"You alright there, your highness?" Barry asked energetically, quickly catching up to Diana at the front of their small pack, walking up a country road. Since their arrival in the Netherlands, they had made sure to look as inconspicuous as possible, which was easier said than done in any group of foreigners traveling through an area that rarely saw outsiders. "We've been walking for awhile, we don't want you -"

"Your chivalry is sweet, Mister Allen," Diana interrupted with a smirk, tilting her head gracefully to one side, "but I have traveled much longer distances before, much more quickly. I think I'm doing fine."

"If you wanted to be helpful, you could run ahead," Bruce said with a sardonic edge to his voice, moving his coat and patting a hand on his waist where he had a concealed version of the utility belt he normally wore. "I'm sure we have something in here I could use as a kiddie leash - follow you like a trail of bread crumbs."

"A-ha," Barry said, grinning and raising his index finger matter-of-factly. "That's where I absolutely would if I could, but I make up in super speed what I lack in a sense of direction - and I have a lot of super speed. So, I'll leave you all to do the math."

Arthur Curry and Bruce Wayne both rolled their eyes at the statement - they still felt that Barry Allen was perhaps not ready to be a hero of any sort. It was not so much that tragedy and brooding were a prerequisite for qualifying as a defender of Earth, but they most definitely made it easier to concentrate. Diana, however, seemed to be amused by the boy. She had once said that Barry was refreshing because in her mind, the difference in age between Bruce and Barry was only miniscule compared to her own years - yet they were extremely different. Despite the fact that she agreed with a great deal of supporting evidence that the world was indeed a dark place, Barry was one of the few people who had not allowed himself to become dark by some sort of osmosis.

In passing, Diana Prince mentally noted that Claire Branigan was another one of these individuals. They were rare, and they were valuable.

"We shouldn't be far," Diana interrupted. "They said in town that the doctor lived less than a two hours' walk away, out into the hills."

"How are we sure," Arthur began, "that they are talking about the same doctor. They had no name to provide us in town when we asked."

"I know towns like these," Diana said matter-of-factly. "The townspeople are lucky to have learned how to read and write - there's likely no more than four people in town who are even qualified to teach it. I don't suspect they'll have had many doctors passing through."

Diana had no problem pushing the team forward towards their destination, even if the walk was taking at least an hour more than promised. It surprised her how quickly hope returned to her when she became a part of this team - she had walked away from mankind a long time ago after having convinced herself that hope for mankind was gone, yet here she was again. Strangely enough, it felt good. Perhaps a small part of her reclaiming the burden of heroism was a little bit of selfishness - because it was gratifying, because it was purpose that she had not felt for a long time. These musings lingered with her until finally, the hilly road opened up to reveal a home at the end of the way. This was the only home that could be found in the area. This had to be where they would find Doctor Stone.

The Manor was an almost ominous building made of stone - it looked almost as though it were an oversized mausoleum that had no place for housing living people. The lack of dust or wear on he outside and the overall kempt appearance of the property, however, indicated that there must have been someone living there. Arthur appeared the most discomforted by their surroundings - a man from the open sea had no place inside stone walls.

It was now Bruce at the head of the team, raising his hand to knock on the door - Diana insisted that Bruce be their leader, the face of their league, and had stepped aside to allow him forward. The first knock yielded no response, so Bruce knocked again more forcefully. Now, through the slightly worn wooden doors, there was the slight sound of footsteps inside, which might have been missed if not for Arthur's sharp ear. He gestured with a hand that he heard something and nodded for Bruce to continue.

"Doctor Stone," Bruce called out. "Doctor Stone are you -"

Before the question was finished, the doors opened with a slight groan of their hinges and the unseeming dark-skinned, bespectacled man stood in front of them, looking apprehensive at their arrival. He took a step back into what seemed like a reflexively defensive position, and now, Diana stepped forward. Ever the more calming presence, she raised her hands and steadily took a step to stand next to Bruce.

"Doctor Stone, please, don't be afraid of us," she said with a note of genuine pleading. "We've been looking for you -"

"Yeah - remember me?" Barry said enthusiastically, now charging up from the back of the group and jutting his hand out eagerly to shake the older man's hand. Bruce visibly grimaced but was unable to serve as a barrier to the younger man's vigor as he, as he often did, took over the conversation. "Barry Allen? Central City? I attended your speech on -"

"Neuroelectricity, Algorithm, and Free Will in the Human Brain," Dr. Stone nodded, reaching out and hesitantly shaking Barry's hand, but to Bruce's surprise appearing much more at ease than he had moments before. "Surprisingly not one of my more popular lectures in the series. I remember you."

"Yeah. You know STAR Labs. If it's not nuclear or going into space, they'd rather take a lunch break," Barry chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. "But - I'm with these guys. They're cool, Doc."

Silas Stone regarded the visitors at his front door with apprehension. While it was small comfort to see a familiar face, whether or not this was enough to trust them remained in question.

"Listen, Doc," Barry continued plainly, making a gesture with his hands almost as though he were pleading. "I haven't known these guys that long, but I know that they're doing something really important that could help a lot of people... and I don't know you that well, but... I know that matters to you too."

This was the first time that Bruce Wayne genuinely saw the value in Barry's inclusion in their team - the first time that he found perhaps what he saw as naivete was something that would be an asset to them. Seemingly moved by Barry's honesty, Dr. Stone slowly gestured for them to follow him into his large, manor-like home, waving them into the somewhat dusty receiving room where they filed in to each take a seat.

"Thank you," Diana spoke up after assuming the seat closest to where Dr. Stone had tiredly leaned against a desk, crossing his arms as he surveyed the guests he had just admitted into the safety of his home. "We would not be bothering you if it were not of the utmost importance, doctor. It has to do with... a threat. From another world," Diana explained carefully, and Dr. Stone's expression quickly hardened - it was evident that now, he knew where this conversation was going. There was a moment of tension, and it was clear that he was tempted to simply turn everyone back out the way they came, but when he did not, Diana took a breath. It was Bruce, however, that spoke up first.

"There is a threat approaching our world - and I have reason to believe it's coming fast," Bruce said, looking out the window and noting that it was in fact darker than usual. "The earthquakes. The changes in the sun - I don't know if we have much time."

"And why would it be coming?"

"Lex Luthor," Bruce began with his lip curling into a sneer, "created a monster. Killed Superman. And whatever is out there knows what's happened. I don't know how it's going to find us but -"

"The Mother Box."

The sound of another voice in the doorway turned every head to the entrance to the room, where they were met by a hooded figure of large - unusually large build. He lowered his hood to reveal a strange metal device that seemed to be implanted into the side of his face, down into the neckline of his clothes. He was a younger man than Dr. Stone, with similar features underneath the metal contraption, and they could only surmise that this was his son - the son that everyone had assumed was dead.

"It's a Mother Box," he said brusquely, crossing his thick arms across his broad chest. "And it's going to be the way whatever is out there gets here. It's the reason I'm like this."

"Can you lead us to it?" Diana asked, standing in respect. The man, however, gave a derisive laugh, looking downward and shaking his head.

"Afraid I can't, ma'am," he said with a shrug after the humorless laughter had subsided. "I tried destroying it - probably did a damn good job. But it's gone now - at least what's left of it. You wouldn't stick around if someone was tearing the crap out of you, would you?"

"You speak of this Mother Box as though it were some kind of... sentient being," Diana remarked, her face twisting into a slight frown. "It's just a machine isn't it? A device?"

The younger man's response was simply a smirk and an irk of his eyebrow as he uncrossed his arms. There were a few shared glances around the room at the revelation that this Mother Box - the device that Diana remembered from the video footage in Lex Luthor's files - was going to be the lighthouse which led destruction to Earth, and it was now unaccounted for.

"You're Vic. You're Vic Stone, aren't you?" Barry asked, cocking his head to one side. "Everyone back home thought you'd died -"

"I might as well have," Vic replied, his forehead wrinkling. "Between dying and living like this, there ain't a huge difference," he said, reaching and lifting his shirt to reveal the metal, armor-like surface that consumed most of his torso area. "I'm alive, but I'll never have a life. Not like this."

"We need your help," Diana said plainly. "Whatever is coming, we're going to have to face it -"

"You're going to have to face it," Vic interrupted, his expression going hard and harsh as it met Diana's gaze. "I'm not fighting anything. I'm done fightin'."

"So this is the world's debt to you? The luxury of excluding yourself from a fight?" Arthur finally spoke up, his gaze fierce. The seas knew better than anywhere else the consequences of people thinking that duties did not fall upon them, of thinking only of themselves, and while Arthur had meant only to be a silent partner, to serve as support to the team he had already committed himself to, but this kind of sentiment - the sentiment he equated to the majority of mankind on land, was one he struggled to ignore. "This world owes you nothing -"

"And I owe it nothing," Vic said, his hand clenching into a fist. "I don't owe this world anything."

"Vic," Bruce said, standing up slowly and taking a few stalking steps forward. He needed Vic Stone to be the one who understood - the one other person who started as a regular human who had this sense of power and duty thrust upon him. Another man among metahumans. "They need us. People need us -"

"People need us? Like they needed Superman? I'm not living in a cave, Mister Wayne, I saw on the news how they treated Superman right before he died," Vic roared, slamming his hand down on a nearby side table - his strength, however, caused a small crack to appear in the wood and he forced himself to take a deep breath, to seek some level of calm. "They hated him and thought he was a monster up until he died. Treated him like a freak until he died for them. You think I wanna put myself through that, you're in for a surprise. Because I ain't puttin' myself through anything else. I've been through enough."

And before any other protests could be leveled, Vic turned and left. Dr. Stone let out a heaving breath and hung his head while the others in the room turned to look at him.

"We'll go - I realize that we're asking a great deal from you and your son," Diana said softly, walking over and standing directly in front of Dr. Stone, who was clearly overwhelmed - the fatigue in his expression was evident, and it became obvious that he bore heavily the burden of what had become of his son. "We'll be in town for three more days before our boat for home is cleared to leave. If you or your son have any need for us - if you wish to speak with us..."

Diana left the statement hanging, knowing that it was their only hope to give them the freedom to choose. She glanced back at the others and nodded for them to move out - they showed themselves out of the manor without assistance and were soon back on foot along the road back to town.

"Well, that was productive," Barry said with a harrumph, lacing his fingers behind his neck and stretching slightly as he walked. "Not gonna lie, that stung a little bit. And after we came all this way."

"I know it's difficult for you, but now is the time for patience, Speed Demon," Diana interrupted, looking back at Barry with a gently raised eyebrow. "If we are fighting for mankind, then we must believe in their goodness. We need to give him a chance."

Lois mulled over the story printed the previous Friday for perhaps the millionth time. Luthor Jr. and Lady Friend: the New Face of Healthcare in Metropolis. Lois felt her face redden in a mixture of anger and shame that this story was under her name, for one very important reason.

It wasn't hers. Lois Lane had rarely ever taken issue with the editorial changes Perry allowed when the story passed from hand to hand, but this time, it had become practically unrecognizable. Perry had apologized - or at least, given as close to an apology as was possible for Perry White - but explained that unfortunately, a piece solely on the merits of a pharmaceutical program run by a woman was simply not what was going to sell.

Lois Lane would have never dreamed of speaking this way about another woman, especially not one who was doing such excellent work, and who appeared to have only the purest of intentions even though she worked for the impurest of people. Claire Branigan was, in Lois's mind, making a very big mistake - but she didn't deserve this.

Surprisingly, Lois found tears creeping into her eyes. It was in times like these that Clark would have been the one to give her strength, to remind her to stay the course, that her career was about more than this even when at times it felt like it wasn't. But now, Lois was left alone in her apartment to mull over the fact that she had inadvertently betrayed a girl who far from deserved it. Lois Lane genuinely liked the younger woman and was smart enough to know when it was time to make amends.

She had come from trying to apologize - she had gone by LexCorp despite the rising sense of nausea the place elicited in her, only to be told that both Mister Luthor and Miss Branigan were out of town and would not be returning until Tuesday. By now, Lois had no doubt Lex had already convinced Claire that the story was an intentional shot against her character, that Lois had meant it all along. These were the instances that Lois began to wonder if perhaps the differences between her career choice and her own internal moral compass were irreconcilable.

It was about an hour sitting and allowing her coffee get cold before she was finally brought back to the real world by the ringing of her phone. The caller ID showed Martha Kent's number, and Lois couldn't help but give a small smile. Martha's maternal instincts seemed to have expanded to include her, because Lois found her would-be mother-in-law seemed to know precisely the right times when Lois needed a grounding presence to help sort through things.

"Martha," Lois said warmly as she picked up the call. "I'm so glad you called!"

But there was simply quiet on the other line - not silence, but quiet. There was slight rustling, and what sounded like breaths so Lois knew the call was still connected. Martha simply wasn't responding. "Martha?" Lois asked. "Are you there?"

"Lo," came a response finally - but it wasn't Martha's. It was a male voice that Lois had up to this point forced herself to accept she would never hear again. She was torn between feeling overwhelmed with joy at the possibility of hope, and nauseated at the possibility of being wrong. "Lois... it's me."

A/N

Longer time than usual since the last update, but I have a few chapters written up that just need fine-tuning, so hopefully there won't be a great deal of time in between. No Lex and Claire this chapter, but I will be making up for that next chapter with a moment that I think you'll all enjoy. Also, the bigger plot is going to be developing from here on out, so stick with me! I'll do the best I can to keep it interesting! Also, Arthur Curry is still sorely underused, but that's going to change in the future when he starts playing a bigger role in things!

I'm now home from my long vacation and should be back to a regular schedule. I want to thank all of you, as always, for all of your feedback across various media. You guys make it such a joy to update! Not to mention a few of you guys, I've come to think of as great friends, and I'm so glad that this story has given me a chance to get acquainted with all of you. Anyway, until next time, cheers!