Chapter 16: A Mother's Love

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity. It dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path"

Agatha Christie

Chapter 16: "A Mother's Love"

(Friday-March 7, 2014)

The four current Black Lanterns all knelt before Nekron's throne. They all had nervous looks on their faces as they waited for their master to speak. To the side, Madame Rogue watched with interest. This was her new group after all. She had to deal with them and the master at least until the plan was complete, and she would get what she wanted out of this, to stay alive.

"Do not fret, my Black Lanterns," Nekron drawled as he looked down at his followers, "I am not angry."

"Really?" Aragon looked up in surprise, "But Master, we lost the Mirror of Memories, and the heroes now know that we supported both le Fey's attack and the Sorcerer Initiative."

"Not to mention how we failed to kill as many people as you wanted," Nocturne took in a deep breath as he rubbed the scar running across his chest.

"True, true, but that is neither your fault nor mine," Nekron noted as black smoke from his mouth, "No one could have predicted Poindexter's interference or the Mirror of Memories' true nature. We may have lost a bit of energy from the Sorcerer Initiative, but we gained important knowledge. And that more than makes up for it."

"Indeed," Hotep Ra nodded, "And we did manage to get quite a bit of energy to. Not to mention how the Light is in complete disarray. They will be powerless to act during the Blackest Night."

"Agreed," Nekron let out a light chuckle, "It was never the heroes that I feared would interfere. It was the people with less that set morals that would have been the real problem."

"Excuse me," Madame Rogue spoke up, "Speaking of low morality, what of zhe Dark Dan? He did not even try to interfere. Are you not worried zhat he is planning somezhing?"

"He definitely must be planning something," Nekron agreed, "But it doesn't matter. He does not know my true goal. Otherwise, he would have already tried to obliterate the Phantom Family. Having them dead and as weaker minions would be a lot better for him than what I have planned. When my plan is finished, my power will be so great that even the 'new gods' will tremble in fear."

"Will it work, though, Master?" Walker questioned, "Phantom has proven that he's the only one able to completely bypass your energy. That's something that the Mirror and Scribe's apprentice failed to completely do together."

"You are correct," Nekron nodded, "Phantom is the only real threat. His ties to the Life Entity make him our natural enemy."

"Walker mentioned zhat to me," Madame Rogue took a few steps forward, "What iz zhe Life Entity?"

Nekron went on to explain, "The Life Entity, or the Entity as the Guardians of the Universe call it, is the Source of all life in the universe. Every living creature started its evolutionary path thanks to the Entity. It lies in the center of the Earth. This is why Earth had created such a wide variety of creatures. This is why humans have the potential to become gods. This is why ghosts really exist. On any other planet, if the Reality Gauntlet had been used, the planet would have been poisoned and destroyed. The Life Entity prevented that and instead made the curse into something far different. The curse of a second life devoid of real choice."

"But…Earth is so behind technology wise…" Madame Rogue noted.

"Indeed, because the Guardians of the Universe made it so. They are the reason the Earth has remained hidden for so long. Why it took millennia for a Green Lantern to come from Earth," Nekron stated.

Hotep Ra decided to explain further, "As you can guess, the Life Entity is a natural opposite of Master Nekron the Reaper. Its power can easily fight against it. Especially because it has long since blessed Phantom with the ability to deny Death. He is its real chosen. A natural White Lantern, if you will."

"Yes, it's only because of his connection to both Death and the Entity that he has lasted so long, and why he can attain ascended ectoplasm when empowered by either life or death," Nekron stroked his chin, "Because of that, he is very important to my plans. He is the living embodiment of the line between life and death. I will need extra power to deal with him."

Aragon trembled as Nekron unleashed a wave of energy to show his power, "Ectoplasmic energy gave him back his natural power."

Nocturne looked into the dark surroundings to see hundreds of thousands of red eyes staring at them, "Magical energy allowed him to create an army."

Walker gained a wide grin, "And demonic energy will let him deal with Phantom using the Transferal."

"And none of it could have happened without my knights. Don't worry, Black Lanterns, your rewards will come soon," Nekron smiled at them. He then moved his palm forward to show two new Black Lantern rings, "And its time for four to be six."

"Six?" Hotep Ra's eyes widened, "Who will be the other one?"

"Hahahahahaha! Why, the Black Hand of course!"

Agent Z stood in an area that many would describe as hell incarnate. Fire raged everywhere. Demons danced in the background. Screams of the damned sounded out all around him. None of this bothered the past leader of the Guys in White, though. He had long since grown accustomed to such things while being under Trigon's command.

Six demonic red slited eyes glowed before Agent Z. Each eye was about as big as Z's body and seemed to scream a combination of power and evil, "That whole fiasco the humans had was very amusing."

"It was," Agent Z nodded, "It was also very informative."

"Indeed," Trigon's booming voice sounded intrigued, "We learned a lot about our greatest enemies."

"Phantom summoned that accursed energy without anyone dying," Agent Z noted, "Are you worried about that?"

"It is definitely a weapon that needs to be avoided," Trigon stated, "We have yet to see the limit of this 'ascended ectoplasm.' As such, it's the only thing that we can't take into account fully. We will need to take it out quickly before the Fate Changer can use it."

Agent Z snorted, "Don't tell me you actually believe that fate nonsense."

Trigon's eyes turned as he slowly shook his head, "No, I'm not as foolish as my daughter to buy into the 'First Prophecy.' But I do know the true origin of the prophecy. The Endless worked together with a ghost to make it so."

"A ghost?" Agent Z looked intrigued, "But you told me that the prophecy is older than the ghosts...Wait, you mean the time ghost? The one in the coma?"

Trigon nodded, "Yes, the one known as Clockwork. He has interfered far too often for his own good. But those that meet with the Endless too often meet their own ends quite quickly. Like the ghost known as Scribe. But the Endless have done what they had to to set things up. They plan to stop not only me, but other threats as well."

"There will be no other threats after you," Agent Z noted.

Trigon let out a laugh, "True. But we cannot underestimate those that the Endless favor. Hope, cheer, and endurance. The components of life. We will need to take special care with them. Not only that, we will need to keep an eye out for who 'love' is."

"It obviously isn't Plasmius," Agent Z agreed, "But if the ones in the Destiny's warning are all half-ghosts, then does that mean there's another half-ghost alive right now?"

"No, their energy is too distinct for me not to notice. Perhaps later, but it is not a threat we can prepare for right now. As for the other half-ghosts..." Trigon's eyes lit up with a dark glow, "I will deal with Phantom personally. I will stop him from ever achieving the ascended ectoplasm. As for Dusk, I will leave him to you. You know him best, use his weaknesses against him."

"Very well," Agent Z bowed his head, "And what about the girl?"

A massive red hand waved out above Agent Z. Crimson energy fell from the giant fist and washed down in front of Agent Z to great a glowing red portal, "The girl is the most unruly of all the half-ghosts. She just needs to be disciplined, and I have a rather eager worshiper that is perfect for the job. Isn't that right, Brother Blood?"

An aging man with smooth blue eyes smiled from the portal. His smile quickly grew wicked, though, as his eyes began to glow a deadly red, "Of course, my master. The Cult of Blood is at your disposal."

Shiva was silent as she hung from her chains in a dark dungeon. Her muscles ached and burned from the beatings she had received. The Shadows did not take traitors lightly, especially ones as dangerous as her. Six guards stood in the room, ready to cut her down if she tried anything. In the state she was in now, even if her arms were free, she would lose in an instant.

With a loud creak of a door, light flooded into the room. Shiva winced as the light burned her eyes. She was far too use to the dark, both physically and mentally. It burned her in ways that made her feel shame. That was okay, though. Her own shame meant nothing. Cassandra would never flinch from the light like her. Not anymore.

Cheshire stepped forward until she right in front of Shiva, "The Great One wants to see you."

"Does he?" Shiva gave a small smile that almost served to reopen her split lip.

"Yes…" Cheshire nodded to the other assassins. They quickly cut the chains holding Shiva up and caught the woman before she could hit the ground, "Please don't try anything, Lady Shiva. I'd hate to have to kill someone I respect so much."

Shiva raised an eyebrow at the younger woman, "And what do you think Ra's will do to me?"

"You served him well over the years. There is a chance of a pardon," Cheshire noted.

"Don't try to give me false hope," Shiva shook her head.

"It's not for you, sensei," Cheshire stated as she turned to lead them out of the room, "It's for me."

Shiva did nothing to stop the other assassins as they dragged her out of the room, "I already told you once before, false hope if for fools. You either make your own opportunities, or you die."

Cheshire continued her walk without looking back, "So you're just accepting death?"

"No. I already made my opportunities."

Dusk knelt before the throne of Atlantis. He bowed his head so low that his forehead brushed against the marble flooring, "Forgive me. It was my fault that your son was killed."

"No!" La'gaan stepped away from Aqualad's protégés at the side of the room and knelt before his rulers as well, "Do not blame Dusk! He is an outsider that did his best! I am a native, I should have gotten us there faster."

Aquaman stared down at the two kneeling young heroes from his throne. His expression was that of complete exhaustion and mourning. He weakly raised a hand, "No. Do not blame yourselves. It was my brother's fault. He was the one that committed the atrocious act. No one else is to blame, and Ocean Master has already received his punishment."

"He deserved everything Lady Vision did to him," Queen Mera hissed from her throne. Her eyes were completely focused on a hologram that hovered over a magical shell. It was a picture of her with her husband and late child.

"Agreed," Aquaman let out a tired sigh, "She has our utmost gratitude. And with that done we can focus on moving on…"

Mera was silent. She just continued her melancholy gaze towards the picture. It looked like she was close to tears, but the water made it extremely hard to tell.

"Still..." Dusk raised his head, "I feel responsible."

Aqualad stepped forward and helped both Dusk and La'gaan to their feet, "You both may feel guilt, but neither of you have done anything wrong."

"Yes!" Aquagirl swam over to them and gave them a shaky smile, "Do not worry. No one in Atlantian blames you."

"If anyone should feel guilt, it is us," Tempest noted as he shook his head, "We are his Majesty's chosen elite. We should have done something more than get captured."

"No!" Aquaman stood from his throne, "As I said, only my brother is to blame, and that has already been settled. I do not want anyone to dwell on this anymore. It is time to move on. The more we dwell on it…" Aquaman looked over to his nonresponsive wife, "The longer it will linger."

Aqualad sighed, "You are right, my king. We should focus on our protection and work. With so many soldiers out of commission, we will be strained in all directions."

"Perhaps…we need to limit our time on the surface?" Aquagirl suggested softly.

"That will not do," Tempest argued, "It will make us look weak. Our enemies will know that we are hurt more than we look."

Aquaman rubbed his temples, "What other choice do we have, though?"

"Err, would you be willing to accept outside help?" Dusk suddenly asked with short glance behind him.

"Outside help?"

"Yes," Frostbite floated into the throne room, "Hello, my friend. You have my deepest condolences."

"Frostbite," Aquaman swam up to the ghost, "What are you doing here?"

"Vision and I have discussed what happened," Frostbite noted, "We have come to the agreement that we want to help you. Thus…" Frostbite knelt before the king, "I, Frostbite, leader of the Far Frozen, offer the services and loyalty of my people to the king of Atlantis."

"What do you mean?" Aquaman blinked at ghost.

Frostbite looked up to the hero and king, "You are both a friend and an ally. It would be an honor to help you in your time of need. All of the yeti ghosts, myself included, shall all serve under you."

"What about the safety of the Ghost Zone?" Tempest questioned.

"We have seen many times that having all our best fighters in one place has proven ineffective," Frostbite noted, "And I will be able to return at a moment's notice with the Infi-Map."

"I could not possibly accept this offer," Aquaman argued.

"My king," Aquagirl swam forward, "Please reconsider. We are in need of help. Especially with Prince…your brother gone and the queen as she is."

Aquaman looked back at his wife who had yet to look away from the picture. She didn't respond at all to the conversation, "I suppose that I cannot afford to refuse. Plus, my people do trust you, Frostbite. Very well. But there is someone else you will need to listen to."

"Oh?" Frostbite raised an eyebrow.

Aquaman swan over to Aqualad and placed a hand on his shoulder, "I am appointing Kaldur my second in command. If I am ever unavailable for any reason, he is in charge."

"My king!" Kaldur's eyes went wide, "I do not deserve such an honor."

"Nonsense," Aquaman squeezed Kaldur's shoulders, "You have proven your worth many times. I trust no one more than you, Kaldur."

Kaldur saluted his king, "Thank you, my king. I will do my best to uphold your show of confidence."

Aquaman nodded and looked over to La'gaan, "And to help with the overall protection of the city, perhaps another protégé is in order."

"Your majesty?" La'gaan's eyes widened.

"You have proven your potential," Aquaman noted, "I would be honored to train you to be one of Atlantis's elite warriors."

"It would be a dream and an honor, my king," La'gaan looked shell shocked.

Watching this play out, Dusk silently made his way out of the room. That didn't really go as he thought it would. Part of him wanted to be yelled at. Part of him wanted someone—ANYONE—to be mad at him. It didn't matter the reason, he just wanted to be told that he messed up.

"Hey, Dusk!" Robin's voice sounded through Dusk's Fenton Phones as the halfa floated to Atlantis's Zeta Tube, "Can you meet me at Fawcett City? I'm trying to talk to Freddie about the Team, but he won't listen."

Well…There was an option…

"This might sting a little," Silas Stone noted as he glanced up to Dani.

"Meaning its going to hurt like hell?" Dani snorted.

"Pretty much," Silas nodded as he began the bolt of the machinery, "Ready, 1…2…3!"

"AH! Damn it!" Dani's head snapped back as she hissed through her teeth.

"Sorry, but I did warn you," Silas stood and rubbed his hands on his lab coat, "Try to move it."

Dani looked down at the new leg connected to her at the knee. The slick black armor with white stripes running down the sides slid all the way down to her artificial toes. With a little focus, Dani moved her toes around to test her leg. She then rotated the leg and made sure it was in place, "Looks like it works."

"We used the same armor we used with…Victor," Silas glanced over his shoulder to his son who was looking on with a steady gaze, "It should give you an artificial feeling of touch, although a bit weaker than the original leg. I had to connect it to your nerves to get it to work, so it won't come off easily. But that might be a good thing considering your line of work."

"Thanks, doc," Dani jumped off the table she was sitting on and tested out her new leg with some careful steps around Axion Labs, "I can't wait to test it out in a fight. My next enemy is going to be shocked when I smash this into his face."

"Do you feel any different?" Rachel questioned as she leaned against the table.

"Yeah, it's like my legs a little numb, but it's better than nothing," Dani did some experimental hops on the leg.

"You wouldn't need that if it wasn't for me," Nyx mumbled as she gave the mechanical leg a sad look.

"Don't say that! You didn't have a say in any of it," Dani frowned at her friend, "Don't blame yourself for what Klarion did, or for what I chose to do to save you."

"Tsk…Typical Girl Scout," Nyx looked away, "I should have done more to fight. I was controlled by that douche for months. It took way too long get any semblance of self-control back. And then I lost it again. Just in time for two heroes to sacrifice their powers for me and for you to lose a leg."

"Nyx…"

"And my mom…God, what I said to Mom…" Nyx clenched her fists, "It must have torn her apart."

"Is that why you haven't gone back to her yet?" Youngblood suddenly spoke up from the corner of the lab, "It's been five days, and you haven't gotten back to her yet. Do you think that she'll be upset? Because you know that moms…Pandora isn't like that."

"I know. I'm just…" Nyx twiddled her thumbs together, "Ashamed."

"Normally, I would argue that you shouldn't be, but…" Dani pulled out a picture of Cujo, "I can't tell anyone how they should feel."

"Dani…" Victor walked over Dani and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"But I do know a thing or two about working to feel better," Dani smiled at Victor and pocketed the picture once more, "I find that confronting it makes me feel better. And you and me, Nyx are a lot alike."

Nyx let out a sigh, "Will you come with me? I know, it's lame to ask you for support after you just helped me, but…"

"I get it," Dani smiled at them, "Let's go see Pandora. Then, I want to test this foot out. I bet Vic and I can play a mean game of footsy now."

Everyone stared at her for a moment, before bursting out laughing. Even Silas was chuckling as he watched his son and friends go. When they left, though, his smile dropped.

"You didn't even try to talk to him," Elinore Stone noted as she stepped out from behind a pillar where she had been hiding.

"He didn't want to talk to me, and I didn't want to start something in front of his friends," Silas noted, "I will soon…I have to, but he's not ready yet. So, I'll leave him to his friends for now. And to his girlfriend. Our son has got himself the real deal."

"The Stone men have great taste in women," Elinore agreed, "But not the best communications skills."

"True..." Silas coughed, "Not to change the subject, but we should probably go help Nicolai and Serling. Don't want to leave them to those project on their own. They'll never get anything done."

"Yes, and we will need the Dimensional Stabilizer ready sooner rather than later," Elinore agreed, "Not to mention that gas Fenton's been working on. That's really what's got my attention. It isn't like him to be so hush hush about such a big project."

"He has his reasons. Just like with everything. It will work out. After all, just look at that Richard kid. He has a bright future ahead of him, and he's motivated Danny to start that internship program we've been hearing about," Silas looked at the mess that he made while attaching Dani's new leg, "Gah, I don't want to clean that up…"

"Let me call William," Elinore shook her head at her husband, "He'll fix your mess just like always."

"Yes, I don't know what we would do around here with that man. I just hope he doesn't get sick of the puns. I mean, William Hand the custodian? Who thought of that?"

Phantom frowned as he stood in the top of a glowing green tower. He was surrounded on all sides by strange aliens. They had a blue skin that could be comparable to some ghosts along with bright red robes with the Green Lantern symbol on the front, "So what exactly do you want from us?"

"The truth," One of the Guardians of the Universe spoke up, "Please explain the Black Lantern's movements with your Sorcerer Initiative."

"I'm sure the Green Lanterns already reported it to you," Superboy crossed his arms.

Phantom looked to his companions. Almost all of the senior members of Young Justice were in attendance except for the injured Zatanna and the busy Aqualad. Few of them looked pleased at this meeting, but most of them were respectful to the people that led the Green Lanterns.

"We would like to hear it from you."

"Well, we went to stop the Brain. Walker was there talking to Madame Rogue. He showed us his ring. We fought. Lost. Got help from Poindexter and the Mirror. Then we grabbed Mister Blood and ran," Miss Martian didn't look pleased about recanting the events where she got beaten rather badly.

"Don't forget that the energy readings show that the other Black Lanterns used the Mirror of Memories," Superboy let out a sigh.

"So there is definitely a fourth Black Lantern? And assumedly, a fifth is coming?" Another Guardian spoke up.

"That we know of at least. There could be more," Kid Flash noted but winced when Artemis elbowed him in the ribs, "Ow! It's the truth!"

Artemis leaned forward to whisper into his ear, "Now is not the time to get them paranoid, babe."

"We were once assured that there were only two rings left in existence," A third Guardian spoke, "Then there was a third, and now the numbers keep multiplying."

"With all due respect," Nightwing raised his hands in a show of surrender, "There was no way anyone could know that so many rings were still left."

"The ghosts should know," A different Guardian gave Phantom a distasteful look, "It is one of their own that created this problem."

"Oh? Just like one of your own created the Yellow Lanterns?" Rocket crossed her arms and defended her friends.

The Guardians shared a look, "Indeed, the Sinestro Corps are an issue. As are the Red Lanterns. That is why these Black Lanterns concern us. We do not know if we have the manpower to combat another army."

"There isn't an army," Phantom glared back at them, "There's only five of them, and they're all my enemies. I'll lead the charge in taking them down, especially that traitor. You don't have to worry about anything because I know those people. As long as I'm alive and kicking, they won't be able to bring themselves to focus on anything off of Earth. They'd just be brought back by the compulsion to kill me."

"Yet they have aided you before. Not only that, they avoided you completely besides using those strange Corruption Chips," A Guardian gave Phantom a look of confusion, "Why? Was that not the perfect opportunity?"

"Vision theorized that they were focused on taking out as many people as possible before getting to me," Phantom explained, "Without magic users and half the members of the Light, they would have a lot less possible enemies to deal with."

"Is that why they did it?"

"Well, we can't be certain," Phantom shrugged, "But it makes the most sense. Maybe they're also working on making new rings. Before only Nekron could make them, but it's possible that they found a way."

"Then they are creating an army."

"…Maybe. But like I said, I'll deal with that. After I deal with some other issues," Phantom raised a hand to show a glowing orb of green energy, "Until then, leave me alone. I'll contact you again once the Black Lanterns are done with."

Throwing the ball up, Phantom send out a small blast of energy. The blast swept away the hologram around them and showed the normal surrounding of the Cave. Various members of the League were waiting for their meeting to be done. Three of them looked pissed, though.

"Don't disrespect the Guardians like that," Hal Jordan glared at Phantom as he lowered his ring to completely cut off the reception. His fellow Green Lanterns all nodded as they too lowered their rings.

"Sorry, but I am not the mood to deal with anyone's crap right now," Phantom rubbed his temples, "I can't move on their schedule. Before we face the BLs, we need to deal with Trigon."

"He probably is the next big threat," Nightwing nodded at his friend, "We'll need to start thinking of some counter measures."

"We can start by making this place a fortress," Kid Flash looked around, "I've always wanted to do some redecorating around here. Maybe hang up some nice energy cannons."

"That sounds nice. A few drone fit with some ecto-guns would help too. Oh! And we should set up a few defenses walls. Weapons stocks. Shield generators. And we'll definitely need some mines," Artemis rubbed her chin in thought.

Kid Flash gave her a wanting look, "Babe, I love when you talk dirty."

"Plus, we'll need a safe room for Raven. We'll need to get Zatanna to set up some teleportation jamming runes around the place," Superboy suggested.

"Or…" Dr. Fate interrupted their conversation, "Maybe we can start talking about sending Raven away."

"Taking her off of Earth would just leave her open for Agent Z and her brothers to grab her and teleport her back," M'gann noted.

"It would be better to just bunker down," Rocket agreed.

"No, I was talking about banishing her to another dimension," Dr. Fate suggested.

"You mean…permanently?" Superboy's eyes widened.

"Yes," Dr. Fate nodded.

"Let's…let's not talk about this right now," Phantom continued to rub his temples, "I need to deal with other shit, and I'm in a pissy mood right now. You know, because my dog just died."

That shut everyone up.

"Tell Zatanna, I'll stop by later," Phantom waved back at them and headed to the Zeta Tubes, "I'm going to go talk with a my psychiatrist!"

Recognized: Danny Phantom B04, Batman 02

Phantom blinked as bright yellow light consumed him and teleported him out of the Cave. A quick glance to the side showed that Batman had moved into the Zeta Tube with him.

"Is there a reason you followed me?" Phantom questioned as he stepped out of the Zeta Tube and into an empty warehouse.

"I needed to speak with you," Batman followed him out of the Zeta Tube.

"Couldn't you just ask to speak with me later?" Phantom turned to the Dark Knight.

"This was important," Batman let out a sigh, "I wanted to talk to you about Jinx."

"Oh God, I should have known this was coming…"

"I won't tell you what to do with your love life," Batman stated, "But I do have to warn you, loving someone on the other side of the law is a difficult thing to do. It's happened to me more than once, and neither time worked out."

"Talia and Catwoman, right?" Phantom let out a smirk.

Batman scowled.

"Blame Nightwing. He likes the sound of his own voice."

Batman sighed, "Regardless, learn from my example. If Jinx isn't completely on your side, you'll never be happy. At some point, she'll have to choose between you or Savage and her life as an assassin."

"And what happens if she wants to continue being an assassin?"

"The answer is simple. If that does happen then…" Batman answered, "One day, you'll have to choose between love and being a hero."

"Come on, Fred!" Robin, in his civilian disguise, playfully punched Freddy in the arm, "You can't just up and quit on us. Just because your powers are gone, that doesn't mean you can't fight."

"No thanks," Freddy shook his head as he leaned against the wall, "I only became a hero because I had powers and people would nag me if I didn't use them right…meaning Mary…"

"Then simply go back to the wizard and demand thy powers back," Donna, also dressed in normal clothes, suggested.

"It doesn't work that way," Freddy let out a snort, "I'm not like you, Troia. I'm not entitled to my powers by birth."

"So you're just done?" Joel questioned as he walked up to his friends.

"Yep," Freddie nodded. He still didn't look at the others. His eyes were focused around the corner. Mary and Billy were talking to each other with their guardians. They seemed happy, overjoyed really. That was nothing new, though. The really big surprise was the small smile of satisfaction on Freddy's face.

"You could just work on communication with Mal," Robin mentioned.

"Really?" Freddy chuckled in amusement, "You want me sending messages?"

Donna's eyes rolled over to Robin, "He doest have a point, Jase. I can imagine him mocking our messages constantly."

"We can find you something," Joel suddenly jumped in much to the surprise of everyone, "You can't just leave."

"Yeah! We Freshman have to stick together!" Robin pumped his fists.

Freddy stared at Joel for a minute. At that point, Joel thought he would snap at them for their insistence, but Freddy just smiled and shook his head. Deep down, Joel thought that Freddy knew what he was trying to do, "No thanks. My part is over. I'll let you handle things from here."

"Art thou sure?" Donna gave him a concerned look.

"Yeah…I did more good in a couple of months than I thought I'd ever do," Freddy nodded, "I'm content, and I know Mary is too. For now on, we're going to stay out of the fight. But if you ever need some help, a place to crash, or an ear to listen, I'll be there."

"I see…" Joel nodded slowly.

"Well…I guess if we can still hang out, it'll be fine," Robin rubbed the back of his head, "But still, it will be weird not having you around anymore. And I had this huge plan set up too."

Freddy frowned at him, "I know that I'm going to regret this, but what plan?"

"This," Robing pulled a daisy out from his hidden utility belt and shoved it into Freddy's hand. Donna then stepped forward and pushed Freddy away towards Mary and Billy. They then grabbed Joel and began to pull him away.

Freddy stumbled but quickly regained his balance. Once back up right, he looked up to see Mary smiling at him. He then glanced at the flower in his hand and back to Mary, "Err…Robin…"

"Yeah, I saw," Mary plucked the flower from his hands, "You did say that you were my partner, right?"

"Err…When we were agents of Shazam…"

"Partners don't break up so easily," Mary leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, "Come on. I'll introduce you to my parents."

Freddy blinked at her for a moment before nodding, "Okay."

Down the street from the two ex-Marvels, Robin gave a smirk, "And mission accomplished."

"You were trying to set the two of them up?" Joel gave a confused look to his friend, "Since when?"

"Since I met them, man," Robin let out a laugh, "Did you really think I would just randomly try to set you up with Mary? That was just killing two birds with one stone. Get you to lighten up and get Freddy jealous. Unfortunately, that guy's smarter than he looks."

"So Jase asked me to help him take the more direct path," Donna smiled as she elbowed her boyfriend.

"I see…" Joel looked away, "Then did you really call me to help convince Fred to stay with the Team?"

"Well, that was worth a shot," Robin noted, "But if the three of the people from his generation couldn't get him to stay, then he's made up his mind."

"But there was something else," Donna added, "Cassandra asked us to tell you to meet with her. She has some news for you."

"Hello, Dani."

"Poindexter?" Spirit blinked at the black and white ghost that floated in the swirling mass of green energy known as the Ghost Zone, "Where have you been? Your library disappeared, and Vision's been looking for you."

"I know," Poindexter nodded, "She wants to know some things I can't answer, so I moved. It will be safer for me and Mirror of Memories until the time is right. Can I please speak with you alone?"

Spirit looked to her friends, specifically Nyx. The shadow ghost just shrugged, "Actually, I need a minute to psych myself up anyway."

With that, her friends floated off towards the edge of Pandora's floating island. The high maze and Greek sculptures hid everything else the island had to offer. When her friends were away, Spirit looked to Poindexter again, "What is it?"

"First, I wish to offer my condolences and apologies," Poindexter blinked rapidly like he was fighting off tears, "I did my best to save as many as possible from the bullies, but I failed your dog."

Spirit let out a sigh, "Joel, Nyx, you…People keep blaming themselves for things that aren't their fault."

"And your leg?" Poindexter looked to Spirit's fake legs. She had exchanged her normal boots for ones that extended up to her knees so that he could hide her injury, "I encouraged you to do what you had to."

"It was my decision in the end, and I don't regret it," Spirit gave him a hard look.

Poindexter's eyes glazed over, "Yes, I suppose in the end it all comes down to choice."

Spirit blinked, "Poindexter? Are you okay?"

"I'm not sure. The burden of knowledge is a heavy one," Poindexter rubbed his eyes to regain his focus, "I can understand what Master Scribe and Clockwork have gone through."

"Clockwork is still around. Don't act like he's dead," Spirit chastised him.

"Of course," Poindexter nodded slowly.

"Look, I don't know what you're going through right now, but I'll help if I can," Spirit looked over to her friends, "Just let me help Nyx first."

"That's not your only friend that needs help with parents."

Spirit's eyes drifted to Raven, "Yeah."

"Not only her. Cyborg holds bitterness in his heart, and Youngblood…Well, sometimes mothers leave heavy burdens on their children," Poindexter noted.

Spirit nodded, "I don't think Vic is ready to deal with that yet, and Chuck…He doesn't really open up much about things. I think I'll need to wait to help them. You can't help people that aren't ready to be helped, after all."

"Your words are wise," Poindexter smiled, "And you have always been wise behind your years, even if you often think outside the norm. No wonder Master Scribe gave his books to you. Tell me, have you been writing yourself?"

"I'm more of artist," Sprit shrugged.

"Writing is an art form in itself," Poindexter argued, "And the wise need to write down their wisdom, otherwise no one will remember it."

"Um…I guess…"

"Here," Poindexter reached into his coat and handed her a large black book and a pen, "You'll need this. Start writing and never stop."

"Okay…" Spirit's eyes followed Poindexter as he floated past her and away.

"Tell your family that I'm fine and that they'll see me again," Poindexter waved as he floated away, "They don't need to worry. And tell Dusk to never stop creating. He'll need every tool he has later on."

"Can do, I guess," Spirit waved and stared at the strange book in her free hand.

"You'll do great things, Danielle Masters. I'm sure of it. After all, it isn't every day that Delirium takes such an interest in one single person."

"Wait, what?" Spirit's eyes snapped up. She was surprised to see that Poindexter disappeared. With a frown on her face, Spirit looked back at the blank book in her hands. A single word stood glaringly on the front.

Memoires.

Penelope Spectra sat on a bench in the middle of the park. She watched as a young boy and his father ran around the jungle gym rejoicing as snow gently fell from the sky. Despite her eagle eyes being on the kids, she did notice when someone slipped onto the bench right beside her.

"Hello, Spectra," Phantom noted as he followed her eyes to the children playing, "A little cold to be out here, don't you think?"

"My son gets excited by the snow. He says that the purity of the white makes him for get the troubles of the world," Spectra shook her head, "Colin is definitely his mother's child."

"He said that?" Phantom eyed the red haired child, "Interesting. You made sure to dress him warm, though. That's good."

"Of course," Spectra turned to him, "Is there a reason why you're here besides small talk about my family?"

"I wanted your opinion on something," Phantom pulled a large file out of his jacket and handed it to Spectra.

Spectra opened the file. Her eyes swept through the pages while a deep frown covered her face, "This…is different. I don't think this could work. Especially with the people you want to get involved."

"That's why I brought it to you. I tend to look for the best in people, and you're more of a realist," Phantom clenched his fists, "I can't have any recruits turn on me. Not again. I want your opinion on who to bring in."

"Well, my first suggestion would to forget all of this," Spectra stated and closed the file, "But if you're determined to do this…and determined to pay me for this, then I'll do my best."

"Thanks," Phantom stood from the bench and began to head into the wooded part of the forest, "And before I forget. Thanks for helping Spirit. She's gotten a lot better."

"Of course she did. She's a strong one," Spectra smiled as she turned her attention back to her son and husband.

With one last glance back to the psychologist, Phantom continued into the forest. Once he was in the center of the woods, he stopped and waited. He was a little early, so it might be a while…

"Danny."

Or not.

Phantom turned and smiled at Jinx. He was a bit surprised when she shyly approached him. She hadn't did that since Valentine's Day. Usually, she rushed at the chance to get to him. Something was altering her behavior, and he could only think of one person that could do that.

"Phantom," Savage noted as he too stepped out of the shadows.

"Savage," Phantom's eyebrows arched down as he met Savage's stare, "What do I owe the pleasure."

"I wanted to congratulate you," Savage stated even though he looked extremely displeased, "You have effectively crippled the Light."

"I know. It's the only thing about all this that makes me smile," Phantom didn't look pleased, though, "And all it cost me was my dog. As you can imagine, that pisses me off to no end. Maybe I should take it out the rest of your little group. Finish what I started."

"You don't have the time for that," Savage smirked at Phantom, "You still have to deal with Trigon and his Pride. Taking your eyes off that would lead to disaster."

"And by the time I'm done with Trigon, the Light will be steady enough to keep functioning," Phantom nodded, "I'm well aware of that."

"That's why we are going to let you deal with that," Savage mentioned, "I know that you'll succeed. It's you after all. Still, I do want to give you some advice. I was friends with Klarion for almost my entire life. That's 50,000 years, and I abandoned him because he became a threat. He let his chaotic side get the better of him, even if there might have been an outside interference. If I could do that to someone I've known longer than the ghosts have even existed, then you can do it to someone that you've known for only a few years."

"I'm not killing Raven," Phantom glared at him.

"I think you just might," Savage argued, "After all, you've become so much more pragmatic and hardened since your early days of playing hero. You know that no matter what you choose, someone will die. That's the way it's always been on this planet. For change, for the greater good, someone has to die. The only thing about this instance is that you have the choice to decide who it will be. A girl that is destined to die? One of your little team members? Or my daughter? And I tell you this, ghost, I support this relationship because of Jennifer's choice and because of the genetic potential. If you get my daughter killed, I will kill everyone you ever cared about."

"Noted," Phantom clenched his fists.

"Good," Savage turned and began to walk away, "Until the next fight, Phantom. Hopefully by then, you'll see the Light and we won't have to be enemies again."

Phantom waited until Savage was gone before speaking again, "Asshole."

With her father gone, Jinx now threw her arms around Phantom and pulled him into a kiss. After a few seconds, she pulled away and smiled at her lover, "I've been waiting to do that."

Phantom smiled at her, "It's only been five days, Jen."

"Five days is a lot of time in our line of work," Jinx mentioned as she leaned in and began to gently kiss his neck.

"Yeah," Phantom nodded as he gently rubbed her back.

Jinx pulled away and frowned, "Please don't tell me you're going to dwell on what Dad said. He's just being protective. It's what dad's do."

"I know, and it's the one thing about him I respect," Phantom admitted, "But that's not what's bothering me."

"Then what is?"

Phantom let out a sigh, "Come home with me."

"Oh! Skipping right to the main event, huh?" Jinx's eyes twinkled as she pushed her body up against his, "I like that…"

"No, no," Phantom took a deep breath and pushed her back a bit so that he could think with his brain, "Not that it isn't tempting, because I know you won't be in the mood after what I wanted to talk to you about."

Jinx did not look pleased by this, "Alright. What is it?"

"I think I should tell you when we get there."

Joel stepped onto the rooftop that gave him a pretty good view of Gotham City. Robin and Donna were adamant about bringing him to see Cassandra. The both stood right behind him. As for the person that called the meeting, she stood at the edge of the roof overlooking her new home.

"Hello, Joel," Cassandra turned to him, "How are you doing?"

"About as well as to be expected considering what happened."

"That bad, huh?"

Joel ignored that remark, "And what about you? How are you handling everything?"

"If you are referring to the move to this city, it's been fine. I'm still restricted by Batman, but that's to be expected," Cassandra pursed her lips, "As for my mother, I'm worried as hell, but it's not like I can do anything. I have no leads and no way to travel. So, I suppose I'll just have to rely on Batman, Fenton, and my father to track her down."

"I see," Joel nodded, "So why did you want to see me?"

"I needed to know…How did it feel to kill Teekl? To hold your dog as he died?" Cassandra questioned.

Joel frowned, "Why would you ask me that?"

"Because I'm trying to make you mad, just like you've been trying to get people mad at you," Cassandra noted, "Don't think I haven't been paying attention. You're trying to get people to reprimand you, to yell at you, to tell you how badly you messed up when you really need is to just get mad yourself."

Joel's eyes hardened, "No, I don't."

"Joel, you did nothing wrong," Cassandra gave him a sympathetic look, "There was no way to save Aquaman's child. Showing compassion to a fearful animal was not wrong. And anyone would go into a rage after seeing their dog get torn apart. All this means is that you're fallible. You're human."

"I know that, but I know that I did everything I could at the time. You're right about that," Joel took a shuddered breath, "But you're wrong about needing to get angry. That's the real problem. I need someone to get mad at me because my own anger is the problem."

"What do you mean?"

"It wasn't me that killed Teekl," Joel looked at his hands in horror, "I don't even remember doing it until the very end. I mean, I had Soul Shredder in my hands and didn't even consider teleporting Teekl away. It was something inside me controlling me. An instinct in my blood. Something I inherited from my father. The killer instinct, the rage filled assassin."

"I see…"

"And I need people to yell at me…to tell me how wrong it was that I killed something…to get mad at me for letting out the worst part of me…" Joel gave her a look of a lost lamb, "To scream at me and tell me that I should never be like my father again."

"And do you really think that will help you?"

"I…I don't know. I just know that I keep seeing their faces…their dying bodies," Joel admitted, "People should be sick at me for that, and for being like my father, but they're not. Every just keeps looking at me with pity and it just makes me feel worse."

Cassandra was silent.

"People died, and I was responsible for three of them. How am I supposed to live with myself?" Joel questioned. He looked to everyone on the rook, "Not only that, how am I supposed to live with the fact that I've broken the belief that I've lived by my entire life because the blood of my father…the blood of the demon got the better of me."

"I don't know, man," Robin rubbed the back of his head, "Just one day at a time?"

"With the help of thy friends," Donna said comfortingly.

"None of that makes me feel better," Joel looked ready to cry, "It doesn't help me deal with the fact that there's a killer inside of me."

"That is true. The blood of Ra's Al Ghul does run through your veins," Cassandra admitted, "You can never get rid of it. You do have a killer in you."

"Cassandra!" Donna snapped at the other girl.

Cassandra held up a hand, "But that's not the only thing you have in you. Only half of your DNA comes from your father. What about your mother?"

"My…mother?"

"Yes," Cassandra reached into her pocket and pulled out a flash drive, "During the last days in the Shadows, I did some last second snooping. I found something very interesting. Tell me, Joel, would you like to know who your mother really was?"

Nyx stood on trembling knees in the middle of Pandora's garden. She looked on as her massively tall mother worked on trimming the hedges that lined their home. They used to do that together. It seemed like such a long time ago now.

To her complete shame, Nyx felt like running. Fear of how the next few minutes could go were ripping her insides apart. She had hurt so many people while under Klarion's control. Her mother's principles of order had been completely forsake for Klarion's chaos. Yes, it wasn't really her choice, but some part of Nyx always reveled in the chaos, and that made her sick.

It was only because of her friends that stood dozens of steps back that she was even here. Nyx felt that she didn't even deserve to be around her patient, loving mother. She never fully appreciated what her mother had done for her. Nyx was always too focused on her own wants to realize what her mother meant to her.

Gathering her courage, Nyx finally spoke. Her voice was far more quiet and scratchy than it had ever been before in her life, "M-Mom?"

Pandora froze. The sheers in her hands slipped through her fingers and bounced off the ground.

"Please…Don't get mad…Please, don't yell," Nyx fought the tears in her eyes, "I am so sorry. For everything. I have no excuses. Klarion used me like the monster he always wanted to create. I gave into chaos."

Pandora's head slumped down as her back remained pointed at her daughter.

"What I said to you at Themyscira was unforgivable. What I've done is unforgivable," Nyx lowered her head, "So I'll understand if you don't want to talk to me. But I had to come here—"

Pandora silenced Nyx by turning around, dropping to her knees, and wrapping all of her arms around her. Hot tears ran down Pandora's face as she cradled Nyx like when she was a baby, "Oh, my baby! My precious, precious child, you don't have to ask for forgiveness, because there's nothing to forgive!"

Nyx's own tears began to fall down her shocked face.

"What hurt the most when you said those words, when you did all those things, was knowing that you never had a choice in the matter. I knew how much it hurt you," Pandora began to sob, "But now you're free! You're free and you chose to come home! I haven't been this happy since the day I first held you in my arms!"

"B-But, I didn't come back at first," Nyx trembled and shook in despair, "I let you suffer because I was too weak to face you."

"My pain, my suffering means nothing as long as you're safe and happy," Pandora began to rock Nyx back and forth, "I would have waited until the end of time to see you again if you weren't ready to come home. But now you're here. That's all that matters now. Welcome home, Nyx. I missed you every single second that you were gone. I love you, baby girl."

Nyx dug her face into her mother's chest. Her arms wrapped desperately around her mother and held onto her like a lifeline, "Mommy! I love you too!"

Not wanting to ruin the scene, most of Nyx's friends turned and began to walk way. Raven fought back every single surge of emotion in her as she suddenly wanted to go home and hug her mother. Cyborg had a pensive look as he thought about what just happened. And Youngblood was openly sobbing. He cried into his arms and whispered things that no one could understand but the bird on his shoulder. Polly just lightly pecked Youngblood's head and whispered back about how this is what mothers really are.

As for Dani, she just stood and watched the scene with a smile on her face. Mother and daughter had been reunited. This scene, this moment, was worth losing one hundred legs.

Looking down at the book she still carried in her arm, Dani opened to the cover. She then pulled out her picture of Cujo and placed in the slot on the front cover. The halfa girl then brought out her pen and began to write about this loving moment of reunion between parent and child.

"Forgive me," Fright Knight stated as she stood by Vlad and Vision in the memorial room. It was a large, relatively empty room in mansion. The only thing in the rooms were stones with names carved into them. On one side were names of fallen allies. The other side had names of fallen enemies, "I should have done more to save Cujo."

"We all should have done more," Vision noted as she knelt in front of the newest stone on the ally side.

Recently, a lot of changes had change on who got a memorial. After all, Agent Z had returned, and it wasn't certain that the Royal Flush Gang, Lydia, Gizmo, and Undergrowth were actually dead. Add in the fact that Secret didn't die in combat, and they had to make a lot of changes, even adding a name from a ghost that passed a long time ago.

Desiree: Her wish was granted

Klemper: A true friend

Skulker: The Ghost Zone's greatest Hunter

Scribe The Ghost Writer: Author, reader, and ally

Solomon Grundy: Born on a Monday

Red Huntress/Valerie Gray: Loyal fighter and loved one

Wulf: He lived and died free

Secret: A pure, beautiful soul

Cujo: A good dog

As for the enemies…

Vortex: The perfect storm

Freakshow: Ringmaster of reality

Spectre: Spirit of vengeance

The Brain: Brilliant inventor

Klarion: Lord of chaos

Ocean Master: At—

Vision's eyes swept over to the villains side of the room. While she understood and respected Danny's wish to remember his enemies, she refused to give that monster Ocean Master any sort of title. She would make sure he was never forget so that people would always spit on his name.

Vlad gently placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'm guessing that we'll be postponing the wedding once again."

"I'm sorry," Vision felt her eyes began to water.

"This time, I think everyone will agree," Fright Knight spoke up, "Just like after le Fey's attack. The mood isn't right."

"It isn't, but I want it to happen by the end of the year," Vision noted, "So, it will be set after we deal with Trigon. No matter what," Her hands moved to her stomach. She wanted to get married. She wanted to start a family. She wanted to start working on having a baby.

"Hey, guys," Danny spoke up as he stepped into the memorial room.

"Lord Phantom," Fright Knight turned to the halfa and bowed.

"Hehe…" Jinx chuckled as she followed Danny into the room, "That's neat. Does he do that every time you approach him?"

"He's been doing it more since Cujo died," Danny sighed and gestured for the Fright Knight to stand up, "Come on, Fright Knight. Stop it."

"My apologies, my liege," Fright Knight immediately stood, "I feel that I have been doing a poor job as your knight lately."

"You've been doing the best you can," Danny gave him a smile.

"Daniel, may I ask why you brought your…friend in here?" Vision asked politely, "I understand that she visits your room from time to time, but I would prefer not to have someone with mixed loyalties to move around my home. Especially in such a sacred room."

"Sacred room?" Jinx looked around, "Oh, so this is the memorial room you mentioned. Cool. I don't see why this would ruin my mood, though."

"That's not it. I didn't know they would be in here," Danny looked to Vlad, "Vlad, you once said that you tried to move on from my mom before Vision, right?"

Vlad looked to Vision. He had been completely open to her about every point in his life, so there was no point in denying anything, "Yes. I did have flings and such things. But besides Vision and your mother, only one woman ever really took hold of my heart, and she left me a long time ago without a word. After…"

"After you told her about being half-ghost," Danny finished, "She left, but not because she was disgusted by what you were."

"Why then?"

"Because she was afraid of what you would do when she died," Danny sighed, "Vlad, what was her name?"

"It…It was June. June Moon."

Danny made sure to gently grab Jinx to keep her from falling.

Vlad blinked, "What is it?"

"No…" Jinx's eyes began to tear up, "This can't be."

"It is," Danny sighed and looked to Vlad again, "Vlad, June was a magic user. A powerful one at that. She could sense issues that happened when she realized that she was pregnant. She knew that she was going to die in child birth, so she ran away because she knew it would break you. She ran to the one person that could help her. To an ancestor that would take care of her baby when she was gone."

"I don't…What?"

"June was Jinx's mother," Danny explained, "That means that you're her father...her real father, Vlad."

Ember stared down at the paper in her hands as she sat in the back of her tour bus. She had been debating for months about what to do with the vague memory of her father. A lot of ghosts couldn't handle the memory of what they once had. It drove them to madness more often than not, so for a long while Ember just sat on the memory.

Things had changed, though. She was living her obsession after all. People were chanting her name every day. Maybe she was strong enough to handle it. That was why she surfed the Internet and used what she remember to track down the name of her hometown. Still, she was reluctant to go there.

She wasn't sure that learning about her past would make her happy. So far, she hadn't let anything get in the way of her dream. Ember didn't even let the Sorcerer Initiative get in the way. Of course, Danny didn't even bother to ask her for help. She had no idea what the reason would be. Maybe Trever asked him not to. Maybe Danny felt guilty and didn't want to face her. Or maybe it was because she had never been all that reliable in fighting for justice or the greater good when it really didn't involve her.

Hell that might be the reason he didn't ask a lot of the ghosts for help.

…Damn, she was distracting herself again…

"Stay focused, Ember," She chastised herself, "You have to make a decision." Holding the paper in her right hand, Ember lit her left hand aflame. If she wanted to, she could burn the paper. It would only take a second, and she would be done with this.

If she burned the paper, she could just move on with her life. Ember would continue to work to complete her obsession. Soon, she would reach the level of stardom that would leave her satisfied and be able to move on content with her work. If she did that, though, she would be choosing the path of blissful ignorance. She didn't know if her pride would ever let that go.

On the other hand, going back home would reveal the truth to her. That, however, would place a heavy burden on her. She would have knowledge that drove most ghosts to insanity. No matter what, she would change. For better or worse, she would be different. Ghosts were stagnant beings that didn't deal with change well, and that might cost her obsession…or drastically change to something impossible.

Ember took a deep breath. Ignorance or truth. Set satisfaction or possible suffering. Joyful stagnation or difficult change. Those were her choices.

Closing her flame covered fist, she extinguished the flames. She made her choice. It was time to go home.

Shiva grunted as she was shoved to her knees. She was kneeling in large thrown room. Ra's sat on the throne with Ubu right by his side. Several of the greatest assassins in the world stood at the side of the room. A quick glance around allowed her to see Deathstroke and Ravager on one side of the room while Sportsmaster stood on the other side.

Bowing, Cheshire and the other assassins that escorted her moved to the side walls as well, leaving Shiva alone in the middle of the room with everyone's eyes on her.

"Well…" Ra's eyed her from his throne, "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Shiva looked up to meet his gaze, "I really don't think there's anything else for me to say."

Ra's frowned. He stood and made his way to Shiva, "Really? No excuses? No pleas for your life?"

"No," Shiva shook her head, "That wouldn't do any good."

"True," Ra's nodded as he began to walk around Shiva, "You always had my upmost respect, Shiva. Your loyalty to me may have only been based on your child's safety, but that's a loyalty I could rely on in any circumstance. At least until you got a better offer from Phantom."

"You knew about me and Cassandra for a while," Shiva noted, "Your thugs said that as they beat me. Why leave us be?"

"The same reason I do everything," Ra's stopped in front of Shiva once more and crouched in front of her, "To gain my heir. If letting you play the double agent for a while let that happen, then so be it. And it worked, Joel has made his first kill. It may be for Klarion's cat, but at this point, I'd accept any movement in the right direction at all."

Shiva let out a chuckle, "That doesn't mean anything. You had to manipulate the worst possible circumstances for him to falter even a little bit. I've seen it before. Men with faith, with real resolve to something bigger than himself, always grow stronger when they stumble."

Ra's frowned and stood up, "We will see. I have time, though. Either he will become the heir I'm looking for, or I go with my younger heir."

"Younger heir?" Shiva questioned, "You haven't' been with a woman since his mother."

"An heir doesn't need to be his child," Talia's voice sounded out as she stepped out from behind the throne, "It can be his grandchild."

"No…" Shiva whispered as she saw the child in Talia's arms.

"His name is Damian," Talia gave her son a look of pure adoration, "It took a lot of effort to get my beloved to help me make him, but it was worth it."

"But if you have him, why still focus on Joel?" Shiva questioned.

Talia pursed her lips, "A wise woman once told me, 'You'll understand if you ever become a mother. No matter what, you want to give your child the best life possible.' That is what I want. Being Father's heir is a heavy burden. If I can help him avoid that, I will."

"But no matter what, I will have my heir. My time as head of the Shadows will come to an end," Ra's noted, "As such, you have outlived your usefulness."

"Very well," Shiva looked on impassively.

"But…" Ra's paused, "You did save my life many times. The latest being keeping le Fey's attacker away from me all those months ago. I owe you a debt, one that I need to repay. Name your wish, and I will grant it."

Shiva's eyes lit up, "Any wish?"

"Any wish that is within my power to grant," Ra's nodded.

"I see, then I want…" Shiva met Ra's eyes, "I want for you to leave Cassandra be. Do not hunt her down. Do not attempt to kill her. Let her live her life how she sees fit."

"I see…So you don't want to use the request for yourself?" Ra's questioned.

"No. You consider Cassandra a traitor as well. My wish is for you to forgive her. Her life is all that matters to me besides David, and he isn't on your hit list."

"I see…My respect for you grows," Ra's noted as he unsheathed his sword, "But that doesn't mean that I can let you live. You had your last request. I shall fulfill it. Know that in death, you have saved your daughter."

"Thank you," Shiva closed her eyes and took one deep breath. She heard as Ra's sword rose and several different people across the room took a deep breath. Despite knowing that the blow was coming, she didn't flinch or tense up. She was ready for the peace of death. As Ra's sword swung down, Shiva had one last thought.

'Cassandra…David…I love you.'

Then, there was only darkness.