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Beckoning Lyght	By : JLinz Category: DC Verse Cartoons > Justice League Views: 3382 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics, DC 'Verse, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited or Marvel, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any monetary value from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
A/N: Replies to reviews can be found here- http://www2.adult-fanfiction.org/forum/index.php/topic/53634-review-replies-and-discussion-for-kokoa-bs-dc-verse-stories/

Chapter Eleven: The End of Days?
He didn't recall how long it had been since he escaped; it didn't matter to him. The most important thing on his mind was attempting to bring Brainiac back. No one but his personal physician knew that he was dying. After handling Kryptonite for so long, the rock that was deadly to Superman had given Lex Luthor terminal cancer.
He had no idea when his agenda to get rid of Superman cascaded into the rest of the Justice League. For the longest, his beef was only with the Man of Steel. Instead of questioning his recent actions, he let them fuel him. He had no idea that he was being manipulated and controlled by Brainiac until that fateful evening.
It made sense, he realized. His last checkup proved that he was cancer free, as if the infected cells were never there. He always kept himself in shape but noticed that he was stronger than before. Even his mind was sharper. Not once did Luthor want to question any of it. If anything, he felt rejuvenated. Brainiac had given him another chance at life… and he wanted him back.
He was running out of ideas as far as how to summon Brainiac back. Luthor nearly exhausted every possible way he knew of. Something came across his mind one night: he hadn’t used telepathy. After his escape, Luthor gathered a few villains into a group in order to exact revenge on the Justice League all the while rebuilding his trust back with the human population. Gorilla Grodd was a part of the Legion of Doom, as well as the one who helped him escape prison. He was also the only one who was telepathic. Luthor only had to figure out how to manipulate him without him knowing.
Even he couldn’t pull off a feat like that. However, he thought that if he could find something that resonated with his powers, Luthor could use that instead of the gorilla himself. Besides, he had a feeling that Grodd knew how to resurrect Brainiac; he did have a fragment of his android body. While Luthor knew that he couldn’t manipulate Grodd, he could very well have him imprisoned! That move, along with his previous actions caused a sense of distrust with the other members. However, all Luthor had to offer was his word of a get rich quick plan; he knew that it would pacify most of the Legionnaires. The others he would have to deal with once Brainiac was reunited with him.
Luthor intended to use Grodd’s mind-control helmet against him, forcing any information the gorilla had about Brainiac. He’d used mind-control devices before and thought nothing of it; the worst that could happen would be that Grodd’s mind was strong enough to resist: he would get nothing. Luthor didn’t expect to feel the tinge of pain that he did as soon as he fitted the helmet on his head. He groaned as a white light enveloped him if only for a second before the room came back into focus. Instead of looking at a smug Grodd, Luthor was looking at a man in a blue suit with golden gloves, cape and a helmet.
“Did it work…?”
“… What…?” Luthor tried to make sense of everything. Was Grodd’s helmet so strong, it knocked him into a sort of third dimension?
“Did it work? Are you okay? Flash…”
“Flash? What?!” he looked down at himself. Sure enough, he was wearing the all too familiar red suit.
“Oh. This isn’t good. You’re… not Flash… are you…?”
“You don’t say…” Luthor smiled at the man. It didn’t take him long to figure out what happened: Grodd’s helmet had somehow switched his mind with the Flash’s. He had no time to question how it happened; now that someone realized that he wasn’t the Flash, he needed a way to escape. Maybe he should’ve tried to play along…
Escaping the room was easy; maybe being stuck in the Flash’s body wouldn’t be so bad after all! Luthor dashed out of the room and down the hallway, before he realized another problem; he had no idea where he was! Using the Flash’s speed, Luthor zipped through the corridors until he realized where he was: he stopped in front of a panoramic window and gazed into the depths of space, the Earth’s atmosphere in slight view. He was on Watchtower.
Another idea processed; he could cause a bit of mayhem while on board! The Flash was a bit childish; everyone knew that. But if Luthor made the Flash into a menace, there was a high chance that the group could disown him. One less superhero to worry about. Or… one more “do-gooder” on his side. That thought made him realize one more thing: if he was in the Flash’s body… where was the Flash?
“Oh, no…”
“Aaahhh… this is just wrong!![1]
Luthor sighed heavily; it was a good thing that he had speed on his side! The priority of leaving was of the utmost importance however he felt that he could cause some chaos before leaving! After dashing about the space station, grabbing the attention of nearby League members, Luthor realized that he was famished. Of course, he thought to himself; using his ability burned calories at a higher rate than normal: he needed energy.
He found the cafeteria easily and figured that while he was running away from the pursuing members, he had time to grab something to eat. After grabbing several things to eat, he made his way back into the hallway and into a bathroom before the others realized where he went.
“Okay. This is getting tedious. I need to get out of here. But first…” he noticed the mirror and smirked, “I can at least learn the Flash’s identity!” Luthor unmasked and stared back at the reflection. He frowned, “I have no idea who this is.”[2]
Putting the mask back on, Luthor shrugged and listened for any movement in the hallway. He figured that he’d caused enough damage and it was high time to plan his escape. He needed to find where the bridge was. As he zoomed through the hallways, he bumped into a ladder. He would’ve ignored it but then the excessive swearing grabbed his attention. Luthor turned only to see Tabitha falling from the ladder. He caught her just in time as she scowled at him.
“Damnit, Wally!”
“… Sorry. Guess I was in a hurry?”
“Very funny, smart ass! Why are you speeding through here? And, put me down!” he forgot that she was still in his arms. Luthor put her back on her feet and studied her. She’d changed her costume and it was clear whom she was paying tribute to, “Um… what’s with the looks?”
“You’ve… put on some weight…” Luthor realized. Tabitha’s eyes widened.
“If ya tryna call me fat in a nice way, I swear to God…”
“Don’t take it the wrong way; you fill out very nicely, my dear.”
“…Wait… what…?” the blush spread rapidly across her cheeks. Did she hear him right, she wondered. She knew that Wally was a natural flirt but she was never on the receiving end; the closest he came to doing so was admitting that she was pretty!
Commotion from the other end of the hallway made Luthor perk up; he spent too much time admiring the lightning woman that the League members caught up to him. He smirked and began to run once more.
“Tabitha, stop him!” she turned to the approaching members: Kent Nelson, John and Michael.
“What’s… going on? What’s up with Wally?”
“That’s not Wally! I don’t know who it is but he’s content in causing as much chaos as he can!” Kent explained; the imposter fled before he could stop him.
That made more sense than Wally flirting with her, Tabitha realized. She joined the group as they ran after “Wally”, replaying his behavior towards her. The anger began to boil inside of her before she could control it and she stopped dead in her tracks, “Shit. Holy shit!”
“What?” Michael looked at her.
“I know who it is! It’s Luthor. How did he…”
“Mentally, it’s him. I was… trying to track down Grodd by tracing his resonance he left on Wally.” Kent tried to explain.
“Luthor must have been around something that had Grodd’s psychic resonance around the same time you started your process.” Michael realized.
“Can it be reversed? The process. Or is Wally stuck in his body?” Tabitha asked.
“I believe I can reverse it. But we have to catch him and sedate him.” Kent nodded.
“How do you know it’s Luthor?” John looked at Tabitha.
“He flirted with me. Wally would never do that. The… the son-of-a-bitch called me ‘my dear’!” she seethed as they went back on their chase, “I’ll hit the control room and put the station on lock down. We could probably outnumber him if I give out a warning as well.”
“Good idea. We’ll try to keep him distracted until he’s cornered…” John nodded.
“Guys… be careful. This ain’t Wally we’re dealing with.” Tabitha reminded them before she did a Lightning Cloud through the hallway.
Luthor couldn’t believe his luck; he found what looked like a control room. Studying the buttons on the console, he was surprised at how easy it was to locate the one for communication as well as transmit a signal. He didn’t hesitate to send a message to the Legion of Doom, informing them that their Luthor was an imposter. He found the teleportation pads but as he was figuring out how to use them, Tabitha entered the room.
“Stop… Luthor!”
“I see you’ve figured me out. What gave it away?”
“Never mind the fact that Wa… Flash wouldn’t…”
“Please; I already know who the Flash is! At the very least that his name is Wally! Seems to me that you have two choices: let me leave or stop me. Now that I have… Wally’s powers, you have no chance of beating me!”
“And here I thought you knew me…” she scoffed before performing a Lightning Cloud. Luthor took in a breath before he felt the full force of her charged fist; the blow was enough to knock him away from the teleportation pads, “Man, if only the face matched the mind; that would’ve been so satisfying!” she stalked over to him, “Wally trained with me… and I hit harder than him! You’re shit outta luck!” she gave him a smirk. Luthor rubbed at his cheek.
“That you do. But what you fail to realize is that you’re not dealing with Wally…”
“Fuck…” she realized that he was right. She forgotten about the warning she gave the others. She quickly clicked on her communicator, “Control room!” was all she could give out as a warning before Luthor rushed at her. She barely twisted out of the way and sent a streak of lightning towards him. Tabitha cursed yet again as she missed. Before she could do anything, she felt a hand around her throat. Luthor slammed her onto the floor with force, making her grunt out in pain.
“I don’t want to hurt you, my dear. But you’re content in hurting me. A man has to defend himself, you know…”
“Fuck you…” she strained out; he still had a firm grip around her neck. Tabitha released all of her lightning, engulfing both in a quick flash of light. She was satisfied as the pressure around her neck was gone, “Oops… too much power…” she gave him a wicked smile; the power behind her attack knocked him away a few feet. Tabitha slowly approached him, hoping that the move was enough to knock him out. She sucked in a breath as she stared at the bruised body; if Wally returned to his own body, he wouldn’t be happy!
She was caught off guard when he suddenly grabbed her and put her in a rear chokehold. Luthor looked to see Michael, Kent and John run into the room. He posed his fingers like a gun at Tabitha’s temple.
“Teleport me out of here or I’ll scramble her brains!”[3] he warned. They made their way towards the teleportation pads.
“Thought you ‘loved’ me…” Tabitha grunted; the thought actually sickened her.
Something wasn’t right, Luthor felt. He knew that he hadn’t been through the entire space station. Yet there were two superheroes he knew for sure he would run into: Superman… and Martian Manhunter. He knew that Superman’s favorite turf was Metropolis so chances were a bit slim he would be aboard. Where was the Martian? He regretted making the threat; he thought for sure that the Martian would appear and make good on the threat he issued long ago!
“Sorry; this is strictly business.”
“Okay. Don’t do anything rash…” Michael made his way to the main control panel. It puzzled Tabitha; the control panel for teleportation was by the pads; she was close to telling Luthor what an idiot he was for not realizing that. She had to think about what was on the main control system that would stop Luthor from escaping. When she finally realized it, a slow smile crept across her face.
“And, she’s coming with me. Just in case you send someone to follo-oof!” his words were cut short as his breath left him. Tabitha jabbed Luthor in his stomach as hard as she could, making him release her. She held onto the small control panel as Michael turned off the artificial gravity in the room. He smirked as Luthor became weightless.
“What will you do now? Speed is useless without gravity!” Michael taunted. Luthor rolled his eyes and scoffed as he started to use the Flash’s speed ability to lower himself down. It was something he knew the imposter Flash would do; Michael immediately switched the gravity back on which made Luthor slam into the ground. Tabitha got her grounding and checked on the unconscious Luthor. She smiled up at the others.
“Hey, Dr. Fate; I think your patient just euthanized himself!”[4]
“… That’s anesthetized…” Michael corrected. A faint distress signal scanned across the console while John and Tabitha lifted Luthor off the floor. Michael quickly traced the coordinates.
“What’s that?”
“A distress signal. I hope it’s Wally. I’ll send a team just in case.”
“Oh! I can…”
“No. Help Kent out. Luthor seems fond of you so it may be for the best.”
“Don’t remind me! You want him to hold off on the mind-switchy-thingy?”
“I’m not sure this is Wally so go ahead.” he nodded as he summoned a few Justice League members. Kent and Tabitha put Luthor in one of the containment rooms as Tabitha tied him tightly to a chair.
“I’ll begin the process. It’ll be better since he’s restrained.”
“Especially his hands. Could Wally actually do that? Turn someone’s brains into mush just by vibrating his fingers…?”
“It’s highly possible. But someone like Wally would never even think of doing something like that.”
“Yeah… he’s not an asshole…” she shook her head at the man in front of her. Kent chuckled as he began the reversal process.
The last thing Wally remembered was being manhandled by the group of super villains. Earlier, Gorilla Grodd in captivity mocked at his attempt to pass as Lex Luthor; he was determined to prove him wrong! He learned about some elaborate scheme that had to do with stealing euros, a train car full. Wally was doing fairly well until Dr. Polaris asked if he knew his real name. He panicked and tried to send a distress signal to Watchtower but was apprehended.
His hopes were high when he saw a few Justice League members appear: Steel, Ice and Doctor Light. However, the villainous group proved a better match; while they didn't take the money, they escaped with Wally in tow. He could already imagine the sneer that the gorilla would have when a flash of light startled him, followed by darkness.
The one thing he noticed was how sore he was; he absolutely ached! The second? He couldn't move. He moaned as he slowly opened his eyes and sighed for relief when he saw Green Lantern, Tabitha and Dr. Fate staring at him.
"... Wally...?"
"Tabby..." he sighed out, "Why the hell does my face hurt so much?!" he worked his jaw. She blushed slightly.
"It's either from me hitting you or from when you slammed into the ground... or a combination of both..."
"It sounds like Wally. Is there any way to be sure?"[5] John asked. Tabitha thought for a moment before narrowing her eyes.
"... Do you think I'm pretty?"
"Umm..."
"We won't find out that way!"
"You want proof? Great white..." Wally gave Tabitha a wide smile. Flustered, she quickly covered his mouth.
"I-It's him! Only two people know about that conversation!" she untied him.
"Wally. You were in Grodd's secret headquarters. Anything you can tell us about it?"[6] Michael asked as he entered the room. Wally let out a defeated sigh.
"Only thing I noticed was that it's in a swamp somewhere.”
“That could be Florida or Louisiana…”
“Or Maryland, Indiana, Georgia…”
“Wait…”
“… Several parts of South America… you can find swamps all over the world.” Michael continued.
“Okay. Sooo… we could dispatch members to several locations.”
“I honestly wouldn’t waste the manpower. You do know that the Amazon and Congo are considered swamps, right?” John eyed Tabitha. She whistled.
“That’s a lot of land to cover.”
“Exactly! We’ll just have to be on the lookout; it’s our safest bet. It’s likely their base is in one of the larger swamp areas, somewhere that’s less travelled.” Michael nodded.
“Makes sense. I’ll notify Supes.” Tabitha said. John, Kent and Michael left the room as she looked at Wally, “You okay?”
“Yeah. Especially now that I’m back in my own body. Weirdest experience ever! So… you and Luthor really did have sex.” his comment threw her off guard. She immediately blushed and looked away.
“N-Not like I got any memory of it… thank God! Wait; how’d you know about it?”
“Tala. She’s obsessed with Lex and beyond jealous! Asked me was she better than you! I totally winged it!”
“You… you had sex with her?!”
“Not like I had a choice! I had to be Luthor, remember?”
“That… should’ve tipped her off that it wasn’t him; he doesn’t like her!”
“Aw, man; you mean I didn’t have to sleep with her?!”
“On the bright side, you can use that to your advantage…”
“I don’t wanna think about it…” Wally mumbled as Tabitha laughed.

The brain swap was a minor setback in Luthor's plans to resurrect Brainiac. Grodd was still in prison on their base but it didn't stop him from continuing his research. The gorilla was useless or at the very least uncooperative. Luthor couldn't afford to let that sidetrack him, again.
Tala wanted badly for Luthor to warm up to her. She guiltily enjoyed whoever it was that swapped brains with him; he was what she longed for! It didn't stop her from trying to be helpful and sweet to him. Regardless of the fact that he always showed a great interest in that white-haired jezebel!
She saw that he also obsessed with bringing Brainiac back. Part of her didn't blame him, due to what Brainiac had done to him. The other part wondered what else he expected; immortality? She knew that she would just be grateful for having another chance at life. Nevertheless, she wanted to show her support.
Tala watched as Lex fussed over the fragment of Brainiac.
"Lex... you need a break. It looks like nothing is working."
"As always, you know nothing. Your claim to fame is magic and voodoo. This is science." he rolled his eyes. Tala fumed as she approached him, taking the sample away from him.
“My ‘claim to fame’ is transmutation… something that would help this situation! Alchemy is a form of science!” she didn’t wait for Luthor to give her permission. Tala immediately started to warp her magic around the fragment. She admitted that she wasn’t fully concentrating on the task; she wondered how a man who claimed to be such a genius wouldn’t know that. Tala realized that it was a lost cause: Luthor had no interest in her whatsoever. Even Grodd knew what she specialized in!
Lex waited with anticipation, expecting to see Brainiac appear before their eyes. He was never a man to ask for help. However, he had the urge to kick himself for not asking Tala. He never realized that she would be of any real help; she was the one who decided to summon a demon to possess Tabitha! Luthor figured that if what she was doing worked, he would have to be civil to her.
The area around him started to fade as he watched Tala. His heart thumped as he waited; he expected to see Brainiac! After his surroundings dissipated, Luthor couldn’t help but to be disappointed. In its place was a belt of asteroids. It didn’t make sense to him at first; why was he in space? He took a closer look and realized that it was no ordinary asteroid belt. In the middle was clearly more debris, as if something was destroyed. One floated by him and he was certain that it had some sort of symbol on it. Luthor’s eyes widened right before he was sucked away.
He blinked a few times and saw that he was back in his lab, Tala retracting her magic away from the fragment.
“I’m sorry. It didn’t work.” she tried. Luthor shook his head with a smirk on his face.
“Actually… it did. Come on; we have work to do.”

“The Bronze Wraith…?”
“Don’t look at me like that! It… came to me in a dream! It sounded cool and so I stuck with it!”
“You seriously couldn’t think of anything better than that?”
“Not without it sounding like I married him!” Tabitha blushed. Wally let out a small laugh.
“Huh; true. But still; do you even know what a wraith is?”
“Something awesome…?”
“A ghost, Tabby. A phantom.”
“… Really…? Damnit!”
“Hey, Clark; come here!” Wally summoned Kal-El into the room with the two, “What do you think about Tabby’s new alias?”
“Oh? I didn’t know you changed it.”
“The Bronze Wraith.” Tabitha sighed out. Kal-El gave her a simple smile.
“Hmm. That actually fits you.”
“Ha! See? It fits!” she stuck her tongue out at Wally.
“But, there’s nothing ghostly about her…”
“Her hair could be considered ghostly. And wraith has another meaning: a faint trace.”
“Well… I still say she could’ve thought of something better!”
“Yeah? Like what?” Tabitha asked. Wally thought for a moment.
“Human Manshocker…”
“… That… what?!”
“And that makes me glad you didn’t come up with your alias, ‘Go Faster Man’!” Kal-El laughed. One of the civilian staff members interrupted their laughter.
“Sir! There’s someone outside to see you!”
“… Okay…” Kal-El looked at the man curiously.
“It’s… Lex Luthor, sir!” his words put everyone else on alert.
“No way…”
“It’s… it’s a trap…” Tabitha narrowed her eyes.
“I don’t think so, ma’am. He’s not alone.”
“I’ll tell the others; there’s no way you’re gonna face ‘em by yourself!” Tabitha immediately left the room. She ran into Bruce before getting to the control room.
“Where’s the fire?” he smirked at her. He lost his playful mood when she gave him a serious look.
“Luthor’s outside and he got company with him. Asked to see Clark.”
“That’s not good. I’ll go with him.”
“I dunno how many with him.”
“Bring as many as you can, then.”
“Right…” Tabitha made her way to the control room and alerted the members in Metro Tower. When they gathered, she gave one-half instructions to stay on guard inside while the others would come with her. There weren’t many in Metro Tower however, she knew she could contact Michael to teleport others if needed. She left with Diana, S.T.R.I.P.E., John, Atom Smasher, Red Tornado, Captain Atom, Metamorpho and Kent to join Bruce and Kal-El outside.
They were indeed greeted by a handful of villains with Lex Luthor in the forefront. Tabitha looked over the others; only two she encountered before: Killer Frost and Heatwave. The others she had never seen before. Luthor gave her a quick smile before resting his eyes on Kal-El.
“We have a little problem…”[7]
“You’re gonna have a bigger one in a second! What’re you doing here?!” Tabitha narrowed her eyes at him.
“To warn you that Darkseid is going to invade Earth… soon.” his words made everyone’s eyes widen. Tabitha looked at everyone.
“Okay. An invasion is very bad. But who the hell is Darkseid?”
“There’s no time to explain, if what he says is true. Which is impossible; Darkseid is dead.” Kal-El glared at Luthor.
“He looked very much alive when he tried to kill us.” Luthor rolled his eyes. He explained quickly what happened. How his obsession with Brainiac led to his team remodeling their headquarters into a space station in order to reach the asteroid belt where the android once resided. He used Tala as bait to conjure Brainiac but by that time, she realized that was all she was to him. Instead of resurrecting Brainiac, she resurrected a Brainiac-infused Darkseid before succumbing to her end.
The new god and ruler of Apokolips wasted no time in destroying the base and returned to Apokolips to reclaim the planet. He also made plans on conquering their sister, more peaceful planet New Genesis as well as settling his score with Superman. The surviving members of the Legion of Doom gathered that much as Sinestro and Star Sapphire shielded them from the deadly blast. They made their way back to Earth by stealing a small computer called the Mother Box to open a boom tube to their destination.
“This was all their fault! They need to be arrested!”
“I second that notion.” Kal-El agreed with Tabitha. The Legion of Doom members scoffed and scowled.
“If you think you’re locking us up while the whole world will be under attack, you got two fights on your hands!"[8] Giganta barked.
“You wanna have a go? Let’s do this! We got more members and I guarantee that ass will get whooped!” Tabitha started to charge up. Everyone prepared to attack one another until a blaring alarm sounded from the building.
“We’re receiving word that boom tube portals have opened all over the world; I’m releasing an omega-level alert.” Michael’s voice blared through everyone’s communicator.
“What’s coming out of ‘em?” Tabitha asked before Kal-El could.
“Parademons and Darkseid’s ground troops. It’s a full scaled invasion!”
“Shit…” she sighed out and looked at Kal-El, “It’s already started…”
“Instead of containing us, we can fight with you.” Luthor offered.
“No, fuck you! Ain’t no way we’re gonna let you…”
“Hey, we may be criminals but this is our home, too!” Atomic Skull tried to reason.
“They have a point. Besides, we’ll need all the bodies we can throw at this.”[9] Bruce held Tabitha back. She eyed him.
“Ten extra folks ain’t gonna make a difference! I’d rather get doc and the trips to help than him!”
“I know that you don’t trust me anymore, Tabitha…”
“‘Anymore’?! I’ve never trusted you! Why should any of us start now?!”
“If you haven’t noticed, we’re under attack! But, let’s be clear about this: you’re only here to help me get revenge on Darkseid, all of you. When this is over… back to business as usual.”[10] he retorted. Kal-El glared at him.
“Fine. But, you don’t call the shots around here…”
“This is so much bullshit…” Tabitha mumbled.
“… Tabitha does…” Kal-El finished.
“W-What…?” she looked at him.
“You and Mr. Terrific are the Monitors. Put us in groups; tell us where to go.” he nodded towards her. Tabitha thought for a moment.
“Mike, when you said ‘all over the world’, you meant that literally?” she pressed on her communicator.
“Yes!”
“Okay.” she took a deep breath and finally looked at the two groups. While she didn’t know most of the super villains, she had an idea of who wouldn’t worked well with her fellow League members, “S.T.R.I.P.E., hit London.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Fire head…”
“Atomic Skull…” he sighed.
“Whatever. Go to D.C. Um… you…” she pointed to Giganta, “You’ll go with Green Lantern and the Flash to Paris. Wonder Woman, take the female Lantern to China. Uh… zombie Superman…”
“Me Bizarro. Me am hero!”
“… Right. Go to Rome. Yellow Lantern, head to Tokyo. Captain Atom, you got Sydney. Atom Smasher, take the fire woman to Argentina. Red Tornado and Dr. Fate: go to Cairo and take the… doll person. Metamorpho, you go with Frost to Venice. That leaves the rest of us here.” Tabitha ordered.
“Maybe you should stay here in Metro Tower.” Bruce gave her a slight look of concern. Tabitha was about to agree until Kal-El shook his head.
“You said it yourself; the more bodies, the better. You and Luthor team up.”
“Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me!”
“He seems to… ‘behave’ more around you.” he explained to Tabitha. Before she could protest, faint whirring noises came from the skies. The small group looked up as two boom tube portals opened, one unleashing a horde of Parademons while a massive black ship appeared from the other.
“Darkseid?”
“Darkseid. Looks like that’s at the Daily Planet. We got him; you and Luthor head for the other boom tube.”
“Fine…” Tabitha sighed and glared at Luthor.
The two encountered less Parademons than expected; they both figured that the green and gold armor cladded beings were more than likely with Darkseid. The two made quick work of the numerous things and made their way back towards the Daily Planet.
“You were a bit sluggish back there…”
“Mind your business…” Tabitha mumbled.
“I couldn’t help but to notice that Batman wanted you to stay behind. Oh…” Luthor stopped dead in his tracks and studied her.
“Oh, my God, what?! We’re dealing with an alien invasion and you wanna make googly eyes at me?! I should’ve locked your ass up when I had the chance!”
“… You’re injured.”
“Ain’t nothing wrong with me; I’m fine!”
“Then, why else would he want you to stay behind while the rest of us fight? Oh; you’re not injured. You’re… pregnant. That explains the weight gain… and the glow. Is Batman the only one that knows?”
“This don’t concern you.” Tabitha took deep breaths; she was quickly losing her patience with the man.
“I really don’t condone you being out here in your condition. Does the Martian know… wait… he isn’t here.”
“Shut up…”
“Because he would’ve been the first one down here… to protect you. I wouldn’t be able to get this close to you, either.”
“I said, shut up!” the hit that landed on his jaw sent Luthor to the ground. Her hands radiated with heat that traveled throughout the rest of her body. Tabitha glared at him as Luthor rubbed at his jaw.
“You can beat me to an inch of my life; it won’t change the fact that he left you and your child!” he spat out. Tabitha’s eyes widened at his words before they narrowed in anger. He didn’t have any right to say those things, she fumed. She clenched her fists so tight, her nails dug into her palms. Electricity wavered throughout her entire body as she approached him. For the second time since laying his eyes on her, Lex Luthor feared her. He knew what she was capable of and there was no one to hold her back this time around.
In her mind, the invasion didn’t matter. She wanted to end Luthor for everything he had done to her. Intruding into her dreams. Kidnapping her. And now bringing up old wounds. Wasn’t it bad enough that she couldn’t get a hold of J’onn? That even one of the strongest telepaths with his high tech gear couldn’t get a hold of him.
That last thought was enough to make her calm down. As much as it pained her, he was right in a way. The Martian didn’t have to leave. And what stopped him from returning or even responding to her? Charles Xavier had a point as well: if one of the world’s best telepaths didn’t want to be found, there wasn’t anything anyone could do. She eased out of her tensed state and turned around.
“You don’t know shit…”
“Tabitha…”
“You say another fucking word to me and I’ll shoot lightning down your gaddamn throat! This was the worst idea ever!” she started to say more but Diana’s distress call rang into her ear.
“We need more help here!”
“I’m on the way.” Tabitha quickly made the decision.
“Tabitha? Where are you?”
“Metropolis. Don’t worry; Superman and Batman can handle this. Oh, and Luthor. Where exactly are you?”
“The Great Wall. Can’t miss it!” Tabitha could feel the smirk through the communicator. She lost her own as she looked at Luthor. Before he could say anything, she grabbed him, doing a Lightning Cloud towards the spacecraft. Tabitha glared at him before glancing at Bruce.
“Wonder Woman needs help. You three got this?”
“Tabitha…”
“I’m fine!” she grunted before teleporting away. Bruce looked at the bruise on Luthor’s jaw, stifling a laugh.
“What happened there…?”
“… Love tap…” Luthor smirked before joining the two in battle.

She grumbled even as she teleported to her destination. Tabitha stopped as she saw the chaos and mayhem over the Great Wall of China; where she and Luthor only encountered maybe a dozen Parademons, there were ten times more. She found Wonder Woman, Star Sapphire and Shining Knight battling in mid-air while Vigilante took care of the ground troops. Instead of joining them, a frightening thought occurred as she pressed her communicator.
“Doc…”
“Tabs?!” her friend’s shaky voice put a lump in the middle of her throat.
“Tell me you’re home! Tell me everyone’s home…”
“Y-yeah. What’s…”
“I ain’t got time; get in your basement and stay put! No matter what! I’ll send Ramil and Ash if they ain’t fighting. Just… please… don’t try to fight ‘em unless you have to!”
“They’re… already here. I don’t want them to…”
“They can take care of themselves; they’re Justice League! Let ‘em do their jobs and you stay put; I mean it, doc! I’ll be there as soon as I can…” she made her way towards Vigilante and immediately joined him, wasting no time by shocking a few of the troops.
“The cavalry has arrived!”
“Har-de-fucking-har…” Tabitha rolled her eyes.
“No, seriously; you’re a godsend! Let’s light ‘em up!”
“Huh. I wanna say that’s the first time someone’s ever said that to me!” Tabitha charged up and attacked the incoming horde. As the group of super humans battled, Tabitha realized that the wave seemed endless, “Okay, why are there so many?!”
“It’s like this everywhere!” Diana yelled from above.
“Not in Metropolis! Although… Darkseid is there so…”
“Then these are distractions. But we can’t afford to leave civilians in danger! Damn; I’m out…” Vigilante’s guns clicked.
“Help the civilians; those things are only coming after us!”
“Gotcha!”
“I’ll send for more backup if anyone’s available!”
“I can help you!” a distant voice distracted the group. Tabitha turned to see a middle-aged Asian man a few feet away. She refrained from rolling her eyes but glared at the man.
“You speak English which means you understand it: sir, we got this! Please go and find shel…”
“But, I can help!” he insisted. A few Parademons approached the man.
“Oh, for the love of Hera…”
“I got it; damnit, I told you to leave!” she was about to throw her lightning towards the group until she saw the man punch one of the Parademons. She watched in awe as he took care of the small group that came after him, “… Oh… um, Diana… I think he can help us!”
“I see this. Who is that?”
“I don’t…” Tabitha continued to watch the man fight off some of the ground troops. She had seen his fighting style before and wondered where. Whoever he was, he was a part of the Justice League, she deducted. Or at least used to be; she hadn’t seen that type of fighting in quite some time. The more she watched however, the more she remembered and let out a gasp, “Oh, my God… it’s… J’onn…”
“Did you say J’onn…?” it was Diana’s turn to stop fighting and look at the man. Before the two women could blink, he took the sky, transforming into a dragon and took care of the remainder Parademons in the air. When everything was clear, he shifted back into what the others knew was his “regular” form, landing a few feet away from Tabitha.
All she could do was stare at him. Everything hit her at once and the only thing she wanted to do was cry. Tabitha didn’t know whether they would be tears of joy or anger; maybe a mix of both. But the one thing that she knew she couldn’t deny: it was great to see him again.
Before a tear could fall, Diana embraced J’onn, snapping him out of his trance. He drew his attention towards Diana.
“J’onn! It’s so good to see you!”
“Likewise. I have much to tell you, all of you.” he looked back at Tabitha who could only blush. She didn’t understand it. He was gone for over a year and yet he was still capable of making her cheeks ache!
“M-Maybe later…? There’s an invasion going on…” Tabitha mumbled as she looked away.
“You’re right. More places need our help. Oh… Tabitha…” J’onn gave her a look. She blushed more as she looked at the other members. Even after a year, he wanted to fall back in place as far as giving out orders.
“Y-Yeah. This area’s cleared. Superman, Batman and Luthor are still in Metropolis fighting Darkseid. Go there and help as much as possible!” she ordered. They all gave her a nod and teleported away, leaving Tabitha alone with J’onn. She took in a breath as he closed the distance between the two, gently cupping her face. He took the time to take in her new outfit, a small smirk appeared on his face: there was his answer. She missed him as much as he missed her.
“As you humans say: you are a sight for sore eyes. You have changed since the last we saw each other…” he continued to look her over. Tabitha blushed for a moment but then narrowed her eyes at him.
“You talking about my weight, aren’t you?”
“That is… noticeable. But not in a bad way!” he rushed.
“J’onn, there’s a rea…” a screeching noise interrupted her train of thought. Tabitha turned and saw quite a few Parademons in her path, “Maybe we should’ve hauled ass with the rest of ‘em…”
“I agree. It wasn’t the right time to try to catch up.” J’onn turned and saw that more Parademons appeared, “Looks like we’ll have to fight our way through them.”
“Not too many of ‘em. Think we can manage…” she smirked at the group approaching her. She was about to charge up until he lightly grabbed her hand.
“I’ve missed you terribly, by the way.”
“Ah… y-yeah. Me, too. T-There’s something I gotta tell you, though…”
“Maybe when we’re done with them?”
“Right…”
“Ready?”
“Locked, cocked and ready to rock!” he released her hand just in time as she charged up. While Tabitha released her energy towards her group of Parademons, J’onn took to the air and charged towards his group. With half of the horde disabled, Tabitha took the opportunity to help J’onn out. The Parademons that were not entangled in J’onn’s wrath, Tabitha shocked. She knew that he was busy but she still wanted to show that she was indeed stronger as her arm went through the chest plate of a Parademon.
“… Ow… huh; metal. Duh…” she rolled her eyes.
“Tabitha!” J’onn warned. While she was pulling her arm away from the Parademon, it was enough to distract her from two quickly approaching her. Before he could help, his eyes widened as she threw her other arm out and stopped the two in mid-attack. With her other hand freed, she clasped both together, making the Parademons collide with one another. Tabitha thrusted her arms out and sent them flying over the wall. She turned to survey the damage and smiled, even as J’onn continued to stare at her in awe.
“Damn; there ain’t no more…?”
“… You’ve learned electromagnetism…”
“I have. Guess we need to go help the others…”
“Lead the way.”

As Tabitha and J’onn made their way to Metropolis, she received word that the Apokoliptian forces had set up drilling machines to drill into the Earth’s core. She looked at J’onn.
“They’re tryna drill into the Earth’s core.”
“Darkseid wants to turn Earth into another Apokolips; it’s plagued with fire pits.”
“… None of us can survive something like that…”
“I know. I’ll help stop the drilling.”
“J’onn…” she immediately grabbed him by the arm, “You can’t...”
“I will be fine.”
“No. Go… check on doc. And then, check on my folks…”
“Tabitha…”
“We can’t have you dying out there!” she told herself that she would at least admit that, “Send Ashley and Ramil. Unless you’re immune to fire, now…” she gave him a serious look. J’onn gave her a small smile but shook his head.
“I’m not.”
“Ain’t no telling what’ll happen there. Just… do as I say… please?”
“… I will. You’re right. Ramil would be more capable of handling that situation.”
“Thank you.”
"Is this how you felt when you were hindered?" J'onn couldn't help but to chuckle.
"I dunno how you feeling but I'm gonna say yeah!"
"I will return, safely. I promise." he said and left. Tabitha smiled as she made her way towards the destruction. She noticed that Darkseid had the upper hand on Kal-El, which made her wonder exactly how strong the villain was. As she glanced at him, she was reminded that he was infused with Brainiac. Even still, she knew that herself and Bruce had to intervene at all costs.
Tabitha did a Lightning Cloud towards the being, taking him off guard. She had no idea if she would be able to inflict actual pain; her number one priority was to distract! She was glad that he looked her way, dropping the Man of Steel to the ground. He gave her an evil smirk as she charged up and threw lightning his way. He dodged it with ease but now his attention was fully on her.
"Lucky bastard..."
"You're trying to save your friend. How touching."
"I'm tryna save my planet! If you think it's gonna be easy to take over and kill us, you got another thing coming!" she charged up yet again, this time summoning Zeus' powers within her amulet. The sky crackled with lightning as her crystal glowed a bluish-white hue. The currents gathered above her before making their way down in streaks. Bruce made his way towards Kal-El, trying his best to get the two out of harm’s way.
“This is going to be massive…” he grunted. Part of him knew that Superman might be able to withstand the attack. However, he didn’t want to take any chances, especially seeing that the Man of Steel was weak.
Instead of the streaks of lightning engulfing her, they transferred to her amulet. The crystal pulsated with energy as she fed off it. Tabitha released the built up energy towards Darkseid, causing him to fly into the nearest building. The structure crumbled down on him as she joined Kal-El and Bruce.
“You okay?”
“Heh… been better! That was… your full power?”
“With some help from Zeus but yeah.”
“… Might need to take note.”
“For the next time we gotta fight someone like that?”
“No… for in a few moments…”
“Wait… what? But… you saying that…” Tabitha widened her eyes at him.
“It’s a Brainiac-infused Darkseid; the only thing you probably did was tick him off!” Bruce noted.
“But, you did buy me some time to get my second wind!” Kal-El said. Tabitha gave him a nod as she rolled her shoulders.
“Right. Time to kick some more ass!”
“No. I appreciate what you’ve done. But, this is my fight. And it’s about time I took off the kid gloves…”
“But…”
“Take care of the rest of the Parademons.” Kal-El narrowed his eyes at the ruins as he took off.
“But… shouldn’t we help him, anyway…?”
“I’d agree with you. But, I know Clark. He always feels like he has something to prove… like someone else I know…” Bruce refrained from rolling his eyes, “Besides, he’s more capable of handling Darkseid than any of us.”
“Never thought I’d live to see the day you take a backseat to a fight…”
“I’m all for upholding justice… but I’m not stupid!” he smirked.
“I just noticed something. Where’s the asshole?”
“Luthor? Huh. Your guess is as good as mine!”
“Great!”
“Maybe… you should go check on your family and Jamila…”
“Oh, um… that’s being taken care of! J’onn’s back…”
“Really…?”
“Yeah. Saw him in China. How… how did you know…?
“Know what?”
“That he’d be back?”
“The one thing that you can’t call the Martian is a liar. He said that he would return. And… he loves you, Tabitha. Even if you banished him to another dimension, he would come back to you.” he smirked as she blushed at his words. Bruce wondered if she had the time to tell the Martian that he would be a father yet again. Before he could ask, he saw that a large group of Parademons was heading their way, “We’ll finish the talk after this…”
“Yay, more metal-flying-thingies!” a lone metal plate caught her attention as she summoned for it. As she flicked her wrist, she sent it flying towards the group, knocking each Parademon out cold.
Bruce couldn’t help but to sneak glances at her. Part of the reason was to make sure that she was okay. He should’ve known better; there weren’t too many times that she needed help! Tabitha could take care of herself; as he pulled his last Batarang out the neck of a Parademon, he took the opportunity to watch her. She retrieved a fallen ground trooper’s spear and plunged it deep in the chest of an unsuspecting Parademon. With her electromagnetism, she turned another shield into a boomerang, taking care of the rest of the horde. Why was Bruce so worried about her? Pregnant, he reminded himself. He hoped that since J’onn was back, maybe he would talk some sense into the lightning woman!
Kal-El mentally sighed for relief. Violence really wasn’t his thing; whenever he resorted to it, it gave him an agonizing feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew that he was stronger than most so he always had to hold back. Seeing Tabitha using her full power with no remorse made him realize that with Darkseid, he no longer had to hold anything in. The interplanetary tyrant was dazed from the massive attack but still stood on his feet. That told Kal-El all that he needed to know.
He immediately attacked Darkseid, purposely sending the two away from the others. Kal-El felt a slight connection to Tabitha; he, too always had to hold in his true power. It actually felt good to let it all out as he landed a fierce punch to Darkseid’s face. The hit sent him flying into the air, crashing into several buildings. With his super speed, Kal-El was there to greet him in mid-air and delivered a two-handed blow to his back. Darkseid plummeted back to the ground, creating a large crater in the middle of the street. The impact caused a small sonic wave that caught the attention of everyone.
"S-Shit..." Tabitha widened her eyes, "Well! If he ain't dead..." she rushed to the edge of the crater to see the damage. Tabitha took in a breath as she watched Darkseid slowly get up. He glared at the Man of Steel who was standing in front of him.
"I grow tired of this hand-to-hand combat." he threw his arms out. Crackling blue currents of energy formed around his hands and shot out towards Kal-El. He immediately dropped to his knees, screaming out in pain.
“Okay; now it’s time to help!” Tabitha was about to rush to his aide until she was stopped by Bruce, “Wha… what are you doing? He needs our help!”
“No. I’m not going to let you…”
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?! You’ve got to stop babying me! I can help!!”
“Would you… just look at him! Clark is the strongest person we know. Whatever that energy is… it’s got him. What do you think will happen if it hit one of us?” he tried to reason.
“Bruce… it’s fucking energy! I can… I can try to control it! It’s one of my powers now!” Tabitha pushed Bruce out of the way and did a Lightning Cloud down into the crater. She thrusted her own arms out and aimed for the light blue waves surrounding Kal-El. Her brow crinkled when nothing happened but she concentrated, pulling harder at the currents. Darkseid saw that something was disrupting the energy and put his attention to the white-haired woman. He smirked as he threw his hand out towards her. As the waves wrapped around her, Tabitha yelped and curled into a tight ball on the ground.
“Tabitha!!”
“I’m slightly impressed that you’re able to manipulate the Agony Matrix, human. Imagine the worst pain you’ve ever felt in your life… times a thousand! Now: imagine that pain continuing forever! Oh, that’s right: you don’t have to imagine!”[11] Darkseid laughed. Bruce had to do something; the pain that Tabitha was going through would kill her and her child. Before he could make a move, he saw that Luthor appeared from thin air into the crater. His eyes widened as he saw both Kal-El and Tabitha wrapped in the Agony Matrix; he immediately approached Darkseid.
“Stop! Is this what you want?” he held out his hand and presented a glowing ball of light. Darkseid released his hold on the two League members and went towards Luthor.
“The Anti-Life Equation. How did you retrieve it?”
“Apparently, I’m beyond a twelfth level intellect; something I already knew! But, before I hand this to you…” Luthor went to check on Tabitha, kneeling down. She still convulsed in pain and looked up at him with watery eyes, “Are you okay?”
“F-F-Fucking… g-grand…” she grunted. He gently cupped her face.
“You may feel that I’m this cruel son-of-a-bitch who only thinks of himself. And, you were half right. When I first approached you, I only thought of how it would benefit me. You grew on me, my dear. I just wanted to let you know that before I leave.”
“L-Leave…” she tried to ask but shock outweighed the pain as she felt his lips on hers. He smirked at the look on her face, glad that she didn’t think to electrocute him!
“Take care of yourself… and your family.” Luthor went back to Darkseid, “Well…?”
“It’s… beautiful…”[12] he put his attention back to the Anti-Life Equation. Luthor nodded as the ball of light started to expand.
“Yes… it sure is…”
Bruce looked away from the sudden blinding light that came from within the crater. He panicked as the light died out; he had hoped that whatever it was didn’t do any harm to the two League members. He sighed for relief as he rushed down; while Luthor and Darkseid were nowhere to be seen, Tabitha and Kal-El were still there. Both looked beyond weary however, he knew that Tabitha would need more attention. He helped her as she tried to get up on her own.
“C-Can we… skip the lecture…?”
“Only if you go straight to the infirmary.”
“Of course…” she managed a smirk and an eye roll.
"This is why I worry so much..."
"Thought we were skipping the lecture?”
“Some things can’t be helped. Be glad I don’t want to talk about that kiss…”
“I’m gonna throw up…”
When the three left the crater, they noticed that all of the Parademons and ground troops retreated via boom tubes. Tabitha squinted as she watched them leave.
“Fucking cowards…” she mumbled.
“Tabs!!” she looked in time as Jamila bombarded her.
“Ow, ow, ow, ow…”
“Oh!” Jamila released her quickly, “Sorry! Oh, my God; you’re hurt!”
“Stop; I’m fine! Don’t need to hear your mouth about it…”
“Well, fine, then!” she huffed as Bruce smirked.
“Wait; what are you doing here…?”
“J’onn! He’s back! He brought us all here!”
“… You didn’t… tell him…”
“What? No! That’s your job! Although I think your dad wanted to…”
“Shit! Let’s just get back to Metro Tower before he ruins everything!”
Nearly all of the League members plus the remaining legion of Doom members were gathered outside of Metro Tower. Tabitha and Kal-El were well enough to walk on their own and noticed that J’onn was the center of attention for the most part. She watched as everyone greeted him with warm hugs and smiles, even if they were weary ones. Tabitha smiled at the sight until a thought crossed her mind. She didn’t think she would see him again; she never gave it a thought as far as what she would say or do if given the opportunity. As she bullied her way through the crowd, she finally drew up the motivation to do something!
J’onn couldn’t help but to smile as Tabitha made her way towards him. A hard slap to the face immediately erased the grin as the others looked on in shock. He held his cheek as he eyed her strangely; the hit actually stung! His look softened as he noticed the tears in her eyes.
“Tabitha…”
“Why? Why did you leave without saying goodbye?!”
“I… I didn’t want to hurt you any…”
“Telling everyone except me bye wasn’t supposed to hurt?! Did you think you meant nothing to me?!”
“This is starting to sound like a lover’s quarrel…” Kal-El muttered. Bruce kept his laughter in.
“I never thought that. You were so angry and I felt that… some time away would do some good. It made me think as well as come to conclusions.”
“Oh, yeah? What you come up with?” she looked away from him with her head down, trying to hide her tears.
“One: it was wrong of me to manipulate you. It was wrong of me to make you feel as though you couldn’t trust me. I understand all of that, now. And I am sorry. It’s rare that I react before thinking; I should have known better. But, to be fair: I only did it to protect you.” he tried to explain. His words made her mood lighten. After she calmed down, she knew those were his intentions all along. The professor was right; for him to erase an image from her mind, the Martian really and truly cared for her.
“Hey, is it me or does this sound all lovey-dovey?” Wally asked Diana.
“Think it’s just you! Then again…”
“Is that… all you’ve learned?” Tabitha folded her arms and finally looked at him. J’onn smirked.
“You wanted to know if you could ever trust me, again. After what I’ve done, it would be foolish to think that you would go by my words, alone. Unless… they were the right words. I realized that I was afraid.”
“Afraid? Of… what?”
“Afraid of everyone’s opinion. The reason why I stayed aboard Watchtower, the reason why I agreed to be permanent Monitor… was because I felt I didn’t belong anywhere else. Superman, Wonder Woman; everyone else have no problems transitioning into a human being. It’s not hard for them. For me to do so would mean I have to hide everything that I am. I always felt that no one would look at me as if I was… normal. I’m constantly reminded that I am the outsider.”
“J’onn…”
“That certainly carried over to my personal life. I believed that I couldn’t act human around the others. That they would look down at me. Or ridicule me. True, they are my friends. At least I like to think that. However, to be told that I could never love a human because I’m not one? I was afraid to hear something like that.”
“I… never knew he felt that way. J’onn… I’m not human as well. For me to judge you because you love a human would make me… and anyone else hypo…… did you just...” Kal-El’s eyes widened.
“My time away made me come to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. What matters is how I feel… and that there is nothing wrong with expressing it in front of everyone. I love you, Tabitha Lyght. I have loved you for quite some time. I just didn’t want the others to judge us. Nor did I feel that they were ready to know about us. That is the reason why I never told anyone about us. It was never because I was ashamed of you.”
“Us? They were an ‘us’?!” Wally stared at the two.
“Tabby, you liar!” Zatanna glared.
“Yes! I had a feeling that they were! Pay up, Ollie!”
“… Why would I have my wallet on me right now?” Green Arrow rolled his eyes at Black Canary. Tabitha’s cheeks ached as he grabbed her hands.
“J-J’onn… you just…”
“Yes. In front of everyone. It didn’t take me long to figure out that this was needed for you to trust me, again. I would like another chance, to prove that you can trust me fully once more. That is, if you’re not with someone…” he quickly glanced over at Bruce.
“O-O-Oh! N-No! That’s… we called everything off! So, no more using your powers on me?”
“That is a promise. I never wanted you to be upset with me. I was only trying to protect you. It never dawned on me that the way I went about it was… unorthodox in your world. I was confused at first when we argued because I didn’t understand that. Now, I do. My interaction with other humans have taught me that as well.”
“No; it wasn’t right that I was moody towards you. I should’ve tried to hear you out. I mean, yeah, I still say you should’ve asked me before messing with my head! But… I realized that you meant well. Just realized it too late… I really missed you, J’onn…”
“So did I.”
“So… do we… just, start over or…” she was interrupted as J’onn quickly pulled her closer to him and gave her a lingering kiss.
“This… is so weird to watch…”
“It was meant to be…” Bruce nodded.
“Wait; you knew?!” Wally widened his eyes at him but then sighed, “Of course, you knew; you know everything!”
“I don’t know everything!”
“Did you know about this?”
“… Yes…”
J’onn pulled away from the kiss and smiled at Tabitha.
“I know that this may not be the right time; we have villains to take care of…”
“Wait; really? We just helped you save the planet! Can we get some sort of consideration here?!”[13] Atomic Skull asked. Bruce looked at Kal-El who shrugged.
“We’re all suckers for a happy ending. Whatever J’onn wants to say and then a five minute head start…”[14] Bruce said.
“At least we get to see the sappiness ‘til the end…” Giganta rolled her eyes.
“This is what you wanted…” J’onn smirked at Tabitha who wouldn’t stop blushing, “I was doing a lot of thinking while I was away. I knew that I would come back and ask for forgiveness. I made you something… so that you would know how sorry I am.”
“You… made me something?!” Tabitha’s eyes widened as J’onn pulled at his pinky finger. She could do nothing but smile at the reddish copper ring, “J’onn! It’s beautiful!”
“And, yes; it was made from Martian rock.”
“From… the Martian rock that I gave you…?”
“Of course not! You made that sculpture from your heart and I will always cherish it. I will always cherish you.” he slipped the ring on her finger. Few of the onlookers gasped. Tabitha shot a look at them.
“W-What?! Ya’ll can’t still be shock?!”
“No, you fucking idiot; look at where he put the ring!!” Jamila pointed out. Tabitha gave her a look before raising her left hand. The ring, although dark in color, shimmered brightly against her skin. She continued to give it a confused look until she finally realized that the ring was placed on her ring finger. Her mouth flew open as she stared at J’onn, who only gave her a small smile.
“Maybe I should have done this the human way! I know that we were apart for over a year… and we did not part on good terms. But there is no denying that I love you. I never stopped thinking about you. And I told myself if given another chance, this is what I wanted to do: ask you to be my wife.”
“I… uh… oh, God… I don’t know… what to…”
“Great Hera; you better say yes!” Diana glared at the lightning woman. Tabitha blushed profusely as the others laughed.
“We don’t have to wed right away; I will understand if you need more time to…”
“J’onn, I’m pregnant!” she decided to blurt out.
“She’s… what?!?!”
“You’re gonna be a dad?! Tabby, we’re no longer friends!!” Wally switched glances from Bruce to Tabitha.
“It’s not mine…” Bruce sighed out. J’onn slightly gawked at the woman as she continued to blush.
“It’s… mine…? You have been with child this whole time?” he kneeled down and placed his hand gently on her stomach, “I… I am no longer the only Martian…? Oh, Tabitha… had I known… I would have never left!”
“I tried telling you but… you wouldn’t answer me…”
“I never received any telepathic message. Oh…” he absentmindedly traced his finger across her stomach. His eyes widened as he saw what he assumed to be a tiny finger follow his own, “You are indeed very far along! The child nullifies my telepathic powers at this stage, at least between you and me. That is why I never answered you.” he stood back up and looked at her.
“That don’t… change nothing, does it?”
“It does, actually. I have not been a father in centuries. And just within a few minutes, you have made me the happiest being in the universe! Even more so if you would become my wife.”
“... What…?”
“You have not given me an answer…” J’onn smirked. Tabitha smiled at him and held up her hand.
“I’m still wearing the ring, right?”
“After all this time, why did I expect for you not to have a sardonic tone with me?”
“It wouldn’t be me if I wasn’t a smart ass!”
“That is true…”
“So, does that mean a wedding? Are we invited?” Killer Frost lightly chuckled.
“Could’ve sworn Batman gave ya’ll a five-minute head start…” Tabitha glared at the small group.
“He was serious? Five minutes; are you kidding?!”[15] Atomic Skull started to protest.
“Four minutes, fifty seconds…”[16] Diana smiled at them. The small group of Legion members began to run away. Diana quickly turned to Tabitha.
“That’s the real reason why you were so upset with me! If I would’ve known that the two of you were…”
“It’s fine; you made up for it, big time! But, yeah; that’s why I was pretty pissed!” she gave her a small smile. She looked up at J’onn, “Just so we’re clear: no more mind raping…”
“I’m really not fond of it being called that…”
“And definitely no more keeping shit from me! I’m a grown woman!”
“Yes, my love…”
“My God; these are the end of days!”[17] Wally shook his head.
“Hey; has it been five minutes, already? So ready to go kick some bad guys’ asses!”
“Doc… you ain’t a Justice League member for real! You have to stay here!”
“Aw…”
“Tabitha… you’ve been fighting this entire time…?”
“… Yeah…” she eyed J’onn weirdly. He narrowed his eyes at her.
“Carrying our unborn child…”
“S-See, when you put it that way, it sounds awful! I’ve been careful…” she looked away as he continued to glare at her, “… ish! Don’t tell me you expect me to not do nothing all because…”
“Yes!”
“You know, I’m already starting to regret this whole getting back together thing!”
“Even if you were telling the truth, it doesn’t change the fact that I am going to be a father; I have a say so in the child’s safety.” he smiled back at her. She rolled her eyes and laughed.
“I really do love you, J’onn…”
“So do I. But, you are staying here.”
“What?! But…”
“This is not up for debate.” J’onn gave her a lingering kiss before he headed away with the others.
“Fucking Martian; wasn’t even here for ten damn minutes and already…”
“My telepathic powers may not work with you but my hearing still does...” his voice made Jamila and the others snicker. Tabitha groaned loudly.
“Well… we can start on the plans for your wedding!”
“Shut up and go inside!”
“And the adventure continues…”[18] Diana laughed as she joined the other Justice League members.

[1] Taken from Justice League Unlimited episode, “The Great Brain Robbery”. Wally realizes that he is in Luthor’s body.
[2] Taken from Justice League Unlimited episode, “The Great Brain Robbery”.
[3] Paraphrased from Justice League Unlimited episode, “The Great Brain Robbery”.
[4] Paraphrased from Justice League Unlimited episode, “The Great Brain Robbery”. It’s actually Mr. Terrific that states “Dr. Fate, I think your patient just anesthetized himself.”
[5] Taken from Justice League Unlimited episode, “The Great Brain Robbery”.
[6] Paraphrased from Justice League Unlimited episode, “The Great Brain Robbery”.
[7] Taken from Justice League Unlimited episode, “Alive!”.
[8]-[11] Taken from Justice League Unlimited episode, “Destroyer”.
[12]-[17] Paraphrased from the Justice League Unlimited episode, “Destroyer”.
[18] Taken from the Justice League Unlimited episode, “Destroyer”.
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Beckoning Lyght