Chapter 18: Fear Will Find You

She certainly wasn't in Metropolis any more, that much was for sure. Floating rocks in a red sky over oddly course sands was what surrounded her now, as opposed to a vast city and an angry cloud. It was hardly what Shayera had been expecting when she had flown head first into a cloud of pure energy, but then today should have taught her already to expect the unexpected. Nothing about any of this was exactly normal.

She had awoken groggily. She had no idea how long she had been out but she dearly hoped that it hadn't been for long. She might not have let GL see it, but she had looked back to see the damage the cloud had done, the damage that he had managed to save her from. She knew the carnage that thing could wreak on Metropolis, but she also knew that Superman and the rest wouldn't just destroy it, no matter how logical a choice it became, not when doing so would potentially take as many lives as it would save. They had another way. They would make sure they took it.

Which meant Shayera had to act fast. There wasn't time to wonder, wasn't time to worry. There wasn't even time to take a second to make sure that wherever this place was, however she was there, and however physical she was there, she was still in one piece. She just took straight back off into the sky.

But with all the need for speed, it didn't help that she had absolutely no idea how to track her fellow Founders down. It wasn't like any of them were within view. Wonder Woman, Wally, J'onn and Batman could be anywhere in here as far as Shayera knew, and as far as she knew the laws of physics wouldn't apply in here either. This place could well be far bigger than it looked from the outside. Searching could well take forever.

At least it would if technology didn't work in this place either. From everything they knew, Shayera was now in a purely mental realm, a place where everything there was purely made of visions and imagination. Yet, looking down, she saw that she was still wearing the exact same clothing she had been wearing as she had flown into the cloud, still held the exact same mace. With a quick check, she noted that she still had the exact same comm in her ear, too. Perhaps that meant that the mind recreated those things. Perhaps that meant they could still work in here courtesy of the powers of thought, courtesy of knowing how such things should work. And perhaps the other four all had their comms in here as well.

"This is Shayera to all Justice Leaguers, do you read me?" she quickly called out after jamming on the device. There was no response, no sign at all that anyone had heard her, but then Shayera didn't exactly have an actual comm in her ear at the minute to send the call on. Hell, she didn't have an actual ear at the minute. It had certainly been a long shot. She shouldn't have got her hopes up.

But then Shayera spotted something else. The comm was giving off a signal. It wasn't a message, it wasn't words. But it was a locator signal, coming from a nearby League communicator. It was directions, and that was exactly what she had needed anyway. It seemed that these things had a rather selective use in the cloud, doing some jobs but not others. Odd, but Shayera didn't care. She had what she needed. She had her direction.

She just had to get there fast, before any more people died.

They knew the cloud was moving again, but they still would not act to help protect this world. It wasn't that they didn't want to help. They hadn't lost their heart, their compassion. They just couldn't help. Getting themselves killed along with the others would help no-one. So they would have to sit by, to remain hidden as they had done for hundreds of years, and try not to watch too closely as the Imperium devils inflicted yet more pain and suffering on an undeserving galaxy.

M'vall Ma'jolnyk looked across at her fellow Martians. Ever since they had departed away from J'onn J'onzz they had been here, silently listening, silently watching, silently hiding. Centuries really were such a long time. M'vall was so very tired of hiding. She knew the others around her were too. She deeply wished that things could be different. That they didn't have to keep hiding like this. But far more than that she didn't want to die. They had all sacrificed their lives once in an attempt to stop the spread of the Imperium's villainy. She for one wasn't planning on doing so again. They all knew that the Martian race had fallen. If nothing else, they had to live on to ensure that, in some strange way, it at least survived through them.

The humans would just have to hope that they could survive too. The Imperium had proved the Martians couldn't beat them. Nothing had changed, no matter what J'onn and his speedy companion had said.

Gazing into the eyes of her compatriots, M'vall saw in the glowing red that they were all thinking along the same lines, that they were all sympathetic to the Earth's plight. But she also saw that they too saw no possible hope, no point in sacrificing their lives to offer their telepathic strength for the fight. She was about to talk to them, to reaffirm to them that if they stayed here and stayed hidden then they could survive, just as she had done countless times over the years. About to, that was, until J'onn J'onzz's voice suddenly rang out in all of their minds.

"My people, before you shut me out, listen to me. Just listen, that is all I ask. My friends and I are about to engage the Imperium. We are about to try to show to you that there is hope, that you don't need to be afraid any more. We are about to try and prove to you that the Imperium can be beaten. I ask only that you listen to our attempt. If we are successful, if we can beat the Imperium, I may then ask once again for more. The Earth may ask you for more. But for now, just listen."

The connection ended as fast as it had begun, leaving no time for a response to be offered. M'vall was still angry at J'onn for his comments when they last spoke, for comparing her and the others to the enemy, for refusing to see that if they openly opposed the Imperium then all would be lost. She knew that was still clouding her judgement somewhat from the anger she felt as soon as she heard J'onn's voice in her mind. J'onn probably knew it too, that being the reason he kept things short.

That, and the fact that without turning this into a debate, with only making a request that wouldn't put them in jeopardy, he was rather persuasive.

"They're about to engage the Imperium? Just the four of them? They will be overwhelmed! They will be slaughtered!" one of the other Martians declared, staring at M'vall as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing, as if J'onn and the humans were mad for even thinking of doing what they were about to do. From the nodding and mutterings of some of the others around the gathering, it was clear that he wasn't the only one thinking along those lines.

"Perhaps," one of the others spoke up over the hubbub. "It is most likely. But these four were amongst the very few who defeated the Imperium before. These are the ones who brought about the final end of their leader. And two of them have already beaten the Imperium to reach the core of this cloud just moments ago. Surely if anyone has a chance, its them. M'vall, I'm so tired of living like this. So very tired. This might be the chance we've dreamed off of a life without having to watch our backs for the Imperium wherever we hide. We should at least listen, to know how real a chance that is."

"But we can't let the Imperium know where we are!" another jumped in quick. "We must listen from the shadows as before! We must stay away, and leave the fight to them. We musn't allow J'onn J'onzz to trick us into what he came to us for before!"

"Agreed," M'vall stepped in, knowing that they had to settle this quick, and not only because J'onn and his allies would be engaging the Imperium soon. She knew the cloud was descending back, intending to kill as many people of the Earth as it could. "You are all correct. We will listen. But we will remain hidden."

Her words, as they usually did, were taken as final. The Martians around her settled in, their eyes beginning to glow as they all began to stretch out to sense what was happening across the cloud. M'vall silently settled in to do likewise, though she wasn't looking forward to what she was about to hear, sure that it wouldn't be the convincing argument that J'onn was hoping for. She was always one for peace.

And listening to J'onn and the three others die, as they surely would, was going to be tough to hear.

They were ready. They had finally gotten far enough away from the central core and its luminosity. They were in place, and he had everything now worked out in his head. It was time for them to stop being thoughts and plans. It was time for them all to act. It had to be now.

Luckily J'onn did not keep them waiting. He flew in from across the way before the others – especially Flash – could get too fidgety. Batman was glad. He couldn't afford to be focusing on playing big brother to the group right now. Just as why he was trying to keep his eyes and mind well off Wonder Woman, those thoughts just weren't dark enough. And darkness was what was needed here.

"It is done," J'onn announced as he landed at Batman's side. "The Martians are keeping tabs on what will happen here. And I have made sure that the Imperium know we are planning to stop them. It is enough bait that they won't be able to resist coming to stop us. As soon as they can arrange a force that will allow them to still control the cloud, they will be coming."

"Then let's lay out the welcome mat," Batman growled. "J'onn, use what telepathy you can to strengthen my thoughts into the environment. It's imperative that I have control."

"I will do everything that I can," J'onn responded with a nod of his head.

"And Wondy and me? What are we doing in all of this exactly?" Flash piped up hurriedly, no doubt in a mix of both his usual rush and awareness of the lack of time.

"The legwork," Batman answered immediately. "When the Imperium come J'onn and I will be too busy altering the environment to engage them. The two of you need to keep us safe, and to make them hurt. That will make them even more afraid."

"Don't worry, I've got your back. You'll be fine," Wonder Woman replied, words full of subtext that Batman fought to ignore. It was time.

"They're coming," J'onn suddenly declared. "I can sense it. They'll be here in seconds."

"Then everyone get ready!" Batman barked out the order, mind already going into that darkness, into what he knew would make the Imperium afraid. "J'onn, as soon as they're on us, enhance my thoughts!"

The time had come. The time when everything rested on his mind, his darkness and sheer determination to win.

It was one hell of a good job he was the god damn Batman.

Barely had Batman shouted out the words than things were changing all around them, but it wasn't the environment first. She saw them coming, springing up out of the ground in an exact reversal of how they had disappeared before. Scores of them, more than they had engaged at the core. Far more. They certainly seemed like they meant business, like they wanted the four members of the Justice League stopped before they could do anything to stop them. Like they wanted the four of them dead.

The Imperium emerged a short distance away, weapons ready in hand, almost instantly taking aim. It was then when the real changes happened. It was then, with them in range and before they could fire, that Batman put his plan into action.

It was remarkable to see, and it hadn't been exactly what Wonder Woman had been expecting. Everything suddenly got bright, very bright, as if they were stood practically on the surface of the sun itself...

Of course. Of course! It had been sunlight that had been the key to them defeating the Imperium before, sunlight that had been the only thing to drive the Imperium off when it had seemed that the world was sure to fall. It had been sunlight that had made those physical Imperium flee in fear. More, the sunlight was so obviously harmful to them that being afraid of it was surely one of the most base desires for any Imperium, even in here. It was a survival instinct to fear it. There could well be nothing that the Imperium feared more. This was just an illusion, of course, but it would still make the Imperium was remarkable. Batman, the Dark Knight of the shadows, was using light to inspire fear.

And, despite it all, the irony of Batman inspiring terror with light wasn't lost on her. Especially having seen his thoughts about herlight so recently...

But, keeping such thoughts at bay, with her own wisdom Wonder Woman could tell that wasn't all Batman had done, that the light wasn't the only intimidation. The light alone was one thing, yes, but so was the effect it was having. It was nearly blinding, but not totally. Wonder Woman had enough vision remaining to see a couple of metres on either side of her. She could barely pick out Batman, J'onn and Flash through the haze, and they were right beside her. J'onn had said that the Imperium were afraid of being alone, of being unable to find their brethren and being lost, alone, without guidance. Now, with that light blinding them, they were even more alone. They had even more reason to be afraid.

It was remarkable. How did Batman always do it? How did he always know?

But there wasn't time to answer the question. There wasn't time for any of it. Bruce was right again with what he had said. What he was doing to the environment would not be enough. Staying here for any duration would make them realise that this sunlight didn't harm them like the real thing, and talking would let them keep tabs on one another. They had to be prevented from making those realisations. They had to be distracted. They had to associate the sunlight with pain.

They had to be beaten. Literally.

That was where Wonder Woman and the Flash came in. This was their part of Bruce's plan.

Though she couldn't see it, Wonder Woman could hear as the Imperium opened fire. It was blind, random, hopeful at best, but that didn't mean it couldn't possibly do damage. Leaping across the short gap quickly, Wonder Woman hurled herself in the line of fire, using her bracelets to make sure none of those pop shots came close to any of J'onn, Bruce or herself. The problem there was that it meant there was nothing much she could do to fight.

"Flash!" she roared out into brightness, knowing that Wally would be able to hear her. "Distract them! Draw their fire away!"

She didn't need to say what else she had in mind. It wasn't particularly complex, but the heat of a battle wasn't the time for conversation, no matter the purpose.

"I'm on it!" Flash hollered back. There was a sound of whooshing air, the faintest glimpse of nearby red.

More importantly, a few seconds later the shots that were actually coming her way ceased, yet the sound of firing remained. Flash was doing exactly as Wonder Woman had asked, getting in close enough to ensure the Imperium spotted him and tried to track him with their weapons. That meant they were looking elsewhere. That meant that they weren't targeting Bruce and J'onn. That meant that Wonder Woman had the perfect opening to go and start the damage.

She flew into the brightness, hard and fast, fists out just in case any Imperium she couldn't see got in the way. It was then that she noticed something else about the realm Bruce was creating with J'onn's aid. Batman wasn't just making a realm of sunlight. That sunlight was shifting, dancing, moving as everyone within it moved. It was keeping the Imperium trapped in it, keeping them blinded, but as much as possible it was making sure that Wonder Woman could see. And it was surely doing the same for Flash. That made Wonder Woman even more amazed at just how Batman was pulling this off. That really must be one giant strain on his mind. Good job his mind was so strong.

But she was strong too, and those Imperium soldiers were definitely about to find that out.

They were still firing any way but at her. She would have to thank Flash for that when they were done. What's more, as she got closer it was clear that Flash had actually lined them up for her. In simple, Man's World terms, he had lined up the pins ready for her to come for a strike.

And Wonder Woman did not fail him. She didn't get to see the white, gelatinous creatures for long before her fists were pummeling them to goo as she ploughed straight through them, but she saw just about enough to inspire some hope in her. There was nothing the aliens could do to stop her, but what was most important was that, already, they seemed to be slightly trembling.

The plan was starting to work. They just had to make sure it didn't stop working any time soon.

There was plenty of fighting to go. Those first few were just a pittance of the force the Imperium had sent after merely the four of them. It would take a lot more than that to convince the Martians to help them.

And so Diana surged on, courtesy of a corridor of vision that Bruce and J'onn were giving her, ready to help Flash try and bring as many of these aliens down as they could, as fast as they could.

But even as she went, she kept both eyes open. She didn't want to stray too far. Right now, J'onn and Bruce were every bit at risk as the world the cloud was so threatening.

And Wonder Woman definitely wasn't prepared to sacrifice one group for the other, not when there was anything she could do about it.

Batman's mind was working hard to keep up with all that was happening, to maintain the false sunlight he had shrouded the Imperium in and to keep it moving so they remained covered by it. All that being said, though, J'onn's mind was hardly restful right now. He had a lot on his plate too.

J'onn crouched low, keeping himself from becoming an obvious target. He knew that Wonder Woman and the Flash would do all that they could to guard Batman and himself, but they couldn't be everywhere, and there was a chance of at least a stray shot coming this way. That was why J'onn – and Batman – were both being careful. They were both too busy to be able to pay enough attention to the fighting to get involved in it. They were both needed too much elsewhere.

And in J'onn's case, elsewhere had an even stronger meaning than it did for Batman. He may be right beside Gotham's Dark Knight in the cloud, but his mind went both closer and further than that, all at the same time. It was a burden, a challenge, but it was one he had to face in order to ensure they managed to pull this off. On the one hand, he was telepathically connected to Batman, drawing in those thoughts, those tactics that he was using to try and get the Imperium as scared as the foes had made the other Martians here. On another, J'onn was amplifying those thoughts, using his telepathy to connect directly with the cloud itself. With his telepathy it was easier for him to alter the environment, but with Batman's skills in that particular field, amplifying was all J'onn was up to there.

For J'onn had to be elsewhere too. He had to make sure that the Martians kept listening. He had to make sure that they didn't miss anything. He had to make sure that, this time, his people saw that they didn't have to be afraid any more.

To do that his mind was focused on many places all at once. He had to keep tabs on Wally and Diana, to see their efforts, to see how many Imperium the two of them were defeating. That was intense enough on its own. Flash was a blur, moving at a hundred miles an hour as he tied the Imperium up in knots, getting them disoriented as they tried to track him with their guns only to then not even know which way they were facing thanks to the light Batman was throwing their way. Diana, meanwhile, was picking up the pieces, chasing after Flash as best as she could and finishing off all Imperium that came into view. Some were opposing her, some didn't have the chance, but with them separated by the light she was having little trouble in picking them off. And, of course, she was also keeping a watchful eye out on J'onn and...Bruce.

He also had to keep tabs on the Imperium soldiers who were here too, all the vast amount of them, to see how they reacted to it all, to feel as their fear grew from the light, seclusion and pain the Leaguers were throwing their way.

He had to keep tabs on all the rest of the Imperium too, the ones who weren't here, the ones who were guiding the energy cloud in its concurrent attack on the people of Earth. He had to see how they were feeling, if they knew of what was happening to their fellows here and if that sentiment was spreading.

And he had to keep tabs on the Martians, to make sure that they were hearing all of that. And to see how well it was working towards convincing them.

And, amongst all the noise trawling through his head, amongst all the chaos both here and outside the cloud, J'onn was delighted to be feeling plenty of fear and, most importantly, some faint traces of positivity coming from out there.

It was starting to actually work...

"They're actually winning..."

"They're pulling it off..."

"Can they hold out though?"

"The Imperium, they're scared! They're actually scared!"

"And they're being beaten!"

"The light, it's they're weakness..."

"And their loneliness without their great leader."

"The human's have actually turned the cloud against them!"

"Maybe we could too..."

"Maybe with our telepathy and the power over the cloud that gives us..."

"...will this work?"

"Should we help?"

"Dare we help?"

Those things and many more were being said by the other Martians all around M'vall as they all listened in. They had heard it all, listening very closely to the battle that was raging across the cloud. M'vall herself, was giving no reaction to what she was hearing, letting nothing on. In part, that was because she could hardly believe what was happening. Granted they knew that these humans who shared the cloud with them were not ordinary. They knew that, along with J'onn J'onnz, these were some of those who were responsible for the downfall of much evil, including the Imperium.

But knowing that and seeing it were completely different things. Seeing it, hearing it unfold, feeling the fear they were bringing to the Imperium, made everything so much more real. It made stories reality, legends truth. And it made the strength of opinions begin to wane.

That was what surprised M'vall the most. Just minutes ago she had been so firm in her determination. Shehad been so afraid, afraid of what the Imperium would do should they finally track her and the other Martians down after centuries of searching. Now, detecting the terror that was spreading amongst the Imperium themselves suddenly made that fear of hers seem almost foolish. If a mere four heroes could do this to an entire army, if they could keep defying them and still keep winning, perhaps there really was hope yet for the scores of Martians here.

Perhaps there was something they could do to help save this planet and its people after all. Perhaps they should dare.

At least that was what M'vall was starting to think until she detected the change, the change that could undo everything that J'onn and his allies were working towards.

And so M'vall remained silent. As things had been, she was being won over, she was actually leaning towards agreeing to help J'onn, to leading the Martians into taking control of the cloud and dragging it away from the people of Earth. Now though, she had to listen for how this played out before weighing in with her opinion, knowing full well that it could sway the other Martians one way or another. She had to hear if J'onn and his friends could continue to survive this, could continue to succeed.

For M'vall knew full well that that task would be far more difficult now that the one known as the Bat Man was gone.

Batman kept going, kept thinking. He had to keep the shroud of sunlight in place, keep the Imperium blinded, separated and less dangerous. It was vital. It didn't matter how difficult it was, how much of his mighty concentration it was requiring. It didn't matter if, even with J'onn's aide, thinking the cloud into altering was starting to get painful. He would succeed. He would keep the Imperium terrified, he would keep them weakened. Everything depended on it.

And with her out there fighting thousands with just the Flash to help her, Diana depended on it.

And so Batman would keep on thinking the light into place, using the Imperium's own link to the cloud to keep the light trapped around them as they moved. Batman's own darkness fueled him, inspiring him all the more to inspire such terror in the villains. In a great paradox, Batman's darkness kept the light burning.

That was the plan anyway. He only had the briefest of warnings. From his position there wasn't much that he could see, but he saw enough as the familiar figure came close. The winged figure, looking almost angelic framed against the background of brightness, coming right to his side.

And then there was nothing he could see as, before he could do anything to stop it, before he could react at all, and without further warning, the darkness suddenly took him.

She only had the merest fraction of time to react as the light suddenly disappeared, gone in a flash as if it had never been there at all. The Imperium weren't slow to try and take advantage, and Wonder Woman had to be quick to throw her bracelets up and keep the sudden barrage of shots coming her way at bay.

But it wasn't those shots that were worrying her. There were a hell of a lot, and maybe she wouldn't be able to for long, but for now she could handle them. No, it was why the light had gone that got her scared. Despite the barrage endlessly coming in, she dared to look back, to look at where he had been.

Only to find that Batman was gone, vanished without a trace.

Before she even realised it, Wonder Woman hurled herself into the air, flying fast across the distance and landing at J'onn's side. The Martian looked dazed and confused, but Wonder Woman didn't have time for that. She had other worries now very strong on her mind.

"What happened?" she barked, still dancing with the incoming shots thundering off her bracelets. Her voice was not only loud but full of passion. She couldn't keep her feelings, her worry out of her tone. What had happened? He couldn't be gone... "Where's Batman? J'onn, where is he?"

"They've taken him back to his body, back to the real world."

It wasn't J'onn who had answered. Wonder Woman had been so focused on Batman's absence that she hadn't noticed the new arrival until then. Shayera was there. What on Earth was she doing here?

"What do you mean?" Wonder Woman rapidly asked again, still deflecting shots away. Thankfully Flash seemed to have spotted what was happening. Even more thankfully, he seemed to have managed to put his own curiosity and worries at bay. Instead of racing over to join them, he was now working harder than ever to keep the Imperium occupied, rushing around in the distance to keep the Imperium going after him and to stop them from drawing in closer to a position where Wonder Woman might not have been able to keep everyone covered from their fire. "Shayera, what are you doing here? What's going on? What's happened to Bruce?"

"I don't know how much you guys know but this energy cloud thing is tearing Metropolis apart out there," Shayera was quick to answer, clearly well aware that time was not on there side here. "And the only way we've found to hurt it almost tore it apart, and that'd be bad news for all you lot in here and the people down below that the pieces of this thing would land on. So Fate and his band of wizards sent me in here, to use me as a way of tracking down the minds of you lot and the Metropolis citizens. That way they can use this mind switching spell of theirs to get you all back in your bodies where you belong, so that we can then take care of the cloud. That's what happened to Batman. He was the first that Fate pulled out of the cloud. And everyone else is next."

"We can't go!" J'onn shouted out in alarm. "More is going on here than you know. We can't destroy the cloud, even after we're gone. We have to stay. There are more people here to help than you know of."

"We'll explain to you as soon as we can," Wonder Woman chipped in, trying not to sound too relieved to hear that Bruce was alright. There were still plenty of others who might not be, after all. "For now, just try to stop Dr. Fate from taking anyone else and then give Flash a hand. We've got plenty of bad guys we don't want spoiling our party."

Shayera looked confused, but she also looked ready to comply. She was never one to run from a fight, especially when such trusted sources were telling her it was necessary. "I'll do what I can, but I don't know if the magician's can actual hear me. Heck, this day just keeps getting crazier."

With that she flew off, mace activated, soaring away towards the Imperium. The war cry she unleashed made it clear that she definitely meant business, but Wonder Woman had turned away before seeing how much damage her first swing did. They had to get back to their original plan, and that meant they needed a substitute for the best tactical mind around, and fast. In turn, that meant that she couldn't even stop to consider the implications of what might happen if Shayera couldn't hold Fate and the rest off from continuing their extraction plan until everything was done here.

"J'onn, can you manage to alter the environment on your own like Batman did, or would that be stretching your mind too far?"

"I fear I wouldn't be able to sustain all that I am trying to do and that as well," J'onn replied negatively with a shake of his head.

"Then I guess I better take over," Wonder Woman stated firmly. This sort of thing wasn't her forte, but she would have to do. Thank the gods she had Athena's wisdom. It would be vital in showing her the way to pull off what Batman had been so close to achieving. She didn't have his level of aptitude when it came to making fear, but people always pointed out that she was a beacon of light. It was time for her to prove them right, and make plenty of it. "Use my thoughts like you were doing Batman's. Do it now."

And she settled in with that, settled in to forcing her mind to focus, to calm itself solely onto thoughts of making the sun shine, of making those Imperium afraid.

Everything else, all thoughts of how well this was working, of how the other Martians would be reacting, of how safe Bruce actually was, would have to wait, no matter how difficult it was to completely cast them out of her mind. She had to literally grind her teeth to achieve that, to force those thoughts away and gain that focus on her new part of this fight. That took great willpower to pull off.

Especially for that briefest of seconds when she seemed to actually feel as somewhere, a long way away, Batman was waking up...

A/N:

And here you go. After a weekend of teaser trailers and poster reveals, the Batman/Wonder Woman/other DC related update you've all been waiting for! I kid of course, since even the crappy phone recorded version of the teaser looked ruddy awesome and I certainly approve of the costume designs, but here this is anyway.

Review/favourite/follow away please!