Chapter 22

Diana moaned softly as she tried to breathe, a breath that she felt like had been eluding her for so long now no matter how hard she tried to catch it. Her entire body felt chilled to the very marrow of her bones causing her to shiver despite herself.

The drugs pumping through her system had put her on a violent rollercoaster ride of storming emotions as she relived one memory after another. They soon turned into an endless string of distorted images and feelings that wildly morphed from one into the next, becoming all jumbled and making no sense whatsoever.

Images of her mother mingled with a past face-off against Cheetah, Bruce turned into Lex Luthor, Superman morphed into the Flash who quickly became Darkseide, training with her Amazonian sisters suddenly turned into memories of sparring with Batman.

One moment she thought she was back on Themyscira with her mother only to believe she was on the Watchtower with her fellow League members. She swore she had seen Batman on more than one occasion standing before her, an unreadable expression on his stoic face.

Her heart had sunk like a rock when he had refused to help her, blaming her for getting herself into trouble. He had told her she should have been stronger, should've fought harder. He yelled at her for being weak, telling her that he didn't know what he had ever seen in her.

Superman had made an appearance also only to scoff at her as well, telling her she was no longer a part of the League if she couldn't figure a way out of the mess she'd gotten herself into. It had broken her heart to hear the two men she cared so much about talk to her like this. She'd had to remind herself over and over again that it wasn't real, just delusions the meds were creating, but it was growing more difficult as they continued to fill her full of drugs.

She didn't know what to believe or think anymore, which memories were real or could be trusted. She was exhausted, her body aching from head to toe with no end in sight. She knew she was beginning to lose herself. Soon, she feared she wouldn't even know her own name.

Bruce's handsome face suddenly filled her mind again, causing her to gasp softly with intense longing. He still loved her…didn't he? She knew she needed to hold on to that belief with all that she had. It felt like it was all she had left as she felt her sanity beginning to slip through her fingers. She feared if she lost herself, she'd lose him too, wouldn't know him when he came for her.

As much as she loved him and wanted to see him, Diana was scared for him, afraid of him being captured and put through the same insane experiment that Luthor and Joker were attempting on her. She didn't want him to be forced to relive those horrifying memories of his parent's murder, to have to endure that horrible nightmare and anguish that caused him to build those defensive walls around him that had kept her at bay for so long.

She was afraid that she'd never be able to break through those walls again, that he'd push her out and shove her away from him for good. She couldn't endure that. She'd finally found the love and happiness that she had wanted with him for so very long. She now feared losing it…losing him.

The feel of fingers gently stroking her face caused her to immediately bristle and yet there was a small measure of comfort behind the tender gesture. She longed so badly for it to be Bruce. 'Please let it be Bruce,' she chanted over and over again in her head.

Through slitted eyes, Diana found herself staring into the eyes of Lex Luthor, a wicked grin spread across his face making her internally shudder. She swallowed hard past the parched feeling that made her throat feel so tight. She hadn't had anything to eat or drink since Luthor had taken her.

"Wake up, Wonder Woman," he pleasantly called to her, his hand coming to rest against her cheek. "It's time to move on to the next step in our little experiment."

"You…you won't…win…" she hoarsely gasped, barely able to keep her eyes open.

Luthor chuckled at her tenacity. "Oh, but I think you are very wrong," he chided her. "Batman should be here soon if he was able to figure out the clues we left him in the message we sent him a few hours ago."

"No…no, please…no…" she begged, tears rising in her throat. "Leave him…him out of…this…"

"I'm sorry, but I can't," Luthor continued to taunt her with a sweet voice with intentions that were anything but. "You see the three of you are the key to my plans finally coming together. You and your friends have caused me more pain and frustration over the years then I care to dwell on. It's time you were stopped once and for all."

"Leave them…out…just…just me…" she frowned, finding it difficult to form coherent thoughts or sentences now.

He was increasing the drugs he was giving her again, suppressing her ability to fight back. She needed to keep battling it, to not allow the meds to take over. She had to keep her mind, her memories. She couldn't allow them to alter them in any way or they would use them against her – they would win.

Diana gritted her teeth, squeezing her eyes tighter against the darkness that was slowly seeping into her mind, attempting to twist and change her thoughts, her memories against her. She wouldn't let them use her to get to Batman, to Superman or the rest of her friends.

Luthor finally straightened up, crossing his arms against his chest. Wonder Woman had turned out to be much harder to control than he had first estimated she would be. She should have already begun to succumb to the memory drugs by now, her mind a complete blank slate ready to accept what he wanted to put into her mind.

He knew she'd been having hallucinations, but it wasn't nearly enough. He needed her mind to be free of previous experiences and memories so he could mold it and fill it with what he wanted her to be, to do for him.

Unfortunately, she had continued to fight him at every turn, choosing to cling to the troubled memories, the bizarre twisting that the drugs were inducing within her mind. He was going to have to increase the drugs as they proceeded with the next step in the process.

"Let's get started with part two," Luthor suddenly announced.

"Sir, she's not ready for that," the young man in the white lab coat frowned. "She's still experiencing her own memories. We need to wait for them to disappear before we can implant new ones."

"We don't have time to wait any longer now," Luthor scowled. "Batman will be here any minute. If we wait too much longer, he'll have the whole League busting through those doors and the plan will have failed. I can't risk that happening."

"Don't worry, Lexie," the Joker cut in. "I'm more than ready for the Bat. His time to pay for his interference in my plans over the years as finally come due."

"No," Diana whispered to herself. She needed to do something before the Joker got to Bruce. She couldn't let him get hurt, couldn't allow him to endure the pain of his past all over again.

Something deep within her began to smolder, her anger erupting and spreading through to every fiber, every muscle and ligament, every cell beginning to respond to her ever-growing fury. She began to tremble as she fought to gain control of her body, her mind, in order to protect the man that she loved more than life.

She pressed the back of her head against the headrest of the chair she was strapped to as she felt unexpected warmth and tingling continue to swell inside of her like a powerful thunderhead before washing through her in a violent rush.

She couldn't suppress the cry that tore from her lips as something reawakened deep within her, something powerful, familiar. Tears leaked from her closed eyes as hope sprung anew. She suddenly knew beyond all doubts what it was.

Her powers were returning to her. The Akusu hadn't removed them completely, only suppressed them.

Somehow, someway they were coming to life like a tiny spark that suddenly burst into a flaming inferno deep in her soul. She felt unimaginable relief and hope return to her along with her powers. She could stop them now – stop Luthor and the Joker before they could hurt Bruce.

Luthor's dark gaze immediately narrowed as he watched the Amazon struggle against her restraints, her scream alerting him to the fact that something more was going on. He studied for a moment longer before realization came crashing down upon him.

Just then, Diana ripped free from one of the arm restraints with a gasp of joy. It had taken extreme effort, battling the meds coursing through her system in order to accomplish even that minor achievement, but she wasn't about to give up now.

She opened her eyes with a fierce growl, her gaze locked on the man standing before her. She was going to make him pay dearly for all that he had done to her, for what he had planned to do to the Justice League.

"Stop her!" Luthor growled. "She's gotten her powers back!"

"Or it was just a trap and she's had them all along!" the Joker yelled. "You fool! We should've used stronger measures to keep her sedated!"

"Start the process…NOW!" Luthor shouted.

The young man immediately began typing in the codes as Diana's leg suddenly broke free. "You…are not…going to win…this time…" she sneered at them.

Even though weakened by what they had done to her, Diana's powers had returned, her super healing already beginning to counteract the drugs in her system. Her breaths were coming in exerted pulls, her heart hammering with the need to stop these two before they hurt Batman and Superman.

"Give her more drugs!" the Joker screamed as he began to slowly back away from her, his eyes wide with what was happening.

The straps on her right arm began to pull free from the chair as an electrical current suddenly surged through her brain causing her to scream out in pain. The effect was paralyzing her entire body, keeping her from fighting free.

It felt as if she was on fire from the inside out as she trembled and shook from the brain wave equipment that had been altered for their purposes. With her free hand, she tried to reach up to pull the wires free from her head only to have the pain intensify beyond anything she'd ever experienced before.

"Start implanting the new memories now," Luthor grinned viciously, his attention focused solely on the Amazon before him.

Her mind was a violent frenzy of activity – memories being tainted, altered beyond recognition. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think straight. All she knew was incredible pain that was tearing her mind to shreds, trying to destroy who she was.

She was going to lose herself.

He noiselessly landed on the roof of the warehouse with ease, his fury running in hot waves just beneath his skin as he quickly made his way inside through a vent. After watching the vid a few more times, he had been able to figure out that they were holding Diana on the outskirts of Gotham in an old abandoned factory.

Batman knew he was walking directly into a deadly trap, but he couldn't have cared less. They were holding Diana and nothing else mattered to him except for getting her back with him where she belonged. No one was going to stand in his way of getting to her – least of all Lex Luthor or the Joker.

Moving swiftly through the ventilation system, he moved stealthily through the dark shadows that had swallowed him whole the moment he had entered, his sole focus solidly in his mind. Hearing muffled voices, he paused long enough to pick up on the direction of the sounds, his heart beginning to race with the knowledge that he was growing closer to finally getting her back.

She'd been missing for forty-eight hours now and while it had only been two days, it had felt like an eternity to him especially knowing whose hands she was in. Watching that vid had only hardened his resolve even further to make them pay dearly for hurting her.

He had felt such utter and complete helplessness watching Diana being treated so brutally; having to sit there and not being able to help her had been pure torture. It reminded him once more why he fought so hard, why he had become who and what he was.

But now that he was here, he could actually do something about it, could get her out of there and make them feel the heat of his wrath. They would have to answer to him for what they had done to Diana.

He quickened his pace, moving with his usual flawless agility and skill. He ignored the numerous cobwebs trying to block his way as well as the sound of mice scurrying out of the way and deeper into the shadows, his focus solely on getting to Diana.

Nearing the end of the vent, Batman crouched lower to peer through the slits, the white lens of his cowl narrowing at the sight of Diana. She was still strapped down to that chair like some animal, but had somehow managed to get an arm free making him wonder how that had happened.

Had she somehow managed to get her powers back?

The thought caused his heart to skip a beat, relieved she was no longer defenseless against these maniacs. However, by the way she looked at that moment, he didn't think it mattered whether she had her powers or not. Whatever they were doing to her was taking a great toll on her, sapping her of her strength.

He was afraid that she wouldn't be able to take very much more. "Come on, Princess," he whispered to himself. "Hang on a little longer. I'm coming."

Diana suddenly screamed out in excruciating pain, causing his blood to become a river of ice in his veins as his fear for her intensified. He had to get down there soon and put a stop to this madness before he lost her forever.

He could feel his wrath begin to burn even hotter as he watched her suffering, his throat constricting. He was angry with her for putting herself in this situation, furious with himself for not having been able to stop it. He should've never let her go, should've kept her at the manor where she would've been safe.

At the same time, he knew deep down he couldn't do that to her, try to protect and shield her from every danger, to keep her from being who she was just because of his own fears and insecurities. He wouldn't want to change the woman he had fallen so in love with any more than he would want her to try to change him.

It didn't make watching what was happening to her now any easier, though.

He momentarily closed his eyes, forcing the man inside to shove his fear for Diana out of his mind, knowing he needed to focus on stopping Luthor and the Joker. Opening his eyes, the Batman was back in control once more. His fury, however, refused to be contained at that moment.

He quickly began to assess the large room, taking in everything while at the same time forcing Diana's screams from his mind. He couldn't allow himself to dwell on it. He knew he wouldn't be any good to her if he rushed in there and got himself captured as well.

They had knowingly led him here and were no doubt more than prepared for his arrival. Taking one last look at the woman he loved, he slowly began backing away from the ventilation opening.

Superman entered the Watchtower, fatigue weighing on him as heavily as his worry over Diana. They'd been unable to find any sign of where Luthor had taken her. He had scoured Metropolis for two days now and had come up empty. Wherever Luthor had taken her, it definitely wasn't there.

He wearily rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger as he made his way to the monitor womb. He'd had to abandon the search for Diana for a few hours in order to help evacuate a city when an earthquake had hit in Peru.

Now that he was back at the Watchtower, he wanted to check in with Bruce to see if he had been able to come up with anything yet. So far, Diana's status was only known among the seven founding League members, trying to keep information limited. Somehow rumor had spread that Diana had been injured in the Akusu attack instead of off-world like they had announced.

Batman had been worried about a possible leak within the League which Superman had thought was highly unlikely, but he had to admit that it was better to be cautious at this point especially with Diana's life at stake.

Bruce hadn't wanted to take any chances until he'd had a chance to do a thorough sweep of the Watchtower to make sure their systems hadn't somehow been hacked into. Even though he felt Bruce was being overly paranoid, Clark had decided it couldn't hurt to make sure.

Entering the monitor womb, Superman found J'onn sitting at the computer monitors. "Hi, J'onn," Clark greeted him. "Have you heard from Batman at all?"

"No, nothing so far, but an encrypted message came for him several hours ago," J'onn reported. "I sent it directly to him."

"Any ideas about where or who it came from?" Clark grimaced, not liking the sound of it.

"I was unable to track it, but I'm sure that Batman has been able to by now," J'onn reassured him.

"I need to talk to him right…" A sudden alarm began to sound causing Superman to stop in mid-sentence.

"There's another encrypted message coming in," J'onn frowned as he attempted to contain it. "This one is for you only."

"Can you track where it came from?"

J'onn shook his head, frustrated by his lack of success. "No, but I was able to contain it."

"Play it," Superman told him, crossing his arms against the "S" on his chest.

J'onn immediately began to work at breaking through the encryption, Diana suddenly appearing on the screen. She was strapped to a chair, an IV in her arm. The sight of her alive brought a great sense of relief and at the same time a deep roiling anger that demanded retribution within both superheroes.

Lex Luthor suddenly appeared on the screen, a gleam in his eye and a confident smirk on his face. Superman's hands immediately balled into fists at the sight of his enemy, wanting more than anything to get his hands on him for what he had done to his friend.

"Superman," Luthor greeted him. "As you can see I have a guest here with me that you might know. She has kindly agreed to take part in my little experiment, but I'm afraid that we still need you and the Batman for my plans to be complete."

The Joker's maniacal laughter filled the air as he suddenly appeared beside Luthor. "The Bat is already on his way and should be here any moment," the Joker grinned. "All we're missing now is the man in the blue tights!"

"I'm sure your girlfriend here would love to see you again," Luthor told him as he took hold of Diana's chin. "That is if she makes it through what we have planned for her."

The screen suddenly went black, leaving a cold sick feeling of dread swimming in the pit of Clark's stomach.