Chapter 23: Deep Reaches, Far Hands (Part 2 - 1/2)

Date: August 19, 2008

Location: Unknown

Time: Unknown

Inside a modest study with nothing of worth, a man sat ramrod straight in his armchair with closed eyes, both hands resting on the cane tucked between his thighs. A giant, life-sized portrait of a woman was delicately framed above the fireplace before him, the dancing flames breathing life into the work of art.

Humming a tune, the man swayed his head from side to side, no doubt picturing the most delightful things.

"Kent."

The man's actions continued without pause, the curling of his brows showing that he was trying to ignore the voice speaking his name.

"Kent." the call raised in volume.

Sighing, Kent Nelson opened his eyes to find a golden hologram standing before him, its features similar to his down to the last sparkling speck.

"It's barely been ten minutes..." Kent tiredly implied to his non-physical twin.

"Giovanni Zatara has arrived and urgently awaits your presence inside one of the Tower's bedrooms." the hologram responded, impassive to his annoyance.

With curiosity, seriousness, and some glumness wrapped into one due to the interruption, Kent stood, looking at the life-sized photo's gentle eyes as he gave an apologetic sigh. "Sorry love, but duty calls."

With a wave of his hand, the fireplace extinguished as Kent walked up to the pit, the brick lining around it separating to form a golden door. The fire relit itself only after he disappeared through the aperture, the room pristinely reorganizing a few items left out of place and restoring itself to its original state.

Yet, a single difference remained.

Hanging alone in the room as the echo of Kent's voice faded, the glow of the flames could no longer permeate the painting's vacant eyes.

…

"How are they doing?"

With clear worry on his face, Giovanni watched as his mentor stood over the lying Zatanna in examination. As the lines on his forehead creased, a gold light sprang from Kent's hands as a small sphere surrounded the girl. With a hum of thought, the dome dispersed as he moved over to the woman lying beside her and repeated his actions.

Clapping his hands together as the light ceased, Kent signaled it was okay for the two to get up before addressing Giovanni. "They're fine." he assured.

"As we've told you a thousand times." Sindella huffed in annoyance as she hopped off the table. Giovanni's breath of relief got caught in his throat at her retort, the man coughing to clear away the spittle he choked on.

Ever since the Gotham incident, Giovanni was once again fussing over his wife and daughter more often than usual. After witnessing his student's terrible state, even facing him in battle alongside his comrades, the man's protective instincts had gone into overdrive.

Then, when he found out about them using their spiritual energy during the battle, he became scared. The only way he could ease his mind was by coming to his mentor to give his wife and daughter a check-up, his worry being founded on two very important reasons.

Firstly, they still didn't know the full extent of spiritual energy's uses, Ben being the current leading expert. Going to him for advice right now was out of the question.

Secondly, Giovanni was worried that the black energy may have tainted them somehow. Although it hadn't felt mystical in nature to him when he had examined it, he saw how easily it 'corrupted' its surroundings, dissolving things or taking it for itself.

"I hope you didn't come all the way here just for this." Kent sat himself down on a chair with a grunt. "I'm not saying that the health of these two lovely ladies isn't important, but I like to think my dear student is similarly mindful of his well-in-age mentor." he spoke in a joking tone.

"Of course not, Kent." Sindella glanced at her wryly smiling husband with a raised brow. "If it's acceptable, we were planning to stay for dinner. I already prepared the ingredients."

"Dinner?" Kent did a double-take at her words. Reaching into his suit's inner pocket, he pulled out a vintage, gold pocket watch, closely looking at the hour hand. "Well, I'll be darned."

As the Sorcerer Supreme, Kent was responsible for keeping watch over the Tower of Fate, unable to leave it for long periods of time. Since it served as a beacon and nexus point for all realities, the Tower existed in between said realities. That made time and direction unreliable for the most part and had to keep track of.

"Come on Uncle Kent." Zatanna put on her most convincing tone after noticing how bothered the man seemed. "It's been a while since we all sat down and had a chat."

Kent hesitated. Although it may not seem like he does much, he's constantly on the lookout for mystical threats in the form of evil sorcerers, extra-dimensional entities, cursed artifacts…

He rarely had any free time, and when he did, it was quickly burned up in the form of reminiscing about his precious Inza. His life had always been on fast-forward, incapable of being paused or slowed down. It was only when he spent time thinking about her did the minutes seemed to resume at a normal pace, moving too fast for his liking.

Before he could delicately reject their offer, his eyes caught some inconsistencies in Zatanna's form. Sitting on the edge of the bed, her gaze would unconsciously look between her parents and him before she pitifully rubbed her shoulders.

"...How could I say no to a homecooked meal?" he suddenly quipped at his own sanity.

Zatanna had been through a lot recently, just starting to understand more of the world. Kent witnessed her grow up within Shadowcrest, not comprehending enough about her surroundings to form a proper opinion. Enrolling her in Catholic School was supposed to remedy that, but although she always came home with a smile on her face and praised how great her day was whenever asked, the three experienced adults could tell her true feelings.

She had no friends to open up with about her extraordinary life. She had no one other than them she could confide in without fearing being ousted as a 'freak'.

Sindella, Giovanni, and even Kent wanted Zatanna's first opinion of society to relate to its welcoming nature, not realizing that it was wishful thinking. Most humans reject the unnatural, and they were very capable of instinctively noticing the differences in others unlike them.

Meeting the young heroes was what allowed Zatanna to start retreating from the small shell that had begun forming around her, and although they'd been a good influence on her in some ways, the recent danger she'd been exposed to may have made things worse.

Zatanna had already been lost and confused before the event too. Sorting out her thoughts required a lot of time, care, and an ear willing to listen.

As Zatanna's eyes lit up, she excitedly hugged Kent before leaving with her mother to the bedroom door, vanishing into motes of golden light. Kent watched her go with a soft smile before he raised a brow at Giovanni's pensive expression. "Something else on your mind?"

Giovanni played with his mustache before he sighed. "I am in need of your help regarding a few matters."

Kent grew serious, signaling his student to follow him as he walked through the same door Zatanna and Sindella had passed through moments ago.

Coming out the other side, Kent sighed in slight exhaustion when he saw the massive clocks, slanted pillars, and the stairs floating around him at preposterous angles. One set started from the ceiling and led upside down, another had a few steps hanging in midair while leading to a pillar of sand…

"Oh for magic's sake…" the man softly muttered as he unconsciously reached for his lower back. Giovanni looked at him in pity, his back also aching at the sight.

The Tower had many defense mechanisms in case of intruders, the most prominent being the labyrinth before them stretching out at impossible distances. If someone came to steal something, they'd need to know where to go first.

Kent tapped his cane twice on the ground, the stairs rearranging themselves to form an escalator. Once the two climbed aboard, it slowly took them up to a door right above their head that swung open. The place they came upon had shelves reaching the sky, stuffed full with books. Candelabras floated all around the place, the light of their flickering flames bouncing off the ancient vases sleeping on pedestals and the majestic tapestries standing guard overheard.

"Come, take a seat." Kent motioned towards a round table in the center of the study. One of the rustier candelabras with three arms floated down to hover over the center, providing warmth and sight in the dim environment.

Giovanni sat across from his mentor, taking off his top hat and setting it before him upside down. Reaching through its folds, his arm miraculously reached down up to his shoulder before it came back out with a sealed, black container.

Kent scratched his head as Giovanni carefully set it in front of him. "What exactly did you say I was doing again?"

"This…" Giovanni opened the bowl to show a pack of ash. "...was the tome that Benjamin had found in my library. The one containing the familiar summoning ritual in which he brought forth the Jackalope and Cerberus."

"Ah, the mysterious tome you still couldn't remember ever reading or placing in your home." Kent remembered.

When he was just starting out as a magician, Giovanni didn't have anything to his name. Kent was with him every step of the way when he built up the Shadowcrest Manor and filled it with everything he had now. It was with Kent's permission that most of the books in Giovanni's library were copied from the Tower's own, the rest being ones he carefully purchased in markets or salvaged from his foes after checking their safety.

With the amount of things he's amassed in this time, Giovanni made it a habit to be meticulous in keeping logs of everything. At first, he didn't think he could overlook placing the book in his library, so he dismissed Ben's suspicions when the boy noticed how he was doubting himself. But when neither Kent nor he figured out how the book appeared and didn't find any records about it…

Worry was putting their feelings lightly.

Kent weirdly turned the bowl around as he awkwardly examined the dust. "So, what's the deal exactly? Did you finally decide to torch the thing and bring it here to imply something?"

As the man's age continued to increase, so did his dark humor. Although Kent wasn't a depressive person looking for a quick way out, it was no secret that he wished to move on soon and rest beside his wife.

"...I was not responsible for this." Giovanni sighed as Kent looked at him with raised brows. "I had found these remains after checking the manor library."

Rubbing his eyebags, Giovanni looked at Kent with haunted eyes. "Has Sindella told you of the full sequence of events regarding Ben's rampage in the city?"

"Ah. You mean about Ben's sou- no." Kent cut himself off as his eyes widened, the finger that was rhythmically tapping against his cane's head freezing. "You believe that his soul being 'yanked' away was due to him coming into contact with the entity that controlled him beforehand?"

Shocked, Kent looked down at the ash, face paling.

Giovanni tiredly nodded his head. "I had checked the library a week before. The tome was perfectly fine."

Other than some scarce pieces of intel, the League became roughly aware of everything that had occurred after Bruce learned the information from ESAMAL. Investigations were still being carried out to figure out the finer details, but through their own means, the rest of the League knew that Bruce had invited Clark over to help him out with something.

And when Batman calmly asks someone for help, you know that he's desperate and exhausted all other options.

Giovanni had taken some time after the battle to heal himself up a bit before going straight to his library's archives to see in what ways he could assist, stumbling once more upon the remaining bits of the book on familiars.

And that's when all the hidden dots were revealed.

When he first examined the book back when Ben had given it to him, he didn't find anything wrong with it. The writings and rituals recorded within were in the standard textbook procedure. Ben succeeding in his summoning only built on that notion.

But then… he found it too coincidental that his student's soul was ejected moments before falling into a coma. Clearly, the being responsible was waiting for the perfect moment to do something.

"Zatanna had attempted the ritual a few months after Ben had done so, yet failed." Giovanni informed his mentor, the man looking at him in surprise.

"She failed?" Kent dumbfoundedly repeated. Zatanna's potential for the mystic arts meant that as long as she knew a spell inside out and had the proper affinity and reserves for the magic cast, she could only ever succeed. Failing was out of the question unless other conditions were involved, and by Giovanni's assurance on the ritual's procedure, none should have been present. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

Giovanni waved his hand in an unsure manner. "Because I didn't think it out of the ordinary. I simply believed that she had no affinity for familiar magic. It's only in my recent searches and upon further recalling my memory that I realized the ritual never took effect. Instead, it remained completely unresponsive in the face of her magic."

Every unsuccessful attempt involving rituals and mystic codes provides some sign of failure, whether it be through an explosion or a backlash to the caster. Yet, that didn't occur. Giovanni had overlooked this point, whatever hints of suspicions he had at the time being easily dismissed and forgotten in favor of placating his downtrodden daughter. She had been really looking forward to having a pet of her own after all.

But now, Giovanni was tearing apart inside. He believed that he had doomed his student and daughter. That he was responsible for the events at Gotham. That he may have brought something… worse… down on their heads.

Zatanna wasn't the only one lost and confused. If he faced Ben at this very moment, Giovanni didn't think he could remain calm.

"I sensed no snare on Zatanna earlier." Kent assured, acknowledging for the first time that his apprentice was not just overworked, but forlorn. "The Tower would have warned me if I missed such a thing, and since it didn't, she's in the clear. I would need Ben to come here for a full examination to determine the same."

Giovanni exhaled in relief at that, glad to know that his daughter was out of the woods. "Bruce isn't keen on letting him leave the abode, but I will endeavor to inform him. I have a meeting with the League coming up soon."

"You do that. Meanwhile, based on what we know, I can only think of two methods for a possible connection to have been formed." Kent pondered. He pinched some of the ash and carefully rubbed it. "One. The steps for the connection weren't hidden in the ritual, but the book itself. Whoever first comes into contact with it would be the only one to come under the entity's scrutiny. Every additional use of the ritual would just expand any link formed."

Giovanni became stunned at that, Kent looking at his strange reaction and trying to put himself in his pupil's shoes before his mind caught up. "Right… he never told us who exactly gave him the Liger, did he?"

"No." Giovanni shook his head as Kent cleaned his fingers with a handkerchief. "But what I still fail to understand is how ESAMAL didn't notice anything."

Although he hadn't interacted with ESAMAL much or figured out the full scope of what exactly he or it was, Giovanni knew that the faceless voice was akin to Ben's spiritual side, closely linked to his soul. Such beings are known for keeping guard over their masters 'home' since it was theirs as well. It wouldn't make sense for him not to have found any trespassers.

"It's fine. Now, it wouldn't matter since it seems like we're dealing with the second method."

Giovanni paid close attention.

"The tome and the ritual wasn't a part of the equation..." Kent spoke. "The entity already had young Ben in its sights and was powerful enough to form a connection whenever it wanted. I should have been more suspicious when he told us about the Liger back during the Thanksgiving dinner. I can only assume it was the entity who gave it to him, trying to remain in his good graces for some reason."

"I should've asked for more detail." Kent lamented.

Back at the Thanksgiving dinner, Ben had briefly mentioned that someone had given him the Liger, but Kent had dismissed the alarm bells ringing in his mind. He had finally felt like he was on a break for once. He didn't want to concern himself with anything for just one day, believing that nothing would go wrong in his absence as he truly enjoyed himself.

While he was technically correct, he was also wrong. The consequences were appearing now.

"Kenzo?" Giovanni asked in surprise. "How does he relate to this?"

"It's an 'unnatural' being." Kent explained. "To understand the significance of the term would require you to know of a deal that took place millennia before today, stricken from all historical text."

"Back then, the many Gods had just established their Pantheons and legends, settling down onto the world and spending years indulging themselves with the entertainment provided by their faithful, mortal followers toiling away for them."

"But soon, prophecies began spreading about their coming demise. Of how each Pantheon or God would meet their end to some earth-shattering event, a grand champion, or a fearsome beast!"

"For the entire Norse pantheon, their demise was prophesied to come at a time of upheaval known as Ragnarok. For a lone God such as Zeus, he was cursed by his father, Kronos, to suffer the same fate as him."

"Although reactions varied, many of the Gods had dashed these preposterous stories from their minds, branding them as nothing more than silly rumors and choosing not to dwell on empty threats. They believed themselves indomitable, the ones at the top of the hierarchy."

"But still, fear lingered within the weakest of heart and grew over time."

"Zeus was the most paranoid of the lot, the sagas of his dethronement assailing him day in and day out until he decided to take action. He theorized that these tumultuous events were usually brought forth through the actions of certain champions. A grand man, or a mighty beast."

"Meeting with his fellow God-Kings, Zeus rallied them to his side as he made his way to Gaea, the Earth Mother, to propose a treaty. Gaea is the one from which all life sprouts forth. Since she birthed the Titans, Gigantes, Typhoeus… they believed that she was the key to preventing more beasts and champions from rising."

"They put pressure on her, forcing an agreement that prevented her from personally creating any other forms of life. Then, taking into account the odds of a natural birth bringing to existence these upcoming foes in her stead, they made Gaea kill some of her own creations in the cruelest fashions, weakening her will."

"As for the monsters that were left, the Gods argued on what to do with them before making an agreement between themselves. They would either hunt down the remaining monsters or relegate them to slaves that would serve as future challenges for their chosen heroes. The Cerberus was enslaved as Hades' guard dog, the Sphinx was further bred into two different strains and split between the Greeks and Egyptians…"

"This agreement grew to the point where they even included other dimensional entities, trading with them. Everyone was both a customer and enforcer, raising these monsters as exotic pets while keeping each other in check."

Giovanni took that in, thinking about some things. "How can such a powerful deity tolerate submission to a heavily limited accordance?" he murmured.

Gaea gave birth to the Titans. If she could give birth to such powerful beings, it stands to reason that she should be even stronger than their coming descendants. Why doesn't she fight back?

Kent waved his hand at a nearby shelf as a book slowly floated down to him. "She doesn't tolerate it. Not according to my lovely Greek Amazonian friend."

"Regardless of their numbers, the Gods know they can't bring Gaea down without suffering heavy casualties, so as long as she doesn't go overboard with creating new life, they leave her be when she sneaks in a creation or two. As for why Gaea doesn't fight them, the consequences, if she perishes in possible battle, is more than enough to think things over."

"Consequences?" Giovanni carefully asked, a lump in his throat.

"Gods are intrinsically tied to their domains. If they croak, the concept they embody either suffers major changes or ceases to exist."

"For example, should a God of Alcohol die, all the beer, wine, and liquid medication in the world could forever evaporate, or taste worse than it already was. Who knows, maybe luck would shine down on us and we'd only lose major deodorant brands and bug spray." Kent spoke jokingly at the end before sighing.

"Earth Mother isn't an empty title. Should Gaea die, then either the majority of life would be destroyed, or terrible consequences would come down on the living."

Such grim consequences were unexpected, yet not incomprehensible. Just as their titles could allow them to provide much, the Gods could also bring damnation down on the world if they wished, forcing everyone to share in their suffering.

Now Giovanni realized why Kent was so sure that the entity followed the second method. To this day, the Gods must still be keeping tabs on each other. It would take overwhelming power to go against their combined might without any repercussions.

"Is the fate of the planet truly tied to one individual…?" Giovanni seemed lost. That didn't seem right in any way. If she just up and and 'croaked', as Kent put it, then she'd be taking them down alongside her.

"The universe is more paranoid than any being in existence, refusing to put all its eggs in one basket." Kent sighed in response. "There are contingencies in place to prevent what you're thinking from happening."

As Giovanni pondered on that, Kent opened the book in his hand. Scanning its sentences, he picked up the bowl of remaining ash and signaled his pupil. "Come with me."

Picking up his top hat and patting it clean, Giovanni followed his mentor into another door opposite where they entered.

With a flash, they came upon a stone room filled with all sorts of objects, chief among them being the bejeweled swords hung on the walls and vials lining the desks. An invisible field circled the more dangerous-looking relics, failing to prevent a diverging atmosphere from spreading in the air due to the numerous, clashing vibes coming off them.

A glittering hologram appeared in the middle of the room, Kent's twin smiling at them. "Welcome, Kent. Have you come to retrieve your artifacts?"

Kent took a brief look at the rack placed next to the door. A golden cloak was neatly hung on it with what looked like one half of a helmet hanging atop it, an amulet in the shape of an ankh strung over beside them.

"Not this time." he denied, moving to a nearby table. "I need the Orb."

A humane expression of surprise came upon the hologram. Disappearing without a word, a small reddish-yellow orb shot out from a high pedestal before it came to rest on Kent's outstretched palm.

Moving over to an empty table as Giovanni sat across from him, Kent placed the globe on a small cushion in the center. "Alright. If something is lurking on the other end of the book's remains, this ritual should allow me to see into the source by calling to witness its past actions. The orb and the tower will protect us in case of emergency."

As Giovanni got the gist of it, he remained still to preserve his mentor's focus. Kent tapped a few points around the orb with the tip of his cane and mumbled something under his breath. After a few more minutes, his voice rang clearly.

"Stáchti se stáchti, skóni se skóni, apokálypse mou tis filodoxíes ólon ton dieftharménon!" (Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, reveal to me the aspirations of all corrupt!)

Kent's eyes lit up blue, the man puffing out some mist that mixed with the ash. The two intermingled as the sphere absorbed them into its center where they spun in a circle, the cushion's tassels swaying to some invisible wind.

Yet, after a couple of minutes spent in tense silence, the man lowered his hands. "Nothing. Either something else is wrong with this book, or we're dealing with a foe unlike I've ever seen before."

Giovanni was becoming unsettled for some reason. "What shall we do?"

Kent flipped through a few more pages in his tome, pausing on one as he mumbled a few things. "If we can't look into the past, we shall look to the future."

Although he never questioned the man's methods before this, Giovanni just had to ask. "Are you sure of this?"

Visions weren't a new thing when it came to magic, mediums and psychics getting them all the time. It was the mischievous distant cousin that came with it that oftentimes caused problems…

Visions were related to time, and time was a tricky little bugger.

Most visions usually involved a look into the past, a dream of what once was. The past was already set in stone and, therefore, unchangeable. That's why it was safe for Kent to peer into it.

Rarely does a vision of the future come upon someone…

Many people, including those who received them for the first time, believed that whatever they witnessed was a chance for them to change the approaching present. That they were given an opportunity to make things better.

They were doomed for failure.

The future was unknown and in constant flux with percentages on the fritz. There's a 30% chance for someone to lose their phone at a restaurant, a 20% to lose it at the subway station…

…But if a vision of the future came upon someone, that meant whatever event you witnessed just became the one most likely set in stone. If before there was only a chance for you to lose your phone at the restaurant, if that was what you saw in your vision, now it was almost a certainty.

" 'Play with time and time will play with you.' " Giovanni quoted. "Have you forgotten your own saying?"

"It can't be helped." Kent admonished. "You don't understand the ramifications we're dealing with if I'm correct. Think. What could motivate such a powerful entity that remained in the dark for so long to reveal itself only now?"

Although Giovanni wanted to object further, he held his tongue. His mentor always had a duty to the world as the Sorcerer Supreme, and he's witnessed for himself the burden he carried on his shoulders.

The knowledge he had at his disposal, the way in which he thought…

It was only now that Giovanni realized how little he peeked of the mountain that is the Sorcerer Supreme. If before he got a clear view of the base, now he earned a glimpse of the peak.

"Alright." Kent breathed out. "I need silence again."

After Giovanni settled down, Kent repeated the same steps as earlier, mumbling under his breath and tapping a few points on the orb before speaking clearly.

"Óneiro gia óneiro, koudoúnisma antí koudoúni, apokálypse mou tis filodoxíes tou chrónou!" (Dream for dream, chime for chime, reveal to me the ambitions of time!)

The mist, trapped inside the globe from Kent's previous attempt, finally stopped ignoring the man. Becoming excited, the orb grabbed the cushion under it and floated upwards, the mist reshaping itself into nondescript images that rapidly frolicked throughout the interior with a mellow glow.

Giovanni leaned in alongside his mentor, the two of them trying to make anything out. Most of the pictures went above their heads, impossible to decipher or unnecessary for figuring out the full picture, but some clues were hard to miss.

A multicolored ring that distorted everything around it… a box containing horror's unimaginable… nine chairs of varying colors with a white one standing proud in the center…

"Oh joy." Kent took a moment to mock what he witnessed. "More vague symbols to peruse the library for."

Wonderful though the clue provided may be, even Kent couldn't find himself to be patient with the tedious parts of magic…

As the mist started dispersing, the lights in the already dim room practically went out when a blinding scarlet and gold took over. The image of a man wearing a golden helmet and garbs standing ahead of similar colored prisms appeared as he faced off against a boy with hair styled in devil-like horns, scarlet prisms standing behind him in turn.

"Impossible!" Kent stood up in shock. "What captured their attention so intensely!?"

As the image of the two started alternating when they drew closer to each other, moments before the lights trailing after them could meet, the little mist that remained disintegrated as parts of the orb cracked.

Giovanni sat frozen for a long time, the images replaying in his mind. Putting aside how bad things were looking these days, what he just witnessed could only forebode of worse danger to come.

"You said you had a meeting to get to right? I'm afraid you're going to have to miss it. I may need your help with this." Kent leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling.

Giovanni nodded his head, feeling sorry for his master who just couldn't seem to catch a break. "Of course. At the very least, the second reason I came for you seems to be involved as well."

"If you're talking about Klarion, I already picked up on his reappearance." Kent calmed down as he spoke. "Although, since he only let his energy run free for a short amount of time, I couldn't find his exact location. I want you to tell me wher-"

The hologram appeared before the two without warning, cutting off Kent with an announcement. "Sindella wished for me to inform you both that dinner was ready."

Giovanni looked down at his pocket watch in surprise. It ended up being his turn to lose track of time, having spent more than an hour with his mentor at some point.

"Alright then. We'll discuss this later." Kent obliged, his twin disappearing as he smiled at Giovanni. "You go on ahead. I'll join you after I finish attending to something."

Although curious as to what that may be, Giovanni settled for tipping his hat in agreement as he moved for the door. It was only after making sure that he left did the smile on Kent's face made way for grimness. With a tap of his cane, a golden ankh-shaped portal appeared before him.

Walking through it, he stepped foot on the tower's roof.

The world outside the tower was empty, devoid of the usual clouds and blue sky. The laws of the universe were bound in a strange order of unknown making, the tower hovering in the voids of space with two suns, red and yellow, orbiting it with the stars making way.

Paying no mind to the phenomenal sight, Kent strode over the stone floor to stand before a golden helmet. As if sensing his presence, the helmet's two eye holes came to life with a white glow.

"Kent." a prehistoric, pedantic voice rumbled within the man's mind. "Have you finally decided to reinstate your status as Doctor Fate?"

Before Kent could answer, the voice carried on. "It matters not. Your rights to the mantle have been relinquished. I shall no longer bestow you with guidance."

"Nabu…" The usually jovial old man seethed a bit, gripping his cane as he took a deep breath to calm himself. "I wasn't planning on it anyway. I had a vision I couldn't figure out. I need you to tell me what you make of it."

Doctor Fate was a well-renowned hero, having worked with the Justice Society of America back in the day. The public believed him to be a man who sported high-tech devices ahead of their era and passed it off as magic, completely oblivious to the truth.

Doctor Fate wasn't the man under the mask…

The glow in the helmet's eyes flashed like thunder, a small golden wave rippling through the roof. "Were my words taken as gnats?! Leave me be as you have all this time!"

Kent shielded his eyes from the dust that picked up, waiting for it to settle as he counted something down in his mind. '3…2…1.'

Silently, another flash appeared as a tendril extended from the helmet's spirit, connecting with Kent's forehead before retracting.

"CHAOS HAS RETURNED?!"

Kent felt a headache coming on as the booming voice bounced around in his mind, the solar winds around them gathering into a mini hurricane.

It's been years since he had renounced the helmet, leaving it perched here on the roof with the void as its only company. Nabu was left with only some access to his magic, his spells unable to leave the Tower's borders. It was impossible for him to know what was going on in the outside world.

"Yes, Klarion has returned. But I want to know about the visions."

"Your visions are inconsequential in the face of the havoc the Witch Boy will wreak should I not face him. The world requires Doctor Fate. Don the helmet now!"

"Absolutely not." Kent scowled. "That's not how this works. If you help me with this vision, then I'll consider it."

"Fool! Your constant refusal to act has already disassembled fragments making up the order of things, rendering much of it irreparable!"

Order. How the spirit loved to preach about order. So egotistical and stuck in his own thoughts, Nabu always believed that he was the only force capable of netting out proper justice.

It was moments like these that Kent felt his decision to abandon the featherbrain was correct…

The two started arguing back and forth, both too stubborn to back down against the other as they made their stances known. After a few more shouts and threats, Nabu begrudgingly broke off for the moment, a tendril extending into Kent's forehead once more.

"Hm…" he began musing, no doubt perusing the memories he copied. "It seems that my return truly is essential."

Of course that was what he focused on…

Kent had to stop from slapping his forehead in aggravation. "Just tell me what the objects in the vision mean."

"Very well. The ring is out of the question. I know not what it may be or represent." the voice plainly stated. "The box is vaguely familiar, but I must further ponder to find where this feeling comes from."

"As for the chairs, they ar-"

Nabu's voice froze, Kent able to tell that something was wrong as the helmet shook in what seemed like shock. "What is it?"

"...Parliament…"

"What was that?" Kent asked, unable to catch the muttering.

"What has occurred in the outside world in my absence?" he suddenly demanded to know. "An event of paramount importance must have taken place!"

Surprised, Kent could only think of one thing. "Well, there was a battle in Gotham…"

Another poke of a tendril from the helmet later, Nabu became eerily silent.

"Are you going to explain now…?" Kent felt weird. He could count on his fingers the few times the man in the helmet acted so reclusively. Every time it usually led to something terrible happening.

"These visions are outside all jurisdiction." Nabu suddenly asserted. "They are meant to be ignored."

Kent's mouth gaped, turning flabbergasted at the dismissal.

He waited a few seconds for him to continue… then a few more…

"I have fulfilled my side of the bargain, do not tarry any longer and don the helmet at once!"

Silence lingered, Kent waiting for the man to continue.

He waited a few seconds… then a few more…

"Is that it?" Kent's eyes narrowed in anger. "You tell me you don't know two out of three of the things I asked, then you refuse to share what little you figured out?!"

Nabu was insufferable, no doubt about it. But he had never acted as terrible as this moment. Usually, he would abide by his agreement, his word being enough promise to go on. Right now, everything about his actions screams 'unordinary'.

"This matter is not to be interfered with at the moment." the voice reluctantly explained. "Should the events to come be tampered with in any way, doom shall befall us all. The dangers pertaining to time are null in the case of this vision. It was preordained long before you viewed it. It is fortunate that you failed to comprehend what you observed, lest you further derail the necessary course of things."

Kent understood. If you view the future, it is practically set in stone no matter what action you try to take. However, some futures were already set in stone, not requiring a vision for such a thing to occur. But, that would only take place if it involved…

Dread filled Kent's mind when he reached an answer.

"I have fulfilled my part of the agreement." an insistent voice snapped Kent out of his thoughts. "Now, wield the helmet."

Kent's eyes hardened. "Our agree-"

"I have fulfilled my part of the agreement!" Nabu was fed up, his volume reaching a higher octave as a few stone tiles below the floating helmet cracked. "Will you or will you not wield the helmet?"

"...Fine. The helmet will see the light of day again." Kent agreed, a sly smile on his face. "But not by me. I'm still on the lookout for your successor."

"Our agree-"

"I have fulfilled my part of the agreement." Kent threw the previous words right back, a bit of mocking hidden underneath his tone. "Like I was saying, I said I'll consider it, and I have."

"...Very well." Nabu surprisingly consented. "I recommend Giovanni Zatara to immediately come forth. He is prepared to han-"

"You insufferable tin-can!" Kent finally snapped, his jaw tensing. "I absolutely forbid it! Did you really believe that I wouldn't notice your actions? What you tried to pull from up here?!"

Kent had a secret. One so painful that, after figuring it out, he buried it deep in his heart to prevent the little joy he had left in his life from disappearing.

After Ben had visited the Zataras at their manor, he had just become acquainted with magic after reacting to the excess in the air. Although he noticed the spiritual energy inside of Sindella thanks to his knowledge regarding it, even when it was mixed with some magic, he couldn't identify the components of magic specifically.

Yes, Sindella was dying because of the spiritual energy inside of her going out of control due to her accumulating negative thoughts. While Kent agreed with that assessment, he didn't believe that they could build up so fast.

Not without a nudge in the right direction…

"You managed to leave traces of your magic inside her whenever she visited the Tower, didn't you? You tried to distract my mind from noticing the familiarity, but I succeeded in the end. You tried to go through her to govern over Giovanni as you did me! I refuse to grant any leeway to your selfish wishes if it means destroying that God-sent family!!"

Kent wanted to quickly enter eternal rest and forever sleep beside his wife, but only two things allowed him to remain patient. His duty, and his contentment to remain at the side of his pupil and his family. Previously, he never would have imagined how important they'd become to him, but he wasn't one to reject a part of his life that granted him significant joy.

Years ago, the chance to either accept or reject entering into this life was plucked from Kent's hands. He only ever made one decision of his own volition, yet he still remained a slave to his duty.

He will never let another suffer the same fate as him.

"Selfish? You have the gall to accuse me… condemn me… of SELFISHNESS?!" the helmet exploded back, winds stirring as the light glinting off the helmet bent into a halo. "I granted you this home and all its treasures, I tutored you in the magic you pride yourself in, and you rewarded my actions by confining me among nothing but this cheapened twilight!"

The way the Helmet of Fate worked was similar to Ben and ESAMAL's relationship. Once the helmet is worn, the bearer becomes capable of hearing Nabu's voice inside their mind and receiving advice directly from him.

However, a huge difference remained unknown to the wearers. If Nabu was feeling exceptionally manipulative, he could trap his host's mind inside the helmet to be a spectator after trimming down their will, taking full control of their body.

The host believed they were the owner, unaware that they were Nabu's slave.

Calming down significantly, Kent remained quiet in the face of Nabu's rebuttals. Tapping his cane, he silently departed through the portal, Nabu only capable of helplessly watching the man disappear.

Once again, Nabu was alone, silence reigning as the two suns in the void mocked him from high above.

He could only mutter to himself once more.

"...A Prince of Color, yet to be a Lord of Sentience. His rise will bathe the world in clarity, or his fall will submerge it in transgression."

------------------

Date: August 20, 2008

Location: Earth's Orbit, Watchtower, The Conference Room

Time: 10:00 A.M.

What is strength?

A question that seemed simple at first glance like many others, but contained so many responses at its core.

Knowledge, inner peace, reverence, control, patience…

All answers Diana couldn't completely settle on.

*TAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAP*

"How was he when you visited the cave?"

*TAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAP*

"Well, I didn't see any new blueprints or scattered parts, so I think he's taking things well. Or he's learned to better clean up after himself when he knows I'm visiting."

*TAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAP*

"Can you stop that?"

Looking away from Clark in annoyance, Diana scolded Barry, the speedster's rapidly bouncing leg freezing as all eyes turned to him.

The Watchtower was a beat-up hunk of space junk when the Green Lanterns had first brought it back to Earth, not worth anyone's time. But knowing how useful the station was, Bruce had remodeled some of the rooms after the Hall of Justice in order to make sure homeliness wasn't a factor that affected anyone's focus while simultaneously keeping the more alien uses up to date.

Having spent the last three days on the edge of their seats, the heroes had arrived early today, waiting to get an update on so many of their questions. Still, homeliness did nothing to pacify the curiosity burning within them, one steadily developing into an agonizing itch as they waited for their last member to join them.

Thankfully, Bruce walked in at that exact moment, a blond man in combat pants and boots with a plain tight-fitting, short-sleeve shirt following him as Diana became surprised at his presence. Meeting her gaze the man gave a subtle wink, Diana becoming more annoyed.

"First, you're late. Then, you bring someone up onto what we agreed was our secret base?" John questioned. "I'm not following your thought process here."

Ignoring the man, Bruce moved to the head of the table as he settled between Clark and Diana. The blond man sat beside Diana and Hawkwoman.

"Hey Angel Face." the man leaned into Diana's ear to whisper. "Did I surprise you?"

Before Diana could retort, Bruce introduced the man while typing into the terminal, holograms popping up. "This is A.R.G.U.S director Steve Trevor. A close affiliate of the League and one of our liaisons to the United Nations."

Diana put a hand to her face and let out a quiet groan.

Steve Trevor was many things. A former Navy SEALs officer, Air Force pilot, government agent…

But for Diana? He was an Amazonian advocate and her current boyfriend.

After the Appellexians invaded Earth and the Justice League had become public, the U.S. government wanted a way to keep tabs on the heroes, suspicious of their intentions and the problems they left behind. So, deciding to answer multiple future concerns and take the initiative, they revamped an organization previously thought of as a myth in their country's records.

The A.R.G.U.S (Advanced Research Group Uniting Superhumans) initiative was meant to oversee all U.S. responsibilities involving superhumans. That included undertaking superhuman research, responding to small-scale superhuman threats…

If there's "super" in the name, they became the game.

And the Justice League screamed "super".

"Been a while Steve. How's it hanging?" Hal casually greeted the man. "You been keeping up with your flying skills? If not, there's this new baby down at Ferris we can try together later."

"Sounds good." Steve agreed, Diana elbowing him as he waved his hand to those who remained confused. Other than the original Justice League members, Green Arrow, and the Hawk couple, it was the newer recruits who were meeting the man for the first time.

"Did you forget our dinner plans, or were you too busy coming up with this surprise to remember?" Diana mock ridiculed.

"What? Angel face, that's absurd~" Steve gawked as he awkwardly sang. "I was going t-"

"Personal plans could be discussed on your own times." Bruce sternly interrupted them. "We have a lot to cover."

"Hold on. Shall we not wait for Zatara?" Aquaman asked in surprise.

Diana observed Bruce with interest. Normally, the man was too observant to not have missed the magician's absence. Either he genuinely didn't notice, then it would be a telling sign of his current state. If he glossed over it, then the reason he would provide for his actions should be well-thought out, or based on information they all didn't know yet.

"Giovanni has called ahead to explain that he will be busy following up on another lead for this case." Bruce explained. "I will privately bring him up to speed once all the facts are laid on the table."

As the meeting was beginning to get underway, Diana closely observed her friend. Clark had already said that Bruce seemed to be doing fine, but she wasn't entirely convinced. Of the three of them, Bruce was never really expressive. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, and his actions always made people second-guess themselves.

"Psst."

Looking across from Bruce, the man hearing Clark's whisper yet ignoring it, Diana saw the Man of Steel point at the Dark Knight's belt. She noticed how it was more streamlined, some of the pouches reduced in size to hold much more than normal.

'Never mind.' she inwardly sighed.

Bruce was DEFINITELY not coping well.

"For our first order of business." the man spoke, a few screens popping up with images of Ben and Ishmael. "As everyone knows, Gotham was held hostage by four men. Edward Nygma, Jonathan Crane, Thomas Elliot, and Waylon Jones. Codenames, Riddler, Scarecrow, Hush, and Killer Croc."

"During my detainment at Edward, Jonathan, and Thomas' hands, there was an infiltration on WayneTech by Deathstroke. He took out the place's defense systems and killed a few employees as an example to more easily incite the rest to hack into the company's communications satellite, broadcasting the trio's live signal across the country."

"But that didn't seem to be his only goal." he showed a video of the mercenary walking through some halls. "A few of the cameras and motion sensors that were hidden throughout the place functioned on wireless transmission, managing to capture recordings of him making his way to the research department. Specifically, the chemical and pharmaceutical division's containment room."

"Do we know what he was after?" Captain Atom asked.

A set of documents shuffled through the screen. "These are logs of every formula and drug he tried accessing. The inventory was reviewed a few days ago. No signs of tampering or theft were found."

Barry scrolled through the names and descriptions listed before one caught his eye. "Woah! 'Possible chance of granting telepathic gifts'? How'd you get this 'Neurotrol' thing?"

"I think the question you meant to ask is, what do you hope to accomplish with it?" Hawkwoman corrected. "Many of these things seem catastrophic if fallen into the wrong hands."

"That's precisely one of the main reasons why Wayne Pharmaceuticals exists." Bruce explained. "To keep such dangerous formulae permanently locked up."

"And our enemies just love to get their grubby hands on those." Hal theatrically spoke. "So what's the catch Bats? What vile manner of contraption has fallen into their grasps this time?"

Bruce answered by tapping into his keyboard, the image of a pink fluid bubbling inside a high-tech cylindrical canister being held by a masked David Cain. "This is Orphan, one of Ra's Al Ghul's highest-level assassins. He infiltrated the Batcave while the majority of its inhabitants were away before taking this, currently unnamed, chemical compound. He also managed to retrieve a copy of my files saved on the Batcomputer."

Everyone was stunned, unable to believe their ears. Putting aside how bad it was that someone managed to tap into the most paranoid man's secrets, since the Batcave's location was known…

"He knows your identity." Clark grew a bit pale.

"Correct." Bruce's response almost created unrest before he shook his head. "However, he won't be revealing the truth."

Oliver looked at him like he had grown a second head. "How do yo-"

"The reasoning behind that conclusion is lengthy and not a part of our current discussion." Bruce succinctly shut him down.

Everyone exchanged a few smoldering looks, ready to argue before they realized who they were talking to, causing them to reluctantly nod their heads in the end. Although they didn't like being kept in the dark on the matter, they would ask again if they felt it was needed.

"What about the files?" Captain Atom reminded. "What exactly did he manage to download?"

"The majority of the information pertained to the capabilities of all League members. It's highly likely for them to form countermeasures against us by wielding such knowledge."

Now came the uproar, everyone looking at him unkindly at that. Diana watched a lot of people grit their teeth, some remain calm, and others looked ready to pick up torches and pitchforks.

"Alright, alright." Hawkman put to rest the matter as he called out a few points. "We can't change that, so let's put it aside for now and focus on what we know. Since Deathstroke was hired by the League of Assassins to get this canister, they must have an urgent use for it. What do you know about the compound, why was it in your cave, and why do you think they'd want it?"

"What, your keen, bird-like eyes couldn't read it on the document?" Oliver sarcastically commented, Hawkman frowning at him.

"Since you clearly did, why don't you save us some time by sharing what you know instead of asking?" Hawkwoman came to her husband's defense.

As Oliver ignored the woman and focused on Hawkman, Diana sighed as their bickering continued. For some reason, the duo couldn't stand the sight of each other, always throwing jeering taunts whenever possible as they tried to out-slander the other. Admittedly, it had been a while since they had gone at each other's throats, Oliver having been unusually quiet in recent times in the face of the winged alien's provocations. Yet, it seemed that old habits died hard.

'Proud as a peacock…'

Sometimes Diana couldn't stand the pompousness of men.

As Bruce turned a blind eye to the exchanging remarks, the image of David was replaced with a green-skinned, redheaded woman, dressed in floral apparel. "The compound was created by Dr. Pamela Isley before she had become Poison Ivy. It's made up of a pheromone combination that communicates with plants, allowing them to grow to supernatural proportions in a short time."

"It was concocted during her time working for a college-funded research study group at Seattle Pacific University. It was soon confiscated on the grounds that it was too unsafe and unethical. I came to know about it earlier this year when Edward first made his appearance, turning Gotham into a feral jungle."

"I was able to reverse engineer it and provide a counter after Wayne Enterprises bought the rights for ownership from the college's governing body. After Edward's capture, it was stored in the Batcave due to the danger it proved."

The images changed on the computer to show a handcuffed Joker prancing around in one cell and a motionless Bane in another. "I am unable to properly understand what purpose it would serve the League. Extensive interrogation of Joker and Bane has resulted in no clues either. However, it's a well-known fact that Ra's Al Ghul is an extreme environmentalist. This compound may help further his plans towards balancing the human and plant population."

Everyone nodded at his reasoning, Diana sighing to herself. Even though Ra's wanted to eliminate most of the world, it was to preserve something else. That's what many villains seemed to do, fight in order to preserve something they held in greater value.

While it seemed honorable, she felt it was sorely misguided.

"Then I believe the only other avenue of information is in the hands of this… child?" Aquaman looked at the image of Klarion in confusion. "Is this the lead Zatara is investigating?"

Bruce merely nodded his head.

"I have a more pertinent question to ask that I believe we're all pondering…" Red Tornado's synthetic voice caused the majority to tighten in their seats. "Who is to blame for shooting Wildcard?"

They leaned in closer, awaiting Bruce's answer with bated breath as he remained silent. Diana could feel the slight anger emanating from some and the curiosity of others. Not many held any animosity towards Ben's actions, most having suffered under the whims of others at one point in time. In fact, they sympathized heavily with him.

The only exceptions she could find were the neutral Oliver, no doubt still hung up over Dinah's condition, and the annoyed Hawkwoman. It was ironic in the only other female Leaguer's case since her husband wasn't concerned, and he received more of a thrashing than her.

Surprisingly, the most serious in the room wasn't Bruce, but Steve. Although in close relation with the League, the A.R.G.U.S director wasn't a member. He had signed the contract, but he didn't have full access to the League's database and wasn't privy to what was usually discussed in these meetings. Yet, even without the full knowledge of what was going on, he seemed to be able to tell how important this was to Diana, causing her to become appreciative of his focus on her behalf.

A giant screen appeared behind everyone. Diana caught Captain Marvel flinch at the image of three dead male bodies lined up on autopsy tables with only a cloth covering their loins. While the heroes weren't unaccustomed to the sight, they were taken aback when they noticed something horrifyingly unusual.

Other than the first body which had bloating at the abdomen and green spots all around the skin, everything else about the bodies matched. From their faces down to their heights.

Captain Marvel soon found the courage to look back at the sight. "What in the Clone Wars?"

Diana raised a brow, confused at the reference. Even though she had become acquainted with the man for only a few months, she'd come to realize how forthcoming he was, outspoken in every way yet remaining solemn when needed. Today, however, he was awfully demure, only chipping in a few times here or there. Some beads of sweat dripped down his forehead as he tugged at his suit's golden-lined collar every few seconds.

Something was clearly bothering him, and he was acting incredibly… childish.

"You watched that too Captain?" Hal chuckled. "I feel like I should have payed Lucas a visit. I could teach him a thing or too about fighting in space and what real aliens are like."

"Observe the rotting on the first body when put alongside the other two." As Bruce ignored the two, a red circle appeared over the green spots as he indicated. DNA helixes circled beside each body before coming together, check marks appearing on the screen. "The first body is that of Thomas Elliot, recovered from the grave he was buried at a little over a month ago after being 'shot' by the Joker. He, in fact, did not die directly at the Joker's hands, but a recreation of one of his toy guns. The second is Thomas Elliot when he died in my arms at the storage house, and the third is Thomas Elliot when he died in the Batcave."

Oliver nearly jumped out of his seat.

"By the moons of Mars…" J'onn looked over the depiction. "What was their behavior like when you encountered them? Surely they acted in a manner that would have provided you with some insight into their nature."

"Negative." Bruce shook his head. "It seems I was wrong about Thomas' true face from the beginning. I had no time to redetermine the full range of his mental faculties other than his apparent hatred of me. But from the little I gleamed and heard of from an anonymous source, the Thomas in the Batcave was a carbon copy in attitude to the one I've known all my life."

He threw a meaningful glance at Oliver, Diana looking at the archer in pity. It was just like how he had believed Will to be Roy at first.

'This might actually be a problem…' Diana's pity circled back to Bruce. It was the people you trusted most that let you down the most, and Bruce had little trust to share since the beginning. Although doubtful he would act out, she decided to be on the lookout for him, making sure he wasn't carrying out any questionable actions.

Clark reviewed the document before him. "So who's really your source of infor-"

"Anonymous."

"Surrrrrrrreeeeeee. But mayb-"

Bruce narrowed his eyes, voice unwavering as he announced syllable for syllable. "A-non-y-mous."

An awkward feeling came down on the place, Diana helplessly looking at Steve. 'See what I have to deal with?' she gestured.

Unfortunately, Steve seemed to misunderstand her message as he cleared his throat. Realizing her mistake, Diana quickly covered his mouth right as he opened it, strange glances being thrown at the duo as a consequence.

"I'm actually surprised to see you here J'onn." Barry wisely chose to skip past the couple's antics, giving a concerned glance to the green alien. "Are you sure your Martian-wired brain is ok now?"

"I believe everything is in order." the Martian assured.

"And your memory?" Red Tornado asked. "Are you yet unable to recall what had occurred within Wildcard's mind?"

J'onn had remained unconscious after exiting Ben's mind, waking up a day later back at the Watchtower. Everyone had wanted to know what had caused his creepy-ritual-looking blackout, but he had no recollection. So, J'onn had then made it his priority to review his own mental state to figure out what was missing.

Unfortunately…

"I'm afraid that I'm at an impasse. This is unlike any mental scrambling I've ever seen. No memory deletion can completely destroy a thought. Slivers should still be left behind with which I can use to recreate the scene." the Martian explained. "This can only be likened to a complete recollective death, one I'm experiencing for the first time."

Everyone threw that bit of info around their minds before the Lanterns looked at each other, Hal standing up. "Well, I have a few discoveries to share."

"Did you identify the tech the assassins were using?" Bruce asked.

Everyone had already read up on files informing his hypothesis regarding the pill-like object he had gotten off the unknown girl and the Thomas who died in his cave. Meanwhile, the rest had been destroyed back at the storage house. The ones that Ben had pulled off Bane and his men were still on his personage when he had lost control, turning into dust at the first signs of the gas.

Bruce had tried scanning it using the cave's systems, WayneTech, and the Watchtower. He had even given it to Superman to scan at his Fortress of Solitude.

Nothing.

So, the only option that remained was to give it to the Lanterns.

"It was kind of hard not to recognize it…" John whispered.

While the few who heard him shared a glance with each other, Hal took over as he faced Bruce, taking out the device and sliding it toward the center of the table. "I'll be straight. This thing is alien in origin. You were right about it using a neural feedback network through the temporal lobe, but it goes even further than that. The tendrils are meant to stretch in deep through the limbic system till they reach the amygdala, the predominant regulator for emotional responses."

"The scientific jargon is lost on me, but basically, this thing shields all types of environmental feedback produced by the brain, preventing any kind of emotional trail from forming. That means our rings can't track the people who wear them. By extension, it's also a perfect counter to Wildcard's senses."

"Do you know what civilization the tech dates back to?" Clark asked the two.

Diana noticed he was worked up, and she understood why. The Kryptonian database at his Fortress had plenty of records on alien races and their technology, so when he didn't find anything on them to help, Clark probably felt perturbed.

"Here comes the problem…" Hal coughed. "There's no easy way to say this…"

"Part of this thing was made with Oan technology." John interjected. "Repurposed for sure, but Oan regardless."

A few people, the Hawk couple, Superman, Oliver, and Barry, stood up in shock. Others like J'onn, Diana, and Red Tornado looked at each other, while Bruce and Aquaman's eyes sharpened. Steve, Captain Atom, and Captain Marvel were confused.

Only the people more aware of the Green Lanterns organization and knowing of the reputation they uphold throughout the galaxy understood the significance of the matter. The Lantern Rings were considered the greatest technological wonder in existence. If someone had managed to get their hands on anything related to their tech, even if it was just a smidgen, things would get uglier real fast.

Conversations started branching off as the heroes discussed the implications. Diana watched on for a while before noticing Bruce's silence, the man closely examining the two Lanterns.

Bruce raised a hand, putting a pause on the room. "Need I remind you two that everything we discussed in here today is a secret."

It should've been obvious. Putting aside the contract everyone was now under, the League never blabbed their secrets before.

Yet, when the two Lanterns shared an unsure glance, Diana understood something was up.

"The Guardians already know everything." John admitted, everyone looking at him in disbelief as he raised his hands to stop the coming outburst. "Now before you say anything… the ring automatically records anything of importance and sends it back to Headquarters. A lot of flags went off the second Wildcard put them on."

"Oh don't get me started on those! I didn't even know how many things in our database could go on red alert before now." Hal took the device back and threw it up and down a few times. "A lot of the files were confidential, so we can't even access them to tell what the issue was. A couple more went off when we scanned these things as well. The Guardians wanted us back pronto for a debriefing, but we stalled so that we could come here."

"For some reason, they want to examine our rings." John rolled around the aforementioned emerald band on his finger before he suddenly declared. "Now, it's my turn to ask the questions, Bats. How is Wildcard doing?"

Diana was taken aback at the man's seriousness. Although it sounded like a genuine concern for someone's well-being, John didn't seem that close to asking about such an important thing. Plus, the seriousness with which he uttered it hinted at something else.

"His condition is stable and of no current concern." Bruce replied. "If no one else has any input, our next order of busine-"

"Now hold it right there!" John stopped him, stone-faced. "You've been trying to redirect the topic whenever it got close to being about Wildcard. We WILL discuss this."

Bruce's eyes narrowed into a Bat-Glare, Diana looking around to find the majority seemingly in agreement. Once again, however, she was most confused at Captain Marvel's response. With his hands placed out in the open and his thumbs battling each other, he kept opening and closing his mouth, seemingly having a hard time saying something.

Steve's sighs brought her focus back. "I'm afraid that's mainly why I'm here too. We need to talk about him, and learning about his current health status is as good a start as any. The government wants answers, and I can't deny them."

A bad feeling came upon her, something urging Diana that the course of the conversation was about to take a terrible turn. "Why not?"

"...The U.S wants to bring Wildcard in to hold him accountable for the events in Gotham."

As the bomb dropped, a commotion grew as grimness spread. The heroes' intense gazes made Steve momentarily fidget in his seat before he straightened himself.

Bruce's Bat-Glare vamped up, and although hard to tell, Diana noticed that he was surprised, but not by much. Clearly, he had already been expecting this to be the government's response, yet had most likely thought they wouldn't try going through with arresting Ben. That would just soil their connection with the League.

"Even if it wasn't his fault, the public outcry against Wildcard is enormous. Statistics are predicting that riots will start breaking out all over the country unless something is done. Although officials are reluctant for things to come to this, there aren't many options to begin with." Steve spelled it out for them.

"What if you guaranteed to them that Wildcard would remain out of the public eye for a while?" Diana considered. "Public opinion will soon forget about him while we can come up with ways to slowly restore his image."

"If only it was that easy…" Steve gently shook his head. "You must have seen the news. Reporters and journalists are starting to dig through all of your pasts, stretching open old wounds by specifically targeting former events relating to when you guys caused equally significant amounts of property damage. And, there are other more notable examples. Like with…"

He trailed off and carefully stared at Clark who sunk in defeat.

"Circe." Diana spat.

An incident had occurred years before when the Immortal Witch had tried to get her hands on a mystic artifact, secretly controlling Clark in the process to go on a rampage while she tried to escape. Even though she failed in the end and Clark was subdued with the use of the Kryptonite ring in Bruce's possession, the damage had already been done.

It was just another example of why no one blamed Ben's actions.

That reminded Diana…

"How did he manage to take the Kryptonite ring from you?" Diana narrowed her eyes at Bruce, everyone berating themselves for overlooking that point.

A shaky video popped up before everyone, confusion spreading among the heroes. Soon, they realized they were watching footage of the battle.

"This is body-cam footage from a camera lined in my suit before it was destroyed in the blast." Bruce explained.

Slowing down the scenes at the beginning of the battle when it was just him and Joker running, he zoomed in on a point where an orange bullet went unnoticed in the barrage of energy bullets, landing onto his belt as a green rock appeared within Ben's hands when he stored it. "According to Giovanni, the orange bullet functions as an apport spell, capable of stealing small objects without notice. It's predicted that Ben's remnant emotions at the time when they were still piloting his body were already preparing to deal with you all before your appearance."

As everyone accepted his reasoning, they began throwing ideas around about how they could prevent the government from acting.

Soon, however, John stood up. "Can we get back to my previous question?" he impatiently asked, everyone pausing as they nodded their heads.

Their reasoning was simple. What was the point of discussing how to help Ben if they didn't know the condition he was in?

Seeing all attention being focused on him, Bruce studied their faces before looking at Clark beside him. "What did you learn about Ishmael for comparison?"

Bruce had called in for a favor from Giovanni in unlocking the Traveler Cards with which Ishmael and Hush were trapped inside. Since only Ben's magic could activate the card's effects, the magician was forced to overload them with his energy. After conducting his own reviews on Ishmael and trying to stabilize his condition, Bruce found nothing of worth and sent him over to Clark.

Clark's face became muddled, an image popping up made up of green and black circles trying to feast on each other. "Well… his state is pretty bad. I found similar microscopic tears like those inside Wildcard, but while his are calm, Ishmael's are actively trying to destroy him. His life's being maintained by a thread only thanks to this green composite. Otherwise, he'd be a goner by now."

Diana looked around, the majority of people confused at that. "Care to elaborate on what that means?" Captain Atom asked.

They were already caught up about the incident at the storage house, but didn't understand the importance of these 'tears'.

"It means that there's no telling if or when the tears in Wildcard will become just as worse." Barry explained.

Everyone froze at the implications, Diana's heart pounding in worry.

As if her worst fears weren't already starting to come true…

"...That' it?" John asked when the silence continued to prevail. "What about everything else? His blood tests, bodily functions, recent mental condition, activiti-"

"Stop." Bruce turned grave as he stared the Lantern down. "I'm not obligated to inform you of my son's condition, and the information you're asking goes above your previous question. What are you playing at?"

John matched the man in demeanor, slamming his fist on the desk and accusing him. "You lied."

Nobody reacted to his words, a few chuckling as Barry chimed in. "Uhhhh, yeah. Tell us something we don't know."

Bruce's secrets had secrets. Everyone had already succumbed to the fact that he wouldn't share everything with them, like how he didn't ask for their help till the last minute. The League was based on trust, yet only Bruce seemed to be the exception to that fact.

Although some had problems with the idea, they kept it to themselves since he had proven before how he had no qualms with leaving the League if he felt it necessary. Sending him away from their supervision was foolhardy, so those with objections reigned themselves in.

Until now…

"I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about Wildcard. 'Benjamin Wayne'." he finger quoted. "Please, remind us where you adopted him from again?"

"All the files on his heritage have been shared." Bruce instantly responded.

"Uh-huh… and you didn't, oh I don't know, forge them?"

The tension was rising in the room, Diana growing concerned when Bruce kept mum.

A projection of Ben appeared from John's ring in the center of the table, displaying his every physical proportion by rotating his body in a standard anatomical position. While everyone felt confused and weirded out, wondering why they were looking at a near-naked image of a child, the short piece of information that was spelled out right under him left them stunned.

[Species: Inconclusive]

'What?' Trying to make sure she wasn't dreaming, Diana shared a bewildered look with some of her comrades before looking back at the screen.

The words didn't change.

"Does this mean what I think it means…?" Captain Marvel questioned.

"I told you, didn't I? The ring records all data and sends it back to the headquarters database. Scanning a 'new' ring bearer is protocol, so imagine how many more questions arose when the racial index failed to identify the kid's species."

"Hold on a moment." Barry interjected, the finger tapping at high speed betraying his anxiousness and overwhelming wonder as he looked between Bruce and John as he addressed the latter. "There has to be some kind of mistake or something you overlooked. Maybe the thick gas was messing with the scans at the time. And didn't you say that the Guardians wanted to review your rings for some reason? Maybe its programs were damaged or altered and you didn't know even."

Unfortunately, John just shook his head. "You're thinking too optimistically. I've repeatedly scanned myself and a few other people as a precaution. Everything's in perfect working order. I don't know the Guardians' reasons for wanting to examine the thing, but it's not because it is damaged."

"As for your gas theory, normally I'd agree, but the ring constantly monitors your condition. The kid had it on for a while even after the gas dispersed and there was no change in the results." John debunked the first theory before bearing down on Bruce. "So let's stay on track. Where did you adopt him, how long did you know the truth, and what is he, 'cause he's definitely not human."

The tension in the air was suffocating at this point, Bruce's still figure giving off an intangible feeling of dread as he faced off the composed Lantern. Many questions were warring the spectator's heads, thoughts like 'Since when did Batman begin harboring aliens?' being most prominent.

Funny enough, although they would never entertain the idea, mind control went through their heads once or twice. Yet, discreet glances at the Martian provided all with a shake of a head, proving that they were wrong. J'onn would never enter a mind without permission, but he had begun doing checkups ever since the events of Will's reveal to make sure that no one was compromised. He would've noticed something.

"Listen John…" Clark began with a sigh. "I've personally examined Ben's body. He seems to be going under rap-"

"He's my son."

The Man of Steel paused in confusion alongside everyone else at Bruce's sudden interruption, John quickly becoming annoyed. "Yeah, that little tidbit ain't flying pal. Just because you adopted hi-"

"He's biological."

'...'

The collective minds in the room shut down, everyone picking at their ears for a moment. Bruce took the chance to type a few things onto the console before him, leaving some documents and pieces of evidence to hover in front of everyone as he left the room.

Then, they were blown away!

Clark was the most dumbfounded, looking over the unaltered records of Ben's life history with Barry and Captain Marvel rushing to look over his shoulder. Diana speedily read through the most important points before she rushed out of the room after Bruce.

"Hold!" she shouted at the man, stopping him before he could enter the Zeta Tubes. "We need to talk!"

"What's there to discuss?" he asked. "I've opened up access to my entire database regarding his relations. You're wasting time here when all your answers are inside."

"That's not what I care about!" Diana exclaimed before she calmed herself, her royal demeanor receding as she struggled to breathe out. "I admit. I was wrong about him."

Now that got his attention. Bruce paused to listen as she organized her thoughts into words.

"You probably noticed his potential beforehand and tried to guide him in the right direction. But right now, you're failing, and the world is out to get him. Even if you don't feel that it will help him right now, I implore you to have him stay hidden for a bit. And Robin too."

Diana always believed that children shouldn't have to carry the burden of the next generation, especially fighting as heroes. As opposed to an Amazonian like her who grew into her powers and earned them after various trials, or a Kryptonian like Clark who learned to deal with his inherent invincibility, she had come to learn that normal men and women were fragile. Their lives were akin to glass vases, the slightest force capable of shattering them into pieces.

Those notions were what made her first time meeting Bruce so memorable. She had believed him to be just a coward hiding behind a mask, looking for an excuse to harm others. Time had proven that she was wrong, Diana seeing Bruce's strength in so many ways.

But… that was it. He was the only exception she found up till now.

Sure, Green Arrow was similar to him in the fact that he had no powers, but there was this certain quality inside Bruce she couldn't put her finger on that gave him an edge.

Dick was shaping up to be a good warrior, but he was fragile. She had believed Ben to be the same, but now she's seen the evidence showing that his powers were perhaps even greater than hers.

She was wrong. She admitted it.

But she still didn't want to risk their well-being.

The world was against her before, and she didn't want it to be against these kids now.

Bruce lingered for a bit at the tube's entrance, gazing into her eyes before departing. "I'll think about it. But we both know there are worse things out there than a world chasing after you."

*Recognized: Batman, 02*

As the Zeta Beam's lights snuffed out, Diana moved closer to the hall's windows. Gazing down at the Earth, she marveled at the green bodies of land, swirling clouds, and rippling oceans as her mind became troubled.

A hand was suddenly placed on her shoulder, a quick look providing her with the concerned, but smiling face of Steve. "What's wrong? You've been more worried recently."

"I feel like dark times are upon us." Diana's voice came out low and unfeeling. "Darker than anything we've dealt with. We're blind to the light before us, and too frail to chase after it."

Steve stood beside her in support. "You're probably just overthinking things. Last time I checked, you, Ms. Star Spangled Princess, have always come out on top."

Diana smiled, briefly glancing at Steve with gentleness before schooling her features. "Perhaps…"

Placing a palm to the window as if she held the world in her hands, Diana's mind pulsed, a stubbornness rising in her veins as she closed her eyes and surrendered her spirit.

"Great Mother. Grant us strength. Grant ME strength"

For she knew that she was lacking in much, but not what it was…