Superman left first with the sleeping Conner slung over his shoulder, while Batman took Tim out for a rare chance to unwind beneath the moon.
Nightwing was forced to cover for the two original organizers. He stammered through a speech telling everyone to enjoy the evening, then hurried off the stage with a sigh of relief of his own.
Only then did Shane notice that young superheroes made up at least sixty to seventy percent of those present tonight.
Many young heroes with only a few years under their belts had come with veterans. Those veterans did not linger at the party either. After a few drinks and a quick hello to old acquaintances, they made their exits.
Even Barry Allen, who once would have been the most enthusiastic about cutting loose at an event like this, showed considerable restraint. He warned the two Wallys not to bring anything inappropriate into the party, then left.
Of course, once the veterans were gone and the younger crowd became the majority, the atmosphere grew more relaxed and casual.
Quite a few people gathered around Shane as well.
He did not particularly enjoy social occasions like this, but there was no stopping the youngsters from the Teen Titans from making the rounds and advertising his "achievements" in saving the Injustice Universe.
With the veterans leaving early, those who remained were naturally a bunch of young "heroes" who hardly lived up to the name.
Imagining themselves polished conversationalists, they approached with drinks in hand and affected airs, hoping to get to know Shane so they could boast about the connection whenever it suited them as they launched their careers.
One after another, they introduced themselves, little realizing that Shane did not even have an alias that fit their "line of work."
It really was