Flash hated Egypt already. It was hot and dry and not at all conducive to spandex. Not to mention that he didn't speak a word of Arabic.
Flash didn't know when he'd exerted so much energy. Supes and the Manhunter definitely ate their Wheaties, and speed or no speed it was a heckuva task whisking them out of the vengeful reach of Kari, the half-crazed demigoddess that he'd left seething a couple dozen miles behind.
"I could've taken her," Superman protested weakly, hand still to his forehead in pain. They were in a bathroom stall of all places, the only place that Flash could come up with on short notice that had some measure of anonymity, although that would only last as long as the next guy's bladder.
"Dude, you were-still are-sick from just being around her. You and magic don't mix to well, if I remember correctly."
For once, Superman had no comeback to one of Flash's remarks. As much as he hated to admit it, the speedster was right. He didn't feel well enough to fly, much less go into combat.
"Flash is correct," came J'onn's ominous voice. Right then, the wisest thing to do was retreat. There will be another battle, and we will hopefully be better prepared."
Flash jerked a thumb in J'onn's direction. "Never argue with a telepath."
At that instant, a portly, graying man walked into the dirty bathroom, whistling an unrecognizable tune. That is, until, he saw the Martian Manhunter and whatever business had been intended for the toilet took place right then and there.
"Yuk, Dude spilled his juice," Flash cracked.
J'onn ignored him, instead establishing a mental rapport with the poor man. You will leave here and forget everything you saw, instructed J'onn telepathically.
"I suggest we leave," Superman proposed once the man had left. He rose shakily to his feet. "We need to contact the Watchtower anyway."
"Aww, leaving already? I know this place doesn't look or smell too fresh, but a little spic'n span, y'know. A little freshening and it wouldn't be all that bad. You know, like some kind of secondary Watchtow-" He trailed off . Some audiences just had no sense of humor.
"Batman here," the Dark Knight said, picking up his comm unit.
"Bats, its Flash."
"What happened to your video signal?"
"I don't know. Probably got messed up in the fight."
"What fight?"
Flash told him, for once just giving the story straight.
"Is Superman OK?" asked Batman.
"Yeah, nothing some aspirin, bedrest, and Seinfeld reruns won't cure. Anyway, there's something big going on down there. I'm positive the sorceress we fought was trying to protect someone, and that that someone is behind our little weather problems."
"I see."
"Anyway, think you could get us an airlift back to the U.S.?
"Negative. I need you guys there. I can arrange for you to be transported to the U.S. embassy, but we need a presence in Egypt."
There were some people you didn't argue with, and Batman definitely topped the bill. Flash scowled. "Gotcha," he muttered.
Click.
Batman set the transmitter back in its cradle, turning back to Diana who was seated behind him in La-Z-Boy (Flash's idea) that sharply contrasted with the otherwise cold, metallic surroundings. "Well, that puts some of the puzzle into piece."
"Hopefully, we can see full picture before its too late," she replied.
Batman nodded. "Lucas said he had sent his plans to all world leaders, but I still have yet to hear from-"
Odd, that President Groenig would choose that exact moment to contact the Watchtower, but it happened nevertheless. The call sign beeped and with a quick push of a button, the leathery face of the President filled the screen.
"You're not going to believe this," Groenig said by way of introduction. It was Diana who answered.
"Try us."
The President looked at something offscreen, probably a monitor of some sort. "This guy knows the location, capabilities, and specifications of every heavy and nuclear bomb in our arsenal, as well as prototypes under development."
"You're sure about this?"
"Had the folks over at the Pentagon check it out. They're practically wettin' their pants over there. Never mind that half this stuff is illegal under international and was developed without my or anyone else's knowledge. What worries me is that this Lucas character knows about all of our military capabilities and is basically demanding that we turn it all over to him."
"How bad is this?" asked Batman.
"There's enough firepower in our arsenals to annihilate the planet twelve times over. Surrendering it is not an option. On the other hand, he threatens more atmospheric hocus-pocus if met with noncompliance."
"We are working desperately to stop him."
"No offense, Batman, but if Green Lantern and the Hawk lady are any indication, that is not very comforting."
The screen winked out.
If it were Flash in his position, thought John, the Scarlet Speedster would probably be spouting off bad jokes left and right. "Oh, see, I'd love to get married baby, but its just moving too fast. I . . .I need time to think. I'm just not ready for this kind of commitment yet." Or: "Hey listen. What kind of pre-nups are we talkin' about here. I mean, fifty-fifty sounds good, right? I get the Toyota . . . you get the tykes . . .everybody's happy."
However, Flash wasn't in John's position, and considering the fact that he was about to become Mr. Aja, he didn't feel in a mood for joking. Sure, his bride-to-be was physically superb, but she wasn't right in the head. Not to mention she was an enemy of the Justice League and an international criminal.
There was an Adept preparing him for the Ceremony at that very moment, squirting some kind of odd-smelling cologne on his face and shoulders. She was wearing a simple dress, a nasty bruise over her left eye, and a scowl. He remembered giving her that bruise in the earlier fighting. Energy maces sure packed a wallop. As for the scowl, it was obvious this woman was as unhappy with the wedding as he was. Understandable, given the small detail that he was the 'good guy' and they the 'bad guys' (or vice versa to her perception).
"Ouch," he said reflexively when she plucked an eyebrow hair suddenly. The attendant smiled and plucked another one. Then another one. She wore a barely concealed grin.
"You're doing that just to spite me," he scowled.
"Yes she is," came Aja's voice from the doorway. "Bela, please leave now."
Any disrespectfulness the other Adept may have harbored towards John disappeared at the command of Aja. Bowing respectfully, she exited the room.
"Hello," John said coolly. Aja, pretending as if nothing was wrong, sat down on the bed and patted the space next to her. John's eyes smoldered and she laughed.
"Relax, John Stewart. I only want to talk. For now, anyway."
Reluctantly, he sat down. "Shoot."
"You have made no secret of your . . .reticence to be my consort," she began.
"Maybe that's because we're enemies," John suggested.
"Yes, maybe. However, I cannot help but wonder if perhaps de winged woman back dere has anything to do with it."
"What are you getting at?"
"Merely this: I want to know if you and de winded wom-"
"Shayera. Her name is Shayera."
Aja gave a wry smile. "My apologies. I want to know if you and Shayera are involved. Romantically. Do I have competition?"
"Actually, I would rather marry yo-yo than you, so having competition is a moot point. You are holding me here against my will and then you expect us to up and get married? Just like that? You work for a man who's caused hundreds of deaths and is willing to cause hundreds of thousands more if his demands aren't met. That clashes with everything I believe in, Aja. That's why I don't want to marry you."
This time, it was Aja's eyes that smoldered. "Ungrateful American," she spat. "You attacked my sovereign nation and are responsible for the deaths of numerous comrades and friends of mine. You are lucky dat our worst torture was not inflicted upon you for all of our people to see, dat you were not dragged through the streets like de foulest of trash while jeering crowds tormented you. De only reason dat dis has not happened is that I took an interest in you. I offered you power like you have never dreamed and forgiveness from all of your numerous transgressions and you would spit on it?"
John rose. "I'm a Green Lantern, and I've seen true power. You and your little band of metachicks don't come close. And the only way I would need forgiveness is if I willingly allied my self with you."
"But that's just it," said Aja, her voice returning to normal. You have no choice. And as for being a Green Lantern . . ." Her eyes drooped down to his naked ring finger. "Not anymore."
It was another press conference and another day, but Senator Brian Lee was still in his element and the press still loved him. Which meant their constituents loved him as well. Life was good, especially this close to his party's presidential primaries.
"Senator Lee," one pretty young reporter called out. "What have you to say about this Lucas character's latest threats?"
The senator replaced his charming smile with a more grave expression, appropriate for what he was about to say. "Lucas's threats, as always, should be taken with the utmost seriousness, perhaps more seriousness than the president has shown."
The reporter moved forward. She really was beautiful. He would have to talk to her after the press conference. Maybe arrange a little . . .'interview'. "Are you referring to the president's unilateral dismissal of Lucas' terms?" she inquired.
"In a way yes. Lucas or no Lucas, it is clear that our nuclear proliferation has done more harm than good. Weapons suited to fight a cold war that has long since grown colder have no place in today's society and the only results they have shown is to make our fellow nations more fearful of us."
"So we should disarm?"
Lee smiled. "Lets just say that it should be given more thought than a 'unilateral dismissal.' If we want this to end as peacefully as possible that is. Now if you will excuse me, I have an important conference to attend. I will be scheduling another meeting in the days to come. I hope to see you . . .all there. Good bye. He winked at the young reporter and walked towards his waiting helicopter. If the press had known his true destination, they probably would not have been so wiling to let him go.
Aja sighed as she walked down the halls. John had not answered her question concerning Shayera. He didn't have to. Her senses, different than most in that could perceive the slightest change in body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, pupil dilation, etc. told her enough. The mere mention of her name evoked more of an unconscious reaction than Aja's presence ever had. She couldn't say she understood it. She was beautiful, far more so than Shayera. I wasn't even feminine pride speaking, put a untainted recognition of her physical gifts. Most men had, and would, be drooling over themselves in her presence.
She idly wondered what it was that made Shayera so special. Wings? No, surely not something so mundane. It went deeper than that. Part of her wanted to just order that the winged woman be executed, but the more rational part of her mind prevented her from doing so. Having a woman that John Stewart clearly cared about killed would only make more hostile.
She had just finished contemplating that point when her portable phone rang. It was Bela, and she was calling to inform her that the Winged Woman had escaped.
AN: Yeah, I know, long time no see. Anyway, if you've just finished reading this chap, review as always.
About the Batman Wonder Woman fight: I got an email a while ago from someone who disagreed with the outcome of that fight. I can admit that my favorite character won (no, I'm not sexist or anything. Batman's just the coolest Justice Leaguer to me, and it is my story). I got the idea from reading a Justice League miniseries from a while back in which Ra'as Al Ghul (forgive my spelling) gained access to Batman's secret files on his fellow teammates. As it turned out, he had devised a method specifically suited to defeating WW, Flash, Lantern, Superman, you name it. By using these individual strategies, Ra'as was able to defeat the entire League.Therefore, I don't think its completely improbable that Batman (whose techniques Ra'as used) could best Wonder Woman in battle. Now a good point was raised that the show tended to diminish the character's weaknesses. Lantern, for instance, has a ring that will work on yellow and Manhunter doesn't seem to share his comicverse counterpart's aversion to fire. I personally don't know if they intended for WW to have her comic book weakness (power loss if bound by a man). Maybe they wanted to get rid of it like Manhunter's weakness, or keep it like Superman's weakness for kryptonite. I don't know. I do however know that by the same token, the cartoon has dampened down many of the Leaguer's powers. Superman has trouble lifting semis and Flash in one episode can barely catch up to a speeding car. Likewise, I don't see it as too unlikely that Batman would survive a fight with Wonder Woman, who we must remember was not fighting completely seriously.
Once again, sorry to all of you (or maybe just the one) who didn't like the fact hat Batman beat Wonder Woman. It was just a little something I threw in that I thought I could have fun with and who knows, maybe they'll get a rematch.
As always, R&R
Godfather.