Chapter Text
Apokolips
DeSaad stood in front of Darkseid, his head down slightly in respect.
"I told you... Megatron would fail. Even with mighty Steppenwolf's help." Desaad said. His head lowered slightly.
Darkseid's narrowed slightly but allowed it, knowing he had a point. He had felt a surge in the Multiverse, this world merged with several others, creating a massive power imbalance on the side of good. Sure, the Kryptonian and his cousin, the Green Lantern corps, Dr. Fate, Martian Manhunter and more were certainly powerful but adding things like the Phoenix Force in Jean Grey, the new All Father Thor, sons of Sparda, Dante and Vergil, King of Hell Spawn, a world breaker in Hulk, and more.
So much power at their fingertips... with Kal-El standing above most, if not all of them. If they truly wanted to, they could rule the world, and no one could be able to stop them.
After all, the Regime and the Justice lords were a thing (and he of course knew about them, they had killed him in their worlds).
Darkseid rose from his throne, looking down at Desaad.
"Ready the Armada. We go to Earth to end this worthless creatures once and for all." Darkseid's voice boomed.
Desaad nodding his head in ascent. From the side, Granny Goodness smirked.
Gotham City
Bruce Wayne, wearing his usual business attire of a two piece, black suit and pants with a white, long-sleeved shirt with black shoes, of all which cost more than what many people make in a lifetime, while Clark Kent, wearing a simple brown jacket, blue long-sleeved shirt, brown pants and black shoes.
The two were in a private restaurant, one Bruce had reserved for them (he owned the place) after Clark had called and wanted to talk with him. He had agreed and now, here they were.
"Look, I now things have been... rough between us but I just want to apologize for certain things. Especially in regard to Tim." Clark said, sounding remorseful.
Bruce's hard gaze softened a bit at the man's sincerity.
"I accept your apology but I also owe you an apology. I was far too harsh on you and even Ollie came to me, regretting the tone he took up with you." Bruce admitted.
"Apolgy accepted." Clark said, smiling a bit.
Bruce smiled back a bit as well.
"So how are things in Gotham?" Clark asked.
"Good. Tim's finally back on patrol. His therapist, Chase Meridian, an ex of mine, cleared him and I've been helping him regain his skills and muscle with Jason's help. He's a lot bigger than he was last time." Bruce said. "Dick's back with Kory and I'm happy for him. Finally got to meet Artemis. She's a bit..."
"Much?" Clark asked, grinning at Bruce's expression.
"...Yes." Bruce said, sounding a little sour. "But I'm happy for them. Duke's being out on day patrols with Cass occasionally joining if she's in town. Harley and Ivy are together in an apartment complex I own. I've been keeping an eye on them just in case they do something."
"Seems to me they've changed." Clark said.
"They have but they still have dozens of Felonies on their record. Harley along with her ex is responsible for countless deaths, some of which include children that were much younger than Jason when he died while Ivy is an eco-terrorist having worked alongside the likes of Ra's al Ghul at times and has more than her share of... victims." Bruce said harshly. "Only reason I didn't have them under 24/7 surveillance was because Selina convinced me to give them a chance and I did in exchange for their help in regard to helping take down the meta human trafficking ring and because I knew what they like back in college, long before their villainous turns."
Clark nearly spitted out his coffee.
"I'm sorry, what?" Clark asked in complete shock.
Bruce raised an eyebrow.
"You didn't know?" Bruce asked. "I thought I recalled mentioning that once..."
"I think I'd recall one of my best friends having been too college with two of his former enemies." Clark said.
"It was med school." Bruce added as an afterthought. "I also gave them another chance because..."
"Because what, Bruce?" Bruce looked around the restaurant. Despite having ordered a private booth, he was still extremely paranoid. He was Batman, of course.
"Lucy Quinzel. She's Harley and Joker's daughter." Bruce whispered to him. Clark's eyes widen in shock.
"What!?" Clark whisper shouted.
"That was my reaction." Bruce muttered. "She's with Harley's sister but she's been debating on revealing the truth to her."
"Wow... I... I have no words." Clark said.
"Yeah. I've kept an eye on the girl. Making sure she and her aunt are financially stable." Bruce said. Clark looked at his friend with an amused but exasperated look.
"You drop a few 100k in her bank every so often." Clark said, matter of factly.
Bruce shrugged, neither denying nor confirming it, pretty much giving Clark the perfect answer.
"What about you?" Bruce asked.
"Things have been quiet in Metropolis. Morgan Edge is in prison and with Matt and Jen's help, manage to make the charges stick." Clark informed him.
"One less crime lord out in the streets is good news." Bruce said. "How are your parents? Lois?"
"They've been helping Eva acclimate to the modern world bit by bit along with her helping her heal from her own trauma. Not to mention, learning how to deal with the fact she was dead for over 35 years and her boys are now grown men."
"It was the same with Mother and Father." Bruce admitted, thinking of his alternate timeline Father and parallel Earth mother.
"Lois and I are good. Steady. Perry's been considering retirement and might want Lois to take over." Clark informed him, much to Bruce's shock.
"Well... I'll be damned. Wonder how she'll take it." Bruce mused.
"Not well, knowing her. Then again, she managed to stay mostly put when she was pregnant with Jon." Clark added.
"Speaking off, how is my godson?" Bruce inquired. Clark looked down at the table, his face souring.
"Jon and I... we've been arguing in regard to the... 'family' business." Clark said. "After the battle of Gotham, I've been thinking how dangerous this all is. Sure, Jon's nigh invulnerable but we face beings quite regularly who can either match or overpower our strength. Not to mention things like Kryptonite, magic and red sun radiation."
"I agree. Believe me, if I could, I'd make sure none of my children, regardless of if they can drink or not, would just stop going out." Bruce said somberly. "I know Tim wanted to go back out but I had hoped he would retire."
"Let's be real, Bruce. Only way we stop doing what we do is if we either die or so badly injured when can't fight anymore." Clark said.
"Last one barely stopped me. Remember when Bane broke my back?" Bruce asked. "In any case, I'll be at your funeral." The Dark Knight had a teasing smirk.
"Already had one." The Man of Steel shot back, smirking. "I'll be at yours though."
"Already had one." Bruce said, echoing Clark's words. While he hadn't died, he still had a funeral.
The two friends smiled; the easy banter having been lost for a while but glad it was now back.
"Maybe I should drop by the Manor. Alfred always did like Ma's cooking."
"That's because of her divine cuisine. I've eaten at some of the most expensive restaurants in the world and nothing beats her cooking."
"Yeah. Nothing beats a home cooked meal." Clark mused. The two spent the next two hours catching up, talking though they did order food as they got very hungry.
Watchtower
Hal Jordan whistled, bored.
"Knock it off, Hal." Oliver said, lightly smack his arm.
"Come on, Ollie. I'm bored out of my damn skull. I've been in deep space for two months and I got to be stuck on Monitor duty." Hal groaned.
"My guy, I was supposed to be with Nyssa and Sara tonight." Oliver said. "They would have worn the thong, Hal. The thong."
Hal cringed. Yeah, that must suck. He'd be pissed if that had happened with him and Carol. Migtht earn him a red lantern ring...
The monitor blared, earning a look of shock from the two. Oliver checked the sensors.
He shot his friend a grim look.
"Boom tubes." Oliver said.
Shit... why did Darkseid decided to invade now of all fucking times?