Batman had no idea where he was. That was in part thanks to Dr. Fate magically teleporting him to points unknown. In this case, he was in some forest God knows where.

It was better than the alternative though, namely being at the mercy of the Regime.

When he had seen Diana, John, and Hawkgirl, he didn't really see too much change in them. John perhaps had become angrier, but he was still as reserve and outspoken as he usually was. Hawkgirl was still snide and quite sharp. As for Diana, she was as stubborn and self-righteous as ever. Perhaps his prejudices were getting to him him; when he had heard how they had taken to murdering people, he had assumed that meant a change in character. In this instance, perhaps their current personalities were logical extensions rather than wholesale change.

That bothered him more than he liked.

For now they were safe. Cassandra was resting beneath one of the trees, her mask and wig off, allowing her face to be visible. She seemed the most relaxed he had seen of her these last few days and he was loathed to wake her. She had taken the brunt of an energy blast and she needed time to recover.

Which was why Batman was standing guard. He kept close to his charge, but he was on high alert for anything out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, being in a forest led to all sorts of animals scampering about and insects buzzing, which only made him more paranoid.

He sighed. What were they supposed to do now? The others were in places unknown and he was at least maintaining radio silence. No doubt the Regime was on high alert and scanning broadcast frequencies to locate them. They would find them if they used the comm links to contact each other, thus the radio silence.

Kneeling down next to Cassandra, Batman watched her sleep. Absently, he brushed some of her hair off of her face, tucking it behind her ear. Her face twitched at that, but she didn't make any other movement as her chest continue to rhythmically rise and fall. It seemed a damn shame to have to rouse her soon.

That's when he noticed it—a light. A few trees away, a small sparkle of light had appeared out of thin air, which set off warning alarms in his head. Immediately, his hands went to Cassandra's shoulder and he began to shake her. "Wake up," he hissed, his eyes never leaving the light.

Instantly, the dark-haired woman was up, shooting up to a sitting position, arms bracing her up from behind. "What is it?" she snapped, looking around until her eyes found the light as well.

As if on cue, the light gliding towards them, growing bigger until its golden shine became a light blue, the symbol of an ankh at its core. "Batman, Batwoman," the hallowed voice of Dr. Fate greeted them.

Simultaneously their shoulder's sagged. "It's only you, Fate," Cassandra groaned, twisting her torso to a side so she could grab her discarded mask and wig. "What do you want?"

"I am only checking on you to see if you are alright. The others were disoriented upon my teleporting of their persons."

"I wonder why," Batman said dryly.

Fate ignored his sarcasm, instead proceeding to his primary message. "I have instructed the others to remain off of their communication devices and I extend the same request to you. Further communication will be administered through myself."

That wasn't a terrible idea actually. Though the dark-clad man was suspicious of magic by nature, using it to maintain contact would insure they stayed off of the Regime's radar. "I have also instructed them to move into position for our strike. Oliver Queen and Michael Holt are on their way to Motor City while Jaime Reyes and Emily Sung I have under my protection at the Tower of Fate. I will put them in place when the time requires it."

"What about Ra's?" Batman inquired.

"He is taking charge of his own preparations. As for you—"

"We will be moving into our own position," the vigilante interrupted, which caused Cassandra to look at him with questioning eyes. "I'll trust you to make sure Jaime and Sung aren't put into unfavorable situations."

"You will have three days to make your preparations," Dr. Fate said, accepting his words. "Be in place before then, or pray for a swift death. I will contact you on that day and not before."

The orb of light grew brighter, the ankh within it vanishing from sight. The light then faded, a round medallion floating in its place, slowly descending to the ground where it landed on its back. Cautiously, Batman moved to the piece of jewelry, picking it up in his hand to examine it.

There were three blue gems, each forming a triangle within the borders of the medallion, a small hole at its center. There were various symbols, a couple of which he recognized, but others he did not. It was cool to the touch and lacked a chain.

"I take it that's how we contact him if we need to," Cassandra surmised as she studied it as well. She then looked up to him. "Where are we supposed to go?"

Well, there wasn't much point in hiding it from her. "We'll be striking at the heart of the Regime: the Hall of Justice."

That caused her eyes to widen. "Are you nuts? Security will be extremely tight! That's not to forget the other members of the Regime being there."

"Most of whom will be not be present," he replied evenly, "if our distractions work, of course."

"But that still means Superman will be there."

"I know."

Realization dawned on Cassandra's face. "You're going to fight him, aren't you? Why? Why would you do that against the most dangerous man in the world?! He'll kill you! And then all of this will be for nothing!"

"No, he won't." He gave the dark-haired woman a look, one that expressed his disapproval in her doubt. "I have something that will help even the odds against him, which we're going to go get. It's located at the Cave, so we better hurry."

There was a wariness on Cassandra's face as she studied his confident expression. "Are you positive this will help? If you aren't, I'm not going to let you set foot in Metropolis, much less the Hall of Justice."

Batman closed his eyes as he let out a sigh. When he opened then, he said, "Whether you want it or not, this was always going to come down between me and him. We can send wave after wave of men at the Regime, but it will not fall as long as Superman is in control. I take him out and the Regime will crumble—everything else is just the opening fight card."

"But you won't kill," she countered. "And he will. That's a massive difference when it comes to fighting. You'll hold back and he won't. No weapon you have, no armor you can wear can withstand that."

The Dark Knight raised a hand and grabbed her shoulder. "Do you trust me?" he asked her.

That caused her to frown. "What kind of question is that? Of course I—"

"No," he interrupted her. "Do...you...trust me. Think and then answer."

She paused, taking his words in. Her eyes seemed to glaze over as she considered his words and question. Then she sighed in resignation. "Yes, I do."

"Then trust me when I tell you I will win. This nightmare will end."

A small, sad smile appeared on her face. "I wish you could've been here ten years ago to say that. I don't know what it is, but I can't help but believe you when you say that. Makes me feel warm and safe, like..." she trailed off before lowering her head. "Please don't make fun of me or anything, but it makes me feel like I'm a little girl and you're my dad scaring away the monster under my bed. Sounds silly, doesn't it?"

"No, it doesn't. We may not be related by blood, but you're just as much my family as anyone. Never forget that."

Cassandra stared at him for a moment before she swallowed deeply, her eyes beginning to water. "I won't," she practically whispered.

"Good." He released her shoulder as he stood up. "Now let's go."


Superman stared hard at Diana, eyes narrowed, jaw clenched tightly. His hands were clutching at the ends of the armrests, his knuckles beginning to become white from the tension.

"You're sure about this?" he questioned after awhile, glancing from the Amazon to John and Shayera. They were the only ones in the room, just the way Diana wanted it. This was a moment for the original Justice League and only them.

"It's him," Shayera answered him, taking a step closer. "He knows too many thing about us that only he would know."

"Did you unmask him? Did you actually see his face?"

Diana shook her head. "No, but—"

"Then you can't know for sure if this is Bruce," Superman interrupted her, causing a flash of anger to well up within her. "We need more solid proof than just a feeling. For all we know, this isn't even our Bruce."

"I did consider that," the dark-haired woman said through clenched teeth, the only hint at her ire. "But tell me, Kal, would you need more definitive proof to know if Lois was Lois?"

The two heroes stared each other down through glares, but ultimately it was the Kryptonian who relented. "I suppose you have a point," he reluctantly admitted, "but I want to know beyond a shadow of a doubt. Even Batman would find out that much."

Unfortunately, that was a good point for Kal, as loathed as Diana was to admit it. "Very well," she acquisition.

"In any case, we need to at least plan as if this is the real deal," Shayera interjected. "If this is some case of mistaken identity, then there's no way this guy will hurt us in the long term. Maybe he causes some damage, but that'll be it. If this is Bruce, he can do a lot more with less."

"I agree," John chimed in, the first time since they had all congregated here. "He knows our weakness; what's to say he isn't coming up with more countermeasures?"

"Agreed," Kal responded. "Where are we on that?"

"We've already stationed Arthur in the Batcave," Diana informed him. "If Bruce has come up with new countermeasures, he'll need the use of his cave to build them, or design them. When we checked the Bat Underground's base, we found nothing that could have been of use to him, nor be used against us."

"Aquaman was a good choice," the dark-haired man said. "But I want one of us to be there. While Aquaman can hold his own, he'll likely underestimate Bruce, and Bruce will take advantage of that, especially on his home turf."

"I will be relieving him once this meeting is over," Diana replied, which earned her some startled looks from the others. "When Bruce was still with us, I was the one that practiced with him the most. If there's anyone that can take him on in a one-on-one fight, it will be me."

"Very well," Kal spoke slowly, if uncertainly. He then looked to John and Shayera. "What about you two?"

"We'll be trying to figure out where Dr. Fate sent the Insurgency," John answered for the both of them. "We have Enchantress on interrogation duty with the Insurgents we caught, so we should be finding something out pretty soon."

"Good. I'll be expecting progress," he told them. "Now go. There's a lot to consider with this new revelation and I'd rather not sit here waiting for the worst case scenario to come true."


Starfire was bored. Ever since the raid on what the others called the "Bat Underground," she had largely been left alone. She had made sure that the Billy Batson boy received medical attention, but that left her with little to do and a growing sense of restlessness. Friend Cyborg was in a different city altogether, which left her all alone in this place of strangers.

This had prompted the Tamaranian to go explore this Hall of Justice place. The design was not to her taste since it clearly lacked the Tamaranian influences in architecture. This left her in a foreign arena that felt quite uninviting. This was by no means the fault of the Earthlings since they did not know any better, but it would have been a nice gesture on their part.

Currently, the redhead was exploring a long hallway. It was narrower than the ones she had been in previously, not to mention more drab in color. For a moment, she felt like she had wandered down a wrong hall. Perhaps she had.

That was until she heard a scream.

"Trouble!" she immediately declared, her eyes glowing green as she flew down the corridor. It had not been a scream of surprise, or pleasure, that she was sure of. It was one that was filled with pain, as if someone had been harmed. In fact, it was growing louder the further down the hallway she went.

Finally, she reached a dead end, or so it appeared. At the very end of the hallway was a door, one that seemed to give off an ominous feeling. This must be where the screaming came from. Opening the door, she flung it open and charged into the room.

And immediately came to a stop. The room itself was small and cold, lacking any sense of comfort. At its center was a table with a man strapped down to it. Standing with their back to the Tamaranian Princess was the green-dressed witch, Enchantress. She held a hand over the man, a sickening green aura flowing from her palm and out over her captive's chest. The man's body was arching up off the table, spasming as he grunted, moaned, and cried out in pain.

Enchantress stopped the green glow and the man collapsed back onto the table, panting as he tried to recover. Despite Starfire's entrance, neither one of them looked at her. "You know, I can do this all day," the witch remarked glibly, raising her hand to her face so that she could examine her fingernails. "In fact, I'm going to; but, you can always just tell me where your little friends have gone and I'll end it here and now. The choice is yours."

Incredibly, the man merely looked at her behind a set of glasses, eyes barely cracked open. "Do your worst, witch woman. I won't break."

The green-clothed woman seemed to pause then. Because she was staring at her back, Starfire was not sure what she was doing. She could have looked enraged, upset, or disinterested for all she knew. What she did know was whatever her expression, Enchantress moved the hand she had been examining, flicking it over her captive as a green bolt of energy shot from the tip of her index finger. The bolt zapped the man, causing him to wince.

"Have it your way, buddy," Enchantress said as she then held both of her hands out above him, her palms facing each other. An ominous green orb formed between them, threatening promises of all sorts of harm. "Just know that once I start, I won't be stopping. You can tell me anything—truth, lies, your grandma's secret apple pie recipe—this won't stop until you're black and charred."

"Stop this!" Starfire demanded as she rushed towards the two, both of whom looked over to her, Enchantress with a look of surprise while the man stared warily. The Tamaranian shoved Enchantress away, which caused whatever spell she was conjuring to disappear. She then deliberately placed herself between the two, eyes glowing with anger.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" the green-clothed woman demanded heatedly, storming up to her. "I was in the middle of—"

"Torturing this man," Starfire interrupted her, not backing down. "I will not condone this!"

"That really isn't up to you, Princess," the witch sneered. "I was tasked with finding out everything this little worm knows by any means necessary."

"Is that so?" She tilted her head back challengingly. "Then let us ask one of the others."

"Oh? Like who?" Enchantress shot back. "Superman? You think he'll protect scum like this? Or Wonder Woman? Oh, I know! I'm betting you think that tin man friend of yours will back you up. I hate to break it to ya, but no one is going to stand up for you, not on this."

That startled the Tamaranian, but she did not back down, holding her ground. She could not waver before someone she was trying to protect. Surely this woman was wrong, that the others—especially Cyborg—would condone this. Those were not actions becoming of heroes, or so she had come to believe.

"That may be so," she said hesitantly, "but until you prove your case, I will not allow any more harm to come to this man."

Enchantress narrowed her eyes. "Fine, have it your way." She then stormed towards the door, pausing long enough to look over her shoulder. "But I will be back and I will finish the job, with or without you in the way."

The door slammed shut behind the angered woman, which left Starfire alone with the tortured man. Turning around, she placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled comfortingly at him. "It is alright now, she is gone," she told him.

Now that she was standing over him, she could see he was a middle-aged man, his hairline receding back. He looked like he belonged in a house as someone's father rather than in this place.

"Not for long," he grunted back to her, which caused her to frown. "While I appreciate the rescue, this is only just an intermission."

"I will not allow you to be tortured further," she declared strongly, willing the man to see that his ordeal was indeed over.

The older man looked at her from behind his glasses. "I don't know what they've told you, but I don't think you know these people at all. I'm not the first person they've captured nor tortured for information and I certainly won't be the last."

That got her attention. "Do you mean torture is condoned by these people?" she questioned, leaning over him.

He nodded his head. "Yes."

That...that was horrible! How could people she had respected from afar do such a thing? Not even the Tamaranians did that and they were constantly overthrowing each other! This could not go on any longer!

"I do have to thank you," the man continued, shaking her out of her thoughts. "You've bought me some time and for that I am grateful."

"You speak as if I will abandon you," she replied, hurt in her voice. "I promise I will not leave your side."

"It would be best if perhaps you did." He paused as he swallowed. "By now, Enchantress is heading to the cells to pick someone else. If as much time has passed as I hope, she won't be able to hurt any of the others."

Now that did not make sense to her. She tried to think about it, but her mind was coming up empty. "I do not understand. Please explain."

The man sighed. "All of us in the Bat Underground are more than activists or rebels or whatever the Regime wants to call us. Our loyalty lies with the Immortal Demon and he has taught us well. I must say goodbye to you now...and thank you."

Suddenly, his face twisted with strain and before too long there was an audible crunching sound. Starfire was confused by all of this, but that changed the moment the man began to gasp and convulse right on the table. Because of the straps, he was held down, even as his body struggled against its bonds. Slowly, black lines began to emerge from beneath the collar of his shirt, spreading up his neck and lower face.

Then, as sudden as it started, it stopped, the man going still as he stared blankly up at the ceiling.

Suddenly, the door to the room swung open and Enchantress came barreling in. "Is he dead?" she demanded as she rushed up to the table, nearly slamming into it as she arrived next to it, her hands slapping down on its surface. She stared at her prisoner before she cursed. "Goddamn it! Him too!"

"What is going on?" Starfire could not help but ask. She knew rationally that this man was dead, but she did not know how or why. It was too confusing for her.

"Cyanide," the witch told her. "Every single person we capture in Neo-Gotham took a damn cyanide pill and killed themselves." Grabbing her hat, she roughly threw it onto the table, where it slapped down and stayed. "Damn it all!"

"You mean he committed suicide?" the Tamaranian exclaimed.

"Not just him, all of them. Every single goddamn one of them."

Starfire began to pale. Never had she seen such things before—intentional suicide. While suicide was normally intentional perhaps, it was a foreign concept to her until now. It was not until Enchantress spun around to face her that she was drawn out of her thoughts. "Did he say anything to you?" she demanded. "Anything at all?"

The redhead swallowed deeply, fighting against what felt like a rock in her throat. "He...he mentioned something about an Immortal Demon. Then he killed himself."

"Immortal Demon," the witch repeated to herself. "I honestly don't know what that means, but it's better than nothing."

"What do we do with him?" Starfire asked, looking to the other woman.

"Hey, you wanted him all to yourself, now he's your problem," Enchantress answered her. "I don't care what you do with him, but I suggest throwing him out with the garbage, just like the others."

"You speak with such disrespect?!" she nearly screamed back.

"I hate to break it to ya, Princess, but we're at war and war has a lot of casualties. Bury him in a hole, cremate him, I don't care. Just get him out of here."

Enchantress then grabbed her hat and snapped her fingers, a column of fire rising from her feet until it shot above her head, covering her in flames. Just as suddenly as the fire started, it ended, dissipating from the floor up and revealing the witch to be gone.

Looking back to the deceased man, Starfire began to wonder if she knew just what conflict she had joined.


It had been ages since Diana had been in the Batcave; yet, she hadn't forgotten the touch of cold air as it touched her skin, the sense of overwhelming gloom that permeated every inch of the cave, or the constant chirping of bats overhead.

Coming to land right in the middle of the cave, she caught sight of Arthur a short distance away, looking at something off in the distance. Walking towards him, she was about to speak to him when the mariner spoke.

"Why is there a dinosaur here?"

Ah, so that's what the blond man had been looking at. "Many have asked that question," she responded, humor in her voice, "but never has an answer been given."

Arthur looked to her. "I must admit, this place is fascinating. How long has it been here?"

"Decades, my friend, and every time I'm here, it reminds me that not everything that lurks in the dark is a threat."

"Poetic," he mused. "I take it I'm being relieved."

"You are. I will take up watch."

Again, she received a look from Arthur, one not unlike the ones her friends at the Hall of Justice had given her. A small part of her was growing annoyed by that. "I see," Arthur said eventually before looking away. "I must make a short trip to Atlantis. I have been gone for a while and need to check in. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Very well," Diana acquiescent. "Just remember that if you are needed, you must answer our call."

"I know the terms of our arrangement, Diana; no need to remind me."

Walking away, Arthur headed for the edge of the plateau, much to the Amazon's confusion. "Where are you going?" she called out after him.

"I'm not sure if you are aware of this, but there is an underground waterway beneath this cave system. I found it while exploring this place. I came across quite a bit of equipment down there as well, including a boat. I don't know much about this Batman character, but he didn't twiddle his thumbs down here."

A Batboat? Diana had no idea. Faintly, she wondered when he had the time to build such a thing, but then she hadn't expected him to have a jet either. He really did plan for many scenarios.

Then, without further prompting, Arthur jumped off the edge of the plateau and fell from sight. Focusing on her hearing, she stood where she was until she picked up the unmistakable sound of splashing water. Aquaman had not been kidding about the presence of water at the bottom of the cave.

Of course, a moment later, her communicator had to beep in her ear.

"Diana, it's Superman," came the Kryptonian's voice, much to her surprise.

"What is it, Kal?" she asked immediately. Kal rarely, if ever, used the comm link, delegating communication to one of the others. This had to be serious.

"I've just learned that all of the men and women we captured at the Bat Underground's headquarters have committed suicide."

What?! The dark-haired woman felt her blood freeze in her veins. How? How could they do such a thing in their custody? They had been searched upon their capture, all weapons removed. So how did they do it?

And just how would the Insurgency use that as a weapon against them?

"Tell me what happened," she demanded.

"From what we've been able to gather, they all took cyanide tablets. Each one was in a false tooth in their mouths, which we didn't search. One of them distracted Enchantress during their interrogation long enough for the others to kill themselves and then he did it himself."

A scowl appeared on the Amazon's face. Cowards, all of them. How dare they escape the justice they deserved?

"However, Starfire managed to get one of them to talk. He mentioned an Immortal Demon. Sound familiar?"

Her scowl deepened. "Ra's al Ghul," she growled lowly. While she hadn't seen the man during the skirmish in the old Gotham Subway, she could practically see his fingerprints all over the Insurgency. It was a wonder how she had never noticed the despot's influence until now.

"That's our thoughts too," Kal agreed. "And you can bet he has something to do with Bruce's reemergence."

Yes, it was all becoming clear. The so-called Demon's Head had brainwashed Bruce against them. It wasn't the first time he had done it and it was definitely in line with what the man was capable of. He must have gotten a hold of Bruce at some point, put him into suspended animation, and brainwashed him with a warped version of the world the Justice League had built.

And if he was brainwashed, then he could be unbrainwashed too.

Suddenly, Diana felt better. Bruce was not rejecting them of his own free will. All she had to do was get him alone and fix what had been done to him. She could do it, she knew she could. It wouldn't be too much longer before she got her opportunity either.

"Now we know who the mastermind behind the Insurgency is," she spoke then. "All we have to do now is capture him and end this little war of his."

"Since you're in the Batcave, perhaps you can use Bruce's computer," Kal suggested to her. "He knows the most about Ra's ah Ghul, so he must have some sort of file on him."

That was an excellent idea and she said as much. "I'll do that. Diana out." Cutting off the line, the Amazon walked right to the computer, turning it on as soon as she could. The moment the screen came on, she saw the login window and paused.

Even after all the time she had spent with Bruce, he had never given her access. In fact, the only people she knew had access was Bruce and Zatanna, the latter of whom was dead. Damn it, the only person that stood a chance of bypassing these security protocols was Cyborg and he was neck-deep in his own project.

A choice was going to have to be made.

However, before she could make that choice, her ears picked up on a sound. It was faint, distant, but it was unmistakable to her.

Footsteps.


"Where exactly are we?" Batwoman asked, one of her hands sliding against the rocky wall next to them.

Batman didn't so much as look back as he continued on the narrow pathway. The walls of the tunnel—perhaps crevice was a better description—were quite close to each other, giving the strong sense of confinement. The vigilante was facing forward, but every so often one of the walls would rub up against his arms and shoulders.

As they had made their way to Wayne Manor, they had come across a cave opening that was covered with overgrowth. It was here the dark-clad man led them and where their stumbling through the dark tunnel began. If it weren't for the night-vision their cowls gave them, this would've been much harder than it was.

He did, however, answer her. "We're underneath the Cave. My sensors last indicated it as a quarter mile below the Manor."

He heard the woman stop behind him. "We're that deep?" she demanded before she picked up her pace to catch up. "And why are we getting that close to the Cave? Won't the Regime have someone watching this place now that they know you're around?"

"I have no doubt about it," he replied to her. "In fact, that's what I was counting on."

There was a moment of silence before, "You put something down here, didn't you."

The corner of his mouth ticked up. "It shouldn't be too much further now." In fact, they should be reaching it right about…

Suddenly, the tunnel widened out. A good estimate would've put three men shoulder to shoulder with a little room for comfort. More importantly, off to their right was a large, steel door embedded in the wall.

"How long has this been down here?" Batwoman asked the moment they stopped in front of it, the two looking at the door.

"Roughly around the time you put on the mask," he grunted in return.

"Why didn't you ever tell me about this?"

"You were still learning the ins and outs of crime fighting. You didn't need to be overburdened with this."

The woman turned her head to look at him incredulously. "Considering everything that's happen, I'm pretty sure we could've used...whatever you have back here."

"Even if you knew about it, there's no way you would've been able to open it. The only person that knows how to get inside is me. I could've shown you, but you were more interested in beating people up to have paid attention."

Batwoman looked back to the door. By now she would be noticing the lack of a lock, or even any manner to actually open it. It was as if the cave itself had formed it despite the use of man-made materials. "So how do you open it?" she asked after awhile.

Batman moved to one side of the door, raising both hands to press up on a piece of rock that bulged out from the wall. Gritting his teeth, he pushed as hard as he could, slowly pushing the rock in until there was an audible click. Suddenly, the door slid backwards, but not fully opening, a green glow emerging through the crack between it and the door frame.

"That wasn't so hard," Batwoman said as she eyed the vigilante with annoyance.

"It is considering there's a pressure plate behind that rock," he retorted as he stepped in front of the slightly-opened door. "Any harder than that and the door seals itself from the inside—that's to make sure no super strength metas got in. Any less and the rock would never reach the panel and the door wouldn't open."

"So why not have an electronic lock? Or even a safe vault?"

"I wanted this off the grid as much as possible. Even with my ghost network, if someone knows where to look, they'll find it. This is as isolated a place as you will find. Considering what I've placed here, I wanted to make sure that no one would be able to find it by accident or otherwise."

Before the redhead could ask just what was inside, Batman pushed open the door and walked inside. The source of the green glow became apparent at the sight of plexiglass cases on both sides of the room containing all manners of kryptonite. Some were simply rocks while others had been carved into various forms, such as statues, knives, and jewels. All of this the vigilante ignored as he headed towards the back of the room.

Batwoman, on the other hand, seemed stunned at the sight. "Where did you get all of this?" she asked breathlessly, eyes slowly moving from case to case.

"I collected it over the years," he answered her, pausing long enough to glance at a piece of kryptonite carved into the shape of a Chinese dragon. "Some were simply people thinking they had found a source of jade and wanted to make art of it. A large amount came from raiding Lex Luthor's stockpiles in Metropolis following Superman's Jokerization."

Reaching the back of the room, there were a few work benches lining the back wall and a portion of the side walls, ending right where the plexiglass cases began. Hanging on the wall to the left were multiple utility belts, fully stocked and ready for use. Immediately, he pulled a couple down, placing them on the table in front of him. Kneeling down, underneath the table were several metal cases, two of which he pulled out and also placed on the table. "Start packing," he ordered as he turned around to look at his former protege.

He found her standing with one hand on one of the glass windows, seeming to admire a kryptonite short sword. Whatever reverie she was it, she was shaken out of it as she jerked her head to look at him upon hearing his words. "Huh?" she responded before noticing the belts and cases. "Oh, okay."

Batman narrowed his eyes at her, but moved on. There were more important things to worry about, mainly the long, cylindric case that was featured prominently on the back wall. Opening it, the sight of a set of armor was revealed, the symbol of the Bat proudly displayed on the chest.

It was this set of armor that he had come for. Pulling out pieces of it, he transferred it all to one of the empty cases, shutting it once the transfer was complete. "So is that it?" Batwoman asked once they were finished.

"It is. Time to get out," he answered her.

"You know, I was just thinking. You said that switch was sensitive to pressure. What's to stop someone with super strength from bashing the door in?," she inquired.

"It's been reinforced with the same metallic compounds in the armory and armor depository in the Cave," he answered her. "Considering Wonder Woman couldn't break through the rooms up there, it stands to reason someone of her strength couldn't get in here either."

"Oh."

Suddenly, a beeping sound went off in the dark-clad man's ear, causing him to stiffen. The only reason he would be hearing that sound was because someone had tripped one of the sensors on the pathway down here. There was two ways to get here, one being the way he and Batwoman had used. The other was from the Cave and someone was clearly exploring it.

"Someone's coming," he immediately told Batwoman, causing her to stiffen as well.

"It has to be the Regime," she hissed back to him. "If they see this, we're finished."

"They won't." Batman was making his way to the doorway. "I'm going to find whoever it is and lead them back to the Cave. You take the cases and get out of here. We'll rendezvous at a safe house I have in a suburb of Metropolis."

"What? No!" she nearly shouted at him. "You're too important to get caught up in a skirmish here. We both need to leave this place."

"We can't risk the Regime finding out about this place either," Batman countered. "If this doesn't work, we need a backup plan. If the Regime knows about this, they'll confiscate everything and leave the Insurgency with even less resources than it has. We need to keep this as a contingency plan."

"But why you? I should be the one to do it!"

The dark-clad man gave her a stern look. "I know this cave system better than anyone. If there's anyone that can maneuver around here, it'll be me."

Batwoman stared at him before reluctantly nodding her agreement. "What place are we meeting at?"

"It's an apartment complex owned by Wayne Enterprises. I'm sure you can figure out which one."

Without looking back, Batman left the room. Locating the other path that led here, he walked down it, moving at a quick pace. There was a certain point he wanted to get to before whoever else was down here found him.

Minutes drug by until he found his place. Though the path was wider here, above his head was a tunnel that rose a significant distance up. It was here he would make his stand.

As it turned out, that moment came pretty quickly. Further down the tunnel he heard a sound, one that was reminiscent of rock clattering against rock. In an instant, the vigilante sent a bat-shuriken flying down the crevice. The projectile disappeared into the darkness until it clashed against something metal. He could tell from the sound of the shuriken striking against it as well as the brief flash of a spark.

His eyes widened. Immediately, Batman had his grapple out and fired it into the crevice above his head, waiting impatiently for the tell-tale sound of the claw attaching itself to the ceiling. The moment it did, he ascended up into the air, flying up the narrow opening. He had no doubt he was being persuaded, which was what he wanted to happen. He just wasn't expecting who it was.

As he reached the top, he disengaged his grapple, his momentum helping to carrying the remaining distant up. The moment his foot touched down on the edge of the new path, he was rushing down it, slowly ducking down as the ceiling lowered. Eventually, he lost speed as he was forced to crawl on his hands and knees. That was okay because this small tunnel would be opening up soon.

It took longer than he wanted, but eventually he reached the end of the tunnel, which opened up into the Cave. He was currently standing on a ledge that was separated by a gap. On the other side was a small plateau with a small set of stairs that led upwards. The stairs were actually a natural rock formation made from a time long before he had begun using it. He hadn't gotten around to using this area due to its lack of space, but he was familiar with it.

Instead of using the stairs, he pulled out his grapple and fired it up towards the ceiling. The moment the line went taut, he hit the retraction button and flew upwards. It took a little bit, but soon he reached the main plateau of the cavern. He rose further up into the air so that he got a better sight of the supercomputer and the medbay. They looked small from up here, but that was due to the angle he was at. Stopping his ascent, he hung there for a moment before he began to swing his legs back and forth, which in turn moved him forward and backward. When he felt he had reached the apex of his forward swing, he disengaged his grapple claw's hold on its anchor point, his momentum sending him soaring through the air.

He had more than enough speed to land on the plateau, crouching down the moment he landed so his legs better absorbed the shock. Standing up to his full height, he began walking towards the main area of his cave setup.

That was when the ground up ahead exploded, sending a couple large chunks of granite and stone flying through the air. None of the debris landed near the vigilante, so he didn't bother taking defensive measures. This allowed him to see Diana's form through the dust cloud, coming to land between him and the hole she had created.

"Stop," she commanded as she trained her blue eyes onto him. "I just want to talk."

Batman remained silent, allowing the Amazon to have the first words. The longer he kept her here, the further away Batwoman could get.

"It's occurred to me that you've been told many things," she began, "some of which may be unfavorable to myself and our friends."

She paused, waiting for a response he didn't give. Seeing this, the dark-haired woman continued, "I feel you should at least hear our side, so that you know the full story and not just part of it."

He raised an eyebrow at that. Out of everything he had been expecting, a defense of her own actions was predictable, but not expected. After all, Diana was a stubborn woman; if she felt she was in the right, she would not be swayed through words nor feel she needed to explain herself. "And what would that be?" he challenged her. "How you oppress this world? It's people?"

Predictably, Diana tilted her head back in defiance. "That is not what we are doing. You know better than anyone that in order to have peace, we must enforce the law."

"A law that requires a curfew? One that has an armed force using Gestapo tactics to enforce it? Where civilians live in fear that they'll be assaulted if they break it? How is that 'peace'?"

"There is only violence when the offenders are resisting," Diana retorted. "You've seen your fair share of this when you patrolled."

"I normally dealt with people that carried guns and knives. I've seen the 'resistance' you claim these offenders have. It usually involves begging and pleading."

That caused the Amazon to frown. "Are you certain of this? I have not heard of such complaints."

"I'd be shocked if you had," he retorted snidely. "After all, you rarely leave Superman's side from what I hear."

That caused her to narrow her eyes. "Do not judge me, Bruce. Don't you dare judge me after everything that's happened."

"And what has happened?"

"Your death for one," she shot back heatedly. "Or at least your hundredth fake death. I don't think you realize just how much that affected everyone. And then Flash was murdered by the same man we thought killed you." She was visibly upset by now. "We were all hurting. Vandal Savage nearly destroyed us with what he did. We couldn't...I couldn't let such transgressions slide. If we had, there was no telling how many more of us would be attacked that same way."

"And that led to your police state?"

It seemed his constant jabs had gotten under the Amazon's skin as she scowled at him. "You are not one to cast stones, Bruce. How is anything unlike what you've done?"

That caught him off guard. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Think about it. You patrolled the streets at night, enforcing an unofficial curfew and anyone you saw violating the law, you beat them down. How is this any different from what we have done?"

It was his turn to scowl. "I didn't terrify innocent people. I only went after lawbreakers."

"And anyone violating the curfew is a lawbreaker."

Batman's fists clenched tightly. "Are you saying that you did all of this because of how I looked after Gotham?"

"I'm saying we did all of this for you."

Those very words made the blood in his veins go cold. A moment later that numbness was overtaken by fury. "You can't be serious," he growled.

"Yes, Bruce." Diana took a couple steps towards him. "It is how we honor your memory, you. I couldn't protect you back then, so I made sure that no one would lose a loved one like that again, much like you watched over Gotham so that no one lost their parents to a senseless crime."

If Batman was angry before, he was furious now. It was a slap to the face how his very life's mission was twisted before his eyes. Perhaps this could be a logical conclusion if he were honest with himself, but he would never go to the same lengths that the Justice League had. He didn't kill, plain and simple, and they had. All that caused was pain, resentment, and hate. In fact, he saw all of those in Cassandra.

Cassandra…

"Tell me something, Diana," he said through clenched teeth. "The way you...honor...me, does that include lobotomizing Batgirl?"

The dark-haired woman stiffened. It took her a moment before she slowly replied, "The lobotomizing was perhaps extreme, but it did reduce the number of criminals out on the streets. It's regretful that she was caught up in that, but it was done with good intentions."

Good intentions? Good intentions?! "You took her mind away for good intentions?" he repeated back to her, not even bothering disguising his outrage. "No matter how you try to spin it, you knew what she meant to me. How can you stand there and tell me it's regretful when you could've stopped it? Tell me, damn it!"

Diana's eyes were wide in awe. However, they narrowed soon after. "No, I didn't know. You never told me what your relationship was like with her. You only ever hinted at her."

"How many people do I willingly allow on the streets?" he countered. "How many actually wear my symbol? Don't tell me that doesn't mean something to you."

"It does," she admitted after a moment, but he could tell his words hadn't fully reached her. It was as if she were blinding herself to his meaning purposefully. "Yet, does this not strike you as strange? How do you know about your apprentice, yet know so little of your friends? You were only told one side of the story and it was so convincing that you haven't bothered finding out the rest of it. That isn't the you I know."

What the hell was she talking about? "What are you getting at?"

"That someone is playing you, even gone as far to brainwash you. It wouldn't be the first time it has happened to you."

"And who the hell would brainwash me?" he demanded heatedly.

Diana straightened out her posture. "Ra's al Ghul."

When he didn't respond, she pressed on. "He's done it to you before. This whole situation feels like one of his schemes and he's using you to hurt us again. You must see this."

"What I see," he growled back, "is someone that's blinded herself to her own atrocities."

Diana's face hardened. "If you are unwilling to see the truth, then I will make you see it." Before he could even move, the Amazon's arm lashed out like a bullwhip. Her lasso was in her grasp, flinging itself through the air where it wrapped around his body, pinning his arms to his sides beneath the golden coils. Taking another step forward so that she could take hold of the lasso with her other hand as well, Diana stared him down with steely blue eyes. "This may hurt you," she warned him, "and I am sorry for the pain it may cause. I hope you will be able to forgive me."

Panic filled Batman's insides. His body squirmed against the golden rope to no avail. While he was very well aware of the Lasso's ability to seek out the truth, he also knew it had the ability to cast spells. Diana had done simple things with it, like putting people to sleep. With the way she was now, she could make him see her own truth and accept it as much.

He needed to avoid that fate at all costs.

Suddenly, the roaring of an engine rang out, causing both of them to jerk their heads to a side. Practically right on top of Diana was his sleek, black car, which rammed right into her. The Amazon took the grill right into her chest and was launched off her feet, being carried by the car for several feet. The car landed hard on the floor, the brakes causing burnt rubber to fill the air as they squealed from the friction. The force in which it had hit Diana caused her to go skipping across the floor, going into a roll until she came to a stop.

The golden rope around Batman slackened, which he immediately pushed his arms out, loosening its hold on him further. The moment he dropped his arms, the lasso fell to the floor in loose coils at his feet.

Reaching to his belt, he pulled out a small, round ball. With a toss of his arm and a flick of his wrist, he sent it flying through the air until it fell to the floor, bouncing several times on the ground until it went into a roll. It ultimately stopped close to Diana, the Amazon looking up at it through wincing eyes.

Stream of green gas fired out of the ball, spreading out all over the area the dark-haired woman laid, covering her in the gas. Diana coughed loudly until they slowly went silent. The gas cloud took about a minute to dissipate, but when it did the Amazon was lying unconscious on the floor.

By then, the car's canopy slid open, Batwoman poking her head up as she looked at him. "What are you waiting for?" she demanded. "Get in!"

Batman started to move when he glanced down at the lasso. Bending down, he snatched it off the floor, hurrying over to the car as he coiled it up. He had it in its familiar loops by the time he reached the car; however, that's where he stopped. They had a problem that needed to be dealt with.

Batwoman stared at him from her seat. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

He stared down at the woman. "I'm driving."

She looked at him incredulously. "You can't be serious. We need to get out of here and you're holding us up because you want to drive?"

He leaned down towards her. "Do I look like I'm joking?"

"Well, no…"

"Then move over."


For the record, the insurgent that Enchantress is torturing is Warren McGinnis. I was trying to figure out how to get his name in that scene, but there wasn't a place I could work it in without making it too jarring. So while he's nameless to Starfire, he is known to us.

To Guest: I hope it was everything you wanted to see lol