Chapter 15

Lake House; May 6th, 07:13 EST

Bruce softly gasped in his sleep, his head rolling from side to side as he fought unseen faces in his nightmare. He wrestled against foes that he couldn't begin to stop, opponents that refused to die…and teammates that did.

With a loud gulp for air, Bruce lunged forward out of his sleep, his chest heaving, and heart racing as he struggled to make sense of his nightmare. It was similar to the nightmare he had previously in the cave, the one where Superman had taken over the world.

Except in this dream, Diana was dead.

"What is it?" Diana sleepily asked as she sat up in bed with him, her hand coming to rest against his back.

He gazed at her with eyes still blurred with unshed tears, trying desperately to take a full, deep breath. His chest felt as if a vice had been clamped around him, keeping him from completely drawing in air. He raked his fingers back through his hair to find it damp with sweat.

"Nightmare," he murmured, still feeling disoriented…still reeling with overwhelming despair and sorrow.

He had to find a way to keep her dying, but how could he do that without changing who she was? She fiercely ran into the heart of danger with the bravery of a hundred men, not afraid to take on the very worst in order to save the innocent.

Diana rested her forehead against his temple as she rubbed his back. "What was it about?"

"The end of the world…the end of my world," he replied with a haunting tone.

"Darkseid?"

"Clark," he told her, taking her by surprise.

Diana drew back, her forehead creased with confusion. "He would never do anything to destroy the world," she reminded him. "He gave his life to save it. Why would he ever want to destroy it? This is his home. It makes no sense."

"Lois," he revealed. "Losing Lois would be enough to send Clark over the edge."

"Bruce, it was only a dream," she reassured him, kissing his cheek. "It wasn't real."

"No, you don't understand," he insisted, pulling away from her. He flipped the covers off of him before getting out of bed. "This is the second dream that I've had like this. The first one was in the cave when I was trying to stop Superman because I thought he was a threat. In the nightmare, I was leading an insurgency against Superman who had taken over the world. I was captured…"

Bruce paused to catch his breath as he paced back and forth before the foot of his bed. "He told me that Lois was his world before he ripped my heart out. Barry appeared out of nowhere and told me that I was right about him."

"This isn't making any sense," Diana said, drawing her legs up to her chest as she wrapped her arms around her knees. "Do you think you were given a vision of a possible future?"

"Yes, I do," he confirmed with the utmost confidence of a detective. "It was too real to have been something that I just dreamed up. I was meant to see that future so I could prevent it. It's haunted me ever since then, always lingering in the back of my mind, but Clark has done nothing to prove to me that he is going to try to take over the world. I made that mistake once. I'm afraid of doing it again."

"Yes, but that was because of Lex Luthor's meddling," she pointed out. "He purposefully pitted you two against one another in hopes that you would destroy each other."

"I know, but this is different, Diana," he told her with a troubling tone as he finally sat down on the end of the bed. "Darkseid kills Lois and Superman goes berserk because I couldn't protect her. He sets up his own regime…he kills you…as well as others. There aren't many of us left to fight him."

"It could be one version of the future," Diana reminded him, scooting to sit beside him on the edge of the bed. She took his hand in his, holding it in her lap. "Just know that no matter what occurs, I'll always fight my way back to you."

"What if you can't?" he murmured, his voice choked with fear.

"Then, I'll be waiting for you in the Elysium Fields," she assured him, her hand finding his face as she softly kissed him.

He kissed her back, touched by her words. "You'd wait for me?" he asked in stunned disbelief, the corner of his mouth quirking slightly.

She nodded her head, her lips slowly curling into a smile. "Always," she promised him.

Bruce tilted his head, deepening the kiss as his fingers slipped into her raven hair. "I love that," he whispered against her lips. "I love you."

She kissed him back with a passion that was felt deep in her soul, her hand moving to stroke his chest. Love had managed to find its way into her heart once again when she had least expected it. She wasn't about to let anything come between them…especially not death.

She would do whatever she had to in order to live, fighting with every last bit of strength needed to survive whatever the future held. She tried not to think about the fact that one day Bruce would leave her, growing old and dying. It was something she couldn't bear to dwell on. For now, she was going to enjoy every second she had with him.

Bruce kissed her deeply, heat building behind the movement of his lips against her. He couldn't begin to get the image of Diana lying dead on the funeral pyre out of his head. How could he tell her that Clark will take her life as a form of revenge against him for not protecting Lois from Darkseid?

A tit for tat in its worst form.

For failing to protect the love of Clark's life, he had taken Diana from him in retaliation.

Bruce knew that he couldn't let that happen. He vowed to himself that he would die before he let Clark take Diana's life. He needed to get his hands on that Kryptonite soon, keep it safe. It could end up proving to be the key to saving Diana's life.

Breaking the kiss with a breathless gasp, Bruce brushed his nose against hers, keeping her close to him as they shared the same breath. "Once we stop Luthor, Amazo, and Deathstroke, I'm taking you away from here for a few days," he told her, pausing to nip at her bottom lip. "Just you…me…and no clothes for a whole week at my private beach house…with our own private beach."

Diana moaned softly with the thought. "That sounds amazing," she murmured in agreement. "I can't wait."

"Hopefully, we can escape there soon," he promised her, kissing along her jaw as Diana tilted her head to the side. His lips ghosted over her smooth skin to her shoulder.

Her fingers wove themselves through his hair, holding him against her. "I would love nothing more," she breathlessly replied. "Do you think they'll let me off of work at the Gotham Museum so soon? I haven't even started yet."

"I'll make a healthy donation to ease their worry of you being gone so soon after starting," he told her.

Diana laughed with his solution. "You always know how to fix things, don't you?"

"That's what I do," he agreed with a smirk. "I make everything better."

"You definitely do an amazing job of that."

"There's nothing I wouldn't do for you," he promised her.

"Let's just finish this so we can escape from Gotham for a week," she agreed, kissing the tip of his nose. "I call dibs on the shower."

She took off in a burst of speed, closing and locking the bathroom door behind her before he had a chance to register what had just happened. "Hey! You didn't give me a chance!" he yelled, coming to a stop before the door, trying the doorknob to no avail.

The door cracked open, Diana's hand reaching out to grab hold of his hand to pull him in with her. "That's much better," he decided as she closed the door behind him.

Metropolis; May 6th, 09:37 EST

Lex Luthor ate his breakfast as he read the morning newspaper, noticing another riveting article written by Lois Lane. He had heard that Miss Lane was engaged to Clark Kent. The nuptials were coming up next month. He'd hoped that Amazo would have taken care of Superman long before the wedding date arrived. No sense in making Lois a widow at such a young age.

The article she had written made him grin with pleasure. It would seem that Amazo had given the Justice League quite the beat down last night. Finding Professor Ivo's dead body had proven to be quite profitable. The Justice League could take the fall for Ivo's death in Amazo's eyes, leaving him off the hook. Of course, not that he would ever confess to such a thing.

He needed to continue his full court press, turning up the heat on the Justice League. Right now, he had them running in circles, forcing them to fight Amazo at any given moment. He needed to solidify the team that he was forming.

He was fairly certain that he had lost Catwoman. She hadn't appeared to be the least bit interested or concerned about the team he wanted to form or the fact that Darkseid was planning a world invasion. She was more worried about her precious jewel thieving than anything else. He was positive, however, that learning about Batman's new love interest had prickled her ire somewhat despite her insistence otherwise.

Black Manta was in…or at least as in as he would admit to being. He seemed to be more concerned with his vendetta against Aquaman for killing his father. If it meant joining Luthor's team to achieve that all-consuming goal, then he was sure he'd have Manta's support.

Deathstroke remained elusive and difficult to handle. He had done a poor job of eliminating Batman so far, leaving him highly unimpressed with his efforts. There had been no public revelations, no broadcasted accusations, no death as of yet.

He was beginning to wonder if he'd made the wrong choice by giving the information to Deathstroke. He was beginning to think that he should have recruited the infamous Joker instead. He frowned to himself as he considered the maniacal clown. He didn't have the time necessary to dedicate to reining in a loose cannon like the Joker. Not even Harley Quinn could control him.

Luthor quickly dismissed him, knowing he didn't have the patience to deal with him. There had to be someone else who would be better suited for eliminating the Batman. Catwoman was still in love with him, not jealous enough to want to end him.

He was fairly certain that she had gone to him with what he had told her, but he couldn't have cared less if Batman knew his plans. It was far too late for the Dark Knight and his gang to stop him now. The wheels had been set in motion and there was no going back now.

He had to admit that Cyborg was turning out to be his wild card. He was too new to have acquired any enemies. He would love nothing more than to get the Cyborg to join his side. The things they could accomplish with his gifts would be endless. He'd be ruling the world in no time.

Turning him would be difficult if not impossible.

A knock at the door interrupted his planning. He answered as he picked up his cup of coffee. "Come in," he called, sticking the tines of his fork into his fruit.

A woman opened the door only to step aside to allow an intimidating appearing individual to enter Lex Luthor's private sanctuary. She shook her head in disbelief, wondering where Luthor found these people. She quickly decided that she didn't want to know as she closed the door behind her.

"Ah, you came," Luthor greeted his newest visitor, patting the corners of his mouth with his cloth napkin. "I wasn't sure you would come."

"Let's just say I was intrigued by what you had to say," he replied.

"That's a start," Luthor agreed, pointing towards a leather couch. "Can I get you anything?"

"No," he stated as he took a seat, taking in his surroundings. "Let's get down to business. What do you want?"

Luthor clapped his hands together, rubbing them as a grin spread across his face. "I like that in a man," he told him. "Very direct and to the point."

"Let's just say I have a short attention span," he stated. "If I don't like what you're selling, I'm out of here."

"All right, I'll put it bluntly," Luthor responded, taking a seat across from him. "I'm putting together a special team with unique abilities to take on the Justice League. I believe you offer just the sort of abilities that I need."

Firefly grunted in response, a snort of amusement following. "You want to take on the Justice League?" he questioned him, chuckling. "You really are crazy."

"Crazy like a fox," he countered. "The good guys have their team. Why can't we have ours? We'd be far stronger together than alone. With enough of us, we could end the Justice League, giving us free rein with no one to get in our way."

"I guess so," Firefly admitted, deciding that he did like the sound of that. "I wouldn't mind getting a shot at Batman."

"I thought so," Luthor said with a gleam in his eye, remembering watching Batman apprehend the villain through security footage in the past. "I have another who wants to take out Batman, but he's entirely taking too long. I thought you might be able to help things along."

Firefly tilted his head as he appraised the bald man sitting before him. "Let me get this straight," he stated. "You want me to take out Batman and join your little crew?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "No strings attached. Take out Batman and join the winning team."

"It sounds like a setup," Firefly decided, suspicion filling his voice. "Why does this sound too good to be true?"

"Nope, no setup," Luthor reassured him. "You can find Batman stalking about Metropolis looking for me with his girlfriend Wonder Woman on any given night these days."

"Batman and Wonder Woman," he stated, his apprehension growing. "I've seen what Wonder Woman can do. Do you really think I want to get on her bad side?"

"You can handle her," Luthor encouraged him. "I'm sure this Batman thing is just a passing crush. Once he's gone, she'll be on to Superman or Aquaman."

"She doesn't strike me as a woman who gets around," he countered. "You have piqued my interest, though. Taking down Batman would be a huge feather in my cap."

"All the other criminals of the world would worship you," he tried to tell him.

"Who all is on this team of yours so far?"

"Black Manta, Deathstroke, Amazo," Luthor counted off.

"Wait—who's Amazo?"

"You haven't heard about my all-powerful android that beat down Superman, Wonder Woman, and Cyborg last night?"

"That was an android?"

"Yes, and he works for me," Luthor boasted, knowing it wasn't completely the truth.

"This is sounding better and better," Firefly decided, sitting forward as his elbows rested on his knees. "Where do we start?"

Luthor's lips spread into a devious smile. "I'm glad you asked."

Batcave; May 6th, 17:08 EST

"No, you need to block like this," Arthur tried to tell him. "Watch and I'll show you."

"I think you're both doing it wrong," Mera said from the sidelines.

"Then, why don't you come out here and show us both how you think it should be done," Arthur challenged her.

Mera hopped down from her seat on a stack of crates, sauntering over to where Arthur and Barry were sparring with one another. Arthur thought it wouldn't hurt to get some training time in between the search for Lex Luthor. They had to all be on the top of their game if they were going to be ready for Darkseid and his invasion.

She gently pushed Barry back, allowing her room to spar with Arthur. "Watch me," she instructed him.

"I know what I'm doing too you know," Arthur reminded her with a scowl.

"I never said you didn't," she replied, patting his chest. "I just know more and do it better."

Arthur gave her an incredulous look. He knew that she was an excellent fighter, but better than him? That remained to be seen. "Let's go," he insisted, using his hands to beckon her to come at him.

Barry found it amusing to watch the couple interact but even more so to spar. They went at it as if it were a real fight with Black Manta or Steppenwolf. They didn't appear to be holding anything back as Mera used a series of kicks and punches that had Arthur on the defense, backing him up towards the wall.

He did his best to oppose her, but she was faster. It took him a few minutes to adjust to her rapid-fire attack, effectively beginning to counter her moves. They quickly became fairly evenly matched despite Arthur's larger size. While he had the size and bulk, she was lithe and quicker on her feet.

Barry wished he had some popcorn to eat while he watched the sparring match. Deciding he could get it and be back without being noticed, he left and returned to find nothing had changed in that amount of time. Kicking back on top of a stack of mats, he continued his observation of the pair.

Mera could feel sweat beginning to form on her brow and trickling down her back. She knew that she needed to make her surprise move soon if she was going to win. She feigned a kick to the right only to alter her move at the last moment, striking on his left.

She delivered a direct shot right in the spot where Black Manta had stabbed him. Arthur stumbled back, bending over in pain as he cried out. "I'm so sorry!" Mera apologized as she ran toward him. "I totally forgot about your injury."

"Got ya," he murmured, grabbing her, and driving her into the mat with a smirk on his lips. He quickly stole a kiss from her, rather proud of himself. "I win."

"Why you…" Mera growled, angered by his deception.

She shoved him off of her, leaping to her feet with a deep desire to pummel him. Seeing how mad she was, Arthur decided it would prove to be beneficial for his health to soothe her ire as quickly as possible. "I was just messing you," he tried to tell her.

"Well, you can just mess with yourself," she snapped before storming away.

"Mera!" he yelled.

Barry couldn't contain his laughter as he watched the pair, catching Arthur's attention. "Get out here," he told him. "You're next."

"Me?" Barry asked, pointing at himself. "I think I need to watch another demonstration."

"Get over here," Arthur ordered him.

Barry set aside his popcorn before hopping down off the stack of mats. "How are we going to be able to find that Green Lantern guy again?" he asked as he approached his teammate. "I mean he doesn't know where the cave is at like J'onn does."

"Bruce gave him a commlink so we can keep in touch with him," Arthur told him. "Now, quit stalling. We have a lot of work to do if we're going to get you ready for Darkseid."

"Why can't I just use my speed?" he asked, assuming a somewhat defensive stance.

"Remember how that worked with Superman after we resurrected him?"

"Right," Barry agreed, putting his hands up into fists. "I wish we knew what powers Darkseid possesses."

"We can assume he probably has many of the same skills as Steppenwolf," Arthur decided. "We just need to be prepared for the worse."

"Hey, guys," Victor said from the entrance to the training room. "Come see what we discovered."

"Saved by the bell," Barry said with a grin.

Arthur turned a dark glare on him. "Not for long," he warned him. "We will be coming back to work on your skills. I'm not going to get tripped up by you again."

"One time!" Barry exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air as he followed Arthur out. "It only happened once, and it was purely accidental."

"I just want insurance it won't happen again."

Arthur and Barry joined Victor and Bruce at the computer station, hoping they had discovered something that could swing this mess in their favor for once. They always seemed to be a couple of steps behind, never getting the upper hand.

"What's up?" Arthur asked.

"We think we may have found Luthor's hiding spot," Bruce revealed.

"How were you able to narrow it down?" Barry questioned them as he leaned over Bruce's right shoulder.

"We were able to eliminate several of Luthor's known properties," Victor revealed. "I was able to tap into several security systems. None of these with a red 'x' showed any signs of Luthor in the last week."

"Maybe he snuck in through a secret entrance," Arthur suggested. "You know like the cave here has."

"There still should have been some sort of activity," Victor continued. "Whether it be food delivery or associates who work for him, there should have been some activity of some kind. There's none."

"Okay, so where does that leave us?" Barry asked.

"First of all, it narrows down the number of places we need to search," Bruce told them. "Second of all, we were able to come up with an alternative that none of us thought about."

"Which is?" Arthur said.

"The Lex Luthor Museum of Natural History," Victor revealed with a grin.

Arthur stared at the image of the museum on the computer screen, his frown deepening. "He owns his own museum?"

Bruce sat back in his chair, his arms crossing. "Luthor wanted to give something back to Metropolis, so he donated money to build the museum a while back," he explained.

"So, you think he could be hiding out in his own museum," Arthur decided. "That's just brazen."

"That's Luthor," Victor agreed. "He's bold enough to hide out in a museum with his name plastered across it."

"He also helped to design the museum," Bruce added. "I wouldn't be surprised if he had a secret suite built within the museum to use for emergencies like this. He could still operate in Metropolis and not be detected."

"I've also identified an increase in activity at the museum over the last twenty-four hours," Victor informed them. "People coming and going after hours."

"It would make sense," Barry replied. "He knows that we would be searching all the obvious properties. Why not hide out in one that's not obvious like a museum?"

"Exactly," Bruce stated. "We're going there tonight."

Lex Luthor Museum of Natural History; May 7th, 00:30 EST

The Justice League stood on a roof across the street and a block down from the museum, not wanting to alert Luthor to their presence. They wanted to keep the element of surprise for as long as humanly possible. Entering the museum without giving away their arrival was going to be difficult, but not impossible.

Bruce had no doubt that Luthor had a security system that was just as advanced as his own. Luthor didn't have Cyborg to hack into a security system without setting off alarms, allowing them entrance into his secret sanctuary.

"There," Superman said, pointing to the west back corner of the museum. "There's a hidden suite of rooms. He's in a main room with Bruno Mannheim and three others."

"He has to have more people standing guard," Diana commented.

"There are six men standing guard outside of the hidden rooms," Superman continued. "There are six more security guards wandering inside the museum. They seem separate from whatever Luthor's doing."

"We need to assume they're all in on it until proven otherwise," Batman stated. "Cyborg is going to hack into the security system. As soon as he gives the signal, we'll go in. I want you four to stay out here in case Luthor escapes or Amazo shows up."

Cyborg, Mera, Aquaman, and Superman all nodded in response. "We'll be ready for anything," Cyborg agreed.

"Is Green Lantern coming too?" Flash asked.

"I contacted him," Batman confirmed. "He's in South America at the moment. He'll get here as soon as he can."

"If the eight of us can't handle capturing Luthor, then we have absolutely no chance against Darkseid and his army," Arthur sarcastically groused with a frown. "Don't you think this is overkill?"

"I'm not taking any chances," Batman told them. "We have no idea who all Luthor may have on his side waiting in the wings. Besides, if he has the Kryptonite in there with him, that takes Superman out. That's why it's best if you wait out here."

"Are you sure we don't need Supes to put a hole through the wall for us?" Flash asked.

"I can take care of that," Diana reminded him, palming her right fist with her other hand.

"Diana will provide a way of entry," Batman continued. "We'll go in after that. Anyone tries to escape, it's up to the rest of you to contain them."

"We've got it covered," Superman reassured him.

"I'm in," Cyborg announced. "It's go time."

"Let's move," Batman stated, firing his grappling gun, and taking off into the night.

Diana, Flash, and Martian Manhunter followed Batman towards the museum, heading to the back corner where Superman had indicated Luthor was located. Landing in the grassy area outside of the museum, Diana immediately slammed her fist into the wall with a cry of a warrior.

The wall gave way, collapsing into a heap and allowing them into the secret rooms. Entering, they found Lex Luthor scrambling to the far wall with Bruno Mannheim, Black Manta, Deathstroke, and Firefly. It was obvious they were up to something, and it wasn't good.

Luthor smirked at the four Justice League members standing across the room from him. "Well, I must admit that I didn't expect you to find me quite this soon," Luthor confessed. "I figured it would take you at least a week. Who's the big green guy? Can't say I've seen you before."

"Your worst nightmare," Martian Manhunter told him as he took a step closer, reading his mind to discover where the Kryptonite was hidden as well as many other things that made him internally shudder.

"I think it's the perfect time for you to meet my team…well, part of my team," Luthor responded. "We're still working to put the rest of it together. Let's just say we're a work in progress so to speak."

"I've been waiting for an opportunity to fry a bat," Firefly replied, unholstering his weapon as he stared down the four Justice League members before them.

Deathstroke smirked at Batman and Wonder Woman who both looked ready to tear him limb from limb. "I have a score to settle with you two," Wilson stated, pulling out his gun.

"I was just thinking the same thing," Wonder Woman bit out with a deadly glare.

"We've got incoming," Aquaman's voice filtered through all the members' commlinks.

"Let's play," Firefly decided, unleashing his flame thrower at the League.

Diana blocked the flames with her bracers as J'onn instantly shrank back, crying out in fear as he crumbled to the ground. Flash ran to his side, placing a gentle hand on his back. "It's okay, buddy," he assured him. "We'll take care of this."

Bruno Mannheim didn't hesitate to run for the nearest door, desperate to save his own hide. Unable to get the door open due to the flames around it, he ran out through the hole in the wall that Diana had created only to be greeted by Superman who effectively knocked him out.

Batman threw a barrage of Batarangs as he raced towards Luthor and Firefly, determined to find the Kryptonite that Luthor had hidden here somewhere. Parts of the room caught fire, the air coming through the hole in the wall fueling and fanning the flames.

"Flash!" Batman yelled. "Get J'onn out of here!"

"Come on, big guy," Flash said, placing his hand on J'onn's back and helping to get him away from the fire.

Aquaman ran inside to help take J'onn's place, using his trident to pin Firefly's shoulder to a nearby wall. "Let me go!" Firefly screamed in fury as he kicked his legs.

"Finally," Black Manta growled, firing his wrist-mounted speargun at him only for it to be knocked out of the air by Diana's tiara.

Putting her tiara back on, Diana went straight for Deathstroke, determined to finish this as Black Manta raced to meet Aquaman halfway across the room. They began hand-to-hand combat, fighting for the upper hand as they exchanged deadly punches.

Batman threw a bola at Lex Luthor, keeping him from escaping. The weapon wrapped around him, trapping his arms against his sides. "This isn't over!" Luthor seethed, struggling to break free from the ropes that kept him bound.

Batman silenced him with a boot to the gut, knocking him backward into a coffee table that shattered with the weight of the man falling on top of it. Blood began to trickle from the corner of his mouth as everything went black.

Diana blocked a hail of bullets as Deathstroke did everything he could to keep Wonder Woman at bay. Everything he tried was useless against the Amazon. With a growl of frustration, Wilson pulled his sword, ready to remove her head from her shoulder. He was certain it would push Bruce Wayne over the edge. Then, he would drag Batman out of here to torture him to his heart's content before finally finishing him off for good.

Diana's lips curled into a wicked smile as she pulled out her own sword, her brown eyes gleaming brightly. "You want to fight?" she said with a level of calm delight that caused a shiver to race up Slade's spine. "Let's fight."

Batman ran towards Firefly who had managed to pull Aquaman's trident out of the wall, freeing himself. The Dark Knight scooped up the trident, tossing it to Aquaman who caught it in mid-air. Firefly grabbed his flamethrower only to be tackled to the ground by Batman.

At that moment, Cyborg and Mera suddenly flew backward through the enormous hole in the wall, skidding to a stop along the floor. Looking up, they found Amazo standing there in the opening. "I will eliminate all of you!"

Martian Manhunter appeared behind Amazo, sending an image to Batman's mind. The Dark Knight finished off Firefly before racing towards the picture hanging on the wall behind where Luthor had previously been standing. Pulling on it, the large picture swung open, revealing a wall safe. Pulling out his tools, Batman quickly broke into the safe, finding a lead-lined box inside.

"Got it!" Batman yelled.

"No!" Luthor screamed in rage, struggling to get up as he craned his neck to see Batman with the box. "That's mine!"

"Not any longer," Martian Manhunter said.

Amazo turned towards the Martian Manhunter, appraising him, and gaining his abilities in a matter of seconds. "You are no match for me now," Amazo told him.

"We did not kill Professor Ivo," J'onn stated. "It was Lex Luthor."

"I did no such thing!" Luthor insisted. "Professor Ivo was my friend. Why would I take his life?"

Superman suddenly appeared behind Amazo, ready to move in with the slightest move on the android's part. Everyone was prepared to stop Amazo at whatever cost, knowing it was now or never if they were ever going to end this.

Diana was somewhat impressed with Deathstroke's swordsmanship. He was really good, but she was better. With a swing of her sword, Diana disarmed Deathstroke, his sword skittering across the floor. She pointed the tip of her sword directly over his heart. "It's over," she stated with a fearsome glower.

Black Manta crashed into a nearby wall only to be wrapped up in a green bubble of energy. "I think you've had enough fun for now," Green Lantern said, ring raised towards the villain.

"You will all pay for my father's death!" Amazo cried.

"You need to know the truth," Martian Manhunter calmly told Amazo, doing his best to ignore the smoldering flames that still occupied the room.

J'onn's eyes began to glow brightly as he shared the image of Luthor shooting Professor Ivo between the eyes that he had been able to glean from Luthor's mind. "No!" Amazo screamed, turning his attention and his anger to Luthor. "You killed him!"

"It was an accident," he tried to tell him, trying to wiggle backward like a snake still bound by the bola.

Amazo stalked towards Luthor, a Cyborg-like weapon appearing on his arm. Batman quickly stepped in, flipping the lead-lined box open and revealing the Kryptonite inside. The android immediately staggered back just as Superman fell to his knees. Flash appeared at his side, ready to help him out too if needed.

Amazo attempted to gather himself but could feel himself growing weaker by the moment. "No…no," he told them. "Someday I'll be back for you Luthor. Someday you will pay with your life."

Professor Ivo's most beloved creation flew out of the room, disappearing into the night. They had done it. They had come together, stopping Luthor and his team before they could cause any more trouble. They had won…at least for now.

A/N: Anyone see that coming? :)

UP NEXT: The final chapter is coming up next. Just a few things to wrap up & then I'm putting this one to bed. Hope you have enjoyed this ride. Sorry for not doing better at responding to reviews. I'll try to do better next time. :)