DISCLAIMERS/NOTES

1. This is a fan fiction based on characters owned by DC Comics. I DO NOT OWN THEM. This is just for fun.

2. My continuity branches off after the end of Season 1. So the last episode to occur was the two-part "The Savage Time". No Season 2. No JL Unlimited.

3. Since I started posting this story three weeks ago, I tried to edit it somewhat when it came to emphasised words. I changed them from ALL CAPS to Italic. However, eagle-eyed readers might've spotted that I missed a fair few. So I've decided to leave the relevant words untouched (ie IN CAPS), as I originally wrote them. That'll show you that these were written... before I noticed the Italic option on the toolbar.

PART 4

Green Lantern and Hawkgirl flew over the welcoming banner into Keystone. Lantern noticed the banner's sentence, "Home of the Flash", and shook his head. How such a fool like Flash could be held in such regard grated on him.

He sighed. Flash was not that bad; his attitude just continually got on Lantern's nerves. He tired of his endless jokes, even in the most dire of situations. Very rarely had Lantern seen Flash in a serious mood.

Lantern looked at Hawkgirl flying beside him. He was momentarily distracted by her beauty. He had never met a woman quite like her before: strong, capable, fearless. Yet at the same time, caring and compassionate. She reminded him so much of himself… although she showed her caring side far more than he showed his.

His thoughts were broken by the sound of her voice. "We should be there in no time," she said. "The fracas occurred on the outskirts of the city."

"Right," Lantern said flatly. He tried to keep his voice as even as possible. He did not want to give Hawkgirl any idea of how he felt about her. Well, he did WANT her to know, but… he did not want to risk their friendship.

They reached the site of the earlier altercation. They landed in tandem in the middle of the area blocked off by police barrier tape. There was no one there; no police, no reporters, no civilians. They were alone, just the two of them.

Lantern powered his ring and produced a bright, extrasensory light and pointed to the ground. He saw the traces of footprints, which seemed to start from nowhere. "There's no starting point," he said.

Hawkgirl looked up. Lantern noticed her delicate neckline; it was one of the most beautiful he had ever seen. His eyes went down her neck, then over to her shoulders. The way the streetlamps highlighted her features was amazing. Lantern stood there, completely captivated by the woman beside him.

"Fly up and see if you can find a trace of a jetengine," Hawkgirl said. Lantern blinked, then broke from his stare and followed her gaze upto the stars.

"Right," he repeated, and flew up twenty-five feet in the air, shining his extrasensory beam around the surrounding area. A faint trace of exhaust appeared, with the trail going far into the distance. "A jet was definitely used today," Lantern said. "Wherever he is, Flash is nowhere near here. The trail goes on for miles."

"They must have flown the jet overhead, then dropped out and landed on the ground," said Hawkgirl. "That would explain the sudden start of footprints. But the jet must have had a real hightech stealth mechanism to escape radar."

Lantern floated back to the ground. "I wouldn't put it past Luthor," he said. "His company developed all kinds of technology. I think we should follow the trail to its end, see if it leads to the group's hideout."

They flew back up and began following the trail. They left the city and were soon in the countryside. As the minutes went by, Lantern's thoughts kept going back to how Hawkgirl looked in the street; she took his breath away everytime he saw her. He was beginning to wonder if it was more than just innocent attraction: he wondered if he was in love with her.

"So, what are your plans for the holiday season?"

Lantern darted his head to the side and looked blank. "Er… I don't know," he finally answered. "A few Lanterns are having a getogether on Oa, so I might go there."

Hawkgirl's face fell. "Oh… No family to be with?"

Lantern sighed. "No… I've pretty much left any normalcy of life behind, ever since I became a Green Lantern. I… have no family left to speak of. I haven't spoken to them for so long… they probably wouldn't want to spend time with me."

"You still have us," said Hawkgirl, as a faint smile crossed her face.

Lantern noticed the gesture and wondered for a moment what it meant. Did she say that because she cared about him? Could she have WANTED him to spend Christmas with the League? She had been on Earth long enough to know what the holiday was about; maybe she wanted to spend more time with him, other than as teammates…

Lantern shook his head. He was thinking like an idiot, just seeing intentions that were not there. He wanted to believe that she cared for him as much as he cared for her, but he shook such thoughts away. He could never be with anyone, let alone Hawkgirl; he had resigned himself to that fact years ago.

Suddenly, the two were rocked by a powerful explosion. They both fell to the ground, creating small craters in the soft fields. Lantern's ring had protected him from most of the impact, but Hawkgirl was lying motionless. Lantern groggily stood up and ran to her side. "Hawkgirl!" he screamed as she slowly opened her eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Ooooohhh…." she groaned. The wind had been knocked out of her. Lantern was about to pick her up when he was attacked from behind with an energy blast.

"Arrrrrgggggh!" He took deep breaths and looked up to see the source of the attack.

Floating above was a small jet, almost certainly the same one producing the trail in the air, and probably the Injustice Gang's mode of transport. Lantern pondered getting Hawkgirl to safety, but another energy blast made him decide to take the offensive.

Protecting himself in a bubble powered by his ring, Lantern flew up and fired a beam of his own at the craft. Although rocked by the impact, the jet appeared to have advanced shielding, remaining in the air. Lantern and the craft fought for a few minutes, neither gaining an advantage. The jet was highly manoeuvrable and dodged most of Lantern's offence. He managed to avoid most of the craft's weaponry too, but the stress of the situation, coupled with his concern for Hawkgirl's condition, was starting to get to him.

Meanwhile, Hawkgirl slowly rose to her knees. She attempted to gather the strength to help Lantern, but before she could move, her head was attacked by a massive electrical discharge. When the assault was over, she held her head, not noticing the green-haired, smiling man crouch next to her. Before she knew what was happening, gas engulfed her breath, and she collapsed, unconscious, on the ground.

Lantern heard Hawkgirl's scream when she was hit by the electric shock and turned his head to see her being knocked out by the Joker. Momentarily distracted, he lowered his defences enough so that the jet behind him could fire a final blast.

The shot hit Lantern straight in the back, and he screamed in agony. He fell to the ground and, losing consciousness, his protective aura faded. The last thing he saw was a huge, grey-and-white form above him, then what looked like a fist speed towards him, dead-on…

Then everything went black.

/

Diana flicked through the files in the cupboard. She was only half paying attention to the task. Her mind kept going back to a couple of hours earlier.

They had held eachother on the roof for a long time. Diana had lost track of exactly how long; it felt like days, but it might very well have been just a few minutes. She had completely lost herself in the moment.

After they had released eachother from their embrace, Batman had lowered her to the raised wall around the edge of the roof and left her sitting there. He had walked to the side of the roof, keeping his eyes on the LexCorp building across the street. They had stayed in silence; not a word spoken between them. He had kept his eyes locked on the building, not looking at her once. Diana meanwhile, had calmed her breathing and stopped the tears. She took her time in composing herself, and Batman had given her that time.

Diana sighed. She felt like a fool, breaking down and crying like a little girl infront of the man she loved. But the stresses in her life had finally got the better of her: her banishment from Themyscira; her estranged relationship with her mother; her loneliness in Man's World; and her feelings for Batman.

But his words had helped. She had known Batman long enough to know that he never said anything just to make people feel better; he rarely showed compassion, so when he did, he meant it. She wanted to say to him just how much his words meant to her, but her feelings of ruining the moment had stopped her. Just as fear had always stopped her in the past.

She wondered what Batman was thinking as she sat there composing herself. His eyes had never left the building across the street. He had never said a word to her. She found the silence comforting and frustrating at the same time. She thought he was probably embarrassed over the situation; he was probably disappointed in her, to see her break down like that.

Diana sighed. She could not bear the thought of Batman being disappointed in her. She would not let him see her like that again. She had to be strong, and put her feelings for him aside. But she could not. She loved him totally and completely.

Diana's thoughts returned to the present at the sound of the door opening. Batman entered the room, looking frustrated. "Anything?" she asked.

"Nothing," he replied. "We've been in every room in the top four floors; not so much as a memo." He hunched his shoulders. "We need to refine the search. Luthor wouldn't leave anything incriminating in the offices that were open to his employees. We need to find some secret areas, somewhere that's not on the building's plans. I think we should go down to the ground level, see what's there. There might be some…"

Batman was interrupted by a small beeping noise. Diana watched as he removed a small device from his utility belt. Holding it out, Batman looked at the small screen on the device, frowning deeply.

"What is it?" asked Diana.

"Green Lantern and Hawkgirl's communicators have just gone offline," Batman replied.

Her eyes widened. "You mean…?"

"I think so. I'll contact the others." He put his hand to his ear and contacted Superman.

While Batman conversed with the Man of Steel, Diana went out into the corridor and walked over to the elevator. She saw that there were two levels underground: the basement and sub-basement. She wondered if Luthor conducted all his less-than-reputable plans in one of those locations.

Batman joined her in the corridor and walked to her side. "Superman thinks we should regroup back at the Watchtower. He's on his way there now, and J'onn is there already. You go too; I want to stay here and continue searching for any plans or blueprints."

Diana's heart sank. She did not want to leave Batman. She wanted to stay with him in case he came to danger. She knew enough about Luthor to know that he probably had some dangerous security measures to protect his secrets. The thought of Batman coming to harm was more than she could bear.

"I want to stay here," she said. "If Luthor has any dangerous security measures, you'll need me."

Batman appeared insulted by that remark. Diana expected him to order her to leave, and leave him alone. "Wonder Woman…" he said.

"Save it," she said, holding up her hand. "I'm staying."

Batman glared at her for a few moments… then eventually, slowly, said, "Fine. Let's go."

Batman walked past her and pressed the 'down' button on the elevator. While they were waiting for the elevator to arrive, Batman said nothing. Diana found the silence unbearable. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the elevator arrived and the doors opened. He stepped in silently, and she followed him in. The doors closed and the elevator went down to the basement levels...

/

Lantern slowly opened his eyes. His vision took a few seconds to register what he was seeing. He was in a small room with plain, brown walls. He slowly looked around. There were no other features in the small enclosure. He looked up and noticed the roof - which was just above standing height - was made of glass. He could vaguely make out the area beyond and soon realised he was in a lowered pit IN a room.

He tried to stand, but failed and slumped back to the floor. He took a deep breath in, smelling unfamiliar odours. He looked at the ground and could see at the lower edges of the walls were vents: he quickly realised that some sort of gas was being pumped into the pit.

"Hey GL…"

Lantern blinked a few times at the surprise noise and turned his head. He saw the Flash and Hawkgirl, in similar weakened positions as him. He was dumbfounded: he must have really been weak to not notice two of his teammates, especially those two particular ones: the one who annoyed him the most, and the one he… loved.

"Flash…" he eventually said. "What's… going on here?"

"I don't know… I was in Keystone, then I was jumped by Luthor and his cronies. Next thing I know, I'm locked in here. I… have no idea how long I've been here…"

Lantern sighed. "You were missing for… five hours when Hawkgirl and I were attacked. We saw the reports of your attack on the news and went to investigate."

Flash gave a small smirk. "All the fuss over me…" He looked at the vents. "They've been pumping that stuff continuously since I've been here. It's some kind of sedative… not enough to knock us out, but enough to keep us feeling awful. And let me tell you… I feel pretty awful."

Lantern gave another sigh, before looking at his hand. His power ring was gone. He tried to will it to return to him, but he could not concentrate enough. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate as much as he could, but the gas was dulling his senses. He could not focus enough to power his ring.

He looked at Hawkgirl. She was on her knees, her hands supporting her weight on the walls. She looked like she was covering every inch of the enclosure with her eyes, trying to find weak spots. Lantern smiled; her determination was one of the things he admired most about her. He watched her as she scoured the pit, though he knew she would not be able to conduct her search as well as she normally could, with the debilitating gas around.

Lantern took another sigh. He realised they were trapped; they had to wait for the rest of the League to find them. He decided to talk to Flash - see if he could get any idea on who else could be involved with the Injustice Gang.

It could be a long wait for help.

/

The doors to the elevator opened and Batman stepped out, closely followed by Diana. They were on the sub-basement of the LexCorp building, the lowest level on both the building's plan and the elevator's route.

The basement was huge; at least four-hundred square metres. It was filled with crates, boxes and canisters. Batman walked around the complex and closely inspected each item. As he made his way around the basement, Diana stayed close to him. She wanted to be ready and near him if any danger occurred.

As she watched him conduct his search, she wondered why he had not said one word to her for over ten minutes. The elevator ride had taken several minutes alone, going down over three-hundred floors. During the journey, Batman had kept his eyesight dead straight, not looking at her once. Diana had thought about saying something to break the silence, but the Dark Knight's coldness had stopped her.

She sighed. She must have embarrassed him even more than she thought. The last half-an-hour had been unbearable, as Batman had all but ignored her during their search of the building. He had several times left her alone, going into a separate room. Diana felt miserable. The warmth and comfort he had given her on the rooftop had evaporated. Had she embarrassed him THAT much?

During the next fifteen minutes, she occasionally asked if there was anything she could do. Batman had only grunted answers, and one-or-two-words ones at that. He told her to just stay put and let him work.

Eventually, Batman met her in the centre of the complex and stood there. After a few moments, Diana asked, "Find anything?"

"No," Batman replied. "There are several things here – rare metals, computer parts, foreign materials, components of all kinds of stuff. But nothing illegal on their own, and the stock's no different from any other similar company. However, I'm sure some of the materials Luthor has used in his illegal activities are here… but like I said, nothing can be proved with the separate materials. We'd need something built FROM them - or in the stages of being built - that is intended for criminal use."

He removed a small metal hammer from his belt and went to one of the walls. He then began lightly tapping the wall, going all the way along it until he reached the end. He then repeated the action on the next wall.

"What are you doing?" asked Diana. Batman remained silent.

After a few minutes, Batman was nearing the end of the second wall, but then stopped. He tapped the same spot again, slightly harder, and smiled. Diana walked up to him. "What is it?"

He replaced his hammer in his belt, then removed an ultraviolet light. He shone it on the wall and Diana looked closely. The surface of the walls was covered with metal plates, but Diana could just make out a faint gap between the plating where Batman had highlighted. The gap was not more than two millimetres wide and was invisible to the naked eye unless you were looking really hard for it.

Batman put his light away and pressed his hand against the edge of the ten-feet-by-ten-feet wall plating. Nothing happened. He then looked at Diana. "Push there," he said, pointing the area he had touched.

She was puzzled, but did what he said. It was harder than she thought, but she soon managed to move the plate. It slid into the wall and spun slowly around. There, behind the section of wall, was a secret area.

Diana looked at Batman. "How did you…?"

"The sound behind that plate was hollow," he replied. He then stepped into the secret area, Diana following close behind.

They had entered a long corridor. The surrounding walls were metal, with fluorescent lights on the ceiling. At the other end of the corridor was a steel door. Batman strode towards it, with Diana never further than two feet away from him. They were now in unknown territory. She had to be close to him. She could not bear the thought of him coming to harm.

Reaching the door, Batman looked next to it to see a keypad on the wall. "The door is password protected," he said.

"We don't need it," Diana said, then moved infront of Batman, motioning him back with her hand. She grabbed the doorhandle and began forcefully turning it.

A massive burst of electricity suddenly coursed through her body. She screamed in agony and was thrown back a few feet, landing in a heap on the floor. Her body was smoking from the attack.

"Diana!" Batman screamed, running upto her and kneeling down. Diana slowly opened her eyes. She was still conscious, but weak from the shock. She spoke slowly, weakly.

"I'm… I'm OK," she murmured. "Just… give me a moment."

Batman had a pained look on his face, and Diana felt the warmth coming back. She could feel his arms holding her steady while she caught her breath. She tried to stand, but was still groggy, so she stayed on her hands and knees until her strength returned.

Batman's attention suddenly went away from her, at the sound of mechanisms moving. The two longside walls of the corridor quickly opened up, in quick succession, to reveal small rooms on either side. His eyes widened at the sight of several defensive droids and small cannons on wheels. The machines then slowly moved towards them, weapons at the ready.

Diana tried to move, but was still weak. She watched as Batman stood in a defensive posture near her, trying to provide a barrier between her and the machines. "Batman…" she said, "get out of here…"

He said nothing, just glaring at the machines, trying to keep an eye on all of them. Then, quick as a leopard, he leapt in the air, spun round and landing a few feet away from Diana. The machines, apparently attracted by movement, moved away from her and went towards the Dark Knight.

Diana could only watch as Batman dodged and cartwheeled around the machines, missing every energy blast and metal arm or weapon by inches. He sent off several batarangs, which exploded upon impact, destroying a few of the machines. Diana was captivated at his graceful movement; even in the most dire of situations, he always kept his cool. He did not look scared, merely determined as he manoeuvred around the deadly attackers. However, Diana knew that eventually, he would tire, and he would be wounded… or worse.

Batman kept on his toes, missing every attack. However, as he would destroy one machine, another would replace it. There seemed to be no end of them.

Eventually, he appeared to begin to tire, and let his guard down enough for one machine to hit him with a metal club. "Arrrrgh!" Batman grunted, and slammed against the wall, hard.

Another machine approached him, a buzzsaw hovering over his head. As the machine quickly lowered the spinning blade, Batman put his hand up to block it…

Then the machine's arm stopped.

Diana had managed to regain enough of her strength to lasso the machine's arm, mere inches from Batman's head. Then she pulled as hard as she could, sending the machine flying though the air, before it smashed into pieces on the wall.

For the next few minutes, Batman and Diana destroyed the remaining swarms of attacking machines. The chaos ended when Diana crushed the last one with a two-fisted hammer to the ground.

She rushed to Batman, who was breathing hard. He was tired, and she tried to hold him steady. He brushed her aside, however, with a forceful "I'm fine." He walked back to the steel door, but Diana noticed he was moving slower than usual; he was obviously in pain.

She went towards him. "Batman… maybe we should go back to the Watchtower."

"No," Batman said flatly. "I still haven't got what I came for."

Diana was about to respond, before a small mechanical sound caught her attention. Looking into the dark recesses of the openings that had housed the machines, she and Batman froze.

Suddenly, a final machine, with a blade attached to its top, wheeled towards them. Then, like lightning, the blade shot through the air, towards the two Leaguers.

"Diana, watch out!" shouted Batman, and pushed her away. The blade hit Batman and imbedded itself in his left shoulder. He screamed in agony as he was sent back. He stumbled for a few seconds, and then collapsed on the floor.

"Nooooooooo!" Diana shouted, and flew towards the machine, demolishing it with a single punch. She then floated to Batman and held his head. The floor was covered in blood; his wound had cut him - badly.

"Batman…" she whispered. Her eyes began to water. She held him, as his eyes rolled up, before closing. He lost consciousness in her arms ,and his breathing became ragged. "Batman, please wake up!" she screamed. "Batman!"

"BATMAN!"

TO BE CONTINUED