The smoke had not fully cleared from tropolis, but the cheers had already begun.
Civilians poured out from the shelters, their voices echoing in the half-ruined streets. They clapped, waved, and shouted until their throats were raw.
It didn't matter that the buildings were cracked, or that pieces of alien tech still smoldered on the sidewalks.
To them, the sight of their protectors—bruised, bloodied, but standing tall—was hope made real.
They didn't know the full truth of what had just unfolded. They didn't see the being who had truly broken Darkseid. But they understood instinctively that this group had fought for them, bled for them, and survived. That was enough.
Superman stood a little apart from the others, looking over the sea of faces. His expression tightened as the chanting grew louder: "Superman! Batman! Wonder Woman!" The people listed every na they knew, and so they didn't. But none called for the man who had actually carried the final burden.
Clark inhaled, ready to speak, but a hand touched his arm. Diana shook her head gently.
"Wait, Superman," she said, her tone firm but not unkind. "I know your intent. But the people need heroes to look up to. They need to believe in sothing that will last. Let them."
His jaw flexed. "They should know who truly saved them. This… credit doesn't belong to us."
"It does, in part," Diana countered. "We fought. We stood. We didn't run. That matters. And the man who struck the final blow? If he wished to be known, he would stand here beside us now. He doesn't care about these things."
Superman hesitated, then looked away, conceding her point. The crowd's cheers washed over them, and for a mont he allowed it.
Batman's voice cut through, low but absolute. "She's right. He doesn't care about recognition. My guess? He wants humans to stand on their own feet. To grow stronger without leaning on him every ti sothing goes wrong."
His eyes narrowed, shadowed beneath the cowl. "That's why he probably left."
Billy, still in his Shazam form, rubbed the back of his neck. "Well… it's not like we didn't do anything. We kinda got our asses kicked by Darkseid to buy people ti. We also rescued them. That's worth sothing, right?"
Barry snorted, crossing his arms. "Yeah, sure. But what happens when that guy cos back? Or worse, when sothing even bigger shows up? We're not exactly in the sa league as—well, him."
Bruce glanced at him sideways, voice steady as steel. "Then we adapt. We train. We get stronger and work together. That's the only way forward if we want to protect this planet."
For a mont, silence hung over them. Then Superman exhaled, his gaze drifting to Faora where she stood slightly apart, watching the crowd but stealing glances at him. He gave her a faint smile, and when he looked back at the others, his shoulders squared.
"He's right," Clark said. "We can't rely on anyone else. But together, we can do it. We proved it today."
Hal Jordan leaned casually on his ring hand, smirking like he was only half-invested. "Yeah, about that. Look, I've got an entire sector to worry about. Earth isn't my only problem.
And you guys each have your own cities. If you're talking about turning this into so kind of full-ti club, I don't see it working."
Cyborg straightened, calm but firm. "Doesn't have to be full-ti. We don't need to sit in the sa room every day. We've got comms, satellites, encryption. If sothing happens, we coordinate. We cover for each other. That's how a team works."
Bruce nodded faintly. "And we may not be eight after all. During the battle, I crossed paths with another. He called himself Martian Manhunter. Said he'd keep watch on one of Darkseid's remaining generals."
Diana's eyes lit with interest. "A Martian? Then Earth may not be as alone as we thought. We should seek him out."
She paused, thoughtful. "And Atlantis. Their armies are strong, their technology advanced. Their king could be a valuable ally. I will reach out."
Shaza widened his eyes. " Wait, Atlantis is real too! I don't know what else is actually real out there."
Hal patted his shoulder. " Hey, atleast Santa is real too."
Shaza almost passed out. " Stop ssing with ! Now you are just making things up."
Hal chuckled. " You'll see if I am kidding."
Barry raised his hand suddenly, grinning. "Okay, wait. If we're gonna be a team, shouldn't we, I don't know, have a na?"
Billy perked up instantly. "Oh, oh! How about… Super 8!"
The groans were unanimous.
Hal barked a laugh. "What are you, twelve? That sounds like a bad reality show."
Shaza winced. "Hey, it's catchy! And what's with the age-shaming, man? You sound like my—uh… uncle."
Clark's lips curved into a smile despite the exhaustion. "We are a league of heroes who stood together against an alien tyrant. We fought for justice. Maybe… sothing like that."
Bruce's eyes flickered, and he gave a short nod. "Justice League."
Hal scoffed. "Oh yeah, that's so much better. Real creative, Bats."
Barry ignored him, his grin widening. "No, no, I like it! Justice League. And we could even have a catchphrase—like, 'You've just been served… so justice!'"
Clark chuckled, and before anyone could stop him, he and Barry high-fived like schoolkids.
"I was thinking the sa thing, Flash," he admitted with a grin.
Diana actually laughed, shaking her head. "Justice League it is then."
Hal muttered under his breath, "I hate democracy."
Before the banter could devolve further, officials from tropolis approached. The mayor, still pale from the ordeal but determined to appear strong, gestured for them to join him at a hastily erected stage near the city square.
Microphones crackled as he spoke, thanking them for their defense, praising their courage, assuring the people that Earth had guardians now.
One by one, their nas were read aloud—Superman, Superwoman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Shaza, Cyborg. The final words sealed it: "Together, they are the Justice League—the defenders of Earth."
The cheers were deafening. For a few minutes, even the scars of battle seed forgotten.
When the stage cleared and the civilians dispersed to tend their wounded city, the heroes regrouped in the shadows of a ruined tower. The weight of what they had agreed upon settled in, heavier than any applause.
"This won't be the last ti," Bruce said flatly. "Darkseid will co again. Others will co too. We can't let today make us complacent."
Clark t his gaze steadily. "Then we'll be ready."
It didn't happen overnight, but in the weeks and months that followed, peace returned. The destroyed cities were rebuilt with the help of magic and human workers. Slowly, life returned to its usual routine.
******
Months after the battle, tropolis had healed enough to hide most of its scars, but the heroes who fought Darkseid hadn't forgotten. Even Hank Henshaw, Martian Manhunter also t them, but he left Earth to check on sothing after saying sothing happened in his ho planet Mars.
They had kept in contact sparingly—through comms, brief check-ins, and the occasional joint fight—but the question of a central base lingered.
Bruce Wayne, being Bruce Wayne, answered it first.
One of his old properties, a stone-and-steel structure near the edge of tropolis, had been gutted and remade. Cyborg threw himself into the design, integrating a central hub of alien and Earth tech, linking it into global defense satellites and hidden sub-frequencies.
When the League gathered for the first official tour, Victor was practically glowing. "Alright, so check this out." He tapped into the holographic console, and the room lit up with shifting blue light. "Real-ti monitoring across the planet. Seismic activity, energy signatures, atmospheric anomalies—you na it, I can see it. We're basically plugged into the pulse of the Earth."
Barry let out a low whistle. "Man, it's like NASA and Google had a baby, and then that baby got jacked on steroids."
Hal smirked, arms crossed. "Cute toy, Cyborg. But what happens when it glitches out, huh? You ever heard of turning it off and back on again?"
Victor gave him a flat look. "It won't glitch out. It's literally fused with my systems. If it crashes, I crash. And if I crash, well… you lose the only guy who knows how to reboot this whole setup."
Hal raised his brows and muttered, "Guess I better keep you alive then."
Diana walked along the edge of the room, her fingers brushing the new walls. She gave Bruce a sideways glance. "So this is yours?"
He didn't look up from his tablet. "One of many."
Clark raised a brow. "Just how many safehouses do you have?"
Batman answered without a trace of humor. "Enough."
Barry leaned toward Shazam, stage-whispering, "Translation: a creepy billionaire with too much free ti."
Billy snorted, barely stifling his laugh.
Diana cut across their noise. "Enough distractions. This headquarters is a symbol,
not just a tool. If the people believe in our unity, then they'll believe they are not defenseless."
Hal, predictably, rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Symbolism. But can we talk about how this 'Hall of Justice' na still sounds like sothing out of a Saturday morning cartoon?"
Barry grinned. "I like Saturday morning cartoons. Better than 'Super 8.'"
Billy imdiately perked up. "Hey! That was a good idea!"
"Sure it was, kid," Hal shot back, smirking.
Victor sighed. "Focus, people."
The group settled in around the main table, the first eting of the Justice League officially underway.
Superman started to speak about coordinating schedules and patrol responsibilities when Barry suddenly leaned back in his chair, curiosity flashing in his eyes.
"So… uh… I gotta ask. Diana. Back during the invasion—you made a call before mystery-guy showed up, right? Said sothing about calling your father?"
The table grew still.
Diana's expression didn't flicker, but her posture straightened. "That is a personal matter."
Barry raised his hands. "Whoa, hey, just asking. It's not every day soone like him drops in, chains up Darkseid, and drags him into space like it's Tuesday."
Hal leaned forward, smirking. "Yeah, I've been wondering too. You called him, then bam, he's here. Pretty big coincidence. You know him, don't you?"
Even Victor, who usually kept detached, chid in. "From what I saw of his power set… he wasn't just anyone. If we're going to coordinate defenses for the planet, it matters if one of us has ties to soone like that."
Faora, standing near Clark, crossed her arms. Her voice was asured but pointed. "I was raised to respect strength. That man… he wasn't like Kal or . His power felt different. And you spoke to him before he appeared. Who is he to you? We won't press if it's inconvenient."
All eyes turned to Diana.
She inhaled slowly, jaw tightening. "I told you. It is personal. "
Batman's voice cut in, dry as ever. "She knows him. Probably related to him. That would explain her reluctance to disclose the information."
Diana's head snapped toward him, her glare sharp enough to pierce steel. "You presu much, Batman."
Bruce smirked. " Only when I don't get a clear answer."
Barry muttered under his breath, "Pretty sure Bats is never wrong about this stuff."
Shazam leaned forward eagerly. "Wait, wait—so is he like your uncle? Or cousin? Oh! Is he your dad? You did say father—"
Diana's hand slamd down on the table, not hard enough to break it but enough to make the sound echo. "Enough."
The group quieted imdiately.
Hal whispered to Barry. " Is it weird that I feel turned on by that?"
Barry looked at him weirdly and moved away. "You need help."
Diana's gaze swept across each of them. "What matters is that he ca when called. He stopped Darkseid. And he left without asking for recognition. That should be enough for you."
Hal whistled low. "Soones rather defensive.
Diana sighed. " Look, we all have our secrets. So we can share, so private. Even if I was related to him, I would prefer to be seen and treated as myself, not just as soone's relative or blood. Maybe I will talk about this one day, but not today."
Clark stepped in gently, trying to diffuse the tension. "She's right. Whoever he is, he's not here now. What matters is us, this League, and what we do moving forward."
Barry still looked like he wanted to press to inquire if she was indeed the daughter of his idol, but one look at Diana's face kept him quiet.
Diana exhaled through her nose, her composure slipping back into place. "Good. Then let us focus on work, not gossip."
The awkward silence that followed was broken only when Victor pulled up a new holo-display of the Earth, bright with data streams. "Right. Assignnts. Coverage. Let's get to it."
The eting moved on, but the question of Edward lingered unspoken in the room.
And though Diana said nothing more, the slight tension in her shoulders betrayed the truth: the subject wasn't closed.
Soon They got busy with life and work. They eventually ford bonds between them as more than just colleagues, they beca friends. Their first awkward interactions beca more and more closer.
Batman and Superman ford an unusual friendship.
Diana and Faora beca good friends Being the only two won.
Flash and Green Lantern had their friendly dynamics as well. Shazam the talkative guy and Cyborg the introvert also ford an unusual friendship.
It looked like everything was going well. But none of them knew that the next crisis was already approaching them.
And it would be coming from the magical side of their planet that held a lot of secrets.
*****
Yeah, i added the fate stuff for a reason. So get ready to D-d-d-d-uel! Oopss wrong ani!
It's been a while since soone died....
*Cracks knuckles*
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