As new attacks were launched in other cities, the Justice League could no longer take the situation lightly. All members outside the country performing other missions were now required to return.
Although the spores released in the other cities weren't as major as in Metropolis, Gotham, or Star City, casualties were still occurring. Not to mention the slew of criminals who were taking advantage of the situation to either steal, kidnap, or cause harm to others.
Among all the cities that had attacks launched, Gotham was surprisingly the quickest to recover. But considering its new title as one of the safest cities in the world, it wasn't much of a surprise. In addition, the presence of the Flash and Superman helped greatly in getting things in order, especially since the Gotham PD were well-funded and could pull their own weight. Lastly, Gotham also had Wonder Woman and Harley, who aided in their efforts to bring things under control.
All in all, the city was largely under control after a few hours, with all those affected by the spores getting treated. Those who weren't affected were given measures to protect against it as researchers at the Ark Academies and other working labs worked hard to find a cure.
But just because Gotham had become an incredibly safe city didn't mean crime was completely gone. Given the particular set of circumstances, many individuals chose to risk it and take advantage of the situation for monetary gain or pleasure.
One such incident was currently taking place in one of Gotham's less affluent districts.
Here, a woman could be seen stumbling near the sidewalk, clearly struggling to even move. She kept screaming, "Help, please! Someone help me!" as she sobbed uncontrollably.
Her eyes were tightly shut as she scrambled along the wall and anything else in her way, hoping it would aid her movement, as she could quite obviously not see.
A man in a hoodie came up from behind and grabbed her. He said nothing and merely tried to drag her into a nearby building. Judging by the gloves he wore and the mask that covered his mouth, it was clear he was trying his best not to be seen or heard.
He was but one of many individuals this night who felt they could take advantage of the situation to gain something. In this man's case, those gains involved assaulting a helpless woman.
He managed to successfully break into a nearby café and dragged the woman in, forcefully throwing her onto a table as she continued to cry and plead, "Please, I'll give you everything I have, please don't hurt me."
Still, the man said nothing, clearly in a hurry, knowing the dangers of what he was doing and the consequences that would follow. Yet, he still proceeded.
As the woman tried to grab onto the table to help herself stand, the man came up from behind and pinned her down, forcefully stripping her of her clothes. "No!" she yelled, struggling hard to break free from his grip.
However, the man was insistent, even launching a few blows toward the woman's face. Despite the pain, she persisted and continued to yell, "Help me! Someone *sob*."
At this point, the man grew angry and impatient, unable to hold his temper. He yelled, "Shut up, you bitch!"
He began to use more force and even tried to gag her.
*Crack!* But at that moment, the sound of glass shattering could be heard behind him.
The man panicked and immediately turned around, only to see a furious Wonder Woman breaking through the storefront window. His eyes widened in fear.
Just by looking at the scene, Diana already knew what was happening. For someone like her, who had always been taught that men in the outside world were beasts, liars, and horrible, this only made her angrier. Especially since the victim was clearly even more defenseless than usual.
From her perspective, this man before her had preyed on a woman who was already vulnerable, all for the sake of carnal pleasure, uncaring of the consequences that would follow the woman for the rest of her life.
In Diana's mind, that injustice could not go unpunished. She frowned, her gaze turning serious as she yelled, "Enough!"
The man's heart began racing. He wasn't a career criminal, so encountering the city's most well-known superhero at this moment was the worst thing that could happen to him. He knew there was no escape, so he raised his hands in surrender.
He was in a bad situation, but he figured that at worst, he would only face a few months in jail.
However, Diana had other plans. She reached for her lasso and quickly threw it toward the man. Before he could react, it wrapped around his neck.
The man had seen numerous videos of Wonder Woman fighting on TV, where she usually subdued criminals by catching them with her lasso around their arms, preventing them from using their hands.
However, this time Diana pulled on the lasso while it was still around the man's neck. The force was incredible, and the man's eyes bulged as his air supply was cut off. He instinctively grabbed at his neck, struggling for breath, barely able to say, "Please, *arck!* I'm sorr—."
Diana's expression remained cold. "Animals like you only deserve death."
At that moment, another voice rang out. "Wonder Woman, stop!"
Looking back, Wonder Woman saw Superman hovering just outside the store. He had been drawn to the scene by the commotion he heard with his super hearing. With the city now under control, he had been patrolling to ensure everything was in order before leaving to tend to other places.
Assessing the situation, Superman decided to intervene because, from the way things looked, Diana was about to kill the man. As Diana looked at him, Superman added, "Let the justice system deal with him. He'll get what's coming to him."
Diana frowned upon hearing this and replied, "You think I do not know the laws of this land? At most, what this man will get is a few years of incarceration. Whereas, had he been left to succeed, the woman would have been traumatized for life, perhaps even burdened to carry a child she didn't want. A mark that will forever change her life. And you wish to tell me to allow this? I, Diana, Princess of Themyscira, shall carry out my own justice."
As Diana said this, she pulled on the lasso, dragging the man closer to her before unsheathing her sword and slicing through the man's body, severing his head in a single swing.
The man's head flopped to the ground gruesomely, but Diana showed a disgusted expression as she muttered, "May Hades toy with your soul."