Justice League Nuptials 33
Lucius Fox stood suddenly as his door flew open and his assistant shrieked. Luthor wore a smug expression as he strolled in, "Ah Lucius, so nice to see you again."
"It's been a while, Lex." Fox said while recovering his composure, "What brings you to Gotham?"
"Oh, the usual." Luthor nonchalantly replied, "Chaos, anarchy, domination. The small stuff."
"Let's get straight to the point." Fox declared, "What do you want?"
"The keys to WayneTech and WayneGeneTech." Luthor replied.
"I thought Poison Ivy already raided GeneTech for you." Fox countered.
"Ivy's findings were impressive to be sure but they were the tip of the metaphorical iceberg. This time I want it all." Luthor stated his intentions.
"You realize that there are no keys to be had?" Fox asked.
"Oh, but there is a key, Lucius. That key is you." Luthor boldly informed him, "My compatriots and I are going shopping and you're coming with us."
"Never." Fox decided.
Luthor drew his pistol out of his shoulder holster, "Don't force me, Lucius."
"I always knew you were ruthless but I never thought you would personally dirty your hands." Fox observed.
"Times and minions change." Luthor opined, "I've discovered that doing your own killing can be quite rewarding. There's an exultant feeling to having the power of life or death. As they say, power is an aphrodisiac and exercising it is gratifying in ways that I can't describe."
"You've become a sad shadow of a man, Lex." Fox opined.
Luthor shrugged, "Ultimately we'll see."
Fox turned the corner around his desk, "What happens if I refuse and you kill me?" Fox inquired.
"Then my allies and I march to WayneTech and suppress any opposition." Luthor stated.
Fox sighed, "You don't need to kill anyone. I'll come."
Luthor smiled, "Excellent. Grodd! Humanite! We're going."
They entered and Luthor activated a boom tube. Brainiac appeared, "Are we prepared, Master?"
"Yes. Take us to WayneTech." Luthor ordered.
"Yes, Master." Brainiac opened another tube as the first one collapsed. Luthor prodded Fox with his gun and marched the corporate executive into the wormhole. The Legionnaires followed and the tube disappeared behind them.
Back at the Gotham PD the officers were venturing out into the street in small groups. Nightwing and Robin escorted Montoya and Bullock's group of SWAT officers. As they began to fan out, Montoya noted Hyde Park, "The park's awfully overgrown."
Vines suddenly lashed out and took hold of a dozen cops. They pulled the panicking officers into the dense growth. Montoya gasped.
"It's Poison Ivy." Nightwing surmised.
"Are you sure?" Montoya asked.
"Who else has that motif?" Nightwing asked.
"Point taken." Montoya acceded. Next she yelled out for the others, "Keep your distance from the park."
She turned to Nightwing, "Will she kill them?"
"Only if they interfere with her cause." Night wing answered.
"What's her cause?" she asked.
"Who knows?" Nightwing shrugged, "Whatever it is, it'll revolve around plants. Consider the park lost territory. We'll come back to it after we've dealt with the others."
Montoya was resistant but finally she nodded agreement. She called out, "Everyone move out!"
Inside of the park, the officers were dumped in a clearing surrounded by tall, bushy grass. Ivy made an appearance, "Are we comfy?"
The officers drew their weapons. The grass reached out and slashed across their arms and wrists. The grass drew blood as scores of cuts registered in the cops' flesh.
"You'll have to behave." Ivy chided them, "As you can tell, my hybrids put the razor back into grass."
"What do you want?" an officer asked.
Ivy's smile was a demented one, "Eventually your comrades in arms are going to mount a rescue. When they do, my plants will be ready for them and your entire force will be diced up into mulch for my precious babies."
The officers knew that her deadly intentions stood a good chance of succeeding. They could only wait and pray that someone could thwart Ivy before she murdered them all.
At Arkham Asylum, Darkwing, Deadshot, and the Phantasm had been recalled from their individual missions. Darkwing had slain the Mayor. Deadshot took care of several prominent judges. The Phantasm had killed the District Attorney. Having completed their tasks they reverted back to guards for Commissioner Gordon.
Galatea had dropped him off into the Joker's hands and left. The Joker rubbed his hands together as two of the patients took hold of Gordon. The Parasite, now sated, had allowed the asylum's population to recover. Promising protection from the life sucking ghoul, the Joker had recruited a score of henchmen. They now acted as his goons.
"What do you want from me, you maniac?" Gordon demanded.
"Why Commish, I barely want anything from you." The Joker cackled, "Next to Batman, you're my next favorite person in the world. You just need an attitude adjustment so you'll see things my way."
"What do you mean?" Gordon warily asked.
"Harl and I are looking to add to our little clique." The Joker explained, "Someone extra to hold in our bosom embrace. We have someone in mind but we don't know if we can convince him to join us. That's where you come in."
"Y'see," the Joker confided, "I'm going to strip away your old façade. You're going to come to realize that stuffy old ideas like 'law' and 'justice' are pathetically outdated. They're illusions. Illusions you people create to get by in the world. I'm going to strip away that veneer and show you what the world is really like."
"You're insane." Gordon replied.
"Gloriously so." The Joker's elation was terrible to behold, "And soon you will be too."
"I'll never become like you." Gordon vowed.
"Oh, give it time. Just give it time." The Joker sadistically taunted, "Boys, take him to the infirmary."
They trudged off, hauling Gordon with them. The Joker followed with his malevolent laughter filling the halls.
Downtown, Killer Croc, the Psycho Pirate, the Clock King, and Superwoman stood by and supervised as the Mad Hatter directed some hapless passerby to fetch and carry tray after tray of jewels into the boom tube to the Dome and back again.
Nightwing suddenly leapt into the midst of them. He delivered a savage backspin kick to the Psycho Pirate's face. As the Pirate went down, Nightwing plucked the Medusa Mask off of him. Robin sailed by on a line and snatched the Hatter's proverbial hat off of his head.
Nightwing fired his grapple gun and he headed for the rooftops. Robin was already on his way up. When they reached safety, Robin stomped all over the Hatter's chapeau. The Legion's victim ran away.
The Legionnaires struggled with what to do. Superwoman took to the skies and pursued the JLers. Meanwhile, Montoya's forces opened fire on the grounded Legionnaires. Seeing no other hope of escape, they herded though the open boom tube and then collapsed it. Witnessing their flight, Superwoman snorted in disgust and flew off.
Nightwing and Robin joined Montoya on the ground. Robin was ebullient, "All right! We kicked some serious butt!"
"Sorry kiddo," Montoya wore a weary grin, "It just gets harder from here."
Nightwing handed the Mask over to Bullock, "See that someone gets this under heavy lock and key back at the PD."
"Harvey! Tomleson! Get yer scrawny butts over here." Bullock bellowed.
"We still need to find out where the Commissioner is." Montoya reminded Nightwing.
"Don't worry. I'll wring it out of someone." He growled.
Going from high rise to high rise, Catwoman prowled alone. Her travels were aided by her boom tube controller. While the Legion gorged itself on the streets below, she was picking the crème de la crème of the privileged and overly wealthy. Their baubles would fund several of her favorite causes for years to come.
Her only regret was that it was too easy. She missed the cat and mouse with Batman. She still adored him even though he frowned upon her proclivities. Someday, she swore to herself, I'll get that man to understand. And watch out for what happens next…
The Bat and the Cat were both predators. They lived for the hunt. It was a magnificent thing when they were each other's prey. Their mating dance would be a rapturous thing.
The once recent disappointment had been Bruce Wayne. Bruce had tried to court Selina Kyle. Unfortunately, Selina's obsession with Batman had hindered her from accepting Bruce's overtures. She'd finally been on the verge of changing her mind when Wayne had married.
It was more of a blow to her pride than anything else. She wanted to keep him smitten so that he could be at her beck and call. She knew Batman would never yield like that. He would dominate her and she would willingly submit. At least someday in the future. For now, the hunt was everything and she needed to be at the top of her game to stay ahead of him.
She returned her attention to the opened safe. Inside were priceless gems valued at tens of millions of dollars. The Penguin had already arranged buyers. All she had to do now is deliver the goods.
In fact, the Penguin had arranged buyers for her entire list. She'd been planning this escapade for months and it was going better than planned. The Legion had provided the perfect distraction.
Her allegiance to the Legion of Doom was tenuous at best. She participated when they served her interests and not the other way around. Only Luthor's promise to allow her to establish preserves anywhere she deemed fit once the Legion seized control kept her in their periphery.
Unbeknownst to Luthor she and Ivy had begun coordinating efforts. They'd taken maps of the world and set aside natural preserves where flora and fauna could rest undisturbed by man. Catwoman had unexpectedly found a kindred spirit in Ivy. Their zeal and passion echoed one another's.
At Arkham, Gordon was manhandled into the infirmary and strapped to one of the beds. The Joker maniacally cackled as he sorted through drugs and equipment. Harley bent over and pinched Gordon's check as she removed his glasses.
"Don't you worry none." She sing-songed, "Mr. J is gonna make that boo boo all better."
"So I've heard." Gordon muttered.
"Aha!" the Joker cried out as he came over to the table beside the bed. He sat down a plethora of bottles and took a syringe out of plastic sleeve. He began drawing from the vials, "A little of this. A little more of that…no, make it a lot more of that. A little more here and woila!"
"I'm afraid to ask." Gordon admitted.
"Just a little something to open your mind." The Joker reassured him. After the injection was done, the Joker and Harley gave it thirty minutes to kick in. Gordon was pliable enough when they returned. He was in a semi-conscious, hallucinatory state. He still responded to external stimuli, such as voices, though.
The Joker wheeled up a defibrillator and charged it up. Grinning as never before, he asked; "So Commish, whattya think of me? Be honest now."
Gordon slurred out, "Insane sadist."
The Joker was shocked, "Me? You're new best friend?"
\ He held the paddles next to Gordon's head, "Tell me again, whattya think of me?"
Gordon repeated his answer and the Joker jolted him with the paddles. Gordon screamed. The Joker broke into uncontrollable laughter, "Nooo! Wrong answer. Let's try again!"
Down the corridor, the Phantasm heard Gordon's repeated screams and miserably wondered what had she'd gotten herself into?
It was early evening in Fawcett City. Daylight Savings Time and the Earth's axial tilt provided bright days that endured until 9:00 p.m.. Mary Batson had just returned home from the theater with some of her teenage friends. She entered the house to find her adopted mother very strained.
"Mary, you have an unexpected visitor in the kitchen." She said in a tight voice.
Mary frowned. Usually her mom only got this upset over her duties as Mary Marvel. She wondered if her brother Billy had unexpectedly shown up. Her mother hated that.
Instead of Billy Batson, Mary was delighted to find Supergirl sitting at the table in full uniform, "Kara! What's going on?"
"Barb asked me to check in on Gotham while she and Bruce are on their honeymoon. I was wondering if you wanted to come with?" Supergirl revealed.
"I'd love too!" Mary enthused, "Mom, I'm going out!"
"Mary…" her mother hesitated, "be careful."
"Always." Mary winked and went out the patio door to the back yard. Supergirl stood off to the side while Mary calmly invoked the name of, "Shazam!"
Mystic lightning coursed out of the sky and struck her. Faster than the human eye could track, she was transformed from a teenager to a twentysomething woman wearing a red and gold costume. She grinned, "Ready?"
"Let's go." Supergirl said and the pair flew into the skies. Once they were in the air, they accelerated and headed off to Gotham at supersonic speeds.