A/N- Here it is guys, next part. Sorry it took so long. Read and Review and (hopefully) Enjoy!

Only Human

Chapter 3

Flash had been congratulating himself for his superior show of speed for the almost immodest length of one point five eight seconds. Not wanting to become too conceited he then turned his lighting thoughts to making a silent bet with himself on just who would be placing 'second' in the little fantasy race he was creating for himself. His musings on whether Superman or Wonder Woman would prove faster were ruthlessly interrupted when a brilliant blossom of fire spewed across his sights. The three lead superheroes were buffeted around by the distressed air currents, and were forced to land rather less gracefully than usual. GL hadn't gained enough altitude when the building exploding and he was forced roughly to the ground. It all happened so suddenly and so fast -two point six seconds- that for the first time in years the Speedster had no time to react, even if there had been anything left to do. 'All the civilians where evacuated' he reminded himself 'No one else needed to be saved.' In all the turmoil Flash had lost sight of the Batman, but that wasn't at all unusual. In fact the Flash had to suppress a sudden urge to look over his shoulder. The Bat had this amazing ability to appear wherever he was least expected.

Superman desperately blinked his eyes, trying to get rid of the explosions' afterimage as quickly as possible. As the self appointed and rather unofficial leader/caretaker of the group as a whole -not to mention the honest, hard won habit of the superhero- his first action was to reflexively confirm the well-being of all others in the area. The civilians were still all safe behind the line of trees and the solid, protective bulk of the Javelin. They would all need to be transported home, but that could wait. Diana was to his left and her Amazon disposition seemed to have been enough to prevent any real injury. J'honn was stirring beside her and the Flash made his condition clear by zipping up on Superman's other side. 'Where are the others?' A bit of green caught his eye and the man of steel blurred to the side of the groaning Green Lantern. The shock of the detonation had knocked him out of the air and stunned him, but the energy barrier that formed around him whenever the ring was in use appeared to have been enough to ward off most of the damage, though Superman would make sure he was checked out when they got back to the Tower.

"John, are you all right?" Superman asked as he carefully helped John Stewart, aka the Green Lantern, to sit up.

"Oh, man. I have a splitting headache, but I'll be okay," responded the man in question. He carefully cradled his head as he gazed back toward the chard remains of the lab. "What in God's name were they working on in there?"

"I'm not sure," responded the man in blue, "But we'll find out as soon as- J'honn? What's wrong?" The Martian hadn't moved from where he had risen. He almost looked… shocked.

"The Batman. He is- injured."

"What?!" exclaimed Diana, accurately voicing the sentiments of the group. Like the others, she knew that the Batman was without powers. At least- that was the impression she had gathered from the other's more subdued conversations. But she had almost dismissed the knowledge out of hand. There was no way that an ungifted male could keep up with the princess of the Amazons, was there?

'No!' Superman cried silently, hoping that J'honn had made a mistake even as he frantically x-rayed the fallen structure. There was definately a human form under some of the debris, but he was getting interference from some of the building materials. "Over here," he instructed beginning to shift the loose materials on top of the small pile. Between the super-powered members of the group the black shrouded form was quickly unearthed.

He was laying face down and the cloak wrapped around him was ripped and burned with several glaring cuts and abrasions showing through it. Superman could just make out his labored breathing and the hesitant beating of his heart. J'honn quickly stepped forward to more closely assess the downed man's condition.

"We must get him to the infirmary aboard the Watch Tower."

"Of course," agreed the Man of Steel automatically, then questioned more authoritatively: "Lantern, can you move him?"

"I can try. Just need to keep my concentration," responded the ring bearing hero, frowning through the headache and causing a green field of energy to carefully secure and scoop up the injured knight.

"Lantern and J'honn, get him back to the tower as quickly as possible. We'll clean up here, either one of you or Hawkgirl can send a Javelin for us later."

"Roger that Superman," replied Green Lantern as he, J'honn, and the immobile Batman disappeared into the rear hatchway of the interstellar vehicle.

"Let's get these people taken care of. Fast."

A/N- thanks to Batzi, Valandil, jc, RedSoxGirl5, and korovan for reviewing last chapter. Fanfiction isn't sending the reviews to my mail at the moment, but I'll write more specific thanks as soon as I am able. Reviews are always appreciated guys! Next chapter in a day or so, till then!