CHAPTER 4
Author's note: First things first, apologies for the lateness; work has really been draining on me and I went on vacation for a week. I again will stress that I've no real editor, so grammatical and spelling errors are prone to happen. On another note, I'm actually enjoying some of the ideas I come up with, but a lot of them are theoretically further down the line and while I'd love to share them I'd like the road I'm traveling to lead up to them first. I've been rereading some story arcs of DC, primarily things involving the JL, the Trinity, and Batman. Not so much WW, but that's on the list of things to read. This chapter was actually planning on being the last one but things got changed up a bit, so what I had planned for this chapter will be the next one. Enjoy!
"We're thinking of calling it the Justice League," Kal-El said. Batman looked unamused, his back turned to the large monitor's that made up his computer system.
"I'd say you're joking but I've known you long enough to understand you're absolutely serious," he said, completely monotone. He noticed Diana's gaze and cocked his head to the side. "There a problem, Princess?"
"I thought you would be thrilled. Your city could greatly benefit –"
"My city doesn't need superpowered gods tearing through streets to stop a mob meeting or doesn't need the corrupt cops torn in half by accident because the one punching them forgets they're mortal," the Batman growled. He stood up from his seat and bored his gaze against Diana's. "Understand this: Gotham will not have any metas, aliens, or gods roaming around without my express permission."
"You think –" Diana started to retort but was silenced when Kal got in between them.
"Batman, I know your rule well, you made it clear to me the day we met, but I'm offering you a chance to help more than just Gotham. Think about it, okay," he said calmly, then motioned for Diana to follow him out of the cave.
"What a rude man, how can you possibly be friends with him?" she asked, her fury unquelled.
"Batman has been through some battles that you and I could never understand. You have to understand, Diana, he doesn't see things the way you and I do. But I've begun to rub off on him; before he'd not let either of us get a word in before telling us off and ordering us to leave," Kal-El stopped as he pondered. "Maybe if you chipped in, we can finally break that exterior of his and get him to change completely." Diana smiled.
"That should be a fun show to watch. Still, I have to admit, the way he fought was unlike any way I've seen before. It was…quite a thing to behold."
"Bru - I mean Batman has trained under what I assume have been dozens of martial artists specialists and maybe combined several techniques into his own, all for the sake of fighting the crime in his city. Come on, we should leave him to brood while he thinks of the proposal."
"I doubt he'll join us," Diana said, following Kal-El as he took to the skies, parting the waterfall. Yet, perhaps Superman was onto something. Maybe if she poked and prodded enough, the Batman might actually open himself up for once.
Lois had never been to Themyscira before; never really needed to. It was beautiful, as if it were a land untouched by the sands of time. Everything was so dated that it felt as though she had been dropped by a time machine. Might as well have. She found herself being escorted by several armored women with spears and shields as soon as she was properly introduced by Clark, who deflected their 'no man shall set foot' on the island by pointing out that technically he was floating several feet above them all. Her escort was stopped at the entrance to what she assumed were the personal quarters of Diana.
"She is in here," one of the escorts said. They turned to leave.
"Not going to introduce me?" Lois, for some God only knows why reason, asked.
"The Princess demanded we leave her alone since she arrived," was the response, and they did not stick around any further. Lois inhaled deeply, put on her best smile that was both welcoming and sympathetic, and walked through what seemed like curtains. She was met with a loosely dressed Diana, her black hair messy and her arms hugging her legs with her face buried in her knees. She was on what looked to be the comfiest bed in the world; Lois had no doubt that if she were to lay flat on it, she would probably have the best sleep in a long time since giving birth to Jon. Looking around, the room was just as exotic as the rest of the island. Lois quickly scolded herself for sightseeing and reminded herself of the reason she was here.
"Diana?" she reached out softly. As she was slowly lifting her head, Lois could see that Diana's eyes were still red around them. She didn't seem to have been crying as of late, but she was still reeling from the last time she did. Diana looked confused, but then straightened herself.
"Lois! What are you doing here? How did you get here?" she asked pointedly, getting off the bed to embrace her friend. Lois returned the hug, thinking that they both needed it more than they realize.
"Clark got worried and dropped me off here to check up on you. He thought it best that you have someone to talk to," she told Diana. She parted with Diana and rested her hands on her shoulders. "He also told me the other thing."
"You mean me being pregnant?" Diana asked, amused. She walked back towards her bed and sat at the end. Patting the spot next to her, she invited Lois to join her. Upon sitting down, Lois did in fact confirm the bed was comfortable enough that if she laid down and closed her eyes, she'd fall asleep almost instantly. She was a bit jealous to never have a bed like this.
"He felt it might help –" Lois started, stopping when she noticed Diana snickering.
"This is very much like him," she sighed. Lois conceded to that.
"He's worried, Diana. Things have been moving way too fast, the way I see it. It's been less than four days and…I have to ask: are you alright?" Diana looked up, thoughtfully closing her eyes. She did not open them for a while.
"I thought it would help; the quiet, being surrounded by familiar faces, being in the company of my mother. But it…hasn't. No matter how hard I try I can't come to terms with any of it. It's just a million what ifs going through my head and I can't stop," Diana hugged her knees again, resting her chin on top of them. "I felt like I just needed to be somewhere that Bruce had never set foot on, to separate myself from him in a way. But now it's just made me miss him all the more for it." Diana looked over at Lois, and she could see the wetness in her eyes. "I can't find an escape and I don't even know if I want to."
"It's understandable, completely understandable. I'm here to talk, just tell me everything on your mind," Lois reassured her, and Diana smiled.
"You're too good for Kal," she teased.
"He's too good for me," Lois shot back with a grin. The next hour was spent talking about their respective partners, occasionally stopping to remember a dear friend lost to them.
*/*/*
Jim woke up in his lounge chair in his living room at the sound of the ringing phone. Fumbling with his glasses, he hastily picked up and answered it.
"This is Commissioner Gordon speaking," he said.
"Commissioner? It's Detective Montoya."
"Go ahead, Renee."
"Sir a package arrived earlier and we've had it scanned and nothing seems to be wrong with it. It's an envelope and old VHS tape, the first being addressed to Wonder Woman and the tape being addressed to the Justice League," Montoya said. There was uncertainty - no that wasn't it. Unsteadiness? Something was giving her a shake in her voice.
"What's wrong, Renee?"
"Sir, the package was sent by the Joker. The date is stamped one week before the explosion. And, sorry to inform you sir, but a few people watched the video to make sure it was safe. Word is starting to spread around the precinct," Montoya told him. Jim sighed deeply and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was just one thing after another.
God damn it, the nightmare was never going to end, was it?
*/*/*
Clark was beginning to feel the weight of everything that had happened. And just when he felt like he could find a moment to recuperate, he gets a call from Oracle to meet at the GCPD. Something about a final message from the Joker. She also radioed Diana for the same purpose, and he waited for her outside the building.
"I dropped Lois off at your apartment, and she told me to tell you that it's your job to pick up Jon at your parents," Diana said with a small smile. Clark returned the gesture; it seemed her talk with Lois did some good.
"I'll be sure to do that. Come on, Commissioner Gordon is waiting for us," he motioned for her to follow him inside. As they entered, they were stopped by Renee Montoya, letting them know she would lead them to the Commissioner's office. As they were escorted, Clark noticed how the officers present avoided looking in their general direction. He also noticed how few officers in the precinct there were.
"Trouble in the city?" he asked. Renee gave a small snort.
"Understatement of the year," she replied. "Every small crook has gotten the idea that anything goes and chaos has just started to erupt everywhere. The bigger fish are either biding their time or making small waves, but nothing we can deal with. Batwoman and Robin are doing their best, but everyone knows they're no Batman. If whatever you're doing up in your space station could speed up, that'd take a huge weight off everyone's shoulders."
"We're giving him the best care we can, but even advanced medical sciences from other planets can only do so much. We'll do everything we can to get Batman back in Gotham," Clark said, keeping a wary eye on Diana. He knew she was still uncomfortable with the plan, and he had a suspicion that when push came to shove, she would not help with the charade. He understood it well; it hurt him even now to pretend that their friend was dead, but it left the idea for Dick to slip into the role. If he chose to. If not, something else had to be done. But that was for then, not now. As they entered Jim Gordon's office, Renee closed the door after a small goodbye. Jim rummaged through his hair and scratched his neck.
"I'll be frank with you two, this video isn't pretty," he sighed as he picked up an old VHS tape and slid it into the player, which still had residue dust on it.
"Joker's final message; is it graphic?" Clark asked, as he put a gentle hand on Diana's tensing shoulder. Jim shook his head.
"Cruel is the proper way to put it. Seems like the Joker was sure in achieving his goal, as though he knew some way, he would come out on top. In a way, this video is proof of that. If you don't want me to play this, I'll understand."
"Play it," Diana briskly told him. Clark wanted to say something but he couldn't figure out what wouldn't make things worse or just not help at all. Jim sighed deeply again and hit the play button on the monitor. The screen showed a few seconds of static before the visual of the Joker adjusting whatever camera he used to film this came up. He made a couple exaggerated grunts while humming an old children's tune. He stopped finicking with the camera and stepped away, his twisted smile wide and open.
"There! I sure hope I got the angle right, wouldn't want everyone to watch this with a crooked neck. Ha! Well, anyhoo, if all has gone to plan, this videotape should be arriving at Gotham PD within three to five days of my grand finale. I bet you're all wondering 'how did he do it? How did the Joker finally best Batman?' all the while shaking in your boots in anticipation to what comes next. Well…" the Joker paused, putting a finger to his chin as he looked off in the distance. "Come to think of it, do I have any plans after this? I mean, sure, this isn't exactly the big farewell I had always hoped for. Speaking from the heart, I once planned to have Batman be tied up to a heart monitor, with ol' Boy Blue tossing him into the sun under a Scarecrow delusion, setting off bombs across the globe, painting a smile on the world," the Joker giggled at the grotesque idea. Superman felt Diana stiffen and even himself tensed at the idea. Joker's expression went from childish glee to scornfully furious. "But alas, you changed that Wonder Thighs, yes you. Don't act like your behind-the-scenes PDA wasn't seen. The way you brushed his shoulder, the way he touched your arm. Ooohh, just thinking about it makes my blood boil! I saw it all. You took him from me, all of you! It was our game! Ours! And you just all came in and ruined it like the sandbox bully kicking over my castle! Well…I think it's time you opened my letter, Wonder Woman. Consider it my last joke," the Joker spat to the side and removed the flower from his vest. Taking a deep whiff from it, he looked back at the camera. "I can wait, go on."
"Insufferable," Clark heard Diana mutter as she peeled away to open the letter addressed to her. Upon reading the card, which Clark saw was a 'My Sympathies' card. He didn't see what was written inside, instead being drawn to a hysterically laughing Joker as he struggled to stand. Clark watched as the Joker hobbled to the camera and picked it up, bringing it uncomfortably close to the right side of his face.
"So long, Justice Losers!" the clown laughed for a solid three seconds before the feed cut off. Clark looked back at Diana and saw she was on her knees, sobbing again as Jim was caught between the notion of being comforting to her or staying away. Clark delicately walked to her side and saw the letter, which seemed to be written in blood:
MINE FOREVER HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
Jim was right; the Joker's last message was exceptionally cruel.