Chapter 3 – Origins
Nomadic, Redneck, KillerTrees, Rurouni; Thanks for the feedback. Glad everybody is on board for this ride…
Pyschos… interesting sense of deja-vu here. DV "A presence I have not felt since…"
Cdog: 'Twilight' will be addressed, most certainly. Probably Chapter 5…
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTNASA's first manned mission to Mars was roundly dismissed by agency critics as a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars. One of the astronauts who survived a perilous plunge into a canyon rift on that planet returned as a triumphant hero. After his subsequent election to the Senate, Senator J. Allen Carter gained a pulpit from which he quickly spread his mission of global peace. A vision he'd gained when viewing the Earth's peaceful majesty from deep in space. Both articulate and telegenic, he quickly became one of the most powerful voices on the Senate floor.
His message resonated with the masses, and a groundswell of public support quickly resulted in a number of nuclear non-proliferation resolutions at the United Nations. Others soon jumped on the bandwagon, including a superhero badly in need of a public relations boost.
No one knew how much that mission to Mars had really changed Senator Carter until Earth's fate hung in the balance a few months later.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTLois's return to Gotham City surprised the naturally cynical part of Bruce Wayne. In his heart, he truly believed that when she'd disembarked from the Batwing in Metropolis, he'd never see her again. The fact that she hadn't even looked back or even waved to him from that rooftop had spoken volumes.
To her credit, she'd surprised him two days later, showing up for their regular Thursday night dinner at the Manor. Reading her expression intently, he realized with a smile that she intended to continue behaving as if Batman hadn't required emergency surgery on her bedroom carpet, or that in the aftermath, she hadn't come to the Manor intending leave him.
'Status quo?' he wondered as they sat down to enjoy Alfred's soufflé. She caught him staring and flashed him a dazzling smile that set him spinning. Staring deeply into her violet, laughing eyes, a sudden realization swept over him. 'I'll never leave her.' 'But she'll leave…eventually. They all do.' Bruce didn't blame Lois as he'd come to realize over the years that the reality of Batman was just too harsh for most women to tolerate.
And then there's Superman – whether or not she admitted it, the Kryptonian maintained a hold on a part of her that Bruce had never touched. In an odd way, Superman represented the ultimate alpha-male, and a part of Lois enjoyed the celebrity status she'd gained as his possible love-interest. A relationship with Superman represented other advantages. She wouldn't have to worry about his well-being on nightly patrols – he was damned near invulnerable.
No, Bruce would never leave her, even though he knew that he should. He would take what little he could from this relationship, for however long it would last.
The thought – as pathological as he knew it to be – provided an impetus to improve things with Lois. After she returned, Bruce deliberately made a point to carve out more holes in his already hectic schedule. He made time to drop by her office for long lunches -- sometimes she was the main course -- or even share a quick cup of coffee. He would always have flowers in hand, with an extra dozen usually brought alone if Batman's activities had encroached into their designated dates. He'd even popped for box seats to the Gotham Opera House for Puccini's La Boheme. Of course, he'd promptly fallen asleep by the end of the first act, but Lois appreciated the gesture nonetheless.
The odd thing about their estrangement was the passion they shared when making love. Though her jet-set commuting schedule to Metropolis routinely overlapped Batman's patrols, the few instances they altered their schedules for time between them were desperate, passionate. It was as if both of them yearned to make up for the emotional damage they were inflicting with the momentary physical pleasure they could provide.
The physical relief was welcome, however the gulf between them increased daily. Brucenoticed it for the first time when he'd tried to spoon up to her in bed one night when Lois agreed to stay over in the Manor. She never awoke, but each time he tried to hold her close, unconsciously she'd worm away from his grasp until there was a more comfortable gap between them.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTClark woke up with a splitting headache for the second day in a row. He attributed the headache to a dream…a nightmare when he really thought about it. Typically, he recalled few, if any, details from his dreams, so the startling intensity of the images surprised him. He'd dismissed the nightmare from the previous evening as lingering post-traumatic stress resulting from Granny Goodness' brainwashing, but the new images in his mind were even more intense than those disturbing memories.
With a shiver, he felt like there was a hand guiding the images in his mind, but the dream sequences were too jumbled to make any kind of connection.
Frustrated, he looked up at the clock. Five in the morning. He debated going back to sleep, then with a groan decided to get a head start on the day. Superman was scheduled to arrive in Wyoming by three o'clock eastern time to start melting the MX Missile warheads stored in that state's underground silos. In keeping with his new mission to carry out Senator Carter's goal to rid the Earth of nuclear weapons, those missiles represented the last high-yield nuclear explosive remaining in the U.S. arsenal. With luck, he'd finish in time for dinner with his parents in Smallville.
Thinking about his Mom's apple pie, his stomach voted in favor of meeting that schedule. His heart though, told him to return to Metropolis as quickly as possible. Lois was still here, lingering for an extra day after the regular editorial meetings under the guise of 'catching up with friends'. They'd seen a lot of each other during the past few months. It started out as a lark -- he'd dropped onto the balcony of her hotel suite the first night he'd returned to patrolling the skies of Metropolis. Given the wary glances people shot his way, her welcoming smile provided a calming sense of relief.
Their subsequent visits and conversations were therapeutic for both of them. For his part, Lois helped him exorcise the guilt he still carried about the deaths he'd caused during his rampage with the Parademons. Typically, Lois was very cryptic about her situation, but during the few instances where she let her guard down, he could tell that she was starting to have doubts about her future with Bruce.
Their conversations were seemingly innocent -- none of their meetings had led to any physical intimacy -- but the week before, a wicked sense of satisfaction washed over him when Lois told him that she'd never told Bruce about their conversations.
'Good,' he thought, jumping out of bed. As he walked to the shower, he resolved to return to Metropolis after taking care of the warheads. 'What he doesn't know won't hurt him.'
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT"It has begun, Diana," the Oracle intoned when Diana walked into the temple. "Prepare yourself."
"I presumed Superman's threat against mankind was dealt with," Diana replied, puzzled. "Has the glass not shown us that he is attempting to redeem himself?"
"His efforts to create a lasting peace ironically have rid Man's World of the very weapons that might ensure their survival," the Oracle replied coldly. "The new threat will come from beyond the boundaries of the Terran system. You must join in league with the heroes of Man's World if Themyscira is to survive."
"But Themyscira is protected by the Gods." Diana protested.
"Themyscira shares the Earth's biosphere," the Oracle replied. "We breathe the same air, drink the same water. If the Earth does not survive the coming battle, Themyscira will cease to exist."
Diana nodded, hoping she understood the problem well enough to convince her mother that Man's World required her help. It wasn't a conversation she looked forward to having.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTThe day Lois realized it didn't hurt when Bruce skipped a date to respond to the latest threat in Gotham was an epiphany. She almost felt a sense of relief when he called to tell her that something had come up. She would be able to stay in Metropolis longer than her editorial and policy review board meetings required. Even worse, she was relieved that she wouldn't have to see him.
As she sat on her hotel balcony waiting for Superman to drop by for one of their talks, Lois sighed with regret. She still loved Bruce dearly, but the shadow of the Bat was even longer than she'd dared hope when she'd first resolved to follow him to Gotham. She kicked herself, wondering why she had such a visceral reaction to his alter ego. His courage and commitment were unassailable, that much she realized.
As a breeze stirred around her signifying the airborne arrival of another hero, a thought occurred to her. 'Maybe its just the fact that I've grown so used to the…majesty of Superman that I never bothered to appreciate the brutal reality that Bruce has to endure just to survive.'
Lois didn't like the thought that she'd sold Bruce short and it showed on her face. She did her best to maintain the façade with Superman when he touched down, but her heart wasn't in it tonight. She sent him away confused, and spent the rest of the night tossing sleeplessly in her bed, trying to reconcile her attraction to those two men.
'Bastards,' she finally resolved before falling asleep at four in the morning.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTLois arrived at the Manor with her usual vibrant energy. She lightly pecked him on the cheek in greeting. Bruce returned the gesture gratefully. He even made a pointed effort to hold onto her a little longer than he normally felt comfortable doing, but there was an undercurrent of tension between them. She returned the gesture warmly, then unconsciously slipped away. As Alfred poured her a martini, Lois immediately launched into a diatribe about the growing perils of commercial air travel -- her carrier had managed to lose her bags.
Bruce didn't reply that the Wayne Enterprises G-4 lear jet was available for her use, she knew it well enough. After he'd bought the condominium for her, Lois had refused to use any more trappings of the Wayne Empire. Initially, he chalked it up as show of independence, but lately he wondered if she wanted to leave all aspects of her association with Bruce Wayne behind in Gotham whenever she traveled to Metropolis.
As usual, Alfred's cooking was top notch, but the food was tasteless in Bruce's mouth. They made forced, idle conversation as the evening wore on, but as much effort that he'd put into the relationship, it all seemed fruitless. He couldn't help but feel Superman was forcing a divisive wedge between them, and permitted himself a moment of resentment towards Lois for allowing it to come to this.
'She needs to chose,' Bruce decided. 'Him or me.'
Finishing the salmon entrée, he'd cleared his throat but Alfred caught his attention before he could speak. Bruce raised his eyebrows quizzically. He knew it had to be important. Alfred loathed interrupting a dinner of his own creation.
"Something wrong, Alfred?"
"Remind me not to watch television in the kitchen henceforth, Master Bruce. It seems to portend bad things," the butler announced with a look of resignation. "Something has occurred in Metropolis which may be of interest to Batman."
Bruce and Lois simultaneously pushed their chairs away from the table, hurriedly making their way to the converted study that now served as the media center. Alfred triggered the remote and a sixty-inch plasma television emerged as two cabinet doors receded neatly into the woodwork. He changed the channels until Snapper Carr's familiar visage filled the screen. The Metropolis skyline was clearly visible in the background, however a smoking meteor that had plowed through Central Park filled up most of the screen. The reporter's voice was anxious as he described the scene. Apparently the meteor had flattened two police cars and a taxi, but amazingly enough it had caused no other deaths.
"Weird coincidence that a meteor would land in Central Park, don't you think?" Lois muttered dryly.
"I don't believe in coincidences," Bruce retorted. "Besides, meteors don't out-gas after impact."
"What do you mean?" she asked, eyebrows raised in curiosity.
"I mean that!" he replied darkly, pointing to an unfamiliar mechanical construct emerging from the still molten rock.
Snapper Carr's voice steadily rose in pitch as the three-legged construct rose to its full height over twenty meters above the crowd. A large, red "eye" on the top suddenly blinked, discharging a massive amount of laser energy through the lens. A group of ambulances and police cars treating the wounded on the scene vaporized immediately while everything on the edge of the blast burst into flames.
Alfred turned and raised an eyebrow at his charge. "Pre-flight the Batwing, sir?"
"Thank you, Alfred," Bruce replied. Lois opened her mouth to demand a ride to her hometown but he raised his hand before she could say a word. "Don't even think about it," he muttered. "Once was enough."
"Why don't you just let Superman handle it?" she asked, not holding anything back. "It's not as if he hasn't handled things like this before."
As she finished uttering the words, two meteors resembling the first landed in Central Park. Within seconds, three alien machines systematically started to mow through the opposing police force. As Snapper Carr described the scene, he relayed a report that similar machines were emerging from cities across the globe. It was clearly an invasion.
Bruce turned to her with a grim expression on his face. "I'm not sure any of us can handle this."
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTSuperman quickly arrived on the scene, but the Invader's sentinel's stood ready. He managed to undercut the leg of the nearest, but as he moved in closer to press his advantage, the others unleashed their laser weapons against him.
He was formulating his strategy when a series of familiar, yet extremely painful images permeated his mind. Temporarily incapacitated, he hovered helpless above the park while his brain processed the information. Seizing the opportunity, two of the constructs unleashed a combined blast that sent him reeling across the city.
Dazed but not out of the fight, he contemplated his next action. With a sigh of regret, he gained altitude then headed southwest, directly away from the sentinels.
As he gained speed, Superman noted with a grimace that Batman was flying to Metropolis, ostensibly to help in the fight, however Superman flew past the Batwing without stopping.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT"Where's he going?" Batman wondered aloud, then targeted two missiles into the nearest alien construct. He cursed under his breath when the missiles failed to cause any real damage. Debating his next tactic, a squadron of F-22's suddenly emerged from the clouds, heading towards the sentinels at Mach One. Convinced there was nothing he could do to help them, he reefed the Batwing into a tight turn then lit the afterburner in pursuit of Superman.
Behind them, a new machine emerged from a fourth meteor buried near the Park's entrance. Larger than the sentinel's, the new construct secured a foothold with a large clamp, then a house-sized drill punctured the streetscape. Within seconds, a smokestack appeared at the top of the construct, discharging an acrid black smoke into the atmosphere. Day started turning to night in the park as the smoke billowed from the new construct that a Times reporter dubbed a 'Smokehouse'. The name quickly stuck.
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The fact that the Batwing couldn't match Superman's top speed mattered little. The trail of carnage the Kryptonian wrought across the countryside was impossible to ignore as military equipment was strewn about. Batman checked his maps and surmised that Superman was heading towards the Department of Defense Research and Development ("DARDA") headquarters fifty miles southwest of Metropolis.
He landed the Batwing fifty feet from the new doorway that Superman had punched in the reinforced wall of DARDA. Judging by the still burning panels that had shorted during the destruction, Batman wasn't far behind his quarry. Cautiously, he followed the trail of debris inside.
Superman had just cocked his fist to pound the remaining security door open when Batman threw a batarang that buzzed two inches over his ear, embedding into the steel doorframe.
"Hold it, Superman!" Batman barked. "Destroying government property isn't your style!"
Superman paid him no heed then punched the door. It splintered at its hydraulic hinges, collapsing into the room with a thud. Superman beckoned the Dark Knight onwards but didn't wait for him. To Batman's surprise, a green alien shackled under the restraint of a magnetic containment system waited for them to free him from confinement.
"This…man has been trying to contact me for weeks," Superman explained. "He finally got a message through when the Invaders hit Metropolis." His eyes quickly danced over the controls. Finding what he was looking for, Superman triggered the release mechanism. The magnetic system immediately shut down, and the alien collapsed to the floor.
"We are in grave danger." A voice intoned in their heads. The introduction to telepathy caused both heroes to jump as if they'd been electrified. Attempting to mollify them somewhat, the alien changed his shape into one resembling that of a human. A green human, but a human nevertheless.
"J'onn J'onnz," he introduced himself verbally, extending his hand. "From Mars."
Superman returned the handshake but Batman left his hands pointedly at his side. "Don't take it personally, J'onn," Superman noted with a smirk, "He doesn't trust anybody."
"A wise policy," the Martian intoned. "We must leave here quickly."
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Their subsequent escape and firefight from the DARDA lab were quick but brutal. Emerging from the building, an entire regiment of Army soldiers barred their escape. Superman knew they didn't have the luxury of time to explain themselves, but even he was surprised when the soldiers morphed into white, amorphous humanoid shapes with a red-eye in their heads resembling that of a cyclops.
Invaders.
A hail of energy weapons roared over and around them, pinning them behind a pile of rubble.
'Shapeshifters!' Batman observed, then turned to face J'onn while Superman threw a tank that crushed the nearest brigade of aliens. "Friends of yours?"
The Martian didn't respond but instead phased through him, taking the brunt of an energy blast once he'd reappeared. Responding to the threat with an explosive batarang, Batman took out the Invader who'd out-flanked them, however the Martian lay immobile at his feet.
"Get him out of here," Superman yelled, heaving another tank at the approaching column, "I'll cover you."
Batman managed to load the Martian into the Batwing and get airborne, however the Invaders were well prepared. A squadron of alien fighters intercepted the Batwing in flight. Rising to meet the challenge, Superman did his best to take them out, however there were too many for him to take on single-handed. Luckily, Green Lantern, Flash and Hawkgirl arrived just as one of the alien fighters lasered a wing off the Batwing, sending it into a flat spin. The plane nearly cratered on the canyon floor but Lantern managed to arrest the fall with his ring.
The arrival of the unfamiliar woman took them all by surprise. After a laser blast sent Hawkgirl reeling into a mountainside, the new addition crouched over the prone Thanagarian in a defensive posture. Her perfectly aimed deflections of the incoming energy beams off her bracelets right back at the Invaders ships turned the tide of the battle.
"Who's the rookie in the tiara?" Lantern growled to Superman as they finished off the last three ships.
Still gaining leverage on an Invader ship, Superman replied "Dunno," with a grunt before he threw it into the adjacent mountainside. He was rewarded a second later with the satisfying boom of an explosion. Turning to welcome the help of the newcomer, his jaw dropped in amazement. The red boots alone were cause for comment, however the yellow, red and blue bustier covered a figure most supermodels would have gladly cut off their right arm to have.
Luckily for Clark, Flash was willing to make an even bigger ass of himself than normal, if that was possible.
"Pinch me, I'm dreaming." The scarlet speedster exclaimed with a dramatic swoon. Superman elbowed the smaller man in the ribs to quiet him, then nodding a silent hello to Hawkgirl -- he'd worked with all of the heroes gathered at one time or another -- introduced himself.
"Superman," he nodded politely, extending his hand.
She eagerly returned his clasp with a firm, yet surprisingly feminine handshake. "Diana, Princess of the Amazons. There is no need of an introduction on your part, I can assure you. I've been watching you for some time now."
"What about the rest of us?" Flash asked with a leer.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Diana asked blankly.
Ignoring Flash's pained expression, Hawkgirl decided to intercede. "From the mythical island of Themyscira, I presume?" Hawkgirl inquired. She was curious about the Amazon's origin, but even more curious about the Amazon's obvious interest in Superman.
"I can assure you that it's no myth," Diana replied. "Themyscira is protected by the Gods, but I could not idly stand by with Man's World in peril."
"Whatever," Batman interrupted from behind the group. "We've got bigger issues to deal with. This is not the time to be breaking in a newcomer."
Diana whirled to face the menacing glare of the Dark Knight. Her eyes narrowed as she appraised, then pointedly dismissed him. "We Amazons are warriors born. Want to test me?"
Superman interceded between the two of them as Batman and Wonder Woman squared off. "Let's not fight amongst ourselves."
"Agreed," J'onn's calming voice floated over them. "We need to deal with this threat while there is still time. The Invaders are not from this star system but I fear reinforcements may be on their way."
"Who are we dealing with?" John Stewart asked. "There's no record of the Lantern Corps ever facing the Invaders."
J'onn nodded in acknowledgment, then hazarded an explanation. "They attacked Mars two thousand years ago. We were a peaceful society…unable to defend ourselves. They absorbed our shape shifting abilities and almost wiped us out. Our last group of survivors stormed their stronghold and gassed them into stasis, but I'm afraid your exploration of my planet disturbed their slumber. I came here to warn you, but I was captured before I could make contact."
"It may be worse than we realize," Batman noted. "Over the past few months, I've tracked the collapse of the Deep Space Network and other communications relays. Based on that and what we just saw at that DARDA complex, we have to assume the Invaders have penetrated world governments at their highest levels. We can't count on any help from the U.S. military, or any other countries for that matter."
"And you've been holding onto this information because…" Superman muttered sarcastically.
"Because after your own little invasion a few months ago, I haven't been sure of who I could trust," Batman replied with a glare. "Now it looks like I have no other choice."
"Now that is the kind of ringing endorsement that every player wants to hear from his coach right before the big game," Flash muttered, rolling his eyes. "Thanks, Bats."
Batman glared at him, but didn't respond. Instead, he spun on his heels, retrieving a small suitcase from a storage compartment under the cockpit. Opening the case, he handed each of them an ear-mounted communications device. "We can use these to stay in contact."
Superman studied his suspiciously before fitting the device into his ear. The others followed, but he decided to voice his doubts. "You sure these will work past the eastern seaboard? This conflict is world wide after all."
"Please," Batman snapped derisively. "Don't start a dangerous precedent by thinking for a change. They're tied into a global relaynetwork."
Superman's lips turned white with anger. Lantern noticed the tension between the two men and quickly decided to change the subject. "It's settled then. Now that we're on the same 'Net, we need to form into tactical teams to hit those smokehouses hard."
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Five minutes west of the Abyssinian plains near Cairo, Diana was still stewing with anger, her pride wounded about the rude welcome she'd received from the Dark Knight. At full afterburner, the Batwing had made quick work of their flight to Egypt. She and J'onn were somewhat crammed in the backseat, however his phasing ability allowed her more room to stretch her long legs. Initially, she'd refused to ride in Batman's plane, however she conceded defeat over the Atlantic when he'd roared past her in flight at Mach 5.
As the Batwing touched down, Diana wanted to confront the Invaders head-on, however Batman pulled her and the Martian back into the shadows, removed from harm's way. They silently observed the sentinel's patrol pattern while staring in amazement at the larger Smokehouse belching black smoke into the atmosphere. While it had only been operating for a few minutes, the day was quickly turning night as the acrid smoke permeated the atmosphere. Without a word, J'onn phased, then disappeared.
"Why do we not attack?" Diana demanded.
"Patience, Princess," he lectured. "Let's see if we can determine their weakness."
J'onn returned. "There aren't any access points."
"You want access?" She demanded indignantly, then rose up into the air. "I'll give you access!"
Pulling her lasso from her hip, she looped the length around the nearest Sentinel's legs. Pulling the length taut with a mighty heave – from his vantage point Batman estimated the strain on the lasso must approach that of what Superman could generate -- she collapsed the sentinel into the Smokehouse. The walls breached with a groan then Diana gestured her two companions to follow.
"Not bad," he admitted to J'onn, then followed his new teammates into the construct.
Twenty minutes later, only two members of the team emerged.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTWonder Woman and J'onn J'onnz rendezvoused with Flash and Lantern back in Metropolis three hours later. By the look of them, the Lantern/Flash mission had been an obvious bust as the two men stood stewing on different corners of the rooftop, trading accusing glances.
"Where's Bats?" Flash asked nervously.
"He was a true warrior," Wonder Woman lamented. Her mind was still fresh with the image of the mortal providing cover for their retreat from the ambush the Invaders had sprung on them in the Smokehouse. In the rush to form teams, she hadn't realized, until it was too late, that Batman possessed no extraphysical prowess or weaponry with which to combat the Invaders. During their retreat from the Invader's counter-attack, J'onn had taken the brunt of an energy blast. Diana picked him then levitated into the air, however she watched helplessly as the walls of the alien construct imprisoned the Dark Knight behind her. The sound of the laser weapons echoing off the walls was unmistakable.
"Gone? Bats is gone?" Flash blurted.
"This is definitely not good." Lantern intoned, then turned their attention towards the Smokehouse looming over Metropolis. "Superman and Hawkgirl are being held in there. We've got to get them out if we have any chance to win this war."
They managed to penetrate the outer walls of the Smokehouse, but as before, the Invaders were well prepared. As the new league made one, last-ditch attempt to free their comrades, one by one, they succumbed to an invisible, odorless gas, crumpling to the floor.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTJ'onn woke up before his teammates. Restrained at the arms and legs, he spied them in his peripheral vision. His Martian metabolism probably accounted for the fact that he'd woken up first, however his teammates soon showed signs of waking up from their chemically fueled slumber. Once awake, what they saw made them wish they were still asleep. The Invaders had secured them in shape-shifting muck. Like quicksand, every attempt they made to escape seemed to only further tighten the muck's hold on their bodies.
To Superman's horror, Senator Carter stood gloating over them. Brandishing a laser rifle, he winked at Superman then turned his attention to J'onn.
"J'onn J'onnz," he whispered, savoring the name. "The Imperium is very much looking forward to greeting you properly. This…league that you formed has failed." He turned his gaze to Superman, grinning wickedly. "This one's naivete and eagerness to please proved to be very useful in ridding this world of the one weapon which can stop us."
Superman felt an icy ball form in his stomach as Senator Carter morphed into an alien. He realized with dread that the man who'd returned from Mars was an alien intent on destroying humankind's ability to defend itself. Enraged, he pulled harder against the muck but it constricted like a python coiling around its victim.
A skylight suddenly opened in the roof of the chamber that served as their prison. The prisoners watched with dread and fascination as a smaller ship descended through the skylight then landed a few feet away. The skylight closed quickly, then a new, sizably larger alien floated out of the ship, approaching J'onn with hostile intent. All of the alien soldiers deferred reverently, an obvious sign of homage to their leader. Without a word, a tentacle suddenly emerged from the Imperium's torso, rapidly inserting into the Martian's skin while the muck that imprisoned him dissolved away.
By the pained expression on his face, Superman and the rest of the group knew the Martian was being tortured, however none of them could have guessed the surprise that J'onn had in store for the Imperium when he interrupted his silent torture to scream "Now!"
High above them at the junction of the central power grid for the Smokehouse, Batman emerged from behind J'onn's mental cloak. He produced a polarization device that overloaded the system. An explosion rocked the factory machinery, opening up a huge hole above the imprisoned group. The machinery producing the black smoke chugged once, failed, and then a fresh gust of wind started clearing away the smoke.
Sunlight immediately poured through the gaping hole, bathing the Imperium in direct sunlight. The alien's agony was immediately evident. To Flash, it looked like some of the vampire movies he'd seen where the sunlight fried the skin of the murderous scion from Transylvania. Batman swooped down next to them while the Invader's soldiers scrambled for cover, as far away from the sunlight as they could manage.
"So you did figure out their weakness?" Diana observed, a hint of admiration audible in her voice.
"Ultraviolet light," Batman observed, nonplussed. "They can't handle direct exposure, hence the reason for the Smokehouses." He produced a laser torch that burned the muck away from her arms in seconds. The wisdom of his choice was obvious a millisecond later when she used her bracelets to deflect a series of energy bolts directed by the Invaders towards their position. Now free of the muck, she provided cover while Batman worked on freeing the others.
Superman shook his head with exasperation that the Bat had succeeded where the rest of them had failed, then started burning through the Invaders and the muck with his heat vision. Within seconds, the entire team was free, and their retribution was swift.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTIt took the team another week to mop up the remnants of the Sentinels and the Smokehouses. Refining the same tactics they'd used to defeat the Imperium, the remaining Invaders soon realized their battle was hopeless against this new league of heroes. Some of the alien soldiers triggered auto-destructs and blew up their machines rather than suffer the indignity of having it smashed by the team. Others fought to the bitter end; however, their fate was the same.
One by one, the league collectively cleansed the continents of the Invaders presence. Starting with North then South America, they soon moved onto Europe, Africa, then finally Asia and Oceania. Their teamwork improved daily. Diana was surprised when the members started to anticipate each other's actions, fluidly attacking and covering each other's backs.
They all brought something different to the operation, however she couldn't help but be thrilled at the sight of Superman leading their way into each battle. When employed properly, his combination of powers, strength, speed, flight and heat vision - among others - were devastating to their opponent. At times she had to wonder whether he was holding something back, but she decided to hold her tongue, lest it be considered an implicit criticism of his methods.
Batman's participation in the team also intrigued her. His lack of powers proved to be a mere hindrance in battle. In her view, his abilities as a field general surpassed the greatest warriors in history. While his combatant skills were impressive, he preferred to simply outthink his opponent whenever possible. Even though the team members were more physically gifted than Batman, they all deferred to his natural leadership -- with the pointed exception of Superman. Batman continually found new weaknesses in the Sentinel's armor and continually refined their own tactics to minimize the collateral damage they caused.
The two men were polar opposites in terms of natural gifts, however Diana couldn't help but wonder why their relationship was so strained, so dysfunctional. An undercurrent of tension existed between them, however no one dared speak of the cause. Whenever they broke up into teams during their missions against the Sentinels, Batman and Superman never paired up, pointedly joining others or even remaining solo if that was the last option available.
Whatever the cause, their refusal to work together under any circumstances bordered on the ridiculous. Arriving in Australia, the league cleared Brisbane of the threat then stopped overnight to rest. Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide represented the last of the Invader's remaining strongholds. At their current rate, within forty-eight hours, the last of the Invader's would be wiped off the face of the planet.
Contemplating her future in Man's World, she requested a meeting with Batman and Superman under the guise of separate meetings.
They arrived almost simultaneously in her hotel room – Batman somehow always managed to arrange first-class accommodations for them in advance – and upon seeing each other, turned just as quick to depart. Before they could escape, Diana herded them into the room, then locked the door behind her to emphasize her intent.
"We need to talk," she started, a regal air of authority evident in her voice.
"Little late for a team morale building exercise, isn't it, Princess?" Batman asked dryly.
Diana stared at him sternly, but she knew he was goading her, so she pointedly ignored him.
"Sit, please." She instructed, but wasn't surprised when the two elected to stand at opposite ends of the suite. Diana pursed her lips in exasperation, but she knew going into this that the task wouldn't be easy.
"Fine then, stand." She muttered with evident sarcasm. "Drink?"
"Diana, why are we here?" Superman asked with obvious irritation. He was angry that she'd lured him here under false pretenses and didn't mind showing it.
"We've got what, one, maybe two days left until we've wiped out the remaining Invaders?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in search of a dissenter.
Both men grunted in acknowledgment.
"Have either of you considered what may happen to this group once we're finished?" Diana continued.
Neither man responded, though from Superman's nod and the limited amount she could see of Batman's expression, it was evident that the thought had occurred to both of them.
"I appreciate the fact that you both think of me as an interloper in Man's World," Diana continued quickly before either of them could tell her what they thought (she was sure she didn't want to hear Batman's opinion of her). "But I've been watching Man's World for centuries. In my opinion, this team…this league of heroes represents Mankind's best hope for the future."
"What are you proposing?" Batman asked with a bored tone of indifference that raised the hackles on her neck.
"Simple," Diana replied in the same condescending tone. "After we've wiped out the last of the Invaders, I think it only makes sense that this team should continue to work together."
"To what end?"
"Do you not see what this team is capable of?" she asked incredulously, then peered intently at his head, searching with her eyes. Finding nothing, she made an effort to disarm him with a wry smile. "For a man so bent on providing justice to his city where none existed before, it seems that cowl covers your eyes as well as your head."
"My mission is to protect Gotham," he replied stone-faced. "I cannot afford the distraction. Besides, it's not as if I'd have much to offer the League. If history serves as a guide, you two demi-gods are powerful enough to enforce your will on the rest of us, should you so choose."
"Same old Bats," Superman observed from the opposite side of the room. The malice in his voice was unmistakable. He looked at Diana then bitterly returned his gaze to Batman. Rhetorically, Superman asked, "After all, why not obsess about the past instead of looking forward to the future?"
No one said a word, then Superman decided to continue. "Diana, I for one am in favor of making this…League…permanent. The logistics of making that dream a reality however, are daunting."
"How so?" Diana asked.
"We all protect different cities," Superman replied, then started pacing the room as he worked at properly verbalizing his thoughts. "To make a real difference, we'd require communications and intelligence relays so that members could respond to threats in a timely matter. We'd have to coordinate our responses from a central location, a command center if you will, which means residential quarters for off-duty members. We'd require a quick means of transportation to address any threats, food, medical facilities. The list is endless, really. It's not a project to be taken lightly."
Nodding with comprehension at the enormity of her proposal, Diana turned to face Batman. "Would you not be able to aid us in this cause? After all, you did provide the communications relays."
"So I'm invited on the condition that I fund the entire operation?" Batman replied with a smirk. "Thanks, but no thanks."
"Why you insufferable, arrogant pig!" she spat back, "You're invited because you're a warrior. However based on your reaction, I can see there is nothing further to discuss." She waved her hand at him, dismissing him from the room.
"Should I even bring up the fact that some people would view your league as a powerful threat to world security?" Batman observed.
"Then we'll have to earn their trust," Diana replied, her color rising. "Has this team of heroes not rid the world of the Invader's threat?"
"We're not done yet, Princess," Batman reminded her, "and trust me, people have a pretty short memory. Most of them have already forgotten that the Boy Scout here led an invasion a few months ago that almost wiped us out."
"That's not fair!" Diana protested. "I know for a fact that this…Darkseid had tricked him into leading that invasion."
"It doesn't matter whether he did it on his own or under the guidance of someone else," Batman snapped back. "The fact that he…and you…have those kind of powers to begin with is more dangerous than people realize."
"I will not apologize for being blessed with the power of the Gods." Diana shouted back.
"The problem of associating yourself with the Gods," Batman replied warily, "is that half the world will pray to you, and the rest of them will treat you like the Devil. Odd thing is, you don't know who's more dangerous of the two."
"I've had enough of your cynicism," Diana replied, "Get out of here before I throw you out myself."
"Should I officially request a 'By your leave'? Batman replied sarcastically, then mockingly bowed with a flourish before leaving the room.
Diana's face had turned crimson with anger by the time the door slammed shut. Superman started to open his mouth to offer an apology, however Diana waved him off before he could start. She bowed her head in resignation, then turned to face him. "I guess what my mother told me of Man's World is true. Men are petty, vindictive and not worthy of our help."
"Don't judge the entire race on the actions of one man," Superman implored. "Your idea is worthy."
She shook her head with regret, then softly whispered, "Please give my regrets to the others, will you? I'm heading back to Themyscira."
"Diana, please don't go."
She stopped and smiled warmly at him, a look of pity on her face. "If the men of this world are too stubborn to see what we can accomplish, then there is nothing here left for me to do."
Superman watched with regret as she gained altitude from the hotel balcony, heading east. He debated following her, then realized that her resolve was too strong. Shoulders slumped, he walked back into the hotel to tell the others she'd returned home.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTwo days later, the remaining members of the team defeated the last stronghold of the Invader's near Perth. The world rejoiced in celebration of their victory. Five minutes after the last Sentinel had fallen, Superman and the rest of the team watched glumly as the Batwing departed for Gotham. As the plane disappeared into the twilight, they watched with regret at the wasted opportunity.
"Who's up for dinner?" Superman asked the remaining team members, which included J'onn J'onnz, Green Lantern, Flash and Hawkgirl. "I've got an idea that I'd like to discuss with all of you."
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Author Note: Some dialogue from the JL:Secret Origins show has been adapted or modified for brevity. As I've stated before, my goal is to write an AU story where the timeline is the same however various heroes reactions will be different, as their previous choices are shaping their new future. Derivative, but still fun.
HB