Disclaimer: I don't own any of the JLA. Rights to their respective owners!

Just a little something I wrote for a friend! Hope you enjoy!

Kal-El was many things.

Invulnerable. Ridiculously strong. He was the Man of Steel. The Last Son of Krypton.

Yes, Kal-El was many things.

A party planner, however, was not one of them.

So when the idea came to him to hold a surprise birthday party for the Dark Knight, he had no idea where to start.

He needed help, and he had no idea who to ask.

He started with Diana.

"Diana," he said, catching her in the corridor of dorms the Watchtower provided for weary League members. "I need your help. Can you plan a party?"

"Can I what?" Diana asked. "A party?"

"Yeah," Kal said. To be honest, he wasn't sure Diana knew anything about birthday parties, being from Themiscrya and all. He didn't know if Amazonians even celebrated birthdays. "Bruce's birthday is in five days and I want to throw him a party. Here, in the Watchtower."

"That's sweet, Kal," the Amazon replied. "But I've never planned a party before. I wouldn't know where to start."

"Oh." Kal's face fell slightly. "That's all right." He offered her a smile, then went off in search of someone who could help him.

He hunted down Dinah.

"Dinah!" Kal caught her as she was leaving the battle simulator deck.

"Hey, Big Blue," she greeted, tossing the sweat-slick bangs from her forehead with one hand. "What's up?"

"Can you plan a party?"

"Can I plan a party?" Dinah said. "Kal, I hired a professional planner for Ollie and mine's wedding. I couldn't plan a party if I tried. Why?"

"I want to throw a surprise birthday party for Bruce."

"Aw," Dinah said, smiling. "I can't help you, hon, but Diana might—"

"I asked Diana."

"And?"

"Well, I'm asking you now, so…"

"Right." Dinah pushed her lower jaw out and huffed a breath up into her bangs, ruffling them. "Maybe you could ask Kendra. Or Zee."

"I'll try," Kal said with a nod. "Thanks anyway, Dinah." He turned, intent on finding Hawkgirl or Zatanna, as Dinah had suggested.

"Good luck!" she called after him as he headed back the way he'd came. Kal waved, then was gone.

He asked Kendra, but she ignored him.

Zee was on active duty with Mari, and the two were in Russia resolving a meta-human revolt against the government there. Kara was in Smallville visiting Ma and Pa. The other Kara was with her, meeting Ma and Pa. He didn't want to bother the Titans; they probably couldn't help anyway.

"Hey, Big Blue," Wally said, approaching Kal.

"Hey, Wally." The Kryptonian was staring out of the expansive floor-to-ceiling window in the main chamber of the Watchtower, watching the atmosphere above Earth shift and swirl and wondering what he was going to do about Bruce's birthday.

"What's wrong?" Wally asked. "You don't seem your usual boy-scout self."

"I want to throw a surprise birthday party for Bruce," Kal said. "I couldn't plan a party to save my life and I haven't been able to find anyone who—"

"Party?" Wally grinned. "I'm a supreme party planner. Me and Kyle, last year I planned this wild New Year's party, and we had a total blast. Man, it rocked."

"Really?" Kal asked, face lighting up.

"Look no further, dude. I'm your new party-planner." Wally was positively beaming now.

"Thanks, Wally," Kal said. "I owe you one."

"The first thing you need for a great party," Wally explained as he and Kal, now plain-clothed in the middle of a Metropolis part story, searched for supplies, "are decorations."

"How do you decorate for a party for Batman?" Kal asked. "Throw up some black streamers and get some bats to nest in the Watchtower?" As amusing as it would be to see what Kara would do upon seeing a hundred bats hanging on the ceiling (she hated the Cave), he couldn't imagine trying to clean up after all those creatures. He wasn't entirely sure how the Cave itself stayed relatively free of guano, even though it was home to hundreds of bats. Maybe Alfred cleaned it up. As he pondered this, Wally continued on.

"No," he said. "You get the brightest colored decorations you can possibly find." He pulled a package of neon-colored streamers from the shelf.

"Neon?" Kal was pulled from his thoughts. "Wally, this is Bruce we're talking about. He hates bright colors. I don't even think he owns any other suit color but black and dark blue."

"Exactly."

"Wait, what?"

"Yes. Just trust me, Big Blue." Wally patted his shoulder. "Who wants black streamers at a birthday?"

"Oh."

"Right," Wally said. "Let's go get some balloons."

Another hour in the part store and then Kal and Wally were leaving, the bags they carried full of bright streamers of yellow and purple and pink and blue and green and orange; balloons, bags upon bags of balloons of every color the store had and even more bags of ribbons to match; over a hundred tiny paper plates screened with images of peace signs and rainbows and VW Buses all over a pink backdrop and all with matching cups and bright pink cutlery; and lastly, an entire bag of confetti poppers, clappy-plastic hands and general noise makers, bubbles, chalk in pastel colors, a Pin the Tail on the Donkey game, crayons, beaded necklaces, stickers, paper crowns, orange and purple plastic men with parachutes, fake coins, squirt guns, plastic glasses-nose-mustache combos, harmonicas and kazoos.

"I've got a Twister game, too," Wally said. "Over at my place."

"I can't thank you enough for this, Wally," Kal said as they made their way out of the public view and around a corner to the back of the store. "Really."

"Don't sweat it." Wally pulled his League com-link from his pocket and said, "Flash to Watchtower."

"Flash," came J'onn's voice.

"Is Bruce there?"

"He is not."

"Good," Wally said. "Beam us up, J'onn."

"Bruce's party is in four days," Wally explained. He'd gathered everyone in the main chamber of the Watchtower. Diana, Kyle, J'onn, Kendra, Dinah, Zee, Mari, Ray, John Stewart, Kara Zor-El, Kara Zor-L, John Smith, Scott, and Ollie were all hearing the party plans. "No one tells Bruce what's happening."

"Duh," Kara said. "Then it wouldn't be a surprise."

"And we want it to be a surprise," Kal said.

"Of course," Diana said. "So how are we going to get Bruce up here on his birthday?"

"We'll just ask him," Wally said.

"If that will—"

The computer behind J'onn pinged, signaling the arrival of someone via transporter. All eyes went to the transporter room door. It slid open, and Starfire stepped out.

"Greetings, friends!" she said. The League members visibly relaxed.

"Hey, Kory," Wally said.

"Why are you all gathered together?"

"We're planning a preemptive strike."

"Wally," Diana said, smacking his arm lightly. Well, as light as an Amazon princess can smack. "We're planning a birthday party for Bruce."

"How fun!" Kory said, clapping. "I wish to join!"

"All right." Wally grinned. "Can you bake a cake?"

"Sounds good, Kory." Dick had his cell-phone to his ear as he paced across the marble foyer of Wayne Manor. "Okay. See you soon. Yeah, I'll bring Tim along. Yeah, he'll probably have Conner in tow." He was silent, then laughed. "All right. See you." He hung up and pocketed his phone as Alfred entered the foyer from the kitchen.

"Richard," he greeted. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, sir."

"The League's planning a surprise birthday party for Boss," Dick said, smiling. "Kory wants my help baking the cake."

"Ah, yes," Alfred said. "I had planned on reminded Master Wayne of his birthday when he returned from the Tower. I shan't now, sir. I take it Timothy will be accompanying you?"

"Thanks, Alfred, and yeah, Tim's coming," Dick said. "So's Conner. Four heads are better than one when trying to bake a cake, I suppose."

"Or it is a recipe for disaster, sir."

Dick laughed. "Probably," he said. "Tell Boss that Tim and I are studying, if he asks."

"Certainly, sir. Forever the young scholars."

It was Bruce's birthday, and Kal and everyone had been decorating the Watchtower all day, terrified of Bruce deciding to make a spontaneous trip up there before they wanted him. Streamers hung from the ceiling, taped to the railings of the upper chamber floors and covering several of the computer screens. Balloons littered the room, most on the floor (they'd forgotten the helium tank) looking like oversized colored Easter eggs. Dinah, Mari and Kory had decided to make gift bags for everyone, full of noise-makers and confetti poppers and other small toys and goodies that Kal and Wally had bought.

"gnitirw raeppa!" Zee intoned, waving her hands in front of the huge window, and the words 'Happy Birthday, Bruce!' appeared in bright yellow shining letters.

"Looks great, Zee," Kal said, admiring the message.

"Oh!" Wally said. "We forgot party hats!" He was suddenly gone and, thirty eight seconds later (not counting the time it took the transporter to deposit him on Earth and beam him back up) was back, a bag of pointed paper party hats in his hand. "Whew! That was close!"

"It is midnight in Gotham," J'onn reported from the computer, what little of it wasn't covered with streamers.

"Boss is probably on patrol by now," Dick said as he helped Tim plug candles into the huge cake that they, Kory and Conner had made. For being the amateur chefs they were, the cake turned out good (this is, of course, after several mishaps in Dick's kitchen, such as a spilled bag of flour, cake batter on the ceiling, too much baking powder and the fact that they almost exploded Dick's oven).

"I'll call him," Kal said, pulling out his com-link and heading for the corridor that led to the Watchtower dorms. "Hey, B," he said once he heard the click of Bruce answering.

"Yes?"

"You should come up to the Watchtower," Kal tried.

"Why?"

"Uh. It's a…you should just come up." He couldn't say it was a surprise, because that would be a sure giveaway that it was a birthday party. Kal wasn't entirely sure how Bruce would figure out it was a party by that, but, well, he was talking to the World's Greatest Detective.

"No," Bruce said. "I'm on patrol, S. I'm not coming up unless you give me a reason."

"Because you want to see my smiling face," Kal said.

"Nice try." The com-link went to static.

Kal headed back into the main chamber.

"So?" Kyle asked, and all heads turned to look at him.

"I'm going to have to go get him," Kal said, but he was grinning. "I'm going to need some sticky notes."

It was darker than usual in Gotham. Not only was the sky full of angry black thunderheads, but it was a new moon tonight, and any chance of luminescent light leaking through the clouds was instantly gone.

Not that any of this bothered Bruce. Quite the contrary. Nights like this were his preference. They made him that much more menacing, that much more demonic, that much more surreal to the inhabitants of Gotham's underbelly.

He shot out his grapnel and swung out above Gotham's East End, toward the shadow-bathed rooftop of a derelict apartment complex, a home to many known dealers and molesters, Bruce knew. As he landed on the roof, his senses were on an immediate alert, and he felt that something was wrong.

It took him one point three seconds to see the bright orange sticky note on the roof's small building that housed the stairwell into the complex.

He read it as he pulled it from the wall.

'You should come to the Watchtower'

-S

Bruce crumpled the note in his hand. "Nice try," he mused, dropping the paper ball onto the rooftop.

When he reached his second surveillance point of the night, another sticky note was waiting.

'You know you want to'

-S

"No, I don't," Bruce muttered, crumpling that note as well.

At the third point, there was another.

'Come on, B'

-S

"No."

At the fourth point:

'You know you want to know what's going on'

-S

He crumpled the note.

At the fifth point:

'Come on, B. Please?'

-S

He crumpled that note, too.

At the sixth point:

'Please? You know you want to'

-S

He crumpled that note.

At the seventh point there was a note with a frowny face.

He ripped that note in half.

At the eighth point:

'I see. You don't love me'

-S

"That's unfair, Kal," Bruce said to the note. He sighed as he pulled his com-link from his belt. "J'onn," he said. "I'm coming up."

When Bruce stepped from the transporter pad, he knew something was up. From the main chamber he could hear shuffling feet, stifled giggles and people shushing one another. He raised an eyebrow beneath his cowl as he stepped toward the door, only imagining what sort of deviousness Kal was up to as the door slid open.

"Surprise!" He was greeted with a chorus of exclamations. "Happy Birthday, Bruce!" Confetti was being popped left and right, leaving a sulfur odor hanging to mix with the noises of all variety of noise-makers.

Bruce just stared. Was it really his birthday? Alfred hadn't reminded him but, as he counted the days in his head…oh, yes, it was his birthday today.

"Told you you'd want to come up," Kal said as he approached Bruce, party hat in hand. He strapped in on Bruce's head, covering the left bat ear that protruded from his cowl. He stepped back, grinning. "Looks great!"

"Kal," Bruce said, tone even as he watched Kory light the birthday cake candles with her fiery (literally) red hair.

"Um…yes?" Bruce could tell that Kal thought he was in trouble, just by the ever-so-slight quaver of his voice, the microscopic back-step he took, the tiniest slump in his shoulders and dropping of his eyebrows.

"Thanks." Bruce surprised him, he knew, as he gave the Kryptonian a light kiss on the cheek. Kal flushed pink.

"Cake time!" Wally shouted, wielding the cake-server like it was a dagger, waving it around in the air haphazardly. "Let's eat!"

"Bruce gets the first piece!" Dinah said, taking the server from Wally's hand.

"And we've got to sing to him!" Kyle shouted.

"Yeah!" Everyone chorused. Bruce looked at Kal, a smile playing on his lips. He reached out and grabbed Kal's hand as Dinah belted out 'Happy Birthday', everyone soon joining in, and Bruce and Kal headed toward the congregation. Kal gave Bruce's hand a light squeeze and smiled at him.

"Happy Birthday, Bruce."

Thanks for reading~