Legendary

When I woke up again, it was because my husband sat on the bed next to me. I cracked open my eyes and squinted at him before smiling. "Sweet pea," he cooed, his hand brushing my cheek below an abrasion. "I went to the hospital and saw Dad; he's going to be there for a bit while they regrow some organs for him. Most of his abdominal organs were pulped by the explosion and only the fact that he's so strong kept him alive for so long. I updated Alfred, who's agreed to be the point of contact to the family for a bit while we're here." I told him about how Superman had conquered resistance, and he laughed. "I'll have to remember that approach," he said.

I grinned. "I thought the same thing." He smiled and picked up my hand, kissing my fingers.

"I'd love to take you for brunch," he said, and I agreed happily. I braided my wet hair after my shower and we set out in search of sustenance, then went to the hospital. Bruce was irritable about the damage he'd taken but meeker than I expected about his extraction to the hospital. I had some news from a text, which I relayed with a certain amount of glee. I was still tired from the exertion the day before and not in the mood to jolly him along.

"Martha and Thomas are on their way over," I said, keeping my amusement to a minimum. Bruce, a little jaundiced from the damage to his liver and kidneys, paled to a light butter-yellow. "Grandma Martha's concerned about you, as is Grandpa. They're planning on staying until your transplants are complete and you're ready to go home."

"Alex, dear, can't you head them off?" he said a little desperately. I smiled serenely.

"They texted from the airport just before boarding, and they're on their way, so I don't think so. Besides, if you'd gone to the hospital after you were injured, they could have countered a lot of the damage. The transplants are necessary because of the length of time they were damaged before treatment was given." I dropped my smile. "The next time I tell you to go to the hospital, I expect you to go. As it is, you're going to need regular dialysis and you're not going to be able to eat because of the damage to your stomach and intestines. And your liver. All the organs except the intestines could have been saved if you'd gone to the hospital promptly. It wouldn't have even taken much surgery, with the equipment and treatments they have today. You'd have been in surgery an hour, tops, and you could have gone home while you waited for the intestines to be grown from your stem cells. But not even the surgical suite at home is up to the level of care you need now."

Bruce dropped his eyes and stayed silent. "They are, however, bringing a treat with them. They're bringing some things for you from home, plus Selina and Tabby." I was feeling generous with the information. He brightened at the mention of his daughter.

"We're going to go pick them up," Damian said, putting his hand at the small of my back. "So brace for incoming." Bruce's jaw set. I swear, I've seen him treat supervillains with less resolution.

Damian waited until we set off for the airfield before laughing. "What a big baby," he said affectionately. I laughed too, and we had only a brief wait before greeting the grandparents and Selina, who was a little frazzled from keeping Tabby placated. Damian took his little sister and cooed, charming her into what seemed like a welcome silence. We took them to Bruce's rental and got them settled in, then out for a fortifying late lunch before taking them to the hospital. then we told them to call us if they needed anything, picked up my bags, and left immediately for the sub-orbital. We were home in plenty of time for dinner, which we had up at the main house, and were able to report to the rest of the family.

It was a grim dinner, explaining what had happened in Rome and Bruce's condition, but I was glad to be home again with my family. There was a meeting later that night, a joint commission of both superhero teams. Steve couldn't make it, so he sent Natasha as his proxy, and before the meeting, we made arrangements to go to the ballet and take Miles. Steve got stuck briefing the President. Bucky showed up, though, and I snuggled in for an extra-long hug, grateful that he hadn't been caught too close to that horrific initial blast. There's only so much that his healing factor can do for him. Daniel called the meeting to order.

"The death toll from all the explosions stands over two hundred, and we're lucky it wasn't more," Bucky said grimly. "Wounded, over a thousand, and several hundred still in the hospitals have pushed the city's resources to the maximum."

"I'll head up a New York City relief drive," Tony said immediately, and Damian said he'd work on that too. We discussed other ways we could get resources to the city, and the Justice League volunteered to transport medical personnel who could help out. Daniel would contact the appropriate people in Rome and the Avengers would reach out to hospitals and clinics here to see who they could round up. I suggested they contact J, who might have some good ideas for recruitment. He'd probably want to go if he could swing it at work and came up with the idea of sponsoring a doctor, nurse, or technician. Daniel said he'd get the PR department at Wayne to work on it.

"Damage to the archaeological treasures and historical sites is immense," Serena said. "I"m volunteering to help."

"When you contact the antiquities board, tell them I'm in too and find out what they need," I said immediately, and she nodded. There wasn't going to be a shortage of architects and historic preservationists who were going to want to help; we could provide materials and money if not our personal services.

We moved on to the intelligence collected from the action. The arms dealers were being held and interrogated by the Roman and Italian authorities. They coughed up bank accounts and the location of dead drops for information, but they didn't know to whom they were selling, just that they were getting good prices. They gave up the orders they were in the process of assembling, which suggested that Typhon had a pretty good crowd of foot soldiers attached to their cause.

And what was their cause? The supervillains we had in custody in Asgard's cells weren't talking. The Italians were demanding their return so they could take a crack at them, and Thor was going to comply.

"Press from this has been a mixed bag," Superman reported. "As usual, there's some blowback that we didn't prevent the catastrophe." Not unexpected; supers were always blamed for not being omniscient. "But collecting the arms dealers and the villains that we did, and positively identifying the Mandarin, plus the work that everybody did to help victims of the bombings and stabilize the ruins has been noted and appreciated." He smiled at me. "Despite the initial confusion as to her identity, Valkyrie's appearance was widely reported, and the first responders believe that she saved several lives." Serena patted my shoulder.

There was other data to be sifted and discussed, and Damian updated the group on Bruce's condition. It put a damper on the atmosphere. Bruce could be tacturn and sometimes damned hard to work with, but his insights, knowledge, and ability to play devil's advocate and derive courses of action were crucial to the League's success and his absence would be felt. However, Nightwing and Nightfall were coming back to work for the duration of this... mess. That would help a lot. Everybody liked Dick and Damian, and Dick came closest to filling Bruce's shoes since he'd worked with him the longest.

The next day, the kids had a fit when I accompanied Eira back to Asgard to visit her family for a couple of weeks. Not that I got to go to Asgard, but that I was taking away one of their favorite people. Didn't matter that she'd be back. I was grateful to escape and Damian was looking a little rattled as I scuttled off. Tony came too and we updated Thor, Sif, and Magni on events. It was nice and peaceful. Thor sent down some healers with us when we returned.

Natasha and I took Miles to the ballet Firebird the next week for a matinee performance, and he was awestruck by the sets and the costumes and the jumping. Damian enrolled him in ballet classes the next day.

Diana dropped by work a few days later. She was surprised to see our new butler, but Delara was almost as good as Alfred, and Diana was a bit bemused as she accepted coffee and a small strawberry tart, thanking her before Delara nodded and quietly closed the door behind her. "I enjoy coming here," Diana said, nibbling on the tart. "Before the Great Return, misogyny had become almost nonexistent, but now the old battles must be refought. It is discouraging in many respects, yet companies like this are proof that women are at least as good as men. Harder to change are the attitudes of women who hew to the idea that women should not intrude on men's work." We chatted a little before she got to the purpose of her visit. "I am returning to Themyscira for a visit," she said, fiddling with her coffee cup. "I would like to extend an invitation for you, your daughters, and Torunn, both in her capacity as your bodyguard but also as a member of the ruling house of Asgard." I exchanged a glance of surprise with Torunn, but she seemed eager and interested. I made a call and Martha joined us; we agreed to a short visit of three days, which was the most that she and I could manage on short notice. Torunn caught my eyes and exited with Martha, both of them chattering happily at the prospect of the visit.

"I'm thrilled and humbled to be asked to go to your homeland," I said gently, "but what's the basis of the visit, so quickly?"

I grinned as Diana pressed her fingertip to some crumbs on her plate and delicately licked them off before placing the plate on the corner of my desk. "I must have the wisdom of the queen my mother," she said. "I need to confer before I bring news to the League and our allies. On a personal level, because Daniel cannot set foot on the islands, my mother cannot meet him. However, he regards you as the matriarch of his family and loves you dearly. I would like to present you to my mother in that capacity as well, and enable her to make a connection between our families. Martha would also be helpful in expanding her understanding of Daniel's family. As for Iris... I was the last child among the Amazons and there is not one who would not like the opportunity to play with a child."

Damian was interested and a little envious of my invitation and he planned to take Miles to another ballet matinee, followed by a visit to the zoo to see Uncle Bucky and a dinner with the three of them and Daniel. I spent the rest of the nights until our departure in my smithy, making a shamshir to take as a presentation gift to the Amazon queen. I didn't have time to inlay a design, so I acid treated the blade to create my fallback folate design. Torunn made a wooden scabbard for it, covered with leather for looks.

We took the suborbital and parked it on the mainland. Waiting for us at a dock was a sailboat guarded by an incognito Amazon. She gripped arms with Diana and introductions waited until we were at sea. Sofia was a woman of few words, but an excellent sailor. She and Diana were good friends and had much to catch up on. We sailed into a thick mist and emerged into a clear blue sea, the sun bright but not hot, and a chain of beautiful green islands ahead of us.

"Behold Themyscira," Sofia said, flipping her blonde braid over her shoulder and smiling at us. She expertly guided the boat and Diana helped her secure it before we left and walked down the long dock. The air was a little humid, but clear and had a bracing fresh scent. An honor guard awaited us with horses, and I was grateful that someone had sent one for Iris. Philipus, the Amazon chancellor, was the ranking member of the guard and embraced Diana before introductions. As expected, my younger daughter stole the show; she was adorable with her jet hair, big blue eyes, and soft golden skin. The chancellor knelt to address her and was delighted when Iris told her that she knew how to ride. She tossed her up into the saddle of an elegant gray herself as the rest of us mounted and followed her to the palace complex. It was a short ride, and we soon found ourselves before a beautiful woman who wore a more elaborate headpiece than the others in her group. Diana touched her knee to the ground before advancing for a hug from her mother; it must be difficult for the queen to surrender her daughter to the world of man. Diana first introduced Torunn as the daughter of the ruling house of Asgard, then me, Martha, and Iris, who had begun to fidget. We in turn were introduced to the queen's counselors, the astrologer Areto, Castalia, an oracle, Epione, the chief healer, Hessia, a general, Pallas, a weaponsmith, Penelope, the Amazon's archivist, Io, the weapons master, and Ipthime, the Amazon's architect and master sculptor.

Hippolyta smiled and had us shown to our quarters.