Obsession 4

"An obsession is an idea which you must get out of your mind if you are not to go out of your mind." 

-Evan Esar

********

Kidnap a baby?

I rolled the question around in my mind, trying to ignore the fact that I had just been cockblocked.

A few thoughts came immediately to me. 

Such as: What the fuck are you talking about? What baby? Why would I kidnap it? And why do you think I did?

It was such an absurd thought. 

'Kidnap a baby.'

You can't get information from babies. Even if they did have a superpower, babies could not be trusted to control it. And the protection of infants is an evolutionary trait that every successful species has developed and would be sure to trigger the most irrational of impulses.

Babies are absolutely useless as everything but hostages, and even then, they are shitty ones because they are so fragile and need constant care and attention, or they'd die and lose all their value.

I was a dragon the size of a sub-continent. 

If I wanted a hostage, I had the entire world.

'Kidnap a baby.'

It sounded absolutely stupid. That's the kind of brain-numbing thing a comic book villain would do. And not a good one. 

'Batman Vs. The Toddler! The diapered menace that kidnaps babies.'

It was so stupid.

"I should have kidnapped a baby," I said into the phone.

Emma was holding her head in her hands, all thoughts of kinky sex in her counterpart's home long gone as she grew exasperated with me.

"What?" Valeria sounded absolutely flabbergasted.

"I didn't kidnap a baby, duh," I explained the obvious. "But I should have."

"Don't-" Emma tried to stop her, but it was too late.

"Why?" Valeria asked with an absurd laugh.

"Because it would be funny, of course."

Valeria Richards was physically unable to feel anything but the positive emotions in life. Anger, frustration, sadness, or despair were beyond her.

So when I say that word that came out of her mouth over the phone was the most emotionless sound I had ever heard, I was not speaking hyperbole.

"What."

"Why did you have to ask?" Emma groaned into her hand, but I caught the smile peeking from behind her palms.

"It would be hilarious," I insisted. "Think about it. Elden Lord. Fuck-off-dragon bigger than some countries. Can bring back the dead. Husband to a dozen powerful women. Heartbreaker. Demon Lord Slayer. And Baby-kidnapper. I could spend days thinking up headlines."

"What."

"It would need to be done right," I said, caught up in my absurdist fantasy. "I'll grab a domino mask, a bed sheet cape, and grow out my mustache so I twirl it maliciously with one hand while I hold a swaddled baby in the other. It dangles precariously from my hand as the heroes and the news helicopters circle us. I taunt Superman, pretending to let the child slip and fall a hundred stories off the Empire State Building."

"Why."

"Should I go 'hohohoho?' No, too Christmas-y. I am not so deep into the interwebs to go 'trololololo.' 'Mwahahahaha' is always a classic, but it is overdone."

"Wh-"

"Stop asking! He's just going to keep going until you tell us what you are talking about," Emma interrupted Valeria, the smile fading from her face. "He can go for literal hours if he wants to."

"Exactly," I pointed out cheerfully. "I'd keep it up for hours. Then, right when the army has mobilized, I'd drop the baby. It gets rescued, of course, and that's when everyone realizes it's a doll, and the woman crying out for her child on international television is an illusion! That's when the fireworks go off, and everyone knows it's a prank, and they will feel incredibly stupid. Because who, in their right mind, would think I'd kidnap a fucking baby!"

By the end of my little tirade, I was practically growling out the words, my sense of humour unable to keep my ire contained any longer.

I hated, absolutely hated, being accused of things I didn't do. It was one of my greatest pet peeves and one of the surest ways to get me mad.

I was a Dragon of Freedom. I was free to do what I wanted. 

And I chose to take responsibility for my decisions and actions. I could try and deny them, and I would to others if it suited my purpose, but internally, I always accepted what was my fault and denied what wasn't.

I make choices. I chose to accept those consequences.

But only My consequences.

When I had gotten over Valeria's absurd question, it was all I could do to stop myself from snapping angrily at the girl.

Which I would have regretted.

I liked Valeria.

No need to alienate her because she did the right thing and, upon learning something REALLY FUCKING STUPID had happened, had sought to verify it with me before making wild accusations.

That, and she was twelve. Kids could believe stupid things. 

"Oh, wow," Valeria let out a giggle. "I get it. It was a joke. You have the worst sense of humour I've ever heard. It was terrible. Way too dark. Now that I think of it kidnapping a baby is really stupid. They're never left unattended. If you don't care about being seen, there are better targets. The minimum kidnapping age should be at least five. That's old enough that they won't kill themselves on accident when you're not looking. But what do I know? I've only been kidnapped a few times. Still, your joke was not funny."

"Yet you're laughing," I pointed out dryly. "It is not a bad joke if someone laughs."

"I am mentally impaired," Valeria defended herself, still chuckling. "I can't help but laugh."

"Val," I sighed as I signalled Emma with my thoughts. "The baby thing?"

I couldn't teleport us out, or the phone signal would cut out, so I was leaving it up to her to communicate with the rest of the Family while I kept up an illusion to hide and mute us.

"Right," Valeria chirped as her attention returned to why she called me in the first place. "So, the X-men sent out a call that their leader's wife and newborn baby have been kidnapped. They say you did it."

"What." This time, it was me deadpanning in confusion. Like, seriously, what? "Why?"

"Dunno," Valeria said casually. "They just alerted my family, so I thought I'd call and ask you if you did it."

"No, I did not kidnap a fucking baby," I snapped back, unable to keep the annoyance from rising this time. "Sorry. But no. I didn't do it."

I hated being accused of things I didn't do, and I hated being confused, 

Right now, I was both.

"I guessed as much," Valeria agreed readily.

I took a deep breath.

"So Madelyne Pryor and her son disappeared," I verified. Anger would not help me. I needed to focus on the facts and what it meant for me and my Family.

Right away, a half dozen names of possible suspects came to mind.

Mister Sinister was at the top of the list, of course. 

If Madelyne was like the one in comics, and all signs pointed in that direction, she was a failed attempt to clone Jean Grey. It was possible that in this world where Grey died, Sinister decided to claim the infant and the clone for his experiments. Or Madelyne had gone full goblin queen early.

There were a few other possibilities, of course. Several villains had tangled with the X-men since they went public a few years ago. Any one of them could have done it as revenge.

But the choice of target was suspicious.

Still, this stank of something else.

I am suddenly framed for a baby-napping the day after I wipe out the Hand and reveal Melina as the new Phoenix Host? And said baby is the future Cable?

It was possible that this had nothing to do with the X-men at all, and they were a convenient source of Supers that could be thrown at me with a pretext. Or the reverse, and they were just trying to throw the X-men at me so I'd keep them occupied.

But to what end goal?

Was this the shadowy Oppressor or someone else?

If they can control Supers, why do they need a justification to throw the X-men at me? Was I just seeing a plot because I was looking for one?

"Yep," Valeria confirmed the victims. "I don't have all the details yet, but they gave me the bare bones of the situation to get my help looking for you."

"Give me what you can," I ordered instantly. Now that the reflexive anger had faded, I could channel it in a more helpful direction. "When did this happen? Where? Why do they think I had anything to do with it? And are they going to come at me guns blazing, or is there room to talk?"

"Talk first," Val answered immediately. "They don't want to risk the hostages. They are looking for you and Melina. It happened last night after the convention. I don't know why they think you did it, but they seemed certain. They have also reached out to the League and PRT. I don't know how the latter will act, as it depends on who they talk to, but the League's members just woke up from their little naps and are not happy with you anyway."

I pinched my brow in annoyance.

So much was piling up quickly. The fallout from the Phoenix, investigating Odin, continual rebuilding after Heartbreak, Frost's situation, and now this?

Fucking comic book worlds, I swear.

Ok.

Organize and prioritize.

This situation was the most urgent just because of its potential fallout and how fast it could deteriorate.

I wasn't afraid of the X-men. 

Scathach alone could handle them all. But Charles Xavier and his team had a lot of friends in a lot of places. All my work building this life for my Family would crumble if this went wrong.

I smiled wryly. I was under no threat, but a kidnapped baby was forcing me to respond.

Well played Oppressor.

Let's see if you let something slip with this ploy.

If I were some hot-head comic character, I'd fly off the handle at the accusation, and this would end up one of those 'superhero vs superhero' stories that always seemed incredibly contrived to me.

Instead, I would do the most damage in the best way I knew how.

I would talk to them.

The horror.

"Get back to them," I told Valeria. "Tell them you found me flying and got a message to me. It will reinforce 'Reed's' value to them. Tell them I said I didn't do it and am willing to meet and talk to them. Tell them you can contact me, and we can arrange a meeting point of their choosing, and they can bring who they want, but I will decide the time."

A compromise that at once showed them I wasn't scared of them, was willing to play ball, and that things would not go their way.

This shadowy enemy still had the advantage. 

It knew more about me than I did it, but it had also played a hand. Whether the Oppressor was behind this 'baby kidnapping' or not, and I think there is a good chance it is, someone was targeting me.

To try and frame me for this, they either had to be monumentally smart and powerful or monumentally stupid.

In this high-stakes game of poker, they had played a hand.

But I was a little shit.

I was playing Go Fish.

********

"Go over it again," Batman ordered.

"Why?" Cyclops growled. "We've done this twice. Professor X checked my memory. I haven't been enchanted, cursed, or manipulated. I saw what I saw. And we both know who did this! Now help me get my wife and child back, or so help me god, I will blast my way out of here and find that damned lizard myself!"

He was unperturbed despite the red visor that glared at the Dark Knight.

"You want the League to help you antagonize a potential world-ending threat," Batman said plainly. "We will. If they are guilty. But we will not do so until we know for sure."

Strictly speaking, the X-men were an independent hero team. Neither the League nor the PRT had jurisdiction over them. But if they wanted the Justice League to help them, they needed to let them do their own investigation.

"WE KNOW FOR SURE!" Cyclops slammed his hands on the table, but the Dark Knight didn't flinch even as the field leader of the X-men shouted in his face. "I SAW HIM TAKE THEM!"

"You saw something," Batman allowed. "But your story has too many holes." When Cyclops made to shout again, Batman held up a hand, and the hero closed his mouth with a snarl. "Everyone is already out looking. We've talked to not only his wives but have managed to reach him, and we have a meeting in a few hours. Your wife and son will be found. That I promise. But for that to happen, we need every bit of information you can provide. So, we will go over it repeatedly until we have dragged out every clue we can get."

Batman was not without sympathy for the man's plight. Seeing your wife and newborn child taken while you are unable to stop it was a horrifying thing. But that didn't change that it was his job to get all the information he could from the man to ensure this did not end in disaster.

And, frankly, none of this sat right with the World's Greatest Detective.

The method and the motivation might align with Mikael on a superficial level. Still, Batman had extensively studied the Elden Lord's psychology, as it was one of the only parts of the dragon he could study.

This simply didn't make sense.

So, he'd keep digging until he found out the truth.

"From the top."

"Fine," Scott Summers let out a frustrated puff of air.

"First off, you said you went to bed later than usual?"

"Nathan wouldn't fall asleep in his crib," Scott repeated his frustration in no way abated. "We tried for over an hour to get him to calm down. Eventually, we just took him with us. All three of us were in bed and asleep by midnight."

"Can you remember anything different about your room?" Batman pressed. He didn't think Scott was lying, per se, but having someone repeat a story repeatedly was one of the easiest and most effective ways to see if their story was consistent and different details tend to get emphasized with each telling. "An unfamiliar scent? Furniture out of place? Change in room temperature? Were there any extra protections in your room?"

"No," Cyclops growled through clenched teeth. "Nothing. Everything was exactly as it had always been. You've seen it. And our only protections were the same as everyone else in the mansion. Guards and cameras. All the more advanced defences were not activated because there was no reason to have them activated."

Batman had looked over the feed and talked to the X-men on duty. They hadn't been particularly attentive to their duty, more interested in catching teens breaking curfew than being wary of possible outside threats.

The downside of it being a boarding school filled with super-powered teens was that it was a boarding school filled with super-powered and hormonal teens. 

It was not a secure facility by any measure, so a more thorough defensive system needed to be built on the idea that some idiot looking to sneak into someone else's dorm might accidentally activate a turret. Because of that, the living quarters were utterly undefended, and the trustworthy security measures were confined to the halls and rooms below the ground.

"No reason to be activated?" Batman asked rhetorically, a pang of his own annoyance flashing through him. "I specifically told Charles that Madelyne and your son were best kept secure."

"They. Were." Cyclops' fists clenched. "We were in those rooms for days. We only left when we got notice that the situation had been dealt with."

Batman wanted to point out that his exact words to Xavier had been, 'The Phoenix Force does not appear to be after Madelyne Pryor or Nathan Summers.' He had still advised caution because, at that point, they hadn't discovered where the psychic entity had disappeared to.

But pointing that out would not help this investigation.

"After you fell asleep," Batman continued, ignoring his annoyance. "Did anything happen during the night? Did either of you get up, or did the boy wake you?"

"No," Scott's anger seemed to slacken slightly. "We were both so tired, we slept for hours. We haven't been getting much since Nathan was born."

"You said you woke up when it was happening? What first woke you up?"

"I heard someone talking," Scott grit his teeth again. "I thought I was dreaming at first. I couldn't move. I barely managed to open my eyes. He was there. Holding Nathan. The Elden Lord. The one-eyed wife of his, Melina, had Maddy over her shoulder. They were saying something. A language I don't know. The only word I understood was 'Phoenix.' Then they left."

"You managed to open your eyes? Did they notice?"

"No. It was barely a fraction of an inch, and that took all my effort." Scott's knuckles cracked as he relived that moment of helplessness. "With my sleeping glasses, they wouldn't have been able to see me. They didn't care about me at all. I might as well not have even been in the room."

"You could recognize them both in the dark, with your eyes mostly closed, and through your sleep lenses?" Batman asked doubtfully.

"The moon was coming in through the window, and the nightlight was on," Scott defended himself. "For Nathan. He doesn't like the dark. And I would recognize those stupid shirts of his anywhere. He had that fucking smirk of his. Her cloak mostly covered the woman, but I got a good look at the scar around her left eye."

"How long were they there? What were they doing?"

"A few minutes," Cyclops growled. "They were talking. Then the Elden Lord said something, then he..." Cyclops slammed his fists on the table again, the sound ringing through the cramped room. Then he did it again. And again. He stood, pacing around the room as his rage overflowed as he remembered what he saw. "He threw Nathan. He pretended to juggle my son. That woman laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world. I had to watch my son, my baby boy, get thrown around. And I couldn't do anything. You better believe I remember them, Batman. I will never forget it for the rest of my life."

Batman wanted to offer comfort, knowing how helplessness felt, but he forced himself to push on.

"Did they do anything else?"

"They got bored," Scott spat the word in disgust. "After a few throws. The bastard grabbed my son, said something, and then he spanked Maddie."

"Spanked?" Batman asked, not having heard this part before.

"He hit her on the butt," Scott growled, actually shaking in anger. "She was over the woman's shoulder, and he hit her like she was one of his whores."

Batman didn't bother asking the man to calm down, deciding it would be fruitless. Instead, he tried to push for more details.

"Why?"

"You think I know what goes on in his twisted mind," Scott snarled. "I don't! All I know is that once I get my hands on him, he will wish he was never born."

"Anything else?"

"No," Cyclops snarled. "After he... After that, he said something about the Phoenix, and they left."

"How did they leave? No camera caught anything going in or out of your suits."

"I didn't see them go. They left my field of vision. But the moonlight let me see their shadows vanish off the wall."

"What time was this?"

"Quarter till four," Scott answered, his anger lowering to a simmer. "I could see the clock from where I was. It was all I could do. For hours I had to watch that damn clock. I only got free once Charles noticed I wasn't down for breakfast and tried to reach me."

"How did you get free?"

"It was a spell," Scott said with certainty. "It had to be. As soon as someone walked through my door, I could move again. No mutant power works like that."

"And from there, you alerted your team," Batman nodded. 

The X-men had been prepared to run off and fight the Elden Lord in a rush. It was only at the urging of Xavier that they had waited to contact the Justice League and the PRT.

It helped that they had no idea where to go. The Island? How were they going to get to it? The Elden Lord had closed the dimension a week ago.

"Are we done here?" Scott asked acidly.

"We are," Batman nodded. "Get your team and get ready. The meeting is in three hours."

Without another word, Cyclops stood from his seat, knocking it away as he stomped out of the door. He slammed it open and marched into the halls under Xavier's School for Gifted Children to join his fellow X-men.

Superman entered as soon as the mutant left, gently closing the door and taking the time to reset the chair before taking it and sitting down.

"Should he even come?" Clark asked his friend. "The way he is right now, his presence risks any chance for a peaceful solution."

"Better we keep him within arms reach rather than try and leave him behind to do something stupid," Batman answered as he reviewed his notes. "Find anything?"

"No," Superman shook his head with a sigh. "Wolverine didn't get a scent, and I couldn't find a trace either. Strange did sense magic, but it fell apart when he tried to recreate the scene with a spell. Whoever did this was thorough."

Batman grunted in acknowledgement but didn't say anything.

He just kept turning the situation over in his head.

This didn't make sense.

Even if Bruce ignored everything he knew about Mikael's psychology, the methodology didn't match.

Sure, certain aspects were superficially like abilities he and his Family displayed. The teleportation through shadow. The inability to sense them while they were here or to find traces after they were gone. The magic.

Batman did not doubt the Elden Lord's ability to kidnap Madelyne Pryor and Nathan Summers.

He was doubting his motivation.

And the failure.

Time and time again, Batman came back to the same question. The fundamental flaw in this entire scheme.

How had Scott Summers seen anything at all?

Even if you ignore the fact that he woke up with barely any external stimuli while his child and wife didn't under much greater stimuli, what were the chances that the method to keep him unconscious failed right then? 

Not when the child and woman were taken but when the kidnappers were talking. Gloating really. 

And, again, what were the odds he, despite being paralyzed, could open his eyes just enough to identify the kidnappers?

Batman tried to think like the Elden Lord.

He is here to steal a child and its mother while the father is lying beside them. How does he do it?

Easily.

He teleports himself in, casts a spell to ensure everyone is asleep, grabs the targets, and leaves. It takes ten seconds, and nobody learns anything.

Mikael was playful. Dramatic. He liked to perform. It wasn't out of character for him to make distasteful jokes. But he was also effective. He joked while working. Or after he achieved his goal. Unless he was buying time, he would never pause a secret mission and risk discovery just to talk.

It was like he knew Scott was awake and was deliberately trying to make him as mad as possible.

That would fit Mikael's character if they were enemies, but it would also defeat the purpose of stealth kidnapping in the first place.

Then there was the motivation.

On the surface, it had something to do with the Phoenix Force. What Pryor and her child had to do with it was unknown, but it wasn't impossible that the Elden Lord knew something they didn't because of his experience with other realities. Pryor had always been a point of suspicion due to her resemblance to Jean Grey.

But again, it was just too damn convenient. The only word Cyclops recognizes is 'Phoenix?'

After his friends woke up, Batman had a more complete idea of what had happened on that ship.

Someone had gone through a lot of effort to incapacitate them all without revealing themselves. They weren't malicious, or they would have taken advantage of the heroes' vulnerability, but they definitely didn't want to be found out.

Then Melina shows up in a very public place, clearly showing she is the host of the Phoenix Force? Why the secrecy in knocking the League out, then? And why do it right before you stage a kidnapping ostensibly in relation to said psychic entity?

This entire situation stank of a third party.

But to what end?

And why kidnap Pryor and her son? Targets of convenience? Just to antagonize the X-men, or was there a deeper play here?

"Batman?" Superman asked, tearing Bruce from his thoughts.

"I don't like this," Batman said, standing from his seat to look his friend in the eye.

"I don't think anyone likes this," the Kryptonian tried to joke, but Batman wasn't laughing. Clark knew his friend and decided to help him. "You don't think the Elden Lord is behind this."

"No. I don't. We are being played against each other and need to look at this from another angle."

Superman nodded, not necessarily in agreement but willing to follow along with his friend's train of logic. Batman appreciated it. Clark had been in a coma for a week, been questioned as soon as he woke up, and instead of going home to his pregnant wife, he was dealing with this.

Earth needed heroes like him.

But they also needed cynical bastards like Batman.

"The Elden Lord has the Phoenix Force," Batman started, weaving a situation together. "Imagine we don't want that."

"We don't," Superman said with a tired smirk. "It would be better to get that thing off Earth as soon as possible."

"How do we do that," Batman asked, turning the thought over.

"We convince him it is a risk," Superman shrugged. "He cares for his wives. If the Phoenix is a threat to them, he will want it as far from them as possible. Nobody wants another Dark Phoenix."

Batman paused slightly in his pacing but continued with only a moment's hesitation.

"What if we can't convince him to give it up? Either because he doesn't trust us or because we want it for ourselves. What then?"

"I... don't know," Superman sighed. "I honestly cannot think of a way to force him to do anything. Fight him? The collateral damage will be worse than a rampaging Phoenix. Try and steal it? How?"

There it was. The big problem with all of this.

The Elden Lord was too big a mystery.

They knew more now than they did when he first appeared. Both in terms of abilities and in understanding how he worked. But they could guarantee they didn't know everything.

Even now, if, as Batman suspected, Mikael was innocent, they couldn't prove it because they simply did not know enough.

What other abilities did he and his family have that they hadn't revealed yet? What knowledge hadn't they shared? Mikael had kept the invasion of Trigon the Terrible a secret after all. Who was to say he wasn't hiding anything else? 

It seemed like every day, the fog surrounding that Family grew thicker and thicker rather than clearing up.

And then there were the powers they were known to have.

The threat of another Heartbreak hung over their heads like a nuclear weapon. It went unsaid, but everyone who had felt that... Love, that pain, knew precisely what they could do in the face of it.

Nothing.

"What if this had nothing to do with the Phoenix Force," Superman proposed, seeing they were at a dead end. He was no slouch when it came to investigations, either. "If the Elden Lord is innocent, it could be an excuse. A Casus Belli to kidnap the woman and child. There might be no deeper motivation than to have the X-men try to fight him."

"They will lose," Batman said with certainty. "Easily. It will not even be a contest."

"Maybe that's the point," Superman offered. "Mikael has killed before. Maybe whoever did this hopes he will kill them?"

That.. was a reasonable proposition.

Was it not the Elden Lord the target but the X-men themselves?

But then, why leave Cyclops alive?

"We need more information," Superman sighed. "Until we talk to Mikael or get more clues, we will only be chasing shadows and theories."

Batman agreed with a nod. No matter whether the Elden Lord was behind this kidnapping or not, meeting him would give them more clues. They'd remain cautious and attend the meeting with everything they could prepare.

Despite his commitment to remaining cautious, Batman couldn't help but feel like they were walking into a trap.

********

"How are you doing," Wonder Woman asked her sister as she pulled away from the hug.

"I am doing well," Donna reassured her older sister, and when the older heroine raised a brow in question, she repeated her words. "Really, I am good."

"She'd be better if she let me give her the Runes," Amelia grumbled. "Then we wouldn't need to deal with this mess every week. I do like my free time, believe it or not."

"Not everyone wants strange symbols branded into their skin, Ames," Victoria rolled her eyes at her sister's complaint. "Think about bikini season! Imagine she's with a guy, and he goes to put sunscreen on her. What's she going to say? 'Don't mind the Eldritch Truth carved in my skin. Get my lower back.'"

"She's an Amazon," Amelia deadpanned. "She doesn't need sunscreen. And a guy? Their entire thing is no guys. Sounds perfect to me."

"That's not the point, and you know it," Victoria gave her an eye roll for her effort.

Tuning out the bickering sisters, Diana kept her eyes on Donna as if she was willing herself to suddenly be able to tell the truth from lies with just a look.

"You are worrying too much," Donna sighed, shaking herself from the older woman's arms and stepping back. "I am fine. I am more worried about you. Nobody has heard from you or most of the Justice League for over a week."

"We were occupied with a mission in space," Wonder Woman brushed over the subject quickly. "None of us were hurt. In fact, I feel better than ever."

"She's right," Panacea interrupted. "She is not only healthier but stronger than ever before. But what did happen? If you tell me, I might be able to replicate it. It was the most thorough healing I've ever seen, and you are measurably more powerful."

"Can't tell you," Diana said with a tight smile. 

Not that there was anything to tell besides the fact that the Justice League had gotten their ass handed to them by the Elden Lord.

Again.

This time, she didn't even know how it happened.

It was incredibly frustrating. It seemed like with every day that passed, they were losing control more and more. Would, one day, they be unable to do anything but watch as the Elden Lord did what he wanted with the world?

And as soon as she woke up, she had to deal with this most recent crisis.

At least they had time for her sister's checkup before the meeting with the Elden Lord.

"Of course, you can't," Amelia sighed in disappointment but seemed unsurprised. "Whatever. Let's get this over with."

Without any further hesitation, she placed her hand on Donna's arm. Panacea frowned as she furrowed her brow in concentration.

"What is it," Diana asked at the expression.

"Just a sec," Panacea said as she released her grip on Donna's arm and placed it on Wonder Woman. Her frown deepened. "Donna, have you had any contact with Mikael recently?"

"No?" Donna half asked a frown on her face as well. "I see prof- that is, Glynda every day for training. She spends more time with me than the others to help me get used to operating in Man's World. And I've seen the other Raven a few times when she visits. But I haven't seen the Elden Lord since... you know."

Wonder Woman's heart ached at the reminder. 

It had been barely a few weeks since they had lost so many of their sisters, been abandoned by their gods, and seen their home destroyed.

And she had been unconscious for a good chunk of that time.

She should have been here or at least available for Donna. It had been the younger girl's decision to try and be a hero in Man's World rather than join the other Amazons on the Elden Lord's Island. Still, Wonder Woman should have kept a closer eye on her sister, especially after what they had witnessed through that portal and its effect on them.

Things had been so crazy since Heartbreak, with rebuilding, rising crime rates, and wars springing up in the ruble. It seemed all Wonder Woman could do was fly from crisis to crisis. She hadn't even had time to grieve herself or try and meet her mother since they separated.

"What's up," Victoria asked, floating closer.

"Donna has another Eye," Amelia reported with a frown. "But Diana doesn't."

"What?" Donna asked, startled as her hands came up to her eyes in a panic. "No, I don't!"

"It's how insight manifests," Amelia rolled her eyes, not caring for her fear. "Eyes inside the skull. Unless we crack you open, nobody will be able to see them. They're what 'see's' the Truth. The runes? They're what stop me from seeing too much. I don't have the problem you two do."

"Oh," Donna said lowly, not pleased with the idea. Then her eyes widened. "Ohhhhh, that's what that man was talking about."

"What man?" Wonder Woman looked at her sister in concern.

"One of the ones in the dreams," Donna waived her off. "I put it in those reports you're making me write?"

Diana had yet to have the time to read those reports. All she had gotten was the highlights from Bruce when she asked after her sister. 

While Diana's Insight had been focused on the Elden Lord, manifesting in an answer/question format, Donna's largely came to her in small scenes in dreams. She had described it like a play she watched, but only a few moments before the scene shifted.

The only comprehensible aspect they had understood so far had been about Frenzy, what happens when Insight runs rampant. Apart from that, it was mostly an incomprehensible blur to Donna.

At least that was what Diana had heard.

Amelia, thankfully, asked the question Wonder Woman wanted to ask.

"Describe this man," the biokinetic ordered. "What was he talking about?"

"Fat. Old. He was in some sort of chair that moved back and forth," Donna shrugged. "Mortal, obviously. And blind. He had this mask over his eyes."

"A swing?" Victoria asked curiously. "Or a rocking chair?"

"Maybe," the new titan shrugged, not having been in Man's World long enough to identify either by sight. "Probably the latter, if only by name. Anyway, he was mumbling some strange prayer to his gods."

"What were his exact words," Amelia asked, unwilling to lose out on the information.

Diana wondered if she should tell her sister to keep it to herself.

Amelia and Victoria were only slightly trusted by the League for obvious reasons. The healer was still their foremost expert in all things 'Insight' related, so they had her do regular checkups on Diana and Donna to ensure there wasn't a threat to their health, but that didn't mean they were giving her the information they gained.

Especially since much of that information pertained to the Elden Lord and there was no guarantee her bodyguard of a sister wouldn't go chattering to her 'boss' when she got the chance.

In the end, Wonder Woman also wanted to know about this, so she kept silent.

"He repeated it over and over," Donna narrowed her eyes in memory. "Let's see. 'We are born of the blood, made men by the blood, undone by the blood. Our eyes are yet to open... Fear the old blood.' Then he repeated that last bit of the prayer a few more times and started over."

"'Fear the old blood?'" Victoria asked. "Is that a prophecy? Like with Trigon?"

"It could be about the Elden Lord," Diana said. "Amelia gained her Insight from touching his blood, didn't you?"

"I did," the healer frowned, rubbing her chin in thought. "But Diana didn't. She gained her first bit of Insight when she first saw him. Then she gained six more eyes after Heartbreak, but it hasn't increased since. You, on the other hand, had seven eyes when I first scanned you. If my theory is right, you should only gain more if you meet Mikael when he is not a human. Or if you are exposed to something of significant relevance to him. So how come you gained more Insight when Diana didn't? And was it transmitted by blood?"

"Have you been in contact with any unknown source of blood since your last scan," Wonder Woman asked her sister.

"No," Donna defended herself. "I am not even allowed on my first mission until Nightwing and Professor Goodwitch tell me I am ready. I've barely left the tower until today."

"I don't think the Boss would let his blood out of his control," Victoria pointed out. "Remember those barrels he left in the park? Raven grabbed them right away. Or was that Pride? Anyway, he clearly doesn't want people getting his blood."

"Then how did she get more Insight?" Amelia remained focused on her job. "Insight doesn't just appear. It only develops in response to things being confronted by things we cannot comprehend with mortal brains."

"Pardon," Donna couldn't help but interrupt their little theory-crafting session. "But does that mean I have eight eyes inside my head? What happens if I get more? Will my head explode?"

"No," Panacea denied instantly. "They are only half real. You could have thousands of eyes, of points of Insight, and all it would mean was that you are more aware of the Truth of the world. You will see and understand things that others can't."

"Then why is it a problem?"

"Because if you are gaining Insight from something," Wonder Woman explained. "It means there is a source out there. And Insight is a method of handling the truth. The Elden Lord explained it when he brought Glory Girl back. 'Too much Insight risks Frenzy build-up.'"

"Frenzy?" Donna asked, looking scared for the first time. "Like..."

"Like your dreams," Wonder Woman nodded grimly. "We can probably handle it. But if civilians are gaining Insight? And quickly? It will be a problem."

"You don't have any idea where I could have gained this extra 'eye?'" Donna looked at Amelia in worry, but the healer shrugged.

"No idea. One more Eye for you is fine, but if I see more developing, I will insist on giving you the runes, whether you want me to or not. They're what stopped my Frenzy."

"Could it be she is just getting used to what she saw," Victoria pouted, seeming unwilling to have the teen mar her skin before she got to enjoy the beaches of her new home. She had taken a real liking to the younger Amazon. "Like, maybe she's just settling in."

"Maybe," Amelia sighed. "We are having these checkups for this exact reason. But I can't say for sure. I only have myself, Diana, and her to go off on without talking to Mikael."

"What about the other Amazons?"

"They had one checkup, and I haven't seen them since," Amelia scowled. "I don't know if they are also developing more Insight over time or not."

"Why don't we go check on them?" Victoria asked.

"The Elden Lord has closed off his Island," Wonder Woman scowled. Coincidently, it happened around the time the Phoenix appeared. It was one of the reasons she was leaning toward his guilt in the kidnapping incident. Ever since he had arrived, he had been all for letting invaders onto his land to die, and suddenly he wasn't? It was suspicious. "I have not met my mother or sisters since they moved there, and the Elden Lord will not allow us passage given the current circumstances."

Diana would be lying if she said she wasn't worried about the possibility of the man using her family as hostages. After losing so many of her fellow Amazons, she refused to lose anymore.

"What circumstances?" Donna asked curiously.

"I'll tell you about it later," Diana told all three of them. None of them knew about the disappearance of Madelyne Pryor and her son, and if she had her way, they never would.

"You know they don't live with him, right?" Victoria asked doubtfully. "They have a village set up away from him."

"How do you know that?" Amelia asked.

"Me and Priscilla chat," Glory Girl shrugged. "We've been texting for weeks, ever since I left confinement. She's totally adorable."

Wonder Woman internally congratulated herself for not giving info away to the perhaps unknowing information leak in their midst.

"Do you think you can get my teammates tickets to her performance," Donna asked. "They are obsessed with her music, but it sold out before they could purchase them. It would go a long way towards bolstering camaraderie."

"I got you," Victoria nodded cheerfully with a thumbs up. "We can swing by and ask while we're there."

"While we're where?" Amelia asked suspiciously.

"Visiting the Amazon village, duh."

"And how are we going to do that," Panacea sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation. "He's closed off his Island, remember?"

"By going through the door," Glory Girl said slowly as if explaining something to an idiot.

Then, a grey doorway appeared in front of her.

"By Hera!" Donna shouted, jumping back in surprise since the shimmering wall of energy manifested inches from her face.

"It's one of the perks I get from the Boss," Victoria looked at Amelia doubtfully. "I can teleport to his Island whenever I want. I definitely told you about this."

"No. No, you did not," Panacea said through gritted teeth.

"You sure?" Vicky asked dubiously. "I'm pretty sure I did."

"This will lead us to the Elden Lord," Diana asked, interrupting the argument as she realized what sort of advantage this ability could give the League.

"Eh," Glory Girl shook her flat hand in a so-so motion. "It takes me to the Island, but I need permission to cross the bounded field if I want to get to their mansion. 'Cilla tells me the village is right outside that, though, so we'll fly along until we find them. It'll be super easy."

"And you can take all of us? What about coming back?" Wonder Woman hurried to clarify.

"I control it," Victoria said proudly. "Priscilla taught me how to summon it, hide it from people, and it lets me choose who comes through and who doesn't. I can open it again to leave the Island, but it will deposit me back where I ported from unless I leave by flight."

This was big. Huge. One of the League's most significant problems with the Elden Lord was that they could not get to him if he decided to remain on his Island. He was untouchable there if he wanted to be.

With Victoria, that was no longer the case.

Then, a chill ran down Diana's spine.

If the Elden Lord ever thought Glory Girl would use her ability against him, he'd undo her resurrection instantly. She'd die again, and they'd lose this advantage.

To say nothing of what Amelia would do if she lost her sister again.

The Elden Lord could never know.

Wonder Woman was about to tell the group they shouldn't do this when Victoria stepped through the portal quickly, dragging her sister along despite her protesting squawk.

Wonder Woman and her sister shared a look of surprise before Victora poked her head back through the grey curtain of energy.

"Well," she asked. "Do you want to see your mom or not?" Then, before Diana could respond, she disappeared again.

"You were not wrong, sister," Donna said wryly. "The people of Man's World are a curious bunch."

"Wait!" Diana hurried to stop the young woman, but it was too late. Donna disappeared through the portal just as the other two had, leaving Wonder Woman alone.

Cursing, Wonder Woman hurriedly typed out a message to Batman and dove through the doorway after them.