A New Life

Chapter 12

Mount Justice; Training Room

The first arrow whizzed through the air in a blur before bouncing off the edge of the large bull's-eye.

The second never even got close to the target.

The third bounced off the wall about a foot away from the target.

"Gah dammit!" Wally snapped as he angrily threw the bow in his hand to the ground before crossing his arms across his chest and pouting petulantly. "Why am not getting it?"

"Maybe because archery isn't anywhere near as simple as it seems?" Dick smirked as he carefully pulled back on the drawstring, his stance perfectly mimicking what he'd observed from Artemis.

"No way." The speedster shot back. "It's just a classic application of physics: elasticity, projectile motion etcetera.

All of which I have down pat. There's no logical reason for me not to hit the target."

"Finger motion." Oliver Queen in his Green Arrow persona grinned as he helped M'gann adjust her stance. "You're

a letting the drawstring roll between your fingers instead of simply letting go the instant you're ready to shoot. Also, your stance is a little bit too loose so you're constantly trying to compensate for the minute shifts in your aim."

"Gee Wally, wasn't that the very first mistake he warned us against?" Connor grinned as he prepared to take his own shot. "It's like you're just not cut out for this."

"I think you're right Connor," Dick added, heaping salt on the speedster's already bruised ego, "I mean Artemis is just such a natural at this."

With a snarl of anger, the redhead grabbed his bow and took up the stance again. This time, he decided to forego the arrows so he could perfect his stance. "Honestly, though, I don't get why we have to work on archery, I mean, I move so fast I can literally catch these arrows on a bad day."

"But not fast enough to avoid tripping over your own feet." Connor sniped, leading to Dick hollering loudly.

The speedster just rolled his eyes at them. "Look, my point is simple; why exactly is one of the world's fastest men learning how to use archaic weapons?"

"Now I'll have you know that these 'archaic weapons' have saved my life a couple of times." Green Arrow said as he walked over to join the guys. "And while you're right about being orders of magnitude faster than simple arrows, I have a simple question to ask: what will you do if you ever find yourself in a situation where your powers don't work?"

His innate nature almost spurred the redhead to throw back a witty comeback, his more logical self kicked in, telling him to shut up as the hero in green had a point he intended to make.

"Now, while I certainly won't expect you to go out of your way to grab a bow and a quiver, having the skill in the back of your mind is certainly leagues better than not." The Emerald Archer continued. "It's why those of us without power have something of an edge over you guys; while you tend to specialize almost exclusively in the various ways to use your powers, we never had them in the first place so we have no crutch to lean on. To us, it's gain multiple skills and stay one step ahead of the game or stagnate and become predictable.

"There's a little joke Canary and I often share when we're about to learn something new that seems completely unnecessary. Wanna hear it?"

The three boys showed their assent in different ways; Wally with a nod, a grunt from Connor and an enthusiastic hum from Dick.

"Simply put, it goes: better to look back when you're a geriatric and say 'huh, I never needed to use that' than be stuck in a situation where you need it and be caught pants down'."

"Long winded but has its merits." Dick admitted.

"They seem to be having fun." Kaguya smiled as she watched the rest of the team from the bank of monitors in the training room's control center. "Green Arrow's presence here in particular seems to have lifted their morale."

"It's as a result of something I discussed with Batman." Canary replied, her eyes locked on the spar between Donna and Kaldur. "Black ops team or not, they need to know that we aren't just using them as a means to an end; we have to show them that we can see them, their efforts and successes, and that we appreciate them for it.

"I know that Batman, myself and Cyborg are often around but they see us as more of just supervisors than friends and with Wonder Woman and Aquaman's other duties as well as The Flash's full timetable, Arrow decided to help kick start things."

"It is a wonderful idea." Kaguya conceded as she watched Wally try –and fail- to hit the target again before switching her focus onto the screen the blonde heroine had her eyes on. "Connor, especially, needs this kind of acknowledgement, even if it isn't from Superman yet."

"There might just be a way around that." Canary sighed as Kaldur got pinned by Donna. "Supergirl apparently got wind of things and she came to talk. And while we're still not sure how he'll react, she believes that she can get him to come to terms with who he is."

"Well, I'm glad that not all Kryptonians are morally stiff jerks." The offworlder chuckled. "So, do you have any idea why Kaldur's been getting his ass handed to him so easily? He's normally one of the best close quarter fighters we've got here."

The heroine shook her head, a frown creasing her forehead. "He's been showing signs of being distracted for a while, though he's also done a pretty good job of hiding it. This is the first time I've actually seen him underperform."

"Interesting… And Naruto hasn't spoken to you about him?"

"He's been too busy, between his duties to you, the team and now his attempts to help Ivy."

"Alright then, do you know if today marks any day of special value to him? Or has there been any news from Atlantis, good or bad?" Kaguya asked.

"Not as far as I know. Why?"

"From what I can see, he seems torn, like his head is in one place but his heart's telling him to be somewhere else." The white haired princess smiled softly as she watched the young Atlantean turn away from the Amazon. "He has a connection to his old life that his heart wishes to strengthen but that his head tells him to sever. And that, Canary, is the source of his internal conflict."

The heroine seemed amazed. "You got all that from a couple seconds of watching him?"

"In my father's words, 'a kingdom is made up of its people; understand them and you will know how to lead them.' That principle was part of the reason I chose to wander the lands around the kingdom incognito, with only Naruto as my protection; to understand the people on a level I never would have been capable of if I just sat in the palace" Kaguya explained, mixing the true story of her life with the cover story she had built up in this world. "Within the three year period that I had to explore and to learn before returning to take over leadership of the clam from my father, I learned how to read people within a few seconds, to swiftly determine a person's intentions and, depending on how guarded they are, their surface thoughts and emotions to build a baseline profile for them. It's a skill that helped me immensely during my short reign back home."

"Well damn." Canary whistled as she took in the bits of information the younger woman had just revealed as well as understanding just how skilled the girl had to be at reading people. It wasn't something she hadn't heard off; between herself and Ollie, she was the better reader after all, but the heroine was certain that probably only Batman could match the level Kaguya had attained. "So what would you advise me to do about him?"

"Has the Zeta platform to Atlantis been completed?"

"I believe so, yeah."

"Then I'd say you should let Kaldur follow his heart all the way. If his peace is beneath the waters then keeping him up here will only breed resentment."

"And if it is up here?"

"Then he'll be certain that he followed his heart and he'll never second-guess his decision to stay up here again." The white haired princess answered. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an important meeting to attend."

-Recognized: Red Tornado, S-03-

Hearing the digitized hail, Cyborg turned away from his analysis of the new data Batman had provided on the known members of the Sumdac board just in time to see the crimson android fully materialize. "You're back. Thought you'd been carried off."

"I have not." The inorganic Leaguer replied in the droll monotone its voice was configured to be, the sarcasm flying over its head. "Good day, Cyborg. How have things been with the team?"

"Pretty well, all things considered." A simple thought dragged the display from the monitors in the training room over the work he had been doing, showing the available members of the team as they continued their practice with Green Arrow. Wally had, at this point, all but thrown down his bow in frustration and was now ambling over to where M'gann stood. "They've definitely got the skill to spare and their training sessions are bringing the best out of them."

"Interesting… Though I do not recall Green Arrow being made aware of this team."'

"Not originally, no, but his new protégé, Artemis, joined the team a while back so he volunteered to spend a bit of time working with them."

"Ah. And where is she now?"

"Speedy asked for her assistance on a case." Cyborg replied, recalling the look of utter befuddlement the blonde archer had on her face earlier in the day when he'd asked for her help. "By the way, he goes by the title 'Red Arrow' now and the systems have been updated as such."

The android inclined its head in thanks for the status update. It would have been embarrassing if he'd attacked the young man due to obsolete information after all. Then, it noticed something. "I do not see Raven or Uzumaki. Surely they are still on the team."

"They are." Cyborg agreed. "Raven's on the mainland, she's got a few things she wants to pick up from the bookstore over there."

"And Uzumaki?"

"He's… preoccupied…"

The Watchtower; Main Hall

NAME: ŌTSUSUKI KAGUYA

AGE: 18

DATE OF BIRTH: UNKNOWN

PLACE OF BIRTH: UNKNOWN (OFFWORLD; POSSIBLY UNKNOWN DIMENSION)

ALIAS: SHARD

AFFILIATION: LAWFUL GOOD (UNCERTAIN)

POWER(S): ABILITY TO PROECT BONE SHARDS OUTWARD AS PROJECTILES; ABILITY TO MANIFEST BONE EXTENSIONS

SKILL(S): SKILLED HAND TO HAND COMBATANT; SKILLED DIPLOMAT (UNCONFIRMED); SKILLED ORATOR (UNCONFIRMED); PENDING FURTHER ADDITIONS

WEAKNESS(ES): SUSCEPTIBLE TO MENTAL MANIPULATION [MEANS UNCERTAIN; POSSIBLY TELEPATHIC, MAGICAL MEANS NOT RULED OUT] (RUMORED; UNCONFIRMED); SUSCEPTIBLE TO POSSESSION (RUMORED; UNCONFIRMED)

THREAT LEVEL: DELTA- THREAT TO CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL LEAGUE MEMBERS [ALPHA- THREAT TO LEAGUE AND EARTH AS A WHOLE; SEE NOTES]

Sitting back, the Dark Knight reviewed what had typed out, going over it to ensure that he had made no mistakes, before saving the document onto a specially encrypted partition on the Watchtower's storage drives. While he already had a significantly more detailed report sitting in the Batcave's systems, he had decided to upload a copy –a much watered down copy- in the orbital platform as a backup and now, with the station all but empty, he could do so without much hassle.

-Recognized: The Atom; J23-

'Spoke too soon.' He sighed as he pulled up the analysis Cyborg sent to him regarding the missing data from the Fog's pillaging just before the new arrival got his sight back.

"Batman." The Atom greeted as he walked up with a flash drive in hand. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"I had a few things I needed to put down." The Dark Knight replied, scrolling through the file on display.

"Well, this just makes things easier." The Atom said as he plugged in the flash. "I've got the results you wanted."

Something about the way the size-altering hero spoke had the Bat's danger signs flaring. "How bad is it?" He asked as he got out of the seat and walked over to grab another.

"Very." The Atom answered as he took the vacated seat and began opening the files on the flash drive. "You wanted to what the function of the Bane Venom was in the Blockbuster formula right?" A series of analysis reports popped up over the screen and the scientist spent a few seconds partitioning them such that each of them would show without covering another. "I believe you know what this is?"

On the screen before the Dark Knight, two animated, three-dimensional molecular models of two different chemical compounds popped up; one he knew by heart, the other he recalled within a few seconds. "On the left is Bane's Venom, on the right; the Blockbuster formula."

"Bingo. Seeing as you have a clear idea what the Venom does, I'll skip that." Saying this, the Venom model closed, allowing the Blockbuster formula to take up the entire screen. "The Blockbuster formula is, essentially, an intelligent person's efforts to create a more powerful version of Bane's Venom but without the drawbacks. And, while they didn't quite get there, they sure as hell created something powerful."

"A serum capable of turning the average person into a hulking brute with strength comparable to that of an Amazon, a quick healing factor and the ability to shrug off most levels of pain without a sweat." Batman grunted. "Sounds like they might have gotten what they wanted."

"At a first glance? Maybe." The Atom conceded. "But not when you take into consideration the whole Santa Prisca affair you told me about. Without your interference, we likely wouldn't have this bit of insight."

"Which is?" The Bat prompted, talking over the fact the Atom believed him to have taken down the forces on Santa Prisca himself.

The size-altering hero shunted a new model over to the second screen. "This is what I got from the final product you obtained on the island. As you might have noticed, Bane's venom- or at least specific elements from it- have been bonded to the Blockbuster formula. Basically, the new serum from the island uses the Venom as both a catalyst and a stabilizer for the Blockbuster formula."

"Any idea what kind of effects it'll have on the body?"

"Just theoretical now but that what had me bothered." Two new models showed up, one of a regular human male, the other of a humanoid creature. "They sacrificed the permanence of the Blockbuster formula for enhanced physical stats across board, controllable transformation and intelligence retention."

Batman's eyes narrowed subtly behind his cowl. "The subject can control the transformation?"

"Theoretically." The Atom reminded him. "Once injected, the subject will be able to control their own transformation into- and out of- the enhanced state. As far as I can tell, they'll be about fifty percent stronger than the original Blockbuster subjects as well.

"But, most dangerous of all, the subject will retain, at the very least, fifty percent of their untransformed intelligence."

The Bat released a breath as he sat back in the seat, mentally going over all the information he had just seen. "Any weaknesses?"

"A few: subjects can only transform thrice in a day of their own volition, any more and they simply collapse, unable to utilize the transformation again; they need close to two hours between transformations for their bodies to build up sufficient energy to initiate another transformation and, finally, subjects have, at most, a total of an hour per day to spend in their transformed state before the toll on their bodies become too great to handle at which point their bodies begin to break down until, finally, they tear themselves apart."

"So it's a question of if their opponents can outlast them…" The Dark Knight mused. "What about between transformations. Can they still move when they release the transformation?"

"They should be able to, though they'll be stuck at about fifty percent power for the first thirty minutes."

"And these calculations, do they factor in energy output?" The Dark Knight pressed on, seeing a possible chink in the new serum's formidable defenses, something that the Atom picked up on in seconds.

"No. These are based on the effects of the serum in a stable state, essentially when the subject is calm. In an excited state, however, say the subject is forced into a fight… Well, it is possible that the serum might just burn itself out at a faster rate…"

Happy Harbor

"…In a way, peace is the whole problem."

"How could peace be a problem?" Luke asked.

"Please, don't get me wrong," Mon Mothma said. "War is a terrible business, and I hope it never comes again. But there are ways in which war is simple and clear as peace rarely is.

"In war, the enemy is clear, and he is outside your group. All of your friends and allies must come together for survival. In peacetime, there is no enemy. There are merely people who vote against you on this issue, and side with you on that proposal.

"We fought the Empire in the name of liberty and justice but now our task is to make liberty and justice real. We are now seeking to correct wrongs that would have seemed trivial in the old days. There was no time to worry about the fine points of fair legislation when we were about to get our throats cut.

"Peacetime is complicated, murky. We could win the war by blowing up a Death Star or two-but we can only win the peace by building new space stations, new houses, new cities. That is not a question of largess or generosity. if we do not rebuild, there will be new unrest, new disturbances, and new war. In peacetime, you cannot win by destroying, but only by building-and it is always far easier to destroy. That is, quite literally, a law of nature.

"Rebuilding is slow, painstaking, work, unsuited to a warrior's mentality. That is the real problem, for people like you and me. We became addicted to the thrills, the challenges, of war, and now they are gone. There are those who will be tempted to stir up trouble just for the sake of having some excitement."

"I doubt that is so, Mon Mothma," said Luke. "There will always be perils and challenges. The universe is a dangerous place. And I also don't know that I am addicted to such things. I could live the rest of my life quite happily if no one ever tried to kill me again."

"Ambush at Corellia, huh?" A clear voice asked, cutting into the slight daze she was in. Looking up from the antique armchair she was curled up in, Raven was met by the smiling face of an elderly woman with grey hair tied into a bun and a few strands hanging free.

"Hey Mrs. Gonzalez. Did I get carried away again?"

"I only started speaking when you came back to our world." The woman answered in a lilting voice, her bright blue eyes crinkling in mirth behind her glasses. "Not as bad as some other times, yes?"

"I suppose not." The young magic user smiled as she unfurled herself from the couch and stretched.

"Oh to be young and limber again." Hailey Gonzalez chuckled. "I was just like you with a book back in the day; just find the nearest couch and curl up like a cat! I try a stunt like that now, though, and I'll be feeling it for months!"

"Joys of being old." Raven laughed as she glanced at her watch. "Wow I've been here a while! Is there anything I can help you with before I leave?"

"Let me think…" Her brow furrowed in thought, Hailey leaned just a bit more on her cane to take the weight off her sprained ankle. "Well, since Sarah's gonna be dropping by later, I don't quite have much for you to do. Just help me with the box of old tomes the barrister dropped off while you were off fighting aliens with fancy footwork and glowing energy blades."

"Someone's gotta save the world." She shrugged as she followed the older woman to the front desk of the bookstore and gestured at a small carton lying on the center table. "This one right?"

Because the store was just a converted section of the woman's home, the reception was just a cordoned off section of the living room with the only furniture besides the cash desk being the aforementioned center table and two high-back chairs. The section they'd just come in from, formerly the rest of the living room, now sported four wide shelves, six couches and another center table and was the storage-slash-library section.

"The very same, Rachael." Hailey nodded as she slowly took a seat on the couch behind the desk. "Put the books in the shelf right of the window."

"Got it." Now with the instructions needed, she hefted the carton up, the deceptively heavy thing throwing her off for a second before she readjusted, and took it to the room. Setting it down at the base, she pulled two books out and rested them on her left forearm while creating space with her right hand. "I'm surprised that the barrister finally let go of some of these. Sarah told me that he didn't seem quite ready to let them go yet."

"You'd be surprised what a young beauty will convince a man to do." Hailey's voice drifted back. "Connie swears that his new secretary has effected a new change in him."

"Thought you said you didn't exactly trust Connie and her rumor-mongering trade?" Slotting the two books in, she reached down to pick another pair only to stop short upon seeing a mother chase after her daughter only for the little girl to whirl round and face the older woman, her eyes sparking with bottled up emotions. She tore into her mother with a tirade of words, angrily bringing up her every point in loud tone, right on Hailey's curb.

"Well, I may have said that but when the evidence is glaring…" the rest of the elderly woman's words were drowned out when Raven tuned in to their conversation in time to catch a few of the words the young child was slinging at her mother.

"-you NEVER tell me about dad! Just that he's out there working but I've never seen him!"

"Jules, honey, listen-"

"No! You promised that he'd be at school today but he wasn't! Again!"

With that, the child, a pretty looking brunette- likely not even twelve yet- stormed down the street, leaving her mom, tired looking and seemingly at her wits end, crouching on the sidewalk, her face buried in her palms.

Unbidden, old- repressed- memories bubbled back up to the surface…

FLASHBACK

Azarath- Raven's POV

Feeling the peaceful energies of Azarath swirling around me, I reach inward, seeking the tiny thread linking me to the object of my desires. Along the way, I feel- more than actually seeing them- the other connections and I sidestep each one that won't carry me to where I need to be. Finally, I find the one I've been searching for; a powerful, bright blue thread connecting me to a darker, more violent link. With little more than a mental shove, I swing past the blue link and trace the darker one. The further I move, the more I feel a pressure on my senses, a nauseating feeling that makes me feel shudders rack up and down my physical body. At the same time, I can hear a rumbling baritone that radiates power tempered by deep-seated concern urging me forward, praising my progress and urging me to move further.

Obviously, mom's trying to force me away from exploring this connection by exerting her will on me to make me turn back but I won't. Not this time.

On and on I push, the pressure building with every step, growing to include feelings of vertigo and bone-biting cold alternating with skin sloughing heat.

Still I push on. She's not going to stop me this time.

Today, I will meet my fath-

Abruptly, everything shatters around me and I feel my consciousness stretch like rubber before painfully snapping back.

The first thing I feel as my consciousness settles back into my own body is a skull-splitting headache. I can't even open my eyes out of the fear that the input of information will overload my mind. After a while, I can feel the pain slowly receding and, as it leaves, I become more and more aware of my environment.

The first thing I notice is the presence of hands hovering just above my temple and a gentle voice murmuring a chant.

A voice I'd recognize anywhere; mom.

I can feel my anger growing inside my chest, threatening to burst out and, a tiny part of me observes, that little connection I made to the darker link inside me grows stronger. My eyes snap open and, as I'd expected, mom's leaning over me, her eyes closed and her long chestnut hair tickling my nose. "Did you do it?"

Her eyes slowly open and she stares right into my eyes, though I can't tell exactly what she's thinking. "Yes."

I'm off her lap faster than I've ever moved before, scooting back hurriedly as I try to keep a lid on the fury inside me. Just as I'd expected, she'd cut off the connection I was building, slicing it apart and once again keeping me from my goal. I can feel tears of betrayal pooling at the corners of my eyes. "Why?"

"We've discussed this before, Raven." She sounds so coolly detached and, once again, I find myself wishing I could have my warm, caring mom back. I want the woman he used to be before she chose to keep this unnecessary distance between us just so she wouldn't tell me about him. "Under no circumstances are you to try to dig about this subject any more. You are dealing with something-"

That… thatis the one thing I won't stand for, not anymore! "You can't even say what we're talking about can you?! It's always the subject or 'something' you hate him so much you can't even say who he is can you? Well let me say it now: he is my father! My dad! And just because you hate him, you want to use me to spite him!"

I can see it in her eyes, her body posture; every word I'm saying hurts her more than anything I've ever said before and it feels good to finally know that I'm hurting her in any way possible.

And then, like a shutter slamming down, her entire posture changes and her eyes regain the blank look of disinterest that I've come to utterly despise. "We've discussed this before, Raven, and my stance has not budged. You are, under no circumstances, to have any form of contact with him."

With that, she turns to leave, her immaculate robes swirling about her as she moves. Then, at the door, she pauses. "You're like a moth, Raven, drawn inexplicably to the alluring beauty of the fire. What you don't quite understand, what I don't want you to understand, is that this fire? It will all too gladly destroy everything you hold dear…"

I'm not quite sure where it comes from but it's already out of my mouth by the time I realize that I'm talking; "Maybe your hate has made you forget but fire isn't always destructive; it offers light too, and warmth… Maybe you should remember exactly why you were drawn to him in the first place…"

FLASHBACK END

"Are you alright dear?" For the second time that day, Raven was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of Hailey Gonzalez's voice, this time sounding more concerned than she'd ever heard.

As her mind fully reconnected with reality, she realized that she was leaning over the carton, hand outstretched to pick up what was, to her surprise, the last book.

"You continued the work while you were lost in thought, Rachael," Hailey explained as she saw the look of confusion bloom on the girl's face. "That's why I didn't quite notice that you weren't with me."

"Oh. Sorry, I hope I didn't get you worried." Raven apologized as she picked the book up. It was an old, leather-bound thing, not much larger than the average hardback novel, with slightly yellowed pages. Stenciled simply in cursive font right at the center of the book was its title: Bindings.

It was a curious thing, particularly considering the source, and Hailey had no qualms about saying so.

"Maybe it's an old family heirloom?" Raven suggested as she turned the book over to see the back. Nothing but slightly cracked leather. Yet, though extremely faint, the young magic user could feel hints of residual magical energies swirling about it…

"Oh that's doubtful, dear." Hailey snorted at the thought. "The barrister doesn't forget anything and I certainly can't believe that he'd 'accidentally' drop a family heirloom in a carton of old law books."

"You'd be surprised what a young beauty can convince a man to do." She shrugged absently, giving the book a final once-over before moving to find a spot for it. "Huh. This shelf's full."

"Oh don't worry about that, dear. You can have it."

The casual delivery of the response, more than the response itself, left Raven gaping; a reaction that did not escape Hailey's keen eyes.

"What? I can see how interested you are in that dusty old thing. Besides, if the barrister comes around searching then I'll tell him that I'll keep an eye open for it and I'll give you a call."

Raven wasn't quite sure of what to say so she just did the first thing that came to mind: she hugged the woman tightly and thanked her profusely.

Washington DC

"Enjoying the view, your majesty?" The scarred man asked as he walked up to the table behind his companion and picked a glass of white wine. They were standing on the terrace of this penthouse suite atop one of the recently completed skyscrapers jutting up into the skyline, the dark complexioned woman leaning on the balustrade. "We may have lost the direct beauty of the sunrise and sunsets but I think there is a beauty in this; man's progress, his innovation and the architecture of the modern man."

"Perhaps to one such as yourself the beauty of nature has lost its allure." She lifted a shoulder elegantly, the diaphanous shawl around her shoulders subtly enhancing the simple motion. "I, however, prefer the beauty of the rising sun over the sandy plains of Bialya…"

"It sets the sands alight, I remember," he smiled nostalgically, "transforming the white sands to a field of golden dust."

The woman turned her head to glance at him, an eyebrow arched questioningly.

"I do appreciate the splendor of nature, your majesty." He sipped from the glass before setting it down on the table beside him.

A faint smile crossed her face as she turned back to gaze upon the city life far below. "So it would seem."

Silence fell upon them and the cool evening breeze blew past.

"Should I be worried?" The man asked as he walked up to join her by the balustrades. Instead of leaning forward, though, he turned around, leaning his back on the railing and crossing his legs out in front of him.

The eyebrow went back up. "I'm afraid I'm not quite sure what you mean by that."

"I'm pretty sure that you do. You are quite the intuitive woman after all."

"Humor me"

The man sighed, as though pained that he had to be so direct. "You don't like this idea. In fact, I think it goes beyond simple dislike. You hate it."

A husky sounding laugh burst from her throat. "Believe me, Master Savage, I neither hate nor dislike this idea of yours." Then, like a flipped switch, the laughter was gone, the cool indifference back in its place. "I do, however, dislike the timing of this idea."

The big bear of a man, now identified as Vandal Savage, seemed surprised. "You didn't bring up any objections during the discussion a few days ago."

"Because I have only just begun to see things in a different light."

"Explain."

"Whether we like it or not, in the aftermath of the Apokoliptian Invasion, the heroes have become… different. Their tactics as a whole might seem the same yet, based on our initial plans, they should never have interfered with Sportsmaster's pickup on Santa Prisca. The Brain's calculations based on the data garnered in the past ten years put the chances of the League's interference with the first or second shipments at a measly nine percent. We were lucky to have made off with the first batch thanks, in large part, to the snap decision on Cadmus' head of security to transport the first batch as soon as it was ready. Again, they should never have found the data store for the Fog's stolen data yet, they not only did, they utterly destroyed said data. Just last week we've had to factor in the possibility that Poison Ivy will be unable to work with us on the diversion and so we've had to make plans to call in the Floronic Man whose abilities pale in comparison to Ivy's. And all of this has been achieved by a team comprised of brash teenagers. Do you understand why I feel this plan of yours is a bit hasty, Master Savage? Your focus on diverting the League's attention is good but ignoring these children is not."

With her piece said, she turned back to watch the city.

Savage lifted a hand and placed it gently on her shoulder. "Believe me, your majesty, I am not underestimating the children. While it might seem like that, I have been keeping a close eye on their activities. After all, even with immortality one does not survive by being oblivious-"

His words were cut off by a gentle tapping sound that drew their attention over to the glass partitioning the interior of the suite from the terrace. Standing on the interior side of the partition, in a perfectly cut beige suit with a skirt in the place of pants stood Terra.

A slight nod from Savage and she slid the glass open and walked out to meet them. "Kennedy has sent word, Master Savage, your highness."

He prompted her to speak with a simple "And?"

"The Count has taken off, he hit cruising altitude about fifteen minutes ago and has assured that he will inform us when he lands in Vlatava."

"Thank you Terra. You may leave." With a small bow, the blonde left the room, knowing that the seeming choice was a front for the order beneath. Alone again, Savage turned to his companion. "As I was saying, your highness, I have neither forgotten nor underestimated the young heroes. In fact, I have studied our every confrontation with them and have drawn a few conclusions from them."

"Oh?" The woman didn't seem particularly impressed. "Do tell."

"T. O. Morrow's attempt at corrupting the Red Tornado may have been a failure but it provided us with the first hints of a problem: a new group of heroes. The Santa Prisca mission clarified most of the new team's members as well as giving us firsthand intel about their abilities. Ivo's AMAZO project allowed us to take readings from the League and even some of the new team. Even this last mission with Klarion had multiple objectives, the primary being to test their magical capabilities and a tertiary one which the Witch-Boy swears will help to divert attention from us."

"And how exactly does regicide further our cause?"

"Well, if we succeed, we gain a valuable resource: Vlatava. As much faith as I have in our plan and the surety of Bialya's support, I cannot deny the possibility that you might become compromised in the future and we need to have contingencies for that. Vertigo's country can act as a second… basket, so to speak." Savage replied as he walked over to the poolside table. Uncorking the wine from earlier, he filled two glasses as he spoke. "As a side benefit, the Count has sufficient skill, leadership qualifications and notoriety amongst those in the know, to act as the leader of our little… group."

"I do not see the Lord Regent of Vlatava exposing himself to the world on a whim." She countered.

The scarred man smiled as he passed her a glass. "You remember me telling you that the prototype Fog I asked for served its purpose? Well, its purpose was to obtain information from the Vlatavan Embassy that I had a few of our hackers work on. I'm certain that the Count wouldn't want the world to know that he funds the activities of the rebels undermining Queen Perdita's rule now would he?"

"So we gain a new resource and a pawn." She mulled as she swirled the contents of her glass around. "Perhaps even a bishop. Still has no bearing on what I brought up."

"Oh but it does. You see, we currently believe that the Batman is the source of all their intelligence, the children I mean. Now, we can find out just how the Bat thinks when he's thrust into a double pronged attack.

"We've squeezed out as much data as we can from the Sphere Desaad promised. Now, we'll lure them in and Psimon can have a go at figuring out just how powerful their telepath is."

"While we, at the same time, make our move on Perdita." The woman nodded slowly as the pieces of the plan clicked into place in her head. "The Batman must prioritize this; send the rookie squad after the unknown energy pulses? Or have them find and protect the Queen."

"And thanks to the diplomatic visit the young queen will be arriving here in just over two weeks, enough time for word to have spread round the grape vine about the target and the parameters but not enough time or the Bat to have come up with a full on counter." He smiled around the rim of his glass as he quaffed the wine. "So, your majesty, do you still think I'm underestimating them?"

"You've… given me a bit to think of…"

Gotham

FLASHBACK

The last thing she had expected was to open her eyes. After all, she could, even now, recall the sharp pain in her side and the image of the vial of her serum poking out from between her ribs was as clear now as when she'd first seen it.

She had died.

Yet here she was, eyes open, her mind clearly at ease with the situation judging by the fact that she wasn't screaming her head off or just generally freaking out. She'd had a few religious friends back in her college days, some Christian, some Jewish, others Muslim, Buddhists and more. They'd often debate on the afterlife during their off days and, though she'd never participated, she found herself thinking back to those discussions.

'Is this the afterlife?' She wondered, her vision still filled with the blurry white of wherever she was. 'Am I dead?'

'Not yet, dear child.' A new voice whispered comfortingly. 'Although you did come quite close to crossing the Black Gates.'

Even with the aura of warmth the voice projected, she couldn't help the shiver she felt rush down her spine. Gazing around to find the source of the voice was to no avail as everywhere she looked, she saw only the indistinct whiteness that she had first seen. 'Who's there?'

'Dear child, do you not see me?' The voice sounded about as confused as she did. 'I am here, right before your eyes.'

The shivers of fear had become icy claws of dread. Was she blind? After all, that had to be the reason she couldn't see anything. Blindness… She'd have to be re-educated, taught how to read Braille, keep an audio recorder to keep track of her thoughts… Heavens, she'd need a lab assistant to help her at work and, thanks to her all-too-recent experience with Woodrue, she sure as hell wouldn't be doing that.

Like shattered glass, all her dreams and ambitions came crashing down about her head. All she'd worked for, all she'd dreamed of-

'Child!' The voice cut into the spiraling vortex of her thoughts. 'Do not fret, child.'

'I shouldn't fret?' The thoughts came up in a bubble of rage mixed with despair. 'I have lost the ability to do everything that I have dreamed of since I was a child and you expect me not to fret?!'

'I do, dear child…' The voice replied, as calm and calming as ever. 'Now, focus on my voice, dear child, and open your eyes.'

She wanted to rage at the simple words-did the owner of this voice think she was such a fool?- yet, inexplicably, she found herself thinking the words over calmly.

She had nothing to lose if she followed the voice's directive. True, it would break her heart for her fears of blindness to be confirmed but then, she already thought she was blind so…

Taking in a deep breath, she focused on her eyes, on opening her eyelids to see wherever she was…

'That's it, child,' the voice encouraged softly, 'focus… Do not worry about when to open your eyes. Just focus…'

Most of all, she focused on the voice, letting it guide her onward until she felt it; a sensation like cool oil flowing through her mind, strengthening her.

She opened her eyes.

And saw Paradise.

That was all her mind could bring up to describe it; a Paradise the likes of which no other human had ever seen. It was a jungle and a flower garden and a greenhouse all rolled up into a single place; it seemed chaotic, vines crisscrossing about and leaves swaying all about yet she could sense a pattern of orderliness in it. Her experienced eyes picked out various plants that shouldn't have been able to co-exist due to climatic conditions all thriving here as colors that should have clashed mingled perfectly as the flowers bloomed before her eyes and the smell…

"I have to be dead." She concluded as she sat up, all fears of blindness forgotten in the majestic beauty of this place. "Nothing like this exists on Earth, nothing like this can exist on Earth."

"To be honest, child, you're not quite on the Earth at the moment." She spun round upon hearing the voice echo all around her. She'd thought it was a figment of her imagination but now…

"Who's there?"

"Be calm, child. I will not harm you" The voice now seemed less… diffuse, coming from a spot just behind her, and she turned to see who it was.

Her breath caught in her throat.

While not an over the top pervert, she most assuredly wasn't a prude. She had, over her time in college, learned to enjoy the human body, both male and female, and often found herself ranking people based on their looks.

The woman in front of her was simply beyond words. It was like looking at the physical embodiment of this Paradise; everything about this woman screamed perfection in balance. And her eyes… they were green. No whites, no irises, just twin orbs of the most vibrant verdant…

"How do you feel, child?" The woman asked as she sat beside her. "Though you had woken earlier, your mind was incapable of seeing the beauty of this realm without a little… protection."

"I- um, I feel great." She stuttered, barely registering the fact that the woman had explained away her period of blindness. "I feel fine."

"Good." The woman replied simply, reclining on a mound of leaves that she would have sworn weren't there moments ago.

'Okay, Pam, breathe. Just breathe and take a moment to think things through.' She thought to herself. 'Let's start off with location.' With that thought decided upon, she spoke up.

"This place… Well, I suppose you could consider this to be an aspect of Nature; a single plane in this realm."

"An aspect… of Nature?"

"Indeed." The woman replied. "Of course, this is simply my home, not the entirety of this plane; between my brethren and I, we share the entirety of this plane. We have our name for this place but I believe humans would simply call it… The Green…"

"The Green…" Pamela repeated, feeling just a bit overwhelmed by what she was hearing but craving to hear more. "And you said brethren'?"

"I did. I am Einnashé." She said with a little inclining of her head. "My brethren and I form what you would call the Council of the Green…"

FLASHBACK END

When her eyes snapped open, Pamela Isley expected to be in her own version of the Eden Einnashé had shown her. Barring that, she expected the barrenness of her customized cell at Arkham.

Getting neither was the first sign that things weren't normal.

The second was the silence.

Ever since she'd taken up the mantle of the 'Champion of the Green', she'd been hearing the whispers of her children; plant life the world over sought to communicate with their champion, to tell her of the horrible things man had done or planned to do against her domain. It was both a blessing and a curse; the only thing that had helped her retain her sanity after her first stint in Arkham yet the reason she sometimes wished not to sleep. It was one of her most basic abilities.

And she now, couldn't hear them.

It sent a pang of raw terror running down her spine; not once, in all the time she had been captured and imprisoned, had she ever been deprived of the voice of her children; not in the custom-cell designed for her in Arkham, not even when she had been injected with the Batman's power-dampening cocktail.

It terrified her.

Yet, she found herself baffled by the experience. She could feel her connection to the Green; it was still there, still keeping her alive, yet he could not call on its powers.

Also, as far as her surroundings told her, she wasn't in any conventional prison that she knew of. After all, which correctional facility provided a clean room complete with a bed, side table and lamp, a dressing table -beside an open window, no less!- and what seemed to be a fully functional bathroom for the inmates?

'And they didn't even strip me either.' She thought as she took in her state of dress; the leaves she often bound to her clothes must have fallen off at some point after her abilities had been dampened and so she was left in the modified corset, bikini and gloves she typically wore. A quick glance downward showed that only her boots had been taken off and they had been carefully set beside the bed.

'No,' she decided as she swung out of the bed and headed for the window. 'This may not be a conventional prison but it is a prison all the same. As expected, this room is at least a floor above the ground level which would explain why the windows are unsealed. They know I won't get far without my children.'

Having come to that conclusion, she turned toward the bathroom. 'They likely don't want me dead, whoever brought me here. There's really no point in stripping me of my abilities and allowing me to enjoy such a pleasant night.' She found herself stopped short by the first thing she saw in the bathroom. 'And a change of clothes too? If they actually want me dead then they have a really strange way of going about it.'

"… so now he's waiting for the book?" Naruto asked, switching the phone to his left hand to hold to his ear while he reached down to pull open the oven.

"Yeah." Kaguya replied. "He says that he should be able to get it proofread within three weeks of his getting it."

"Alright then, send me his mail and I'll send the draft copy over."

"Sure. How's Miss Isley doing?"

Carefully, to avoid spillage, he pulled out the pan carrying leg of mutton he'd been roasting. "She was still asleep about twenty minutes ago. Beyond that, though, I'd say she's okay."

"Fine. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye." Sparing a glance at the phone to cut the connection, he slipped the device into his back pocket and focused on transferring the meat onto a tray and draining the gravy into a container he'd prepared in advance. All of this was almost mechanical though, as his mind was on his 'guest'.

From what he'd been told by Yggdrassil, Pamela had been chosen as the 'Champion of the Green' a representative of their council. Or perhaps the term 'ambassador' was a better fit. Whichever it was, she wielded phenomenal powers over plants to aid her in her task of protecting plant life all over the world.

'It it, at its core, a good, maybe even a noble cause.' He thought as he worked. 'Animal life is, after all, tied very closely to plant life.'

So why? Why did she choose to go down the path of direct aggression instead of trying out a more peaceful approach? Was it something related to Einnashé? After all, according to Yggdrassil, champions often took on certain characteristics of the one who had brought them before the Green. Maybe certain elements of the Disemboweling Sea of Trees had bled into her chosen?

Further rumination upon the matter was brought to a halt, though, when he picked up the sound of a door being shut.

Taking a quick moment to rinse his hands, he grabbed the gravy container and stashed it in the refrigerator -for the time being- as he made his way into the living room.

Her back was turned to him as she stared about the admittedly Spartan furnishings of the large room. He had taken her to the safe-house that Batman had all but given him instead of the more frequently used place at the Harbor as a precaution.

"I'm glad to see you up." He said and he observed the slight tensing of her shoulders before she calmly turned to face him but said nothing of it. "I was afraid that you might have been forced into a coma by my actions."

She said nothing, her green eyes staring intently at him as she crossed her arms underneath her bust. Naruto sighed internally as he walked over to a chair a few feet away from where she stood, hoping that things would go, if not smoothly, then at the very least without too many hiccups.

"Are the clothes okay?" He asked, pressing on with a lighter issue. "Or will you prefer a change? If so then please let me know your preferences and I will try to get them for you." The clothes she was in at the moment, a pair of jeans and a plain black tee, had been picked out by Kaguya based on their simplicity.

"These are… adequate." She replied slowly, seemingly bothered by the question before her eyes hardened. "I take it you're my captor?"

The shinobi winced slightly at the last word. His actions did make him seem like a captor… "I suppose I will have to -tentatively- accept that designation. Though, in all honesty, I really would have preferred it if we'd met under different circumstances."

Those verdant eyes glared at him spitefully. "What kind of circumstances?"

"At the very least, one that didn't involve me having to stop you from killing people and then pulling you out of a building that the police were very much interested in storming." He shot back, slightly annoyed by her tone. "The only reason you're not in a cell at the moment is because I pulled you out of that building."

Abruptly, her expression changed from veiled anger to a mocking sneer. "What, and that makes you a hero? I'll have to remind you, Mister-I-pulled-your-ass-out-of-the-fire, that I would was perfectly capable of getting out of that building until you did whatever it was that you did and stripped me of my connection to my children! That inside here I'm in as much of a cell as I would have been back at Arkham except inside here I can't hear them! I can't hear the voices of my children even though I should and I know that it is because you did something to me!" Her voice had risen as she raged at him and so, now, her chest heaved as she took in gulps of air to calm herself down.

For an instant, a mere fraction of a second, Naruto felt rage threaten to overcome him. That moment flashed by and all he knew in its wake was guilt. In her anger filled rant, he had heard the cries of the little girl, Pammy, and he heard the underlying message in her words: you've cut me off from the only companions I have learned to trust.

He couldn't be angry at that; not when he, even now, remembered the feeling of being all alone in the world.

"I… I'm sorry." He started, a bit reluctantly. "I didn't know your connection to the plant life was so powerful and when I altered the… serum… I used to dampen your powers, I didn't realize that it would cause you such pain."

"Just…" She tried to glare at him and make demands but failed horribly and could only turn away from him. "Just give it back."

Hearing the brokenness in her voice made him flinch as though he'd been struck and the words he spoke next had him feeling like an absolute heel. "I can't."

She turned to him so quickly he was half expecting her to grab her neck in pain of the whiplash. Her eyes, once brimming with anger and indignation, were now swimming in tears. "I don't need to be able to call them to me. I don't care about having them attack you or defend me; I just need to hear them. I need to hear my babies. Please."

The desperation in her tone was heart-wrenching yet he remained steadfast. To do what she asked, he would have to understand her abilities, know just how connected she was to the Green –and Kami did he hate how much that made him sound like Kabuto- before he could adjust the dampening seal he had placed on her. That wasn't something he could simply tweak and hope for the best because if her powers surged out of control then the Gotham docks would suffer for it. And, should things flip around and her connection to the Green be fully cut off, she would, almost certainly die…

Perhaps she had read into his silence or was simply better at reading people's body language, whatever the case, she had read into his silence and understood that he couldn't do anything at the moment. The tears, after a while, stopped, and she simply turned away from him to stare at the opposite wall. After a while, she spoke up again; "Why did you bring me here? Clearly you don't want to kill me and I see no point in my being kept around like a pet if I can even do any tricks."

He sighed again. She was back to being snarky. "I wanted to talk to you. It's what I meant when I said that I'd wished we met under different circumstances."

"And what exactly did you want to talk about?"

The blond held up his hands, gesturing that she should remain calm. "I just wanted to understand why you chose to become Poison Ivy."

Excerpt taken from: Star Wars: The Corellian Trilogy; Ambush at Corellia- Chapter 4; The Dangers of Peace

For some reason, this chapter – about half of the entire bloody f**king reason I added the Poison Ivy storyline- was almost ruined by a number of factors.

For starters, by the time I got around to starting this, the Council of the Green portion (the council discussing with Naruto about Pamela) was wiped from my system together with a bunch of other documents.

Then, when I finally got around halfway through this chapter, the laptop gave out on me.

I just got it fixed and the second half of this chapter was pretty much just thrown together over twenty four hours. I'm not even sure I can deliver on getting the council convo back into the story.

Damn it. Considering the fact that Pammy may not even show up for a while just makes me feel even worse about this.

Anyway, the chapter takes place during the episode 'Downtime and, with this, I can get into what I will call the Nirvana arc.

Expect Raven's demons, big battles and a whole new plan I created specifically for the Light.

Read and Review Please.

The Ethereal Lord.

Note: Vandal Savage, contrary to the imagery conveyed by his name, is not some brutish thug. He can act brutish, but he is not one. Hence the respect he shows Queen Bee; he sees her, not so much as an equal as someone whose rank deserves respect. In the same vein, Queen Bee is NOT subservient to Vandal. As far as the Light is concerned, they are all equals. She refers to him as 'master' though as a form of respect. Hope that clears a few things up.