Disclaimer

The characters used in the story are the property of DC Comics and Warner Bros. I used them in my story which is entirely a product of my own imagination.

Note: Gods in Justice League is definitely not my forte. I am not a reader of comics, I love cartoons though, and I base my story on the limited knowledge I gained from the cartoons. I only watched two episodes which featured Darkseid and High Father, and that is as far as my knowledge goes. So, if you feel I have goofed up somewhere, let me know, so that I can correct in the future works.

Chapter 15

"Darkseid," Superman roared, despite being in pain, "You…you…" he bit his lower lip, as if to cut off the words coming out of him.

"I will not take his impudence towards you, father," Bruce said.

Darkseid smiled. "To be frank, he has the right to behave the way he is right now. After all," he turned to Bruce, "I had turned his best friend against him…"

Even before darkseid could complete, Bruce drew his sword and swiftly turned on his heels. Darkseid was too stunned to act, and for a moment, as the sword rose, it looked like Bruce was going to slash his head off. Kalibak gasped and took another step back. But to everyone's surprise, Bruce fell on one knee, head bowed and the blade of the sword against the back of his neck.

"Bruce!" Superman shrieked. For a moment he thought that he had cut himself out of remorse, but that wasn't the case.

"Order, father!" he said in resolve.

"What are you doing, son?" Darkseid frowned, still stunned.

"Your slave, upon whom you bestowed the status of your son, would prefer to kill himself at your feet than to be called a friend of his master's enemy."

Darkseid looked at Superman whose jaw dropped at the revelation. He smiled and then lifted Bruce up from his position.

"You are more faithful than a dog, my son!" he said, patting his back.

Superman lost his temper.
"How dare you call him…"

Even before he could take a step forward, he found Bruce's sword on his throat.
"Order, father!" he said, slowly moving the blade into his throat without cutting him.

"Not now, my son!" Darkseid said, "I will tell you when." He withdrew his blade instantly.

"Allow me to put my mask back on, father," Bruce said, bending down to pick up his mask.

"No," Darkseid said, lifting him up, "you don't need a mask. Not anymore! You don't need to hide your face from anyone here."

"I don't intend to…" Bruce began, and then decided to drop the point, along with the mask.

Superman stood still, his eyes fixed on Bruce.

"Not you, Bruce!" he shook his head, making no attempt to wipe the tears rolling out from his eyes, "Not you in a million lives! How did this happen? How did I let this happen?"

"You would never have let this happen, Superman," Bruce said, but not in the tone of empathy as Superman expected.

"You were afraid that I would surpass you, as I did, now!"

Superman gaped at him.
"Bruce! Are you…are you listening to yourself?" he said, "You know him too well to say that!"

"I know you too well to listen to you," Bruce retorted.

"Bruce, he's using you! You know that he is," Superman said.

Bruce clenched his fists.
"You should be grateful to him, Superman," he said, grunting his teeth, "If it wasn't for his order, you would be dead by now."

Superman squinted.
"You don't know what you are doing, Bruce," he said, raising a few inches into the air, "You will regret this, soon, and by that time, it will be too late."

"It's too late already, Superman," Bruce said, assuming his position, "For you!"

Superman had reached enough height to plummet onto Bruce with his fist aimed for his chest. But Bruce dodged quickly and fist hit the floor, sending out a huge crack from the center of impact.

"Can't you do better, Superman?" Bruce teased, as he pointed the sword at him. Superman reached out to pull the swords away from him, but Bruce swiftly drew it away and brought it back onto Superman's neck after a 360 degree turn.

"That's not good enough to kill me, Bruce! That won't cut through my skin." Superman said.

"I am deliberately stopping myself," Bruce said, "And if you think it won't cut through, think again." He brought the blade down and slashed at the 'S' logo on his chest. Superman fell back, hand to the chest. He realized that he was bleeding.

"Not yet, son!" Darkseid shouted.

"Yes, father," Bruce said and turned back to Superman. "And why are you stopping yourself? I know you too well to believe that this is all you've got."

"I don't want to hurt you, Bruce," Superman said, "You are my friend."

"Don't…" Bruce put his hands to his ears and shook his head, "You have no right to call me your friend."

Superman nodded. "I agree! I shouldn't have left to alone. I should've come back soon! I failed you, Bruce…I am sorry."

"I am not," Bruce said, slashing out his sword on his chest again, forming a cross on Superman's logo. This time, it did not cut in as Superman dodged just enough to avoid contact.

"Bruce, please come out of it!" Superman said, "He will use you and then, he will kill you!"

"If he wanted to kill me, he would've, when you left me to him." Bruce said, "And if he wishes to see me dead, I will be more than happy to sacrifice myself."

"Bruce he is not your master!" Superman cried, "You are The Batman!"

"My past is of no relevance to me now." Bruce cried.

"Your past is everything to you, Bruce!" Superman shouted. This time, he managed to get hold of him by the shoulder and pushed him against the wall. "Your past is your identity. Your parents, Alfred, Dick, Tim," he paused and then uttered slowly, "The League, your friends… your love!"

"You are not my friends." He said, and pushed him away. "Dick and Tim are not my sons. Alfred is just a butler, and parents are dead! They have been dead for 30 years. I was a fool to have wasted so many years on them. And as for my love,the world knows too well whose love she actually is!"

Superman couldn't believe what he heard. One did not have to be a 12 th grade genius to understand the implication.
"Bruce!" he muttered through clenched teeth, "Take your word back, or...I'll crush you this instant!"

"I dare you, Superman!" Bruce said

Superman lost his temper.
"You have gone too far, Bruce!" he grunted, "I think I must beat you back to senses."

"Bring it on," Bruce said, "I want to beat you to death in an even fight."

Note: And to all BMWW fans, I am sorry(on behalf of my Bruce) for the remark. But I just had to bring it out...otherwise, our Superman would remain dormant and not stop the ensuing degradation in Bruce, which we don't want to happen...