A/N: I'm dying from a caffeine headache. I'm suffering from a caffeine shortage. T_T It's also almost 1:45 a.m. and I've got a 9 a.m. tomorrow morning. Good news: It's the last day of classes.

Chapter 54 summary: In which deities exchange information and those left behind make plans.


Deities and Plan

Helios turned to where Eous stood still watching him and waiting for a command. The solar Titan waved the stallion over and brushed his hands down the sides of Eous's strong neck, combing through the fiery mane. "Thank you for taking me here, my friend," he whispered in Ancient Greek. "Run free. I'll call you if I need you."

Eous shook his head in dissatisfaction but obeyed all the same. Helios watched his closest friend gallop away, vanishing in a ray of sunlight. Then the Titan shifted his form slightly so he appeared in clothes more acceptable for the era. He now wore a white button down shirt and white lacks with white shoes. Satisfied with his appearance, he lifted his head and was startled to find Set and Mokuba walking steadily further away from him forcing Helios to run to catch up with them.

Set did not even glance back in the Titan's direction. He simply kept his right hand buried in his pocket while his left clasped Mokuba's smaller hand. They walked through the grass and pine straw to the walkway which looped through the park. They eventually passed a ring of men and women in blue and black uniforms whom Helios determined to be the authorities mentioned earlier.

Helios saw Set nod respectfully to them before moving on. One man, dressed differently from the rest, stepped forward. He man wore a black button up shirt, a black coat, and dark blue jeans with a badge clipped to his belt loop. The faintest hint of a shaved beard and mustache outlined his mouth and his eyes were dark and serious.

"How'd it go?" he asked.

Set paused and stared at the man with a measuring gaze. After a moment his shoulders relaxed a fraction. "The guilty party has been dealt with. If you want more information, I suggest you contact your vigilante. He was a great help." Set's sharp blue eyes glanced back over his shoulder in the direction they just came from. "On second thought," he said, "it looks like Arrow's coming here to talk to you in person. Be glad you have him on your side. He's a loyal ally."

The man nodded contemplatively. "I can't agree with his methods completely but... I'll give him this, he gets the job done." He held out his hand. "Detective Quentin Lance," he said. "Thanks for helping us."

Set eyed the hand before hesitantly removing his right hand from his pocket to grasp it. Mokuba gasped and the detective's eyes grew large. The man grabbed Set's hand and turned it palm up in surprise.

"What happened?" he demanded, staring at the burn marks covering Set's palm.

Set rolled his shoulders and drew his hand back, stuffing it into his pocket self-consciously. "Nothing that concerns you," he said. There was no edge to the voice but it was a clear dismissal of the subject nonetheless.

The detective nodded slowly. "I won't press then, but I highly suggest you get that looked at. The last thing you need is for it to get infected."

Set nodded and turned to leave, Mokuba hurrying along by his side still clinging to Set's uninjured hand. Helios hesitated before following after the Egyptian god and his sibling. He had seen the injury clearly but could not think of an instance when Set had favored that hand or had a chance to injure it in the first place. That meant he likely injured it before Helios arrived. But that still left the question of what had done the damage in the first place up in the air.

"Set," Helios called softly.

"Don't call me that," Set snapped. "Set died 5,000 years ago. I said that before."

Helios nodded. "Then what would you like me to call you?"

"My name, Kaiba Seto."

"Seto?" Helios asked.

Set shook his head negatively. "Kaiba."

"Kaiba then." The tension in Kaiba's shoulders eased. "How did you injure your hand?"

Kaiba's eyebrows furrowed and his eyes flickered to Helios suspiciously. "Thanagarian technology. It's still in the field back there. The bird girl can deal with it."

"You mean the weird ankh thing?" Mokuba asked curiously.

Kaiba nodded. "It's made of a metal that repels magic."

"I saw..." Mokuba cringed and clung tighter to his brother's hand. "I saw you react when Shadow Thief forced your hand to touch it. You...you screamed. I couldn't hear anything but I could...I could see-"

Kaiba stopped walking, released Mokuba's hand, and knelt, gathering his brother in his arms and picking him up. Both of his hands supported Mokuba's weight as he held the younger Kaiba close and stood to continue walking out of the park to the parking lot. Mokuba locked his arms around his big brothers neck and buried his face in the black shirt and white trench coat, sniffling softly.

Helios watched the process with a kind of sad fascination. He remembered doing something similar with his youngest sister, Eos, before she had grown too big for him to continue. He recognized the close relationship the two brothers had and felt a surge of jealousy and loss and ultimately guilt flood his senses. Biting back against the emotions, he followed Kaiba quietly.

When they stepped onto the asphalt, two men ran to them from one of the cars parked in the corner of the parking lot. Helios instinctively tensed, ready for an attack, but calmed when he noticed Kaiba made no move to avoid the men. In fact, he deliberately changed his course to meet them.

One man was clearly older than the other, though not by much. He had close cut black hair with a streak of gray near his ears. The other man had light brown hair that had the slightest hint of curl and a van dyke beard framing his stern mouth and strong face. Both men wore sunglasses and dark suits and Kaiba apparently trusted them. They must be his bodyguards then, Helios guessed.

The black haired man spoke in rapid Japanese, guiding Kaiba to the black car door which the other man opened and helped them inside.

"He is wounded," Helios said, gaining both men's startled attention. Kaiba just tossed him a tired glare and continued to hold Mokuba close as he slid into the back compartment of the vehicle. Helios ignored the look and turned to the dark haired man. "His right hand is badly burnt. I suggest he be given medical attention as soon as possible."

"It's not that bad," Kaiba countered poking his head out of the car.

"Ni-sama!"

Kaiba blinked and stared back at Mokuba who was glaring up at him with frustrated eyes from his seat inside the vehicle. After a moment, Kaiba groaned. "Fine. It's bad, bu-"

"Kaiba-sama," the lighter haired man said. "There is a first aid box in the trunk. Let us handle it."

Helios made to follow Kaiba into the car when the dark haired man stopped him. "Do I know you?"

"It's alright, Roland," Kaiba said. "He's with me."

The man, Roland, nodded and stepped aside, allowing Helios to climb into the car and sit across from Kaiba and Mokuba still curled in his big brother's lap. It was only then that Helios noticed there was a lot of room in the cab.

Leather seats lined the sides of the vehicle. The front was a false wall and window that rolled down to give the passengers a semblance of privacy and separation from the driver. Lining that wall was a small television that was turned on to a local news station but muted with subtitles scrolling along the bottom of the screen. A partially concealed icebox held several cans of coke as well as a single bottle of wine.

Helios took all this in as he settled in his seat. The front driver's door opened and the lighter haired man stepped in and started the car. The door to the cabin opened once more and Roland climbed in, closing the door behind him. He knocked on the wall behind the driver's door and the driver began backing up.

Roland ignored Helios entirely, moving to sit beside Kaiba. He eyed his boss lifting an eyebrow significantly, waiting for the stubborn young man to show him the wounded hand. Kaiba hesitated for only a couple seconds before holding out his right hand palm out. Roland's eyes grew large before narrowing, examining to burns with a trained eye.

After a minute or so, he sat back and began picking through the first aid kit for cotton balls, peroxide, triple antibiotic, and bandages. He pulled out the brown bottle of peroxide and soaked a cotton ball with it. "This'll sting," was all the warning he gave before cleaning the burns.

Kaiba's eyes narrowed and his grip on Mokuba tightened. After a few seconds or so, Roland soaked another cotton ball and squeezed out its contents on the burn before rubbing it gently. Kaiba released his breath in a hiss as he leaned back with his eyes closed. He thanked the gods it was peroxide and not alcohol on his burns. Peroxide stung but alcohol burned like Ra's fire.

When Roland was finished, Kaiba relaxed, allowing his bodyguard and old friend to gently rub a glob of triple antibiotic on a cotton ball onto his burns before wrapping his hand thoroughly in a bandage. Kaiba was not exactly pleased with the outcome but he would have to deal with it until the burns healed. He knew from experience, courtesy of his previous incarnation, that wounds incurred by that particular type of metal took longer to heal than other kinds of wounds, normal and magical in nature.

"May I ask what happened?" Roland asked in soft Japanese.

Kaiba stopped himself before shrugging which would disturb Roland's work. "I touched something I shouldn't have," he said.

"More like the bad guy forced you to," Mokuba interrupted leaning back to stare at his big brother with an expression that mixed worry and frustration. He turned around to face Helios. "Can you heal him?" he asked.

Helios thought for a moment before shaking his head. "Unfortunately, no. I might be able to, but it would be best if I did not," he amended at Mokuba's startled expression. "I am of the Greek pantheon and thus my power is different from yours. I'm honestly not sure how you powers would react to my interference."

"You handled Ra-Horakhty's power alright," Mokuba argued.

Helios shook his head. "No, not really. Had I been mortal, the power would have killed me. We may both be solar deities but our power is too different. I could handle it for a short time, but not for an extended period." He lifted his golden eyes to the elder Kaiba who was listening with interest. "Just as you would likely be unable to handle my power or that of any deity from a foreign pantheon. It's one of the many reasons different pantheons keep their distance from one another."

Kaiba nodded thoughtfully, wincing every now and then when the binding pinched or pulled on the burns. It had to be his dominant hand that got burned, naturally. "Makes sense," he said. "But I'm not a deity."

Again Helios shook his head. "On the contrary," he said. "You are very much so."

Kaiba sat up straight, stunned. Even Roland paused in his workings to stare at Helios incredulously while Mokuba's mouth dropped open. After a moment, Kaiba sneered half sincerely. "Very funny."

"I don't find it funny at all," Helios countered seriously. "Why else do you think my pantheon fears you and yours as much as they do?"

Kaiba blinked. "Me and...mine?"

Helios tilted his head in confused affirmation. "The one called Atum as well as Isis and several others, yes."

Kaiba huffed an uneven laugh. "But only Obelisk, Ra, Osiris, and Ra-Horakhty are gods. We're just their human representatives."

"That may have been the case at one time, but it is no longer so," Helios replied firmly. "Deities come into being in several ways." He held up one finger. "They are born as such which is the most common, or," he lifted a second finger, "they are deified over time as humans revere and worship them which is the next common method, or," he held up a third finger, "the human is granted immortality and deified status by another god, or," he held up a forth finger, "a human takes on the persona of a god or goddess who did not previously exist and again either over time or by the kindness of another true god, they become a god themself. You and yours were deified over time."

Kaiba swallowed as he tried to wrap his head around the information. He was a god? How was that even conceivably possible? He was a human. He should know, he had almost died multiple times.

"That's not possible," he muttered in disbelief.

Helios sighed, seeing the denial for what it was, a desperate attempt for the mind to understand. He lowered his eyes. "I apologize," he said. "I thought you were already aware. I had no idea you did not know of your status as a deity."

"Who else?"

Helios blinked and lifted his eyes curiously. "Excuse me?"

Kaiba's blue eyes met the Titan's sternly. "Who else is a god?"

"From your group?" Helios asked. Kaiba nodded and Helios contemplated, choosing his words carefully. "That I saw and am personally aware of: you, the one who goes by Atum or its variation, Isis, Ra, Osiris, Obelisk, and Ra-Horakhty. There are others but I am unsure whom amongst your group is which god or goddess."

Kaiba's eyes grew large. "So the entire Shadow Court are deities?" he exclaimed.

Helios nodded slowly. "I believe so, yes. I know you and the others I mentioned by name are gods but the others I am not entirely certain. It is possible they are on the cusp of deification but it would fall to one of you who are already gods to transfer or grant deification to them as well."

Kaiba blinked and looked down into his little brother's equally stunned eyes and swallowed convulsively. "And Mokuba?"

"What about him?"

"Is he a god too?" Kaiba asked.

Helios nodded. "Most definitely. If not a god then the chosen vessel of one, specifically Ra-Horakhty."

"Ra-Horakhty," Kaiba murmured breathlessly. Mokuba shivered and pressed himself close to his big brother hugging him tightly. "What...comes with deification?" Kaiba asked softly.

Helios pressed his lips together. "It...depends honestly. In my case, I am immortal and invulnerable to any and all human methods of killing. However, I can be killed by another deity of any pantheon, although it would be harder for a foreign pantheon to kill me simply because our powers vary and thus our weaknesses vary as well." He tilted his head as he gazed at Kaiba and Mokuba thoughtfully. "As for you and Mokuba, I believe you are both immortal but not invulnerable. You can be killed by human methods but seeing as how you yourself were reborn from the last time you died, I would assume the same would happen if you were killed this round as well."

"So basically, unless we're killed or get sick or something ridiculous like that, we'll live forever," Kaiba said. Helios nodded. "But we can still get sick or whatnot?"

"Yes."

"But if we are killed or die somehow, we will be reborn or reincarnated or whatever at some later date?"

Helios nodded. "Yes. That's my belief from what I have observed."

"And will we age?" Kaiba pressed.

helios hesitated. "I don't know."

"Can it be removed?"

Helios started. "Removed? You mean the deification?" Kaiba nodded tightly. "I...I do not believe so, no. I know another god from your own pantheon whose powers exceed yours would most likely be able to do it, but other than that I think it's permanent."

Kaiba glared and tried his best not to sulk. "Then as for the reincarnation part, is that unusual?" Kaiba asked, his newly kindled interest overpowering his uncertainty and displeasure. Best to know and understand the problem well before dealing with it.

"No, not at all," Helios replied. "Several of the Norse gods are subject to such a method of deification as are several deities of the Chinese pantheon as well as the Japanese and many others." He shrugged. "It's just what happens sometimes."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "Will we retain our memories from our previous lives?"

"Agan, I don't know," Helios said. "It generally varies from person to person. Sometimes a single deity will remember all of their previous lives then the next time they are reborn, they'll have no recollection of any of them whatsoever."

Kaiba squeezed Mokuba, pressing his little brother close. "I won't forget my brother," he said softly. "Never," he added in Japanese.

"Ni-sama," Mokuba all but purred earning him a soft, unsure smile from his big brother. Mokuba preened at his big brother's attempt. It still needed some work but it was certainly a huge leap from when Gozaboro was still alive.

Helios fell silent and contented himself with observing and thinking. The fact that Set, or Kaiba as he was now called, had been completely unaware of his godly status was strange as well as unnerving. It made Helios question what he knew of the so-called Shadow Court. Why would anyone who had become a deity want to withdraw from such an existence? It made Helios's mind spin.


Arrow winced as Diggle's voice continued to holler in his earpiece. He was holding it a good foot away from his ear and he could still hear his best friend yelling at him through the device. He sighed. If this was a foreshadowing of what he would get in person, Arrow could wait before talking to his friend face to face. Well, now that he thought about it, not really. They lived at the same place.

"I think you should say something," Yuugi said, blushing in his effort to keep his giggling back. "Your friend sounds worried."

Arrow nodded in fond exasperation and did as the King suggested. But he stopped after a moment and turned back to address the Justice League. "I suggest only J'onn and Flash come to the meet," he said. "I don't want too many people there."

"I would like to be present," Wonder Woman said. "Helios is one of my gods and I have a few questions for him."

"Us too," Shayera said, placing a hand on John Stewart's shoulder. "And while I'm hesitant to say it," she added, glancing at the limping and obviously confused Carter Hall, "I think he should come as well."

"No," Arrow said sharply. "You, Lantern, and Wonder Woman are welcome." He glared at the former Shadow Thief. "He isn't."

"You heard Kaiba," Superman protested. "He was possessed."

"It doesn't matter," Arrow said. "It's still my city. I may forgive him but I can't forget what happened to my people so easily. I want him to keep his distance, at least for a while. That's another thing," he added, glaring at the ankh thing still sitting conspicuously in the middle of the field. "I want that gone permanently."

Batman nodded. "I understand. We'll take Hall to the Watchtower until we figure out what to do with him. Hawkgirl and Lantern can take care of that."

"Thanks," Arrow said.

"Don't mention it."

"Also," he added as an afterthought, "civilian personas only if at all possible."

Shayera lifted an incredulous eyebrow. "I have wings," she said simply.

"We can take you," Yuugi said. "If you'd like," he offered, turning to Arrow for permission, "Yami and I can go to Java Script now and find a place to sit."

"There is a sitting area on the rooftop," J'onn said, drawing the group's attention. "It is half covered and seems to be slightly nicer than the other tables."

"Probably reservation only then," Arrow muttered. "I'll call and see if I can reserve the place. I'll bring Walter and Diggle with me when I come."

"Call us and we'll bring Hawkgirl," Yami said.

"I will join you," Shaadi said.

"After I get Harpie back," Mai said, flipping her hair over her shoulder, "I'll even give you a ride, stone face."

Shaadi gave the Sorceress his version of an annoyed glare which came off more of a sullen glower. Jounouchi chuckled. "I go with Yug', so..." He shrugged. "I'll meet ya there."

"And you three?" Batman asked the quiet Dark Triad.

Bakura shrugged. "Whatever my Yadonoushi wants," he said.

"I need a nap first," Marik said, stretching. He winced when his back popped. "You think Kaiba will mind if I borrow his-"

"Yes!" everyone said.

Marik groaned. "Alright then," he said. "Who here's got a car I can borrow?"

"Why?" Flash asked suspiciously.

Marik just grinned.

The vigilante shook his head. "I don't want to know," he muttered to himself before darting off towards the trees. He wanted to have a brief word with Detective Quentin before heading home to change.

He followed Kaiba's trail and placed his communicator back in his ear. "Diggle, if you keep talking I can't answer any of your questions," he said.

Diggle fell silent. "You better have a good explanation for this," his friend warned.

Arrow grinned despite himself. "I can do you one better. The guy behind this is dead."

"You sure?" Diggle asked, impressed and a little worried.

"I watched it and participated. Trust me," Arrow said solemnly. "He's dead. There's literally nothing left of him."

Arrow could see his friend nod in his head. "Alright then. Is that all?"

"No," Arrow said. "We're meeting at Java Script in an hour or so. The League's got questions and I get the feeling the Court needs to regroup."

"Are we taking sides?" Diggle asked shrewdly.

Arrow paused. Was he taking sides? He was the Starling City vigilante first and foremost. He had only joined the Justice League because they offered him resources and allies when he needed him. It also put him in a better perspective from the Law's point of view. The people of Starling City respected him but it took a while before the law enforcement did too. Now Arrow often worked with the law enforcement to help solve crimes. He could go places and do things they couldn't and he often let the Law be the ultimate judge for the villains he captured whether it was the law enforcement or the Justice League.

But now he was also a member of the Shadow Kingdom answering to and possibly even friends with the Regent. He instinctively reached for his Shadows, enjoying how they curled around him, eager to please. They were his in a way nothing else could be. But what was he: a member of the Justice League or a Shadow user? Would he have to choose between the two?