then we were attacked. They were prepared for us," Batman said. "All of us. When Superman returned, we had managed to take down most of the attackers."
"Most?"
"There were some unaccounted for afterwards," the Flash said. "The two of us," he gestured to Wally on the bed, "searched for them, and found two of them. Superman found us, and while we were interrogating them, the third turned up with a Kryptonite laser. Wally was hit when he ducked in front of Superman. I disarmed the other guy when J'onn came along."
"Wally will be fine," J'onn said reassuringly.
"Good. And what about Jimmy?"
"They would not tell us. Their minds were blocked from our mind-reading abilities." Vera sighed in frustration, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Ok. So tell me more about Wally's condition."
"I'm afraid there is not much to tell. The laser hit him in the head. There's no telling when he'll wake up."
"So it could be anytime between ten minutes and ten years, you mean?" J'onn's eyes were sombre. Vera nodded to indicate her understanding. "Alright."
"So, now what do we do?" asked Shayera. Her right arm was held in a sling, her elbow and wrist wrapped to hold them steady. Everybody looked at her.
"We hold it together," Vera replied evenly. "And we carry on."
"Hold it together?" Shayera echoed. "First, at least two universes are colliding, because of Lex Luthor. We now have two Lex Luthors on our hands, you're losing your mind, and now Wally is out for heaven knows how long, and that doesn't even cover all of it! And you, of all people, talk about holding it together and carrying on? Do you feel nothing anymore? I remember when you were human! You used to care about other people and what happened to them! What happened to you? Did dying remove all of your humanity? Or was that Lex?" Vera snapped her eyes up to gaze at Shayera coldly. "Do you know what that did to Wally? Do you care?"
"Of course I care!" Vera snapped. "He's Wally! He's my fiancé!"
"Exactly!" Vera opened her mouth to respond, then laughed. It was an uncharacteristically cruel sounding laugh, Superman thought.
"Are you jealous, Shayera?" she asked. "Is that it?" Shayera's jaw dropped. "I know how close the two of you were until a year ago."
"Wh-what? No, that's – that's not..." Vera's gaze hardened.
"I don't care about your history with Wally. But I do care about him. You think my humanity has been removed? You think I don't care anymore? You're dead wrong. I care about people. I care about you guys. I care about Jimmy Olsen – why do you think I was so determined that things went well last night? And I especially care about Wally!"
"Stop it, both of you. You're upsetting him," Diana said sternly, stepping forward. Vera looked back at her fiancé, and crossed the Cave to the bed he lay on. She touched his face gently, and bent down to kiss his lips.
"I'm sorry," Shayera said.
"So am I." Vera didn't look away from Wally's face. Then she frowned. "Clark?" Superman looked up nervously. The shaky undertones in her voice meant there was a question she wanted to ask, and she was afraid of the answer. "What was Lois doing there last night?" Superman hesitated.
"I don't know," he said slowly. "She disappeared after you passed out." Vera looked up at him.
"Check it out," Batman said to him. "I don't like where this is going."
"Neither do I," replied Superman. He seemed grim. Then he was gone. Vera looked back at Wally, barely noticed as the rest of the League dispersed, except for the Flash and the Batmen.
"Vera," the Flash spoke softly. She didn't look up as the three approached.
"Yes?" She kept her eyes fixed on Wally, her Wally. She didn't want them to see her crying, not again.
"When all of this is over," Batman started, kneeling in front of her. Vera raised her eyes to his, and he put his hand to her face, wiping a tear from her cheek like he had always done. "When this is all over, I want you and Wally out of the hero business."
"W-what? What do you mean?" Vera stuttered. "I mean, I'm not even in the hero business, but Wally? Why?"
"So you can live you lives together." Vera just stared at him in bewilderment. "It isn't safe for you."
"I had no idea you were such a romantic."
"Vera, you're like a daughter to me. And Wally is a good friend. I want to see you having a life together, and that means keeping you safe. Both of you."
"There's something else," the other Batman said. "We've been in another alternate universe before. In that universe..."
"Their Flash was dead," the Flash continued dryly. "That pushed the Justice League over the edge, and they became dangerous." He looked at Vera and Wally. "I don't want that to happen here, too."
"The Flash is important to us. He's proven to be a vital member of our team."
"And ours," her Batman added. He looked back into Vera's eyes. "After this, we can't risk losing him. And we can't risk losing you. I can't." Vera took in a shaky breath, and looked at her mentor.
"Ok. But at least give me a chance to get into the hero business before you kick me out of it." The men stared at her for a minute, and then even the Batmen chuckled, and Vera thought she saw Wally's lips twist into a smile for a second.
"Fine. Perhaps not right away..."
"And give us a chance to talk it over."
"Alright. When the two of you have decided to settle down." Batman kissed her forehead.
"That's better." Vera flashed a smile at him. "I'm going to stay here with Wally, and in case the kidnappers try contacting me again..." Batman nodded.
"One of us will always be here as well. If we're called away, Alfred, Barbara and the boys will be around."
"Ok." A thought occurred to Vera. "What about Lois? If she is involved in this... What will happen?"
"I think we should cross that bridge when we get to it," the other Batman replied gravely. "For now, let's concentrate on finding the truth, and a solution." Everyone else nodded in agreement.
"Vera," Wally murmured. Vera jolted out of her daydreaming, and turned to her fiancé. His eyelids were closed, but he was conscious.
"I'm here." Wally smiled.
"I know you are. I could feel it from the moment you walked in." He reached a hand up to touch her face. Vera put her hand over his on her cheek. "You've been crying. Hey, Bats." Their Bruce, unmasked, approached like a shadow, holding a small glass flask in his hand.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"A little light-headed, foggy, and over-all just drugged." Bruce uncapped the flask, and Vera helped Wally sit up. He fluttered his eyes open, and smiled at her. Bruce handed him the flask, which contained a clear green liquid.
"This will help with that."
"What is that?" Vera asked.
"Water, mostly, with a painkiller and something Doctor Fate came up with."
"Thanks," Wally said. Bruce looked between the two of them, and smiled a little.
"I have a few errands to make. Alfred will be down soon." And with that, he left Vera and Wally alone. It took Vera a moment to realise Wally was staring at her.
"What is it?"
"Don't let Shayera get to you."
"You really did hear that."
"I felt it when you were upset." He looked softly, and deeply, into her eyes. "I felt it when you were crying. Even last night, when you were sleeping, I felt you were crying." He smiled. "Don't look so surprised." Then his smile faded. "You've been crying for a long time, now, haven't you? Maybe not always on the outside, but on the inside." Vera glanced away.
"I'm fine."
"V." Wally's voice was soft, but firm. "I know you're not. We all know." Vera exhaled. "But let me take care of you. Ok?"
"Ok." Vera nodded. "Ok. As long as I can take care of you, too." Wally nodded, smiling.
"That's my girl. And just so you know, nothing happened between me and Shayera."
"I know," Vera blushed. "I just wanted to shut her up." Wally regarded her thoughtfully, a smile on his lips.
"I do love you."
"I love you, too." She blushed some more. "And there was no question about that." She leaned in to kiss him. Their lips brushed, and she felt him smile some more. Then they were interrupted by Batman's computer sounding an alarm and Alfred casually walking by to check it out. He glanced back at Vera over his shoulder.
"The Justice League is calling."
"Ok. Can you stand?" Vera turned to Wally.
"Give me a minute," he replied with a dry smile. Vera nodded, and went to take the League call. All twelve faces appeared on the screen; Clark Kent and Superman, the Flash, Bruce Wayne and Batman, the Wonder Women, the Green Lanterns, the Martians, and Hawkgirl, and Alfred went to help Wally.
"Are we interrupting?" asked Bruce. He was driving one of his own cars.
"Yes. What's up?"
"It's Lois," said Clark. His voice was tight. "She's gone." Vera looked at his image blankly. "She never turned up for work, and never made it home. Never went home."
"What do you mean, she never went home?" Vera asked slowly, glancing at Alfred and Wally approaching the computers.
"I mean she's packed up and left. Most of her things..."
"Aw, man... I'm sorry," said Wally. Vera sat back in her chair.
"No." Clark's voice was hard. "I am. This means that she's behind Jimmy's kidnapping, and heaven knows what else."
"Where are you?" asked Vera, quietly.
"At the Planet."
"Ok. Stay there. Ok, Clark?"
"Ok."
"Is there any way of tracking her? J'onn?"
"We attempted to mentally sweep both Metropolis and Gotham cities," J'onn replied. "Neither of us picked up Lois Lane."
"Yeah, ok, that was a long shot. If she's really the mastermind of all of this, she'd have left by now. How far away from Gotham can you get in seventeen hours?"
"It depends on the way you go," Bruce replied, "and how you're travelling. She's travelling by bus, train or aircraft."
"I'll pull up her financial transactions and see if I can find anything, but I doubt it. She could have frozen or closed her accounts, she could have an off-shore account she's using, or at least another alternative account, or withdrawn all the money she thinks she will need..." Vera trailed off, tapping at the keyboard. "It will be difficult, but it can be done. I'm already in."
"That was fast, even for you," John said, unsure whether to be impressed or concerned. Everybody else's expressions were a mixture of both, except for Alfred, who, as usual, just kept his cool.
"I guess super-speed is kicking in," Vera replied, looking over Lois Lane's financials. "It would explain a lot. Ok... Lois' last transaction was... Three o'clock in Gotham, and she withdrew an amount of... That's interesting."
"What is?" asked Bruce. He was beginning to lose his patience, Vera could tell.
"Tell me. When you think about running from the Justice League and disappearing, would you be taking out more or less than one hundred and fifty dollars?" Vera frowned. "You can't get far for that much. I mean, if you're in Fiji, that's a different story, but..."
"Are you telling me that Lois is heading for Fiji?" asked Clark. Vera thought for a moment.
"No. For one thing, that would be too easy for us in finding her. Everybody goes to tropical islands when they want to disappear. I don't know why. But just give me a moment." Vera pulled up a search engine on the internet, and selected a website she knew to be Lois' favourite for making travel plans. "Ok, she's not flying. Perhaps a train or bus..." Vera whizzed through the booking pages on the website.
"Maybe she planned this," said Diana. Vera glanced up at the screen.
"Maybe. I suppose she might have known it wouldn't take us much longer to figure out what she was doing... She never gave you a reason as to why she was there last night, did she?" asked Vera, thoughtfully looking at Clark. He shook his head. "A likely excuse would be following Jimmy's disappearance, which could be truth, could be a lie, could be both..."
"I'll check it out with Perry," Clark said. His voice was heavy.
"We'll find her, Clark. There are fourteen of us, plus Alfred, Robin and Batgirl, and our allies. She can't hide. There are superheroes all over the globe, and then some."
"Finding her isn't what's troubling me."
"I know. But we can't get the truth from her until we do." Wally looked at his fiancé. There was a new tone in her voice, one that he hadn't heard before. She had held authority before, and she'd always felt responsibility, but this was new. He could tell by the expressions of his teammates that they heard it, too. Now, Vera was looking back over Lois' financial records. "I'm not seeing any... Wait." She tapped a few keys on the keyboard. "Clark, do you know of anything new that Lois might be paying one hundred and fifty dollars for a month?"
"No."
"Ok."
"Why?"
"Because for the last eight months she's been making these withdrawals, once a month, outside of her regular monthly spending, and it isn't shopping." Vera frowned, and narrowed her eyes. "She could be putting it into another account, putting it aside... Or paying something off," she added quickly, catching Clark's expression. "I'm going to check some things out. This is going to take a while."
"Flash and I will be back soon," said Batman. Vera nodded.
"I may have something for you to do."
Wally looked up from his work when Batman and the Flash returned. Vera didn't seem to notice, as she was running a facial recognition and watching the screen intently, even though he knew she always kept herself aware of her surroundings. "Have you found anything?" asked the Flash. Wally nodded his head.
"Lois was meeting someone on the days she made those withdrawals. Vera recognised him, said he was known around Suicide Slums for putting together fake identities."
"He's cheap, for his line of work," Vera added. "Allowing her to pay him one hundred and fifty a month?" She shook her head. She was still watching the screen. "She's not getting quality documents for just one thousand, two hundred dollars."
"Do you want to pay him a visit?"
"Clark is on it. While he's in Metropolis..." Vera lit up for a second. The screen froze, a coloured line around someone's face in the crowd at the airport.
"Have you found her?"
"Almost. That's her, alright, at the Gotham airport last night. She's just got a blonde wig on."
"Which flights left Gotham last night?"
"One for Hawaii and one for London." Vera reached for the controls to call the Justice League.