Author's Note: Hey-o. I haven't written a fanfic for... 7 years now? I don't even want to talk about my stories from before, haha. Anyway, I was struck with the urge to write a JLU fic. I just couldn't help myself.

I don't have a beta reader, so feel free to point out any mistakes I make. :]

This will be a BatFlash eventually, so turn away now if you aren't interested in the pairing.

Disclaimer: I don't own DC. Although, if I ever become a mega-billionaire, I just might. ;)

Chapter 1

It was the single brightest thing in the entire universe. Like a billion stars, it shone with a fury unrivaled by anything existence had to offer. If one were to look at it for even a moment, the poor soul would surely go blind the very instant. Perhaps it was from another dimension or from a time before the cosmos even existed. Whatever the origin, it was too much for one man to comprehend. In an effort to shield his eyes, the red-clad hero held his arm over his face and squinted.

"Jeez, Luthor. I'm super flattered, but you didn't need to wax your head before the fight! A simple tie would have been fine!"

A growl emanated from the shining bald man and he fired a shot at the hero in question. The Flash lived up to his title as he dodged the harm in an instant.

"Ha! You missed me, Sunshine!" he stuck out his tongue.

"Shut it, you buffoon!" Luthor took another shot, which the Flash easily avoided, as a gruff voice came from his right.

"This isn't the time for jokes, Flash. You could easily make a fatal mistake." Batman swung at one of Luthor's hired thugs and didn't miss. The bulky goon coughed hard as the wind was knocked out of his stomach. The Flash winced at the sight. He would not EVER want to get hit by the Dark Knight. He was actually pretty sure that he'd rather take a wallop from Superman himself.

"Aw, Bats, I can't help it that I'm a natural comedian!" with a steady grin, he began running circles around Luthor until a whirlwind had launched the older man straight into the sky. After skidding to a stop, the Flash held out his arms, ready to catch Luthor as he fell. "I really, really hope he doesn't get dizzy and barf down on me. This one time, I sent Mirror Master up, like, a hundred feet and then, it was just awful, I look up and-"

"Flash." Batman just had to stop him. The two goons Luthor had hired were tied to a lamp post, ready to be taken into custody.

"Yeah?" The Flash blinked.

"You do realize he hasn't come back down." Batman spoke calmly.

"Whu-" He looked up, then dropped his arms in befuddlement. He saw nothing but a beautiful blue sky. "...Where did he go?"

"What do you mean he just vanished?" A stern voice echoed down the halls of the Watchtower.

"Yeah, Supes. It was crazy. He went up," The Flash made a grand gesture with his arms, "but he didn't come back down."

"God, who knows where he could be?" His knuckles were white from clenching his fists too hard. Wonder Woman gave a concerned look over to Shayera, who took a step forward and put her hand on Superman's shoulder.

"Hey. It's gonna be okay. You know how he is. I'm sure he would have gotten away from the situation somehow." Superman shrugged her hand off.

"I should have been there. He wouldn't be out on the loose, doing who knows what." His voice was grating and harsh. The Flash couldn't help but lower his head. He knew Superman had put faith in him to protect Metropolis while he was away on natural disaster relief. "I'd better go back to Earth to be nearby just in case." With a cold air, he left the room, headed towads the hangar bay.

"Wally, don't feel bad. It wasn't your fault." Shayera had bent over to meet his eyes. "Batman was there too, so it's not like you were fighting him alone."

"Yes, you both did the best you could do in the situation." Wonder Woman smiled.

"But I didn't do the best I could do." his voice was lowered. "Bats is right. I can't joke around all the time. People are counting on me. I can't let them down." Shayera and Diana could only exchange worried glances as Wally turned and shuffled out of the room in a pace that would have felt awfully slow even to a normal person.

The doors to the monitor room opened with a gust of air, creating a sound that reminded Wally of Star Trek. As he shuffled in, he finally allowed his eyes to look at a spot other than the ground. The room was dead quiet save for the clacking of fingers against keys. He knew Batman would be here. He always typed up a incident report immediately after a mission. As he shuffled towards the dark figure, the typing came to a stop. "Can I help you?" his voice sounded irked.

"Oh, uh, hey Bats." Wally couldn't help but fall into his usual goofiness. A grin had already appeared on his face. "How'd you know it was me?" He leaned forward in a curious manner.

"I didn't. Your footstep pattern was different than usual." He had continued typing and didn't bother to turn around.

"Oh." He glanced around the room, looking at the different displays. Nothing intense seemed to be happening on Earth. There were a few small incidents occurring, but they already had men on the job. In a sense, it was a rare moment for the planet. Almost too rare.

"Did you want something?" Wally broke from his thoughts as Batman spoke. He felt awkward that he was aware of his presence, but didn't really acknowledge him by turning around.

"Yeah, I was wondering if you had found any leads on where Luthor went?" He fiddled his thumbs innocently. "'Cause I was thinkin' we could go finish the job, you know?" Batman stopped typing again and actually swiveled the chair around. It caused Wally to jump a bit.

"You don't think Superman would rather handle it from here?" He leaned to the left, as if he were trying to get more comfortable. Wally crossed his arms over his chest indignantly.

"Yeah, maybe, but he shouldn't have to! I don't want him cleaning up my messes." He shifted his gaze elsewhere, in a moment of obvious guilt. Batman considered him.

"He has a head like a rock. I doubt you could get through that stubborn head of his." Wally looked at Batman, surprised. Was that a joke? He had only ever heard him be humorous a few times and for some reason it really made Wally smile. "But, if you really want to attempt it..." Batman nodded towards a monitor that had just started blinking. There was some sort of commotion going on in Metropolis. It was Luthor. Wally couldn't believe that he was already causing havoc when they had just fought a few hours ago. Nevertheless, he grinned.

"Meet you in the Javelin, Bats!" He was gone before Batman could even reply.

Superman was already on the scene. There was a giant trench leading to a grounded Bizarro, who had obviously taken quite a hit from the Blue Boy Scout. Apparently Luthor had brought in some bigger guns this time. The Flash appeared underneath Superman, who was floating in midair, looking around for Luthor. He put his hands around his mouth as a makeshift megaphone. "Hey, Supes! What's the story?"

"I'm not sure yet. All I know is that Luthor is behind all of this." he spoke through his teeth. Bizarro had recovered and was already flying haphazardly towards Superman. "Try to find him while I hold the rest off!"

"Gotcha!" The Flash gave a mock salute upwards before zipping off. He ducked into the broken window of a barber shop, "Nope," then sped across the street to a toy store. "Nuh-uh." After checking all of the shops and buildings, he came back to where he had left Superman. He could see two figures in the sky battling it out.

"I think I know where he's hiding." A deep voice came from behind the Flash, causing him to jump. Wally spun around to see Batman holding some kind of electronic device. "I'm getting a strange radiation reading from the subway." He had already started running towards the underground entrance, although the Flash easily passed him by. He screeched to a halt once he reached the bottom of the stairs. It was dark. Only a few lights seemed to be working. It was probably due to all the damage Bizarro and Superman were creating above them. Wally cautiously walked forward, scanning the area for any movement. Batman had caught up to him and had pulled out a flashlight. He shone the beam towards the right side first, then gradually moved it along until it came to a dead spot on Lex Luthor. He was sitting behind a giant gun. It would have taken all his strength to hold it up. At the moment, it was level on some sort of tripod. Luthor looked crazed.

"Idiots!" Was all he said as he fired. At this point, Batman had screamed Flash's name, and only the Flash himself could comprehend what had occurred in the last few moments. He had run towards Luthor as it fired. He realized it was too late to actually stop the shot. He threw his entire body into the giant barrel of the gun, causing it to jolt upwards. The bright green beam that had shot out of it, hit the ceiling, but didn't break through. Instead, it ricocheted off in all directions. He heard Luthor cursing as the room was filled with light. Wally thought it was beautiful. Suddenly, he was hit with an intense wave of nausea as the world spun so fast, even he couldn't keep up.