With Extreme Prejudice - A Justice Lords Story by BillA1

Copyright November 2006

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: The characters Batman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Superman & Flash and 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 are my own creation. This story is based on characters from the animated Justice League series episode: A Better World written by Stan Berkowitz. A huge shout out of thanks to Merlin Missy for her beta on this story. Not a direct sequel to, but references material found in Hearts of Steel.

With Extreme Prejudice -A Justice Lords Story

Rating: (PG-13)

Synopsis: Everyone needs family, some more than others.

"Three years ago ... I didn't even know your name.

Today ... I can't imagine a day without you."

(Janeway to Chakotay -Star Trek: Voyager - "Scorpion, Part I")

(Xenia, Ohio)

"I knew I shouldn't have rented to these women," George said out loud to himself as he stood outside the door of apartment 2A on the second floor.

George Haband had managed a very small apartment building in Xenia for the last three years. His building was in the low-rent district and some of his tenants were 'persons of interest' as the police would call them. But George asked no questions of his tenants and only required that they pay the rent on time. He was a lonely, slightly overweight man in his mid-sixties who had been known to occasionally grant tenants, especially the female ones, a day or two extension on the rent in exchange for personal favors.

George banged on the door of the apartment. "Open up. I know you're in there. We need to talk about your late rent."

There was silence as one of the overhead lights suddenly burned out and darkened the hallway. He made a mental note to change the bulb later in the day as he knocked again. "If you don't open the door, I'm going to call the police." This was always his trump card. Ever since the Justice Lords had taken out President Luthor two years ago, the last thing anyone wanted was the attention of the police.

A voice on the other side of the door called out, "Wait. Don't call the police. We'll have the rent this afternoon."

George shook his head. "I'm not waiting," he hollered back. "If you don't have it now, you don't have it at all. I'll be back with the police." He turned to leave and headed back to his own apartment at the end of the hall. He'd call the police from there.

He'd taken about three steps when he heard the lock unlatch. He turned around and saw the door open a crack. "Please wait," the voice said. "Look, can't we work out a trade or something for a couple of hours? If you give me a chance I'm sure I could give you a memory that will rock your world."

George couldn't see in the apartment since the door was barely opened, but he thought he recognized the voice of the woman as being the smaller of the two who lived there. She didn't leave the apartment much and stayed completely covered up all the time because of some skin condition, the other woman had said. He walked back to the door. The woman stood behind the door so George couldn't see her face. All he saw was her purple gloved hand on the door jam. He cleared his throat. "You're going to rock my world for a two hour extension?"

The gloved hand reached out and grabbed George, pulling him inside the room. "Honey, when your world ends, I guarantee you, you'll be thinking of me."

Claire was tired. She'd worked the morning shift at a small diner on Detroit Street. Waitresses didn't make a lot of money, but this was one of the quick jobs she could get that didn't require a background check. Avoiding background checks was a requirement in light of her past associations.

She'd stopped at the grocery store at the end of the block on her way back to the apartment and picked up a box of sugar, a bag of gummy bears and a small jar of crunchy peanut butter. When she entered the apartment hallway, it seemed darker than usual and Claire made a mental note to let the landlord know the light had burned out.

She fumbled for her keys, finally finding the right one, opened the door to her apartment and called out, "Crystal, I'm back." Then she saw it and dropped her bag on the floor in shock. In the middle of her apartment, there was a seven foot tall glacier of solid ice, and in the middle of the ice was her landlord, frozen solid. She quickly closed the door behind her and yelled, "God, woman! Don't you have any self-control?"

Crystal sheepishly stuck her head out of the bedroom. "He was going to call the cops," she said softly as she walked up to Claire. "I couldn't let him do that, could I?" Claire noted there was no remorse in Crystal's voice.

Claire picked up the bag of dropped groceries and walked to the kitchen. She said nothing as Crystal followed her like a puppy. They had been so close to becoming a memory in the minds of the law. It had been six months since they'd settled in Xenia. Six months since anyone had seen Volcana and Killer Frost. And now, all of that was about to change because Crystal couldn't control herself.

Claire took a deep breath, grabbed her gummy bears out of the grocery bag and walked out of the kitchen, past the silent Crystal, and stood next to the mound of ice in the living room. She looked at the frozen man as she said, "But did you have to kill him?" She turned to see Crystal smiling devilishly. "Lord, what is it with you and killing men anyway?" Claire snapped.

Crystal frowned, but said nothing. Claire sighed. "How long will he stay frozen?"

Crystal gently stroked the ice in front of her as if it were a lover. "He's got enough ice on him to last three or four days," she said facing Claire. "I can touch him up if we need to." She paused and reached for Claire's hand. "Honey, I'm sorry."

Claire snatched her hand away. "Don't lie to me. You're not sorry you killed him. You're never sorry when you kill men. You're only sorry that you got caught -that we have to leave here now ." Claire frowned as she went into the bedroom and pulled her suitcase out of the closet. She opened it up on the bed and started throwing clothing into it.

Crystal followed Claire into the bedroom. "Well, this is a nice place."

Claire frowned. "It's a dump and you know it!" She stopped, grabbed Crystal's hand and sat down on the bed. Crystal sat next to her. She held Crystal's hand as she spoke. "Look, Crystal, if you keep this up the Justice Lords are going to find us the same way they've found everybody else who was part of Waller's Suicide Squad. I'm not going to get locked up with two burn holes in my head because of you. Understand? I'm tired of running. I want to settle into a normal life. I want a family. I want children. How am I ever supposed to have those things if you kill every man that comes to the door?"

Crystal cocked her head toward Claire. "I haven't killed every man that came to the door. But it's not like the world needs more fire breathers."

Claire stood and angrily grabbed more things out of her closet and threw them in her suitcase. "I don't breathe fire and you know it. I control fire with my mind." Her eyes narrowed as she said, "God, I don't know why I stay around you."

Crystal folded her arms across her chest. "You know why you stay. I said I was sorry." She paused before mumbling under her breath, "But he still deserved to die."

Crystal took her suitcase out of the closet, tossed it on the bed and starting throwing her few bits of clothing into it. Then she stopped and sat on the bed again. Tears formed in her eyes. She looked up at Claire and said, "Look at me. It's not like I can blend in. Thank you for staying with me. It's just that sometimes I just can't control myself."

Claire sighed. "So I noticed. Well, so much for trying to go straight."

Crystal jumped up and pointed her finger at Claire. "Look! You came to me. I didn't -"

Claire smiled slightly as she cut Crystal off. "I meant go straight as in staying off the radar screen of the Justice Lords, you blue-skinned dope. Hand me that bag of gummy bears."

"Oh. Here," Crystal said as she handed the candy to Claire. Claire opened the bag, took out a couple of pieces and offered the bag to Crystal who took a handful of candy out and gave the bag back to Claire. Both women sat down on the bed again, not saying anything to each other.

Claire sighed.

"I guess it'd be too much to ask if he gave you his car keys before you killed him, wouldn't it?" Claire finally said, breaking the silence. She looked at Crystal who frowned. Claire pursed her lips together in a tight line as she said, "We are so screwed."

Crystal smiled and stood. "Maybe his keys are in his apartment. We could apply a little hot and cold and pop the lock. Then maybe we can find some cash, too."

Claire stood and smiled. "This? This is why I stay with you."

(Three days later)

Diana frowned when Shayera and Stewart finally showed up for their watch. They were only thirty minutes late, John thought to himself and it wasn't like no one knew where to find them. Stewart knew Diana would say something about them not being on time, but she wouldn't say it to him. Stewart would be quick to remind Diana of the times he and Shayera had to cover for her and Superman being late for watch. He shook his head. No, Diana would speak to Shayera.

Stewart had had little luck in decoding the dynamics of Shayera and Diana's relationship over the last two years. He'd purposely stayed out of their conversations and he had more reason to do so now. In three days, Shayera would be in "season" as she put it. They'd have two days to start their family or they'd have to wait another three months before she was fertile again.

They'd just settled into their routine of reading the reports from the previous night, when Diana approached. She flashed a quick but fake smile at Stewart and said to Shayera, "Can I talk to you a moment?"

Shayera flashed a look at Stewart, then nodded and followed the Princess to her station. Stewart turned his attention to J'onn, who was monitoring the reports coming in from the various Earth reporting stations. It had been two years since Superman killed President Luthor and almost that long since Wally's death. In that time, they'd pretty much eliminated major crime, but every now and then, someone tested them.

Stewart flew over to J'onn's monitoring station. The Martian didn't look up at him or acknowledge his arrival, but instead continued to focus on the reports he was getting from the staff.

"Do they require our assistance?" J'onn asked the attendant who reported the problem in Sector 42.

"I think they do. They found a man completely frozen in a pyramid of ice in Xenia, Ohio," came the reply.

"We're on it," Stewart said to J'onn. "Sounds like the work of Killer Frost, don't you think?"

J'onn looked at Stewart hesitantly and then nodded. "Maybe. She's been quiet for months, but go ahead and look into it, if you must." Stewart nodded and then turned to look for Shayera. She and Diana were still "discussing" what he could only assume to be their tardiness. He shook his head and wondered why women couldn't just let anything die a natural death on its own.

"Hawkgirl! We're up. Let's go," he called over to Shayera. Both women turned and looked at him like he had something smelly on his shoes. Shayera said something else to Diana that Stewart couldn't hear. Diana smiled and waved farewell.

Maybe their relationship wasn't as bad as he originally thought.

Shayera and John landed outside the apartment complex in Xenia. A couple of uniformed police officers stepped aside and permitted them to enter the building. A detective met them at the apartment entrance and after identifying himself as Detective Jones of the Xenia Police Department, he escorted them inside.

The first thing Shayera noticed was that the apartment was still very cold and the water on the floor had soaked into the walls. Mold had started to appear at the baseboards and the room reeked of mildew.

John said nothing as he walked up to the corpse that was being cut carefully out of the ice by two officers with hacksaws. The victim, suspended in the ice, was in his underwear and had a surprised look on his face. Shayera noticed that he wasn't wearing shoes and that he was suspended about a half a foot off the floor. Both of his feet pointed downward.

"Any idea who he is or how long he's been dead?" Shayera asked.

"Name is George Haband," Detective Jones answered as he consulted his notes. "He's the apartment manager. Lived alone at the end of the hall. Might not have been found for a few more days if the melting ice water hadn't started running under the front door and into the hall. A neighbor thought there was a broken pipe, went to look for the landlord and couldn't find him. No one answered the door here, so a couple of the other tenants broke the door down."

"This is definitely the work of Killer Frost," John said as he glanced at Shayera. Shayera nodded. John turned to Jones. "Did you find his pants?"

Shayera raised an eyebrow at John's question, suppressing a smile. The detective nodded. "On the sofa." He pointed to the couch.

"Who was this apartment rented to?" John asked as Shayera examined the couch. She noticed the smell of mildew was particularly strong where the pants had been.

"Were the pants wet?" Shayera asked ignoring John's look of surprise.

The detective nodded at Shayera and said to John, "The pants were still a little damp, but almost dry in spots. As for who the apartment was rented to, it was a woman named Clarrisa Seaton. She quit her job as a waitress about three days ago, collected her pay, and dropped out of sight. She lived here with her sister, Christy. Seems Christy had some rare skin condition that required her to be completely covered all the time. The neighbors don't recall seeing her after the pair moved in." Jones looked at John nervously. "As you can see, I think we've got a good handle on this case." He paused, cleared his throat and glanced anxiously at Shayera. "I don't think we missed anything."

Shayera stood near the couch with her arms folded across her chest. "Did you find his wallet or keys?"

Jones shook his head, then his eyes widened. "How did you know they were missing?"

"Just a guess, but I would have been surprised if they hadn't been," she replied.

John looked at the detective. "Anything else?"

"His car is missing as well. We think this Clarrisa Seaton took it. You got a theory?"

"Yes. Try looking for Claire Selton and Crystal Frost. They're not sisters," Shayera said as she stood next to John. She pointed to the couch. "There's a long red hair on the sofa. That would be Volcana." She looked at John. "Another fire and ice combination. That would explain the wet pants."

John nodded. "Well, we just have to make sure they meet the same fate as those other two outlaws who called themselves that, won't we?" He touched Shayera's elbow as a signal and they both moved toward the door. "Claire Selton and Crystal Frost are who you want, detective. When you find them, notify us and we'll take care of them."

At the door Shayera turned back to the detective and nodded slightly in his direction. "You did good work with your investigation, detective." Jones nodded, flashed a tight smile and made a note in his book.

John and Shayera walked out of the building and flew off. After they'd been airborne for a few minutes, John asked, "What was the deal with the pants?"

Shayera smirked. "You asked the question first. I was just following your lead, which by the way was a good one. Frost killed him with his pants on, then realized he had his car keys and his wallet in his trouser pockets. So Volcana thawed him out enough to get his pants off, then held the dead man up as Frost re-froze him. That explains the way his feet were pointed and why he was suspended off the ground. They took his keys and threw his icy pants on the sofa where they mildewed. But you knew all that when you asked about his pants, right?" She smirked again.

John cleared his throat and suppressed a grin as he answered, "Right, Batman. I knew it all along."

(Three days later)

They stood on the rooftop of the college administration building overlooking the scene of the protest the police had just quelled. The chants of protest were still ringing in her head as she listened to John talk about his childhood fears. "That's the way things were back then," he said, "and folks just accepted it. They didn't think there could be a better way, but we found one."

"So do you sleep better now?"

"You know I do," he replied.

Shayera smiled, replaying in her mind the events earlier this morning. She'd awakened aware she'd started the forty-eight hour period that she would be in season. They'd wasted no time in trying to take advantage of this opportunity to start a family and now if they were successful during the next two days, she'd give birth in ten months.

John was sleeping better, Shayera thought to herself, because he was confident that this was the world and the conditions under which he wanted to raise a family. As they watched the police make the last couple of arrests, she suddenly heard J'onn in her earpiece talking to John.

"Lantern, we have a report of Volcana and Killer Frost robbing the Third National Bank in Midvale."

Shayera nodded that she heard J'onn's transmission. John answered, "We're on it," as he ringed a transport bubble around them both. "Let's go," he said to Shayera as the bubble headed to Midvale at almost supersonic speed.

(The Third National Bank in Midvale, Ohio)

Claire was furious. Nothing had gone right since Crystal froze the landlord. It turned out that the keys to the landlord's car were in his pants pocket. They'd had to partially thaw the dead man, get his car keys and then re-freeze him. She didn't relish holding up the corpse while Crystal re-froze him. To add to the misery, there wasn't much cash in his apartment. Crystal had sealed their fate.

They drove the dead man's car until it ran out of gas in Midvale. Using the last of their cash, they got a room in a hotel in the seedier section of town, planning to be there a day or so before they moved on. After they robbed this bank, their cash problem would be solved. Then, Claire thought, it might be time for her and Crystal to part company. As long as Crystal was around, she'd never have a normal life, never have a family, never be able to settle down.

The robbery was going smoothly and then someone set off the bank alarm.

"Did you hit the alarm?" Claire screamed at the teller behind the cage. "Did you?"

The teller, a tall young man, started trembling. "Please just take the money," he said, handing over a briefcase full of cash. "Don't hurt me!"

Crystal smirked at the teller as she walked up to the cage. "You worry too much. She won't hurt you. Just chill out." And then with a wave of her hand, Crystal suddenly encased the entire teller area in ice. "Let's go," she called out to the stunned Claire. Claire recovered her wits, tightened her grip on the briefcase and followed Crystal.

The pair ran out of the bank past the arriving police. Claire set a police car on fire as a diversion, while Crystal formed an ice wall between them and the police.

Crystal rode her ice trail as Claire flew beside her. For the first time in a week, Claire smiled, feeling things were finally going to break her way. She turned to Crystal traveling beside her and said, "With this money we can start over." She paused. "I can start over."

Crystal looked puzzled, before answering, "Yeah, we made it."

Then a chill ran through Claire's spine as she heard a voice from above say, "Don't bet on it." Both women looked up and saw Hawkgirl and Green Lantern swooping down on them.

Crystal mumbled, "Rats!" as she split away from Claire. Hawkgirl followed Crystal while Green Lantern followed her.

"Stop!" Green Lantern yelled. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be."

It was too late to stop now and Claire knew it. Maybe, if she could create another diversion, she could get away. After all, she had the money.

She suddenly turned around and threw a large fireball at the Lantern. He dodged the flames and encased her in a green energy ball and then slammed the ball, with her inside, to the ground. Stunned, Claire dropped the briefcase. The Lantern slammed the ball against the ground again - harder this time. Claire dropped to her knees. Then the Lantern tightened the ball around her and slammed it down one last time.

Before she lost consciousness, Claire thought about the family she'd never have and wondered whether she'd be cursed in the afterlife to meet Crystal again.

Shayera dodged the ice Frost threw at her in a desperate attempt to get away. As Frost sprayed frozen chunks the size of soccer balls at her, Shayera swung her mace, hitting the ice back at the fleeing woman. Shayera kept her actions defensive in nature because her true purpose was to turn Frost back and drive her toward John. And she was succeeding.

They were within sight of John, when both Frost and Shayera spotted Volcana lying unconscious on the ground. Frost quickly threw a wall of frost in front of Shayera and then coated her wings with ice.

Shayera fell to the ground with a painful thud, cursing to herself for not paying more attention. This wasn't the first time Frost had caught her like this, but Shayera swore it would be the last.

Frost turned toward John and screamed, "I'll kill you!"

Shayera scrambled to her knees and looked up as Frost completely covered John in ice.

Shayera screamed, "John!!" as she threw her mace at the ice under Frost's feet. The ice shattered and Frost fell to the ground. Suddenly, the ice encasing John exploded around him in a burst of green-lit crystal shards.

"Now it's my turn," John bellowed as he formed a tight cylinder around Frost and then froze the air inside the tube trapping the woman. Frost was motionless, but still alive, inside the block of ice.

Shayera stood, the melting ice dripping from her wings, and retrieved her mace. Then without saying a word, she energized her weapon, set it at maximum, leaped up and smashed the frozen cylinder, blasting it and its contents to bits in a red mist. 

John looked at her wide-eyed.

Shayera turned her mace off and flexed her wings to remove the last of the ice. As the sensation returned to her wings, she quietly said to John, "She will not kill or threaten anyone again."

At that moment, Volcana groaned and started to stir just as the police arrived. The police quickly handcuffed Volcana and slipped on her a special breathing unit that would disrupt her concentration and not allow her to create fire. As she was being dragged to the containment vehicle, Volcana mumbled through the mask, "Crystal? Where's Crystal? Killer Frost?"

The police kept the door open as they waited for either Shayera or John to answer the question. After a moment of silence, John answered, "She's dead." As the vehicle door closed, Shayera noticed the tears running down Volcana's face.

John and Shayera watched as the police left the area. John said, "You didn't have to kill her, you know."