Chapter 11: Given half a chance

The echoes of the courtroom still in his ears, Lex Luthor made himself comfortable in the limousine, as it navigated the streets of Metropolis. He poured himself a drink and took a few gulps. It felt good.

We've picked up any chatter?- he signed, still under the effects of the vocal chord paralizer.

Pearl grabbed the L-Pad and played the audio file.

-"What the hell was that all about, Diana?"

"Do you know how badly you screwed up…"

"Not one word until we're back in the Hall."

"Nothing else after that, Lex. They are making their way back, but both Flash and Green Lantern are taking their time."

Why would they rush back? A pissed-off Amazon is waiting for them- He took a sip from his glass. – And now they are going on the offensive.

Pearl's eyebrows shot up. "Against you?"

Lex nodded.

"That would be unadvisable."

Indeed. But they see no other avenue. In their eyes, I've taken out two of their own and I must be taught a lesson, now that they've seen that Man's Law has failed them.

"The Justice League won't…"

Pearl, they can and they will. I imagine the aforementioned pissed-off amazon will have one hell of a convincing argument dangling from her sword-arm.

They were silent for a bit, while the limo approached Lexcorp Tower.

"Are we ready for that?"

Lex smiled.

"Ok, now we're free to talk? Diana, when Luthor has us dead to rights, we don't throw a temper tantrum in FULL VIEW OF THE COURT!"

"I did what needed to be done, Lantern. Luthor killed them, I know it."

"THEN HOW THE HELL DID HE GET AROUND YOUR LASSO?"

"I…"

"DID IT RUN OUT OF BATTERIES?"

She banged her fist on the table and it cracked. "Don't you DARE mock me."

"Hal, come on." Barry placed a placating hand on Hal's chest.

"Barry, you're a cop. Tell HER how much damage this…outburst cost us."

Barry, with his mask peeled back, rested his forehead in his hand and rubbed his temples.

"You… did us no favors, Diana. After Luthor's team demolished your case, the cherry on top of that crap cake was your lasso putting the final nail on the case's coffin."

"But you weren't done!" Hal's voice cut in. "You needed to rip out the witness stand and throwing it at the public…"

"Hal, please…" Barry sighed. "I've done my fair share of testifying over the years and I can tell you that the public will eat it up. Basically, the Lasso of Truth cleared Lex Luthor of any wrongdoing." He produced his Smartphone. "Look."

"Everyone is trending the attack: #iobject, #tossitlikewondy, #ripthewitnessanewone…and #imwithlexluthor…"

"That insufferable wretch had it coming."

"We're screwed, Diana. You completely augered the super-hero community during Lex Luthor's trial. We could have lost the case, but could have planted the seed of doubt in people's minds. But after your outburst, I'd side with Luthor."

Diana stood, speechless.

"Face it, Diana, he's the most popular man in Metropolis."

"He's a murderer."

"We failed to prove that. And when things didn't go our way, we resorted to violence. After Clark, you are the most high-profile member of the League. Everyone will paint us with the same brush and anything we try to do to discredit or arrest Luthor will be seen through very, very skeptical eyes."

Diana sat down, her lasso crunched in her hand.

"What do we do now? Man's law has failed Kal…we failed Kal. Again."

For a long while, there was only silence.

"Do you believe that 'Batman hates heroes' crap?"

"Impossible. Bruce would never, ever do that to us."

Hal shifted, uncomfortably. "I'm not so sure about that, Diana."

She looked squarely at him. "What are you talking about?"

Hal touched his neck. "This is very embarrassing, but…" he pulled the neck of his shirt down, exposing a horizontal scar. "Back when I was a rookie lantern, I spent a few days in Gotham. I tried to collaborate with him on one case and it went badly. He took my ring and the little psychopath that was Robin back then almost killed me. I'm alive thanks to a field tracheotomy Batman performed after Robin crushed my windpipe."

"You never told us…"

"Of course I never told you. It was completely humilliating being neutralized by a nut and a teenager."

"So... Luthor's right?"

"I don't know, Barry." Hal said, exasperated. "What I do know is that Bruce wasn't exactly a paragon of mental health. Am I the only one who saw folders with our names and logos on Luthor's table? Batman knew my secret identity back then and I'm a dyed on the wool good guy. I really believe he got into his mind that he needed to know how to take me down just in case."

"But we know each other's identities now."

Hal threw his arms up. "Knowing that Batman was Bruce Wayne didn't reassure me, it scared the crap out of me. I trust Barry and you, Diana, but Batman? He was like a big shark, never too shy to show off his teeth. Always with his put-downs, always with his 'my way or the bat-high way." He paused, a bit uncomfortable. "I don't know if he pulled anything like that on you two, but to me that was enough. Let me tell you, no matter how I acted, I never wanted to be alone with Batman."

"Enough." Diana stood up. "I won't hear another word. Luthor will rot in hell, even if I have to take him to the depths of Tartarus myself."

Barry and Hal's stunned reactions were cut short by distress calls.

"Crap. There's trouble in Central City." "Alert in Ferris Aerospace." They almost sounded relieved.

She sat down and steepled her fingers. "We are done for now. Go back to your lives as if nothing happened. I will work on a strategy to bring Luthor down."

The door to the Hall of Justice shut behind Hal, and with that the bothersome green glow went away. She didn't care much for the place…too much of a boy's locker room. By the conference table, Kal and Bruce's emblems still decorated the back of the chairs and it hurt to look at them.

She passed her fingers over the cracked table, slowly feeling the texture of the break. She felt felt a pang of regret…and the overwhelming desire to do it again. "You won't get away with this, Luthor. You'll never get away with this."

Behind her, an unassuming blank wall came to life. Rows of numbers and letters flashed across it as a puzzled Diana turned her chair to face the screen.

***Voice ID: Accepted ***

***Biometric readings: Accepted***

***Wonder Woman identity confirmed***

The image showed Batman's weary face, and even his customary five o'clock shadow looked like a three day growth.

"If you're hearing this, it means that I have been incapacitated or slain. Either I was not able to make my case against him or my evidence was compromised. He is guilty, I know this for a fact and I need your help to prove it. It falls upon you, Wonder Woman, to set things right."

"This will not be an easy task. He has myriad eyes and ears and even our closest allies can be turned."

"It's in your hands, Wonder Woman." A panel popped out and a tablet with the yellow and black bat symbol slid out. "I leave you my emergency protocols. They won't work outside these walls. Be careful with what you see or hear in this place and don't talk about it outside the Hall. Security is paramount if you want to bring him to justice."

She pressed the bat symbol and began reading.