It turned out that the Apocalypse Knight had engine troubles, stranding everyone inside deep in the desert, moreso the only one who knew how the engine worked was a technician called Flynn and he was dead from some kind of Parademon plague that was spreading throughout the States. Bruce offered to help out, against Lucifer's constant whining, and they were both invited inside.

The tank housed four families rescued from slave camps near Gotham, they were being transported to a safe base in Hub City. Bruce's cowl scared some of the children so he took it off to show them that there was nothing to be afraid of.

While assessing the engine, Bruce talked to the heroes, a mute girl called Cassandra who was learning American Sign Language and had so much pain hidden behind her eyes but loved plushies, sketching and Shakespeare. Another resistance fighter was Gavin or Orpheus as he liked to be called, he put on play battles with Red Robin to keep the kids entertained. Even in this hellhole of a world, Bruce couldn't help but be carried away by the escapism.

Stephanie gingerly sat down next to Bruce, quietly observing as he started making his repairs. They sat there for what seemed like such a long time, not knowing what to say to each other. Bruce occasionally asked Stephanie for some tools, she got them, he thanked her and went back to work. Then out of nowhere she asked him a very peculiar question.

"Are you disappointed in us?"

Bruce looked up from the engine, shocked. How could he possibly be disappointed?

"Of course not" he replied "Why would you think that?"

"Because you always said that the mission was to kill Superman and Darkseid, less than a year after you died we changed the mission to protect these people"

Bruce paused, is that the kind of person this universe's Bruce Wayne was, waging wars with farmers and gods but failing to help anyone who was suffering.

"I think what you're doing is important" Bruce finally said "These people are the reason we do this, their safety is our responsibility"

"... You're so different from our Bruce" Stephanie mused

Bruce had a question for her, one that had been eating at him for years.

"What made Clark turn?" he asked

Stephanie proceeded to tell him a story that sounded very different than the one he lived through.

When Clark died, Stephanie's Bruce didn't feel guilty, he felt accomplished. When Stepphenwolf came to Earth, Bruce resurrected Clark with a powerful magic artifact called Athena's blade. A weapon that could grant life to the dead, a weapon that could also make sure someone living could never be resurrected again. An artifact Bruce stole from Diana.

Stephanie's Bruce wanted Clark to be his warrior, to fight and kill Stepphenwolf and then Bruce would end Clark once and for all. Clark however didn't like that plan, enraged and out of his mind, he fought Bruce.

The mortal man should have stood no chance but Bruce had a back up plan, a Kryptonite ring. With every punch, Clark grew weaker but more aggressive, later Stephanie's Bruce theorised that the Kryptonite was affecting his only just reawoken brain functions.

The fight became major news and with news came reporters. Lois Lane tried to calm Clark down but she had no idea what was going on, she even thought that the resurrected Clark might have been a clone created by Bruce.

As Clark's fury grew, his Kryptonite induced madness led him to believe that Lois had given up on him. Clark burned her to death with his heat vision and left in the panic.

The next part of the story was pieced together by Stephanie's Bruce. Stepphenwolf found Clark, sometime after the latter's brain had settled down and he was left with the memories of what he had just done.

Stepphenwolf manipulated Clark, convinced him that the human race had betrayed him and the only way he could get justice, not only for himself but also for Lois, was to put humanity on a better path, a path free of love and pain.

Stepphenwolf and Clark united the Mother Boxes, set the planet on fire and with only Bruce and Diana to stop them, as the rest of the team hadn't been brought together yet, Stepphenwolf won.

A proud lapdog, Stepphenwolf invited his master to Earth, showed him the fruits of his labour and how he deserved to be a part of the family again. Darkseid the Destroyer laughed in Stepphenwolf's face and had him executed on a live broadcast to the entire planet, just to prove a point. Stepphenwolf may have been bad but Earth was now under the control of someone even worse, a true god, a New God.

Clark was given an army of brainwashed and broken humans. He was also given the rank of commander under Darkseid's son, Kalibak.

When Stephanie had finished telling the story, Bruce was left dwelling on a road thankfully not taken. How close had he been to becoming that Bruce Wayne? One that had delighted in Clark's death and was only happy to resurrect him to be his soldier. The planet suffered because of his cruelty. Stephanie's Bruce may not have died a villain but he definitely didn't die a hero either.

o-o-o-o-o-o

Lucifer felt useless, why did the Monitor even want him on this mission. Lucifer's "super power" was to draw out peoples hidden desires, if the Monitor needed a hero or a diplomat why not ask Amenadiel.

The cosmic dick also made the situation sound time sensitive but there was Lucifer sitting in a tank, dealing cards to the child who tried to flatten him. He was waiting on a man who liked to play dress up, to finish fixing this stupid vehicle, all the while Chloe and his entire world was in danger.

Lucifer had enough, he threw his cards down and made his way to the exit of the tank.

"Why are you always running away?" called out a voice from behind him, it wasn't Bunker, he knew that much but it sounded familiar, he just couldn't place it

Turning, Lucifer found a teenager standing in the doorway to the pilot's cabin. Her hair was brown and curly and her smile was just as sickeningly infectious as the last time he saw it.

"Detective spawn?"

"Most people still call me Trixie"

Trixie Espinoza gave Lucifer a bear hug, one that was, though he would never admit it, very comforting. Lucifer never thought he'd see anyone he knew ever again.

"It's so good to see you, where the hell did you go?"

Lucifer simply smirked and avoided the question, instead asking one of his own.

"Where's your mum, is she here too?"

"You didn't hear?" Trixie's face dropped, she went in for another hug but Lucifer sensing the coming news took a step back

Trixie took the cue, hugging herself for support.

"Mom died back in LA, she saved so many people but there were just too many of those Parademon things"

Lucifer fought to remind himself that this world wasn't his world, that Chloe wasn't his Chloe. As much as he tried to distance himself, Lucifer couldn't help but welling up. The Chloe of this world had died, probably scared and angry. Angry at him for never returning, could that be the fate of his Chloe too?

Lucifer threw his arms around Trixie and momentarily broke down. The Devil crying was probably a prophecy in itself.

After Lucifer had composed himself, he listened to Trixie's story. Daniel had brought her to Metropolis because he thought Superman's Regime would protect them, he quickly found out how wrong he was. Following Dan's death, Trixie went from city to city, barely surviving until she met Tim Drake, the boy with the bird fetish. Drake promised Trixie a purpose, a real chance of helping what was left of humanity.

The story left Lucifer feeling emotionally sore. Sure Trixie was alive but for how long in this shit hole, and for all his bluster he did actually like Daniel, does like Daniel, he had to remember. His Daniel was still alive. Back on Lucifer's Earth at this very moment, the Detective was probably slamming Dan's genitalia into the LAPD laptop he so often enjoyed himself on.

Trixie squeezed Lucifer's hand, forcing him back to reality. The teen was about to say something but was suddenly interrupted by the tank's hatch being flung open.

"They're coming!" Drake warned "Kalibak and an army of Parademons are headed our way"