Batman's mind jammed; Darkseid, god of all gods, master strategist, extraordinarily evil and extraordinarily powerful, was standing 10 feet away from him, smiling. A small gear of self-preservation in Batman's mind managed to click into place and began to scream.

Stall.

Stall. Stall. Stall.

There was a zero chance in hell that he could take on Darkseid single-handily, and in his current condition, with his left arm butchered to the point of uselessness and the rest of his body throbbing with bruises, he wouldn't last two seconds. The hard truth was simple: he wasn't going to survive if he didn't wait for the cavalry.

Batman needed the League.

"You," said Batman abruptly, because it was the first thing that came to mind.

"Me," answered Darkseid warmly, his deep baritone voice courteous and civilized. "It not every day that you catch The Dark Knight off his guard, so you'll have to excuse me if I take this opportunity to...how do you mortals say it... 'Drink it in'?"

"By all means." Batman said, equally pleasant. Despite the pleasantries, the corner of his eyes had already begun to dart around the room, searching for any possible vantage points. He only had one shot at disappearing into the darkness, but he could see none that would be effective against Darkseid.

Darkseid bowed low and respectful, as if he was guest in Batman's home. He rose gracefully from the bow with closed eyes, the barest sign of a small smile on his rugged features; quite a vulnerable position to maintain when facing an adversary. But Batman was no fool; he stayed rooted at the spot, not even daring to twitch a muscle. He was perfectly aware of the sensory abilities that Darkseid possessed, rumors that he could hear blood rushing through veins.

Batman instead readied his mind for what was certain to come next: pain, and large quantities of it. Whether it came by a flurry of crushing blows or a burst of red light was what remained to be seen, because Darkseid hadn't killed him yet, and that meant that he needed Batman alive. For what? Batman had no idea, but he must have information that Darkseid required. And Darkseid wasn't the type to ask nicely.

"Relax yourself," Darkseid said suddenly, his eyes fixed on Batman. "I can all but hear your knuckle bones popping."

"Don't take it the wrong way," said Batman, "But I'm not too keen to relax myself in your presence...nothing personal, of course."

"So well-mannered," hissed Darkseid. "I assume that this isn't the way you treat all of your...adversaries." His eyes flickered over to the smoking heaps of flesh that were the dogs and then over to the unconscious Joker, whose body was sprawled-eagle on the floor.

Batman stayed silent, eyeing the dead and charred dogs with a measure of pity. He never killed when he could avoid it, but if his hand was forced, like it was tonight, he would have brought death quickly and cleanly instead of the cruelty the dogs suffered at the hands of Darkseid...burned alive was no manner to die...

"They didn't suffer," Darkseid said quietly, seemingly reading Batman's mind. "It was a quick and painless death, a millisecond of pain, and then..." Darkseid shrugged, "nothing."

Batman bit his retort back as the strain of the night's activities trickled back into consciousness; his legs felt faintly numb from fatigue while his eyelids drooped heavier and heavier by the second. Bruising on his torso flared up in tight stinging jabs as his chest expanded with every breath. And yet, all this discomfort dwarfed in comparison to the excruciating and scorching pain that was clawing its way back into his mutilated left arm. When he warily tested it by moving it a fraction of an inch, his back arched in agony as if knives plunged into his flesh.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Darkseid said coolly, gazing at Batman's arm. "I can only imagine what torn tissue would feel like...I wouldn't know, of course..."

"I can assist you there, if you wish?" snarled Batman, abandoning sweet talk as his patience blazed to the brink by Darkseid's haughtiness and his own bodily discomfort.

"Don't be foolish, Batman," chided Darkseid. "Even at the zenith of your physique, all you would pose to me is a mild challenge... now, without one of your limbs..." Darkseid sneered, "I could mop the floor with you."

"All talk, big guy." said Batman "But I don't see any walk."

Darkseid tiled his head slightly, as if he was mildly intrigued by something. "Then let me offer you some evidence."

No sooner did the words leave his lips did Batman's right leg collapse underneath him. He didn't even yell as the cold floor suddenly crashed brusquely against the right side of his face. Batman blinked, disoriented, on the floor, and then a painful weight slammed onto his left cheek, pinning him to the ground.

"Here, in Gotham City, at the center of your power," Darkseid said calmly, his massive boot planted squarely on Batman's face, "do I have you at my mercy. So weak you are that your precious cowl and head are not even sturdy enough to support the full weight of my foot—I could kill you by the simple act of relaxing my leg and letting its entire weight crush your skull. "

"I've got a pretty thick head..."grunted Batman, glaring at Darkseid out of one eye. "Or... so I've been told."

"Insolence," said Darkseid musingly. "In the face of annihilation, you manage to remain fierce...an admirable quality. But, as you might have well figured —with that excellent brain of yours—it is not my wish to kill you...yet." he added politely.

"So what do you want?" Batman said gruffly, eyeing the giant boot on his face while his right arm slithered toward his belt. "Shine your shoes?"

"Oh, no no no..."chuckled Darkseid, he reached down to the horns of Batman's cowl and squeezed them between two enormous fingers, small electrical sparks spurt from the horns as they gave way under the pressure.

"That would be your radio, correct?" Darkseid said over the sporadic electrical hisses and splutters.

Batman only glared up at Darksied.

Darkseid smirked. "I'll take that as a yes." Darkseid lifted his foot off Batman and drifted over to the Joker's unconscious body. "Now that we aren't at risk to be overheard, I think it is time for the real party to begin...a real shame too, he would have enjoyed this next part." Darkseid said mildly, gazing down at the Joker.

Batman lumbered groggily up from the floor, his hand quickly flashing over a compartment in his belt. "So what kind of party do you have in mind?" he said, staring over as Darkseid stood beside the Joker, his back facing Batman.

"You'll see soon enough," said Darkseid. "I just wanted to make sure that your radio wouldn't ruin the surprise—and there'll be no use for those smoke pellets in your hands." He added calmly.

Batman eyed Darkseid carefully. He pocketed the bombs he had clutched underneath his palm.

"So that's why you destroyed my radio? You don't want me calling in reinforcements?" Batman said quietly, he lightly grazed a finger over the pulp remains of the radio lodged into the cowl's hollowed horns.

Darkseid turned around slowly, an odd smile plastered on his face. "I don't want you calling them off. The reinforcements are the main event."

And then all hell broke loose.

A great roar of thunder went off as great slabs of concrete crashed down from the ceiling, followed relentlessly by a loud thump that shook the entire floor over. Batman yelped as he threw his body to the side as boulders of rebar and steel tumbled down his way, but he never hit the floor. As far as he knew he was sailing through the air endlessly, and over the racket of tumbling steel and rock, he thought he could make out the sound of steady beating wings. Thinking the blood loss was finally getting to him, he looked around wildly and froze at the slightly strained, but smiling, face of Shayera Hol.

"Judging by your appearance," she huffed, "I'd say we got here in the nick of time—you're heavier than you look."

"The armor," Batman grunted. "Adds 50 pounds."

"My excuse as well—He's hurt, put him down easily."

"Wait what are you—?"

Before he could finish speaking Shayera promptly dropped him in mid-air and she flew off, brilliant white wings beating powerfully behind her. He didn't have time to yell as another pair of hands caught him.

"What do you know?" chirped a new voice, "It's raining Bats and Dogs."

Batman grinned. He didn't need any other sign to let him know whose hands he had fallen into.

"Flash," Batman greeted calmly. "If Shayera is here, and you're here...that means that Superman is responsible for the ceiling blasting apart."

"With brains like that, you should be a detective."

Batman turned away from Wally's grinning face and craned his head to the center of the room—sure enough, Superman was standing dead-center in a crater whose spider-web cracks spread sporadically across the concrete floor. Overhead, chunks of rebar and rock toppled down from the ruptured ceiling, tumbling and splintering into pebbles as they landed at his feet. But Superman paid no attention, he was glaring at Darkseid, who looked like Christmas had come early.

"Funny," Flash murmured. "You'd think he'd be angry that we crashed his party."

"He's up to something. I just don't know what yet...put me down over here."

Flash carefully knelt beside a dusty set of scaffolding. Batman limped off and sank to floor, his back against the wall.

"The others?" Batman said gruffly, withdrawing medical tape from his belt and sizing it up with his teeth.

"J'onn and Lantern lagged it a bit, they couldn't leave without deactivating all of the bombs but they're both on their way as we speak."

"Diana?" Batman grunted as he bit off some tape.

Flash looked anxious.

"We haven't been able to reach her," he said, "We've been trying since Metropolis but..."

"So have I," Batman said heavily. "I lost her after those dogs jumped on me."

"Dogs?"

Batman nodded over to the three burnt figures across the room.

"Oh." Flash said quietly, he turned back to Batman. "Listen, don't worry about Diana, she's tough as nails and—"

"I'm not worried."

"Of course." said Flash, although Batman had a feeling Flash didn't truly believe him. "Ok. If you're not going to pass out on me, I'm going to go back into the fight. Shouldn't be too hard considering how easily he went down last time."

Batman leaned in close. "Be careful, Wally." He said in an undertone. "Something isn't right this time, it's almost as if he wants to lose."

Flash considered this for a moment before nodding solemnly. "I'll pass along the message to the others. Stay safe."

And he stood up and vanished at the spot, unseen in lighting speed, and reappeared at Superman's right flank. Shayera appeared at the left.

"Kryptonian. Speedster. Thanagarian." Darkseid greeted lightly. "I hope I find you all in reasonable health?"

"What are you doing here, Darkseid?" Shayera said abruptly.

"The conversation has not yet advanced to that topic yet, Thanagarian." Darkseid said quietly. "The formalities must be obeyed."

Flash snorted. "I think we're a little past the friendly 'how are you'."

"Such anger," Darkseid said disdainfully. "It won't do much good for any of us Speedster."

"You're stalling," said Superman suddenly.

Shayera and Flash both glanced sideways at Superman.

"Stalling?" Darkseid repeated mildly. "I'm afraid I haven't the slightest idea what you speak of—"

"You're stalling" Superman repeated firmly. "And I'm not going to oblige you."

"I can accuse you of the same." Darkseid said calmly. "You are too cowardly to face me without the assistance of the Amazonian, the Green Lantern, and the Martian. Perhaps you are stalling for their arrival?"

"I'll give you one chance." Superman said, "Leave now, and this doesn't have to get ugly."

Darksied smirked.
"You're bluffing."

"Three against one...does that sound like a bluff to you?"

Darkseid shrugged. "Yes it does, I doubt you'll do anything."

"Three against one, Darkseid!" Superman repeated, finality in his voice. "This is your one chance."

Flash's head twitched suddenly. "Hey," he said uncertainty. "Does anyone hear anything?"

Darkseid's smirk broadened. "Three against one is hardly fair. What do you say I even out the playing field?"

Batman's ears twitched as well. Something was buzzing up from the very floor they were sitting on. Batman immediately crouched low and limped quietly to a far corner, he was helpless and wouldn't damn good if it was another villain...

Flash rubbed at his ear annoyingly. "What is that buzz!?"

Doors all around the room burst open as droves of figures in stealth black armor and in doctor-white coats poured into the room, everyone moving in harmony, steady drum of boots hitting against the floor simultaneously, no yells of disagreement or direction, perfectly silent as the horde shuffled to create the three perfect rings around the trio and Darkseid. The first row bent to one knee and the second group hunched, leaving the third row standing up straight.

In one uniform wave of movement, they all drew their weapons, hands mechanically shifting left to right. The black armored individuals that Batman had beaten earlier carried automatic rifles in hand, the doctors carried pistols, and all of them had red-dot sights, which were currently trained on the three heads of the heroes at the center of the room.

In all, it took maybe 15 seconds.

"So," Darkseid said happily. "Shall we commence?"

And the splitting blast of gunfire went off.