THE LEGACY OF A HERO
By C. W. Blaine ([email protected])
All characters contained herein are trademarked by DC Comics Inc. This original piece of fiction is copyright 2000 by C.W. Blaine. DC Comics Inc. neither endorsed or authorized this work of fiction.
"Bruce, good to see you," Hal Jordan said, standing up from the table he had at the exclusive French restaurant. He struck and impressive figure in a suit and tie, so different from the Green Lantern uniform he normally wore.
Bruce Wayne took the hand and acknowledged him.
"Your message indicated this was important," he said sitting down. "Why didn't
you just come to the Cave?"
Hal sat down as a waiter came over and asked if they
wanted anything to drink. Hal ordered a diet soft drink; Bruce ordered a glass
of their finest white wine. When the waiter had departed, Hal continued in a
low tone. "Well, I've invited some of the others and I wasn't sure if you would
appreciate them invading your 'territory'."
Bruce nodded again. "How's the arm?"
Hal held up his left arm and shook it. "Better than
ever. How's the back?"
Bruce smiled. "Better than ever."
Hal looked behind Bruce and stood up. Bruce did the
same and turned to see a pair walking in, hand in hand. The man was tall,
muscular even under the expensive suit, with a clean-shaven face and brown
hair. The deep blue eyes gave away the man's identity instantly to Bruce.
"Arthur, it's been awhile. You shaved."
The woman, stunning in both figure and presence,
wearing a blonde wig, gave Arthur a hug. "Wouldn't do very much for your image
to be seen with two known super-heroes," Princess Diana said.
The four sat down and made small talk until they had
all been served with drinks and had ordered their meals. They sat in silence
for a moment until Diana spoke up. "This is the first time we have all been
together since the Coast City Memorial service."
Hal's face went ashen. "I still sometimes wonder if
I had been here…."
Bruce looked at him. "Don't punish yourself with
wondering what you could have done…be happy that you are able to do something
to prevent it from happening again."
"I couldn't believe it when I got back to Earth…I
should have known better, I should have been here. There should have been a
Corps presence in this sector. My God, do you realize that there were two
active and one inactive Green Lantern on Earth that day?"
Arthur spoke. "I understand you've initiated some
changes in the Corps."
Bruce broke in. "I thought I saw Guy back in uniform
on CNN."
Hal nodded. "I tried to recreate Coast City using my
ring and the Guardians interrupted me. They called me back to Oa to receive
disciplinary action for using my ring for personal gain. There was an instant I
thought about going there and killing them."
The table was quiet. All of them had faced that
situation before. For Arthur, he remembered the murder of his infant son by
Black Manta. For Bruce, it was a never-ending list. For Diana, as an Amazon
warrior, she was no stranger to killing. "In that brief second, though, I
remembered Clark and how he had died. I remember thinking that maybe if he had
come back, then maybe I could bring Coast City back. I couldn't though, but
maybe, if the Guardians had been doing their job, a Green Lantern would have
been here, so I went to Oa and challenged their ability to lead. I won."
"So you run the Corps now?" Bruce asked.
"Not by myself. You may have noticed some of our
fellow heroes have disappeared in recent months. After Mongul and the
Cyborg-Superman destroyed Coast City, the anti-alien sentiment on Earth has
been growing. Ollie and Diana are on Oa right now, working with John Stewart on
setting up the admin section."
"Becoming a politician?" Arthur asked as he sipped
his mineral water.
"No, that's Ollie's department, I'm in charge of
recruitment. Alan Scott is there, too."
"I wondered where he went? I was hoping to get to
work with him since he became young again," Bruce said.
"I thought you had retired," Diana said. Bruce
noticed an engagement ring on her finger.
"I though Amazons were celibate."
She blushed slightly and Bruce noticed a small grin
on Arthur's face. "I am retired. With the drop in super-heroes, I've found that
I'm more useful coordinating. Richard is currently filling the cowl."
"Good choice," Hal said, accepting the food the
waiter brought him. When they were alone again, he spoke. "I was thinking of
recruiting him for the Corps."
The reply was blunt. "Don't."
Hal understood and moved to a different subject.
"The reason I asked you here was to ask you to reform the League."
Eating stopped immediately as the weight of the
statement sunk in. Two years before, an alien killing machine called Doomsday
had nearly destroyed Metropolis. It had devastated the Justice League of
America and was only stopped when Superman had killed it. The price had been
Superman's life.
In the ensuing months, four individuals had
appeared, all claiming to be the resurrected Superman. None were. One, a
cyborg, had allied with the alien conqueror Mongul, and had destroyed Coast
City. Only the efforts of Hal Jordan, the hero Steel, Superboy, and Guy
Gardner, specifically recruited by Jordan, were capable of apprehending the
criminals.
With Coast City gone and Metropolis in shambles,
non-human super-heroes were looked upon with distrust. Over the past few months,
several of them had disappeared, while other super-heroes simply retired.
"I'm not interested," Bruce said, taking a bite of
chicken.
"Get interested, Bruce; I can't do this without
you."
"Why us, Hal?" Diana asked, picking at her salad.
"Let's face it people, with Clark gone, we're it,
we're the ones that the people associate with the term super-hero. All of us
have been members of the League at one time or another. We each tried our own
way to run it, without the other's input. It was that arrogance that allowed
Doomsday to kill Clark."
For once, Bruce Wayne was silent as he ate. The
other three knew that Superman and Bruce, as Batman, had a very unique
relationship. Bruce respected few people and Superman had been respected the
most. Bruce had also been trusted like no other by him.
"I need to know that Guy has back-up here if
something bad happens. Earth appears to be a magnet for intergalactic
terrorists and I don't want him operating on his own. The League is needed not
only for that, we need to convince the people that everything is going to be
all right. Clark's death has affected the populace even more than we thought."
"I don't know," Arthur said. "I'm happy doing what
I'm doing now, working on improving relations between the surface world and my
kingdom. I have an obligation to my people and to my family." He squeezed
Diana's hand.
"And I don't play Wonder Woman anymore, Hal. When I
accepted Arthur's proposal, I had to resign my position as ambassador for my
people. I can't be an Amazon Princess and an Atlatean Queen."
"Yes, I know, you've all retired, but you have the
experience needed to set up a good, well-organized League."
"Not interested," Bruce Wayne said again, not
looking up from his plate.
"Bruce, please…."
Bruce put down the fork and stood up. "I'm sorry,
Hal. You have good motives, but I don't think that a new League is what is
necessary. The simple truth is that we, the people of Earth, should be able to
rely on ourselves, not supermen. It was that trust in the League that allowed
Doomsday to walk through the police and the army. I'm sorry that Clark is dead,
but I will not let that affect my decision."
Hal felt himself getting angry. "No, death never
affects your decisions does it, Bruce."
Bruce gave him a hard stare, the reference to his
parent's death stabbing into his heart. Hal realized that he had just crossed a
line and that there was no turning back. "Dinner is on me," Bruce said as he
walked out of the restaurant.
Lois Lane sat looking at the envelope, as she had
for every night for two years since her husband had been killed. She had been
married to Clark Kent, famous in his own right, but not nearly as well known as
his secret identity of Superman. The letter was addressed to her in handwriting
she did not recognize.
She had found it in the apartment she had shared
with her husband, sitting on the table where it was right now, despite the
elaborate security system her husband had installed. Someone had broke into the
apartment, gotten past the best in Kryptonian security technology, and left it
while she had lie in tortured slumber only days after the public funeral for
Superman.
Clark Kent had been listed as missing, along with
hundreds of others, in the aftermath of Doomsday's assault on Metropolis. He
would not be listed as officially deceased for another five years since no body
was ever found.
With Clark out of the picture, several eligible men
had hoped to get to know her better, but she had shut them all out. She worked
out of her apartment, only venturing out on occasion, and always at night. The
former girlfriend of Superman made for great tabloid headlines no matter where
she went.
The envelope was a mystery. She thought, at first,
that it would contain information about Clark. Then she considered the
possibility that one of Clark's enemies was trying to blackmail her. She didn't
know, but she did know she was afraid to open it.
Two years is a long time, and finally she had
decided to open it. With trembling hands she picked it up. She brushed a lock of
auburn hair away as she tore the top away. It turned out to be a check for
several million dollars. There was a sticky note attached to it that simply
read "in respect for him".
It was a cashier's check, drawn on a bank in
Switzerland. She recognized the bank as being one that several known
billionaires used to hold funds, including Lex Luthor Jr. She considered it.
Luthor, the reported son of the original billionaire that had once vied for
Lois's affections, was presently married to the super-hero know as Supergirl.
Supergirl, though no relation to Clark, had worked with him several times. Had
she revealed Superman's identity to Luthor? Was he trying to make up for the
feud that had occurred between his father and Superman?
She pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number.
"Jimmy? Lois. Get over here right now and bring that hacker friend of yours. I
need to break into a bank."
"You're too short to be Batman," Wally West said as
he flipped over the pancakes. He stood, in his Flash costume, in the kitchen of
the Garrick residence in Keystone City. Richard Grayson, in casual clothes, sat
at the kitchen table sipping a cup of tea.
"You're too stupid to be cooking," Richard shot
back, a smile on his face.
Before Wally could verbally retaliate, a young, dark
haired woman came in wearing only a T-Shirt and panties. She was beautiful,
with smooth Asian features and a sleepy look in her eyes. "Wally, who are you
talking to?" she asked right before noticing Richard. She screamed and ran back
out of the room, only to emerge thirty seconds later with a pair of shorts on.
"Why didn't you tell me Richard was coming by for breakfast, dear?" she stated
coldly.
"It's my fault, Linda, I came by to talk to dummy
and he convinced me to stay to eat."
She walked over to the table and gave Richard a
quick kiss on the cheek. "If he'd put that much effort into getting our house
built…."
"Hey…"
"Oh, but if he builds a house at super-speed, he
thinks every super-hero in the world is going to be calling him. I think he's
full of it."
"Only been married a week and already she nags me
about the job," Wally muttered.
"I heard that Mr. West!"
In the blink of an eye, the table was full of food
and beverages and Wally had taken a seat. "You guy's gonna eat or what?" he
grinned.
"So," Linda said, pouring some syrup, "did Jay said
when they'll be back?"
Wally stuffed a pancake in
his mouth. "It'll be a couple of weeks. They said that setting up the Justice
Society Museum is too much fun and they want to see it through past opening day."
"Hal Jordan called me last
night," Richard said, grabbing an apple.
"Really?" That had perked
Wally's interest. He and Hal Jordan went way back. Jordan had been Wally's
uncle's, Barry Allen, best friend. "I didn't know he was back on Earth. Last I heard,
he had recruited J'onn J'onzz and Hawkman to join him on Oa."
"What about Hawkgirl?" Linda
asked.
"It's Hawkwoman and she and
Hawkman have had some marital problems in recent years," Richard answered.
"Ooohhhh, super-hero
gossip!" Linda exclaimed between bites.
Richard shrugged. "None of
my business, but I hear she's seeing Ray Palmer, one of Hawkman's old buddies."
Wally whistled. "That's
bad."
Richard dismissed it. "He
asked me to help form a new Justice League."
A hurt look came over Wally's
face. "He didn't ask me."
"No, he asked me to tell you
he wants you to consider reforming the Titans."
Wally shook his head. "I
understand Roy Harper has that department covered."
"I read in the paper that
the Titans disbanded," Linda added.
Wally ran the idea in his
head. "I'll call Roy and we'll see. I'd rather be in the League if it's
reforming, though."
"I told him you would say
that and he said the Titans are needed to train younger heroes. He said you
would be needed there more."
"What did you say?" Wally
asked.
"I said I would have to talk
to Bruce about it. He keeps me pretty busy in Gotham and we're a little
short-handed since the Joker killed Huntress."
"I don't understand why you
don't drop that bastard off of a roof," Wally said. "I mean, look at everything
he's done."
"We don't kill."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Still,
after everything, I can't say I would handle things the way you guys have. If
anything were to happen to Linda…"
She reached over and kissed
him. "You're so sweet, you know that?"
Richard got up and went to
the refrigerator. "He said Bruce was against the idea of a new League."
"Figures. You know your
'dad' has a problem with teams in general. He didn't join the League for years,
even though they practically begged him to join. He didn't want you on the Teen
Titans. He's too much of a loner."
"Losing your parents can do
that to you."
Wally was quiet for a second
and Linda excused herself to get dressed. "So, what are you going to do?"
"I don't know. I think it's
a good idea, but I don't want to get into another disagreement with Bruce.
We've been getting along really well lately, it's like old times."
"What does Barbara think?"
Wally asked, wondering what Richard's girlfriend thought of the idea.
"That's what's funny, she
wants me to quit being Batman so we can raise a family."
"Uh," Wally began, not sure
what to say. The Joker paralyzed Barbara Gordon, Richard's girlfriend, from the
waist down, the result of an attack. Parenting was impossible.
"I know, but something changed
last night. Hal offered her a power ring. With it, she can walk again. She
tried it out last night. We made love for the first time."
"So, the problem is…."
"So, we both want to have
children, but there's no way we can raise them if both of us are super-heroes.
The only way she can keep the ring is if she becomes a Green Lantern."
"Kind of cruel, not like Hal
at all."
Richard sighed and pulled
out a pitcher of orange juice. "No, he said I was his first choice and he had
been told to stay away from me. His ring indicated that Babs was a prime
candidate as well."
There was silence as Richard
poured a glass of juice. "I don't know what to do, Wally. I can't do this to
her, but I can't let Bruce down either."
"What can I do?" Wally asked
his friend.
"Just be there for me."
"It's just funny seeing you
in here every day, Bruce," Lucious Fox said. He sat in a comfortable leather
chair in front of Bruce Wayne's desk at WayneTech. "Don't get me wrong, it's
your company and your change in attitude has been refreshing."
Smiling, Bruce Wayne set
down the report he had been reading. "Let's just say that I think it's
important that I at least have some input on how my money is spent. You're
still CEO and I'm not here to tell you what to do."
Lucious was about to answer
when the door to the office burst open. Bruce's secretary could be heard
protesting as a woman entered. She was attractive, extremely attractive, clad
in a business out fit that was cut short to reveal long legs. Her fiery brown
eyes highlighted her auburn hair. "I'm sorry, Mr. Wayne, she just broke in,
ranting about wanting to see you."
"Damn right," Lois Lane
said. "You and I need to talk, Mr. Wayne, right now and in private."
Bruce didn't lose his smile.
"Welcome to WayneTech, Ms. Lane."
"Tell them to leave, Mr.
Wayne," she said from behind her sunglasses. She lowered them down her nose and
eyed him. "It's about your child support."
Eyes went wide, but Bruce
continued to smile. "Lucious, please see to it we're not disturbed as I handle
this matter."
When they were alone, Bruce
offered Lois a seat, but she chose to stand. That suited him just fine. He
could keep a better eye on her. "What exactly is this about, Ms. Lane? I am
quite sure you and I don't have a child together."
She stomped over to the desk
and threw down the cashier's check. "Care to explain this?"
Bruce picked up the check
and looked at it. "You want to invest
in my company?"
She placed her palms on the
desk and leaned down at him. He was taken aback momentarily by her beauty. "I
know you sent that check to me two years ago. I want to know your connection to
my husband."
She didn't know. "I had some
business dealings with your husband, mostly concerning his books."
"Bull."
"Believe what you want, Ms.
Lane."
"That still doesn't explain
why you wrote this check out to me or how it got into my apartment."
Bruce put the check down on
the desk. "If you don't want the money, Ms. Lane, I'll be more than happy to
take it back. The fact if the matter is that I knew your husband very well and
I felt obligated to ensure that you were taken care of in the wake of his
death."
She shot straight up. "How
do you know whether or not Clark is dead? He's listed as missing! And another
thing, why is it the entire time I knew Clark he never mentioned your name? How
is it that my award winning husband was friends with a globe trotting playboy
and I never knew a thing?"
Bruce was about to give her
his standard cover answer when she took off her glasses. "My God, you're one of
them, aren't you?"
"One of those what, Ms.
Lane?" Bruce asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Never mind," she said
quickly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Wayne. I appreciate the gesture, but I assure you that
I am quite secure financially."
She turned to leave and
Bruce hopped up. He was speaking before he was thinking. "Ms. Lane, wait,
please."
He came around the desk as
she stopped. When he reached her, he saw that tears were in her eyes. He spoke
to her in a soft voice. "I was his friend. I wasn't his best friend, I wasn't
his closest friend, but I was his friend."
"I miss him so much," she
said, burying her head into his shoulder.
"I do to," he replied.
"Without Bruce, we won't
have a Batman. That means we don't have an experienced leader to run this new
League," Arthur said.
He, clad in his Aquaman
costume, and Hal Jordan, in his Green Lantern uniform, sat at the table in the
cave headquarters of the original Justice league of America. The base had been
abandoned years before, but with the disbandment of the latest version of the team,
it was the only headquarters still legally owned by the group. Both Aquaman and
Green Lantern were charter members of the group.
"I'm working on getting our
Batman," Hal said without elaborating.
Authur nodded and made no
more mention of it. "Diana is talking with Artemis, the current Wonder Woman
about joining, but she's doubtful about it. Artemis disagreed with Diana being
a part of the group. She said she would talk to Donna Troy after that to see of
she would like to take up the Wonder Girl mantle again."
"Troy is a good candidate
for the Corps, too, being a former Darkstar." The Darkstars had been an
organization much like the Green Lantern Corps. "What else do we have?"
Arthur punched some keys on
his laptop computer. "I spoke with Ray Palmer. He said he's out of the hero
business, permanently, but that Sheira is interested. Only problem is that
Hawkwoman is on the list of heroes not too well-loved by the public, given that
she's an alien."
Hal sighed. "I know. That's
a bad situation. Katar is going nuts without her and I don't think she wants to
reconcile their marriage."
"Of the former members that
are still active, only Guy and Firestorm expressed any desire to join up."
"Guy is a definite. We need
a Green Lantern on the team, and he's the only one in this sector. I plan on
doubling up the GL's in each sector, but I'm having a hard time finding his
partner."
"Ralph Dinby wants on."
Hal shook his head. "Ralph's
an idiot. Always has been. I tolerated him because he was a friend with Barry.
I don't have to do that anymore."
Arthur looked up from his
laptop and eyed Hal. "I'm getting a little concerned about your attitude
towards this. The League is not going to be an arm of the Corps."
"I know that! I want to make
sure that Coast City never happens again. I will do everything in my power to
ensure that, Arthur! So put your worries aside and get back to work."
The King of Atlantis
considered tossing Hal through the nearest wall, but held back his temper.
"Aye, Aye, Commandant."
They sat alone, at a small
dining table on one of the many balconies of Wayne Manor, eating quietly. They
had spent the afternoon together and Bruce discovered many of the reasons that
had attracted Superman to this woman. She was strong, confident, yet not
willing to give up any of her feminine qualities.
For the past two years,
Bruce had kept tabs on her, even paying for private security to watch her 24
hours a day in the event one of her husband's former enemies made a play
against her. He had paid her no mind as far as a woman, though he was aware she
was attractive. It was only in her anger and frustration that Bruce had seen
her true inner beauty. He understood anger and frustration; they brought out
the true inner self.
"I'm Batman." He said it so
plainly that it was as if he was talking about the weather.
"I figured that. When I
started putting things together, I realized you had to be. It made sense. Very
few people could afford to be Batman. I've done pieces on him, you, and the
amount of money you've spent is incredible."
"I'm in semi-retirement
right now. I gave it up after an accident."
"An accident?"
"Yes. I broke my back. Or
had it broken for me, however you want to look at it."
They were silent and
continued eating. It was that way for five minutes until she spoke again. "He
trusted you more than anyone. He talked about you so many times, how he wished
you two could have been better friends."
"In another time and place,
perhaps," Bruce replied. "But not here and now. We had the same mission, just
different ways of doing it. I think my problem with him was that he was a
decent man who fought for justice because it was right. If my parents had not
been killed, I probably would have been a decent man who would not have fought
for justice for any reason. I was jealous of his morality."
He stood up and walked over
to the railing, she joined him and they stood, looking out at the lights of the
distant Gotham City. "He loved you very much."
"Yes he did."
"Would you consider having
dinner with me again?" Bruce asked, still looking out at the lights.
"Yes I would. Call me."
"We've got five definites:
Guy Gardner, Firestorm, Power Girl, Black Lightning, and Atom-Smasher. None of
them possess any worthwhile leadership ability, " Diana said.
Arthur looked at her, lying
nude on their wedding bed. "Can we talk about something else? It is our wedding
night, you know. Aren't we supposed to be making the heir to the throne or
something?"
She sat up, her form
perfect. "Well, that's really hard to do with you standing way over there."
He turned and joined her on
the bed. "I'm sorry, my dear, it's just that I'm starting to wonder if Bruce
wasn't right when we first brought this up all those months ago. Do you
remember the sense of mourning throughout the world when Clark died? They acted
like a god had died."
"I've had experience with
gods and Clark was better than any of them that I've met," she said, running a
finger down his bare back. She noticed that there were places where the skin
was being replaced by scales, a sign of his ancestry. "He was an incredible
man, but I don't know if we were dependent upon him."
"Weren't we? I remember when
we first joined the Justice League and how much we wanted his acceptance, his
approval. He was larger than life. Hell, even I admired him. We all tried to be
just like him."
"Except Bruce."
"That's why Hal feels the
Batman is so important. He was the only one that didn't see him as a walking
miracle; he's the only one that can lead a new League. We can't and we know it.
Most people think I'm a joke, only good for undersea missions and you've lost a
lot of status since you and I got together. Hal's intent on creating a new
Corps. That leaves Bruce."
Diana reclined back. "Bruce
isn't Batman anymore. Dick Grayson idolized Clark, much to Bruce's chagrin, so
that means that he would be no more effective in creating a leaner, meaner
League than either one of us."
"I don't think Hal intends
Dick to be Batman for much longer."
"What is that supposed to
mean?"
Arthur turned around and
faced his new bride. "Hal is doing some manipulating behind the scenes. I don't
know what, I can't get the information I need. I tried to talk to Wally, but he
and I don't get along very well anymore. Hal's changed. I can't put my finger
on it, but he has. He's not the same and it isn't just Coast City. I think…."
Diana sat up and put her
arms around her husband and kissed him lightly on the lips. "You were right. No
more shop talk. I was a virgin for thousands of years and I'm very anxious to
make up for lost time, my darling."
Arthur embraced his wife
passionately and they fell back onto the bed. The thoughts he had of Hal Jordan
disappeared in the wake of her kisses.
Bruce got up from his bed,
checking to ensure that he had not woken Lois, and made his way down to the
Batcave. He found Richard there, clad in the Batman uniform, working at the
computer. He quietly approached. "I can hear you. You're losing your touch. Or
maybe you're just really tired."
"Do you have a problem with
Lois?" Bruce asked, looking at the computer screen. Richard was looking at old
Justice League files. The search pattern was keyed for the word 'power ring'.
"No, I think it's great you
two hooked up."
"You're being condescending,
Dick. What are you looking for?"
"Barbara was given a power
ring by Hal Jordan a couple of months ago and she has accepted the position as
Guy Gardner's partner. I'm reviewing the abilities of the power ring."
"You checking on my hunch?"
"Yeah, and you were right.
Power rings cannot heal injuries. Qwardian power rings can, though. Barbara has
a Qwardian power ring that uses the green portion of the spectrum. Sinestro,
one of Hal's old enemies, used a yellow power ring, but Guy Gardner was the
last person to use it. According to these files that Guy entered, the Qwardian
rings are similar, but they do have some different abilities. I tried to
contact Guy about it and ask him what happened to his yellow ring, but he
wouldn't reply."
"You know that indicates
that something has happened to the main power battery on Oa. If the battery has
been destroyed, there may not be a power source for new rings. Maybe he started
using Qwardian rings."
"I don't know exactly what
it means, Bruce," Dick said, getting up. He replaced the cowl on his face and
his entire demeanor changed. "I do intend to find out why Hal is being so
secretive about everything he does. Barbara is away at Oa getting training in
the use of her ring, but we can use her when she gets back." He started walking
towards the parked Batmobile. "I'll keep you posted on what I find."
Bruce watched him climb into
the vehicle and roar out. He was proud of the young man, how well he had taken
to cape and cowl, allowing Bruce to concentrate on other matters. After he had
his back broken by Bane, he had wrongly entrusted the Bat-mantle to a veritable
stranger, Jean Paul Valley. Valley had been trained since birth to be the
ultimate warrior, but that had also made him mentally unstable. It had taken
the efforts of a newly recovered Bruce and his extended "family" to take Valley
down.
Now, he was the retired
super-hero, having passed on his responsibilities to the young man he called
son in private conversations. He was developing a serious relationship with the
former wife of Superman and his finances, since he took a stronger hand in
them, were better than ever. Still, something was nagging him; something was
speaking to him in the back of his mind.
He looked about the Batcave
and, searching the collection of trophies and gadgetry for a clue, for some
insight into the enigma swirling in his head. He walked over to the glass cases
that held the costumes that had been retired or belonged to fallen heroes.
There was a case that held his original Batman outfit, with the solid black bat
on the chest, and then there was the torn and bloodied costume of Jason Todd,
the second Robin. The next over displayed the black and purple fighting gear of
the Huntress, recently killed by the Joker. He viewed the three costumes and
then proceeded through the others. He heard the soft footsteps as Lois
approached from behind. "You know, I would be sooooo famous if you would let me
write about this."
Bruce smiled and stopped
before the next set of cases. There was a case holding the Bat-Armour that Jean
Paul Valley had worn during his brief stint as Batman. Next to it was Barbara
Gordon's old Batgirl costume. He stopped before the last one.
"I had no idea you had one.
I destroyed all of his others afterwards," Lois said silently, putting her arms
around his waist.
Before them was an intact
costume of blue and red, with the telltale "S" on the chest. On a podium inside
the case before the costume was a lead box. "He gave it to me to hold here in
case he needed it. I never quite understood it, but I think he was always worried
about appearing in public with a torn costume. The box holds the kryptonite
bullet he gave me."
She stepped out from behind
him and walked up to the case. Placing her hand on the case, she peered in
closer. A tear rolled down her face and he put a reassuring hand on her
shoulder. "What do you think he's doing now?"
"I don't know; I never quite
understood the particulars of Kryptonian religion, but I assume that's he's
happy," Bruce answered quietly.
She turned to him. "No, I
think he's probably disappointed. He never intended to be a symbol, but he
accepted it. I shudder when I think how upset he would be with you. He gave you
that bullet for a reason, because he not only trusted you, but he also knew you
were the one person who would carry on no matter what."
"I'm needed elsewhere, Lois,
I have other things to do."
"Bull. You're scared aren't
you?" she asked.
Bruce's eyes narrowed. "No."
She brushed past him and
walked back into the main chamber and plopped down into the chair. She put her
bare legs up on the console. "I don't believe you, you know that? "
Bruce made his way over to
her and sat down next to her feet. "It's not fear, it's regret. I've lost so
many friends and loved ones, but I always believed that because I was fighting
the good fight, because I never wavered no matter what, that I was protected.
When Clark died, it hit me that I never really got to know him as well as maybe
I wanted to. I didn't agree with everything he did or how he did it, but I
respected the hell out of him. Then Bane broke my back and I just realized that
I had neglected a whole portion of my life. "
He shifted his weight and
put a hand on her foot, caressing it. "I was so far from Dick that I couldn't
even ask him to help me and I ended up going to a kid who wasn't ready. Both
Superman and Clark were sorely missed, but would Bruce Wayne? Who would cry if
I died? Did I really want to continue this one man war, and if I did, why?"
"I'd miss you," Lois said.
He smiled, genuinely, and
moved over to her. He kissed her lightly. "It's time for a change, but I don't
want to do it alone."
She kissed him back. "If I
can manage to tolerate a Superman, I'm sure I can deal with a Batman."
"This is Billy Batson, on special assignment for WGBS, here at
Metropolis Towers, awaiting billionaire industrialist Lex Luthor to begin the
press conference he has called. No details are available yet as to why the
conference has been called, but it is being speculated that Luthor is going to
announce plans for Lexcorp to finance and maintain a new Justice League of
America!"
Behind Billy, a crowd of
reporters waited anxiously for Luthor to appear. It was not long before a team
of armored LexCorp security guards marched into the room, followed by the
red-haired owner of the multi-national corporation. Behind Luthor, his young
bride, the heroine Supergirl kept pace with her husband, eyeing the crowd.
Luthor stepped up to the
podium and held a hand up for silence. When he began he spoke slowly, as if
trying to minimize his Australian accent. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for
coming on such short notice. I intend to be brief and to the point. Rumors of
late, both in the media and on the Internet, have indicated that I am
interested in reforming and financing a new Justice League. Since the death of
our city's most beloved hero, Superman, who was also a major force in the
League, there has been no attempt to bring this much needed organization back
to the front lines in the war against crime."
He allowed the words to sink
in for effect and then began again. "Unfortunately, this will not become a
reality. Other parties have trademarked the name of the organization, much as
the young hero Superboy trademarked the name Superman after the Doomsday
debacle. I have been unable to determine who the owner of the name is. To
prevent a long and lengthy court battle, which would do nothing to further this
cause I believe in, I have decided to form my own team in place of a Justice
League."
Luthor stepped back and a
curtain behind him began to open amid camera flashbulbs and hurried commentary
into video cameras. Behind the curtain stood a collection of outlandishly
dressed individuals. "Allow me to present to the public, Team Luthor!"
There was applause and
Luthor smiled brightly for the cameras. After a few seconds, Supergirl
approached the microphone. "If I may introduce the members to the public; I
will serve as team leader for the time being, with …."
Aquaman turned off the
television. He had seen enough, and he was sure that his guest had as well.
They were seated in his private office in the Atlantean Embassy in New York.
"He knows I own the rights to the name; he just didn't want to admit he
couldn't buy me."
Bruce, dressed in his Batman
costume, nodded. "I appreciate the effort, Arthur. Luthor is one of the few
people in the world that can out bid me, but I was pretty sure he couldn't beat
you."
"So, you want to do this?
Are you sure about your findings?"
The Batman said nothing and
Arthur smiled despite himself. It was good to have the old Batman back.
"Barbara," Batman began, "just finished her Lantern training and has been
assigned as Guy's partner. Her ring is definitely a copy of Sinestro's; it
isn't a real Green Lantern power ring. That makes me wonder if we have been
dealing with the real Hal Jordan all of this time. Why was he so insistent that
we reform the Justice League? Why haven't we seen him for months? Barbara has
agreed to take us to Oa, where Hal is supposedly holed up. I want some answers
before I commit to the League."
"I thought you were against
the idea," Arthur said.
"I still am. However, with
Team Luthor out there, pretending to work for justice, a League is going to be
required to keep him in line. If we don't take a stand, then he'll do
everything in his power to rule the world."
The trip to Oa was
uneventful. Batman occupied himself with trying to guess exactly what Jordan
was up to. Barbara Gordon was silent as she carried him, Aquaman, and Nightwing
towards the planet located in the center of the universe.
It made no sense, none of
it. Jordan had been a stalwart hero, an example that many other heroes had
attempted to emulate. He was the common man's Superman, idealistic and
fearless, with a big heart. The destruction of Coast City had obviously done
something to him. Batman understood what tragedy could do to someone, but Hal
had not gone off the deep end, had he?
Could it be possible? Had
Hal Jordan, perhaps one of the most stable men he had ever known, gone insane?
Was the past year nothing but careful manipulation by a deranged mind? A mind
that held the most powerful will in the universe?
Why was reforming the League
so important that it had to be done so quickly? Why was he using psuedo power
rings instead of real ones? Why was it so necessary that he lead the League?
Was Jordan trying to get him out of the way? What would cause someone to do so
many radical things in so short of time.
Then the answer hit him like
a truck.
Hal Jordan was not insane.
His mental state was perfect.
He was dying. His body was
giving out.
Batman shouted to Barbara to
hurry.
Batman recognized the two
green lanterns standing outside the door to Hal Jordan's private room. One was
an alien named Kilowogg, who was also the lead instructor for the academy. The
other was Guy Gardner, who had disappeared from the public view only two weeks
before. There was history between Batman and Gardner, and most of it was not
good. Gardner had let his hair grow out
and he wore it in a ponytail as opposed to the bowl-style haircut he normally
sported. Batman made no attempt at conversation, but instead walked past them
and entered through the automatic doors.
The room smelled of death,
but also of cleanser at the same time. Batman did not know what they were using
to clean the walls of the room, but it was very strong in odor, whatever it
was. There were several banks of computers and diagnostic equipment, all
attacked to leads that were hooked all over the frail body lying in the single
bed that served as the only piece of furniture in the room.
He had lost at least 100
pounds, Batman thought as he slowly approached. He pushed back his cowl and
stopped at the foot of the bed. Hal Jordan looked at him from behind tired
eyes, a small smile on his face. "How's the back?" he asked.
"Better. How's the arm?"
Hal coughed. "If I could
lift it…I would say it was okay." There was a pause. "Cancer."
Batman gripped the railing
at the foot of the bed and peered closer. Hal was wearing his power ring. "Is
that a real one?"
Hal sniffed and hacked,
almost going in convulsions. "Yes. I should have known you'd figure it out. I
tried to bully the Batman back into the League. How stupid is that?"
"How?"
"When I," he paused to catch
his breath. "When I fought Mongul and the Cyborg, I flew into the fusion chamber
of Engine City, the device used to destroy Coast City, and used my power ring
to shut it down. The problem is that some of the energy must have been in the
yellow spectrum of light and it pierced my green shield. I found out I had
cancer about three months afterwards."
Batman waited for him to
once again normalize his breathing. "So, with Superman gone, and the Corps a
failure in your eyes, you decided to try and change things yourself. You found
out that Qwardian power rings can sometimes correct physical disabilities, such
as in Barbara's case, but it obviously can't cure cancer. You then decided that
you would reform the League as a legacy."
"No, not a legacy, a
necessity. I could not go to my death knowing I had not done something to make
sure Coast City never happened again. Without Superman, we needed a leader, and
that turned out to be you. You were trusted by all of us. I just never expected
you to retire."
"I'm back. We are reforming
the League. You were right. If we don't protect humanity, then someone will
come along and try to dominate it. It's already started."
Hal laughed, and it was the
most horrid sound Batman had ever heard. "Team Luthor? Give me a break! I'll
bet my power ring he's financing more than just super-heroes. Watch him; he worried
Clark, so he should worry you."
He then rolled over and
retched into a bucket on the floor. Batman walked over and tried to help his
friend. Hal wiped the vomit from his face. "I don't have much time. Alan Scott
will be taking over here when I'm gone, and Guy and Barbara will be available
to you and the League. Please help them."
"I will, Hal," Batman said,
trying to sound calm. He knew that Jordan was close to dying.
"Tell everyone I tried, will
you?" he asked, his eyes going wide. He gripped Batman's gloved hand and
squeezed, but the strength was gone. He seized and turned, and then Batman
noted that he seemed to suddenly relax, and then he sagged.
The monitors screamed alarms
and the door burst open, but everyone stopped as soon as they saw Batman
cradling the shrunken body of what was once the most fearless man alive.
Lois Lane sat in the back of
the meeting room of the fully restored Justice League satellite, located 22,300
miles above the earth. She was on special assignment for Time magazine,
covering the behind the scenes of the new League. It helped that she had pull
with the current chairman, but nobody had to know that. To the world at large,
she was considered one of the foremost reporters of metahuman activities.
Team Luthor had tried for
months to get her to interview them, but she had turned them all down. When her
engagement to billionaire Bruce Wayne was announced, Luthor tried a smear
campaign against her, stating she was refusing to provide equal coverage
because he and her fiancé were business rivals. She blew off the whole affair
and Luthor had been made out to be a spiteful child in the press.
Batman stood at the head of
the table. "Before we get down to business, I'd like to inform you all that
Titans Tower is up and running. The Flash and Nightwing send their regards and
also request that each and every one of us stops by to provide moral support.
They've got quite a job, training our younger heroes, so please go by and just
say hello. I insist."
There was more silence. "Let
the record show that in attendance for this meeting are myself, the Batman, and
Guy Gardner, Aquaman, Hawkwoman, Captain Marvel, and Steel. Absent members
include Wonder Woman, on maternity leave," there were slaps on Aquaman's back
at the mention of this. "Also on leave are the Red Tornado and the Atom, who
are on special assignment with the Titans."
The Batman continued his
speech, but managed to throw a glance towards Lois every now and then. She
smiled and kept taking notes. It felt good to be back in the field.
"Lois and I are getting
married tomorrow, and I thought I'd come by to talk to you," Bruce Wayne began
as he stood before the bronze statue erected in Superman's honor. "I wanted to
let you know that I'll take care of her. She's a wonderful woman; I see what
you saw in her. To be honest, I never understood you. All of the power that you
had, and all you ever wanted to do was help. I've spent my entire life
acquiring power and I don't know what it is that I want sometimes. Is it
justice or revenge? You never cared, all you wanted to do was make other people
live a better life.
"I don't want to live by
your example, but I do find motivation in your inspiration. Things will be
different around here from now on. The League of the past is gone, replaced
with my League. Probably not the most ideal situation in your mind, but you
could do a lot worse.
"Diana and Arthur named
their child Clark, after you, and Lois is already talking about children. She
told me that you weren't able to have children. I never knew that. There is so
much about you I never knew and it saddens me to think I'm going to get it
secondhand now.
"Good-bye Superman, Clark,
Kal-El. Thank you for your sacrifice. I'll make sure it wasn't in vain."
With that, Bruce Wayne
turned and walked away. When he got to the park entrance, Dick and Barbara
Grayson were waiting for him with Lois. Bruce joined them and they headed down
the street into the setting sun.