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Chapter Text

She was starting to think that her mother was right about men.

Diana tugged at her raven locks in frustration. This cat and mouse game between her and a certain surly bat was starting to get old. It was frustrating that he thought her so naive. She understood that it wouldn't be easy. She understood that it was hard for him to open his heart. She understood, without a shadow of a doubt, that Gotham City came first.

If he were any different, he wouldn't be the man she fell in love with.

Why couldn't he understand that she was more than up to the challenge? Why couldn't he understand that she was patient enough to wait for him to let her in? Why couldn't he understand that his utter devotion and dedication to protecting his city was what attracted her to him in the first place?

Stupid, stubborn man!

The fact that he thought so little of her stung. She wasn't some clueless, ignorant princess who wore her heart on her sleeve twenty-four/seven. She had been in relationships before. He wasn't going to hurt her or taint her or... or whatever the hell he thought! His rebuffs and dismissals frustrated her to no end.

A mass of red hair suddenly plopped down on the table in front of her, interrupting Diana's train of thought. "Shay?" she questioned with an arched eyebrow. A noncommittal grunt was her answer. "What's wrong?"

Shayera lifted her head, green eyes alight with almost as much frustration as she felt. "What do you think?" she replied sharply. She inclined her head to a table across the room. At said table sat John and Mari, talking animatedly with one another.

Diana's mouth formed a grim line. "I see," she responded. It saddened her that John refused a relationship with Shayera even after meeting their son. If she'd met a child of hers from the future, she would do everything in her power to make sure that child came into existence. And it wasn't as though he wasn't totally enamored with the redhead. She just couldn't wrap her head around it.

How could he pass up this chance? How could he knowingly give up the possibility of such a wonderful future?

Diana kindly patted her friend's shoulder. "John is no fool," she said. She hoped to Hera that her words were true. Happiness was within the grasp of her friends, much more so than her. She hoped with all her heart that they didn't give up on it. "If he loves you- loves your son- he will be with you."

At least, she hoped so. Despite not meeting him, Diana could see how much Rex meant to Shayera. She would be the same way, if she'd had a future child with Bruce.

Shayera gave a ragged sigh. "That's the thing, Di." She picked at her food, pushing it around on her tray. "I... I don't think he wants Rex. Not as much as I do."

Diana thought about this. Even before her betrayal, the League had really been all Shayera had. She could understand that; her own banishment had condemned her to find solace among only her teammates. She could sympathize with the woman's desire for a family to replace the one she had lost. It must have been easier for John since he was so connected with his community and the people in his life.

Still, she doubted that John wanted their son less. Family was something he held dear, as she had come to discover. He was simply skeptical by nature, especially with things like fate and destiny. She was certain in her belief in the Fates and what they had in store for her, but, as she was learning, others were not.

The Amazon hummed in thought. "I doubt that," she admitted. "Perhaps he is... afraid."

Shayera blinked. "You think he's scared?" she asked incredulously.

Diana shrugged. "It's just speculation," she reasoned. "But the timeline that he, Batman, and I traveled to was warped, correct?" She almost wished she could remember, but John's report had detailed that Bruce had been reduced to an old, bitter man who had ended up alone. She didn't think she wanted to see such a future for a man who deserved so much more. "Perhaps he is afraid that your future together will be ripped away."

Her friend's green eyes narrowed. "He's more paranoid than Batman, then," she spat.

Diana chortled mirthlessly. "No one is more paranoid than Batman," she joked without humor. Suffocating bitterness spread through her. She had experienced Bruce's paranoia firsthand...

1) Dating within the team always leads to disaster.
2) You're a princess from a society of immortal warriors, I'm a rich kid with issues, lots of issues.
3) If my enemies knew I had anyone special they wouldn't rest until they had gotten to me through her.

Diana had thought of her response to these reasons a number of times. She had built up her argument, only to tear it down because there was simply no reasoning with Bruce. So what was the point? She wasn't going to waste her breath when he would shoot her down anyway.

Maybe it was time to give things a rest. She knew he cared for her and she certainly cared for him, but he obviously didn't want a relationship with her. And she refused to throw herself at him like one of those shallow, vain women he entertained as the playboy he paraded around as. Hera, she didn't even have a future child with him to hope for like Shayera.

Her pride had suffered enough, hadn't it?

Shayera's hand was suddenly on hers. Her usually hard green eyes were uncharacteristically soft. "Oh, Di, I'm sorry. Look at me rambling. Are you-?"

Diana forced a smile. "Fine," she assured her friend. Or she would be. Because she was an Amazon Princess and nothing could keep her down or deter her. Least of all the pusillanimity of a mortal man.

A red eyebrow arched skeptically. "You're a crap liar, you know that?"

She shrugged, uncaring. "Did you expect any less?"

Shayera looked like she was about to respond when there was a sudden energy surge in the room. Both women jumped up, their heads snapping to the center of the commissary. Shayera's mace was firmly in hand and Diana reached for her sword as the surge strengthened. Diana grit her teeth, her grip tightening on the hilt as she squinted against the blinding light.

It almost looked like some kind of portal... But not quite as it was also similar to some kind of orb.

The surge swelled and she dug her heels into the steel floor beneath her to keep from falling against the energy. The light shone brighter somehow, forcing her to close her eyes.

When the light subsided, Diana forced her eyes open only to gawk at the figures standing tall in front of her. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the seven intruders, her jaw hanging open in shock. Because the people in front of her weren't just any intruders. In fact, they didn't even look like villains.

They were nearly the exact mirror images of her and her fellow Founders.

Well, maybe not mirror images. Wonder Woman's costume was black and silver, aside from the Golden Lasso hanging on her hip. Flash wore goggles and his costume had inducted white into it. Superman was missing a cape... and a smile. The Green Lantern uniform remained the same, though it was obviously a different one than the man who stood a few feet away from her. Their Martian was decidedly female, and redheaded at that.

However, it was the Batman who caught her attention. He was also cape-less and the bat on his chest was crimson red. His cowl revealed no part of his face, though there was something essentially less dark than the Dark Knight she had come to know and love. Though, a sense of familiarity ran through her at the sight of him.

But then she found her eyes on the silver armor of a hawk-themed hero. The deja vu she had felt with the other Batman was nothing in comparison to the familiarity with this man. A distant memory, almost like a dream, overtook her.

"This is a little weird for everybody. I'm Warhawk, Rex Stewart."

OoOoOo

Shayera felt every feather on her wings tense.

She had made Bruce describe, in great detail, everything about her son. He had been so thorough that she had been able to picture him in her mind for months on end. And when that wasn't enough for her anymore, she'd had him do a police sketch. The picture of Rex was safely tucked away under her pillow so that whenever she was having a particularly shitty day she could look at it and remember that she would, eventually, have her son.

It was the thought of her son that kept her going sometimes. Whenever there was a particularly nasty newscast about her joining the League again. Or whenever the Anti-Shayera boards turned even more hateful than usual. Just imagining holding her son for the first time, witnessing his first steps and words, watching him grow...

It was all she had sometimes.

And the fact that John refused to- It made her blind with rage and frustration on her worst days. How could he deny her- them- this? How could he be in a relationship with someone else when he clearly still carried a strong torch for her? How could he go on about normal business with the knowledge that they would have a child together?

A child who was now standing within her reach.

Her heart beat wildly in her chest as her eyes fell upon the man with a silver helmet and talons on each hand. This was Warhawk. Her son. Her Rex. She was unaware of her feet moving until a strong but delicate hand settled on her shoulder.

Shayera turned violently. "Di-!" she protested, anger festering in her. First John, now Diana. Why was everyone trying to keep her away from her son?

But Diana's expression was soft and suddenly she knew why the woman was known for her compassion. "Just wait," she murmured gently, her grip softening into a gentle squeeze. Her focus then focused on another individual. She looked almost... distracted? Diana didn't get distracted.

At first, Shayera couldn't figure out who her friend was looking at. But then, she took another look at the 'other' Wonder Woman. It would have made sense if it was Diana. After all, the woman was immortal and if Rex was all grown up by now...

But upon closer inspection, it hit Shayera that this woman was not Diana. She looked almost exactly like her, but there were a few differences. Specifically, around the mouth. There was a distant ringing of familiarity in her head, but she was much too overwhelmed to properly address it. All she could focus on was her son, her son, her-

The other Wonder Woman cleared her throat. She may have looked like Diana, but her mannerisms were nearly the complete opposite. She stood rigidly, her eyes analytical and mistrusting as she scanned the Watchtower. There was a bit of regality in her posture, but it was almost overridden by how militaristic she was stationed.

No, this woman was not Diana. But if Diana didn't hold the title of Wonder Woman, who did?

"Apologies for our unexpected arrival," the woman said, her tone crisp, proper, and commanding. Shayera noticed that Rex stood close to her. Almost as though a sentry would. Interesting. "Please, hold your fire. We aren't a threat. I know you are no strangers to time travel..."

The other Superman rolled his violet eyes. "You're dragging it out," he commented irritably. Shayera didn't miss how sharply the young woman glared at him. He turned and looked at them all, a scowl on his face. It was odd, seeing a face so similar to Clark's scowl. "We're the Justice League from the year 2039."

Chapter Text

Diana darted down the Watchtower corridors towards the infirmary, her red heels clicking against the steel floor. As soon as the intruders had stated who they were, J'onn had whisked them away to confirm it. She hadn't had the chance to inquire more. She hadn't had the chance to find out who, exactly, the woman bearing her emblem was.

"Princess."

She halted, her attention snapping to a particularly dark corner where Batman himself stepped out of. "Batman," she greeted briskly, barely containing her annoyance. His last stinging rejection had left her in a terrible mood. She was still a bit frustrated with him and, well, it wasn't very wise of him to stand in her way right now. "Is there something I can help you with?"

The white slits of the Dark Knight's cowl narrowed. This glare would instantly intimidate most people. But Diana had never and would never fear this man. She had faced harpies and witches and monsters; a glare would not deter her. "It's not a good idea, Princess," he told her bluntly. She would have asked how he knew about the strangers, but she had learned a long time ago that there were few things that escaped Batman's attention.

Diana scowled at him, feeling herself become indignant. It wasn't a good idea for Bruce because Bruce liked to lock away the feelings he didn't want to deal with. Well, Diana wasn't going to. She wasn't going to run and hide from her feelings or Fate or whatever this was. Amazons cowered from nothing. "I don't recall asking your opinion," she hissed. She turned on her heel, intent to walk away.

A gloved hand gently enclosed around her wrist. "Diana," implored Bruce. His voice was uncharacteristically soft and her heart stuttered in her chest. His touch ignited a fire across her skin, causing her to flush and curse herself. Damn this man.

But she steeled herself, pulling herself out of his grasp. "That woman bears my symbol and my face," she reminded him sharply. "I intend to find out why."

Hera, the other Wonder Woman looked so much like her. She could have been a distant relative who was also descended from the Gods, a sister chosen to take her place, or even... Or even her daughter. The thought warmed her from head to toe. She could have a daughter in the future. Her very own Sun and Stars. So many questions filled her head. Had she been formed from clay? Or did she have a father?

Diana found that she didn't care much for how the woman had been conceived. Just that she was hers. Her baby. Her little princess. Her Sun and Stars. Hers.

She suddenly understood just how much Shayera loved Rex.

Batman's mouth formed a grim line. "And if you don't like the answer?" he challenged.

Diana grit her teeth. The arrogance of this man had always astounded her. Not just anyone would dare to question the choices of an Amazon Princess. Usually, she found it intriguing, but not right now. Right now, she was a woman on a mission. "Then I will deal with it myself," she snapped back.

He didn't say anything else as she stalked away. She entered the infirmary wing and overrode the lock of the room that she knew the woman was in. Said woman was talking quietly with J'onn, but the chatter stopped immediately upon her entrance. J'onn gave her a nod of acknowledgment before quickly stepping out of the room.

Diana took a moment to take in every detail of the woman in front of her. Long, dark hair, slender sapphire eyes, even olive skin, and tall and muscular. Hera, it was almost like looking in a mirror. Though, there were a few slight differences, as small as they were.

The woman stared at her, her features completely schooled. It almost reminded Diana of the face her mother would make when acting especially regal. "Wonder Woman," she greeted stoically with a curt nod.

Diana raised an eyebrow. "Odd introduction considering that you are also Wonder Woman," she noted. Her eyes lingered on the silver emblem for a moment. The dark colors were so different in comparison to her current uniform.

Her lookalike shrugged. "Nothing beats the originally," she remarked offhandedly. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap, but upon further inspection, she saw that the woman was digging her fingernails into her flesh. Interesting.

Diana sat down in the chair across from the bed. "I have a pretty good idea of who you are," she announced, never one to beat around the bush. But speculation wasn't enough. She wanted confirmation. If she was right, if this was her daughter, she wanted to know. She wanted to know everything. "Though, I would like to hear it from you."

For the first time, the woman averted her eyes. "Manhunter already performed the test," she pointed out. There was something vaguely familiar about her brusque tone as she tried to divert the attention on herself, Diana just couldn't put her finger on it.

The Amazon crossed her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow. "I think I would rather hear from the source."

The other Wonder Woman almost looked startled at that, but then the corners of her lips twitched with amusement. "People always told me I was stubborn like you," she quipped dryly. Slowly, she took hold of her silver tiara and plucked it off, her dark hair falling around her face. When she met Diana's gaze, there was a certain vulnerability in her eyes.

Diana couldn't help herself, she reached forward and took the woman's face. "Who are you, child?" she asked gently. Longing and affection and- for the first time in a while- hope swelled in her chest. This could be her child. Her child. And it wouldn't matter if she was banished from Themyscira. It wouldn't matter if Bruce never returned her feelings.

Because she would have her daughter. If nothing else, she would have her daughter.

She was met with a trembling lower lip and welling tears. "My... My name is Lily," the woman answered softly. Lily; that was a gorgeous name. Actually, it was perfect. Just like the woman in front of her. "I'm your daughter."

OoOoOo

Shayera stood just outside the room, peering into the two-way mirror. She watched as J'onn collected the blood sample of her son's muscular arm, not that it was needed. She knew that was her son. She would know her son anywhere. His face was stoic and even though she'd already known it, Rex really did look so much like John.

She heard the footsteps draw near her, but said nothing. There was nothing for her to say, it all depended on him.

John sighed. "That's him," he confirmed. But by his tone, he knew that she didn't need him to tell her that. "That's our boy." He sounded a little choked up, but she knew she wouldn't find traces of it on his face. Emotions weren't something that came easily to him.

She hoped Rex wasn't like that.

Shayera placed a hand on the glass. "He's perfect," she breathed. She had thought that the police sketch had been a gift, but she had been wrong. Nothing compared to meeting the real thing.

But it wasn't the real thing, she realized with a start. This Rex wasn't hers, not yet. There would only be one way to truly have her son. However, the man next to her seemed content to let him slip away from them. A scowl formed on her lips and she turned away from him. "Not that you care," she added sharply. Anger and sorrow clashed within her like two opposing waves.

Rex would never be hers. Not as long as John refused to allow him to.

John laid a hand on her shoulder. "Shay-"

But Shayera shoved his hand away. "I'm going to see our son," she announced, straightening to her full height. Of course, she was nowhere near as tall as him, but that wasn't the point.

Steeling herself, she walked through the door. J'onn wasn't there anymore- he had probably phased into the next room- and Rex sat on the bed alone. He seemed to be in deep thought. When he heard her, he looked up. It was almost startling to see green eyes that looked so much like hers. That particular shade of green was strictly Thanagarian and even then it was rare.

Shayera felt her stomach twist nervously. What was she even supposed to say? She had been so eager to finally meet Rex that she had no idea how to even talk to him. What if they didn't have a good relationship in the future? What if she had failed him as a mother already? What if he didn't even want to see her? What if-?

Rex nodded toward her. "Hey, Mom," he greeted nonchalantly.

She blinked, staring at him. He didn't seem bothered by her in the least, that was a good sign, right? She gave him a shaky grin. "Hi, son," she greeted, plopping down in one of the uncomfortable-as-hell waiting chairs.

They sat in silence for a moment. Shayera bit her lip as she watched her son. He was acting normal, as if time-traveling hadn't phased him in the slightest. Was this something of a weekly occurrence in 2039, she wondered? How far advanced was technology in the future? "You don't seem surprised that you're here," she pointed out carefully.

Rex shrugged. "Can't say that I've ever been to the past," he replied easily. "But weird things happen with the League. Besides-" She noticed the slight twitch in the corners of his mouth. "L- Wonder Woman's got it. She's kind of a genius."

Shayera raised an eyebrow, now interested. "You two close?" she asked offhandedly. He seemed to hold his Wonder Woman in high regard and, if he was anything like her, that was hard to do. It was an amusing thought, her son and Diana's daughter together.

He shrugged again. "She's closer with Flash," he remarked. His expression gave away nothing about his thoughts on that. Huh, maybe they were just friends. It was a pity, really, she was beautiful. He peered at her. "Dad's met me before, right? On that mission?"

She raised an eyebrow. "You don't remember?" she questioned, slightly worried. Had something gone wrong?

"Wonder Woman said that the timeline they went to was corrupt," Rex told her. "She read it in the files when we were younger. Apparently, her, Flash, and Superman didn't exist and Kai-Ro and M'gann didn't make it." He grimaced. "Scary stuff to think about. I was stuck with M- with Batman."

"You two don't get along?" she asked, a little stunned. She vaguely wondered who the new Batman was. One of Bruce's sons? Perhaps. Dick was nearly as old as the rest of them, though, so she doubted it was him. Maybe Tim? That was probably more likely. But she couldn't imagine that Rex wouldn't get along with Tim.

Then again, what did she know?

Rex rolled his eyes. "He's a little twip," he replied. What... What was a twip? "Anyway, I'm guessing Dad's still with Vixen?"

It was Shayera's turn to grimace. "He is," she confirmed. She debated asking how he came to be, but decided against it. She didn't want to know, she just wanted it-whatever it was- to happen. Besides, she doubted Rex would tell her. If he was anything like John, he wouldn't do anything that could jeopardize the future if he could avoid it.

He shook his head almost disappointingly. "He'll come around, Ma," he assured her.

She waved it away, ignoring the stinging in her heart. "I'm fine," she responded with a small smile, a lump in her throat. "I'm just glad I got to meet you." She could hardly wait to have her son.

Rex smiled back, but there was something particularly sad about it. "Me too, Mom," he agreed. "Me too."

Chapter Text

As it turned out, Lily had a broken ankle.

Diana had immediately ordered her to take her boot off, making her sit on the medical bed. The woman hadn't argued with her and did what she said, though she didn't seem particularly happy about it. After shooing J'onn away- she must have been feeling protective- Diana carefully went about tending to the appendage. She wrapped it tightly the way she had done for her sisters and later fellow League members many times before.

Lily watched her, slight amusement dancing behind her steely gaze. "You know you don't have to do that," she told her softly. "It'll be fine by tomorrow morning."

Diana glanced up at her, a sense of incredulity filling her. "Nothing you say will change my mind, child," she countered with narrowed eyes. She didn't care if the woman had accelerated healing, damaged bones still needed to be tended to.

But then, who was she to talk? 'Quite hypocritical of you, Princess,' she could almost hear Bruce say. They'd had a similar squabble many times before. She internally rolled her eyes. This was different. This was her daughter.

Lily snorted. "I'm thirty you know," she informed her lightly. Then, her blue eyes went wide slightly as she glanced away. "I shouldn't have told you that." Her posture became rigid as she seemed to close in on herself.

The familiar action set off warning bells in Diana's head.

She quickly caught her daughter's shoulder, desperately holding onto the receding receptiveness. "I don't see how that will alter the time line," she interjected swiftly. Batman had lectured her on the dangers of potential time travel before. But knowing that her daughter was currently thirty shouldn't- Oh. That was right. The other Superman had announced- very bluntly- that he and his Justice League were from the year 2039.

So, her daughter was born sometime in 2009. That was... fairly close. Well, close for an immortal like her. The few years would be nothing, though, now that she knew that was the year she would have her daughter, she was sure that the wait would be agony.

Lily scowled and, for a second, she was almost reminded of Bruce. She swallowed thickly; could it be? No, he had made his feelings clear. "Kent should have kept his mouth shut," she hissed venomously.

Diana felt a pang in her heart at the pure disdain. "You two aren't close?" she asked, bemused. She never would have thought that a child of hers wouldn't get along with a child of Clark's. He was her best friend. Naturally, she thought that their children would also be close.

Her daughter softened slightly. "You never liked that in my time either," she admitted, embarrassed. "But he's just so..."

Diana raised an eyebrow. "Angry?" she guessed. He definitely hadn't seemed happy to see them.

Lily's jaw clenched. "Destructive," she corrected shortly. "Physically and emotionally. I guess he's just... never learned how to deal with things." She shrugged off her questioning look. "Let's just say he has some unresolved daddy issues."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "I can't imagine Clark wouldn't connect with his son into adulthood." She watched as Lily struggled to steel herself, fists clenching at her sides. "Unless... he never got the chance?" Sadness ached in her chest at the thought of her friend being gone in around fifty short years.

The second Wonder Woman gave her a pained expression. "Mom," she pleaded, causing her to freeze. "You know I can't-" She cut herself off, blinking in sudden bewilderment. "Are... Are you crying? Why are you crying?"

Diana blinked back her welling tears, her sorrow temporarily replaced by utter joy. And a bit of amusement at the panic in the woman's voice. "You called me Mom," she pointed out. Never had she ever thought that she'd... "I suppose I was unprepared, my Little Sun and Star. I'm sorry."

Lily flinched at the name, but recovered quickly. "It's... fine," she assured her, giving a weak smile in return. It was painstakingly familiar. "This is a peculiar situation. I'd say that you have the right to be as emotional as you want."

Diana beamed up at her, finishing the wrap on her ankle. "Keep it elevated," she instructed. "I'll go see if J'onn has an ice pack to give you."

Lily nodded, using a pillow to support her leg. "Thank you," she replied. She glanced down, seemingly embarrassed. "And... can you not tell the others about this? They'll never get off my a- my back about it. Especially not Flash and Warhawk."

The corners of her mouth twitched, wondering if her daughter had romantic feelings for any of her team members. She decided to keep an eye out for it. "Of course," she agreed. "It's our little secret." She was about to leave, but stopped herself. Taking a chance, she turned and dropped a kiss onto her daughter's head. "Rest. The others will want to hear how you got here in the morning."

Lily blinked in surprise, but nodded and Diana made her departure. As she exited the infirmary, she caught sight of a dark figure slinking away. "Batman."

She imagined that Bruce was scowling as he stopped and turned around to face her. "Princess," he greeted.

She studied him, though she wasn't sure why. He never gave anything away, not as Batman or Bruce Wayne. She would never know what he was feeling, not unless he said it. And that didn't happen often, if at all. "Did you want to talk to Wonder Woman?" she inquired.

The lenses of his cowl narrowed slightly. "We don't know they're telling the truth," he pointed out.

Protective instinct swelled in her chest as she glared back. "Be as paranoid as you want, Batman," she spat. "But I know that they are. That woman in there is my daughter." She knew it in her heart. It didn't matter that she hadn't had her yet, Diana already loved Lily and wouldn't stand for anyone to threaten her. Not even Bruce.

She wouldn't have been able to tell, but she imagined that Batman was growing frustrated with her. "You're letting your emotions control you," he snapped at her. "They could be spies-"

Diana seethed. "Spies?" she demanded incredulously. Hera, his paranoia was getting worse as the years went on. "J'onn performed DNA tests confirming that they are who they say they are!"

Bruce crossed his arms over his chest. "They could be clones," he pointed out harshly. "Or Justice Lords."

She felt herself become rigid. The other version of herself had been off-putting. She had been so bitter, so harsh. That woman had abandoned her faith and her beliefs and her soul, becoming unworthy of even wielding the Lasso of Truth. Lady Wonder Woman had been cold and ruthless and heartless.

Lily was nothing like her.

Diana took a very deep breath, attempting to calm herself down. "Tomorrow, they're going to recount the tale of how they came to be here," she informed him sharply. "If it will make you feel better, Batman, I will use my lasso. Does that work for you?"

Bruce's jaw clenched. "It will do, Princess," he relented reluctantly. He turned on his heel, dark cape billowing behind him as he stalked away.

Diana merely rolled her eyes. He could be quite dramatic when he wanted to be.

OoOoOo

Rex didn't talk much, Shayera had discovered.

That was fine with her, really. Yes, she had questions, but they could wait for whenever her was ready. And if he never was, that was fine too. She would get answers somewhere down the road. Right now, she was just content to sit with him. That was more than she'd been able to do the previous day. She would take whatever she could get.

Finally, "She thinks she's so clever." She could tell this wasn't meant to be said to her. Rather, it was thinking out loud.

Shayera blinked. "Who?" she questioned anyway.

Rex rolled his eyes. "A very stubborn Amazon," he told her, annoyed as he watched said woman leave. Diana trailed closely behind her. "I know that her ankle's broken. She's been favoring it since we got here."

The redhead's mouth twitched in amusement. "She does that often, I'm guessing?"

He nodded. "She never tells anyone," he complained, running his hand over his face. "Sometimes, she'll bleed out and we won't notice until we smell it."

Shayera couldn't help but laugh. "That's definitely Diana's daughter," she commented. She'd lost count of how many times her friend had let her injuries go untreated. It drove Bruce crazy all the time, she knew. Though, the rest of the future Justice League seemed unbothered. Did Rex, specifically, pay her special attention? She would have to keep an eye on that.

She looked around, noticing that only a few of the kids were accounted for. Particularly, Flash II and the female Martian. "Where's the rest of your team?"

Rex shrugged. "Batman's probably lurking in the somewhere around here," he answered, shaking his head. "Lantern's off meditating, I think. And if I know Superman..." A particularly loud, angry grunt echoed throughout the commissary, making her feathers tense. "He's probably in one of the training rooms."

Shayera shuddered. "Bats won't be happy about that," she remarked. Poor Clark would probably get blamed for it too. But really, there were dozens of metas in this room alone. What did he expect would happen when one got pissed off? "Does he do this often?"

He sighed. "Too often," he replied. "One time, we had to replace it."

"The bots?"

"Replace it," repeated Rex patiently. "As in the training room. He broke the entire thing." He smirked slightly. "Wonder Woman tore him a new one that day. I think that's the longest she's ever yelled at him. And she does that a lot, mind you. To be fair, though, she is footing the-" He clamped his mouth shut.

But Shayera had already caught on. "She pays for everything?" she inquired. She may not have been Batman-level, but she was still a detective. And she knew for a fact that Diana didn't have the funds to run and entire Justice League headquarters. Even if her daughter had a really good job, she knew the woman couldn't afford all of this. Really, there was only one person who could.

"Holy shit, she's Batman's?"

If there was ever something to surprise her... But thinking back, now she could see it. The glares were a big giveaway and when her mouth formed that line... She was sure that if future Wonder Woman smiled, it would be the same one that Bruce Wayne plastered onto his face for the tabloids. Still, she couldn't believe that Diana had actually done it. Or rather, would do it.

She grinned; good for her.

He closed his eyes, berating himself. "Dammit," he swore. "She's going to kill me for telling you that."

Shayera patted his shoulder. "It can stay between us," she assured him. Though, if she really was Batman's kid, she doubted that there was much that could be hidden from her. Still, she would try for her son.

Rex shrugged. "She'll live," he decided. He spooned the potatoes on his plate, but didn't eat them. "Speaking of Li- of Wonder Woman, I should probably check on her. If no one's keeping an eye on her, she'll try to sneak off."

Now that sounded like Bruce.

She grinned. "You go do that, son," she said as he stood up. She was almost disappointed to see him go, but figured that they would have more time to spend together tomorrow. "Goodnight."

Rex waved. "Night, Mom." He left the commissary. She almost stopped to give him directions, but he seemed to know where he was going.

Shayera raised an eyebrow as she heard someone sit down next to her. "You know, you don't have to avoid him," she snapped at the man next to her. "He knows you're with Vixen and I don't think he cares that much." Or if he did, he wasn't saying anything about it.

John sighed. "I'm not avoiding him," he told her adamantly. "I'm with a woman that isn't his mother. I just don't want to complicate things."

Her fist curled atop the table. "Bullshit, John," she hissed. She just didn't understand him. Why would he even tell her about their future child together if he wasn't going to break up with Mari? She had finally been moving on and he went and told her that, dragging her back down into her past feelings for him. "Things got complicated when you told me about Rex. Why tell me if you love Mari?"

She took satisfaction in the fact that he looked a little guilty. "I thought you should know," he admitted.

Shayera ran her hands through her red hair. This... game between her and John was taking its toll on her head and her heart. But Rex... Rex was worth every second of it. Still, she couldn't let this continue forever. He either wanted Rex or he didn't.

She stared straight into his eyes. "Then let me ask you something," she retorted. "Now that he's here, from a timeline that isn't corrupted, can you still deny that he's going to exist? Can you ignore the fact that, sooner or later, we're going to have him?"

She stood up, turning away from him. "Because I can't." She promptly left, stalking out of the commissary.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Lily sat patiently in the interrogation room. Diana hated this. They were treating her daughter as though she were a criminal! She had been stripped of her lasso and sword, though it didn't seem as though the woman minded much. She calmly sat at the cold metal table, adjusting the silver crown sitting upon her head.

"It's procedure, Princess," came Batman's deep, baritone voice. He appeared next to her, seemingly out of thin air. He gave away nothing, his steely gaze trained on the Wonder Woman of the future.

Diana glared at him. "It's nonsense, Bruce," she spat back. "She isn't a villain, she's my daughter." She scowled. "And I don't see any of the others here." The way he had singled out her daughter had rubbed her the wrong way. Why was it that her child was interrogated at the ungodly hours of the morning when the others got to sleep in?

He didn't look at her. "She seems to be the leader," he stated. If she didn't know Bruce as well as she did, she might have missed the odd edge in his tone. "The others circle around her. Whatever we need to know, she's the most likely to have the answers we need."

She put her hands on her hips. "And your successor won't?" she demanded. She would have thought he'd go for the new Batman. But for him to target the new Wonder Woman instead... She didn't know what he was playing at.

"He's an outlier," answered Bruce, not missing a beat. "He stood to the side, away from the rest of them. He seems particularly distant from their Justice League. He's either new-"

Amusement replaced Diana's irritation momentarily. "Or he's as bad at playing with others as you," she interjected. She was unable to help her grin, even when he leveled her with his infamous glare. "Fine, Bruce." Nothing would change his mind. If there was anything they had in common, it was their shared stubbornness. "Let's get started, shall we?"

Batman nodded slightly and the two of them walked inside.

OoOoOo

Lily steeled herself as Batman and her mother entered the room. She sat up straight, schooling her features so that they were as stoic as possible. She could already see that this wasn't going to end very well. She took solace in the fact that she knew that she and her team wouldn't be taken as a threat. Still, that didn't mean that this would be clean. Not in the slightest.

Diana gave her a kind smile as she held up her Golden Lasso. "This is only a precaution, dearest," she assured her gently. "We just want to know exactly how you got here."

She nodded. "I understand," she replied agreeably, holding out her arm. Carefully, her mother looped the magical rope around wrist, tightening it only slightly. The rope lit up as they began their questioning.

"What year are you from?" questioned Batman.

Before the lasso could begin to prompt her, Lily readily answered, "2039."

Her mother took the next question. "How did you come to be here?" she asked. Her sapphire eyes were alert with curiosity.

Lily grimaced. "Kent's fault," she told them brusquely. And, truthfully, the lasso had nothing to do with it. She was still a bit irritable over how they had gotten in this situation in the first place. Everything could have been avoided if Henry Kent wasn't such an impetuous, destructive oaf. "We were investigating suspicion over a lab when we were attacked by security measures. I think Kent threw one of the bots into one of the machines when it activated and sent us all here."

Batman's white lenses narrowed. "You don't know for sure?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I was a little engaged with my own fight," she answered. Honestly, she had been berating herself over it all night. Henry needed constant supervision at all times, she knew.

Diana shot her a look of concern. "How is your ankle, darling?" she prodded gently.

"Fine," Lily answered. As expected, she had been fine by late last night.

Batman, apparently, didn't care for their small talk. "What is your relation to Diana?"

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "She's my mother," she responded, trying to keep the exasperation out of her tone. Hera, was she like this? If so, she owed a lot of people a lot of apologies. She looked between the two of them, wondering if her mother was making the connection.

"Does your Justice League uphold the same morals as ours?" Diana asked.

There was a light pang in her heart that she ruthlessly shoved away. "I'd like to think so," she said quietly. If it didn't, than she had failed.

Batman seemed to be satisfied with these answers. "That's all," he announced, briskly standing up from his seat. His cape billowed behind him as he made to leave the room. Relief swelled in Lily's chest. Maybe things wouldn't go to Tartarus after all. Maybe they could avoid the confrontation brewing on the horizon.

But Mom was biting her lip. "Actually, I have one last question," she intervened before he could make it to the door. He stopped, his posture rigid. Slowly, she reached for Lily's other hand, slender fingers curling around her own. She squeezed gently, her eyes shining with hope, insight, and just a tiny bit of guilt.

Lily felt her heart pick up, pounding relentlessly against her rib cage. She knew what was coming, how could she not? 'Mom, don't do it,' she silently begged in her head. 'Please don't do it.'

But her pleas went unheeded. "Who is your father?"

She swallowed, trying to come up with a lie. That the gods had been the ones to bless her with a child. Or that she had been sculpted from clay as well. Or even that she was a clone. That she had no father.

But of course, the lasso forbade it.

Lily winced as it burned against her flesh. It seemed to tighten, digging into her skin and yanking at her mind. The fabricated stories that she'd thought up seemed to be violently ripped apart as it the magic dove inside her mind. The truth, plain and genuine, was front and center in her mind and she couldn't concentrate on anything else.

Memories swirled in her head. Who she preferred to read her bedtime stories. Who took care of her when she was sick. Who would sing to her after a nightmare. Whose cooking had been awful, but she'd eaten it anyway, resulting in food poisoning. Who she loved fiercely to this day.

"Bruce Wayne," she finally gasped out, instantly wishing she could take her words back. She forced herself to meet their faces, her mother's eyes wide and her father's mouth set in a firm line. "My father is Bruce Wayne."

Diana stared at her for a long while. So long, in fact, that she feared an emotional outburst or even a physical altercation. But the Amazon simply stood up, released her from the lasso, and promptly left the room.

Somehow, that was worse.

OoOoOo

After their interrogation of the new Wonder Woman, Diana was obviously in a sour mood. New League members practically dove out of her way as she stalked down the hallways. Even senior members seemed to be wary of her. Now, Shayera didn't fear her friend in the slightest. In fact, she was probably one of the few willing to verbally clash with her.

Still, crossing an irate Amazon wasn't wise no matter who you were.

She elected to sit with Dinah and Helena that day, watching in amusement as they bickered. Truthfully, they reminded her a lot of herself and Diana. Friendships among female League members never seemed to be straightforward.

Dinah scowled at the vigilante before turning to the winged woman next to her. "I'd rather talk about this supposed new League," she decided, her ice blue eyes piercing. "Are they legit?"

Shayera nodded without hesitation. "I'd know my son anywhere," she stated firmly, daring either woman to disagree with her. They said nothing and she relaxed marginally. "And anyway, Di and Bats questioned her doppelganger this morning. Her story is confirmed."

Helena eyed her warily. "And how are you?" she asked.

She hefted a sigh, tugging at her fiery locks. "Overjoyed at seeing my son," she stated. That took priority over anything else she was feeling. Still, it was bittersweet as she knew things would only complicate further. "Frustrated beyond belief with his father. Feeling guilty the Mari is completely clueless about it."

"Clueless about what?"

Shayera stopped dead, Vixen's smooth, confident voice cutting through her swirling thoughts. Dammit. Her and her big mouth. The last thing she needed was a confrontation with the model. Besides, as far as current girlfriends went, Mari was... cool. A bit passive aggressive at times, but she was fun to talk to. She didn't deserve to be in the middle of... of whatever this was.

But she quickly recovered, turning around and rolling her eyes. "How hard I'm gonna kick your ass later," she replied snidely with a smirk, referring to their scheduled training session.

Mari stared at her for a moment before smirking back. "You wish, Hol," she retorted.

Shayera internally breathed a sigh of relief. But then she caught her ex-lover's eye from across the room. He looked warily at her and she raised an eyebrow back at him. What was his-? Oh.

He thought she was going to tell Mari.

She rolled her eyes. Jeez, she wasn't that petty. She stood up, deciding to go find her son. With his Wonder Woman's story confirmed, she wanted to see him. Maybe he could distract her from this mess. "I'll catch you girls later," she announced, taking her tray and dumping it. She exited the commissary, tucking her wings so she didn't hit anyone (people, she had discovered, became agitated when their food was knocked out of their hands by a wing full of feathers).

She ignored how John's eyes seemed to bore into her soul as she left.

OoOoOo

Rex came upon Lily watching the stars intently, her attention completely taken by the sheer vastness of space. "You know, we have the same view at home," he quipped, coming to stand next to her. Well, maybe not exactly the same, but close enough. He remembered when everything about the Watchtower used to fascinate him.

She hummed softly. "The stars are beautiful no matter where- or when- they are," she answered quietly. She reached out to touch the window. "There aren't many in Gotham."

No, he suspected there weren't. Not with all the light that the city emitted. Whenever she slept over his, Barry's, or Henry's house when they were children, she somehow always made it up to the roof at night to gaze at the stars. His parents might as well have had heart attacks every time she did.

Rex looked out to the stars himself, though he had never seen the significance in them. Stars were just stars. You've seen one, you've seen them all. Then again, the stars weren't why they were there. "Uncle J'onn took our DNA," he reminded her as gently as he could. "It was gonna come out."

Lily didn't look at him, but her eyes narrowed slightly. "Isn't this supposed to be Barry's job?" she asked sharply.

He shrugged. "Is Barry here?" he shot back. The speedster was probably the closest one to her, but not even he could deal with her when she was in a bad mood. He liked to think that he was a bit better, if only because her biting words didn't phase him.

Her fist curled. "What do you want from me?" she demanded, finally turning to face him. Her expression was completely composed. Or it would have been if it wasn't for the way her bottom lip trembled slightly.

Rex placed a hand on her shoulder. "I want you to stop with the pity party," he told her firmly. "Your mom knows now and there's no changing that. It isn't the end of the world."

Lily scowled. "How could you know that?"

He raised an eyebrow. "We're still here, aren't we?" he pointed out. He respected Lily immeasurably; she was an exceptional hero and a tactical genius. But she had a bad case of paranoia. Though, it wasn't hard to see where she got it from... "Seriously, how bad can it be if we're still here?"

She sighed, pinning him with a steely gaze. "That's the thing," she replied. He braced himself for "Can you think of a time when your parents mentioned this? Have they ever told you about a future League coming to them in the past?" Her fingers slowly curled into a fist. "Because my didn't. I've never even seen a report about it. And you know my dad and his files."

Rex watched her carefully. "Maybe they didn't want to risk it," he suggested. But did that make sense? His parents had told him about seeing him in the corrupted timeline, so why not in their own? Unless- "You think our parents didn't go through this." He was far from stupid; he knew that the Thanagarian woman here wasn't completely his mom, not yet. She was lost right now, a far cry from his fierce, self-assured mother.

Lily's lips formed a thin line. "I don't want Terry or the others to panic," she said quietly. "But what if we've made an entirely different timeline? Even after Chronos and the Legion of Super-Heroes, we still don't know precisely how it works. We could have simply created a loop, or we could have altered the time stream."

"Is everything alright?"

He steeled himself, turning to face the unexpected presence of his mother. "We're fine," he assured her. Though, he wasn't completely confident that was the truth. If her suspicions- while paranoid, were never that far off- were correct, they could have a problem on their hands. He gave Lily a look. "Why don't you go stop Superman from tearing apart this training room?"

Lily very nearly pouted at him before nodding. "Sounds like a good idea," she begrudgingly agreed. She nodded respectfully at his mother. "Hawkgirl." She turned away and fled, her silver heels clicking against the steel floor.

Shayera raised an eyebrow. "Well, she's social," she commented.

Rex shrugged. "She's adjusting," he told her.

Though, he couldn't get what Lily said out of his head. Had they altered the timeline? That would be a real pain in the ass to fix. But suppose they hadn't. Why would their parents not tell them? It must have been a big deal if Lily- who had successfully hacked the Watchtower when she was five- couldn't find any trace of it.

Why would they try so hard to hide it?

Chapter Text

As soon as J'onn had done the DNA tests, Bruce had triple-checked them.

He refused to believe the results. The Wonder Woman of the future couldn't have been his. How could she be? Even if she was produced in a one-night stand, it wasn't black and white. Not with his princess. Having a child with Diana would have meant exposing himself to her. It would have meant showing vulnerability in front of her. That wasn't something he could afford. Not in this timeline or any other.

Unfortunately, the results were all the same every time. The second Wonder Woman- Lily, she'd said her name was- was the offspring of him and Diana. She was their daughter and just thinking about it nearly caused his heart to stutter.

How had Future Bruce allowed this to happen? When he, John, and Diana had gone into the alternate future, he had been bitter and old with his own successor. It had been bittersweet; he had survived to a ripe old age, living long enough to witness his legacy being carried on. He had accepted it. Hell, he had been content with this knowledge.

What had changed? How had things strayed so far?

His lenses narrowed as clicking heels approached him from behind. "Princess, I'm busy," he snapped out of instinct, not bothering to turn around. He really didn't want to argue with her at the moment. He knew she was pissed at him, though, he was unsure if it was because she knew he was aware he was Lily's father or if she felt as conflicted as he did and was attempting to shield herself from him.

Knowing her like he did, probably both.

There was no answer and Bruce paused. Now that he thought about it, those footsteps were a bit too light to be Diana's. When Diana walked, she used confident, heavy strides as an Amazon would. These steps were a lot more careful, delicate. He turned slightly and the light of the stars caught on a silver tiara instead of a gold one.

It wasn't Diana standing there, it was Lily.

She nodded. "Batman," she greeted, no traces warmth on her face. It was almost off-putting to see his own usually detached expression thrown right back in his face. "I was hoping to ask you a few questions that could provide insight in getting us home."

Bruce ruthlessly shoved down the myriad of emotions that shot through him with the vengeance of the Dark Knight. "I'm busy," he repeated gruffly. He couldn't deal with this right now. This was his daughter standing in front of him, a daughter he'd- or would have- had with Diana. If there was anything he hated, it was being caught off-guard. And this entire situation was a vicious ambush on the thick walls around his heart.

Lily remained indifferent. "It won't take long," she assured him. "I just wanted to ask if you knew where Booster Gold was."

Before he could stop himself, he made a mental note of her perceptiveness. Clever of her to ask about the League member with access to time travel. "On an off-world mission," he quickly relayed to her. He had spent too much time thinking about this. She was a distraction and a source of conflict between him and Diana. The sooner he got her and her League back to their own time, the better.

She hummed in thought. "And is there any indication of when he'll be back?" she questioned.

Irritation pricked him; Gold and the others wouldn't be back for another two weeks at least. "A minimum of two weeks," he answered.

Lily nodded. "Thanks, Da- Batman." She gracefully straightened herself regally after her slip-up, in a way that was properly Diana, and moved to walk away.

Bruce wanted to just let her go, but something hanging in the back of his head stopped him. Something that he had noticed before, but had been too preoccupied with battling to keep the control on his emotions to look into it. "The new Batman," he called out. He watched as she froze, her muscles visibly tense. "J'onn didn't provide a DNA test for him."

A few long seconds passed before she turned around. When she did, her expression was rigid and her gaze was hard. "He's a minor," she explained tersely. "I asked Manhunter to exclude him as I didn't want his identity to be compromised." The way she was standing almost reminded him of a cornered animal.

She was hiding something. There was something about the boy's identity that she didn't want anybody to know. He wouldn't have been surprised if her fellow League members had no idea of it. The detective in him wanted to press her further, wanted to find out just what she was hiding. But there was another feeling swelling in his chest, one that he couldn't quite identify.

He remembered feeling something similar to it a long time ago. When he'd first adopted Dick, the acrobat had been having trouble fitting in at school. The other children had referred to him as a 'circus freak.' It had gone on for months and the school had done nothing about it. Bruce recalled storming into the school, tearing the principal a new one.

'I believe that's what they call being a father, Master Bruce,' he could almost hear Alfred quip.

Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, Diana chose that moment to stride in, two iced mochas in hand. "Lily, your Flash is looking-" She stopped, her gaze focusing on him. Instantly, her bright expression darkened slightly as her eyes slid off him and onto her- their- daughter. "Your Flash asked me to come find you." She offered over one of the iced mochas. "I thought you might like this."

Lily rolled her eyes but smiled and took it. "Fastest man alive and can't even find me himself," she muttered sarcastically. "Thanks, Mom." She was easily more relaxed around Diana than him. It was clear that forming a relationship with Diana came more easily to her. While thoroughly unsurprising, he felt a small thud in his chest at the fact. Her eyes darted to him, then back at Diana before she promptly left the room.

As Lily left, Diana's stare became colder. "If I had never asked her, would you have told me?" she demanded, never one to hesitate or second-guess.

Bruce felt his jaw clench involuntarily. That seemed to happen a lot around her. "It was irrelevant," he insisted. But of course, she would never see it that way. This kind of thing was always relevant to her. She wouldn't be his princess if it wasn't.

For a moment, Diana looked irrevocably furious and he prepared himself for a verbal fallout. It wouldn't have been the first time. But then, her expression cooled, catching him off-guard. She approached him slowly, the sound of her moderate steps like agonizing whip cracks to his ears. She finally stopped, just centimeters away. She stared at him for an inordinate amount of time. "You are a frustrating man," she noted softly.

He almost snorted. "I've been called much worse." He had been expecting much worse from him. A curse in Themyscira, maybe a threat.

The corners of her mouth twitched. "I'm sure," she replied. She closed her eyes for a moment and when they opened they were suspiciously bright. "You have such a compassionate heart, Bruce. And yet you deny yourself any happiness."

Bruce grimaced under his cowl. His three reasons rested at the tip of his tongue, knowing that they were necessary. For his sake and hers. "You know I-"

Diana tensed and silenced him with a sharp look. "Ollie and Dinah," she stated firmly. Her jaw was tight as she did so and suddenly she looked as though she was in the middle of a raging war.

He blinked stupidly for the first time in many years. "What?"

"Ollie and Dinah," she repeated firmly. "Helena and Vic." She pulled away from him, just a bit. "Months ago, you told me that dating within the League always leads to disaster. But you only had John and Shayera to go off of at that point. But now the ratio is 2:1."

He quickly recovered as his eyes narrowed. "John and Vixen," he countered. The way things were heading, especially with Rex Stewart present, things weren't looking good for the pair. "You haven't mentioned them."

Diana raised a flawless, dark eyebrow. "They seem happy," she stated. "But if they don't work, who will be the cause? Who will John go back to?"

Bruce felt his fist curl. "Shayera," he admitted begrudgingly. It was easy to see that John still loved her fiercely. If things didn't work with Mari, he was sure to get back together with Shayera. So either way, he was outnumbered.

She held up two fingers before he could retort. "I have been banished from my home," she pointed out bluntly. He was unable to look away from the pain that reflected in her sapphire gaze. "I am no longer 'a princess from a society of immortal warriors,' I haven't been for a while. And a rich kid with issues though you may be, you are still one of the bravest, most compassionate warriors I've ever met. When put like that, I don't see how we're so different."

This was hitting closer than he would have liked. All those months ago, he thought that her violent assault on the stone gargoyle's head had been the end of that discussion. But yet here she was, throwing his reasons back in his face with counters of her own. When had the princess come up with these rebuttals?

She raised a third, slender finger, unwilling to give him time to think about a response. "I have fought a mutant cheetah, two Olympian Gods, two of the most powerful sorceresses to ever walk the Earth, and a murderous cyborg," she reminded him harshly. "I am a warrior born and am one hundred percent I can handle anything your villains throw at me."

She stared him down for a few moments and Bruce found himself speechless. She had met every one of his reasons head-on, as if she was dealing with Ares or Circe. Diana had always been graceful with her words, but he had never imagined that she was so eloquent in an argument. Whatever he had expected Diana to throw at him, it certainly hadn't been that. He was at a complete loss for words for once in his life.

The Amazon was full of surprises.

Diana's face suddenly softened. Placing two strong hands on his shoulders, she leaned forward and planted a soft kiss to his cheek. The innocent act immediately warmed him from head to toe, her soft lips like a gentle feather on his cheek. But all too quickly, she pulled away, taking the light of her presence with her.

"You don't give me enough credit," she declared gently. "If you give me a chance, I may surprise you." Her expression became stern once more. "But Bruce, I'm finished waiting for you. As much as I adore Lily and want to have her and as much as I care for you, I cannot keep pursuing you only to be met with rejection. This game will have to stop."

The thought made Bruce's stomach clench painfully. Could he handle that? Could he handle Diana shutting him out and pushing him away? Could he handle not seeing her bright smile or not hearing her silky voice? No, he decided he couldn't. Or rather, he could, but without her warmth or light, he would no doubt recede into himself.

But then, he would have to deal with that, wouldn't he? Hadn't he done the same thing to her a thousand times over? Any sane woman would have given up ages ago. Hell, even he would have given up ages ago.

But he had never expected Diana to. And really, that had been so profoundly unfair. He hadn't even realized how much he had come to rely on the comfort and sense safety her presence brought him.

Realizing that he had been silent for too long, Bruce fiercely reinforced the steel walls around his heart. "I don't play games, Princess," he bit out. He almost regretted the brief moment her face flickered.

But Diana, ever regal and poise, quickly collected herself. "Goodbye, Bruce," she said. And like an angel retreating back into the heavens, she left him alone in the monitor womb.

Bruce ignored the throbbing in his chest and returned to his work.

Chapter Text

John wasn't avoiding anything.

Really, he wasn't. His responsibility to the League always came first, there was much too much to be done. He had also been caught up with Mari and keeping her far, far away from Shayera and Rex. It wasn't that he didn't trust Shayera not to say anything. She may have been pissed at him, but she at least respected Mari. She wouldn't do that, not to either of them.

No, it was due to the guilt festering in his heart that he strove to keep them apart. Though, to be honest, John wasn't sure, who, exactly he felt guilty about.

Was it Mari, his current lover? The woman who was absolutely clueless as to what was going on? It made his heart throb when he thought about all the ways Mari could find out. Hell, all she really had to do was look at the DNA tests and see that one of the future League members was a match for him and Shayera! And that was only the most obvious way. How did he even begin to explain this situation to her?

Or was it Rex? His future son? He'd spent so many nights thinking about Rex and now here he was. Right in front of him. And he came from a future that wasn't warped or corrupted. How did he go about this? How could he go over to his son when he was in a relationship with a woman who wasn't his mother? Even if Rex was an adult, it was still awkward as hell.

He would know.

And then there was Shayera. The woman who had broken his heart, yet still owned it. He wouldn't deny that he loved Shayera. He had never stopped, not even for one second. And yet, he couldn't be with her. The walls between them had sprouted up one after another. He feared that if even he wasn't with Mari and even though he had already forgiven her, things would never be how they were before.

He'd made a mistake in telling her about Rex, he knew that now. It had been a moment of emotional weakness for him; Mari was injured, the theory about them being reincarnated. It had all been too much and he'd said it before he had even known what he was doing. Of course Shayera was upset with him, she had fallen in love with Rex the second he'd told her about him.

In her mind, he must have been keeping her son away from her.

This was a screwed up situation all around. To John, it felt as though no matter what he did, he was the bad guy. Whatever decision he made, someone would get hurt. Be it Rex, Mari, or Shayera, someone would walk away scarred.

The question was, who?

Dammit, it was too early for this. Clenching the mug in his hand, he took another sip of coffee, trying to fight off his on-coming headache. It was all too much to think about and it didn't help that he had a date with Mari tonight.

Great.

Speaking of Mari, two slender arms wrapped around him from behind. "Hey, handsome," she purred. Her voice was one thing that had attracted her to him in the first place. It was smooth and silky, yet husky and suggestive. "We still on for tonight?"

John forced himself to smile, guilt churning his stomach. Honestly, their date tonight had been one of the last things on his mind. Whenever Shayera was involved, he found himself more and more convinced that he didn't deserve Mari. "Of course," he replied, unable to meet her amber orbs. "Dinner then your place, right?"

She grinned. "Don't be late." She leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek before walking off.

Usually, he would have found his eyes drawn to the gentle sway of her hips. But today, he found his gaze drifting to Rex. For once, Shayera wasn't with him and he was eating all alone. Something in his chest clenched painfully and before he knew it, he was at the table. No turning back, he'd have to face this eventually. "This seat taken?" he asked, gesturing to the empty chair.

Rex started, apparently not having seen him coming. Red lenses turned to look at him, and the uncovered half of his face was unreadable. Finally, he shrugged. "Go ahead," he allowed with a curt nod. It was impossible to tell whether he was angry at him or not.

John took a seat, clasping his hands on top of the table. He tried to keep his gaze forward, but was unable to stop his eyes from flicking to the man next to him. Rex, for his part, seemed unperturbed as he continued to eat his food.

He didn't know about his son, but the silence was awkward and uncomfortable. He felt as though he should have said something, but what? Did he ask vague, boring questions like what his favorite color was? Or did he attempt to explain the complicated situation?

He had to remember that Rex was an adult. He may have been his son, but he was his own man. So how to go about that...

Suddenly, Rex turned to him, an odd look on the uncovered section of his face. "You know, you don't have to talk to me if you don't want to," he spoke up bluntly. "I know that you don't intend to get back together with Mom just because of me." He didn't sound angry or even upset, just... tired? Or maybe resigned. He definitely looked like he had other things to worry about.

Which was odd, considering that this was a matter of his existence. There weren't many things that could have been more of a priority.

John just stared at him for a while. "That doesn't mean I don't want to sit with you," he replied, painfully aware of how lame he sounded. If Shayera was here, she would be rolling her eyes at him.

Rex shrugged again. "Maybe," he responded cryptically. He wasn't very trusting and maybe a little standoffish, something that startlingly reminded him of Shayera. "Or maybe you're worried you'll hurt my feelings. You won't, I'm grown."

Indeed he was. John was suddenly worried that he had been thinking of Rex as simply his son and not the man that was sitting next to him. "Doesn't mean I shouldn't talk to you," he retorted. Right, it didn't mean that he shouldn't talk to him. But he hadn't been, anyway.

The future hero looked like he wanted to say something when a red blur whirled up to them. John was about to snap at Wally, but it wasn't Wally standing there, he realized with a start. It was the future Flash and he looked particularly worried. "Hate to interrupt, but I need you for a second, Rex," he announced.

John would have missed Rex's anxiously twitching fingers if his didn't often do the same thing. "What is it, West?" he demanded. The irritation was present, if only slightly.

Side note: The thought of Wally being responsible for a child of any sort scared the living hell out of him.

But the future Flash's face was drawn downwards. And, well, if a Speedster was frowning, things weren't good. "It's Lily," he revealed. Lily... that was the name of the new Wonder Woman, if he recalled correctly. "Something's wrong."

Curiously, John watched as every inch of his son tensed. Hell, he was sure that if he had feathers, they would be sticking out like Shayera's did from time to time. "Specify 'something,'" barked Rex.

Flash II just nodded toward John. "Can't," he insisted. "Just... come see for yourself." Without waiting for Warhawk, he took off out of the commissary, leaving a whirlwind behind him.

Rex cursed harshly under his breath. "I gotta go," he announced, getting up from his chair. "I'll talk to you later, Dad." He soon followed his companion, leaving John alone to his thoughts...

For about two minutes.

Shayera came from seemingly nowhere, plopping down next to him. She didn't say anything, just stabbed at her pasta. Her gaze never lifted to meet his as she ate her food. John failed to do the same with his own, unable to take his eyes off her. She seemed so nonchalant, even though she'd been anything but since Rex and his Justice League had come to their time. What was she playing at?

Finally, he couldn't take the silence anymore. "Dammit, woman, if you're going to yell at me just do it," he snapped.

A single fiery eyebrow was raised in response. "I wasn't," she said honestly. There was a hint of amusement on her face. "I was going to ask what you guys talked about."

John found he didn't want to answer. "What'd you talk about?" he retorted.

Shayera shrugged. "He doesn't talk much," she admitted easily. "Don't know where he gets that from since you and I can go on for hours. But he told me he became Warhawk at fourteen and that he officially joined the League at twenty-three." Her green eyes were alight with something he hadn't seen since before the Thanagarian Invasion when she talked about their son.

John almost felt a stab of jealousy at how readily Rex has divulged this to Shayera. Then, he was doused with the cold reality of the fact that of course, Rex had never gotten the chance to do the same with him. "Fourteen?" he repeated. "That's young."

She shrugged again. "I was put in training at twelve," she told him. Sometimes, he forgot that she was just as much of a soldier as he was. "And, apparently, all of them started pretty young. Look at the Lantern, he can't be older than eleven."

He nodded, pondering this for a moment. He vaguely wondered why the Lantern was so young. Last time he had checked, the Guardians didn't take anyone older than eighteen. Then again, who knew in 2039? "He thinks I only talked to him because I felt like I had to," he found himself revealing unwittingly.

There was a cold gleam in Shayera's eyes, but it was gone before he could blink. "Did you?" she inquired, an edge to her voice.

John, as always, had to be honest with her. "Maybe," he answered.

She looked like she wanted to smack him upside the head. "John, he's thirty-two," she revealed to him shortly. Some quick math told him that Rex was born around 2007. Christ, that was closer than he would have liked. "Hell, he's older than me. He doesn't want you to feel like he's an obligation."

Damn it all, he knew that. He just didn't know what to do about it. He didn't want Rex to think that he was only talking to him out of obligation because that wasn't it. That was his son, of course he wanted to talk to him. He just had absolutely no idea how to go about it.

"Why'd he leave, anyway?" asked Shayera suddenly.

John shrugged. "Something to do with his Wonder Woman," he answered.

She grimaced. "Then we can expect Diana to be in a mood," she divulged. "She's her daughter."

John couldn't have said he was surprised. "And she's Batman's too?" he guessed easily. Really, who else's could she have been? Clark's? Yeah, right. Bruce probably would have made use of his secret little safe if that was the case.

Besides, she had that same look on her face. The analytical, controlled gazed that swept over everything in the room. Though it was often hidden behind white lenses, he had seen the same look on Bruce's face many times.

Shayera nodded. "Looks like he does pull his head out his ass eventually." She didn't say anything, but he didn't even have to try to catch the double meaning.

Chapter Text

"-and I'm pretty sure she almost fainted earlier but I couldn't really tell and-"

Rex couldn't take it anymore. "West," he barked irritably, causing the Speedster to promptly shut up. He understood the redhead's concern for Lily. The woman would work herself into an early grave if they let her. There was also the fact that she had been acting weird since they had gotten here. True, they all had been, but her especially. He had never expected her to tell her mother who she was.

This was a cause for at least a slight alarm.

But going in and demanding that she rest like Barry wanted was absolutely not the way to do things. Lily would only get upset and no one wanted an upset Lily. Henry could probably attest to that.

No, he had a different way of dealing with her.

Rex finally got to the training room where Lily was going at it. Admittedly, he had always enjoyed watching her fight. Amazon-raised though she wasn't, it was impossible to deny that it was in her blood. She didn't just excel at combat, it was a part of her. She was fierce and precise and powerful all at once.

He especially liked to watch her and Big Barda go at it. Barda was the only person Lily didn't have to hold back with and vice versa. Truly, their clash was a sight to behold.

Unfortunately, he couldn't dwell on that now. He didn't miss how she swayed on her feet or how pale she was looking. "I've got this," he reassured Barry, who had been quiet for too long.

Barry looked at him for a moment, then grinned. "Had a feeling you would," he responded. Then, he zipped off.

Rex watched Lily for a little while longer before finally entering the room.

OoOoOo

She was exhausted.

This fact was not lost on Lily. Still, she ignored it as she continued to push herself. Her chest heaved as reeled her fist back for another punch, effectively taking the droid's head off. Luckily, these bots were self-sustaining and were made to be broken. She wasn't an idiot like Kent, she wouldn't take her frustration out on the goddamned wall of all things.

Stupid oaf.

However, she could not ignore the sluggishness of her reflexes or the drooping of her eyelids. Her chest heaved as she struggled to breathe, her vision only slightly spotty. She was practically drenched in sweat and it had hardly been half an hour. Her balance was off and her stomach was churning uncomfortably.

Something was wrong, very wrong. Could she have been, dare she say it, sick?

Lily had never been sick before.

Injured, yes. In fact, she had been brought to the brink of death more than a few times. But even then, she was never down for long. She supposed that was what happened when one was blessed by the Gods. They couldn't allow their champions- an Amazon, no less- to fall sick. How would they carry the burden thrust upon them if they were incapable of moving?

Taking all of this into consideration, her current state made no sense. She found herself leaning against the wall, her head lolling to the side tiredly. Dammit, what was wrong with her?

She may have been off her game, but not so off that she didn't hear the footsteps behind her. "Unless you're here to spar, I suggest you leave me alone," she snapped. She wasn't usually so snippy, not against who she was sure was behind her, but it felt like her uncle Clark was repeatedly punching her in the head. And she was sure that Barry had sent him here.

Stupid Barry. He was such a damn snitch. Maybe launching him out of the nearest airlock would fix that...

There was silence for a minute. "Fine, then," accepted Rex. The sound of his armor falling to the floor reached her ears. "Let's go, Flower."

Scowling at the old childhood nickname, Lily forced herself to turn around. "You really wanna take that chance, Stewart?" she challenged. He couldn't have wanted to do this, there was no way. No one wanted to be her sparring partner when she was like this, not even Terry. "If I recall correctly, I thoroughly kicked your ass last time. Didn't think you'd want a repeat."

To her irritation, Rex grinned. "We'll just have to see about that when I knock you flat on yours, Wayne," he replied smugly. His eyes shone competitively, as they often did before a sparring session.

Oh, it was so on.

OoOoOo

The sparring match didn't last long at all.

Lily, much to her embarrassment, had ended up with her head rested lazily on Rex's shoulder a mere twelve minutes later. "You dreg," she muttered disdainfully. Still, she lacked the energy to move from that spot. Though, even in her dazed state, her insight was still sharp enough for her to recognize the ploy for what it was. "You set me up."

Rex chuckled. "You were being stubborn," he reminded her. Gently, he guided her out of the training room and toward the quarters they had been given temporarily. It was far away from the other rooms, probably because the Founders still didn't trust them.

She would never admit how much that stung.

She huffed. "This is unnecessary," she insisted. If they had been home, she would have torn him a new one. Wonder Woman couldn't be seen being coddled, least of all by a man. But she wasn't Wonder Woman here and she honestly didn't have the energy to fight against it. "I'm fine."

He hummed. "West didn't seem to think so," he pointed out. She was too slow to stop his knuckles from brushing against her cheek. "And it feels like you're running a fever."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Barry's dramatic," she bit out. They got to her door and she lazily punched in the code. He carefully sat her down on the bed and it took a moment for her world to stop spinning. Though, in the confines of her room against the light of the stars, she began to feel a bit better.

Rex emitted a disbelieving grunt. "I'm sure." But she didn't miss the rolling of his green eyes. "Stubborn woman."

She grabbed the first thing she could find, which happened to be a comb, and threw it at him. "You're one to talk," she shot back as he dodged it. Honestly, Rex Stewart of all people shouldn't have been calling anyone stubborn. She sighed, taking her hair out of its ponytail and letting it fall around her. "But I do have something to tell you."

He gazed at her curiously. "I'm listening."

Lily ran her fingers through the dark locks. Her head was clear now, clear enough to allow clear communication of her thoughts. "That lab we visited," she recalled. "We were searching for drug activity, right?"

Rex nodded. "A modified version of Venom," he reminded her. Now she remembered; there was word that it had moved from Gotham to other parts of the country. Apparently, Jackson Chappell had a partner that neither she nor Terry had known about, who was developing things on the side. They had narrowed it down to one location; the lab they had been in.

She narrowed her eyes. "Now, why would a drug lab have a time machine?" she pointed out. It had been nagging at her since they had gotten to this time. And it had finally hit her what, exactly, was going on.

Though, she was ashamed at how long it had taken.

Understanding washed over his own face. "It was a cover," he realized.

Lily nodded. "I'm willing to bet that something bigger is going on in that lab," she stated. Her fingers slowly curled into a fist. "And I think that something is after this Justice League." After their parents and every other caped hero on this Watchtower.

Rex clicked his tongue. "That would explain why we ended up here of all places," he added. A shadow briefly crossed over his face and she could relate.

It wasn't easy being here.

Slowly, she reached out and gently touched his arm. "Hey," she said softly. She peered directly into his eyes, communicating things she would never dare to say aloud. "I get it. I know you want to tell your dad how silly and hardheaded he's being." Of course, she wanted to tell her own the same thing.

She didn't think she would ever really understand how men worked.

He looked at her for a moment, then she saw the corners of his mouth twitch. "I know he'll come around," he replied quietly. "That's not really what I'm thinking about right now." Of course, they both knew what he was.

It made her chest tight just thinking about it.

Lily liked to think she was in control of her emotions most of the time. She had to be, especially when dealing with Gotham. But now wasn't one of those times. In fact, it seemed like her grip on her feelings had been slipping ever since they had gotten here. She was unable to stop herself from bringing him into a tight embrace. Rex hesitated, but eventually his arms enclosed around her waist.

"We could change things," she uttered lowly. They could say screw the repercussions and change so, so much. It would have been so easy, too. A whisper in her father's ear. Just mentioning the perpetrators to Uncle Clark. Hell, even allowing Uncle J'onn to search their minds.

It would have been as simple as that.

His grip tightened on her. "But we can't," he whispered into her ear.

Lily buried her face into the crook of his neck, trying to fight tears. "No," she agreed softly. "We can't." It tore her apart just thinking about it. But her duty as Wonder Woman- their duty to the League- came first. Always. No matter how much it fucking sucked.

Rex did nothing for a while, then his right hand was cradling the back of her neck. She pulled away for a second to just look at him. Her throat went dry as she gazed at the sheer intensity of his bright green eyes.

She couldn't have said who leaned in first. Really, her emotions had been running so high that she could have thrown her arms around his neck and not know it. But the next thing Lily knew, he had pinned her to the bed, and her mouth was moving from her thoroughly bruised lips to the supple, sensitive skin of her neck. Her lips parted as she gasped lightly, her eyes fluttering closed. She brought her right hand up to run her nails gently against his scalp.

Suddenly, her mind was elsewhere. Specifically, a month and a half ago. The last time this had happened. The last time she had lost control.

'You... You were dead.'

'I'm right here, Flower. I'm not going anywhere.'

'Do you promise?'

'Promise.'

Jolted, her eyes snapped open and every muscle tensed rigidly. Rex immediately stopped, his own green orbs wide and alert. She stared at him for a minute, her cheeks flushed and her heart racing. Nothing was said between them, but she distinctly recalled what had happened last time.

'I... I'm sorry.'

'Don't be.'

Of course, neither one of them spoke aloud. Rex gave her a look she could no decipher before standing up and walking out of the room. Lily blinked to herself, flushed harder, and then buried her face into her pillow. She was flustered, confused, and- embarrassingly- a little aroused. Damn it.

Yes, being in the past was taking its toll on her emotions. She was losing control and she simply couldn't. Not here. And not with her parents or with... with Rex. She just couldn't.

So why was she?

OoOoOo

"Well, that could have gone better."

A grunt of frustration. "It couldn't have gone worse! Our entire operation has been compromised!"

There was a shrug. "How was I supposed to know that the Justice League Unlimited would be there?" Several gunshots rang out. "Please don't attempt to frighten me with blanks."

"How the hell are you so calm?"

A slow, satisfied smirk formed. "Patience, dear. You're not getting the bigger picture. We have the perfect opportunity here."

"For what?"

Sharp nails scraped against the table cruelly. "To eliminate both the past and present Justice Leagues."

Chapter Text

It was hard to understand, but Diana somehow felt... lighter after talking with Bruce.

Had he shut her out once again? Yes, he had. Quite bluntly, honestly. She had honestly expected it at this point, as it had happened so many other times before. But this time, she had said her piece. He knew how she felt and what she intended to do. The rest was up to him. If he wanted a relationship with her, he would have to show it. And if not...

Then they would have to go their separate ways.

It made her heart throb in her chest. She knew she would never find another like Bruce Wayne, he was one of a kind. Never would she find a soul as noble or compassionate or brilliant. Not to mention, poor Lily. She wondered how the woman would feel, knowing that two people who were supposed to be her parents might never come together. Her heart broke for her daughter, wishing things could be different.

Perhaps John was facing a similar dilemma. Maybe he loved Rex as she loved Lily, but couldn't risk subjecting himself to such pain. Perhaps it had nothing to do with being a puppet of fate and more to do with protecting his own heart.

It was a vicious path they walked.

She would fight for her daughter, but only if he wanted her too. She was the Princess of the Amazons, she couldn't allow herself to fall into the trap that Shayera had. Longing for a future, for a reality that might not ever exist. Her pride and dignity had already taken a toll with Bruce. How could she let him hurt her more? She couldn't, not even for him.

And, as much as it pained her, not even for Lily.

Diana sharply turned a corner, only to stop, sensing eyes on her. Immediately, her gaze slid to the shadows. "Batman?" she questioned, an eyebrow raised. Really, who else would it be? Somehow, Bruce always found a dark corner to emerge from. It had always boggled her mind.

As it turned out, she was half right. The future Batman emerged; a crimson red symbol and sleeker design, but still the same narrowed white lenses and pointy ears. She supposed some things would never change.

She regarded the young man closely. The future Wonder Woman was her daughter, could this Batman be her son? Though, from what she had gathered, Bruce and John had met the former's successor before. Nothing indicated that he was related to her. If John had thought so, she was sure he would have told her. Then again, if Bruce had thought so-

She scowled to herself; he would have done all he could to keep it from her.

Apparently, the new Batman had keen insight as well. "You don't have to look at me like that," he spoke up. There was something like... mirth in his tone. It was so odd to hear it from the Dark Knight. Though, it wasn't entirely unpleasant. "I'm not a Wayne."

Despite herself, the corners of Diana's mouth twitched. "My mistake, child," she replied. There was something so... refreshing about this young man. He was nowhere near as dark as Bruce. While he seemed wary and observant, he also seemed nonchalant and even- dare she say it- playful.

Where had this young man come from?

She glanced around, noticing that they were alone. "I haven't seen you around your teammates much," she noted. All the others varied in location; the martian girl hung around the kitchens and, of course, their Superman was prominently in one of the training rooms. From what she had seen, he was used to working alone too. Some things, she supposed, were just inherent in a Caped Crusader.

The Batman of the future shrugged. "Let's just say I'm the new guy," he answered cryptically.

Diana pondered this. Bruce, as usual, had been right. This Batman was somewhat of an outsider to his League. That was something she would have to think about later. She turned back to the young man. "What is that supposed to- And he's gone." Rolling her eyes but unable to hide her smile, she continued her stride down the hall.

Some things never changed.

Walking into the infirmary, Diana was met with the amusing sight of a particularly frazzled martian. "J'onn?" she questioned, the corners of her lip twitching. "Is everything alright?"

J'onn put a hand on his head. "Miss Martian is very... talkative," was all he said.

Diana chortled, though she wondered how he felt about the woman. She was, after all, the last of his people. "She must be happy to see you," she reasoned. She made her way to the countertop, grabbing a few of the painkillers.

"I thought you hated pain relievers?"

Oh, she did. As an Amazon, she wasn't taught to numb or dissuade the pain. In fact, she was taught to embrace it. She still couldn't wrap her head around the idea of desensitizing it.

She would never fully understand Man's World.

"They're not for me," she replied, tucking them into her belt. "Dinah accidentally twisted Helena's wrist too roughly when they were sparring." She smiled fondly; she would admit to being partial to the vigilante. Helena reminded her of herself at that age, if not a bit more vulgar. Headstrong, determined, fierce.

Temperamental.

J'onn nodded. "I see."

Diana glanced around, then lowered her voice. "Were you able to confirm their stories?" she asked softly. She trusted the magic of her Gods and, more importantly, she trusted her daughter. But if years around Batman had taught her anything it was to expect the unexpected. They couldn't take the risk of the seven of them being spies.

"I was," confirmed the martian. "Their story is confirmed." He peered at her closely with those orange eyes. "You and she seemed very close."

She didn't even try to hide her wide smile, her heart glowing in her chest. And yet, there was also a pang of sadness. What if she never got to experience this? But Diana nudged that aside. "She seems worried about the repercussions of us knowing too much about the future," she brought up. "And if I know Batman, he probably is too."

J'onn was quiet for a moment. "If you all would permit, I could blur the memories of their journey here," he finally suggested.

Diana felt as though ice had settled in her stomach. "Blur?" she repeated. As in, erase their memories? She wouldn't remember meeting her daughter? The thought of such made her sick.

'What do you care?' a traitorous voice hissed in her head. 'You aren't pursuing Bruce anymore. You'll never have her.'

She swallowed thickly. The thought of never having Lily hurt even more than forgetting about meeting her now. Anger towards Bruce simmered just below the surface of her skin, followed by sorrow. The pain in her heart was great.

Perhaps it would be best to forget about the future Justice League.

But J'onn shook his head. "I cannot erase memories completely," he told her. "But it would be significantly harder to recall specific details. Such as, what year this Justice League is from or minor details she may have told you."

Diana contemplated this. That didn't sound awful. A bit of a letdown, maybe, but no the worst scenario. Still... "Will I remember her face?" she questioned softly.

If she had that, then she would be content.

Her friend smiled at her. "If you hold it close enough to your heart," he answered cryptically.

Despite herself, Diana beamed.

OoOoOo

Spending time with Rex was good for her.

Shayera smiled to herself as she carefully wrapped Helena's wrist. "Do you have to provoke her?" she asked, mirth in her voice. Helena may have been one of the youngest female heroes among them, but that woman was a fierce spitfire if she ever saw one. It was a trait she had to admire, along with her daring audacity and utter fearlessness.

One had to be if they openly mocked Black Canary. Jeez, the woman's combative skills were on level with Bruce and Diana.

Helena didn't seem perturbed by her injury. "Why do you have to provoke the princess?" she shot back with a grin.

Shayera pursed her lips. "Fair point."

As if on cue, Diana strolled in, painkillers in hand. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," she announced, a slight scowl on her face. But she didn't even try to hide the amusement in her sapphire eyes.

It made Shayera grin herself. Despite her heart of gold, the princess acted snobby and uptight at times. But she was a troublemaker at heart. She would chalk it up to spending too much time with Wally, but Queen Hippolyta had shared some interesting stories the last time she had been there...

Diana passed the painkillers over. "Here you go, little sister."

Helena smiled, taking them. "Thanks, Di," she replied, downing two with some water. She stood up, stretching languidly. "I'm gonna go hit the showers. Bird lady really did a number today." She left, leaving the two alone.

Diana, never one to beat around the bush, fixed the redhead with a sharp look. "I spoke to J'onn," she revealed.

Shayera thought about this for a moment before taking a sip of her own water. "And?" she prompted. She could tell just from her friend's tone that this was something she wasn't going to want to hear.

Diana sighed. "He's suggested that, once the children leave, he blurs our memories of their visit," she revealed quietly. "We would still remember them, but any specific details would be hard to recall."

For a while, Shayera said nothing, wrapped in her own thoughts. Strictly speaking, that wasn't the worst case scenario. But she had learned so much about Rex, things that she had yearned to know ever since John had told her about him. She finally had some inkling of her future, something to hold onto. Could she give that up?

Diana didn't seem too happy about it either, but she put on a brave face as per usual. "We don't want to interfere with the time stream," she said gently. "You know how John and Bruce are. If they know too much about their futures, they may be even more afraid than they are now."

Shayera unwittingly snorted, but her somber expression did not leave. "And you're okay with this?" she demanded. "Forgetting them? Forgetting her?" She had seen the way Diana looked at Lily. She loved her daughter just as Shayera loved her son. How could she possibly be alright with this?

Pain flickered behind those sapphire orbs, but Diana's resolve remained. "If the Fates have it in store for me to be blessed with Lily, then I will be," she replied sharply, her jaw tight. "If not, then so be it. But we cannot, in good conscience, put the time stream at risk."

Bruce must have pissed her off.

Shayera huffed, crossing her arms. "Well I'm not doing it," she insisted stubbornly. Perhaps a little childish on her part, but no one had any idea of the utter torture she had gone through these last few months. Diana had found out about Lily a few days ago. She had known about Rex for so long, wondering if she would ever be given the chance to have him. To connect with him. To love him.

And now they wanted to take that away? Hell no.

Diana threw her hands up in frustration. "Shayera, if we risk these consequences, the future they come from may very well become corrupt," she almost growled. "And then we will really be without our children."

Shayera blinked, not having thought about that. What would happen if they knew too much? Hypothetically, nothing could go wrong. Or everything could. Was it worth the risk? Could she keep the few memories she had made with Rex, endangering the future he came from?

Diana softened, sitting down next to her. "I don't like it any more than you do," she uttered lowly. That much was obvious by the way her lip trembled. "But if we want them safe, I believe this is the best option."

Shayera sighed, pouting dejectedly. "I hate it when you're right," she complained. "You get this stupid look on your face-" The Amazon was currently grinning triumphantly and she pouted. "Yeah, that's the one."

Diana smiled as she stood up. "Why don't we get something to eat on the surface?" she suggested. "We can invite Rex and Lily. How does that sound?"

A small smile forced its way on the Thanagarian's face. "As long as you're paying, Princess," she jeered.

As they walked off, Shayera ignored how heavy her chest suddenly felt.

Chapter Text

Diana had selected a small outdoor cafe for their lunch endeavor. The food was delicious, and the iced mochas were- as Kara would say- 'to die for.' She sipped her beverage happily as she talked animatedly with Shayera. "I came here with Wally once," she recounted, an amused grin tugging at her lips. "He tried flirting with the waitress."

Shayera snorted. "Did she shoot him down?" she guessed. That seemed to be the norm with the other redhead.

"Brutally," commented Diana, shaking her head. "I don't know why he's so insistent on switching women so often." Wally was such a loveable young man. She knew that someone would love him for who he was. Unfortunately, he would never find her if he continued to resist the idea of settling down. She directed her attention to her daughter, who hadn't said much. "Does your Flash act similarly?"

She hadn't seen much of the second Flash. In actuality, she hadn't seen the other Justice League often. Then again, that may have been because she was so focused on Lily. She hoped that Kal had gotten around to talking to his son. Her heart hurt at the thought of her best friend having a strained relationship with his son.

Lily looked up from the crepe she had barely touched. "Um, Barry's pretty shy," she revealed softly, offering a small smile. "When we were younger, I was like his wing-woman. Usually, he couldn't go through with it, so I would try to put a good word in for him."

Diana wasn't sure how anyone with the last name West could be shy. "Did it work?"

She sighed. "No," she answered. She seemed almost sad. "The girls would either think that I liked him or just look at me like I had two heads." Her smile returned. "But then we'd go stuff our faces with sugar, and he would feel better."

Diana couldn't stop herself. "So you two never-?"

Lily tilted her head in confusion. "Never what?" Her cheeks turned bright red as she quickly shook her head. "Oh, Hera, no!" She glanced around and cleared her throat before sinking in her seat. "No, Barry and I are just friends. We always will be." Her tone held a note of finality, not unlike Bruce's often did.

Every part of Diana was begging to interrogate her more. Her deepest wish for her daughter was that she didn't go down the same route her father was. No one deserved to be as alone as Bruce was insistent on being.

Instinctively, her eyes slid over to Rex, who had been even quieter than Lily. He hadn't said a word the entire time they had been here. She wondered, if not Barry, then Rex? She knew it couldn't be Kal's son; she seemed to detest him. The Martian girl, perhaps? She'd had relations with other women, a few fellow Amazons, Audrey, but apparently, it was frowned upon in Man's World to assume.

Lily caught her gaze and looked like she wanted to say something. Before she could, however, her face paled, and she promptly stood up. "Excuse me," she muttered, dashing away.

Diana watched her leave with concern. "Is she alright?" she questioned. Falling ill was foreign to an immortal. She had been injured, yes, but never sick. Had it been unwise to assume Lily was the same way? She hoped nothing was seriously wrong.

There was a strange expression on Rex's face, one she couldn't quite place. "She says she is," he revealed quietly.

Diana didn't like the sound of that. She was going to express as much when her sensitive ears twitched at a low, baritone sound. It was one the Amazon knew well. Irritation welled within her. Her hand curling into a fist, she sharply kicked her friend's shin under the table.

"Ow!" yelped Shayera. "What the hell, Di-?" She stopped when Diana nodded in the direction of a table by the corner. Her green eyes widened with comprehension.

Sitting at the table was none other than Bruce and John.

OoOoOo

Shayera didn't know whether to laugh or to glare daggers at the two men. All she knew was that doing so in front of Rex would have been less than ideal. "Lily's been gone for a while," she spoke up. Her eyes never left John and Bruce. Neither man seemed aware that she and Diana had caught them, but Shayera wouldn't have put it past Bruce. "Rex, why don't you go check on her?"

Though she knew nowhere near as much as she would have liked about Rex, Shayera knew he was far from stupid. He just nodded and stood, walking in the direction Lily had gone in. Once he was gone, Shayera turned her attention back to Diana. "You know, Princess, sometimes I think your sisters have the right idea." She could hardly believe that they would do this; why were men so complicated?

Her friend sighed raggedly. "At this point, they're acting like children," she concluded irritably. "If they wanted to come along, they could have asked."

Shayera nodded in agreement, scowling. "Anything to avoid talking to us like adults," she muttered bitterly. It aggravated her to no end that John could never tell her how he truly felt, and that seemed to increase with Rex's presence. The product of their love for one another was right there, living and breathing in front of them.

Wasn't that enough?

Apparently, no, it was not. Shayera didn't know what else to do. If their son wasn't enough to convince him that they could work again, she didn't know what would. At this point, she was starting to lose hope herself. Maybe Rex was from a different timeline or something along those lines. As much as it broke her heart, she couldn't see John loving her again like he used to.

Diana, being her supremely empathetic self, softened a bit. "Well, we can't let them get away with this," she insinuated, uncharacteristically mischievous.

Despite herself, a smirk tugged at Shayera's lips. "What did you have in mind?"

OoOoOo

They knew.

Bruce kept his expression neutral as two cross women stormed over to the table where he and John were sitting. It was only a matter of time before one of them took note of their presence. Not only were their senses trained to perfection, but they also weren't human either. Who knew the true extent of their hearing or sight? Yes, Bruce had known that he and John wouldn't have stayed hidden from them for long.

That begged the question, why were they here?

Bruce knew Diana's anger and frustration with him. She had hidden it well and had covered it with regality, but she was pissed. He knew he was pushing the envelope by being here, but something inside him wouldn't let him ignore it.

Next to him, John balked. "Tell me why I let you talk me into this," he muttered. His eyes never left Shayera.

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "You didn't need much convincing," he reminded the man. And that was true; it hadn't taken much to get John to come along. In truth, it hadn't even been his intention. What should have been an escapade all his own had ended up being a dual venture.

John didn't look happy but kept his mouth shut as the women approached.

"Funny seeking you here," snapped Diana once they got there.

Bruce was unable to stop himself from teasing her. "It's 'Funny seeing you here,' Princess," he corrected impassively. The billionaire fought a smirk as she glared viciously at him in response. She crudely hissed something in Themysciran that he had no hope of understanding.

Shayera, however, wasn't so easily distracted. "If you wanted to get to know your children, you could have just asked," she almost spat at them. Her rage was solely at John, who was worriedly looking around at the other patrons.

"That isn't why we're here," he said quickly to quell Shayera's rage. It didn't work as she continued to glare at him.

Diana put her hands on her hips. "Is that so?" she demanded, every bit the haughty Amazon princess. Her lip curled in anger. "Why else would you be here?"

Bruce cut in before John could respond. "We're making sure nothing goes wrong," he said. Which, to be fair, was part of it. Suppose that someone here would come into contact with Rex or Lily in their time. There were too many variables with time travel, variables that not even he could take into account. He had only dealt with it a handful of times, and even then, he could only grasp at straws. Any information he could find on the subject was purely theoretical.

A lot of good it did him now.

"Goes wrong?" echoed Diana. "Hera, Bruce, we're having lunch. What are the chances of something going wrong?" He opened his mouth to reply, and she held up a hand. "Forget that I asked." She muttered a couple more phrases in Themysciran before sighing. "Well, if the two of you are going to be staying..." She held out her hand.

Bruce blinked stupidly. "What?"

Diana flashed him a dazzling grin. "If you're going to be staying, you may as well pay."

OoOoOo

John rolled his eyes as Bruce handed over his card. For all the man's insistence that Diana was only a friend, the billionaire had seemed much too eager to comply. "He is so whipped," he deadpanned quietly to himself, shaking his head. He ought to have pitied his friend; it must have been torture to care for a woman like Diana and yet always keep her at arm's length.

He didn't know how Bruce did it.

"Don't let him hear you say that," chimed in Shayera dryly. She watched the scene before her, amusement dancing in her green eyes.

John snorted, turning to face her fully. She had dressed casually in jeans and a coat that hid her wings well (though he could see them peeking out). Still- he noticed with a tug on his heart- she was gorgeous. How could someone be so beautiful without trying? "He's too focused on Di," he pointed out.

She hummed in reply. "I know why Bruce is here," the redhead stated. "He's too paranoid to let Rex and Lily on the surface without his supervision." She looked at him with piercing eyes that seemed to pin him in place. "But why are you here, John?"

He sighed; that was a good question. When he had agreed to come along with Bruce, he had known why the other man was there. His paranoia wouldn't have let him leave them alone. And maybe, just maybe, there was a part of him that couldn't let Diana go. But for him? It was hard to say. It could have been similar to Bruce's reasons. But something told him it wasn't.

Of course, he couldn't tell her that.

So, John shrugged. "What kind of father would I be if I let my son sit and listen to your girl talk?"

Shayera gave him a look of disbelief but decided to play along. "I'll have you know, Stewart, that Diana and I are practical," she retorted.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Uh-huh," he replied, not believing her for a second. For two warrior women, the two of them could gossip like old ladies.

She looked like she was going to say something when the feathers on her wings tensed. John's time spent around Shayera had taught him a lot of things. For instance, she had to stretch her wings every morning, or they would go stiff. Despite their bird-like appearance, Thanagarian women did not lay eggs.

And when her feathers would tense, something was wrong.

Before he could register what he was doing, John's military training kicked in. He shoved Shayera to the ground just as the windows of the cafe shattered. A few pieces of broken glass broke his skin, but he ignored it as he activated his ring. Successfully shielding both himself and Shayera, his uniform materialized onto his body.

Diana, her outfit ripped away to reveal her uniform, shot out to meet the oncoming assault. Bruce, he noticed, had disappeared, and Shayera stood up with her mace raised.

They were under attack.

Chapter Text

One of Terry's first lessons as Batman was to learn to observe.

It was something he had struggled with at first. He had been diagnosed with minor ADHD when he was nine, so sitting still and waiting didn't come easy to him. He had been more partial to the fighting; he had been a fighter for his entire life. That came naturally. Watching and idling wasn't particularly his strong point.

Unfortunately, observing was the only thing he could do at the moment.

Terry scowled under his cowl, silently cursing whoever built that damn time machine. The last thing he needed was to be stuck almost fifty freaking years in the past. The teen had a history test coming up, Dana was going to think he bailed on her, and Gotham was virtually unprotected. Max was keeping an eye on things, but there wasn't much she could do on her own.

Terry shook his head, looking on as the League of the past went on about their day. It was almost like watching ghosts drift along absentmindedly. These guys were legendary in his time, the original expansion of the Justice League. Now was around the time when the government would begin to see the League as a dangerous threat.

The fact was that he was in unfamiliar territory. It wasn't his time, his League, or his Watchtower. He had to be careful.

"You're brooding," came a familiar voice from his left.

Terry glanced over to see Barry standing near him. "Shit," he hissed. Since becoming Batman, his instincts had gotten sharper, but speedsters were decidedly off his radar. "Don't do that."

Barry clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "Don't let Lily hear you swear," he scolded teasingly.

The Batman of the Future glared at him. "We should put a bell on you," he decided. It would make things easier, that was for sure.

Barry was grinning, but there was something off about it. "Has Lily been acting... weird to you?" he questioned. His dark eyes shaded with something akin to concern.

Terry stared at him. "She's Lily," he reminded the other man. Lily had been weird since the day he met her. As her best friend, Barry had to be aware of this.

The redhead grimaced. "Yeah, but more than usual," he stressed.

Terry shrugged. He hadn't seen much of Lily this entire mission or any of his team for that matter. The only one who knew how he was feeling was Kai-Ro, and Kai-Ro could be a little shit of a twip when he wanted to be. "It's a weird situation," Terry pointed out. "She'll be fine; she's Lily." Nothing could keep that woman down. One time, she had been beaten into the ground by Mad Stan and had been fine the next morning.

"No, she won't be," chimed Henry, walking over to them. What he had seen of Henry was him thoroughly avoiding his old man. It almost made him angry; he would give anything to talk to his dad again. But Lily had always said Kent lacked emotional maturity. "She's going to lose it."

A guarded, worried shadow passed Barry's freckled face. "What do you know, Henry?" he questioned.

Henry shrugged. "It's not my secret to tell," he replied. "Where is she, anyway?"

Terry made a face, though the other two couldn't see it. "On the surface," he answered. "With her mom and Rex and his mom." He was too aware of whatever was going with those two. Of all people, why did it have to be Rex? Couldn't she have picked someone like Barry? Or the overabundance of men vying for her attention in Gotham?

Luckily, she was adamant about not having a real relationship. Admittedly, that wasn't much better- he wanted her to be happy- but as long as she didn't end up with Stewart he was alright.

Barry seemed to have the opposite reaction as he grinned. "Interesting."

Terry fixed him with a look. "What do you know, Bartholemew?" he countered.

Barry pouted childishly. "I'll never forgive Lily for telling you my full name. And just for that, I'm not telling you."

Terry was about to retort when M'gann flew up to them, her green face pale. "Lily's hurt," she uttered lowly. And by her expression, it wasn't Lily's usual hurt.

Terry's stomach dropped.

OoOoOo

Barry was the first one to reach the room, Terry arriving seconds later. Wonder Woman was sitting in one of the waiting chairs, close to tears. Rex was sitting a few chairs away with a tight jaw. Terry's eyes narrowed behind the white lenses of his cowl. "What happened?" he demanded, his gaze locked on Rex.

Rex met him with steely green eyes. "Someone attacked us," he said curtly. "I don't know who, but they stabbed Lily in the leg. Manhunter's with her." He looked down at his hands.

It was then that Terry noticed that they were stained with blood. He felt sick, Lily's blood? Terry felt sick to his stomach; the young man had hated the sight of blood since the tender age of eight. "Stabbed?" he repeated. "She let someone stab her? And why hasn't she healed yet?" Stab wounds were usually nothing to her; she could recover in hours.

"Why the hell do you think I would know?" snapped Rex. For as long as Terry had known him, he had always been impatient and irritable. Though, he had always suspected that it was to mask the fear, anxiety, and maybe even sorrow that raged inside of him.

Unfortunately, being stuck in the past had left Terry a little more than impatient and irritable himself. "You're the supposed pro," he spat, disdain welling inside him. Since they had met, Rex had always treated him like a kid, like he didn't know what he was doing. And Terry had taken it in stride, brushing it off and hardly ever retaliating. It was what he usually did with Nelson and Blade and other people he'd rather not deal with, after all.

But this was different; this was Lily. If Rex was so much more experienced and skilled than him, how had Lily gotten hurt?

Rex seemed put off for a moment before his jaw clenched and he stood up. "Shut it, McGinnis," he bit out in a way that sent most newbies running. Terry wasn't most newbies, though, and he stood his ground.

Before the situation could escalate further, however, Barry shoved them apart. "Are you two dregs done?" he demanded, his dark eyes uncharacteristically cold. Shit, he was definitely pissed off. Sometimes, Barry could be the scariest of them all and every time it surprised him. The speedster then turned to the first Wonder Woman with softer eyes. "Au- Miss Diana, can you tell us what happened?" Rex's fingers curled into a fist at not being asked, but Barry pointedly ignored him (much to Terry's satisfaction).

The Amazon Princess- a woman who would become a legend in his time- straightened, visibly attempting to reign in her emotions. "We were attacked in Gateway City," she revealed. "Two masked individuals; a man and a woman. They shot into the cafe, presumably to draw us out. When I got outside-"

"She came out of nowhere," Rex cut in. His temper seemed to have cooled, his eyes dull and Terry felt bad. Even without the tension between them, everyone knew that Lily was special to Rex. "I didn't see her until it was too late."

Wonder Woman shuddered. "Lily was bleeding out and Rex was trying to stop the blood," she added. "Lantern and I engaged with the man while Batman and Hawkgirl took on the woman."

Terry racked his brain, but a masked man and woman could be any number of their enemies. He would have to investigate, which potentially meant working with the original Batman. He usually would have been more excited at the prospect, but knew that his predecessor preferred to work alone. But they were going to have to work together, especially considering that it was obvious this was an attack from their time.

"Was there anything that stuck out about them?" he asked.

Diana was quiet for a moment. "The man seemed deranged," she told them. "And it seemed like he had it out for us. The woman was silent from what I could gather. You'll have to ask Hawkgirl or Batman."

Terry nodded, filing this information away. There was a tense silence among them and he hated it. The quiet had never sat well with him. He took comfort in the bustling streets of Gotham. Or the boisterous teenagers in his high school. Lily used to snap at him because he could never keep his mouth shut when he first started out. He just couldn't help it.

Yet, he couldn't bring himself to utter a single word at the moment.

Finally- finally- M'gann came out. "She's stable," the redhead announced morbidly. "However, her healing factor isn't kicking in and she's lost a lot of blood. She's going to need a blood transfusion."

Terry felt sick and Rex visibly tensed. But Terry didn't miss the way Barry's eyes flashed knowingly. Before he could voice whatever he was thinking, however, Diana jumped to her feet. "Will I be able to help?" she asked frantically.

M'gann shook her head. "From her DNA, we've gathered that her blood type is AB," she informed them. "Neither you nor Batman will be a match, as you're A and B respectively."

A string of Themysciran curses that Terry recognized well flew from Diana's lips.

Barry's gaze flew to him. "M, test Terry," he ordered. There was something odd about his tone and Terry knew Rex and M'gann caught it too.

Terry blinked, not understanding what he was getting at. "Me?" he questioned. "Why me?" He had never taken the time to figure out his own blood type and he doubted Lily would file it somewhere that just anyone could access it. He also doubted that they had the same blood type. Wasn't that supposed to be really rare?

The strawberry blond man grimaced slightly. "Just trust me, okay?" he implored. There was something akin to guilt flecked in his dark eyes.

There was something about the certain way Barry said it that made Terry believe him wholeheartedly. "Okay," he agreed finally. He had to focus on Lily right now, after all. And he would do anything he could to help her.

But he decided to store that away for later too.

OoOoOo

Diana finally remembered how to breathe as she entered the room to find her daughter sitting up and regaining color. "Hello, darling," she greeted, trying to keep her tears of relief at bay. Luckily, the new Batman- Terry, she recalled- was a blood match for Lily and the blood transfusion had transpired successfully. She would have been suspicious if it wasn't for the young man's insistence that he wasn't her son.

Lily was blankly looking ahead. "Hi," she replied quietly, not looking at her.

Instantly, Diana knew something was wrong. "How are you feeling?" she asked. She pleaded with whichever of her Gods was listening that nothing else was wrong. She didn't think she would be able to take it.

Lily gave her a listless shrug. "Fine," she answered curtly.

The Amazon sat back and studied her, examining every inch of her daughter. Lily's eyes were dull and her fingers were gripping the white sheets. Diana leaned forward, gently laying a hand on her shoulder. "My little sun and stars," she pleaded, her heart throbbing. If Lily couldn't confide in her, then who? "Talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."

Lily was quiet for a long time. She could hear nothing other than the soft beeping the medical wing always emitted. This had always been Diana's least favorite room on the Watchtower. This was always where she got bad news: someone was going to be hurt irreparably, someone would be out of commission for weeks, someone wasn't coming back. On Themyscira, she had never had such fears. Her sisters were immortal.

But her allies, comrades, and friends were not.

Eventually, Lily turned to look at her, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm pregnant."

Chapter Text

Rex was still reeling from everything.

He and Lily had discussed it briefly, but now there was no doubt. Someone was after them. Of course, things wouldn't be as simple as waiting for Gold to return and going home. They couldn't leave without dealing with this first, which was definitely going to be a pain in the ass. A hero's work was done when he was dead, his father had always told him.

He sighed as he rinsed of his hands, watching as the blood washed away down the drain. Rex had never been bothered by blood; he couldn't be doing what he did. But the fact that it was Lily's-

He stopped himself. He really couldn't think about Lily right now. If he did, he would start worrying and then he would never be able to stop.

Rex closed his eyes. 'M'gann?' he thought. There was something that needed to be addressed. He just hoped she could hear him. 'Can you-?'

'Call a meeting?' guessed M'gann telepathically, always a step ahead. 'You got it. The Founders have been in their own meeting for hours. Now is as good of a time as ever.'

The half-Thanagarian closed his eyes in silent contemplation, carefully mulling over his decision. 'Thanks,' he replied. 'Tell West,.0 Kent, Lantern, and McGinnis to meet in the hall in ten.'

He could feel her skepticism from her. 'You don't want Lily to know?' the Martian questioned. 'She's gonna be pissed when she finds out.'

Rex grimaced; indeed she would be. But she would get over it- eventually. 'I don't want to stress her out,' he defended. 'She needs to focus on getting better. She can't do that if she's throwing herself into a case.'

He could practically hear M'gann sigh. 'Alright,' she agreed reluctantly. 'I'll leave her temper to you. See you in ten.'

Once her mental presence had left him, Rex sighed. Realistically, it would have been better to have Lily with them. She was the best detective they had. Though, McGinnis was getting good. As much as he couldn't stand the twip, Terry had saved all their asses when he first joined the League. They would have to do with him for now.

OoOoOo

"She's gonna kick your ass."

Surprisingly, this statement came from Henry. "I'm more than capable of handling Lily, Kent," Rex shot back coolly. And to be fair, that wasn't a lie. He was the only one who could take on all of her moods. Sometimes, not even Barry or Terry could handle her. That was just how it had always been. "Which is more than I can say for you."

Henry glared at him with violet eyes, but said nothing.

Barry rolled his eyes. "Can we talk about the elephant in the room?" he demanded. "My best friend is laying in a hospital bed and I'd like to know who did it."

Terry took out a file. "I made a list of Gotham rogues," he told them. Rex would never admit how impressed he was. "And some of yours, but there was only so much I could do with my interface. You lot are going to have to fill in the blanks."

Kai-Ro, who Rex honestly hadn't seen much of this entire time, scanned the contents with his ring. "Not bad," he commented. "Although, I doubt any of your rogues are responsible."

M'gann nodded. "It has to be a League enemy," she agreed, brushing back her short red hair. "Lily was attacked as Wonder Woman, not Nightingale. At least, that's what I'm assuming since they obviously know your identities."

"We can't rule out the possibility that a Gotham rogue is working with one of our guys," pointed out Barry. "It's happened before. If this is the case, we know which one is the most obvious for the male assailant."

"Mad Stan," Terry supplied, his lenses narrowing into slits. "Or maybe one of the Jokerz, but I doubt that. If he can go toe-to-toe with Diana, then Mad Stan is the only one I can think of." He put a hand on his chin. "But this really isn't his MO. He's all about overthrowing the bureaucracy, that sort of thing. He wouldn't go out of his way to target us in the past. He wouldn't accept a bribe to either."

"Mind control?" suggested Rex. He didn't think they had any major or even minor villains known for mind control. "M'gann, if you were close enough, could you check?"

"Probably," answered M'gann. "We would have to draw them out first."

Kai-Ro nodded. "But how?" he wondered.

"Lucky for you all, I have an idea."

Barry rolled his eyes. "The queen has risen." Nevertheless, he looked pleased that she was up and about.

Rex groaned as he met weary sapphire eyes. "You just don't know how to sit still, do you?" he said irritably. This was exactly what he had wanted to avoid. She needed to rest.

Lily shot him a glare promising fierce vengeance. Though, he couldn't help but think that there was something more behind her gaze. "No, it's one of my many fatal flaws," she replied dryly. "Now, are you ready to hear what I have to say?"

He rolled his eyes at her notorious manhandling of any situation she could get her hands on, but didn't protest. Her plans were always well thought out and masterful, so he knew not to object. Rex gestured dramatically. "The floor is yours, Your Highness."

Her fingers curled at her sides, but she decided to ignore him. "Okay, here's what we're going to do..."

OoOoOo

The Founders' meeting was tense.

Shayera glanced between her teammates. Clark looked nervous. Bruce was his usual glowering self, though somehow he seemed silently furious. He could try to hide it all he wanted, she knew that some part of him had been affected by Lily's assault. Poor Diana had been silent to whole time, her eyes glued to the table. She had grown quite attached to her daughter. And of course, no one could blame her. John had been quiet too, but Shayera expected it was for an entirely different reason.

This would be interesting.

The only ones who were acting like themselves were Wally and J'onn, who were virtually unaffected. "This is a precarious situation," J'onn reminded them. "We are facing enemies we know nothing about."

"We don't know anything," Clark agreed. "But the future League most likely does. If they were targeted, the assailants were probably someone from their time."

"But Rex and Lily were caught completely off guard," John reminded them. "Whoever these attackers were, the kids don't know their identities."

Shayera nearly snorted at his use of 'kids.' Rex was in his thirties; he was older than her. But she supposed it was easier for him to see them as children since they hadn't even been born yet.

"Then how do we go forward?" she asked. "We have no knowledge of these enemies, therefore no means to defeat them. And if they're from the future, there's no doubt they have information on us."

The battle had proved that. The woman had been sly, quick. She had easily evaded her and countered Bruce, which was not easy to do. The man had been strong, nearly as strong as Diana. And headstrong. It was almost like he hadn't registered the pain John and Diana had inflicted on him.

They had no idea who they were dealing with.

Diana suddenly looked up, a righteous fury in her eyes. "I don't know why we're sitting here and not hunting down my daughter's aggressor," she snapped. Studying her friend, Shayera realized just how much Diana was struggling. And Shayera couldn't fault her. In the span of just over a week, Lily had become Diana's entire world.

Had Rex become hers?

"Easy, Di," soothed Wally from her right. "I know you're pissed. But if we want to catch these, we have to be careful."

Shayera smiled at the way the other redhead's words calmed Diana down. Wally really had a gift with his words, when he wanted to. The princess nodded reluctantly, slumping back into her chair.

"Why don't we ask them?" suggested Clark, though he looked uneasy. Which was understandable, considering how distant his son had been. Their successors had all reached out to them in some way, shape, or form. But the second Superman didn't seem to have any interest in connecting with his father.

It made her wonder how their relationships with their children would survive the test of time.

J'onn nodded. "I think that would be a good place to start," he agreed. "Even if they haven't figured out who, it might give us insight on how to handle the situation."

OoOoOo

And so there was a discussion.

The meeting between the two teams was ridiculously long. It took a little over four hours as information was shared and plans were made. It all came together well enough. Lily's plan to catch the perpetrators was simple, though solid. Bruce wasn't particularly happy with it, but even he had to admit it was the best course of action. Though, Lily's plans usually were.

Rex, however, had some concerns.

"Is using you as bait really necessary?" he questioned, watching as she typed away on one of the computers. She was gathering intelligence; on what, exactly, he didn't know.

Lily barely spared him a glance. "Yes," she answered. Her slender fingers diligently glided across the keyboard. "They already targeted me once before, they'll do it again."

Rex couldn't help but glare at her. "Yeah, and you almost died," he pointed out. The memory was sure to stay in his head; of her blood staining the pavement, staining his hands. How could she just forget-?

Sharp eyes finally met his as the typing ceased. "What's your problem?" demanded Lily, her dispassionate façade cracking slightly. "I've 'almost died' at least thirty times before in the past nine years and you've barely blinked. What makes now so different?" There was something almost... afraid about her expression. He couldn't place what it was. What did she have to be scared about?

"You don't have powers," he pointed out, exasperated. "I don't see why you have to put yourself on the front-"

Her top lip curled. "I don't need powers," she almost snarled. "I can handle myself."

Rex quickly reigned in his temper before he could say something he would later regret. It wasn't often he found himself irritated with Lily, but lately... "Just be careful," he relented. Something nagged him to say this, something like a sixth sense. Was there another reason he was being so insistent about her safety?

He didn't know.

Lily closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "I will," she accepted, her features relaxing marginally.

Rex gave her what he hoped resembled a smile. "That's all I ask." The half-Thanagarian turned to leave, pleased with himself.

He was almost at the door when she called out, "Rex?"

Rex turned back to look at her. "Yeah?" he asked.

A myriad of emotions passed through her blue eyes. There was something almost vulnerable about Lily's posture, though he had no idea why that was. She stared at him for several long seconds, her mouth partly open as if she wanted to say something, but couldn't for whatever reason. It was so unlike her that he started to fear that something was seriously wrong.

Finally Lily merely settled on, "You be careful too, okay?" she asked quietly.

Rex grinned uncertainly at her. "I'm always careful," he joked, knowing that this was in no way the case. But he felt it necessary to assure her for whatever reason.

She gave him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I know."

Chapter Text

From one of Gotham's many skyscrapers, Diana squinted down at the dark city. "Nothing yet," she noted with a critical eye, watching as people filed into the building. Although, that could have been a lie. She had no idea what she was supposed to be looking for. How could she tell who seemed suspicious and who didn't? Despite what most people- Shayera- thought, she didn't judge outer appearance.

Next to her, John grunted. "We don't know that," he responded. "Any one of these people could be our guys, rookie."

She was tempted to stick her tongue out at him, but figured that was beneath her. "Well, how are we supposed to know that?" she huffed impatiently. Though, a small part of her chortled; no wonder Bruce didn't want her in his precious city. Long stakeouts were definitely not her forte.

"Body language," piped up the future Batman from behind them. She had almost forgotten that he was there. "Or whoever looks like they're watching her. Might be hard to tell from here though."

Diana found herself studying him for a moment, not for the first time. He couldn't have been that old; twenty at the most. Once again, she wondered who, exactly, this young man was. Not just anyone could live up to the moniker Batman. If he wasn't a Wayne, who had Bruce deemed worthy of succeeding him?

"They'll tell us if anyone's suspicious," John interrupted her thoughts, nodding towards the building.

She hummed impatiently, crossing her arms over her chest. She still thought this plan risked too much. Even with the three of them on standby and everyone else ready to teleport down at a moment's notice, Lily had no powers. And she was with child. Diana had begged her daughter to reconsider given her state. But, well, Lily wouldn't be her child if she shied away from a fight. Or Bruce's if she gave up on a mission.

Stubborn child. Diana was not looking forward to facing that during her eventual motherhood. If it ever happened. If Bruce ever got his sh-

Not the time. She could dwell on that later. Focus. She had to get her head together. If things went wrong, she was the only one here who knew. Well, who knew and could actually act. Secret identities really did overcomplicate things, in her opinion. Still, she needed to be in her best mindset for this mission. Her best had to be even better.

Lily needed her. And Diana would not fail her Sun and Stars.

OoOoOo

There was something so creepy about his actions being mirrored so meticulously.

Bruce watched his supposed daughter from the corner of his eye. She moved with grace around the ballroom. She didn't attract much attention, but she easily struck up a conversation with a few people the playboy billionaire surrounded himself with. She had a dazzling, distractingly bright smile and Shayera hadn't hesitated to let him know that it was his own.

Good grief, maybe that was really his daughter. No one else he had ever met could plaster on such an act. Dick and Tim had never needed to; they were naturally friendly and charming (Tim was awkward, yes, but most people found that endearing). And of course, Alfred had always been able to sway anybody.

No one else could have taught her this other than him.

Dammit.

As Bruce occupied his guests with idle chatter, he surveyed the area. He knew who was attending, of course, and no one seemed to be out of the ordinary. He could place a name to every face. Which meant all of three things; their perpetrators had disguised themselves with cloaking technology, they were lurking outside the venue, or they simply hadn't taken the bait.

The plan had been a longshot. Though, in defense of Lily, there wasn't much else they could do. It wasn't as though they could leave these criminals in the present. Future knowledge and technology used here could be catastrophic. It was better to catch these trespassers so that they could send everyone to the time they belonged to.

"How are things?" came a sharp inquiry in his left ear.

The corners of Bruce's mouth twitched; his princess was as impatient as ever. "Nothing yet," he told her quietly. "And before you ask, she seems alright."

Diana sighed softly. "Good. That's good."

The fact that Lily was pregnant had definitely put a damper on his Justice Lord/clone theory. It still wasn't impossible, just very unlikely. But if they were here to destroy them, why reveal that one with child? And why would the others not know? It seemed counterintuitive. He would have to file these suspicions away for now.

Technically, he wasn't supposed to know about her current situation. But, well, the medical records were still on his system. Diana had begged him not to say anything and he had begrudgingly agreed. Why he hadn't shut the whole plan down, he didn't quite know.

Then, something caught his eye. Lily was talking animatedly with a woman- presumably, Mrs. Inga Gray, the wife of a chain designer shoe store owner- with her hands behind her back. Bruce was at a loss before her right index finger circled her left palm.

Shit.

"Be on alert," he hissed quietly, stealthily making his way towards her.

"What-?!" panicked Diana, but Bruce silenced the earpiece. He would get chewed out for that later, he was sure, but he would deal with that when it came. Right now, they had bigger things to worry about.

OoOoOo

A Themysciran curse tore from Diana's lips and John sighed. He adored Diana- she was like the annoying, bratty little sister he'd never had- but he despised stakeouts with her. She was horribly impatient. The only person he hated being paired up with more than her was Wally; the man couldn't stand still and be quiet to save his life. He wished he could say that was an exaggeration.

"What is it?" he demanded exasperatedly.

Diana leveled him with a glare- one that told him he was on thin fucking ice- and curled her fingers into a fist. "He hung up on me," she snapped back.

John would have laughed had he not been the only available target of her ire. Dammit, Bruce. How was it that he was always caught in the middle of these two? "Did he say anything?" he asked evenly.

She huffed. "Only to be on alert," she told him. "For what, I have no idea."

The kid seemed to understand. "They must've found something," he realized. If John was being honest, nothing about this new Batman reminded him of Bruce.

John nodded. "He probably has a lead," he agreed. "Things are probably gonna get ugly."

Something akin to fear passed through his friend's sapphire orbs. And that was odd; Diana was never scared. "What are we supposed to do?" she nearly cried. "Wait here to die like a herd?"

He blinked. "Die like cattle," he corrected. "And no. You know him, he always has a plan. We just have to be patient, rookie."

Diana stared at him for a moment, the promised vengeance of a warrior princess in her gaze, before she inhaled sharply. "Fine," she bit out irritably.

Satisfied, John allowed his thoughts to roam. If they caught these guys tonight, then all they had to do was wait for Gold to return from his mission. The kids would go back to their own time and they would be left with fragments of memories. He almost wished they had gotten more time.

But he knew he didn't deserve it. Hell, at this point, he probably didn't deserve to have Rex. All he had gotten from this situation was a heavier chest and unrelenting guilt concerning Mari and Shayera. If Rex was here, he would undoubtedly leave Mari, right? So was it fair to continue to date her? Was it fair to hold this future above Diana's head?

Fate could go screw itself, honestly.

It was then that Lily herself walked out of the building, led by a woman he didn't recognize. Nothing good could come from this, he reckoned. Next to him, Diana tensed.

"Wait," he hissed at her, holding up his ring. She ignored him this time, her eyes trained on the scene in front of them as she drew her sword. Even the kid had unsheathed a weapon from his belt.

But Diana flinched, flinging herself behind them to draw up her bracers. John watched as she took the full brunt of a powerful blast aimed at their backs. She grunted, but successfully deflected the hit. John responded with his own blast, his ring burning with power against his finger. From what he could see, their attacker had a very similar build to who they had faced last time.

Which meant this was a distraction. Shit. "We need backup," John barked into his earpiece.

OoOoOo

Shayera liked to think that she had good instincts.

And not just battle-wise either; there were some things military training couldn't teach. If a mass murderer entered the room, there was a ninety percent chance she would know it. The day they had faced the Royal Flush Gang, she'd had this awful feeling. And John had ended up caught in an explosion. Things had always been like that for her.

The night they'd enacted this plan had been no different.

Despite J'onn's attempts to coax Shayera down into the commissary to eat, she had refused. They were going to need her; she just knew it. She had stood close to the teleporters, ready to drop down in an instance. She had apparently passed this down to Rex because he'd done the same.

Although, he seemed to be a lot calmer than her. Go figure.

Finally, Shayera had to break the ice. "You feel it too, right?" she demanded. "Something's gonna go wrong tonight."

Rex started, looking down at her with her own green eyes. "I-" He paused for a moment, his fist curling at his side. "Maybe. Dammit, I don't know. They're all capable, aren't they? Why should we doubt them?"

She raised an eyebrow. "But you do?" she challenged.

He sighed. "Yeah," he admitted.

This did nothing for Shayera's nerves. Dammit, she should be down there. But Bruce had warned them not to interfere. Because a) their appearance could alert the trespassers to their plan and b) "It's my damn city and I don't want any more of you there if you don't have to be."

How did Diana put up with him?

Diana seemed to be able to do a lot of things she couldn't. Like remain fiercely optimistic in dire situations. Or maybe that was her devoted faith. Shayera had never been a person of faith. Diana's deities were on her side, or she believed they were. And that was always enough to push her forwards.

Shayera had no one. She had nothing to fight for other than her undying will. And sometimes, that was not even close to enough.

The redheaded woman was about to say something else, when a transmission came through her earpiece. "We need backup." That was John. And from the sound of his voice, things were getting rough fast.

Shayera practically flew to the teleporters, Rex right on her heels. Wally was already there and she assumed that others would be there soon. "Finally!" he exclaimed dramatically. "I was getting bored!"

Shayera sent him a fierce glare, but chose to ignore him. If she blew up at Wally for everything, nothing would ever get done. Wordlessly, she entered the teleporter closest to her and prepared herself to be dropped into the middle of a fight.

All the while, the feeling in her stomach grew worse.

Chapter Text

Usually, situations like this were no problem for Lily.

Staking out a target was apart of her job, after all. Undercover assignments were a necessity; in Gotham City especially, but also in other places. She had done it countless times, almost always instantly locating and apprehending her quarry. It was the age-old, unchanging game of Cat and Mouse.

Only this time, she was the mouse. And this time, she didn't have just her well-being to keep in mind.

Was it selfish to do this while pregnant? Lily didn't think it was. It wasn't as though she was charging into battle. Her father was twenty feet away from her, and her mother and Terry were waiting outside with Lantern. Everything would be alright. They wouldn't let anything happen to her or-

Lily swallowed thickly. Or the baby. Hera, how could she have-?

She tightly closed her eyes. Stop, focus. She couldn't afford to be distracted right now. There would be plenty of time to reprimand herself when they were all home safe. Right now, she had a job to do.

Her heart in her throat, Lily performed as she usually did. A dazzling smile here, a charming hand gesture there. She had been doing this for a while. And though she was woefully at a disadvantage, this was still her game.

She verbally poked and prodded at the people around her, attempting to get one of them to divulge villainous intent. Disappointingly, it was the same dull, selfish crowd she usually encountered. Why had she thought it would be any different in the past?

Lily allowed her thoughts to drift to her team. What were they doing right now? Kai-Ro was probably meditating. That child boggled her mind more often than not. M'gann was probably busy in the kitchen. The woman couldn't cook to save her life, but she never let that stop her. Kent was either punching something or grumbling to himself somewhere. And Rex-

The corners of her mouth twitched. She could practically see the man sitting near the teleporters. His face would probably be stoic as usual, but she knew better. If he thought a single thing would go wrong tonight, his conscience wouldn't let him relax. That was just how he was, how he had always been.

Thinking of Rex made her stomach churn. She decided to stop if only to resist the urge to throw up. Morning sickness was a real pain in the ass.

As she pulled herself out of her thoughts, something caught Lily's eye. A middle-aged woman with graying hair tied into a tight bun walked past her. She immediately recognized the woman as Inga Gray, the wife of a designer shoe store owner. In her time, Gray Chic had gone bankrupt fifteen years prior because her daughter-in-law had robbed the company blind. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary-

Other than the fact that Gray was wearing sandals from Maria's Boutique, one of Gray Chic's biggest competitors. Inga Gray was said to be a proud woman; she would have never supported her husband's rivals. Bingo.

Carefully maneuvering around the room, Lily timed a perfect collision with the woman. She grunted softly, controlling the impact of her fall (and being wary of her stomach).

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" exclaimed Gray, holding out a hand. "Excuse me, Miss-?"

"Martha," Lily supplied, taking the offered hand. "Martha Prince." She pulled herself to her feet, largely regretting wearing heels. She subtly inspected the woman's face; everything was in order. If it weren't for the shoes, she would have never suspected anything.

As Gray took a good look at her face, her dull dark eyes glinted slightly. "I'm not sure I've ever heard that name," she replied casually. "What is it you do, Miss Prince?" It was a type of test. The kind of woman Inga had been was cold and distant. She would never have wasted time with someone as mediocre as her Martha Prince persona.

Lily smiled pleasantly. "I'm a museum curator," she answered vaguely. If asked, Lily would say that her persona was from Central City. But she was sure it wouldn't come to that. Lily was confident of a few things: she wasn't speaking to Inga Gray and needed to get this situation under control.

But how to go about that?

Gray chuckled lowly, and the atmosphere around them suddenly turned sinister. "Is that so?" she questioned.

Lily's jaw clenched. "Yes," she answered carefully. "I would be more than happy to tell you more outside." Her heart was racing against her ribcage, but she forced herself to keep smiling. 'Take control of the situation, play on your terms.'

Gray wore the facade of a kind, gentle smile. It might have fooled anyone else. But the Wonder Woman of the future had been trained to spot a fraudulent smile. "That sounds lovely," she commented. "I hear that this place has a beautiful balcony view."

Lily's bared her teeth, her smile faltering. "I'd love to see it." Her chin raised, she trailed after the woman. It almost felt as though she was willingly trudging to her end across the River Styx. She didn't think she had ever felt so-

No, she wasn't alone. Bruce Wayne was in the room. Her dad was right there with her. She just needed to let him know she was in danger. Folding her hands behind her back, Lily gently circled her left palm with her left index finger. Praying to her gods that nothing had changed in fifty years, she followed whoever was posing as Inga Gray out of the building.

OoOoOo

Rex and Shayera were in Gotham in an instant, unconcerned about where the other Founders were. There was a tight feeling in Rex's chest as they descended upon the battle. Diana, Terry, and his father were keeping the masked assailant in front of them busy. "I'll stay here," said his mother, raising her mace. "You go find her."

How did she-? Never mind. He did as she said, diving down near the balcony. He hid under it as not to alert their enemies. Rex knew he needed to wait for the right moment to act, or they'd lose their opportunity. Their enemies had the technology to teleport anywhere. They needed to capture these villains before they did any more damage to the time stream. Straining his ears, Rex attempted to listen to Lily's conversation.

"You've gone through a lot of trouble," said Lily cooly. "And I don't even know your name or why you're here." To anyone else, she may have sounded detached and composed. But Rex knew her better. She was blindsided and- and maybe even afraid.

But why? Why was she afraid? What was she hiding from them?

"The tough act is cute," replied a raspy, light voice. It sounded vaguely familiar, but Rex couldn't place it. "But who are you fooling? You're all alone with no backup and no powers to aid you."

Rex's jaw clenched. It disturbed him that this woman knew about her lack of powers, but at least she wasn't aware he was here. He just had to wait for the right moment to present himself. If he could do that, then everything would be alright.

"Who said I have no powers?" challenged Lily. He imagined she was lifting her chin puffing out her chest. She often did that when she was attempting to intimidate. He would know; she had tried it on him many times before.

"It's written all over your face," jabbed the woman cruelly. "It would probably be so easy to slit your throat right here." Involuntarily, Rex's fingers curled into a fist. Not while he was still breathing.

Lily scoffed. "You're welcome to try," she beckoned. The terror in her tone, however, had not gone away.

'Talk to me!' he wanted to shout at her. The tightness in his chest had squeezed even harder. 'Tell me what's wrong! I promise I'll fix it; let me fix it.' His silent plea- of course- fell on deaf ears. Rex had never been a man of faith anyway.

He took a deep breath; there would be time for that later. Right now, he had to focus on his objective.

"Make no mistake, Wayne, you will die," vowed the woman, no small amount of venom dripping from her voice. "But why don't you tell your little guard under the balcony what you've been hiding from him?"

Fuck.

Rex stayed where he was. The woman might have been grasping at straws. She didn't know he was there. And even if she did, Lily might be able to give him an opening.

'But what does she know that I don't?' He shoved this thought to the back of his head.

"I don't know what you're talking about," responded Lily. And technically, that was the truth. She couldn't have known he was there. "My only aid is on that roof where you sent your colleague."

The woman laughed. "You're a bad liar, Wayne," she taunted. "Why don't you come on out, Stewart? If you don't, I might have to hurt her."

Rex knew what was happening. Whoever this woman was, she had watched them for a while. This woman might have been watching them since before the incident. She was baiting him, testing his loyalty and protectiveness. His instincts were screaming at him to intervene.

His head was insisting that he stay put. 'Lily can handle herself.'

Except, this woman had hurt her before. And Lily wasn't herself. Rex closed his eyes, knowing he would never hear the end of it. She would hate him, might yell at him, or may curse his name. But at least she would be alive to do it. His metal wings flexed as he prepared to glide up onto the balcony.

"No, you won't," Lily smoothly insisted. Her voice held an edge, attempting to warn him off. "If you wanted me dead right now, you would have done it at the cafe. Killing me won't do anything. The heroes of this time will still exist. You're planning to hold me here to draw the rest of them in. You want to kill the Founders to stop them from ever having us."

Rex might have been surprised if he hadn't been dealing with this woman for thirty years. He racked his brain, thinking of what to do. If what she said was true, then she was safe for now. But Lily was also a gambler when it came to her own life. She couldn't possibly be sure she would be left alive.

Dammit. Think, Stewart, think.

The woman was silent. Then, "Killing you will bring them here either way. It may be even better; rage and grief will consume them to the point where they won't be able to fight properly."

Rage swelled within his chest. He remembered the pain they had all gone through fourteen years ago. Lily had lost the light in her eyes, West's smile had dimmed, Kent had regressed into himself and him-

He had run. Rex had stopped being there for them, for the only family he had left. Everything had been too much for him, so he had locked away his grief and pain. He had failed to protect them. He had done nothing but watch as they were forced to grow up too fast. He couldn't let that happen, not again. He had failed them once and he had promised himself it would never happen again.

He wouldn't abandon them once more. Whether they wanted him around or not, Rex was here to stay.

Thinking quickly, he dove to the ground only to pull up at the last second. Using his armor as a battering ram, he struck through the balcony floor. The concrete shattered, debris tumbling to the ground. Both women let out startled yelps and Rex quickly caught Lily by her hand. Her arm laid across his chest as he gently lowered her to the ground.

Uncaring that their enemy was falling, Rex was almost disappointed that Superman caught her just in time. Of course, he had known that the other League members were watching and would catch her, but was it awful to hope that they'd be a few seconds too late?

Probably. And Rex was alright with that.

He glanced down to where Lily was watching with that calculating, thoughtful look in her eyes. "Warhawk," she uttered softly. "Does she seem familiar to you?"

Rex glanced at the woman, who was shrieking profanities at poor, clueless Uncle Clark. Jesus, who was this psycho? "Honestly, Flower, I don't really care right now," he said. He watched as she blinked in surprise. He gently took her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

Lily's lips parted. "I-" She looked over to where her mother was apprehending the other villain, then back up at him. Finally, she winced, rolling her shoulder as she shoved his hand away. "Hera, warn me next time before you do that."

He rolled his eyes; she was fine. That was good; he had been afraid of her getting caught in the aftermath of the crash "Don't be such a baby," he countered.

She childishly stuck her tongue out at him.

"If you two are done," grumbled Terry, stalking past them. The kid looked unharmed for the most part. Rex was actually content with that; as much as he thought the twip was annoying, he didn't want him hurt. "We have prisoners to interrogate."

Lily looked at him, bewildered. "Did you just... scold us?" she asked, eyes wide. Rex was blinking in confusion beneath his helmet.

This felt screwed up and backwards.

"Just hurry," Terry snapped irritably. They were too stunned to argue as they followed him.

Chapter Text

Diana cursed under her breath as her lasso burned ineffectively. She tightened her grip on the magical rope, nearing her limit of patience. "I will ask once more; who are you, and what are your motives?" she hissed. The Amazon ignored Bruce's annoyed elbow to her abdomen, focusing on their enemy, who was sitting across from them nonchalantly. The sight caused anger to stir violently within her core. How dare this- this harpy act so calm!

The woman quirked an amused eyebrow. "Someone's in a terrible mood," she mocked. She glanced at Batman. "She has quite the temper. You really ought to keep her on a-"

"Finish that sentence, and I'll be sure it's the last thing you say," Diana snapped, her jaw clenching with rage. She knew she ought to have better control over herself right now, but she couldn't help it. This woman had attacked her daughter (twice!). Lily could have lost her baby.

She deserved to pay.

Diana growled, realizing her lasso wasn't working. Few individuals could resist its power, namely the Gods themselves and a couple of powerful sorcerers. It must have been the work of future technology. They had thoroughly searched the perpetrators for any weapons, but who knew what fifty years of technological advancements had produced? Damn it all.

Bruce had been quiet for a while. He had most likely realized the same things she had at least ten minutes ago. She knew how this worked. Clark was the good cop, she was the bad cop, and Bruce was the detective. Unfortunately, Clark's presence had severely agitated their captive. However, Diana's irritation might have been enough to draw the woman's attention away from Bruce's silent analysis.

The woman fell silent once more, and it was clear she wasn't going to give them any answers. Beside Diana, Bruce raised his head. "Whether you talk or not won't make a difference to me," he stated with his usual self-assured arrogance. "When the time comes, Wonder Woman and her League will take you back to your time, figure out your identity, and detain you. You're stalling now because you're delaying the inevitable."

And there it was; annoyance and distaste flickered on the woman's face. Diana may not have affected her, but Bruce was another story. Why was that? "That pathetic excuse of a woman will not be able to hold me," she hissed. "You couldn't have chosen a more incapable successor."

Diana growled under her breath, her hand twitching for her sword. She was surprised, however, when Bruce bristled. It was subtle, and most wouldn't have noticed, but Diana could see the tension in his shoulders.

It seemed as though their daughter was growing on him. She would have teased him had they not been in the middle of an interrogation.

But Bruce stayed as composed as usual. "I see now," he concluded, smirking a bit as he leaned back in his chair. "You're jealous of her."

The woman scowled, jumping out of her seat. "I am not jealous of that wench!" she practically growled.

Bruce stood up. "I think we have everything we need, Diana," he told her, turning to walk out of the room. Diana, confused, followed, leaving the woman to lunge after them. Her chains held her to the table as the two heroes left, her curses following them.

Diana frowned once they were alone. "Why did you do that?" she asked. It didn't seem like they had gotten any information out of her. What had been the point of provoking her if they weren't going to exploit it?

"It's obvious this woman has a grudge against the League," Bruce told her. "At first, I thought she just hated the League in general. But it's apparent that she reacts differently to us."

Diana caught on. "She was ready to rip Kal's head off," she recalled from when they had captured the woman and her partner. "She looked down on me, and you annoyed her. And Lily-"

"Jealousy," finished Bruce. "A need to best her. Lily is someone she sees as a rival. If I had to guess, I'd say she's an Amazon gone rogue."

Diana adamantly shook her head. "Too tiny," she insisted. Amazons were tall and broad; this woman was lithe and short. "Besides, I'm sure I would have recognized her." However, now that she thought about it, the harpy sitting in the interrogation room did look familiar, if only vaguely. But she was sure that wasn't a face she had ever seen on Themyscira.

"We'll have to ask Lily," reasoned Bruce, leading her to their daughter's temporary quarters. "She would know better than us."

Diana smirked. "Batman asking for help," she teased him. "There's a first time for everything, I guess." White lenses narrowed at her, but Bruce said nothing as they strolled along the corridors. The future Justice League was in the west wing, where they usually housed essential witnesses. They weren't the nicest rooms, but they would comfortably hold anyone.

They also had heavy security. Any of the Founders would be alerted whenever the future League entered or exited their rooms.

Lily's room was the first one. Originally, that was due to her being the apparent leader. When they approached the door, Diana knocked softly and was met with a quiet, "Come in."

Diana and Bruce walked into the room to find Lily sitting on her bed. She wasn't wearing her uniform and her hair was in a high ponytail. She was facing the wall away from them, and for some reason, it felt as though she was a million miles away instead of a few feet.

Diana wasted no time plopping herself down onto the bed next to her. "Hello, darling," she greeted. She noticed her daughter was holding a picture of some sort. Upon closer inspection, it was apparent that it was a sonogram. "Is that...?"

Lily nodded. "Ultrasound," she answered. The expression on her face was indescribable. "Manhunter wanted to make sure the, uh, baby was okay."

The Amazon tried to give her a supportive smile. "And?" she prompted, praying to Artemis that the child was unharmed. If her unborn grandchild was hurt in any way, not even Kal would be able to stop her from stomping back into that interrogation room and ripping that harpy's head off.

"He's fine," the other woman murmured as she continued to stare at the picture. "There's a good chance he barely felt anything."

Diana was unable to help the grin that forced its way onto her face. "He?" she echoed.

Lily flushed, finally looking up from the ultrasound to meet her eyes. "Uncle J'onn is pretty sure it's a boy," she clarified. She absentmindedly ran her thumb over the picture.

Diana's heart warmed in her chest; this was a stark difference from the woman's initial reaction to being pregnant. Of course, it wasn't quite excitement, but at least it was a step-up from misery? Was Lily warming up to the idea of being a mother? She poked her daughter's soft cheek. "That's great, darling," she stated. "Are you-?"

Bruce impatiently cleared his throat behind them and Diana started. She had forgotten he was even there. "We just finished interrogating your assailant," he said briskly.

Lily immediately straightened, her face hardening. Diana could have flung Bruce out of the nearest airlock. "Did you find anything out?" asked Lily in the exact. Same. Tone. Diana suddenly felt terrible for her future self.

"She has a strong distaste for Kent, Diana, and myself," Bruce told her. "And I have reason to believe that she's envious of you."

Lily blinked. "Of me?" she asked, confused. "Why in Athena's name-?"

"We were hoping you could tell us," Diana cut in smoothly, fighting off the sudden urge to reprimand her daughter. Her mother had done something similar when she used the Gods' names in vain. "Have you ever seen her before?"

Lily was quiet for a long time. "It seemed like it earlier," she finally answered. Her eyebrows furrowed in thought. "She looked familiar, but I couldn't place her face. Are you running a DNA test on her?"

Bruce nodded. "It'll take time," he told her. "Yours was fast because Diana and I were already in the League's system. For her and her partner, we'll have to draw DNA samples from the Batcave's computer as well as other data banks I have set up." Diana blinked, surprised that he was sharing so much information. Was this the same man who had been so adamant about distrusting the future League?

Lily nodded. "So the League and Batcave's computers aren't linked?" she assumed. "That's smart in case someone ever messes with the League's system."

The slits of Bruce's cowl twitched with interest. "Are yours?"

"Yeah," answered Lily, frowning. "But other than me, M'gann is really the only one with access to the League's files. And only the seven of us have access to the computer. I figured that it would be better to have all the information I needed accessible to me wherever I was."

Bruce nodded his acceptance. "As long as you take the proper precautions."

Diana blinked with bewilderment. What was happening? She didn't think she had ever seen Bruce have a conversation quite like this before, not even with J'onn. Just her luck, Lily had inherited his intelligence. Internally, Diana groaned; another exypnákias to deal with.

But she found her attention lingering on something else. Lily seemed to be connected to her League in a way Bruce just wasn't. She was willing to admit that the new Flash was her best friend, that she cared about Warhawk and her Batman. Hell, even admitting that she despised Kal's son was enough to make her think. Diana had been worried that Lily had adopted Bruce's lone bat mentality. But that seemed to be far from the truth.

Diana couldn't help but smile. Being like Bruce wasn't a bad thing; he was one of the most noble, caring heroes she had ever met. But, well, she liked to think that she'd had some influence on their daughter too.

Bruce suddenly seemed to catch himself, slipping back into the Bat. "If that's all your information, we should be going," he said swiftly. Diana frowned; she should have known it wouldn't last long. It only took one instant for Bruce to realize he was openly displaying human emotion before he reverted back to the mask. She hated it. "Let us know if you recall anything about our mystery woman."

Lily didn't seem to mind. "Will do," she promised. But then she reached under her pillow, handing them both two pictures. "Here, before I forget. I had Uncle J'onn make copies." Diana watched with amazement as she shyly fidgeted from her place on the bed. It was as if the thirty-year-old woman before them had become younger by at least fifteen years. "I thought you might want them."

Diana delicately held the picture in her hands, cursing herself for the tears welling in her eyes. Her grandchild. Sometimes in the future, she could be a grandmother. Dear Hera, it was almost too much for her. At that moment, she felt so much at once.

Most prominently, the sudden anger she felt towards the man next to her.

Shoving that aside, Diana kissed Lily on the top of her head. "Thank you, my Sun and Stars," she whispered. "We'll talk later, okay?"

Lily seemed aware of her mood change, but didn't comment on it. "Okay," she agreed. She waved to Bruce. "Bye, Dad."

Bruce pressed his lips into a thin line. "I suppose nothing I say will get you to drop that?" he guessed. But he didn't sound angry. No, he was... amused? Huh, he must have been developing a soft spot for their daughter. 'Serves him right.'

She grinned. "I'm stubborn," she admitted.

"Wonder where you get that from."

Diana scowled. "You, obviously," she snapped as she walked past him out of the room. But once she was out of his line of sight, she smiled. If Lily was growing on him, maybe the three- four- of them had a chance.

She could only pray to Hera and the Fates themselves that a family would be in her future.

Chapter Text

Shayera was immediately on edge when they were called for an unscheduled Founders' meeting.

It could only mean one thing, of course. Their captive's identity had been revealed. But what really set off the warning bells in her head was the absence of the kids. This was their case, why hadn't Bruce seen fit to include them? Shayera's wings tensed as she pondered the severity of the situation. This could only be new she didn't want to hear.

Diana was next to Clark, who was at the head of the table as usual. Her friend was so very clearly pissed off, though that could have been for a number of reasons. Bruce was normally the main culprit, but she doubted it was his fault this time.

The Man of Steel cleared his throat. "I've called you here today because Batman has identified our mystery woman," he announced.

From her left, John raised an eyebrow. "Why aren't the kids here?" he asked, voicing her thoughts. It was scary, sometimes, how they could go from so distant to being on the same wavelength in a heartbeat. She supposed that their similar military training had something to do with that.

Wally tapped his finger against the table. "Can we really call them kids?" he questioned. "Most of them are in their thirties; they're older than me!"

"Not the point," grunted Bruce, garnering everyone's attention as he stood, looming over them. The white lenses of his cowl were slits, but Shayera didn't think it was in the angry way it usually was. "The DNA results came back an hour ago. Our captive was a genetic match with the rogue Amazon known as Aresia."

Diana gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth. J'onn who was next to her, placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "B-But how?" she demanded, her blue eyes haunted. "Aresia is dead. And she couldn't have a child, Amazons-" She cut herself off, as is remembering Lily existed. Or, rather, would exist.

"Obviously, there is a way," Bruce snapped. Diana looked like she wanted to retort, but seemed to think better of it. Though, Shayera didn't doubt that she would tear Bruce a new one later.

"We also have to take into consideration that Aresia wasn't born an Amazon," J'onn pointed out. "Her anatomy may differ from the others."

"Well, should we look for her?" suggested Wally. Everyone turned to look at him. "What? I mean, if she is alive, then shouldn't we find her? Then, the kids, dammit, won't have to worry about this in the future."

The other six pondered that for a moment. Could it really hurt to look for her? It would save the future League a few weeks' worth of trouble, and maybe it would stop all of this from happening in the first place. But then, they would never meet their children. More imperatively, they wouldn't know about the woman to begin with, so they wouldn't look for Aresia, so-

"No," Shayera spoke up, surprising herself. She normally didn't speak up during meetings, uninterested in politics or espionage. She just wanted to do what needed to be done. "I don't know much about this time travel business, but that sounds like a time loop. I don't think any of us wants that."

"She's right," agreed Bruce, nodding. "It's better not to risk it. But if we do happen to come across her, we should apprehend her on sight."

"And what of the children?" asked Diana pointedly. "Shouldn't we tell them? She is from their time, after all."

"It can wait," decided Clark. "They've been through a lot. We should give them time to settle." Shayera wasn't sure how Clark knew this, considering he avoided Superman Jr. like the plague.

Diana didn't look too happy about this, but didn't argue. Shayera was eighty-eight percent sure she would end up telling Lily anyway.

OoOoOo

As it turned out, Rex could absolutely talk much if he wanted to. Kind of like right now.

Shayera listened to him rant with amusement. The defensive, hostile tone he used reminded her oh so much of herself. John used finality, as if his way was the only sensible option. It endlessly drove her up the walls and had always been a source of conflict between them. It was nice to know that she wouldn't have to put up with that from her son.

That was, if she ever had him. Stupid John.

"-and for some reason, Kai-Ro has decided that he'll disappear whenever he feels like it, that little twip-"

Twip. Schway. Dreg. Such odd words. "He's young for a Lantern," Shayera cut in. All of the Green Lanterns she had met had been as old as or older than John. That child couldn't have been older than eleven!

Rex seemed to calm down marginally. "I don't know the whole story," he told her. "Only Lily and M'gann do. But his people are an advanced race from another solar system. They go through a process at five years old to reach universal peace and enlightenment or something like that. Apparently, that was enough for the Corps to recruit him."

"Not you?"

He scoffed, green eyes darkening. "Even if they had, I would have thrown that ring back at them and told them to shove it-"

Shayera couldn't help it, she laughed. "You're in a mood," she remarked. "What's got your boxers in a twist, son?" However guilty she felt for not sharing information with the future League, maybe it was for the best. They all seemed to have a lot on their mind. It could wait a while.

Rex pouted, his arms crossed over his chest. "...Nothing."

She poked his shoulder, similar to how she used to get John to talk to her when he was having a bad day. "Come on," she pressed. "What, you think I can't relate to your young people problems? I was young once too, you know!"

He gave her a dry look. "I'm older than you," he reminded her, but she saw the subtle twitch of his lips.

"All the more reason," she insisted with a nod. "Now, talk to your mother."

Rex stared at her for a long time. For a moment, she was afraid she had pushed top far. But then he sighed, his shoulders sagging slightly. "I feel like I'm missing something," he admitted to her. "Something big, and I don't know what."

Shayera thought about this. "Does it have anything to do with Lily?" she asked pointedly. She wasn't blind; she could see the obvious tension between them. It was all too reminiscent of Diana and Bruce.

Her son grimaced. "Kind of?" he answered. "Well, yeah, I guess. I don't know, she seems off. And then there's this smell around her-" He snapped his mouth shut and quickly amended, "Not a bad smell. Jeez, don't tell her I said that. It's just... different. And anytime she's around, I can't stop thinking about it and it's never happened before."

As he spoke, Shayera felt realization tug at her mind as exactly what was happening hit her like her mace. Holy shit.

Rex blinked. "What's with the look?" he asked.

Could it really be-? No, surely she would have told him in the future. How could she not? It was vital for every young Thanagarian male to know. So why didn't he know? Shayera coughed. "Er, nothing," she lied. Maybe this was something different.

After all, it had been nearly a decade since she'd stepped foot on Thanagar. But just to be sure. "You and Lily, you seem close."

Most wouldn't have been able to tell, but Shayera was a trained detective. Rex quickly stole a glance at the woman across the room, but his eyes were back on her before she could blink. "We're... friends," he told her. "Teammates. Why?"

Oh god, how many times had she heard that before?

Her eyes drifted back to her tray, her food suddenly unappealing. "No reason."

OoOoOo

"Shayera? What can I do for- oof!"

John didn't get to finish his sentence as Shayera practically shoved him back into his room. Making sure the door was closed firmly behind her, she turned her gaze to him. John stumbled, quickly regaining his footing. "Shay, what the hell?" he demanded, looking at her like she'd grown a second head.

Shayera couldn't keep it in anymore. "Lily is pregnant with Rex's baby!" she hissed. She had to tell someone. Diana and Bruce were completely out of the question (one would overreact, the other would underreact), Wally could never keep his mouth shut, Clark hated keeping secrets, and J'onn...

Well, she just couldn't find J'onn at the moment. Besides, John was Rex's father; it felt odd that she knew and he didn't.

John stared at her, his mouth agape. "Come again?"

She groaned. "You heard me!" she snapped. She couldn't think straight; she wasn't even a mother yet and she was about to be a grandmother.

Her ex-lover seemed to get a hold of himself, his expression shifting back into its usual austerity. "How do you know?" he asked sharply. "Did he tell you that?"

Shayera shook her head. "He doesn't even know," she explained. "But his body does."

"And that means?"

She smacked his arm. "Focus," she scolded. "Thangarian men have the ability to know when their child is being carried, usually through smell. Well, Rex happens to be getting a weird scent off her." It was a way to distinguish whether their mate's child was theirs. If she was guilty of infidelity, there was a good chance she was killed. It wasn't encouraged, but it definitely wasn't frowned upon.

Things were so different on Thanagar.

"And you're sure it isn't-"

"Finish that sentence, Stewart, and I'll tell Vixen you wet that bed until you were thirteen."

John chuckled. "Hey, I told you that in confidence." He peered down at her contemplatively. "What do we do with this?"

Shayera shrugged. "Just thinking about how there will always be a link between me and Diana." She shuddered for dramatic effect. "Think we'll be in-laws?"

"You and Diana related; that's a scary thought," quipped John.

She shoved him, but couldn't help but laugh along with him. "Shut up." God, she missed this, just laughing and joking with him. She had been at ease with John in ways she just hadn't been able to be with Hro. And with Carter...

Well, that entire situation was a hit or miss.

God, she really had thrown away the best time of her life. Not just with John, but with the entire League. Clark, J'onn, and Wally- while welcoming and kind- were still wary around her. Surprisingly, it was Diana and Bruce she was closest with these days. Which was ironic, considering she hardly spent any time with them the first time around.

Now, free Saturday evenings were spent watching stupid romantic comedies with Diana. And sometimes, she would visit the manor just for a chess match.

But as much as she valued her friendships with both Bruce and Diana, she missed John. She missed playing in the snow like children. She missed making a ruckus at any bar they could find, out-drinking half the men there. She missed his loved, his trust.

She missed what could have been.

Rex being here was like a bitter reminder of what she would never have. And Lily having her grandchild, a baby she would never get to meet, was added salt to the wound. But it was pain Shayera welcomed. For months- no- years she had been numb. She had lost her planet, fiance, friends, and the love of her life. She'd had nothing, even after being welcomed back into the League.

But this made her heart ache with pain. And she reveled in it. She would rather have known Rex and loved him than never meet him at all.

And it was the same with John. Loving him had been the most passionate, invigorating, loving time in her life. And even if they never got back together, even if he married Mari and had ten babies with her, she wouldn't trade that time for all the planets in the solar system.

John looked at her in alarm. "Shay," he said urgently, grabbing her face. "What's wrong?"

Shayera hadn't even realized she was crying, but she gave him a watery smile anyway. Had she ever cried in front of him? "Nothing," she told him, wiping the tears rolling down her cheeks. Everything, she wanted to say.

"Nothing at all."

Chapter Text

Bruce stared at the woman standing at his front door.

Lily, dressed in a long trench coat and sneakers, stared back at him. Her long hair was a mess atop her head and her eyes harbored terrible bags underneath them. She was startlingly different than the immaculately dressed woman he had met on the Watchtower, whose uniform was meticulous and whose hair was perfectly done.

Was this what being pregnant did to women?

Bruce raised an eyebrow at her outfit. "I suppose you want money for clothes?" he guessed.

She gave him a guilty grin. "I could use a few outfits," she admitted sheepishly. "My uniform... doesn't really fit right now. Mom offered to lend me her clothes, but they're tight and really uncomfortable-"

"Aren't tight clothes bad for the baby?" he questioned. He thought he remembered Leslie telling him something like that. Though how or why the conversation came about eluded him at the moment.

Lily shrugged. "Jeans, maybe? Hera, I don't know." She ran a hand over her face. "Seems like I don't really know anything anymore."

Bruce looked at his adult daughter who, for the first time since he met her, looked completely lost. He moved aside. "Come in," he beckoned. "I'm afraid I'm low on women's clothes, but Dick should have a hoodie and sweats you can borrow until we get you something else."

Her face brightened. "Really?" she asked as she trailed after him. "Will you go with me? Gotham is so different, I don't think I know my way around."

He could have lied. He could have said he had a meeting in half an hour or a charity to attend. But as he looked into her excited face, Bruce found the will to say no steadily diminishing. "If I must," he agreed, though he internally cursed himself. "I shouldn't let you wonder on your own anyway, you're already a magnet for danger."

Was that all it took for his iron will to shatter?

Lily giggled at him. "Sure, Dad," she said easily, like she didn't believe him for a second. It made his heart swell just slightly.

OoOoOo

Lily didn't seem like the type of woman to like shopping, yet here they were, two and a half hours later.

"I know, I know," she sighed, holding up a light pink maternity dress to her chest. "I'm taking forever. But the clothes here are so... loose."

Bruce had taken her to a private boutique in a less dense area of Gotham. He was eighty percent sure he owned a share of it, but he couldn't be positive. Lucius handled things like that. He watched as she tried on dresses, overalls, and loose pants and blouses. None of them really seemed to interest her, but she appeared content to settle.

"Isn't that what you're going for?" he inquired.

Lily waved him off. "Styles are different where I'm from," she told him casually. "Sleek has been the style for the past, what, twenty years? I don't think dresses like these exist anymore. It's weird."

Bruce gave a noncommittal grunt. "Why not try the... overalls?" he suggested gesturing to the other side of the store. "They should be loose enough around your stomach."

She pondered this. "Worth a shot, I guess," she relented, wandering in that direction. She picked up a pair of light blue ones before disappearing behind the dressing room door." As she left, Bruce's phone vibrated in his pocket. Checking the message, he scowled.

Princess: So... taking your daughter shopping I see.

He had known he would regret giving Diana his cell phone number. She had pestered him to give it to her months ago, to his repeated denial. But he had caved after she had pointed out that there was always a chance she couldn't reach him on his com. And, well, the thought of something happening and he wasn't there and she-

She had exploited his paranoia and it worked. He was getting old; that must have been it. 'Aren't you busy in Guam?' he shot back. She, Wally, and a few others had been sent there for relief after the hurricane that recently hit.

Princess: We finished about an hour ago. Don't change the subject, Bruce Wayne.

'Bite me, Princess.'

Princess: If you insist.

Bruce choked.

Unfortunately, that was the exact moment Lily decided to step out. "Are you okay?" she asked in concern.

He waved her away, clearing his throat. "Fine," he assured her, quickly shoving his phone into his pocket; she didn't need to know what (who) had taken him off guard. He eyed her outfit; it looked comfortable enough. "How do you feel?"

Lily lifted her right leg. "Plenty of room," she told him. She glanced at herself in the mirror and nodded approvingly. "I think these need to make a comeback. I look good." She chuckled. "But then, I always look good."

Bruce gave her a dry look. "Go pick out a few more," he instructed. She laughed at him, but did as he said.

OoOoOo

Alfred was delighted to have Lily at the Manor. He was even more delighted to know that she could cook nearly as well as him.

"I daresay, there might be hope for my legacy yet," Alfred praised as she took out an even, perfectly layered lasagna. A fond glint passed over his father figure's gaze. The old man must have been loving this; he had been nagging Bruce to have more children for the better part of a decade. "Master Bruce, the poor boy, can hardly make toast without creating a fire hazard."

"I'm not that bad," huffed Bruce indignantly.

Lily giggled. "You're good at a lot of things, Dad," she admitted. "But I can't eat eggs to this day because of you."

He stared at her. "You're making that up."

She held up a hand in a mock oath. "I swear on Hippolyta's grave that I'm not."

"Hippolyta is immortal."

Lily grinned innocently. "Is she? Must have slipped my mind."

So Lily didn't like her grandmother. Should he scold her for it? He didn't think it was necessary; she was an adult, nearly as old as him. And it wasn't as though he like Hippolyta either.

"Wow, something smells good in here!"

Bruce raised an eyebrow as his second son entered the kitchen. "Shouldn't you be in school?" he demanded. This wouldn't be the first time he caught Tim playing hooky. Unfortunately, considering how intelligent the boy was, he made a good argument as to why he didn't need to be in school all day every day.

A very good argument, in fact, but that never stopped Bruce from grounding him every time.

But Tim smirked. "Half day," he answered easily. He stopped, though, staring at Lily in surprise. "That... isn't Diana."

"Astute observation," Bruce said dryly. "This is Lily, if you must now. She's from the future."

Sometimes, he hated that Tim was so smart. Especially when his blue eyes lit up in revelation at the information presented before him. "She's your daughter!" he exclaimed suddenly. "And Diana's! I knew it! I told Dick there was hope for you yet!"

"What, exactly, do you and Dick say behind my back?"

He cackled. "It isn't Dick you should be worried about," he teased him. "Barbara could diss you for hours." Oh, joy.

"Miss Lily? Are you alright?"

Bruce's attention snapped to the woman, whose face had turned a sickly white, her sapphire eyes frozen on Tim. She looked like she had seen a ghost, her hands covering her mouth. She hardly looked like she was there at all.

He quickly grabbed an ice cube from the freezer and placed it against her cheek.

Lily flinched away from the cold, the awareness returning to her irises. She swayed on her feet, gripping the counter, and Bruce was almost afraid she would throw up. But she didn't, forcing a smile onto her face. "Sorry, I was dizzy for a minute," she very clearly lied. Any other person may have fallen for it, but Bruce wasn't the World's Greatest Detective for nothing. "Nice to meet you, kiddo."

Tim may or may not have noticed, but certainly didn't show it. "What am I like in the future?" he immediately began rattling off questions. "Do I marry Stacy Miller from math class? Do I own Wayne Enterprises? Do I become Batman?"

"No," cut in Bruce. He would never allow Tim or Dick to take his mantle. He wasn't sure how the child who bore it now had gotten it, but if he had allowed it to happen, he must have been losing his mind. Or dead. That was always an option.

Tim paid him no attention.

Lily, despite how she had reacted to his presence earlier, laughed and ruffled his hair. So, it wasn't Tim himself that affected her. But, perhaps, seeing him so young? "Right now, you're married with two kids and you have a job as head of research and development. And no, I won't tell you who you married."

He pouted, but wasn't perturbed. "Not bad," he said with a satisfied nod.

"Why don't we eat?" suggested Alfred smoothly. "Miss Lily's lasagna is getting cold." No one (ever) argued with Alfred and the three of them filed into the dining room.

OoOoOo

After lunch, and after Tim had gone to his room and Alfred wandered off to clean the kitchen, Bruce was left alone with Lily. She still didn't look too well, but she was attempting to convince him otherwise. She babbled about miscellaneous things: an argument Diana and Shayera had gotten into, how Miss Martian would be so jealous of the clothes she had gotten, etc.

But Bruce had always hated small talk. "You can't disassociate at the sight of Tim and then convince me that the path to having you is the right one."

The false joy was wiped off Lily's face, her expression shifting to match his indifferent one. "Who said that having me was the right thing to do?" she shot back.

"That's why you're here, right?" he demanded. "To convince me to give myself a chance with Diana? To tell me that I'll be happier with her? With you?"

Bruce tried to keep his tone under control. He didn't want to upset her and put the baby in danger. But he wasn't going to fall prey to her subtle manipulation. He knew what she was doing because he had done the same thing countless times.

But she remained calm. "I'm here because I needed clothes and my dad happens to be the richest man in the northeast," she replied. "But if this is the conversation you want to have, by all means. Tell me why you won't let Mom in."

"Isn't it obvious?" he snapped. "It's to keep her safe. It's so that I don't hurt her. It's so that-"

"You don't get hurt," Lily finished, her gaze holding his unflinchingly. "Mom is quite possibly your best friend. You love her, most likely more than you've loved anyone romantically. But you can't let her in. Because if she hurts you? If she hurts you like Talia or Selina or Andrea? You'll never recover. And you've been hurt too many times to let that happen again. Not with her. You're not trying to protect Diana, you're trying to protect yourself."

Bruce prided himself on not being easy to read. Not even Alfred, who had raised him, knew what went on through his head half the time. The Batman had to remain an enigma, someone nobody could ever pin down.

And then this woman, his child, had so easily deciphered-

Lily chuckled. "Don't worry," she said. "You're not losing your touch. I just... happen to be going through a similar situation."

Bruce recovered enough to glance at her. "Stewart?" he guessed.

She closed her eyes, nodding. "Stewart."

"Should I keep my eye on him?" he asked gruffly. A poor attempt at a joke.

But it got a laugh out of Lily anyway. "Don't worry," she assured him. "Nothing happens until we're adults. Up until recently, I always saw him as an older brother and now-" She sighed, gesturing to her barely visible baby bump. "You get the idea."

"Does he know?"

She gave him a dull look. "I'm your child. What do you think?"

Bruce grimaced, suddenly a bit guilty. He didn't want her to be like him. If anything, she should have been like Diana. He lived a cursed existence, one heartache after another, a good amount of them self-inflicted. "I'm... sorry." He didn't know what he was sorry for, he just felt like those words were the best he could offer her.

Lily smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm the last person to tell you what to do here," she confessed. "I shut Rex out, you shut Diana out, and so on and so forth. But I will tell you that Diana won't abandon you. She won't use you. I know that, you know that. And whatever hardships come your way, you'll be there for each other." She squeezed his shoulder and began to walk away.

The word left Bruce's mouth before he could stop it. "Lily."

She turned back to look at him. "Yes?"

He closed the distance between them, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I couldn't ask for a better daughter," he told her. And he meant it. If he was lucky enough to get to have Lily in the future- to get to watch her grow into the beautiful, amazing woman before him- he would be the luckiest man in the world.

Lily stared at him for a long time. Then, her face broke out into a dazzling, genuine smile, her eyes filling with tears. "Thanks, Dad."

Chapter Text

What was the right choice here?

A week or two ago, the answer would have been obvious. He wasn't Diana; he was no one's champion or puppet. He didn't serve any gods. His destiny was his own. But Rex's presence here was messing with his head. Was he foolish for denying the inevitable? Was he putting the three of them- Shayera, Mari, and himself- through unnecessary pain?

Could he live in a world where he would never get to have his son?

It felt wrong, like he was ripping something away from not only himself, but Shayera. What if this was supposed to happen and he was complicating things more than they needed to be? And now he apparently had a grandchild on the way. What of the baby if its father was never born? Was he ruining that life too?

He liked Mari, really liked Mari. She was beautiful and strong and witty and any man would be lucky to have her. But she wasn't Shayera. Shayera, who cackled like a madwoman when she found something really funny. Shayera, who was crude and blunt and didn't care who liked it or not. Shayera, who was unapologetically herself no matter what.

Shayera, the first woman he truly fell in love with. Shayera, the woman he was still in love with.

Shayera, who he didn't think he could ever fully trust again. But then, was he any better? Was he not betraying Mari by harboring feelings for another woman?

It seemed like there wasn't a right thing to do here. Either way he was screwed.

His ears twitched as someone plopped in the seat across from him. John sighed and kept his eyes on his food, knowing exactly who it was. "Shayera, for the last time-"

"I'm not Shayera."

He looked up to meet Diana's kind blue eyes. "Oh." He blinked. "Hey, Di." It was a good thing she stopped him before he finished; Shayera had been bringing up the baby since she found out. If he had let that slip-

That was, if Diana didn't already know. Which was unlikely considering she hadn't left her daughter's side. John was almost envious; how could she so freely love that woman? Bruce might not ever get himself together- the chances of them having Lily were slim- so how could she stand to be around her knowing that?

How could she just accept her situation so easily?

She chuckled, amused. "Hey yourself," she greeted. She stared at him with piercing blue eyes and he squirmed under her gaze. "How are you doing?"

John looked at her. "Fine..." he answered cautiously, taking a sip of his coffee. It wasn't like her to make small talk; she and Shayera were alike in being blunt and to the point. It wasn't like Diana to dance around her point. "And you?"

Diana shrugged. "Alright," she answered. She continued to watch him.

In all honesty, it was a little creepy.

So John sighed. "Say what you have to say, Di," he grumbled. The aloof approach was definitely not her thing. Seeing her try was... unsettling.

She frowned a little. "You should spend time with your son," she finally told him.

He just looked at her for a moment. He was well aware that he hadn't been the most eager to be around Rex. It was too painful, a bitter reminder of what he was keeping from himself. He didn't want to get so attached only to lose his son. Not like he had in the future. Of course, that wasn't any of her business. "Diana-" he began to tell her off.

But to his shock, Diana stared at him with eyes that were a little too shiny. "They won't be here forever, John," she reminded him sharply. "Booster is going to return any day now and then they'll go back to their time and they won't be coming back. The way things are going, you may never see him again. Will you be able to live with yourself?"

John hadn't thought of it like that. He had gotten so used to seeing the kids around the Watchtower that he'd almost forgotten that they weren't here permanently. Sooner or later, they would leave. And if he stayed on this course, he'd never-

"God," he breathed, massaging his temples. Regret burned in his chest; he had wasted so much time in his cowardice. Time that could have been spent getting to know his boy. And now the result was-

Diana laid a gentle time on his arm. "There's still time," she said gently, her gaze considerably softer. "I realize you're afraid of what the future may bring-"

John blinked dumbly. "How?" Had he seriously been that obvious?

She laughed. "I may not have J'onn's telepathic abilities," she said. "But I've witnessed your inner turmoil regarding Shayera for months." Her expression turned serious again. "Seriously, John, forget fate for a moment. It's merely a blueprint; we make our destinies. Follow your heart."

"How do you do it?" he blurted. "How does it come so easily to you, even though you've got to know Batman might not ever-"

Diana smiled at him. "That's easy," she answered. "I'd rather have the chance to know her than never know her at all. Even if I never get the chance to have her, I'll keep her close to my heart for the rest of my life."

And with that, she left.

John pondered her words for a moment before an unwitting grin made its way onto his face. "Damn," he said to himself. "Who knew the princess could be so wise?"

He knew what he had to do.

OoOoOo

Rex was silent as he walked alongside John to the teleporters, the only sound he gave off was the firm clang of his Nth metal shoes. John almost found unnerving; hardened soldier though he was, he had never been particularly surly. And Shayera was only quiet when she was angry.

Oh god, was Rex already mad at him? Had he already screwed this up?

But his fears were alleviated. "Who's our suspect?" asked Rex quietly.

John held up a holographic image with his ring. "Brian Finn," he told his son, pulling up the man's information. "Batman's source says he'll attack the State House tonight during the governor's speech. We'll have to intercept him before that happens."

He watched as his son took in the details. "I see," he said, adjusting his sunglasses. They were both wearing long coats at J'onn's insistence that this was to remain a covert operation. He, of course, still had his ring and Rex still had his talons hidden in his sleeve. But J'onn had stressed how important it was that the League's involvement remained under wraps.

"Catch him away from the crowd, if you can," instructed John. "Preferably, the building. The government's been breathing down J'onn's neck for a while now."

If John wasn't a trained soldier, he would have missed the way Rex tensed at those words. The left corner of his mouth twitched, and his fist clenched briefly. It was only for half a second, but it was enough for John to grow a bit concerned.

Did this situation get worse in the future? God, he wasn't looking forward to being around for that.

But his son steeled himself almost immediately. "Let's do it." They stepped into the teleporters.

OoOoOo

The kid was good.

John watched, mildly impressed, as Rex swiftly dealt with their target. He easily knocked Finn out, setting him onto the ground. "Nice work," he commented, walking forward with a pair of handcuffs made from his ring. Everything had gone relatively smoothly, they had only been here a little under an hour. "That went better than I thought it would."

Rex gave him a dry look beneath his sunglasses. "Almost like I've been doing this the last eighteen years," he quipped.

John chuckled at that, though internally he was reeling. He constantly forgot how old these 'kids' were. Barring the new Lantern and the new Batman, the future Justice League were all in their thirties. God, he would be pushing seventy in their time.

It really was a lifetime away.

"Speaking of the last eighteen years," he said, trying to quell the uneasiness he felt. "How, exactly, did you decide this was the life you wanted?"

His son shrugged. "Wasn't really much to decide," he answered nonchalantly. "You and Mom did it, I wanted to do it. It felt right, helping people who needed it." He leaned against the brick wall, looking up at the sky. "The four of us- me, Barry, Lily, and Henry- spent one summer together designing and developing our suits. We showed them to you all and after some pestering, you agreed."

John raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound like us," he remarked.

Rex chuckled. "Lily hacked the Watchtower and found a lead the League hadn't had the chance to follow up on," he explained fondly. "We investigated, solved the case, and made a huge mess of things. You all were pissed and took us on as a covert team to keep us out of more trouble. Of course, we were all grounded after that, but it was worth it."

John cringed. "Now that sounds like us." Oh god, he could almost picture the scene in his head, right down to Bruce using his infamous glare to scare the poor kids. He was not looking forward to dealing with that.

He glanced at his son out of the corner of his eye. Now that the mission was done, he seemed a bit more relaxed. Definitely not the attitude of someone who was going to be a father, he would know. That meant Rex was completely in the dark.

John could relate. Maybe Shayera could better.

He couldn't help himself. "Any grandkids for me in the future?" He carefully watched his son's reaction.

If Rex was surprised he only showed it for half a second. His features schooled themselves almost immediately. "Haven't really gotten around to it yet," he answered flippantly. "But- hey." He raised an eyebrow, frowning. "Should I even be telling you this?"

It was John's turn to shrug. "Only if you want, J'onn's gonna blur our memories when you leave anyway." He crossed his arms and smirked teasingly, hoping that it hid how on-edge he was. It almost felt like he was always the one who had a secret to keep, he was sick of it. "Why? You got something to hide?"

Rex huffed in a way that was unequivocally Shayera, even down to the way his right cheek puffed out. "No one's caught my eye, leave it at that," he answered stubbornly. "And in case you didn't know, I'm a full-time League member. Where would I even find time to date?"

'You sure found the time for something.' The thought formed before he could stop himself. John cleared his throat, trying to erase the implication from his mind. Rex got defensive like his mother too, it seemed, maybe it was time for a subject change.

"J'onn," he spoke into his com. "We got our guy."

"Understood," came the Martian's response. "Law enforcement will arrive to collect him shortly."

John nodded to himself, then gestured for Rex to follow him. "Come with me," he beckoned, beginning to stroll down the street.

Rex seemed hesitant, but did as he said. "Where are we going?" he asked, keeping pace beside him.

John grinned. "You'll see." They walked in silence for a little while before coming up on a basketball court.

"Dad," Rex deadpanned, giving him an exasperated look.

He laughed. "What? Don't tell me you can't play."

The younger man crossed his arms over his chest. "I wouldn't be your son if I didn't know how to play," he retorted. "But we don't even have a ball."

John crafted one with his ring, smirking. "If you don't think you can handle it, just say so, son."

Rex scoffed, taking the green ball from him. "Bring it on, old man."

Chapter Text

Diana rifled through Lily's temporary closet, admiring the outfits her daughter had acquired. "These are lovely," she said approvingly, examining a pink pair of overalls. She could appreciate the beauty in simplicity; her outfits on Themyscira had seldom been grandeur. "Bruce really outdid himself, I'm impressed."

Lily sat on the bed with her knees hugged to her chest. "Yeah," she said quietly. "He was great."

Diana frowned, tucking the overalls back into the closet and placing herself next to her daughter. "Is something wrong, darling?" she asked, worried. "Is it Bruce?" She sincerely hoped that he hadn't said anything out of line. However he felt about their future child's presence here, he had no right to take it out on Lily; especially when she was with child.

But Lily shook her head. "No," she assured the older woman. "Bruce was great, if you can believe that. He's just scared. It's-" She sighed, her fingers digging into her thighs. "I-" The woman from the future seemed to struggle to get the words out.

Diana's heart throbbed. "My little Sun and Stars," she began gently, cupping her daughter's soft cheek. "You can tell me anything. I'm your mother."

She hoped this would be enough. She hoped Lily would open up to her in a way she simply never could to her own mother. She hoped Lily hadn't grown up to shut people out like Bruce did everyone in his life.

She hoped that she hadn't failed her daughter before even having her.

The princess waited with bated breath, only sighing in relief when Lily leaned into her palm. "I'm scared," she whispered, holding Diana's hand to her cheek. "I didn't ever- I never planned this. I was careful, Mom, and I still messed up." She choked out her last word, a tear rolling down her cheek.

Diana instinctively thumbed it away. "Am I correct in assuming Warhawk is the father?" A short nod. "He seems like a good young man, and he seems to care for you greatly. I am certain he will want to be by your side."

At least he better be. The protective urge to give Rex Stewart a piece of her mind swelled up, but Diana tamped it down. Rex didn't even know about the baby, that wouldn't be fair. And she trusted John and Shayera's parenting; she had to believe he would do the right thing.

Lily tugged on her hair. "I'm not worried about that," she stressed. "Everything is going to change. I won't be able to go on missions for Hera knows how long. Batman will be alone in Gotham. I can't even wear my uniform. I..." She blinked, her blue eyes dimming. "I'm not ready to be a mom."

Diana frowned. "Lily-"

"It's true," insisted Lily. She opened her mouth to elaborate, but pressed it closed again and sighed. "I was taking birth control, I was being careful. But the doctor prescribing me conveniently forgot to tell me that the migraine release I was taking would cancel it out."

How irresponsible. She could see why Lily was so upset.

Diana squeezed her hand. "Are you keeping it?" she asked quietly. Abortion had been around for millennium and was far from a foreign concept for the Amazons. She hadn't been around, but she knew many had been performed after Heracles and his men's invasion of Themyscira. To learn that it was largely frowned upon in America and around the world had been extremely off-putting.

Lily bit her lip. "I... yeah," she decided hesitantly, her eyes darting around the room. "I would never judge another woman for it, but I-I can't." Her hands drifted to her abdomen. "I would always be wondering what if and- and-" Her daughter took a deep breath and Diana watched in amazement as her face completely shifted, all traces of vulnerability suddenly gone. Her expression was now one of complete control and conviction.

"You always taught me to always make the choice I would least regret," said Lily firmly.

Diana pondered these words. "That sounds like something I would say," she admitted. It wasn't in the nature of an Amazon to hold onto regret, after all. They kept moving forward, they adapted and overcame.

Pride swelled in her chest; she had truly raised a warrior.

A knock interrupted them and Diana stood to answer it. To her utter surprise, it was Bruce on the other side. He seemed nervous- as nervous as The Batman could be, anyway. "Batman," she greeted. "I... wasn't expecting you."

She was still frustrated with him, but tried to keep it out of her tone. She didn't do a good enough job, apparently, because Bruce held up the bags in his hands as a peace offering. "I come bearing gifts," he told her.

Diana hummed, suspicious, and turned to her daughter. "Your father is here," she announced. She knew Lily was upset and didn't want her to have to face anyone she didn't want to.

Lily looked at them curiously, then nodded. "He can come in."

Reluctantly, Diana stepped aside. She watched, carefully, as Bruce approached their daughter. He seemed a lot less guarded, a lot more gentle. It must have been a nice shopping trip.

Bruce handed her the bags. "From Tim and Alfred." He paused, tugging off his cowl. His cobalt eyes were softer than she had ever seen them. "And me. For the baby, since we won't be there for the baby shower."

Lily stared at him for a long time without saying anything and- oh Hera- was Bruce fidgeting? Diana wished she could get the moment on camera. But after a minute or so, Lily reached out to take the gift bags. "Thank you," she spoke quietly. She opened Alfred's first and gave a tiny smile. Baby dishes and utensils, diapers, and a onesie that said 'Mommy's Little Boy.' "Thank Hera for Alfred."

Bruce grinned a bit. "He does come in handy." A strange feeling simmered pleasantly in Diana's chest. She wasn't sure whose relaxed expression made her happier.

Lily moved on to Tim's next. Opening it, she revealed a brown bear with a blue ribbon tied around its neck. "How cute," she cooed, her mouth gently curling upwards. She really did have Bruce's smile. "Tell Alfred and Tim thank you for me."

"That was nice of them," Diana remarked, finally moving away from the door. She drifted to sit on the other side of Lily's bed, content to watch the father and daughter. Something had definitely changed between them and Diana's only regret was that she hadn't been able to witness it.

Lily nodded. "Yeah," she agreed. "It was." She moved onto Bruce's gift, but gasped when she looked into the bag. Even Diana's lips parted in awe when Lily pulled out a delicate glass mobile.

It was simply beautiful. The glass had been formed into various animal heads such as lions and giraffes, but the way the light passed through it made it look like the animals shone as bright as the stars just outside the Watchtower. Lily held it a bit too carefully, as if afraid she might break it.

"Bruce," murmured Diana, peering at him. "Is that yours?"

Bruce nodded, but his eyes never left their daughter. "My mother picked it out," he admitted and Diana stilled. Usually, Bruce only mentioned his parents to her as a defense mechanism, their deaths one of the primary reasons why he pushed her away. To hear him mention them like this warmed her in a way she couldn't quite explain.

"Dad," said Lily, shaking her head. "I can't take this. It's too important."

But Bruce was adamant. "You're important," he insisted. "It's just collecting dust in the attic anyway. She would have wanted you to have it." There was that sensation again.

Lily looked like she was going to refuse, but didn't, instead taking a small cube-shaped device out of her pocket. "This will keep it safe," she told them. "Until I get back home." The device whirred to life and formed a protective shield around the mobile before taking it in. The technology of the future was truly astounding.

"It's beautiful," she continued, her eyes just a little shiny. "Thanks, Dad." Bruce nodded and Diana didn't miss the way his mouth twitched.

It was at that moment that Diana realize, what exactly, was happening. She wasn't simply looking at Bruce and Lily, she was watching a father and daughter. She had a front row seat to Lily stealing Bruce's heart. And what a beautiful sight it was.

That was what he had feared the most, wasn't it? That someone could be just as important to him as the mission. That his heart and devotion could be compromised. Hera, did he even realize how taken he had become with their daughter?

And Diana couldn't help but wonder; would Hades have been the same? Would he have looked at her like that? While she stood firm in her belief that she had never needed a father, would she have wanted him to be hers? Did his heart even have enough room for her?

Two days ago, she would have said no. But something about watching Bruce with Lily made her think differently.

Of course, one couldn't change what had been done. Diana knew it was too late for her and her self-proclaimed father. But she was elated to know that it wasn't too late for the three of them.

Maybe they could be a family in the future, maybe they couldn't. Only the Fates knew for sure. But for now, she was content with this.

Lily laid her head on Diana's shoulder. "Tell me a story," she requested. Diana noted how drowsy she seemed. Someone must not have been able to sleep last night. Or maybe it was something else. Lily had become rather sluggish shortly after she first arrived.

How odd.

Bruce raised an eyebrow at her. "A story?" he questioned. "Did we not tell you enough in the future?"

"You did," Lily answered. "But you guys are different here. I wanna see if you tell it differently." Her eyes went wide and imploring. "Please?"

Diana could already tell that this would be a problem in the future. "I... suppose there's no harm in it," she relented because, apparently, she had suddenly lost her resilience. "Is there one you had in mind?"

The younger woman gave her a silly grin. "When you danced in Paris," she said. "I loved that story as a kid."

Diana smiled fondly at the memory, tucking a curl behind her ear. "Where should I start?" she asked playfully. "I was sent on a mission in France..."

OoOoOo

They had only just gotten to the part when Bruce had rescued her from obtrusive diplomats when Diana noticed that Lily's breathing had even out. Glancing down, she realized that her daughter had fallen asleep and was snoring softly. "Aw," she cooed, unable to look away from the delicately slumbering face. "She's precious."

But Bruce was frowning. "Is it normal for pregnant women to be so tired?" he asked. And Hera, he sounded genuinely confused. She would have laughed if she wasn't afraid of waking Lily.

Diana shrugged helplessly. "I'm almost certain that Lily is the first pregnant woman I've encountered," she reminded him. "How would I know?"

Bruce didn't say anything else about it, but she was certain he would spend at least two hours researching pregnancy symptoms later. "So," he began instead. "I was your saving grace?" he teased. A hint of a smirk tugged at his mouth.

"Yes," she answered because she was nothing if not honest. Those people had been suffocating her. "Or, maybe you were their saving grace. I was about two seconds away from shoving past them."

He snorted. "I don't doubt it."

Silence. Diana didn't often mind quiet moments with Bruce; they were comforting. She also liked to take it as a sign that he enjoyed her presence enough to be at ease around her. But Hera, if she wasn't aching to question him. If he could love Lily, did that mean there was hope for them? Or was he merely enjoying time with her while he could, knowing that when she left his walls would be even higher?

His cobalt eyes drifted to her. "Is there something on your mind?" he asked.

Attentive; quite unusual for him. Was this a good sign? Or was it yet another trap he set before retreating back into himself?

Diana decided not to voice this, however. The moment had been so nice and she didn't want to ruin it just yet. So, she shook her head. "Just thinking about how we're technically grandparents with Shayera and John. The baby will be an Amazon and a Thanagarian."

Bruce gave her a dull look. "Could have been worse," he mused. "Could have been a Speedster."

Diana chuckled at the thought. "Could you imagine having a little West running around your manor?" Hera, the child would give poor Alfred a heart attack.

"Scary," he remarked.

She smiled, but it faded soon enough. She had meant it when she told John she would love Lily with all her heart, even if she never had her. But by the gods, that didn't mean it didn't hurt. To get to know this wonderful woman with the knowledge that she may not ever exist was torture. She couldn't say that she didn't know how John felt.

But she would rather face the pain head-on than leave herself wondering what could have been. Who Lily could have grown into. How it felt to be a mother. She would rather have that only for a week than never wonder at all.

However, Diana wasn't going to tell Bruce any of this. She loved him, but that alone wasn't enough. He either loved her back or he didn't. If Lily wasn't enough to convince him that they had a real chance together, she didn't know what was.

How long would it take? Years? Decades? She may be immortal, but she couldn't- wouldn't- wait forever. She couldn't put herself through this game of cat and mouse. She was so tired of being tossed aside whenever Bruce got bored. She was the Princess of the Amazons; she was far from limited to one man. Even one as exceptional as Bruce.

Maybe after Lily left, it would be time for her to move on.

Chapter Text

There was way too much going on.

He swore to God; this was his last League mission. It was always something slagging weird with the JLU: insurrections, alien pirates, evil doppelgangers from another dimension, flesh-eating demons from Tartarus. And now time travel? He was done; give him his Gotham rogues any day of the week. At least Mad Stan's routine was always the same. This was the reason he was a part-timer.

Lily walked into the hallway he was lurking in. "There you are," she said, immediately spotting him in the dark corner he was hiding in. She wasn't wearing her uniform, opting for a pair of pink overalls and white sneakers. Her tiara, lasso, bracers, and sword were still present, however. Weird. "I feel like I haven't seen you in days. What in Hera's name have you been doing?"

Terry shrugged, walking up to her. "Watching," he told her. "Waiting to go home."

She frowned, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We'll be home soon," she promised.

He peered up at her. "Who do you think this lady is?" he asked curiously. He had drawn up blanks every step of the way. All of their female Gotham rogues were put away. Except for Inque, but no one had seen her in months. And all things considered, he was sure it wasn't her.

Lily sighed. "I don't know. It's not like-" She didn't get to finish her sentence. Henry Kent stormed past them, wearing an angrier-than-usual face. Most would have jumped out of his way.

But Terry and Lily weren't most. 'Hen-El!' hissed Lily through the psychic link. Oh god, not the Kryptonian name. He could already tell this was going to end in a fight. 'The hell is your problem?'

Henry stopped but didn't turn around. 'Why don't you ask your precious parents?' he spat.

She glared at the back of his head. 'Because I'm asking you, you dreg,' she fired back.

'Both of you stop it,' commanded Rex. As much as Terry butted heads with the man, he was good at getting Lily and Henry to shut up when they got like this. He was really the only one they both listened to. And, well, Terry begrudgingly respected that.

A man who could reel in two of the strongest people in the world was not to be taken lightly. He still thought Stewart had a stick up his ass, though.

'Henry, what's wrong?' asked M'gann, ever the peacekeeper. The woman had more patience than anyone really gave her credit for.

'Besides the usual,' commented Barry, ever the shit-starter.

Fortunately, Henry chose to ignore the remark. 'The League got the DNA results two days ago,' he seethed. 'And made the collective decision to keep it from us.'

For once, Lily seemed surprised. 'Really?' she questioned, her expression shifting from anger to curiosity. 'Did they say why?'

'Doesn't take a genius to figure it out,' Henry snapped. 'Batman's keeping us out of the loop. Wouldn't be the first time.' It took Terry longer than it should have to realize Henry wasn't talking about him.

He could practically hear Barry roll his eyes. 'We were kids, would you let it go?' said the speedster. 'And you shouldn't have been eavesdropping. Still haven't learned your lesson?'

This was one of those moments where Terry remembered he truly was the outlier here. These people had been friends for well over three decades, and had fought so many battles together. He was still the new guy, the kid. He would never have that bond with them.

'You know something Kid Mouth-!'

'Ooh, I'm so scared.'

Not that he particularly wanted to most days. The defenders of Earth squabbled like children relentlessly. He was so glad he had Max to keep him sane. Between being Batman, keeping up with school, and trying to be the best boyfriend he could be to Dana, he was grateful that he had at least one steady person in his life.

'Shut it,' Rex intervened. He was probably pinching his nose in exasperation. M'gann might have been the oldest, but Rex was definitely the bossiest. Sometimes, he didn't know if he was the DeFacto leader or if Lily was. 'Does anyone know where Lantern is?'

Lily checked her mini console. She had planted tracers on all of them a long time ago. Terry collected his and kept them in a jar. Whenever he was upset with her, he would take one out and smash it to bits.

'The moon,' she supplied helpfully. 'Though what he's doing there, I have no idea.'

'Attempting to get some peace,' Kai-Ro answered. 'Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be an option.' Twip.

'Henry,' said Rex, probably trying to be as patient as he could. This was one of the rare instances Terry sympathized with him. 'Who is she?'

The half-Kryptonian finally turned to look at them. His violet eyes bore right into Lily's. Terry stayed still but was ready to intervene if he had to, though he knew she wouldn't need his help. 'She's a genetic match for Aresia,'

Lily blinked. 'Aresia?' she asked slowly. Whatever animosity she had with Henry was temporarily forgotten. 'Are you sure?'

'Unless you know any other rogue Amazons?'

'Technically I am,' she reminded him. That was always a fun story. 'But that's beside the point. How is that possible?'

'According to my ring,' said Kai-Ro. 'Aresia of Themyscira has been dead for nearly forty years. If I were to make a logical guess, the woman we have in custody is her offspring.'

'Timeout,' Barry cut in. 'Wasn't this the woman who tried to get rid of every man in the world? Why would she have a kid?'

Lily tilted her head in thought. 'I can think of a few reasons.' She didn't care to elaborate further. Terry was used to it. She expected everyone to be on the same wavelength as her. And training under her had kind of forced him to be. 'We also can't rule out the possibility that she may be a clone. Question is, what do we do about it?'

'We shouldn't confront the League,' Terry found himself chiming in. He didn't do that often, more than content to let the JLU hash things out themselves. He would rather just watch them tear each other apart, more fun that way.

Lily glanced at him. "Why not?" she asked aloud, not unkindly. She just wanted to hear his reasoning. If she thought it was good enough, she would more than likely agree.

He bit his lip under his mask. "I mean we already know," he said with a shrug. "Their kids show up from the future and bring two unknown villains along with them. One of them happens to be the daughter of one of their old enemies. They probably don't know what to make out of this situation and won't tell you until they do."

She nodded. "Very good point," she agreed. 'Batman is right, we shouldn't say anything yet.' She glared right back at Henry. 'That means you, Hen-El.' Terry smacked his forehead in exasperation; did it ever end?

Henry glowered. 'Call me that again and I-' He stopped, studying her a little too intently. After about a minute he looked away, scowling. "Just knock it off, Lily." He then stalked away, leaving the two of them alone.

Terry's eyebrows shot up to his forehead. Henry had never- never- conceded to her. He didn't even think the half-Kryptonian had ever even used her real name. Lily seemed just as confused as he was before realization lit up in her eyes. Her face turned pale, and she clutched her stomach. Before he could ask what was wrong, she took off after Henry.

Terry stared at her retreating form, more confused than he had been since he discovered the secret lurking under Wayne Manor. What the hell had just happened?

Rex seemed just as boggled as he was. 'I'm choosing to ignore that for now,' he announced, sounding tired even through telepathy. 'We'll go with that kid's plan. We wait for the League to mention it first. If they don't say anything in a few days, we'll move from there.'

Terry feigned shock. 'I'm sorry could you repeat that? I wasn't quite listening.'

'Don't push it, kid.'

He grinned; Rex never admitted he was right. This must have been killing the older man. Served him right for being an uptight dreg all the time.

Terry heard M'gann before he felt her. "What's up?" he asked without turning around.

She materialized next to him. "Damn, you're good," she remarked. "Almost as good as Lily was at your age. I'm impressed."

He shrugged. "There's a reason she trusted me to fix your little... problem," he pointed out. The incident they dare not name and Terry's introduction into the League. A brilliant- if not insanely risky- plan Lily and Rex had come up with together. They really did work extremely well together.

Though, if he was being honest, the other members had hardly lived up to their name. Technically M'gann and Barry had been off-world so he couldn't really judge them, but everyone else?

How did that old saying go? Never meet your heroes?

M'gann chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah, we do owe you for that," she agreed. Her face turned serious for just a second. "I've noticed that you haven't made an attempt to reach out to this Batman."

He tilted his head. "Why would I?"

"Don't you want to?" she pressed. "I'm a bit behind in human affairs, but isn't he something of a Gotham legend?"

Terry squinted at her. Lily had warned him that M'gann psychoanalyzed anything she could as a way to 'help' the people around her. Of course, to Lily who was as secretive and private as they came, it could be uncomfortable. But he honestly didn't mind. It was nice to know someone was trying to keep these dregs in check.

Terry shrugged. "Nah, I'm good," he told her honestly. Of course he had thought about it. Batman had been the biggest urban legend for decades. This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet his predecessor in his prime. About two years ago, he would have killed for the chance.

Now, though? Not so much.

It wasn't that he didn't admire the guy. Being Batman- especially in this time- was no easy feat. He knew that more than anyone. But now that he himself was Batman, the original felt less like an untouchable legend and more like a man. More human.

Also, Terry knew that Bruce Wayne undoubtedly had no interest in meeting him. And he could respect that. Besides, he would much rather watch everything from the sidelines. An actual glimpse into the past. So many heroes in one place; the JLU had never had this many members.

Not without good reason, of course.

M'gann didn't seem put off by his answer. "Interesting," she remarked.

"What about you?" he asked. "How does it feel seeing your uncle?"

She scrunched up her nose. "Weird," she answered. But then her face softened into a smile. "But good. If only someone could see that."

Of course, she meant Henry. The man was practically the walking definition of daddy issues. He had never really understood; his dad was Superman. The original Superman. What problems could they have possibly had?

Barry zipped in, crackling. "You know he can hear that," he said, amused. He never seemed to have a problem with Henry, not to the extent Lily did. But to Terry, it was almost like the speedster only enjoyed messing with the half-Kryptonian because of how he worked Lily's last nerve.

They were best friends after all. If Max- or any of his girls, honestly- had an issue with someone, they wouldn't be his favorite person either.

M'gann grinned. "Oh, I know. Hopefully, he'll take the hint before it's too late."

Somehow, Terry doubted that.