A/n: I have very little excuse so I won't make one. Thank you all for your immense patience and for your continued support of this story. It means the world to me. On with the show.

"Bruce, think this through…"

"No, Clark. This ends. Now. I'm taking care of this." Batman stormed through the halls of the Watchtower towards the zeta beams, intent on tracking down the son of a bitch that dared lay a hand on his son and ripping him limb from limb. To hell with the spell, that bastard would be a drooling vegetable by the time Bruce finished with him.

"Bruce, Clark may have a point here," Diana interjected, jogging to keep up with the Dark Knight as he continued his trek. "We won't let anything happen to him, you know that, he'll be perfectly safe-" Batman turned suddenly on his heel.

"I'm not using him as bait, Diana. After everything that madman has done to him already, you want me to seriously consider letting him within 100 miles of Dick again?" Out of the corner of his eye he saw Clark move to surreptitiously block his path to the zetas.

"We'll be there the entire time. We just have to give Raven time to do the spell. We can do that, surely!"

"He's bested us each time. I'm not going to put Dick in a position to go back through that. Not again. You saw him, Diana, you know what he did to him… if he gets his hands on him again, he won't let him go. We will never find him. Is that what you want?"

"Of course not, Bruce. But… we have to do something. If we don't, this will happen again, it's only a matter of when. Is that what you want?"

Bruce opened his mouth to retort just as an alarm rang out from his communicator.

To hell with caution, it was far too late to pull any punches. Slade crept stealthily towards his target, having already dismantled or avoided most of the security systems. He stalked through the darkness, single grey eye scanning the cave with careful precision. This was his only chance. He would not be so lucky again. With Batman and the League occupied at the Watchtower guarding their precious Boy Wonder, he had just enough cover to do what he came for and get out. Then the brat would pay.

He found his target quickly enough. He crouched before the control panel, connecting his tools and swiftly typing in a sequence of code. The ground before him opened, emitting green steam from the depths of the pool it slowly revealed. Lazarus.

He smiled beneath his mask, even as the alarms rang out through the cave. With a dark laugh, he took one step into the bubbling liquid, then another. Closing his eye, he submerged himself in it's depths.

The change was immediate. With a gasp of air, he surfaced, the liquid dripping off of him quickly. His senses heightened. His vision sharpened. He felt stronger, faster… better. He climbed out of the pool and made his way out of the cave, taking a stroll through the house, a smile on his face as he went. The boy would not get away this time. He would take him back or die trying.

Batman raced into the cave, batarangs already poised, eyes flitting over each surface as he moved through the darkness. The alarm had notified him of activity in the cave and he had roughly shoved past Clark to the zeta tubes, arriving less than 2 minutes later, but he knew before entering that he was most likely too late.

His eye caught upon a green glow in the distance, an antechamber of the cave he rarely visited. No.

His fears were confirmed when he laid eyes upon the sparking control panel and the open Lazarus Pit, dimly lit due to recent use. His stomach sank as he realized the implications.

Slade was maniacal, manipulative, murderous and unpredictable at best. Combined with the use of the pit, he'd be faster, more dangerous and less calculating. The temporary insanity would make him unhesitant to act and heedless of any inner conscience or clinical decision making.

If Dick was in danger before, now he was in a pit of wolves. He didn't want Dick anywhere near Slade, but his hands were tied. The stakes had been raised. Who knew how much time they had before Slade chose to make his next move? They had to act first.

Batman raced out of the cave back to the zeta beam. He had never run so fast in his life.

You should guard your toys more carefully, Mister Wayne.

Dick...

Alfred was reapplying the salve to his wounds when the door flew open, slamming against the wall with a violent thud. Dick nearly jumped out of his skin as he leapt to his feet and faced the cause of the commotion. Alfred quickly composed himself and began gathering up the supplies.

"Bruce, you gave me a heart attack. Are you ok? Is everything-" he yelped as he was swept into a sudden hug, Bruce's arms wrapping around him tightly, his chest heaving with panting breaths as he clutched Dick to him.

"Thank God," Bruce mumbled, releasing Dick from the hug as he sat heavily in the nearby chair, sweeping the cowl from his head as he sank down.

"Bruce, what… you're scaring me, what's happened?" Bruce hesitated. Dick pulled his shirt over his head, but upon receiving no answer pressed further. "Bruce?"

"He found a way into the cave." Dick froze, but did not look entirely surprised. Bruce put his head in his hands where he sat, hunching over his knees. Alfred stiffened, squaring his shoulders as he braced to hear the rest. "He found the pit."

"Oh," Dick squeaked, blinking quickly. "I-oh."

"Dick, we have to act. We can't waste anymore time with this. I didn't want to put you through this, but if we don't act first I don't know what will happen."

"What are you going to do?" Dick asked quietly.

"We have to draw him out. We have to get him into a trap so Raven can cast the memory spell."

"Ok… you have to be careful, though, he's… he's smart, Bruce, really smart. He'll know if you're setting him up with something, you'll have to think of something he can't resist-" he trailed off, realization dawning on his face. "You'll have to…"

"Master Bruce, I really must insist against this-"

"He has to see you for the spell to work, Dick. You have to be in his line of sight." Dick exhaled shakily, eyes dropping to the floor as he clenched his hands by his sides. "If there was any other way, Dick-"

"I'll do it."

"Master Dick," Alfred said, stepping forward and putting his hands on Dick's shoulders. "You do not have to do this right now. Master Bruce, it's too soon for this, you must think of a plan and-"

"Alfred, if we don't do it now I don't think we'll get another chance." Bruce said, standing. "You know what the pit does, Alfred. He's going to be stronger, faster, more unstable. While that may be to his advantage, the instability might just give us the upper hand. He's not going to be thinking as clearly, he's going to slip up somehow. This is our only shot."

Dick had begun trembling slightly. "Wh-" he cleared his throat. "When are we going to-?"

"We have to call a meeting and make a plan. We end this tonight."

A/n: I'm going to have another chapter up later tonight. Thank you again for sticking with me.