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 17

The dual had almost come to its culmination. Despite all the efforts he could put in to banish the fact that Bruce was his friend, Superman couldn't completely get over it. And thus being in no physical and mental condition to fight his opponent, he was slowly giving away. The League watched in silent helplessness. Every once in a while when some of the energy was restored after a period of inaction, Hawk Girl, Flash and Jonn took shots at the field, only to be reduced to inaction again. GL was helpless without his ring. And Diana…she watched.

"He cannot fight anymore, father," Bruce announced, drawing out his sword again, "Please give me the order."

"Make your father proud, my son!"darkseid said, as he rose from his throne.

Bruce swiftly brought the blade down, but Superman caught it in the nick of the moment. Bruce tried to pull it off, but the grip was substantial.

Superman rose.
"I would take it as an honour to die in your hands, Bruce. I revered you so much! But I never thought that it had to be this way."

Suddenly, he jerked his head forward, hitting Bruce in the middle of his forehead. Bruce staggered back, hand to his forehead. He struggled to keep his balance, and for the first time in the whole battle, it looked like he was going to collapse.

"The mask…" Darkseid muttered to himself, "I should've let him wear his mask!" he cursed under his breath.

"I am giving you the full power, finish him off," Darkseid shouted, as he reached for a dial on his own wrist, similar to that on Bruce's. But before he could reach the dial, he was hit squarely on the face. Orion! He had taken advantage of the little lapse to disarm and disengage both the guards, and despite High Father's protests, ran towards Darkseid.

Bruce tried to open his eyes, but everything blurred out before them.
"And you know what," Superman continued, holding him by the seam which previously joined his armor to the mask and drawing his hand back for another blow. "You have failed your father!".

Bruce struggled, but his attention was no longer on Superman. He pressed both his hands against his head, as if he was in excruciating pain. Superman paused for a while, and then threw at Darkseid's statue in disgust. However, Bruce landed a little short of the statue and missed it by an inch.

He did not try to stand. He looked at Orion, fighting Darkseid. Darkseid had lifted and thrown him into the arena. And then, instead of following him, he sank back into the throne, hands to his head, just like Bruce.

Bruce breathed rapidly and tried to grab the sword which lay at an arm's length from him. He realized that his palm was bare, and tried to withdraw it immediately, but Superman was quicker this time, and he stamped his foot on it.

Bruce shrieked. Darkseid rose with a jerk, but his face did not show the horror one would expect. He was made with rage.

"Traitor!" he roared , and broke the dial on his own wrist.

Bruce gathered the last ounce of his strength and somersaulted, hitting Superman in the chest. The impact threw him to the other side of the arena.

"You shall die, now!" Darkseid growled, and a whitish glow appeared around his eyes.

"No," High Father screamed, as he jumped into the arena and placed himself between Bruce and the ensuing death beam.

And after that, things happened too quickly, even for Superman to perceive. Bruce held High Father by his wait and pierced into the heart of the statue with his sword.

And then, all one could hear was Bruce's shriek, and all one could see was a brilliant blinding white light flooding the whole place.

And as it cleared out, and the dazed minds tried to figure out what they had witnessed, they saw High Father, hanging in mid, an aura covering him from head to toe, and his staff balanced under his arm pit.

And in his arms, with an armor broken at the waist revealing his utility belt, and the left arm dangling limply by his side, lay Bruce Wayne – The Batman!