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A/N: 2 or 3 chapters left. I have a basic outline for them already :(. Sorry for the grammar.
#JusticeforBreonnaTaylor
#JusticeforElijahMcClain
#JusticeforVanessaGuillan
#InvestigationforGloriaBambo
Warning: Sexual content between the NightRae tags.
The Fading Essence of Raven
"What just happened?" Cyborg looked at the burning building. Only an hour ago, the building used to be the permanent residence of different companies. The most important one was the tech firm that occupied the top three levels of the building.
"We lost. That's what happened." Nightwing answered beside him.
Although Nightwing's voice was calm, Cyborg knew that he was furious. They all were.
Slade had played them like a fool, just as he had been doing for the past two years. They were no closer to finding out Slade's purpose for coming out from hiding and returning back to Jump City than when he first appeared.
All that they knew was he had been targeting and stealing from tech companies around the city. What he was taking from them; no one was sure.
The buildings were either destroyed like the one today or there wasn't a trace that Slade had been there in the first place. It was frustrating that they couldn't gather anything on Slade.
He still had his suspicion that Slade was using their past against them. But once again he didn't know what for.
"Did you think he made it out?" They all turned to look at Changeling who was standing at the end of the row next to Starfire. A second later, they turned back to the burning building.
When they had seen the timer on the bomb decreasing dangerously close to zero, they immediately headed to the exit. No one had been focused on Slade to see if he had escaped or not.
Secretly, he hoped that he didn't.
Although he was still sorting through his feeling about Amy, he didn't believe she should have died in the back of the vehicle like that. She should have been put on trial and held accountable for her decisions.
But, he guessed that it didn't matter. She was gone now.
"Look there." They turned to the direction that Starfire was pointing. Slade's face was on a large screen on a building near them.
"Titans," he said, "I am very, very disappointed in you. Haven't I given you enough clues, enough time, enough patience? And yet, you couldn't stop me. Maybe the next time I appear, you all would be more efficient at the responsibility that you all claim to have taken as the city's protectors. "
The screen went blank.
"Argh!" Nightwing punched his fist against his palm. The look on his face clearly showed frustration. "Let's go home!" He turned and walked away.
"Someone needs to stay until the authorities come." Starfire reminded him.
He stopped and threw his head back. "Great."
"Go back to the Tower. We will finish up here," Raven said.
Cyborg looked towards Raven. Although it was hard to tell, she had the opposite reaction to Nightwing. She seemed to be relieved.
As he thought more about Raven's reaction, he realized that she had been behaving weirdly lately.
After seeing her reaction in the cave, he could understand her attitude to Slade leaving. However, there had been other things that were off about Raven, such as changes in her fighting strategy. She no longer went into a fight head-on. Instead, she stuck to the shadows and helped out here and there.
Sometimes, it felt as if she wasn't trying to fight.
"I should stay and help out." Nightwing said, causing Cyborg's attention to shift back to their leader.
"Just go home," Cyborg said. "If you stay here, all you are going to do is pout and stomp around and make us feel as frustrated as you are."
"I won't." The team looked at each other before shifting their eyes away from Nightwing. "Serious, guys."
"Just go home. We got it."
Nightwing scanned each of their faces before saying, "Fine and thanks. If there is trouble-"
"-we know who to call." Cyborg finished. They smiled at each other. Nightwing waved his hand and walked away. A few moments later, they heard tires shrieking on the pavement.
They looked at each other.
"I'll follow him to make sure he doesn't get into an accident or encase Slade decides to show his face one last time."
They all nodded in agreement. Nightwing was the least likely to get into an accident but if it was better to be safe than sorry.
"Thanks," said Raven to Changeling with a smile. "Make sure you both get home safe."
"Will do." Changeling jumped up and morphed into a green pterodactyl. The remaining team members watched him until he was out of sight.
"Great! It is now me with my two favorite Titans." Cyborg said, looking at his friends and causing one to giggle and the other to smile lightly.
"Don't let Changeling hear that. He would be deeply hurt." Starfire advised. Raven nodded in agreement.
"Don't worry; he knows-" He stopped talking to read the message that came through his system. "Great." He said, annoyed. He thought that he would have stopped receiving threatening messages after that night in the lab; however, they only increased.
"What's wrong?" Raven asked, concerned.
"It's Yuki."
"The one who you asked me for an autograph for? The Fed."
"Yes." He exhaled loudly. "He wants me to come to the company to double-check something."
"I thought that the FBI had finished their investigation," inquired Raven.
"They did. He is giving me a hard time on purpose."
"It must be hard dating someone with a scary older brother."
Cyborg watched a knowing smirk appear on Raven's face. "It just gives me more ideas to terrorize your boyfriend." He replied as her smirk disappeared and she glared at him. "Will you two be okay if I left?"
"Sure," answered Starfire. "Go."
He watched as Starfire uncomfortably rub one of her arms. He mentally kicked himself. He had heard from Retra that Star was having a hard time getting over Nightwing. He felt bad for his comment.
He awkwardly rubbed the back of his head while looking between the two of them. He wondered if he should leave them alone. Since Raven was rarely at the Towers these days, he was positive that the two of them hadn't been alone since Starfire's return, and definitely not since she found out she and Nightwing were dating.
"Go-" His gaze shifted back to Raven, who gave him a small smile. "-before Yuki finds a way to send you back to jail."
He sighed. "Fine. But call me first if there is trouble. As a matter of fact, call me in ten minutes. I don't want to spend more time with him than I have to."
They nodded and said their good-bye.
He walked to his car. When he touched the handle of the car door, a strange feeling crawled through his system. It was the same feeling he had when he was searching for Raven and couldn't find her.
He looked back at Raven. She was here now, and as far as he knew she was happily dating Nightwing. She wouldn't disappear as she did years ago. He stared at her for a moment before nodding.
Confident about his logic, he got into his car and drove away.
They turned to watch the burning building after Cyborg left. Starfire shifted her weight on her feet.
How long until the cops or firemen will arrive?
She was uncomfortable standing with Raven in silence. While she was still sorting out her feelings for Nightwing, she still had a lot to say to Raven. However, she did know where to begin.
"Just say what is on your mind?" Starfire turned to Raven, who was watching her.
"Did I say the 'thoughts' out loud?"
"No, I just know you. Besides, I think you are going to create a pit if you keep shifting your feet." Starfire looked down to see an uneven ground where her feet were. "Sorry." She quickly moved onto more level ground.
"Don't worry about it. We can blame it on Slade."
They were quiet for a moment before Starfire poured out all of her words at once.
"How could you betray me like that? I thought of you as a sister. I mean, we haven't really spoken to one another since we reformed the team after the first time I left. Nevertheless, I thought of you as a sister. Well, not as a sister. As you know, my sister and I don't get along. So better than a sister. I thought-"
"Starfire," Raven cut her off, "what is it that you want to ask?"
She stared in her eyes as her own eyes became watery. "Can you return Nightwing back to me?"
"I'm sorry, Star. I can't let him go, not yet... However, there may come a day when he wants to let go of my hand. When that happens...take care of him."
She bundled her face in confusion. It sounded as if she expected Nightwing to break up with her. "Raven-"
"You know when Terra, or rather Retra, found out that Nightwing and I were dating, she said pretty nasty things to me."
Starfire sighed. She could only imagine what Retra said. Retra was a firecracker when she had someone to defend. Nevertheless, she was happy that her friend had looked out for her feelings even though she wasn't here.
Raven continued, "There was one thing that she was right about though. I had feelings for him when you two were together. I tried to suppress it and ignored it with hopes of burying my feelings altogether for him. Yet, after you left we slowly became closer, and my feelings poured out. I doubt that I could suppress them now that I know what it is like to be with him."
Starfire gulped. "What are you trying to say?"
"It's okay if you still love him. I'm not asking you to stop. I'm not even asking you to be happy for us." She paused and looked away. "I don't even know what I am trying to say." She turned her gaze back. "I only want you to be happy...I mean, I still think of you as a sister."
She threw her head back and laughed. She laughed until she started to cry. Her head fell forward in her hands.
"Starfire?" She heard Raven said. She quickly wiped her tears and looked at her with a sad smile.
"You're the second person to tell me that I could continue to love him while being the person who kept me away from him.
"I hate the both of you." She grabbed Raven's shoulders and shook them. "Why couldn't you two be more selfish and tell me to stop loving him.
"You are the worst because you took the one person I wanted, and he gave you things that I wanted. Yet, you are telling me that it is okay to love him and to take care of him if he leaves you. Be selfish, Raven. And tell me to stay away from him so that I can't let him go. Or else, I can't truly be happy for you like I wanted to when you told me you finally found someone to love. So please, tell me to stop loving him."
She stopped shaking Raven and pulled her into a hug. Tears fell down her eyes as she thought about Nightwing's words and General Ph'yzzon. Maybe this was a good time to let Nightwing go.
Love was supposed to be pure, wonderful, and joyful. She had experienced that with General Ph'yzzon and Nightwing. Yet, her love for Nightwing was turning ugly and regretful. It also was slowly tainting the love that she had for Raven. And she didn't want that. She wanted her happiness and her sister back. However, she still wanted Nightwing
"Sorry, Starfire. But I am more selfish than you think." Raven said in a voice that she couldn't describe. "Maybe if I was like you things would have been different for Nightwing and me. I...I want you to continue to love him. You are the only person that I know that I trust him with. So, it is my wish that you continue to love him."
Starfire was confused by Raven's words. She released her friend from her hug to see her expression. She was greeted with a blank canvas of a face. Yet, she saw tears gathering in the corners of her friends' eyes.
"Raven?"
"I don't deserve him, but I-" Her words were cut off by the sounds of engines. Their conversation officially ended there.
It was a conversation that Starfire would, later on, regret not finishing.
"So you were the one who hid the blueberry pie?" Changeling jumped before turning around in his chair to see Raven phasing through the floor.
"What pie?" He said, pushing the pie in question behind him.
"The one that I won't tell anyone about if you decide to share with me." She moved closer to him.
He looked at her then glanced at the pie before looking at her again. He calculated in his head if it would be beneficial to share the pie with her or risk the wrath of the others. After thinking about it for a second, he said, "Grab a fork."
He turned back around and continued to eat. A second later, Raven joined him at the counter on the opposite side with a fork.
"How long do we have to finish this before the others arrive?" He asked Raven, who put her fork in the pie and took a bite.
"About two hours. Starfire flew over to Kate's house to confirm some last-minute decisions."
Changeling chuckled. "She's really afraid that Starfire might go back home."
"Can you blame her? How many celebrities do you know bring in the amount of money that Starfire does without being an A-hole?"
"Other than myself, not many." Raven snorted while taking another bite. "What? You don't think that I bring in the amount of money that Star does?"
"I snorted because you are an A-hole."
"Whatever. I'm the nicest guy you ever met, or I wouldn't be sharing this pie with you."
"If you say so."
"Hater." He ate another piece of the pie. "Where is Cyborg?"
"Yuki called him to the office."
"Really?" He put down his fork to reach for his communicator. "I should call him."
"Don't bother. I already tried. Cyborg said that he called him for a real emergency this time."
"That's surprising. Usually, Yuki is kinda a jerk with him. It's actually entertaining to watch."
Changeling watched Raven give him a wicked smile, causing him to create one of his own as well. "It is," she said, taking another bite. "Is Nightwing in the evidence room?"
He nodded. "He went there as soon as we got back." He mentally shook his head. Nightwing really needed to seek help with his Slade issue.
"I see." She said, taking another piece of pie.
He glanced up from the pie, which he subconsciously looked down at when he grabbed more of it, and looked up at Raven. She had a strange look on her face.
"Is something wrong?" He asked.
She blinked and met his gaze. "No, why?"
"You look...off. If there is something wrong, you can talk to me. I kinda owe you for helping me out before."
She smiled at him. "Thanks but I am just tired." She placed her fork down and stood up straight. "I think that I will go to bed now. Enjoy the rest of the pie."
"Okay, good night." He watched her leave the room. When the door closed behind her. He slapped his forehead. He forgot to tell her to send in her RSVP for the wedding.
He shrugged. I will just mark her as coming.
We lost, and he won...again.
Yea, but he is gone. He wouldn't be close to her anymore.
But we lost.
And yet, he was gone.
Nightwing's emotions fluctuated just like his thoughts. On one hand, he was upset that Slade had gotten away, that even after years of preparing to take Slade down, they had lost. They hadn't even been close to winning.
Yet, on the other hand, he could breathe easier, knowing that Slade wasn't in the same city as Raven. Nonetheless, there was the possibility that he could return.
His conflicted thoughts and emotions when back and forth until he heard the sound of the door opening. He lifted his head off the bed to see his surprised girlfriend standing in the doorway.
"What are you doing in here?" She asked, looking around her room. There wasn't much to look at since her room was practically empty. While most of the Titans who live outside of the Tower kept only a few items in their rooms, Raven's room looked barely occupied.
It reminded him of an employee's office cubicle who didn't want to be there.
He sat up in the bed and let his elbow rested on his knees while she continued to walk into her room. "I was hoping to see you since you have been avoiding me."
"I haven't been avoiding you." Their gaze met as she stood in front of him. "I have been busy at the -"
"I went to the bar the other day. Yasmine told me that you haven't been there lately." Silence filled the room as they stared at one another.
"I have been busy with some personal issues, but I haven't been avoiding you."
"So, you are not still mad about the kiss between Starfire and me? We never got a chance to finish the conversation."
"I'm not upset." She said, removing her cowl. "Although, I am jealous of her."
His brows frowned. "Jealous? There is no reason for you to be jealous of her."
She stared into his eyes. "There is. She gets to love you freely...without guilt."
"Raven-" He stopped talking as she touched his face with both of her hands and he felt her anxiety through their bond.
"I am sorry that we love each other. I am sorry that I didn't stop it."
"Rae, what's-" Her lips crashed into his before he pulled away. "Rae, what's -" She kissed him again.
"Later," she said against his lips.
He was conflicted again. He wanted to talk and wanted to give in to the passion that she was offering. He pulled back, making his decision.
"You taste like blueberry pie," he said. She gave a small smile and he felt her relax.
NIGHTRAE NIGHTRAE NIGHTRAE NIGHTRAE NIGHTRAE NIGHTRAE NIGHTRAE
"I know," she whispered. She climbed on top of his lap. Her lips touched his. Their tongues fought for control inside of her mouth.
All the while her hands moved frenziedly over his naked skin. Thanks to her magic, their clothes had been removed.
Her hands traveled from his face to his neck. They rubbed and gripped his shoulders and forearms before traveling down his sides. They came back up along his chest.
Her fingers rubbed and played with his nipples, causing him to groan and move his lower region against hers.
She reciprocated his actions. Soon, her hands went back down, and instead of coming up again, they went farther down.
He grabbed her hands and broke their kiss. "Don't rush this." He said softly. "I haven't touched you in weeks."
He flipped them around. He gathered both of her wrists in one of his hands and placed them over her head.
He stared down at her and blushed. She was enchanting.
As he tried to calm down the raging temperature in his body and take his own advice, he said "Don't hold back," referring to her powers.
She nodded. He swallowed. Everything became more intense.
He kissed her. His free hand played with the bundle of nerves down below before entering inside of her.
Her lips tore away from his. "Richard." His blood was set on fire. "Let go." She tugged against his hand. "I want to touch you too."
"No." He bit her ear. "This is punishment for ignoring me," he whispered.
"I wasn't-" She moaned in protest as he removed his fingers.
His hand moved to one of her breasts as his mouth went to the other. She wiggled underneath him. The knee and upper tight that he placed between her legs became wet as she rubbed against them.
"Richard," she moaned.
He released her wrist and flipped them over. He placed her on top of his lower belly. "Take what you want."
She stared down at him with darkened eyes before closing them. She lifted herself then lowered herself on top of him. They both groaned as she slowly went down.
When she opened her eyes, they reached for each other. Their bodies moved in sync as they chased their pleasure together.
Soon, after they have given each other all that they had, they laid down side by side trying to catch their breath.
NIGHTRAE NIGHTRAE NIGHTRAE NIGHTRAE NIGHTRAE NIGHTRAE NIGHTRAE
"Nightwing." Her voice was harsh and soft. "I...give me this weekend. Afterward. I will tell you everything."
"If something is wrong, you can tell me." He reached out to touch her sweaty cheek.
She grabbed his hand and gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I just need this weekend."
He nodded and pulled her close into his arm. "Afterwards, let's go to Spa Land. I still have the tickets."
She chuckled. "I would have already gone if you hadn't taken them."
"You would have gone twice and left me if I gave them to you." He chuckled too while holding her tighter because it felt as if she was slipping away.
When the mind becomes focused on hiding its secrets, it becomes blind to what is right in front of them."
"Why are you here?"
Raven asked, looking at the tombstones of Jeremy and his sister.
His words were true. Had she not been focused on her own personal issues, she would have known sooner that the man beside her had caused the events that led to their death.
Had the team wasn't busy hiding their own secrets, they would have seen what he was after.
"Don't be sad. Their death was for the greater good," the man said.
"You mean, your good."
"No, the Earth's good."
"You are twisted."
"Maybe. But so is everyone when they want what they desire."
Their eyes met.
"Your contract with Slade is over."
The man turned to look at the tombstones. "It is but there are a few loose ends." She glared at him. "Don't worry it is not serious. With both Slades here and working together, your assistance is no longer required. They are also free to leave afterward. By the time you clean up your own mess, they could meet up with you. You all can live as you please without seeing my face again."
"Good." She felt a tingling feeling in her hands. She watched as her skin turned red.
She wrapped her black cloth around her to hide it.
"Interesting," the man said. "Congratulations."
She glared at him and walked away, missing the smile on his face.
...
The Present Moment
Rachael swung around in the chair once she heard Bruce Wayne, or rather Batman's footsteps behind her.
She had been patiently waiting for him to return back to the Batcave. She was surprised that he hadn't returned as soon as he got the alert that she was here.
Or maybe he did. Gotham's streets were unpredictable.
"I thought I would save you the trouble of looking for me." Rachael said, knowing how this conversation was likely to end.
"Then you should have gone straight to prison." He said as he walked towards me. When he passed her, she continued to trace his movements in the chair.
"We both know that there is no cell on Earth that can hold me." She stopped moving once he reached the computer and began typing.
"There is a planet called Forevx. It seems that they have prison cells specially designed for your kind."
She smirked. "Are you comfortable with me being that far away, where you can't monitor me properly?"
"You..." His teeth clenched as he spoke, "...were on Earth, and still manage to cause trouble."
"It wasn't easy." She didn't need to ask what trouble he was talking about. He must have found out that she had gotten in tangled with Slade again. She wondered if he knew who was behind everything though. She doubted it. He had made sure that no one knew of his whereabouts.
"It wasn't supposed to happen period."
"Then you should've let me die back then."
Silence.
Her heart tightened. If he did, she wouldn't have been able to in love with Richard. However, their relationship was based on untold truths.
"Our agreement shouldn't have happened," she continued.
"You're right." Bruce's voice was calm once more but the sound of the keyboard rang louder. "It shouldn't have. However, I am going to correct the situation now. I am contacting Green Lantern to escort you to Forevx."
"I'm not going to Forevx or any other prison." The bats in the cave shrieked as she delivered the news to him. "I'm pregnant with Dick's baby. However..."The bats were quiet once more. "...I'm leaving Earth. I'm leaving with the boy and him." They both knew that she meant Slade when she said 'him.'
He turned to face Rachael. His blue eyes swirled like a maelstrom in the sea. "You are planning to leave with him? Have you lost your mind?" His voice was cold as a knife.
"You wouldn't believe me if I said no."
"I can't let you leave."
"But you can't let me stay either."
Silence filled the cave-like helium this time; making it hard to breathe but leaving a lot in the air.
"Bruce, I am leaving." Rachael stated softly. "This time, there is nothing you can do to stop me."
"I couldn't stop you the last time." His eyes clashed with natural angry, red ones. " You wanted to stay. I just gave you an excuse to. And you could have continued to stay haven't your selfishness clouded your judgment."
"Our lie wasn't meant to last."
He sighed and turned back to the computer. "I guess it wasn't. Neither will what you have with that man."
There was no need to respond because they both knew it was true.
"Goodbye, Bruce." Rachael stood from the chair as magic flooded the cave."
"My original promise will remain on one condition. You-"
"No more lies, no more conditions. After I get Trent and Slade settle in Arazarth, I am going to return and tell Dick the truth. He deserves to know the truth. " She stared at him with eyes of determination.
"What happens if he rejects you?"
She gave him a sad small. "He will. He is too righteous not to. After I have the baby., I will allow him to carry me to jail, whether or not it be here or on whatever planet you suggest."
"I see." He said barely above a whisper.
"Hopefully, this will be the last time that we see each other. Good-"
Suddenly, she was tossed on the floor of the bat cave by an unknown force. When she tried to get up, she was forced back to the ground.
"What are you doing?" Raven demanded to know as she struggled against the unknown force, panicking.
"Don't worry, Lovie. This won't hurt the baby." A blond man appeared from the shadow and walked next to Bruce while smoking a cigarette.
"Constantine!" Fear raced through her blood. While she was well versed in the power of magic, Constantine's skills and abilities were on a level beyond hers.
"I'm sorry, Raven," said Bruce, "but I can't let you tell Dick. It is not an option for either of us."
Swirls of emotions set in her system at his words. Anger was the most dominant emotion.
He wasn't sorry. He was never sorry for the choices that he made nor forced upon others regardless of the lives he affected.
"What are you going to do?" She asked although she was scared of his answer.
"Giving you a new beginning." He stepped back as Constantine stepped forward.
"Sweet dreams," Constantine said before repeating an enchantment.
"No!" Raven screamed, closing her eyes. Memories of her time with Dick Grayson were being removed or replaced.
Their dates, their laughs, their sexual encounters, their warm moments, and their smiles were being taken away from her.
She tried to grab each memory that passed by her inside of her mind; yet, as she reached for one, another one would disappear until there was none.
The only memories of her and Dick Grayson were of them as teammates. The man that she had a romantic relationship with was gone and replaced by a fictional man named Ric Gray.
She opened her eyes to see the face of Bruce Wayne still in his Batman costume looking down.
Tears gathered in her eyes. She sat up and hugged him. He returned the hug and held her close.
She wanted to cry but she had no tears to offer. "He is gone," she told Bruce.
"I know."
She closed her eyes and thought about Ric Gray, the man that she had fallen in love with.
She had met Ric Gray for the first time in Blüdhaven. He was the cab driver who she had run into by accident. It wasn't a pleasant meeting.
It was years of living in Jump City that they met again at her bar. Many things happened that led to them dating, falling in love, and eventually having a baby, which he was excited about. He was also excited about her leaving with her, Trent, and Slade to live in Azarath.
Everything was perfect. He was perfect. He was her ray of hope in all the darkness that she was swimming in.
However, her ray of hope was taken from her by a car accident. After she had confirmed the news, she immediately came here.
She didn't know all the details of Bruce's relationship with Ric but she knew that they were best friends despite the age difference. She knew if anyone could understand how she was feeling, it would be him.
"What do you plan on doing?" Bruce asked, causing her to pull out of his embrace to look at him.
"I don't know. There is too much to think about. I should probably go back to Jump-" She stopped talking and grabbed her head. She had a feeling that she shouldn't return back to the West Coast.
"What is wrong?" Bruce asked. She could tell that he was concerned.
"I don't know." Her head pounded, the more she thought about going back to Jump City.
"Maybe you should get some rest upstairs. You have been through a lot today and you have to think about the baby."
"I..." She shook her head. "I don't-"
"Oh, goodie, we have another guest," Alfred said, bringing down two cups of coffee.
"Perfect timing, Alfred. Can you escort to a room for a quiet evening alone?"
"It will be my pleasure to." He placed the tray and walked to Rachael, who was being helped up by Bruce. When he got closed, Rachael was shifted to him.
Feeling weak, she leaned against the old butler. "It is nice to see you again. Alfred. Although, I wish that it was under better circumstances."
"Me too, Ms. Roth. Me too.
Bruce watched them leave the cave before turning to Constantine, who had disappeared in the shadows when Raven's eyes opened.
"You have an excellent butler. How does he get the taste right? " Constantine said, taking another sip of his coffee.
"Thanks." Bruce placed his cowl back on and sat at the chair in front of the bat computer.
"Don't thank me just yet, Batsy. We don't know if her natural abilities will reverse the spell. Besides, as far as I'm concerned, I had nothing to do with this. So, don't mention my name when he finds out."
"I won't because he won't."
"Hmmm. Also, don't do me any favors. I doubt I would like it just as old Dickie wouldn't like this one." He took another sip of his coffee. Soon, he was finished and placed the empty mug on the tray before grabbing the mug that was for Batman.
"I will return this later," Constantine said, creating a portal. He moved to step through but stopped. "Oh, don't forget the only way to reverse the spell, if it holds, is-"
The bats calling out drowned out his words; however, Batman heard them and nodded. Constantine turned and entered the portal.
When he was all alone in the cave, Batman thought about his part in all of this.
