#14: Keys To The Kingdom, Pt. 2 (Walsh / Flinchum)

Previously, in Justice League...

...Hawkman found himself betrayed by his own mother when she maintained his exile, as she sought political control of a Thanagar thrown into chaos in the wake of Kanjar Ro’s coup; Batman and Elongated Man investigated a near-perfect robbery committed by the strange pairing of Penny Dreadful and the Atomic Skull, precision far above their usual behaviors; and while seeking out the mysterious Mr. Exeter and his stolen money, Sue stumbled over a series of land grabs in Europe that led her to call on the League for help. But when the Flash and the Atom responded, both fell before the sudden appearance of the Key!



“Good afternoon, Temple.” The tall man was dressed in flashy clothing standing on the cutting edge of fashion, sharp dark blues offsetting the deeply tanned skin and thick head of black hair. He took a seat at the elegant wooden conference table and pulled out the laptop computer from his rich leather briefcase, embossed with a gilt “A.B.” at the clasp. “How goes business today?”

“You’re late, Mr. Bend,” snapped the shorter, scrawnier man two seats away. He was impeccably dressed in his brown suit, bowler hat and clock-face-lensed glasses to one side, a legal pad and calculator set before him.

“It’s three. You need to relax, before you break a blood vessel.” The hum of the laptop was quickly followed by the pale phosphor glow against the smug face.

“You arrived one minute and seventeen seconds past the hour of three,” Temple Fugate replied as he brought his irritation under control. “Regardless, you’re here at last. Let’s go over the current client cases.”

“Absolutely,” Angelo Bend said as he tapped on his computer. “You’ve reviewed the actual commission I emailed you, I assume?”

“I have, yes,” Temple replied with a nod of his head and started to punch in a series of numbers into the calculator at a rapid pace. “There will be no special equipment needed for this, so we’re looking at the base fees, combined with the membership dues. Which the young ladies have yet to pay us, I might add.”

“Is that the case?” Angelo stroked his slender, pointed jaw and made some more keystrokes.

“It is. So it’s looking like a standard percentage, and I’d calculate the totals for the whole take and our percentage at...” He finished scribbling the results onto the legal pad and showed them to Angelo, who smiled.

“Oh, very nice. Very nice. Rupert will be so pleased. He’s got a stock investment he’s eyeing that will take a little extra. This should do nicely.”

“Only if we retrieve the money. I think we can safely assume that the ladies will attempt to avoid the payment options,” Temple pointed out.

“Ah, dear Clock King,” Angelo grinned as he turned on the camera and activated the voice channel. “That’s why we have a select few of the bloodthirsty types, working for us.”

“Dreadbolt here,” came a voice from the laptop. Compared to the refined discussion in the conference room, this voice was thick and dull-sounding. “Skull and Penny are all set. Made the drop, I got the pick up. Am I zappin’ straight there with it, Angle Man?”

“No, no,” Angelo Bend replied with a shake of his head. “Make the standard deposit if you would. You will have another matter to see to. I’m downloading the where and why directly to your helmet-feed...now.”

The young man under the thick black mask and helmet containing much of the feedback controls for his suit felt the buzz against his temples and the world went a little dizzy for him. He still wasn’t used to his father’s gear, and didn’t know if he ever would be. But the money was good, and the hurting people was good, so he’d put up with the screwed-up internet connection, he decided.

“Chicks? You’re sendin’ me after chicks?”

“Do not so readily discard these women,” Clock King said, glasses in place to hide his eyes, bowler in place with the small clock at the band. “Double Dare are more dangerous than they appear. Keep your mind on business. Don’t make the amateur mistakes.”

“Hey, I know my code of conduct, Clock,” Dreadbolt snapped back. “I’m good. And I’m on my way. Signin’ off.”

The signal cut off and Angelo Bend leaned back into his seat and folded his hands behind his head. “Any other new business?” he asked.

“A potential new union member,” Clock King said as he took a handkerchief out and wiped the glasses. “An old associate, Julian Day.”

“Calendar Man?” Angelo snickered.

“He prefers his real name currently, I gather. And yes.”

“Well...let’s get to figuring out his angle then, shall we?”



“Is Sue safe for the moment?” Wonder Woman asked Batman as the jet screamed through the air, racing toward the Hall of Justice. The three women aboard all looked concerned at the viewscreen as they talked to Batman and Elongated Man, who waited for them at their destination.

“Yes. She said she was hidden across the street as the attack took place. When she saw the Key take down Flash and Atom so quickly, she decided to rely on discretion,” Batman replied as he stared back out over the communicator. “We need to move on the information she picked up for us though, especially with the Key involved and two of our people captured.”

“We need to get someone over to help Sue too,” Ralph added as he stretched his head in front of Batman’s, the worry apparent on his face, worry lines enhanced by his malleability. “But our quickest movers are already out of the picture.”

“Not all of them,” Diana said as she looked over at Hawkgirl. Kendra nodded and reached for her helmet, standing and preparing to head out.

“Wait. We can get someone even quicker,” Dawn interceded, a hand out over Kendra’s. “Let me get him.”

“Diana?” Kendra asked for confirmation.

“Do it, Dawn. We can keep you around for the strategy, which will be important. The Key is much too dangerous.”

Batman’s hand appeared and moved Ralph’s extended head to one side, a casual act that he paid no notice. “We intend to have some leads ready by the time you land, Wonder Woman.”

“There is a little good news,” Ralph added having snapped back into normal proportions and calling out over the Bat’s shoulder. “Hawkman sent a message. He and J’onn are headed back to Earth, and expect to be back in a week, give or take.”

“Did Katar say how it went?” Kendra asked. She gave the other two women with her a quick look when they appraised her own concerned appearance, but turned back to Ralph.

“He didn’t sound happy.”

“So it couldn’t be that bad,” Kendra retorted, “since I don’t think he’s ever sounded happy.”

“We’ll find out in a week, I guess.”

“Hall of Justice signing off. We’ll see you shortly,” Batman said and then switched off the communicator.

“I reached Kit. He’s on his way.”

“Then we’ve done everything we can...for now.” Diana sounded grim as she focused on the horizon and tried to coax even more speed from their craft.



“How’s it going, Mrs. Dibny?” The voice intruded in the quiet of the antique-feeling hotel room. Sue gave a jump at the sudden question and spun around to face the source of the voice, Kid Eternity forming out of the ethereal winds he used to travel. An impish grin and a friendly wave met her sight and she folded her arms over her chest as she worked to slow her breathing.

“Good God, Kid, don’t do that!” she admonished him, and then shook her head as she recovered. “Who do you think you are, Batman?”

Kit chuckled. “Sorry about that. I keep forgetting that you guys don’t hear the winds like I do. Dawn said you needed help?” He pulled his sunglasses off and let his dark eyes catch Sue’s gaze, and tried to give her a more reassuring smile now. “What’s up?

“Can you teleport with me?” Sue asked.

“Sorry, no can do. It’s a single-person transit system. Yours truly alone,” Kit admitted with a shrug and a sincerely disappointed voice.

“Okay. Well, we’ve got to hurry then, because we have to get out to the old Konigsberg Castle,” Sue said as she started to gather her few possessions. “That’s where the Key’s men were headed, at least from what I could get from Interpol dispatches.”

“Isn’t that kind of far from here? Any idea why they went there? And the Key?” Kid Eternity continued to be confused as she led him from her room and quickly left money for the desk clerk.

“The Key kidnapped Flash and Atom. He’s been buying up a lot of properties all across Europe. I don’t know why yet, but if you’re here, we can follow his guys and see what they want in Kaliningard.” Sue dashed out to a rental car. “We can get a train, but we need to hurry, they’ve got a huge jump on us.”

“I’m supposed to be protecting you while the League does their stuff,” Kit explained to Sue as he stepped up to the car and watched her get ready to head out. “Following the Key’s men to a castle out in a Russian city doesn’t seem, to me, to be the best way to keep you safe.”

“Well then, you’ll just have to work extra-hard.” Sue gave him a wink as she gunned the car. “It’s what you get the League membership card for, right? Getting in?”

“I’ll follow,” Kit replied and let her pull out from the curb, lifting into the skies and shaking his head. “What’s in Konigsberg? Why kidnap Flash and Atom? Why am I talking to myself?” He paused and nodded in reply to a voiceless answer. “Yeah, not talking to myself, Mister Keeper. Any answers to the questions.” He paused again as he appeared to listen to nothing while Sue maneuvered through the narrow streets. “Right. Thought so. No idea. So I am basically talking to myself. Unless you have something useful to add.” He chuckled and shook his head. “That wasn’t useful, Keep.”



The Atomic Skull stood nervously in the middle of the advanced research lab. He stood far away from the large metal table in the center of the room, and glanced at it anxiously from time to time. Penny was both amused and unnerved to see the bulky, frightening specter of the man looking unnerved himself, and she held his hand in hers to comfort him. She could nearly picture that smile of his as his fiery skull turned to look at her appreciatively.

“He’s going to figure it all out, honey bunny, you’ll see. The guy’s brilliant,” Penny Dreadful reassured her sweetheart and he nodded, sparks crackling and popping away from him with the movement.

“You’re right. This guy’s on our side, I know. I just...the memories...I don’t like these places, pumpkin. But you’re right.” He squeezed her hands, gently, careful not to hurt her with his massive strength.

“I’ll be absolutely snookered,” came the unflattering, nearly shrill voice as the hunched figure pressed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I have got to honestly apologize to you, my good Skull.”

Winslow Schott turned on his stool and looked over at the hulking figure. “Inside this action figure is a chip. Imbued into this chip would appear to be a very specific sequence of bio-electrical energy. Just waiting for activation. You, good sir, would indeed appear to be aware of a villain calling himself Doctor Electron, with a far-reaching plot to activate these creations of his at some predetermined point.”

“I knew it! Can you figure out how to track him down through that chip?” Atomic Skull asked excitedly, thumping his other hand on a nearby counter and cracking the top, making the equipment on it bounce and rattle.

“I can certainly try. I must admit, it uses technology I’m unfamiliar with.” He turned back and peered back over his findings. “Terrestrial, without a doubt. Advanced, and yet...retro? That’s the best word I can find. I’ll have to investigate further. But rest assured, as dues-paying members of the union, this is all part of the service.”

“Thank you, Toyman. This means a lot.” Skull put his arm around Penny Dreadful and gave her shoulders a squeeze. “We should go out and celebrate, Zelda honey! We’re going to get to the bottom of this, at last. At long last!”

“Sure thing, Marty. Sure thing. You and me and a bottle of wine. Sounds like a great night.” She turned to look at Winslow Schott, who was torn between watching the surreal display of love, and getting back to his own true love...the toy he was dissecting on the table. “You’ll call us if you learn anything more?”

“Of course, of course. You two kids have a great night now. Don’t do any...” he stopped himself when it started to form in his head what they might be doing later. “Have a fabulous night, lovebirds.”



Batman growled as he stared at the latest iteration of facts on the main screen in the records room of the Hall of Justice. He leaned forward, tightly-clenched fists pressed onto the console as he narrowed his eyes and glared at the screen.

“You know, Bats, it works on us, but I don’t think the stare will work on the computer banks,” Ralph suggested in a nervous voice, trying to lighten the mood. Both detectives looked frazzled, and while Batman was merely a ball of suppressed, frustrated anger, Ralph was slowly unraveling as he worried for his wife and friends. It wasn’t immediately noticeable, but looking at the rubber man long enough would reveal that each limb, each digit, his face, all of it was just a few inches stretched and out of proportion. It gave him a slightly comical gait as he paced the room staring at the various pieces of information, until it was remembered that his friends were captured and his wife was reportedly bearding the lion’s den. Then it ceased to be comical at all.

“I can try, Ralph,” Batman murmured through clenched teeth. “It seems to be the only option left. How is this eluding us? What are we overlooking?”

Wonder Woman’s team walked into the expansive room, that was slightly cool and lined by the most powerful computers the world would possibly know for years to come. She went to ask how they were doing, but the appearance of the two men made that answer obvious.

“Nothing concrete yet, I see,” Hawkgirl commented as they approached their team-mates.

“No!” Batman snapped, turning to look at Kendra with those hard eyes. The feathered fury stopped in her tracks and cringed a little before recovering her normal posture. “Well at least we know it’s not broken, Ralph,” Batman replied with the barest hint of an annoyed grin before turning back to try a new approach to the information.

Ralph chuckled nervously as he tried something new as well, and the three women exchanged worried glances. “What can we do?” Diana asked in a soothing voice as she moved up behind the Darknight Detective.

“I don’t know. The whole pattern makes no sense,” Batman reported as he stared at the nonsensical arrangement of facts on the screen. “His purpose. It’s too small, buying properties. Why? The Key is not a real estate mogul or venture capitalist. He’s not a white collar criminal. Nor likely to ever become such. But I’ll be God-damned if I can figure out what I’m overlooking on this one.”

Ralph showed the various approaches the pair had already taken as Dawn and Hawkgirl flanked him and listened. Hawkgirl pulled her helmet off and stared closer, brow furrowed in disbelief. “Ralph, could you bring up the distances between sites?”

“Sure,” Ralph replied, complying and letting her see the numbers appear. “We tried making patterns, but none of the usual occult symbols popped up.”

“That’s because the pattern isn’t in drawing lines between these places,” Kendra replied as she started to type now. The screen split to reveal a picture of the Great Pyramid of Cheops, and then she dashed lines of measurement and started to apply the numbers to the distances across the continent of Europe already in place. “It’s because it’s all based on the pyramid inch. It’s...oh my God, he’s...he’s crazy.”

“Pyramid inch?” Batman asked as he turned and looked at the archaeologist.

“The idea being that the Egyptians built the pyramids, especially the Giza Pyramid, based on the sacred Jewish inch, and got all sorts of fascinating, sacred results,” Kendra explained as the various measurements, stretched by orders of magnitude, started to fall into place. “The idea that the Pyramid measures out many fundamental numbers on Earth, and in the solar system, and just in nature in general.”

“Sacred geometry,” Dawn murmured. “He’s...he’s engineering something?”

“That’s what he does,” Batman explained. “The Key believes in unlocking things, but not small things like bank vaults and security systems. He long surpassed those. Material gains are beneath him now, the more he indulges in those psychoactive chemicals that give him his powers.” The detectives stared at the process Kendra was going through, linking nearly every site purchased so far.

“We should see if there are other properties, beyond Europe, that he’s gotten,” Kendra suggested. “I bet there is. I bet he’s laying out a huge geometry. For something.”

“Do you have any idea what?” Ralph asked as he and Batman began their own investigating beyond the borders of Europe.

“Something. That’s...all. I’m no expert in this, I was just lucky to be exposed to this crackpot theory back in college,” Kendra replied with a sigh. “I wish I’d paid more attention now. But it was all just so crazy.”

“How come Konigsberg Castle doesn’t fit the pattern?” Diana pointed to the computer screen and the failed attempts to bring its measurements into position. She’d been listening up to this point, but now she was worried that her team was overlooking an obvious hole in the theory, in order to get results, any results.

“The Amber Room?” Dawn suggested helpfully. “Maybe he didn’t overlook Mrs. Dibny. Maybe he didn’t need her. If he sees on such a different level as you say, maybe he didn’t care if he left her behind. Maybe he just needs the Flash and the Atom, as people whose bodies generate reality-shaping energies.”

“And the Amber Room...?” Diana asked for further explanation.

“Just that, Diana,” Batman explained as he brought up more properties acquired by the Key, scattered across the Asian continent. “A room built of amber, originally in St. Petersburg. Captured and moved to Konigsberg Castle by the Nazis. But it’s since disappeared; no one can find it.”

“Maybe because the Key got to it first? We don’t really know how old this guy is, or where he’s come from. No one does,” Ralph said as he found more purchases across the southern hemisphere now. “He could have it somewhere, and plan on using it with Barry and Ray.”

“But why Konigsberg then, if it’s not there?” Kendra asked now, as she fit the new information into the pattern, confirming the situation for all the League to see.

“Because of correspondence, Hawkgirl,” Dawn explained quietly, looking at the stares from her team-mates as they wanted to understand more. “The Law of Contagion, or correspondences... it has other names. It means, at its most basic, what was once one, stays one. It’s where the magical notion of needing a lock of a target’s hair comes from. That hair was part of the person, so no matter where the lock and the person go, they are still one entity.” As she spoke, her voice took on a more firm tone, as if she were teaching a class.

“That’s ridiculous,” Hawkgirl replied with a chuckle.

“Not precisely,” Batman said in a low voice. He refused to look back at the group, but shook his head. “We use it today, in a way.”

“We do?”

“Forensic science,” Ralph pointed out. “You’re saying that the room was at Konigsberg Castle, so he can use correspondence...”

“...to reach wherever he’s stashed the room now, yeah,” Dawn suggested. “If you say he’s beyond bypassing normal locks, then bypassing locks on reality in this manner would be his next step.”

“Still doesn’t help us figure out what all this geometry is for, but at least we have something, and a place to head for.” Diana spoke in a much more commanding voice now. “We head for Konigsberg to help Kid Eternity and Sue, and try to intercept the Key. Let’s go, people! Everyone into the jet for this one.”

Batman took a last look at the information assembled on the screens as the group marched from the room, and then announced to the group, “No. Not Konigsberg. I know where we find the Key.”



The Flash slowly stirred, his eyes trying to focus as the lights glittered and reflected weirdly off the walls of the room around him. His chest burned from where he’d been hit with the Key’s blaster, and he struggled to get deep breaths again. He glanced around as he pulled himself up to his feet, and could see the Atom was already up, bouncing and examining the amber chamber, and he gave a relieved look.

“Where are we?” Flash asked his partner, who stopped and looked over at Barry. Flash stretched his legs a bit, flexing and twisting his body now, trying to work the kinks out.

“I don’t know. This whole room looks like it’s made from amber, actual amber, which is kind of strange to begin with,” the Atom reported as he landed on Barry’s shoulder. “I’ve found where there was supposed to be a door, I think. But whoever put this room together left it out, I think, and I can’t figure out why.”

“The Key’s behind this, so who knows what he’s got in mind,” Barry said in a displeased mutter. “I’m going to vibrate out of here. If it’s only amber, I can easily slip past the walls.” He moved the Atom to the side and didn’t hear his partner try to shout out a warning as he raced for the far wall, working up speed and altering the vibratory rate of his body.

Atom cringed and turned his head when Barry gave a cry of pain and bounced back from the wall, skidding across the floor. He moved over to the prone speedster and asked, “You okay, pal?”

Flash nodded. “What was that?”

“I tried the same stunt, shrinking small enough to slip out, but got bounced back too. I couldn’t quite get small enough, each time I did, it was like the walls soaked it up. Same with your speed tricks, I suspect,” the Atom explained.

“Very good, very good, exactly on the money,” the Key said as he made his appearance. He stepped into the room where the door should have been, his key-shaped blaster weapon in hand. His sickly gray pallor clashed against the pale orange-gold look of the room, an ugly contrast of beauty and beast. “Pardon the lack of a door, but I needed it somewhere else. To keep you in place. To let me get in. To give me the best of both worlds. All worlds soon.”

Flash appeared before the Key before the villain could blink an eye. Even with his senses, the Key could barely react to the sudden arrival. “What’s going on? Why have you tried to capture the Atom and I?”

“Tried? Succeeded, I did. Got you here, where I need you, where I need to be, where I will at last unlock the greatest lock known.” The Key took a step back and then to the side of the scarlet speedster. “You two, you give me the final...lock-pick tools. For lack of anything better to call you. Or worse. Not polite to call you worse, when you help me achieve my goals.”

“What goals?” The Atom leaped up and started to switch in size as he came down to pounce on the villain, but felt the shifting in size take longer, and he was only half-way adjusted when he felt the Key sidestep him easily and the back of the villain’s hand swat him down into the hard floor.

The gun was leveled at Flash before he finished his first step, and unleashed a roar of vicious energy into the space where the speedster stepped into. Flash was better prepared to be countered, and pivoted at the last pico-second, allowing the bolt to roar by harmlessly. The scientist in him couldn’t help but utilize his incredible reaction time and perceptions to watch the attack harmlessly scatter across the amber wall. A direct nerve attack. Neat and nasty, Barry thought.

“You know, for people who claim to want knowledge, you’re behaving in very typically primitive fashion,” the Key admonished his foes. “Aren’t you supposed to allow me to get my grandstanding out of the way first?”

The Key paced to the far end of the large room as he chuckled. “Oooo. It appears my little trap door will work.”

“Trap door?” Flash asked with concern as he raced to the Key’s side, feeling some of his energy ebb while he did so, and getting tired of being drained like that.

“Yes, oh my yes,” the Key said with an excited clap. “I needed a door here, but that was easy to arrange, but the door served a dual purpose. One more element to pick my ultimate lock. Should arrive in three...two...one...”

Kid Eternity charged through the displaced door the Key had used to arrive in the room, a smug smirk on his face as he raced to the rescue. The smirk slowly faded as Kid Eternity noticed he was struggling to get closer to the Amber Room. It vanished when he stopped in place, trapped in the walls, a spectral bug in amber.

“Welcome to my abode,” Key laughed as he turned his back on the trapped spirit. “Now I can begin!”

“Begin what?” Barry demanded to know, gripping the Key’s bony shoulder and spinning him to face the hero. “What are you doing?”

“Unlocking the Gates to Heaven,” the Key replied in a voice filled with excitement and wonder. He jammed the gun into Barry’s side and pulled a different trigger. With a grunt of pain and cry of surprise, the Flash felt hooks bite into his flesh, followed by a sudden surge of energy that flooded his body, making him vibrate faster and faster, uncontrollably.

Atom watched as the Flash sank to the floor, jerking and shaking as the room swallowed the vibrations and the amber began to hum and pulse. It rattled Kid Eternity who silently started to scream in pain while the Key turned to the mighty mite.

“And now for you, and you make the world shrink around me, and I...I...reach the pinnacle,” Key spoke in hushed, rapid whispers as he stepped toward Ray Palmer.

“No way!” Ray said as he refused to alter size and attempted to engage the villain in hand-to-hand combat instead.

“Yes!” Key shouted in anger at the Atom’s refusal, his vast array of sensory input allowing him to easily counter the Atom’s strikes and unleash a brutal flurry in response. Each blow inflicting great pain on the Atom, each blow intending to make him rely on his instincts, knowing that he only had to start shrinking.

“The man said no,” Manitou Dawn declared as she stepped out of a momentary tear in the center of the room, above where the Flash was helplessly shaking apart. The bare opening so far created by the Key’s plan enabled her to give the League its way in. Behind the charging team, Ray could see a large limestone formation, revealing the insides of an Egyptian pyramid.

“And I guarantee you, with the League, no means no,” Wonder Woman added as she leaped at the villain.

“Aggh! I should have seen this, should have known this, but for you, little man!” Key shouted as he threw up into the air what looked like a ring of old-style keys. Five of them broke off from the ring with small rockets sending them toward the Amazon ruler. Like cruel insects they streaked around her, firing electrical jolts that forced her to stop her attack and take the defensive, glittering bracelets deflecting the assault.

“Atom’s a bigger man then you’ll ever be!” Ralph shouted in return as he stretched out wide and flat, cutting off the battered Ray from the villain, even as the Key attempted to throw wicked-looking razor discs toward Manitou Dawn.

“I won’t be stopped now, not now, no!” the Key insisted as Dawn and Hawkgirl swiped at the four cruel weapons before they could strike the shaman. “Everything is still in place, nothing can stop me, nothing, don’t you get it?”

“You’re right,” Flash said as he stood on shaking legs, red blood mingling with the torn red costume he wore, Batman having removed the weapon from the speedster and now being busy completing its disarming. “Nothing should stop you.”

“You...want to help...?” The Key looked confused, and this distracted him yet again. Dawn hurled her tomahawk into where the door should be, allowing Kid Eternity to slip free, the soft white glow of his shirt dimmed below normal.

“I think it’s the only way,” Barry said with a smirk as he saw Kit disperse and then reappear behind the Key.

“No tricks, I know you’re there, boy!” the Key declared and spun on his heels to confront the ghost, who held his hands up and just gave that knowing smirk again.

“Now, Flash!” Kit said and in between the moments it took for everyone to hear the ghost say the speedster’s name, a crimson streak had taken all three figures from sight.

“What happened?” Batman demanded to know as the group looked around.

Dawn looked serene as her weapon lazily spun back to her hand. She closed her eyes and lifted her head upward, while the rest of the team looked around the Amber Room.

“I trust Flash’s play,” the Atom said as he wiped some of the blood from his cut lip. “Give him a moment.”

“I agree, but be ready for anything, team,” Diana declared as tense seconds ticked by.

Then a second crimson blur appeared. The Flash stopped and dropped off the limp form of the Key, who was now laying on the floor and staring off sightlessly, taking in nothing.

“What did you do?” Wonder Woman asked as Batman knelt and took the Key’s pulse.

“He wanted to unlock the Pearly Gates,” Kid Eternity answered. “We let him see his target. No one who willingly goes there wants to come back.”

“So, part of him is still there,” Flash added. “Staring at his prize. The rest of him, we lock away in a sanitarium.”

“Rather extreme for you, wasn’t it, Flash?” the Atom asked as the team watched Dawn kneel beside Batman.

“Maybe. Yeah,” Flash answered in a quiet voice. “But no other prison is holding this guy, and he’s dangerous. Too dangerous. I...just thought we needed something definitive for him.” He sounded less sure, but none of the rest of his team seemed to step up to admonish him. Not now, not here.

Dawn retrieved her tomahawk and made a quick series of marks, drawing thin lines of blood before anyone could really stop her. A pattern quickly emerged as Diana stared hard at her.

“What was that for? He’s beaten, and helpless,” Diana declared.

“It’s a small mark that anchors his body. It can’t leave this realm,” Dawn answered, not stepping back at all from the League chairwoman’s demanding stance. “He’s not hurt, it won’t harm him, and this way, the only recovery for him is to return to his body, and not draw his body to him. Now we’re finished. Now we can leave.”

“I like that idea,” Ralph said before anyone else could add to the tension. “Leaving is a really good idea. I know I’m going to have a week of flowers, candy and groveling when we finally pick Sue up from Russia for leaving her out of the finale.”

And the Key was gathered up carefully by Wonder Woman, warrior but also proponent of peace, and continued to stare off to nowhere on this world.

The End!


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