I love the Injustice storyline, it's a very interesting concept and take on what would happen to the Justice League if there was a split and some of them became dictators. It's an interesting and heartbreaking take on what would happen to a Superman who lost his city, wife and unborn child. With that said, I came across a fanfiction that I absolutely love. One day I was looking for WonderBat fanfictions, for those unfamiliar that is Wonder Woman and Batman stories of them either falling in love or in a relationship. So this is someone else's story that I think is amazing, but it was never finished. So I want to post it here and finally finish it with some minor tweaks and see what you all think. I give full credit to the original author, this is their idea I just want to finish it.
An Injust Sentence
The Present
Life was slowly starting to return to normal, after Superman was imprisoned and the tyrannical government of the Regime was taken down. The people of Earth tried to restore their countries respective governments, hoping to keep the good and not repeat the mistakes of the past. It was a slow, painful process, as there were many in the power vacuum who thought to take all that they could. With the Justice League disbanded, and only a handful of the Insurgents available, it was hard to help establish a peaceful and just order for the world. The people of the United States looked to Batman, the leader of the Insurgency, to become the President in hopes to restore order and hope in the country. Since the reveal of his identity as billionaire Bruce Wayne, who had experience running a company and had countless hours of humanitarian efforts under his belt, it was almost a shoe in for him to take the role.
Such a role of responsibility was not what he had in mind. While he could manage Wayne Enterprises as Bruce Wayne, or lead his fellow heroes into combat as Batman, he had no such desires to run a country. He believed firmly that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The Batman would remain what he had been for the last twenty five years, a watchful guardian and protector. He would be not just Gotham's Dark Knight, but the world. It was a strange concept to him now, that his uniform not only became what criminals feared, but now brought people hope. Batman knew though he couldn't do this alone. So he did his best to recruit others to his cause, be they members of the Insurgency, the Justice League, and finally to those who served in the Regime. He believed that everyone deserved a second chance, to be rehabilitated. It was this need to rebuild that brought him to Belle Reve Penitentiary.
Batman climbed out of the Batmobile, his cape billowed slightly behind him a moment before falling back around him to obscure his body in its pitch black embrace. In the darkness, he was a shadow amongst the shadows as he silently made his way into the prison. Bruce did this to test the facility's security, trying to make sure that it was secure enough to hold the world's most powerful former heroes and villains. When he was satisfied, the Dark Knight went to the warden's office. Aaron Cash had just closed his door and was reaching for the key to lock it when the Dark silhouette of the Batman outlined the door. Even to this day, after all the work they did together, Cash still felt a rush of fear and exhilaration whenever he encountered Batman. Despite knowing who he really was, to him, Batman was and would always be something otherworldly. Something supernatural.
Cash blew out a breath as he turned around. "You know you don't have to keep doing that, Batman. We on the same side, no need to scare the life outta me!" The Dark Knight's facial expression betrayed nothing but there was a light hint of amusement in his tone as he replied. "Just trying to keep you on your toes, Warden Cash. Wouldn't want things to get too dull for you." The warden placed a hand on his hip and lightly scratched the side of his head with his hook as he said. "Uh huh, and take in a measure of our security here. So, is it up to Bat-standards?" Batman turned on his heel and began walking to the main command center, with Cash quickly following. "For now." The older man had to hustle to catch up with the Caped Crusader's pace. He manged to stay at least a step or two in line with him as he asked, "For now?" Putting emphasis on the last word, hoping to maybe draw out more on the topic.
"There's always room for improvements, but first, I need to see the prisoners. Evaluate them, and see which ones are eligible for rehabilitation. After that, we'll go from there." Cash nodded, and finally managed to step ahead of the Dark Knight when they reached the command center and placed his hand on the print scanner and lined his eye up with the retinal scanner. The door slid open and the two entered, causing everyone in the room to grow silent and pause what they were doing. They too still felt the elemental presence that Batman exuded. Cash cleared his throat as he said, "Alright y'all, it's not like you ain't seen him around here before. Get back to work." The room returned to its normal bustle after, and with a satisfied grunt the warden led the World's Greatest Detective to one of the monitors stations. "So, who are we starting with first?" Cash asked as he sat down to start pulling up files. Batman simply replied, "We'll start with those who helped stop the Regime."
Diana of Themyscera, known to the world as Wonder Woman, got out of bed with a groan. The cot was made out of steel, with wire and spring bushings for the frame and a flat cushion to lay on. The blanket was of a low quality, coarse and prickly wool so thinly strewn together it barely held any warmth in it. The pillow may as well have been a rock for all intent and purposes. Diana tucked her in her chin and rolled her head from one shoulder to the next, and kept going as she tilted her head back to stare up at the ceiling. The steel crossmembers and fluorescent lights forced another groan out of her. When the kink in her neck was not abated by this, the Amazon tilted her head to the right. Placing her fingers into the nape of her neck she pushed in and pulled down, until she heard the soft pop she'd been looking for that indicated the issue had been corrected.
Once her feet made contact with the cold concrete of the floor, the Princess stood with both legs apart. She clasped her hands together and stretched her arms behind her head while arching her back. After a light groan escaped her lips, Diana released the pose, continuing to run through her morning routine. When she was a free woman, either during the Regime or her days in the Justice League, she loved yoga. It was always a good way to relieve stress and maintain one's flexibility, though these days it gave her something to do and keep somewhat fit. She didn't want to admit it was one of the only things staving off depression, and madness. There was no way to tell time. They wouldn't let her out of the room, as it was lined with walls that had power dampening inscriptions on top of the inhibitor collar she wore to keep her as controllable as possible. The guards who opened the slot in the wall to feed her never answered her questions about the outside world, and any questions about what time it was or day she received the gruff answer of it was feeding time or same shit, different day.
Today was different, though, for as the Amazon had just put herself into a full split on the floor, the intercom in her cell crackled to life in an ear splitting shriek before Cash's voice called out to her in the same gruff tone he always used.
"Wonder Woman, you have a visitor," the Amazon winced slightly from the initial sound, and after hearing what the Warden had to say she breathed out heavily in frustration before lithly getting up from the floor to stare at the camera next to the intercom. Having had visits from her mother and sisters to admonish her for her behavior and what befell the world, she was used to what came next. Still staring at the camera with a look of defiance, Diana moved over to the opening door of her cell where her power dampening collar was double checked and shackles with another set of power dampeners were then placed on her by the guards.
"Who's here to see me?" she asked.
"You'll see," was the quick reply. Moving down a dark corridor, the group turned left into a room that had only a simple steel table and two uncomfortable looking plastic chairs. On the side of the room was a one way mirror where the guards could watch in case something bad were to happen. Fastening her cuffs onto the table, the two guards turned and left the room, locking the door behind them. Diana looked around, not sure who her visitor was. All of a sudden the lights flickered and then he was sitting in the chair opposite her. No, she thought. Not him. Why him.
He hadn't changed a bit, although that was hard to tell seeing as his face was almost completely covered except for the mouth and chin. His suit had been repaired since the last time they had met, most likely Alfred's doing. The metal plates on the chest and shoulders looked shiny and glistened in what little light was in the room, though the symbol still appeared dark and menacing. His cowl wasn't sporting the usual white lenses this time around, so she was able to see into his deep blue eyes. She could see anger, pain, betrayal and...regret? But Diana was not in the mood to apologize to him right now.
"What do you want?" Diana demanded, but he didn't reply. Instead he continued to study her, looking for any signs of the old Diana, the one he fell in love with all those years ago. Her hair was still and black and shiny as ever, despite the unkempt mess it looked to be in. Her light blue eyes showed no signs of the old her, although they did appear to show signs of fatigue and pain.
"How are they treating you?" was all Batman said.
"What's it to you?" Diana retorted.
"If you don't want me here, just say the word." When she didn't reply, Bruce continued. "I'm not just here to see you, I need to check on the other members who assisted in the Regime to see if they're willing to accept the consequences. And also to see if they're able to be released and help rebuild our planet and safeguard its citizens."
"Oh," was all Diana could say. After what seemed like a lifetime, she asked- "has anyone qualified for your... requirements?" at this, Batman shrugged.
"The only one who seems to be a likely candidate is Barry, mainly because he actually atoned for what he did by helping end Clark's tyrannical rule. However, he wants to stay just for a little longer. He's worried that he might go back to being a dictator like Clark... and you." Diana flinched at that, seeing as she was Superman's right-hand woman during those 5 years of the Regime. Of all the former League members, Diana had become the most brutal, even so that Superman had to reign her in more than a couple of times. She tried to change the subject. "Who else have you talked to?" she asked.
"Just you, Barry, and Hal," replied Bruce.
The Amazon couldn't help but wonder why her former lover still wore the suit many had come to hate and fear. "Why do you still wear the suit? Everyone knows who you are now."
"No thanks to you and Clark," Answered Bruce. "Besides, the Batman has become a new symbol. While it is still a symbol of fear for the criminals, it's become a beacon of hope that good things can still happen in the face of evil." "Wow, since when were you the philosopher Bruce?" sneered Diana. "Since you killed J'onn," he calmly replied. At this, Diana's mocking smile quickly vanished and she looked down at the floor.
"I did what I had to do," was all she said.
"You killed an old friend when he was trying to help you and Clark return to the light," Bruce rebuked. He then stood up and made his way to the door. Before he could leave he heard Diana say something. "What was that?" he asked.
Diana turned around in her chair. "What happened between us?"
Bruce thought for a moment. then he said "you chose the wrong side."
The Past
The Batmobile had just pulled into the Batcave and was thundering down the runway to its parking spot when the Amazon contacted the Dark Knight. "Wonder Woman to Batman," Bruce answered his com link as he drifted the Batmobile into the parking spot..
"I read you Wonder Woman. What's the situation?" came the concerned reply of the Caped Crusader. Bruce waited to jump out of the vehicle and make his way over to the computers as the Princess of the Amazons answered. "We have a problem in Coast City. It looks like King Shark and Bane have teamed up and are terrorizing the citizens."
"Where's Green Lantern?" Batman asked.
"Busy helping Shazam in the Philippines. There was an earthquake there about 3 hours ago."
"Okay then. I'll see you soon, Diana." Bruce moved quickly as he grabbed the necessary gadgets and tools required for the mission and made his way over to the teleporter. "J'onn, transport me to Coast City immediately."Of course, prepare for transportation," came the deep voice of the martian. Bruce felt a slight tingling sensation as his molecules were torn apart and reformed in the middle of a war zone. Quickly, Batman shot his grapple gun and zipped up to a nearby balcony to assess the situation. He saw several cop cars on the edge of the battleground with numerous police, firefighters, paramedics and reporters just beyond the cars. Good, it looks like the authorities have created a perimeter, thought Bruce. then what he saw next made his heart sink. Wonder Woman was being tag teamed by King Shark and Bane. Her uniform was in tatters, though her breasts were still largely covered. Her usually perfect, straight ebony locks were now sticking out at all angles and she had numerous cuts and bruises all over her body.
Not hesitating for a second, Batman launched himself into the air and glided over to the fighting metahumans and kicked King Shark square on the nose. He then proceeded to throw a batarang at Bane, severing his pipes that gave him access to his Venom supply. While the villains were distracted, Batman grabbed Wonder Woman and raced to get her to safety.
"You're late," sarcastically remarked Diana.
"And you're in trouble," answered Bruce. Hiding behind a destroyed truck, Batman gently placed Diana down and began to treat her wounds. "You're lucky, the wounds have already begun to heal," he said as he wrapped a bandage around Diana's left arm.
"Why aren't you out there fighting Shark and Bane?" asked Diana. Without even a glance back at the chaos behind him, Batman continued to dress her few remaining wounds as he replied."They're busy sorting themselves out." Diana gave a questioning look so he elaborated. "I kicked King Shark in the nose, that's his weak spot and Bane's trying to get his Venom supply back into his system."
"Oh, right. So what's the plan?" asked Diana.
After helping her to stand, the Dark Knight stared back at their adversaries and replied in a calculated tone. "I'll deal with Bane and you can take King Shark. Remember, his nose is extremely sensitive so try to deal as much damage as possible."
"Got it." Wonder Woman massaged her left shoulder and stretched her arms behind her head to pop any last kinks. She then quickly grabbed Bruce by the shoulders and gave him a quick but fierce kiss on the lips. "Your place after this?" she asked.
"Sure. Alfred's making something special for dinner tonight," answered Batman.
"Excellent. Now let's make this quick." Wonder Woman fastened her lasso and charged King Shark as Batman gave his trademark smirk, murmuring, "that's my girl."
Alright, everyone, like I said I only made a few alterations to the story, I wanted to keep the core of this the same. I will post the original author and the title of the story in the next chapter, because I have to find it again. Let me know what you all think!