"DIANA! HAL! I want you two out front!" A bullet of angst shot through Batman as he struck a fist at the metallic wall. Alarms shrieked! Red lights flashed violently! The space tower locked in defense mode! From his position fixed away from his teammates, he lashed back in anger to find them frozen behind in worry. "Did you not hear me?! Secure the boundaries! NOW!"

The two superheroes, dressed in reds and blues, and greens hopelessly turned from their leader, pacified each other with brief solemn nod, grasped their breathing-masks, fastened the plastic around their mouths, mirroring another, and shot out to the hell on the verge of breaking loose.

The stars fled from the sky, leaving behind tale of spiraling smoke. The sky wept and wept with inky blackness trying to hold her galaxy together in the midst of her distress. Blanketing itself in shadows, the cratered moon hid behind the Earth. The Earth, oh the poor Earth, was fixed in such a position where she could not avert her eyes: a damsel, witnessing the attack of her protectors.

A man dressed in reds, golds, and lightning bolts dashed around the room, savoring every last second and pushing, twisting, and activating mechanisms. "ALL SYSTEMS GO!"

Batman darted to the Ops computer screen, dodging the sudden movement of shutting metal meant to secure the Watch Tower in a high degree of defense. Violently slamming his fingertips upon the keyboard, anxiety and a mixed sensation of fear flushed the air. Under the suspense of time falling from their fingertips, Superman rushed to the man dressed in likeness to the darkness. "Bruce?" He bellowed hopelessly. He refused to acknowledge his company.

"If there is just a chance to stop this, I need to take it!"

He etched closer to his teammate, hiccupping with angst, "They're already coming for us! I fear we've have no choi-"

"DAMNIT CLARK! LEAVE ME BE!" He continued his furious typing, "GO HELP THE OTHERS!"

Without a second warning, the man of steel fell back from this friend in defeat, turned to the remaining exit, and launched into the arms of the exosphere.

The anxiety danced within Batman's mind, manipulating his usual perfection to make mistakes within his message. His "w's" became "q's," his formality shattering with each passing moment. If there is a chance, we have to take it: A treaty proposal? T-o t-h-e G-r-a-n-d R-u-l-e-r o-f T-a-m-a-r-a-n…

Outside the chaos quaking within the tower, three heroes hovered in the low-gravity, strong in position, but weak in their faith. The eerie quiet suppressed them to accept the sensation of solemnness. There they hovered: heroes of Earth.

"…How much longer…" The Green Lantern prayed, lacking any trace of emotion: his voice strong and powerful, his gaze determined and locked onto the blackened horizon.

"…by the looks of the building lights, I'd say we have less than three minutes…" Diana spoke softly, refusing to look her teammates in the eyes. Heroes were supposed to be brave, strong, and determined. Years and years they practiced silencing their emotion, putting others before themselves. Why did this moment—a moment in which they had never prepared for—have the potential to be their breaking point?

Silence… Blissful silence… swept through the moment.

Insanity and chaos, tainted by a trace of hope burned through the tower. Batman clutched every word or phrase he could find spewing in the swirling pool of his mind.

From the north, the crescendo of sound crept in light years! Ten by the second! The friends dared to look each other in the eyes. With one blink, they grabbed ahold of another's palm just in case another goodbye was interrupted, released, and took one last breath through their masks. Keep breathing… Keep breathing

…Sudden pulsing of beating hearts claimed the moment…

*CRACK!*

A shriek of thunder shattered the horizon! Bursts of blinding white lights from a series of supernovas conquered the heavens, spewing purple-armored aliens into the galaxy. The heart-throbbing anxiety! The worry before a storm! The trepidation of heroes alike! The breaking of hearts! Like a thunderhead descending forth, the army charged.

The Flash raced out, his mask askew, dangling in the grand width of space: "Oh boy…"

"Good luck to you, my friends!" Superman assured with all the peace he could eradiate. Without breaking eye contact with the horizon, they nodded. They're battle cry a climax of power, strength, and pride, the two sides of heroes collided

Chaos.