Hoo, mama. Boy, do you know how to write a story.

In hindsight, I'm kind of glad I read Eternal first. I once read two fics that were connected but also stand-alone second to first. I rather enjoyed the experience more, reading the following events before the prologue story. The deep revelations and trials that are already present in the second installment aren't yet present in the first story, so a new kind of tension builds wondering when the bad things happen and how they came about. In this way, it made me even more eager to read this story, and I came out of it with a bigger appreciation for what it is than I might have otherwise. The only thing I miss because of the swapped readings was the big gasp when you reveal that this was the Justice Lord universe all along. For the rest of this review, I'll be looking at it from an angle considering both stories.

Now, when I reached the end and read some of the reviews of the epilogue, I might have sided with some people on the ending, but since I've read Eternal, I can see a whole new depth to the continuing storyline. It even adds another neat, fictional dimension to the JL 'Better World' episode. The ordeal Bruce went through with the powers could almost explain Lord Batman's characterization, albeit with some repetition. The tyrannical world vision and the following self-doubt after the Achilles incident explains why he's part of the Lords' dictatorship, and then the humbling and experience of coming back to reality explains why he was the first to turn back to good. I could see the logic of one of your reviewers: it was kind of depressing to think forward, that after the lessons they learned and the hopeful end chapter (excluding the epilogue), they still fell to pride and tyranny. But mistakes aren't always learned from, and while sad, it does give a greater scale of humanity and sympathy for the Lords.

The thing that really tugged a heartstring here, though, was Superman. He may not be one of my favorite heroes, but there's no denying that he IS one of the greatest heroes in all of literature, and his selfless, forgiving nature here shows it. To know and to have seen how low he sinks in "A Better World" and Eternal almost hurts. Now I'm almost desperately wishing for his reformation in Eternal. Boy Scout and Not-Quite-As-Cool-As-Batman he may be, but seeing Superman as anything less than one of the World's Finest just feels wrong.

In the same way, my investment in the BMWW romance just skyrocketed. Seeing them struggle so hard here makes their reunion in Eternal that much more important.

Again, like in Eternal, I appreciate the level of thought, detail, and maturity that is present in every chapter of this fic. The plot, conflicts, and characterizations were all done their justice; Lex Luthor and Ultra were awesome villains, the League were compelling protagonists, and Delores Winters and Clayface were sympathetic in-betweens.

Like you admitted in author notes, I did see grammar problems and other errors, but aside from that, I had no major complaints about this whatsoever. It was well-worth the time, red eyes, and screen-exposure headache to read.

Your Now Official Fan,
WG23

This was a really interesting concept, and I liked how you developed it. Well done & thanks for sharing this story with us! :)
Cheers

i love the bmww

OH MY GOD THE PLOT TWIST! I COMPLETELY DID NOT SEE THAT COMING

when i finished this chapter all i could think was "OH MY GOD THIS IS AWESOME" turns out i accidently said it out loud

A great story.

I haven't seen more than one or two episodes of JLU and I'm not sure I really liked what I saw, but this fic has everything I could want. It has a fantastic plot, perfect pacing, and great character work. All around, a good job well done.

Still liking it :D

really liked this story, thank you for writing it.

Beautiful! It was amazing... All the effort you've put into it definitly was worth it!

Excellent story, very well written and I enjoyed the complexity of it. Having Batman suffer from Afrenal poisoning was an excellent way to have it turn out, also I'm a sucker for BMWW so that was a bonus as well.

Thanks again for you efforts I really appreciated them. One of the better stories out here.

P.S. I did forget to mention that though I'm not fond of the ending, it was very clever. I just don't see Clark watching what happened to Bruce thinking he's doing the right thing but really not, and yet then fooling himself the same way.

To be honest, I'm not liking the epilogue so much... which is disappointing, since every chapter has kept me totally engrossed-I've stayed up way past my bedtime to reach the end.

But the very last chapter sorta feels like an insult to everything Bruce-and co.-went threw. It's like, here, struggle with the urge to go power-mad, and finally do, and recover...only to do it all over again but much slower and more subtly (in the form of the Justice Lords). It just didn't fit to me. Plus, you killed Flash-someone who was instrumental in making Bruce feel better, even for a split second, when he was hating himself so much!

Btw, loved Clark's speech to him about why he admires him, and Diana's not-give-up-ness. Every relationship needs someone to do that in tough times, whether it switches off or not.

Everyone's character was well captured, despite this being AU; we had a good sense of everyone and could see them reacting the way they did. Even Bruce, really, b/c everyone started off at a recognizable point and you grew and shaped them from there while keeping their actions consistent with their core beings (even w/ Batman's secret belief he has to have back-up plans against his friends, his potential future enemies if they go rogue, fueling his drug-exacerbated belief they are good-for-nothings that can't be trusted).

But sadly, the very end disappointed me and frankly, I will pretend it didn't happen. The previous chapter is much more hopeful, and I like it that way. I mean, it's your fic, but your A/N's seem to call for honest commentary, and I feel you will receive this constructive criticism as intended, and not as a flame.

Overall, though it wasn't happy for very many moments, it had wonderful moments, and I love the way Lois developed feelings for Clark before she found out the truth. And how you used Lex's trademark twisty-ness to add well-handled drama to the story. It was all very well done, and I will count this as one of my favorite for your ability to pull us in and look forward with much anticipation to the next chapter.

Have a nice day/night! And please write more stuff for us! You are very talented!

I thoroughly enjoyed your story. I loved the seeing the plot progress so subtly and yet with a definitive goal. Character development was wonderful. I felt that the feelings and reactions of the characters were spot on. One of my favorite things about your story was your breakdown of Batman's admiration for Superman as the hero and Clark Kent as a person. Thank you for taking the time to write such an amazing story for people like me to read.

Hello- its me! Actually Mrs. Flash now. Your story was so well-written that I have joined this website just to make sure I don't lose track of you! You still had some typoes and grammar errors, but your plot and character development made all that insignificant. I would be willing to beta for you anytime, just to let you know-not that you are going to want me, and I think you already have a beta-but just wanted to throw that out there! Now I need to go and read all your other stuff! Au revoir!

WOw. THis was a stunning epilogue. And I do love flash (as a character of course-I just needed a name!) and you wrote him extremely well. That was awful. I wonder... did you write a sequel? I will have to look! Was this supposed to take place in that alternate dimension with no flash? Either way, totally fine- I know very little Justice league adventure information and that doesn't bother me at all!This is my review of your entire story. You kept worrying about the length of your story in the AN but I LOVED that! I can read most fanfics in 20 minutes or less but yours kept me occupied for 3 days (since I can't spend all my time reading fanfics, ya know!) I also liked that you included more action, less romance. Romance is great and all, and you wrote it well, but your action scenes were thorough and exciting! I might have to join this website just so I can favorite you (and BKK-that's how I found your work!) Keep it up and don't quit-your stuff is awesome!