Chapter 11

North Atlantic Ocean; May 5th, 00:12 EST

"Why is he slowing to a stop?" Mera asked Arthur as they floated below the surface of the ocean. "We're not quite to Morocco yet."

"I wonder where Barry is," Arthur groused. "We haven't seen him for hours now."

"He probably got bored," she replied. "He would have to move at a faster pace than the yacht is traveling at in order to stay on top of the water."

"The yacht was moving at a pretty fast clip and now it's almost to a crawl," he agreed. "Something is wrong about all of this."

"Wait here," she said before abruptly swimming to the surface.

"Mera!" he called her name, scowling as she disappeared from view.

He waited for a couple of minutes before she finally returned. "I can see the lights of the harbor," she relayed, "but the yacht has completely stopped like it's dead in the water."

"I wonder if they're having engine trouble."

"Maybe they ran out of gas," she suggested.

"I think we need to go investigate," he decided.

Mera frowned as they began to swim towards the yacht. "What about Barry? Shouldn't we wait for him?"

"We'll just have to board without him," he told her. "Someone could be in danger on that boat."

Reaching the yacht, they surfaced to find it eerily quiet. There was no sound save for the sound of other boats closer to the harbor. They shared a look of suspicion before climbing up the ladder off the back of the yacht. Tightening his grip on his trident, Arthur nodded towards the front of the luxury boat.

Mera softly gasped as Barry suddenly appeared right beside her, Mera's hand immediately going to her chest to calm herself. She scowled darkly at him as she cursed softly, receiving an apologetic look from Barry. Arthur pointed at himself and nodded forward, pointing at the pair to head down below.

Now that they had their orders, Barry and Mera headed towards the stairs that would lead them below deck as Arthur made his way to the front of the boat. He scanned the area as the fine hairs on the back of his neck bristled. Something was very wrong here…something that had his gut-churning with the possibilities.

He looked around for any clues as to what had happened on this boat, but it was unusually clean as if someone had removed anything of importance off of the yacht. It wasn't this clean when he had been on it earlier. It was disconcerting, to say the least.

He checked a bathroom to find it empty, moving on to the front to find it just as devoid of anyone or any clues as to where Luthor had gone. There were no files, no electronic devices, not even a single shred of paper. All personal items had been removed. It was as if it had unexpectedly become a ghost ship.

It was almost surreal as he made his way to the upper deck. He used his trident to push the door open to the main cabin to find the captain of the boat dead on the floor. He had a single bullet to the head. It was as if someone had snuck up on him while he'd been piloting the boat, shooting him dead where he had stood.

He had no doubt in his mind that it was Luthor. The problem was where was the psychotic madman.

XXX

Mera and Barry made their way down to the lower deck of the boat. "This is creepy," Barry whispered in Mera's ear.

She hated to admit it, but she had to agree with him. This wasn't at all what she had expected when they had decided to board the yacht. She had expected to find Luthor, take him in, and find out everything that he's been planning.

However, this was not it. So far, there was no sign of anyone.

She pointed to the right, then at Barry to go to the left. His eyes widened slightly but he ultimately agreed. They checked the bedrooms to find them completely empty. There was no sign of clothing or toiletries, no personal possessions. It was as if no one had ever been on the boat.

She was beginning to wonder if Arthur had found the right ship. There was absolutely no sign that Luthor had ever been here. Mera looked under the bed and in the closet, finding nothing even linking the boat to Luthor. Doubts began to creep into her mind, making her think they had been following the wrong boat for the last several hours.

Exiting, she met Barry in the hallway. They worked their way forward to the room at the end of the hall, Mera opening the door to find a woman inside. She was laying on the bed in a pool of blood. Mera ran to her, checking for a pulse. She found one, but it was faint.

The woman drew a shuddering breath, causing both Mera and Barry to jump back in shock. The woman barely opened her eyes, looking at the pair as the last bit of life began to drain from her body. "Stop…him," she managed to choke out before taking her last breath.

"He was here," Mera murmured, stunned.

"When did he get off?" Barry asked, looking around the room. "Did you guys ever see him get off the boat?"

"The better question is, did he ever get on?" she corrected him.

"He was here long enough to kill her," Barry concluded, looking under the bed and in the drawers of the end table.

"Who's she?" Arthur asked as he entered the bedroom, pointing at her with his trident.

"No idea," Mera replied.

"Well, she makes two that are dead so far," Arthur revealed. "The captain has a bullet in his head. Someone put the boat on autopilot."

"What is going on here?" Barry asked.

"Have you been to the kitchen yet?" Arthur questioned them.

"No, we just found her," Mera informed him.

"I'll go check the kitchen and supply quarters," he told them. "Barry, why don't you alert the authorities."

"Anything to get off this death yacht," he said, zipping past them and out of the room.

"Where could Luthor have gone?" she ground out in frustration. "He couldn't have gotten far."

"Unless he never left with them on the boat," Arthur determined. "He may have spotted us in Ponta Delgada and made a run for it."

"This turned out to be nothing but a massive waste of time," she angrily groused.

Arthur went to her, placing his hand on her back. "We'll find him," he assured her. "We won't give up until he's behind bars again."

"We don't have any clue as to where he is now or where he's heading," she reminded him. "If he did stay on Ponta Delgada, he probably headed to the airport, going who knows where."

"We'll get a track on him again," he replied. "He'll be in contact with Mannheim again. He'll want updates."

Mera drew a deep breath, knowing he was right. It didn't make her feel much better. They'd spent hours following a yacht that Luthor wasn't even on. It had been a wild goose chase that had gotten them nowhere. He could be anywhere by now.

His next move was completely unknown by anyone but him now.

Metropolis; May 5th, 00:36 EST

Superman and Cyborg landed in a field outside of Metropolis, hoping not to draw attention to their arrival. They wanted to keep the element of surprise as they approached the old sawmill, hoping to gain as much information as possible if something was going on here.

The old, dilapidated sawmill looked as if it was on its last leg. It didn't appear as if anyone had been here in ages, but they both knew that looks could be deceiving. They silently approached the building from the back with no signs of any life for miles.

Superman used his x-ray vision to scan the mill, wanting to know what they were getting themselves into before entering. He spotted around a dozen people working on the east end of the mill, something strapped to a table.

"I think we've found it," Superman murmured. "They've something or someone strapped to a table."

"It's about time," Cyborg replied. "Let's end this little project before it can actually get off the ground."

Superman's hand shot out to grab hold of Cyborg's arm before he could take off toward the mill. "Wait," he told him, causing Cyborg to look questioningly at him.

"What's wrong?"

"Someone's coming," he revealed, causing both of them to stop in their tracks.

They watched from the trees that they had hidden behind as a black car pulled up to the sawmill. They waited with bated breath to see who would exit the car. They didn't have to wait long as Bruno Mannheim got out first followed by two of his men.

Bruno puffed away on his cigar before dropping it on the dirt ground, grinding it under his heel. "Come on," he grumpily told his men. "We need to make sure Ivo gets this up and off the ground soon. Luthor is getting impatient. He wants results and he wants them now."

"I can't believe that you actually banded together with Luthor," the one man said, shaking his head as they approached the mill. "It's like getting into bed with the devil himself."

"Let's just say we have a common interest," he replied.

"And what would that be? Superman?"

"Eliminating the Justice League and especially Superman," Bruno said as he entered the mill with his men.

"Let's go," Superman whispered to Cyborg. "We need to get in there to see what they have tied down to that table."

"Do I need to call in Batman and Wonder Woman?"

"It might not hurt," he agreed. "This could get ugly."

Cyborg sent a message to Batman's earpiece as they silently drew closer. He couldn't help wondering why they would be participating in such an important project with so little security. He quickly scanned the building, pinpointing some motion detectors and cameras. They were definitely high-tech and positioned in such a way as to not be obvious to anyone passing by. They hadn't been there when the sawmill had been built a hundred years ago.

"Careful," Cyborg warned his partner. "I just detected their security system."

"Are you able to access it?"

"Let me see what I can do," he murmured.

Scanning the system, Victor began to stealthily work his way through their security, not wanting to alert them that they were being hacked. He disabled the alarm system first, making sure they didn't accidentally trip it. Next, he disabled the cameras and motion detectors, putting the cameras on a loop.

"All set," he informed him.

"You're pretty handy to have around," Superman told him with a small smirk.

Cyborg snickered softly in response. "Gotta keep myself useful," he quipped. "Don't want to get replaced by a computer."

Superman chuckled. "I can promise you that will never happen," he assured him. "You're too valuable to the team."

"I never thought I'd ever be useful to anyone not that long ago," he revealed as they reached the back door. "Want to do the honors?"

"Thought you'd never ask," Superman replied, checking the door to find it locked.

The doorknob disintegrated in his hand like sawdust, allowing him to open it without trouble. He poked his head inside, already knowing there was no one around in this part of the mill. He was followed by Cyborg who used his electronic eye to scope out the area.

His red eye glowed brightly in the dark mill, causing a stray cat to scamper out of their path in fear. They carefully made their way toward the group that had gathered on the other side of the mill, wanting to keep the element of surprise for as long as possible.

Turning a corner, Cyborg grabbed hold of Superman, forcing him to stop. He silently pointed at a secondary security system that he had detected. Superman nodded his head in response, allowing Victor to do what he did best—disabling their security.

Cyborg signaled to Superman that it was safe to continue. Superman paused for a second, turning to look over his shoulder at the additional backup that had just arrived. Batman nodded at the others, Diana walking beside him with her sword strapped to her back.

Superman was sure they could handle Bruno, Ivo, and the others. It was whatever was on that table that had him concerned. After his run-in with Doomsday, he wasn't taking anything for granted especially knowing Luthor was involved. Besides, he wanted Bruce's genius mind to help determine what Ivo was up to and possibly Diana's lasso to get to the truth if needed.

Cyborg used hand signals to direct Batman and Wonder Woman to go to the left while he and Superman went to the right. They would meet on either side of the room and ambush them on a mark. Diana pulled her sword from its holder as Batman drew a Batarang from his belt.

Following Cyborg, Superman wished that Lex Luthor was here too so they could put him back in prison where he belonged. At least Arthur, Barry, and Mera were hot on his trail. Soon, they'd have the majority of Luthor's gang round up. Things were finally beginning to look up.

Moving into position, Diana looked at Batman, a faint smirk on her lips. He returned her smirk with one of his own. He knew how much she enjoyed the battle. He just hoped this fight would be squashed quickly and effectively. He had some pretty big concerns about Ivo's Amazo project and what it actually entailed. With Ivo, it could be like Frankenstein's monster for all they knew.

He knew, though, they were about to find out the hard way.

"Is it ready?" Bruno asked Ivo, knowing he needed to inform Luthor of his progress right away.

"We'll see," Ivo mumbled as he checked his computer. "He should be, but I haven't had a chance to do any test runs with him yet."

"Well, hurry up," Bruno groused. "Luthor wants it up and running as soon as possible."

Ivo looked up sharply from his computer, a fierce scowl on his face. "Amazo is not an 'it'," he bit out.

"Yeah, whatever," Bruno grumbled with a dismissive wave of his hand before reaching into his jacket for another cigar. "He's an android. He's not human."

"Don't smoke in here," Ivo admonished him as Bruno lit up his cigar. "I won't have you doing anything that might interfere with my success with Amazo. This is my dream creation. If this works, I might be able to make myself immortal."

Bruno stared at him as if he'd lost his mind as he puffed on his cigar. "How does this thing work?"

"I created my own special technology," Ivo revealed as he turned the android on, Amazo's eyes glowing brightly with the life that had been given to him. "It involves nanites. Amazo's cells can mimic the physical structure and energy output of organic beings that he encounters."

"What does that mean?"

"It will empower him to imitate the physical and energy-based abilities of others," Ivo explained. "His internal energy provides his power."

"So, what you're saying is that he can mimic anybody he comes in contact with?"

"Correct," the professor excitedly replied as he began testing Amazo's arms and legs.

The League looked on in stunned disbelief, realizing the horrific ramifications of such a thing. Without a second thought, Batman gave the signal, all four of them making their presence known as they burst into the room prepared for a fight.

"What are you doing here?" Ivo demanded to know, looking wildly about him as he moved in front of Amazo who was still strapped in the upright position to the table. "I'm not quite ready for you yet!"

"That's what we're trying to prevent," Cyborg responded as he raised his arm to fire at the android the first clear chance that he got. However, he needed Ivo to get out of the way.

"It's over, Ivo," Batman growled, Batarang clutched tightly in his gauntleted hand.

Bruno began to slowly back away, hoping to escape without being noticed. Unfortunately for him, Superman was right there to keep him from leaving the party. "Going somewhere?" he asked as Bruno backed up right into the Kryptonian.

"What? Who? Me?" Bruno nearly stuttered as he turned around to face the Man of Steel. "I had no idea what was going on here. I'm completely innocent."

"That's not what we heard," Superman countered with a fearsome glare.

"I don't know what you think you heard, but I was framed by Luthor," Bruno maintained. "He forced me into this ridiculous plan. I didn't want to do it, but he threatened me."

"Tell that to the judge," Superman stated.

Diana threw her lasso, wrapping Professor Ivo up in her magical rope. It glowed brightly as she pulled him to her and out of the way. It was at that moment that Amazo seemed to come alive. It broke the straps keeping his arms and legs trapped against the table, effectively freeing him from his confines.

Amazo turned its head to stare at Diana, scanning her and internalizing her abilities. Batman moved to stand beside her, not liking the way the android was sizing her up. It turned its attention on Batman, finding nothing that it could replicate.

Amazo suddenly appeared in front of Diana, slamming his fist into her face with all the strength that he had been able to replicate from her before turning to take on Batman. Diana flew backward through several walls before skidding to a stop.

Batman threw his Batarang only for it to be deflected by Amazo's bracers that he had replicated from Diana. He reached out to grab hold of Batman, tossing him aside as Cyborg blasted Amazo from behind. The android turned to face Cyborg, scanning him only for Superman to step in to stop the android.

Scanning the Kryptonian next, Amazo flew straight at him with all of the strength and speed of Superman and Wonder Woman combined. Using his heat vision, Superman blasted him only to have Amazo use his heat vision in response.

They were in a fierce battle of wills, neither about to back down as Professor Ivo and Bruno Mannheim made their escape. Cyborg used his laser in an effort to slow Amazo down and give Superman an edge. Unfortunately, it backfired when Amazo turned the same laser on him, shooting him through the wall and out into the field.

Superman launched himself straight at Amazo, knocking him onto the ground. They began to wrestle, each one trying to get the upper hand, but they were too evenly matched. Equipment was knocked over, the table demolished as they rolled back and forth.

"Stop!" Batman yelled. "You can't beat him!"

"We have to stop him somehow!" Superman ground out as he tried to keep Amazo from getting his hand around his throat.

Diana jumped into the fray, trying to help Superman gain control over Amazo. She wrapped her arms around its waist as Superman attempted to wrangle him. Amazon only grew stronger with both Superman and Wonder Woman struggling against him.

"Let him go!" Batman growled. "You're making him stronger!"

Diana released her hold on Amazo, trusting that Batman knew what he was talking about. Superman reluctantly let go of him as well just as Cyborg returned to the mill. He raised his arm to fire his weapon only for Batman to step in the way, holding his hand up to stop him.

"This isn't working," he told them, glancing back over his shoulder at Amazo. "He can replicate your superpowers. He's getting stronger by the second."

"What do you suggest we do?" Diana asked.

The four of them were trapped in a standoff with the powerful android, unable to bring him down. "We have to come up with something," Superman countered. "We can't let him run rampant doing Luthor's bidding."

At that moment, Amazo shot upward through the mill and into the sky. Superman was set to follow him when Batman grabbed hold of his arm. "Let him go for now," he told him. "We're going to have to come up with a plan to stop him that doesn't include using your strengths."

"Ivo and Bruno are nowhere to be found," Cyborg groused, glancing around.

"I have a feeling Amazo will seek Ivo out," Batman replied, gazing up into the night sky that revealed no sign of their newest opponent.

"What makes you say that?" Diana questioned him.

"All he knows so far is Ivo," Batman explained. "Ivo is his creator…his parent. He trusts him. We're the enemy so he's going to find Ivo."

"Which means we need to find Ivo," Superman continued the thought for him.

"It took us forever to find him the first time," Cyborg angrily stated. "We don't have time for this. Who knows what Amazo is going to do in the meantime while we're trying to find Ivo to shut him down?"

"There's more bad news," Batman announced. "Flash contacted me. Luthor is in the wind."

"What do you mean?" Superman demanded to know.

"Mera, Arthur, and Barry followed Luthor's yacht to Morocco," Batman revealed. "Once they boarded the boat, Luthor was gone along with all of his things. He left behind four dead bodies."

"So, we have no idea where Luthor is right now?" Superman grumbled, beginning to pace back and forth.

"This just keeps getting worse," Cyborg groaned.

Diana folded her arms against her chest, a fierce scowl on her face. "It looks like we're back at square one again."

"Maybe not yet," Cyborg muttered, crouching down before the computer system that had been knocked over. "Maybe this computer will give us the clues that we so desperately need."

Metropolis; May 5th, 02:01 EST

Luthor gazed out the window over the landscape of his hometown, drinking it all in once more. There was a sense of tranquility that came with being back home where he felt he belonged and yet where he was also most wanted. It had been a risk coming back here to the heart of the firestorm, but he knew they'd never expect him to return here. This was the last place they'd think to search for him.

He smirked to himself as he pictured the looks on the faces of Aquaman and Flash as they boarded that boat to find that he was not there after following his yacht for several hours. He was certain they never expected what they had discovered when they had searched his yacht. He wished now that he had rigged it to blow up with them on board, but he hadn't had a lot of time to plan his escape once he'd realized how close his pursuers had gotten.

Sipping his glass of wine, Luthor wondered how long it would take for the Justice League to put all the pieces together and find him right here under their collective noses. He relished the notion of always being several steps ahead of them, keeping them running in circles and chasing their tails.

He couldn't focus on them right now, though. He had too many other things to take care of. He'd leave the Justice League to Amazo, Deathstroke, and Black Manta. They should be able to handle them if Amazo proved to be everything Professor Ivo touted the android to be. Still, he couldn't be completely certain.

If Amazo turned out to be nothing more than a joke, he would personally make certain that Professor Ivo's body was never found.

"Excuse me, Mister Luthor," a woman intruded on his privacy.

"Yes, Tiffany?"

"Your guest has arrived," she informed him.

"Please, allow them in," he replied.

His guest entered the expansive room, glancing about at the rather impressive surroundings and the priceless art pieces. It was a tempting display for any thief. "Mister Luthor," the guest greeted him. "You wanted to see me."

Lex's lips curled into a smile as he finally turned to face the person that he'd requested to meet with him. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me on such short notice."

"I didn't have much of a choice when your goons showed up," the visitor responded. "You said it was urgent."

"Yes, sorry about that," he apologized with not an ounce of regret. "It was of utmost importance that we meet."

"And why is that?"

"You could prove to be a very valuable ally," he praised his visitor.

"You need my help?"

The skepticism in her voice was more than obvious. It was time to prove how valuable her help could prove to be. "I'm putting together a special team of highly trained and powerful individuals," he said. "I feel that your expertise could be quite beneficial to everyone involved."

"What kind of team are you forming?"

"A team to counter the Justice League."

The petite woman began to wander the room, gazing at the priceless paintings on the walls. "What makes you think that I want anything to do with your little team?" she asked. "I'm not much for teams. I prefer to work alone."

Lex made his way to the bar, pouring himself another drink. "I know your storied history with Batman," he told her as he drank in her form-fitting catsuit. "Your affair is no secret, Selina. You were in his bed one day and tossed aside like trash the next. I'm sure that you're anxious to get revenge on him for turning you out like that."

Selina paused to look at him, looking back over her shoulder as she displayed an air of disinterest. "I don't have the slightest interest in getting revenge," she tried to tell him. "It was nothing serious between us. Just a passionate affair that burned itself out like a candle flame. Nothing more."

"Come now, Miss Kyle," Lex chided her, pouring her a glass of wine as well. "You can't tell me that you don't hold the slightest bit of resentment towards your old flame…especially knowing now that he's bedding the gorgeous Amazon whose beauty defies all logic."

Selina bristled slightly but kept her composure. She refused to allow Luthor the benefit of knowing her feelings. "Is he now?" she replied, wandering over to him and taking the offered glass of wine. "I'm glad that he's found happiness with someone new. It won't last, though. None of his affairs ever do. She'll be tomorrow's news before long."

Lex Luthor studied her for a long moment, his gaze narrowing as he considered her response. "Something tells me you're not as indifferent as you appear to be about the revelation of his new love interest. I think you're more jealous than you let on."

"You can think whatever you want, Mister Luthor," she responded, pausing to take a sip of her wine. "Batman is free to love whomever he chooses. I have no say in his life just as he has no say in mine."

"So, you would be completely fine if Bruce Wayne decided to marry the Amazon known as Wonder Woman?"

Selina's red lips curled into a smile, bringing her wine glass to her lips. "What makes you think that Bruce Wayne is Batman?" she cleverly asked, refusing to be dragged into a trap.

"Oh, please, Selina," Les scoffed. "Don't play coy with me. I already know that Bruce is Batman so don't bother pretending it's not true."

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," she insisted, setting her wine glass down. It was time to leave this impromptu meeting.

Luthor's expression grew amused if not a little frustrated with her mind games. Time was running short. "You're telling me that you had sex with Batman, and he never removed his cowl even once? How kinky," he drawled with a grin.

Selina gave him a sexy little smirk, the tip of her tongue peeking out to run over her bottom lip. "Thank you for the drink," she replied, turning to walk away. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

"Leave if you want…join me if you're smart enough to see what I'm offering you," Lex stated. "Either way, you're choosing sides whether you like it or not, Selina. It seems to me that you'd want to pick the most powerful team because we will win in the end. That I can guarantee you."

Selina paused in her step, deciding to hear him out. She made her way to a leather couch, settling in for the hard sell that he was more than intent on dealing her. She stretched her arms out on either side of her, resting them on the back of the couch as she crossed her legs.

"I will listen to what you have to say," she told him, "but you had better talk fast because I'm only giving you thirty minutes. After that, I'm gone, and you'll never see me again."

Lex's lips curved into a lop-sided smile, making his way to sit on the couch with her, wine glass in hand. "I have to admit I admire your style, Miss Kyle," he confessed to her. "You're tough and straightforward. You speak your mind, and you don't give two flips what other people think of you."

"Don't try to butter me up, Lex," she icily stated. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you on my team," he informed her. "There's a war coming, one that we'll lose thanks to the Justice League. I want my team to take over. I want my team to rule the world."

"That's quite a lofty dream you have there," she replied as she gently swung her leg back and forth. "Still, you haven't said anything to convince me to join you. I have a hard time believing that anyone could possibly defeat the Justice League. It seems to me that they're quite a formidable team to tangle with. Just ask Steppenwolf. Oh, wait… you can't. He seems to have lost his head."

Lex grinned at her, his eyes flashing with a thirst for control and ultimate domination. "Every superhero has a chink in their armor, and I plan on exploiting that."

Selina looked at him with mild interest as he shared his thoughts, wondering just how mad he really was. She had a feeling she was just about to find out.

A/N: Things are getting crazier by the minute! :)

UP NEXT: Deathstroke makes his move. Lois has an epiphany while Bruce makes a move that could cost him his relationship with Diana.