[Caterpillar] Chapter 30 - Maxwell Lord (II) (Patreon)

"Are you saying you've been spying on us the whole time?!" Green Lantern shouted incensed.

He was not the only one. Even a good-natured person like Flash was disturbed by the news. Martian Manhunter was frowning deeply too. But Wonder Woman was not that taken aback by the news because she had always been aware of Batman's deep mistrust towards other people. Furthermore, Naruto had already warned her about the network of satellites.

Although the Justice League had over 100 members at present, it was still only the old members that led it. With Hawkgirl retired and gone back to her homeworld and with Superman's whereabouts unknown, there were only 5 of them in the conference room now. And Batman had just revealed to them that he had been working behind their backs for months, that he had created an AI to spy on all metahuman activity on Earth.

"We've trusted you, Batman. I trusted you." Flash said.

"We've been together for years, through many hardships. What made you think we'd ever betray the Justice League? For me, the Justice League is not just a team or an organisation ... ... it is like my family." Martian Manhunter also said.

Even Batman's stoic expression briefly crumbled at the Martian's words. But he steeled his face and said:

"It is because we've been together for so long that I know everyone very well. In the eyes of ordinary people, you are like gods. What would happen if, one day, one of you went rogue like Superman did a few years ago and killed hundreds in Metropolis under Darkseid's control, or like he beat me into a coma just yesterday because someone else was controlling him!"

"You said it yourself! Someone else is controlling him. He'd never do something like this willingly!" Green Lantern said.

"Wouldn't he? Did you all forget about the Justice Lords? It took only Flash's death for them to do a 180-degree turn and take over the government. And don't tell me that we are different. Because we're not. They were just like us in the beginning!" Batman shot back.

The rest became momentarily silent at his words.

"Now, the Justice League has over 150 members. Most of them are metahumans, people with superpowers. The Justice League has grown more than powerful enough to take over the Earth in a matter of days. How do you keep in check so many superhumans when they are operating all over the world? How do you make sure they are not abusing their power? How do you prepare for the possibility that one of them could go rogue? I had to create a system to keep an eye on them. To make sure that I would be able to prevent that from happening."

"And look how well that worked for us," Wonder Woman eventually retorted. "Someone stole your AI from you and now the mass media has direct access to exclusive videos of you dropping people off buildings and Superman going berserk. And you should know very well that this is only the tip of the iceberg. Whoever is in control of that AI now has become one of the most dangerous people in the world!"

Batman looked like he wanted to say something but he stopped. The mood in the conference room was extremely tense.

⁂

Later that day, back to her apartment in New York, Wonder Woman was sitting at her desk with a piece of paper and a pen in her hands. Every once in a while, she noted down some of her thoughts.

'It all started when Lois Lane and Superman broke up.' she thought and wrote it on the paper:

1. Lois Lane and Superman broke up.

'Then, she started slandering him and the Justice League in the media, writing biased articles against us.'

2. Lois Lane's petty revenge

'If I'm not mistaken, it was also around that time that Superman became more violent. He broke someone's legs in Metropolis. Normally, he's extremely careful with his power and pulls back his punches to not hurt people...'

3. Superman becomes more violent.
4. Maxwell Lord stops financing the Justice League
5. Maxwell Lord and Lois Lane become engaged
6. Superman almost kills Batman and goes missing
7. Batman reveals he created an AI named 'Brother' and a monitoring system to spy on everyone. He lost control of it too.

She was trying to see what triggered Superman into acting the way he did. She rested her head on her hands and her forehead scrunched in thought.

'Is Lois Lane the one that caused everything?'

She quickly denied that idea.

'No, she's just a journalist. A petty and vindictive woman, but that is the extent of it. She doesn't have the resources or capability to orchestrate something of this magnitude.'

Her eyes fell on the other name that appeared in her notes: Maxwell Lord.

'Is he related to this? It does look like he's the one that riled up Superman by stopping his support to the Justice League and then taking Lois Lane.'

But she shook her head. She did not have enough information. She could not just randomly throw the blame onto someone without any evidence.

'I don't have any evidence but my gut feeling is telling me he is somehow involved in this mess. He is a billionaire, he has the resources and power to take over Batman's AI.'

"Ah!" she let out a sound as she suddenly remembered something.

'J'onn also said that when Maxwell offered his support to the Justice League, he could not read his mind and see his real intentions.'

She let her head fall on the desk with a thud and a long sigh came out of her mouth.

"But correlation is not causation. Am I reading too much into it?" she asked herself out loud.

Goddess Athena had blessed her with wisdom but that did not mean that Wonder Woman could magically find the answer to any dilemma. She could not draw any reliable conclusions without having enough information. After all, Maxwell Lord had not been caught doing anything illegal. Her suspicions were purely based on her instinct. She knew that he could very well be innocent and have nothing to do with it.

She jumped a little when two heavy but gentle hands landed on her shoulders. She did not need to turn around and ask who it was because she recognized the person behind her from their subtle smell. A sigh of comfort came from her when those calloused hands started to softly knead the stiff muscles of her neck and shoulders.

"It's very late already, you need some rest. Come to bed," Naruto said as he massaged her shoulders.

"Mmm!" she groaned when he pressed on a particular sore spot of her muscles.

Originally, she was going to refuse him as she was still too worried about the situation the Justice League was going through but she quickly became putty in his hands.

She turned around with her chair and raised her arms up, her eyes looking up at him pleadingly. It was not hard for him to guess what she wanted.

"You big baby," he said but he took her in his arms. Her legs naturally came around his waist and her arms around his neck. He hugged her lovingly and she buried her face into the crook of his neck, nuzzling him.

Before meeting Naruto, Diana had not known the joys of being pampered by someone, the feeling of being showered with love and affection. But once she had gotten a taste of it, she could not get enough of it. She latched onto him as he carried her to the bedroom. But when he put her down and was about to let go, her arms and legs would not let him leave.

"Good grief, when did you become so spoiled?" he said teasingly but he laid down with her in bed.

She turned around on her side and pressed her back against his chest.

"Hug me, Naruto."

She just wanted to cuddle.

He spooned her and embraced her from behind. But she took the arm that was around her waist and brought it up, hugging it to her chest.

"Is that a flashlight in your pocket or you're just happy to hug me?" she said a bit later when she felt something stiff against her bum and both of them started laughing.

"You know exactly what you're doing!" he accused her. Pressed flush against him and with how she hugged his hand in the valley of her breasts, there was no way his body would not react to her actions. He was a healthy man too.

Silence was instilled again after they stopped chuckling.

"Baby?" Diana called out.

"Yes?"

"Don't you wanna do it?"

She bit softly into her lower lip. They had been living together for a few weeks already. Although they had agreed to take things slowly, it was becoming almost impossible for both of them to hold themselves back. Behind her serious exterior, Diana was a very passionate woman and Naruto too was the kind of person who once he gave his heart to someone, would dedicate to them 100%.

"I just wanted to meet your mother first. I wanted to ask her formally for your hand before we went to the next level. To do this the right way."

She turned around in his arms to face him. When they looked at each other, they realized that they were both slightly red.

"You wanted to ask her for my hand? Marriage?" she asked.

She had a good idea what his answer was going to be but her blood still started to rush just at the thought of hearing him say it.

Though he could feel his face starting to burn, he did not chicken out.

"Yes. Because I love you."

Diana's stomach twisted in a funny manner. He was showing through his actions every day how much he cared for her. Listening to her talking about her day and her worries related to her hero work, sometimes preparing breakfast for her and serving it in bed, hugging her and caressing her, kissing her, and other minor things that he was doing unconsciously but she took notice of.

However, this was the first time that he had actually told her that he loved her. At that moment, the princess understood what it meant for one to have butterflies fluttering in their stomach.

She hugged his wide back and rubbed her face against his chest as she mumbled something.

"..."

"What was that? I couldn't hear it."

She raised her face and looked up at him. She thought that he deserved to hear her say it clearly too:

"I love you too, Naruto."

Seeing how his face lit up like a Christmas tree made a warm feeling course through her body. It was not often that she got to see such an innocent and happy smile from him. Bringing her hand up, she caressed his scarred cheek and he closed his eyes and leaned into her gentle touch. The love she felt for him was almost overflowing; she could not help taking his lips in a long but slow and passionate kiss. Then, she nuzzled her face into his neck and hugged him a bit tighter, pressing herself flush against him. He embraced her in return as well, gently rubbing circles on her back.

The time they spent in the evenings cuddling like that had become a source of strength for her to tackle the stress and exhaustion of her daily life as a superhero, especially during the current events. Just the idea and the mental image that he was waiting for her at home every day encouraged her in these trying times. Falling asleep in each other's arms was healing both her tired body and mind. Not knowing when, he had become a constant in her life, a pillar of support.

⁂

"...wake up!"

A distant voice rang in her mind as she slept.

"Wonder Woman!"

Because of the insistent voice, she was eventually woken up.

"An emergency came up. We need you at the Watchtower!"

Diana let out a sigh of frustration.

"What is it now, J'onn? I have a day off today and there are plenty of other superheroes, surely you don't need me now. Especially at this hour." she spoke in her mind, replying to the Martian.

Looking at the digital clock on the nightstand, she saw that it was 5 am. The sky was completely dark, it was snowing, and the sleeping Naruto next to her radiated such warmth that she wanted nothing more than to just lay there in bed, basking in the comfort of his arms.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but this is urgent. Blue Beetle was murdered."

She stood up with a groan.

"I'll be there in 15 minutes."

⁂

"We received a tip from an anonymous source that gunshots were heard from Maxwell Lord's office in Coast City four hours ago," Martian Manhunter said.

He was in the control room of the Watchtower alongside Captain Atom, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow and Vixen. There may have been a total of 150 heroes enlisted in the Justice League but they were not working all at the same time and most of the active superheroes at that hour were working in the field. There were very few of them stationed at the Watchtower.

The Martian operated the computer and a few photos of the crime scene appeared on the screen.

"What do you mean anonymous?" Green Arrow asked.

"We don't know their identity. But we could not just ignore their intel so a team was sent to check its veracity. And it was true; when they reached Coast City, they found Blue Beetle dead. His body was still warm, which means that the murder was very recent."

"Who are the suspects?" Captain Atom asked. "And what was Blue Beetle doing there in the middle of the night? Maxwell is no longer working with the Justice League. Unless he and Maxwell had a special relationship, him being there would be trespassing."

"We don't know about the connection between Blue Beetle and Maxwell Lord. It's also too early to tell who killed him. But, strangely enough, the security agents acted as if they had not heard anything at all. I've read their minds too, they really don't know anything. They were shocked to find out someone was murdered inside of their boss' office." Martian Manhunter said.

"Where is Maxwell now?" Wonder Woman asked.

"His secretary claims that he left on a business trip to Europe, Switzerland, to one of his overseas companies a few hours ago."

"I'll go speak with him," she said. "If he had anything to do with Blue Beetle's death, my lasso will compel him to tell the truth."

Wonder Woman had already been inwardly suspicious of the billionaire before; hearing Martian Manhunter say that Blue Beetle was murdered in Maxwell Lord's office and that he suddenly left the country was all the confirmation she needed.

"I will go to the crime scene and see if I can pick any familiar scents," Vixen said.

"I'll come with you." Captain Atom offered and Vixen nodded in agreement.

After Martian Manhunter gave her the location of Maxwell Lord's company from Switzerland, Wonder Woman took a Javelin and flew from the Watchtower back to Earth, to Europe.

⁂

"You'll forgive me for saying it, princess, but you look good on your knees."

Those condescending words came from a brown-haired man dressed in black cargo pants and a black t-shirt. He was standing with his arms behind his back, looking down at Wonder Woman with an arrogant smirk on his face. He was Maxwell Lord.

In front of him, the Man of Steel was forcing Wonder Woman to kneel on the floor with a hand clenched around her wrist and another around her neck. When she arrived at Maxwell's corporation and entered his office, Superman attacked her before she had the time to react. Because she had not expected a violent altercation out of the blue, the berserk Kryptonian overwhelmed her with his superior strength.

"And I want you to stay that way, on your knees," the billionaire said before he told Superman in a commanding voice: "Let her go. She'll stay down."

But the smugness on his face faltered when Wonder Woman did not fall to his mind control ability after Superman let her go and stood up instead.

"I see with a god's eyes and understand with a god's wisdom. Your powers will not work on me, Maxwell."

Despite his initial surprise, Maxwell recomposed himself. Though the Amazon was standing now, he was not in the least worried. After all, Superman was known as the greatest and most powerful member of the Justice League, and his control over Superman was absolute.

"Hm, I didn't really think it would work. But you can't blame a guy for trying."

Wonder Woman turned towards the glazed-eyed Superman and pleaded:

"Superman! Kal! Listen to me. You can fight him!"

Maxwell laughed.

"No, he can't. He believes what I want him to believe, he sees what I want him to see."

As on cue, Superman showed a desperate expression on his face and shouted:

"Ma! Pa!"

Wonder Woman suddenly grabbed Maxwell by the collar of his shirt and punched him so hard that she sent him flying to the other side of the room.

"What are you doing to him? What are you making him see?" she shouted and she raised her fist looking like she was going to punch him again.

"He's seeing Darkseid, in the midst of murdering his beloved Ma and Pa, his adoptive parents. Should I add more flavour to it? Alright, I'll have him see Supergirl die too," Maxwell said with difficulty but his face was stretched by an ugly grin despite the blood coming from his broken nose.

"Kara!" Superman screamed at that moment as in the illusion shown to him by Maxwell Lord, he witnessed Supergirl dying under Darkseid's Omega Beams.

"Free him!" Wonder Woman also shouted but Maxwell looked at her with eyes filled with ridicule.

"Why would I do that? I have absolute control of Superman, something that not even Lex Luthor has been able to manage despite that he's been trying for years. And before you think that knocking me out or beating me up is the answer, let me tell you, it isn't. Because eventually, I'll wake up, if only for a moment. And when I do, Superman will dance for me again."

He stood up from the spot where he had been thrown with an air of sublime confidence and satisfaction around him.

"It's taken me months to achieve this. Meticulous planting of suggestions and images in Lois Lane's mind and his. It wasn't that hard, mind you, to manipulate someone as ambitious as her. But I had to do it. To isolate him. To frustrate him. To weaken his mind. I've thrown away billions of dollars, 'sponsoring' the Justice League and I hired dozens of hackers to sabotage Batman's AI. All that, just so I could get close to Superman and be in contact with him. But I did it and there is no turning back. As long as I live, Superman is mine to control."

"What was your reasoning? Why did you do all that? What do you have to gain from it? You have everything a man could have possibly ever wanted!"

"Why? Because what chance does humanity have against someone like you or someone like him? What chance does the Earth have against metahumans, against you who are gods among regular people?" Maxwell said. "But that is enough talking for now. There's nothing you can say or do to change my mind. And you have just run out of time."

As his words ended, it was only Wonder Woman's honed reflexes that made her raise her bracelets in front of her, just in time to block the deadly beam of heat from the Man of Steel's eyes.

"Superman, no! Fight against it!" she shouted.

But the Kryptonian was too far gone. His eyes were bloodshot, veins were pulsating like small snakes on his temples and a crimson light burned around his eyes, ready to blast a beam as hot as the sun at any moment. An enraged scream came out of his chest and he lunged at her filled with bloodlust. He was not seeing a white and gold-armoured Amazon. In his eyes, she was Darkseid, the one who had just murdered everyone that he had ever cared about.