Chapter 8

Marseille, France; May 3rd, 18:45 EST

"Are you sure you're feeling better?" Arthur asked her again for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Yes, I'm positive," she assured him. "You worry far too much, Arthur."

"Mera, you've been sick ever since Black Manta hit you with that spear," he pointed out. "I have every right to be worried."

"I haven't been cold for a couple of hours now," she pointed out. "I think the worse is over."

Arthur frowned as he looked at her. "Or it's about to get even worse," he told her. "You're still pretty pale."

"Let's just get some sleep," she suggested as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "We can go to Gotham tomorrow so we can regroup with the others. Hopefully, Bruce will have discovered something new about Luthor and we can begin the search again."

"Let me check your wound again before we go to sleep," he stated. "I want to make sure it's not still bleeding."

"Fine…whatever puts your mind at ease," she decided, sitting up.

Arthur sat on the bed next to her, gathering up her red hair and pushing it over her shoulder. He gently lifted her shirt up to check her wound to find the dressing had some bloodstains on it. "I don't know why this won't stop bleeding," he grumbled.

"It's not bleeding near as much as it was last night."

"No, but it should have stopped hours ago."

Arthur carefully removed the bandage, his countenance darkening with the site of the wound. It was still gaping open, blood oozing from it. The edges of the wound were dark, causing him to be alarmed that she wasn't getting better. It seemed as though she was going from bad to worse.

"We need to get to Gotham," he told her.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"There's a black ring around your wound," he revealed. "I don't like the look of it. It's like the skin is dying."

"We could return to Atlantis before heading to Gotham," she suggested, turning her head to look at him over her shoulder. "We have very skillful healers there."

"I have a feeling Black Manta has a trap set for us if we attempt to return there."

"Better head for Gotham then," she decided. "I can finally meet your other teammates."

"Bruce has a state-of-the-art medical setup in his cave," he informed her. "Alfred can fix anything from an engine to a broken bone. Hopefully, between the two of them, they can help us figure out what Black Manta poisoned you with."

"Please, don't worry about me, Arthur," she tried to reassure him. "Black Manta is still out there wanting to remove your head. I personally like it where it is, so you need to stay focused on him and not on me."

"That's easier said than done," he countered. "You could be dying, and I'm not supposed to worry about that?"

Mera turned around to face him, pulling her shirt back down. "I think I would know it if I was dying," she pointed out. "Still, I think we should leave for Gotham in the morning to make sure there's nothing more happening that my Atlantean physiology can't counter on its own."

"Deal," he replied, standing to his feet. He walked around the bed to the door, locking it before turning back around to face her. "We need to lay low for a little bit. Hopefully, Black Manta will give up on hunting us for a while if he can't find us."

The door to their room suddenly exploded, causing Arthur to duck as shards and splinters flew in every direction. "Get out!" Arthur yelled at Mera as he whirled on his heel to face Black Manta who had just barged into their room.

There was no way Mera was in any shape to fight in her condition. He was going to have to hold them back to give her time to get out the window. He was anxious to go one-on-one with Black Manta after his attack on Mera. It was time he took him down like he had his father.

"Did you really think you could lose us?" Black Manta mocked from his position just inside the doorway, flanked on either side by his henchmen. "All of that winding and backtracking, ducking down side streets this morning with your friend. We almost lost sight of you a couple of times, but you weren't smart enough."

"Maybe I wasn't trying to lose you," Arthur smugly shot back with a smirk. "Maybe it was nothing but a trap all along to draw you here."

"What?" Black Manta growled.

"Remember me?" Barry said with a grin, racing out of the bathroom to stand beside Arthur. "You didn't really think I'd leave my friends alone with you lurking about, did you?"

"Take them all!" Manta yelled, pulling out his spear gun.

"I'll take this thank you very much," Barry decided as he suddenly appeared beside Black Manta, stealing his spear gun right out of his hand.

Black Manta growled in fury, swiping at Flash who was already handing the weapon over to Arthur. "You won't win," Manta warned them.

Arthur glanced back over his shoulder to find Mera still in the room. He had wanted her to escape out the window, but she was too stubborn to listen to him. He tossed Black Manta's spear gun to her. "Hang on to this," he told her.

Catching it in midair, Mera safely tucked the weapon under her arm. They needed to take it back to Gotham so they could analyze whatever Manta had tipped the spears with. She knew it was some type of poison, but they had no idea what it could be.

"She should be dead by now," Black Manta hissed, pointing at Mera.

"I'm not so easy to eliminate," she bit out with a deadly glower.

"We'll see about that," Manta countered.

Arthur lunged at Black Manta, more than ready to settle the score with him. The confirmation that he had tried to kill Mera only fueled his fury. He needed to get her to Gotham so they could try to reverse whatever it was Manta had poisoned her with.

Black Manta blocked a fist being directed at his torso by Aquaman, reaching for another weapon. "I want them alive!" he yelled.

"Mera! Go!" Arthur ordered her as he grabbed Manta's arm to keep him from firing his weapon. Barry zipped past him to take on Black Manta's hired hands who had crowded into the hallway.

"I'm not leaving you," she insisted.

Arthur growled as he wrenched Manta's arm, forcing him to drop his weapon. He kicked him in the gut, causing him to stumble backward and out of the room into the hallway. Barry suddenly appeared at Arthur's side with eyes wide, his task completed.

"We need to go now!" Barry exclaimed. "There is a whole army coming down the hall."

Both men ran for the window, Arthur grabbing Mera and forcing her outside to the ledge. She jumped into the bushes below, followed quickly by Barry and Arthur as weapons fire erupted in the room directed at them. Barry grabbed Arthur and Mera by the arm, taking off in a blur and not stopping until they were outside of town.

"That was way too close," Barry announced, looking at the sleeve of his shirt that had a hole in it from one of their weapons.

"We need to get to Gotham," Mera said. "Hopefully, this weapon will have the information we need."

"Grab on," Barry told them, offering each of them an arm. "I'll get us to the cave in no time."

Arthur sighed heavily, unsure about relying on Barry for their transportation from France to New Jersey. At the same time, they couldn't waste a lot of time getting to Gotham with Mera's condition worsening. He watched as Mera readily wrapped an arm around Barry's, knowing he had no choice.

Barry shook his arm at him, trying to get Arthur to hold on. "Come on," he encouraged him. "It'll be fine. I promise I'll get you there in one piece."

"I'm not sure this is a good idea," Arthur decided. "Maybe I'll just meet you there."

"Don't be silly," Mera told him. "We don't have time for this."

Arthur looks past Barry at Mera, his brow creasing. "You've never fought with this guy," he said to her. "He's a walking disaster waiting to happen. He has two left feet."

"But they move faster than the speed of light," Barry reminded him with a grin, wiggling his eyebrows at him. "Let's go. I'll have you home in a couple of seconds."

"I know I'm going to regret this," Arthur grumbled, stopping short. "Wait! There…there's a wagon. Mera and I can sit in that, and you can carry us."

"Oh, fine," Barry finally agreed. "I guess it's either that or I can carry you like a baby in my arms."

"Wagon," Arthur bit out as he pointed at the wooden structure, ignoring Mera's laughter.

Batcave; May 3rd, 20:56 EST

"Miss Mera," Alfred greeted her as she got up onto a medical table. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I wish it were under better circumstances, though. I hear you're not fairing too well."

"I have to agree with that," she said with a barely suppressed wince as she attempted to pull her arm out of her shirt sleeve.

"Here," Arthur murmured, moving to her side. "Let me help you."

"What side effects have you been experiencing?" Bruce asked, concerned for her. She obviously didn't feel well though she was doing her best to hide it.

"The wound won't stop bleeding," Arthur replied. "It has slowed some, but it never totally stops as it should. It just keeps oozing. She's been freezing cold, but warm to the touch. She's developed a dark ring around the wound now."

"I think I can speak for myself, thank you very much," Mera interjected as Alfred checked her wound.

"This doesn't look good," Alfred announced. "You were definitely poisoned with something. Now, we just need to figure out what it was so we can reverse it."

"It could also be something that Black Manta created on his own or he had someone especially make it for him," Bruce suggested.

"Like what?" Arthur demanded to know with a scowl.

"We'll have to run some tests to find out," Alfred told him, pulling a tray over with syringes and medical supplies.

"This might help," Arthur added, handing Bruce Black Manta's weapon. "This is what he used to shoot her with. Hopefully, the spears will be able to tell you something."

"That should be a big help," Bruce agreed, visibly inspecting the weapon.

"This might hurt a bit, but I'll be quick," Alfred relayed.

"Do whatever you have to do," Mera agreed.

"I'll take some blood and swab the wound to see what we can discover," Alfred revealed.

"Where did Barry go?" Arthur asked, looking around the cave.

"He's returning the cart you borrowed in France," Diana informed them as she walked into the medical bay, a smile forming on her face. "Hi, Mera. I'm Diana Prince."

"It's nice to meet you," Mera said as Alfred drew some blood from her arm. "I'd shake your hand, but I'm a little tied up at the moment."

"I'm sure Bruce and Alfred will get to the bottom of what's going on," Diana reassured her.

"Any more leads on Luthor?" Arthur asked, staying close to Mera.

"Maybe," Bruce replied, going over to a nearby computer. "Alfred was able to pick up another encrypted message that triangulated near Porta Delgada believed to be from Luthor to Bruno Mannheim."

"Are you certain it's Luthor?" Mera asked.

"It fits with his previous encrypted message," Alfred volunteered. "Mister Stone is in the process of breaking the code."

"Also, Porta Delgada is pretty far from the South of France, but it would be a great place to hide out if you don't want to be found," Bruce added.

"We need to head there now," Mera told Arthur.

"No way," Arthur adamantly declared. "You are not going anywhere. Barry and I can check it out."

"What's Barry doing that he doesn't know about yet?" Barry asked as he walked into the medical bay with a couple of bags of chips in hand.

"We're going to Porta Delgada, Portugal," Arthur informed him, his hands finding his hips.

He didn't like the idea of leaving Mera when they had no idea what was going on with her. At the same time, they had to find Lex Luthor before it was too late. He was bringing in other big guns to try to take them down. There was no telling how far he would go to end the League. Arthur had a feeling there was nothing that he wouldn't do to take them out.

Mera could tell by the disgruntled look on Arthur's face that he was feeling conflicted about leaving. "Go," she firmly told him. "There's nothing you can do here. You're needed out there. I'll be here when you get back…or maybe I'll come to find you."

"I promise we'll take good care of her," Alfred assured him.

Arthur's frown deepened as Barry wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "And I'll take good care of you," Barry told him.

A growl of warning emanated from Aquaman's throat as he glared at the speedster. "You'll probably get me into more trouble," he stated.

Diana bit at her bottom lip to suppress the laughter she could feel trying to escape. Those two were like brothers in a love-hate relationship. She knew it was less hate and more annoyance, but they made a really good team.

"While Alfred takes care of Mera, Diana and I are going to head to S.T.A.R. Labs tonight to do some investigation into Professor Ivo," Bruce revealed. "Clark and Victor are going to search some of Bruno Mannheim's known properties to see what they can find."

"And we get to go to Porta Delgada," Barry told Arthur with a grin, handing him a bag of chips. "Snack before we go?"

Mera chuckled as she fought off a shiver. "I promise I'll catch up with you two as soon as I can."

"You're staying put," Arthur stated in no uncertain terms. "You don't leave here until I come back."

Bruce's cell phone chimed at that moment, interrupting their meeting. Checking his phone, he saw a picture of himself with Diana at the Gotham airport from earlier today. Beneath the texted picture were the words, "have a nice trip to Paris with your girlfriend?"

Diana could tell by the look on Bruce's face that something was very wrong as he stared at the screen of his phone. Bruce murmured an excuse me as the others made plans, walking to his workstation. Diana followed him, worried about him.

"Bruce, what's wrong?" she asked as he slipped into his chair.

Bruce ignored her question as he plugged in his cell phone, hoping to track down the identity of the person who had sent the picture. Diana watched as the picture of them outside of the car at the Gotham airport appeared on his computer screen.

"Who sent this to you?" she questioned him.

"I don't know, but I don't like it," he stated with fierce, cutting edge to his voice. "He's stalking us…following our every move."

"Bruce…" she said his name with a warning tone, knowing what was going to come next.

"I can't help but worry, Diana," he truthfully responded as he angrily punched the keys on his keyboard, hoping to gain some information that would give him an edge. "I hate the idea of you being dragged into this with me. I'm used to fighting alone."

"And I'm glad that I am in this with you," she revealed, causing him to look up sharply at her. "I can help you find this person and put them away."

Bruce stood to his feet with a rush of fiery anger, churning emotions not directed at her but at the mysterious individual who was trying to destroy his life and what was creating with her. "I can't let you get involved in this," he heatedly growled. "I won't allow him to hurt you."

Diana calmly closed the distance between them, the palms of her hands coming to rest against his chest. "I am involved, Bruce," she reminded him, pausing to bestow him with a tender kiss. "And there's no other place that I'd rather be than by your side in this."

Bruce's head momentarily fell back with a strangled huff of frustration before looking her in the eye. "What am I going to do with you?" he grumbled with a scowl.

Her lips curled with his question, a mischievous gleam in her chestnut brown eyes. "I can think of several things just off the top of my head," she flirted. "Give me more time and I can give you a list."

He reached out, his right hand grabbing the back of her head as he pulled her in for a fierce kiss that was over all too quickly. "I don't want to lose you," he softly confessed, pressing his forehead against hers.

"You won't lose me," she assured him. "I'm in for the long-haul, no matter who I have to fight to keep us together."

Bruce frowned as he finally released her. "I'd try to force you to leave until I could solve this, but you wouldn't leave even if I tried."

Diana laughed as her arms slipped around his neck. "I'm glad you're finally getting wiser," she teased him. "I was beginning to think I was never going to get through that thick head of yours."

"Do you have any more ch…chips…oops," Barry faltered in his words, stunned by the intimate moment he had inadvertently stumbled into. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Yes," Diana said.

"No," Bruce also said.

"You know I'm just going to go find Alfred and ask him," Barry readily decided, disappearing in a flash.

Bruce sighed heavily as he looked at his lover. "Our relationship is no longer going to be a secret…"

"It's about time!" Arthur yelled a moment later.

Bruce's eyes fell closed with a grumble. The feel of Diana's lips moving against his soothed his frustration and worry, his arms rising to wrap around her and pull her to him. He wished he could just take her upstairs to their room and introduce her to his bed, but they had too much work to do.

Withdrawing, Diana kissed him once more before letting him go. "If Barry hadn't told them, Alfred probably would have. Barry just beat him to it."

"True," he agreed. "Let me work on tracking this text message and then we'll head to S.T.A.R. Labs."

"I'm going to see if Mera needs anything," she told him, turning to walk away.

"Diana," he called, causing her to pause before turning to face him. "I love you."

She graced him with a blinding smile that seemed to light up his whole world. "I love you too."

He could only nod in response as she turned once more to leave. He needed to get to the bottom of this before Alfred, Diana, or the League were caught in the crossfire. He had a sick feeling that caused his gut to churn with dread as he considered everything.

This was someone who wanted him dead…and perhaps Diana as well.

Metropolis; May 4th, 00:36 EST

Cyborg walked down the hall with Superman on his right, both checking rooms for any sign of Professor Ivo or Bruno Mannheim. This was turning out to be an endless hunt with no real results as of yet. This was the third building they had searched with nothing to find.

"Hopefully, Batman and Diana are having better luck at S.T.A.R. Labs than we're having here," Cyborg grumbled.

"Hey, are you coming to my wedding?" Superman asked him.

"I don't know," Cyborg reluctantly responded, clearly conflicted by the invitation. "I want to, but…"

"If you're worried about being seen, you can hang out in the back," he suggested. "We would love to have you there."

"I'll think about it," Victor decided, a small smirk forming on his lips as he glanced at his teammate. "You know I could always hack into the system and watch the ceremony from home."

Clark gave him a look that told him he didn't agree. "It's not just about watching the ceremony," he pointed out. "We want you there. You're our friend and we want our friends and family there with us."

"I appreciate that," Victor softly replied, touched by his words.

It had been a difficult adjustment after losing his father. Living alone in that apartment that held so many memories got lonely sometimes, but the Justice League had given him a purpose and direction for his life. He felt useful and needed again. He felt as if he had a new family.

"What's that over there?" Superman asked, pointing to his left. "There's something behind that wall."

"Let's go take a peek," he decided, training his electronic eye on the wall.

"There's a lot of equipment behind this wall," Superman told him, scanning the hidden room. "We need to find out what it's there for."

Superman ran his hands over it as Cyborg scanned it with his electronic eye. "There," he suddenly said, pointing at the slight inconsistency in the brick. "There's a hidden door over here to my left."

"Just when I was about to think Batman had sent us on a wild goose chase," Superman replied, putting pressure on the wall where the secret door was located.

The door gave way, allowing them to enter into an expansive, secret room. Entering, they found themselves surrounded by a bunch of printing presses. "I think we just found Intergang's counterfeit money printing operation that Lois reported on," Clark said.

Cyborg shook his head as he picked up a pile of blank money that was ready and waiting to be printed on. "I doubt this is tied to Lex Luthor or Ivo," he decided. "This is probably all Intergang. This isn't what Professor Ivo is all about."

"What did your father think of Ivo?" Superman asked as he wandered around the room looking for clues.

"He thought Ivo was brilliant," he replied. "He had promising potential to become one of the greatest scientists in the world, but his ideas became lofty and surreal. He wasn't taken seriously after a while. He became the joke at S.T.A.R. Labs. To be honest, I'm surprised that he's still there. He should've been fired a long time ago. My dad was worried that he was becoming unhinged and would go rogue."

"That's what worries me," Superman muttered, putting his hand on top of one of the printers. "It's still a little warm. They haven't been gone for long."

"I'll send a message to the Metropolis police department to meet us here," Cyborg told him. "Hopefully, they can pick up fingerprints on the equipment and track down the crooks behind it."

"Bruno Mannheim will walk away free and clear again," Superman bit out, his anger more than obvious.

"We'll find out what he's up to with Luthor and we'll shut him and his whole operation down."

"Maybe Batman and Wonder Woman are having better luck," Superman said more to himself than to his teammate.

"It may not be what we were looking for, but it's still a good find," Victor reminded him. "Getting this counterfeit money off the streets will be a big hit to Intergang."

Superman nodded as he drew a deep breath. "You're right," he agreed. "This is definitely a good find. Maybe the others will be able to find out what Professor Ivo is up to."

Metropolis; May 4th, 00:57 EST

Batman and Wonder Woman silently walked down the hall of S.T.A.R. Labs, Batman temporarily disabling the security system as well as the cameras. It never ceased to amaze her how he was always able to accomplish such a feat. He was going to have to tell her his secrets one day.

Batman walked with a determined air; his jaw locked with determination. His personal problem with someone seemingly knowing his secret identity had been pushed to the back of his mind for the moment. If Professor Ivo had been recruited by Lex Luthor for some purpose, then this had to take precedence.

Professor Ivo had been on Bruce's radar for quite some time. He'd been concerned about some of his wild ideas that were often viewed as bizarre and fantastical. He was obsessed with immortality and invulnerability. All of his experiments were centered on accomplishing that feat and so far, all of them had failed…at least to his knowledge.

He was worried about the one time it didn't fail.

The sound of shoes shuffling along the floor caused both of them to stop. Batman pointed towards a dark alcove, Diana nodding silently in agreement. They both slipped into the darkness, allowing themselves to be enveloped by the shadows.

They watched as a janitor shuffled along as he pushed his cart, whistling softly to himself. They both recognized him as the man who had been kidnapped by the Parademons and held hostage for interrogation by Steppenwolf.

It was amazing that despite all he'd been put through in the past that he had returned to his job at S.T.A.R. Labs. He had a dedication that was rarely found in this day and age. It was admirable, to say the least. He'd probably spent his whole adult life working here and would retire from this place someday.

They waited patiently until he passed before finally emerging from the alcove. They continued on, making their way to Ivo's lab. How Bruce knew where it was located escaped Diana, but then again, she shouldn't have been surprised. He seemed to know everything about everyone at times.

Finding Ivo's lab, Batman entered the code, allowing them entrance. Diana gave him an incredulous look to which Batman just shrugged as the doors slid open. He gave her a slight smirk before entering the lab with Diana following close behind him.

They both began searching the lab, taking note of anything that might appear to be out of place. That was going to prove to be difficult seeing how this was Professor Ivo's lab. Everything was going to seem out of place.

Diana began looking through stacks of journals that were piled haphazardly on a nearby table. She picked a journal up, flipping through it to see if she could find anything important. It didn't appear as though Ivo had looked at any of these journals. Many of them were still wrapped in the plastic they had been mailed to him in.

She frowned to herself as she found a plate with a sandwich on it, the crust edged with mold. The man was distracted enough by his work that he couldn't take the time to eat his lunch. It made her curious as to what exactly he was working on.

She looked back over her shoulder at her partner, hoping that he was having more luck than she was at that moment. "Find anything important?"

"Yes, in fact, I did," he relayed, holding up a crumpled piece of paper. "S.T.A.R. Labs gave him a two-week notice that he was being let go from his job. This was dated two days ago."

"Really?" she murmured as she made her way to where he was standing at Ivo's desk. "I'm surprised that they'd even give him a two-week notice. That is quite generous of them."

"It was probably out of respect for his position and title," he guessed. "It might also have been out of respect for Silas Stone who had recruited him. Even though deceased, Silas is still viewed as a leader here in his work."

Batman handed her the notice before returning to Ivo's desk that was nothing more than piles of papers and notebooks. How the professor was able to find anything on his desk was beyond him. It was nothing more than complete chaos. He had a feeling that this was the way his mind was too.

Beneath the brilliant, genius mind of Professor Ivo was a whole other layer of psychosis.

"Why is he so obsessed with immortality?" Diana asked as she began to sort through a stack of papers that had random equations scribbled haphazardly on them.

"He's terrified of his own death," he revealed. "He wants to avoid it at all costs, so he's trying to find a way to be invulnerable and immortal. It's become his life's work…his passion."

"No wonder they're letting him go," Diana replied. "I'm sure his life's work is not in line with S.T.A.R. Labs' mission statement."

"You're right about that," he agreed as he picked up a piece of paper. It had several names listed on it, but they weren't names that he recognized.

They didn't make any sense. It was almost as if it was a brainstorming list of names that Professor Ivo had created for a project that he was working on. Unfortunately, he had no idea which name he had chosen or what the project could be. None of the names gave even the slightest hint as to what kind of project he could be working on or if it was tied to Luthor.

Diana looked over his shoulder, her forehead creasing as she reviewed the list of names. "Do you have any idea what these names represent?"

"Not a clue," he replied with a shake of his head. "I'm almost afraid to find out."

Batman tucked the paper into his utility belt to go over later. Hopefully, entering the names into his computer could generate some clues. Either that or Victor might be able to make a connection between the names and Professor Ivo.

"You know we still need to decide how we're going to figure out who is stalking you," she reminded him.

"I'm working on it," he told her.

"I think we need to be seen in Gotham," she suggested. "That would draw him or her out and maybe force them to make their move."

Bruce grimaced as he glanced at Diana, his scowl deepening. "I don't want them to make their move," he pointed out. "That's what I'm trying to prevent."

She gave him a look that spoke volumes which he promptly ignored. "You know what I mean," she pressed. "Drawing them out and forcing their hand would reveal their identity."

"I'm still analyzing that text and picture that was sent to me," he told her. "I'm hoping I can decipher something out of that to help me discover who it is. After that, there will be no hiding from me."

Diana frowned as she read through a notebook that she found. "Do you know what Amazo is?"

"No," he replied, taking the notebook from her to see what she had found. "But I'm afraid we might find out the hard way. That was one of the names on this list I found."

"Hera, help us all," she darkly murmured.

A/N: Oh crap! Signal the dark, suspenseful music!

UP NEXT: Mera stays in the cave much to her dismay while Diana, Martha Kent, and Lois bond over lunch. Barry and Arthur think they've found Luthor...or have they? :)