Spark of Genius

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy verse, Girl Genius verse, DC comics or any of the other smatterings of pop culture and literary ideas that I refer to in my story, I just tread through a few other sandboxes. Oh, and several names are made up, some are real, but the facts have been changed to protect the corrupt and innocent equally.

AN: Wow, this took a long time to get right. I know it took a long time, but to paraphrase Rupert Giles, "Dear Lord" did it take a lot of work. Do you have any idea how hard it is to maneuver something like 10 plus integral characters into dialogue and discussions that make sense? Ok, enough of my ranting. The craziness is back, the drama is here, and a side order of revenge followed by a hell of a cliffy; I warn you now and I preemptively ask for forgiveness, but that's how it had to end. With that said… bwa ha ha Ha… Mwu HA HA HA HA, WA HA HA HA HA, BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA!... (cackles evilly at the thoughts of his readers getting to the last part of the chapter*) Anyway, hope you enjoy it, and let me know your thoughts (I'd love to see if I can hit over 2k reviews after posting this chapter*). And Honestly, if you could see me now you would see a perfect example of an evil smile stretched across my face. Bwa ha ha ha ha… Cheers!

'Thought'

"Speech"

/foreign language/

Chapter 41: A Party to Die For

"If I were invited to a dinner party with my characters, I wouldn't show up." ~ Dr Seuss

"Hear no evil, speak no evil - and you'll never be invited to a party." ~ Oscar Wilde

The fall high school semester had ended and it was Christmas time in Sunnydale; which in southern California means that it is just as sunny and palm tree filled as the other 364 days of the year. However in the Summers' house the Christmas party was in full swing with carols playing on the stereo and a Christmas tree was decked out with all of the normal American accoutrements; namely strands of colored lights, painted glass balls, and the occasional embarrassing homemade ornament from Buffy's childhood. Seeing as Joyce was the sole maternal figure in the lives of the remaining Scoobies, that and Willow's parents didn't celebrate Christmas and were in fact on another book tour, the gang were all gathering around the table just as Joyce was bringing out a large holiday turkey she had cooked.

"Ok, everybody to the table." Joyce shouted as she maneuvered around Giles and Jenny Calendar who were finishing filling the glasses with water and setting out the other side dishes.

"Coming Mom!" Buffy's voice echoed in from the front room, the sounds of the holiday TV special "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" still coming from the TV just as some elf on the show was talking about Bumble's bouncing.

Willow and Buffy then bounced into the room wearing bright holiday sweaters and were quickly followed by Andrew and Jonathan who were holding a rousing conversation in Klingon.

"Now boys, what have I told you about speaking Klingon at the table?" Joyce chided Andrew and Jonathan with a smile on her face as she entered the dining room for the final trip with a green bean casserole and a set of serving utensils.

"Sorry Ms. Summers," Andrew said as he and Jonathan looked a bit sheepish about being caught in geek mode, so they nodded and simply took their spot at the table only for Jonathan to pause.

"Hey, how did you know it was Klingon?" Jonathan questioned with a startled look on his face.

"Well I used to have a crush on Captain Kirk." Joyce said with a wink, which left both Andrew and Jonathan speechless as they watched Ms. Summers waltz around the table depositing food.

Joyce handed the carving knife and fork to Giles and turned to the group before nodding to Willow, "Willow honey, if you want to light the candle on the menorah you brought we can take a moment of silence and think of those who are special to us before we eat." Joyce finished with a caring smile towards Willow.

Willow smiled sincerely at Joyce and nodded as she pulled a match from the little box in front of her place setting and went about lighting the candles on the menorah; her thoughts firmly fixed on her lost friend Jesse and separated from friend Xander.

The candle light caused reflected flickers to shine off of Giles' glasses, and he reached over and in a sort of awkward British manner gave Willow and Buffy a squeeze on their shoulder as they both sighed at the memory of their lost friends; the holidays always being some of the harder times for those left behind by their loved one's departure.

Buffy looked up to Giles and smiled, her thoughts drifting back to a time when her first Watcher Merrick would have been the one standing loyally at her side.

The silence drifted on for a few more moments before Joyce pasted a smile on her face and tried to get the holiday spirit back into swing.

"Ahem, ok then. Thank you Willow, and now let's dig in!" Joyce stated as she waved towards the food.

"Oh goody! I love this stuffing, and because it's a holiday the calories don't count." Buffy said perkily as she reached for the serving spoon to the bread stuffing that had been cooked inside the turkey…

Only for a loud "KA-ZAP!" to shake the room and the food on the table seemed to explode as suddenly gift wrapped packages seemed to drop from the ceiling and splatted the food on the table below.

"AaaaaH!" Buffy screamed and covered her face as the stuffing in the bowl in front of her splattered all over her face, hair and outfit. Around the room others ducked as the previously carefully prepared food sprayed across the room painting the walls and the people gathered as they all instinctually ducked beneath the table.

Andrew was the first one to poke his head above the table with a look of awe on his face, "Santa does exist!" He said in wonder before turning to Jonathan and punching the other nerd in the shoulder, "I told you he was real. Pay up!" Andrew finished with a smirk.

"Owe, that hurt you dork." Jonathan rubbed his arm and looked at the packages before smacking Andrew up the back side of his head, "No you idiot, it's from Xander." Jonathan finished as he read a tag on one of the presents.

With the mention of Xander's name Willow and Buffy squealed in delight and began digging through the presents to find which ones had their names on them.

"Wait." Joyce stated quietly, but nobody really heard her or paid attention to her.

"Here Giles, this one is for you, and there is even a gift from the Kalderash and Xander for you Jenny." Willow babbled as she handed a gift package to Giles.

"YAY! A New Mr. Pointy!" Buffy squee'd in joy as she finished ripping the paper off a package with her name on it only to find a silver stake that was covered in glowing magical runes and religious symbols.

"I got a new magic book! Oh Giles, what did you get?" Willow questioned with a huge smile pasted across her face.

"Good Lord… It's the complete magical Grimoire of Circe written in the sorceress's own hand writing." Giles stated looking pale at what he held in his hands. Suddenly mad cackling from Buffy's side of the table caused everybody to swing their attention towards the short blonde and stare at her in shock.

"Bwa ha ha ha ha… ahem." Buffy blinked and realized she had been laughing evilly as she tightly clutched the new chrome plated Toastmaster 4000 that she had unwrapped; the name "Mr. Toasty" was inscribed on the side of the plasma blaster/flame thrower. "Sorry about that, I don't know what came over me." Buffy said honestly as she thought quizzically about where the insane laughter had come from.

"NOW WAIT A DAMN MINUTE!" Joyce screamed, and everybody stopped and swung wide eyes to look at the now red in the face and panting Joyce Summers who had finally lost all semblance of patience.

Giles gulped at the look on Joyce's face, Jenny Calendar backed slowly away from the fuming Joyce and Buffy gulped as she realized something; Joyce was the only one at the table that didn't know Xander was alive. That first worrying thought was then followed by one even more scary and it made Buffy freeze in fear; her mother was also the only one at the table that didn't know about Sunnydale's night life and Buffy's role in dealing with it.

"Now what the hell is going on here?" Joyce questioned, throwing her hands about wildly as not only had her carefully prepared holiday meal been destroyed but the person behind said destruction was a young man whom was supposedly dead.

Buffy looked around desperately for some way to explain away the gifts and the previous statements about Xander but saw the same confusion on the faces of everybody else around the table. "Well, um, uh. It's not what it looks like Mom." Buffy pleaded weakly, only for Joyce to turn her glare right at Buffy and cause the shorter blonde to flinch.

"I know when you're lying missy, so consider yourself grounded. Now tell me what is going on right now!" Joyce demanded.

"But Mom!" Buffy began to beg, only for Giles to rest his hand on Buffy's shoulder and shake his head when she turned to look up at her Watcher.

"She has a right to know, and you can't hide it any longer." Giles stated as he took off his glasses and wiped away a bit of cranberry sauce that had splattered on them before shining his glasses on his sweater and then setting them carefully back on his nose.

At that point the presents were forgotten for the moment as Giles began to explain, "Well Joyce, we should take a seat. Now the first thing you need to know is that the world is older than you realize…"

By the end of the night all of those gathered at the Summers' household would realize that it wasn't the Christmas celebration that they had expected. However as Ms. Summers hugged Buffy tightly and mother and daughter rocked back and forth as they both cried, hugged and repeatedly apologized for wrongs done on both sides, well everybody realized that the season celebration had turned out pretty well all things considered. Ultimately Xander's gifts to his friends would lead to a happier family and a happier Joyce who realized that her son in all but name was still alive, and that was the best Christmas gift he could have ever given to both Joyce and Buffy.

Outside Castle Wulfenbach the Gotham City night sky was lit up by spotlights that bathed the floating fortress in light. All around the airship fortress silver formed shapes of Valkyrie warriors and the black shapes of armored Jägermonsters were swarming everywhere in a show of force, for not only was there a party there that night, but The Leviathan would be in attendance.

In the heart of Castle Wulfenbach, in a dark wood lined room with a buffet set up with food on one side and a walk in closet and sets of clothes changing racks on the other, was The Leviathan; preparing for the night's Grand Gala.

Xander stood in his black three piece suit and adjusted his blood red tie in the gold framed mirror, the helmet of his Leviathan outfit yet to be deployed and his face clearly viewed in the reflection of the mirror. Striking a pose with his hands on his hips and his chin jutted to the side in a dramatic pose, Xander questioned the mirror.

"How do I look?" Xander said with a smile on his face with his chest puffed out while looking over his right shoulder, striking and holding a heroic stance similar to what one would see on the front cover of some cheesy romance novel.

"Like Xander Heterodyne, gentlemen adventurer." Xander's mirror image replied before laughing, a smirk pasted on the reflected image in the mirror as it smiled at Xander's antics.

"Thanks!" Xander said, dropping his pose and smiling back toward the mirror.

"No problem Xander, I actually think Cordelia would have even approved of this outfit. The price tag would at least meet her standards. What's the cost for a three-piece tailored suit made out of nano-clanks going for these days, something like a five million dollars plus?" The mirror asked, giving Xander's Leviathan suit an appraising look.

"Yes, something like five million as far as construction costs go, but it's the options that come with it that make it expensive, not the brand name." Xander said, tilting the gold three-headed dragon pin on his lapel so that it was straight.

Slim and silver nano-armor covered feminine arms wrapped sensuously around Xander's neck and fiddled with the knot of Xander's tie as if it needed to be fixed. Then Artemis pressed herself against Xander's backed and leaned over to nibble his ear playfully; causing Xander to shiver slightly before she leaned back away from him. Xander turned in Artemis's arms to smile down at the shorter Valkyrie tribe war-leader.

"You look positively scrumptious." Artemis purred with a smirk as Xander turned to face her, though her face and long red hair were uncovered the rest of her body bore the full silver body hugging armor of Xander's Valkyrie warriors; the delineations of her leadership position in the tribe marking her armor's pauldron.

"And you as well my sexy war-leader." Xander leaned down and kissed Artemis deeply, and both closed their eyes for a moment at the passion of the kiss before slowly parting.

Artemis looked up at Xander and then chuckled while wiping her red lipstick off of his lips. "You look good, are you ready for the big night?" Artemis questioned.

"I believe so, though I haven't heard from Jenny or Magda yet." Xander stated while sliding a step to the side and turning back to address the mirror.

"Is everything prepared Von Pinn?" Xander asked, and the mirror image of Xander wavered and then blurred until it turned into the computerized display of a Caucasian blonde haired women with one red eye, the other eye white around the pupil, and a set of sharp white teeth. The women in the mirror/computer screen wore a tight Victorian high collared dress, though the outfit was as black as night and looked to be made out of leather. The image was pretty, if you accounted for the fact that Von Pinn looked like she was part human and part Jäger monster.

The image of the Castle's A.I., Von Pinn, addressed Xander in Eastern European accented English. "Yes Herr Xander, the security is in place, the Crimson Lady is on her way to your current location and Magda and Jenny are waiting in the ballroom for you. The Jäger guards and Valkyries are stationed on security duty and we have received positive replies from all individuals who received invitations. Do you vish to address the staff before the party begins Mein Leader?"

Xander nodded briefly as he replied to Von Pinn, "Yes, but we'll wait for Cassandra to join us first."

Turning to give Artemis a look, Xander questioned, "How did Cassandra do with the upload of the Valkyrie power package of nano-clanks?"

Artemis smiled as she moved across the room to the buffet of snacks and drinks and grabbed two glasses of water from a pitcher with lemon slices floating in it, "She's doing incredibly well, we would be pleased to welcome her into our midst as a sister if she didn't already have a roll in your household, which reminds me." Artemis stated as she glided across the room back to Xander and handed him one of the glasses which he took. "The Valkyries were wondering if they could look to recruit from the women's abuse shelters here in Gotham, as well as those located and throughout the world? We believe that we may be able to find women who would like a new life as a part of your warrior tribe, but it's up to you." Artemis finished with a question and a shrug of her shoulders as she deferred to his ruling.

Xander smiled as he took a drink from the water and then gave Artemis a one armed hug as he answered, "Absolutely. I've seen the outcome of abuse first hand, and I think offering those women the chance at empowerment and a new life is a good idea. However make sure to have them screened by our medical and psychiatric corp. first as well as a mental nano-clank upload to assure their real motives. Peace through power and trust but verify first, those should be the credos for enlarging the Valkyrie tribe." Xander finished and set down his empty glass as the door to the room opened, and a shorter woman in a long crimson red Victorian dress gracefully moved into the room followed by Artemis's sister Dina.

Just as The Leviathan bore a featureless mirrored helmet, so did the Crimson Lady bear a featureless helmet. However where as Xander's outfit and helmet were primarily black, Cassandra's new outfit was crimson blood red. The mirrored crimson helmet was perched over a severe looking long red Victorian corseted dress that covered up to Cassy's neck where it disappeared up into the red helmet. The dress then trailed all the way down to her toes where the slim but flowing dress hinted at the solid red heeled and buckle covered boots Cassandra was wearing. Both of her arms were sheathed in gloves that covered from Cassy's fingers to her shoulders where the gloves had a black band tracing at the apex of the shoulder and blending with the dress. Black piping lines accented the corset's boning and the curves of the corseted bust; showing off Cassandra's slim Asian figure. To the outside observer the dress looked almost like some sort of blood colored Victorian era dominatrix or mistress dress, sexy in the extreme but at the same time sophisticated and stayed in that Victorian era look. The fabric, if it could be called fabric as it looked almost like leather, gave off a sense of age and sophistication yet at the same time the mix of lines, details and helmet gave it an otherworldly or science fiction feel.

This was Cassandra's new persona, her secret identity to protect her while she worked as The Leviathan's Ambassador to the United States and to the United Nations. Between the nano-clank upgrades and the new armor Cassandra would be quiet safe, and if ever something was too much for Cassy to handle on her own as the Crimson Lady then Cassy's friend Dina would be there as the ever present body guard. Dina was now sporting the silver armor of the Valkyries, but whereas Dina's sister Artemis had black highlights on her armor and a red plume on her helmet, Dina had red markings and a blond plume on the helmet.

"Do you like it?" Cassandra questioned with a smile from behind her helmet as she raised her arms a bit and gave Xander a twirl.

Xander smiled at his younger sister's antics. The upgrade of the nano-clanks, the upload of the advanced education and the addition of a real family had created a very mature yet still playfully young attitude in Cassandra. If anything, the addition of Xander's science added to the interaction with the Kalderash clan had truly turned Cassandra into Xander's sister; now with armor and super-powered kung fu grip action.

"Yes Cassy, you look great." Xander said as he spread his arms for Cassandra to come to him and receive a hug. Xander gave Cassandra a squeeze, careful not to squeeze too hard with his super strength.

Xander pushed his little sister out to arms length before wiping a mock tear from his eye and faked a sniffle, "Sniff sniff, they grow up so fast. One day they are just starting to learn how to be an assassin and the art of vengeance from their gypsy clan, the next they're all grown up and science has twisted them into an overlord that will spread their brother's dominion and help in perverting the rules of science. Sniff sniff, you make me so proud!" Xander said melodramatically and pulled Cassandra back into his arms for a bear-hug.

Artemis and Dina laughed at Xander's antics, while Cassandra huffed indignantly at her big brother's actions, pushing herself out of his hug as he let her go and then slugged Xander in the shoulder. "Stop teasing me you big meany." Cassandra said in mock anger.

"Ow, so violent." Xander said with a smirk and a twinkle in his eye as he rubbed his shoulder where Cassandra had punched him with her full upgraded strength. He'd definitely felt it, not that it really hurt though as the nano-suit and Xander's upgraded durability easily absorbed the blow.

"Honestly though, I like how your outfit turned out and from the punch I can tell that the nano-clank upgrades have fully taken effect. So are you ready for tonight?" Xander questioned as he leaned over and gave Artemis a quick kiss on the cheek and a squeeze of the shoulder and then smiled at Dina before activating his Leviathan helmet and heading for the door.

"Yes, tonight is going to be a blast." Cassandra answered, gliding along besides Xander as they moved through the wide crimson colored hallways towards the grand ballroom.

The path to the ballroom was lined in dark woods, gold and black metal that were matched with crimson satin wallpaper and the carpet of the hall was also a crimson red. Along the walls were interspersed paintings and tapestries, some paintings depicting member's of Xander's "Heterodyne" family from the Girl Genius Universe and some from his Sunnydale friends as well as tapestries depicting battles and events from Xander's life as well as that of the Grey Knight, and The Leviathan. Interestingly enough, a short distance between the large gilded doors to the ballroom was a floor to ceiling painting of Agatha Heterodyne and Gil Wulfenbach with Castle Heterodyne and the original town of Mechanicsburg in the distance.

Xander had taken the image from the memories of his Heterodyne self and then had them imprinted into a large oil painting. He couldn't help smiling at the painting as in many ways Xander really did look at the two Major Sparks from the Girl Genius universe as being his true parents. After all, Tony and Jessica Harris had not done any really 'parenting' per say, and these days Xander felt more in tune with his Spark and the craziness of that alternative universe as compared to his Sunnydale life. No, nothing could take away his familial relationship that he had with Buffy, Willow, Giles and Joyce back in Sunnydale. However where parents were concerned, the Heterodynes, Wulfenbach, Grandpa Gentleman Adventurer and crazy Castle in the Girl Genius dimension would always be considered his true nuclear family.

Xander approached the double doors and nodded as the two sets of heavily armored Jäger's guarding the hallway back into the residential areas opened said doors for Cassandra, Dina, Artemis and The Leviathan.

Inside the incredibly huge ballroom were male and female servers in tuxedos who moved quickly about as they finished up the last touches for the party. The mix of Jägers, gypsies and minions scurried about the black floor of the ballroom as little pulses of blue and red energy veins marbled the floor at their feet; seeming to beat and flow like the veins of a living creature. Throughout the room were tables with white tablecloths and red accents. Alec Holland had supplied the flowers for the setting, some previously extinct and lost to the annals of time as well as living moving ivy that twined up the back of the chairs in the dining area. Flowers of every shape, size and color seemed to cover the center pieces and the artistic displays on the buffet tables, adding splashes of color and sophistication to the ambiance of the room. The dance area was open and polished to a high sheen while the full orchestra of multi-colored Jägers was a sight to see while they were tuning their instruments; this would probably be the first ever full orchestra that was heavy on accordions.

Yes, tonight would be a night of firsts: first introduction of the Crimson Lady to the world, first open introduction of the Jägermonsters to the world, and the first time that the politicians and President of the United States of America would openly mix and mingle with select Super Heroes and Super Villains alike. Yes, it promised to be a night to remember.

The Leviathan and Crimson Lady's entrance to the ballroom started a stir as the servers stopped what they were doing and moved to gather before their leaders. Two female servers moved through the crowd, indistinct in their own tuxedos notwithstanding the fact that one was an attractive young woman with her brown hair pulled back in a pony tail and the other was an elderly woman with completely white eyes.

Xander smiled darkly behind his helmet as the two women moved forward and he held out a hand to each of them to grasp.

"Magda, Jenny, is everything ready for tonight's guests?" Xander's voice broadcast from the speakers of his Leviathan helmet as he hid a sardonic smirk behind his helmet. He gave each woman's hand a squeeze as they grasped his own.

Both women smirked evilly back at The Leviathan, a gleam to their eyes as Magda replied, "Yes Leviathan, our guests will get a warm greeting… some warmer than others of course."

This last statement was followed by the gypsies, minions, and Jäger's all laughing together as Xander chuckled darkly.

"Bwa ha ha ha ha ha… Excellent my people." The Leviathan stated; his voice causing his followers to shiver in excitement as Xander's Spark flowed into his voice. "Soon we will unveil our science and power to the world. Soon the world will feel our might and beg to join us. And while the world focuses on the spectacle of this evening and the changes we bring, while they stare and clamor for our technology and our miracles, we will be stealthily destroying our enemies!" Xander's eyes gleamed from within his helmet, and the power of his words created pictures in the minds of his listeners as they cheered his speech.

"YES my people! Soon we shall strike back at those who thought to attack us from the shadows." The Leviathan turned his head to stare at his followers who looked back to him with maniacal fanaticism.

Xander released his right hand that was holding Magda's hand, and then pulling his black gloved hand into a fist which he shook in front of his chest as he growled loudly. "Soon, this night in fact! This very night we shall position ourselves to lead this world, to protect our people and spread the power of our Science!"

"YEAAHH!" Xander's people cheered only to settle down just as quickly to hear their Leader's next words.

And Xander's smile grew bloodthirsty to stretch from one ear to the other under his helmet, "This night we gather power and dominion, and this night we strike back at Lex Luthor for daring to attack us. This night… Lex Luthor Dies!"

"YEAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" The crowd erupted in cheers and even the more pacifistic Cassandra smiled evilly along with her brother from behind her crimson colored helmet.

The stage was set, now all it would take was getting the players to the party and into their proper places. But for the moment, The Leviathan and the Crimson Lady paused to bask in the cheers of their family, their people, the citizens of The Empire of The Leviathan.

It promised to be the pause before the coming storm.

"Are you ready daughter?" Queen Hippolyta questioned as she opened the door to Diana's anteroom at the Amazonian Embassy in New York City.

"Not yet mother, I'm trying to get this last strand to clasp but I can't seem to reach it." Diana replied as she focused on her reflection in the mirror, attempting to string up a strand of pearls into her hair.

Hippolyta walked up from behind her daughter Diana and helping to finish fixing the strings of pearls and gold chains that adorned Diana's mixed hairstyle of up-do and free floating curls. The Queen then stood back with a smile on her face.

"There, you look gorgeous daughter. Like a true Princess." Hippolyta stated happily, just enjoying how beautiful her grown up daughter was.

"Thank you mother, you look lovely as well." Diana turned and smiled back at her mother; both mother and daughter making a matched pair in flowing white toga like dresses that were bare at the shoulders and hugged their curves as they flowed down to the floor where they both wore gold sandals. The only difference between the two outfits was that Queen Hippolyta had gold barding trailing the hem of her dress where as Diana's was unadorned yet still beautiful in its simplicity.

Diana bit her lip, a hesitance that was most unusual for the woman whose day's job was as the hero Wonder Woman. Hippolyta smiled at her daughter and waited patiently for Diana to speak her mind.

"Mother, have you come to a final decision on what to do about messages from the Gods, the omens that suggest that The Leviathan will only grow more powerful?" Diana questioned.

Hippolyta's smile didn't so much falter but rather faded with the seriousness of the question. Now it was Diana's turn to pause and wait as it appeared Hippolyta was again thinking over the question that had been haunting Mother and Daughter ever since they had reconciled.

Nodding to herself as if coming to a final answer, Hippolyta responded as she looked deep into her daughter's eyes, "I have my daughter, and I believe that both the death of The Grey Knight in our defense as well as our debt of honor due to my disrespect provides us with a manner with which to perhaps temper the more brutal tendencies of The Leviathan." Hippolyta stepped back while holding out a hand to Diana as Diana swiveled on her chair and stood up with Hippolyta's assistance. "But before we make that final decision, I want to take your counsel on this situation. What does your heart tell you Daughter of mine?" Hippolyta finished by clasping both of Diana's hands in her own, both mother and daughter facing each other with nothing but love and caring in their eyes for each other as Diana paused before answering.

Diana looked at her mother, and Hippolyta could seemingly watch the struggle of emotions and thoughts as they played across Diana's face for more than a few minutes.

Finally Diana nodded to herself and raised her head to show the pride and backbone, the steely determination that was the hero Wonder Woman, and she answered her mother's question, "Yes mother, I too believe it is the right decision, and that the honor of our Nation demands it. I will do it."

"So be it." Hippolyta answered resolutely, the same steel and backbone showing through the Queen she again smiled lovingly at Diana and squeezed both of her daughters clasped hands. "I am so proud of you daughter, and know that I will always love you." Hippolyta finished with a look of such caring, the type of look that a Mother holds for their children no matter how old the child may grow.

The steel in Diana's face broke as she smiled, and just like that the beauty and youth of the Amazon Princess was displayed as she looked back at her mother with love. "I love you too mother and I am proud to call you my Queen."

And with that, mother and daughter, joined at the elbow, turned and left the room. They had a party to attend, and a night that promised many changes.

Meanwhile at Wayne Manor high on the hills outside Gotham City, Bruce Wayne changed into his outfit for the night and finished tucking his white starched dress shirt into the pants portion of his tuxedo. Alfred, the ever stoic butler to the Wayne family, stood patiently to the side of the room as Bruce sat down on the bed to slip into his freshly shined patent leather dress shoes with a growl as he struggled with the laces.

"Do try and relax Sir, it is supposed to be a party after all. Would it pain you too much to have fun for a change?" Alfred politely and patiently suggested to Bruce.

Bruce scowled as he finished tying one shoe lace and worked on the second. "It's not a party Alfred. It might have the thin veneer of pretending to be a party, but make no mistake that I might as well be going as Batman tonight given The Leviathan's knowledge of who I really am."

"Yes sir, but do please remember that you are representing the name of Bruce Wayne to Gotham City tonight, the billionaire playboy and legacy of your parents, not the dark and broody crime fighting vigilante." Alfred chided Bruce, which caused Bruce to turn and glare at his butler.

Alfred's stoic British upper lip barely quivered, but Bruce thought he might have seen just the slightest bit of a smirk before Alfred continued, "Please Master Bruce. That glare failed to intimidate me when it was directed at me when I stopped you from getting into the cookie jar as a child, and it still lacks the level of intimidation that will stop me doing my best for you. You need to relax and try to enjoy this evening since you have chosen not to wear the cape and cowl."

Bruce just frowned and glared petulantly at Alfred, for the butler to the Wayne family was the one man in the world who could make the feared cape crusader actually feel like a child.

Just then the chimes of the doorbell sounded and Alfred excused himself to go answer it while Bruce struggled to tie his bowtie in the mirror situated on the changing table left over from when Bruce's mother and father lived in the master suite.

After five minutes of futilely struggling to get the bowtie just right, Bruce heard the whispering steps of Alfred returning down the carpeted hallway outside the master bedroom.

"Who was it Alfred?" Bruce called out without turning around.

"Your date for the party sir." Alfred replied while standing in the doorway.

Bruce startled, and turned to glare at Alfred, "I don't remember requesting a date for this party." Bruce growled.

Alfred was unimpressed and as stoic as always as he patiently replied, "Yes Sir, I know that. Still I felt that when you heard she was in town you would prefer to keep a more watchful eye on this young lady." Alfred finished, and with that he stepped aside to reveal Bruce's date to The Leviathan's party.

Bruce's eyes went wide, "Talia…" He stated softly.

"Hello Beloved." Talia al Ghul stated as she glided into the room, one black heeled foot before the other as she covered the distance of the room and into Bruce's personal space.

Though it rarely happened, Bruce was without words as he was briefly surprised. However as he was so oft to do when he wore the persona of Batman, he settled for a silent still look on his face as he gazed down into the brown eyes of his sometimes love interest and sometimes enemy. Her long black dress was sedate yet stunning in its simplicity, and a small part of the back of Bruce's mind noted that she was incredibly beautiful. That same part of his mind was then ruthlessly squashed and shoved into the deep dark recesses of his gloomy paranoid mind.

"What are you doing here Talia?" Bruce questioned, a bit of gravel coming to his voice as it sounded like a cross between the voice that Bruce Wayne used and that of Batman; in reality it was the closest to Bruce's real voice that he ever used.

The faintest hint of a smile creased Talia's lips as she reached up and expertly fixed Bruce's bowtie, apparently a skill that was inherent to the female double X chromosome but strangle missing from its XY counterpart.

"I can't want to come visit my beloved?" She questioned a bit playfully.

Bruce's lips dropped into a scowl and he caught her wrist before gently moving it away from him; out of the corner of his eye he noticed in the mirror that his bowtie was now perfect and he mentally cursed the fact that he knew over a thousand different ways to tie up a villain but still couldn't fix his own bowtie.

"No, because I know you and your father." Bruce answered as he let go of her hand and stepped away from her to grab his tuxedo coat. Bruce both loved and hated spending time with Talia, a woman who knew both sides of Bruce's persona.

Talia nodded in agreement to Bruce's statement. "Yes, you do." Talia replied before putting her dainty hand on her hip, and with a bit of pouting in her lips she continued, "Now will you really deny me the pleasure of your company tonight, or will I have to go to the party alone? I'd think that since you know my father you would want to keep a better watch on me." The last part was said with a sparkle in her eye as she enjoyed the intellectual byplay that she could partake in when teasing her Beloved. As her father said, Bruce Wayne, The Detective, was one of the few intellectual equals to Ra's al Ghul, and Talia was the epitome of a daddy's girl. This "daddy's girl" was strictly in the platonic father daughter sense of course, however she looked for a man to wed who held the same mind, power and presence as her father.

Bruce stared at Talia and in his mind he agreed with Alfred and Talia's statement, it was better to keep a close eye on her.

Painting a brilliant smile on his face, the smile that truly portrayed Bruce Wayne as the heart throb playboy of Gotham, Bruce moved forward and offered his elbow to Talia.

"Well then, shall we be going?" He said with a smile, the complete mask of Bruce Wayne fully in place.

"Yes Beloved, this party promises to be amusing and I hope that the other partygoers are as interesting company as you." Talia replied as she took the offered elbow and allowed Bruce to escort her through the mansion towards the waiting Rolls Royce limousine that Alfred would use to chauffeur them that evening.

Bruce didn't reply verbally, but in his mind he feared that the "company" at the party would in fact be as interesting as Talia hoped for. The Chinese had that famous curse, "May you live in interesting times" and unfortunately for Bruce he felt that The Leviathan portrayed the term "Interesting" in all its depictions.

Interesting is exactly what the party at Castle Wulfenbach promised to be, and it started off with a greeting line where The Crimson Lady, The Leviathan, Igor and their Valkyrie and Jäger bodyguards stood waiting to greet the first guest.

In a not so surprising turn of events the first person in line was the self titled fastest man in the world, Wally West, the Flash.

"Hi! Hello there! It's nice to meet you. Hey cutie! Wait, is that Sparkbuck's I smell? See Yah!" The Flash stated, going up the line from Igor, to The Crimson Lady, to The Leviathan, then Artemis all in one breath, at which point the Flash noticed the tempting smell of his caffeine addiction and became a blur as he zipped across the room towards where a Sparkbuck's coffee bar had been set up.

Xander just smiled and chuckled behind his helmet, "And that is why they call him the fastest man in the world." He joked quietly to his friends and family around him.

Xander's family around him all chuckled back and Artemis couldn't help but reply snidely from within her own silver armored helmet, "Well if he is as fast in other ways, then he certainly isn't the most popular lady's man in the world."

Cassandra couldn't help but giggle from under her helmet as those around her also chuckled, but she quickly stilled as she saw the next guest exit the elevator doors into the Castle's docking bay.

Superman exited the lift followed by Booster Gold and Skeets; the little gold hovering robot.

The Crimson Lady stepped forward with a smirk behind her helmet as she first greeted Superman in perfect Kryptonian, "Greetings Kal-El of Krypton, I am the Crimson Lady, and may I have the pleasure of formally introducing you to The Leviathan." The speakers on Cassandra's blood red helmet made Cassy sound like a mature older women rather than the teenager that she was.

Superman's jaw dropped and his eyes shot wide opened as he was immediately stunned speechless.

"Greetings Superman, and welcome to my new embassy." Xander replied also in flawless Kryptonian with a large smile from behind his Leviathan helmet, oh how he loved messing with the assorted super heroes of this dimension.

Superman turned to stare blankly at The Leviathan and blinked dumbly, not answering at all as Kal-El's brain had done a major hiccup.

"Hey Superman, they sound like you when you're speaking that language from your home planet." Booster Gold stated before looking back and forth between the Crimson Lady and Leviathan and then back to Superman. "I hate it when people speak languages I can't understand. Are they talking about me?" Booster questioned with a bit of a petulant whine, trying to talk only loud enough so that Superman could hear him. Unfortunately for Booster Gold both Xander and Cassy were easily able to hear Booster's muttered complaint given the sensors in their helmets and their own bodily upgrades.

Xander turned his black helmeted visage towards Booster Gold, and then Skeets floating next to Booster Gold.

"Well then, we wouldn't want you to feel left out in the surprises now would we?" The Leviathan stated in English, and with that Xander's black gloved hands lashed out and snatched Skeets out of the air.

Booster's eyes shot open wide and Booster took a step towards The Leviathan with a yell of "WAIT!"

However Booster was too late.

With a deft twist of The Leviathan's wrists the robot Skeet's gold shell, which by all appearances looked to be seamless, split in half before spilling out a foot long by five inches thick multicolored caterpillar. The Alien looking insect squirmed as The Leviathan shook it out of Skeets' shell and too the ground, where The Leviathan immediately crushed the insect beneath his foot.

Now it was Booster Gold's turn to be stunned speechless as his jaw dropped and his eyes shot wide open as he watched The Leviathan casually twist his wrists in a counter motion that sealed Skeets back together.

The Leviathan waved over his shoulder for a tuxedo wearing minion to come forward to clean up the smashed insect at his feet while Xander casually explained, "I never did enjoy that Infinity Crisis anyway, and now with the insect Mr. Mind destroyed nobody will be threatening to destroy all other dimensions and timelines but this one." Xander finished by handing Skeets back over to Booster Gold.

Booster cradled his robotic buddy in his arms like a baby, "Skeets, are you ok? Skeets, talk to me buddy!" Booster pleaded.

"Rebooting… Ahhh, so much better." The voice of Skeets said as it floated out of Booster's hands to hover above the hero from the future and turned towards The Leviathan.

"Thank you Leviathan. For an abnormality of the time stream you aren't so bad." Skeets stated to The Leviathan.

Xander smirked behind his helmet in return, "And for a robot that almost broke Asimov's rules, you aren't so bad yourself Skeets." Xander answered smugly.

The little floating gold robot Skeets seemed to bob in the air as if nodding before turning and floating away slowly, "Come Booster, we have to talk about how you didn't notice I was acting differently from my original programming. Your lack of observation could have invariably doomed the timeline." Skeets said as he floated away, Booster Gold following behind begging for forgiveness.

"Wait, what was that about?" Superman questioned in Kryptonian as he had finally shaken off his stupor.

It was the Crimson Lady who replied, a stately voice issuing from her helmet and again and she was speaking in Kryptonian, "The interstellar insect inhabiting the time traveling robot, Skeets, was about to cause an invasion of this Earth that would see the destruction and collapse of multiple dimensions and timelines." She stated with a brief nod of her head as information streamed across the inside of her helmet detailing the DC Comics Infinity Crisis plot as Xander remembered it from comic books.

"The Leviathan's simple action just saved countless numbers of lives from being brutally and prematurely ended." The Crimson Lady finished explaining casually, like it was an everyday occurrence, before turning and greeting the Mayor of Gotham City and the man's wife.

Superman blinked, and then turned to The Leviathan who was simply standing there looking back, "How… How did you know?" Superman questioned, slipping back into English.

"It's simple, I know a lot of things." The Leviathan answered back in English with a simple shrug. "For instance, I know you believe yourself to be the last Kryptonian alive, but are wrong."

The mental blows just seemed to keep coming, and Superman rocked back on his heels at this latest statement before he shook his head and began demanding information, "Wait, what? How do you know this? Who is it and where can I find them? Do they know my family?" Superman begged quickly, slipping back into Kryptonian in his agitated state.

Xander smiled caringly behind his helmet as he could see the emotions play across Superman's face. Though their situations were different in many ways, Xander still knew what it was like to be completely separated from those he called family, and in his initial days, weeks and months in this dimension Xander had truly thought he would never see nor talk again with his Willow, Buffy or Giles.

The Leviathan raised his hand to stall any further questions and replied calmly in Kryptonian, "Your teenaged Cousin Kara still lives, if my information is correct. Her craft was launched at the same time as yours but didn't have the same technology to launch it here as quickly. Kara's craft should arrive here with her in stasis sometime towards the end of summer or early fall, and it should land here in Gotham's bay amidst a shower of Kryptonite pieces. That is all I know, but you are welcome to the information." Xander finished speaking through his helmet, and he saw the smile of wonder and happiness spread across Superman's face.

Superman darted forward and grabbed The Leviathan's hand before shaking it vigorously, "Thank you. Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me and I really hope it is going to be true." Superman finished by giving The Leviathan a hug… only for Superman to realize what he was doing and dart back a few feet while being flustered.

"Um, uh, thanks, and sorry about the hug. I have a Cousin!" Superman stated boisterously as he floated away towards the buffet table with a huge smile plastered across his face.

Behind him, The Leviathan just shook his head before greeting the Mayor of Gotham City and then turning away to greet the President of the United States. The President was accompanied by two pairs of Secret Service Agents and Dr. Amanda Waller, whom Xander had previously scared the crap out of at his first United Nations meeting.

Xander hadn't really thought about it, but he figured that he shouldn't have expected the President of the United States to be the same as in his home dimension. Whereas Bill Clinton had defeated George H. W. Bush to be the President of the United States in his home dimension, here it was some guy named Bill Daniels who was the current President.

"Mr. Leviathan, it's a pleasure to meet you." President Daniels initiated the conversation by sticking out his hand to shake and had a big bleached white toothed smile plastered across his face.

"President Daniels, Leviathan will do as that is both my name and title, though Mr. would be a last resort seeing as I hold somewhere in the realm of fifty separate doctorate degrees." Xander stated through his helmet's speakers as he frowned behind his helmet while shaking the man's hand. There was something about the President that just rubbed Xander the wrong way as the President felt almost as false and artificial as the Sunnydale mayor. Xander made a mental note to send a message to the Scoobies to check out the Mayor of Sunnydale.

President Daniels smile dropped from his face at the same time that the handshake stopped, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend-" The man started, only to be interrupted by The Leviathan.

"Really, then why did you bring the head of your meta-human intelligence services and the current leader of the black ops group the Suicide Squad as your assistant to my Gala?" The Leviathan stated before turning to tower over Dr. Amanda Waller who had accompanied the President. "I'd think that bringing the head of Project Cadmus to a party for a metahuman leader could be seen as an affront. How are the super villains that you force onto your Suicide Squad doing Dr. Waller? Still getting time decreased from their prison sentences for doing the dirty work that your congress doesn't want seeing the light of day?" The Leviathan asked hypothetically as Dr. Waller and the President both paled at Xander's comments, both of them were too surprised to be able to respond.

"No matter." The Leviathan said with a negligent wave of his hand as he seemingly dismissed the President and his aide; Xander didn't have anything against the United States as it was his original home. No, he just didn't like politicians, and he knew the evil that Dr. Waller had and would continue to commit in her pursuit of the perfect specimen that could "protect" the United States.

"Ah, King Orin of Atlantis." The Leviathan stated, talking to Aquaman who appeared out of the lift behind the President along with a pair of Atlantian guards.

"How are your wife and child doing? Have you met President Daniels before, I think you may want to talk to him about some of his administration's latest moves on deep sea oil drilling, oh, and I believe Black Adam will be here, he wanted to speak to you about fig and olive oil exports to your kingdom." The Leviathan said in passing as he shook Aquaman's hand and gestured towards the still stunned President Daniels.

"They are doing good, thank you for asking Leviathan, and yes, I'd like to talk to you President Daniels." Aquaman stated before wheeling on the President.

"Did you know that one of your proposed drilling spots will be right in the middle of one of our kelp farms? I'm sorry, but I don't come and dig for uranium in the middle of your Iowa corn fields." Orin stated as he finished greeting The Leviathan and swung his frowning visage towards the US President. Aquaman then immediately sequestered the now clearly flustered President as the two walked away towards a bar to grab drinks while Orin steered the President by the elbow; the Secret Service Agents and the Atlantian Royal guards eying each other up as threats and pacing along behind.

Meanwhile, The Leviathan just stared down at Dr. Waller until the women let out a choked "Eep!" and fled further into the room after the President.

Xander smirked evilly behind his helmet. "Ah, screwing with politicians, something else to make me like this job more and more… though I can't help but feel dirty in dealing with them." Xander mumbled to himself before leaning over to the Crimson Lady who had finished greeting the Mayor and had come to stand next to Xander while The Leviathan finished talking with the President.

"The trick is to keep the politicians off kilter, make them underestimate you one second and then overwhelm them the next." Xander broadcast from his helmet's communications system to Cassandra's. "But most of all, never show weakness to a strong enemy, and more so to a strong ally." Xander finished tutoring Cassy, and the Crimson Lady silently nodded her head; her red helmet bobbing with her agreement. "Don't worry about not meeting the President, you will have plenty of time to talk to him I'm sure, but we have more important people for you to meet." Xander finished before looking to his next guests.

"Speaking of strong allies," Xander mumbled quietly enough so that only Cassie could hear him before standing up and moving forward to meet his first ally and the man's family.

"Ah, Black Adam, how nice of you to accept my invitation, it has been too long since we saw each other, and this must be Isis and Osiris." The Leviathan stated as his newest guests arrived, Black Adam in his gold and black uniform was accompanied by an exotic looking female beauty of Egyptian descent and a teenage boy also darkly tanned; both of Black Adam's family members were wearing white flowing tops and wraps that looked to have come right out of some Egyptian hieroglyphics found in an ancient pyramid.

"Greetings Leviathan. Yes, this is my love, my Isis, and her brother Osiris; both of whom you have met previously." Black Adam stated as both The Leviathan and the Kahndaq ruler gripped forearms while Isis and Osiris gave shallow bows.

"Wonderful to see you again my dear." The Leviathan stated as he carefully took Isis's hand and kissed the back of it before turning to Osiris and introducing the muscular young man to the Crimson Lady.

"Osiris, I'd like to introduce you to my sister the Crimson Lady, who behind that helmet of hers is an attractive young lady of about your age." Xander said with a smirk from behind his helmet as he saw Cassandra's helmet bob as if she was shyly looking down for a moment. Cassandra might have the education of an evil overlord, but she was still a teenage girl after all.

"Greetings Crimson Lady." The teen Osiris smiled while taking the Crimson Lady's gloved hand and kissing the back of it, causing Cassandra to blush behind her helmet. "Perhaps later you and I could speak more, or perhaps dance?" Osiris questioned before looking briefly to The Leviathan and Black Adam, both of whom nodded in silent acceptance while Black Adam smirked slightly.

"I, I'd like that." The Crimson Lady stated as she saw The Leviathan nod. Both teenagers had problems finding friends whom they could mix with as Xander was a bit protective of his sister.

For some reason boys were a bit scared of spending time with Cassy after Xander introduced them to his version of a shovel speech. Only Xander's Spark inspired shovel speech included a visit to the armory and a walk past Xander's carbonite freezing chamber; a kind of modern day version of the shovel and an acre of land speech but it went something like "If you hurt Cassandra, well then I have an army of laser toting Jäger's and a carbonite freezing chamber, and nobody will find your frozen blasted shell of a body for a million years after I launch it into space."

Black Adam was equally protective of Osiris after the boy's former friend Sobek turned out to be one of the horsemen of the Apocalypse, namely Famine. Thus Osiris rarely got the chance to spend time with people of his own age and had a severe shortage of approved friends whom Black Adam didn't threaten with a vengeful lightning bolt.

Both teens smiled and moved to the side to chat while Isis, Adam and The Leviathan smiled to themselves.

"I appreciate you introducing my brother to your sister Leviathan; he gets so lonely in the palace." Isis stated while laying her hand on the elbow of her husband Black Adam.

Xander smiled from behind his helmet and nodded, "It was my pleasure, my sister needs to gain friends in places outside my Empire, and our Alliance has held firm enough that I trust you and yours. Now if you would excuse me, I see somebody that I need to talk to and I understand that you may want to talk to King Orin of Atlantis regarding some of your people's exports." The Leviathan finished, waving in the direction of where Aquaman and President Daniels were arguing by one of the bars in a corner of the room.

Black Adam silently led Isis away while calling for Osiris to follow as The Leviathan turned to address the graceful dark haired young woman who had just exited the elevators and looked a bit uncomfortable with the ruler of the Empire of The Leviathan moving towards her.

"Greetings Selena Kyle, I'm glad you chose to accept the invitation that was given to you." Xander said from behind his helmet, the tentative smile on his face was hidden by his helmet though it wavered as he approached his one time lover, the burglar known as Catwoman.

Selena was dressed in a black silk dress with a simple set of pearl earrings and necklace, and she bit her lip for a second before bobbing a curtsy that she held before The Leviathan while looking up at him inquisitively and with a hint of confusion on her face.

"Greetings Leviathan, um Sir, um, how do you know my name?" The normally suave and sultry female cat burglar was normally more secure in her position, but the fact that The Leviathan knew who she was and the fact that Xander Harris was nowhere in sight threw Selena for a bit of a loop.

Xander smiled a bit at her comment and reached forward with his gloved hand to take Selena's own hand, "Please rise." He stated as Selena rose out of her curtsey only for The Leviathan to lean forward and touch the back of her hand to his helmet as if kissing it and then speaking as he rose back to his full height.

"As for how I know your name, well Xander Harris has spoken about you a lot, though he wasn't so sure if you would be attending after the last time you parted ways." The Leviathan finished as Xander released Selena's hand and stepped back from her; the unasked question hanging at the end of his statement.

This was one of those hard times when Xander felt torn to throw away his fake personas and just talk to Selena, especially since he could see multiple emotions flow across Selena's face at his pronouncement that he, Xander, had been thinking about her.

Selena's eyes seemed to gleam happily for a second before indecision and sadness crept over her face only to be followed by resolve as she bit her lip in thought before looking up into the reflective surface of The Leviathan's helmet and replying,. "Well then, if you know about our last parting then you probably should know that there was a bit of a miscommunication. I'd really love to clear it up with him… is, is Xander here?" Selena asked the last part, hope coming through her look on her face.

Xander really wanted to just take her in his arms and end the charade, but he saw that people were coming out of the elevator behind Selena and knew that there was no way that he could drop his mask as The Leviathan. There might have been a time and place when Xander had been a solo Scooby where he could have tossed aside his mask, the goof ball persona for instance, to show his true self to somebody he cared for. However here and now millions of people depended on the protection of the mysterious and powerful persona of The Leviathan. The faceless ruler was a more powerful deterrent and protection for his people than any smiling teenaged face could do, so Xander ignored the voice of his libido that was yelling at him to take her in his arms; or just take her, period.

Xander looked chagrined behind his helmet, but then smirked as he replied, "Well I'm sure Xander Harris will love to talk to you, and you never know where he will show up, but I'm positive that he is here tonight and would love to talk to you."

"Really?" Selena said a bit kittenishly, and Xander struggled not to chuckle as Selena subconsciously bounced from foot to foot as a smile split her face.

"Really, I do not make it a habit to make any statement that I don't believe to be true. Now go enjoy the party young lady." The Leviathan commanded as he rose to his full height above Selena.

Selena looked like she was about to say something in reply, but settled for a big smile and another curtsy before swaying off again, the prideful swish to her hips once again on display as Catwoman strutted her stuff into the ballroom. She was looking forward to reconnecting with Xander Harris and the saucy smirk on her lips made that quiet clear.

'Thank you God for women like that, because God I hate to see her go, but love to watch her leave.' Xander's inner libido chipped in as they enjoyed the sway in Catwoman's step as she waltzed into the room.

'The motion is seconded, but now is not the time libido.' Xander posited back, only for his inner discussion to be interrupted.

"So Alexander Harris will be here tonight." A feminine voice distracted Xander from his enjoyment of watching Selena's strutting catwalk.

Xander turned his helmeted visage to see who had interrupted his viewing pleasure only to come face to face with Bruce Wayne and Bruce's date Talia al Ghul; with several other individuals behind them. It was Talia, however, who was waiting for an answer to the question she had just posited.

"Talia al Ghul, a pleasure." The Leviathan stated as he took Talia's hand and bowed over it while ignoring Bruce Wayne, something that caused the undercover caped crusader to frown for a moment before Bruce recovered.

"Are you in town for pleasure or business Ms. Al Ghul?" The Leviathan finished as he towered over the shorter Talia.

Talia kept a blank expression on her face as she replied with a bow of her head, "Primarily pleasure, though my father asked me to come to the city. I believe you mentioned that a Mr. Harris will be in attendance?" She finished, not allowing The Leviathan to distract her from her original question even if the briskness of the question could be deemed slightly insulting.

Xander paused behind his helmet and his eyes flitted to Talia's date only to see Bruce's eyes go hard as no doubt Batman realized something deeper was going on than just a peripheral interest in Mr. Harris, and don't for a minute think that Bruce didn't remember that Mr. Harris was the name of the vigilante who had been seen traveling through Europe. That coupled with the fact that Ra's al Ghul was nothing if not cagey left Bruce knowing for sure that Talia had been sent to Gotham for more than just fun if she was asking about the whereabouts of a person of interest to the Justice League.

It was only a momentary lapse, still Xander's hyper-acute senses picked up Bruce Wayne's brief slip. However Bruce's face quickly flipped back into that mask of a vapid playboy industrialist who was merely interested in his date's comments.

The Leviathan paused, and then slowly replied, "I would be lying if I stated that Mr. Harris wouldn't be attending; after all you did overhear my statement to Ms. Kyle." The Leviathan stated, answering the question but not really giving Ms. Ghul any new information or room to further that tangent of discussion. The fact that The Leviathan didn't expand on that statement was perhaps telling in itself, and a brief thought flitted through Talia and Bruce's heads, 'Was The Leviathan protecting Alexander Harris?'

"As I was saying, it is a pleasure to meet you Ms. Al Ghul, I do hope you enjoy yourself tonight. And you too Mr. Wayne, I look forward to seeing your company's bid on mass producing our cure for cancer and malaria. Do keep yourself out of trouble, I know how much you billionaire playboys like to have a good time at parties, but it is just shocking what can happen when people get out of bounds." The Leviathan finished while giving Bruce Wayne a handshake; a handshake that wasn't released until after The Leviathan had stressed his last statement about staying out of trouble while applying a bit more than normal human strength to his grip and hinting at the outcome of Bruce Wayne's previous unannounced visit to Castle Wulfenbach.

Bruce's mask slipped ever so imperceptibly as he gazed up into his reflected image in the black mirrored helmet of The Leviathan. However as fast as the greeting had come, The Leviathan had finished it and then seemingly dismissed the pair as the ruler of the Empire turned to greet the guests behind Bruce and Talia.

'Ah, the man of the hour. Bwa ha ha ha ha ha.' Xander thought evilly to himself as Lex Luthor and Mercy Graves finished exiting the elevator and moved towards the greeting line.

Xander focused all of his attention on Lex, but still Xander was easily able to see that Oliver Queen, of Queen Industries, and his date had also exited the lift. In the briefest of seconds Xander's computer systems ran a facial recognition program pinpointing Oliver's blonde haired date, and information quickly streamed across the inside of Xander's helmet until he had properly identified Oliver Queen's date as one Dinah Lance, aka the hero known as the Black Canary. This made sense after all, the billionaire Oliver Queen of Queen Industries was also the mild mannered persona of the Green Arrow and a member of the Justice League, and it was well known that the Green Arrow and the Black Canary were an 'item.'

Still Xander had work to do and couldn't get distracted with the details, so The Leviathan approached the bald and smirking Metropolis tycoon Lex Luthor.

"Ah, Mr. Luthor, how good of you to join us." The Leviathan stated in his most soothing suave voice, Xander was smirking behind his helmet as he shook Lex Luthor's hand when the man had approached.

Lex smirked and gave The Leviathan a strong handshake in return, "It's a pleasure to meet you Leviathan. I look forward to LexCorp being chosen as the company that will be licensing your medical technology for distribution within the United States." Lex stated confidently.

"LexCorp hasn't won the contract yet Lex." Oliver Queen pushed his way forward, "I believe Queen Industries is better situated for distribution given our diverse warehouse and manufacturing facilities. Oliver Queen, nice to meet you Leviathan." Oliver stated as he shook The Leviathan's hand with a debonair smile on his face.

"A pleasure." The Leviathan stated before making a casual wave as a nondescript server moved forward with a tray of champagne flutes.

Lex Luthor took a drink off of the tray while totally ignoring the young female server who handed it to him. "Yes yes, but The Leviathan's technology is state of the art and LexCorp is known for integrating latest generation technology and getting it released to the public quicker than its competitors." Lex took a drink from his champagne without so much as thanking the server or acknowledging her. If he had paid attention to her, then he could have seen the brief smirk that passed on the server's lips and he might not have been so quick to drink from the glass.

"If by 'latest technology' you mean 'weapons' and you changed the word 'public' to 'dictators', then yes I would agree with you." Oliver Queen snarked at Lex Luthor with a sneer on his lips as Oliver also received a drink from the tray and nodded politely to the server.

Xander smiled behind his helmet as he saw Lex drink his champagne. Xander figured that he should include Bruce Wayne in the conversation as well, "And what does Bruce Wayne of Wayne Enterprises think about the comments of his competitors?" The Leviathan posited as Bruce Wayne and his date moved forward back into the conversation.

Bruce politely waved off the offer of champagne but offered one to his date Talia. "I think our proposals will speak for themselves. I know I have an excellent team putting together our offer, but frankly this is a party after all and I'd rather enjoy myself tonight." Bruce stated with a dashing smile, putting on his best billionaire playboy impression.

Lex Luthor frowned in disgust at Bruce's actions, while Oliver Queen, also known as the hero the Green Arrow, smiled as he knew Bruce's act for what it was.

Xander smirked behind his helmet as he was also party to the joke. "Absolutely, and how rude of me not to introduce myself to your dates." The Leviathan answered before taking the hand of Oliver Queen's date and bowing over it as if kissing it with his helmet. "What a lovely lark you have here Oliver, almost a beautiful song bird or Canary I would say." Xander broadcast from his helmet, noticing both Oliver and Dinah his date pale at The Leviathan's statements.

Xander smirked again while thinking to himself, 'God I love my day job.'

'Go get em boss, and see if you can't snag some of the lovely ladies to be part of the harem.' Xander's inner voice of libido quipped.

'Shut up libido, now's not the time.' Xander thought back to the little voice that always seemed to have only one thing on its mind.

"Mercy Graves, my Assistant." Lex introduced Mercy to The Leviathan, and both shook hands as Mercy was wearing her uniform grey chauffeur's outfit.

"A pleasure." The Leviathan stated, and Mercy silently nodded in agreement.

Xander's next quip died in his throat and he felt his anger start to rise as he looked over Mercy's head and saw two women exit the elevator.

"If you will excuse me." The Leviathan abruptly halted his conversation with the industrialist trio and pushed his way through them to stand with his guards in front of the elevators, a palpable aura of anger starting to radiate from his being as the Amazon Queen Hippolyta and her daughter Princess Diana exited the elevator.

'Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire,' Xander thought to himself as a frown crossed his face and he refused to give his hand or even bow to the two women that moved towards him.

"Queen Hippolyta, what a… pleasant surprise. I didn't think that after the last time we spoke that you and I would have the …pleasure of conversing so soon." The Leviathan stated while pausing to pick the politest way of saying he was ticked off as battle clad silver female figured guards moved forward to silently flank his position barring entrance to the ballroom. Even the Crimson Lady realized that something was going on and moved forward to join her brother facing down the now clearly uncomfortable pair of Amazons.

"In fact, I had been giving serious thought to canceling our treaty due to irreconcilable differences. I believe that is the polite way of terming our last parting words?" The Leviathan finished; his voice smooth but his statements abrupt and heated as he turned to Wonder Women without even giving Hippolyta a chance to reply.

"Princess, I know that the invitation to your embassy stated that you were welcome to bring a guest, but I never expected such a noble addition to our party," The Leviathan said with a stiff head nod to Diana.

Hippolyta colored due to shame and seeing now with a clearer head devoid of pride, she realized just how badly she had damaged her and her nation's relationship with The Leviathan. Unused to doing so to any other than the Greek Gods, Hippolyta dropped to one knee as she gave The Leviathan a bow of contrition, startling Xander.

"That is in fact why I've come, and on behalf of myself and my people I offer apologies for my previous words and actions." The Queen finished not looking up at The Leviathan while Diana also bowed her head beside her mother.

Xander was speechless as he stood there. The voices and emotions in him warred between wanting to grind his teeth and throw the two women from his floating palace, preferably literally out the window, or accepting the apology as he truly did understand the show of remorse that Hippolyta was giving. Never in all of his knowledge about the Amazons had he seen them bow before a man or male figure of any kind.

'They are weak and undeserving. Crush them under your boot and assume their power as your own.' Xander's latest inner voice of megalomania and world domination spoke in Xander's mind, urging Xander's darker side to come forward in reply.

It was the Heterodyne persona who purposed an alternative, 'Hey, I'm not about to be the angel on your shoulder, but I do think you should at least give her leave to rise and hear what she has to say. It's not like listening for a second will hurt us whereas jumping to conclusions might.' The Heterodyne persona in Xander's mind left it at that, and the other voices were silent. However, the silence was mostly because the voice of reason was busy keeping its hand clasped firmly over the mouth of Xander's libido who was chomping at the bit to yell something about harems.

Xander stared at the pair and looked silently towards the Crimson Lady who stood next to him. Xander's sister Cassandra, a voice of reason and patience in his life, laid her red gloved hand on his arm and suggested through her helmet's speakers. "It won't hurt to allow them to speak their apology or hear what they want to say before you decide on what to do with them. I would suggest patience brother." The Crimson Lady stated.

Xander stared down at his sister from behind his helmet, and then back to Hippolyta before taking a brief moment to calm himself before replying.

"What do you want Hippolyta?" The Leviathan asked, not accepting the offered apology, but not dismissing it at the same time.

Hippolyta raised her head to look at The Leviathan and stood to her full height, still having to look upwards into the helmet of The Leviathan. "If you would be so willing, and only if you are willing, I would ask that we could have a private meeting later this evening to settle our differences and so that I can show you the full extent of my sorrow at my dishonorable words and actions. I was not… in my right mind, a fact that has been brought to my attention relatively recently." Hippolyta finishes with an endearing smile towards Diana, before giving The Leviathan another pensive look.

Xander paused and just stared silently at Hippolyta from behind his helmet.

Finally after several moments without comment, he answered.

"I will be honest with you Queen Hippolyta. After our last visit I was not looking forward to seeing you again anytime soon, especially after what my new tribe of Valkyries has told me." The Leviathan starts, and Hippolyta diverts her eyes in shame for a moment before turning back to stare back again at the mirrored surface of The Leviathan's helmet while he continued to speak. "However, I will heed your request for a meeting at the end of the evening's gala. I look forward to hearing what you have to say at that time, and if our differences can lead us to a mutual understanding."

Hippolyta and Diana both smiled as Hippolyta responded, "I thank you for your willingness to listen."

The Leviathan in turn nodded and stepped out of the way while the Crimson Lady moved forward to talk to the two Amazons and to lead them into the room while Xander moved to greet the next group of people to enter the room.

After the emotional roller coaster with first Selena, then the interaction with Talia and Lex Luthor, followed by Hippolyta, well frankly Xander was looking for a distraction. Fortunately Lady Luck or Karma decided that Xander could get a break, and he smiled as he saw three figures exit the elevator.

The first of the two figures were easy to recognize, Police Commissioner Gordon and his wheelchair bound daughter Barbara Gordon. However the third figure was only visible to Xander due to his helmet's ability to see through the shadows cast over the third figure's face by the long dark cloak and hood that the third guest wore.

Xander smirked behind his helmet as he moved forward to greet them. "Greetings Commissioner and Barbara Gordon, I'm glad you could leave your police department and computers behind for the night to join us. I do hope you will save me a dance Ms. Gordon?" The Leviathan stated, shaking first Commissioner Gordon's hand before leaning down to brush the back of Barbara's hand with his helmet, leaving the young Ms. Gordon blushing.

There was something about The Leviathan that flustered her, and the comment about her leaving her computers could have meant that he knew about her computer company she owned, or perhaps that she was the computer genius, The Oracle. Due to Barbara's unfortunate interactions with someone named RedTree blocking access to information on The Leviathan, Barbara believed it was the latter but held her tongue as it was impossible to get a read on The Leviathan through his mirrored helmet.

"Greetings Leviathan, we're happy to attend and glad that you decided to place your embassy in our city. It should mean jobs and the potential to re-gentrify some of the more high crime areas of the city." Commissioner Gordon replied pleasantly.

The Leviathan turned his gaze away from the blushing Barbara Gordon and addressed her father James, "No thanks are needed, I hate to see crime flourish, and no offense but there isn't a city in the United States in more need of a strong hand." The Leviathan answered with a wave of his hand. "Putting my Embassy here gives my people the ability to clean up the portion of the city directly adjacent to the Embassy as well as seeing if we can't clean the place up a bit."

James Gordon flushed at The Leviathan's comments and stammered, unsure of whether he should be angry at his city being insulting, or happy that The Leviathan was willing to help out with the crime situation in the city. Fortunately, or unfortunately as he would quickly learn, Commissioner Gordon was saved from making a reply when The Leviathan turned to the tall cloak wearing figure that had taken the elevator lift with the Gordon's up to the floating castle.

"Doctor, I do believe that you can dispose of the disguise." The Leviathan addressed the figure. "Your position here is safe, and if you have reviewed my proposal and agree to follow my rules then my offer of asylum is good and your wife will be healed in no time." The ruler of the Empire finished and Commissioner Gordon and Barbara turned to see whom The Leviathan was addressing, only to see the figure remove his cloak to reveal none other than one Dr. Victor Fries, also known as Mr. Freeze, one of Gotham's greatest Supervillains.

"Dear God!" James Gordon said as he took a step back, interposing himself between Mr. Freeze and his daughter Barbara's wheelchair while going for his side arm.

"Halt!" The Leviathan commanded loudly while at the same time his hand shot out and locked onto James Gordon's wrist, stopping the police commissioner from drawing his firearm.

To the surprise of Barbara and James Gordon, and for that matter a large portion of the guests who had already arrived or were exiting the elevator, the tall blue mechanical suit wearing Mr. Freeze bowed his head and dropped to one knee before The Leviathan.

"I humbly request asylum of The Empire of The Leviathan, and foreswear my life of crime." Doctor Fries requested while bowing his head on bended knee, only to look up from behind his frost covered glass helmet with a pleading look in his cold pale colored eyes, "Just please heal my Nora, it's the only thing I ever wanted to do." The villain pleaded.

"Rise Victor. We will heal your wife and return you to her arms, and both of you shall be healed." The Leviathan stated magnanimously as he reached out a hand to easily pull the doctor and his heavy metal cryogenic suit off the ground. Mr. Freeze had been relegated to the cryogenic metal spacesuit like outfit after an accidental freezing while trying to find a cure for his wife's seemingly incurable genetic disease.

For the first time in Victor's life the geneticist and cryogenics expert, turned villain for lack of a better means to earn research money, looked into the reflective of The Leviathan's helmet with a sense of hope.

Mr. Freeze took The Leviathan's hand and shook it vigorously while replying, "When you sent me the video of that Jäger humanoid being unfrozen and healed of both psychological and frost based injuries, well I knew that your promises to heal my wife were true."

Xander smirked from beneath his helmet as he allowed the Dr. to continue pumping his hand up and down. "Yes Mr. Freeze, I took some of the research from a relative of mine and looked into the use of food preparation technology for healing and resuscitation purposes. When mixed with the concoction in my vats a patient such as yourself or your wife is sure to have a one hundred percent chance of healing."

"Yes yes, simply amazing Leviathan." Dr. Victor Fries stated as he finally stopped shaking The Leviathan's hand. "It was simply amazing I say, and to watch the Jäger being unfrozen with only the side effect of a lack of an inner monologue, why that is better than anything I've ever been able to do. And don't get me started on the use of the EZ-Bake Oven technology, absolutely ingenious my leader!" Victor said gleefully from the glass encased confines of his helmet.

Xander just smiled from behind his helmet and waited for the doctor to say his fill, as the man was still ranting about Xander's genius.

"Why I never would have thought to use food in the revival and healing process." Victor exclaimed, waving his metal armored hands about excitedly. "And to think, the patient is cured and awoken to find fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. Warm cookies, mmmm… what I wouldn't give to be able to eat warm food once again." The Doctor finally stopped talking, a faraway look coming to the man's face as he dreamed about warm chocolate chip cookies.

"Yes, my people only get the best." The Leviathan finished, slapping Mr. Freeze on the shoulder and started to lead him into the ballroom. "Join me and my science team and not only will I fully cure and heal your wife and yourself of your freezer burn ailments, but you can have all the warm chocolate chip cookies you want. I find that Science is best served with an extra large side order of warm food, possibly French Fries. Why remind me some time to tell you about the interesting uses for a stein of beer and some German sausages in the reanimation of dead flesh." The Leviathan stated before waving Igor to come forward.

Igor moved away from where he was assisting the Crimson Lady in the greeting line and moved towards Xander's position while The Leviathan continued speaking, "I'm sure we could talk for hours about the wonders of science and good food, why I wrote an entire textbook on the science and uses of the Twinkie. However I can only imagine that you are impatient to be rejoined with your wife as soon as possible. Go with Igor, he will arrange everything." The Leviathan finished, and gestured towards Igor who bowed and started to lead Dr. Victor Fries away.

Mr. Freeze started to follow Xander's chief minion, only to stop and turn towards The Leviathan one more time, "Thank you Leviathan, you can't imagine how much I owe you for healing my wife, for this second chance to just be happy."

Xander smiled from behind his helmet, "No worries, just do your part to help my people, and I will call us even."

"Leviathan, how could you give asylum to Mr. Freeze? He's one of Gotham's worst criminals!" Commissioner Gordon interrupted Xander's happy mood with his comment, and Xander turned his helmeted visage towards the Commissioner and his stunned daughter.

"Now now Commissioner Gordon, Victor Fries has paid his dues to society and was released on parol over a month ago. He is now under the protection of the Empire of The Leviathan, and will soon be on his way to being a fully integrated part of my science team." The Leviathan responded evenly.

James Gordon looked stunned, and Barbara's jaw literally dropped open.

"But he's a mad man." Commissioner Gordon tried to explain.

Xander smirked evilly from behind his helmet before answering.

"Yes, he should fit right in with the rest of the scientists." The Leviathan stated jovially as he turned and moved into the mass of party goers, leaving a stunned and bewildered pair of Gordon's behind. At the buffet table, a glaring Bruce Wayne watched the confrontation with a growing scowl.

The party was hopping, in the proverbial sense, meaning that the dance floor, the buffet and bar areas and the tables scattered about the room were all full of people standing about talking. A mix of human and Jäger servers wove their way in and out of the party attendees, which in and of itself was an interesting sight.

"Bruce, would you please try and relax." Talia al Ghul pleaded to her date who was acting more like Batman and less like the persona of Bruce Wayne.

"I don't like it Talia, something about this situation stinks." Bruce frowned as he watched Victor Fries mix and mingle freely with the guests.

Right as soon as Bruce spoke, a steaming tray of individual helpings of some sort of meat pie was thrust under his nose. "Alligatorz Piez? Ve makez it Gothamz stylez, lotz of ze pepperz. Yumz!" A purple furred female Jäger offered, holding out the meat pies to Bruce, and then giving him a wink.

"Grrrrrrr." Bruce growled at the Jäger with a glare.

"Thankz vou, butz I'm vorking andz your herez witz your date cutiez. Ve can rassle somez odtzur time sveetz cheeks." The female Jäger stated with a wink and a slap to Bruce's rear end, before waltzing off with a sway in her hips.

Talia giggled at Bruce's now shocked reaction and he turned his glare towards her, only to be interrupted as the lights in the ballroom dimmed and a spotlight shone on the figure of The Leviathan who stood on the stage in front of the accordion heavy orchestra.

"Welcome to my Embassy," The Leviathan's voice broadcast, the power of Xander's Spark immediately grabbing and captivating the attention of everybody in the audience. "I look forward to many years of prosperous trade and partnership with the United States and the World Governments for the forward growth of humanity and benefit of Man…" The Leviathan paused and looked at Hippolyta and Diana, "and Woman kind. Thank you, now we will start the dancing as servers will be moving about the room to share some of my Empire's delicacies. Enjoy."

The Leviathan then floated off of the stage as the dance floor cleared of people talking and The Crimson Lady glided out of the crowd to join The Leviathan in the middle of the floor.

The music swelled and The Leviathan placed one hand on the small of the Crimson Lady's back, and the other holding a hand, and the waltz began; if a little different in that it had a hint of a polka to the music.

Those watching the first dance begin could see some sort of private discussion go on with the dancers, as every now and then the helmet of the Crimson Lady would nod, followed by that of The Leviathan's. However the first dance was short and ended with The Leviathan bowing to The Crimson Lady who curtseyed in response before The Leviathan led The Crimson Lady over towards Osiris for her second dance as other dancers entered the floor.

Nobody else could see it, but Xander smirked behind his mask as he left the two teenagers dancing behind him and moved across the dance floor to where he saw Barbara Gordon looking longingly at the dancers while her father Commissioner Gordon was distracted talking to the Mayor of Gotham City.

"You look like you aren't enjoying the party as much as you should Ms. Gordon." Xander stated through the speakers on his helmet as he looked down at the wheelchair bound former Batgirl. Back in Sunnydale growing up, both Xander and Jesse had thought that Batgirl had gotten a bum deal with the Joker shooting her in the back. Add to that the fact that Willow had always felt bad for her fellow red head, seeing as Barbara had bright red hair that matched the color of Willow's own, well the original Scoobies had all agreed that it was a shame Barbara was never healed.

Barbara was startled by The Leviathan's question as she had been lost in her thoughts and hadn't seen him approaching.

"Heh, well it's not like I'll be able to do the tango or waltz any time soon, so you will forgive me if I feel a bit left out of the dance portion of the gala." Barbara replied chagrinly, laughing at herself bitterly as she gestured to her unresponsive legs.

Xander's smirk grew behind his helmet, and he replied jovially, "So then, would you care to dance?"

Barbara's pale skin flushed red with a mix of embarrassment, anger and some fluster as there was a bit of an aura about the man that attracted her. Still as a redhead with a fitting temper, the anger won out.

"How dare you! I just said-" Barbara started to snap, only for The Leviathan to cut off her statement as he bent down and picked her up out of her chair.

"I'll take that as a yes." The Leviathan interrupted as he spun her in his arms, twirling the two of them out onto the dance floor with Barbara's paralyzed legs dangling as he easily held her shorter body off the ground.

Barbara just gaped up at the larger and taller Leviathan, and she looked around to see if anybody else saw what was going on. Barbara's head tried to track around the room as they spun, and she noticed Bruce Wayne drop his drink and move forward over the shoulder of The Leviathan; only Bruce was intercepted by his date Talia who pulled Bruce out onto the dance floor.

Xander smiled behind his helmet, noticing that Barbara was moving beyond the stunned phase and back towards getting angry, so he decided to intercede before it became a situation. Xander realized that he wouldn't be able to play out the situation as long as he would like, especially since he saw that James Gordon had realized that his daughter was missing from her wheelchair and currently in the arms of The Leviathan.

"So Oracle, do you miss being Batgirl?" The Leviathan questioned, his words halting Barbara's chain of thought before she could demand he put her down.

A little part of the back of her mind answered 'yes,' but Barbara's lips followed the easy lie that she kept up to those not in Batman's inner circle.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I've never been Batgirl and I don't know who this Oracle is that you are referring too." Barbara stated, trying to look away from the mirrored surface of The Leviathan's helmet, but was helpless to escape the dance floor.

Xander whirled Barbara deeper into the crowd of dancers out on the floor, keeping her well away from her father who was trying to move forward as well as out of the range of the dancing Bruce and Talia. "We both know that is a lie. However in return for your dance, I want to give you a gift." Xander said with a great deal of care coming through in his voice as it was quietly broadcast through the speaker system on his helmet, and a sincere look spread across his face hidden behind his helmet.

Barbara turned her head quickly to look up at the face plate of The Leviathan, only to hiss in pain as a sharp penetrating stab penetrated her back right above the point where her spine was severed by The Joker's bullet many years before.

Barbara's eyes shot open in pain, but then just as suddenly as the pain came it left, and with it a tingling sensation started to form down her back… and into her legs.

Barbara's head spun, and the whirling of the dance blended with the mix of music, beat and swirling dancers made her feel like the world was spinning like a top.

"What did you do?" She gasped, clinging tightly to The Leviathan as the tingles became pins and needles like sensations and her legs started to shiver, the first independent movement that they had made in over five years.

Xander smiled a big grin that was hidden by his Leviathan mask as he answered, "What should have been done a long time ago. You would think that with Kal-El's Kryptonian technology, the Amazon's purple ray and all of Batman's corporate enterprises that they would have simply fixed your spinal cord before this." Xander finished, an absolute shocked look spreading across Barbara's face as his waltz spun her in a circle, only to release her from his arms and allow her to twirl across the floor as The Leviathan signaled for the music to stop playing.

Silence immediately settled over the crowd as the music stopped and all eyes turned towards the path of the paralyzed girl who seemed to spin out of control. Or, at least to what they thought was a paralyzed girl as she twirled effortlessly to catch herself on her own too legs while wearing a pair of heels as well. Barbara finished her pirouette like motion to stop and stare standing, staring down at her own two fully healed and functional legs.

Barbara's jaw was wide open, and she looked down at her legs, and then back at The Leviathan.

"But, but why?" She stuttered to say, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Because," The Leviathan replied, his voice filled with sincerity and easily heard by everybody on the dance floor, "Because it was the right thing to do."

"Barbara…?" James Gordon's voice asked hesitantly, tears forming in Barbara's father's eyes as he finally pushed his way through the dancers only to watch his daughter standing again.

"Daddy, I can walk again!" Barbara said joyfully, and ran across the floor to crash into her father's arms; both father and daughter hugging and crying with joy at the miraculous cure.

There was crying and sobbing in the audience, and many a man had to retrieve their handkerchiefs for use by their dates, though some of the men were crying also; Batman would never admit to the moisture in his eyes, it must have been an eyelash in his eye… yeah, that was it.

In the midst of the reunion and as everyone watched and clapped for the father and daughter, The Leviathan disappeared.

While most in the crowd were excitedly watching the display of Empire healing technology and The Leviathan's actions, well others were not so happy about the display.

"What a pitiful display of weakness." Lex Luthor sneered under his breath to Mercy Graves as they watched father and daughter hug each other and cry in each other's arms. "The Leviathan could have had control of Gotham's police force if he had played his cards right and blackmailed Gordon, but no, he's just as weak as I expected." Lex finished while finishing off the last of his champagne.

"Well then it should certainly make negotiations easier from our perspective." Mercy added from Lex's side in the corner of the room where they had positioned themselves for the best view of the party and its guests.

Lex sneered at his assistant, "Just because he shows weaknesses in caring for people when there isn't anything in it for him doesn't mean that The Leviathan is stupid." Lex stated, gesturing towards the President of the United States who was excitedly talking to his companion Dr. Waller while pointing towards the Gordon family.

"The perfect example being the excitement that seems to have been created in President Daniels and his advisor." Lex explained, "I'm sure that the President and his political party will be only more than happy to give The Leviathan whatever he wants given proven results rather than just the promises The Leviathan had suggested before the United Nations. Still, something about this whole situation smells fishy."

A tray of still wiggling squid like tentacles was thrust in front of Lex's face by old wrinkled feminine hands.

"Calamari?" The server offered with a large smile on her face while making sure the baby Cthulhu tentacles were right under Lex's nose. "We grow our own variety of squid monsters which produce the best Calamari known to man." The white eyed old server said with a large smirk and a bit of a sparkle in her pale milky colored eyes.

"Urp." Lex paled and covered his mouth as he struggled to not throw up as a sudden strong nauseous feeling immediately overtook him.

"Hey! Get that out of here." Mercy demanded, pushing the tray away from Lex Luthor while the server merely nodded her head and departed with a smile.

"Are you ok Lex?" Mercy questioned with concern as her boss started wavering on his feet and broke out in a sweat.

Lex didn't reply verbally, but the loud disgusting gurgling sound that issued from Lex's stomach was all the reply that was needed.

Lex Luthor's eyes went large and he clamped one hand over his mouth and the other over his rear end before sprinting across the ballroom towards where the bathrooms were positioned, Mercy chasing after him asking if there was anything she could do to help.

The duo sprinted across the room totally unaware of the milky white eyes that followed their path with a malicious smirk on her face. Magda's job had been successful in completing the job that Jenny had begun earlier that evening. A two part chemical reaction, a tag chemical that was cued to a specific scent trigger hidden in a glass of champagne, add the scent of raw Cthulhu tentacles and wa-la; double double toil and trouble, stomach churn and bowels rumble for Lex Luthor.

Throughout the room the serving Gypsies paused briefly to smirk at Lex Luthor's disjointed sprint to the restroom, and it was all Magda could do to keep from chuckling evilly, for Lex Luthor's punishment was only beginning to build up to its climax.

Bruce Wayne was frustrated as he watched from the arms of his date Talia as The Leviathan not only seemed to force a dance on Barbara Gordon, the former Batgirl, but also healed her from her paralysis. Batman might have been known for being a dark and scowling vigilante crime fighter but he truly cared about those who were part of the "Bat" clan. The problem was that though Batman was close to Batgirl, Bruce Wayne was of no real relation or familiarity with Barbara Gordon. Thus Bruce had no excuse to impose on his apprentice's teary hug with her father James Gordon or approach her immediately to address the change in her life.

Bruce had tried to keep the scowl off his face while dancing with Talia, however the green tinged couple who waltzed by him was the last straw on his patience; only the presence of Talia kept Bruce from confronting Pamela Isley and her date.

"I need a drink." Bruce stated as he stopped dancing suddenly and dragged Talia to a chair at the edge of the dance floor.

"I'll get us some punch." Bruce said, forcing a smile on his face that stayed only until he had finished holding Talia's chair for her and swiveled on his heel to storm away before she could reply.

Teeth grinding, fists clenched, Bruce Wayne stomped across the room with a stormy look on his face until he reached the buffet table and the punch bowl.

"Would you like some punch Bruce?" The brightly smiling Superman offered, handing over a glass of crimson red punch to the plain clothed dark knight.

Bruce glared at Superman and the hero's cheery disposition before finally nodding and accepting the glass of punch.

"Thanks Kal." Bruce replied before turning to stand side by side with Superman while looking out at the room, both taking measured sips of their punch.

The pair looked as different as night and day, the brightly smiling Boy Scout hero of Metropolis versus the scowling tuxedo wearing Dark Knight of Gotham. They stood there silently for several moments.

Superman smiled.

Bruce Wayne scowled.

Superman thought about his cousin coming to Earth and smiled larger.

Bruce Wayne thought about The Leviathan and questioned what sinister motives were behind the ruler's latest actions and frowned deeper.

Still the two heroes remained silent; only the sound of slurping punch punctuated their inner thoughts.

Finally Superman looked down at the slightly shorter Bruce and asked, "Why are you more grumpy than usual?"

Bruce glared at Kal-El, "You mean besides the fact that Black Adam, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, Lex Luthor and The Leviathan are all at the party?" Bruce asked hypothetically.

Superman's smile wavered as he looked around the room, just in time to see a pale and sweating Lex Luthor run out of the room while covering his mouth with one hand and rear end with the other. Superman also didn't miss the brief pause that many of the servers made while smirking at Lex Luthor's actions before the servers went back to work.

Bruce Wayne noticed the same thing. "Something about this party smells rotten." Bruce growled.

A tray of assorted cheeses was thrust in between Bruce and Superman by a pink furred hand.

"Cheezes? Tryz da gorgonzola or da limburger, de are deliszeous!" A sharp toothed Jäger offered with a smile.

Bruce glared, and Superman blinked wide eyed at the Jäger with the serving tray of cheese.

The Jäger looked from one to the other, and when neither man accepted any of the offered cheese she gave a haughty sniff at the two.

"Finez, be zat vey." The server finished, turned and moved away with a huff, "Morez for meez." The server said while popping several cheese cubes in her mouth.

Superman blinked again, and then looked at the dance floor just as he realized that he recognized one of the dancers that had just moved out onto the floor, but wasn't sure where he had seen the man before.

Superman squinted and his smiled disappeared completely, "You're correct, something doesn't feel right here."

Bruce Wayne looked over at Kal-El and followed Superman's gaze to where a dark haired young man in a tuxedo and glasses was dancing with someone Bruce recognized; Selena Kyle, aka Catwoman.

"Can I have this dance Ms. Kyle?" A deep masculine voice asked from behind Selena, causing her to stop her furtive searching for Xander from the side of the dance floor and turn around.

Selena turned to face the smiling figure of a tall broad shouldered man who smiled at her through his glasses with a goofy smirk.

Selena frowned and planted her fist on her cocked hip as she got ready to tell the stranger to 'get lost' only for said stranger to push his glasses down to the tip of his nose and give her a wink over the top of them.

Selena's jaw dropped as she recognized Xander. She blinked once, and then jumped forward to throw her arms around his neck while kissing him soundly.

A laugh escaped Xander's lips at Selena's actions before being suddenly surprised by a gyrating armful of gorgeous woman, and he smiled through the kiss while pulling Selena close.

A short passionate kiss later and both pushed back and tried to speak at the same time.

"I'm sorry I-" Both said at the same time, Xander's hands still resting on Selena's waist while her hands were twined around the back of his neck as she looked up at him.

Both paused, and then started speaking again, "You first," Both said again at the same time, causing both to laugh and wait for the other to talk first.

Selena bit her lip as she looked up at the taller Xander, and Xander smiled caringly down at her and paused for a second before he spoke hesitantly.

"Selena, I'm sorry if my actions towards Penguin and his goons scared you." Xander apologized looking away while he spoke quietly before looking back at her. He cringed a bit, willing her to believe his words, "You have to understand that I would never hurt you. I care for you and will do everything I can to make sure nobody can-"

"Shhhh." Selena said, resting her finger on his lips and interrupting him with a saucy but sincere smile that softened as she saw the look in Xander's eyes.

"I'm the one who should apologize." Selena stopped him from continuing his apology, only to have to silence Xander again with a quick kiss and a smile as he tried to deny that she owed him an apology.

"No, please." Selena continued as she pulled back from the kiss.

Xander nodded silently as he waited for her to continue.

Selena looked around, and then led Xander by the hand out onto the dance floor so that they could have a conversation that was covered by the Om Pa Pa of the orchestra as two of the Jäger musicians went into a tuba and accordion duet that the crowd continued to waltz through.

When Selena was ensconced in his arms and they were effectively lost in the crowd, she continued while looking up at him. "I am sorry I reacted poorly to you, but, well, I'm just not used to seeing people die I guess. Sounds funny given some of the crowd I mix with." She said with a self deprecating chuckle as she looked down.

Xander smiled and kissed her forehead, causing her to look up at him again.

"I understand." He said with a bit of a laugh under his breath. "You're so used to Batman and the other heroes that don't do more that beat the crap out of the villain while still saving the girl." He said with an understanding smile, his patented goofy Xander smirk quirking up one side of his mouth. "But the truth is, I'm not a hero and I don't think I ever could be that type of hero." A dark look came over his face, and his eyes kind of lost their focus on her as if he was seeing memories and thoughts of someplace other than right where he was. "Nobody touches my girls and gets away with it." He said with a bit of a growl coming through is voice.

Selena shivered at the sound of his growl as the vibrations of the low sound vibrated from his chest and into her body. There was something dark and deliciously naughty about Xander that just tugged at her. She used to feel that way about Batman but the Bat was all broody and angsty and no real action when it came to the romance side of things. Xander had that same dark aura of danger that called to her bad girl side, yet also had a loving and fun emotional side that allowed her to connect to him.

Selena smiled a bit cattily at him and gave him a saucy look, "Oh, so you think I'm your girl am I? And what's this plural use of girlssss." She questioned, with the last part about girls coming out in a hiss while putting just the slightest bit of heat into her words and stressing the word "your" in her first question.

Xander's eyes snapped out of that distant look and down to her, dropping wide open as he heard that "Boy you are going to be in trouble" sound come through Selena's voice; that type of instinctive tone of voice women have that triggers a fear sensation in men, like when they were out too late with the boys, forgot to take out the garbage, or missed some sort of anniversary or birthday and can't for the life of them remember what they missed.

"Um, uh, um…" Xander stuttered wide eyed.

Selena looked up at Xander and couldn't help releasing a girlish giggle, only to realize what she had done and then looked around quickly to make sure that nobody had heard such a sound issue past her lips.

The moment had been broken however and Xander realized she was just teasing him, so smiled warmly down at her, he liked quirky strong women, so there was no wonder that he found her attractive. Here was the fem fatale Catwoman, who was every comic book geeks' wet dream, and she felt comfortable enough in his arms to not only tease him but let loose a giggle.

"Well yes, I figured that night in Bialya pretty much included you in the group of women who I care for and would willingly kill for to protect." He stated honestly, a bit of his heart in his eyes as they spun about the dance floor in each other's arms.

The music changed and Xander looked over Selena's head at the tempo switch, only to see Superman staring right back at Xander.

'Uh, oh. Um, Huston, I believe we may have a problem.' Xander thought to himself when he realized the scrutiny he was getting from Superman.

'It's the glasses wise guy; you may be disguised from most of the guests, but you look just like somebody who sold Superman ice cream amidst his week from hell.' Xander's inner voice of reason popped in.

Xander looked down at Selena and smiled, however he realized that his face must have shown some sort of change in emotion as she was looking quizzically up at him with one raised eyebrow.

"Heh, I hate to just meet up with you again and then disappear, but it looks like I need to make a quick exit." Xander said hesitantly, his words having the expected reaction as Selena's eyes became a bit stormy.

"Now wait a second." Selena said a bit heatedly, "I came to this party just to see you so we could talk, and now that I finally meet up with you you're saying you're going to leave me?" She questioned hotly.

Xander spun her in a circle and said, "Look over towards the buffet table and tell me what you see."

Selena looked over Xander's shoulder and gazed over towards said table, only to see Superman and Bruce Wayne next to him focusing back at her and Xander.

She looked up at Xander startled, "Superman and Wayne?" She questioned.

Xander merely nodded with a smile back at her.

"And why may I ask is Superman glaring at you and threatening to interrupt my fun time?" Selena asked with a pout.

Xander looked to the right and to the left, and then grinned back at her and whispered, "Well, you remember that week when Superman wore the fantastic man cape and all of those pranks went off in Metropolis?" He asked conspiratorially.

Selena nodded, and then realized what he was saying which caused her eyebrows to hitch upward, "You mean?" She questioned.

"I cannot confirm nor deny that I may or may not have played a significant or minor role in said pranking." Xander said with a quirky grin, "Or in lawyer speak, I plead the fifth." He finished, and then looked over towards Superman whose eyes had just gotten large. Xander's smile grew until it threatened to stretch from ear to ear before looking back down at Selena, "And now Mr. Super-snooper with the extra special hearing knows for sure that he has met me before and most definitely wants to have a chat." Xander said with a laugh.

His smile and humor was so infectious that Selena couldn't help but laugh also as he darted his head down to kiss her as he waltzed her towards the side of the dance floor opposite of Superman and Bruce Wayne.

Xander and Selena kissed passionately as they reached the end of the dance floor, and then separated.

"Don't think I have forgotten about that multiple girls statement, you and I are going to talk about that. I'm not so sure about dating a tom cat." She said playfully but with a definite message in her comments.

Xander smiled thoughtfully and caressed her cheek and down her neck as he broke the hug and stepped back. "I absolutely understand pretty kitty, and frankly I have to say that my life is crazy. However I promise to be one hundred percent honest with you when next we meet, ok?" He left the proverbial ball in her court.

Selena didn't wait long to answer and smiled back at him before giving him a seductive look and cocked her hip, which did great things for her figure in the long silk dress. "You better be, I've got my claws into you, and it will be up to you whether it's enjoyable or whether you get more than a love scratch." She said with a wink and swayed away as she saw Superman moving around the room towards them.

Xander couldn't help but pause to watch her sashay away from him, but then shook his head to bring him back to the present.

Turning around, Xander saw that Superman was only about seven feet away on the other side of a table that was between them.

Thinking fast, Xander's eyes opened wide and his jaw dropped open as he pointed behind Superman, "Dear lord, what in the world is that!" Xander shouted while looking over Superman's shoulder.

"What? Where?" Superman, and several of the guests seated at the table stated and they turned to look behind Superman at what Xander was supposedly pointing at.

However nothing was there, and by the time Superman had turned around, neither was Xander.

"Dang, I'll have to catch up with that Xander some other time." Superman said as he shook his head in disappointment at himself for falling for such a simple trick, his ma would be ashamed of him. With that the Man of Steel moved away from the side of the dance floor and towards the bar where he saw Wonder Woman and her mother chatting The Flash and some of the other guests. Superman realized that he needed to save Wally from his usual women tactics before The Flash got into too much trouble and Wonder Woman knocked Wally out again.

Neither Xander, Selena nor Superman saw the smirk on the face of the attractive brunette who got up from her chair on the edge of the dance floor only to follow the departing Selena Kyle who was on her way to the lady's restroom.

Speaking of restrooms, while Xander was having fun with Selena Kyle on the dance floor, Lex Luthor was busy on the toilet wishing he could just hurry up and die as the cramping, diarrhea and vomiting felt like they were killing him.

"AAAAaaaagggh." Lex groaned as he released the contents of his stomach out the back before a "grrrrgggle gurgle" was followed by a "Murrrphgh" as he threw up something that strangely looked like carrots; strange given the fact that he hated carrots and never ate them.

Lex wiped the sweat from his bald forehead as the horrid feeling passed for a second.

"Lex?... Lex? Are you ok in there?" The muffled voice of Mercy Graves echoed through the closed door to the men's restroom.

Lex's only response was an "Urp" and more vomit in the trash can he had snagged on his way into the bathroom stall.

However strangely enough, after that last bought of nausea finally passed he did start to feel a little bit better.

Leaning to the side and giving his toilet a courtesy flush, Lex called out over the sound of the flushing toilet, "I feel like shit Mercy. As soon as I get done here, we are going home." He yelled back, his voice echoing off the marble walls of the lavatory.

The room went silent as the echo's of Lex's shout faded away, and the industrialist tycoon and Superman antagonist gave a sigh of relief as he started to feel better.

"Ahhh, that feels better." Lex sighed as he made one final bowel movement and his normal smirk came back to his face…

Only for the toilet beneath him to drop out and tip backwards into a trap door that sent Lex Luthor, and the contents of said toilet, sliding down a water slide while Lex's pants and underwear were tangled around his ankles.

"AAAAAAGGGGHHH!" Lex Luthor screamed as he disappeared into the depths of Castle Wulfenbach.

Outside the bathroom, Mercy Grave's heard the Lex's shout and realized that it was different than his earlier groans of pain.

"Lex?" Mercy shouted. "Lex what was that?"

When no answer replied, Mercy shoved open the door to the men's bathroom and attempted to rush in.

Attempted, being the key word, for just as she pushed the door open a slot in the ceiling above her shot open only to release large grasping tentacles with purple spots that really livened up the color scheme of the floating castle.

Mercy's forward motion into the bathroom was halted cold and she was yanked upwards into the opening in the ceiling as slimy purple poke-dotted tentacles muffled her screams and twined around her arms and legs.

A second later, the trap doors closed, and none of the guests were the wiser that Lex Luthor and his assistant had just left the party prematurely.

Meanwhile, Xander darted out of the ballroom and down a hallway at super speed before slowing to pass two guards that were halting guests from proceeding deeper into the castle. Ultimately the guards were more symbolic given the castle itself would take care of anybody who roamed too far afield. In reality, the guards were more there to protect the guests rather than the castle. After all, international incidents could just ruin your day when you had to explain why some country's ambassador was killed by drowning in a pool of tapioca pudding, or stepped on a crack and broke their back, or when they reached to pick up a supposedly dropped coin only for the floor to open and drop them into a pit of acid spraying spikes.

Anyway, Xander rounded the corner away from the hallway that led to the ballroom and then moved up to a wall that held paintings of some of Xander's heterodyne Ancestors, specifically Lady Agatha Heterodyne and her husband Gil Wulfenbach. Pictures taken from Xander's memory of Xander's alternative self and which held some of Xander's fondest memories, even if it wasn't quite clear whether or not he had really ever experienced them in the first place given the melding of multiple personalities from different dimensions.

As Xander approached the painting a click sound was heard and said floor to ceiling painting slid into the ceiling, exposing an elevator. Xander walked into the elevator and the painting slid closed behind him, just as the elevator started its rapid downward movement.

"Is everything ready Von Pinn, our guest isn't too comfortable, now is he?" A feral evil smile coming across Xander's face as his tuxedo and glasses seemed to bubble and flow until he was once again dressed in the garb of The Leviathan.

"Absolutely not Herr Leviathan." The voice of the Castle's A.I. replied before cackling evilly. "The facilities are read and a Lazarus Pit Vat is prepped and ready for rounds two through one thousand."

"Very good my Muse of Protection… or should I re-label you the Muse of Vengeance?" Xander quipped from behind his mask.

"Why can't I be both?" The voice of the A.I. hissed, its voice tinged with pleasure of the blood shedding about to begin.

"Very well, you can be both." Xander replied with a smirk, just as the elevator doors hissed open and Xander entered a large dark laboratory; the only light being a solid bright spotlight that shown down on the standing metal bound figure of Lex Luthor.

The heels of Xander's black dress shoes clicked ominously on the metal floor of room as he made his way towards his captive. A metal rack had been set up, and Lex Luthor's hands and legs were spread eagle in an uncomfortable stretched position. The billionaire supervillain had been stripped to his whitey tightys and was bound in solid bands of metal every five inches along his body. The light from above was clearly blinding Lex from being able to see anything in the darkness around him, and the clicking of Xander's dress shoes was the first hint to Luthor that he wasn't alone in the room. Coming into the light, Lex Luthor growled and cursed at Xander.

"Leviathan! What do you think you are doing? When I get out of here I will destroy you and your puny little empire!" Lex Luthor spat.

In return, The Leviathan didn't answer but rather did a silent complete circle around the bound Mr. Luthor, making sure that everything was prepared for the evening's main event.

"My Dear Lex," The Leviathan's voice deeply rumbled, a hint of maniacal glee coming through his words, "you won't be leaving here at all, so don't worry that little bald head of yours. However first before we get to that, I'd like to introduce you to a dear friend of yours whom you've never actually met."

The click of dress shoes was the first hint that another individual had joined the conversation; however the perfect mirror image of Lex Luthor in a suit and sneer walking out of the shadows was not what the real Lex Luthor had ever expected.

"Lex Luthor, meet Mimic, or as I like to call him, Lex Luthor 2.0." The Leviathan said with evil humor dripping from his voice.

The real Lex paled before blustering, "I can see what you're trying to do. You'll never pull this off!"

"Oh but Lex, we already have." Mimic stated with a sneer that was the epitome of Lex Luthor, Mimic's voice also an exact recreation of Lex Luthor's voice down to the very pompous twist and down note that Lex normally ended his sentences with.

"You see Lex, for all intents and purposes, Mimic is you." The Leviathan explained, moving to stand next to Mimic before taking out a handkerchief and using it to casually buff the shine of Mimic's bald head before turning back to Lex Luthor.

"Remember the gift box in your office?" The Leviathan questioned, and noted as Lex's eyes seemed to dart back and forth remembering back before his eyes went large.

"That was you!" Lex cursed at The Leviathan.

In return, The Leviathan gave a little jaunty bow, "But of course, not only was it a nice opportunity to cover you in the excrement that you so deserve to wallow in, but the mouthful of sewage nicely hid the addition of the nanotechnology that I inserted through your mouth and into your blood stream." The Leviathan finished buffing Mimic's head to a glossy sheen, and then The Leviathan tucked his handkerchief back into the breast pocket of his suit.

Lex was just speechless as The Leviathan continued to explain.

"Since that time we have been mapping every facet of your mind, your body, your psyche, and your secrets." The Leviathan said the last part with a growl.

The Leviathan then began to prowl back and forth in front of the bound Lex Luthor, as if an animal that was waiting for the right opportunity to pounce.

"Add a dose of protein and carbon based organic nano-clanks that can assume any form, and wa-la, now you have Mimic, a creation of synthetic and carbon based protein formed nano-clanks that can mimic everything about you right down to the odor of your stinky feet, the sheen on your bald head, or even that cancerous tumor that was formed due to over exposure to Kryptonite. We know your mind, we know your sins, and we know what part you played in attacking my people." The Leviathan stated the last part with malicious glee as he moved slowly forward so that his helmeted face was right in front of the tightly bound Lex Luthor. "Every organ, every dental pattern, every fingerprint and thought are Mimic's, and now they are mine." Xander finished with a predatory growl through his helmet's speakers as his eyes flashed yellowish green for a moment.

Then as if flipping a switch, The Leviathan was suddenly standing several feet back and next to Mimic as The Leviathan's voice took on a jovial carefree manner. "You however, well, I'm going to give you to some people who have just been dying to get their hands on you. Well I brought them back to life again after they died, you might recognize my friend Jenny here as the one who gave you the champagne, or at least the first part of the poison you imbibed tonight. She's here to make sure that my monologue goes no farther than between you and me." The Leviathan stated as Jenny appeared in the light, the click of her heels echoing her entrance as she moved forward into the light with an innocent look on her face.

Lex looked quizzically at the girl; he simply didn't recognize the young woman and couldn't remember ever meeting or seeing her before.

"Don't recognize her? Well how about if I say she fell from a helicopter with a knife in her chest?" The Leviathan added with a flippant wave of his hand.

"Remember this?" Jenny asked as she pulled out the military combat knife that Lex Luthor's men had given to her so long ago.

Now Lex blanched white, for he definitely recognized her and the knife she was wielding.

Jenny Kalderash waltzed up to Lex while twiddling the knife in her hand, "Well I saved it just for you, and since I didn't really like it in the first place, I thought I would give it back to you." She finished with an evil grin, right before she buried the knife point first into Lex Luthor's crotch.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Lex screamed bloody murder, or at least bloody member considering his member had just been bisected by a K-bar combat knife.

"Shhh, shhh, hush now." The Leviathan said in a manner in which one would use to quiet small children while blurring forward and clamping his black gloved hand over Lex's mouth to stifle the screams.

"I wasn't done talking yet, and it isn't polite to interrupt when I am introducing you to people." The Leviathan stated before waving and Magda walked out of the darkness still in her server's tuxedo while Lex Luthor groaned and screamed behind Xander's gloved hand.

"And here is the bearer of the other part of the poison that caused you to feel like your stomach was going to liquefy and leave you through you anus." The Leviathan ushered Magda forward, "I present Magda, Elder Woman of Clan Kalderash and her family who will be entertaining you for a long, long, very long time, for Gypsy vengeance is something that is best savored and served cold."

With that, Magda raised her hand and a fireball formed in it right before she shoved the ball of flame into Lex's right shoulder, burning a hole through his flesh with an evil smile on her lips.

Xander smiled evilly behind his helmet as he stopped covering Lex Luthor's mouth and moved out of the way as more and more Gypsies of Clan Kalderash moved into the light; all of them bearing knives, clubs, a few torches, and even one who had a stack of pineapples in his arms.

"Have fun Lex." The Leviathan stated as he turned and started to leave the Laboratory. "Oh, and Magda, when you kill him, please make sure to shovel as much of his body into the Lazarus Pit Vat as possible, I'll eventually want his head in my brain trust, but until then it's best if we recycle as much of his body as possible. I'd hate for your message of retaliation to be cut short because we've run out of fresh Lex Luthor." The Leviathan stated evilly before stepping into the elevator that would take him back upstairs.

"Remember, waste not, want not." The Leviathan finished, and with that the elevator doors closed to return Xander to the party upstairs. Behind him in the sound proofed laboratory, all that could be heard were the screams of Lex Luthor and the maniacal laughter of Xander's tribe of Gypsies. In the end, the hundreds of years of the vampire Angel living with a soul would pale in comparison to the latest vengeance that the Kalderash Clan met out on its aggressor.

"James, quite a night. Congratulations on your daughter being healed." The Mayor greeted Commissioner Gordon as James moved out of the doors of the ball room and out onto a glass walled observation room where the guests were allowed to smoke. The Mayor had a large cigar puffing in between his teeth, and he had brought along a bottle of whiskey and several glasses purloined from the bar in the ballroom.

James Gordon sighed; the bow tie of his tuxedo loosened up as he was emotionally and physically drained from the events of the night. "Thank you Mayor." James replied simply as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and shook one loose before lighting it with a small disposable lighter from his pocket before laying the pack of cigarettes and the lighter on a table by the window.

James Gordon leaned on the window sill and stared out at the city before taking a big inhale of his cigarette, and then he slowly exhaled a large breath of smoke. His daughter Barbara was inside speaking with Bruce Wayne about some sort of computer work or something related to her current company, and he had just wanted to get a break while trying to grasp the changes that would come from his daughter being healed.

Looking out over the dark shadowed city of Gotham, James's eyes took in the robotic police blimps whose spotlights scanned the dark streets below. "I have a feeling that this is only the beginning of the changes that The Leviathan is going to bring to our city." Commissioner Gordon said pensively, taking another inhale of his nicotine fix.

"Heh, that may be, though I doubt the man will be bringing too much craziness to the city." The Mayor said chuckling while trying to pour himself a drink while juggling the multiple glasses.

Ironically enough, or really not that ironically given their proximity to Xander and their location on his airship, as soon as the Mayor opened his mouth to make the quip, purple poke-dotted tentacles shot out of a slot in the floor and snatched the pack of cigarettes and lighter off the table.

The Mayor's jaw dropped as he looked at the floor where the tentacles had to have come from, and then back at Commissioner Gordon and the table where the pack of cigarettes had just been, only to shift his view back to the place where he thought he had just saw the tentacles but was now a seamless floor.

The Mayor looked James Gordon in the face, both men wide eyed.

"I think I need a drink." The Mayor said, attempting to toss back the glass of whiskey… only for the panel in the floor to shoot open again and the purple tentacle dart out grab the glass and bottle of whiskey right out of the Mayors hand before disappearing into the floor again.

The mayor looked down at his empty hands, then back at Commissioner Gordon and before saying, "I think I've had enough to drink, I'm going to go home now."

And with that, the Mayor left.

James Gordon on the other hand just looked around and shook his head; just what he needed, another crazy in his city.

The toilet in the women's bathroom flushed, and then the door clicked as Selena strutted out, still very happy after her run in with Xander. After she had gotten to the bathroom, she found a note with a telephone number deposited into the cleft of her breasts and between her strapless bra.

Selena smirked wickedly and thought to herself, 'That naughty naughty boy, I like him. Roawwww.' She purred in her mind as she moved towards the mirror to touch up her makeup.

An attractive brunette was just adding the last touches of powder on her nose before pulling out some red lipstick from her purse while shooting a smile Selena's way.

"I see you were having a fun time tonight, how long have you known Xander?" The stranger asked, surprising Selena a bit with the question.

Selena stopped examining herself in the mirror and turned with a raised eyebrow, a bit of a catty look on her face, "For a while now. Why? Who are you, one of his girls?" Selena questioned with more than a little bit of heat coming through her words.

The brunette's reply was only to chuckle huskily before smiling back at Selena while putting away her lipstick and clicking her small purse shut, "Ha, ha, no, nothing like that. My name is Talia, and Xander is merely an acquaintance you could say. I first met him in Las Vegas and he protected me from some terrorists." Talia stated, not supplying her last name.

Selena's catty look faded off her face and was exchanged for a smirk, "He does seem like the type to save damsels in distress, though that dark side of his is simply dreamy." Selena purred the last part while facing the mirror again, using the corner of her finger nail to remove a smear of her lipstick before pulling a tube of crimson red lipstick out of her purse and reapplying it to her lips.

"Isn't he though." Talia stated with a smile as she washed her hands.

"Well it was nice meeting you." Selena stated, smiling at her fellow admirer of Xander before sashaying out of the restroom.

"You too Selena Kyle." Talia stated under her breathe as she watched Selena leave the restroom and waited for Selena to fully leave before Talia pulled out her cell phone.

"Father, I believe I have the target for the test." Talia stated into the phone before nodding as she heard someone answer on the other end of the line. "Yes, and from the way Bruce was glaring at young Alexander when he was dancing with the girl you could tell that she meant something to him as well…" She was silent again before almost bowing towards the phone, "No, I don't think she is anyone special in particular, but both men are interested in her… Yes father, it will be as you say." She finished before hanging up and quickly moving to leave the restroom and catch up to Selena, she had a trap to set.

"Oh excuse me," Talia said as she pushed the door open to the restroom only to have to move out of the way as Dr. Amanda Waller shoved her way in without an apology or excuse on her own side.

The short squat and rather rotund Doctor Waller glared at the attractive brunette before proceeding to the restroom stalls and closing the door.

"Ahhhh," Dr. Waller sighed as she sat down on the toilet, relaxing after the tense evening… only for a trapdoor above her to open and Mercy Graves to fall out of the ceiling.

Fortunately for Mercy, Dr. Waller completely cushioned her fall.

Unfortunately for Dr. Waller, Mercy's fall caused Amanda Waller's head to bounce off the bathroom stall, knocking the dear doctor unconscious.

Ultimately though Mercy was totally oblivious to the situation she found herself in as she shakily stood up, a cigarette dangling from her lips and a half full bottle of single malt whiskey grasped in one hand. Mercy's chauffeur's outfit was totally mussed as her underwear was peeking out of the back of her unbuttoned pants, and her blouse and jacket were miss-buttoned; clearly showing that she had lost her bra somewhere in the confines of the castle.

Mercy stumbled as she stood up, and weaved from side to side with a smile on her face that would have taken an industrial sand blaster to remove as she struggled to unlock the bathroom stall door.

Fortunately for Mercy, who was quite inebriated on top of exhibiting a rosy glow, the portal in the ceiling opened up and a tentacle shot out which unlocked the bathroom door for her before giving her a playful swat on the butt.

"Quit it you, you've had your love'n." Mercy slurred before playfully swatting back at the tentacle which waved goodbye to her while she stumbled out of the bathroom.

"Where have you been?" A snarling and immaculately dressed Lex Luthor demanded as Mercy exited the doors to the women's bathroom.

Mercy blinked, and then smiled up at Lex and swayed back and forth, "Looking for you, Hic!" She answered, hiccupping at the end before giggling.

Lex gave a disgusted huff before turning and walking towards the exit, expecting her to follow, "We're leaving." He demanded as Lex Luthor led the tottering Mercy Graves from the castle, totally unaware of the fact that it was an imposter she was leaving with.

Xander waited patiently as the elevator rose up from the bowels of the castle, catchy and somewhat annoying elevator music playing in the background to which he hummed along.

"Sir, the party goers are starting to leave the Castle, and Queen Hippolyta and Princess Diana have been lead to the anteroom of the Castle's throne room." The voice of Xander's Jarvis A.I. reported in Xander's Leviathan helmet.

"Thank you Jarvis. Please have Cassandra, Artemis, Igor and a squad of Valkyries join me in the throne room. The Queen and Princess can wait until we are fully ready." Xander replied to his trusty A.I.

"Very well sir, Cassandra is saying goodnight to Osiris, Black Adam and Isis and then states that she will meet you there." The British accented Jarvis supplied.

"Ding," The elevator gave a jaunty sound as it reached the top floor where the throne room was located, and Xander glided out into the hall in his Leviathan outfit; immaculate suit and blood red tie, shoes just as shiny as they had been at the beginning of the night. He moved forwards towards the private entrance to the throne room, a silver clad and fully armored and helmeted Artemis holding open the door for him as she gave him a greeting.

"How has the night been so far Xander? That brunette you danced with looked pretty saucy; I wouldn't mind you taking a roll in the hay with her… as long as I get to join in." Artemis finished with a throaty chuckle that did great things to Xander's libido.

Xander smirked behind his helmet as he moved into the throne room and saw that the walls were lined with fully armed and armored Valkyries, the silver of their armor standing out against the gold, dark wood and crimson fabric of the walls and floor.

"Behave Artemis, that woman happens to be the famous burglar Catwoman. She's got claws and isn't afraid to use them and not everybody is as accepting and welcoming of new women joining my bed as Jenny, Tara, Dora and you are. Frankly, I still think all it's going to take is one woman too many asking to join my bed and you'll flip and try to kill them." Xander said jokingly, to which Artemis's reply was to slug him in the shoulder.

Her playful reply was interrupted by a large red portal snapping open which Cassandra and Dina exited from, Cassandra wearing her full Crimson Lady garb and Dina fully armored as the head of Cassandra's bodyguards.

"Are you two flirting again?" Cassandra teased through the speakers on her helmet.

"What, you want some tips on how to better flirt with Osiris?" Xander teased back, leaving Cassandra blustering and too gob smacked to respond, which caused Xander, Artemis and the rest of the Valkyrie guards to laugh at the goings on between brother and sister.

A blue portal opened and Igor stepped through, his emotionless face causing the rest of the people in the throne room to still their humor and start to become serious.

"Master, are you ready to entertain the request of Queen Hippolyta and Princess Diana?" Igor asked as he came to stand by Xander's throne and wait patiently.

Xander huffed petulantly at Igor's ruining the playful mood.

"Fine, be that way Igor." Xander pouted while flopping into his chair, sprawling out so that he was semi-recline in a show of lazy disregard for the situation. Still he made a powerful statement as the golden doors of the throne room opened to allow Hippolyta and Diana entrance only to see The Leviathan showing a blatant disregard and lack of respect for the topic they wanted to speak to him about.

Hippolyta and Diana chanced to look around, and Hippolyta gulped as over a hundred feminine figures in stretched body hugging armor turned silver mirrored helmets to watch Hippolyta and Diana's every move; a sense of open hostility seemed to radiate off of the Valkyrie guards that was only punctuated by The Leviathan's show of disrespect. All together it made Hippolyta's situation clear, that she better have something very important to talk about or she and her nation could very well be in a lot of trouble.

No one in the throne room made a sound as Hippolyta and Diana made soft padding sounds on the thick red carpet that ran up to the throne and dais shut behind them with a thud. The Crimson Lady stood to the right of the throne with her personal guard Dina behind her, and Artemis and Igor stood to The Leviathan's left staring silently at the approaching duo.

Finally Hippolyta and Diana reached the foot of the dais where they dropped to a single knee and bowed to The Leviathan who remained sprawled on his throne, legs spread casually as he sat diagonally in his throne, arms resting casually on the armrests of his chair, and he shifted and threw his left right leg to dangle over his right armrest as his foot swung with a casual disregard.

Hippolyta and Diana waited to be addressed, and they waited for several minutes until they both realized that The Leviathan wasn't even going to take the time to acknowledge them; making them realize just how tenuous their position was.

Finally after more than five minutes of silence where The Leviathan and his people stared down at Hippolyta and Diana, the Queen of the Amazons decided to speak.

"Leviathan, I sincerely apologize for my disrespect to you and your people." Hippolyta offered, looking up from her bowed position to face the black mirrored helmet of The Leviathan.

She continued to wait for over a minute, and just when she figured out that he wasn't going to answer her- he surprised her by speaking.

"And the disrespect you showed to the Bana-Mighdall Amazons, those who have chosen to become my Valkyries rather than live in the shadow of your dishonor and be relegated to the scraps from your table?" The Leviathan questioned, his disgust coming through his voice as he looked over to where the silver armored Artemis stood next to him, her red plume emblazoned down the back of her helmet.

He refused to look down at Hippolyta while he spoke, rather he reached over and stroked the hip of Artemis, and Hippolyta was momentarily shocked to see the female warrior lean into The Leviathan's touch.

Hippolyta swallowed as she realized her mouth was dry, and then spoke again.

"For that too I apologize, as well as my disrespect to your family and especially to the memory of The Grey Knight who died for my people." Hippolyta added, hoping that her words would be sufficient.

Unfortunately, she was mistaken.

The Leviathan lazily turned his gaze to face towards the Amazon Queen, as he slowly replied, "What good are the words of one whose tongue has already been used as a barbed weapon to stab supposed friends?" He asked hypothetically as he leaned forward in his chair and swung his leg off the armchair to rest with his elbows on his knees as he faced her, and it was as if an aura of power struck Hippolyta and Diana as Xander turned the full power of his Spark on whom he viewed as the prideful Queen of the Amazons.

Xander saw Hippolyta and Diana almost fall over as he silently growled behind his helmet, not broadcasting the sound but striking out at the pair with the full power of his displeasure.

"What good are words when your actions have spoken louder than any apology you could make? What good are your words Queen Hippolyta given the actions of the Grey Knight, the man whose actions saved your people at the sake of his own life, only to be insulted by you again?" Xander questioned angrily from behind his mask, as the voices of the Primal and that of World Domination counseled 'No Mercy.' Xander let his anger come forward at all of the abuse and pride that Hippolyta had cast upon him when he only sought to help her and her people.

No, mere words would not be enough.

Hippolyta gulped, and licked her lips to try and wet her mouth to speak as almost palpable waves of anger seemed to buffet her and Diana. It was almost as if The Leviathan on his throne was some sort of angry god had come down to earth to show her the error of her ways. This was why the Greek Gods had sent Diana to bring her mother back to the right path. This was why the Gods had demanded that Hippolyta come to apologize to The Leviathan, for this type of an angry Leviathan could lead to the destruction of her people if not the world.

Words would not suffice, only actions would prove her apology true. Only actions would have any hope of swaying The Leviathan from his anger.

Hippolyta stood, hesitantly, almost having to physically force herself from her knees as every fiber of her being wanted to make her kowtow to the buffeting power of The Leviathan's power, the awesome might that was the power of the Spark to dominate the will of others.

Still, she was a warrior Queen, and though she had dishonored herself in the past she would make up for the error of her ways.

Rising, hesitantly and shaking as she did so, she bowed her head but stood before The Leviathan as she responded to his truthful accusations.

"You are correct Leviathan," Hippolyta offered as she dared not look The Leviathan in the face even though she had found the strength to stand, looking the man in the mirrored face was just too much at that moment.

She swallowed and spoke again, "You are correct, words are not enough to apologize for my and my people's dishonorable actions. Only actions will suffice." Hippolyta stated, and then waved for Diana to stand.

"Thus it is the will of the Gods, and as it was in ancient times." Hippolyta stated. "To cement the proof of my apology and that of my people, to form a lasting bond of peace between our two people…" Hippolyta continued, as Diana stepped forward towards The Leviathan.

"I offer my eldest daughter Princess Diana as your wife." Hippolyta finished.

Silence.

Pure absolute shocked speechless silence settled over the room.

Xander blinked.

Cassandra blinked.

Igor stared forward emotionlessly.

Then as one: Xander, Artemis, Cassandra, Dina, and the rest of the Valkyries shouted, "WHAT!"

Only to be followed a moment later by Artemis screaming in rage as she attempted to tackle Diana only to be stopped by her sister Dina.

"I'll Kill her! Nobody marries my man before I do! Let me go! Let me go Dina!" Artemis screamed in rage as she was held back by Dina, several other Valkyries helping to keep Artemis from murdering Wonder Woman who just stared at Artemis in shock.

Xander merely blinked stunned, and in the back of Xander's head the little voice of Xander libido jumped on the conference table in Xander's mind and thrust a suddenly appearing sword towards the ceiling while bellowing, 'Now is the time...FOR THE HAREM, CHARGE!'

AN: BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! WA HA HA HA HA HA HA! So much fun! So much evil evil evil fun. Sorry gang, that's the end of the chapter and you will just have to wait till the next chapter to see the chaos that explodes in Gotham due to this situation. After all, an event such as being offered Wonder Woman as your wife would have to be balanced out by bad luck… a whole lot of bad luck. Get ready for Xander's really bad, no good, extra horrible night of bad luck, for Murphy has decided to dance the foxtrot, and he's brought lady luck for his dancing partner. Let me know what you think, I'd love to see how many recommendations, reviews, replies, and pm's I can get after this chapter. You have no idea how long it took to write this; ok you know how long it took since the last chapter, but it was a doozy to write. Cheers!