Twenty years in the future:

The group of heroes and villains stood before the portal as it charged up. After it was finished they would only have a few moments to get through before the portal closed. The reactor was powered by xynothium, a rare mineral which was difficult to synthesize, so they only had enough extra fuel to fire it up one more time if they didn't get through in time.

Lionel stared at the portal with visible unease. He knew this was likely his last chance, his only chance, to impress his father. If his father in the present wouldn't accept him, then maybe his father in the past would.

Oliver saw his unease but didn't quite interpret it correctly. “Don't worry. My father couldn't make it, either.”

“Neither could my mother.” said John, landing in front of them, “but I'm sure they would be here if they could be.”

“Oh, my Father's here,” Lionel said, motioning towards Lex Luthor with his head, “I just don't know if going back into the past can help, at least with his accepting me.”

“Wait,” said Oliver, “Lex Luthor's your father? Interesting.”

“More like I'm his clone, really. Ninety-five percent of my DNA is identical to his. Sometimes I think he sees me as a failed experiment.” The two other guys were “heroes”, after all, so he doubted they'd let his doubts be known to his father. “Maybe I am, and I'll fail in this too.”

“Don't worry,” said John, “We'll be there to help you if you need it.”

“That's the problem.” Lionel said, only to have Lex and Bruce call to them before he could continue.

“Ok,” Bruce yelled. “We're ready to activate it.”

“Remember” said Lex, “you'll only have a few seconds to get through, so I suggest you get ready to leave as soon as it's activated.

---

Present Day:

The battle ravaged downtown Metropolis. It seemed like all of the heavy hitters and even some of the lesser villains had shown up. Sinestro was locked in battle against Green Lantern John Stewart, Black Atom was busy punching Captain Marvel in the face, and others were engaged with the rest of the League. Dozens of their members were here, but they were barely winning.

A portal opened up beneath where the two Lanterns were locked in battle, and from it came many people, dressed in a veriety of costumes, some of which were reminiscent of the suits of the heroes or villains that were known.

Stewart held up a hand. “Hold on a minute.” he said, and Sinestro agreed, as he was also curious about the portal. They landed in front of the group of costumed individuals, some with ships or other hardware and walked up to the group, “Who are you?” asked GL.

John smiled and held out his ring hand with the holo-cube in it displaying a recorded message from the future. “We sent these people to inform you of a serious threat to the future of Earth, and to help you prepare for it.” said a hologram of a wheel-chair bound Bruce Wayne. “If my calculations are correct, Darkseid will invade Earth in three days. He will kill or otherwise defeat any who challenge him and, when he is finished, will take over a million slaves and sterilize the planet.”

Those that had gathered around stared in shock at the message, and it shifted to display Lex Luthor. “Despite what the heroes think, neither I nor Darkseid were permanently killed by the anti-life equation. We were, in fact, converted to a form of consciousness that isn't alive. We both learned to return to our previous physical form, though, and when I returned, I immediately put a bounty on every member of the Justice League. Darkseid returned to Apokolipse and readied his fleet for an invasion.”

The cube switched back to Wayne. “Believe us when we say that you'll need these people's help if you are to have any chance of defeating him.”

Lex appeared. “Put aside your differences for the moment, and focus on working with your enemies to defend Earth, or we will all become refugees as the planet we loved lies behind us, a barren wasteland.”

"So," said John Stewart, Green Lantern after a few seconds pause to let the message sink in. "I guess we'd better get to know each other. I'm John Stewart." He held out his hand.

"John Jordan," said the younger, future GL, "and before you ask, yes, Hal is my father. And because you are wondering, Carol Ferris is my mother."

"Saphire?" said Sinestro. "Impossible."

Mako watched the portal as it charged up: the physical culmination of all their cooperation, the monument to their determination to undo Darkseid and the destruction he'd wrought. It was a fine sight.

With a sure his grip on the haft of his trident, he stepped forwards toward some of the other assembled time-travelers. At the mention of fathers though, the exhilaration he'd felt until then quieted and his lips pressed into a thin, flat line. How Orin would see him, the son he'd never met? It mattered not, Mako thought as he stepped into the portal; he succeeded the throne of Atlantis, and his actions would speak for him. He believed he was a son his father could be proud of.



As they arrived through the time portal into the midst of the brawl, Mako held his trident with both hands in a defensive posture, with the tip pointed downwards in front of him. He listened as the future GL spoke with the past one and Sinestro, and seemed to broker at least a pause in the fighting.

Mako still wasn't entirely convinced the villains would just drop everything and team up, so he kept a wary eye open, scanning between them. Some he recognized: Bane, Deathstroke, Captain Boomerang. Others were less familiar to him. None the less, they needed everyone. Clearing his throat, he called out in a booming voice.

"We need to begin making preparations, if we are to stand any chance."

"We need to begin making preparations, if we are to stand any chance."@Consentacles

"I guess, for the time being," said Sinestro, "We'll hold off on killing you. After all, it will be better for us if you die fighting Darkseid." He looked at the others, who were nodding their heads 'yes', all of them except Bizzaro, who was shaking his head no. "We'll go prepare for the invasion. I suppose we should arrange a neutral meeting point, though, in case we need to coordinate our efforts. Any suggestions?"

"Here." said Deathstroke, stepping forward and displaying a set of coordinates in international waters on a tablet. "I recently bought an old oil rig as an investment property. I'll volunteer it as a meeting place. Besides, I'm probably the closest thing to a neutral party here, with Luthor canceling the bounties as soon as he hears about the "message from the future"."

"I'd rather use the UN building, as we'll need their support anyway if we are to win, but for now it's good enough." said Superman as he landed in front of the groups. "I'll head there and arrange to speak with them."

"We'll contact you if we need to meet." said Deathstroke, and started to walk away. With both sides splitting up to make preparations, the various future heroes and villains split up as well, going with the group they thought would listen to them the most.

"By the way," said Superman, "Any idea who that woman was that hit me?"

---

Terr-El reached the prison her mother was locked up in. She flew at full speed into the side of her mother's cell. "Time to earn your redemption. You will be instrumental in the coming days. You will break Superman free of Darkseid's mind control but only after he has set into motion certain events that are critical to my survival." Floating outside of the Galatea cell Terr used her heat vision to destroy the Red Sun Generator. "We have much to discuss mother." Terr grabbed her mother and flew off.

Temperance removed her mask. "Sorry about her Kal-El. She is your daughter with Galatea. Between magic moonshine and grief, you and Galatea had a one night stand. Galatea became pregnant with Terr-El. You did the honorable thing and married her.

Galatea eventually fell in love with you. You never got over Lois Lane, and the part you played in her death, namely the fact that you killed her and the rest of the Daily Planet staff while under the control of Darkseid. The two of you stayed together for your daughter.

You were not a good father or husband, you spent most of the time drunk or passed out. I personally arrested over two dozen times for public intoxication and brawling. Galatea raised your daughter pretty much by herself. Galatea was denied love from her husband for a long, she became extremely unhappy to the point she killed herself.

Your daughter blames you for her mother's death. I believe she wants revenge and to ensure her survival. Unlike me if we change the future she will cease to exist, I am alive already in this time as a nine year old. If anyone thought she would have been a problem she would never have been allowed to come along. She probably went to wherever Galatea is in this time."

Temperance turned away for a moment. "A.L.F.R.E.D. says that a person matching Terr-El's description broke Galatea out of prison, it has no knowledge where they went after that. Also A.L.F.R.E.D. has uploaded to the computer in the Batcave all the information we have. Thank goodness storing all that information in the suit was a real drain on resources."

Red X was relaxing in a bar for super villians.

Twenty Years In The Future:

"It's go-time!" Daniel, otherwise known as Bluebat, shouted to himself as he finalized his Bat-Armor's calibrations. As the calibrations finalized, the heads-up-display appeared on his visor, highlighting important information about the environment around him; which at this moment just happened to be one thing: The Time Portal. Daniel slowly began to take baby steps towards the portal but as he moved closer to the portal, he began to move faster until he was sprinting towards the portal. He had waited for this day for years, not only would he be able to stop Darkseid and prevent this future from happening, but he'd get to see his family one last time.

As he was sprinting towards the portal, Daniel extended both of his arms and ejected his Bat-Armor's built-in sapphire colored tech wings and activated his jet boots, causing his run to evolve into flight. As Daniel was less than a foot away from the portal, he had one single thought in his head:

We're going to stop you Darkseid, you son-of-a-bitch.

Present Day:
Bluebat came flying out of the time portal and landed on the top of a parked taxi-cab, crushing it's roof. He stepped off the crushed roof and onto the street pavement, I never knew I could miss the streets. Man, it's good to be back on Earth... too bad it's under such a bad circumstance. Daniel spoke to himself internally, nearly getting lost in the nostalgia of seeing Earth again. Before getting lost in thought, he proceeded to walk towards Superman and Batwoman (@Revans Exile) after hearing her say something about Terr-El breaking out Galatea from prison. "I knew bringing Nightwing back would be trouble. But right now, we have bigger fish to fry... we should head to the cave and begin planning for Darkseid as soon as possible."

"we should head to the cave and begin planning for Darkseid as soon as possible."

"I've got a better place to plan the defense." said Batman, then tapped his earpiece. "Mr. Terrific, Energize." The group was surrounded in energy, several people at a time, and they disappeared from the street. They appeared in a room with dozens of people running around, carrying boxes or tools. "Welcome to the Watchtower." said Batman once everyone was aboard. "We're in the middle of repairs after taking some hits in a meteor storm. If you have any suggestions for upgrades, though, notify Mr. Terrific. He's in charge of the repairs."

"Actually," said Crimson, "I think the first thing we need to do is get the binary fusion cannon online."

"I'll rig it to be able to fire multiple times before shutting down too," said GL Junior.

"The cannon might be a problem." said Batman.

---

Mentalist landed in the new Legion headquarters that was almost up to its former glory, including being able to function as a starship. "Who is this?" asked Luthor, wearing his battle armor.

"Hello, Father." said Mentalist, "Good to see you. Now, if you don't mind, Darkseid will attack in three days so we don't have time to talk about how bad of a father you were. Right now we need to get this ship up and running, upgrade it with future tech, and insure that every ship Lexcorp and it's allies and subsidiaries can manage to get off the ground is ready to evacuate as many people as possible should we fail to stop him."

"You're from the Future, I'd say about two decades." said Luthor, nodding. He then looked at his allies. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get this ship ready for takeoff." The others left to get to work. "So, tell me about this future tech."

"Ever here of a graviton beam cannon?" Mentalist asked. "This ship won't be able to power it a full power, but I think I know someone who can get us another ship that can."@Revans Exile He went to a console and sent out a signal on a frequency that wouldn't be used by humans for another decade, using a private encryption key from the future his father had given him. 'Red X' is all it said.

Temperance was used to the tech of the fleet, she built up a tolerance to it. The Watchtower was entirely different. It was like a telepath building up a tolerance for humanity, but the first exposure to an alien city would be overwhelming. The tech of the Watchtower was so different, it lacked all the alien influences of the fleet. She did her best to maintain her composure, she placed her mask back on it helped her filter out all the noise. "I know the binary fusion generator was taken off line after Lex hijacked it and used it against a city. Please tell me there isn't more problems." Temperance touched a console. A.L.F.R.E.D. uploaded itself into the Watchtower. "A.L.F.R.E.D. will help coordinate repair efforts and restoration of weapon systems. Not to mention the increase in efficiency in all Watchtower functions. Kal-El you should summon your robots from the Fortress of Solitude they need upgrades if they are to be anything more than cannon fodder."

"X is on vacation at the moment. When the vacation is over X already has a contract to fulfill." Red X had no intention of interacting with that lab rat son of Lex.

After explaining their relationship Terr-El flew Galatea to the Fortress of Solitude. "You have been under the influence of a Red Sun for so long, you will need father's Solar Suit to help you regain your powers faster."

"I'll surely be able to help with upgrades." Fox stated, trying to hide his excitement when it came to helping upgrade technology to his liking. He then turned to Temperance, "Anything in particular you think I can help with, Batwoman?" Daniel asked, giddy to start tinkering with the Justice League's Watchtower.

"I would recommend getting with the League's weapons expert and A.L.F.R.E.D. I have to find and deal with Terr-El. Lord knows what the hell she is up to or where. Don't blow anything up." Temperance walked to a computer, she took off the gloves of her suit and tucked them into her belt. She sat down and placed both hands onto the computer. The monitor went black with lines of neon green binary code. The screen changed to an image from a satellite. "Satellites momentarily picked her and Galatea up over the Pacific Ocean. She appears to be heading to Antarctica. Isn't that where you built your Fortress of Solitude?" The code on the screen changed back to the binary code screen this time the code was neon blue in color. "I have a Javelin ready to go. Kal-El I believe you will be needed. Terr-El may hate you at the moment but deep down she still loves you. If anyone can bring her in line it is you." She left for the Javelin without waiting for Kal-El.

Galatea finished putting on the Solar Suit. She admired it's construction it was designed to automatically conform to the wearer. "When I was five you mentioned that if you were able to break out sooner that Cadmus had a Thanagarian ship you could have liberated that would have been of great use. We could use an acquaintance of mine to help in the liberation."

"Kal-El from my post Earth education, I learned that the UN was a collection of representatives from the member nations with most of the members being enemies with each other. Due to this it effectively made the UN ineffectual, it couldn't even enforce the resolutions of the Security Council. The massacres that happened in spite of and the ones that happened while the UN Peacekeepers stood by and watched was the biggest reason I was against this mission in the first place, history tells me this planet isn't worth saving. Post Earth the human race still has crime but there is no genocide, there is no terrorism. I don't know about in Luthor's fleet but in Bruce's fleet there hasn't been a single murder in the last fifteen years. There has been illegal deaths but that is mostly due to drunk morons. Why the League ever bothered to put up with them is mind boggling."

Upon reaching the Javelin, the boarding ramp lowered seemingly on it's own. She took the pilot's seat. Without touching any of the buttons the engines of the Javelin came to life. "A.L.F.R.E.D. is keeping an eye out for sightings of Galatea and Terr...." She pauses midword. "Speaking of them A.L.F.R.E.D. has found them enroute to a Cadmus facility. A.L.F.R.E.D. says Galatea is wearing a Kryptonian suit designed for solar absorption." The Javelin takes off as soon as the boarding ramp closed.

Red X finished off his beer and then immediately teleported to the Cadmus facility. He greeted Terr-El and Galatea upon their arrival. "How should we do this boss?"

Terr-El and Galatea landed beside Red X. "Mother this is Red X the best thief in the galaxy, at least that is what he boasts." Terr-El turns to Red X. "Steal the prize while we distract them. Gather anything else useful you come across." Terr-El flies up to just above Red X's head. "Mother let's get to work. Remember no killing. We may need many of these people in the future if the others fail." Terr-El & Galatea then fly through the side of the building and start causing mayhem.

Red X cloaked himself and proceeded to enter the building through one of the gaping holes the Supers made. He walked up to a security terminal and began accessing their system. "Ah Z-8 robots. Definitely counts as useful." He began typing a series of prompts and commands. Every Z-8 robot in the facility boarded the Thanagarian warship. They began the process of turning the warship on. "They never rebuilt the Ultimen cloning facility nor refined the cloning process, to bad they would have been useful as nigh infinite supply of shock troops. Especially that Long Shadow fellow, less erratic than the others, even League material." After perusing the computers some more he turned some of the Z-8s to gathering up the weapons. While the other Z-8s to manning the warship's defenses. He teleported to the bridge of the ship just waiting for the Z-8s to finish their jobs. While he waited he set up the warship's sensor to tie directly into the facility. He then took a nap.