Disclaimer: All the characters in this story are property of WB and DC Comics. I own nothing, nor am I using this for personal profit. Just fun. :D

Superman and Wonder Woman battled valiantly; they used their abilities in tandem, playing off of the other's individual strengths and styles in a near-symbiotic fashion. Had their opponent been anything but the Lord of the Underworld, they would have fallen easily. Diana blocked Hades' broadsword with her vambrace, twisting to grab his arm and pull him into Superman's waiting fist. The god sailed through the air as they continued their assault, Wonder Woman looping her lasso around his wrist while Superman's eyes glowed a fierce red. It was a perfectly executed maneuver.

Hades tugged on the unbreakable cord, wrenching Diana to him – and directly into Superman's line of fire.

She screamed as the full brunt of Kal El's heat vision connected with her unprotected back, going limp as Hades steadied her in a nauseatingly paternal gesture. He mused, "You know, like this, you remind me of your mother."

Diana slammed the back of her head into his mouth.

Snarling, he hurled her toward the ground. "Wench!"

From across the battlefield, Shayera watched Superman fly down after her, and more alarmingly, caught how Hades smiled and followed suit. She knew where her friends were weak, and she knew all too well how those weaknesses could be exploited. She wouldn't let that happen again. She charged through a wall of wings and fangs, felling the army between her and him as Hades readied his sword, poised to impale the Man of Steel through the back. She threw her mace with unerring accuracy, knocking the weapon out of his grasp a few feet from its intended target. Incensed by the interruption, Hades glanced up in time to see a shrieking Thanagarian barrel into him.

She struck repeatedly, right cross after uppercut after haymaker. She managed to move him approximately three inches before Hades lashed an arm out, swatting her aside like a gnat. She righted herself, wings flared out, as the Lord of the Underworld glared, broadsword reappearing in his hand with a pale green fizzle. Sparing no words, he launched himself downward. With a warcry, she launched herself upwards.

She stood no chance. But if she could buy Clark and Diana time, if they could stop Hades and save her son, then it would have been worth it.

25.
Dies Irae

A split-second before they collided, a demon slammed into Hades, sending him off course. She halted her ascent as she watched him fumble in amazement at the sudden attack, before grabbing it by a horn and hurling it into the distance. "Wretched creature!" No sooner had that monster been dispatched before another took its place, and then another, and another still. So it continued, even as he killed his aggressors, more would replace them.

Shayera flew to check on her allies below who, by this point, also noticed the sudden shift in the army's behavior. They stared skyward as the minions piled onto the dark god from all angles. "I didn't think demons could stage a mutiny," Superman stated.

"They can't," Diana replied with a grunt of pain as she pulled herself free of Clark's grip, eyes narrowed in distrust. "They're bound to the will of Hades; no demon is strong enough to resist his orders."

"Not all demons are alike," came a slow, rumbling voice. A single demon descended to their level, stilted in its movements. Its malformed jaw worked with clear unfamiliarity as it spoke words that were not its own, words halted and hardly recognizable. "I have controlled the creeeeatures that have been released here, and have sent them to attack their looord. Go – take this time to stop my faaaather."

Superman scrutinized the creature. "'Father'? You mean Talia is controlling you?"

The demon didn't acknowledge his question, slanted red eyes flickering briefly, as if blinking. Its message sent, it darted upwards with a roar, leaving them behind to be slaughtered for its new master. Kal surveyed the grounds, spotting her with her hand upraised, glowing ring upon her finger. "I don't know how she's doing this, but – "

"Batman to all points – start evacuating the surrounding area."

Shayera blinked at the request. "I already have League members – "

"Get everyone on it – now."

Diana stared skyward at the chaos made manifest, asking, "And what about Hades?"

"He's not our biggest problem anymore." As if sensing her incoming argument, he added, "The portal is destabilizing; if it isn't closed now, the Earth is as good as gone. We need every able-bodied person we can get on the surface, preparing to contain as much of the damage as possible. I don't know what sealing it will do, so be ready for the worst. Batman out."

Shayera swore under her breath, muttering, "This just keeps getting better and better."

Diana clenched her fists as League members retreated from the battlefield. Her eyes were flint. "I'll make sure Hades stays distracted."

Superman recognized the tone; he'd heard it often enough from his own voice during the height of the Cadmus fiasco. He opened his mouth to reason with her, but stopped short when he watched her charge forward. "Diana, wait!"

"No, let her go," Shayera interrupted quickly, putting a hand on his arm to stop him. (Such was his strength of will that he actually stopped without inadvertently tearing her arm off.) "Those things aren't going to keep him busy for long – Batman will need cover, and so will we."

He knew she was right, but the idealist in him – sometimes, the only thing that kept him going – took intense issue with anyone taking on a mission they had no real chance of surviving; he didn't want anyone giving their lives if there was a way that he could save them. Shayera's grip tightened slightly, her expression soft with a strange kind of sadness. "Trust me, Clark, Diana needs to be here – for herself and for Bruce." She smirked faintly. "Call it 'Mother's Intuition'."

His eyes turned from the Thanagarian to the Amazon, and was reminded of when Batman torpedoed the Watchtower directly into the Hyperspace Bypass while behind the wheel of it. After the dust had settled, he'd mentioned how insane of an idea that was, and asked if he was actively trying to kill himself. Bruce, in reply, simply flashed him a quirky little grin and glibly stated, "It's not a suicide mission until you die."

Clark vividly remembered not being sure if he wanted to punch him or hug him. It only occurred to him later, after Hawkgirl had resigned and reconstruction of the new Watchtower had begun, what the words meant: it wasn't a suicide mission until they died – Bruce's way of saying, 'There's always hope.'

"There's always hope," Superman said, even as Wonder Woman drove into the dark god with a thunderous force. "Let's go."

Batman walked toward the pit-turned-gateway while Tim happily handcuffed Ra's, asking, "So, what's the plan?"

His knee twinged in phantom pain. "Suture."

"Suture?"

"When a person is stabbed, removing the knife prematurely is the worst thing you can do – ignoring everything else, it's still staunching the blood flow, buying the victim time. Dahluzett's device is doing the same thing with the portal."

Tim surmised, "So, you're going to sew the wound up. With what?"

"This." He held up the Agimat. "If I can substitute the generator's energy source with this one, I might be able to reverse the effect and seal the portal."

"You would be ill-advised to use it," Ra's cautioned sternly. "Though I've no doubt of your willpower, such is the strength of the Agimat that the magical forces trapped within it would tear you to pieces."

"I'll make do." His focus shifted to Tim, ordering, "Get Dahluzett to safety, then coordinate with the League forces on the ground and help with the evacuation effort."

"Got it." He raced up the warped and badly damaged gangplank, kneeling at the side of the barely conscious scientist. "Come on, up and at'em."

She stirred as he lifted her from the ground, wriggling weakly in his grasp. "No, get off me – my generator! My work!"

"Seriously, lady," he griped as he slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, "let it go."

Batman waited for his former protege to exit the cavern before he turned to the passively silent demigod. "Stranger. I need a favor." The Stranger inclined his head to listen. "Get them away from as far away from here as you can." He nodded to the figure behind him. "Ra's, too."

Ra's stepped forward. "Someone must stay to ensure that the portal is properly shut off at the correct time, or else your gambit will fail."

He regarded the man with open hostility. "You caused all of this, and now you're saying you want to help me stop it?"

"My intent was to save Earth, not destroy it," Ra's replied factually. "If reparations are to be made, then it is my duty to make them, here and now, while there's still a chance."

Batman's distrust only heightened at the supposed honesty, glancing at the Stranger. His silent question was answered with, "He's being genuine."

Stranger's words did not alleviate his distrust in the slightest, but a nigh-omniscient creature from another realm of existence had advantages he didn't. With effort, he yanked the leash on his temper and strode forward, removing the cuffs from the Society leader's wrists. Sighing in relief, Ra's rubbed at one with his hand, before that wrist was caught in an iron-wrought grip. Their eyes met. "Don't even think of double-crossing me."

"If I'd truly wanted you dead, Detective, I'd have had you killed in your sleep years ago." As if to sell the point, Ra's smirked.

Stars exploded, and Ra's hit the ground with a pronounced thud, holding his jaw protectively. Batman stood over him, a looming silhouette, and rubbed his fist idly. In the distance, Stranger asked, "Was that necessary?"

"Absolutely." He looked over his shoulder. "Will you do it?"

Stranger nodded dutifully. "They'll come to no harm, so long as you're successful here. Good luck." He bowed his head, then faded from sight.

Ra's, having scrabbled to his feet, stared at the Dark Knight in morbid fascination as he stepped onto the pit's ledge. "Getting the boy out of the way was wise, but sending off the most powerful ally in your arsenal to do so was overzealous."

"It wasn't about getting him out of the way." He gazed into the churning miasma below, remembering those first nights after Tim was recovered. It almost killed him. It did worse than kill him. "I won't let him get hurt again. I can't."

"Your 'Stranger' friend may well be the only one capable of retrieving you," Ra's stated. "Without him, how do you expect to escape the collapse of the portal itself?"

He thought of his loved ones – of how much they had sacrificed for him, and he for them. He suddenly wanted to thank them for all they had done, for the dozens of times they had saved his life by simply being in it. He knew it was impossible (and hypocritical – he recalled the saying about atheists and foxholes), but he let that impossibility strengthen his resolve to succeed. It wasn't a suicide mission until you died.

Besides, he'd spent the past four years in a living hell. The real thing couldn't possibly be worse. "I don't."

He dove in.

In a world beyond worlds, the Spectre frowned at the scene playing out before him, and vanished.

Hades was becoming increasingly irritated. His treacherous minions swarmed around him like gnats, doing no harm but being a continual nuisance, while Diana was busy making herself one very fast and angry nuisance that was gleefully taking advantage of the distraction in any way that she could. He wished he could say the damage she was unloading was due to his demon army's bothersome influence, but he had to admit that while she was no member of the Pantheon, Diana had quite well proven her champion status. After all, she was still alive.

Frankly, Hades was quite vexed by it all, but not due to her defiance; it was his realization upon the eighth straight blocked attack that he was actually pleased by her display. Now was not the time for some inkling of fatherly pride to rear its ugly head. Still, what kind of father would he be if he didn't give his daughter her proper due?

"Exemplary performance, my dear," he complimented, cutting a vast swath of his minions down with a single arc of his blade. It was testament to how many of the creatures he'd culled in the past few minutes that the gaping hole in their ranks didn't fill. He was impressed that Diana was able to withstand the power behind the swing as she halted it with a silver vambrace. Her mother certainly trained her well – well enough to almost be a threat to him. "You're quite the formidable opponent."

Still, withstanding was not the same as repelling, evidenced by the scowl of exertion that crossed her features after the blow landed. Judging by the venom in her voice, she noted this, as well. "Your words are meaningless, Hades."

"I speak the truth. I've been longing to see how you've matured since our first encounter all those years ago," he responded smoothly, parrying the heel palm strike aimed towards his head with his sword arm. In the same motion, he gripped her by the crook of the elbow with his spare hand and spun her around in his grasp, pinning her arms between her back and his plated torso. She screamed as the claws that were once again aiming towards his body sunk into hers, instead. "It's a shame to see you wasting your talents like this, though."

She tried headbutting him again. This time, he ducked his head to the side, pressing his lips near her ear in a close whisper. "Why do you fight for them? You could conquer this entire world for your own."

"Never. It would go against everything I ever stood for." He didn't miss just how sharp her features became.

"What do you stand for?" he asked her as he maneuvered around to prevent his minions from flanking him. They hissed angrily at his strategic movements, backing away in an attempt to regroup. "Look at them below, scurrying like vermin – killing each other indiscriminately out of greed, pleasure, and apathy. Even the good among their kind are weak and ineffectual against the might of their more craven ilk."

"You know nothing of Man's World, Hades," she seethed as she shifted in his grasp, trying unsuccessfully to wriggle free.

"I know more than you realize, my dear. Lest you forget, I am the Lord of the Underworld, not merely Tartarus. All will pass through my gates eventually, but you..." He paused, humming. "Well, since you seem so enamored with these mortals, I'll strike a bargain."

She scoffed. "With you? Save your breath."

"Hear me out before dismissing my proposal," he chided her lightly. "Regardless of your intervention, all the denizens of your so-called 'Man's World' will perish at some point. It's only a matter of when. I could strike them all down now, or..." His lips tugged back into a jagged grin. "I could spare their lives – in exchange for yours." He ducked around another headbutt attempt. "If you refuse, I'll simply kill you and slaughter everyone else afterward, starting with your closest allies."

She snarled. "You would never keep your word."

"I always keep my word," he reprimanded immediately. "Mortals merely forget to be specific."

Diana remained silent, stoic and unyielding. Nauseatingly moral and stubborn, like all of her kin, but he couldn't hold that against her. She didn't know any better. "On one condition."

He almost grinned; foolish woman. "Yes?"

Her gaze was distant, her breathing shallow. "You will personally see my soul safely to the Underworld." Her dark blue eyes flickered in his direction. "If you're truly my father, you'll do this for me."

He considered her briefly. Hers was a sad tale – an immortal among mortals, perhaps, but compared to the power he and his torpid siblings in Olympus wielded, her life was as fragile and fleeting as the middling little creatures she was forfeiting her life to protect. He supposed for a champion of the Gods, for his daughter, he could grant this one singular request.

"You have my word." Hades pushed her away, brandished his sword, and ran her through.

Batman was engulfed by the putrid mist of the portal, ignoring the way it burned at every patch of exposed skin. The clouds peeled back suddenly, the whistling of stale air ringing in his ears as his eyes struggled to adjust to the extreme contrast of light and dark. He knew what was waiting for him on the other side would have been none too pleasant, but he hadn't been expecting this.

Instead of the fiery pits of everlasting torment that Diana and Shayera described in their little day-trip to Tartarus, he was greeted by a verdant swamp landscape that stretched on into forever, cut in half by a bloated river. It may have even been somewhat tranquil, if not for the massive, violent whirlpool that churned the otherwise stagnant waters of the Styx. He grabbed his jumpline – the last remaining item in his belt, save for the Agimat itself – and aimed for a low-hanging stalactite.

A scream from behind caught his attention, and before he could look over his shoulder, he felt the collision rattle through his limbs as a demon slammed into his midsection. It wound its arms around his torso in a crushing grip, veering him towards the ground in a nosedive. Awkwardly, he twisted and struck the monster in the face, first with his fist, and then with his elbow. It snarled and tried to bite his arms off, but had no effect on their course, otherwise. As the canopy rushed ever closer, he hurriedly jammed his grapple into the nook of one of the demon's horns and fired. The line snapped taut, and the demon's head jerked back with an audible crack.

He shot forward into a free-fall, grabbing the edges of his frayed cape in both hands and praying that it would be enough to control his landing somewhat. Branches and twigs were ripped from their trunks in his descent, his already-damaged cape being torn to pieces in his grasp as he was pitched into the dirt. Even with his training, there was only so much kinetic energy he could mitigate with proper technique; by the time he rolled to a halt some sixty feet away, he'd given up all pretense of fighting gravity and had simply gone limp.

Batman laid on his back, staring blankly through the too-still canopy to the dead rock above, and tried to remember how to move. He pressed his fingers against the pouch that held the Agimat, relieved when he felt it still in its confines – still had a job to do. With a groan of misery, he rolled onto his side, his arm clasped protectively around his ribs as he shakily stood. He half-crouched, half-hobbled to the treeline, quickly scouting the area for more party-crashers while he heard the wailing echo of Cerberus in the distance. That was not a creature he wanted to tangle with unprepared; this entire sojourn was much more suited for the likes of – "Diana?"

The figure that caught his attention walked idly along the riverbank, gaze focused on the vortex above with clear worry. He strode forward without thought. She wasn't supposed to be here. "Diana!"

She looked at him in shock. "Bruce?" Her expression tightened in regret. "Oh Hera, Bruce, why are you here?"

"Me? Why are youhere?" he continued angrily as he closed the distance. "I told you and the others to help evacuate the area! Why did you come through the portal?"

"I didn't."

He scowled. "What do you – "

Batman's mind – his razor-sharp, callously indifferent mind – registered her words and actions efficiently and without emotion, drawing a clear line from A, to B, to C without halting for his own benefit.

What Batman's razor-sharp and callously indifferent mind didn't anticipate was a suddenly desperate and frantic Bruce all but shoving the Bat out of way as the connection was made, firmly grasping the reigns for himself. "No." His hands found her shoulders roughly, willed them to be there, be solid, be alive. "No."

Her face was still pinched in remorse, lightly clasping his wrists as she glanced skyward again. "Hurry, you have to hide." She tugged at his arms – her grip was so weak– and hurriedly ordered, "Go! Hades will be here soon – he'll kill you if he sees you!"

He didn't move, had absolutely no intention of it. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Bruce, you stubborn man, listen to me," she growled. "If you die here today, Man's World dies with you, and my sacrifice will have been for nothing." Her jaw rolling in determination and fury, she authoritatively motioned to the trees with her head. "Into the trees. Now!"

He blinked, reality encroaching upon in him as his mind (heart?) continued to scream that he could fix this, he could save her, there had to be a way, he just needed to find it, just needed time. She was right; too many were depending on him to succeed only to falter now. He wouldn't let them down. He would not let Diana's death be in vain. There would be vengeance.

Bruce's grip tightened. No. There would be justice.

He pulled her forward and pressed his lips to hers.

Her fingertips ghosted down his cheek – they were cool against his skin, no no no– and it was all he could do to break the contact after a painfully brief few heartbeats. She exhaled quietly, hand still resting against his face, and stated with a heart-breaking earnestness, "I love you."

His gloved fingers curled around her too-cold ones and gently pulled them away. It was like tearing off his own arm. "You shouldn't."

Diana smiled sadly. She motioned again to the treeline. "Go."

His hands dropped to his sides and stepped away, his tattered capes still managing to shroud his form as he stepped away. He nodded to her once, a final farewell, and disappeared into the underbrush.

Death was an odd experience. Diana felt virtually no different than she did previously – the only marker that she was, in fact, dead was her lack of powers. Was this how ordinary humans felt in their normal day to day lives? She briefly glanced back to the swamp as she continued up the shoreline. Was this how Bruce felt? This...vulnerable? Gods, the strength of will he had to –

"Ah, there you are, my dear." The booming, thunderous voice stopped her cold; odd that she didn't feel her skin crawling the way it did previously. Hades landed a pace in front of her, smug grin stretching his features. "Are you ready for your trip? Do you need an extra moment or two to prepare?"

Diana marched rigidly up the riverbank, past the smugly preening God. She had to draw Hades as far away from Batman as she could. "Let's get this over with."

"So wrathful," he crooned. "Need I remind you that you were the one who requested my company?"

"I requested that you adhere to a single honorable tradition, not your company," she corrected as the rickety boat holding Charon floated casually toward their positions. She felt no fear at its arrival; immortal or not, she had expected this would happen one day.

"Never the less, it's my company you have," Hades answered, still smiling as he waved off the ferryman's silent request for the customary fare. "I suggest you get used to your new surroundings, Diana. You'll be here for quite some time."

Wonder Woman proudly stepped into the dingy, never breaking eye contact. Even in death, she would not be cowed into submission. "Should you break your word, Hades, there will be dire consequences. Justice can never be escaped, not even by a God."

"How very impious of you," Hades replied darkly, gesturing for Charon to disembark. Dutifully, the blue creature pressed its rotted ore into the shoreline and shoved off. "In this forsaken realm, my dear, I am justice, and you will learn not to question my interpretation of it." His grin turned wicked, true to his very core. "Fear not, though; you won't be the only baffled newcomer yet."

Diana stiffened. She knew it. "You said – "

"I said that I would spare their lives in exchange for yours," Hades interjected. "I never said for how long."

She launched to her feet, determined to dive off the boat and into the deadly river waters, the consequences be damned. Her journey ended abruptly when Charon's gnarled hand dug into her shoulder and forcibly dragged her back down to her knees. Hades chuckled at her display, his betrayal complete, as the realm of the living disappeared in a blinding flash of white.

Hades sighed wistfully as his daughter disappeared into the mists of the dead. She would be a tough one to break, just like her mother, but he had all of eternity to teach her the error of her ways. Eventually, like all the others who came before him, they would see reason. But for now – his retribution. He strolled forward casually, listening to the distant cries of damned souls on both sides of the portal, and smiled brightly. Today would be a beautiful day.

"Hades, Lord of the Underworld..."

Even by his standards, the timbre and weight the voice carried was full of hatred and spite. His interest was, quite frankly, piqued. He glanced to his left and found the owner standing silently amidst the trees. It took him a few moments to recognize just who was daring to encroach upon his territory. "Oh, it's you." He cocked an eyebrow. "A little out of your jurisdiction, aren't you?"

His voice was a low, baleful growl. "You have made a bargain... One that you now seek to break."

"And you wish to – what? Keep me in check?" Hades crossed his arms, equally amused and annoyed at the creature in front of him. "Even the Pantheon couldn't do that, except to lock me in this cesspit. What do you expect to do here, today? Stop me?"

"No. I do."

Hades turned on his heel. Batman stood at the riverbed, dangling a glinting pendant from an outstretched arm. His eyes widened, feeling the raw chaotic energy that emanated from the amulet. "No!"

Batman let go.

The second the Agimat made contact with the churning, super-charged waters of the Styx, a violent electrical current danced over the surface of the whirlpool. The sparks of magic and uncontrolled power intensified exponentially as the pendant was sucked into the current, sending a powerful surge of blue energy up the thin tether keeping the two realms connected. Cerberus howled in discontent as the entire cavern began to rumble ominously – the precursor to a terrible earthquake.

Hades gaped forlornly at the sickly swirling clouds warped and began imploding on itself. "The portal! What have you done?"

Batman's glare never wavered from him. "Magics don't mix."

His eyes blazed red with fury and locked onto the piddling little worm who sought to betray him. Enraged, he shot forward in the blink of an eye, latching a hand to its miserable throat and lifting it far overhead. "You wish to entrap me, mortal?! Then YOU will be my prize!"

Bruce, feeling what little strength he had left failing him as his larynx was steadily being crushed by the unbreakable grip of an irate deity, almost smiled. No regrets.

There was a flash of light, a whiff of ozone, and he found himself five yards away, on the ground and hacking up what remained of his lungs while struggling to breathe. Blearily, he gaped through watery eyes to see Hades sailing in the opposite direction, an almost comical trail of smoke being left in his wake. It took him a shameful two seconds to focus his eyes on the objects that hovered bravely nearby. It took him three more to muster up the power to speak. "Stranger...? What..."

Stranger turned to his companion. Oh god, Diana? Was she... "The agreement has been rendered forfeit, your life and powers have been returned. Take him."

Diana circled around the demigod and knelt at his side, slipping her arms underneath him. He could've cried; she was warm. She looked at their savior, radiant and alive. "What about you? I thought you were forbidden – "

Stranger glanced over his shoulder as he strode forward purposefully. "Don't worry about me. Go – quickly! Before the portal closes!"

Wonder Woman watched on as Phantom Stranger's attire shredded into nothing, revealing a creature of pure light. He – it – intercepted Hades with a thundering crash, pushing the God back into the ground and holding him there. Her heart swelled in admiration; whoever or whatever he was deserved to be exalted among his brethren in the Elysian Fields when his time ended. Such bravery deserved nothing less. She gathered Batman into her arms and soared through the rapidly collapsing portal.

"Wretched, meddling insect!" Hades bellowed at the being, struggling to connect a blow with it. "You dare to strike a God?!"

Stranger's voice reverberated throughout the halls of the dead with a startling conviction and strength. "You are no God, betrayer. You will receive no absolution."

Spectre observed the scene with vague interest. It seemed that Phantom Stranger had finally found his breaking point – and it only took six millennia, at that. "Nor will you, Stranger... Your judgment is soon to come. But you already knew that, didn't you...?" He tilted his head in a tiny gesture of respect. "In that case, I grant you..." He peered skyward, through the violent torrent of energies. He had one last stop to make. "Mercy."

Over a hundred miles away, holding a defunct tanker filled with thousands of people overhead, Superman was the first to hear the explosion. His head shot up as he spied the barest crack of dawn over the rim of the world over his shoulder, trying to discern if the explosion was the portal closing, or the Earth's immanent collapse. Either way, he needed to be there.

He landed upon the shores of Key West, Florida, placing the rusted rig upon the balmy shores with as much grace as possible, before breaking the sound barrier to return to the scene. "Superman to all channels – I just heard a massive underground explosion."

"I'm en route to do damage control."

A hundred-and-fifty miles away, Shayera's heart leapt into her throat at the voice, her eyes stinging and throat tightening. He was still alive. Even so, her mind detached and assessed the situation; when she replied, her voice was strong and clear. "Understood. John, try and contain as much of the blast as you can with your ring – Superman, you worry about northern coastline. J'onn, Stargirl, Vibe, and Ice, get the southern coast. The rest of you..." She paused briefly as she felt the first tremors beneath her striped yellow boots, signaling the backlash Batman mentioned. "Buckle up, 'cause we're gonna be in for a really bumpy ride."

Ra's felt the earth roll beneath his feet again, and immediately braced himself against a nearby wall. He had held up his end of the bargain and initiated the shutdown sequence of the generator when it appeared that the Detective had been successful. He still wasn't entirely sure if that was the case, but the power surge that traveled through the energy conduit certainly seemed like an important happenstance, and considering how quickly the condition of the command center was deteriorating, he could hardly afford to wait for a more verifiable signal. While it was heroic of the Detective to be so willing to give his life on a slim hope, he hadn't survived six-hundred years by throwing himself upon every sword that promised redemption. He certainly wasn't about to start now.

The earth rolled again, this time above him; the light fixtures of the secret emergency exit rattled like diamonds in an expensive chandelier. He quickly climbed the ladder at the end of the narrow passage, the hollow clinking of metal playing accompaniment to his shallow breathing. He vividly recalled the good doctor's omens about shutting off the generator at the apex of its energy storage, and the consequence of such foolishness. With luck, the closing of the portal would act as a means of absorbing much of the blast, allowing for the area to survive largely unscathed – and, more importantly, allowing for him to rebuild a network and find a successor capable of carrying on his work. There was still time. There was always time.

He slid the top hatch back and slipped into the final hallway that stood between himself and freedom, the stench of burning metal hanging in the humid night air.

"Ra's Al Ghul..."

Ra's stopped mid-motion, one foot still resting on the top rung of the ladder. His blue eyes darted around the darkened corridor, expecting (fearing?) to spot the Detective's sinister white eyes peering back at him. He found nothing. He exhaled quietly, standing fully and distractedly brushing his sleeves off. Even Batman could not have escaped –

"Ra's Al Ghul..."

He wheeled around, teeth bared at the terrible, disembodied voice. "Who's there?" he challenged. "Show yourself immediately!"

"As you wish..."

A being dislodged itself from the ever-present shadows that spilled like the bloodstains of millions across the wall, the darkness lingering on his frayed green cape as though it couldn't bear to be parted with him. Ra's' mouth went dry as the thing began to slowly glide towards him, the hallway twisting into the maws of oblivion. Its pale yellow eyes were cold as it grated out in that soul-scarring baritone, "You have escaped me for generations... Plotted and schemed to avoid the fate that you have justly brought upon yourself... No more." The monster's eyes brightened, glowing fiercely, as it raised a hand – the brandishing of a scythe. "Your time of judgment has come!"

He backed into the wall, heart seized in terror at this creature, this spectre of death. He did not come this far to fail now, he did not sacrifice everything to be felled for nothing...!

The vision dissolved. The corridor was as it had been before.

Ra's blinked. Blinked again. He then sagged against the wall, breathing a deep sigh of relief. It appeared that opening a portal to the realm of the damned had let out more that he had been anticipating. It was a mistake he would not repeat. Wiping his brow, he continued through the passage with all due haste, shoving open the exit doors.

The night air was heavy against his skin, as were the shadows that clung to the many trees that surrounded the hidden egress. On impulse, he quickly closed the doors behind him, feeling his heartbeat slow at the reassuring sound of thick metal clanking together. He turned back around, jumping at the figure that hadn't been there seconds before. The instinct to run was quelled once he recognized who it was that stood before him. "Ah," he smiled, holding out his hands, "my beloved daughter."

Her eyes, blue as his, were devoid of any emotion but vengeance.

Two hulking monstrosities swooped down from above and landed heavily to his left and right. Talia's lips did not move as they said for their Master, "Goodbye – "

" – Father."

Ra's pained screams echoed for miles.

The Spectre, lurking in the shadows, smiled darkly and faded away.

Superman saw the tsunami ripple away from the landmass of Cuba...without making use of his own enhanced eyesight. The destruction it would cause would be immense if it wasn't stopped. He set his jaw. "J'onn, is your team ready?"

"We're assembled."

"Good, because it's coming your way now," he answered, intercepting the endlessly long wall of seawater that frothed angrily in the distance. Shortly before he made contact with the massive wave, he veered to a parallel and blew a gust of air from between his lips. The wall of seawater hardened into monolithic shards of ice that curled over the rest of the Carribbean like a sweetly sparkling guillotine.

Along the southern coast, the four Leaguers remained spread out over a length of two miles. As their own tsunami hurtled ever closer, they enacted their own method of curbing its deadly force: J'onn cleverly shapeshifted into a form that would cut through the wave and break its momentum. Stargirl used her staff to redirect one portion of the wave to crash into another. Vibe, carried on the back of the Shining Knight's prized pegasus Victory, focused his mind on the sea floor and forced it roll upward for a brief moment, creating a smaller counter-tsunami to halt the behemoth's tracks. Ice, lacking Superman's flight and speed, resorted to erecting walls of frost to slow the tsunami's pace.

On the mainland, Green Lantern hovered over the imploding Juragua nuclear facility, firing a luminescent barrier from his ring to surround the entire installation. His mind's eye, so deeply immersed with keeping his concentration, could see the way the earth sank into itself – the way the remaining wildlife frantically scrabbled against the impenetrable wall he erected. He ignored it, ignored everything but the rattling of his every nerve while the force of the explosion steadily rose upward against his will, the weight of the ocean against a styrofoam cup. As his world went white, John believed he finally understood how J'onn felt as his mind and body both buckled under the strain of containing the equivalent of a thermonuclear explosion.

In the choking haze, Diana curled her body around Batman as a final, spiteful blast of searing heat engulfed them both. She had already given her life once for the man; she wasn't afraid to do so again.

The refugees and citizens corralled into the port city silently watched the sky light up too brightly for the dawn it should have been. One small child, too young to understand how close she had come to death, pointed and murmured excitedly, "Fireworks, mama!"

"Shush, Maria," the mother, Carmen Famosa, hissed, taking a careful peek at one stoically quiet Shayera Hol. Though she may have been far removed from the hustle and bustle of world politics, she knew of the story between the winged woman and the man responsible for turning much of those 'fireworks' green...and felt her pain. She prayed for Rodrigo's safety, or, at least, his safe entrance into God's kingdom.

The populace of the world felt another faint tremor run under their collective feet as Ra's Al Ghul's portal to the Underworld resealed itself in a brilliant flash of light, the remaining demons screaming in terror at the sight and fleeing into the skyline. Catwoman, bleeding and clutching at her injured arm, smiled brightly at their sudden retreat. For once, she had no snappy comment to make, simply basking in the warm glow of a hard-won victory. No wonder these heroes did this stuff so much.

Nightwing halted, the titanium-plated cowl retracting with the slightest tick of his jaw muscles. "Looks like they did it again," he praised, eyes flickering over to the lanky speedster with an appreciative smirk. "Maybe there's something to this League thing you guys have going, after all. Are you accepting applications?"

The Flash turned back to him, grinning like he'd won the sweepstakes. But then, they really had, hadn't they? "See? I knew you'd come around eventually!" He returned his attention to the sky as the first rays of sunlight streaked across the sky. "Who knows, after this, maybe Bats'll join back up, too."

Hundreds of miles above the Earth, Nyssa Al Ghul suddenly gasped, and then burst into tears.

To be concluded...