Did you hide yourself away?
I can't see you anymore
Did you eclipse another day?
I used to wake up to the color of your soul

Did you hide yourself away?
Are you living through the ghost?
Did you finally find a place above the shadows
So the world will never know?
The world will never know you like I do

-Through the Ghost by Shinedown

His body ached. Head was pounding with perhaps the worst headache of his life. The hard ground he laid on wasn't doing him any favors either.

Batman let out a groan. He felt as if he had gone through the world's longest obstacle course while simultaneously being thrown into every brick wall imaginable. He wasn't sure how it was possible considering he didn't remember a single thing, not since he woke up in what turned out to be Gotham Cathedral.

There had been a voice. Distance, soft, pleading, it called out to him while he had been in darkness. It felt like he had been stuck in a dream until then and he forced his way out of it. There had been danger and it alarmed him. Something horrible was going to happen and he couldn't let it stand.

An image appeared in his head. He saw a towering monster in metal armor, its eyes shining yellow light. It stood before a small person in black and it was throwing a gigantic fist at it. The image changed and he could see the small figure was in fact a girl, her face uncovered as her dark hair fell about her shoulders. She looked like Cassandra...was Cassandra.

The fist stopped, but not on its own volition. The vigilante had willed it to stop and it had responded in kind. Blue light suddenly shined and there was a shriek before an explosion...an explosion that was rushing towards—

Despite the fatigue he felt, Batman jerked his head off of what he found out to be asphalt. All around him was a damaged street, buildings pockmarked with cracks and holes. He was lying face down on the broken street, at least until he began to push himself up. Frantically, he searched for Cassandra.

He found her dead ahead. She was on one knee, leaning backwards, her arms shielding her face. They were slowly lowering though as she looked upward. The reason for this was because there was another person between him and his young charge.

Diana...she stood hunched over the younger girl, both arms extended out at shoulder height. Her back was to the Dark Knight, smoke wafting off of burnt skin, that which was exposed by her armor at least. Even then, the back of her red bustier had a rip that started just below her shoulder blades, where the armor began, and ran down to the small of her back. Some of her dark hair was singed, making it look uneven.

There was a brief moment, one in which he saw the Amazon standing behind an older Cassandra, hands on her head and ready to twist. Yet, it felt distant, less sharp. Faded was a good word for it. The sight of Diana standing in front of his daughter, seemingly protecting her…

Was that what she was doing? Protecting her?

The explosion. The one that had been rushing right at Cassandra, Diana must have swooped in and put herself between them. She weathered it, protecting the younger girl from the brunt of it.

He shifted and that immediately drew Cassandra's attention away from the Amazon. In a flash, she had flung herself onto her feet and darted around the dark-haired woman, hurrying over to him and taking a knee next to him. All the while, Diana had slowly straightened out her posture, turning to follow the girl's movements. The burns on her body didn't seem to be slowing her down one bit.

"Are you alright?" Cassandra demanded as her hands found his shoulders, patting them as she physically searched for injuries. "Is anything hurt?"

"I'm fine," Batman grunted. He moved his body about until he was sitting up, still facing his daughter—and subsequently Diana. Vaguely, he was aware of the others, the Justice League—and the Birds of Prey?—pulling themselves up from wherever they had been thrown aside.

Seemingly satisfied with her inspection, Cassandra then wrapped her arms around him, hugging him as she laid her head on his shoulder. Awkwardly, the vigilante raised one hand up and placed it on her back. His other hand was behind him, bracing himself against the ground and holding him...them up. Yet, he never took his eyes off of Diana.

For some time now, he had feared harm would come from this woman. He had seen it with his own eyes and it remained vivid ever since. It was hard to get it out of his head as much as he had, only for it to come roaring back whenever he was in her presence. But now...it seemed to be fading. In fact, the image of Diana guarding Cassandra from the explosion was in its place, pushing the other vision aside.

"Thank you," he said softly, certain she would hear him. Her hearing was sharper than most people gave her credit for. "For protecting her."

A soft smile appeared on the Amazon's lips and she nodded her acceptance. "You're welcome."

There had been a surprising amount of cleanup following the end of this God Binding case. Though they had captured every conspirator—the ones that survived anyways—it wasn't as simple as throwing them into jail.

For instance, they had to link each and every conspirator to a subsequent crime, which proved more difficult than previously thought. The most obvious charges included destruction of property, such as Dr. Alchemy's attack on the Keystone-Central City Bridge. There was photographic evidence of that and Flash being an eyewitness. The same with Shade at the Metropolis Museum. However, tying them to the murder of several people—the victims sacrificed in their bloody rituals—was proving harder to prove.

Hawkgirl had taken on that portion of the investigation along with J'onn. Maximilian Zeus' people had done too well of a job disposing of the bodies and cleaning up the mess. The only people they could find formed a rather odd company. There was a Gotham socialite by the name of Lily Carlisle, a notorious gambler in Oberon Sexton, and a petty thief in Stanley Rance. They had been laid to rest in a room in Zeus' penthouse, the reason remaining unknown. However, it was clear they had been killed during the rituals, so they had that going for them.

There were the notes on how to perform the binding ritual in the penthouse as well, particularly on a computer used by Professor Felix Faust. That was another link in the chain, but not enough for a complete picture.

Their biggest break had come in the form of Maxie Zeus' own men. Following interrogation by John Stewart and Diana, they managed to get confessions out of the men to their own role in appropriating the victims needed. That added kidnapping and false imprisonment to the charges. There was also the incident of breaking out a known criminal in Cornelius Stirk and the bribery of certain GCPD policemen in regards to the kidnapping of Pamela Isley.

These last two incidents were conveniently followed up by an outside source.

So a week after the events that led a Phobos-possessed Batman to declare war on the Justice League, the six heroes had finally gathered at the Watchtower to report on their respective progress.

"It's gonna be tough," John grunted as he leaned back into his chair. "We got confessions out of Zeus' men, but they're not going to be the smoking gun we need. These guys covered their tracks too well."

"You're telling me," Hawkgirl responded. "J'onn and I turned that murder dome they call a penthouse upside down and didn't find much. There's no video recordings, or anything to prove they went through this. They even had that room where they did everything cleaned up. At most we have suspicions, but nothing concrete."

This wasn't what Superman wanted to hear. After everything, they had very little. "It won't be much longer until Felix Faust and the rest manage to post bail. Then this will be lost in the courts."

"Damn lawyers," John sneered. "At the very least we can pin their actions to the Keystone Bridge and the Metropolis Museum. We definitely have the Shade for his multiple thefts, plus his criminal history."

"That's just one guy, though," Flash interjected. "And we know all of these guys were up to something. What else can we get on them?"

"Maybe Batman will find something," Hawkgirl suggested, earning herself the attention of the room. "He's the one that got us the dirt on those breakouts with that cannibal and plant lady. He's probably still working his end of the case and he has a knack for finding stuff we can't."

"That's not exactly encouraging," John replied, "but I don't see any other way."

"He'll pull through," Diana added. "He always does."

"Your encouragement is noted," Flash said drily.

Superman didn't respond to that, not that he needed to. Ever since that night in Gotham, he had noticed a change in the Amazon. She seemed more relaxed as of late. He hadn't noticed that she had been stressed, but something had changed that. He had his suspicions, but he was going to keep that to himself for now. There was no point in making a big deal out of it.

"How are things going on in Gotham anyways?" Superman then asked.

"The damage is being repaired, if that is what you are asking," J'onn answered. "The various places we fought those new metas have been cordoned off for further investigation. Faust, Albert Desmond, Richard Swift, and John Dee are all being held in confinement built for keeping meta-humans in place. None of these men have seemed to be able to use their old abilities, so it is likely with the unbinding to the Greek Gods they have lost those powers."

That was something they could thank Diana for. After the battle, she had been able to retrieve her Lasso of Truth and used it on each of Maxie Zeus' conspirators. Each bound god had been released from the binding and that had left each man powerless. At least, that appeared to be the case; there was no telling what residual powers were left over, assuming there were any.

"Thank God for small mercies," John commented.

"I will continue to monitor them for the time being. If there is any residual power left, it would be best if we were aware of it."

"I agree to that," Flash agreed. "No point in ignoring them now that we know what they were able to do."

"Then we should continue to further our own investigation then," Superman said. "There has to be something stronger to connect these men to these crimes and we haven't found them yet. I'll continue my side in Metropolis since we know the Shade was active there. Hawkgirl and J'onn should continue with Zeus' penthouse and perhaps expand into his shipping business. There might be resources he used from there to further his plan; I'll do the same with his business properties in Metropolis."

"As well the rest of us in our respective cities," Diana added. "A corporation like that will have multiple branches in this country and others."

That was a good point. Superman could hear Flash groan, though he tried to keep it under his breath. He was getting tired of this case, not that he could blame him. Usually the cases the League did were high-profile with a lot of public incidents. This one had primarily been done in the shadows, out of the limelight of the public. That required more investigation than they were used to.

But it was necessary. Justice needed to be found for the people that lost their lives during this case. Allowing them to be forgotten and without closure was not an option. They would work this case until they had the men responsible behind bars.

Seeing as there wasn't any more left to go over, Superman decided to adjourn the meeting. There was no need to keep talking in circles on this, not when they knew their assignments. "I'll go ahead and call this meeting now, unless anyone has anything they want to add." Seeing no one stepping up, the Kryptonian then began to stand up, which led the others to do the same. "Same time next week, guys."

Hopefully they could get this done soon. The longer it stretched out, the less likely they were going to get convictions. Just the thought of that didn't set well with the Man of Steel, but there was only so much they could do.

They would just have to make sure their efforts were good enough.

It had taken some time for news to reach such a desolate place. Desmond sat on the bed bunk, looking up to the ceiling.

Maximilian Zeus was dead.

The details weren't clear. All he had heard was what the guards had said about it. Unfortunately, they hadn't gone into detail, so Desmond knew very little. It pained him to know his employer, the man he had shown so much loyalty to had died.

The guards though, they were more into the events that preceded this discovery. As Dr. Alchemy, he had been rendered unconscious when they had occurred, but apparently a dark shadow had swept over Gotham, terrifying residents and slaying less reputable men and women. It sounded quite terrifying and Desmond could only think of Phobos being behind those actions. Deimos was a close second though.

However, he had seen that maniacal clown, the Joker, gun Phobos down in am explosion of blood. That weakened that assumption considerably. Then there was the fact Deimos had been forced out of his host, Desmond still unsure how that had happened. If he had more details, more information, he could make a more educated guess. Until then, he was stuck here.

Though Maxie Zeus was dead, that did not mean he was without options. His employment with Maximilian Shipping Lines entitled him to legal council of the best kind. Even now his lawyers were fighting the accusation against him, no matter how true they were. What had once looked like a case that could send him away for decades was dropping to mere years. Any further and he might only have to serve house arrest.

Considering just how high profile these lawyers were, he'd probably walk out of here scot-free.

Sooner would be preferable to later, but he could be patient a while longer. There was still work to do, especially if he wanted to realize Maxie Zeus' dream. Perhaps re-realize it was a better description.

Desmond wasn't sure how it was done nor when, but upon waking up, he had sensed an emptiness within him. There was a void where there shouldn't be one and it didn't take him long to realize that Techne was no longer within him. The binding ritual had been undone at some point—again, he did not know how—and it left him feeling hollow.

All of that knowledge, the skill...the power...everything paled in comparison to it. He wanted...no, needed it back. He needed to be Dr. Alchemy once again and Albert Desmond was a poor substitute.

No, he was no longer that man. Albert Desmond was the right hand man of a shipping magnate and nothing more. Dr. Alchemy could change the very composition of matter with a mere thought, bending it to his will. There was no comparison.

Already, a plan was forming. Though Techne was no longer with him, that did not mean he was completely empty. No, there were feelings, presences within his mind that told him that all was not lost. His every creation spoke to him, crying out for him to return to them.

That included the Philosopher's Stone.

That blood red gem was somewhere out there, he could feel it. It wanted him to come find it. Tracking it down may present some obstacles, but he knew it could be done. That stone was capable of anything imaginable. In fact, he was willing to bet he could accomplish Maxie Zeus' dream with it once it came into his possession. There would be no need for Olympians and their ulterior motives. He wouldn't need the others to lend their power for the final binding ritual either.

However, the others would prove useful if they were willing to join with him again. Felix Faust would be invaluable, no doubt wanting the same as he in becoming a god once again. It wouldn't take much convincing for Mr. Swift either. A question did arise as to the condition of the cane he had created, if it still existed. If it remained in this world like the Philosopher's Stone, then there was another weapon in their arsenal.

As for John Dee...he could rot in whatever prison awaited him. His loyalty was to himself and so he would find himself alone. Maximilian Shipping Lines would not help their former laborer, Desmond would see to that. His message via his lawyers to the legal department would ensure Dee would not receive assistance; in fact, he may find himself in a worse position as they helped the prosecution obtain crucial evidence. If played correctly, Dee could become their fall guy and take all of the blame.

Maxie Zeus would most assuredly approve.

There was a knocking on the bars to his cell. Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Desmond looked to the source, finding a guard looking at him through the bars. To be more precise, it was an overweight cop, sloppily dressed as he adjusted the hat on his head. "Yo, Animal House," a Detective Bullock called him. "Your scummy lawyers are here to see ya. You know the drill."

Desmond nodded before he stood up from his bunk, then turned to face the back wall, placing both of his hands on the brick and mortar. The cell door opened and Bullock lumbered in, roughly grabbing him by his wrists and pulling his arms behind his back. The cold steel of handcuffs touched his skin and the familiar clicking sound indicated they were locked into place.

"Alright, Pinto, let's go," Bullock gruffly said, even as he pulled Desmond from the wall and escorted him out of the cell. It took him a few stumbling steps to regain his balance, but eventually he was walking with his head held high.

This was just an inconvenience, a momentary setback. He would persevere through it and once again regain his title as God of Alchemy.

After all, what was the point in being an ordinary man when he had been and will be so much more.

The church stood in the dark world, lonely and isolated. Darkness stretched out as far as the eye could see.

Considering Batman's last encounter in a church, the sight of it made him uneasy. It didn't help that it shared similarities to Gotham Cathedral either. However, the place was a reflection of his mind and Gotham was a large part of it. It made sense that landmarks would influence the design.

There was no way he would be able to come here, not in normal conditions. He had some help and they would keep him here for as long as he needed. Something needed to be said and it simply could not wait any longer. Staring at the church, a part of him was drawn to enter it; yet, he did not. There would be no need to enter it and for that he was grateful.

Looking to the fence that surrounded the building, the vigilante then called out, "You can come out now." It was simple and direct, no force needed. No anger or vitriol was necessary.

Though the fence was made of iron bars, unable to hide anything from sight, a figure emerged from the end of the fence line. Ace—the name echoed in his thought. The girl came to stand between the main fence post that allowed entry into the courtyard before the church. She stared back at him blankly, much like she had in life.

"What are you doing here, Ace?" he asked.

"Nothing," she replied in a deadpanned tone. It was like speaking to a child that knew they were caught doing something they shouldn't and they were playing innocent.

"I mean, what are you doing in my mind?" he changed his questioned.

"Are you upset? I didn't mean to do that."

"I'm not upset," he responded gently. "I'm just trying to figure a few things out and you're one of them."

"It's just like the Martian told you; I know he told you everything."

"Then why are you staying?"

"Because there's nowhere else I'd want to go."

Could Ace actually leave? From the way she had answered his last question, it seemed like she could and was choosing not to. "My mind isn't that nice of a place to be," he warned her.

"I am used to darkness," Ace said. That was rather depressing, a young girl only knowing violence and death. "Besides, I kinda like it here. No one tells me what to do, or tries to kill me. I'm safe."

"You weren't safe when Phobos invaded," Batman pointed out.

Ace stared at him before she shuddered. "It was just like the last time," she murmured. On instinct, Batman took a step towards her, and then another. Soon he was kneeling before the girl, a hand on her shoulder. She quickly stepped towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck, tightly hugging him. "He was trying to crush me and it seemed to go on for ages. The same thing happened with Barbatos."

The Dark Knight wasn't sure about that. Ace had been held in the Dark God's power, that was true. Then she had erupted into an explosion of blood and tossed aside.

"There were more things happening than just the physical," Ace suddenly spoke, causing him to draw back so that he could look at her. Upon seeing the startled look on his face, she added, "I know what you're thinking. I can hear your thoughts like a bell."

Considering she was in his head, that made sense. "So you were having some psychic battle as well?"

"Yes. I lost."

"So now you want to stay here? For how long?"

"Until I feel like moving on."

"Which won't be for a long time."

"Do you not approve? I know you aren't fond of another person being in your head, but I won't do anything to harm you. I promise."

"Instead you'll protect me? Is that how you intend to earn your keep?"

Ace nodded. "If it wasn't for me, Dr. Destiny would have learned everything about you. Your secret would be on the six o'clock news, not to mention the aftermath of that."

That was a good point and she knew it. Batman sighed. "Stay out of my way and we won't have any problems," he sighed in resignation.

"So keep doing what I've been doing."

There was no smile on her face, but he recognized sarcasm when he heard it. What was it with the women in his life having sharp tongues? Was it something they were born with, or did they develop it over time?

"How long do you intend on staying here?" he asked then.

"I don't know," Ace shrugged. "I'm not all that certain that I can leave. I suppose it's possible, but I would rather not take the chance."

Fair enough, he supposed. Standing up, Batman backed a few steps away. "I best be going."

"Alright." For a moment, she seemed unsure. "Before you go...if it isn't too much trouble, could you come back? It isn't often I get to talk to other people."

"I'll try." Then he closed his eyes. There was a gradual shifting on his perception and when he opened them, Batman found himself in his Cave, seated on the floor with his legs crossed. Seated across from him in a similar position was J'onn, his eyes slowly dulling into their natural orange hue.

"She doesn't appear to be leaving," the Martian observed.

"No, she doesn't." Batman shifted about so that he could stand on his feet, his comrade doing the same. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing, or a bad thing."

"She genuinely appears to want to help you. That must count for something."

"She also seems right at home in a dark corner of my mind. I'm not the most stable person around, so the fact she wants to stay in a place like that is worrisome. No one should want to stay in my mind."

"Perhaps we can find a way to remove her, assuming we find a suitable vessel."

Batman raised an eyebrow. "Vessel?"

"A body of some sort. Something she can use to interact with the rest of the world."

"I'll keep that in mind." Turning away, the vigilante made his way to the super computer. A few programs were running, working away on the aftermath of the Maxie Zeus incident. He was quite aware of the lack of evidence the police and Justice League had on the surviving conspirators. That was unacceptable, especially since they murdered people. There were leads that still needed to be followed, some of which he had the Birds of Prey looking into. Time was of the essence and they needed to be quick to find a smoking gun before it was too late. Barring that, a lot of compelling evidence that would see those men locked away for some time.

However, that wasn't the only thing. From what he had been able to gather, there had been a supernatural element, one that had impacted the city itself. What was best described as demons had flooded Gotham, attacking criminals and innocence alike. Civilians had been scared out of their minds, but were largely unharmed. As for the criminals, many had been hunted down and torn apart. The GCPD was still doing their initial investigations into the incident.

Batman had a theory though, one he wasn't too fond of. As far as he could tell, these attacks corresponded with his time as Phobos' vessel. It was entirely possible this was the reason for these attacks. What he hated more was that it meant he was in some way responsible. Though he had been unconscious, it was still his body that allowed Phobos access to this realm and he had taken advantage of it.

It felt violating.

"I suppose you know what I came here," J'onn then spoke, breaking him out of his dark thoughts.

It seemed he wasn't going to avoid this conversation any longer. When the Martian Manhunter had arrived, Batman had brought up his desire to visit Ace and make heads or tails of her situation. That had delayed what J'onn wanted to speak to him about, but not for long.

When he didn't respond, the green-skinned man continued, "I believe the current state of the Maxie Zeus case is a reflection on the divide in the League. Imagine if both of us had been assisting the others. A stronger case would be currently presented by the police, I feel."

Perhaps, perhaps not. Batman didn't respond to that at all. He had been involved with too many cases in his time to second guess actions already taken. Was it possible they'd have a more ironclad case against Maxie Zeus' people? Sure, but it was just as likely they'd be right where they were as well.

"There is still a need for you within the League. I know the others would gladly welcome you back."

"Because I'm so instrumental to the League's success," he replied derisively. Hmm, maybe Ace wasn't looking too far for sarcastic remarks.

"Because you can do things the others cannot," J'onn rebutted, not the least bit put out by his dismissive comment. "You are a natural investigator—that's something the others do not possess. Hawkgirl and I are the next best thing and I freely admit that my investigative abilities are second to yours."

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" Batman asked, giving the Martian a look. "How many times has it been that you've brought up my returning to the League?"

"Not nearly enough, I would say."

That caused the dark-clad man to snort. He was getting rather tired of this. He knew he had made the right decision in resigning—he would defend that to the end.

However, this latest encounter with the Justice League was muddling things. He could still see Diana shielding Cassandra, offering him a kind smile when he thanked her for it. It was dulling the pain he still felt from his trip to the future and in some cases replacing that one horrible moment that haunted him still. He wasn't sure what to make of that.

Still, J'onn was making it quite clear that he would not give up. He would continue on until he was either unable to perform, or the Justice League folded. Either one was possible at the moment, never mind just how mortal he was.

He was also getting tired of having this same conversation over and over.

Perhaps that was why he said, "I'm not really a team player."

There was a look of disappointment on J'onn's face, though he clearly did not look ready to give up.

"But when you need help…"

To Guest: Thanks! You make an interesting point. We'll see with future stories how that turns out.

And that's another one for the record books! I'd like to thank everyone that read, reviewed, and enjoyed this story. The response was more than what I was expecting and I really appreciated it. We crossed the 200 review mark, which I did not see happening, and I totally forgot to mention it when it did. Again, thanks to everyone!

For now, we have Anonymous Void posting his Teen Titans story, Age of Shrouded Legacies. About time too if you ask me. Things are starting to get interesting with it, so I encourage you all to drop in and give it a try.

Now, for future plans. AV and I have been hearing everyone's requests for expanding out little universe and we have been talking about it. Though we will continue to be working on the main story line, there is plenty of room for some spin-off stories. In fact, I have just completed one and plan on posting it in the near future. It'll be a Zatanna story following her first foray into the world of magic, currently titled Realm of Magic. Keep your eyes open for it if you're interested.

And that's all I've got for now. Again, thanks to all who read and reviewed this story.

Until next time,

ShadowMajin