Ending 3 part 2:
Six months later:
The Invasion, or the Dark War, as the media had branded it after the death tolls outweighed both world wars combined, left changes to their world that would never quite be fixed. Everywhere the heroes were deployed, signs of the destruction still stood out among the rebuilt homes and repaired roads. Graveyards filled to the brim with fresh tombstones, craters still roped off until they could be filled in, alien tanks and gear left to rot, all reminders of what they had survived.
Still, it wasn't all bad. The people of Earth had proven once again that in the face of a greater enemy, they could unite. The restoration efforts pulled people together, not only in the same countries, but internationally. The decades-long conflict between the Relasias entered a cease fire as the countries saw to their losses and aided each other in the reconstruction of the wall between them. The UN worked night and day to find solutions to the damages left, each country offering aid and support and accepting the same from others. Even within smaller communities, people were nicer, more connected.
Mallory walked up to the house, the familiar elements slightly different, but the new normal. Her dad's plant shelf he had been so proud of still stood on the front porch, making her smile as she rapped her knuckles on the fresh coat of white paint. It swung open before she hit it a third time, and her heart skipped a beat at the face that replaced the wood.
"Hey, you're early," Wally said.
She smiled, still getting used to having her friend back. She gave him a hug, holding on a second longer than she would have for anyone else. "Yeah, the realtor is showing the apartment today, so I can't be in it."
"Oh, that's right." He started to lead her down the hall of her childhood home. "I was making a sandwich, you want one?"
She smirked, pulling out a chair and eying his fifteen layer monstrosity. "I'm good, thanks." She grabbed a pickle slice off the jar lid as he took a bite.
He'd continued to age in the speed force, and with all the time he'd spent in there, he'd absorbed so much of the energy that he'd come out faster than Barry ever was. But that also meant he was more hungry than he ever was, so the kitchen was always a mess with the products of his weird snacks. Brucely trotted into the room and licked up a ketchup spill, sniffing Mallory briefly to make sure she didn't have anything for him before settling at Wally's feet, waiting for more spills.
"Artemis will be down in a minute, she's rearranging the closet from what I unpacked."
She chuckled, nodding. "Yeah, sounds about right. How long did it take you to do it? Two seconds?"
"Five," he replied indignantly, a grin poking through the mock face, "I took my time on it."
When Wally came back, Artemis decided it was time to move out of Roy's house, and Elaine decided it was time for her to find a smaller house, one that didn't hold so many memories. She'd sold it to the couple for a fraction of what she could have gotten, telling Wally that she was just glad it was staying in the family. They'd been living there for a month, but they still weren't fully settled in yet, mostly because Artemis kept having to redo what Wally did.
The archer came down the stairs just as the speedster was shoving the last bite into his mouth. "Hey, Mal, where's your suit?"
She shrugged, glancing down at her shorts and sweatshirt. "I didn't bring it. It's just a meeting, not like there's gonna be cameras."
In truth, she hadn't worn her suit since the night she defeated Darkseid, the night Inferno died. She couldn't bring herself to put it on, not knowing everything she did now. Inferno was a pawn, and Darkseid's heir, and she didn't want to be that anymore. She'd been patrolling in unmarked black gear, mostly keeping her fire to herself ever since.
"All right, well, let's get going. We don't want to be late to this super secret meeting." Artemis's tone was mocking, but she wasn't exactly lying. The senior members of the League had called this meeting, and not even Kaldur knew what it was about.
The Bridge was crowded when they stepped off the platform, and Dick and Zatanna waved them over to where the team and OGs were standing around. It was bigger than ever with the Batman Inc members returned to the fold, and their newest recruits. Brek, rebranded Glacier, had a brand new suit and was talking to Cameron, his new best friend. Constantine was telling the group about his latest demon purge, one arm draped around Zatanna's shoulder. Damian and Rachel, who had taken the name Raven, were standing with the more friendly members of the team, still getting the feel for the group's atmosphere. Razor and Kyle were deep in an argument over which Corps each of them belonged in, while Jessica Cruz, the newest Earth Green Lantern, shook her head at their responses.
Wally propped an arm on Dick's shoulder, the other hand laced with Artemis's. "So, any word?"
Raquel shook her head. "Nope. I don't get it. They've been inviting random members into the room all day, but none of us are allowed in."
"Have you tried storming the castle?" Bart asked. "I bet we have enough people."
Megan smiled and shook her head. "BWR, remember?"
The Bats smirked, and Kaldur glanced back down the hall. "This could take some time. Perhaps we could hold a meeting of our own in the meantime."
"I thought we already were," Mallory quipped, looking around at their informal gathering. She grinned and added, "or, we will, as soon as you Leaguers leave us alone."
"Um, excuse you?" Zatanna said with mock offense.
John chuckled, pulling her a little closer. "A bit ungrateful, that. You wouldn't know what was happening at all if we hadn't let you know."
Gar tilted his head and looked at the others. "You hear something?"
Peter shook his head. "Nope. What did it sound like?"
"Oh, I heard it," Jaime put in. "It sounded like someone thinking he's important after five minutes on the League."
John rolled his eyes. "All right, maybe I deserved that one."
Mallory glanced at the time on her phone, then back down the hallway. "I'll be back in a minute," she said to no one in particular.
"Where you going?" Wally asked.
"I left a notebook up here the other day, I need to find it before I forget about it."
"Oh, I saw it earlier, it's on the counter in the break room," Peter told her.
She nodded her thanks and went to the room, finding the red notebook exactly where he'd said it would be. She leaned her elbows against the counter and flipped through it, sketches filling about twenty pages.
"What are you doing here all alone?"
She jumped, turning her head to watch Clark come in. "Nothing, just waiting on you. Are you done with your secret meeting? Gonna let us in on it?"
He laughed. "Those are good," he said instead, looking past her to the open notebook. She huffed, shaking her head. "What are they for?"
"I'm trying to make a new identity," she admitted, flipping through the sketches again. "It's not as easy as I remembered." She rolled her eyes, scanning the list of names she had written in the margin. "Even the name is hard. I mean, how many good fire-themed names are there? Fire and Volcana are taken, what else is there? Phoenix? Ember?" she scoffed. "I guess I could always go back to Torch."
She expected Clark to laugh at this, but his face was serious when she looked back at him, and he was shaking his head slowly. "No, that sounds like a sidekick, and you've come too far for that. Besides, that's my name for you." He pulled the notebook closer and flipped through it. "Maybe your problem is the suit. You need a new shield." He took the pen off the counter and drew one on the open sketch. Her heart skipped a beat, and she looked at him, not quite sure what it meant. A smile played at the corner of his lips as he finished and looked back at her. "I always thought Superwoman had a better ring to it."
"Are you serious?"
"Of course. Lois and I talked it over. After the last few years, I think it's time to take a step back. Soft retirement, she's calling it. And I wouldn't even be considering it if it wasn't for you and Conner. I'm so proud of you. Both of you. I would be honored for you to carry on my legacy." She started to tear up and he smiled and added, "besides, might as well make you an official Super. It's confusing the others when we compare our collections."
"I knew it!" she exclaimed, raising an accusing finger, but she couldn't hold it for long. She swiped a thumb over her cheek and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you, I won't let you down."
"I know," he said simply. "Now come on, they should be ready for you now, and you don't want to miss this meeting." She tilted her head, tucking her notebook under her arm and following him to the meeting room. The senior members of the League were there, as were the original members of the team, along with a few senior members they picked up along the way.
"What's with all the secrecy?" Zatanna asked, getting right to the point as she slid into her seat.
"There's no secret," Canary told them as the last of them got settled in. "We were just making sure we were all on the same page before we made a decision."
"About what?" Conner asked.
Diana glanced around the table for a final conformation. "We have decided to make some changes to the League. We took a vote throughout the day, and many of us will be stepping down, and the others will be signing our loyalty to the UN, as they have been asking us to do since the Reach upset our public relations."
"What?" Artemis asked.
"We didn't get a say in this!" Zatanna pointed out.
"You can't disband the League!" Dick sputtered, for once just as blindsided as the rest of them.
"We aren't…disbanding it," Clark said, softening her declaration. "We're just…passing the torch."
The group went dead silent as they realized what their mentors were saying. They were…inheriting the League.
"And those who are not willing to do either?" Kaldur asked.
At this, Batman smiled to himself. "We'll go back to working on our own, and as reserves. When you need our help, we'll be there." The smile dropped off his face, replaced with a Bat Glare, and he added, "and you will."
Another beat of silence as the team looked at each other, communicating even without a link. "So, we're getting everything?" Dick clarified, looking at the two men who funded the majority of their enterprise.
Green Arrow chuckled. "Sure, why not? If we stop spending this kind of money, we'll probably get audited and end up in jail anyway."
"And what happens if we decide to do something that you don't agree with?" Mallory asked, looking at her mentors and former League mates.
The older heroes exchanged looks, communicating in much the same way the team did, and finally Canary leaned forward. "You will need to make your own decisions, and live with those consequences, just as we have. You are free to do whatever you feel is right, we trust your judgement. With that said, though, we will be around to support you, and council you, if you need it. And, as representatives of the United Nations, if you take a path that the world is not in agreement with, we will have to stand in your way. That goes both ways, though. If the UN is putting us in a situation that we should not be going in, we will rely on you to stop us."
The team looked at each other, and finally Wally grinned. "Fair enough. When do we start?"
"How do I look?" Mallory asked, pushing aside the curtain to show her new suit to the others.
"Wow," Raquel murmured, and Megan smiled, walking around her for a better look. "It's perfect."
Mallory stared at her reflection, a less than pleased expression on her face. The suit had red pants and a blue top with a super shield on the chest, flames embellishing the S within it. The sleeves cut off at the shoulders, and a black jacket and boots finished the outfit. "I don't know," she said. "It's not really my color. And I want my mask."
"Supers don't wear masks," Dick told her, walking over. "Hope and honestly, secrecy doesn't really go along with that."
"Besides, the hair gives you enough of a secret identity," Wally put in, the cowl of his suit down. With Barry semi-retired to Central to raise his kids, the redhead had taken on the Flash moniker, the accents on his suit silver instead of yellow. She tilted her head in acknowledgement, twisting her lips as she considered her reflection again.
"How does it feel?" Zatanna asked.
"Like it's borrowed," she admitted, placing a hand over the shield.
"You'll get used to it in time," Conner told her.
She arched an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, thanks, Red Sun, but all you changed was your name. You still look like yourself."
"The name wasn't my idea. I was Super Boy before I was Conner, remember?" he said, shooting a glare at Nightwing.
The former Boy Wonder rolled his eyes. "Dude, we're in our twenties, you couldn't stay a boy forever."
The clone shook his head. "I'm eleven," he reminded him.
Dick shrugged. "So?"
A knock at the door drew their attention away from their bickering, and Catherine poked her head in. "The conference will begin in five minutes," she warned them, eying each of them like she knew they wouldn't be ready.
"Thank you," Megan said, flashing her a reassuring smile. "We're almost ready."
The press agent huffed in frustration, but she left them in peace for the last few minutes. Mallory took a steadying breath and looked at her friends, all gathered in the room to present their new team, the Titans. Miss Martian, Aquaman, Zatanna, Artemis, Flash, Red Sun, Glacier, White Lantern, Razor, Icicle Jr, Nightwing, Constantine, Rocket, Guardian, Bumble Bee, and Superwoman, all gathered in Metropolis about to announce their mission to the world. "And thanks again for sticking me with the speech," she said, trying to loosen their nerves.
Dick chuckled and Cameron nodded. "Glad to do it."
"It's your city," Artemis pointed out. Mallory smiled, the reminder bringing a swell of pride to her chest. Yes, it was.
"You think the Teens are out there, or are they really gonna boycott the announcement?" Kyle asked.
Megan chuckled. "Oh, they'll be here. They wouldn't miss it."
The team that either hadn't made the cut to be on the Titans, or hadn't wanted to, had jokingly been called the Teen Titans the day they came up with the name, and the nickname had stuck, much to the younger heroes' irritation. They had threatened to boycott or sabotage the announcement in retaliation, but in reality they were just as excited for it as the Titans.
Another knock came to the door, and Catherine swung it open, narrowing her eyes when she saw that half of them didn't have their masks on. "The broadcast has started, you need to be on stage!"
Wally stood and pulled on his cowl, followed by Dick and Malcom. "Let's go," he said, sharing a look with Dick and Kaldur. "Today's the day."
They filed out in the order that they would stand, Mallory in the middle, right between Conner and Dick. The crowd in front of them was overwhelming, and she bit back a smile when she saw Clark and Lois right in front, ready to get the scoop for the Daily planet. Clark winked at her, pride filling his face, and she looked away, scared she wouldn't be able to keep her expression blank.
"Thank you for coming," she said, getting down to business. The microphone amplified her voice, making it echo slightly in the domed building, and the reporters settled down, not wanting to miss anything.
"As the United Nations announced earlier this week, a number of members of the Justice League have signed an accord to be sent out to disasters according to the representatives' discretion. This discussion began a long time ago, when, deceived by a false benefactor, the public began to have doubts about the League's intentions. They began to misunderstand their actions and, as a result, the heroes' mission began to get warped, their focus too broad.
In many ways, this accord is good, it holds people such as us accountable for our actions. But just as there were problems with the League, there were problems with the people they protected. The governments were afraid because they could not control them, and the people began to distrust them because of the pull of media driven by a masked enemy. This is one reason why we have taken a stand away from our former colleagues, mentors, and friends, and will stand as our own division, free of ties to any group, because the people need an advocate, a group that does not need to wait for permission to step into a fight. We will fight for the truth, for what is right, for what will save lives and protect freedoms, regardless of who that is. We will protect the Earth."
Applause made her pause, and she glanced to the side of the room, where the Teen Titans were gathered, all in their suits, grinning at them. She took a breath as the noise softened and continued.
"While a lot of our heroes have already signed the accord, and more will follow, others have stepped down from the Justice League, and still others have been lost to the fights we faced in the past years. The League thought it made them look weak to acknowledge their losses, but we think it makes us look strong. We wouldn't be heroes if we were immortal. What makes us, what makes anyone, a hero, is knowingly putting our lives at risk to protect others, and with each loss we have suffered, we have only grown stronger and more determined to make our mission, and their sacrifices, count. We would like to start our legacy by honoring our fallen comrades, past and future. We will be rebuilding the landmark known as Mount Justice, and it will become a Hall of Fallen Heroes." She paused again, thinking about where the Justice League went wrong. "We are not gods, we feel anger and pain and fear, but that is a good thing. It gives us the drive to protect what matters, and from this moment forward, we swear, we will fight for the people of Earth, and protect our home."