The whole team hadn't been back together since the night that they defeated Steppenwolf. It seemed that they all went back to their lives, and truthfully they deserved the break after having saved the world. Though they were all far from having been on vacation, all the heroes having to deal with not only personal issues but smaller villians of their own.

It was really no surprise when Bruce called for an urgent meeting between all the members. They all still had to discuss what it meant to be a team, the world now knew who the Justice League was. They were loved all around the world for the heroes that they now were.

Kara was running late though it wasn't much of a surprise considering that she was still in school. But Bruce had no intentions of waiting for her as he begun to explain his plans for what was no going to be their "headquarters" as he gave them the layout of the building. He was planning on repurposing the old Wayne Mansion that had burnt down over seven years ago.

This all seemed like a passion project for Bruce, which was no surprise considering that he was the reason that there was a team to begin with.

"Big round table." Bruce gestured as they looked out at the large room in front of them. Clearly he had already begun work on the room "Eight chairs, right there."

"But room for more." Diana stated as they all looked out at the large space envisioning what could be.

"But room for more." Bruce agreed knowing that Diana was right. They were bound to find others like them who wanted to do good.

But just like there were meta-humans looking to do good there were also meta-humans who were looking to do bad. Which was why that Justice League was so important now that they all knew just how much more complex their world was.

"God help us." Alfred muttered under his breath.

"Sorry I'm late guys." Kara's voice echoed through the room and they all turned around to find Kara standing in the hallway a white dog at her side. "Krypto gets easily distracted."

They all were silent and slightly confused as Kara walked across the room, however Krypto ran to Clark's side practically knocking him over with a force that wasn't normal for a dog.

No normal dog would have been able to almost knock down Clark.

"You have a dog?" Irene questioned genuinely surprised by the revelation. They had Kara over for dinner two nights ago and she hadn't mentioned the fact that she had a dog. Which wouldn't have been surpassing if it wasn't for the fact it had felt that Kara had shared almost every detail of her life with them.

Kara smiled brightly as she shrugged. "Well, technically it's Clark's dog."

Barry stepped forward wanting to get a closer look at Krypto. He almost looked at him with childlike wonder and excitement before turning back to Kara. "Wait. Wait, are you saying this is like a super dog?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Kara stated before looking over to Clark who was scratching Krypto behind his ears. "It's a long story."

"One that I would be happy to hear later." Clark said as he straightedges the action causing Krypto to sit right by his feet. Irene was surprised to see how well behaved Krypto was, she had never owned a dog before, in fact she had never had a pet at all. "Bruce was in the middle of giving us a tour of our future headquarters."

"Headquarters?" Kara repeated as she looked around the room. She almost seemed amused by the idea but nodded in approval. "Guess we have a lot of crime fighting in our future."

"Well, looks like we already have our work cut out for us." Victor suddenly declared an almost vacant look in his eye causing them to immediately look at him in concern. With his ability to access and monitor everything that was going on in the world, he didn't know just how valuable he was.

Although Victor understandably was still adjusting to his new life, and he would never escape cruel opinions of people that would never understand. Irene supposed that was what made all the members fit so well together, they were all outsiders in some way.

"Meaning?" Arthur finally questioned clearly lacking any patience to wait for Victor to gather his thoughts.

"Some inmates escaped from Arkham Asylum. They haven't released the information to the general public yet."

"What inmates?" Bruce questioned his voice becoming dangerously serious. It wasn't difficult to imagine the he was not happy that the criminals he had placed in Arkham were now on the loose. Though it happened a little too often for anyone's liking.

"Slade Wilson, Edward Nygma, The Joker," Victor listed before pausing his expression growing even more serious, if that was even possible. But when he looked to Clark, there was no doubt in Irene's mind about what name was coming next. "Alexander Luthor."

Clark instinctively placed a hand in Irene's waist at the mention of Lex Luthor's name. After everything that Luthor had put them through it was not easy knowing that he was free. Though Irene supposed that she always knew that they would never completely rid themselves of Luthor.

Lex Luthor hated Clark. It was the kind of hatred that clearly all consuming considering the great lengths he had gone to in an attempt to kill Clark. The worst part was that he had initially succeeded.

It was almost like Krypto sensed that Irene was in distress as he began to like her hand, like if he was attempting to comfort her.

"Lex Luthor has to be behind this." Clark stated the seriousness in his voice was one that Irene had not seen since he had come back. That fact alone made Irene hate Luthor more. He was taking away their peace again, and the last time Luthor had targeted them Clark was not in a good place.

"What do you think he wants?" Barry questioned as he studied everyone's expressions.

The furious look in Bruce's eyes was frightening. Those were all men that he had placed in Arkham Asylum himself, now they were free again and undoubtedly would hurt people again. "If he helped the others escape then...."

"Then they are all working together." Diana agreed sharing an equally furious expression.

Although Lex Luthor was just a man, he had proven to them all just how dangerous he was. He didn't need powers to be a threat, and maybe that made what he was capable more frightening. Especially if he was no longer working alone. Every single one of the criminals that he had helped escape was a serious concern.

"That's not good." Kara said softly under her breath.

"You think?" Arthur replied sarcastically as he crossed his arms over his chest.

They all knew what it all meant. There was no doubt that Lex Luthor heard that Superman was back, and that he would want to finish what he started. That he would be after Clark again.

Clark hadn't mentioned Lex Luthor or the rest of the escaped inmates, but he and the rest of the team had spent the last two days in search of them. Irene knew that he didn't want to bring it up to her not wanting to cause her any stress, but it was impossible not think about it.

Irene couldn't help but be afraid that Lex Luthor would appear again when they were least expecting it. That he would try to hurt Clark again. And Irene couldn't lose him, she knew she wouldn't be able to relive that pain again.

But Irene was able to forget about Lex Luthor and everything else that was going on around them as she waited eagerly at the airport.

Angel, Cat and the kids were also waiting silently. Though they were all buzzing with nervous excitement.

"I don't know how we'll ever be able to repay Bruce Wayne for this." Angel said as they all looked through the sea of people who just arriving from their flights. 

Initially none of them could believe what Bruce Wayne had done for them. In fact Cat and Angel had a more difficult time accepting what Bruce Wayne had done than the fact that Clark was miraculously back from the dead. 

With the help of Barbara Gordon they were able to fake hospital records saying that Clark Kent had been in a coma the last three months. That he had simply been missing the whole time and was mistaken as a John Doe. Initially Irene thought that it was wishful thinking believing that the lie was believable. But they quickly discovered that no one really questioned their story, everyone was simply happy that Clark was back. The why didn't really matter. 

"He's Bruce Wayne. He already had everything." Cat replied as she adjusted Adam's hair making sure that there wasn't one hair out of place on her son's head.

They all knew that she was especially nervous because she had never met Laura Miranda and that she wanted to make a good impression. Irene's mother tended to be tough, but she highly doubted that she wouldn't approve of Cat. Not when she and Adam were a part of why Angel was so happy. 

"There she is." Clark said as he adjusted the flowers in his arms. He always gave her mother flowers every time they had gone to visit her in Mexico, that was part of the reason why her mother loved Clark so much. Other than the fact that since she started dating Clark she had been able to visit her a lot more often.

Even with everything that was happening with Lex Luthor, nothing could cast a shadow on this moment. Irene didn't know how it was possible to feel so complete. She didn't need anything else, because she felt like she had it all now. She knew that very little things would compare to the joy she felt having her mother back in Metropolis after they had taken her away when she was just a young girl. The injustice of it all had affected her in ways that she would never be able to explain. And nothing would be able to correct that wrong. 

But there was no changing the past. What mattered now was the future, and all the beautiful possibilities that it held. 

A/N: Ahhhhhh!!!! Can't believe there's only one more chapter to go. I already started working on it so expect it soon. Once again thank you for all the love that you have shown this story over the years.