The dream ended.
But when those present woke up, they found they were no longer on Apokolips. They were in Gotham City, inside Arkham Asylum, with Gotham's villains lined up in a neat row, staring unblinkingly at the people lying on the lobby floor.
Spider-Man woke first. He slapped a hand to his head, shook it hard, and said hoarsely, "What happened? Why do I feel like I saw a spaceship?"
Harley tilted her neck from side to side and rubbed her shoulders. After doing a few chest stretches, she said, "If I remember right, didn't a spaceship aim its cannons at us at the end? What kind of script is this? Has Darkseid in the dream world already advanced as far as Apokolips?"
Damian climbed to his feet with a blank expression, while Little Bruce had already turned to search for that familiar figure. Sure enough, Batman was sitting in a nearby chair, adjusting the bat equipment on his body.
Noticing Little Bruce's gaze, Batman spoke in a low, raspy voice. "You saw correctly. That was Darkseid and his spaceship."
"I don't understand!" Little Bruce raised his voice. "Wasn't this supposed to be a fair competition? We all started out as Gotham orphans, yet Darkseid built a spaceship in just a few months. Isn't that ridiculous?"
"Am I awake? Was that really just a dream?" Damian muttered dazedly. Then he froze and secretly glanced at Batman from the corner of his eye.
If he remembered correctly, Batman had hugged him at the very end. Was that just an illusion? Or had it really...
Damian felt a little panicked. He kept telling himself that it had only been a dream. Besides, young Batman had hugged him before too. It was nothing to make such a fuss over.
Harley narrowed her