Author's Notes:

One of Wonder Woman's most 'over-looked' powers has to be the Sight of Athena. Blessed by the Greek Goddess of Wisdom and Heroic Endeavour, Diana has phenomenal insight and (like Raven) the power of empathy. Using the Sight of Athena, Princess Diana is able to see beyond the surface of events, grasp new concepts and is also immune to mind control.

The Morai are the Goddesses of Fate in Greek Mythology. Like the Norns of Norse Mythology, these Goddesses determine Fate. In Greek Mythology, Clotho is the youngest of the Morai (Fates) and would be the equivalent of Skuld - to someone like Diana who sees the world through Classical eyes.

The "Great War of Nations" is the term the Amazons use for World War II. Diana's own mother Queen Hippolyta fought in this war to protect Themyscira from the Nazi war machine and was code-named 'Wonder Woman' by the allied forces. After the war, Hippolyta returned to Themyscira.

And yes, Raven is a vegetarian. Azarath wouldn't have had much in the way of livestock.

CLX
As Gods They Appeared

As the eight black-suited Secret Service agents escorted Acting President Wayne and his First Lady to the rooftop of Gotham General, Raven was surprised to find a very large green-and-white helicopter waiting for them on the hospital's helipad…

And a familiar figure in uniform.

"General Johnson!"

"Mrs. Wayne… Glad to see you've recovered."

The General saluted her, although Raven didn't need to be an empath to sense the ocean of woe within his anxious soul. It was written across his troubled brow as well.

Bruce stepped forward - shaking the General's hand - cutting straight to the chase.

"…How bad is it, Tyrexius?"

"The kind of bad that can't be sugar-coated, Mr. President... It's bad. Luckily, Gotham seems to have been spared by some kind of divine intervention, but other major cities weren't so lucky. Central City, Detroit, Metropolis… I've already ordered a strategic withdrawal for those three. We have a few hours before the tear gas and rubber bullets run out. And then the mob rules."

A cold wind whipped across the roof of Gotham General. This dark night had long since abandoned the warmth of the day that had started so well. The rain she had created had stopped while Raven slept, and now the stars were clearly shining above. But it was a cold and distant light.

Why had Bruce let her sleep all day?!

"Do the people know that Darkseid was defeated, General?"

"As much as possible, Ma'am. Even though partial communications have been restored, the message we're sending just isn't working. To be honest, most people have lost faith in the government..." General Johnson turned to Bruce once again. "Can I be frank, Mr. President?"

"Please do."

"Over the past three days, it's been politician-genocide. Every well-known political leader this country had was wiped out from the President on down. And having some old dude from North Dakota in a tacky suit doing a Nixon impression and proclaiming Victory doesn't mean jack-shit to an angry mob."

Bruce thought for a moment, as the gears of Fate whirled in his brain.

"In that case General, could you have someone grab that Chinese food from Marine One? I'm not convinced this Hospital currently has a suitable vegetarian menu for Mrs. Wayne under current conditions."

"…Of course, Sir. But Mrs. Wayne can dine en route to Washington. Marine One is fully equipped…"

"We're not going to Washington yet, Tyrexius."

"Mr. President… Please understand that I have a sworn duty to protect you… and God knows it hasn't been easy. For your own safety, and the safety of the First Lady… We need to get you both to the Pentagon."

"I understand your concern, General. My wife could teleport us to Washington instantly if I thought doing another broadcast would solve this problem. But having a one-eyed man in a suit doing his best Nixon impression won't solve anything either. Tens of thousands of people are going to die in America tonight if we don't do something. Not just in America, but all over the world…"

General Johnson waved one of his guards to go to the helicopter and retrieve the food.

"Look Wayne, you're the closest thing we have to a leader right now. If we can get you in front of the cameras at the Pentagon, then everyone will know it's alright… because you survived. It may not be instant, but after a couple of days, I'll know you'll get through to them. They believe in you. And frankly, I don't care how you get there."

Bruce smiled that cocky, brainstorming grin.

"Actually, I had something bigger in mind, General. I just need to confirm it with my wife."

Raven stared at Bruce quizzically… wishing that she could read his thoughts again.

"Raven… You're our best hope. But I'm terrified to ask this of you. When you're the Champion, you mentioned that your ties to humanity begin to slip. But a lot of people are going to die if we can't convince them to stay calm, to let them know we won.

But God forgive me, I can't lose you… If you turn into the Champion, you have to come back to me. Can you do that? Otherwise, I could never ask this of you…"

Raven thought for a moment…

"In your study, you have that small globe of old Gotham… that snows when it's shaken."

"Yes, the snow globe… It was my mother's."

She kissed him on the cheek as Bruce remembered his devoted mother.

"My love… When I am Champion, it is as though our entire world is nothing more than that small globe. Such a small thing in my hands, and with a gentle shake, I can change that entire world for everyone inside.

It is intriguing for a time to watch the snow fall… But then, when I turn around, I realize that all of Oz is waiting behind me, and the beginning of Dorothy's yellow brick road is laid out before my feet."

Bruce recalled that Raven had read L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" only a month ago. The concept of a girl being suddenly transported to a strange new world seemed to connect with her.

"But will you be able stay with me?… If you can't, I won't risk losing you…"

Raven smiled and embraced her worried husband.

"I can stay with you forever, my love. This morning, I simply pushed myself too far and placed no limits upon my divine abilities. When I use that much power, I transcend my own humanity and become the Goddess. But even she chose to return to you."

"Alright then… Let's take care of this snow globe first and then you and I can venture into Oz together later on. Your father once broadcast a message to the entire planet when he first appeared... Could you do that as well, Raven?"

Raven pondered for a second.

"Although I could not speak to the entire world as my father once did, I could send emotion and images just as easily. Abraxas is the Goddess of the Unseen and Zareah is the Goddess of the Seen, so that I may project across the world of sight, thought, and heart."

"That's more than we need… But will that be too much for you, Raven? To broadcast across the world like that?"

"I don't believe so... Zareah and Abraxas are New Gods, their powers are much more in line with humanity's material nature… I shall be fine. I will not allow myself to drift from you and this world."

"Good… There's your food now. Let's get back inside while I explain my plan and you eat… General Johnson, I'll need you as well. There's something we need to discuss regarding afterwards, old friend."

On the island of Themyscira, Barbara Gordon was not having a good time.

After Clark had returned from Kahndaq with Raven's cryptic message in the sand, Barbara had attempted to do the whole Green Lantern teleport-thing for a very frustrating twenty minutes… completely unsuccessfully.

Apparently teleportation was a learned skill.

After Clark's constant reassurance, Barbara had (reluctantly) agreed to trust her new sister with the Guardians (as if she had a choice) and enjoy the wonders of Themyscira. It truly was a beautiful, untouched Paradise of nature… There was flora and fauna unseen in the world beyond. The wondrous island was alive with beauty.

But Themyscira's greatest wonders caused her more consternation than admiration.

Themyscira was filled with shapely Amazons who could have filled the pages of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition for the next hundred years. Barbara quickly learned that when these beautiful, Mediterranean warriors were not clad in armour, they tended to wear very… simple clothing. Simple, white, flowing clothing that was more for decoration than concealment.

And Barbara couldn't blame Clark's eye for wandering a little (actually, she could). This island Paradise was filled with super models. Barbara herself felt like a pale, skinny girl in the middle of the Miss America Swimsuit Competition amongst these tall visions of grace, power and beauty.

At five-foot-seven-inches, Barbara wasn't a short woman… but she was no Amazon. Earth's Green Lantern had naively assumed that the shapely, six-foot-tall Princess Diana had just been a tall Amazon. But they were all six feet tall!

And they treated her like a red-haired, cute little sister.

They had been surprised (and even sympathetic) when they learned she was twenty-five.

An adult.

But it hadn't all been bad. Apart from being immersed in a wonderland of female physiques, the Amazons certainly did not encourage Clark. In truth, they seemed wary of his obvious masculinity… Which was understandable when Barbara learned of the tragic history of the Amazons, and why they had been cursed by their Gods to wear the bracelets of captivity for Eternity.

They were also fantastic story-tellers… Having no television, wi-screens or radios, the Amazons of Themyscira had developed plays and oratories to act out their shared history (or 'herstory' as they preferred to call it). Barbara and Clark were treated to an amazing feast while they watched these plays and the carefully narrated battles of famed Amazon lore.

They were truly a culture all to their own.

As the glorious meal was completed, Princess Diana took center stage and began to tell the newest of the Amazonian legends… of how many of her sisters had journeyed to the land of men to face the Red Demon, and how lives had been lost in just the 'dust' of the great battle.

She told a captivated audience of how their Princess had witnessed the Green-Ring-Sorceress don the Ring of the previous fallen red-skinned Sorcerer after a mighty bolt of lightning from Zeus himself had wounded the giant Demon.

And how a courageous Barbara had used the Ring to vanquish the Demon with one powerful, emerald blast. Of course, Barbara knew this wasn't the case, that the devious Trigon had simply made it look as though he had been vanquished, but she didn't want to interrupt…

And then Diana called both her and Clark to the stage.

Diana then told the Amazons of Clark's flying ability and his great strength. She told them that he had been born in the Heavens and carried to Earth by his father when the Red Demon had destroyed his people of the stars.

The Amazons were impressed when the Kryptonian flew straight into the sky and landed once more. Clark then chose an impressive-looking boulder near them to happily demonstrate his great strength…

As he lifted the giant boulder above his head with ease, Clark realized that he had not impressed the Amazons at all… In fact, they seemed offended by this show of strength.

When Clark apologetically and carefully lowered the massive boulder, a laughing Diana clapped the Kryptonian on his broad shoulder and announced to her sisters…

"We will now regard you as a full-grown Amazon, Man-of-the-Stars. This is the boulder we use as the test of womanhood for the daughters of Themyscira… And you have passed!"

This drew raucous laughter from the audience as Barbara observed Clark's cheeks turn a deep shade of red. Barbara suddenly realized how strong these Amazons actually were. That boulder had to weigh at least two tons! It had been an honest mistake on Clark's part after all…

Diana then approached Barbara.

"Green-Ring-Sorceress… I have described the Red Demon poorly. We would be eternally honoured if you could use your emerald magic to show the true terror of the one you call Trigon. My sisters are most curious about your magic and also of the appearance of the Red Demon."

Although she couldn't teleport yet, Barbara was fairly confident she could create energy shapes. The dome in Kahndaq had been incredibly easy to make. Focusing her will through her Ring, Barbara recalled the arrogant form of Trigon that had stood before them on the sands of Kahndaq. She also recalled the terrors he had inflicted upon her mind before Raven had pulled her torn psyche from oblivion.

Death would be too kind for that monster…

A green image of Trigon appeared before them, which produced audible gasps from the audience, with many of the Amazon warriors reaching for nearby weapons. Diana quickly calmed her sisters as she explained that this was merely an illusion created by the Green-Ring-Sorceress. Barbara let the image fade, which prompted Diana to whisper into her ear.

"Friend Barbara, show the Demon at his true stature. You cheapen your glory to spare my frightened sisters from nightmares."

"That glory is not mine Princess, but I shall do this to honour your fallen sisters."

Barbara pointed her Ring to the sky and made a two-hundred-foot-tall Trigon appear… The evil, laughing Trigon that had haunted her darkest nightmares. The monster that had destroyed a thousand worlds along with their Green Lantern protectors… including the Green Lantern Abin Sur who had attempted to protect Earth.

This time, there were screams from the younger Amazons as they gazed upon the massive, emerald God of Vengeance. Even Clark had to suppress a shudder as he remembered how close he had come to death at the hand of the Source-fuelled Trigon.

Diana continued her dissertation.

"Behold sisters! Nemesis reborn! The divine daughter of Nyx who became a Demon when she was tricked and slain by the cruel hands of the Sum-of-All-Evils… As the Red Demon called Trigon, Nemesis attempted to extract terrible and blind vengeance upon the stars and Earth for this unholy crime. Just as our own Queen Antiope, the sister of my glorious mother, sought to punish the entire world of men for the crimes of Heracles against the Amazons."

It was an interesting interpretation of what had transpired, and not technically wrong. Barbara supposed that the Gods could be presented as either male or female and Trigon had been the God of Revenge after all, so it was a reasonable explanation that he had been an incarnation of the female Nemesis.

She recalled that Antiope had been the golden-haired sister of Hippolyta who had rallied half of Themyscira to march against Athens - after Heracles and his men had defiled the peaceful Amazons and stolen the Girdle of Gaea. It was this act of extreme vengeance that had led the remaining Amazons to be cursed by the Gods.

And still… Barbara wondered how Diana had been able to learn all this. Raven had not explained Trigon's origins to the Amazon Princess, and Barbara knew that she certainly hadn't. So how had she surmised all of this? Perhaps unbelievable strength wasn't the Amazon Princess's only power…

"And against all of this raging terror, the Green-Ring-Sorceress was able to send Nemesis to deepest Hades with but one single arrow from her Ring! There is a lesson here, my sisters… That even a small, pretty book like this may contain all the wisdom and power needed to save the world.

Indeed, truly we have much to learn. The world of men outside our ancient shores has changed even more than when our Queen last battled in the Great War of Nations. The complexity of their weapons have grown exponentially, so that even Ares himself would not recognize an act of War among them… save for the corpses of a nation spread along its bloodied borders.

Their machinations of war are so lethal that none dare use them, and yet they did. If not for the swift action of the Lightning-Sorceress, man would have destroyed itself before the morning sun rose upon our noble shores.

Even the stony manifestation of the Sum-of-All-Evils brought an army of metal men as vast as the empire of old Greece. Metal men with the power of deadly green and white light. These murderous machines were named Manhunters… Although I assure you, they hunted women just as easily."

As Diana rubbed her now-healed shoulder, there was an easy laughter from the Amazon audience. As she had stated, the physical injury of battle was considered a badge of honour in Themyscira, and Amazons healed very quickly.

To show the spectators what Diana had bravely faced, Barbara created an emerald depiction of Darkseid, flanked by hundreds of Manhunters. Diana herself then recounted every step and strike of her battle with deadly Darkseid, including how the Blade of Perseus had severed his arm but only scratched his stony throat.

The Amazon Princess then told how this army of flying Manhunters had battled other strange Green-Ring-Sorcerers from the stars, while Clark and children of the Old Gods had rallied to their cause… including a dark-haired, beautiful Goddess named Barda, whose own prowess and strength equalled any among them.

Barbara created an image of Barda fighting Darkseid in full Apokoliptian armour which drew collective 'oohs' and 'aahs' from the audience. She wondered if Diana would explain how Clark had saved the Amazonian from the Manhunter beams and later smashed Darkseid to bits.

And to her credit, she did. And more…

"But know this my sisters… There are battles that can never be won by sword and fist. Even as we destroyed the living, stone body of the Sum-of-All-Evils, his malevolent spirit remained unbroken.

It was this angry spirit that shook our homeland this morning and threatened to tear our very world apart. We were fools to believe that any sword, any arrow, or any army could have stopped him…

What sword ever fell the storm? What army ever stood and prevailed against a crumbling earth? What shield ever defended the raging Sea?

No, the greatest among us this day was the scorned daughter of Nemesis… the crimson-skinned Lightning-Sorceress. It was she who pulled the entire army of metal men from the sky with nothing more than a whim. It was this faithful daughter of the Gods who inherited the task of Nemesis. It was she who delivered her final vengeance upon the one who had murdered her divine sire.

She is the greatest among us, the blessed Champion of Selene, Hecate and even ancient Ananke herself… She has the sight of all things seen and unseen, beyond even my own. It was the Lightning-Sorceress who knew the old legends well… allowing the Sum-of-All-Evil's wicked desires to become his final downfall.

Dark-haired Clotho of the Morai and winged Thanatos descended from the heavens above to heed the call of the Lightning-Sorceress… To pronounce the final fate of the Sum-of-All-Evils. To those who would destroy existence, let them first destroy themselves.

Smooth-skinned Thanatos collected the dust of the Evil One and cast it into Styx, while the Lightning-Sorceress herself presented him with this burden. It was the same daughter of Nemesis who brought the three of us back to Themyscira with nothing more than a glance and a wish for us to share with all of you these tales of battle. It is to her that we owe our lives and our shining future…"

Princess Diana suddenly stopped when she saw that every single gaze was suddenly riveted upon the Western Sky behind her. Her awe-struck Amazon sisters were staring in amazement at something magnificent. Theirs were the wondering faces of children once more.

As she turned, Diana saw the incredible spectacle that was now set against the Western Sky.

It was the five of them as... Gods.

Standing triumphantly upon the Western horizon, filling one-half of the entire night sky was Diana, Raven's man, the glorious Lightning-Sorceress, Clark and the powerful Green-Ring-Sorceress. Their heads were above the clouds, and Diana was sure that if this titanic version of her were to stretch out her arm, she could surely touch the moon.

Diana whispered to the small, red-haired woman beside her.

"Green-Ring-Sorceress… You have truly outdone yourself!"

"…I'm not doing this."

Truly, Barbara Gordon had been as shocked as anyone to witness the appearance of these giants across the Western Skies. She felt no fear, only a wave of peace and hope ease over her. These were the Champions of the Earth that would protect them…

All eyes suddenly turned to Queen Hippolyta as she proclaimed...

"The Gods themselves honour your victory over the Sum-of-All-Evils… And my own daughter, the one who followed her proud warrior's heart and not the foolish tears of her mother… She is honoured as the greatest of us all!"

As the tears flowed freely once more down Hippolyta's proud cheeks, Diana rushed to her mother, embracing her passionately. The Princess had been vindicated, acknowledged as the greatest of her tribe, one of the five foretold by Amazonian legend to defeat the Sum-of-All-Evils.

After another quiet moment of reflection, the giants in the Western sky faded, leaving them in awe. The celebration truly began after that, with dusty casks of old wine being brought out and liberally poured to each glass. This was a celebration!

Barbara seldom drank, but this seemed as good a time as any. Through the course of the next hour, she discovered that her fears concerning Clark on this island of beautiful, tall women had been completely unfounded. The Amazons of Themyscira showed no interest in her Man of Steel, even as the wine freely flowed among them.

No, it was "little sister" who was the object of their desires. Barbara had been touched, petted, and groped by more hands than she cared to recall. It was becoming awkward for both herself (and she hoped Clark)…

And she still hadn't learned how to teleport.

Sensing her distress, Princess Diana moved through the crowd and approached the very popular, smaller woman. She did not want her honoured guests to feel pressured.

"You are uncomfortable with the embrace of sisters, Green-Ring-Sorceress."

"… My culture is different than your own, Princess. I'm afraid it does make me a little uncomfortable, but I do not wish to be disrespectful… Truly, I only want to be alone with Clark. And I am very tired…"

Princess Diana drew in her two guests as though she were about to tell them of a great secret…

"My friends, there is a lush paddock atop the waterfall some leagues to the south. It is a difficult climb to attain, but also a lovely spot to reflect and gaze upon the stars. If one were able to fly, that journey would be very quick and it would make an excellent spot to be comfortable…"

The Amazon Princess grinned as she stared upwards, watching the green-and-blue blur suddenly streak and cut across the night sky, fading from her view towards the south.

Half a world away, standing on the southern rim of the Grand Canyon of Arizona were the three figures who would usher in a new era for mankind.

General Tyrexius Johnson had no clear idea of how they had arrived in Arizona just moments ago... He only knew that Wayne's wife had transported them there through darkness, just after the Acting President had laid out his ambitious Justice League plan.

And now, as America's highest-ranking General watched five titanic figures dominate the Western Sky, Tyrexius Johnson finally understood just how much their world had now changed.

Simply put, it wasn't their world anymore.

The Gods had returned to the world.

A moment before, Wayne's wife had transported them to this beautiful, desolate place and spoken a single word to become something… else.

As the boom of thunder echoed from the hundred surrounding canyons, the sudden lightning strike from a clear sky of stars had almost given him a heart attack. But the twin dragons of pure electricity that the lighting strike had birthed made him question his own sanity.

Mrs. Wayne had become something primal and powerful.

After all he had been through, from the mad wars of men to a world of giant red demons and evil stone gods, why should this would even shock him?

But it did…

Because she was there. Because it was happening right in front of him. And it was real.

Twin dragons of electricity coiled around the floating First Lady and transformed Raven Wayne into something red-skinned and powerful, clad in white robes and a short cape with golden tassels.

The First Lady had transformed into a Demon-Goddess before his very eyes.

And the Demon-Goddess had spread the illusion of the five members of Wayne's proposed Justice League as omnipresent figures across the entire western hemisphere, basking the world in power and glory. General Johnson himself suddenly drifted into an ocean of peace and victory…

And he knew that Raven Wayne had done this as well.

She controlled the sight and the heart of each human on this troubled planet.

She was more powerful than all the combined armies of Earth.

Until that moment, as three small silhouettes stood upon a dark and ancient shoreline, a weary Tyrexius Johnson truly believed he had witnessed the most unbelievable events of human history…

A man-from-the-stars named Clark that the government had raised from a boy… to a man who could fly near the speed of light and toss around Abrams tanks as though they were toys. A superhuman force of one that had been placed under his command, who had become the secret lover of the former-President… Lois Lane.

A plutonium/kryptonite atomic bomb that had detonated in Kahndaq by another under his command, Bruce Wayne's ward, Captain Richard Grayson… Killed by an atomic device solely created as nothing more than a deadly trap by the late Lex Luthor for an unsuspecting Clark.

The same Vice-President who would survive an anti-matter blast upon a betrayed White House, launched by a secret conclave of terrorists known as the League of Assassins. Which would prompt President Lex Luthor to begin a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with the League.

And suddenly swear in his most fierce opposition into the role of the Secretary of Defence, if only to learn the secret of Wayne Industries deadly nanites that had been capable of instantly ending human life.

The same madman who had designed robots that were indistinguishable from humans… that had even infiltrated the Pentagon. Which the new, bald President would use to eliminate Bruce Wayne, until Luthor was unexpectedly beaten at his own game…

But not before he revealed the existence of the LexCorp space cannon that could shoot backwards in time. A weapon Bruce Wayne had co-opted to change the Fate of the entire Universe - both with the monster named Trigon and later his evil brother Darkseid.

Trigon… The damned giant, red demon who had transported the entire population of Bialya to the Moon, where their frozen corpses floated even now. Trigon, who had terrorized the entire world with his omnipotent power, but none more than Bruce and Raven.

The same crimson daughter who was the First Lady. The same Raven Wayne who had calmed her husband's city this morning by teleporting four hundred thousand Gothamites back to their homes and made them sleep…

And now, all seven billion people on this planet felt what Raven wished them to feel.

Johnson realized that she could have easily torn nations apart by instilling rage and hatred into its people now. She could have caused mass suicides by driving the people of the world into unrelenting fear and depression. Entire armies could have been turned against one another - if she only wished it to be.

Her destructive father had once said that he could have the people of Earth tear their world apart without even lifting a finger. It would be no more difficult for his daughter. But she did not.

She was Hope.

Pure, Beautiful, Hope.

And how fortunate they all had been that she was.

As the five visions of world-peace faded into the dark, General Johnson grasped the merits of Bruce's proposal for the Justice League. Wayne was right. The League was just too damned big to be tied to any nation on Earth. They had to be an independent government, prepared to defend the Earth from future extraterrestrial threats and also ambassadors for their world to the Galaxy.

Wayne had suggested that the Justice League be stationed in the tragic murder scene that was the CERN satellite - still orbiting the Earth. Wayne Industries would gladly transport all equipment from the satellite back to Earth and install new equipment for the League's use.

Bruce had even thought of a name for the repurposed CERN space station…

The Watchtower.

From their headquarters in space, the League would offer assistance to the nations of Earth whenever they could… but only upon invitation and only at the discretion of their members. The Justice League would not interfere with the politics of the world below, but would offer its helping hand to all of humanity when asked. It would be a shining beacon of hope in the skies above.

General Johnson gazed at the President and his First Lady with newfound admiration.

The crimson Goddess had clasped the hand of Bruce Wayne the entire time. He was her anchor to humanity. They had silently stood there, simply staring at he western horizon as giant reflections appeared the entire world over, spreading a wave of hope across the collective soul of humanity.

And through it all, they appeared as nothing more than a young married couple watching the sunset holding hands.

But this was not the sunset.

It was the dawn of a new frontier.

"Mr. President… I would like to personally thank both you and your wife for all that you have done for our country, and the entire world. I would also like to assure you that I will do everything in my power to ensure your Justice League plan comes to fruition. After watching this, I agree wholeheartedly with everything you've said."

With one clear blue eye, Bruce Wayne still stared ahead at the stars of the western sky, a mortal man clasping the hand of the Goddess he loved.

"Thank you, Tyrexius… You've been a true friend and a tribute to our country."

"Still… Damned shame you won't be running for President, Wayne. I think you'd be a shoe-in and a real departure from those self-serving bureaucrats we're currently saddled with."

Bruce grinned.

"Our destiny lies in the stars, old friend… And that's where I'll be."

"Well, for what it's worth, it's been an honour serving under you, Sir... But I have the feeling we'll be working together again."

"Let's hope it's under better circumstances, Tyrexius... I don't think I could survive another week like that last one."

"…Nor I," added Raven as she smiled at her husband. Bruce had never realized it before, but her amber eyes actually glowed in the dark. "You had better stand back, my love. I must return to my human form before my consciousness drifts to the worlds beyond our own."

Having watched her brilliant (and somehow incredibly sexy) transformation into the Champion of Magic, Bruce Wayne knew well enough to step back. He wasn't sure what magical lightning would do to a human, but Bruce didn't want to find out either. He had no desire to be struck by lightning of any kind after the pounding he had taken from the Manhunter beams…

"Shazam!"

With a loud crack and a blinding flash, the sudden transformation left a tired Raven kneeling upon the stone plateau of the Grand Canyon. Wisps of smoke spiralled upwards into the night from her smouldering robe.

What had seemed an inconsequential effort for a Goddess resulted in extreme exhaustion for a human. This was one of the reasons why Bruce had insisted that his wife eat beforehand. The stamina of a New God was far greater than any human.

As Bruce gazed reverently upon his recovering wife, the tingling sensation that had been aggravating his right eye socket grew in intensity. It couldn't have been the smoke emanating from Raven's robes, because there was no eye remaining to bother.

Had he developed an infection after the operation?

Carefully running his fingers under his eye patch to examine this strange, new tingling sensation, Bruce Wayne encountered a strange bump he had never expected to feel again…

His right eye.

Suddenly tearing off the eye patch, Bruce rubbed, squinted, blinked and focused the new eye… He had both eyes again!

He stood in utter shock, gazing across the majestic Grand Canyon, and then at his wife who had stood up directly in his line of sight. A beaming Raven placed two gentle human hands upon his unbelieving cheeks, and kissed him passionately and fully on the mouth, taking his breath away…

She had given him back his lost eye as Champion!

Withdrawing from the kiss that had shaken him and spread the tingling sensation all over his body, Raven's violet eyes were now reflected in his own blue eyes…

"I prefer you with two eyes, my love."

Author's Notes:

Bruce has both eyes again! I can rationalize this by explaining that the massive infusion of Source energy that Raven dosed her husband with ten hours ago still radiated within him. Using the magic of Hecate, Raven was able to channel that remaining Source energy to replace Bruce's lost eye. Or I could just say that she's ridiculously powerful as the Champion. Take your pick.

There won't be another update for awhile (as I'm on vacation next week), but when I'm back, we'll finally start the last series of chapters… entitled "Happy Endings".

See if you can guess the Birthday present that Raven has arranged for Bruce.