A Forging of Steel

A FORGING OF STEEL by BILLA1

Disclaimer: The characters Batman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Superman & Flash their respective secret identities are all owned by DC Comics. This story is intended for my own pleasure and is not for profit. It has been posted to this site for others to read. Places and characters not own by DC Comics are my own creation. This story is based on characters from The Justice League story "A Better World" written by Stan Berkowitz. Thanks to Merlin Missy for her beta on this story.

A Forging Of Steel

Rating: (PG)

Synopsis: The Justice Lords come to grips with finishing the revolution after the death of President Luthor.

You will not have to worry about a dove in your bedroom,

A tiger in your tank or the giant in your toilet bowl.

The revolution will not go better with Coke,

The revolution will not fight the germs that may cause bad breath.

The revolution will put you in the driver's seat.

The revolution will not be televised, will not be televised.

The revolution will be no re-run brothers

The revolution will be live. - Gil Scott-Heron (The Revolution Will Not Be Televised)

People die in revolutions. And this was a revolution; there was no longer any doubt. Sometimes, people die horribly. Maybe he didn't deserve to die like this. But he did deserve to die. Even Batman agreed on that point.

The air was thick with the putrid smell of burning flesh and bone, oak and plastic. Lesser beings would have been nauseated by the sight...by the smell. She wasn't. She had been trained as a warrior and had seen worse. She wasn't bothered by what was in front of her. She was bothered by the man who refused to look at her when she entered the room.

He had crossed his own moral line. It was a line he had established early on for himself and for them. It was a line they all had followed. Now, he had changed the rules in order to win. Was he happy with what he'd won? She had to know. She needed to know. He was the moral compass of the group and she wanted to make sure that the compass heading was still true.

She knew he heard her approach but he didn't turn around. She placed her hand gently on his right shoulder and asked, "Are you okay?"

He turned to her and surprised her with the firmness and resolve of his answer, "I'm great!"

(That night at the Batcave)

He sat at his chair in front of the console. She had been here many times before and always wondered why there weren't more chairs in this place. He discouraged visitors and she guessed that not having additional chairs would encourage visits that would be held to the minimum length required. Speak your piece and get out.

She stood on the right side of the seated Batman, her arms folded across her chest. Superman stood on the other side with his hands behind his back. He had been strangely quiet, she thought. In fact, he had said little since he left the White House earlier in the day. No one had tried to stop them from leaving. The reality was no one could have anyway.

"Earlier today," she said, "you said it had to be done. You're not changing your mind now are you?"

Batman shook his head as he looked her in the eyes. "No. It had to be done. But now that it's done, what do we do?"

She didn't have any answers. The Justice Lords had always operated with implied Government consent. In the past, they did whatever they needed to do to preserve life and property, but they tried not to take lives. They tried not to kill. Now a member of the Justice Lords not only had killed but he had killed a head of state. There were political as well as personal ramifications to that. This would not end well unless they plotted their moves carefully.

Superman smiled. "We need buy-in. We want them to be glad that we acted."

Batman nodded in agreement. "We do what we have always done. We look these people in the face and tell them they need us to protect them and that we want to protect them. That they need -want peace and what we did gives them peace. Luthor was about to destroy the world. If we hadn't acted we would all be dead now. That's what we tell them."

Superman nodded. "And it will work provided we don't do anything to destabilize the Government."

"What do you mean -destabilize the Government?" she asked as she leaned against the computer console.

Batman stood up and positioned himself between the two. "He means we arrange a meeting with the vice-president and tell him we want him to assume his constitutional authority and be the president. We'll tell him we are here to assist and that we, along with the established authorities, will help maintain order - not just here but abroad."

Diana sighed. "And if he doesn't agree?"

Superman smirked. "How did that line from that movie go? I'll make him an offer he can't refuse."

Suddenly Diana wasn't sure how she felt anymore about what was happening.

(The Next Day in World Nation Security Council Chambers)

She had watched important world leaders stand on this platform before and address each other about world problems but never before had she stood on the stage herself. Not before today. Never been part of the scenery. She stood next to the new President. But she wasn't alone. Superman stood on the other side of the man now addressing the world leaders. She assumed a stance that she thought - she hoped would convey confidence and authority, warmth and respect. And will be easy to maintain in heels for a while.

As the President spoke, his voice quivering, she tried to keep a pleasant expression on her face. She knew the talking heads on TV would analyze and parse every movement she and Superman made. She would give them no additional ammunition.

"Today, my fellow citizens of the world," the President said, "I come to you with a heavy heart. President Lex Luthor was prepared to launch Armageddon and only the quick action on the part of the Justice Lords prevented a catastrophe of unbelievable potential. Unfortunately, the only way to stop Luthor was by the use of deadly force. The threat was stopped but President Luthor died in his mad drive to destroy us all.

"The Justice Lords have agreed to step in temporarily to ensure that our government and all world governments cooperate peacefully. To this end, the Justice Lords will assist law enforcement on all levels, local, federal and international in the pursuit of justice so that the citizens of this world can live in peace. I pledge that my country shall cooperate with the Lords and provide them with whatever assistance they need. Having the protection of the Justice Lords against all enemies is important to my country but it is an umbrella of protection we can share with the world...."

In the gallery above, the Flash and J'onn J'onzz were on one side of the auditorium and the Green Lantern and Hawkgirl were on the other side. As the President, flanked by Diana and Superman, addressed the other world leaders, the Flash was clearly uncomfortable with the tableau occurring below him. He turned to J'onn, "He just told them that we would make them play nice or else. When did we agree to that?"

J'onn looked straight ahead, his answer was curt, "You missed that meeting."

The Flash shook his head, and then it dawned on him. J'onn was reading the minds of the world leaders, looking for dissent. "This is wrong," the Flash said. "Look, I remember what my uncle said about how people will always use whatever authority they've got. J'onn, this is just wrong." He paused, looking down at his hands which were tightly gripping the railing. "We've never done this before. I mean dictate to governments."

J'onn remained expressionless. "We do now. But don't worry." J'onn turned his back to the stage below and faced the Flash. "It was something the Green Lantern said at a meeting a few weeks ago before Luthor was killed that made me think and helped me see this is the right thing to do."

The Flash said nothing but gripped the rail tighter.

J'onn continued. "Anything that doesn't eat you today is only saving you for tomorrow. We will be the ones to hold authority."

The Flash shook his head, turned and walked out of the gallery.

(Six P.M. that night in the Detroit apartment of John Stewart and Shayera Hol)

I don't see it. She reached in the cupboard searching for her favorite cup. She closed her eyes and sighed. She still didn't see it. She had used it yesterday. Was it still dirty? Then she saw it - in the sink.

"Whose turn was it to do the dishes last night?" Shayera called out from the kitchen.

Seated on the sofa, John called back into the kitchen, "You say that like you think it was my turn." She knew he was trying to watch the rebroadcast of the new President speaking on the TV and she knew she was distracting him. But doggone it, that's my favorite cup.

"It was your turn," she answered. "You want some coffee while I'm up?"

"No. But, you ought to sit down and watch this. Watching the news analysis can tell us how it's really going down with the public."

She grabbed his favorite cup, poured herself a cup of coffee then walked out of the kitchen to the sofa and sat down next to John. They were both dressed in jeans and open collar shirts.

She crossed her legs and held the cup over her lap. "The new President looked frightened, didn't he?" she asked.

John looked at her and for a moment didn't say anything. Then he offered, "Well, he should. The world was almost destroyed by his predecessor."

She shook her head and then took another swallow of her coffee. "No. That's not it. He looked like he was afraid of Superman and Diana behind him." She paused looking down into her lap. "John, your country was founded on revolution. What if the populace decides to revolt?"

The smile was small but it was there and she hated it. With that smile came the 'let me explain to you how the world works, little alien girl' and she didn't care for that attitude out of John. Yes she was an alien here but they were all alien to her. She returned his smile just as John apparently noticed that she was drinking from his favorite cup. He frowned as he spoke. "The local authorities will put down any revolution and we'll assist. There will be no problems. We'll make sure of that. Is that my cup?"

Hol's smile was a little wider now as she answered, "Yes. It was your turn to do dishes, remember?" She paused. "John, what about the Corps? The Green Lantern Corps. Won't they intervene?"

John's eyes remained fixed on the cup in her hands. "No, because I'm ensuring local regs and laws are being followed and I'm certainly not directly running the planet like Sinestro did on Korugar. They won't interfere. You're drinking out of my favorite cup."

She looked at the President on the TV. "My favorite cup wasn't washed last night." She finished her coffee, got up from the sofa and put the cup in the kitchen sink. "John, aren't you bothered that this all went down while we were on a deep space mission? I mean we knew there was going to be trouble, but we come back and they've implemented a solution we all have to live with now. We had no vote in this but we're stuck with it."

John got up from the sofa and joined her in the kitchen. He leaned against the sink. She did the same next to him. "Yeah, I'm bothered," he said, "and we'll have to be careful with how this is played out. But no matter what goes down, you and I will do the right thing."

She turned to face him, smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Hey, let me change the subject," she said. "I found the right gold earrings."

"Good. Where?"

She looked up into his eyes. "Barclay's Jewelry Store on Canfield Street." She paused and then added, "They close at nine."

"Great. I'll pick them up tonight before we go to the meeting at the Batcave. Once you change your white earrings to gold, we'll be legal in Thanagarian eyes, right?"

She put her head to his chest, listening to his heartbeat and answered softly, "Then we'll be legal." She raised her head and kissed his shirt. "We'll be Thanagarian life partners."

He kissed the top of her head. "Good," he said. Then he gently shook his head. "You drank out of my favorite cup."

(Eleven P.M. at the Batcave)

The seven Justice Lords stood around the computer console. The Flash had called this meeting and they decided for the moment it was safer to meet in the Batcave than to go back to the Watchtower. Several nations had the ability to blow the Watchtower out of orbit; there was no need for the Justice Lords to take chances and become sitting ducks so soon. They would let the world situation stabilize before they returned to the Watchtower. First they needed the "buy-in" that Superman kept bringing up.

Diana could tell the Flash was upset. Even for him, he was very agitated and his pacing back and forth bothered her a lot. She was fond of him and had come to accept his flirting as one of the many things she loved about him. And she did love him. She loved him as the little brother she never had - the little brother she couldn't have had. But now, as she looked at him pacing the floor, she didn't like what she saw in his face. She not only saw hurt in his eyes, she saw disappointment.

He stopped his pacing. "Guys, I'm more than a little uncomfortable with what we're doing."

Batman's tone was pointed, but flat. "Get over it. We haven't done anything."

The Flash stood over the seated Batman. There was anger in his voice. "Wait a minute. Yes we did! Or at least he did." He pointed at Superman. "He just killed a head of state. He assassinated the President."

Superman's voice was calm. Maybe too calm, Diana thought, considering the circumstances. "He was mad," Superman said softly. "He was about to kill us all."

The Flash threw his hands up in exasperation. "You missed the point. He was elected. There are laws for the proper removal of a President. We decided - no, you decided to be his judge, jury and executioner. Since when do we do that?"

Diana put her hand on the Flash's shoulder. "There was no time to hold an impeachment trial while his finger was poised over a button that could have launched Armageddon."

The Flash moved his shoulder from her hand and faced her. "You weren't even in the room when he killed Luthor. We don't know what was said. Maybe Supes could have used his heat vision to fuse the box...melt the wires in the box...make the box too hot for Luthor to touch or something. There must have been another way."

Superman answered the Flash with a hint of anger in his voice now. "You know Flash, I have been very patient with you. I have listened to you question my judgment...my actions and I haven't said anything but I would advise you to remember there are limits to patience."

The Flash spun around and zipped up to Superman so that they were inches apart. "Are you threatening me?"

A green energy wall suddenly appeared between the heroes. At the other end of that wall was the Green Lantern. "Back off. Both of you," John yelled. "What's done is done and can't be undone."

The Flash stepped back as the green wall disappeared. "I'm out of here. I want no part of this." Looking at Superman, he said, "You gonna stop me?"

Superman folded his arms across his chest. Diana moved to stand between Superman and the Flash. She looked at Superman as she spoke. "He's not going to stop you. No one is. You have my personal guarantee on that." She turned around to face the Flash, "But I don't want you to leave. Please stay."

J'onn who had been silent during this exchange spoke, "Flash, we all want you to stay."

The Flash sighed deeply and looked at Diana, ignoring J'onn. "Sorry Princess. Maybe I'll call you." With that he turned and zipped out of the cave.

The silence was heavy in the darkened cave as Superman looked around the room at the remaining five members. "Anyone else want out?"

John and Shayera looked at each other but said nothing. Her golden earrings reflected the scant light in the cave. The Batman spun around to face his computer keyboard. Diana walked back over to Batman and spun his chair so that he again faced the group and then she stepped in the center of the gathering. She alternated her gaze between Superman and Batman. She spoke with the regal air of one used to having her way. "I'm not leaving but I want to be clear on this. Nothing better happen to the Flash. Is that understood? Nothing. I don't know where we go from here but I know where we're not going."

After a few moments of silence, Shayera asked, "Can we do this? I mean, impose our will on a population this large? There are only six of us. Others out there with our abilities and strengths may oppose us."

The Batman pounded the arm of his chair. "No one is talking about imposing our will on anyone."

Diana flashed a brief smile at Shayera and said softly. "Nice earrings." Shayera nodded as she returned the smile. Then Diana added with a firmer tone and looking at Batman, "No, she's right. That's exactly what we are talking about doing. And we better understand that."

John asked, "So does that mean we impose martial law to protect ourselves?"

J'onn stepped to the center of the gathered Lords, "Yes. Yes we do."

Diana sighed loudly and looked skyward. "Hera help us."

For the first time since the death of President Luthor, Diana thought she heard sorrow in Superman's voice as he added, "I hope she does. I truly hope she does."

END