The League and Superman work to come to grips with what he's done.

Chapter 3: To Console And Understand

Initial reports coming in are claiming that the infamous Joker is indeed the one responsible for the destruction and murders of all the innocent lives that resided in what used to be Metropolis. The Joker had been apprehended by Batman and handed over to authorities, but sources are stating the while being held, the Joker has died. Details of how the Joker passed away are still sketchy to this point, but some witnesses have claimed that Superman is the one…..

"Shut it off." Batman commanded, interrupting the report playing over the Watchtower inlaid monitor on the conference room table.

J'onn typed in the commands to end the transmission, causing the screen to go black from the conference room table. "I just can't believe Superman would lose it like that." Green Arrow said, still in disbelief.

"I was there." Batman responded in a tone that left no room for argument. "The Joker pushed and pushed until Superman couldn't take any more and lost control crossing the line that he can never come back from."

"Are you implying that you think Superman should be imprisoned?" Diana asked from beside him.

"I'm not implying anything." He half argued in response. "But to say that Superman shouldn't have to answer for his actions would be questionable at the very least, especially as a member of the Justice League. Regardless of what happens, we have to hold each other accountable at a higher standard than the rest of the people on Earth. No matter the circumstances, we can't allow any one member to ever be judge, jury, and executioner."

"Batman makes a valid point." J'onn added. "And a point that which Superman held highly until recently it seems as well. If we do not hold ourselves accountable for our own actions, then we are no better than the men and women that we protect the innocent civilians from."

"I understand that J'onn, believe me I do, but we also need to take into account everything else that Batman confirmed as well." Diana stated arguing her point. "Let's not forget that he was manipulated and drugged by the Joker into believing that Lois was something she wasn't. Something horrible that Superman felt he had no choice but to fight. Joker is the one that caused all this. Kal was just an unwitting pawn, and he has already paid a great penance."

"No one's doubting that Diana." Green Arrow said. "We just can't let Supes be given a free pass is all that we're saying."

"Exactly." Batman responded. "What we need to do as far as the League is concerned is issue a statement stating that we are cooperating fully with the government. If at that time they state that they want Superman to turn himself in, then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I expect however that they'll issue a pardon for him. Especially because of all the good he's done for this country over the years."

Diana crossed her arms over her chest. She knew that she had lost this argument. "I suppose I can see your point." She conceded.

"Where is he now?" Green Lantern asked.

"Based on my findings he's back at the Fortress of Solitude." Batman answered. "Clearly he's still grieving and in an unstable state of mind. Being there is the best place for him until someone of authority calls for his return. When that happens we'll reach out to him. Until then, let's set up a media session to issue that statement. Better to stay ahead of the likely leaks while we can."

Everyone stated their agreement that the statement needed to be made as soon as possible before they moved along to the happenings with what remained of Metropolis. The charitable donations of Bruce Wayne combined with Lex Luthor's desire to rebuild had provided a good portion of the amount of money that would be needed to completely rebuild from the ground up. They knew that the buildings were by far and away the least important when looking at the loss of life, but there was nothing except time that would help to recover from that. After the discussion of Metropolis was over, Batman concluded the meeting. He waited in the room as the rest of the League members exited until it was just Diana and he left. She had walked to the door, following everyone else as they exited, but upon reaching the door, she paused just long enough to be out of ear shot before typing in a command to shut and lock the conference room door.

"What are you doing Princess?" Batman asked.

"I think we need to talk Bruce." Diana answered as she turned and headed back towards the table. "Kal is my best friend, and I just can't bring myself to believe that he was capable of what you're saying he did."

"Losing your loved ones tends to do strange things Diana." Batman responded. "Believe me; I know what I'm talking about here."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Just look at me Princess." He answered gesturing to the entire length of his body. "I'm living proof of what losing a major part of your life can do to you. All those years ago, when my parents were murdered right in front of me. Had that night not happened, then the name Batman would never have come to be. I'd only have been Bruce Wayne, the real Bruce Wayne. The one that you've come to know over the years."

Diana thought about what he'd said for a moment. "If you were never Batman, then you and I likely never would've met."

"Yes." Batman answered. "That would be a distinct possibility."

Diana was almost afraid to ask, but she was an Amazon, and wouldn't run away from fear or the possibility of emotional pain. "Would you have preferred it that way? Having never lost your parents, and not having ever become Batman?"

Batman started to turn towards a monitor. He didn't want to answer that question as there didn't seem to be any good answer. It had always been simple to him, but now it was laced with so many uncertainties of the choices that he'd made in this life without his parents. He had his back facing her when he stopped suddenly, standing rigidly still. He knew that she would think now he was going to avoid answering that poison pill of a question, and not answering would hurt her just as much as him telling her that he'd still likely choose his parents over being with her. He stood still for a moment, and Diana began to brace herself for the worst. Bruce may be cold at times, but he wouldn't intentionally say things to harm her feelings unless it was the truth and what she needed to hear. She watched as he slowly lifted his arms up until his hands were locating the release points for his cowl before lifting it off of his head. His eyes were cast downward when he turned to face Diana again. "What would you have me say Princess?" He asked in return.

"I asked the question Bruce, so I would want you to speak the truth." She explained.

"The truth." He repeated almost not believing that answer. "The truth is Princess, that it's a complicated answer. I've lived so much of my life now based off of what happened to my parents. There's so many choices that I've made along the way that I would potentially not make had they not been killed. There's nothing that I've wanted more than to have them back in my life. But had that night not have happened, then would I have adopted Dick, Jason, or Tim. Where would they be if that hadn't changed my life? I wouldn't be Batman. That much I'm sure of. And that means I'd never have met Clark, Barry, J'onn, or even Hal. I also wouldn't have met you, or at the very least I wouldn't have gotten to know you as well as I have. We may have still crossed paths during charity events or other social gatherings, but would I have already been in a relationship with someone else? I also wouldn't have been the playboy billionaire that the public sees today. Instead they'd have seen the real Bruce Wayne. You see Diana, there's so much that I'd potentially have to have given up to get them back, but even so, with all the possibilities and choices to make that would shape my life then, I can't say that if given the opportunity I wouldn't take that chance. I'd hate it if I were forced to give up some of the things that I have now."

"But you still would." Diana added to finish what he was saying.

Bruce saw the hurt still on Diana's face and he hated that he had been the cause of it. He quickly stepped forward and cupped her cheek in his hand, and he looked deep into her eyes. "Please don't take it personally Princess." He tried saying to comfort her. "Before a few nights ago, I wouldn't have even hesitated to answer that question."

Diana looked up into Bruce's eyes upon hearing that. "What do you mean?"

"You." He answered confidently. "Having you in my life would be the hardest thing to even think of giving up. I've wanted to be with you for so long, and having just finally started to try us being together, I don't want to see it end. There's no other woman that could possibly make me happier than you Diana. I…I've loved you for so long. I don't want to ever have to give that up, and I don't know now if I really ever could."

Diana's eyes filled with tears as she listened to Bruce. He'd just told her for the first time that he loved her, and any sadness that she'd felt drained away immediately upon hearing those words leave his lips. She took the two paces that stood between them, wrapping her arms around his neck and firmly placing a kiss on his lips. Bruce was taken by surprise from Diana's reaction, and initially stood there almost awestruck, but soon he was reciprocating with the same passion that he'd displayed to her during their first night together. When she felt his tongue dancing against her lips, she quickly opened and granted him access. Bruce's experience took over at that point and dazzled the beautiful Amazon as his gauntlet covered hands gently gliding down her arms, barely touching and causing a shiver to run down her spine. When his hands reached hers, she immediately interlaced her fingers between his before she reluctantly pulled back as she could sense that they both desperately needed some oxygen. Both were panting heavily and fighting to regain the composure that had managed to elude them. When he was able to form coherent thoughts again, Bruce spoke between breaths. "Not that….I'm complaining…but…..what…..was that about?" He asked.

Diana took two deep and long breaths before answering. "You've never told me that you loved me before." She responded. "Hearing you say that was something very special to me because I don't believe you say things like that very easily and….and because I love you too."

Bruce took a step back to look deeply into Diana's eyes after she'd shared how she felt about him as well. "No, I don't." He said with a smirk on his face. "And neither do you."

Diana nodded to show that she agreed. "So….now what do we do?" She asked.

"Well, for starters we go about business as usual." Bruce said as he released her hands and bent down to pick up the cowl that he'd absentmindedly dropped at some point without recollection of when. He slipped the cowl back on, and waited for a moment until Diana's expression started to turn to disappointment before continuing. "And as for you and I, dinner at the Manor tonight seems to be in order. Unless you have other plans."

Diana's face instantly lit up at the invitation being presented to her before allowing a mischievous grin to appear on her face. "I'll have to look at my schedule, but I think I can squeeze in a late supper."

"You'd better Princess." Bruce jokingly accosted. "Seven o'clock?"

"Seven o'clock." Diana repeated.

~~ Smallville, one week later ~~

Jonathon and Martha Kent were busying themselves with preparations for dinner, as was custom for the farming couple. Jonathon had just come in from the barns and set a container of milk into the refrigerator when they were interrupted by a knock at the front door. Martha shrugged her shoulders when Jonathon glanced over at her, silently questioning if she was expecting a guest without his knowledge, but her shrug told him otherwise. He closed the door to the refrigerator and made his way to the front door, wiping his hands off at his sides before reaching up to unlock it and pull it open. Standing at the doorway was a bearded Superman, hunched over and leaning against the house. He glanced up to look at his adopted father, and his expression revealed a truly beaten man. "Clark?" He whispered. "You do know you're dressed as Superman don't you?"

Clark merely stood there gazing into his father's eyes as a response. Jonathon knew that he had to move quickly and threw an arm around Clark's shoulders as he pulled him inside the house. He took a moment to peak back out the door, checking for any unwanted viewers in the area before closing the door and locking it. "Martha!" He hollered through the house as he joined his son and began to walk him down the hallway towards the kitchen. "We're going to have to put out a dinner setting for a third person."

"Who stopped by that's staying…..for…dinner?" Martha started to ask as she saw Jonathon and Clark walking into the kitchen side by side. "Clark!" She yelled as she ran over to him and enveloped him in a motherly embrace. She was smiling brightly until she noticed the look on her son's face. It was the same look that he'd maintained since either of them had laid eyes on their son. "Here son, have a seat." She offered as she pulled out a chair at the dinner table. Clark plopped down into the chair without a single word as his parents scurried about readying for their unexpected guest to join them for dinner.

"We were so worried about you sweetheart." Martha commented as she set a placemat and plate in front of him before going back for a drinking glass. "We hadn't heard anything since that awful explosion went off in Metropolis. I'm so glad to see that you made it out alright."

"I'm not alright." Clark responded, slowing a little anger behind the quietness in his voice.

Jonathon and Martha stopped in their tracks at hearing their son's tone. He'd never spoken in such a manner towards Martha before. "What happened son?" Jonathon asked.

"It was…..I did it." Clark managed as he stared at his empty glass. It seemed metaphorical to him at that moment. The glass was like him, empty on the inside.

"What do you mean you did it honey?" Martha asked as she took the glass and filled it with lemonade that she held in a chilled pitcher.

"If I….I couldn't…" Clark tried to formulate the words, but was struggling with his emotions. "The Joker…he tricked me….Now Lois is gone." He said before getting up from his chair and almost stumbling over to the hallway. "And so is my son." He whispered as he left the kitchen area.

Jonathon and Martha looked at each other in shock from having heard the news. They hadn't known about Lois being pregnant with Clark's baby. To say they were shocked was an understatement. They were rendered speechless but they were forced to shake the shock from their systems as Clark returned, now out of his Superman suit and into his normal farm clothes. As soon as he was back inside the kitchen, Martha immediately enveloped him in another hug as she repeatedly whispered how sorry she was for what Clark had gone through. Jonathon knew that there was more to the story however, but he remained quiet as his son needed to have some time to just grieve. Dinner becoming ready interrupted that line of conversation as Martha and Jonathon were forced to remove the food from the oven and stove top. This was the first time since Clark could reach and see the food in the pots and pans on top of the stove and counter that he had been served entirely by his parents. It was a little unsettling to him about how they were seemingly coddling him, but he knew deep down that they only had the best of intentions for him.

Dinner steered away from Lois and the Metropolis situation as instead; Jonathon offered updates on the Kent farm and the happenings within Smallville. Those two things seemed to be the grounding constant for Clark. No matter what happened in the world, being with his parents in Smallville always seemed to simplify things. It wasn't until everything else had been discussed that the large elephant in the room was all that remained, and it was plain to see that they all looked for any possible escape. This led Jonathon to reach for the television remote. He powered it on to find a news report streaming, and Clark's parents listened in as he merely sat idly by.

With Joker's death being confirmed, the government is working alongside the Justice League to decide what Superman's fate should be. Many are speculating that a pardon from the President is to be expected as Superman has been a beacon for justice, and even with the Joker's death being linked to Superman, no one wishes to see him punished when such a monster in this world has been removed.

Jonathon turned the TV off at that point, as he knew that the elephant in the room had no choice whatsoever of being avoided any longer. "Is it true Clark?" He asked. "Did you kill the Joker?"

Clark's attention immediately went to his feet seemingly as he cleared his throat. "Yes dad." He confirmed.

"What did he do son?" Jonathon asked.

"He….he kidnapped Lois." Clark explained. "When I found him, he'd done something to the both of us. I saw the Doomsday monster, but it wasn't what I thought I saw. By the time I realized….Lois' heart stopped….Batman said that was what caused the bomb to detonate."

"Is he sure?" Martha chimed in.

"Batman's almost never wrong ma, especially when you want him to be." Clark confirmed as he tried to focus on anything in the room aside from his parents. "I buried them, and came back for the Joker. I didn't know what I was going to do until it was over and I'd already killed him." At that point Clark lost his composure and tears of sorrow mixed with regret slid down his cheeks.

Martha's heart broke for her son. He'd been so powerful for so long that it was surprising to see him so vulnerable, and that unnerved her. She moved to sit right beside him and once again held her son in her arms. "I'm so sorry Clark." She again said softly to her son. "What are you going to do now?"

"I….I don't know ma." Clark answered between sniffles. "That's why I came. I'm hoping to figure that out."

~~ Two weeks later ~~

"So like, when is Supes going to come back?" Hal asked in exasperation.

"We don't know." Batman answered. He hated having to be so vocal, but without Superman there to serve as the unofficial leader of the League, someone had to step up. "To my knowledge, he hasn't even made contact with any League member as of yet."

Everyone naturally looked over to Diana, as she was Superman's best friend in the League. "Batman's right. I haven't heard a single word from Kal in weeks." She confirmed.

"Well what's he waiting on?" Hal asked. "Four days ago any of his involvement with the Joker's death was pardoned by the President."

"Superman should be permitted to take as much time as necessary until he's ready to return, and we should support that." Diana replied.

"The League is more than just Superman." Batman added as he stood up in front of his chair. "And we will prove just that if we need to. I have nothing further to discuss, so unless anyone has anything else to add…." He paused and briefly glanced around the table. "Then consider this meeting adjourned."

Everyone stood up and made their exits, Diana, J'onn, and Batman at the rear. Diana clearly heard Hal muttering to Hawkgirl as they walked out about just how much longer should Superman be permitted to be on leave of duty since the League was his idea in the first place. Diana began to increase her pace as she wanted to confront Hal about what he'd just said, but she was stopped by a hand grabbing each of her shoulders. She looked down to see that both J'onn and Batman had halted her from continuing on. "Let him go Princess." Batman said. "He has a valid point."

"What do you mean a valid point?" She asked as she quickly spun around to face Bruce, now extremely irritated.

"I've checked. He's not even been seen as Clark Kent, and he had an alibi to be out of town on the day of the explosion." Batman explained. "He can't stay in his Fortress or Smallville for too long."

"Batman is right Diana." J'onn added. "As a part of the grieving process, Superman needs to take steps toward moving on at some point. The longer it takes for him, the more difficult it could become."

"Besides, according to what I've discovered, even the Kents haven't been seen around their farm for the past three days." Batman stated.

"So you've been checking up on him?" Diana asked.

Batman shot her a glare that almost implied he thought her to be ignorant to even think anything else from him. "I can't believe you Bruce." Diana said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You have to be one of the most paranoid beings in the entire universe. He's your friend. Why have you been keeping tabs on him? Do you think he's going to suddenly decide not to do what's best for the world?"

"Anyone's capable of changing their view Diana." Batman responded. "Even Superman. He's already crossed the line once. What's to stop him from crossing it again?"

"The Joker deserved what he got from Kal." Diana fired back. She couldn't see Bruce's eyes go wide open under the cowl upon hearing her response.

"That's still no excuse Diana." Batman argued as he quickly composed himself. "We can't take the law into our hands. It makes us no better than our enemies."

"But with the death of the Joker, Kal has legitimately saved lives that would surely be lost the next time that monster got free." Diana responded as she dropped her arms to her sides with hands clenched into tight balled up fists. "In most instances I agree with you, but there has to be extenuating circumstances when dealing with monsters such as him."

"And who decides just what those circumstances are Diana?" Batman fired back as he draped his cape around himself to hide the white knuckled fists that he now had. "Kal, Hawkgirl, Flash, you? Because I won't make that choice. Killing is killing no matter if it's deserved or not, and it's never the acceptable choice to make."

"So you wouldn't make that choice if put into the same circumstance?" Diana questioned.

"No." Batman confirmed without hesitation.

"Well then I certainly hope that you don't ever have to experience that first hand Bruce." Diana growled.

"I already have!" Batman shouted before storming out of the conference room, bumping shoulders with Diana hard enough that with her not expecting the contact; she actually had to take a step back to maintain her balance.

Diana began to march right after him, but J'onn stepped in the way this time. When she noticed the admonishing look that her Martian friend was shooting at her, she gave pause and took a deep breath to help calm her. "What is it J'onn?" She asked.

"You were in the wrong Diana." He responded. When she had a confused expression on her face and her stance changed from aggressive to inquisitive, he continued. "If you recall, Bruce Wayne had adopted three sons over the years."

"Yes I remember finding that when I initially researched him." Diana responded.

"Then you would also know that his second adopted son, Jason died tragically." J'onn continued. Diana nodded in confirmation. "Would it surprise you to know that what had been reported as the cause of death was inaccurate?"

"Are you saying that it was the Joker?" Diana asked as things started to click for her. When J'onn nodded in confirmation, her eyes opened widely in disbelief. "But Bruce didn't even take a single day off. We wouldn't even know about it if not for the news reports starting to stream through."

"And Batman never once attempted to take the Joker's life." J'onn added for emphasis. "He has always believed that once you head down that path into the abyss, it is impossible to return. That is why he has been watchful over Superman's activities, and I have my concerns as well for our friend. I only hope that he can find a way to come to terms with this tragic situation."

"Thank you for stopping me J'onn and explaining everything." Diana said with a warm smile.

"That's what friends are for Diana." J'onn responded as he watched her turning to follow after Batman. Diana walked with a faster pace than she normally would through the halls. She half expected that Bruce would've sought out escape to his Batcave, but when she checked the logs of teleporter usage; there was nothing to indicate that it had been used in over an hour. Even though the coordinates were immediately wiped from the memory when traveling to destinations such as the Batcave or Fortress of Solitude, there was still a line item revealing that the teleporter had been used. She went back out into the hallway wondering just where Bruce had slipped off to. She started to think of this as a challenge for her to play the part of the hunter and try to track down the elusive Batman. She almost smiled just thinking about how much more of a challenge it would be if Bruce was actually aware that she was seeking him out and tried to avoid being caught. Shaking her mind from those thoughts, she focused on the task at hand to locate Bruce without any additional help. She started off by heading to the commissary. Batman basically lived off of coffee, as it seemed almost as important to him being able to function as oxygen. When she arrived, she gave the room a thorough sweep, but found no sign of Batman there. Her next stop was the monitor womb, where only Shazam sat at the monitor desk. She knew all too well that regardless of the situation, Batman wouldn't remain in the same room as Shazam. Billy Batson's teenage mentality showed through too often for Bruce to be there as Billy would never be able to stay quiet with the knowledge that someone else was in the same room as him. Only Barry seemed able to remain in the same vicinity for any length of time. That left only the personal quarters and training facilities. Even though she highly doubted that Bruce would retreat to the personal quarters, she did look through his room as well as her own before heading down to the training area. Upon arriving there, she found that only one room was occupied, and entered her override access codes before slipping in quietly.

Once inside the training room, Diana immediately located Bruce in the center of the room surrounded by various holographic villains. There were also a few bots that had batarangs stuck into them, some in what would be considered a fatal blow in real life. She glanced back up just in time to see Bruce spring to action again. He leapt into the bot with a holographic image consistent with Deadshot. A swift twist, and the bot's head contorted into an awkward position before the bot dropped to the ground and Batman moved over to another. Diana glanced over at the control panel when she saw the Two-Face bot pull out a gun and fire, the bullet ricochet off the training room walls. Bruce had removed the safety protocols and increased the enemies to their maximum violence levels. By the time Diana looked back up though, all of the bots aside from one was laying on the ground defeated. The only bot standing was being held by Bruce and repeatedly being struck in what would be the face. This particular bot had a holographic image of the Joker. Batman continued to pummel it even after the holographic display had stopped producing the Joker's likeness. "Bruce." Diana softly called out to him. She watched closely as he slowed in his pummeling movements, eventually coming to a stop while falling on his knees next to that bot. His shoulders were heaving up and down as he sucked in breath after breath, his face lowered to looking downward at his hands that were resting on his thighs. Diana cautiously approached until she was standing next to his kneeling figure. She sat down next to him when he made no move to show that he'd acknowledged her being there. She could almost hear his heartbeat still pounding inside his chest as she turned to face the man that she loved. "Bruce, I'm so sorry." She said in a whisper. "I didn't know."

"It shouldn't make a difference." Bruce stated flatly before rising to his feet and turning to leave.

Diana quickly reached out and snatched his hand preventing such a move from happening. She wasn't about to let Bruce escape so easily. "There are going to be times where we don't agree Bruce." She offered. "But that doesn't mean that we've stopped loving each other, and it shouldn't mean that we walk away and avoid things. I want to know everything I can about you so that I can understand why you feel the way you do about certain things. I also want you to know all there is to know about me. Then maybe we can come to an understanding when we don't agree with each other instead of being angry."

Bruce's shoulders slumped ever so lightly as he released a cleansing breath. "Maybe." He said as he turned to face Diana.

Bruce and Diana slowly moved in closer to one another, and reached out their arms to for a heartfelt embrace before they were interrupted. "There's a situation in Bialya. All available Justice League members report." Came the voice of Shazam over the Watchtower intercom.

~~ Fortress of Solitude ~~

Superman was pacing about the Fortress. His parents weren't exactly thrilled about his taking them to the Fortress even though they stated they didn't feel the need to do so. His father was especially upset about having the choice basically taken from him. The man just didn't understand. Superman had lost so much already, and he simply couldn't bear the thought of losing anyone else that was close to him. Perhaps if he sat down with his father and explained his reasoning behind bringing them here, then Jonathon would be more accepting of it. Superman decided that he would try that approach and walked to the room he'd last seen his father in, sitting on a couch flipping through channels on a TV. As Superman walked into the room and found his father still there, he noticed that now Jonathon was watching intently to what was being shown on the TV screen. He turned to look at what had grabbed his father's attention to see a news report video that revealed civilians of the Middle Eastern country of Bialya being gunned down by militant officials. The thread scrolling at the bottom of the screen read that the ruler of Bialya had issued orders for the military to strike down any transgressor within the country that showed any signs of being against his rule. Superman's teeth grounded together as his hands clenched into fists. "No more." He growled, catching Jonathon's attention just soon enough to see a blue and red streak sailing out of the room.