Takeoff

Clark, Bruce, Lois, Bart, and Hippolyta stood on a grassy field, just south of Wayne-Ferris Air Base. The sun had set an hour ago, and the entire area was cloaked under the gentle blue shadow of night.  The entire group—with the exception of Hippolyta—was nervous. They were about to sneak into a partially government-owned air base, steal one of the most advanced prototype planes in the world, and fly across the Atlantic in a probably-futile effort to save their friend from a sorceress. Bruce had assured them that it wasn't really "stealing," since Waynetech owned the Javelin, and Bruce was about to inherit Wayne Enterprises in a mere few months. Of course, everyone else knew that it was still technically stealing, but they weren't going to argue.
   Hal ran up to them from the base's direction. They'd had to explain everything to Hal over the last half-hour. Fortunately, he knew enough about Barry and his super-powers to not be shocked when he found out that there were several others with similar special abilities. The fact that Amazons and aliens existed took a bit longer to settle in, but Hal was able to overcome or ignore that fact and just focus on the task at hand: getting to the Javelin so they could save Diana.
   "Alright, it's done," Hal said as he neared the group, handing Bruce back his hacking flashdrive. "The cameras are set to loop for the next ten hours, and the doors are unlocked."
   An orange-purple light spontaneously flashed to the side of the group. When it faded, Zatanna stood in the field next to them.
   Hippolyta glanced over the gently fading purple sparkles of magic that surrounded Zatanna, and scowled. "You are a witch!"
   Zatanna exasperatedly put her hand on her forehead. "Oh boy. Not this again."
   "She's a friend," Bruce said firmly.
   Zatanna gave Bruce a smile, then turned back to Hippolyta. "So, You're Diana's mom, huh?"
   Hippolyta stiffened. "I am the Queen of the Amazons."
   Zatanna raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Is that how you start all your conversations?"
   "Wait a minute; what are you wearing?" Lois interrupted.
   "What, this?" Zatanna replied defensively. "It's a modern-traditional magician's outfit. God, don't you watch TV?"
   The rest of the group looked at Zatanna's outfit. The top half was the usual magician's tuxedo; she even had the black top hat. But instead of pants, she wore black leather briefs, fishnets, and long black boots.
   "Hey, I'm in show business," she said nonchalantly. "Getting people's attention is my job."
   Bruce noticed Hal still looking Zatanna over, and gave him a glare and an elbow in the side.
   Zatanna caught this, and was amused. "So, you must be the pilot?"
   "Yeah," Hal replied. "Hal Jordan."
   Zatanna tipped her hat in greeting, then looked around. "So, is this all of us?"
   Clark nodded. "Looks that way."
   "I tried calling a friend of mine," Hal said, "but he didn't answer. I left a message."
   "Okay. Well, are we all set to go?"
   "Not quite," Hal said. "We still need to figure out how to get the mechanics in the hangar and the flight controllers to let us take off once we're inside the plane."
   "I can take care of that," Zatanna said with a smirk.
   "Alright, then," Clark said with a firm authority. "Let's go."
   The rest of them—except Lois—nodded and began to walk away. Bruce stopped for a moment, however, and walked back to Lois.
   "Lois, I wanted to say... I'm sorry. I'm sorry for treating you the way I did. I—"
   "Hush, boy billionaire. It's alright. You and I weren't meant to be together anyway."
   Bruce nodded. "Well... goodbye, Lois," he said, and walked away.
   Lois caught something disturbing in Bruce's voice. Did he not think he was going to come back? The thought suddenly struck her: some—or all—of them might not survive.
   "Clark!" she called out. Clark immediately turned around and moved towards her.
   They just looked at each other for a moment. Clark could see the concern in her eyes, and she could see the determination in his.
   "Clark... are you sure about this? You could get hurt."
   "It's true," Zatanna said, suddenly sneaking up at their side. "You've got no defense against magic; you're just as vulnerable as anyone else."
   Lois and Clark shot Zatanna a "DO YOU MIND" look.
   Zatanna threw her hands up in mock-surrender and began walking away. "Fine; whatever..."
   Clark gently put his hands on Lois's shoulders. "I'll be fine. I promise." He drew her close and kissed her.
   Lois felt her heart flutter for a moment, then sink a little as Clark left and rejoined the others.

   The six of them carefully walked down the hallways of Wayne-Ferris. Hal led them through the student section, which was empty now that class was out for the day. They went through the student lounge, and stopped at the window overlooking the hangar. Hal pointed to the largest plane. "That's the Javelin-4; our ride."
   Hal then led them down a nearby stairwell into the hangar itself. Two mechanics were in-between the group and the Javelin; there wasn't any way past them.
   Bruce nodded toward Zatanna. "This is your department."
   Zatanna shut her eyes and extended her hand towards the two mechanics."Erongi lla esle."
   White-purple sparks flittered off her hand, but the two mechanics didn't seem to change their behavior.
   "Okay; they won't notice us or the Javelin; they're completely oblivious."
   The group walked across the hangar floor, towards the underside of the Javelin. Hal reached up for a control panel along its ventral plating.  He entered an eight-digit code on a keypad, and a large section of the rear-underside plating hissed open. It slowly lowered to the floor, forming a boarding ramp.
   Hal waved them on-board.

   The interior of the Javelin was spacious. There were two rows of seats—four on each side— and one centered seat for the pilot. Hal, despite never having been inside this plane before, knew it like the back of his hand. He'd read every technical manual, flown every Javelin simulator mission three dozen times over, and was able to intuit everything he didn't already know. He slipped into the pilot's seat like it was a glove, and began the warm-up procedures. The computer consoles lit up, and the engine slowly hummed to life.
   "This is good. Looks like there was a planned—and cancelled—test flight scheduled for tonight, so the jet's already fueled up and ready to go." After inputting a set of coordinates, Hal turned to Hippolyta, pointing to the computer screen. "You're sure this is where the island is?"
   "Yes."
   "Okay, then. Looks like we're all set. Is everyone ready?"
   Everyone in the group slowly nodded. Hippolyta was worried for her daughter, but ready to die in Diana's defense. Bruce had nothing to offer but his own meager skills in a fight, but that was enough for him. Bart was nervous and frightened, but unwavering in his decision to help Diana, no matter what. Zatanna didn't particularly like Diana, but she was more than willing to help Bruce and his friends in their life-or-death battle. More importantly, Zatanna knew of Circe, and the danger that Circe posed to the world, should she succeed in acquiring the power of Diana's soul-spell.
   Hal turned back to the controls, and the plane began to move. "Zatanna, I'm gonna need you to work your magic on the air controllers now."
   "Already on it," Zatanna responded, leaning towards the front window to get a better view of the area.
   "Nilevaj-ruof si deraelc rof ffoekat."
   A voice clicked on over the Javelin's radio. "Javelin-4, you are cleared for takeoff."
   Hal clicked the reply switch. "Copy that, tower control."

   The Javelin slowly rolled out of the hangar and onto the runway. The passengers clicked their four-strapped safety belts on, and Hal hit the engines to full throttle. With a punch and a scream, blue-tinged flames blasted from the Javelin's twin engines.  In a flash of swift thunder, the craft lunged forward and lifted off.

   Lois watched from the field as the Javelin took off. She sighed to herself, hoping that her friends would be okay.
   Her phone rang.
   "Hello?"
   "Hi, can I speak to Lois Lane?"
   "Speaking."
   "Good. This is Perry White, from the Daily Planet. Detective Dan Turpin tells me that you've been 'instrumental' in the investigation of Lionel Luthor."
   Lois's jaw fell open, and she struggled to regain her composure.
   "Y-yes. I've been—"
   "I don't need to hear the details now, Miss Lane. Im only calling because the detective offered the Planet the exclusive report on the investigation, but only if we brought you on board as a witness."
   Lois stiffened. "Screw witness; I've been chasing down Luthor for months now; I'm WRITING that story, dammit."
   Perry laughed. "Okay, kid. You seem to have a fair bit of fire in your gut; I like that. Pardon the language, but get your ass down here, now. We'll talk about who's doing what when you get here."
   "You got it, chief."
   "Wha—... don't call me Chief!"
   Lois had already hung up.