Chapter 12: Trinity

Disclaimer: All things Supergirl/Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman belong to DC. No infringement is intended.

Two years ago:

Bruce Wayne was not a man who made brunch dates if he could help it. This was mostly because he worked at night, either on maintaining his cover as a good-for-nothing playboy or – far more often – because he was keeping Gotham City safe as the masked vigilante called Batman. So getting up before noon was not part of his usual routine.

There was nothing usual about today's brunch date, though. This was entirely due to the people he was going to brunch with, who were far from usual themselves. As far as anyone else was concerned, Bruce Way was simply meeting a business associate. He was a major investor in K-Solutions and had never had cause to regret it, the company was turning a steady profit and pouring out innovations. So Bruce Wayne meeting Karen Kent, CEO and owner of K-Solutions, was nothing unusual in and of itself.

The world at large didn't know, of course, that Karen Kent was Superwoman. Nor that she was one of the few people in the world who knew that Bruce Wayne was the man behind the mask of the Batman. The discovery of their respective secret identities had been an accident, sure, but a lucky one. From that day forward they had been... well, maybe not friends in the classical sense, but she was one of the few people he trusted.

Walking into the restaurant, he immediately spotted Karen. She was hard to miss, even when wearing the closest thing she ever wore to a disguise. Hair in a bun, glasses on her nose, business attire, the works. She still looked a lot like Superwoman, of course, but the best part of her disguise was that no one would ever expect Superwoman to sit in a restaurant for a business brunch in the first place. It worked, amazingly enough. Karen sat with her back to the door, but he was sure that she was already aware of his entrance.

When Karen had called him to set up this meeting, she had told him that she wanted to invite one other person. Even if he hadn't gotten a warning from her beforehand, though, he would easily have recognized her. There weren't that many women who were six foot six (at least) and built like Greek goddesses. She was doing her best to dress down, too, somewhat emulating Karen's disguise. Still, for someone who knew that they were meeting Superwoman, it was very easy to recognize the other person beside her as Princess Diana of Themyscira, better known to the world at large by the name Wonder Woman.

Bruce smirked, briefly considering what the tabloids would write if anyone were to notice notorious playboy Bruce Wayne brunching with Wonder Woman and Superwoman. The odds of that happening were slim, of course, since Bruce, too, had decided to dress down. He wore Jeans and T-shirt, had his hair slicked back, and had foregone shaving this morning. The press never saw Bruce Wayne looking anything but perfectly styled.

"Ladies," he said as he approached the table. "I hope I'm not late."

"Of course not, Bruce," Karen replied, rising for a brief hug and a peck on the cheek. "May I introduce my executive assistant, Ms. Diana Prince."

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "Really? Prince?"

Diana shrugged. "It was a spur of the moment idea. Just in case someone should ask."

"We should set you up with a more formidable cover identity, just in case," Bruce said, sitting down on the other side of the table. It allowed him to keep an eye on the door, which he was sure Karen had known when she had kept it free for him.

He took a moment to study the two women sitting across from him, whom the world press regularly referred to as "World's Finest". He was sure that some people only used "Finest" to refer to their looks, but over the last two years or so the two of them had teamed up numerous times and performed heroic deeds worthy of legends. He also knew from Karen that they were close friends behind the scenes. The Batman's team-ups with Superwoman had occurred in less public venues.

"So, Karen," he began. "You wanted to meet. Why?"

Karen, who had known his identity for a while now, had inquired beforehand whether he was okay with revealing his identity as the Batman to Wonder Woman. Bruce had pondered the matter for quite some time, but eventually decided that he trusted Karen. If she trusted Wonder Woman in turn, that was good enough for him.

"There is no big emergency or anything, but I wanted to bounce some ideas off of the two of you. Something that has been going through my head for a while now."

"I'm all ears," Bruce said.

"That would be a great joke if you had your mask on," Karen replied, giggling, causing Bruce to grown. How was it that this woman had powers befitting a goddess, but a sense of humor more befitting a high school student?

"Seriously, though," she said. "I've been thinking about how the world has changed since I publically debuted as Superwoman. The number of high-tech criminals, super villains, and even mythological threats seems to grow steadily."

"You are not thinking that it's somehow your fault, is it?" Bruce inquired. He, too, had noticed the steep rise in extraordinary events and powered individuals. It was hard not to, as Gotham had its own fair share of them.

"I know there are some crackpots out there who think so, but no," she replied, waving it off. "Threats like R'as al Ghul and Ares have been here a lot longer than I, many of the tech-based threats were in development before I debuted, and so on."

"I think it's more of a psychological thing," Diana spoke up. "There are many extraordinary individuals in this world, both good and bad. They have always been there, but your public debut, Kara, has figuratively drawn back the curtain. People pay more attention to these things now, are less likely to waive them away as figments of imagination. And those who have previously hid in the shadows are bolder now, more likely to step out of them."

Bruce nodded, following her logic. "As good an explanation as any, I guess."

"I am thinking we need to make plans for the future," Karen continued. "As things stand, there are just the three of us to deal with the more extraordinary threats to the world. I don't think it will stay that way. As threats emerge, good people will step up to help deal with them. What I would like to do is to lay some groundwork for that."

"I am flattered that you are including me in the same class as Diana and yourself," Bruce said.

"Kara has told me about your battles against R'As al Ghul," Diana told him. "My mother encountered the League of Shadows before our people moved to Themyscira. She knows the so-called Demon and how dangerous he is. That you successfully thwarted his plans is a badge of honor, Mr. Wayne, and I would be proud to stand beside you in any battle."

Bruce Wayne didn't blush, ever, but receiving this sort of praise from an immortal Amazon warrior was certainly something special. "Call me Bruce," he simply replied.

Turning his attention back to Karen, he continued "you seem rather certain that more so-called 'super heroes' will emerge in the future. Why?"

There was a look on her face that told him he had hit upon something immensely private. For all that Superwoman was successfully fooling an entire world with her identity, she really didn't have much of a poker face.

"I have my reasons, Bruce, and I would like to leave it at that for now," she said after a moment. "It's not something that will become relevant anytime soon."

He nodded, accepting it for now. Not that there was anything stopping him from pondering this mysterious response or doing some digging of his own.

"So what kind of groundwork are you thinking then?" he asked, leaning back a bit.

"For the moment it would mostly be keeping lines of communication open between the three of us. We'll also need to keep a look-out for potential threats and potential allies, standing ready to support the latter if needed. Funding will be an issue, of course, but K-Solutions is making money hand over fist and..."

"... and I'm not entirely without funds, either," Bruce added, interrupting her.

"I know. I didn't want to just assume, though."

Karen kept on explaining and the tree of them started brainstorming. Through it all, Bruce couldn't quite help being astonished how much though Karen had obviously put into this already. He had a bit of a suspicion what the underlying root of her idea was, but from the way she talked, one would think she'd except there to be an entire league of superheroes running around sooner or later.

Bruce doubted it, to be honest. Then again, had anyone told him a few years ago that he'd be sharing brunch with an alien and a figure from Greek myth, well... maybe he should just keep an open mind for now.

One year ago:

"Alfred, that was a truly superb meal. Thanks to you I'm going to have to invest in a bigger suit soon."

"Thank you, Ms. Kent," Alfred replied with an easy smile. "But I sincerely doubt that you have anything to worry in that regard. You look marvelous as always."

Diana smiled as she watched the interplay between her best friend and the man who had been introduced as Alfred Pennyworth. Officially he was Bruce Wayne's butler, but simply observing the two men for a few minutes showed deep bonds of affection that went far beyond a simple employer-employee relationship.

The fact that Alfred was clearly aware of Bruce's extracurricular activities – and probably of Karen's identity, too – only confirmed her opinion of him.

"Can I interest you in anything else, Ms. Kent? Ms. Prince? Master Bruce? Perhaps some coffee? Tea?"

Diana still wasn't used to hearing herself addressed as Ms. Prince, though the identity had been in place for the better part of a year now. Not that she used it that often. Most of the times she was simply Diana, Princess and official ambassador of the island nation of Themyscira. It was nice, though, to sometimes move among people unrecognized.

"Nothing for me, thank you, Alfred," she replied, leaning back in her chair.

Kara and Bruce also replied in the negative and a moment later the plates were cleared from the table on the veranda of Wayne Manor, leaving the three heroes to their own devices.

"We should invite ourselves over more often," Kara said, enjoying the view. "And not just because Alfred is such a superb cook."

"You are always welcome, of course," Bruce said, "just call ahead. I'm not here that often."

Diana was constantly amazed how Bruce, a mere mortal man, was able to keep up the extreme pace of his double life. Triple life, actually. Apart from being a masked vigilante and a notorious playboy, he was also a well-renowned businessman, too. When did this man ever sleep?

"Anything new about that supposed archer vigilante in Star City, Bruce?" Kara asked, sinking back into her very comfy chair.

"Not much, no," Bruce replied. "He keeps well undercover for now, it seems. The Star City Police has a detain & question order out for him, though no actual warrants. Going by what little is known about him, he seems well-trained and well-funded."

"Sounds familiar," Diana said, looking at Bruce with a smile.

"I have noticed," he simply replied. "My current theory is that the archer is Oliver Queen. Queen is a millionaire heir who returned to Star City after supposedly being ship-wrecked for several years. Shortly after that, the archer began to operate. Could be coincidence, of course."

"I'll swing over Star City during the next week or so, check things out," Kara said. "Maybe I can catch Mr. Queen in the act, if it's him. Diana, any new sightings of that red astronaut guy?"

She shook her head. "Not since last we spoke." Diana had, during a recent battle against creatures sent by Ares' children Deimos and Phobos, received surprise aid from a man in a red suit, who had carried advanced weaponry and a jet pack. He had introduced himself as Adam Strange, only to vanish in a bolt of energy. Diana had not seen hide nor hair of him since.

"Too bad. Anyway, that green light people saw in the sky over Siberia was Abin Sur. He intercepted a meteor shower."

Diana knew of her friend's encounter with the Green Lantern. The Amazons knew of the Lanterns, of course, having fought side by side with one of Abin Sur's predecessors in ancient times. She also knew that Kara was not on the best of terms with him, given his role in the destruction of Krypton.

"I assume you did not approach him in order to establish a line of communication?" Bruce asked, knowing the story, too. "We talked about this, Karen!"

"I know," she sighed. "It's just... I know it wasn't his fault, but still... every time I see him..."

Diana put a hand on her shoulder, knowing the turmoil her friend still felt every time a reminder of her lost home world came up. And there were few reminders as jarring as Abin Sur.

"Give it time," she told her. Kara gratefully intertwined her fingers with hers.

"Any other news?" she eventually asked.

"I went over the designs you sent me," Bruce said. "I think most of it is feasible using Earth-built technology, except for the artificial gravity and the teleportation beam."

"I figured as much," Kara agreed. "The concepts behind these two technologies are too advanced for Earth's current tech base. I think it will take another decade at least."

"You are okay with using purely Kryptonian designs then?" Bruce asked her.

She nodded. "I will not bring advanced Kryptonian tech into wide circulation on Earth, but using it for our Watchtower will certainly be worth it, I think."

Diana, who was still a novice when it came to technology, always felt a bit left out whenever the two tech geniuses among their trio started talking shop. Nevertheless she understood Kara's point very well. It was somewhat similar to the current situation of her own home. For the first time in over 2,000 years the Amazons were back in contact with the outside world and her mother was worried about too much exposure too quickly. Kara feared the same, so she had long ago resolved to only introduce Kryptonian technology to Earth slowly and only in terms of concepts and ideas. She had no intention to just hand out advanced technology, but she was willing to give a push here and there.

"Actually building it will take a good long while," Bruce said. "Seeing as we want to do it in secret, we'll have to fabricate the individual components in as many different locations as possible and you will have to do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to actually assembling it in orbit."

"No sweat," Kara waved it off. "Just keep me apprised of the progress."

With the 'business' part of their talk over, the three of them fell into a comfortable silence, just enjoying the view and letting the excellent meal settle in their stomachs. Then Diana saw a mischievous gleam in her best friend's eye.

"Bruce, dear," she began, "there was this rumor I heard about the Batman carrying on a tryst with a beautiful female cat burglar. Care to share?"

Bruce merely sighed and Diana couldn't suppress a laugh. It was good to have friends.

The Present:

"There is something I need to take care of," Kara began. "I have tried taking care of it on my own, but without much success."

The Amazonian Embassy in Washington DC was their latest meeting place and Karen had immediately skipped past their usual talk about possible superhero sightings. They had fallen into the habit of eating together first, then talking shop, but it seemed today was going to be a bit different.

Karen looked Bruce in the eye, her gaze hard with just a hint of red tinting her irises. "I want to take down Lex Luthor!"

"This is because of your son, right?" Bruce asked.

He would never admit it to anyone, but the look of utter surprise on Karen's face was something he savored. It was not often one managed to surprise a woman who could hear heartbeats and look through walls as if they were freshly cleaned windows.

"How can you possible know that?" she asked, exasperated.

"It was not much of a leap," he admitted, smiling. "I know that Superwoman is Karen Kent and Karen Kent having a son is a matter of public record. I figured there was a better than even chance that he would inherit your super powers and you once mentioned that your powers began to develop during puberty. Your son is 13 now, so..."

"That whole world's greatest detective thing is not just a catch phrase then," she muttered.

"And seeing as you raised him," Bruce continued, "I would expect he not just shares your powers, but also your values and intends to become a hero as well."

"Two for two, Mr. Wayne," Diana said, smiling at her best friend's grumpiness. "Clark is a really sweet boy and can't wait to become a superhero, emulating his mother."

"I could wait a while longer," Karen grumbled, then shook her head to get back in topic. "Anyway, I know I can't keep Clark from following in my footsteps, but I CAN remove the greatest threat before that happens."

"And that would be Luthor?" Bruce asked. He wasn't a fool. He knew that the façade of the charming philanthrope Luthor presented to the world was a lie. The man was an utterly ruthless businessman and people who opposed him tended to end up dead or ruined. Still, with the kind of enemies Karen had faced in the past, he did not immediately understand why she considered Luthor the primary threat to her son.

"It seems strange, I know," she said, guessing at his thoughts. "The world's most powerful woman worrying about someone who is just a man with no super powers of his own. The problem is that Luthor is obsessed with me, has been almost since my debut. He spent the better part of a year testing me in various ways and didn't give a damn about how many people might get caught in the crossfire. He's behind at least half of the high-tech super villains I've faced in the past, but I've never been able to prove any of it. He then tried to hire me."

Bruce nodded. "I can see how the idea of a super powered employee would appeal to someone like Lex."

"I managed to buy myself some time by pretending to think about," Karen continued, "but that reprieve has long since expired. His actions against me are escalating and I still haven't managed to prove he is in any way involved in anything criminal. I fear what lengths he would go to if he were to find out I have a son with the same powers as I."

"I offered to simply remove his head with my sword," Diana said casually, though Bruce got the impression that she meant every word, "but Kara here believes that we should try other venues first."

"I can see the problem," Bruce said, and he did. Sure, either Superwoman or Wonder Woman would have no problem simply flying into Lex Luthor's apartment and killing him on the spot. They could probably even do so without leaving any sort of proof. Karen would never do that, though. As great as her powers were, though, her moral core was even stronger. It was her most admirable quality in his mind, but it also hampered her in situations like this. Diana seemed to have fewer moral qualms with taking a life if needed, but obviously deferred to her friend's judgement in this case.

"Which is why I am hoping for your help, Bruce," Karen said. "Clark is chomping at the bit to go out there and help people, just like I do. I can probably keep him from doing it another year or so, but he is a teenager and headstrong. I want... I need Luthor behind bars before the world learns of my son."

"Raw power will not be the answer," Bruce told her. "Luthor has spent decades building his economic and criminal network, taking it apart will require finesse and patience."

"Exactly," Karen continued. "I need the world's greatest detective, who also happens to be one of the most astute and savvy businessmen I've ever met." She switched her gaze over to Diana. "Not to mention the support of my best friend, who always has my back."

The Amazon woman just nodded with a smile. Bruce pretended to think about it for a moment, though his decision had been made the moment Karen had opened her mouth. He was not quite sure when exactly it had happened, but these two women had become his closest friends in this world apart from Alfred. If they needed help, there was no question.

"Okay then," he said, leaning forward. "Let's take down Lex Luthor!"

End Chapter 12

Author's Note: I am not fully satisfied with this chapter, to be honest, but it's a necessary bridge for the events to follow. Basically we are seeing the groundwork for both the Justice League and the debut of Superboy here, which is not too far off. And, of course, I had to have Bruce and Diana meet at some point to fully establish my version of the Trinity.