He stopped me as I entered the room, saying, "Nick. Listen. What I said earlier was harsh. But it wasn't entirely wrong, either. You're an ok guy, just..." He searched for a word, and I halfheartedly supplied one, saying, "Lazy?" He shook his head, and said, "No, that wasn't what I meant, exactly. You're out of shape, man. How can you do that to yourself, just letting your body waste away, when you could be doing so much more?" He stopped, and waved a hand, as if dismissing his words. "Nevermind. Good night." He turned and left, leaving me confused. He liked me but he hated me because I was overweight? I didn't understand. I supposed I didn't need to, really. I went to bed, waking up to the chime of my doorbell once again.
Starfire greeted me warmly as I opened my door, and pulled me into another of her hugs. "Friend Nick, let us make this day wonderful," she exclaimed, in her unique way. I smiled and told her I'd do my best. She seemed happy with that, and led me to breakfast, chatting with me the whole way. I found out that she was dating Nightwing, though I'd suspected this earlier. She and the other Titans had been working together for many years now, and they had learned to be quite effective. As we passed through the halls, I received a few taunts, along the lines of "Go home" and "Fatass" and the like. Starfire looked angry, and yelled back, "That is unkind! You will apologize!" The costumed heroes did so grudgingly, obviously not wanting Starfire more upset than strictly necessary. The rest of the day blurred by as she escorted me, and before I knew it, the week was almost done, and I was being called into a meeting. My escort for the day was Superman. I'd already been informed of his powers, and his identity, which I'd had to swear never to reveal. I'd done so without any problem. I didn't think it was a good idea to tell people those sort of things, anyway. As we entered the meeting room, I noticed that all my previous escorts were there, as well as Martian Manhunter. I sat at a chair. "Well, Nick," began Manhunter, "We've yet to find out anything that Slade may be planning. And now I am afraid that unless you have more information, I must ask something very difficult of you." I shook my head, then said, "I've got nothing else. I'm sorry. What did you need me to do?" Manhunter sighed, and then after a moment, said, "We need you to go back to your life. But more than that, we need you to be plainly in sight at night, around the area you sighted Slade, and the surrounding areas."
I looked at him, shocked. "Wait..." I said, "you want me to be a decoy? You want me to snoop around, hoping Slade will find me and go after me?" Manhunter nodded, looking pained. "Slade obviously thought you had something on him," he pointed out. "He'll come for you if you let yourself be seen. Believe me, this is not easy for me to ask. Will you do this for us?" I thought about it. My first thought was to tell them to go shove their crazy idea. But then I realized that this was something I needed to do. If they caught Slade, everyone would be that much safer for it. And I could help. "I'll do it," I told him. He sighed, both relieved and unhappy. "Thank you," he said. "We'll begin the operation in three weeks. We need them to believe we think you're completely safe. In the meantime, things will be a little different for you, up here, as you'll see soon enough." I nodded. Three weeks. I had three weeks until I could possibly be sacrificing myself for the others of the city. Three weeks until I could die. But that wasn't certain. I forced my thoughts away from that subject. Superman led me from the room, and back to my own room. I spent the rest of the day practicing what Raven had been teaching me, and generally relaxing. Supergirl came over, and we talked for a while. Just before she left, she assured me that everything would be fine, and that there was nothing to worry about. I agreed with her, not wanting to argue that particular topic. She left, and I went to bed.
In the morning, I awoke to the now familiar chime. I dressed and answered the door, to find Nightwing standing there. "Come on," he said. "We have a lot to do today." I followed him to breakfast, then he lead me to a training room. "From now on," he explained, "every morning you'll be working with me and the other Titans. Mostly me, though. We're going to whip you into as good of shape as we can in three weeks. The rest of your free time is yours, so you can keep working with Raven and do whatever you want. But eight hours a day, you belong to us." I nodded, understanding the need. I thought I knew what to expect. I soon found out I was wrong. Nightwing was a tough trainer, almost merciless, and I tired quickly. But he drove me on, not allowing me to quit, and by the end of the day, I knew I was going to see results. His regimen consisted of multiple weight loss exercises, as well as self defense lessons. He and the other Titans trained me ruthlessly, and I got zapped by more than one of Starfires low powered blasts during the course of the day. At the end of it, I stumbled home, led by Cyborg, and slept for a few hours until the phone rang. I woke and answered it. It turned out to be Raven. "Nick, we need to continue your lessons," she told me. "Come over as soon as you can." So saying, she hung up, and her image faded from the screen. I dragged myself out of my room and proceeded to her room, where we meditated, as she pointed out ways to help me relax and concentrate. And so it was for the next three weeks. My routine copied that of the first day, with me waking up, eating, then training for eight hours. Then I would rest for a few hours, be awakened by Raven, and proceed to practice with her. By the end of the second week, I had even begun asking for more combat training. Nightwing was surprised by this for a moment, but then cracked the biggest smile I'd seen yet from him, and said, "Let's go!" I didn't regret a single moment of it, and I'm sure they didn't either. But then, one day, instead of the enthusiastic Nightwing I was now used to, I was met by a somber and serious one.
"It's time," he told me. "You're going home today. So let's go say goodbye." I nodded, and we went to meet the other Titans. Starfire hugged me tightly as soon as I entered, squeezing the wind from me. There were tears in her eyes. "Friend Nick," she exclaimed, "Today is the day of our parting." As she released me, I gathered my breath. "Yeah," I said. "I'm leaving today. I'll draw out Slade. You guys do the rest. Cool?" I held out my fist, and Cyborg pounded it. Changeling smacked my shoulder, and Raven nodded very slightly to me. "Do not allow yourself to be defeated by that scum," implored Starfire. "He is villanous and deceitful!" I smiled, as her manner of speaking never failed to have that effect on me. "Hey," I said, "don't worry about me. You worry about taking that bastard down." Nightwing walked around so that I could see him, and spoke. "Listen, Nick. If it looks bad, get out of there. Slade is not a man you want to fight." I shrugged, not understanding how right he was. "Let's go," he said. "Manhunter is waiting for us." We left, the other Titans leaving with us. Soon we were in the meeting room. I sat, facing Manhunter, and the Titans sat around me. "So," I began. "It's time, huh?" Manhunter nodded, and I continued. "So what happens after this? Do I just go back to my life?" Manhunter smiled, and said, "Well, assuming this works, that is certainly the most viable option for you." He paused. "However," he continued, "The Titans, as well as some of the others, have asked me to extend to you the offer of continued residency here. They say you are making progress, and have potential, and I am loathe to let any such person go, if it can be helped." I looked around. This was definately not what I'd expected, or meant. I'd hoped they'd have more patrols in Gotham, but this... this was something different altogether. "I'll think on that," I said. "Please do," he told me. It didn't take long after that until I was home. And now that I was, my day felt rather empty. Of course, my job had been preserved, so I had that. The Justice League had been kind enough to explain things to them, and they'd agreed not to fire me. I did as many of the exercises I was now used to as I could, within the time frame I had, and with what limited resources I had. It surprised me how many of these I could actually do, and before I knew it, it was time to shower and go to work. Work was dull, in comparison, but the customers were usually the good kind, so it wasn't exactly bad. The day dragged on to a close, and finally I clocked out and left.
As I wandered the streets, I made a point to be visible, but tried not to overdo it. I looked in all the side streets on the way, but didn't explore them more than necessary. It didn't take long until I was at the same alley I'd seen Slade in before. This one I did explore. I looked around in it, up the walls and around all the objects. But there was nothing inside, not even a bum. I didn't find anyone the entire way home, in fact. Nor did I find anything unusual for the rest of the week. It wasn't until Tuesday that something happened. I'd been searching the streets for a week, and nothing at all had happened. Over the week my enthusiasm had slowly waned. Now, although I still checked the streets, I barely glanced down them. I'd begun to think that nothing would happen. I was proven wrong when I came across the alley where it had started. I glanced down it, then started to walk on, but then looked back, realizing someone was there. I looked around, and within the alley stood Slade, looking as relaxed and bored as he could, covered in the manner that he was. "Thought you were safe, didn't you," he asked. I couldn't argue with him. After all, he was right. He began walking slowly towards me, and I tensed up. I knew how fast he was, and I knew there was no running. I did the only thing that came to mind: I ran at him. I tried to be offensive, but I quickly learned that that wasn't an option. I was pushed into the defensive, and it was clear that he was only toying with me. I found myself leaning over, out of breath, with his fist in my stomach. He leaned over, saying, "Your watchdogs are a little occupied tonight. So let's make this easy on both of us. What did you tell them?" I blinked, realizing that this was my only advantage. He didn't know how little I knew. "Not much," I replied. "They didn't offer me much in return for it." I could sense Slades smile under his mask, as he said, "Holding out for a better deal? Risky move. Especially since you know I can't let you squeal." Quickly I realized my mistake. It didn't matter how much I knew, because Slade wanted to keep me from talking. "Now, I could kill you," he told me, "but that would hardly be entertaining. I have something better for you." I started to protest, to tell him I wouldn't let him, but he cut me short by slamming me into a wall. I felt it crumple around me, and gasped for breath that didn't want to come. Then Slade was gone, no longer touching me, and I could hear the sounds of a fight around me. I looked up, and my hopes soared as I saw the Titans, fighting Slade. Unfortunately, there were a few other people fighting the Titans, as well. A large scaley thing I assumed was a man, with sharp teeth and claws, and a rather large bald man in what looked to be a suit that kept him cold. He had a glass bubble around his head. Soon, Batman dropped from a roof, and the fighting became less one sided. I recovered my breath, but I realized that against people like this, I could do nothing. I had no weapons and not enough training. The scaled man was simply too strong and durable for me. He'd rip me in half. The other guy would just freeze me solid. And fighting Slade was ridiculous. But I knew I had to do something, so I joined Nightwing in fighting Slade, because I saw he needed some help.
My decision seemed to startle Slade, and for a few moments we had the advantage, and I kicked him into a wall, relishing the crunch he made when he hit it. But then he recovered, and he was angry. He came at us with a flurry of attacks that we could barely block, having to cover each other frequently. Soon I began to realize how true Nightwings warning had been. When Slade got serious, he was a force unto himself. Now he was angry, and could not be denied by only Nightwing and myself. I managed to glance around at the situation briefly as we stumbled back. Cyborg and Changeling were helping Batman take down the scaled man, and Starfire and Raven were handling Frosty Pants. Starfire and Raven looked enraged, and Frosty Pants looked like he was in trouble. Good news for us. I turned my attention back to Slade, who was trying to behead Nightwing. I hadn't realized he'd had swords before this, but Nightwing had brought out his staff to block them. I rejoined the fray, but Slade was now too much for me, armed as he was. "I've had enough of this," he declared, as he pinned Nightwing, before scooping me up and leaping to a rooftop. I struggled, as I saw that Starfire and Raven were finished with Frosty Pants. They were rushing to help, but it was too late. I felt a strong thump on my skull, and passed out. I awoke some time later, in what seemed to be a lab. I was strapped to a surgery bed. Slade was standing nearby, with someone who was dressed in a lab coat and jeans. He seemed to be a scientist. "Awake at last," Slade said. "I was beginning to grow impatient. But I'm a reasonable man, Nick. Oh yes, I know you. You're a baker, you just bought your first car, and you were a fat man before you stumbled upon me. Now, back to business. Just tell me what they know, and this will go much easier for you." I looked at him, disbelieving, before I laughed. "Don't lie to me, Slade," I told him. "I know that no matter what I tell you, you won't let me go. So spare me the negotiations and just do what you brought me for." Slade nodded approvingly, saying, "Well, well, well. A smart man. I appreciate men who look reality in the eye, so I'll tell you what we'll do, before we do it. The good doctor here is going to inject you with a little serum that we developed. What it does is... well, it makes normal people develop powers. Unfortunately, the doctor tells me there is a side effect of insanity. After I change you, we'll use you to distract and perhaps destroy your former friends. It will give us time to charge the Ionized Echo Cannon. A lovely weapon, that. It..." his words were lost as the scientist approached, and injected me. I immediately lost interest in what Slade was saying as unbearable agony filled my mind. My entire body was on fire with the pain, and I could feel something changing inside me. What it was, I couldn't say. Nor did I care as I passed into blissful darkness, as the pain caused me to lose conciousness.
When I awoke, I felt different. I was angry, and I wasn't sure why. Why didn't matter. I wanted to take it out on everything around me. My eyes focused on the nearest person: Slade. But Slade had already planned on this. "Come with me," he said. "I'll help you get rid of the ones that caused you to feel this way." He seemed to make sense to me, so I burst out of the straps that held me, and stood before him. "Take me," was all I said. He understood, and he said, "Ah, but first, we must make you a force to be reckoned with. You must be ready to make them hurt, to make them regret how they hurt you." Again, his words made sense to me, although something nagged me. I went with him, as he led me to a training room. Slade had studied me very closely after our encounter, it seemed, and it didn't take long for him to discover what to teach me. I liked Japanese swords. Katanas to be exact. Slade used similar swords himself, and knew many styles of assassination techniques. Thus, he armed me properly and began to teach me something he knew I would readily agree to learn: Battoujutsu. This sword style would fit my likings, be efficient in assassination, and still be of use in a direct confrontation, especially when complimented with more ordinary sword styles. It suited him just fine, teaching this to me. And so over the next eight months, I trained with Slade. Slade taught me not only combat techniques, but also how to hate. And he directed that hate at the Justice League. More specifically, at the Titans. The Titans, who I barely remembered. I didn't like thinking about them, because every time I did, something began to bother me. And when something bothered me, I got angry. Even Slade soon began to brush over those topics quickly. Over that eight months, Slade had the scientist study the changes I'd undergone, and found something astonishing. It hadn't given me superpowers. It had changed my powers. Though I hadn't known, and neither had Slade, in my genes had lain a dormant power, which was beyond study now. The formulas had awakened and altered those powers. Now I possessed powers much like Slades. Agility, strength, accuracy, balance, all my natural strengths were augmented, intensified to superhuman level. Though my strength could not match Superman, it was formidable, though I was no match for the likes of Slade without help. But help I had, for with these natural augmentations came a terrible power, one I could not control. If I were become enraged, my powers would be amplified horribly, and I would become nearly unstoppable. In this state I was prone to attack anyone and everyone around me. Slade had found this out the hard way, and I had destroyed a large section of our hideout before I could be subdued.
After the eight months, Slade declared me to be ready, and he gave me a mission. I had a target to eliminate. As I left on my mission, Slade gave me new equipment, a costume, and a new name. He called me Berserker. And so I left, and found myself a place where I could watch my target. He was a small man, with flaps like wings on his costume. His costume was red and white. I waited until he leapt from a building, then leapt after him. I could not glide as he could, but that was no problem. I simply jumped higher and further than he did. It was over in a flash. One moment he was gliding peacefully, the next, he was falling in two separate pieces, as I landed on the ground, swiftly fleeing the scene. I chuckled to myself as I returned to the hideout. That had been too easy. Upon returning, Slade drolly congratulated me, then told me not to get comfortable. He already had another target for me. As I'd come to find out, Slade hated Green Arrow. He never clarified why, but he wanted him to suffer. So I wasn't too surprised when he told me the new target was the Green Arrow's new fiance. They were having a date that night, and Slade wanted me to interrupt it, while Green Arrow was without his weapons. I laughed as he gave me the details. It sounded like fun. "Can I rip him apart too," I asked. Slade chuckled, saying, "Now now, let's not get ahead of ourselves. I want Green Arrow to live with this, and remember this day forever." I promised Slade that he would. Then I left, getting in place as quickly as I could. Then I waited, watching for the ill-fated couple. It took a few hours, but they turned up, strolling right into my path. Just as I had thought, they were wandering into a secluded spot before the movie started, probably for some pre movie kissing. I saved them the trouble by dropping down as they passed underneath me, slicing into the woman with my sword. She fell to the ground, blood spurting from the massive wound, which stretched from her chest to her stomach. I wiped my sword clean on the grass, then sheathed it as I walked towards Green Arrow. I walked up next to the stunned hero, putting my arm around his shoulder in a friendly manner. "Oh man," I said, "too bad about your girl there." I patted him on the shoulder. "Ah, no worries, man. Plenty of fish in the sea, right? Be seeing you around." And so saying, I leapt up and over to the roof, leaving him to stand there as I returned to the hideout. The day was definitely going well. Two kills in a single day. Slade gave me the next few days to myself, then called me to him during the third day. He gave me his location on the way, and I met him within ten minutes.
As I approached, I saw that there was a guy standing near Slade. When I got closer, I realized it was Steve. "Hey, buddy," I said as I got close. "What are you doing out here? I thought I'd have the day off, maybe have a nap then go find a hot date, but duty calls." Slade chuckled, and said, "Probably looking for a cinnamon roll." Steve gave Slade a 'you're a moron' look, and said, "Actually, it's Nick that likes those. I like..." Slade interrupted him, saying, "Well, that's good. They're nothing but fatty fuel anyways." I got annoyed, and yelled, "Hey! Don't talk shit about cinnamon rolls! They're delicious!" I grabbed a random passerby, and dragged his face close to mine, saying, "Hey. Do you like cinnamon rolls?" He quickly asserted that he did not, and I made a sound of disgust as I tossed him out into the street, and he screamed right before being hit by a bus. "Holy shit," Steve shouted. "Are you fucking crazy, Nick?" I laughed, and said, "What does the life of someone like him matter, Steve? Someone who crawls around like a bug all day, sniveling and selfish. That man would not have cared if it had been you. So tell me. Why does it matter?" "It matters," Steve yelled back. "You don't just kill people! What the hell is wrong with you?" I began to laugh again, hysterically. "Wrong," I replied. "What is wrong, Steve? Wrong is just a word the weak use to justify their weakness. The strong are the ones who rule. We're in charge! Why can't you see that?" Steve looked shocked at my words. "You're not the guy I knew," he told me. "You're a crazy asshole. I'm out of here. I don't want anything to do with you." He walked off as I stood there, taken by surprise by his statement. I let him leave as Slade turned to me. "You see," he said, "they don't understand. They'll never understand you. It's why they threw you away like a broken toy." "Yes," I agreed. "Well, if they won't understand, I'll just have to crush them all." "That's the spirit," Slade said approvingly. As we headed back to the hideout, I looked over at Slade. "It's time for me to take care of some unfinished business," I told him. "Oh," he inquired. I shook my head slightly, replying, "Stay out of this one. It's all mine." He chuckled, and said, "I wouldn't dream of interfering. Just don't get in over your head." I grunted and went silent. I prepared myself, gathering tools that I thought I needed, such as shuriken and throwing knives.
When I had finished the preparations, I waited for night to fall, then left without a word. I roamed Gotham, sticking to the shadows as I searched. I found more than one hero as I searched, but I ignored them as I searched for my target. Then, close to midnight, I found him. Nightwing was patrolling, slowly combing the city, when I dropped from the shadows. I walked up behind him, but made no move to attack. Instead I spoke. "Looking for something, Nightwing?" He turned quickly as he heard my voice, and said, "Nick!? We've been searching everywhere. When did you escape?" I laughed heartily. "Escape? I didn't escape," I told him. "After the rest of you abandoned me to my fate, I came to my senses." He shook his head, saying, "No, that's not how it was! We tried, we did everything we could!" I snorted derisively, and said, "Shut up. I'm not here for your excuses. I'm here for your life." So saying, I lunged forward at him, slashing at him as I drew my blade. He blocked with his staff, and countered quickly. As we traded blows with weapons and fists, I realized I was outclassed. As the realization sunk in, I grew angry. I had learned so much, how could Nightwing be so much more skilled than I was? As my rage grew, so did my strength, and the match began to even up again. Nightwing grew confused as I began to overpower his strikes occasionally, and his confusion drove him into a defensive. "What's the matter, Nightwing," I taunted him, "not used to being-ARGH!" I yelled in pain as a beam of sonic energy blindsided me. I flew backwards into a wall as Cyborg ran onto the scene. "Nightwing," he called out, "what the hell is going on, man?" Nightwing pointed at me. "He's crazy! Slade's changed him somehow." I stood up as Cyborg joined Nightwing. "What happened, man," he asked me. "This isn't you." I laughed again, and said, "And what would you know? None of you understand. That's why I have no choice but to destroy you all!" I heard Changeling's voice echoing through the streets as he approached, and said, "Tch, looks like I'll have to continue this another time, Nightwing. But don't forget that we're enemies now. Next time you won't escape." I jumped up, rebounding off of the wall, and landed on a rooftop. Then I took off into the night.
As I fled across rooftops, I noticed I was being pursued by Raven and Starfire. With a smirk, I began to throw shurikens at them. They dodged, as I'd known they would, right into the path of the smoke bombs I'd thrown right after. The best I could hope for from this was a short distraction, with them flying at the speeds they were. I didn't get even that, however, as they didn't hesitate in flying straight through the smoke after me. I cursed as I saw how fast Starfire was flying at me, and turned to throw some knives at her. They fell from my hands when she caught me and flew with me, pinning me against a wall in an alley at ground level. I struggled to get free against her strength, but it was no use fighting her with just strength. "Friend Nick, please stop this," she pleaded. "I have no wish to harm you!" I gave her a look filled with hate as I replied, "I don't need your lies, Starfire. And I have no such wishes for you." So saying, I kicked off from her stomach, launching myself into a backflip. With the wall behind me, I had to rebound over her head. As I flipped over her, my sword came out of the sheath, and cut through her shoulder as she turned to stop me. She gasped as she stumbled back against the wall, holding her shoulder to stem the blood flow. "Friend Nick," she said, "Why do you do these things? This is not who you are. You are a good person!" I looked down as I shook the blood from my blade, and my shoulders trembled with my silent laughter, which soon began to erupt from me. As I finished laughing, I said softly, "And what do you really know about me, Starfire? You who abandoned me? You know nothing. But me, I see now. I see who you really are, you and the other so called 'heroes'." I heard footsteps behind me, and turned, deciding that Starfire was no longer a threat. I saw Cyborg and Nightwing approaching with Raven, and smiled. A moment later I noticed a flicker of movement off to the side, and sidestepped as Changeling came rushing at me, in the form of a bull. He changed into a bird and flew up behind the others as I launched myself at Nightwing, and reverted to his natural form as we began fighting. Nightwing blocked my sword with his staff time after time, and Cyborg rushed in, and I frowned as the tide turned in their favor. Changeling seemed a bit shocked as he watched me fight the two of them. "Dude, when did Nick get so good," he wondered aloud. I flipped off a wall, throwing shurikens at all three of them, followed by more smoke bombs, just as I had before. I tried to run off again, but Raven wasn't fooled, and she pinned me against a wall with her powers, and floated closer to me. I tried to avoid looking at her, as something in my mind screamed at me, but she forced me to look, and said softly, "Nick, why are you doing this? What did Slade do to you?" I trembled as my mind tried to look for the answers, but found none. I shook my head in silence, having no answer for her. Sweat beaded up on my brow as I struggled inwardly to find those answers for myself. I analyzed everything Slade had told me, all the feelings and thoughts he'd given me, but the answers kept slipping away from me as I searched for them. "Don't worry," Raven told me. "We're going to take you back with us and help you." She looked at me intently for a moment, then said, "Can I release you, or will you try to kill me?" I looked at her, not sure for a moment. Then, as familiar memories filtered in, I said, "No. Not you, Raven. Release me, and I'll see the truth for myself, if you have any to offer." She nodded, and I caught myself as I fell to the ground.
Nightwing approached me, with a pair of restaints in hand. "Don't take this the wrong way, Nick," he told me, "but I need to put these on you." I offered my hands to him, saying, "Put the damn things on then. We both know they won't stop me anyways." Nightwing shook his head and sighed as he latched them onto me, and Nightwing helped Starfire up as they led me back to their vehicle, and then to the transport to the Justice League headquarters. As we wandered through the hallways of the orbital base, many heroes gave out catcalls and taunts. I smirked at them, as Cyborg and Starfire rebuked them, Cyborg calmly, and Starfire passionately. I was led into a medical bay, where Manhunter waited with the rest of my old escorts. I sat on a bed, and a doctor began to examine me. It didn't take more than a few minutes before the doctor injected me with what he claimed was an antidote. After a few more minutes, my mind began to clear. Soon I was thinking normally again, though the strange anger in me remained. The doctor explained to me that the agent Slade had used on me was a variant of one he used more often, which caused paranoia and heavy delusions. The one he had used on me focused more upon leading the victim to believe what they were told soon after exposure. The symptoms would worsen with time, but without foundation, eventually the mind would begin to reject the new information. Since Slade had never bothered to provide a solid backing to his lies, exactly that had happened when I had been confronted. "Slade has a lot to answer for," I said. "But, now so do I." Starfire vigorously shook her head from where she too was being treated. "No, Friend Nick," she protested, "you were not yourself. Slade is to blame for all of this." I looked at her for a moment before I replied, "Tell that to the Green Arrow." "Starfire is right," said Manhunter. "You were not in control of your actions. We hold Slade accountable for all that has happened." The door slid open a moment later, and the Green Arrow walked into the room. He looked at me, and said, "They're absolutely right. Everything you did had the mark of Slade all over it. I can't bring myself to hate you when I know that he was the one pulling the strings. I wanted to, believe me. I tried to hate you. But I can't ignore the facts right in front of my face. Besides, it's not what she would have wanted." I had nothing to say to that, and a few moments later, he said, "The funeral is in three days. I'll expect you there." He walked out without another word, and Manhunter had me tell him what had happened. So I told him everything I knew, starting from when I'd gone home.