Lex Luthor's brow was furrowed in concentration, bent over his desk while he pored over the information taken from The Riddler. The being that killed The Riddler, meanwhile, waited impatiently for Luthor to finish. They tapped their foot, unknowingly putting a dent in Lex Luthor's floor.
"So The Calculator was right, after all," Luthor said finally, stretching his neck and rubbing the back of it with his hand. He leaned back in his chair. "Batman WAS Bruce Wayne."
"But not anymore," The being pointed out.
"Right," Luthor said. "Now it's this other guy, who isn't a genius and martial arts experts but is mostly just..."
"An idiot," The being finished.
"A very horny idiot, apparently. Did he come across that way to you when you met him?" Luthor asked. "I'm trying to figure out how long ago Batman was replaced."
The being thought for a moment. "Definitely, but I was... a little out of sorts when we met," The being said finally.
"Hmm..." Luthor thought some more. He began to chuckle softly and smacked himself upside the head.
"I've spent months playing 8th dimensional chess with a man who probably doesn't know the names of the pieces," Luthor said, laughing openly now. "Well, that simplifies things."
"How?" The being said. "We still don't know where the portal is and can assume that this moron doesn't know either. The only man who might know is the real Batman and no one knows where he is." The being walked closer to Luthor, leaning over his desk. "You're running out of time, Luthor. The real Batman might come back at any moment, and there's always the chance Superman breaks out of the universe I left him in..."
Luthor flinched at the mention of his archrival's name. He tried to play it off. "We're fine," He told his companion. "Now that we know our foe, we know just how to beat him. He's not a hero, he's just some nobody. Everything's becoming clear."
"So what do we do first?" The being asked.
Luthor was already picking up the phone. "First, we understand his weakness. In this Batman's case, it's apparently that he likes to, to put it delicately, 'fuck' metahumans. We can use that information to isolate him. He's only surviving because of his contacts and infrastructure. Take that away and he'll become scared and alone."
"And then?" The being looked skeptical.
"Then, we give him a friend," Luthor said with a smile. "We give him you."
"I thought I was supposed to stay away from him so I don't blow my true identity," The being pointed out.
"That was when we thought Batman was someone we had to worry about," Luthor replied.
The Being stood up. "I guess I'll go introduce myself then," She said.
Luthor wasn't listening. Someone had answered the other end of Luthor's phone. "Yes, this is Lex Luthor," The criminal mastermind began. "I have some information that I think you and your Injustice Society would be very interested in."
***
In the Justice League Watchtower, an alarm began to sound. Only one person was there to answer it. Cyborg, the newest member of the Justice League, was quickly and efficiently handling the situation. Two metahumans had been flagged in Gotham City. One was The Fiddler, a relatively low-level member of the Injustice Society. The other was unknown.
Cyborg frowned. The Justice League had left just minutes because the Injustice Society was causing havoc in Starling City; why were (presumably) two of their members in Gotham City? Something seemed off.
But Cyborg knew his protocol backwards and forwards and he followed it to the letter. Fortuitously, Batman had been left out of the Justice League's call (the League rotated response duties to prevent their home cities from being neglected) and Cyborg sent an alert to Batman about the situation.
Then, Cyborg alerted the back-up team to assist Batman with The Fiddler and the other villain. Batman didn't really need it; he could undoubtedly defeat The Fiddler on his own. Cyborg, though, knew that Batman would want protocol followed since he was the one who wrote them.
The back-up team arrived and Cyborg quickly informed them of the situation. The heroes eagerly listened, obviously excited to be going on a real mission with Batman of all people. Cyborg gave them Batman's coordinates and sent them on their way.
An hour later, the Justice League returned. Cyborg was prepared for them, having readied the medical room and debriefing center. Wonder Woman stopped by Cyborg's station to fill him in on the situation.
"It was relatively easy," Wonder Woman said simply. She didn't seem all that thrilled by it. "They tried to steal the Freedom Train but we were able to apprehend them without too much trouble."
"Who was there?" Cyborg asked.
Wonder Woman thought for a moment. "Wizard, obviously, and then Gambler, Per Degaton, and Vandal Savage."
Cyborg nodded. "Huh," He said softly. "It's funny, The Fiddler and an unknown member of the Injustice Society are currently in Gotham."
"It's probably Brainwave," Wonder Woman informed Cyborg. "He was the only other member not in Starling City."
"Okay," Cyborg said. He turned back to his computer. "Anyway, I sent out the back-up team to handle it."
"Alright," Wonder Woman said as she turned towards the door. As she was leaving she asked, "Who's leading the back-up team?"
"Batman was on call," Cyborg responded.
Wonder Woman stopped dead in her tracks, one foot raised off the ground. She walked backwards back to Cyborg's desk.
"Cyborg," She asked softly, "Who is Batman leading?"
Cyborg looked up and saw the sternness of Wonder Woman's face. He stiffened up and began to cite protocol. "Well, Wonder Woman, as per guidelines 432.6-"
Wonder Woman interrupted him. "I'm not testing you, Cyborg. Who is Batman leading?"
Cyborg suddenly felt very uncertain. "Well, given the situation, the protocol called for-"