Two large men sat on thrones surveying the earth below them. One was older, evidenced by his silver hair and beard. The younger had dark red hair and a clean shaven face. They were both hugely muscular, the older just a little taller in his throne. He held a long golden sceptre in his right hand. The younger man to his left sat with his hands clenching the arms of his throne. Every now and then he would sigh or muter something to himself.

"Something on your mind son?"

"Er.. no.."

The elder man gave a look that said 'I'm not buying it'

"Come now boy. You have been grinding your teeth to nubs, mumbling to yourself and crushing the armrests of that throne for years now. If you do not let it out it will drive you insane. Tell me what is it that vexes you so?"

"These humans. They have no idea what they are doing, much less what is coming. The Kryptonian, he is powerful, but he is also weak. He is afraid to embrace his power. The dark one, he is useless. A sack of meat and bone, easily killed, hardly worth talking about. The Amazon, she sits on her rear for years, then when she finally emerges, belittles herself by pandering to their whims. If I-"

"No."

"But I have said nothing Father.."

"No. You will not go to earth. We cannot interfere. You know the rules"

"But I-"

"Silence. Know your place son." There was an awkward silence. The elder man sighed.

"Forgive my harsh tone. Yes, the humans may not know what they are doing, but they are a very young race, infants compared to ancient beings such as ourselves. As for what is coming, how can you be sure?"

"We can see them. They are unaware of it but it happens all the same. And you can be sure that if we have noticed them, others have too. You know that not all Gods are good. There are those that would stop at nothing to-"

"Do not worry over things you have no control over child. Anything that can happen will happen. We will remain as observers, for now. If the time comes that we shall be forced to interfere, then we shall do so, though I hope that day never comes. Until then..." the elder man's voice trailed off.

"Very well. I will do as you say Father."

7.30 AM, Metropolis

Lex Luthor was happy.

He woke up feeling refreshed, the sun rays creeping through the blinds on the window of his expensive apartment. Skipping breakfast, he went straight to his home gym and proceeded to put in a killer workout, even managing to set a new personal best on his bench pressing. Even his personal trainer was impressed. He noticed her several times gazing at his fine physique whenever she thought he wasn't looking. He walked out of the gym gleaming with sweat and with a massive ego boost.

The sauna cleared his sinuses and the massage was heaven for his sore muscles. Rodrigo, his personal chef, whipped up a delicious breakfast of eggs with goats cheese, ffrench toast, warm scones and generous helpings of bacon(to hell with the WHO cancer warning,he had told Rodrigo)and of course, a large cup of coffee-masters blend naturally.

Presently he was sitting in his home office, sipping a glass of mineral water and going through his daily schedule. A routine day really. Meetings at Lexcorp, cutting the ribbon at the new factory he had opened in downtown Metropolis, crunching numbers with his accountants, another meeting in the afternoon at the PR firm. The only exception was the Gala being held in Gotham.

Princess Diana of Themyscira, or Wonder Woman as she was being called now, was hosting a party in Gotham. Why it was in Gotham nobody knew, strange tales came out of that city, and the crime rates were through the roof, whatever the statisticians may say about them dropping in recent years. Oddly enough some of the richest families in the country came from Gotham. Lex suspected a certain playboy billionaire philanthropist had used his financial muscle to get the event held there.

He probably wanted to sleep with the Princess, another notch on his bedpost, if the party Lex attended at Wayne Manor was anything to go by. It was supposed to be an event where the Amazon Embassy pledged their support to various charities. Really it was just a chance for the who-is-who in the country to meet and engage in a pissing contest to see who was more important. A bunch of rich people getting together to have their asses kissed.

Truthfully Lex hated these events. As a self-made man, he never quite got the respect old-money families like the Waynes received. It made no sense to him. Surely making fat stacks of cash using your own intellect and ingenuity was something to be admired? Still, he made it a point to attend them. He wouldn't let these lazy frat boys faze him. They were where they were today becuase everything had been handed to them on a silver platter, they never had to work for it. Never had to earn it. Not like he did. He had come from nothing and made himself a powerful man. He stepped on a lot of backs to get here, and he wasn't about to stop just because a couple of spoiled, country club, private school boys didn't like him.

The large screen TV across the room caught his attention, a flash of color at the corner of his eye. He turned up the volume.

Superman. The feeling he had woken up with that morning turned to ashes in his mouth as he watched the report. They were polling people around Metropolis, asking them what they thought of the 'hero'. Lex was disturbed that most people, particularly the younger generation, clearly adored him, idolized him even.

"Stupid kids." he said to himself.

He was a little more relieved that the older members of the public weren't so warm towards him, at the very least most of them were suspicious of the alien. Still it wasn't enough to take the bad taste out of his mouth. His hands shook with rage.

Can't they see? Can't they see what he is? What it is? What they all are? These costumed freaks posing as heroes? Idiots, all of them! An alien with the ability to fly faster than the most advanced jets, to level mountains with his bare hands, and they say "Oh Superman? He's awesome!"or"He is so hot!"

"Idiots!" he screamed, flinging the tumbler of water at the television, cracking the screen.

His personal assistant Trish ran into the room, a look of concern on her pretty face. "Is everything alright Mr Luthor?" she asked with her breathy voice(honestly, it was the main reason Lex had hired her, hearing that voice on his phone gave him chills).

He smiled warmly, pushing back his rage with disturbing ease. "Everything is fine Trish. Just had a little incident with the television. Cancel all my meetings today, hold off the opening of the factory until tomorrow.I won't be coming in to the office. I have.. other engagements."

"Are you sure sir? The board won't be happy.. What should I tell them?"

Lex was about to explode, but he kept his cool. "Just say no."

"Just say no?" she asked incredulously. Not much in the way of brains, he thought coldly.

"Just. Say. No." Luthor replied through gritted teeth.

"Whatever you say Mr Luthor. Will that be all?"

"Tell Samuels to get the town car ready, I'll be going out today. Some projects that need my urgent attention."

"Right away sir." she sashayed out of the room, swaying her hips a little more than necessary because she knew how much Lex liked it.

Daily Planet

"All right people, you know why you're here. We got a big event tonight. Wonder Woman is hosting a gala tonight at the Blue Marlin Hotel. I expect you three to give it your best. Lane, you ask the questions, Olsen, pictures. Lots and lots of pictures. I want photos of everybody who is anybody. Wonder Woman, wealthy businessmen, top military brass and politicians, spoiled heiresses, movie stars, musicians, whatever you can get. Clark.. You do... Whatever the hell it is you usually do. "

"Uh, chief, how are we supposed to get to Gotham?" Jimmy asked nervously.

Perry White ran a large hand through his silver colored hair and adjusted his suspenders. Even in this day and age he still wore them. He was the perfect picture of the old-school journalist. Rolled up sleeves, crisply ironed shirt and pants, gleaming shoes, the faintest hint of aftershave.

"Right, I had almost forgotten about that. Because Bruce Wayne owns the Blue Marlin Hotel"- (and everything else in Gotham, Lois muttered)- he has graciously arranged for all journalists outside of Gotham to be transported in and out of the city. You will be picked up in the evening at the offices and you will be back here by tomorrow morning."

"Bruce Wayne? Really? Will we get like, a private jet or something? Champagne and all?" Jimmy asked with excitement in his voice.

"Highly unlikely. You're reporters, you'll probably get a van. You'll be lucky if it has seats in the back let alone cheese and crackers."

Jimmy's face fell.

"What about our security?" Lois piped up.

"What about it?"

"Well, Gotham doesn't exactly have a shining reputation in the crime sector. Or does it? Drug dealers, mobsters, kidnappers, purse snatchers.. I could go on and on and on..."

"Oh right.. I'm sure that will be covered. There's going to be a lot of people there, rich important people. The security is sure to be up to scratch and then some. And if anything shady goes down, well you've got Wonder Woman to save you."

Lois snorted. It was no secret that she didn't like Wonder Woman. She had no problem with Princess Diana, but she didn't like her superhero persona. Something to do with setting feminism back a few decades with her revealing outfit.

"Clark, any questions?"

Clark had been standing quietly at the corner of the room by the water cooler, as was his habit.

"Uh, no sir, I don't think so. I've understood everything."

"All right. I'll trust you three to know what you're doing. Don't let me down. Now get out and get back to work."

The dismissal was as clear as any, and the trio filed out of the office to go their separate ways and prepare for the day. Each more than a little excited that they would get to go to such a high-brow event and mingle with powerful people. Clark was easily the most excited. He would finally get to meet (or at least see) Wonder Woman in the flesh. He was curious about her, and he wanted to know what she was like.

Gotham, Wayne Manor

The sound of metal clanging reverberated throughout the massive cave as Bruce went through his punishing weight training. He paused for a moment to take a few short breaths before gripping the massive barbell and performing the last set of 30 repetitions of deadlifts with 310 pounds. It was much lighter than his usual routine and he was barely feeling any strain.

He would probably be missing patrol tonight, but he would still get a good workout in.

Reracking the weights he debated whether he should go for aa quick run or a swim. He didn't want to be too tired tonight. You never knew what might happen, especially in Gotham, and he liked to be prepared. His highly trained body wouldn't be of much use if it was too exhausted from training to begin with.

A swim it is. And a sparring session. Maybe I'll squeeze in a run and some calisthenics, he thought as he towelled off.

Footsteps could be heard on the stone floor, the echoes reaching his ears long before he saw who it was. Only one woman on earth had a clearance to the Cave. Still he didn't dare believe it was her.

"Have I come at a bad time?" asked a soft, feminine voice.

Bruce turned around slowly, the better to mentally prepare himself. He started at the feet, which were housed in a pair of battered black Chuck Taylors. Travelling up to the legs, faded grey jeans that looked quite old. To the torso, a black My Chemical Romance t-shirt, also slightly faded. Finally to the face, framed with long hair. She was as beautiful as ever, perhaps moreso.

Her smooth olive colored skin contrasted oddly against her jet black hair, but not in an unappealing way. She wasn't wearing any make-up, which is how Bruce preferred her to look anyway, her full lips and curved cheekbones were ample enough. Her brown eyes squinted slightly as she adjusted to the sudden brightness in the gym area, stepping under the light.

Bruce cleared his throat. Something he never did.

"Ah..no. I was just finishing up here." There was a moment of silence as they appraised each other.

"You're bigger than I remember. Much bigger. Taller too." she said.

"Yes. It has been a while since we last saw each other. You've grown into a fine young woman Zatanna."

"Yeah, I have, haven't I?" she said with a hint of pride, spinning slowly so he could see all of her. He had to admit, she was filling out her clothes quite well. A big difference from the skinny teenager he had known.

"How have you been Zatanna?"

"Great actually. No business like show business. I love the gigs, its a lot of fun, y'know? No, no you don't." She laughed good-naturedly. "And the money is good. Like, really good. That is something you'd be more familiar with. How about you Bruce? How goes life? How goes the 'other' life?"

"I can't complain. The company is doing well, we've tripled our production in all areas. For once the board is happy with me." She nodded, noticing he didn't answer the other question. Haven't changed that much, she thought.

"Anyway, you must be wondering what I'm doing here. Alfred asked me over. Said you needed a date tonight for some charity thing you're having tonight. My tour doesn't start off for awhile yet so I thought why not?"

"Did he?" Bruce asked with a flicker of a smile. Alfred was playing matchmaker again. Bruce could have easily gotten a woman to go out with him for the Gala tonight.

"Yeah. I should warn you though, I don't have any fancy dresses or anything. I mean, I can pick something out from a store if you want. Unless you have some fancy dresses lying around somewhere. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised."

"It's no problem at all. We'll figure something out. Just let me take a shower and I'll be right up."

"Ok. Don't take too long though. Alfred is making those cookies you like." She walked across the floor and went up the stairs. Bruce waited until he heard the sound of the heavy metal door closing, then he went to the showers.

"Cookies. Huh. A bribe if ever I saw one." he mumbled as he wrapped a towel around his waist.

At least tonight wouldn't be completely boring, he thought as the cold water hit his chest.

A/N: Someone asked if there will be any ships. Yes, but none that are set in stone. As always, read and review.