🥀 CHAPTER TWO | THE JUSTICE LEAGUE 🥀

EVER SINCE THE BATMAN HAD GIVEN ME THE CARD, I HAD THE TEMPTATION OF CALLING. I put the card in my bra, so that way it wouldn't fall out of my pockets or I wouldn't forget it was there. It had only been a day since the incident but something didn't feel right. It felt as if there was an impending doom on all of us.

The world was still chaotic, the streets were no longer safe. Everywhere you'd go, someone would be threatening you, either to kill you, steal from you and anything else. I walked down the street with my hoodie over my head and my hands in my pocket. The streets were crowded with people and children.

There was an old man on the sidewalk with a dog on his lap, he had a small cup on the ground. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a dollar bill. I bent down and put the dollar in the cup, the man smiled at me and I smiled back before getting up.

When I reached my apartment the sky had fallen dark. The stars filled the air and the street lamps were turned on. I sat on my bed and grabbed the picture frame that was on the nightstand next to my bed. It was a picture of my parents and me when I was around ten years old.

My mom stood proudly with a hand on her hip, she wore a green dress and little black heels. Her jet-black hair was curled past her shoulder and she had one hand on my shoulder. My father stood with a hand on my other shoulder and the other was by his side. My two parents had the biggest smiles on their faces. I stood with my hands out in front of me with a misshapen smile, my teeth were crooked but my parents thought I looked adorable.

The day that we managed to come to the United States was fearful yet exciting. My parents talked about going to visit Disney World and how I would have a great education. They were fearful, that they would get caught in the process and get deported back. Ever since we did, we fought for citizenship. My mother and I managed to get it but my father was unlucky. He was deported back to Mexico and when he did manage to get his citizenship back and come to America, it didn't last long.

When I was around seventeen, my dad had managed to come back. We were happy for a few months before the incident. Every summer, my mother and I would go back and see my father, who had been staying with my abuela. When my parents were killed, it was the worst day of my life.

We were leaving a restaurant after finding out I had been accepted to college. My parents and I were walking on the sidewalk when two men in black hoodies stopped us at gunpoint. He kept pressuring my parents into giving them their money. My parents were shaking and didn't know what to do. One of them had me in a chokehold with the gun against my head.

When the dad had handed over his wallet, the only thing the man pulled out was his ID from Mexico--which he still had. When the man only found a few dollar bills left in his pocket, he dropped the wallet and pulled the trigger aimed at my father. My mother and I both screamed before aiming at her pulling the trigger.

At that point, tears were streaming down my face and I felt my body go weak. At that point, police sirens were heard from a few feet away. The two men yelled at each other and ran off so that the police wouldn't find them. I remember going to my mother first, she wasn't breathing, she was already dead.

My dad, on the other hand, was breathing slowly, I went to him remembered grabbing his hand tightly, "Papa," my voice cracked,

"Don't cry Esperanza," his voice weak and almost inaudible, "Listen, I don't have much time,"

He licked his lips as he tried breathing, "What does your name mean?" he asked,

"It means hope," I responded with tears streaming down my face,

"Like that man in sky with the red cape," he smiled softly,

"Oh, papa,"

"Listen, be the hope... that the people need," he started, "You are strong, fight for the defenseless... I love you, mi hija," his grip on my hand loosened and it fell on the concrete. After that, I don't remember anything. My eyes were blurry and I couldn't see anything, everything after that was a blur. The police said there wasn't enough evidence but that was bullshit.

I put the picture frame back on the nightstand. Ever since they were killed, I felt like I haven't lived up to my name. I walked over to the window and opened it to let some fresh air in, when I looked up at the sky, I saw the bat signal bright in the sky.

Even though I'd be risking my life, I felt that for some reason I had to help the Batman. Yeah, saving the world was a huge deal but I can't keep doing petty theft or gang-related crimes for the rest of my life. I had to make a difference or an impact on the world.

I took a deep breath and quickly ran to the case under my bed. I put on the suit and everything, I knew I would regret everything once I left the apartment building. I turned off everything in the apartment and left out the window.

***

When I made my way onto the roof, I tried to be as quiet as possible. I wanted to give them the element of surprise and so that's what I was determined to do. I reached out for my whip and stood up from the metal box that I was hiding behind from.

I walked towards the group with a smirk on my face, "It looks like the whole gang is here," the Bat stood in the middle with a serious look on his face--which wasn't anything new. A tall slender woman stood next to him with furrowed brows, she wore gold 'tiara' on her head and she had jet-black hair, she was the Amazon. There was also someone in a bright red suit, his mouth was slightly agape as he stared at me, there was also another male. He wore a silver suit almost as if it were apart of his actual body. He reminded me of a cyborg which he probably was but I didn't want to assume.

"Who is she?" the male asked, his voice was deep which surprised me.

"No need for the 'she', just ask me directly," I answered, "Just call me Esperanza," I winked.

The male in the red suit soon gasped, his eyes went wide, "Onyx," he said, "Y-you're like amazing,"

I smirked, "Thank you,"

"You came," the bat noticed, I nodded.

"I had a change of mind," I said, "So, what do we need to know?" I asked.

"Parademons," the woman answered, she had a small accent.

"Okay..." the male in the red suit said.

Diana handed the paper to male in a trench coat and hat, "The demons must have caught the scent of the Mother Box," she explained, "They carried people away to find out what they know,"

The Bat looked at the woman, "So the eight might still be alive,"

"Nine," the cyborg answered, everyone, jumped at the sound of his voice, "The head of STAR labs was taken as well," he walked towards the group with a serious look on his face.

The woman smiled, "You made it," she started, "So then. There must be a nest nearby."

"I plotted all the sightings in Metropolis, Gotham," the man in the trenchcoat started, "No pattern I can see, the lines on the map don't converge," he handed the paper over to the bat, I listened intently with no idea about what was going on or who were the people I was about to fight with.

"On land," the cyborg noticed looking at the paper, "These lead back to Braxton Island, between the two cities,"

The Bat looked at the cyborg, "Gotham Harbor. These are air vents, they all lead down to the tunnel from Metropolis Project that was abandoned in '29,"

The other man turned his back to look at the city and then back only to find no one was there, expect the man in red.

***

On our way to the tunnel, I learned everyone's name. The Amazon went by Diana Prince and her alias was Wonder Woman. Batman was non-other than Bruce Wayne which was the biggest surprise of all, who knew that a billionaire was secretly a vigilante. The male in the red suit was Barry Allen also known as The Flash or scarlet speedster, and the cyborg was truly a cyborg and his name was Victor Stone.

I managed to get all that information on our way to the harbor in the plane that Bruce had. When it landed, Bruce was the first one to jump off and Diana followed. I was the last one. The tunnels were dark and grey and mice ran over the floors. Trash lined some of the floors of the tunnel giving it an unpleasant smell.

Bruce went to talk to his ear piece, who was actually Alfred, the man in the trench coat, "Where are we Alfred?"

"Braxton Island," he answered, "Now look to your left, you should see a staircase." I turned my head to left and saw a staircase, I followed it with my eyes and so did everyone else.

The fight was just beginning.

author's note: so, I don't have a transcript for this so I'm watching the movie as I write on a random cite. Sometimes it pauses as I watch it so updates will try to be quick and long. I'm going to try my best but I hope you all liked this chapter.