Segment Note: Follows Tipping Point, somewhere along the way the tales have gotten from one shots to something else. The board shifts again after Cadmus' first big move. Many are at a crossroads, which direction to go, what to believe, and more.
"I must return to the Tower, Shayera's injuries require my attention even with all Inza can do, it is new to us to have treat that kind of burn."
"Let me go with you."
"It is not your fault Kara."
"Still, I have to do something."
"You gave John the opening to get her to Inza, I'll be sure she understands that much."
"Thanks Fate."
"Be well, take care, I don't know who is going to tell Wayne about this one."
Those that were captured included Oliver, Dinah, Helena, Zatanna, and Steel to name a few. The rest of the cells on Earth are alerted through scrambler, but fortunately only a third of their numbers are now in Cadmus' custody. Those that got away include Kyle, Inara, Kara, Fate, Palmer, and a recovering Captain Atom who went with Fate back to the Tower. Kara felt the need to speak to someone other than those here with her so she scramble calls an old days acquaintance.
"Things always get worse before they get better," says Barbara.
"You heard about what happen at the manor?" asks Kara.
"I heard they arrested Question, I'm under suspicion as is Dick, Tim, and they are probably going after Bruce whenever he is back from the island."
"You mean he went with her?"
"Yes, those two they are something supernatural as a force together. Sure I loved him in my own way, but she loves and endures more of him than I ever knew. I am happier and quite pleased with Dick, with my daughter."
"You know the rest of your 'family' is not above suspicion especially now they have Question and J'onn."
"I know quite well, but for now, we wait, it is the way Bruce would do it."
"Right, when can we expect his return?"
"Soon I hope, but he takes this matter with Diana very seriously, about as serious I have seen him take such things."
"I almost nobody would forgive any of them. I don't know how you did."
"We'll never really forget, but we must forgive, it is all too short to stay resentful, bitter, and angry among other things. It is not something he willingly embraced, he just thought it was the right thing until what went on with Arkham's regulars."
***
"The Illuminati... yes them... a magic bullet used once... killed you know who with it."
"Quit the meaningless conspiracies mumbo jumbo!"
"Not conspiracies, conspiracy singular."
"Whatever, send him back to Graystone, he ain't talking, bring in the Martian."
As Vic is led away, J'onn in shackles is led in only someone has come for him from the government. Montoya agrees to hand him over except she demands that they remand Sage to her jurisdiction, so far there are no objections to that development. As J'onn rides in the government armored escort car, the agent passes him a package of Oreos.
"Heard you liked those."
"And you would be?"
"Agent Faraday."
"I suppose I would as humans say owe you one."
"Consider us even for now because, I have something that might interest you and the others."
"What would that be?"
"A way to restore your abilities, the ones that disruptor negated."
"I don't think I deserve the powers back yet even though some of them were biological in origin."
"You sure about that?"
"If the expression on my face is not clear enough then what else?"
"I understand you all still very responsible if that is the word."
"I know the police believe that the former Batman violated his word by associating with so many of his former costumed allies, but he is not a man to sit by and do nothing when the world is at stake, when lives are endangered, he lost his parents, almost lost his 'family' simply because he felt unable to stop it."
"I understand that, but many elements are still very much afraid of even most trivial costume 'heroics' but me, I am only worried about another Justice Lords scenario though of course someone else is probably playing us against each other with that paranoia."
"You mean this Ra's Al-Ghul."
"There is him, but there are some new players including Vandal Savage and this dark armored individual that some suspect to be your ex-comrade Kal-El."
"He was kept when we were let out."
"Somebody either got a very similar being on their side or it is him meaning someone sprung him."
"What this individual do?"
"I trust you recall your former Watchtower."
"Yes..."
"Someone took it out of orbit by destroying its power generators, the fact that we had a binary fusion gun installed in it recently is about to tick the world off at us or at least most nations that are afraid of us."
"Yes, as John Stewart used to tell me, space based weapons always destabilize planetary politics, but of course your species has done quite enough in that area without that gun. Not I am denoucing your species, its just so often I found so little hope for your survival as I am the last Martian, but occasionally things happen like with that little girl many years ago."
"I read through a lot of the old case files on your bigger sorties, but I kept digging looking for things like that though I only found them by going deeper into the easily forgotten head lines or reports from random places that thought it significant enough to bring up often. I commend you all for things like that, but of course when things went wrong, really wrong, difficult calls had to be made, something like it is now."
"Yes this planet is at risk again because old problems with new twists are rising up."
"Cadmus launched an attack on the Lunar Watchtower or at least that's what I heard, it happen almost simultaneously with your capture at the manor."
"However it was the GCPD that caught me not Cadmus."
"Yes, they only got you and Sage, but Stewart and Hol are unaccounted for as are several Outsiders that were at the lunar base."
"Where would we look for them then?"
"I'm not sure."
***
"We got only a third of their total roster here, some that were present during the attack escaped, and of course Galatea got beamed away before the RTB order."
"Where do we have to look because the teleport records were scrambled than deleted after the beam out."
"There must be other bunkers elsewhere, either on the moon or on Earth somewhere."
"What about the GCPD detainees?"
"They still have Vic Sage, but somebody got to J'onn before we could."
"Who?"
"Faraday."
"What is he up to?"
"His agency also knows about the power disruptor, don't they?"
"Of course, but what if they have a counter measure?"
"That's a disturbing possibility."
***
"It has begun, Cadmus made the first move as expected, the Lunar Watchtower is shut down, however the planet side cells and those who escaped the lunar base are out of harm's way for now. As for Bruce, the Invisible Jet has yet to leave the island, but as we all know I have no way of sending anyone in. Those deities of the old worlds are more real than those preposterous stories about them."
"Father, why make them destroy each other?"
"It is the only way to start the world over."
"There must be another way to preserve what is left of the environment."
"Almost nobody has tried to live in harmony with the land in centuries, the last ones that did were decimated slowly by imperialistic tendencies of the current clime's nation states. The decadence has reached way beyond its peak as I once told your beloved Wayne, but still he says there are good people, not beyond saving is all this."
She sighs recognizing this topic has grown dull, she knows his answers like she knows some of Bruce's combat scars, but of course the child is in danger here. He had been right that she would endanger the child, but Kal proves to be the biggest issue to her escape route with his powers nearly back at full strength after spending days in that tank. She would have to leave while he was still in there and while her father makes another jump. Savage surprisingly and secretly confesses more of Kal's new weakness to her. He claims that he is only empowering the alien so that they would still be able to kill if it comes to that. He takes the risk of getting her and on the way to Kasnia, which is several days journey from here even under the best weather circumstances. She would also have to travel in disguise as well as alone, he still has contacts in Kasnia, they would look after her he tells her, so she prepares to leave at last. This was it, she had to prevent the overture of an apocalypse that her father has in mind otherwise what kind of world would she be bringing this growing life inside of her in too when finally born.
Ra's discovers too late that she is gone, but disperse agents to track her down, except she knows from the best how to become invisible when necessary.
***
Elsewhere, Bruce and Diana hear of recent world events so they know they have to go back now, because the world still needs heroes, still needs them. It is the unwritten part of what they do yet in remembering that they think of Wally for a moment.
People need us, we help, whether they want it or not, whether we are suppose to or not, it is what we are, remember this even if one of us dies doing what we do.
"Diana," says Persephone."
"What my goddess?" she answers.
"I want you two to follow me somewhere."
"Where?"
"You might call it the afterlife, you'll be fine, there's just someone who wants to see you both for a moment."
There is a ripple then they disappear from the shoreline only to reappear walking in green meadows with blue skies, and for miles there are only the spirits who have gone onto their conception of an afterlife yet as they near one particular ethereal doorway, it opens to reveal a city, not Gotham or Metropolis, but his city. She leaves them to see their old friend.
"Are we really here?"
"I think we are or at least how he imagines it."
A rather curious looking redhead spots them in the distance.
"Bats? Wondy!"
"Flash! Wally?"
He runs towards them and happily flops in their arms.
"How is this possible?"
"Persephone, the wife of the King of the spiritual Underworld brought us here, to how you imagine your afterlife."
"I must have a heck of imagination, but it is like I only saw you not long ago."
"Time is not linear here I take it."
"Nope, it was fun reliving all those other times, when I was there it felt like I should be there, but then I would visit other places and times in my life."
"The world changed a lot when you died."
"I remember dying, kind of, I remember begging you all not to do something."
"We did something, paid for it dearly, we are not out of the woods yet, but we are getting there."
"I always believed in the things that made you all the 'family' and the friends I respected, cared about, loved like brothers and sisters albeit older ones."
"Of course Wally."
"Still drink Iced Mochas?"
"You remembered?"
"Hey I might be dead, but I have a good memory, maybe not as eidetic as Bats."
"Same old West."
"You betcha, so where are the others?"
"They are elsewhere doing things, the usual, we did not even know of this place."
The scene shifts to Wally's apartment and he catches something on his television, it runs through everything that happened since his death. He breaks down through all emotions experiencing what happen to them and murmurs I shouldn't have died, could have stopped this. Diana tries to comfort him as Bruce is unable to find the words once more to console, the humorous yet dedicated speedster. He shares with them how he felt watching what happen after his death, of course experiencing all their emotions was heart wrenching, but he also saw why they got back together, it help heal his being. Of course the whole experience seems sudden, but somehow he deserved to know even if he is no longer physically among them.
"World still needs heroes, remember what I used to say, and you'll all do well. I'm proud to have been a part of that, you see as long as you remember me for what I am never totally gone y'know. The spirit of the journey is what its all about, things get worse before the better, before the dawn."
"You almost sound like Aurora at the end."
"She is right there with that point."
"Remember what we are... you, each other, all of it, it looks bad, but as long as you're together, that's all that matters most."
Persephone comes again and Wally makes some comment about her attractiveness.
"Goddesses, I tell ya, you got one right there next to you, actually make that two."
"I see why some would be so fond of him, he has a certain charm."
As they disappear, Wally drifts back to his afterlife patterns knowing the world is in their hands, he believes in them.
***
"That was different, he looked so content, so happy, of course it hurt to see him broken up by what happen after his death."
"Yes, but I believe what's happen recently has given him back his belief in all that we do, all that we are."
"I believe so too my love... and I believe in..."
She kisses him deeply before whispering love for you. It would almost seem cliche, but it did not matter, it was them happy together. It was time to go home, to the world in peril. Whatever happens they face it as one faces an uncertain future that not even the Fates could divine for certainty right now.
A/N 1: this one was not about anyone particular batch, kind of mixed it up, all the pieces shift again. The result is still ahead in the distance and for a real bender, the Fates for once have nothing to say except, future uncertain. However, I had a strange thought of bringing in Persephone to take them on a visit to the afterlife/underworld. Sure they meet a certain someone, but I think its still a nice touch.
A/N 2: I got the idea of bringing in Faraday to get J'onn out from the version of them from Justice League: The New Frontier where they played chess together. As for what goes on with Vic, its a little reminiscent of Rorschach in The Watchmen albeit less physical for starters.
A/N 3: Fate, Inza, and the Tower is coming into the story especially as they must look after a somewhat injured and pregnant Shayera. As for Talia, well she has quit her father's mad scheme, particularly for her child regardless of how the child was concieved.
A/N 4: RTB is military jargon for Return To Base, seems obvious enough.