September 1st
Gotham City
1700 EST
Sixteen months after the quake

For several days, the level of activity in the penthouse had been at a record high. Between furniture being delivered, final preparations, getting work in order, and an all-hands-on-deck League emergency involving a rampaging meteor infected powerhouse, it seemed like there was wasn't a single bit of progress being made.

"We're going to be late!" Barbara yelled into the bedroom, hastily swapping her earrings out. "How long does it take to get dressed, seriously? I laid your outfit out last night."

"I don't fit into these pantyhose any longer; I think my legs and my bum have gotten bigger." Aasha shouted back.

"That's what happens when you do a bunch of squats Ash!" Bette called to her, currently sitting on the sofa, casually painting her nails. She'd been dressed and ready for almost an hour, and had nothing else to do but have some fun with the polish. "You're the one that wanted the ghetto booty."

"I just wanted a butt worth mentioning, thank you!" Aasha said, hopping out of the bedroom while hastily tugging on a pair of black thigh highs that were usually reserved for much less public purposes. "Not a word about the lingerie, please and thank you."

"No complaints." Barbara said, deciding they actually looked better with Ash's longer black dress than the hosiery she'd set out. "Where's my mister anyway? Wasn't he in there with you?"

"Bathroom, last I noticed, which makes no sense. He bathed and I took care of his stubble before you got home." Aasha said thoughtfully. "You don't think he's having an extended visit when we're about to leave, do you?"

"He better not, or I'll knock it out of him. We can't be late to our own rehearsal." Barbara said, slipping her feet into her shoes and turning towards the master suite.

"Cowboy, we're waiting on you!" She called out, but stopped dead when the bathroom door opened. "What kept you?"

"I hated that tie, I'm sorry babe." He said, pulling the door to the bedroom closed behind him before he smoothed the lapels on his suit jacket.

"Okay, that's fair, but we're gonna be late if we don't hurry. Fourth island traffic is still getting itself figured out, and the city planners didn't foresee the exodus out to the new construction." Barbara reminded him.

"Yeah, I've really got to get a more fuel efficient car." Deke grumbled, joining the women in the elevator, and thumbing the button for the parking garage. "The Chevelle hates sitting at red lights."

"But we look so cool." Aasha countered. "Please don't get a minivan."

"Or a Benz, don't be that kinda doc." Bette said frankly. "Seriously, think outside the box."

"I think I've got a while before I have to worry about buying a Benz. Online consults don't pay that much, and pediatrics is the one specialty that gets paid like a basic care provider. I'm never gonna be rich."

"Together, we'll do okay though." Barbara said with a smile. "And no, no minivans, period. No SUV's for that matter. I will never be a soccer mom, never, ever."

"It's a relief to hear that Babs, it really is." Bette said, leaning against the wall of the elevator. "But you're putting the cart before the horse again. Remember, rehearsal, then the dinner, then tomorrow's the civil at nine, and the big one at seven. One hurdle at a time, remember?"

Barbara took a deep breath and clasped hands with her boy and her girl. "One hurdle at a time, yeah."

The dining room at the Gotham Yacht Club, despite being warned, still seemed woefully unprepared when the massive gathering of people stepped into the place, hungry and ready to have a good time. The looks on the faces of the servers alone, when twenty people entered, were both priceless and deserving of pity.

If they only knew that close to eighty percent of the people in that party possessed some manner of superpowered endowment or another, those looks of surprise would have doubled quickly.

"Excuse me." Jim said, standing up after everyone seemed to have gotten through their main course. When the attention came to him, he cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "I won't be the bag of wind that addresses the new recruits at the Academy. I just hoped that I'd be around to see this day, and I'm so happy to see all of you here for my daughter. It was just me and her for so long, father and daughter against the world. Now, here she is, got her PhD, getting her husband, already moving into the dream house. I couldn't, excuse me, I couldn't, damn it all, just a minute."

He sniffed and wiped under his glasses in as manly a manner as possible, and smiled at his daughter. "I couldn't ask for the people that surround her, support her, and make this world livable where I can't. Thank you all for coming out."

Barbara daubed at her own eyes with a napkin, though the tender moment only served to make her ocean blue eyes sparkle. She smiled at her dad, got up from her seat, and walked around to him, before wrapping her arms around his shoulders and squeezing. She planted a kiss on his cheek too, careful not to smear lipstick, and whispered an 'I love you' into his ear before taking her seat back.

"Okay, tough act to follow," Hector said, not bothering to stand up. He would not steal the thunder of the father of the bride. That's just not the kind of bastard he was. "But, all the same, when Cheryl passed, Maria and I took Deacon in without a second thought. He was ours in everything but name anyway. I'm proud of him, and here's Maria wiping her eyes and agreeing with me. I know your parents would have loved being here, and we feel honored to stand in their stead. Salud, para mijo, y mija. Bienvienidos a la familia."

"Salud." Deke replied, raising his glass of wine, and quickly joined by the rest of the party. "Gracias Papi, gracias Mami. Eres muy dando, y yo gracias para todo."

Hector nodded a man's single nod, before turning to comfort his wife. Her emotions ran deep, and strong, there was no doubt about it.

There were a few more words, quiet little things shared, and more than a few stories that were hastily edited for public repetition. During that time, one of the servers walked over and leaned into Barbara's ear, which drew the eyes of the gathered people.

"So, apparently, before he slipped out with his date, our little get together caught the attention of Bruce Wayne, who was kind enough to pay for our dinner, on the condition that we order dessert, so apparently we're all going to have a time fitting into our clothes tomorrow." She announced to the party, which brought a polite applause and a few restrained cheers. They weren't exactly alone in the place after all, but having their tab covered at one of the most expensive restaurants in Gotham City was wonderful news. Granted, this wasn't a surprise to Barbara, who'd gotten a call from Bruce weeks ago telling her he'd do such a thing, but she wasn't about to spoil that one.

"To Bruce Wayne then." Deke said, raising a glass, hoping the Bat was still in listening range. "And the example of generosity and kindness he's set."

"Guys, I can take off if you've got plans or something." Bette said, stepping out of their (quite empty) guest bedroom, now in much more comfortable clothing, with her dress back in the garment bag and draped over her arm. "I don't want to intrude or anything."

"You're not intruding, we're not a pack of bunnies." Barbara said to her oldest friend. "In fact, I have an ulterior motive for asking you to leave out and come back with us." She added conspiratorially.

"Oh? This isn't some weird sex thing?" Bette asked, showing Barbara the tip of her tongue. "Seriously, what's up?"

Exiting the bedroom, similarly dressed much more comfortably, was Deke, who offered up an answer. "You're Babs' longest friend, and you said it yourself, it was you and her for like, ever. So, since I've got to leave for the night, I thought you two might wanna have yourselves an evening together. I've got everything in the fridge for sundaes, we got a flyer for a new pizza place that opened two blocks away on the fridge, and there's a bottle of pinot on the counter, but don't hold it against me if it's not very good. I'm crap at picking wine."

"So, slumber party then?" Bette asked, giving Barbara an amused look.

"If you want. I've got to kick the mister out, so he's going to their base for the night, and Ash volunteered to go with him to give us the apartment. It'd be like old times, and I really wanted to have a night, just the two of us." Barbara said, leaning against the sofa.

"Okay, my arm's twisted. It's gotta be better than going home to an empty apartment. What's the going rate for rent in this place anyway?" Bette asked, giving the penthouse a glance.

"We're buying, so I have no idea. I could put you in touch with the building super though. There's still plenty of vacant apartments, and you'd be at WGTM in half the time." Barbara suggested. "So, ice cream and a marathon of The Originals, or wine and we make fun of reality tv?"

"Wine and bad jokes. We've got this Deke, have a good night." Bette said, waving him off. She had business to attend with her best friend.

"Yeah, good night, sleep tight, and don't be late tomorrow, I don't want to be waiting at the altar." Barbara said, placing a long kiss on her boy. "Ash gated while you were changing, she's waiting at the Hacienda for you with everyone."

"Okay, have fun. I love you, Dr. Gordon." Deke said, giving her a kiss in return.

"I love you, Dr. O'Connelly." Barbara replied, nuzzling noses with him.

September 1st
Destin Florida
2130 CST
Sixteen months after the quake

"Recognize Mustang, E zero three." The Zeta system spoke, announcing his arrival to the rest of the place. Expecting Ash, Will, and Ingrid, he was surprised to see the entirety of the Movers, sitting in the living space and apparently waiting patiently on him.

"Damn y'all." He muttered. "Hi."

"Hey Bruddah. Big day tomorrow, but tonight, we thought you wanna maybe have a good chill with your family." Liho offered. "Offset the excitement and all."

"That sounds awesome as hell bro." Deke said, strolling over to the kitchen island and hanging his tux off a barstool. "Let's do that. What's your plan?"

"There's drinks in the cooler on the roof, the stereo's set to the classic rock station, and we've got all the time in the world. Benefits to being a reserve team." Kris said. "So, let's head up there and waste a few hours with an ocean breeze."

"Absolutely." Deke said. "Lemme just drop the tux off in my room."

"I've got that." Aasha said, moving towards him in a hurry, and taking the garment bag from him with a sweet smile. "You go on up."

So, that's exactly what he did. The Movers took themselves up the stairs and out onto the rooftop patio and garden, where the overlarge cooler was indeed sitting there, full of drinks, a frosty craft cherry cola finding its way into Deke's hand in short order.

"Your union tomorrow is exciting to me. No Atlantean has ever had participation in a surface ceremony before. I will be asked several questions about it when we return to Poseidonis for the seasonal court gathering." Pacifica said, seeming almost as excited as Deke was for his wedding.

"Well, hopefully, things go smooth and you'll have good stories to tell. We're happy to have you come too. There's dancing afterwards, and from what I hear, you ain't bad at it." Deke said, smiling when Aasha came up and curled up next to him on one of the love seats.

"She's positively amazing is what she is. Maddie, what was it you said about her?" Aasha said, looking towards the woman, who was currently only half paying attention, her eyes glued to her QPad.

"Huh? Pacifica, yeah, chick can move. Sorry guys, I'm going over confirmation emails with a fine toothed comb. Since this is a legit big wedding going on, I want to make sure everything looks good for my portfolio." Maddie said, fretting every last detail. It was her job to sweat so the bride didn't have to, and she legitimately liked the bride in this case.

"Mads, you're killin' it." Deke said, giving her a telekinetic squeeze on the shoulder.

"Little lower Mustang." Maddie said absently, giving him a smirk and a wink.

"So, I heard a few of the Titans were willing to pitch in for security, since there's going to be so many of the League there." Will said, opening a beer and handing it to Liho, before opening his own. "Blue Beetle and Raven?"

"Yeah," Kris said. "Superman, Batman, Green Arrow, and Martian Manhunter are only staying for the wedding itself. Black Canary is still hanging out for the dastardly plot we've put into motion, but she probably can't stay much after that. Wonder Woman seems committed though. She said something about finding the pageantry fascinating. Oh, speaking of her, Maddie, is there empty space at any of the reception tables?"

"Yeah, if Bats and Big Blue are clearing out, I've got room, why?" Maddie asked, quickly pulling up the seating chart to see where she could put a last minute guest.

"Wonder Woman wanted to bring a plus one after all if she was able to. Barbara said she was perfectly okay with it." Kris said, and giving Deke a knowing look to respond to the curiosity he was receiving. "She's bringing a Themysciran guest who wants to see what a wedding is like as well. I think you know her, Mustang. Alexa, her name is."

"Alexa, a sister-from-another-mister." Deke said with a grin. "Hell yeah. She's cool as can be."

"I can put her in between Vixen and Superboy. Mari's well behaved, and Superboy's considered Brethren of Themyscira too, so she'll feel comfortable." Maddie said. "Guys, I think I might be halfway decent at this."

"I'm not arguing. There's no way I could figure all of this out." Ingrid said, opening the lid on one of her mead bottles and drinking straight from it, though it would have surprised nobody if she'd produced a drinking horn too. "You're going to love her dress, by the way. I don't like ringing my own bell, but I think I've made a masterpiece."

"Careful, you might wind up getting more requests for work." Aasha said. "I've seen it, and I want to commission a few from you. I don't know where you dreamed that dress up, but it's absolutely breathtaking."

Ingrid colored red at Aasha's words. "Thank you Ash. I just wanted a friend to feel beautiful on her big day. I'm shite with suits though, sorry buddy." She said, glancing at Deke.

"No problem, I don't mind at all." Deke said, fiddling with the volume on the radio so they had tunes, but they weren't so loud they'd have to yell. "And guys, all y'all, thank you."