Reyortsed
a JLU drabble series
by Merlin Missy
Copyright 2006
PG

Characters and situations are owned by DC and Warner Bros. Based on and contains enormous spoilers for "JLU: Destroyer," written by Dwayne McDuffie. Thanks to dotfic for the beta and the excellent suggestions.

Because it's not a good story unless you care about whose head is going to blow up next. That's why.

---

Lex remembered.

Brainiac had been a part of him for years, hiding within him like a disease, or a seed hastily planted and long forgotten. So much pain at the sprouting, and Lex had resented this cold intruder.

Now it felt like resenting his own arm, only the arm had been ripped off.

He'd been a god.

In the blazing, sparking furnace of his mind, Lex ached for the power, yes, but even more for the feeling of completion that was Brainiac wrapped warm and thick around his soul.

He would ally himself with Superman, but the goal was Brainiac.

---

Wally started vibrating, anticipation running through him. Time to save the world again, and weird to think he'd be doing it with the same guy he stopped from destroying it last time.

More recent events concerning Luthor came to mind.

He looked around the crowded room. Volcana gazed evilly at one of the control panels, and he zipped between her and it. No use letting the bad guys see too much.

"So," he said casually, still scanning the villains, "where's the purple-haired chick? Tala, right?"

Volcana didn't meet his eyes. A mutiny, Luthor had said. And a sacrifice.

"Oh."

---

"Find shelter," he'd said. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

She should have run further, but then she couldn't watch him.

The dragon was glorious. The first time he had transformed in front of her, she'd been frightened. This gentle man had become a monster before her eyes.

Now she could not imagine her life without the swell of love that swept through her each time she saw him shift and flow.

Far above her, an immortal, beautiful woman threw herself into J'onn's arms. But Wonder Woman would not be in his arms tomorrow, and that was enough.

---

Darkseid held him by the neck, and Clark couldn't breathe.

Memories: pain, pressure, Clark himself trying to hold up the world, no, it had been the planet atop the Planet. The thoughts crowded his darkening vision as Darkseid mocked him and squeezed.

He hadn't seen them as he'd fallen through his building, his third home. Not Lois, Jimmy, Perry, anyone. But they had to have been inside.

They had to be dead.

Clark was dying.

The batarang flew and hit Darkseid's arm and the sparks shone lights in Clark's darkness, returning his life as the hand dropped.

Darkseid would pay.

---

She was going to live. She was going to have a child. Batman had told her everything, describing what he remembered, and it had happened, would happen.

Shayera beat two parademons senseless with her mace, alight with future knowledge. She would live through this.

The message came, and she yelled to Atomic Skull: "Watch my back!"

The machines would be destroyed and they would win and she was going to live ...

The double blades went through her wing and she fell.

Batman hadn't said she would enjoy the future.

Head in the game right now, Hol. The future can wait.

---

Metron led him to the Source Wall, and Lex listened to him prattle on; Brainiac was a twelfth-level intellect, and some things remained.

Lex passed within.

The anti-life equation filled him, and he was glorious and he was a god again and this was not the same at all.

Lex came to Darkseid, offered up the universe like a talisman. He could buy back the half of his soul ripped away by a stupid boy, and Darkseid accepted the trade blindly.

As they melted into each other, Lex felt the welcoming touch of Brainiac's pure thought, and he was home.

---

They reconvened at the Tower.

"Hey." John turned as Mari reached his arm and kissed his cheek. "Glad to see you're okay."

"Same here," he said, squeezing her hand.

"Apocalypses are always touchy. Though I guess not for you. I mean, you know you're going to live, right?" Her smile didn't reach her eyes. Apocalypses also made people think about the future.

"Mari ... "

"Tell me something. Tell me you're with me because you love me, not because you're avoiding some stupid destiny."

He opened his mouth. Couldn't speak.

She closed her eyes. "I'll come by later to get my things."

---

Five minute head start? Diana mentally swore at Bruce in five languages. This was his dumbest idea ever. Maybe he got hit on the head when he was fighting Darkseid.

And didn't die.

Of course she was glad, but at the same time, she wondered.

She cornered Giganta and Cheetah in a dead-end alley downtown. She called for backup, then went in after them.

As she fought, a small crowd gathered to watch. Among the gawkers stood a pretty blonde woman, who smiled at Diana and helped her back to her feet when she fell.

Men were boring anyway.

---

Lois swore she was fine, but the doctors insisted on keeping her overnight for observation. Jimmy came by to chat until they made him go back to his own room.

No one had died. Thank God.

The door cracked open. "Hey, Lois."

"Smallville! You missed all the excitement."

He shrugged. "I think it'll be exciting when we all lose our jobs."

"Always the optimist, eh, Kent?"

Clark laughed, setting a bouquet on the table. "Are you okay?"

She nodded and smiled back. "So where were you?"

Clark sat down beside her.

"Lois, there's something I've been meaning to tell you."

---

Batman drove back to the Cave. He'd walked halfway to the staircase when he saw the lump. Tim, still in costume, curled up asleep on the training mats, a blanket over him.

"He wanted to wait up until you returned, Sir," came the voice from the clock.

"Status?"

"Both Master Timothy and Miss Gordon handled themselves admirably. Master Dick called. He is also in good health.

"And you were where, Sir?" Not accusing, not yet.

"Saving the world again."

"May I suggest an alternate hobby? Philately, perhaps?"

"Perhaps." He watched Tim sleep. "I'll be staying in today, Alfred."

"Excellent, Sir."

---