"You're still staying," Batman enforced.
"But we'll need everyone else," Superman said.
"Especially with his curious ability to expand his mass," Hawkgirl said. "Where does it come from?" she asked. "When he shrinks down again, where does it go? How can he afford to throw himself around like that? He must have some secret reserve where he has all this extra mass. Some kind of pocket. Hidden somewhere."
"Probably the same kind of place you keep that mace of yours," Flash quipped with a grin. Hawkgirl glanced away.
"Agrarian Artemis," she hissed. Wonder Woman's jaw clenched. Then she thought of Flash and how she'd never be able to hear one of his bad jokes again, and she burst into tears.
"I imagine it hurts, too," Flash agreed. "What is with everyone today? I'm fine." Flash did a quick spin around the room to prove it. It might have been a tad slower than usual, but what do they know from super speed, save Superman, and he wasn't really paying attention anyway.
'J'onn,' Batman thought, but he was only replied to by the theme of Sanford and Son. 'J'ONN!' Batman mentally screamed. He was hit with a hard look from the Martian.
'What?' J'onn asked sharply.
'Tell Superman that Flash might suspect something if we treat him differently.'
'I am not your secretary. You tell him.'
'Really? Because I have a whole stash of Oreos back in the Batcave-'
"Flash might suspect something if we treat him differently!" J'onn yelled out suddenly. Batman put his forehead in his palm with an audible smack.
"Hey!" Green Lantern shouted.
Flash suddenly became very nervous. "What does that mean? Lantern? What does that mean?"
Wonder Woman let out a wail before she ran out of the room.
"Um-"
Superman was unyielding. "There is no way I'm going to let you go. If you don't get to the infirmary right now, I'll carry you there myself."
"Hey, okay, I'm going." Flash left, supposedly for the infirmary. Yeah, right. Something was going on here, and by George, he was going to find out what. He sped to the hanger door so he could reach the Javelin.Once inside, he punched the control panel until it broke. "That should buy me some time, at least." Flash leapt into the cockpit, but instead of landing in a seat, he aimed himself for behind the front seats to stowaway, then situated himself half under a back seat and half under a blanket so no one could spot him.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Justice League were perplexed as to why they couldn't get the hanger door to open.
"Maybe something exploded," Hawkgirl suggested. "The sensors are down right now."
"Do you want to handle it?" Superman asked Batman. "Oh, wait. You don't have super powers." Superman melted it with his laser vision.
"Lucky there are other bulkhead doors to keep out the vacuum," Batman complained at Superman's tactic. He was surly, but he looked curiously at the notepad Superman was suddenly holding.
"Super laser vision - check." Superman put the notepad away. "I'm actually just going to fly there since I don't need to ride in a ship. I'll see you there."
"I will go with Superman," J'onn informed. "I suggest anyone who does not need the ship should not ride in the Javelin. Gasoline is expensive."
"Before you go," Batman said, "is Flash where he's supposed to be?"
"Uh, sure," he answered, although as soon as he had said his piece, he mentally checked out and was listening to theme songs.
"#Boy the way Glen Miller played, songs that made the hit parade. Guys like us we had it made, those were the days#," J'onn sang as he followed Superman. (I suppose "sang" works, although there wasn't so much a tune as just his monotone voice.)
J'onn was very unpleased with the way the day was panning out. He had reserved it to watched TV Land all day. He wrote it on the schedule and everything.
Besides, they didn't have anything to worry about. Flash always did exactly what everyone told him to do, right?
. . . Okay, so maybe the TV was rotting J'onn's brain. Who am I to judge?
Batman pressed down one eyebrow and let out a disenchanted "Hmm."
"I'm gonna go with them," Green Lantern told them. "C'mon, Shayera. You wanna lift?"
Hawkgirl smiled coyly and allowed herself to be bubbled up for space travel.
Batman looked at Wonder Woman. "You going, too?"
"Naw," she answered. "This suit offers no protection from the coldness of space."
"I doubt it offers much protection from anything."
Wonder Woman pulled a face, but didn't say anything as she followed Batman into the Javelin. Batman shifted uncomfortably in the seat.
"Did Superman fly this last?" he asked.
"I don't know; why?"
"Is he shorter than me?"
"Try an inch taller, big man."
"No," Batman argued. "I'm pretty sure he's shorter."
Batman situated the seat to accommodate his height. He slid it backwards right on to Flash's fingers.
"Something's jamming this," he complained. Batman moved it back and forth, and jumped up and down on it a little. It was all Flash could do to not make noise, but he was writhing like a worm on a hook in a fish on a dock. Honestly, he could have wet his pants. I think the only reason he didn't was that it's so conspicuous when Wally West brings the Flash suit to the dry cleaner's.
'Whoever thought to make me hide behind Batman's chair really needs to have her head examined.'
Flash looked pointedly at the ceiling of the Javelin, but I was actually watching from behind, so the effect was lost.
'Well,' Flash thought, 'I'm not a big fan of this, but if I want my hand back, I think it's my only option.' Flash began to vibrate the molecules in his hand faster and faster until he was able to phase through the workings of Batman's chair. The gears then exploded. (1)
"Hey!" Batman punctuated.
"What is it?" Superman asked, his voice emanating from the tiny speaker in Batman's ear.
"I don't know; my- ugh, part of my chair just exploded and now it won't respond."
"Oh," Superman nodded. "Super ability to be exposed to vacuum - check." (2)
"I don't see anything back there," Wonder Woman said, but she wasn't really looking.
"Great. Now the chair's fixed for someone far shorter than me."
Wonder Woman sighed with a grumble. "Then I'll drive."
Wonder Woman wanted to talk about Flash all the way down to Earth, but she bit her tongue, not knowing quite what to say. The duo arrived just in time to see Clayface shake the gun which had stopped working when Green Lantern crushed it. Clayface threw it futilely at the Man of Steel.
"Now it'll be easier," Green Lantern said.
"I don't know. He's still Clayface," Batman shrugged.
"Never mind the fact that he's not alone," Hawkgirl pointed. Clayface was soon joined by Magenta, The Trickster, Top, Reverse Flash, and Captain Cold.
"Woah. Too bad Flash had to miss this."
"Too bad Flash had to miss what?" Flash said, speeding up behind them. He got a look at their faces. "Oh, you didn't really think I'd skip this party, did you?" He looked ahead of him and paled slightly. "But now I kinda wish I had."
Wonder Woman burst into tears.
"Jeez," Green Lantern said, "what happened to your hand?"
"Apparently, Batman's too tall," Flash answered with plenty of attitude.
Clayface laughed. "What's everyone doing over there? Scared of me, eh? That's fine; I can always turn my rage on the innocent inhabitants."
Clayface threw his arms out which were growing at an incredible speed. His huge fists smashed through the wall of an apartment complex.
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(1) There's an ability he doesn't use enough. I bet he's just sore that it works better when Barry does it.
(2) They never should have made him lose that one. What kind of super man can't exist in a vacuum? The kind who doesn't remember he has any super powers until the last fifteen minutes of the show, that's what kind.
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In regards to chapter three: I know, but they can't all be winners, right? Probably I shouldn't oughta have updated him by himself. He's better in the scheme of things. Oh, well. Next update: Maybe Thursday or sooner.