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.
PART 10
Superman slowly opened his eyes. As his vision focused, he felt a pain in his ribs. He slowly knelt up and saw he was in a cage. Beyond the cage was a bare, barren room, and at the bottom of the room was a glass square. He looked down and saw Green Lantern, Flash, J'onn and Hawkgirl in sedated states in some type of pit.
"J'onn… John… can you hear me," he groggily said.
J'onn raised his head slightly. "Yes… but we're not in very good shape. Luthor has tranquillising gas being pumped into this pit. It's keeping us too weak to do anything."
"Don't worry," Superman said, standing up, "I'll get you out of there." He reached out and grabbed hold of the bars of his cage… and was immediately assaulted with an electric shock. He screamed in agony as fell back down to his knees.
"Uhhhhhhhhn," he groaned. The bars must have been designed to let off an electric shock when touched. But he knew the effects of it now. He should be able to withstand another shock enough to break free.
He stood up and reached out again. However, when he touched the bars again, an even bigger electric discharge hit him. He screamed out and fell back down.
As his body smoked, he heard a door open and saw Lex Luthor and the rest of the Injustice Gang enter the room. He noticed Luthor was in his armoured suit.
"Luthor…" he said. "What have you done?"
"Ah, you're awake, Superman," Luthor said. "And I see you've been acquainted with your holding cage. I wouldn't try anymore escapes if I was you. It was especially designed for you. Deadshot designed it so with every contact you make with the bars, the electric shot goes up 10,000 watts. But I hope you don't try it out; I want you to see what's about to happen to your friends."
"What's your plan, Lex?" asked Superman.
Luthor walked up to the cage. "I plan on killing the Justice League, Superman," he said flatly. "And you're going to watch. And I'm going to kill them very, very slowly. Then, you will die also."
"If that's you plan," said Superman, "you're not very good at counting. You're missing two."
Luthor smiled. "Don't be so sure. The darkhaired woman is dead, and while I AM disappointed that Batman hasn't shown, I'm sure he will. And if not, well, I can kill him another time."
"Luthor, don't do this," Superman said. "Your issue has always been with me! Leave my friends out of it!"
"On the contrary," Luthor said. "Your friends were instrumental in my arrest. My revenge wouldn't be complete without their demise too." Luthor turned around and faced the pit. He moved his arms to the glass. "And now…" he said, "it's time to begin." His hands began glowing as the kryptonite radiation channelled through his armour, ready to release destructive energy.
"Luthor, you slime! Don't do…" shouted Superman. He reached out at the bars, and they again sent electricity through his body, more powerful than before. "Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!" Superman slumped to the floor, his entire body in agony.
"It's over, Superman…" said Luthor.
Suddenly, an emerald hammer hit the back of Luthor's head. Although the armour protected him from most of the impact, he was still knocked down. He fell down onto the glass floor.
"What was that?" he shouted. As he looked up, though, he saw a semitransparent figure move up from the glass. He then saw the form solidify, until J'onn was standing above him.
"No!" Luthor shouted, "You were tranquillised! This isn't possible!"
Green Lantern smashed through the glass and Flash and Hawkgirl climbed out of the pit. Lantern then willed his ring to glide over to him, and it slid onto his finger. "You're tranquillising gas has been put out of operation, Luthor," he said. "Once the effects wore off, I was able to focus enough to power my ring and bring it from where you'd put it, and knock you down."
"And now," Hawkgirl said, "It's time to knock you ALL down!"
"But that's impossible!" Luthor said, standing up. "The gas pumping machine could only be turned off by me! The only other way for the gas to stop pumping is if…"
"If the machine itself was destroyed, Luthor?" came a female voice.
Everyone's heads turned to see Batman and Diana standing in the doorway. Luthor's mouth was agape. "How is this possible?"
"You should have checked I was dead, Luthor," Diana said. "I destroyed your machine with one punch."
"Get them!" Luthor shouted at the other Injustice Gang members. "Without Superman, you still have a chance to beat them!"
"Which reminds me," Batman said as quickly removed a batarang from his utility belt. He threw it in the direction of Superman's cage and it struck the top of it, where the circuitry box was. The batarang then exploded, destroying the circuits and disabling the cage. Taking his chance, Superman ripped the bars away and stepped out.
"Now that you're all ready…" said Batman, "Strike hard - and strike fast."
/
The room was filled with chaos. The noise was so loud people could hear it aboveground, eventhough the noise was emanating fifty feet belowground. The noise was the sound of people… fighting for their lives.
Superman was battling with Solomon Grundy. Green Lantern was matching power rays with Star Sapphire. Hawkgirl was weaving her way around the Prankster's bag of tricks. The Flash was avoiding the Joker and Harley Quinn's attacks. J'onn J'onnz was locked in a test of strength against Lex Luthor. Batman and Diana were trying to stay clear of Copperhead and the Shade.
Superman punched Grundy through a wall, and turned to see Luthor knocking J'onn down with an electric shock. The Man of Steel moved to help the Martian, but Grundy reappeared from behind and locked Superman in a fullnelson. As Superman struggled to get free, Luthor took his shot and attacked him with a kryptonite ray. Superman screamed in agony, but J'onn stood up and tackled Luthor, stopping his attack.
Meanwhile, Lantern was protecting himself from Sapphire's rays in a green bubble. He tried to fire off an energy beam, but Sapphire's attack was too strong for him to concentrate. She eventually powered through his forcefield and Lantern was send falling to the ground. However, Flash saw him fall and rushed to him, catching him and steadying him on the ground. "Gotcha, GL," he said. Sapphire took her chance and fired at Flash, and he was knocked down by her beam.
The Joker and Harley approached Lantern and, before he could do anything, threw small marbles to the floor. "Ooooooh, he gonna trip up on those, Mr. J?" asked Harley.
"Oh, please," Joker said, "That is so corny." The marbles suddenly exploded and knockout gas flew out, engulfing Lantern and rendering him unconscious before he could react.
Hawkgirl managed to swat away the Prankster's attacks, but Joker caught her from behind with an exploding doll. The Thanagarian fell to the ground, the wind knocked out of her.
"Looks like the doll took out the doll," Joker said. "I love a catfight! HA HA HA HA HA!"
Copperhead launched himself at Batman, but Diana threw herself in the way and knocked the villain to the floor. Batman turned his attention to Luthor, firing a grapple at the leader of the Injustice Gang. It wrapped itself around Luthor, but he sent an electric charge down the line and it hit Batman, sending him flying to the ground.
"Nooooooooo!" Enraged, Diana flew at Luthor, crashing into him and sending him through a wall. She was about to continue the attack when she heard a hissing sound from behind her. She turned her head to see Copperhead moving towards the downed Batman.
"Batman!" She immediately forgot about Luthor and rushed to Copperhead, tackling him and knocking him away from the man she loved. Copperhead recovered quickly however, opening his mouth wide. He bit down hard… but his teeth met Diana's bracelets, and broke on impact. As Copperhead groaned in agony, Diana hit him hard in the face. He slumped to the floor, unconscious.
Luthor emerged from his hole in the wall and was met by J'onn. J'onn pulled his arm back to punch him, but Luthor hit him with a cattleprod. J'onn screamed in agony before Luthor hit him with his armour-augmented fist. "That's twice I've took you by surprise, Martian," he mocked. "Guess you're not as tough as you think you are."
Hawkgirl tried to get her breath back and looked up to see Prankster standing above her. He removed a pistol from his jacket… but a red-and-gold blur sped past him and suddenly, the pistol was gone. "What the…?"
He looked around to see Flash holding the weapon in his hand. "Looking for this, brighteyes?" he taunted. Taking her chance, Hawkgirl hit Prankster in the stomach with her mace, then knocked him out with her fist.
Sapphire tried to attack Hawkgirl with an energy beam, but Diana flew herself into the villainess, knocking Sapphire's ray offcourse and into Grundy. The giant staggered for a moment, and Superman hit him hard with a right hand, sending him into the air and to the ground with a thud.
The Shade suddenly released a cloud of darkness from his wand and the room was engulfed in pitchblackness. After a few moments however, the darkness suddenly disappeared, and Superman stood next to Shade, holding his wand. "How…?
"Can't hide your heartbeat, Shade," said the Kryptonian. Shade looked shocked… then fell to the ground as Batman gave him a nerve-pinch to the neck.
Sapphire hit Diana with an energy blast, sending her flying into a wall. Sapphire flew down and prepared to attack Batman, but her ray beam was blocked by Lantern, who had regained consciousness and protected Batman with a bubble. Flash then ran round in a circle, creating a tornado that shook Sapphire and sent her falling to the ground. "The girls fall for me everytime."
As Sapphire slowly stood up, Batman threw a batarang and hit her in the forehead, cracking her power diamond and knocking her out.
Realising he was now at a major disadvantage, Joker began to run. He turned to Harley. "Come on, Harl!" However, Harley saw her picture of the redhead – having fallen on the ground during the melee - and went to pick it up. Before she could reach it though, Joker grabbed her arm. "Forget that photo, let's go!" They ran out the main room to the corridors.
Seeing them leave, Batman ran after them…
/
Batman ran down the corridors of the hideout in pursuit of the Joker and Harley Quinn. The pair turned a corner, which Batman had earlier seen lead to a massive cargobay. As the base was originally intended as a nuclear fallout shelter, it would have been where food and water supplies were kept.
Batman entered the bay and saw a small jet. It was undoubtedly the Injustice Gang's transport which they had used move from Keystone city to this area of country so quickly. Also around the bay were fuel tanks and small boxes, most probably containing food and water supplies. So the bay had been used for its intended use afterall.
A movement caught his eye. He looked straight ahead of him as Harley appeared from behind a fuel tank, holding a gun. She aimed at him, but Batman knew she was just a distraction. He decided to play a hunch.
"You miss her, don't you?"
Harley blinked. "What?"
"I saw you with the framed picture, Harley. You tried to get it, but Joker wouldn't let you. Why do you have it?"
Harley was taken aback. "I… I don't know what you're talking about…"
"Why do you have a picture of Ivy? You miss her, don't you?"
She froze. "I… I…"
"I know you and her are good friends, Harley," he continued. "You don't want to be here, do you? You want to be with your friend."
Harley lowered the gun. "I… I have to be here for Mr. J…"
"You don't have to do anything, Harley," said Batman. "You want to be with Ivy, don't you? It's Christmas and you want to spend it with her. Christmas is a time to spend with the ones you love."
She forcefully pointed the gun at Batman again. "Like you'd know anything about that!"
"It's something…" Batman smiled. "I've recently come to realise."
Harley hesitated.
"Stop this, Harley," he said. "You can stop this, and I'll take you back to her. That's what you want, isn't it?"
Harley began lowering the gun. "I… I…"
Suddenly, Batman felt a hard object hit him in the back of his head. He fell down in a heap. "Uhhhhhhhhn…" He looked up to see Joker standing above him with a mallet in his hand.
"Ooooohhhhhhhh Batsy," the Clown Prince of Crime said, "I've waited years for this! Now I'm gonna wallop you so hard, you'll end up in a galaxy far far away! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Joker raised the mallet above his head, preparing to hit Batman hard. However, Batman stayed where he was: he had to play his hunch to the end.
Suddenly, a gun flew into the air, hitting Joker in the forehead. He fell back. "Arrrgh! What was that?"
Harley walked over and looked at the gun she had thrown. She then reached into her glove and pulled out a smaller pistol, before pointing it at Joker. "Sorry, Mr. J," she said, "but you're just not what I want for Christmas." She fired the pistol - and knockout engulfed Joker.
Before he lost consciousness, Joker looked at her. "Et tu, Harley," he said. He then slumped down, out cold.
Batman stood up. "Thanks," he said. "Come on, we better get back to the others."
Harley just nodded, and followed Batman back to the main room.
As they ran, Batman remembered what he thought earlier. About how someone deserved a happy Christmas this year.
He never thought Harley would be the one to get it.
/
Batman and Harley re-entered the main room, where the battle between the Justice League and the Injustice Gang was – or rather, had been - taking place. Batman saw all the Gang members on the floor, defeated, except for one.
Luthor charged his armour to maximum power. Electricity surged through the suit's circuits and lit up its wearer. His hands cackled with energy, before he fired a massive blast at the League. The group were thrown off their feet, and they all crashed into the surrounding walls.
Luthor raised his arms into the air. "Looks like I didn't need those idiots anyway," he said. "I have enough power to kill you all!" He fired another blast at Superman, but Lantern created a battering ram and pushed the Man of Steel out of the radiation's way. However, the blast hit a support beam, and the walls began to crumble.
"This whole place is going to collapse!" Batman said. "There're hundreds of tonnes of earth above us – we have to get out of here!"
Superman dodged another attack by Luthor. "Come on, Lex! The whole place is going to go!"
"No!" screamed Luthor. "If I go, I'm taking you all with me!" He fired a blast at another support beam. The dirt began to fall from the ceiling as whole complex shook.
Lantern ran over to Flash. "Flash, get the other Gang members to safety! You're the only one who can do it in time!"
"I'm on it!" he said. He picked the Gang members up off the floor, two at a time, and as fast as he could, moved them out of the complex. With his speed, it did not take him long to find the entrance port Batman had used to enter the complex. He moved Shade and Sapphire out the main area, through the hideout's corridors, up the port and to ground level. He placed them on the grassy ground, and continued on.
Meanwhile, the rest of the League began to group together. They stood next to eachother, as Luthor powered his suit again, preparing another attack. "Ready with the plan," Batman said. He reached into his utility belt and removed a lead box.
Suddenly, Luthor fired another blast, right at Superman. The kryptonite radiation hit him hard, and he collapsed with a thud. "Get him out of here!" Batman shouted. Lantern created a protective bubble and flew himself, Diana, Hawkgirl and Superman out of the hole in the ceiling.
"J'onn, get ready," said Batman.
"I'm going," J'onn replied. He phased his body and glided towards Luthor, the radiation blasts passing right through him. J'onn continued through Luthor, ending up behind him. He then quickly opened up a small hatchway in the armour, revealing the power core.
"J'onn, get out of here!" Batman ordered, as Luthor turned to face the Martian. Batman ran towards Luthor.
J'onn phased again, then flew up and passed through the crumbling ceiling. Before Luthor could turn again, Batman leapt forward, opening the lead box and removing the chunk of kryptonite. He quickly shoved it into the open hatchway, smashing the power core and imbedding the kryptonite in it.
Luthor swung around and caught Batman in the chin. Batman flew back falling to the floor hard. "Now…" said Luthor, "it's time to die, Batman!"
Suddenly, Luthor's armour lit up, as electricity burst out at all areas. The circuits began to fuse and short out. Luthor fell to his knees. "What… what have you done?"
"I figured you were using your armour at its fullest," said the Dark Knight, standing up. "With the amount of radiation you were using, you were already taxing your suit's power to the limit. I simply gave it more kryptonite than it could handle." He went down to pick Luthor up, to carry him out, but Luthor thrust his hand out and gripped Batman's neck and began squeezing his throat.
Luthor had a manic look in his eyes. "You're… going down with me…" he growled.
Meanwhile, outside and on ground level, Flash put Grundy, the last Gang member, on the ground. "Phew," he sighed, catching his breath. "I'm all tuckered out. Good job we're all out."
"Wait," Diana said. "Where's Batman?"
Suddenly, the earth collapsed in on itself a few feet from them, leaving a massive chasm. J'onn looked down. "He… he didn't make it out."
Diana's eyes watered, but then she shook her head. "No!" She then flew back down the hole, as the others looked on in shock.
"Diana, don't!" shouted Lantern, but she was gone.
Batman's breathing was getting more difficult and his vision blurred, as Luthor squeezed harder and harder on his throat. With his last ounce of strength, Batman pulled his arm back and hit Luthor hard in the face. Luthor released his grip, and Batman breathed fast and hard.
They stayed there for a moment, catching their breaths, as the ceiling caved in around them. The rubble and debris began falling in greater quantities, the chunks of ceiling getting bigger and bigger. As the complex collapsed around them, Luthor looked at Batman. "At least… I'm going to see ONE of you die…"
"Don't count on it…" Batman gasped. He then lunged at Luthor, grabbing his shoulders and attempted to pull him to safety. However, Luthor punched him in the face and Batman staggered back. Batman was about to go for him again, when he heard a cracking noise and looked up. Above him was a massive chunk of ceiling, about to fall right ontop of him.
Suddenly, he was pulled backwards out of harm's way, as the ceiling piece fell and shattered on the spot he had been standing on a second earlier. He turned his head slightly and saw Diana holding him by the scruff of the cowl. She then flew up, taking him with her. Batman looked back at Luthor, whose face was a mixture of disappointment, sadness, anger… and even calmness. It was the last thing Batman saw of him, as debris fell all around, until it engulfed him completely.
Diana flew out the hole to the ground above with Batman in tow, then gently set down and placed him on the grass. The entire League watched as the rest of the earth near them collapsed in on itself, completely destroying the hideout.
They all looked solemn. A few moments passed as everyone was silent, then Batman quietly said, "I tried to save him."
J'onn stared at the collapsed earth. "I don't think he wanted to be saved."
Lantern looked at Superman, who was still weak. "We better get fixed up, right after we take the Gang back to prison."
Diana meanwhile, held Batman tight. "Are you alright?" she asked.
"Yes," replied Batman. "You?"
"I'm fine," Diana sighed. "But next time you nearly get yourself killed… I'm going to kill you." She gave a slight smile.
Batman smiled back. "Let's go home," he said.
TO BE CONTINUED