(AN) Yep, it's true. An update…

Don't own, don't sue.

Chapter 3: Sort of Homecoming

The BM37 hovered in space as Batman sat in silence. For being in a different time than his own, his instincts still had complete control over him. Seeing that a disaster was about to commence, Batman decided to get involved in a war he had hoped to pass on. He was focused on trying to find a way back to his time. Even worse now, Batman sits with the thought of over five hundred-thousand deaths by his hands.

Never in his life has he ever taken a life, the worse case were only a handful of criminals needing longer than two days in a hospital. Batman knew it was a war, casualties are to be expected. That still didn't prevent him from cursing himself in silence. He mumbled the large number to himself a few times before he threw his head back and grunted in frustration.

Batman returned his head forward to resume the assessment of his situation.

From what he remembered before he left, Slade told him that Darkseid was to invade Earth much sooner than originally anticipated. However, Diana told him that a race of beings known as the Gordanians had invaded, not Darkseid. Before Batman could question her further, she was called away to a battle.

The last thing he did was broadcast to all of Mars that he had intended on getting the answers he wanted, by force if necessary. He knew full well that wasn't such a good idea. Being in the heat of what had happened, Batman could barely hold a sentence, save a rational thought. He knew he had to do things the old fashioned way.

"Computer", Batman said breaking his own silence. "Return to cave."

The BM37 teleported back to cave instantaneously, causing Batman to take a deep breath to himself.

He opened the top hatch, lifting himself out quickly. Batman immediately took his cowl off, giving Bruce a moment to catch his own breath. He fell to his knees with the burden of everything that has happened still fresh in his mind. After closing his eyes and keeping his head facing downward, Bruce began to mourn for those he had just killed.

"It's a war..." He said trying to convince himself.

He stood up slowly, regaining his focus. Bruce continued walking towards the main computer to continue his search for the truth.

Bruce reached the chair of the computer, remembering much more about this new system he had in development.

"Computer, manual access."

The top of the console opened up and sets of keys emerged ready to be used. Bruce sat down quickly, already beginning to type. The screen came on, showing a digital representation of Earth. Bruce studied the layout of the globe, noticing that new territories had been drawn in. Next a map of North America came on screen, showing a definite change to its territorial outline. Bruce noticed random spots of radioactive neutral zones were scattered across the world, especially in North America.

Bruce then attempted to find any biological readings that emanated from humans across the continents. He knew that if some territories were livable, some humans had be left on Earth. Bruce refused to believe otherwise. The computer showed that Earth was rather heavily populated still by humans. It estimated that roughly over three hundred and fifty million humans still called Earth home.

Whether by choice or not, he was unsure.

Bruce reapplied his cowl and lifted himself off of the seat in front of the computer. He began to march toward the BM37, fully intent on surveying the areas of the globe himself. The condition that his body was forced to endure left him unable to feel fatigue, something he was gonna have to thank Slade for after he administers the antidote.

Batman stopped in his tracks as he remembered.

"Dammit…"

When he had first awoken, he realized that the contents of his belt had been taken, along with the antidote to reverse his condition.

"Annoying, isn't Bruce?"

Batman stopped in place, not moving a muscle. Slade was using telepathy to transmit his thoughts. Batman knew that Slade did not show he had telepathy originally, so he must have been using a third party.

"So many years removed from your own time, now you find that even the mercy of death is beyond your grasp. I truly know how you feel."

"Come out from wherever you're hiding, Slade. "I'll show you how I feel", Batman spat.

Batman could hear Slade huff in amusement.

"You have to start focusing now, Bruce. Things are not as I predicted they would be. In fact, things are far worse than I could have imagined. It appears my presence in your time did more than cause minor changes to the world that once was. Your future, my present was completely altered by those minor changes."

"Why are the Gordanians on Earth?" Batman finally asked. "When did they invade Earth?"

"The Gordanians appeared not long after you left, as Chancellor Prince has told you. What she failed to tell you was that it was not the Gordanians who attacked first. Shayera Hol, or Hawkgirl as you know her, identified the Gordanians as her people's mortal enemy. She warned the Justice League that the Gordanians were only interested in supremacy in any planet they set their sites on.

"Their first appearance was in Washington D.C. months after that night in Gotham. Tim had coordinated a stakeout in defense of a possible terrorist attack. He became quite the strategist in your absence. I guess the League needed someone who thought like you."

"Go on", Batman said walking towards the BM37.

The BM37's top hatch was open for Batman to leap inside of. After applying the safety belt, he started up the engine as Slade continued in his head.

"They appeared via one of their warships, causing a huge scene over the D.C. skies. The Justice League engaged them as soon as Hawkgirl identified it. The ship crash-landed inside of Arlington National Cemetery, destroying the monument on impact. The Justice League surrounded it, only to find that the crew inside had surrendered themselves in hopes of negotiating. They informed the League of the war they were at with Hawkgirl's people the Thanagarians, noting the brutal history that preceded them. The crew was an intelligence team that was sent by the Gordanians to inspect a rumor that the Thanagarians had found a way past their defenses around the Gordanian home world Kama. The way was by means of creating a hyperspace gate that would rip through a series of planets, one being Earth.

"Immediately following their arrival, Hawkgirl revealed her true intention for being on Earth. She was a dispatched agent sent by the Thanagarians to gather information on Earth's defenses."

"A spy…" Batman said to himself.

"It really wasn't as it seemed, Bruce. She was sent with the intent of gathering the information to help Earth defend itself in case the Gordanians ever attacked us. She was unaware that she was sent to gather information that would fuel an invasion by her own people. However, your fellow League members didn't see it that way. I recall only John Stewart, Wally and a few of the younger members truly believing her."

The BM37 lifted and teleported from its platform inside the cave. It hovered in place over the holographic wooded area for a few brief moments as Batman computed the coordinates for teleportation. The first destination was over the nearest populated area: Downtown Gotham.

"I trust that you know full well that you will be detected by the Gordanians unless cloaked", Slade said.

Batman ignored Slade as his ship teleported over Gotham City, already cloaked. A sight that would never register in his soul for as long as he would live awaited him as he appeared in Gotham's sky. It came on screen inside the cockpit; it was in plain view as he looked out of the windshield.

Gotham, the city he has always called home.

His city.

It now lied in a soot covered ruin. Forever burned from a war that had taken place in what seemed like years ago, Batman slowly piloted his way over terrain to further survey the area. He knew what to expect when he arrived over Gotham, just by how he had found the manor.

"A day after the Gordanians arrival", Slade continued. "The Thanagarian armada appeared in Earth's orbit The Thanagarians sent a strike squad and eliminated the Gordanian presence on Earth."

Batman continued to fly over the skies of the devastated Gotham. Slade's words registered clearly while Batman studied the wasteland.

"The Justice League, along with the rest of the world, was ambushed by the entire Thanagarian fleet. Shayera Hol sided with the Justice League against her people, a decision that proved to be more costly than she had realized. The Thanagarians singled her out as a traitor and hunted her relentlessly. As the Thanagarians continued their assault on Earth, the United States government unveiled what they felt was to be their best chance for victory."

Batman stopped the BM37 over an area of land that held a special purpose for him. The area lied in ruins as charred building debris covered the area, burying the birthplace of the Batman.

Crime Alley.

"The U.S. government created an agency that specialized in metahumans activity. They headed a program called 'The Cadmus Project'. This program was created immediately after the events of Superman falling under the control of Darkseid and turning on the planet. Their prime purpose was the study of metahumans genetics, with the hopes of cloning metahumans that could be controlled by the government. With the additional information that I had left behind for certain individuals to find, they were able to perfect the cloning of Kryptonian DNA."

Batman broke from his looking over the spot of his parents' murder as Slade awaited a reaction.

"How many..?" Batman simply asked.

"The Cadmus Project had seven perfect specimens, four female and three male. Each clone had aspects of both Superman and Supergirl in their genetic makeup, causing visible similarities to be quite obvious. They were trained from an early age to master their powers the way Superman had, only they had perfected several forms of combat styles. Superman was dominant with his powers alone; imagine if he was as heavily trained as you are."

Batman always knew that Clark would have been for more powerful if he had spent the time to learn any form of fighting discipline. Adding strength of mind to his abilities would have been a deadly combination.

"The band of Kryptonians assisted the Justice League in thwarting the Thanagarian forces, driving them off of our planet."

Continuing his thought process, Batman was interrupted when the onboard sensors of the BM37 began to sound at an alarming rate.

"Computer...?"

An explosion occurred on the outer hull of the BM37, causing it to rock violently for a brief moment. As he manually controlled it back to being level, Batman saw that two bogeys were on a collision course with his ship.

"I believe now would be a good time to leave…"

Batman began to set the coordinates into the navigation system for teleportation. As he finished, beginning the process, He could see at the last moment that the bogeys were in fact two people in pursuit. Before Batman could register an even better look at his would be attackers, the BM37 teleported from Earth's skies.


"Chancellor, you must understand that those reactors are operated by civilians. Placing military personnel to operate them would put over forty thousand workers out of jobs across Mars."

Thanks mostly to her heritage, the hardest decisions came easier for Chancellor Prince than a normal human. However, over the years the concept of necessity over compassion had not fully consumed her. Yet, she knew when to be a harder person…when necessary.

"I fully understand your concern, Mr. Donaldson", She said.

In the middle of a private conference with the head of the Climate Control System Union, Chancellor Prince could feel the concern emit from Donaldson. They sat in the two chairs that rested in front of the Chancellor's desk for her visitors. She knew this conversation would be vital, and she did not want the head of the union to feel alienated by being behind her massive desk. Her office was intimidating enough.

"But please understand from my perspective, if I may?"

Donaldson nodded as Diana leaned in closer from her chair. As a man, he always had a difficult time ignoring the obvious beauty that the Chancellor possessed. And again as a man, he respected her even more that she never used those talents as an advantage.

"We have always discussed that this day would come, and unfortunately today is that day. I understand that many will lose jobs, perhaps even lose their overall ways of life. But as Chancellor, my obligation is to protect the lives of the people of Mars. Civilian life can often be more of a hindrance than needed, but it is necessary. I will not run a system where people do not have a choice to refuse military life in order to lead a life of their own. It is not human nature. But with that freedom comes the sacrifice that the life they chose to lead will be endangered during these times we live in. And that is the reason why I have chosen to place full military control over the climate control system. Those who will lose their jobs will be immediately eligible for programs to help those in need. I understand it is not the most satisfying means, but it will ensure that those who are in need of help will obtain it."

"The Atmospheric Processors still remain under the military and we know that it was a matter of time before the shield generator jobs were taken", Donaldson said with concerned eyes. "On top of that, the programs for those in need are failing in more ways than you realize."

Chancellor Prince kept a strong look as her posture refused to shift, continuing with as a compassionate voice as she could muster.

"I am well aware, but as of now I have no choice. I truly am sorry, but the lives of the people are my main priority."

The Chancellor rose from her chair, showing that she had said all that she had intended. Donaldson could not let the despair of what was to come over take him, knowing that he had other important affairs to tend to. Rising himself, he turned towards the door and exited the Chancellor's chambers.

"Well aware…" Diana said to herself as she turned to walk towards her desk.

Stopping in front of it, she laid her hands on the desk. The Chancellor was always a woman of duty, yet over the years she developed strong human compassion. Not that her Amazonian heritage denied her compassion, the inherited human compassion had it's weaknesses that made decisions harder to make.

"It's not easy, is it?"

The Chancellor turned immediately at the sound of the voice. She quickly brought up her right arm, the gauntlet hugging her forearm glowing as energy was being ready to fire. In front of the door, Batman stood in his usual posture.

"You can't just show up and…" Diana started

Mixed with the surprise of him suddenly appearing in her office, Chancellor Prince was momentarily overtaken by his menacing presence.

"I told you I would be here."

Batman burrowed into the Chancellor's eyes, trying to breach the practiced look that overtook them. She had mastered over the years the ability to hide her emotions as well as anyone else could. She remembers when Kyle proclaimed her to having the 'World's Best Poker Face'.

"I appreciate what you have done for our people", Chancellor Prince said. "But I will not submit to any type of inappropriate…"

Batman continued his advance as Diana regained her composure and brought her hand down. She scowled at him, angered that he had not only invaded her office, but made her feel second-rate.

"How dare you…" she said fiercely. "You will not barge in here after forty years of disappearance and expect your intimidation tactics to work on me."

Batman stopped a mere two feet in front of her, his glare never giving way. He knew the only way to find the truth was to rupture the political aspect of the Chancellor's personality from the person he hoped still existed. Just as he separated falsified accounts by criminals in his time, he knew the shock factor was an essential tool.

The doors of her office burst open as four well armed, heavily armored soldiers entered the room, rifles drawn. Batman quickly turned to them, staring them down. The Chancellor came from behind him, holding up her hand and motioning downward with it.

"Knights, stand down", the Chancellor said to the four. "There is no danger."

The head of the four looked at Batman, then back to the Chancellor.

"But ma'am, are you sure…"

"Do you not think I can handle myself against one individual, captain?"

The four looked at each other, lowering their weapons. Batman returned to his upright position as the four turned to exit the room, closing the door behind them. Batman could not help but notice that one of the guards' movements was far more fluid compared the others, and it was not the captain.

"I do not wish to have anyone injured unnecessarily at the present time, especially those who give their lives to protect this planet and our people."

Batman turned back to the Chancellor as she had already turned away to stare out of the massive window that was the backdrop of her office.

"I don't know if you can imagine what it's like, Bruce", she said. "Even to an immortal, time can pass by in ways that are unexpected. I remember as if it were only yesterday when we declared you dead."

Batman was even better trained at hiding his emotions than Diana ever would be.

"The Gordanians landed on Earth not long after I had disappeared", Batman said himself. "Not long after, the Thanagarians appeared. Only they had intentions of destroying Earth to save their own planet. Hawkgirl was sent to Earth as a spy, eventually showing her loyalty to the Justice League and the planet. The U.S. government had already created The Cadmus Project to study and experiment with metahuman DNA. With the data they had on Superman and Supergirl, they were able to produce seven successful Kryptonians in their labs. Those Kryptonians aided the Justice League in the defeat of the Thanagarian force."

Diana remained silent as she knew he intentionally ignored her.

"The rest is still a little cloudy to me, Chancellor."

She turned to him, her eyes showing that they were almost at the verge of giving in. Only to have them hide themselves again behind that trained look. Seeing this caused Batman to give in a little himself.

"Regardless of what had happened", he said. "This all leads back to one man being responsible."

Diana felt the hate silently grow in her gut at the thought of his name. She turned back to face Batman with a questioned look on her face.

"Slade...is alive?" she asked with a hint of surprise.

"He came from the future", Batman said. "Roughly over eighty years from now. He went into the past to seek me out and settle a personal vendetta."

"You were Batman one hundred and twenty years or so prior to his time. Why would he have a grudge against you?"

"Regardless of how, I have to find him and return to my own time, Diana", said Batman. "The changes he caused in our time just by appearing were significant enough. Who knows the damage he's caused by crossing the time stream once again. My being here has probably also changed crucial events."

"What changes were caused by Slade first appearance?" Diana asked.

Batman knew that the most efficient means of getting something you want is by giving up some sort of collateral…information for information.

"According to what I know, Slade's appearance caused many changes to the formation of the Justice League, as well as my own personal life. If Slade hadn't entered the past, Barbara would have never been paralyzed. However, Tim's life would have come as close to being destroyed as possible."

Hearing those two facts caused a subtle stir within Diana.

"The Justice League would not have formed until ten years later, as an unofficial branch of the U.S. government. There would have been no invasion to form the League; J'onn would not have come to Earth to warn us of any invasion…"

Batman paused as Diana waited for him to continue.

"You would have never left the island to come to our aid."

Diana's poker face was being tested at this very moment.

"With these strong occurrences being altered with the emergence of one man out of his own time, what would two men cause by entering an already altered future?"

One of the subjects Diana had mastered during her quest for knowledge had not been the study of time travel.

"Then there is a possibility none of this has to happen", Diana said. "But who is to say that maybe things would have been worse had you stayed? What if the changes that occurred gave us a chance rather than dooming us to annihilation?"

Recounting the story Slade told him was harder than Batman had realized. However, one of the fail-safe functions of his original suit an emergency audio recording system. With a series of pumps in a specific sequence by his right glove, a hidden microphone in his cowl records any audio.

Batman reached in one of his pouches and pulled out a microchip, offering it to Diana.

"I had a feeling that it would be easier to give you this, I don't have time to explain everything."

"What is it?" Diana asked as she reached for it.

"I formatted the information into an audio codec", Batman said handing it to her. "I'll keep in contact with you."

As Diana received the chip, Batman disappeared from the room in an instant. The surprise of his departure was non existent as she continued to look at her hand. Diana placed the chip in a small pouch on her uniform, heading straight for the door. As she opened it, one of her Knights had been standing directly in front of the door with his back to it.

"…think that guy was Batma…"

The young soldier turned around to see the Chancellor staring at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Chancellor", he said as he turned and stood to attention. "Are you…"

The newest and youngest member of her personal guard was so green that he did not fully comprehend the Chancellor's ability to take care of herself. In a way, she could sense courage in him that she had seen in so few individuals. He was the highest scoring recruit out of hundreds of thousands, but often wasn't the brightest. But he being highly recommended by Cassandra Cain herself made it hard for Diana to refuse his application to take the tests in becoming a Knight.

He passed with flying colors

"Yes…" She said slightly annoyed. "Everything is satisfactory, McGinnis."


Batman sat in the BM37 as it hovered over the Martian Capitol. After returning from infiltrating the Martian Intelligence building, he had easily installed a pirate router on the hard line of their main computer system. However hacking was something he never really focused on. He always had either Barbara or Tim deal with sort of thing. Yet, he had more than enough skill on the keyboard to finish the task.

"Computer…establish link."

The screen on the console showed that the connection sequence was underway, followed by a confirmation screen as the connection was made.

"Computer, begin tracing all…"

The screen went blank before Batman could finish speaking. Then a green screen came up, showing a white, digital outline of a woman's face. It began speaking in a digital female voice.

WARNING, ILLEGAL ACCESS HAS OCCURRED IN THE MARTIAN DATABASE. BEGINNING THE UPLOADING OF SCANNING SOFTWARE INTO PIRATE'S HOST NETWORK…

"Great…"

Before Batman could close the line, the voice sounded again.

COMPLETE.

WARNING: ALL EMERGENCY PERSONNEL REPORT TO YOUR STATIONS IMMEDIATELY, THIS IS THE ORACLE CENTRAL COMPUTER SYSTEM, ALL EMERGENCY PERSONNEL REPORT TO YOUR STATIONS IMMEDIATELY…

Batman immediately attempted to teleport the BM37 out of Mars, only to have the controls unresponsive to his commands. The central computer uploaded a virus that granted remote control of the BM37 to Martian technicians, causing it to deactivate its cloaking device. Batman could now see that his vehicle was transmitting it's coordinates for the Martian Homeland Security to find it. The computer on the BM37 already had firewalls in place, making it impossible for any infiltration into the main computer back on Earth.

He quickly unfastened his seatbelt as he could see the ships beginning to approach. Batman did not know the terrain as well as he had hoped he would. His trip to infiltrate the computer systems proved harder than he had anticipated. As the first two ships approached from outside, Batman knew exactly what he needed to do.

"You inside", came from a voice from the first ship's speakers. "We are going to remotely open your top hatch. You will be ready to be taken into custody."

The pilot of the first ship turned to his copilot, who was ready to open the top hatch and arrest the assailant. The top hatch of the Martian ship opened as did the top hatch for the BM37. However, as the hatch opened for the BM37, nothing was inside of it.

"This is car 542, home", the pilot said as the copilot stood surprised at the opened hatch. "The aircraft has been intercepted, but no one is inside… What…? A personal cloaking device..? But only those with…"

Before the pilot could finish, his partner was lifted out of the hatch completely, then dropped back inside unconscious. The pilot switched to autopilot as he retrieved his gun. He stood up at the opening of the hatch, looking around the top of his hovering ship for whoever was responsible. As he returned to his normal point of view, a dark figure stood directly in front of the morning sunshine that should have been blinding him.

"I'll be goddamned…" was the last thing the pilot said before a foot to his face knocked him out.

Batman entered just as the pilot slumped back into his chair unconscious. Sirens could be heard coming from all over New Metropolis as the radio onboard the ship shouted at the incapacitated pilot. Batman continued to try to regain remote access of the BM37, but the virus uploaded into it was too powerful for him to work around. He had no time to waste on Mars as he wanted to return to earth to track down Slade.

An object landed on the roof, violently shaking the ship. Batman prevented from losing balance as he steadied himself. Suddenly a hand punched its way through the metal ceiling, followed by another. From Batman's view, he could easily tell the hands were feminine. The hands grabbed the metal and peeled back the top of the ship. An alarm inside of the ship sounded as it began an emergency descent to ease the loss of cabin pressure.

As the ship lowered itself to a safe altitude, the two hands completely ripped the roof off of it. Batman could have teleported to the ground and sought refuge, but he needed to know exactly who, if any, the remaining members of the Justice League were.

The dark figure of a woman began to hover down, but its right hand was extended and emitting a bright purple glow.

"I was having a late breakfast before you decided to breach Oracle", the woman's voice said snidely. "Now if you would be so kind as to come quietly, I promise I won't hurt you as much as I'd…"

The woman stopped as she moved in closer. Batman knew right away who it was, the Tamaranian girl that lead Slade's young group of Metas.

Blackfire.

"Y…you?" Blackfire said as she slowly approached.

Batman stood still as two troops followed her inside, using the same rocket propulsion system installed into his boots.

"Naw, it couldn't be you", Blackfire said as her hand began to glow even more. "Now come on, I can still make it back before lunch."

Batman slowly moved towards Blackfire as the two guards behind her aimed rifles with laser sightings at him. Blackfire slowly hovered towards him with her hand still aimed at his face. Batman stopped halfway between them, causing her to stop and smirk at him.

"I guess I'll be late for lunch then…"

Blackfire began to extend her hand further, but not before Batman could duck and lunge to her right, taking her by surprise. As he was lunging, a small, metallic ball was flying at her, obviously thrown before he even ducked. It exploded in front of her face, causing a massive flash of bright light.

Blackfire quickly covered her eyes, hovering to the ground as she shouting curses. The two troops behind her were not affected by the flash, protected by the visors on their helmets. Batman stopped in front of them, bringing his right fist to the first guard's midsection, and spun to deliver his left elbow to the second's ribs. The protective lining in their uniforms are reinforced enough to withstand those blows normally, but Batman's new suit amplified his strength enough to bypass those features.

Batman stood up only to have a sensor in his cowl warn him on an energy reading behind him. He turned to see an energy projectile in time for him to drop down. The energy blast shot out through the side ship, causing it to begin an automatic emergency landing. He looked up to see Blackfire already composed after the flash grenade, both hands pointing at him.

"Alright, prick", Blackfire said as her body began to glow the same purple energy. "You want to dress up like Batman? Fine, that's going to be the last…"

Batman disappeared right before her eyes.

"…outfit you…wear…"

Blackfire looked around as her troops and both pilots were the only ones in the ship with her.
"Well what the hell…?"

Blackfire powered down as she began to look around. The guy dressed up in the Batman costume had vanished like a ghost. Then Blackfire remembered the briefing she barely paid attention to, being forced away from a meal causes a Tamaranian not to think as clearly.

"Wait a minute…"

A puff of red dust shot out in front of her face. Blackfire was unconscious the moment she inhaled it, causing the cloaked Batman to catch her before she hit the ground.

Batman deactivated his cloaking device, and then leapt to the edge of the opening on the ship. He grabbed the torn metal with his well protected, gloved hands. Pulling himself up, he could see that the ship was completely surrounded. He took note that the ship was resting on top of a building that his cowl calculated being over forty stories from the ground.

Batman looked up to see the ships beginning to swarm around him. He knew that he had made good progress with Diana earlier, but something about her didn't feel right. He had to find another means of gathering information, and he felt infiltrating the main computer network was his best bet.

His first clue that something wasn't right was that J'onn was nowhere to be seen. Before when Batman was in her office, J'onn was no more than ten feet apart from her. It was clear to Batman that J'onn and Diana had always collaborated on every major decision made. Batman found it hard to believe that J'onn would not be present when Diana was discussing union issues with the main union representative.

"YOU TWO", a voice sounded from one of the surrounding ships. "DROP TO THE GROUND WITH YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEADS, OR YOU WILL BE SHOT DOWN."

"Two?" Batman said to himself.

"Yes Bruce, Two."

Batman quickly turned around to see the man he was looking for standing in front of him.

"Slade…" Batman nearly snarled.

Slade looked directly at him, a chuckle coming over him.

"Imagine what your old comrades must feel by looking at the both of us from up there."

Batman looked up to see the bottom hatch of one of the ships open. From that opening, two individuals leaped out. One floated down gracefully while the other landed directly on its feet onto the roof. The one that landed began to run directly at Batman and Slade, drawing a weapon. The one that floated remained in the air, following the first while emitting a green aura.

Batman then recognized the building he was standing on. From what he learned, it was called 'The Hall', where the remaining heroes of Earth would gather. From the condition the roof was in, Batman could tell this building had all but been forgotten.

"I'll excuse myself from your reunion", Slade said as he teleported from the roof.

"No!" Batman shouted as he turned around to see Slade had disappeared.

"Hold it right there!"

Batman turned around as man on the ground approached, his weapon aimed right at Batman's head. The soldier was dressed in the same uniform as the two that were on the ship with Blackfire. The one who was flying was clearly a Green Lantern.

"First you will remove that mask and place your hands behind your head", the soldier told him.

It was slightly more mature, but Batman knew the voice right away. His posture even shifted as he recognized the voice.

"Tim…?"

The soldier remained still as it reached for the helmet over his head. He removed it to show a face that had not aged any further than twenty-five years. The eyes, on the other hand, looked as though they had seen almost a hundred years of hardship. Tim stared hard at the man in the Batman costume. Knowing what that costume meant to him, Tim saw it as a personal slap to his face for anyone else to use it. But the person behind the mask knew his name. After the incident over Martian airspace the day before, Tim was convinced that his mentor had returned in some form or another.

Tim Drake smiled.

"You know", Tim began. "Leave it to you to make an entrance that would rub people the wrong way. You should hear how much Blackfire is screaming in my ear right now."

Batman eased up a bit as Tim lowered his rifle. The Green Lantern never did raise his ring at all, causing Batman to wonder a bit.

"I was beginning to worry that you wouldn't say anything", Tim continued. "Then I'd probably have to actually load this thing, and you know how much I hate guns."

Batman watched as Tim motioned for the Green Lantern to come forward.

"You sure this is who he was talking about?" GL said.

"Positive, Kyle", Tim said.

Batman noticed that Tim did not look a day over twenty-five. The Green Lantern, or Kyle Rainer as Batman remembered, was youthful as well. Batman knew that Slade had developed a less powerful version of the drug that was injected into his body. What he did not know was that his own people may have had access to it.

"Why haven't you aged?" Batman asked.

Tim and Kyle looked at each other, then back to Batman.

"Why would we when we could avoid it?" Kyle shrugged.

Batman knew he was being set up. He readied himself for attack, not knowing what to expect from these two. One was Tim Drake, the boy he partially raised over forty years ago and the other was a Green Lantern. Both have had plenty of time to turn the other leaf.

"Bruce, what are you doing?" Tim said as he slowly approached.

Batman couldn't afford to be taken down here. He lunged at them, only to have everything go to a stand still. Batman stopped in his tracks as he noticed that everything around him paused in the middle of existence. The ships hovering stopped in place, the clouds had stopped their circulation, and even a few of the birds that flew by were frozen in time.

Everything and everyone halted, except Kyle, Tim and himself.

"Bruce", Tim said. "There are a few of us who have been waiting for this day."

A glow of bright yellow light began to shine behind Batman. He turned quickly, knowing full well who was capable of an entrance like this.

"Fate…" Batman said turning around.

It was not Dr. Fate, the sorcerer he remembers from his time. But rather another individual that he has yet laid eyes on. The golden aura around him lit up the still landscape as Batman looked on. Tim and Kyle smirked knowing that the day they had been waiting for had finally arrived.

Batman looked back at Tim and Kyle as they approached him, then back to the stranger.

"Who are you…?" Batman said address all of them.

"Hello, Batman", the golden figure said as it approached. "I am called Waverider. We are the Linear Men and are in need of your assistance."