Chapter 8: Meanwhile
Note: None of the Leaguers in this story know Batman's secret identity.
"I can't believe he lied to us!" Wonder Woman exclaimed to Superman. "All those times. We trusted him! And he was lying to us!"
"Well...to be fair...he never he WASN'T John Valjean," Superman responded. Wonder Woman glared at him. "But I see your point."
"What's more insulting was that I stood up for him when Robert was accusing him!" Wonder Woman said. "And it turns out he was right! I can't believe I trusted him."
"He fooled all of us," Superman replied. "It wasn't just you. But what I don't understand is why? Why would he fight with us all those times if he was a vampire?" He paused when he noticed Wonder Woman's distress. "Diana, when was the last time you took a break from being Wonder Woman." She sighed.
"It's been a while," Wonder Woman admitted. "Why?"
"Cause you've been tense for last day," Superman said. "And I know for a fact that Diana Prince is only showing up out of necessity right now. A person needs their rest."
"That sounds like something out of a cartoon," Wonder Woman responded.
"But it's true none the less," Superman said. "Even if it is from a cartoon."
"Clark, cartoons are for little kids," Wonder Woman responded as Green Arrow entered the room. "Not full grown adults."
"What? No they're not," Green Arrow told her. "Cartoons are awesome."
"They're childish," Wonder Woman said.
"Well you've never seen a good one then," Green Arrow responded. "Cause there are a BUNCH of good cartoons that can be enjoyed by adults."
"Name one," Wonder Woman stated.
"Avatar: The Last Airbender," Green Arrow answered. "One of the best cartoons you'll ever see. Top notch in everything. Story telling, character development, and it's visually beautiful to look at. And we're DEFINITELY going to start watching it next weekend for our hang-outs. Though NEVER, and I mean, NEVER watch the live-action movie. It's AWFUL."
"Anyway, you do need to rest," Superman told her. "It might help."
"Okay, I guess you're right," Wonder Woman said. "See you in a few days." Wonder Woman walked out of the room and headed for the Javelin bay. Green Arrow turned to Superman.
"Is she alright?" Green Arrow asked.
"No," Superman said. "She's still mad about the whole 'Batman is a vampire ex-con' thing."
"I can understand why," Green Arrow responded. "I mean, when you find out your best friend's been lying to you, you tend to be a bit ticked. Have the three teenagers been told?"
"Robert's telling them now," Superman told him.
"Soooooo," Green Arrow started. "You've seen Avatar: The Last Airbender?"
"What!?" the three exclaimed.
"You're kidding right?" Stargirl questioned.
"No," Robert said. "Batman's a vampire."
"That's...very funny," Blue Beetle said. "Hahaha. Hahaha." Robert's face remained stern and serious. "You're not kidding." Robert shook his head.
"Batman is a vampire named John Valjean," Robert said. "An escaped convict."
"Well, that WOULD explain why he hates sunlight," Firestorm said. "But a vampire?" Robert pulled up the security footage from the medical bay of Batman revealing his fangs. "Okay, he's definitely a vampire then."
Diana Prince was walking into her office in Paris. She worked as an art historian for her "normal" job and she genuinely enjoyed it. It proved to be a good stress relief for all the action that happened during her hero job. She looked at the stuff on her desk and saw piles of stuff. She sighed.
"What? You think you can disappear for almost a week and NOT have work to do when you get back?" Diana turned to see Steve Trevor leaning in the doorpost. She smiled.
"Hi Steve," Diana said.
"Hey Diana," Steve responded. "How are you?"
"Good just tired," Diana said. "How's Etta?"
"She's good," Steve responded. "Never been better. So where have you been?"
"Working," Diana informed him.
"Oh right, I forgot you had another job," Steve said. "How's that going for ya?"
"Good it's just tiring," Diana responded. "Not that's not good to see you, but why are you here?"
"Oh! Right, I forgot," Steve said. He pulled out a flyer and handed it to her. "A museum in Gotham is holding an auction. They would like it if you would attend."
"Is it so I can buy or sell?" Diana questioned.
"I've already asked," Steve said. "They're hoping for both if you're willing."
"How soon is it?" Diana asked.
"It's a little over two weeks from now," Steve responded. "So what do you think? I know you just got back but they're going to need an answer sooner rather than later."
"I'll think about it," Diana said.
"Hey! I've got an idea," Steve stated. "Why don't you, me, and Etta go and get ourselves some coffee? It would give us a chance to catch up."
"Sounds great," Diana said sincerely. "But...I need to get some work done first. So if you don't mind..."
"Yes, of course," Steve responded. "See you later. Bye." He exited the room and closed the door behind him. Diana shook her head.
"Etta's gonna have her hands full with him," Diana said. She looked back at the flyer. "Humm. It might not be too bad. Who knows, maybe I'll find Batman while I'm there."
"Still trying to find him?" Superman asked Robert. Robert was looking for anything and everything on Batman in the Watchtower monitor room.
"Yes,"Robert responded. "There's GOT to be something that can help us unmask him. I'm still surprised that none of you KNEW who he has under the mask."
"It never came up," Superman said. "And we never saw the need."
"Yeah, but it's also making it IMPOSSIBLE to find him," Robert stated. "We'll never find him at this rate. He's not stupid enough to reappear after we tried to capture him."
"What I don't get is how he got out of Diana's lasso," Superman said. "She had it on him tightly and he obviously didn't break it."
"What is your point?" Robert responded. "This doesn't have anything to do with the current crisis."
"Are you sure he's a half-blood vampire?" Superman asked. "Half human half vampire I mean."
"What makes you ask?" Robert said.
"Because when I used my x-ray vision to find him," Superman started. "I think I saw his arms disappear and then reform."
"That's...odd," Robert admitted. "Very odd."