Over a cup of Bruce's favorite coffee brew and a now awake Lucifer, Diana told the story of the experimental Parademon plague. It was intended to convert citizens of entire cities into the creatures.

Diana was working with a group of mercenaries when the plague hit, the soldiers as well as the entire population of Melbourne, Australia mutated but their bodies weren't strong enough to survive the change. In a matter of minutes, Diana found herself a Parademon in a city of corpses.

After that traumatic event, none of the resistance groups that dickhead Bruce set up would trust her. Diana and her lover, Mala became their own team of two, dealing defeats to Darkseid's regime together.

Mala, an exiled Amazon herself, brought the abilities they needed to dismantle an entire network of propaganda that had targeted the resistance, it preyed on Human minds, stirring up fear and bigotry, dividing them against each other.

A slimy sack of crap called Glorious Gordon led the network. An advanced scout, Gordon had been there for years spreading his hatred and lies among the masses, before even Stepphenwolf had arrived.

"Then a few days ago..." Diana finished her story "I heard from Stephanie Brown that you had arrived, Bruce Wayne but a different version than the one who stole Athena's blade"

Bruce told her that he wanted to make amends for his doppleganger's cruelty, which brought a fanged smile to Diana's face.

"We believe we have a way to achieve that" she replied

Diana told Bruce of someone who could vibrate so fast that he could force open a dimensional portal to Apokolips, allowing for their safe passage. Diana, Mala and Bruce could then take Darkseid off guard and hopefully kill him before he slaughtered them.

"This sounds suspiciously like a suicide mission" Lucifer chimed in, taking a sip of coffee

"Every mission worth a damn on this world is a suicide mission" Diana shot back

"Doesn't matter a jot to me, I'm immortal, merely sparing a thought for the very killable human you're trying to recruit"

Mala squeezed Diana's hand, reassuringly, this war had clearly taken such a toll on Diana but together they both kept each other alive and safe. Bruce couldn't help but think about Jim Gordon, he hoped his own lover had escaped Gotham, he hoped that dickhead Bruce didn't destroy their relationship like everything else.

"So how do we get to this dimension jumper?" Bruce finally broke the silence

"That..." Diana explained "Is one of the reasons we need you"

o-o-o-o-o

Bruce, Lucifer, Diana and Mala descended a long stairway into a dark and damp basement. They were inside a Wayne subsidiary building that in his universe, Bruce used to develop Batsuits. In this universe, it appeared to simply be an empty row of offices but Bruce knew that looks could be deceiving.

A portrait of Bruce's parents hung in the basement, out of sight, out of mind but with a slight oddity on it, a cat in the background. Bruce's parents never owned a cat.

Bruce applied a little pressure to the feline and activated a secret button, the portrait slid across to reveal a retina scanner. Taking a deep breath, Bruce leaned in and took the scan.

A green light signaled that he passed the test. The portrait, frame and even the entire section of wall lowered itself into a hidden compartment, revealing the room beyond and a woman pointing a gun at Bruce's head.

"Don't fucking move" she warned

"Don't you know who this is?" Lucifer smirked, gesturing at Bruce

"I have no fucking idea who any of you are, but bringing a Parademon into the building colors my opinion of you"

"Just relax" Bruce said, calmly "We're not here to hurt you, my friend isn't a Parademon"

"Well they fucking look like one!"

"Iris stop, they're allies" A voice behind the woman announced, weakly

Looking over Iris's shoulder, Bruce saw Barry Allen sitting on the bed of some kind of MRI machine.

"Hey Bruce, it's good to see you again"

Putting the gun down, Iris muttered an apology before letting them into the room. Barry looked awful, red lightning cracked violently around his body, he didn't look like he was in control of it. He was thin, like he hadn't eaten a meal in weeks, and his eyes were bloodshot and glazed over, like he hadn't slept in even longer.

"What happened, Barry? Why are you here?"

"The hazards of temporal and multiversal travel, the good news is I saved a bunch of Earths from the same fate as this one"

"The message..." Bruce recalled the warning Barry had sent him years ago "It's Lois, Lois Lane, she's the key"

"Lots of messages" Barry attempted a smile "Took a bit of an interest in your Earth, warned you about a few extra threats, just to be nice"

"What's the bad news?"

Barry looked tired, his face slumped and his brow furrowed.

Barry explained that travelling as fast as he did tore a hole in time, devastating energies were released that could have destroyed the planet, but before they did, Barry absorbed those energies into his body. They made him faster than he had ever been, granted him new abilities that he had never even dreamed of, including opening portals anywhere and something called Wraith racing. As useful as these powers were to Barry, the energies behind them consumed him, they ate away at his life force and healing factor to the point that an hour's effort could leave him in a coma for a month.

"Would you help us get to Apokolips?" Diana asked, bluntly

"Hell no, didn't you hear what he said" Iris cut in "These powers are eating away at him, how long do you think he can keep going?"

"He doesn't have to come with us" Diana replied "Just open the portal"

"No..." Barry spoke up, earning a look of disappointment from Diana "If I open the portal, I'm coming with you"

"You can't..." Iris pleaded

Barry stood and hobbled over to Iris, embracing her.

"I have to" he whispered "If there's any chance I can make a difference, I need to"

"Can we get this show on the road?" asked an impatient Lucifer. not that Bruce had known any other kind of Lucifer

Barry broke away from Iris and wiped tears from his eyes.

"Apokolips?" he said, after a moment

Bruce had a thought, the team was impressive but he couldn't help but feel that they were missing an important player, someone who could give them an edge.

o-o-o-o-o

Lying on what was left of a sun lounger, overlooking the white cliffs of Dover, was a man with third degree burns over his entire body. The broken skulls of Parademons lay around him as he caught some rainfall and sipped his beer.

"I don't like being tracked down" he revealed to Bruce, who had just appeared behind him via portal

"But you expected someone to?"

Arthur Curry gestured at the Parademon skulls with his bottle.

"Someone always does"

Bruce had to do a double take when he noticed that the sea, Curry was looking over was a deep shade of red.

"What did they do?" Bruce asked

Curry didn't turn back to look at him, he just spat in a skull and took another gulp of beer.

"I can help you get justice for them" Bruce offered

With incredible speed, Curry grabbed Bruce by the throat, his eyes were haunted, his face scarred beyond burns.

"There's no justice for them, there'll never be justice while HE lives"

Bruce paused, he wished for a day when he wouldn't have to kill anymore or use people as weapons.

"Together we can end him"

Curry chuckled, cynically and let Bruce fall to the ground.

"I have nothing left!" Curry yelled, the waves behind him crashing hard against the cliff, in fury "I failed my family, both homes, my people are dead and I don't even have a fucking trident, what do you think it is I have to offer?"

Bruce decided to tell Curry the truth, the reason he recruited him all those months ago in his own universe.

"A strength that can rival Superman's, a determination to do good, what more could I ask for"

Curry hesitated for a moment, he looked like he was considering the option. He took a bottle of vodka from the lounger and finished the remains, before turning back to Bruce.

"So a burn survivor and an old man are going to take on the New Gods?"