Even though most of humanity had been reduced to a herd of slaves, there still existed safe heavens that allowed human civilization to survive and thrive. These places didn't all follow the same rules and politics. Some were active supporters  of the anti-Apokoliptian resistance, while others were extreme isolationists, cutting themselves from the outside world as best as they could. Some were even trying to take advantage of the current situation for their own goals.

In the end, there were much more settlements free from the clutches of Apokolips than Kalibak liked to acknowledge. The new supreme ruler of Earth had established his headquarters on the ruins of Metropolis, sending the ex-heroes and the villains that had joined the ranks of his army to rule over the other Apokoliptian settlements.

One the most famous safe heavens, being among the largest ones, was Gotham City, dominion of the Batman. Gotham was also the closest free city to Metropolis and the only one that existed in a radius of 3000 miles from the Man of Steel's home turf.

However the Batman that protected the city nowadays was not Bruce Wayne but his first son, Richard Grayson. He had abandoned the mantle of Nightwing after his father/mentor went missing.

Most believed that the original Dark Knight had perished and that his body had been left to rot on a battlefield. But a rumor ran that he had in fact tricked Darkseid into taking him as a prisoner back to Apokolips so that he could plan and plot the New God's demise to avenge his fallen best friend.

Back on Earth, Barbara Gordon was now the new Nightwing, having regained the use of her legs thanks to scavenged Apokoliptian technology. She was sharing the honor of being the new Batman's lover with Poison Ivy, whose powers had become instrumental in protecting the city. She was along with Mister Freeze one of the few Gotham villains that became the Batman's allies.

Talia al Ghul, after seeing that her son Damian Wayne aka Robin wasn't going to abandon his older brother/mentor, joined Gotham City's protectors along with her bodyguards and loyal followers.

Both Red Robin and Black Bat were missing in action.

The safe heaven with the largest population was Tokyo, home to the new headquarters of Iron Man, the Avengers and SHIELD. Tony Stark, after understanding that the forces of Apokolips concentrated in the USA were too strong, retreated to his secondary base in Tokyo and, with the help of the surviving Avengers, proceeded with evacuating as much civilians from the west coast to Asia as he could.

Among the evacuees were a large number of SHIELD agents who reformed the organization in their new home.

Among the few unscathed areas was Latveria, home of Dr Doom. His technology and the help of a few heroes and villains proved enough to keep the armies of Apokolips at bay. However the country was now closed to all outsiders, be they Apokoliptian or human, and only a few chosen were allowed entrance.

Themyscira was the safest place on Earth, as it was under the protection of Hera and other Olympian deities. However it was a safe heaven reserved to women and no men, be they adults or children, were allowed to step on its shores. Also the Gods' inaction and Queen Hippolyta refusal to help the outside World had granted the Amazons a lot of resentment, including from their own champion, Princess Diana aka Wonder Woman.

The female heroin was rumored to have left her homeland and to be the secret leader of the resistance, traveling the world in search of her friends and fighting the invaders. Many considered her as humanity's greatest hope, the guiding star to a brighter future.

A new order had risen in Bangkok under the rule of the rogue scientists of AIM and their new allies, who had been heroes or independent villains prior to the invasion. Although it was one of the safest places on Earth, the situation there was extremely chaotic. There was no active government and people were left to rule themselves.

New refugees arrived everyday to escape from the Apokoliptian forces, but no one from this city was doing anything to thwart them. In fact, although they weren't isolationists, they completely disregarded the crisis the rest of the world faced.

A few cities were also under the protection of the League of Shadows, whose assassins were able to dispatch the invading forces without betraying their presence.

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