DARKSEID: (panting) Where'd that whore go to?
ZOOM: Just wait till I catch her...
NEOMAGE: Keep searching. She couldn't have gotten far.
(Just then, Batman and the Flash walk up to them)
BATMAN: Who're you guys searching for?
DARKSEID: Wonder Woman. So we can kick her ass for being so cold to Hawkgirl in the "Starcrossed" episode.
FLASH: Hey, can I join you?
NEOMAGE: Just one question: Can you handle butcher knives?
FLASH: ï Can I! (pulls out several cleavers)
NEOMAGE: Okay, you're in.
BATMAN: Um, shouldn't you guys take a more diplomatic approach to all this?
DARKSEID: Dark Knight...start walking. Real quick. (he reveals a machete with fresh blood on it)
BATMAN: OO (he turns and races off)
NEOMAGE: Oh, yeah, before I forget – "neomage is not the owner of Justice League, yadda, yadda, yadda" – y'all know the drill by now. Okay, guys, let's keep searching!
CHAPTER 03TIME: 2:15 a.m.
PLACE: Shining Light Café, Central City
The Shining Light Café, just on the eastern outskirts of Central City, was a small diner that was considered a beacon of light to many people, whether weary travelers who needed a bite to eat or longtime citizens of the city who just needed a quick midnight snack away from home. It also attracted Central City's most famous hero, the Flash, who was presently in the process of making a rather extravagant order.
"Yeah, I'll have a triple-decker pizza sandwich, with extra pickles and mayo, but lay off on the mustard," he said to the waitress, grinning broadly.
Instead of rebuking his ridiculous order however, she merely smiled – she and the other employees of the café were quite used to Flash's regular quips. "The usual, coming right up," she declared, and with that she walked off to the counter to place the order.
Flash leaned back and smiled – and just then Green Lantern and J'onn J'onzz entered and sat down next to him. "Your regular late-night joint, Flash?" Lantern needled his friend.
"Actually, I prefer to call it the place where I can get an extremely early-morning breakfast," Flash retorted. "Lucky for me, this place is open 24 hours a day. You can't get good food anywhere else in Central City this time of night." Then he regarded Lantern. "God, you look like hell...are you OK?"
"I've been better, thanks."
"Let's just say that this is a major cause for concern, Flash," said J'onn. "First things first..."
The waitress returned at that moment. "My, looks like we're getting a lot of unexpected visitors tonight," she remarked. "Flash, your stuff's on its way. What can I get you boys?"
"Just a cheese sandwich and a glass of water for me, thank you," J'onn replied politely.
"Some coffee, please, one sugar, one cream," said Lantern.
"You really look like you could use that coffee, sugar," the waitress said with matronly concern. "All right. I'll make it two cups for you...and I'll bring a pot in case all of you need any for yourselves."
"Thanks." Lantern smiled gratefully.
As the waitress walked off with the orders, the three men resumed the conversation. "Lately I haven't been sleeping very well," Lantern explained to Flash. "I...I've been thinking about Shayera too much, I guess..."
Flash's joking mood was immediately washed away by the mention of that name, replaced with a very somber mood. "I guess I can't blame you, G.L.," he remarked. "To be honest, I've lost a lot of sleep about this whole matter, too. I've been feeling like I was walking on eggshells because everybody else has been silent on the whole matter." He paused for emphasis. "I went to talk to Superman a few hours ago," he went on, "but I really don't feel any better about it now than I did before."
Lantern sighed and rubbed his forehead with his palm. "I guess the League's still divided on the whole matter of whether she should've been forgiven or not."
"Well, I still stand on what I said before," J'onn declared quietly. "Yes, she did betray us...but then, wouldn't any of us have done the same if we were in her shoes? Perhaps she would've had to be placed under probation, but I still think she deserved another chance, even to prove herself."
"Yeah." Lantern shifted in his seat. "But that brings me back to why I called you, J'onn – I'm pretty sure I saw her fly by my window half an hour ago. Even if it wasn't her after all, it was definitely a woman with wings."
Flash started. "You actually saw that?"
"I'm pretty sure I did."
Presently the waitress returned with a big tray carrying the three heroes' orders. In front of Flash she put a plate with a double-decker burger, complete with two layers of cheese, mustard and ketchup, several tomato slices and pickle pieces, a generous helping of fries on the side of the plate, and a huge cherry milk shake to wash it all down. Before J'onn she placed the cheese sandwich and water, and before Lantern she placed two cups of coffee, each with one pack of sugar and one of cream. She then placed two extra cups on the table and placed the big, steaming pot of coffee in between the trio.
"I couldn't help overhearing you boys just now, talking about Hawkgirl," she remarked. "Let me just give you my take on it. She deserved to be kicked out of the League. Those winged people did enslave the world and imprison you guys, anyway – and she helped them." And with that, she took the tray and walked off. Lantern's face was grim, but J'onn stopped him with a glance.
"You can't blame her for feeling the way she does, G.L.," said J'onn softly. "Many people still feel exactly the same way...but for every person who feels against Hawkgirl, you'll always find one person in favor of her."
"Yeah...you're right," Lantern sighed, taking a sip from his coffee. Then he regarded Flash's sandwich, just as the Scarlet Speedster was taking a bite from it. "Is it healthy for you to be eating that fatty stuff this early in the morning?" he asked.
"Hey, I'll be all right," Flash said with his mouth full, stuffing a handful of fries in with the burger. "You forget, I've got a fast metabolism, and eating a lot helps my body to stay on track."
"Whatever." Lantern shrugged.
"I can sense the antagonism of every person in the city," said J'onn after he'd bitten into his sandwich. "Those who hate Hawkgirl are starting to hate her even more these days. The energy of their hate is so strong it gives off even when they're sleeping, like now."
"I think I know why," said Flash, sipping on his milk shake thoughtfully. "In case you didn't know, lately the media's been buzzing with reports of winged-people sightings. Metropolis...Gotham City...Midway City...and even here in Central City...the reports are coming in fast and thick."
"Plus," J'onn put in, "most of those reports are coming in the light of various criminals being captured and saying it was a person with wings that caught them – in some cases, they were badly beaten." He finished his sandwich and took a gulp of his water.
"Sounds just like the Hawkgirl we know," Flash surmised. "Of course, we have no way of knowing if it's really her, unless we can get a good look at the next winged person that shows up."
Lantern sipped on his coffee. "But...suppose what I saw wasn't my imagination, and it could really be her..."
"If it was her, we would know that," said J'onn. "I know for a fact that I would know it. But the Thanagarian race was able to block out my mental probing to a degree, as you may recall. When Hawkgirl was still with us, I tried many times to probe her mind, but she was somehow always able to evade me. And then, too, don't forget that she flew off to who knows where, and hasn't made any form of contact with any of us since then. The chances of the mystery winged person actually being her are slim to none."
"Yeah...I suppose you're right," said Lantern as he finished his coffee. "Even so, there's still this nagging thought in the back of my head...whether we couldn't have given her another—"
"Her leaving the League was her decision – don't forget that," J'onn cut in. "And as her friends, we have to respect that decision."
Flash was by now halfway through his food. "Yeah, that's true," he agreed. "Besides, if she did stay, she'd always feel guilty knowing she had betrayed us. If we gave her another chance – which I'm sure we would've done – it would feel as though she didn't really deserve it. I know it's not easy to be listening to this, G.L...especially when you consider that you and she were – you know, together...but it's the truth."
Lantern knew that the other two were right. "I know...I know," he assented. "Maybe you're right. I should be moving on with my life instead of living in the past. It's all over and done with, anyway."
A few minutes of silence passed, during which the three passed around the coffee pot to each other. Finally Flash held up his coffee mug and said, "Guys...no matter what happened...as far as I'm concerned, she'll always be one of us. I'd like to remember what she brought to the League...a spirit of determination and courage that would never fail, no matter what."
J'onn held up his glass of water. "Hear, hear," he replied.
And Lantern held up his coffee mug, too. "To Hawkgirl," he sighed, and the three clanked their respective containers together.
TIME: 5:30 a.m.
PLACE: Gotham City
The Batmobile zoomed past the tall buildings of downtown Gotham as Batman made his regular morning patrol. "Nothing out of the ordinary," he observed. "But that'll soon change, knowing the criminals of this city."
As he drove, mechanically he reached into the glove compartment for a bottle that he kept there, wrapped in plastic. The bottle contained a special energy shake made from Alfred's own secret recipe, and it was notorious for giving Batman that extra boost of energy that he so often needed when he worked late nights. Batman knew that what his body really needed was adequate rest, but he'd been patrolling his city on so many late-night occasions that it had become almost second nature to him now.
Without taking his eyes off the road, Batman took a generous swig from the bottle. Cherry flavor, he noted. Ever since childhood, he had always liked cherry-flavored drinks, and Alfred was one of the few people who knew this fact. "Maybe I can wheedle the recipe out of him one of these days," he sighed.
Then suddenly he sat up, completely alert – but not because of the shake. In the avenue just ahead, he'd seen a bright streak of yellow speeding along the streets, heading out of the city in the direction of Arkham Asylum – the place where the most dangerous super-criminals of Gotham were locked away.
Now, Batman knew a thing or two about super-villains, having tangled with them on many occasions. He knew about most of the villains of his teammates. And that yellow streak he'd just seen – he knew for a fact that that was the most dangerous enemy of the Flash. "Zoom," he whispered under his breath. "But why would he be here in Gotham?"
Swiftly shifting the Batmobile into third gear – it was quite fast enough even at first gear – Batman shot down the street. If Zoom was heading for Arkham, then the Dark Knight had to take a separate route to get there. It would be of no use calling the authorities at this point – Zoom was so fast, that by the time they got there, he'd be able to do whatever he was planning to do twenty times over and still have time to escape. Luckily, years of patrolling the roads into and out of the city had taught Batman all about Gotham's secret shortcuts.
As Zoom raced along at ten miles a minute, Arkham Asylum gradually got closer and closer. "That must be it!" he decided, slowing to a stop at the front gate.
He assessed the situation before him: There were guards posted every twenty feet apart from the front gate, Savage had informed him, for precautionary measures since the last attempted breakout a few months back. However, Savage added, if he and the others did their parts well, they would be able to get the last selected member of the new Society out of there well before the cops could do anything about it.
He touched a small comm.-link strapped to his ear. "Okay...Zoom positioned and ready," he whispered.
"Volcana ready," said Volcana over the comm.-link. "Let's rock and roll."
"Roger that. Frost ready," Frost's voice answered. "Sinestro?"
Sinestro replied in the affirmative. "Sinestro ready. Wait for the signal."
Zoom relaxed a little. He knew where the others would be – Frost would be at the southern sector of Arkham, ready to break in from that end, while Volcana would be at the eastern end. Sinestro, meanwhile, would be watching their movements from the sky, but keeping out of sight nevertheless. It was almost like a sting operation – just the sort of thing Zoom liked.
Calmly, the yellow speedster positioned himself in the shadows and kept an eye on the sky for the signal. But then Sinestro's voice came in again: "Go to Plan B."
"Plan B?" Zoom argued. Then a thought struck him. "The flying rat?"
"He's not flying this time; he's driving – and he's coming your way," Sinestro replied. "Dispel him. Savage said we must not let him interfere under any circumstances."
"Gotcha." Zoom snapped off his comm.-link and sped off. As he ran, he could hear the roar of car tires ripping along gravel. Immediately he raced in that specific direction, hoping to intercept Batman before he could throw a spanner in the works of the plan.
As the Batmobile roared along, the Dark Knight touched a button on the console. "Batman to Flash. Come in, Flash. Do you read me?" He waited. "WAKE UP!"
A sleepy voice answered, "Aw, c'mon, Bats; some people like to sleep until seven, you know. What's the matter with you?"
"What's the matter with me?" Batman quipped. "Oh, nothing – just that a certain yellow speedster is instigating a break-in on my territory."
Flash was instantly awake. "What! Zoom's in Gotham? All right, you've got my attention! I'll be there!"
Suddenly a blaze of yellow flashed right past the Batmobile. A second later a loud BANG could be heard as a sonic boom ripped into the car, causing it to flip over six times before crashing into a tree, coming to rest upside-down. Grimacing, Batman managed to crawl out of the wreckage – and found himself standing face-to-face with Zoom himself.
"So, the Dark Knight...we meet at last," Zoom sneered.
"What are you doing in Gotham?" Batman demanded. "Isn't Central City your usual hangout?"
"Yeah, well, let's just say even a guy like me can get bored sitting in one place for too long," Zoom remarked. "I just came to see the lovely DARK sights of Gotham – but its lack of bright colors bores me greatly. Plus, the fact that you live here has turned me off completely."
Batman gave him a grim look. "And Arkham? Did you come here to enjoy its view?"
"Not really me – my friends wanted to see how great its security is," said Zoom. "But of course, I can't have you interfering like you and the Justice League always do, so I'll take the pleasure of eliminating you altogether!"
Batman smiled. "Not just me, I'm afraid."
Staring at him in confusion, Zoom suddenly grimaced as he felt something heavy slam into him with the force of a wrecking ball. Sent sailing by the blow, he ended up face-first into a tree, landing on the ground with a heavy thud. "Okaaaay...which freight train decided to go off-course?" he demanded as he righted himself.
Standing between him and Batman was the Flash. "Actually, that would be me."
Zoom stared in disbelief, then shook his head. "Note to self: less chatter, more work."
Batman then said, "Flash, listen. There're more of them inside the asylum perimeter. They're obviously here to break somebody out – but don't let them do so!"
Suddenly, high up in the sky, they saw what appeared to be a yellow energy bolt shoot upward, exploding into a million sparks. Flash took one look at it and knew who was responsible. "Sinestro! All right, Bats. I'm on it!" With that he tore off, leaving dust behind. Zoom was about to chase after him, but Batman's voice stopped him.
"Where do you think you're going? I'm your opponent." Batman gave Zoom a knowing look. "Unless you're afraid of me?"
Zoom gave him a look of doom. "I fear nobody – and definitely not you!" he snapped. "Why should I be afraid of you, anyway? All you have are your dumb gadgets!"
Batman's smirk vanished. "Lesson number one, cretin: Don't – EVER – make fun of my equipment. They've taken down more powerful people than you."
"Is that so? Then prove it!"
(neomage, Darkseid, Flash and Zoom are still searching for Wonder Woman so they can massacre her)
ZOOM: I want first dibs on the bitch!
DARKSEID: Not if I find her first!
FLASH: You're both morons! I'll find her before either one of you!
NEOMAGE: Shut up, all of you, or else I'll apply the three most devious tortures known to man to all of you!
FLASH, ZOOM & DARKSEID: oo Huh?
NEOMAGE: You really want to know what they are?
FLASH: Uh...yes...
NEOMAGE: Okay. The first torture is that I have the power to take away the ability to eat from any of you – meaning, you can look at food, but if you try to eat it, the food shocks you instead. And I'm talking about enough power to light up a small town for a year.
FLASH: Oo;;
NEOMAGE: The second torture is...I lock you in a room and force you to watch episodes of Barney over and over again.
ZOOM & DARKSEID: NOOOOOOOOO!!!!
NEOMAGE: And the third is...I force you to live with Teá for a week.
ZOOM: Teá? Who's that?
NEOMAGE: The friendly girl from Yu-Gi-Oh! You know, the same one who preaches about friendship every two seconds.
FLASH, ZOOM & DARKSEID: OO;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; WE'RE SORRY! WE'LL NEVER ARGUE AGAIN!
NEOMAGE: Good. Now, how about we keep searching for Wonder Woman? Maybe I can apply the three tortures to her...
(There is silence as they all contemplate this)
ALL: YEAH!!!
(As the group moves off, nearby Wonder Woman is hiding in a garbage bin)
WONDER WOMAN: This is an injury to my pride...but if it keeps me alive and prevents THEM from finding me, then so be it... --;;;