The Day Metropolis Fell
After Martian Manhunter, Hawkgirl, and Green Lantern take flight to search for the Joker the discrepancy over whether Harley Quinn's life should continue resumes. The once tight-knit Justice League and Bat Family regard each other uncomfortably like total strangers. The Flash looks around in disbelief at his teammates spectating while Harley struggles to draw breath. Superman still has her hoisted in the air with a hand squeezing her delicate neck in his ever-tightening grip. Her pigtails swing and bright blue eyes bulge in panic as her human instincts take over, fighting to get oxygen into her lungs. Clark's arm shakes with rage as he relentlessly attempts to choke the Joker's location out of her, information she obviously doesn't have. Green Arrow and Black Canary's faces are stoic under their masks, could the Queens truly stand by and condone a revenge-served-hot killing? Diana is clearly enjoying Harley's pain, there's no question of where the Wonder Woman stands on this issue. There was a time when Diana would've raised her blade to save any woman in need, regardless of who they were or what they'd done. Perhaps immortality had hardened the Amazon's heart, or maybe Metropolis was the straw the broke the camel's back. Something had changed Diana but her friends didn't fully understand the depth of that change until they see her smirk while Harley suffers. The Flash finds comfort in realizing the Bat Family hadn't changed a bit. Even under their cowls Barry can tell the Bats are readying themselves to intervene in Clark's interrogation of Harley. Catwoman manages to keep her cool despite wanting to scratch Superman's eyes out for touching her fellow Gotham City Siren. The rest of the Bat Family is watching Batman, waiting for a signal. Bruce is not happy about the completely uncalled for blow that Batgirl took from Superman when he snatched up Harley. Nightwing is currently working on getting Batgirl up and out of the dirt where she'd been strewn by the bloodthirsty Kryptonian. Batman's also beyond pissed that Clark is about to use lethal force on one of the Bats' rogues gallery. As far as unspoken superhero code goes, killing another hero's villain is off-limits and considered taboo unless a team-up is established. The Bats and Leaguers are so caught up watching the intense drama of the scene, nothing outside this moment exists to them. They don't notice a small burst of greenish light behind their backs, it's sheen and hue rival the beauty of the Mediterranean Sea. The light glimmers a short distance from the nose of the Bat Family's jet and two figures become visible before emerging from the light. It winks out behind them as the two strangers, a man and a woman survey their surroundings.
"Chill, you botched the landing." Says the woman. Her hair is dyed every color of the rainbow and tied into a sleek, braided ponytail at the crown of her head. The braid is so long it nearly caresses the small of her back. She's wearing ripped, black high-waisted shorts with thigh-high combat boots and a tight-fitting black tactical vest. A simple black backpack is strapped snugly to her shoulders. Her build is slim and petite but wiry muscles give away her athleticism. Her face is mostly covered with a Halloween Joker mask that had been cut haphazardly down the middle, leaving only a cheekbone and a third of her hot pink lips visible. She'd drawn a domino mask around the Joker's eyes, making the plastic copy of his face even more terrifying. She clearly has tattoo sleeves but the designs can't be made out due to black leather fingerless gloves with armor plating that come up high enough on her arms to almost touch the vest. The portions of her fingers and arms that are visible bare scars underneath the tattoos most likely earned in combat due to their jagged shapes.
"It's Chillblaine, JD," Chillblaine's gaze comes to rest on the Bat Family's jet "Get that thing off your face and stay close to me."
JD shoots her partner a nasty glare but goes to do as he says, knowing the Joker's image would bring her nothing but trouble at the moment. Once she detaches the leather strap on the mask and peels it off a lovely face devoid of makeup except for those lips is revealed. She quickly unshoulders one of the backpack's straps and swings it around to her front. A hot pink, harlequin diamond becomes visible on the back of her vest while she stashes the mask. Chillblaine's appearance is quite literally the polar opposite of his companion's. His outfit consists of a slim-fitting black jacket with a fur-trimmed hood, charcoal-colored body armor underneath and navy cargo pants topped with a tactical belt that's loaded with all kinds of gear. Strange, high-tech metal gauntlets cover his hands and wrists. His hair is golden blond and buzzed close to his scalp. His face is devilishly handsome and clean of any markings or facial hair aside from some stubble. His eyes are covered by a set of deep blue goggles that may or may not just provide ocular protection. Chillblaine takes one of JD's hands in a gauntlet and they scurry to take cover. They crouch together under the nose of the Bat-jet to plot their next move. Behind the jet this domestic dispute of the gods is gaining steam. Superman had just thrown Harley Quinn aside, his anger redirected at Batman for attempting to talk him down. He orders the Queens to guard her so he can give Batman his full attention. The Bird and the Archer's faces remain blank, not even the Canary looks down on Harley in pity. Clark needs a moment to unburden himself of his true feelings regarding Batman's handling of the Joker over the years. JD and Chillblaine cautiously peer out from their vantage point just in time to see Superman send Batman flying with a single punch. Chillblaine smirks at Batman's landing while JD covers her mouth to suppress a giggle. They both retract their heads when Batman starts moving again. Chillblaine nods to JD, signaling for her to hold this position for now. Both keep their backs to the opposite side of the jet's nose while Chillblaine gets to work. He activates one of his gauntlets and a small, holographic screen appears. The screen hovers just above the inside of his wrist, displaying strange equations Chillblaine conceived and solved himself.
"Holy shit," JD's hot pink lips part as her jaw drops in astonishment "It's happening, I can't miss out on seeing this!" JD drops to the ground and flattens herself so she can scoot under the nose of the jet for a front-row seat to the Justice League's Battle Royale. She watches in awe while Harley Quinn coughs and chokes on her knees, her spirit broken by the day's events. Harley lifts her eyes and takes in this fight for her life. Just between Harley and her scrambled brains her existence didn't seem worth all this drama after what she'd helped the Joker do to these people. The Queens just sit in silence on their motorcycles, guarding Harley like good little pawns.
"JD, we talked about this," Chillblaine hisses as her boots completely disappear under the jet "Don't make me come under there!"
"I wish you would," JD's irate whisper comes from under the jet "At least you'd get your face out of that stupid screen!"
Having found what he was looking for, Chillblaine shuts down the screen and army-crawls underneath the jet to join his partner. He opens his mouth to speak but JD suddenly grabs one of his hands and shushes him. She points out at the escalating battle before them. Batman had somehow survived being punched that hard and is currently making his way back to Superman. The rest of the Bat Family are unable to assist their leader. The Young Bats and Catwoman have their hands full with Wonder Woman, she'd already knocked Nightwing out with some blunt force trauma.
"You're wrong, Batman," Clark says as he strolls toward Batman slowly to taunt him "I do have to do this, for Lois."
"Arrow," Batman yells to Oliver now that he's lured Clark away from Harley "Take her now!"
The Queens exchange a knowing look and suddenly their dour faces come to life. Green Arrow grins slyly at his wife as they start their bikes and switch sides in a matter of seconds without hesitation. Black Canary unleashes her Sonic Scream on the Flash. The speedster's caught off guard, rather than choose a side he'd watched his friends tear into each other. Barry's heart had broken a little with each punch thrown between friends. Black Canary's plan to incapacitate Flash for a cheap head start works beautifully. Barry Allen covers his ears and slowly sinks to the ground, ending up curled into the fetal position while still being ravaged by the Canary's Cry. Green Arrow had already extended a hand to Harley from his bike but she just seems dazed to JD and Chillblaine. Harley looks up at Green Arrow as if she's asking him 'Why bother saving me?'
JD clutches Chillblaine's hand tightly while the Arrow says something to Harley that neither can make out over the sound and fury of the Justice League's implosion. Whatever was said seems to snap Harley out of her trance. She finally raises her cuffed hands to take Green Arrow's and climbs on the back of the bike with the Emerald Archer.
"JD, we really have to go," Chillblaine implores her "You know we shouldn't be here."
"But they're right here in front of our faces," JD's voice cracks a little as she protests "Can't we at least nab one of them?"
"Absolutely not," Chillblaine fights to keep his voice level "Please don't do this to me, JD."
"Fine, keep your goggles on," JD blinks to keep an eye from tearing up "I just wanted to see them."
"Who wouldn't," Chillblaine cautiously wraps an arm around JD and pulls her close against his muscled torso "I'm sorry but it's time to leave."
"Fine," JD brings an arm up and tries to squeeze one of his biceps "No fair, I can't even get my grope on with your stupid armor in the way."
Chillblaine rolls his eyes under the goggles while JD cackles, then the pair vanish in a blink of the same light that delivered them to the day Metropolis fell.
The Battle of Gotham
Huntress and Nightwing stand together on a distant rooftop and watch in absolute horror as the warehouse crumbles in on itself before their eyes. The rest of the Bat Family is trapped under the rubble of the warehouse with most of the Regime. If Superman came across any of the Bats first, they were as good as dead.
"We have to get to them," Nightwing shifts his weight in an attempt to hide how much the stab wound from Jason is paining him "What are you waiting for, Helena?"
"I can't leave this spot," Huntress says mysteriously while watching the dust clear on her scope's screen "Bruce gave me two jobs, keep you out of the fighting and something just for me."
"So we do nothing while our team's trapped and potentially wounded?" Dick shouts at Helena in disbelief. When did Batman even have time to give Huntress a one-on-one briefing?
"Pop your green pill and settle in," Helena's voice is disturbingly calm "We stick to Bruce's plan."
"This was not the plan," Dick gestures to the destruction before them "I have seniority, tell me what Batman charged you with that's so important, right now!"
"I can't," Helena's tone remains nonplussed "By now you should know how he operates better than anyone."
Before Dick can respond to being called out, an odd shade of greenish light flashes directly behind them and both are forced to whirl with weapons at the ready. Two strangers have joined them on the rooftop when the light fades. Dick and Helena are both caught with their backs unprotected by the party crashers and have no clue what they're dealing with for once. Batman didn't prep them with a plan for random, heavily armed weirdos popping out of a mystical portal or whatever that light was in this morning's briefing.
"Do not fucking move!" Nightwing takes a battle stance and points an Escrima Stick at the odd pair. He takes the settings down a notch from lethal while casually spinning the stick in his other hand.
"Seriously just don't," Huntress turns away from the two unshaken and resumes her post kneeling at the roof's edge "Those stun batons have a lethal setting and Nightwing's had a rough day."
"You've got us all wrong," JD holds up her hands to show they're free of weapons "We're here to help."
"At least hear us out before it's too late," Chillblaine takes a brave step forward with his hands up "I'm the only way your Bat Family is going to make it out of this alive."
"Sure, because we've never heard that before," Dick scoffs at Chillblaine's statement "I mean it, stay the fuck back!"
"Dick Grayson," JD does her best to hide how star-struck she is "You're wounded and even with those sketchy green pills you're going to need a miracle to complete your mission without casualties."
"You know them, Dick?" Huntress asks over her shoulder without looking up from her scope, turning her face only slightly.
"Does it look like I know them?" Dick yells at Helena, completely exasperated by her attitude.
"Oh wow, you two really were a couple at some point," JD snickers gleefully "As I was saying, your family needs a miracle and my partner here just happens to be a living miracle."
"How do you know us," Huntress asks nonchalantly though her interest is clearly piqued "And what's in it for you two?"
"There's no time," Chillblaine clenches a fist "If we don't get Batman out of there alive, Gotham falls today!"
"Oh great, fucking time-travelers," Helena sighs with her back still to the conversation "Problem is, you could be making up bullshit so Gotham does fall."
"How about a show of good faith," JD exchanges a look with Chillblaine "Let Chill here do his thing."
"Perfect, our savior's name is Chill," Nightwing's voice drips with sarcasm "I won't have trouble taking you seriously at all so, what did you have in mind, Chill?"
"It's Chillblaine," he pulls up his goggles from around his neck and crosses the rooftop to stand with Huntress "Initiate scan."
"If this turns out to be a trick," Dick glares daggers into Chillblaine's turned back "Your partner goes splat."
"My name is JD," she interjects "The books I read painted you as gallant they failed to mention your shit personality."
"Books," Dick repeats "Our identities are in books in the future?"
"I've got eight signs of life," Chillblaine interrupts as he slides a finger down the side of his goggles to zoom in "I have eyes on Batgirl, she's in critical condition."
"Do whatever it is you do," Huntress looks up into Chillblaine's face "Save Batgirl, now!"
Chillblaine nods to Huntress and disappears in a blink of light or perhaps it could be some kind of energy? A few moments later he reappears on the rooftop with one badly wounded Batgirl in his arms. The green pills Catwoman scored from Scarecrow must've been off-brand because Batgirl has a shard of shrapnel stuck in her gut. The others could be dead in minutes if their green pills wore off as quickly as Barbara's had.
"Babs, oh my god!" Nightwing rushes forward to take Barbara away from Chillblaine, still mistrustful of the teleporting time-traveler.
"Secret identities, you dick." Barbara says weakly as Nightwing lowers her to the ground so he can take a better look at the wound.
"Still think we're here to fuck up your shit?" JD crosses her arms and juts out a hip.
"JD, let them be," Chillblaine takes his spot next to Huntress and starts scanning the rubble again "Shit, here comes the big guy!"
Superman bursts from the wreckage of the warehouse and begins tearing through it like a petulant toddler mid-tantrum. Clark is in a blind rage and desperate to find the brother that betrayed him twice. Wonder Woman and Cyborg punch and blast themselves free almost immediately after Clark. They follow Superman's lead, hacking and throwing pieces of building from their path while they hunt the Bat Family. Hawkgirl is next to surface, she breaks through a layer of rubble with a piercing cry and unfurls her wings. Kendra holds Catwoman under an arm with her talons dug into Selina's side as she leaps into the sky, seemingly headed for the docks.
"Chill-whatever, save the Cat next." Huntress instinctively takes command without forgetting her original mission. If Hawkgirl got away with Catwoman they'd never see her again, surely Kendra was taking her to the Regime's shady black site prison.
"I need you to spot me a pill," Chillblaine holds an open gauntlet out to Huntress "I'm meta-human, not indestructible."
"Ate mine already," Helena shoots Dick a piercing glare "Fork it over, Nightwing."
"Whatever," Dick produces his pill and tosses it to Chillblaine "Don't blame me when we all die, trusting them wasn't my call to make apparently."
"JD," Chillblaine adjusts his goggles and chews up the capsule before swallowing "Patch up Batgirl while I'm gone."
"Shit, of course what was I thinking?" JD produces a simple white packet from one of the pockets on her vest and comes to kneel by Batgirl's other side across from Dick.
"What are you doing to her?" Nightwing has to resist the urge to shove JD's hands away.
"Future shit, no time to explain!" JD rips the shrapnel from Barbara's gut with no warning and crushes the packet in her other hand before pressing it over the wound. Barbara cries out in pain and thrashes but no more blood comes from the nasty gash in her stomach. "That pac should hold till we can get her somewhere safe." JD sits back grinning and pretends to wipe sweat from her brow.
Nightwing looks up from examining the strange dressing and holds one of Barbara's hands against his face. Then he takes a good, long look at JD.
"Seriously, who the fuck are you people?" Dick asks for the millionth time today.
"Big fans," JD smiles down at Batgirl "I can't believe I just saved Barbara Gordon's life!"
"But why do you know our identities?" Dick is starting to get angry he's the only one asking these questions.
"JD, you sure your friend can handle himself against a League-trained demigoddess?" Huntress interrupts. JD hops to her feet and immediately sees that Chillblaine is having trouble. She kneels down at Helena's side and watches the airborne struggle on the crossbow's electronic scope. Chillblaine had been forced to confront Hawkgirl over the docks. He tried simply snatching Catwoman but he couldn't teleport her away without Kendra's talons tearing into vital organs. Kendra slams him with a body blow that sends him spinning. He teleports just in time to avoid crashing through a segment of the docks into the Gotham River. This time, he reappears on Kendra's back and lays a gauntlet on each of her wings. Kendra cocks her free arm back then rakes her claws over his shoulder and most of the way across his chest, cutting through his body armor but Chillblaine doesn't flinch. He says something that's lost on the wind and ice springs from his gauntlets, engulfing Kendra's wings. She's forced to drop the Cat to save herself as the ice causes her to plummet wildly downward. Chillblaine catches Selina midair and teleports them back to the rooftop in the same instant.
"I'm good, I'm good," Selina says irately as Chillblaine sets her down "Who the fuck is this guy?"
"He's Chillblaine or Chill, the girl's JD." Helena snaps, frustrated by the recurring banter pulling her focus from the mission at hand.
"You look very familiar," Catwoman takes a moment to stare into JD and Chillblaine's faces "Both of you."
"Chilly, that bitch filleted you," JD ignores Catwoman and sidesteps Selina to check on her partner "The pill hasn't kicked in yet?"
"Doesn't matter, I have to get back down there," he tells JD in a fervor as he sinks to his knees "If I fail today all of this has been for nothing!"
"You're no good to anyone bled dry." JD unzips her backpack and pulls out a simple roll of white tape. She starts biting long strips off of the roll and slapping them onto the vicious slashes across her partner's chest. The moment the tape comes into contact with his blood it inflates and binds to his wounds "Rest, just for a moment." JD implores him.
"I think that's a great idea," Huntress speaks up from her post "No matter what you see down there, don't make a move unless I tell you to."
Back on the ground, Batman had finally been discovered. Cyborg nearly blasted him in half with his arm cannon while Bruce was trying to find a spot with enough cover to use the kryptonite gun and escape. Shooting Superman would not be a simple feat. Jason was still lost in the collapse so it was three against one for the moment. Batman flings a series of EMP's at Cyborg, hoping to disable rather than harm his dear friend, Victor Stone.
"I never thought I'd see the Bat fall so far," Cyborg flicks the EMP's off of him like flies "You're a criminal Batman, you've become what you hate so deeply!"
"Please Victor," Batman pleads with him "I don't want to harm you."
"Bruce, you need to call off your people and surrender so we can help you." Cyborg was one of the kindest, gentlest souls Batman had ever met. Bruce's heart breaks once again upon realizing there was no wresting Cyborg from the Regime's way of thinking.
Superman and Wonder Woman nod to each other and spread out in opposite directions so they can flank Bruce while he's distracted with Cyborg. The Flash suddenly reappearing in Superman's face buys Batman a few more moments to keep attempting to reason with Cyborg.
"Hey Boss," Flash rests a hand on one of Superman's shoulders "Hal is safe back at the tower, J'onn is trying to figure out exactly what was done to him."
"Go make sure there's still a perimeter," Clark brushes off Barry's hand "Gotham's about to witness the most infamous perp-walk in history."
"Oh, you mean Batman," Barry glances over his shoulder "Yeah, I'm on it." Even though his heart is screaming for him to turn around, Barry Allen ignores his instincts and takes off to carry out Superman's order.
With Barry gone Clark hangs back while Diana moves in closer. The Kryptonian knows better than to bum-rush Batman this time. After realizing he'd been deceived, Superman knows the Bat certainly brought kryptonite to this party. One dumb move and Bruce would put him down, Clark can feel it in his bones.
"Hey Princess," Jason Todd springs out of the wreckage and into Diana's path "Ever been to the gun show?"
"Wow, a villain's never used that line on me before," Wonder Woman raises her blade "Ever been penetrated by a sword?"
"Kinky!" Jason grins under his hood. Then he pistol-whips Diana and sends her flying far from Batman. Perhaps he'd lucked out and gotten an uncut green pill or maybe the time under his tongue allowed his body to hang on to the effects longer. All Red Hood knew was that as long as he still had green pill strength he was going to use it to beat on these Regime schmucks.
"Diana!" Superman yells as she lands hard, crushing a fallen metal pipe. Cyborg nearly has Batman subdued so Clark rushes to Wonder Woman's side. Superman had made yet another bad call in the field, he just didn't know it yet. Jason pursues and grapples with Superman while Batman makes his play. Bruce allows Vic to think he'd beaten him senseless and lays splayed out, primed for capture. Cyborg crouches next to Batman and pats him on the chest.
"I'm grateful for everything you taught me about hunting criminals," Vic lets out a sad sigh "I'm sorry this is the way it's got to be."
"No Vic, I'm sorry," Batman suddenly sits up and hugs Cyborg "GRID, it's Batman I need you to release the hounds."
"Wha-what?" Cyborg's face freezes in confusion as a virus is released by his own software, courtesy of Batman's paranoia from long ago. The virus spreads causing Cyborg's operating systems to shut him down from within.
"I'm so sorry." Batman tells Cyborg as his eye closes and cybernetic limbs go limp. He gently lays Cyborg down beside him and gets to his feet. Currently, Red Hood is holding his own against Superman but Batman needs him out of the way for what comes next. "Red Hood," Batman calls out sternly "Retreat!"
"You've got to be kidding me!" Jason lands a spinning kick against Clark's face that actually causes the Man of Steel to stumble back a few steps.
"I used you for your skillset on this mission," Batman rests a glove on the kryptonite handgun on the back of his belt "That's all, I never wanted you back in the family!"
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Jason yells as he bobs and weaves to dodge punches from Superman.
"Get it through that stupid helmet," Bruce roars "I used you!"
Jason sees Wonder Woman making her way back to the fight with cold-blooded murder in her eyes and decides to listen for once.
"Fuck you too, Batman!" Jason flips Bruce the bird with both hands before turning his back and running away. Jason makes it to what was once the warehouse's back alley before he's snatched up by a strange light. The Big Three are too engrossed in their feud to notice his sudden abduction.
"No wonder your progeny always turn on you." Diana twirls her sword as Batman gets ready to come through her. Superman stands smugly with his arms crossed just a few feet behind her.
"No wonder yours always reap destruction," Batman fills his hands with smoke bombs and shuriken Batarangs "What happened to you, Diana?"
"Men like you!" Wonder Woman snarls as she charges at Batman, sword and shield at the ready. Batman's green pill hadn't worn off yet but he didn't want to give that away. He sidesteps Diana just as the tip of her sword touches his armor. Then he throws the smoke bombs and explosives into her path. They wouldn't really harm her but hopefully the confusion would give Batman a window.
"What are you waiting for, Bruce?" Superman taunts his former brother and teammate.
"I didn't want to hurt Diana." Bruce draws the gun loaded with kryptonite hollow-points and pulls the trigger with zero hesitation. Superman dodges the bullet with ease and rushes Batman, battering him against the ground and wrenching the gun from his hand.
"I thought you didn't play with guns." Superman pops the magazine out to make sure the kryptonite he'd given Batman so long ago is all there. He cringes at the glowing, green bullets "Diana, would you be a dear and hold this for Bruce?" Wonder Woman approaches them smirking and takes the gun off of Clark's hands.
"Global dictatorships call for extreme measures." Batman says coldly.
"Come on," Superman grabs the back of Batman's neck "Let's go get some pics taken for the 'Gram before you mysteriously disappear like all the other insurgents."
"Over my dead body." Bruce growls.
"That can be arranged." Wonder Woman shoves Batman from behind as they take flight up and over the ruins of the enormous warehouse. Clark grips Batman's neck with both hands as they fly, well aware of how slippery the Bat could be.
"Someone should really see to Cyborg." Bruce doesn't want to believe the Regime could just leave him on the battlefield like a forgotten toy in a sandbox.
"Don't you worry about it," Clark gives Bruce's neck an almost-friendly squeeze "I'll have Flash take him to his father."
Outside the wreckage of the warehouse the perimeter had been pushed out much further thanks to Batgirl's warning. Kendra can be seen in the back of a distant ambulance. Hawkgirl is soaking wet and surrounded by EMT's scrambling to thaw the ice from her still-frozen wings. Her wings should've been strong enough to shatter it but they'd gone numb by the time she pulled herself from the river. Something was very strange about this ice. Nothing the paramedics had tried so far seemed to melt or even chip it. The Flash stops for a moment to applaud Batman's capture before continuing to patrol the perimeter. Clark sets Bruce down, keeping a hold of his neck as he and Diana march him toward the police barriers with hungry news crews at the front clamoring to feast on Batman's fall.
Back on the rooftop all of Batman's brood are gathered, unable to believe what they were witnessing. Jason was initially very confused when Chillblaine grabbed him up but after some gun-pointing and death threats Red Hood finally realizes he'd been rescued. Catwoman had been watching JD and Chillblaine closely since the moment she laid eyes on them. Selina Kyle wasn't buying their rebels-from-a-dystopian-future story. Helena is still laser focused on her scope and keeps the Big Three in her sights as they move. Dick and Barbara are practically screaming at Helena. Everyone on the rooftop is upset or unnerved in some way except for JD and Chillblaine. It deeply bothered Selina that the two obviously know something about Batman's future that he'd purposely hidden from her.
"You told us you came through time to save Batman," Dick speaks in a cutting tone "There he is, go get him!"
"It ain't that simple," JD faces off with Dick so her partner can focus "Leave Chili alone, he's worn out from saving all of your asses!"
"You could've asked before you teleported me," Jason shudders a little and sits down, clutching his arms around himself "I feel violated."
"Stop distracting him!" JD sharply turns away from Dick to deal with Jason.
"From what," Selina gets in JD's face and traces her claws down a cheek "I suggest you tell me what's about to happen to my future husband."
"Wow," JD can't help but light up while being threatened by one of her idols "I read so much about you but the real thing is perfection."
"You don't want to talk to me," Selina lowers her claws and turns away smirking "That's fine, I'll talk to your boyfriend."
"Back off, Selina," Huntress holds a hand out to give the Cat pause "You can have your chat when the mission's complete."
"What are you talking about," Jason sprawls out on his back and spreads his arms "We failed harder than Joker beat me with that crowbar!"
"Are you good?" Helena asks Chillblaine. For whatever reason he'd stayed close to Huntress since Jason's rescue, never leaving her side or taking his eyes off the crossbow's screen.
"Oh yeah," Chillblaine stands up and claps his gauntlets together "Pill's kicked in, ready when you are."
"For what?" Dick asks, utterly befuddled by Helena's odd behavior that started long before these strange, apparent allies arrived.
"Is there a good reason we're still on this stupid roof?" Jason stirs the pot, his chaotic nature doesn't allow him to resist throwing kerosene on the fiery drama even at a time like this.
"I've got it," Helena says to Chillblaine "Go now!"
Chillblaine blinks out of existence in the exact same moment Helena pulls the trigger on her crossbow. That janky kryptonite handgun was a trap laid by Batman to lower Clark's guard. Bruce never intended for a simple handgun to be the weapon that would end Superman's reign of terror. Batman's ultimate plan was to sacrifice himself so Huntress could take her shot while Clark thought he'd already won the day. Once Superman was dead Helena had orders to hustle the Bat Family out of Gotham. One of Bruce's jets awaits them in a Wayne-owned warehouse nearby with a course set for Corto Maltese where disappearing is easy. As Huntress' bolt flies the casing drops from the tip, revealing a barbed kryptonite arrowhead that Batman had dipped in Hydra venom. He'd taken it off Constantine in a shake-down many years ago. Kryptonite could harm and weaken Superman but Hydra venom shot into his brain would kill him instantly. Chillblaine reappears behind the Big Three and throws a sucker punch that floors Superman, his hands finally release Bruce and the Man of Steel falls flat on his back. Wonder Woman draws her sword to confront their attacker but she's blinded by Chillblaine's teleportation energy. Chillblaine grabs a hold of Batman in the confusion and teleports him out of there in the time it takes to blink. Wonder Woman recovers from briefly being blinded but once the white spots fade from her vision what's left is a glimmering, green speck of light headed straight for Clark's unprotected face. Diana doesn't hesitate or attempt to reach for her shield. She launches herself into the arrow's path and takes the bolt square in the chest. It punches through her armor, barely hindered and the barb hooks itself deep into her sternum. Blood blossoms from the tainted arrowwound and spills downward from the brutal puncture in her breastplate, dripping down her boots and pooling at her feet.
"Superman." She only gets his name out before she collapses to the ground with a hand over the bolt, pain like she'd never felt before ricocheting through her body.
"Wonder Woman," Clark scrambles on hands and knees to reach her side "Diana, I can't do this without you!" Superman's eyes glow red as he lifts the Amazon into his arms and stands up. The cheering mob gathered around the perimeter goes perfectly silent upon seeing his eyes. For a moment he briefly fantasizes heat-visioning the crowd of Gothamites watching and filming his pain from behind the police barriers. Without acknowledging anyone else on the scene, Superman takes flight carrying Diana and disappears from view in the sky within seconds.
Author's Note: Big thank you to my good buddy SoulHope the Wolf for researching the Hydra Venom. Never could've solved that one on my own. Super tired posting this if you notice any glaring mistakes please point them out in a scathing review :)