Chapter 9: Fall From Grace

' This is the moment your life changes forever. ' – Brainiac , Season 1 0 , Episode 4 : " Homecoming ".

[SHARP GINGLE] - "Breaking News here in D.C." [VISUAL CUE – SWITCH TO PICTURES], there have been reports of a flying caped man all over the city." [SWITCH TO JOURNALIST]

"It was first believed that this superman was touring over the city to provoke fear or fascination but he then stopped at the Capitol – interrupting a vote of the Senate with an astonishing declaration, listen!"

[VISUAL CUE] The screen switched to a video of the superman standing in the middle of the chamber, branding around a pack of hard drives. "I hold here in my hand," the man's charismatic voice captivated the elected senators. "The proof that the Luthor administration has been perpetrating crimes against humanity." A hubbub of surprised exclamations came over the chamber. "I put these documents in the hands of the Congress, trusting your judgment to do good by the constitution of this country."

[SWITCHING BACK TO JOURNALIST] "Yes your heard him right the first time: President Lex Luthor and his government are being accused of crimes against humanity. As of now, the Senate and House of Representatives have been called into an emergency session to look over the documents and make a decision on the future of this country. The president's whereabouts are currently unknown and the White House has declined any comment on the situation. Stay tuned, you're witnessing history in the making!"

[CUE AD SEGMENTS]

May 31st 2012. 07:31 PM UTC-6. Watchtower, Metropolis, Kansas, USA.

J'onn J'onzz felt like he had woken up from an unending nightmare when he opened his eyes. The Watchtower wasn't supposed to feel warm or particularly welcoming to any normal person and yet, as he sat up on his bed, J'onn found a reassuring vibe in these steel bars and industrial styled complex. For months, he'd been strapped to a medical bed and lived these times in short but painful experiences. The cold white light of the projectors, the stone-faced surgeons experimenting on him and the pain of the operations... all of this was over.

The door wheezed opened and J'onn smiled with great enthusiasm at the sight of a frantic Emil Hamilton rushing to his side. "John? You're up? How are you feeling? You really should lie down, your vitals weren't looking good."

J'onn laughed and shook his head. "Actually, Emil... I'm feeling great! I don't know what happened but I feel no pain, no fear and no sadness. It's... quite incredible!" It was puzzling to be in such a joyful mood after the harrowing time he had endured at the hands of Luthor's scientists when time and time again all he ever felt were negative emotions and the feeling of an inescapable, miserable death.

Emil couldn't quite believe his eyes. "Don't move, John, please!" he put his hands on the martian's arms as if the other man was going to escape at any second. "I need to draw your blood and do some tests, I can't understand your sudden recovery."

"Why my friend, please do." J'onn presented his arm. "Have you got any news about the others?"

Emil nodded, his eyes staring at the special needle inserting into his patient's arm. "Yes and I'll have to tell you they aren't as overjoyed as you seem to be." he said gravely. "Chloe is doing her best to communicate with Victor."

"Communicate?"

"His mind is trapped inside his body." Emil explained. "His internal computer sustained damage and that sticks him into passive mode. It's a long story really."

The martian had no doubt of that. He was missing quite a bit of information at the moment and he still hadn't quite realized it was the first time in months he'd been in the presence of a person who was meaning him no harm, and a friend, no less. "What about AC and Dinah?"

Emil pursed his lips, slipping the vial of blood into his pocket. "Dinah woke up yesterday and it's not looking good. She's been crying non-stop since then, the shock, no doubt and she has trouble talking."

"Dear Hezza, what terrible things had they done to her?"

"Well... I have no certainty but if anything the scars on her throat are a dead give away they've been messing with her vocal cords but I'm more worried about her mental state at the moment."

J'onn stood up. "Can I see her?"

Emil was still looking at him as if he might break and he seemed to hesitate for a moment before he made an almost nonchalant shrug. "Why not? I'm sure the sight of you might help her. She's downstairs in the bedroom, Chloe's with her at the moment."

"Thank you."

"Oh, wait!" Emil stepped in his path. "I'll go with you, I don't want you out of my sight until I've examined your blood and made further checks."

J'onn smiled. "As you say, Emil." he acquiesced and followed him down the stairs. "So you found Dinah and Victor, what about AC?"

Emil paused mid-step and gave him a grave expression. "Trust me, J'onn, you don't want to know."

"Back with us live on CNN and the super-man who accused the president of crimes against humanity is being questioned by the Congressmen at the moment while data experts have been summoned to the Capitol to parse through the data brought about, the first reports should be made in the next couple of hours.

Also in parallel of all of this, the Congress has put out a communiqué demanding the White House to suspend any activity for the rest of the day while the investigation is ongoing. Congressman Kenvald, representative of the congress, has cited the unique demand to be motivated by the recent events as well as the importance of the accusations brought against the government.

Indeed, as the president and his staff have yet to appear on camera, the entire world is standing on the brink of destruction while the american people are waiting with batted breath the decision of the Congress which could change the fate of the planet."

Chloe turned down the TV's sound and watched Oliver, Bruce and J'onn talk together, their conversation being at turns serious, gloomy, even and turning lighter at times. It summed up the general dichotomy in the atmosphere surrounding the Watchtower at the moment.

They were still dazed from the quick successions of event that brought back their friends and defeated the government's forces on direct confrontation with the Suicide Squad's help. With J'onn's mysterious come back to form, Chloe had seen her friends sport genuine smiles for the first time in a long time.

Even as the world seemed to be facing it's first major crisis since the cold war, the League felt almost disconnected from this reality. Holed up in their secret hideout, the well-being of their friends took precedence over everything else, as selfish as it might feel, after the difficult events they all had to live through, Chloe knew it had strengthened their bond. They were a family and family came over everything else, even the world.

The Watchtower's doors slammed open and a storm almost came knocking Chloe down as Lois rushed to hug her. "Oh my god, Chlo! You're there, you're alight!" she squealed.

"Aw, Lois." Chloe tightened her hold on her cousin. The two women hadn't seen each other face to face since the FBI had kidnapped them at Oliver's penthouse. Even after Bruce had gotten them out, they had decided to stay apart so as not to bring Lois into Lex's radar since she remained their last link to the world.

Lois pulled back watching Chloe in awe. Her eyes were wide as if she couldn't quite believe she was standing here. "I really, really, really missed you, cuz! God, don't make me go through that again!"

Chloe felt her eyes filling with tears. "I missed you too, Lo." she couldn't trust herself to say more or she might cry. Lois wasn't faring much better either as when hugged her cousin once more, gripping her as tight as she could so to make up for the months she couldn't do it.

"What, no hug for me?" came another voice behind them.

Lois laughed. "Believe it or not, Queen but I love my cousin more than I love you."

"Hey it's okay, I feel the same." Oliver winked at Chloe, his expression softening when he caught sight of a young woman still standing in the doorway, looking almost afraid to step further inside.

He opened his arms and whispered."Come here." She came running into Oliver with such force he had to take a step back when she hugged him. "You alright, kiddo?"

Mia nodded, sighing in relief. "I'm okay..."

"Yeah? You don't sound okay." Oliver appeared concerned and took her by the shoulders so he could look at her face. "I take it living with Lois has been hell." he smirked.

The young women chuckled while Lois snapped her head around to scowl at Oliver. "Nah, it was alright. I mean... more than alright." she corrected at the sight of Lois's playful glare.

"Careful, there Missy!" she warned.

Mia rolled her eyes. "So, yeah okay, the food was terrible."

Chloe and Oliver laughed as Lois looked dejected. "What happened to take out, Lois?" he asked.

"What did you expect me to do? You'd taken my cousin away, I had no one to rant to about my job, men and-"

"Well, Mia was there." Chloe interrupted her.

"It's not the same!" she insisted. "She's underage!"

With another shake of her head, Mia looked down and bit her lip. "I really missed you, though." she admitted. "Both of you." she added, glancing at Chloe.

The latter gave her a watery smile and wrapped an arm around her. "You're sweet, Mia."

"So it's over know? You're free?" she glanced up to their faces looking almost innocent.

Oliver pursed his lips. "Let's just say we bought some time." he wasn't willing to lie to her. "What happens next doesn't depend on us."

"Oh!" Lois exclaimed, making the rest of them jump. "You won't believe the masses of people that are gathering around outside!"

"Outside?" Chloe started, alarmed. "You mean-?"

"I mean everywhere!" Lois answered with grand gestures. "People are taking to the streets since Clark came to the Senate. It was Clark ,right? I can't believe he didn't tell me!" she started to rant. "The guy goes off the grid for two freaking years then comes back supercharged messiah style and he doesn't even find a minute in all of this to stop and call me!"

Her excitement had everyone else grinning and shaking their heads. "I mean, can you believe that? Clark Kent, a super-hero? THIS IS CRAZY!"

Someone cleared their throat behind Chloe and Oliver. "When was the last time you ate something, Lois?" a warm voice came into the conversation. "I'm asking because I seem to recall you saying something about hypoglycemia and I have these doughnuts, here..."

"John!" Lois shrieked, precipitating herself towards the box of doughnuts presented to her by the martian. "You're my favorite person in the world right now!" she said with her mouth already stuffed full of food.

John grinned. "I'm happy to see you haven't lost your energy, Lois."

Mia crossed her arms over her chest. "Can't say I'm surprised either." she started, wryly. "That woman has enough energy to rival a nuclear plant."

Chloe chuckled, glancing in amusement at the younger woman. "Ain't that right..."

Lois looked up from her box of food. "What's that? I can't hear you over all these DOUGHNUTS!" she went to take another bite but paused mid-bite when her eyes set on another figure standing apart from the group. Her eyes widened and she let go of the doughnut – which hit the ground with an unequivocal splat - to run a hand through her hair quickly. "Oh, Bruce, hi! I didn't know you were there!" she smiled, uncertain of herself.

Bruce Wayne too was hesitant. He hadn't been sure what to do when the woman came in earlier and had compromised to stay in the same room but apart from the group that had gathered. He swallowed, crossing and uncrossing his arms, moving his dark cape in the process.

"Lois." he said finally.

Her jaw dropped and she looked him up and down. "Oh. My. God!"

"Have you witnessed the government's crimes first hand?"

The unnamed savior stood at the testimonial spot in front of the Congress' commission, well aware of the countless pair of eyes rived on his blue and red uniform. "No."

The congressman readjusted himself in his chair. "Where do the hard drives you brought us come from?"

"They are a copy of the database in a government installation settled on the Metinic Island."

"Did you copy the data yourself?" the congressman insisted.

"No." the savior admitted. "They were given to me."

"By whom?"

He hesitated. "I cannot tell you that."

The congressman sighed, sitting back in his chair. "If you are going to withheld such critical information, how could we trust you? How could we trust the data if the source isn't verified?"

"I understand your concerns, sir." the savior replied calmly. "The sources wish to remain anonymous and – I've already said it – their identity isn't necessary to the investigation. Everything that you need to know has been brought to you."

Another congressman chimed in. "Well we could have the police give a visit to the Metinic Island's facility, couldn't we?"

The savior rose a hand. "Sir, with all due respect, that would take too much time. Wait for the reports and watch the data. There are pictures, videos and detailed proof that Lex Luthor and his administration are guilty of crimes on an industrial scale."

"Let's hope for yourself that you are right, son." The chairman said. "At the moment, we have your sole testimony to corroborate with your accusations and without any indisputable proof we cannot stop the government from leading to us to a war not even Russia and China seem to want."

He hammered down on his desk. "Audition is over. We will resume this session once the experts have made their reports in half an hour."

Oliver's indications had been extremely precise, especially about the way to get into the building. Tess was almost apprehensive to step out of the elevator when it reached the final floor. She felt like an intruder in what was the League's headquarters.

She had decided to move when a noise came from the lit up room on her right. A man wearing a white blouse and small glasses came into the corridor, carrying a heavy piece of medical equipment in his arms. He managed to turn off the light and close the door clumsily when he noticed her standing by the elevator.

"Oh," he froze and cleared his throat. "Hello?" he started tentatively.

Tess looked like she'd been caught hand in the cookie jar. "Um... hello."

"Are you Tess... Mercer, is it? Tess Mercer?"

She felt stupid for even hesitating. "Yes, yes that's me." she nodded emphatically.

The man grinned and stepped closer to her. "Oh well, hi, I'm Emil Hamilton, the League's physician." he said. "Oliver said you would come by."

There was a moment of awkward silence. "I take it, things are moving on your...er.. side?"

Tess licked her lips. "Why yes, my superior sent me here to act as a liaison agent." she replied. "We're tracking down Luthor and he wants you to be informed in real-time."

"Ah the infamous Lex Luthor... any luck yet?"

She shook her head. "No, but we have been told there's some unrest in the army bases stationed close to the capital, he might be giving orders remotely."

Emil's brow furrowed. "This man isn't going down without a fight, is he?"

She looked down. "No, that's certain."

Another moment of silence. "Well! I hope you'll feel welcome here, go right ahead, they're waiting for you." Emil nodded towards the double doors. "If you could just open the door for me... This electrocardiogram is heavier than it looks, actually." he readjusted the machine in his arms.

She smiled. "Of course."

"Thank you."

"Excuse us for the interruption, we are back live on CNN!

A wave of panic have seized the crowd gathered in front of the capitol when US military troops tried to surround the Congress and demanded the congressmen to renounce the investigation being conducted on the government. Several Television Networks were visited by soldiers and we were forced off the air for an hour.

The Congress denounced a coup and demanded the army not to interfere with a constitutional process. Everyone feared the worse when the troops drew their weapons and a bloodbath may have been averted when a garrison of soldiers led by General Samuel Lane arrived at the Capitol, and demanded the coup to be aborted.

After a tense standoff, the rebelling troops received the order to return to their barracks by their leading officer, Colonel Riccardo who presented himself to be arrested by General Lane. He admitted following orders emanating from the Joint Chieffs of Staff's chairman – General Revson.

Samuel Lane had been evicted from the JCS's command a year earlier to be replaced by Revson and advised the Congress to issue an arrest warrant for General Revson who is believed to be following the president's call.

It's getting clear President Luthor tried to get control of the situation by force through Revson while he is leading an attack on the Sino-Russian alliance who, in turn, declared to be prepared for war but said to be ready to back down if the U.S. aborted the attack.

It was with an electric mood that the Congress voted a preemptive decision to cancel the attack and demanded the President's return on national soil. 'The message has been transmitted to every leading officer' declared General Lane. 'We hope they will listen to their common sense and stop this madness.'

At the moment, there have been no public answer to these calls by the military and the attack on China and Russia is believed to still be programmed. Stay with us for more!"

Bruce found a moment to subtract himself from Lois's attention and make a call. He was watching the woman's every move as the phone's tune echoed against his ear and a familiar voice picked up. "Hello?"

He smiled. "Hi, Alfred."

"Oh, Master Bruce! Have you seen the news today?"

"Of course, Alfred!" he smirked. "Who could have missed it? It actually reminded me of a conversation we had."

"Which one, sir?" Alfred's querying tone replied.

Bruce kept his gaze on Lois who was discussing with the group about Mercer's intel. "The one where you urged me not to don the mask again." The butler knew when to remain silent. "I've been thinking about that Italian café and... it's... Well I feel it's time for me to retire, for good this time."

For the longest time, Bruce could see a life for himself after the Batman and the old man's words had been in his head ever since he uttered them. After witnessing the horrors Luthor was capable of, after helping Oliver and Chloe get their friends out of trouble, he felt like a chapter of his life was closing and, seeing as the League was going to get stronger again, maybe it was the time to end the Batman's return and let them take care of things.

"Alfred?" The butler had been silent for too long.

"Master Bruce," Alfred paused. "Have you truly been watching the news?"

Bruce was confused. "Why yes, the Congress, the coup-"

"Forgive me, sir," Alfred cut him off. "I should have been more precise: Have you been watching Gotham's news?"

"Has something happened?" he asked in alarm.

"Well..." Alfred's british drawl couldn't conceal the healthy dose of irony in his voice. "There's a bright sun shining down on the mansion, you wouldn't believe it! Oh and Commissioner Gordon has been calling on your computer in the cave, I hear there are rumors about a – what did they call him? - a big guy, I reckon they said, a big guy who seems quite adamant to take over the city."

"I'm on my way."

"I wouldn't want to disrupt your activities, Master Bruce," Alfred conceded. "You might be needed at Master Queen's side more than you are at Gotham now."

"No," Bruce shook his head. "They will manage fine without me. If Gotham is in trouble then I'm going."

"Anyway," Alfred breathed. "Whichever direction I look, our caped friend is needed."

"And you're fine with that?" he asked, testing the butler's take on the situation.

Alfred made an amused noise. "I feel it would be selfish of me to tell the Batman not to do it when he's so obviously needed."

"Your opinion matters, Alfred." Bruce insisted.

"My dear child, the decision is yours." The butler replied. "And I will support you regardless of your choice."

Bruce smiled. "Prepare the Batmobile, I'll be here in two hours."

"It's ten to five here in D.C. and the sun is still a long while away from setting but it's already been a crazy day!

Just ten minutes ago the Congress decided to issue a statement, breaking the confidentiality of their investigation since they decided to continue their session in private. The Congress' speaker announced that General Demasson is tasked to arrest any government staff at the White House while Samuel Lane is leading an expedition to arrest the JCS' Revson.

On her way towards Rikers Island, Condoleeza Reiser declined any comment, as did every other member of the government.

At the same time, we have been told there are factions of the army defecting from the President's command. Lex Luthor is rumored to be the leader of only a fraction of the initial forces, some say he is already fleeing some of his officers who are trying to capture him.

The net is getting tighter against the President and his followers! Stay with us, we'll keep you updated."

Oliver yawned when the elevator's doors closed. He worked out the kinks in his neck, stretching his arms above his head. "Sorry," he said. "I guess I'm starting to feel the lack of sleep now."

Chloe rubbed his arm. "You've been up for almost two days straight, you really should lie down."

"You say that like you weren't the same," he smiled. "What do you say we lie down together?"

"Hey it's not the same, I had a nap this morning, unlike you!"

"You looked really tired though."

She looked up at him. "Just like you do now. Come on, after this visit, we'll find a quiet spot to sleep in."

"Deal," he kissed her forehead. "Though I'm not sure we'll be able to catch a break if Lois keeps hooting for her father to catch the bad guy."

She couldn't help grinning. "Uncle Sam's back in business, what's not to love? He looked pretty proud of himself on TV."

"I still feel we owe him for getting the information of KUDEVIANT on his own, he's a pretty stand up guy." Oliver said. "I'll be happy to meet him."

"You need to meet my dad first." she reminded him.

"Right," he smiled. "And you need to meet Dayton."

"Hey, I've been wanting to do that for years, Ollie!"

He wrapped his arms around her, turning her around. "We'll do all of that when we're done with Lex."

Chloe nodded, putting her head against his shoulder. "He has to go away for good now." she said. "He's been hurting us and the world way too much and I have enough of living like a fugitive!"

"Shh, it's gonna be okay," he whispered into her ear. "Lex's going down for a long time once we catch him. Then, we'll take a long, very long and very deserved vacation. Okay?"

She sighed. "Mmhmh. Ollie?" she asked after a moment. "What if I... if we... I mean-"

The elevator tinged, its doors drawing open to reveal an underground level.

"Yeah?" Oliver asked.

She gave him a tight smile. "Nevermind, we'll talk later." she tugged him into the room. "Come on."

The Watchtower was an old building that had been made over an abandoned underground parking composed of two levels. Level one was the garage and secret entry, it was a path often used by the League's members when they wanted to get into the building incognito.

The second underground level had been unused until today. It was there, behind a column of storage boxes that Emil had setup a temporary laboratory dedicated to Arthur's condition. The poor seaman was shacked up to the wall and being kept away from water since they discovered the treatment inflicted on him had convinced him his friends were dangerous people who ought to be arrested and tried for crimes.

He had single-handedly almost killed them all when he attacked the Expandable with them onboard. Hadn't it been for Clark's intervention and things would have tipped in Lex's favor.

"How is he?" Chloe asked.

Emil looked back from his equipment, his face grave. "It's as bad as I thought, unfortunately." he said. "He's been subjected to intense brainwashing and his brainwaves are entirely disrupted." he pointed to the encephalographic results. "I'm afraid that any treatment I might give him now might do more damage than good."

Oliver sighed, glancing at his sedated friend on the medical table, wires stuck against his skull linking him to several machines. "Can you do something?"

"I need to do more tests." Emil said. "A scanner will be a good start but I'm afraid we might have to do behavior treatments to try to reverse the process."

"You mean psychological exchanges?" Chloe asked.

"Yes, electroshocks might prove more useful but there are too many risks and no guarantees. He might end up being catatonic." Emil admitted.

"How long is this going to take?"

Emil struggled to give him an answer. "The only honest answer would be: years."

Oliver's shoulders deflated. "So be it." he declared. "We'll help him become his old self again, no matter how long it's gonna take we can't let Lex win."

The intercom buzzed, forcing their minds off AC's fate for a second. "Yes?" Emil answered.

J'onn voice came over the device. "Are Chloe and Oliver down with you?"

"We're here J'onn!" Chloe announced, approaching the device on Emil's desk.

"We found him."

Oliver's head perked up. "Where?"

"He's hiding in South America." J'onn explained. "There's this patch of amazonian forest marking the border between Colombia and Panama. The Suicide Squad found a rehabilitated facility right in the middle of it, they traced Lex's presence in there."

"... the forest between Colombia and Panama, you said?" Oliver's head was twirling.

"Yes, it's called the Darién Gap... Why?"