Thank you for your patience. Last chapter, our heroes has been saved from the destruction of the Watchtower by the druid priestess, who used her ability to move through a portal from our reality to the land of Faerie. In the meantime, however, their friends and colleagues on Earth were scrambling to both save them from the unstable Fae queen as well as building the army they needed to confront the Gray Woman once and for all.

I have a line to separate POVs and announce a new scene when it changes to a new group.

Warning: Language . . .

"I hate to interrupt, Mr. Luthor, but you have visitors."

"Ms. Loudon, how many times do I have to tell you not to interrupt me when I'm in a meeting."

He was annoyed. Reginald Bishop's work in quantum mechanics was world renown. His latest paper hadn't even been peer-reviewed yet, and Luthor wanted to keep it that way. Unlike many of his fellow researchers, Bishop was no pushover. He was as savvy in the way of the world as he was in the sub-atomic micro-world of quarks and bosons.

If Luthor wanted the man working for him with dibs on his latest discovery of endless useable energy, he had to stay on his toes. Being distracted could lose him to a competitor like Kord Industries or Wayne Tech. Just imagine the profit margin of having the only subatomic nuclear reactor. So many people discount the little stuff when it was the little stuff that would propel the world into the next level on a galactic scale. Earth would be running with the big boys and Luthor would be there making it happen.

"I'm very sorry, sir," his assistant went on, obviously mistaking her importance within the company. "But they are quite insistent."

"My apologies, Dr. Bishop," Lex murmured. "Ms. Loudon, I have no openings in my schedule. You can see if I have an opening a month from now then, if you would, please escort them to the door and while you are at it, take yourself off with them. My executive assistant must be able to field issues like this for me without my constant supervision."

"But sir!?"

"Your severance package will be in the mail by tonight." He turned back to the doctor. "Now then, Reginald – May I call you Reginald? Where were we?"

The physicist shifted slightly in his chair and leaned forward. "Mr. Luthor, may I call you Lex?"

"Please, don't."

The man blinked but moved ahead without stuttering. Something Lex could appreciate in an employee.

"Oh, very well then. What I expect from you, Mr. Luthor, at this stage is an unlimited budget and my own research facility, you understand. The funding necessary to take my research from the reports and equations into real world applications, while exorbitant, would yield real time profits within a relatively short period . . ."

His outer doors burst inward suddenly, their hinges being torn from the frame, as his visitors made themselves known, stalking into his office without apology. For once, Dr. Bishop looked flustered, almost falling out of his chair in an effort to escape whatever threat was forcing its way in.

Eyebrows raised, Luthor too, felt surprised – not by the doors being kicked in as this tended to happen on a regular basis in his world – but the identities of the visitors in question. Standing, Luthor stepped around his desk, hand extended in greeting.

"Wonder Woman, Mr. Manhunter, to what do I owe this surprise. Had I but only known . . ."

"Enough, Luthor," Diana interrupted him. "You really should hire your assistant back. There was nothing anyone could have done that would have prevented us from seeing you now."

"Hm, yes, I will look into that," he agreed pleasantly. "I don't see Superman. Usually, he is the one knocking down my doors."

"He couldn't make it," John murmured.

"Oh, now that is a shame. We're quite old friends, he and I. So, tell me; what can I do for you today?"

Martian Manhunter smiled at the physicist. "You will excuse us. I'm certain Mr. Luthor can schedule another appointment with you in – What was it, Lex? – Oh yes, next month."

Dr. Bishop skated around the heroes nervously as he made his way to the door.

"My assistant will call you, Reginald. We can find time to work out the details tomorrow then." Lex waved the man away.

"I'm afraid you'll be busy, Luthor. Best to clear your schedule for the foreseeable future," Diana told him.

"Is that so? I'm afraid you might have mistaken me for someone else. As lovely as it is to see you again, princess, I am a very busy man." Indeed, there was little that could lure him away from increasing his profit margin.

Walking over to his window, Diana touched his telescope. "Do you use this at all, Luthor? To look at the sky, I mean."

Frowning, he shrugged a shoulder. "That's mostly a show piece. Metropolis is too bright to look at more than the moon on a clear night. If I want to look at the stars, I own an observatory – bit too far to drive, but if the mood hits, I also own a helicopter . . . Now what's this all about? You didn't just burst down my doors to chat with me about the stars."

"Martian Manhunter would be the one to explain it best." She glanced at J'onn. "Tell him."

He was getting tired of the mystery. With no audience now, he allowed his temper to flare – just a little. He refused to be the one out of control.

"Tell me what?" Still, there was no mistaking the bite in his voice.

J'onn stepped closer. "I think it would be more efficient to show you. If I may . . .?"

"Ah, I prefer to not have a Martian rummaging around in my brain pan, if you don't mind?"

Diana smirked. "Something to hide, Luthor? Your future plans are about to go up in ash. Besides, we're more interested in presenting you with an . . . opportunity."

"An opportunity?" Studying them, Luthor waved a hand in the air magnanimously. "Very well. Why don't you explain this opportunity to me, then - in detail?"

J'onn was suddenly beside him. "I beg your pardon, Lex, but time is of the essence." The Martian laid a hand on the side of Lex's face as he opened his memory to what they'd learned on the Watchtower.

It was over in a matter of a few seconds. As J'onn stepped back, Lex stumbled into his desk, grabbing it for support as he caught his breath.

"What the hell was that?"

"That – was a foreshadowing of the end of everything that we know. Our world, the galaxy, the entire universe, Lex. It's coming and so far, we have no way of stopping it," Diana told him. "We need your help and the help of every other person on the planet with a stake in our continued existence."

Luther shook his head. "That's quite a story but pardon me if I'm skeptical. How do I know the scenes the Martian fed me were real?"

The Amazon's face darkened. "For what purpose would we lie to you?"

"That is what I am trying to determine."

Pulling her lasso from her belt, Diana wrapped the golden rope around her wrist. "Ask me if it is true."

"Does that work on you?"

"It does; now ask. We're out of time."

He found himself swallowing. "Is it true."

"Everything. All of it," she said without hesitation. "Go to your observatory, Luthor. See what there is to see, then meet us at the Hall of Justice in Washington DC tomorrow - early."

That's right. The images the Martian showed him was of the Watchtower dissolving around them. The entire League had been forced to evacuate before they, too, had gone the way of Green Lantern.

"As flattering as this is, if Oa and the might of the entire Green Lantern Corp couldn't stop it, what makes you think that I could?"

Diana set her lasso back onto her hip. "I will not lie to you, Luthor. It is quite possible that even with your help, we could fail, but there really isn't another choice. The alternative is the destruction of our universe. This is an existential threat. Fight or die; it's that simple."

He looked out the floor to ceiling windows that made up two entire walls of his office. Metropolis gleamed in the sunlight, a beacon of hope and progress that Luthor had a hand in creating – Literally in this case. He had spent all of his adult life building or renovating two-thirds of the city's skyline.

This was his city, his legacy . . . And he'd be damned if he let it be destroyed without a fight.

"Should I bring an army with me?"

"It couldn't hurt," Diane said, "but tomorrow's meeting is to determine our resources and form a strategy for the coming battle. I will warn you, Luthor, this undertaking will be unlike anything before it."

"I cannot be the only one invited to this little get together. Who else will be attending?"

"Everyone," Diana said as she and the Martian exited back through his broken doors.

As the two heroes exited the building, J'onn turned to Diana. "Who's next?"

"Cheetah and the Ultra-Humanite," Diana told him. "According to police reports, both have been seen here. We can add them to our list. We'll also need to locate Toyman and Parasite while we're here."

"Metamorpho and Elongated Man were dispatched to Central City. With Flash in Faerie, his rogues have been taking advantage of his absence. Should we send them back up?"

Diana shook her head. "They should be able to handle it. Hawkman and Aquaman are searching for Professor Ivo and his Amazo robot. If we can get Amazo on our side, I believe it will be to our advantage. They're also supposed to recruit the Atomic Skull, the Silver Banshee, and Metallo to our cause."

"Those last three are all at Blackgate. It is convenient to find them all in one place."

"Green Arrow and Black Canary are taking advantage of that as well. They have been assigned to Arkham Asylum in Batman's absence. They're just lucky Batman has most of his rogues rounded up before this happened. Some of his villains are good at lying low," Diana agreed. "We need to go. Time is not on our side, and we have our own recruiting to complete."

*SCENE*

"John, you've been to Faerie. Can you not open a portal?"

Constantine looked at the Atom as he lit up a cigarette. "A portal to Faerie is tricky even on a good day, mate, but ne'er fear. I believe in multiple exit strategies. If we can't go in through the front, I have a few ideas that might work. Then again, there is always the back door. 'Course, I'd consider it more of a last resort, you understand."

Ray waved the smoke away from the stone edifice upon which he stood. "Back door? You know of a back door?"

John shrugged. "Know of it," he admitted, "but never used it. It's a more dangerous route, to be sure; I'd prefer to avoid using it, if at all possible, mate."

"How dangerous would that be?"

"How 'bout we concentrate on the front door first before we go getting ourselves into any more trouble, shall we?" John suggested as he whirled a finger in the air. A small breeze whirled in front of them, whipping the second-hand smoke away from the tiny hero.

Ray sighed. "That dangerous, huh?"

He barked out a laugh, but the sound was without humor. "Friend, you have no idea."

The sun was dipping low in the sky as he took one last drag. Crushing the half-smoked cig on the front step of the Hall of Justice, John turned to head back inside. He settled Ray onto his shoulder. "Well, let's get this show started, shall we?" he said. "Everyone should be arriving any minute now."

"You sure we shouldn't have made an appointment or maybe, like, knocked on the door or something?" Green Arrow asked as he shot a zipline arrow to the roof of the building. "This is going to feel more like a breakout than a recruitment to the Gotham PD when they show up."

"They'd try to stop us, Ollie; you know that." Black Canary wrapped her arms around Oliver's neck to catch a ride with him. They were going against gravity traveling up to the rooftop. "Besides, everything will be explained soon enough after the official channels call up the Army and the National Guard in this area."

He grunted. "And you're sure they're going to believe us and not just use it as an excuse to escape?"

Her voice caressed his ear as he used his automatic pulley system to lift them up to the roof. "They might. It's a risk we're going to have to take if we hope to get them to join us."

A slight whirring sound was blown away in the wind. Twilight had come early with the onset of a storm that was blowing in from the Atlantic. Soon visibility would be lost altogether making it easier for any of Arkham's inmates to get away from them.

Ollie didn't trust them. Batman's rogues weren't like most of the rest of the League's. These guys were mental cases that needed to be locked away in padded rooms and strait jackets. He's been outvoted when he and Canary were chosen to convince the selected ones to join the cause. He understood that a lot of the villains would be willing to fight with them for the survival of the planet, but some of these villains were just crazy enough to be on the side of the Gray Woman – a few of Arkham's inmates were willing to watch the world burn and pay for front row seats.

"I don't like it," he grumbled as Dinah slid from his back onto the roof.

"Ollie, relax," Dinah soothed. "It's not like we're going to ask Joker or Zsasz to help us. We're only going to speak with those who would understand the gravity of the threat."

"I trust you, pretty bird. Them? Not so much."

Kneeling, Green Arrow pulled out small device he'd had his R&D department develop. It was supposed to be for military applications, but Green Arrow was also fighting a war. The device ran through a number of passwords for a full ninety seconds before the light blinked green and there was a small click.

"Eat your heart out, Bruce," he murmured, detaching, and stowing the device on his belt. "Wayne Tech has nothing on Queen Industries."

Dinah made a sound as she smirked. "Bruce isn't even here and you're still competing with him?"

"Boys will be boys," he told her with a wink, breaking out his lockpicks. He'd only shut down the electronic lock and the alarm attached to this door. There was still the manual lock to get through.

"Wouldn't acid be faster?"

Ollie shot her a look of disbelief. "You think I would leave any door in this place without a working lock?"

"It's a standard door lock, Ollie," she pointed out. "I doubt it would slow anyone who was being held here."

"Well, I certainly don't want to make it any easier on them, do I?"

This was followed by a snick, and Arrow stood, easing the door open to peer inside. He spotted the closed-circuit camera in the stairwell, positioned to be able to see both down the stairs as well as the exit. Tugging a specialized bolt for the small crossbow that was attached to his wrist, Arrow aimed and triggered the release. The bolt struck the wall beside the camera, sending out an electronic signal that briefly scrambled then looped the last twenty seconds of the feed.

He pulled the door open fully then, bowing as he allowed Canary to precede him inside. "After you, my love."

Smiling, Dinah patted his cheek as she entered, her demeanor changing from playful to sober instantly.

"The less who know we are here, the better," she whispered. The Canary wouldn't sing for this visit unless she had to.

The two slipped down a couple of flights of stairs until they reached the landing they wanted, Green Arrow disabling and looping cameras as they came to them. Dinah knelt to pick the lock as Ollie used his electronic device to, once again, bypass the passcode system. They paused only to double check the map of Arkham Bruce's butler had provided to them.

This hallway attached to two rows of cells, each fronted with a panel of unbreakable transparent aluminum. The cells were staggered, not allowing a direct view into the cells across them. While making it harder to speak to several inmates at a time, this also prevented the cells' inhabitants from communicating with or antagonizing their peers.

Apparently, Joker had driven some of the inmates in cells across from and abutting his into furies and one of them to suicide. This led to Joker being housed apart from the general populous in recent years. This, Arrow knew, would be the one thing that worked in their favor. Who knew what Joker would do upon learning that several inmates had escaped while leaving him behind?

"Here," Canary whispered. "Several of the ones we need to speak with are here." She pointed to the panel next to the cells. "That can mute the sound and make the transparent aluminum opaque."

"Can it also prevent them from hearing what we're saying?"

"Yes."

A quick explanation and they would each take a side, adjusting the controls so only those they wished to speak to could hear and see them.

"We need to hurry, pretty bird. The guards have just made the rounds. We have twenty minutes before they return."

"You take that row and I'll take this one," Dinah told him. "It'll take less time."

Black Canary ignored the whistles and taunts as she adjusted controls. The noise died down considerably until only three inmates were left. Luckily, two were next to one another while the third was across.

"Do you all know who I am?" she asked.

"I can't say I do," Victor Fries murmured from his cell.

A snort came from behind her.

"Her name is Black Canary. She usually works out of Star City with that green guy when she's not hobnobbing with the Justice League." Floyd Lawton, aka Deadshot, leaned up against the cell door. "Are you out slumming today or what, Birdie?" he asked.

"That 'green guy,' as you put it, has a name – Green Arrow," Canary informed him. "Right now, he's over chatting with some of your cellmates."

"I repeat, what do you want with the three of us?" Lawton asked her.

Canary angled herself so she could see Pamela Isley, also known as Poison Ivy. The plant lady hadn't bothered walking to the window. She still sat on her bunk, ignoring the conversation altogether. That wasn't acceptable. They needed her talents.

"There is something coming in the next few days, few weeks; it's unclear exactly when, but make no mistake – It will come," she started. "When it does, Gotham City, our world – your world – will be destroyed."

At this, she got their attention. Fries, Lawton, even Pamela was looking at her.

"What the hell are you talking about, Birdie?" Lawton snapped.

She took a breath. "There is a goddess of destruction on her way to earth right now with the intention of reducing our entire universe to nothing but a forgotten memory. There will be a war as we try to stop her, but the Justice League can't do it alone." She watched as Fries and Pamela stood up and walked to the panel. "We need help. Your help."

"You blocked the other cells on this row," Victor noted. "You do not need their help, too?"

"We need the ones who can help, Doctor. Ones who will stand a chance at fighting off an army of undead or the swarms of giant supernatural ravens the goddess uses without becoming one of the undead themselves. Each of you have . . . talents and qualities that make you valuable to the fight without becoming a liability."

Lawton barked a laugh. "Undead? You're trying to tell me that you want to spring us to fight zombies?" His laughter stopped abruptly. "Why don't you tell us what's really going on here?"

Canary glared at him. "She's a goddess, Lawton. She can use whatever she wants. If you aren't going to be helpful, you can stay in here and become a victim, but if you prefer to fight for your life and your world, then you'll want to stow that attitude and come with me."

Fries frowned. "I do not understand; why would this goddess target us?"

"I don't fully understand it myself, doctor," Canary admitted, holding out her hands. "This is what she does, apparently, moving from one universe to another and destroying it until there are none left."

Pamela tilted her head. "I get that there is a multiverse. I've heard of it before, but I thought there were a finite number of them. How is it there are any universes left if she is going around and destroying them? How long would the destruction take?"

"I do not have that answer, but I have heard she can take out large sectors – we're talking about distances averaging at least thirty million lightyears across, containing at least seventy-four galaxies, in the course of a day. But you are welcome to ask her if you get the chance."

Fries looked flabbergasted. "Impossible!"

"This came from an eye-witness, doctor," Canary murmured. The pain of watching a close friend die in front of her only days before shot through her like a knife. "I'm afraid it is very possible."

"How could any of us battle a foe so powerful? What you're asking is a fool's errand." Pamela said, turning away.

"Again, I don't understand the meaning behind it, but this goddess issued us the opportunity to fight her," Canary told her.

Lawton snorted. "She's toying with you then. If she's all that, then this goddess is only looking for a little entertainment, like a kid burning ants with a magnifying glass."

Canary met each of their gazes. "It's been done before," she told them. "She came just over two thousand years ago, and we fought her off then. Tricked her. Trapped her. The goddess only escaped recently."

The three inmates had been wandering away from the panel, now turned back.

"Entertainment or not, she is headed back to earth and is willing to allow us to defend ourselves against her again."

They were silent for a moment before Fries asked the question that Dinah knew had been at the forefront of all their minds since this little meeting began.

"Where is Batman in all of this?"

Lawton slapped a hand to the clear panel. "Yeah. Why isn't Bats here doing the asking?"

"Because," Canary told them, "he is currently retrieving the thing we need to defeat her, hopefully once and for all."

"There is such an item in existence?" Pamela asked.

"He went to the same source that we went to two thousand years ago. If there is a way to defeat this goddess, you know as well as I do that Batman will find it," Canary said. "So, will you join us? Or will you be content to meet your ugly end here in a cage?"

"I'll go," Pamela blurted. "On one condition."

"Name it."

"Harley comes with me."

Harley Quinn was being held in the cell at Dinah's back. The Cupid of Crime was unpredictable, much as Joker was, but she had been known to work on the side of the angels once in a while. Diana had thought that Harley was too much of a risk, that she might use her freedom to free the Joker. They all had enough on their plates to have the Clown Prince going on a mass murder spree and possibly sabotaging their efforts.

Frowning, Canary shook her head. "I'm not so sure that's a good idea, Pamela. Joker . . ."

"Harley and the Joker are on the outs right now," Pamela announced. "I'll be responsible for her, I promise, but if you want me to help fight this war for you . . ."

"With us, not for us," Canary corrected. "We will be fighting right there alongside each of you."

Pamela nodded in response to this. "Fine, if you want me to help fight this war with you, then Harley Quinn comes with me."

Ollie was busy doing his own recruiting, attempting to get Bane, Killer Croc, and Firefly to join them as well. No one was expecting Harley, but Poison Ivy would be a huge asset in the coming battle.

Dinah blew out her breath as she made an executive decision.

Slapping the controls outside of Harley's cell, the sound came on at the same time as the opacity cleared. Harley was pounding on the panel, yelling at the top of her lungs.

Bang Bang "Hey! Don't shut me out," she was shouting. "I demand to know what is going on here! I demand to . . ." Her voice cut off as she suddenly realized she had gotten her wish. "Oh hey, can ya hear me now?" she asked in her normal voice.

"We can hear you," Canary told her as he proceeded to release Ivy.

Pamela walked over, laying a hand on the transparent aluminum. "Harley, I want you to listen to me."

"Don't I always listen to you, Pammy?"

"No, not always, but you're going to listen to me now. Black Canary has come to ask us to fight with the Justice League against a goddess set on destroying the planet."

"The universe," Canary corrected.

"Yes, the universe. I said I would only do this if you came with me," Ivy explained. "Can I count on you to fight alongside me?"

"Black Canary is asking us to join the Justice League?" Harley perked up, suddenly excited. "Me, a Leaguer? Oh wow! Wait until Puddin hears about this."

"No!" Dinah yelped at the same time as Ivy.

"No, Harls. Joker isn't included. Just you and I and a few others here," Ivy told her. "You can't tell him. Joker can never know – Promise me, Harley."

Harley's eyes grew large. "Oooh, just us? I kinda like that."

"You can't tell him, Harley," Ivy reminded her again. "If he found out, he would go . . ."

"Ape-shit crazy," Lawton interjected. "If the girls are in, then so am I. Let me out of here, Birdie."

Canary worked the controls to slide the panel aside on Lawton's cell. "Just remember, Lawton. With us, not against us. You have to obey orders, or this won't work. You'll just end up killing us all."

"Right, right; got it." Lawton nodded, anxious to be released. "Nothing fun about total destruction."

"Exactly," Canary agreed as she moved to Victor's cell next. Mr. Freeze still hadn't agreed yet.

Pamela was still explaining the situation to Harley. "So, you agree, Harley? I release you and you come with me to battle the goddess of death. If you don't, then we'll go back in my cell and wait for the end together."

"Sure, Pammy. You can count on me." Harley told her. She held three fingers. "Scout's honor."

Canary faced Fries. "Will you come with us, doctor?"

"You may call me Victor," he said, with a nod. "And yes. I will come with you."

Dinah smiled slightly. It was too soon to congratulate herself just yet. She still needed to collect Ollie and the others and get them back to the Hall of Justice without anyone bailing on them to go on a crime spree . . . Or attempting to kill them or each other during the trip back.

As she turned around, Harley had just leapt out of her cell with a squeal to hug Ivy.

"Alright, kiddies," Canary said as she led them back the way She and Ollie had come. Time to collect Ollie's group and get out of Arkham before the guards returned to discover the breakout. "Everyone, stick together."

*SCENE*

"What are we waiting around for?" Cyborg asked the others. "I thought time is of the essence and all that."

"This should be done carefully, Vic," Wonder Girl told him. "According to Dick . . . You know, before he was –."

"You mean, before he was 'babyfied'?" Beast Boy chimed in.

"I believe 'de-aged' is the term that was coined for the phenomenon," Raven corrected him.

"Whatever." Gar shrugged. "I'm just stoked that I'm not the youngest Titan anymore."

Victor frowned. "Can we even consider Short-Pants a Teen Titan anymore?" At the glares sent his way, Vic became defensive. "What? I'm not saying it to be mean, you know. From what I heard; it may not be possible to return our fearless leader to his previously impressive self unless it be through the normal aging process. By the time he's ready to lead us again, we will all be in our twenties . . ." He looked to the original members. ". . . or thirties."

Speedy interrupted. "Don't dismiss him yet. Robin has managed to pull himself through worse scrapes. Batman or Zatara may be able to come up with a solution in time. Now, can we please get our heads in the game before our host decides to separate them from our bodies?"

"How can he pull himself out of toddlerhood?" Gar asked.

"You guys haven't been a team long enough to have learned to trust Robin," Roy answered, "Or whatever whatever name he's supposed to be going by nowadays."

"Look, I'll trust him again after he's potty-trained. So, back to the matter at hand; where are we?" Victor asked.

"The desert compound of Ra's al Ghul, the founder and head of a group called The League of Assassins," Donna told them. "Batman and Robin had a run in with them last year shortly before Dick took his leave of absence from the team."

"How were you able to find them?" Gar asked as he took the shape of a green vulture and settled on Victor's shoulder. "I mean, it's not like you could just google them on your iPhone." Tilting his head, he glanced at Vic. "Or can we?"

"Dick told me about them," she added.

"What do you know about them?" Roy asked. "Better yet, why do you think a group of assassins would want to join the Justice League?"

Raven spoke up next. "Ra's al Ghul. His name means The Demon's Head. He is an eco-terrorist. His concern with the health of the planet might mean he would be willing to aid us as the Gray Goddess intends to destroy the planet along with its people."

"How'd you know that, Witch?" Victor looked over at her.

"Hey! Name-calling's not allowed," Roy barked.

Raven smiled hesitantly. "It is alright, Roy. Witch is no longer insulting. Victor uses it more as an endearment now."

Roy didn't appear entirely convinced. "Right. Okay, then how did you know this?"

"I looked the information up once Donna told me our destination, of course."

Victor laughed "Of course, she did."

The vulture nodded. "So, apparently, you can google it."

Donna interrupted the discussion. "I didn't need all of you to accompany me here. Some of you could have went with Tempest, Kid Flash and Starfire."

"Hello? We're talking about assassins here," Gar retorted. "Plural."

"That may be, but you know as well as I do that Deathstroke is no pushover," she reminded them.

"No, but he will listen," Raven retorted. "Ra's will as well, I believe, but first we must get past his assassins."

"Alright. Enough talk. I think that Raven and I should enter first. As women, we would present less of a threat."

"Less of a threat? You're kidding, right?" Roy scoffed.

"Culture is important when dealing with new oppo-, I mean, potential allies," she corrected herself. "Keep your communications open. We'll call you when it is safe to enter or if we're in need of backup."

"If you're using culture to base your decision, then wouldn't he take a man more seriously?" Roy proposed. "Take me with you."

She shook her head. "I need you here, Roy, leading the charge should we need the cavalry."

"What about me?" Gar blurted.

"Sorry, short stack. You wouldn't be taken seriously enough," Victor told him. "How about me?"

Donna waved the offer away. "No way, Vic. You're a walking weapon. There's no way they wouldn't see you as an immediate threat and attack. Trust me, Raven and I are the best choice for this."

"I don't like it," Roy groused.

"You don't have to like it. With Dick out, I'm the leader of the Titans. What I say goes," Donna told him.

"Fine. But don't leave us hanging," he told her. "If we don't hear back from you in fifteen minutes, we're coming in after you."

"Thirty minutes."

"Twenty. That's it; got it?"

Donna nodded her head. "Got it." -She turned to Raven- "Let's go."

Victor watched her soul-self rose out of Raven's body like smoke, taking the familiar shape of a bird before wrapping itself around the two women. The shadowy bird-like figure thinned until there was nothing left but a wisp of smoke that disappeared in the breeze.

Gar changed shape back into his human form. "I could change into a hawk and fly over the compound. I could keep an eye on them for you."

"No," Roy told him. As much as it was obvious that he wanted to jump on the offer, he didn't. "She'd never forgive the breach of trust."

Shoulders slumping, Gar grumbled under his breath. "But she'd be alive . . ."

"How do you think the others are doing?" Victor asked.

Vic didn't like waiting either and now that waiting was all he was doing, his thoughts turned to what his teammates were into halfway across the world. Deathstroke was no pushover, that's for sure. The Titans barely walked away from the first time they encountered him. Robin – Dick – had said they were only alive because Deathstroke had let them live.

Maybe he should have gone with them. Donna was a freaking Amazon, and the Witch could make her enemies sleep with her soul-self. They had Roy and Gar here as backup . . . But, then again, these guys were The League of Assassins . . .

This would make him crazy, going round and round in his head. Shoulda, coulda, woulda . . . Sighing, he settled himself in to wait. For better or worse, he'd trust Donna's decision and be thankful he wasn't the one who had to make it.

*SCENE*

"Hello, love," Constantine murmured, kissing the young sorceress on the cheek while ignoring her father's scowl. "Glad you could join us."

"Hello, John," Zatanna returned, gently pushing him away. "Let's keep it professional, why don't we?"

"What? Your father is the one who brought me into all this, Zee."

"It's not just because of my father, although he's still not happy about our relationship," she explained. "More because we have a couple of minors on the team now."

"Minors?" Confused, Constantine turned to Zatara, noting the two teenagers gathered next to him. "Timothy Hunter! How are you, mate? Now, I understand why Zatara chose to bring you in, what with your ability to manipulate and open portals betwixt dimensions, but why the hell would you bring Black Alice with you?"

Lori Zecklin, was a powerful young mage going by the name Black Alice whose greatest feats of magic lay in her ability to steal magic from those around her.

Zatara set a hand protectively onto the girl's shoulder. "We may have need of Lori in the coming battle. She graciously agreed to help us."

"Graciously, eh?"

"The Gray Woman's magical abilities are beyond what any one of us might be able to handle alone. With Lori's help, we might be able to weaken her or even steal goddess's powers temporarily, hopefully, for long enough to defeat her."

What he meant was how did she talk Black Alice into helping them – IF she agreed to help them and wasn't lying to their faces, that is. The girl, barely into her teens, was worrisome . . . and flighty. She could just as easily stab them in the back and steal all their powers as she might decide to help them. To be honest, Alice hadn't made her decision yet as to whether she would fight against the devils or with them. Right now, it was a balancing act; the girl was on the fence, ready to fall either way. Will she or won't she betray them?

Frankly, the idea of this temperamental child absorbing the power of a creature capable of erasing galaxies with a thought was nearly as frightening as going head-to-head with the Gray Woman herself.

He didn't like it. And, for Black Alice, it appeared that the feeling was mutual.

"Don't crap yer pants. I'm not here to bite you," Alice snapped at him.

"He's doesn't think that, Lori," Zee assured her, lying to the kid outright.

Alice rolled her eyes, walking over to where Tim Hunter was now speaking with Jason Blood.

Constantine turned his back to the rest of the room as he faced Zatanna. "What the hell were you thinking, Zee? Black Alice isn't a good choice for this particular mission," he whispered harshly at her.

Zatanna frowned at him. "Stop calling her Black Alice. Her name is Lori, and she hasn't crossed that line so far. She may never do so."

"The girl calls herself that, Zee. It's as much her name now as Lori Zechlin ever was."

"She's not evil, John."

"Now who's being naïve?"

"She's not! She's simply a teenager into goth," Zee hissed at him. "What she's going through is merely a phase."

"Oh, right. The same way that the serial killer John Gacy went through a phase."

"That's unfair." She waved a hand to get him to keep his voice down.

"I don't trust her, Zee."

Zatanna glanced over at the girl. She was standing just apart from the others, holding herself separate. "There are no sides in this. It is life or nothingness if Batman, Hal, and that druid priestess are to be believed. Lori has no more desire for life to cease than anyone else here."

"Alice, luv. Black Alice is her name now."

She frowned. "Fine. Look, Black Alice is prepared to fight for our right to exist and, truthfully, John, I don't know that we can succeed without her."

"I hope you're right. Either way, it is time to begin. No telling what is happening in Faerie and Batman and the others may be in desperate straits while we're standing here doing naught but pissing about." He waved a hand to catch the eye of the newly arrived Leaguers, including his own guest, to join them. "Time's a wasting, mates. Here we go." Adding under his breath ". . . For better or for worse."

REACTIONS?

Seriously, I hope you are all still following the story. I hope the switch in scenes and POVs isn't difficult for you to follow. I thought this way was better than a lot of small chapters. Let me know.