The Prime Universe heroes are forced from the home to help right the wrongs, only to find that they weren't the only ones that came along for the trip.

Note: Some dialogue from the game has been put into this chapter, although I tried to keep it as little as possible to where the story still flows.

Chapter 26: A Different World

"What happened?" Lex asked for the third time. "I thought there'd still be an explosion on their universe."

"I had to have a fixed point." Batman responded. "With all four of the League members we needed in the air, I had to choose a location point between the two groups before the clown could set off the bomb and kill everyone."

"So we pulled over more people than we wanted?" Lex questioned. "Even their version of the Joker?"

"It's a distinct possibility." Batman answered as he began to march toward the exit. "I'm going after them. When I find them in Gotham, I'll know if we pulled over more than who we wanted."

"I'll come with you." Lex offered.

"No." Was Batman's immediate response. "Their world's Luthor was evil remember. We need them here before you reveal yourself. That way they won't respond out of instinct and attack you."

Batman had a good point, but even if Lex had wanted to argue further it was a moot point. He was now all alone in the facility. He'd simply have to wait until Batman returned with everyone that they hoped to have on their side. It was an exciting time, but also a nerve racking one. If they failed this time, then it was going to be very unlikely that they could prevail at any other time. While the soldiers Lex had attained were against Superman's regime, they were still a fragile bunch. A defeat with this attempt would likely crush their spirits, and that could cause them to give up the fight to continue. There were already so many civilians that had done just that, and as defiant as they were, the soldiers would surely follow with another great setback. He didn't realize until now just how much they were betting on this plan.

Perhaps that was why Batman had said that they were still going to be at a disadvantage even with the Kryptonite weapon. Plus, there was the part of actually getting it from Wayne Manor as Superman had long since set up security around it even after he'd torn through the Batcave. Lex had commented that he was being paranoid as no human should be able to get passed the force field without at least being spotted by the cameras up above the towers that powered it. And then there were the sentry guns stationed all throughout the Manor as well. Superman had only responded that it was Batman, and taking chances against him would be their downfall.

Lex knew that while overall they were at a disadvantage, the one area where Superman would never be ahead is in Batman's strategy. Even his own flesh and blood knew that he couldn't help Superman in that facet over his biological father. Superman had even gone so far as to pull Tim from Stryker's Island for a private chat to try and influence the young man into giving Batman up. Lex had never heard of Tim being returned to Stryker's and that was as solid a piece of evidence as he needed to know that Tim hadn't given up anything about his surrogate father. Barbara Gordon would've been next, but she started putting up a fight the instant they opened her cell doors. She'd known that Tim hadn't been brought back to his cell after Superman's interrogation of him, and she made it abundantly clear that she would be just as unwilling to help from the very beginning. They ended up never taking her out of Stryker's in the end. Superman knew that her will was at the very least equal to that of Tim. Especially with her father's death from cancer aboard the Watchtower toward the end of the Green Lantern War. Superman had been grasping at straws ever since, trying to outthink the Bat. Lex had to fight the smirk from appearing on his face as Superman's frustration showed every so often. Batman didn't know, but Luthor had recorded some of the footage during one of Superman's tirades about their continued failures of capturing Batman. It was that footage he'd used in helping him to recruit the ground forces, and it was that very frustration that he was hoping would be coming in waves very soon for the Tyrant of Tomorrow.

Batman had weaved his way around the alleys and side streets undetected as he moved closer and closer to his guests. He caught sight of Yellow Lantern being taken down by the other universe's Green Lantern, and he couldn't help but to allow his lips to curl upward ever so slightly at witnessing the power of will once again defeating the power of fear. It was why he'd trained himself to never give up against all odds while simultaneously learning to use fear against his enemies at the same time. In essence, Batman was a model for both sides of that coin. He understood and used both better than most would understand how to use just one. It was part of the reason why he knew how to take down Hal on his own, even against the power of the Green or Yellow powered rings. He'd use fear and confusion up to the point of submission against will, and he would use his indomitable willpower and stubbornness to battle and push through any and all fears to achieve his objective. The sound of sirens closing in brought him out of those thoughts though, and he watched from rooftops away as Green Lantern, Diana, and Arrow all took note of the same sounds and wisely chose to remove themselves from that potentially hostile environment until they knew what they were dealing with. It was time for him to make his move before someone else stepped in the way, and he dropped down into an alley that they were going to have to turn into based on the direction they were moving.

Batman stayed in the shadows as he heard the three heroes approaching. They were obviously taking care to steer clear of the cause of the blaring sirens, and he could just make out their conversation as Green Arrow spoke. "Hiding from cops…. Aren't there any good guys here?" He asked as each member continued to glance around at their surroundings to be certain there'd be no surprises. Little did they know that there was indeed one just around the corner of the building. Batman shrugged his shoulders to throw his cape back so that they all would be able to see his hands weren't reaching for any weapons, and he turned the corner, coming to a stop just in front of them. He made certain that any move he made didn't come off as aggressive. There was no time for a confrontation.

Even though he hadn't done anything, the three League members all came to a stop in a defensive stance. Green Arrow was drawing his bow and the other two stood at the ready to attack if they needed to. Diana and Hal seemed to pick up that Batman wasn't there to attack them. "There just might be." Hal finally said glancing briefly over to Diana and seeing that she was beginning to ease in her stance as well.

If it hadn't been for seeing an evil Hal Jordan, Diana wouldn't have pushed back her first response. She was elated for a moment to see that Bruce was alright until she noticed his suit. It was different in how the armored plating was set and it appeared to be one that had seen quite a bit of action as there were scratches, scrapes, and tears obvious to the human eye on it. Bruce would typically destroy a suit if it ever looked even the slightest bit damaged. She'd assumed that it was merely a part of his aura in seeming to be indestructible as the Batman. She didn't have much more time than that as he sharply turned away from her and her teammates. "This way." Was all that he said as he turned the corner and walked away into the dark alley.

None of them were exactly sure if they should follow or not, but since Batman hadn't attacked any of them unlike Sinestro and the yellow Hal Jordan they decided to follow and at least see if they could get some answers. Hal took the lead with Arrow close behind. Diana held back a little as she was not just concerned about just who this Batman was, but she was concerned for her Batman's well being as well. Still though she knew that getting separated from the group was likely not a wise decision as they were all in very different surroundings. There was simply no telling just who was a friend or foe yet, and until there was they needed to stay together. She lifted off the ground and quickly glided back to the rest of her team as they had caught up to Batman, who was holding against the side of a wall as he checked to be certain they were clear before making his next move. When he signaled for them to continue on, Arrow broke the silence first. "Just where exactly are we Spooky?" He asked.

"Gotham." Batman answered abruptly. "Quiet."

Arrow looked quite offended at being silenced and not having his question answered either, but Hal spoke up before he could offer a counter. "Look, Batman." Hal began quietly. "I've already seen some of the Titans torturing a prisoner, been attacked by them, by Sinestro and then finding out that a doppelganger of mine turned to Sinestro Corps and came at us too. I think we have a right to know what's going on."

Batman paused for a moment as though he were thinking it over. "There's no time right now." He finally responded. "As soon as we're clear, you'll get your answers. Until then, follow me and stay silent."

Diana noticed him holding his gaze on her longer than Batman did the others before once again heading off. She wondered if there was a doppelganger of herself as well here and if that Diana had been involved with this Batman like she was with her Bruce, but she knew that this Batman was right. They needed to find a place where it'd be safe to talk first without having to worry about an unwanted guest showing up and causing trouble. They all followed quietly just as Batman had ordered as he weaved his way through the alleys and streets of Gotham. He was moving as though he were on the run, and that made Diana wonder just which side he was on after all. If he had to hide from the law then perhaps he'd done something to make this version different from the world that she and her team all knew and wanted to get back to. She was conflicted though by the fact that Sinestro's words and this Hal attacking them whereas Batman hadn't. She decided to withhold her judgment until such a time that there would be facts to back up a decision on just where to stand.

Eventually Batman brought them to an alley where he lifted a manhole cover up and gestured for them to enter. Arrow seemed the most reluctant to head into the sewers. He really seemed to have the same personality as this world's Ollie. He also knew from watching hours of these Leaguers that it'd be best if this Ollie didn't know what happened to Canary. Even though he had no actual affiliation to her, he'd still be driven into potentially making a mistake based on his attachment to his own Dinah. Hal was the first to glide down, and he used his ring to light the area where Arrow finally climbed down in. Diana was next in line, and she looked Batman directly in the eyes. He instantly felt those old emotions rising back up inside him. She had the same soft yet determined eyes as she seemed to be trying to get a read on him. Eventually she became aware of the awkward moment between the two, and she quickly joined her teammates below. Batman took a deep cleansing breath to regain his focus, and then climbed down himself before pulling the manhole cover back to its intended place. When he dropped off the ladder and started walking, he began to talk to them more openly. "I'm sure you're all aware by now that things are different here than you're accustomed to." He began. "In this version of the world, almost everyone's been placed into a virtual prison, just without the bars. The whole world's been beaten into submission by the One Earth Government."

"This world's Deathstroke mentioned something about the only being that's capable of keeping Meta's in line." Hal chimed in. "He didn't mean Clark did he?"

Batman gave a look that told them Deathstroke was telling the truth before he continued describing what was going on. "Clark threw away his identity and took control of the world, thinking it was the best way to bring absolute peace."

"But why didn't anyone stand up to him?" Diana asked. "Surely he couldn't take over the entire world."

"There were some of us that stood up against him." Batman answered. "Some of us knew that he was wrong, but in the end we didn't have the strength to bring him down. Even the Green Lantern Corps failed to stop him. When that happened, the rest of the world crumbled into the subjugation that he demanded. It's why I brought you here." Batman opened a door with magnetic locks and a pass code pad on it before he continued. "Speaking of bringing you here, did Aquaman arrive with you?"

"Yes." Diana answered. "But when we couldn't reach anyone in the Watchtower, he thought he might find more success looking for the answers we were after in the Atlantis archives."

"I need to have all four of you." Batman announced as he led them into an open area. "This is where you'll be staying until I figure out a way to get Aquaman back here. Wait here, and I'll be back in a few minutes."

The three of them waited there until Batman had left the room before Arrow again broke the silence in the room. "So… what do we do?" He asked.

"I've been watching this Batman, using my ring to pick up his vitals to see if he's being honest." Hal stated.

"He's telling the truth." Diana announced before Hal could continue, which brought looks of shock on her two teammate's faces.

"Diana's right." Hal agreed. "He seems to be telling the truth, and if that's the case then that means Superman is the enemy here, but what about the rest of our friends? Is their Barry, Diana, and Ollie on his side too?"

"Some of them are." Batman announced as he came back into the room with something obviously in his hand before he stopped in front of Ollie and held out that hand. "Take this." He said before placing the pill in Ollie's hand. "You're going to need it here."

"And just what is it?" Ollie asked. "I'm not one to just start popping pills without knowing what it is."

"It's something that will temporarily give you more strength and make your body better able to take on a Class four Meta in hand to hand combat." Batman explained as he moved over to a computer and began inputting information regarding Atlantis. "I sent a team up to the Fortress of Solitude to retrieve it from Superman. He used it on all of his ground forces to help him in taking control of the world in a more efficient and less time consuming manner. We were lucky to get our hands on it and determine how to synthesize more of it to distribute among ourselves." It wasn't long before he was gone again, obviously making plans for attempting to travel to the underwater city.

Diana had more on her mind, and she was going to seek out that information as she left Arrow and Lantern to follow Batman. When the door dropped closed behind her, she realized that the area led to separate rooms, and the one she'd followed him into was actually Bruce's personal quarters. There was only a cot and a lamp in there to keep him company, and she felt a great sorrow that he'd been forced to live this way. Batman had seen her there, but not until after he'd removed his cowl. His hair was cut down into a military style buzz cut. There was a light gleam of sweat on his forehead, and his face seemed to be much more aged than her Bruce's. There were heavy bags under his eyes and a look of a pain in his eyes that she'd never seen on anyone else before. This world had torn the man before her apart, and that was evident. She approached and cupped his cheek softly with her right hand. "Hera Bruce." She softly spoke. "What's happened to this world?"

Bruce closed his eyes. It'd been so very long since he'd been touched with such care and affection. He didn't realize just how much he'd missed Diana's warm touch. He could feel himself beginning to melt when it suddenly struck him. This was not his Diana. She was with the alternate version of him, and this was wrong. His eyes snapped open and he stepped back away out of her touch. "I need you to wait with the others." Bruce said as he began to rebuild the walls that had crumbled so easily just by this Diana's presence alone.

"Bruce please." Diana called to him. "Tell me what's happened to you that's made you this way." She requested as she gestured around the room.

Bruce looked around at what she'd been gesturing about before he collapsed onto the cot as he surprisingly lost the strength to remain standing at that moment. He covered his face with his hands and sighed as he decided how to appease her request. "I've….spent the last five years fighting to bring freedom back to the world." He described. "And along the way I've lost more than I could've imagined. Dick, Tim, Barbara, Alfred. All of them are gone. I've lost…." He stopped as he became choked up a tad. He'd never intended to delve into what happened in the past even though he knew that she'd want to. For some reason his willpower was absent when it came to hiding information from her. He'd spent so many years hiding things from his Diana until the night that they'd finally both decided to be together, and now that was such a distant memory. Even a sliver of that memory caused him to become weak.

Diana knew that this Bruce had opened up more than he'd wanted to, and was fighting to regain control of his emotions. She found that she wanted to console him, but knew that he needed a moment, so reluctantly she slipped out of the door and returned to her teammates. Ollie was sitting on a table staring at the pill that Batman had given him. Surprisingly a ball of fire brought Aquaman over to them. "How'd you get here?" Hal asked as Arthur walked over and stood with them.

"Ares." Arthur answered before correcting himself. "Not our Ares."

The sound of the door coming open indicated that Batman was returning as Green Arrow responded. "We know. Meet Not-Our-Batman."

"I was wondering how to retrieve you from Atlantis." Batman commented, back to all business once again.

~~ Fortress of Solitude ~~

Superman was pacing around the Fortress. What was taking so long? He'd sent for Hal to take Hawkgirl out and find something about these…intruders. Diana had returned to wait along with him. She was already dressed for battle in her Amazon queen armor. It'd been so long since any real conflict had attracted enough attention for any Meta's to really need to be involved, that she was literally chomping at the bit for some action. Superman just knew that this was Bruce's move. He was behind this, he had to be. But what was his end game? He still hadn't been sighted yet. Cyborg was ordered to stand fast at the controls of the teleporters on the Watchtower. When Batman came out, they were going to be ready, and they were going to bring him in. Finally then the world would have its peace. He knew though that stressing himself out over awaiting word was wasting his energy. So to pass the time, he went back to putting the finishing touches on the controls of the collar that had been built and modified to control the Doomsday monster. Just a few more calculations were needed and then the monster would be ready. As he finished, he knew that a test run was needed. Simple commands should be first on the agenda. So pressing a button on a remote control, he issued the first command. "Right foot." Superman watched as the monster complied, lifting that foot into the air before setting it back down again. "Perfect." He commented.

That was all the time that he needed apparently as an indicator beeped and lit up, informing him of an incoming message request. He walked over, expecting to hear something useful. "Yes." He answered after pressing a button to initiate the call.

"Superman." The voice of Hal called out. "Good news. We've captured Batman."

Superman lifted his head slightly and his eyes widened a tad as that was better news than he'd anticipated by far, but it was almost too easy after all this time to think that Hal and Shayera could've taken Bruce down on their own. "I'm on my way." He announced before ending the transmission and turning to see Diana waiting expectantly.

~~ Stryker's Island Prison ~~

Hal was working to take off Batman's utility belt. He was aware of all the security measures that'd been put in place to prevent unwanted removal of it. Batman was just waking up from being knocked out a second time. "I'm sure you recall how much of a wallop Shayera can pack in a punch, eh Bruce." Hal mocked.

Bruce groaned as he worked to shake the fog and blurred vision. This was truly more of a nightmare than he'd anticipated. All of his friends were seemingly enemies where ever he was. It didn't take him long when he first came to in order to figure out that he'd been removed from Gotham and taken to Stryker's Island. That was the first thing he concluded before meeting the business end of a mace compliments of Shayera. Even though he had questions as to what exactly was going on, he knew that as a prisoner it was best to keep silent. The less they knew about him, then more advantage he'd have in escaping. Unfortunately, one of those advantages was taken away when Hal successfully managed to break passed the last of his belt's security measures.

With the belt off, Batman was sure that Hal would proceed with some form of interrogation, but he was partially incorrect. Hal turned to leave and was met at the cell door by an obviously still irritated Hawkgirl. "Just remember that the High Councilor's going to be here soon and will most likely want to have some words with him." He commented before walking away and leaving her with Bruce. Shayera strutted into the cell, placed her mace onto the table next to Bruce's belt, and cracked her knuckles as she came to a stop right in front of him. "I've been waiting for years to have this moment with you, you son of a bitch." She stated before throwing a vicious combination at Bruce's sides. He coughed as the air was driven from his lungs. He could've sworn that she'd managed to crack multiple ribs even through the protection his suit still offered him. Shayera wasn't done there though as she landed a slightly less powerful hook into Bruce's face that caused his head to snap to the side. He felt his world fading, but fought his body's desire to shut down once again. There was a metallic taste in his mouth at that time that told him he had blood in his mouth. Shayera watched angrily as Bruce spat the blood from his mouth. "You're lucky that I can't beat you to death." She continued as she struck him with an open handed slap across his face. "I'd pick you apart piece by piece for what you've done until you begged me to end your life. Then I'd leave you to bleed out even though that's still too good for you."

Another series of slaps were met by each side of his face before Shayera once again focused her attack on his body. It was then that he confirmed there were not only cracked ribs, but now broken ones. He was gasping for breath when Hal finally returned. "They've arrived." He said to Shayera, giving her the indication that her "interrogation" had reached its conclusion. Bruce fought to gather his wits as Shayera left and Hal began the process of removing the cowl from his head. Within a few minute Hal had it off and tossed it unceremoniously onto a nearby table before returning to face him again. "Okay Bruce." He stated. "Ready for visitors? Need a comb?" Hal teased as the door swung open to reveal who his new guests were.

To say that Bruce was surprised would be an understatement. Even though he knew that it was possible, he never thought he'd actually see the day where his friend and he would be on opposite sides of each other. But the truly surprising moment where his jaw dropped open was when he laid eyes on Diana. She wasn't in her Wonder Woman armor, so he surmised that she wasn't his Diana. Still though it stung to see the twin of the woman that he loved standing right next to Clark, and it was a little too close he thought to himself. Superman's eyes began to glow as he stepped forward, and Bruce knew that he was scanning for something although he wasn't exactly sure what. Diana looked over towards Lantern though as Bruce kept his eyes on her. "Nice work Hal." She offered in compliment. How did…"

"It's not him." Superman interrupted as his eyes returned to normal.

"What?" Hal questioned in disbelief.

"His DNA matches Bruce Wayne's, but his vitals are all wrong." Superman explained before walking right up to Bruce and standing directly in front of him. "You're one of the duplicates." He accused. "Tell me why you're here."

Even if Bruce had known what Clark was talking about, he'd have remained silent. Either way, that didn't sit well with Clark. He quickly ran out of patience and ordered the other two out of the cell leaving him alone with Bruce. The interrogation was going to continue on it appeared, and Bruce wondered just what extent Clark was willing to go to in order to get answers.

~~ Outside Arkham ~~

Diana was distraught as she'd learned that her Bruce was being held captive by a corrupt Kal and many other former Justice League teammates. She knew that he wouldn't have been captured without putting up a fight, and that would mean he'd likely been injured. It was one thing for her to get pulled over on her own, but having to put off saving him to continue with the task at hand was proving to be more difficult than she'd anticipated. She was incredibly frustrated by this Batman now. He was unwilling to alter in his plans at all to help a comrade in arms. There'd be hell to pay if she came to find that Bruce had been taken from her, and it was with that thought on her mind that this Batman had rejoined the group, walking beside her as they returned to the base of what was being called the Insurgency.

Batman could feel the heat from the anger as it rolled off of Diana in waves. He knew that she was upset about having to leave Bruce behind in order to complete the mission so that they could save him. Her preference was to go in and pull him free immediately, but he knew that method simply wouldn't work. He knew that he needed to have Diana focused, and that meant he had to get her to calm down before she had a chance to change her mind. "I'm sorry, but I know how you're feeling." He offered.

Diana looked over at Batman with utter disgust plastered all over her face. "How exactly would you know?" She seethed. "I never asked you to leave a friend behind to better serve my mission."

"That's not what I meant." Batman responded as he grabbed her arm and stopped walking. He waited until there was some distance between them and the rest of the group, and then let loose of a steadying breath. "About having to leave behind the person you love." Diana's eyes widened for a moment before she started to argue that he didn't know what he was talking about, but she didn't even get a word in before Batman held up his hand. "Remember, I've been watching all of you for quite some time before we pulled you into our world. I know about you and Bruce, and I know how it feels. You're not the only one that was forced to leave the one you love behind. The only difference is that you still love him and my Diana stopped loving me."

"Why?" Diana asked.

"I don't know." Was Batman's response as he began to walk forward again. "We didn't have much time before Clark began consolidating his power. I think that he did something to her, but I don't have anything to prove that. It's just a feeling inside that I keep feeling it's not really her, even though I can clearly see that she's there standing with him."

"Then we both have something more to fight for." Diana responded confidently as she held her head high. "We will save Bruce and your Diana from this Superman's grip."

Batman didn't believe it was possible to save his Diana, but it was uplifting to hear that someone wanted to bring back his Diana someway, somehow. First though, they needed to get to the Manor and pick up the Kryptonite laser weapon. Then they could devise a plan of attack to bring him down followed by the rest of them. For the first time in years, Bruce finally had something again. He finally had a sliver of hope to hold onto, and he didn't plan on letting it slip through his grasp. Not this time.