Justice League Nuptials 84
"Thanks for the help." Montoya said to Superman and Wonder Woman, "There's no way my men could have taken them down."
"You would've caught Two Face and the rest easily enough." Superman consoled her.
"Maybe." Montoya hedged, "Most of the force is busy reestablishing law and order. We really don't have the personnel to spare on manhunts."
"I'm sorry about Gordon." Superman offered his condolences, "He's a good man."
"The Commissioner is tough." She said proudly, "He'll pull through."
"We can only hope." Wonder Woman offered, "And wish him our best."
"Hey Montoya!" Bullock called out as he approached with a radio, "You gotta hear this. They got Luthor holed up in the WayneTech building."
"Let's go." Wonder Woman urged.
Superman gestured to the Marvel twins hanging out within earshot, "We'll go. We're faster. Catch up when you can."
Wonder Woman visibly wrestled with his logic but she eventually conceded, "Fine. I'll be right behind you."
"And you'll never know how much that means." Superman said before turning to the Marvels, "Let's go! Luthor's at WayneTech."
"What're we waiting for?" Captain Marvel asked.
"For directions, you dope." Mary Marvel swatted him across the arm, "Superman seems to know the lay of the land. We don't. We follow him."
"Too true." Superman grinned. He leapt into the air and the Marvels followed as promised. They disappeared from sight within seconds.
Wonder Woman watched them go. Her heart felt heavy. Strangely so. She'd felt the burden and weight of grief before and this was similar.
The anguish wasn't as great. There was just an overwhelming sense of loss. Loss and worry.
She'd always worried about Superman during missions. Although he was learning, his naïve lack of guile made him far more vulnerable to attack than most of the League combined. That was changing though.
He was a naturally charismatic leader but he refused to see himself that way. The League listened to J'onn but it followed Superman. He truly was the heart of the organization.
Wonder Woman had purposed it in her heart to see that he realized his power. Beyond that was up to him. She couldn't make up his mind nor would she wish to. He would grow to resent whatever she forced upon him and then he would resent her.
"It's tough, isn't it?" Montoya laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, "When our loved ones fly off?"
Wonder Woman's reply was an awkward silence. Montoya's eyes went wide, "He doesn't know, does he?"
"No." Wonder Woman softly replied.
"Here's hoping he'll learn." Montoya gave her shoulder a squeeze and then she let go, "Your secret's safe with me."
"Thank you." Wonder Woman said, "Are we done here?"
"Everyone's loaded up." Montoya informed her, "You're free to take off."
Wonder Woman expressed her heartfelt thanks and took off.
At WayneTech, Superman, Captain Marvel, and Mary came to rest on the roof. Superman used his X-Ray vision, "Brainiac is holding the cops off. Luthor, Grodd, and the Ultra-Humanite are constructing some kind of device. They're on the 5th floor. We'll punch through the ceiling and surprise them. I'll handle Brainiac. The rest are up to you two."
"No problem." Marvel gave him a thumb's up.
They each rose a few feet into the air. Superman gave a thumbs down and they propelled themselves down through the floor. They went eight stories and then Superman stopped. Marvel stopped beside him. Mary plunged down into another floor.
Superman gave Marvel a pained glance. Marvel replied with a sheepish smile and a shrug. Before Superman could say anything, Brainiac blasted him. Superman flew backwards and smashed into an equipment bank.
"Ah, Kal-El, we meet again." Brainiac was amiable, "I see you have tasted anti-protons before. Would you like to sample some more?"
"Brainiac, you…argh!!!" Superman screamed as he was washed in anti-protons again.
Meanwhile, Marvel was confronting the Legion's trinity of evil. He flew into the glass encased lab they inhabited and went straight for their mysterious machine. He brought his fist down atop it and smashed it like an egg.
"You fool." Luthor sneered, "That paralysis ray was going to insure that the police wouldn't be harmed during our withdrawal. Now they'll have to suffer."
"Surrender now and there won't be any suffering by anyone." Marvel countered.
Luthor chuckled, "I knew you were naïve but I didn't think you were that naïve."
"So you aren't going to surrender?" Marvel asked.
Luthor pulled his pistol from its holster, "Of course not."
"Hah! Bullets won't hurt me." Marvel boasted.
Luthor shrugged, "Then it's too bad these aren't bullets."
He pulled the trigger three times. Three nuclear powered darts flew forth and punctured Marvel's skin. They then released a powerful neutron charge. Captain Marvel cried out and collapsed as the energies coursed through him.
"Just one of those darts can level Superman." Luthor smugly smiled, "I can't imagine how three feel."
"Save some darts for the Kryptonian." The Humanite suggested.
"You never know, "Luthor mused, "the machine may beat him."
"Even the real Brainiac failed to do so much less this lobotomized version of yours." Grodd remarked.
Luthor pondered it, "True."
The floor erupted and Mary Marvel rose from the rubble. Seeing her brother and then seeing Luthor's gun, she made the connection. She belted him across the room. He flew into an equipment locker and it buckled from the force.
She floated on over to him. He tried aiming the pistol but his arm was broken. She took hold of his hand as it was wrapped around the pistol. Using her grip, she crushed his fingers. Tugging his broken arm, she pulled the pistol from his grip. Using both hands she twisted it until she could pull it apart.
She tossed the two halves away and turned on Grodd and the Humanite, "Care to give up?"
"Don't force me to fry your brain, child." Grodd warned.
"Luthor neutered you." Mary scoffed, "You couldn't hurt a kitten."
"Say 'meow' little kitten." Grodd's eyes glazed over and Mary screamed as she clutched the sides of her head. She went down onto her knees and practically curled into a ball.
Grodd smiled, "Still feel like a kitten?"
On the rooftop, Wonder Woman was coming in for a landing. She floated down the hole the JLers had bored into the floors. She came to rest on the 5th floor. The sight of Brainiac attacking Superman enraged her.
She ran forward and then jumped into the air and delivered a spin kick. Brainiac spun away. His jaw was unhinged and sparks were erupting out of where she'd caved in one eye.
Superman rose, "Thanks. Want to help me finish him off?"
Wonder Woman's smile was grim, "I'd love to."
Back in the lab, the Humanite spoke, "Uh…Grodd? You might want to throw a little effort into what you're doing. She's getting up."
Grodd couldn't believe it. Mary was indeed rising to her feet. Her hands were off of her temples and were clenched by her sides. Her eyes stared out from behind strands of her hair and they flashed with murderous intent.
Grodd redoubled his efforts and then tripled them. It was no use. She just kept coming.
Once she was steady on her feet she threw a right cross. This broke Grodd's concentration and he dropped the psychic pressure. She responded with a jab to the ribs followed by a jab to the face.
A right cross followed and then a backhand before another right flew. She changed it up and delivered a blow to the ribs and then another and another. A left cross hammered him. She continued to throw rapid fire punches until her hands were covered in his blood. Only then did she let him fall to the floor.
The Humanite panicked. He threw one of the weapons hidden in his harness. The Nega-bands wrapped around her and countered gravity and sent her up through the roof into the skies.
"Say hello to the ISS for me." The Ultra-Humanite chuckled. He gathered up Luthor, "It's time to leave."
"No!" Luthor slurred between bloody and swollen lips, "Not without Brainiac."
"Lex!" the Humanite snapped, "We've lost! Brainiac is being systematically taken apart by Superman and Wonder Woman. Grodd has been beaten to a pulp and you're a wreck. We can reclaim Brainiac's components at a later date. Hopefully the Wayne data will still be intact."
Luthor finally saw reason, "Get us out of here."
The Humanite opened a boom tube and Luthor, supported by the Humanite, shuffled towards it. The Humanite pointed out that Marvel had already managed to pull two of the darts out and was reaching for the third. They hastened their step. The tube collapsed just as Marvel reached it.
"Blast it!" he shouted. He turned in time to see Superman and Wonder Woman take apart the last of Brainiac. They were stuffing components into separate steel containers. Superman spotted Marvel.
"How'd it go?" he asked.
"Luthor zapped with some neutron darts that he said would take you out but I got over them. I was too slow to grab Luthor and the Humanite though." Marvel explained, "Mary bagged Grodd though and pretty much messed up Luthor as well."
"Where is Mary?" Wonder Woman asked.
"That's what I need to talk with you about." Marvel revealed, "The Humanite threw these bands around her and she floated up into the sky. I can't spot her and she hasn't come back."
"Let me take a look." Superman suggested. He gazed up through the ceiling and then frowned, "She's struggling and she's almost reached orbit. Exactly how invulnerable are the two of you? Can she survive a vacuum?"
"I have no idea." Marvel admitted, "We've never wanted to test the theory and I haven't dared ask the wizard."
"I'm going." Superman announced and he ascended through Mary's exit hole.
"Don't worry." Wonder Woman told Marvel, "He'll bring her back."
"That's not what I'm worried about." He confessed, "Take a look at Grodd."
Wonder Woman knelt and rolled the simian onto his back. She viewed all of the blood and the torn flesh. She was aghast.
"Hera! Your sister did this?" she wanted to know.
"Grodd had been torturing her with his mental abilities. She fought back, mentally and physically." Marvel described the scene, "This isn't the first time this has happened."
"What do you mean?" Wonder Woman sought clarification.
"When Mary and Supergirl interrogated Luthor a few months ago, Mary seemed on the verge of losing it." Marvel explained, "Two weeks ago we were facing an old enemy. Krull is a barbarian from another dimension and he's one of our most dangerous foes. He'd trapped me in a cage of mystical lightning. Using those same thunderbolts, he went after Mary."
Marvel continued, "In order to draw Mary in, he unleashed the thunderbolts against a school bus. Thirty kids were killed almost instantly. Mary was about to abandon reason and just fly straight at him. Black Adam intervened. He took the lightning bolt meant for Mary. It turned him into a normal man."
"Mary made it through and she began to beat on Krull. She was beating him senseless and Black Adam just watched and encouraged her." Marvel was clearly disturbed, "Meanwhile, I called out the wizard's name and the lightning shorted out the cage. Of course, it also turned me back into Billy Batson. After a second session of saying the word, I flew off to stop Mary. Fortunately, she stopped on her own."
Marvel sighed, "While I checked on Krull, Black Adam had a private chat with Mary. They've got some weird connection. She's developed a dark side and it seems to draw him in."
Marvel looked at her with plaintive eyes, "Do you think there's some twisted romance thing going on?"
Wonder Woman shook her head, "My guess is that Mary reminds him of himself when he was still Shazam's champion. He's trying to mold her into being his teammate in his private crusade. Mary's a good girl but she also is very idealistic. Idealism is a two-edged sword. There's the joy of seeing your idealized dreams being realized. There's also the pain of the failures."
"Mary has been granted the power to realize her dreams but she's also been given the power to punish those that don't live up to her ideals. It's a fine edge to walk upon." Wonder Woman opined, "She hasn't killed anyone yet. She doesn't require permanent punishment. She requires guidance. I'll assemble the women of the League and have them model correct behaviors. Self restraint and discipline are the keys."
Marvel offered a wan smile, "If it's all the same, can we leave the Huntress out of this?"
Wonder Woman's laughter tinkled across the room, "Of course."
"What did we miss?" Superman asked as he came in for a landing, "I heard enchanting laughter."
Mary floated down next to him, "Miss me?"
"You have no idea." Marvel confided.
"Let's call L-Ron so that he can have the police secure the building and the prisoners." Superman suggested.
"I'll do it." Mary volunteered. Captain Marvel hung at her side. Wonder Woman ushered Superman to Grodd's side. She canted her head in the ape's direction.
Superman was surprised by the amount of damage. He looked to Wonder Woman. She nodded in Mary's direction. He mouthed her name and Wonder Woman nodded.
They looked towards Mary and Marvel. Mary turned while she was conferring with L-Ron. She smiled brightly and waved. Wonder Woman waved back and leaned in to Superman, "We have a problem."
"No kidding." He whispered back.
On the island of Maraca, Bruce and Barbara were on the veranda watching the stars. The lagoon reflected the moonlight. It had been an idyllic day and early evening. The rest of the evening promised to be a dream come true as well.
The evening's silence was broken by a ringing. Bruce groaned. There was one sat phone on the island. Only Dick, Tim, and Alfred had the number. They were only supposed to call in case of an emergency.
"I'll be back." Bruce kissed Barbara on the forehead. He rose and he went to the villa. Entering he plucked the offending phone off of the counter.
"Bruce." He said.
"It's Dick." His ex-partner said, "I think you and Barbara should come home."
"What's wrong?" Bruce caught Dick's tone and a great deal was being left unsaid.
"The Legion seized control of Gotham. The League eventually regained control but while everything was hairy Commissioner Gordon was held by the Joker. He tortured the Commissioner, Bruce. He tried to brainwash him through the use of electric shocks and drugs."
"How bad is it?" Bruce grimly asked.
"No one knows." Dick admitted, "It's too soon to tell. J'onn's going to dive into his skull when he wakes up. He's sedated so he should be out the rest of the night."
"Call the airfield." Bruce instructed, "Have the jet meet Barb and I in Miami. We'll fly in tonight."
"Bruce, I'm sorry about the honeymoon." Dick shared.
"So am I." Bruce hesitated for half a second, "What about the Joker?"
He knew from Dick's momentary hesitation that the news wasn't good, "Tell me."
"He got past J'onn, Tim, and I." Dick miserably admitted, "No one knows where he or Harley are."
"But the city's safe?" Bruce sought consolation.
"Everywhere but Hyde Park." Dick explained, "Ivy is encamped there. No one's going in or out. We've got wounded and it's dark. We'll tackle her in the morning."
Bruce tried not to sound critical or disappointed but he knew he was failing, "Have Starman, Fire, and Ice tackle the park. They manifest the three greatest threats to plants. They should be able to kill Ivy's foliage. The beat cops can apprehend her."
"Okay." Dick sounded defensive, "I'll talk to J'onn. What about the Joker?"
"You and I'll handle the Joker. It'll be like old times." Bruce said.
"That's what I'm afraid of." As soon as he spoke, Dick Grayson mentally kicked himself. Bruce was doing his stilted best to reach out and he'd snapped at the outstretched hand, "Look, Bruce…"
"Just be ready." Bruce hung up.
"I know that look." Barbara commented as she walked in, "What's wrong?"
Bruce explained the situation to her. In a daze she flopped down onto the couch, "I know Dad's a cop. He's been in danger his entire life but I always thought that he'd be hearing about what happened to me."
"We're taking the yacht to Miami and catching the Lear there. It'll take us to Gotham. We should make it back in time to see your dad in the morning." Bruce explained.
"Thank you." Barbara's gratitude eked out of her pores.
"I know better than anyone that family should be together during a tragedy." Bruce confessed.
"Some honeymoon, huh?" Barbara grumped.
"It had quite a start, a bumpy middle, and hopefully a spectacular finish." Bruce wore a gentle smile.
Hope glittered in her eyes, "Yeah, you might be right."
"Get packed." He instructed, "I'm calling the ship and having them prepare."
Twenty minutes later, the couple was on a launch returning to the yacht. They moored in the rear deck boat slip. They entered the main cabin and saw that it was deserted. That was odd. The captain should be here to receive his instructions.
All of the doors were shut and held from the outside. All of the furniture was bolted to the floor and gas was being pumped into the room. Bruce caught Barbara as she fell asleep.
He gently lowered her to the floor. Using metabolic altering techniques he was staying awake but just barely. His vision began to blur and tunnel when the doors opened.
An all too familiar visage appeared before him. Slurring his words he recounted the vision's name, "Ubu!"
"It is good to see you again, Infidel. The fates may finally allow us to settle accounts." The behemoth said.
"Let her go." Bruce bargained, "It's me you want."
Ubu chuckled, "But she is part of you now so she comes with. Besides, the Mistress desires to meet her."
"No!" Bruce growled.
Ubu replied by kicking him in the head and forcing him to take the final plunge into unconsciousness. Afterwards he surveyed the fallen couple, "No one says 'no' to the Mistress."