Lex gloated as he walked into the Justice League's Metro Tower side by side with his old enemy Superman. Wonder Woman was at his other side, no doubt waiting for him to make a wrong move. Batman hung back, just a little bit, to better keep an eye on the army of supervillains that followed them in.

Lex noted that Superman's fists still hadn't unclenched. If he were in any other situation, he would have laughed and to hell with the consequences. Just another thing Darksied ruined.

Superman kept his eyes straight ahead, not even looking at Lex. "Let's say, just for the sake of arguing, that I believe a single word of your story." Lex kept up his innocent frown, but inwardly he scorned the boy scout's naivette. He actually thought he had a choice?

"How did you survive the explosion?"

Lex's frown deepened at the memory. "By the skin of my teeth." He thought back to the dire straight. All of the Legion of Doom that had been loyal enough to follow him sitting on a mere shard of their former headquarters, protected from the coldness of space only by Sinestro's ring, and Star Sapphire's gem.

"Stranded more than a power ring's charge from home, we found ourselves dependant on the kindness of strangers." He spat out the word, disgusted at the thought of not being in control. "A resident of the nearby planet New Genesis drawn by our ship's explosion who noticed us." He remembered the alien that had come to save them. He was even more of a boy scout than Superman.

It had been easy to signal for Evil Star to sneak up behind him and blast him with his starbands while he shook hands. "We accepted of course." Accepted the unconscious alien's boom tube technology that is.

"You've got some nerve coming to us for help." Superman scowled at Lex.

Lex sneered at the so-called 'hero'. Apparently, he thought the world revolved around Superman. "Darksied took Braniac away from me." He said, coming back to the point that mattered. "I can't hear his voice in my head anymore."

"Enough of the crazy talk Lex." Giganta said, coming up between the two foes.

"Darksied said he was coming to earth to destroy it." She said, pointing an accusing finger at Superman. "You guys are supposed to keep that from happening!"

"We'll do just that lady." Green Lantern said, with a tone that said Darksied could bring it on. "Thanks for the heads up."

"And what about us?" the Atomic Skull asked eagerly.

"You're all going into holding cells." Wonder Woman said coldly. To her, that was all they deserved.

"Think so?" Atomic skull asked angrily as his hands burst into a toxic green flame and he readied himself to fight. "Ain't no way we're giving up without a –"

Fortunately, before the situation descended into a brawl, Mr. Terrific came in over the comm. screens. "Watch Tower to Metro Tower, we've got a situation!"

"What's going on up there?" Superman asked quickly.

"Multiple hyperspacial incursions. But they're planet side! I'm sending telemetry."

Various screens showed energy readings, hyperspacial formulas, and calculations concerning the sizes of the wormholes. A satellite image of the planet showed red markings where the wormholes were about to open. "Boom tubes." Batman realized, stepping closer to the readouts.

"He's right." Superman said. "Can you hear it? Like thunder."

Of course we can't hear it you absurd muscle bound alien.Lex thought.

The images on the screens switched to satellite pictures and news footage of the wormholes opening. They came out in Tokyo, Paris, China, London, Metropolis, Gotham, Washington, Moscow, all of the places where the most people would be put in harm's way. Giant military transports were disgorged from the tunnels, flying through the suddenly darker skies as millions of people watched on in horror.

Mr. Terrific had his hands full up in the Watch tower. He began yelling instructions into the JLU frequency. "Attention all Justice League personnel! This is an Omega level alert!" several heroes on break jumped to attention and headed to their stations, ready for more instructions.

Dr. Light landed on the control deck, where Green Arrow, Vixen, Hawk girl and the Blue Devil were gathered in an air of fear and determination.

"Get to the Javelins!" Blue Devil yelled.

"No time!" Hawk girl stopped him. She pushed Mr. Terrific aside and pressed the intercom button. "All members, prepare for emergency teleport!"

"Send us first." She said to Mr. Terrific. "Give the others a chance to put their pants on." She hadn't even finished the sentence, but she was already flying down to the main deck.

"You got it." He said, gesturing for the others to follow. Dr. Light picked up Green Arrow, and flew him over to the teleporter, where Vixen was already waiting. Blue Devil leaped onto the platform, and the five vanished. Mr. Terrific organized the next group, consisting of Booster Gold, the Crimson Avenger, Aztek, Gypsy, and Crimson Fox.

"Okay." Superman said, grabbing Bizzaro, and pushing him harder than he needed to. "Let's get these people locked up. It looks like we've got a fight on our hands." Batman shook his head; he already knew what was coming. Luthor wouldn't have been able to lead his reduced forces here if he couldn't promise them this.

Sure enough, Giganta stepped up to block Superman. "If you think you're locking us up while the whole world's under attack, you've got two fights on your hands."

The two of them stared down, Green Lantern and Captain Atom stepped up next to Superman, energy ring and atomic fists glowing warningly. Sinestro and the Atomic Skull took up fighting stances next to Giganta.

Oh Clark for the love of – "She's got a point." Batman said, stepping between them. "We'll need all the bodies we can throw at this. Come on Kent, don't make a fuss about this, this is no time to play by the rules…

"Oh come on!" Superman yelled. "It's Lex flippin' Luthor! Why should we trust him?!"

Way to break the swear jar Kent.Batman thought, giving Luthor a look that said stop smiling, you're not helping your case.

"Hey, it's our world too!" Atomic Skull said, indignantly. Luthor held up a hand to quiet him.

"Let's be clear about this." He said, advancing towards the heroes. "We're not here to help you save the world. You're here to help me get revenge on Darksied. When this is over, it's back to business as usual." He practically spat out Darksied's name.

Well played Luthor. Batman thought. You don't have to pretend you're the good guy here. Everybody know's you're a swine. Use that to your advantage. He waited as Superman struggled with this decision. He'd made a deal with Luthor before, and it ended with Luthor almost becoming president. Batman knew that the rest of the League would follow Superman to the ends of the earth. He hoped he could make the right decision, and just this once postpone his rivalry with Luthor for the greater good.

They stared each other down so fiercely, that Batman almost saw Luthor's eyebrows singe from Superman's heat vision. Finally, Superman nodded and said; "I wouldn't have it any other way." His tone made it clear, that when Luthor did resume 'business as usual' he would welcome it, and do his best to end it.

"Get all that?" Wonder Woman asked Mr. Terrific.

"Yeah." He said uncertainly. "…You guys sure about this?"

"Trust… but verify." The warrior princess said, as heroes and villains alike headed for the teleporter. "Put the bad guys on teams with regular leaders."

"Search through the telemetry on the attack groups." Batman said. "Find the best protected mothership. That's where Darksied will be." Because, alien or not, he's still superstitious and cowardly.

"That's where I want to go." Superman said, watching Luthor stalk up to the teleporter platform with the two of them.

"I imagine so." Mr. Terrific nodded. "It's in Metropolis, hovering over the daily planet. Stand by."

As they teleported away, Superman sighed. What are the odds that the globe is going to fall off the building again? He thought to himself.

Ray Palmer looked down at his pager, and put down his piece of chalk. "Sorry students," He said. "I'm going to have to step out for a while. Study pages 148 through 186 in your physics textbooks."

He ran out of his classroom, knowing he might never see it, or his students, again. But then he thought about the big picture. Something he knew a lot about. The world was in danger. That was all that mattered. He pressed the button that turned his clothes into the Atom's uniform, and took off his glasses as Mr. T teleported him out.

Courtney Whitmore finished pulling up her boots. This was going to be her first time against a world destroying evil alien army. She thought she'd be thrilled at the opportunity when it came, but now instead she was terrified.

She looked at her stepfather, Pat, and he smiled at her before putting on her helmet. She felt stronger just knowing he was going to be looking out for her. She turned her head away so he wouldn't see her if she started to cry. If she was going to join her friends to fight off an alien invasion, then she was going to do it with a brave face.

Question walked nonchalantly out of the secret entrance to his home. He had known this day was coming for a long while. Darksied owned a club that provided a lot of the funding that went towards the Fan Fiction sights he frequented.

Ice tossed her JLU communicator to the side Fire's Rio swimming pool and quickly covered herself with ice. When she broke out, she was in her costume.

Her friend Fire breached the pool's water and saw the reflection of her best friend in her gear, she didn't even need to ask why. She simply smiled and burst into flame before the both of them were teleported away.

Carter Hall wasn't even an official member of the Justice League. But they'd called him for help anyway. He appreciated the thought.

He left a message for his secretary and took his favorite Thanagarian war axe from its place on the wall of his office. A fighter was just who he was. His destiny was unalterable, and he knew that today would not be the day he died in battle.

His helmet allowed him to see the warships from his window, with the accuracy of an eagle. He spread his wings and flew out towards them, as focused as a hawk hunting a rabbit through the tall grass. He wasn't the rabbit.

The ships bombarded the streets from orbit. The Mr. Terrific had issued warnings for the civilians to find someplace safe and off the streets, but there was still damage. Cars blew up, buildings collapsed, and the few unprepared who were outside when the invasion began ran in a panic.

A warship stopped above the White House, and waves of parademons flew out, eager to kill the foolish humans who had defied their lord Darksied.

They weren't prepared when Hawk girl, Citizen Steel, and the Atomic Skull appeared directly in their path.

Hawkgirl flew up to meet them, denting their war helmets with her mace, sending them dropping out of the sky. When they reached the ground, Citizen Steel would catch them, putting them in bear hugs or swinging them around to hit the other parademons with. Atomic Skull charged through them like a berserker, hitting them with the punches that laid out Hellgrammite.

He laughed as the freakish pasty-skinned bugs flew at him. He once went toe-to-toe with Black Cat, and his fists were powered by atomic energy. They didn't have a chance. When they got close enough, he took a big breath and breathed atomic flame at them.

A young couple ran for their lives as their date at the Eiffel Tower took another turn for the worse. Green Lantern, Flash, and Giganta teleported in front of the tower as the couple ran past, chased by a pair of snarling parademons. The warships took immediate notice of Green Lantern and started firing at him, but not before he shot the two parademons out of the sky. "Get out of here!" He yelled at the couple, dodging blasts from the alien marksmen.

Giganta grew to her full height and density, and the blasts ricocheted off her, doing barely more damage than a bee sting. The parademons who had established a line of snipers on the tower panicked and began firing wildly, making all too easy for her to reach up and take them all out in one massive swipe that had more force in it than an eight-wheeler car crash.

She grinned at the ease and looked down at the others. Flash ran through the streets of Paris, punching out all of the parademons foolish enough to wander to street level, or even in range of some of the rooftops. He might not be strong enough to bend steel, but he was still punching the alien zombie troopers at mach 3, and as long as they fell into unconscious heaps what did strength matter?

Giganta's gorilla heart beat wildly at the sight of him. He was as lithe as a Cheetah. Then a stray blast from Green Lantern's dogfight flicked her in the ear and she returned to the matter at hand. Namely, knocking these winged freaks out of the sky.

Star Sapphire and Wonder Woman hadn't seen each other since the time Wonder Woman's sister had tried to wipe out man's entire gender. Now they were fighting side-by-side in the air over the Great Wall of China where the parademons had formed a defensive barrier, preventing them from getting further into China. Wonder Woman took out the war ships while Star Sapphire provided cover from the swarms of parademons.

Sir Justin and the Vigilante were slowly moving down the great wall, clearing it of civilians and parademons (through entirely different methods). Sir Justin let out a war cry herald from his years in Camelot, and swinging his sword so masterfully, it looked like it weighed nothing at all. Sir Justin's valiant charge would have struck fear into any foe that had the capacity for emotion. And while the parademons were no more than automatons, they certainly hesitated before they chose to face the might of Sir Justin's blade.

Vigilante was almost more frightening, strolling nonchalantly along the wall and picking off parademon after parademon with his futuristic Smith & Wessen laser six-shooters. He was as cool as if he were on the back porch of his ranch in Texas, shooting cans, bottles, and the odd raccoon that got too close to his garbage.

Dr. Light lit up the sky of Rome, swatting the parademons out of the sky. They almost overwhelmed her with their sheer numbers but she pressed on, blinding the seasoned soldiers before shooting them out of the air.

Green Arrow covered the team from the ground, shooting arrow after arrow into the night sky, or behind one of his friend's backs.

A swarm of parademons came up behind him, but his girlfriend Black Canary had him covered. She drew in a breath and screamed, sending the crowd flying backwards. If they had ears, they would no doubt be bleeding for weeks.

Bizzaro's super sensitive ears heard it though, and as he howled in pain a wave of parademons takled him. It would prove to be number one on the list of the worst mistakes they would make in their lives. He burst out, punching them through the night sky, crushing their skulls and scattering their teeth through the streets.

In the streets of Tokyo, the city was running in a panic. Several large tanks rolled through the streets, shooting at building supports, causing the infrastructure to fall on the people of Japan.

One of the tanks had the head of a dragon, and it breathed flame onto the fleeing crowds. I'll show you a real dragon, simpletons.Sinestro thought, creating a golden dragon with his power ring that bit into the tank and flung it to the ground, creating a crater in the street.

Booster Gold flew around the streets saving the civilians from the debris. Nice. He thought. My partner's a supervillain, and I'm still on crowd control.

Hawk fought side by side with his brother Dove, beating on the parademons left right and center. Dove practically danced through the swarm, pushing them into the ground or to the side, deftly kicking them away. Hawk took the more aggressive approach and pulled one of the parademons into a backbreaker.

Dove's eyes widened as he saw a parademon descend on his brother while he was distracted, but the Creeper charged in laughing, kicking one parademon's face into the dirt, and leaping onto another one's back, steering him around by leaning in different directions. The League's token insane member pulled the corners of its mouth into a silly face and steered it into a fire hydrant.

A pile of parademons that Hawk took down started to get back up again, when he noticed headlights bearing down on him. He dove out of the way and the Question drove through the crowd with his car. It already had several parademons hanging onto it for dear life as it careened through the streets. They had Huntress to thanks for that; she decided his car needed an upgrade in horsepower. One of the parademons looked through the driver's window and snarled, only to receive a fist to the face.

Question's car swerved into light poles and buildings, knocking the parademons off his ride, while Captain Atom covered the four of them from the sky.

Toyman walked through the chaotic streets of Moscow armed with a nasty looking gun. Several parademons surrounded him, but as they closed in he fired seven times. Seven foam nerf darts bounced off of the parademon's chests.

They stood there, in a moment of comical confusion, until suddenly, the darts exploded. One by one, sending the invaders back to their makers. "I like this game!" Toyman squealed, his plastic face frozen in childish delight as he ran through the streets firing more darts.

The houses of Parlament had stood for years, despite Guy Fawke's best efforts. Unfortunately, today the western portion collapsed as one of the war ships vaporized it.

Hawkman fought next to Pat Dugan. He really should have been in the air, but despite his affinity for air combat, he realized he liked fighting alongside S.T.R.I.P.E. and his niece Stargirl. He felt an affinity with him as the two of them clanged their metal against the parademon's armor together, punctuated by Stargirl as she would kick one of their attacker in the face, or fry one with her power rod.

Hawkman needn't have worried, the air combat was covered. For all appearances, it could be Killer Frost's birthday, judging by the way she laughed as she froze the Parademon's wings, making them drop like an army of really ugly rocks.

The mothership floated ominously over the clouds of Metropolis. In itself it was a quarter of the size of the city, patterns of red and black crossed throughout the hull. It was accompanied by several smaller warships. The streets were silent. Everybody was indoors, waiting for the pin to drop. The parademons hadn't descended to the streets yet. They stood on Metropolis' gleaming rooftops, laser axes ready and waiting for a target. The city of tomorrow waited with baited breath, hoping there would be a tomorrow. The beautiful skyscrapers stood like monoliths over the usually crowded streets. Nothing moved.

A large majority of the parademons were stationed on the roof of the Daily Planet. The globe had been knocked off so many times, that insurance companies refused to cover it. That didn't matter to Perry White, the Editor in Chief. What did matter was his story.

He was at his open window, looking up at the mothership. "Still no sign of movement. Or Superman." He sighed.

"Superman will be here." Lois Lane said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You can count on it."

"Yeah mister White, stay calm. Superman has it under control." Jimmy Olsen gave him a thumbs up, while the other hand still held is camera, ready for anything.

Superman Batman and Lex Luthor appeared on the roof of the Daily Planet.

The parademons noticed almost immediately, and descended on them like a swarm of locusts.

"Back off." Luthor sneered, pulling his gun out of his holster. It wasn't a threat; he knew what simple brains they had couldn't comprehend that. It was just so much sweeter, pretending that the people he killed actually had a chance. As if. He shot at the mindless drones, and the bodies of the parademons collapsed and began to pile up.

Batman threw several exploding batarangs to the sides, blowing the parademons off the roof. Superman took the brunt of the attack, wading into the monstrous hordes. They piled onto him, but he threw them off his back effortlessly, knocking them to the side and blasting them with his heat vision.

The parademons who got past him had to deal with Luthor and Batman. It was hard too tell who got the worse deal. Luthor pulled out his other gun, and began shooting both at the same time with practiced ease. "Was there a plan here?" He asked, annoyed that they were fighting parademons when they should be fighting Darksied.

Batman took out a pair of electrified titanium knuckles, and began hitting the oncoming wave. "Take out the small fry until we get the big fish's attention."

"Ha!" Luthor barked, humorlessly. He knew how to attract Darksied's attention; send Superman up to cripple the mothership and throw it into the bay. Then Luthor and Batman could go through the wreckage until they found whatever was left of Darksied and Luthor would kill him. Batman's plan was ridiculous, and he said so. "With all that's going on, I'll bet he never notices us!"

A bright shaft of light shined down from the mothership. The parademons stopped their attack and bowed in the direction of the light. Luthor shielded his eyes for a moment then looked up.

"You're on." Batman said grimly.

"I'll take some of that action." Superman half-joked.

The light was coming from a door on the mothership. Hovering in the entrance to the like Braniac, was Darksied himself. He was different from when Superman last saw him; he had several silver fittings in his clothes, his forearms were lined with compartments like Batman's belt, he seemed to move more… mechanically. And he was noticeably taller. He descended from the ship, slowly and menacingly.

"I hope you appreciate Kal-L." He gloated, striding towards the three of them. "That everything that happens from this point, is on your head. The skies will rain fire. The oceans will boil. The streets will run red, with the blood of millions. Only then, after your last pitiful hope is extinguished, will I end your life." His eyes glowed red, and he leaned in with a crooked smile on his face. "Let's go."

Luthor's breathing became heavy. He thought of what Darksied did to him… how he took away any chance he had left of being with Braniac. Why was Darksied concerned with that alien boy scout at all? He should be concerned about Lex Luthor!

With a cry of rage, Luthor charged at him, but with barely a glance Darksied held up a hand and trapped him in some sort of matrix. Luthor struggled, then realized that Darksied was still only paying him as much attention as a boy who had a bug trapped under a microscope.

"You destroyed Braniac!" Luthor yelled. "And I'm going to make you pay!"

"Unlikely." Darksied replied, unphased, not even bothering to raise an eyebrow before he threw Luthor off the building.

Batman threw himself off the Daily Planet to rescue Luthor, (something even he would never have planned for) maneuvering his body aerodynamically to fall faster. He caught up with the flailing supervillain and shot out a grapple cable at a balcony, and swung back into the Planet, crashing through a window and landing on a long conference table.

Darksied sneered at Superman as the man of steel advanced. "I'm more powerful than I've ever been. And last time we met, you barely managed to hold your own."

"Funny. That's not how I remember it."

"Allow me to refresh your memory." Darksied chuckled. He turned around and picked up the Daily Planet's globe by its column. He tilted it back a little, then swung it forward at Superman.

Not the globe again. Superman thought, before it slammed into him.

Jimmy rushed into Perry's office. "Mr. White, I just saw Batman!"

"Batman?" Perry asked, standing up

"Yes sir, and Lex Luthor. They just fell off the building." Jimmy held up a picture. "If they're here, then Superman can't be far behind."

Suddenly, the floor shook beneath their feet, and a large dent in the ceiling appeared. "Look out Olsen!" Perry White dove, pushing Olsen out of the way as the Daily Planet's globe shot through several stories, with Superman underneath it the whole way, the shockwaves alone, blowing out the windows.

Batman pulled Luthor to his feet. "Listen Luthor, and listen good." He yelled. "I don't care about Braniac. Nobody does, except for you. The world is at stake here, and I'm not going to have you put it in jeopardy just because you think your problems are bigger then everybody else's. You can't lift mountains, you can't fly, but you can think. So stop acting like a high school girl who's lost her first boyfriend and think!"

Batman felt the globe coming, and pushed Luthor out of the way. The globe shot past them, but they were caught by the sinking floor, and they fell down the hole the globe made.

Ground level was already being evacuated by the time they felt the tremors. They ran screaming, as the globe fell through the ceiling, sinking into the rubble with Superman underneath. When it hit the boilers in the basement, the explosion took out most of the parking lot.

Wonder Woman grunted with the strain as she heaved on her lasso, sending one of the flying tanks into a mountainside. There are too many of them. She thought. We're being exhausted.

Star Sapphire's breathing was getting heavy as she forced beam after beam out of her power crystal. A pair of parademons were able to get behind her with a red energy cannon. It hit her like a frag grenade, and with a cry she fell out of the sky.

Sir Justin was being set upon by more foes than he'd fought in the rest of his life combined. When he saw Star Sapphire falling to her death, he slashed one of the parademons away and urged his steed Winged Victory forward. He barely managed to catch her.

He breathed a sigh of relief, then quickly pulled his head out of the way as a parademon lunged at it. A swarm of the screaming atrocities bore down on him, and he shielded her as best he could while continuing to defend himself with Excalibur.

As most of the Chinese citizens or tourists at the wall were running away from the battle, an elderly couple stood still, unmoved by the tide of fleeing people. The old man had an arm wrapped around the lady, holding her close as he watched Sir Justin struggle valiantly on in the distance.

"I have to go help." He said.

"I know." His wife replied with a smile.

He looked deeply into her eyes, and stroked her cheek delicately. She was his perfect woman. "Find shelter." He said, pulling away and moving up the wall towards the fight. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

In Tokyo, Steel flew out from hiding behind a building and could barely believe what he saw. A massive engine, bigger than most of Tokyo's buildings, pumping some sort of thick yellow fluids and emitting a nauseous steam that he could smell from here. He quickly analysed the structure of the device, trying to figure out what its purpose was. It wasn't good.

He switched on his in-suit communicator to Mr. Terrific. "Blue Devil got me close enough to get a good look." He said when Mr. T. came online. "Those big burrowing machines are magma channels."

"At least now we know what they're trying to do." Mr. Terrific thought out loud. "The invaders a setting up drilling machines to tap the heat at the Earth's core."

"They're trying to create fire pits!" Steel yelled, defending himself against a patrol of parademons. "If they succeed, it's Apocolypse on Earth!"

"They won't succeed." Mr. Terrific broadcasted new commands on the Justice League frequency. "Your primary targets are those drills. Destroy them at all costs!"

"You heard the man, rock and roll!" Hawk girl grabbed Atomic Skull and flew him over to the machine set up near the obelisk. Citizen Steel stayed behind to protect the White house.

Skull took a deep breath and exhaled a violent plume of atomic flame. An entire wave of parademons fell out of the sky, as Hawk girl flew as fast as she could through the sky. She circled the machine until she saw what she was looking for.

She flew the Atomic Skull down and examined the spot. "Looks like the main power cuplink." She said, prepping her mace. "Cover my backside." She raised her weapon and flexed, knowing if she didn't hit it hard enough, it wouldn't cause the chain reaction she needed.

Skull saw a pair of the parademons coming up on their flanks and proceeded to bulrush them. Hawk girl prepared to bring her mace crashing down, when she felt a painful sting. She cried out in agony as one of the parademon's spears pierced her wing. She tried to remain steady but the pain was overwhelming, and she collapsed, dropping her mace.

Citizen Steel finished his delivery of a roundhouse kick when he saw Hawk girl lying on the ground undefended. A parademon was advancing on her. There was no way he could get there in time, no way he could…

He saw a shield lying on the ground. When he was in university, he'd won first place for the discus throw event in track. He'd never killed anybody in his life; but then, whatever these things were they were probably never alive to begin with. He picked up the shield and threw it like a discus.

The bronze shield whizzed through the air as straight as an arrow, and went straight through the parademon before embedding itself in the machine. The alien aggressor crumpled, its head rolling away.

The sound of the shield by her head was enough to snap Hawk girl out of going into shock from pain. With a vicious tug, she tore the spear out of her wing. She tried to get up, winced and collapsed. Then she saw Steel, getting tackled from behind by one of those things, and she moved her hand towards her mace. She wrapped her fingers tight around it, and stood up. Her breathing was heavy; most of her Thanagarian nervous system was spread through her wings, and if a thanagarian's wings got damaged, death was a very likely scenario. Her legs were shaking, but she just focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

She reached the power cuplink after what felt like a marathon. Her good arm was dead, she adjusted her grip with her other hand and raised her arm. The mace crackled with energy. She remembered the last time earth got invaded. That last time, she was part of the invading force. Time to repay the planet. She thought grimly, and with a final war cry, she brought her mace down as hard as she could.

She wasn't strong enough, and the power exploded outwards. Lightning coursed through Hawk girl's body. She cried out in agony but determinedly held onto her mace. She gritted her teeth and ground it deeper into the weak spot. All over the machine, bits and pieces began to explode, scattering shrapnel everywhere. Finally, the cuplink exploded altogether and Hawk girl flew back into the Atomic Skull's arms. His face blurred as she looked up at him, and she closed her eyes.

Skull hefted her under his arm and began running. "Get out of here, it's going to blow!" He yelled out to Citizen Steel as he ran for shelter. The machine exploded behind them, scattering its pieces and pushing out the bodies of the parademons. Skull and Steel headed towards a trench made by a collapsing building earlier and dove in just before the flames engulfed them.

Steel shielded Hawk girl's body with his own, and when the explosion ended, the Atomic Skull jumped out of the trench. "Yeah!" He yelled, exhilarated like he'd never been in his life.

The Flash spun around like a whirlwind, repelling all of the parademons around the drilling machine. Giganta loomed above them, swatting the invaders out of the sky like mosquitoes.

"We've got to find a way to take this out for good!" Green Lantern said, trying to figure out a way to destroy it without damaging the surrounding buildings.

"Why don't you just throw it into the sun?" Flash asked, half-jokingly. Green Lantern regarded him with raised eyebrows. "Yeah, I guess that was a pretty stupid idea."

"No! Maybe you're on to something!" The wheels in Green Lantern's mind sped up. "But I'll need more leverage… and a trench!"

"On it!" The Flash said, running circles around the machine. Eventually, the street got worn down under his feet, and rocks and sand flew away. When a trench completely encircled the machine he ran back the Green Lantern. "Now what?"

Green Lantern concentrated, and a gigantic catapult came out of his ring.

"Awe, cool!" Flash said.

The catapult moved forward and dug its launching arm underneath the drilling machine. Green Lantern looked at Giganta, and she leapt up and landed on the other arm, catapulting the machined into the sky. Tourists pointed as it flew of the L'ouvre.

"Doesn't look like it quite made escape velocity." Green Lantern shrugged.

"Nope." Flash conceded, as it fell onto a flying tank over the river and exploded in mid-air. "Good effort though."

Wonder Woman flew up with a tank over her head, covering herself from fire from above. She flew straight into one of Darksied's ships, and the sharp design of the Apocolyptian tank shredded through the hull, converting the war machines into a fireball. She flew down to Shining Knight's rescue, plowing into the swarm that covered him and Star Sapphire.

Teams of parademons hauling red energy cannons converged onto the spot, and began firing at them. Wonder Woman blocked the shots with her bracelets, trying to focus on them instead of the intense burning of excess heat her arms felt whenever she made a block, or the fact that at this rate they probably wouldn't make it to the drilling machine in time to stop it from makin Hong Kong a fire pit.

The parademons flew down through the hole in the Daily Planet, circling like flies over road kill. Darksied descended more majestically, taking in the damage done by a single blow and grinning at his newfound might. He landed in the rubbled and walked slowly to a piece of granite. He paused, looking down at it for a moment, then he bent down and tossed it to the side, revealing Superman lying prone underneath it.

"Don't leave us yet Kal-L." He leered, picking up the fallen hero by his throat. "I want you to see your adopted home world bow down before me. Only then will I allow you death's… sweet release." Superman grimaced at him from down the length of his arm, and Darksied smiled back contemptuously, when something small and black whizzed through the air and across their lines of sight. The thing lodged itself in Darksied's arm bracer, and he examined it, curiously. It appeared to be some kind of…

"Gah!!" The thing exploded in his face and he tossed Superman away in surprise. Before he could collect himself, a series of blasts pinged off his armor, and he looked in the direction they came from. Superman's black-garbed human friend stood there, defiantly, and the bald one that he'd thrown off the building earlier was shooting him with primitive weapons.

"Parademons." He growled, backing away. "Dispose of these annoyances." The parademons flew off their perches and began to circle the two humans, like vultures preparing to descend.

Darksied felt a tap on his shoulder. "'Scuse me." He turned, his eyes widening to burn he who would dare touch Darksied –

And his face met Superman's fist.

Superman's punch sent him flying against a far wall, where amazingly it didn't crumble. He fell into a pile of splinters that used to be somebody's desk and got up, angry and ready to unleash all hell for this indignity.

Superman saw him through the rubble and flew off to finish him. But there was one person he didn't see; Metron hovered a little behind and above Superman watching the fray with a detached pain in his eyes, his finger entwined together as he contemplated how to stop the decimation of earth at the hands of Darksied.

Star Sapphire was up again, but it didn't do her or anybody else much good. She had her back to Sir Justin and Wonder Woman, as they were encircled by swarms of parademons. The Vigilante was on the ground with a pinned down Zatanna and Volcana, trying to get away and destroy the drilling machine.

Star Sapphire shot a few down, and narrowly dodged a return fire. A wave of parademons made a pass at Wonder Woman, but she deflected all of their shots. Several more started shooting, and she and Justin deflected the shots as Star Sapphire returned fire. But it was all useless, they were outnumbered and pinned down. It would take some sort of miracle to get them out of their predicament.

The old asian man walked nonchalantly down the Great Wall towards them. Wonder Woman saw him, but so did the parademons. "Get away from here!" She yelled. "It's not safe!" She was set upon by more parademons then, and was forced to keep fighting.

"Don't worry!" The man yelled, almost oblivious to the parademons descending on him. "I'm here to help!" The first parademon reached him, and he grabbed its energy spear and punched him away towards one of the parademons in the air.

Is he mad?Wonder Woman thought, preparing a punch for the incoming parademon. She'd dealt with superhero wannabes before, but never ones this old and never in the middle of a full-scale alien invasion. "I appreciate your intent –" But that was as far as she could get in her pre-prepared speech, before she was shocked into silence by the parademon she was about to hit being knocked out of the air by the other parademon.

She spun around back to the old man, and saw him drop the spear and take out two more parademons, with punches that could have felled an elephant. She could hear the bones breaking from here. "Hera." She exclaimed, impressed. The man jumped off of the Great Wall, knocking parademons out of his way, before turning into a giant Chinese dragon, and literally tearing through them. He reached the circle Wonder Woman and her team made, and with a single sweep of his dragon tale, the parademons dropped out of the sky like rocks.

The old man flew up to Wonder Woman and her shocked teammates, and began to change its shape again, this time becoming greener, sharper. Wonder Woman's eyes widened as her old friend and confidant J'onn J'onzz appeared in front of her, throwing his cape out in the breeze and smiling broadly.

"J'onn!" She yelled, returning his smile and throwing her arms around him. It had been so long since they'd last seen each other. She'd really missed him.

"Good to see you Diana." He said, returning her embrace. "I've got a lot to tell you about."

"We'll catch up later." She said, sending him details of what was happening around the world into his mind.

"Wouldn't miss it." He said, nodding. "First thing's first?"

Wonder Woman nodded enthusiastically, and led their team towards the belching mostrocity in the distance.

As the four of them flew towards the machine, Zatanna waved her wand over a group of following parademons and transformed them into doves, sending them flying into her hat. Just like her father taught her. She waved her wand again, and a majestic fireball shot out of her hat, turning the nearest air tank into a fireworks display. Not to be outdone, Volcana incinerated a dozen or so herself.

The parademon lunged, then grunted in pain as Batman's grappling hook embedded itself in his amour plating. Batmna heaved and slammed it to the ground.

"Problem?" Luthor asked, his back to Batman.

"I'm out." Batman grunted, timing and planning his next attack.

"Take my extra." Luthor said, offering his laser gun over his shoulder.

Batman, thrown for a moment, stared at it. "Not my style." He said firmly. He began to count down from four.

"Suit yourself." Luthor grinned at the thought of Batman dying here. "I'm planning to live through this. Then he realized that a parademon was headed straight for him. No time to shoot, he blanched and ducked.

Right on time.Batman finished counting in his mind, turning around and catching the Parademon by his spear weapon. With a well rehearsed heave, he twisted the spear and threw the parademon across the rubble-strewn room.

Batman began to run as the next wave flew in. Luthor followed, picking off some of the following parademons as he fled, then noting where Batman was leading him.

Straight to Darksied.

Superman and Darksied clashed on top of what used to be the elevator system. Each punch was enough to blow away nearby parademons, but neither stopped trading blows for an instant. Darksied caught one of Superman's punches, and fiercely headbutted him before he could recover. Superman landed on his back with a grunt.

Batman ran straight for Darksied and planted the spear in the ground. Using it like a pole vault, he flew feet first into the air straight at the small of Darksied's back, ready to teach him the super-strength and indestructibility doesn't necessarily mean he'd exempt from having a center of balance. Darksied's focus was entirely on Superman, then he felt a small push at his back, and he lost his balance, almost tripping over a steel beam. He steadied himself and looked behind him. It was the black-garbed one again. The human. He clenched his fist, and decided that he would tolerate no more annoyances. "Flee." He whispered hoarsely, and he activated his omega beams.

Batman lept out of the way, using a combination of parkour and the acrobatics Nightwing taught him. But the Omega beams were catching up regardless. Darksied's omega beams would follow him to the ends of the earth. His only chance was for Darksied to lose his focus on him before he died… or…

Batman backflipped off the edge of the pile of rubble and dove headfirst down towards a parademon. He landed on its back and looked up at the omega beam as it dropped out of the sky. He'd have to time this just right, but he didn't need to be faster than the beam, just faster than the god controlling it. He bunched his legs ready to spring as the parademon he was on crashed into the ground, and got ready to jump.

The beam flew at him and he leapt out of its way, using the recoil from the landing to launch the parademon's body at him at the same time. The beam almost managed to change direction before it hit the parademon. In a flash of red, it disintegrated, leaving only a pile of dust and a shadow.

Batman grunted in pain as the explosion knocked him against a wall, and a pipe jutting out broke two of his ribs. He tried to stay awake, but the radiation from the omega beam's explosion was too much for him, and he passed out.

Darksied looked down, gravely. "Impressive." He murmured, half respectfully, half fearfully. "No one has ever avoided my omega Beam." He would have to remember to ask Granny Goodness if she could make a soldier out of him when he woke up.

He looked around and noticed the other human annoyance, the one who'd freed him. He looked like he was growing tired. He was shooting more wildly at the parademons. "I wonder if the other one is as agile." He said, his eyes glowing with energy.

Luthor's eyes widened and he ran away, cursing at himself. What did he think would happen? Did he think that he'd actually be able to fight Darksied on his own terms? He needed to do what he did best. He needed to fight Darksied on the terms he directed. He needed to think.

Darksied, not privy to Luthor's mind, only saw a human, fleeing before a god. "Excellent strategy." He said.

"Luthor!" Superman yelled angrily from behind him. Superman knew Luthor would chicken out at the end. Luthor couldn't be trusted with anything.

Darksied turned, smiling, to his almost – but not quite – forgotten foe. He kicked him in his abdomen, where Desaad had assured him most of the human's organs were. His kick launched Superman off the edge of the small mountain, and into the depths of the rubbles strewn Daily Planet. Darksied followed, unstoppable.

"Your friends have abandoned you." He sneered, walking over to Superman as he tried to stand. "Or fallen before my might." Superman was up, but Darksied was already there, and he plowed his fist into Superman's perfect jawbone. Then twice more, hammering at his face. Superman glared at him, as he kneed him in his abdomen once more, then brough both fists down on his back.

Superman lay at Darksieds feet, almost kneeling. A fitting image, Darksied decided. "Super or otherwise," He intoned, lifting Superman over his head. "you are merely a man. And I… am a god."

He brought Superman down over his knee, his back almost cracking. Superman yelled out in pain, before Darksied tossed him to the ground. He stalked over to where he lay, ready to enjoy one of the many pleasures of his life; the pain of others.

Metron watched the duel of the titans, steepled fingers in front of a face that wasn't its usual poker face. It belied a tense worry, that wasn't his usual nature. But then, this was hardly a usual circumstance. If Darksied won, then New Genesis would be in peril. He could see that quite clearly. But in a fight this biblical, not even he could forsee all of the variables.

"You! Metron!" Metron turned with mild surprise to see Luthor atop what used to be the fifth story washrooms. "You knew this was going to happen!"

"This outcome was the most likely result of your foolhardy actions." Metron said.

Luthor became enraged at Metron's calm tone of voice. "You can help me!" He yelled. "I demand that you help me!"

"You are in no position to make demands of anyone." Metron scolded Luthor. "I warned you, you were dabbling in forces beyond your comprehension." He maneuvered his flying vehicle around Luthor, trying to get a better view of the main fight.

"You'd be surprised what I can comprehend." Luthor yelled at the alien, who was now studiously ignoring him. "For instance; if you know so much about Darksied, I'll wager you know how to beat him!"

Metron sighed inwardly, running through the many plans the gods of New Genesis made for disposing of Darksied when the time came. Only two could apply to this situation; getting help from Superman, which would seem to be failing royally, and…

He turned to Luthor. "There is… one possibility." He began. "One thing in all the universe that might…" He shook his head. "But no… the risk…"

"I know a little something about risk myself." Luthor said, tking out his weapon and pointing it at Metron. "Care for an object lesson?"

Metron smiled darkly. He liked this one. "Very well. I will take you where you want to go." He detached an invisible orb to record the fight for him while he was gone, and floated towards Luthor, leaning forward in his chair. A silver globe encircled them, and in a flash they were gone.

Superman was up, but still taking a beating. Darksied slowly advance, striking hard whenever Superman faltered. Batman groaned and slowly woke up. Half-awake, he saw Darksied beating Superman, and he ran forward to intervene.

Batman leapt up and put Darksied in a choke-hold. But Darksied's armour prevented it from being at all effective. "You still try to fight?" Darksied croaked, angry and bemused. He reached up and grabbed fistfuls of Batman's cape, pulling him over his head and throwing him away. "Can't you that that it's hopeless?"

He turned back to Superman and his eyes widened. Superman flew at him, throwing a punch that threw him back on his head. He got up growling at the advancing Superman. But Superman's face was angrier than his. Darksied didn't even see it when Superman hit him, he just felt his nose crack and flew against the wall. He grunted and tried to remove himself, but then he found Superman's hand at his throat.

"That man won't quit as long as he can still draw a breath. None of my teammates will. Me? I've got a different problem."

He drew back his fist and pounded Darksied into the wall, and finally through it. Superman walked out into the sunlight felt it feed into his skin, felt it power him up. There was no more need to hold back now. Superman felt himself grow hard, harder than steel, indestructible. He felt his arms grow strong, strong enough to move a planet, or break the moon in half. The heat behind his eyes built up, the world slowed down, and he felt like he could change the course of a river.

"I feel like I live in a world made of cardboard." He explained to Darksied. "Always taking constant care not to break something. To break someone. Never allowing myself to lose control, even for a moment or someone could die."

Darksied got up and threw a punch. Superman saw it coming like a tortoise, and knocked the punch away faster than a speeding bullet. He wasn't toying around anymore. He wasn't holding back in an attempt to make sure a bank robber made it to prison alive. He threw a punch and knocked Darksied off his feet.

"But you can take it. Can't you big man? What we have here is a rare opportunity for me to cut loose. And show you, just how powerful, I, really, am." Superman collected himself, and coiled up, ready to pounce. He flew at Darksied, so fast, Darksied couldn't blink before he got hit, so powerful, the cement road underneath his feet rippled from the force of the airwaves pushing off of him. And when his fist made contact with Darksied's chin, the world slowed for a moment. And for a moment, just a moment, Darksied was scared. With all of his heart.

Then the world sped up again, and Darksied was flying through the air. He met buildings on the way; they barely slowed him down. He would have reached escape velocity and been on mars within minutes, but something more substantial than a building was in hi way; Superman. He watched Darksied flying towards him, flailing, trying desperately to regain the control he craved. Superman raised his fists over his head, aimed for a condemned building district, and brought his fists down. Halfway through their path, they met Darksied.

The explosion spread a dust cloud over half the city. Parents covered their children's mouths because there wasn't a single window left for ten miles. The entire condemned block was now a crater, at the bottom; Darksied. Formerly feared by all on earth. "Had enough?" Superman asked, as Darksied struggled to get back up without the use of whole femurs.

"Not. Quite. Yet." Darksied gritted his teeth and stood. Superman's eyes widened as the Braniac virus in Darksied's armour reknitted his leg bones, mechanically. He flew forward, ready to throw Darksied into the sun if he had to, then suddenly the air around him distorted, and crackled with lightning.

Superman fell to the ground, as lightning arced through his systems. It felt like… like… he couldn't find a word. He screamed in agony as he felt icy spear stab at him in time with the fires that were burning his skin off and the acid somebody was pouring into his brain. Over the pain he heard Darksied's voice; "It's called, the agony matrix. Direct neural stimulation of the pain receptors. All of them. Imagine the worst pain you've ever felt in your life, time a thousand. Now imagine that pain continuing. Forever. Oh, that's right. You don't have to imagine."

Luthor's eyes widened at what he saw in front of him.

"Behold the source wall!" Metron said, with all the grandeur of a sports announcer. "Behind it, is the single greatest secret in the universe." His voice turned to hushed tones. "This is as far as I dare to go."

Luthor was almost struck dumb by the vast wall of alien life forms in ornate amour.

"I warn you one final time." Metron said grimly. "Only a twelfth level intellect has the slightest hope of surviving what you are about to experience."

"Then I'm overqualified." Luthor sneered, leaping out of the bubble in space. The human body can last thirteen seconds in a complete vacuum. Luthor made it to the source wall in twelve. He shot through the eyes of the large central statue on the wall.

If I were not a god, I would pray.Metron thought grimly as he vanished back to the battle.

At first, Luthor was met with silence.

Then Light. Flashing stripes and glowing orbs.

Then color.

Sound.

Sensation.

Pain.

Mind-over-matter, mind-over-matter.

Oh no! Oh noooooo!

Where?

Ink. It's all just ink. Ink on a page.

Reflection.

Dampness.

HUMID

Dry.

Words. It's all just Words.

.noitcelfeR

I see you.YOU THINK YOU CAN HIDE FROM ME??

Money.

Gold.

Fame.

Glory.

Power.

Tyranny.

Words.

Inadequate.

There aren't words to describe this.

Happiness.

Power suit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish I had my power suit.

Family.

I don't have one.

Father.

Drunken fool.

Mother.

I… never met her.

Children.

No! No! No1 No1 n01 n01

What.

Who.

When.

Where.

Why.

What about how?

There is no how.

Who are you?

Who are you?

When …

Yes. You're getting it.

Where.

Here.

Why.

Ah.

Why.

First Who.

What?

What.

Who.

Who are you?

Lex Luthor.

No.

Lex Luthor.

Just words.

0111011101101111011100100110010001110011

Genius.

Closer.

Power.

Yes.

Who.

Iam Lex Luthor. I am power.

Welcome Power.

Who!

Highfather.

Anti-Life.

It will hurt?

Anti-Life.

Acknowledgement!

Acceptance!

Submission!

Anti-life.

Loneliness +

Alienation +

Fear +

Despair +

Self-worth ÷ Mockery ÷ condemnation ÷

Misunderstanding ×

Guilt × Failure × Shame ×

Judgement

N=Y

Where Y=Hope and N=Folly

Love=Lies

Life=Death

Self=Dark Side

Beautiful.

Appreciation.

Wonder.

Anti-life.

I C U

Goodbye.

Words.

Drunk!

Pain.

Pain.

Pain!!!

Superman writhed on the ground in almost unbearable agony. But he had to bear it. He had to.

"Still Alive." Darksied muttered. "You impress me Kryptonian. Your valor has touched my heart."

Superman grimaced as he tried to push through the matrix.

"Oh Yes. There is still some small part of me, that knows mercy." Darksied took one of the storage clips off his arm. "I will end your pain. With something special something special I've been saving for just an occasion." He pressed a button on the compartment, and it turned into a small Kryptonite knife. The green glow lit up the sadistic smile on his face. "I am going to carve out your heart and put it on a pike in my throne-room."

"As much as I'd enjoy seeing that, first you've got some business with me." Darksied turned to see Lex Luthor striding towards him with a smile on his face and a hand adjusting his suit's diamond cufflinks. "Sorry it took me so long." Lex said. "I had to go get my power suit."

"You dare challenge me?" Darksied said, getting well and truly annoyed by these constant interferences. "Insanity."

"Oh, I'm not here to challenge you Darksied, quite the contrary." Luthor smiled, laughing inwardly at Darksied's use of the word insanity. He'd just proven that he could beat insanity after all. "Quite the contrary; I've got something you want." He reached into his suit and pulled something out that glowed through the cracks between the fingers in his fist. "The only thing you want."

Lex opened his fist, and produced the Anti-life equation. A shining swirling mass of mathematics, capable of destroying all life. Darksied dropped the Kryptonite knife, and walked forward in a trance. "The Anti-life equation." He whispered in awe.

"My gift to you." Luthor's grin widened at the awestruck look on Darksied's face. Just a little bit further.

Darksied reached out a shaking hand, and placed it on the heavenly orb from hell. Luthor placed his own hand over Darksied's. Batman arrived, and saw them just before they were both enveloped in a blinding flash of light.

The agony matrix faded, and Superman looked up. Luthor and Darksied stood in the center of a whirlwind, making ripples in the sand and dust. "Lex don't!!!" He cried, trying to charge in before Batman stopped him.

"It's too late." Batman said, steering Superman out of the crater.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Darksied asked.

"Yes." Luthor said, referring more to how he'd managed to trap a god then the equation. "Yes it is." The light began to glow, and slowly, Darksied realized what was going on. But he didn't care. He'd found the Anti-Life equation. That was all that mattered to him.

Superman and Batman helped pull each other out of the crater, out of the vortex sucking them in, and away from the two greatest dangers to the known universe.

With a flash of yellow, and an explosion that could be seen from anywhere in the city, Lex Luthor and Darksied, vanished.

The Justice League were gathered in the main hall of the Hall of Justice, watching with the supervillains who'd helped repel the invasion and the Justice League maintenance workers. They were all watching the screen with Sroya Bashir on CCB breaking news.

"This has been the scene all over the world." She reported, showing footage from ten minutes ago of Darksied's warships and parademon escaping through boomtubes. "In the wake of Darksied's defeat, the attacking forces have withdrawn. Presumably back to wherever it is they came from."

"Thanks to Luthor of all people." Superman said in disbelief. Batman ignored the begrudging thanks in his tone. He couldn't believe it either, when he heard the Joker had helped take out the mining machine in Gotham. He knew what it felt like to feel thanks to a person you hate.

"In many ways Lex Luthor represents the worst mankind has to offer." J'onn J'onzz said.

"But he died to save us all." Superman said, still in disbelief.

"I doubt that either of them died." Batman suggested gently.

Superman's eyes widened. "But we saw it this time."

"You saw it last time too." Flash said.

"What's the old saying?" Green Lantern asked. "Believe half of what you see…"

"…And none of what you hear." Hawkgirl finished. They both shared a small smile. Dr. Mid-nite had managed to fix Hawk girl's wings up, and while she still couldn't fly properly, he assured her she would someday.

"They'll be back." She told Superman confidently.

"And we'll be ready for them." J'onn J'onzz said firmly. The return of the martian had lifted all of their spirits. They had no trouble believing his words.

"Meanwhile," Wonder Woman said, advancing on the supervillains. "It's past time that Luthor's partners in crime got locked up."

They all started edging towards the exit warily, except for the Atomic Skull. "Wait a minute!" He yelled indignantly. "We helped you guys save the world and we don't even get any consideration?"

Batman and Superman exchanged glances. Superman broke into a smile and shrugged widely. Batman sighed. "You're right." He said.

Everybody in the room stared at him in shock.

Except Superman. He just stood next to him with a smile on his face. When Batman saw everybody's reactions, he matched the smile with his own and said; "Five minute head start."

"Five minutes?!" Skull yelled. "Are you kidding?"

"Four minutes, fifty seconds." Wonder Woman said sternly.

The supervillains ran flew or otherwise scattered, in a panic to get as far away as they could in five minutes. Giganta ran up to the Justice League, and, slightly embarrassed, Pulled a paniced Flash towards her and gave him a deep kiss. She turned and ran away with the others before he could see the embarrassment and happiness mingling on her face, unaware that he had the same expression.

The Justice League walked out of the Hall of Justice with wide smiles on their faces after a long days work. J'onn was particularly happy, talking to his wife over the phone.

"I should be back in time for dinner." He said.

"Good. I've made your favorite; Stire-fry and noodles with crumbled Oreo cookies."

He smiled, happily. "I love you too."

"These are the end times." Flash said, unable to imagine J'onn married. Of course, part of the reason he couldn't imagine was because he still had Giganta on the brain.

"A head start." Superman gently ribbed Batman.

Shut up Clark. Batman thought, studiously ignoring him.

"You're getting soft in your old age." Superman said, not letting up.

Batman sighed and broke a smile. "Don't you have a tall building to go leap?"

"And the adventure continues." Wonder Woman smiled behind them.

The Justice League walked down the steps as proud men and woman, flying off to their friends and families. Ready for their next adventure.