The Second Age of Heroes

by Black' Victor Cachat

Diana: "People said the Age of Heroes would never come again." Bruce: "It has to. We don't have any more time!" After a pause and visible reluctance, Diana finally said, "I may know of two more warriors." Trapped on another world, and away from the ocean, Percy and Annabeth are retired. But then aliens invade...

8. Battle for Gotham, Part 2

I do not own Percy Jackson or Justice League, or any of the media attached to either of them.

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Beta read by the wonderful VixenRose1996 and MasterQwertster.

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The Second Age of Heroes

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Chapter 8: Battle for Gotham, Part 2

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This story now has a TvTropes page! Thanks guys! :-D

Google: tvtropes fanfic the second age of heroes

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For readers, I recommend AO3 for this chapter, as the spacing comes off better. Link available on the TvTropes page.

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Steppenwolf staggered back in disbelief, barely keeping the presence of mind not to crush his fragile hostage.

The Amazon also stopped in shock at the sight of the figure wrapped in golden light.

"Ascension!?"

-X/\X/\X-

—Fire devoured her flesh, its smoke stabbing at her eyes—

—A girl with black hair stood alongside a blonde boy, twin pairs of blue eyes shining bright—

A pair of stormy grey eyes opened

—Pain just like, wait—

—I'm sorry for your loss, whispered a man with four legs. Face grave and consoling—

Distantly she took in the white space around her

—Who am I!?—

—A boy smiling mischievously with those sea-green eyes—

Raising her hand, she looked at the sword she carried within her bloody palm

The red flecked with gold

—What am I!?—

—The weight of the world upon her shoulders, crushing her body and soul—

Flashes of memory as she recalled the woman she had thought its owner

How her fingers would touch it

But not as a precaution like she assumed

—War and death, children lying dead around her—

—Staring at her arms and seeing the cells explode—

—The blond boy from before stabbing himself while her vision blurred—

The name of it whispered to her:

The Sword of Athena

—Why do know I what those are and not my name!?—

—The boy with green eyes offered to a better life where she could not follow—

Here, unlike there, a Symbol of Power

Surviving past the goddess herself

An empty throne left waiting and unfilled

Until connecting with one of the right blood

—Why does it hurt!?—

—Huge figures looming over her—

Of course, it was killing her as well

—Pain! —

—A multi-limbed monster coming out of the darkness when she couldn't move—

The pain coursing through her was muted

Some other part of her writhing under it

Threatening to overwhelm her

—Make it stop!—

—Stumbling blind through the darkness while the air burned her lungs, calling for someone—

The power of a god pouring through a body never meant for it

Burning her up

—Please!—

—War and death all around her—

Seconds in the outer world, who knows how long here

And she would explode

I can save you.

She turned to see a woman with eyes like hers

Older, regal, clad in fine armour

Let me help you, she said, offering her hand.

You're Athena

Yes, my daugh—

No

I—what?

No, she repeated with flat finality.

—Life with a family—

You dare!

I don't care if you're a figment of my imagination

A figment of the Athena I knew

Or a figment this world's Athena

—Reclaiming the family she had thought did not want her—

You're nothing without me!

I don't need you anymore

I've learnt I never really did

—Finding a partner to stand by her—

You'll die without me!

This godless world will burn under something much worse than you can imagine!

There's always another way

She looked at her arms, the power destroying her from within

No

Changing her with her body unable to adjust

—Casting the mother of spiders into the abyss—

Your hubris knows no bounds!

Reaching out with her will, she worked to adjust it

Trial and error as her body burst apart

A sensation of organs failing

All the pain bleeding through now

Golden energy fighting to tear her apart

—Emerging together from what should have killed her and him again and again—

Your precious husband will die!

Die cursing your weakness!

She laughed

Long and rich

And took control of the reigns

—"All I'm saying is the most powerful demigod of our generation is sitting right here, and it isn't me."—

—And he was looking at her—

You're delusional!

The coursing power evened out under her will

The energy changing her shifted as she directed it properly

Recreating what had been lost

Building her up properly in a way not destructive

You can't!

What are you!?

Relief erupted as she passed through the pain

—A thousand memories amongst strawberry fields—

—Laughing as a toddler ran up to her, babbling "Anna, Anna, Anna!"—

—The simple warmth of a sunset—

—The smell of books—

—"I do."—

—Designing buildings for her company—

—A line of friends she mourned, but would not forget—

—The feeling of a familiar warm body lying beside her in bed, whispering her name—

A little girl with blonde hair stood before her

Wide-eyed and innocent, unsure of what the world would bring

Yet determined to meet it head-on

The girl closed her eyes grinning widely

—I am Annabeth Jackson-Chase—

—I've learnt to craft my own destiny—

—

-X\/X\/X-

A pillar of golden light erupted out of the city.

Throwing aside the clouds and smoke, and letting the dawn wash over the war-torn city.

Driving the battered corolla for all he was worth, Percy hunched forward to stare at it through the glare of the newfound sun.

"Annabeth," he whispered.

-X/\X/\X-

The world snapped into focus for Annabeth to see Steppenwolf swing his axe at her face.

Her arm snapped up so the flat of her sword took the blow even as she kicked off to ride the strike. Spinning backwards to land gracefully on her feet.

Without even looking she knew her black fatigues and gear were gone, and she wore a shining white pantsuit identical to the Versace set she had worn to the grand opening of Estelle Designs, and her and Percy's second honeymoon. Overtop was golden armour, and an old-fashioned Greek helmet with slits for her eyes and a vertical one for her mouth and nose.

The alien snarled at her, yet he moved as if in slow-motion.

He was not though, as her new mind processed the slightest shifts of his body —the twitch of his eye, the tension on his hands and face, even his body under that armour— hundreds of times faster than it had before, and interpreted it all. Everything he was unintentionally telegraphing laid out for her like a diagram to show exactly where Steppenwolf is going to be, and what he will be doing.

Is this how Flash sees the world?

"This changes nothing!" he hissed, and it was weird how that sounded when she was like this.

Ignoring him, Annabeth turned to Wonder Woman.

"Just so you know, I'm keeping your sword."

The older goddess laughed, and hefted the drakon-bone blade which she had grabbed in turn. "I'll miss it. It's a good blade. But I'm satisfied if I can keep yours."

"Deal."

Wroth, Steppenwolf shook the child whose head rested between his claws. Too terrified now to even cry. "I still—"

"Have your hostage," interrupted Annabeth in a bored tone. "You kill him, we kill you. You try and go for another hostage, you'll find they've all gotten away by now, so you'll have to outrun us. And if you're willing to kill a hostage out of pettiness, then there's no really saving them, is there?"

Wonder Woman's eyes widened in horror and disbelief, yet Annabeth could see it plain as day how her words resonated with the alien. With his twisted ideals. The assumption that in becoming a goddess, one who had been so 'weak' before would embrace a philosophy similar to his.

"Tell me of Darkseid. What does he have to offer?"

Steppenwolf frowned in suspicion, unable to tell if this was a trap. His devotion won out. "He—"

It was a delight to see, and one day Annabeth would have to sketch it out.

Almost too fast for even herself, Flash punched the palm of Steppenwolf's hand, the pressure sparking nerves in a desperate gamble as massive fingers loosened for a millisecond.

All the time in the world for a speedster to grab the kid.

His precious cargo in hand, Flash ran off at safer speeds for his precious cargo, while Annabeth leapt forward.

Bellowing in fury, Steppenwolf knocked her back, only to have to switch focus to Wonder Woman, parrying the Amazon's slashes.

Despite her sudden enhancements, Annabeth could not help the stab of irritation at the deficiencies they came with.

For starters, while her perception speed had skyrocketed to the point she saw the world in slow motion, it was so great that despite being comparably as strong and fast as Wonder Woman meant she could not move to match it. Not like Flash or Superman's bodies were adapted for and synchronised with their minds. Filtering out the input to prevent sensory overload was also critical.

Secondly, it was evident that the gods of this world differed from the ones back home. Immortality, incredibly powerful physical bodies, and staggering abilities, yes. Being capable of warping reality and only constrained by laws of the Fates, no.

Not that she disparaged her newfound enhancements, nor would she pass up on using them to their fullest.

Taking advantage of Steppenwolf's eight-foot frame, Annabeth rolled under his clash with Wonder Woman, and as he adjusted his footing she thrust herself up while using her grip on his leg as leverage. Shocked, he slammed down onto his back. Twisting while still holding her sword in one hand, she grabbed onto the behemoth's other leg between hers to lock him down. Spines cut into her flesh, yet she knew he was panicking as Wonder Woman attacked him from above.

Even as he writhed under her, from the sounds and wind pressure Annabeth could interpret how the fight was going. The clang of metal upon metal, sparks flying, and Steppenwolf very much out of his comfort zone.

The instant she heard Wonder Woman being hit with a minimal threshold of force she let go and jumped back to the Amazon. There was blood upon her sword, and the alien was missing two fingers on his left hand.

"Shall we?" asked Wonder Woman.

"You lead."

Releasing a war cry, the other woman did just that, with Annabeth right behind her. They stepped into a dance of blades and flesh as they pushed Steppenwolf back, perfectly harmonised.

Or rather, after seeing Wonder Woman fight so much, Annabeth could predict her every move, and synchronise herself to that.

Perfectly coordinated so one was always attacking to force Steppenwolf to keep his guard tight and unable to risk countering.

Sparks showered from his armour, raising his unease as now he knew they could get through it.

He took a standing leap back several metres, while Annabeth snapped, "Lasso!" having read that motion.

The second Steppenwolf's foot hit the ground he leapt back towards them with a wide-swing. Instead of cleaving the women in two, they ducked under and hit him with a clothesline manoeuvre via the mystical Lasso of Hestia.

Grunting he adjusted so he fell onto one knee, but was attacked from the right and left, trying to fend off Annabeth with his axe, while one swing of his arm was barely keeping Wonder Woman at bay as spikes flew off his armour. Merciless they kept him from standing up, denying him footwork and momentum, and most of all pinning him between two lethal threats.

He swung wide in a circle to push them back, yet without any of his usual grace. Purely brute strength, with none of the total conservation of motion he had previously demonstrated behind every punishing blow.

Even as their foe rushed onto his feet, Wonder Woman fell back so Annabeth could see her out of the corner of her peripherals, and winked.

Then the Amazon closed her eyes in concentration.

Annabeth disappeared from sight.

Oh. Yes.

The buzz of anticipation mixing gloriously with the sheer surprise of it all. That with her vastly expanded intellect she could still be surprised.

Except for Percy of course. She knew that his wild emotions would continue to deliciously amaze and flabbergast her.

Steppenwolf's eyes widened in horror, and then he found himself blindly fighting back against a hurricane of invisible cuts and thrusts.

A stab to the gouge in his armour reopened the wound Wonder Woman had originally dealt, spraying more blood.

More scratches to his armour layered upon each other, deeper and deeper.

And once she had led him around by the nose thinking he knew what her plan was, she cut off the fingers holding his axe.

It slipped through his non-existent grasp, and as he reached for it with his other hand she kicked his weapon flying.

Screaming, he threw himself forward arms out-stretched—

A punch sent him digging a trench through the ground.

The invisibility snapped off of Annabeth, and they found Superman standing behind them. Face a beacon of pure wrath, fist still outstretched.

Instead of his signature blue and red suit, he now wore a plaid shirt and jeans. Somehow looking just as impressive and regal. Despite their rough appearance, they fit him comfortably.

"Sorry I'm late," he said, guilt clear on his face.

"There's no shame in needing to get your head on straight. You did just come back from the dead, after all," said Annabeth, cutting off those thoughts of his. There had always been the odd camper or resident of New Rome who felt she and Percy should keep fighting and doing Quests despite all they had already endured. "How are you physically?"

"Not one hundred percent," he admitted, a touch of relief and gratitude on his features now. "I meant to go recharge myself before finding out why Batman brought me back. Guess now I know."

"And it is good to have you back, Kal-El," said Wonder Woman softly, joy dancing in her eyes. "You've been missed."

Snarling, Steppenwolf stood up, yet it was plain as day upon his face he knew it was over.

"He can teleport," snapped Annabeth. "Keep him moving."

Without further ado, Superman uppercut Steppenwolf flying, and then soared up to smash him back down to Earth.

The ground rumbled, and then Superman straddled the would-be conqueror, and saw red as the heat of a sun burst from him, frying off armour.

It was a complete and utter reversal of circumstances and power, and Annabeth could only marvel at the might the simply-dress man unleashed. Not at the strength itself, but the unrelenting self-control with which he must walk through the world each and every day.

Mustering the last of his strength, Steppenwolf sent out a desperate cry to those Parademons he had left protecting the Mother Boxes. "Hide them! Put them somewhere safe!"

The last thing he saw were the two goddesses bringing their swords down to execute him.

-X\/X\/X-

Batman threw his last explosive at a single Parademon, and leapt behind a dumpster to avoid being roasted by enemy fire.

They had wrecked his own rifle minutes ago, and he had not been able to acquire another.

He was lagging while the bugs seemed tireless, except he was not done yet.

Snagging two razor-sharp batarangs from his belt, he rolled out and charged, gambling surprise would compensate for tiredness and no more smoke bombs.

Blue and red shots incinerated the insects.

Blinking, he turned to see a small mob making their way to him. Dimly he catalogued several as members of the police department or criminal elements, plus a few soldiers. At their head were Commissioner Gordon and Cyborg. The latter's previously pristine appearance half-charred and outright melted in places. He was also releasing a spray to extinguish the fires, while others pitched in with everything from common fire extinguishers to what looked like looted bags of cat litter.

Batman hoped they grabbed the non-flammable kind.

"Looks like I surprised you this time," quipped Gordon with a smirk.

A huff of laughter escaped Batman, and he gave an exhausted nod.

Wearily he addressed Cyborg, "What's the situation?"

Any report was cut off at a honking noise, and a battered Corolla could be seen in the distance, coming to a stop with a whining sound recognisable as a battered fuel tank pushed past its limit.

Visibly drained despite the mask he was in the midst of yanking back on, Percy pulled himself out of the car.

His gear was in tatters, more like scraps of cloth and hanging metal he had not gotten to just tearing off, and still dripping wet. Scars littered his muscular frame, and half-weeping cuts were all over. Despite this and his evident exhaustion, he retained a surety of purpose and his intimidating presence, so they assumed he was fine. Mostly fine. Adrenaline or no, nobody could walk that confidently unless they actually meant it.

. . . Probably.

"You guys okay?" sputtered Detective Harvey Bullock.

"I'm fine," said Percy with a weak wave.

"Fine!?"

"You look worse than me," said Cyborg flatly. "Sit down."

"Okay, I'll be fine." At their judgemental stares, Percy added with a touch more energy, "Seriously, this is pretty much what I do; throw myself headfirst at an army. The only difference from my usual is that this time I wasn't also waving my arms and yelling, 'Look at me, I'm a distraction!' and all that."

"Kid," said Detective Bullock, "you doing okay?"

Ignoring him, Percy looked back in the car, and said, "No, pull that. Not that. Higher. To your right. Right. Noyou can't just rip off the door. Because these fine police officers know this is my car. Law enforcement."

A few cops and crooks snickered at the exchange, and the heroes pointedly did not press the matter. Or look at the fist sized hole in the side-window right over where the lock was.

After an interval, Mera figured it out, and escaped their ride. Unlike Percy, her injuries were bandaged up, and by materials from Bruce's personal stash by the looks of things. Presumably because she was less used to throwing herself 'headfirst at an army.'

Nothing too serious though by the looks of things, and with another glance at the demigod his wounds were rapidly and visibly scabbing over. So they were both probably fine then.

Oh, and part of her mask was missing, revealing traces of her pale, feminine face.

Deciding to intervene before they got sidetracked by Percy's health again despite his reassurances, Batman asked, "Waterfront secure?"

Through the eye holes, Percy blinked in confusion as his brain struggled with the question, while Mera made an awkward noise and looked away.

"Waterfront. Yes," managed Percy. "It's uh, secure."

Batman waited.

"Okay, so maybe there's not really a harbour left, and it's clogged with dead bodies, but it's not in enemy hands so that's what counts.

A few curses escaped Gordon's companions, while the older man just nodded resignedly. "Survivors?"

"Got as many as we could across the bay to Metropolis."

"Good. That's what matters. We can always rebuild."

Clearly Wayne Enterprises was going to have to buy up a few construction companies. Fortuitously, he knew a talented architect who might have some suggestions. And, on the bright side, this was finally the excuse Wayne Enterprises needed to push for an aggressive 'Clean up the harbour' program.

Turning back to Cyborg, Batman saw the young man staring into space before he returned from the digital world with a look of amazement. "I think that's the last of them," he said.

"You're sure?" asked Batman, because he had to say it. Everyone else was tensely silent in disbelief it was actually over.

In answer, Cyborg's middle lens lit up. "This was just sent by our . . . guy in the chair from a CTV camera."

He projected an image of what was clearly Superman from an angle preserving his secret identity, and two warrior woman, standing over a decapitated Steppenwolf.

A beat, and cheers of excitement and laughs of relief erupted from everyone.

To Commissioner Gordon, no, Jim, Batman offered his hand, and the head cop pulled him into a full-hug.

Percy and Cyborg exchanged a fist-bump, and Mera delicately aped it.

Still chortling, Detective Bullock also pulled Percy into a bear-hug, and then passed him his pyjama top, keeping the bullet-proof vest. A lady who usually did break-ins offered Mera a new ski-mask.

Then the demigod said, "I lost my radio . . . at some point. Can somebody call to ask why my wife's got a costume change?"

-X/\X/\X-

The first thing Annabeth did after dispatching Steppenwolf and taking a breath of relief, was start to think about what to do about her sword.

While the temptation to use the alien's armour or even his axe as raw materials was tempting, she did not want to take the risk of some residual taint she missed. Her previous attire and gear had also been fried. Sensing her conundrum, or at least part of it, Wonder Woman offered her the sheath the Sword of Athena had previously rested within, only for Annabeth to shake her head. "I need something different."

"People need our help," Superman gently chastised, clearly itching to get moving.

"Needs doing," grunted Annabeth, not wanting to delay this. Conscious of how many people might be dying of their wounds while they could still be saved, she urged him, "Go on ahead."

He hesitated though, clearly unsure of what to make of her, and she did not push the matter.

The man's life had been turned inside-out already, and right now she was calculating and computing all the many different ways how growing up alone as seemingly the sole person alive with inhuman powers may have shaped him. How he would be impacted by meeting more of those who were 'other' like him. She had caught for instance how he eyed her as if able to tell they were both processing the world and thinking at similar speeds. Although she suspected that mentally she outpaced him.

Spying a tree planted in the sidewalk as a forlorn decoration, she crossed the distance to it in .086 seconds. A beat to confirm there was no spirit inhabiting it —highly unlikely, if not something to take for granted— and she ripped off a branch. Tearing off a sleeve, the fabric unwove itself in her hand.

Hands blurring she used the sword itself to awkwardly carve the wood into a sheath, while weaving the thread into and around it. As well as tendrils of her own power and intent.

"Goddess of Crafts," said Wonder Woman in awe.

"Goddess of Construction," corrected Annabeth distractedly.

Finished, Annabeth stabbed her blade into its new home, and staggered as her mind braked hard.

"Annabeth?" said Wonder Woman in concern, reaching out to brace her.

Gritting her teeth, Annabeth shook her head. "I shunted the bulk of my new intelligence into my sword. My mind was enhanced. Too much. I'm back to normal now." Experimentally she reached down to a battered car, and casually hefted it a metre off the ground. "That's still good though."

"Ah," said Wonder Woman in understanding. "You didn't want to be so much more intelligent that it actually imperilled your judgement."

With a huff, Annabeth confessed, "My Fatal Flaw is Pride. Hubris. Being more brilliant than anyone else on top of that might not be an issue in the beginning, but if I got too complacent with it, too addicted . . ." She shrugged, knowing she did not have to elaborate.

Satisfied, she turned to Superman. "Now I'm good."

Flash appeared beside them, looking as haggard as he was determined. He side-eyed Steppenwolf's corpse with more relief than satisfaction. "Oh thank goodness that's over! Ah, wait, can you . . . cut it off. His head. Just to be sure."

In a blur, Wonder Woman obliged as she realised he had a very good point.

"Great work keeping everybody away," praised Annabeth.

"No problem."

He then touched his cowl, and Wonder Woman twitched her head to indicate they were listening to their coms.

"That's the last of the aliens," said Superman to her, relief evident. Clearly he could overhear the radio.

"Good. Name's Annabeth by the way," she offered her hand, and he accepted it with a grin. "Annabeth Jackson-Chase."

"Clark Kent."

"We'll have to catch up later. In the meantime, do you have a suit around?"

His chin twitched in a shallow nod, and he was gone.

As was Flash, with Wonder Woman saying, "Tell Percy that Annabeth's okay. She . . ." With a pause, she glanced at the newfound goddess, who gestured at her to go ahead. "She became a goddess to help defeat Steppenwolf. She's fine though, and we can talk later. Where do you want us to go to help out?"

A beat, and Wonder Woman took off, Annabeth right beside her.

"This will take some getting used to," marvelled Wonder Woman.

"Yes, yes it will," acknowledged Annabeth. "But less than you think. If nothing else, we're adaptable. And it's not important right now."

-X\/X\/X-

After flying around extinguishing fires, Cyborg could not deny himself the urge to stop by the ruins of what had been his home.

A few surviving keepsakes and family mementos, including a picture of himself and his parents, were put into a bag. By some miracle though, what he cared about most had survived intact.

Holding his hand over the pieces of broken tape recorder, they shook for a moment before being drawn to his palm and reassembling themselves back to the way it was before he crushed it in his grip. Raging at the man's apparent presumption.

Now . . .

He clicked it. "Your father twice over." Cyborg rewound it, and after a brief hesitation started again.

"Now, let me speak to you from my heart, not as a scientist, as a father." Dr. Silas Stone chuckled from beyond the grave. "Your father twice over. I brought you into the world and back to it. You can't imagine how proud I am of who you are. Have always been."

His father chuckled again more softly, meanwhile Victor took flight, scanning for heat signatures to make sure no one was trapped in buildings.

Despite his grim work, an irrepressible smile escaped him at the pride in his old man's voice as he finally heard the words he had always yearned for.

"So many years with you I wasted. So many wrongs I've left un-righted."

-X/\X/\X-

"Everything breaks, Victor. Everything changes."

Looking up from where she was changing dresses from a store into warm blankets, Annabeth saw a fully healed Percy running up to her. A laugh escaped her at how he wore a blue pyjama top with yellow duckies on it.

They embraced one another, relieved they were each alive.

A long, wordless moment passed between them, and then they turned back to helping others.

With a wave, Percy drew water up from puddles on the ground, and purified it into drinking water.

"The world is hurt. Broken. Unexchangeable."

-X\/X\/X-

"But the world's not fixed in the past, only the future. The not yet. The now."

Feeling a new gaze upon him, Batman turned away from where he had been applying compression bandages to a woman's burns, to see Superman floating down beside him. Resplendent and inspiring in his new costume of black and silver he had retrieved from the crashed Kryptonian ship.

An endless moment passed between them, and the Man of Steel offered his hand while bearing a large, warm smile. A gesture which the Dark Knight gladly reciprocated.

Off to the side, while helping out a man with broken arms take his insulin shot, Wonder Woman shot the two men a fond smile.

-X/\X/\X-

"The now is you."

Reassured that everyone had been safely cleared out of his search grid, Flash then took the time to snap up all the alien weaponry littered about. They would get the bodies next so nobody could misuse any of them.

Also figure out how to dispose of them before they found out the hard way what sort of funky alien diseases they carried.

-X\/X\/X-

"Now. Now's your time, Victor, to rise."

With a mighty heave, Mera put her shoulder under a collapsed roof high enough for a fireman to reach in and pull out a small figure. Then another.

After putting it down, the sobbing mother hugged the princess, who weakly patted her on the back.

-X/\X/\X-

"Do this. Be this. The man I never was. The hero you are. Take your place among the brave ones. The ones that were, that are, that are yet to be."

The Parademons carrying the last two Mother Boxes screeched in terror as Superman and Cyborg landed decisively before them, striding forward with unflinching determination.

-X\/X\/X-

"It's time you stand, fight, discover, heal, love, win."

Percy and Mera exchanged a hug within a sewer pipeline, the Atlantic Ocean visible through the end. Afterwards, Annabeth gave one to the Atlantean as well.

Flash zipped up, and Mera reached over to embrace him. As they pulled away, she offered him a fist-bump which he bashfully shared.

Then without another word, Mera picked up the Atlantean Mother Box, and dived out into the waters below.

-X/\X/\X-

"The time is now."

Dawn was peeking through the blinds as a new day arrived. Over twenty-four hours had passed since Alfred's panicked call for them to turn around. As the sun trickled in, it illuminated the exhausted heroes slumped across the furniture of Bruce Wayne's Glass House sitting room just by the front door.

They stank of sweat, and were covered in grime, and yet none had the energy to take a shower. Not even their resident Water Bender could muster the energy to give them all a quick wipe.

"We did good work," said Diana softly, lying upon the couch she had claimed with all the implacability of her warrior culture. Her armour was discarded at her feet, and she had thrown a large t-shirt over her sports bra and hotpants.

"Back at it tomorrow," grunted Bruce from his favourite armchair, still in his suit minus the cowl, boots, and gloves.

Barry had just collapsed face down onto the soft rug before the fireplace, automatically shoving food from a platter into his mouth. He was particularly rank, and had needed help getting out of his armour, and into sweat pants and a hoodie. "Youth mean toothday," he got out, glancing pointedly at the wall clock.

"Hrmph," said Percy from where he and Annabeth were on the other couch. Enjoying her new strength, she had tucked him under one arm and carried him there and was now using him as an impromptu blanket. Her armour was gone, leaving her in her torn yet still pure white suit.

Unruffled and unrepentantly Percy snuggled into her, dressed the same as Barry. "Finish your mouthful," he said flatly.

"Yes," said Annabeth for them both, and the others could not tell if she was addressing Bruce or Percy's comments. Still rubbing Percy's back, she drew in a deep breath. "And, if you need us again . . . don't be afraid to call."

"Glad to hear," said Bruce with a wry grin.

"You get smug, imma paint your costume pink," grumbled Percy.

A snicker escaped Diana and Barry, and Bruce just huffed.

"In all seriousness, though," said Bruce. "We probably will need you again. Steppenwolf was sent here by someone else. They'll come and try again. We'll need to be ready."

"Mood-kill, but true," grunted Barry. "You said they had ships before."

"I did," acknowledged Diana with deeper tiredness. "Still, that's twice we've repelled them. Today, yesterday, we won where no one else has. That's nothing to forget."

Alfred chose that moment to appear, nearly as haggard as they were. "Master Victor called," he said. "He and Master Clark successfully destroyed the two Mother Boxes as planned."

"Yay," said Barry, raising a thumb's up. "Didn't even need Mt. Doom."

Percy chuckled into the nape of Annabeth's neck, before going on in mock-self-pity, "Honey, nobody uses my plans. They're making fun of me."

"There, there, Dear," she said, stroking his hair.

"By the way," and Barry turned his head around to look up at Annabeth, "any chance of the rest of us ascending?"

"No," said Annabeth ruefully, having anticipated this. "Not unless there's something else Diana's not telling me."

With a weak yet theatrical groan, Diana threw an arm over her head. "I told you! It was obvious you were uncomfortable talking about your mother, so I didn't want to bring up how I was using her counterpart's sword until it was less awkward. I didn't know that would happen."

"Was what happened more or less awkward?" teased Barry.

"Just as well," said Bruce dryly. "If you'd given it to her in my Cave, there'd have been a hole through the roof of my ceiling. Every ceiling."

They all chuckled as best as they could, and Annabeth continued. "Even if we could replicate the factors involved, this universe doesn't need gods to keep the universe functioning. And it's not what it's cracked up to be."

Percy's grip around her visibly tightened, and she blew chidingly on his ear. When he loosened, she regarded the others and said, "Think of me as less of a goddess, and more someone who has reached a different point in Human development. And not even permanently either. For now, we need me to have these advantages, but I've no intention of living forever while Percy grows old."

The unspoken implication fell heavily over the room, and they understood now why her husband was upset.

He gave up immortality out of love, realised Diana. Now's he faced with the prospect that the one he loves will give up immortality to die with him.

Annabeth smiled apologetically, while still managing to make clear she was not going to speak of it any more.

"Well, that's not for today," said Bruce firmly, closing his eyes. "Alfred, make sure you get some rest too."

"Yes, Master Bruce. Oh, and it might interest you to know that the public's got a name for your little group now. They're saying one of you identified yourselves as the 'Justice League'?

"Oh wow," said Flash was suspicious quickness even for him. "That's a horrible name. Which one of you came up with it?"

They all turned to give him flat looks.

"What?"

Percy sniggered, and then chortled, and finally howled with laughter, and soon they all joined in the same, from Bruce to Alfred.

This was the sight welcoming their final two members as they popped in.

"What'd we miss?" asked Clark.

"The beginning of a new future," grinned Victor. "Now, what's so funny?"

-X\/X\/X-

Author Notes:

It was idle curiosity which led me to this path for Annabeth. Making plans for this story, and looking up Wonder Woman's sword to see if there was anything special to it to use for the Amazon, and discovering it was called the Sword of Athena!? Well, there was no way I could pass up on using that, now could I? From there, my plans for Annabeth only evolved.

I sprinkled in a few clues about the sword in the previous chapters, although only a few of you seemed to catch them.

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Whatever you may think of the Flash film, if you have not seen the Snyder Cut thus far, I recommend you at least look on YouTube for Flash and Cyborg's big scenes at the end in it. It was a real shame for me to have to cut them out. Alas, they are not the focus of this story.

-X-

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