(Kaiba is cross-examining Zoom)
KAIBA: Mr. Zoom, have you ever seen the defendant near a Blue-Eyes White Dragon? And if so, how many times?
ZOOM: Twice, actually.
KAIBA: When and when?
ZOOM: The first time was when we were hunting down Wonder Woman; and the second time was when we were fighting against Barney and the PBS puppets.
KAIBA: And how did he get control of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon?
ZOOM: The first time, he had the narrator use his beast-master powers to subdue the dragon; the second time, he just called it.
KAIBA: And what did he do with the dragon?
ZOOM: Well, he only managed to do something the second time – he killed Barney!
(Everyone in the courtroom cheers)
JUDGE MAN: (banging gavel) ORDER IN THE COURT!
(Silence)
CHAPTER 15
TIME: 10:00 p.m.
PLACE: Rome, Italy
The coliseum of Rome stood in ruins, a shadow of its former glorious days back in the times of the rule of the Roman Empire. Nowadays it was nothing more than a tourist attraction for those who wanted to see the place where, in the days gone by, gladiators would fight against savage beasts or each other.
A perfect place to have a fight to end all fights, Savage figured.
Deep in the catacombs underneath the coliseum, he and his Secret Society had moved their base of operations from America only hours before. The plasma cannon, of which Savage himself had sent word to the Justice League, was resting comfortably in one of the larger rooms of their hideout, where Humanite was now making the final adjustments to the big weapon.
Presently Sinestro entered the room. "What is it, Sinestro?" asked Humanite, who didn't like being disturbed while he was working.
"I'm concerned, Humanite. Aren't you?" said Sinestro. "Savage only gave you a relatively small piece of that meteorite we swiped from Midway City to power up the cannon, but he's locked himself in another room with the rest of that rock ever since we came to Rome."
"I wouldn't be too concerned, my friend," said Humanite. "We all have our strange ways about us, each and every one of us, and Savage is no exception."
Sinestro's eyes narrowed. "Do you know something you're not telling us, monkey-boy?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," said Humanite coolly.
Just then Zoom came in, munching a hot Danish roll. "Lay off, Sinestro, would you?" he protested. "Man, you are such a killjoy. In another couple of hours the League'll be here, and we'll all get what we want. So smile even a little, huh?"
Sinestro glared at him. At that moment Killer Croc, Volcana and Killer Frost entered the room right behind Zoom. "That cannon coming along OK, Humanite?" asked Volcana.
"None the worse for the tinkering I had to do." Humanite fondly patted the weapon. "Soon, very soon victory will be ours. All we need to do now is wait."
"I don't get it – what's Savage doin' in that room all by himself?" asked Croc.
"Yeah – he hasn't come out even once," Frost shook her head disdainfully. "What could he possibly be doing?"
"Just preparing himself, since so many of you wish to know," Humanite waved away their concern. "We'll be fighting the most important battle of our lives tomorrow, after all; it's only natural that Savage be at his best for when we crush the Justice League."
"Well, that's good enough for me," said Zoom, taking another bite of the Danish roll. "As long as we'll be able to take down those punks, Savage can do whatever he wants."
Sinestro rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
Humanite smiled knowingly as he looked at the small piece of the meteorite that Savage had chipped off and given to him to power up the cannon. He, of course, knew why Savage was locked away in that room by himself, but he wasn't going to spoil the surprise for his teammates – yet. They would find out in good time.
TIME: 5:45 a.m.
PLACE: Wayne Manor, Gotham City
Bruce sat at the table, looking out the window at the night sky as it gave way to the first rays of morning. "In another few hours," he muttered.
Just then Alfred came up to him. "Sir, if I may have a moment?"
"What is it, Alfred? I thought you were asleep?" Bruce asked.
"I couldn't sleep, sir. To be honest, I have a confession."
Bruce looked at his butler with some concern. "What's wrong?"
Alfred sighed. "Well, Master Bruce...it's about your costume. I have to come clean about it: as good as it is, and as enhanced as it is, I fear I'll never be able to get used to seeing you in it. So, I took the liberty..." He paused.
"What?"
"Maybe you should come with me, sir, and see for yourself."
Puzzled, Bruce followed Alfred to the Batcave – and right there, on the table, was his old costume, laid out and ready to be worn. "Alfred...that's my old costume."
"Old things are good, too, sir."
Bruce walked over to the suit and inspected it. "Something tells me you did more than clean and repair this. Just what DID you do, my 'old' friend?"
Alfred shook his head and walked over. "Let me sum it up for you, sir: This suit has been modified so that it has all the gadgets that the other costume possesses. And yet, it looks so much like the ordinary costume, even you wouldn't be able to tell its potential."
Bruce looked at the costume. "You're right – I wouldn't." He chuckled. "Still, the best weapon is the element of surprise. I guess this will really catch them off-guard...and yet people will still be able to recognize me." He sighed. "And...I did kind of miss this old getup a little."
"As I figured you would, sir." Alfred nodded knowingly. "So...it'll soon be that time, sir?"
"Yes. Alfred, get some coffee ready for our guests."
"Of course, sir."
Shayera sighed as she sat up. At Batman's suggestion, she'd had to sleep on the couch in the living room, yet there'd been no hint of malice in his tone when he'd spoken to her. Perhaps Lantern was right and the others did miss her, after all.
"Good morning, green-eyes."
She looked into Flash's smiling face. "Hi. Didn't expect to see you here."
"Just thought I'd annoy you as I always do." He sighed. "I may as well be honest, Shay. I really missed you being around."
"I know." She smiled back at him now. "I missed you, too. The way you always managed to annoy me with your flirting and your corny jokes." She stood up to face him. "And...I never did say it, but...thanks. For standing up for me."
"Well...yeah. Anytime." Flash nodded, then looked past Shayera. "Maybe I should leave you guys alone now?"
Turning, Shayera saw the Green Lantern, leaning on the window. "Well..."
"It's cool, Flash," Lantern spoke up. "We had our 'alone time' last night, anyway." He grinned. "Now, it's time for more serious matters to be addressed."
"That's right," Wonder Woman's voice came across. Turning, the three heroes saw her, Superman and J'onn in the doorway. Beside them was a smiling Alfred, holding a tray on which were several mugs of steaming coffee.
Just then Batman appeared as well. He was wearing the redesigned costume Alfred had given him. "Have the coffee now, friends," he declared, "because very soon we should be leaving to confront the Secret Society."
"That's true," said Wonder Woman. "Shayera...come with me."
Puzzled, Shayera followed the other woman down into the Batcave. "Batman kept a few things, at Flash's insistence," said Wonder Woman. "I believe you'll recognize these..."
She pointed to a glass case. Shayera looked at it, completely dumbfounded. The case contained her old costume and mace. "You guys...you actually kept it?" she whispered.
Wonder Woman shrugged. "Some memories die hard, I guess."
Shayera looked at the trappings for a long moment. "Um, listen," she said quietly. "I don't expect to be reinstated as a member of the League just because I'll be helping you. I know that saying I'm sorry won't erase what happened, but...I am. Truly."
The other woman nodded solemnly. "I know. And...so am I."
"You're sorry? What for?"
"For the hatred I carried around for you, even after you left. I couldn't fathom why Flash and Green Lantern could still care about you, even after...the point is, the past is the past. If you can move on with your life in spite of everything that's happened, I should be able to get over the past as well."
Shayera smiled a little. "Thank you."
"So...will you wear it?"
Shayera touched the glass case. "Truthfully, I've missed this quite badly," she admitted. "But...am I really deserving to wear it again?"
"I can't answer that," Wonder Woman replied. "Only you can." With that she turned and left Shayera to make the decision on her own.
"Superman, can I speak to you a moment?"
Batman pulled the Man of Steel to a corner. "Listen, did Flash put you up to this?" he asked.
"What are you talking about?" asked a confused Superman.
"Look. Do you really think asking for her help was such a good idea?" Batman pressed.
Superman gave him a hard look. "You still don't trust her, even after all this time, do you?"
"How can I? Call me paranoid, but was it such a wise thing to do?"
Superman shook his head. "She's suffered enough, as far as I'm concerned; and I'm sure she'd agree, too," he declared. "Listen to me, Bruce...I know that you treat every member of the League as a potential threat, even me. In fact, speaking for myself, I know that there could be another time when I might become a danger to Earth, after what happened with me and Darkseid. Why do you think I ASKED you to carry a piece of Kryptonite in your belt and use it if I put the world in danger?"
"And your point is...?"
"I'm going to tell you this as a good friend." Superman nodded meaningfully. "You know each of our respective strengths and weaknesses, just as she took time to study us. You know enough information about each of us to blackmail us if you wanted to. Have you ever considered that of all of us, you are the most likely to betray us—even more than Shayera was?"
Batman's eyes narrowed, but he knew that Superman was right, too right. "So...I'm the pot calling the kettle black."
"Not necessarily," Superman returned. "All I'm saying is, we all trust each other. Shayera slipped up, and she paid the price for it. If what she's done in the last year isn't enough to convince you, then let her show her true colors here and now. She at least deserves that much, doesn't she?"
Batman sighed resignedly. "If you say so," he said. "All right. We could use a bit of extra help to defeat Savage and his goons, anyway."
Suddenly Flash, behind them, exclaimed, "Wow!"
Turning, the two were met with a familiar sight. Coming into the room was Shayera, dressed in her old Hawkgirl costume, complete with the helmet/mask over her head and the mace in one hand. The only major change was her wings, now artificial, and they were in fact so fake that one only had to look at them to see that. Nevertheless, her face held great determination. "I'm ready," she declared.
"Yes, we can see that," said Superman. "Let's go, everyone."
They all exited the mansion, heading for the front lawn. There, the heroes that could fly took to the skies, Lantern carrying Batman and Flash in an energy bubble. Alfred stood at the door, waving farewell to them. "Good luck, friends," he said, smiling.
TIME: 7:56 a.m.
PLACE: Rome, Italy
Volcana and Frost tiptoed to the bed where Zoom lay snoring. "He should've been awake already," Volcana remarked. "I think this is suitable punishment for him."
"Are you sure? He'll be awfully mad at us," Frost said with mock worry in her tone.
"Who cares? It'll be fun!" Volcana grinned.
By this time the two women were standing over Zoom who was still snoring rather loudly. Quietly, Frost formed a ball of ice in her hands, then handed it to Volcana. The other woman immediately formed fire in her fingertips, melting the ice so that it dripped in a special spot on Zoom's sheet. It was all they could do to not burst out in laughter.
Zoom moaned and turned over, his hand involuntarily flopping to his waist. But as he felt the wet sheet, he jumped up, fully awake. "Oh, hell, no!" he wailed. "I haven't done that since I was..." Then he saw the two grinning women and realized he'd been tricked. "Why, you!"
Now Volcana and Frost were holding onto each other, helpless with laughter. Zoom laughed, too, in spite of himself. "Luckily for you two conniving girls, my suit's waterproof," and he jumped out of bed to triumphantly prove that the water had indeed not soaked into his suit.
"Aw, man," Frost groaned. "And we almost had you!"
"I hate to spoil your fun and games, but Savage needs all of us now," a voice came from behind them. Turning, they saw Sinestro and Killer Croc standing there.
"It's time already?" asked Zoom, immediately all business.
"Yeah," Croc replied. "Time to fight the Justice League."
The five villains went through the passageways to come out into the old arena of the coliseum. Outside, Savage and the Ultra-Humanite were already waiting—Savage wearing his now-familiar gauntlets, Humanite with a large pair of blasters strapped to his back. Both were looking up at the sky intently.
"I picked up the League on the radar," Humanite explained to the others. "They should be here any moment now."
"That's good enough for me," Croc said, smiling nastily.
By and by some figures appeared in the sky over the coliseum. "That's them," Savage announced. "Okay, everyone, are you ready?"
"Hell, I was BORN ready," Volcana replied, her body turning into living flame.
With that, the members of the Secret Society said nothing more to each other, but merely watched intently as the Justice League landed at the other end of the arena. In a moment, they knew, a major battle would begin.
(Birdman is now cross-examining Zoom)
BIRDMAN: Mr. Zoom, would you say that neomage takes things that don't belong to him? Do you believe he's a thief?
ZOOM: No, not at all.
BIRDMAN: And how do you know this?
ZOOM: Every time he writes a fanfic, he makes sure the disclaimer is done as often as possible.
BIRDMAN: And the disclaimer is the statement that makes clear who the show in question belongs to, am I right?
ZOOM: Yes.
BIRDMAN: Nothing further, your Honor.
JUDGE MAN: Zoom, you may step down. Mr. Kaiba, is there anyone else you'd like to call?
KAIBA: Yes, actually. I call Obelisk the Tormentor to the stand!
BIRDMAN: WHAT?! I object!
JUDGE MAN: Overruled.
NEOMAGE: My life is over...oo;