I was watching the news from Gwen's world, keeping an eye out for the events in Puente Antiguo when I heard the portal open.

As I looked out into the hallway I frowned.

'Elizabeth?"

The younger girl startled, her chared swishing as she jumped.

"What happened to you?"

"Umm…. Nothing?"

I stared at her, "Elizabeth?"

"I went to Columbia!" she yelped.

I sighed, bringing her to the living room.

"Okay, why don't you tell me about it, Elizabeth."

She nodded, "Well, Angela told me recently that the strength boost you gave me was properly integrated, so I was free to do whatever I wanted and well… I was strong."

"Yes, that was the point of the augments." I nodded.

She shook her head, "No, I was stronger than anything I saw in Columbia. So I went back there. Some of that man's robots tried to grab me… but they couldn't. They couldn't do anything to me."

"Why didn't you come to us then, we would have been able to help you." I offered.

She shook her head, "No, this was something I had to do myself. I didn't want to be scared of Comstock any more."

"And what happened?" I asked.

She shrugged, "That was only my second trip there. The first trip was just to see the place and this time I took what I wanted from my prison and destroyed it. The Songbird tried to stop me, but between my strength and what you've been teaching me about gravity-manipulation, it couldn't really do anything to me."

"And what do you have planned now?"

"Well, I was going to bring back presents, and maybe Booker, if I ran across him."

"Okay, do you need anyhing?" I asked.

She stared, "That's it?"

"I know that you need this." I offered, "As much as I would love to demand that you take me along and the two of us leave Columbia a smouldering mess, both of us know that you wouldn't get what you want out of it."

"Yeah." She admitted.

I patted her on the head, "But the least we can do is to do our best to make sure that you're safe. For this, that means making sure that you aren't wanting for equipment at all."

"So I get the good stuff now?"

"Yep, a proper gravitic manipulator, since you obviously need more than training wheels, and I'll see about putting together some proper battle armour for you."

She frowned, "Don't I already have armour?"

'Yes, but you don't have battle armour, it's different. More flexible, so that you can move properly in it and it devotes less of the enchantments to speed boosters. Plus I take the time to properly integrate mental accelerators, which means you're going to be in my lab all night tonight while I forge the Vodun link between your brain and some cloned grey matter for that."

She frowned, "Really?"

"Yep, you wouldn't believe how much accelerated perception, even the paltry three times speed that I've managed to achieve, helps with combat."

"What about your time-acceleration?"

"Still not safe for human use, unfortunately. I mean, the full-scale time-dilation chambers are, and I do use them for training and for research, but the magical ones I've been designing for augmentation are kinda crap, really. Something about using magical techniques for constructing gravitic gradients seems to interact strangely with time.

I think it's because time is metaphysically distinct enough from gravity that the techniques don't really carry over like that, and I'd have to figure out some kind of focus that lets me interact with the fabric of space-time directly. I thought the gravitic manipulators that I've been building would be enough, but those have only broken the barrier stopping me from using magical techniques to manipulate time at all."

She nodded, "They're not magical enough are they?"

"Yeah, Time is a terrifyingly potent concept for magic, even a localized subsection of space-time takes a lot of work to manipulate in any respect, and it's particularly hard to control with any sort of regularity."

"So you can't do it?"

"Not within an armour yet. I can probably stick a fully technological acceleration chamber in a vehicle, but getting something like that infantry-sized? Not something I can do yet. Perhaps if I manage to shrink gravity effectors down, to achieve a purely technological path, maybe figure out a better focus for the magical path or some completely different application with some other approach, I won't be able to shrink it down that much."

She nodded, "Okay."

"And we're stepping up your combat training. I know we have you on self-defence stuff right now, but I'm in the process of hunting down a few teachers for CQC, especially since I've been hunting down Cassandra Cain. I've got leads on Taskmaster, and I think I have the tech needed to get a standing agreement with him so as soon as we have that nailed down, we'll go full steam ahead on that. In the meantime, Raven has officially become the patron of the Titans, and Robin needs a sparring partner to get used to his blessings from her. I'll arrange a time for you to get some introductory lessons tomorrow."

"Is that all?" She asked.

I shrugged, "If you want, I can set up a time-chamber, but it mainly depends on how long it will be until your next big raid on Columbia. The nootropics still haven't quite worked their way through your system and I have included ganglia in your new muscle tissues that will allow you to rapidly develop new reflexes anyways so we don't really need to worry about that. A few extra weeks won't matter too much at the rates that you will be learning at."

"Okay…" She said.

I reached over and ruffled her head, "And tell us if you are getting in over your head. Even if it's as little as sending a Hunter team in with you, it's easier for us not to step on your toes if you actually tell us what you need."

She sighed, "Okay."

As I saw Elizabeth off, I collapsed into the sofa, Angela walking over to sit beside me.

"You know, you could have told her that you already knew about her little mission, right?"

"No, she needs to know that Comstock can't hurt her anymore. That, even without us, nothing he can do means anything to her and that he lives at her mercy. I mean, realistically, the only one of us more powerful than her is Raven, she just hasn't grasped it yet."

"You know, I almost forgot that I know three different people who can single-handedly end my entire civilization."

"I mean, I need my reactors to do it, and technically you could do the same."

She stared at me, "I can barely cast magic like you can with my staff. You can handle the output of that behemoth you call your chariot easily enough to manage three of them remotely. There's a reason Remnant call you a god."

"Strange told me that The Brother Gods got a kick out of that. That a mortal has managed to inspire such awe in their creations. Even if it did take a little bit of help. Our plan for ending the Grimm was interesting, but ultimately not too different from what some of their other experiments achieved, even if our exact mechanism is interesting to them."

"I suppose it makes sense, what did the other civilizations end up doing?"

"One of them blew up their planet once they could get off of it, forcing the Light and Dark to homogenize and prevent the spawning of more Grimm. The Brother Gods were so impressed with that race that they permanently blessed them with the ability to choose when they create life and when they die. Well, along with the return of magic stuff."

"Damn. That's an impressive gift."

"They've done similar to other species that impress them by the time that they were called. Most commonly when they were called after the race had managed to grant themselves magic, rather than depending on their Gift. Though, I don't know what specific prizes were handed out.."

"I wonder if Remnant will get something like that when they unite their Relics."

"If they get anything other than their magic back, of course."

"Ozpin knew that Magic could be created from life force. I'm fairly sure he's shared that secret with the rest of his cadre. They'll do something with that."

"Probably, but Blood Magic is surprisingly tricky if you don't understand the underlying phenomenon. Especially my brand of Blood magic. I've learned a lot from studying biotic energy and studying the applications of blood magic beyond necromancy. Unlike the stuff Raven gave me, my magic will work in any universe capable of sustaining life."

"So they can't do it?"

"No, it's just difficult. From what I felt of their souls while I was there, there are easier ways for them to achieve the transmutation, though I'm concerned that the recordings that they took of my intervention may lead them down the wrong path."

"That makes sense, I suppose."