Chapter 44: Waynes

The Watchtower.

Lex ended the call with Lucas and sighed.

Just then, Batman appeared and asked.

“Lex, we’re done with the device on our end. How’s the antidote coming along?”

“It’s done.”

“Good...hm? Did Lucas call?”

Batman turned to look at the communicator that Lex settled down. A while ago, he had been in a hurry and forgot to bring it with him.

Seeing Lex put down his communicator meant that someone had just called.

He could only think of Lucas who would call at a time like this.

As expected, Lex nodded and frowned.

“That’s right...you know, Lucas is quite smart. Sooner or later, he’s going to figure it out.”

“...It’s fine. Just continue as you are now.”

Lex clicked his tongue and handed the antidote to Batman.

“I hope you know what you are doing, Bruce.”

“...”

Bruce didn’t say anything and quickly left with the antidote. This time, he brought along his communicator.

As he left, Lex received another call.

He looked at the caller ID and saw it was an unknown number.

Answering the call, he heard a familiar voice on the other end.

“How is the brat? Has he been settled?”

“...Oh, it’s you, Vandal Savage.”

“Get to the point, Luthor.”

Lex sighed and shook his head.

“He is still alive. Also, you failed to mention that you would be bringing the fucking God of War into the fold!”

Vandal Savage fell silent on the other end before speaking again.

“You don’t need to know the details. Just report us that brat’s whereabouts when we need you to.”

“Now listen here. I’ve been proving myself to your Injustice League since the beginning! Thanks to me, Deathstroke is right where we want him! I didn’t do all those things just to be your henchman, Savage! I want a seat at the top of your organization! How long are you going to keep testing me!?”

Lex pounded on the table and shouted.

Savage didn’t speak for a while.

Just as Lex was about to get angry again, Savage spoke.

“Give me Lucas’ head, and you will get that seat.”

Immediately after, the call ended.

Lex sighed and threw his phone to the wall which then broke into pieces.

He rubbed his forehead in frustration.

Themyscira.

The colosseum was redecorated with flowers and white cloths surrounding it.

In the middle was a small platform where Hippolyta stood at the center while Lucas and Diana faced each other before her.

Lucas wasn’t prepared for his clothes so he simply shapeshifted a set of black suit and tie.

Diana wore a white greek dress and held a bouquet of roses in her arms.

The wedding ceremony of the Amazons was simple and short. Probably because they don’t have such cases in the past as much with it being an island of women.

Hippolyta looked at Lucas and Diana as she smiled.

“Lucas Wayne, will you take Diana Prince as your wife and forever love her to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death you do part...did I get that right?”

Lucas ignored the last part she said and simply answered, not caring whether it was right or not.

“I do.”

Hippolyta cleared her throat and turned to Diana.

“Diana Prince, will you take Lucas Wayne as your husband and forever love her to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death you do part...and also shar-”

“I do!”

Diana quickly answered before Hippolyta could continue.

Hippolyta glared at her but didn’t say anything.

“Anyway, you may kiss each other.”

Lucas and Diana ignored the whimsical tone in Hippolyta and simply smiled at each other and kissed.

The rest of the Amazons cheered.

Diana happily tossed her rose bouquet and...well, the scene turned into a bloodbath.

The Amazons suddenly unsheathed their swords and fought for who would catch the bouquet, making Lucas very speechless.

Diana ignored them and quickly dragged Lucas to her room.

As for what they did...does it need to be said?

…

The following morning, Lucas woke up and saw Diana smiling beside him in her sleep.

Lucas smiled as well and kissed her before leaving the bed.

He wore his clothes and stepped out of the room where he met Hippolyta who was glaring at him with red eyes.

“E-err...good morning...mother-in-law?”

“...Son-in-law...next time...can you two not be so loud!? I couldn’t sleep!”

Lucas nearly choked at that and quickly apologized.

“S-sorry…”

“Hmph! If you're sorry, then do it with me too!”

“Hah!?”

Lucas froze.

He looked at this mother-in-law of his and saw her staring at him like a hungry lioness. Then, he looked out the window and saw the other Amazons were also staring at him similarly…

Lucas swallowed a mouthful of saliva and used his newest ability!

Teleport!

“Ah! Come back he-!”

“...”

Hippolyta noticed what he was about to do and tried to catch him but she was too late.

Lucas saw he was back in the Wayne mansion and sighed in relief.

That...that was a close one…

Lucas placed his palm on his chest and felt his heart beating so fast.

Actually, he was tempted...but no matter what, seeing a whole island of women trying to ‘eat’ you up...it was more frightening than exciting!

Sighing, he left his room and saw Bruce sitting in the living room while watching the news.

In the news, Lois Lane was reporting about the recent event where Scarecrow’s fear toxin was released to the world and the aftermath of the event.

Hearing that the situation has been handled, Lucas was relieved.

He smiled at his brother and greeted him.

“Yo. Morning.”

“Morning. You’re back early.”

“Yeah. I can now teleport so...it’s very convenient.”

“I see...what happened back there anyway?”

Lucas looked at him and asked.

“Lex didn’t tell you? Ares appeared but I already stopped him. See this?”

Lucas pointed at the gem on his forehead.

“Ares is a god so it's really troublesome to kill him. In the end, I chose the safest option which is to seal him. I also gained his powers and am now, more or less, the new God of War.”

Lucas chuckled and posed in front of Bruce.

Bruce was shocked.

Eh? My little brother...is now a God!?

Lucas laughed at his reaction and posed even more.

“Hmph! Now you know I am a God, if you worship me, I might just grant you power!”

Bruce froze then chuckled at his antics.

Seeing his laugh, Lucas pouted.

“Hey, I’m serious here! Now that I’m a God, I can bestow powers into people! I just haven’t tried it yet! How about it bro? Let me test on you!”

Bruce smiled and nodded.

“Fine. Give it a shot then!”

“Alright! Then, I’ll appoint you as my apostle! I’ll grant you...umm...let’s go with super strength first!”

Lucas thought for a moment then placed his hand on Bruce’s shoulder.

Suddenly, Bruce felt an immense power surge through him.

“Oh...I can feel it…!”

Bruce gripped his hand a couple of times as he felt his power.

Then, he picked up the steel fireplace poker at the side and bent it!

“Wow! This...I can’t even feel much resistance!”

“Hehe! Now you know how awesome I am, hurry and worship me!”

“Yeah, yeah. How about I raise your allowance?”

“...”

What allowance? Since when did you even give me an allowance!?

Damn stingy brother!

“Is that it? Can you stack more powers?”

“Let me see…”

Lucas tapped on Bruce's shoulder again and tried giving him flight.

The next moment, Bruce started to float!

“Hm…”

As Bruce floated, he picked up the fireplace poker again and tried to bend it.

“...My strength returned to normal, huh?”

Right, he wasn’t able to bend it again after gaining flight.

With this, they concluded that Lucas was only able to transfer one kind of power to anyone he blessed.

Because of this, Lucas listed out the powers he is able to use and gave it to Bruce.

Bruce said he will decide what power he wanted after thinking it through and had Lucas wait on bestowing him with power for now.

Then, Lucas met Alfred and decided to give him the ability to teleport. With this, it would be possible to summon him at any time!

Alfred had become the ultimate butler!

Suddenly, Lucas remembered something and walked back to Bruce.

He tossed the small gargoyle statue to him.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a gift from Hades. If you smash it, you will be transported to the Underworld and meet with our parents.”

Hearing that, Bruce was shocked and accidentally dropped the statue.

The statue cracked on the ground and released a black smoke.

“Ah…”

Lucas chuckled.

“Well, good luck then! Don’t worry, if you don’t return within 24 hours, I’ll come knocking on the Underworld’s door!”

“W-wait! I’m not read-!”

Bruce panicked as he hadn't readied his heart just yet. However, the smoke had already swallowed him whole and he disappeared from the land of the living.

In the underworld.

Bruce reappeared and saw he was in a dark place.

In front of him stood two huge doors made of skeletons.

Suddenly, a figure appeared behind him.

“So you’ve come.”

“Who!?”

Bruce turned around and saw a strange man with candles as its face.

The man smiled and bowed slightly.

“I am Hades. The God of the Dead and the King of the Underworld.”

Hades then pointed at the door behind Bruce.

“This is a VIP mansion where I had your parents moved ever since your little brother Lucas had become the new God of War. Don’t worry too much. This place isn’t as bad as you think. Only the sinful are tormented by their sins while others can live a normal life here. I promised Lucas that you will have 24 hours to meet your parents. I advise you not to waste your time.”

Right after he said that, Hades turned around and left as flames covered his body and disappeared.

Bruce still wanted to say more but stopped himself.

He turned around and faced the huge doors once again.

Gritting his teeth, he placed his hand on the door and pushed them open.

Behind the huge doors, he saw a mansion at the distance which resembled their Wayne mansion.

Bruce stayed silent and walked to the mansion slowly.

Once he reached the door, he stretched his hand forward to knock but paused.

What should he do after seeing them? What should he say?

Bruce wasn’t ready for it.

However...he knew that this was his only chance to meet his parents again!

He braced himself then knocked on the door.

Soon after, he heard a familiar voice of a woman behind.

“Who is it?”

“I…”

Bruce started to speak but didn’t continue as he still didn’t know how to introduce himself.

The door opened and revealed a beautiful woman wearing a pearl necklace around her neck.

The woman saw the person in front of her and froze.

That look...that familiar face...this familiar feeling…

She placed her hands on her mouth in shock.

Then, a man appeared behind her.

“Martha? Who is it?”

The man looked at his wife in confusion then looked at the guy who appeared at the door.

His eyes widened in surprise.

Bruce calmed his breathing and smiled. However, he was unable to stop the tears falling from his eyes.

“Mom...Dad...it’s me...Bruce…!”

“Bruce!”

“Son!”

Martha and Thomas Wayne both lunged forward and hugged Bruce at the door. Their eyes were also unable to hold back their tears which fell to their cheeks.

Bruce held his parents in his arms and closed his eyes as if ingraining this feeling in his heart.

Suddenly, Thomas noticed something and quickly pulled away.

“No! T-this can’t be! Son! This is the Underworld! If you’re here, that means…!”

Martha also just noticed it when her husband mentioned it. She also pulled back and stared at her son sadly.

Bruce smiled and shook his head.

“No...mom, dad, don’t worry. I’m not dead just yet.”

“Then...how did you...?”

“T-this isn’t good! Son, you need to get out quickly! If Hades’ people saw you, you will be in trouble!”

Hearing that their son isn’t dead yet, Thoman and Martha both sighed in relief as they believed in him. However, they were also worried that Bruce had entered here illegally and would be caught.

Just as they were worrying, Bruce smiled again and shook his head.

“Don’t worry. Hades was the one who sent me here in the first place.”

“Hades? But why?”

Bruce smiled wryly.

“It’s a long story...I’ll tell you all about it inside.”

“Right! Quick! Let’s get inside!”

“You must be hungry right? Hold on, let me cook for you.”

Seeing his parents acting like this, Bruce felt warm in his heart.

He smiled and nodded, allowing them to pull him inside.

In his heart, he was thanking his little brother once more.

Lucas...this opportunity...thank you for granting it to me…!