Thanks to Princess and Djinn for the Beta
Chapter 4 - ReparationsAs the rest of the team reveled in the victory over the Invaders, Diana encountered a somewhat hostile welcome upon her return to Themyscira. When Diana landed in the Queen's Temple, the armor suddenly felt heavy, and for her part she felt unworthy to wear it.
Diana had never told her teammates that her armor was actually a gift from Athena to her mother Hippolyta, or worse, that Diana had stolen it for her own use after Hippolyta had rejected her petition to aid Man's World. While both women were endowed with powers surpassing the rest of the Amazon tribe, (including superior strength and the ability to fly), only Hippolyta knew the true extent of the armor's capabilities.
As Diana emerged from the vestibule into the main temple chamber, Hippolyta's jaw quickly clenched with anger. The Queen ordered the remaining sentries away from the chamber, then turned to face her daughter when they'd gone.
"I'm disappointed, Diana," Hippolyta whispered through still-clenched teeth. "You openly defied my direct order not to travel to Man's World."
"The world was in peril, Mother," Diana pleaded. "The Oracle knew our fate was sealed if Man's World was overrun."
Hippolyta considered the validity of the information, but the defiant act rankled her pride. "While the result might have positive implications for our island," she quietly allowed, "Your defiance cannot be ignored."
"I submit to your authority, as always, my Queen," Diana whispered in reply, crestfallen.
"Go to the lake country for a month and reflect on your actions," Hippolyta commanded. "You may keep the armor in the interim. Perhaps its presence will help grant you the wisdom that you seek."
"Thank you, Mother," Diana whispered, shame evident on her face. Not wanting her Amazon sisters to see her in such an emotional state, Diana steeled herself, then spun smartly on her heels, exiting the chamber.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
As Debra Lowenstein droned on about the difficulties of arranging a good caterer for her son's bar mitzvah, Lois Lane feigned polite attention, but her mind couldn't concentrate on what the woman was saying.
It wasn't that Debra was particularly odious by the standards of Gotham's wealthy inner circle. In reality, the Lowenstein's were a nice couple and Debra really had gone the extra mile to ensure her son's public transformation into adulthood was a resounding success. Lois just had more important things on her mind than exchanging pleasantries with the wife of Gotham City's most powerful investment banker.
To Lois's amazement, the lifestyle of the rich and famous had returned to normal just days after the threat from the alien Invaders had been eradicated. A week before, these same people would have thrown each other under a bus in order to escape the Invader's onslaught, but today, the entire lot of them acted as if nothing important had occurred. The fact that their ranks had been somewhat thinned during the invasion – a luxury condominium high rise two blocks away from Lois had been vaporized during the attack, killing over 700 people - seemed to matter little now.
While some of them might have blithely attributed their ability to resume the party where they'd left off due to their sheer resiliency – they'd comfortably emerged from the earthquake that had created No Man's Land without missing a beat - Lois attributed it to the fact that they were just 'Gotham Trash', unconcerned about the plight of those left homeless or destitute by the Invader's attack.
As Debra droned on, Lois spied Bruce affably kibutzing with Heywood Jablome, a city councilman known to be firmly in the pockets of both the mafia and teamsters unions. Jablome expertly played the two groups against each other in a dangerous game of detente. If there was a handout in City Hall, the man had a piece of the action. Lois politely excused herself from Debra's company, then made her way to her paramour.
Bruce noticed her approach and greeted her with a leer, making a extra show of looking down the front of her dress. The Vera Wang he'd bought was startlingly revealing in terms of décolletage. He traded knowing winks with the politician, then slipped a hand around her waist, showing her off like she was some sort of chattel.
Jablome had known Bruce for years. The councilman drank up Bruce's overt display of his property with a seedy grin, then politely excused himself when he spied one of Gotham's richest heiresses standing alone at the bar. Josephine Sinetra had a face like a truck but her pocketbook overcame the lack of physical attraction in his mind, especially since she was intently displaying her new DD implants to those in attendance.
Lois watched the man saunter to the bar then apprised Bruce with a hard glance that told him she wasn't happy.
"How much longer do we have to stay here?" she smiled through gritted teeth.
"Probably another hour or so," he replied apologetically, absently waving to an attractive woman in her late 40's who'd drunkenly offered to fellate him under a dinner table at the Gotham Country Club during last year's Christmas party. The woman coldly returned his wave, still upset he'd turned down her offer. "I haven't been seen in two weeks. Have to make sure my cover story about escaping to Switzerland ten minutes ahead of the Invaders gets around."
"Don't you ever get tired of remembering all of these cover stories?" Lois asked over her martini, coldly returning the stare of a tabloid magazine publisher who'd recently offered to hire her away from the Planet. She hadn't really considered the generous financial package, especially since she'd realized early during the negotiations that it came with the condition she meet her future employer at a hotel room for 'lunch' three times a week.
"Have to keep them guessing," he replied with a shrug. "Sometimes it tries me, but I look at it as a mental exercise to stay sharp. The day I can't remember my cover stories will probably be the first sign that it's time to move on."
"I'll stay the extra hour on the condition that I be allowed a break from the monotony of talking to these…people," Lois groaned, rubbing her temples to emphasize the severity of her headache. "Walk with me?"
Bruce nodded in assent and they quietly strolled around the grounds of the Lowenstein estate until locating a suitable refuge far from prying eyes and ears.
"You know, since you got back, you haven't really told me much about your teammates," she started, then snorted, "Not like you ever tell me much about anything, for that matter."
"What do you want to know?" he asked, wondering if she was alluding to Superman.
"What's the story with the Martian and the Amazon?" Lois inquired. "Suddenly all of you were on the news at the same time, taking out those Smokehouses like a hot knife slicing through butter."
"Given his telepathy and shape-shifting abilities, J'onn is probably more powerful than the rest of them, combined," Bruce started. "Diana is a lot like Superman, though she's a little more temperamental. Makes sense though, considering she's royalty."
"She's the Amazon Queen?" Lois blurted in surprise.
"Princess," Bruce corrected, then as an afterthought, added, "She certainly tried to act like a Queen, bossing us around."
"She did not!" Lois replied with a laugh. She tried to imagine how difficult it must have been for an outsider like the Amazon to work with Batman on a daily basis. "What happened to her?"
"She went back to Themyscira when we were in Australia," he replied, face clouding over with the memory. "She wanted to keep the team together after we were done fighting the Invaders. I refused, so she left."
"Why did you refuse?" Lois asked, stunned by his admission. "It seems like a good idea."
"On paper, yes," he replied evasively. "But when you consider the cost of putting something like that together…"
"Bruce…please. You carry enough spare change in your pocket to fund them for a year," Lois interrupted.
"…and the team dynamics, it just doesn't make any sense." He finished with a tone that signaled he would brook no argument regarding this issue.
"Is your ego so fragile that you can't imagine working with Superman on a full-time basis?" Lois goaded. "Or is it a 'lack-of-powers' thing?"
"It has nothing to do with that and everything to do with Gotham," he replied icily. "If I signed up for membership in that…"
"Justice League?" she finished with a knowing expression.
"How do you know what they're calling it?" Bruce replied, his exasperation evident in his voice.
"Because I got a call from Superman this morning," Lois replied. "He wants to give me an exclusive. I already told my editor to hold the Sunday morning headline for the interview."
"Isn't that convenient that he just happens to have you on speed dial?" he noted icily.
"Come on, Bruce," she groaned. "Give me a break. I've known him for years. Longer than I've known you."
"Which provides him ample opportunities to hover over you like a vulture, waiting to pick up the pieces if anything happens to me."
"That's not fair," she snapped angrily. "We're friends…do you want me to suddenly pretend like he doesn't exist?"
"I don't believe in the whole male/female friend thing." Bruce noted with a wary sigh.
"Bruce, you don't believe in friends to begin with," Lois responded with a sigh. "I'm probably the first person besides Alfred – and he's more of a surrogate father than a friend – who's ever seen the real Bruce Wayne. Certainly nobody here…" she gestured around the grounds, "…has ever met the real you."
Bruce didn't respond, so Lois decided to continue. She reached up, stroking his cheek with her fingertips. "I'd really like somebody -- besides me -- to meet Bruce Wayne sometime. To be honest, he's a pretty amazing guy. Despite my damnedest attempts to make things difficult, at times I've really found myself head over heels in love with him."
His eyebrows rose in delight, but his darker half still wasn't satisfied. "I still don't like the fact that you two are so close. Why didn't you tell me you knew about the League?"
"Because I wanted to see what your thoughts were before I interviewed him," Lois replied with a smirk. "My questions will be much more thought provoking…Hell, I bet I could win another Pulitzer writing about the 'Great Divide' between Batman and Superman."
"You wouldn't!" he interjected.
"It's easy to do," Lois replied with a laugh. "I'd just cite 'background sources' here in Gotham for your viewpoint, then I can get the rest from him."
"I'd prefer not to have our dirty laundry aired out in front of the world," Bruce replied grimly.
"What's the real reason you didn't want to join the Justice League?" she asked, searching his eyes. "Me?"
He considered his response for a minute, staring off into the distance as he searched for an answer she would accept. "I'm honestly not sure there's much I can bring to the group. I'm not much of a people person to begin with, and the team dynamic requires that I check my ego at the door."
"So, get a bigger door," Lois replied.
Bruce rolled his eyes then continued. "There's a huge amount of logistics that require coordination in order for it to work properly. That I can handle. The big problem is time. I barely have enough time to meet my responsibilities here in Gotham as it is, especially when it comes to you."
Her eyes widened in disbelief at his admission. "Do you mean to tell me that you didn't join the League because of me?"
"There are other reasons, but that one stood out among them when I made my decision," he replied with a shrug.
She pondered his revelation for a moment but didn't like his conclusion. "So years from now, when historians are writing about this era, somebody will figure out that Bruce Wayne and Batman were the same person. Then they'll put two and two together and remember that I was your girlfriend, and that Superman and I were –"
"Involved?" he suggested dryly.
"Whatever," she snapped, then relented. "Fine! Involved. But at the same time the Justice League formed, you didn't join. Because of me!"
She considered her train of logic for a few seconds then grew wide-eyed at her conclusion. "History will show that I was the Yoko Ono of our generation!"
"That's probably a little harsh." Bruce replied with a grin.
Lois shook her head. "Bruce, I want you to seriously reconsider the opportunity. I know that it might mean I see even less of you than I already do, but I couldn't sleep at night knowing that I was Yoko." She deadpanned.
"It may already be too late, but I'll think about it," Bruce replied, then his face grew serious when he realized how hard she was taking it. "I promise."
The two of them stared at each other for a moment, then Bruce drew her mouth up to his. They stayed that way for awhile, lost in the moment. Neither noticed that the photographer the Lowenstein's had hired managed to snap a quick picture of their public display of affection until it landed in the society pages that Sunday.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT"Superman, how do you read me?" Hawkgirl commanded into the microphone.
"Five by five." Came the cryptic reply.
"What exactly does that mean?" Flash asked with a shiver.
"See these signal strength and frequency knobs?" Lantern replied in the distracted voice he used to answer Flash's incessant questions.
"Yeah, what of it?"
"They max out at five. If someone hears you 'five by five', then they can hear you anywhere."
"Ohh…" the Flash nodded. "Kind of like having all the signal bars on my cellphone?"
"See?" Hawkgirl added dryly. "You're not as dumb as you look."
"Thanks," Flash replied with a grin, then realized she'd taken yet another shot at him during the last few hours. "Hey!"
"Go easy on him," Lantern noted with a wink to the auburn-haired Thanagarian.
"You first," she replied, nonplussed. "I still don't see why I wasn't allowed on this test flight. I have more hands-on experience piloting in deep space than the rest of you combined."
"Superman and J'onn were responsible for most of the design modifications to that spaceship," John Stewart reminded her. "It's only fair they test it."
She snorted her derision at that response but didn't reply. Instead she turned back to the mission control panel they'd established on the top floor of Superman's Fortress of Solitude. Despite the heavy winter coat she'd borrowed from Superman's closet, Flash wasn't the only one shivering. Her teeth were chattering and with each exhalation, she could see the moisture visible in the cold air.
"Are you sure that heater's turned on?" she barked at Lantern.
"It's full blast," he replied with a shrug. "Want me to use my ring? It will warm us up."
"No thanks," she replied stoically. "I can handle it…for now."
"I know what you mean, Hawkgirl," Flash complained with another shiver. "I can't eat fast enough to keep warm here. Can't somebody come up with a better place for to use as our headquarters?"
"What do you suggest?" John replied with a grin. "Your apartment?"
"No way," Hawkgirl growled. "We do that, Flash will be telling the world that I hang out in his bedroom. Next option?"
The three of them continued to trade barbs and complaints, not noticing that the telemetry uplink to Superman's spaceship had failed.
They didn't receive another signal.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT"Confirmed, lateral thrusters overheated," J'onn pronounced with satisfaction. "Just as I suspected."
"It's nothing to be happy about," Superman responded, staring through his spacesuit at his Martian companion.
"Point is," the Martian replied through his own intercom linked via his spacesuit, "that we should have power back on-line within a few minutes as soon as they've cooled off. Should we return inside the ship or wait out here?"
"Plenty of oxygen," Superman replied with a shrug. "I'm fine out here looking at the stars. Kind of reminds me of the night sky in Kansas."
"An interesting choice of destinations on the part of your birth parents, to be sure," the Martian responded blithely.
Superman turned to face him, trying to determine from the Martian's natural poker face whether he was joking or not. He knew J'onn had a sense of humor, he just wasn't sure when he used it.
As they enjoyed the view, neither of them saw the alien spaceship approach from overhead. Not that it would have mattered if they had, as a stun beam rendered both of them unconscious a moment later.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTThe series of jewel heists Batman had been tracking for weeks were growing more audacious at each occurrence. Following the established pattern, he'd staked out a vault at Gotham's First City Bank that he knew contained the largest remaining storehouse of gems in the city. It represented the next logical target.
He'd easily avoided the Bank's motion and pressure detectors, positioning himself at the optimum location to surprise the burglars. After an hour's wait, Batman's eyes grew huge when the approaching sound of footfalls revealed his quarry: a metapowered team of criminals including Solomon Grundy, Tsukuri, Star Sapphire, Shade and Copperhead. Behind them, a stunning blonde with a gold helmet and a white linen one-piece jumpsuit of a design he'd never seen directed the team of criminals.
His mind formulated a quick action plan while waiting for the criminal team to actually commit a crime. Batman didn't have long to wait as Solomon Grundy tore the vault right out of the wall.
Shade and Copperhead went first, each silenced by a bola that knocked them out. Star Sapphire launched an airborne attack using her energy bolts, however he ripped a security mirror off the wall, using its polished surface to reflect the beams right back at her. She crumbled to the ground with a groan. Grundy lunged at him but the mirror came in handy a second time as Batman wrapped it around the giant's head, then used the larger man's momentum to shove him roughly into the vault.
Batman had little time to appreciate his handiwork as Tsukuri's katana whizzed inches over his head. He backflipped over the return slash then caught the surprised warrior cleanly on the jaw with the heel of his boot, rendering her unconscious before she hit the floor.
"Very impressive, little man," the blonde goaded, striding towards him. "Maybe Diana's opinion of you isn't overrated."
"Give it up," he barked, then lunged to the left, barely dodging a super-speed fist aimed at his jaw. He managed to land two quick jabs, but she barely recoiled from the strikes.
"Quick, too!" she laughed, taunting him. "It won't save you, trust me."
Batman feinted to his right then brought his left leg around in a spin kick. There wasn't a human alive that could respond to his attack without injury, however the statuesque blonde easily parried the kick then threw an overhand right into his solar plexis. His knees gave out as his nerves misfired, then to his shock the woman easily hefted him over her head. Her intentions were unmistakable and his hand reached down to try and arrest his fall.
"This is for taking out my team," the blonde growled, then heaved him across the lobby. He landed against the wall with a thud, then blacked out.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT"I can't believe we've lost them," Lantern growled, "They've got to be somewhere around here."
"We'll they're not here," Hawkgirl responded through the comm. link in her spacesuit as she emerged from the abandoned Kryptonian spaceship.
"People just don't go missing in space," he replied. Since his ring protected him, Lantern didn't require a spacesuit, however he'd insisted Hawkgirl wear one from the get-go if she was going to accompany him on this rescue mission. He used the ring to start sweeping the vastness of the void around him, then a few seconds later picked up a tell-tale ion trail.
"I've got something," Lantern called out, then re-formed the emerald energy bubble around the two of them.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT"Hey, Bats. Wake up."
He heard the voice out in the fog, but it was weak and dim.
"Hey, Bats. You still with me?"
"Flash?" Batman mumbled, wincing in pain when he opened his eyes.
"The very same. What hit you?"
"An Amazon," Batman replied, rubbing his head gingerly.
"You tick off Diana again?" Flash asked with a laugh. "Turn her down for dinner or something?"
"It wasn't Diana," Batman replied, gratefully accepting the speedster's assistance as he rose to his feet. " How did you find me?"
"Followed the homing beacon on the little ear-phones you gave us," the speedster replied. "You weren't responding on our frequency, so I tracked you down."
"Why were you looking?" Batman asked suspiciously. "Another recruiting drive?"
"Not hardly," Flash replied with a smirk. "But I did want to give you a heads up. We lost Supes and J'onn when they were test-piloting that spaceship of his. Lantern and Hawkgirl went after them, but that leaves me…"
"…here to take care of the rest of us," Batman interrupted, rolling his eyes as he started walking away. "Thanks for the public service announcement. The world will try and get by without any super-powered help."
"Where you going?"
"Themyscira," Batman replied. "I've got to find out what our Princess knows about a rogue Amazon."
"I thought that island was supposed to be hidden," Flash noted, following him. "How you going to find it?"
"I put a tracking device in her armor when we were on Bali," Batman replied with a cocky smirk.
"Nice!" Flash exclaimed. Leaning in conspiratorially, he asked, "What did you do? Seduce her then slip it on while she was asleep?"
"No," Batman replied peevishly. "Get your brain out of the gutter, Flash. She's not that special. Everyone has one. Yours is attached to your left lightning bolt."
Flash squinted at the Dark Knight with evident disdain. "Don't mess with the fantasy, all right? The world is a dark enough place as is." As he stared at Batman, Flash got a mental image of what lay inside Diana's armor and nearly passed out from the sudden lack of blood-flow to his brain.
"Can I come?" Flash asked, eyes bulging with delight at the prospect.
"Why?"
"Well, since everyone else is in space, I've got nothing better to do. Besides, all those hot amazons are probably just waiting to slice off some love from the scarlet speedster. How cool is that?"
Batman considered the request for a moment, then relented. While Flash was a pain in the ass, admittedly there were occasions when his speed proved useful.
"Let's go," he barked, then shook his head when he realized Flash was already seated in the Batwing, waiting for him. "And don't touch ANYTHING."
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTThe gang of criminals gasped in dismay when their leader, the woman who called herself Aresia, poured the contents of their hard-won booty into the giant vat. It was the second time they'd raised their eyebrows in dismay that evening. Earlier, she'd ground up all of their diamonds and other precious gems -- some exceeded five carats -- into a fine powder. Now that Aresia had added the jewel dust into the vat, even Star Sapphire's face clouded with disbelief.
She searched for another in the group with more courage to ask the question, however none were forthcoming. "Excuse me," Sapphire finally asked. "Why are we destroying all of these precious jewels that we went through such trouble to steal?"
"Patience, Saph, Patience." Aresia replied. "This brew of mine will incapacitate the superheroes that have made your lives so miserable these past few years. After they're down, we can steal the rest at our leisure."
The news soothed their frayed nerves and the team eagerly followed Aresia's instructions for the next few hours as the brew cooked. Aresia knew her task was finished when Copperhead, Grundy and Shade collapsed on the floor at the same time.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTSuperman awoke in a dark room. By the sight and smell alone, he recognized where he was.
'Holding cell," he thought with a sigh, then flexed his muscles to determine whether he'd lost any of his power while asleep. He could feel the power in his body waiting to be unleashed, then tested the door that held him. It easily bent under his applied pressure before dropping to the floor with a dull clunk.
"Will they ever learn to build a proper holding cell?" he asked rhetorically, then turned down the hallway.
"J'onn? Are you in here?" Superman called out, then winced when his voice echoed back at him.
"Here," J'onn replied weakly.
"Hold on a second," Superman muttered. Two robotic sentries appeared out of nowhere. Hovering ten feet off the ground, they each pointed a weapon at him, demonstrating their hostile intent.
"Return to your holding cell," a metallic command chirped from the nearest.
"Hold this," he muttered, then melted them with his heat vision.
A second later, he pulled the door off the hinges to J'onn's cell, releasing the Martian.
"Let's get out of here," Superman muttered, then frowned when J'onn staggered against him. "What's wrong?"
"Some kind of stasis field," J'onn replied weakly, rubbing his head. "No balance…strength."
"I'll get us out of here," Superman replied, then threw the Martian's arm over his shoulder for support.
A phalanx of the robotic sentries tried to stand in their path, but the Kryptonian's power was just too immense. Despite J'onn's deadweight, Superman had no problem smashing and melting their way through the gauntlet of sentries that blocked their path. Exiting through a new hole in the wall of the prison they'd just left, he turned his attention towards a palace situated high above the rest of the city. It seemed the most likely place to find answers, so Superman plowed through three layers of reinforced steel before arriving in the palace chamber.
A hulking humanoid rose up from his throne. Clad in a form fitting purple jumpsuit accented by armored knee-guards and spiked arm-bands, his imposing figure was further set-off by an odd looking crown wrapped around both ears. Superman had met many royal leaders in his day, but none of them looked quite so menacing.
"Are you responsible for our captivity?" Superman asked with a growl.
"Mongul, Ruler of this planet. Nothing goes on here without my permission." The man practically dripped with evil intent. "Welcome to War World."
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT"Why are we landing all the way out here?" Flash whined, pointing over his head. "There's a whole city back that way."
"Her signal is coming from the lakeshore," Batman replied. "Unless she found the device and dumped it."
The Batwing quietly touched down a moment later. Flash sped out of the cockpit as soon as the canopy had pulled back, then with an audible sigh of relief, relieved his bladder on the roots of a nearby tree. "Couldn't afford a urinal for the Batwing, huh?" he groaned.
Batman produced a hand-held tracking device from his belt, then headed west. "Stay here," he commanded. "Page me on the comm. link if there's any trouble."
"Like what kind of trouble?" Flash asked.
"Amazon kind of trouble."
"THAT kind of trouble I can handle!" Flash boasted.
"Tell me that again when you've got ten spears pointing out the back of your throat," Batman grumbled, then set off down a well-worn path.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTBatman had only stepped a few feet into the shade of the canopy before the surroundings took hold of him. The uniform that he'd continually upgraded over the years for comfort suddenly irritated his skin. He had a desire to scratch an itch that permeated his entire body. He tried to take in a deep breath in order to focus, but his lungs burned in the tropical heat, heavy with the warm moisture in the air. A deer suddenly startled to his left, then quietly disappeared into the bush. Overhead, a woodpecker perched on a branch paid him no heed, hammering away at a new opening with his beak.
As Batman followed the path around the lake, sunlight intermittently streamed through the canopy. He clicked the filter on his cowl, but the light only seemed to grow more intense at every step. A covey of quail crossed his path, seemingly oblivious to his menacing outline.
He stopped for a moment at a juncture where the path neared the lake, allowing himself a moment to wipe the sweat away from his brow. The lake called to him, beckoning him to remove the offending uniform, begging him to take refuge in its cool confines.
Batman seriously debated taking the plunge then decided the lake would provide the relief he so desperately deserved. He'd just started to removal the cowl when a splash to his right startled him. Batman froze, mesmerized, as a nude Diana suddenly emerged from the water twenty meters away. He slipped behind a tree trunk, silently tiptoeing as his ninja master had trained him so not to disturb his quarry. He reveled in her splendor, a voyeur without care.
She stood naked for more than a minute, wringing the water from her hair. Ensconced in the comfortable confines of her island, much like Eve in the Garden of Eden, Diana had no qualms about her nudity. He peered about, searching for the presence of another Amazon, but found none. By their own volition, his feet suddenly propelled him forward, stalking her through the tall grass.
Batman had almost reached her position when she pulled down a white shift hanging off of a branch above her. She dappled the water off her face, then her eyes grew huge with surprise when the Dark Knight emerged from the forest only a few feet away. The shock of seeing him on Themyscira paralyzed her, then her surprise was further compounded when he took her roughly, bringing his mouth down on her own without even whispering a simple greeting.
Diana initially pulled back from his kiss; however his desire was primal, insistent. His need overcame her for a moment, and she succumbed to him. He ran his gauntlet-shackled hands through her hair, holding her, before they started migrating downwards, lightly caressing the alighted points on her chest. His rough caress was welcome; however the heat of her own response jerked her back into reality. The passion that he radiated suddenly dimmed with the reality of the situation, and the two of them separated breathlessly, wide-eyed with the revelation of what just had occurred.
"What do you think you're doing?" she snapped, then looked down, confirming the worse of her suspicions. She stood before him mother-naked, cradling the crumpled shift against her stomach, while her breasts and the tuft at her loins were clearly visible.
Embarrassed, he turned away, as if to offer some privacy. The move probably saved him from a concussion, as her fist arrived a millisecond later, glancing off his jaw. The force of the impact was still sufficient to crumple him to the ground
"What do you think you're doing?" she screamed again, diving into the cotton shift. Angrily, Diana pulled it over her head, then smoothed the excess material over her torso until it covered her knees.
Batman stared at her; blood trickling from his chin as he tried to explain his actions, then shook his head with resignation. No lucid explanation came to him. Helpless and confounded by his own actions, he just stared, silently trying to offer an apology with his eyes.
Over her shoulder, Flash suddenly appeared, an ear-to-ear grin visible on his face.
"Hey, Diana," Flash warbled. "How's things?"
Diana stared at the newcomer with equal ferocity, but Flash's goofy grin somewhat disarmed her. "Unsettling, to say the least. Why are you here? How did you find me?"
Batman ignored the last question as he surmised it probably would earn him another shot in the mouth, then groggily worked his way off the pine needles until he was standing upright. "There's a rogue Amazon in charge of a group of meta-powered thieves… they've stolen most of the precious gems on the Eastern seaboard in the last few days."
"An Amazon?" Diana replied with contempt. "That's impossible. We never leave the island."
"Never?" Batman asked warily, then opted not to point out that she was recently an obvious exception to the rule. He produced the necklace from his pocket, then cautiously approached her. Diana took the necklace, her eyes bulging with recognition.
"I take it you've seen that somewhere before?" he muttered, spitting out blood.
"It belongs to a sister," she replied. "Where did you say you found it?"
"I ripped it off her neck before she tried to throw me through a wall," he replied. "Based on what I've seen today, I'd judge the two of you to be on par, strength-wise. Sound familiar?"
"Her name is Aresia," Diana replied. "She's currently meditating in a temple on the southern side of the island."
"When did you last see her?"
"Here, a day after I returned from Man's World. She visited, curious what I'd learned about Man's World."
"It fits the pattern. Can you take us there?"
"No, but I will investigate your claim. Where is your transport?"
"On the eastern side of the lake, parked in a meadow,"
"I will meet you there in an hour," Diana noted sternly, then set off down the path. She glanced at Flash, then as an afterthought, added, "Perhaps you could use the time to teach your friend some manners."
"Will do, Di," Flash noted with a casual salute, then watched her disappear into the forest. He walked over to Batman, then gently elbowed him in the ribs. "How you feeling, Mac-Daddy?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Batman growled.
"I saw you groveling with Wondy," Flash replied with a leer. "That was pretty…hot."
"Shut up."
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTLantern and Hawkgirl were relieved when the ion trail they were following led them directly to a planet forty parsecs from their teammate's last location. As Lantern had told her ad nauseum, they were taking a tremendous risk of his ring battery losing its charge before locating their friends. As it currently stood, the ring had plenty of power to return them to Earth, assuming they could locate Superman and J'onn.
Once in the atmosphere, they didn't have to look very long as the reverberations alone told them where to look. Using the ring, they followed the source of the earthquake propogations directly back to the largest city on the planet. There, they found Superman engaged in a knock-down, drag-out punch-fest with an alien almost twice his size. In terms of strength, the two humanoids were equally matched, and the thunderclap of power generated by their punches were knocking down buildings.
Hawkgirl found J'onn nearby, incapacitated by an energy field which Mongul used to fuel the planet's power requirements. That the field was quickly poisoning the atmosphere did not concern Mongul, especially not at the moment, as Lantern and Superman were now working together to take him down.
Finished, they left the tyrant unconscious, secured to a steel post by a band of prometheum Superman wrapped tightly around the man's torso. Reveling in their newfound freedom, the jubilant populace was raining down pieces of rubble onto Mongul's head, jeering at him and roaring with approval at each strike.
Content with their handiwork, John Stewart prepared to encase the four of them in his emerald traveling bubble when he had a thought. "Anybody need a bathroom break? It's going to be an eight-hour ride back to Earth."
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTBatman was nearly finished mentally designing a hypersonic device that would render men blessed with super-speed silent at the touch of a button when Diana thankfully emerged into the meadow. Dressed in her armor, the set of her jaw and quick stride told him everything he needed to know. He flipped on the auxiliary power generator to warm up the engines even before she'd reached the plane.
"Not there?" he hazarded a guess.
"The only thing I found," Diana replied icily, holding up a sheaf of papers, "were these."
She handed them over to Batman for a quick inspection.
"What's wrong with notebooks?" Flash asked blankly.
"They're from Man's World," Diana replied. "We're not allowed to have items from Man's World…"
"…much less have men from Man's World," Batman interrupted, handing back the paperwork. "These notes indicate a recipe for a genetically engineered plague. She's using the precious stones she's stolen as a reactant."
Diana nodded, alarmed by the gravity of the situation. "Can you help me find her? If she's responsible for any deaths in Man's World, it could cause considerable problems here on the island."
"I'm afraid the problems have grown considerably worse, my daughter." Hippolyta's voice boomed over them. Flash and Batman looked on in alarm as a squad of Amazon warriors surrounded the plane.
"Mother, what is the meaning of this?" Diana asked.
"It seems that your time in Man's World has clouded your judgment," Hippolyta noted, disbelief evident in her voice. "You have violated our most sacred law by bringing men to our island."
"The fault was ours, Your Highness," Batman intoned. "We are here solely to request Diana's help in locating a rogue Amazon."
Hippolyta's gaze swung quickly back to Diana. "To whom does he refer?"
"Aresia," Diana noted, a quaver in her voice betraying her.
"Aresia is in Man's World?" Hippolyta snapped, then stared hard at Diana. "Do you not see what your disobedience has caused?"
"Your daughter had nothing to do with Aresia's appearance in my world," Batman interrupted.
Hippolyta spun angrily to face him, and the platoon of warriors edged menacingly closer to the plane in response to their Queen's sudden aggression. "Do not dare speak to me again, you…abomination."
"Mother, both of these men demonstrated tremendous courage during the invasion," Diana protested. "It is only right that we give them the respect they have earned."
"Your defense of them only confirms my initial suspicions," Hippolyta replied icily. "Diana of Themyscira. You have violated our most sacred law. It is with great regret that I impose the sanction required. You are hereby banished from the island, never to return."
"Don't you think that's a little harsh, your Highness?" Flash asked with a sneer, striding towards the Queen to make his point. He quickly retreated when several spears suddenly pointed at his throat.
"I regret that you've chosen to ignore civility and respect," Diana replied coldly, further emphasized with a curt bow. "And I humbly accept your judgment. Goodbye, Mother. Perhaps with time you'll understand why I did this."
Diana turned and nodded at Batman, who by now had spooled his engines up sufficiently to ignite the thrusters. "Will you show me the way to find my rogue sister?"
"Follow me," he nodded, then closed the door after Flash jumped into the co-pilot's position.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTThe return to Gotham was thankfully aided by a shift in the jet-stream, reducing their headwind considerably. Flash babbled the entire way about the 'battle-axe' who'd banished her own daughter from her house, constantly asking Batman, "What kind of woman does that to her daughter?"
Batman had no response, then landed the Batwing on the helipad of the Fifth – Second Bank. Diana touched down a moment later.
"Is Aresia nearby?" she asked darkly.
"Patience, Princess," Batman replied, peering over the rooftop edge. Given the late hour, he was expecting to find the streets relatively empty. Instead, pandemonium had broken out below, with numerous car crashes and fires scattered along the streets. Ambulances were treating the wounded as quickly as possible, but there seemed to be no end to the supply of victims.
"Are we too late?" Diana asked. "It looks as if the plague is already affecting the population."
"Yes," Batman replied ominously. "The male half."
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Batman, Wonder Woman and Flash spent the next hour addressing the most pressing emergencies in Gotham City. As men succumbed to the virus, fires, train wrecks, power outages and similar occurrences were mounting at an exponential rate. There was nothing the team could do other than put their fingers in the dam and hope to stem the flood.
The return of the remaining members of the Justice League from their deep space mission provided a welcome relief, however it was short-lived. Batman quickly de-briefed J'onn, Lantern, Hawkgirl and Superman about Aresia's plan. Superman and Hawkgirl took off for the south side of the city while the two John's headed for the waterfront.
Diana watched with regret as Superman disappeared over the horizon, then turned her back on Flash and Batman for a moment to divert a ruptured water main. When finished, she found the two men wobbling on their feet, new victims of the plague. She called Superman back to their position. He arrived a moment later, then without a word, picked up the two men over his shoulder and headed north on a determined route. Using his x-ray vision to locate the entrance to the Cave, Superman left them under Alfred's care. By the time he returned to Diana's position, Superman exhibited the same symptoms. Lantern collapsed next and J'onn was forced to take both men back to the Fortress of Solitude to try and find a cure.
"Looks like its just down to us," Hawkgirl noted grimly as the two women gained altitude, heading towards the Zappan Tee bridge. They needed to move back a number of trucks and busses wrecked perilously close to the edge.
"Maybe it's for the best," Diana replied coldly. "I haven't been overly impressed with the need for men yet."
"Don't knock it till you've tried it, Princess," Hawkgirl retorted.
"If you're referring to sex, I'm not a virgin." Diana replied sternly, moving a bus backwards off the edge. "Amazons weren't forbidden to travel off the island until a few centuries ago. Up until then, we were quite active, sexually-speaking, with men."
"I had no idea," Hawkgirl muttered with a shake of her head. She inspected the bridge for more vehicles in jeopardy, but they'd taken care of the most pressing. "We need to find this Amazon sister of yours before she starts spreading the plague to other continents."
"Agreed."
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTThe two women scoured the city with no luck until Star Sapphire appeared in the sky next to them.
"What do you want?" Hawkgirl demanded as Diana looked on blankly. The Thanagarian had no interest apprehending a second-tier villain while there were other more pressing matters at hand.
"I have some information that may prove useful," Sapphire replied. "Aresia is taking this man-hating thing too far for my tastes. I can lead you to her hideout."
"Fine," Hawkgirl muttered, powering up her mace. "Lead on."
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They managed to intercept Aresia's co-opted bomber that she'd modified to launch plague-loaded cruise missiles. Before Aresia reached launch altitude to strike at Europe, Africa and Asia, Diana tore open a door to access the plane. The resulting decompression sent the bomber hurtling toward the ocean below.
"Give up, Aresia," Diana yelled when she reached the cockpit, then landed a hard right cross on her tribal-sister's chin. To her credit, the blonde shrugged off the punch, then landed a spin-kick to Diana's ribs that sent her reeling into the navigation systems. The electrical board shorted as a result of the impact, then a fire quickly spread through the cockpit. Tsukuri and Hawkgirl traded parries with their katana and energy mace, respectively, however the Thanagarian was quickly gaining the upper hand, forcing the Japanese warrior away from the cockpit.
"Why do you want to stop me?" Aresia snarled as she and Diana circled each other, parrying blows. "You realize that I'm only taking your Mother's teachings to their logical conclusion."
"You have no right to judge these men!" Diana replied, then landed a left hook/overhand right combination which finished off the blonde Amazon.
Diana allowed herself a quick glance at the windshield and spied the ocean rapidly approaching. She reached out to her sister, offering a hand up. "Please, Aresia. Come with me."
"Never!" the rogue Amazon replied. "I hate you!"
Diana's head dropped to her chin, crestfallen that her sister was willing to die rather than face the consequences of her act, then flew out the doorway with Hawkgirl and Tsukuri (now bound as their prisoner). They hovered comfortably at three thousand feet and watched with regret as the plane impacted into the ocean below them. A secondary explosion threw a column of water five hundred feet into the air, dispelling any doubt that the Amazon might have survived the initial impact.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTSuperman woke up with a groan. He surveyed his surroundings and was surprised to realize that he was resting in his bedroom at the Fortress of Solitude. The door slid open and he did a double-take when Diana brought in a tray of food.
"How are you feeling?" she asked warmly.
"Better. What did I miss?" he asked, sipping gratefully at the hot tomato soup.
"Not much. J'onn and Hawkgirl – mostly Hawkgirl since J'onn was affected as well - used Aresia's notes to synthesize a cure for the plague here in your laboratory. Flash is distributing the cure around the world as we speak."
"What happened to Aresia?"
"Hawkgirl and I stopped her from launching another plague attack," Diana responded stiffly. "She didn't want to be taken alive, so she went down with her plane."
Superman stared at her for a moment, weighing the gravity of what she'd told him. "That must have been tough, having to watch a sister of yours go rogue like that."
"Aresia told me she was only taking the Amazon teachings to their natural conclusion," Diana noted, then surprised him by perching onto the bed next to him. "I've been thinking about that ever since."
"And?"
"And I've come to the conclusion that she was wrong," Diana concluded. "As was I. I should have stayed here with you to help start the Justice League."
"What are you going to do now? Return to Themyscira?"
"Unfortunately my Mother has banished me from the island. My defiance of her edicts, combined with Flash and Batman's arrival on the island, convinced her it was necessary."
"What will you do now?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.
"Batman told me that you formed the Justice League when I returned to Themyscira," Diana replied. "If you'll have me, I'd like to join, along with your other new member, of course."
"Who's that?" Superman asked, searching his memory.
"Batman," Diana replied with a smirk. "I told him I was going to join an hour ago, and he told me that if I did, he'd have no other choice but to join up, if only to keep an eye on us."
"Same old paranoid Bats," Superman observed with a wry shake of his head.
"He also said he's going to build a new headquarters," Diana stated with a trace of bewilderment. "Apparently he has misgivings about this one."
"Where are you going to stay in the interim?" Superman asked.
Diana's cheeks flushed with embarrassment for a moment before she replied. "I hoped I could stay here, or maybe with you in Metropolis."
"Of course," he replied with a nervous tic, "there's plenty of room here, but I only have a one-bedroom apartment in Metropolis."
Diana bit her lip, nervously trying to think up the best way to address the next topic.
"Something on your mind?" he asked blankly.
"Hera, help me," she muttered. "As I'm still new to Man's World, I don't know the customs at all."
"What customs?" he asked.
"Mating rituals."
His eyes grew wide. "Mating rituals? As in, you want to…mate with me?"
Diana pursed her lips, considering the question. "What is the equivalent ritual…the pre-cursor to mating…called here in Man's World?"
"Dating?"
"Yes! That's it," she noted with satisfaction. "I would like to learn more about dating in Man's World."
Superman considered the suggestion for a moment, then with regret remembered the heartrendering picture of Lois and Bruce that he'd seen splashed across the Daily Planet society page. "A date it is, then. Tomorrow night, nine o'clock?"
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Author Notes: 1) A beta pointed out to me last chapter that Diana of comic world is blessed with superspeed. In the animated universe she's fast but not in the same league as Superman/Flash. I'm using the animated version of her speed. 2) Some you may recognize the scene of Batman sneaking up on a nude Wondy from Matt Wagner's 'Trinity'. I wholly acknowledge the comic derivative of that scene and hope my attempt to pay homage to that particular passage is entertaining to the reader.