An hour or so later.


Batman woke slowly to the pounding of his own head and sat up to find that he was laying on his back the middle of the atrium of the Watch Tower. He reached back behind his head and grasped the black and yellow cape that had been cushioning it as he slept. He frowned.

"What the hell…" he grumbled out loud to trying to remember how he got here. He stood up slowly and looked around, frowning even more deeply. He stretched his muscles and noticed a few deep aches and fatigue that was indicative that he had been in some sort of combat. Whoever or whatever he had been fighting had really done a number on him and unmistakably possessed great combative skills that were akin to his own. He found Superman, sitting next to a nearby concrete wall, looking as confused as Bruce but much wearier.

Batman strode over to him and helped him up off of the ground. The Kryptonian was sweaty and pale and looked as though he had come down with a slight fever. Another worried frown creased the Dark Knight's face, and when he reached down to his belt to feel for the small lead box that he kept in one of his pockets, he was horrified to see that it was missing. Batman's eyes narrowed.

"Clark," he began, half warily, half angry that he had such little situational awareness at present. "What in the hell happened here tonight?"

The Man of Steel wiped sweat away from his forehead with the back of his hand, gazed at the liquid suspiciously and then looked back into the eyes of his long-time friend.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," he replied. "Bruce, I feel… I feel wrong. I think I've been exposed."

"I agree," said Bruce frowning at his good friend in concern. "My supply is absent."

Clark startled at that information, but knew that Bruce would do everything in his power to get it back and re-secure the green mineral. "There's something else though," continued the Superman. "My mind… I have no recollection of what happened and I feel…"

"Disoriented?" said the Dark Knight. "Me too."

Before either of the heroes could say another word, the voice of Aqualad could be heard on the Tower's PA system.

"Attention all members of Justice League. This is Aqualad. There is no current crisis or immediate danger, but I would ask that all members of the Justice League report to the conference room immediately. I have pertinent information to share regarding the events that transpired here tonight."

Bruce and Clark shared a look of apprehension before striding quickly to the nearest entrance to the conference room.


Aqualad waited patiently for all of the members of JLA to take their respective seats and took a stance across from the table U-bend so that everyone could see and hear him.

"Thank you for your attention," the young Atlantean began.

"Flash and Martian Manhunter aren't here yet. And neither is Red Tornado" interjected Green Arrow to the nods of agreement from the other members. "We should wait."

"Flash already knows what happened," said Black Canary. "He's busy. And Red needed repairs. They will join us later."

An ominous silence fell upon the room.

Batman narrowed his eyes at Aqualad, but the young hero did not balk.

"I know you are all confused and concerned. I must share with you what happened here tonight."

Aqualad spent the next fifteen minutes giving a play-by-play description of what had happened with Vandal Savage and Klarion the Boy Witch, and why none of the heroes had no recollection of the past few hours.

"You're telling me we tore Red limb from limb?" Asked an appalled Superman. "Can he be repaired?"

"He can," assured Aqualad. "Kid Flash is repairing him as we speak."

"Oh my Hera," said Wonder Woman sadly. "What else did we do?"

"I respectfully ask that all further questions be held until the end of my report. At this time, I would like to show you security footage of all the battles that ensued and the compete account of how each of you were infected and subsequently cured."

Aqualad dimmed the lights and showed the footage. Various groans and noises of shock could be heard from each hero in the room as they watched themselves attack their young proteges and own teammates. Clark had to look away for some of it. Batman had a bad feeling in his gut.

"Ohhh," said Clark in realization as he watched footage from his battle with Superboy and his exposure to Kryptonite. He was relieved to see that his clone recovered from the exposure quickly, but gasped when he watched Robin get pummeled by Batman. Oh no… he thought to himself, stealing a glance at Bruce. The Dark Knight hadn't made a sound or moved an inch since the footage began. He simply sat, straight-backed, with his gloved hands grasping the edge of the table, watching stoically. Waiting to see the events of his cure.

The blood in Batman's veins ran cold when he realized that he was the last member of Justice League infected and that his own son was the one who was forced to face-off with him. When the fight drew to an end, Bruce's stomach twisted in knots and his heart skipped a beat.

Snap! went the piece of the table that Bruce had been grasping as he absent-mindedly crushed the solid wooden surface to splinters when he saw what he had done to his partner.

He stood up from the table so abruptly and with such force, that the chair he had been sitting in was flung backwards into the wall behind him and broken to pieces.

The League watched as the Dark Knight ran angrily from the room and slammed the door behind him.

No one made to stop him. They knew.

"Before you ask, please know that all members of my Team, including Robin, survived this incident. Most have minor injuries, but Robin and Superboy are in the infirmary under the direct care of Flash and Martian Manhunter. I am told that they are both out of mortal danger."

"Superboy will be fine," said Clark confidently. "We just need some sunlight is all."

"I rejoice to hear that," said Aqualad relieved. "Then our main concern, as far as injuries, is Robin."

"Where are the rest of the members of your Team, Aqualad?" asked Aquaman.

"They all await your instruction in the recreational room with the exception of Kid Flash who is in Red Tornado's quarters."

A few moments of silence fell upon the room and many of the League member fidgeted in their seats, anxious to take any action that they could to repair the damages they had done to the Tower and to each other.

Aqualad broke the silence.

"If there are no further questions, I no longer require your attention. Thank you for you time," Aqualad stepped out of the spotlight as the heroes began to get to their feet and take their leave.

"Come on, Ollie," said Dinah addressing the archer. "Let's make sure the kids are alright."

Ollie nodded and followed her out of the room.

Clark looked at Diana. "Bruce is devastated," he began to the Amazonian. "He's going to take this extremely hard."

"I know," said Diana solemnly. "But what is done is done and I know Robin will bounce back." She glanced at him critically. "You don't look so well either, my friend. I think it's high time you and Conner go get yourselves some Vitamin D."

Clark nodded and took his leave to make his way to the infirmary. Diana sighed heavily as she watched him go, collected herself, and made to go assist with repairs in any way that she could.


TBC.

Bat family Angst coming up next!

:)