Where the Blame Lies

Green Arrow gently took Black Canary's soft hand in his own gloved hand as he used his other one to push away her blonde hair from her face. He then removed his hat and placed it at the edge of the medical bed, not taking his eyes off his lover. He took a glance around the room, surveying some of the basic medical equipment in the recovery room.

"This shouldn't have happened to you," Green Arrow said bitterly as he gripped Dinah's hand a bit harder. He looked back at Dinah's face with tears forming behind his mask. "I shouldn't have let you go!" Green Arrow's emotions were well past bitterness and into anger at this point.

"It wasn't your fault," an emotionless voice said from the other side of the room. Green Arrow turned around to see J'onn walking toward him.

"No, it was. I told her that she could go on the mission. And now she ends up in a coma," Green Arrow said faintly.

"You couldn't have foreseen this," J'onn explained as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "You mustn't be so hard on yourself."

"It's not like you know how this feels!" Green Arrow shouted at the Martian.

"Actually, I do," J'onn replied.

"J'onn, I'm sorry, I…"

"Do not trouble yourself," J'onn said with a smile. "We all make mistakes."

XXXXXXXXXX

Batman sat on top of a medical bed in another room across from Dinah's room, his shirt off. He examined the large bruise located on the side of his rib cage. He winced at the throbbing pain the bruise caused him.

"That looks painful," a feminine voice said. Batman looked up to see Diana standing by the doorway. Batman grunted but Diana knew it was a yes. "How long have you known I was here?"

"One minute," Batman said flatly as he put back on his bulletproof shirt.

"Are you heading to the meeting Dr. Fate requested?" Diana asked as she followed Batman out.

"What else?"

Diana felt worried about Batman. He seemed…off. "Is something wrong?" Diana asked with genuine concern.

"No."

"I don't believe you," Diana said as she took Batman's hand and stopped him from going any further. "Is what happened back down on earth bothering you?" Diana asked. Batman said nothing. Diana knew she hit the spot. "Bruce…" Diana whispered.

"We're late for the meeting." Batman walked away, leaving a rather annoyed Diana behind.

XXXXXXXXXX

"He's from where?" Shayera asked in disbelief as she looked at Dr. Fate, who was sitting in Superman's council seat. He and Green Lantern were in Metropolis assisting with a prison breakout, which included some of Superman's more jaded and dangerous enemies. This left the magician in the Man of Steel's seat and Green Lantern's empty.

"A magical dimension, where the Inter-dimensional Council (A/N:I made that up for a little boost to my story heh heh) sends some of the more dangerous criminals and creatures to," Dr. Fate said to the five present founding members.

"So this creature is an escapee from this dimensional prison?" J'onn asked.

"Yes."

"And how did this…leech escape?" Batman asked, eyeing the magician.

"I recently asked the Council to…enter the dimension for archival purposes," Dr. Fate said. "When I entered, the leech overpowered me and he escaped."

J'onn sighed. "Can you explain to us this leech's capabilities? Weaknesses?"

"This leech has regenerative cells that respond to any damage down, even on a molecular level. These cells can assimilate the properties of other beings by absorbing the cell's energy through the mouth."

"All of the energy?" Diana asked worriedly.

"Well no, but if exposed to it the procedure too long and it could be lethal."

"And all this has to do with magic?" Shayera questioned.

"Actually, it was created in another dimension by an unidentified scientist," Dr. Fate explained.

J'onn turned to Flash, who appeared to be lost in what Dr. Fate was saying and had his hand holding up his chin. "Flash, do you get all of this?"

"Huh?" Flash said sluggishly as he turned to the Martian. "Of course, after all, I'm not only fast, a stud, but I have brains too!"

"No one doubts your intelligence Flash (the speedster couldn't help but feel like the Martian was being sarcastic) but this is not something you should be taking lightly. This creature is an endangerment to the entire world. Even us."

"So how do we beat it?" Flash asked.

"There isn't anything that could beat it," Dr. Fate said. The mood in the dropped significantly. "But perhaps the creator knows what to do."

"What makes you think he'll tell us anything?" Diana said skeptically as she crossed her arms.

"We have to try. For the sake of us all."

"How do we get to him?" J'onn asked.

"It can only be found by going through the magical dimension and cross into the scientists's dimension from there," Dr. Fate said.

"How long would this take?" Shayera asked, placing her arms on the table.

"It could take a while and I may need assistance," Dr. Fate said as he got up from the chair.

"If it's magic your dealing, then I'm your woman," Shayera said as she got up as well, taking out her mace and let it crackle with energy, a smug look on her face.

It's settled then," J'onn said as the rest of the council members got up from their seats. "We…" At that exact moment, the alarms blared and there was not one person in the Watchtower that didn't no what it meant: a crisis.