Justice League/Birds of Prey: The Wages of Sin

By C. Mage

Barbara Gordon hated going out.

It wasn't always so. There was a time, not too long ago, when she would ache for the time when she could put on her Batsuit and leap into the air, flying and swinging through the night. But those days were gone. They vanished the moment the Joker had put a bullet through her spine, forever disabling her legs and bringing the career of Batgirl to a close.

Batgirl was gone...and Oracle remained.

Oracle was the nerve center of the newest crime-fighting team, made up of her, Black Canary and the Huntress. She was communications, intelligence and tactics all in one. She was the brains of the outfit, but confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

When she couldn't stand it any longer, when Barbara couldn't handle the cabin feve, she went out to do the necessary things that many took for granted: shopping for food, going to the park, heading for the library. It didn't feel as bad as it once did, but there were those fleeting moments when she looked at people walking and envied them.

God, how she envied them.

She toyed with her moo goo gai pan as she watched a couple playfully feeding each other noodles and laughing. Barbara eyed them with a wrenching in her gut. She knew she shouldn't have come, but she'd craved both company and Chinese food.

She was able to get the food...but she felt lonelier than ever.

Barbara called for the check and wheeled herself out of the restaurant. She'd feel better once the patrols started again and she could talk to the other women. At least, that was her hope. As she wheeled towards her van, she turned to look up at the Gotham skyline.

She wished Bruce wasn't in some satellite up in orbit.

A sudden, sharp jarring sensation brough her thoughts to planet Earth. She opened her mouth to yell and a meaty hand slapped over her mouth and nose. She smelled dirt and body odor and tried to bite down on the finger, but the assailant pushed her back into th alley. She looked around and knew she was in trouble. From the gang colors, Barbara realized that she was in the middle of a ring of the Clowns, a group of gangers that viewed the Joker as a genius and a hero. Of course, she knew from personal experience that the real Joker wouldn't touch the Clowns with a ten-foot gun barrel.

However, good sense was never a Clown principle. "Looks like we got something here to play with. What do you think, G?"

"Looks good to me...what do you say, Red? Want to clown around a little?" The leader was big, perhaps an ex-boxer, now going to lard. He wore vividly wild makeup and Bozo-style hair, and his breath stank of a recent meal of burgers and onions. "'Course, your legs don't work, but I don't think anyone's going to ask you to run laps for 'em."

Barbara looked around. Her chair was equipped with a hidden taser, but the charge would only be effective at close range and only affect up to six people, five if their nervous systems were stubborn. She counted twelve. Her emergency transponder was in the van. Black Canary and Huntress were out of the picture, unless they just happened to patrol by Barbara's location. Ironic...can't beat the stuffing out of these clowns because of what a meaner clown did to me...there's got to be something I can do...

That's when she felt it. Another presence. She remembered that feeling well; she'd cultivated that sense under the tutelage of the Batman, and Barbara knew something was about to happen. "Look, just let me go, please!" she said loudly, hoping to distract the gang members.

"Why? I think you'd make a great mascot for the group. We could always call you the 'Clown Car'...see how many Clowns can fit inside..." His voice trailed off as he saw something behind Barbara. "What the...?"

"It's the Bat!" whispered one of the other Clowns, and Barbara had to keep from smiling in satisfaction at the fear in that whisper.

"Get him!"

"YOU get him! I'm gettin' outta here!"

The leader squinted. "Wait a second...since when did the Bat wear a hat!" His voice caused the nervous Clowns to stop in mid-flight and turn. Barbara turned as well, seeing a dark apparition just inside the mouth of the alley. Whatever it was, it was big, easily taller and broader than Bruce. It wore a wide-brimmed hat with a slightly shallow crown, but the other features were indistinct. It was like looking at a deep shadow, a humanoid hole in the air, nothing but blackness within.

"That ain't the Bat!"

"Yeah!"

"Shoot 'im!"

Barbara tried to duck as the Clown pulled out pink and purple-painted guns, and the alley became deafeningly loud as lead filled the air. The shooting stopped quickly as the Clowns stared behind her.

"Where'd he go?"

The leader looked around. "He just disappeared?"

"Come on, Luke, we gotta jet before the blues show up!"

The leader turned to the speaker. "Grab our new toy, and don't break her any more than she already is."

The Clown nodded and walked towards Barbara. "Don't do anything..." he said, then stopped. His painted face went slack, then so did the rest of him as he fell to the ground.

"Jackie? What...?" said one of the other thugs, then he, too, dropped like a stone. The gang members stared, then they all began to drop, one right after the other. One of them dropped next to Barbara and she tried to wheel away, but the leader reached out and grabbed her arm.

"You're not going anywhere. You're my hostage and you're gonna..." His face went blank, then his grip loosened as he fell to the ground. Barbara looked around, backing up quickly...until she bumped into something.

She craned her head up slowly and saw the shadow looking down at her. She gulped. "Uh...should I be thanking you...or screaming for help?"

"Don't scream for help."

She could make out the shadows of facial features. "Because I don't need to, or because it wouldn't make any difference?"

"Because you don't need to. Not because of me."

Barbara listened to the voice. It was modulated, hinting at technological enhancements. She looked around at the other Clowns. "Are they...?"

"Dead? No. They're paralyzed. They're able to sense their surroundings, listen, feel, just unable to speak or move. If they're lucky, they won't be chewed on by rats before the police showed up." Barbara felt her chair being wheeled out of the alley. "Far nicer than they deserve."

"Who are you?"

The shadow started to say something, but changed what he was going to say. Barbara could tell from his body language and his voice that he was hiding something. "Just call me the Warwraith."

"Nice to meet you, I hope. My name is Barbara."

"I know."

"Why do I get the feeling this wasn't a chance happening?" She turned to look up at him as they reached her van. "How long have you been stalking me?"

"As hard as this may be to believe, Barbara, I've been trying to avoid seeing you." Barbara watched as the shadow moved backwards into the alley and vanished. "But there is something you can do for me."

"What's that?"

"Tell Bruce to stay out of my way...then forget you ever saw me. It's better for everyone." Then the voice was gone.

Barbara got into the van and had the robot arm pull her wheelchair inside as she took out the Justice League communicator. "Oracle to Justice League. Come in."

An immediate reply came back. "Oracle! Howzit going?" came the Flash's casual voice. "Bats is busy, but maybe I can help."

"I have to talk to Batman...on second thought, how soon can you get the League assembled?"

"Why? What's the problem?"

"We've got a serious situation. Someone just penetrated by secret ID. Maybe even Batman's."

"Welcome to the upper atmosphere." The Flash smiled as he wheeled her towards the conference room, at a speed Barbara found surprisingly slow.

"Thanks. I'm surprised you're not getting me there with your usual haste."

"Well, Bats kinda made it clear that you weren't going to be wheeled around at Formula One speeds. You may recall he's good at making his, er, suggestions."

"Do I ever."

The doors ahead opened and Barbara entered the conference room. Batman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern were already there. "Hello, Oracle," Batman said curtly, but then, he was never known for his warm welcomes.

Wonder Woman smiled. "It's good to see you, Barbara Gordon. I trust you are well?"

"Well, I had a rough night. Are the others on their way?"

"Yes, they'll be here shortly."

"I hope so. We may have a security leak."

"What makes you say that?" the Flash asked as he took a seat.

"I got the distinct impression that he knew me well, especially enough to give you a warning, Batman. He said that he wanted you to stay out of his way, and he called you 'Bruce'."

"Could it be he was simply aware that Bruce and Barbara socialized? He could've been a business rival trying to intimidate Bruce concerning some business venture." Green Lantern inquired.

"Doubtful."

Everyone turned as the last three of the core members entered: Superman, Hawkgirl and the Martian Manhunter took their seats. Superman continued, "Barbara, no offense, but wasn't it the fact that you and Bruce were in different social structures that made it easy to retain your secret identity?"

"Maybe. I just think he might be grasping at straws. Suspicious, maybe, but no proof."

Batman turned to her. "What does your gut tell you?"

Barbara sighed after a moment. "He knew."

"Did you get a name?" Hawkgirl asked.

"He called himself, 'Warwraith'. He seemed to have your sense of style, Batman. Dressed in black, interesting headgear, not shy about using force, but he didn't kill anyone."

"Another Batman?" Hawkgirl chuckled. "I thought one was plenty. Seriously, though, it this something we should be worried about?"

Just then, the panels in front of them suddenly flared to life, red lights blinking on the control panel. "What in the...?" Oracle asked, looking around.

"We have an intruder," J'onn said flatly.

"On the satellite?" Barbara asked quickly.

"No. Our respective bases of operations had their security systems slaved to the satellite."

"So where is the intruder?"

Batman looked up, his eys dark and narrow. "The BatCave."

The Justice League were immediately on guard as the teleporter re-integrated them inside the BatCave, directly in front of the BatComputer. Superman immediately scanned the area with X-rays. "I'm not finding anything."

Batman walked to the computer and scanned the display. "The Vault," he reported, leaping towards the location of the most secure section of the Batcave. The others followed, preparing themselves for combat as they moved to the deepest section of the Batcave. They stopped in front of the Vault, a sixty-foot tall door made of a metal alloy six feet thick. "Now THAT is a big door," the Flash commented. "How do you open it?"

"There's only one combination, which will only be accepted after a genetic sample and a retinal scan are taken." Batman walked over to the Vault and looked at the display. "Looks like the keypad has been used. Flash, check the BatComputer to see if there's a display on the lower left side showing the Vault has been opened."

"On it." He zipped away, zipping back a moment later. "Shows a time-date stamp saying it was opened and closed two minutes ago."

Batman considered, then looked at the keypad again. He finally tapped the pad and a small apparatus unfolded from under the pad. Batman removed the glove on his right hand and placed it on the pad, looking into the lens of the reticle not sliding into place in front of him at eye level. The scanners worked quickly, but thoroughly, and two green lights confirmed Batman's identity. He then typed in a fifteen-digit passcode and a third light went green on the console in front of him. He stepped back and the others watched as the sounds of massive bolds slid into the sides of the doorway and into the door.

The Flash watched in awe, then quipped to Batman, "Paranoid much?"

"You're about to find out why," Batman said, more ominously than usual. He walked into the Vault and the others followed suit. "This is where the most dangerous substances and objects I have ever found are stored for study or found to dangerous to try and destroy. Don't touch anything."

Wonder Woman walked past several items. None of them were marked, but she suspected Batman knew exactly what they were. "What is this?" she asked, pointing to a green ritual mask surrounded by a force field and a laser cage network.

"Don't ask." He looked around carefully, ticking off the list in his mind. He finally stopped at the last item, a lead-lined box the size of a suitcase.

Superman looked at the box. "I can't see through it...is that what I think it is?"

"I've had my company picking up every sliver of Kryptonite wherever it's found, particularly after battles with Luthor and Metallo. I recover it all and put it in here where no one can steal it and use it against you."

"We'll, you'd be only half-right."

Everyone turned to look behind them at the sound of the new voice, but no one was there. Batman immediately turned to look behind him at the case.

It was gone.

"LOCKDOWN!" he yelled suddenly. Red lights began flashing all over the BatCave as every entrance and exit to the cave was sealed off with thick metal doors. The Justice League exited the Vault in a hurry, spreading out and looking in all directions, scanning the BatCave for any intruders. "Computer, scan the entire cave for any motion besides the Justice League Members!"

The Computer began scanning, but that didn't keep the other members of the League froim conducting their own searches, using everything from X-ray vision to a green spotlight. The Flash ran through every walkway, and Wonder Woman flew through the confines of the cave.

All turned up the same result: nothing.

Batman turned to the BatComputer and began typing furiously. Hawkgirl walked over to his right. "What are you doing?"

"I'm finding out how he got into my Vault." Batman scanned the logs, then frowned. "I should've guessed. He didn't break into my Vault. He broke into the BatComputer. He altered the logs so it would only look like he cracked the Vault. Then all he needed to do was wait, knowing I'd check the contents."

"How much Kryptonite was in that case?" Green Lantern asked.

"...Eighty pounds."

"Clearly he must be planning something big," J'onn said with a hint of concern on his face. Considering how expressionless he tended to be, that meant he was quite alarmed. "But what?"

"We'll find out." Batman started typing commands into the BatComputer. "In the unlikely event the case was stolen, I had a passive transmitter built into the handle, to activate on an extremely low-frequency channel on a tight beam transmission. Not something that can be easily picked up. So as soon as he opens the case..."

Hawkgirl smiled. "We'll own him."

Batman finished and a display came up on the screen in green lettering: "BASE SIGNAL REDIRECTED TO FLOATING POINT RECEIVER." "There...the signal's directed towards the JL satellite. I'll keep the doors locked here to guard from any more...intrusions." Everyone could tell from Batman's tone that he was extremely unhappy about the sanctity of his BatCave being breached. "Let's get out of here."

"Sure you don't want to take a final look..." Flash started to say, then looked at Batman's expression. "...no, I guess not."

The Justice League vanished, leaving stray molecules behind them. As the last of the motes of light fell to the cold dank cave floor, a large shape shimmered into view, leaning up against one of the support columns in the BatCave. He was shuddering violently, recovering from the cold of the time-distortion field. At least when he was moving, he could generate some heat, but when he concealed his presence by staying a few moments out of phase with the main timestream, the effect felt as if he taken a brisk swim in liquid nitrogen. He was not looking forward to doing that again, but Warwraith had a bad feeling he would be...and soon.

Alright...now, time to get out of here.

He walked up to one of the access doors that led to the outside of the cave. Three inches thick and wired to go off if tampered with.

Warwraith sighed. This is going to take a while.

"Any luck?" Oracle asked as the Justice League entered the conference room.

"Well, if you mean 'luck' as in, 'did we not get him', then the answer is yes," Flash said glumly. "This guy was fast. He was in and out before I could even see him."

"And what's more, he made off with a supply of Kryptonite, a substance that has only one real purpose." Wonder Woman was clearly unhappy at being denied even the opportunity to punch the thief even once.

"Well, this isn't going to make you much happier. While you were gone, somebody decided to give you guys a call."

"Did they leave a message?" Superman asked.

"No...they're on hold."

"Who?"

Oracle sighed. "Let's just say that when you find out, you'll be beside yourselves."

The main screen came up and the Justice League found themselves looking at...themselves. But this was more of a funhouse mirror than a true reflection.

Superman barely contained his revulsion. "The Justice Lords. To what do we owe the 'honor' of this call?" He still had bad memories of the last time his counterpart from another dimension had shown up, and demonstrated himself to be just as Fascist-minded as the rest of the Justice Lords. They had the world in an iron grip, their version of maintaining law and order. In the Justice Lords' dimension, you could rely upon them to keep you safe...as long as you didn't complain about losing some civil rights, or prove to be at all disruptive.

"We have reason to believe that a dangerous criminal has crossed over from our reality," Superman said levelly."

"Mind being more specific?" Hawkgirl said belligerently. "I suspect your idea of a dangerous criminal differs wildly from ours."

"The criminal is a known psychopath named Warwraith."

To their credit, the League's poker-faces remained impassive. "What is this criminal supposed to have done?" Green Lantern asked critically.

"He is a known subversive, responsible for several terrorist attacks upon helpless citizens."

Flash whispered to J'onn, "Justice Lords probably don't want competition."

The Justice Lords' Batman looked past the others and Barbara saw a light of recognition as the other Batman looked at her. Superman continued, "If allowed to run free, this terrorist may feel that, since we are alike in many ways..."

The League's Batman said tightly, "Not even close."

"Regardless, he may not make that distinction. Therefore, if you find him, detain him and contact us. Simply call back on this frequency and the beacon will notify us of his capture."

"What makes you think he's here to cause trouble?" Hawgirl asked.

"It's in his nature." the Lords' Hawkgirl responded, as if it was a commonly known fact everywhere and the League's Hawkgirl was mentally bankrupt. "In any case, he is armed and extremely dangerous. If I thought you had the fortitude to do what was right, I'd recommend lethal force. But we both know better, don't we?"

"Imagine my disappointment," came Hawkgirl's reply.

"If we find him and if he is involved with criminal activities, he will be brought to justice. Thanks for the heads-up." He pressed a button on the console, cutting the transmission.

Back in the Justice Lords' reality, they turned to each other. "They know he's there," Batman said first.

"Are you certain?" Green Lantern asked.

"Yes. They may have already met up with him. They may even know why he's there." Batman rubbed his chin thoughtfully

"If they haven't run into him already," mused J'onn. "Do they know why he's there?"

"Unknown. But they'll know soon." Superman stood up. "We'll have to recover him before they do. There is a chance they might be sympathetic to his goals."

"There may be a way to bring him to us." Batman tapped a button on the console and brought up a picture of Barbara Gordon. "We could use her. His attachment to her could help us find him and get rid of him."

"Should we have him put on trial? It might help quell any rebellious attitudes." Green Lantern said with the barest hint of a smile.

"No," Superman said coldly. "Better that we have him disappear. Besides...he's dead already. He's just too stubborn to realize it. Putting him down quietly will also keep him from becoming a martyr. We spin it correctly, and he'll go down in history more hated and despised than Hitler."

"We'd better work fast. I'll arrange for transport...and a new set of clothes for us." Wonder Woman smiled. "You know what they say: when in Rome..."

Warwraith woke up, his body twitching slightly. He sat up and held his head, as if he could wring out his brain of all the nightmares that coursed through them on a nightly basis. Every time he shut his eyelids for longer than a few seconds, there they were, cackling and grinning at his pain.

Dr. Wales said the implants were responsible...but Warwraith knew better.

He remembered everything. He remembered his friend, Dick Grayson, in high school. They'd gone to the same place to eat every day after school...before Bruce Wayne came along. Before Batman.

He remembered Dick going away, remembered seeing Robin, then Nightwing, a new Robin...and then, meeting Barbara Gordon. He remembered loving her, being there when she finished dating Dick, being there the night that the Joker came. He still felt it on long nights when it was cold, the feeling of the bullet entering his spine, paralyzing him from the waist down.

Barbara stood by him...and told him she was Batgirl. She continued to protect Gotham when Batman joined the Justice League...and then things went bad.

The Flash was killed. Luthor fell at Superman's hands, ridding the world of one of its greatest villains...and created six more. The League began to take greater steps to protect the world, eventually ruling it, controlling it. Those who fought against the Lords' oppressive control fell in battle. Supervillains...and then heroes. Nightwing disappeared, some said to plan against his old mentor, but he knew the truth.

Nightwing had been killed by Green Lantern. And when Batgirl protested the new rules, the secret police...Batman went to visit her. When he left her, she was gone...and only Luke remained.

Her death and her memoirs showed him the way to the remaining scientists at Star Labs, combined with the scientific resources of what was left of Lexcorp. He begged for aid, and they took pity upon him and spent the next two years designing a new body for Luke. Designed for one purpose...to counter the powers of the Justice Lords. Heightened strength, speed, weaponry, bionic and biologic enhancements. When they were done, Luke walked out of the lab, his wheelchair and his old body left behind.

But the conversion was not complete.

The most dangerous of them, Superman, had taken the precaution of using the Justice Lords' agents to pulverize and obliterate every trace of Kryptonite on the planet, as well as the surrounding solar system. Earth had been purged of Superman's only weakness.

Fortunately, Warwraith had heard of another world where this may not have come to pass. The Justice Lords had come upon another world, and another Superman had dropped into their laps. Through stolen records of that incident, Warwraith had learned how to reach that alternate reality, and Star Labs worked hard to find that dimensional frequency.

That was a week ago.

Warwraith walked into the bathroom of the seedy hotel he'd sneaked into. His weapons were laid out upon the table next to his bed, blades and guns, lethal ammunition, color-coded for their intended targets. Extensive research revealed the critical weaknesses of the Justice Lords, weakness to be exploited. The twin pistols he carried were designed to shift ammunition types on the fly, depending on what the target reticle faced, making choosing the right tool for the job easier. A utility belt, not unlike Batman's, loaded with counteracting agents for the types of toys the Batman used. A knife made to cut the magical rope used by Wonder Woman. Force-field generators made to create yellow-colored defenses against Green Lantern. Assorted restraint and explosive devices for Hawkgirl. Gas ampules loaded with a compound made to keep the Martian Manhunter from becoming insubstantial.

And, in addition to other assorted items that went "bang", "blam" or "boom", his last ditch weapons...the T-1 grenades. Instead of explosives or biological weapons, the grenades dispersed a spread of quark-laden tachyons, designed to slow anyone's actions to a crawl by distorting time on whatever surface the quarks bonded to, reducing the quantum movement of matter to a snail's pace.

Even his body was a weapon; most of the ordnance he carried with him was installed into deployment modules on his body somewhere. What wasn't left of his original body was covered by a proto-flesh sheath that mimicked human functions like blood, hair and sweat.

He looked at himself in the mirror. The pinnacle of human bionics and bio-engineering. Only cost me most of my body, the woman I loved and a healthy chunk of my soul. I don't even recognize myself, except for my face, and even that looks strange. I should count my blessings. Barbara didn't recognize me...

He shook his head at his mistake. "Why should she recognize you? She never met you. She doesn't even know you exist."

Warwraith decided to check up on the proximity bug he'd left on her van. Just in case.

"So, was he handsome?"

Oracle turned back to Black Canary, looking as dangerous as ever in her black combat outfit. "I didn't see his face too clearly," she said dryly.

"Well, maybe I'll get to see for sure. What was he like?" Huntress asked as she pulled on her boots.

"What is this, Homeroom Class?"

"Well, new origins don't come along every day, you know." Black Canary walked over and sat down next to Oracle at the computer console. "Especially not ones who seem so darned concerned about your welfare."

"'Darned'?" Huntress said in surprise. "Oh my tender ears."

"I swear you two are worse than third-graders." Oracle shook her head.

"So, tell us. Just in case we do run into him, do we need to be on our guard?"

"I don't think so...he seemed sad more than anything else. Like he was carrying around some secret pain. The thing is, I think I might have reminded him of it somehow."

Huntress nodded sagely. "Maybe you reminded him of why he became a hero."

"I wouldn't exactly call him that." Oracle sighed, then told them about the theft at the Batcave. "Think of any other practical use for Kryptonite?"

Black Canary considered. "That doesn't sound right. The same person who rescued you robbed the BatCave? How are you sure?"

"The perp had to know who Batman was. He revealed that he knew Batman's secret when he rescued me."

"Then it looks like he had something against Batman, but not you."

"But that doesn't explain why he gave me a message to me to warn Batman."

"Perhaps he wanted to send a different kind of message."

Huntress, Black Canary and Oracle turned to see Batman standing in the shadows of the room, coming out and walking towards them. Oracle sighed. "Dammit, Bruce...just once, would you knock?"

"No time. There are people coming here for you three."

"Here?" Black Canary stood up, looking around. "But how did they find out where we were?"

In answer, Batman reached into his utility belt, holding up a small ball. The three superheroines turned to look at the ball as it dropped from his fingers. When it hit the ground, a foul yellow mist filled the room almost instantly. The three looked up and saw Batman wearing a gas mask.

A few seconds later, they saw nothing at all.

Batman activated his commlink to contact the other Justice Lords, also dressed identically to their counterparts from this world. "Mission accomplished," he said tonelessly, looking at the thre unconscious women, two sprawled out on the floor, one slumped in her wheelchair.

"Good. Let's get the bait ready," came the satisfied tone of Superman's voice.

TO BE CONTINUED...