I Do Not Own DC Comics, Movies/TV, or Animation

From the Ashes...

Bruce sat in the park, Terry, nearly two was playing in the sandbox, Helena was napping in her stroller, and Bruce's newest charge would be coming to meet him here.

Well, not another charge, the lad had yet to agree. But about six months ago, on a patrol Bruce had been entangled with a war against Riddler (again) and Riddler's obsession with only the smart getting out alive. Bruce had met the teen when he had taken a bad wound and the teen had hidden him in his squat. Helping him, and Bruce had slowly been reaching out to the kid. First as Batman, now as Bruce, and today he was here with a proposition for the lad.

The gangly black teen came swaggering over to him, his hands shoved in his hoodie's pockets, his medium length dreads drawn back in a small tail. The teen looked him over carefully before sitting down on the park bench.

"I was told to meet you here, Mr. Wayne," the teen said carefully.

"It's Bruce, Duke," he said as he looked away from Terry for a moment to look at the proud teen.

"I… I'm not sure about what you want, I haven't told anyone…" Duke said nervously.

"I am not worried about that Duke," he assured the teen. The kid was of the few to know his identity outside of the life. And Duke had started chasing him around Gotham in a yellow hoodie, going by the name Lark. Bruce would prefer to have the teen safe and properly trained before something bad happened to the kid. He couldn't allow that to happen. He just… he couldn't. The simple reason for that was because, he couldn't let this kid be on the outskirts like Stephanie nor killed like Jason.

"Then…"

"I want to offer you a home, with real training, and proper living conditions. An education, a chance at a life outside the hero world and the hood, outside of Gotham," Bruce said.

"What…?"

"Duke, I am offering you my home, some place where you'll be safe."

"I'm no charity case," Duke said defensively.

"I do not do charity cases, Duke," Bruce said sternly. "I have taken in Dick, Jason, Cass, and Tim not out of charity, but you have potential Duke. Too much potential to stay stuck, running on rooftops, without training to make a difference. There are more ways to help the world than fists," Bruce admitted as he looked over at Terry who was scowling at his shovel.

"like you do?" Duke huffed.

"Like Wayne Enterprises does," he countered.

"Why do you want to do this for me?" Duke asked.

"Because…" Bruce faltered then. He cared, but he was the reason that Duke's parents were dead from the first Riddler War on Gotham, shortly after Jason's death. The kid, the teen, he'd been alone for years since then and that unsettled Bruce greatly. Especially with how smart Duke was.

"I am not charity," Duke huffed. "And I'm not your black boy either for publicity."

Those words struck a cord in Bruce as he looked at Duke then carefully. "My second eldest said something similar when he first accepted help," Bruce said.

Duke stiffened at that then.

"He was twelve at the time, he had been on the streets for three years by then. I do not see you as charity Duke, I have charities to help children in need of the help. What I see in you… that's greater, it is not publicity or anything else that you think. I see potential too great to squander."

"You're serious?" Duke sputtered.

"If you accept, yes," Bruce said as he watched Terry toddle to him, with determination before he caught Bruce's knee. Bruce picked up Terry and looked at his son.

"And your… wife? She's okay with you just bringing home strangers?" Duke sputtered.

"The offer stands," Bruce reiterated.

Selina wouldn't be thrilled about him bringing home another child, because they had Terry, Helena, and Mar'i all there. But, Selina, despite her reluctance to love his children, she loved them deeply and truly. She didn't like loving others, it was her fear to lose them, the fear was amplified after Jason's death, and that fear had her hesitating. But she would come to love Duke, not now, but in time. Duke was someone Bruce wanted to help, like he had for his other children.

"I…" Duke bit his lip.

"Da! Juice!" Terry demanded his hands flying up and he smiled broadly. Duke was startled, and Bruce saw his toddler get up and nimbly make his way over to Duke, Bruce fished through Selina's designated, Alfred stocked, diaper bag for all essentials. Essentials for Lian, Mar'i, Terry and Helena; somehow, they (Him, Dick, and Jason) all continuously juggled these children. And yes, it had not escaped his or Dick's notice that Jason was the favorite of these kids.

"What the!?" Duke caught the toddler who tapped his cheek with a broad smile. "Uh…?"

"Just hold him." Bruce dismissed as he found the juice bottle.

"Little monkey," Duke muttered.

"Juice-Juice!" Terry demanded. Bruce handed the bottle over to Terry.

"This isn't some crazy white boy stunt?"

"Duke, I'm offering you a home, not a publicity stunt. You have seen my home, seen everything, this is the offer, so you stay safe." Bruce said as Terry sat against him. Bruce slid his fingers through his son's thick black hair and Terry looked up at him with large, icy blue eyes.

"I… I think…" Duke looked nervous. "You for real? This isn't a stunt, or a sympathy pull, or some jacked shit like that?"

"It's real," Bruce said.

"Fine," Duke sighed, looking defeated. "They're tearing my building down this month, I don't want to be on the streets. People disappear from the streets."

Duke shuddered.

"I'll get Alfred to help you collect your things," Bruce said.

"This is just temporary," Duke said sharply.

"Whatever you need." Bruce assured the teen. He was just relieved that Duke was going to come with him though. Another child safe, rather than on the outskirts. Bruce did not want something to befall this young man as it had Jason, or Stephanie. He wanted to get the lad safe first.


Jason was sitting at his battered kitchen table, Lian giggling as she chased Ace (that's what he had named the German Shepard puppy that Damian had gotten him), and Raven sat there with her chin on her knee as she stirred the tea he had made when she had arrived.

"You want to tell me how things with Alice went? Or just sit here stirring a hole into my cup?" Jason asked her as he watched Lian. Nine months since Roy and Lian had moved in, and things were… okay. Figuring out how to keep Lian alive, and safe; a lot more difficult than he had initially thought. But it was fun, Lian was an interesting little bundle who always had him curious what she'd do next.

Roy was doing good, sticking to his AA meetings, working hard with his program, and slowly he was making amends with Oliver; though those were controlled meetings. Meetings that Felicity and he would coordinate so neither of them could wail on each other. But slowly, and surely, Roy was making amends and bonding with the Arrows again.

Thea's funeral had been a beautiful service, one which Jason had attended with Roy and Lian; uncomfortably so. And that had kind of been the sad starting point for Roy and the Arrows; somehow Jason found himself being sucked into that mess too. Felicity always called and texted him, and if this phone didn't happen to be Cyborg proofed and Raven magic certified, then he was pretty sure Felicity would know where he and Roy were hiding out.

This was also the longest Jason had stayed in one spot, since his resurrection at least, and it was making him antsy.

"She's legit," Raven sighed finally as she pulled out a photo and handed it to him. Jason looked at it, there were two beautiful women on horses, they had copper skin, dark eyes, proud sad features, and broad smiles. They were model level of stunning, and… Raven, despite being gray, looked exactly like the one on the left. Exactly, minus the forehead and a few minor alterations.

"Bruce ran the DNA, my human half matches Alice on the maternal side," Raven groaned rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands. Jason set the photo down and took a sip of the tea as she watched Lian tiredly.

"What do you want to do about it?" Jason asked.

"I don't know," Raven sighed. "She stalked me, Jason. She has been sending lies to the tabloids about your family, and my relationships with them, and… My mom, my mom never said anything about having a family or sister, or anyone on Earth! She said her name was Arella, not Angela!

"My mom, she obviously had a reason for that."

"What reason?"

"All I know was that my mom was drawn into a cult, she was young, and naïve, and easy prey. She was brutally raped, and married to the most powerful demon ever, and fled. She found sanctuary with Azarath. I, there just… there was a reason, for the lies, for her leaving her family, I don't… I think it was probably a good reason, I just don't know it." Raven looked tired then as she looked at him.

"Don't look at me, my moms are adopted."

"I just… I can't have her close to me." Raven sighed.

"You don't honestly think you're being hunted by a cult, years of nothing Raven," Jason pointed out.

"Last year, Trigon," she snapped.

"Okay, point, but you don't know that there's a cult of Satanist worshipping you, what's the harm in letting Alice in? It's not like she'll kill you," he pointed out bitterly.

Jason had had an encounter with Alice Williams when he had been out with Terry, Helena, and Lian for the day. He had been suckered into watching them by Selina who had an emergency to attend to (Kori's labor), and he had reluctantly taken on three babies. Alice had ambushed him when he had gone to the park on subtle recon of one of his targets; Black Mask. Best cover ever was three babies, but Alice had stormed up to him and made a scene, so the recon was a bust sadly, but the earful he had gotten about kidnapping Rachel Roth… It was enough to have his eye twitching, Terry balling, Helena screaming and Lian in tears. Which was a triple handful, far more dangerous than any fire fight he'd been in.

"But what if they go for her?" Raven asked. "She's got a husband, three kids, and lives with her elderly father in her home, they life in Water Mill, Long Island, New York, I just…What if I cause something terrible to happen to them!? I can't take that! It's not like Melvin, or Timmy, or Teether, it's not like Vic or Harley or Ivy, it's not like the heroes, she's a civilian! And that cult, the only thing my mother and Azar would ever say about it was that it was dangerous and persistent. What if they go after Alice and her family."

"Fair point," Jason surrendered.

"I just… I need her to stop this," Raven sighed tiredly.

"You have a place to hide out for now," Jason said as he stood to get Lian who was looking ready to take a header into the wall; which wouldn't be good for her.

"Thanks," Raven sighed. "How's the Black Mask thing going?"

"It'd be easier if I wasn't babysitting all the damn time." Jason huffed, Lian giggled as he scooped her up and she wriggled up to his shoulder, smiling as she laughed in delight about her vantage point no doubt. Lian liked being high up for some reason; probably some weird ass Arrow trait as Roy liked vantage points too.


She stood there in her armor as the rain slid over her and she glared at the sight of the city.

For months she had been tracking down every possible hint, or clue, every possible whisper and rumor for the Black Mask. He would lead her to the purple haired sorceress who would take her to Themyscira, and she would wreak her revenge.

In the past months since the destruction of her home, her world, the slaughter of her sisters, the loss of her love, she had been forced to abandon the ruins and flee into man's world. This dsgusting world, she despised it, men were pigs easily seduced and manipulated with a mere batting of the eyes. She was unimpressed as to what man's world had to offer thus far, and found the inhabitants weak and useless.

She stalked for the city where she would find the Black Mask, even if she had to tear it down brick by brick. There was no way the death of everything in her world would go unavenged, and she was going to have the Amazon Queen's head on a platter, first though, she was going to find Black Mask and see what the purple haired sorceress had wanted with the man.

And only when he was on his hands in knees, thoroughly broken, would she destroy him without mercy. She would use him as a message to the world.

Bana-Mighdall would not die unavenged.


Dick sat in the park of Central City with Wally, Mar'i was in a carrier strapped to his chest, sleeping at the moment. Kori was out with Cass, Stephanie, and Selina for a girls day (Selina had said post birth day spa day, long over due)

"You know, with the image ring she looks exactly like Kori," Wally said touching his goddaughter's hickory colored cheek as she snoozed.

Dick grinned as he looked at his daughter. Image inducer or not, she was fucking adorable! Without it she had this flaming black hair that stood up every which way and she looked like him, a lot like Kori with her pumpkin colored skin. But with the image inducer she looked exactly like Kori did when Kori wore her image ring. Which was stunningly beautiful as always. He smiled at his baby as he felt a wonder filling him, she clutched his shirt tight as they sat there in the park.

"She's going to be gorgeous like her mama," Dick predicted as he touched his daughter's hair, the tight black curls felt rough and he could feel the heat of her flames licking at his skin.

"You like being a dad, everything you thought it'd be?" Wally chuckled as he took another bite of his hotdog.

"It's better, I swear Wally this is everything," Dick said as he looked his baby over. She was perfect, stunningly perfect. "What about you and Irey?"

"I don't know… That's… I'm not sure. I look at her, and some days it's like: 'Shit, I helped create that' and then there's days where I'm like: 'I have no idea what the hell I'm doing, I'm not ready to be a dad!'," Wally sighed. "It was easier when I didn't know that it was Artemis Crock I married, I didn't… I don't know, I feel like I got this noose around me, a weight, and Artemis has no idea. She still thinks Irey is my stupid teenage mistake, and she loves hanging out with Irey, but I honestly don't know… it's just hard."

"Do you like Artemis?" Dick asked. He was informed of the Artemis-Wally thing buddying because Wally's kid from the future, Irey West, hadn't informed them who her mom was. Irey didn't know that Caitlyn had done a DNA test and told Wally, so Irey thought Wally didn't know.

"I don't know about that, I do know I love Irey, and I love her so much I just can't seem to stop. But I don't know about Artemis, it's complicated… And Artemis is trying to keep me away from her, because I guess from her point of view this is all 'all of a sudden', and it is, but I can't tell her that we are married and have twins in the future, and that one of our twins is currently stuck here in the past because her powers are coming in and she can't control them. I can't shove all that on Artemis when she just… she's Artemis," Wally sighed.

"I asked Artemis out on a date. You know to test the waters, see if it's there. The way Irey talks about her mom though it's like Artemis is the perfect woman for me. And I don't want to scare her off, but I can't lose my kid Dick. I can't, I fucking love Irey, adore her, I like hearing about her days, or seeing what she'll do next. I find it hilarious she loves Kim Possible and tried to talk me into changing her name to Kim when she's born.

"But I don't know how I feel about Artemis. Just a lot of pressure not to lose Irey," Wally said.

"I'd say I get it, but… I can't," Dick admitted.

"Artemis isn't all bad, is she? Snarky, mature, annoying, but, she can't be all bad? She's Irey's mom! And Irey is perfect!" Wally sighed. "I don't know, it's just confusing and complicated."

"That it is," Dick agreed.

"When are you and Kori tying the knot, I mean, you got the kid and everything, shouldn't you two be getting hitched?" Wally smacked his shoulder playfully and Dick chuckled as he looked up from Mar'i at the park then.

"That's kind of why I'm here," Dick admitted.

"No shit! Really!?"

"Yeah, I got my mother's ring from the vault, and everything," Dick admitted pulling out the simple ring to show Wally.

"You're serious!" Wally grinned.

"Dead serious," Dick admitted.

"About damn time, thought you two would never tie the knot!" Wally chuckled looking at the ring.


Raven sat there feeling complicated as she stared at the tea before her. There was a lot in her heart of hearts involving Alice Williams and her family. Bruce had been kind enough to hand her a deep search file to her about Alice Williams, Victor had even helped compile the information. Harley and Ivy also had dug into the family, apparently tailing them. Though Raven would admit how those two could pull an inconspicuous tail was beyond her.

She didn't know how to feel about this, she didn't, she really didn't and that scared her.

What scared her more though was that Alice would not let up.

The woman had broken into her apartment in San Francisco (the private one she had taken up because she was going to try to be independent of the Titans for a bit). The woman was persistent. And that was something that worried Raven because what lay in the past.

Raven knew about her mother's cult, or what little she knew of the cult, it was dangerous. It wasn't like she could protect civilians from a threat even she didn't know.

The only reason Raven knew that she hadn't been attacked by whatever it was that had forced her mother to marry Trigon, was because she stood in the light as a Titan. She was a hero, she was a public figure, she was not someone who could simply disappear and not be missed. Now there was a civilian prying into the dangers of her life and while Raven was curious about Alice and her mother's family, she wasn't so curious to put the civilians in danger.

"Babysitting beats worrying about invisible threats," Raven said icily.

"I am a Bat, invisible threats are our specialty," Jason countered tiredly. He bounced Lian a bit and Raven had to admit Jason was rather uncannily good with kids. Raven thought it amusing for someone so anti-people, he was really good with kids. Adorably good with kids.

"You are not help in this matter," Raven grumbled as she huffed out a stray strand of her hair. Jason frowned and sat again.

"You keep shoving my family at me," he said as he looked at Lian who was balancing on his knees. "Seems fair I shove you at yours," he spoke 'baby' as he played with Lian. Lian squealed with delight as she squirmed.

"You'd be a very good dad," Raven mused.

"No I wouldn't," Jason said.

"I don't know, you're pretty solid with Terry, Helena, Lian and Mar'i," Raven pointed out. "Girls do find that attractive, and you don't play it up, so I mean it. You're good with the kids."

"I'm not dad material, Rae," Jason said as he looked at Lian, she gave him a droolly grin as she squirmed more. Raven softened, Jason was too good with people and kids. He just didn't give himself enough credit unless it was a high stress situation and someone had to stay level headed.

"We'll see when you have your own ninja kid!" she snickered.

"Not funny!" he snapped.

"Oh, what if Rose is the mother! you two would have gorgeous babies!" she mused.

"don't curse me, please!" he whined.

"Nonsense, to curse you and Rose to have a child together would require fresh chicken's blood, black and green paint, six goats, three liters of salt, a bit of black pepper, twenty-seven candles, and a bit of norse magic," she dismissed.

"Please don't… ever," Jason said looking ungodly pale which had her smiling as she took Lian from him.

"I think the demon just scared your daddy, Lian," Raven informed the baby who laughed and clapped her hands as she grabbed Raven's hair. the innocent fascination in Lian's eyes was so precious that Raven hugged the little girl to her. "How goes the Black Mask case?" Raven asked remembering Jason's long term project.

He groaned as his head fell back and he rubbed his hands over his eyes. "Fucking long, Roman Sionis is a whack job with some B&D kink on the extreme with a paranoia to match B's. Seriously, when Roy gets back I'm going to go after him, if I take over his control of Gotham crime that'll drop a lot of the murder rates, he's killing kids. But I'm more curious about his kryptonite storage, no one aside from Lex has that much Krypotnite; not even B."

"Well, you and Roy can go investigate it, I'll keep Lian for the week with Donna," Raven said.

"Don't you have school?" Jason asked her skeptically.

"That's why I said Donna would help," Raven defended. She and Donna had been helping the guys out with Lian when Jason's vigilant job had him in a pinch. Raven was about ninety percent certain that Donna was doing it because she had an attraction to Roy, ten percent chance on Donna doing it because she was interested in Jason. Raven wasn't really entirely certain she was reading all of Donna's emotions right. They were difficult to pin down at times.

"You and Donna, volunteering to take Lian?" Jason gave her a skeptical look.

"I might not have all the facts in your pet project, but I know it's important." Raven said. "Also, he's smuggling magic artifacts, which has to be stopped, because certain things should not be in the hands of mortals."

"True, alright, you got yourself a deal." Jason said.

"Yes! You hear that Lian, Donna and I get you all to ourselves!" Raven grinned at the girl.

"Have you heard from Constantine?" Jason asked suddenly which had Raven looking up.

"No, not since Christmas, think something's happened?" Raven asked as she played with Lian's hands.

"I don't know, I can't find them, and you can't either."

"I will see if I can," Raven said. "I know how the House of Mystery feels, I think I could track it down," she offered.

"Please," Jason said. Raven nodded as she stood and handed Lian back to Jason.


Constantine struggled to keep the shield up as the demon lunged at him snapping it's jaws. Zed was weak, she was currently cradled in the arms of Black Orchid.

"She is fading," Black Orchid said. "The disease is making her too ill."

"Back to the House," Constantine ordered as he let another pulse of magic. He barely stumbled back into the house, gasping for air as he collapsed.

He'd be on this fight for years, fighting the Brujería. There was something amiss though. The Archangels, the other angels, they weren't fighting this war. Hell, the Divine barriers were getting so dangerous weak between the living and the dead that it was going to cause an uprising.

Now that wasn't a big deal to mortals, but it was important.

The barriers were so weak that the Devil had escaped his prison, leaving his brother Michael in his place. Lucifer was Lucifer Morningstar of LA and owned a club called Lux. Gabriel who was usually was missing was now turning up, as were the other Archangels, and they were turning up on earth. The other angels were too. And his bloody angel Manny had vanished altogether! The fury of that had spurred Constantine on his trip to Lucifer's prison in seeking of answers from the Archangel Michael, though Michael had said nothing.

Whatever was happening in the Heavens it was being ominously silent, and Zed couldn't see it anymore.

"Zed!" he scrambled over her and checked her pulse.

"She is dying," Black Orchid said. "The strain of Sight was too much, seeing the Heavens…" Black Orchid trailed her fingers over over Zed's cheek.

"I'm taking her to her room, there's medicine for her there," Constantine scooped her up and hurred for where the meds were. "Contact Chas! Have him meet us in Atlanta!"

He got Zed to the bed. He scrambled to grab the right meds, coaxed them down her throat and waited.

He waited for them to get to Atlanta, Chas walked into the room and Constantine looked up at his friend.

"Get the cab, we're going to the hospital," he said as he carefully picked up an unconscious Zed. Her curls were everywhere, she smelled of foreign spices, charcoal, and paper, she was so slim and underweight in his arms; all her meds had caused this. Constantine got her out of the House and they were in the cab. Chas gunned it.

"Don't leave just yet love, there's still much to see, and do," he whispered into her curls as he kissed her head and held her tight. There were tears streaming down his face as they made it to the hospital. At the emergency entrance, in the rain Chas opened the door.

"Help! Help! I got an emergency here!" Constantine shout as he ran into the hospital through the emergency room. He put her on a gurney as doctors pushed him away, he shouted that he wanted to stay, barely managed to say she had cancer before she was gone, and Chas was at his side.


Roy sat with Oliver in the Queen Mansion kitchen, just him and Oliver, for the first time in years, with a cup of coffee between them.

"About Thea…" Roy started as he broke the awkward silence they had been sitting in for the last hour.

"Thea loved you Roy," Oliver said tightly as he cut off the argument and Roy looked up at his mentor then.

"I just… I'm sorry," Roy whispered.

"Roy, there is… I'm sorry." Oliver said. "I'm sorry I failed you so badly that you felt you couldn't call on me for help when you were stuck with Jade, Slade and Prometheus, I'm sorry that you felt that you had no one to turn to and I'm sorry, so sorry, that Thea died, but that wasn't your fault. She would have come to help you no matter what. Her death is not your fault, it's Prometheus' and one day, we'll get him."

"I just… that was my fault, I should have…" Roy sighed.

"How is Lian?" Oliver asked, he'd rather talk about his first granddaughter than dwell on the pain of losing Thea. He was still angered by her death, and he would kill Prometheus when he saw him, but for now Roy needed him and he was focusing on that.

"She's good, she follows Jay around a lot," Roy smirked.

"Jason seems like a good guy," Oliver said.

"He's been a great friend," Roy said. Oliver nodded, he had kind of been forced to accept the wayward Bat as a part of his family because of Lian and Felicity, but he didn't mind the standoffish young man.

"Roy…"

"I'm sober, nine months, I go to AA, I'm working my program, even talk to my sponsor and Jay. I'm also going to counselling, JL recommended shrink, I… I get I'm a wreck," Roy said weakly.

"You were never a wreck Roy, just made bad choice, I made them too," Oliver said calmly.

"Not like… not like me," Roy whispered.

"You're healing Roy," Oliver assured him.

"Thanks," Roy gave a weak smile and Oliver nodded. He didn't know what to say to Roy but he accepted that he couldn't keep pushing the kid down and away. That wasn't helping anyone.

He wanted to be better for Roy, and for all the others who were under his care. He couldn't stand thinking that he had failed them, that thought was intolerable. Also, he now called Bruce about twice a week for advice or bitching; Barry too. Barry and Bruce were now the people Oliver trusted the most outside the Arrows with helping him with his family.

Tommy, John, and Felicity were also there for him, but he was finding an outsider could frequently point out where he was going wrong and be honest about it.

"When is Felicity due?" Roy asked.

"February," Oliver smiled.

"You'll have a kid younger than your 'grandkid'," Roy mused.

"Don't start, Connor already did."


That's all for now folks!

Enjoy I've Got the Umbrella =)