Disclaimer….

Ok, for those of you who actually follow "Better than Life" and you're confused, this is merely a dapple story. Basically This happens in between chapters 18 and 19 of "Better than Life". It's just a short story, but It's necessary to write, considering that I will make LOTS of references to it in the end of BTL, which is rapidly approaching.

Basically, this is the Justice League tweaked episode of "A Better World." If you're confused, go watch the episode. This short story will be doing a LOT of transitions between the Justice Lords and the Justice League. (YES, there IS a difference!)
I'm thinking about doing Star-crossed as well after I'm finished with BTL. :3 any opinions?

Like it? Tell me! Don't like it? There are PLEANTY of other fics out there for you to read!

OK THEN! Ready? Set! READ AND REVIEW!

***Justice Lords***

Lord J'onn typed at the controls of the Watch tower, his serious amber gaze getting more tense with every passing second. Since taking over, the team had to go through a great deal of modifications to keep a grip on world peace.
If anything, it seemed to J'onn that the past year had been…tense. With the loss of Flash, basically Camille was trying to take over as the team jokester…but even he had caught her sitting in their room crying for her 'brother'. Could he blame her? Absolutely not! In fact, she had been rather down tonight before going off to scout.

Lord J'onn pursed his lips. He hadn't heard a report from Camille in two hours…It wasn't like her to miss deadlines. He personally had been taking it easy on her…what with the kittens taking energy from her...but he couldn't speak for-.
"J'onn."
Lord J'onn paused and looked to the side, watching as Lord Superman walked over towards him seriously, passing the many new guards that the new and improved watch tower possessed.
"Camille's report is three hours late."
"Yes. I tried contacting her, but there was no answer. I sent Batman in her general direction." J'onn looked back towards the screen, a light frown on his face. "…It isn't easy for her to juggle the kittens and Flash's death at the same time."

"I understand that, J'onn, believe me I do." Lord Superman loosely crossed his arms and looked towards the screen, watching one of the many monitors that they now possessed; ensuring their newfound control of the Earth. "I also know that she's been the most hesitant to this. She needs to get on board."
"Please be patient with her, Superman." Lord J'onn looked back towards the leader of the Justice Lords and looked concerned. "With her being a Saturn, she doesn't take too well to Martial law over Earth. After all, the Saturns are charged to guard Earth-"
"You know as well as I do that the reason we're doing this is for the good of Earth." Lord Superman replied lowly, looking towards his ally. "I understand that with her expecting, her emotions are already out of—"

SLAM!

Both Lord J'onn and Lord Superman quickly whirled around, the security around them suddenly at alert…when Batman came BURSTING in; drenched with mud, sweat…and blood. Clutched tightly to him, was a semi-conscious Camille; drenched, shivering, and with multiple gashes around her, bleeding profusely.

"CAMILLE!"

Lord J'onn sprinted from the control panel over towards Batman and quickly snatched the badly wounded Saturn from the dark knight. The Saturn trembled violently, looking up towards J'onn…before coughing up a mouthful of blood.
Terror gripped the Martian, and he felt himself reliving a nightmare…Explosions around him…screaming Martians everywhere…a dying My'ria'h in his arms…
NO! NOT AGAIN! He couldn't handle it AGAIN!
"Camille! Stay with me! Please! You can't—"
"…The kits…" Camille winced sharply, coughing out more blood, her head lulling back as her body became too weak to support itself. "…The…kits…"

Lord J'onn's heart accelerated in panic and terror, quickly looking down at Camille's mid-section; he was horrified to see her extended belly…covered in stab wounds.
Her fur was dyed red from the blood she had lost…bot something told the Martian it wasn't JUST Camille's' blood staining her own fur.
Trembling, Lord J'onn rested his hand on his beloved's mid-section…no signs of life…
…the kittens were gone…

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Superman roared, darting over and looking horrified at the Saturn's condition.
"Kyra happened." Batman replied, eyes narrowed dangerously. The dark knight looked up quickly and motioned some of the guards. "Get the medics! NOW!"

"HOLY-!"
"Camille!"
The fuss alerted Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl, who all rushed over, looking horrified at the state their ally was in. Batman quickly put his arm out to keep the others from smothering J'onn or Camille.
The Saturn continued to shake violently, unable to keep herself from spitting out blood onto J'onn's uniform. She let off a small whimper, mixed in with a choked sob.
"…I couldn't…protect the kits…" Camille rested her face against J'onn's chest and sobbed again. "…I'm…a horrible mama…"
"NO! No Camille!" The Martian held the Saturn tighter against himself, in a vain attempt to warm her shivering body. "It's not your fault, my love! We'll try again…please…we'll try again-…Camille PLEASE!"

The normally strong and serious Martian felt hot tears running down his cheeks as he tried his best to fight the inevitable.
…His beloved Camille…was going to…
"MEDICS! HURRY!" J'onn screamed, managing to somehow bring the Saturn even closer to his body.

"…J'onn-kun…I love you…J'onn—"
"NO!" J'onn trembled and looked down at the dying Saturn in his arms in pure terror. "Don't talk like that! I need you to hold on! Please!...Camille!"
Camille whimpered at the hysterics of her mate, and kept her face rested against the Martian's chest. Weakly, she placed a bloody paw against J'onn's face, slowly shutting her eyes.
"…kultaseni….rakastan…sinua…"
"No…Camille- Camille PLEASE!" J'onn felt his world stop…and implode into a million pieces as his beloved mate finally went completely limp in his arms.

The entire group was silent in a moment that seemed to last for hours. No one dared to move…or even breathe.
After a long tense while, Hawkgirl fell to her knees, shock grabbing her…Lantern wasn't fairing any better; he just stood there, as though he was caught in the head lights.
Wonder Woman clutched her forehead, hot tears pouring down her own cheeks. For a moment, the heroine couldn't move….before she slowly took a few steps toward the crumpled Martian and gingerly placed her hand on his shoulder.
"…J'onn?..."

There was no response from J'onn…no word…no movement.
It was as if he was trying to hold on to some last strand of hope…maybe…just maybe Camille had an extra life waiting to be used. However, the longer he waited…the heavier he felt the world smashing on his shoulders.
Slowly, J'onn shut his eye and rested his forehead against Camille's…his hopes…his dreams…
…gone…

No words could be said as the Martian slowly stood, holding the deceased Saturn in his arms. Slowly, J'onn turned away from the group, a stony look on his face as he carried the body out of the room, leaving behind a puddle of blood, and a broken Justice Lords group behind him.
Lord Superman watched the crushed Martian retreat, holding the lifeless Camille as closely as possible to himself…before he looked in Batman's direction and narrowed his eyes dangerously at him. "…You say that it was Kyra who did this?"
Lord Batman was silent for a few moments, before he looked back towards Superman. "Yes. J'onn sent me to look for Camille…I found her close to Bozeman. She was fighting Kyra…but as soon as I got there…" The dark knight paused…and then looked away, a flinty look on his face. "…I didn't move fast enough…"
Lord Superman frowned deeply. "…Where is Kyra?"
"…Right where I left her." Batman glanced at Superman, a dark look in his eyes…before turning and slowly retreating.

Lord Superman watched Batman retreat…and then slowly glanced back down at the pool of blood left on the floor. Kyra was 'right where Batman had left her'…which implied…
"…Good riddance…"

***A year and a half later***

"Sector 7, all clear"
"Sector 10, alert terminated."
"Sector 11, all clear"
"Sector 19, all clear"
"Sector 33, all clear"
"Secotr 50, all clear"

The Watchtower buzzed with reports, alerts, and control throughout the main hanger as the workers of the Justice Lords gave out their required reports. The series of traumatic events had taken a toll on the whole Earth, and the Justice Lords were determined to make sure nothing else happened.
Lord Superman had made sure that this new system worked perfectly and STAYED in place. He was more than determined to keep it that way, for the good of mankind.

Lord J'onn looked over the work of all that were doing their hourly reports. Arms crossed and a stony look on his face, the Martian payed close attention to every single detail that came to his eyes and ears. If there was a time when he was less tense than this…he certainly didn't remember…nor did he really care to.
"Sector 42, report delayed."
The Martian's eyes narrowed, and Lord J'onn turned in the general direction of the guard who gave out the report and gazed at him seriously. "Why the delay in Sector 42?" He demanded, nearly ready to go into action if necessary.
"A storm." The guard replied, looking up towards the Martian and showing him one of the screens, which showed a picture of a developing hurricane-like storm closing in on the sector.
Lord J'onn frowned in reply. He didn't like delay…delays in reports could grow into a serious happening. When there was silence, there was usually trouble. He wasn't about to just LET it slide so easily.
"Is there anything we can do?" J'onn inquired, his grip on the rail tightening slightly.
"No, Everyone's been evacuated." The guard reported.

"…Oh…" J'onn hated it, but there was seriously nothing he could do. Not having control of a sector could put them off…Superman would hate that…HE would hate that…
Frowning, J'onn looked downwards towards the rest of the workers, forcing himself to quit dweling on the delayed sector. "Let's continue then…" He ordered, motioning towards a different worker. "Sector 30."
"All clear."
"Sector 35, all clear."
J'onn let the noise of the reports continue and his face hardened as he absorbed himself in his work…it kept his mind off of things. Things that seemed to linger…and taunt him. From his view, it looked like even Lantern and Hawkgirl were thinking about those same things…
…the past…how beautiful it had been…oh to have a taste of it once more…
Lord J'onn hardened himself further and turned his back on the sight below, forcing himself to focus on the monitors instead.

Below, Hawkgirl studied a different set of monitors, comparing it to the work she did on Thanagar. That being said, Even Thanagar seemed less stressful than it was here. It didn't help…that…
Letting off a silent breath, Hawkgirl glanced in Lantern's direction; The former Marine was staring out the window of the Watchtower…staring at nothing and everything at the same time.
"…I keep expecting him to come zipping in any minute now…with her hot on his tail…" Lantern mused sullenly, continuing to stare into the vastness of space.
Hawkgirl offered a sad smile towards Lantern and faced him fully. "With him saying something really stupid, and her only fanning his already huge ego, right?"
Lantern smirked at the comment, and looked towards Hawkgirl grimly. "Well…there WAS that…"

The Thanagarian offered the Green Lantern another sad smile and looked downwards. "But when things got serious, so did they." Hawkgirl was silent for a brief moment, before she took a step towards Lantern and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "…I miss them too, John…" She muttered quietly.

"Sector 42, All clear now."
"Sector 31, civil disturbance."

At the report, both Hawkgirl and Lantern turned around, high on alert; before they both flew towards J'onn, curious to see just WHAT kind of riff-raff were pulling off a disturbance at this time.
"What's going on?" Lantern asked, landing behind J'onn and trying to look over his bulky frame to see the screen.
"Just a small protest at the college." J'onn replied in a monotone voice, moving aside very slightly to let his allies see the screen of college students practically DEMANDING to be let to vote for the long-delayed presidential election.
Hawkgirl looked over the screen and frowned. "We're there." She offered, both her and Lantern turning in an attempt to get going.

"Not necessary." J'onn turned towards his allies and frowned seriously. "The police are handling it."
"It only takes one spark to start a fire." Lantern pointed out, motioning towards the screen in determination.
The Martian was silent for a brief amount of time, his stony look on his face never leaving him. "…Alright, if you want to go so badly, be my guest." He finally said, reasoning with himself that they were going as a pair, and they should be fine. "And as long as you are down there, please try to get Batman out of that cave of his." J'onn narrowed his eyes and frowned. "Even I find it depressing."
"Deal" Hawkgirl gave J'onn a thumbs up, before she and Lantern turned and flew off, ready to simmer down the civil disturbance going on.

J'onn watched the pair go and frowned…before he turned and looked back towards the screen, narrowing his eyes.
…Batman had closed himself off from the Justice Lords ever since…
Quick to can his emotions, the Martian continued with his work.

***Justice League***

"It doesn't mean much…
It doesn't mean anything at all…
The life I've left behind me…is a cold room…"

This music was something that she had never DREAMED that she would try dancing to! But it was so INTERESTING! It would get fast…then slow…then even…then slow again…

Camille slowly positioned her hind paws to support her as she leaned back as far as she could possibly go without a partner. She had found herself trying Pas de deux dances more and more frequently; they felt good! Sure, she fell every time she attempted a part that she COULDN'T do by herself…but when she danced…she felt FREE!
The Saturn couldn't help but feel that she had ALWAYS been attracted to ballet; even before her life with the Justice League. Twirling to the beat of the song, Camille kept her focus on trying NOT to make herself dizzy.

Well THAT was hard, all things considered!
As the song slowed once again, Camille slowly rose her arms in the air, eyes closed and ears back.

"Sweeeeeeet surrender…is all that I have to give…"

Slowly moving her paws up and down, she winced when she almost slipped…and then her eyes snapped open as she felt strong hands place themselves on her waist, supporting her.
"…Dancing without a partner can be a stress on not only the dance; but the dancer as well, Camille."
Camille blushed darkly at the sound of J'onn's voice behind her…before she smiled sweetly and turned to face the Martian, who was smiling fondly at her.
"Well then, won't you dance with me then, J'onn-kun?" The Saturn offered her new lover her paw, her dark blush never leaving her face.

J'onn's smile only got warmer as he slipped his fingers through her paw pads and slipped his other hand gently around her waist.
"I would be delighted, my shining star."

Following J'onn's lead, Camille couldn't help but feel like she was on…well…MARS! Or Saturn…anywhere but here, anyways. J'onn always made her feel like she was on a different world. And now the confession of their love for each other only bringing them closer and closer with each passing day…
…Oh how sweet dreams were when they came true.
Camille found herself cuddled against the Martian's chest, apparently having completely ignored the fact that she had originally been dancing ballet. Instead, now, she enjoyed the strong hold of J'onn's arms and just swayed back and forth to the music that filled her fuzzy ears.
…mmm….So this is what love felt like…so warm…so strong…

"Justice League! Lex Luther is currently attacking the Harper tech storage facility! We need everyone to the Javelin, NOW!"

"…uuuunnnnggghhhh…." Camille looked up and frowned. "Just when I was enjoying the moment, nya."
"Heh." J'onn leaned down and pressed his lips to the Saturn's forehead, before smiling encouragingly at his beloved. "Such is the life of a Justice League member."
"yup…And I'm gonna get there before yew!" Camille smirked suddenly, before quickly sliding out of the Martian's grip and sprinting for the door. J'onn only smiled at the statement…before he quickly made himself transparent and quickly headed for the Javelin in the same direction, easily passing Camille.

"HEY! NO TRANSPARENT STUFF!" Camille yelled, quickly crouching down and accelerating her speed. The move gave her greater speed….however the momentum affected her turning…
CRASH!
J'onn paused his flight and looked behind him in concern as Camille practically SLAMMED into a supply closet…however, the Martian didn't have to act; because two seconds later Camille came rocketing out in domestic cat mode. Of all things, a used-up toilet paper roll was stuck to her head; but it didn't stop her from rushing past the Martian and making a b-line for the Javelin hanger.

As they entered the room, they found the rest of the Justice League members appearing one by one, ready to address the situation going on at Earth.
Flash paused when he noticed Camille rocket in…and busted out laughing at her appearance. "WOW Camille; WOW! Is that the new Saturn fashion statement for Earth?"
"Shut up!" Camille growled, running up the ramp….only to run SMACK into Wonder Woman's leg, who she couldn't see very well. The Saturn shook her head awkwardly and proceeded to attempt to get on the ship…however, J'onn grabbed a hold of her by the scruff of her neck, proceeding to pull the roll off her head. The Martian then smirked at the Saturn as he took his place at the Javelin's controls.

"I believe this round goes to me."
"No way, I was WAY ahead of you, nya!"

"Wow, their first Martial fight!" Flash grinned and fake swooned. "When are you guys gonna start working on those 15 babies for me, huh?"
"Hopefully in more private settings." Hawkgirl stated, causing both J'onn and Camille to stop and look at her in disbelief. The Thanagairan only smirked and shrugged. "What? I got you two to be quiet, didn't I? Now let's go get Luthor!"

"WE'RE NOT EVEN MARRIED YET, NYA!"
"She said 'YET'!" Flash suddenly exclaimed as the door closed. Before the ship blasted off a loud SLAP was heard, followed by a yelp from Flash.

***Justice Lords***

Lord Lantern tilted his head at the screen that their Batman was showing them. A fight…between 'them' and Lex Luthor. Why bring up the past?
"What is this? Some old video of us?" He asked, looking towards Batman in confusion.

"Except we never had a fight like this with Luthor" Wonder Woman pointed out, looking at all the details of the fight. As many fights as they had with the creep when he was still alive, none of them lined up exactly with the one that was being played right now.
"You're right." Batman responded, motioning towards the screen. "WE never did; but they're having one, right now."
"They?" Hawkgirl looked confused at the statement. How could that NOT be them themselves?

Batman didn't so much as glance at his ally. "We're looking at another dimension…live."
Wonder Woman's mouth went agape slightly. "It's…just like ours."
"Almost" Batman corrected, motioning towards the screen as a certain red and yellow streak went by. "But their Flash is still alive."
"So's their Luthor." Superman mused bitterly, eyes narrowing in contempt as he saw the villain fire blast upon blast at the heroes that he fought. After a brief moment, another quick figure came into view, twirling her sai and launching at the fighting Lex Luthor.

"Their Camille is alive as well." J'onn took a step up and almost reached out for the screen upon seeing the Saturn get SLAMMED into the ground. He slowly retracted his hand and frowned seriously when he saw the transformed Saturn quickly jump upwards and then dodge a piece of falling building that landed RIGHT where she had once been.
Batman was silent for a while, before he glanced towards the others in the room.
"There's something else. They don't call themselves the 'Justice Lords'. They're the 'Justice League'…"

***Justice League***

Wonder Woman and Green Lantern flew as fast as they could, chasing after the armor laden Lex Luthor. The villain had time to glance over his shoulder as Green Lantern fired a shot from his ring, and dodged it promptly.
They certainly were persistent, he had to give them that; but if his brilliant plans were ever going to be realized, then these over glorified 'heroes' had to be eliminated.
Hearing the sound of unsheathing blades in front of him, Luthor looked up quickly, seeing Camille in battle mode and running straight for him.

What a bother.
Narrowing his eyes, Luthor glanced above him quickly, before turning in mid-flight and BLASTING at the roof, causing all sorts of debris to come falling down. Wonder Woman and Green Lantern managed to get out of the way; however, Flash wasn't as lucky. Getting pinned by the falling debris, Flash managed to catch the attention of Superman; who quickly dove down to assist his comrade.

Stooping down to shove the debris off of Flash, Superman narrowed his eyes in scorn at the youngest member of the team; well technically anyways.
"Don't take your eyes off of him, I said! Not even for a second!" He reprimanded, watching as Flash pushed himself up and dusted himself off.
"Hey I HAD to go, ok?" Flash replied smartly, sounding slightly embarrassed and irked at the same time. "And there are SOME things I can't just do in the blink of an eye!" That much said, the young superhero zipped off in pursuit of the villain.

Camille had a head start, eyes narrowed in focus and keeping a good speed with the retreating Luthor. It was bad enough that he was ALWAYS up to no good; but THIS took the cake. AND he nearly flattened her big brother.
Yeah, THIS was unacceptable!
"Jos haluat taistella, aion palvella, nya…" she growled, quick to jump from wall to wall and LATCH onto Luthor's back with her sai.

Luthor growled at the persistence of the cat-alien…and proceeded to spin violently in mid-air.
Camille yelped at the pressure that was suddenly caused by the speed inflicted on her, but hung on. Narrowing her eyes, the Saturn SLASHED at Luthor's back- disabling his flight….and sending them both straight for a wall.
SLAM!
"OOFFFF!"
Camille found herself SLAMMED against at LEAST three walls, before someone forced her to a stop. Groaning dizzily, the Saturn moaned and tried to wiggle free from the new grip. Once the person let her go, she turned and dizzily threw a punch in their general direction…only to fall to the ground, the world still spinning around her.
"….nnnnyyyyyyaaaaa…." Camille held her head and found herself turned around, laying on her back. Looking upwards, the Saturn made out a hazy picture of J'onn, who was looking at her seriously. Most likely he was assuring himself that she was more dizzy than hurt.

ZIIIIIIIIPPP!

Camille shook her head a few times and sat up fully, looking distressed at the sound.
"Mika se oli?" she asked, quickly pushing herself up. Both she and J'onn ran over to the nearest entrance. Thankfully what they found was a recently beaten Lex Luthor, surrounded by the other Justice League members, mainly Flash, who looked pretty proud of himself.
The Saturn smirked and sheathed her sai, dusting herself off and marching over towards the Speedster…and promptly SLAMMING her foot on his.

"OWW!" Flash yelped and jumped in the air, before looking over towards Camille and scowling. "What was THAT for?!"
Camille allowed herself to dissolve her warrior attire, before placing her paws on her hips and smirking at him. "For nearly getting flattened of course, nya! Do you really think I want Flash-kun pancakes for breakfast?"
Flash smirked and put up his hands. "Well SURE ya do! After all I've got good taste, right?"
"That's a statement I'd rather NEVER answer, nya." Camille scoffed, crossing her arms and sticking her tongue out at Flash, who only returned the gesture.

Flash then looked towards Superman and rubbed his head slightly. "Sorry I goofed up back there."
"Apology accepted." Superman smiled towards Flash, before motioning at the mess in the room. "As soon as the damage is fixed."
Flash smirked at the statement and made a motion with his hand. "Got a sec?" Like lightning, the Speedster promptly began fixing the entire room, letting everyone kick back and watch.

Camille took a stand next to J'onn and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms and smirking.
"He is SUCH a show off, nya."
"Indeed. You seem to be doing most of your learning from him." J'onn looked towards Camille and smirked. The Saturn glared at the Martian, a smirk on her face.
"That was SO FUNNY, I think I have a hairball coming up." Camille mocked, only making J'onn chuckle in response.
The Saturn stretched and let out a stifled yawn. Yeah…a nap sounded SO WONDERFUL at this particular time, since they just got through with Luthor…AGAIN. Man, it was like he never knew when to quit! Camille's ears twitched at a sound of what sounded like energy to her from behind. Maybe it was Flash; after all, he was the definition of energy.

"You know, now that Luthor is behind bars again, maybe we can FINALLY get a chance to see that Canada place we keep trying to see." Camille grinned and turned. "Sound good, J'onn-ku-" The Saturn paused…and quickly took a leap back when she saw not one…but TWO Martians behind her.
J'onn paused at Camille's reaction, and looked behind him….only to come face-to-face with….

"Who-….Who are you?" J'onn managed to ask the newcomer.

The newly arrived Martian narrowed his eyes seriously towards J'onn.
"I'm You."