Heroes.

The presence of these remarkable men and women have been the unifying factor of every era of humanities storied history. From the dawn of the gods and the wars they raged against the Great Old Ones, to the age of chivalry and valor that was exemplified by King Arthur and his honorable court, to the galaxy spanning empires of the 31st century and beyond, humankind has always been shaped and protected by extraordinary individuals blessed with a variety of special talents and abilities. Whether these skills were gifted through the circumstances of their birth or gained with rigorous training and study, no matter if these champions possessed great strength, blazing speeds, genius intellect, or boundless tenacity, the one thing that unites them all is the simple and humble desire to make their world a better place, in their own unique ways.

Greatness often attracts greatness, and even the most incredible among us can't accomplish everything alone, so throughout time, countries, and even dimensions, leagues have been formed of these great heroes to overcome obstacles none of them surmount on their own, from the British Gentlemen who foiled the schemes of Professor Moriarty and the Sarmaks of Mor-Tax to the various companies of spies and soldiers that protected the free world from terrorist syndicates such as S.P.E.C.T.R.E and COBRA. Even at the lowest points of history the human spirit demanded paragons to uplift them, such as when societies of masked mystery men banded together to battle oppression both at home and abroad, when fascism was at its absolute peak.

However, historians and public opinion both concur that the greatest of all these super teams was one that formed around the beginning of the 21st century, its founding members including the flying boy genius, the fastest thing alive, the soldier out of time, the Amazonian princess, the size-changing seamstress, the dark knight of Gotham, the invincible engineer, and the symbol of hope himself. Even considered separately its members would be absolutely legendary, but together their feats and accomplishments exceed all others both before and after. From their shining tower in the sky these costumed champions watched over the globe, defending it from everything the universe would throw at them and the universe at large, from criminal anarchy to hierarchical oppression to ancient conspiracies to invasions of every shape and size. Their journeys were vast, their missions fantastical, their adventures unbelievable and epic in equal measure. They truly changed everything for the better through their innumerable valorous deeds.

And yet it all started on a day like any other.

"Traffic Alert: The intersection of Moore and Kirby is unavailable due to supervillain disturbance. Please route accordingly."

There are quite a few ways one could react to this by now routine message being played on the phone-projected hologram. A common response amongst those out and about would be annoyance, since they'd now suddenly have to figure out another path to get to their destination while avoiding the inconsiderate machinations of whatever criminal, terrorist, or alien warlord was blocking their intended path. For those close to the crossing the response would either be fear at being caught up in what would undoubtedly be a fierce battle between good versus evil, or, for the more brave and adventurous sort, excitement at seeing such a clash unfold right in front of their eyes.

For one Janet Van Dyne however, the reaction was quite unique. Her eyes, clouded and darkened from a long day's worth of mental labor, suddenly flashed with unbridled joy and an untamed excitement. She quickly pumped her fist and exclaimed "Yes!" in a quiet but enthusiastic manner, with a voice overflowing with a sense of relief. Surrounding her were various sketches, blueprints, and fabrics strewn about numerous tables and easels. The young woman had spent the entire morning and afternoon brainstorming, sketching, and then discarding her hard work in annoyance, all to come up with the perfect designs for the summer line of her esteemed fashion brand. She was going through an intense bout of creators block, but nothing gets the brain juices flowing like an adrenaline pumping battle with an evildoer.

To an outside observer, it would then seem like she completely disappeared in a particle filled flash of light, her blouse and jeans falling onto her chair in a crumpled heap. She would return just a few moments later however, standing but a few feet away next to her penthouse window, now clad in her leather skintight super suit adorned with the same yellow and black stripes of her namesake insect. The Wasp opened her window with a wide smile, hopped onto the railing with a cheerful pep in her step, turned around, and, if only to amuse herself, dramatically let herself fall backwards into the horizon. After enjoying the unparalleled sensation of free falling for a few moments, arms outstretched to fully feel the air whizzing past her, she finally sprouted the wings that gave her her title and had them start rapidly flapping so that she could soar across the city skyline. As she dived and spun through the heavens on her way to her destination, she reflected on how lucky she was to be given this life of adventure, of not only being able to greatly help others, but doing it through intense dances of action and spectacle that both entertained and delighted her. As she approached her target location and heard the sounds of rampant destruction getting closer and closer, she only had one thought go across her mind.

"Now this is going to be fun!"

"This is not going to be fun." Clark Kent thought, anxiously sitting in a lobby waiting to meet his arch enemy for a friendly interview. Usually Clark liked to leave the Luthor reporting to Lois, as he felt that if Lex sensed the same animosity coming from Clark as he did Superman, the CEO might put two and two together. Clark certainly helped his girlfriend gather evidence of Lexcorps wrongdoings in an attempt to expose his nemesis for his countless heinous acts, but he preferred Lex to keep his attention on the Man of Steel instead of the ordinary man he truly was.

Today however, Lois was busy with a once in a lifetime interview with Nick Fury Jr., the one and only director of SHIELD itself, so Clark took it upon himself to fill what was usually her role for the sake of the plan he concocted. All he had to do was distract Luthor, with the key being to keep the billionaire talking for as long as possible. That meant Clark couldn't say anything that could potentially offend Lex and get him kicked out early, so he couldn't ask the questions he really wanted to. Even worse, if Lex got bored and felt his time was better suited elsewhere, Clark might have to stroke his ego a bit to get him to start bragging about his many successes, as the man loved to do. Clark stooping that low would hurt the very depths of his soul, but he was willing to make the sacrifice to his own ego to get the job done.

"How are things going on your end?" Speaking of the job, Clark used his Wayne Tech earpiece to contact his metaphorical partner in crime.

"I'm almost there. Just one more security door to get through." Batman's voice came out of the other end, confirming he was deep within the darkest, most secure depths of Lexcorps Labs. Clark knew Lex preferred to oversee crucial research projects personally, the mix of his immense pride and genuine intelligence making him firmly believe the adage of 'if you want something done right, do it yourself.' As such, Clark knew that if Lex was busy with something else, say, an interview with Metropolis' most esteemed news source, whatever project he was cooking up would be mostly unattended, making it so his stealthy friend could take a peak with less obstacles to worry about. It was important to look into this latest project too, as rumors from a variety of sources have stated that whatever Lex was currently looking into could potentially change the world forever. Knowing Luthor, it would most likely be for the worse, or at the very least be used to fund other projects that would damage the world.

"How long do you think it will take you to get through?" Clark inquired.

"The door is a full ten feet thick of reinforced steel, the lock has over 8 trillion possible combinations, and the digital encryption was designed by some of the greatest computer scientists money can buy." There was a brief pause. "It should only take a minute."

Clark smirked as he heard that, and sensed Batman do the same. No one would ever suspect the fearsome, no nonsense dark knight to have a sense of humor, albeit a very dry one. Clark considered himself privileged to be close enough to the Bat to be privy to such a thing, considering how secretive and closed off he's famously been to others in their line of work. Despite the various and glaring differences between the two heroes, this pair of caped champions have built up quite the rapport over the past few years, with Batman being the only hero outside of Metropolis Superman regularly teamed up with. The two valued both each other's differences and similarities. They recognized and appreciated that their friend had strengths they themselves lacked, both in terms of skill sets and how they influenced others, with Superman specializing in making the average citizen feel safe while Batman worked to make criminals fear even considering hurting others. Despite their contrasting styles of crime fighting, they bonded greatly over their shared passion for justice and helping their fellow man, making them feel like brothers in the battle against villainy.

"I'm in." As Batman snuck through the shadows of the sparsely populated laboratory, he watched as a skeleton crew of scientists monitor a shining, pristinely cut gemstone in the center of the room, presented in a glass vase with various wires and scanners either attached to or directed at the jewel.

"It looks like they're studying some kind of green diamond."

Clark groaned slightly. "This wasn't all just about another attempt to weaponize Kryptonite was it?"

"I doubt it," the detective replied. "This equipment is set up to examine something brand new, to take initial readings and examine the materials composition. Lex already knows everything there is to know about Kryptonite."

Truly a master of the shadows, Batman quickly slithered behind a computer terminal without his boots even making the lightest of tapping sounds against the metal floor. He immediately got to work, carefully plugging in a small yet extremely advanced drive into one of the system's ports. The Bat logo adorned device then instantaneously began copying then transfering the data from Lexs systems to Wayne Techs private server. Batman was able to survey the process and examine the data being siphoned directly via a holographic display projected by the pocket sized supercomputer built into his costume's gauntlet.

"Hmm… these readings don't make any sense. How could such a small stone be producing that much pure energy?"

"What do you mean?"

Before Batman could answer, an explosion suddenly rocked the facility, causing many of the nearby staff members to fly backwards through the air. There was a substantial hole through the wall opposite of where Batman was hiding, with a pair of glowing green eyes glaring through the thick fog of debris.

"Batman! What's going on?!"

"You focus on that interview." The caped crusader replied, right hand ready to pull something out of his utility belt. "I'll handle this."

As the figure walked out of the cloud of dust it had created, Batman could now see it was some sort of android, humanoid in shape but clearly modeled after some sort of animal. It had a head that had a pointed silver muzzle and several downward facing red spikes on the back resembling hair or quills. Most of the machine was also red, though its arms were composed of two flexible lines of silver metallic spheres. One of its arms had a hand more akin to a boxing mitt with a clawed metal plate strapped onto it, while the other had no hand at all, instead ending with a large, sturdy looking spiked metal ball like the kind you'd see at the end of a flail.

As the robot turned towards and approached the jewel in the center of the room, Batman steadily crept up behind the android, hoping to land a sneak attack before his foe had a chance to recognize his presence. He took out a small sticky explosive from his belt, hoping to plant it on the metal creature from behind then duck away before it went off. He slowly began stretching out his hand, just a few more inches and he'd be able to…

The robot's head swiveled a full 180 degrees, its illuminated pupils directly meeting the dark knights. Batman must have underestimated this machine's sensory capabilities, but before he could properly process this new information the machine's torso swung around at a rapid speed, hitting Batman with a metal plated backhand that sent him flying into a nearby table. It broke in two upon impact, splinters flying every which way, and the Bat now had two parallel tears in the fabric on the chest of his costume where the creature's claw had grazed him.

Batman quickly analyzed the damage dealt to him and the manner in which he received it, concluding that a direct hit from this machine would be enough to seriously injure him, with even a handful of solid punches being enough to bring him to his end. Even if he did survive, he'd have to stay in bed for months recovering, not being able to fight any sort of crime, a fate Batman considered far worse than mere death.

Batman tore a grapple from his utility belt and zipped into the rafters at blinding speeds. If he couldn't risk taking a strike from his opponent, he'd have to fight from a distance instead. He threw several batarangs at the android, each exploding immediately upon impact. The robot staggered with each blow, with it even being forced onto one knee as the last explosive hit. But the bot quickly recovered, getting back onto its feet and began winding up for a punch. This briefly confused Batman, as it seemed like its arms weren't long enough to reach his vantage point, but he quickly realized just how wrong he truly was. The spiked ball tipped arm shot out towards him, stretching far beyond what it should be capable of doing due to a long, stretchy cable that connected each of the metallic spheres that made up the creature's limb. Batman barely dodged the initial strike, but then the robot swung its arms throughout the rafters with insane strength and a breakneck pace, tearing through the rafters and eventually knocking Batman down to the floor with a painful thump.

As Batman began to recover, the robot showed yet another of its seemingly endless array of surprises, blistering speed. It jumped on top of Batman before he could even begin rising up to recover, and as its heavy metallic body held the dark knight in place, the robot brought up its powerful clawed hand to deliver the final blow to his victims neck.

SLAM!!!!*

Just as it was about to bring down its fist, the robot was hit by the strength of a mighty locomotive and flew into the opposite wall, shattering it upon impact. The next thing Batman saw was an outstretched hand, as Superman was offering to help him up, an offer he reluctantly accepted.

"I had this under control." Batman protested.

"Sure you did. That's why you were stuck on the floor about to be decapitated by a robotic porcupine."

"I've had worse nights on Gothams east end."

Their playful banter was interrupted by the sounds of electronic screeching as the now injured and sparking robot steadily got up and assessed its situation. Superman, swiftly realizing its prize was the gem in the center of the room, got between the two, blocking the android's path. Whatever analytical software the bot had installed seemed to realize from that singular attack that Superman was too powerful a being to combat in its condition, and with its singular goal out of reach there was only one option it had left: retreat. He activated the boosters hidden within his boots and quills and blasted off into the air at the speed and ferocity of a missile, smashing straight through the laboratory's ceiling and disappearing into the sea of clouds above.

Superman crouched down preparing to launch after him, but Batman stopped him by quickly placing his hand on his shoulder.

"Don't. I put a tracker on him during our fight. He's going to lead us straight to whoever sent him."

"Good work." Superman relaxed, and after making sure all the scientists weren't seriously injured turned to examine the jewel that caused this whole mess in the first place. He analyzed it with his variety of different super visions, from x-ray to infrared to microscopic, and was fascinated by what he found.

"Incredible. Its composition is unlike anything I've ever seen before. It emits no harmful radiation yet produces so much energy completely on its own. This could revolutionize energy production as we know it."

"Or weapon production." Batman said what they were both thinking. "Something like this could be akin to discovering how to split atoms in the right hands."

"Knowing Luthor, that's exactly what he plans on doing with it." He paused and pondered a moment. "Wait, didn't Stark Tech announce they had some sort of high end energy project in the works?"

"They did a week ago, around the same time these rumors about Luthor's secret project started going around." Batman quickly pieced together what Superman was getting at. "You think there's another one of these gems?"

"Possibly. Maybe Stark even sent that robot to complete the set."

"Doubtful. Colorful animal themed robots aren't really his style. Seems more like something Toyman would do. Besides, haven't we talked about being so suspicious of Stark?"

Superman scowled slightly. The issue of Tony Stark was one the two of them greatly disagreed upon. To Superman, the idea of a billionaire weapons manufacturer with a beloved following built upon his wit and charisma sounded way too similar to his arch nemesis, though even without that comparison he could never fully trust someone who was essentially a war profiteer. He even met the pre-superhero Stark during the Millennium Invasion, and hearing what he had to say about it, seeing his arrogance and greed on display first hand made him detest the man even more. As such, he was always on the lookout for potential cracks in his metaphorical armor, some hidden secret agenda or illegal activity like Luthor had in spades, so that he could expose Stark for the man he truly was. Even when Tony stopped all weapons production and became Iron Man, Superman still didn't buy it, seeing it as just another PR stunt to counter the bad press of his technology ending up in the hands of various terrorists and super criminals, not to mention to capitalize on the popularity of superheroes like him and Batman.

On the other hand, Batman was more favorable towards the man, ironic given the Bat's infamous tendency to distrust others. For both his own curiosity and at Superman's request, Batman had looked into Stark numerous times, and found nothing technically illegal which Stark would have been privy to even before his transformation, plus he proved Tony's claim of stopping all weapons production and pivoting the company to other technological avenues was completely legit. Even beyond that, as Bruce Wayne Batman had met Stark numerous times at various parties, functions, and charity events, both before and after the incident that convinced him to become Iron Man. While both versions of Stark had plenty of snark and arrogance about them, Batman noticed some key subtle differences between the two men. A great heaviness weighed upon the post-Iron Man Stark which contrasted greatly with the carefree to a fault attitude of his earlier years, suggesting that his guilt over his weapons falling into the wrong hands was genuine. Bruce recognized that heaviness as similar to his own, a burden he carried ever since he decided to become Batman, so Bruce was convinced that at the very least Tony's heart was in the right place. Superman trusted Batman's intuition and thus stopped looking into Stark's practices, but he still couldn't bring himself to fully trust the man. He was just too familiar with corporate corruption and the weapons industry thanks to Luthor to ever fully believe Stark wasn't up to something.

"All the cameras are off right?" Superman asked his companion.

"What do you think I am, some kind of amateur?"

Superman smiled, then grabbed the gemstone, effortlessly smashing through the glass to obtain it. "I'll take this back to the Fortress of Solitude, see what I can find with my alien tech that Luthor's Earth tech can't."

"Sounds good. In the meantime, I'll track where that thing came from, see whatever crazed scientist or eccentric dictator decided they wanted their own unlimited energy supply." Batman paused before bringing up the next subject, knowing the answer Superman was most likely going to give, but he decided there wasn't any harm in trying again. "We could ask Diana for help, see if any of her government contacts have potential leads. Or J'onn could…."

"Stop." Superman politely interrupted his friend. "We've already been over this. I appreciate your help from time to time, but beyond that I prefer to work alone. I know you like working with half a dozen sidekicks despite pretending to be a loner, but…"

"I'm being serious, there's no shame in asking for help."

"It's not about ego Batman, you know that. It's just…" He paused. The next part he didn't like saying out loud. It made him feel extremely conceited and, well, egotistical. He hated feeling like he was putting other people down, especially heroes who so nobly do everything in their power to help others. But it was crucial to his reasoning on this topic, so it must be said.

"I'm the strongest person on this planet. I'm practically invincible. I'm powerful enough to take down any enemy or stop any disaster with my bare hands. I beat Steppenwolf all on my own during the invasion, remember? What right do I have to ask others to risk themselves when I'm perfectly capable of doing things on my own?"

"You don't have to bear the weight of the entire world on your shoulders. Other heroes know the risks and are willing to take them." Batman rebutted.

"Well I'm not. I'd rather put myself in danger then anyone else, even if they're superheroes." Superman replied.

"They still take those risks with or without your permission, in their own personal crusades." Batman pointed out.

"And that's their choice. And it's my choice to try and take on all the hardest challenges so they don't have to." Superman countered.

"Not even a super man can do everything on his own. If you'd just…" Batman paused, then tapped his earpiece. "Yes Alfred? I see, thanks. We're on our way."

Batman looked back at Superman. "It looks like we're going to have to put this debate on hold once again."

"What is it?" Superman inquired.

"Tony Stark is in the amazon fighting some blue speedster over one of these jewels."